Kaijin Fighter: So I Have to Make Monsters, So What?-Chapter 1492: Thick Tension

Meanwhile, at the [Library of Nowhere]...

<Well, shit. This isn’t good.>

=No. No it is not.=

From the observation room of the library, Logos and Pathos looked on with stress and worry plain on their faces, due to the very simple fact that their Lord was being backed into a very vulnerable corner while being handicapped on a physical and mental level.

To summarize the situation, Zhen Liu was about to be forced to walk alongside a man who had every incentive imaginable to pop him like a grape, all while technically a quarter conscious due to Nepherage, Frosttusk and Hurricroak being subjected to the power of the [Crane’s Slumbering Bell].

Music-baaed aether arts were one of the main weaknesses of the kaijin, and the feedback from their pain and status effects was one of the major vulnerabilities of a Kaijin Lord, especially when amplified.

In other words, if only one of the Ragnarockers was rendered unconscious because of the bell, that would’ve been fine. However, because three different Kaijin were all sending back feedback related to sleeping and dreaming, Zhen Liu found himself in a bad situation.

To be more precise, Zhen Liu’s current transformation as Mei Yue required him to be consciously manipulating his [Chaos] to maintain not just the "look", but the aether channels as well.

The looks were the easy part; it was the channels that were a massive bitch and a half to maintain, especially over a long period of time like this.

Zhen Liu never mentioned this to anyone, but temporarily creating channels within his body actually caused him immense pain.

He could feel that his body was actively rejecting every single second of having those artificial channels exist within himself, and he had no idea why.

Perhaps it was growing pains, perhaps it was because his fundamental existence seemed to want to try and reject the possibility of having traditional channels; either way, the moment the drowsiness became too much for Zhen Liu to bear, he would no longer be able to maintain this farce of his.

The moment Zhen Liu reverted back to normal, and the moment Alain saw that one of his biggest targets of opportunity had essentially handed himself over while wrapped in a silk dress, then there was a very real chance that the [Library of Nowhere] would go back into hibernation as the mantle of Kaijin Lord was passed on to another.

As such, Logos and Pathos were doing their damndest to try and figure out what to do, because right now, all they could do was helplessly watch.

<Alright, shit, could we just have one of the kaijin possess his ass while he’s unconcious?>

=No, the change in demeanor would be too abrupt, and there is a very real possibility that Alain would notice the change in both demeanor and aura. Especially since the only kaijin in the area that even remotely qualifies for the task at hand is Blazejudicator. And I’m pretty sure that Alain memorized his ass after that show he put on in the restaurant.=

<Fuck, right. What about the Mysticlassic trio? Are they close enough to assist?>

=Fucked if I know. Other than their audio-visual feeds, I can’t determine if they’re three feet underground or three miles. The catacombs here are more twisted than a pretzel made by a man with nervous tic...damnit, now I’m talking like you!.=

<And that’s how I know it’s bad. Shit!>

The funny thing about panic was that, while it may cause most people to think too fast for their own good and cause most people to make terrible decisions one after the other, there were some who actually thought more clearly while panicking.

Something about having all their thoughts aligned to a single emotion made it easier for them to put together what resources they had on hand to resolve whatever issue had appeared before them.

<Wait a minute...>

And right now, Pathos had determined that there was a very underutilized resource in the library that could weirdly work in this situation.

She just needed to locate his freeloading, drunken ass.

<Logos, do you know where the Damned Drunkard is currently sleeping?>

=Anton? I think he’s currently haunting around the animal conference...wait a minute, are you thinking what I think you’re thinking to do?=

<That being drunk and being drowsy are remarkably similar states of mind, and using our resident drunk to help our lord navigate his bullshit that way?,> Pathso interjected with extreme seriousness. <Why yes, yes I am.>

=I...if you want us to do a data dump, that will definitely be noticed if Alain actually pays attention to the presence of [Chaos].=

<I know...that’s why we’re going to use...a different channel,> Pathos ominously declared before snapping their fingers and summoning an illusionary window that explained their idea. <It’s a good thing our lord decided to spend a day here before heading back to Dozing Salamander.>

=Oh...wait, when did you establish this?=

...Alright, enough pre-amble, let’s get to the juicy bit...

The plan for after acquiring the [Rainbowsmith Manual] was for Ren Jia and Mei Yue to make use of a carriage and ride around the city for a couple of laps until stopping at a random inn.

During these laps, Mei Yue would revert back to Zhen Liu and Ren Jia would ditch her disguise and go back to being Jinju Ren.

The reason behind this sequence of events was simple.

Ideally, all of the lapping around the city would shake off any possible tails that the couple would’ve attracted from this evening with Alain and Alder. If not, then seeing a completely different couple suddenly exit the carriage to some random-ass inn would’ve thoroughly misinformed any spies that managed to hang on tight.

Unfortunately, luck and circumstance had determined that this plan had no choice but to be chucked out of that aforementioned carriage’s window.

Due to Mei Yue suddenly becoming incredibly drowsy, both Alain and Alder had insisted on accompanying both her and Ren Jia back to whatever inn that they were both staying at.

As such, instead of a lovely relaxing carriage ride between a shapeshifting weirdo and their fiancee, Ren Jia and Mei Yue were forced to sit right across from a guy that they both disliked for reasons that didn’t need to be repeated and one oddly earnest sheep bloodliner who seemed unable to read the situation despite supposedly having the ability to read minds.

Then again, perhaps he was acting this way precisely because he could read minds and understood that speaking up about any suspicions was probably a bad idea in this situation.

Especially since the tension in the carriage was thick enough to be stabbed, filleted, and seared like a fine piece of tenderloin beef.

Inside of this cramped carriage cabin, Mei Yue and Ren Jia were seated on one side, while Alain and Alder were seated on the other.

Mei Yue was still acting unconscious; granted, she was actually focusing incredibly hard to make sure her facade was still being maintained, because the moment she passed out, her entire ruse would be exposed, as her disguise would’ve become undone in an instant.

Alder, for his part, was still pretending not to notice the brewing tension in the carriage, especially since it was preceded by such a lovely evening.

As for the last two members of the cabin, Alain and Ren Jia, the two of them were starting to stare daggers in each other’s direction. Albeit, sheathed daggers.

Since that earlier "episode" involving Mei Yue and his rightfully purchased book, Alain had been keeping a sharper eye on both the aforementioned maiden and Ren Jia.

While he didn’t say it out loud, Alain had suspected that Mei Yue’s sudden bout of fainting might’ve been a planned ruse to try and steal the book away from his person. At least, that’s what his instincts told him.

As for Ren Jia, Jinju Ren, she knew that Alain had grown suspicious of her and Zhen Liu.

Now, while she wasn’t a mind reader like Bellona, nor able to detect [Desire] like Zhen Liu, she was still a bonafide Imperial Princess.

Court intrigue and all of the bullshit that entails was part of her daily routine, so she could determine whether or not someone was acting suspicious or was on the lookout for foul play.

And right now, she could feel Alain’s suspicions piercing a hole into her skull.

Of course, she wasn’t entirely sure if this suspicion was due to just that earlier episode of tripping and grabbing or because Alain knew what the fuck was up with Mei Yue’s true identity. If it was the former, fine, Jinju Ren could come up with a dozen or so plausible lies that would play off this incident like it was nothing.

If it was the latter, though...then Jinju Ren didn’t mind taking the first shot and hope to the ancestors that her strike ripped Alain’s pretty little wings off in one go. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Either way, all of this tension made the entire carriage cab feel like a pressure cooker that was about to explode.

And it was about to get...interesting.