Chapter 623: The Sound of the Flute

Vrooooooom~

A place shrouded in an unknown darkness.

A clumsy harmonica sound echoed from somewhere.

Oliver couldn’t recall where he was or how he ended up there, but he instinctively walked towards the direction of the sound.

Step. Step. Step.

The footsteps seemed thunderously loud in the thick darkness.

He kept walking, and walking, and kept on walking until he eventually reached a light.

A shabby alley appeared, filled with various garbage, rats, worn-out tents, a bonfire cooking some stew, and beggars.

‘Haha! Your harmonica skills have improved a lot! Great job!’

A fat man with a red nose, clearly a member of Kent’s beggar gang, shook his bottle noisily and praised the harmonica player. Other beggars joined in the praise.

The blonde boy playing the harmonica gave his trademark bashful smile, simultaneously showing his shyness and joy.

Ah, now he remembered. This was Oliver’s memory.

One of the days after he first met Kent and joined his beggar gang.

As proof, you could see Oliver sitting in the corner.

…

Somehow, it felt strange. Watching himself like he was a different person.

However, rather than overanalyzing this odd phenomenon, Oliver decided to just enjoy the moment.

Because it was actually a pleasant memory.

Not joking, he was serious.

Despite the stench, the uncomfortable sleeping spots, and the only food being scraps of vegetables, canned ham, and hard bread mixed into a stew, it was a fond memory for him.

After following Joanna’s advice and stepping out into the world, despite not knowing where to go, meeting Kent was his first place to settle.

In a way, it was the place where Oliver first learned about the world.

Besides that, it was also the time when he felt the most at ease. All he had to do was satisfy his curiosity. No worries like he has now.

So the scene before him represented one of Oliver’s happiest moments.

‘If my memory is correct, probably…’

Oliver thought as he watched the harmonica boy return to his seat after the performance.

Sure enough, as expected, the vibe maker with the red nose suddenly stood up and rubbed his chubby belly.

‘Cant! Is the stew done yet? My stomach’s sticking to my back!’

‘It needs to simmer a bit longer. That way, the broth will taste better.’

Cant, who was sitting by the bonfire, tasted the stew and stirred it again with a ladle as he answered.

The red nose asked with a hint of disappointment.

‘Hmm… How much longer?’

‘Just a little more.’

‘I see… Hey, newbie! Got any special skills?’

Without warning, the red nose asked Oliver, who was sitting in the corner. Suddenly, all the beggar gang’s attention was on Oliver.

Confused by the sudden question, Oliver, being a new member, hesitated before shaking his head.

Having grown up in an orphanage and surviving the mines, there was no way Oliver had a special skill like playing the harmonica.

Seeing that, the red nose chuckled as if he had expected it.

‘Then how about you sing a song?’

‘A song?’

‘Yeah, a song! Anyone can sing, right? It doesn’t matter if you’re not great at it! We’re part of the same family now, we gotta get closer!’

‘Um… I don’t know any songs.’

‘You don’t know any songs? Man, you haven’t lived! Then let me start one, and you can try to follow along. You won’t be as good as me, though!’

The red nose confidently boasted and then began singing a lively song as he waved his bottle side to side.

Apparently, everyone has some kind of talent. The beggar gang, already used to his singing, listened appreciatively, and Oliver did the same.

Back then, Oliver didn’t understand why the red nose was doing this, but now he began to see.

It was a kind of consideration, an effort to help Oliver, who hadn’t yet adapted to the group (or at least that’s how it seemed to others), to fit in.

That’s why even Kent just sat quietly.

Oliver silently reflected on the memories he had almost forgotten.

Crackle! Crackle!

When the red nose finished his song, Oliver stood before the bonfire and began to sing along with him.

As soon as Oliver started singing, the sounds of rats and insects around them suddenly vanished, and the beggar gang, one by one, opened their eyes wide.

They were all impressed by Oliver’s singing.

When the song ended, applause erupted, and even Kent praised Oliver.

Not expecting such a response, Oliver scratched his head, unsure of what to do, and then Kent handed him a steaming bowl of stew.

As Oliver reached out to take the stew, Kent spoke.

‘You’ve got a good singing voice. How about you stick around and keep singing—’

-Flash!

Oliver opened his eyes.

It was a peaceful and pleasant dream. However, the oddness of Kent’s words at the end caused Oliver to wake up with an unsettling feeling.

Slowly regaining his senses, Oliver had trouble understanding the situation as if he’d just fainted and woken up, but soon his memories gradually returned.

A plot to harm the prince. Oliver had thwarted that plot by jumping through a portal and subduing the new class attackers.

Just when things seemed to be wrapping up, the sound of the Pied Piper’s flute was heard.

A melody that was sorrowful yet cheerful, irregular yet harmonious.

At the moment he heard that sound, Oliver fell back into that dream.

It was Dark Magic, a branch of manipulation magic. Surveying the surroundings, Oliver confirmed he wasn’t the only one affected.

The businessmen and capitalists, who had clung to the corners of the hall to avoid danger, were all in a hallucinatory state, showing only the whites of their eyes.

It was truly shocking.

After all, the most difficult thing within the manipulation branch of Dark Magic was controlling a living organism, with human control being the hardest.

Unlike corpses and shadows, which offer no resistance, living organisms instinctively resist Dark Magic, and humans, with their high intelligence, resist the most.

Without talent, one could train their entire life and still struggle to control a single person, and even with talent, it generally required various mediums and torture methods.

Because of this, there were virtually no Dark Magicians who could control living people.

It was useful, but the success rate was low, and the cost was extremely high.

That’s why, despite all the chaos Oliver had encountered in Randa, he had never met a Dark Magician who could directly control people.

Yet the Pied Piper had somehow managed to put all these people into a hallucinatory state using his flute as a medium.

Businessmen, bankers, and even superhumans. Considering they were all people with strong egos, this was an even more impressive feat. It was a talent different from that of the Flesh Cook and Fen.

After gathering himself and understanding the situation, Oliver finally turned his gaze toward the prince.

Fortunately, the prince wasn’t in a trance, but instead, a man was approaching him.

This man had an average height and build and wore a worn but neatly maintained cloak, travel clothes, and boots.

Oliver instinctively recognized him as the Pied Piper.

The Pied Piper reached out for the prince, and Oliver, realizing the urgency of the situation, grabbed the Pied Piper’s arm without even picking up the Quarterstaff that had fallen to the floor.

‘A pity. I hope you were having a nice dream.’

The Pied Piper spoke as Oliver grabbed his arm.

He had neatly combed hair, sharp eyes like a snake’s, and a face that appeared empty, as if it once carried a playful smile.

Oliver wasn’t mistaken.

This was a calm yet bottomless anger.

An indescribable aura of strangeness.

A presence that didn’t seem of this world, similar to The Burned One.

Though nothing was certain, one thing was clear. This man was dangerous.

With that realization, Oliver tightened his grip on the Pied Piper’s arm without hesitation.

Crunch!

Ever since gaining the absurd strength from consuming the Flesh Cook’s flesh, such displays of power from Oliver were rare.

With a grip comparable to that of a dragon, Oliver’s hand dug into the Pied Piper’s arm. He was about to—

‘—So, you’re the one who killed Hansel.’

In an unbelievably calm voice, the Pied Piper revealed that he knew the secret Oliver had been hiding.

Startled, Oliver tightened his grip even more, but the Pied Piper casually swung his arm free, breaking Oliver’s hold in an instant as if it was nothing.

Then he reached out that same arm towards Oliver’s face, and Oliver reflexively reached out his left arm to catch the Pied Piper’s hand.

Their hands interlocked. Oliver and the Pied Piper both exerted their strength simultaneously.

Crunch…!

Slowly.

Rumble…!

Slowly.

Rrrrrrrumble…!

Slowly.

With a force that couldn’t have come from human flesh, the surrounding air was compressed, and the entire hotel building trembled from the impact.

As the struggle continued, Oliver’s body was gradually pushed downward, and cracks began to form on the floor where he stood. It became clear.

Oliver was being overpowered. Even with the strength of the Flesh Cook, the strength of a dragon.

Creeeeak…!

The floor beneath him cracked with a sound like breaking bones, splitting wide open. The structure had reached its limit.

Oliver looked up at the Pied Piper holding him down and called out to the frightened prince.

‘Prince.’

‘…Oh? Yes?!’

‘Hold onto me.’

Prince Albert reflexively clung to Oliver at his calm but firm command.

At the same time, the ground beneath Oliver. And further, one side of the hotel began to collapse.

Kaboom!

With a cloud of dirt and a deafening roar. All brought about by sheer physical force.

***

‘These insane bastards…!’

‘Do they even know who’s in here to pull this crap?!’

‘Any word on reinforcements yet?’

‘They’re on their way back now.’

‘Hold the line, no matter what! We can’t let them break through!!’

‘Die, you bastards!’

‘Aaaaagh!!!’

In front of the Graham Hotel.

The place was filled with countless voices clashing together.

It wasn’t just the voices. In front of the hotel, gunfire rang out, ‘Rat-a-tat-tat!’ followed by explosions, ‘Boom!’ creating a deathly orchestra that made your hair stand on end.

And with the length of the orchestra, the pile of bodies grew, so it was no exaggeration.

The cause of this orchestra was none other than Prince Albert, who was inside the hotel. To be more precise, it was the insane lunatics targeting the prince in the middle of the City.

The defensive troops guarding the hotel, along with some new class superhumans, were completely baffled. What in the world gave these lunatics the nerve to do something so reckless?

‘There’s a bazooka!’

One of the defense troops clinging to the barricade pointed at Joe, who was a director of the Redevelopment Union and one of the new class superhumans.

A fat man wearing a gas mask, a bazooka resting on his shoulder, emerged from the direction he indicated. Even at a glance, it was apparent the bazooka was a modified weapon created with Black Market technology, and it bristled with an enormous amount of magical energy.

It was powerful enough to shatter the barricade in a single shot and break through the barely-held defensive lines.

Joe, having confirmed the situation, covered himself with several layers of Black Suit, taught by Dave, and then compressed the overly thickened armor.

Fssssss—!

The armor wrapped around his body emitted smoke as it compressed, and its density reached its extreme limit.

In that state, Joe transformed the shape of the Black Suit covering his legs into that of a herbivore and kicked off the ground.

Thump!

The concrete-paved ground blew apart, scattering debris everywhere, as Joe charged forward at an inhuman speed, plunging straight into the midst of the attackers.

…?!

The assailants were so taken aback by his overwhelming speed that they couldn’t respond.

This was why Joe even bothered to step outside the hotel.

With overwhelming speed, defense, and attack power. Simple, but intuitive and powerful enough to maintain the defensive line by striking and retreating.

Joe smashed through the modified vehicles that the attackers had turned into barricades and charged straight towards the fat man operating the bazooka.

Woosh!

In that very moment, right as Joe was almost upon him, the fat man shifted the bazooka’s barrel to aim at Joe.

What Joe had initially dismissed as just a brute force gunner turned out to be a surprisingly adept magic user.

With exceptional reflexes, he redirected the shot and fired a magical energy-packed shell directly at Joe.

Joe trusted in the armor he was wearing and charged forward, throwing a punch.

As Joe’s fist hurtled forward, the shockwaves amplified, flipping the ground beneath him.

It was like a fist-shaped bomb. The explosion cleaved through the bazooka shell fired by the fat man and exploded his head.

Crunch!

A moist, heavy sound echoed, like a watermelon being smashed. And at the sight of this lethal strike, every nearby assailant froze in place.

Capitalizing on the advantage of overwhelming power, Joe concentrated some of his armor onto his arms, forming spheres, and then hurled them to either side.

It was a simple attack, just throwing solidified chunks of Black Suit, but its power was beyond imagination.

The spheres Joe threw destroyed everything in their path like giant metal balls.

It didn’t matter if it was armed troops, superhumans, cars, trees, or buildings.

Thanks to this, a large hole punctured the attackers’ formation, and Joe moved through the gaps, inflicting as much damage as possible.

Inspired by this, the Randa Defense Force boldly jumped out of the barricades and struck the disoriented attackers, forcing them back.

It was as if they had broken through one of the tightening siege’s rings.

With things seemingly turning in their favor, as the defense line Joe was holding began to push back the attackers, police special forces, Randa Defense Force, and the Security Bureau kept arriving one after another.

They turned the tables, surrounding the assailants who were initially encircling the Graham Hotel, and began to annihilate them with overwhelming firepower.

Inside and out. The attackers, now surrounded in a donut-like formation, could barely mount any resistance. At that moment, just as the madmen’s rebellion was about to end.

KaaaaBOOM!

A sound so deafening it felt like your ears would burst, with bones and flesh vibrating.

It seemed like something was wrong with the other defenses, but that wasn’t it.

Because the source of the sound was the hotel.

Sensing something was wrong, the Defense Force, the attackers, and the reinforcements all paused, turning their gaze towards the hotel.

Incredibly, the high-rise hotel had partially collapsed, raising a massive cloud of dust. It looked like a slice of cake had been cut out with a fork.

At first, they thought a bomb had gone off, but that wasn’t the case; the shape didn’t match.

Rather, it seemed the building had given in under its own weight and collapsed.

It was an unbelievable situation. How could the latest modern hotel in Randa, built with the latest architectural technology, collapse under its own weight?

Nevertheless, confronted with this unexpected event, the hundreds of troops surrounding the hotel stopped fighting and stared at the hotel covered in swirling dust. Soon, as the dust settled, they saw a group of people emerging from within.

Those people were none other than Oliver, holding onto the prince and reinforcing his body with disease magic, and the mysterious man who had overpowered Oliver with sheer strength.

The mysterious man spoke to Oliver.

‘You really put up a fight.’