Chapter 473: An Awkward Accompaniment

“Looks like we’ll be working together again. It’s an honor.”

A man greeted Oliver, extending his hand.

He was Ricky, the team leader of Pinkman Royal Special Team 6, and was considered young for his position.

Oliver shook Ricky’s hand and returned the greeting.

“The honor is mine, Mr. Ricky. I’m also glad to be working with the other team members.”

The rest of the team heard the greeting and respectfully accepted Oliver’s words.

Like their leader, the other team members were also on the younger side, making them indifferent to Oliver.

Some were even curious or interested. It was only natural, considering Oliver was a rising star in Randa’s problem-solving community, having debuted solo and reached the New grade in just a few years.

Especially in a place like Randa, known for its wealth and roughness.

Ricky asked a question.

“Are you familiar with the mission details?”

“Yes. It’s an assault and sweep of the secret hideout of the Red Ones Warlocks in the abandoned mine. I remember what you mentioned last time.”

“Good. Just checking before we enter, are you physically up for it?”

Ricky asked for confirmation, not out of any ill intent, but purely for the sake of the mission.

It made sense, given the significant scale of the abandoned mine the Red Ones Warlocks had taken as their hideout, requiring considerable physical stamina beyond just combat.

The Pinkman needed substantial preparation for this as well.

Naturally, Ricky was concerned about Oliver, who looked frail due to malnutrition. After all, both magic and black magic had their limits when it came to providing support.

Oliver responded.

“Please don’t worry. I’m often hungry, but my stamina is decent.”

“Really?”

“Yes, and just in case, I’ve packed plenty of Calorie Bars and water for myself, so don’t worry.”

To prove his words, Oliver showed his magic bag filled with Calorie Bars and a magic canteen on his belt.

The magic canteen, imbued with space and lightening magic, was as expensive as the magic bag and could hold more than twenty times the amount of a standard canteen.

“That’s a relief.”

Satisfied with the confirmation, Ricky nodded. Oliver used the opportunity to unscrew the canteen and take a drink of water.

The water was clear and refreshing.

‘Still no sign of anything unusual.’

Oliver recalled Claude’s last words about the Red Ones Warlocks attempting to summon a demon… but so far, there was no sign.

Since Claude wasn’t a liar, it seemed likely the Red Ones Warlocks had failed.

Either that, or there was something in the demon books that Oliver hadn’t grasped.

It wasn’t an impossible scenario. Even the demon books owned by the Flesh Cook were often inaccurate, incomplete, or cryptic.

Oliver was relieved but also slightly disappointed. Despite the risks, he had wanted to see a demon.

While Oliver was lost in thought, Ricky briefly went over the mission objectives, conditions, and roles again.

“As we all know, the mission is to assault the largest hideout of the Red Ones Warlocks in the abandoned mine and eliminate everyone except the leadership. The military has already surrounded the area, and our role is to support the Holy Knights.”

One of the Pinkman members asked.

“No support from the military?”

“None. In confined spaces like the abandoned mine, quality trumps quantity when eliminating hidden enemies.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Given the limited space in the abandoned mine, a large force would be less effective.

Instead, sending in Holy Knights, who had a significant advantage over Warlocks, and a supporting force was more effective.

However, something about this mission made Oliver uneasy. It wasn’t just what Pandora had mentioned.

“Ah, Mr. Dave.”

“Yes?”

“We’ve already coordinated with the Holy Knights, so you shouldn’t worry too much.”

“Ah, thank you for your consideration.”

Oliver nodded appreciatively. He had an uneasy relationship with the Holy Knights.

Right after replying, a group of Holy Knights appeared at the side.

There were only three of them, and they were without their Servants.

Currently, the Servants had been mobilized with other Holy Knights to counter any potential terror attacks from the Red Ones Warlocks.

Normally, the Pinkman would handle escort duties, and the Holy Knights would focus on sweeping, but to catch both the Gamma Code escort task and the eradication of the Red Ones Warlocks, they had to mix the teams inefficiently.

Oliver didn’t mind, though. Whether it was escorting at the shareholders’ meeting, seeing the prince and nobles, or sweeping and facing the Red Ones Warlocks, everything was interesting to him.

His only regret was that Joanna wasn’t present.

He had hoped they might be assigned to the same team.

‘Maybe it’s for the best?’

If Joanna had been there, they might have acknowledged each other, which wouldn’t have been good for either of them.

Especially for Joanna, who was a Holy Knight.

There could be consequences if a Holy Knight were known to have personal ties with a Warlock.

‘That wouldn’t be great. It would also reflect poorly on the people at ARC Orphanage, like the headmaster or the kids.’

Oliver thought about the headmaster, who harbored a special fondness and longing for Joanna, and the children, who idolized her as a hero.

It was a difficult but meaningful situation, and making anyone sad wouldn’t be ideal.

“Time to move. Everyone, board the vehicles.”

While Oliver was musing about the past, Ricky, having finished his conversation with the Holy Knights, spoke up.

Following Ricky’s orders, Oliver boarded the vehicle. Before long, they arrived at an abandoned mine beyond the outskirts of First Step.

“What a remote place. Unexpected.”

One of the Pinkman commented, and Oliver agreed.

In the brief but intense investigation over the past few days, they found that the Red Ones Warlocks and their collaborators usually had bases in slums.

That wasn’t strange either. With nowhere else to go outside of the slums, the Red Ones stood out too much otherwise.

Even on the outskirts, it was the same. The fact that the Red Ones made this remote, abandoned mine their largest base was surprising.

‘Is there some special reason for this?’

“Disembark!”

Before Oliver could speculate further, the vehicle stopped, and the Holy Knights and Pinkman disembarked.

Now, they stood at the sealed entrance of the sixth tunnel of the abandoned mana stone mine, already guarded and sealed off by First Step soldiers.

The soldiers guarding the mine, recognizing the Holy Knights by face and their orders, immediately let them through. Oliver, along with the others, passed the machine gun and red stones, reaching the boarded-up entrance.

At first glance, there seemed to be no signs of life. At first glance, that is.

Chik-! Chik-!

The communication devices of the Pinkman and Holy Knights beeped. Ricky spoke first.

“The other teams have reached their assigned entrances.”

The Holy Knight replied.

“Yes, let’s go in.”

The Holy Knight led the way into the abandoned mine.

***

[Holy Light]

Just a few minutes after entering the sealed mana stone mine, the Holy Knight rushed forward, shouting.

As soon as he spoke, a holy light burst forth from his weapon, enveloping the hidden Red Ones Warlocks in the mine corridor.

The light gently embraced the Warlocks, dispelling the black magic they were preparing.

“Damn it!”

One of the Red Ones Warlocks cursed and raised a shotgun, aiming at the Holy Knight.

Gunfire echoed through the mine tunnel.

They seemingly tried to prepare to face the Holy Knight, but it wasn’t enough.

Ordinary bullets couldn’t penetrate the Holy Knight’s shield and iron-coated coat; the bullets didn’t even slow him down.

The Holy Knight kicked the ground as if nothing had happened, gaining speed, and slammed the shield into the Warlock’s face.

Bang━━!!

The sound of a truck hitting someone reverberated through the mine tunnel as the Warlock hit by the shield was sent flying towards their allies.

There was little they could do in such a confined space.

However, having a comrade suddenly thrown towards them couldn’t be ignored.

The Warlocks, now with impaired vision and decreased reaction time, failed to counter properly, creating a brief but critical opening. The Holy Knights seized this opportunity, using their innate physical abilities, to rush forward and eliminate the Red Ones Warlocks in one go.

“Michael. Send in the small Golems.”

As soon as the Holy Knights confirmed the Warlocks were defeated, Ricky, the Pinkman team leader, gave orders.

Michael, a Pinkman member, sent out bird-shaped clay Golems in all directions of the tunnel to scout the surroundings.

“Did you detect anything unusual?”

After giving orders to his team, Ricky quietly approached Oliver and asked.

He actively utilized Oliver’s abilities alongside his team’s.

It was a sound judgment. The small Golems were excellent tools, but Oliver’s perception was sharper, and combining both offered more advantages.

Oliver activated the Warlock’s Eye and scanned the area.

“Nothing particularly noticeable. Some Red Ones Warlocks were further ahead, but they retreated when they realized what was happening.”

Barely after Oliver spoke, Michael retrieved his small Golems and reported no anomalies.

Ricky relayed the information to the Holy Knights, who, without showing any signs of fatigue from dealing with the Warlocks, immediately rushed deeper inside.

As they had stated before, they preferred to end things as quickly as possible.

The Pinkman followed the Holy Knights closely, providing support.

“The other teams are also making smooth progress.”

Ricky, who periodically checked the communication device, walked up to Oliver.

“That’s good to hear.”

“Yes, but that also makes me worried. When things go too smoothly, it usually means there’s an ambush ahead. Especially when dealing with Warlocks resistant to Holy Power.”

Oliver had a rough idea of what that meant.

During the explosion terror attack, some of the creatures that followed had resisted Holy Power to some extent, and the Warlock known as Unbent Knee had subdued three Holy Knights by resisting Holy Power using special materials.

“Mr. Dave, you mentioned you saw Fen, the Finger of Black Hand from Ravely, during the explosion in Ravely, right?”

“Yes? Ah, yes… It was a coincidence.”

“I wasn’t around during the explosion terror attack because I was on another mission. Was his creature very threatening?”

Oliver thought for a moment and then nodded.

Fen’s creatures were different from regular ones, as they used humans as materials.

They were likely able to resist Holy Power to some degree because of that. But that wasn’t the most threatening part.

Some of Fen’s creatures were suspected to have been made using human souls.

‘Like Unbent Knee. How that’s possible, I don’t know.’

Ricky asked again.

“Do you think you can handle them, Mr. Dave?”

“Yes?”

“I’m asking just in case. We trust the Holy Knights, but since we’ve detected creatures and Warlocks resisting Holy Power, we need to be prepared. Honestly, this situation isn’t exactly within Pinkman’s specialization, at least not with this team composition.”

Ricky spoke with a calm and logical analysis of the situation.

He wasn’t trying to be overly cautious or reliant but was considering all factors to ensure the best outcome.

It seemed he wasn’t made a team leader at a young age without reason.

Oliver thought for about three seconds before responding to meet Ricky’s concern.

“…Honestly, I’d find Fen’s creatures difficult to deal with as well.”

“Is that so?”

Oliver nodded.

The sheer quantity of Fen’s creatures and their quality was exceptional.

Handling each one individually would be exhausting.

The mission was initiated partially due to Fen’s rumored departure from supporting the Red Ones Warlocks.

“But now, it seems that’s not the case.”

“What do you mean?”

Oliver noticed a presence deep within the abandoned mine. It was none other than Fen’s shadow.

As in the past, Fen’s shadow appeared from the depths of the mine, using darkness as its medium.

The problem was that it didn’t just appear. Fen emerged, holding multiple human souls in his hands.

“Defensive formation!”

Sensing the presence, the Holy Knight shouted. The Holy Knights swiftly formed a triangular shield formation, and the Pinkman and Oliver moved inside of it.

[Sacred Barrier]

The Holy Knights, having formed the barrier, chanted, causing the Holy Power to resonate and create a small glowing barrier, brighter than when alone.

That was when it happened. In response to the light barrier, a darkness darker than death crept toward them from inside the mine.

An all-consuming darkness. It was quite impressive.

“Do not worry. The light of God will protect us.”

“Hm… That darkness seems a bit tricky, though.”

Oliver remarked innocently as he observed the encroaching darkness.

Everyone frowned and looked at Oliver as the darkness swallowed the Holy Knights, their Holy Power, the Pinkman, and Oliver, engulfing them like a swirling torrent. It felt similar to the forced teleportation by Bathory’s Blood Magic in the past.

Thanks to that past experience, Oliver managed to intervene with the darkness, disrupting its flow, and barely escaped its torrent.

“I didn’t expect to see you this way.”

Oliver spoke to the person opposite him after escaping the darkness.

Hearing Oliver’s voice, the other person used soft light to illuminate the surrounding area, revealing Joanna standing there.

“Dave…”

She said, relying on the light in the darkness, speaking to Oliver.