The Unveiled Truth
The Doctor's expression grew grave as he repeated my words. "Two suspicious individuals are being held at the Central Intelligence Agency?"
I nodded. "Yes. There was an incident at the Grand Canyon. A massive vibration shook the entire area, strong enough to prompt the Air Force to scramble. They found mangled human remains—bodies torn to pieces—and pools of blood. Near the corpses were two people wearing clothes that didn't match anything from the modern era. They're currently being interrogated by the CIA."
"A vibration on that scale... could it be a monster?"
"I thought so too at first, but the Evilion detector didn't react at all, and there's been no mention of any beast. Still, if it was powerful enough to make the Grand Canyon tremble, this is serious. The CIA doesn't even know who these two are."
"The CIA can't identify them?"
"Correct."
"That's certainly a major issue... but how did you find out about this?"
"I've been quietly gathering information from around the world while working. I'll look into it more thoroughly."
The Doctor let out a shallow sigh at my casual lie. "Are you sure you're up for this? Weren't you the one complaining about how busy things are and asking for time off?"
"I have business in the United States anyway. I'll just move the meeting up and investigate afterward. Killing two birds with one stone."
"I'm sorry."
The sudden apology caught me off guard. He seemed to feel guilty that I was stepping up despite my workload, especially since I'd brought him information he wasn't aware of.
"Don't say that. Are we strangers? What's the point of having an assistant if you don't use them? This is exactly when you should be working me to the bone."
That made the Doctor burst into a short laugh. "I keep telling you, you're not an assistant—you're my partner."
Not even close. You're not my partner. You're more like a marionette. A puppet I can control.
I could have extracted the two without informing the Doctor. But I decided it would be better to pull them out through official channels. It was inevitable that Silvia and Adeline would meet him eventually.
The CIA had close ties with the World Coalition, and the Doctor—who had access to all of the Coalition's information—would learn of their existence sooner or later. While I could try to control the flow of information, too many agents had already seen them. The only way to suppress it would be to kill people, and that would only create more headaches.
At a time when everything was already shrouded in mystery, messing with government agents would only complicate things further. It was cleaner and safer for me to go in person, extract them, and take control.
"Let's go with that, then. Since I need to get inside the CIA... I'll have to borrow your name, Doctor. Please put in a word with the World Coalition."
"You want them to grant you access so you can obtain information from inside the Agency?"
"Yes. Just tell them you've given full authority to the man in the spider-human costume. Of course, I'll need proper identification as well."
The Doctor's face twisted in disbelief. "Spider... human...?"
"I can't exactly show my real face, can I?"
"That's true, but... you're not thinking anything weird, are you?"
"I figured this was my chance to become a hero for the common people."
The Doctor let out a dry chuckle. As an American, she knew exactly what Spider-Man was. She gave me a gentle smile.
"Fine. The more I look at you, the more you really are the spitting image of my husband..."
"I'm honored."
"It's not an honor, you know? That was an insult."
"It was...? Now I feel awkward..."
I scratched my head with an embarrassed grin, and the Doctor shook her head in exasperation. "Unbelievable. Just unbelievable... When are you leaving?"
"I'll fly to the US tomorrow, handle the business meeting the day after, and visit them the following day."
"So three days from now. I'll make the arrangements in advance. But... if it feels dangerous, get out immediately."
Her genuine concern warmed me. How delightful. She really does value me.
"Who would dare touch me? I'm the person you personally vouched for."
"I'm not talking about the CIA agents. I'm talking about those two unknowns."
"Understood. I'll make sure to come back alive. I'll be going now."
I waved cheerfully, refusing to drop the jokes. The Doctor, who had been sternly warning me, finally let out a small laugh.
"Alright. Stay safe."
I was now inside the heavily fortified American Central Intelligence Agency—wearing a full mask.
It wasn't the kind with holes for the eyes, nose, and mouth. This was a complete covering, like the superhero who shoots webs. A full-face mask would be more accurate. I was even wearing a full-body costume so that not even fingerprints could be left behind.
The CIA agents were understandably bewildered by my bizarre appearance. Under normal circumstances, they would have arrested me on the spot. But the moment Jennifer Cash's name left my lips—and she confirmed my identity—they could no longer treat me carelessly.
Ever since Beast Slayer Leona had appeared, the Doctor had revealed her existence to the World Coalition, face excluded. The current status of the Beast Slayers and our headquarters was immense. Whenever monsters appeared, we cooperated with nations, eliminated the threats without asking for anything in return, and vanished quietly. We were treated like humanity's guardian deities, and public support was overwhelming.
That gave the Doctor, as head of the organization, unparalleled influence. Thanks to her guarantee, I received all information regarding Silvia and Adeline without any suspicion and was now on my way to meet them.
"They've only learned a handful of words, so communication will be quite difficult. Please keep that in mind."
The agent's explanation made me nod. "Understood."
"A lawyer from the World Coalition visited two days ago... Are you connected to them as well?"
He must be referring to Aram. "Yes. The details are classified."
"Of course they are."
The agent spoke with a slightly sarcastic tone, clearly dismissing me. No, not dismissing—angry. That was understandable. I was demanding to interrogate suspects from the Grand Canyon massacre without providing any explanation.
But what can you do about it? The CIA isn't the enemy agency anymore. Right now, the World Coalition stands above it, and above that is the Beast Slayer Headquarters. So just do as you're told.
As we talked, we descended to the underground level of the building. Several agents were guarding the entrance to the interrogation room. They stared at me in my mask with the same expressions as the people in the lobby. I gave them a rather frivolous salute and confidently opened the door.
Clack!
Silvia and Adeline were sitting side by side at the table. Their eyes widened in surprise. First time seeing a cosplayer? Still, seeing them in person... they really are beautiful. I want to knock them down right now, spread their legs, and thrust deep inside until their bellies bulge with my malice... No, this isn't the time.
"Hello there? My dear aliens?"
I reached out to Silvia with an energetic tone, then smacked my own head. "Ah, right. You don't speak Earth's language."
This entire act was for the CIA's benefit. It was also meant to lower the two women's guard. The slightly airheaded, cheerful, eccentric assistant. It seemed to work, because Adeline let out a small giggle.
Thump! My heart raced with tension. I was currently in human form and had confirmed it was safe, but I was still afraid Adeline might sense my malice. It seemed fine for now... I'd keep going.
"Oh? This gentleman must be the person in charge? Hello?"
I spoke in English they obviously couldn't understand and extended my hand to Adeline. She politely took it. In a clumsy, halting voice, she said, "N-nice to meet you. My name... Adeline."
She'd studied hard. Her pronunciation was terrible, but it was still understandable.
"Adeline?"
When I leaned in and repeated it, she beamed with joy and bounced in place. "Yes! Adeline!"
My heart ached. She was so cute it hurt. She hadn't been able to wash for days, yet she didn't smell at all. Heuuung... And it was a huge relief. It seemed she couldn't detect my malice at all.
I shook hands with Adeline a couple more times before turning to Silvia. She wore a cold expression, but she still accepted the handshake and introduced herself.
"Silvia."
Wow, the temperature difference from Adeline is night and day.
"Silvia, is it? Nice to meet you."
"Your name?"
Her pronunciation was much better than Adeline's. I pointed at the surveillance camera in the corner of the interrogation room and spread my legs wide, crossing both arms to form a large X. Body language for "I can't reveal my name." Silvia looked dissatisfied. She'd given her name, but I wouldn't give mine—how unfair. But she soon smirked and nodded. She'd roughly figured out the situation. Good. Her wariness seemed to have dropped significantly. My frivolous act had worked perfectly.
I sat down across from them and pulled out a tablet. Adeline's eyes sparkled like a child seeing a new toy, while Silvia sat with a cool demeanor but a fairly interested gaze. I shouted toward the large one-way mirror behind them.
"I'm going to take control of the equipment in here for a moment! I'll cover the glass too, so don't panic, and absolutely do not come in!"
I manipulated the tablet and disabled every device in the interrogation room. The cameras drooped lifelessly with a soft hiss. Even the speakers in the ceiling were neutralized. I then spread my palm toward the glass, bent my index and middle fingers into the signature Spider-Man gesture, and pressed a button installed on the inside of my wrist.
Whoosh!
Black slime-like substance shot out and completely covered the glass.
"Waaah!"
Adeline clapped like a seal in delight. Silvia's lips curved upward slightly. Fun, isn't it? I went through all this monkey business at the zoo just to entertain you two.
Once the entire room was sealed off, I stayed still for a moment to check if any agents were trying to enter. When the room remained quiet, I operated the tablet and showed them a video.
It was footage of Sehwa and Yuria transforming by operating their Devices. Silvia and Adeline tilted their heads in confusion. I'd expected that reaction. The Devices would be completely foreign to them.
Next, I played the video of Leona and Yuria slaughtering monsters. This time, the two reacted strongly.
"@*&!#*!"
"@***#!&@#."
Did they recognize Aether? Or were they shocked by Leona and Yuria's superhuman strength? Or was it the monsters themselves? I taught them how to pause the video by tapping the tablet, then rewound and fast-forwarded it. I raised both hands to my shoulders in an exaggerated shocked pose, signaling them to pause at the part that surprised them.
Silvia, who understood my body language perfectly, watched carefully before pausing at a specific moment and setting the tablet down.
"This."
She pointed at Sehwa's sword and Yuria's bow. I couldn't help but feel puzzled. Those were weapons made of Polymus... why point at them?
I rested my elbows on the table, propped my chin on my hands, and fell into deep thought. Adeline suddenly began making writing motions in the air. She wanted to draw. I took out a notebook and pen, roughly sketched a human face, and handed it to her. She must have been happy her body language had gotten through, because she smiled brightly at me. The stale interrogation room felt brighter. She was just too pretty.
She stared at the pen in fascination before starting to draw. After focusing intently for a while, she handed the notebook back to me and shouted brightly.
"This! Friend!"
I was stunned when I looked at the notebook. It showed five different weapons: a sword, a bow, a whip, twin blades, and a war hammer.
This is...
They symbolized Leona, Yuria, Rose, Caroline, and Celine respectively. Why on earth would she suddenly draw weapons in this situation? And how did she know about Rose's weapon when they've never even met? I could overlook the others, but the whip was impossible to ignore.
Adeline had called the weapons "friends." What kind of friends did she mean? My head felt like it was going to split open.
Fine. Let's show them Aether.
I manipulated the tablet to display the pristine, rainbow-colored Aether we'd discovered in the Gobi Desert. Instantly—
Scrape!
"@*#* Ether (!*@!"
"#@&!*&!(@&! Ether!"
Both Silvia and Adeline kicked their chairs back and shot to their feet, showing the strongest reaction yet. The word "Ether" was crystal clear in their speech.
Ether... It sounded like they were referring to Aether. I was dying of curiosity.
Let's get them out first.
I'd extract them and take my time figuring it out. I raised both hands and lowered them in a calming gesture. When they took deep breaths, I pointed at each of them with my index finger, then pointed at the door. The meaning was clear: I'm going to get you two out of here now.
Their faces brightened considerably. It must have been suffocating. But I needed a promise first.
"When you get out! Don't cause trouble!"
Even though they couldn't understand, I shouted loudly while throwing pathetic shadow punches in the air, then acted out getting punched. I finished by making a large X again.
"Don't run away either!"
This time I mimed running on a treadmill with my arms and legs, then made another X. At first, Silvia and Adeline didn't understand the gestures. But after I repeated them twice more, they seemed to get it and nodded frantically.
"Follow me! Got it!?"
I continued gesturing wildly to make sure they'd behave once they were out. This is exhausting... You two better compensate me properly later.