Genius Warlock - Chapter 514

Chapter 514: Paradox (2)


In hindsight, it was truly a strange occurrence.

Everything that happened concerning Oliver. And, in a broader sense, Oliver’s very survival.

Oliver should already be dead. Not that he deserved it, but death would have been a more natural outcome in many ways.

After all, countless factors constantly threatened Oliver’s life.

Children filled with malice, an orphanage director who found him unsettling, unending hunger, disease, enormous rats… And then, even at an age far younger than other children, Oliver was sold off to work in a mine, placed in an even harsher and more dangerous environment.

For Oliver, death seemed only natural.

Yet, he survived.

He’d faced death on numerous occasions but always managed to stay alive somehow.

A strange phenomenon, enough to make one tilt their head in puzzlement.

But no one gave it much thought. They merely thought of Oliver as an unlucky child, and that included Oliver himself. He was only concerned with staying alive.

That’s why Oliver didn’t give much thought to his existence beyond this world, his abilities to freely wield magic, emotions, and the forces of nature, or his connection to the first verse of prophecy fulfilled in his battle with Merlin.

“The needle moves the moment a great chasm opens at the world's end…”

After all, he was too busy surviving in this harsh world, too preoccupied with observing this delightful world.

“Is that truly the reason?”

An eerie sensation crawled down Oliver’s spine as he questioned himself.

Was that really the reason he hadn’t thought deeply about these matters? Or had he just wanted to avoid even pondering such things?

But then, Lilith asked him directly, right to his face.

She questioned why someone with so much curiosity had no interest in matters concerning himself.

Her words left Oliver feeling uncomfortable.

It felt as if she were criticizing or mocking him for avoiding important issues.

Perhaps that’s why? Oliver found himself unconsciously raising his hand, frowning instead of responding.

“…Ah.”

Lilith smirked, a bitter smile on her face.

“...Why so surprised? That’s your specialty, isn’t it? Pretending to be kind, but the moment someone grates on your nerves, you frown and lash out. You only act kind within the boundaries you set for yourself.”

Lilith opened her arms boldly, as if daring him to strike her.

This time, rather than feeling any satisfaction, her emotions shone with fear, resentment, anger, and sadness.

It was then that Oliver realized Lilith’s true intent.

She hadn’t asked to get an answer but rather to provoke him. To irritate him as much as possible.

But why? Why would Lilith try to get on his nerves?

Fortunately, that question was answered quickly in her final statement.

“It’s the same question I asked the first time.”

“Oh, are you changing the subject? Well, that’s also something you’re good at. Whenever something uncomfortable comes up, you always divert to something else—”

“—It’s also the question I asked when we last met.”

“...”

“Back then, in the contaminated zone underground... That time, you all appeared and asked me who I was. Instead of answering, I struck you all down.”

The memory of Oliver’s connection to the World Tree during the Rosburn incident and his research on the Martel Institute resurfaced in his mind.

During his investigation, an eye made of countless magical energies had appeared in the Root Net, asking Oliver a question, to which he’d responded by shattering it, like breaking glass.

His reason was simple: it had bothered him at a busy time.

Later, Pandora told him that the eye was Eve and that by shattering it, he had unwittingly allowed for their existence. The existence of the three Eves.

Eve, Pandora, and Lilith.

“If any of the resentment you feel toward me stems from that incident, I formally apologize.”

“What did you say?”

“I said that if your resentment toward me stems from that incident, I offer my formal apology, Lilith.”

Just as he had apologized to Pandora in the past, Oliver now apologized to Lilith.

Despite how busy he’d been, striking her had been wrong.

And it wasn’t just one strike—he had shattered her into three pieces, amplifying his fault considerably.

Pandora had the good fortune of being taken in by Heimdall, which allowed her to develop stably, but Eve had been captured by Enjoyment and suffered greatly, and Lilith’s situation was even worse.

Though the exact circumstances were unclear, it had been none other than Puppet who had taken Lilith in.

Considering Lilith’s skill with corpse puppets and her vast accumulation of knowledge, it was possible that her time with Puppet hadn’t been entirely negative, but regardless, Oliver felt the need to apologize.

“After all, I did strike you. I am truly sorry.”

Oliver apologized repeatedly. Lilith, who had been watching him with a blank expression, suddenly burst into a loud, almost convulsive laugh.

“Pft! Ahahaha! Ahahahaha!”

The laugh sounded out of place, not at all fitting her usual dignified demeanor, but it somehow felt more authentic, especially as her hair shifted to a motley of brilliant colors mid-laugh.

Lilith laughed for quite some time, yet Oliver simply watched her in silence, unaffected.

As time passed, Lilith spoke.

“You exceed my expectations. And predicting things is my specialty.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’re far more shameless than I thought. You apologize, even though you don’t fully understand or mean it. Quite remarkable.”

Oliver stayed silent. Her words were true. Oliver still didn’t understand what genuine apology or sincerity truly meant.

“Yet, I…”

“It’s fine. I already knew you were like this… So, shall we get to the main point?”

“The main point?”

Oliver tilted his head.

“Yes, you came here to find Eve, didn’t you?”

Ah… With a sigh of realization, Oliver nodded unconsciously. Caught up in Lilith’s intense personality, he’d momentarily forgotten, but his reason for coming here was to secure the captured Eve.

Noticing Oliver’s reaction, Lilith appeared to share a similar understanding.

With his goal back in mind, Oliver asked, “Judging by what you said, it seems you’ve already captured Eve… What happened to her?”

After a moment of thought, Lilith replied, “Hmm… I ate her. Yum.”

...

Lilith made an exaggerated motion of licking her lips as she spoke of eating Eve.

Curiously, her emotions were a mixture of truth and deceit.

An inherently contradictory answer.

She had eaten Eve, yet hadn’t? What could that mean? Was it only partially true?

When Oliver pressed for clarification, Lilith replied once more.

“What do I mean? Just what I said—I ate her.”

Oliver examined Lilith’s emotions again. She was sincere. Lilith had indeed consumed Eve. That part was true.

The strange part was that Lilith’s emotions showed both anger and resentment at this fact.

“Are you... shocked?”

“Ah… Yes, honestly, yes… I’m quite surprised. May I ask why you ate Eve?”

“...I expected you to get angry, but you didn’t?”

“I’m not sure I have the right to be angry at you, Lilith. And I also want to hear the details.”

Despite his surprise, Oliver spoke calmly. Lilith looked at him intently before responding.

“...Of course. It’s not difficult. But there’s one condition.”

As soon as she answered, Lilith drew power from the World Tree below them, disappearing from Oliver’s sight in an instant.

Being an essence of the World Tree itself, Lilith had the limited authority to shape her own space through it.

Oliver called out into the void.

“Lilith?”

“Don’t worry. I may have vanished from your sight, but I’m not truly gone… You’d miss me, wouldn’t you?”

“I would,” Oliver replied earnestly. Having met Pandora and Eve, he was reluctant to end this conversation with Lilith, who was so distinct from the others.

He sensed that her resentment and anger toward him would deepen his understanding of Eve.

Hmm…

At that moment, Oliver paused, surprised at his own thoughts.

Though, it wasn’t all that surprising. He knew he was always like this. But as he thought of Eve, who had been bewildered when they first met, and Pandora, who had approached him calling him “father,” he felt a slight pang of unease.

A vague, inexplicable feeling...

Oliver felt himself sinking into a mire of complex thoughts, but fortunately, Lilith’s voice drew him back to reality.

“Let’s play a game of hide-and-seek. Do you know it?”

“Yes, I saw it back at the mine.”

“You’re impressive. If you find me, I’ll tell you why I ate Eve.”

“What happens if I can’t find you?”

“Oh, you’ll die, of course.”

Before the words fully left her mouth, zombies began pouring from the underground area recreated by magic.

The memories of his fight against Puppet during the contaminated zone cleanup resurfaced.

Grrrrrr—!!

Kaa-ha-ha-ha—!!

Grrrk—!! Grrrk—!!

The zombies tore through the basement walls, surging toward Oliver in a frenzy.

Although he already knew this was a magical reconstruction of the World Tree’s memories, the level of realism was astounding.

Even without the eyes of a black magician, it would be easy to believe these were real.

Constructing such a realistic space, even with the aid of the World Tree’s power, was a feat of remarkable skill.

Then again, perhaps it was only natural. Pulling clear images from the Root Net—an ocean of information—building a structure with the skeleton of memories, drawing in magic from within the World Tree, and precisely shaping it was immensely difficult, like drawing a blueprint and building a structure singlehandedly.

In major projects, dozens to hundreds of magicians were typically required.

This included tasks like finding information for space creation, bringing it to reality through net sailing, calculating the spells for constructing reality, controlling the surging magical power, and possessing the physical and mental endurance to complete each step.

It was possible for Lilith to do all of this alone because she was, in essence, the World Tree itself.

...

Oliver focused magic in his left hand and activated two spells simultaneously: [Shield] and [Dry].

First, he compressed his magic to create multiple layers of shields, merging them into one, solidifying his defense against the approaching horde of zombies.

Bang—!

The zombies pressed forward with sheer numbers and recklessness, crushing those at the front without hesitation. They slammed against the shield with teeth, claws, and fists, undeterred by their own destruction.

It was an attack only possible from beings without life.

Strange, Oliver thought. These zombies are too well-crafted… Did she pull in memories of other places, or is there really a stockpile of zombies like this in Zone F?

Impressed by the high level of detail in the zombies, Oliver initiated the next spell. Using Dry, a wind that sucked out all moisture, he started desiccating the zombies as they continued their assault.

Under the influence of the withering air, the zombies quickly dried up, and Oliver took the opportunity to engulf them in flames, reducing them all to ash.

Fwoooosh!

Come to think of it, it’s a bit like Creation-type black magic, Oliver mused, watching the flames consume the undead as well as the underground space created from the World Tree’s magic.

Using the World Tree’s power to build a virtual space was like crafting with precise mathematical formulas. In contrast, the Creation-type black magic that Pan had demonstrated on the New Continent was more like painting—based on creativity and imagination rather than exact calculations.

Even so, Oliver sensed a similarity between the two at their core.

In other words, using the World Tree to create spaces could have an incredible range of applications. Just as mathematics has countless formulas…

A fascinating idea. Oliver reflexively considered all the possibilities.

For instance, constructing an environment to enhance elemental magic or creating a space where two incompatible elements could coexist, producing an unknown synergy.

Such advancements could make this type of magic truly limitless.

Just then, the ground beneath Oliver began to crumble.

The basement floor of the contaminated zone—laden with traps—collapsed beneath him, pulling him downward.

Thanks to his training with the Flesh Chef, Oliver’s reflexes allowed him to notice and evade the collapse if he wanted. However, instead, he concentrated magic into his quarterstaff, altering its properties to harmonize with Lilith’s game.

As he half-fell through the crumbling floor, the blue electric currents surged along his quarterstaff, illuminating the countless zombies lurking below.

The zombies—letting out inhuman wails—charged at Oliver.

Surrounded by what resembled a scene straight out of a hellish nightmare, Oliver struck the ground with his quarterstaff, releasing blue electric currents that rippled outward in every direction, surging from floor to ceiling.

[Return Stroke]

Though this spell was typically used to strike indiscriminately across a wide area, Oliver recalled Merlin’s teachings and enhanced its efficiency and effectiveness by imposing a rule of single-use only.

Thanks to this, Return Stroke transformed from a wide-range bombardment into a precisely targeted attack. Blue lightning surged outward from Oliver, striking each zombie with pinpoint accuracy, incinerating them from below and destroying them completely.

Crash! Crash! Crash!

The relentless noise of lightning tore through the air as zombies shattered, sending their remains flying toward the ceiling.

It was a horrific sight, but even this was only a prelude to the next phase of battle.

From the scattered zombie fragments, a mass of corpses started to merge, forming a Corpse Golem.

A large, specialized zombie created by fusing multiple corpses to amplify size and power. Although Lilith hadn’t channeled black magic to animate it, she could still control it freely within this constructed space.

Not to mention, those corpse puppets she uses are likely fueled by cells transplanted from black magic users, Oliver thought. She may have even studied black magic herself.

The cell transplant techniques he’d taught to Claude, Puppet’s disciple on the New Continent, appeared to have been shared with Puppet.

Though, it’s also possible Puppet had already researched this independently… He’d lived for centuries, devoting himself to study.

While Oliver pondered, the massive corpse golem took form and advanced on him.

Just as he wondered whether Lilith’s intent was to gradually drain him of his stamina, a portion of the corpse golem crumbled.

The excessive magic used to craft the space and the repeated lightning attacks had caused significant deterioration to the zombies, leading to this unexpected collapse. The golem consumed nearby corpse fragments to repair itself.

Watching this, Oliver experienced a sudden realization about what Lilith had meant by “eating” Eve.

Lilith hadn’t devoured the Eve he knew. Instead, she had absorbed the shattered fragments left behind when he had destroyed the eye, fragments that were essential for her survival.

“I’m… truly terrible.”

Oliver murmured this to himself as he looked at the corpse golem, its massive fist hurtling toward him.


Next Chapter >>>