Chapter 411: Secret Meeting

“Impressive. I mean it.”

Yareli, sitting in the passenger seat, said as she practiced a small magic spell Oliver had taught her using one hand.

Even among the geniuses of the Tower of Magic, she stood out with her strong presence, mastering intense and dangerous spells suited to her talent.

“I appreciate the compliment, but I didn’t create that spell. I just imitated what I saw. You should give credit to Lord Wallace, who created it.”

Oliver spoke, recalling Wallace, one of the leaders of the Kel Free Independent Army.

His fire magic might have seemed basic, but it was filled with creativity, courage, and, above all, talent and hard work.

It was a dangerous flame that could burn the caster themselves if handled incorrectly. It made sense. Missing any part of it would make the magic useless.

That’s why Oliver admired Wallace for creating such magic.

“That’s true, but being able to imitate it and teach it is a talent that shouldn’t be overlooked,” Yareli said.

But Yareli was lying.

Although she categorized it as talent for convenience’s sake, Oliver’s ability was beyond mere talent.

It was one thing to mimic what you saw, and that was definitely a great talent, but being able to grasp it with just a touch went beyond the realm of talent.

It was like how you wouldn’t call the ability to fly with just a person’s own power a talent.

He claimed to have learned it in a far eastern desert, but that didn’t make sense.

How could someone who was raised by Merlin in a black magic organization from childhood have learned anything from a far eastern desert?

It was clearly a lie if you thought about it for even a moment.

Or maybe the whole story itself was a lie. It’s impossible to tell.

Yareli was unsure how to report this to her grandmother, the Original Master of the Skadi Minor School.

Even after experiencing it herself, it still didn’t feel real, nor could she explain it.

Suddenly, she wondered if the order to observe and report on Xenon had more to do with something other than him being an Archive disciple.

“Yareli.”

“Yes?”

“We’ve arrived.”

Yareli, so engrossed in practicing the magic and her thoughts, hadn’t even noticed they’d arrived at the logistics center.

Flustered, Yareli quickly dispelled the spell she was practicing and stepped out of the vehicle.

“Weren’t you planning to get out once we were near? To approach cautiously?”

“That was the plan, but I didn’t sense any signs of life.”

Oliver replied as he got out after her. Indeed, there wasn’t a hint of life in the center’s warehouse. Yareli spread her magic, searching thoroughly, but no humans were found.

A surprising situation. Yareli asked in confusion.

“Is this the right place?”

“According to the map, it is.”

Oliver shrunk the vehicle he had received from Loculi University with miniaturization magic and then lightened it with another spell, putting it in his pocket.

Despite his clumsy appearance, he was very efficient and capable. Yareli looked back at the logistics center, pondering the situation.

‘Is this place unrelated to the Flesh Cook? Or has he already cleaned up and fled?’

Something just didn’t sit right.

Even if it had nothing to do with the Flesh Cook, it was suspicious for it to suddenly be shut down, and it didn’t make sense for the Flesh Cook to have cleaned up and run.

The many operations before had continued as usual, after all.

‘It was as if they didn’t care about being attacked.’

Yareli kept pondering, but soon realized this wasn’t something she could figure out on her own.

They needed to investigate directly.

“Let’s go inside. We might find something.”

“I think so too.”

With Oliver’s agreement, Yareli promptly entered the building.

Just like outside, there was nothing inside.

It was completely empty. All that remained were a few empty wooden crates and dust.

“There’s nothing above ground.”

Oliver said as he examined the surroundings with his black magician’s eyes. Hearing this, Yareli quickly deduced what he meant and questioned him.

“And underground?”

“There are no people. But there are magical devices with mana in them. It seems a lot of effort was put into securing the basement; I only noticed just now.”

As soon as she got the answer, Yareli focused mana into her feet and sent a surge of energy into the floor.

Just as Oliver had said, numerous magic arrays surrounded the entire basement.

As soon as she confirmed the array, Yareli manipulated the mana she injected to freeze the floor and the entire magic array.

Crunch, crunch······!

The magic arrays installed for security detected Yareli’s magic and resisted, but Yareli deciphered the structure and pattern of the spell and countered it.

Proving this, her cold blue mana spread out from her feet, freezing the surface of the floor. The spreading ice didn’t stop there; it began to seep downward.

Under the extreme frigidity, the floor and the magic array were both frozen solid, and then Yareli lifted one leg and stomped down.

With a heavy impact and a satisfying sound, the floor caved in, swallowing Yareli.

Such quick action. Oliver immediately followed after her.

“What is… this?”

As Oliver descended into the dark basement, he saw several glowing objects in the darkness and questioned.

These glowing objects were cylindrical glass tubes. The tubes were filled with liquid infused with mana and life force, while inside the liquid were preserved human body parts.

Eyeballs of various colors, red glowing hair, scaley human skin, black bones, and more. The variety was staggering.

Oliver, who had created many corpse dolls, was not unfamiliar with such a sight, but it still raised questions.

The large cylindrical glass tubes, the liquid inside, the supporting mechanical devices—these clearly required considerable expense, technology, and effort.

It was true that human corpses or body parts needed careful preservation to avoid decomposition, but this seemed excessive.

“These are… Special Bodies.”

Yareli explained.

“Special Bodies? What are those?”

“As the name implies, they are unique and extraordinary bodies. They sometimes appear in certain families with rare abilities. Skin resistant to fire like that of dragons, hair that acts as a catalyst for magic, eyes that can exert special powers through mana, and so on.”

“Hmm… Like your eyes, Yareli?”

“…You knew?”

Yareli asked, slightly surprised. Although it shouldn’t have been that surprising.

Everyone in the Tower of Magic knew that the Iceye Family had special eyes. It was common knowledge.

So naturally, Oliver must have heard too.

“No, I didn’t know.”

“…Didn’t know?”

“No. No one told me that Yareli’s eyes were Special Bodies or had magical properties called ‘Magic Eyes.’”

Ah… That makes sense. People don’t usually explain what’s considered common knowledge.

Plus, even though it seemed like Oliver had been at the Tower of Magic for a long time, it had actually been less than a year since he joined.

“But how did you know, then, about my eyes…?”

“…That they’re unique?”

Oliver, uncharacteristically, finished Yareli’s sentence for her. But it wasn’t that Oliver had suddenly become more perceptive. He just thought that her eyes, visible behind those thick round glasses, were pretty and unique, so he said what he saw.

Yareli, however, felt a mixture of embarrassment and discomfort.

“My eyes… They might have some special powers, but they’re not that extraordinary.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. It’s just something I was lucky enough to be born with. But I can’t control it well… But how did you know? That my eyes are Special Bodies?”

“I could see a unique… aura coming from them.”

Yareli was shocked. She definitely should have been wearing glasses that sealed and blocked her eye’s magical power. But when she looked at the man in front of her, the mystery melted away.

Xenon, Dave… The man who bore these two names seemed to possess an aura that just naturally made people accept whatever he did, no matter how absurd it seemed.

Even if he did something nonsensical, it somehow became convincing.

“It’s strange. I’ve traveled a lot and seen many things, but why am I seeing a Special Body for the first time now?”

“Because most of them were hunted in the past. By fellow magic users.”

An entirely new voice, different in tone, interrupted without any warning.

Both Yareli and Oliver were surprised, turning toward the source of the sound.

There stood a man who definitely wasn’t there before.

He had broad shoulders, a sharp jawline, a flat stomach, neat hair, and a well-tailored suit. The man who appeared like a ghost greeted them with a mix of courtesy and arrogance.

“Nice to meet you. I’m the Flesh Cook.”

A man who revealed his identity without hesitation. Yareli was startled, but soon intuitively realized he was telling the truth.

The amount of mana emanating from his body was immense enough to fill the vast basement. It was almost beyond normal understanding.

Realizing this, Yareli immediately took action.

She gathered mana in her feet and activated a spell, trying to freeze the entire space with a massive ice pillar. In the blink of an eye.

But the Flesh Cook’s response was even faster.

Ssssssss.

One of the Flesh Cook’s brown eyes glowed red, and just by looking at it, Yareli’s broad ice was completely melted.

His power, precision, and response speed were all incredible.

Oliver asked.

“Is that eye also a Special Body?”

“Yes. It can burn everything just by looking at it. But since I’m not planning on doing that now, calm down.”

To prove he meant no harm, the Flesh Cook dragged over a chair from a corner of the basement and sat down, relaxed and without hostility.

Oliver checked the immense and turbulent emotions of the man before he asked.

“May we also get chairs and sit down?”

The Flesh Cook nodded his approval, and Oliver tilted his head slightly in thanks and brought over two chairs.

Yareli silently watched Oliver as if asking what he was doing.

Oliver addressed Yareli.

“He doesn’t intend to harm us, so there’s no need to worry right now.”

“Yes, if I wanted to kill you, you’d already be dead. So relax and take a seat,” the Flesh Cook said in a casual tone, almost like someone spewing nonsensical bravado on the streets. The nonchalant attitude of looking down on others could be infuriating, yet at the same time, was strangely convincing.

Yareli looked between the Flesh Cook and Oliver, then sat on the chair. Oliver also sat down, and the Flesh Cook started to talk.

“So, can you read my emotions?”

“It’s difficult with the vast and chaotic fluctuations, but I can catch glimpses of them.”

“Oh… Good eyes. I can see why Puppet took an interest in you, even if it was temporary.”

The mention of “Puppet,” a name connected to the Black Hand, startled Yareli as she looked at Oliver again.

Normally, Oliver would’ve explained something to her, but he had something on his mind, so he temporarily set aside his usual consideration.

“Do you know Puppet?”

“We’ve spoken a few times. He’s one of the few people I can actually talk to. But he’s also the most unreadable person… and that makes him interesting. So I’m curious about the one Puppet took an interest in, even for a moment.”