Playing Dirty

Betty was fast. Li Wei saw only a blur before a pitch-black figure filled his vision.

Anyone else would probably have had no choice but to close their eyes and wait for death.

Fortunately, Li Wei had prepared for this. He stared at the figure, a cold gleam flashing through his eyes.

Death's Eye!

In that instant, time slowed to a crawl. Li Wei raised his gun, aimed at the girl in front of him, and pulled the trigger.

Bang, bang!!

Gunshots rang out. Betty's and Maggie's heads snapped backward as though someone had punched them in the face. Seizing the opening, Li Wei darted into the alley beside him.

There was barely a trace of light in the dark alley. Metal pipes of every kind covered the brick walls on either side. Even in the stillness of the night, they kept groaning and venting clouds of scalding steam. Everything around him was damp. Li Wei lowered his head, held down the brim of his hat with one hand, and sprinted through the alley as fast as he could.

He could hear beastlike roars, rushing air, and footsteps behind him. But Li Wei did not turn to look. He kept running, passing through one alley after another and weaving between thick metal steam pipes.

At last, he stopped.

There was nothing but a dead end ahead.

"Really, Mr. Li Wei, this simply won't do."

Betty's voice rang out again. Li Wei turned to see the girl descending lightly from above, stepping along the steam pipes like a ghost before landing in front of him. A dark figure followed, crawling on all fours through a gap in the alley like an animal before crouching beside Betty.

Li Wei did not need a clear look to know who that dark figure was.

"To be honest, I don't understand any of this."

Li Wei sighed.

"What exactly are you trying to do, Miss Betty? You, Lady Claytie-all of you. What are you trying to accomplish?"

"What are we trying to accomplish?"

Betty chuckled.

"I think you've misunderstood, Mr. Detective. Perhaps you believe we're behind all of this, playing supernatural tricks and conducting bizarre, evil rituals... like those cultists. Am I right?"

"Aren't you?"

"Of course not."

Betty shook her head.

"Mr. Detective, this isn't about what we want to do. This is simply how history unfolds. This is how the world works. You are the ones who made this world what it is today. We're merely following the current, just as seagulls ride the wind and waves without creating them... so your accusations against us are mistaken. We simply noticed the wind and waves before you did, and spread our wings to welcome their arrival."

"An interesting way of putting it."

Li Wei stared at Betty. She stood motionless, blocking his only escape route.

"Could you explain that in more detail? Look, I'm about to die. Can't you at least let me die knowing the truth?"

"...I'd be delighted to fulfill your request, Mr. Detective."

Betty chuckled.

"Unfortunately, even I am merely repeating what I've only just learned. That great one hasn't told me anything more. All we know is that the tides of the past will soon return, and we will reclaim our former glory, becoming beings beyond the mortal world!"

Although Betty's answer was rather strange, Li Wei had read countless webnovels, watched countless films and animated shows, and played more games than he could count. Those words alone were enough for him to pin down the true purpose behind it all.

"You mean... you want to become gods?"

Betty fell silent at Li Wei's question. Then, a moment later, her voice became bright and excited.

"Exactly, Mr. Detective! You truly are a brilliant detective! I never imagined you would guess it so quickly!"

As she spoke, Betty reached out a hand.

"You're just as I thought: clever, handsome, and a gentleman. Now I see that killing you would be such a waste. I'll turn you into one of my thralls... ah, not worthless trash like Maggie. You'll become a ruler of the night, just like me. Together, we can rule this dark, beautiful world. We can command those mortals and make them willingly lay down their lives for us..."

Li Wei said nothing in response. His eyes flicked toward the space ahead of him, then back.

At that moment, a mission completion notification had appeared before his eyes.

Sure enough, just like a detective, I have to get the culprit to confess before the mission counts as complete. Simply offering my own theory isn't enough. Well, that makes sense. Otherwise, whenever another case comes up, I could just guess every possible answer. One of them would have to be right, wouldn't it?

Unfortunately, the situation was too tense for Li Wei to check what rewards the system had given him. He could only quietly swipe the notification aside. Then he took a deep breath and looked at Betty again.

"That sounds wonderful, but I refuse."

"You won't refuse. Soon, you'll be my faithful servant."

As she spoke, Betty snapped her fingers. Maggie, who had been crouching beside her like a dog, let out a beastlike roar and lunged at Li Wei!

"Haaah!"

Just as Maggie charged, a small figure burst from the shadows of the steam pipes beside them. Katie clenched her small, silver-gloved fist and punched Maggie, sending her flying. Immediately afterward, several dazzling beams appeared on the rooftops, lighting up the entire alley!

"What-!?"

The sudden light startled Betty. She hurried backward, trying to vanish into the alley's dark shadows. But as she turned to flee, a flash of fire erupted into fierce, searing flames that filled the alley. With a scream, Betty slipped out of the fire like a wraith and returned to where she had been standing.

Under the searchlights, her clothes had burned to tatters, and her entire body was charred black. An ordinary human would have been rolling on the ground by now. Betty merely turned and glared viciously at Li Wei.

Maggie, who had been knocked away, also got back up with a howl. She looked less and less human now. Her elongated face resembled a dog's, and her mouth had split all the way to her ears, revealing sharp teeth.

"You..."

"I'm no fool either, Miss Betty."

Li Wei raised his gun and aimed at Betty. Naturally, he was not foolish enough to go looking for trouble alone. As soon as he realized he had been attacked at the theater, he had contacted Katie and arranged an ambush site. His seemingly panicked flight had actually been an effort to lure Betty and Maggie to the designated location.

Now everything was in place. This was a dead end, with soldiers carrying flamethrowers blocking the way out. The soldiers on the surrounding rooftops already had their weapons ready, encircling the alley. Li Wei was certain that even if Betty could fly, she would never escape. Death was her only way out.

"Personally, I'd suggest you surrender quietly."

"Surrender?"

Betty was clearly furious now. She stared at Li Wei with an icy, chilling gaze.

"Never! I won't surrender! That great one will come to save me!"

"He won't save you. If anything, he's more likely to kill you."

Li Wei chuckled.

"Do you know how Lady Claytie died? I went to her club to investigate, and she noticed me. She reported to that supreme being of yours through a mirror. Then, once she'd finished her report, she simply died... yes, I saw it with my own eyes. Want to guess who killed her?"

"...Th-that's impossible..."

Betty was visibly shaken by Li Wei's answer.

"You killed Lady Claytie because you wanted to investigate our secrets, Mr. Detective..."

"Don't you think that contradicts itself?"

Li Wei raised an eyebrow.

"If I wanted to investigate your secrets, why would I kill Lady Claytie? I can't talk to the dead. Keeping her alive would obviously be more useful."

"Because Lady Claytie would rather die than yield, so..."

At Li Wei's answer, Betty shuddered. As though waking from a dream, the girl trembled, her eyes widening in terror.

"That's right. That's how it happened. That's how it happened..."

She swayed, clutching her head and shaking it over and over as she muttered under her breath.

"My teacher, he... my teacher said... ah... aaaaaah!!!"

A piercing, unnatural scream burst from Betty's mouth. Li Wei felt his heart give a violent spasm. The blood throughout his body seemed to be drawn by some force, as though it were trying to leave him. At the same time, his mind began to cloud, and he could no longer even keep his balance.

Katie, a short distance away, fared little better. She pressed both hands tightly over her ears and swayed like a drunk.

But the most terrifying change was happening to Betty herself.

Her body began to dissolve and tear apart like a wax figure melting under intense heat. Her once-solid skin, muscles, and bones fused together into something resembling a viscous liquid. Maggie, whom Katie had punched away, underwent the same transformation. The two pools of slime gradually merged, forming a bizarre, shifting monster.

It resembled an enormous bat, fully as tall as a person, except that it had no fur anywhere on its body. Under the harsh lights, its pale muscles and the blood vessels beneath its membranes were clearly visible.

Then the bat monster shrieked and lunged straight at Li Wei!