Chapter 84
Chapter 84
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: Uninvited Guest (5)
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"He didn't sell you out in the end."
Sophia spent about ten minutes explaining what had happened at the inn in Border Town.
The schemes of the Witch of Aquarius to kidnap Amelia.
Siwoo's unyielding stand against the sailors' threats, culminating in his rescue request that allowed Sophia to swoop in and save her.
Of course, she kept quiet about any suspicions that Amelia might take too sensitively.
Even if there had been no other choice, there was no need to sow more confusion.
Words like force majeure and mitigating circumstances existed for a reason.
"........"
Amelia froze in a daze upon hearing Sophia's words.
She barely managed to voice one question.
"Then why keep it a secret from me...?"
"I didn't know the full details at the time either, but he was probably worried you'd catch on while he was preparing the escape. Don't think badly of him, though. He had the option to sell you out and run. But he didn't."
In truth, Amelia wasn't afraid of death.
The only reason she lived was to carry on her master's magic.
If that legacy ended in some freak accident, she'd feel a fleeting regret at most, maybe a spark of anger if it fell into unworthy hands—but losing her life itself? That didn't scare her.
Ever since her master passed, she'd been empty inside.
That emptiness was unbearable, so she'd burdened herself with the duty of magical research, cramming it into the void.
She'd just been climbing the hill on inertia.
Siwoo was different.
He must have studied magic because he desperately wanted to live and get out.
A mere human like him had faced death to protect Amelia.
For a witch he didn't even like that much, even giving up his own chance to escape.
It was a massive debt.
"........."
"Siwoo mustered that courage for your sake. And now you're thinking of running away? Don't you have words left unsaid?"
"Why... why go that far...?"
"Why not ask him yourself? That's the surest way."
Amelia stopped crying.
She had no time for tears.
The compass in her heart, spinning wildly in confusion, now pointed fiercely in one direction.
Go back to him now.
Apologize properly. Give thanks.
His face, which had terrified her just moments ago...
She wanted to see it.
"Heh... hee... hee..."
A fresh joy bubbled up from her chest like pollen in the wind.
She'd thought he despised her.
Rejected her.
But hadn't Shin Siwoo refused to hand her over right there? Didn't that mean he valued her?
That bold thought tugged at the corners of her mouth.
That joy also shamed her.
She felt her selfish, narrow-minded, childish words and actions paling against his deeds.
"I... I want to apologize..."
"Good choice."
"I'll go to the present world with you too..."
"What?"
Sophia was stunned.
It was the first time Amelia had ever voiced willingness to visit the present world.
People long trapped in their own worlds always hesitated to step into the new.
Whether new emotions or fresh experiences.
In that sense, the present world was utterly alien and frightening to Amelia.
Sophia had proposed outings countless times, only to be brushed off.
She claimed it was a waste of research time on frivolities, but to Sophia, it seemed more like fear of the unknown.
"Because... I want to do what he wants."
The Amelia who'd been cowering, shrinking back.
Seeing her take her first step—how could Sophia not smile?
Sophia beamed with pride.
"Thank you, Sophia."
Amelia wiped the tears from her cheeks with her sleeve, mirroring the smile.
They'd shared various ties over the years, but this was the first time she'd heard thanks.
No time to hug her and pinch those cute cheeks, though.
"Go on."
Sophia gave her back a gentle push.
Amelia nodded and flung open the door to her chamber.
One more step into a new world she didn't know.
To walk toward it.
2.
"What are you doing?"
Ea tilted her head, watching Siwoo absorb the mana essence.
She'd already seen him use the water lizard step, so it wasn't outright shock.
But by then, Siwoo's mind was already purging the ominous presence of the exile.
His consciousness dove into the unconscious depths like being sucked into a whirlpool.
The vast black void reappeared before his eyes.
The new magic he'd gained from the gnosis egg after hunting the homunculus.
The 'Law of Shadows'—eroding, interfering with magic circles, ultimately causing collapse.
The shadowy edifice, now restructured, spun fiercely in welcome, forming a grand nebula as it greeted him.
Just one step, and the distance between them vanished.
This was 'Ain'—the realm of consciousness and concepts.
A free space unbound by physical measures.
-Woooong!
A humming vibration emanated from the Law of Shadows right before him.
Like a scolding voice asking why he'd taken so long, Siwoo gave a wry smile despite himself.
"I needed time for that."
If he'd known this was coming, he'd have scraped together every spare moment to build proficiency.
"Help me out a bit."
Impossible as self-awareness in magic was, the shadows coiled around his outstretched hand like a handshake.
Siwoo took control of the shadows from the magic circle.
Or rather, 'taking' wasn't quite right.
This power was meant to obey his commands from the start.
Now it was simply, perfectly under his sway.
Shadows wrapped his body, flowing like serpents.
They moved freely, as if manipulating a newly grown arm per his will.
But.
This wouldn't be enough.
His opponent was the exile who boasted of rivaling Amelia.
To buy time, he needed more thorough preparation.
What rose in Siwoo's mind: armor and spears.
He molded the shadows like dough, cladding his body and forging two straight spears.
With that, his consciousness snapped back to reality.
"Oh my?"
Minutes wasted in Ain, yet only about a second had passed here.
Ea covered her mouth in surprise, eyes wide.
Siwoo's shadows had billowed out, transforming into armament against the foe.
No fantasy-game shine or ornate patterns.
Just pitch-black plate armor absorbing moonlight, and two straight spears gripped in gauntlet-clad hands.
"Hoo..."
Siwoo inhaled, and shadows from his back enveloped his head, shaping a sleek helmet.
It felt natural, like something he'd done forever, laced with odd familiarity.
A miracle allowing mastery of brand-new magic without practice.
This was the fruit of the 'Gnosis Egg'—forcing human cognition to expand.
"Big RPG fan, huh?"
"It was trash even back then. Five years later? Total ruin."
Ea's outward reaction was casual, but inwardly she was shocked enough to ignore his curt reply.
A slave using magic wasn't impossible.
But the shadows rippling over his armor like fine metal dust or smoke?
That wasn't mere 'phenomena' from magic.
Each tiny particle was a micro-magic formula.
Even an exile like her, witch at core, took interest in unseen magic.
"I was only interested in your body before... Now I'm intrigued by you. I'll take you too—for research."
Eyeing the ribbons undulating like seaweed in the sea, Siwoo spoke to the twins.
"Jump back now."
"What?"
He hurled one spear at Ea, the other at the barrier behind.
-Shk!
Not arm strength.
Mana-infused kinetic energy into the shadows themselves.
A blinding spear thrust, no warning.
The short-range spear hit the flask barrier first, ripples spreading instantly.
Shadows infiltrated like ink in water, tainting the delicate barrier—the whole flask shuddered.
-Shatterack!
Meanwhile, Ea eyed the incoming spear with indifference.
"Foolish."
Ribbons writhing behind her surged forward to intercept.
Autonomous defense against threats to their master.
They snagged the shadow spear mid-air, coiling around it.
-Pzzt!
The ribbons shattering on impact resembled orchid leaves devoured by locusts.
Ea didn't flinch.
She'd gauged from the mana waves: direct interference with formulas.
Fine magic induced to fatal flaws and short out.
"Admirable effort, but pitiful."
The spear slowed with each torn ribbon, ultimately halted.
Wrapped in dozens of layers, the shadow magic lost form and dispersed.
"What can you do with that pittance of mana?"
The Law of Shadows held advantage over most magic—but only at middling levels.
Solution was simple: overwhelm with sheer mana, as Siwoo had learned.
No way a high-rank witch like Ea missed that.
"Assistant..."
"........."
Siwoo eyed Ea, who'd blocked effortlessly.
Glancing over his shoulder: the barrier stood unscathed.
It rippled briefly like water from a dropped pebble, but sealed any gap before a finger could slip through.
Self-repair outpaced the shadows' erosion.
He hadn't expected much.
Siwoo knew his place.
Still, he'd hoped to buy time for the twins to flee...
As if reading his intent, Ea offered another proposal at the perfect moment.
"That was fun for a change, so I'll give you a shot."
A golden chance to buy time.
"Assistant, don't give up—we'll help too."
"Yeah. Together, we can win."
"Hold on just a sec."
Siwoo stopped the trembling twins from chanting, realizing shaking alone solved nothing.
"If you're offering, I'd be grateful."
Judging by her smugness, Ea Sadalmelek was undeniably strong.
All her actions assumed she could crush Amelia head-on.
Even if bluff or delusion, she was leagues beyond Siwoo or the twins.
"Plenty of time anyway. Fine. Let's see how many limbs you have left when Merrygold returns."
Arrogance.
She saw them as fish in her flask—exploit that carelessness to the max.
"Let me do it instead!"
Odile yanked Siwoo's arm back and stepped forward.
Ea scoffed.
"Don't care to see tiresome Gemernai magic. Just a hotter-headed version of you rude twins anyway. What intrigues me is that slave's magic."
Before Odile could retort, Siwoo gripped her shoulder, persuading her.
Grateful as he was, this hinged purely on Ea's whim—couldn't ignore that.
"Lady Odile, not now."
"But you did this last time too...! This time, I'll protect you...!"
"We have to play by that witch's rules. It's our only shot."
"Assistant..."
Odile buried into Siwoo's waist, eyes teary.
Siwoo stroked her head.
"We'll survive this one too."
"...If we do, you can cum on my face again."
Siwoo gently pushed aside the earnest Odile spouting a joke, stepping onto Ea's experimental stage.
"Done with the melodrama?"
Siwoo nodded.
His helmet-shadowed eyes, resolve hardened, glared at Ea.
"Then, here goes one."
Ea's hand swept horizontal.
A ribbon twisted into a spiral mid-air at her command.
Taut to the limit, it spiraled like a viper toward Siwoo.