Chapter 126 Threat Again
A year ago… there was a massive monster invasion in the town of Parade where Reus’ lover lived.
We were also there. The monsters were driven away with the great effort of Reus and the townspeople, but obviously, the monster invasion was strange.
In that situation, there was Chimera which was a monster that an unlikely wide variety of monster mixed together that would never born naturally. It was as if it was attached with other monsters by force.
As a result of an investigation, it gathered monsters, and it turned out that this monster invasion was caused by someone’s hand.
The deciding factor of that thought was… a mysterious woman who I found in the middle of the situation.
I sensed danger because she was as if observing the outcome of Chimera, so I aimed with [Magnum], but I missed inflicting a fatal wound.
I was convinced that the prey that slipped away was a man before me whose named McDatt.
It was a story of a year ago, but the prey wasn’t only having a different mana response, the gender was completely different. However, there was no mistake about that expression as if watching a laboratory animal with great delight.
“I wonder if the wound shot by me already completely cured?” (Sirius)
McDatt put up a hideous smile at the words I uttered with certainty.
My confused companion also probably sensed that he was an enemy. They started to feel wary of the existence of McDatt or something while preparing for battle.
Then, the Beast King and Grethe, who were deeply related to McDatt, asked questions while puzzled by the situation.
“Who are you? Aren’t you… McDatt-sama?” (Grethe)
“What are you saying, Grethe? I am definitely McDatt.” (McDatt)
“Don’t lie. McDatt is not a person who has that kind of presence and laugh! Where is the real person!?” (Eisen)
“So persistent, isn’t it? Well, it may be true though. The real McDatt is asleep.” (McDatt)
Although the intimidation unleashed by those two was considerable, the hideous smile of McDatt didn’t crumble, and it seemed that he didn’t intend to hide the tone or expression already.
As for escaping, the only door in the room was in the way of the Beast King. It wouldn’t be easy then. If he broke the window and escape, I would definitely shot him with [Magnum] this time.
However, since I didn’t know the true nature of his existence, it would be dangerous to attack blindly. I was looking at the situation to collect information even a little, but when he slowly started walking, he brought a chair in front of a window and just sat down.
“Sleeping? If it’s like this, shall I force you to speak up?” (Eisen)
“Please wait, Beast King-sama. There is probably no mistake that he is the real McDatt.” (Sirius)
“…What do you mean?” (Eisen)
“The body is certainly McDatt, but there is a possibility that some other existence possesses him.” (Sirius)
He looked like an ordinary man and the mana response that I felt through [Search] was completely different from that woman a year ago.
However, those were the information felt from outside, and the slight inconsistency of mana response felt since I met this guy was… now several times more disordered compared to what could occur naturally.
However, by directly meeting him, I was able to confirm the true nature by looking at that smile and air around him. I could probably find out more by touching him, but there was almost no mistake.
It was sure enough. When McDatt heard my words, let alone of that hideous smile, he was laughing out loud.
“Hehehe, I can’t say nothing but splendid. Like you have said, I am existence that possess McDatt who Beast King-sama knows.” (McDatt)
“…You awfully make light of that, huh?” (Sirius)
“I told you because it won’t be a problem to me. Even so, you really amaze me. You arrived at this answer without even doing enough investigation, isn’t it?” (McDatt)
He looked at me with an impressed expression, but I wasn’t very happy about it.
Anyhow, I had plenty of irrational experience… well starting with previous life experience with Shishou, a sacred tree that talked about incarnation, and a talking knife even though it felt awfully unbalanced. It was too late to feel strange if there was an existence that possessed like a ghost.
“Well, you don’t have to care about me. When you are on the surface, where is the original owner of the body?” (Sirius)
“He is completely asleep when I take over the consciousness. In fact, the owner’s consciousness is a hindrance, but it is necessary for to break the surroundings…” (McDatt)
The Beast King was starting to unleash bloodlust at the enemy who completely treated people like a tool.
After listening to that, McDatt seemed to be an old timer who had served this castle for long time. I guessed that it was natural that the Beast King because McDatt was his close friend and advisor.
However, when he received such a bloodlust, the existence that stood before us was sitting on a chair while remained aloof.
“There is no mistake that you are that woman who ran away at that time.” (Sirius)
“Ooh, the wound you inflicted was severe. In addition, the body movement also became bad, and I was in trouble because of it, but should I be thankful because I was approached by this man?” (McDatt)
“If you were the one that attacked Parade, you were also the one who created that good-for-nothing monster that gather various monsters, right?” (Sirius)
“Stop there! I would say that it is true, but shall I correct one of your assumption? That wasn’t a good-for-nothing monster. It was one of my greatest works!” (McDatt)
He was probably fixated, but he showed an excessive reaction to my statement.
Although he made something that could destroy a town if it wasn’t properly managed, I couldn’t see any reflection from the behavior when he rebutted.
It was common to mad scientist, and they were existences who thought nothing but their own work.
“Subsequently, let me tell you my name as a reward for noticing my identity. My name is Belford. I am a great magical researcher who transcends death.” (McDatt/Belford) (TLN: The name in raw is ベルフォード, I will use this name from now on.)
When I thought of why he stood on a chair, Belford spread his hands as if giving speech.
Not only true identity, he also taught the name easily, but I didn’t recognize that name.
I was concern about many things, but what did he mean by transcending death?
“…What are you talking about? It will be over when you die, isn’t it?” (Reus)
“Well. That’s why we’re going to live our live to the fullest.” (Emilia)
Yes… the siblings were right, death would surely come.
Besides, I firmly thought them about it. Whether there was magic or other world, there was no such thing as running away from death.
I was curious about what he said, but let’s put the matter of death aside.
First of all, why was such a person here…?
“So, you who transcended death, why would you possess a human body and what are you trying to do?” (Sirius)
“Oh my, your reaction is weak. I don’t die you know? Aren’t you interested about that?” (Belford)
“I have no interest in immortality. It’s because that kind of idea is coming for a weak person.” (Sirius)
“I am also not interested. Never mind. Answer my question quickly! What were you planning to do in our country!?” (Eisen)
“Ooh, that’s scary. It can’t be helped then. Let me tell you.” (Belford)
There was no change in the attitude of Belford even though we had the Beast King, Grethe, and Hokuto in this place.
Instead, while displaying pleasure, he started to talk as if giving a presentation.
“The reason why I am here is to experiment… nothing else. I was looking for a new experiment since I couldn’t do it in the place before, and I accidentally came across an interesting experiment…” (Belford)
“Experiment… are you kidding me, you bastard!?” (Eisen)
“Yeah. It’s about your cute Mary-chan.” (Belford)
“–!? What did you do to Mary-sama!?” (Grethe)
“Even though the effect has remarkably appeared, you probably don’t know. But, as for you, adventurers, you already know, right?” (Belford)
“…Aah.” (Sirius)
Although Mea was poisoned in the past, she was popular enough to make beastkin to create a fuss just because of mana exhaustion.
What did this guy do in Parade was creating a monster that gathered surrounding monsters.
The similarity about those two matters was…
“Did you sow a method of fascinating beastkin in that child?” (Sirius)
“You’re sharp, but it is a bit different. What attract the beastkin is the ability held in that experimental body since the beginning. I pulled it out a little bit and made it easier to influence the surroundings.” (Belford)
I had expected that for a bit, but was that the ability of Mea since the beginning?
But, I got to understand a lot of things.
She was also a child, but even though the siblings were angry because I was put in jail, they were having an unusual favorable feeling about Mea.
The Beast King and Grethe, who heard the reply, opened their eyes as though they were shocked, but Belford spoke while still smiling.
“Oh my, are you shocked? But, don’t worry. Your affection is a real affection.” (Belford)
“You…” (Eisen)
“My former body had reached the limit and when I tried to enter the body of the man who helped me… I surely didn’t think that I could find such an interesting experimental body.” (Belford)
“You said that you were rescued? Could it be that… you were that woman who attacked McDatt-sama?” (Grethe)
“That is correct. Plus, I was glad that this man was the educator for that experimental body. It was all coincidental, but I was trembled with joy at that time! Ahahaha!” (Belford)
A year ago… after Belford was inflicted with a fatal injury by [Magnum]… s/he went beyond the previous continent and arrived at Arbitray.
However, the body that was shot by [Magnum] reached the limit and it seemed that McDatt helped her when s/he collapsed in this town.
Then, McDatt was attacked due to carelessness, s/he abandoned the former body and possessed McDatt. Incidentally, the former body died after biting McDatt’s chest.
Moreover, in order to praise his brilliant achievement, Belford’s mad presentation continued.
“Although it is not as much as me, that experimental body’s curiosity is strong. Since this man was in trouble since he moved here and there, I helped a bit, and he merely accepted.” (Belford)
“No way… did you poisoned Mary-sama!?” (Grethe)
“Oi oi, that is a misunderstanding. I only gave the ingredients to the cook, and that guy arbitrarily used it. So, it’s not because of me. That guy forgot to ask about the ingredients, but yeah…” (Belford)
Perhaps, the cook was made to forget about the ingredients that contained poison by implication.
Although there was no magic tool used like in Grethe case, if the cook knew how to use it, McDatt could do it when that cook was put to sleep by using drugs.
“My plan was to make the eyes was completely unusable. However, it was unexpected that the experimental body could go out even though she couldn’t see well and because of the early treatment by the beastkin.” (Belford)
I had predicted that, but… there were still a lot of missing pieces.
There was no need to ask questions since he would continue talking, and we had to listen to his sickening story and things that we didn’t need to hear.
The Beast king and Grethe were enduring well–… No, when I looked at them, they were thinking hard about it.
Perhaps, they were thinking that their affection were due to Mea’s ability?
It surely looked abnormal, but from the reaction of the siblings, I thought that it was favorable due to fostering of relationship bit by bit. Rather, even though the blood wasn’t connected, I knew an old man who thought of Emilia as a cute granddaughter.
It might be a pity, but even when I looked at it, it felt something wrong whether it could be said as a true affection.
Why was this guy… keep talking without hiding anything?
Was it because he was telling lies?
Or was it because he wanted to brag about his research?
Or was he giving up because he couldn’t escape?
It could be any one of them, but as we became concerned about what he was saying, it was certain that he was sealing off our approach.
Or maybe… he was trying to earn time?
“Reus, Hokuto… secure him.” (Sirius)
“Understood!” (Reus)
“Woof!” (Hokuto)
“Oh my, this chit chat has to end here. It can’t be helped… Come on in.” (Belford)
I didn’t know his aim, but I had a bad feeling. Therefore, we were trying to catch him while he was still talking.
It seemed that the Beast King also came to the same idea when looking at us. At that time, when the Beast King moved in to fill the gap… the door of the room was suddenly opened.
“Hmm? Ooh, you came just right. Catch that guy… what are you guys doing?” (Eisen)
The ones that entered the room was the Beast King’s family members, Isabella and Keith, but… the situation was obviously strange.
Isabella held the sleeping Mea on her chest while Keith was carrying a halberd which wasn’t drawn.
Instead of looking at the surprised Beast King, they walked toward Belford with no hesitation, and handed Mea over.
“Wha!? Isabella, what are you doing!?” (Eisen)
“It’s just… for Mary’s sake.” (Isabella)
“Your brother will do everything for the sister.” (Keith)
Then, they came in front of us in order to protect Belford.
I didn’t sense any bloodlust, but I had a feeling of urgency that this would surely became a battle if things handled poorly.
“You came on time. Actually, it’s not only these people, I am also in trouble because Beast King-sama tries to harm Mary.” (Belford)
“Yeah… that’s too bad.” (Isabella)
“Even if it’s the old man, I will not allow him to touch my sister!” (Keith)
“Why would I do such a thing!? And what on earth are you trying to do?” (Eisen)
“Beast King-sama. Apparently, these two seem to be in the same situation as Grethe.” (Sirius)
Looking at the state of those two and the appearance of Belford, it seemed that they were implicated.
However, that didn’t deter us even a bit.
They were strong, but I didn’t think that they had an opening to be implicated. Especially Isabella, I had a feeling that she would avoid such things like drugs and suspicious movements by intuition, but…
“Discernment. Like what I said earlier, these two were under impression that what they were doing were correct. Today, there were various things happened and they were tired. So, it was easy to be deceived.” (Sirius)
…Apparently, they didn’t put up vigilance because they were tired due to the battles with us.
Furthermore, since this guy was also Mary’s educator, their vigilance would be more relaxed if he brought her before them.
“Not only my daughter, he also got my wife and son on his side. But, don’t think you can return home!” (Eisen)
“You know, no matter how you look at it, they are happy, right? They would wage their life for loved one… isn’t this something beautiful for existence like you guys?” (Belford)
“Are you kidding me!? Are you saying that it is a useless thing to do!?” (Eisen)
“This is for Mary’s sake!” (Keith)
“You need to wake up! Don’t lose to the implication!” (Reus)
Despite of the implication, I guessed that he couldn’t forgive Keith’s behavior just because he fought him once.
While Reus shouted, I whispered to the Beast King and told the information.
“Beast King-sama. About those two…” (Sirius)
Apparently, this was the first time that those two were implicated.
This was my expectation, but since this was their first time, the implication effect might be light. So, in case of the perseverance, if they were given a strong blow, they might return to sanity.
Other than that, I asked the Beast King to stop their movement so that he could resolve the implication. He, then, quietly nodded.
“If that’s the case, I will hold down my wife. Grethe, you look for that guy’s opening and regain Mary.” (Eisen)
“…By all mean!” (Grethe)
“I’m sorry, but I need your help. I leave Keith and McDatt to you guys, alright?” (Eisen)
“You don’t have to apologize. I also have a reason to bring him down.” (Sirius)
“Thanks. I don’t mind if you hit my son, but please don’t kill him. And that McDatt, he is a suspicious existence beyond reason… so I will let you decide. No matter the result is, I promise that I won’t treat it as a crime.” (Eisen)
“I will do my best. Then, as I expected…” (Sirius)
“Leave Keith to me, Aniki! I am going to beat him and wake him up!” (Reus)
Like this, the remaining of us would be Belford’s opponents.
I didn’t know the requirement of taking possession by the enemy, but since there was an information that he bit the chest, I should avoid contact as much as possible.
Although the fatigue of the day still remained, I had a persistent ladies team and also Hokuto. Therefore, there was no need to be impatient. Anyhow, I just need to be careful if I was going to do this.
However, there were things that were still worrisome.
I was surprised with his reinforcement, but was that all in his hand?
He was a person who almost didn’t leave traces when experimenting in Romanio, so would he try to fight with such a difference in fighting power?
When I thought about it, Belford true nature wasn’t an implication but a monster.
Then, he casually walked toward… the window by his side.
I instinctively activated a wide range [Search], and…
“Woof!” (Hokuto)
“…Something is coming! Get away from the window!” (Sirius)
Hokuto barked as he noticed the presence and at the same time, I also caught a reaction approaching from the sky above the castle at great speed with [Search]
With a considerable size of reaction, it completely fell down and stopped in front of the window behind Belford. That caused severe impact and wind pressure to the surrounding. The impact caused the windows and walls crumbled and wind blew into the room.
The flying fragments of walls and windows were attacking us, but all of it were knocked down by Reus’ and my weapons and Hokuto’s claws and tail while he stood in front of the ladies.
It seemed that the Beast King survived without problems, but his eyes and Grethe’s were directed outside the broken window behind Belford.
“Kuhh… what is that!?” (Eisen)
“Huge…” (Grethe)
A huge dragon was there.
Its size was five times bigger than Hokuto, but… I wasn’t sure whether I should call it a dragon.
The scale and color of dragons were different depending on species, but most of the time, it had a beautiful brilliant one color on the whole body.
However, the existence in front of me looked dirty on the whole, and I didn’t feel like calling it beautiful at all. If it was a human, the skin was peeling off and it was severely rough.
The body illuminated by the moonlight was black overall, but it came with several red and yellow arms, blue scales feet, and green wings… It was probably the same as the Chimera we saw before.
The Chimera seen in Parade were made with various local monsters, and since this monster was made by dragons alone, should I called it a synthetic dragon?
With the synthetic dragon behind, Belford held Mary while putting up an ominous smile.
“…Is that also your work?” (Sirius)
“Yeah, call it Dragloss.” (Belford) (TLN: The name in raw is ドラグロス)
When Belford raised his hand, the synthetic dragon called Dragloss gave a loud roar. This was exactly the same behavior as Chimera we had seen before.
I immediately activated [Search], and as I expected, I noticed several reactions approaching our direction. At the same time, Hokuto loudly howled and raised vigilance.
During that gap, Belford jumped out of the window and he was looking down at us from the back of Dragloss.
“Wait! What are you going to do with my daughter!?” (Eisen)
“What else other than doing experiments? I had to do it secretly until now, but it seems like I can do flashier than before.” (Belford)
“I’m not going to let you do that! I will get my daughter back!” (Eisen)
“…That’s not good.” (Isabella)
“Don’t get in the way, old man! This is for Mary’s sake!” (Keith)
The Beast King tried to jump out to the front, but he was blocked by Isabella and Keith.
It seemed that he still fixated in treating Mea as an experimental body. Therefore, I didn’t think he would do anything on this occasion, but I wasn’t sure what kind of mess he would do later.
I also thought about shooting him, but it it was difficult to do it since he looked to be wary about me. It might because he received [Magnum] in the past,
In the meantime, the pterosaurs that twice size of my body started to gather around Dragloss. The number was… twenty or so.
“Are those Lindworms!? That number is…” (Eisen)
“The amount seems troublesome, isn’t it? Where are these dragons coming from?” (Fia)
“It was a species of dragon inhabiting the mountain that a bit far from here. However, they rarely come to where people live… what does this mean?” (Eisen)
“Of course, this Dragloss called them. By the way, this has improved better than before. It doesn’t only gather, but it can give order. Don’t you think that this is amazing?” (Belford)
I wondered if he was proud of his word because he was strangely descriptive.
In other words, Belford was talking nonstop in order to earn time, and that was he called these dragons nearby.
The Lindworms didn’t attack us. I guessed that they were flying around Dragloss due to its new feature, but when dragons appeared in this number, it really stood out.
When I carefully listened, the voices of the beastkin who worked in the castle reverberated from the window of a colonnade. Then, the door of the guest room was opened again and several armed men came in.
“Are you safe, Beat King-sama?” (??)
“Beast King, this way, please! The Bow Squad and Magic Squad are ready!” (??)
“At the moment, there is no damage other than a part of the castle being broken! After this, we–…” (??)
“I’m fine. Head down.” (Eisen)
“But, Beast King-sama, with this number…” (??)
“I will bring them down. You guys, devote yourselves to defend the civilian!” (Eisen)
“““Ye-yes!””” (??)
The beastkin left the room with their tails up. They might feel the Beat King’s anger.
The Beast King was clutching the fist as he looked at me with sorry eyes, but I shook my head and gently smiled.
“We just have to do our best. The plan is as before…” (Sirius)
“…Thank you.” (Eisen)
“Heh… are you going to fight?” (Belford)
“Of course! No matter how many dragons gather, I will slice them all!” (Reus)
“It’s fine to be brave, but do you think that I have reason to beat you guys? As for me, the most important thing is this experimental body…” (Belford)
“Are you going to run away!?” (Reus)
“You know, I’m not interested with battle junkies like you guys.” (Belford)
…That was unsavory.
Belford was only staying for the conversation, and he would escape as soon as this was over.
It would be easy to rescue Mea if he thought about getting revenge on me, but judging from the appearance, he completely had no hesitation to run away.
In addition, even if Fia and I attacked the enemies in mid air, we would be stopped by the surrounding Lindworms. Plus, I hadn’t confirmed Dragloss strength yet.
He was still wary of my shooting as usual, so… this was really a troubling situation.
However… I couldn’t forgive his atrocity. More than just making Mary as an experimental tool, I couldn’t overlook the kidnapping.
I regret that I couldn’t finish him in the past, but… the time was now.
Anyhow, I was going to do what I could.
There was only one chance, so… coordination was also necessary.
Then, I used called to inform the strategy.
—
In the next episode (Fake)
“Hahaha! I got the experimental body!” (Belford)
“Damn it! My daughter will be kidnapped if I stay like this! Somebody, help me!” (Eisen)
“Woof!” (Hokuto)
At that moment… Hokuto disappeared and reappeared again. This time, Mea was gently held in Hokuto’s mouth.
“…Eh?” (Belford)
“Woof!” (Hokuto)
“Wha!? Give me back my experimental body–… gyaahhh!?” (Belford)
He gently put down Mea on the ground, and the moment Hokuto pointed his claws to the enemies… the bodies of Belford and Dragloss were shredded and dropped to the ground.
“…Woof!” (Hokuto)
“It’s settled with this, Aniki!” (Reus)
“…Yeah, sure.” (Sirius)
The title for this joke material would be ‘Hoku-Mon’. (TLN: I think the -Mon part is related to some joke, but I forgot what it is all about.)
