Chapter 499 – #106_Perfume Tycoon (6)
#499
One.
Old witch.
This refers to witches who have existed for nearly a thousand years before the City Of Witches of Gehenna was created.
Duke Keter, the creator of the city of witches and leading the order of the witch society.
Duke Erelim, head of the largest school of Gehenna, the Academy of Truth and Truth.
The ‘Witch of the Apocalypse’, the manager and guardian of the Prophecy Agency.
A ‘green witch’ who wanders around the world and lives leisurely.
The ‘witch of time’ who built her own cradle and stayed in it.
The ‘Witch of Whisper’, who still operates under the water and causes all sorts of confusion.
The ‘Witch of Proverbs’, who is currently missing, but who ate countless witches whole in the past.
The ‘Witch of Aries’, who was appointed as the head of Qliphoth, but went into hiding after killing several of her exploits.
Originally, nine witches, including the witch of the deep sea, were called old witches, but at the present time of her purging by Keter 300 years ago, a total of eight remain except for her.
In fact, looking back, the title of ‘old witch’ itself has no meaning. After all, it just means that she lived a long life.
Even so, there are two reasons why they are the subject of reverence even for their exploits.
First, she didn’t have a succession for such a long time, which means that she has that much excellent talent.
In fact, with the exception of Lilith, whose name has not even been identified, all of them are great witches, and if it were not for Keter, who is out of standard, they are strong people who would have fought for the supremacy of the era.
But if it had been simply strong, it would have been admired, but not awed.
The fundamental reason why old witches live in fear is that they are all witches who survived in the cruel age of the jungle.
There was no concept of an outcast before Gehenna existed.
The same goes for the concept of merit.
As long as dismantling and branding the same witch is the shortcut to ascending the hierarchy, it was a very natural act for each other to kill each other.
After Keter became the guardian of order in earnest, each only defended their own territory, but it was undeniable that the old witches were all excellent warriors and had completely different ways of thinking from the current witches.
One of them, Clech, who went to seek help from the Witch of the Deep, who was known to be dead to the world, also had that part on her mind.
If you call their exploits murderers or lunatics, the old witches are monsters who can’t tell what they’re thinking.
Even if they had a conversation through the medium of the ‘oath’, it was something they were uncomfortable with.
“When are you coming?”
The place where she is standing is the most isolated open sea on Earth in the South Pacific.
Even people who do not understand that 70% of the land surface is the sea will naturally nod their heads when they come here.
Even though it was floating high in the sky, all it could see was the blue sea surface.
It could be.
It was the middle of the South Pacific, commonly referred to as the point of inaccessibility, that Shalit Nukelaby, the witch of the deep sea, designated as her meeting place.
Even the nearest uninhabited island from here is over 2,000km in a straight line, and it is not even a route through which ships or airplanes pass.
For that reason, it was a wallpaper among wallpapers that could feel the fragments of civilization when a satellite or space launch vehicle that had reached the end of its lifespan was dropped from orbit.
Even Archwitch Klech had a hard time getting here.
“The promised time has already passed….”
The unilateral notification of the meeting place was also disrespectful, but even though 30 minutes had passed since the scheduled time, the Witch of the Deep didn’t even cast a shadow.
If you add such an open view to the witch’s eyesight, you will probably have to wait even longer, considering that you can observe at least several tens of kilometers.
It’s hard to come, but you can’t go back empty-handed.
The remote letter crumpled in Clech’s hand, feeling annoyed.
At that moment, a dim shadow appeared under the blue water surface.
Klech was speechless when he saw the object, which created a wild spray like a whale gushing at a spectacular levitation angle of about 45 degrees.
“…….”
A streamlined fuselage reminiscent of a whale, a vertical rudder and watchtower towering like a fin near the back of the flat upper deck.
The identity of the huge lump of iron that appeared out of nowhere is a submarine.
It was a modern piece of equipment that was familiar to Klech as well.
Submarines were used for various illegal smuggling.
The problem is size.
Even at first glance, the large size that seems to exceed 100m was a military submarine.
I knew that the workshop was built in the sea, but I thought it was a submarine.
Entering the ship through the open hatch at the top, Clech followed the crew’s guidance and walked along the narrow passage.
A crew member here is, of course, not a person.
Although clumsily clad in military uniforms from the former Soviet Union, it looked like this would be a terrible result if they succeeded in crossing humans and fish.
The fins that make the back convex and rise to the forehead, and the dark green scales that cover the skin.
Eyeballs protruding like those of a deep-sea fish are covered with an unfocused, cloudy nictitating membrane, and even webbed fingers and gills that are elongated and smell fishy.
Each part of the body is so ugly that you want to kill it right away.
“This… This… Come this way….”
Guided by the crew, who managed to speak human language with strange vocalizations, Klech looked around.
It is certainly. This submarine has been converted into a witch’s workshop.
Unidentified tentacles extending like internal organs were supplying magic power to each part of the pipe, and the pulsating waves in all directions meant that this submarine itself was a kind of artifact.
After passing through the aisle of the engine department, what appeared was an unexpectedly tidy lounge.
If it was about 50 years ago, it could be compared to a nice hotel lounge, but unfortunately, it can’t hide the old-fashioned feeling because it can’t keep up with the change of fashion.
On either side of her, fishmen who looked exactly like the crewman who guided Klech were lined up like her retainers, and in the center of her, a witch with her legs crossed arrogantly held her chin up.
“Welcome to Jim’s kingdom, Akula.”
As her nickname suggests, she, with blue eyes as deep as the deep sea and blue hair close to black, opened her arms and expressed her hospitality.
It was a look that looked younger than expected.
However, when I was about to say hello after swallowing saliva in a carefree atmosphere.
“I can see that you greatly admire Jim’s workshop. It’s a reasonable response. It is only natural that her heart would shrink if anyone witnessed such an overwhelming battle.”
“No….”
“That’s right, 48,000 tons of underwater displacement. Total length 172M, ship width 23M. Indeed, isn’t she a size worthy of the name of a submersible heavy cruiser?”
Before she could say anything, the Witch of the Deep began to brag about her own workshop.
Even with this size, it has been modified and shows a depth of 5 km, and it is still moving toward a depth of 2 km, and it is building perfect internal convenience facilities. Ridge.
Even when the Soviet Union collapsed, it was secretly purchased and remodeled, and it was armed with 20 intercontinental ballistic missiles with 10 MIRV nuclear warheads and the latest torpedoes that were difficultly obtained.
“…….”
Seeing Shalit chattering excitedly for almost 10 minutes, Klech made up his mind to say, “What the hell is that?”
Do not be fooled.
This may be a high-level strategy to overwhelm the headline by recklessly arguing useless words.
Clech managed to swallow the swear words.
“Cool. Great. Okay, please stop.”
“I still have 30 more minutes to explain….”
The witch of the deep sea who shuts her mouth with a disapproving expression.
Is this the ‘old witch’?
No matter how much you try to think of it as part of psychological warfare, it is too different from the image.
Clech himself is often evaluated as having a childish personality, but this isn’t a child boasting of toys….
“Let’s get to the point. There is no time.”
“To the point…. Oh, a promise or something?”
“Yes, the predecessor Asmode risked his life to save you. I will repay one life with one life. It’s time to keep the promise we made with Nukelaby’s honor.”
Clech spoke of the reason he had come here and the name of the male witch he wanted killed.
As if she had lost interest in her at once, Lying flat on her sofa and hearing about her story, Shalit pondered for a moment before answering without hesitation.
“So kill that man….”
“Refuse.”
“…….”
“By the way, in today’s world, can men become witches too?”
Klech literally felt her head tingle.
In fact, it was Duke Tiphareth who Clech had to take revenge on.
However, the reason why Go Tae-yeo moved the contract target to Shin Si-woo was because he had in mind the possibility that the witch of the deep sea would refuse a fierce battle at the risk of her life, no matter how ‘oath’ it was.
Therefore, she put forward Siu, a god who could be easily overcome.
Also, there was a sinister intention that if Duke Tiphareth, who realized the identity of the beast, bet life and death on the witch of the deep sea, that too would go according to plan.
But I never thought I would be rejected under one word.
Klech asked in a cold voice.
“Why? As I’ve explained, Duke Keter doesn’t move. The opponent has to be highly regarded to be a witch who has entered the beginning of the Great Witch. With your magic, killing secretly wouldn’t be a problem, right?”
“It is true that Jim’s teacher was favored by Asmode and made an oath. But Jim hates fighting. And he said that his teacher told him to live a long and thin life, not to die for nothing.”
Teacher?
It was only then that the words that came out of nowhere made me feel like everything was connected as one.
Why did the Witch of the Deep, who, according to the records in the literature, exude the dignity of a mature queen, look so young?
Of course, the witch in front of her was a full-grown woman.
However, she lacks the maturity and dignity that comes with age.
For an old witch who has lived nearly a thousand years, her frivolous and flirtatious personality, and finally a solemn tone that doesn’t suit her at all.
“What is your name?”
“Rruye Nukelaby. As you guessed, ten years ago she inherited the stigma.”
The witch of the deep sea who came with difficulty.
She was not an old witch in the true sense of the word.
Because the stigma has already been inherited.
She even proudly refuses to cooperate, as if she had heard the word pact.
Life hovers in Clech’s eyes.
The plan went awry. If so, what should be the next best thing to do.
It was only 10 years ago that Leruhe became a witch, and it is a dangerous time to skillfully deal with her inherited stigma.
He had no combat experience.
What if you take your life here, steal the stigma, and plan the future?
“It’s a disrespectful idea”
When Clech came to his sensesheheard the terrifying cry of a beast in his ears.
It sounds like a great bass sound, and at the same time, it is like a high pitch that barely passed the audible frequency.
Lerouet said firmly in the roar that made his heart cry coldly as if a strange creature licking his cheek.
“You’re going to fight on Jim’s stage?”
This is a submarine.
Even at this moment, I am diving into the depths of the sea.
No matter how Klech is, he’s not reckless enough to fight the ‘Witch of the Deep’ in the middle of the deep sea.
He reveals that he has no intention of engaging by raising her hand and clearing away the mana he was trying to pull up.
Klech gnashing his teeth in a situation where this and that were all twisted.
“I deserve to pay with my life for the disrespect for revealing my wild fangs in a royal court where I should bow my head with deep respect. I will close my eyes for this time.”
“Thank you very much.”
“It is the duty of a butcher, not an empress, to raise a sword and dirty her hands. However, it is the duty of the Empress to honor the benefactor even with a sword in her belly and fulfill the oath.”
“That means… ?”
A bluish bead formed on Rruye’s palm and flew to Clech.
“Give me your fish bowl. I should be able to handle the vicious man you mentioned as lightly and stealthily as you would a lunch set.”
At first glance, a small marble with no special features.
However, I felt that her heavy and cold magic power was condensed indescribably within the ball the size of her pinky fingernail.
It has to be.
This ‘fish bowl’ is the core code of magnetic magic possessed by the witch of the deep sea.
“Thank you for this.”
Although she did not receive direct help from the Witch of the Deep, it was the best result considering her uncooperative attitude.
“Let me give you one piece of advice.”
Leruhe hinted at Clech, who calmed her agitated heart.
Advice?
Of course, Clech thought it would be something like precautions when handling formal dresses.
“The intimacy of men and women is like the stormy sea. It might be a foolish choice to try to kill her because she is dominated by the stroke of the moment.”
Just as expected.
It sounded like an idiot.