Chapter 127: Monster Showdown
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 127: Monster Showdown
Hours had passed since Adler returned to his back-alley hideout after a long absence. In the sky, the moon was just beginning to rise, casting an enchanting glow over the city.
“Good evening, everyone…”
Perhaps he had grown fond of the hound that had followed him from Baskerville to London. He had spent hours in the bathroom, painstakingly scrubbing the filthy beast with his own hands until it was finally clean. Now, Adler emerged into the living room with the hound on a leash.
“………”
However, for some reason he couldn't grasp, the atmosphere in the room was far quieter than usual.
“…Huh?”
Puzzled, he realized the living room was entirely empty. Confusion clouded his face.
“Where did everyone go?”
“Grrr.”
At that moment, the hound—which had been leaning against Adler’s leg with a dull expression—let out a low, vibrating growl.
“Wha—?”
The hound suddenly strode forward. Adler, still holding the leash, was dragged along with a bewildered expression.
“Where are you taking me…?”
Sweating, Adler followed as the hound led him out of the hideout and through the dimly lit streets of London.
“………”
“…Fine, just go wherever you want.”
“Woof.”
When the hound turned to look back at him, its eyes gleaming with an ominous light, Adler couldn't help but recoil in fear. He eventually resigned himself to the beast's whims.
Trudge, trudge…
The pair roamed through the dark back alleys. As was typical for the London night, a mysterious fog had begun to settle over the cobblestones.
“…Hmm?”
Half-worried and half-fascinated by the dreamlike atmosphere, Adler suddenly tilted his head.
“The smell of blood…?”
His senses, enhanced by his half-devil and half-vampire bloodlines, had caught the metallic scent wafting from just ahead.
“What on earth…”
Tension coiled in his chest. Adler moved forward with the hound leading the way, his eyes sharp with vigilance.
“…Huh?”
Suddenly, his eyes went wide with shock.
“Master?”
“Dad.”
“Huh? What are you guys doing here?”
Silver Blaze, Celestia Moran, and Princess Joan Clay.
His three most loyal subordinates were standing in a corner of the alley, their bodies drenched in blood.
“What’s going on? What in the world happened…?”
“We’ve been hunting!” Silver Blaze answered cheerfully, a bright smile on her face.
“Hunting…?” Adler asked, staring at them in pure astonishment. “Were you cleaning up the back alleys?”
His expression quickly shifted to one of alarm.
“I told you to leave at least a third of them alone. If you sweep everyone away, the forces we could have absorbed will vanish…”
“No? The merger was finished weeks ago,” Silver Blaze replied, looking confused as she scratched her head.
“Huh?”
“We already absorbed eighty percent of the back-alley organizations weeks ago. The remaining twenty percent have either fled London or been wiped out.”
“What on earth did you do to dominate a hellhole like this in just one month?”
“Did we not submit the report to you?”
As Adler stood there, astounded, Silver Blaze began to recount the events that had transpired in his absence.
“Princess Clay’s vampire legion and the demi-humans who accepted my invitation played a massive role in expanding our influence. Of course, most of the established organizations looked down on us because we were the new kids on the block…”
“So I just singled out their leaders and blew their heads off. I did good, didn't I, Dad?”
Interrupting the report, Moran nonchalantly wiped blood from her face and waddled over to Adler.
“Uh…”
As she looked up at him with expectant, hopeful eyes, a chill ran down Adler’s spine. Still, he managed to force a calm smile and affectionately stroked her head.
“Tsk. Of all things, why did she have to pick ‘Dad’…”
“Even then, the organizations that resisted were personally annihilated by Princess Clay,” Silver Blaze continued, giving the princess a nod of acknowledgement. “She led her subordinates directly to their bases. She drank so much blood that she might be able to maintain her human form through her own power now.”
“…Hmph.”
Princess Clay muttered in annoyance, crossing her arms and turning her head away.
“What’s the point of us working our asses off when our so-called master doesn't even care? He just wanders around wherever he pleases…”
“…Hmm.”
As she grumbled with a cold expression, Adler scratched his head and took a step toward her.
“What? What is it?”
Smooch.
“…Huh?”
After staring intently at her for a moment, Adler suddenly planted a kiss on the princess’s cheek.
“Thank you.”
He whispered the words languidly, a smirk playing on his lips under the dim moonlight. The princess froze, staring blankly at him for a long beat before hurriedly averting her gaze.
“…So annoying.”
Her voice was still cold, but there was a distinct tremor in her tone that hadn't been there before.
“”………””
Nearby, the eyes of Silver Blaze and Moran flashed with a chilling, predatory light as they watched the exchange.
“But if you weren't cleaning up the alleys, what exactly were you doing out here?” Adler asked, his voice bright and oblivious to the rising tension.
“…We’ve been hunting monsters.”
“What?”
“It’s something that started happening sporadically in the back alleys recently,” Silver Blaze explained, her expression turning serious.
“By monsters, what do you mean…?”
“The most common are shadowy humanoids. Sometimes, even legendary monsters appear in corrupted, deteriorated forms.”
“Just a bit ago, we fought werewolves and the undead, Dad,” Moran added nonchalantly.
“How often does this happen?”
“Almost every night, Master.”
“The last few days were quiet, but some of the more powerful ones appeared the moment you returned. You have to be careful, Dad.”
Adler’s face darkened as the gravity of the situation sank in.
“…Is it because of me?”
“What?”
Now that I’ve realized the true nature of this body, things are only going to get worse…
Adler fell into deep contemplation.
The erosion has already progressed quite far. I’m afraid my mere presence won't be enough to resolve this.
“Master?”
Maybe… that’s the only way.
As the women watched him with puzzled expressions, Adler finished his train of thought, resting his hand on his chin.
“…Master,” Silver Blaze said, her gaze flickering with unease. “What are you thinking about right now?”
“Eh?”
“Every time you make that face, a massive incident occurs. Without fail.”
Adler felt a bit hurt by her bluntness, but he soon smiled.
“It’s nothing big. Just listen. Simply put, I’m going to declare war on every supernatural entity in London at once…”
And so, a plan that could only be described as 'Adler-esque' began to pour from his lips.
“…By doing so, we will successfully pull off a self-staged kidnapping and escape the Professor’s clutches. How does that sound?”
“Ah, I see.”
“So that’s the plan?”
“Hmm.”
The three women listened expressionlessly. When he finished, they exchanged silent glances and nodded.
“…Should we just tie him up right now?”
“This isn't a rebellion. This is a protective measure to save Dad from his own insane ideas…”
“I’ll approach him naturally, drain enough blood to make him faint, and then…”
Whispering in creeping, conspiratorial voices, Adler’s loyal subordinates began plotting against their master in an instant.
Grrr…
“Eh?”
The hound lying at Adler’s feet began to growl at the women, its tone low and threatening.
“What’s wrong with you now…?”
Adler tilted his head in wonder and began to stroke the hound’s belly to soothe it.
“…Master,” Silver Blaze said, her voice dropping to a frigid register as she stared at the scene. “What exactly do you see when you look at that creature?”
“This one?”
Blinking, Adler looked down at the hound, which was currently rolling on its back and exposing its belly for rubs. He smiled.
“A somewhat fierce-looking, large hound?”
“Ah…”
“Sometimes it glares with those piercing blue eyes and breathes out black smoke, which is a bit startling, I’ll admit. But it obeys me well… I’m thinking of training it to be a guard dog.”
Adler stood up and clasped his hands together, a satisfied look in his eyes.
“Anyway, I’m counting on you all to prepare for the plan, okay?”
With that, Adler turned and began walking back toward the hideout.
“Poppy? Aren't you coming?”
“Woof!”
He called out, wondering why the hound was still standing there, glaring at the three women.
“…Hey.”
The dog was about to move when Silver Blaze’s voice—previously innocent—slipped out like a shard of ice.
“Aren't you going to lower your eyes?”
“………”
At Silver Blaze’s sudden display of dominance, the hound quietly tilted its head to the side.
“Huh?”
In the eyes of the three women, there was no menacing hound. Instead, there stood a little girl. Though she had been neatly groomed by Adler’s hands, she exuded a sinister, gloomy aura.
“…Ha.”
The little girl narrowed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at them. Then, she turned and skipped toward Adler, who was still wearing a confused smile. Silver Blaze looked absolutely dumbfounded, as if she couldn't believe the sheer audacity of the creature.
“Looks like we need to sort out the pecking order.”
“…Is that really necessary?”
“We have to. In the end, she’s just a beast. No matter how much Adler acts like a beast himself, he’s definitely not a furry.”
Despite her words, the other two women kept their gazes fixed on the little girl clinging to Adler’s side.
“…But I have fur too?” Silver Blaze muttered.
“……Ah.”
*
The next morning. The air in London carried the faint, crisp scent of autumn.
“Eh?”
“Hmm…”
In various corners of the British capital, which appeared normal on the surface, an ominous tension began to circulate—a foreboding of a great conflict.
“Is he asking to be killed?”
“This guy is practically begging to be kidnapped, isn't he?”
This reaction was sparked by letters delivered simultaneously to every supernatural entity and monster hidden in London—including the most notorious murderer in English history and a certain phantom thief from France.
Would anyone like to go on a date with me next Sunday?
And in the corner of every letter, without exception, was a doodle of a boy striking a 'cool' pose with total swagger.