Chapter 1080 – #257_Libra’s Witch (2) – DeepL

#1074

1.
Half an hour after that.
The outbreak was long.

A descendant of the Witch of the Deep, an explosive martial force worthy of the 23rd ranked egg.

Its power to unleash unprecedented destruction alongside the Sea Gods made it one of the most intimidating of the many foes Lydia had faced in her early years.

But that’s not all.

Above the black, wild, doomed sea. A garden of gold, eroded from reality.
Instead of lush greenery, the garden is filled with glittering gold and silver treasures, and at its center is a giant libra.

In witch society, at least, it is not the strong who survive.
The strongest survive by consuming the weakest.

“I’ll give you that.”

Before Lydia’s arrogant gaze, Leroux floated on the water, powerless to resist.

Lydia Magnus’s magic deals with the very idea of value.

Magic that deals with this idea is extremely vague and esoteric, so Lydia inserts two concepts to make it work.

One is “negation.

The power to negate, to despise as worthless, all the attributes that led to an object’s value, dignity, and uniqueness, like the poisonous moth of worthlessness, the flames of destruction, or the string of contradictions.

The other is “exchange.

A transaction that allows for the pure fulfillment of one’s desires, transcending all cooking, providence, natural law, and even magic.
The ability to trade with the “world” in exchange for a certain amount of gold.

“That’s a lot of money.”

The gold coins used in this transaction are not cheap, tarnished gold pieces.
In the past, burnt offerings were the most extreme form of worship for lowly humans to reach the gods.

Gold coins made of human flesh, or “special gold coins” made of the noble souls of witches.

A human sacrifice to the world, melding the most revered values of life.

The cost of this confrontation was half the total amount of gold coins Lydia had accumulated in her golden garden.
Even the special gold coins that prevented her from dying instantly cost her four out of eight.

The reward, however, is an ultra-luxury item called the Deep Sea Witch.

If you can use this bait to lure Xin Xiu out of his recent troubles, you’ll have more than made up for your expenses.

“Ugh, you can’t sleep in a place like that.”

Lydia, making a slender stinger and shooting it at his thigh, just in case he’s playing dead.

-Pook

The thin needle pierces her thigh, but there is no reaction from Leroux, who floats in the water.
Even its self-defense fails due to lack of magic power.

Confident of capture, the thin silken cord wrapped itself around Leroux’s body.

-Woof!

With a strange distortion, the String of Contradictions broke.
Lydia couldn’t see exactly what had happened.

All she could see was that a red aura flickered across the center of the cord, binding it to nothing, and the cord, unbreakable by anything, was snapped off more easily than a spider’s web.

“Well, well, well, this is my lucky day.”

Lydia puffs out her chest, not the least bit intimidated by the lack of clothing.

At the end of her gaze is a black armor that flies at her with ferocious momentum.
The red lance twisted at an angle in one hand leaves no doubt as to who he is.

Xin Xiu appears as an ‘enemy’ in front of Lydia, who has touched her lover as she claimed.

-Chew!

Lydia watched as Xin Xiu grabbed Leroux with a splash of water.

It doesn’t matter.
He won’t be able to escape, and Lydia will beat Xin Xiu.

I can be gracious and let her take care of him for a while.

“She’s not dead, don’t worry.”
“…….”

He immediately closed the distance and checked Leroux’s condition.
He couldn’t see her face through the armor, but her shoulders relaxed a little as she looked at him, relieved.

“Honestly, I didn’t think you’d go to such lengths as this, screwing over the entirety of Upper Solidus and the Lehar Group, and even putting me, Lydia Magnus, through this ordeal. And then you welded the gates of Hexenacht on top of that, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, I’ll give you all my praise.”

Lydia claps her hands dryly.

At the same time, she unfolds her backstory and cuts off the outside space from the battlefield.
She clearly understands her opponent’s power.

Xin Xiu has changed since I last saw her.

It’s a prayer unique to archdevils.
Both the thickness and bulk of her magic are far more advanced than when I saw her in Hexenacht, and even more advanced than when I encountered her at the level of the pocket where the gate is located.

A better way to describe it would be “intensity”.

“They must have become a threat to me by reaching that level.”

But Lydia didn’t feel the slightest sense of crisis.
That’s because Xinxiu’s condition is visibly disheveled.

His armor is tattered, his red spear is fierce, and he’s exhausted.

It must have fought a battle just before this.
There’s no way to tell for sure who it was, but I can make a guess.

I’m guessing he’s met with some resistance from the Great Witches in Hexenacht.

“The odds are not in your favor.”

This drain will rob him of any chance of victory.

Relying on gold coins as a ‘totem’ rather than her own magical powers, she would be fighting at an unreasonable cost that she would not be able to fully utilize.
Lydia has gained an advantage that no other witch has.

Lydia is tireless, as long as her resources allow.
The price she must pay is the life of another.

“But I really like you, so I’ll make you one last offer.”

Lydia turned to Xiu and opened her arms wide in a fervent courtship.
At the same time, two artifacts floated in front of Xiu.

Xiu recognized them all too well.

Mouthpieces that Lydia, who treated witches like commodities, stuffed into her wares.
A golden witch’s special artifact, the ‘leash’, which prevents her from raising her magic power.

“Surrender meekly. I will guarantee the life of the cute little queen on the four letters of Magnus. I am a man of my word.”

An offer made despite the fact that she can get everything she wants with her power.
It was an unusual gesture for Lydia.

Only a fool would fail to see that.

“Why?”

Xinxiu asked in a cracking voice.

“If you’re asking why I do it…. The answer is simple, I want to own you completely, everything from your body to your mind to your spirit. I’m embarrassed to admit this to a man.”

For Xinxiu, it’s worth it.

His individual uniqueness and strength aside, the ability to create a board that can do this much with not enough power.
The boldness to mock a group of bony Lehar and the top of the Great Solidus, and to barge into Hexenacht and stir things up.
And his chiseled face and upstanding personality.

The sound of countless gold coins clinking like a slot machine hitting a jackpot is an illusion when you look at him.

Xinxiu is the same man Lydia once coveted, but much, much more.
More than anything she had ever gotten her hands on, more than anything she had ever gotten her hands on.

It glowed more brilliantly, more lovingly.

Lydia squinted at the radiance and murmured.

“You are so, so beautiful.”

The affection in her eyes was warm, as if she was looking at a possession already in my arms, and as such, it was as disgusting as it was creepy.

“You shouldn’t worry so much.”

So is her cheerful tone of persuasion.

“We’re going to understand each other, little by little. We have different values, different personalities, so there’s going to be some kinks, but time will work it out. I’ll try. To make it work for you, piece by piece.”

“You can resent me all you want for now, blame me, insult me, hate me, and try to get me in trouble behind my back, because one day you’ll understand what I really mean.”

Lydia beckons to Xiu with a gesture that is becoming increasingly intoxicating.

“I’ll give you everything in the world, luxuries that will never run out, pleasures that will never get old. I’ll give you honor so that no one can look down on you, power so that you can control the lives of others with the tip of your chin, and reverence so that every witch in the world will fear the three characters Xinxiuyi.”

“I can give it all to you.”

“I won’t neglect you like those Gehenna fools who can’t see your true worth, and you’ll shine above all others in my arms.”

“In exchange, you only need to promise me one thing.”

Lydia’s words trailed off as if she were confessing her deepest feelings of love.
As if this were the most important climax in the play.

“You can be mine.”

Xiu looked into Lydia’s eyes for the first time since he’d known her.
Not the beautiful pupils that looked like they had been melted down from a gold coin, but Lydia’s true nature hidden within them.

Right now, Lydia was whispering a love as transparent as a girl confessing her first love.

Her heart is unfeigned, sincere, and innocent.

But if you look a little deeper, you’ll find a twist behind that innocence.

An underlying twist that cannot be measured by human sensibilities.

A child craves a toy with the greatest fervor until it’s in their hands.
But once it’s in their hands, they lose interest in it after only two or three days.

Lydia’s desires are like that.
An innocent desire that she craves because she doesn’t have it, and despises because she does.

That’s what Lydia Magnus calls love.

“Bloom.”

Even if it wasn’t, there was no room for negotiation.
Lydia Magnus is a formidable foe to be reckoned with.

I’m used to recklessly charging at monsters, right?

“Think about it. Your pride doesn’t have to end in tragedy. A broken woman’s heart is scary.”

Lydia narrowed her eyes, as if she were deeply sorry, or had been betrayed.

But Xiu couldn’t care less.

Instead, he reached for the last resort he had saved for last.

Once upon a time, Xiu had worked with Gretel Nephthys, the Witch of Souls, to create a pathway.

A pathway that would reduce the contact between the unconscious and the conscious, where they could mingle at any moment.
The passage has a giant “gate” that keeps the flooding unconscious at bay.

The way to open this door is very simple.

-Pow!

Holding the spear upside down, Xiu pulled the blade toward my heart with all his might.
The red branch pierced through my chest with ease.

Lydia was looking at Xiu with an unimpressed expression.

It wouldn’t be playing dead, and it wouldn’t be some nerdy delusional act of killing herself in front of someone she was obsessed with.
The Xin Xiu she knew was a man fighting for his life with more intensity than anyone else.

And then.

-thud

The clover in Xiu’s pocket shatters, and with an eerie beat, the spear protruding from his back is thrust out.

The wounds from the distortion field instantly healed, and Xin Xiu’s head slowly turned to face forward.

In an instant, his aura changed as if he had changed.
Magic power flowed through his half-invoice-like body.

Lydia asked.

“What are you?”

A regurgitated consciousness mingled with Xiu’s own.
The unconscious, released from its oppressive prison, cheering in liberation.

“Your greatest fear.”

A ferocious beast that craves pure magic more than anything else.

“The enemy.”

It descends upon the battlefield.