The Villain is Too Good at Sniping - Chapter 116
Only Noblemtl
Episode 116. Puppet (4)
“who are you……?”
I lowered the gun I was aiming at. I could sense a faint magical energy from the child, but my [Aura] did not react when I saw the child.
A child who is only an elementary school student.
But this is not a place for a child. Before panicking, [The Watcher’s Eye] read the child. Just like the wizards I had seen on my way here, this child was also under a brainwashing spell.
I grabbed the dagger, put the blade away, and moved forward.
“…What are you doing here?”
The moment I took a step forward, the little boy flinched. It was only then that I realized how I had come to this place.
“They said a scary person was coming.”
“dread?”
“Yes. A scary person is coming to get me. He told me to run away from here quickly.”
He took off the mask he had been wearing until then. He put away his Glock and put it in his holster. He also put the dagger into the subspace.
“I came to save you. Look. You’re not scared anymore, are you?”
I approached the kid completely naked. The kid’s steps, which had been retreating, stopped.
“Do you want to get out of here together?”
“No.”
A firm answer came.
“Tell me why not, kid?”
“Father… … .”
At that moment, my [sense] reacted.
I tried to suppress the hatred boiling inside me. I suppressed my feelings and asked without showing it.
“Is your father here?”
“Stay inside. Right now, you can’t come out.”
“This is a big deal.”
“I can’t go alone. My father must come with me… … .”
My hand touched the little boy’s shoulder.
The child doesn’t know anything. He doesn’t know how long he’s been brainwashed, and he doesn’t know how long he’s been living here.
However, this child thinks of Eltus as his father. Of course, this is nonsense.
Eltus’s body had long since died, and if he had children, they would have grown up long ago. Eltus disguised himself as the child’s parent, probably using an avatar he had been using.
It seems that they only did the bare minimum of brainwashing on the child for the sake of natural camouflage. If they did anything too blatant, it would have been obvious from the ivory tower.
“Can you show me your father?”
“Father?”
“Yeah. You need help. If I help you, you can get out of here.”
I don’t know how far my story will go, but I asked anyway.
“… he will be inside.”
The little boy, who had been thinking for a moment, pointed to the inner door with one hand.
“Father, I’ll help you. Can you go out that door by yourself? Just wait a moment.”
“Father… … .”
“Don’t worry, Father, I will help you.”
“yes…….”
The hesitant little boy silently climbed the stairs. I briefly looked at his back until he disappeared, then went to the inner door he had pointed to.
The door was locked. There was no defensive spell, so I broke the door down and went in.
And inside the door, I saw the body of Eltus submerged in water.
A terrible stench stung my nose. The main body connected by the pipes was not in the shape of a human being. Floating in the fish tank was a human brain with all sorts of mechanical devices attached to it.
“…What is this, Eltus?”
I pointed my gun at it.
A brain in a barrel that can’t resist at all. Eltus’s body was more miserable and fleeting than I had thought. If I just pull the trigger, Eltus will die on the spot.
The appearance is completely different from the original Eltus that I remember, and it is hard to believe that he is the same person.
I don’t know why he brainwashed the child. It seems he was trying to disguise himself as the child’s parent, but if you know the Eltus that I know, there must have been another purpose.
On the desk was a pad that looked like it was probably used by Eltus. I wondered if it would require hacking, but there were no security measures in place.
I realized why. There was no need to do it in the first place. In order to achieve perfect camouflage, Eltus didn’t even put in the usual security measures. It would have been an unreadable document anyway.
In any case, infiltrating this lab would have been nearly impossible, and the avatars were so similar to humans that they could even fool the ivory tower.
In fact, Eltus created Adam together with the wizards of the ivory tower, and in the process, he succeeded in thoroughly hiding his identity.
Encrypted files on the pad.
But this kind of encryption doesn’t work on me, who knows the original information. I’ve seen it several times, and I’ve even seen the interpretation.
I read the letters converted into anagrams.
[This child is particularly susceptible to magic. After he has grown up enough, he will be brought to the Association… … .]
Even though I only skimmed through the middle, the content was clear.
Although Eltus directly refers to the Association, it is obvious that he is not referring to the Hunter Association.
There was no need to read it all the way through. All the journals here must not be left behind. They must not be recovered by the Mine Association, nor must they fall into the hands of the ivory tower.
I threw the pad away. I took out the oil cans I had stored in the subspace and poured them all over the area.
-This is Eltus, the director of the Berhan Institute.
Although he is now just a brain in a can, Eltus later appeared with a proper body.
It appeared as a human body, not an avatar. It was the appearance of the mad scientist Eltus with white hair that I remembered.
Of course, that’s not Eltus’ original body. It’s a body he took from someone else and had his brain transplanted into it.
As the ominous thought crossed my mind that perhaps that identity was the little boy who had just been there, I set fire to the oil spilled on the floor.
Eltus, who has lost all his eyes, probably doesn’t even know what situation his own body is in.
“Think of it as karma.”
Even as the area begins to burn, Eltus’ main body remains motionless. The avatar he is using is being captured by Kyle and his group, and even if he escapes, as long as Professor Reyna is there, he will not make the mistake of losing the avatar.
As the flames began to engulf the tank, I turned around and left the lab.
Boom… … !
A belated explosion was heard behind me.
I picked up the little boy who had collapsed in front of the door. The brainwashing had already been lifted. I took the little boy and walked out of the burning laboratory.
***
Pavabak!
An arrow flew from afar and struck Adam in the face. However, it only caused a scratch on Adam’s face and was not enough to stop him from taking action.
“Why, now… … !”
Esili drew her bow again. The strength with which she drew her bow was becoming heavier. Her stamina was being drained greatly, and the longer the fight went on, the more she was pushed back.
Adam raised his hand. The long claws, modeled after tiger claws, were pointed at Esili.
An impatient Esili tries to protest again, but unfortunately the protest doesn’t increase any time soon. Her trembling hands are struggling just to hold the bow.
Adam lowered his arm. It was the moment when the incapacitated Esili’s pupils opened wide.
Adam’s back was blown off with a loud noise that shook the whole area. Then, a ray of light rushed in and tore open Adam’s chest.
Support fire from Professor Reina who was far away.
But Adam healed his wounds as if he had never been hurt. Twitching flesh covered the wounds, and a dark magic power rose up.
“How on earth am I supposed to catch something like that… … .”
“Now is not the time to be doing that!”
Lara grabs the flustered Esili and hits her with every last bit of magic she was casting.
Intermediate Magic
Lower level magic
Advanced Magic
A sharp magic ball struck his upper body, his limbs were bound by vines, and flames covered his entire body.
“Geuuuuuu… … !”
And yet, Adam is still alive and well.
Adam waved his hand once and a gust of wind blew, throwing Lara and Esili to the ground.
Thump- thump-
The footsteps of an approaching monster. It was a fear that a single cadet could not dare to resist.
At the same time, Kyle is biting Eltus’ avatar.
Despite having both arms cut off and his lower body cut off, Eltus regenerates in an instant. He pushes Kyle back and gradually learns Kyle’s fighting methods.
Kagang—!
Suddenly, Kyle’s sword began to no longer work. Eltus, who had been blocking with his bare body until now, began to block the sword in earnest.
Kyle stepped back and swung his sword again.
If it doesn’t die even if I cut it, I’ll cut it until it dies. With only that one thought in mind, I cut through the rushing tentacles and stabbed Eltus deep into his chest.
–!
But Eltus still doesn’t move.
Kyle twisted his sword. Just as he was about to draw his sword and cut off Eltus’s neck, Kyle’s sword cut through the air as Eltus collapsed.
Until then, Kyle thought that Eltus had avoided the attack. However, Eltus remained in a crouching position and did not counterattack.
He just looked up at Kyle with an extremely calm attitude.
“This fight is your victory.”
An emotionless voice.
Eltus, who had quietly declared his defeat, said nothing more. He collapsed on the floor. Starting from the tips of his feet, he gradually disappeared.
Kyle gasped, barely able to support his weight as he leaned against the sword.
“… is he dead?”
Kyle turned around, leaving behind the disappearing body of Eltus. Adam’s gigantic body that had been oppressing Esili was crumbling down without a sound.
***
The fight at the exhibition hall is over.
The Ivory Tower that hosted this year’s Magical Engineering Expo, the wizards invited from all over the continent, and finally, Arsene’s students.
There were many people involved, and in a situation where it was difficult to know where to start, the most frustrating one was Elysium, which had suppressed the situation.
It may be an exaggeration to say that they suppressed it. By the time the defense forces arrived at the scene, the mine suppression had already been completed.
Furthermore, the person who achieved the greatest feat was a first-year student at Arsen. Even with the help of the professor, he managed to defeat one of the executives of the Mine Association.
That day, the ivory tower was shocked.
Elysium’s press would rip out stories in all directions. From stories about the Magic Engineering Fair to all sorts of horror stories, the stories, mixed with truth and lies, would spread across the continent.
I took off my mask and stopped by a makeshift shelter. The priests who had been staying at Elysium were healing people.
The first thing we need to check is the little boy that was with Eltus.
“Hey, what’s your name?”
“… I think I’ve lost my memory. My symptoms are the same as other wizards.”
“It seems like you’ve been in the ivory tower for a long time, but how come… … .”
When Eltus died, the memories of those who had been brainwashed were all erased.
It seems that not only are they losing their memories after being brainwashed, but they are also experiencing intermittent memory loss. There are now a whole truckload of wizards who can’t even remember their own names.
“So your name is Kyle Evanstair?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“The cadet over here is Ms. Lara Steelheiden, and this is Ms. Esili.”
I leaned against the wall and watched Kyle and his group being investigated by the wizards of Elysium. Normally, I should have been among them and been investigated as well.
but.
-… The lab exploded?
-So, as soon as you approached, the lab exploded and the wizards rushed out.
-Are you saying that you were swept away by the crowd without even being able to get in?
That’s what I told Professor Reina.
I didn’t go into the lab, and the moment I tried to go in, the lab exploded. I was caught up in the crowd of wizards and barely managed to get rescued after being thrown around in confusion.
There was no evidence to prove it, but that was the reason why they could make up stories as they pleased.
Anyway, the lab where Eltus stayed has completely disappeared. The Ivory Tower is a place where old-fashioned magicians who hate machines gather, so they don’t use CCTV or anything like that.
Therefore, perfect destruction of evidence is possible.
As I was reconsidering the conversation I had with Professor Reina, my [Clairvoyance] read a familiar silhouette.
He’s a middle-aged man wearing a hood. You can’t see his face properly, but you can tell just by looking at his lower body.
Aidan Stillheiden, who was mingling with the crowd, looked at Lara Stillheiden from a distance. His expression seemed to be both pleased and relieved.
I met eyes with Aidan, who was turning his head. As soon as our eyes met, Aidan pulled down his hood and disappeared into the crowd.
It seemed as if he didn’t recognize me. That’s only natural. I met Aidan wearing a mask and under the name of Galion.
“You’re here, Mr. Zion?”
Immediately after that, the Irie de Sugarmond approaches at a rapid pace.
“Why are you here? I’ve been looking for you for so long. Are you hurt?”
“I’m not hurt and I’m fine. I’m just a little tired.”
“Professor Reina is waiting over there. If you’re not hurt, get up.”
“Just a moment, wait a minute.”
I gently pushed Airi, who was trying to raise her body on her own, and looked at the several system windows that had appeared in the corner of my vision.
I wondered what would happen if Eltus had not died and was still alive, but fortunately, he had disappeared along with the fire. The evidence was right before my eyes.
You have defeated the puppet master, Eltus van Siegheim.
Gain 500 talent experience points
Trait – ‘Watcher’s Eye’ rank is raised by one level.