“This is District X. Sir. Warlock.”
A beggar, who guided Oliver said, and Oliver looked around the streets that looked a bit similar than District W but looked much more dangerous.
"Is this the place…?"
“Yes, this is District X…. I’m sorry, but if it’s okay, I’ll just…”
“Um, It’s all right, you can go back now.”
“Ah, thank you. I wish you all the best. Sir. Warlock.”
The beggar, who was trembling in fear, bowed his head to the point where his back was completely visible and went back the way he came.
Originally, Kent was supposed to bring Oliver, but due to problems such as cleaning up, he had to stay there and guide everyone to do the post-processing.
Oliver didn't care.
No, rather, he felt more comfortable being alone.
He was the first warlock Oliver was going to meet after leaving Wineham.
If possible, he wanted to see him alone.
If what he saw through the eye of the watchdog was right, there must be a warlock here, the one that backed Freckle.
Oliver couldn't explain it in detail, but he could feel it.
The presence of the person he saw through the eyeball.
“The question is, where exactly is he…”
The approximate location was identified, but the specific location was not.
But that wasn't a big deal, Oliver focused his powers on his eyes.
Before long, he could feel a lot of emotions from everywhere.
From among the emotions he felt, there was someone who approached Oliver with ulterior motives.
Oliver understood that the person who came was the one he was searching for and asked.
“Is there any reason for you wanting to see me?”
Someone came out through the dimmed streetlights.
“You have noticed it.”
The one who popped out of the darkness was a woman, a beautiful one in a very fancy dress.
"Um…"
If Oliver were to paraphrase her appearance, he would compare her to a doll.
High-heeled leather shoes, a puffy skirt full of lace, while her chest was half revealed, her waist was tight.
A ribbon was tied around her neck, and a colorful feathered hat was worn on top of her head,
Her skin was as white as paint, and her lips were as red as fire.
It was the first time Oliver saw someone like this.
While Oliver was looking at the woman, the woman spoke.
“Are you the warlock brought by the beggars?”
“Um…yes, my name is Oliver.”
“Oliver….. My great master, Puppeteer Glyph, has seen you fight. Surprisingly, he even showed interest in you. He wants to see you. Think of this as your honor.”
Her arrogant attitude reminded Oliver of a theater actor.
However, Oliver didn't mind, because he wanted to see him too.
When Oliver nodded, she went back the way she had come and started to guide the way.
Only the sound of footsteps echoed quietly, but Oliver looked around without saying a word.
Landa's District X.
The place where Oliver’s master, Joseph once lived. This was his third visit to this place.
As Kent said, unlike District V and W, which were the den of beggars, District X seemed like a den for criminals and fugitives.
To be precise, it was like a border between Y and Z where real monsters live.
In any case, it was true that it was very dangerous compared to District W.
As if to prove this, Oliver could feel the presence surrounding him.
The woman who was walking with a loud noise came to a sudden halt.
"Oh, Mr. Oliver, My great master told me to test you once more. He doesn't deal with inferior beings."
“Um… then?”
“First, prove your worth.”
The woman snapped her fingers like an actress, and at the signal, zombies who were hiding between the alleys came out.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
Each of the zombies had a sword and an awl.
As Oliver concentrated his energy on the eyes, he figured out that the number of zombies was around fifty.
It reminded him of the fight he had with Joseph in the past, where Oliver used Vine Shadow to catch zombies and then sliced them up like cheese.
That was back then.
[Hate Bullet]
[Hate Bullet]
The bullet of hate crashed into the air and disappeared.
The woman holding a test tube covered her mouth with her hand and laughed.
"It's amazing. The basics are okay….to be able to use basic firearms-based black magic even though you are a master at manipulation magic."
"…?"
Oliver tilted his head.
He wondered if he was a master at using manipulation-type black magic.
“I saw through the necklace of Freckle. Your specialty is manipulation. Probably mastered the shadow-based skills to the core. If you're that skilled… Who's your Master?
“Well, can you answer my question if I answered yours?”
“Ho-ho… that’s interesting. You’re going to ask me a question. All right. I’ll answer it.”
“Um, thank you. The name of my Master is Joseph?”
"Joseph… I have never heard of that name before. Maybe he was a third-rate warlock."
“Um… Since I answered your question, may I ask you a question this time?”
“Sure, let me guess? You were going to ask why my Great Master is interested in you, right?”
"…? No. I want to know why you’re controlling a corpse and pretending to be a woman. Is it much easier to control this way? Is this some kind of a trick?”
Woman… No, the female zombie's expression got distorted mercilessly.
“Personally, I think it's great. I've seen stories in books about being able to control a corpse like a living person beyond just a zombie, but it was my first time actually seeing one in person. Does imitating the characteristic of the target make it much easier to control the body?
"… Shut up."
Her (his) emotions fluctuated in displeasure, shame, and anger as if Oliver had touched something that he shouldn't have touched.
“I tried to test you in moderation because you had a great talent, but you dare mock me?”
“What? No, that’s wrong, I think it’s really amazing—”
“Shut up! Hate Bullet!”
The woman extracted emotions and attacked.
Oliver equally shot the bullets of hatred and met the incoming bullets.
PHUT!
PHA BANG
BANG——!—————!
Bullets of hate exploded in the air like firecrackers.
The shock caused Oliver’s hair to flutter, but Oliver didn't mind and looked at the woman in front of him.
What she did was really mysterious.
Even if he can make her look similar to a living person through processing, Oliver didn't know how he made her use black magic.
‘Can manipulation-type magicians use black magic through the corpse?'
“Um… no, they can’t. That's right.”
There is only one conclusion that can be drawn.
“That corpse, was it a warlock?”
“…you! How?!”
“I saw it in a book. Lich… It is similar to that but also different. Calling it a Doll seems more appropriate. Vine Shadow.”
Shadow tentacles wrapped around the woman's arm.
Oliver tied her up like the Naked rat and closely observed her.
“Ha-! Stupid!”
As soon as her arm was caught, the woman cut off her own arm.
It fell like a lizard's tail.
Her arm fell, and soon, a blade similar to that of a praying mantis came out of her hand.
And then she came running at a very high speed, and when looked underneath her puffy skirt, there were several spider legs.
“I’ll cut off your limbs and take you away!”
"Minion."
At those words, the minion in Oliver's arms jumped out and shot [thrust] at the woman who came running.
It was a black magic that destroys and pushes the target by firing a shock wave.
“Ughhhh!”
Contrary to her appearance, the doll was a lot stronger than Oliver expected and was simply pushed back, but for Oliver, that was enough.
[Targeting] x 9
[Hate Bullet] x 9
Nine bullets of hate pierced into the body, four bullets pierced the lower body, two bullets in each shoulder and chest, and one bullet went straight into the mouth.
Wherever the bullets of hatred hit, the embalmed skin, flesh, tendons, and bones got scattered all over the floor.
She was so damaged that she couldn't even move anymore, and Oliver closely looked at the Doll in its current state.
"Um… I knew it was being remodeled, but seeing it this way, it looks different. The legs are replaced with spider legs to increase its mobility, the arms and chest have a knife and an awl, and guns in its mouth… That's not a common skill. The name Puppeteer really suits him.”
When Oliver identified the specifications of the opponent so naturally, her only intact eyes moved.
She looked aghast.
Oliver wondered why the puppeteer didn’t reveal himself and instead why he came posing as his own disciple.
Is it because he thinks that his workmanship is poor? Or is it because it wasn’t good enough?
Oliver couldn't understand.
Oliver decided to see it for himself.
Oliver looked into the doll's eye and focused his attention on it, as he did with Freckle.
The corpse doll tried to close her eye, but Oliver forced it to open her eye and looked into its eye.
This time Oliver was able to locate the location of the puppeteer faster than before.
It was a warehouse building at the end of the alley he was in.
Surprisingly, he was very close.
As soon as he finished his business, Oliver pulled out all the Life-force of the corpse doll and put it in the test tube that he had used earlier.
Then he headed straight towards the place where the Puppeteer was.
Although he was a little farther away, Oliver looked quite nervous.
Why?
It was because Oliver wanted to ask about his amazing skills as soon as possible.
The Puppeteer’s handling of corpses, such as Naked rat and Doll, was excellent.
Oliver wanted to know how he could join a machine and a body like that.
Oliver wanted to ask how he came up with this idea and how he learned it.
Oliver also wanted to be taught if possible.
But it seemed like the other person didn’t think the same way.
“Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh”
When Oliver reached the end of the alley and was in front of the warehouse, a drug-enhanced muscular giant appeared by breaking the wall.
It had a nail in its head and a rotten body.
He was also the Puppeteer's corpse doll.
Unlike the women, there was no embalming treatment, and he soon found out why.
[Burning Life]
[Muscle Up]
Another corpse doll appeared and casted black magic on the muscular one.
Upon receiving the power of vitality and anger, the rotten muscles swelled even more.
It seemed like Puppeteer Glyph could handle multiple corpse dolls with precision.
There were also animals.
GRRRR——!
URRRRRRR—–!
Two dead dogs, with six legs and steel teeth, came running at an incredible speed and attacked both sides of Oliver at the same time.
It was so fast that it was difficult to hit it even with the Hate Bullet.
The Warlock's corpse Doll even supported it with a ranged attack.
Attacks came from all directions.
[Black Marvel]
PABANG———!Tang!Cyaruk!Tang!Creuk!
The shield of sphere that rolled around his body saved Oliver from danger.
If he had moved a little late, the dogs would have bitten his legs, or he would have been attacked from a distance.
But it was still too early to be relieved.
“Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
As expected, the muscular corpse doll swung a hammer at Oliver, whose mobility was sealed due to the defense magic.
When black magic was added to its original strength, it became so powerful that the thin Black Marble ended up getting crushed at once.
“UHHHHHHHHH!”
TUNG
CREEEK!
TUNG
CREEEK–!
Oliver looked around as the shield kept cracking.
The muscular corpse doll pushed straight in from the front.
The Puppeteer's corpse Doll that was in charge of support, and the Hunting Dog's corpse Doll hovers around as if looking for a chance to attack.
Although they were inferior to the previous female corpse doll, they showed much superior fighting power just by focusing on only one particular characteristic.
It seemed like the Puppeteer was used to this kind of battle, and it was no coincidence that Oliver was on the defensive.
“Hmm…”
After organizing his thoughts, Oliver took out the Life-force he had extracted earlier and drank it.
He then cast black magic on his body.
[Burning Life]
It was a black magic that burns life force to increase overall physical ability.
Probably, there would be no problem if it only burns the life force that he had drunk.
Oliver released the shield and faced the muscular corpse doll head-on.
It would have been difficult in normal times, but with the help of black magic, Oliver narrowly avoided the doll’s attack.
BAM—!
The hammer passed in front of his head and his hair fluttered at the wind pressure.
The corpse dog hovered around while chasing after him, but Oliver didn't care and ran towards the muscular corpse doll.
[Hate Bullet]×20
Twenty bullets of hate shot at close range and struck the muscular corpse Doll.
Of course, the corpse Doll also tried to defend, but it was no match in front of Oliver’s firepower.
They were thoroughly destroyed, and Oliver immediately turned around and cast a black spell at the hound that came close to biting him.
[Obedience]
Basic black magic that allows one to control the resurrected corpse.
Oliver tried to plant his control over the body that was already in someone else's control.
CRACKLE…!
SCREEEEE…!
To Oliver’s surprise, the dog shook its head in agony.
According to the book, it was said that to control a corpse one must have superior skills than the opponent.
Oliver was able to see the emotions of the terrified warlock out there through the muscular corpse doll.
[Las Bullet]
[Hate Bullet] x 6
Oliver fired a few bullets at the support corpse doll which stopped moving in confusion.
All the corpse dolls got shattered to pieces, while the dogs were only broken to the point where they stopped functioning.
But Oliver didn't stop there.
He went into the building to meet Puppeteer Glyph.
He opened the door and said.
“Hello?”
(To be Continued)
