Chapter Seventeen: The Man from Another Dimension

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Night had fallen, and once again the city’s streets came alive with bustling energy. Many people wandered about, and what caught the eye was the abundance of eccentric costumes. Vampires, witches, even kappa and snow women—all manner of strange beings roamed the sidewalks. These were all people in disguise, and only for one occasion did so many dress up in such “bizarre” fashion—

Halloween!

Indeed, tonight was the annual Halloween celebration. The unusual costumes on the street were all in honor of this festival.

Among the costumed crowd, a hunched old woman went unnoticed. Draped in a medieval witch’s robe and wearing a grotesque mask that made her look like a demon, she blended in perfectly with the surreal atmosphere.

She pushed a small cart filled with brightly colored lollipops, each one palm-sized and seemingly just the right sweetness to whet anyone’s appetite.

A group of children dressed as ghosts and monsters gathered around her.

“Trick or treat!”

The cheerful chant sprang from their mouths—a classic Halloween phrase.

Usually, when a crowd of children showed up at someone’s door, the person would kindly offer the candy they had prepared.

This old woman was no exception.

“Such adorable children! Here, take one!” she rasped hoarsely, smiling as she handed out a few lollipops.

The children’s eyes lit up instantly.

“Thank you, Grandma!”

“You should say ‘Auntie’!” one chimed in.

“Maybe she’s a pretty lady wearing a mask and straining her voice,” another whispered.

The kids chattered energetically, full of life.

“Hehe, such sweet talkers! Eat up, eat up!” the old woman laughed, raising her voice as she called out:

“Children with dreams, come here quickly!”

“If you have many dreams, I have many candies to reward you!”

Her shout brought cheers from the children, who swarmed eagerly.

There were even some adults among them.

“I want a lollipop.”

“Hey, good kids next!”

“Me too!”

“I only give candy to kids.”

“Ah, that’s not fair.”

“I’m only eighteen, can’t I get one? I’m pretty too~”

“Adults, move along!”

“.......”

The old woman continued distributing candy.

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Da Gu returned sulkily, having failed to get any candy. A few people were already waiting by the roadside for him, eager to see him embarrassed.

“Hahaha, Da Gu, you really had the nerve to compete with a bunch of kids for candy,” teased Shinjo, his partner, his face painted like a leopard, causing Da Gu, who had just removed his pumpkin headgear, to look sheepish.

“I saw that cart had lots of candy, but none for adults,” Da Gu muttered.

“Enough, don’t forget why we’re here. These are all citizens celebrating the festival; we mustn’t cause panic!” said Ryo Aihara seriously.

Well, if one ignored the strange greenish graffiti on his face, he certainly looked stern.

“Nothing unusual so far. If there were monsters, they would have started causing damage by now, right?”

“As for aliens...” Shinjo scanned the area thoughtfully.

Then his eyes lit up.

“Well? Did you find anything?”

Ryo asked eagerly. It was easy for him to fight, but thinking was harder.

“If aliens don’t show up now, they surely will in the future!” Shinjo declared with certainty.

“You’re ridiculous...” Ryo’s eye twitched. He realized Shinjo was just as much of a halfwit as he was.

“Let’s ask Lina and Kino next,” Da Gu suggested thoughtfully.

Indeed, besides the three of them, Lina had also joined the mission, as well as Kino.

Kino Amaya was a member of the GUYS team on the Mebius TV series—originally a kindergarten teacher who later joined the GUYS squad.

Now, this world’s Kino had also appeared and joined GUYS.

“Alright, I’ll contact Kino. If I remember correctly... she’s over there.”

“Who’s that man?” Ryo noticed two familiar figures cosplaying as catgirls and bunny girls chatting and laughing with a man whose back was turned.

Those two cosplayers were naturally Lina and Kino.

Hearing their voices, the man paused and turned around.

“Captain Hayami!”

Da Gu exclaimed.

“That’s him,” Ryo said, stunned.

The group approached.

“Captain Hayami, you’re here for the Halloween event too!” Da Gu asked with a broad smile.

He was a warm man to begin with, and given Hayami’s previous actions against the Zarab aliens, Da Gu respected him deeply.

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“Yeah, I was just out for a walk. I didn’t realize today was Halloween, and I certainly didn’t expect to run into Lina and Kino. We just chatted a bit and found you all here too,” Hayami said.

“But you guys, the two defense squad members gathered—surely not just for fun?”

Hayami chuckled lightly.

Looking at their costumes, he mused with a strange expression before adding:

“Or maybe you really are here to have fun?”

“Of course not, we don’t have time for that,” Shinjo grumbled.

“We just transported the Zarab corpse yesterday; there was an emergency mobilization with a bunch of people digging up the monster killed by King Aire underground. Today, we’re on a mission.”

“No time to rest at all,” Shinjo complained.

Vice-Captain Munakata, who was in charge, was still exhausted and barely awake.

“To be honest, we were deployed because the magnetic field around here is abnormal and there might be aliens.”

“As for dressing like this, it’s to avoid scaring the citizens enjoying the festival. If they saw us in uniform, they’d be frightened and scatter.”

“Even the aliens might be spooked,” Ryo explained.

Although he had been annoyed with Hayami before, what really irritated him was the Earth United Organization—why must they rely on alien forces? Earth should be defended by humanity alone!

And his anger at himself—if he could defeat these invaders, there would be no need for “such drastic measures.”

As for Hayami himself, after the Zarab incident and Captain Serizawa’s guidance, he still earned respect.

“But we’ve searched for a long time and found nothing, no serious incidents,” Lina shook her head.

“Not entirely,” Kino, usually quiet and shy, suddenly spoke up.

All eyes turned to her.

Feeling a bit nervous under so many gazes, Kino shrank slightly.

“It’s okay, take your time,” Hayami encouraged, looking around as if recalling something.

Then he focused on Kino and spoke softly.

“I... I specifically investigated, and every Halloween, many children mysteriously disappear!”

“That’s why I insisted on joining this operation...”

Kino, being a kindergarten teacher, was particularly sensitive about children.

With her words and the strange energy sensed around them, Hayami finally confirmed it!

There really were aliens here.

And if his guess was right—

“It’s an interdimensional being—Kilanb!”

Hayami spoke slowly, capturing everyone’s attention.