Chapter 90
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: If Offerings Fall from the Sky
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“Awooooo!”
Black Wolf howled, taunting the Tin Woodman.
With the massive wolf blocking his path, he seemed to judge that dealing with her came first.
Thud. Thud.
The Tin Woodman charged at Black Wolf, axe at the ready.
Swoooosh!
He swung the axe in a massive arc.
Given his enormous size and the axe's weight, the swing was inevitably slow.
Yet it was still an incredibly menacing attack.
Craaaash!
The axe collided with the ground, sending out a shockwave far greater than before, radiating in all directions.
Boooom!
The sheer power was so immense it was a wonder the floor didn't crumble. The onslaught continued relentlessly.
Boom!
Booooom!
“Damn it, how the hell do you...!”
For all her grumbling, Black Wolf was miraculously dodging his attacks with agile movements.
Even shadowform wouldn't let her ignore blows like that.
That sinister aura was palpable at a glance—it would surely pierce right through shadowform.
Of course, that didn't mean Black Wolf was at a total disadvantage.
The power only allowed it to strike her shadowed form; it didn't seal shadowform itself.
In other words, she could handle it just fine with a different approach.
Swoooosh!
The massive axe kept swinging relentlessly.
Observing his patterns, I quickly used Flash.
Craaaash!
The shadow swelled in size in an instant.
Black Wolf seized the moment and slipped into the shadow without hesitation.
Tssst.
Boooom!
Not ignoring the attack by turning to shadow, but leaping through the shadow itself to escape the strike's range.
I trusted Black Wolf could pull that off.
Even so, holding that monster alone was a whole different level of difficulty.
It'd be better for me to join her and assess the situation together.
Still, the reason I'd asked her to hold the front alone was something else.
A faint gap I'd glimpsed with my own eyes.
I needed to confirm that crack.
Our combo just now hadn't inflicted any real damage.
Repeating the same moves wouldn't change a thing.
So, I'd put my faith in Black Wolf up front while I reworked a plan to take him down in the meantime.
If I dodged alongside her on the battlefield, it'd only delay things further, so I had no choice but to rely on her.
“Argh! Hey! You maniac! Birrrrrd!”
Even Black Wolf, trusting in me, offered some spirited encouragement.
With cheers that hot, how could I not step up my game?
“So, do you see anything yet?”
“Caw...”
I shook my head at Moona's calm question.
I'd definitely sensed something off, but I couldn't pinpoint what.
“I have the knowledge and wisdom, while you have the eyes. Nothing to be done about it, then.”
Moona was right.
If I had Moona's brain or Moona had my eyes, we'd have uncovered his secret in a flash.
But Moona had a brilliant mind without my sharp vision, and I had keen eyes without Moona's intellect.
“Explaining what you see is tricky, so I'll share what I know.”
Craaaash!
“Swung!”
I ignored the roar and tuned into Moona's words.
“That one's an alchemist. Do you know what an alchemist is?”
“Caw.”
More or less.
“Alchemists are inextricably linked to witches. In fact, more than half of existing witches could be called alchemists without issue.”
Yeah.
Red Riding Hood and Gretel even had traits boosting alchemy proficiency.
Cherry and Kiki seemed interested in it too.
“Alchemy, as the name suggests, is the study of creating gold. It's evolved somewhat now, but the Night Witches stick to the original tenets.”
This would diverge from the alchemy I knew.
My old world had alchemy but no witches or magic.
“Gold. The Night Witches obsess over finding ways to make it. You might admire their scholarly zeal, but they're Night Witches—that's the problem.”
Moona rarely frowned like that.
Boom!
Boom!
“Yaaak! How looong do I have to do thiiiis!”
Black Wolf's scream rang out.
Her voice suggested she could hold out a bit longer.
“Swung! Shush-swung!”
Sweet-hearted Swungswung fussed about something, but staying put was the best help right now.
“They crave ever more gold. Is it mere greed for coin? No, it can't be. When their Eternal Night arrives, currency will lose all value. Yet the Night Witches hoard gold relentlessly.”
The Night Witches' shared goal was Eternal Night.
And with Eternal Night, money would mean nothing.
So why hoard gold? It must serve some purpose in itself.
“Seems they're stockpiling for something, but even I don't know why.”
If Moona didn't know, I sure as hell couldn't.
“They pile gold in their cabins and delve into alchemy. Suspicious motives, without a doubt.”
Wait—witches stacking gold in cabins?
That means raiding a witch's cabin yields gold?
“Caw...”
“What's that look? Anyway, alchemy refers to powers stumbled upon while making gold. That axe he's wielding counts as alchemy too—infusing Eternal Night's power into tin.”
Even that qualifies as alchemy?
This world's alchemy covers a broad spectrum.
“Hah... haah...”
While Black Wolf diligently held the front, Moona explained all sorts—alchemy's origins, its various schools.
To sum it up in one line: something like magic or sorcery, but not quite, mimicking their effects.
In wuxia terms, akin to shamanic arts, maybe.
But that knowledge didn't grant sage-like wisdom.
“Shwaaak! Swung! Shwoooong!”
Swungswung had been carrying on for a while.
Worried about Black Wolf?
Our softest heart was Swungswung, no doubt.
“Caw caw.”
Still, it was fine.
What mattered now was uncovering the Tin Woodman's weakness.
Clang!
“Kyaak!”
A sudden impact—I wrapped my head with my wings.
Looking back, Swungswung stared in surprise, acorn cap in hand.
Did he just bonk my head with that?
“Kyaaak...?”
I wondered if I'd upset him somehow, then snapped to—Swungswung wouldn't do that without reason.
He wanted to show me something.
With me focused elsewhere, he'd had no choice but to whack me.
Craaaash!
Boooom!
The Tin Woodman thrashed wildly.
And between that, my eyes caught the crack.
It had grown large enough for even Swungswung to see.
A sparkling light peeked out, half-obscured by his tin shell.
Now I understood the situation.
That leaking light came from the spot I'd targeted with my beak earlier.
What was faint before was now clear as day.
“See something?”
Moona hadn't noticed yet.
Partly due to his poor eyesight, but mostly because it was a light ordinary birds couldn't perceive.
Crow's Eye, attuned to sparkles.
The ability to spot fortunes and traits at a glance—that's how I saw it.
And Swungswung, traveling with me, had picked up stray feathers I'd missed.
In short, he'd awakened a similar power alongside me.
Why visible now, not before?
Simple: his constant motion had widened the crack.
“Caw!”
I cawed sharply, signaling Black Wolf.
Time to expose the Tin Woodman's secret.
Twilight Feather LV3
I dyed my feathers twilight-hued.
Not true twilight yet, so only parts of my wings shifted, but it was enough.
Swoooosh!
The exact moment he swung his massive axe at Black Wolf again.
Whiiiir!
I flapped my wings, launching the feathers.
Feathers hard as steel hurtled toward him.
Krakrakrak!
Of course, they wouldn't fell him.
But they would reveal his secret.
The Tin Woodman chose defense over offense.
Blocking my feathers with his hands and axe.
Even direct hits wouldn't harm him.
Why defend, then?
Because my feathers had zeroed in on that crack.
“Whew, this cheeky crow for real!”
Black Wolf wagged her tail furiously as she said it.
Tin Woodman.
I'd first thought him a giant golem.
But he wasn't.
He'd taken Shadow Flame head-on, amplified by Black Wolf's power, without a scratch.
As an impure being, Host of Eternal Night, he should've been damaged.
Now I knew why.
Shadow Flame hadn't burned the Tin Woodman at all.
“Impressive. Didn't expect you'd figure it out so quickly.”
The golem's huge hand covered the crack from before.
Protecting not the shell, but the core inside.
The exterior was mere illusion.
To defeat him, strike the true body within.
Now that I knew, a strategy formed naturally.
“Caw, caw, caaaaw!”
I cawed my signal.
Swungswung responded, hurling everything from his pouch into the air.
These were rewards from dealings with humans.
Offerings to summon twilight and afterglow.
Using every offering I'd gathered here should surely bring him down.
“Kyeng! Wh-what! This damp cloth is...?”
....
No, Swungswung, why'd you throw that one too?!