Chapter 439
Chapter 439
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 439
Chapter Title: Wandering (2)
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Si-woo deployed his magic the instant he sensed the anomaly.
The waves of mana reflected in his golden left eye were violently turbulent and uncontrollably immense, resembling a natural disaster.
He couldn't grasp the exact situation, but he unfurled his ribbons to scoop up as many citizens as possible and ran alongside Sharon.
The particles that had settled like volcanic ash had encroached upon and claimed the space they occupied as their own, and the rampage only halted near the boundary of Tarot Town.
"What the hell..."
A rippling boundary line, as if cleaved by a barrier.
The scenery beyond it was no longer the bustling festival of Border Town.
Instead, grotesquely twisted forms and colors shimmered like heat haze.
It evoked the image of a world warped by the whims of a capricious god.
Si-woo knew this phenomenon all too well.
It was the spatial randomization that had occurred when Bianca's arrow clashed against his spear.
"Si-woo, Amelia...?"
Sharon was just as bewildered by the sudden turn of events.
But before this catastrophe unfolded, she had heard him murmur that name.
Amelia Merigold.
The baroness of Gehenna known as the Witch of Perfume, a woman with a somewhat complicated past.
Si-woo seemed to avoid mentioning her name, so she hadn't pried, but she knew he had been her exclusive slave and that some incident had transpired between them.
His mind was too dazed to answer Sharon's question.
He was experiencing firsthand what happened when an incomprehensible shock unfolded right before his eyes.
Why would Amelia do something like this?
In principle, deploying large-scale magic within Gehenna without an Inner Barrier was prohibited.
Moreover, her spell had already engulfed thousands of citizens and even distorted the space itself.
He didn't know exactly what effects this space would have or what results it would bring, but if it proved harmful to humans and triggered a genuine tragedy,
Amelia's fate was all too predictable.
Exile followed by designation as a Public Enemy.
Or summary execution.
As the worst-case scenarios flashed through his chaotic mind, what he needed to do became clear.
The why didn't matter right now.
How to contain this incident with minimal damage—that was the priority.
He had to go inside.
If people were alive in there, he had to save them. If Amelia was there, he had to stop her immediately.
"Sharon, sorry. I'll explain later. I just need to pop in for a bit."
"What? You're going in there?"
Sharon jumped in alarm.
She flung her arms wide to block Si-woo.
"No way! Are you insane? You can't go in there!"
"It's fine. I've been through something like this before. It's a randomized space."
"Are you crazy? Does that even look like just a randomized space to you?"
Sharon jabbed a finger straight at the boundary.
She had seen the magic pouring from behind while helping evacuate people.
It halted everything in its path.
Those caught in it froze in place as if time had stopped, and countless flowers bloomed indiscriminately across the dirt ground and stone walls.
This wasn't a mere phenomenon of randomized space.
It was a vast, newly established large-scale spell optimized through a systematic framework.
No matter how precious human lives were, Si-woo was even more dear to her.
She didn't want to send him in.
"I know."
"You know and you're still going?!"
"I'll pull some people out first... and stop her."
Sharon knew it too.
Si-woo would head in just because people were trapped inside.
And if his old lover—clearly someone he knew—was involved in some accident, he'd risk his life to save her.
But no one knew what demonic realm lay ahead.
He'd be the first to step into a labyrinth teeming with unknown dangers.
"Si-woo!"
A sharp voice called out to him loudly then.
Turning around, he saw Countess Albireo flying toward them, skirts billowing.
"Wait!"
The massive magical calamity that had suddenly engulfed Tarot Town.
As someone who had dealings with Amelia, Albireo quickly realized who was responsible.
The magic was so distinctive that any witch with ties to her predecessors would recognize it instantly.
"Countess."
Seeing the resolve etched on Si-woo's face, Albireo thought she was right to hurry.
She had nearly lost her husband for good.
"Don't act rashly. A meeting has been convened at the Tree of Sephirot. The nobles are discussing a resolution."
It was that grave an issue, and with Gehenna's highest-ranking witches gathered, assessing the situation would be straightforward.
"Rushing in now won't help. Countess Yesod is compiling patterns of the randomized space. According to Countess Cohab's assessment, the spatial randomization has halted and it's stabilizing."
"What do you mean?"
"It means we should observe a bit longer, prepare a solid response, and then enter! No harm to ordinary humans has been confirmed yet."
Only then could Si-woo slightly ease the impatience that had risen to his chin.
No direct harm to the citizens.
That alone meant the worst outcome had been averted.
Not only had no casualties occurred, but Amelia's status as a Public Enemy wasn't confirmed yet.
"So, what happens now, Countess?"
Sharon let out a sigh of relief and asked Albireo.
"Deneb's attending in my stead, so she'll relay the meeting's outcome. Please, for the love of all that's holy, don't charge in blindly."
"......"
Si-woo lit a cigarette.
His stomach churned.
Only now, with a moment's breathing room, did thoughts creep in about why Amelia had done this.
He vaguely sensed that the cause might be tied to him.
"If there's trouble, I'll prepare to enter immediately."
"Fine, I get the situation's dire, but calm down first."
He needed Red Branch.
In the past, unconscious Si-woo had navigated a randomized space by leveraging the distortion field to fly with magic.
Once the randomization patterns were mapped, he could use them like a labyrinth guide for safer spellcasting inside.
Si-woo swallowed a groan and stared beyond the shimmering boundary haze.
2.
This was likely one of the few instances since Gehenna's founding where so many nobles assembled for a meeting so swiftly.
Within ten minutes of the incident, twenty baronesses and four countesses had responded to the summons.
Essentially every noble residing in Gehenna.
They had been enjoying their parties, judging by their glamorous attire, yet every face around the round table was gravely serious.
Not one showed annoyance at having to abruptly leave midway through the festivities.
To the great witches of noble birth, Gehenna was home and hearth.
This unprecedented crisis had everyone on high alert.
Yet even with such numbers, the meeting hadn't progressed.
Only Countess Yesod, seated beside Deneb, was leveraging her expertise to analyze the randomization patterns streaming live from the crystal orb.
The convener hadn't appeared yet.
The door opened amid the needle-sharp tension, and the awaited witch entered the chamber.
-Click-clack-click-clack
The sharp echo of heels resounded unusually loudly in the meeting hall, drawing all eyes.
Dark gray hair cascading to her waist, eyes white as a snowy plain.
President of Gehenna's largest academic society, the Veritas Nominum Academy, and one of only three dukes.
The great witch of the 24th Hierarchy, Duchess Blanche Ererim.
She took her seat, flanked by her closest aide, Countess Yvone Cohab.
As a witch, her beauty was beyond reproach.
But her aura was excessively alien.
Unlike other witches who showed some human warmth, Duchess Ererim seemed like a wax doll granted life—you could believe mercury flowed in her veins instead of blood, devoid of vitality.
She sat before the expectant witches without a flicker of expression and offered a soft yet eerily mechanical greeting.
"First, I express profound regret that this unseemly incident disrupts the great city of Gehenna amid the reckless rampage of a Public Enemy outside."
Deneb's face hardened at those opening words.
Duchess Ererim had declared her stance with that single phrase: an "unseemly incident."
She had already classified Baroness Merigold as a potential threat.
"I convened this emergency meeting to gather your wisdom and discuss measures to quell the current disturbance."
This wasn't merely her personal opinion—it was rhetoric poised to sway the assembled witches.
Just as capital underpinned power in the secular world, magic fundamentally sustained power in Gehenna.
Duchess Ererim, who had existed as a witch before Gehenna's founding and ascended to the 24th Hierarchy, commanded countless followers.
Over a third of those in this very chamber belonged to her academic faction.
Her glass-like eyes swept over the seated witches before she cut straight to the point.
"To that end, I propose stripping Baroness Amelia Merigold of her title and exiling her. Should she refuse demands or dialogue, declare her a Public Enemy and subjugate her."
A massive murmur rippled through the entire meeting hall at once.