Chapter 156

Chapter 156

Spendthrift Necromancer (156)

Great WitchWitches gained tremendous benefits by traveling between dimensions. Sometimes those gains were direct, as on the Caesar Continent, but they also often relied on indirect methods such as trade.

That was usually the case in higher dimensions.

At that level, fighting the native inhabitants of the dimension became burdensome as well.

The Death Lord's dimension had been the same.

It soon became clear that this was the worst mistake they had ever made.

Because he learned of the Eastern Witch Society's existence. The cruel Lich followed the trail of a returning Witch and came after them.

Countless planets possessed by the Witch Society burned to ashes.

And the calamity didn't end there.

Not only the Death Lord himself, but the Legion Commanders beneath him displayed horrifying strength.

Dragon Knight Cedric.

Hell Fiend Valkan.

Blood Lord Olivia.

Those three had earned infamous reputations in their own right, but…….

Among those Legion Commanders, Banshee Merhen stood in a league of her own.

Countless Witches fell before her magic like stars dropping from the sky.

Even Great Witches were no exception.

Ananke had been the same.

An undead who remained relaxed even against three Great Witches at once.―Idiots. There are three of you and this is all you've got?

The shock Ananke received that day was impossible to describe.700 years.

She had lived obsessed with magic for seven hundred years. The Witch Society gathered geniuses from every dimension. Even there, Ananke had reached the summit. In only seven hundred years, she'd climbed from Apprentice Witch to Great Witch.

Naturally, she might not have been the single greatest practitioner of magic across all dimensions.

Even so.

When it came to magic.

She had believed no one could afford to act arrogant before her.

That day had been the first truly miserable defeat of her life.

And an unbearable humiliation.

Idiot?

Idiot!

Two tiny syllables had reduced seven hundred years of effort to a sandcastle.

The memory of that day had branded itself into Ananke's mind.

Enough that merely hearing the word made her explode even ravens she normally cherished.

Enough that hearing it again made her abandon long years of training and move immediately.Sector 9.

Ananke's eyes gleamed as she searched for a trajectory Lruye might have followed.

“Found it.”

She discovered traces that appeared to belong to Lruye.

And.

A path that had suddenly bent completely sideways midway through, as though someone had snatched her away.‘Faint.’A Senior Witch might have lost the trail entirely here. Even a Veteran Witch would've spent a long time examining it, like threading a needle in a pitch-black room.

But Ananke was a Great Witch.

And one whose field dealt deeply with fate through ill omens.

That was why.

She understood the moment she saw it.

Something had interfered with Lruye's fate.

And twisted that fate to guide her elsewhere.

“That Banshee doesn't use things like this.”

She specialized in Death Magic.

Ananke had never seen her use other schools of magic. Fate Magic especially.‘A third party?’If she was curious, she could simply go and confirm it herself. She wasn't particularly worried. The Death Lord himself couldn't have manifested directly.

If a being of that caliber had truly resurrected, the news should've already spread across every dimension.

The ravens?

They would've died bleeding from their eyes before they could even spit out an ill omen.

That wasn't something you could assess at the mere level of an omen.

Instead of resurrecting personally, he must've used some other method.

Ananke had a rough idea what that might be.

She followed the faint trail at tremendous speed.

Before long, she reached her destination.

Sector 10, where most lowest-tier dimensions gathered. The Caesar Continent belonged here as well.

Ananke's eyes gleamed.

“Equivalent Exchange?”

A memory engraved into the dimension.

It was one Witch's scream and nightmare. And for Ananke, information more valuable than anything else.

After examining the memory in detail, Ananke nodded quietly.

Lruye.

She seemed to have been a reasonably talented Full Witch. Otherwise, she couldn't have activated Equivalent Exchange even at the moment of death.‘If I get the chance, I should revive her.’That much would be appropriate compensation for sacrificing her life to deliver the memory.

Ananke's figure moved toward a planet. Detection spells drifted around its outskirts. The amount of Mana contained within them was pathetic.

Their Rank wasn't especially high either.

But their construction was astonishingly intricate.

“Will it be different now?”

Ananke extended a hand.

Ssssh.

The magic melted away like ice cream and dispersed.

Ten signals spread outward.

Ananke immediately blocked all ten.

That was when.

One signal split into one hundred smaller fragments and spread again.

She blocked those too……

Or so she thought.

This time, the detection signals split into thousands of pieces so tiny they were almost imperceptible, continuously opening paths.

She blocked those too……

Or believed she had.

Thrum…….

If the detection magic hadn't trembled ever so slightly, she might have thought she'd succeeded.

Ananke blinked.

Exactly one.

She had missed one.

“Haha! Still the same, Banshee.”

In the past, she would've missed a thousand.

Now only one.

Exploding ravens had been worth it.‘A nightmare?’Not anymore.

Her figure was drawn into the planet.* * *Caw!

Ominous raven cries echoed from every direction. Iris's pupils trembled when she heard them.‘Wh-What do I do?’Ananke came personally?

To some worthless dimension like this?

And there were bombs planted in her brain and heart.

This was seriously bad.

Not that she could do anything about it.

While Iris's eyes rolled around nervously.

Kim Minwoo stood with his arms folded, lost in thought.

He had only just discovered the true clear conditions.‘No matter how I look at it…….’Leaving now would be such a waste.

It would be nice if they didn't have to fight.

That was when.

Ravens began pouring in from every direction. They gathered together and formed the shape of a woman.

A woman with pitch-black wings on her back like a fallen angel.

She looked from Iris to Merhen, then nodded.

“An excellent escape mechanism, Necromancer.”―Don't move your Mana. I'll blow you apart immediately.

“My legs hurt. Can't I at least summon a chair?”―Stand and talk. I said don't move your Mana.

“Banshee. You've grown awfully strict since we last met.”―I detected you coming all the way here. Stupid raven.

Ananke smiled.

“I will speak with your master. Perhaps in a favorable direction. The summon may remain quiet now.”―…….

Merhen stared at Minwoo.

Kim Minwoo nodded.

“A conversation. I'm curious what the subject will be.”

“You don't want to leave this place yet. Am I wrong?”

“You're right.”

Kim Minwoo admitted it coolly.

From the look of things, this Great Witch seemed to know about the Gate and its clear conditions.

“So?”

“I'll state my purpose. I want to make a deal. Don't you want us to speak a little more honestly with each other? If I swear upon my name, that should be possible.”―Don't try anything. You think I don't know you're trying to use magic that way?

“Banshee. I asked your master. Besides…… are you not confident you can stop me? Then again, you missed exactly one earlier.”

Ananke subtly provoked Merhen. Merhen bit her lip and looked at Kim Minwoo.―Minwoo. That's a trick. If she makes an oath, the Mana inside her body will move. She might use it to cast magic.

Merhen reacted like a wary cat. It was the first time he'd seen her this cautious around another Mage.

He thought briefly.

Then Kim Minwoo nodded.

“Make the oath.”

“Decisive.”

“I have methods of my own.”

No risk, no reward.

This was exactly that kind of moment.

If the Great Witch truly wanted to negotiate, he might catch an enormous fish.

Of course, he didn't know what she wanted to trade.

Or what the conditions were.

He knew absolutely nothing.‘But even if she tells me now, I won't know whether it's true.’How was he supposed to distinguish whether a Witch was lying?

That was probably why she'd mentioned an oath in the first place.

And if she tried using magic with some ulterior motive?‘Then I use the nuke.’What other choice was there?

He'd have to force an escape with the Nuclear Bomb if necessary. But the Great Witch's offer was attractive enough to justify accepting that risk.

“Merhen. I'm counting on you.”―……

Okay. Minwoo only needs to trust me.

Merhen nodded resolutely. Then the Great Witch moved her lips.

“I, Ananke Roazrow Avelonde, swear upon my name that from this moment onward, I will speak only truth.”

Flash!

Blue light erupted over Ananke's body.

“Banshee. You saw it?”―……

Yeah. She swore.

Merhen nodded.

After receiving confirmation, Ananke looked at Kim Minwoo and spoke.

“We can trade. The Dragon Legion is different. They are natural enemies.”

“Aren't you the same?”

“Dragon Knights and Dragons are natural enemies. Do you think Witches and Banshees have that same relationship?”

“You aren't natural enemies?”

“Do you call a Swordsman who uses a sword well the natural enemy of Swordsmen? Normally, you don't.”

Ananke shrugged, then looked at Merhen.

“Are we natural enemies? Ah. I mean in the same sense as Dragon Knights and Dragons.”―That's…… not really.

Kim Minwoo nodded.

“Understood. What's your proposal?”

“Cooperation.”

“I didn't realize the Witch Society was such a friendly organization.”

“You invest at the bottom. Don't you agree?”

“You've forgotten your grudge?”

“No. Of course not.”

Ananke's eyes turned calm as she continued.

“I've never forgotten, and I have no intention of forgetting. But for the sake of a greater cause, I can postpone it temporarily.”

“A greater cause?”

“An Outer God has awakened.”

“……

An Outer God?”

Kim Minwoo's gaze turned serious.

“Yes. An Outer God. Once, it existed only as something metaphysical. But now it's different. It has already obtained physical form. Every dimension is being shaken.”

“You want me to fight the Outer God?”

“Someday. Of course, that's cooperation on the larger scale. There is smaller-scale cooperation as well.”

“Smaller-scale cooperation…….”

“The downfall of the Dragon Legion. That should not sound bad to you either.”

“That's a very attractive offer.”

Ananke's proposal was genuinely interesting.

Ancient Dragons?

Hunting one by himself would take quite some time. Finding one was work enough, and even if he did find one, there was no guarantee it wouldn't belong to an organization like the Dragon Legion.

But if he had the Witch Society backing him too.‘I might hunt one far sooner than expected.’The corpse of an Ancient Dragon over ten thousand years old.

Wasn't that the material that looked most difficult to obtain?

“But you said we'd cooperate for the greater cause. The Dragon Legion doesn't count?”

“Most Ancient Dragons have already joined hands with the Outer God.”

Then they were his enemies too.

Wasn't hunting the Outer God one of his fundamental objectives?

“Then how do you intend to cooperate?”

“Strictly speaking, this is cooperation with the Raven School. My opinion does not represent the entire Witch Society. Our School can provide whatever support is within our means. Do you have any requests?”

“Does your School happen to possess these materials?”

He immediately listed the materials needed for Gleipnir.

Ananke listened calmly, then nodded.

“I can provide Balrog Blood and Mimir's Sigh. We don't possess the bloodline of an Abyss Lord. However, I know where they live. I can connect you.”

“For free?”

“Of course not. These materials are precious. Providing access to an Abyss Lord's habitat is valuable as well.”

Fair enough.

If she gave all of this away for free, it wouldn't be cooperation.

She'd simply be a sucker.

A Great Witch who had lived for hundreds of years obviously wasn't going to be that easy.

“Then what do you want in return?”

“To engrave one spell upon your body. Its purpose is nothing special. Observation only.”

“That's pretty damn special.”―This crazy bitch.

One undead and one human.

And one Witch.

The three stared at one another.