Ch.35The Mosquito Monster (2)

‘What the hell is this creature?’

A nobody monster that suddenly appeared and challenged him for dominance.

This was clearly his territory, yet this creature had shown up at the most crucial moment—just when he was about to take the life of an S-class hero.

‘Even my ancient mosquito disease that I’ve been nurturing so carefully doesn’t work on him… And what’s with that bizarre horned mask?’

As if trying to hide his identity.

The fact that he covered his face, unlike most monsters, definitely meant he was no ordinary creature.

So the mosquito monster flapped his human-sized wings with a buzzing sound.

He needed to retreat into the fog first to assess the situation.

“Kruk-kruk?”

‘Where are you going?’

“?!”

His intention was to hide himself again and slowly observe his enemy’s movements.

But then.

“Wh-when?!”

SLASH.

“Gah?!”

The horned masked monster had somehow leaped behind him.

Before he could even be startled, the mosquito monster took a slap to the face and crashed headfirst into the ground, immediately coughing up transparent blood.

“Ugh…!”

“Huh? When did he disappear from beside me?”

Siljongjjang, who had been watching quietly, was dumbfounded by the scene that unfolded in the blink of an eye.

She couldn’t keep up with the battle between the two high-ranking monsters.

Still, it seemed like her side was winning.

“I-I don’t know what you are, but go Horned Mask!!”

“Siljongggg… youuu!”

“Eek?!”

Even while terrified of the still-living mosquito monster, she didn’t stop cheering for Kang Janghoon.

She was the perfect example of a weakling who would do anything to survive.

“U-ugh…! B-but I’m on the Horned Mask’s side! The Mosquito Lord was going to use me as an insect breeding ground anyway, right?!”

“Grrk!”

“Horned Mask sir! He still seems alive, please finish him off quickly!”

“KRAAAAAAAH-!”

The mosquito monster saw a kick dropping straight down toward him.

He tried to dodge it, but could only roll away to barely avoid having his head crushed.

Then he quickly got up, not wanting to use such a burdensome technique against some unknown opponent, but…

“Consider it an honor.”

“…?”

“Normally, this technique requires permission from my master, the Disease Monster Lord. It’s a ‘secret technique.'”

No way, this mosquito!

To commit such a disrespectful act as disobeying his most trusted master’s orders.

However, one must be alive to be scolded and forgiven.

So, once again rising above the fog for a moment.

“Scatter! Malaria!!”

The mosquito monster spread his arms wide in all directions and began to disintegrate his own body.

He transformed into ‘nano-sized’ mosquitoes, becoming too small to catch.

“M-Mosquito Lord disappeared?!”

“Grrrr…”

‘No… he’s just broken down into extremely small pieces.’

This was troublesome.

The Mosquito Monster.

Who would have thought this monster, who never even appeared in the original work, had such an ability?

Kang Janghoon swung his fist at the swarm of mosquitoes moving like black fog.

Whoosh.

But the cell-sized mosquitoes easily avoided the attack.

Aeaeaeaeaeng-!

Instead, like mosquitoes passing through the gaps in a fly swatter, they instantly clung to his body.

“Kruk?!”

“””This is the end.”””

Then, with his opponent’s body completely blackened, he prepared to insert his sharpened lips.

Tuk.

Tuk.

Tuk…?

“””…?”””

The highlight of this technique was supposed to be inserting them from all directions at once, leaving nothing but bones in an instant.

‘What is this guy…’

‘Lips, nose, ears…’

‘Even his open eyes—my lips can’t penetrate anywhere…?!’

Even monsters typically had weak points like humans—the groin, eyeballs, and so on.

But even those parts were hardened like an exoskeleton?

What the…

Is this for real?

To make matters worse, there were no other living creatures nearby to suck blood from, making further power-ups impossible.

‘Should I just run away…?’

Or should he suck the blood of the humans in that distant restaurant?

But that annoying S-class hero was there.

In the worst case, he might have to face Yoon Haeun, who had defeated the Cockroach Monster, along with this mysterious horned masked creature.

What should he do?

“Hieeeek?! Horned Mask sir… are you okay?”

“””Huh?”””

While pondering.

Though it would taste terrible, his fellow monster might be as nutritious as a human.

The Mosquito Monster spotted Siljongjjang trembling alone behind them, and as if she was his only option left, began flying toward her.

“Wh-what?!”

“Kruruk!”

‘No way…!’

“””Siljongjjang, I’ve changed my mind! Become my nutrients right now!”””

“K-kyaaaah?!”

The Mosquito Monster abandoned Kang Janghoon’s body completely, knowing he couldn’t feed on him anyway.

Like a living black cloud of fog, he instantly surrounded Siljongjjang from all directions.

Like African mosquitoes discovering an animal carcass.

“S-save meee…!”

“””Don’t worry. Monsters who die in this realm are reincarnated here again, just without their memories.”””

“Th-that still means I’ll die! A Siljongjjang monster without memories isn’t me anymore!”

Siljongjjang retorted to the voices coming from within the mosquito swarm.

But that was all she could do.

“””Just be quiet and let yourself be eaten.”””

“Eek?!”

Finally, the disgusting swarm of mosquitoes descended upon her from all directions.

The unpleasant buzzing sound seemed to vibrate her entire eardrum, and sensing her death, she collapsed to the ground.

‘It’s over… it’s all over!’

In a world where monsters and humans coexisted, there were casualties but rarely “missing persons.”

Being reported as missing could bring “despair” from the possibility of death.

But at the same time, it could also bring “hope” that the person might still be alive—in a way, it was a beneficial concept for humans.

That’s why she, born from the fear of disappearance, was always ambiguous.

As a monster that was neither here nor there, she never dared approach the human realm and spent her life hiding in this realm, making herself disappear.

And this was how it would end.

The one thing she was good at—hiding—simply meant no one cared enough to look for her.

She was quickly discovered by the Mosquito Monster who wanted to use her, dragged out, and finally served up as food for a higher-ranking monster.

‘I really, really hate this…’

Disappearance represents both despair and hope.

It contains both yin and yang, so why was her life filled with nothing but despair?

But now that life would soon end.

Accepting “acceptance,” the final stage of death, Siljongjjang closed her eyes tight, hoping it wouldn’t hurt too much.

“Krururuk!”

‘Siljongjjang!’

“…Huh?”

Grab!

After praying over and over in her heart.

“””This guy?!”””

The horned masked man who embraced her and instantly broke through the buzzing mosquito swarm.

“H-Horned Mask Monster sir?”

He saved me?

Me?

Why?

She couldn’t understand.

She’d heard that mid-tier or lower monsters caught in ranking battles between high-ranking monsters were as worthless as roadside pebbles.

Yet he had saved her not once, but twice, as if she were a “comrade.”

And coincidences don’t happen twice in such a short time.

In other words.

Thump-thump.

“M-my heart is beating… I’m still alive!”

The relief of being alive.

And the joy of being rescued by someone.

These two emotions intertwined, causing inexplicable tears to flow from Siljongjjang’s eyes.

“Sniff… sob…”

“……”

“Th-thank you! Thank you!”

Siljongjjang, kneeling on the ground, expressed her gratitude to Janghoon who had saved her.

Meanwhile.

“You saved such a low-ranking monster?”

“Getting distracted by something like that during a ranking battle.”

“But this works out well.”

“That’s right.”

“Thanks to that, we found a ‘weakness.'”

The nano-sized mosquito monsters buzzed, saying that a creature with the power of a high-ranking monster…

While angry that he had been distracted during what should have been a sacred ranking battle, they were pleased to have discovered an unexpected weakness.

“Target Siljongjjang.”

“Then you’ll take damage too?”

“Compassion for a monster…”

“You are an abomination to monsterkind.”

Aeaeaeaeaeng-!

Once again, billions of mosquitoes surrounded the two monsters.

“…! H-Horned Mask sir! Don’t worry about me!”

They were targeting her, the powerless one.

Realizing this, Siljongjjang, now a perfect “loyal servant” to Kang Janghoon, confidently answered as if she could die for his victory.

“I was saved today!”

“Kruk?”

“I was always alone, neither here nor there as a monster, but just having someone strong like you reach out to me was a great honor!”

Why do high-ranking monsters always have loyal followers beneath them?

This had been one of the most incomprehensible concepts to Siljongjjang, who had planned to live alone until her demise.

But in the monster world, where even the concept of family was rare, she now understood how important it was to have a leader you could trust and follow.

Therefore.

“Horned Mask sir, thank you.”

For the victory of Horned Mask Monster!

Siljongjjang willingly began to strangle herself to eliminate any possibility of his defeat.

Grab.

“Horned Mask sir…?”

At that moment, the Horned Mask grabbed her wrist as if to say it wasn’t necessary.

CLAP!

“Kyaah?!”

“””What the fuck?!”””

She witnessed him clapping his hands against the incoming mosquito swarm, turning the nano-sized monsters to dust.

“Krururuk.”

‘I owe your lower half a lot from before. I can’t let such a ‘benefactor’ die.’