Chapter 664: Dawn

As soon as the flute sound was heard, Oliver signaled Pandora, who had transferred her consciousness to the World Tree, and Eve, who had been inside the World Tree from the beginning, to activate Ideation.

The immense magic and memories embedded in the World Tree were layered over reality, creating a miracle-like effect.

However, this time, Oliver requested not to create a vast scope but to manifest just one being.

That one being was the Pied Piper before he lost his son centuries ago.

This was because Oliver believed that the Pied Piper himself would be the only one who could resist the Pied Piper’s flute, which eroded the mind.

Following Oliver’s request, Eve and Pandora searched the World Tree’s centuries-old memories and, using them as a base, recreated the Pied Piper with magic.

This was a creation that only the spirits of the World Tree could achieve, a skill that bordered on the divine.

Oliver confirmed this, then extracted black emotion, yellow vitality, and green Power of Nature from the vial in his pocket, while drawing out the blue magic stored in his body. He merged all four energies together in his hand.

He was in the Contaminated Zone of F-District, where he had learned to craft artificial souls from Puppet.

Emotion, vitality, magic, and Power of Nature.

When he tried to combine these four energies, they fiercely resisted each other, emitting a brilliant light. After a moment, they fused into one complete energy.

The creation of a soul, a divine feat, was roughly replicated in Oliver’s hands.

Oliver then applied this sacred yet blasphemous power to the ideated form of the Pied Piper.

Once again, a bright light flashed intensely.

And with that light, a transformation occurred.

The eyes of the Pied Piper, reconstructed with the World Tree’s memories and magic, gleamed.

Earth, stones, and tree roots from the surroundings were drawn towards him like a magnet, intertwined with magic, and reconstructed the Pied Piper anew, giving him a spirit-like form.

While fundamentally different, this creation was similar to the Pied Piper from centuries ago.

-…!

The newly created Pied Piper raised his arm, a mix of earth, wood, and magic, and played the flute. Surprisingly, the flute sound that had invaded people’s minds started to dissipate.

The return of light to the clouded eyes of the people, whose consciousnesses had been fading, was proof of this.

Confirming this, Oliver briefly turned his head to check in the blink of an eye.

The first thing he saw was Kevin, who was protecting Rosburn and Yareli while sweeping away nearby undead with the help of a spirit. When their eyes met, Kevin conveyed through his gaze.

It said, ‘Go without worry.’ There was no one more trustworthy.

Oliver then turned to look at someone else.

It was Templar Joanna, who was maintaining the front line with the other Holy Knights under Roderick’s command.

When she raised her shield, a massive, luminous wall was formed, halting the undead, and when she wielded her mace, the undead were shattered and scattered into the air.

In the midst of the fierce battle, Oliver and Joanna’s eyes met.

Oliver spoke with his eyes.

‘As planned.’

Joanna replied with her eyes.

‘As planned.’

After their silent conversation, Oliver asked through the communication device attached inside his shirt collar.

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

[Yes, Father.]

[Yes, Dave.]

With their replies, Oliver clad his legs in black threads.

Thousands upon thousands of black threads wrapped around his legs, and with them, Oliver sprinted into the forest.

Bang!

As soon as Oliver set foot on the ground, the surface dented, and a small explosion occurred simultaneously as he vanished.

It was not a chemical explosion.

It was merely a phenomenon caused by powerful physical force.

Oliver used his formidable leg strength to move his frail body at an incredible speed, passing by the rear war mages, soldiers in the middle, and Holy Knights at the front, towards the forest’s interior.

As he passed, only a few war mages and Holy Knights, along with the undead who were neither fully alive nor truly dead, caught his attention.

“Grrrr…!”

“Kill me… give me rest…!”

“I was wrong… I’m sorry…!”

The undead, who had wandered this land for countless ages in a state neither dead nor alive, spewed out screams and repeated words as their rationality faded away.

Strangely, among their faces, there were some familiar ones.

They were faces Oliver had seen while observing the Pied Piper’s past. Some of them were helped by the Pied Piper, some had shown him kindness, others had tried to use him, and some had harmed him for their own gain.

Now, all of them wished for death and sought release, acting on pure instinct as they relentlessly attacked the intruders.

In some sense, one could say it was fair.

[Hate Bullet]

While running so fast he was barely visible, Oliver fired a Hate Bullet, directly blasting the heads of the undead in front of him.

As numerous heads exploded simultaneously, the undead began to collapse as if reaped by a scythe. Yet, even then, they could not die.

Ignoring the fallen undead, Oliver arrived deeper into the forest.

Aaaaaaaa━━━!!

Aaaaaaaa━━━━━!!

Aaaaaah━━━━!!

Grrrrrrrr!!

Grrrrrrowl!!

As Oliver entered the forest, he was greeted by the undead fused with trees and beasts. They were twisted and grotesque amalgamations, unnaturally fused together, attacking Oliver from all directions.

It was truly a scene that could be called hell on earth.

They perfectly encircled Oliver, rushing towards him.

It was a perfect physical encirclement where speed was meaningless, whether fast or slow.

At that moment, a strange phenomenon occurred.

Though the undead were quickly advancing towards Oliver, the distance between them and him only grew wider instead of closing.

And that wasn’t all.

A gap had somehow appeared between the undead who had flawlessly formed a blockade to protect the Piper’s forest.

A gap wide enough for a person to pass through comfortably.

Oliver had manipulated the space of the corrupted and processed forest, contaminated by the Pied Piper.

Just as he had done when he manipulated the Sleeping Forest to breach the castle where the Princess resided.

Recalling the feeling from back then, Oliver manipulated the space, closing the gap he had created within the undead’s formation.

Thock.

With a single step, Oliver squeezed through the gap and escaped the undead’s encirclement.

Grrrrrrrr!!

“Don’t… lose…!”

Grrrrrrr…!

As Oliver slipped away, the undead turned to chase him, screaming uniquely, but Oliver, as before, manipulated the forest’s space and widened the distance between the Creatures and himself.

Despite chasing him, the distance continued to widen in this paradoxical situation.

Oliver raced through, surveying the rapidly passing surroundings.

A nameless village by the river, a cabin by the stream, a sacred tree much larger than the others, and more.

As expected, although everything had been corrupted and altered by the Pied Piper, it still retained its appearance from life, and its position was similarly maintained.

Indeed, it was a space that the Pied Piper had created to remember his sins.

Using the surroundings as signposts, Oliver continued to adjust his direction.

At this rate, he should be able to find the place. The place where the Pied Piper’s son had died and where the kidnapped children were being held.

But, before that…

“So, you’ve made a foolish decision?”

A voice, all too familiar, resonated as the space that had been under Oliver’s control suddenly slipped from his grip, like a fish wriggling free.

The control was taken away far too easily.

As Oliver looked ahead, he saw the man who had taken that control standing there.

“Pied Piper.”

***

“Pied Piper.”

Oliver called out to him.

With that, the cries of the undead that had filled the forest ceased, leaving behind a chilling silence.

It was the kind of uneasy silence that comes when one enters a place they should not have.

Perhaps, that wasn’t entirely wrong.

After all, Oliver should not have been here.

So, he started by apologizing.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Piper, for breaking our promise.”

When the Pied Piper had come to Randa in the past, Oliver had made a promise with him.

He promised to leave Randa quietly if Oliver would also stay out of his business.

Part of it was because their interests aligned, but considering the situation back then, it was an act of consideration. The Pied Piper had shown Oliver great consideration.

A lot of it, too.

But now, Oliver had broken that consideration, that promise, and stood here.

“I’m truly… sorry.”

Oliver knelt on one knee and apologized again.

He didn’t like the idea of a person kneeling before another, but he felt that sorry.

After hearing the apology, the Pied Piper spoke.

He didn’t seem particularly shocked that Oliver had broken the promise, nor did he get angry. Instead, he gave a warning.

“It’s not too late. Go back.”

“…”

“This choice will only bring pain.”

“…I know.”

“No, you don’t know.”

“Yes, I do. And I also know that you, Mr. Piper—no, Mr. Nicholas—went through such a choice and pain.”

“…You saw my past, didn’t you?”

The Pied Piper was certain.

Seeing the past, especially something from centuries ago, was an impossible feat by common sense, but the Piper deduced it instantly.

If it was Oliver, such a thing might indeed be possible. Yet, the Pied Piper’s doubts lay elsewhere.

“Heh… And yet you still came here… somewhat unexpected.”

“I came because I saw it.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

The Pied Piper asked in a voice that had hardened slightly.

To others, it might have seemed a minor change, but Oliver knew the reality was far more significant.

He understood because he would have felt the same.

If someone were to poke at a sensitive issue that one didn’t wish to discuss, one would feel just like this.

However, Oliver didn’t give up. For everyone’s sake.

“Just as you said, Mr. Nicholas, I saw your past, through the World Tree.”

“…”

“I saw who you journeyed with, what you saw and heard during that journey, and also everything that happened to you.”

Rustle…

The sound of rustling leaves echoed all around. It was quiet enough that one could hear it.

“And I saw why you became so angry.”

“…What exactly are you trying to say?”

“Is it not possible to forgive now?”

Rustle…

The sound of rustling leaves or maybe the forest itself moving, now louder and more threatening.

However, Oliver’s gaze remained fixed on the Pied Piper, his eyes sincere.

“Forgiveness… How can you speak such a word?”

“Director Amelin told me once to forgive.”

“That woman, Ark Orphanage.”

“Yes.”

“Did you see what I did to her?”

“I did.”

“Did I kill her?”

“…That’s not for me to judge.”

Oliver remembered Director Amelin, who had turned into a tree, suffering as if in an eternal nightmare and answered.

Oliver had tried to communicate with her but had failed, unable to make any judgment.

He couldn’t decide whether to kill her and release her from her pain or to believe she could endure and find another solution.

So, he had put it off, and the Piper saw right through him and spoke.

“Ha… Still running away, I see. Foolish, to seek me out in that state.”

“…I agree.”

Oliver, who had slightly bowed his head, lifted it once more as he answered.

The Pied Piper, after watching Oliver for a moment, restarted the conversation.

“…You said you’d seen my past, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then tell me, how can you talk about forgiveness? You must have seen it.”

“Yes, I did. That’s why I’m saying it. Because I believe it’s for the best for everyone.”

“For everyone…”

“Yes, especially for you, Mr. Nicholas.”

Pause.

The Pied Piper halted at the unexpected remark. To forgive, for the Piper’s sake?

It was a ridiculous argument, yet Oliver was more sincere than ever.

That was why Oliver had broken the promise and come here.

“In the past, Director Amelin told me this: ‘Forgiveness is suffering.’ Both for the one who forgives and the one who asks for it.”

“…”

“Forgiving is painful because it requires you to endure without seeking compensation for your pain. It’s a hardship that is difficult to bear.”

“But why should I forgive?”

“Because what you find most unforgivable is yourself, Mr. Nicholas.”

Through Ideation, after seeing the Pied Piper’s journey with the child, Oliver had come to one conclusion.

The Piper hated himself more than anything else.

He hated himself for being incompetent, for being powerless to protect his son. For choosing a path that led to his son’s death. For being selfish.

“That’s why you’ve preserved this land where your son died, to torture yourself as a form of punishment.”

“Is there something wrong about facing one’s sins?”

“No, one must face their sins. But, Mr. Nicholas, what you’re doing is not facing them. You’re merely inflicting pain on yourself. If you truly wish to face your sins, you should confront them and seek forgiveness. What you’re doing now is just trying to escape your guilt through suffering.”

Oliver spoke in an unusually firm tone, unlike his usual self.

The Pied Piper fell silent for a moment at those words.

“…You’re quite something.”

“I—”

“—even in your poor condition, to say such interesting things.”

“…”

“Aren’t you in pain right now? Your right arm must ache unbearably, you’re probably hungry, and you must be sleepy. After all, you have to fend off the Shadow each night as it tries to escape your control.”

The Pied Piper listed Oliver’s hidden ailments.

The gnawing hunger from the Flesh Cook’s flesh he had consumed.

The excruciating pain in his right arm, given by the Burned One.

The constant lack of sleep from keeping the awakened Shadow of Fen and Neverland in check.

Each one a pain too great to bear.

Yet Oliver silently endured such agonies.

“It’s not that you can’t feel pain. You’re simply suppressing one intense pain with another. You dull your hunger with searing arm pain, suppress your lack of sleep with hunger, and slow your arm pain with lack of sleep so no one will know. No one will care about your suffering. No one.”

“It’s not that painful—”

“—But still, your pain pales in comparison to mine. Just as no one knows your pain, you don’t know mine. So, of course, you would tell me to forgive myself.”

“Your son—not just that, Hamelin would want you to forgive yourself.”

“That child would. He’s a good boy.”

“It’s not too late. Even now, you can still forgive yourself. He will be watching from the heavens.”

“There is no heaven. It was a lie I made up. When we die, that’s it. Especially for beings like us.”

Closing his eyes, Oliver pleaded once more.

“Is there no way you can forgive? Will you not release the children you have taken?”

“I have no intention of forgiving anyone, nor do I intend to release the children. I need to do this to keep going.”

Hearing the Piper’s response, Oliver furrowed his brows slightly, something he rarely did. Perhaps this was sadness.

“It seems our business is finished.”

Without a word, Oliver nodded. They had fully communicated their intentions.

Now, there was only one choice left.

To fight, or to leave. The answer was clear.

“Will you fight me?”

“Yes… it seems I will.”

When Oliver answered, the ground trembled like waves, and from the dense surrounding trees, figures emerged, merging into one entity.

Just as Oliver had taken control of the forest space and manipulated it, the Pied Piper had done the same.

Now, Oliver was essentially in the Piper’s hands.

“I’m curious. How do you plan to fight? You lost to me back in Randa, remember?”

The Pied Piper asked as he extended his hand, the one not holding the flute, towards the air.

Plip.

At that moment, a raindrop fell onto the Piper’s palm.

Warm, red, and sticky; a drop of rotting blood.

Soon, a shower of this bloody rain started to pour from the crimson clouds overhead.

Ssssshhhhhh!

Everything turned blood-red.

The brown soil and green leaves were all stained a deep crimson.

As the entire forest surrounding Oliver was drenched in the rotten blood, it began to rapidly decay and collapse.

The world that the Pied Piper had crafted was now being consumed.

Anything touched by the blood quickly decayed, losing its original form and function, crumbling away.

Among all that, only two things retained their original forms.

The Pied Piper and Oliver.

Oliver spoke to the Pied Piper.

“Do your best.”