Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 10: A Corner of That Dark Abyss

This passage was narrow and also quite long.

Under the dim light, Inspector Lestrade walked in front, while Levi followed behind him, keeping his footsteps as light as possible.

No one knew what was inside, but instinct told them that something dangerous must be hidden here.

Finally, the two of them reached the end, where there was a tightly shut iron door.

Inspector Lestrade gave Levi a hand signal, then reached out his hand — slowly pushing it open.

Next, Inspector Lestrade used the half-opened door as cover, cautiously leaning his body out to peer inside.

Then, as if judging there was no danger, he pushed the door fully open and walked in.

Levi followed behind him into the room ahead.

Incidentally, although Levi had told Katie to wait outside, the latter had followed him in, clinging to him like toffee that couldn’t be shaken off.

From the outside, the place really did feel like a hospital operating room.

The surroundings were pure white, with cabinets and tables on both sides lined with various medicines and specimens.

In the center of the room, Levi also saw a set of steam-powered surgical equipment.

It was composed of a cold rectangular box, and above it hung a bright shadowless lamp.

Beside it were mechanical arm–like contraptions spreading outward on both sides, each fitted with surgical knives that reflected a cold, inorganic gleam under the lamp’s light.

If the operating table was the flower’s core, then those mechanical arms and their surgical knives were like layers of overlapping steel petals.

Of course, there was nothing romantic about this at all.

“This is the mechanical device you were talking about? Why does it look more like torture equipment to me?”

Inspector Lestrade eyed the device, muttering in a low voice, and Levi nodded.

Rather than calling it a surgical instrument, it was more accurate to call it a torture device.

Who in their right mind would make something like this?

Levi could easily imagine that anyone lying on it—if those mechanical arms went out of control—the sharp surgical knives would mercilessly mince the unlucky victim into shreds.

But the problem now was not the strange machinery, but what was on it.

A bright red, eerie-looking magic circle surrounded the operating table.

Levi could not tell whether it was drawn in red paint or blood, but judging by common sense, it was likely the latter.

What’s more, there were three glass bottles placed on the table.

This time, Levi didn’t even need to rely on his powers of observation—any fool could see that the most important things in this room were that magic circle covering the table and the three bottles on top of it.

“………………………”

Levi and Lestrade exchanged a silent glance, and the latter gestured.

“You first?”

“I’m surprised, Mr. Lestrade. I thought you wouldn’t take things like this seriously.”

“I’m getting old, lad. I’ve seen many strange things, and believe me, one more won’t hurt. On the other hand, I thought you steam-age youngsters would just dismiss this as superstition.”

“It’s always good to be cautious. After all, you only have one life.”

The two of them exchanged a few quiet words, staring at the table without making a move forward.

Although it seemed there were no traps here, the magic circle still gave them a bad feeling—like if they went closer, those mechanical arms would suddenly come to life and chop them into pieces.

Even Katie, normally so stubborn, was hiding off to the side, staying well away from the eerie table.

“In any case, there’s no one here. Should we just call for backup?”

Levi was leaning toward playing it safe—he hadn’t lived enough yet.

“Hahaha, call for backup? That’s a bit early. We haven’t found anything yet.”

Inspector Lestrade laughed heartily, then lowered his pistol and strode toward the operating table.

Levi stayed in place, gripping his gun tightly, eyes fixed ahead, alert for any sudden moves.

To their surprise, nothing happened, even as Lestrade reached the table and picked up one of the glass jars.

He glanced around again, then, under the shadowless lamp, opened the jar.

“Ugh, what is this smell!?”

A pungent chemical stench burst forth, making Lestrade wave his hand in front of his nose.

Levi froze when he smelled it.

He remembered clearly—this was the exact same scent he had smelled earlier on the Courtesan Killer!

Almost at the same moment, Levi’s keen “perception” flared again.

Above the shadowless lamp, a mass of darkness was squirming—it was like…

“Get down!”

Lestrade’s battle experience showed.

At Levi’s shout, he instantly curled up like a hedgehog, dropping under the table.

In the blink of an eye, just as Lestrade ducked, a gleaming surgical knife stabbed down from above—if he’d been even a moment slower, his head would have been skewered!

Levi raised his hand, aimed at the shadow above, and pulled the trigger.

“Bang!”

The gunshot roared in the silent room like muffled thunder.

The shadow’s body shuddered, letting out a shrill scream before falling from the ceiling and hitting the ground hard.

Only then did Levi see what it really was.

“My God, what the hell is that!?”

Inspector Lestrade’s scream summed up both of their feelings, because under the light, that shadow was not human—

—or at least, not entirely.

Its body was larger than a normal human’s, wrapped in a huge, tattered cloak.

Its head looked like a human face stretched into a horse’s.

The arms and legs sticking out from the cloak were skin-and-bone thin.

And in its long, bony fingers, it clutched several surgical knives.

“Kill it!”

Levi, being from the modern age, had seen plenty of grotesque monsters in movies and games, so this one wasn’t too disturbing for him.

But Lestrade was clearly unprepared for such a thing—he was nearly frozen with fright.

It wasn’t until Levi’s voice rang out that he seemed to snap back to reality, raising his gun and shouting as he pulled the trigger.

“Bang bang bang bang bang!!!”

He emptied his gun in one go, but it was useless—the monster was much faster than a human.

All his bullets struck only the fluttering cloak, none hitting the target.

The monster crawled along the walls like a gecko, easily dodging Lestrade’s attacks.

But Lestrade’s shooting wasn’t completely in vain.

While the creature was evading, Levi seized the opening.

He raised his gun, and in that instant, time seemed to stop—everything slowed, even the monster’s agile movements.

Levi felt as though his revolver was an extension of his own body.

He didn’t even need to use the sights to know exactly where the barrel was aimed.

Then, he pulled the trigger.

“Bang!!”

It all happened in a flash.

Lestrade was frantically reloading after running out of bullets, while the monster leapt up, clinging to the wall, then sprang at him!

As Levi’s gunshot rang out, the monster screamed.

But its momentum didn’t stop—the surgical knife in its hand stabbed into Lestrade’s abdomen.

Lestrade grunted in pain and fell backward to the floor.

It’s still not dead?

Levi froze for a moment.

He had just aimed for its eye and shot it in the head.

This thing couldn’t be… immortal, could it?

In any case, a few more shots should be worth a try!

From the way it reacted, at least bullets seemed to have some effect!

Thinking this, Levi strode forward, aiming the barrel once again at the struggling monster.

However, just as the two of them were about to launch a simultaneous attack, a sudden rush of wind swept in from behind!

Levi could feel something sharp tearing through the air, lunging toward him!

At that moment, Katie’s urgent voice rang out.

“Watch out!”

With her shout, Levi immediately abandoned his attack and rolled to the side.

At the same time, he felt something nearly graze his body as it flew past from behind.

Rolling once on the ground, Levi looked up—and when he saw the enemy before him, he felt his blood run cold.

What the hell was this thing?

Standing before him was a baby—or rather, a baby-sized monster.

Its body was in a semi-fluid state, with skin and muscle showing signs of melting.

On its palms grew sharp, blade-like claws!

“Waaah… waaah…”

At the same time, several more of the same monsters crawled out from the sides.

They positioned themselves in front of the big monster as if to protect it, letting out eerie baby cries.

Good grief—this wasn’t a detective scene anymore, he’d just walked straight into a horror movie set!

Looking at these strange creatures, Levi felt his scalp prickle.

But there was no time to complain—because the moment he saw them, they also saw him, and leapt like little dogs, screaming, toward him!

“Bang!”

Levi reacted quickly.

As the monsters lunged into the air, he raised his pistol and pulled the trigger.

With the gunshot, two of the little monsters’ heads burst from the bullets.

But at the same time, a third lunged in from the side.

Levi could even see the rows of tiny, sharp, saw-like teeth in its open mouth!

“Hey!”

Just as Levi was about to block with his arm, a sharp shout came from the side.

A small figure darted out from the corner—before Levi could even call out, she had stepped in with a punch, sending the little monster flying!

Next, Levi saw Katie standing in front of him, fists clenched, looking excited.

“They’re monsters! They’re monsters, right? So the fairy tales weren’t lying—there really are man-eating monsters!?”

I can understand your excitement, but why are you looking at them like you just met Santa Claus and your dreams came true?

Levi was at a loss for words, staring at the girl standing before him, eyes shining with excitement.

Wasn’t the usual reaction for girls seeing something like this to go weak in the knees—or even faint outright?

Under the lamp’s light, Levi noticed that Katie’s hands were clad in gleaming metal gloves—hm, she seemed pretty well-prepared.

“Uwaaah—!”

Katie’s sudden appearance quickly drew the little monsters’ attention.

They screeched sharply and turned to rush at her.

Most girls would have lost their souls at the mere sight of these creatures.

But Katie clearly wasn’t like that.

She seemed positively thrilled—but her movements were still cautious, dodging the monsters’ attacks to avoid getting hit, and striking back only when they left an opening.

What was this young lady’s deal?

Levi really wanted to figure that out, but now was not the time.

Katie, as a competent tank, had firmly drawn the monsters’ aggro, and as the damage dealer, Levi’s role was now very clear!

He raised his gun, aiming at the monsters and focusing hard—once again, the flow of time around him seemed to slow drastically.

At the same time, a sharp, stabbing pain spread from deep inside his brain!

“Ugh—!”

Levi gritted his teeth against the discomfort, aimed at the monsters, and pulled the trigger!

“Bang bang bang bang!!”

With four gunshots, the four monsters attacking Katie were shot through the head.

At the same time, the world in Levi’s eyes returned to normal speed.

“Huff… huff… huff…”

Levi gripped his gun, breathing heavily.

He felt exhausted, as if he’d just run a ten-kilometer marathon.

“Aaaargh!!”

But the fight wasn’t over yet.

Seeing the little monsters killed, the big one that had been howling and struggling suddenly let out a piercing scream.

It turned and lunged at Levi.

Katie stepped in front of him in a blur, her small fists swinging out in quick succession.

Levi heard the heavy impact, and in the next moment the monster staggered back again.

Katie stood her ground, fists clenched, eyes locked on it.

Levi took the chance to catch his breath, then quickly pulled a speed loader from his pocket, dropping six bullets into the revolver’s cylinder.

With a click, he snapped it shut, pulled back the hammer, and aimed at the monster.

With Katie as his tank up front, he was confident he could finish it this time!

But just then… a voice suddenly rang out from the doorway.

“Stop right there!”