Doppelganger Extermination Battle - 3: The Child of Human and Demon
The hybrid Butler Kimbrey was the clear answer to that question: what happened when a human and a demon mated? Was the child born of such a union truly human? Or was it a damned demon?
When a human and a demon fell for each other, they gave birth to a demon. Not some half-baked half-breed, but a demon with complete abilities and a perfect body. It simply went unnoticed because Doppelgangers were a species that assumed human form from the moment of birth. And without parents to establish his identity for him, he had failed to realize it at first.
Butler himself only understood that something was wrong when he was eight years old. Watching the most popular and handsome boy in his class, he had thought, Ah, I want to be like that too. And he really had become exactly like him. He could mimic the appearance, the voice, the clothes the boy wore, and perhaps even that distinctive personality.
Young Butler, clever even as a child, had known this was impossible. He might have considered it his own special ability, but instead he had thought of himself as a monster. A monster that could copy human forms. Terrified by that truth, Butler had kept the fact that he was a monster a secret from everyone. There was no one he could consult about the problem, no one he could lean on. He had no parents to ask what was happening to him. So, fearing he might be taken away if anyone realized he was different, Butler had kept his mouth tightly shut.
With no one to protect him and no one to explain what he was, he had lived by imitating the children around him. He had tried to act in an extremely normal way. Damn it all, he possessed an innate talent for copying others; what he already knew he performed as if it were natural, and what he did not know he quickly replicated. Since he could imitate every possible talent, anyone who did not know the truth would have seen him as a genius among humans.
Yet Butler carried a deep sense of alienation and guilt about his own existence, so he could never hold his head high. Somehow I feel like a mutant. To resolve that discomfort, his decision to become a police officer had been almost inevitable. His heart was too righteous for him to become a criminal. Even when dark impulses occasionally rose inside him, he overcame them all and lived a just life; therefore it was only natural that he chose a profession in which he helped others. There had certainly been an element of justifying his own existence, but in any case Butler Kimbrey had become an officer who strove to keep others from suffering. He walked a path of rigorous self-discipline solely to live with integrity.
During work hours he performed his duties faithfully. He risked his life to capture criminals who disturbed society and firmly refused every bribe offered to him. If one overlooked the fact that he possessed monstrous abilities, he was a truly model officer.
After roughly ten years on the job he had accumulated real experience. While searching old archives he had vaguely learned of the existence of Doppelgangers and speculated that he might possess their powers.
Even then, Butler had never revealed his Doppelganger abilities to the outside world. He had never been discovered by anyone. Until the age of thirty he had lived purely as a human.
“Hello, Officer.”
Nevertheless, one day a visitor came. It was a monster who introduced himself as a vampire.
“Don’t you want to find your parents?”
It was a damned demon.
After that, [REDACTED] realized from whom he had been born. He learned exactly what abilities he possessed. He received a new identity from his new master. He became a young man named Butler Kimbrey and once again became an officer. Although he was forced to confront the fact that he was a monster, the new life was quite satisfying. He detested associating with demons, yet working for the sake of the world proved a rather rewarding endeavor.
──When the offspring of a demon and a human mated with a human once more, they produced a human child. Having obtained one more definitive answer, he was finally able to love.
“I’m home.”
“You’ve worked hard today too. The baby seems to be welcoming you as well. It’s kicking hard right now.”
Upon entering the hospital room, Butler looked at his wife stroking her belly and smiled brightly. His wife smiled back at him with equal warmth.
Yes, what did it matter that he had been born a monster? Right now he was living a more human life than anyone else. Born a demon, he had spent his childhood among humans and continued to live as one. Aside from the two people who knew his secret, he could hold his head high before the entire world.
Yes, I am human.
Butler Kimbrey carefully pressed his lips to his wife’s prominently rounded belly. She let out a childish giggle. Leaning his head on her shoulder, Butler repeated his identity to himself. I am a righteous officer and a human.
Baby, please show some respect.
Yet for some reason his head ached badly today.
Drip… drop……
Blood fell to the ground. Ellyse Bertman clutched her torn forearm and did her best to keep moving. With a contorted face she cursed her own stupidity.
Bullets hurt like a bitch.
Firearms made by humans posed a threat in an entirely different sense from a monster’s movements. By the time the gunshot reached your ears, you were already pierced. She had tried to crush both the pistol and the monster’s hand together, but she had been a step too late. The bullet had discharged, and Ellyse had instinctively twisted her body, yet her forearm was still grazed. The pain that clawed at her nerves could not be dismissed as a mere graze.
The confidence that she somehow would not be hit had vanished in an instant. …So this was simply something you could not avoid. If it struck the head, you would die. Ellyse Bertman reflected on her mistake once more. Instead of training only in the operation of Mystery, she should have tried to learn Inspector Ellyna Bastard’s movements. With her current sluggish speed she could not even dodge a mere pistol. That person probably would have avoided it without effort!
Even while lost in such reflection, Inspector Ellyse continued the pursuit. Following the blood drops left on the ground, she chased the monster that had dared to imitate her appearance. No matter that it was a monster, with blood pouring from one arm its stamina would soon run dry. She had pursued with that belief, yet the creature was escaping better than expected.
Even in human form, is the bleeding irrelevant?
The Doppelganger persistently tried to widen the distance by racing through back alleys. In that short time it had attempted to disguise the blood-drop traces to hide its path, chosen routes unknown to outsiders, and advanced quickly on its own. Clearly it possessed high intelligence unlike the monsters from the laboratory. Others would have struggled greatly.
But Ellyse Bertman had her own reliable tracking method.
“Inhale… haa.”
Ellyse breathed in. City smog, cigarette butts, the unique damp stench of the back alleys filled her nose. The refreshing mint scent that faintly clung to her own body was there as well. And the monster’s trace, a chaotic mixture of countless human body odors, was unmistakable.
This way.
Having instinctively chosen the route, she recalled an old memory.
You were born to be an officer. You’ve got the nose of a bloodhound.
When Inspector Ellyna Bastard had said that, Ellyse had not understood what she meant, but now she truly seemed to be a bloodhound. Since when had her sense of smell developed to this degree? She gave a small laugh and quickened her pursuit of the monster.
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
With light footsteps she strode through the back alleys. She had destroyed the creature’s pistol long ago and had already contacted the station to request backup. She would be the one to capture the Doppelganger that even Ellyna Bastard had never seen. She was not the type to covet credit, but this was not a bad outcome……
As she steadily closed the distance, Ellyse suddenly realized something. The creature that had been diving deeper into narrow alleys to escape had, at some point, begun heading toward wider streets. A bustling avenue packed with ordinary citizens. At this rate it was moving toward the main road.
……If it goes that way it will be caught immediately, yet it’s heading out? Does it possess another Mystery besides transformation? Or are its physical abilities surprisingly strong……
Ellyse realized she had acted rashly. Whether the bullet had merely grazed her forearm or the creature had screamed while fleeing, she should have blown its head off on the spot. Without any guarantee that reinforcements could capture it safely, she should have killed it immediately instead of entertaining indecisive thoughts like taking it alive. If a citizen died because of a single moment of foolishness, what kind of tragedy would that be?
Ellyse Bertman twisted her face and hastened her steps. Following the monster’s traces, she left the back alley and reached the main avenue that would be crowded with pedestrians. She began to scan for its location, then immediately froze.
The Doppelganger stood openly in the middle of the avenue as if it had no intention of fleeing at all. Moreover, it held a pistol in its uninjured hand. So it had carried a second one.
Feeling a surge of dismay, Ellyse was about to kill the creature at once when an inexplicable sense of unease washed over her. There should have been more than ten seconds before she arrived, yet no one on the street had died. The fact that no one was screaming despite an officer standing there with one arm blown off and bleeding profusely grated on her nerves.
And Ellyse soon understood why.
“Everyone is being deceived!”
Ellyse Bertman suddenly shouted at the top of her lungs.
“The government! The city council! You have no idea what kind of heinous crimes they are committing!”
…This is dangerous.
Instead of using Mystery or her pistol, Ellyse decided to subdue it directly. If someone with the same face charged at it, people would sense something was wrong, but it would be far better than a head suddenly exploding. Feeling an ominous premonition, she ran forward breathlessly. She pushed through the dazed crowd and tried to reach the Doppelganger.
“──I’m telling you! The daughter of the Minister of Military Affairs is telling you! This country has gone insane!”
Ellyse Bertman yelled.
No, look at that crazy bitch. The real Ellyse scrunched her face and tried to run even faster.
“If things go wrong everyone will d—”
BANG!
At that moment a gunshot rang out. The sound was so heavy one might have mistaken it for cannon fire. In truth it did not matter what the weapon was. Unlike the uncertain nature of the weapon, the result was brutally clear.
“……Huh.”
Someone among the citizens mumbled blankly. Yet no one could blame him. The sight of a headless corpse standing before one’s eyes was rare, and remaining calm in the face of it was nearly impossible.
Swaying—the blonde, passionate, young, and beautiful inspector staggered, her head gone. Soon she lost her balance and collapsed onto the pavement with a wet thud. Bright red blood spread across the street. Screams raced outward even faster.
And Ellyse Bertman, who had arrived one fatal step too late, stared at the corpse at her feet.
“……Insane.”
Seeing her own corpse was an utterly horrific thing.