Chapter 129: Monster Showdown (3)
Chapter 129: Monster Showdown (3)
"Hmm-hmm..."
As I strolled through the park, embracing the brisk night air, rustles began to emerge from the thickets of the park.
- Dad. Be careful.
- Rustle...
- There are a whole bunch of those monsters positioned ahead.
The next moment, a warning inevitably came through the radio.
- Grrr... Grr...
"... I see."
Looking carefully ahead, I was able to immediately tell that the beings eyeing me were not human. With their eyes gleaming ominously in the dark as they eagerly watched me, it was all but easy to identify their supernatural origins.
If I had been an ordinary person, it wouldn't have been strange for me to be dragged off by them, becoming their prey.- I'll open fire right now, Dad. It's dangerous to delay any further.
"Just wait a little longer."
- But...
"You’re a good girl, aren’t you, Moran? Won’t you follow my instructions?"
But it was not an issue for me.
- Yes... because I'm a good girl.
"Good."
I had a brilliant strategy— a strategy that made me confident enough to summon all the monsters scattered all around Britain to London.
"Hehehe..."
Thus, with an innocent face as though oblivious to everything, I stepped forward and the thickets started trembling in a much less discreet manner.
"Grrrr..."
Just as I got close to the rustling bushes, a humanoid monster – its eyes shining in a distinct hue and intensity than the others – suddenly jumped out from the bushes in a bizarre pose.
"........."
And with that, total silence settled for a while.
"Ee… eeek."
"Uh... hehe..."
Seeing the monster cowering with a tense expression, I gave a dry scream as a sign of encouragement. And the moment it saw me scream, it finally relaxed and gave out a sinister smile.
"Adler... do you remember me...?"
"... Well, not really, I’m afraid."
"I'm the girl who confessed to you for the first time and got rejected. You really don't remember...?"
"Uh..."
Initially, I was pretending to be flustered and scared for the sake of the plan, but hearing her words made me feel a bit sorry for her.
Of course, it wasn't me but the original Adler who did injustice to this being… but still, I was feeling uneasy taking advantage of this monster after hearing her tragic tale.
"How dare you look at prettier girls than me... Treating me so cruelly just because I held a knife in my hand…”
"Ah."
No, it seems it was my misunderstanding. It was just one of the monsters.1
"... So you had such a story, huh."
"Eh, um?"
Despite my sympathy quickly waning, I still approached the grotesque monster filled with resentment with a gentle smile.
"Poor thing, what should I do…”
"Ah? Uh."
"Is there anything I can do for you?"
Then, grabbing what seemed to be the hand of this bizarre being, I whispered in a sincere voice. At that, the monster began to stutter and babble like a child.
"Why, why are you suddenly being nice?"
"Huh?"
"Well, didn’t you always look at me like you were looking at a bug back then…?”
As the being bowed its head to avoid my gaze, I slightly tilted my head and made eye contact, which prompted the creature to ask again in a trembling voice.
"A bug, you say?"
"........!"
"I can only think of you as cute though.”
In truth, the being before me was but a flickering, blurry shadow, making it impossible to discern its appearance, let alone judge whether it was cute or not.
"Don't you think so too?"
"Bu-But..."
However, what mattered wasn't the actual appearance of this being, but providing the words it desired to hear.
"You... You told me that I had a small chest and it was unappealing..."
"... Nowadays, I find them quite attractive, to be honest.”
And if I just close my eyes and mix a little lie about my taste to this shadowy being…
"Re-Really...?"
"........"
"Do you really like me?"
As I anticipated, the situation was unfolding according to my expectations.
"Of course."
- Swish...
With that thought, I carefully reached out and gently stroked what I presumed to be the head of the creature, and then… the shadowy being lifted its head to look at me.
"Um, then..."
From her slightly cute mouth, that formed over her shadowy visage before I knew it, a timid voice began to emerge.
"Wi-Will..."
"What is it?"
The shadowy being’s voice, still faint yet audible, reached out to me.
"Will you go out with me...?"
The monster, emitting a dreadfully chilly aura which was enough to wither the grass beneath it, finished its sentence and started fidgeting its fingers with a shy expression on its shadowy silhouette.
"... Well, sure."
As I cheerfully took her hand and spoke, the bizarre creature momentarily gaped and stared at me in utter astonishment.
"Really?"
"Is there any reason why I shouldn’t?"
"Really, really, really?"
Clasping my hand tightly, the creature began to jump around in unbridled joy.
"Then... let’s start from today..."
- Rustle...!
At that very instant, the sound of rustling bushes suddenly started leaking out from behind.
".........."
The monsters that had been hiding in the bushes, monitoring the situation, now reacted to the sudden change and revealed themselves all at once.
"What right do you have... to monopolize Adler...?"
"Her chest too... ugh... so, small..."
"Grurk, grrr..."
From fully formed spectres to those yet without shape, all began casting their frigid inhuman glances at the being that had first sprung out.
"Ah, this is a bit troublesome..."
And… this was the perfect time to set things in motion.
"It's a bit much to date multiple people, you see."
As soon as those words ended, a silence deeper than ever before settled all around.
"... I only want to be with one person for the rest of my life."
Amid the chilling silence, I delivered my final words, hands clasped behind my back.
- Goooooooo...
The monsters, now glaring fiercely at each other instead of me, began gathering their chilling auras from their surroundings… ready to duke it out at any moment.
"Wait a moment..."
"..........."
"I was the one who confessed to Adler..."
Amidst this tense situation, the creature beside me stepped forward with a panicked expression.
- Boommmmmmm!!!
With an ear-splitting roar, the monsters rushed forward in unison and started a battle royale to the death.
"... Just as planned."
Yes, I knew it would end up like this.
.
.
.
.
.
What in the world are you up to now?
Isaac Adler tiptoed away from the chaotic scene, where monsters from all over Britain had gathered and begun fighting en masse.
"Long time no see, Miss System."
Don't call me Miss System.
"... Then, how about System Sis?"
Would you mind ceasing the flirting with a mere fragment of data like me?
He greeted the system that appeared before him with a cheerful smile.
"Hehe..."
Anyway, did you really incite these vengeful monsters to fight one another?
"I'm cute enough to be a trophy, after all."
Haaa…
Sighing as if exhausted, the system displayed its message in a drooping font while he scratched his head with a naive expression on his face.
"Now that I've realised my identity as the devil, it's about time to take control of these monsters."
Scratching his head while observing the system, Adler began to mutter with a playful smile.
"Too many and they’ll go out of control, that’s why I’ll reduce their numbers to what I can count with my hands. Then, I will dominate and control those that remain. As a devil, that's within my capability."
So what’s next?
"After that, I'll have to subdue the named monsters like Jill the Ripper and Arsene Lupin. Once I've successfully taken control and dominated all the monsters..."
Suddenly, Adler's eyes turned serious, unprecedentedly so…
"I'll lose to Charlotte."
.........
"And then, by faking my death, I'll use the return ticket..."
I get the gist of the plan, but I have only one question.
As he trailed off, the system floating before Adler seized the opportunity to ask.
If the creature that survives the battle becomes too powerful and attacks you, what will you do then?
"Ah, that's unlikely to happen."
With a snicker, Adler shook his head.
"They're just seeds of an immature paranormal phenomenon. Maybe it’s possible in the final chapter, years from now, but for now, they'll just self-destruct by tearing each other apart."
You seem to never succeed in your plans and assumptions, though.
"That's true. That's why, just in case, I've also reached out to beings that are not monsters."
He shrugged his shoulders as he looked towards the alleyway outside the park, where traces of his past connections still lingered with their gazes trained on him.
"As long as those people restrain each other and keep their eyes peeled for any problems, there shouldn't be any trouble for me..."
"... Found you."
But just at that moment, a familiar voice came from the other side of the park's walkway.
"Gasp."
Upon hearing that voice, Adler immediately covered his mouth and crouched down.
"... I saw you hiding~"
However, a chilling voice that sent tingles down his spine pierced his ears in the next moment.
What's wrong?
- Shiver...
Wasn't it you who summoned all these beings from all across Britain?
As the system, displaying a translucent window, waved side to side and questioned him, Adler began muttering in a hushed voice while shivering from head to toe in pure, unbridled fright.
"... I called everyone but ."
"... Hm."
Jill the Ripper, who had come looking for him with the royal knights, using her identity as a royal princess, was staring down at Adler with a creepy smile.
.
.
.
.
.
- Crunch, crackle...
Meanwhile, at that moment, the park had turned into a battlefield where all sorts of creatures were entangled in mortal combat.
"Ha, haaa..."
Inside the battlefield, the monsters were brewing utter chaos— stabbing each other every few seconds, self-destructing, and doing all sorts of crazy things to destroy each other. However, at the very centre of the battle royale, there was an entity showing astonishing skills as it slaughtered the other monsters at breakneck speed.
"I never even got to experience this when I was in the fan club..."
The identity of this creature was none other than the one who had just confessed to Adler.
"... Finally, he accepted my confession."
This was none other than the vengeful spirit of Helen Stoner, the true culprit behind the incident a few months ago, who had been ultimately silenced by Professor Moriarty after the case was resolved.
- Goooooooooo...
At that very instant, the surrounding monsters began getting sucked towards her all at /genesisforsaken