Chapter 279
Chapter 279
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 279
Chapter Title: Entry (3)
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"Clang-clang! Clatter-clatter! Clatter-clatter!"
"Kyarrarak!!"
Kalin and the Corpse Doll - Rag 2 collided in midair, tangling with each other.
Just before they entangled, Kalin's swinging arm had shattered five of Rag 2's arms in one go, but the possessed Rag 2 paid it no mind and grabbed Kalin with its remaining seven arms.
Head, face, neck, shoulders, forearms, waist, legs—every part it could grasp.
And in that state, it tensed its forearms, deploying the awls and razors embedded inside.
"Kyahahahaha—!!!"
The awls and razors embedded in his arms weren't fatal, but they inflicted vicious pain. Kalin took the malice full-on with his body and struggled to break free from Rag 2.
But the more Kalin thrashed, the tighter the possession held on, and in the process, his wounds tore open even more messily.
Every part—head, face, neck, shoulders, forearms, waist, legs.
Kalin, drenched head to toe in crimson blood. He lifted one leg and shoved it against Rag 2's chest with all his might.
However, it was the wrong choice.
The moment Kalin assumed an unstable stance, the possession activated the newly mounted weapon on its torso. Four single-shot pistols.
Bang—! Bang—! Bang—! Bang—!
The single-shot pistols fired without reloading, leaving critical wounds on Kalin's weakened leg, chest, and abdomen amid the gunfire.
Opting for power over repeated use had been a pretty good choice.
Kalin's limp corpse was proof.
"Hm... not bad at all?"
Oliver murmured as he looked down at Kalin's body.
Rag 2 had a somewhat unique appearance compared to the other Corpse Dolls, instilling more fear in opponents, but ironically, it was made from the most ordinary materials.
It was easy to see when compared to the Corpse Dolls of the black mage, Bathory, and Duncan.
That was why it might overwhelm average gangsters, but it struggled against superhumans.
However, this confirmed it.
Throwing a shrunken Corpse Doll at an approaching enemy, releasing the shrink spell, and ambushing—it could produce quite effective results.
'Depending on the Corpse Doll's quality, it could even turn the tables in one shot...'
Oliver satisfactorily recalled the recent fight, searching for improvements.
Assuming multiple opponents or foes with reflexes quick enough to react to attacks.
"But I feel like I forgot something..."
Oliver muttered while looking around, then glanced at his feet and realized what it was.
Albert, swallowed by the amorphous corpse golem.
***
"Ughhh! Blech! Urk—!"
Even long after emerging from the corpse golem, Albert kept vomiting.
It had been only a brief moment, but being buried in a pile of corpses had been hellish.
It was meant to safely transport him to the World Tree control room, but it had backfired unintentionally.
Oliver apologized again.
"I'm truly sorry."
"N-no, it's fine... really..."
Albert was far from fine, but he forced a lie.
When he first emerged from the corpse golem, he'd been so furious he vomited while cursing, but upon seeing the druid corpses—shattered skulls, pierced chests, bodies torn to shreds—and the unscathed Oliver, he quickly quelled his anger... What a broad-minded man.
He staggered along with Oliver's support, and soon they arrived at the central World Tree control room of McCluskey Security Company.
"Hm... Is the World Tree control room usually like this?"
Oliver asked, surveying the massive circular space with the World Tree at its center.
It was completely empty, which felt off.
Traces remained on the walls here and there, as if machinery had been installed for some work before being hastily removed—not empty from the start.
'But there are a lot of traces. Really a lot...'
Traces filling the vast circular space.
Albert sighed and spoke.
"Sigh... It's definitely strange."
"Pardon?"
"Druids, unlike mages, don't use machinery."
Oliver, knowing little about druids, asked why. Albert kindly explained.
"The way they handle the World Tree differs. Mages pay mana to borrow it temporarily, so they use machines for efficiency, but druids don't... They commune directly with it. As much as I hate to admit it, it's superior to mages. Machines would just be a hassle for them, setting aside druid pride and ideology. In that sense, this place is definitely odd."
Having heard the explanation, Oliver nodded in agreement.
There were machine traces everywhere for druid operation, but none now to suggest abandoning tradition.
It looked more like they'd left mid-experiment.
"Whatever it is, we'll have to investigate to find out."
Albert of the Moirae School pulled a wooden stake from his bosom.
Thick enough to barely grip with one hand, covered in bulging knots.
It seemed to be a device for transferring hacked data.
"I'll connect to the World Tree now and transfer its internal data to this stake. I'll be defenseless, so please guard me well."
"Yes, understood."
Oliver replied, scattering stored mana around to monitor the surroundings. Albert infused his mana into the stake from his bosom and jammed it into the World Tree.
Thud!
The mana-dense stake tip pierced the sturdy-looking World Tree instantly, and Albert connected through it.
Oliver focused his eyes to watch closely.
He'd never seen someone else use the World Tree up close like this.
"You've arrived?"
While observing Albert communing with the World Tree via the stake, Oliver spotted Arthur's group at the control room entrance.
They looked much more disheveled than before.
"...You seem unscathed."
Arthur checked Oliver's condition and spoke bluntly. No wonder—Oliver was not only fine but his clothes weren't even that dirty. Just a few wrinkles at most.
"Yes."
"Good then... Did you run into any druids, by chance?"
"I did. Jeffrey, Catal, Finlay, and Kalin. Four of them. How did you know?"
"One of the druids outside told me... Where are they?"
"One exploded into pieces, and the other three are here."
Oliver pointed to the Big Mouth at his waist.
It was badly damaged, but he'd collected it anyway.
Unlike Oliver's calm response, Arthur wore a subtle expression.
What to call it? He'd expected it, but it was still shocking?
Even they, fully equipped and skilled, had struggled to subdue one druid in the forest, yet this black mage, around twenty years old, had taken down four alone.
He couldn't help but be astonished.
Reading Arthur's emotions, Oliver clarified to dispel misunderstandings.
"Just luck."
"Beating four druids in the forest without a scratch and calling it luck? That luck itself is skill."
"Oh, interesting. Forest said something similar... But it was luck. Lots of corpses inside the building favored me. If there were no corpses and we'd fought in an open area near trees, I doubt I'd be unscathed."
Oliver spoke not humbly, but his honest assessment.
The building interior did disadvantage druids somewhat.
They couldn't use earth or wood.
Of course, even accounting for that, Oliver's feats were undeniably impressive. The man himself didn't care.
Ironically, that only impressed Arthur more deeply.
For instance, even if this mission ended well and he led the security bureau, he'd need to maintain good relations with Oliver...
"...Whatever it was, thanks. If Albert got hurt, the whole operation would've derailed."
"It was my job."
"Everyone, take notes. Humility's a virtue that's gone extinct these days... Shame we can't pay success fees due to budget issues."
Arthur joked in his usual hearty tone.
But it was sincere. He truly regretted not paying Oliver.
Reading that, Oliver made a proposal.
"Then, could I request something else instead of money? As success fee?"
Caught off guard, Arthur was mildly surprised but not displeased—quite welcoming, even.
"Something else instead of money... Not asking for the impossible, I hope. What is it? I'll try to make it happen."
Oliver pointed at Albert with his finger. Precisely, the stake Albert had jammed into the World Tree.
"Could I get the info Albert secures too? All of it, nothing left out."
Oliver glanced at the wall traces from numerous machines, curiosity piqued about what had happened here.
***
Six a.m.
Time for everyone except factory workers and shopkeepers to be in bed.
One man rose from bed and showered.
Shhhhhhhh—!
For someone who'd rented out an entire top-tier hotel in Randa, he was unusually diligent. His name: Seamus.
Enjoyment druid, Randa's top former fixer, and the great businessman who'd built the miracle investment firm ABC.
Unlike his usual flashy, debauched image, his mornings started earlier than anyone's.
After showering, he dried his tree-like, tough-muscled body with a towel, applied toner for skin care on face and body, then loaded hair wax on both hands and slicked back his green hair neatly.
Finally, donning a flashy green suit, he exited the suite.
"Awake already?"
Seamus's subordinate Dugan greeted him.
He'd been waiting. Seamus walked the hall with him, starting business talk.
"So, who hit our operation?"
"The city special security bureau."
"If memory serves, they took my money too. Justice comes late?"
The security bureau, born from controversies, was still vaguely defined, but Seamus had paid them handsomely for contingencies.
Yet they'd been raided.
"Yes... But some didn't take the money."
"One who refused struck. Who?"
"A guy named Arthur. One of the team leaders. Moved solo before higher-ups could stop him."
"Lame excuses from incompetents... What's their goal?"
"Officially, wiping out illegal ops run through McCluskey Security. But doesn't seem right."
"ABC?"
Spot on. Seamus grasped it instantly.
Worthy of a fixer who'd succeeded, retired safely, and lived lavishly as a businessman.
"Yes. No evidence yet, but confirmed meetings with interior ministry officials who dislike us. Plus, that Arthur guy—"
"—Enough. It's targeting ABC."
Seamus concluded. With ABC's stock soaring problem-free until now, only one answer fit.
"What about the kids?"
"...All taken down, it seems."
The "kids" Seamus meant were Jeffrey, Catal, etc.—his druid subordinates. Real ones.
Seamus gnashed his teeth in anger and irritation, then spoke.
"Surprising... The security bureau, focused on average combat and organization, taking our kids. They sent a large force?"
"No. Just the team leader and a few underlings."
"Then it's weird."
"They hired a fixer. Dave."
Seamus paused.
"...That guy's everywhere annoyingly. Got a grudge?"
"And Moirae School's cooperating. World Tree hack traces found. Problem?"
"Nah. I hold stock there but no management involvement, so unrelated. Other firms just loans and investments—no direct ties. Ignore."
"No, talking about Eve traces."
Dugan glanced around before continuing.
"...Wiped key info, but as you know, perfect deletion from World Tree's impossible. Left Eve discovery intel just in case—issue?"
"Eh, whatever. Don't worry. What's done is done; they can't do much. Even we druids couldn't extract much—what could fakes?"
Seamus brushed it off lightly, but spot-on. With massive business and projects ongoing, it wasn't worth stressing.
He didn't think Moirae would find anything.
"Focus on urgent matters first. Whether ABC or McCluskey, the black ops they managed will be exposed... Tell the frontmen to shut up and take the fall per contract. If not, show them money and family addresses."
"Yes, sir. Easy enough."
"Good... How's Eve? Returns?"
"Steady. Eve's growing, but harder to control—can't use properly."
Dugan looked troubled, but Seamus didn't care.
Heavy is the crown, right? Same principle.
"Fine. No issue. Wasn't planning immediate use. Just monitor closely... Miraculous find—can't lose it."
"We know, don't worry."
"Good... Contact Craig then."
"Craig? Why suddenly?"
"Need more bait."
"Bait? Target already hit, no?"
Dugan's target: investments into ABC.
Astoundingly, over 1 trillion, nearing 2 trillion.
Astronomical, unfathomable sum.
Yet Seamus wasn't satisfied.
"Yeah, target hit. But daily money piles in... Honestly, blowing a few companies isn't a big deal now. Even splitting profits from ABC inflows, we can run it longer."
"Why call Craig then? Might have to share profits."
"Strike while iron's hot. Won't settle for 2 trillion in world's richest city. Aim for three-four times more. Need bait for that... Call Craig. Let's fleece the world's richest city together."