Chapter 311
Chapter 311
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 311
Chapter Title: Black Witch (5)
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From the beginning.
He had found the appearance and behavior of this unordinary person suspicious.
He hadn't entirely dismissed the possibility that they might be the 'Prophet.'
But Lee Hyuk-soo had subconsciously refused to consider the Prophet as just another human like himself.
A godlike existence.
Someone firmly entrenched in a realm beyond mortal reach—that's what he had believed.
So he had set aside his suspicions entirely.
'That's the mana I saw and felt.'
Right now, countless 'Wishes' were floating ethereally around the Prophet.
They were the 'absolute magic' created by Park Chan-woo.
Dreams!
The moment they touched him, the 'Wishes' seeped into Lee Hyuk-soo.
A world of dreams unfolded.
And in that instant, realization dawned.
This mana, this magic... it was just like the 'Prophet's.'
'...It feels just like a dream.'
What was a dream, anyway?
Some say dreams exist only to be awakened from.
But far more people lived for their dreams.
This Wish was exactly that.
A reminder of one's dreams.
A force that propelled one forward.
All the bonds connected to him awakened the 'Wishes.'
They let him dream and instilled even greater hope.
"Th-that's right! It's him!"
At that moment, Han Min-oh shouted loudly, pointing at Park Chan-woo.
"He's the one who saved me when I got 'downgraded'!"
"...Park Chan-woo."
"Yes, definitely! It's him!"
Han Min-oh's eyes trembled wildly, just like Lee Hyuk-soo's.
He had met Park Chan-woo before as an enemy.
And he'd had his life saved by him multiple times.
He had searched endlessly but never found him—never dreaming he'd reunite here.
'Park Chan-woo... He was the Prophet.'
Ah.
Lee Hyuk-soo's body shuddered faintly.
A profound realization crashed over him like a tidal wave.
Was this how it felt to wander in search of a long-lost connection and finally find it?
"Who's that guy? And what's this?"
Adrianne tilted her head in confusion.
Though she had been hired by Park Chan-woo since the Hidden Game began, she had never actually seen him in person.
This was essentially their first meeting.
But even Adrianne was clearly awakening her 'Wish.'
It wasn't just about gaining levels.
Her very essence was transforming.
She had gained a light that could overcome darkness and curses.
And more than that.
'My potential.'
It acted as a catalyst, drawing out her latent power.
Just as the nine-tailed fox had evolved into a ten-tailed one.
It unlocked possibilities beyond what she could have reached in a lifetime of striving.
In other words.
'Right now...'
Lee Hyuk-soo thought.
He might even surpass Han Shin.
No, perhaps go even further.
He might finally wield the 'sword' he had only dreamed of.
That was when it happened.
Ssssss.
The witches appeared above the sludge.
"How dare you oppose us."
"Adora, what a disappointment!"
"I'll curse everything you hold dear."
"This is witch territory."
"Our home."
They had gained power to resist curses, but this was already witch territory.
On witch lands, witches wielded absolute power.
They sought to drown Park Chan-woo and everyone else in curses.
Then, they would erase Adora, left screaming in agony after losing what she cherished.
The curses surged in like a tidal wave.
The sludge masses rushed forward, poised to engulf them.
"Holy Sword of Spirits."
In that instant.
Aurum.
He was a fox of such pure skill that the name 'Arhat' fit him perfectly.
The supreme being who commanded the fear of all foxes.
Now that he had become the ten-tailed fox of his dreams, it was time to truly unleash himself.
Kurrrung!
Spirits were summoned.
Countless spirits possessed him and his sword.
Aurum's eyes gleamed with the radiant light of spirits.
In that state.
Aurum 'observed' the witches and this world.
"The balance is disrupted. No order. You witches carve out your own paths amid the chaos... What an amusing bunch."
He understood why demons and all races shunned witches.
They acted on pure whim.
It was no different from choosing self-imposed isolation.
Very well, then.
"I'll show you what a true ten-tailed fox—a spirit king—is."
Aurum decided to act on his own whims as well.
Kururrrung!
With the roar of thunder, Aurum's body swelled massively.
Soon, in his complete ten-tailed fox form, the devoted Aurum.
"Foxfire."
Hwaruk!
Hwaaaaaaak!
He summoned tens of thousands of foxfires that burned away the curses.
Then, they scattered like falling stars across the night battlefield.
Kwakwakwakwakwakwa—!
"Aaack!"
"How dare a mere fox!"
Even the witches panicked in disarray.
The cursed sludge was gradually diminishing.
Overwhelming.
Ten-Tailed Fox.
Having become the god of foxes itself, how could petty things approach?
Foxfire endlessly spawned, assaulting the witches.
"...I'll handle the barrier."
Yu Jin-seo also transformed into a ten-tailed fox.
Opting for defense to block the Black Witch's attacks.
As her ten tails shot into the sky, a 'barrier of fire' sealed off the surroundings without a single gap.
The epitome of perfect offense and defense.
"You're pretty good at running around."
Aurum frowned as he spoke.
It was still too early to discuss truly slaying the witches.
Within the curses, the witches persisted.
They were reducing the sludge, but this wasn't the foxes' world.
"...I think I can catch the witches."
"You?"
Aurum glanced at Lee Hyuk-soo in surprise.
Lee Hyuk-soo nodded.
Then he plunged the Greatsword of the Lion King into the ground.
"I'll pin down every witch's shadow."
His shadow spread in all directions, seizing the witches' shadows hidden within the sludge.
Having awakened his Wish, Lee Hyuk-soo had grasped the essence of shadows.
That every being cast a shadow.
And witches were monsters of the underside, indistinguishable from 'shadows' themselves.
"...Shadows that bind their very existence. Impressive."
Aurum murmured in quiet admiration.
He noticed the witches' movements had visibly slowed.
He poured out foxfire, incinerating them.
"Aaack!"
"It's hot!"
The witches' screams echoed from all directions.
But that wasn't the end.
Sludge soldiers broke through the barrier and charged in.
Aurum addressed the remaining group.
"Handle the rest of those sludge soldiers. We can't spare attention for them."
-It's the witches' night.
-A world permitted only to witches.
-No matter how you struggle, you can never escape.
Adora furrowed her brows.
The Black Witch had become the 'moon,' ceaselessly unleashing curses.
Though she had reclaimed her Wish, Adora knew even that couldn't defeat the Black Witch.
Especially not here.
Beneath the 'night' where witches' powers were amplified.
-Give up.
-How long can they hold out?
-Does enduring even mean anything?
She knew.
That in the end, it was just buying time.
No one could defeat the Black Witch here.
But.
"...I'm a witch too."
Adora accepted that she was a witch.
The most primal one, feared by all existences.
The witch born from the curse called... death.
She had subconsciously denied it.
Believing she couldn't be such a being.
But it was time to face reality.
She couldn't keep ignoring it forever.
-Accepting you're a witch?
-Can you endure that loneliness?
She knew.
Better than anyone.
Adora had massacred Orc Master Kankun's tribe.
Because she was a witch.
Simply standing still scattered 'death' around her.
If she truly accepted being a witch, death would spread once more.
She would never again connect with Park Chan-woo and those around him.
She had pretended to fully control death, but really, she had just been denying it.
'...I wanted to be a demon instead.'
She thought living as a Creator would be better.
The life of a witch wielding death was excessively lonely and isolating.
She lacked the courage to walk that path again.
It had been a short time.
But knowing Park Chan-woo, helping with his work—she had formed many bonds.
Even the misunderstanding with Orc Master Kankun, which she thought would last forever, had been resolved.
This was something she had never felt in the abyss... yes.
'Happiness...'
If happiness existed, wouldn't it feel like this?
Park Chan-woo was dreaming.
She didn't know what dreams, but.
...Waking from this nightmare-ridden world wouldn't be easy.
To save him, Adora had to resolve herself.
To awaken as a witch and embrace death once more.
The path of separation from everyone.
A path where she might never see them again.
Adora took a deep breath.
Filling her lungs to the depths with curses.
And declared.
"I am Adora, the Witch of Death."
In that instant.
Hwaaaaaaak!
'Death' surged around her.
An absolute death that erased existence upon touch.
At that moment, the Black Witch let out a gasp of admiration.
The night's curse had amplified Adora as well.
And not just that.
-...As expected!
-It was already complete.
-My Adora!
Park Chan-woo was dreaming.
But it wasn't his own dream.
"Sepiro. You were born destined to become the god of dragons."
"Ahh, the ultimate dragon."
He looked around.
Primal dragons were visible.
They had gathered all dragon potential to birth 'Sepiro.'
The newly born Sepiro scoffed at his proclaimed fate.
"What a boring destiny."
God of dragons? That was it?
Why not become the god of the Abyss instead?
Sepiro had the talent for it.
Magic talent unmatched by any.
But as time passed, doubts arose.
Everything grew tedious.
Was reaching the pinnacle really that fun?
Thinking about it, even that was a predestined fate.
Born the strongest from the start, becoming the strongest was inevitable.
"...What is the true dream I desire?"
Sepiro pondered.
Pondered and pondered some more.
Would wandering in search of amusement yield an answer?
Would he discover what he truly wanted to achieve?
But no answer came.
He had no desires.
Anything he could achieve, he could do with a mere thought.
Reaching the ultimate?
That would happen on its own eventually.
Magic and truths accumulated just by existing.
A truly boring, dull, joyless life.
That was when it happened.
Dragon God Temple.
Sepiro, propping his chin bored on his throne, gazed at Park Chan-woo ascending the Dragon God Temple.
The one and only human to reach this place.
A human utterly devoid of talent.
Watching him, Sepiro thought.
'What a human full of dreams.'
The most amusing human in the world.