Chapter 539: The Princess and the Prince

A soft flute sound echoed quietly.

Even Oliver, who had no interest in music or such, found it somehow special.

It was sad, yet cheerful.

Irregular, but harmonious.

Above all, there was something that pulled at a person’s consciousness.

He wondered if dark magic was infused into the flute. Or maybe—

—Whoosh!

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew out of the darkness.

The shadow puppet show that was unfolding moments before vanished like smoke, and a new backdrop appeared.

A small rural village with cozy little houses gathered together.

A man visited this place, a man holding a flute in one hand.

As soon as he arrived in the village, he played the flute.

Once again, the sad yet cheerful melody rang in the air.

The children playing in the village began to follow him as if entranced by the flute sound.

Before long, a long procession of children formed.

The man started heading out of the village with the children following behind. No one tried to stop him.

Feeling an odd sense of unease, Oliver turned his gaze toward the village and soon saw it.

The mothers, fathers, grandfathers, and grandmothers of the children, all bound by the flute’s sound.

They desperately tried to move, but their bodies were tied up by the flute sound, only able to shed tears.

Until the man and children disappeared beyond the horizon.

Only after the man disappeared with the children did they regain movement, and then they began to wail and scream, chasing after where he went.

None of them ever retrieved the children.

—Whoosh!

The wind blew again, and a new backdrop appeared.

A crowd of countless people gathered, pouring out their grief, despair, and anger over the lost children.

The hearts of the parents who lost their children were powerful, and their united force was enough to shake numerous small kingdoms in the continent’s center.

Even those wearing crowns could not dismiss it.

Eventually, those crowned heads had no choice but to convene a gathering, as the crowd pushed forward.

Among them, a man holding a book that contained all the world’s knowledge was also invited. Though he did not wear a crown, he was respected by those who did.

The conference began.

They discussed what to do about the kidnapper who wandered the continent, the Pied Piper.

—Whoosh!

The wind blew, changing the backdrop.

Even as a shadow puppet show, there was an overwhelming military force displayed on the new stage.

An endless army, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Leading this great force was the one on the highest horse, behind whom followed not only soldiers but also mages who commanded fire, ice, air, and earth, and Holy Knights bearing crosses. A man holding the book of all knowledge was also present.

It was an unprecedented scale and composition, where the word defeat never even came to mind.

Many people came out onto the streets to behold the victorious army, wishing them success and blessings.

Amid the cheers, the magnificent army proudly advanced with flags flying and trumpets blaring.

The melancholy flute sound soon covered the trumpet sound.

—Whoosh!

As the flute sound echoed, the wind blew. The once limitless army disappeared like dust.

Only less than ten survivors returned, staggering as if they had lost their minds, recounting what they saw in incoherent speech.

‘Hehehe! …M-mo, monster? Is it a monster?! Hehehe… We, we killed… each other? W-we couldn’t even see its face?? The forest… is devouring us…? Hehe! Heheheheh!! We, we’re all going to die… All of us!!!’

Neither the people in the shadow puppet show nor Oliver understood what had happened, but one thing was certain—the army formed by uniting many nations had been defeated by the Pied Piper.

Even though the Pied Piper never appeared.

That alone was enough for the grief, anger, and despair of losing their children to be swallowed by an unknown fear.

An entire continent was engulfed in fear.

Crowned heads gathered for another discussion on what to do.

They looked at the new man holding the book, but he only showed a troubled expression and left. Soon after, other crowned heads left one by one as well, followed by even the smaller crowns scattering powerlessly.

Nothing had been resolved.

—Whoosh!

The wind blew again.

A small village, then a large town, and finally a gigantic city appeared. And there, as expected, the man with the flute arrived.

Neither the villagers nor the city guards could stop him, and he played his flute.

The sad yet cheerful melody echoed in the air again, drawing in the children.

The procession of children following the man grew enormous in proportion to the size of the village, and they vanished.

The difference from before was that, this time, the adults could move if they chose to.

But they didn’t move, as if cursed.

Since they couldn’t do anything by moving, they pretended to be unable to move.

It was less miserable to pretend not to be able to move than to be unable to do anything out of fear, even as their children were kidnapped before their eyes.

Thus, grief, humiliation, and hatred piled up, and emotions that couldn’t be soothed turned into anger aimed at the kingdom.

Because there was nowhere else left to turn.

Countless shadows emerged, expressing their anger at the royal palace. Among them, some brought forth numerous conspiracy theories, going so far as to claim it was all the king’s fault and divine punishment.

Just as a boiling pot overflowing with steam, many kingdoms fell into chaos.

And the princess’s kingdom was no exception.

Those who had been whispering love and praises for the princess’s foresight now began to resent her.

‘Princess! Help us!’

‘Princess! Please advise us!’

‘Princess! What are we to do? Tell us the way!’

‘Princess! Find my children! Save them!!’

‘Princess! Say something…!’

Princess, Princess, Princess… A huge crowd gathered in front of the palace, demanding answers from the princess.

They were relying on the foresight that had saved them from so many past disasters.

However, contrary to their expectations, the palace, the princess remained silent.

The crowd’s unfulfilled hopes turned into anger, resentment, and doubt, and just then, 13 witches appeared.

They whispered.

‘The Pied Piper! He’s a being that no human can stop!’

‘And the reason he’s rampaging is because of the princess.’

‘The princess used her foresight recklessly, disturbing the order of the heavens.’

‘But don’t worry. There’s a way out, after all.’

‘There’s a way to escape from the hands of the Pied Piper.’

Dripping with malice, schemes, mockery, and lies, they claimed they could solve the problem.

If it couldn’t be done with human power, then they said they could borrow the power of something non-human.

Their story was suspicious to the last degree. Of course, people doubted them, but time passed, suspicions turned into hopes, and hopes into conviction.

The unresolved disaster eroded their judgment.

Soon, everyone began to argue that the ritual must proceed as the witches said.

Even if it meant sacrificing the princess they once loved.

Strange totems were erected all over the once small but beautiful kingdom, and thorny vines connected them, forming a massive formation that covered the kingdom.

Parents who had lost their children and trembled with fear took out their anger through hoes, sickles, and torches, surrounding the kingdom and demanding the princess be handed over.

Even the ministers who once supported the king and queen in ruling the kingdom began to pressure the king to hand over the princess.

‘It’s for the kingdom’s sake, Your Majesty!’

‘If you don’t hand over the princess, who knows what the people will do…’

‘Even the army can no longer protect you, Your Majesty.’

‘The princess also bears some responsibility. Why does she not say anything?!’

Pleading, begging, threats, self-justification.

A whirlwind of emotions swirled, and in the end, the king rebuked the ministers for their disloyalty and foolishness.

He asked how they could dare trust the words of witches who had suddenly appeared and offer the princess to some cultists as a sacrifice, reminding them that she was the princess they once loved.

Even amidst a situation filled with accusations and reproaches, the princess, who stood behind the king and queen, remained silent. As if she had given up on everything.

Seeing this, the ministers grew even more agitated, and in the end, they called in the soldiers sworn to loyalty to the king to drag the princess out.

The ministers were filled with anger and sadness, while the king and queen screamed and desperately tried to stop it.

But they were powerless, and even in that moment, the princess silently and obediently allowed herself to be dragged out.

She shed no tears, showed no anger, nor fear. She had given up on everything.

The memories and emotions making up the shadow puppet play entered Oliver’s mind, allowing him to understand as if he had personally experienced it.

When the princess was dragged out before the crowd filled with fear, sorrow, and anger, the ritual commenced.

The princess was placed on a massive altar, surrounded by the 13 witches. Around the witches was the crowd layered thick.

As the play progressed, Oliver realized he had felt a similar aura before.

The Flesh Cook who tried to open the gates of hell.

Fen, who tried to summon a demon.

The totems embedded throughout the kingdom began to move as if alive, and the thorny vines wriggled like blood vessels, merging with the ground.

The earth wriggled like muscles, fog condensed in the air, and the sky cracked as if being sucked in, from which an indescribable ominous energy flowed out.

A very faint aura of hell.

Along with it, vast, precise, and intricate formations visually emerged throughout the kingdom, converging like a spider web centered on the princess.

The entire kingdom transformed into a single formation converging to one point.

An act that was impossible by common sense, yet it became possible because the princess, once beloved by all within the kingdom, was the catalyst.

Space itself shook and fused, and the crowd, sensing something was wrong, realized something had gone awry, but it was already too late.

Time seemed to stop, depriving everyone of the freedom and right to move, leaving them with nothing but to witness the scene unfolding before them.

The only ones who could move were the 13 witches conducting the ritual and the princess at its core.

She, with royal blood and special talent, who gained karma from the kingdom’s love.

After having been as silent as a corpse, the princess suddenly bit her hand as the ritual reached its climax, drawing blood to add another formation on the ground.

The witches were shocked.

However, the princess moved with such precision, as if she had anticipated this moment, and swiftly seized control of the ritual, freezing even the witches’ bodies, before surrendering herself to the grand flow.

Shortly after, the sky and earth blurred as if water had been poured on ink. Then, starting from the princess, the scene contracted, and the concept of a kingdom converged into a single point as the shadow puppet play came to an end.

[What did you think of the play? Sorrowful one burdened with an unjust fate.]

As soon as the play ended, the voice of the girl from before echoed from the surrounding darkness.

The moment he heard the voice, Oliver swung his left hand, shattering the darkness around him and reaching out toward the girl who revealed herself among the fragments.

[Targeting]

Just like with the winged old woman, the girl’s neck was within Oliver’s grasp, and he stared directly at her face.

A girl in her late teens with white skin and honey-colored hair.

The princess who was once loved by her kingdom.

The moment he confirmed her face, Oliver didn’t hesitate to strengthen his grip and snap the girl’s neck.

Snap.

With a dull crack, the sound echoed shockingly easily. Oliver discarded her body on the ground as if throwing away trash and turned away.

‘Seems you were very displeased.’

The voice echoed again as he turned back.

The same princess, whose neck had just been broken, was standing up, tidying her hair.

She smiled and greeted him.

‘Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am the Sleeping Beauty. Burdened with an unjust fate… Or perhaps, by another name. Prin—’

Before she could finish her sentence, Oliver swung the Quarterstaff he was holding at her head. The princess continued smiling.