Chapter 185: The Jepella Rebellion — Scene 47 『 Part Two 』
「 "Including the disappearances in the Trovys, the Stellaron event on Loar-51, the cyberattacks targeting Planet Screwllum, the Pier Point Incursion, and so on— A total of 46 criminal cases!"
"Do you admit... That all these malicious incidents... Were the work of the Stellaron Hunters?"
As the voice faded, four beastly visages opened their scarlet eyes.
Kafka's voice remained unhurried, seemingly laced with a hint of teasing amusement: "If you ask me, it seems like the Annihilation Gang has their fingers in quite a few of these pies."
"But, I confess. However, you seem to have missed one…"
The corners of Kafka's lips curled up slightly. In that almost simultaneous instant, a dark shadow suddenly cast itself over the window pane, as if a cold breath had brushed past the screen.
"—The Jepella Rebellion."
In a flash, the scarlet threads snapped silently; the puppeteer's silk controlling the four figures vanished as if it had never existed.
The crimson in their eyes was forcibly extracted, and a glimmer of clarity reappeared in their pupils.
—But it was too late.
An explosion unleashed a blinding sheet of white light, the flames devouring the entire room like the maw of a giant beast. Meanwhile, atop a secure building somewhere in the distance, Kafka casually undid her handcuffs, smiling beamingly as she admired the chaos afar.
In the shadows beside her, a speck of green Fyrefly light suddenly ignited—
"You need to break the habit of playing with your food, Kafka."
Accompanied by the whirring of mechanical axes, the mecha stepped slowly out of the shadows. Its burly fuselage lit up with fluorescent traces in the darkness, cyan energy veins pulsing ceaselessly across its plating, flickering like breathing light.
"I know, next time." Kafka draped her suit jacket over her shoulders, pursing her lips in a smile.
"This time… it is already too late."
In the distance, Silver Wolf was toying with a revolver; Blade, dressed in a suit and leather shoes, unhurriedly donned his coat; and Sam stood amidst the evening wind of the setting sun, coat flapping loudly.
Yet, in an inconspicuous corner of the light screen, a black cat was methodically licking its front paw, as if it had long known the dangerous secrets of this land. 」
「 .....」
〜Demon Slayer World〜
"Wait!? What is that thing? Is it human?"
The Wind Hashira, Sanemi Shinazugawa, pointed at Sam in the corner. Although he couldn't comprehend what the thing had just done to trigger such a massive explosion, he was utterly shaken.
"Is it armor? It must be… right? How is it so agile? It looks light as a feather, yet perfectly integrated."
"The person wearing it must be an extremely burly man…"
The Snake Hashira, Obanai Iguro, was struck with fierce envy. This "armor" could not only trigger explosions but also perfectly protect the human inside. If the Demon Slayer Corps could obtain even one suit, then all demons—Muzan included—would likely be unable to inflict even a scratch upon it.
The key point was, with armor like that, who needs to train in Breathing Styles? One could simply chase Muzan down and slaughter him.
Moreover,
This looked far stronger than Himeko's drone!
—
〜Genshin Impact World〜
Teyvat—
"Furina—"
"FU—RI—NA!!"
Outside the Opera Epiclese, Navia rounded her lips into a circle and leaned close to Furina's ear. As the volume steadily rose, the daydreaming girl finally woke as if from a dream.
They had originally come outside the opera house to feed the pigeons, but by the time Furina snapped back to reality, the breadcrumbs had long been eaten.
"Ah! Navia…"
Furina coughed awkwardly, her gaze still uncontrollably drifting toward the light screen, as if terrified of missing something.
"I was just thinking about… er, the costumes for a recent theatrical role! Yes! Costumes!"
"Oh?"
Navia leaned in closer with a teasing look, sensing the heat rising in the girl's rosy cheeks, and winked playfully.
"I see. It seems this 'character's' suit is indeed quite 'dramatic,' isn't it?"
As they chatted, the Traveler and Paimon happened to pass by. Seeing Navia and Furina talking, they curiously wandered over.
Paimon pointed to the light screen in the sky:
"Did you see that, Furina? For some reason, this Blade guy is suddenly dressed so formally, just like a model! Do they have to maintain dignity and elegance even while on a mission?"
"But this outfit really suits him!"
Furina's eyes lit up, and she couldn't suppress the excitement in her tone:
"You felt it too, right? That dangerous yet charming aura! The clothes make his figure look even more slender, and that red tie—"
Suddenly, she cut herself off. Seeming to realize her loss of composure, the girl coughed awkwardly again:
"Ahem…! I mean, his styling really possesses artistic tension!"
Navia covered her mouth and chuckled softly.
"Furina, you're blushing, you know?"
"N-No I'm not…!"
The setting sun happened to graze the girl's ear, illuminating the flushed tip until it was almost transparent.
"…It's the glow of the sunset! It's not a blush!"
—
〜Marvel Cinematic Universe〜
"So, you're saying—that Elio, who can see through destiny and predict the future, is actually a… cat?"
On the top floor of Avengers Tower, Tony Stark sat in a chair holding a cup of coffee. The projection beside him had copied the image of the black cat from the light screen, but no matter how many times he magnified it, he couldn't see the Time Stone that Strange had previously hypothesized.
"If what Kafka said is true, Elio's vision can penetrate time, seeing the superposition of the present and future simultaneously, gaining insight into countless future branches. It's even more… convenient than my Eye of Agamotto."
Although he was explaining with a straight face, everyone could still see how awkward Strange's forced smile was.
He had originally imagined Elio as a calculating, deeply scheming man, and had adopted a solemn, serious tone when assembling the Avengers… But the result? The counterpart was not only not a man, but not even human.
In the light screen, the black cat was merely licking its paws languidly, its ink-black pupils clear enough to reflect the sky.
"Could it just be a random black cat passing by? The screen accidentally caught it, and it just happened to be standing with the Stellaron Hunters?"
Hawkeye remarked faintly from the side.
"Elio is someone else—we shouldn't rule out that possibility, right?"
"Otherwise, while we're here seriously discussing a cosmic time crisis, the key player is contemplating 'which plate of dried fish to bless with his favor in the future'?"
—
( Translator-kun: SAM, finally appeared! )