Very clearly, Mirelle was incredibly important to the old lady.
Perhaps not even the old lady, but whatever cult she belonged to. In fact, thinking back to what I had managed to gather, it appeared to be the cult leader who was interested in Mirelle.
Something about needing her to help them advance.
The old lady’s reaction was all that I needed to see to confirm such thoughts.
Seeing how she followed all of my instructions, and even went as far as cancelling whatever rite she was trying to perform, I understood just how important Mirelle was to her and the cult.
I took advantage of that.
The strange barrier in front of me vanished in an instant. Without hesitation, I lunged straight at the old woman instead of running away.
“You—!”
The old lady’s face contorted and twisted the moment she saw me lunge in her direction, but I didn’t care and immediately lashed down with my hand as the Dreamwalker in her grasp squirmed and made things more difficult for her.
My first thought before had been to find this chance to run away.
However, I realized that it would probably lead to another chase. Not only that, if there was a possibility of another Twisted Man lurking around somewhere, I knew that I’d be doomed.
That was why I decided to go directly to the old lady.
Not only could she control the Twisted Men, but she also had valuable information about the strange cult.
If I could just take care of her, then I’d be able to learn more about the cult while at the same time escape this entire scenario.
’I’ve also felt her strength. Besides the fact that she can control the Twisted Man, she isn’t very strong.’
The plan was solid, and I was quick to act.
Everything was perfect. From the timing of my actions, to the clear startled look on the old lady’s face.
But—
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Right as I began to move, I heard the sudden sound of something rapidly approaching from the stairs, and my heart nearly leaped out of my chest as I caught a glimpse of a large shadow appearing from the side of the stairs as it directly headed my way.
It was fast.
Incredibly fast.
I knew in that moment that the Twisted Man was coming. But instead of panicking, I continued with my actions, hammering down at the old lady as she raised both hands to block the attack.
BANG!
The attack hit, and she stumbled back.
As she did, the Twisted Man’s figure became even clearer in the background as its head turned to stare in my direction, sending chills down my entire body.
’Now!’
A long shadow appeared behind the old lady right as she stumbled back, grasping her arms.
“L-let go…!”
Clearly, although she wasn’t as strong as the Twisted Man, she was still quite strong, as she nearly managed to escape the grasp of the Dreamwalker. But it was still not enough as I immediately rushed ahead and extended my hand as a long tip formed, stopping right at the old woman’s neck.
I froze in place, the world around me stilling as my eyes slowly rose to meet the massive figure looming behind the old woman. Its crooked grin revealed jagged teeth, and the shadow cast by its large top hat masked much of its face, making it all the more sinister.
Its presence alone made me shiver.
It almost felt as though a massive boulder had been placed over my shoulders, causing them to bend slightly as I tried my best to maintain my composure.
But it was hard to do so.
Staring at the end tip of the black substance that stopped right at the old lady’s neck, I opened my mouth, feeling the slight sting that came from my dry lips separating for the first time in a while.
“Tell it to move back… or you’ll die.”
Ba… Thump! Ba… Thump!
The moment I spoke, I felt my own heart rate spike up to an unimaginable rate as I stared at the Twisted Man.
I was tense. Incredibly so as I forgot to breathe for a moment.
Will it act, or will it not…?
I waited for what felt like forever, but… thankfully, the Twisted Man didn’t move at all.
It was almost as if it didn’t care about my voice as it continued to keep its gaze on me.
Waiting for some sort of command.
That was when I knew that my plan had worked.
’…As expected. It won’t move now that the old lady is in danger.’
This was indeed the key to getting out.
I could now also speak without worrying about the Twisted Man as I stared at the old lady in front of me.
For the first time in a while, I finally found myself relaxing a little.
“Shall we have a talk? The two of us…?”
***
At the same time.
It was still quite early in the morning. About 3 a.m. Usually, at this time, most people were asleep. Even those from the Guild.
Most monsters came from gates, and unless an emergency situation occurred, there was no need for them to do anything.
The only department that needed to be alert at night was the Containment Department. Unlike the other departments, anomalies acted in the middle of the night more often than not.
But with that being said, not many stayed in the office during nighttime.
They were usually all sent towards areas where the anomalies were reported.
Currently, the Section Chief’s office.
“Oh dear.”
Staring at the numerous paperwork piled up in front of him, the Section Chief scratched the back of his head.
Beside him stood a woman with short black hair that brushed her shoulders. A look of pity softened her features as she glanced at the Section Chief, gently resting her hand on his shoulder.
“…With a good salary comes a lot of work.”
“….”
The Section Chief didn’t even feel like replying at all.
No, he did actually…
“Yes, and also a great assistant, don’t you think, Team Leader Soran?”
“Huh?”
The woman’s face changed the moment she felt the Section Chief’s gaze. Her brows furrowed as she took a step back.
“Hold on, don’t tell me you actually think I will help you with this?”
The Section Chief smiled, and the Team Leader’s face crumbled as she immediately turned around to face the door.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Leaving. No shit. I don’t get paid enough for this.”
“No, you’re staying.”
The Section Chief forced her to sit on one of the sofas despite her protests that went on like, ’It’s the middle of the night. Why am I still supposed to work? What sort of slavery is this?’ He ignored her and sat down at his desk.
But just as he did, he heard her groan again.
Lifting his head to stare at the Team Leader, she slumped the papers on the table before looking at him.
“This is ridiculous. Why am I the only one getting called to do this? I’m sure the other Team Leaders are also available.”
“They aren’t.”
“But—”
“They’re supervising the members, alongside the exchange members from the other departments. A role that you yourself managed to slip away from.”
“…..”
To his words, the Team Leader could only remain quiet.
She was just about to prepare a response when the Section Chief spoke again.
“I’ve also received several reports from Kyle and Zoey about you throwing all your responsibilities to them.”
“What?!”
Team Leader Soran nearly jumped up from shock.
“Those rats did wha—” Catching her slip up, the Team Leader immediately covered her mouth, but it was too late as the Section Chief heard her and shook his head.
For someone as capable as her, she really was…
Extremely lazy.
And it was because of how she was that the Section Chief found himself acting differently around her.
“Get to work.”
Shaking his head, he pointed at the papers in front of her.
“The faster we get this done, the quicker we can go h—”
The Section Chief barely managed to get a few words out before his phone rang. Frowning, he looked at it to check who was contacting him at this hour, before his brows jumped up.
“Well, fine. I’ll do the paperwork for now. Can you tell me where—”
“Scratch that.”
The Section Chief strode toward the hangar at the far end of the room, grabbed his coat and top hat, quickly donned them, and hurried toward the door.
“Do this all yourself. I need to go.”
Clank!
He left right after that, leaving the Team Leader at a complete loss.
By the time she snapped out of it, he was already gone.
A look of despair marred her features.
“Wait, wait, wait… Section Chief!!”