Chapter 340

"Of course."

Upon receiving the response, Oliver swiftly harnessed his vital energy and emotions to invoke his black magic.

[Revive]

[Muscle Up]

[Object Hate]

The transmuted Life-force and emotions coursed seamlessly but swiftly into the lifeless bodies suspended on the wall. These cadavers were infused with newfound vitality, which they used to augment their muscular strength.

"Kyahhaa!"

"Kuhahahah!"

"Kyahahah!"

Their numbers easily exceeded a dozen, signifying that numerous wizards had met their demise within this space.

The zombies, fueled by an intense hatred induced by the [Object Hate] spell targeting Carl and Theodore, harnessed their artificially augmented muscles to break free from their restraints. They swarmed the two like an enraged mob.

The impact of Oliver's black magic had far-reaching consequences, possibly due to these creatures harboring genuine grudges.

'Of course, they're not people who could be finished off this easily.'

Oliver pondered, considering Theodore's innate mana, the intricate flow of his magic, and Carl's exceptional skills.

As expected, the two defenders erected magical barriers and began countering the onslaught of furious zombies with flames and explosions.

However, this was of secondary concern to Oliver. His primary objective was to buy time.

'Derick and Felix... and those who are still alive.'

With this goal in mind, Oliver drew upon a substantial reserve of emotions from a prepared test tube and initiated his black magic by placing his hands on the ground.

[Bless]

This was an original black magic spell that had been demonstrated by Marie in the past. As Oliver chanted, the extracted emotions took on a misty, luminous form and swept throughout the entire building.

With this spell, Oliver gained control over the building itself.

Chirak, chirak, chirak, chirak.

Once he had secured this control, he employed bricks to stabilize the fallen Derick, Felix, and the wizards suspended on the walls. He then proceeded to remove the exterior walls of the entire floor, leaving the building open and allowing the attached wizards to descend naturally.

Boom!

A massive explosion of fire erupted, reducing dozens of zombies that had been relentlessly pounding on the magical barrier around Carl and Theodore to ashes or explosive remnants.

The acrid odor of burnt corpses and billowing black smoke filled the air, but fortunately, the wind quickly dispersed them due to the removal of the exterior walls.

As the smoke cleared, an enraged Carl and a intrigued Theodore came into view.

Despite the unexpected assault from the enraged horde of zombies, neither of them exhibited injuries or signs of panic.

It was somewhat surprising.

While Oliver hadn't employed magic to harm them, their resilience was noteworthy. This was an ambush that, depending on its execution, could pose a significant threat even to skilled individuals. Oliver couldn't help but be impressed.

"Don't keep ignoring people—" Carl began to express his frustration but was interrupted by a calming touch from Theodore.

Remarkably, Carl, known for his arrogance and mastery of blending emotions and mana, quickly subdued himself. Much like Yareli, he seemed psychologically reliant on his protector, albeit to a greater extent.

While Yareli's connection to Tilda was maintained by a few metaphorical chains, Carl's bond to Theodore was a complex web of intertwining chains.

The scenario reminded Oliver of the master-disciple relationships he had seen within warlock families.

Theodore broke the silence with genuine curiosity, "Interesting."

It wasn't a mere observation; he meant it.

In contrast to the information he had received from Kevin, he found Oliver, a solver and a personal staff member for the professor, intriguing. There was also a hint of greed in his interest.

"What do you find interesting?"

"Your ability to free wizards who have nothing to do with you. You should have attacked instead, it would have been more effective in many ways."

Oliver nodded in agreement.

When Oliver found himself surrounded by dozens of zombies, covering Theodore and Carl, he contemplated whether a more direct assault might have been more efficient.

Creating a corpse golem using the zombies or triggering a corpse explosion could have potentially created an opening to breach the magical barrier. However, Oliver had his reasons for not pursuing these aggressive tactics.

"Professor Kevin told me to evacuate Derick and Felix."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, I am the professor's personal staff member. And I admire him."

"What do you admire?"

"His attitude... Didn't you mention earlier about Professor Kevin's past? I thank you for that, irrespective of my personal feelings. It made me realize once again how amazing Professor Kevin is."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, isn't he amazing? He never forgets past grudges but also fully carries out his duties and responsibilities... He even shows pity and sympathy to Magic Tower students who hold grudges... Very interesting and remarkable."

Theodore chuckled with an air of indifference, but Oliver paid no mind. He had never sought external validation for the values he held. If he found something impressive and beautiful, that was sufficient for him.

"Such a naive story, evaluating a dog trained by its environment and food that way."

"I may not think that way, but I won't oppose your opinion either."

Theodore raised an eyebrow at Oliver's dispassionate tone. "...You seem to have something against me. Is that right?"

"Um... Were you involved in the experiments that took place at Mattel? I'm talking about the Reincarnation Project."

"I was not just involved; I commanded the project."

"Ah, then I do hold a grudge. I'd like to beat you up, along with Mr. Carl."

Oliver candidly expressed his desire, harboring a genuine wish to confront them.

At this point, Carl, who had been struggling to contain his anger, erupted.

"You insolent brat! How dare you say that to..."

With that, he unleashed his potent mana, merging it with his wrathful emotions, and directed it at Oliver in the form of a thunderbolt.

A menacing bolt of black lightning hurtled toward Oliver, who narrowly evaded it. This thunderbolt was noticeably more advanced than the one Carl had used during their initial encounter. Back then, its blend of mana and emotions had been weak, making it easy for Oliver to neutralize. However, the current attack was on a different level.

'Could his skills have improved this much in such a short time? This is serious. I have to watch out for him too...'

As Oliver pondered this, his gaze shifted to Theodore, who stood behind Carl. Theodore displayed no immediate desire to engage in combat with Oliver, yet he emitted an eerie and suspicious aura, hinting at an underlying purpose.

With that in mind, Oliver opted to deal with Carl using minimal force while refraining from deploying his more potent abilities. According to Kevin, Theodore was a true expert, and the slightest mistake could result in irreversible consequences.

"How dare you ignore me again?! Let's see if you can ignore this too!"

Carl voiced his anger, molding the lightning coursing through the air into a sphere of dark electricity. He increased the internal pressure, triggering an explosive release.

[Rage Burst Thunder]

Accompanied by a battle cry, the distorted lightning and emotions of fury burst forth, striking haphazardly in all directions. Such indiscriminate attacks posed a greater threat to Oliver than targeted ones.

In the end, Oliver summoned a protective barrier using his blood magic.

[Blood Curtain]

Although the blood-made barrier appeared thin, its effectiveness was undeniable.

Blood magic, in all its forms, was an amalgamation of emotion and mana. It was relatively easier to defend against compared to techniques like explosive thunder.

Furthermore, owing to the peculiar properties of both blood and electricity, the shield not only successfully protected Oliver but also absorbed a portion of the explosive thunder.

"A little trick...!" Carl acknowledged as he recognized the intricacies of blood magic. He transitioned to hand-to-hand combat, favoring raw power over finesse.

Carl combined his rage and mana to manifest a menacing black greatsword, charging forward.

Employing the alignment of pure mana, he executed a technique renowned for its sheer physical force.

Carl, with legs transformed in a chimera-like manner, moved with astonishing speed. In response, Oliver instinctively harnessed his blood magic, fueled by the blood that had previously absorbed the thunder's energy.

[Impalement]

The blood holding the residual thunder solidified into a substantial mass, thrusting forth like a lethal stake.

Thud—Bang!

The concentrated force of the blood stake, which even pierced cleanly through the ceiling without fracturing, was impressively blocked by Carl's formidable greatsword. While Oliver was pushed back due to the caster's insufficient power, he managed to avoid being impaled.

Undeniably, Carl displayed remarkable resilience.

Unsatisfied with merely deflecting the blood stake, Carl continued his charge while twisting his greatsword, viciously cutting into the side of the blood projectile.

Whack! Whack! Whack! Whack!

The blood stake, now fragmented and out of Oliver's control, fell impotently to the ground, leaving a crimson stain. Simultaneously, a barrage of blade-like projectiles headed toward Oliver.

Quickly, Oliver touched the ground and employed "Bless" to assert his control over the building. He created a hole beneath his feet, intending to escape through it.

Whoosh—

The obsidian blade narrowly missed its mark, slicing through empty space.

Carl, filled with exhilaration, shouted, "This rat-like guy...!"

In response, he raised his greatsword to strike the floor.

[Needle]

As Carl raised his greatsword, Oliver opened a small aperture in the floor of the lower level, aiming a needle-shaped blood projectile at Carl.

Though not a particularly potent technique, it caught Carl off guard. Once again, he used his magical greatsword as a shield to ward off the attack.

Observing his predicament, Oliver skillfully manipulated the building he had under control. He generated a pillar above Carl's head and forcefully dropped it.

"What the...?!"

Carl, who had been concentrating on frontal assaults, was taken aback by the descending pillar. He tumbled down to the lower floor along with the crumbling ground.

Oliver couldn't help but feel that while Carl possessed significant mana and decent control, his ability to utilize these assets effectively seemed somewhat lacking. Most individuals maintained a harmonious balance between these elements, but Oliver opted not to dwell on this observation. Instead, he channeled all his remaining blood into an aggressive onslaught against Carl.

Theodore had been closely monitoring the situation, so it made sense to subdue Carl first.

A substantial quantity of blood transformed into crescent-shaped blades under Oliver's magical manipulation, poised to slice through Carl, who struggled to react in time.

However, at that critical moment, a colossal fist burst through the ceiling like lightning, shattering the blood-formed blades. This massive fist appeared to harbor immense mana, but Oliver sensed the intricate workings of a complex spell, as if numerous wizards had combined their efforts.

Oliver's blood magic was nullified, not solely due to insufficient power.

"Hah, Grandfather?" Carl's voice quivered as he called out to Theodore.

Ignoring Carl, Theodore descended to where Oliver stood.

"Why only use blood magic? Isn't your specialty mixing emotions and mana?" Theodore questioned as if he were privy to all of Oliver's abilities.

Well, Oliver had openly employed this technique a few times during his confrontation with Shamus.

"What's with that arm?" Oliver pointed at Theodore's arm, which was retracting and shrinking back into his body. It was a perplexing sight, leaving Oliver to wonder whether it was mana or black magic at play.

"I asked first," Theodore retorted, asserting his right to an answer.

With a sigh, Oliver apologized, "Ah... Sorry. I just didn't see the need to use it. I had blood as well."

While it may have sounded like he utilized whatever was available, there was a measure of truth to it, not just empty boasting.

"Moreover, mixing emotions and mana is not my specialty. It's a powerful technique, though," Oliver continued, hoping to receive a proper answer in return. "It was something I ended up using successfully, not really a specialty."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Will you answer my question now?"

"Go ahead. Curious about my arm?"

Theodore readily acquiesced, a stark contrast to Kevin's previous explanation. Oliver couldn't help but wonder why.

"Um... I am, but something else is more curious. How did Mr. Carl mix emotion and mana? As far as I know, it's a very difficult technique. Did you research it under the School of Life Magic?" Oliver inquired, recalling Merlin's past explanations.

"Close. Rather than developing the technique, I injected the blood of someone who could use it."

".....??"

Oliver tilted his head in confusion. He was aware of only one individual who could blend pure emotion and mana without the need for an intermediary like blood.

Namely, himself.

"Could it be..."

"Yes. Your blood. You shed a few drops when you fought our researchers."

"Ah..."

Oliver let out a resigned sigh. The three wizards he had faced in Mattel were formidable individually and displayed impressive coordination. His victory had only been possible because the opposition had let their guard down.

"I injected that blood into this boy," Theodore declared, placing his hand on Carl's shoulder as Carl attempted to rise.

Carl emitted a mixture of burden, fear, and guilt under Theodore's touch.

"Hah, Grandfather. I apologize for disappointing you."

"No, it's fine. I never had any expectations for you in the first place."

"...Pardon?" Carl questioned Theodore, his doubt evident.

Never had any expectations?

Theodore didn't provide an immediate response; instead, he pierced Carl's back with the knife in his other hand before delivering his final words: "I never had any expectations for you. Not even once."