Chapter 181
Chapter 181
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 181
Chapter Title: Believer (5)
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[Greed Fire]
With the incantation, Oliver pressed his two palms together.
As soon as they touched, the greed in one hand fused with the fire in the other.
It wasn't particularly difficult.
The basic mechanism was the same as combining mana and life force.
In fact, it was far easier than creating an artificial soul.
"KyaAAAAAHHH!!"
Unlike before, Marie let out a scream and staggered back. Her emotions and expression visibly wavered.
It wasn't all that strange.
This black flame, blazing with greed intertwined with emotion, was no ordinary fire.
Like the camp magician's flames that burned mana, flames, and explosive power as kindling, this black fire "Greed Fire" devoured the surrounding emotion particles, steadily increasing its size and intensity.
"W-What in the world...!"
Her eyes widened in shock and horror, her voice trembling.
Marie was stunned, and it wasn't surprising. Connected to emotion particles as she was, she understood the ferocity of that black fire better than anyone.
A spell impossible to believe was conjured on the spot.
Oliver probably never would have thought of it without that battle with the camp magician.
Magic and black magic. People always thought of them as separate, but perhaps they were meant to be used together.
"Anyway..."
Oliver focused on the reality before him, surveying the roaring black flames.
Adding emotion made it far harder to control than the flames he'd wielded against the camp magician.
It thrashed wildly, desperate to escape his grasp, while simultaneously swelling to incinerate everything around it for sustenance.
Was it because greed—the emotion of swallowing and expanding—had merged with the flame's nature?
'This might be worth researching...'
Oliver clenched his fist slightly.
The black flames, swirling like a whirlwind and spreading chaotically, lost momentum and began to shrink slowly.
It might have looked like its power had waned at a glance, but that wasn't the case.
It was more like coiling to strike its target precisely.
"Go."
As Oliver pointed at Marie, the flames—crouched like a trained hunting dog—surged toward her like a typhoon.
It greedily ballooned by devouring every threatening emotion particle in its path, boosting its power—like a massive beast swallowing a school of small fish.
KWAAHAHAHAHAHA——!!!!
The black flames pursued Marie in a natural disaster-like form akin to the camp magician's spell, while she fled desperately like a wild animal evading a storm.
It seemed she couldn't relocate all the emotion particles.
Thanks to that, Oliver's black flames burned and consumed them without hindrance, growing even fiercer in greed, will, and power.
'This magic? Black magic? Whatever it is, it's tricky.'
Oliver pondered as he strode forward regally, meticulously controlling the flames.
Controlling the flames didn't grant immunity to them, just as with regular fire. This powerful blaze was a potent weapon for him—and a danger that could devour him at any moment.
A double-edged spell.
That was why the camp magician had kept moving his hands to control the flames and surrounded himself with stone pillars.
Especially this black flame, infused with emotion, constantly strained against Oliver's control to fulfill its own desires.
It was less a flame and more emotion given physical form.
That was why Oliver advanced slowly.
To keep it from harming him and prevent it from spreading too far.
As it fed on Marie's emotion particles and grew stronger, his pace slowed accordingly.
Black flames were still flames. They scorched the surroundings, belching thick smoke, and Oliver halted mid-stride upon catching the scent.
Unable to press forward with him standing firm, the flames tugged at him like a dog pulling its owner along.
Indeed, monstrous mouths and eyes appeared amid the massive blaze, expressing discontent.
But Oliver ignored its will, clenching his fist tighter to suppress it.
The flames let out an agonized, indescribable scream as its momentum faded.
Then, the black flames filling his vision receded, revealing the surroundings.
Like with the camp magician... no, even worse—a ruined forest.
Only scorched ash remained, and even that in scant amounts. It felt like everything had been incinerated without a trace.
This was only because Oliver had controlled it. If he'd lost control midway, how much would this ravenous fire have devoured?
Not just part of the forest, but the whole thing? Maybe even the outskirts of Randa, or its very heart.
Even Oliver thought that sounded exaggerated, yet the image was vividly clear in his mind.
'Can't use this recklessly.'
With that internal conclusion, he clenched his fist again. The flames groaned from dozens of mouths as it dwindled bit by bit.
"W-What on earth..."
Marie, exhausted and disheveled from the pursuit, gazed at Oliver with shock, fear, and awe.
Her subordinates were speechless.
No one dared speak. Oliver approached with steady footsteps, leaving the flames behind.
This was the perfect moment to attack, now distanced from the flames. But whether from fear of that prior assault or overwhelmed by his presence, Marie simply watched him come.
Shooo——
Oliver re-extracted some of Marie's emotion particles and held them in his hand.
She and the others froze, staring helplessly.
Step. Step. Step.
Oliver turned back.
"Marie."
"Y-Yes? Yes! Master."
"You said these emotions were the pure faith of you and your followers?"
"...Yes, Master."
Oliver nodded twice, then compressed the emotions in his hand and drew out mana to ignite a small flame.
He pressed his palms together, just as when creating the black flames.
The difference? Instead of fusing, they combusted together.
The emotions burned, producing smoke.
It was much like a primitive Filterette.
Oliver cupped his hands into a bowl, then inhaled the rising smoke directly.
The form differed from a Filterette, but the principle was the same. The emotions traveled through the smoke into his lungs, then spread throughout his body.
In that moment, Oliver felt it.
The jumbled emotions of countless people, fragments of their lives.
Too fragmentary and voluminous to grasp fully, but indirectly, he glimpsed their lives—and the value this faith, this belief, held for them.
"Hoo..."
Oliver exhaled and glanced at the black flames.
Unable to consume more emotions, its intensity was fading.
A being that could only exist by devouring and burning something.
Oliver stared at it briefly, then flicked his hand dismissively.
The blaze—larger than several houses combined—screamed from dozens of mouths as it extinguished.
Fwiiiishhhh!!!
Shrieking in protest, the black flames shrank to a match flicker before vanishing as a wisp of black smoke.
Everyone watched in silence.
"Marie."
"Y-Yes, Master..."
"First off, my apologies. I said I wouldn't judge others lightly, but it seems I judged what you were doing."
"N-No, not at all! Master."
"I've got a rough idea now of what you've been up to. Just a little, but still. Far more than I've done, caring only for myself."
"...Y-You're too kind."
"No, really. You're impressive. More than me... But I still won't follow your lead."
As he finished speaking, Oliver raised his hand to manipulate the emotion particles Marie had scattered.
Most had burned away in the flames, but traces remained. Naturally, Marie tried to stop him.
Just like before.
"Wh...?"
Marie yelped in surprise.
Unlike minutes ago, she couldn't block his interference.
"I think I understand you a bit now."
With that, Oliver seized control of the emotion particles and commanded them.
The scant remnants formed an airflow that constricted around Marie.
Panicked, she faltered.
Oliver asked her.
"I saw your wounds heal earlier, so you don't die easily, do you, Marie?"
"......"
"Then endure this well."
Oliver clenched his fist as if grasping the air.
The emotion particles forming the airflow twisted in multiple directions, whipping up a swift, violent typhoon.
Everything inside—tree limbs, fallen leaves, even Marie—twisted, tore, and snapped in the clashing currents.
"Grrghk!"
Marie was flung airborne like someone caught in a storm, her limbs grotesquely contorting.
She resisted, but Oliver's controlled particles surged with far greater output whenever she tried, making opposition futile.
He even shifted the airflow to counter her movements, nullifying her struggles.
All she could do was flail helplessly, like a moth in a spiderweb.
Whoosh——BAM!!
Oliver slammed his hand down, and Marie crashed into the ground.
Her limbs shattered pitifully from the vortex and impact.
Yet black magic restored her body swiftly.
"Aaaargh!"
As recovery finished, Marie sprang up, slashing her claws at Oliver.
Crunch!!
But the emotion particles seized her first, mid-swing.
She froze.
It went beyond restricting her actions—he was controlling her outright.
Oliver tapped the air with a finger.
The particles coalesced into forearm-thick nails piercing Marie's body—without warning, as if they'd always been there.
"...!!"
Marie screamed silently amid the excruciating pain.
"This is more efficient. Or like this."
-Clap!
Oliver clapped, and the particles formed hand-shapes that crushed Marie's body like a mosquito.
Her bones shattered, flesh burst, and she collapsed in ruin.
Yet she didn't die, regenerating as if death itself was forbidden.
It was as if the black magic controlled her, not the other way around.
"Stop! You bast—!"
Even as her trembling subordinates mustered courage to intervene, a gesture from Oliver ensnared them in thorny vines, stripping their freedom.
One-sided toying.
Oliver looked down at the fallen Marie and her followers.
He flicked his fingers, lifting Marie upright.
Her body visibly mangled, yet it steadily regenerated.
"Can you hear me?"
"...Yes, Master."
"Truth be told, I hoped you wouldn't call me that."
"......"
"But I've changed my mind a little."
"I'm not saying you have to call me Master. Just... if you want to, keep doing it."
"M-Master..."
"And believe I'm your savior or not—do as you please."
Marie stared at Oliver silently.
"Honestly, I'm still not thrilled, but after seeing what you've done, I don't think I have the right to interfere."
Oliver recalled the emotional and memory fragments he'd glimpsed upon inhaling the particles.
"So do whatever you want. Just don't use my name to drag me in. I still want to see the world. So I'm sincerely asking: don't intrude on my life. If you do... I'll truly come to hate you."
Marie bowed her head deeply and nodded.
Satisfied with her response, Oliver snapped his fingers. The emotion particles dispersed into the air like obedient servants and vanished.
"Nice to meet you, Marie."