Hodgepodge Of Monsters

"Soft and fluffy~"

"Eun-jeong, please just sleep."

"Ahahaha!"

She was allowed to sleep on my chest.

I wasn't paying attention to it, but when I realized others consider me a woman, my feelings became complicated.

Besides, it's a bit ticklish.

"Soft and fluffy~"

Stop!

...

We're moving outside to put 1 of the 6 artifacts in the right place.

I heard that if we place all 6, the ritual will be activated and a powerful "modification" will be possible to make.

There is no time for us to hesitate as we have a time limit!

Thanks to the cooperation of me and the children, the operation was proceeding smoothly.

Considering the overlapping areas of the boss stages and the artifact's location, it seemed to be the same kind of unidentified machine seen in the boss fights in the game.

A device that allowed kids to defeat the bosses.

In the game, the unit dispatched by the institution were the ones that installed them in each stage, except for Ella, which the children defeated on their own.

Unfortunately, they directly went to where the boss stages were, so they were able to install the artifacts, but then they got exausted and were wiped out.

If they had visited another place first, wouldn't they have barely succeeded in completing the mission?

Of course, the monsters on the streets were not easy opponents, so there was no survivors.

"Oh, watch out for that sewer. There is a famous ghost story about crocodiles living in sewers.

"Got it. Ready to shoot."

At James command, the men all pointed their guns at the sewers.

"Shoot."

Bang bang bang bang!

Hundreds of bullets cut through the darkness with the muzzle spitting fire.

Then, in the dark, a gigantic crocodile monster came rushing while screaming.

However, before reaching us, it was eliminated by the guns.

Because it underestimated the power of the guns. Thanks to that, I had less work to do, so it became easier. This is completely an easy mode!

"You seem to be in a good mood."

"Did you notice it?"

When things go well, you feel good.

One location was close by so we installed it right away.

We already installed one in Ella's boss stage, as it was easy by using the remaining mirrors in the mansion!

If we install the artifact we are carrying right now, it will be 3 already!

Of course, the other 3 are boss stages. It won't be easy, but if we keep going at this pace...

"Everyone will be able to go home safely."

"It's a good thing."

When I said it with a smile, James' voice, who didn't change much, became softer.

He pulled out some mechanism and lifted it.

They keep taking strange things out from inside their coats. How does it work? Sometimes things that come out are too big to fit into their coats.

"What is that?"

"A device that checks whether an artifact is properly installed. It is also possible to activate them remotely."

2 circles and 4 triangles.

The circle means that the installation is complete, and the triangle means the remaining artifacts haven't been installed.

"Now I'm thinking, isn't dangerous if the installed artifacts are left unattended? For example... What if it breaks down from being attacked?"

"Once an installed artifact is activated, evil or anomalous entities cannot affect it. Weak individuals may disappear if they are nearby, and even if they are higher level demons, it takes a long time to destroy it."

"Then. There's no possibility of it being destroyed with the speed we're installing them?"

"Right. It is impossible for demons to affect it, and the physical durability is also out of standard for an artifact. However, if it is not in the right position, it is difficult to exert its power, so it wouldn't be able to ward off demons."

"I see."

Was the broken machines seen in the game destroyed by monsters without working because it wasn't properly installed, or was it destroyed by demonic power after being neglected for a long time?

"It's reliable, but not perfect, so we can't afford to relax."

Seeing that the machines in the game worked fine.

Couldn't everything not be working because of neglect?

Or, from the Devil's point of view, even if only one of the six malfunctions, the ritual won't activate, so it wouldn't matter?

"Wait a moment."

They stopped at my words.

We're in a 4-way road. The monster that pops out of here... [Chase By Four]1

The fear of being chased by a stranger, the fear of being chased by work, the fear of being chased by darkness, and finally the fear of being chased by time.

It is a place where 4 monstrosities that have thematic appearances relentlessly chase the player.

It will appear the moment we cross the 4-way road.

It's difficult to deal with it, so I would have avoided it originally, but as long as I have a strong helper, it wouldn't be bad to fight it for quick progress.

"This is where the four monsters appear. The plan is simple."

Attacking is cumbersome when all 4 chase the player, but it will be much easier now that role division is possible.

Because individually, they're weak.

First, there was no way to defeat this monster in the game, but it's no longer an opponent now that a physical method is available.

The monster of chasing will be taken down by James' unit, who is in charge of the firepower.

The monster of darkness can be defeated by using intense light.

This can be easily solved by using Maria's shining cross.

The monster of work... The children are the answer! Considering how much it curses, Eun-jeong's bell will be helpful.

Lastly, I am in charge of the monster of time.

Bullets pass through it and it moves fast, so I decided that it would be better for me to defeat it.

"Now, everyone to their positions!"

We each stood in four directions.

An then, the air turned violent.

A black human figure with glowing eyes started running towards James' unit.

"Open fire!"

The muzzles spits fire.

It can't dodge the bullets and just get hit.

How does it feel when adults are involved in a game where kids are the main characters?

I stop thinking about that and check the others.

What about Maria?

She was radiating light while holding her cross.

The intangible darkness turned around and ran away from her.

The light seems to be different from normal light.

Good. What about the children?

[Today... I have to work!]

"Kyeong-min, restrain it! And it seems it's using a curse?"

"I will shake the bell."

"That planner is your weakness, right? Hurry up and give it to me!"

[...]

Hmm... Maybe it's because the monster has the appearance of an officer worker, so it looks like children are harassing an adult... I don't think I need to worry because they're doing well.

Bang!

Ah, I always wince when Suho hits with his shield.

"By the way."

Why doesn't the monster of time, who is the last one, come out?

Don't they all come out at the same time? It's already been about a minute.

I stopped waiting and approached the monster who had not yet been exterminated and asked.

"You. Where did the fourth one go?"

[...Caught.]

"...?"

Crack!

The monster of work's head exploded. Something like that happened before.

Our nemesis. The Devil.

By "caught", I think it was probably trying to say that the Devil caught it... It's not surprising. Rather, it's a miracle that we haven't been disturbed until now.

I don't think it will stay still while we prepare the ritual. It's correct to think that the time for his attack has come.

So we have to go through the attack with confidence.

"Your expression is serious."

"I think the demon I was talking about started attacking."

"...Prepare for an immediate attack. What is around here?"

"There is an art gallery. But the monsters there aren't effective unless we go inside. Perhaps it will try inducing us to enter the building?"

Just in case, I unfolded the map and told them what is was in detail.

It would take along time to tell all the countermeasures, so I omitted some parts.

"Are you thinking of going back?"

Maria asks. She seems to be concerned about the children.

But it shouldn't be like that. Temporarily avoiding danger only worsens the situation.

"We have to break through."

"...All right."

We hurriedly headed towards our destination.

If we are careful with the art gallery, it will be on a level we can fight back.

Last time there was a lot of them, but most were weak. We have strong firepower on our side, so the weak ones can't do damage.

But what is this sense of crisis?

"Ha!"

At this moment, Ha-rim threw a stone at the mailbox while we were in a tense atmosphere.

Ha-rim's expression was too serious to say it was a joke.

"Ha-rim, what's wrong?"

"Eun-jeong said she had a bad feeling, so I wondered if there was something around us."

"Did you think it was a monster pretending to be an object?"

"Yeah!"

A monster who mimics things. One of the characteristics of these guys is that their number increases as time goes on.

In this world, at this time, it is the most easily seen mass-produced monster excluding the frog.

I saw them every time I went out to farm items with the kids, and if they are discovered, they often run away with their hidden bug legs instead of attacking.

Small fry among small fry.

Maybe that's why I forgot about it for a while.

Why did I never meet them during the operation?

The sense of crisis grows. I was missing something.

Bzzz-

"...I have a bad feeling."

Bzzz- Bzzz-

[Today. Heavy rain is expected, residents please be assured.]

From the poor quality speaker, I could hear the voice of a person who was neither a man nor a woman talking.

Sswaaaaaa.

Then it started to rain heavily.

[Breaking news. Soldiers will be dispatched due to flood damage caused by rain, so residents are asked to leave their homes.]

Immediately, the other members of the unit disappeared, except for James and Maria.

"This is!

"It's an attack, not a curse, so we won't die!"

But from where is it attacking? This is definitely the power of "radio" monsters.

It cannot be activated if it's not within the attack range, and an attack of this magnitude would be impossible!

If we are in attack range, it'll be close. But it doesn't look like it.

"Ella!"

Eun-jeong pointed to the sky. And just a little below.

There was a huge blurred shadow in the fog created by the pouring rain.

It gradually becomes clearer.

"...What."

I was mistaken. It wasn't the art gallery we had to be wary of.

I've never seen a monster like that in the game.