The cover image displays an ominous scene with dark silhouettes against a city backdrop, signifying the world within the story.
—
‘Help… help them… Mom’s okay now, so please… that person…’
“Excuse me.”
A voice reached my ears and woke me from a dream.
Again and again, it was the same dream — the moment right before I was completely alone in this world.
The sounds around me felt unfamiliar.
The sound of the wind, the distant hum of vehicles recalling faded memories, the chatter of people — none of it matched the mechanical hums, the electric motors, or the scanning devices that were once ever-present on my skin.
When I opened my eyes, bright light filled my vision.
—
“You can’t sleep here.”
…Is this some kind of hallucinatory experiment again?
If you want to bite, go ahead and bite. If you want to hit, go ahead and hit… Sighing, I curled up tighter.
Then, I sensed something that couldn’t be fooled by illusions. It was the faintest of movements brushing against me.
“Hello? Hey, no sleeping here…”
Puzzled by the strange sensation of something poking me, I grabbed the stick that was prodding my body.
It felt real, not an illusion.
Only then did I see the person in front of me. They were wearing the same uniform that I remember the police wearing.
“What… what is this? A hero…? Or a villain? Were you a superpowered being?”
Reaching for the word “superpowered,” I held out my hand. In it lay a bent truncheon that fell to the ground.
Is this how fragile truncheons are? Strange. Feeling skeptical, I picked up a piece of the concrete floor, which felt like damp cardboard. A light press and an imprint of my hand sank into it.
—
“Uh… Excuse me. Are you a hero? Or… uh… let me see your face. Checking… unregistered…”
Slowly sitting up, I noticed a blanket covering me had torn apart.
The policeman, alarmed by my movement, drew his gun with extreme caution.
—
“Freeze! Stay still! This is the 12th district of W City. All available police with superpower combat capabilities, please respond. An unregistered superpowered individual has been spotted. It’s unclear if they’re a villain or not!”
The trembling voice, speaking into the radio on his shoulder, triggered a fragment of hazy memories.
The daily injections, the drugs that drained my strength… over time, my body adapted to them. That’s when I killed all the researchers in the lab.
The subsequent greenish smoke… or tranquilizer gas… and the shattered door of Laboratory 3, Sector A.
So, there were other labs… did they decide to discard me?
—
“Guh…”
At that moment, I felt something pierce the back of my neck. Pulling it out with my hand, I found a circular mechanical suction cup.
The sickening sensation coursing through my body was making me feel like I might explode. It reminded me of the cocktail of stimulants they used to inject me with before battle, when they wanted me to fight other monsters.
But this? Come on, I’ve already adapted to tranquilizers… there’s no way I’d get excited from just this.
Still, the veins in both arms bulged uncontrollably as the police officer recoiled in terror, pointing his gun directly at me.
“What… what is this?! Don’t come any closer! Stop! Wait…!”
Bang! The gunshot echoed through the alley, and the bullet fell from my shoulder.
Catching the flattened slug mid-air, I crushed it between my fingers. It felt like a boiled egg… dropping the mashed metal, I watched as the policeman fell backward in shock.
“Hiiik?! The bullet… hiiikk…?”
“Hmph…”
Managing to suppress the surging power inside me, I ignored the policeman and looked around.
This was a trash yard between buildings… leaving the fallen officer behind, I stepped out of the alley.
Through the gap between the buildings, I could faintly see a familiar landscape from my memories.
The iron tower symbolizing W City, the telecommunications tower that keeps being rebuilt even after countless collapses…
“So, this is… W City.”
I caught the eyes of people in the vicinity, who were staring at me in the alley, startled by the sound of the gunshot.
Then, looking at my reflection in the window of the nearby building, I realized how much I’d changed from what I remembered.
I was unnaturally tall compared to others, muscular, with disheveled hair… and on my neck was the identification code: CXI. This was my code.
My name… I couldn’t remember it.
—
“Outside…”
Looking into the mirror-like surface, I could feel this truly was outside.
Outside, not a lab… the world I used to live in, W City.
As this realization dawned, a place I longed to visit came to mind.
But in my current state, there was no way I could go there.
Turning back toward the fallen police officer struggling to get up in the alley, I extended my hand.
“Hiiik?!”
“Could you spare some money?”
—
The cash the policeman carried was nowhere near enough.
With no choice, I rummaged through a nearby clothing donation bin and hastily put on some clothes.
It was surprisingly difficult to dress myself.
The fabric felt as fragile as tissue paper, tearing at the slightest tug.
Given the lack of proper fitting attire, the makeshift outfit I ended up with made me look like someone wearing overly revealing exercise clothes after working out.
Still, it was better than being naked.
Walking on two legs, I arrived at my destination, where many people were gathered.
A large gravestone stood there, inscribed with countless names.
Among them, I found the one I was looking for. Staying far away from the memorial, I quietly closed my eyes.
That day, it was raining.
It was before the world was overrun by monster spores, when everyone seemed gigantic like telephone poles, and I was nothing but a child.
Even as a child, I could sense something wasn’t right.
Though I didn’t often see my father at night, whenever I did, he always looked exhausted when he came home.
Sometimes, before bed, I could hear him complaining about being tired, drinking alcohol and filling the house with its scent.
Whenever I went to the living room to talk to him after waking up, he’d mess my hair and tell me how much he looked forward to drinking with me when I grew older.
Despite his rough beard and the smell of burnt tobacco, I loved him.
His picture, adorned with black decorations, was held in my mother’s hands.
“When will Dad come home?”
At my innocent question, several familiar uncles wiped away tears.
And my mother… stood like a rigid pole.
“Dad is… tired, so he’s resting.”
Dad always seemed tired when he came home.
So, he must be sleeping again. When he wakes up, I’ll ask him to play with me.
But I never played with my father again.
He was a firefighter.
He passed away while saving others.
And my mother, proud of my father’s life, insisted that his death wasn’t a mistake.
Even as he was crushed under the collapsed building by a monster, she maintained her stance.
My mother always urged me to help others, even in her final moments.
This is a shared cemetery where other victims, including my mother, were buried.
After paying my respects, I suddenly remembered where I had stored my mother’s belongings.
Thanks to my current attire, people kept their distance, making my journey there a bit easier.
Pressing the code I remembered, I accidentally broke the lock on the storage unit.
Inserting my fingers carefully, I slowly tore through the metal like it was bread dough.
Picking through the contents, I found a family photo, my mother’s necklace, and my father’s firefighter’s uniform.
Taking everything out of the damaged storage locker, I tried on my father’s firefighter pants.
They fit perfectly, even though they seemed so enormous when I was a child. The material was much stronger than the fragile clothes I had worn before.
Examining the necklace carefully, I found it to be exceptionally sturdy.
My father once told me that it was crafted from melted firefighting tools he’d damaged while working, made into a special keepsake. The special alloy ensured it was tough enough, even for my strength now.
Relieved to have something so solid that I could carry with me, I wrapped the necklace around my wrist.
Lastly, I placed the family photo in my pocket.
Leaving the storage unit, I sat near a tree and fell into deep thought.
What should I do now?
—
Even though the research lab had essentially abandoned me, being let go left an immense void.
I had no motivation, no desires.
Should I seek revenge on the lab that experimented on me?
Killing those monster-like humans might have been appealing, but to defeat them, I would have to confront their obedient experimental subjects.
I wasn’t interested in that.
Maybe if the opportunity presented itself, or if I found the other labs, I might be able to do something.
But I knew exactly nothing about where they held me captive or where the other research facilities were.
The one thing I had the urge to do was impossible.
Through these experiments, they knew I was drowning in despair.
Destroy, kill humans, destroy everything, consume — why do I have to? I don’t want to.
The burning desire coursing through my body, the hostility toward humans — none of it resonated with me.
That’s why I was labeled a failure.
There was no desire in the lab, so even outside in this place I’ve longed to return to…
Now, I just don’t want to do anything.
Nothing at all.
—
Then, I sensed something.
“Hmm…”
Even amidst the overwhelming void, a sharp prickling sensation refused to fade. Between the cracks of emptiness, a murderous intent emerged.
From the left, some distance away, rising from underground — a swarm of monsters.
People visiting the cemetery filled the surroundings.
Humans are food to monsters, and monsters love crowded places.
Thus, it’s only natural for monsters to appear here; preparations were already in place.
The air was filled with the blaring sound of alarms, and people scattered into action.
“Monster!”
“Run! Hurry! To the shelters!”
Sitting by the tree, I watched as people hurried to escape.
As the detection equipment reacted to the monster cores, people rushed to the capsule shelters that could withstand monster attacks for a short period.
Just before the subterranean monsters surfaced, nearby heroes launched into the air, unleashing their powers.
—
Out of the ground emerged the monsters — Earth Dragons, evolved from worms.
Their rank? Deadly-class.
Simple enough to kill humans.
“It’s an Earth Dragon! Beware of its toxic slime!”
“Understood!”
“Block its path to the people! Hurry!”
Junior superheroes and established heroes charged at the Earth Dragons emerging from the ground, blasting fire, slicing with swords, and paralyzing them with electricity.
They’d probably take care of all the monsters in no time. That much was clear to everyone running away.
Still, monster attacks were unpredictable. A slight miscalculation might result in one, two, or even ten casualties.
Until the heroes could vanquish all the monsters, people would have to flee and hide to avoid becoming prey.
“Aahhh Hyeeesoo!”
Sitting idly and watching the heroes subdue the monsters, my attention was drawn to a cry of despair.
Outside the containment boundary set by the heroes, a child had tripped on a rock caused by the earth’s upheaval.
The ground trembled, and a slow-moving weak monster had fallen behind the main group and was chasing the child.
Humans are natural prey.
The Earth Dragon burst forth from the ground, its slimy body ending in a circular mouth, racing toward the child.
The child’s mother screamed in terror and ran, while the nearest hero was far away, outside the field of vision. An unfortunate target, a meal.
Without hesitation, my body moved faster than my thoughts.
The experiments in the lab, the power they gave me, the giant monster core nestled near my heart.
The rage coursing through me, the violent mindset overtaking my senses.
What I needed now more than anything was speed, immense firepower strong enough to evaporate even venom, destructive force… no, the power to swallow everything in one gulp.
My body was now covered in fur, my skeletal structure warped. A bestial form, a head resembling a wolf, the upper body of a bird of prey, and the lower body of a tiger.
The fleeing humans and the cries of desperation formed a blur as I reached the child in an instant, planting my forepaws firmly on the mouth of the Earth Dragon.
“Roarrrrr…”
“Ki-iiii!”
The searing sensation near my heart, a surge of lightning energy shot through my forepaws.
The concentrated energy, guided by my powers, scorched the ground in a circular pattern and reduced the Earth Dragon to ash.
Unleashing the powers of a tiger that devours lightning (Brain Tiger), I looked down at the mother and child.
“Hiiik?!”
“Aaaaahhh!”
The two trembled in terror at the sight of a monster far more fearsome than the Earth Dragon.
And then, the sirens around the area grew deafening, louder than before.
The taste of fear and anticipation smelled delicious… like the scent of a stronger being.
Turning my gaze, I saw the pale-faced heroes aiming at me through the underground fleeing Earth Dragons.
“Th… Despair-class! A Despair-class monster has appeared! Immediate assistance needed!!”
The hero leading the students desperately called for help over the radio.
Facing the heroes, I crouched low, ready to leap at any moment.
A Despair-class monster?
That was their evaluation of me now, powered by the monster core detected by the sensors.
Starting from the lowest rank, monster ranks proceed as follows: Deadly, Destroyer, Disaster, Despair, and the final rank, Annihilation.
Translated to superpowered classification, perhaps S-class? According to lore, when faced with a Despair-class monster, unranked heroes would abandon the city and avoid the monster entirely.
As for the Annihilation-class monster above it, an entire country would be abandoned.
Whether it was due to the strength detected by the sensors or the tension in the heroes’ stances, I leapt from the ground and soared over the heroes in four strides.
“Wha?! Wha?! He’s… escaping?!”
I wasn’t planning on fighting in the first place.
Nor did I ever intend to become a monster.
As the urgent calls for backup faded behind me, I slipped away from the cemetery before things got too messy.
