Chapter 16 – An Unexpected Situation

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…Hmm, did I go too far?

When I was beating him up, dopamine was surging uncontrollably, so I didn’t really notice. But now that I’ve actually done it, I wonder if I was a bit too harsh.

For a playful fight, I attacked unilaterally, and when I thought I’d had my fun, I just discarded him like a toy… Hmm. Even I think that was too much.

If someone did that to me, I’d be so furious I wouldn’t even be able to sleep.

No matter what, he’s the protagonist. Maybe I should’ve at least let him land one hit. It feels strange to have these thoughts after beating him up, but I actually feel a little sorry.

Still, I had my reasons.

Allowing even a single hit from someone overwhelmingly weaker than me would’ve hurt my pride. Even if he’s the protagonist, there’s a huge gap between us.

Besides, if I had let him hit me even once, he might’ve gotten cocky. He’d have kept running around with those ridiculous toys, thinking they actually worked.

That’s exactly why I went out of my way to avoid getting hit by a single bullet. That garbage doesn’t work. He should just drop it already.

Guns? Against monsters?

Not bullets infused with shadows, not blades cloaked in darkness, not fists wrapped in starlight—just bullets.

It was like bringing a BB gun to a gunfight.

Sure, it would hurt if it hit. Maybe it could even take down the truly weak.

But against the real ones? It was completely useless. Against someone like me, a top-tier level monster? Not even worth mentioning.

If that thing hit my bare skin, it probably wouldn’t even leave a scratch, let alone a bruise.

My body is strong enough that bullets would have to pierce through several layers of reinforced steel just to make me feel a slight sting. There’s no way something that weak could wound me.

And, since it was our first meeting as monster and protagonist, I had to make a strong impression. Sure, there was a lesson to be taught, but that wasn’t the main reason.

Since we’re going to be seeing each other often, I didn’t want to ever hear, “Wait, who was that guy again?”

…In that sense, I suppose I succeeded. I feel a little bad for Suhyuk, but this was all for his own good, so I’ll consider myself innocent.

“If he doesn’t like it, then he just needs to get stronger.”

As I agreed with the voice in my head, I finished rationalizing it. If he hates it, he can just get strong and take revenge.

So, Suhyuk, good luck. I believe in you. You’ve got potential. Work hard. That way, all of this effort on my part will be worth it.

Alright then, Suhyuk can do his thing, and I’ll do mine.

I originally came out just to warm up a bit, but now that I’ve realized my body consumes blood endlessly, even when I’m in human form…

I need to drink a lot of blood. Enough to keep me from getting hungry later, even if I stay in this form for a while.

…Would “drain” be a more accurate word? I don’t really like drinking blood directly.

I’m not sure exactly why, but something about it unsettles me.

Not that I’ve never done it. I drained a whole woman dry as soon as I woke up.

At that time, I was too desperate to feel anything like pleasure—just relief that I could finally breathe again.

Well, whatever. Drinking it with my mouth or absorbing it with blood sorcery—it’s the same thing, right?

If I really want to know why I feel this way, I can always try drinking it directly again later and figure it out.

Fortunately, this place is full of trash, so finding prey and securing blood wasn’t difficult.

Occasionally, I ran into some who couldn’t control their own power and went on a rampage. I decided their fate through a bit of “selection.”

“You monsters roam freely like this—how do you expect people to ever feel safe?!”

For those who had some strength but came here with good intentions, I simply gave them a warning before letting them go.

But those who were drunk on power and just wanted to wreak havoc—I killed them, just like the rest of the trash, and took their blood.

“Those who have power but lack the qualifications to wield it are no different from those who are weak yet arrogant.”

The voice in my head was making more sense than usual today. Was it just my imagination? Normally, at least half of what it said was nonsense.

Hmm. Maybe. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Shrugging it off, I continued draining blood and making my selections—

—when suddenly, a voice called out to me.

“I never expected to see a comrade, long thought dead and disappeared, in a place like this. I’ve lived a long time, but life is always full of surprises.”

…The leader of the “Rabbit’s Foot” gang, the one Suhyuk was chasing, and the Zodiac’s “Rabbit” himself appeared before me.

Though he held the title of “Rabbit,” the only thing remotely rabbit-like about him was his long top hat adorned with ear-like decorations.

If I had to name him based on appearance alone, “Cyborg Gentleman” or “Suit-Wearing Robot” would’ve been far more fitting.

Are you kidding me? Why is he here? I mean, sure, his group’s hideout is nearby, but I wasn’t even making that much noise.

As I stared at the suddenly appearing Rabbit, the first thing I felt was pure confusion. He wasn’t supposed to show up yet.

Sure, I had sent Suhyuk to poke around a little, but I made sure it was nothing that would cause too much trouble.

At worst, I thought they’d just send some low-level monsters to warn him off.

But for the boss himself to suddenly appear? At this stage, when Suhyuk hasn’t even done anything yet?

“A worthless creature, acting as if it has the right to call itself my comrade.”

As rage and irritation surged, I conjured a spear of blood, fully intending to drive it straight through him.

But just as I leaped forward to skewer him—

—the ground beneath me collapsed, throwing off my balance. My spear struck the ground instead, shattering on impact. The broken shards flew up and pierced my own shoulder.

Then, out of nowhere, a bolt of lightning struck me from the clear sky.

The impact disrupted my momentum, halting my charge. Yet Rabbit remained utterly unfazed by my sudden misfortune.

“Oh dear. It seems you’ve become far more violent than before. Calm down, calm down. I’m just here to see what kind of person you’ve become. And after all, aren’t we comrades? We should get along.”

A series of near-impossible misfortunes, all happening at once.

That was his ability. Probability manipulation. More specifically, luck manipulation.

It was the reason why, despite his frail body, he could stand against the main characters.

He had weaknesses, but knowing them didn’t mean there was a way to exploit them. He was one of the worst opponents to face.

…So, pure speed alone won’t be enough to break through.

I absorbed the broken spear shards back into my body, healing my wounds as I growled in frustration.

Attacking him recklessly would only result in more absurd misfortunes. I had to find another way.

“A lowly being like you dares to call me a comrade?”

Despite everything, he was still considered a special-grade monster, so he didn’t flinch.

More importantly… he came looking for me. That was a relief. It meant Suhyuk wouldn’t have to die.

“Ah, right. That was quite rude of me. I must be getting old—I completely forgot you said you had no intention of being my comrade.”

Muttering to himself, the rabbit then gave a seemingly kind smile and said it was good to see me in good health.

“But tell me, do you remember our promise?”

“You’re making things up now. There’s no way I’d ever make a deal with the likes of you.”

“Oh dear. It seems you’ve lost all your memories. How unfortunate. But… I can’t very well demand you keep a promise you don’t even remember, now can I?”

I was aware that this bastard’s way of speaking was eerily similar to mine, but that only made my blood boil even more.

At the same time, I made a mental note to say the same thing to Suhyuk later.

It would be hilarious.

“But I’d suggest you remember what principle you were built upon—before you find yourself transforming into a beast. Well then, I hope we meet again.”

As soon as he finished his sentence, the rabbit vanished as if he had never been there.

…Did he use that rat’s ability to escape? That meant I had no way of tracking him. A wave of frustration surged, but I knew better than to act recklessly.

Even though the rabbit had played me for a fool, the information he provided was invaluable.

For instance, about the original owner of this body—Shining White.

He hadn’t told me outright, only hinted at it. But even that was priceless.

Because this was knowledge that not even I, nor the original story, knew—Shining White’s past.

According to the rabbit, Shining White had dealings with Zodiac.

I didn’t know when it started, but they had definitely made a deal. And more than that, there was some kind of promise between them.

In other words, there was a hidden side to Shining White that even Radiant White was unaware of.

Perhaps Shining White wasn’t as purely righteous and perfect as Radiant White remembered. No, there had to be flaws.

Because Radiant White’s memories of Shining White… were far too idealized.

Still, for it to be a deal with Zodiac… That was a shocking revelation, something even the original story never touched upon.

Honestly, I hadn’t expected Shining White to have such a secret.

Through Radiant White’s perspective, Shining White had always seemed nearly flawless. So at most, I thought there might be some minor human flaws.

…But this was far beyond that.

Of course, there was a chance the rabbit was lying. But considering how he’d spoken so familiarly and even called me a comrade, I doubted it.

That bastard, despite being a monster, had a strange sense of camaraderie. He wouldn’t lie while trying to treat me as an ally.

…So, in the end, does that mean Shining White willingly became a monster?

I had only come out to stretch my body a little, and now I was tangled up in this mess.

“Sigh.”

I let out a deep sigh.

I needed to organize my thoughts before my head exploded.

First: Suhyuk was weak.

That could be fixed with some training—meaning, beating him up until he got stronger.

Second: This body’s past was far more complicated than I expected.

And unlike training Suhyuk, this wasn’t something I could solve by force. I had no idea how to uncover my body’s past.

The only things that came to mind were meeting Radiant White or retracing Shining White’s steps to regain my lost memories.

Since there was no immediate solution, I’d leave it at that for now.

Third: I had just realized something—I wasn’t properly utilizing this body.

Special-grade monsters, with very few exceptions, had not only superior physical abilities but also unique powers, like the rabbit’s probability manipulation.

Since I had been created to join Zodiac, meaning I was designed to be special-grade, I must have some kind of ability too. But I had no clue what it was.

I had acceleration, but that was something any strong fighter could achieve, so it didn’t really count.

In other words, the only way to figure it out was to experiment with my body.

Hmm.

…Maybe I should start with the easy stuff?

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