Raunz ultimately decided to follow Terlo’s plan.
With their escape blocked from the very beginning, there was no other option.
After finishing their discussion, Terlo teleported to the right, beyond the illusion he had placed.
WHOOSH—
One of the two seated men immediately looked toward Terlo.
“Huh? That….”
At his reaction, the other man asked what was wrong and turned to look as well.
Within seconds, both sprang to their feet.
“That’s the little bastard! Right?”
“Wow. They said he might come this way. I guess that bastard says something useful once in a while.”
‘Hurry!’
Now that their attention was fixed on Terlo, it was the perfect time to move.
Raunz seemed to realize the same thing. He soon appeared on the opposite side with the skeletons carrying Riley.
He glanced at Terlo once, then turned and began walking quickly away.
‘Phew. That’s one problem dealt with.’
Now he only had to buy time until they turned into the side road.
Terlo fired arrows at the two men approaching him with excitement.
THUD. THUD.
But the arrows embedded themselves not in their bodies, but in their shields.
They had blocked the high-speed arrows without difficulty.
Still smiling, they spoke.
“Sorry, brat, but we need to take you with us. Don’t make this annoying. Come quietly.”
“Hey, damn it. How is he supposed to listen when you try coaxing him with a face that scary? Little boy, would you like to come with us?”
“I think you scared him even more.”
‘They’re enjoying themselves.’
The two seemed delighted by the prey that had suddenly fallen into their laps.
But Terlo had no intention of being captured quietly.
WHIRL—!
A black whirlwind swept over them.
At the same moment, Terlo teleported behind his previous position.
But then—
‘…!’
The men who should have been pushed away appeared directly in front of him.
“I told you to come quietly.”
“Would you rather go with him? Or with me?”
They were even enjoying the situation.
Terlo had moved backward from where he stood to keep them from turning around.
Perhaps because he had moved within their sight, they had followed him immediately.
‘They really do react differently from the others. I suppose that’s why they’re the bosses.’
But he was no longer restricted.
He had seen Raunz turn out of the alley moments earlier.
Terlo teleported behind the men and drew a long cord from his hand.
He had imitated Hook’s whip.
But it was at least twice as thick as Hook’s.
SWOOOOSH—!
At Terlo’s spell, the thick whip wrapped around both men at once as they turned.
“Ghk! Hey. Get off me!”
“You get away from me! Damn it!”
Bound by the whip, their bodies and cheeks pressed against each other as they struggled.
They were about to create daggers from dark mana and cut through it when—
Terlo swung the whip toward the wall.
RUMBLE—!
The two men slammed into the ground, and shattered bricks rained down over them.
Terlo did not stop there.
He threw a potion and shattered it against the ground.
The liquid spread across the surface, and smoke began rising.
The surroundings turned hazy in an instant.
Even while moving, Terlo did not forget to smash more potions around the area.
‘This should keep them from following for a while.’
Terlo covered his mouth with his sleeve as he moved through the thick, acrid smoke.
When he reached the side road, he called for the skeletons.
‘Where are you?’
CLATTER!
A skeleton raised its hand high in the direction of the sound.
Beside it were Raunz and Riley, both wearing relieved expressions.
Terlo hurried toward them.
Just as Raunz was about to say something after seeing him emerge safely—
“Master!”
“…Parsley?”
Basley suddenly appeared.
At Terlo’s questioning stare, Basley spoke excitedly.
“I don’t know if you realized it, but I bought you a damn long time! Then I waited nearby, and suddenly I heard a loud noise and saw smoke. I had a feeling you’d come out this way.”
Basley boasted proudly, then turned his gaze and jumped in shock.
He had spotted the two skeletons and Riley in the darkness.
“Gah! Skeletons and even a zombie…! Master, you were a necromancer—”
“She isn’t a zombie. Watch your mouth.”
“Ah. She isn’t? I-I’m sorry. It was so dark that I couldn’t see properly….”
“I’m… all right.”
At Riley’s forgiving response, the wrinkles on Raunz’s face deepened.
Since Riley herself said it was fine, he could not say anything.
If he interfered regardless, it would only make things harder for his daughter.
Instead, Raunz glared at Basley as though he wanted to kill him.
Basley blinked uneasily beneath that murderous gaze.
“So why did you wait? Weren’t you planning to run away?”
Terlo asked him.
“Me? How could I run away? You’d come to kill me anyway.”
“Would I? Why bother?”
“……W-Why bother? I might look useless, but I’m useful in my own way, and also….”
For some reason, Basley began explaining his value in exhaustive detail.
Then a cough came from nearby.
“Cough! Ghk! Damn, that stings. I think they went down this side road!”
‘Of all the roads, they came this way.’
If it were only those two men, Terlo might manage, but he could not allow a crowd to gather.
The moment Raunz was spotted, everyone in the shopping district would converge here.
And if Ben joined them in the worst-case scenario, everything would be ruined before it even began.
Terlo desperately wanted to meet him, but….
He did not know how powerful Ben was, and it was safe to assume that everyone in the shopping district was on Ben’s side.
‘Not now.’
They were at a disadvantage both numerically and strategically.
To ensure a safe escape, Terlo made a quick decision.
“Parsley. Then prove your usefulness. Escort these two safely back to the place where we started. Can you do it?”
“The place where we started…? Yes, leave it to me! I know this area inside and out. Grandpa! Skeletons! Follow me.”
Basley took the lead down a secluded road.
He should be able to choose a route where they were unlikely to be discovered.
Terlo spoke to Raunz.
“Go ahead. He’ll guide you properly. You two, follow him carefully.”
CLACK! CLACK!
“…Understood. Be careful.”
Raunz did not appear pleased with Basley, but he cleared his throat and followed.
Terlo intended to return deeper into the shopping district.
He could not allow the pursuers’ attention to remain on the side road.
But then—
“Master! I forgot to say this, but be careful!”
Basley stopped and shouted.
At the sound, the two bosses who had already been watching the side road emerged through the smoke one after another.
“Hey, this is the right way! I heard something!”
“Cough! Huh? There he is! Get him!”
‘I can never tell whether he’s helping or making things worse.’
Terlo shook his head at Basley, who helped one moment and ruined everything the next.
Then, watching the men teleport toward him, he faced deeper into the shopping district.
<Teleport.>
Their positions instantly switched.
Terlo waited until they looked at him.
The moment their eyes met, he ran deeper into the shopping district.
‘It’d be better to draw them away from Raunz’s shop too.’
Terlo began moving in the direction opposite Raunz’s shop.
But if he continued too far, the chances of encountering Ina’s organization members would rise.
It would be best to finish this and escape before that happened.
‘Judging from the lack of reinforcements so far, they probably won’t arrive immediately.’
It would be better to settle things here, where few people were present.
After moving without pause, Terlo stopped in the center of a plaza.
The two men pursuing him also stopped at a distance.
“Are you finally giving up?”
“I was starting to get bored of chasing you, so this is perfect.”
“Do you two fight with your mouths?”
“What? We called you cute a few times, and now the brat is speaking casually to us?”
Instead of answering, Terlo prepared to attack.
Two skeletons rose from the black smoke spreading across the ground.
He could summon a total of four now, making it possible.
“Wow. How adorable. So you were a necromancer? I suppose a little master would have little skeletons.”
One of the men snickered, the corner of his mouth raised.
Then his expression changed abruptly.
His eyes gleamed as he summoned a ghoul and several zombies.
‘…A ghoul?’
It stood almost entirely on all fours and possessed claws and talons reminiscent of sickles.
Bones protruded from several parts of its body, and its face was savage.
The ghoul flicked its tongue, drove its claws into a nearby zombie, and brought it to its mouth.
CRUNCH. SNAP. GRIND.
The sound of the zombie being eaten was grotesque beyond description.
The trembling zombie eventually disappeared into the ghoul’s stomach.
The ghoul licked the rotten flesh around its mouth.
Its summoner pointed at Terlo.
“Are those pathetic zombies supposed to be enough? Look over there. There’s something much tastier.”
The ghoul’s blood-red eyes turned toward Terlo.
It took only a few seconds for it to charge.
SKREEEEEE—!
‘Fast.’
Terlo remembered the wolf magic beast.
Of course, the situation was better than before because they were in a wide plaza.
But the same was true for the ghoul.
It used all four limbs to move at tremendous speed.
Terlo fired a black sphere at the ghoul.
But it kicked off the ground, leaped over the attack, and landed without difficulty.
It evaded every other attack just as easily.
The ghoul possessed extraordinary mobility as it charged toward Terlo.
‘Cut it down when it gets close!’
At Terlo’s command, the sword-wielding skeleton rushed forward.
But instead of dodging, the ghoul ignored the skeleton and swung at Terlo.
WHOOSH—
The moment Terlo teleported away, the skeleton’s sword cut through the ghoul’s torso.
Even then, the ghoul turned its blood-red eyes in search of Terlo.
As an undead, it appeared to feel no pain.
‘Target its arms and legs!’
It would be best to destroy its excellent mobility first.
While the ghoul continued searching for Terlo, the two skeletons attacked its limbs.
At the same time, Terlo fired spikes at the zombies.
THUD! THUD-THUD! THUD!
Every spike struck, yet they caused no meaningful damage.
The zombies paused only for an instant before continuing to close the encirclement slowly.
‘As expected, attacks like these are useless.’
Terlo was experimenting against undead.
This was his first time encountering undead summoned by someone other than himself.
He did not have much time, but an experiment of this degree should be acceptable.
‘It seems ordinary attacks don’t work on either ghouls or zombies.’
He did not know how an attack from a connected skeleton would affect them.
That was something he would test shortly.
First, Terlo wanted to learn what ghouls and zombies resisted and what they were vulnerable to.
‘Should I try fire?’
Burning away their masses of rotten, decaying flesh seemed likely to be effective.
As Terlo considered how to fight them, the ghoul spotted him and changed direction.
SKREEEEEE—!
Its speed remained unchanged despite the repeated attacks on its limbs.
Terlo’s skeletons continued moving and targeting the ghoul.
The ghoul itself ignored them entirely.
“What will you do, little boy?! It isn’t too late, so just say the word. Keep resisting, and you’ll piss yourself.”
Terlo frowned at the noise that kept interrupting him.
The man watching beside the ghoul’s summoner continued disturbing his concentration.
If he was only going to watch, why could he not do it quietly instead of constantly running his mouth?
Terlo first evaded the charging ghoul.
Then—
He cast black magic at the chattering man.
CRACK! CRACK-CRACK!
Black tree trunks rapidly erupted from the ground.
Startled, the man hurriedly tried to evade, but the trunks divided into several branches and seized his body tightly.
When they bound his nose and mouth, the plaza finally became quiet.
Of course, the man’s face looked ready to burst as he suffered with his airways blocked.
‘It’s finally quiet.’
“H-Hey! Hold on a little longer. I’ll free you! Ghoul!”
Shocked at how quickly his companion had been captured, the summoner called the ghoul back.
It appeared that some sense of camaraderie existed even between men who had been insulting one another.
But Terlo had no intention of respecting their touching friendship.
FWOOSH! FWOOSH—!
Enormous black flames appeared beside Terlo.
Modeled after the flames used by More’s leader, they seemed to writhe rather than burn.
His powerful compression prevented them from taking proper shape.
Even so, their effect should be more certain than that of any ordinary flame.
Watching his frantic opponent, Terlo chanted the spell.
The enormous black flames shot away from Terlo at high speed.