Mr. Death in the Steam World

"Don't be nervous, little girl. I have no intention of killing your companions. On the contrary—come with me."

The Cheshire Cat was clearly impatient and turned to lead the way, only to find that no one was following it.

To its surprise, Moen remained where he was, his eyes filled with distrust.

From the strange behavior of the White Rabbit and the Cheshire Cat, he realized that they definitely needed his help.

In that case, it's time to be tougher.

He straightened up, pointed to the pocket watch in the sky, which was already more than halfway past its mark, and said coldly:

"Mr. Cheshire Cat, I don't know what role you play in this wonderland."

"But you must know very well that as outsiders, our time here is limited."

"From the very first second we landed here, we have been manipulated by you and inexplicably subjected to so-called tests."

"If you really need us to do something, we can be open and honest and sit down to discuss a deal."

"I don't know how you knew we were going to rescue that girl. All I know is that you've been making empty promises without giving us any real help."

"If you continue to show no sincerity whatsoever, then we might as well part ways here."

He was born disliking being controlled by others, and the White Rabbit and the Cheshire Cat had tested him time and time again, and he had reached his limit.

After hearing his words, Phils remained silent, and the Cheshire Cat's expression also became serious.

The mushroom forest fell into a deathly silence.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Phils silently took off her hairband and began to make props in preparation for the battle that might break out soon.

Finally, the Cheshire Cat sighed.

"You're smarter than I thought."

It no longer concealed its body and emerged from the fog for the first time.

It was a chubby gray cat with dull fur and a small broken piece at the end of its tail.

"Outsiders, tell me your names."

"Moon Marcus." "Phils Ignis."

"Alright, Mr. Marcus."

Its voice lowered.

"You want to talk business? Sure, come with me to the tea party. The White Rabbit and the Mad Hatter are there."

"But let me make this clear beforehand—after you listen to us, you can choose not to do it. We won't stop you, nor will we hunt you down."

"But you're probably not going to be able to rescue that little girl."

Moen stared at the Cheshire Cat for a long time, so long that Phils couldn't help but tug at his sleeve before finally nodding.

"In that case, lead the way."

The Cheshire Cat pursed its lips and suddenly vanished into thin air. When it reappeared in Moen and Phils's sight, it was already right in front of them.

Moen felt an irresistible force coming from them, and in an instant, they arrived at the tea party that the white rabbit had mentioned.

"Hey, hat-wearing buddy, let me tell you, those two outsiders were hilarious... Hello?"

The Cheshire Cat led them out of the spatial rift, where they saw the White Rabbit drinking tea and boasting, and a listless man in a suit and top hat.

Needless to say, that man in the top hat must be the Mad Hatter.

"Although it's my fault you were late, how could you cheat? You actually let Mr. Cat bring you here..."

"Stop fooling around, rabbit, get down to business."

Seeing that Cheshire Cat's expression was not good, the White Rabbit realized that something was wrong. Cheshire Cat leaned over and whispered a few words to him.

Finally, he coughed twice and stopped rambling.

"Outsiders, the first thing I want to tell you is that fifty years ago, I, Cheshire Cat, Hat, was a magician just like you."

The first sentence was astonishing, and Moen and Phils exchanged a glance, both seeing the surprise in each other's eyes.

"We've heard there's a Level 3 containment object called 'Alice's Mirror,' hidden in an abandoned ruin."

"For our own reasons, we wanted to possess it, so we broke into the ruins together."

"It's a pity we didn't even get to see the Queen of Hearts."

At this point, White Rabbit chuckled self-deprecatingly. Phils listened intently, while Moen's expression remained unchanged, though his mind raced.

The Death Note says this mirror is a Level 5 containment object, right?!

"As soon as we entered the fairyland, she suppressed us. She didn't even take action herself, but used the power of the fairyland itself to turn the three of us into what we are now."

White Rabbit gave a wry smile, and Fils gasped:

"You mean, you've been...assimilated by her?"

"Yes," the Cheshire Cat replied in a deep voice.

"From now on, we are no longer human. We are part of the fairy realm, the queen's subjects, and we will live and die with the fairy realm."

"We can't get out, and we won't die. We can only drink tea and daydream here day after day, waiting for her to grow old."

"Getting old? What does getting old mean?"

Moen caught the key information, and just then, the Mad Hatter, who had been listening in, finally spoke.

"That damned woman has been abandoned by her master! Without spiritual nourishment, she can only weaken and wait to die day by day, hahahahaha..."

After saying this, the Mad Hatter burst into maniacal laughter, gesturing wildly. The White Rabbit and Cheshire Cat, clearly experienced, worked together to hold him down.

"Please excuse my rudeness," the White Rabbit said helplessly. "That guy was a normal person before, but he started acting strangely after he became the Mad Hatter."

"However, what he said is true."

So that's how it is. No wonder the Death Note shows Level 5, and no wonder the White Rabbit can use such powerful abilities.

Even a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. If I had known it would turn out like this, I would never have gotten involved in this mess.

Phils's expression wasn't good either. For a first-tier magician like her, facing a level 3 contained object was practically the same as courting death.

"In that case, what is the Queen of Hearts' current condition?"

The White Rabbit and the Cheshire Cat exchanged a glance.

"Very weak, weaker than ever before," the White Rabbit whispered. "You can see from the nightmare monsters at night that the Queen's power has been steadily declining."

"How much longer can she hold on?"

"Hmph, although that woman is not as good as before, a centipede dies but does not fall down, she should live for another twenty or thirty years without much problem."

Moen seemed to be deep in thought.

"So, you mean...?"

"We've had enough of this half-dead, half-alive life. We want to fuck that woman!" White Rabbit said bluntly.

"Unfortunately, we are under her control and powerless to resist. We can only wait for outsiders to help us." The Cheshire Cat was equally indignant.

The two were indignant, their words filled with dissatisfaction towards the Queen of Hearts, but strangely, the Mad Hatter sat there motionless.

Although as a madman, whatever he did was normal, he always felt that the Mad Hatter was somewhat strange.