Chapter 43
Chapter 43
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Villain's Authority
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Kakak! This is the bond between a villain and his minions!"
Darkness and White King crossed their arms on my shoulders and nodded.
Yes, this is exactly the teamwork a true evil organization needs!
The monster cats had us surrounded, but I wasn't scared at all. It's just like Tom and Jerry! A dumb cat can never beat a clever mouse!
"How dare you surround this body? Foolish fools! No matter how many of you there are, before the dignity of a villain, you're nothing but kittens!"
But Cattler wasn't giving up easily.
"It's not over yet! My babies can get even stronger!"
The lady blew a whistle at the cats. They all growled in unison and charged at me from every direction.
"How's that? This is the power of a real adult! Your toy-like tactics end here!"
Hmph, failing to recognize the greatness of Formation Trinity? Utterly amateur! That's why she's stuck as a C-Rank Villain.
Chirp! Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!
Darkness and White King relayed info from both sides.
"Left, up, down, right!"
I stepped left, and Mimi's claws whistled past. I ducked, and Night's attack sailed over my head. I leaped back, and Tiger's jaws snapped shut on empty air.
"Too slow! You think you can keep up with this body's moves like that?!"
I felt like the protagonist in a first-person bullet hell shooter. Or maybe like I was playing Dance Dance Revolution!
The monster cats attacked faster and faster, but thanks to Darkness and White King's perfect intel analysis, I dodged every single one without a scratch.
"Attack all at once! Grab that little brat right now!"
I heard Cattler screaming. The cats charged from all sides simultaneously.
Finally, time for my counterattack.
"Now it's this body's turn! This body will train you lot! After all, there are no bad cats in the world!"
Playtime! I darted through the monster cats like a trainer.
When one lunged, I sidestepped lightly. When claws came for me, I timed it perfectly and stuck out my foot to trip it. I even sneakily scratched their chins and bellies!
This wasn't a fight anymore. This body was just graciously playing hunt-and-chase with them!
Even as monsters, they were still cats at heart.
Squeeze-!
"Right there, the cat's weak spot!"
I precisely pressed my finger into the scruff of one's neck, and it went limp.
One, two, three... Every time I grabbed their scruff, they turned meek instantly, just like kittens picked up by their mother.
In no time at all, I'd taken down every monster cat.
"No matter how strong they get, cats are still just cats in the end!"
Chirrup-!
The moment victory was sealed, Darkness and White King hopped down from my shoulders.
Whoosh- whoosh! Whoosh whoosh!
They unleashed a barrage of punches on the fallen cats. It was like they were yelling, 'You dared try to eat us? Now it's your turn!'
"Oho, you're acting quite villainous yourselves! Did you learn that from this body? Delivering a ruthless finishing blow to a fallen foe!"
"Defeated by just one kid and two rats? You useless things!"
Cattler's face twisted in rage.
She pulled several syringes from her lab coat. They were filled with a nasty fluorescent liquid.
"This is still in testing... but no choice!"
She hesitated for a moment, then jabbed the syringes into the downed cats.
Crack-
Instantly, the cats were forcibly revived, their bodies warping dramatically. Bones ground together as their sizes ballooned past large dogs, past tigers, and kept growing.
Fluorescent veins pulsed unnaturally through their fur, fangs protruded from their mouths, and muscles ballooned like balloons, tearing their skin.
Kyaaooo-!
Muscle-bound Lucky suddenly charged at another cat. They collided, smashing the lab equipment.
Crash!
Glass shards flew everywhere. Vials shattered, releasing colorful smoke.
"What are you doing, you stupid dung cats! Don't fight each other—attack that kid!"
But the cats ignored her completely. Overdosed on drugs, they were in full rampage mode.
The massive Night leaped at the ceiling, smashing the lights. Tiger flipped lab tables at random. Mimi started biting her own tail, and Lucky spun in circles howling.
Grrr-!
Nyaaooo-!
Kyaaooo-!
"They're going mad?! They'll kill themselves like that!"
Before long, their threatening growls turned to pain-filled yowls filling the room.
I remembered Lucky rubbing her face on my hand when we first met. Her one good eye looked at me now, filled with pain... and something pleading.
"You guys... you were just hungry strays..."
Rage boiled inside me. My horn tingled, and intense gray light flooded the area.
Miyaoong—!
The pained cries no longer sounded like cats—they were like wounded children sobbing.
"You... you call yourself their cat mom after doing this? Aren't you ashamed?! You said you loved cats? You think tormenting them like this is love?!"
"Love? They're my test subjects! I made them strong! So they owe me back—money, attention, tools for revenge against a world that ignores me!!"
'It hurts.'
'Please stop.'
'Help us.'
Thoughts poured in like a waterfall. They were the cats' minds. Their feelings and thoughts flowed straight into mine.
'It hurts.'
'I'm hungry.'
'Street life is tough.'
'You call yourself mom—why won't you let us inside?!'
I couldn't hold back anymore. The light from my horn intensified.
Instinctively, I reached out my hand.
"By the name of this body, I command you! You are free now!"
Gray light spread like a wave, enveloping the monster cats.
"What... how...?"
Cattler's jaw dropped.
Wherever the gray light touched, bizarre changes occurred. The cats' enlarged bodies slowly shrank back to normal. Swollen muscles deflated, protruding veins vanished.
"W-what is this? My enhancement churu? Impossible! My research was perfect!"
Moments later, all the cats were back to their original forms. They stirred in confusion, slowly regaining their senses. Their eyes changed—freed from a long nightmare.
The black cat Night cautiously approached me. Wary at first, then relieved, she started rubbing against my leg.
Nyaong~
"Hmph, simple task for this body. No need to be so grateful!"
The other cats woke one by one and came to me. Lucky blinked and purred, Tiger wrapped her tail around my leg. Even Mimi rolled over belly-up, begging for attention.
"How moved must they be by this body to show such loyalty!"
I was flustered but secretly proud. I'd saved them, and they knew it.
"What happened?! My pheromones! My enhancement feed! My babies!"
Cattler screamed and collapsed in despair. Defeat etched her face.
"Give it up, fake luxury auntie! It was just a C-Rank Villain's evil plan anyway! Useless against a great SSS-Rank Villain like this body!"
"But how... how could this... it's impossible..."
Cattler backed away in confusion.
"What... who are you? Those horns... that power...?"
Her voice trembled. Finally, the reaction this body craved. A voice mixed with fear and awe!
"I already told you. This body is Grimoire, the great villain who will conquer the world!"
"Babies~ Don't you hear mommy? Mommy loves you so much~ Come here, okay?"
The cats ignored her completely.
Instead, they pressed closer to me, rubbing against my legs and feet.
Even Coco hopped in front of me and struck a threatening pose at Cattler.
Cattler's face changed in an instant. The sweet expression vanished, replaced by pure rage.
"You useless dung cats! Do you know how much money and time I wasted on trash like you?! Ungrateful brats!"
Her true colors showed.
"Filthy, ugly strays! That's why you buy expensive purebreds! You were just trash I picked up to kill time from the start! Yeah, you were always just lab rats! Replacements are a dime a dozen!"
Even this body, a villain, treats his minions right. This woman was the worst.
"I can hear the cats' hearts. I know everything—how you tormented and abused them! You're unforgivable!"
Whoosh!
My body felt light. I closed the distance to Cattler in a flash. She tried to flee in shock, but too late.
Thwack—!!
My fist slammed perfectly into her face.
One punch from this body caved in Cattler's cheekbone. Blood sprayed from her busted lipstick-smeared lips, and her fake designer vinyl coat flapped and tore in the wind.
"Gaaak!"
"Yes! Scream louder!"
Cattler spun through the air and crashed to the floor. Her heavy makeup smeared, turning her into a drab festival clown. Lipstick spread across her face, mascara mixed with tears into black streaks.
Her fake luxury revealed itself too. The "Hermès" logo was actually "Herpes"!
"M-monster... not human... impossible..."
Bleeding, Cattler crawled to the lab table and desperately grabbed her laptop and papers.
"M-my research... at least this..."
Hmph, doesn't a villain need at least some dignity? This body never shows fear! Even a billion-to-one odds, we bluff to the end!
I considered beating that disgrace-to-villains woman more, but I'd done my part.
The rest was for the cats.
"Cats, unleash your claws of vengeance! Destroy that cat mom's precious research!"
Nyan nyang-!
At my gesture, the cats charged and shredded the lab notes and documents. Night and Tiger dropped the laptop to the floor, Mimi and Lucky rolled vials everywhere.
"No! Stop! This is my life!"
"Kakak! Research as worthless as your life! Now both your life and research are rags in an instant!"
Cattler knelt, frantically scooping up torn papers. Stuffing them into her fake luxury bag, she looked utterly pathetic.
"You brats! Ungrateful wretches! I raised you, fed you..."
The cats ignored her now.
This body had freed them, and their eyes blazed with fury at their abuser.
She backed toward the door step by step. The cats snarled and menaced her.
"Th-this isn't over! I won't forget this grudge! I'll get revenge for sure!"
At that moment, Darkness signaled, and the cats leaped at Cattler en masse. She screamed as she bolted from the warehouse.
"Kyaaaak!"
The door slammed shut, and peace returned to the warehouse.
Left inside were me, Darkness, White King, and dozens of cats.
"Kakak! This body's glorious victory!"
Hands on hips, chest puffed out, my horn glowed even more majestically.
Dance dance-
"Villain's dance time!"
I immediately shook my hips side to side in a victory dance.
Chirp?
Chirrup!
Surprisingly, the two rats high-fived, then mimicked my moves.
When I stepped right, Darkness did too; when I twisted left, White King followed.
"Oho! Minions, joining the victory dance?!"
Dance dance~ Chirp chirp!
I jumped, they jumped; I swung my arms, they swung their tails.
"Kakak! No backup dancers for villains like these!"
But what was that power just now? Seemed like a beam from my horn...?
I touched it lightly—it was still warm. A pleasant heat spread through my fingertips.
But more important than that was my victory and the triple victory dance with my minions!
"Well, this body is a great villain, so everyone's submission is only natural!"
Nyaah-
The cats seemed to purr in agreement.
Clunk-!
Suddenly, the warehouse door opened, cutting villain dance time short.
"What the heck happened here?"
Familiar faces appeared. Taxi driver Mr. Kim, bread lady, clothing shop designer, fishmonger uncle... plus tons of merchants and residents from around Crown Villa.
"Eh, Grimoire!"
"What're you doing here? Some bloody-faced lady just ran out."
"Oh no, these cats! Aren't these the ones that crazy lady raised? The ones always jumping on my bread display and ruining it!"
The merchants' gazes shifted from me to the cats, back to me. Utterly baffled expressions.
"These cats stole so much of my fish! But now they're all meek?"
"That crazy cat mom finally ran away!"
"Grimoire! You chased her out like you promised!"
"Kakak! Of course! One punch from this body flattens third-rate villains easy!"
The residents exchanged shocked glances. Someone shouted.
"That woman who bolted—rumors said she was up to weird stuff. Raising monster cats in this warehouse..."
"Cops said she's actually C-Rank Villain Cattler! Famous illegal scientist for animal experiments!"
The crowd buzzed in surprise.
"C-Rank Villain? And Grimoire beat her?"
"Unbelievable! Our Grimoire did that... I thought he was just a red bean bun kid..."
"Pride of the neighborhood! Horned hero!"
Wait, what? Hero again?
"No, this body is a villain! Not a hero! This body just punished a weak villain as a stronger one! Don't you know survival of the fittest?!"
Hahaha-!
The merchants burst out laughing. Not a speck of fear in their eyes. Even as I clenched my fists and glared menacingly!
Why? Why don't they see this body's villainy?
"Aw, so humble too! That's a true hero!"
"Such a tiny body doing something so amazing... Truly great Grimoire!"
"His horn's glowing! Awesome!"
The fishmonger raised his fist and yelled.
"Horned hero! Glory to great Grimoire!"
"Glory!"
All the residents cheered in unison.
I just wanted to beat up the nuisance cat mom! Punish a villain invading this body's turf! Why hero treatment again?!
Chirrup-!
The rats covered their mouths with paws, shoulders shaking.
"Darkness! White King! Hands down! You're laughing right now?!"
Even my minions mocking me? Total betrayal!
"But what about these cats?"
The bread lady's question hushed the warehouse. All eyes turned to me.
The cats gazed at me pleadingly too.
Right, what to do with all these cats...
Sending them to the mountains like planned felt too cruel... But I can't take dozens home either.
Even perfect Everlin might balk at dozens at once.
Daily feeding, baths, cleaning fur everywhere, changing litter, playtime hunting...
Plus, Darkness and White King would hate living with cats.
"What to do...?"