Chapter 192: Reinforcements Beyond Expectation
As Ethan's group moved through the thick fog, the atmosphere in the livestream room gradually began to calm down.
["Nice, this London looks amazing!"]
["As expected of the City of Fog, and we've even got Jack the Ripper enthusiastically acting as a tour guide. Experiencing local culture like this is top tier."]
["It's gloomy and has Jack the Ripper, but it looks better than the Paris I visited last summer... Yosh, I've decided, I'm going to London this summer!!"]
["I'm moved. Starting to feel like I wanna take a trip to London."]
["If I were the London Tourism Bureau, I'd sign a promotional contract with this streamer immediately."]
["Calm down, guys up there, I'm starting to get a little scared now…"]
["Newbie, sit down. With fog this thick and two Jack the Rippers tagging along, what could be scarier?"]
["Well… that's not entirely wrong either…"]
["The best way to overcome fear is to face it head-on, right?"]
["Walking the streets of 19th-century London in heavy fog, this is truly a rare experience!"]
["Honestly, with this suburban-looking scene, it really feels incredible!"]
But when the city gate opened and the scene inside was shown on screen, the audience in the livestream—who had been enthusiastically discussing London's culture and scenery—instantly fell silent.
["???"]
["Wait a second, did the streamer change film sets?"]
["19th-century London looks like this? Sugoi!!"]
["Host, did you just isekai into Star Wars?"]
["Cyberpunk London? Is this what the City of Fog has become?"]
…
At that moment, Ethan had no mind to pay attention to the livestream comments. He and Mash looked toward the road where a violent noise had erupted not far away.
"BOOM——————!!"
A powerful explosion rang out through the streets!
"AAAAHHHH!!!"
"Get out of the way!!!"
Screams echoed along the street as many people began trying to drive away from the scene.
"Ratatatatatata——————!!!"
A fierce barrage of gunfire tore through the area, instantly riddling the parked cars with bullets like sieves.
"All unauthorized personnel must evacuate immediately. I repeat, all unauthorized personnel must evacuate immediately!"
Amidst the continuous blaring of warnings from above, a large number of mechanical soldiers began to appear.
They raised their arms without hesitation and unleashed a hail of bullets in one direction.
"So annoying!!!"
A petite blonde girl immediately reached behind her.
Red dragon scales began to cover her palm, and then a faint red mana beam shot outward!
"Whoosh————————!!!"
The mechanical soldier hit by the blast instantly exploded into a pile of scattered parts on the ground. But like a tidal wave, more mechanical soldiers continued to open fire on her.
"Ratatatatata————————!!!"
Seeing she was about to be hit and had no time to dodge—
"Fou Fou!!!"
Suddenly, a white creature resembling a rabbit but also like a cat dashed out and swung its tail.
The bullets were instantly sucked into a whirlwind.
But not long after, another hail of bullets rained down!!!
The blonde girl charged forward with all her strength, trying to dash toward the gate ahead!!!
"Ugh…"
But exhausted and running too fast, she tripped and fell to the ground.
"Damn it! I, the King, will find that bitch and kill her!"
Just as she was about to be shot—
"True Name, Pseudo Register!"
"Noble Phantasm, deploy! Lord Chaldeas!!!"
A silver light burst forth from behind the blonde girl!
"Clang clang clang——————!!!"
Mash activated her Noble Phantasm just in time, blocking the entire barrage from the front!
"Are you okay? Draco!!!"
"————————?!"
When the blonde girl looked up, what she saw was Ethan's face filled with concern.
"…Why are you people here!!!"
Draco wore a look of utter disbelief.
"The real question is: why are you here?"
Ethan reached out his hand to pull her up.
"Fou Fou~~~"
Upon seeing Mash and Ethan, Fou gleefully leapt onto Mash's shoulder, licking her face.
"Fou! So you're here too? But why are you with Draco-san???"
"We'll talk about the details later. Right now, we need to focus on the problem at hand."
Ethan glanced at the growing number of mechanical soldiers, then quickly turned to ask Berserker Jack, who had just caught up.
"Any ideas?"
Since Berserker Jack was able to infiltrate this place by altering his identity, he must have a solid grasp of the situation inside.
"Hmph, never thought you were the type to order others around."
"Jekyll" let out a sigh, then pointed toward a small side road on the right.
"Run straight, take the second left, you'll see a fountain. Behind the wall near that fountain, there's a hidden chamber. If you hide in there, you can avoid them for the time being. Just wait for me there."
"What about you?"
"Of course I'll stay behind to hold them off."
"Jekyll" took off his glasses and tilted his head, smiling at Ethan:
"It's been a long time since I last used that Noble Phantasm… I suggest you all stay as far away from me as possible. I can't guarantee what'll happen otherwise."
"Got it!!!"
Hearing this, Ethan instantly understood what Berserker Jack intended to do.
"Jack, I'll leave the path-clearing to you."
"Leave it to us, Mama!"
Little girl Jack drew out a sharp dagger.
"Anyone who dares block the way—we'll chop them into little pieces, one by one~~~"
Then Ethan shouted to Mash, who was still blocking bullets up front:
"Mash, prepare to retreat!"
"Roger, Senpai!!!"
Just as the mechanical soldiers were reloading after their last barrage, Mash dropped her shield and quickly pulled back.
Ethan reached to grab Draco and pull her along, but he suddenly realized that—somehow—her body had become extremely weak, to the point where she could barely stand.
Seeing that the mechanical soldiers were closing in fast, Ethan grit his teeth, scooped Draco up in his arms, and bolted back!
"…You!!"
Draco hadn't expected Ethan to pick her up at all. She instantly began flailing her arms and kicking with her small legs.
"What do you think you're doing?! Put this King down!!!"
"Stop squirming! Talk after we're safe!"
Ethan had no time to explain. The most urgent thing now was to retreat to the safe spot Berserker Jack had mentioned!
Without hesitation, he carried Draco and sprinted down the small road to the right.
Little girl Jack gracefully stepped onto the wall, clearing the way ahead and taking out any potential threats.
Once the group had left the scene, only "Jekyll" remained standing in place.
Hundreds of mechanical soldiers were closing in on him.
"Surrender immediately! I repeat, surrender immediately!!!"
The loudspeakers above blared without end, but "Jekyll" simply laughed.
"Never thought I'd be doing something like this… Maybe it's too far off-role for a murderer like Jack the Ripper—but if I want to know who I really am… then I guess this is the only way."
Suddenly, "Jekyll's" body began to swell continuously.
In just a few short seconds, he had grown to nearly five meters tall.
A pair of black wings emerged from his back, his arms mutated grotesquely, brimming with strength capable of crushing solid stone, and his razor-sharp claws could tear through steel with ease.
The final transformation occurred on his head — the gentlemanly British face was replaced by the monstrous visage of a demon with long horns.
A huge tail dragged across the ground behind him.
Berserker Jack had unleashed his Noble Phantasm in an instant.
"From Hell: The Evil Mist Will Perish With London's Daybreak!"
This Noble Phantasm turned the urban legend — "Jack the Ripper was actually a demon from hell" — into a concrete power.
He was not a real demon, but instead, temporarily transformed into a kind of Phantasmal Species.
"The fear… it's still not enough."
He swung his claws, long and sharp like military sabers.
The power of this Noble Phantasm depended on the fear generated by nearby humans.
Fortunately, they were in London, a city that fulfilled both requirements — being "in London" and "humans nearby."
Thanks to this, Berserker Jack could fully unleash the power of his Noble Phantasm.
"Even if it's just a bunch of heartless machines… they're more than enough to vent my stress!"
His demonic eyes gleamed, and he let out a spine-chilling, wicked laugh.
Immediately afterward, he charged the mechanical soldiers at lightning speed, faster than anyone could react!
"Whoosh——————!!!"
His razor-sharp claw swept violently forward, and the moment it struck the steel plating, the sound of "clang clang clang" rang out repeatedly.
Just a second later, the soldier's body — durable enough to serve as a shield — was torn apart as easily as crushing an aluminum can?!
"Ratatatata————————!!!"
The other mechanical soldiers, sensing danger, instantly opened fire in retaliation.
But the five-meter-tall demon only needed to swing his tail once to wipe out all of them!!!
His skin, even when riddled with bullets, didn't have a single scratch.
"Looks like the master of this place is quite fond of these scrap heaps… To buy more time for them, I'll play for a bit."
Leaving behind those words, the demon smirked wickedly and charged again!!!
———
"You have been detected! Surrender immediately! I repeat, you have been detected! Surrender immediately!!!"
After turning into the small alleyway, the warning messages blared continuously above Ethan's head.
"A large number of inorganic objects are rapidly approaching your position!!!"
Doctor Romani's voice came through the communication bracelet.
"Analysis shows mechanized aircraft similar to the mechanical soldiers! Zooming in… confirmed: they are armed drones!!!"
Just as Romani finished speaking, the air above them began to buzz and tremble.
"Vuuuuu————————!!!"
With the naked eye, numerous drones could be seen flying in from afar.
"Whoosh——————!!!"
A cold gleam flashed — Little girl Jack, standing atop a roof, instantly retaliated.
"You have been detected—…"
Before the drone could finish its warning, it was struck down by the dagger in her hand!
Having revealed her location, even more drones began to swarm in.
They all pointed their integrated gun barrels at her —and immediately opened fire!!!
"Ratatatata————————!!!"
Little girl Jack gracefully dodged the rain of bullets atop the rooftop, then casually threw a dagger, striking a drone that was firing at her.
"BOOM——————!!!"
The drone exploded on the spot!
The shockwave from the explosion disrupted the surrounding drones, and in that very instant, Little girl Jack's figure appeared in the midst of the staggering swarm!
Her sharp dagger danced through the air like a beautiful ribbon gliding softly on the breeze.
In the next moment, every drone that had been touched by that "ribbon" immediately turned into a heap of scrap, parts clattering to the ground.
"Target threat level: Extremely High!"
"Authorization granted for indiscriminate attack mode!!!"
Mere seconds later, one of the drones, unable to lock onto its target, began to fire wildly!
Even though it hit other drones by mistake, it continued to spray bullets along Little girl Jack's movement path!
Little girl Jack skillfully used the terrain to evade while luring the drone into wildly firing, causing the other drones around it to be shredded like Swiss cheese.
"Whoosh————————!!!"
Once the drone had outlived its usefulness, a dagger immediately pierced through its core!
"BAM————————!!!"
The drone crashed hard onto the roof, erupting in a fiery explosion.
"You tried to hurt Mama… so we're going to rip you to pieces!!!"
After confirming the enemy was completely eliminated, Little girl Jack stood on a second-story windowsill, then leapt down, swiftly catching up with Ethan's group ahead.
"Senpai, this way!!!"
Mash raised her shield and led the way forward, quickly reaching the second intersection.
After a careful scan, they finally found the fountain that Mad Jack had mentioned.
But… where was the hidden chamber near the fountain?
Still carrying Draco, Ethan glanced around the nearby area, and quickly noticed a section of wall ahead that had a distinctly different color from the surrounding surfaces.
He ran over immediately and pushed it with his hand.
But the wall didn't budge at all, not even slightly. He put all his strength into it but still couldn't make it move.
"Vuuu vuuu vuuu————————!!!"
The air above them vibrated again—the sound of more drones tracking their trail!
"Shit!!!"
Ethan gritted his teeth and shoved the wall once more, but still nothing happened.
Was he not strong enough?
Just as he was about to call Mash over to try, the wall suddenly opened—from the inside?!
A purple-haired girl stood in the doorway, her face full of urgency as she called out to the group:
"Hurry inside! If not, they'll find you!"
"————————?!"
Her sudden appearance startled both Mash and Ethan, and Little girl Jack instantly got ready to draw her dagger to attack the unfamiliar girl.
"Wait!!!"
Ethan quickly called out to stop Little girl Jack.
Then he carefully observed the girl in front of them.
That face—it was Sakura, wasn't it?!
"Don't worry, I don't mean any harm."
The purple-haired girl looked extremely anxious.
"If she discovers you, things will get seriously troublesome!!!"
Hearing the droning sound in the sky getting closer and closer, Ethan had no time to hesitate.
If it's Sakura, then… just this once, let's trust her!
"Everyone, get inside quickly!!!"
Saying that, he immediately carried Draco through the entrance.
"Senpai!!!"
"Mama, don't leave us behind!!!"
Mash and Little girl Jack swiftly followed.
Once everyone was inside, the wall restored itself perfectly — as if it had never opened at all.