Chapter 192: Tainting Each Other
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 192: Tainting Each Other
“Thank, thank you……!”
“……Huh?”
In the middle of rescuing people, Evangeline let out a sound of bewilderment as a human offered her their gratitude.
But it was only for a moment. She soon realized that the people of this world didn't know what a witch was.
‘……Well, this is a first.’
In the world she came from, witches were objects of fear and disgust, not respect and awe.
Even if a witch saved someone, their intentions were never viewed favorably. Witches were seen as fundamentally evil, so it was only natural to suspect their motives even when they performed a good deed.
In fact, even witches with genuinely good hearts would gradually stop helping humans after experiencing such treatment a few times.
But it wasn't like that here.
“Miss! You’re so pretty!”
“Thank you!”
“We love you!”
The people she rescued, and the countless others who had come out of sheer curiosity, erupted in cheers for her.
It was proof that they saw her as some kind of hero with superhuman powers.
That’s right. Here, she didn't have the curse of being a witch. These people had no preconceived notion that witches were beings to be loathed.
‘……Something about this is so touching.’
And she was reminded once again that she couldn't have created this scene with her power alone.
The only reason she, a witch, could be praised among these people was because of Yohan’s ability.
Because of him, she was freed from her curse. Because of him, she was able to come to a world where people didn't hate witches.
Because he existed.
She had been saved by him once again.
“—Ahem, maybe I should go faster.”
Evangeline muttered to herself, picking up the pace of her rescue efforts. She insisted it was only to win their bet.
[The black flesh is slowly receding. What exactly are these women? Aliens? Psychics? Mutants? Government agencies are preparing to make contact with them……]
[A public opinion poll on the unidentified superheroes has come back as ‘very positive,’ which suggests that in the future, their……]
The news played on. Yohan sat blankly, watching the broadcast. The government, likely wanting to suppress the damage and aftershocks of the incident as much as possible, mainly aired footage of the witches.
Stories about the people killed and destroyed by the black flesh were kept to a minimum. They existed only as numbers.
In contrast, the stories about the witches were exaggerated and inflated. Ridiculous tales kept pouring out—that they were special bio-weapons created by the government, or ability users who had come to Korea, captivated by its greatness.
[Some are even saying they should be revered as goddesses……]
“Puhaha—! Goddesses, they say! Goddesses!”
Margaret, who was watching the news beside Yohan, burst out laughing and mocked the report. She scoffed that they only said such things because they had no idea what a witch was.
Yohan nodded a few times in agreement before taking a sip of his canned beer. The faint trace of alcohol began to make him feel pleasantly drowsy.
“Disciple, cheers—!”
“……Cheers.”
“Ehehe, it’s nice having you all to myself like this.”
Margaret was trying her best to keep Yohan from sinking into frustration, despair, or depression. She clung to him, carefully guiding him to prevent him from retreating into his own world.
It was a difficult task, but Margaret controlled Yohan’s emotions with practiced ease. Just as a skilled matador effortlessly controls an agitated bull, it was as easy as flipping her hand for Margaret, who had dealt with numerous witches, to handle a Yohan who was gloomy after having just killed a human.
“Margaret.”
“Hm? What is it?”
“You don’t have to worry about me. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Heeey, is that what you were thinking, my Yohan?”
Even Yohan had noticed her concern, but Margaret playfully twisted her body and settled herself onto his lap.
Now facing him in an embrace, Margaret grinned and took a gulp of her beer. With her mouth full, she kissed Yohan and passed the beer to him.
Gulp, gulp. Yohan swallowed the beer that flowed into his mouth and gazed at Margaret with a dazed expression.
“But what can I say? It’s a thousand years too early for you to be worrying about me, Disciple.”
“……Margaret.”
“And another thing! It’s not very convincing when the person saying it looks like they’re about to die! You know?”
With a little grunt, Margaret got off Yohan’s lap, only to place her feet on his and begin to press down on them.
“The news is painting us as heroes and goddesses, but… why do you think we’re getting this kind of treatment?”
“……I don’t know. Because you teachers are amazing beings?”
“It’s all thanks to you, Disciple.”
Margaret looked at Yohan, her eyes burning with intensity.
“Because of you, we can get rid of the curse. Because of you, we’re not hated by people. Because of you, we were finally able to find happiness.”
The countless praises, the act of saving people without expecting anything in return—all of it was possible because Yohan existed.
Without Yohan, people would have persecuted the witches as ominous beings. Without Yohan, the witches would never have saved people.
“Well, if you’re still hung up on telling Hekaterina to kill those people—think of it this way.”
To us, your life is worth more than all of humanity.
You didn’t kill a few hundred people; you saved billions.
“If you keep being so depressed, do you think the other witches will just stand by and do nothing?”
“……Probably not.”
“Right? So let’s blow a load and clear our heads.”
“Huh? Why did the conversation suddenly turn to….”
“Hey, don’t pull away. It was my turn today!”
Yohan couldn't push away the pouncing Margaret, and they shared an intimate moment.
As if to prove the old wives’ tale that all a man’s worldly worries disappear after he blows a load, the troubles weighing on Yohan’s heart melted away like snow, at least for that moment.
And so, Yohan’s mind began to slowly blend with that of a being that was not human.
“Yohaaan—! Are you okay!?”
“Teacher…… Yes, I’m fine.”
“Let me see! Aah! Your handsome face is all scratched up!”
“This was Margaret’s doing……”
“What!?”
The witches, having finished dealing with the incident, rushed over to Yohan, who was resting at home, and checked on his condition.
They’d heard from Hekaterina that he had been tortured by humans. Fortunately, there seemed to be no visible aftereffects.
“Oh no… Does that mean I saved the human bastards who tortured my Yohan?”
“The people you saved probably weren’t the ones who tortured me. The ones directly involved were likely all killed by Hekaterina.”
“Still……”
“It’s okay. Actually, I’m grateful. If you hadn’t saved them, my heart wouldn’t be at ease.”
Hearing Yohan’s words, Evangeline felt a tsunami of emotion wash over her and hugged him tightly.
“Yohaaan—!”
“Haha, Teacher. It’s a little tight.”
“I love you! I really do! Ah, our baby is kicking away, saying he’s happy to see his daddy!”
“Has it grown that much already?”
He glanced at Evangeline’s abdomen. Her stomach was slightly swollen, just enough that you wouldn’t notice unless you looked closely. There was no way a baby that small could be moving, yet Evangeline acted as if the child could be born at any moment.
“Aah, our baby suddenly says he wants to see his daddy……”
“How can a baby with no eyes……?”
“Hmm? What was that? You want to see Daddy soon? Just wait a little longer, baby!”
Watching Evangeline’s next move, Yohan belatedly realized what she wanted. She was trying to pin him down and devour him.
Well, he supposed if a part of his body went inside hers, that was one way for the baby to ‘see’ him. What other way was there?
‘But I just finished…’
Still, he couldn't refuse her. He had an inkling that, though they never said it, the reason they threw themselves at him like this was to comfort him.
As he held Margaret, coupled with Evangeline, and interacted with the other witches whose libidos had suddenly exploded…… Yohan gradually stopped caring about what he had done.
During a moment of post-nut clarity, he took a step back to think about what he’d been through and realized that his anger hadn’t been so wrong after all.
‘Sure, some people might curse me for it.’
Morals, laws, ethics. All things created by humans to control other humans.
Rules that only the weak followed.
He didn't need to care about them.
Most importantly.
‘Look at how much I’ve suffered.’
If it weren't for him, Earth would have been destroyed by the witches’ hands countless times over.
He’d saved the entire planet. Did it make sense to grieve over a few measly deaths?
And just like that, Yohan came to understand the mindset of a witch.