Chapter 428: Calm Before the Storm?

428. Calm Before the Storm? (1)

Hansel the Flesh Cook was born into an ordinary family.

Or perhaps, it was less than ordinary because they were incredibly poor.

They were so poor that his parents abandoned him in the forest.

Many years passed. Though most memories had faded, Hansel remembered that time clearly.

The moment his parents left him.

Perhaps it was the sense of powerlessness and humiliation he felt back then.

The helplessness of knowing he would be abandoned but still having to follow his father.

And the humiliation of having to return to the parents who had discarded him just to survive.

Even at a young age, Hansel understood true powerlessness and humiliation, deep down to his bones.

But that wasn’t the end of his misfortune. Reality always surpassed the imagination.

The next day, after Hansel used the pebbles he’d scattered to find his way back, his father shamelessly took him deeper into the forest.

This time, Hansel didn’t even have time to gather stones, so he tore pieces from his stale bread to leave a trail.

It didn’t end well.

Hansel’s father abandoned him again. Twice. Twice.

But this time, Hansel couldn’t find his way back because birds and animals had eaten the bread crumbs. He was lost.

Wandering through the forest, Hansel had nothing else he could do.

Because that was all he could do.

His legs swelled, his tears dried, and his body got dirty.

But the hardest thing to endure was the hunger that sapped his energy, twisted his guts, and ultimately threatened his life.

Hunger, cruelly like poison spreading through his body, worsened with time. As he neared death, the scent of food reached his nose.

Roast meat, savory soup, and freshly baked bread and pastries.

Hansel followed the scent, as if possessed, and found a cabin deep within the forest.

A young woman lived in the cabin. A beautiful and kind woman.

She was so kind that she invited him in and personally served him food, even some sweet pastries.

The first kindness he’d ever experienced… It was all a lie.

She was a Black Witch, one who consumed children to sustain her life and youth.

Her kindness was just a trap for the fish that had wandered into her net.

That was probably the first time.

The first time Hansel gave up on his will to live.

Why not? What reason was there to live? His parents, who should have loved him, abandoned him. The miraculous help he received led only to greater tragedy.

Living was hell. A hell where everyone preyed on everyone else.

At that time, Hansel was too weak to survive in that hell. He refused to endure any more pain.

So, Hansel decided to allow himself to be eaten, hoping only it would be painless…

But just when he was about to give up everything, a second miracle came to Hansel. A real miracle.

It was his sister, who he never paid attention to, who killed the witch.

Noticing the witch’s deteriorating condition as her feeding no longer had the desired effect, his sister tricked her and pushed her into the furnace, burning her alive.

Her soot-covered face and burned hands, injured from holding back the witch trying to escape, were proof.

His sister, who he had never cared for, used her wit and courage to burn the witch alive for his sake.

That was the moment Hansel realized it. Just as their parents didn’t care for them, he didn’t care for his sister.

The only thing precious to him was his own life. Hansel realized he was no different from his parents.

Yet, his sister risked her life to save him simply because he was her only brother.

After that day, Hansel made a decision. No matter what dangers came, he would protect his sister, Gretel, by any means necessary.

That’s how Hansel became the Flesh Cook. He studied the witch’s knowledge he had seized, consumed the witch’s flesh, devoured other humans to grow stronger, and even betrayed the woman he loved, all to reach his current position.

All for the sake of protecting his sister.

He was even prepared to sacrifice his own life to achieve that.

‘I swore I would do anything…’

The Flesh Cook, who had finally awakened as a complete dragon after immense efforts, recalled his past memories and the resolution he made, shedding tears.

Even though Gretel’s heart was pierced by the Quarterstaff in front of him, he was helpless, trapped and impaled by the Shadow Vines.

So he couldn’t help but cry.

All he could do was cry.

Thunk…

Ignoring Hansel’s struggles, Oliver tightened his grip, driving the Quarterstaff deeper into Gretel’s heart, slowly.

….!!

Gretel screamed silently from the pain of being impaled while Hansel desperately tried to break free from the shadows holding him.

But he couldn’t escape the shadows. On the contrary, he was losing his emotions, life force, and magic from the places where he was bound and impaled.

It made no sense. Even a legendary dragon, capable of toppling mountains, couldn’t break free from these shadows.

All he could do was struggle in vain and watch as his sister slowly died.

Oliver, meanwhile, silently observed the Flesh Cook’s agony.

His face was like a mask, devoid of any emotion fit for a human.

Crunch…

Hansel, overwhelmed with anxiety, rage, and sorrow, clenched his teeth so hard that they cracked. His only thought was to save his sister.

He had been saved once, so now it was his turn to save someone else. Wasn’t that the right thing to do? Isn’t that what a brother should do?

So he tried to tear the shadows off the ground.

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

But Oliver tilted his head slightly, and more vines and stakes pierced Hansel, skewering him further.

The dragon’s supposedly impregnable scales were pierced like a lie, leaving Hansel grievously wounded and even more trapped.

With additional stakes driven into his neck, he couldn’t make a sound. He couldn’t cry for his sister, comfort her, or even show he cared.

All he could do was cry silently.

‘Brother…’

‘Kuh… Ah… Ahhh!!’

Gretel’s life force dwindled as the Quarterstaff remained lodged in her heart. Oliver, without even glancing at her, approached Hansel and stared at him.

They remained in silent standoff for a long while.

Meanwhile, Gretel’s life force drained away along with her blood, and Hansel, too, was being drained of his strength by the shadows, reverting to his original form.

Yet Hansel, unafraid, silently roared at Oliver.

He swore to kill him! To be freed! To get revenge! He would gnaw every last bit of him until nothing was left! So please, just let his sister live. He was sorry.

But Oliver, without saying a word, leaned down until they were at eye level and just silently stared at Hansel.

…

Even though a beautiful light, which had always captivated Oliver, radiated from Hansel, Oliver showed no reaction at all.

He simply watched with indifference as Hansel suffered and died.

Time passed, and Gretel, extending her hand towards her powerless brother, took her last breath.

It was a futile end for someone who had lived for centuries, devoured countless wizards and wizard kings, infiltrated Loculi University, and even absorbed the power of Hell.

‘Ahh… Ahh… Aahhh!!’

Hansel silently lamented with his pierced vocal cords as he witnessed his sister’s death, emitting a light that was both beautiful and terrifying.

Radiating a brilliance that could fill three, maybe even four phylacteries.

Such was the sincerity of Hansel’s feelings for his sister.

But Oliver, with the same expression as before, met Hansel’s eyes and merely watched.

Hansel, filled with hatred towards Oliver, his own helplessness, and the world, died slowly and painfully.

…

Hansel’s limp body dangled as Oliver silently watched him.

After a few minutes, Oliver straightened up and locked eyes with Merlin amidst the ruins.

Merlin silently gazed at Oliver. Reading something in Merlin’s gaze, Oliver repeatedly raised and lowered his hands in confusion before finally speaking.

‘…I’m hungry now.’

***

Ravely was left in ruins after the Flesh Cook’s attack.

In the outskirts of the city, where the damage was minimal, there was a dimly lit basement with electricity barely functioning.

Though it appeared to be a typical basement, it was actually one of Millieu’s safe houses, provided to Oliver by Lucien Murat of the Murat Family.

At Oliver’s request, the basement had been well hidden with a large space, and in one corner, there was a table.

But the table wasn’t important. What was important were the newspapers piled on top of it.

These newspapers had been issued over the past four days following the disaster in Ravely, and their front pages bore eye-catching headlines.

[Enemy of the World, The Flesh Cook of Black Hand, Is Dead!]

[Royal Army and The Great Archwizard Archive Join Forces to Eradicate Evil!]

[A Finger of the Black Hand Falls!]

[Commoner Party Colluding with Black Magic?!]

[Loculi University Protects the Citizens.]

[Is the Threat from Evil Black Magic Over?!]

[Commoner Party Leader Jean Arrested, National Police Will Unveil the Truth.]

[Pater Church Sends Additional Paladins.]

[Gallos Central Police Department Sweeps Out Black Magic Remnants.]

[Royal Family Defeats the Enemy of the World.]

The various headlines didn’t just stand out—they pulled you in. But most of the content contained the same story.

The Flesh Cook colluded with the Commoner Party to incite a riot, and the Great Archwizard Archive, Loculi University, and Gallos Royal Army subdued them.

Of course, there was some distance from the truth, but the public believed it, and each newspaper spun the story into its own narrative.

Even though the same topic was covered for four straight days, the magnitude and shock of the event only heightened interest.

It was like adding logs to a fire.

But Oliver only read those papers once, leaving them on the table as he focused on processing the newly acquired corpses.

For instance, Deziher Durance, who had betrayed Loculi University, and her subordinate wizards—the same ones Oliver made Big Mouth consume—or other Flesh Cook’s followers he found on the street.

Oliver painstakingly restored each torn corpse in the blood pool, immersing himself in the work like someone trying to forget unsettling memories.

This fervor made the work proceed extremely quickly, perhaps too quickly.

‘Amazing. You’ve already done this much… Do you even sleep?’

A voice spoke suddenly from the air. It was Merlin.