Chapter 346

"Why has it come to this?"

Theodore pondered, gazing at the spear lodged in his arm and the colossal beanstalk sprouting from it.

Despite having faced and battled entities beyond this world, even assimilating some of them, he found himself bewildered by his current predicament.

He had never relaxed his vigilance nor shown any leniency, yet he couldn't comprehend why he was gradually losing ground.

'Is it because this is an exceptional, rare case? ...No, this can't be. I can't be overpowered by such a mere child!'

Despite his youth, Theodore raised his arm, refusing to accept the situation where he was being forced back by Dave, who displayed boundless potential and talent.

Multiple arms sprouted from Theodore's limb, coalescing into massive, tentacle-like formations. His intention was to sweep away his adversaries with a single decisive strike.

Although Dave had astonishingly breached his magical defenses, Theodore believed this to be the limit. By eliminating Dave and severing the beanstalk's connection, he could regain the upper hand.

What had momentarily staggered him was an unexpected maneuver by Dave. However, now that his foundation was laid bare, Dave had no chance of victory.

As Theodore prepared to unleash his tentacle-like arms, Dave stepped forward, devoid of protective magic, and invoked a black magic spell.

[Parasite]

As Dave chanted, the beanstalk transformed.

It writhed with a sinister will, drawing all forms of energy from Theodore's body through its newly formed maw, irrespective of Theodore's will.

Theodore experienced excruciating pain, despite having applied a pain-suppressing formula, and tasted an unfamiliar fear gnawing at him from within.

The body he had cultivated to rival Merlin, to escape death, to confront the apocalypse, and to lead humanity, was crumbling under the influence of a mere black magic spell.

However, what transpired next left Theodore even more shocked.

Dave absorbed the emotions, Life-force, and mana siphoned by the beanstalk and wielded them as weapons against Theodore.

"Gah! ...Choke!"

A different level of shock and agony spread through his body.

'Why to this extent... Is it because it's my emotions and life force? Even then, this is—'

—Snap!

Before he could complete his thoughts, Dave struck him again.

For the first time in a long while, Theodore lost his composure due to sheer pain.

No, it wasn't just the loss of composure; he was descending into terror.

The terror of losing, of dying.

'No... It can't be... This is impossible!'

This terror ignited Theodore's will to survive, triggering the numerous genes of wizards, warlocks, and mana users he had incorporated into his flesh to go into a frenzy.

Limbs sprouted all around Theodore's body, indiscriminately discharging mana into his surroundings.

The will to live within Theodore and the survival instincts encoded in his genes intertwined.

Despite his unleashing of chaotic, uncontrolled attacks, it wasn't a significant problem.

He still possessed an abundance of emotions, Life-force, and mana within him, despite the drain inflicted by the beanstalk.

In fact, the situation had somewhat improved.

Dave and his Corpse dolls were forced to retreat due to Theodore's indiscriminate assaults.

Seizing this opportunity, Theodore concentrated all his power into his fist, seeking to turn the tide.

In that fateful moment, Theodore saw it.

Dave, having harnessed Theodore's emotions, Life-force, and mana, amalgamated these three forces to craft another artificial soul.

Dave had twice achieved what had yet to be accomplished even within the Magic Tower, reinforcing his dark magical armor and swinging his quarterstaff with unparalleled force.

For an instant, the world fell silent, and amidst the torn void and bifurcated lake, Theodore's arm was torn away and vanished.

Only one word echoed in Theodore's mind.

Death.

Overpowering and absolute death.

Death, which nullifies all human endeavor and triumphs, ultimately reducing them to naught but dust.

The curse that God had placed upon humanity.

"No."

When the Corpse doll-Bathory impaled him with a blood-red stake, Theodore's thoughts resounded with a resolute "No."

As Corpse doll-Duncan shattered his flesh with a tonfa, Theodore's internal response remained unwavering, repeating, "No."

When the Corpse doll-Shamus struck his face with a fist infused with the power of nature, Theodore's determination grew stronger, as he thought, "I said no!"

And when Corpse doll-Sniper, blasted a massive hole through his body with a sawed-off shotgun, Theodore's inner scream echoed silently.

He refused to succumb to death.

At that moment, only the genes that Theodore held most vital among the hundreds and thousands transplanted into his body surged towards his core, achieving a fusion greater than any before.

A fusion that transcended the amalgamation of many into one, as though they had always been one from the outset.

The remaining impurities, collected in abundance to enhance his strength, expanded outward, akin to purifying iron by removing its impurities and tempering it.

At over 80 years of age, Theodore ascended to a higher plane, savoring the ecstasy reminiscent of his youth, and detonated on the spot.

The intense agony of his body rupturing.

However, Theodore's consciousness remained clear, even clearer than before.

He couldn't govern his torn flesh, but the earlier ecstasy was genuine; Theodore could manipulate the true fragments of his body, purified of impurities.

Harnessing his increasingly lucid consciousness, Theodore painstakingly reunited his genuine flesh, and when it was nearly whole, he stabbed Dave from behind, catching him off guard.

Just as he had done to his own grandson.

"I... I will not die!"

Exuding confidence in his impending victory, Theodore shouted and even let out a triumphant laugh.

Then, he gazed at Oliver's visage, anticipating a bewildered and terrified expression.

"......"

Contrary to his expectations, his face remained impassive.

He displayed only a faint curiosity, devoid of bewilderment or fear, as if observing something beneath him.

With that curiosity came a rush of all the feelings of inadequacy and injustice he had harbored in the past.

When his friend Merlin was chosen over him for the Archiver position.

When Merlin later regarded him with pity and ceased his human experiments.

The insurmountable chasm between him and the elusive Archiver.

The years that passed in vain, failing to achieve even half of his objectives.

The looming, inexorable specter of death.

The fate of mortals endowed with finite lifespans.

The paradoxical and unjust destiny that encroached upon the world of humanity.

In that moment, Theodore experienced all the overwhelming injustice and resentment he had felt back then, condensed into a single instant.

For an instant, he even believed it was due to the being before him and attempted to infuse Dave's being with his own emotions and Life-force, driven by profound rage and hatred.

Just as he had done to his grandson.

The curiosity of whether that poker face would endure after being consumed intrigued Theodore greatly.

Even beings like him ultimately unveiled their darkest depths when confronted with death.

To absorb Dave, Theodore delved into his innermost self, plunged into his memories, and descended further, seeking to access his essence.

He entered an endless, eerie, and unfathomable darkness.

Yet, soon Theodore recognized something even more unsettling at the deepest recesses of that obscurity.

It gazed back at him.

Gazed back at him.

Gazed upon him.

Him.

Himself.

***

"......!!"

Theodore, who had precisely thrust his hand into Oliver's back, suddenly withdrew it and let out a silent scream.

His emotions, initially fueled by an unwavering will to survive, were swiftly engulfed by fear and dread, shattering his sanity. Within his body, the vast reserves of mana, emotions, and life force seemed to fragment, each struggling to unravel.

"Gah ......!!"

Oliver clutched his chest, where there should have been a gaping hole, observing Theodore's frenzied state.

While no physical void appeared, as it had when Theodore consumed his own grandson, the sensation remained etched in Oliver's memory.

Theodore sought to inject refined, high-quality emotions and life force into Oliver, aiming to absorb not just his physical freedom but also his consciousness.

As Theodore intruded into Oliver's mind, a glimpse of his thoughts and an understanding of the reasons behind his actions flickered across Oliver's consciousness. He also briefly glimpsed Theodore's vast pool of knowledge and memories.

It was akin to a swift perusal of a book, brief yet informative.

As Oliver delved into Theodore's memories and knowledge, he found himself drawn into Theodore's inner world, reaching for the deepest recesses of his memories and essence. In that moment, he pulled back his hand, retreating into an unfamiliar state.

The emotions, mana, and life force he had absorbed began to disentangle and fluctuate wildly, causing him to lose his rationality and plunge into madness.

He couldn't fathom why this was happening or what he had glimpsed.

He pondered if it had any connection to entities from beyond this world.

'The problem is that I don't know what it is...'

Oliver contemplated asking, but seeing Theodore's descent into madness, he deemed it a futile endeavor.

Given their strained relationship, prying information from him seemed improbable.

More than anything, he was intrigued to continue observing this bewildering state.

'That state of madness... it feels familiar somehow...'

While Oliver studied Theodore's bizarre condition, he noticed something peculiar.

Theodore's body, which had ruptured and subsequently regenerated, appeared to be tearing itself apart once more due to the erratic fluctuations of emotions, life force, and mana. In a manner reminiscent of his battle with Puppet in the underground basement of the contaminated zone, portions of Theodore's flesh attempted to break free, adopting human forms.

However, due to prolonged fusion or incomplete genetic integration, most of them struggled to escape. Even those that did only crumbled and sank beneath the surface of the lake.

It was during this chaos that Oliver spotted a familiar entity struggling to break free.

It was Theodore's grandson Carl who fused before Oliver's eyes.

Like his grandfather, he too had succumbed to irrationality, desperately attempting to free himself from Theodore's body.

"Ugh... save... me...!"

The Corpse dolls, who had returned to their original positions, seemed poised to attack, but Oliver hesitated momentarily, raising his hand to stop them. He approached Theodore alone.

Utilizing Ptah's Assistant, a mana-based mechanical arm, around Theodore, Oliver equipped himself with a similar glove and began a surgical procedure to separate Theodore from Carl, employing the knowledge he had recently acquired from Theodore.

Although his inexperience made the procedure rough, numerous mechanical arms moved with intricate precision to untangle the entwined forms of Theodore and Carl. While the separation was not perfect, Oliver eventually succeeded.

The Corpse dolls and others in the vicinity appeared perplexed by Oliver's inexplicable actions, tilting their heads in confusion.

They were not the only ones left bewildered.

"Why did you save him?" Oliver turned toward the source of the voice, finding Gretel hovering in the air through the use of mana.

"I wanted to hit him... and I have something to say."