Mr. Long Legs (2)
Late at night
“I hope he likes it…”
Alice carefully held the necklace made of flowers she had picked and made in the flower garden.
“…It may be a bit plain.”
Alice recalled the reactions of the man when she gave him the gifts she had made.
“You’re so beautiful! Thank you, Alice!”
“This is something I should cherish for a lifetime!”
“Even the best artisan in the city couldn’t create such a wreath!”
Shivering, Alice’s face turned red.
“…hehehe. I hope the gentleman comes quickly.”
Alice entered the building stealthily, intending to go back to sleep.
Ever since receiving support from the gentleman, the other children and the director of the orphanage no longer bothered or scolded her. But it wasn’t a good thing to be caught sneaking out at night.
Stealthily…
“Hmm?”
As Alice walked slowly, careful not to make the old wooden floor creak, she caught sight of a familiar silhouette of a man.
“Mister?”
The gentleman, wearing a top hat, just like when she first met him.
It was dark, making it difficult to see him clearly, and he was dressed differently from when she usually saw him. But Alice, with her special affection for men, immediately recognized him.
“Why are you here at this hour?”
Though puzzled, Alice became excited at the thought of being able to meet the gentleman and slowly approached him.
“I’ll surprise him from behind and give him the flower necklace!”
Imagining the gentleman’s surprise and his touched expression upon receiving her gift, Alice giggled.
And so, Alice approached slowly.
Just as she was about to ambush the man, completely hidden in the darkness, from behind.
“Ah, that orphan girl.”
The man opened his mouth.
“…Huh?”
“Yeah, that’s right. That’s right, the girl who uses the power of shadows.”
Alice noticed that the man was holding an artifact in his hand.
“A communication artifact?”
Having spent most of her time in the orphanage, Alice didn’t know much about valuable items like artifacts. But she could tell that the communication artifact the man was holding was something that only a tremendous wealthy person or a high-ranking noble could use.
“Mister…?”
He always seemed like a humble merchant.
But a communication artifact?
Suddenly, Alice began to feel unfamiliar with the man.
“Yeah, like I said. I’ll remove it once we get to know each other.”
“…Remove it!”
Alice took a step back slowly.
Remove it?
What is he talking about?
…Me?
He’s going to remove me?
After we get to know each other?
“Well, yeah. Like I said, the power of the shadow is difficult to handle with ordinary human strength. Well, technically it’s possible to handle it, but it causes too much damage. The most stable way is to remove the cursed power after the host is at ease.”
“Safeguard the host. Eliminate the cursed power. Stabilize.”
Alice’s pupils contracted.
“No way. The man? Me? Then everything the man has done to me so far…”
To win my trust and kill me?
Thud.
The tiara fell from Alice’s weakened hand.
Thump, thump, thump.
Then she turned around and ran out quickly.
Thud.
She pushed the door and went outside the building.
At the sound, a man turned around.
“…”
Crunch.
The flower necklace that Alice dropped was stepped on by the man who was slowly walking towards the door.
“…I’m sorry, Alice.”
Don’t forgive me.
Alice ran across the wide field.
“No, no. The man… he wouldn’t try to kill me!”
-Really?
From Noble mtl dot com
A shadow in the form of herself inside Alice asked her.
– Could that really be true?
“What?”
– Did the man truly love you without any ulterior motives?
“Well, of course!”
Alice recalled all the memories she had built with the man.
Countless happy memories flashed by like a panorama.
“Of course! There was never any deceit from the man all this time! You also judged that the man had no ulterior motives, so even when he caressed me, I let him be!”
– But what if it was all an act?
“…An act?”
– Yes.
Alice, who had been running nonstop, came to a halt.
“An act… you say?”
– Didn’t you notice the way the man spoke earlier? It wasn’t the tone of an ordinary person. He could be a skilled assassin or maybe even an agent affiliated with a government agency. If it was the act of a trained person, we wouldn’t be able to detect it on our own.
“…No.”
– What if he only deceived a weak and timid young girl?
“Stop it.”
– What if he planned a scheme to deceive an innocent girl who knew nothing and make her fall in love with him, only to kill her afterwards?
“I said stop!”
Alice tightly shut her eyes and shouted.
Seeing her like that, the shadow chuckled sinisterly.
How dare you try to separate me from Alice?
You think you can save only Alice?
Unlike Alice, the shadow understood what the man said on the phone.
After getting close to Alice, he wanted to eliminate only the shadow to save her.
Because the shadow could instinctively feel how much the man loved Alice, he understood the true meaning the man held.
No, this won’t do.
Why are you trying to take me away?
Alice is mine.
My Alice.
A being that functions as my host, completely surrendering herself to me and becoming a sacrifice for my resurrection.
Should I let someone I don’t even know take her away from me?
– It’s torture.
“…It’s tormenting.”
– Can’t bear it, can you?
“…I can’t bear it.”
The shadow whispered in Alice’s ear.
– That pain. Do you want to release these overflowing emotions?
“…I want to.”
-I’ll give you a way.
The shadow embraced Alice.
“I will give you all my strength. Now, this shadow will follow you.”
Oooong
The shadow, moving roughly like tentacles, was sucked into Alice’s chest.
“Oooh!”
Alice felt nauseous as it became more intense.
“Just hold on a little longer.”
After a moment, Alice opened her eyes, calm.
“Hey, Shadow. You…?”
“Yes. Now, the power of this shadow will fully follow you.”
“Follow me?”
Alice looked down at her own hand, clenched and then released it.
Thud.
Alice extended her hand forward, her palm facing up.
Squaaashhh
Suddenly, countless thorny shapes of shadows pierced through the ground.
If there had been an army in front of her, it would have been enough to completely obliterate the entire army with its enormous destructive power.
“This is your power now. The power that can unleash judgment upon those who have harmed you.”
“My power…”
“Your own power to wield the mace of judgment against those who have hurt you.”
“Judgment.”
Alice with her hazy eyes clenched her fist tightly.
“Revenge.”
The shadow smirked as it looked at her.
The man chased after the remnants of Alice’s shadow magic that she left behind as she ran.
In his hand, he held the flower necklace that Alice had made, treasuring it dearly.
Thud.
“…!”
The man suddenly realized that he was surrounded by numerous lines of shadows.
An unsettling number of shadows surrounded him like a spider’s web.
“Shadows, huh.”
“Yeah. Shadows.”
Alice emerged slowly from the darkness.
“Alice.”
“Don’t you dare say my name with that mouth!”
Kwaaah!
A tremendous force from Alice overwhelmed the man.
“Guh….”
“No way, mister. Not a chance.”
Alice closed her eyes and lowered her head.
“I knew you approached me to kill me.”
“Hmph.”
The man let out a bitter laugh at the change in the title that called him.
He had expected it, but it was still too painful to come face to face with the sight he had desired.
“To betray me. To play with me!”
Black tears streamed down Alice’s eyes.
“I trusted you!”
“The one at fault is the person who deceived.”
The man took out gloves from his pocket and put them on.
Woong
A strong wind blew along his hands.
“Hey, mister, what are those gloves?”
“Huh? These gloves? Ahahahaha. These are the gloves I use when I work.”
“Mister, do you hurt your hands when you work? I saw scars on your hands.”
“Sometimes it happens.”
“…Don’t do that kind of work.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t like it when you’re in pain.”
Hoo
“Hey, hey! It’s, it’s ticklish!”
“Go away if it hurts!”
To resist being swayed by the memories that burst forth, the man clenched his teeth.
Blood dripped along his lips.
Crack.
The man held a small bead in his hand.
A sacred energy flowed through his hand, following the bead.
Don’t be captivated by unnecessary sentiments.
Don’t waver.
I…will save Alice!
“Ahahahahaha! Is it the fault of the deceived?”
A massive amount of shadows rose behind the laughing Alice.
“I won’t forgive!”
The shadows condensed, taking the form of a giant.
Yes. Alice. Don’t forgive me.
And…
Thud.
Live freely.
Forever.
Happily.
Crack.