Chapter 625: Sound of the Pipe

Chzzz! Chzzzz!! Ch-…! Chirr!! Chzzz-!

A road that’s more like a battlefield.

As a mysterious piping sound echoed out, plump rats began to pour out from the cracks in the ruined road.

These rats all had black fur, and when they moved together, it resembled a river of flesh.

Squirm. Squirm. Squirm.

At the horrifying sight, the eyes of the hundred armed soldiers widened in shock, their pupils shrinking as they silently screamed.

“…!!”

Regardless of each individual’s strength, it triggered a fundamental human sense of revulsion.

However, the problem was not that it was simply disgusting and terrifying.

The rats guided by the pipe sound posed a genuine physical threat as well.

Proof of this was that, like a flooding river, the rats scattered with terrifying squeaks and started to gather around the wounded in the midst of the battle.

“Wha, what? Nooo!!”

Bruises, cuts, burns, or scrapes. The severity didn’t matter.

Regardless of the injuries, the rats swarmed equally and began to gnaw at the wounded areas.

“Damn it! It hurts! Damn it!”

“Get them off! Damn it, get them off!!”

“Aaaaagh!!”

The wounded screamed and cursed, resisting the rats in desperation.

Rat-a-tat-tat!

Defense Force soldiers fired lead bullets, bursting through the incoming rats.

Slash! Slash! Slaash!

Security Bureau agents wielded their magic-imbued cold weapons to sweep away the rats nearby.

Crackle! Fwoosh!

The mages of the New Rank created flames and lightning, instantly charring or crisping hundreds of rats.

But it wasn’t enough to stop the endless flood of rats.

It was like trying to block a flowing river with your hands—utterly futile.

To prove this, the unrelenting hordes of rats continued to swarm, biting at wounds, snapping Achilles tendons, gnawing on intestines, and nibbling on ears.

“Aaah! Aaagh!!”

“Guhhak!!”

“Mom! Mom!!”

All around, desperate death cries erupted.

The result was a mix of unimaginable pain and sheer visual horror.

But the worst part was that it wasn’t over.

Those who were gnawed to death by the rats didn’t just lie still; they came back to life with their bodies turned black, reanimated as Zombies.

“Groooar…”

“Uuuuuu…!”

“Grrrr…”

The resurrected corpses joined the swarm of rats, attacking the people around them indiscriminately. Those struck by the zombies started to darken around their wounds, before collapsing to the ground.

“Cough-…!”

The rats then devoured those who fell, turning them into zombies as a death cycle continued.

It was only then that Oliver understood the shadow puppet play Sleeping Beauty had shown him.

Why the United Kingdom, Gallos, the central micro-kingdoms, and more, could not defeat a single Pied Piper even with their allied forces.

It was like trying to stop a flood, typhoon, tsunami, or earthquake with an army—it was impossible.

In fact, having more people only served as more prey for the Pied Piper.

[Fence of Flames]

[Divine Protection]

[Holy Light]

[Lightning Shower]

However, many of those present were superhumans who had achieved great feats, capable of even facing natural disasters.

They fought back against the endless hordes of rats in their own ways.

The military mages of the Defense Force reorganized their units, creating a massive wall of flames to surround themselves and block the approaching rats.

Security Bureau agents used Holy Items from the Pater Church to create sacred shields and light, holding the rats at bay.

Mages of the traditional Mjolnir Faction used lamp posts as conduits, pouring down electric currents to indiscriminately kill the rats, and using the same electricity to fry the holes from which they emerged.

Each superhuman desperately tried to hold the line against the surging wave of rodents.

‘But it’s nothing more than stalling for time.’

Oliver thought as he surveyed the entire Randa area with the Warlock’s Eye.

Focusing on where he was, rats appeared throughout the city like spreading tentacles, while corpses rose again.

Touched by the Pied Piper’s dark magic, the scale of its effects was truly terrifying.

His threat to kill everyone in Randa if they didn’t hand over the prince was no idle boast.

The Pied Piper truly had both the power and the will to kill everyone.

All because they hadn’t handed over one boy.

Oliver thought he understood why the Pied Piper was treated like a disaster.

“For now, retreat!!”

“Retreat? What are you saying?!”

“Can’t you see from the situation?! That guy’s fine!!”

“Damn… he’s really fine…!”

Those who barely survived the rat swarms argued, their voices rising, and someone pointed to the Pied Piper.

Thanks to the appearance of the rats, the shelling had stopped, allowing them to see the Pied Piper.

The Pied Piper stood tall amidst the crater-covered ground.

Just as before, his clothes weren’t even singed, let alone dusted, as he leisurely played his pipe.

“That’s insane. Unbelievable.”

“Oh, my god…”

“Seriously?”

Everyone who saw that stood in silent despair.

No wonder; the bombardment against the Pied Piper earlier was military-level force.

It was violence on a national scale. But it hadn’t worked? That meant most of the attacks from those present here wouldn’t work either.

A rat swarm that creates zombies and defenses strong enough to withstand a barrage—it was like a walking disaster.

Only then did people begin to realize that Randa might actually be destroyed by a single individual, plunging them into overwhelming fear.

Their eyes wobbled, cold sweat ran down their backs, and their hands and legs trembled.

The onset of fear.

Shockingly, fear seemed to spread like an infection, quickly multiplying its influence until it formed a huge collective force.

Perhaps it was a natural reaction. Fear is an essential emotion for survival. It needs to be felt and spread well.

Although, this time the situation was different.

━━━━━━━━━━!

The sound of the pipe abruptly changed.

It was a melody beyond description. It sounded angry, like screams, and even somewhat like a death knell.

With that indescribable tune, black and blurry sound waves spread out, stimulating the collective fear and shaking everyone’s minds.

“Ugh…”

Those who had been maintaining their composure were the first to react, complaining of dizziness, nausea, or headaches.

They were the fortunate ones.

The problem came next. Those who couldn’t maintain their composure and were already scared turned white-eyed, foaming at the mouth, and some of the more fragile ones even died on the spot.

The rest, who were too weak to stay sane but strong enough to survive, drooled as they stood up and began to attack their comrades indiscriminately.

[Wahnsinn]. A spell in the Dark Magic control category, it strips away rational judgment, but leaves the ability to use weapons and other spells intact.

Wooooooong…!

“W-wait!!”

“You bastard-!”

Powwww…!

Thanks to that, as people took positions to avoid the rats and zombies, massive bursts of magic light erupted among them, followed by explosions and slashes, causing immense damage and breaking down their defenses.

Zzzzzzzz!!

The rats, seeing this opportunity, charged crazily back into the fray.

Grrraaack…!

The blackened zombies also joined the rat waves, spreading their contamination.

Craaaah! Die! Die!!

And those who succumbed to the madness caused by Wahnsinn,.

It was infernal mastery of Dark Magic control.

However, the most terrifying thing wasn’t the Pied Piper’s skills, but his unique trait.

That trait was the ability to override even items infused with Holy Power.

It was bizarre. Even though the Pied Piper’s Dark Magic was neither mixed with magic power nor with the Power of Nature, it perfectly ignored Holy Power.

This shouldn’t have been possible by any rational standard. And yet, there was one clue.

‘The Burned One…’

Once again, the image of The Burned One, the Devil, popped into Oliver’s mind.

A being that literally ignored Holy Power. A being from outside the world.

The only conclusion he could draw from this was absurd, but ironically, Oliver felt a tiny sliver of hope in that nonsensical possibility.

It was as if a disaster aimed for him had narrowly missed.

Perhaps it was because of this that Oliver, despite facing overwhelming power, didn’t lose hope and was able to muster the will to act.

Oliver assessed the situation around him, organizing what he needed to do and then diving into his first task.

His first task was to snap Arthur the Stone Fist out of his mild Wahnsinn, so Oliver used [Awake] to help him regain his senses.

“Urgh… It feels like my head is going to split…!!”

Arthur had resisted Wahnsinn, but the mental damage left him clutching his head in agony.

Oliver spoke to Arthur as he struggled.

“Arthur, sir. I’m sorry, but can you lead as many people as possible to retreat when I create an opening? Numbers seem to be meaningless against the Pied Piper.”

Arthur didn’t question or argue with Oliver’s request.

The rats flooding the streets, the zombies among them, and the superhumans under the influence of Wahnsinn, all threatened their allies. Arthur knew numbers were of no use against the Pied Piper. In fact, they were making things worse.

In just a few minutes, the Pied Piper had used his Dark Magic to create this madness. It was obvious.

Arthur realized that to face the Pied Piper, they didn’t need numbers; rather, individuals on a similar level needed to take action.

The only question was whether anyone like that existed.

While Arthur was deep in thought—

-Slash!

Oliver drew his Blood-Stained Dagger and sliced his own palm.

Arthur hesitated at the sudden action, and Oliver took advantage of that moment to mix his blood with his emotions, activating Dark Magic from the Hunger category.

[Eternal Famine]

[Cannibalism]

As Oliver chanted, the blood and extracted emotions on his palm turned into a dark red smoke that spread across the ground, sweeping through the rats.

Sssss….

At the ominous sound, the enraged rats momentarily stopped and then began to devour each other.

Zzzzzt-!

Squeak!

Zzzzzt….!

A horrific scene unfolded as tens of thousands of rats started to cannibalize one another.

Even the superhumans who’d built their careers in wars and back alleys were horrified by the sight.

Oliver extended his hand toward the scene, extracting the emotions of madness from the rats, while his other hand summoned a large number of wooden sticks, scattering them in various directions.

The sticks flew according to the magic infused in them, some to the ground, others to the walls, and some into the sky.

Oliver then condensed the vast amount of fear, Wahnsinn, hunger, and pleasure he’d extracted into a bullet, aiming it at the Pied Piper.

Just as the emotion-packed bullet was about to fire, Oliver tilted its trajectory slightly and aimed at the empty space.

Bang━━!

The absurdly dense Black Bullet (Black Bullet) flew in a black streak, causing a massive shockwave to shatter the air where it struck.

The air where the Black Bullet exploded warped like a mirage, revealing the real Pied Piper while the one standing within the crater vanished.

He had used Dark Magic when summoning the rats to deceive people’s sight. Oliver had almost been fooled.

Luckily, the improved Warlock’s Eye saw through it just in time.

The Pied Piper, who had been about to pursue Prince Albert after causing a disaster, stopped in his tracks and fixated on Oliver.

It was there that Oliver detected a certain change.

Even after causing all that chaos, the Pied Piper’s eyes, which had shown no joy or satisfaction, now faintly glimmered with light.

He had taken an interest in Oliver.

That realization pained Oliver.

But setting that aside, he refocused on his task.

The black magic spell inscribed on the stick planted in the ground in front of the Pied Piper was activated, and using its momentum, Oliver threw a Nature-imbued punch with all his might.

Boom━━!!

It was a last-ditch attempt to keep the Pied Piper from going after the prince again. Any ordinary spell would just be shattered by him, so it had to be something powerful.

Just like he did the first time they clashed, the Pied Piper caught it effortlessly with one hand.

While somewhat expected, it was still a shock.

Even though Oliver had gained incredible strength from consuming the Flesh Cook’s flesh, enhanced his body using the Power of Nature, and added acceleration using a spatial spell, it was all blocked.

The Pied Piper tilted his head slightly and said,

“By now, you should’ve realized that brute force won’t work.”

“I know.”

Oliver replied, releasing all the Nature Power he had absorbed for physical enhancement in one burst.

[Breath of Nature]

As Oliver activated the Druid’s spell, a vivid natural force spread out from him, and at that moment, some of the wooden sticks he had thrown earlier fell from the sky and absorbed the Nature Power.

Rumblebumblebumble!!!

The wooden sticks imbued with spatial spells reverted from mere tools back into trees, burrowing into the ground, rapidly growing into massive trees that overturned the earth.

The earth roared wildly as though life had been awakened.

The concrete earth shook, cracked, and twisted as if an earthquake had struck, while new trees sprouted from the cracks, bringing fresh soil, green grass, and blooming flowers.

A vast green forest was suddenly created in the gray-toned Randa.

Rather than win through magic and dark magic spell fights, Oliver chose to use the Power of Nature to block them.

In that state, Oliver exerted control over the forest to move the trees, pressing the Pied Piper from all sides, aiming to cut him with leaves and blades infused with the Power of Nature.

If a wound formed, he was ready to seal it with [Parasite], but just then, once again, the sound of the pipe pierced the air.

And the strange thing was, the Pied Piper hadn’t even blown into the pipe he held.

‘It’s not a Dark Magic item… is it?’

Oliver thought as he observed the Pied Piper’s pipe with the Warlock’s Eye.

It was just an ordinary pipe.

In the meantime, and as expected, the Pied Piper began wresting control of the forest from Oliver, even taking control of the Power of Nature itself.

Oliver fought desperately to defend, but he was overwhelmed.

The trees that attacked the Pied Piper and the razor-sharp leaves spun in mid-air, redirected toward Oliver.

Crrrack…!!

The vast forest, like a living organism, pressed down on Oliver, and Oliver surrounded himself with shields to parry the assault.

Thanks to the massive amount of emotion and his skillful control, Oliver managed to hold out, but the sheer size of the forest was gradually closing in on his shields.

A truly alarming situation. But somehow, Oliver stayed calm. After all, it wasn’t entirely unexpected.

As proof, Oliver had already extracted emotions and magic in one hand, mixing them together.

“Who are you?”

With greed-filled emotions and magic combined into one, black flames burst forth as the Pied Piper suddenly asked.

In his cold, indifferent eyes, a faint light flickered.

As if he had met a human in a world of monkeys.

Boomboomboomboom….!

Oliver, in the middle of the shield that was on the verge of collapse, responded.

[Devouring Fire]

[Bonfire]

He activated a composite spell using magic, emotions, and the Power of Nature as fuel.

The small black flame that bloomed in Oliver’s hand fell into the forest and immediately began devouring the vast Nature Power within the trees and grass, growing exponentially in size and intensity.

Kwarrrrrrrrrarrrrrrrang━━━━!!!!

The green forest that brightened the gray city transformed in an instant into a destructive black calamity, consuming everything within it.

Naturally, the surroundings weren’t spared either.

The overwhelming heat cracked and crumbled nearby buildings like dried clay into dust, while the steel and glass started to melt like liquid.

In the midst of death where nothing could survive, thanks to The Burned One, Oliver became resistant to flames.

And now, before him stood only two figures—The Pied Piper and The Burned One.

The Pied Piper spoke once again.

“I’ll ask again. What are you?”