chapter 214
214 – Engagement (16)
“Why did you come?!”
As soon as we broke the cage and removed Lilia’s gag, a loud noise came out.
“Oh, then you should have come in full 30 minutes?”
Stella didn’t know that she would even treat the person who saved her. I pounced on her, admiring her inhumane behavior that was more devilish than the devil.
“aaah!”
“Don’t be too crazy, princess.”
After placing her lightly on his shoulder as if carrying a bag of rice, he calmly began to return the way he came.
“Now, wait! Let go! “I don’t need help from a b*tch like you!”
“No, how can it not be like this even without being cheap…? What does a b*tch with anemia say? Be quiet and just be a burden. Rather, please say yes. “There is nothing more inconvenient than running wild.”
“I-I-I-I-IK…!”
Lilia, who was anemic, was planning to become a burden and give Stella a treat, but because she was anemic, she couldn’t do anything and just hung around like laundry on a clothesline.
The person who came to save Lilia was not only Stella, but also Wiz. Wiz couldn’t resist and just laughed at Lilia, who was quietly being carried by Stella.
“Heh, heh heh, heh, heh…”
“Even that kid is really…”
The timid voice combined with the sneer made me feel very uncomfortable, feeling like I was being laughed at by a ‘Jjinta’ in vulgar terms.
Lilia lowered her head in shame and sorrow for a child like that to ignore her. I didn’t even have the strength to raise my head in the first place.
Lilia was once again saddened to see how her life was going wrong.
“There is no Inis…? My Inis… Our cute Inis…”
“I heard you went somewhere else because you had something else to do? I think we can easily win…”
“Haa… Then what about Iba…?”
“We really have to find him now.”
“Haaa…”
If you were going to be rescued after being caught, Iva would have been better than this woman.
‘It was never because I wanted to be treated like a princess by Iva.’
This meant that Eva was probably more psychologically stable and secure than Stella. We spent more time together than Stella, and I think I’m probably stronger than her.
In a workshop where you never know when or where you might encounter Aranea, it’s better to have someone who is at least a little stronger by your side. A wizard with anemia and no wand would not be able to help in battle.
Actually, compared to what I said, I don’t hate Stella that much. The face is just the way I like it, and my personality is refreshing, so I’m likeable.
If we hadn’t met through Iva, we might have had a reasonably good relationship, or maybe even a much closer relationship. We might have shared something similar to the feelings we share with Inis, and we might have blossomed by talking about the books we read together at the bedside.
When I thought about it that way, I realized once again that after bringing in Ivar, everything revolves around him.
It’s not just this small human relationship, it’s the world too.
The witch, a symbol of intelligence, who should cooperate, and the hero candidate, a symbol of peace, are fighting because of the devil candidate, the enemy of humanity.
How ridiculous this is.
Lilia smiled inadvertently. All the fights so far feel pathetic.
You belittle and slander others just because of a man. Neither Wiz nor Stella are opponents to be ignored like now.
Moreover, they are definitely the ones who saved him. Whether it was to save Iva or not, whatever the reason, the fact does not change.
His words and actions earlier clearly showed a bad attitude. This was not the attitude to take towards someone who rescued someone. It was rude. It goes beyond simply being cheap.
‘I was so excited… ‘
As my blood cooled down a bit, cool-headed thinking and judgment took over. Lilia looked around the workshop out of shame and embarrassment.
Suddenly, Stella opened her mouth.
“By the way, it’s amazing.”
“What?”
“You.”
“Hehe, do you finally understand? But suddenly a compliment?”
I answered solemnly, but inside I was quite surprised. I never thought you would suddenly praise me. I felt embarrassed and proud for no reason.
What makes it so easy for people is that just by saying something like that, the hostility or discomfort that you have had up until now is reduced a little. Did they create some kind of affection by joining forces?
“…Well, I’ll be grateful.”
Lilia answered curtly, hiding her slightly red face by burying it in her hair. It smells good. A slight rose scent and a refreshing forest-like scent. I heard that there is no special perfume to wear, but why is it so fragrant?
“I realized that you are definitely smart.”
Couldn’t this be an opportunity to end the enmity and move on…? Lilia had some hope and relaxed her neck slightly.
“Uh, uhm! What is this for? It will make your face tickle…”
“Haha, it’s okay to pretend not to notice.”
“What’s wrong with pretending not to know… “
“The broom. “You called me.”
However, what was heard was praise for an unexpected achievement.
“…What?”
“How did you blow the broom when both your hands were tied? Oh, you’ve developed some new magic? You can blow a broom just by thinking…”
“Oh, no, I didn’t call the broom…”
“What?”
Stella asked back as if it were absurd. But for Lilia, this was truly something I had never heard of before.
“Wow, we thought it was a sign of danger because your broom suddenly moved to where we expected…”
“My mouth, hands and feet were all tied up? Even your fingers. “I didn’t move.”
“Then who moved…?”
“That’s it… I don’t know… ?”
The more Lilia spoke, the more confused she became. When I thought about it, it was strange. Why did his broom start moving without the owner’s permission? Could it be that he was manipulated and hijacked?
‘Aranea…’
The suspect that immediately came to mind was Aranea, the owner of this workshop. She is a professional puppeteer. He can also be said to be an authority on manipulating objects.
For her, it wouldn’t be a problem to steal a broom and control it.
Then why did you bring the broom into this workshop?
A strong feeling ran down my spine. Lilia swallowed dry saliva.
The red light of the candle, the stone walls, the narrow passage, the smell of blood that bothers your nose, the smell of medicine and rotten meat flowing inside, a dark, humid and nasty workshop that feels like a typical evil witch’s hideout.
The incredible atmosphere of the workshop became even colder.
Why did the broom lead them here?
Surely, if they were trying to trap them too…
“Hello~”
Hearing the lively woman’s voice, the three people turned their eyes to the source of the sound.
“You brought a colleague with you? Nice to meet you all! Are you okay? “Your head doesn’t hurt?”
Aranea was there.
What if the broom that brought them there was a trap? A workshop where you don’t know what kind of magic may have been installed. It was safe to assume that there were traps everywhere.
“I guess there’s still blood left…?”
Aranea’s red eyes felt especially scary in this room.
**
‘When will the broom come?’
Fortunately, it was not Aranea who moved the broom. Contrary to what Lilia thought, the culprit who controlled the broom was not the owner of the workshop, but Iva.
The story is simple.
-‘Anyway, if it’s Lilia’s, you can use it too! Huh! Just trust this mom! If you get caught later and get scolded, say my name!’
Lilia’s mother, Monia, registered Iva as one of the broom users without the owner’s knowledge.
-‘Learn how to ride a broom from Lilia later! While informing each other, we held each other’s waists and overlapped our hands… Haha! I don’t know! Oh, and if Lilia gives you something serious, tell this mom right away, okay? I know how to ride a little, so I can teach you.’
Unfortunately, I hadn’t confessed that to Lilia yet, so I wasn’t even able to practice on the broom, let alone getting scolded, but it didn’t matter.
Because it wasn’t for using the broom flying function.
The reason Iba called the broom was to use the broom’s automatic owner tracking function. The broom has an advanced magic that automatically finds the location of the registered user and goes there directly.
‘Tools are better than people. Ah, am I right to view it as a legal tool?’
If you use that function, you can find Lilia.
Unable to use tracking magic and with the devil’s power sealed away, the only solution Iva could take was to rely on tools.
But when I thought about it at this point, I realized that there was no need to rely on tools.
Ivar realized that he was clearly in a state of anger. You can tell just by looking at the corners of the mouth that turn up.
Remembering what Spica said in the past, ‘Those who smile in difficult times are the best’, I developed the habit of smiling whenever I experienced pain, anxiety, anger, or discomfort. Now, I automatically laugh when I feel mentally exhausted.
Iva was smiling happier than ever. It was because of the corpse of the girl I saw earlier, because of the rotten bodies in the countless cages other than that girl, because of the facilities of the workshop that created the corpse, and because of the owner of that workshop.
There was nothing I liked about my way of thinking, beliefs, words and actions, or even my appearance.
The act of driving a child to death because of my greed was truly incredible. Is it called overflow? When I reached my limit, the corners of my mouth stopped rising and I sat down.
Crash. Teeth grind together. A piece of tooth was chewed in the mouth.
“Our friend couldn’t end it in a proper way.”
The demonic power that had been suppressed under the influence of Aranea’s magic and medicine was released. Ivar’s devil nature was too great to suppress the devil’s power with just such restrictions.
Wings grew from his back, and butterflies like flowers bloomed between the wings to decorate him.
What the growing wings fan is chaos, confusion, and the law of reverse heaven. Forces resisting order swirled and spread throughout the workshop.
The wind with the nature of the devil ran quickly through the narrow alley.
“That’s why a prostitute like me is coming to see you. “I guess dirty things are attracted to each other, right?”
Contrary to his laughing voice, his face gradually became distorted in a grotesque way. The blood vessels on his face swelled as if they were bursting, and his pupils became bloodshot. The corners of his mouth went down like a half moon, but he showed all his teeth as if he was smiling broadly. The tooth was broken by the force of the person’s teeth and fragments flew out.
“I think we only need to see each other’s blood, so I’ll delete anything we don’t need. Don’t you agree?”
The wings are fully spread.
“Of course, I don’t need your consent.”
Inside the workshop, all of the blood that Aranea had collected disappeared.
**
“…Wow, what kind of wind is this! Wow, Stella! Grab my skirt! I can see it!”
“What are you talking about now…!”
Everyone was taken aback by the sudden gust of wind.
The one who was most embarrassed among them was Aranea.
Aranea waved her wand as if she was trying to cast a spell, but then stood still like an unwinding doll.
“Why is he again…”
Stella frowned and was wary of any further action. And then I found out the cause. The glass bottle that had been filled with blood to use blood magic was empty.
“…Is all the blood gone?”
“Hehe, there is a way though!”
Wow! Wow! Aranea rushed at Wiz with a dagger. The speed far exceeded human strength. It was an art made possible by replacing the body with a doll.
Of course, Wiz also had powers beyond the scope of humans. Aranea’s sword made contact with Wiz’s holy sword and bounced off.
But it wasn’t without injuries. Blood flowed from Wiz’s cheek.
“I just need to get blood!”
Aranea laughed and shook the blood in the small empty bottle. It was Wiz’s blood. Even though blood magic disappeared, even basic magic skills did not disappear. In this short period of time, it was an easy task to put Wiz’s blood in a bottle.
Hehe… I received the blood of a pure girl… I received it well~! Now continue with the magic you were trying to do…”
“…Oh.”
Wiz noticed the strangeness in Aranea’s words and trembled horribly.
“Huh? Why not?!”
It was because she sensed that her magic would fail. That failure was scarier than anything else.
“…Wait a minute, you can’t believe it…”
“The blood of a pure virgin… Now, wait a minute! Wiz?!”
Failure was evidence that contradicted Aranea’s words just now. What Aranea’s magic requires is the blood of a pure girl. He said so himself.
If the magic fails, it means that Wiz is unfortunately not pure.
“W-what do you mean?! Aren’t you pure, Wiz?!”
Lilia asked in surprise. In that surprise, there was a hint of disgust, anger, or even fear. It was the same reaction as the legendary unicorn, which is said to only like pure virgins.
“Did you become a Hero candidate with an impure body? That’s ridiculous… Wait a minute. Then you… “
Lilia asked her as if in shock, teasing, or declaring victory.
“Are you exposing yourself to Iva with your impure body? How can that be… I really feel sorry for Iva. A pure girl with no experience with women is being wooed by a dirty woman by a man like this…”
“…”
Despite Lilia’s ridicule, Wiz did not feel humiliated. Instead, they trembled or twisted their stomachs in shame. It wasn’t shame, it was the girl’s shyness.
A pure reaction filled with emotion while imagining a dream one night.
“Now, wait a minute. For a moment! Why are you reacting like that? “If you lost your virginity, you should be more humiliated… Why are you reacting like such a girl?!”
“…”
“They attacked Iva… Oh, no way!”
What if instead of coming at Iva with an impure body, it was the other way around? What if you were completely mistaken in the first place?
Who took Wiz’s virginity?
“Oh, no, right? Please say no… Please… Ok…?”
This is ridiculous. That can’t be possible. Lilia denied what she had imagined.
Lilia kept looking back at Stella and Wiz. As if he was trying to get confirmation that what he said was true.
“…No way, all of you?”
Stella, who would deny it if it was something unfair or would smile mockingly if it was something to make fun of, just kept her face coloring quietly without any reaction.
Now I know.
Lilia forgot for a moment that she was anemic and gathered her anger.
“Look down.”
“That’s it, Lilia…”
“Get down.”
At Lilia’s cold tone, Stella calmly dropped Lilia off.
Their eyes were colder than any ice or winter, and they were lower than the air in this workshop full of the dead, freezing them.
“Wet… “
Lilia took a deep breath and poured it out.
“Hey, you fucking perverts…”
Later, Stella and Wiz said that they were more afraid of Lilia’s angry swear words than any of Aranea’s magic. I recalled today.