Chapter 142
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 142
Chapter Title: Chapter 142
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 142
Chapter Title: Troll
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A message popped up above Erzsebet's head, asking whether to register her as an employee. A message that absolutely shouldn't appear for Erzsebet, who was already registered as an [Employee].
Register [Erzsebet] as an Employee?
That means...
'...[Quick Teleport].'
The thing over there wearing Erzsebet's skin didn't notice me as I carefully activated the [Quick Teleport] function. Suddenly, not just my position but the locations of all the employees inside the ruins appeared on the map.
'Found you.'
And among them, one point glowing red. The marker for Erzsebet's position wasn't here where I was—it showed her at the same spot as Lilith, probably off to apologize for that earlier smack.
"Master? What are you staring at like that?"
"....!!"
The instant I confirmed the real Erzsebet's location, the fake one behind my back spoke up in her exact same tone.
Her eyes, those slightly pointed canines peeking out, even the [High-Pressure Cleaner] she always carried. No clue if it could copy functions too, but with the clothes and gear perfectly matching Erzsebet's, there was no way to tell them apart.
The enemy still had no idea I'd clocked its true nature. So I had to play it careful...
"...Nah. Just had something on my mind."
I figured I'd kept it natural enough, no awkward vibes, but the fake Erzsebet who'd been eyeing me went blank-faced.
".....Busted. You're. On."
"...!!!"
No more of that drowsy, seductive Erzsebet drawl—instead, a stiff, robotic monotone straight out of a machine.
Before I could make a move, the fake bolted out of the bedroom.
'Fleeing?!'
I hadn't seen that coming—not a straight-up escape right here. I'd kept [Quick Teleport] primed for just such an emergency, so I summoned the ruins' top firepower: Erzsebet herself.
-[Quick Teleport]
"So, about that succubus. Ahem. Even I make mistakes now and then.... Huh? Master?"
"Erzsebet! Grab that thing!"
"What do you mean all of a sudden.... Hm?"
She must've been mid-chat with someone when summoned—taking a beat to process, I yelled and pointed at the white-haired figure that'd just dashed out of the bedroom. Erzsebet snapped into action, blood erupting from her entire body as she closed in on the fake.
"Ha! You dare mimic my form?!"
"...Try not to kill it!"
"I'll give it a shot!"
It hadn't shown any real malice up to now, and even if it was presumed to be one of the Seven Deadly Sins... was it even a "person"? Anyway, flat-out killing it felt wrong, so I asked Erzsebet for a live capture. She thrust out her hand, flinging blood molded into a net.
"Dare to wield blood before me?"
"？!"
Right then, expression flickered back onto the fake's face—and it lifted its own hand. Erzsebet's scattered blood roiled wildly, sucked straight into the fake's grip. It reshaped into an identical net and rocketed back at her.
"This!!"
Erzsebet flailed her hand in panic, but control ripped away again—the blood snapped back to her palm. She couldn't mask her shock.
"Impossible. Some cheap copycat wielding my power...?"
I could barely buy it messing with my blood kin. Not forging new ones, just hijacking existing bonds. Impressive, sure—but a stretch from fully copying her arsenal.
But this display? Different story. The bloodflow mastery. The blood magic.
It was identical to Erzsebet's power.
"This...!!"
Her prime weapon—blood—effectively sealed. Sticking to her panicked heels, I hauled out the [High-Pressure Cleaner] for the first time in ages. Tweaked the range for max power and blasted a water jet. The fake—white hair, bewitching smirk—melted on the spot.
[High-Pressure Cleaner]
-Shwoooosh!!
The melting body oozed into black slime goo, which clumped up and reformed into something else in a flash.
"Wheeeing!!"
Blue hair. Crushing curves. In an instant, it was Aqua's spitting image—the fake snatched control of my water jet, sized up the scene, reclaimed the blood reins from Erzsebet's counterattack, and threw up a water shield to block it.
Then it bolted toward the demons swarming in from the noise, like it planned to vanish into the crowd.
"Catch it now! It'll be a nightmare if it slips away!"
Erzsebet's [Employee] status let us tell real from fake, but this doppelganger's flawless shifts into anyone would make hiding among the demon horde a total disaster.
I whipped out the [Dry Mop] in a frenzy, wiping away the fake Aqua's water shield. Panic flickered across its face before it morphed again.
-Shwoooosh!!
Pink hair. Killer figure. And the instant it changed, pink mist billowed from its body.
This time, Lilith-morphed doppelganger unleashed her signature fog—not the usual light veil Lilith used to obscure herself, but full-bore, face right out there.
"....Kuh!!"
The second we breathed it in, Erzsebet's thrusting blood spear wobbled. She whipped up a tiny blood dagger in her palm and slashed her own eyes.
-Pfshh!!
Desperate hack to dodge the hallucination. Ignoring her, I hosed the fake—grinning smug at the sight—with my [High-Pressure Cleaner].
-Thwack!!
"....!!？！？"
What'd you expect? Lilith's original trick never worked on me anyway. Didn't see that coming?
"Master! What the....?"
"B-Blood!"
Right on cue, demons poured in from the ruckus. I bellowed at them.
"Stay back! You could get mixed up with it! Keep your distance....!"
"Call Lilith! Pin it with illusions!"
"？？？？"
Mid-shout to hold the demons off, a super-familiar voice layered over mine—like a recording of me hitting play.
'No freaking way?!'
Whipping around, the fake I'd blasted flat was now me. Pristine white uniform. [Cleaning Mask]. [High-Pressure Cleaner] in hand. Perfect rip-off.
That bastard... turned into me!
"M-Master... two of 'em..?"
"One's fake! Don't get duped!"
The demons, geared to charge, froze in confusion. While I reeled, my doppelganger hollered at them in my voice.
"No panic—form ranks. It's a rat in a poison trap anyway."
'...The hell.'
Even to my ears, it sounded dead-on. That "rat in a poison trap" phrasing, the lofty tone for the minions...
"Th-That one's the real deal?"
The demons hearing the fake started waver—big time.
Okay, fine. Just prove I'm real...
".....Uuum.... Screw it!"
"？！？！"
"？！？！"
Right then, Rio—yawning and rubbing sleepy eyes from the underling pack, half-watching this clown show—fired up her [High-Pressure Cleaner].
The flame-spewing one.
Two reactions: My copy twisted wildly to dodge the blaze. I stood pat, trusting my [Janitor's Clothes].
Then Rio beamed bright and jabbed a finger at the fake.
"That's the fake!"
"......"
"......"
"......"
Like they'd beheld peak insanity, everyone stared at Rio—even the fake, face flat-out baffled.
.....Rio. Props for remembering fire doesn't faze me and nailing the tell... but don't folks say it first...? Gotta school her manners. Blasting flames at folks outta nowhere...
Starting to creep me out. Did I screw up raising her?
In the end, Rio blew its cover—the fake got nabbed. Surprise: it barely put up a fight during the grab? Just used powers to bail earlier...
No real beef with us, plain as day.
"Talk, and we won't scrap you on sight."
....Pump the brakes on lines like that.
Shapeshifter laughs at cells or cuffs, so we rigged a pod wrapped tight in Dry's roots. We grilled the black-slime-mode doppelganger.
"First off... you crawled out from under the ruins, right?"
"Gurgle.... Affirmative."
Interrogating it, big diff from Erzsebet or Lilith mode: total mute button. Robotic, maybe?
Answers direct, but clipped monosyllables, stiff delivery...
Still, cooperative enough—I led with why it'd shapeshifted everywhere sowing chaos. Answer? Gold.
"Hobby."
"....?"
No mishear. Its chaos-trolling rampage? Pure "hobby."
"...Master. Can't we just kill it?"
"...Get the urge, but hold up."
I was floored too, but toughed it out.
Digging deeper...
"Eats. Well. Swallows. Well. Envy."
"Envy?"
Dunno how it wound up jammed in the underground lake bed, but Aqua fished it out. Playing to type, it mimicked her.
Surfacing, it clocked all races mingling, living it up.
"Me. Fake. Can't. Envy."
"......"
That "fake" from the doppelganger—shapeshifter—stirred some pity.
'Can't build bonds like that 'cause it's fake?'
Self-labeled phony, admits it can't, flat-out envious.
Thought it was just trolling.... Maybe it craved melting into the scene, chilling with us...
"So. Fail."
"....?"
"Shift. Wreck. Squeeze. In. Fail. Fun. Watch. Hobby."
".........."
Pity revoked.
'Straight-up psycho troll.'
Cant abide others thriving since it can't—trashes the vibe for kicks.
The freshly unearthed sixth of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Was a troll.
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