CH.19 Maybe Not So Bad

The monster’s entire body turned pitch black, its right hand transforming into a hammer that smashed toward Calvin’s direction.

The black hammer cratered the lawn, but Calvin swiftly dodged, clapping his palms together to unleash multiple flames. The flames exploded, yet the monster remained unharmed, still charging after Calvin.

Damn, this guy’s so tough, Calvin thought. This monster wasn’t just strange—it was powerful, and flames alone couldn’t kill it.

However, Calvin wasn’t out of options, as he could feel that the abilities granted by the mask went beyond this. He could use flames—enough flames—to condense into a weapon.

During Calvin’s fierce battle with the monster, Stella hid indoors, peeking through the window at the fight between Calvin and the beast, growing more astonished by the moment.

“Is this magic?” Stella felt her understanding of the world shatter. Not only was there a monster that seemed to crawl out of hell, but she was also witnessing magic tonight?!

Frustrated by its repeated misses, the monster’s attacks grew faster. Calvin stopped circling, turned sharply, and charged straight at it.

“Roar aaaaaah!” The monster bellowed, raising its giant hammer-hand to smash down on Calvin.

Calvin’s left hand erupted in massive flames, and his right hand reached into them, pulling out a longsword forged from white fire.

“Flames, purify everything,” Calvin shouted, then moved even faster, slashing through the monster’s flesh with one strike.

“Aaaaaaah,” the monster let out a wail, flames surging from the wound as its body burned from the inside out, instantly incinerated to nothing, leaving a large patch of ashes on the ground.

“This...” Stella, who had witnessed everything, was shocked. This masked man was so strong—after conjuring a sword in his hand, he killed the monster with a single slash.

Calvin didn’t linger and quickly left. When Stella stepped outside, she only glimpsed his retreating figure.

“Who is he exactly...” Stella’s emotions couldn’t settle for a long time. That mysterious man actually knew her hated nickname—could he be someone she knew? Or from school? No way, was there someone at school who could use magic?

Moreover, Stella felt a pang of irritation about the nickname. If he hadn’t mentioned it, she might have let it go, but now she was determined to find him.

As for what to do once she found him—thank him for saving her life first, or ask why he called her that, she hadn’t decided yet.

Still shaken, Stella cautiously approached the monster’s ashes.

“It’s really dead,” Stella stared at the pile of ash, and soon she noticed something strange.

Something glimmered in the pile of ash.

Stella cautiously reached into the ash and felt a small, smooth bead.

“What is this?” Stella examined the bead; it looked like a plain white pearl, unremarkable at first glance.

“This is the police! Is anyone here?”

A voice came from outside, and Stella immediately stuffed the bead into her pocket.

A police officer soon entered and approached Stella. ‘We got a report of some disturbances. Can you tell me what happened?’

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“That demonic creature disappeared?” Tommy furrowed his brows. The monster was the new ability given to him by that mysterious stick-figure guy—summoning infernal life through a ritual.

Tommy didn’t know what the infernal realm was, but when he summoned that massive monster, it scared him so much he almost fell to the ground.

He had teleported the monster near Tyler, planning for it to kill that person. As for how it killed him, Tommy didn’t care.

But now the monster had vanished, as if it had disconnected. Although Tommy couldn’t see what the beast was doing, he could sense its position and state—it had entered a battle and then was destroyed.

Who did it? The police? Tommy didn’t think ordinary handguns would affect that monster. Could it be the military? No, if it were the military, the commotion should have been bigger. Who exactly did it?

Tommy’s expression sank. He’d ask that stick-figure-faced guy when he saw him next.

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Inside the police station, the officer conducting the interview felt like her head was about to explode.

“So, you’re saying a three-meter-tall monster attacked you, and a masked man with supernatural powers saved you by conjuring a sword and killing it? Then the man left, and the monster turned into a pile of ash?” The female officer’s face was grave as she spoke into the recorder.

“It’s all true—I swear I saw it. I’m terrified,” Stella said, hugging herself tightly, even squeezing out tears from the corners of her eyes, looking pitiful.

“Don’t worry, I’m just repeating it to confirm,” the female officer comforted her, then gently asked, “I’ll go get you something to drink and a snack. Do you want hot tea or soda?”

“Tea, please,” Stella said, and then the female officer walked away.

Earlier, Stella had hidden the fact about the bead dropped by the monster, and that bead was still on her.

As for Tyler attempting to assault her, she had mentioned it, and the police said they would handle it seriously. Still, obviously, the police were more concerned about the monster incident.

Outside the interview room, the officers were discussing intensely.

“What the hell is this?” Chief Liang, upon hearing about the matter, came out of his office, asking with a face full of confusion.

“If what the girl said is true, we might have encountered some supernatural event,” the female officer named Saria replied.

“So this incident caused two people to be injured and comatose, and now this sole witness doesn’t know much about the situation either,” Chief Liang said thoughtfully as he sat in his office chair, while the other officers around were also whispering.

“This is too bizarre—a monster appears and injures people, then a mysterious masked man using magic appears and eliminates the monster, leaving only a pile of ash,” Chief Liang shook his head. “No, this matter has exceeded our police station’s handling capacity. Officer Gale, has the situation been reported?”

“It’s been reported. They said for us to protect the scene first, especially that pile of ash, then investigate nearby clues and surveillance, and wait for specialists from above to investigate,” Officer Gale replied.

“Good, that’s all we can do for now,” Chief Liang nodded.

“What about this girl? She seems unable to provide more details, and she’s traumatized,” Officer Saria said.

“Her parents?”

“They’ve been notified; they should arrive soon.”

“Good, let her parents take her home. If there’s any issue, contact her later. Also, remember to tell her parents that if the girl shows any post-trauma symptoms, contact us, and we’ll arrange a psychologist.”

“Understood.”

Half an hour later, after Stella finished her tea, ate some frosted sweet balls, and chatted with the female officer for a while, her mother arrived.

“Stella, baby, are you okay?” Stella’s mother, Elane, rushed over, asking worriedly as she approached Stella.

“I’m fine, don’t worry,” Stella said.

“I was so worried about you, my child,” tears streamed from Elane’s eyes. Stella then noticed that her mother had aged so much; she hadn’t carefully looked at her face before.

Then Elane hugged Stella, and they held each other for a long while before separating.

After Elane learned more about the situation, including suffering an attempted assault by a man and a violent case from an unknown thug

The police explained that the details of the violent incident haven’t been thoroughly investigated and can’t be disclosed.’

But Elane was already extremely shocked. She tightly held Stella’s hand, and Stella felt her hand hurting a bit.

Then, as Stella rode home in her mother’s car, she felt disoriented and overwhelmed.

Finally ended, at least I fooled those police.

When Stella entered the door, she casually said, “Mom, I think I haven’t eaten my birthday cake yet.”

Elane asked, “We have a small cake at home, and candles too. My little angel, do you want it now?”

“Okay,” Stella nodded. Then Elane placed a 4-inch chocolate cake on a plate on the table covered with a tablecloth and lit the candles.

Stella looked at the candles in front of her and her mother waiting for her to blow them out.

Stella’s hand secretly squeezed the bead in her pocket, then she extended both hands to clasp together, closed her eyes, and made a wish.

Please, let me find the mysterious man who wields flames.

After making the wish, Stella blew out the candles in one breath, considering her birthday had passed.