You clearly teased me about having some delicious honeycake and then toy with my feelings like this.
Gu Seoryong approached me with a smirk, sliding across the floor, in response to my cold reaction.
“Didn’t you understand the implication of using the term ‘nest’? What it means for a female monster like me to guide an attractive male monster like you to my nest?”
“Do you want offspring?”
“Right on the money. How about it, would you not consider having a child with me? Surely a strong child will be born from you and me?”
“I refuse.”
I pushed away Gu Seoryong who was clinging to my arm, with just one hand.
Gu Seoryong excitedly kept licking their lips while continuing to resonate their core with a thumping sound.
On the other hand, when Gu Seoryong realized my core remained eerily silent, their expression contorted strangely.
“Hmm… your rejection only makes me desire you more, but am I hurting your feelings? It’s disappointing to have such an unresponsive reaction.”
“I am not the same kind of monster as you. Even if you send out vibrations, it does not invoke any desire to mate.”
“That’s irrelevant; it’s only natural for a woman to feel upset when a man doesn’t respond after she’s undressed.”
“If that upsets you, then get dressed.”
“Ah, why, are you shy after looking?”
“You’re unreasonable.”
“Would I be able to understand? Someone like you, facing a man like this… hahh, even if I say it, a man won’t understand a woman’s heart, right?”
Gu Seoryong wrapped their leg around my leg and embraced my waist with their arms.
The irritation of trying to peel them away only caused me to grab G3’s neck and tightly hold it as if to snap it.
“Let go. You’re annoying me.”
“Hmph, CXI, why don’t you just mate and become mine?”
“I don’t want to. I’ll leave when the necklace arrives, so don’t bother me.”
Gu Seoryong once again manipulated their body, aligning our heights so we could look into each other’s eyes.
“You don’t have anywhere to go after leaving the lab, right? I can promise you delicious food every day if you remain here. You can have anything you want, even women… hahh, specially exempted, so you can freely embrace other women when you’re bored.”
“Do you wish for me to settle here?”
“Exactly. With a strong monster like you around, I wouldn’t have any worries, and personally, I like strong men. I doubt I will ever find another male as strong as you, so naturally, I must hold onto you tightly, right?”
Gu Seoryong flicked their twin-tongue, coiling it around me.
As I felt their semi-fluid body completely plastered against mine, I calmly tightened my grip on their neck and said:
“I dislike being told twice.”
“Will you kill me if I don’t let go?”
“Yes.”
“Hahh, even if so, can you really do it? You’re CXI, aren’t you?”
“Hmm…”
While I don’t want to kill a fellow experimental subject from the same lab… Gu Seoryong is a monster.
I clenched the neck harder, intending to snap it.
Then, their neck melted like ice cream.
“Hahahaha! You were serious about snapping it! You’ve changed so much!”
Gu Seoryong’s head, which had melted like an ice cream, dripped off my palm while speaking.
This wasn’t the typical body manipulation or the ability to liquefy.
Hallucination, something felt off. I immediately tried to undergo a monster transformation.
“CXI? You can’t transform in my room. This place is full of fixative agents that I’ve created.”
“Fixative?”
“A drug that keeps you in human form… hmm, I didn’t expect to use it this way.”
Only then, focusing intently on the sense of smell, I noticed a suspicious fishy odor mixed with the moisture from the humidifier.
The feeling of human bodies becoming rigid after inhaling the steam—a phenomenon I couldn’t fully understand—but one thing was clear: I couldn’t undergo a monster transformation.
As I furrowed my brows over this, Gu Seoryong, as if reading my mind, said:
“Ahah, that’s an adorable expression~ Do you wonder why I can use abilities like this? A monster in human form shouldn’t be able to use monster-form abilities, right?”
“…That’s correct.”
“Then I’ll tell you since you’re so cute when you answer straightforwardly. This room is also my training ground! A place to train in using monster abilities while maintaining human form.”
Why train like that? And, is it possible just with training…?
I verbalized the doubts that popped into my head at the thought of Gu Seoryong seeping poison from their fingertips.
“Are you mixing monster traits into a human form?”
“Correct. I call this process ‘monstrosification.’ Sound appealing? If used properly… look, you can do this.”
Gu Seoryong grew scales on their hands and feet, and pulled out a long lizard tail from their rear. Their black hair turned completely white, and their pupils turned red, forming vertical slits.
With their muscular tail tightly hugging my waist, Gu Seoryong exerted a strength comparable to my own when I restrained their arms, unlike when they were in a simple human form.
I was astonished, realizing it was possible to half-mix human and monster forms.
Even in human form, Gu Seoryong was gently releasing strength comparable to a near-disaster-level monster from their monster core.
While this method does not seem efficient to the extent of learning disaster-level skills, it is undoubtedly fascinating.
“It seems pretty useless. Why do this kind of training?”
“A woman always wants to remain beautiful. My monster form isn’t as numerous or cute as yours, Black Cat.”
At the mention of “Black Cat,” my eyes widened in surprise, and Gu Seoryong’s sensitive monster senses picked up on my reaction with a smirk.
“So, you are Black Cat, aren’t you?”
“How do you know?”
“I just guessed, but it was suspicious, wasn’t it? Both CXI and this Black Cat guy are at disaster level, and helping humans isn’t something ordinary monsters do, right?”
“Can you tell that much?”
“It was just a suspicion… Now, I’m certain.”
So, you were able to realize I’m Black Cat with just that much… Gu Seoryong might be quite intelligent.
Upon confirming that I was Black Cat, Gu Seoryong tightly wrapped me in their extended tail and said:
“Hmm… Now that I know CXI is Black Cat, I’m curious—why do you help humans? You’re a monster, right?”
“Is it wrong for a monster to help humans?”
“It’s not wrong, but it’s strange. Don’t we instinctively perceive humans as food, can’t you feel it?”
True to that, the scent of human blood makes my mouth water, and the smell of dying humans resonates in my core.
Monsters are the natural enemies of humans, and humans are food for monsters.
Hunting humans goes against the very nature of being a monster.
But…
“You just need to ignore instincts.”
“Ahhh! Hahahaha! That’s so CXI-like! To begin with, if you were the type to be enslaved by instincts, you would have devoured all the monsters in the lab and become a real beast long ago! You are a monster who does what you want! And a monster who absolutely doesn’t do what you don’t want!”
“I don’t want to mate with you.”
“I’m also a monster who will surely do what I want. It’s fine even if you have no intention of joining me. You don’t have to be in my nest; receiving Black Cat’s seed will surely produce a strong child.”
Exuding pheromones thicker than the humidifier mist, Gu Seoryong twitched their eyes at my stoic voice and raised their venomous nails.
“Anyway, aren’t you too calm from the beginning? Even though you’re completely overwhelmed by me?”
“There’s no need to be tense. You’re too weak.”
Indeed, the strength emanating from Gu Seoryong was somewhere between disaster-level and near-disaster-level, but it was only enough to inflict a minor wound on my body.
There’s nothing Gu Seoryong can do to kill me.
Like a cat overpowering a snake, no matter how much Gu Seoryong writhes in front of me, it’s merely entertaining.
There is too much of a gap between Gu Seoryong and me, even though we are both monsters.
“Hmm… it’s annoying but… you’re cool, aren’t you? After all, the male who can bear my seed should be at this level.”
As if to test, Gu Seoryong stabbed their venomous nails into my shoulder.
This venom, unrelated to abilities, is a poison produced naturally by the monster’s body.
Gu Seoryong injected a full dose of paralyzing venom, then pushed me onto the bed, licking the blood and venom from the tips of their fingers.
“After injecting this much venom, even you won’t be able to move for about a day. How does it feel? It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“Is it some kind of sedative?”
That’s right. The sensation is sticky, like having my arms soaked in industrial grease, and I can barely feel anything properly.
The reminder of the sedatives I received daily in the lab prompted a frown as I noticed, and in front of my eyes, Gu Seoryong’s fingers popped.
Pa-dak, pa-dak… pa-dak… The sound echoed and ripples of circular waves rippled across my vision.
The alternating white and black visual information confused my head, paralyzing my sense of direction.
“Er-rr-rr… Ho-ow was th-that? Th-that tec-ch-nique sh-shouldn’t have been hear-d, rigghh-ght? It’s a specialized technnique for monsters.”
“Somewhat… How did you do that?”
“The secret, CXI. If I told you, you’d adapt immediately, and you still shouldn’t, so stay still.”
“Mmm…”
Gu Seoryong clenched their hand, then stabbed their nails into my neck again.
Glug-glug, the unpleasant sound accompanied by a new venom entering my body.
A sensation numbing my brain, an excitatory feeling, and a core resonance from Gu Seoryong similar to club music spread throughout my body.
The sensation made my nerves jitter to the beat, reminiscent of mating humans in clubs, as I stared at the distorted Gu Seoryong and said:
“Are the drugs sold in clubs made from your venom?”
“Correct, how’s that? Didn’t I warn you? How far will this leisure last? Soon, you’ll die from pleasure?”
“Mmm…”
I closed my eyes and focused on the slowly rotating monster core, feeling trapped in cement.
It’s enough to digest the venom… Even this ability, the paralysis, and the effect of the fixative can all be assimilated. Then, I’ll be able to move as I wish again.
It just takes a bit of time to digest all of this.
“You’re stronger than I expected.”
“Oh, then, you passed the test? Will you give me your seed?”
“No, not that easy.”
Likewise, Gu Seoryong, aware of that fact, removed their tail and scales with a proud expression on their face as they lay on top of me.
“Aha ha! Doesn’t matter, since I’m already sufficiently addicted. It’ll be enough if I squeeze it out by force?”
At that moment, a comet flew across the distance beyond the glass wall serving as a window.
As I frowned at the familiar shape, Gu Seoryong also stiffened and looked out the window.
The approaching comet transformed into a human form, stopping in front of the window.
“Tch, fuck, what is it?”
[The lord of the Nine Dragon Castle, or rather, the boss of the villain organization, Gu Seoryong.]
Seeing me and Gu Seoryong inside the window, Starlight scowled, then raised a finger, drawing a large circle.
The soundless glass melted away slowly, falling, and with the noise of people talking about having spotted Starlight among the club music, Starlight entered the room.
“Bribery of high-ranking officials… murder, robbery, theft, sex trafficking… what more needs to be said?”
Starlight, who recently hasn’t been seen, with an intimidating expression, clenched their fists, igniting white flames.
Hoo, blowing wind on their fist to extinguish it, Starlight glared at Gu Seoryong and said:
“By my authority, you’re under immediate arrest. If you don’t want to die, just come along quietly, alright?”
