Chapter 728
Chapter 728
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 728
Chapter Title: Fugitive (3)
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From Roji's mansion to Zlata's apothecary, it had been a stealthy trek spanning roughly twenty-four hours.
Making it through without a hitch despite the tightened security was a stroke of luck that no amount of "heaven's grace" could overstate.
Especially since they'd done it with three witches who hadn't ascended to Grand Witch status and Linne, who couldn't even walk on her own.
Of course, it wasn't pure luck—they owed a great deal to Si-woo.
He had woven Linne's spell that erased mana signatures with Manya's magic—specialized in concealment and known as the "Witch of Night Mist"—into an impromptu combined spell formula.
Even spells with similar properties from different witches couldn't be linked that easily in just an hour or two.
But blending various witch magics to create something new was Si-woo's specialty.
With his mana-sight eyes that could read mana flows, he devised the new linkage in a mere fifteen minutes.
'Si-woo, not that I doubt you, but... is that really gonna work?'
'It will. I've done it plenty of times.'
'Whoa, what? It actually worked?'
In the end, Linne was carried on Si-woo's back, tasked only with minimal spell output, while Manya used that to deploy an even more perfect veil of concealment.
Whenever they rested at Linne's pre-set stealth points, he checked her condition and readjusted the spells to ease her burden.
Basking in the reverent stares from Manya and Malisha now and then, they barely managed to reach the apothecary.
He hurriedly called for Yebin.
Yebin truly lived up to her reputation as the saintly doctor revered in Tarot Town.
She rolled up her sleeves without hesitation, even though her patient was Linne—the one who'd imprisoned and tormented her for months.
"Si-woo, lay her down here."
Yebin placed Linne on a bed stripped down to just its white sheets and undid her robes.
Linne, whose condition had steadily worsened, was now struggling even to breathe, her body shuddering violently with ragged gasps.
"This is..."
The moment Linne's martial robes fell open to either side, Yebin frowned.
Si-woo was shocked too.
It looked far worse than when he'd checked and loosened her waistband before departure.
This was no longer just about wounds.
Purple bruises blanketed her pale skin around the waist, clustering like handprints.
Ferocious marks, as if someone had tried to drag her off by force.
Veins bulged prominently where hands might have gripped, hardening black.
The scent of death hung in the air.
Like the acrid aroma rising from a glass of life evaporating down to its dregs, thrashing in its final throes—it stung the nose sharply.
Si-woo's heart sank.
It'd be hard to call his bond with Linne a good one.
Yet the thought of her dying like this felt ominously wrong.
"It's a curse-type affliction. I'll check her physical state first."
The instant Yebin's faintly blue-glowing hand touched Linne's abdomen...
"——!!!"
Linne's eyes snapped open, and she lashed out savagely at Yebin with her arm.
Like a wounded wild beast thrashing and baring its teeth when prodded.
Her wide eyes were threaded with red veins, on the verge of bursting blood if a moment longer passed.
"Master, it's okay. It's me. I'm just trying to treat you."
Si-woo seized her wrist and calmed her.
Linne's gaze turned to him.
The trembling tension drained from her arm.
Her poison-glazed eyes dulled again, then slowly closed as she slumped into oblivion.
"I'll examine her now."
Despite nearly getting attacked, Yebin showed no flinch.
Instead, with a grave look, she projected mana into Linne's body.
"...Ah..."
It was a total mess.
Multiple organ failure so severe it was a miracle she was still breathing.
No bleeding or fractures, but internal damage akin to falling from a great height naked.
Blood pressure spiked wildly then plummeted in cycles, while her bizarrely racing heart evoked the sputter of a dying candle flame.
At this point, even a spirit body's natural regeneration couldn't save her.
She could stop breathing in the next five or ten minutes, and no one would bat an eye.
"How is she?"
"......"
If this were Hyangwolru, it'd be tough.
No treatment tools or implements from Hexennacht here.
But whether by Linne's foresight or sheer coincidence, this was an apothecary.
Even rough emergency care could stabilize her using internal medicine procedures.
"I can treat her."
Yebin withdrew her mana and spoke firmly.
2.
Si-woo was asked to step out by Yebin.
With such a delicate procedure where even the slightest mana fluctuation couldn't be missed, having a Grand Witch-level like Si-woo nearby risked unwanted interference.
Bearing an indescribable guilt and debt, he emerged to find Alice, Manya, and Malisha embracing in tearful reunion joy.
"Sis, I'm so glad you're safe."
"You okay? That psycho Roji didn't do anything too nasty, right?"
"Well, she made me do some pervy stuff sometimes... but it kinda suited my tastes, surprisingly."
They were practically dudes in mannerisms, but seeing them so happy still sparked a sense of accomplishment.
"Ah! Si-woo!"
Malisha, red-eyed and sniffling, spotted him and beamed.
Her address now firmly fixed as "Si-woo."
"Sis already knows, but Si-woo smashed that bitch Roji's skull flat."
"No wonder Sis could only hold her own."
"Yeah, you three wait here a sec."
Alice patted Manya and Malisha's heads once each, then grabbed Si-woo's wrist and pulled him along.
Around the corner to the dining area.
Once out of sight, she bowed deeply in gratitude.
"Thank you, thank you so much..."
Her voice trembled with sobs as silver teardrops pattered onto the wooden floor.
"No need for that. It's not over yet anyway. Just pay me later, so lift your head."
But no matter how many times he urged her, she kept bowing like it was nailed down.
After a long expression of thanks, Alice wiped her reddened eyes with her sleeve.
"If we make it out, you can treat me however you want. No matter how embarrassing the orders, I'll do my best to please you. Want to do it now? Plenty of rooms here."
"No, I said it's fine before too."
Just as Alice—still thoroughly misunderstanding—began fumbling with her clothes...
A voice laced with irritation cut in.
"This isn't a motel—it's my house, y'know?"
The Latina beauty in hippie garb, Witch of Freedom Zlata Yusticia, who wore it effortlessly.
Cigarette perpetually dangling from her lips now replaced by her gnawing thumbnail, she wedged between them with clear displeasure.
She'd hung up the "Closed" sign and taken Linne in, but it was burning her up inside.
Like hugging a ticking time bomb that could go off any second.
"What're you gonna do about this? Honestly, I wanna kick you all out right now."
"I understand."
"If you get it, can you please just leave? Why my place of all spots? I sank my life savings into living here..."
Even to Si-woo, she seemed the most innocent victim in this mess.
But they couldn't manage without her help.
With pursuers' eyes everywhere, where could they go after leaving the hideout?
"I'm truly sorry for the trouble. How can I offer compensation you'd accept?"
"Compensation? Just say you'll beat the crap out of anyone who pisses you off. You've got me and you here."
Alice whispered some real exile-brained advice, so he sent her back to Manya and Malisha for now.
A straightforward line that made perfect sense on the surface.
The Witch of Freedom wasn't a Grand Witch or combat-specialized.
Just strong-arm her with Alice or Si-woo's power, done.
But in their current bind, where they'd need to hunker down printing Anne's Diary for a good while, forcing cooperation was a bad move.
Worst case, a resentful Zlata might risk it all to snitch.
Or at minimum, they'd lose their most mobile outside ally right now.
"Zlata."
"Don't get chummy. Out by tonight. Swear to the gods, I'm desperate too."
Her lips sealed tight, no room for negotiation.
Then something caught his eye.
Glass jars of herbs stacked to the dining shelves.
Zlata's house brimmed with them from floor to ceiling.
For a narrow three-story wooden building, cramming in a workshop meant maximal space use.
Some bore the Gemernai Count Family's authenticity seals.
"If we escape safely, I'll reward you accordingly, Zlata."
"Nah. My life's my top priority."
"You're an exile, right?"
"Yeah."
"Ever heard of the Gemernai Count Family?"
"Duh. Most of my high-end herbs are processed and imported from them."
She replied with a bored look screaming, "And?"
"I'm tight with the Count family. Close enough to get you whatever you want."
"Yeah, right. Hey! Don't touch that."
Zlata, dismissing it as bluff, frantically stopped Si-woo from opening a jar.
But he'd already plucked out a single withered star-gazer flower.
This long, blue star-gazer was a catalyst accelerator bred by the Gemernai Count Family.
Highly versatile, inherently neutral-affinity—the magic crop that revolutionized catalysts, naturally pricey as hell.
Snatching it up had Zlata fidgeting like he'd taken a hostage.
"Take a good look. Bloom."
Beyond performance, it was famed for a special trait.
Influenced by the Gemernai Count Family's "Singing Magic," even bone-dry specimens would glow ethereal blue and rebloom.
Si-woo visualized the spell from Little Mother-in-law, channeled extracted mana into the flower.
As mana flowed in, the dried flower brimmed with vibrant life, like freshly plucked from a garden.
The mystical blue glow and spore-like motes shone with undeniable authenticity.
"I-Is that... real...?"
"Told you. Ask Yebin upstairs treating her—she's an exile too, got amnesty and citizenship for healing me."
Zlata's eyes shook wildly.
Weighing risks against rewards.
Si-woo drove the wedge home, ignoring how much hell Little Mother-in-law would give him later.
Survival first, right?
"Help now, get Gehenna citizenship free. Zero-interest loan for Tarot Town workshop setup. Direct-buy perks on magic crops, plus a fat cash bonus."
"Ugh..."
"Gehenna's beauty dwarfs Hexennacht. Picture yourself at the opulent Malkuth Gallery Cafe, sipping coffee, leisurely enjoying culture."
"Ughh..."
"Gehenna's top host club madam is my bestie—I'll tell her to treat you right."
"Ughhh..."
"Once you're partied out, how about a vacation at Ars Magna's elite Levana Grand Bathhouse, exclusive to rich witches? 'No Levana membership, you're only half-enjoying Gehenna's riches'—heard that? I'll hook you up."
"Ughhhh..."
"We'll sign a contract. Sureties too."
His travel-agent spiel wasn't hot air.
Most were feasible if Si-woo bowed his head a bit.
Having unwittingly amassed Gehenna's golden connections, his sweet pitch made Zlata forget the risks.
After squeezing her eyes shut in inner turmoil, she slammed the table boldly.
"Fine, screw it—I'll hide you."
And so, cooperation was secured.