CH 179

Marie emerged from the dark like a creature of the night, her long nails glinting in the moonlight.

They were thin, but not to be underestimated. With a single swing, they generated a fierce wind that stirred Oliver’s black hair.

“Um, that’s great….. Ordinary people would be cut into pieces.”

It was not ridicule or flattery, Oliver genuinely admired it.

Marie did strengthen her body by putting black magic on her body, but she has not used any black magic after that.

This meant that she had produced such a high level of output using only that unknown black magic.

It was pretty great. It was no small feat to enhance one’s physical body through black magic.

The process was fraught with danger, for it relied on disease-based magic.

To manipulate the body artificially was to court disaster, to burden oneself beyond the point of no return.

Only those with a strong constitution and vast reserves of Life-force could hope to master such a technique.

Otherwise, it was nothing more than a technique that would devour oneself.

Therefore, disease-type black magic was not suitable for people like Marie and Oliver. Their body will get tired, regardless of their black magic skills.

Oliver knew this all too well. He had developed an expedient called the “black suit” to help him endure the side effects of the disease-type magic.

But Marie was different. She had not resorted to such measures, and yet her body seemed unaffected by the magic coursing through it.

It was a testament to her skill and fortitude, and Oliver could not help but admire her. Disease-type magic was not for the faint of heart, but Marie had taken it in her stride, unleashing a power that exceeded that of firearms. In her hands, even the most mundane object became a deadly weapon.

一 SWIISH SWIISH!!

Marie’s attacks were lethal, each one surpassing the average warlock’s power.

With a simple swing, she could cut through the wind, trees, and leave deep scars in rocks.

Oliver narrowly avoided her strikes, but even with three layers of black suit, he doubted whether he could withstand her onslaught.

‘She’s faster and more powerful than most warlocks, even with a normal attack that costs nothing. It must be true that she stopped the auction house intruders.’

Marie corrected her stance and prepared to attack Oliver once again, who had just dodged her previous strike.

She was targeting his avoidance pattern, and her quick attacks and constant pressure showed how much chaos she had gone through.

It was a pity that someone as skilled as her was obsessed with such useless things.

Oliver felt more sorry for Marie.

‘I don’t know why she turned out like this..’

[Hate Bullet!]

Oliver fired hate bullets at the ground, hoping to create a momentary distraction.

The dust rose up, momentarily blocking Marie’s view, giving him a few precious seconds to widen the gap between them.

Marie’s unidentified black magic on her body produced the highest level of disease-type black magic that Oliver had ever seen.

It was so potent that it may even have an additional effect. He knew that there was no reason to maintain a close distance against such a formidable opponent.

‘First, widen the distance and slowly grasp it with…uh?’

But as he tried to distance himself, Marie’s nails extended, and she sliced a tree with ease.

Anger… No, it didn’t seem like that. Her emotions were calm and at the same time only showed great obsession.

He furrowed his brows as Marie raised the tree that she had just cut down.

It wasn’t a small tree, and her strength seemed unnatural, far beyond the limitations of disease-type black magic.

It was beyond the rules that Oliver knew, and he could only watch in awe as she wielded her power with deadly precision.

‘It’s similar….. Mr. Puppet in contamination zone, and intruders in auction houses.’

Black magic but strange black magic that deviates from the rules of black magic.

[Bless]

The black magic took on the form of long, nail-like appendages that he had never seen before.

‘Was it developed by Marie…..’

As Marie swept her emotions through the tree, it transformed the branches into sharpened wooden logs, which she threw at Oliver.

Oliver wasn’t off guard. Rather, he used his head as well as his eyes and thought about how to respond.

Given Marie’s emotional state, if he avoided it, a linked attack would immediately come in.

In fact, she was watching Oliver’s next move as she prepared for the attack.

Even if he didn’t avoid it, she was ready to act accordingly.

The situation remained the same whether Oliver avoided it or not.

The only difference was whether Marie was careless or more vigilant.

Oliver chose the latter after much consideration.

Boom—!

Oliver swung the quarterstaff covered in [Black suit].

Marie reinforced it with black magic, but the tree was the tree.

Oliver swung his quarterstaff, reinforced with black magic, to shatter the incoming wooden log. The impact sent wood fragments flying everywhere, momentarily obscuring his view.

Soon, the next attack came in. It was an application of the way Oliver used it.

“That’s incredible.”

Oliver smacked the hate bullets flying in admiration with the quarterstaff.

More than a dozen shots flew at a time, but it wasn’t that difficult.

However, what was surprising was that it was not just a hate bullet, but a mixture of emotions and hair.

Puppet. To be precise, it was very similar to the ‘Finger Gun’ used by the corpse doll, which was possessed by Puppet.

The power was similar, so the two-and-a-half layers of black suit worn at the end of the quarterstaff were taken off at once.

It was dangerous if he kept getting hit, but this wasn’t the real attack.

Marie’s unique mobility allowed her to approach in complete silence, swinging her nails with deadly intent.

Oliver concentrated half of the black suit on one point of the staff, ready to defend against her ferocious attack.

BOOOM—!!!

An ear-splitting roar reverberated through the forest in the middle of the night.

It was really fortunate that they were in the forest. Since the Paladins were still searching the city, they would have been disturbed if they had fought there.

“I’m sorry, Master! Please forgive me!”

Marie, who had been silent so far, raised her opposite arm and raised her nails sharply, as if she was sure of her victory.

The area she was aiming for was Oliver’s right arm and leg, and it seemed like she was really going to take him somehow.

“It’s all right.”

At the same time as Oliver answered, he focused the rest of the black suit on his right fist and hit Marie hard on the left shoulder.

BANG!

“一!?!!”

A low, heavy sound informed that the shoulder that couldn’t be broken was broken.

In fact, Marie couldn’t even scream properly in so much pain that she threw herself back like a hand on fire.

“The power of black magic is good, but I don’t think you learned close combat. Learn. Firepower isn’t everything.”

Oliver rushed to Marie and swung the quarterstaff.

Mary wrapped her long hair around her arm like a shield, but Oliver continued to dig deeper and poked the gap on the other arm, thrusting his fist into Mary’s shoulder.

BAM BAM BAM!

Marie’s arms drooped with the sound of a clean cracking sound, as Joe’s teaching lingered in Oliver’s ears.

– If you’re not going to kill but scare the enemy, it’s best to break the shoulder. It hurts a lot, and the arm can’t be raised, so they will know what helplessness is. And then you just have to beat it.

PURPUR

Marie’s hair, imbued with black magic, flowed like a cape around her, radiating an ominous aura.

Oliver could tell that this was no ordinary defense, and his intuition was proven right when his attack was blocked with delicate precision by each strand of hair.

Undeterred, Oliver thrust his quarterstaff forward, attempting to pierce through the hair barrier. But to his surprise, the hair latched onto the staff, entangling it and inching its way toward his hand.

[LAS Bomb]

With a quick decision, Oliver channeled the emotions into the quarterstaff, unleashing a powerful explosion that engulfed Marie’s hair and sent it scattering in all directions.

Considering that Marie as well as her subordinates were surprised, it seemed completely unexpected.

Taking advantage of the confusion, Oliver dove in and pierced Marie’s defense, landing a devastating blow with his quarterstaff.

“I’m sorry, it’s going to hurt a little,” he apologized, before striking her body with a resounding bang.

The blow was so powerful that it sent Marie flying, her body horribly crushed and mangled.

Oliver didn’t let up, unleashing a hail of hate bullets that tore through her legs, leaving gaping wounds that caused her to collapse onto the ground.

The figure of each limb bent in a direction that should not be bent looked like a broken doll.

As he approached the broken figure of Marie, Oliver couldn’t help but feel that he had gone a little too far. But he quickly pushed those thoughts aside.

“I think I won.”

“Kee. .Kuhe. . . . .. Kee!”

Marie writhed in agony, making strange noises like a broken doll. Oliver couldn’t help but feel that she might not make it if luck wasn’t on her side. But he had done his job, as he always did.

“I accepted Marie’s request. But you failed,” Oliver stated bluntly, looking down at the injured woman.

Marie looked up at Oliver, unable to speak due to the pain that ravaged her crushed abdomen.

Despite her suffering, her emotional state was strange.

She didn’t seem to harbor any resentment towards Oliver. Instead, she admired, worshiped, and blamed herself for not being good enough.

Oliver’s initial feeling of discomfort returned, taking on a morbid edge.

“Didn’t Marie say this before? There’s nothing free in this world. The first time you helped me.”

Marie managed to respond in a broken voice.

“Y… Yes.”

“I won, so I have to get paid,” Oliver continued, his tone unyielding. “Don’t call me a savior or a god anymore. Just live the life you wanted to live. Forget about me, too. That’s possible, right?”

Marie shook her head weakly, tears welling up in her eyes. “Master, please… It’s the only thing.”

Oliver was about to express his irritation at her refusal when Marie’s subordinates suddenly attacked him.

Though they weren’t particularly skilled, they demonstrated good basic skills as they fired hate bullets at Oliver with a stable speed.

Despite his black suit, Oliver was forced to retreat due to their overwhelming hatred for him. Marie’s men seemed intent on attacking him further, but then something unexpected happened.

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?” Marie cried out, her anger flaring up like a raging inferno.

Her subordinates were immediately thrown into confusion and fear by Marie’s sudden outburst, cowering like frightened dogs. However, Marie swung her limp arms grotesquely and slapped one of the subordinates nearby, sending him flying.

It was pure luck that he didn’t die from the impact. Nevertheless, Marie continued her assault, elbowing another subordinate in the face with unbridled fury.

She then raised her nails towards the disciple who had first attacked Oliver.

“Marie!” Oliver shouted, raising his voice in a way that was uncharacteristic of him.

Thanks to that, Marie finally stopped her attack.

“Master…”

“Stop it. They did it for you.”

“Haa…, but these traitors…”

“…Please, stop.”

It was only when Oliver uttered the word “please” that Marie finally lowered her hand, forcing her anger down and commanding her men to step down.

They bowed deeply, like servants before a king, and Oliver couldn’t help but find the sight strange.

An enemy who throws anger at her men who saved her, and stopped when he asked.

Oliver once again pondered why their relationship became like this.

“You’ve recovered,” he remarked, examining Marie’s body, which was recovering on its own with a small thread sprouting from the wound.

It was an incredible sight, but less of a shock to Oliver, who had already seen Puppet and the auction house intruders use similar abilities.

“Yes.”

“How did you develop it?”

“…I don’t know. I was suddenly able to do it. I’m sorry for not being able to answer you, Master.”

She admitted, genuinely sorry for not having a clear explanation.

“No, that’s possible… I’m glad you’re better anyway. In that sense, I’ll say it again. Don’t call me a savior from now on…”

“… No, I can’t, Master. I’m really, really sorry, but I can’t follow that order. Please forgive me.” she replied, her eyes red and bloodshot.

Her emotions were like a tidal wave, flowing out of her and dyeing her body an even darker shade.

They multiplied excessively, spreading around her and pressing the air like a physical force.

Oliver could only stare in silence as Marie’s emotions ate up the whole area, turning it black.

“…….”

“…please……please, do not deprive me of this faith, Master, without this I’ll just return to that useless past.”

“…what past?”

“Living without a cause,” she replied, her voice heavy with emotion. “Being born, being alive, and dying… Such a useless animal life.”

“…….”

“Because I met you and because I devoted myself to you, I finally gained value. The reason why I was born in the world, the reason why I’m alive.! You rather kill me than take this away. That’s better!!”

Marie’s words were punctuated by her tears, which were now black.

Soon, she pulled out eight test tubes from her pocket. The test tube contained emotions of pure faith, and extracting them Marie chanted.

[Authority]