Chapter 742
Chapter 742
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 742
Chapter Title: The Great Escape (5)
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Even Amelia couldn't handle all those enemies on her own.
If her desire to save Si-woo got the better of her, it would ruin everything.
So Amelia heeded Dorothy's advice, given her intimate knowledge of the internal situation.
Wait as long as possible until the enemies' attention shifted forward, then strike from behind.
Not aiming to neutralize just one, but unleashing wide-area magic.
Amelia's spell, guided by Dorothy's counsel, was perfect in both timing and execution.
The pursuers fell into chaos amid the sudden downpour.
The magic itself held no lethality.
It merely poured rain that eroded defensive spells and autonomous barriers, making it impossible to bloom flowers in response to the waves.
Yet its effectiveness was simple.
It was as if they had suddenly been stripped of their armor amid distrustful allies.
They glared at each other with fierce eyes, hunting for nonexistent traitors.
A few had already analyzed the rain's structure and reactivated their barriers, but that brief window was enough.
"Si-woo!!!"
Both Amelia and Dorothy knew it.
The escape plan had gone up in smoke.
With the door closed, fleeing to the present world was a distant dream.
Still, they had bought these final moments because they couldn't abandon him in peril.
As the distant figure of Si-woo drew closer, he spotted Amelia too.
"Lady Amelia?"
Amelia flung herself into Si-woo's arms like a butterfly.
She rubbed her cheek against his broad chest.
"I missed you... I really missed you."
She had thought this time they might never meet again.
Hexennacht was the pursuers' city, and one escape attempt had already failed.
Si-woo, freshly emerged from the unconscious realm, was startled by Amelia's sudden appearance but gently stroked her shoulders.
"Kiss me."
"Mmgh!"
Their teeth nearly clashed in the ferocity of the kiss.
She knew now there was truly no hope left.
Yet kissing him like this, she felt coming was the right choice.
She was grateful to face the end at his side.
"Aw~ Making me jealous."
Dorothy, cradling the unconscious Rinne, whistled and grinned at their passionate kiss.
"Lady Dorothy's here too."
"That's cold. Does that mean you didn't even notice me?"
Dorothy pouted playfully, hands on her hips.
But there was no time to indulge her now.
Having barely climbed the stairs, she had to construct her spell before her inspiration faded.
After fully extending the Crimson Branch's distortion field, she compressed it to its utmost limit.
Her sole target: securing an escape route.
"Perfect timing for the rendezvous. Let's escape."
"Escape...?"
"Run?"
Dorothy and Amelia blinked in confusion before exchanging glances.
They had charged in prepared for this death trap.
This wasn't some reckless plunge without considering the aftermath.
Si-woo spun his spear with a flourish, assuming a javelin stance.
At the same time, he activated the angel's halo and his layered amplification.
"Everyone, get ready to sprint for the door. If it fails... I'll gladly take the blame."
Seeing Si-woo assume a serious stance and channel his mana, the group realized this was no joke or bluff.
"You'll have about 20 seconds."
The straight-line distance to the door was roughly 1 km.
With focus on a single spell, teleportation was regrettably impossible.
Still, for witches, it was a distance they could cross with ease.
This was their last hope.
"Hup...!"
Si-woo hurled the spear toward the door, channeling his full power while gripping it.
The single spear, infused with 'distortion' to interfere with the door, streaked across the burning city and the cliff abutting the sea.
Despite the physically long flight, it pierced the door's center like a dart in unerring straight line.
Moments later.
The city filled with a sound like massive gears grinding into motion.
The door, said to be tamper-proof except by Keter, was forcibly pried open.
The swirling sea churned.
Behind a cavity about 10 meters in diameter at its center gleamed a white sandy beach—proof Si-woo's calculations were spot on.
"Run!"
The pursuers, stirred by the sudden massive tremor, turned toward the door.
Soon they realized their supposedly trapped prey was breaking through the poison's depths to flee.
At this point, conflicts and standoffs meant nothing.
You needed spoils first to divide them, right?
"Chase them. Kill if you must, but pursue to the present world."
Under Lydia's command, the Solidus Guild witches who had been hovering idly surged toward the door.
Not to be outdone, the Clifford Guild witches followed suit.
Stopping them from exiting would be tough.
Their silhouettes were already vanishing beyond the door.
Yet the rift to the present world lingered.
Si-woo was using a concept this way for the first time, so he couldn't arbitrarily control the opening and closing.
As a result, Lydia and dozens of pursuers slipped through before the rift sealed.
On the vast sandy beach.
Lydia smirked at the rats who hadn't yet entered Gehenna.
Gehenna citizenship allowed entry anywhere in the present world with clean sleep, but it required some prep time.
She had timed it perfectly.
Their forces overwhelmingly favored Hexennacht, as could be seen.
"Where are you off to in such a hurry?"
Four gold coins gleamed brilliantly between Lydia's fingers.
Some consumption was inevitable, but capturing all those grand witches made it worthwhile—even if she had to share credit with the hardliners.
Si-woo, whom she expected to panic, responded calmly.
"Home."
"Who said you could?"
Did he truly grasp his predicament?
Lydia, who had hoped for last-ditch negotiations, found it absurd.
"How dare you filthy pursuer wenches!!! Tormenting my imperial decree, are you?!?!"
Then a thunderous roar like a train whistle engulfed the white sands.
A black wave surged forth with the ensuing incantation.
Hundreds of meters high.
The mana it contained was immeasurable.
A colossal tsunami, unprecedented in human records, rose from all sides to crush the villains.
Its visual impact dwarfed any other spell.
"The Witch of the Deep Sea...?"
A few witches recognized the spell's uniqueness.
But the Witch of the Deep Sea's magic had more peculiarities.
Gigantic familiars loomed within the black wave soaring to the heavens, each shaped like legendary sea monsters.
They roared in unison at the queen's foes.
"What are you gaping at? It's just one more prize."
Lydia quickly quelled the uproar.
She hadn't expected an ancient witch like the Witch of the Deep Sea here, but their forces could handle it.
Fox rain fell over the island shrouded in the wave's shadow.
Unlike the wide-area sprinkle in Hexennacht, this rain carried an incomparable 'grandeur,' engulfing the small uninhabited isle.
Unlike before, which merely chipped defenses, the particles now pierced ethereal bodies directly.
The power within hinted at the caster's prowess indirectly.
But it wasn't just that holding the pursuers back.
The incantation that terrified all pursuers.
One clear phrase pierced the din, and the figure who emerged gripping a sword was...
Eloa Tiferet Duke, standing imperiously amid pink mana reflections.
Her eyes gleamed with murderous intent, as if declaring, "One of you is coming with me."
And she had the power to back it up.
Not only the 23rd Hierarchy, but all her spells tuned for combat.
Moreover, the undefeated grand witch in hundreds of battles.
That was Tiferet Duke.
"The Pink Duchess too?"
"No one mentioned her!"
The uproar her appearance caused was inevitable.
To pursuers, Tiferet was a nightmare to avoid at all costs.
Even so, pure firepower still favored Hexennacht heavily.
Two 23rd Hierarchy witches who had just entered the present world.
Seven 22nds.
And 26 grand witches below them, no?
Hexennacht's elite, cherry-picked for pursuit—head-on, they'd win despite losses.
It might even be the golden chance to eliminate Tiferet, a future threat.
"Hold. Assess the situation."
Yet Lydia raised her hand, halting the charge and ordering defensive formation.
Chasing a male witch to the present world, only to find Tiferet waiting?
The sequence felt too contrived.
What if this was Gehenna's invasion prep?
What if it was a trap to lure and divide Hexennacht's core forces?
She couldn't ignore the risks.
After the towering waves shattered the islet.
Lydia scanned the surroundings, tense.
"...Damn it."
She muttered a curse.
Si-woo and the other witches—including Tiferet Duke—had vanished without a trace.
Their destination was obvious.
"...Withdraw."
Lydia gnashed her teeth, ordering the Solidus Guild to retreat like a dog that lost the chicken.