༺ Witch of the Covenant (1) ༻
1.
Altai Mountains.
Or ‘Mountain of Gold’ in Mongolian, the mountain range that spanned 1,600 kilometers from the Gobi Desert to Siberian Plain, crossing four nations in its path; Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Russia and China. It cut a path across those nations, from the southeast to the northwest.
Across the vast terrain, a newly formed, meandering river flowed, accompanied by the rustling sound of scattered cottonwoods and birch trees along the valleys, swaying in the strong winds.
At the mountain’s peak that pierced the deep blue sky, ice-capped like hats, there were various untamed slopes where the wild goats thrived as they ran along the mountain ranges.
And standing among such a grand showcase of nature was a petite woman. Even those who didn’t believe in gods would find themselves chanting divine praises when they saw this scene.
Though she appeared mature, she possessed a look akin to a girl who had just entered adulthood.
However, anyone who encountered her for the first time would have a hard time recognizing this subtle distinction.
Her hair and eyes held a mysterious allure, surpassing even the beauty of the Altai Mountains’ landscapes.
And her allure wasn’t confined to her appearance alone.
To reach this area to begin with required one to traverse tens of kilometers from the nearest nomadic settlement, marking it as a challenging place to reach.
Yet, she stood there without a proper guide, dressed lightly, as though she was out for a leisure stroll. She stepped onto the surface of a chilly lake formed by the melting glacier.
The pure white sword, that was taller than her own body added to the mysterious allure that she possessed.
“…”
Suddenly, a wave of mana began emanating around her.
Magenta-colored aura reflected subtly in her eyes.
The serene water, resembling a mirror, without a single ripple traversing through it, quivered as it received the intense mana that poured out of the woman.
An interdimensional barrier slowly expanded from around her, gradually engulfing the surrounding landscape.
Ten meters, twenty, a hundred, five hundred… One kilometer… Five… Ten…
While Duchess Keter had already simplified the formula needed for this spell, deploying it on such a scale would still need a substantial amount of mana.
Despite her cute look, the lack of playfulness in the woman’s face took away part of the charm that usually accompanied someone with such a look.
“…There you are…”
She murmured as she tapped on the water’s surface lightly.
Immediately, the lake churned, stirring up a roaring waterstorm.
This phenomenon wasn’t caused by mana, surprisingly.
The woman’s forceful kick was the sole thing that was responsible for it.
It harbored an immense kinetic energy that defied the laws of physics.
With a single leap, she crossed several hundred of meters, charging toward her destination.
Every step she took seemed to trigger some sort of explosive reaction from her surroundings.
Though her dashes barely brushed the birch trees, they were enough to shake them to their roots and shattered the lake’s tranquility.
After dashing for about ten seconds, she abruptly stopped on a certain meadow that was covered in thick grass.
The cause? Because she had found her target, the Homunculus, ‘Red Knight,’ who had escaped from her and concealed itself inside a subspace.
“…”
It stood around two meters tall.
There was an ominously thick, fiery red armor covering its body.
It briefly glanced in the direction of the woman as it sensed her presence.
Despite its injuries, the time it managed to buy had granted it a swift recovery.
Most Homunculi weren’t given any unique names.
This was because all Homunculi were different, and it was simply inefficient to give those creatures who’d be killed immediately once found flashy names.
So, what did it mean if a Homunculus bore a name?
Simple, it meant that specific Homunculi possessed a fearsome reputation and it had survived in this world for centuries.
Similar to an Exile bearing the label ‘Criminal’ for all the harm she caused to witches and humans, this ominous Homunculus bore the name ‘Red Knight.’
Since its discovery in the Apennine Mountains five hundred years ago, this monstrous creation of the Witch of Creation had caused deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians, even killing seven witches who sought to hunt it down.
-Clang!
The Red Knight swiftly thrusted its spear, resonating with its crimson armor.
Simultaneously, the eyes that were concealed beneath its helmet snapped open.
Fifteen pairs of unsettling, malevolent eyes, twisted with disdain as they fixed their gazes on the woman, seemingly mocking her.
Unperturbed by the ominous gaze, she tightened her grip on her sword.
-Screech!
Her grip, strained by her immense strength, emitted an ominous creek.
“Motherfucker… Let’s settle this here.”
Clutching the hilt with both hands, her body subtly formed a strong stance.
Against her immense power harnessed through a ‘covenant,’ mere mortal finesse was simply inconsequential.
All she needed to do was get into a stance and get ready to unleash every ounce of her might.
“Hereby, I declare a covenant.”
After a brief incantation, the pure white sword revealed a script on its side, initiating the solemn beginning of the covenant’s affirmation.
The First Covenant, physical strength enhancement.
Second, muscular agility heightening.
Third, strengthening the flexibility of her muscles.
Fourth, converting all her expendable mana into a single devastating slash.
Fifth, disregarding the distance between her and her enemy, to bridge the gap between them.
Sixth, the sword would cut through everything.
With each covenant, the weight of surging mana bore down the surroundings like an expanding force.
The Red Knight, not willing to be an idle observer, aimed its ‘Red Branch’ at its opponent.
“I’ll cut you in half, you bastard.”
Meanwhile, the woman had her legs firmly rooted to the ground, exuded stability akin to the roots of a giant tree.
Her front leg supported her weight, preventing her body from being lifted off the ground, while her other leg propelled her forward with a powerful force, pushing against the earth, causing an explosive whirlwind of soil.
The strike she let out was something that seemed to cleave through space itself.
Her sword cut through the air, but it didn’t cause any disturbance, as if she hadn’t done anything.
But, at the end her sword, a crimson barrier extended like tendrils, clashing with her strike.
2.
The massive interdimensional barrier that the woman spread out was shattered.
As it shrank down like a tightening noose, the destruction caused by the woman’s slash was restored.
The lake, previously blown away by the sword’s power, had returned to its original state.
Even the mountain range, which was previously sliced up like cheese, reverted to its majestic state.
After the barrier disappeared, the meadow returned to its peaceful and picturesque view, as if nothing ever happened.
The woman, Duchess Eloa Tiphereth, casually summoned her Personal Weapon, ‘Sword of Covenant,’ and clicked her tongue in frustration.
“Tsk.”
‘I missed again.’
Her strike managed to cut through the distant mountain range, but failed to penetrate the barrier of the ‘Red Branch’ and defeated her enemy.
“Did it plan to run away from the very start…?”
Seeing it coming from the subspace, she thought that it was ready to confront her.
But, when she readied herself for the next clash, the Red Knight immediately pierced through a rift and vanished after it succeeded in defending against her strike.
Homunculi possessed a unique ability to traverse through dimensions.
When they were lying dormant, they’d lay low within their own subspaces, but when they were sprung into action, they’d jump to various locations for skirmishes.
The ‘Red Branch’ that this particular Homunculus possessed had the ability to distort the dimension, allowing the Red Knight to have a precise means of escape. Coupled with it having intelligence that was close to a human’s, it could make use of it perfectly.
Eloa herself had won a total of seven clashes against the Red Knight in this year only, yet she still couldn’t secure a definitive victory.
It always managed to slip away at the last moments.
Though her months-long ordeal had ended in failure, she didn’t seem to be frustrated.
She knew that there was no use for her to chase after it again after it managed to escape once.
Usually, tracking a specific Homunculus in this vast world would take an immense amount of time, but that wasn’t the case for Eloa.
During her fifth clash with this particular Homunculus, she managed to find a means to track it.
She utilized one of her twelve ‘covenants’ on it.
It allowed her to pinpoint each other’s locations.
That was why she could vividly sense its presence even though there was a considerable distance between the two of them.
While the range of error was still within several dozen kilometers, at least she could narrow down her search range.
Her experience in hunting numerous Homunculi taught her that their spatial leaps had limitations.
The further the distance they traversed, the longer time it would take for them to do another leap.
This time, the Red Knight covered quite a distance in a single leap.
Which meant, it was impossible for it to escape from her if she were to find it again.
Eloa crouched her body down and sprinted forward.
She accelerated, almost reaching the speed of sound, covering several kilometers per minute.
-Beep! Beep! Beep!
Suddenly, her phone alarm rang, and she abruptly stopped her legs.
Since she had been dwelling in remote areas for a while, the moment she reached a place where she could receive a phone signal, a backlog of emails flooded her inbox.
“…”
She scanned through the email’s header, and suddenly her body froze, seemingly unable to believe what she had just read.
[Madam Tiphereth, Ea Sadalmelik invaded Gehenna, and was promptly killed by Baroness Amelia Marigold.]
[The death of the criminal, Ea Sadalmelik.]
[Sadalmelik’s death.]
Similar messages flooded her inbox.
As the founder of Witch Points worldwide, she was able to gather all information concerning Homunculi and their activities.
But even so, for her, any intel regarding Ea took precedence over everything else.
Those multitude of emails she received all conveyed the same information.
The news of Ea Sadalmelik’s death, the person responsible for killing her own apprentice witch a century ago.
‘She’s… Dead…?’
‘That bitch who’s always slipping away like a cockroach…?’
‘You’re telling me she’s dead…? Just like that…?’
Eloa sensed something inside her snap.
At that moment, two scenes flashed before her eyes.
The image of herself granting permission to her apprentice witch, Ravi, who had pleaded for the chance to go out and have fun in the modern world.
And the haunting memory of her embracing Ravi’s chilling body inside a shabby warehouse.
Ever since that day, she made a solemn vow.
To survive, only to avenge her apprentice, against the vile being who unjustly killed and stole her bowl.
But that quest for vengeance had come to an abrupt end.
After all, she couldn’t hold the deceased accountable, no matter how wicked they were when they were still alive.
She was unable to hurl her heartfelt anger against that vile witch.
And this abrupt development robbed her of the ability to stir her emotions.
“Ravi… Ravi…”
Her legs gave way and she slumped to the floor, calling out the name of her beloved apprentice.
After momentarily lost in a daze, she managed to gather herself and struggled to rise.
‘No, nothing is certain yet…’
‘There’s a chance that it’s merely a rumor…’
‘I have to find out the truth.’
She took out her Gehenna citizenship card and infused it with mana before plunging herself into the nearby blue river.
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