5
Ch.5 Monsters.
"What the...? H-how did you know?"
"I felt them."
"N-now's not the time! We need to get to the shelter—!"
The officer, still slightly drunk, staggered to his feet and tried to run toward the shelter before stopping abruptly.
"Wait, you're not coming? If you're going, we should go together—! Ah! Are you planning to fight?! Against Crush-class monsters?! There are multiple!"
"I don’t plan to fight. Just go."
"Then what are you gonna do?!"
Honestly, I didn’t even care about monsters of that level. If I just waited, the heroes would show up eventually, so I figured I’d just hide or avoid them.
But even a high-ranking superpower human would struggle against multiple Crush-class monsters alone.
The officer, knowing that, seemed genuinely worried about me.
"Wait, you’re a superpower human who just awakened recently, right? Or maybe you’re lacking in some way? You could die if you stay here!"
"I won’t die. Stop wasting time—"
"Hey, beggar! What are you doing?! Don’t you hear the sirens?!"
"Mr beggar! Hurry! Hurry!"
At that moment, children came running into the park from the apartment complex.
Behind them, their mothers—especially the ones who frequented the park—chased after them.
The mothers, knowing I was a superpower human, probably wanted to take their kids to the shelter, but the children had broken away and run here instead.
Then, the apartment’s steel gates slammed shut.
"Aahhh! What do we do?! What do we do?!"
"Oh no! It’s too early for them to close!"
The shelter entrance in the basement had been sealed.
That meant the monsters were already close.
I stood up and walked toward the children.
"Beggar, if you stay here, you’ll be in big trouble! The monsters are coming!"
"Mom, why are you freaking out? Let’s go! The beggar is here!"
"Waaah! The shelter’s already closed?! Why?! Why?!"
"What do we do...?! The phone—the phone isn’t—!"
"Where are the heroes?! Why aren’t they here yet?!"
The mothers and the officer were panicking, but the kids seemed relieved now that I was here.
I gestured to the officer, pointing at the children.
"Give these brats a good smack on the head. Little troublemakers who don’t listen."
"Now’s not the time for that! The shelter’s closed!"
"We just have to hold out until the heroes arrive."
"R-right! You’re a superpower human, aren’t you?!"
"Are you sure?! Crush-class monsters... And judging by the sirens, there’s more than one or two!"
I nodded quietly.
In my non-monstrous form, my strength and destructive power were between Crush-class Annihilation-class.
But my durability was the same as when I was fully transformed.
Killing these monsters would be difficult, but holding them off until the heroes arrived wouldn’t be a problem.
"Gather in one spot. Smack the disobedient brats, then hold them tight."
"Ow! Why’d you hit me?!"
"Stay still! You ran off without listening to Mom!"
"You too! What were you thinking, following your friend like that?!"
"The beggar sleeps outside anyway!"
"No candy for you for a week!"
"That’s not fair! Candy!"
I emphasized again that they should smack the kids’ heads, and the mothers, somewhat reassured, each gave their child a smack or pulled their ears as punishment.
Then, the distant air trembled.
"They’re here."
"H-hiii...! Bullets barely work on Crush-class monsters...!"
"Aim straight for the head. Shoot calmly, one bullet at a time."
"How am I supposed to stay calm right now?!"
The officer drew his gun, and I heightened my senses while keeping my core suppressed.
The monsters, sensing prey before them, tore away their concealment and revealed themselves.
I recognized them from my memories— Crush-class monsters, Phantom Hounds.
Tricky creatures that shifted between physical and ethereal forms to attack.
Even in their ethereal state, they were still partially anchored to reality, meaning powerful impacts could still hurt them.
In my current state, killing them was impossible, but stopping them was doable.
Though... Completely blocking them would be difficult.
"The heroes better hurry."
For the first time in a while, I unleashed my full strength without restraint and kicked off the ground.
The earth cratered beneath me as I shot forward, closing the distance instantly.
The Phantom Hounds faltered in surprise.
A straight punch—the hound before me twisted into its ghostly form, distorting under the force.
The pack lunged at me, but my body wasn’t soft enough to be wounded by something like this.
Their fangs must’ve hurt, because they immediately opened their jaws wide.
I aimed for their chins with another punch, my fist passing through their ethereal forms like stirring water.
If only they’d just focus on me...
"Gyaaah!"
Bang! Bang! Gunshots echoed through the air.
Monsters aren’t stupid.
When faced with a stronger monster, their survival instincts tell them to flee, ally with others, or—like now—ignore the strong and go for the weak.
Their goal isn’t human extinction—it’s devouring humans.
They don’t need to eat the strong.
They target the weak, the soft, the tender flesh.
"Kyaaaah!"
"Kyahii!"
I kicked off the ground again, intercepting two hounds lunging for a child and mother, sending them flying.
When they bite, they materialize—so my punches landed cleanly.
But the impact wasn’t enough.
The hounds tumbled across the ground before vanishing again.
"When are the heroes getting here?"
"J-just hold on...! This is C2C! Monsters at the apartment complex! When are the heroes arriving?!"
[What? The apartment? Why are you there?!]
"I was on patrol! Protecting civilians and children! When are the heroes coming?!"
[How are you supposed to protect them?! The heroes are still far away!]
"Why?!"
[How should I know?! They just said it’ll take a while! There’s a high-grade shelter over there! Just get inside—!]
"We can’t! That’s the problem!"
[Goddammit! Why are you even outside?!]
"Kyaaaah!"
Then, two Phantom Hounds slipped past my defensive line.
One, still materialized, charged—I sent it flying, but the other...
At this level of strength, I couldn’t reach it.
In my non-monstrous form... I couldn’t stop it.
But.
If I transformed now—
"Officer!"
"Ghk—Ugh...!"
A split second of hesitation—and in that moment, the hound sank its teeth into the officer’s neck.
Snapping back to focus, I lunged at the hound and tore it away from him.
The monster’s senses sharpened at the scent of human blood.
The wound... Was deep.
It had barely missed his neck, tearing into his shoulder instead, but it was still life-threatening.
"Hah... Hahk...!"
"What do we do?! Oh no, oh no...! Aahh!"
"Why... Aren’t the heroes here yet?!"
"...Stop the bleeding. Take off his clothes and bind his neck tightly."
"S-stop the bleeding...?"
"Nngh... Hahk...!"
I watched as the mothers, panicking at the sight of the officer’s blood, fumbled to follow my instructions.
And then... I swallowed hard.
...It smelled delicious.
The scent of human blood made my hunger surge.
The Phantom Hounds, likewise stimulated by the blood, grew even more frenzied.
The ones I’d been fighting had been cautiously watching, but now they materialized fully, creeping closer.
Because I hesitated—even for a moment—I’d nearly gotten the officer killed.
Even though I knew I wasn’t human anymore, I’d still wanted to live like one.
In my non-monstrous form, my strength was between Crush-class and Annihilation-class.
My durability was far higher, but to protect everyone from these monsters...
I needed a monster’s power.
"It’s hard to suppress my hunger. Hurry."
"R-right! Everyone, take off your clothes! Now!"
"Hold the children. Don’t let them run."
Though confused by my words, the mothers seemed to understand that modesty wasn’t a priority right now. They quickly stripped off their shirts and tightly bound the officer’s neck and shoulder.
Then, I turned my attention back to the monsters.
To wipe them all out, I’d need enough destructive force and speed to sweep them away in an instant.
But if I did that, the children wouldn’t survive.
To protect them until the heroes arrived, I’d need a barrier wide enough to block the area—an ability to obscure their vision.
The rising bloodlust twisted my human body into something else.
The sound-swallowing form of a black panther, the wind-controlling wings of a harpy, the shadow-dominating tail of an aberrant creature.
The sirens, now deafening, reverberated through the apartment complex.
"Grrrrrr..."
"H-hiii...?! A m-m-monster...?!"
My monstrous transformation complete, I unleashed my aura.
[OOOOOH!]
The roar of a beast that erased all sound.
Wings spread, conjuring a gale to shroud the area.
Dozens of tails devoured the light, plunging the surroundings into darkness.
A barrier of supernatural energy, blocking both physical and ethereal threats—a warning that any who approached would be torn apart by a predator stronger than themselves.
My activated monster core pulsed, sending out a warning to the Phantom Hounds,
Come any closer, and you die.
Monsters flee when faced with a stronger monster—to avoid being devoured themselves.
But the Phantom Hounds didn’t run.
A monster’s strongest instinct is to eat humans and grow stronger.
And sometimes, that instinct to grow stronger overrides even self-preservation.
If they devour a powerful monster, they can become stronger.
A wounded monster, one weakened by heroes or some other reason—a strong monster that doesn’t fight back—becomes prey for the weaker ones.
To the Phantom Hounds, I was a powerful monster that wasn’t attacking.
And on top of that, the scent of blood from the officer’s wound was driving them mad.
But now that I’d transformed, they couldn’t get close.
A line had been drawn—they couldn’t flee, but they couldn’t advance either.
"Beggar...? So you’re a monster... Not a superpower human who transforms, but an actual... Monster..."
Beneath my massive, beast-type form, the officer—face-to-face with a true monster—forced out a weak whisper.
"No wonder... You weren’t registered as a superpower human..."
Humans never mistake monsters for anything else.
A monster’s core emits a unique frequency—infrasound vibrations that trigger human instincts.
Regardless of grade, the oppressive aura radiating from them is unmistakable.
"I really... Thought you were just a big cat..."
[I am not a cat.]
Monsters can’t speak human language.
But right now, my mind was merged with a sound-manipulating monster’s ability.
The words reverberated through the air, startling the children and the officer.
"The monster... Talked...? No, I guess that makes sense..."
Common sense says monsters can’t speak.
Communication is impossible—that’s why humans see them as absolute enemies.
And honestly, a monster in human form shouldn’t make sense.