Chapter 663: Dawn

The Central Continent, untouched by the benefits of industrialization.

In its deepest, most remote forest.

A man sat silently.

“…”

He had an average height and build, but looked much younger than his actual age.

Of course, since he had lived for hundreds of years, it was natural for him to look younger than he was.

He wore an old, worn-out yet well-maintained travel outfit, with a cloak and boots, as if travel was his hobby.

However, the once smiling face now bore no trace of laughter, only remnants of what once was.

Because of this, he exuded an eerie and unpleasant aura.

He had a human form but felt somehow inhuman, creating an unsettling disconnect.

Despite his handsome appearance, he was difficult to approach.

It would be even harder if people knew that he was the Pied Piper, who spent centuries abducting children, single-handedly decimated armies, toppled countless dynasties, and even killed Archive.

Yet now, a boy around 13 years old approached the man and tried to speak.

“Gulp…”

By the way, the boy was an orphan. This meant he was more perceptive and worldly than most children.

In other words, the boy knew that the man before him was the Pied Piper and, furthermore, that they had been kidnapped by this man.

By ‘they,’ he meant the hundreds of children scattered in this forest, including himself.

Children who had collapsed weakly in the middle of the forest due to fear, hunger, and thirst.

Shivering…

The boy’s limbs trembled as he stood before the Pied Piper.

The children abandoned in the forest quietly held their breath as they watched.

Then, the Pied Piper spoke.

“What is it?”

The Pied Piper, still sitting with his eyes closed, asked the boy who had approached him.

The boy flinched at the sound and trembled even more.

Horrific scenes flashed through his mind—the terrible sights he saw while coming under the Pied Piper’s spell, triggering a flood of worries.

Would he be beaten? Cursed? Killed?

The torrent of fears overran his mind, turning it blank.

He wanted to collapse right then and there… but somehow, the boy mustered the strength to turn around.

Behind him were the other children who had been kidnapped along with him, some even younger than him.

Younger children.

The boy clenched his stiff jaw and squeezed out his courage.

The courage of an orphan with nothing to lose.

“Uh, um, e-excuse me?”

“Speak.”

Surprisingly, the Pied Piper, who had been sitting tiredly with his eyes closed, responded to the boy.

They were communicating. Even more surprisingly, the Pied Piper’s voice sounded somewhat gentle.

It was hard to believe this was the man who had abducted hundreds of children.

The boy found a bit more courage.

“Um, uh… Would you please let the children go?”

He spoke in a voice so weak that you could barely hear it unless you were listening closely.

Thankfully, the Pied Piper did listen.

“You are a child too.”

“The younger ones… My little siblings…”

The boy explained the reason for his bravery.

Instead of waiting for imminent death, he had desperately summoned his courage for this.

He wanted to at least ask the Pied Piper to spare the younger children.

“Did your sister teach you that?”

“What?”

“The Holy Knight. Did she teach you to protect your younger siblings?”

The boy couldn’t reply.

Because what the Pied Piper said was true.

Joanna, the pride of Ark Orphanage, had indeed taught him that.

She told him to protect his younger siblings when she wasn’t around. She said that’s what family is.

He had willingly promised her he would.

Joanna was everyone’s pride at Ark Orphanage.

Before becoming a Holy Knight, she had protected them as their elder sister, and after becoming a Holy Knight, she had proven that orphans like them were not abandoned but blessed.

How could he refuse her teachings?

To the boy, her words were like scripture, absolute truth.

A compass for life, more precious than life itself.

That’s why, even in his small body, the boy could pull off the miracle of speaking to the Pied Piper.

It was an act driven by a resolve bordering on madness.

Then, the Pied Piper expressed his thoughts.

“You’re a fool. Trying to follow that advice to the letter.”

“I-I’m not a fool!”

The boy snapped back.

The nearby children were silently shocked, but they couldn’t help it. Their faith had been insulted, and the boy’s reaction was only natural.

Fortunately, the Pied Piper didn’t get angry at the boy’s attitude. He merely continued the conversation.

“Why get angry? I’m only speaking the truth. Do you think that Holy Knight lived according to her own words?”

“Of course she did!”

“No, you’re wrong. Foolish child, your faith is no different from that of others. It’s cowardly, ugly, and irresponsible. Just like the parents who abandoned you.”

“That’s a lie!”

“No, it’s not. That Holy Knight turned away while a poor child was dying, using you as a shield. Do you think I’m lying?”

“…”

The boy couldn’t deny the Pied Piper’s words. While he didn’t know why, he instinctively knew they were true.

The other children from Ark Orphanage listened in a daze as well. It was as if their world had crumbled, because that’s what faith truly was.

The Pied Piper then addressed the children.

“And why do you want to survive? You have nowhere to go back to anyway.”

“…We do. We have somewhere to go back to.”

“Lies. You know there isn’t. The orphanage was destroyed, and the director is almost as good as dead. You saw it all, didn’t you? Though your body was immobilized, you could see and feel everything.”

The boy’s eyes welled up with tears. What the Pied Piper said was true.

When the flute was playing, the boy, along with the other orphanage children, had lost control of their bodies, yet they could see and feel everything.

They had all seen their hero, the once invincible Joanna, brutally defeated and knocked unconscious, Amelin, the orphanage director, turned into a tree by the Pied Piper, and the wizard who used to play with them impaled through his torso. They had witnessed it all.

But what stuck most in their minds were the teachers, who had helped the director care for them, shaking their heads and turning away.

That sealed memory resurfaced, shaking the boy’s heart.

It was more than just fear. It was a fundamental denial of existence beyond death.

The Pied Piper continued to speak.

“Even if you go back, no one will welcome you. They’ll probably persecute you instead. I’ve seen it happen.”

“…”

“In the past, I let a few children go. They were beaten to death by the adults in their village for being ‘unlucky children’ who had returned after being abducted by me.”

“That’s a lie…”

“No, it’s not. They weren’t killed because they were ‘unlucky.’ It was because the townsfolk were venting their frustrations. Their own children were abducted and killed, but they were angry that orphans like you had come back alive… Even though it was their fault they couldn’t protect their own children.”

Once again, the boy couldn’t deny the Pied Piper’s words.

Because they were true.

Most of the children here were from cities and villages, and all had been abandoned by their parents.

When the children were lured by the flute, the adults hadn’t tried to stop them. ‘Turned a blind eye’ was the perfect phrase for it.

Using the desperate situation as a shield, the Pied Piper mercilessly exposed the cruel truths the children had been trying so hard to avoid.

He spoke so calmly. That made it even more painful, as if it were no big deal.

As if being abandoned and ignored were completely natural.

The Pied Piper continued.

“So, just give up. You have no place to return to, and you children can’t leave this land on your own. The only way out is if someone comes to rescue you. But no matter how much you cry out for help, no one will hear you.”

“…”

“So, give up and find peace. You’ll all die soon anyway, so just think of it as your turn coming.”

The children’s expressions changed upon hearing the grim truth.

The hunger, thirst, and fear of death that had distorted their faces vanished, replaced by the despair of resignation.

Complete despair, the kind that comes when all hope is lost.

Just as the children were about to be consumed by resignation, one child shouted.

He was another child from Ark Orphanage.

“That’s a lie!”

It was an empty shout, driven by nothing but desperation.

But it was enough to make the children who were about to give up turn their heads.

“My sister will come to save us! She said she would! She promised!!!”

The child screamed, crying like a typical child, despite how pitiful it looked.

But that sight brought light back into the hollow eyes of the children who had nearly given up hope.

Seeing this, the Pied Piper finally opened his eyes and stood up for the first time.

The children flinched in surprise.

The Pied Piper walked among them and stood before the crying child.

The boy and other children tried to stop him, but their legs wouldn’t move.

And who could blame them?

A deep silence fell, and the Pied Piper reached out to the crying child.

Very slowly.

The child squeezed his eyes shut, and after a moment—

—tap.

The child felt the Pied Piper’s touch.

The Pied Piper simply patted the child’s head.

An incomprehensible situation.

The children’s eyes widened in shock.

And they widened even more when the Pied Piper spoke next.

“You are right. People are indeed coming to save you.”

The children’s eyes grew even wider. But this time, it wasn’t because of fear, terror, or despair; it was because of hope.

They hadn’t been abandoned. They hadn’t been cast aside by the world.

“But it doesn’t matter. Whether you were abandoned or not, you will all die here.”

“…”

“I will make sure of it. That’s a promise. No one will be able to save you.”

“Why…”

The boy trailed off as he asked. Why was he doing this?

The Pied Piper answered his fundamental question.

“Because it makes me hurt less.”

***

The Hunt for the Pied Piper.

It was originally supposed to be conducted under the command of the Pater Church.

The minor kings of the Central Continent participated in this plan, holding equivalent ranks.

However, as with all plans, the Pied Piper’s hunt led by the Pater Church went awry from the start.

No, it was more than that.

The moment Oliver declared that he would defeat the Pied Piper by his will, the leadership shifted from the Pater Church to Oliver.

No one dared to oppose Oliver’s declaration, and the implicit support followed.

Even Archpriest Roderick, who had initially planned the hunt, along with the kings of the Central Continent he had brought in, couldn’t resist.

It was an unstoppable flow.

In other words, for that moment, Oliver’s presence surpassed that of the entire Central Continent.

Just like the Pied Piper.

Ironically, many found solace in Oliver showing that level of presence.

It made sense that someone matching the level of the Pied Piper would be needed to defeat him.

However, a few people were equally concerned.

Because if Oliver did defeat the Pied Piper as he said, a new Pied Piper might be born.

A stronger Pied Piper, perhaps like Lumberjack Dave.

It was only natural. Humans feel jealousy and vigilance when faced with someone superior to them.

It was understandable, but it was also undeniably foolish.

However, not all of the concerns were foolish.

For instance, there were valid concerns about whether Dave would be able to lead the people properly.

Excelling in individual strength and leading others were entirely different things.

And these weren’t baseless doubts.

Oliver didn’t know the exact location of the Pied Piper or the dangers awaiting them.

That’s why some kings expressed concern.

Because in executing a plan, meticulous preparation was more important than momentum.

It was like finding the path before reaching the destination—an obvious truth.

And to conclude, Oliver executed the mission remarkably well.

“Oooooooo!!!”

“Grrrrrrr…!!!”

“Ahhh…! Aaaaah!!!”

As proof, Oliver managed to locate the Pied Piper’s base, a feat neither the Pater Church nor the minor kingdoms of the Central Continent had accomplished.

A forest teeming with the undead—creatures halfway between humans and zombies, pouring out like swarms of ants.

“Deploy the magical barrier!”

“Prepare to fire!”

Amid the onslaught of undead from all sides, shouts rang out across the troops, and soldiers quickly moved in response. The ground trembled as gunshots and explosions echoed.

Ratatatatatatat!

Boom! Bang! Ba-Boom!!

Kaboom! Krakoom!

The air was filled with the blasts of cannons, magic, and gunfire. The undead, caught in the crossfire, were torn apart, their limbs and bodies scattering.

But they didn’t die.

Even with limbs severed, torsos split, or heads remaining, they didn’t die. Just like eternally tormented souls.

This was the curse laid down by the Pied Piper.

“Did you figure this out with Ideation?”

Roderick, armored with steel, carrying a shield and a massive warhammer, approached Oliver.

Oliver replied.

“Yes.”

He wanted to say, ‘This was the place where the Pied Piper’s son died.’ But he didn’t.

That was the Pied Piper’s personal story.

“It was said few ever ventured here, but who would have thought such a place existed in the Central Continent?”

“It’s likely because it’s impossible to find without the Pied Piper’s permission. Similar, but different from the Sleeping Forest.”

Oliver recalled the time when the Pied Piper, who had lost his son, shattered his own shell.

This land had been corrupted at that time, reshaped by the Pied Piper’s will.

That explained why no one had found it for centuries, and why those living here were neither dead nor alive, roaming as undead for hundreds of years, serving as its guardians.

“Hmm?!”

Several war mages and a few Holy Knights among the coalition forces simultaneously turned their heads in one direction.

They had sensed a strong presence.

Soon, as if to confirm that they hadn’t made a mistake, a massive vibration resonated through the untouched, dense forest as if a mountain had exploded. Dirt flew skyward.

Boom!!!

The ground seemed to explode as it shot up, then began to tremble as something started moving towards them.

Rumble…!

It was people. Hundreds of people, merged with large trees.

Aaaah!!!

Aaaah!

Aaaah!!!

They were people fused with trees, who had endured agony for countless ages, remaining immobile until the intrusion of the invaders triggered them to charge frenziedly toward the coalition.

It was like a tsunami made of trees.

A tsunami that crushed everything in its path, uprooting soil, smashing rocks, and heading straight toward them.

The soldiers of the coalition, who had withstood the onslaught of the undead, panicked.

It was a sight straight out of hell.

No, maybe this place was indeed hell.

The Pied Piper’s own hell.

The soldiers tried to focus their firepower to stop the tree-possessed undead, but they couldn’t quell the suicidal charge.

That’s when it happened.

[Obice Lucis]

Crash!!!

Ten Holy Knights leaped forward, thrusting out their shields while chanting, creating a radiant barrier of light like a fortress wall, halting the tree-possessed undead.

Wherever the tree-possessed undead touched the wall, they began to burn, and they pushed harder as if delighted by the pain.

The immense weight steadily pushed the Holy Knights back.

At that moment, a massive yellow-lighted giant rose behind them.

The giant raised a massive hammer and brought it down through the barrier of light, crushing the tree-possessed undead in one blow.

Roderick released his Saint Power, molding it into the form of a giant. It was similar to the time when he forged a hammer using Holy Power in the past.

Of course, the strength was on a completely different level.

As proof, although the enormous wooden monster wasn’t dead, it was shattered into pieces and no longer posed a threat.

“Don’t be scared! Hold your positions!”

At Roderick’s shout, the soldiers who had been hesitant in the face of the wooden monster quickly regained their composure.

Looking more like a general than a priest, Roderick approached Oliver and asked.

“Are we proceeding as planned?”

Roderick asked if they were sticking to the original plan.

The plan was to hold the army at the outermost edge of the Pied Piper’s land to draw attention, while Oliver would infiltrate alone, confront the Pied Piper, and secretly rescue the kidnapped children during the commotion.

Oliver nodded.

“Yes. It seems like the best option.”

“It’s foolish to ask now, but are you confident in defeating the Pied Piper on your own?”

“I do have one method in mind.”

“Let’s hope it works. Go ahead.”

“Just a moment.”

Oliver spoke, and after a brief moment, the sound of a pipe resonated.

A strange melody overlaying sorrow on top of joy.

It was the Pied Piper’s son’s favorite tune, and it echoed from deep within the forest.

As soon as they recognized the melody, the thunderous gunfire and explosions quieted, people stopped moving, and gradually, their vision turned black as they were drawn into an unknown space.

The Pied Piper was invading their consciousness through the sound of his pipe, pulling them into an inner world.

It was the technique the Pied Piper first used when he kidnapped Prince Albert.

The essence of Dark Magic that manipulates by exploiting inner memories to show illusions and incapacitate.

In an instant—no, even faster than that—the Pied Piper was not only stopping an entire army of Holy Knights and military mages, but also infiltrating their consciousness—

—······!

A new melody could be heard.

A melody very similar to the one the Pied Piper played.

The difference was that it was filled with energy and joy, without any of the gloomy sorrow.

Thanks to this, those who had lost consciousness after being enchanted by the melody from the forest began to regain their senses and return to reality.

It was the Pied Piper from centuries ago, materialized using the power and memories drawn from the World Tree.

Oliver played the pipe, overlaying his artificial soul onto the manifested Pied Piper, thereby canceling out the sound of the pipe emanating from the forest.

“Eve, Pandora… Please maintain this state for as long as possible.”

After leaving those words, Oliver dashed towards the depths of the forest.