"So many corpses…" Allen muttered in shock.
I let out a short breath.
"That's why I need your help."
I snapped my fingers, and the surroundings returned to normal.
She paid for her meal at the counter. As Merie was about to leave, she handed Allen a note.
"Come to our place tonight," she said, then walked away.
Allen left the café as well.
As he exited, a security guard grabbed his hand.
"Apologies, sir, but you haven't paid."
Allen opened his wallet and showed the tournament victory voucher.
The guard scanned the voucher with magic.
"Payment successful."
The guard let go of Allen's hand.
Allen walked into a narrow alley, glancing at the two notes. He opened the one that contained the location of the organization's base.
"So that's where it is, huh."
Allen moved faster than the speed of light, arriving at the location instantly.
"A cave?" Allen muttered in confusion.
He gulped nervously before stepping inside.
Deeper into the cave, he found cells lining the walls. By accident, he stepped on some hair.
"What the… hair?"
Allen looked into one of the cells.
"What the hell is that?! A woman? Her hands are nailed, her eyes are on her legs, and her hair's falling out!"
He gritted his teeth in anger.
In the game, the Masumi Tania Organization was known as a noble group—not this cruel. Allen was confused by how far reality had strayed from the game's story.
He broke the cell door open with his sword and cautiously approached the woman. Kneeling down, he brushed the hair away from her face.
"They're true monsters," Allen muttered, horrified at the woman's face filled with eyes and her missing ears.
Suddenly, Allen was attacked from behind.
But he took no damage. Swiftly, he grabbed the attacker by the neck.
"Ugh—" the man choked.
"Who ordered you to do this?"
"As if I'd tell you, idiot."
Allen dropped the man and turned back to the woman.
Taking advantage of the moment, the man tried to attack again—but was instantly shredded into tiny pieces, leaving only his head.
System: You have used [Plot Manipulation].
Cooldown: 4 hours.
Allen removed the nails from the woman's hands, lifted her gently, and carried her out.
At the entrance, a professor awaited him.
"Welcome, visitor. I'm Professor Uno. Pleased to meet you. Are you interested in buying any of our products?"
Allen's eyes narrowed at the word "products." In a flash of rage, he pointed at Uno.
Sharp spears rose from the ground, impaling and beheading him.
Allen walked to a large banyan tree nearby, leaned against it, and laid the woman down. He removed his jacket and began healing her wounds.
A while later, the woman regained consciousness, realizing she was naked beneath the jacket covering her body.
She glanced at the man beside her.
"A man? But who is he? I've never seen him there…"
She poked Allen's cheek, waking him up.
Startled, she stepped back in fear.
Allen approached and extended his hand.
"Are you feeling better now?"
The woman nodded slowly.
"Can you stand?"
She got to her feet without taking his hand and began walking away from him.
Allen smiled faintly.
"Going a different direction, huh?"
He checked the watch in his pocket.
"Damn, I overslept…"
Just as he was about to dash off to meet me and Merie, the woman suddenly hugged him from behind.
"Don't leave me… Dad."
"Pfft…"
Allen turned to look at her.
"Sorry, but I'm not your dad. I'm a human, and you're an elf."
"Dad, have you forgotten? My mom was an elf. I'm a hybrid."
"Yeah, yeah…"
"Please don't leave me."
"…Alright, if that's what you want."
She let go of him—causing the jacket to slip off her body.
Allen got a nosebleed from seeing her shapely figure.
Calmly, she picked up the jacket and put it back on with an innocent face.
"Hold my hand," Allen said.
She gently took his hand.
The two of them headed to meet me and Merie.
---
Meanwhile, a few hours before Allen rescued the woman...
Merie's POV
I opened the door.
"Makina, we're home."
Merie quickly noticed something was wrong and scanned the area.
"It's bad! She's gone! That girl has been kidnapped!"
I grew furious and rushed out of the room, Merie following close behind.
We headed to a room where Allen and the woman he rescued were already waiting.
"You're late!" I shouted.
"Allen, this is urgent! Makina has become a victim!"
"Oh."
"That's all you have to say?!" Merie snapped.
Suddenly, Merie noticed a girl with blonde hair and emerald green eyes clinging to Allen's arm.
"Allen, who is this girl?" Merie asked.
"P-p-p-pleased to meet you! My name's Olivia, I'm 13 years old!" she introduced herself while hugging Allen's arm.
"Alright," I said, "let's come up with a plan."
From afar, Fujimiya stood watching Makina's palace with a sinister grin.
"Was my plan that easy to predict, All?"
To be continued…