Chapter 82 Voices of the Chord [1]

Chapter 82 Voices of the Chord [1]

Facing off with David, Oliver couldn't spare any attention to his surroundings.

The David that he remembered was an A ranker. But the current David, in which the Wraith had possessed him was unknown.

'How strong is the Wraith?'

Six years ago, Oliver was only a C Ranker. Now? He was an S- Ranker.

"Hehehe."

Inside the forest, he could hear the sound of children laughing.

'...It must be them.'

Hearing the sound, Oliver's heart started to grow heavy. For some reason, the dolls only contained children?

Why?

'Then... What happened to the missing Rankers?'

"Hurrrrrrr—"

His question was soon resolved, as a huge Wraith Beast emerged from the bush.

Oliver's eyes widened at the sight. He had never seen a Wraith Beast with such thick miasma.

'I see.'

But that was all he needed to know to confirm what exactly transpired.

In other words, they were being fed to Wraith Beasts. The huge Wraith Beast must've greedily consumed most of the Rankers.

Meaning, the beast was at the peak of its strength. Estimating, it was most likely in the A+ category.

Oliver's stomach started to churn as he thought about it.

"Hoo.."

Taking deep breaths, Oliver stepped forward.

There were no other backups, and the Wraith Beasts were currently way too strong for the children behind him.

Oliver had enough of running away.

This time...

It was his turn to protect.

Glancing at Sarah from behind him one more time, Oliver walked forward.:

Looking up, David's eyes were closely following him.

Step—

As soon as he stepped within radius, threads appeared and tried to coil at him.

Snap.

With a snap of his fingers, the threads immediately burned away. At the same time the curse flames dispersed as well.

But from that...

Oliver could tell.

He was definitely stronger than the current David.

However...

"Hurrrrrr—"

The Wraith Beast jumped and appeared to mangle him.

Waving his hand, curse flames materialized in the air. Pushing his palms forward, the flames pierced through the air and struck the Wraith Beast.

BOOM—!

As soon as it did, an explosion resounded in the forest. The curse flames exploded like bombs. Green flames had started to fill the area.

At the same time, threads once again coiled around like snakes.

Noticing, Oliver immediately jumped back. Waving his hand around, each thread would burn and the flames would disperse at the same time.

The flames dispersed right in his face, blocking his view. As soon as the sight was clear, a palm appeared and thrusted in his face.

Thud—!

Oliver skidded back several meters. His face was etched with cuts.

Drip. Drip...!

Blood had started dripping from his face from the cuts.

"Hurrrrrr—"

At the same time, the Wraith Beast yet again, mangled him from the side.

With his quick reflexes, Oliver immediately skidded back several meters.

Snap.

Snapping his fingers, curse flames erupted from the Wraith Beast's foot.

BOOM—!

...Wrong time.

"Huuu..."

He took deep heavy breaths.

And...

Voooosh–!

Curse flames erupted, surrounding him like an aura. With proficient control, the flames didn't touch him, despite being close enough.

His eyes started to glow a neon green color.

With tears in his eyes, Oliver took a step forward.

Step—

***

—Minutes before Oliver entered the forest.

"Brandon."

"What?"

"Come."

Brandon immediately followed suit. Oliver leaned close to whisper.

"Destroy the dolls."

Brandon's eyes shot wide open and his expressions turned grim.

"Why?"

"The Wraith won't die, as long as its soul is still bound somewhere."

"..."

"Inside those dolls..."

Oliver paused for a second. Taking a deep breath, he muttered.

"...Two souls, the children, and the Wraith itself."

A sudden chill bore down on Brandon's spine after hearing those words.

He couldn't respond to that. How could he?

The souls of children were inside of the dolls. And yet Oliver was telling him to murder them.

Brandon clenched his fist.

No, they were already dead the moment the Wraith got to them.

He gritted his teeth.

"Damn it."

After all the people present, why did it have to be him?

As if his thoughts were seemingly read, Oliver added.

"You aren't like Raven Blackheart. I know you're capable of cold logic. I can see it from your eyes."

"..."

"You probably assume some degree of sacrifice is needed to make certain to achieve your goals."

"..."

"Now is that time, Brandon Locke. Please, help me save Everglade. Help me save David."

"...So this was the kind of help you needed."

"I'm sorry..."

"How selfish. You knew this whole time, didn't you?"

Oliver didn't respond. But that silence was all that Brandon needed to confirm.

"You knew and yet..."

Brandon clenched his fist.

"...You fucking let Emma die."

"I didn't know!"

Oliver screamed. Taken aback, all eyes were fixed on him.

Calming down, Oliver pulled Brandon to the side where the others couldn't hear him.

"How was I supposed to fucking know that Emma would become a victim!?"

"Coward. And now you're putting the burden on me."

"We have to do this. More lives will be taken if we don't."

"I know."

Clenching his teeth, Brandon look down. Frowning, he looked up to meet Oliver in the eye.

"Please turn yourself in after all of this is over... If you're even alive that is."