Became a Failed Experimental Subject Novel - Chapter 1

I was relieved that I could carry it and tied it around my wrist.

Lastly, I put the family photo in my pocket.

After leaving the storage room, I sat beside a nearby tree, lost in thought.

Now… What should I do?

The lab abandoned me, or rather released me, yet my empty heart had no motivation.

I don’t want to do anything.

Should I take revenge on the lab for experimenting on me?

Killing those inhuman things is somewhat appealing, but to deal with them, I have to face the test subjects under them.  Unlike me, those who obey their commands.  I’m not particularly keen on that. Unless an opportunity presents itself, I doubt I can find them and take revenge.  I don’t know where they kept me, nor do I know where other research facilities are.  I knew very well that the only thing that motivated me was impossible. As a human, with nothing left, this world was utterly meaningless to me.  The ones who experimented on my body also knew that I was engulfed in terrible emptiness.  So they told me: destroy, kill humans, shatter everything, devour. But why should I? I don’t want to. This desire is still raging within me, the aggression towards humans, all of it, I don’t want any of it.  That’s why I was called a failure. I didn’t want to do anything in the research institute, much less now that I’m out, in a place I so desperately wanted to be. Now I just…don’t want to do anything.  Really nothing at all.

Then, something was felt.

“…Hmm.”

Even amidst the emptiness, a sharp sense that didn’t subside, a killing intent piercing the gap in my empty mind. The direction is to the left, some distance away, a horde of monsters rising from underground is felt.  Around me, humans are abundant, like those visiting a cemetery. Humans are the monsters’ prey, and monsters like places with many people.  So it’s only natural for monsters to appear in a place like this, and preparations have already been made.  A loud siren fills the air, and people move frantically.

“Monster!”

“R-run! Quickly! To the shelter!”

I sat quietly by the tree, watching the desperate crowd flee.  As the boundary equipment detecting the monster core reacted, people headed towards capsule shelters that would allow them to endure the monster’s attacks for a while.  Just before the monsters rising from underground emerged from the ground, nearby heroes took flight using their superpowers. The monsters emerging from the ground were “To-ryong”, monsters transformed from earthworms.  The rating is…Lethal class.  They are capable of easily killing people.

“It’s a To-ryong! Be careful of the toxic mucus it spits!”

“Yes!”

“Create a blockade to prevent them from approaching the civilians! Quickly!”

Espers who seemed to not yet be official heroes and official heroes alike rushed towards the To-ryongs erupting from the ground.  They breathed fire, slashed with swords, and paralyzed them with electricity.  It would probably not be long before all the monsters are dealt with.  The fleeing people likely knew this as well.  However, in case of accidents…if things go just slightly wrong, one, two, or as many as ten people could die in a monster attack.  Until the heroes defeat all the monsters, the people flee, hiding to protect themselves. To avoid becoming unfortunate prey, devoured.

“Hee-soo!”

“Aaaaaah! Aaaaaah!”

As I sat quietly watching the heroes suppress the monsters, I turned my gaze to the sound of crying coming from my ears. A child who had tripped over a rock created by the upheaval of the ground outside the blockade created by the heroes. The ground undulates, a weak monster lagging behind, left behind from the main horde.  A natural predator of humans.. A To-ryong rises from the ground, its circular mouth at the end of its slimy, mucus-covered body lunges towards the child. The child’s mother rushes towards it screaming, the distance to the hero is far, out of sight. Another innocent about to become prey.

The sight that entered my field of vision moved my body before my mind could process it. The experiments in the lab, the resulting powers, the giant monster core nestled next to my heart. The activating violence consumes my body, and the thoughts of a monster are imposed upon my mind. What’s needed now…is speed above all else, and powerful firepower that can evaporate even toxic mucus, destructive power…no, the ability to devour instantly.  My whole body is wrapped in fur, my bones change. The form of a beast, a wolf-like head, the upper body of a bird of prey, and the lower body of a tiger.

Humans fled,  I dashed through the screams, instantly moving in front of the child, and stomped on the Tohryu’s mouth with my front paw.

“Krrrrrrr….”

“Kiiiiii!”

A burning sensation in my chest, the energy of a thunderbolt shot out from my front paw.

Controlled by my ability, the thunderbolt shot in one direction, burning the ground in a circle and reducing the Tohryu to ashes.

I, wielding the ability of a tiger that swallowed lightning – Raiho – looked down at the mother and daughter before me.

“Hi, Hiik?!”

“Uaaaaang!”

The two were trembling in fear before a monster that was incomparable to the Tohryu.

And, a siren wail far louder than before filled the surroundings.

Within the monster’s senses…the delicious scent of fear and apprehension emanating from a strong being….

Shifting my gaze, I looked at the hero, pale-faced, aiming at me amongst the Tohryus fleeing into the ground.

“Th…Despair-class! Despair-class appearance! Immediately! Immediate support!!”

The hero who had been leading the student Espers screamed into his radio.

I adjusted my stance towards the heroes, bending my upper body ready to leap at any moment.

A Despair-class monster.

That’s the assessment of me now, with my enhanced power from the Kaiju Core.

Kaiju rankings go from the bottom: Murder-class, Crushing-class, Disaster-class, Despair-class, and finally Extinction-class.

In terms of Esper abilities, would it be S-class? A Despair-class necessitates abandoning combat and evacuating the city to avoid the monster if no equivalent hero is available.

The Extinction-class above that requires abandoning an entire country.

Because of the power of the Kaiju Core detected by the sensors, watching the tense heroes, I pushed off with my four legs and leaped over them.

“Ah?! Oh?!  It…it’s escaping?!”

In truth, I had no intention of fighting.

Nor did I intend to transform into a monster.

With urgent requests for support coming from behind, I left the cemetery before it became a troublesome affair.