episode_0005

A giant who appeared to be at least 2.5 meters tall—no, not just tall, but a monstrous behemoth the size of a mountain.

A Minotaur-type variant.

It wasn’t a fully bovine head, just sporting bull-like horns, making calling it a mythological Minotaur a stretch… but the destruction it wrought with its massive frame was anything but ordinary.

BOOM! CRASH!

Every sculpture, every structure around it was being obliterated as its bloodshot eyes raged.

Like it had lost all reason.

The earth upheaved, asphalt shattered—even the café I frequented was gone.

Come to think of it, I vaguely recalled seeing something online recently.

Rumors about a Minotaur-type variant running amok.

The pieces fell into place.

It must’ve been subdued after its rampage, then escaped somehow, leading to this current disaster.

And given how variants behave, once they lose their grip on reason, it’s hard for them to regain it.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t have wrecked everything like this. How much compensation would this even cost?

If it were sane, it wouldn’t have caused this much destruction. So, I had no choice but to conclude—it wasn’t sane.

“ROOOOOOOOAR!”

The deafening roar it unleashed seemed ready to burst eardrums before its gaze fixed on one person.

What it was staring at… was a girl.

“KYAAAAAAH!”

Perhaps due to the misfortune of locking eyes with the Minotaur, she had become its target.

Watching the pale-faced girl flee, I realized she looked familiar.

Huh?

Isn’t she… that new student from our department?

Faintly, I remembered our classmates gossiping about a pretty freshman joining the department.

Her name was… Lee Si-hyun, maybe?

I’d seen her once during orientation, but I never expected to run into her under these circumstances.

Talk about an absurd coincidence.

Si-hyun was wearing the uniform of the café I used to visit often when delivering side dishes to my sister before my transformation.

Seems like she was working there when this disaster struck.

Just a little later, and things could’ve turned ugly.

Anyway… I’ve assessed the situation. Now, it’s time to stop that brainless brute.

Lee Si-hyun, a freshman at Korea University, despaired at the sudden nightmare unfolding before her.

It was supposed to be just another ordinary day.

She had been busy working at the café near her apartment.

Then, the emergency alert blared—saying the disaster was at the Korean University Station area.

Just as she hesitated over whether to evacuate…

A variant suddenly stormed into the café, sending people fleeing… and she, too, screamed and ran for her life.

Working her shift meant she was the last to escape.

Thankfully, the Minotaur was too busy mindlessly destroying things to give chase—until she looked back mid-flight and locked eyes with it.

The once-irrational beast now fixed its boundless fury solely on her.

And Si-hyun felt it.

She kept screaming, kept running… but the distance between them closed.

Pushing herself only betrayed her frail body’s limits—her legs gave out.

“Euek…!”

She tried to stand, but terror had sapped all strength from her limbs.

Turning back, she saw it—the variant, now right before her.

I’m going to die.

Shivering uncontrollably, she could do nothing.

The Minotaur’s massive hand—capable of flinging cars like toys—reached for her. Si-hyun shut her eyes in terror.

But.

Nothing happened.

……?

Her eyelids fluttered open—the agony she expected never came.

Blurry vision revealed a woman clad head-to-toe in black, long dark hair cascading down.

Muttering under her breath, the woman adjusted her tightly-worn cap.

“Phew… Just a little later, and it would’ve been bad.”

Right before the Minotaur’s hand reached Si-hyun, I grabbed its wrist.

CRACK!

With a sickening sound, my small hand twisted the colossal limb effortlessly.

Seemed my baseless confidence wasn’t so baseless after all.

The doctor’s words—”the longer the transformation, the stronger”—must’ve been true.

Even this city-block-wreaking beast couldn’t shake off my grip.

“ROOOOOARGH—!”

Pain only enraged it further. Its free hand swiped at me—but I saw it all coming.

No formal martial arts training, and long-forgotten self-defense drills from the military—yet I instinctively knew how to react.

When your foe is slow, countering is easy. I caught its other wrist too.

Then, with a brutal yank, I slammed it into the asphalt.

CRASH!

The already-wrecked road cracked further. Please, don’t bill me for this.

Eh, no way even this messed-up country would pin the blame on me, right?

Either way, the Minotaur didn’t move—probably knocked out.

Glancing back, Si-hyun stared at me dumbfounded, still trembling violently.

“You okay? Any injuries?”

“Uh—? Y-Yes. Th-Thank you.”

“Good.”

“You… You’re a variant, aren’t you?”

“Well, that’s how I could floor that mindless monster, right?”

“Ah.”

“Can you stand? Need help?”

“Y-Yes! I-I can. Th-Thanks.”

Fumbling, she tried rising but collapsed again. Legs still jelly.

I offered my hand.

“Doesn’t look like you’re okay.”

“I—I was just… too scared…”

“Understandable. A monster like that wrecking your workplace? I’d freak out too. Here.”

“Th-Thanks…”

“Put some strength in your legs. Can you walk?”

“Yes. I’m… less shaky now. Really, thank you for saving me…”

“Nah, it’s… only natural.”

“…Natural?”

I chuckled awkwardly.

“Hard to walk outside if beasts like that run wild. Wanted to show not all variants are violent.”

“Oh.”

“Anyway, head home fast. Nothing good staying here—”

BWOOOM!

Before I finished, a deafening impact roared behind me.

Ah, this bastard. Tough as hell.

Even after that slam, it stood right back up—guess it wasn’t just luck it escaped custody.

The doctor’s words surfaced:

Some variants are exceptionally sturdy.

“H-Hiiiiik…!”

Poor Si-hyun’s legs failed her again.

Can’t blame her—embedded fear doesn’t fade fast.

No choice but to go harder.

The Minotaur shook its head, glaring—eyes now fully scarlet, no semblance of white left.

Oddly, I pitied it.

Its mutation must’ve destabilized its mind beyond control.

Maybe it was once just a normal person, like me.

Maybe I could’ve ended up like it.

So, at the very least, I should knock some sense back into it.

Instinct whispered what to do.

The doctor mentioned it post-checkup:

You’ll naturally know your traits, your abilities.

He was right.

Power simmered within me—and I knew exactly what would happen if I unleashed it.

Lightning.

Right. I could control lightning.

No one taught me; I just… knew.

Come to think of it, tasers work on variants.

Meaning electricity at the right voltage can subdue them. Lightning should work wonders.

Surviving this much already? It better handle this.

Si-hyun collapsed again—but this time, not out of desperation.

A vague certainty filled her: This woman will protect me.

As the black-clad woman faced the risen Minotaur, a gale erupted around her.

“KYAAH!”

The gust blew her cap off. Si-hyun looked up, staring.

Amid the fluttering dark hair, curled black horns—darker than her locks—sat atop her head.

CRACKLE!

Electricity sparked from them as they shifted from black to blinding white.

Then—

A lightning bolt shot from her horns into the sky, summoning storm clouds over the once-clear blue.

Variants defying reality was one thing, but this?

No variant had ever displayed power like this.

RUMBLE!

The clouds roared before unleashing a thunderbolt dwarfing her earlier one—straight at the Minotaur.

FLASH!

Light flooded Si-hyun’s vision. The defiant beast froze, then toppled mid-step, smoke rising from its body.

BOOOOM!

Thunder like artillery fire followed, plunging the area into a brief blackout.

Dazed, Si-hyun just stared at the woman.