Became a Failed Experimental Subject-Chapter 36: I Do Whatever I Want

“Mm.”

BOOM! KA-BOOM! FWOOM!

Amid the thunderous blasts that shook the sky and the ground, I healed the wound in my stomach and stretched as I got up from the bed.

Sniff sniff.

Catching the familiar scent, I walked to the elevator, crushed the iron door with my hand, and opened it.

Inside was the necklace—the reason I’d come here.

I looped the necklace around my wrist and opened the fridge.

Inside were severed human limbs and a bunch of booze.

Digging through, I pulled out a bottle of cola, then walked over to the shattered window and sat down.

Beyond the broken window: Starlight and Gu Seoryong, locked in a fierce battle.

Naturally, I’d assumed Starlight would win.

But as I watched her slowly getting pushed back, I took a sip of cola.

She’s not using her full strength.

My gaze drifted to the people packed inside the apartment.

Amped up on stimulants, high and ecstatic, the air was thick with the emotions of pleasure and excitement.

When Starlight’s chasing me—or any other monster—she never unleashes her full power unless all the civilians are safely inside the shelter.

Even if they’re drugged out of their minds, they’re still human.

And heroes are supposed to protect humans.

Morally, it’s the right thing to do.

But watching her get pounded like that... it really makes you wonder if that’s still the right call.

That said, I’m not exactly thrilled about killing people who haven’t done anything wrong either.

But then again, these people aren’t exactly innocent.

Even if they haven’t done anything wrong per se, does that even matter?

Even if they’ve done bad things, humans are still humans.

Same goes for villains.

Humans are animals.

The strong exploiting the weak—the law of the jungle—is just nature’s way. It’s not wrong.

The instinct of the monster says the strong eat the weak.

Humans are food.

Eat a strong hero, and you get stronger.

There’s a strange familiarity in Gu Seoryong—a fellow monster from the same lab.

If I team up with her and kill Starlight, I can eliminate a potential threat to myself.

The stench of gunpowder and blood, the lingering cloud of stimulants in the air...

My monster core is pulsing, screaming for destruction.

The more I watch Gu Seoryong overwhelm Starlight, the more she seems... seductive.

Starlight is a worthy opponent.

The one who’s overpowering her is a sexy alpha female.

This nest is cozy. Everything I want is right here.

Settle down, monster. CXI. Experimental subject.

Follow your monstrous instincts.

Gulp, gulp.

I downed the cola, then crushed the empty bottle with both hands until it was just a tiny plastic pellet.

Maybe it’s time to quit all that "moral awakening" crap.

Didn’t even work better than a bottle of soda anyway.

I rolled the plastic ball in my palm.

Whatever monstrous instinct I had earlier was already fully suppressed.

That’s when Starlight fell from the sky.

A long, trailing arc—starlight crashing to the earth.

And in that moment, a vague childhood memory flashed through my mind.

[Hey... uh, wanna look up at the sky?]

In the memory, I was staring up at a star-filled sky.

Beside me, someone was looking up too.

They’d said a hero is someone who does what needs to be done.

And my hero... had become a star when I was a child.

[They’re probably... watching from up there.]

That night, I really did wonder if they were watching me.

I just stared up at the stars in silence until late at night.

If they were really watching...

I wished they’d just wave, even once.

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[Ah.]

In the dead of night, a star streaked across the sky.

Like back then—when they ran into the distance wearing red and yellow.

They were there.

[Huff... huff....]

Starlight, staggering on the ground, curled up and gathered her strength.

She was speaking with Gu Seoryong.

[Because someone has to do it.]

The moment I heard that, I laughed without realizing it.

Stars are meant to shine above the sky.

As I looked down at the dimming light of a star that had fallen to the ground, I stepped out through the broken window and monsterized.

[OOOOOOOOOHHH!]

The drugged-out humans snapped out of their high and turned to me.

From the rooftop, as their thick fear soaked the apartment, I activated my monster core to full capacity.

Gu Seoryong’s urgent wavelength pulsed through the night sky.

I ignored her stop signal and fired a destruction beam toward the ground.

“KYAAAAAA!”

“AAAGH! R-RUN!”

“What the hell?! Why is Blaccky—AAAGH!”

Piiing, piiing, piiing!

Gu Seoryong barely dodged as the focused beam grazed her—

and then exploded behind her in a massive detonation.

BOOOOOM!

The blast shockwave sent people screaming and fleeing in panic.

I released a low-frequency vibration, spreading the fear even further.

[OOOOOOOOOHHH!]

“R-Run! RUN!”

“We’re gonna die! We’re gonna die!”

“Please! Save us! AAAAGH!”

The entire apartment began to tremble, like a goddamn earthquake.

The chaos among the humans reached its peak.

Seeing them scatter, I shifted forms and called up the phoenix’s ability.

Spreading wings of crimson flame, I painted a scarlet ceiling across the night sky—

and fire began to rain down.

As the flames fluttered down like feathers, the panicked humans sprinted barefoot across the asphalt.

Villains fired off storm and frost-based powers skyward to buy time.

The party music was gone now.

In the heart of Guryong Fortress, amid the pure-white concrete smoke, I leapt down—

and landed in front of a dazed Starlight.

“Haa...! What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

Gu Seoryong approached through the smoke, glaring at me, her voice full of frustration.

Starlight at my back, I simply nodded at her.

I’m just doing this because I feel like it. Got a problem?

Gu Seoryong frowned and vibrated her core.

“Are you insane? You’re a monster, and she’s a hero!”

Her core resonated with mine—

as if trying to say your kind is mine, not hers.

Her eyes practically screamed hand over Starlight.

Nah.

When I changed my wavelength, hers followed right after.

WUUUUNG, WUUUUNG—resonating.

Don’t bother trying to convince me.

I’m a monster who does whatever he wants.

WUUUUUUUUUNG.

The intense rejection frequency cracked the apartment walls on its own.

“S-Shit...! So that crap about Starlight taming Blaccky was true?!”

“What the hell are we supposed to do if Despair-Class and S-Class show up together?!”

Eventually, the resonance between me and Gu Seoryong shook the ground so hard that even villains started to flee.

Gu Seoryong, face twisted in frustration, clenched her fists and glared at me.

Then—WHAP!

Her tail cracked like a whip, unleashing a wave of confusion.

The sensory disruption was intense—so much so that I shook my head like I’d gotten a tickle.

I stared at her.

So what, you wanna go for real now?

Fine. You monsterize too.

WUUUNG.

I let my core growl with aggressive intent.

Gu Seoryong, eyes full of irritation, finally relaxed her clenched fists.

“Aaaaah! Seriously! This is bullshit, you monster freak!”

STOMP! STOMP!

As Gu Seoryong stomped the ground, one of the villains—who hadn’t fled—landed beside her and shouted:

“This is our chance, ma’am! Starlight’s down! If we caught her, why can’t we catch Blaccky too?!”

“You think he’s the same as Starlight?! That bastard doesn’t give a shit about human shields!”

Gu Seoryong sighed sharply, clearly signaling she had no intention of fighting.

“Haa... Whatever. If you’re taking her, just take her and fuck off!”

“B-But, ma’am?! We finally got her!”

“Shut up! You think I want to let her go?!”

“A-Ah... y-you’re totally right, ma’am...”

Gu Seoryong pointed out toward the edge of Guryong Fortress, then grabbed the villain who tried to stop me by the neck.

She injected him with venom.

His eyes glazed over.

Tossing him aside, Gu Seoryong gestured with her chin for me to get lost.

Glancing back at Starlight, I looked at Gu Seoryong, then turned.

I bit down on Starlight’s hair with my mouth.

Clenching it tight, I soared into the sky, flying toward the mountains behind the apartment.

From behind me, in a voice quiet enough only another monster could hear, Gu Seoryong whispered:

“You better remember this, babe. You turned me down when I was begging for a taste—and now you’re running off with some other bitch right in front of me?”

“Krrrk?”

“I’m the kind of woman who pays back what she’s owed. This humiliation? I’m never forgetting it.”

Hearing that, I paused midair and looked back at her.

Now that I thought about it, yeah—

she had been pestering me with all that courtship and mating nonsense even though I told her no.

Even poisoned my stomach after I’d just had a nice meal, talking about how her body was a delicious dumpling or whatever.

Doesn’t matter if the food’s free.

If you find a cigarette butt in it, you’re still gonna be pissed.

I sprouted a second head.

Staring down at Gu Seoryong’s pissed-off face, I opened the mouth of my second head.

The new throat, shaped like another monster, swelled massively—

and Gu Seoryong’s voice wavered in panic.

“W-Wait, wait a damn sec—!”

KRAAA-KOOOOOM!

A massive sonic boom cannon blasted toward Guryong Fortress.

GUUUUUUUUUUNG!

The shockwave slowly shaved away at the apartment buildings, digging deep into the ground below.

Those with powers barely managed to stay upright—

but buildings without any psychic reinforcement crumbled under the circular resonance, leaving behind only twisted steel.

Guryong Fortress vanished in an instant.

Up above the smoldering crater, Gu Seoryong’s hair was in a wild mess.

Her face twisted in despair as she screamed:

“I TOLD YOU TO JUST FUCKING LEAVE, ASSHOLE!!!”

Leaving her behind,

I flew through the night sky.

****

The cold night breeze. The buildings bathed in moonlight.

Starlight dangled beneath my mouth, swinging left and right.

“Ugh, ah...! Ugh...! Haa...!”

Having left Zone 9 behind, I landed quietly on the rooftop of a still-under-construction building in a district undergoing heavy reconstruction.

How much poison did they pump into her, exactly?

Even as she winced in pain, Starlight slumped against a concrete pillar and glared at me without a word.

“Huff, huff... huff... This is... just fucking absurd.”

Even now, a dangerously condensed power flickered in her right hand.

It was probably a hidden final strike she’d been saving, something Gu Seoryong hadn’t noticed.

“Haa... What the hell... a monster... saving a hero?”

Staring at me for a moment, Starlight let go, releasing her power.

Then, clearly dizzy, she leaned her head against the pillar and panted for breath.

“I was gonna focus on recovering, hang in there, and finish them off once only the villains were left.”

There was no trace of tension in her breathing—just tired, steady exhales.

“How is a monster more helpful than a hero....”

The real Starlight spoke like she was just venting her frustrations.

“Seriously... I figured if I pushed it far enough, someone would send backup. But no, they’re just watching from afar. Not a single reinforcement. Meanwhile, the villains are out here drawing up strategies to take me down... Aaaagh, it’s driving me nuts. And what the hell is with that bitch and her dual awakening?! She’s not even a damn hero, so why is a villain acting like she’s on par with S-Class?! Her powers don’t even do shit against monsters....”

Thunk, thunk.

Starlight knocked her forehead against the pillar, then held her head in her hand and whispered in a fragile voice:

“Fuck, I’m tired... being a hero....”

The scent of her emotions was a tangled mess.

Excitement, confusion, calm—likely from a mix of stimulants, tranquilizers, and confusion-type abilities all jumbled together.

Clearly unsteady, she was sweating, and pulled her hero suit down to her shoulders, baring her skin.

“Fuuu....”

Startled, I backed away instinctively.

Fwoosh, fwoosh—flames lit around her chest as Starlight began burning away the poison Gu Seoryong had built up in her heart.

She’d already burned away all the stacked confusion-type powers.

But the biological poison created directly from Gu Seoryong’s body wasn’t just an ability—it was also not an ability.

Which meant it was taking longer to burn.

Starlight’s power was fire that burns through abilities.

Having unintentionally discovered a bit of a weakness, I loitered nearby.

And as I did, Starlight, who had her eyes closed, cracked one open and gave me a sideways glance.

“What... Why are you fidgeting? I’m not injured, okay? I’m detoxing.”

Yeah, I know that, but still...

What the hell am I supposed to do with this weird-ass feeling?

It felt like I was looking at something I shouldn’t be seeing, so I tilted my chin up to tell her to zip up her suit.

Starlight scowled.

“Did you just tell me to zip it up?”

“Waoong.”

“...What kind of monster does that? No, wait—figures. You're a male.”

With a sigh, Starlight flared her flames again, burning through the rest of the poison in her body at once.

Once it was all gone, ziiip—she pulled the zipper back up on her suit, which looked like it was made of some kind of special material.

Standing up and stepping away from the concrete pillar, she said:

“I’m too busy to hang out today. Just go.”

“Wao?”

Stretching out her arms with a long motion, she looked like she was planning to fly right back to Guryong Fortress.

You’re seriously going back there?

I let out a questioning whimper, and Starlight clenched the white light forming in her palm as she answered:

“Thanks to you, all the civilians were evacuated, right? I’ve gotta go back and finish them off now.”

“Owaong.”

Fair point.

Now that all the civilians—a major obstacle—were gone, there’s no way Gu Seoryong and the villains could beat Starlight.

The basics ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ of a hunt: never miss the moment your target is weak.

If Gu Seoryong monsterizes, things might change a bit—

but even then, she’s a Despair-Class weaker than me, backed by a bunch of villains.

It’s nowhere near enough to hunt down someone like Starlight.

Even earlier, it didn’t feel like she was close to dying—just briefly immobilized.

“Gu Seoryong, the villains... This time, it needs to end. If I let them get away, it’s the civilians who’ll suffer.”

Fwoooosh.

Amplifying her output, Starlight rose into the sky.

Casting a glance back at me, she bit her lip with a strange look on her face.

“...Don’t do anything stupid. Please just stay quiet today. Legally speaking, monsters take priority over villains when it comes to takedowns.”

As I smelled the conflicting emotions of gratitude and discomfort wafting off her, I simply sank into the shadows.

A hero saying thanks to a monster... That’s just weird.

“Aaaaah~ god, my head is killing me, seriously!”

BOOM!

As soon as I vanished, Starlight blasted off with a sonic boom.

Her face, flying toward Guryong Fortress, didn’t exactly look cheerful.

But the path she carved through the sky—

shone brightly.

Moments later,

the sun fell onto the ruins of Guryong Fortress.