Chapter 153
“Come here.”
Terrified by the sight of me striding closer with the rod of love in hand, the mad scientist let out a Hiiiik-! sound.
What did I even do? I thought it was a bit of an overreaction…
Then again, my current appearance probably doesn’t look very friendly.
My eyes show heavy dark circles from roaming the neighborhood acting as a sidekick on top of an early morning shift, and a Darth Vader Mask covers my entire lower face.
Plus, I am wearing an all-black full-body suit stained with the blood of Infected Entities.
Wearing such a bizarrely mismatched outfit while holding an Electric Shock baton and saying things like, “You need a beating,” I must look like a complete crazy person.
Even a mad scientist would inevitably pale in comparison to true madness, an assailant, or similar threats.
Not that I’m true madness, an assailant, or anything… Ugh, whatever. My brain is tired, so I’m having all sorts of weird thoughts.
I’m going to finish this quickly and go home to get some sleep.
As I tried to run and approach, the scientist threw something from his chest again. I snatched it, thinking it was another flask, but upon checking, it was different this time.
It was a metal device small enough to fit in one hand. Its surface was dotted with holes. It looked a bit like a speaker.
Thinking it might be an explosion, I tossed it far away for now. About a second later, a loud noise echoed from the mechanical device.
A literal noise that mixed a woman’s scream with metal music, bizarre even by 22nd century standards.
Even as a human, listening to it made my eardrums ache and my temper flare, so how much worse must it be for the Infected Entities with nothing left but murderous instinct?
The aggro of the Infected Entities that had been focused on Dark Dragon partially shifted this way. As if refusing to be outdone by the screech of the noisemaker thrown by the scientist, they all let out unpleasant howls and sprinted over.
There were six of them in total.
It wasn’t a number you could call small… but it was also ambiguous to call it large.
This much would be insufficient to stop my rod of love.
Matching the movement of the Infected entity charging in like a cheetah at top speed, as if it were a track athlete, I lowered my stance and put a full swing into the Electric Shock baton.
Thwack!
There was a refreshing sensation in my hands. As I delivered a few strikes to the Infected entity that had collapsed face-first with its lower body giving out from its running momentum, it couldn’t handle the abundant love and stiffened rigidly, its eyes rolling back as it convulsed.
It works well.
They were Infected Entities that ignored most injuries and charged like crazy at the sight of a person, but their bodies were still human, meaning they couldn’t move if zapped with electricity.
That’s one down. The next one charging in with a lack of affection, I struck from below to instill its missing love.
While it was paralyzed, unable to overcome the overwhelming affection, the next Infected entity made a leap. To swing with a full swing, this time the distance was quite close.
It wasn’t a difficult problem. If the distance was close, I just had to widen it.
“Begone!!!!”
Rather than stepping back myself, pushing the other guy away was simpler and more effective. I push-kicked the Infected entity’s abdomen, then struck down from above.
Following that, I swung upward again, giving the next guy who charged in without waiting his turn a fiery taste of the discipline baton right in the crotch.
Crunch!
A dull noise was a somewhat uncomfortable feeling of impact.
Hmm… People in the 22nd century often couldn’t be easily distinguished as male or female just by their outward appearance, so I wasn’t sure.
Let’s pray it was a woman. It’d be too sorry a thought if I had just ended someone’s family line.
I felt a presence from behind. An unpleasant breath aiming for my tender flesh crept up on me.
When I didn’t bother reacting, Chomp! It immediately bit into my forearm and chewed vigorously.
It held on tight and launched a fierce offensive like gnawing on a dog chew, but there was no change. Blood-mixed saliva merely dirtied the high-quality nano fabric.
From my perspective… it just felt like something was holding my forearm. I only felt that kind of light sensation.
As if sensing something was wrong, the Infected entity searched for another area, a tender spot where it could dig into the flesh and swallow blood and meat, but it was already too late.
Now, I wasn’t going to let go. I moved my arm to choke off its windpipe so it couldn’t bite, then raised the Electric Shock baton with my other hand.
I thought it was a customer who had arrived late to the buffet after hearing the noisemaker, but looking closely, it was the guy who had already tasted electricity once.
I guess that wasn’t enough. It seemed to desperately want a recharge, so I pumped it full of nutrient-rich electric current.
Now there were two left. As if they were twins, they limped and ran over together in good fellowship.
It was a nice sight to see, so to let them go together, I killed two birds with one stone and struck all four of their legs away at once.
All cut down.
I trampled and crushed the noisemaker the scientist had thrown, with my foot, then raised my head to assess the situation.
The mad scientist was blinking his eyes, standing right where he had been, perhaps not expecting me to take down six Infected Entities so easily.
He managed not to run away. That makes it easier for me.
Did you want a taste of electricity too?
When I shrugged and gripped the Electric Shock baton, the scientist, his complexion paling at the visibly abundant love-filled current, shouted.
“St… stop! Move and I’ll shoot!”
Isn’t that the wrong thing for a criminal who committed biochemical terrorism to say? Usually, he should be the one on the receiving end of that.
Anyway, the scientist was holding a handgun, aimed right at me.
Seeing him sweating profusely and trembling made me doubt if his aiming was even proper, but I still had to be on guard. A gun was that kind of weapon.
I had a high-end suit that wouldn’t budge from most impacts, but it would be a disaster if I got hit in the head or hands, which weren’t covered by it.
Even with the microchip, I couldn’t let my guard down.
Furthermore, unlike the street robber’s gun I faced earlier, it wasn’t a cheap plastic gun. It was a properly made high-end firearm.
It had accessories attached as if it had been modified, and the barrel was long and thick. Considering the advanced science and technique, that single handgun might unleash tremendous firepower that would make a machine gun jealous.
As I cautiously stepped forward, the scientist pulled the trigger, aimed at the ground, not me.
Bang - -!
The gunshot was short and heavy. I was getting used to this too, so my ears didn’t hurt much… but it was surprising in another way.
He had clearly only fired a handgun, yet a long scar was left on the pavement as if a sniper rifle had been fired.
The power is killer. It seems to be as expensive a gun as its appearance suggests.
I secretly covet it. Can’t I get a weapon like that from somewhere too?
It’s a bit scary, but if I had one of those, wouldn’t it be worth going up against the Cyborg Ninja?
While I hesitated, the mad scientist shouted.
“I told you not to come closer! Move a single finger from there, and the next one goes straight to your head!”
Whether he could actually shoot my head was questionable, but I stopped for now. When I raised both hands in the air, the scientist put on a triumphant expression, as if he had never been afraid.
“Now we’re communicating. Right. Put that electric baton down on the ground. Who are you? Why are you blocking my path? Did a corporation send you?”
“Uh…”
“Hah, I asked a stupid question. Of course you’re connected to those bastards. Tell those bastards. No matter what methods they use, they can’t silence me! I will absolutely reveal the truth to the world: the crazy things you bastards are planning!”
He sure talks a lot. And the reason I listened to all that while nodding along was nothing special.
Naturally, it wasn’t because I was curious about the mad scientist’s ideology or claims. I was stalling for time.
I slowly opened my mouth.
“You ask who sent me?”
“Hah, finally decided to open your mouth? There’s no need. No matter what name comes out, it won’t be able to stop me!”
“The person behind you sent me.”
I gestured with my head toward the scientist, who was frowning in confusion.
“Wouldn’t it be better to look behind you?”
“…!”
Clack, a heavy metallic hand grabbed the shoulder draped in a white coat.
Behind the scientist, who hiccuped and turned his head, the Apostle of Darkness wearing a pitch-black dragon suit reaching two meters tall was smiling eerily, a labyrinth.
[Nice to meet you, Friend.]
Blood stained his hands, and along the path he had taken, Infected Entities lay sprawled in piles, barely clinging to life.
While I had taken out a mere ten or so, Dark Dragon had knocked down over twenty with his fists.
After subduing them all, he used the opening to reach the scientist while I drew attention, the mastermind of the incident.
“Nonsense! How did you deal with that many so quickly…!”
At the cliché villain line, Dark Dragon chuckled, huhuhu.
[That’s because I am just that exceptional. The grunts you command were far too weak compared to me! My name is Black Dragon, Dark Dragon. I am of the Abyssal Dragon Race, risen from Hell to judge your evil deeds.]
The sight of him reciting his prepared lines to do some Self-PR was evident the moment an opening appeared. The more I looked, the more I realized being a hero wasn’t an easy job either, reporter.
“Hey, didn’t you handle them much faster because I took on the Infected Entities instead and drew their aggro?”
When I mentioned how the Infected Entities holding Dark Dragon back had switched targets to me because of the noisemaker, lessening his burden, Dark Dragon waved his hand as if he understood completely.
[I understand your desire to make a name for yourself, but there’s no need to rush, sidekick. I was just about to introduce you. This person is the assistant who guards the city’s darkness with me, the Black Dragon’s servant! His name is… Masked Man.]
“…”
Desire to make a name for myself? my ass.
More importantly, what the hell is Masked Man? It’s a naming sense that so obviously shows it was hastily made up on the spot.
It’s no different from my nickname at the Kabuki Condominium.
If he was going to make one, he could have given me something cool… Then again, I had already confirmed the bottom of his naming sense the moment he named his own hero alias Black Dragon, Dark Dragon.
It was while Dark Dragon and I were putting on a skit that left our surroundings bewildered.
Perhaps the lighthearted atmosphere made him think, “Are these bastards actually nothing special?”, prompting the scientist to resist.
“Black Dragon or Mask or whatever, let go of this! I’m telling you, there’s no time! You guys are making a huge mistake right now!”
He swung his fists and twisted his body, trying to escape from Dragon’s grasp.
Oh dear, it’d be better not to do that.
Squeeeeze-!
When Dark Dragon, who was holding the scientist’s shoulder, applied force to the scientist’s hand, a sound rang out like wringing a rag until it was bone dry.
The crazy scientist couldn’t even scream, merely gasping while standing on his tiptoes.
[A mistake? I don’t think so. Stopping a terrorist who drives civilians crazy with drugs to use them as his amateurs can’t be called a mistake.]
“Th-that’s… I have my reasons. I’m saying it was unavoidable to stop the plan! To make the truth known, this was all I had… Urgh.”
Dark Dragon tightly grabbed the protesting scientist’s nape once again.
[That’s nothing but an excuse. In the end, you’re just a criminal. And what plan are you talking about?]
“The open plan. Created through a collaboration between a politician and a corporation wanting to rip the scab off a healing wound… The research I was doing under them was…”
Uh-oh? Wait, I feel like I just heard information I shouldn’t have.
I have a bad feeling about this. The scientist, speaking with foam at his mouth, turned blue.
It was when I was about to open my mouth to say something.
Ping-!
A chilling thrill ran through me. The next moment.
The mad scientist was dead, his head blown open.