Became a Failed Experimental Subject-Chapter 51: It’s Three

"GRRR!"

[Nyaaagh!]

[Krrk?!]

As I lunged at Gu Seoryong, the two monsters charged at each other and collided.

I could taste the flavor of a special ability flickering in my mouth—the ability to disrupt senses, flipping their directional perception.

I immediately went to tear out 444’s throat, but—PUFF!—a burst of smoke, and 444 grabbed onto my leg instead.

More sensory confusion. Without missing the chance, I stomped down hard on 444’s shoulder, and 499, rushing in to help him, missed and passed right by me.

[Let go of Oppa! Eh? I missed?!]

[You dumb bitch! You can't even aim properly!]

SWISH! 499 braked against the ground just as POP, POP, POP—Gu Seoryong flicked her fingers, spreading her abilities.

Visual blinking. Sensory dulling. Auditory distortion.

[Uh, ah...? I can't see! Oppa? Oppa! Where are you?! Where are you!]

[Urgh, aaaaaagh!]

[I smell blood! Oppa, oppa! Ugh...!]

I sank my teeth into 444’s throat, while Gu Seoryong approached the dazed 499 and jabbed her fingers into 499’s head.

Even without directional sense, monsters could still slash and bite instinctively once attacked.

The two monsters, grievously wounded, swung their forepaws wide, aiming.

Probably trying to cleave the airspace around Gu Seoryong’s and my necks.

But the abilities missed and instead slashed each other’s throats.

They tried to flee, bursting smoke into the air—POOF, POOF—but still trapped in confusion, they kept smashing their heads into the ground and stumbling over themselves.

"Ahaha, ahahahahaha! How cute! Look at those idiots!"

[...It's almost pitiful.]

I had just asked Gu Seoryong to hold one of them off for a bit.

I hadn't expected her abilities to work this well.

Her powers barely tickled me, but for them, it was different.

Realizing I had struggled so much against these bastards made me feel like an idiot.

"Falling for me~? Wanna finish them off and go make a baby?"

[But they're still weak.]

Gu Seoryong’s abilities could confuse the monsters but couldn’t deliver a killing blow.

As if proving it, Gu Seoryong didn’t attack them directly; she only used her abilities to support me.

"Not weak—let’s call it good chemistry instead?"

[There probably isn't a monster that doesn't have good chemistry with your abilities.]

"Which just means I’m the most desirable woman alive, right?"

SNAP!

Gu Seoryong flicked her fingers again, sending out a wave of power as she casually walked up, stabbing 444’s neck with her fingers and driving the tip of her tail into 499’s stomach.

Then, raising one hand high overhead—SNAP!—a burst of ability right next to them.

The two monsters staggered, their eyes rolling.

Just as I was ready to pounce and deliver the killing blow, Gu Seoryong extended a hand to stop me.

"This bitch is insane."

[They've shifted all their abilities into regeneration.]

Sensory disruption was essentially a toxin working on a monster's brainwaves.

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There were two ways monsters could resist poison and confusion abilities:

They could either evolve a strong mental barrier to block it completely or rapidly regenerate their brain, resetting it.

The two test subjects' regeneration was at a high level—especially 499.

Confident in her regeneration, 499 blew up her own brain with spatial manipulation.

A regenerated brain, clean of any lingering confusion.

Sure, we could just disrupt them again, but even a few seconds of clarity were precious in battle.

[NyaaAAAAAGH!]

With a cry, 499's eyes gleamed as she unleashed a storm of blades and a space-slicing ability simultaneously.

WHOOSH!

Gu Seoryong leapt soundlessly into the air and dropped in front of me, shedding her shredded arms as she landed.

SWIPE!

New arms sprouted in an instant, and she flicked her fingers again to prep another ability.

499 crouched, preparing to leap at us.

[Oppa! Run—!]

But at that moment—444 tore into 499’s neck.

A clean strike in a moment of carelessness, not some misfire from confusion.

The precision of it made me frown.

As 444 tackled the mortally wounded 499, he screamed:

[Stay still! You stupid bitch!]

[Oppa? Oppa, nooooo!]

[I’M the one who'll become a success! Not you! Hand over the core! NOW!]

"Oh wow? This one's even crazier."

444’s tail blade and space manipulation shredded 499’s chest.

Flesh barely hanging on, 499 struggled violently.

It was obvious {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} what 444 was after.

He thought if he could consume 499 and get even a little stronger, he might escape this hellhole.

[499! Submit! Let me devour youuuu!]

[N-no...! I don’t want to...!]

"Hmph. Disgusting.

Test subjects these days have no dignity."

Losing focus mid-battle? That was a guaranteed death sentence.

499’s screams made Gu Seoryong smirk.

She pointed her finger like a gun and SNAP!

I lunged toward 444’s throat, and Gu Seoryong followed right behind me.

[No, stay away! AAAAAAAH!]

As I charged, 444, still tearing into 499, launched a storm of blades at me—but it swerved wide, hitting nothing but empty air.

CRUNCH!

I bit deep into 444’s throat again, and part of him got absorbed into me.

Right beside me, Gu Seoryong stomped 499’s flailing head into the ground and wrapped her tail around her neck, stabbing the tip into her skull.

[O-oppaaa...m-mamaaa...]

"Aww, were you thinking about Mommy~?"

GULP, GULP.

The way her tail was pumping, she was probably flooding 499’s brain with venom.

Lying sideways on the ground, 499 weakly pawed the air, her gaze fading into the distance.

Gu Seoryong had completely subdued her.

I continued ripping into 444’s vitals.

CRACK, CRUNCH,

Ribs snapped, skull fractured.

[M-mama... Mama... don’t leave me....]

[AAAAAAGH! 499! What the hell are you doing, you worthless bitch!]

499, unable to even perceive the dying 444 right in front of her, thrashed.

Space around me twisted and tore, but none of it hit me.

Even the spreading ice spikes sprouted at odd, tangled angles, proof that 444’s senses were completely wrecked.

Like stale coffee powder sprinkled on cotton candy—

That's what his blood tasted like as I tore into him.

Regeneration? Already at its limit.

The only thing left was for him to be eaten.

[Ugh, AAAAAAGH!!]

CRUNCH, CRUNCH.

No longer even worthy of being called an enemy, I devoured 444 alive, searching for the core.

Monster cores weren't in the heart or brain; they were separate.

Each monster’s was located differently.

For 444... probably here.

I pressed my paw into the spot I'd torn open when he attacked 499 and ripped it apart—revealing blood-slick organs.

Hooking a claw into the core, 444 screamed in terror.

[P-please, spare me! I'm a test subject too! Just like you—captured, experimented on—!

You—you were a monster that didn’t kill your own kind, weren’t you...?]

[You're different.]

444 couldn’t control his instincts.

He didn’t understand conversation, didn’t care if he couldn’t understand someone—he would kill and eat to comprehend.

He killed the children, the "little sister" he once called family, killed and killed, just to grow stronger.

A complete monster.

[Monsters must die.]

[A-AAAAAAAAAAGH!]

I bit down on his core and shattered it.

CRUNCH.

The hard shell broke.

His life faded away.

The thick umami of core energy flooded my mouth.

My powers disassembled the core and digested it.

And then—the memories came.

444’s human memories.

‘Mama...? She’ll really come back if I sleep for just 100 days...?’

Holding his sleeping little sister in his arms, 444 parted ways with an older woman in front of a strange building.

‘It’s your fault! You’re the reason even I got abandoned!’

‘Aaaaaaang! Aaaaaaang!’

She used to love him—until his sister was born.

Without her... maybe he could have kept being loved.

‘Such a good, obedient boy.’

‘H-hey... promise me... don’t hurt my little sister....’

‘Fine. But you know what you have to do, right?’

The lab.

The injections.

The monster cells.

Adaptation.

Synthesis.

A whirlwind of confusion in his mind.

As he sank into monsterification, the researchers’ voices buzzed faintly in his ears.

‘Both siblings adapted to CXI’s cells? Impressive.’

‘It’s clear—some bloodlines adapt, some don’t.’

‘404 and 472’s siblings died, though.’

‘Maybe it’s just a matter of willpower. We promised that if they succeed, we won’t touch their family... Success rates skyrocketed.’

His heart raced hearing that they might have touched his sister.

But it soon went flat again.

The cold injection coursing through his veins numbed even the ability to feel anger.

‘Alright, time to put the leash on.’

WHIRR.

Another injection, different from the others, pierced his brain.

The monster’s core began devouring his human memories and emotions.

What remained was pure monster instinct.

‘He can’t take anymore. This is the limit.’

‘So even he’s only this much...’

‘444’s quality is especially poor compared to 499’s aptitude.’

‘Tch. If 499’s obedience imprint had worked properly, we would’ve disposed of him already.’

‘They broke her mind trying to force it. The Alphabet guys really don’t give a shit about making proper brainwashing drugs.’

I hated my little sister.

If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have been abandoned.

If 499 hadn't existed, I wouldn't have been compared and discarded like trash.

'Why is CXI still alive? Starlight could have definitely killed CXI, couldn't she?'

'CXI is getting too close to the humans.'

'We have to kill CXI.'

'If you devour his core, you will no longer be failures.'

If I just ate CXI, I could become the strongest monster.

I would be praised, become a successful experiment, become strong.

I wouldn't be abandoned again.

'Black Cat, stop, stop it!'

'Don’t do it! Black Cat, stop!'

Why doesn’t this woman abandon her child?

Why would a human fight against a monster?

Why doesn't this human child want to kill his parents?

'Don’t eat!'

'I'm hungry!'

'499, I told you not to eat!'

'I'm hungry...'

Eating humans made 499 stronger.

I had only just caught up to her after eating my first human—I couldn’t fall behind again.

So, at least my little sister—

At least her, I did nothing to.

Please...

[Haaah....]

CRACK.

After completely crunching down the core, I exhaled slowly, trying to force down the swirling disgust inside me.

I tested my newly gained ability.

WHUMMMM.

The air shimmered as the space-slicing ability distorted the void.

Sitting atop 499’s head with her tail coiled around her neck, Gu Seoryong clapped.

"Congratulations, Dundeun~ You've gotten a little more 'Dundeun'~"

[Yeah.]

Licking my lips, I recalled the curse that 444 had left me.

In his final moment, the thing 444 feared most was 499 dying.

Because of that, my monster core had evolved into a form most specialized to killing 499.

[GRRRR....]

[O-Oppa?]

The resonance of my growl had grown ever so slightly closer to 444’s.

Just moments ago, 499 hadn't resisted at all when attacked by 444.

I frowned at the unpleasant evolution exploiting that.

Gu Seoryong pointed a finger toward 499’s head under her butt.

"Then I guess it's my turn? Heheh, I'll eat well~"

[Gu Seoryong.]

Hearing that, I used telekinesis to grab Gu Seoryong’s wrist.

"What?"

[The monster, 444, is dead.]

"So?"

[499 cannot be killed.]

"Hmm...."

At my words, Gu Seoryong pouted in displeasure and drove her tail deeper into 499’s neck.

I stared silently at her, radiating a warning steeped in killing intent.

[Ugh, ah...ah....]

"So what, you call me out here, make me go through all this shit, and then you say I don't even get a single reward?"

[Correct.]

"Isn’t that a bit much, babe? You eat a core all by yourself and that’s it?"

[It was Kim Sooyoung’s last request.]

Kim Sooyoung—that was 444’s human name.

Startled, 499 stared at me blankly.

Watching quietly, Gu Seoryong shrugged, looking exhausted.

"Hmph. Fine.

Honestly, I don't like eating experiments either. It leaves a bad taste."

[Is that so.]

And it was true—eating an experimental subject was far worse than I expected.

Unlike devouring a regular monster, their human memories bled into me, making it undeniable that I had eaten a human being.

The disgust, the alienness,

the realization that I could have easily become one of them.

"You’re pretty sensitive, huh? Was this your first time eating an experiment?"

[Their memories were read.]

"So? Did it shock you?"

[It disgusted me.]

"Disgusted, huh~"

What even was this emotion?

Smacking my lips at the bitter aftertaste, I saw Gu Seoryong flick her fingers snap, snap as if to snap me back.

"Get a grip, CXI.

We’re monsters. We’re not human, remember?

The core’s already devoured us.

Reading memories when you bite down on a human corpse is the same.

It’s just some leftover scraps you chew through."

[Is that so.]

"If you weren’t this kind of monster, I would’ve been eaten alive back in the lab."

[Did we ever fight?]

"Aww, you don’t even remember?

That’s cold, babe. Real cold."

[Apologies. Weak monsters aren’t worth remembering.]

"Wowww, that’s so mean~ Anyway, fine, fine.

You want to honor Kim Sooyoung’s request, right?

Then we won’t kill this one."

Talking to Gu Seoryong settled my mind a little.

Maybe it was because we were both experiments.

Gu Seoryong wriggled her tail—GULP, GULP—and injected venom deeper into 499’s neck.

"But... this much should be fine, right?"

[What are you doing?]

"Mind manipulation.

I don’t know what the lab did to her, but her head’s already completely messed up—perfect timing."

[Ugh, ngh, ngh....]

SLIP.

Pulling her tail free, Gu Seoryong gently stroked 499’s jaw and kissed her forehead—SMOOCH.

"Isn't it fine if I have a cute little bodyguard? Right, babe?"

[Do as you wish.]

"Yaaay~♥"

Kim Sooyoung’s last wish was only that 499 not be killed.

Nothing more.

Leaving Gu Seoryong and 499 behind,

I stepped into the torn space and left.

With this...

there were now two despair-class monsters left in W-City.

No—

three.