Chapter 207
Chapter 207
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 207
Chapter Title: Wrap-up? (2)
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Benium, the subordinate of the Human Flesh Chef and the robber of the Crime Firm auction house, was frozen in an incredibly awkward position, ensnared by the black web.
His neck and cheeks were swollen like a frog's, tinged with green. One look was enough to instinctively know it was dangerous.
The only silver lining was that Oliver's attack had landed just before Benium could activate his black magic.
"What the hell is this?"
Bear, clad head to toe in combat gear, approached the rigid Benium and asked.
It seemed like black magic he'd never seen before. Well, it was an original creation by Oliver, after all.
"It's Cling Spider Web. Please don't touch it. It's extremely vulnerable to external impacts."
Bear, who had been about to reach out, flinched and pulled his hand back.
"Cling Spider Web?"
Jonathan approached, holstering his revolver. A dagger was gripped in one hand, ready to swing if needed.
"Yes. It's a black magic spell crafted from obsession, designed to restrain targets. Its weaknesses are fragility to external shocks and the complexity of creation, but in terms of binding power, it's the strongest among my black magics."
As if to prove his words, Benium couldn't move a muscle, like he was set in concrete.
Only his bulging, rolling eyes indicated he was still conscious.
"An original black magic spell... Impressive skills as expected. Can we transport him like this?"
"No. As I mentioned, it's weak to shocks—even slight movement will break it."
"I see."
Jonathan muttered, looking troubled.
And understandably so. It wasn't enough just to capture Benium; they needed to neutralize and transport him safely.
Dragging him off in this state would have been ideal, but that wasn't possible.
Sedating him with drugs was an option, but the problem was that he'd been caught right before casting his black magic.
The most headache-inducing debuff type among disease-based spells. Judging by his posture, it seemed like a wide-area attack.
Mishandling it could lead to unpredictable damage.
Even in a slum full of trash, drawing attention wouldn't end well.
"Boss, what do we do? We've caught him, but this is a mess. One wrong move and it'll blow up."
The veteran Bear pointed it out precisely.
"Hmm, I think we need to call for backup. Can't risk creating unnecessary issues."
"Do we have time for that?"
Bear glanced around as he asked.
As the commotion died down, a few people who had fled or hidden returned, watching them.
Not threatening, but lingering here under countless eyes was far from ideal.
A tricky situation either way. As everyone pondered their options, Oliver made a suggestion.
"If it's alright, may I give it a try?"
"You, the black magician?"
"Yes... It's not guaranteed safe, but there's a method worth attempting."
Bear looked to Jonathan and advised.
"Let him handle it. He's good at what he does—if he's offering, he probably has a plan. Better than sticking around with all those eyes on us."
Jonathan nodded in agreement right away.
The moment permission was granted, Oliver pulled Big Mouth from the leather case at his waist.
A lump of flesh swelling like bread dough.
For quick work, Oliver handed over a 10,000 Landa bill and asked for an item.
Big Mouth glanced once before swallowing the bill and cooperating immediately.
Ever the diligent one.
"Kueeeek-!"
Something erupted from Big Mouth's massive maw.
A gigantic spider—and horrific enough on its own—but what Oliver retrieved defied simple description as a mere spider.
It was closer to a ragged monster blending spider parts with other abominations.
A spider's head fused with scorpion claws and tail, interwoven with countless human hands.
"Eek..."
"W-what is that thing...?"
A few slum dwellers watching from hiding gasped at the grotesque creature.
And they weren't the only ones shocked.
"What the fuck is this...?"
Oliver answered Bear's question.
"Corpse Doll-Helper 2 Parker. Made by attaching twelve human hands to a spider-mutated lifeform as the base. All from mechanics or doctors, thankfully sold separately."
"......"
Bear, Jonathan, and the other Pinkmans stared at Oliver in silence. For some unknowable reason, they all felt shock, tension, and a touch of fear.
Had he made some mistake?
Oliver retrieved a test tube containing Child-First from his pocket. Child darted out swiftly, entering Parker.
With First inside, Parker seemed revived. It stretched its eight forearm-arms (in place of legs) and the four full arms on its back.
Crack! Crack! Cheerful sounds echoed.
Loosened up, Parker crawled forward using its many hands, circling the black web-bound Benium and beginning to spray its own webbing.
Pshh-! Pshh-! Pshh-! Chyahahahaha!!
Soon, Parker climbed onto Benium's body, spraying web from its tail while using claw-like hands resembling human ones to manipulate the strands. It crawled over him, weaving the webs meticulously.
Chyahahahaha...
Despite its large-dog size, Parker moved with delicate precision to avoid damaging the spider web, wrapping Benium systematically—not just crudely binding him.
Once packaging was nearly complete, Parker moved to Benium's front, looped web around his neck, then aimed its tail at the uncovered spots.
Pshh-!
The scorpion tail struck in a flash, piercing a tiny hole in Benium's neck.
Poisonous fumes leaked from the puncture.
Child, inside Parker, deftly used one of its "leg" hands to collect the fumes into a test tube, then plugged the gap with web.
Benium's eyes trembled, and Parker crawled back to Oliver, offering the test tube.
"Thank you, First."
Oliver thanked Parker as he took the tube, staring intently at the poisonous fumes inside.
Moments later, he opened it, re-extracted the fumes, and brought them to his hand.
Emotions stirred in Oliver's palm.
He focused on them, converting emotions back to fumes, then to emotions again in rapid simulations.
After several cycles.
Oliver extracted emotions from one of his own test tubes, creating fumes similar to the poison.
With his quarterstaff, he dispelled Benium's bindings and poured the fumes into his mouth.
Trussed in web, Benium swallowed them without proper resistance.
Soon after, the toxic cloud forming in his mouth was neutralized and vanished. Anticlimactically uneventful.
"Kuhk... Khek! ...How...?"
Benium stared at Oliver in disbelief, his face etched with shock.
And rightly so—neutralizing debuff black magic was incredibly difficult.
Mastering the basics alone took years, and countering another black magician's spell was even harder.
"I analyzed the corpses you killed to guess the black magic used and prepared countermeasures accordingly. A combination of basic debuffs, right? Blister, Fever, Weakened Immunity, and such?"
Oliver recited debuff black magics from texts he'd studied.
Fortunately, they were ones he knew.
None lethal alone, but scalable in danger based on concentration and combinations.
"Truly impressive. The concept, I mean. Mixing basic debuffs into a new form. The ratios were the issue, but now I've learned them too. Thanks for the lesson."
Benium seemed about to shout something upon hearing Oliver's sincerity, but Oliver jabbed him with his quarterstaff infused with Deep Sleep, knocking him out.
Benium resisted, but Oliver had dosed it for dozens, accounting for the Human Flesh Chef faction's traits. He soon lost consciousness.
Benium collapsed in a heap.
Parker crawled over again, spraying web to finish packaging him—head to toe, leaving only breathing holes.
"He probably won't wake for a day... or a month. Will this do?"
Jonathan eyed the tightly bound Benium at Oliver's question.
"Yes, perfect. Thank you for all the help."
"No, I'm the one sorry. For acting on my own and interfering with your work, Jonathan. Please forgive me."
Indeed.
He'd successfully negotiated with Crime Firm director Gordon Goodheart, but afterward, Oliver got an earful from Jonathan.
Of course, it wasn't upsetting at all.
On the contrary, Oliver was grateful and apologetic for understanding his mistakes.
Even in sudden circumstances, with tasks at hand, he'd acted unilaterally, created risks, and met his employer's employer without notice—multiple breaches of etiquette toward Jonathan.
Oliver apologized repeatedly.
"Not sure if we'll work together again, but I apologize once more and promise it won't happen again."
"Thank you for saying that... I was too harsh on someone who helped. My apologies."
"Boss. Packaging's done. I'll load him into the vehicle with the guys."
"Yeah, thanks."
Bear hoisted the web-wrapped Benium over one shoulder and departed.
"Thank you again... So, is the job done now?"
"We need to check a bit more, but probably. From our investigation, Benium was the last Human Flesh Chef subordinate here. We've recovered most auction items, and the rest are located, so it's essentially wrapped up."
"Ah, good... Speaking of auction items, mind if I ask something? I'm worried."
"Worried? Go ahead."
"I don't know what the Human Flesh Chef wants, but even if we catch these guys, won't they strike again?"
"Item recovery is our mission, so no need to worry. But to ease your mind: no big concerns."
"Why's that?"
"Crime Firm is handling it internally."
"Handling it?"
"Yes... They requested mediation from another black hand. A trading partner."
"Trading partner? Black hand?"
"Yes, some Crime Firm directors deal with black hands too. Different faction from the Human Flesh Chef."
"Ah..."
"I don't know details, but it seems to be going smoothly."
"That's a relief."
Oliver nodded. Truly fortunate.
He'd barely reconciled Fighter Crew and Crime Firm—any extra commotion could spell disaster.
"Then, may I take my leave?"
"Of course. Thanks again—made it so much easier."
"Just doing my part. Don't mention it."
"Hardest thing these days is finding people who do theirs. If you're open, take this?"
"What's this?"
"My office comms number. Contact anytime for help, requests, or questions. Ah, needs a large comms device—recommend getting one. Pricey, but useful ahead, especially for Dave."
"Hm... Yes, got it."
A few days later, word came from Jonathan via Forest.
The Human Flesh Chef black magician transferred to Landa was indeed the last, Benium, as investigated. Remaining auction items recovered successfully too.
All circulated through Crime Firm-managed Black Market, so recovery was straightforward.
"...Monetary reward tomorrow, and the promised books will take longer—asked to wait."
The books on non-devil matters.
"Understand. They're verifying auction items, so delay's inevitable. Your requested items should arrive around then too."
"Ah, I mentioned some?"
"Luckily, yes. Mind sharing what for? Related to sudden paperwork lessons?"
Oliver thought of the magic tower as he replied.
"Might need them someday, so preparing as we go."