Chapter 2 – Who Am I?

Ȓеａⅾ өｎ​ ΚаțṚεαｄ​ίṅɡĊаƒ​ε

Hearing the trembling researcher on the floor mumbling about a monster, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Calling me a monster, when they’re the ones using mutants as guards? Ridiculous. If anything, those mutants look way more monstrous than I do.

At the very least, my skin still has some human color. Compared to those things over there, which resemble bipedal insects, I could definitely be considered the more human-looking one.

Besides, I think I look quite impressive. Unless… is my face hideous beyond words?

I should check a mirror or a window later. Like it or not, this is the body I’ll be stuck with—maybe forever.

I stopped the researcher from crawling away with a light stomp of my foot. The pathetic little worm trying to escape was irritating, but I decided to be generous and let it slide.

Right now, I needed to figure out what was going on.

To determine my next course of action, I needed information—lots of it.

Who these people were, what this place was, what time it was, and most importantly, what exactly I had become.

“Human. Tell me everything you know.”

I directed my question at the trembling researcher, who looked ready to pass out.

Of course, I didn’t expect them to tell me everything. They probably weren’t even in a position to know much. Even if they wanted to, they likely lacked the knowledge.

Still, I could at least confirm the basics. That’s all I needed.

“E-Everything, y-you say…?”

“I said everything. Don’t make me repeat myself.”

Their stammering voice irritated me, and my tone came out sharper than I intended.

That made the researcher break down completely, babbling every little detail they could muster.

The only useful information I got was that this was a lab under the Monster Association, and that it was about two months before the original story began.

The rest? Completely worthless—things like their job title and daily tasks.

Time to cut this short.

“Spare me your pathetic life story. Instead, tell me—what exactly am I?”

“T-That’s… I-I don’t know! This isn’t my department, and I was only recently transferred here…!”

So, they had no clue.

Tsk. Should’ve asked that woman earlier. But I ended up killing her before I could…

Not that it mattered. Even if I had asked, the answer probably wouldn’t have changed.

Still, it’s fine. She was probably a bad person anyway. Society’s better off without her.

Shaking off the lingering unease, I decided to confirm something I’d only half-heard earlier.

“Do you have a family?”

“H-Huh? N-No, I don’t have any—”

That was all I needed to hear.

I whipped my tail like a lash.

I aimed for the neck, but my inexperience with using a tail caused it to land a little lower, slicing his upper body apart instead.

I was only trying to behead him…

“…Should I have asked if he had a pet?”

As I flicked the blood off my tail, I considered licking it clean—but ultimately, I decided against it.

For some reason, the idea repulsed me.

Instead, I reached toward the blood pooling on the floor, intending to absorb it.

The blood quivered as if drawn toward me, but then it scattered and reformed, unable to fully obey.

Annoyed, I furrowed my brows and focused harder. This time, the blood sluggishly began to flow into me.

Human blood, unlike that of mutants, filled me with overwhelming satisfaction.

…Yet, it still felt incomplete.

Like something was missing.

I tried to figure it out, but the answer eluded me. No point in dwelling on it.

I had more pressing matters to attend to.

If I wanted to kill every scientist in this facility before they could escape, I had to act fast.

I took a running stance and shouted confidently—

“Rev Up!”

Nothing happened.

“…Is that not it? Clock Up?”

Still nothing.

“Acceleration? Full Throttle? Maximum Speed?”

Again, nothing.

…Damn it.

Why did all my abilities work fine when I wasn’t thinking about them, but refused to activate when I tried consciously?

Guess I’ll just have to run the old-fashioned way.

This facility was unnecessarily large and complicated.

Luckily, this body of mine was far superior to such inconveniences.

Tearing off panic room doors, tracking down cowards by their heartbeat, catching fleeing scientists with ease—it was almost like playing with toddlers.

Special powers weren’t even necessary.

Despite my initial calculations, wiping out the entire facility turned out to be effortless.

Some tried to resist with guns, but I dodged their bullets like it was nothing.

Just to make a point, I grabbed a gun from one of them and shoved it into his skull.

They stopped resisting after that.

I could’ve let them hit me, but… ugh, just the thought of getting shot by such pathetic creatures disgusted me.

After rounding up about 60 survivors into what looked like a cafeteria, I decided to question them.

Surely, at least one of them had the answers I needed.

Their reactions varied—some were panicked, some were screaming in regret, and others were sobbing.

How… irritating.

“Silence.”

My voice, laced with a bit of power, shut them up instantly.

If only they’d been this quiet from the start. Would’ve saved us all some trouble.

“Now then. Whoever here can explain what I am, raise your hand.”

About ten people raised their hands.

“You first. Tell me—what exactly am I?”

I pointed to the oldest-looking one, assuming they’d know the most.

The old man let out a deep sigh before speaking.

“…Before I answer, may I ask you something first?”

His audacity almost made me kill him on the spot.

But I decided to be generous.

“Speak.”

“Do you remember anything from before?”

“…Before?”

Wait. Did he know?

Did he realize who was inside this body?

I kept my composure and gestured for him to continue.

“Do you recall anything as a human? Or as a vampire? Even a single memory?”

…I didn’t.

Not a single thing.

The old man seemed to take my silence as confirmation and nodded.

Then, with an air of certainty, he declared—

“You are a monster created from a magical girl.”

…Huh?

That was out of nowhere.

Wasn’t I supposed to be a vampire? Or a dragon?

Ah.

So the higher-ups and the grunts had received different information.

I gestured for him to continue.

According to the old man, I was created by taking a magical girl captured ten years ago and placing her inside an unhatched dragon’s egg. Then, they injected her with high-tier vampire blood, monster cells, and a mix of other substances.

“Even though she was a magical girl, she was still human. She died during the transformation process… yet, she wouldn’t stop twitching, so we left her in stasis. We never expected her to wake up and rampage like this.”

The old man then offered a deal—he had reserved the title of “Dragon” in their ranking system for me and suggested that I stop killing my “allies.”

He even tried to frame this whole mess as a mere “minor incident.”

I ignored his nonsense and asked the only thing that mattered.

“What was the magical girl’s name?”

I needed to be sure.

Sure of who I originally was.

And whether this world was the one I thought it was.

“Magical Girl Shining White.”

My mind went blank.

Shining White.

The very person the heroine “Radiant White” had been desperately searching for.

In the original story, she was only ever mentioned in passing—never seen.

And yet… she had ended up like this.

Shock washed over me.

Yet, at the same time… relief.

At least I knew for certain—this world was one I knew.

…Even if I wasn’t sure if I could call this “surviving.”

After gathering more information, I turned to the scientists and asked—

“Now then… if any of you truly believe you are innocent, raise your hand. If you’re telling the truth, I’ll spare your life.”

I had a job to do.

My identity crisis could wait.