Chapter 501
Chapter 501
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 501
Chapter Title: Chapter 501 - #107_어항
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 501
Chapter Title: Pitiful Kether
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1.
The Ivory Tower had barred any witch's footsteps since Kether's disappearance.
An architectural marvel beholden to no era's style, crafted solely by Kether as the most beautiful structure imaginable.
Atop a circular stone platform resembling a dimly lit chapel sat a single ruler upon a jade throne.
Pure white hair, unstained by any hue.
Follow its strands with your eyes, and you'd see the tips dyed in every color of the rainbow.
Between half-closed eyelids gleamed golden pupils, their gaze impossible to fathom.
Kether Duke, revered by all witches.
A genius beyond measure, ascending to the 30th Hierarchy alone without a single succession.
The guardian who imposed new order on witch society's abyss of chaos.
The stern arbiter who purged even friends for crossing the line.
Yet in Lilith's eyes, Kether appeared utterly unlike the legends.
Aware of encroaching death yet enlightened to it,
Worn thin by despair over unattainable ideals,
A weary ancient dragon, bored by endlessly cycling ages.
"Pitiful Kether."
Lilith paced twenty steps before her, murmuring in mockery or perhaps like a lullaby.
"Is this the form you desired, even after casting me aside?"
Lilith glanced up, sweeping her gaze across the vast chamber once more.
Behind the throne where Kether sat, countless magic circles thrummed in operation.
A fourth-dimensional octahedron, imperceptible to any third-dimensional being no matter how closely scrutinized, churned to preserve her flesh.
That was why Lilith couldn't draw within twenty steps; those arrays served as her protector.
Magic beyond any living witch's replication.
Yet to Lilith, it seemed laughable.
"Where's that beautiful magic you prided yourself on? Your fractal formations."
Her magic circles had once taken kaleidoscopic fractal shapes of breathtaking beauty.
Compared to the wonders Kether once wielded, this crude, nebulous sorcery was mere sleight of hand.
The same went for the hundreds of hoses crammed behind her, pumping in potions, drugs, and narcotics.
When had that Kether ever stooped to such dependencies?
"Spouting nonsense as you please. Still lurking there, are you?"
"I went to such lengths to enter. You won't even grant me a proper conversation? How could I leave unsatisfied?"
The Ivory Tower was originally girded by Kether's spatial barrier.
Impenetrable wards no witch could unravel, erecting flawless ramparts.
Thus had she concealed her frailty.
For it was the path to the lifelong order she craved.
Even Lilith couldn't breach it by conventional means.
But Amelia's rampage had come at the perfect juncture.
The magic she'd unleashed at Lilith's behest had overwhelmed Gehenna's Inner Barrier.
A Kether in her prime would have mended it effortlessly.
But no longer.
She had been dying, slowly, over centuries.
Kether failed to repair the barrier promptly, and Lilith seized the fleeting breach to infiltrate and confront the foe she despised most in the world.
"Lilith, the pitiful one is you."
"Is that so? Even withering to death, the haughty queen finds room to pity others."
Sudden guttural laughter shattered the air after Lilith's barb.
Dry cackles filled the hall without end.
Incredibly, they emanated from Kether.
Lilith's eyes narrowed.
"What's so amusing?"
"Delude yourself not. Lilith, you are this one's blemish. Naught but withered dregs of past impurities I failed to cleanse."
"......"
"Pitiful, how you bask in omnipotence from petty ploys and silver tongue, deeming yourself grand. I harbor no sympathy, no pity for you."
-Boom!
In that instant, a ferocious shockwave rippled outward.
The transparent barrier partitioning Kether and Lilith quaked violently.
Lilith pressed her forehead to the glassy wall, glaring at Kether with murderous intent.
"Right now, I want to rip you apart and kill you."
"No doubt. Yet you know best that you cannot."
Lilith drew a breath and pulled her hand from the barrier.
She had assayed every angle, verified exhaustively: her present self held no means to pierce it.
But Kether's state plunged ever downward.
Having confirmed she'd soon falter even at sustaining the barrier, lingering was futile time-wasting.
"Kether, no matter how eloquently you weave words, you're a failure."
Regaining poise, Lilith flashed a smile and turned away.
Else she couldn't mask the rigid clench of her jaw.
"Sit there and witness the crumble of what you sought to protect. That is my vengeance."
Kether's aloof voice snared the receding Lilith's back.
"Lilith."
Another shade of scorn laced her tone.
"You spoke falsely in one regard."
"...What do you mean?"
Kether sneered, gleamed with joy, grieved, and stated calmly.
"We are all failures."
Behind Lilith, who deemed it unworthy of retort and strode on, a rasping, self-mocking laugh trailed like shadow.
2.
"Is today a day for worship?"
When Si-woo revisited the perfume shop, Amelia was absent this time.
After checking the second and third floors—perhaps tidying the storeroom—he noticed her mantle, once hung in the corner, was gone.
Out briefly, it seemed.
"Well, she's been awfully busy lately."
Resigned, he left a note on the counter and headed for the Jemernai estate.
To see the twins' faces after so long.
Unlike Sharon's relative freedom, the twins' grueling apprentice schedules made visits impossible unless Si-woo carved out time.
"Pierce."
Deep blue mana swirled around Si-woo's form.
Space leaped, depositing him in the Jemernai estate's central courtyard.
Night had deepened into the wee hours.
Even with their relationship acknowledged, sneaking in to see the twins might earn him a scolding from the mothers-in-law.
He recalled he should seek permission first—and swallowed a groan.
"Hmmm..."
Was something amiss lately?
Albireo and Deneb alike, whenever meeting Si-woo, prodded his shins with their heels.
They'd seemed elegant noblewomen at first.
Now fully morphed into nagging mothers-in-law itching to devour their hapless son-in-law.
True enough, one knew the depths of water better than the human heart.
-Knock knock
He timidly rapped the firmly shut gate several times.
Usually, Chief Maid Gallina or another maid would answer, but perhaps due to the late hour, no stir came despite his wait.
"Pardon the intrusion."
With no choice, he eased the door open and entered.
Chandelier candles flared like sensors, wooden wicks crackling softly.
"What's the matter?"
A clear voice, laced with irritation, pierced the snapping flames.
From the second-floor terrace stretching inward, a petite mother-in-law stood on the long staircase, lantern in hand.
Si-woo nearly averted his eyes on instinct.
Her loose nightclothes baring pale thighs evoked that night he'd paid respects in similar informality.
But showing awareness here would spell greater trouble.
Deneb treated it as a mere mishap, so he must play along.
As Si-woo desperately managed his gaze, he realized a massive cape draped her shoulders.
Not so revealing as last night, after all.
-Step step step
Deneb descended the stairs.
Her hair pinned in a full updo, yet stray strands suggested she'd just risen from bed.
Her expression brimmed with annoyance at interrupted sleep.
"Sorry. Seems I've disturbed you."
"D-Disturbed? What do you mean? I was sleeping, you know?"
Deneb's pace quickened.
Reaching the floor, she strode to Si-woo, raising a finger and swinging the lamp wildly as she spoke.
"Witches need sleep too! I'm a witch with regular habits!"
"Y-Yes, well... Sorry."
That was meant as apology for rousing her.
No shin-kick like before, but she seemed eager to nitpick instead.
Yet he had no intent to argue.
From Deneb and Albireo's view, Si-woo must seem a brazen intruder, not mere thief.
"What is this outfit of yours? I told you to dress properly. If you claim to be Jemernai Count's son-in-law, uphold the fitting decorum. And..."
A torrent of scolding poured forth as if awaited.
After venting awhile, face flushed, Deneb fanned herself vigorously and huffed.
"So why are you here?"
"Ah, if Odil and Odet are awake, could I perhaps see them...? Ow!"
Deneb wordlessly kicked Si-woo's shin.
At least slippers, not heels—small mercy.
"Meeting the twins at this hour for what? Now you're brazenly...!"
"Ow! Ow! Ow! No! Lady Deneb! That's not it! I just... haven't seen them in ages...!"
"Because of you! Because of you! Do you know the heartache you cause me? With Merigold girl! Even setting up house! Sneaking in at night! What? Want to see the twins?"
But Deneb relentlessly targeted the same spot, ignoring his pleas.
Si-woo endured the emotion-fueled kicks meekly as her sandbag until she tired herself out.
"Haa... haa... Really..."
Deneb brushed back disheveled bangs, panting.
Lips bitten inward in stifled fury—spitting image of the twins.
Just when he thought it'd end, she deep-breathed several times, then spoke in chillingly calm, low tones.
"Si-woo, listen well. Even as fiancés, visiting your betrothed this late... Come to think, you're not even engaged."
"Strictly speaking, no..."
"Ugh... I want to yank out every throat hair."
Recounting grievances had wearied even her rage.
"My apologies."
"Indeed, you should be."
"I'll return at dawn. Sorry."
Si-woo figured her ire was self-inflicted comeuppance.
As he turned to leave,
"Wait."
Deneb tousled her hair and said,
"You've come this far. At least have a chat."
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