Genius Warlock

The Fighter Crew's leader Cook possessed a striking appearance. His thick brown hair, rugged yet refined beard, angular jaw, and sturdy nose gave him a commanding presence.

Not only was he handsome, but he also exuded a strong and masculine charm that inspired trust and dependence.

But when Cook entered the heat of battle, his features began to shift. His once-pleasant countenance twisted into a visage of primal fury.

His mouth elongated, his teeth sharpened like those of a wild animal, and his tongue forked like that of a serpent, making him appear less human.

It was as though he had discarded his mask as the Fighter Crew leader and transformed into a subordinate of the cannibal Chef from the Black Hand.

This sudden shift in demeanor and power around Cook was palpable.

"What are you up to? You were supposed to kill me, remember?"

With a wild and frenzied motion, Cook unleashed his knife upon Oliver like a raging typhoon.

It was difficult to fathom that mere moments earlier, they had been engaged in a civilized conversation.

Cook's unrestrained emotions had clearly taken a toll on both his mind and body.

Despite the onslaught, Oliver stood his ground, blocking the flurry of blows with his quarterstaff and employing his shadow tentacles and black suit to shield himself.

‘Maybe there's a limit to how much you can consume emotions through cannibalism and still maintain control. It's possible that no matter how much forbidden knowledge or cannibalism you use to accumulate power, maybe there's a price to pay in the end.’

As he continued to fend off Cook's attacks, Oliver gradually began to discern the cannibal warlock's peculiar traits.

"Hey, are you spacing out while I'm right in front of you?"

Suddenly, Cook snatched up a knife with both hands and nimbly switched to a steak knife. In a single breath, he launched twelve vicious slashes at Oliver.

Swish, swish, swish, thud!

The small but mighty steak knife cut through the air with precision, slicing through Oliver's shadow tentacles and tearing through his black suit.

"Huff…"

Thankfully, Oliver managed to avoid being directly injured, but the sheer force of Cook's attack was truly stunning.

It was difficult to fathom how such power could be wielded without resorting to black magic.

To catch his breath, Oliver swung his quarterstaff, wrapped in black suit, and created a shadow stake to launch a widespread attack.

[Shadow Spike]

"Hmph!"

However, Cook, with his impeccable reflexes, was quick to evade the onslaught. He deftly dodged Oliver's quarterstaff and skillfully avoided the shadow stakes that popped up like thorns in his path.

Tap.

With just two leaps, Cook retreated a considerable distance.

Despite his light movements, Oliver was not surprised as he had already witnessed Cook's exceptional physical prowess and threatening knife skills.

Although Cook had enhanced his body with black magic, his natural physical ability, and combat proficiency were already high, particularly his close combat skills.

He deftly wielded his dual blades and adapted his approach based on the situation, adjusting his swordsmanship to the distance between himself and Oliver.

As for Oliver, who relied on the black suit to enhance his physical strength and had relatively poor close combat skills, it was challenging to respond to Cook's attacks. Despite utilizing his shadow tentacles, he struggled to gain control of the fight.

While Oliver wasn't certain if Cook possessed better black magic abilities, it was clear that Cook was superior in close combat.

Nonetheless, Oliver regarded this encounter as a valuable opportunity to learn and improve. He recognized that he had much to learn and was fortunate to have faced such a skilled opponent.

Clang! Clang!

Rather than charging at Oliver, Cook lifted his blade and assumed a defensive stance, his emotions conveying a sense of alertness, suspicion, and wonder, as if he sensed something amiss.

"That's strange… Don't you think it's about time for you to use it?"

"Um… Pardon?"

Swoosh.

Cook aimed his kitchen knife at Oliver, the sharp blade reflecting the light as he spoke.

"Where did you stash that creepy corpse doll I saw in District Y?" he demanded.

"Um… Do you mean the corpse cannon?"

The corpse cannon was a new type of corpse doll, created by combining two corpses from the pure magic school, Audrey, and a mana user. Despite being damaged, they were transformed into a powerful bombardment weapon.

Thanks to this, the Corpse Cannon was the best in terms of firepower compared to other corpse dolls.

“Corpse cannon?”

"Yes, I just called it that for now. It's basically a cannon made out of corpses."

"Your naming skills suck. Not my business, but where the heck did you hide it? I've been waiting ages and still can't spot it anywhere."

Oliver looked around, then shook his head. "I didn't hide it," he replied.

"Oh… is it a psychological battle? Or do you think you can beat me even without things like a corpse doll?… The more I see you, the more ticked off I get."

Cook's emotions were again tinged with displeasure. At the same time, he gradually gave in to his emotions.

His calm and composed demeanor had vanished, replaced by an impulsive and bestial nature.

This was reminiscent of the auction house robbers and the manipulation-type warlock he had encountered in District Y, who had also demonstrated a similar transformation.

Despite the urgency of their mission, the auction raiders relished in carnage and triumph, while the manipulation-type warlock fell victim to his own overconfidence.

‘Why do they all look so similar? Is it because of cannibalism? Or is it because they've accumulated too much life-force and emotions?’

Oliver made an intuitive deduction and formed a tentative hypothesis

‘Even so, it seems like Mr. Cook can easily conceal it in his daily life. Is it because of a difference in skill level? But in high-stakes battles, the negative effects seem to become more apparent… Perhaps there are people who are immune to it?’

As he pondered the matter, new conjectures and conclusions flooded his mind. His curiosity piqued, and he longed to record his thoughts and conduct further research.

“You're just starin' at me and not answerin' my question, you shitface."

Cook's gaze appraised Oliver, and Oliver reciprocated, noting Cook's smile and discomfort.

“Um, sorry.”

"Sorry for what? You're gonna get wrecked soon… But seriously, tell me. Why'd you leave the corpse cannon behind? The more I think, the more curious I get. You've dealt with peeps like me before, so you should know. It ain't easy to handle us the normal way."

Cook's words rang true.

The raiders who infiltrated the auction house and the manipulation-type warlock from District Y possessed a common trait – the ability to gain Life-force through forbidden knowledge, granting them multiple lives and extraordinary recuperative power.

Even if decapitated or maimed, they could regenerate their bodies with ease.

In a life-or-death struggle, what advantage could be greater than possessing multiple lives?

It was self-evident that if one possessed such a skill, they may be willing to sacrifice multiple lives to combat an adversary who surpasses them in prowess.

To overcome such formidable foes, one must either exhaust their life force with an overwhelming barrage of firepower or slay them until they are truly dead.

From that perspective, the corpse cannon was the perfect weapon, as Cook had mentioned.

After organizing his thoughts for a moment, Oliver spoke up, "Um… To be honest, I didn't really think that far ahead. Like I said, I was in a rush and didn't have time to plan. And, it's also difficult to use."

“Difficult to use?”

“Yes. After a big attack, it runs out of mana and needs replacing, and it consumes a lot of durability, so you can't just keep firing it. It's also hard to move, so you have to set it up beforehand.”

"……."

"Also, it can’t aim itself, so it needs an assistant to help aim, and every time it fires a shot, the material cost is quite high, so I couldn't think of using it right away. It's successful, but it needs many improvements. More than anything…."

“What?”

"I came here to stop the fight, not start one. Plus, wouldn't it be weird to bring a corpse cannon when you're trying to talk?"

Bang!

With each passing conversation, Cook's irritation festered, and eventually erupted into a fiery rage. He kicked the ground with immense force, causing a cloud of dirt and debris to billow into the air. As the dust settled, Cook's form vanished from sight.

In the blink of an eye, Cook reappeared before Oliver, hurtling towards him at a dizzying velocity. Reacting quickly, Oliver summoned a shadow stake to erect a defensive barrier.

"Hmph!"

But Cook was undeterred. Ignoring the obstacle, he charged forward and swung his meat cleaver with incredible force. The blade cleaved through the shadow stake, and he lunged forward once more, aiming directly for Oliver's neck.

Clang!

Oliver was ready, however. He had predicted the attack's trajectory and deflected it with his quarterstaff. Despite Cook's overwhelming strength, Oliver had the upper hand since he could see Cook's intense emotions and could sense where he was aiming, allowing him to defend against the attack successfully.

But Cook was not one to be easily thwarted. He channeled his anger into his every motion, determined to overpower Oliver with sheer force.

Clang!

‘I hardly ever lose in a physical fight while wearing the black suit… Maybe he's the most efficient fighter after all. The people of Mr. Human-meat Chef seems like an existence who strengthens not only Life-force but also the body through cannibalism. Then, the disease type that strengthens the body would be the most effective.'

Oliver recalled information about Human-meat Chef.

"Ugh, you're seriously getting on my nerves. Like, we're in this messed up situation and you're still keeping a straight face? Where did you come from to be this annoying? You not only had the guts to challenge me, but you messed up my whole plan and you're still acting all chill about it!"

"Ah…"

An involuntary sigh escaped Oliver's lips as he finally understood why Cook had been uneasy around him all this while.

The root of the problem was a lack of effective communication.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disrespect you or anything…"

“… Hmph, we'll see how long you can keep up that act,” spoke Cook, full of irritation.

Before long, Cook channeled his inner emotions and transformed them into black magic, which he then infused into his own body, causing his physical abilities to increase dramatically. This made an already formidable opponent even stronger.

Sensing the danger, Oliver took action by manipulating the shadow and attempting to ensnare Cook's ankle.

BOOM!

But the resulting impact was thunderous, shattering the ground and sending debris flying.

Cook responded by forcefully kicking the ground, shattering the shadow tentacles with sheer physical power.

It was a remarkable display of technique that left Oliver in awe, having never witnessed such a feat before, even if he had seen people use light or magic to interfere.

"Where did you learn such a trick…!"

Using his legs, which had now transformed into a hybrid form between human and animal, Cook turned and kicked at Oliver.

Though he was wearing a bullet-proof black suit, Oliver knew that he couldn't afford to take the hit head-on.

As a result, he intertwined dozens of thin shadow tentacles to create a defensive shield.

Although he was not a proficient close-combat fighter, his mastery of black magic allowed him to construct a barrier before the kick could land.

THWACK!

The kick did not strike Oliver directly but collided with the multiple layers of shadow tentacles, which absorbed most of the impact. Nevertheless, the force was still strong enough to propel Oliver backward, causing him to fall.

“That really hurts.”

As Oliver fell, he skillfully maneuvered the shadow tentacles to ensnare Cook and halt his movement.

However, he failed to account for one crucial detail: his emotion reserves were depleted, rendering him unable to restrain someone of Cook's physical prowess.

Despite Cook being trapped in the shadow tentacles, he swiftly sliced through them with a magically enhanced body and a short, deadly knife. He then leaped into the air, aiming to crush Oliver with the black magic energy coursing through his legs.

In a split second, Oliver envisioned himself being crushed like a tomato

“Ugh.”

Fearing for his life, Oliver instinctively evaded the attack using his black suit, which strained his body but allowed him to dodge the lethal strike.

The impact of Cook's landing generated a tremendous shockwave, causing the ground to buckle.

Kwoong-!!

Oliver attempted to retaliate from a safe distance using firepower, but as he did, his black suit was ripped diagonally.

It didn't touch his skin, but the fact that his black suit was torn at a crucial point.

He was puzzled as to how Cook had managed to reach him, but a glance at Cook's blade revealed that it had transformed into a deadly black blade with a will of its own, fueled by the user's intent to kill.

"Hey, quick question, are you a lefty or a righty?" asked Cook as he charged at Oliver.

“I don’t know. Why does it matter?” Oliver replied, alternating between his hands.

"I'm just trying to figure out which side to cut first. No big deal, I'll just have to chop off both anyway."

Saying so, Cook charged toward Oliver once again.

(To be Continued)

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