Chapter 482: The Scene of the Ritual

“Know your place!”

As soon as Fen yelled, a gorilla-like creature with eight arms leapt into the air.

The creature soared high and disappeared into the darkness. It soon plunged down from the sky, swinging its eight arms like a bombardment above Oliver and the others.

“Kyaaaak! Kkak! Kkak!!”

Each time the gorilla swung its eight arms, shockwaves ripped through the air, creating a loud aftermath.

The force matched the creature’s massive size. But it wasn’t j ust about strength.

Although it seemed like it was flailing its arms around wildly, each punch was executed with precise skill.

No strikes overlapped uselessly, none struck empty air, and each punch followed a calculated trajectory, delivering flawless consecutive hits.

This was a combination of its eight arms and technical skill.

However, with Warlock’s Eye, Oliver managed to dodge before the attacks landed, and Pinkman, noticing Oliver’s movement, also managed to escape the attack range.

The only ones left were the Holy Knights.

Instead of dodging, the Holy Knights faced the gorilla-creature head-on.

They blocked the onslaught of punches raining down from above, then swung their weapons empowered by Holy Power to sever all of the creature’s arms.

“Kyah━━!!!”

The gorilla-creature screamed in pain.

Just as the Holy Knights were about to finish it off without missing a beat, new arms suddenly sprouted from the stumps and struck the Holy Knights away.

The unexpected counterattack shocked the Holy Knights, who barely managed to defend themselves as they were flung back.

Oliver was just as amazed. The creature had a regeneration ability… Something felt off.

It was because a creature’s innate abilities usually had some correlation with their appearance, as creation-type black magic was based on human imagination.

Yet to Oliver’s limited imagination, linking a gorilla to regenerative power didn’t make much sense.

‘It feels like it’s more about repair than recovery…’

Oliver focused his eyes on the gorilla-creature. Soon, he noticed something. It was a thread connected to the gorilla and the hand that manipulated it.

A hand wearing white cotton gloves was barely hidden above the gorilla’s head, within the darkness. This hand pushed external force through the thread, helping control the gorilla-creature’s movements.

With significant assistance, the gorilla-creature was now faster and more skilled than before, pushing back both the Holy Knights and Pinkman.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Each punch caused the air to explode, and in no time, everyone but Oliver had been thrown back, leaving him alone.

In that brief moment of realization, Fen’s shadow compressed the darkness, creating a physical barrier that blocked the Holy Knights and Pinkman. Then, the ground began to move.

Suddenly, the entire area turned into intestines.

The floor, which had turned into intestines, moved in different directions, widening the physical distance between Oliver and his group. Thus, Oliver was left completely alone in the darkness.

A strange sense of déjà vu crept over him.

“Huh… Am I the only one getting this feeling?”

Fen, now wearing a Warbonnet, and mockingly seated on an ill-fitting throne, asked that question.

Oliver nodded, agreeing with his observation.

“No, I’m feeling it too. Ravely’s sewers.”

Whether they were on the same wavelength or not, Fen pointed his dagger, which he had been using to clean his fingernails, at Oliver.

“I knew it! You and I have some strange connection.”

“I’m not sure about that, but it’s nice to meet you face to face. Last time we had to talk through a parrot, which was a bit disappointing.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I prefer face-to-face conversations.”

“Face-to-face…? Heh, let’s just say that’s true. Anyway, I’m glad to meet you too. Should I show mercy and let you go like last time?”

Fen, wearing a typical mocking expression as if he were dealing with a child, taunted Oliver. His naturally irritating face made Oliver want to punch him, but Oliver responded sincerely as he did with others.

“Well… Could you stop the demon ritual and let everyone else go?”

“Nope, can’t do that.”

“Ah, then I’m fine. There’s no point in going alone. But I appreciate the offer.”

Oliver’s calm and polite demeanor only fueled Fen’s anger, who had tried to provoke and excite him.

It felt as if Oliver was silently belittling him, like he was insignificant.

Perhaps that’s why Fen wanted to see Oliver’s poker face disappear, even if he had to force it.

“You don’t want to go alone, huh? Does that mean there’s someone you care about here? Like in the sewers.”

“Yes, since I took on this job, I’d like everyone to be safe… May I ask you a question as well?”

“…??”

“Do you like the dark, Fen?”

“…”

“It seems like you use darkness very well. Creation-type black magic supposedly draws strong power from either affection or fear. Thanks to imagination and a vivid image… Have you ever worked in a mine? Or as a chimney sweep?”

Oliver made a guess based on the limited knowledge he had of creation-type black magic.

Although guessing wasn’t his forte, Fen’s reaction suggested he hit the mark.

It was a reaction similar to that of someone whose hidden thoughts had been unexpectedly revealed.

With a scowl, Fen flicked his finger, commanding the gorilla, or rather, the creature controlling it through the cotton glove, to attack Oliver.

Eight massive but razor-sharp punches came at Oliver with precise timing and pinpoint accuracy.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Thunderous shockwaves erupted as the flurry of punches rained down.

At first glance, the punches seemed chaotic, but they cunningly herded Oliver into a corner, delivering critical blows each time the pressure mounted.

Fortunately, Oliver dodged every attack with reflexes far surpassing what he had before.

The attacks were fast, intricate, and skillful, but not on the level of someone like the Holy Knights or Bartholomew of the Anti-Development Committee.

So, instead of merely dodging, Oliver touched the gorilla-creature, injecting paralysis, lethargy, numbness, and nerve disruption from his disease-type black magic, slowing its movements. He then fired a Wrath bomb-filled Bullet of Hate at the cotton-glove creature in the sky, then swung his Quarterstaff upward, slashing at the gorilla-creature.

Shuaaak!!

Although he had intended to rip it apart, the intestine-turned floor shook just before the attack landed, causing Oliver to lose his balance and decreasing the power of his strike.

As a result, he failed to completely tear the gorilla-creature apart.

Having missed the opportunity to finish it in one strike, the gorilla-creature clasped its four pairs of hands together, grabbing hold of Oliver. At that moment, Fen extended the dagger in his hand.

The dagger’s length rapidly extended, aiming to impale Oliver in an instant.

Thud!!

Oliver narrowly freed himself with his physical strength and the power of his Black Suit, managing to barely escape.

“Oho! You’re stronger than you look!”

As Fen retracted his dagger, the gorilla-creature clutched at its wounds and swung its fists at Oliver.

Because the cotton-glove creature had disappeared, it couldn’t heal, but Fen quickly attached a new glove-creature to repair it.

‘A darkness that even limits the Warlock’s Eye, a floor that can shift at any moment, and a combination of countless creatures… It’s like we’re in Fen’s playground.’

Oliver analyzed Fen’s black magic.

Not only did he control the environment, but each creature was powerful or had special abilities, making them formidable opponents.

Using conventional methods would only lead to inevitable defeat, either quickly or slowly.

At that moment, Fen spoke up.

“So, did eating the Flesh Cook’s meat give you those physical abilities?”

“… You saw that?”

“Of course, I saw it! I didn’t expect that guy to go down that way, though. I don’t get it! How does eating his meat give you his power? Tell me, are you a contractor with a demon too?”

A contractor. Someone who made a deal with a demon to gain its power and knowledge.

“No. I have seen demons indirectly, but I’ve never made a deal.”

Suddenly, Fen reacted to Oliver’s words.

“… You’ve seen a demon?”

“Yes, twice. Once when my master was killed, and once when I fought the Flesh Cook.”

“You’re not lying?”

“I don’t think so. The demon even greeted me.”

“…”

Fen remained silent, glaring at Oliver with a terrifying expression, as if trying to determine if he was telling the truth.

“Damn… Your emotions are so faint, I can’t tell if you’re lying or not.”

“I apologize?”

“No, no need to apologize. It’s clear you’re lying anyway. It’s obvious nonsense that a demon would greet a mere human, isn’t it? You’re just a human after all.”

Oliver didn’t know how to respond to such an obvious statement. So, he decided to ask a question.

“May I ask something now?”

“What do you want to know?”

“I heard that Prometheus Corp made a deal with a demon to turn the Red Ones into mana stones. Do you know anything about that?”

“I’d love to answer, but I’m too busy.”

“Busy with what?”

“I need to capture you and torture you to get the truth. Adults are liars after all.”

As soon as he said that, Fen manipulated the surrounding darkness to create a certain air current.

Moments later, a grotesque-looking crocodile emerged from the shadows, baring its sharp jaws at Oliver.

Snap!

Oliver easily dodged the closing jaws, but then he felt a blow to the back of his head.

A giant teddy bear had appeared from the darkness and struck him.

Using a modified version of the shadow portal, it had quickly positioned itself behind him, and there were more creatures like the four-winged chicken general, the nutcracker, Boogeyman, and the gorilla that launched a series of surprise attacks against Oliver.

The chicken general attacked with its beak and four weapons, the nutcracker aimed for openings with its sword, the Boogeyman tried to drag Oliver into the darkness, and the gorilla swung its fists.

[Devouring Fire]

Against the stealthy mobility of darkness and the overwhelming number of creatures, Oliver used Devouring Fire again.

The black flame, infused with greed and mana, quickly burned the creatures clinging to Oliver and fed on them to grow larger. Oliver then launched an attack on Fen.

As expected, the Fen before him wasn’t real.

It was a decoy cleverly disguised with darkness.

When the darkness burned due to the Devouring Fire, a creature reminiscent of a mix between an anglerfish and a tumor emerged from its hiding spot.

This strange creature was connected to the Intestine Tunnel and, instead of suffering from the Devouring Fire, smiled and swallowed the flames.

[Anglerfish. A creature that can deceive and consume its prey, or absorb attacks aimed at it by mistake.]

Fen’s voice echoed from all directions, mediated by darkness. Sure enough, he was hiding in the shadows. Clever.

For those of the creation and manipulation branches, it was conventional wisdom to hide themselves.

[Now, none of my creatures can be affected by that dark fire!]

With those words, Fen sent a wave of creatures hidden in the intestine floor to launch a fierce assault on Oliver.

Oliver tested if Fen’s claim was true by using Devouring Fire again, and as Fen said, the creatures withstood the flames to some extent and pushed forward in numbers.

It seemed that the anglerfish creature had granted the other creatures some resistance to the Devouring Fire through the Intestine Tunnel.

With his Warlock’s Eye, Oliver could see this, but such observations were a luxury in these circumstances as the creatures surrounded him with no gaps, leaving him no way to escape.

At that moment, Oliver triggered the only remaining source of light and caused a loud explosion along with a blinding flash.

“Beeeeep!” The tinnitus echoed everywhere, and the blinded creatures hesitated for a moment, but soon, they followed the darkness’s command and charged at Oliver.

Boogeyman grabbed Oliver’s leg with its hook arm, the clown stabbed his left shoulder with a sickle, the toy soldier stabbed his knee with a bayonet, the chicken general pierced his right shoulder with its beak, and the nutcracker stabbed his thigh with a knife.

Other creatures swarmed around attacking Oliver just enough to avoid critical damage.

It was a situation where one’s life could be barely clung to.

Fen laughed.

[Kikikik! Looks like it’s over, doesn’t it? The others are almost taken care of too!]

“Oh, is that so?”

Oliver asked back as a new black light source suddenly ignited.

But something was off. The voice came from a different direction, not where Oliver was standing, but toward his shadow.

“…!!”

The creatures were all surprised and turned to look at both Oliver and the spot where the voice had come from.

From the end of Oliver’s shadow, a shape resembling a black human figure emerged, shedding off as if molting, revealing itself.

It was none other than Oliver.

[……]

Oliver spoke to Fen, who was too shocked to utter a word.

“I was imitating the anglerfish. I’ve learned some disguise and transformation techniques, so it wasn’t too hard to mimic. Thank you for showing me such an interesting technique.”

Oliver recalled the teachings from the House of Angels and greeted Fen, showing how well he had mimicked the technique.

When Oliver snapped his fingers, the shadow-designed to mimic him unraveled like a string and spread out tendrils with gaping maws that devoured the creatures that had attacked him like a carnivorous plant.

Some creatures tried to resist, like the gorilla-creature, but perhaps due to being deceived like the anglerfish, they were easily chewed up and swallowed.

Chomp. Chomp. Chomp… Chomp…

[……!!]

Shocked, Fen summoned the creatures hidden in the intestines again. They poured out from every direction like the monsters in a nightmare.

But this time, Oliver was one step faster.

He had received information that his comrades were in danger, and there was a demon summoning to stop, so he could waste no more time.

Oliver pulled out a crimson branch from his pocket.

It was something he had broken off from the dark red tree he created during a duel with Bartholomew of the Anti-Development Committee in the past. Only one was left now.

‘I should’ve grabbed more when I had the chance.’

Regretfully, Oliver planted the last remaining branch into the intestine floor and chanted.

[Black Magic: Parasite]

[Druid’s Spell: Rapid Growth]