Ch.69The Cockroach Monster (1)

The remaining monster was just one more…

“This bastard… How dare you do this to your own kind!”

Blanche had already taken down four of the five cockroach humans who called themselves the new human race.

However, as a consequence, her body was equally battered and bloodied.

One eye was soaked in blood and couldn’t see, and her left leg was completely broken, making it difficult to even stand.

But she couldn’t afford to collapse either.

“Have the citizens who were cheering me on already evacuated?”

Looking around the now-quiet intersection, a smile sprouted on Blanche’s lips.

“…? Why are you smiling?”

“Well, at least I feel like I’ve done my job as a hero.”

While heroes existed to defeat evil, they were also, first and foremost, a profession dedicated to saving innocent people.

So the current situation was actually favorable.

Even if parts of her body were torn apart, the fact that there were “no more people to protect” was a signal that she could go all out.

It meant her mind could be that much more at ease.

“By the way, you guys… You talk big about being the new human race, but your performance is pretty underwhelming.”

“What did you say?!”

“At best, you’re only Level 3 monsters, or maybe barely Level 2 if I’m being generous.”

They had boasted about being a new species beyond humans and monsters, but in reality, they were only about mid-tier A-class hero level.

Indeed, at Blanche’s feet lay numerous black corpses of what used to be the “new human race.”

Deliberately provoking her opponent, she let out a “Pfft!” and raised the corner of her mouth, missing several fangs.

The effect was exactly as expected.

“How dare you… How dare you insult the aspirations of us, the new human race! I’ll kill you!”

As expected, those with grand dreams were often full of pride.

Blanche had deliberately provoked him, considering her current situation with a damaged leg that prevented movement.

And now the self-proclaimed new human race cockroach was charging fiercely toward her.

In her current physical state, it was impossible to dodge and counterattack.

The only way to counter him was with an attack that would cut through flesh and bone, accompanied by pain.

“Fangs…”

“Uwaaaaaaaah!”

“Tear him apart!”

Slash.

A few seconds later.

The two had launched their final strikes at each other’s bodies.

Simultaneously, the asphalt road where they stood caved in, sending vibrations throughout the area.

“…Kuhak!”

In the heavy silence, the first to cough blood was Blanche, who had completely run out of strength.

She spat out the iron-tasting red blood from her mouth and painfully looked to the side.

There, in the body of the cockroach new human who had been smirking with confidence in victory…

“Kuhehuk?!”

Blanche’s beast-like arm had penetrated precisely, while the opponent’s arm had merely grazed her side.

“You thought you could dominate this world with just this level of power?”

“You, you bitch…!”

“Stop talking nonsense… idiot. In this world, there are things far stronger than me, the one who killed you, crawling all over the place.”

Thud.

Having imparted this final lesson and successfully defeated all her enemies, Blanche collapsed.

“I won…!”

At first, she had thought it might be difficult and had considered contacting Carmilla during the battle.

But look at the result.

Who was the winner in the end?

Carmilla?

NoNo.

It was me, Blanche.

It was she who had achieved the feat of simultaneously defeating five monsters at the near Level 2 classification.

“Great! This means I’m getting closer to becoming an S-class hero, right?”

After shouting triumphantly toward the sky, Blanche was about to collapse comfortably, but there might still be people around.

“Are there any citizens still remaining?”

Thorough to the end.

That was the class of an A-rank hero, of which there were only 70.

She was turning her head around in place, looking for possible survivors, when it happened.

CRACK.

“Puhek?!”

Suddenly, a tremendous impact struck Blanche’s abdomen.

The force was enough to shatter all her ribs and then some.

She hadn’t even noticed when or how it had approached.

So, as she was about to fall in an arc, Blanche squeezed out her last bit of strength to meet the eyes of the unidentified presence that had struck her down.

“Are you the lowly human who massacred my lovely ‘kin’?”

“Kuh, hak…!”

Bronzed skin as if carved from obsidian.

A muscle density that was visibly beyond reason, and a body about two or three times larger than the cockroach humans who had called themselves the new human race.

Jet-black wings draped like a cape, and above all, from the hideously distorted half of its face, she could immediately recognize who it was.

Because it was one of the worst monsters in history, responsible for countless casualties until S-class hero Yoon Ha-eun arrived.

Level 1.5 threat.

The “Cockroach Monster” that had been exterminated in City C twelve years ago.

“You… You seem to be a hero who wasn’t around twelve years ago. Well, it doesn’t matter. Anyway, if I keep killing indiscriminately like back then, that rotten woman Yoon Ha-eun will show up on her own.”

***

“The road is unusually congested today.”

It was on the highway connected to City C.

I was feeling a strange sense of unease as I surveyed the situation around the bus that was particularly slow-moving today.

“Strange. Is there some festival in City C today?”

Surely not.

The only thing happening in City C today should have been Carmilla’s promotional activities, as usual.

Yet why was the highway connecting to City C enduring such dense traffic congestion?

My curiosity was soon answered through the news playing on the bus TV.

[Yes, this is breaking news! Currently in City C, the Level 1.5 threat monster that nearly brought the city to collapse 12 years ago—the Cockroach Monster—has returned!]

“Oh my goodness!”

“I was supposed to meet my boyfriend in City C today…”

“Shouldn’t we turn the bus around right now?!”

“…What?”

[Ah, yes! Additional breaking news! A-class rank 38 hero Blanche, who fought bravely in City C, has been found unconscious!]

The Cockroach Monster appeared in City C?

Wasn’t it just a MacGuffin mentioned in passing in the original work?

Once again, from the tutorial onwards, there wasn’t a single branching point connecting to the original work.

So was this world a parallel universe with the same environment as the original “Monster Front” but with a completely different storyline starting from me?

“Whatever the case, I can’t just sit here.”

It was a Level 1.5 threat monster, just below the Level 1 monsters capable of destroying multiple districts.

And it was clear that even Carmilla, who should be doing promotional activities in City C right now, couldn’t guarantee victory against such a monster.

“Sir, could you please let me off here?”

“I was just about to turn the bus around and head back to City D. Young man, you can just stay seated and relax.”

“What?! No, I need to get to City C right now!”

“…What?”

I need to join the fight before things get worse!

…With that feeling, I immediately asked the bus driver to open the door since we were already stopped.

But as soon as he heard my answer, the expressions of everyone on the bus, including the driver, froze.

Then, as I scratched my head wondering what was going on.

“Young man, no! Don’t think such thoughts!”

“Y-yeah! No matter what, you can’t do this! How could you try to end your life like this?!”

…What kind of misunderstanding is this?

In an instant, the kind-hearted passengers on the bus surrounded me, trying to hold me back.

“No, that’s not it! I’m not trying to die, I really have something to do in City C!”

“That’s why we’re asking you to postpone it for a bit!”

“Didn’t you see the news just now? If you go there now, you’ll be killed!”

“Young man, you’re a grown man! You should be more prudent! You’ll really die!”

Ah, this is frustrating.

I couldn’t just transform into a monster and run there either.

But at this rate, it seemed like we would return to City D where we came from.

So what should I do?

As I was sweating nervously, trapped on all sides, that’s when it happened.

“It doesn’t matter whether you’re a man or a woman.”

“””…?”””

“What matters is the ‘heart’ to save people.”

Who could it be?

Who was this woman with such righteous thoughts in this gender-reversed world?

All the passengers around me, including myself, naturally turned our gaze to the back.

There, as if she also wanted to get off this bus like me.

Standing in front of the stairs connected to the back door was a woman with short red hair, wearing a refreshing smile.

“Bus driver, please open the back door.”

“I can’t! From what I hear, you also seem to be trying to go to City D, but it’s dangerous!”

“It doesn’t matter. And I’m here right now to go to such places.”

“……What?”

As if saying she was someone who could only shine in dangerous situations.

Amidst everyone’s puzzled expressions, the red-haired woman showed us her military ID.

“I am a soldier from Hero City.”

“…!”

“A soldier…”

“And given the current situation, I need to get to City D as quickly as possible to provide support!”

So she was a soldier.

Was that why she maintained such a dignified demeanor?

A female soldier with short red hair.

‘Could it be… No, probably not?’

I couldn’t be certain just from seeing her once.

Meanwhile, the bus driver reluctantly opened the back door at the soldier’s request.

As she went outside, since our destinations were the same anyway.

I decided to follow the red-haired woman to confirm if she was the “protagonist.”

“Um, excuse me!”

“Yes?”

“Is there anything I can do to help? Despite appearances, I’m a student from a hero-related department!”