Ch.18Caught you

In the eyes of heroes, Mirage appears as a monster that instantly recovers no matter how injured it gets.

Flying through the sky, inflicting mysterious lethal damage, closing vast distances in an instant, and escaping—these abilities.

Though the reality was different, I thought it was quite a useful ability. As I followed Mirage’s tentacles with my gaze, I spotted a man collapsed on the side of the road, coughing violently.

The distinctive bracelet on his wrist was identical to the one worn by the woman who had told me about Zone 2.

I briefly considered helping him, but before I could decide, Yu Anna flew in and hoisted the man onto her back.

Just as she was about to assist the incapacitated heroes in retreating, that moment came.

Apparently, Mirage also seemed to recognize that Yu Anna was the most threatening among these heroes.

Anyone could understand that being exposed to that fierce heat even once could be fatal if hit directly.

However, the other heroes she had taken down were merely bait.

They were deliberately left alive, not killed, just to lure Yu Anna.

Seeing an opportunity as Yu Anna was protecting another hero, Mirage swung its tentacles toward her.

“Urgh…!”

I expected her to block it, but Yu Anna, having put down the hero she was carrying, was struck by the tentacle and sent flying.

Propelled by the powerful force, she crashed through four buildings before finally stopping.

A shocking sight—I was surprised that Yu Anna had been hit by this attack at all.

Could it be that Yu Anna, like the other heroes, couldn’t see Mirage’s attacks?

Just now, the swinging tentacle was a feint; the real attack came as a direct linear strike.

I thought that this monster called Mirage might truly be terrifying to humans.

To monsters like me, its presence is clearly perceptible, so it doesn’t seem like much, but humans rely on their five senses.

It must be difficult to fight a monster that disrupts those senses.

“Peeeeee!”

With a strange cry that felt like mockery, Mirage stretched its entire body and released gas into the surroundings.

Yu Anna, alarmed by seeing the heroes collapse, leaped out from the building and charged, but Mirage wasn’t there.

One hit from her fist would knock it down, but true to its name, Mirage was evading Yu Anna.

“Ugh, huff…!”

After taking down all the other heroes, Mirage focused on Yu Anna, who had been barely dodging its attacks with her ability-enhanced senses. It began toying with her.

Up, down, left, right—invisible pressure waves disrupted her sight and hearing, striking Yu Anna like a cat playing with a mouse.

It was shocking to see someone like Yu Anna being toyed with so thoroughly… but Mirage’s ability was specialized for hunting humans.

“You, bastard!”

“Peet?!”

However, Yu Anna is no ordinary superhuman.

Her punch, so powerful it generated a high-pressure storm, and the beam-like flash she unleashed grazed Mirage’s main body and exploded, causing the monster to recoil in fear.

But only briefly—perhaps angered by its own fear, Mirage’s ability began to heavily saturate the surroundings.

Playtime was over; it intended to kill all the heroes and then hunt down Yu Anna.

“Wait… ev-evacuate! All remaining heroes, evacuate…! Ugh!”

Just as Yu Anna urgently transmitted to the heroes, Mirage’s ability struck her again.

The heroes collapsed on the ground began strangling themselves under Mirage’s influence.

Yu Anna seemed fine, having burned away the other ability, but at this rate, all the other heroes would die.

“Where are you… where?! I already figured out your body is different from what we see! Stop being a coward and show yourself!”

Yu Anna had already realized that Mirage had a different physical form than what was visible.

At this rate, Yu Anna would ultimately win, but looking at W City as a whole, it would be a devastating defeat.

That can’t happen.

“What… Black Cat…? When did you… get here? The alarm shouldn’t have gone off…”

I jumped from the building and landed between Mirage and Yu Anna.

If Mirage kills the heroes, my beef steak disappears too.

For the sake of beef steak, I’ll intervene.

I stared at Mirage, blocking it from approaching Yu Anna and the other heroes.

“Pee…?”

“Grrrr….”

A battle of observation—I was watching to see how Mirage would react, while Mirage was examining me.

It seemed confused, not understanding where I had appeared from.

As monsters, my technique for concealing my presence was superior to Mirage’s, and our methods differed.

Mirage temporarily confused the location of its presence, while I erased my presence entirely.

What stood before it was another monster, yet it didn’t sense me as one—perhaps thinking I was a hero who could transform into a monster, Mirage launched a mental attack at me.

I see, so this is what it feels like… somewhat unpleasant, but likely fatal to humans who lack resistance to abilities.

Sorry, but what’s in front of you is a monster.

This level of mental attack is less effective than a sedative injection.

“Ugh…! So in the end… it’s like that after all….”

As I stood facing Mirage without reaction, Yu Anna aimed at both of us with both hands, her voice filled with despair.

A new technique Yu Anna developed while chasing me—an ability to fire high-temperature bullets from a distance.

I can’t dodge that with my presence erased. I prepared to evade Yu Anna’s attack while gradually activating my monster core.

Then, Mirage’s presence rapidly changed.

Homicide-rank—it couldn’t understand why such a weak monster was blocking its attack.

Destruction-rank—still confused, even becoming angry that prey would dare resist it.

Disaster-rank—starting to sense something was wrong.

And then, Despair-rank.

“Peeeeeet!”

“Grrrrrr….”

Yes, I am stronger than you.

The instinct of a monster facing a stronger monster is to flee to survive.

That is based on fear and survival instinct, emotions that even monsters can feel.

Faced with the anomaly of an apparently weak monster suddenly becoming stronger than itself, the astonished Mirage revealed its true form and flapped frantically.

“What…?! This is…!”

A giant clam with a cracked shell—this was Mirage’s true form.

A monster with powerful telekinesis and illusion abilities: Nightmare.

I grew larger in front of the fleeing Nightmare and stepped on its shell with my front paw.

This creature must have been like a nightmare to weaker monsters and humans.

They would never have been able to catch it without capturing its true body.

But… for a monster of equal rank who could see through its true form, there couldn’t be an easier prey.

Perhaps none of the Despair-rank monsters would be unable to hunt it?

Maybe even some Disaster-rank monsters could hunt it depending on compatibility.

“Pigiiiiiik! Piiiiiiik!”

Crack, crack—as I applied weight to my front paw and broke the shell, crystals of illusion-controlling ability burst like powder, and the fog scattered.

This monster’s shell contained illusions, while the clam meat inside had telekinetic power.

As I tore off and ate the clam meat, the elastic flesh popped in my mouth with a peculiar taste.

Is this the remnant of telekinetic resistance trying to avoid death? It tastes good for a monster.

“Huh…?”

As I started devouring Mirage, Yu Anna beside me made a stupid sound.

And just before I could extract and eat the core that was nestled like a pearl inside the clam, Yu Anna, having regained her senses, punched me.

“W-wait! What are you doing! Don’t eat it!”

“Kyaooo!”

I thought she wouldn’t hit me today since I helped the other heroes, but I was caught off guard and took a hit from Yu Anna, tearing off some of my flesh.

Monsters grow stronger by eating other monsters’ cores.

From Yu Anna’s perspective as a hero protecting W City, she couldn’t just watch me swallow another Despair-rank monster’s core right in front of her.

Unlike other monsters, I didn’t have an obsession with getting stronger, so I dropped the core and backed away.

Getting hit by Yu Anna each time and having to heal those wounds is exhausting, and eating an unappetizing core wouldn’t even fill my stomach.

“Piiiii! Piiiiiit!”

When I released my front paw after being hit by Yu Anna, Mirage seized the opportunity and desperately crawled along the ground.

Then, lifted by telekinesis, it took the form of a large bird. Concealing itself with illusions, Mirage tried to escape W City.

But Yu Anna was chasing after the rapidly flying Mirage.

“Where do you think you’re going, you clam bastard!”

“Pigiiiik!”

After confirming Mirage’s true form, Yu Anna created a heat wave that enveloped the entire illusion, causing Mirage to close its broken shell.

However, the high-strength shell that had blocked many attacks was already cracked from being trampled by me.

Crying out in pain, Mirage transformed into dozens of snakes that began crawling on the ground.

This time, bullets fired from Yu Anna’s fingertips burst the snakes one by one.

When the snakes didn’t disappear despite her continuous firing, Yu Anna closed her eyes and stomped her foot hard.

A heat wave spread like a tide around her, and Yu Anna shot toward a particularly surging flow.

“Piik!!”

“Got you.”

With a cracking sound like thick plates breaking, Mirage’s shell was torn off.

Having caught the main body, Yu Anna grabbed Mirage with one hand to prevent its escape and began punching it with the other.

Boom, boom—with sounds like giant iron balls crashing down, Mirage’s core burst out.

“Kiiiiiiiiii!”

Caught by Yu Anna and continuously beaten, Mirage’s core finally exploded with a pop, spraying blue blood everywhere.

Ugh… how brutal… her attack power is truly monstrous.

Yu Anna seemed to have used considerable ability to destroy Mirage’s core, as she was breathing heavily from exhaustion.

“Huff… huff… huff….”

Well, time for me to escape now.

After watching Yu Anna capture Mirage, I silently backed away, preparing to take flight.

That’s when Yu Anna directed a wave of high heat pressure toward me.

“Where do you think you’re going, Black Cat….”

“Wa… waoong….”

I instinctively sensed something was wrong and became wary of Yu Anna.

Somehow… she seemed stronger than before.

Looking closely, I saw that the dark monster blood that had burst from inside the core was burning away in Yu Anna’s ability.

…Is she absorbing power by burning abilities?

Since I also have an ability that devours abilities, it wouldn’t be strange if such abilities existed.

Yu Anna, emanating a ferocious aura that seemed too intense for someone who had just fought a Despair-rank monster, slowly walked toward me.

Then, she noticed a hero collapsed behind me.

“…Damn it.”

At that moment, Yu Anna’s glare wavered.

With clenched fists, she disrupted her rising energy and stared at me incredulously.

“That’s my comrade. Do you think I’d attack a hero? I’m the one protecting them, not you, you monster bastard.”

I blinked and moved away from the unconscious hero behind me.

Yu Anna then made an even more displeased expression and punched me.

Unable to properly dodge the attack, which was stronger than before, I felt the pain of my flesh being torn again, but Yu Anna didn’t attack me further and pointed to a distant place.

“Kyarrrr….”

“Get out of here, you monster….”

With those final words, Yu Anna began tending to the other heroes.

With my presence erased, I slowly backed away while keeping an eye on Yu Anna as she dug through the building debris.

Is she really letting me go? She’s not going to chase me, right?

Perhaps because she needed to take care of the unconscious heroes, I slowly took flight with my presence still concealed, and Yu Anna looked up at me.

I should escape quickly before she changes her mind.