Chapter 532: Red Hood

Over a hundred minions emerged from the trees and bushes, surrounding the area.

Startled by the sudden encirclement, the Red Hood Family hesitated in panic as they tried to flee in different directions.

It was a truly alarming fact that such a sensitive group failed to notice this many creatures surrounding them.

But they shouldn’t be too frustrated about it.

While observing them, Oliver not only studied their remarkable detection abilities, but also analyzed and refined the stealth black magic they used, figuring out how to deceive their senses.

He applied the results of this research to the minions, making it natural that the Red Hood Family didn’t notice them.

However, unaware of this, Red Hood hesitated in confusion, and the minions seized the moment to unleash a barrage of Bullets of Hatred from all directions.

Thwip! Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!

Hundreds of black bullets rained down from all directions.

Individually, each bullet wasn’t too powerful, but the sheer volume and constantly shifting attack angles made it quite threatening.

Evading them was nearly impossible. Defending against them was also no easy task. Any opening would allow the black bullets to slip through, inflicting serious damage.

A few attempted to break through the minions’ encirclement head-on, but the minions quickly reformed and unleashed concentrated fire, either turning the escapees into a pincushion or overwhelming them with sheer force.

These weren’t just ordinary minions. They were specially crafted to counter the Red Hood Family’s movements.

During this time, the Zombie Puppet-Werewolf aimed its machine guns mounted on its shoulders, turning each of the Red Hood black magicians standing strong amidst the onslaught into swiss cheese, one by one.

As their numbers dwindled, the remaining Red Hood black magicians could no longer suppress their anger and decided to change their strategy.

Instead of fleeing, they charged at Oliver.

“Die!!”

It wasn’t a bad choice.

Currently, the minions’ firepower was concentrated inward. Considering their numbers, breaking through from the front wasn’t easy.

Giving up on escaping and targeting Oliver inside might be a better option.

Killing the sorcerer wouldn’t make the creatures disappear, but it could cause them to lose control or become temporarily paralyzed.

In any case, it wasn’t a bad choice, though it seemed Red Hood didn’t agree.

“No!!”

A loud cry of despair came from the werewolf at the reckless choice his subordinates made.

But it was too late. The ten remaining Red Hood black magicians had already made up their minds and charged at Oliver together.

They relied on their strong bodies, reckless nature, and superior numbers.

However, it wasn’t just a reckless move. They had observed that Oliver didn’t have a frontline protector and used mainly fire-type and creation-type black magic. They thought they could win if they got close.

If they got close, that is.

“Minions.”

At Oliver’s call, three minions emerged from within his coat.

Pumph!

As soon as they appeared, one of them self-destructed, releasing a massive flash that turned the world stark white.

The other two minions followed suit, self-destructing and spreading a deafening noise and a repulsive stench.

Beeeeeep!!!

Shhhhssssss!!!

The blinding flash painted the surroundings white, the explosion muffled all sounds, and the stench overwhelmed their noses.

For the Red Hood Family, with their sharp senses, it was particularly threatening.

Blinded and disoriented, they staggered in the darkness, while Oliver raised his finger and compressed more emotions than usual, adding a spin to the bullet.

Whrrrrrrr!!

[Hate Bullet]

With a steady finger, Oliver chanted the spell.

The rapidly spinning Bullet of Hatred shot forward, piercing through multiple black magicians in a straight line.

Whumm!

The sound of ripping flesh was followed by a splash of blood and collapsing black magicians.

The sight would make even the bravest hesitate, but the black magicians, thinking this was their best chance, charged with their characteristic recklessness.

However, Oliver remained unfazed. Using the dynamic vision he gained from consuming the Flesh Cook’s meat, he calmly moved his hands and fired Bullets of Hatred at the black magicians who had gotten close.

[Hate Bullet]

Two more spinning black bullets hurtled forward, piercing multiple black magicians in a straight line.

It was quite a sight seeing the black magicians’ suicidal charge crumble under basic black magic despite exploiting weaknesses to their advantage.

Considering the skill of the Red Hood Family’s black magicians, even more so.

The few black magicians lucky enough to escape the attack range were so shaken they couldn’t bring themselves to advance.

They had put everything into a desperate assault, only to be subdued on the spot by basic black magic.

Just as Oliver was about to seize control of the battlefield, the harsh voice of one of the Red Hood’s werewolves filled the air.

[Blood Fog]

One of Red Hood’s clones used the blood of fallen comrades as material to cast a blood magic spell.

‘Wow, blood magic?’

As the magic activated, the blood, filled with various diseases and parasites, vaporized into a thick red fog that enveloped Oliver.

A normal person would’ve collapsed bleeding from their eyes, nose, and mouth. But Oliver, who gained immunity to poisons and diseases from consuming the Flesh Cook’s meat, was merely intrigued that Red Hood could use blood magic.

“Grrrrr…”

Red Hood, seeing Oliver unharmed, seemed both shocked and resigned. He and his clones simultaneously activated black magic again.

[Revive]

[Objective Hate]

[Rabies]

Red Hood and his clones resurrected their fallen comrades as zombies, then targeted Oliver with heightened emotions of hatred and enhanced them with the rabies black magic, turning them into wolf-like monstrous dogs.

Oliver deployed multiple Black Shields to block them, and the minions turned their guns toward the now rabid creatures to assist.

For a brief moment, the concentrated barrage stopped.

Taking this split-second opportunity, Red Hood unleashed a roar filled with black magic.

“Kahyaaahhh!!!”

The black soundwaves spread wide, striking the minions flying through the air. The shock caused the artificial creatures to pause briefly.

At that moment, Red Hood’s clones enlarged their arms and began tearing apart most of the minions.

It was quite fascinating. Although they were ordinary clones, formed using the sorcerer’s fur as a medium, they didn’t disappear even after considerable damage and could cast black magic on their own.

It was no ordinary technique.

Oliver thought Red Hood might push the advantage, but instead, Red Hood quickly glanced at Oliver and then dispersed in all directions, trying to flee.

He seemed to have no intention of actually fighting.

“Minions.”

Oliver, still stuck dealing with the zombies, called to the remaining few minions.

Though they were few, they responded to Oliver’s call, and at his command, they merged into four large minions.

Their size increased, as did their power.

They gathered their energy and shot at the fleeing four Red Hoods, sniping two of them dead on.

Upon receiving fatal wounds, the Red Hood clones finally disappeared.

[Hate Bullet]

Oliver, timing his shot carefully, fired and eliminated the last clone as well.

He had specifically targeted only the clones, and the real Red Hood, panicking, fled with even greater desperation.

With the zombies hindering Oliver’s movements in the meantime.

Crack…!!

The sound of a shield cracking rang out.

The relentless assault from the rabid zombie dogs had finally pushed the shield to its limit.

Even if the shield broke, it wouldn’t pose much of a threat to Oliver, but in that brief time, Red Hood would likely have tried to get as far away as possible and hide.

With so many tricks up his sleeve, he might actually succeed in hiding.

With this in mind, Oliver acted immediately.

Crack!!

The shield shattered under the monstrous dog’s powerful attack.

The shield broke into pieces like glass. Normally, it would’ve dissipated into the air like smoke, but not this time. Oliver held it together.

He invoked black magic, maintaining that state.

[Objective Hate]

Objective Hate. It’s a black magic spell that manipulates hatred emotions to target a specific individual.

It’s usually used on zombies or animals, but Oliver reinterpreted the spell to apply it to the shield. Surprisingly, it worked.

Crack-crack-crack!

Objective Hate, which is more effective against those who’ve inflicted actual harm, caused every shard of the shattered shield to deeply embed itself in the monstrous dogs.

For a human, such a counterattack would’ve been extremely disorienting.

“Hahaha!!”

“Kahahaha!!”

“Grrrr!!”

But for the zombies, already dead and unable to feel pain, it didn’t mean much.

But that didn’t matter. Oliver, too, wasn’t done yet.

[Black Shield]

As Oliver chanted, extracting emotions and sending them into the zombies, the shards embedded in their bodies absorbed the emotions and returned to their original size.

While still lodged in the zombies.

Scraunch!

The dozens of shards grew back to their full size, literally cutting the zombies into pieces.

A defensive black magic turned into an offensive black magic in an instant.

No matter how resilient a zombie may be, once their body is chopped into pieces, they could no longer move.

Having quickly subdued the zombies, Oliver was satisfied with his new use of black magic and commanded the Zombie Puppet-Werewolf to come to him.

As the Zombie Puppet-Werewolf approached quickly, Oliver jumped onto its back, covering it with a Black Suit.

The werewolf clad in black magic armor crouched down as much as possible under Oliver’s control, then kicked off the ground, creating an enormous explosion as it leaped forward. Like the wind, it began chasing after Red Hood.

***

With Oliver riding the Zombie Puppet-Werewolf, it moved swiftly through the trees, chasing down Red Hood.

Boom! Boom! Crash!!

As the werewolf kicked off trees as footholds, the trees shattered into pieces, and shockwaves rippled through the air.

This was the result of combining the werewolf’s physical abilities with the Black Suit.

The forest trembled under the intense pursuit, the beasts fled, and those seeking the Flesh Cook’s legacy showed both wariness and interest.

As for the one being chased, Red Hood grew increasingly anxious.

Seeing this, Oliver could only wonder.

Despite possessing powerful physical abilities and exceptional black magic, why was Red Hood constantly running?

Even if he thought he had no chance, one would expect him to attack at least once.

‘Is it because he really is just a beast?’

Recalling the frightened animals that panicked whenever they saw him, Oliver felt his expectations gradually drop.

He briefly considered simply taking the key and leaving, but then he noticed a change in Red Hood’s emotions.

Realizing that this couldn’t continue, Red Hood steeled himself and placed a dried meatball infused with black magic into his mouth.

Immediately, a new energy surged through his body.

Having faced the Flesh Cook before, Oliver had an idea of what it was.

It was likely a meatball made by drying, grinding, and compressing an entire human.

Just as the Flesh Cook gained strength through cannibalism and Bathory’s Family grew stronger through blood,

Red Hood also gained power by consuming human-based meatballs.

With fresh energy and power, Red Hood extracted a large amount of emotions from his test tube, then activated creation-type black magic, summoning ten giant wolves to charge at Oliver.

Remarkably, these wolves, even larger than cars, were incredibly nimble, attacking with pinpoint precision as they moved through the trees.

Oliver controlled the Zombie Puppet-Werewolf with a flick of his finger, trying to evade, but the number, speed, and size of the wolves made it difficult to move forward.

Meanwhile, the distance between Red Hood and Oliver widened.

If Oliver engaged the wolf-creatures in combat, the gap would only grow larger. But evading them wasn’t easy either.

It was at that moment that Oliver realized something.

Red Hood was only running from Oliver.

As soon as that thought crossed his mind, Oliver used his hand to give a command to the Zombie Puppet-Werewolf, infusing it with a magic formula, then launched himself off its back, allowing himself to fall, which immediately drew the attention of the wolf-creatures.

Red Hood had ordered these creatures to target only Oliver.

“Grrrrrr!!”

“Kraaarrr!!”

“Kyaahh!!”

Ignoring the still-moving Zombie Puppet-Werewolf, the wolves lunged directly at Oliver, exposed and seemingly unguarded in midair. But Oliver calmly extracted emotions with one hand, forming an intense light.

Though dim compared to light generated by magic power, it didn’t matter.

Oliver created the light for one purpose: to make his shadow darker.

Oliver opened his mouth and made a request to his shadow.

“Eat.”

At his command, the backlight on Oliver’s body expanded, and a shadow burst forth, forming rows of unnervingly aligned teeth.

The shadow snapped its jaws shut, chewing and devouring the wolf-creatures midair.

Crunch. Crunch. The sound of chewing was followed by a satisfied rising smile.

***

Shivers…!

Red Hood, who had been desperately fleeing, felt an ominous presence behind him, causing the hair on his body to stand on end. Reflexively, he turned his head to look back.

It was a mistake. A dreadful sight that couldn’t be described in words… Something so ominously deep and terrifying that just seeing it made him feel like he would lose his mind came into view.

Why in the world did he look back? There was nothing he could do by looking. He could understand nothing.

It was wiser to spend that time moving even a step forward.

Grappling with the gut-wrenching sensation and the terrifying feeling of his hair falling out, Red Hood pushed himself to run forward even faster.

He could only maintain his sanity thanks to the humans he had consumed to sustain his intellect over the decades.

Without that, he would’ve gone mad by now.

‘It’s not chasing me?’

Without even looking back, Red Hood realized that the ominous presence had stopped pursuing him.

His natural instincts told him it was true.

It was good news. But that didn’t mean his pursuers had completely lost him.

The Zombie Puppet-Werewolf he had been riding was still pursuing him.

While these thoughts raced through his mind, Red Hood continued to run forward.

With the ominous presence somewhat distanced, he finally had a moment to think.

Should he keep fleeing with this Zombie Puppet-Werewolf on his tail, or should he shake it off?

‘Maybe I should just get out of this forest…’

As he ran, drenched in cold sweat, Red Hood hesitated.

He suddenly remembered why he came to this forest in the first place.

He hadn’t come all this way just to eat a couple of nobodies or to run.

He came here to seize the Flesh Cook’s legacy and become a higher being.

A smarter and stronger existence.

He’d been waiting near the sleeping forest, in the Princess’s territory, a place fraught with danger.

Once time passed, her territory would move elsewhere.

But now, he was trying to run. Out of fear for the nameless existence that emitted an energy similar to hers.

Without a doubt, the ominous presence was terrifying, but he couldn’t afford to flee.

If he kept running in the future, always getting chased and punished, living a miserable life… No.

He couldn’t accept that.

“Grrrrr!!”

The distance from the ominous presence, the intelligence and ambition he gained from consuming humans, gave Red Hood courage.

Red Hood stopped running and faced the Zombie Puppet-Werewolf clad in black magic armor.

The werewolf, seeing Red Hood, aimed its machine guns sprouting out of its shoulders and fired at him. It also unleashed extremely contaminated substances like a water cannon.

Dududu!

Shhhack!!

The lead bullets, powerful enough to shatter trees, and the corrosive substances capable of melting them, flew at Red Hood.

But Red Hood, with fur and skin tougher than steel and immune to any contaminants, blocked the attacks head-on, then enchanted both of his legs and one arm with black magic.

Black magic energy dyed his fur black.

As soon as he was ready, Red Hood kicked off from the tree with such force that it split vertically, charging through the air like a meteor and pierced straight through the Zombie Puppet-Werewolf’s chest.

He felt the specially treated hides and the various internal mechanical devices with his hand, but it didn’t matter anymore.

This strike had shut down the Zombie Puppet-Werewolf’s functions completely.

With that, he had shaken off the pursuit entirely. Now he just needed to hold out until the Princess’s territory vanished.

And claim the Flesh Cook’s legacy-

-Flash.

As soon as Red Hood pierced the werewolf’s chest, a spell dormant on his back activated. Suddenly, an ominous presence appeared with a blinding flash.

It was something massive, crouching. It felt like it was formed from all the abysses and darkness in the world, beyond description.

The hair on his entire body stood on end, almost falling out, but then, a dark magic was cast on Red Hood.

That dark magic was Calm—a spell to calm panic, fear, and terror.

It was bestowed by none other than the malevolent presence. As a result, his overwhelming essence became subdued, revealing only his exterior.

Sunken cheeks, a gaunt body with nothing left to consume, and a head of coarse hair, a mix of white and black.

In his left hand, he held a teleportation item made at the Ilmarinen workshop, while in his gigantic hand formed of dark magic, he gripped a Quarterstaff.

Before throwing the Quarterstaff, he spoke.

“I’m glad you came to your senses.”

Then, without the slightest hesitation, he hurled the Quarterstaff, cloaked in dark magic, straight at Red Hood.