Ch.73Human Pride (2)

In each district of Hero City, there existed a massive dome-shaped shelter designed to protect citizens from monster attacks.

Its area was approximately 100 times that of a World Cup stadium.

The facility could accommodate up to one million citizens, and its defense system was robust enough to withstand dozens of direct hits from ballistic missiles without damage.

It was truly the strongest and greatest fortress modern civilization could create.

And in City C, about ten such shelters had been installed.

“Mom, I’m scared…”

“Don’t worry, dear. The heroes outside are probably taking care of the bad monster right now.”

“Huh? Isn’t that person over there the D-rank hero Succubus Girl?”

“You’re right. I guess since they’re saying it’s a quasi-Level 1 threat, she just evacuated to the shelter like everyone else.”

“……”

Currently, people from various professions were gathered inside the shelter.

Among them were not only ordinary students and office workers but also lower-ranked heroes who couldn’t join the battle due to the overwhelming threat level, as well as soldiers on leave.

And for them, this shelter felt like another kind of hell, whether they realized it or not.

“Damn it… We’re not here because we wanted to evacuate too!”

“Keep it down, Succubus Girl! What if the children hear you?”

“That’s right, Senior Succubus Girl. Besides, we legally withdrew because the Hero Association’s radio called us ‘irrelevant to the battle power.'”

“Ugh…! I know that! But how can I not be furious about it? Huh?!”

“……”

“……”

D-rank 387th, who had recently been making a name for herself as a “rookie.”

Succubus Girl – Luina was deeply regretting her situation of being a hero who had entered the shelter, along with her fellow heroes.

But she couldn’t go outside either.

Because the moment she stepped out, she would certainly be killed by that monster with the disturbing appearance that could tear apart even tanks like paper—the terrifying cockroach that had reportedly turned this city into a wasteland in the past.

“Succubus Girl, don’t be so disheartened.”

“…! Seaweed Warrior.”

“If you look around, there are many other C-rank and below heroes in the shelter besides us. It seems the Hero Association ordered everyone below B-rank to enter the shelters.”

“Y-yes! That’s right, Senior Nice Girl! And in a way, we could be the ‘fighting force’ here!”

“F-fighting force?!”

Then came a junior hero’s flattering response.

“Think about it! Right now, not only A-rank but even S-rank heroes are fighting that monster outside, risking their lives. If, despite all those sacrifices, the monster manages to come here…”

“Then we’re the only ones left to fight?”

“Exactly! Besides, with all those high-ranking heroes and military forces deployed, even if it’s the cockroach monster, it can’t be unscathed, right?”

“Right, right! It must be at least half-crippled by now! And when it approaches this shelter, we’ll jump out with an ‘ORA ORA!’ and take it down!”

“Seaweed Warrior… and Sad Eye… are you two geniuses or something?!”

Indeed.

Unlike themselves, who were merely second-rate… no, third-rate heroes outside, there were heroes inside who could potentially fight against a quasi-Level 1 threat.

Moreover, if all those heroes equipped with various weapons couldn’t defeat it, the situation would certainly be desperate.

But at the same time, this could be an “opportunity” for them who had preserved their strength inside the shelter.

‘From what I can see… there are about 20 heroes around my level, plus several private mercenaries and soldiers who evacuated with their weapons.’

With this much force, they might actually stand a chance against an injured quasi-Level 1 threat.

Plus, this city had Hero Carmilla, who had recently risen to S-rank.

Despite being around the same age as Luina, she had already established herself as an S-rank hero.

Luina was one of the women who had become a hero out of admiration for Carmilla from long ago.

They had even been in the same elementary school class, though Carmilla might not remember.

So, thinking of her idol, she believed she could become like her too.

“Alright! Then I should warm up in case something happens!”

“Senior, you’re so cool!”

“Oh, stop it… I’m just saying. Honestly, if the shelter gets breached, we’re pretty much screwed anyway.”

As she was about to do some light warm-up exercises with her fellow heroes on either side, preparing for any contingency…

BOOM!

“Huh?”

“…What?”

A loud explosion echoed from the ceiling of the shelter—a structure that had already been tested to withstand even anti-aircraft weapons.

A small hole appeared, revealing the sky outside.

WHOOSH.

Into the suddenly silent shelter, like a singer arriving at a concert venue…

“Hello, everyone~”

The culprit who froze all one million people inside the dome appeared.

The cockroach monster, looking completely unharmed, revealed itself before everyone.

“Oh, could someone turn on the microphone for me? And please turn on the large screens up there so everyone inside can see me.”

“Uh, um…?”

“I’d appreciate it if you comply. Otherwise, I’ll just kill everyone here and move on to another shelter.”

***

“…It seems the cockroach monster has entered the shelter.”

“W-what?!”

“W-what did you say?”

Inside the armored vehicle driven by Ms. Sora, Zero, who was in the passenger seat, informed us of the shocking news.

“I just received communication that the monster has invaded Shelter No. 8 in City C.”

“So that means…”

“T-the monster! The cockroach monster has entered!”

The dome-shaped shelters, which according to the setting in <Monster Front> could only be destroyed by Level 2 monsters or above.

If something could pierce through the ceiling of such a shelter, there was only one possibility at this point, no matter how many scenarios we considered.

None other than the cockroach monster.

“I’ll go ahead first.”

“What?! No, it’s dangerous, we should go together…”

“No. To be honest, the reason I’ve been accompanying you was to see if there might be other information I didn’t know about. From my perspective, you two are ‘more trouble than you’re worth.’ Now that the monster’s location has been confirmed, I judge it more efficient to act alone.”

“W-wait! Zero!”

With those words, Zero leaped out of the armored vehicle that had been speeding at over 100 kilometers per hour.

True to her word, she dashed away toward the ruined city at a speed far exceeding ours, without needing any vehicle.

And I couldn’t waste time either.

‘What about Carmilla? Did she lose?’

The fact that the cockroach monster had advanced to the shelter meant that all the other military units and heroes who should have eliminated it had been annihilated.

That would naturally include Carmilla, who represented City C, so what had happened to her?

“Janghun!”

“When a woman offers to buy you a drink, you just accept it!”

“Hehe. Still, you only have me, right?”

“Um, Janghun…”

“If you ever get kicked out of the Okami family, you can come to my house. You understand, right?”

Carmilla was a character who would have been long dead in the original work.

In other words, she was someone who wouldn’t have mattered much in the canon story that began this year.

And I had somehow saved her.

But was fate trying to send her back into the swamp of death?

Using even the cockroach monster that hadn’t appeared in the original work.

‘Is it trying to twist “fate” back to the original “death”? From Zero, who never appeared in the original work, to this kind of wordplay… what nonsense.’

It wasn’t even certain yet whether Carmilla was dead.

But just the possibility made me grind my teeth so hard they could break.

Who had sent this cockroach monster that supposedly crossed over to the human world after 12 years?

The monster of fate?

Or the monster of death?

Whatever it was, if anything happened to Carmilla after this incident, I would find and annihilate them myself, original story be damned.

While thinking this, I really wanted to go alone now.

I needed to transform into a monster quickly to protect the citizens of City C.

But Song Hana, who had no way of knowing my identity, didn’t seem likely to let me go alone.

“Um, Hana.”

“Yes, Janghun.”

“We’ll reach the shelter in how many minutes?”

“About five minutes, I think.”

“Then, I’d like to look for Carmilla as soon as we arrive, if that’s okay?”

“Yes… what?”

A rational opportunity for us to separate.

I thought that moment would be when this armored vehicle stopped, so I made my proposal.

“Even if I go with you, I’ll just be one more hostage in the shelter. Instead, I’ll find Carmilla somewhere in the city and quickly call for backup.”

“…! That makes sense. After all, you don’t have any combat abilities, Janghun.”

“Yes, so while I look for Carmilla, you and Zero can hold off that cockroach monster.”

“Understood! There’s only one cockroach monster in City C anyway. If we confirm it’s still at the shelter when we arrive, then we can separate!”

And the moment we part ways.

I’ll show what a true monster is—one that even cockroaches would find repulsive.