Chapter 726: Test

Grasp-!

Without a word, Oliver turned and began to walk away. Puppets, Unbent Knee, and Lilith all made movements to leave as well.

They quickly moved, fearing Oliver might suddenly change his mind.

Judging by Oliver’s current state, it wasn’t an unreasonable fear.

However, contrary to their concerns, Oliver did nothing. He just continued on his way.

He wasn’t showing any special mercy. It was more like the feeling of pushing Puppet to his mental limit had simply faded.

Seeing Puppet drooping like his namesake, along with Unbent Knee’s history and Lilith’s presence, he just felt that way.

So Oliver decided to let them go. After all, if he wanted, he could catch them again at any time.

It was an arrogant thought, but fully possible for the current Oliver.

That’s why, even after catching the Fish trying to bring about the apocalypse, Oliver simply released them and walked out of the Tower of Magic.

“Is it over?”

The Tower of Magic was a mess due to the fight with Puppet. As he stepped outside, Kevin spoke to him.

“Ah.”

Seeing Kevin, and the numerous mages, students, and staff from the Tower gathered around him, Oliver let out a sound unintentionally.

He had expelled them from the fight with Puppet, and now he realized he had only sent them just outside the tower.

There were so many official mages, students, and employees surrounding the tower that they practically encircled it, all staring at Oliver.

He recalled a similar situation from the past.

When Oliver first arrived at the Tower of Magic, when he later became Kevin’s assistant, and when Dark Sorcerer Dave’s identity was revealed.

Back then, plenty of eyes had also watched Oliver.

The difference was that those eyes had been filled with suspicion, contempt, and hostility, while now, they were filled with tension, fear, submission, and reverence.

The look you’d give an overwhelming power you couldn’t comprehend.

No one dared to speak, just waiting for Oliver to answer Kevin’s question.

Had he caught Puppet?

Unfortunately, their expectations were soon shattered.

“It’s over, but I let him go.”

“Puppet?”

“Yes, I made a mistake. My abilities weren’t sufficient.”

Oliver, who had released Puppet, shamelessly lied.

Those around him knew it wasn’t true.

They had all seen the brilliant white light erupting from the center of the Tower of Magic.

In a brief moment that couldn’t even be described as fleeting, the light consumed Randa, and shockingly reduced the army of the dead that had invaded Randa to ashes in an instant.

Skipping even the burning process.

It was a miracle beyond the realm of magic, and naturally, they thought it had been performed by Woodsman Dave.

As if unbelievable events could only be called miracles.

Oliver, letting Puppet go? No matter how they thought about it, the only conclusion they could reach was that it had been a lie. And following that conclusion was the inevitable suspicion.

What was his real reason for releasing Puppet?

As fear and doubt were growing in the hearts of those in the Tower, Kevin opened his mouth.

“I see. Understood.”

He expressed that he believed Oliver. To be precise, he believed Oliver’s lie.

But Oliver didn’t seem to care much about Kevin’s belief.

As proof, Oliver showed no significant reaction to Kevin’s reply, instead staring intently to Kevin’s left.

The people standing next to Kevin, burdened by Oliver’s all-seeing gaze, stepped aside one by one.

Soon, Yareli Iceeye and her grandmother, Tilda Iceeye, hidden behind a barrier of people, came into view.

Interestingly, Tilda had fallen onto the ground, her hands frozen solid, while Yareli had subdued her.

Considering that they were grandmother and granddaughter, it was a strange scene, but seeing them, Oliver understood what had happened.

Nonetheless, Oliver asked. He wanted to hear it from her own mouth.

“Did you subdue her, Yareli?”

“…Yes.”

“Didn’t you save your grandmother inside the Tower of Magic?”

When the Military Mages had been absorbed by the Flesh summoned by Puppet, Tilda had almost been absorbed too.

It was only thanks to Yareli’s last moment intervention that Tilda had survived.

Yet now, Yareli was subduing her grandmother. The reason?

“My grandmother tried to attack the Archive. So I had to subdue her.”

That’s right. When Puppet’s Flesh tried to absorb everyone around, Oliver had expelled them all outside the Tower, to keep them from getting involved.

Even so, Tilda had tried to ambush Kevin.

It made sense. After her collusion with Puppet had been revealed, and after even Puppet had abandoned her.

She would need to take the power of the Archive to open a path to survival. For herself and her family.

But, that judgment had ended with her being subdued by her granddaughter.

Tilda, unable to accept this reality, cursed her granddaughter, her frozen hands now bound.

“How could you do this-…! Yo-”

“Shh.”

“…!”

Tilda fell silent when Oliver raised a finger to his lips.

Then, Oliver asked Yareli.

“Impressive. Don’t you love your grandmother?”

“…I do, but this is the right thing to do. The crimes of our family must be atoned for by me.”

Yareli spoke earnestly, expressing her desire to make amends for her grandmother’s sins.

Subduing Tilda was part of that resolve.

Hearing her, Oliver silently nodded and began to walk again.

As Oliver moved, everyone quietly stepped aside, and Kevin asked another question.

“What do you plan to do now?”

“I’m going to follow your advice, Professor Kevin. I’ll figure out what I really want.”

***

After answering Kevin, Oliver left, heading toward the hotel Lilith had mentioned.

He already knew where it was, and technically, he could have just warped there, but instead, Oliver chose to walk, to observe his surroundings.

Maybe, because he was afraid to meet Kent too soon.

In any case, Oliver wandered around and observed the city of Randa.

There wasn’t much to see.

Randa was still eerily quiet, as though in the midst of war.

Everyone was shut up inside their homes, making the streets not just quiet, but utterly deserted, like a ghost town.

In a way, it was a remarkable sight.

In Randa, one of the largest, most densely populated cities in the world, to see the streets completely empty was like witnessing a miracle.

Though it wasn’t as if there was no sign of life.

Occasionally, Oliver would catch glimpses of people watching him through windows.

Most of them were civilians; they didn’t know that Oliver was really Woodsman Dave, but whether from instinct or survival sense, they seemed to know Oliver was no ordinary person, and quickly disappeared back into their homes.

It was inevitable. In the middle of a city paralyzed by fear, he was the only one walking freely, so it wasn’t strange for them to feel something was off.

“Right, don’t you think so as well?”

Oliver stopped abruptly in front of an alley and asked that question.

In the alley stood Pandora housing the Zombie Puppet and Eve in her fake body.

They both had their heads bowed as if they had committed some grave sin, hands tightly clasped together.

Understandable, since they had failed the command to find and capture Lilith hiding in Randa while Oliver had been fighting Puppet.

“I apologize, Father.”

“The mission you gave us…we failed.”

Pandora and Eve both apologized.

But Oliver’s reaction was indifferent.

“It’s fine. It was a favor I asked of you. Still, ‘failure’ is the wrong word.”

“…..”

“…..”

“Failure happens when you’re lacking in ability or conditions, but choosing to release someone willingly? That’s not failure. That’s surrender.”

Pandora and Eve closed their eyes and fell silent once again.

Because Oliver was right.

Lilith was inside the Zombie Puppet made from Gretel, the Flesh Cook’s sister, which gave her considerable power. However, before that, Lilith was one of the artificial minds created by the World Tree, one of the Eves.

So if Pandora and Eve had worked together, they could have subdued Lilith easily.

If they had managed to launch a battle of wills as fellow Eves for control of the body, that is.

Because among the three Eves, Lilith was the weakest.

She had been one of the original Eves shattered by Oliver, then survived only by consuming the other fragments and absorbing her sisters.

Knowing this, Oliver had tasked Pandora and Eve with capturing Lilith. The fact that they had let her go told Oliver everything.

“Did you pity her?”

Oliver asked why they had released Lilith.

It wasn’t an accusation; his tone was purely curious.

Having expected this, Pandora and Eve immediately nodded.

“Yes, I am sorry.”

“No need to apologize. I also let her go. Twice, even.”

Once when she had stolen from the Tower of Magic and again just now, he had let her go twice.

It was due to his personal guilt. The first Eve, Pandora, and Lilith had been born from a single flick of his hand. He had abandoned them all.

While Pandora and Eve had grown large enough to maintain themselves as fragments and survived, Lilith wasn’t so fortunate. She had barely survived several dangers and had only managed to continue by encountering Puppet.

In a way, Oliver himself had abandoned her.

He hadn’t known, but just like he had once unknowingly abandoned many orphans, it wasn’t something he could excuse.

Because of that, Oliver had no intention to reprimand Pandora and Eve. He was just curious.

“Can I ask why you pitied her? Was it because she is also an Eve? Because she’s your sister?”

Pandora pondered briefly before answering.

“…That is part of it, yes, but the real reason is more fundamental. Father, we could have ended up just like Lilith.”

Eve followed her lead and continued.

“Before Dave split us apart, we were one. We could have suffered Lilith’s fate too. The only reason we didn’t is because we were lucky.”

It made sense. Eve spoke from experience. She had once been captured by Seamus and the Enjoyment group.

What would have happened if Oliver and Eve hadn’t been fortunate enough to stop Seamus at that time?

Eve might have been turned into a calculator predicting the stock market. It all came down to chance.

Eve spoke up again.

“That’s why we pitied her. She is another part of us. Our sister. Also…”

Pandora continued.

“She was worried about Puppet. It was a pitiful sight.”

Oliver observed the emotions from Pandora and Eve.

They were both sincere. When Puppet had been in danger, Lilith had apparently been genuinely concerned.

It made sense. If Puppet felt a sense of kinship toward Lilith, it wasn’t strange for Lilith to feel the same toward him.

Satisfied with their answer, Oliver prepared to leave once more.

“Father.”

“Dave.”

“Yes?”

“What should we do now?”

It was a natural question for them, but for Oliver, it was a troubling one.

He didn’t know what to do either. Or rather, maybe he did, but he just didn’t want to.

After thinking for a moment, Oliver spoke.

“Hmm…I don’t know. Just do whatever you want.”

With that, Oliver left and continued walking.

Before he knew it, he had arrived in front of the Cross King Hotel that Lilith had mentioned.

Just like the streets, the front of the hotel was completely empty, and the lobby wasn’t much different.

It was as if everyone had fled from some unseen disaster. The only one left in the hotel lobby was an Old Gentleman.

Incidentally, the Old Gentleman was the hotel’s owner and Puppet’s disciple, Charlie Beasley.

Approaching the Old Gentleman, Oliver greeted him.

“Good day, Mr. Beasley. I’m here to see Kent. Would you mind showing me to him?”