First World: The Monster Within II

In a relatively empty and calm restaurant, the four members of the Chat Group were currently seated, eating their 'last' meal in peace.

Up until now, the moment they entered the restaurant, they saw no one.

In fact, the place itself was a mess, contrary to what one might expect from this supposedly one-star Michelin star restaurant. Though it's quite understandable considering the situation everyone was in at the moment.

So, the four of them took matters into their own hands and rearranged a table for themselves while the one who knew how to cook went into the kitchen to see if there were any ingredients left.

Lucky for them, the seemingly abandoned place had a lot of food left.

Jared, the only person in their group who knew how to cook, reluctantly went into the kitchen, not forgetting to give the freeloaders a menacing look.

Especially that shameless and despicable woman!

He glanced at everyone silently enjoying their cooked meal before he sighed to himself.

As Jared was about to dig into the well-made meal, Kojiro suddenly spoke up.

"Say, Edi-san."

The sudden intrusion in the middle of a meal startled the rest of the members for a bit.

The questioned person himself curiously looked up.

Seeing that he got Edison's attention, he pondered a bit and after careful deliberation, he chose to be straightforward.

"I don't know if it's only me but... I'm still quite confused about the thing we did."

"...?"

"...the speakers Edi-san. I'm talking about the speakers."

"Oh."

"I'm afraid, I might need an explanation for this..."

Awkwardly scratching his cheek, he also found Musashi attentively looking at Edison, though as natural as she made it look, she casually slurped the noodles on her chopstick, not caring about the noises she made.

Surprisingly, Jared answered in his stead instead.

"I assume you guys know of 'The Marionette' already. The foreign invader we've been tasked to eliminate... and the atrocities he has done."

He glanced at Edison eating without a fuss, before looking at Musashi.

"That guy, the music, the speakers, and the speculation from what you said several days ago, it all makes sense now. Playing any instrument he can touch his hand upon, he has the power to manipulate the mind and body of an individual through music."

Jared put his elbows on the table, his eyes narrowing down to a slit.

"However, with the use of the speakers found in numerous locations like the ones in Paris, he found a way to extend the use of his abilities to influence everyone within range of his tunes. Yet... Mr. Caddel the reason you collected every speaker in Japan..."

"It's a backup plan."

Edison calmly said while sipping his glass of water.

"We do not know nor do we have the sufficient amount of knowledge to know the target's capabilities. So what we did was just a theory I had in mind."

Knowing the implications behind his words, Musashi quietly murmured out her thoughts.

"Then... the best way to gouge our opponent's strength is a direct confrontation... but! Isn't that dangerous? The dude could control us anytime he wants to. Well, that is if he can play a tune... but it probably isn't as simple as that, right?"

"Yeah, you're right. In fact, it definitely isn't as simple as just playing a random tune. The way I see it, the way he poured emotions into every single action he did already gave me a hint of how it works. Matter of fact, it kinda resembles the use of magic in my world. We, Mages, in order to use magic have to convey our... let's say 'intent' as you know... for example, if you want to use fire magic, you'd have to express fire in a way you understand it best? So just because someone has an affinity with an element, you can't just randomly create fire with imagination alone. After all, to use it, you have to understand it first. Just like everything else. Anyhow... heh, to be honest, I'm still a bit befuddled about this concept, maybe... the Arches could answer them one day."

Realizing he got off-topic, Jared gave off a sheepish smile.

"It certainly would've been incredibly interesting to hear how everything works in your world, Jared-san. Regrettably, we don't have time. And back to what you were saying earlier, to use 'intent' as a concept to then project it into reality... doesn't that mean for what we saw the past week, our enemy has a great grasp on psychological manipulation? No, 'great' is an understatement... do we even have a chance? He might as well whistle with his mouth and we'll already be screwed in ways I dare not imagine!"

Shuddering under her clothes, Musashi anxiously slurped her noodles, making all of the soup dripping off flying in every direction.

"The Marionette is like a predator."

Kojiro silently said with his eyes closed.

"Beings who dwell on the top, looking down on everything. Nothing worthy of mention would catch their eyes unless they create the situations for themselves as a form of entertainment before ending it. In other words...they who think ruefully, knowing that the sort of 'play' they created is nothing more...than a trap. We were nothing more than prey who have fallen into the depths of darkness he had fabricated himself."

Opening his eyes, with a dead calm look, he finished his words off.

"We've been dancing at the palm of his hands, as he amusingly watched every single course of action we did."

*Sigh*

"Has my answer triggered something within you, you fakers?"

He calmly smiled, before his teammate's figures became blurry and disfigured.

Suddenly, the three of them turned into huge grotesque creatures continuing to grow in size.

Kojiro quickly disappeared, then reappeared on top of a building more than thirty meters high.

Yet, as he looked up, he couldn't help but smile wryly.

"Damn, how much bigger you freaks gonna get?"

BOOM!

The roof of the restaurant blew up into thousands of pieces, sending debris flying in every single direction.

Soon, three huge colossal shadows loomed over the old swordsman.

"Geez, you guys tower above pretty much everything in the vicinity...more so, you're ugly as hell."

These huge monsters that were well over a hundred meters tall, had all kinds of animal parts attached to them. An eagle's wings, an ant's appendages, slit eyes akin to a Komodo dragon, muscles that bulged and had some weird worm-like things moving under their skins and not to mention other parts that Kojiro didn't have time to study, as a huge fist came slamming down.

BOOM!

'Tch, it's fast for its size.'

Narrowly jumping high enough to avoid its fist, he saw the destruction it caused by just one attack.

'I can see why countries are in ruins now...'

Thinking so, Kojiro nimbly sprinted across buildings, while analyzing his dreadful situation.

'Now... how do I win?'

...

..

.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Crashing through several buildings, a figure wobbly rose from the dust, noticeably shaking her head in shock.

"Who...are you?"

Touching her forehead which had blood slowly dripping down, Musashi glared at the enemy in front of her who she thought was Edison.

"No, forget it."

Without hesitation, she summoned her katanas out of nowhere, while her outfit changed into the one she was most comfortable with.

A murderous aura flared out in a tremendous amount, slowly cracking the ground under her.

Musashi pulled out two of the four katanas that hung on her waist.

"Instead."

She looked at her enemy who used shadows as means to attack, lurking around her surroundings, ready to eradicate her at any moment's notice.

"I'm going to force it out of you."

Unexpectedly, she, who was a master's swordswoman, ran in the opposite direction without hesitation.

"Tactical retreat!"

...

..

.

"Hah... hah... hah, I *huff* fucking knew it. We've been had."

Jared bitterly said as he breathed out a mouthful of cold air.

Ice, and fire.

Nothing less and nothing more.

That's all he could see at the moment including the boy in from of him.

He looked about the same age as him. A moderately tall guy for his age, who is quite well built. Long hear, that didn't pass his neck, and bangs that have been parted twice each with a color of their own.

'Heterochromia... and two Quirks? What the fuck is this, I thought one was the norm...'

"Fucking damn it."

Jared tiredly looked at the teenager before he drove his mana to its maximum output, making it circulate faster than usual through his mana veins.

Gales of wind bellowed out, enough to cut one's skin.

Ice, cold enough to freeze an average human to death.

These two seemingly unique elements in their own right materialized in the form of a disaster, threatening to destroy while clashing with the flames and ice of the quirk user.

And with a look that would've sent chills down to every human, Jared spoke with a voice that had enough.

"Do...I have to kill someone with a future again?"

"...I was wondering the same thing."

The guy in front of him coldly answered, before leisurely stretching one of his hands forward.

...

..

.

Tak. Tak. Tak.

Footsteps sounded out in the silent city of Tokyo.

Edison looked around him.

"..."

Tak. Tak. Tak.

He unhurriedly turned around to see a teenage boy with dark-green hair showing up behind him.

The unmistakable smell of iron encompassed his senses.

Glancing at the boy's white gloves dyed in the form of blood, Edison quietly looked at him again.

'...'

He knew that at this moment...

It wasn't even a matter of whether he could reason this kid out.

It didn't work the last time, so why would it work this time?

They're under that guy's control.

Rather, Edison who was always a step ahead in planning faced a dilemma and a crisis he rarely felt.

His eyes scrutinized the boy's motionless figure.

"..."

"..."

Twitch...!

In less than a blink of an eye, his senses overloaded his brain while his inhuman reflexes kicked in.

He quickly rolled away...only to see-

"Where... do you think... you're going?"

-that boy already there in front of him, staring at Edison with his dead-fish eyes.

Green electric-like currents sparkled around his body.

"Detroit...SMASH!"

BOOM!

...

..

.

The Marionette.

He, who preys upon others' desires and emotions, hoping to replace them with something more... worthwhile.

He, who had a different agenda than what the Gods prepared for him.

The ones he truly wished to destroy for bringing him back from the bliss of peace and harmony.

For they, has he prepared this performance for. EVERYTHING for this single moment.

The predator gazes down from a place, no one mortal has ever reached in existence.

"Good music invokes emotion, great music invokes power. And unfortunately for you, I am the greatest of all."

The Marionette says in an almost cheerful tone as he takes a low bow. Looking at the beings on the ground with a cold smile on his mask and eyes as dark as the pit.

"Death should never be quick. It should be an opera!"

He, who spreads his hands out elegantly and fashionably, says,

"Let's string a ballad together, and dance to our heart's content!"

...

..

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