Ch.17Mirage

The restaurant was closed.

No choice but to try another restaurant.

This restaurant was closed too.

Bad luck… another restaurant… yet another restaurant was also closed.

After wandering the streets for a while with an empty stomach, I was bewildered to see that all shops were closing.

Looking around now, other grocery stores, clothing shops, everywhere was closing down.

“Why is everything closing?”

There was no siren, no monster had appeared.

People were busily packing their things and heading somewhere… but there hadn’t been any evacuation alert, had there?

Just then, a monster alert sounded throughout the city.

The rank was Homicide-rank. People who were already heading somewhere quickened their pace.

Perhaps they now had other ways to notify people to evacuate besides monster alerts?

So they were already evacuating… Amid my confusion, I waited for the evacuation to end quickly.

Then the restaurants would reopen, and I could eat.

A hero should arrive soon. Hurry up and catch those monsters… I crouched in front of the restaurant, reading the menu.

But no hero came.

Through my monster senses, I could feel Homicide-rank monsters about to pounce on humans.

The waves of excitement they emitted just before tearing into human flesh… I stood up and transformed into a monster in the alley.

“Th-that’s Despair-rank! A Despair-rank siren!”

“Aaaaaahhh!”

“Huh? It’s Black Cat!”

“Everyone! It’s Black Cat! Don’t worry! It’s Black Cat!”

Why shouldn’t they worry…? As I leapt out of the alley and bounded between buildings, people who hadn’t evacuated yet calmed down those who were screaming.

Confused, I arrived at where the monsters had appeared and devoured a giant salamander.

These giant salamanders with large eyes on their foreheads hypnotize humans before quietly eating them and leaving eggs in the corpses.

The women who broke free from the hypnosis came to their senses and, seeing me, sighed with relief.

“W-we’re saved…”

“Ah! Does anyone have ham? Ham!”

Oh, jackpot.

Recently, people I help have been divided into those who don’t give me ham at all and those who give me lots. Today seems to be the latter.

People who were packing large bags took out meat from their luggage and threw it to me.

I tore it open well and chomped it down.

Mmm, I was hungry anyway… lucky me…

“Eek…! What’s with the fur? It’s so soft!”

“Wow, amazing… isn’t it really docile?”

“Everything they say on TV is a lie, I tell you!”

The people I helped cautiously approached me and put their hands on my head and back.

Originally, I would growl if anyone touched me, telling them to stay away, but if they give me lots of ham… well, I’ll consider it payment and let them be. Now too many people are doing this.

Anyway, why aren’t the heroes coming? They seem much slower than usual.

Just then, the people who watched me enjoy the ham answered my question.

“Let’s hurry up and go, they said a Despair-rank monster is coming.”

“Isn’t it safe here with Black Cat?”

“It’s a monster too, you know? If two monsters fight, we’ll all die. What do you mean ‘safe’?”

A Despair-rank monster is coming?

Hearing this news for the first time, I looked at the women checking their smartphones.

Apparently, an alert had been sent via text message. Since I don’t have a smartphone—I don’t have personal information and never felt the need for one—I had no idea such an alert had been issued.

“Let’s hurry! The shelter will be full!”

“Thanks, kitty!”

“Grrrr…”

“I… just a moment! I need to use the bathroom! Go ahead!”

I’m not a cat, I growled at the fleeing women, and one remained, trembling.

The other Despair-rank monster must not be close yet, as evacuating didn’t seem that urgent.

As I was about to leave, the remaining woman grabbed one of my tails.

“Um… you’re… intelligent, right? On TV… they said… you’re a highly intelligent monster…”

Wondering what was going on, I stopped, and the woman continued, sobbing.

“…if you understand me… could I ask one favor? My boyfriend is a hero… he’s on standby in the northern 2nd District… he reported that a Despair-rank will arrive soon…”

Hmm, I see… so the Despair-rank monster is coming toward the northern 2nd District.

Given how prepared they are, the heroes will handle it themselves. I should stay away and not interfere.

Having learned this new information, I was about to leave.

“Can’t you catch it? I really can’t live without him… If you catch it, I’ll give you lots of meat, okay? My, my, my dad runs a butcher shop in the 5th District, and if you come to the back door… I could secretly give you… a whole cow…”

I stopped in my tracks and turned to look at the woman.

She seemed to think her own words were absurd, as she fiddled with the bracelet on her arm with a dejected expression.

“What am I saying… to a monster…”

“Grrrr…”

She’s right, it’s foolish.

No matter how intelligent a monster might be, asking one monster to catch another?

Is she dreaming? This world overrun with monsters doesn’t work that conveniently.

Growling, I leapt up from that spot, leaving the woman on the ground, and climbed to a building rooftop.

But… a whole cow? How delicious would that be?

Since her father runs a butcher shop, it must be fresh meat…

She wouldn’t give cheap meat for her beloved boyfriend… and a whole cow, how much meat would that be? My mouth waters.

“…meow-ow-ow.”

Licking my lips, I glanced toward the north.

Of all times to make such a promise when I’m hungry.

Well, let’s go see how strong this so-called Despair-rank monster is.

If it seems stronger than me, I’ll leave it to the heroes and run away.

Besides, there was something I wanted to experiment with.

After encountering a wolf-shaped Despair-rank monster before, I’ve been practicing concealing my presence.

To control the monster aura that I can’t completely eliminate even in human form.

While maintaining my monster form, I suppressed the resonance of my core.

As a result, the siren sounds in the city gradually subsided.

The results of my practice weren’t bad, but the problem is that it’s difficult to move in this state.

With my presence reduced to human levels, I walked lightly across the rooftop.

It feels like walking carefully with a cup filled to the brim, trying not to spill. Fighting properly while hiding my presence is impossible.

The power I can exert is similar to when I’m in human form, but unlike before, my presence is completely erased from other monsters of the same rank.

That’s my assessment, but… to another Despair-rank monster, there might still be something off.

Minimizing my movements, I jumped high, spread my wings, and glided through the air.

In the sky where no sirens sounded, silently flying north, I had only one concern.

A whole cow from the butcher shop… no, could the Despair-rank monster notice me?

It would be delicious… no, no, if I’m properly hidden, I could work among people without worrying about attracting other monsters.

Then I could earn money and finally eat premium beef until I’m full… hmm… do butcher shops even have premium beef?

As I approached the 2nd District, the number of people visible on the roads decreased dramatically.

I could now sense the presence of heroes that wasn’t detectable from afar, as well as the approaching Despair-rank monster.

I quietly settled on a building, still concealing my presence, and watched the Despair-rank monster without being detected by other heroes.

Still far away, I could see a squid swimming through the sky.

A flying squid? Even I’ve never seen such a monster before.

If it’s unknown even to me, who had monster information forcibly implanted as a laboratory experiment, it must be quite rare.

The squid, gripping the mountainous area outside the wall that serves as the city’s boundary with its long legs, changed its body color.

Then, the squid suddenly transformed into a jellyfish and scattered lightning around it.

Transformation? Amorphous type? Or maybe a phantom beast type…?

A truly rare monster. As I was marveling at it, several heroes rushed out from the city center.

“Mirage has broken through the first defense line!”

“Well, an electric fence wouldn’t stop it… but its reaction is too fast. When using superpowers, coordinate timing with others.”

“Its defensive reactions to attacks are quick! Pair up abilities with opposing properties!”

Fire and ice, sharp wind and rocks torn from buildings.

Intangible and tangible, impact and cutting force—abilities difficult to counter with just one characteristic assaulted the monster.

Watching from afar, I observed a woman who stood out even among the heroes.

The air around her rippled with intense heat, and each time she thrust her fist, space seemed to tear away.

From a distance, her attacks looked ferocious.

Seeing the skills of both the Despair-rank monster and Yu Anna, it seemed they could handle the Despair-rank on their own if left alone.

“Yawn…”

Well, no need to help… I guess the beef is gone.

As I yawned in my monster form, I noticed something strange and opened my eyes again.

The Despair-rank monster, called Mirage, was spewing an unpleasant fog around it.

“Here it comes! Enchantment fog! Gas masks!”

“Air manipulation abilities to the front! Block it!”

Kururururu, something like a heavy cloud spread like ink in water, enveloping the heroes.

They hurriedly put on gas masks and summoned their abilities, but Mirage was faster.

Heroes who inhaled the fog clutched their throats, struggling against the ability mixed in the fog, unable to move.

Huge tentacles descended upon them, legs that distorted distance perception extended and trampled the city’s boundary, covering buildings.

In an instant, Mirage had moved from outside the city to inside.

While the heroes were confused by the disorienting scene, I was surprised by Mirage’s actions.

To my monster senses, Mirage was a monster whose appearance differed from its actual form.

Concealing its presence similar to what I was doing, Mirage had approached the heroes while pretending not to advance from outside the city.

By spewing smoke in that state, the actual distance and visible distance became different, making it impossible for them to respond in time.

This meant it already had experience dealing with situations where multiple heroes surrounded it.

This creature was skilled at hunting humans… hunting heroes.

Moreover, Yu Anna’s attacks weren’t properly hitting Mirage.

She seemed to think she had inflicted fatal wounds, but they regenerated immediately, making her sense something was wrong without knowing what it was.

Is this another difference in perception between heroes and monsters? To a monster that can directly sense monster cores, Mirage’s core location was clearly felt, making its movements predictable, but none of the heroes were responding properly.