Chapter 665: Dawn

“I’ll do my best.”

Oliver said this as the world turned red.

Bang━━!!

At the same time, a translucent shockwave spread horizontally, causing a massive fountain of blood to erupt.

Ssshhhh·······!

The Pied Piper, having heard the response, flew over and swung his fist down.

The powerful impact sent a large quantity of blood pooled on the ground flying into the air, only to rain back down.

“It seems you’re serious.”

The Pied Piper commented in the blood-soaked world.

In his sight stood Oliver, some distance away.

“Rotten blood… Blood sorcery that spreads disease. I was wondering why you kept using it when it doesn’t work on me, but was it to make up for your mobility?”

With a single attack, the Pied Piper figured out the purpose of the blood raining down.

At first, he thought it was meant to neutralize his territory with disease, but that wasn’t the end of it.

The large amount of blood pouring down did more than contaminate the Verdant Forest; it started to devour it.

The blood pooling on the ground was proof of that.

Oliver used the blood as a medium to teleport, evading the attack.

In short, by covering the Pied Piper’s territory with contaminated blood, Oliver obtained control over the space.

It was unclear how it was possible with mere blood, but it was an outcome reflecting Oliver’s determination to do his best.

Oliver truly intended to win.

This was completely different from Randa’s desperate attempts to survive the situation.

“Even so-”

Pop!

“-It’s not enough.”

As the Pied Piper spoke, he vanished and suddenly appeared right in front of Oliver without warning.

Using a unique power that defied explanation, it’s as if he teleported across space.

This alone proved that despite Oliver’s control over space, it was meaningless.

As soon as Oliver registered the Pied Piper’s presence, he once again used the blood spread around him to teleport out of harm’s way.

Ripples spread across the blood’s surface as Oliver disappeared, narrowly avoiding the Pied Piper’s punch that cut through the empty air.

Boom━!!

Even though the Pied Piper’s punch didn’t use any magic, emotion, or even skill, it still created an incredible shockwave that burst the air.

Despite the simplicity of just swinging his arm, the shockwave generated pushed away the surrounding blood.

An overwhelming power governed by simple but clear laws.

It was like watching a giant swing its fist.

A giant in the shape of a man.

Survival was crucial, and Oliver couldn’t afford to let the distance close, but instead of retreating, Oliver appeared above the Pied Piper’s head.

Teleported by using blood as a medium.

In his hand, Oliver held a vial, and he crushed it with his grip.

Crash!

With a dull sound, the vial shattered.

Its contents flowed out.

Emotions. Oliver’s emotions.

[Calm]

[Awake]

[Stupor]

[No Pain]

[Lay The Foundations]

[High Density Bone]

[Steel Bone]

[Muscle Up]

[Muscle Hyperplasia]

[Muscle Compression]

[Burning Life]

[Reflexes Reinforcement]

[Nerve Acceleration]

[Madness Injection]

[Terrible Anger]

[Fury]

[Muscle Anger Proportional]

[Mental Awakening]

Using a small amount of emotions as a resource, Oliver quickly recited numerous incantations.

It was a dark magic of the disease-strengthening type. Black light exploded outward from Oliver and then converged back into him.

Fzzzzzt━!!

Layer upon layer of black light enveloped Oliver’s body.

Each time the light gathered, Oliver’s physical body changed.

His mind was forcibly anchored, keeping him calm, blocking pain, while his nervous system, metabolism, and muscle and bone density all exponentially increased.

The proof was in the steam emitting from Oliver’s body, which began turning red.

His body temperature rose so rapidly that not only water, but even his blood started boiling.

It was a pure destructive physical enhancement, with no thought of the consequences.

Huff·······Bang!!!

Oliver picked up his Quarterstaff, kicked off the air, and swung down at the Pied Piper.

As with the Pied Piper’s earlier punch, a strong shockwave erupted, slicing through the viscosity of the blood vertically.

It was as if the sea had been split.

Amidst this, the two men exchanged words.

“You used your emotions.”

“······Yes.”

Oliver responded as he pressed the Quarterstaff down with all his strength.

The Pied Piper, holding off the attack with one hand, was curious.

“Interesting. You extracted your emotions.”

“······I pre-extracted the emotions I felt after witnessing Lord Nicholas’s journey.”

Emotions of sadness and regret tinged Oliver’s eyes.

Seeing this, the Pied Piper’s eyes also faintly glistened with emotions: sadness, empathy, and gratitude.

“······Thank you for that.”

Uuuuh·····Boom!!

Despite their conversation, Oliver and the Pied Piper continued their power struggle.

Though they appeared to be frozen, the sheer force of their clash distorted the air and caused the ground to gradually collapse.

“But it’s still just… pitiful.”

“······.”

“That’s why you haven’t used ‘that’ despite extracting your emotions, and instead, you merely strengthened your body.”

“······I won’t deny it. It is sad and lamentable. It’s just… I apologize I couldn’t feel more.”

“It’s okay, I’m not blaming you.”

Crrreeaaakk···!

The Pied Piper grabbed the Quarterstaff that was pressing down on him.

“But you can’t beat me in that state.”

Bang!!

The Pied Piper twisted the Quarterstaff and reversed the pressure, now pressing down on Oliver.

Despite using numerous dark sorceries to enhance his body at the expense of physical safety, Oliver couldn’t withstand the Pied Piper’s might.

Thud!!

Oliver, who had attacked, was now barely holding out under the pressure of the Quarterstaff.

The Pied Piper, holding a flute in one hand, stood up with one hand gripping the staff’s end, looking down at Oliver.

“Anything else to say?”

Oliver, struggling under the Pied Piper’s power, muttered something.

“What?”

“I told you… to put away the flute.”

Oliver warned the Pied Piper to put away the flute created by Hameln.

“······Isn’t it precious to you? It’ll break.”

“No need to worry about-”

-Splaaash!

Before the Pied Piper could finish dismissing Oliver’s words, the blood pooled on the ground, the shadow reflected on its surface rippled, then shot up to attack the Pied Piper.

The shadow, in the form of sharp tentacles, extended out, enveloping the Pied Piper on both sides. The Pied Piper released the Quarterstaff and swung his fists.

With the shockwave bursting from both sides, the shadow was crushed.

Yet, the shadow didn’t dissipate entirely. Instead, eyes sprouted from it, observing the Pied Piper before extending its tentacles again to envelop him from all directions.

The target was the Pied Piper’s flute.

The Pied Piper narrowed his eyes, detecting the malice, and swung his emotion-filled fist, shattering the incoming shadows.

Kyaaaahhh━━!!!

The shadow retreated with a wail.

During that moment, the Pied Piper put his flute away, and Oliver seized the timing to push off the ground, stopping just in front of the Pied Piper.

Twisting his shoulders and waist to their limits.

Oliver then swung the Quarterstaff with all his might, striking the Pied Piper’s side.

A hit that landed solidly.

A huge ripple spread as the Pied Piper was about to be sent flying far away, but he planted his feet firmly to withstand the sudden attack.

The Pied Piper then pulled back his fist.

“Cough······!”

At that moment, the Pied Piper coughed.

The ‘rotten blood,’ which spreads disease using blood as a medium, had inflicted some significant damage on the Pied Piper.

But, even if it had an effect, it only resulted in a cough.

It was a slight injury one wouldn’t normally pay attention to, yet the Pied Piper’s expression showed clear signs of shock.

As though something impossible had happened.

The Pied Piper quickly searched for the cause, and soon found it.

It was the blood flowing from Oliver’s palm.

The blood had mixed with the blood pooling on the ground.

“Huff······!”

Seizing the moment while the Pied Piper was coughing, Oliver pushed with all his might, sending him flying with the Quarterstaff.

The blood pooled on the ground splashed everywhere as the Pied Piper was flung far away, and Oliver immediately activated blood sorcery using the nearby puddles.

[Skewer]

At Oliver’s incantation, the blood around the Pied Piper clumped together into several points, then a forest of numerous spikes shot up into the sky.

So dense there was no gap.

‘Will it work?’

Oliver questioned as he gazed at the forest of spikes before him.

He wondered if the blood sorcery, enhanced by his own blood, would work against the Pied Piper.

Honestly, Oliver wasn’t convinced it was completely impossible.

After all, blood sorcery, derived from dark magic, also had its power determined by the quality of the material, and in the past, Oliver’s blood had worked on the Pied Piper.

And by worked, it had affected the rats summoned by the Pied Piper.

Oliver had used dark magic with his own blood as a medium to make the rats turn on each other.

That was why he bled out intentionally, using his blood as material.

It didn’t seem like a bad choice. Even though it only caused a minor effect like a cough, the rotten blood had worked. Hence, the spikes might also…

Boom!!

A burst of ominous black smoke erupted from the forest of spikes before Oliver’s eyes, breaking all the blood-red spikes to pieces.

And from within, the Pied Piper leisurely walked out.

“I don’t understand… I mixed in my own blood, yet I can’t take control from you.”

The Pied Piper showed a shallow wound on his palm as he spoke, puzzled.

The densely packed forest of spikes had only managed to leave a small wound on his palm.

[Tidal Wave]

Splaassh!!!

However, Oliver wasn’t disheartened by this fact. Instead, he saw hope and began gathering the blood pooled around him to form a massive wave aimed at the Pied Piper.

The important thing was that regardless of the injury, whether it was just a coughing or a shallow wound, it had affected the Pied Piper.

Seeing hope in that, Oliver kept activating his spells.

A giant wave of blood surged towards the Pied Piper.

The Pied Piper kicked off the air, splitting the blood wave into two with the shockwave alone, then kicked off the air again, flying towards Oliver.

Roaring as the wave split in two, the Pied Piper dashed through the gap.

At that moment, Oliver teleported above the wave to get behind the Pied Piper.

He leapt across space using blood as a medium.

In that split second, Oliver and the Pied Piper’s eyes met.

Without a moment’s hesitation, the Pied Piper changed direction.

Oliver once again used the blood as a medium to teleport across space and swung his Quarterstaff.

As expected, the Pied Piper blocked with ease mid-air, using his two now-free hands to both attack and defend simultaneously.

Oliver matched his strengthened physical abilities to the limit, using his unbreakable Quarterstaff to both defend and attack.

Pop-Pop-Pop-Pop!!!

A relentless exchange of attacks and defenses soared through the air, scattering countless shockwaves.

It seemed evenly matched at a glance. But if examined closely, that wasn’t the case.

Oliver’s attacks were continually getting blocked, while the Pied Piper’s punches and kicks narrowly missed Oliver’s face.

Just one hit would be fatal.

So, every time, Oliver summoned shadows to block the Pied Piper’s attacks,

Or activated blood sorcery to counterattack with spikes and stakes,

Or teleported across space using the blood as a medium to evade.

Each time, though, the Pied Piper pursued Oliver by teleporting across space without any medium, continuously closing in.

As if testing how long Oliver could hold out.

Pop-Pop-Pop-Pop!!!

Inhuman levels of exchanges sent sprays of blood from the ground flying,

Which then merged with the blood raining from the sky. Oliver didn’t miss the chance, using the blood rain to take control again and fire blood arrows at the Pied Piper.

A flawless storm of blood-covered arrows poured down from the sky.

The Pied Piper extracted the emotions stored within his body, creating a powerful gravitational force in his hand.

[Black Hole]

The overwhelming gravity sucked in all the rain of arrows and the pooled blood like water being drained.

In a single move, the Pied Piper nullified all attacks directed at him.

His eyes then shifted to the sky.

Towards the blood-red clouds raining blood.

Within those blood-red clouds extending beyond the horizon were Bathory and the Flesh Cook.

Those two were maintaining the blood-red clouds, so the Pied Piper prepared to throw the Black Hole in his hand towards the sky.

[Black Javelin]

Oliver threw his emotion-imbued Quarterstaff at the Pied Piper.

The Quarterstaff sliced through the pooled blood and flew toward him.

But despite its fierce momentum, the Pied Piper blocked it with his other hand, easily catching it and continued to launch the Black Hole into the sky.

As the Black Hole was thrown, a mass of blood flew up into the sky.

That mass of blood tore apart the red clouds that had given birth to it, extinguishing them.

[Targeting]

Oliver activated the gravitational pull on the targeted Quarterstaff, abandoned his regret for the destroyed blood-red clouds, and dashed toward it.

The impact of the collision caused the Pied Piper to slightly falter. Seizing the moment, Oliver tried to wrest the Quarterstaff back.

Boom!!

The Pied Piper smashed Oliver to the ground with one hand as if he were a mere rag doll.

The intense impact knocked the air out of Oliver’s lungs, clouding his consciousness.

The Pied Piper raised his fist at that moment.

Seeing this, Oliver tried to push his exhausted body to move, but the Pied Piper didn’t stop and slammed his fist into the ground.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━!!!!

An indescribable roar echoed as the ground twisted, collapsed, and split apart.

The terrain changed, and the blood that had pooled flowed into the cracks and disappeared.

With a single punch, the medium Oliver used to teleport was gone.

As if aiming for that, the Pied Piper kicked Oliver, who barely blocked it with his Quarterstaff.

Though he couldn’t block the force and was sent flying far away.

The successive impacts dulled Oliver’s mind, but he clung to his senses, scattering a large number of papers and sticks he’d hidden in his clothes.

‘I have to hold out.’

Papers and sticks flew in all directions.

The Pied Piper appeared before Oliver again, and Oliver activated a spatial spell engraved on one of the papers to escape.

“Not as good as before.”

Despite escaping through a portal, the Pied Piper caught up from behind.

He already had his fist cocked back.

Oliver activated another stick engraved with a spatial spell to fold space and evade the attack while summoning shadows to counter the Pied Piper.

While teleporting, the use of shadows was usually limited, but not now.

Craaack!

Oliver’s shadow grew exponentially, its proportionately large jaws opening wide.

Its neatly arrayed teeth, terrifying to behold.

“Eat.”

At Oliver’s command, the shadow snapped its massive jaws closed.

Slaash!!!

But the jaws were torn apart as they closed.

The shadow, large enough to swallow Neverland, was literally ripped apart by the Pied Piper’s arms.

Not just torn, but critically injured.

As the master of the shadow, Oliver could tell.

“Blood doesn’t work, shadows don’t work, so all you have left is your emotion-enhanced body. What’s your plan?”

The Pied Piper asked, having approached Oliver just after tearing up the shadow.

Oliver’s gaze turned to the papers flying deeper within the Verdant Forest.

“I’ll do my best.”

Rrrrrrrroooaaarrr!!

At that moment, a mighty presence was detected from the sky, followed by a gigantic roar that shook the entire Verdant Forest.

The sound descended rapidly, and soon a massive beast fell from the sky.

It was the Flesh Cook, who had transformed into a dragon.

Kuhuhuhuhuhu!!

Agile like a wolf and towering like a mountain, he raised his massive claws, larger than a human, and struck down at the Pied Piper.

A crater formed around the impact point, but the Pied Piper stood tall in the center.

“I expected this.”

The Pied Piper remarked while observing the Flesh Cook, now processed into a Zombie Puppet.

Without caring, Oliver called upon Zombie Puppet-Bathory.

“First!”

Zombie Puppet-Bathory rushed at Oliver’s call.

Oliver gathered the blood flowing from his wounds and handed it to First.

Using the blood as a medium, First ascended over the Flesh Cook’s head and summoned numerous blood balloons.

Shraaak!!

The Pied Piper swung his fist upward, severing one of the Flesh Cook’s dragon-transformed arms.

With a scream of pain, the Flesh Cook staggered.

Oliver advanced to protect the Flesh Cook and exchanged blows with the Pied Piper.

Oliver used the Paper and Quarterstaff he had set up earlier to teleport across the area, launching a fierce attack, yet the Pied Piper reacted indifferently.

“The effects of Dark Magic are fading.”

To prove his point, the Pied Piper struck the Quarterstaff from above, sending it flying into the sky.

[Blood Dragon]

As Oliver lost his grip on the Quarterstaff, Zombie Puppet-Bathory mixed the blood from the summoned balloons with Oliver’s and set the Flesh Cook on fire.

Using the blood as a medium, the essence of life, magic, and emotions all ignited simultaneously, and the Flesh Cook, who had transformed into a dragon, became a living flame.

The Flesh Cook spread his wings, covering the sky with flames, and Oliver, having lost his Quarterstaff, drew his Dagger and smeared it with his blood.

With a Dagger infused with his flaming blood, even a single hit would cause considerable damage.

As Oliver and the blood-dragon-transformed Flesh Cook closed in on all sides, the Pied Piper clenched his fist and unleashed the dark energy within himself.

For a moment, the world seemed to stop as a massive whirlwind erupted, extinguishing the flames surrounding the Flesh Cook and blasting a huge hole in his side, sending him flying backward.

“…!!!”

The Flesh Cook couldn’t even scream from the immense pain.

Oliver was also swept away by the impact and flew far into the distance.

“Huh, Dark Sorcerer?”

As his vision blurred, a voice reached his ears.

Looking up, he saw soldiers gathered at the outskirts.

Confused by the sudden retreat of the undead, they were shocked to see a wounded dragon and a battered Oliver.

Everyone wondered how Oliver had ended up here.

Some quick-witted soldiers grasped the situation and screamed silently.

“Is this your best?”

The Pied Piper emerged from the ruins of the forest.

The soldiers, who had held firm against the undead under the Pater Church, began to crumble in the presence of just one being.

“Haa… Haa…”

Breathing heavily, Oliver scanned the surroundings.

He saw people retreating, unwilling to get tangled up. They had no intention of helping him.

But that was fine. Oliver wasn’t looking around seeking help.

Joanna, Kevin, Yareli, and Rosburn were not here. Everything was according to plan. According to plan.

Silence weighed down the surroundings like a shroud.

The only sounds were the footsteps and voice of the Pied Piper.

“If you want to help, go ahead.”

The soldiers, the war mages, the Holy Knights—everyone remained silent.

Hearing their silent answer, the Pied Piper spoke to Oliver.

“Looks like they have no intention of helping you.”

“It’s fine… I didn’t include them in the plan anyway. Force!”

At Oliver’s command, the injured Flesh Cook rose with a scream.

Despite losing an arm and suffering a massive wound in his side, the dragon’s vitality surged as the Flesh Cook unleashed a furious slash toward the Pied Piper.

The immense slash of rage and the dragon’s fangs targeted the Pied Piper.

Shraaak!

The Pied Piper turned the Flesh Cook’s attack into a black hole, using it to decapitate the Flesh Cook.

Meanwhile, Oliver summoned Zombie Puppets-Seamus and Durance from his shadow and charged.

The Pied Piper turned to crush both of them.

Shraaak!

But before he could, Seamus and Durance were split in two.

Oliver had slashed with his Dagger coated in his own blood.

He had used Seamus and Durance as decoys.

Both were exceptional Zombie Puppets, but Oliver judged that using them as bait against the Pied Piper would be more effective.

Judging by the Pied Piper’s reaction, it seemed he didn’t expect this, as his defense was a moment too late, leaving a wound on his upper body.

On the Pied Piper!

Seamus and Durance fell, their torsos split, as the Pied Piper, for the first time, sustained an injury.

Amid this shocking sight, Oliver leapt into the air, gripping the Dagger upside down, aiming at the Pied Piper from above.

As everyone held their breath.

[Targeting]

[Strengthen]

[Heavily]

[Acceleration]

Oliver cast spells to enhance his body, dropping down with the Dagger to strike at the Pied Piper.

The Dagger, coated with blood infused with countless plagues.

Kwoooaaaang!!!

Just before the Dagger could pierce the Pied Piper’s chest, he caught it with his bare hand.

“Is this all you’ve got?”

[Longinus]

Kwooooaaaah━━━!!!

Before the Pied Piper could finish his sentence, something like a flash of light plunged from the sky, leaving a massive hole in the heavens and striking down directly on the Dagger’s pommel.

It was the Quarterstaff that the Pied Piper had sent flying earlier, merging with the Dagger to form a spear, piercing through the Pied Piper’s chest.

“…!!”

Everyone was stunned by the unbelievable sight.

But Oliver didn’t stop there. He unraveled the bandage on his right arm, revealing a charred black limb, and grabbed Longinus, channeling white flame into the Pied Piper’s body.

A flame as viscous as magma.

“Burn.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━!

The white flame flowed through Longinus, exploding inside the Pied Piper and burning him from within.

The intense heat and light made it hard to keep their eyes open, forcing everyone to retreat.

It felt as though their bodies might evaporate if they weren’t careful.

Had Oliver not concentrated all the power on the Pied Piper, everything around them might have vaporized.

As a pillar of white flame engulfed the Pied Piper and Oliver, piercing through the sky.

Shiiiiiik…!

The momentum of the White Flame began to wane.

The Pied Piper, who had been raging in the flames moments ago, reappeared unharmed. The black energy flowing from inside him extinguished Oliver’s flames.

He then grasped Longinus and spoke.

“If I could die from something like this, I’d be relieved.”

The Pied Piper’s eyes gleamed with regret. He was sincere.

“So… is this the limit of your best?”

Oliver, his hair now bleached white, pulled out a cigarette case from his pocket. Over half of his hair had changed color.

“No.”

He placed a Filgarett in his mouth.

Black energy started to flow from Oliver’s body as well, and then, two voices resonated simultaneously.

[Hell Summon]