Chapter 262
Chapter 262
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 262
Chapter Title: Salvation
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1.
Siu wasn't excited.
He didn't cheer in the joy of victory or jump around in celebration.
He simply felt the lingering sensation at his fingertips.
His heart was still pounding.
Amid the faint thrill, the tactile memory of slicing through metal like paper remained.
Standing alone on the night street, he felt only those two sensations.
The sensation that the sword in his hand had vanished.
No, perhaps it was more fitting to say they had become one.
What he had known intellectually, what he had only sensed instinctively, had shattered preconceptions and manifested directly as a bodily memory. Even now, after the battle ended, a shiver ran through him.
A clean motion without any wasted movement.
It wasn't a movement unique to Siu.
It was merely drawing out 'someone's talent' that slumbered within the Contract of the King of All Diseases.
"Siu!"
While he lingered in the afterglow, replaying the interval where he had cleanly repelled the enemy, Eloa came running.
She stopped in front of him and began rejoicing as if it were her own achievement.
"Well done, truly well done. You performed everything you've learned perfectly."
To the current Eloa, it didn't seem to matter much how Della had ended up in this state or why the White Knights had been pursuing her.
She was solely delighted by Siu's accomplishment and growth.
"See? You can do it if you try."
"Yeah, looks like it."
The realization hit him belatedly.
Just moments ago, facing even one had been overwhelming, but now he had cleanly sliced through five formidable foes. The sense of achievement was profound.
Even if it hadn't been five—even if there had been more—he felt he could have overcome any number.
"Come here."
Eloa stretched out her hand upward.
As he stared, wondering what this was about, Eloa—looking more excited than him—urged him impatiently.
"Just lower yourself a bit."
"Like this?"
"That's it."
Eloa's hand stroked Siu's head, now bare without his helmet.
Was this her way of rewarding him?
Siu felt a mix of bewilderment and embarrassment, but seeing her beaming smile, he couldn't bring himself to stop her.
"You're probably sweaty..."
"It's fine, nothing dirty about it. Come on, I need to praise you more lavishly."
But when it continued for over a minute, he thought he should intervene.
"Master, that's important, but shouldn't we transport Redcliff first...?"
Siu pointed to Della, still collapsed on the ground.
Eloa gasped as if suddenly snapping to attention.
"Ah, I forgot."
As a witch, her injuries weren't life-threatening.
On the contrary, if she were human, it would be a wound severe enough to say she was dipping her feet in the River of Three Roads.
Siu hoisted Della onto his back in place of the now-composed Eloa.
The two headed straight for Wizpoint.
2.
It was an awkward hour, so Wizpoint was deserted.
Sua Branch Manager, who had been notified in advance, had prepared treatment, allowing Della to receive emergency care immediately.
While Siu waited outside because Della's extensive injuries required stripping her clothes entirely, Sua and Eloa spoke alone in the branch manager's office.
"Whew, she's in terrible shape. It's been a while since I've seen injuries this bad."
Della lay on the bed, her body covered in densely packed gold and silver needles.
Beneath them, a magical formation in the shape of a cross pulsed with a faint light.
"How is her condition?"
"It looks severe on the surface, but the situation isn't as bad as it appears. No necrosis or organ failure means the Cowardly Witch must have taken proper measures."
The gruesome puncture wounds and burn marks from cauterizing to stop bleeding made her look far worse, but what truly mattered for healing was the state of her spiritual body.
In that sense, Della's condition was better than Sharon's had been.
It was as if a technician skilled in torture had tormented her while minimizing impact on her life.
Fortunately, no limbs were severed, and her organs weren't severely damaged by mana contamination.
She'd probably be up and about in a week.
She might regain consciousness even before the day ended.
"If Redcliff was detained by Sochitl, she might know what plot she's scheming. Or she could be secretly cooperating with the Cowardly Witch."
"Yes, I'll have her recovered enough for interrogation as soon as possible."
Sua adjusted her sleeve after removing a gold needle and asked Eloa.
"Milady, could you tell me about the circumstances when you encountered the Ash Witch?"
"No trouble at all."
Eloa explained how, after finishing training with Siu and going for a drive, they suddenly ran into Della.
Or rather, ran her over with the car—that description fit better.
Then, the five White Knights that appeared afterward.
And Siu's splendid repulsion of them.
"It was truly a magnificent strike. Impressive, isn't it? Even if he inherited part of the contract, it's been less than half a year since he started serious training. To achieve this in such a short time."
"Is that so?"
"It was like seeing Rafi. Truly admirable. It would have been great if you could have seen it too, Sua."
"What fortunate timing."
Sua smiled softly at Eloa, who gushed on about Siu's exploits.
A great danger loomed on the horizon, plain as day.
Yet seeing Tiphereth— who had wandered lost, brooding over life's purpose— brim with childlike vitality after so long, even Sua Branch Manager could forget her worries and smile for a moment.
Eloa, still praising Siu effusively, eventually came to her senses and awkwardly rubbed her cheek with the back of her hand.
"I made a fool of myself. Sorry."
"Not at all. Seeing you so happy fills me with joy as well. But the treatment isn't finished yet—could you step out for a bit?"
"Understood. Tell me right away when she wakes. I'll wait upstairs."
"It should take about four hours. Please rest easy."
With treatment ongoing, she couldn't interfere further.
Eloa nodded and exited to the hallway where Siu waited.
In the dimly lit corridor with lights off, Siu slowly practiced sword forms in the middle.
His hands were empty, but he seemed to be reviewing his earlier strike.
Even to Eloa's eyes, his movements now had a systematic flow.
"Ah, Master."
She'd intended not to interrupt his focus, but Siu spotted her first and spoke.
"How'd it go?"
"Not life-threatening. No need to worry much."
Siu nodded.
Della was the wicked witch who tormented Sharon and had bickered with Siu.
She wasn't someone with fond ties.
Yet, having delivered the finishing blow to someone already injured and fleeing, he felt a twinge of guilt.
In that sense, the good prognosis was welcome news.
It meant no unnecessary disturbances in his sleep.
"What on earth is happening?"
"No way to know yet. We'll have to question Redcliff thoroughly once she's conscious."
What the Cowardly Witch was plotting.
The scale of the incident she intended—no hard evidence despite suspicions.
She was an exile adept at hiding.
In that light, Della—who seemed detained by Sochitl—was a key puzzle piece, no exaggeration.
The stalemate would shift.
Eloa's honed sense of impending omens told her this night before Della awoke was the last peace.
So, before battle, what to do?
Proper rest, obviously.
Eloa tugged Siu's sleeve.
"Nothing we can do right now anyway. Let's rest a bit."
"Ah, heading upstairs?"
"We need sleep, don't we?"
Back at the penthouse after so long.
The difference: Sharon, usually in bed, was now at Gehenna.
Protected by the Jemernai Countess's family, her safety was assured.
Time had passed enough—had she woken by now?
Siu suddenly wondered how Sharon was doing.
After bathing in separate bathrooms and changing, they regrouped in the living room.
Eloa in loose pajamas.
Siu in comfortable clothes.
Naturally, whiskey and two glasses on the table, with chocolate for snacks.
Sharing a leisurely drink with Eloa was the perfect cap to their daily routine.
"Wow, I'm really tired."
"Makes sense. Straight from sparring to real combat."
Leaning back on the sofa elicited an involuntary groan.
Morning spar, afternoon spar, late-night battle.
Even with mana-enhanced body, the strain brought muscle stiffness and soreness.
"You did wonderfully today. As someone who's watched your efforts, I'm proud."
"All thanks to you, Master."
"How is this my credit? I just showed the path. You persevered without giving up."
-Clink
Siu and Eloa lightly clinked glasses.
Through heavy eyelids, Siu's pleased smile made Eloa unconsciously smile too.
An indescribable ticklish warmth tickled her heart.
Since losing Rafi, she'd been in constant agony.
And loneliness.
In the pain of loss, piecing together a shattered, empty life—merely breathing and slaying foes.
It wasn't a human life.
What had propped up Tiphereth's crumbling knees was pure vengeance.
Hatred for Ea Sadalmelik, who stole her most precious, and fury at herself for doing nothing amid laxity and mistakes, letting Rafi slip away.
Then she met Siu.
It'd be hard to call their first meeting good, even out of guilt toward him.
Misunderstanding Eloa had punched him out cold on sight—embarrassing even in retrospect.
"Master?"
"Do you know?"
"Hm?"
Until teaching him—clumsy in every way—she'd thought it futile.
The scar etched in her heart wouldn't fade.
She'd assumed it'd cling like a tag until her dying breath.
Eloa rose from the sofa and approached Siu.
"I..."
But.
His posture of not giving up despite knowing his shortcomings.
His diligence in silently following her grueling training without complaint.
Siu, who recreated Rafi's sword dance—what she'd thought forever lost.
"...was saved by you."
To Eloa Tiphereth, he was a guiding light amid her wandering darkness.
Her earnest voice, moist eyes.
Siu couldn't grasp it all.
But facing Eloa so close, he knew what to do.
Opening his arms slightly, Eloa nestled into his chest, pink hair swaying gently.
She hugged him tightly, hands around his back and waist, as if cradling something precious.
"I wanted to hold you, but you're too big."
"Well, I'm a guy, after all."
Eloa laughed ticklishly in his embrace at his usual somewhat obtuse reply.
"I want to make a promise to you."
"Yes, Master."
Eloa pulled back slightly, looked up, and said.
"Even if the whole world becomes your enemy, I'll be your sword and cut it down. I swear on Tiphereth's name, here and now."
"...This feels kinda embarrassing? But thank you. I don't plan on anything that grand."
Making the whole world an enemy?
Without exceptional ability, even exhausting every effort, it'd be impossible.
Siu gave a wry smile and patted Eloa's back.
"I know. It was just words."
But Eloa, without rebuking his irreverence, smiled serenely and buried her face in his chest once more.
This position was getting too close.
Breathing through his mouth unobtrusively was tiring.
Embarrassingly, he felt Master's soft chest against his lower abdomen.
"Shall I carry you to bed?"
"Carry me? I have legs..."
"Come on, you look tired. Let me help."
Ignoring her response, Siu effortlessly scooped her up princess-style.
Eloa's gem-like eyes widened fully.
"...Please do."
Eloa demurely lowered her gaze, curling up like a tame cat in his arms.
He'd expected playful resistance, not this ambiguous mood.
Flustered inwardly but hiding it, Siu laid her on the bed.
"I should catch some shut-eye too."
"Goodnight, Siu."
"Rest well, Master."
Lying side by side on separate beds a bit apart, they exchanged greetings and fell into deep sleep almost immediately.
When they awoke after about four hours, at dawn.
A sudden phone ring blared.
It was from Sua Branch Manager: Della had woken.