Chapter 564: Escape (3)
Centered around the mansion where the nobles had gathered, a massive dark cloud began to form.
Its sheer size and the speed of its emergence—clearly the work of an unnatural force. Within moments, serpentine streaks of blue lightning flickered wildly across the darkness.
Kurr-rung, kurr-rung... kurr-rung...!!
The heavens and the earth trembled, and with each shock, Pan sensed the fear coursing through the creatures he had lurking around the mansion.
It was only natural.
The creatures, though artificially brought to life through dark magic, were still creatures.
Facing such a disaster evoked a primal fear that any living being would instinctively feel.
“Not that I'd ever let them flee, of course. Never.”
Pan muttered inwardly, as if entranced, when suddenly—
“Wow... That’s incredible.”
One of the twins standing by Pan whispered in awe as he gazed at the sky.
He was captivated by the grand expanse of thunderclouds and lightning unfurling above—a perfectly normal reaction. Power in itself exuded a potent allure.
Yet, there’s a time and place for such reactions.
When Pan sharply turned his head toward the twin, Slyley, the boy with the fox cloak, hurriedly clamped his hand over his brother’s mouth. Kirby, the boy in the bear cloak, smacked his twin hard on the head and shouted angrily.
“You idiot...! What’s so great about that?! The boss is a hundred, a thousand times greater than that—”
Kwa-rara-rara-rara-rara-rang!!!
A bolt of lightning, darkened to pitch black, crashed down, cutting off Kirby mid-sentence.
Dozens of black lightning bolts rained down mercilessly around the mansion, each one triggering massive explosions and eruptions of flame that distorted the air itself with their sheer force and heat.
This was no natural lightning—it was more akin to a barrage of malice. And this wasn’t just an impression; it was fact.
The hundreds of creatures that had just been obliterated by those lightning strikes were proof enough.
Gulp.
The twin who’d been speaking without caution, Kirby, and even Slyley, who had been praising Pan moments ago, all swallowed in silence as they watched the scene, before looking over at Pan.
“B-boss...?”
“Impressive, isn’t it?”
“Huh?”
“Impressive, isn’t it? What just happened...?”
Caught off guard by Pan’s sudden question, the boys only blinked, unable to answer.
They weren’t sure what response he wanted. A single misstep—a reply that didn’t sit well with Pan, whose temper had become increasingly volatile—could end very, very badly.
Several boys had already lost their lives for similar mistakes.
Just then, Pan spoke again.
“I’m asking you... isn’t it impressive?!”
As Pan scowled, the boys flinched, quickly shaking their heads.
The faint wrinkles that appeared on Pan’s face made his already intimidating presence even more terrifying.
“N-no! Boss! It’s not impressive at all! Because you’re way more amazing!!”
“That’s right, that’s right!”
“Really?”
“Yes!”
“Really, truly?”
“Yes!!”
“That’s strange. I thought it was impressive.”
It was a rare sight, for Pan, who seldom acknowledged others, to give such high regard to the lightning strike just now.
The boys carefully opened their mouths.
“Um, really?”
“Yes! There aren’t many who could cast magic on that scale. Do you know how he managed that?”
“No...”
“Because that bastard’s a fake prince. A fake so convincing it could fool a demon.”
“A fake?”
“Yeah, a fake. Because I’m the real prince. So he has to be a fake! Right?!”
As Pan's fierce demeanor flared, the boys nodded as quickly as if they’d been shocked.
“R-right! You’re the prince! Master of Neverland and Prince of Hell!”
“That’s right! I’m the prince! And because of that imposter, I was denied my place.”
“...”
“So tonight, I’ll capture Wendy, and I’ll make that fake regret ever looking down on me! So you all better do your parts well.”
“You think we can do it?”
“Of course you can. That bastard has a rather peculiar weakness.”
Pan smiled, his face lined with faint wrinkles that only served to make his expression all the more grotesque.
...
Kyahya-hyah-hyah-hya...!
Dozens of black lightning bolts crashed onto the ground, reducing the area around the mansion to utter devastation.
The earth shook, with shockwaves and heat so intense that the forest and the countless creatures hiding within were obliterated, scorched into nothing.
All that remained was ash and scorched earth.
Even the nobles, guards, and holy knights looked on in shock at the scene.
“Please, I beg of you.”
Amid the astonishment, Oliver made his plea to the wolf-like creatures, as though it was no concern of his.
Immediately, a wolf creature larger than a car sped forward, slicing through the wind and darting past the lightning-stricken area.
Its speed was so swift that soon, the enormous mansion shrank in size until it looked like a matchbox, a promising sign.
The faster they moved, the sooner they’d reach the edge of Pan’s domain, increasing their chances of a safe escape.
But speed alone wasn’t enough.
“Please, the four o’clock direction.”
Oliver called to the supporting corpse puppets at the four o’clock position.
Though the sound of the wind should have drowned his voice, the corpse puppets in the designated area responded immediately, preparing their magic.
One corpse puppet summoned a whirlwind with an air spell from the Enlil School, while another added flames to the gust, forming a massive fire tornado in an instant.
Fwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
The roar of burning air filled the area as a massive column of orange and red flames surged toward the approaching wave of creatures, their shrieks and screams blending with the explosions of flames.
The creatures had launched their attack.
“Ugh...”
“Dear God.”
As the creatures emerged, a few nobles groaned, some even calling upon God.
“Nine o’clock direction, please.”
Paying no heed to the reactions, Oliver continued scanning hundreds of meters around with his necromancer’s sight, attending to his duties.
At nine o’clock, a wave of creatures resembling caricatures of red-skinned men—absurdly red-skinned with large noses—advanced toward them on horseback, arrows aimed and ready.
Tche-tche-tche-tche-tchuk!
Just as the red-skinned creatures were about to shoot, the corpse puppets in the nine o’clock direction united, casting an ice spell from the Skadi School to freeze the ground along with the red-skinned men.
The red-skinned creatures were instantly encased in ice, though fire suddenly began to ignite on their bodies, melting the ice.
It was like an old, racially charged joke, as though red skin meant they’d catch fire more easily.
Before the red-skinned creatures could fully break free, Oliver cast a spell of black magic.
Freeze Necrosis
Freeze Necrosis, a disease-based spell that destroys cells exposed to extreme cold.
Once it was cast over the ice created by the corpse puppets, the flames on the red-skinned creatures began to weaken, one by one collapsing under its effect.
Just as he thought the second wave had been repelled, a piercing sound came from above.
Kyaaaaak!!
Kyaak! Kyaaaak!
Kya-kya-kya-kya-kya-kak!!
These were monstrous birds with the face of a woman, the body of a bird, and insect wings.
Even before Oliver could give instructions, the corpse puppets launched lightning spells into the air, striking down the monstrous birds.
“Ohhh!!”
The continuous bursts of thunder, flame, ice, and pillars of rock drew cheers from some of the guards and nobles.
It wasn’t entirely bad. Their excitement helped dilute the fear in the group, and even as the creatures attacked wildly, Oliver managed to fend them off without much difficulty.
After all, the greatest risk in this operation was the potential breakdown of his allies due to fear, as it could introduce unexpected complications.
“Please, eight o’clock direction.”
Oliver stayed focused on his task alone.
He scanned the surroundings with the necromancer’s sight, issuing commands to the corpse puppets as needed. In response, the corpse puppets took action each time.
They sliced through the bushes, severing the boogeymen hidden within along with the trees; they roasted the toy soldiers in chicken uniforms and chicken generals with a jolt of electricity; and they fired a massive projectile of mixed earth and fire at an advancing nutcracker doll, reducing it to mere firewood.
As Oliver had predicted, high-powered magic was proving quite effective against Pan’s creatures, and they were also fortunate.
Had they been using ordinary corpse puppets that lacked cells transplanted from Theodore, their firepower would have been insufficient to hold back this assault effectively.
“Though, we still haven’t managed to repel all of them.”
“Two creatures slipped past, Your Highness.”
Perhaps having learned the attack pattern, two unicorn creatures abruptly swerved, dodging attacks and slipping between the corpse puppets.
Their target was clear—the nobles.
“I’m aware.”
Armand replied, gesturing with a hand to issue a command.
Upon receiving the order, the guards fired heavy weapons to slow down the unicorn creatures, allowing a holy knight to step forward and sever their thick necks with his sword.
Though the holy knights also possessed firearms, they were conserving their limited ammunition.
“Hm?”
As soon as the brief disturbance was over, Oliver’s gaze snapped forward, and he let out a low hum.
To a casual observer, nothing seemed to be there. Yet, Oliver, seeing through the subtle details, extracted a substantial amount of emotion from his reserves, compressing it into a spear-like projectile before hurling it.
Thunk!
With a sound like a ballista being fired, the spear of emotion shot forward, followed by a shockwave that shattered the projectile just before it reached the target area, splitting it into dozens of smaller spears.
Pa-pa-pa-pa-pat!
The numerous black spears pierced the ground, tracing a fiery arc.
Soon, a clown creature, hiding beneath the earth, revealed itself.
It had used its ability to pass through walls and floors to lie in ambush, yet most of its body had been skewered by the black javelins, leaving it helpless and fallen.
Nevertheless, some of the clown creatures appeared to have evaded the attack, and one with a massive sickle began rushing toward them from underground, as if swimming beneath the surface.
Its giant sickle glided menacingly through the earth like a shark’s fin.
Just as Oliver prepared to strike again, Armand guided his wolf creature forward, passing by Oliver with a commanding order.
“Focus on the surroundings.”
Saying this, Armand, now equipped with a longsword in one hand and a shotgun in the other, charged toward the clown creatures. With a blast imbued with holy power, he inflicted wide-ranging damage, before swiftly cutting down the remaining clowns that emerged, all in seamless, fluid movements, as though it were nothing.
“Thank you.”
“I was only doing my duty. By the way, how much farther do we have to go?”
“There’s still a bit to cover, but we’re getting close. Luckily, it seems Pan’s domain doesn’t allow for extreme spatial expansions, like Sleeping Forest.”
“That is a relief.”
Armand remarked as he surveyed the surroundings.
Oliver understood as well.
While the surrounding terrain didn’t appear to have changed significantly, there were oddities that appeared sporadically as they moved further from the mansion.
Large, gaping flowers with human-like mouths, trees with branches bearing oversized lollipops, and iron cages just large enough to fit a single child.
This was clearly a reflection of Pan’s twisted domain. Though not directly threatening, it certainly didn’t inspire confidence either.
No matter what, anything within Pan’s created space would certainly be to their disadvantage.
“The number of creatures seems to be increasing rather than decreasing.”
Having defeated yet another swarm of creatures with the corpse puppets, Oliver pondered to himself. By now, it seemed he had eliminated hundreds of them.
It was curious indeed. Just how was it possible to create so many creatures? Given that these creatures were made with human bodies and souls, the process should have been complicated.
“May I ask a question?”
Armand, who had just directed the guards and holy knight to fend off a pair of corpse puppets that had slipped through, approached Oliver and spoke up.
Oliver had thought it might be something urgent, but Armand’s question took him by surprise.
“Why aren’t you using your shadow?”
“Excuse me?”
“Your shadow creature.”
At first, Oliver didn’t understand, but then he recalled.
Once, in Sleeping Forest, he had employed his shadow creature.
After beheading the imitation of the flesh chef in a decapitation move, he had finished off the remaining creatures of the Sleeping Forest with his shadow creature.
Armand had been present then.
“To my mind, your shadow would be far more effective than magic against these creatures. Is there a reason you’re not using it?”
Oliver stifled an internal sigh.
Who could have guessed Armand would discern its nature after seeing it only once?
He already knew Armand was highly knowledgeable in black magic, but this was beyond impressive.
Oliver replied carefully.
“... It’s not very practical for rapid movement.”
“Ah, I see.”
Armand quickly accepted the answer, partially true though it was.
In fast-paced situations like this, Oliver’s shadow was indeed less suited for use.
To employ the shadow effectively, it needed to be anchored in a fixed location, where it could draw upon and amplify its power from the shadows.
However, there was another reason, partially a half-truth.
The main reason Oliver wasn’t using his shadow was that he had forcibly put it to sleep.
Due to the excess feeding it had done in the dense forest, it had grown so powerful and sentient that it would act independently if he didn’t restrain it.
To ensure safety, Oliver had cast a spell to put his shadow into a dormant state.
Ordinarily, most creatures wouldn’t need such extreme measures, but for Oliver, whose shadow was crafted from his very essence, caution was paramount.
“A shadow reflects its creator’s nature more than anything else.”
Guruk!
Just as the tide of creatures seemed to relent, an enormous toad creature leapt high into the air, casting its shadow over them.
Not an exaggeration—it was truly house-sized. As always, Oliver commanded the corpse puppets to attack.
With a flash of power, a massive explosion enveloped the toad, but it withstood the blow with its huge bulk and continued its approach. Although—
Black Javelin!
Oliver’s projectile pierced right through it.
Guuuu...
With a massive hole in its abdomen, the toad let out a terminal croak, its cheek sacs swelling before finally expelling something from its mouth.
It was a group of boys cloaked in bear, fox, and raccoon mantles.
Caught off guard, Oliver nearly fired another blast of hate bullets but hesitated just in time.
Using that instant, the pudgy boy in the bear mantle transformed into a massive bear, lifted the black-magic-coated club hanging at his side, and swung it toward Oliver.
Oliver countered with his quarterstaff, meeting the blow.
Crash!
The club and the quarterstaff collided, unleashing a shockwave of black energy into the air.
With his bear form, the boy had strength beyond his years, but it wasn’t enough to overpower Oliver.
Just as Oliver pushed the boy aside and was about to resume his path, his wolf creature let out a scream.
The twins in raccoon mantles and the boy in the fox mantle had fired dart guns and wooden guns, striking the wolf creature.
Though they appeared like toys, their power was considerable, and their bullets were laced with a potent disease, reducing Oliver’s wolf creature to dust.
Now left suspended in mid-air, Oliver descended to the ground, forcing the following party to halt momentarily.
“Now! Attack!”
The boy in the bear mantle shouted, and suddenly, waves of creatures emerged from the forest on all sides.
Creatures, which hadn’t been visible moments ago, now appeared as though summoned from nowhere, striking with a deadly precision given the brief pause in movement.
Not even the corpse puppets’ barrage could keep up with the sheer numbers.
Oliver sighed briefly and muttered.
“Hmm... Second, Fourth, a bit of assistance, if you will.”
At Oliver’s call, Duncan and Durance, corpse puppets stowed away within his robe, leapt into action...