Chapter 50: Unwelcomed Guests

The day of the operation had arrived.

Well, since it was the day of the operation, it seemed like something big was going to happen, but it probably wasn’t going to happen.

“Let’s go soon.”

“Your face is bright, Doctor.”

“Of course! It’s the day to give that annoying guy another blow!”

The Doctor’s expression was much brighter than it was the morning before.

It seemed like he enjoyed the fact that he was teasing Curse, who had robbed his lab.

‘Anyway, you found him earlier than I thought. I thought he would hide even tighter after being tricked once.

I don’t know if Curse is stupid or the Doctor is competent, but since he found him, it didn’t seem to matter.

“Come on, get in, get in! He’s precious, so don’t treat him carelessly!”

“Yes, yes. Thank you for lending me your useful car today, Doctor.”

The Doctor, who exchanged greetings and silent nods, suddenly looked angry.

Maybe it was because of my feelings that he seemed to care more about that guy than me.

It felt like he was more fond of his Lamborghini Huracan than his daughter who ran away from home.

“Oh, before we leave, I have a question.”

“What?”

“What if I get caught? It’s the first time, so I guess it’s okay, but I don’t think I’ll get caught a second time.”

The doctor’s expression turned sour at my words.

It was as if he was saying that he didn’t like what I said.

If I were to exaggerate a little, it was as if he was treating me like an idiot.

What part of it did he not like?

The part where I might get caught? Or the part where Curse wouldn’t get caught a second time?

It was harder to gauge the doctor’s feelings than a child about to enter elementary school, and sometimes I wanted to bang my head against his.

And that was right now.

“Ouch?!”

“Can’t you make a pretty face?”

“Tch, you’re a creature I created!”

“Do you want to get beaten to death by a creature?”

“Ugh…”

I felt relieved when I saw the doctor crying after getting punched in the head.

It was like the stagnant tension was finally dissipating.

“T-but that’s right! The fact that you even thought of that makes me an idiot, what else?”

“You don’t have to say that you want to get hit again like that.”

“Eek, I’m against violence! I’m against violence! I didn’t make you such a violent being!”

“The person who said, ‘Kill the magical girl, monster girl! Hahahahahahaha!’ as soon as I opened my eyes.”

Isn’t that too unconscionable?

Tsk tsk, and I raised my fist again, and the doctor hid behind the monster with a feeble squeal.

How could he run away so cowardly?

“Anyway, that’s right! You could kill that guy like a child by twisting his wrist!”

“Hmm.”

I was momentarily speechless at the doctor’s words that were so confident.

It seemed like he had no idea that his creation would lose to the likes of Curse.

“Don’t say anything even if we lose.”

“There’s no way I’ll lose. I didn’t make you such a weak being.”

“You’re so confident.”

Much more so than I, the person involved.

“Okay, let’s stop small talk and go.”

“Yes, yes, I was planning on going even without you saying anything.”

I ignored the doctor’s nagging and slowly infiltrated the monster’s body.

It was always amazing to see.

It was truly a monster I coveted the more I looked at it.

And so, I successfully sneaked into Curse’s laboratory in a Lamborghini—no, a monster.

As expected, it was a high-performance monster.

When I tapped the monster’s arm, it sniffed.

It was as if it knew it was amazing.

“Okay, then, here, the despair circuit.”

Boom—!!!!

“Huh?”

With the sound of a large weight falling, a thick despair began to pour down around the surroundings.

See, I knew this would happen.

I told you, you can’t fall for the same trick twice…

He patted the monster’s arm while going on and on about the doctor who wasn’t there.

“Okay, let’s go back. I don’t think today is the day.”

Grumble—

“Huh?”

Grumble, grumble—

“You can’t move because the despair is too thick?”

He let out a short sigh at the monster shaking its head.

When he looked around with his eyes accustomed to the darkness, he saw that all four sides were blocked by walls.

In short, he was trapped here—no, was it right to say he was caught?

‘Let’s assume that Curse’s intelligence is higher than that of the doctor for now…’

If the doctor knew what I was thinking, he would be furious, but given the circumstances, well…

I don’t know what Curse is after, but he seemed to be quite gnashing his teeth at the last time he was harassed by Emerald.

[Oh, oh, who was it?… Was it you?]

“It’s been a while.”

A familiar voice came from the speaker installed in the room.

Oh, when I hear it like this, it’s exactly the same voice I heard in the anime.

I instinctively greeted him in that kind of joy.

Curse himself didn’t seem happy to see me, though.

[… You’re so calm despite being captured.]

“That’s amazing. You captured me.”

“I don’t know what your intentions are, but even your capable monster friend won’t be able to escape that room easily.”

This guy is quite capable.

I patted the monster, who shook his head anxiously at the deep despair that had settled around him.

“Calm down, calm down. Nothing’s going to happen. Anyway, why are you anxious when there’s so much despair? Isn’t despair like a meal to a monster?”

I asked, tilting my head in question, and the monster slowly began to scratch the floor.

It was a similar reaction to a dog in pain after hearing a high-frequency noise.

[No matter how much despair a monster can hold inside its body, there is a limit to how much despair it can hold. Don’t you feel it too? An overwhelming amount of despair that exceeds your capacity for despair.]

“Ahhh…”

I think I know what that feels like.

Even though eating is essential for humans to live, they don’t eat until their stomachs burst.

And it was the same for monsters.

Even though despair was all around them, it was uncomfortable because there was an amount that exceeded their capacity.

In that sense, given the nature of monsters that swallow despair, this environment must have been a place where even breathing was uncomfortable.

I don’t really care, though.

From my perspective, this place was like a room filled with snacks.

It was definitely an incredible concentration and amount of despair, but I was confident that I could eat it all even if given twice as much.

[Come to think of it, there were quite a few things you wanted to experiment on.]

“For example?”

[Starting with durability tests, regenerative powers, maximum capacity for despair, internal organ placement and distribution, and checking the differences from magical girls, etc.]

… He just wanted to dissect it.

I frowned slightly at Curse’s calm voice, which was speaking so fiercely.

It was words that could be seen as full of malice toward me.

“Why are you so sensitive when you didn’t do anything in particular?”

In the original, he showed the appearance of a fanatic who followed Apocalypse, but now that I look at him, he was too narrow-minded.

His own research lab could be ruined, tsk.

It wasn’t even my fault that the underground research lab was destroyed.

Who told you to put a monster in such a fragile test tube?

Why are you blaming me for the fact that it was your own insensitivity to safety that caused that incident?

It was really funny to see Dr. Jong-eon running away with his tail between his legs.

[Compared to her accomplishments so far, her power is really nothing special.]

“Are you trying to provoke me with that? It’s really the same.”

It’s not like she’s teasing a child.

Tsk tsk.

I clicked my tongue and sat down nearby.

Wouldn’t it be nice if there was at least a chair in the room?

Even if everything else were fine, isn’t it too much that there’s no chair in the room?

[If you’re provoked by something like this, that would be interesting too. I plan to analyze, disassemble, and reconstruct everything about you, and then create a new being based on that.]

There was a strange desire in Curse’s voice.

Well, when I first saw that monster that was a mix of human and monster in the underground lab, I was also quite amazed.

Since the doctor had created a monster that looked like a human, it was possible that Curse would create a human that looked like a monster.

‘Monsters that use hope energy like magical girls…’

“Phew…”

“Emerald Splash!”

The corners of my mouth instinctively rose as I imagined the monster shouting, “Emerald Splash!”

Pfft, puhahaha…

A monster shouting, “Emerald Splash,” and firing a hope energy cannon…

It’s funny just to imagine.

In addition, the moment I pictured the real Emerald and the monster Emerald fighting each other in my head, my suppressed laughter finally reached its limit.

“Puha, ahahahahahahaha…!”

“Euh, haa…. Really, this is funny.”

I laughed so hard that tears were on the verge of coming to my eyes, and my stomach felt a little tugging.

Seriously, I couldn’t even remember the last time I felt such pure joy.

‘No, but rather… why did he suddenly get quiet?’

I felt uneasy.