Chapter 458: Ghost Story (3)
"Are you Puppet's disciple?"
When Oliver asked, the female corpse puppet showed signs of shock, surprise, and a hint of "I knew it." At the same time, Oliver detected a specific flow of magical power in the surroundings and raised his quarterstaff to block an incoming magic bullet.
Bang!
Oliver looked in the direction the bullet had come from and spotted a small golem hiding behind a pile of trash. It was a piece of military equipment capable of reconnaissance and attacks via mechanical devices, requiring not only a high cost but also exceptional skill to operate. Even Oliver hadn't seen such devices often, as only experts like retired soldiers or Pinkmen would use them.
[Hate Bullet]
Oliver immediately fired a hate bullet at the small golem trying to hide in the trash. The impact caused the golem's fragments to scatter into the air along with the trash.
Clack!
There was a mechanical sound coming from the front. As Oliver looked ahead, he saw the female corpse puppet extending her arm towards him. Her hand split open along the bone structure, revealing a hidden gun barrel inside.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
As soon as the barrel emerged, it spewed fire, and Oliver instinctively dodged the bullets, narrowing the distance between them before his mind could even process the situation.
Crack!
As soon as he closed the distance, Oliver gripped his quarterstaff as long as possible and swung it, shattering the barrel. Metal fragments flew through the air as Oliver and the female corpse puppet locked eyes.
"Even if your necromancy skills are impressive, your physical abilities too... are surprising, aren’t they?"
"I’m a little surprised myself."
As Oliver responded, he was about to follow up with another strike, but at that moment, two small golems containing magic bombs emerged from the female corpse puppet's body. It was a trick attack characteristic of corpse puppets and a fairly effective tactic. Oliver had often used this method himself when employing corpse puppet-rags.
Knives, needles, bullets, poison, and razors used for surprise attacks.
Although the quality of materials had improved recently, making this approach less common, he was well acquainted with it.
He had learned and studied it, so dealing with it was not difficult.
"Minions."
Just as the small golems' magical power resonated, ready to explode, Oliver spoke. Two minions from within his cloak reacted, quickly darting out and spitting hate bullets.
Whizz! Whizz!
The minions aimed precisely according to the structure of the small golems, neutralizing them before they could explode.
But this wasn't the end.
As soon as Oliver neutralized the surprise attack, he swung his quarterstaff again, only for the female corpse puppet to suddenly open her mouth and spew black smoke towards him.
It was a compound toxic gas crafted using disease-weakening-type black magic. The moment Oliver smelled the gas, he could identify the ingredients used and the black magic applied in the processing.
‘Stalker scorpion, green fang viper, clown spider venom, mixed together through black magic complications, huh?’
The ingredients were expensive, but the processing was relatively simple. It wasn't a bad combination.
If his guess was correct, even inhaling a single breath would disrupt the nervous system, causing paralysis and death as blood would seep from every orifice.
However, there were two things that didn’t make sense.
First, how did he know this? And second, why wasn’t he affected?
Crash!
Despite being hit by the toxic gas head-on, Oliver suffered no significant damage and continued to swing his quarterstaff, separating the female corpse puppet's lower and upper body.
At most, there was a slight tingling sensation.
The female corpse puppet was just as surprised and expressed admiration.
"Wow... I didn’t see this coming at all."
"Me neither," Oliver replied, holding the female corpse puppet and staring straight into her eyes. Even after finishing his response, Oliver did not look away, keeping his gaze fixed on the puppet's eyes.
As he focused on her eyes, his concentration increased, and as it did, the surrounding darkness deepened, and the necromancer's sight became clearer.
At that moment, Oliver could see it. A man controlling the female corpse puppet from a distance.
It was a face he had seen before. A young necromancer who had accompanied five female corpse puppets at the harbor.
He had blended into the crowd, watching as Oliver blocked the self-destructing corpse puppet.
Realizing too late what Oliver was doing, the man severed the link with the female corpse puppet, but Oliver didn't mind.
He already knew where the man was.
Oliver pulled a piece of paper from his cloak, sending it flying far away, and then threw another piece of paper right in front of him.
The paper he threw opened a violet portal by activating a stored magic formula, and without hesitation, Oliver stepped inside.
As soon as he entered the portal, Oliver emerged above one side of the junkyard.
From the sky, Oliver activated his necromancer’s sight and scanned the area below, soon spotting it.
The emotions he saw through the female corpse puppet.
Just like at the harbor, five corpse puppets stood by his side.
[Black Suit]
[Targeting]
The moment he confirmed his target, Oliver cloaked himself in the black suit and set the targeting directly in front of the target, increasing the gravitational pull.
Boom!
Oliver descended rapidly, crashing through the roof and landing right in front of his target.
When he raised his head, he saw the man he had seen at the harbor.
"…Are you Claude?"
"Yes, I’m a major shareholder of Prometheus Corporation and a disciple of the great necromancer, Puppet… You really must be Dave, it seems."
Inside the empty building, surrounded by five corpse puppets, Claude stood up from his chair and answered.
Oliver set the female corpse puppet he had been carrying down beside him and also stood.
"Do you know me?"
"It would be stranger if I didn’t."
Oliver paused to think, then nodded silently.
It made sense; after all, he had made quite a name for himself in Landa... However, what Claude said next was completely unexpected.
"If I didn’t know the person who took down the Flesh Chef, that would be even stranger, wouldn’t it?"
"..."
Oliver was more surprised than usual.
How did he know that? Oliver looked at Claude, suspecting he was just taking a shot in the dark, but Claude was certain.
"...I was just lucky."
"If defeating the Flesh Chef was luck, then that luck itself is a skill."
"May I ask how you know about this? Were you there by any chance?"
Oliver asked, just in case. Claude shook his head.
"No, with the great Archive and yourself there, how could I have been there? I just heard it from my master."
The master in question was Puppet... Oliver wondered if he had sensed Puppet's presence back then.
At the time, he hadn't noticed anything since he had been preoccupied with fighting and trying to survive against the Flesh Chef.
"At first, even I didn’t believe it, but it seems to be true. The fact that the disease-weakening-type toxic gas didn’t affect you is impressive. Though the crafting method is simple, the quality of the materials makes it no small feat… Truly remarkable. I mean that sincerely."
As the conversation turned towards the Flesh Chef, Oliver naturally shifted the topic.
"Is that why you called me here?"
"Well, that’s part of it, but I’m also curious about why you came to the New World."
"...Am I not allowed to come here?"
"Of course, you’re allowed. I’m just curious about the reason. The timing is rather... curious, you see."
The timing... Oliver had no idea what that meant, and his curiosity only grew.
He wanted to ask what Claude meant in detail, but based on Claude's emotional state, he didn't seem willing to give a straightforward answer.
It was evidence that something serious was going on.
Oliver could feel his curiosity intensifying. Depending on the circumstances, meeting Joanna might be delayed...
However, he hadn’t forgotten that he was here for business.
"If you don’t mind, could you give your response to Brian and Edith’s proposal?"
"Oh... I had heard you asked many questions, but I didn’t expect this one. Does something like that matter to someone like you?"
"Yes, it’s work... and I think you’ve already made up your mind."
Oliver replied, seeing through Claude’s emotions. There was no sign of hesitation or doubt.
In other words, he had already decided which side to vote for.
‘The problem is that it doesn’t seem like a favorable decision for us…’
Oliver predicted, and his prediction was correct.
"I plan to vote for the noble faction. Just as you guessed."
"Did you read my mind?"
"No, I’m not skilled enough to read your thoughts, Mr. Dave. In fact, your emotions are so faint... However, I do have a good sense for things. Just by observing the way you speak, I can roughly guess what you’re thinking. There’s always a certain flow."
Claude gestured in the air, tracing a wave-like motion.
"Impressive... Did you come here with your decision already made?"
"Yes, I wouldn’t have come if I hadn’t."
"Would it be useless for me to try to negotiate or offer you some terms?"
"Unfortunately, yes. I have enough money not to have to resort to such things."
"Incredible," Oliver said with genuine admiration. In these times, having enough wealth not to need anything from others indicated significant affluence...
The fact that someone so young had become a major shareholder of Prometheus Corporation spoke volumes.
"Could I ask why you’re voting for the noble faction?"
Oliver recalled what Edith had said, instructing him to at least find out the reason if their proposal was rejected.
‘The important thing is to achieve the ultimate goal, not to focus on a small battle right in front of you.’
Oliver remembered Edith’s words. Claude admired the question.
“That’s a sharp question that really hits the core. Very perceptive.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
“However, that makes it difficult to answer. It’s too sharp, you see. I’m not in a position to answer.”
Oliver’s ears perked up. “Not in a position to answer,” he said... This implied that although Claude would be the one casting the vote, the decision came from someone higher up.
And that someone could only be Puppet.
Oliver felt an ominous sensation. He didn’t know Puppet well, but if Puppet was involved, it was no ordinary matter.
Considering Puppet’s goals of reviving humans and creating souls, it was an endeavor he’d devoted hundreds of years to. Despite the time and effort, there had been no success, indicating the limitations of human knowledge.
If even centuries of research had failed, then the only option left would be to seek help.
Help from a being whose knowledge far exceeded human understanding.
Initially, it was just a hunch, a guess, but now, as he pondered it more deeply, Oliver felt certain.
He had also considered seeking assistance from a demon if he couldn’t fully solve the mystery of beautiful emotions.
“It seems we all think similarly.”
Claude spoke up, his interest and curiosity shining even brighter than before.
“That’s another question I can’t answer, but it’s intriguing… If you don’t mind, would you be willing to make a wager with me?”
“A wager?”
“Yes, a wager… Originally, I planned to part ways here, but you’re more interesting than I anticipated. I’d like to test you—would you try subduing me without killing me? If you succeed, I’ll share some fascinating information. Your employer won’t be displeased, if they’re wise.”
Sincerity. Oliver responded immediately.
“All right, I accept.”
As he spoke, Oliver sprang forward, aiming to swiftly subdue Claude with a single blow. Just as he was about to succeed, two figures quickly moved in between him and Claude.
They were female corpse puppets guarding Claude, each exuding a dense magical power and natural energy.
They were magic users and druids...