Chapter 201
Chapter 201
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 201
Chapter Title: Martial God (3)
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Eloa pinned Sharon down and immediately stomped on her wrist, forcing her wand to drop.
She then kicked the fallen wand far away.
Witches who wielded elemental magic generally couldn't cast proper spells without their wand.
This was knowledge born from experience subduing countless public enemies.
"My judgment is this: that man has some connection to Ea, no matter how tenuous, and you appeared to assist him as a wicked exile. What say you?"
Sharon stared at Eloa's sword, which looked ready to sever Siu's neck at any moment.
Her mind went blank.
In such a defenseless state, a single swing would end his life.
She didn't even have time to entertain a casual doubt like, 'Would a duke really kill an ordinary person without certainty?'
Her head was filled only with the desperate urge to stop her and save Siu.
"No! Stop! Please stop! Siu would never do anything bad... Gah... Sob...!"
Eloa pressed down hard on Sharon's throat as she thrashed and screamed like a banshee.
But mere struggling wasn't enough to escape a grip on her vital points.
She needed an overwhelming difference in strength or skill, yet Sharon was far too weak compared to Eloa.
Even using both hands, she couldn't budge a single finger.
"Guh... Hack... Sob... Don't... Don't do it... I told you... I won't let you...! Siu... He nearly died because of that Aquarius witch... How could he be her accomplice...?"
Sharon strained to speak with all her might, her throat compressed like a puppy in etiquette training.
But Eloa's expression remained emotionless.
Words like that weren't enough to dispel her suspicions.
"Nearly died? Someone who nearly died by Ea's hand is wielding her magic and my apprentice's magic?"
"Absolutely not, I swear...!"
"Have you seen it with your own eyes? Or can you explain what happened back then?"
With that, Eloa pressed the sword down harder.
Sharon convulsed in near-convulsion, desperately trying to block Eloa.
"Don't... Hack...! Don't do it...! It's not true, you're mistaken! Please... Please don't kill him...!"
Aside from the unnatural pain choking her breath, the thought that Siu might die right before her eyes brought tears.
Seeing Sharon's tears pouring like a waterfall, Eloa's fingers slackened ever so slightly.
Genuine tears shed selflessly for another.
Tears so pure no villain could produce them—they shook the venom that had clouded her heart.
"Please don't... You must have it all wrong... Please... Here, take this... There's... 5.4 billion inside... It's all I have... Please spare him... Listen to me...!"
Sharon pried the hand from her throat and fumbled in her bosom, pulling out a single card.
Curious, Eloa glanced at it—it was something she knew well.
A Wizbank card, used to claim massive bounties from Wizpoint.
It held the account details.
Sharon, tears blinding her, stammered incoherently.
"I don't... have much... But I'll give it all... Siu would never do anything wrong... I know you're... a good person, Your Grace... You're mistaken now... You'll regret this later...!"
Sharon's actions weren't rational.
With Siu facing death before her, coherent thought had fled.
Forgetting all better persuasion or logical talk, she blurted and acted on impulse.
In her desperation, she'd reached the absurd conclusion that offering her most precious possession—her life's savings—might save him.
It was foolish.
The idea that a century of grudge could be halted with mere money was irrational.
That's why it disarmed her even more.
Could someone with a friend so frantic and desperate to beg for their life truly be evil?
Could someone who threw everything away selflessly to save another truly be evil?
In this moment, who was the villain?
The grip of Tiphereth holding Sharon immobile loosened and released.
Everything felt confused.
"........."
"Tiphereth!"
A sharp voice called out to Eloa.
It was familiar.
The woman landing on the rooftop, black dress fluttering, was Deneb Jemernai, along with her apprentices.
"What are you doing?!"
She rarely raised her voice like this as she strode toward Eloa.
Her reprimanding glare was piercing.
Eloa didn't back down.
"I was interrogating a suspicious individual. He's clearly connected to Ea Sadalmelik. He's not uninvolved in this incident."
"What... Heavens... What is this?"
Deneb smacked Eloa's sword away and squeezed between them, lifting the pale-faced Siu into her arms.
No major external wounds, but her examination revealed his internals were a mess.
She could tell it was Eloa's doing.
Deneb immediately cast a recovery spell and shouted.
"He's a guest of our family! He's naturally uninvolved in this! And not the type to do such things!"
"I..."
As Eloa faltered uncertainly,
"Assistant!"
"Oppa!"
"Gah!"
The twins, clinging to Deneb's back, rushed down and to Siu.
"Master, is the ass, assistant dead? Again... Again..."
"Assistant, open your eyes! Assistant...!"
Ignoring their soiled clothes, the twins ran to Siu, tears streaming.
Siu lay unconscious, bloodied and pale-faced.
It was a traumatic scene for them.
Last time they'd reunited with Siu after he shielded their evacuation against Ea, he'd looked half-dead like this.
Deneb calmly soothed the trembling twins, shaking as if the sky had fallen.
"It's okay, girls. Be good. It's not a big problem."
"Really okay? You're not lying to reassure us?"
"Yes, it's fine. Trust me."
Deneb focused on treatment first.
Examining the injury, Eloa's kick had landed squarely.
Anything beyond "he's alive" was a miracle.
Odil, stroking Siu's cheek anxiously, shot Eloa a fierce glare.
"You did this?"
"Odil!"
Before Deneb could stop her, Odil marched toward Eloa.
The Jemernai Family had frequent exchanges with Eloa, so Odil knew she was the Tiphereth Duke.
But realizing Eloa was the culprit behind Siu's state, she ignored rank and protocol.
"If anything happens to the assistant, I won't let you off! I'll do the same to you!"
Eloa froze, stunned, at Odil's tear-glazed fury and unfiltered rage.
It wasn't bravado born from Deneb's presence.
This apprentice would react the same even without her master nearby.
Eloa knew better than anyone the response of someone who'd lost—or nearly lost—a precious person.
"You think the assistant's involved in this? Maybe! He stubbornly tried handling it alone so we wouldn't be in danger!"
"........."
"He's connected to the Aquarius witch too! He fought that evil witch to save us and nearly died...!"
"........."
"Who are you to torment the assistant... Huh? Hic... Waaah...!"
Finally, Odil collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
She hadn't helped back then either.
Now, she'd arrived too late to see Siu battered again.
Helplessness, frustration, and resentment overflowed.
Watching Odil cry, Eloa let her sword drop limply, dazed.
2.
He opened his eyes to a familiar ceiling.
"What the hell."
The soft bed and thick blanket covering up to his chest felt familiar too.
Siu quickly recalled his memories.
Three white knights appearing suddenly, and a witch slicing them apart.
That witch spouted incomprehensible words before slamming a kick into his chest.
Before blacking out, Paul Phoenix's face had flickered in his mind like a montage—not a distortion.
Yet he woke in bed.
What twist was this?
"Assistant!"
"Oppa!"
"Argh!"
The twins popped into his bewildered view.
Odil and Odet flung themselves at him, rubbing their soft, smooth cheeks against his like puppies greeting their owner.
A pleasant scent wafted as their cheeks pressed.
"Oppa?"
Odil questioned Odet's sudden change in address, while Odet replied nonchalantly.
"Yeah, we decided to call him oppa."
"What? Why?"
"Actually, yesterday the assistant and I went for a night stroll. While you were snoring away, sis. It was great?"
"Wha...?"
Odil gaped at the unsuspected revelation, and Odet grinned smugly.
Siu realized instantly that hiding the title change all day had been for this killer blow.
Odil whipped around to glare at Siu with flashing eyes.
From behind came Odet's innocent, "You sneaked out without me too, sis~."
"Assistant, is it true?"
"Yes, it's true, but first, can you tell me what happened?"
He'd just learned this, yet the twins had already claimed both sides of his bed.
Before explanations, Odil and Odet each grabbed one of his cheeks.
Just like when Jemernai countesses scolded the twins.
Then they began stretching and scolding him.
"First! Explain!"
"Right! How could you take everything on alone again!"
"What are we supposed to do if you get badly hurt again!"
"That was too much!"
"Ow... Let go...!"
No joke—tears welled from the pain.
The twins lambasted Siu for fighting alone, tugging his cheeks, then hugged him tight.
Like caressing something precious.
"We'll get stronger from now on. Strong enough to protect you."
"Yeah, so strong the assistant can tremble safely in our skirt hems."
"I humbly beg you."
Being worried over like this.
His chest warmed, though it felt like praise for something minor—he wanted to rub his nose.
"Anyway, what happened was..."
The twins took turns explaining.
The attacker was the Tiphereth Duke.
Some misunderstanding—she'd mistaken Siu for Ea or someone connected to her.
Sharon arrived first, buying time, and Deneb followed, convincing her and clearing it up.
"I yelled really loud. Told her I'd give her hell if she touched the assistant again."
"You, Odil? To the Tiphereth Duke?"
"Yeah! Even if I'd lose in a real fight, was it my charismatic eloquence? She couldn't even retort?"
"...You were bawling and throwing a tantrum..."
"Shut it, Odet!"
"Don't lie, sis!"
Odet pouted, displeased at Odil hogging the glory, mumbling, while Odil flushed red and snapped back.
"Where are the two of them now?"
"Both went to Wizpoint. The incident's huge, so they're busy with cleanup."
"And Sharon?"
"Sis is probably in her room?"
"Oh, right! You should check on her. It wasn't major, but she almost got hurt."
"What?"
Siu bolted up and dashed to Sharon's room.
Opening the door, he saw Sharon huddled in the corner of the bed.