Chapter 476: Activation

Sssssssss….!

A damp, heavy sound echoed deep below the abandoned mine.

As the sound resonated, the passage, now resembling intestines, opened up, creating a new path for Oliver, Joanna, the Holy Knights, and the Pinkman to follow.

“I can’t believe it…”

One of the Pinkman mumbled as he watched Oliver lead the way.

It was amazing to see him control those intestines, which were immune to Holy Power, magic, firearms, and even cold weapons, just by holding a blood-stained dagger and making a request.

Having witnessed these grisly intestines kill a Holy Knight and several of their fellow Pinkman, the shock was even greater.

Perhaps, if the fixer from Randa, known as the Woodcutter, hadn’t shown up, he would have met the same fate.

‘To think he went up against Lieutenant General Philip without backing down at all and even traded with him… The fixers that make it in Randa are something else, for sure.’

The Pinkman felt a mix of awe, admiration, and an unexplainable fondness towards Oliver, the kind of feeling a servant might feel more towards a master than a fellow servant.

It wasn’t an unusual feeling, given that overwhelming wealth, power, and strength could simultaneously instill fear and evoke affection.

Other Pinkman felt a similar mix of emotions.

Even though Oliver didn’t understand why they felt that way, he just continued doing what he had to do.

“Can you open the door for us?”

Oliver politely asked the wall of intestines that was blocking their way.

The smooth, red, and pinkish surface of the intestines remained silent for a moment before it quivered slightly and opened up a path.

It knew that if it didn’t, Oliver would stab it with that horrifying blood-stained dagger.

‘These intestines… Don’t they call it a Creature?’

‘Yeah, they did. They said it was a Creature, made by Fen.’

‘But we’re still not entirely sure if it was Fen, are we?’

‘Come on, who else could create such a gigantic Creature that even Holy Power doesn’t work on?’

The Pinkman exchanged opinions through glances and hand signals as they passed through the newly created pathway.

Partly out of awe, partly to gather information.

It was a soundless exchange, but it still annoyed the Holy Knight, who glared at them, prompting the Pinkman to cut the conversation short.

“I don’t want to rub the Holy Knight the wrong way, especially when he’s being helped by a dark wizard.”

“Are we there yet?”

“We’ve arrived, Sir Knight.”

Just as Oliver answered, the group came across another batch of survivors.

One Holy Knight and three Pinkman, all in poor condition.

They were all badly injured by the digestive fluids on the floor, sporadically emerging Creatures, sticky darkness, and the malicious movements of the intestines.

The Holy Knights moved swiftly to help the survivors, using healing techniques from Holy Power.

Remarkably, Holy Power, which is a powerful counter against dark magic and mana, was also highly effective at healing, completely curing even fractures, digestive fluid burns, and amputations.

Although Oliver, who had acquired medical knowledge from Theodore, could do the same using Ptah’s Assistant, he couldn’t help but be impressed by Holy Power’s capabilities.

Unlike Oliver, who had to go through a clear procedural process, Holy Power bypassed that and healed instantly. It was like a miracle.

“Indeed, the power of the gods is truly amazing.”

Oliver murmured, once again marveling at Holy Power.

Joanna looked over, seemingly having something she wanted to say.

“Is this all of the survivors?”

A senior-looking Holy Knight asked.

His name was Anselm, a middle-aged man with noble curly hair and a notable beard.

“Yes.”

“….Mahallah.”

Anselm sighed softly and muttered.

Even though it was an operation led by a select few, they initially deployed a total of 72 people for this mission. Now, only 25 remained.

In other words, about 65% of the force had perished without even engaging in a serious battle, except for a few minor skirmishes at the beginning.

However, this was still considered fortunate.

If Oliver hadn’t used the blood-stained dagger to control the intestines and moved in a straight line to quickly reach and assist the survivors, they would have all died without any meaningful resistance.

Of course, both the Holy Knights and Pinkman were well aware of this.

“Do you want some?”

After being healed with Holy Power, Oliver offered some Calorie Bars to the survivors as they discussed what had happened to their comrades.

It was clear that they would be hungry after the short but intense ordeal.

“I’ll eat my own.”

Only one Holy Knight politely declined while taking out his combat rations. But despite his words, he couldn’t eat anything.

The combat rations he had brought were tainted by the mucus and digestive fluids of the intestines and had rotted long ago.

….

The Holy Knight silently stared at his rotten combat rations, and Oliver offered him a Calorie Bar once again.

“It’s chocolate-flavored with lots of sugar.”

The Holy Knight reluctantly accepted the Calorie Bar, and after Oliver tasted the water in his canteen first, he shared it as well.

The water was still clear and cool.

“Is it okay?”

Ricky, the leader of Pinkman Team 6, approached Oliver from behind as he handed out the water. Though they had parted ways earlier, they reunited, as Ricky hadn’t died.

“Yes, I bought about 200 Calorie Bars, so we’re good for about five days.”

“That’s a relief… But that’s not what I was asking. I was asking about the intestines.”

Ricky pointed his thumb at the slimy intestine tunnel.

“If I recall correctly, Creatures aren’t known to be very docile.”

“Oh, you’re smart.”

Oliver was genuinely impressed.

As expected of a Pinkman, and especially a team leader, he was quite knowledgeable.

What Ricky was worried about was that the Creature might suddenly go berserk and become uncontrollable.

It wasn’t entirely out of the question. The few books on the Creation series of dark magic warned that Creatures were extremely evil, cunning, and unstable, making them unpredictable.

‘They said it’s because it’s an artificially created life form made through dark magic.’

Oliver replied.

“I can’t give a definite answer, but I think we’re okay for now.”

He looked at his blood-stained dagger.

The dagger he received from Wallace, infused with Oliver’s own blood and covered in dark magic of the Disease series, had, for some reason, retained its enchantment.

A useful and quite intriguing phenomenon. It was worth investigating further.

“So, the question is what conclusion they’ll come to over there.”

Ricky looked at the Holy Knights, and Oliver followed his gaze. Just then, it seemed like they had arrived at a decision.

“Dave.”

“Yes, Sir Anselm.”

“Help us reach the lowest level.”

“Understood.”

….!!

The Holy Knight’s request, Oliver’s response, and the Pinkman’s shock created a strange harmony.

“I’m sorry Sir Knight, but where did you say you were going?”

“I said we’re going to the lowest level. We’ve detected dark wizards down there.”

Earlier, he had focused his Holy Power on his eyes, so it seemed his abilities were quite exceptional.

Securing visibility against this intestine-Creature that covered the entire mine wouldn’t have been easy.

“So, you’re saying you want to continue the mission even though 65% of the force has been lost?”

“Yes. We’re Holy Knights.”

It was a simple answer. He meant it.

“I’m sorry, Sir Knight. It’s true that we came here to assist you, but we didn’t come here to die. It’s time to retreat.”

With charm and courtesy on his part, Ricky tried to soften the conversation, but he spoke firmly.

It was understandable. As Ricky mentioned, they weren’t in a fit state to continue fighting. They had lost many members, were low on stamina, and had suffered significant equipment losses.

Most importantly, it was now almost certain that the Eternal Child Fen was present.

Objectively speaking, pushing forward with the mission in this state was reckless.

As proof, Ricky’s judgment was not just driven by fear but also by a cold, calculated assessment of the situation.

However, despite that, the Holy Knight did not accept Ricky’s opinion.

To them, their mission as Holy Knights was of utmost importance.

Ricky tried to reason with them, suggesting they withdraw to the surface where the communication devices worked, maintain a perimeter, and call for reinforcements to continue the infiltration, but it was to no avail.

“That’s not possible. If Fen, the Finger, is here, then he’s up to something. We can’t afford to let him carry it out.”

“But—”

“— Of course, as Pinkman, it might be hard for you to partake in such a reckless mission, but this time you’ll have to make a tough choice. As you know, our side agreed to release the command rights to you in exchange for deploying our servants to guard the Royal Family. If you refuse, it will become an issue.”

….

Ricky fell silent.

The Pinkman’s greatest asset wasn’t their massive scale, their strong organizational skills, their numerous talents, or even their vast network, but their reputation for always honoring contracts.

The Holy Knight’s words implied they would tarnish that reputation.

For a Pinkman team leader with ambitions, that was as frightening as death. In the end, Ricky conceded through silence.

What a stroke of bad luck.

Had they been free to move, some might have suggested sending part of the team outside for reinforcements, but that wasn’t an option now.

Not unless they could split Oliver in half.

Under Ricky’s lead, the other Pinkman began readjusting their salvaged equipment, while the Holy Knights checked their metal coats and weapons.

Once ready, the Holy Knight Anselm approached Oliver.

“Can we move right away?”

“It seems we may have to move right now.”

…?

Anselm furrowed his brow at Oliver’s cryptic response.

Instead of explaining, Oliver drew his blood-stained dagger and touched it to the intestinal wall.

“Forgive me, Mr. Intestines, but could you not open the floor?”

Everyone tilted their heads in confusion at his inexplicable behavior, but sensing something was amiss, they readied themselves. Just then, Joanna focused her Holy Power through her eyes and shouted.

“Dark wizards just appeared below us! Along with Creatures!”

As Joanna had said, Fen’s shadow had emerged, using the darkness as a medium to open shadow portals and transport a large number of dark wizards and Creatures instantly.

It was impressive. They still hadn’t been able to cure the disease-dark magic infection caused by the dagger, yet they were exerting such power.

And that wasn’t even the end of it. Fen’s shadow, after transporting not a small number of dark wizards and Creatures, pushed its hand into the intestinal Creature to wrest control over it and forcefully move it.

Last time, it devoured Creatures, and now it’s directly controlling them…

Oliver politely asked the intestinal Creature to hold on as he stabbed it with his blood-stained dagger, but despite the excruciating pain from developing tumors, pus, inflammation, blisters, and even mold, it moved as Fen’s shadow commanded and opened up the floor under Oliver and his group.

Ssssk!

With a moist sound, the floor disappeared, leaving Oliver and his allies dangling in mid-air for a moment.

Below was a massive shadow shaped like human teeth.

A sense of déjà vu washed over Oliver as he called out to Joanna.

“Sir Knight.”

[Holy Light]

Joanna immediately activated her skill, flooding the area with light.

“Holy Power isn’t working!”

Ricky shouted. It was only natural. It was a special material… a shadow made from human souls.

But that didn’t matter. He didn’t intend to destroy the shadow with Holy Power anyway. What Oliver wanted was a strong backlight.

Just as he did while helping Philip, he used the backlight from Holy Power to cast his shadow, then dropped the shadow from above to smash the teeth-shaped shadow.

Craaack!!

With an overwhelming difference in power, the shadow was shattered, scattering like pieces of entrails all around. Everyone was utterly shocked by the sight.

After all, he hadn’t just overcome Holy Power… He had used Holy Power to enhance his dark magic.

But this wasn’t so strange. During the battle with the Flesh Cook, Oliver’s shadow had absorbed the Flesh Cook’s emotions, vitality, and magic, creating a form of artificial soul.

Tap.

Landing on the ground, Oliver came face to face with a man.

It was their second meeting.

“Hello. Your name is Unbent Knee, correct?”

“Kill him.”

Without a word of reply, Unbent Knee gave the order, and the battle began.