Chapter 57
Chapter 57
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: A Wacky Date with a Beastkin and a Demon (6)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Sabrina, who had taken the mask, wore a half-dazed expression.
She looked like a devout believer who had just encountered a UFO in the sky.
“N-No way… This can’t be…”
“…?”
Her reaction made me tilt my head in confusion.
I mean, my face is objectively pretty, but is it really worth such a dramatic reaction?
*Swish, swish.* I waved my hand in front of her frozen eyes.
Sabrina finally snapped out of it, jumping in place and shouting.
“…Huh?! W-Well, I’ll be going then! Don’t you dare get hurt! I’ll- I’ll be mad!”
She clutched the mask to her chest as if it were a precious treasure and hurriedly left.
She was so fast that before I knew it, her retreating figure was already a small speck in the distance.
Well… I guess she needs some time to think.
I scratched my cheek, bewildered, before calming my excited feelings.
‘I'll think about Sabrina's reaction later... For now, I need to focus on Answer.’
Concealing my face—a face I hadn't shown in public for a very long time—with a pure white tablecloth, I drew upon the psychokinesis from deep within my body.
‘Decoy.’
*Zzzing.*
The air under the control of my psychokinesis vibrated faintly.
It was an application of psychokinesis that blurred my form by vibrating the surrounding air to scatter light.
A smile crept onto my lips. It was a technique I hadn't used once since I stopped pretending to be a ghost.
Memories of wandering the back alleys like this flashed through my mind.
Of course, they weren't entirely pleasant memories.
Living in a dirty, grimy back alley, in a dilapidated, abandoned building with no heating or cooling.
Those were exhausting days, and if asked to do it all over again, I'd probably hesitate a little.
Still, I quite enjoyed wielding my psychokinesis freely without worrying about prying eyes.
Using this power is like a form of exercise for me. Wielding my psychokinesis with all my might for the first time in a while felt liberating, as if a weight had been lifted from my chest.
“…!”
*Whoosh!*
Using psychokinesis, I launched myself upward, as if throwing my own body, and shot up the building's wall to the rooftop in an instant.
My once-constricted view opened up, revealing the snow-covered landscape of Nighthaven.
At this rate, the snow should provide some cover.
I glanced at the snowflakes scattering before they could even touch my body, thanks to the Decoy, and savored the feeling of a bungee jump without a cord in the middle of the city.
Flying was incredibly fun.
It felt as if every single cell in my body was awakening; I wanted to keep flying just like this.
Of course, rampaging through the middle of the city like this was quite risky.
Even if the falling snow made it harder to be spotted, with so many eyes around, I could easily be tracked down if I kept this up.
But I hadn't just flung myself onto a building for fun.
This was a gamble, a calculated risk for a worthy return.
And my bold gamble paid off.
‘Found it!’
As I lightly leaped from one skyscraper wall to another, traversing Nighthaven, I finally managed to spot the target I had been searching for.
What I'd been searching for so hard my eyes ached was none other than the railway line that cut through the city.
Why was I suddenly looking for this?
Because following it would be the quickest and most inconspicuous way in!
‘Subways don't just run underground; they often have above-ground sections too. If you look carefully... there are ways to get to the underground tracks without going through a station.’
Leaping from the building, I landed gracefully on the exposed railway track below, tracing a parabola through the air.
And without slowing down, I glided along the track, which was clear of any trains.
Thanks to my psychokinesis, now much more powerful and precise than before, my movements were so swift they seemed to leave afterimages.
How long did I race forward like that? Soon, I found a tunnel that seemed to lead underground.
It seemed they hadn't considered someone entering from here in such a short time, as there were thankfully no guards.
If there are no witnesses, there's no need to hold back.
I sprinted at full, unrestrained speed and boldly entered the underground tracks in an instant.
‘*Phew, phew…* That was a little nerve-wracking, but I'm glad.’
*Rustle.*
To reduce noise, I deactivated the Decoy cloaking my body and slowly landed on the ground.
The fact that all nearby trains had been halted meant there was a reason to be on the underground tracks.
Therefore, from this point on, staying hidden was more important than just being fast.
If I lost control of my speed and recklessly wandered around, I might be mistaken for a suspicious person and chased by the police.
So, it would be best to move as quietly as possible, and among the quiet options, the fastest.
‘Hmm, maybe I should have used a black cloth? This white one feels a bit too conspicuous.’
I inwardly regretted wrapping myself in a pure white tablecloth as I used my psychokinesis to levitate slightly, moving forward without a sound.
How far did I advance, taking the utmost care not to be discovered?
Only after passing through two completely empty stations, where personnel control was clearly already in effect, did I encounter someone with a rather familiar appearance.
‘That's…’
She was a gray-haired beauty with languid eyes and impressively long, pointed ears.
And in stark contrast to her immaculate, crisp police uniform, she had piercings subtly placed here and there—a delinquent elf.
If my memory served me right, she was a regular member of Special Team 3, the same as Ethan, whom I'd met earlier.
Her name was… Mist, wasn't it? I think so.
I hid behind a wall and cautiously observed what was happening.
Mist was standing alone among people sprawled on the ground, talking on her radio.
“…sir. We have a big problem here. The moment we tried to move to the designated location, my squad members started fainting, coughing up blood, and collapsing. It's a complete mess. I think we're going to need personnel to handle this.”
[ “You too? This is turning into a headache. First, are any of them in critical condition?” ]
“Fortunately, no one's about to die. Though some of them are crying.”
[ “Alright, I'll send some people your way, so just wait there. We're in a similar situation over here. We were also stopped right as we were about to enter. We're currently analyzing the cause.” ]
“Understood. By any chance, can I have a smoke?”
[ “Hold it in during the operation. If you reek of cigarettes when I see you later, you're in for it.” ]
“Tch.”
[ “You were going to sneak one, weren't you?” ]
Listening in with my ears perked, it seemed she and her subordinates had been trying to advance but were stopped by some kind of interference.
It was hard to believe. Mist might look like a delinquent elf on the outside, but she was a highly respected magician.
Her power was probably comparable to Alice with a sword. She was an executive-level member of her team, after all.
Yet even she, fully prepared to make a breach, had been forced to stop?
My questions about what was happening inside just kept growing.
I took a wide detour around the wailing, collapsed police officers and slipped into the path they had been trying to take, rolling sideways.
‘This is it. It looks like there's nothing here at first glance…’
After double-checking that the police officers outside weren't paying much attention to this area, I stared intently at the blood-stained tracks.
They said trying to pass through here made people faint and cough up blood, right?
Considering Answer is beyond this point… could they have been affected by a contract?
‘But does a contract like that even exist? One that forcibly gives someone a headache and makes them cough up blood? No matter how I think about it, the math doesn't add up…’
A Demon's contract had to be structured so that the terms were at least equal, or so that the Demon took a unilateral loss.
That's why Demons were so desperate to trick the other party.
But to form a contract without the other party's consent and inflict harm?
I'd never heard of such a method existing. If that were possible, there'd be no reason to trick anyone in the first place.
‘First, I'll try using the Eye of Contracts. This is no time to hesitate.’
If the damage increases, it will be difficult to manage. This is a race against time too.
Steeling myself, I took the napkin Answer had given me earlier from my pocket and, without a second thought, ripped it in half.
Fortunately, the contract must still have been valid, because I felt something settle into my right eye.
And then, letters began to appear, densely packed all over the previously empty subway tracks.
Covering my unaffected left eye with one hand, I carefully read the letters and immediately gasped in shock.
‘Th-This is…!’
The contents inscribed all over the subway tracks were shocking.
[ Inflict a headache upon anyone who touches these letters. As payment, the contractor loses an eye. ]
[ Cause anyone standing in the direction the letters point to cough up blood. As payment, the contractor loses a lung. ]
[ Cause anyone who passes under the letters carved on the wall to faint. As payment, the contractor faces death. ]
[ If the letters are forcibly destroyed by magic, they will return to their original state. As payment, the contractor's internal organs will rot. ]
The letters densely carved on the walls, floor, and ceiling each demanded a price so harsh it defied common sense.
Obviously, the contractor here would be Answer, the Demon who inscribed these letters.
Blocking the path in such a reckless manner would inevitably lead to her ceasing to exist in this world very quickly.
But the fact that this contract was still functioning perfectly meant that Answer was still alive, even while paying the price.
Paying a price that takes your life, yet still being alive?
As far as I knew, only one faction in this world was capable of such a thing.
‘It was... the Invaders, wasn't it?’
*Grit.*
Realizing the full scope of the situation, I clenched my teeth.
The Invaders still hadn't given up on this world and continued to extend their reach.
And one of their methods... was definitely brainwashing people and using them as pawns.
What in the world do they think people are.
Searing rage flooded me.