Chapter 888
Chapter 888
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 888
Chapter Title: Typhoon
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1.
The first incident.
The worst disaster.
An unprecedented event.
Such declarations all share one key trait.
No one can predict how the incident will unfold.
Humans always prepare countermeasures based on "what happened last time" when imagining the worst.
The witches weren't much different.
That meant even Location Point, which had spent a century contributing to homunculus subjugations and amassing data,
couldn't foresee this crisis that had erupted out of nowhere.
Nor could Eloa, who had more frontline combat experience than any other witch, throwing herself into the fray time and again.
"Is that really true?"
The king of monsters, who had appeared just recently, was now leading a horde across the Pacific—reaching the vicinity of Sakhalin Island, the East Asian continent's forward outpost, in less than two weeks.
A little further south, and it would reach Hokkaido where Eloa was stationed. A bit more, and the East Sea lay ahead.
[Based on the observation records, it appears they headed straight into the Okhotsk Sea after their last sighting near the Hawaiian Islands.]
"Understood for now. Please summon the branch chiefs from each Location Point branch."
[I'll do that. But I'm not sure if the branch chiefs or witches will step up...]
"Make it as quick as possible. Promise reinstatement of citizenship and rewards in my name."
[Yes.]
Eloa slammed the receiver down and headed for the observation room.
An emergency countermeasures headquarters had been set up there to deal with the homunculi’s abnormal activity.
It linked information with each Location Point branch and major international organizations, ready to spring into action the moment an emergency hit.
Phones rang frantically from all directions, shouts echoing back and forth.
Having grasped the legion's danger from the South American precedent, government officials from various nations had turned the headquarters' hotline into a furnace.
Korea, Japan, India, the Philippines, Mongolia—even China and Russia, who had little contact with Gehenna's witches.
Nations bordering the Okhotsk Sea pledged maximum cooperation to block the homunculi landing and moved to build a joint framework.
Most of those yelling with bulging neck veins were agents dispatched from each country's counterintelligence agencies.
In other words, ordinary humans.
By contrast, the witches scattered among them exuded a markedly different air.
They dispatched familiars for reconnaissance to update the legion's position in real time or communicated remotely with witches abroad—doing their jobs, but some gazes betrayed clear calculations.
The vibe was: if things go south, save your own skin first.
No desire to reproach them for it.
In a crisis like this, the very fact they were holding the line right at the battlefield's edge for humanity's sake was gratitude enough.
"Branch Chief Lucien."
"Duke Tiferet...!"
Eloa sought out Lucien, the Hokkaido branch chief sweating bullets over the calamity that had struck less than half a year into her tenure.
She was trying to stay composed, but she lacked the experience to shake off the overwhelming pressure of this unprecedented crisis.
Her face nearly crumbled the moment she spotted Eloa, and she rushed over.
"Calm yourself. There are plenty of eyes on us."
"I-I... What are we supposed to do...?"
"Get a grip!"
"S-Sorry!"
Lucien was verging on full panic.
Eloa clapped sharply in front of her to snap her focus.
"Have you secured cooperation for Sakhalin alert control? Issue warnings to commercial shipping. Check air routes over the Okhotsk Sea immediately and order them to turn back."
"And then... what else...?"
"Have you reached the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk branch chief?"
The Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk branch overlooked the Okhotsk Sea like a front yard. Like Hokkaido, it was a new outpost established to thwart Hexennacht's grip on the present world.
And right now, it was the branch closest to the legion.
"Yes. They're pulling the front line back as far as possible for now and monitoring the situation."
"Any direct clashes?"
"Not yet."
"Sound judgment. What's the projected route?"
"It's tracking southwest for now. Likely to enter the East Sea, pass through Korea, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and head toward the South China Sea."
"Understood. No rash moves—keep your composure. If you falter, the others will too."
"Yes...!"
Whatever anyone said, Eloa Tiferet was the command center of this emergency subjugation headquarters.
No one here—not even all the gathered witches combined—matched her in practical combat experience.
Ah, well... exactly one does.
"Linne."
"......"
Linne, dressed in her black kimono and leaning against the wall, had her usual demeanor.
Utterly detached, as if the chaos had nothing to do with her.
"Any word from Dorothy?"
"Not yet."
"Even if she turned back right away, it’s been quite some time... Have you tried reaching out?"
"I did. No response."
With the horde and the monster king—presumed to be a water deer—showing up in the Okhotsk Sea, any info-gathering ops were off the table.
Dorothy had no reason to keep risking it in South America.
But for comms to cut out right at a time like this...
"She bolted. Sly woman from the start."
"She has her reasons."
"What do you need me to do?"
"Nothing right now. Just some grandmotherly advice: no solo actions."
Dozens of named legionaries, commanded by their king.
Even conservatively, minimizing casualties would take around twenty great witches.
An unforeseen sudden event, but the world didn't always spiral into utter despair.
Unlike the Red Knight crisis before, Location Point could now count on a fair number of witches as active forces—grounds for optimism.
Exiles unclaimed by Hexennacht had clustered around Location Point for safety.
Gehenna's exile amnesty program had drawn more opportunists too.
Racking up solid results here would smooth their reviews.
Still, the enemy's scale was simply too vast.
Combining every witch from Hokkaido and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk branches yielded barely thirty.
Great witches and above? Four, including Eloa and Linne.
Without aggressive support from Gehenna or other Location Points, subjugation was next to impossible.
And as history showed, if it was just a human crisis, witches never united easily.
Two hours since the cooperation request to Gehenna, and still no firm reply—that said it all.
Recruiting Location Point witches using exile reinstatement rights and emergency bounty funds as lures, but time was critically short.
Choices were being forced.
Let the legion land until enough forces assembled, accept human sacrifices, and clash in a more prepared state?
Or intercept them at sea with the current witches and await reinforcements piecemeal?
The former meant inevitable heavy human losses.
Especially since Korea was the predicted first landing zone.
Its warped demographics—half the population crammed into twenty percent of the land—guaranteed massive casualties.
"Report! The legion bypassed southern Sakhalin at high speed and entered the East Sea. Heading south!"
Eloa gnawed her lip as the situation deteriorated far faster than projected.
2.
Alchadialchan Power-Up Event, week two.
Morning: visited Soul Witch Gretel to learn how to handle the "gate" inside my body.
Around lunch: giant monster battle training with Teacher Sua.
I'd expected great things thanks to Master's strong endorsement, but her lessons exceeded even that.
Was it her wealth of accumulated expertise? Or just easier to grasp since she saw things from my perspective?
Not that Master's guidance was lacking, of course.
But there was a clear difference between Master breezing through it effortlessly and saying, "Now, you try?"
And Teacher Sua's precise coaching: "I see where you're struggling. Shall we try it this way?"—complete with theory.
Growth I'd stagnated on before now felt tangible, day by day.
That included stuff like this:
"Having skill names really does make it easier."
"Indeed. It may seem frivolous at first glance, but it's crucial. Magic is manifesting the landscape of the mind. Naming techniques standardizes them, systematizes them, and reinforces the mental image."
Until now, I'd been mixing magic intuitively—by feel, whatever came to hand.
Super flexible, sure, but it lacked structure.
Teacher Sua guided me through refining my near-improvisational spells.
Bonus: with my abysmal naming sense, she bestowed each one with brilliant, stylish names.
"Hard work today as always."
"Thank you for the guidance."
Warm farewells exchanged, and we parted.
Self-satisfied with another fulfilling day, I planned some steamy time with Sharon after a long while.
A quick rinse, then drifting off while cradling her naked body—softer than any cushion.
—Knock knock knock.
The urgent rapping jolted me upright.
"Ugh... what's that?"
"Beats me—who?"
Sharon, plastered to my side, rubbed her sleepy eyes—exhausted from last night's exertions—and sat up too.
The desk clock read 4 a.m.
Far too early for unannounced guests.
We threw on underwear and robes haphazardly and headed to the living room.
"Siu Gong."
Teacher Sua's voice from beyond the door.
Sharon's drowsiness vanished in an instant, her gaze turning to me—terrifyingly sharp.
"Siu?"
Her usually sparkling eyes had gone ominously opaque.
Seeing Teacher Sua show up alone at my room in the dead of night, she'd jumped to conclusions.
With my track record, I couldn't even cry innocent.
"No, I have no idea why she's here."
I explained hurriedly and opened the door first.
"Pardon the early hour, I—!"
Teacher Sua, poised to spill the details the second the door cracked, froze solid.
Her eyes, round as full moons, darted between me and Sharon in our robes.
She'd known about my romantic escapades but clearly hadn't considered the chance another lover might be present during an impromptu visit.
"Uh, well..."
Everyone handles embarrassment differently.
Teacher Sua's tell? Her ears turned beet red, as if dipped in fire.
"Sorry. Should've gotten properly dressed."
"No, it's my fault for barging in like this..."
Situation looked urgent, so I'd cracked the door.
Should've dressed more first.
Awkward air hung briefly.
But Teacher Sua quickly regained her poise and got to the point.
"The present world is in danger."
And what followed was grave enough to banish any thoughts of that awkward little episode.