allendalepharm Chapter 390 The Monster's Self-Doubt
Chapter 390 The Monster's Self-Doubt
Chapter 390 The Monster's Self-Doubt
"What did you say?!"
The silence at the Shanghai branch of the Magic Bureau was shattered by a loud shout.
In the head of the department's office, a tall, thin man wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a suit suddenly stood up from his seat, staring in astonishment at the female secretary in front of him.
Seemingly unable to believe what he had just heard, he couldn't help but ask again.
"An evil creature appeared at the comic convention? Are you sure!?"
The female secretary looked anxious as she quickly spoke, holding her notebook. "It's confirmed, Minister Xue. The energy reaction came from the Shadow Clan; it's likely the Shadow Woman has appeared!"
"Then what are we waiting for! Get the car ready immediately!" Minister Xue ran out of the office without saying a word, and his female secretary quickly followed.
Upon entering the elevator, Minister Xue pressed the button for the basement level, then abruptly turned around. "Where are the people nearby? Get the crowd out of that area immediately!"
"According to the agent's records below, the closest one should be Xiao Yue from the Third Division. He was on leave today and went to that comic convention, but we have been unable to contact him. His phone is out of service and the location of his phone is also very strange."
"Damn it! Why did Xiao Yue let me down at this crucial moment?!" Minister Xue slammed his fist on the elevator wall, his originally melancholy and refined face now filled with anger and anxiety.
It's no wonder he was in such a hurry. No one who can sit in the position of section chief is simple. He is not a novice who knows nothing. The reason he was able to take this position is because he is a veteran detective who experienced the threat of monsters before the magical girl was revealed.
However, at the time he thought he was hallucinating. In addition, he had not found any evidence and all the clues he had were gone, so he gave up investigating. It was only after the establishment of the Demon Surveillance Bureau that he became convinced that what he had seen and heard back then was real.
After joining the Bureau of Demonic Oversight and being promoted to this position, he began to gain a deeper understanding of the threat posed by those evil creatures. He was also one of the witnesses inside the Bureau of Demonic Oversight building when the Shadow Calamity broke out.
That's why he realized just how terrifying the threat was when a monster appeared at such a large comic convention.
"What's going on?!" Minister Xue gritted his teeth. "Didn't the Flower Fairy side have any warning about this Shadow Clan emerging?"
"According to reports from our allies, this Shadow Clan should have descended directly from the Shadow World to our location. Unlike the Outer Demons, who need to wait for the gap to form, the Shadow Clan's arrival comes without any warning."
"What kind of mess is this?" Rubbing his temples, Minister Xue could already imagine the scene of corpses strewn across the field.
Whether they are heretical demons or shadow races, they have only one purpose in descending into the real world: to collect and devour more negative energy from humanity. To this end, they will wantonly create chaos and commit massacres.
Such riots might be salvageable elsewhere, but if they occur in a place with huge crowds like a comic convention, it's all over. Even without monsters intervening, the stampede caused by the shock alone is enough to ignite enough negative energy to create a breach.
In addition, Shanghai already has a lot of negative energy. If it is provoked by this Shadow Clan, the gap connecting the inner world may be opened. If a few more alien beasts are attracted, the problem will be even more serious!
The elevator arrived at the station, and before the doors had even fully opened, Minister Xue rushed out.
Now it's too late to dwell on why the shadow race isn't afraid of sunlight. All they need to do now is contact the nearest magical girl as soon as possible to get to the scene.
"Have the technician send over the surveillance footage from the comic convention."
"Yes."
The female secretary responded, then quickly got into the car, opened her laptop, and began typing rapidly on the keyboard.
"This is troublesome." Minister Xue sped off, his forehead covered in cold sweat. "I just hope Shadow Woman retains a shred of rationality and doesn't cause any chaos..."
"Minister Xue, the signal is coming..." the female secretary said quickly, but her expression changed the next moment. "Wait!"
The shadowy group that appeared wasn't a Shadow Woman! It was a non-humanoid monster!
"What did you say?!"
Minister Xue, who was in a hurry to drive, was about to glance at the surveillance footage on his computer screen when he heard his female secretary's words and hesitated to look.
That's a non-humanoid monster!
If it were Shadow Woman, that would be fine. After all, although Shadow Woman is despicable, she is still a humanoid being. Putting aside other considerations, at least she still has reason and is a being that can communicate.
Even if we can't stop her from going on a killing spree, at least talking to her can buy us some time.
But non-humanoid monsters are different. Those creatures have no reason whatsoever. They are like the biological weapons and beasts developed by heretical demons. They have no thoughts other than killing and eating people.
Minister Xue didn't even dare to imagine what it would be like if such a monster rushed into the most crowded place.
Taking a deep breath, Minister Xue's hand, adjusting his glasses, trembled slightly. "...The scene...how's the scene?"
"Well..
''
Unexpectedly, after her initial surprise, the female secretary's expression began to turn somewhat strange.
Originally, her thoughts were similar to Minister Xue's, but after seeing the situation on the screen, she didn't know how to evaluate it for a moment.
Sensing something amiss in his secretary's tone, Minister Xue perked up. "How is it? Have any magical girls already gone there?!"
"Uh...no...you...you can see for yourself." The female secretary turned the laptop to the side.
Minister Xue glanced at it, but the expected surveillance footage did not appear. Instead, a large number of bullet comments appeared, almost taking up the entire screen.
"What is this thing?"
"Live broadcast..." the female secretary replied.
"live streaming!?"
Minister Xue paused for a moment, then suddenly realized something and looked over again. This time, however, he didn't just glance at it briefly; he examined it very carefully for a while.
Hidden beneath the barrage of comments was a very clear image. In the very center of the image was a massive black monster, faintly emitting low growls, its terrifying aura permeating the air.
However, the sounds coming from the surroundings during the live stream made the scene look somewhat out of place.
[Quick, look! It's opening its mouth!]
Oh my god, that's scary!
[This is a heretical demon, a monster that looks like a demon.]
No, no, this is the Shadow Clan.
[Isn't the Shadow Clan the Shadow Maiden, the really pretty one?]
"Guess why the Shadow Clan is called a 'clan'? How could an evil force on par with the Outer Demons possibly consist of only one Shadow Woman?"
[That makes sense, buddy. Do you think he might rush over and bite someone?]
Of course!
If you fucking knew it would happen, why the hell didn't you run away?!
Minister Xue felt his blood pressure suddenly rise.
When he first saw the footage, his heart was slightly relieved, since as long as no one died, there was still a chance to salvage the situation. But when he heard the conversation coming from the live stream, he completely exploded.
Despite his shock, he was relieved to see this scene. What he was most worried about was the stampede caused by the riot. If it happened, the casualty rate would probably be higher than the number of people killed by the Shadow Clan monsters.
Just then, the female secretary's voice came softly from the side. "The technician reported that the negative energy levels near the exhibition hall haven't changed at all; in fact, it seems... lower than other areas..."
"Are these anime fans really that brave?!" Minister Xue blurted out.
Who would have thought that those evil monsters that could terrify ordinary people would transform into exhibit creatures at the comic convention? The people there weren't scared at all; in fact, they were observing the monster with great interest.
A few bolder individuals even brought out their DSLR cameras, ready to take photos on the spot.
Amidst this commotion, the shadow monster, for the first time in its life, entered a period of self-doubt.
Unlike the heretical demons that have only become active in the last thousand years, although it is just a shadow, it is a real shadow of an ancient creature, and its mind retains fragments of memories from the mythological era.
After its original form died, its shadow and soul were captured by the underworld and remained under its control until the later stages of Ragnarok, when the underworld and other worlds of the dead attracted each other and merged together, giving it the opportunity to awaken.
After being modified by Scáthach's shadow, it and other shadow species became creatures that feed on human negative energy. As long as there is enough negative energy, it can become stronger and stronger.
During the process of transforming them, Scáthach also left some divine power in their bodies. This divine power would not make them much stronger, but it would make them fearless of the sun's power.
It was originally prepared to rush into the real world and start killing, but the broken Shadow Corridor made it lose its way and even get separated from other Shadow Clan. When it found the path to the real world, it found that it was being targeted by one of its own kind.
It thought the other party was also lost like itself, but unexpectedly, the other party launched an attack directly.
Having just been awakened by Scáthach's shadow using the power of the Land of Shadows, and not yet recovered to its peak condition, it then experienced the fall of the Shadow World. It truly has very little power left to fight.
So, while fighting and retreating, it rushed out of the shadow corridor and descended into the real world.
Heaven had mercy, it seemed as if Typhon was blessing it, for it never expected that it would land in the area with the highest foot traffic, and it was overjoyed when it discovered this.
Based on its understanding of humans, those weak and dark-fearing creatures naturally exude negative energy, making it incredibly easy to devour their various negative emotions.
Although the skin color of the people in front of it differed somewhat from the fragments of its memory, it didn't pay much attention to it.
It was in the place with the largest quantity, and it was incredibly excited when it discovered this.
Based on its understanding of humans, those weak and dark-fearing creatures naturally exude negative energy, making it incredibly easy to devour their various negative emotions.
Although the skin color of the people in front of it differed somewhat from the fragments of its memory, it didn't pay much attention to it.
Could these creatures, who only dared to emerge from the darkness because of Prometheus, possibly let go of their fear of themselves?
But reality slapped it hard in the face.
It was astonishing to discover that the humans in front of it were not only unafraid of it, but some even seemed to have seen something new and exciting, pointing at it while laughing and chatting with their companions.
Even more outrageous, not far in front of it, a guy holding a live stream on his phone actually started approaching it with his back to it.
..