The Death of Chels

"Ah! A monster! There's a monster!"

Chels clutched his neck and screamed in terror. Bright red blood kept seeping through his fingers.

Gamba stepped forward and pulled his hand away. At the sight of a wound as thick as a thumb, he hurried to treat it. Ten minutes later, the bleeding had stopped. The search party returned and reported finding nothing.

"Charles McTon, why are you here? And what happened to your neck?"

Osa's gaze was sharp.

"I... came to pick blueberries. I wanted to make some jam. I... haven't had much of an appetite lately. Sifir... Sifir knows!"

"That's right. Chels came to the restaurant a few days ago looking for some sweet-and-sour jam. But with the base sealed off, supplies can't get in, so I suggested picking ripe blueberries from the greenery beside Dragon Garden and making his own jam!"

Sifir backed up his story.

Chels pulled a large handful of blueberries from his pocket and pointed at those scattered across the lawn. "I was picking them along the way when I heard Bell cry out from in here. I came over to look. A shadowy hand suddenly shot out of the bushes, grabbed my neck, and dragged me in. All I saw were bloodred eyes and fangs dripping with blood. Then I felt a sharp pain in my neck. I... I fainted from fright. The next thing I knew, you were here."

A shadow monster, much like the one Robin had described last time. Osa Edward helped Chels up. "Charles McTon, describe what the monster looked like again, in detail."

"O-okay, Mr. Osa. That shadowy hand was like rubber, kind of springy and sticky. Its eyes were... like an octopus monster's in a cartoon, oddly oval. When its sharp teeth came close, I smelled a pungent fishy