Chapter 521
Chapter 521
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 521
Chapter Title: Witch of the Deep Sea
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In truth, it hadn't been long since information on witches began to be compiled into books and databases.
This process was implemented on a massive scale after Duke Tiphereth established the Location Points.
As such, there were no precise documents or records detailing the 'Witch of the Deep Sea,' who was said to have lost her life 300 years ago.
All that existed were oral traditions passed down from mouth to mouth, or compilations based on those tales.
Deneb, who had shown interest in a wide range of trivia, had once read materials about the Witch of the Deep Sea.
She commanded five sea monsters and was worshipped as the 'Sea Mother' in some island nations.
According to those tales...
The Witch of the Deep Sea could wreck sailing ships with a flick of her finger, summon tidal waves with a swing of her arm, and sink kingdoms by stomping her foot.
In other words, even allowing for some exaggeration, it meant she had surpassed the realm of great witches 300 years ago.
"Sink deep."
With the chilling incantation from the Witch of the Deep Sea, the rippling mana spread out in waves around them.
Unlike Deneb, Si-woo knew nothing about her.
But the moment he felt the quality and quantity of her mana on his skin, he instantly understood what kind of being stood before him.
This was someone he absolutely could not fight.
She erased any notions of 'by some luck,' 'rising to the occasion,' or 'somehow managing.'
An adversary of a level he'd never faced as an enemy before.
Her realm was probably on par with Amelia or his master—at the 23rd Hierarchy.
Just being swept up in the aftermath of her mana made it feel like his legs were about to be torn from the ground.
'Run. I'll buy you time.'
'Si-woo! No! At least try talking first...!'
Si-woo whispered to Deneb right away.
Deneb's magic, which allowed communication amid the noise, was still in effect.
In truth, Si-woo and Deneb had only been searching for a way out after falling into this fish tank.
Whether it was the doing of the Witch of the Deep Sea herself or some third party's scheme was unknown, but if the latter, there might be room for negotiation.
However, Si-woo and Deneb had clearly killed the kraken, and the Witch of the Deep Sea was radiating raw fury.
A 'no room for talk' situation didn't require attempting dialogue and getting shot down to confirm.
'If we talk, I'll try. First, one of us needs to inform the outside world.'
'Then I'll stay! There's no reason for you to...'
To be brutally honest, he desperately wanted to run right now.
No one has a hobby of sacrificing themselves for others or charging at a rock like an egg.
But there were plenty of reasons to evacuate Deneb first.
'You have to think of Odil and Odet.'
In the worst case...
If Si-woo died here, only he would perish.
But Deneb had the twins to whom she needed to pass on her stigma.
If something happened to Deneb and she couldn't bequeath it, that would be an unparalleled tragedy for the twins as well.
'Si-woo...'
'Run now. Go!'
Thus, before the Witch of the Deep Sea could fully unleash her power, getting at least Deneb out became Si-woo's top priority.
"What are you chattering about?"
Deneb was out of mana anyway; having her nearby wouldn't help.
"Scatter!"
This was the only way.
-Tssst!
A blue circle formed beneath Deneb's feet.
The teleportation coordinates were set for the distant bell tower.
Fortunately, they'd spent days in the same space, and the flying fish that had interfered before were gone.
Moreover, with Deneb's mana nearly depleted, complex calculations weren't needed for an instant cast.
He just had to account for the variables from the mana the Witch of the Deep Sea was emitting.
"Si-woo, you have to survive...! I promise! I'll come rescue you...!"
After Deneb vanished, he glimpsed her passing through the portal beyond.
The moment he confirmed it, Si-woo, now clad head to toe in armor, assumed a battle stance.
Let him calmly assess the situation.
His opponent was a mighty witch estimated at the 23rd Hierarchy or higher.
Not only had he thoroughly enraged her, but he'd let her accomplice escape and now tried to talk...
That was tantamount to openly picking a fight.
He'd used amplification five times in a row to deliver the finishing blow to the kraken.
His entire mana circuits were overheated like a furnace, with some short-circuiting temporarily.
And the biggest wildcard, Red Branch, was absent.
Even in retrospect, it was reckless.
Inviting this crisis in a situation with zero advantages.
As Deneb said, he must have a troublemaker constitution.
Si-woo steadied his mind.
Do what he could.
Mana bloomed like a flower, reinforcing his armor, and a long spear shaft gripped in his right hand.
The Witch of the Deep Sea, caught off guard, stared blankly at the bell tower where Deneb had vanished, not at Si-woo.
Should he attack now?
Or take advantage of her momentarily faltering rage to actually try talking?
Either choice meant the other path vanished the instant he chose.
After a brief hesitation, Si-woo chose the latter.
Fighting her offered no chance of victory anyway.
It was impossible against such a monster.
"I'm sorry, there were circumstances. I'd like to explain."
The Witch of the Deep Sea turned her head at Si-woo's words.
"I don't recall granting you the right to speak."
Facing that icy voice, he realized how naively optimistic his thoughts had been.
The Witch of the Deep Sea hadn't turned her attention to Si-woo because her anger had subsided.
She had simply indulged in a stray thought, confident she could handle him effortlessly without focus.
But Si-woo wasn't relying solely on luck either.
Having rescued Deneb, it was now his turn to escape.
In that split second, as he initiated an emergency teleport via pre-calculated coordinates...
—-Rumble!!!!!!
A horrific roar split the ground.
The coordinate formula he'd been drawing underground, stealthily, shattered.
The entire village crumbled like the overcooked surface of a pie.
And seeping through the cracks was black seawater.
An entire city submerged in less than five seconds.
2.
Rewind time a bit to the modified Typhoon-class submarine 'Akula,' which had passed through the hands of the Witch of the Deep Sea.
Its scale and capabilities were something to take pride in.
Not only did it boast near-unlimited dive depths thanks to reinforced hull plating, but it was armed with intercontinental ballistic missiles carrying nuclear warheads.
Its combat performance outclassed any conventional weapon.
And that wasn't all.
The interior of the over-100-meter-long vessel featured a theater for black-and-white films and jukebox music, a game room with pinball and Pac-Man, a swimming pool with a spacious sauna attached, and a malt bar stocked with top-shelf liquors.
It had luxuries unimaginable in any ordinary submarine.
No workshop in the world could rival such grandeur.
But even the most opulent submarine had its limits.
Spending over ten years in the same place would make even an aircraft carrier—called a city on the sea—feel confining.
The livable space in the inherently cramped Akula was akin to a countryside home underwater...
"How boring."
This was the problem.
"Truly, utterly boring."
Lurue Nukelavi was bored.
Few could feel boredom so intensely they wanted to die.
She was literally bored to death.
Lurue lounged on her throne (a swivel armchair), with a crew member spinning her chair beside her.
"Stop."
At Lurue's gesture, the crew member quietly set the chair down and stood behind her.
The lounge was antique in the best light, outdated in the worst, with red carpet and crew lined up in rows.
The crew, excluding the minimum needed for submarine operations, had gathered for a court assembly.
Lurue stifled a yawn and commanded in a solemn tone.
"Offer suggestions for my amusement."
One by one, the half-human, half-fish crew stepped forward.
"Ic...iceberg...smashing...racing...how...about...?"
Iceberg smashing racing.
A game where they rammed floating icebergs with the submarine's hull to break them.
"Rejected. We did that last month. We must refrain from surfacing too often."
The next crew member.
"Da...dart...tournament..."
"Rejected. Don't I always win?"
Due to their half-fish traits, their movements were sluggish.
One who had been whispering among them stepped forward.
"Wr...wreck...salvaging...how...about...?"
Something she truly enjoyed—scouring sunken ships for usable treasures—which was the main content of her leisure time.
"Is that all you have again...?"
As Lurue sighed, a stinging pain suddenly flared behind her eyes.
It was the signal that her spiritual link with one of her familiars, the kraken, had been severed.
"What?!"
She hadn't forgotten handing the fish tank to the ancient witch who mentioned covenants not long ago.
But according to Asmode, the prey was a pathetically weak 'male witch.'
She'd assumed he was long dead by now and paid no further mind.
Her master's dying wish had been to avoid entanglements with the outside world, after all.
"Kraken...!"
Anything else aside, its durability from sheer size was unmatched.
In the confined fish tank with nowhere to run, a war of attrition would overwhelm even a great witch.
This urgent news that her kraken had fallen was unbelievable to the optimistic Lurue.
Lurue pulled a blue orb from her bosom.
The 'fish tank' was a pocket dimension separated by barriers, like Gehenna.
An imperfect space magic crafted by her predecessor Nukelavi, imitating Kether's spells, after nearly being purged.
Thus, the orb given to Asmode wasn't the fish tank itself but an invitation, allowing Lurue entry via passage rights.
"Daring to kill the kingdom's foreign minister...!"
With long-unfelt rage, Lurue's body was enveloped in pale blue light.