Chapter 10
He opened the door connecting the subway cars and moved forward. At the grating sound of the door opening, the monkeys that had been tearing humans apart snapped their heads around.
[Ukkik?!]
[Ukkik! Ukkikik!]
The sudden appearance of a perfectly normal human seemed to throw the monkeys into confusion as they screeched. But soon their faces hardened ferociously, and they rushed at Ian, thrusting the blades in their hands toward him. Ian didn't react and just kept walking forward slowly.
Whoosh!
At that moment, a strong perfume scent wafted from his entire body.
A cheap perfume that was closer to artificial than natural. Even a monkey with a sensitive nose would have only wrinkled its face at the smell.
But every monkey that smelled it collapsed where it stood, not one missing. Ian nodded in satisfaction and poked his knife into the backs of the sleeping monkeys.
The magic's effect was definite. At this rate, taking down the anomaly safely didn't seem difficult.
“I’ll recreate all the dead bodies and take them with me.”
Even if it was an anomaly that killed people, to a mage they were nothing more than useful material. Better to take what he could while he could.
Krrk!!
Ian compressed the monkeys' corpses into tiny cubes and stuffed them into his bag. After that, he repeated the same thing in the other cars until the bag was full. Fortunately, no blood pooled inside, so he didn't have to worry about the bag getting stained.
The problem was... the corpses filling the subway.
“They’d killed them in a truly horrific way.”
Making sashimi.
As if to demonstrate what that meant, the monkeys brutally slaughtered the passengers on the subway. The closer a car was to the driver’s cabin, the more bodies there were, and some places were completely smeared with blood.
With every step he took, he splashed through blood puddles. Chunks of someone's organs were stuck all over the windows, and corpses that hadn't even managed to close their eyes sat in bizarre positions, dripping blood.
'No way this could be brushed off quietly.'
This wasn't an ordinary incident.
Ian knew this bizarre phenomenon wasn't happening in dreams like the original ghost story.
This was reality. Which meant those who died here had truly died. More than several dozen people had ended up blood-soaked and dead on the same subway train.
The Bureau would definitely intervene. He was curious how they'd cover it up, but their reaction mattered more.
The car Ian had been sitting in was the very end of the subway, the tail car. Unlike the other cars, where more than half the passengers had died, only two deaths had occurred there, and the Bureau would surely try to find out why.
He’d disguised himself as a clergyman to avoid being caught on some stupid technicality, but he wasn't sure if that would be enough.
In the first place, he even doubted there were any witnesses who could testify to his disguise. There were still people alive, but they all looked like their souls had vanished, so he wasn't sure whether they were conscious.
There were a few survivors who had managed to come to their senses by taking down the monkeys while they were being torn apart, but... the moment the monkeys disappeared, they too slumped over like robots whose power had been cut off. Their lives were intact, but that was all.
That didn't mean he could walk up and say something, either. He wouldn't get a response anyway.
For now, he kept muttering things about God and the Lord as he moved through the cars. But he wasn't sure if that would actually help.
Still, it was better than doing nothing.
Skrrk.
Ian pulled out the knife he'd stuck into the monkey's back and wiped the blood off his face.
The subway’s frontmost car, the one connected to the driver’s cabin.
By the time he finished thinking and walking, he had already reached the end.
Naturally, the driver’s cabin was tightly shut. It wouldn't open by force. Kicking it or throwing monkey corpses at it didn't make it budge.
But the recreation magic worked. The moment Ian touched the door and confirmed he could freely change its shape, he immediately crushed it, turning it into a huge nail.
His head throbbed, probably from repeatedly using the recreation magic, but it wasn't to the point that he couldn't endure it.
[Ukkik?]
As he went into the driver’s cabin with the nail in hand, the monkey gripping the steering wheel turned its head. Ian pinned its legs to the seat with the nail before it could react.
With a wet thunk, blood gushed from its leg.
[Ukkiiiiik?!?!]
Pain contorted the monkey’s face. It struggled to pull out the pinned nail, but the more it fought, the worse the pain became. With its body fixed in place, it couldn't lunge at Ian either.
The situation had reversed. The anomaly that had hunted humans now had its life held hostage by the mage. The moment it realized that, the monkey shook all over. Ian stared at it impassively, put a cigarette between his lips, and lit it.
“Haa...”
As the acrid smoke seeped into his lungs, his pounding head seemed to loosen up a bit. After smoking the cigarette down completely, Ian stubbed it out on the monkey's head, which had started to nod off.
[Ukkik!]
The monkey flailed its arms as if in pain.
It was the desperate thrashing of those who had been filleting humans alive. He didn't particularly feel guilty.
Ian pressed the badly damaged knife against the back of its neck and pointed at the subway map.
“For now, drive it as far as there. Don't stop.”
[U, Ukkik?]
The monkey tilted its head, momentarily unable to understand what he was saying.
Rather than explain again, Ian pressed the knife in harder, summoned his grimoire, and shifted his gaze. At that chilling look, the monkey jumped in fright and grabbed the steering wheel.
Screeech!!
Immediately afterward, the subway passed through a red mist.
The bizarre phenomenon that had been eroding reality vanished. All that remained was the monkey holding the steering wheel.
“Haa...”
Ian casually took a seat beside the monkey and stared out the window of the speeding subway train.
A little while later, the subway was almost at its destination. The monkey put on a fawning smile and slowly began to reduce the train's speed.
Fortunately, it didn't end up colliding with another subway train. A radio message came in from the station ordering it to stop immediately, but the monkey paid it no mind and faithfully carried out the mage's command.
Ian repaid it by stabbing the knife deep into its chest.
Crack.
The moment he tried to pull it out, the damaged kitchen knife split clean in two.
Sadly, it seemed the knife could only be used this much. He let out a sigh of regret, recreated the driver monkey as well, and picked up the broken blade.
[The doors will open on the left.]
A few seconds before arriving at the station.
After checking that the automatic brake was working properly, Ian moved to the very back of the subway and found a suitable hat and mask to put on.
“It's God's will.”
He didn't forget to disguise his identity, either. He made the sign of the cross in front of the hat's original owner, and compressed the padded jacket he'd been wearing, cramming it into his bag.
It was to change the impression and clothes he had when boarding the subway into what he looked like now. He wasn't sure if that would make him impossible to identify, but it would at least help a little.
Ian lightly checked his appearance, then stood in front of the doors and waited for the subway to stop.
In less than ten seconds, the train stopped at the station. The sensors on the door recognized Ian and the people on the opposite platform, and slowly opened. Without the slightest hesitation, Ian went outside and headed down the stairs.
“W-what the hell? Hey, fuck!”
“Kyaaaaaah! W-what the hell is all this!”
The passengers on the subway screamed behind him.
Ian nimbly vaulted over the ticket gate railing and, while gauging the range and placement of the CCTV cameras, moved through the blind spots as much as possible. Thanks to the uproar above, no one spotted him.
Since it was a massacre caused by a bizarre phenomenon, it would appear in the news, but the truth wouldn't be revealed. They'd probably throw together every excuse possible and disguise it as an ordinary incident.
They wouldn't forget to tamper with the memories of the witnesses or anyone caught up in it, either.
Needless to say, there was nothing good about getting involved.
He might have been caught on camera getting off the subway, but that alone wouldn't identify him anyway. He'd already changed clothes and covered his face.
Of course, the Bureau might use special means to search for people. But there was nothing Ian could do to resist that with his current power. So all he could do was hope they were incompetent.
'Still, just in case, I should completely change clothes.'
Thinking that, Ian chose and bought some suitable clothes from a department store near the station.
It was an unexpected expense, but he didn't really mind. It was about time he bought clothes anyway.
'Time to go.'
He'd finished off the bizarre phenomenon and completely changed his appearance.
At this point, he'd done everything he could. All that remained was to respond flexibly to whatever events came with the passage of time.
Ian nodded in satisfaction and set off after checking the workshop's address.
Fortunately, the workshop was located not too far from the station. There didn't seem to be any need to use public transportation.
Ian put on the earbuds he'd kept in his pocket and walked steadily, following the map on his phone.
Before long, he arrived at a small apartment building.
He passed through the front gate, which wasn't even locked, and knocked on the door of room 305.
“Yes.”
At the same time, a crisp female voice came from beyond the door.
'Wait, a woman?'
Naturally, he’d expected an old mage full of years and experience, and the completely unexpected voice left him momentarily flustered.
Bang.
The door opened, and a bob-haired girl in a school uniform appeared from inside.
She sized Ian up with sharp eyes, then cautiously opened her mouth.
“Newbie?”
“Ah, yes. Are you by any chance Serious Magic Addict...?”
At Ian's question, she gave a faint smile.
“You came at a good time. Come in.”