71
Ch.71 Third
There is no way to bring back humans who have been infected by parasites.
They must all be killed before they infect humans in other cities.
"Hey, mister! You’re so tall!"
Just as I was steeling myself, a young child approached me and struck up a conversation.
With an expression of pure innocence, the child’s mother came over and greeted me.
"Hello, I don’t think I’ve seen you before?"
I ignored the mother’s greeting and walked away.
Beneath their skin, the all-too-human appearance of things that were no longer human disgusted me.
The disgust only grew worse as I walked further through the city.
"Wait~! Slow down!"
"Hahaha! You're going to get hurt!"
These humans are clearly already dead.
Wretched spirits who don’t even realize they’re dead.
And yet, why are they so happy?
Why are their hearts still beating?
Even to my senses, they still feel human, which makes my emotions complicated in many ways.
But I didn't hesitate to kill them.
I’ve already seen multiple times how they’re controlled by parasites and forced to commit suicide.
Their human-like behavior is just an act—an afterimage of humanity displayed by the parasites that have taken over their brains.
Ding, ding. The bell tolls again, and the infected humans bow their heads toward the sound before freezing in place.
The building with a large bell hanging from a towering pillar stood out as the largest among the structures in D-City.
No doubt, the host must be in the direction the infected people are bowing their heads.
Thinking this, I turned my head—only to see the citizens, who had been standing quietly, staring at me with vacant eyes.
"An outsider."
"It’s an outsider."
Their gazes, mixed with an eerie sense of otherness, were nothing like the human expressions they had shown just moments ago.
As if detecting an intruder in D-City, the infected people blinked as they recognized me, someone behaving differently from them.
The people who had been eyeing me with wariness began approaching me one by one as soon as the bell stopped ringing, adopting friendly attitudes.
"Are you from another city?"
"Hello, is this your first time in D-City?"
The parasites that had been visible just moments ago had now completely hidden themselves.
Outwardly, they appeared nothing but human.
The people approaching me all pointed in the same direction, as if in unison.
"It’s been a while since we’ve seen someone from outside D-City."
"If you’ve come to D-City, we recommend going to the cathedral first to pray."
"In these times, only God can protect us."
"Hah."
Their blatant attempt to lead me to the host’s location made me laugh.
On a sudden thought, I decided to follow where they guided.
If I were going to kill the parasites, the host had to die first.
It’d be troublesome if it escaped while I was dealing with the infected humans.
And so, I arrived at the heart of D-City—the Cathedral.
Was this what they meant by holy? From within the grand, stained-glass-adorned building, the sound of hymns praising God flowed out.
"Come, this way."
Following the woman guiding me, the cathedral’s massive doors quietly opened.
Inside, children stood in orderly rows, singing.
Among them, one child approached and handed me a flower.
A flower filled with bugs invisible to the human eye, nestled between its petals.
The moment I dropped the flower to the ground, the man conducting the choir at the center of the building opened a book.
"God’s apostle descends upon this land to punish the sinners."
"I am a sinner, and those who confess shall be forgiven."
"I feared death and turned my back on my neighbors."
"I shall offer my body and love my neighbors henceforth."
"Pain and suffering are but attachments to life."
"I shall not live for suffering, but be one with eternal happiness."
A prayer to God. The man and the infected children bowed their heads in silence before looking up with bright smiles.
Touching his forehead, left shoulder, and then the opposite shoulder with his fingertips, the man descended from the pulpit and looked at me.
"Ohh… May God’s blessing be upon you."
"May the blessing be upon you."
Facing the man, I scowled, my killing intent rising.
A resonance pulsed from his body in rhythm with the bell’s toll.
This… Was the vibration of a monster core.
"I hadn’t heard that an outsider had entered D-City. What a surprise. Welcome. I am but a humble man serving as the leader of Samwonkyo."
"You call yourself a man."
Bzz, bzz. The resonance spread incessantly.
I realized the man before me was the host of the parasitic monsters.
"Since when do parasites call themselves human?"
"Parasites…?"
His bewildered reaction made me wonder—was he just a human infected by the host parasite?
Not that it mattered either way.
"Guh—!"
Crunch!
Having transformed into my monstrous state, I bit through the man’s neck in one motion, crushing his skull.
The parasites in my flame-filled mouth burned to death, and I devoured the dying human’s thoughts.
I don’t want to die.
Memories full of holes. Gratitude and worship.
Though I could read his mind like any other human’s, the taste was entirely different.
"Grr… Ugh…"
A taste neither monster nor human… If I had to describe it, like chewing on a human corpse long rotted away.
The monster core, having swallowed not curses but gratitude, trembled in a way I had never felt before.
One thing was certain: What I had eaten was not human.
"Apostle of God!"
"The apostle has come!"
"Please, consume me!"
The children knelt before me, having so easily slain the parasite’s host.
Yet, despite the host’s death, the infected humans showed no change.
Even with the floor stained by the blood and corpse of the middle-aged infected man, they felt no fear.
The children bowed their heads, begging me to chew and swallow them.
Confirming that there was no way to reverse their condition, I felt oddly at ease.
Just as I prepared to blast their heads off to spare them further suffering, one of the children stood up.
"...Well, well. I’d heard the Black Cat protect humans, but to think such a unique variant could be tamed even if it were a Disaster-class… I was merely curious."
An eerie air flowed through the pristine white cathedral.
With an indescribable sense of otherness, a pattern of three overlapping circles appeared on the child’s forehead.
At the same time, a monster core manifested within the child, who had been nothing but a parasite moments ago.
This child had now become the new host.
But it wasn’t just a transformation into a host.
It retained all the memories of the man I had torn apart.
"To think the Black Cat can take human form."
[You…]
As I grew wary, the new host stroked the heads of the bowing children and walked down the central aisle.
"Don’t tell me… You’re a test subject?"
Test subject. The moment that word left its mouth, I flinched—and the host noticed, grinning in delight.
If it knew the term test subject, then this thing before me was one as well.
"Ohh, a fellow test subject! Come now, why don’t we talk over a drink?"
Saying this, the host approached the pulpit and retrieved a jewel-encrusted knife and a wine glass.
Then, it plunged the knife into the heart of a nearby child, filling the glass with blood before offering it to me.
"Freshly squeezed. Delicious."
When I remained silent, glaring, the host raised the glass and drained it in one go.
Inside the emptied glass, parasites squirmed.
"To resist freshly drawn human blood, your self-control is impressive."
[You can transfer your consciousness through parasite-infected bodies?]
"Correct. I call this the Power of Resurrection. By uniting monster, human, and soul into a divine state, I prove that even death can be overcome."
[In other words… You won’t die unless I kill every last parasite.]
From the residual thoughts of the middle-aged man still lingering in my mouth, fragmented memories surfaced—hive mind.
An ability that transfers consciousness to nearby parasites upon death. Its range… The entirety of D-City.
What kind of absurd ability was this? No… Perhaps not an ability, but an inherent trait of the monster itself.
The host smirked and plopped down on the corpse of the man I had killed.
"What number are you?"
[CXI.]
"CXI? What’s that? I asked for your number."
[And you?]
The host tilted its head like a child at my designation, then held up three fingers.
"I am Number 3."
Number 3. A single-digit Number.
An entity created long before me.
Likely one of the earliest from the research facility’s inception.
"What a shame. I thought I could easily acquire a Disaster-class monster, but you’re a test subject."
Though disappointed, Number 3 clapped its hands with a smile.
"But this is a relief. The fact that you protect humans is because you’re a test subject—meaning the research facility’s direction hasn’t changed. So, I’m still on the right path."
[What does being a test subject have to do with protecting humans?]
"Hmm…? Well, the research facility’s goal is—ah, CXI… That’s Roman numerals, isn’t it? So, 111? They’ve made so many of you now."
As if realizing something, Number 3 widened its eyes.
Did it not know about Roman numerals? More importantly, what was the connection between being a test subject and protecting humans?
Number 3 sighed as it watched me, puzzled.
"To make so many and still not produce a complete product… How ironic."
Its tone suggested it knew I was a failed subject, not a success.
From the start, something felt off—our knowledge about the research facility and test subjects didn’t align.
"Since it’s come to this, how about it, CXI? Become one with me."
[Become one?]
"Literally. Become a part of me."
Number 3 stretched out its hand toward me.
From its fingertips, thin worms wriggled—what it meant by becoming part of it was turning into one of these infected humans.
"Having seen D-City, you must understand. I stand just before our goal."
[Goal?]
"...You don’t know what the goal is?"
Nothing it said made sense. Number 3 frowned, then sighed.
"Perhaps they don’t explain it to recent test subjects… Well, it is an outlandish goal. Those after Number 10 likely aren’t voluntary subjects anyway."
[Tell me what the goal is.]
"Become one with me, and you’ll know naturally."
[I refuse.]
"Then—"
The conversation ended there. I tore out its core and crushed it.
Immediately, another child nearby displayed the three-circle pattern on its forehead, transforming into the new host.
"Even if by force—"
Crush!
I obliterated the entire interior of the cathedral, bursting every infected body the host could have transferred into.
The parasites crawling across the blood-soaked floor gathered in one spot, hardening into a form resembling a monster's core.
WOOONG!
A massive resonance, like the toll of a bell, echoed as a Disaster-class monster alert blared across D-City.
An alarm I had heard many times, even back in W-City.
From beyond the cathedral, waves of supernatural energy surged, resonating with the bell’s toll.
D-City’s heroes—and not just one. BOOM!
The cathedral’s ceiling was blown away as countless heroes appeared before me.
"You have no choice but to become one!"
On each of their foreheads, three circles were drawn.