“Huhuhuhuhu… Interesting. When did you notice?”
Jaby… No, the unidentified warlock jumped back and quickly extracted emotions.
The speed at which he extracted the emotions was faster than any warlock Oliver had ever seen.
The emotions extracted like a thread from the flask became beautiful black magic in his hands.
It was so natural as if the emotions were living and breathing, but fortunately, Oliver was also as fast as the unidentified warlock.
[Hate Bullet]
[Hate Bullet]
BANG———!
Bullets of hate collided and exploded in the air.
The power was so great that everyone around the two got pushed back in shock.
As the smoke created from the explosion cleared, Jaby who was relaxed and had eyes filled with admiration said looking at Oliver.
“Huhuhuhu…You’re pretty… good.”
Jaby mumbled as he fired a [Hate bullet] while preparing [Black javelin] with the other hand.
If Oliver deploys a Black Shield or attacks with a Hate Bullet, he would probably try to kill him with a [Black Javelin] with penetrating properties added.
Oliver calculated in his head and fired a Hate Bullet to block Jaby's first attack.
Jaby smiled and when he was about to throw the Black Javelin… his hand stopped.
"…. What?"
Oliver's [Vine Shadow] grabbed Jaby's arm.
“Huhuhuhu… this is more than I expected.”
Jaby said with a gleam of admiration.
Soon, with a ‘clack’ sound, his hand fell off like a lizard's tail.
The principle seemed very similar to Puppeteer Glyph's corpse doll.
As soon as the arm fell, a blade filled with green liquid came out and headed straight for Oliver.
"As expected…"
Oliver didn't panic and fired Hate Bullet like a machine gun.
The first [Hate bullet] smashed the blade, the second [Hate bullet] shattered his shoulder, the third and fourth broke his knees, and the fifth made a huge hole in his stomach.
TADAK
Along with a loud noise, processed skin, flesh, machinery, and springs scattered on the floor.
All of this happened in an instant.
All the people in the basement couldn't respond and just stared blankly at the scene in front of them.
It was like they can not believe the situation in front of them right now.
"…….."
"…….."
"…….."
"…….."
Everyone was silent, and ironically, the person responsible for this situation broke the silence in a very bright and cheerful voice.
"Huhuhuhuhuhuhuhu…! This…, this is very unexpected. It is unexpected to meet such a fun chap in a place like this.”
The half-shattered Jaby spoke leisurely.
No, it was not like Jaby Oliver knew. It was a completely different person, from his voice to his tone and atmosphere.
“… .Isn’t it painful?”
The shattered Jaby answered Oliver's question.
“Not really… Seeing you fight, it seems like you know a little bit about corpse dolls, don’t you?”
"Yes, I've seen it once, and I don't know for sure. I didn't get the chance to learn about it… So, Do you not feel the pain?"
"Yeah, if you synchronize the senses, you’ll be able to feel it, but I'm not that kind of pervert you see."
It was a truly bizarre scene.
The scene of watching two people who had just attacked each other as if they were going to kill each other, having a conversation in such a calm way.
It was bizarre and unnatural, which made everyone even more horrified, but then the mercenary captain Hugh mustered courage and interrupted.
"Hey… .. What are you?”
"Hohoho? Ah… Look at me, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m sorry young chap, I hope you understand. As you get older, your memory and manners fade. Hey there little chaps, Hello…… Hmm…What was my name again, ahhh… It’s been such a long time since anyone called me by my name, so I myself forgot about it…huhuhuhu.”
Everyone including Oliver remained silent as the unidentified warlock kept talking.
“Oh… there was this name which people call me often. It was a nice nickname and I personally like it. Hello young folks. Let me introduce myself. I’m a very old warlock who goes by the name PUPPET. Nice to meet you."
Puppet.
Everyone opened their mouths wide as soon as they heard the word
Oliver knew the reason for their shock to some extent.
He had heard that Puppet was one of the executives of a very large organization called the Black Hand, and a high-risk criminal wanted by the world.
While everyone was shocked, one denied it and said,
"Tha…, that's a lie. If it's Puppet, he was killed a few years ago… .."
Puppet laughed.
"Huhuhuhuhu…Every ten years, there are two or three stories like this, that I died. Let me tell you something… IT’S FAKE NEWS. There are times when I suffer like now. But, even if I suffer, I do not die. That's why they call me Eternal Puppet. Oh, by the way, I don't care whether you believe it or not, Young fellows. Think of whatever you are comfortable with. Whether you believe it or not, reality will not change.”
Everyone could not refute looking at the self-centric and relaxed attitude of Puppet.
All of a sudden, everyone believed that the person in front of them was the real Puppet.
Of course, Oliver believed.
He couldn't see through them all, but at least he knew that his words were sincere.
"…….."
Everyone got frightened by the sudden appearance of the great villain in the history of the world and could not open their mouths hastily, and at that moment, Joe opened his mouth.
"Are you really Puppet…?"
"That's right., half-warlock of the Fighter Crew. You must have something to ask."
“…. Do you know about me?”
"Well, there’s nothing that I don’t know. My eyes and ears are everywhere. Huhuhuhuhuhu…."
It was half bluff, but the confidence was real.
Even though he was in a broken state, he was able to subdue the people with just a few words.
Not just the name, but the relaxed attitude and a few words brought fear in people.
It seemed like an attitude that was worth learning for Oliver. So, Oliver continued to observe Puppet.
“…are all the zombies outside this building yours?”
“Yeah, huhuhuhu… do you like it? I prepared it specially… for young chaps like you. It was a bit annoying, but it was quite fun.”
Joe intervened and asked.
"Why are you doing this to us? Everyone here has no affiliation with you."
Puppet burst into laughter.
“Huhuhuhuhuuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuuhuhuh”
At the sound of his laughter, everyone except Oliver had no choice but to shake with goosebumps that spread all over their body.
"Hu… huhu… hu… Ah, excuse me, I couldn’t help myself. It was so funny."
“…. What’s funny?”
"Ah, well. It's funny that people who make a living by butchering people that had nothing to do with them are asking me this question… You talk as if you’re good people but no, you’re not… You guys are nothing but human butchers."
It was a blatant description of mercenaries and Solvers.
Puppet spoke with all his sincerity, and because of that, everyone felt a rage that made them forget the fear for a moment.
"Oh, I’ll ask apology if I offended you, little fellows. But it's true? Well, it's the truth that makes one even more upset… Anyway, I'll answer your question."
"Question?"
"Yeah, you asked why I’m doing this, right? It's simple. I'm doing this just because I need humans like you… Something like ham from slaughtering a pig. Do you get it?"
"……"
"You don't understand? It doesn't matter. Death isn't a concept that seeks understanding anyway… Since you guys made me feel some fun after a long time, I’ll give you guys an option."
"…?"
“A proposal that only some of you will die and the majority will live.
"…….."
"I've almost reached the number of solvers I wanted… I've reached my goal. So, some of you just follow me and die. Then I'll release the rest. Safely… What do you say about it?"
“Do you asking us to believe that?”
When someone muttered, Puppet replied.
"I don't care whether you believe it or not, young fellows… In the first place, I can tear down a shabby building like this at any time. If you’ve any doubts, go upstairs again, and look. You can see the army of zombies multiplied by several times."
There was no lie in Puppet’s words.
"If you don't like it, tell me now. I'll prove my power right away. I'm just making a suggestion that the little chaps can afford. Seriously. For each other, how about easing the troubles?"
It was a truly bizarre sight.
It was a situation where all famous solvers were intimidated by a corpse doll that couldn’t even stand up.
They were intimidated so well that most of them were terrified.
The emotions stained with fear, the shaking eyes, and the cold sweat on their foreheads were proof of that.
At some point, the control of the situation had passed to Puppet.
The only thing the solvers and mercenaries could do at this point was, make a choice.
Then, with a trembling voice, someone asked carefully.
“… … Who do you want?”
"Oh, huhuhuhu… A smart chap has appeared… That chap and that chap. Other than that, about ten other people. Don't kill them, but leave them alive."
Puppet said, pointing to Oliver and Arthur.
Oliver could feel a lot of eyes focused on him.
Arthur was tense and was ready to fight right away, and as if in response, the others contracted their muscles and were ready to move at any time.
The emotions of most of them were fear, anxiety, and a little hope.
It was a sudden situation where the allies decided to fight each other.
At that moment, someone strode forward in front of Puppet.
It was Oliver.
“Maybe… if it’s okay with you, can I make another suggestion?”
“Huhuhhuhuhu…. Another suggestion… Interesting?”
“Yes, if you allow it.”
Everyone looked at Oliver in amazement, even Puppet.
"I don't know what to say about this. In the years I lived I haven't seen anyone giving me a suggestion in this situation…huhuhuhuhuhu… Tell me, I'm curious about what you're going to say."
"It seems like you want me and other people to come somewhere. As much as possible, you want us alive, right?… I'd rather come there by myself, and why don't you try fighting me?"
“…You would like to fight me?”
Puppet asked as if it was funny.
"Yeah, if I win, you’ll just let us all go, and if I lose, you do whatever you want. As you said before, doesn't Mr. Puppet have the power to do that? Above all else… you’re going to kill everyone anyway."
The atmosphere turned cold at Oliver’s last words.
"Huhuhuhuhuhu…! I never thought you could see through my lie."
“I just saw it.”
"You saw…? Geez! I made a mistake with this. I’ll apologize! I shouldn’t have treated a person with skills like that. But trust me. Usually, most people are fooled by such obvious lies. If you show them the difference in skills and instill a little hope…BANG…they fall into your trap. Isn’t humans pretty interesting?"
"I don’t know…… I’m not in a position to judge others….. So, what do you say about my suggestion? If you don't accept it, I'll just run away on my own right now. It seems like if I concentrate my everything on running away, I will be able to escape somehow.”
Puppet looked at Oliver.
"…Huhuhuhu, you’re serious. I never dreamed I'd be threatened like this. Well then, shall I give you guys some more hope? Come through the underground passage. Yeah, by any chance if you beat me, I'll set everyone free. I mean it, it's nice to have a young chap who is provocative like this…"
Upon hearing the answer, Oliver reached out and placed a finger on Jaby's temple.
"Okay, then, I'll take this for now. Because I won."
“Oh, I like that attitude.”
With those words, Oliver fired a small [Hate bullet] and pierced the corpse doll's temple.
The light disappeared from the doll’s eyes like a thread was cut, and it was scattered all over.
Everyone was silent, but Oliver opened the leather case wrapped around his waist and pulled out a folded glutton bag.
‘Come to think of it, is this my first time actually taking it out?’
Seeing that someone asked
"That. What the hell…"
The glutton bag that had been folded began to swell like bread dough.
Oliver ordered a human-sized one, but it was slightly larger than a human because of the swelling.
As it took shape, traces of several human skins and eyeballs attached to it in all directions became visible.
The glutton bag was self-aware that it had grown in size, but it was feeling a bit confused about the current situation because it was suddenly called.
"Glutton bag."
At Oliver's call, the glutton bag turned toward Oliver.
Looking at it moving it seemed like it was far from being agile.
"Nice to meet you. I’m Dave, your owner. If it's okay with you, can you swallow some of that?"
Oliver pointed to Puppet's corpse doll, Jaby.
The glutton bag seemed reluctant as if it didn't suit its taste.
Oliver remembered the words of the warlock who made the glutton bag saying that the glutton bags mostly like money and precious metals that have a monetary value.
The glutton bag looked at the corpse doll and then saw Oliver.
It reminded Oliver of a snake with limbs, but it didn't show any signs of rebellion.
Rather, it was obedient.
The glutton bag shrank again when Oliver ordered it after swallowing the corpse doll, and Oliver folded it up and put it back into the leather case.
After putting it in, Oliver asked the people who were standing blankly and staring at him.
"Would anyone like to come with me to fight Puppet?"
(To be Continued)
