3. The Chosen Child (3)
a few hours ago.
With a generous table in between, Oliver and Joseph looked into each other’s eyes.
“Do you think you should eat this food?”
Oliver thought for a moment and shook his head.
“no.”
“why?”
“that is····. It’s a little hard to explain.”
“Then explain it in a difficult way.”
“Uh…, um…, the light was weird.”
“light?”
“Yes, so. emotion. When I’m angry, it flashes and fluctuates, and when I’m sad, it fades and roars. I tremble when I am afraid.”
“By the way?”
“That man-”
“-The innkeeper?”
“Yes, the light of the innkeeper. It was slightly twisted.”
“What is twisting?”
“I don’t know either. I’ve only seen it a few times. The supervisor showed that kind of light before he took me to the mine and when I put him on a dangerous job.”
“You mean that kind of light when you tell a lie?”
“uh···. Yes, I think so.”
At Oliver’s answer, Joseph nodded satisfied.
“Why did the kind innkeeper lie to us?”
“I don’t know.”
“The reason is obvious. It’s because there’s a purpose. For example, this delicious food is mixed with sleeping pills. Then they eat and kill us while we sleep to extort things.”
It wasn’t a pleasant story by any means, but Joseph seemed a little excited. It’s like reminiscing about childhood memories.
“Well then, what should we do?”
“uh····. Aren’t you eating?”
“It is not. Then, the innkeeper will notice what we noticed. Rather, you should pretend to be deceived and be vigilant. remember That cleverness is important to a warlock.”
Oliver nodded his head as usual. I wondered if I had understood correctly, but Joseph didn’t bother to ask. Instead, a test tube was pulled out of its arms.
Oliver’s eyes lit up slightly as he looked at the test tube.
A test tube sealed with a black stopper contained a black liquid. It was black and thick like tar, and I could see it wriggling like a living creature.
“it···. black…. Emotions, right?”
Oliver asked.
“·······. okay. right. Condensed emotions.”
“How did you do it?”
Oliver’s eyes gleamed with greed. When Joseph saw such an Oliver, he said as a warning.
“·····. Don’t rush too much. It’s not something you can learn yet. Instead, I’ll show you something more interesting. Be lucky.”
With those words, Joseph unplugged the test tube. When the stopper was opened, the liquid churned even more, and Joseph placed his hand over it.
When the hand was raised, the liquid calmed down, and then a strand of thread was pulled out. Its appearance was reminiscent of a spinning machine, and the yarn that had been pulled circulated around Joseph’s hand and soon began to change back to light.
Thread from liquid and back light.
Oliver watched the sight, astonishing and strange, silently. No, it was more than just watching.
From the moment Joseph opened the lid, everything seemed slow, like a slow video, and I instinctively understood it all. Principles, mechanisms, and even tricks.
It was the moment when the theories that I had built up in my imagination while coming here were proven.
The black color could be changed according to the purpose, and it could be processed into something new.
“Come out. Eater.”
Joseph whispered into the black light.
With him, the black light fluctuated and twisted, united into one, and then began to expand.
“This·····?”
said Oliver, looking at the orb floating in the air. It was the size of a human head, but Oliver, out of curiosity, reached out his hand towards the sphere without realizing it. Is it similar to a child who sees fire for the first time and puts his hand on it?
Just before Oliver’s hand touched the sphere, one side of the sphere clenched open. And through the gap, a huge, red tongue and white teeth appeared.
Such a huge mouth was created in the air.
“Ether. A scavenger hunt I created. It wasn’t originally intended for this, but it’s going to be used like this… Eat all the food.”
With Joseph’s words, Eater began to devour the food on the table. He licked his tongue all the way to the bottom and ate it clean, and Oliver was amazed at that.
Black magic… It was really fun.
“Are you curious?”
“·····. Yes.”
“Then stay awake and don’t sleep tonight. Maybe we can see something more interesting.”
And that was true.
***
“one.”
Joseph went out the door and said. The frightened innkeeper screamed in vain and got up from his seat and began to run away.
“Hey hey!”
“two.”
Joseph didn’t mind and pulled the thread out of the tube again. The thread turned into light again, and the light condensed in an instant and turned into a bullet-like shape.
It all happened in just a second or two. Joseph pointed at the fleeing employee and said.
“three. Hat Bullet.”
A ball of light flew along with the chant and pierced the employee’s back. It was so powerful that a hole the size of a marble was made, and the employee could not even scream and died as it was.
Joseph looked at it indifferently, then shrugged his shoulders as if for a walk and walked down. Oliver followed Joseph downstairs with him.
Considering safety, it would have been better to stay in the room as if dead, but I couldn’t do it because of my curiosity and desire to explore.
I had to watch it to the end. It felt like a mission.
“Hey, it’s still out of my imagination.”
Joseph sees something and mutters.
Oliver looked over Joseph’s shoulder to the first floor of the inn. What caught his eye was a naked guest… No, it was a corpse who was a guest and a middle-aged woman carrying the corpse.
The fat innkeeper looked at Joseph and Oliver with a puzzled expression.
“uh? uh? Are you sure you want to eat?”
“I’m a bit cautious, so I don’t eat anything.”
Joseph, like a gentleman, answered the woman’s words and then reached out.
“Hat Bullet.”
The bullet of hate that flew with Young Chang pierced the middle-aged woman’s head and chest at once.
“Hey-!”
An employee, who was mopping next to him and removing the bloodstains, panicked and ran into the kitchen. Joseph walked leisurely to chase after him, but Oliver followed suit, maintaining a reasonable distance.
It was so much fun. Because you can shoot emotions like bullets with black magic… It felt like a dream I had dreamed of came true. It really wasn’t that interesting.
As Joseph was walking towards the kitchen, an employee who had run away came out. He came out with the shotgun he usually uses at the inn and aimed it at Joseph.
Oliver thought for a moment. You have to spread your emotions wide and block them like a shield. As if I had known from the beginning, an image was drawn in my head, but to my surprise, Joseph opened a curtain larger than a human using the black light he wore on his hand.
“Aww! Search!”
“Black Shield.”
bang–! A loud gunshot rang out. However, they were all helplessly blocked by the wide black shroud.
Bullets shot from close range were blocked so futilely, the employee looked possessed by a ghost. But this was a fatal mistake.
“Hat Bullet.”
Joseph fired bullets of hatred with no mercy. Bubbly-! With the sound, the employee with holes in his chest and stomach collapsed.
It was beautiful! From weird creatures to bullets and shields… Everything Oliver had thought of, and what he could not have imagined, has come true.
How can this be expressed…? Yes, it was a creative wonder where a clay doll made for fun came to life.
“tt. Knowing how to treat customers properly when doing this business is the first virtue… Even this is stupid.”
Joseph muttered as he approached the fallen corpse. Then, suddenly, he muttered as if he remembered it too late.
“By the way, it’s all five, isn’t it…?”
With those words, Oliver turned his head to the basement without realizing it. At that moment, our eyes met. The last employee who just came up from the basement.
Sweaty as if carrying a heavy load, he found the body of his mistress, made a stupid expression, and then rushed to his feet with blood.
“You bastard!”
He was more terrifying than the inspector of the coal mine. In addition, the butcher’s knife in his hand was sharp as if he was going to cut through anyone, but above all else, the light emanating from his body shook more passionately than anyone Oliver had ever seen. He was sure to die if caught.
So was Oliver afraid? No, it wasn’t. Rather, it was the opposite.
Oliver reached out. It was not taught by anyone, but instinctively he stretched out his hand. Then, the angry employee’s emotions were extracted and brought back.
The black light moving under Oliver’s hand was amazing, but it was difficult for me to explain how it was done.
Yes, to be honest, it was like walking. can do it at any moment. It was the realm of talent that Joseph spoke of.
heartbeat… heartbeat… heartbeat…
His cold heart moved quietly, and he concentrated all his nerves on his hands. Immediately, an employee was running a few steps away, but he wasn’t nervous or afraid.
Oliver only cares about the emotions in his hands. Oliver painted the image in his mind.
Like Joseph, he condensed his fluctuating emotions. Faster, more sophisticated.
As time passed slowly, Oliver’s eyes could see the process of emotional change.
The fiery passion found stability in Oliver’s hand, and its form changed as he had imagined.
Oliver made his hands into the shape of a gun. Bullets of hate gathered at the tip of his finger. After that, I left everything to my instincts.
Ready. aiming. percussion.
“Hat Bullet.”
The bullets of hatred that were on his fingertips along with the chant flew and pierced the employee’s chest. There was a hole the size of a fist with the sound of a pop, and the employee died with only his eyes wide open. Only silence as heavy as lead filled the inn.
“········.”
Oliver stared at his hand. Recalling the feeling of using black magic for the first time, feeling the afterglow…
Someone quietly placed a hand on Oliver’s head. That was Joseph. He gently stroked Oliver’s head with a look of great admiration.
“That’s it.”
***
Oliver followed Joseph down to the basement. In the basement were piles of stolen goods and stolen goods.
Expensive coats, pants and shoes. In addition, various watches, wallets, belts, and wedding rings were packed in the box.
“hahaha····. They worked really hard.”
Joseph pulled a pocket out of his pocket. The pockets made of yellowish leather had tooth-like zippers, which were a bit unpleasant, like little creatures.
“Take it all.”
As soon as Joseph’s words ran out, clumsy hands and feet sprouted from his pockets, and he began to devour the fetters.
After seeing that the pockets were collecting the belongings, Joseph approached Oliver and talked to him.
“What do you see?”
“Ah, just…. Why do you want to collect this?”
Oliver said looking at the packed corpses and piles of blood packs. Rather than fear, there was only pure curiosity.
“To sell on the black market. There is nothing to buy and nothing to sell. You may be able to use it in the future.”
“Am I?”
“Yeah, warlocks inevitably use the black market. Don’t you want to become a warlock?”
Oliver shook his head. Rather, I wanted to be It’s fun and weird, isn’t it?
Joseph placed his hand on Oliver’s head once more. It was a very friendly move.
“Why do you think I bought you?”
Oliver didn’t answer. I heard a lot of interesting stories about how to use emotions and what black magic was, but I didn’t know why Joseph bought him. Well, of course I wasn’t interested.
“My goal is to train an excellent warlock. That’s why we’re gathering talented kids.”
“Yes?”
“It is what you hear. So, do you know why the goal is to train a good warlock?”
Oliver shook his head.
“To survive. If you live as a warlock, you will naturally be persecuted and threatened by the world. The only way to survive is to become stronger. And I am nurturing talented people to become strong.”
Oliver didn’t quite understand, but he just nodded.
“But nurturing talented people is not easy. It’s hard to find talented kids, and there’s no education system like priests, paladins, or wizards. You must bear all the effort and expenses required for education. Do you know how difficult this is?”
Oliver nodded mechanically.
“Needless to say, I am very lucky to have caught my eye like that. However, it is absolutely not for me to raise talent for free. It needs a price commensurate with that good fortune.”
“·····. I have no money?”
“I don’t need money. You don’t need something higher than that. That is, taking me as a teacher and master, obeying and being loyal.”
Oliver saw the light. The pulsing light in Joseph’s body, the desire. Oliver understood the light and immediately bowed his head.
“I will obey. master.”