Chapter 265
Chapter 265
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 265
Chapter Title: Drainage Tunnel
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The vertical shaft, yawning darkly like a gaping maw, was much closer than expected.
A construction site just five kilometers from the Wizpoint Gwanghwamun branch.
Work had been halted for some reason, leaving a vacant lot surrounded by tall, rusted barriers, with a solitary hole gaping in the middle.
Next to it stood a management shaft equipped with an elevator, sealed solid with poured concrete.
The Witch of Cowardice must have hidden the entrance through various physical and magical means to use the place as her workshop.
No doubt that's why there wasn't a single soul around—a blank spot amid Seoul's bustling crowds.
It was midday, yet the bottom was visible even at that depth.
The height was roughly 40 to 50 meters.
Rainwater from the surrounding area would fill this vertical shaft-cum-ventilation duct, then the sluice gates would open, channeling it into an underground stormwater tunnel for storage.
That collected water would flow through a five-kilometer tunnel and discharge into the Han River.
"...It's deep."
Siu peered down into the tunnel, clad in his armor.
His faint mutter echoed back amplified by the resonance.
"I see."
Eloa replied in a soulless tone.
Even after resolving to bring Siu along, a nagging thorn remained lodged in her heart.
She held his resolve and courage in high regard and respect.
But if a strong will alone solved everything, the world wouldn't be riddled with such injustices.
As she awaited Sua Branch Manager's signal, Eloa repeatedly vowed to protect Siu no matter what.
-Shwooo!
And the anticipated signal arrived.
The operation wasn't all that complicated.
Sua Branch Manager would deploy the shadow barrier, prepare for the White Knights' counterattack, and guard the barrier's core.
Tiphereth and Siu would form the main strike force, smashing the Witch of Cowardice and the Red Knights hiding in her workshop.
Meanwhile, the Witch of Agriculture and the Glass Witch would draw attention and lure in the White Knights.
End of plan.
It was so straightforward that calling it an "operation" felt almost embarrassing.
"Siu, remember this. If it feels dangerous, retreat without hesitation."
"Understood."
Eloa, opting for the vague term "retreat" over "flee," gazed up at the sky.
A massive shadow barrier was slowly gathering over all of Seoul.
The moment it completed would be their entry cue.
Siu flipped up his visor and watched the barrier form on a massive scale.
As the dome-shaped barrier glowed like the East Sea, they leaped into the shaft in unison.
2.
Siu's body had long surpassed human limits.
If he focused, he could hit subsonic speeds, and swinging his weapon would casually exceed the sound barrier without special effort.
No need to go that far—even his current armored weight outclassed most motorcycles.
Yet even with the Shadow Armor as an exoskeleton suit and mana reinforcing his body, he sometimes fixated on his "purely human" days.
Like now, free-falling naked down a shaft that meant half-paralysis at best or death at worst.
-Thud!
But contrary to Siu's worries, his knees absorbed the landing shock effortlessly.
The cement floor, struck like by a falling lump of iron, cracked wide and kicked up dust.
Eloa descended beside him with effortless grace, her hair fluttering, weightless as air.
"Stick close to me, Siu."
"......"
The tunnel stretched wide east and west, devoid of any enemies.
But Siu noticed right away.
This place was different.
Like the two sides of a coin, a mere 13-story drop had changed the air clinging to his skin.
Was this how it felt stepping into hell's gateway?
A sticky, sinking atmosphere, dry mold filling his lungs, laced with a faint fishy tang of blood.
"We'll need light."
Mercury lamps lined the walls originally, but after over twenty years sealed, they were useless.
Eloa snapped her fingers, sending decorative flames shooting like flares into the tunnel depths.
Now they could survey even the unlit stretches beyond the shaft's glow.
"Bigger than I thought."
Diameter of ten meters.
Wide and tall enough for two dump trucks to pass.
It resembled a massive cylinder laid at a gentle angle, much like any ordinary tunnel.
The main difference: unlike typical semicircular tunnels for load distribution, this drainage tunnel formed a near-perfect circle.
That's why height and width nearly matched.
"No, it's terribly narrow."
Eloa scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes, already in combat stance.
It looked spacious at a glance, but for Eloa—who could output jet-fighter thrust with simple maneuvers—it was cramped.
The White Knights would likely bounce around every which way in this confined space.
"Which way?"
"This way."
Eloa turned toward the eastern tunnel.
She'd memorized the battlefield terrain from Sua Branch Manager's briefing.
Cylindrical passages five to ten meters wide spiderwebbed through Seoul's underbelly like an ant colony.
Vertical shafts every 800 meters or so, and Eloa's target was the engine room about two kilometers east.
Apparently, the Witch of Cowardice had claimed that chamber, originally the engine and pump control room.
-Ooo— O— Oooh——
Shortly after they started walking, an eerie sound echoed.
Not quite a sound—the distant source refracted off the complex tunnel walls into faint vibrations.
Brows furrowed.
Eloa beside him wore a similarly grim expression.
"What is that noise?"
-O— Oooh—— Ooooh——
Halting to listen closely, the vibration sharpened.
Like scooping thick, molten souls wailing in hellfire with a giant ladle—what a wretched chorus.
Chills and nausea from the screams alone, echoing from the curved tunnel ahead like some signal.
-Clank! Clank! Clank!
Steel boots striking dry floor.
Weapons clattering.
"They're already coming to greet us. Better than facing them all at once."
"Getting ready."
Eloa tallied the enemy numbers from the echoes alone.
Thirty-two White Knights.
To leverage numbers, they'd be wiser to swarm at a junction or chamber—somewhere wider.
This was probably a jab to gauge her power.
"Fall back for now. I need to test their strength."
Eloa extended her arm, and the Contract Sword ripped through space in gleaming response.
Six runes on the blade glowed, magenta mana reflecting in her eyes' corners.
"I contract."
Eloa activated six contracts—two each—to boost leg strength, arm power, and raw muscle.
This was her body's reinforcement limit.
Pushing further would shatter her spirit form.
Over a thousand enemies still remained.
The key to this extermination was efficiency: culling White Knights to face the Red Knights and Sotzil swiftly.
And the White Knights appeared.
-Clankclankclankclank
Gripping white spears one-handed, they accelerated toward Eloa upon spotting her.
Like a drilled army, their white armor gleamed in the dim light as they charged in unison.
"Watch closely."
Eloa leaned obliquely, twisting until the sword tip touched the ground on her right.
Less a sword stance, more like coiling for a full baseball bat swing.
"...Hup...!"
Eloa inhaled deeply.
The lead White Knight's spear tip loomed inches from her forehead.
Yet she kept her eyes shut, motionless, holding the meditative breath.
Just as the spear aimed for her brow.
As Siu moved to lash his ribbon.
Eloa opened her eyes.
Her planted foot gouged the cement like a piston...
—————!!!!
A deafening roar erupted in the narrow tunnel, like hundreds of tons of dynamite detonating.
Too alien for a sword swing—an energy torrent defying logic.
Siu could only infer from her shifted stance; all he saw was a flash-bang burst blooming and vanishing.
And...
-Rumblegrrrumble!
Some airborne, some skittering along the ceiling, some hurling spears—the thirty-two White Knights lunged.
They struck first, but Eloa's delayed counter was far swifter.
The destruction lagged behind her sword speed, sweeping like a storm.
A conical wave radiated from Eloa, warping every White Knight.
Armors shattered like under an invisible press, fragments scattering like fish scales.
About twenty along the slash's path bisected cleanly.
The wreckage tumbled forward, clanging like crushed cans.
Yet the tunnel walls remained unscathed—perhaps spared to avoid collapse.
Only the hanging nonwoven fabric shredded loose.
This proved she hadn't swung wildly; she'd reined the power to its lethal edge.
"...Hoo...."
Eloa lowered her sword, steadying her breath through residual focus.
Behind her, Siu gaped, having witnessed it all.
He'd expected the 23rd-ranked witch Eloa to be strong.
But seeing her fight in earnest for the first time, he felt the yawning chasm between them.
An overwhelming might that could bulldoze any obstacle solo.
"This is what it means to fight at full power."
Eloa turned to Siu.
Gazing at her precious apprentice she was determined to protect, she spoke.
Siu nearly forgot the gravity and clapped.
"Incredible..."
"Don't. This isn't the time to let your guard down."
"Yes, got it."
Eloa urgently hushed him.
Not for practical reasons like enemies pinpointing them or triggering traps.
His praise made her lips twitch upward against her will.
She didn't want to ruin this tense, battle-ready atmosphere.
"Let's move. We've got a long way to go."
Siu watched Eloa stride ahead and pondered if he'd even get a chance to step up.