After a few more hours passed, night had fully settled in and everything around me was swallowed by darkness.
I made it safely into C City.
Along the way, I was attacked by monsters... a little more often than expected.
Still.
It was actually something I could be grateful for.
It was a shame that, except for one of them, they all had trash skills.
...Even so, I’d gotten a clear sense of what level my strength could reach against middling demon-level monsters, so it was definitely a good thing.
By now, I probably could have crushed the Sea King, too. This trip made me fully realize just how strong I’d become.
And for good reason.
Compared to back then, every stat had each multiplied by four.
...No, if I looked at my overall stats, I’d gotten more than thirty times stronger.
At this point, I probably wouldn’t lose even in pure power.
I was just thankful they’d given me a chance to feel that for myself.
Even if they’d all long since melted away in my stomach by now, gratitude was gratitude.
Of course, I ate every last one of them.
Lucky for me, they were all pretty tasty.
Especially one boar monster—it was a real delicacy.
The texture of that plump leg meat and chewy belly fat was still vivid in my mouth.
There was so much of it, too, that out of all the meals that had come to me on their own today, I’d enjoyed that one the longest.
Grateful, really.
Because it tasted good.
Thinking that, I moved through the darker parts of the city.
It was late, so there were hardly any people around, but there was no reason to stand out.
I’d rummaged through a clothing collection bin and found a fairly large hood to cover my whole body, but I still stayed alert just in case.
As for direction... as always, I moved based on the intuition that said, “This is probably the way to the Super Fight venue.”
I planned to reach the venue early and get some sleep before it started.
After that... I’d spend some time hunting the monsters around there until the event began.
It might have looked unplanned, but that was because I didn’t know the exact date of the Super Fight.
All I knew was that it would be soon.
It might even start tomorrow, so getting there as early as possible was clearly the better choice.
As I walked along carelessly—
Screeeech!!!
“…………?”
I froze.
A sharp sound cut through the air.
Like something slapping a cheek.
...A bad feeling hit me, and I hurried toward the direction of the sound with quiet steps.
What I found was a dark alley.
The faint light from a streetlamp barely illuminated the place.
And then.
“P-Please! That bread... I bought it with money I barely managed to earn!”
“Heh... You stupid fool. Did you really think I’d let that go?”
Crunch. Crunch.
A loaf of bread was being crushed by a man.
His dead-fish eyes and checkered sweater tights stood out in a way that was hard to ignore.
And in front of him, there was a beggar child sitting on the ground, clutching a swollen cheek and crying.
...Hah.
“You fools are such a waste of the world’s food. Such arrogance! I should just...”
“Hey.”
Bastard.
I already knew.
I’d seen the humans after defeating the Sea King, so I knew.
I knew there were bound to be trash among humans, too.
I knew there were quite a lot of them.
Yeah.
I knew.
I knew it.
But.
“...If that kid is a stupid fool,”
...you’re really making me feel that again.
And this time, it’s because of a human.
“You look more like a filthy fish, if you ask me. What do you think?”
“...Ohh...”
The skin around his eyes twitched.
Angry?
Good.
So am I.
I barely held back the urge to grind my teeth.
“Heh heh... A gloomy fool wearing a skin suit dares to talk back... I’ll use my Elite Bloodline Combat Arts to make your pupils tremble and your breathing turn ragged until you die...!”
[Elite Bloodline Combat Arts]
In an instant, he set his stance and thrust out a fist.
Martial arts.
A technique with considerable skill behind it came flying at me.
There was even real killing intent in it, so it looked like he genuinely meant to kill me.
But.
“I see. A technique that fires a second strike after the first, huh.”
It was far too slow.
So slow it almost made me yawn.
I didn’t bother hiding the cold sneer slipping out of me.
Calling yourself elite with this?
Wasn’t that a little too full of yourself?
I watched every tiny movement of his muscles, every tremor and contraction.
I broke down the information entering my brain in real time, second by second, and analyzed it in detail.
The principle was to land a first strike, directly hit the opponent’s pressure points to paralyze the target area, then follow with a second strike to break them down.
I even caught the sound of his breathing.
Mm.
Good.
I memorized it.
I drew my arm back and stepped forward, setting my stance.
With controlled breathing, I exhaled slowly.
Before his fist could even touch the shabby hood covering my face, my own straight punch shot toward his face.
[Elite Bloodline Combat Arts]
Clench your teeth.
Clench them hard.
Boom!!!
Crack!
One strike.
With a single blow, I crushed the space between his nose and eyes inward, while at the same time paralyzing his entire body.
Without retracting the arm that had thrown the punch, I immediately followed with the second strike.
I didn’t even give him time to stagger backward, instead extending the punch and smashing into him as if my arm were stretching out.
His body had been paralyzed by the hit to his pressure points, so he couldn’t resist, let alone scream, as I obliterated his face.
Kraaaang!!!
Thud-thud-thud...
“Ghk...!”
He was sent flying straight into the alley wall and buried so deeply that his shoulders were no longer visible.
Covered in dirt, he groaned and twitched now and then as if convulsing, before finally going limp.
Looks like it wasn’t just paralysis after all.
Nice technique.
More than enough for a trash bastard who beats children.
“...Hah, haa...”
A long sigh escaped me on its own.
I hadn’t killed him, but... maybe I’d gone a little too far for a human.
He was stuck in the wall and I couldn’t see it, but his face was probably beyond saving.
I could feel one eyeball burst and his jaw twist out of place.
Of course, the guy was trash.
Still... I wasn’t sure if he deserved to be trashed this badly.
If he wasn’t dead, then I’d like to think that made it okay.
...I didn’t know.
I’d never hurt a human this badly before.
And more than anything else.
“H-Hiiik...!”
...I hadn’t meant to scare the kid.
I thought about reaching out to the trembling child, but... I stopped myself.
My hand had long, sharp claws, was covered in scales, and was... slick with blood.
There was no way it would look good up close.
I didn’t want to reveal that I was a monster and frighten the kid.
More than that, if I accidentally poked them with a claw... I didn’t think I’d be able to handle it.
“...You can go now.”
Ignoring the tightness in my chest that I couldn’t explain, I waved them off roughly.
Keeping my tone as gentle as possible, I motioned up and down with my hand, and only then did the kid scramble away somewhere.
I’d hidden myself in the shadows, so I figured my sharp hand shape probably hadn’t been visible... probably.
“…………”
I watched the child vanish into the darkness before turning away.
As the strange pressure in my chest eased a little, I finally let out a long breath.
...Right. Better finish this before anyone else comes by and sees.
I’d have to clean up after myself.
“...First, I need to pull this guy out of the wall... huh?”
Just as I reached out to yank the trash stuck in the wall free with one hand, something fluttered out of his pocket.
It caught my eye, so I turned to look, and a familiar word naturally came into view.
“...Super Fight?”
I picked it up and read it more closely.
...This trash was connected to the Super Fight?
No. More precisely.
“...This guy was a participant?”
The ticket he had on him was clearly an entry pass.
So.
This guy had been a participant.
In other words, even if I hadn’t run into him here, I’d have had to see him at the Super Fight later.
“……………”
Strength above all else, huh. I guess there was nothing to be done about that.
His skill and technique really had been impressive in their own way.
In a one-on-one fight, he might even be able to kill a low-end demon-level monster.
But so what?
His personality was rotten.
He beat a child, bullied them... and in the end, there had even been killing intent in his eyes.
Was this really okay as a participant... no, as a human being?
I refused to believe this was the average human.
No way.
Still, this meant he’d be unable to take part in the tournament...
“...Wait.”
Suddenly, a brilliant idea came to me.
Come to think of it.
This guy was probably going to be out cold for another three days or so.
Then.
Could I... replace him?
Using [Body Transformation].
Of course, until now, trying it would have been impossible.
Even if I tried to imitate a human, I could only change a few parts of my body.
But.
Now that my mastery of Body Transformation had risen so much.
Twitch...
Squirm, squirm...
Without hesitation, I activated [Body Transformation], melting my outer shell into a soft, pliable mass like clay.
The sensation was strange, but I endured it.
“...I hope this works.”
I stared at the soft, squirming skin.
Then I pressed it against the man’s body and analyzed his physical information through the blood flowing inside him.
Using that information, I began transforming my own body beneath the hood.
“...Ugh, ngh...”
It was a bizarre feeling.
But I kept going.
I made my hands a little shorter, thinner, less sharp.
Bit by bit, I sculpted myself into a human shape.
Hair sprouted. Hair grew.
Then, all of a sudden.
“...Ggh...?!"
My body grew hotter and hotter, then melted again, then pushed outward.
The shape collapsed in an instant.
Again.
Don’t stop.
Get up.
Rebuild the body.
Hair, skin tissue, every single cell, all of it carefully.
More finely, more densely, so it won’t collapse this time.
The shape gradually returned.
I repeated it again and again.
About ten minutes passed like that.
“...Hah, haaah...”
Only after recreating the clothes and even changing my eyes to dead-fish eyes did I finally let go.
...Surprisingly, it worked.
“...I knew my mastery had improved, but I didn’t think I could do this much.”
The appearance had changed completely.
Into a human.
At last.
At last, I had become human.
For the first time in my life, I had become the form I’d longed for.
At last. Only now.
My heart pounded.
My chest tingled as if something might burst out of it at any moment.
Tears were about to spill from the overwhelming joy...
“...Wait a second.”
...And then it all sank right back down.
When I remembered whose body this shape belonged to, my expression rotted.
Right. This was a trash bastard’s body.
I steadied my surging feelings and kept my cool.
It was only a temporary change in appearance to look human; I still hadn’t escaped being a monster.
Once [Body Transformation] wore off, I’d go back to normal for a while.
...And I also had to stay wary of any other possible risks, so I analyzed myself and tested my limits.
“...Mm.”
If I took too much shock, or if it lasted more than four hours, it would break... but that should be enough. Probably.
After that, if I wanted to use [Body Transformation] again... I’d need to wait at least twelve hours.
Still, if I just let the shock slide off me to some extent, that would be fine.
As for the time limit... well. I could probably manage somehow.
I didn’t think the Super Fight would last four hours anyway.
Yeah.
Martial arts were probably something better experienced firsthand than just watched from the sidelines.
I firmly resolved to take part.
“…………”
...Again.
Again, something bothered me.
I turned my gaze back toward the darkness.
If this was possible.
Then that little kid from earlier.
“...Could I have comforted them?”
Their cheek had been swollen; it must have hurt terribly.
They looked hungry.
They looked scared and lonely.
Could I have shed this monster’s shell and given them warmth, even if only for a moment?
Could I have stayed by their side, even a little?
Once again, a heaviness settled over one corner of my chest.
My eyes started to sting.
Strangely, really strangely.
I felt sad.
“…………”
I stood there blankly, staring toward where the child had disappeared for a while before shaking my head and getting up.
It was already over.
The kid was gone.
And I wasn’t even human.
What was I thinking, trying to comfort someone warmly with bloodstained hands?
Get up.
Right now, I should focus on what was in front of me.
The name on the entry pass was Choeje.
Good.
Then Choeje.
“...While you’re in jail, I’ll borrow your identity.”
Thank you.
With a small note left for the police, I tied the guy up tightly and even gagged him before leaving the alley.
Under the dim light, with dead-fish eyes and a checkered sweater tights gleaming, I walked into another darkness.
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