Feral Rampage

Nyx.

"Mmm, nom nom... This is pretty good?"

The shame of a nationally infamous master thief stooping to steal mere food was swept away in an instant by the sheer taste of it. Even for someone who normally ate quite well, the dish was remarkably delicious. What had begun as a simple plan to quiet her hunger quickly turned into a frenzy; she started tearing into several pieces of galbi, bones and all.

Though she currently wore the form of a small, fragile-looking cat, she was still a superhuman the Association rated at B-class threat level. A cow bone was nothing she couldn't crunch and swallow whole.

That was tasty. Looks like a restaurant. Maybe I should come back during the day sometime? Judging by how those heroes' eyes suddenly rolled back, I'll have to lie low for at least a few months anyway.

Wiping the sauce from the corners of her mouth, the woman who lived under the alias Black Cat Lady—Nyx—quietly filed the little shop away in her memory.

The Hero Association had grown sharper and more aggressive than usual. Just when they had been content to leave her alone, their sudden change in behavior had already convinced her she needed to keep her head down for a while.

Stealing's fun and the attention's a thrill, but getting caught by the Association? No thanks~

No matter how skillfully she had eluded their pursuit until now—even slipping inside Association headquarters itself to drop off classified files as a parting gift—if they truly decided to hunt her down, there would be nowhere left to run. So, still gnawing on galbi, Nyx resolved to suspend her activities as Black Cat Lady for the time being.

"Is it because of those bastards after all?"

She licked the last remaining bone clean while turning the Association's recent movements over in her mind. Lately they had been rounding up not only her but every low-threat villain they had previously ignored due to manpower shortages. Part of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it was a PR push to make society feel safer for the citizens; the other part was almost certainly a search for anyone connected to the recent terror incident among those neglected villains.

"I found them too, you know. What the hell are those people even after?"

Nyx briefly recalled the incident from not long ago. While she had been using her powers to full effect to choose her next prey, someone had casually walked right into her hideout. An unidentified group that invited her to join the "Association" they were building and even offered her an initiation test.

"Pretty sure the heroes are looking for them... Hmm."

She had managed to escape them that time, but the fact that they had located a hideout she had kept so carefully hidden was the second reason she had decided to go to ground for a while.

"Aigoo, look at me. The famous Black Cat Lady, reduced to this. Sob, sob."

She rubbed her eyes in a theatrical show of tears. In truth, half her career as Black Cat Lady had been for the pure fun of it, so hanging up the cape for a while wouldn't cause any real problems. She would simply miss the entertainment.

Whatever. While I'm on break I'll find something else fun to do. Maybe dig into those people who came looking for me? Hmm. That might be a little dangerous, though.

Having decided to rest, Nyx stretched her back and continued pondering how to spend her downtime—when a strange sensation suddenly prickled through her.

What is this feeling?

A peculiar heat, as if power were boiling up from deep inside her body. Her ability to transform into a Cheshire Cat completely rewrote her species, which let her slip past most detection methods, but it also lowered her overall output. Yet the sensation she felt now... it was as if she could unleash her full true-form power even while remaining in this shape.

—Whooosh!!

When she experimentally reached for the extra force clinging to her ability, the shadows filling the dark restaurant interior writhed ominously.

What the hell is this? It's comparable to when I use my true body... no, it feels even stronger?

Sudden growth in her power. The first thing that came to mind was an ability rampage, but her emotions were perfectly calm and the power still obeyed her completely.

"The only thing that changed was... that food just now?"

Confused, she stared at the thoroughly emptied pot. The sole difference from earlier was that she had filled her stomach with that dish.

Was there some kind of drug mixed in?

No—that didn't make sense either. She had never heard of a drug that produced an effect like this, and even if such a thing existed it wouldn't be sitting casually in a pot at a tiny restaurant like this.

A trap aimed at me? No. The heroes are already moving away, and other people's presence is...

Suspecting a trap after all, she flared her senses to full power. The heroes, no longer able to track her after her species change, were already receding into the distance. At the same time, a single presence registered upstairs—neither villain nor hero. Something closer to an ordinary civilian.

Still on edge because of the strange organization that had recently approached her, Nyx hesitated, then decided to go upstairs and check.

What the tightly wound woman found waiting above was—

"Grrrk... snore..."

"What? It's a guy?"

—nothing but a black-haired man sleeping like the dead. The moment she confirmed his gender, the tension drained from Nyx's body. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠In this world it was common knowledge that only women could awaken as superhumans. After bracing herself for a vicious villain or a hero in hiding, a mere ordinary man was nothing to be wary of.

"Smell of spices and ingredients. Restaurant owner, huh? He's kinda cute."

As if scolding him for startling her, she lightly booped the sleeping man's nose while frowning, then cast her senses around the room. Even with her newly strengthened power she could detect nothing unusual. Just a completely ordinary civilian male.

—Swaaah!!

And in that exact moment, the power lingering in Nyx's body—the buff—expired, and her ability returned to normal. The sudden wave of weakness made her stagger; the next instant she had reverted to her original form.

—Crack! Crunch!!

"What? Why is my body... hm?"

Her frame expanded. The pure black cat shape melted back into a human—except, for some reason, the transformation was incomplete, the way it used to be when she first awakened and couldn't fully control the power.

From the skintight suit she wore for mobility and stealth, a pair of distinctly feline ears and a tail suddenly sprouted. While she was still reeling at the unexpected change, her thoughts began to grow strangely fuzzy.

Wh-what? So it really was poison after... all...? My consciousness is...

Reason blurred. Her body no longer fully obeyed. Fighting the strange sensation, Nyx desperately tried to pull away—but she couldn't hold on and toppled forward.

—Thud.

Unfortunately she had been standing right beside Siwoo while poking his cheek and nose, so she landed draped across his body.

"Mmnya... Astra... not that much..."

Feeling the soft, feminine curves wrapping around him in his sleep, Siwoo mumbled happily in the middle of some pleasant dream.

—Twitch. Twitch.

That happy dream, combined with the uniquely feminine scent seeping into his nose even while unconscious, caused a certain part of him to stir faintly. And into the sleeping Siwoo's mind, information he never consciously registered began to pour.

.

.

.

A short while later.

"...Hnya?"

Nyx, who had collapsed draped over Siwoo, slowly pushed herself up. Her eyes were strangely vacant. The sharp intelligence from earlier had vanished completely, leaving only dull, empty pupils that held not a shred of higher thought.

"Hnyaat...!!"

A beast-like cry spilled from her lips as if she had truly become a cat. Just like any ordinary feline, she raised her hips high, stretched her back in a long arch, and luxuriated in a full-body stretch. She didn't stop there—she lifted one hand and began licking herself clean, grooming exactly the way a cat would.

It was the complete opposite of the woman who, only minutes earlier while still in cat form, had spoken and acted like a person. Now she was a strange blend of human and cat, purring and grooming as though she were nothing more than a single animal.

—Bzzzz!!

"...! Khat! Kyaaang!!"

A tiny flying insect drifted past. Nyx's ears shot upright; in one explosive leap she swatted it out of the air with a swipe of her hand—no, her front paw—and shredded it. Even that wasn't enough. As if her innate hunting instinct had fully awakened, she began prowling the room in search of more prey.

"Sniff sniff. Kyarrrung..."

She sniffed the air, surveyed her surroundings, then suddenly fixed her gaze on one spot—toward Siwoo, who was still sleeping soundly, too full of the meal he had cooked to notice any of the chaos.

"Sniff sniff..."

The information about the side effect that had overtaken Nyx existed only inside Siwoo's head. Among it was the additional condition that had begun accompanying every buff he gave superhumans as a matter of course. It neither helped release the side effect nor imposed any real penalty; it was simply a peculiar addendum: his body was now releasing pheromones that attracted the feralized target—namely Nyx.

It almost seemed as if the ability had perfectly assessed Siwoo's current helpless, sleeping state and supplied the appropriate extra condition. Still unconscious and unaware of the meaning, Siwoo remained oblivious as Nyx, drawn by that strange pheromone and scent, crept closer.

"Kyarrrung..♥"

A voice thick with intoxication. Exactly like a cat high on catnip, she rubbed her body against him while drinking in the smell, then came to a complete stop at one particular place.

—Bulge♥

Thanks to the earlier stimulation and the scent of a woman, Siwoo's cock had grown rock-hard in his sleep. Nyx halted right in front of the prominent tent in his pants and kept sniffing.

"Kyarrrung!♥"

The scent was strongest right here. Completely overtaken by wild instincts and behaving like a feral cat, Nyx happily buried her entire face into his crotch and continued inhaling.

"Kyarung♥ Kyarung♥"

She kept breathing it in. The scent stimulated every feral ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠instinct and base desire now living inside her, and as a result—

—Drip...♥

—her sex grew gradually, unmistakably wet.