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Genius Warlock - Episode 90

After the fight with the puppet, Oliver searched the basement..

It was a natural procedure.

As a Black Hand executive, there was a high probability that his hideout, which swept through the contaminated area, contained books on black magic and demons..

That was the reason he came in the first place..

That's why Oliver searched desperately to find books..

However, not everything goes as planned in this world..

I searched the basement as hard as I could, but unfortunately, contrary to my expectations, I didn't find anything..

I expected there to be quite a few books, but they were completely empty, as if they had been prepared..

In the end, Oliver had to return home with only the relatively less damaged corpse doll, the experiment tools, the emotions in the flask, and the notebook with the recipe for making the corpse doll that fell on the floor..

It was a truly unfortunate case..

‘Well, I still had a fun experience, so I don’t think there’s any reason to regret it.?’

Oliver muttered, remembering the entrance to hell and the artificial soul he saw through the puppet..

It was an area I didn't understand yet, but I knew enough to know that it was amazing..

If I had the chance, I would like to ask for teaching next time..

Putting his regrets behind him, Oliver held his emotions in his fingertips and held them against the wall..

The purpose was to explore the basement structure here, and it looked like a huge ant cave..

Ant caves intentionally built large and complex.

I had a strong feeling that he was trying to hide something, but then what the puppet said came to mind too late..

There are many illegal experiments in the basement of Area F, some of which are related to the devil..

It was a story that had nothing to do with Oliver at the moment, but it intrigued me just a little bit..

Isn't it? Even those wizards make deals with the devil. It was a pretty funny story.

Tap, tap, tap..

Oliver climbed up the secret staircase and placed his emotional hand on the dead wall again..

A black emotion moves between the cracks in the bricks, and a door appears..

At that time, something fast flew by. It was a fist with knuckles..

Bang 1!

“..…Is everyone okay??”

Oliver asked, blocking Joe's fist with his quarter staff..

His whole body was soaked with blood and sweat, and his eyes widened when he saw Oliver..

It's as if a dead person has come back to life..

“….you how..…?”

"I came up the stairs. Are you okay??”

Joe hesitated and clenched his fist..

He still looked surprised when he saw Oliver, but he could see Sam and Arthur sprawled out behind him..

They too were in a similar state to Joe..

He wasn't dead, but his whole body was covered in sweat, and his clothes were torn here and there and were practically like rags..

But what was more noticeable was the horde of zombies lying around as if a thread had been cut, which Joe told us about..

"You fall down and suddenly zombies appear everywhere..”

"Yes, I saw it..”

"I fought hard, but was eventually overpowered, but they didn't kill me... . And then all of a sudden they all collapsed. Do you know anything??”

Oliver thought for a moment..

how to explain this.

There were some parts that were difficult to explain everything..

The entrance to hell shown when the puppet was about to swallow him..

Oliver managed to escape the crisis by extracting his emotions from there, but it seemed impossible to explain it as it was..

I felt like I shouldn't talk about hell too carelessly, just like the devil, but I didn't know if I was wrong, something could happen to Oliver's life right now..

Above all, if I said that Oliver took down the puppet alone, the story would become very complicated and annoying..

It was true that he needed a reputation as a problem solver, but he felt it was too early for him to handle it..

It wasn't just his own skill that took down the puppet..

For that reason, Oliver eventually decided to play around with it..

“Puppet let go.”

“..…what?"

"hmm..… . He lured me down, took me somewhere, subdued me, then suddenly let me go..”

"Just let it go?”

"Yes, he looked somewhere and said enough was enough and let me go… .. He’s a fun guy..”

"......."

Joe, Arthur, and Sam all looked at Oliver in silence..

It was like a reaction of disbelief, but the actual emotion was also tinged with doubt..

Arthur said out of breath..

"I'm sorry, but are you serious?... . They could have killed us all, but then they just let us go?”

Oliver spoke calmly, trying to be persuasive..

"Uh, yeah. I've got everything I need, so I'll let you live. I said it was fun.”

"Yeah, I guess so..”

Joe agreed as if he understood. It was sincere, but Arthur still tilted his head at her as if he was confused..

"Still, something is very strange.?”

said a tired Oliver as he passed Joe and approached Arthur..

One of his golem's prosthetic arms was completely shattered, and the other was also half broken..

"I think it's very strange, but isn't it important to survive??"

Arthur looked at Oliver in surprise at those words, then sighed and answered..

He looked like he was admitting that he was wrong..

"That's right. I apologize for the stupid question.”

"no. Thank you for your understanding… . Well then, shall we go up now??”

***

Oliver, who joined Joe and his group, went back the way he came and climbed to the ground..

When we opened the door and went up, Oliver and his group were greeted by the Goodman mercenaries and a group of fixers..

"shit! He was alive!”

“how….!”

"I won! Everyone give me money.”

People looked surprised when they saw Oliver and his group..

There were some who were purely surprised, some who couldn't believe it, and some who were happy because they won the bet..

But what stood out the most was his greedy expression, as if he had seen gold..

Like Hugh, the leader of the Goodman mercenaries..

"I'm glad everyone came back safely... .. What on earth happened down there??”

Just as Oliver was about to respond, Joe interrupted..

He had drawn a line with Hugh, who he had been friendly with before he went down..

"First of all, getting out is the priority... . The number of people has decreased, what happened??”

Perhaps because he lost the battle, Hyuga hesitated and answered..

"ah..… . Well, when the zombies outside suddenly collapsed or left, most of them ran away. We're the only ones left here."

Hugh spoke proudly, as if it were proof of their friendship, but Joe didn't even seem to listen..

"I can't believe you went down for those guys.”

"Still, aren't you glad that everyone got away safely??”

Oliver said without thinking..

I was just saying that good things are good, but Joe looked at Oliver with feelings of complaint, doubt, and misunderstanding, and then lowered his eyes..

"what..… . yes.”

"What on earth happened? The puppet is?”

Hugh interrupted again and asked.

he asked, expecting some kind of answer.

It was obvious to Oliver, but as he was about to respond, Arthur intervened..

"First of all, let's say that later and everyone move on. Hey, you guys, get ready to move quickly. It may be okay right now, but zombies may appear again later... . Hey buddy. Get ready to move too..”

Arthur said to Oliver as if advising.

Along with a bit of greed, there was concern for Oliver and a certain fondness for him..

I don't know why, but Oliver nodded and prepared to move together as Arthur said, and Hugh noticed this as well and soon quietly retreated..

It seems like now is not the time.

Soon after, Oliver came out of the building with members of the Goodman mercenaries, Arthur's Fixer team, and members of his fighter crew, including Knuckle Joe and Dual Pistol Sam..

As Hugh said, all the zombies outside the building had collapsed, and it seemed like Puppet had kept his promise..

As expected, he was a kind person..

But apart from that, the solvers could not let down their guard at all..

Well, everyone suffered as much as they could from this zombie army..

Perhaps, if one had wanted to, it would have been a force worth using with the city defense force guarding the outskirts of the contaminated area..

Have words become seeds??

When I passed the hordes of fallen zombies and came out to a certain extent, I could see a group of soldiers in the distance..

At first, everyone rubbed their eyes thinking they had seen something wrong, but it wasn't so..

The city defense force protecting the contaminated area was coming this way..

Not just one or two people, but a well-organized force..

There were hundreds of people, including regular soldiers armed with rifles and heavy weapons, about 30 soldiers armed with exoskeleton armor, and about two war magicians..

At first, all of the solvers seemed happy to see the city troops, but their expressions hardened for a moment..

That's because everyone who came to help was struggling to survive..

An atmosphere closer to confinement rather than rescue..

In fact, as they got closer, the soldiers skillfully surrounded Oliver and his group..

I didn't think it would actually be that big of a deal since the fixers called the city defense forces salary thieves, cowards, and self-seekers, but that didn't seem to be the case..

Arthur came forward with his tired body and shouted..

"No, fuck… . Even if the problem solver is a cleaner who cleans up the problem, what is this doing to the people who left behind?!”

It was then. A man emerged from among the trained soldiers..

He was wearing a suit, in contrast to the soldiers in uniform, and had a very tired look compared to his youthful appearance..

There was a face to face. It was none other than a city official who gave a brief explanation before entering the contaminated area..

He took out a loudspeaker and said.

"ah-! ah-! hello. Dear solvers... . I came here directly after receiving a report. Sorry, disarm everyone. I'll say it again. Please disarm everyone..”

***

Oliver, who was disarmed as told by city officials, was led by soldiers into a building and locked in a room..

It wasn't that narrow, but it was dark, but it wasn't just dark..

Magical power was contained in the darkness, and that magic combined with the darkness diminished people's psychology..

Of course, it wasn't much of a problem for Oliver..

Oliver remained still..

This area was being monitored through a surveillance device secretly installed on one side of the room, but Oliver was aware of this and did not show any suspicious or hostile behavior..

Is it thanks to that? After quite some time, someone finally came in..

It was a city official who came with soldiers and authorized them to disarm..

"hello. Mr. Dave.”

The civil servant sat down with a formal greeting..

He still looked tired, but his tired eyes with dark circles had a sharp glow..

"hello?”

“..…Yes, I am sorry for bringing you here. I received a report..”

"What is your name??”

conversation that doesn't connect.

The city official's eyes narrowed..

“yes?"

"What is your name? I learned that in order to communicate, you need to know at least their name..”

The city official looked at Oliver quietly..

As if checking to see if Oliver was up to something..

“..…Sorry, but the questions are mine. You have the answer. Do you understand?”

"ah… . yes. If so, then so be it..”

“..…Well then, let me ask you a question. According to the solvers who came first, Puppet, a high-risk criminal, set a trap in the contaminated area and attacked the solvers. Is it true??”

"yes. you're right.”

"Then I got trapped in a building.?”

"yes.”

“I heard you were the first to recognize the puppet. Is it true??”

"Yes, it's true. However, I didn't immediately recognize it was Mr. Puppet. I just realized that it was a corpse doll. Afterwards, Just Puppet revealed his identity..”

the city official muttered..

“Burial doll... . High-performance zombies made from human corpses.”

"uh? You know?”

"If you want to work at Landa's Ministry of the Interior, you need to know basic common sense. Rather, I ask the question..”

"Oh, sorry..”

"..…How did you find out??”

"I've seen someone use a corpse doll in the past..”

"Not everyone can use the corpse doll, but it's amazing..”

"Oh, is that so? It's a fun technique, but I didn't know there was another one.."

"........"

"...? If I make any mistake?”

"no.… . Why did you go down to deal with the puppet??”

"Is it dangerous to stay still? So I just said it, and they accepted it… . He was kind.."

City officials chuckled.

“The puppet is kind... . What did you do when you went down??”

Oliver answered the question.

I went down with Joe, Sam, and Arthur, got ambushed, fell into a trap, and went down alone..

"Did you meet a puppet there??”

As he told his companions, Oliver told the dramatized story. Without a single error.

Was this actually working? The city official quickly made a comparison in his head and nodded..

"Phew... . They just let me go?”

"Yes, after he overpowered me, he looked somewhere and said enough was enough and let me go. You tell me it's fun."

"I said it was fun?”

"yes. I don't know what the reason is.”

“ah… .. I feel like I know somehow.."

"yes? What is that… . Oh, sorry. The question is from a city official..”

“..…Can I ask you a simple question? It's also a personal question..”

"Yes, you say it..”

"Why do you give a puppet the name Nim??”

The city official narrowed his eyes blatantly. It was closer to an interrogation rather than a question..

"It's kind of a habit.”

"Habit?”

"Yes, I was taught to be respectful from a young age. So it's just like this. If you're uncomfortable, I'll stop.."

Instead of answering, the city official looked at Oliver as if assessing something..

I was constantly calculating something in my mind, and I was in a state of deep worry..

“..…You said you talked to the puppet. What did you talk about??”

"This and that.”

"This and that what?”

"He taught me that there were a lot of illegal laboratories in Landa's basement..”

"Well, it's a public fact. Other than that?”

"Well, we also talked about self-study..”

"research?”

"yes.”

A light appeared in the eyes of a tired city official..

“Tell me specifically what it is-”

"Get out of the way. When it comes to black magic and demons, we, the Pater Church, have the right to investigate. It's written in the city compact, you have no right to stop us..”

sound heard through the door.

Oliver and the city official turned to the door, which opened with a loud bang..

A man and a woman came in, and among them there were some quite friendly faces..

It was the paladin Joanna..

"My name is Elton, a paladin from the Seeland branch of the Church of Pater. From now on, we will take over..”