Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 33: Monster

Good grief, so now it shifted from a horror film into a monster flick, huh!

Seeing that bat monster—easily as big as a small car—charging straight toward him, Levi couldn’t help but complain inwardly.

He staggered to the side, threw himself down, and grabbed the equally wobbly Katie, who looked like she had drunk too much.

The two of them tumbled messily across the ground, narrowly avoiding the monster’s attack.

The giant bat crashed into the wall behind Levi, letting out a furious roar.

“Open fire, open fire!”

The soldiers stationed on the rooftops around them finally snapped out of their daze at the bat monster’s piercing scream.

They hastily raised their weapons and pulled the triggers, aiming down at the beast.

“Da-da-da-da-da!!!”

A barrage of gunfire rang out, bullets pouring down like torrential rain, engulfing the bat monster.

Blood splattered from its body again and again.

Yet, its flesh seemed unbelievably tough.

Though bleeding profusely, its bones and sinews appeared unscathed.

The creature spread its wings and opened its mouth, aiming at the soldiers above.

“——————————!”

An invisible shockwave burst forth.

Levi felt his brain buzzing violently, as though some kind of high-pitched frequency drilled into his skull, boiling his brain matter.

The gunfire stopped abruptly—the soldiers clearly suffered the same torment.

“Ugh… this sound, it’s unbearable…”

Katie groaned as she shook her head and slapped at her ears.

Levi understood well—his own ears still rang with that relentless “buzzing,” driving him to discomfort.

But this was no time to dwell on it!

With the interference cleared, the bat monster scrambled onto the side of a nearby building, climbing rapidly with both claws and legs.

Clearly, it intended to escape!

Levi aimed his gun and fired.

His bullets hit, but did not slow the beast.

It clawed desperately at the windows, dragging itself higher.

The soldiers on the rooftops had all gone silent—whether dead or unconscious, Levi could not tell.

Damn it, at this rate, it’ll get away!

Levi clenched his teeth and scanned the surroundings.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

He rushed over to Katie.

“Katie! Katie!”

“Ugh… my head’s buzzing… what?”

“Throw that—next to the monster’s head—hurry!”

He pointed toward the alleyway exit, where several soldiers lay unconscious.

They carried flamethrowers and fuel tanks—originally meant to seal off the area.

But under the creature’s sonic assault, they had collapsed.

Luckily, the alleyway was so narrow that only one person could fit through.

Otherwise, the monster might have already fled.

Katie blinked at Levi, then glanced at the fuel tanks and back at the climbing monster.

Realization dawned instantly.

“Leave it to me!”

She staggered forward, like someone stumbling across the deck of a storm-tossed ship.

She tore a fuel tank free from an unconscious flamethrower soldier’s back, hugged it tightly, and glared up at the monster.

Then, like pitching a softball, she hurled it upward.

“Whoooosh—!”

The fuel tank, filled with flammable liquid, whistled through the air and slammed against the bat monster’s head.

The impact barely harmed the creature—it had shrugged off machine-gun fire, after all.

Besides, Katie’s dizzy condition kept her from throwing with full strength.

But for Levi, it was enough.

At the instant the fuel tank struck, Levi squeezed the trigger.

“Bang!!”

The tank exploded violently, erupting into a storm of flames that engulfed the monster’s head.

The bat screeched in agony, flailing wildly as it clawed at the burning fire.

Losing its grip on the windows, it tumbled from the rooftop, its enormous body crashing into the ground with a thunderous impact.

“Again!”

Levi canceled the Eye of the Reaper and shouted.

His own head throbbed terribly—the creature’s sonic wave left him feeling as though his skull would split apart.

Only when he activated the Eye of the Reaper could the pain subside momentarily.

Katie, panting heavily, grabbed another fuel tank and aimed for the monster.

The creature, however, was rolling on the ground, clawing desperately at its flaming head.

She narrowed her eyes, waited for her chance, and hurled the tank with all her strength.

The spinning tank arced through the air.

In Levi’s eyes, time slowed once again.

He watched it tumble in slow motion, slip past the monster’s swinging claws, and smash into its furry belly…

Now!

Levi fired.

The bullet hit, and fire burst forth.

The explosion tore through the bat’s seemingly vulnerable stomach.

The shockwave and shrapnel ripped across its body.

The monster shrieked again, thrashing, flapping its wings in a last, desperate attempt to take flight.

But it only rose a few centimeters before crashing back to the ground.

Its wails weakened, then faded to silence.

“Haaah…”

Levi collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath.

His head spun; his stomach churned.

He saw the monster’s body melting, fueling the flames—as though its very flesh were made of combustible matter.

But none of that mattered now.

Levi closed his eyes and listened to the distant wailing of sirens.

At least tonight’s nightmare was over.

If he could, Levi wished for a few days of rest in the hospital.

But he had no such luxury.

Though Betty was dead, she had left behind a clue.

Before dying, she had uttered the word “teacher.” Investigating literally, that could only point to one person—her teacher.

Betty had never hired a tutor, so it had to be someone at the Shuo Academy.

The police quickly identified a suspect.

Franz Rebecca.

A visiting professor at the Royal Master Academy, specializing in psychology and folklore.

But the speed of suspicion wasn’t due to evidence.

Rather… Professor Franz had disappeared.

Yes, the next day, when the police came to the Academy under the pretext of Betty’s death, they learned the professor was missing.

Searching his quarters, they discovered he had run a private occult study group, with Betty among its members.

Part of the group’s funding even came from Madam Clattie’s secret sponsorship.

Yet when the police arrived, his quarters were completely emptied—everything gone.

The Academy, of course, claimed to know nothing.

It was clear: Professor Franz Rebecca was the likely mastermind behind the recent chain of events.

The police issued a warrant, declaring him the orchestrator of the vampire incidents, painting him as a mad scientist.

They claimed both victims had been carefully selected for his wicked experiments.

Naturally so—after all, they couldn’t announce that two young women had turned into vampires.

That wasn’t some marketplace gossip…

As for the explosions and fire in the alleyway, the official explanation was a gas leak causing an explosion.

A very convenient excuse.

During all this, Levi busied himself writing the case report—detailing the investigation, his deductions, and theories.

Katie would deliver it to the Old Butler, who would then decide whom to give it to.

Of course, Katie had the privilege of reading it first.

“Ugh… I don’t really get it, Mr. Levi. You’re saying the enemy controlled things through invading dreams?”

“That’s just my guess, but I think it’s highly likely.”

Levi continued typing on his typewriter as he explained.

“When I was attacked in the theater, I knew I was dreaming. The rules there weren’t of reality, but of the dream. Remember, your badge didn’t work against Mr. Rogers when he turned into a monster. But in the dream, it burned Maggie’s hand, even seriously injuring her. Why? Simple—like you said, everyone believes the All-Seeing Eye can purify vampires. So in the dream, it could.”

“So detective, you mean… if everyone believes a god exists, then it does?”

“Isn’t that the essence of gods?”

Levi glanced at Katie.

“People yearn for the sun, worship the moon, fear the dark, long for the light. Those feelings and desires condensed into the concept of gods. Of course, I’m no expert, so I’d suggest involving psychologists or historians. Oh, and mystics too.”

He looked back at the typewriter, pulling the paper back into place.

“But it seems you’ve become famous again.”

Katie giggled, waving a newspaper in front of him.

“‘The Hero Who Destroyed the Evil Nightmare! The Detective Who Guards the Citizens!’”

“Newspapers always exaggerate.”

Levi didn’t even lift his head, his eyes fixed on the keys as he sighed quietly.

With this reputation spreading, his future troubles would only grow.