The Sprite Monster's straw suddenly extended, striking at Kaito like a green viper.
At the same time, a large amount of bubbly green liquid sprayed from the opening in its body, filling the air with a pungent carbonated stench.
In the nick of time, a silver flash streaked through the air.
"Ow!"
The Mechanical Hound had transformed and lunged, sinking its alloy teeth into the attacking straw. Its sharp jaws easily severed the green pipe.
The Sprite Monster screamed in pain.
"Ah! My straw!!!"
He clutched the broken pipe and stared in terror at the suddenly-appearing hound, stumbling backward.
Kaito gave him no time to recover. His fingers flew over the controller.
The Mechanical Hound obeyed instantly—its back armor unfolded, revealing two rows of miniature missile launchers.
"Wait! We can talk—"
The Sprite Monster's plea was drowned out by the roar of explosions.
Three mini-missiles struck him dead-on. Green liquid and metal fragments splattered across the scene.
When the smoke cleared, the Sprite Monster had melted into a puddle of carbonated goo. His limp straw twitched beside him, still leaking soda.
Kaito raised an eyebrow.
Tiger-Level, lower-tier monster. Instantly neutralized by the Mechanical Hound.
Looks like Child Emperor's tech had made solid progress.
He recalled the hound and was about to continue to the restroom when an old voice echoed from the far end of the street.
"La la la, Cola, Sprite, it's almost dawn… why aren't you two brats back yet…?"
A much larger, light-yellow soda-can-shaped creature ambled toward him. The straw on its head was thicker than the others', and the word "Fanta" was boldly printed across its body.
"Oh no…" Kaito rubbed his temples. "Here comes the elder after the kids. Classic setup."
The Fanta Monster stopped when it saw the wreckage in the fast-food joint. Then—
"Son!"
It wailed and threw itself over the Sprite Monster's remains.
Then it looked up, spotted the dead Cola Monster nearby, and stumbled over with an even more sorrowful howl.
"Huh? Pepsi, my good son!"
Kaito blinked. He instinctively touched the scar on his chin.
Wait—
Sprite called Cola his son.
Now this old Fanta can is calling both of them his sons?
This carbonated family tree… was very fizzy.
Kaito glanced sympathetically at the Sprite Monster, still wearing a green cap.
That old saying floated up in his mind:
"If you want to live a good life, you must have a little green on your head."
"You killed my sons… both of them!" the elderly Fanta Monster roared.
"You… deserve to die!"
A "gurgling" sound echoed from inside his body as he began to swell unnaturally.
His yellow straw hissed like a boiling kettle.
From the bottom of the straw, a basketball-sized yellow bubble of liquid was forming, pulsing and stretching the pipe like a dangerous zit.
Kaito sighed.
What was this nonsense?
He'd just come here to take a leak.
He already had a read on the Mechanical Hound's power—no further test needed.
To end this fast, Kaito activated the Emperor Engine.
BOOM—!
A thunderous heartbeat exploded in the small restaurant.
A dark red aura surged out from Kaito, forming a ten-meter-radius Deterrence Field around him.
The Fanta Monster froze mid-charge.
Inside the aura, his body trembled. He was overwhelmed by fear, as though he'd been plunged into some carbonated nightmare.
Worse yet, the field's psychic resonance made hallucinations creep into his mind.
The Sprite Monster rose from the ground in his vision, eyes hollow, voice resentful:
"Dad… whose son is Pepsi, anyway?!"
"No! It wasn't me!" the Fanta Monster shrieked.
"It was… Maiko! She seduced me! She said you were no good… she wanted a child… so I… I gave it to her!"
The monster collapsed emotionally, spirit shattered.
Before he could launch his soda blast, the pressure inside him surged out of control.
Bang!
The yellow projectile detonated inside the straw.
Fanta's body deflated like a punctured balloon, splashing fizzy yellow all over the place.
[Ding! Successfully deterred and eliminated Tiger-Level mid-tier monster: "Fanta Daddy"! Deterrence Points +100]
Kaito shook his head.
The strange, despairing cry the Fanta Monster let out before death was something he'd never forget.
"What the hell is going on tonight?" he muttered, turning off the Emperor Engine at last.
Time to pee.
In the men's restroom, Kaito finally stood before the urinal.
He let out a long, relieved breath.
The pressure he'd been holding this whole time flowed freely now.
And for a moment—just a moment—he looked completely at peace.
Just then, the Emperor Engine's passive warning flared to life.
Thump-thump!
A thunderous heartbeat slammed into Kaito's mind like a war drum.
An urgent voice followed immediately behind him—fierce, feminine, and full of fury.
"You killed my child! My husband! My child's father!"
Kaito's face stiffened.
His actions paused midstream.
Again? Seriously? Is there no end to this tonight?!
He calmly zipped up, took a deep breath, and turned around with unflinching composure.
In the most civil tone he could muster, he said,
"Madam, I understand your grief over the loss of your child... and your two husbands. But—"
He pointed to the sign on the wall.
"This is the men's restroom."
Standing at the entrance was Dairy Milk Monster.
But unlike the bloated, goofy-looking Cola, Sprite, and Fanta monsters before her, Dairy Milk monster had a dangerously seductive air.
Her figure was curvaceous, her skin smooth like congealed milk tea.
She wore a tight, low-cut purple dress that shimmered under the restroom's cheap fluorescent lights.
If not for the long, slim straw stuck in her head like a decorative hairpin, you'd almost think she belonged on the cover of a fashion magazine, not in a monster registry.
Her eyes locked onto Kaito's face.
Then they fell on the three distinct scars across his cheek.
Her pupils dilated. Her hand flew to her mouth in shock.
"K–King! You're… you're King!" she shrieked.
Clearly, unlike her dim-witted carbonated companions, Dairy Milk monster had heard of the living legend.
[Ding! Dairy Milk monster felt fear upon recognizing the host's identity. Deterrence Points +5!]
Kaito raised an eyebrow, listening to the familiar system chime in his head.
So… his terrifying rep had really spread this far, even among the monster community.
Good.
"I… I…"
Dairy Milk's voice faltered.
Her body began trembling like a poorly balanced soda machine. The straw atop her head trembled too, dripping purple liquid that pattered softly onto the tile floor.
The air was thick with tension.
And carbonation.
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