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1.

Upon sensing the disturbance, Siwoo immediately deployed his magic.

The mana waves reflected in his golden left eye were wild and overwhelming, just like a natural disaster was occuring.

He hadn’t fully understood the situation yet, but he unfurled his ribbon to shield as many citizens as possible and ran with Sharon.

Particles, dense like volcanic ash, covered everything, consuming the space itself until the chaos finally halted near the outskirts of Tarot Town.

“What is this?”

A rippling boundary seemed to split the area like an invisible wall.

The scene beyond the border was no longer the lively festival of Border Town.

Instead, twisted shapes and strange colors shimmered like a mirage.

It looked like a world distorted by a capricious god.

Siwoo recognized this phenomenon.

It was the same spatial randomization that occurred when Bianca’s arrow collided with his spear

“Siwoo, is this... Amelia’s doing...?”

Sharon, too, was bewildered by the sudden turn of events.

But she recalled the name Siwoo had murmured before this disaster unfolded.

Amelia Marigold.

The Witch of Perfumes, a Baroness of Gehenna, and a woman who had a rather complicated past with him.

Siwoo had avoided talking about her, so Sharon hadn’t pried, but she knew he was once her private slave and that something had happened between them.

But right now, he was too stunned to answer Sharon’s question.

Because he was experiencing the kind of shock that made everything else incomprehensible firsthand.

Why would Amelia do something like this...?

Gehenna’s laws forbid the usage of large-scale magic within the city’s ground without casting an interdimensional barrier beforehand.

But Amelia’s magic had already affected thousands of citizens, twisting space itself.

While he couldn’t predict exactly how this space would impact everyone or what kind of effect would be, if it ever caused anyone harm or led to disaster, the punishment awaiting Amelia was all too clear.

Exilement as a Criminal Exile.

Or immediate execution.

These were the worst-case scenarios, but that was enough to prompt Siwoo to make his move.

Now wasn’t the time to ask the whys or hows.

He had to ensure that this disaster caused the smallest harm possible.

In other words, he had to go there.

If there were survivors, he had to save them, and if Amelia was there, he needed to stop her right away.

“I’m sorry, Sharon, I have to go there. I’ll explain later, okay?”

“What? You’re seriously going in there?”

Sharon exclaimed, shocked.

She immediately spread her arms to block his path.

“No way! Are you crazy?!”

“Don’t worry, it’s just a spatial randomization. It won’t be my first time handling it.”

“Are you crazy?! Does this look like a normal spatial randomization to you?!”

Sharon pointed to the boundary with her finger.

She, too, had seen the magic spreading behind them as they helped evacuate the townspeople.

To be exact, she saw how it stopped everything in its tracks.

Those caught within it froze in place as if time had halted, and countless flowers bloomed over the ground and stone walls.

The phenomenon was not something that simply occurred in a randomized space.

It was a carefully constructed large-scale spell, creating a new, stable structure.

And as much as she valued other people’s life, Siwoo’s life was far more precious to her.

So, there was no way that she’d just let him go.

“I know.”

“At least tell me what you’re planning to do!”

“I’m going to get the people out... Then, I’ll stop her...”

Sharon knew.

If Siwoo thought that even one person was stuck inside, he’d go in without hesitation.

Now, what if that one person was someone who was likely to be an old lover of his? It wasn’t hard to think that he’d risk his life to save her.

The problem was that there was no telling what kind of ominous magic lay ahead.

In other words, he was basically about to step into a maze filled with who-knows-what kinds of dangers.

“Mr. Siwoo!”

At that moment, a sharp voice called out loudly to Siwoo.

He turned around to see Countess Albireo approaching quickly, her skirt fluttering as she moved.

“Wait!”

A massive magic realm had suddenly appeared in Tarot Town.

Since Albireo had been in contact with Amelia before she disappeared, she immediately knew that the young witch was responsible for it.

After all, the magic was so distinct that any witch who was familiar with the previous generation’ witches would recognize it at once.

“Countess.”

Seeing the determined look on Siwoo’s face, Albireo felt glad she’d hurried over.

If she was even a minute late, she’d probably lost her son-in-law in the blink of an eye.

“Don’t act recklessly. The Tree of Sephiroth has called a meeting. Several nobles are already discussing a solution.”

The matter was serious enough that Gehenna’s higher-ups called for a meeting immediately so that they could assess the situation more effectively.

“You going in now wouldn’t make much of a difference anyway. Countess Yesod and the others were still analyzing the spatial randomization patterns. According to Countess Kohav, the randomization itself has stopped, and stabilization has begun.”

“What do you mean?”

“It means, you need to wait and enter once a proper plan is in place! So far, the results show that this space isn’t harming ordinary humans.”

Only then did Siwoo feel his nerves ease a bit.

There was no immediate danger to the citizens.

That alone meant the worst-case scenario had been averted.

Not only were there no casualties, but it also meant Amelia’s actions hadn’t yet been deemed a Criminal Exile’s attack.

“So, what’s next, Countess?”

Sharon, whose nerves also calmed down, asked that question to Albireo.

“Deneb is attending in my place and will update us on the decision, so please, don’t do anything reckless.”

“...”

Siwoo placed a cigarette between his lips.

He could feel his chest tightened.

Now that he had calmed down a little, he finally started wondering ‘why’ Amelia had done such a thing in the first place.

He had a faint feeling that the reason was somehow connected to him.

“If anything goes wrong, I’ll be ready to go in immediately.”

“I get it, the situation’s tricky. But for now, just calm down.”

Regardless, he needed the Red Branch to go in.

After all, the only reason unconscious Siwoo had managed to navigate the randomized space was by using the spear’s distortion field.

If the noble witches could map out the randomized space’s patterns, it’d be like having a guide through the maze, allowing him to cast spells safely within it.

Siwoo swallowed hard as he looked at the misty boundary rippling before him.

2.

Since Gehenna’s founding, there had only been a few cases where so many nobles gathered so quickly.

Within only ten minutes, twenty baronesses and four countesses had responded to the call.

This was nearly every noble currently staying in Gehenna.

Each was dressed in fancy attire, possibly having been at a party, but they were all wearing serious expressions.

Despite the inconvenience of leaving their parties, none showed any sign of displeasure.

To the noble grand witches, Gehenna was both home and the center of their lives.

It was clear that everyone was on high alert due to this sudden, unprecedented event.

However, despite the large turnout, the meeting hadn’t started yet.

Countess Yesod, sitting beside Deneb, was analyzing the random patterns from the crystal orb, drawing on her expertise.

The host of the meeting had yet to appear.

Then, breaking the sharp tension, the doors opened, and the witch they had all been waiting for entered the hall.

-Click, click, click.

The sharp sound of heels echoed through the chamber, catching everyone’s attention.

Her raven-black hair flowed down to her waist, and her eyes were as pale as snow.

She was the head of the Jinri Jinmyeong Academic Society, Gehenna’s largest academic society, and one of only three duchesses.

The 24th-ranked Grand Witch, Blanche Erelim.

Accompanied by her closest aide, Countess Yvonne Kohav, she took her seat.

As one would expect from a witch, her beauty was flawless.

But her aura was strangely cold and detached.

Unlike other witches who showed a hint of humanity, Duchess Erelim seemed lifeless, like a wax figure brought to life, as if mercury flowed through her veins instead of blood.

Without changing her expression, she sat before the witches who had been waiting and greeted them in a soft, yet still emotionless voice.

“First, I express my deep regret that this unfortunate incident has disturbed the great city of Gehenna, while the outside world is in chaos due to the violent and lawless actions of the Criminal Exiles.”

Hearing those opening words, Deneb’s face hardened.

By calling it an ‘unfortunate incident,’ Duchess Erelim had already revealed her stance.

She had already classified Baroness Marigold as a potential threat.

“The reason I called this urgent meeting is to gather your wisdom to discuss a way to bring this turmoil under control.”

Since she already had made up her mind, this whole thing was just her way to make the other witches comply with her.

Just as power in the human world was rooted in wealth, Gehenna’s power was rooted in magic.

Duchess Erelim, a 24th-ranked witch whose existence preceded even Gehenna, had countless followers behind her.

Even in this very hall, more than a third were members of her school.

With her crystalline eyes, Duchess Erelim looked over the witches seated around her, and immediately got to the main point.

“Therefore, I propose that Baroness Amelia Marigold be stripped of her title and exiled. If she refuses our demands or won’t engage in dialogue, she will be treated as a Criminal Exile and be hunted down.”

As those words fell, a massive stir spread throughout the meeting hall.