Chapter 71 : Cockroach Monster (3)

Whether it pierced the heart or severed an artery, it was all useless.

Even if it were struck by an exploding shuriken that detonates on impact, the monster would still ‘enjoy’ it and recover, even from tank shells.

The cockroach monster had tasted all of Miori’s techniques roughly by the time it reached that point.

“You seem to be getting tired.”

“…!”

With a half-crushed grin, it shook its head, and the next moment, it was already right in front of Miori, who was about to leap again.

“What…!”

“Please, die already.”

And with that, a punch hit Miori’s abdomen.

KWAANG.

The force created a massive hole in the skyscraper behind Miori as well.

It was enough power to destroy an entire city.

But.

“Hmmm… again?”

The punch that should have scattered human innards had only shattered a log once again.

The kunoichi, whom the cockroach monster thought was dead, followed after it, using a substitution technique, and continuously slashed a blade at its back.

“Ninja-style Swordsmanship – Cherry Blossom Triple Slash!”

“So… now your pain doesn’t even taste good anymore!”

It regenerated its torn back armor and instantly twisted its waist.

This time, the cockroach monster succeeded in kicking Miori’s head off, separating it from the body.

However, once again, the body that had been thought to be dead was just a log that had been substituted.

“Hmmm… I guess, in terms of ‘speed’, that one is superior?”

It was only a momentary reflex, but it seemed like this battle might never end.

As the cockroach monster pondered this, it watched Miori continuously cut at weak spots.

It was fed up with this sluggish fight.

“Aha!”

“…?”

It had suddenly come up with a clever idea.

“Heeheeheehee!”

KWACHIK!

KWADUK!

KWAAK! KWAAK!

“What the…!”

Miori could only frown at the cockroach monster’s next move, as it was something even a human would find repulsive.

It was the worst kind of act, defiling even the dead.

The monster ripped apart the bodies of soldiers scattered on the ground, and smeared its own body with their blood in a grotesque display.

“What are you doing with the bodies of the dead?!”

“What else would I be doing? I’m returning to my ‘true nature’.”

“True… nature?”

“Yes. Us cockroaches were originally raised in such an environment. Dirty, smelly, and unpleasant to even look at—living our whole lives in such an environment was the virtue of life.”

In contrast, the human world was far too clean.

So clean it was blinding, causing shivers and making one’s nerves stand on edge—an ‘environment too hard to adapt to’.

“So I’ve just made my body return to its original state.”

“Original state…?”

Having torn apart four or five corpses and smeared its body with their blood, it still appeared the same, but.

“Where are you looking?”

“?!”

“That’s my ‘afterimage’.”

The cockroach monster’s muscular body didn’t seem any larger or more inflated, but it had become much faster.

Soon, Miori, who had been performing the substitution technique, began to realize the monster’s change.

“…Antennas?”

“Yes. Insects’ antennas are delicate, you know. That’s why I’ve been deliberately hiding them until now.”

Two antennas protruded from the top of its head.

Those slender antennas were directly pointing to where Miori had leaped.

No matter how much she tried to make a substitution and escape, all that was left in the place she jumped to were the antennas pointing straight at her.

And then.

KWACHIK.

“Ugh?!”

Miori, who tried to make a substitution again, was now struck directly in the abdomen.

Blood poured from her mouth as she was sent flying far away.

She slammed into a skyscraper, causing it to split in two, and lost consciousness.

“Die already.”

In her blurred vision, the silhouette of the monster was flying toward her in a dropkick form.

KWAANG!

The cockroach monster shattered the building completely, and confirmed Miori’s death, landing lightly on its back with a flap of wings.

But the expression on its face didn’t seem relieved at all.

“…A new ally?”

“…If you call it that, would you willingly offer your life, monster?”

“Heh. Of course not.”

As the building crumbled, a dust storm swept through the area.

When the storm subsided, the cockroach monster turned to see a figure carefully lowering its unconscious ally, a fellow hero, to a safe corner.

“State your name. Hero.”

“S-rank 14th…”

“…! S-rank!”

“Creator Girl – Carmilla!”

The cockroach monster, grinning at the fact that Carmilla was also S-rank like Yoon Ha, immediately fired its gun.

TAANG.

“All hail! I am Sergeant Song Hana from the Monster Subjugation Unit, 23rd Squad, currently on border patrol in D-city.”

“Reinforcements? Perfect timing. We were already short on manpower. I’m glad you came, everyone!

There’s a separate room just before the wall entrance where the equipment is stored, so pick whatever you like from there!”

“Yes, thank you!”

Following Song Hana, we finally arrived at the wall connecting to City C.

And then, I learned a shocking fact.

The red-haired female soldier I had been searching for all this time—Sergeant Song Hana—was from City D, the same autonomous district I lived in.

‘They say the darkest place is under the lamp… Is this why I couldn’t find her until now?’

On top of that, I overheard her address. She lived in a villa about a 20-minute walk from the Okami family estate.

So, what had I been doing all this time?

But there was no time to feel overwhelmed.

Click.

Clack.

“Whew. This should be enough weapons.”

“Hana, are we moving as a company unit?”

“No. Normally, we would, but since almost all division-level forces have entered City C, the only order we received was to join in however we could.”

“Oh…”

Sergeant Song Hana finished equipping herself, now wearing a bulletproof helmet and full military gear.

Honestly, I wanted to move separately from here.

If the entire city was under lockdown, the situation had to be extremely serious.

“By the way, this gentleman here…”

“Oh, this is Mr. Kang Jang-hoon, Lady Carmilla’s sidekick.”

“L-Lady Carmilla?! The one who recently ranked up to S-class…!”

“The one who frequently assisted with her promotional activities on TV, right?”

“Yes.”

“Oh! Now that you mention it, I saw you on TV! You two were always stuck together, so I thought you were lovers, but you were actually her sidekick!”

“Haha… Yes, that’s right.”

“But even if you’re Lady Carmilla’s sidekick, you’re still not a hero. I can’t allow an untrained civilian to enter the city alone.”

Despite my intentions, the female soldiers insisted I at least take one soldier as an escort.

Refusing their offer was practically impossible.

So, I had no choice but to enter City C with Song Hana.

As soon as she let her guard down, I planned to transform into my monstrous form…

“Oh, right! Speaking of which, there’s another reinforcement who volunteered to enter City C!”

“Another… reinforcement?”

Just as I was looking for an opening—

“Are you the ones? The two humans who said they were volunteering for City C…”

“Huh?”

“W-Wha?!”

A completely unexpected appearance of the Knight Princess.

As our eyes met—her familiar, expressionless gaze—I was momentarily at a loss for words.

“Z-Zero?!”

“…! Oh, it’s you. The man who was accompanying Princess Hoshino back then. It has been a while.”

“Zero…?”

“Wait, why is Zero here? Hold on, does that mean the additional reinforcement the female soldier mentioned earlier was Zero?!”

The additional reinforcement for City C—

It turned out to be none other than the homunculus, Zero.

“Oh, and your name was Mr. Kang Jang-hoon, correct?”

“Yes, that’s right…”

“Jang-hoon, you don’t need to use honorifics when addressing me. Especially since you are classified as an ‘upper human’ under the protection of the Okami family.”

“Uh… okay… I mean, sure…”

It had been nearly a month since we last met, yet Zero was the same as ever.

She once again insisted that I address her as if she were beneath me, like some kind of automated system.

Meanwhile—

“Jang-hoon? Do you know this person?”

Song Hana had no clue about Zero’s identity.

How was I supposed to explain this homunculus woman to her?

“Um… well…”

As I hesitated—

“Oh, if it’s about me, this ‘ID card’ should explain everything.”

For some reason, Zero pulled an ID card from between her breasts and handed it to us.

As Song Hana and I examined its contents…

“S-class…”

“15?!”

The newly restructured S-class hero system.

Even though she ranked at the bottom, Zero had become an S-class hero.

“Yes. I am Zero, ranked 15th among S-class heroes.”

“W-Whoa…! I-I can’t believe I’m meeting a real S-class hero… C-Can I get an autograph?!”

“Autograph? Unfamiliar term. What is that?”

“Huh? You don’t even know what an autograph is?”

“Hahaha! Hana, it’s not that. Zero just has no interest in those kinds of things, so she never bothered making one.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I deemed it unnecessary for combat, so I never created one.”

Given the situation, it seemed like the three of us would be moving together.

I wasn’t worried about an ordinary female soldier like Song Hana, but—

Would I really be able to find an opening to transform into my monstrous form while Zero was around?

Just thinking about it was already giving me a headache.

‘If I knew this would happen, I should’ve brought Siljong with me…!’

Last night, Siljong stayed up all night playing ranked matches and passed out in the morning.

I had no idea where my familiar was when I needed them.

The moment I got back, they were definitely getting a spanking.