Chapter 167: Witch of the Covenant (2)

༺ Witch of the Covenant (2) ༻

1.

In an immigration office made for the witches to travel between the Modern World and Gehenna.

The lounge connected to the 'portal' was crowded with people, as today, there were a lot of witches visiting the place.

From beyond said 'portal,' a witch with light pink hair, akin to the cherry blossom, came out.

Her magenta eyes shone with pride and conviction, no coquetry nor flirtatious allure were hidden within them.

With her pursed thin lips and charming body lines.

And the way she carried herself as she walked towards the center of the lounge with short, yet precise steps, showing the aura of a charismatic leader.

As soon as they saw her, the witches who had been conversing inside the lounge, all went silent.

Then, they promptly lowered their heads.

"..."

All of them recognized who this woman was; A personage that stood out even among the witches.

The Witch of the Covenant, Duchess Eloa Tiphereth herself.

Though, the reason why they bowed their heads wasn't solely because of their respect towards her title.

After all, this was the woman who slaughtered hundreds of Homunculi and killed dozens of criminals for their sake.

No matter how bull-headed or self-righteous a witch was, they'd pay their respects to her merits and noble acts.

Toward such an awe-filled response, Eloa gave them a look before walking towards the person she was looking for.

"It's been a while, Madam Deneb Gemini."

"Duchess Tiphereth. Have you been well?"

In front of her was a white-haired witch, dressed in an old-fashioned mermaid dress, greeting her with a smile.

As soon as Deneb received the Duchess' call, she passed over her tightly packed schedule to Albireo and came out to greet the Duchess by herself.

It wasn't a surprising response. After all, the Gemini Household profited by purchasing and selling items and legacies that were acquired by the Duchess.

She was a customer who provided them with a continuous supply of high-quality magic tools and artifacts, of course they'd give her a VIP treatment like this.

"Where's Ea Sadalmelik?"

"Shall we change our locations before we talk? I brought my carriage here."

"Let's get going then."

Eloa strode past Deneb with a rather rough gait, but the latter understood the reason behind it.

While at a glance Eloa might seem calm, Deneb could clearly see that she was trying really hard to suppress her emotion. Like a ticking time bomb, said emotion could explode at any moment.

This was the person who had been wandering around the Modern World for the last century. Never once did she set foot in Gehenna since then. But, as soon as she had heard the news of Ea's death, she immediately rushed back here.

That was how strong her desire to confirm the authenticity of the news she received with her own eyes, despite her having access to long-range communication devices.

The two people sat opposite of each other inside an elegant carriage.

As soon as Deneb settled herself on her seat, Ea opened her mouth to speak.

"Ea Sadalmelik is dead? Is this true?"

"First of all, I would like to express my condolences. And indeed, last winter, the Witch of Aquarius sneaked into Gehenna to attack Baroness Marigold, and was promptly killed in the battle between herself and the Baroness."

At that moment...

Deneb saw Eloa's accusing gaze collapse.

But, she was still staring at her in disbelief.

This was probably the reason why she visited her directly, as Deneb was someone who was capable of collecting more accurate information than anyone else.

"Impossible..."

"Duchess—"

"That's impossible. That woman is a thorough one... And her persistence is like that of a cockroach... What of her body? Have you found it?"

Eloa asked, leaning her body towards Deneb as if she was about to pounce on her.

This put the latter into a little bit of predicament.

After all, if she couldn't control her anger and lightly hit the carriage with her fist, it would inevitably collapse, just like a mountain house getting run over by a landslide.

"We haven't found her body... However, considering the nature of Baroness Marigold's self-essence magic... We can at least confirm that she evaporated without a trace."

The nature of Particle Magic was to interfere with its surroundings by spraying microscopic particles around. It'd tear any opposition into pieces, bit by bit.

Back then, Deneb immediately rushed to the place where they had fought after hearing the twins' words, only to find Amelia screaming while hugging Siwoo. The Baroness was without any injuries, meanwhile Sadalmelik had been turned into a pile of flowers.

It was clear that the gap between their skills was overwhelming.

With such a difference, there was no way she'd allow Sadalmelik to escape.

At least, Deneb was sure of this.

The further she went in her explanation, Eloa's expression became even more crumpled.

At this point, the Duchess barely managed to suppress her heavy breathing that was mixed with nihilism and resentment.

"You said that the one who fought Sadalmelik was Marigold, right? I'll meet with her in person. I still can't believe that wicked fox is dead. Please arrange it for me."

Eloa's tone was ablaze with her passion to not give up on this matter so easily.

On the other hand, Deneb was put in a tough spot.

This was because she had learned from Sophia about the condition the Baroness was in.

She locked herself inside the hut she used to live in as an apprentice, stating that she wouldn't meet with anyone.

Given the circumstances, it was clear that she seemed to be in a deep sorrow after breaking up with her slave, who rejected her unrequited love for unknown reasons.

"That's..."

Though she was hesitant, Deneb knew that the Duchess wouldn't back down.

If she refused her here, she'd just run off and find Amelia on her own.

Since that was the case, Deneb decided that it would be better for both of them if she were to arrange the meeting between those two.

"...Haah... Alright, let's go. I'll bring you to her."

"Thank you."

And so, the carriage started to move toward the pine tree forest where Amelia was secluding herself in.

2.

Her daily life had turned monotonous.

Lethargic and dull.

Since Siwoo left, Amelia did what she did best.

Burying all her sadness and pain by immersing herself in her magic research.

To focus on something to avoid recalling her painful memories.

None of her happy life inside her cabin that was filled with warm colors remained.

Just like before she met him, she was left in a colorless world as she ran away from everything that she couldn't handle.

Because otherwise, she would remember...

His eyes, filled with resentment...

His voice, filled with disappointment...

A piece of paper unfolded before her eyes as she wrote down the magic formula that came to her mind.

If she couldn't think of anything, she'd write down everything she knew on a blank sheet of paper.

She'd get rid of any wandering thoughts that she had.

This way, she wouldn't have any time to feel pain.

Just like back when her Master passed away.

Thanks to this, she was able to forget her pain, albeit a little, and she was able to hide herself from her sadness.

Though, compared to back then, she felt something different.

While she pretty much went through the same situation, and she was using the same method to cope with it, unlike back then, she was unable to kill her emotion and forget everything.

She could immerse herself in research, but when the sun set and the night came, one person came to her mind.

Shin Siwoo.

-Crunch.

She felt her heart drop, and the corner of the paper she was holding became crumpled.

"..."

This all happened because she had some stamina left.

Because she hadn't pushed herself to her limit and made her mind go blank.

She grabbed another blank paper and was about to scribble on it, when she heard a commotion outside.

"I'll go in and get her permission first."

"No, I'll go myself."

A light wrinkle appeared on her forehead.

'I thought I had asked not to be disturbed by anyone.'

She was annoyed.

After all, she didn't even ask for much.

Solitude. And she couldn't even get that.

The door to the cabin burst open as two women came in.

One was a familiar face, Gemini Deneb, while the other one was a witch with pink hair that she had never seen before.

"Can I help you?"

Cold, questioning tone came out of Amelia's mouth.

Aware of what was going on with her, Deneb asked for her understanding with a very apologetic expression.

"Please forgive me for coming so suddenly. This personage said that she had something she wanted to ask... About Ea Sadalmelik—"

Before she could finish her sentence, the shorter witch came forward and asked.

"Pardon me for intruding without your permission. Baroness Marigold, can you tell me about the day you clashed with Ea Sadalmelik?"

"Let me introduce you first. This is Duchess Tiphereth..."

Clouded by her anxiety, Eloa immediately stated her business without even introducing herself, prompting Deneb to do it in her stead.

After learning her identity, Amelia immediately understood the reason why they had come to her.

The fact that Duchess Tiphereth's apprentice was murdered by the Witch of Aquarius was such a major event that even Amelia, who was insensitive to rumors, knew about.

Soon, the hostility in her eyes faded.

After all, she also knew the pain of losing a loved one.

Then, while offering a seat to the two witches in front of them, she said,

"I'll bring out some tea."

3.

"...I saw her last moment with my own eyes."

"..."

Amelia retold the events that happened that day with sincerity.

Though she occasionally felt a pang in her chest as she talked about Siwoo.

As she had expected, the Duchess went out of her way to visit her to hear about the process that led to Ea's death, and to make sure that she was really dead.

She understood this feeling.

After all, she only had one in a lifetime chance at revenge.

Except that her chance was already gone, as Amelia was the one who had pulled the trigger for her.

But, it wasn't like she had another choice back then either.

"My apologies."

With these words, Amelia ended her story.

The Duchess weakly stood up from her seat.

"...During that time, have you ever lost sight of her for a moment? Or noticed something unusual from her?"

"No."

"Did you feel something like an illusion magic or space magic being casted?"

"I didn't."

"I see... Thank you..."

Eloa, who expressed her gratitude in a shaky voice, as if she had lost her energy, felt like a different person than when she first came in.

Her previously sharp gaze had turned gloomy, and her dignified tone had turned into that of a sick person.

She then trudged out of the cabin, leaving only Deneb and Amelia inside.

Deneb took a sip of the already cold tea before putting down the cup.

"The Duchess is having a hard time maintaining her composure."

"I could see."

"If I were to leave her alone, she'd come barging in here... That was why I brought her over despite knowing that this was rude of me..."

"It's okay."

"Then, I'll take my leave."

Seeing Amelia's condition, Deneb thought that she was in a better state than she expected.

'Or maybe she's faking it?'

After saying her goodbye, Deneb left the cabin, comparing Amelia's current appearance with the one she had seen in the past.

Back when she left the twins in her care, Amelia looked just like a living doll.

Though she was pretty, even from a witch's point of view, her beauty felt artificial, as it was devoid of any human emotions.

When she visited her for the second time, to gain the ownership of Shin Siwoo from her, she was much more lively than before.

Though she showed more negative emotions, such as nervousness and mild anger, it made her seem like someone who could feel both joy and sorrow.

Comparing those two appearances to her current one, Deneb concluded that she looked closer to the first time they met.

While she looked fine on the outside, she exuded a cold sharpness that seemed as if she could cut anything that touched her.

"Is she feeling upset...?"

However, she wasn't her nanny, therefore, she didn't need to care about her condition.

So, she went straight to Eloa, who was walking further away from her.

"What are you planning to do now?"

"...I don't know."

"How about a little rest? I'll prepare a place for you at my mansion."

"No need, I still have something to do. There is an enemy that I need to chase, I have to catch and kill it before it teleports again."

"Are you going right away?"

"Yes."

Deneb felt that the other witch was pushing herself too hard.

She even gave up her magic research and lived to get her revenge, so that no one would experience the sorrow she felt.

Now that one of her goals that she had been pursuing for a century had suddenly disappeared, the feeling of emptiness must have weighed on her body.

"It's nice meeting you after such a long time."

'If only she could let it go for a little.'

With those feelings in mind, Deneb asked her a question.

"...Where are you heading to?"

"Korea."

That was the answer that came out of her mouth.