Chapter 197
Chapter 197
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 197
Chapter Title: Strange Thing
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Blocking the door so no other spirits could cross over was something that should never happen.
The spirits' realm's approval meant presenting the human Park Chan-woo to all spirits.
If any among them took a liking to him, a meeting would be arranged.
Of course, there was no way to stand there blocking the 'door' itself.
The 'door' was merely a formal expression and procedure from the start.
'All the spirits are reluctant to come over.'
They weren't even considering crossing over at all.
It meant some enormous presence capable of affecting the entire spirits' realm was heading this way.
However, this too deviated far from common sense.
'A being that can force spirits without egos to halt in their tracks.'
The vast majority of spirits lacked egos.
They merely followed their contractors' commands or the voices imprinted on their souls.
They were also instinctively drawn to things akin to themselves.
Park Chan-woo's affinity with nature, having comprehended the five elements, was beyond what even skilled spiritists could match.
Not even druids, who lived in harmony with nature, achieved balance among the five elements.
There should have been no shortage of spirits swarming in like they were about to burst at the seams.
'...They're afraid.'
...The most powerful weapon to overcome instinct was fear.
It was proof that something capable of terrifying every spirit was now approaching the 'door'.
Even the transcendent Lil could sense it wasn't ordinary.
Soon after.
Sssssss...
Something like black mist began seeping through the 'door'.
The mist filled the laboratory in an instant.
Thud. Thud.
Then, something emerged from the gaps in the mist.
At the same time, Lil couldn't help but freeze.
—A spirit...?
...No matter how she looked at it, it was far from a spirit's form.
And that wasn't all.
Craaaaaack—!
Boom!
The 'door' that Lil had summoned shattered under the assault of whatever followed behind.
"What's going on inside?"
As quite some time had passed with no sign of Park Chan-woo emerging, Dagon asked.
The golems replied.
-We don't know.
-But one thing's for sure—he's getting stronger.
-Our master is.
These were the golems who had offered their magic cores to save Park Chan-woo.
Thankfully, they hadn't been turned away or sacrificed, but the cores linked to him by blood were steadily growing stronger.
This meant Park Chan-woo was growing in real time.
"He's getting even stronger in there...?"
Dagon's eyes widened in shock.
The feats and miracles performed by the human Park Chan-woo, whom he firmly believed to be Dragon God Sepiro's exclusive contractor, were beyond counting.
One had to question if there was even room for further growth.
"Haha! Isn't this cause for celebration?"
It was then.
The black dragon Ataraxia, who had been watching from the side, burst into laughter as he spoke.
He looked genuinely thrilled, as if he might die of joy.
There wasn't a hint of worry in his eyes.
"The magic manifesting inside the lab has erased the witches' curse. Lord Sepiro has seized the transcendent's magic."
"Seized a transcendent's magic...!"
Dagon gasped in horror.
Transcendents were the most shrouded beings in the Abyss.
Monsters of supreme power that lowly demon merchants like him could never touch.
It was said their might within their 'transcendent abysses' rivaled that of demon lords.
Yet they never left their own 'transcendent abysses,' obsessively honing their authorities there.
That Sepiro had stolen one such authority—magic.
It was an utterly absurd, impossible tale.
But the opponent was Sepiro.
When he took action, all impossibilities became possible.
Ataraxia's gaze turned to the three witches.
"Now then, speak up, witches. Tell us what lurks inside. What it was that the 'Black Witch' set everything aside to pursue."
"...!"
The witches, who had been staring at the floor with half-resigned eyes, flinched at Ataraxia's gaze and trembled.
They had already grasped there was no hope.
Ataraxia would never let them live.
True to his word, being dissected by Sepiro wouldn't be strange at all.
"There are plenty of ways to force your mouths open, but out of respect for our long acquaintance, I'll ask one last time. What is the item you sought to retrieve from in there?"
"...Kill us."
The witches didn't open their mouths.
Betraying the Black Witch was worse than death.
Though they had lost their witch titles and powers, their loyalty to the 'Black Witch' was genuine.
Ataraxia let out a smirk.
"Killing you would be too merciful. You should know the methods I'll employ are far from a peaceful end. Of course, you already do."
"... "
The witches shuddered again.
They knew all too well.
The black dragon Ataraxia.
How brutally vicious he was.
He spared no means to achieve results.
He wasn't just a dragon skilled in pursuit.
Was the Black Witch's favor solely because of his tracking prowess? Hardly.
He would succeed.
Without fail.
By any means necessary, Ataraxia would pry their mouths open.
Scrambling their brains, shattering their minds, using every drug and unspeakable filth without hesitation until he got answers.
They would end up begging for death.
That was why the abyssal witches avoided tangling with Ataraxia.
Even the Black Witch, who favored him, couldn't control that cruelty.
Ataraxia was more witch than witches, more demon than demons.
Unless you intended to kill him thoroughly, you kept your distance.
...That was the black dragon Ataraxia.
"Keep your mouths shut, then. Dealing with witches will be a first for me too."
Ataraxia's smile deepened.
Brrrr!
The witches' trembling intensified at the sight.
"Stop."
"Hm...?"
In that instant, someone appeared at the lab's entrance.
A woman standing at the center of all gazes.
Dagon looked puzzled as he spoke.
"Lady Adora?"
The Witch of Death, Adora.
She, who should have been in Valhalla's territory, had appeared in the Eternal Lands.
"A-Adora...!"
"You're alive?"
"H-How... "
The witches were just as flustered.
The Witch of Death, Adora.
She was the one meant to become the 'Lord of Pride' atop the Tower of Pride.
But the witches believed Adora was dead.
No trace of her after the Tower of Pride.
A witch even other witches shunned, bearing the moniker of 'Death'.
It felt like a cold snap had arrived.
Just standing there exuded such overwhelming pressure.
Ataraxia spoke with interest.
"...I've heard the name before. The 'Black Witch' had one hidden prized disciple she wouldn't even show me. That must be you."
"I'm no prized disciple of the 'Black Witch'. O ill-omened dragon."
"...I wonder who’s calling whom ill-omened."
When it came to sheer ominousness, Ataraxia paled compared to Adora.
In some ways, she seemed more foreboding than the Black Witch herself.
No one could muster the courage to approach her.
Just getting near felt like suffocating in the stench of death.
Ataraxia glanced alternately at Dagon and Adora.
'They both seem familiar with him. Meaning they share some connection with Lord Sepiro.'
He had suspected as much.
But he hadn't expected Adora to be alive and well.
He thought Sepiro had reclaimed her 'Wish'.
Yet even after reclaiming the 'Wish', he had let Adora live.
More than that, he had hidden her.
From the Black Witch, the other witches, even Ataraxia's tracking.
Now he understood why.
"...You've become a creator using the 'Black Witch's' body."
Clearing the Tower of Pride had selected the 'Black Witch's pinky finger' as proof of bankruptcy.
Using that pinky finger, he had made the witch Adora a 'creator'.
No wonder they couldn't find her.
"Adora. What is your relationship with 'Him'?"
"I'm his partner."
"Partner...?"
Ataraxia furrowed his brow.
Partner.
It referred to someone working alongside on equal footing.
Meaning she shared the same profession as Sepiro.
He couldn't comprehend it.
A partner even he didn't know about?
For a fleeting moment, he felt an odd twinge of jealousy, but Adora ignored Ataraxia's reaction and turned to the witches.
"A-Adora! Save us!"
"The 'Black Witch' is just waiting for your return!"
"You're the only witch who truly has her favor!"
The witches cried out desperately.
The Witch of Death, Adora.
They had instantly sensed how powerfully her curse had ripened.
She, who once couldn't properly control her own 'death', now seemed utterly serene.
With a curse this potent, she could even match Ataraxia.
If they could escape in the meantime, they might return to the Abyss.
Regroup and come back to slaughter them all.
But.
"The 'Black Witch' wouldn't have sent only you three. She must have entrusted you with an item and some advice."
Adora knew the Black Witch well.
Sending three high-ranking witches proved its importance.
The meticulous Black Witch wouldn't send them without contingencies.
"Adora. Are you declaring enmity against us?"
"Against the Abyss? Against Lady 'Black Witch'?"
"How dare you...!"
Adora rebuked the witches with an expressionless face.
"Do you want to take my hand?"
"...!!!"
The witches flinched in shock and recoiled.
For witches, grasping Adora's hand was akin to taboo.
The decisive reason they viewed her as ominous and kept their distance.
...Adora was a witch, yet the witches' natural predator.
If a witch touched Adora's body, their soul would burn and vanish.
A horrific end beyond compare to mere torture.
The witches squeezed their eyes shut.
"W-What's inside is a transcendent's ancient tome."
"The 'Black Witch' entrusted us with the seal to seal the tome."
"...She also explained about the ominous transcendent within."
One witch pulled out a gourd-like object and offered it.
This was the seal for the tome.
Adora took the seal and asked again.
"The ominous transcendent?"
"...She said a transcendent called the traitor Lil is sealed inside the tome. One we must never trust... "
"If by any chance Lil appears, we mustn't be swayed by her sweet words, she warned."
"We've told you everything, so please... "
Desperation etched onto the witches' faces.
They would rather endure Ataraxia's torture than touch Adora's hand.
It was at that moment.
Craaaaaack—
Roooooom!
A massive sound echoed again from deep within the laboratory.
But it didn't end there.
Ataraxia's expression hardened instantly.
"...Spirits?"
The presence felt from inside was unmistakably spirits.
But far from ordinary ones.
They had temperaments he'd never sensed before.
And there wasn't just one—the numbers were plural.
The witches spoke up.
"Ah...!"
"This presence... "
"I-It’s the corrupted ancient evil spirits. We have to run!"