Chapter 415: The Uprising (3)
"Go ahead, Zenon."
Yareli spoke, urging him to go and assist Jane. It was an unexpected suggestion, but she was sincere.
Oliver instinctively asked back, "What did you say?"
"I’m telling you to go help Jane... She’s your friend, isn’t she?"
Yareli recalled Oliver’s demeanor when they first met, which stood out as unusually peaceful for someone in Milieu. To her, both that calm side and his current attitude seemed genuine. In that case, it was better to send him.
"Staying here will only make you more anxious, won’t it? If that’s the case, it’s better for you to go directly. Having one less external member won’t be a big issue."
As Yareli spoke, she glanced at Kevin to seek his approval.
Oliver also looked at Kevin, and as both their gazes met, he hesitated briefly before nodding.
"Go. You’re not urgently needed here right now."
With that reassurance, Oliver’s dilemma between duty and his friend disappeared.
Frankly, considering Jane's strength, it probably wouldn’t be an issue even if he didn’t go himself. Yet, something about it still felt off.
Oliver expressed his gratitude first to Yareli, who gave him the idea, then to Kevin, who allowed it, and finally to Terrence, who silently observed the situation.
Terrence, upon receiving Oliver’s thanks, replied, "It’s a first for me to get thanked while doing nothing, but I must say, it feels nice."
"I mean it... If you don't mind, would you each take one of these?"
Oliver took out three pieces of paper with portal magic inscribed on them and handed them individually to Kevin, Terrence, and Yareli.
All of them, being skilled magicians, recognized the enchantment on the paper immediately upon receiving it.
"A portal magic? ...A scroll? That’s odd. I’ve never seen one like this before."
Noticing the peculiarity, Terrence, who had a keen eye for scrolls and magical items due to his profession, quickly inquired.
"It’s similar... In any case, I’ll be back as soon as possible."
...
With those words, Oliver received the communication device for contacting Lucien from Terrence and promptly exited the university.
The university buildings were already covered by hemispherical magical barriers, making it difficult to get in from the outside and just as challenging to leave from within. However, just like earlier when he moved with Yareli, Oliver placed his hand on the barrier, identified the magical formula flowing within, and channeled the stored mana in his body to interfere with the formula, creating a small hole through which he could exit.
Fortunately, the hole sealed up immediately after Oliver passed through, just as he intended.
Once outside the barrier, Oliver retrieved a vial from his chest pocket, extracted emotions from it, processed them into thread form for the first step, then into a cloth for the second, and draped it over his body. He then overlaid a black armor matching his muscle structure on top of that.
With his preparations complete, Oliver bent his knees slightly and leaped.
Bang━!!
The high-density emotion armor exerted maximum power with minimal effort through extreme compression and a sophisticated magical formula.
Oliver instantly sunk the ground beneath his feet as he propelled himself out of the university and beyond the fence in the blink of an eye.
Crash!
With a single leap, he landed against the wall of a three-story tavern outside the university.
Although the building's exterior cracked due to the powerful jump, it wasn’t a major concern considering the current state of Laville, the capital of Gallos.
The entire district surrounding the university, including the tavern, had been devastated by a giant’s footsteps, leaving parts in ruins, while other buildings were either on fire or had turned into battlefields where numerous people were fighting.
“Ugh... Why is this happening?”
“Die! Die!”
Oliver saw people fighting through the collapsed roofs.
Among them, some were in a frenzied state due to black magic, attacking others like wild beasts. Those not affected by the dark magic fought to protect themselves, spreading violence in all directions.
The resulting chaos, fear, anger, hostility, and all manner of intense emotions surged throughout the city, settling slowly downward.
...
Surveying the extreme emotions erupting from the disorder, Oliver shook himself out of his thoughts, remembering why he had left the university.
Although there were many distractions, there was something more important at the moment—helping Jane, Murphy, and Lucien Myra, who had supported them so far.
Oliver turned towards Zone 10, where the Myra Family was located, bent his knees slightly again, and launched himself off the building.
Bang━!! The air ripped apart with a resounding noise as Oliver smashed through a burning rooftop, leaping forward.
...
“Ah... So that’s the monster.”
Using his black suit, Oliver jumped from building to building, arriving near Dix Castle in Zone 10 in the shortest time possible. He muttered to himself upon arrival.
On the way, he had seen werewolves, giants under ten meters tall, griffons, pig-headed or chicken-headed humans, and zombies armed with guns, among other things, but the creatures near the castle were in a different league.
There were monsters with bird bodies and human female faces, insect wings, soldier figures with a man's body and a chick's head, monkeys clashing cymbals, and more.
They had an even more grotesque appearance than the other creatures causing havoc in the city. However, what stood out more to Oliver than their outward forms was the malice and the fact that they were creatures—artificial lifeforms created through manipulation-type black magic.
They were the same type as Oliver's own creations, yet there was something different about them. It was hard to explain specifically.
‘Perhaps that's only natural...’
Oliver thought. After all, creation-type black magic was the most difficult and complex branch of black magic, requiring not only skill but creativity, imagination, sincerity, and an indefinable talent or aptitude.
The limited number of black magic books he had read about the subject was proof enough.
From those books, what he had learned about creation-type black magic was that it required more than just skill; it needed an intricate blend of qualities that were hard to pinpoint.
‘It felt like I could almost grasp it, yet it remained elusive... But did the Flesh Chef specialize in creation-type magic?’
Oliver pondered, observing the monsters flying around the castle and feasting on human flesh.
As far as he knew, the Flesh Chef's specialties were absorbing strength through consumption and physical enhancement through disease manipulation.
‘Maybe there’s a black magician specializing in creation-type magic.’
He recalled a black magician subordinate of the Flesh Chef, whom he had encountered when working with Pinkman—a manipulator who had instantly raised an army of zombies using his vast life force and emotions.
‘But that's not the immediate concern.’
Having set his priorities straight, Oliver no longer let the chaotic scene around him distract him and immediately took action.
He descended to the ground, kneeling on one knee on the empty sidewalk, pressed his hand to the ground, and infused it with the stored mana in his body, altering the properties of the ground to sink beneath it.
Wrapped in his black suit, Oliver sank into the earth as if it were a swamp, eventually reaching the sewer below.
[Light]
The moment he descended, he instinctively gathered his mana and produced light.
However, his purpose in illuminating the area was not merely for visibility.
It had a more fundamental reason—anticipating an ambush in the darkness.
Swish━!!
As soon as the light emerged and dispelled the darkness, Oliver spotted a shadow lunging at him with a dagger.
‘A shadow? ...Manipulation-type black magic? No. It’s a creature.’
Oliver observed the shadow wielding the dagger.
Initially, the shadow had expanded as if it would fill the entire passageway when the light appeared, but with the illumination, its form shrank, allowing Oliver to block the attack relatively easily.
But he couldn’t afford to relax.
“Heeheeheeheehee!!”
The moment Oliver deflected the dagger, a clown dressed in gaudy makeup descended from the sewer ceiling, swinging a toy-like scythe.
At a glance, it appeared human, but Oliver could tell this clown was also a creature.
It was quite astonishing to see a creature so human-like.
“Hoooot! Hohohohoh!!”
The clown creature wobbled its upper body left and right in a ridiculous manner, looking for an opening to strike before swinging the toy-like scythe.
Despite its crude appearance, the scythe left deep gashes in the concrete walls and severed metal pipes, showing its power. However, its clumsy swinging made it easy for Oliver, who had received close combat training from Kevin, Terrence, and Yareli, to evade and counterattack.
Thump.
When Oliver dodged the scythe and jabbed with his quarterstaff, the clown's chest caved in, making a dull sound.
The clown creature laughed.
“Yohohohohoho!!”
[Grind]
Oliver chanted, and a shrill sound echoed through the entire sewer along with the creature’s bizarre laughter.
“Gyuhuhuhuhuh! Ahahahahaha!!”
With a gaping hole in its chest, the clown creature thrashed in pain on the ground, yet its face remained in a grotesque grin.
As Oliver tilted his head at the strange, unnatural sight, the shadow swallowed the remaining darkness, extended its arm, and enlarged the dagger, stabbing the clown creature and engulfing it.
Gulp!
It was a surreal scene, like something out of a comic strip. Oliver silently observed, analyzing how such a thing was possible.
When the shadow fully absorbed the creature, it snapped its fingers, summoning a crocodile from the stagnant water in the middle of the sewer.
The crocodile had large eyes and a snout that resembled a human mouth.
Curiously, when the crocodile opened its jaws, a parrot appeared inside.
[Are you Dave?]
The parrot spoke, its voice halfway between that of a human and an animal, producing a grating sound like nails on a chalkboard. Nevertheless, Oliver responded politely.
"At the moment, I’m Zenon, an employee of the Tower of Magic. May I ask for your name?"
[I’m Pan!]
Pan. Oliver instinctively sensed that this Pan was the Eternal Child Pan.
"Pleased to meet you, Pan. If you don’t mind, may I ask you a question?"
[Just like I heard! Go ahead!]
"Did you attack the castle up there?"
[Yeah!]
"May I ask why?"
[To lure you out!]
It was an unexpected answer. Pan continued speaking.
[The Flesh Chef! That old man promised! If I helped him, he’d help me capture you!]
“Me?”
[Yeah! But I changed my mind! I didn’t want to follow that old man’s plans anymore!]
First attacking suddenly, then changing their mind... Oliver didn’t know what to make of it. It didn’t sound like mere chatter, either.
Oliver focused on his vision, opening the Necromancer's Sight.
As his normal view faded into darkness, he could see Jane, Murphy, and the essence of the creatures in the distance.
The essence of the creatures was... quite intriguing.
“...If you’ve changed your mind, would you be willing to part peacefully?”
[You’re worried about the people you came to rescue, huh!?]
Pan directly hit the core of the matter, and Oliver nodded.
[Why!? Why are you worried!?]
“Yes.”
[What’s the reason!?]
“Well... They’re people who have helped me, acquaintances, and friends.”
[Friends!?]
“Yes, friends.”
Upon hearing this response, the parrot seemed to smile.
...
After finishing his conversation with Pan, Oliver rushed in the direction he had seen through the Necromancer's Sight.
Fortunately, it seemed that Pan truly had no intention of helping the Flesh Chef, as Oliver was allowed to leave without any trouble. Before long, he met up with the Myra Family, the Kimball Family, and Jane, who had escaped through a secret passage from Dix Castle to the sewers.
The moment they saw Oliver, their expressions were filled with surprise, especially Jane’s.
“Da- no, Zenon... How did you get here?”
Jane was clearly not expecting him, but she quickly assessed the situation and glanced at Lucien.
He shrugged, indicating he had no choice, and then spoke to Oliver.
“Thank you for coming, Zenon. You saved us.”
“It’s nothing. But I heard that you were attacked by monsters?”
Oliver asked, recalling Pan’s creatures.
“Yes, the castle was suddenly attacked. They were so strong that our forces fell apart instantly, and we had to flee here. Even here, we were soon surrounded.”
“Fortunately, you all seem to be safe.”
At that moment, Murphy interjected.
“For some reason, even though they could’ve finished us off, they suddenly stopped and just left. After attacking like they wanted to kill us.”
Oliver thought about Pan’s earlier conversation. He wondered whether Pan had truly decided against helping the Flesh Chef or if there was some other reason.
But pondering alone wouldn’t provide the answer.
“In any case, we should be safe even if the monsters reappear. Now that Zenon is here.”
Lucien spoke with genuine relief, trusting in Oliver. Though Oliver appreciated the faith, he shook his head.
“I’m not so sure about that.”
“Excuse me?”
Oliver then turned his gaze toward one of the sewer tunnels and spoke.
“Puppet.”
The mention of that name caused everyone to freeze, and a moment later, an old man in tattered rags stepped out of the darkness.
“It’s been a while.”
The beggar—no, Puppet—responded.