Free Web NovelPerhaps many years later, Vieya would still occasionally think back to this night—this night that felt like standing at a crossroads of fate.
“Hmmmmm, you hurt me~ meow.”
Helcat was pinned to the ground.
Her beautiful gothic short dress was in disarray, the hair she had so carefully styled now a little mussed, making her look like a pitiable noble lady waylaid by bandits.
But her face bore none of the fear or despair of someone in such a plight. Instead, she wore a faint smile—like ice and snow melting, a dazzling expression brimming with hope.
If one ignored the flecks of blood across her pale cheeks, the hellish scene in the alley, and the suffocating stench of blood...
It would almost look like a moving, beautiful painting.
Vieya sat on her warm stomach, one hand tugging upward at Helcat’s fluffy tail, the other pressing a broken blade against her throat.
“My mistake.”
Vieya spoke, her gaze on the catgirl beneath her complicated.
All of this could have been avoided, but she had hesitated.
From the start, she should have personally stepped forward to deal with the patrolman who had blocked their way.
With her past experience, handling those men would have been no problem. At the very least, she could have made them understand that trying to silence her would be troublesome—enough to deter them from rash thoughts.
That way, the blocking formation set by the patrols wouldn’t have been shattered by the stupid cat.
And whatever was inside that formation would not have leaked, resonating with a Hellcat, one of the apex of monsters.
Avoiding harm to the innocent—that had been Vieya’s ironclad creed during her Hero days. But this time... this time it was done far too sloppily.
To make such a blunder in such a dangerous place. freewebnøvel.com
Had she become so foolish after turning into this form?
Vieya felt a pang of dejection.
“They struck first, meow. You did nothing wrong.”
Helcat furrowed her pretty brows in rebuttal. She didn’t even know why—but she hated seeing the human girl on her stomach looking dejected.
Whenever she saw that downcast expression, Helcat felt unreasonably upset inside.
Like a ball of yarn dangled before a cat, yet her cruel master pinned down her limbs so she couldn’t touch it, couldn’t play with the thing that made her heart itch.
They’d barely just met, hadn’t even shared a bed yet, and still she couldn’t bear to see her wronged.
Argh! How {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} annoying!
Why, just by thinking about it, did she herself start to feel wronged too?!
“You did nothing wrong!”
Helcat wriggled irritably, emphasizing her words again. Her movements were small—almost as if she feared stirring up more of the human girl’s negative feelings.
“I’m not such small fry.”
Vieya released the catgirl’s fluffy tail and brushed the moon-white hair hanging over her chest back over her shoulder. Her emerald eyes fixed firmly on Helcat beneath her.
“On the contrary—you were the one gobbling recklessly just now, nearly landing me in big trouble!”
“What did I do wrong?” Helcat muttered gloomily. “That thing was like ginger, slipping past me before I knew it. I didn’t want it either!”
“Besides, didn’t you make me throw it up? That thing...” Helcat turned her face aside, suddenly uncertain, and asked weakly: “Did I... really spit it all out?”
“Relax. If you didn’t, I’ll just open your belly and wash it clean.”
“Nooo~ meow!”
“...”
Vieya, having gained a little more trust in Helcat, lowered the broken blade and turned her gaze toward the true culprit that had forced her hand tonight—
A massive lump of flesh.
It loomed in the night wind, folds of meat hiding dozens of eyes. Every one of those eyes was fixed on Helcat.
It was confused. Confused why, when it was always the one eating others, this time it had been the one eaten instead.
“What monster is this supposed to be...”
Vieya felt as if even the monster bestiary in her head wasn’t enough anymore.
Also—
Why were the monsters that appeared in human cities always so hideous, so absurdly grotesque?!
“Helcat, can you still change back into your big-cat form?”
Vieya suddenly asked.
“Of course I can.” Helcat looked puzzled. She actually preferred eating in her beast form—it was easier, quicker.
“Why? Is something wrong with me?”
Vieya shook her head. As she thought, there was still a difference between her and true-blooded monsters.
According to monster theory, any shapeshifting monster could return to its beast form. By that logic, Vieya too should have been able to revert to her round slime form.
But she couldn’t.
She could not become the oval-bodied slime again. She could reshape as a slime—but it was slippery, sticky, like water that was too viscous...
And she hated it.
Gathering back her wandering thoughts, Vieya began to plan how to handle the current situation.
Just now, she had been forced to invoke the purge authority embedded in her Hero’s Seal. Only for three short seconds.
But even that much would be enough to draw attention from anyone observant.
“No big deal.”
Vieya was confident. There was no way anyone could see through her identity.
What, you say I’m a Hero?
No, actually I’m a monster girl—yes, one who can resurrect from a scrap of slime tissue.
What, you say I’m a monster?
Wrong again. I can drink God’s holy water like it’s plain boiled water.
