Chapter 280: Interlude (2)
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Whenever Mexico was mentioned, there were some things that would come to people’s minds...
Drugs, gangs, sketchy securities, slums...
Those were pretty much it.
Just like in most Latin American countries, Mexico had its fair share of corrupt politicians and cartels who had more say in the country than the government did.
Those cartels had established their own empires within the drug smuggling industry, with them importing drugs that were produced in Columbia, Venezuela and various other countries.
They ruled with fear, executing rival gangs, politicians, journalists, and even the military and police officers if they ever got in their way.
If an ordinary person dared to criticize them, they wouldn’t be spared at all—they’d be mercilessly killed and have their bodies dumped on the streets.
Take Ciudad Juárez, a border city with the US, for example. Thanks to the drug war, 10,000 people were killed every single year, with the rate of murders happening to 200 out of 100,000 people. This was the reason why the city was deemed as the most dangerous place in terms of safety and contributed to the ‘Mexico is dangerous’ mindset that was etched in people’s minds.
However, if one were to move beyond those border cities, known for their cartel and drug wars, like the southern megacity known as Mexico City, things would change quite a bit.
Mexico City was the city where the federal government and all the embassies were located. Even those cartels would think twice about causing trouble there, so it was a pretty safe place.
This was especially the case in the city’s heart, Polanco, where one could find a mix of European-style architecture and statues from the 16th century amidst the tall skyscrapers. The place looked so prosperous that if one held to their belief that Mexico was a dangerous place, they’d think that they had wandered off into a different country somehow.
In the center of the city, there was a grand building that not even the worst smog could touch.
Hotel St. Regis Mexico City, the place where you could see the beautiful night sky and cluster of stars from its rooftop. In this place, a group of witches were holding a meeting.
There were only four witches here.
Well, calling it a meeting wasn’t quite correct, as they were all here by personal invitations. This number of witches simply paled in comparison to back in the day, when this Criminal Exile’s group, ‘Qlipoth’ was in its prime.
Then again, considering that a lot of their members lost their lives during the invasion of Gehenna in 1883, it was simply an unavoidable situation.
“It’s been a while since we’ve all gathered like this, right? When was the last time we did this? Twenty years ago?”
Of course not everyone who had been invited had arrived, but the Witch of Desire, Bianca Belleli, declared that enough time had passed as she twirled a strand of her hair and let out a laugh.
Her lustrous silver hair flowed gracefully over her shoulders, her emerald-colored eyes retained their radiance even under the dim lighting.
“So, why are you sitting at the head of the table again?”
A witch spouted that question at her in a sharp voice, but Bianca answered her in a calm tone.
“Well, you came to my city and I’m the hostess here. Isn’t it natural for me to sit here, or do you have another idea in mind, ‘Claire Asmodeus’?”
“Whatever. Either you sit somewhere else or bring out something better for me to drink. Why are you bringing this cheap shit out anyway?”
Except for Claire, who voiced her displeasure sharply and openly, nobody else did.
Bianca was someone who had brought together both the big cartels and the small ones in Mexico, turning them into one powerful force.
Considering how her throne was built on mountains of drugs and dead bodies, it was hard for other witches to argue with her.
The reason why Claire was fuming at her was only because they hated each other.
Well, actually, it was more like she just couldn’t stand Bianca.
She owned a drug production plant in Colombia, but thanks to Bianca’s greed when she distributed her drug to North America, Claire ended up losing a lot of money, so it was hard for her to see the witch in a favorable light.
Even to witches, money was important, since their magic research cost money.
“Picking a fight right after meeting each other? Little one, you’re always full of energy, hm~?”
The witch in a nun’s habit, sitting comfortably, said so with a light giggle.
Despite her robe hanging somewhat loosely, it still couldn’t conceal her voluptuous figure.
“Shut up, you cow-tits.”
“Why are you being so harsh? Who do you think supplied your weapons for your little wars, hm?”
Just like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Claire immediately started a quarrel.
It was clear that there wasn’t a harmonious atmosphere going around them.
But, this was normal for them.
Because the witches gathered here were the infamous Criminal Exiles from ‘Qlipoth’, the grand witches known for their prowess and magic.
They were the worst of the worst, those who formed their own factions to go against Duchess Keter and Duchess Tiphereth.
But, that was the extent of their relationship. They were forced to cooperate due to the circumstances, but fundamentally, they were hostile to each other.
Considering that even the Witch of Aquarius, who used to be a member of Qlipoth, was immediately stripped of all her power and influence as soon as the news of her death was heard, it was only natural that they were wary of each other.
“I’m curious. Why are we holding this meeting all of a sudden?”
A calm and collected voice cut through the tense air.
This time, a witch with jet-black hair, looking like it was drawn with a brush, spoke.
Her cold gray eyes clearly expressed that she had no wish to entertain anyone’s nonsense, even for a second.
It really didn’t take them long to catch on what she was planning to do. As soon as they did, everyone started calculating the pros and cons in their heads.
For these Criminal Exiles, Duchess Keter was like a giant landmine under their feet.
At the moment, they were tiptoeing around, cautiously navigating their way so that they wouldn’t accidentally set the landmine off. But, at the same time they were practically shackled inside this field, unable to get out even if they wanted to.
The prophecy from the ‘Oracles’ that the Witch of Whispers relayed wasn’t something to brush off lightly.
This organization had a perfect track record of predicting the future for over a thousand of years.
Even though they couldn’t trust Lilith even a little, there was a possibility that she was telling the truth this time.
If that was the case, that meant they could finally do all the magic research and shady dealings they were unable to do before without worrying about anything.
And there was someone here who volunteered herself to risk her life to see if the prophecy was real or not.
While the price tag was hefty, the offer was tempting enough, so it was really hard to refuse it.
“Alright, I’m in~”
“Me too.”
“If you die, I’m going to take over all your toys.”
“Now, don’t get ahead of yourself.”
In the end, they all agreed to her plan.
If more witches were around, she could get more profit off this dealing, but she was already satisfied enough with this result.
After that, things just flowed smoothly.
She didn’t demand for anything much and considering the danger, she even agreed to delay half the payment until she was done with the experiment.
In fact, the negotiation went a little too smoothly, leaving the other three witches confused.
“Alright, since this isn’t exactly a friendly catch-up session, why don’t we call it a day?”
“Sure, I’m sick of hearing your annoying voice anyway.”
“...”
“Oh, cmon, don’t be like that~ Haven’t we been buds for ages~?”
“Alright, catch you later.”
-Clap!
With a loud clap from Bianca, their arguing stopped.
The lights on the previously dimly lit hotel were immediately turned on, showing a completely different scene at the conference table.
“Ugg...grr...!”
The three witches who had been occupying the table—the loud one, the quiet one and the laid back one—were all gone.
In their place were three dying humans with their mouths foaming and eyes bleeding.
This was a mental dissolution spell performed using a proxy.
Except for Bianca, the other witches weren’t in Mexico City. They had all been attending the meeting by using magic.
Of course the humans that were used as their proxies couldn’t withstand the immense knowledge and mana of a witch with their frail body.
They ended up becoming unfortunate sacrifices, soon to meet their end due to their brains getting mushed up from the ritual, but that wasn’t a major concern for anyone.
“Haah...!”
Suddenly, Bianca let out a hot sigh.
The reason for this was there was someone crawling between her skirt, licking her sensitive parts throughout the meeting. This place was a blind spot for the other witches that were sitting at the table, that was why they hadn’t noticed this person.
“Phew... I almost cummed back then... Alright, it’s done. Come out.”
A figure hesitantly crawled out from between her wide-open legs.
With her short fair fell below her shoulders, she looked pitiful, like a wilting flower.
She had ruby-like eyeballs, no, rather, the color of her eyes closely matched that of blood. There was fear in those eyes as she stared at Belleli’s face.
Her face could be considered flawless even by a witch’s standard, but it was covered in sticky love juice and saliva, making her look disgustingly vulgar.
“Your skills have improved lately. Well done, Ea.”
“...”
She was the pet that Bianca had recently acquired, the witch whom everyone thought to be dead.
Ea Sadalmelik.
The infamous Witch of /genesisforsaken