Chapter 36

36. Crisis? (2)

Snap! Snap! Snap! Snap!

Oliver moved along, following Marie's hand, his eyes closed due to the aftereffects of the flashbang.

Fortunately, he had shielded his eyes with his arm, so his vision returned after a short while.

When he opened his eyes, all he could see were the damp stone walls, puddles of water, scurrying rats, and Marie supporting him.

"…Marie?"

"Yes, Master!"

"How did we…?"

"I apologize for disobeying your order to escape. I will accept my punishment after we safely get out of here, so please overlook it for now."

Oliver gauged her emotions and could tell she was sincere.

She was genuinely remorseful for not following his command, without any pretense.

Despite the fact that she had ultimately saved his life.

"…How did you get here?"

"I couldn't leave you behind and escape alone, so I followed later. I found out the location from the apothecary and received a map of the sewers and some supplies."

Ah, I see. So the flashbang earlier was also provided by the apothecary.

Did he foresee this situation?

"Still, we were lucky. Meeting you just as I arrived… It must have been divine intervention."

It was an ironic statement. A black magician being helped by a god… Is that even possible?

Oliver recalled the mysterious entity he had seen at Joseph's secret altar.

Something formed from entwined corpses.

"A horse-riding old man…"

"Yes?"

"Never mind… It's nothing. Anyway, you took a big risk."

"…I will accept my punishment as soon as we get out."

"No, thank you. For saving me."

At his words, Marie's eyes widened, and her face turned red, even her ears turning red.

"We need to take this side road."

Marie stopped and turned into a side alley.

"Here…?"

"The Wineham sewers are complex due to several unauthorized developments. If we take a few twists and turns, they won't be able to follow us."

"…I'm not so sure about that."

Oliver focused his eyes and confirmed that several paladins were chasing them from various directions.

They seemed to know the sewer layout well and were closing in.

"If we go this way, we'll run into them soon. Is there another way?"

Oliver stopped Marie and asked.

Marie quickly checked the map.

"Ah, then… this way!"

Oliver followed Marie's lead.

Fortunately, they managed to avoid one crisis, but they were not completely out of danger.

Every time they thought they had put some distance between them, another group of paladins would close in.

If this continued, they would eventually be caught.

A more aggressive approach was needed.

"Marie, do you have any more emotions left? I've almost used mine up."

"Yes, I brought one."

Marie took out a test tube.

Oliver took it and focused his eyes. There were a total of 10 people coming, divided into five groups. Fortunately, the paladins were at the back, following their comrades.

It wasn't a bad idea, but it meant he was at the back.

Oliver extracted the emotion and cast a spell similar to the 'Obedience' he had seen before on the rats scurrying around.

Squeak! Squeak!

Fortunately, it wasn't a very draining spell. He continued to cast it on the rats he saw while running, forming a small group.

Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

"What… is this?"

"Rats. They should buy us some time."

With that, Oliver stopped and cast another spell on the rats staring at him.

[Fighting Spirit]

The rats, now emboldened by the spell, split into five groups and charged at the approaching enemies, following Oliver's hand signals.

As expected, they would buy some time, even if only for a short while. For Oliver, that was enough.

"Marie!"

Oliver started running with Marie, moving so fast that he was almost out of breath, but he didn't neglect his preparations.

Six Hay Bullet shots and three Black Javelin shots.

After turning a corner, he saw three paladins stamping on the rats in confusion. Oliver immediately fired six Hay Bullet shots.

"Damn!"

They deployed their shields to defend, and as expected, the hate-filled bullets were blocked. Undeterred, Oliver threw a Black Javelin at each of them.

The Black Javelins, with their piercing effect, penetrated the shields and inflicted damage, allowing Oliver and Marie to escape.

Everything flowed smoothly. Marie, filled with admiration, said,

"Amazing!"

"No, they seem to be converging on us. Can we escape through this passage?"

"Yes, Master! There's a way to the surface, and we can hide there safely."

"Good. Then…"

Oliver started creating several minions to slow down the pursuit, giving them Hay Bullet, Laser Boom, and Creepy Scream to act as mines on the ground.

"Maybe we can buy some time."

"Ah…"

Marie exclaimed happily.

"Let's turn here to get outside… Huh?"

After running for a while and turning the final corner, Marie's eyes widened.

The passage leading outside was blocked by a massive iron door.

"This…"

Marie stared at the unusually large iron door, dumbfounded.

Oliver knocked on the door, and by the sound, it seemed very thick.

"Hmm…"

He was at a loss.

With the emotions he currently had, he couldn't break through such a solid iron door. Even if he extracted Marie's emotion, using such a powerful black magic in this enclosed space would be dangerous, as they would be caught in the blast.

In short, they were like mice trapped in a bottle.

As if to confirm this, a terrifying scream and a small explosion echoed.

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