#85 Monster
Chapter 85: Monster
"Attraction!"
I targeted Shadow Killer with my left hand and used the Attraction skill.
Now he’d fly right toward me, and I’d land a punch straight to his face—wait?
"Huh? Where did he go?"
Shadow Killer didn't fly toward me.
No, it looked like he ran away; his figure was completely gone.
"What the hell? Shadow Killer? Mr. Shadow Killer? Are you gone?"
I looked around and called out for Shadow Killer, but no reply came back.
This bastard acts all mysterious and then runs away?
Well, in a way, Shadow Killer's cowardice was to be expected.
When I was looking into White Knight previously, I came across an anecdote about Shadow Killer.
As soon as Shadow Killer saw White Knight, he bolted.
It's said he ran so fast that even the White Knight couldn't catch him. And I was the guy who took down that very White Knight with only my two fists.
Obviously, knowing he'd get beaten up by me, he made a quick getaway.
Shadow Killer, my foot.
From today on, that bastard is Shadow Pants.
"Geez... Hmm?"
—Hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe
"Aaaaaaargh! G-g-g-g-ghost! It’s a ghost! Kyaaaaaaoooogh!"
I swear to God, I had goosebumps running down my spine.
The hair on my arms stood on end. I looked down at my feet, and my shadow was gathered in a round lump, spinning in circles.
On top of it were facial features scattered in all directions, and a wide-slit mouth was laughing, hehehe-.
Wait, dammit, I was told this was an 19+ game! Are ghosts allowed to be here?!
A-anyway, that wasn't what was important right now.
I had to get rid of the ghost that had seeped into my shadow immediately.
Should I do an exorcism ritual? Or should I chant Bible verses?
What am I supposed to do?
What exactly am I supposed to do to drive away a ghost!!!!!!!!!!
"Physical therapy!"
Bang—!
There's an old saying: a dull head makes the body suffer.
I have a dull head, so I don't know how to exorcise ghosts.
So what can I do? The body has no choice but to suffer.
"Physical therapy! Physical therapy! Go away, ghost, go away! Huh~ Uh~ Uh-uh~ Er-er-er-er-er~!"
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
I struck the asphalt so hard it made a deep dent. That’s how much I fear ghosts.
Why am I so terrified of ghosts? Because I actually saw a ghost with my own eyes when I was young.
Some people say that ghosts are just illusions, but once you've truly seen one, you can never say they're just illusions.
"Is it gone?"
I stopped pounding the ground with all my might and took a cautious look back at my shadow to see if the ghost was gone.
—Hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe...
"Aaaaargh! It's there! It's there! It's still here! Ghost! My clairvoyance sees that you are a demonic ghost! Die, you fucking demonic bastard! Die! Die! Die!"
—Hehehehehehehehehehehehe...
"Ah, just die already! Magic immunity is unfair, isn't it? You're playing so dirty just because you became a ghost. Let's fight fair and square, you bastard!"
—Hehehehehehehehe...
"....."
Ugh... This is so frustrating... Hearing the ghost keep laughing made it unbearable.
Deep anger rose from the tips of my toes to the top of my head.
It was a deep, boiling anger that scraped together every ounce of rage I had.
"Ah...!"
Now I finally understood why the heroes attacked me when they saw my "dance of fear." When fear crosses the line, it turns into pure rage.
"I am actually going to kill you, you son of a bitch."
No-Kill Policy OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
—Hehehehehehehehehe... Heh?
I bent down and placed both palms on the shadow. Keeping that posture, I used the Attraction skill and slowly straightened my back.
Surprisingly, the shadow started to lift upward, sticking to my hand as if it were glued to it.
"Oh, what the fuck?!"
—Kieeeeeek?!
I was shocked, and the ghost bastard in the shadow was shocked too. I mean, holy shit, I really didn't think this would work. But ghost, why are you surprised?
"Got you!"
In any case, now that the ghost had been pulled out, I couldn't miss this opportunity. I poured all my sincerity and swung my fist at the ghost in the shadow.
But when my fist hit the shadow, I didn't feel a thing.
The shadow split in two; one part went under my feet, and the other backed away.
The shadow that backed away transformed into a human shape.
The ghost that surprised me turned out to be none other than the S-tier piece of trash, the villain Shadow Killer.
"I was surprised. It was you?"
"....."
So it wasn't a ghost, it was just Shadow Killer! How embarrassing! I was screaming my lungs out!
"Hey?"
"....."
But for some reason, Shadow Killer, who had been talking as fast as an automatic rifle just moments ago, sealed his mouth shut.
Why is he acting like that?
"Are you ignoring what I'm saying?"
"I've never heard about you... By any chance, are you an [Exile]?"
"An Exile?"
What the hell kind of nonsense is this Shadow Pants bastard spouting now?
"What kind of exile?"
"Are you pretending not to know, or do you really not know... In many ways, you are fascinating."
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about, but I find you interesting, too. I can't wait to see how much fun it'll be when I turn you into one of my bugs."
"....."
This is bad. My original concept was a quiet, cool-guy villain, but for some reason, I couldn't stop taunting him. I simply couldn't keep my concept.
"I should ask the [Partner] about you."
"Partner? You have someone working with you? Then that bastard is probably a psychopath too, right?"
"Of course, before that..."
"Huh?"
Behind Shadow Killer, who trailed off, a dark mass of ominous darkness began to gather. Just looking at the darkness made me feel all sorts of negative emotions: ominousness, filthiness, ugliness, fear, disgust, and hatred.
"What the fuck is this?"
"I'll tell you after I hear your true identity."
Shadow Killer assimilated into the darkness.
"Ugh..."
The S-tier hero Jernypider, who had lost consciousness after getting hit by Steel Armor, groaned as his eyes fluttered open.
Even if a person didn't acquire a physical enhancement power, receiving superpowers slightly increased their physical capabilities and senses compared to ordinary people.
While the difference was negligible at lower levels, at higher levels, overall capabilities could increase to up to twice that of a normal person.
Jernypider was a Level 10 superhuman, so naturally, his physical recovery rate was twice as fast as that of an average person.
"Damn it..."
Coming to his senses, Jernypider bit his lip.
He immediately recalled being beaten to the point of humiliation by Steel Armor before passing out.
"Where is that... goddamn bastard?"
Jernypider scanned the area to look for Steel Armor. He had completely abandoned the thought of arresting him.
"I'll kill him..."
He intended to kill Steel Armor without leaving a single bone fragment behind.
Small-scale attacks wouldn't kill Steel Armor.
The battle from earlier taught him that lesson the hard way.
Therefore, he had to gather his power to the absolute limit from a distance and deliver the strongest, ultimate blow.
No matter if the guy was an S-tier villain, he wouldn't be able to withstand it.
"He is... Wait, what is that..."
Jernypider first confirmed Steel Armor's location.
The despised Steel Armor was fighting someone—no, "something"—not far away.
The moment he saw that "something" one-sidedly pushing Steel Armor, Jernypider's eyes widened.
"No way..."
Jernypider didn't even notice, but his hands were trembling. The hands of an S-tier hero, no less.
That "something" could be defined in a single word: [MONSTER].
"Why are monsters in the city..."
Monsters that were supposed to exist only outside Dark City were right there in front of him.
Goblins, gnolls, orcs, trolls, minotaur, ogres... these were the monsters we typically know.
Their size and strength varied according to each species, and their appearances differed as well.
But all monsters shared one common trait: they were EXP for the protagonist's growth.
To everyone other than the protagonist, they were brutal, terrifying monsters, but to the protagonist, they were infinitely weak and gentle urban monsters.
That was the widely known image of a monster.
However, the monsters appearing in this world were completely different from that image.
The monsters in this world were all massive.
Even the smallest monster stood at least 4 meters tall.
The largest monster known to date was [Le-hel-f-Gasimou], standing at 80 meters tall and located far away in the northern snowfields where blizzards raged all year round.
With overwhelming power radiating from their giant bodies and having unique powers for each individual, the monsters looked as if human fear itself had taken physical form—every single one of them was hideous.
They were a calamity and a disaster that could threaten the safety of humanity at any moment.
Stab-! Stab-! Stab-! Stab-!
"Wha-! The-! Fu-! K!"
I did a backflip and ran away with all my might.
Black tentacles silently struck the spot where I had been standing.
The ground where the tentacles struck had a large hole punctured into it without fail.
The black tentacles were connected to an unidentified mass floating in the air, which looked to be about 10 meters in diameter.
And that unidentified mass swinging the tentacles was none other than Shadow Killer, combined with the disgusting darkness.
"Why is the genre changing all of a sudden?!"
Wasn't this just a 19+ superpower world?! What the hell is that thing?!
Shadow Killer, transformed into a monstrous lifeform... was incredibly repulsive.
The dozens of facial features that had multiplied as if in self-division were dripping down his skin like blood.
It was so nauseating that I felt like running away in panic right this second.
In fact, I tried to run away several times.
But that disgusting bastard somehow caught on and swung his tentacles to block my escape.
The tentacles seemed to be able to stretch infinitely, as their reach was quite long.
"Whew... This is fucking awful."
Stepping back, I sighed and spoke my true feelings out loud.
I mean, wasn't I the strongest being in this universe?
Didn't I have four Level 10 superpowers? Then what on earth is that thing?!
I’m sorry, I grabbed your attention just to show you this... Is the fight scene level in Naruto and Sasuke really for real?
It’s truly a battle between the strongest in the universe... Was that really the same loser, Naruto?
Naruto is truly a legend... Is this one of those moments?
"I feel like I could do something if I hit it..."
Honestly, it was too repulsive, and the thought of those tentacles touching my skin gave me the creeps, so I was avoiding it.
But in reality, if I got close and beat it like crazy, I could probably kill it. I just hated the idea of sticking to that mass.
It looked like a tumor I'd seen in a hospital, and it felt like I'd get cancer just by getting close to it.
[Do not run away, Steel Armor.]
"Shut up, you son of a bitch! Don't you carry a mirror with you?! Look at your own appearance! Who wouldn't run away from that?!"
The lips dripping down its disgusting skin curved upward. It was mocking me.
"Oh man, I'm feeling some deep rage."
Seeing Shadow Killer mock me made me genuinely want to slice him in half and kill him. But I just couldn't bring myself to get close to it.
'No matter how I look at it, it feels like a trap, right?'
My instinct was telling me that if my body came into contact with that thing, I'd be dead meat.
Aside from the repulsive appearance, my instincts kept sending off danger signals, so I couldn't approach carelessly.
So how should I take that bastard down?
'... MARK-Two. Report this to the Hero Association immediately.'
'Okay!'
First, I gave the order to MARK-Two in my head.
Since it was dangerous if I caught it myself, I planned to have the heroes deal with Shadow Killer.
All I had to do was buy time until the heroes arrived.
'But it hurts my pride too much to just run away like this.'
Shadow Killer was mocking me way too much.
I can't stand being cursed at, but being mocked is even worse.
Son of a bitch, how dare you laugh at me? Especially when you look that disgusting?!
"... Huh?"
"....."
While I was thinking about how to get back at Shadow Killer, I made eye contact with Jernypider, who was hiding behind a half-destroyed car.