Chapter 242
Chapter 242
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 242
Chapter Title: Repaying the Favor (3)
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1.
A week had passed since the incident.
After the training session with Eloa, where they had deployed a backworld barrier right in the middle of Gwanghwamun Square.
Siu caressed his aching body.
The training itself had been the usual one-on-one sparring.
But at Siu's request, its nature had changed.
Contract of the King of All Diseases was a nature magic that maximized its effects when wielding a weapon, just as its name implied.
Having practiced bare-handed combat fundamentals and body reinforcement through mana, the focus had now shifted to practical sparring centered on sword, spear, and shield.
One might wonder if there was much difference from unarmed combat, but the intensity was on another level entirely.
For Siu, who lacked any autonomous defenses, Tiphereth had pulled her punches—but the moment he donned his armor, she shattered it outright and delivered blows hard enough to bruise his flesh.
She was holding back far less than before, sparring with genuine seriousness.
"Wow... insane..."
After the spar and a shower, Siu stood before the mirror.
The swelling on his cheeks was subsiding, and the red marks mottling his flushed skin told the tale of the day's ferocity.
Even now, it was only thanks to Eloa's light healing spell; originally, massive blue bruises had blanketed his upper body, and the inside of his cheek had torn open, blood streaming freely.
"It's what I asked for... but damn, it's rough."
The grueling near-12-hour sessions had been slashed to just four hours.
More precisely, they'd become short but brutally intense.
Even that was an absurd volume of exercise by any normal standard.
The shadow armor weighed well over 100kg to amplify impacts, and even the spear, sword, and shield—swung with casual ease—each tipped the scales at over 30kg.
Beyond the weight alone, even professionally trained fighters turned to jelly after full rounds in the octagon. Siu's ability to spar nonstop for four straight hours came down to his spirit body's durability and the power of magic.
Siu gazed at his reflection.
He'd built some wiry labor-honed muscles back in his slave days, but now, fully spiritualized, his physique was even more flawless.
Moments like this drove home how he'd shed the shackles of humanity to join the ranks of the transcendent.
Sure, he was just the neighborhood punching bag stumbling around covered in welts, but if he snapped and went on a rampage with ill intent, he'd become a weapon of war no ordinary human could hope to face.
Conventional firearms wouldn't pierce the armor. He could block a tank's main gun with his shield.
A hurled shadow spear would punch through heavy plating, and he could swat aircraft from the sky using ribbons that stretched kilometers on end.
If things got dicey, he'd warp away via coordinate shift... A Tomahawk missile might pose a real threat?
But that was the terrifying part about witches—even something like that could be blocked if they put their mind to it.
"Could I take Iron Man in a straight fight?"
Indulging in the kind of pointless daydream every guy has when alone, Siu shook out his wet hair and stepped from the bathroom in nothing but his underwear.
He should've grabbed some clothes first.
If he'd known Eloa—who'd left after the spar saying she had business—had already returned and was sitting in the living room.
"........."
Eloa froze mid-sip, eyes wide like a startled rabbit.
She set her teacup naturally on its saucer and cleared her throat with a soft cough.
Was it the abundant pale pink locks cascading like puffed curtains, with a stray sunbeam filtering through to kiss her cheek?
Eloa's cheeks flushed the same soft pink as her hair.
But shaking off the fluster as if it were a mere illusion, she asked in her usual stern yet kindly restrained tone.
"How's your body holding up? I came back worried I might've gone too hard today."
"As you can see, right as rain. Though it stings that I couldn't even graze your clothes today."
"But you did bleed, didn't you?"
"I asked for it. Thanks to your healing, it's already good as new."
He shrugged with a playful grin.
Eloa truly hadn't allowed him so much as a glancing blow.
Every attack was preempted, intercepted, blocked.
She never missed the tiniest opening, striking with flawless precision.
It felt like fighting someone who could see the future.
"I understand your drive to improve. But overdoing it overnight is a recipe for burnout. No rush—advance one step at a time. By training volume alone, you're already growing faster than most."
Eloa spoke with a gentle smile.
Ruthless as ever during sessions, but afterward, she'd always offer hopeful encouragement and gentle admonitions to keep him from feeling down.
Today, though, her gaze seemed fixed elsewhere.
As if deliberately avoiding taking him in.
"Ah."
Siu hurriedly threw on the clothes draped haphazardly over the sofa.
Only then did Eloa turn to face him.
Her expression cool and detached, as if nothing had happened.
"Got a sudden question... Mind if I ask?"
"Go ahead."
Siu voiced the question that had been nagging at him for a while.
"During today's spar, how much of your power were you holding back?"
"Power control? Hmm..."
Eloa fell into thought.
"Not an easy question to answer simply. It depends on where you draw the line for 'control.'"
She pondered a moment longer before speaking.
"Roughly five parts of my strength, I'd say."
Meaning 5%.
He'd secretly hoped for maybe 10%, but no.
Rank 23 wasn't handed out lightly.
Awe overrode any disappointment.
"But that's including magical elements, so judging pure physical techniques and swordsmanship... Hm. Excluding magic, it's probably closer to half."
"Half?!"
This surprise hit differently.
Purely on skill, he'd closed the gap to half of Eloa's level?
"The contract power dwelling within you is formidable. Right now, even bare-handed with weapons and no magic, there'd be no human on Earth to rival you. It's centuries of time and battle experience distilled into one."
"I see..."
"So feel free to take more pride in it."
Eloa rose and stopped before Siu.
She hesitated briefly, then stretched up resolutely to pat his head.
The height difference made for a comical sight—her on tiptoe, him bending his waist slightly—but the mood was heartwarmingly tender.
"Hold still."
As she gently brushed his hair side to side, Eloa's eyes began to shimmer with a soft glow.
Siu, eyepatch off post-shower, caught sight of an intricate magic formula tracing complex runes and radiating outward.
The formula wove into figure-eight rings by the hundreds, chaining together into serpentine strands.
The tips of each chain bundle lanced toward Siu's and Eloa's chests respectively.
"I contract."
Her soft incantation sent a vibrating buzz through his body, followed by a sharp sting on the back of his hand.
Startled, he glanced down to see a geometric hourglass motif etched there, like sand art reimagined mathematically.
"What's this?"
"A simple contract between us. If you're ever in danger, it'll trigger a temporary defensive spell. It also pings me your location instantly."
Eloa's specialty was Word of Power contract magic.
Its applications were boundless.
She could seal lies through pact, bolster her own body directly, or track specific targets.
She'd just used one of her twelve contract slots on Siu.
"Thank you. Feels rock-solid now."
"No matter the peril, hold out for one minute and I'll come running. No need to worry in the meantime."
Eloa gave his head one last pat and prepared to depart.
"Where are you off to?"
"To hunt down the Witch of Cowardice. She's definitely lurking nearby—time to make her pay the price."
Her tone carried steely resolve laced with quiet fury, enough to make even uninvolved Siu flinch.
Honestly, he had no clue how strong the Witch of Cowardice was, but he'd feel plenty safe at Eloa's side.
"See you later."
Siu called out as she turned toward the private elevator.
"Master."
She halted dead at the word.
Her dainty ear seemed to perk up through the silken strands of her hair.
Glancing back at him, her cheeks bulged with barely contained joy, puffed like a delighted chipmunk.
"You called?"
Lately, Tiphereth reacted just like this every time he said "Master."
A touch irreverent, perhaps, but he always found it adorable.
Her strict tone and composed demeanor clashed so cutely with her petite, charming features that he'd taken to calling her this just to see it.
Impressed once more by her unfailing response, he got to the point.
"Wanna go clothes shopping with me sometime?"
"Clothes... you say?"
Her wardrobe boiled down to two looks.
Skin-tight leggings or training pants hugging up past her navel, paired with a sports bra and windbreaker.
Or a simple, flowing white dress without a single adornment.
She was stunning either way, but why not dress up that beauty even more on occasion?
"There's a department store nearby—perfect. Just carve out some time. My treat."
"Why the sudden idea? Are my clothes that off?"
Eloa looked flustered, much like when he'd gifted her perfume and she'd wondered if she smelled.
"Nothing like that. Shopping's just fun, right? And the seasons are changing."
"Mm, alright then. I'll clear my schedule."
With a light farewell, Eloa vanished down the hall, her steps far bouncier than before.
The elevator doors slid shut, leaving Siu alone with Sharon in the palace-like expanse of the penthouse.
Approaching the bed, he found her sleeping so soundly not even her breaths were audible.
She looked just like a doll.
Probably waging some private battle within.
As usual, he brushed her forehead once, then fished a business card from his pocket.
Time to settle the debt he'd been putting off amid his turmoil and training focus.
First step: meet her.
He dialed the number on the plain card bearing only a name and phone digits.
[I've been waiting.]
Periwinkle snatched it up before the first ring even finished.
[A whole week late already. Isn't that pushing it?]
Her relaxed, velvety voice carried a gentle chiding note.
"Sorry. Been sorting a lot out, plus plenty to mull over."
[Fine, wasn't really gonna scold you. Let's meet today.]
"But what's this favor I have to hear out?"
[We'll talk in person. Head to Wizpoint?]
"Yeah, please."
[I'm nearby—come on down.]
She hung up abruptly.
What to say—no smugness despite saving his life, no vibe of some massive demand incoming.
But that was just his hopeful spin; Periwinkle had every right to ask something tricky and grand.
His life debt was real, after all, and witch society treated favors with utmost gravity.
Maybe because they could live forever, or even in death, a witch's name and stigma passed on?
Musing on such things, Siu changed into street clothes and headed downstairs to meet Periwinkle out front.