Chapter 1172 – #279_Declaration of War (2)

#1166

One.
The declaration of war was made through state broadcasting in Russia, where the Hexennacht Central Army was stationed, and was soon broadcast through various broadcasting stations in the puppet states controlled by Hexennacht.

[What is a witch? A witch is a seeker who goes on a pilgrimage to reach transcendence. This is the essence of witches and has never changed from the beginning to the present.]

[However, our old enemy Keter has ignored the witch’s duty and purged her people under the false ideology of serving humanity, and this is a clear apostasy.]

[Under Keter’s purge, the humans who enjoyed freedom over the blood of countless witches finally revealed their evil nature. They were dissatisfied with freedom and turned to self-indulgence. They tried to pursue power that was not allowed, and the world has already seen what the results were.]

[We at Hexennacht want to prevent the terrible future that will surely come. He suddenly stood up to correct the broken order of Kether and extended his hand to Gehenna. However, the Gehenna regime, which holds on to an old order that has proven to be useless, ignored several requests and warnings for peace negotiations and showed its will to continue confrontation in various parts of the world.]

[It was enough time to realize that something was wrong and to correct it]

[This is a declaration of war]

[We, Hexennacht… ]

The small hand holding the remote control turned off the TV.

“Sister…”

Psyche recalled her last conversation with Erelim.

This is a conversation where we hear the cruel truth that all witches are failures and Erelim’s true intentions.

Although Erelim has long believed that humans are dangerous, she has maintained the pro-human order of Gehenna to follow Kether’s will.

‘If things continue like this given the limitations of the system, tragedies on other world lines will soon be repeated.’

However, now that there was no need for that, appropriate control was planned to be applied to humans.

Both the Witch of Creation and Kether brought up vague ideals of harmony between humans and witches, but Erelim had no intention of doing so.

‘We will overcome the wall that Kether could not overcome. Psyche, I will lead those forsaken by Kether.’

In addition, she wanted to use the final arrangement prepared by Kether, the Shin Siu family, as a guidepost for the abandoned witches.

The way of thinking that if you capture someone else’s family, study it, and dig into it, something might come out is not much different from public service.

But Psyche understood Erelim.

This is not because Psyche became a ‘public servant’ for Gehenna and embodied their ideas while living.

Psyche killed her own people for camouflage, got involved in fights she did not want to get involved in, and sometimes caused the death of many humans.

After becoming a public figure, all life felt like hell.
Like Erelim, she only endured with a strong sense of duty for the witches.

But even Psyche’s pain cannot be compared to Blanche.

Blanche Erelim is a witch for witches.
Blanche’s magnetic magic originated from the long-cherished wish of all witches.

She wanted to record the wishes of all the fleeting witches, from her own teacher and her friends to the witch whose name she did not know.

Erelim takes care of her tombstone, which was presented to the witch who closed her eyes and left a secret wish to future generations, and her mausoleum.

This is also the reason why, long ago, before the pretty nickname ‘Constellation Witch’ was given, it was called the drab name ‘Gravekeeper’s Witch’.

‘Psyche will rebel against Blanche for the first time in her life. Her sister is going the wrong way.’

Nevertheless, Psyche tried to stop Erelim.

Just as the cause of Gehenna did not bring peace to Psyche, the cause of her witches will not make her sister happy.

Having reached her 25th rank, he collided head-on with her and was mercilessly defeated.
She had already reached a realm on a different level from Psyche.

‘I’m so sorry.’

Erelim hugged the broken Psyche, her magic drained, and her thin shoulders trembled.
Psyche, who was prepared to lose her life, was slightly puzzled and then widened her eyes.

As her plan continued, she realized her sister’s true intentions.

‘Now, it’s okay to rest.’

If Psyche’s identity is revealed, she becomes everyone’s enemy.
From Hexennacht’s point of view, it will be a bit of a catastrophe, and from Gehenna’s point of view, it will be difficult to look at it kindly.

The thread of Eun-won, who had already lived publicly for hundreds of years and had become woven even though she did not like it, was tying Psyche more tightly than a net.

In other words, Erelim killed Psyche in disguise, threw her into Hexennacht, and freed her from her old leash.

Erelim simply asked for one thing.

Silence.
She asked him not to move, at least until this situation was over.

That way, Psyche will be able to face quiet peace.
That was enough, she said.

At that time, Psyche could not refute anything.
Even now that she thought about it again, she couldn’t think of a suitable retort.

“…”

Relim is not alone in her loss.

The role that had driven Psyche so far disappeared, and after learning the truth about her world, there was no motive or purpose left.

After relaying her danger to her friend Periwinkle, fearing she might get caught, all her motivation disappeared.

“I’m so tired…”

Psyche quietly closed her eyes.

Neither peace nor chaos.
The faint wave of emotion that I didn’t know which side I belonged to calmly subsided.

2.
There is a witch who took control of the hardliners after the launch of Hexennacht.

An early member of Qliphoth and ranked 23rd.
‘The Witch of Nightmares’ Barbara Milinoe.

The reason why her rhetoric of ‘she took real power’ is because the power she has left now is only formality.

Immediately after the establishment of the City of Night, she led the hardliners, asserting her high rank and power, and continued to engage in a sharp conflict with the Witch of Geumhwa, the leader of the moderate faction.

In the old days, when people were scattered and living independently, a strong person would have been the best, but as times changed, the virtues required of a leader also changed.

Barbara was not very good at political fighting.
On the other hand, Lydia Magnus was a hare-like woman who was closer to a politician or businesswoman than a public figure.

Psyche, who received her orders, aimed for a leading position in order to seize real power from the hardliners, and Lydia assisted her in that task.

For that reason, Barbara was naturally pushed to the edge of the hardliners, as if she were standing on a slippery slope sprayed with her own oil.

A ridiculous situation has been created in which the forces under his command are clearly strong, but his actual say is not great.

Even now, after declaring the declaration of the Witch Empire and gathering at Qliphoth, Barbara has not been able to hold even a decent position as a corps commander.
Considering that the merits of the war determine one’s position after the war, there is no such thing as poor treatment.

But more than anything else, Barbara didn’t like this.

“Are you out of your mind? Are you just accepting the fact that the enemy leader surrendered and incorporating it into your organization? “Do you think he’s hiding something?”

The three old witches had a map out and were discussing various strategies.
They suddenly rushed in and stared at Barbara, who was giving an impassioned speech.

“I definitely acknowledge that your participation in the war greatly changed the momentum. But what if such an important agenda is passed without proper filtering? “Are you planning to destroy the city we’ve worked so hard to build?”
“Whoa, calm down, young friend. “If you get hot, wrinkles form.”
“I never thought you would come without a message. “Would you like some tea?”

Verda, with a youthful appearance, trembles her body and Ella clinks her cup of black tea.

Barbara looked like she was going crazy.
Barbara is also a 600-year-old hero with great achievements.
The three in front of me are monsters that are outside the standard.

However, it is Barbara who has been dealing with Gehenna for a longer period of time.
Therefore, Barbara had no intention of bending her thoughts.

“Milino, if you have any thoughts, can you tell me?”

When Orcelia, with whom she was able to communicate, offered her a seat in a polite tone, Barbara roughly pulled up a chair and sat down.

“I know it would be good if you accepted that bitch, Erelim. “But what did you believe in and did such a thing?”
“How close was Psyche to Blanche? She must have been so bitter that she would purge a witch like her sister with her own hands. “She warned us of the dangers of humans early on.”

The story known only to old monsters who had lived for over a thousand years was not very persuasive to Barbara.

Above all, in Barbara’s opinion, they are not very serious.
The war that depends on the witch’s fate is treated with a light attitude, as if it were a war game.

No matter how overwhelming an advantage you have secured, does it make sense that you spend more time chatting over tea than having serious conversations during strategy meetings?

“I know you’re playing with yourselves, and I know your presence is absolutely necessary, but please be more serious.”

Barbara did not take this situation lightly.
Each public’s perspective on the series of events was different, but in Barbara’s case, it could be summarized in one word.

It’s a warning.
While other witches burned their hatred toward humans, their ambitions for a new era, and their thirst for revenge toward Gehenna, Barbara was seeing reality clearly.

“If this war is defeated or over, humans will gain time. We are in a time-attack situation where we must win clearly and secure hegemony. “In the meantime, accepting power whose intentions are unknown is an incomprehensible act of bullshit.”
“I offered a plump lamb as a burnt offering as proof of my conversion. Is that not enough? In addition, some members of the Jinri Jinmyeong Academic Society are increasingly joining our side.”

“Yes, well said. “You’ve already drained all the sweet water, right?”
“So what are you going to do?”

In response to Elara’s question, Barbara calmly continued her explanation.

“Is Erelim here alone now?”

Some members of the Jinri Jinmyeong Academic Society joined Erelim.
However, this does not mean that they joined Hexennacht.

They drew a line, insisting that they only follow Duke Erelim’s orders.

“Duke Erelim is the biggest variable. It’s better not to have variables than to have them dragged our way. “Let’s cut our throats quietly.”

In other words, Erelim is the biggest variable in the pocket right now.

If you can exclude her, her 25th rank, it is possible to solidify her victory in the war and eliminate another variable.
In addition, you are given a huge amount of loot and the highest level brand.

“Even though she’s an old witch anyway, she’s just a flabby little girl soaked in Gehenna water, right?”

However, the old witches’ reaction was sour.
Of course, the reason Barbara came here was not specifically to ask for their consent.

“Stop talking.”

In response to the lukewarm response, Barbara walked out, slamming the door.

Ella Kronos, the Witch of Time, clicked her tongue.

“That and that… “I’m going to cause an accident.”
“Did you hear? “Erelim said you were a flabby little thing.”
“Berda, I’m angry because you keep saying useless things.”

It was a bit misleading.

Barbara criticized the three as if they were playing war games, but this was only natural for them.
Struggle was a part of their daily life that was never separated from their lives.

“Orselia, what are you going to do?”

Internal strife is not good at a time when war is approaching.

However, I still felt uneasy about Erelim’s actions.
There is no need for her to come forward and stop her because this matter will be resolved smoothly.

“We’ll see. “I think it would be fun.”

Orselia grinned.