Ch.110Towards Tomorrow (2)

“Councilwoman Avanka…? Why are you here?”

The underground where Janghun lay.

In the center of it all, Avanka appeared as naturally as if they had arranged to meet.

Seeing this unexpected arrival, Hoshino frowned and tilted her head in confusion.

She couldn’t help it.

This building was half-destroyed by a monster attack, and even she herself had barely been able to approach it thanks to her authority as an S-class hero.

Yet Avanka was spotless.

In a space where the ceiling had collapsed and debris was scattered everywhere, she alone stood in pristine condition, completely out of place.

Like a visitor, or rather, like someone who had never been part of this chaos to begin with, she stood in this space.

And there was something even more disturbing.

The reaction of Silmyeong, the monster who had contracted with Janghun.

“Ah, aah… aaaah…!”

Trembling all over, she sat crumpled on the floor, looking up at Avanka with terrified eyes.

Observing this, Hoshino immediately switched to a defensive stance and spoke.

“Councilwoman Avanka… how are you so unscathed?”

Avanka answered with a gentle smile.

“That almost sounds… as if you’re disappointed that I’m unharmed, Miss Hoshino.”

“I apologize if it came across that way. But in this situation, a civilian without a scratch is… truthfully rarer than winning the lottery.”

As she spoke and took a step forward, Hoshino immediately pointed her sharp blade at her.

“I have no way to confirm whether the person standing before me is really Councilwoman Avanka or a monster in disguise.”

Avanka paused for a moment, then remained where she stood.

“I understand. Then let me answer your questions from here.”

Holding her blade, Hoshino maintained her position in front of Janghun and began to question.

“First question. Why are you here?”

“The Calveno Building had a restaurant I frequented.”

“A restaurant…?”

“Yes. The Lezert Restaurant on the 52nd floor, you know it? It’s famous for its three Michelin stars. I was a regular. Of course… that’s a secret outside. For image management purposes.”

It was a story that could almost make one laugh.

But she couldn’t immediately determine if there was danger.

Hoshino continued.

“Second question. How are you so unharmed? This building was attacked by a monster not long ago.”

“That’s right.”

“But you’re a civilian. How did you make it to the underground level of a half-destroyed building without a scratch?”

It was beyond common sense by anyone’s standards.

Avanka nodded gently and spoke.

“It’s simple. Janghun protected me.”

“…What?”

“What?!”

Hoshino’s eyes widened. Silmyeong covered her mouth, looking dumbfounded.

It was understandable.

Silmyeong knew better than anyone.

That Avanka was the very person who had reduced Janghun to this state.

But.

‘If I speak the truth now…’

If she revealed the truth, Avanka would counter by exposing Janghun’s identity to the world.

Silmyeong pressed her trembling lips tightly together.

“…Is that true?”

Hoshino looked at Silmyeong and asked in a low voice.

Silmyeong nodded tearfully.

She wanted to tell the truth, but couldn’t for Janghun’s sake.

“Then I suppose I can leave this place now.”

“It’s all lies, Hoshino.”

A low but clear voice cut through the underground space.

“Janghun!”

“Janghun.”

Janghun slowly but surely raised himself up.

His face was stained with blood and his breathing was labored, but his eyes were clear.

“Councilwoman Avanka is the one who did this to me. It doesn’t make sense that I would protect someone like that.”

Hoshino looked at Janghun in disbelief.

“…You’re saying Councilwoman Avanka did this to you?”

“Yes.”

“Then why… why did your contracted Silmyeong lie? She clearly said something different from what you told me.”

“T-that’s…”

Silmyeong shook her head, at a loss for words.

Just then, Janghun smiled slightly and reached out to stroke Hoshino’s fox ears.

“Because I’m a monster.”

“…What did you say?”

“I’m sorry. For hiding it until now.”

At that moment.

“Janghun, are you really… going to play it this way?”

A voice broke the silence.

Avanka maintained her calm expression, but her eyes had sunk into a cold, blade-like chill.

“I’m amazed you would resort to such a desperate measure.”

With those words, as if the blade pointed at her meant nothing, Avanka began to walk forward gracefully.

“Stop! Councilwoman.”

Hoshino threatened with her blade, but the moment it touched Avanka’s arm, she shattered it like a cracker.

Before the broken blade pieces hit the ground, she had already reached Janghun.

And her usual smiling expression vanished.

Avanka roughly grabbed Janghun’s collar, looking at him like someone who had foolishly kicked away good fortune.

With genuine irritation on her face, she burst out:

“Why?! Why are you choosing such foolish suicide of your own free will?!”

“Because you’re wrong.”

“You fool…! You will never be able to set foot in human society again. Because I will make it so. I am humanity’s monster. I can create hundreds of human masks to wear. But you… you can’t do that, can you, Janghun?”

At the end of her words, Avanka let out a deep sigh.

That single breath seemed to weigh down the very air in the underground space.

“Kneel. And beg for forgiveness. Then… I’ll give you one last chance to live as a human.”

Janghun looked at her, keeping his mouth shut.

“Join hands with me. I will make you a hero. Hero Ranking Number 1? Possible. I was the one who raised Arcana too.

I am the very history of Hero City!”

But.

“I have no interest in being a hero.”

“…What?”

“I just want to be the monster who bites off that lying mouth of yours that’s framing my woman.”

In that moment…

CRACK!

Janghun’s head was grabbed and slammed into the ground.

“You stupid fool!”

“Janghun!”

Before Hoshino could finish her cry…

“KRAAAAAAAAAAH!!”

A monstrous roar echoed through the underground.

Janghun’s body, which had been embedded in the ground, erupted upward.

In that instant, Avanka’s torso was pierced.

The fist buried in her solar plexus split her internal organs, and blood sprayed as her body flew into the wall.

“…Ah!”

Standing there was a monster wearing a horned mask.

A highest-risk entity that Hero City had failed to subjugate for ten years.

The “Horned Mask Monster.”

“Janghun… you…”

Hoshino stared blankly at Janghun, who had grown twice her size.

But Janghun couldn’t meet her eyes, keeping his head down.

That’s when it happened.

“Miss Hoshino. How do you feel right now?”

A cold, distorted smile.

Despite her spilled entrails, Avanka stood up perfectly fine, covered in blood, and looked at Hoshino as she slowly rose.

“The other day… you lost your virginity, didn’t you?

That’s something to congratulate, but how do you feel now knowing that the man who took it was a monster like that?”

“……”

“Hey! Why… why would you bring that up?!”

Janghun, wearing the horned mask, trembled, unable to lift his head.

Hoshino also kept her mouth shut.

Unable to bear it any longer, Silmyeong interjected.

“B-but! Our Master Janghun is super handsome even among monsters?! If it were me, I would have been like, awesome! and been even happier!”

“That’s from the perspective of Silmyeong, who is a monster, but Miss Hoshino is human after all.”

“W-well, that’s true, but…”

Just then.

“It’s the worst.”

“Kruk…!”

“Ah…”

“Hmph.”

Tears welled up in Hoshino’s eyes as she raised her head.

“It’s the absolute worst.”

Avanka’s lips curled upward.

“Of course. No matter how much you love a man, if he’s a monster…”

“Yes. So let me tell you.”

Hoshino gritted her teeth and said:

“Do you have any idea how much I’ve struggled trying to meet this Horned Mask Monster?”

“…Eh?”

“The person I’ve been desperately searching for was right beside me all along, but he didn’t even reveal his identity to me.

That’s what makes me angrier!”

With tears and anger mixed on her face, Hoshino poked Janghun’s chest repeatedly with her fingertip.

“How much do you think I liked you? Did you think I was the kind of woman who would only accept this much? I’m not that kind of person!”

At her words, Janghun could only stare back with a bewildered expression, unable to respond.

Taking advantage of the moment, Avanka spoke with a confused face.

“Wait… you’re saying the man who took your virginity is a monster? Doesn’t that… bother you?”

“Not particularly?”

“What?”

“Foxes are canids. We eat just about anything.”

Hoshino shrugged and spoke nonchalantly.

In fact.

“And when he transforms into a monster… that size down there gets bigger too, right?

Isn’t that actually a win-win situation?”

“Eh?!”

“Ooooh…! That’s right, that’s right, Princess!”

Hoshino, who turned out to be quite open-minded, smiled cutely as if she didn’t mind at all.