114
Ch.114 Monsters And Villains
"Piiiiii!"
I knocked down the Despair-class monster that was melting the shelter and dropped lightning on it.
The monster, barely qualifying as Despair-class, died easily once I found its weak point ability and destroyed its core.
According to the researcher's memories, these were failures among the failures.
While threatening to humans, they were shoddy works that couldn't even be proper opponents for test subjects like me.
"Is this... The Black Cat?"
"That's... A monster..."
"So the monster weaponization experiments weren't just rumors after all..."
As I defeated the monster, the Magic Bullets that had been hovering around irritating the monster's nerves immediately moved elsewhere.
Beep - sensing the movement of radio waves in the air, heroes who received Baskerville's information busily moved to rescue people inside the destroyed shelter.
Meanwhile, I pried open the chest of the tentacled snail monster carrying a broken building on its back and chewed up the shattered core.
Gulp - the moment I swallowed it, I felt faint human memories.
These fully digested human memories didn't retain any proper form, like cookies with just a tiny amount of additives.
This was also a test subject where the base human had been completely consumed by the monster.
No, calling it a test subject doesn't fit.
It's just a monster synthesized in the lab.
No humanity remains.
Yet, when I swallowed the monster core, a considerable amount of curses accumulated.
Resentment, terror, fear toward the monster.
The curses of humans remaining in its stomach like fish roe in grilled fish.
The memories and thoughts of humans this monster had devoured in that short time remained undigested.
I didn't really want this either.
It doesn't feel good, but I can't deny that this is fortunate for me right now.
"Uwah!"
"I-It's moving!"
I immediately rushed out to catch the next monster.
There's only one reason why I'm running around fighting Despair-class monsters instead of continuing my fight with E55.
Because I feel like I can't beat E55, as I am now.
E55 itself is a weaker monster than me.
Its core level is between Disaster-class and Despair-class.
But its base is the problem.
Contrary to rumors, not some ridiculous genius but just someone who used one insignificant ability - Meister.
Along with her, a human called a hero in the early days of the monster era.
Yeo Woon-jae, who obtained a body surpassing his prime through monsters and could continuously use proper abilities from monster cores, was stronger than Starlight.
Earlier, during the fight with E55.
As my upper and lower body separated and fell to the ground, I unleashed consecutive spatial manipulation abilities at E55.
Among all I've swallowed so far, this was the closest to a one-hit kill ability.
Yet, E55 moved as if foreseeing each spatial manipulation.
After easily dodging space slashes aimed at its head, it predicted the following portals and used my own ability to kick me.
E55 grabbed me with its claws, forcibly pulled me out of the portal, spun me mid-air and slammed me into the ground.
As it pursued with flight and I used spatial manipulation again against the descending E55, Yeo Woon-jae's remaining traces took over E55's body.
When eating humans, sometimes there are hard memories difficult to swallow or digest, like the teeth of dried squid that humans struggle to chew.
Those get swallowed over time too, but E55, perhaps because it's still young, seems to be struggling to fully digest Yeo Woon-jae.
The fragments of thoughts and intentions falling from E55 as it digests the rampaging Yeo Woon-jae, like a child dropping food.
Yeo Woon-jae's leftover memories scattered like broken sugar fragments.
When a monster eats a human, what it digests isn't just the human body.
Things without form - ideas, memories, emotions.
All are kneaded into one within the monster's digestive system.
Taking the form of the most feared power.
For Yeo Woon-jae, that was earthquakes.
In his childhood when monsters didn't exist, the planetary power that trampled everything.
And the day when a monster appeared and collapsed cities with a single stomp.
Yeo Woon-jae, trembling in fear while embracing his family, awakened his ability.
The fear of not wanting to lose family, the power to protect what he held in his hands.
An ability to handle impacts touching his body.
That insignificant ability was useless against any monster except the first one he met.
Thus, he lost his wife.
That's when he began weaponizing his insignificant ability.
The range of Yeo Woon-jae's ability was mere centimeters above his skin, and its output wasn't high either.
So he built a body that could approach monsters.
Researched ways to approach without getting hurt.
Craved methods to defeat monsters.
Back when fortress cities didn't exist yet, before the term ‘closed Districts’ was coined.
Yeo Woon-jae succeeded in approaching a monster roaming the city center and tried every method to wound it.
After trying guns, blades, bombs - all means - what Yeo Woon-jae arrived at was the most primitive method.
Two fists protected by his ability.
Yeo Woon-jae beat the monster to death with his fists.
But while those fists could kill monsters, they couldn't kill humans.
His suppressed desire for revenge for other humans, himself crushed under the name of greater good.
What killed the young Yeo Woon-jae who fought monsters was the name Yeo Woon-jae, his experiences, and time.
The man who feared earthquakes and monsters came to fear humans as much as monsters.
Thus, what E55 digested from Yeo Woon-jae wasn't a new ability but the human Yeo Woon-jae himself.
Yeo Woon-jae's experience, skills, and combat sense accumulated from fighting countless monsters and humans.
Among these, spatial manipulation was an ability used by Yeo Woon-jae's daughter.
Naturally, he would know it intimately.
As I unleashed countless other abilities, E55 spread its wings, extended its slender arms, and overlapped countless straight wind blades from its fingertips.
Small blades precisely cutting the center of my abilities, as if having experienced all I could use, nullified my powers.
The moment I tried to create distance by turning into lightning briefly, E55 sensed the ability activation, instantly boosted output to approach and grabbed my body.
Simultaneously occurred a phenomenon I'd never experienced before.
Shockwaves spreading through my body interfered with ability manifestation.
Ability manifestation requires core resonance, spreading wavelengths.
Interference of wavelengths through shock domination, an absurdly powerful strike hitting my body.
E55 stomped the ground and threw a punch, resonating abilities spread from two directions itself.
Abilities amplified at the wavelength focal point, pain bursting the monster's body.
Then the approaching E55 tried to find weaknesses in my body.
Like how I select various abilities to find what works best, it observed my attacks, stances, and habits to find openings.
As E55's probing continued, each light attack transformed into near-fatal strikes.
Like a newborn beast grooming its fur to mature, the monster adapted to its body, growing stronger.
Enough to threaten me.
Feeling both displeasure and survival instinct toward this creature finding my weaknesses, I instinctively swung my forelimb with full force.
In that moment, I saw how to defeat E55.
My collapsed posture, the massive opening revealed as a strike came toward me.
E55 tried to knock aside my crossed forelimb downward, but was pressed down by overwhelming power, half its body torn apart.
Though it quickly regenerated, E55's face twisted as if truly hurt.
Then, Gu Seo-ryong and Sagugu appeared before me, having apparently eaten all humans in the government's special shelter.
Of all things, using spatial manipulation through Sagugu.
E55 immediately turned its back to me and charged at Gu Seo-ryong and Sagugu, tearing away half their bodies.
Realizing that far from combining forces to defeat E55, they might become sharks caught between fighting whales, Gu Seo-ryong tried to flee with Sagugu.
Watching this, since they seemed to be escaping well enough, I left E55 to them.
I'm faster at catching other monsters than Sagugu and Gu Seo-ryong combined.
Even if those two grow stronger by eating monsters in A-City now, they can't beat E55.
So I left E55 to them while I eat these failures.
What I need now to crush the techniques and experience of Yeo Woon-jae that E55 swallowed isn't some weakness-exploiting ability or Yeo Woon-jae-like skills.
It is Overwhelming power.
Power to crush regardless of experience or techniques.
"The Black Cat! It's here!"
"Groooar!"
Pouncing on a monster already rampaging in another District, my core quivered joyfully at the flood of human curses from this creature turned unwilling delicacy.
Just a little more, just a bit more.
One more step to the next stage.
Evolution isn't far.
***
[Kage, wake up... Kage please...]
[Baskerville you bubble-headed bastard, an S-rank who's never soloed a single Despair-class monster, just a human slaughterer.]
[I turned on the broadcast - did Yeo Woon-jae really kill Kage? Is this strange rumor true?]
[Where's Electress and what's she doing?]
Screens filled with surveillance footage from A-City's downtown.
After the broadcaster collapsed, everyone evacuated due to the monster alert, leaving the broadcast abandoned.
Despite only containing loud noises and static, people couldn't turn it off.
[I'm from C-City - why did the government cut transmission?]
[G-City too. Probably because of that corruption exposed earlier.]
[We need to see A-City's situation.]
Though broadcasts were cut in each city, citizens accessed personal streams to keep watching A-City.
In unprecedented chaos, all cities stopped moving and sat before screens.
[This is why you can't trust superpower humans, bastards!]
[What the fuck? If heroes won't fight monsters, what are we supposed to do?]
[Where's Kage! Why isn't he commanding?]
[He's dead.]
[The only reliable one was Kage...]
[What?]
News of Kage's death by Yeo Woon-jae, sudden emergence of Despair-class monsters, inactive heroes and soldiers.
As the situation deteriorated rapidly, A-City's stream chats and community posts across cities surged.
[Please save us, send reinforcements from other cities.]
[Get out of the shelter! Staying inside just makes you bait to buy time while heroes escape!]
[C-City hero here - S-ranks already deployed. But the situation might end before they arrive...]
[How many Despair-class monsters? Seriously, what is this? Does this make sense?]
[Breaking: These are monsters secretly experimented on in A-City breaking free.]
[What bullshit - you're not from A-City.]
[What about Meister? Shouldn't Meister be evacuated?]
[Where's Electress, that fucking bitch!]
[Is this the return of the era of every man for himself...?]
[Huh? Why'd the screen suddenly brighten?]
As everyone thought A-City was done for -
A star fell upon A-City.
[Why's Starlight there?]
[I just saw her patrolling W-City - why's she there?]
Starlight arrived impossibly fast, gathering scattered heroes to counter the monsters.
All cities' citizens sighed in relief seeing this.
[Wow, I actually fucking sighed in relief...]
[But what do you mean Starlight is reliable?]
[Starlight's the type who'd get beaten by weaker villains or cursed at by drunk citizens but still protect civilians to the end, no?]
[Among S-ranks, few tolerate citizens insulting and mocking them - she's practically the poster child.]
[Personally I don't like her much... But I do think she'd never give up if I were in danger.]
[Not sure who's strongest among heroes, but Starlight is definitely the most trustworthy. Not that she's reliable.]
[Feels like if she cosigned a loan, she'd sell organs to repay it.]
[If not for Kage, she might've been called the strongest of this generation.]
[Oh thank god. Crazy bastards are closing shelter doors again.]
[Starlight! Thank you, thank you!]
Hearing help arrived, citizens hastily exiting shelters went back in, while soldiers protected those already out to nearby shelters.
[But if she's there, what about W-City? Why would an S-rank leave their post?]
[Huh? Emergency news says Electress is in W-City so don't worry?]
[Why's that bitch there?]
[Guarding Meister apparently.]
[Ah! She's protecting evacuated Meister!]
[So Meister isn't in A-City but W-City now?]
Then news came that Meister had already evacuated from A-City to W-City.
[Why keep Electress in W-City! Send her immediately!]
[Then who will guard Meister?]
[What about A-City! Should one S-rank abandon post just because of Meister!?]
[Starlight went. She's stronger than Electress.]
[But just one! More should come!]
[Not enough heroes... If Starlight falls too, we're all dead!]
[What the hell did Yeo Woon-jae do? I'm going crazy.]
[Kage please wake up... You're not dead right...Please...]
Even after resolving the most worrying issue, people trembled in anxiety over the lack of heroes to handle monsters.
[Huh?]
[What?]
[What's it doing there?]
[Fuck! Another monster appeared!]
On one surveillance screen, a black figure amidst flailing tentacles of a giant monster.
W-City citizens recognized the familiar monster dropping lightning from the sky.
[Why's our kitty there?]
[How far does this bastard go for walks!]
The famously named variant monster of W-City.
The monster that protects humans - the Black Cat.
The giant tentacled monster already destroying downtown and melting shelters screamed.
Unrelenting lightning strikes, telekinesis instantly crushing the building on the monster's back.
Below, as heroes busily flew in to rescue fleeing citizens, a pure white beam erupted.
[The Black Cat! The Black Cat! The Black Cat!]
[Why there! Why there! Why there!]
[The omniscient and omnipotent cat has descended to A-City to defeat Satan, this is the savior cat...]
[Since you're there already, kill them all! Eat every monster!]
[The Black Cat! The Black Cat! The Black Cat! The Black Cat! The Black Cat!]
As the Black Cat rampaged, W-City citizens flooded A-City's stream chat.
Amid chats simply spamming the Black Cat's name, citizens from all cities watched the rumored the Black Cat's reality on screen in shock.
[Wow holy shit I just got rescued - that's the Black Cat?]
[That's Despair-class right? It's not even a contest.]
[Does the Black Cat just seem Despair-class?]
[Our kitty's been Despair-class for a while now!]
Battles erupting everywhere, A-City being destroyed.
While Starlight fought some strange unknown monster wrecking A-City, the Black Cat reliably handled any Despair-class monsters appearing.
[Is Starlight a water pistol too? Struggling against one monster?]
[Did the Black Cat get stronger? Seriously how strong? Treating Despair-class like Disaster-class?]
[The saying about cats saving the world was true!]
[But isn't the monster Starlight's fighting weird? Why so fast? Fighting like...Is that really a monster?]
[Fights like a superpower human? Posture looks human too...?]
Second Despair-class monster - a two-headed lizard.
While the Black Cat froze and devoured the creature burning everything in its path, Starlight kept fighting the same monster.
As viewers started feeling dissonance watching the monster fighting Starlight -
[Additional Despair-class monster appeared!]
[What the hell is this!]
[Who's releasing lab-made monsters - this makes no sense!]
Greater dissonance spread across screens.
Already the sixth simultaneous monster appearance in A-City.
This defied common sense even to a child.
Regardless of what's happening in A-City, people couldn't help worrying about civilian safety.
Yet those in the chats didn't despair.
[Kitty! Try harder!]
[Faster! Ah fuck! Just destroy the buildings!]
[Please! We'll return A-City to the Stone Age, just let people live!]
The creature that defeated all three of the strongest S-ranks - Kage, Starlight, Electress.
The Black Cat was already fighting its third monster in that time.
At this rate, handling the newly appeared Despair-class monsters was just a matter of time.
[...Huh?]
[Whaaat? What's it doing?]
But the Black Cat's next action shocked everyone.
[Kitty?]
[The Black Cat, are you insane?!]
[Food coma?]
After swallowing the third monster's core, the Black Cat suddenly yawned and lay down.
Clearly visible even through blurry cameras - a perfect sleeping posture.
[Why sleep now!]
[Black Cat wake up!Black Cat wake up!Black Cat wake up!]
[Kage wake up! Kage wake up! Kage wake up! Kage wake up!]
[Kage is dead, why keep calling him!]
[Black Caaaaat! You fucking cat bastard!]
[Monsters are rampaging! Don't sleep, catch them!]
In A-City's center where monsters still raged -
The Black Cat fell asleep.