Chapter 36

"I've seen knives split bullets in two before..."

Holding two guns, Louis fired wildly at the other side as if bullets were free.

"Slicing through a dozen bullets with one slash is going too far!"

"Louis, what nonsense are you spouting!"

Shelley threw another punch that missed its mark, then leaned back to dodge the blade that shot out from above, performing a backflip to stand back beside Louis.

During this time, Shelley's hat miraculously did not fall off and remained on his head.

Shelley looked at Tōno Seikiku, who was squinting, with some annoyance.

"Hmm... I can't even hit him..."

Even though his eyes were closed the whole time, his dodges were incredibly precise and swift.

They are much more perceptive than the average person.

"Yes, the 'King of the Unknown' among the hounds. According to the information, his five senses far surpass those of ordinary people, to the point of almost supernatural abilities."

Furthermore, the brain's data processing ability has reached an abnormal level, allowing it to distinguish information in an instant.

Louis gritted his teeth: "It truly lives up to its reputation."

It felt like as soon as they attacked, Tōno Saikiku already knew where the attack came from.

Every punch I threw hit nothing but air; it was incredibly frustrating.

Shelley's forehead bulged as she watched Tōno Seiki, who was still laughing.

"It's infuriating to look at."

It's infuriating.

On the other side, Tōno Tsaiki tilted her head in confusion.

Is it just my imagination? My internal organs seem to be functioning differently than before?

It seems a little too fast?

After discarding the two empty magazines, Louis quickly picked up two new guns.

"One more time!"

Louis unleashed another barrage of fire, leaving behind numerous low-lying gaps.

Shelley charged out once again.

Tōno Seiki frowned, puzzled as to why the opposing team was using the same set of countermeasures.

They clearly have the advantage in terms of physical strength.

Suehiro Tetsusuke, without much thought, raised his sword once more.

"Plum Blossom in the Snow!"

The blade twisted in mid-air, instantly cleaving through all the bullets, and then turned to stab Mary Shelley, who was rushing towards them.

Based on past experience, Shelley would jump to avoid this attack, so he should prepare to turn.

However, the other side couldn't be that stupid, so Suehiro Tessou decided not to make any preparations in advance, but simply to increase vigilance.

If the enemy is really that stupid... forget it, no one with a normal IQ would do that. Besides, this guy is still alive and kicking after being chased by the ASA for so long.

(Stevenson is also wanted by the ASA, but his priority is lower than Cervantes'.)

Sure enough, when the blade was about to pierce Shelley this time, Shelley did not choose to jump up, but instead pushed off the ground.

With a deafening roar and large, spiderweb-like cracks appearing on the ground, Shelley accelerated toward the two.

The speed was completely different from the last time, and the force generated when pushing off the ground was also completely different from the last time.

That's too much.

If the last punch was a rocket launcher, this one is a tank's main gun.

Without needing any prompting, Suehiro Tetsuo and Jono Saikiku quickly made their way out.

Shelley's punch missed, and the impact even dented a large section of the pavement.

The manhole cover not far away couldn't withstand the aftershock of Shelley's punch and snapped in two.

Shelley, who had missed, stood up straight without a care, shook his hand, and looked again at Tōno Seikiku and Suehō Tetsugō, who had been affected even though they had dodged in time.

“This time it’s our turn to say we went too far…” Tōno Saikiku, who had just regained her footing, looked rather grim. “What kind of exaggerated, monstrous strength…”

Suehiro Tetsusuke's sword returned to its original state, and he frowned slightly as well: "Not easy to cut."

Before the two could finish their gloomy expressions, Louis suddenly let out a loud roar.

"Look at the edge, you idiots!"

Neither of them turned around. Tōno Saikiku, however, deftly raised her hand and, without turning her head, used the side of her knife to slap Louis's grenade back.

Louis jumped up and down: "Damn superhuman senses!"

Clearly, Shelley and the two hounds, who were in a standoff, ignored him.

Stevenson's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is quite effective against well-prepared sieges or encirclements, as well as large-scale attacks like the UN's recent one, but its effectiveness is mediocre on the front lines.

Its solidity, which prevents it from being blown by the wind, is ideal for ambushes, but becomes a hindrance in head-on combat.

Not to mention he now has a teammate—Shelley.

A large-scale release of toxic gas could easily have involved Shelley as well.

However, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is very useful when not engaged in direct combat—for example, his current door-blocking business.

By enclosing the entire area where the hounds and Shelley were facing off with a high concentration of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the battle zone was effectively reduced.

When facing an enemy that Shelley couldn't defeat in direct combat, having Stevenson continuously shrink the encirclement was also a good tactic.

Shelley was in charge of direct combat, while Stevenson was in charge of the special abilities; that was the significance of their combination.

In addition, he and Shelley had another layer of cooperation—anger.

Low concentrations of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" can make people irritable and easily angered, and Shelley's battles require anger.

Under normal circumstances, Shelley wouldn't get this angry just because she couldn't hit anyone.

He had already given Shelley a low-concentration dose of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" when they first discovered the enemy.

At that moment, he covered Shelley's mouth, not actually to remind Shelley to be quiet.

A standalone "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is only good for defensive purposes and is easily disrupted by ranged attacks and suicide attacks—Stevenson himself is only capable of dealing with ordinary people in a head-on fight.

The problem with "Frankenstein" is its instability. If Shelley is in a good mood or is feeling down and doesn't want to get angry, "Frankenstein" won't activate. The boredom of long battles can also easily cause "Frankenstein" to fail.

In some respects, their capabilities can complement each other.

This is an alternative form of spear and shield.

However, the imperfection of this spear and shield lies in the fact that there is still a small problem...

While Louis was diligently using "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" to block the road, Shelley was engaged in a fierce battle with Suehiro Tetsusuke and Nono Seiki.

It must be said that the hounds truly lived up to their reputation. With their superhuman physical abilities and powerful supernatural powers (specifically, "Snow Plum"), the two of them were able to fight Shelley, who was using supernatural powers, without being at a disadvantage.

But that's all there is to it.

Louis stopped smoking, slung the two guns over his shoulder, and began to watch the show with his arms crossed.

Based on the current situation, the two hounds can only hold out for a maximum of two more minutes.

This was even after Shelley had been in a good mood from beating people up for a while, and "Frankenstein" had been weakened considerably.

"I feel like I've wasted my time..."

That's why he's often jokingly called a "smoke machine"—he's practically never seen on the front lines.

Just as Louis was watching the show with his head tilted to the side, something unexpected happened.

Initially, it was a brilliant idea from Suehiro Tetsusuke, who was truly no match for him.

He remembered that before they came out, the captain (actually, it was Tsubaki) had mentioned that the smoke released by that man over there had a fatal effect.

However, judging from the current situation, the little girl's physical condition should not be able to die immediately... if it's just a moment, she should only be paralyzed.

So……

Snow Plum launched another attack, and Shelley easily dodged the extended blade, but this time the blade did not immediately retract.

Instead, he turned behind Shelley and punched Shelley, who was jumping up and crashing down.

And so, with Shelley and Louis both completely bewildered, Shelley, who was quite light, didn't have time to react before Suehiro Tetsusuke forcefully threw her into the smoke by the roadside.

Louis stared blankly as Mary Shelley crashed into the dark red smoke, his whole body frozen in place.

"Dry."