36
Ch.36 Do as You Please
“Hmm.”
Amid the deafening explosions that shook the heavens and the earth—Kwaang! Pueong! Kwaang!—I finished healing all the wounds on my body and stretched as I got up from the bed.
Sniff, sniff. Following the familiar scent, I headed toward the elevator, crushed the steel door with my hand, and opened it. Inside was the necklace—the reason I had come here.
I wrapped the necklace around my wrist and opened the refrigerator.
Inside were limbs of dead humans and an abundance of alcohol.
I grabbed a cola from the fridge and walked over to the shattered window, sitting down.
Outside the broken window, Starlight and Gu Seo-ryong were locked in fierce combat.
Of course, Starlight would win—or so I thought as I sipped my cola, watching Starlight being gradually pushed back.
She’s not fighting at full strength.
My gaze naturally drifted toward the people filling the apartment.
High on stimulants, their excitement and euphoria saturated the air.
Starlight never fully unleashed her powers—whether chasing me or other monsters—until all civilians had taken shelter.
Even if they were drugged, they were still people—beings a hero had to protect.
It was the right thing for a hero to do, but watching Starlight get beaten down made me wonder—Is this really the right way?
Killing humans who’ve done nothing wrong didn’t sit well with me either.
But these guys here were bad people—so was it okay even if they hadn’t done anything wrong?
Even if they committed evil deeds, humans were still humans—the same went for villains.
Humans were animals.
The law of the jungle, where the strong preyed on the weak, was the natural order—nothing wrong with that.
The instinct of a monster whispered, the strong feed on the weak.
Humans were prey. Devouring a powerful hero would make me even stronger.
Gu Seo-ryong, another monster from the same lab, gave off a familiar vibe. If I teamed up with her to kill Starlight, I could eliminate a threat to myself.
The scent of bullets, blood, and stimulants lingered in the air.
My monster core pulsed, urging destruction.
The more I watched Gu Seo-ryong overwhelm Starlight, the more alluring she became—like a persistent courtship.
Starlight was a formidable opponent, and Gu Seo-ryong, who dominated her, was an attractive female.
This nest was comfortable—everything I wanted was within reach.
Settle in, monster. CXI, test subject. Follow your instincts.
Gulp, gulp. I chugged the cola, then crushed the empty bottle between my hands, compacting it into a ball the size of a fingernail.
Should I just quit this whole pretending to be human act? It’s less effective than drinking a cola anyway.
As I rolled the plastic ball in my palm, the monster inside me lay dormant.
Then—Starlight plummeted from the sky.
The long, trailing arc of her fall—a star descending—triggered a faint childhood memory.
[Hey… Do you, uh, wanna look at the sky?]
In the memory, I was staring at a sky full of stars.
The person beside me, also gazing upward, called those who did what needed to be done heroes.
And my hero became a star in my childhood.
[From up there… They’re watching over us.]
That night, I stayed up late, staring at the stars, wondering if they were really looking at me.
If they were, I wished they’d at least wave.
[Ah.]
Deep in the night, a star streaked across the sky.
Like a distant runner, clad in glowing red and yellow—just like back then.
They were there.
[Hah… Hah…]
Starlight collapsed on the ground, staggered as she curled up, gathering strength while exchanging words with Gu Seo-ryong.
[Because someone has to do it.]
The moment I heard that, I laughed without realizing it.
Stars belonged in the sky, shining.
I watched the fallen starlight flicker out, then stepped out the window and transformed into a monster.
[Ooooooooh!]
The drugged humans snapped out of their highness and stared at me in terror.
Above the apartment, I stood on the rooftop and activated my monster core to its limit.
Gu Seo-ryong’s frantic signal spread through the night sky.
Ignoring her warning, I fired a beam of destruction toward the ground.
"Kyaaaaah!"
"Aaaah! R-run awaaay!"
"What—why is the Black Cat—aaaah!"
Ping, ping, ping! Gu Seo-ryong dodged the beam in rapid succession as it swelled and exploded, chasing her.
Booooom! The blast sent people screaming and fleeing, and I amplified their terror with an infrasonic vibration.
[Ooooooooh!]
"R-run! Run awaaay!"
"I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die!"
"Save me! Aaaah!"
The apartment itself shook as if from an earthquake, pushing the humans into utter chaos.
Watching them flee, I shifted forms, summoning the power of a phoenix.
With wings of crimson flame unfurled, a scarlet canopy spread across the night sky, raining fire.
Terrified, the humans ran barefoot across the asphalt as villains shot storms and icy mist upward, buying time.
In the center of the now-silent Guryongseong, I leaped down through the white concrete smoke and landed in front of the dazed Starlight.
"Ha…! What the hell are you doing?!"
An irritated voice. Gu Seo-ryong stepped through the smoke, glaring at me warily.
I turned my back to Starlight, staring at Gu Seo-ryong as I tilted my head.
I’m doing this because I want to. Got a problem with that?
Gu Seo-ryong frowned, vibrating her core.
"Are you out of your mind? You’re a monster, and that’s a hero!"
Her monster core resonated with my wavelength, as if saying, Your kin are on my side, not her. She gestured for me to hand Starlight over.
No.
When I shifted my wavelength, Gu Seo-ryong’s resonance followed—Uuung, uuung—harmonizing.
Don’t bother persuading me. I’m a monster who does as I please.
Uuuuuung! A powerful infrasonic rejection burst out, cracking the apartment walls.
"F-fuck…! So it’s true—Starlight tamed the Black Cat!"
"How are we supposed to fight a Despair-class and an S-rank at the same time?!"
Eventually, as the ground split from our clashing wavelengths, some villains began retreating.
Gu Seo-ryong, scowling, stopped resonating and glared at me, fists clenched.
Then—Whap! Her tail lashed out, spreading a disorienting ability.
The thick sensory distortion tickled, so I shook my head once and stared back.
What, wanna go all out? Fine. You should transform too.
Uuung. I pulsed my monster core aggressively.
Gu Seo-ryong’s face twisted in frustration before she relaxed her fists.
"Ugh! Seriously! This is unfair, you damn monster!"
Thud, thud! As she stomped the ground, one of the remaining villains landed beside her and shouted.
"Now’s our chance, boss! Starlight’s out of it—we’ve already got her! What’s stopping us from taking down the Black Cat too?!"
"You think Starlight and that monster are the same? Human shields don’t work on that thing!"
Gu Seo-ryong sighed, signaling she had no intention of fighting.
"Ugh… Do whatever. If you’re taking her, just grab her and go!"
"Boss?! After all the trouble we went through?!"
"Shut up! You think I’m letting her go because I want to?!"
"A-ah… Hah, you’re right, boss…"
Having given up on fighting me, Gu Seo-ryong pointed outside Guryongseong. When a villain tried to stop her, she grabbed his throat.
Poison seeped into his eyes, and after dropping him, she jerked her chin at me. Get lost.
Glancing back at Starlight, I turned, grabbed her hair with my teeth, and flew toward the mountains behind the apartment.
As I did, Gu Seo-ryong whispered something only a monster could hear.
"You’d better remember this, sweetheart. You reject my courtship, then grab another girl right in front of me?"
"Gruk?"
"I pay back what I’m owed. I won’t forget this humiliation."
Hearing that, I paused midair and looked down at her.
Now that I thought about it, she had kept pestering me about courtship and mating despite my rejections.
Ruining a good meal with her poison, claiming her body was some kind of delicacy—even free food is infuriating if you find a cigarette butt in it.
Growing a second head, I opened another mouth and aimed it at Gu Seo-ryong.
As the second head’s vocal cords swelled, Gu Seo-ryong panicked.
"W-wait…!"
BOOM! A sonic blast shot toward Guryongseong.
Guuuuung! The shockwave slowly eroded the apartment, reaching even the underground.
The remaining superpower humans barely held on, but the ordinary structure crumbled, leaving only steel skeletons.
Above the now-vanished Guryongseong, Gu Seo-ryong—hair disheveled—screamed.
"I told you to just leave!!"
Ignoring her, I flew into the night sky.
***
Cold night wind, moonlight glinting off buildings.
Starlight dangled from my mouth, swaying left and right.
"Ugh… Hah…!"
Leaving District 9, I arrived at a zone under reconstruction and quietly landed on the rooftop of an unfinished building.
Just how much poison did they pump into her?
Groaning in pain, Starlight slumped against a concrete pillar, glaring at me wordlessly.
"Hah… Hah… Unbelievable, really."
Even now, a highly condensed energy flickered dangerously in her right hand.
Probably a finishing move she’d been gathering without Gu Seo-ryong noticing.
"Hah… What… Do you want?"
After staring at me for a moment, Starlight released the energy, scattering it.
Then, dizzy, she leaned her head against the pillar, breathing heavily.
"Because of you… My carefully planned operation went to hell. I was gonna let them take me, then finish them off when only the villains were left."
Her tone was relaxed, devoid of wariness—like she was complaining to me.
"How is a monster more helpful than a hero? Really… I thought they’d at least send backup if things got bad, but they just watched. Meanwhile, the villains were busy figuring out how to counter me… Ugh, so annoying… What’s with that double awakening? She’s not even a hero—why’s a villain rivaling an S-rank? Useless against monsters, too…"
Thud, thud! Knocking her head against the pillar, Starlight clutched her forehead and muttered weakly.
"Hah… This is exhausting… Being a hero…"
The emotions radiating from her were complex—excitement, confusion, calmness… Likely a mix of stimulants, sedatives, and disorienting abilities.
Sweating and visibly dizzy, Starlight pulled her hero suit down to her waist, exposing her bare torso.
"Huuu…"
Startled, I stepped back.
Fwoosh, fwoosh! Starlight ignited flames over her chest, burning away Gu Seo-ryong’s poison.
The layered disorientation had already been burned off, but biological toxins—part ability, part not—took longer to purge.
Starlight’s power is a flame that burns abilities… I accidentally learned a weakness.
As I circled restlessly, Starlight—who’d had her eyes closed—peeked at me.
"What…? Why are you fidgeting? I’m not hurt. Just detoxing."
I knew that, but… How should I describe this feeling?
Like I was seeing something I shouldn’t.
I jerked my chin, gesturing for her to zip up. Starlight frowned.
"Did you just tell me to zip up?"
"Ooong."
"What kind of monster…? Ugh, whatever. Should’ve guessed—male, after all…"
Sighing, she intensified the flames, rapidly burning off the remaining poison.
Once done, she zipped up her suit—made of some special material—and stood, pulling herself off the pillar.
"I’m too busy to play today. Just go."
"Waong?"
Stretching, Starlight seemed ready to fly back to Guryongseong.
Going back there? I whined in confusion.
Starlight clenched a ball of white light hovering above her palm and said,
"Thanks to you, all the civilians evacuated. Gotta go catch them all now."
"Owaong."
She wasn’t wrong.
With civilians out of the way, Gu Seo-ryong and the villains stood no chance against Starlight.
The basics of hunting, never miss the prey’s weakest moment.
Even if Gu Seo-ryong transformed, the odds were still against her—one Despair-class monster and a few villains were too weak to hunt Starlight.
Earlier, it felt less like killing her and more like briefly incapacitating her.
"...Don’t do anything weird today. Just behave. Legally, monster extermination takes priority over villain suppression."
Fwoosh! Boosting her output, Starlight rose into the sky.
Glancing down at me, she chewed her lip with an odd expression.
I could smell gratitude and discomfort from her as I sank into the shadows.
It’d be weird for a hero to thank a monster.
"Ugh—seriously, what a headache, you!"
Boom! As I vanished, Starlight shot off with a shockwave.
Her expression was not bright as she flew toward Guryongseong—but her trail shone brilliantly.
Soon after, a sun descended upon the ruins of Guryongseong.