Chapter 534: As Red Hood kicked off the ground, his form blurred and vanished with a shockwave.

This result came from wrapping his body in electricity, pushing his physical abilities to the extreme.

Oliver also knew about this magic thanks to auditing classes at the Tower of Magic and reading books.

This particular magic represents the pinnacle of electric magic in terms of instantaneous firepower.

Its duration isn’t long, but depending on the situation, it could overturn any difference in strength due to its overwhelming speed and firepower.

[Hate Bullet]

However, instead of being overwhelmed by the speed, Oliver accurately aimed his hand at Red Hood and fired the Bullets of Hatred.

The black bullet shot through the air.

It aimed straight for Red Hood’s forehead, but Red Hood, whose reflexes and dynamic vision were heightened by the electricity, dodged by tilting his massive body.

“…!”

He seemed genuinely surprised by Oliver’s response.

The speed that his enhanced electric body could attain was beyond anything someone could counter just by understanding it.

But it wasn’t entirely unexpected.

Oliver, after all, had taken a bite of the Flesh Cook’s flesh, improving not only his physical abilities but also his reflexes.

Although the hunger grew stronger, if he focused a little more, he could perceive the phenomenon of the world slowing down.

Moreover, due to Red Hood’s strong emotions and the nature of the electric magic that signals his targets with a small current, Oliver could roughly guess how and where Red Hood would move.

Red Hood seemed to realize this too, canceling the electric magic that enveloped him and quickly retreating to widen the distance.

After firing the Bullets of Hatred, Oliver sent out Minions to attack.

Hatred bullets rained down.

Red Hood not only deflected the bullets fired by Oliver using his black claws imbued with dark magic, but also launched slashes to intercept the Minions.

But that wasn’t all. He concentrated dark magic at the tips of his claws and launched a projectile directly at Oliver while simultaneously sending curved slashes that attacked Oliver from multiple angles.

Kakakakakakang!

Oliver set up Black Shields at diagonal angles to deflect the slashes flying from the sides, while he shot down the oncoming projectiles by randomly firing the Bullets of Hatred in rapid succession, engaging in a firepower contest.

In normal circumstances, Red Hood’s claw-launched projectiles would have possessed higher toughness and penetration power, but now Oliver’s bullets, which were compressed and imbued with emotion and rotational force, were overwhelming.

A startled Red Hood used all ten of his claws to increase the number of projectiles, but as soon as Oliver added his middle finger to his index finger, his rate of fire sped up, making Red Hood’s move meaningless.

With bullets colliding in mid-air, light flared, a thunderous roar echoed, and the resulting air ripples shook the surroundings.

“Kehahahaha Hahh!”

Seeing no answer in a firepower contest, Red Hood stopped shooting and spewed a black glowing bellow imbued with dark magic, sending out a wide shockwave.

The ground-shaking roar approached, sweeping away the surrounding dust.

Oliver moved the Black Shields he had set up on either side to block it head-on. However, the Shields resonated with the shockwave and shattered like glass.

Crack! Crash!

Instead of wasting the shattered Shields, Oliver grabbed the fragments and hurled them at Red Hood.

Hundreds of glass-like shards flew like they were carried by a powerful wind.

As if expecting this, Red Hood gathered magic and created a massive earthen wall, covering his entire body in a dome shape for protection.

It was truly impressive.

Even if the power obtained was from consuming flesh, wielding that power is a different challenge altogether.

His handling of magic, from electric to earth magic, was of considerable skill. A level that could only be achieved through extensive training.

Moreover, he managed a wide range of roles from close combat to ranged support.

It was as if he didn’t see a need to keep underlings for assistance.

Oliver suddenly recalled Red Hood’s words and emotions from earlier, wondering if he had been mistaken.

‘I am… not a beast.’

Come to think of it, his earlier words and attitude might have been rude and discriminatory.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The shield fragments that had been shattered by Red Hood’s roar embedded themselves deeply into the earth wall.

The places where they embedded were more numerous than the places where they hadn’t.

Red Hood, likely aware of what was coming next, didn’t flee but instead prepared something.

Oliver couldn’t help but be curious about what it was.

[Black Shield]

To quench his curiosity, Oliver initiated the spell.

The shield fragments embedded in the wall slowly reconstructed, digging deep into the sturdy earthen barrier.

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

Returning to their original sizes, not only did the shields split the wall but the sound of Shield pieces clashing together echoed like branches rustling.

Then, a chilling silence followed that seemed to signal death itself.

If there had been spectators, it would’ve been a moment where they held their breath, watching quietly.

But instead of standing still, Oliver extracted a massive amount of emotion from his chest and wrapped himself in the Black Suit.

And then it happened…

The collapsing earthen wall and the embedded Shards shattered into dust accompanied by a brilliant flash.

The overwhelming impact shattered everything into pieces.

Oliver briefly closed his eyes against the flash, but with the Warlock’s Eye still open, he detected numerous lifeforms emerging from inside the shattered earthen wall.

They were eight Wolf-Creatures created by Red Hood and ten doubles made using his fur as a medium.

Their numbers were far from ordinary.

Oliver opened his eyes and first observed the Wolf-Creatures dashing toward him.

Unlike the creatures encountered so far, they were the size of an average wolf, much faster, and their teeth were coated with a viscous form of Disease Magic.

They had failed twice, and now they had revised their strategy.

Red Hood intended to overpower Oliver not with sheer strength and sharp fangs but with swift speed and lethal venom.

But on the flip side, this also meant Oliver had seen them twice already, which was more than enough to mimic them.

[Mimic-Wolf]

Oliver peeled off part of the Black Suit covering his body and scattered it on the ground.

Simultaneously, what was once just a bundle of torn threads transformed into wolves clad in cloth through Creation-Type magic.

They were exactly eight of them.

“….!!”

Red Hood and his doubles faintly glimmered with surprise.

No wonder they were shocked; Creation-Type dark magic wasn’t something you could use with just raw magical skill alone.

It also required qualities like imagination, creativity, and willpower—factors that are difficult to define in a straightforward manner.

In many ways, it’s a form of dark magic that reflects a warlock’s personality, much like a mirror.

Perhaps that’s why all the creatures that Fen creates have a blend of innocence and grotesqueness.

A unique trait, just like one’s handwriting.

Yet despite that, Oliver had managed to imitate it. It wasn’t something that could be done with sheer talent alone.

‘But that’s why it suits me perfectly.’

Oliver felt a sense of certainty.

While using Creation-Type dark magic—which reflects creativity, imagination, and willpower—wasn’t easy for Oliver, he had found a way to approach it from the other direction.

By mimicking the creativity, imagination, and willpower of others.

Mimicking and following were Oliver’s specialties, just like he had done right now.

“I leave it to you.”

At Oliver’s command, the Mimic-Wolves charged toward the incoming Wolf-Creatures.

“Awoooouuuu!!”

“Kehahaha Hahh!!”

“Grrrrrrrrrr…..!”

The eight wolves on each side—a total of sixteen—clashed with ripping cries that seemed to tear through the air.

The clash was as fierce as if real beasts were fighting, but the difference was that each time they bit and collided, countless shockwaves erupted, shaking the air and earth.

Given that they were artificial lifeforms compacted with emotion, it was expected.

And that wasn’t the end.

Besides the creatures, Red Hood’s doubles made with his fur began moving in all directions.

The first to act were the two doubles that leaped into the sky, gathering emotion and magic, and raining massive black and fire bullets reminiscent of artillery down on Oliver’s head.

[Barrage of Fury]

[Flame Shower]

The fierce bombardment and flaming shower plummeted down, causing a series of violent explosions over the Wolf-Creatures and Oliver’s head.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!━!

The massive explosions shook the earth, sending a chaotic mix of black smoke and flames shooting skyward.

The impact was so powerful that even the nearby trees and rocks were shattered and turned to ash.

Naturally, all the creatures within the range of the bombardment were annihilated.

“Grrrrr….. Monster!!”

One of Red Hood’s doubles, circling from the left, shouted as it saw Oliver emerge unscathed from the bombardment.

Using the Warlock’s Eye, Oliver had analyzed the trajectory of the incoming bullets, predicted their points of impact, avoided them, and deployed his shield at a slant to block their attacks.

Even the most skilled warlocks risk their lives attempting such a complex maneuver, but Oliver executed it confidently without relying on powerful spells.

While Red Hood was alarmed, there was a part of him that wasn’t surprised. He harnessed his magic power and gained control of the flames created by the bombardment.

Alongside him, another double used air magic to create a massive whirlwind.

The flames fused with the whirlwind, increasing its range and intensity.

The flame-spinning storm roared with intensity.

As intended, the enormous whirlwind engulfed the entire bombardment area, and amidst it all, Red Hood’s double leaped in once more and launched another strike.

With no gaps in their ground and aerial attacks.

Countless bullets exploded within the massive flames, looking as menacing as molten magma.

[Voracity]

Amidst the fiery storm that threatened to burn down even the verdant forest around him, Oliver cast a spell.

From all around the Black Suit covering Oliver’s body, countless toothless mouths emerged and began absorbing the surrounding flames.

Chup. Chup. Chup. Chup.

As a creepy wet sound echoed, the sea of crimson flames and erupting explosions that seemed capable of burning down the entire Verdant Forest were sucked into the grotesque mouths.

It was an unnatural sight, impossible to comprehend given the size and power of the flames.

But the mouth-like structures growing from Oliver’s body seemed to suggest that this reality was genuine as they absorbed not only the flames but also began taking in Red Hood’s doubles that surrounded Oliver.

Caught off guard, the doubles staggered in alarm.

Although they appeared indistinguishable from the real Red Hood, they were essentially clumps of emotion-energy. The attack from Voracity, which absorbs energy, could be fatal to them.

One after another, the doubles collapsed to the ground, kneeling.

━━━━━Pew!

Then the real Red Hood, not one of the doubles, came speeding in at supersonic speed, crashing into Oliver with a shockwave.

On one of Red Hood’s arms, there was a boar’s fang gauntlet made of green natural force.

As he struck Oliver with it, the impact was so powerful that the air seemed to compress at a single point before it exploded with a violent distortion.

The land between Red Hood and Oliver split, creating a powerful aftershock that blew Oliver away into the distance.

The Black Suit that had withstood the intense heat and bombardment was pushed back.

But in a way, this could be considered fortunate.

If he hadn’t absorbed a massive amount of flames earlier to strengthen the Black Suit, the suit would’ve shattered from the previous strike.

That would’ve been quite painful.

‘Although it’s already quite painful as it is.’

Oliver thought while looking at his bandaged right arm.

Thanks to Merlin’s care, he had barely managed, but the recent strike rattled his bones.

The burning pain in his arm surged, and even the spirit inside the bandage suffered some damage.

“Kehahaha!!”

While Oliver was briefly distracted by his burning right arm, Red Hood and four of his remaining doubles simultaneously charged at him.

Each of them surrounded their body with natural forces totems, such as boars, wolves, stags, bears, and eagles, attacking from all directions.

“So, your specialty is the natural force.”

In that brief moment when Red Hood revealed his true weapon, all Oliver could do was admire.

Come to think of it, it made perfect sense. Red Hood’s true nature was a beast, a part of nature.

This wasn’t meant as an insult, but as recognition that he was the entity in perfect harmony with nature.

As proof, in addition to the ones attacking Oliver, six more doubles were at the back, communicating with spirits and preparing large-scale rituals.

‘If I want to see what that’s about…’

Oliver commanded the Voracity clad in the Black Suit to regurgitate the flames it had just swallowed.

Despite its discomfort, Voracity obeyed, and scarlet magma-like flames spewed out in all directions, engulfing Red Hood and his doubles.

An unstoppable surge of flames.

Yet Red Hood and his doubles let out their unique cries and charged directly through them.

Boom! Boom! Crackle-Boom!

The enormous flames, released back into the world after being absorbed by Voracity, were not only extremely hot but also possessed the force of a flood.

But Red Hood and his doubles’ attacks, compressed with intricate natural forces, were strong enough to split the surge of crimson flames.

The heat and pressure of the flames grew stronger with each passing moment, burning and wearing down the natural forces that shielded Red Hood and his doubles, but soon the volume of the fire diminished, gradually weakening.

All Oliver had accomplished was slightly pushing back the oncoming assault from Red Hood and his doubles.

Even so, they could simply land and continue their attack.

However, to Oliver, that was enough.

Oliver infused the ground with dark magic, turning the earth into a swamp.

Splop…

As soon as Red Hood and his doubles touched the ground, it transformed into a muddy swamp, swallowing their legs.

Of course, it wasn’t deep enough to restrain someone like Red Hood, but when the swamp was infused with Disease-Weakness Death Magic, it turned into an entirely different story.

“Ugh…?!”

Red Hood expressed pain and confusion as Disease-Weakness Death Magic seeped into his body through his skin.

Red Hood’s body, immune to diseases, was tough enough to use even his blood as a material for Disease-Weakness Death Magic.

That’s why Oliver had prepared carefully.

Instead of using the Disease-Weakness Magic he had applied when Red Hood used the blood mist to escape, Oliver crafted a counteractive disease solely for this purpose.

Luckily, it seemed to work, as Red Hood and his doubles screamed in pain.

Not missing a single moment, Oliver not only created more Minions and Mimic-Wolves but also personally wielded his Quarterstaff to eliminate Red Hood’s doubles.

The heavy gunfire from the Minions pierced through the foreheads of the doubles, the Mimic-Wolves bit into their throats, and Oliver’s Quarterstaff crushed their torsos.

After receiving more damage than anticipated, the doubles dissipated into smoke, leaving only the real body.

Oliver and the true Red Hood locked eyes, and Oliver could read Red Hood’s emotions through those eyes.

Intense fear, an unforgotten goal, and unyielding hope.

As Oliver pulled back the Quarterstaff for a thrust, a deep, weighty sound as though the earth was splitting echoed from below.

It seemed like a delusion, but it wasn’t.

Massive tree roots erupted from the ground, extracting Red Hood from the swamp and lifting him high into the sky.

While Oliver was dealing with Red Hood and his four doubles, six more doubles at the rear had used natural forces to take control of the surrounding forest.

They utilized their high ability to communicate with nature, shared their power, and resonated with each other to maximize their efficiency.

Thanks to their efforts, even the branches and grains of earth surrounding Oliver turned into weapons against him.

It was similar to the technique Seamus used in the past when his tricks were exposed and he attempted to escape, though the level here was far higher.

The power wasn’t merely brute force concentrated into bulk but a finely tuned ritual leveraging high communion skills to achieve complete domination of the area.

It was truly awe-inspiring.

To add a touch of exaggeration, Oliver’s current situation wasn’t much different from being in the palm of Red Hood.

Even so, Red Hood didn’t let his guard down. He pulled out a dried meat ball from his chest to replenish his stamina and plucked more fur to create several new doubles.

The doubles used a combination of dark magic and regular magic to enlarge their bodies, surrounding themselves with electricity and flames to deliver devastating attacks.

Even when he seemed to have the upper hand, Red Hood didn’t relax, instead unleashing his full power to attack thoroughly.

It seemed that Oliver would have to abandon his resolve to use as little dark magic as possible.

That’s because, with this level of opposition, there was no room for such reservations.

“Eve.”

Through the transmitter attached to his shirt collar, Oliver called for Eve, who promptly responded.

[Yes, Dave.]

As soon as Eve responded, Red Hood emitted its distinctive cry. Immediately, massive trees and roots closed in from all directions. Razor-sharp leaves, giant fists made of earth, and doppelgangers launched a focused attack on Oliver.

There was no place to escape in this dire situation.

Oliver’s shadow trembled, but he forced it to calm down as he asked Eve.

“Is everything I requested ready?”

[Yes, it’s prepared.]

The moment he heard Eve’s brief and clear answer, Oliver extracted the power of nature from the vial in his possession.

He injected it directly into the ground that Red Hood had seized, initiating a battle for control while also reaching out to the World Tree below.

Once the power of nature touched the World Tree, Oliver and Eve could communicate.

Eve projected a refined image she had prepared in advance, allowing Oliver to harness the World Tree’s immense magic.

Red Hood, startled by the ominous energy and magic rising from below, hastened its attack, but unfortunately, it was too late.

Oliver looked at the image within the World Tree’s mind that Eve had given him and began constructing the spell.

[Moirai School & Spatial School: Ideation Formation: X-District]