Chapter 231: Monsterization (1)

Johnny nodded.

“Right. Like I said before, the main work our Ianco Mercenaries do is exterminating magical beasts. We take extermination missions to get fees, and we also catch beasts with bounties on them. But among them, there are named Monsters.”

Named Monsters.

Magical beast grades generally exist from Grade 1 to Grade 4, but Named Monsters referred to unique species that deviated from the normal track.

For example, the Hobgoblin is a representative named Monster.

A special individual born with inherently superior genes and evolved uniquely within the pack.

Now people use Hobgoblin to mean ‘goblin leader’, but originally it was called by a separate name, ‘Hob’.

‘Hob’, the first leader goblin who united all goblins in the Great Forest and waged war against humans, was the origin of the name Hobgoblin.

Since then, leader goblins came to be called Hobgoblins.

Anyway, besides the Hobgoblin, there were those with two heads or multiple arms.

Or those whose behavior was different from other individuals due to high intelligence, and so on.

Named Monsters possessed a ‘distinct uniqueness’ that could not be divided by grades.

So naturally, Named Monsters were stronger than other general magical beasts.

Known countermeasures or weaknesses obviously didn’t work, and since extermination was tricky, there were many cases where people went to exterminate them but were hunted instead. On top of that, since they were basically magical beasts that viewed humans as prey, the damage suffered by civilian houses was also significant.

To think they hunted such Named Monsters.

Yuria looked at Johnny with surprised eyes.

“You’re working hard. Dealing with Named Monsters must be incredibly difficult.”

“We have to eat to live. Also, the earnings are better than you’d think.”

Suddenly, Yuria felt a doubt.

‘But why did they stop poaching?’

Even if the largest production line was destroyed by her, the original technology hadn’t disappeared.

The loss might have been great, but the foundation they possessed hadn’t completely flown away, so if they had made up their minds to restore it, they could have sufficiently restored it and started the poaching and artifact business again.

‘……By any chance. Did Dad listen to what I said?’

Her request to not kill Spiritbeasts and do other work.

Considering that look in his eyes when he cast her aside with contempt at the last moment, the possibility was low.

Still, becoming curious, Yuria decided to ask Johnny the reason.

“By the way, Uncle.”

“Hmm?”

“After I destroyed the factory, why didn’t you continue the business you were doing and switched to magical beast extermination? No matter how much money beast extermination makes…… I don’t think it would be more profitable than catching Spiritbeasts and doing…… that. And it’s more dangerous work.”

It was something even a fool knew, that exterminating Named Monsters, which were openly hostile and unpredictable, was much more dangerous than hunting Spiritbeasts that coexisted with humans.

Johnny stared at Yuria for a moment at that question, then smirked and answered.

“……It was Big Brother’s will. After you left us, he suddenly said we should fold the entire business. He said he would take responsibility for everything that followed. For us, since it was Big Brother’s words, we decided to shut up and follow. Other than that, I don’t know the detailed reason either?”

At Johnny’s answer, Yuria felt her heart beating loudly.

The anticipation that her guess might be right.

If so, couldn’t she resolve the old feelings that had piled up between them with this opportunity?

Yuria wasn’t without fault either, and if she apologized for that and resolved this request well, she could also clear the debts of the past.

Above all, she was happy that she could escape the category of ‘cowardly and disloyal person’ that Gerard said he hated and despised even more than villains.

‘Now I can speak confidently to Senior.’

It was when Yuria was inwardly rejoicing while running a hopeful train of thought.

Johnny wore a heavy expression as he looked at Yuria.

Then, as if he had never done so, he laughed nonchalantly and opened his mouth.

“Anyway, for some reason, the number of reports of discovering Named Monsters has been on the rise recently. It was strange, so we investigated and…….”

To summarize Johnny’s story, it was like this.

Named Monster reports that had suddenly surged recently.

The Ianco Mercenaries, realizing the strangeness, mobilized and witnessed a Named Monster at the scene, but that was a Spiritbeast.

“……Then, are you saying a Spiritbeast attacked people?”

“Yeah. The citizens who reported it don’t know much about Spiritbeasts. Since it was a magical beast with an appearance they were seeing for the first time, they judged it to be a mutant and reported it as a Named Monster.”

It wasn’t a strange occurrence.

No. In fact, it was a happening that often occurred.

Cases where a Spiritbeast attacked humans, and they mistook it for a Named Monster and reported it.

Just because Spiritbeasts formed a symbiotic relationship with humans didn’t mean unconditional peace.

No matter how naturally gentle a Spiritbeast was, if its territory was invaded or its life was directly threatened, there were incidents where it considered humans or whatever as enemies and attacked.

Records of Spiritbeasts that attacked humans for these reasons and were unfairly killed after being mistaken for ‘Named Monsters’ could be found without difficulty.

However, if it was such a simple problem, Johnny wouldn’t have bothered to come all the way to find Yuria at the Academy.

“That was a real magical beast.”

Yuria looked at him with eyes asking what that meant.

“You said it was a Spiritbeast just a moment ago?”

“Right. It is a Spiritbeast. No. It would be correct to say it ‘was’ a Spiritbeast. That is a magical beast that was a Spiritbeast.”

A Spiritbeast became a real magical beast.

Johnny was saying that.

The criterion dividing Spiritbeasts and magical beasts could be said to be the merciless madness and slaughter instinct to destroy everything other than oneself or one’s own species.

“Silver Antler Deer. It’s the guy we met when we mobilized after receiving a Named Monster report. It’s an especially gentle guy even among other Spiritbeasts. You know it well too, right?”

“……Yes.”

“Right. Since you must have seen it inside the factory in the past. Ahem. Anyway, if such a guy raids and eats humans, can you imagine that picture?”

Yuria shook her head with a stiff expression.

“No.”

“But the guy we faced back then was like that. His silver antlers were dyed bright red with the blood and flesh of the victims, and his muzzle was biting and chewing on someone’s intestines. Only the appearance was the Spiritbeast we knew, but the inside had turned into a magical beast.”

“……It’s hard to believe.”

“What’s harder to believe is that it was merely the first one.”

Yuria’s eyes trembled ominously.

“If it was the first…… are you saying there were more times?”

Johnny spread the fingers of both hands.

“Eight times. And we’re facing the ninth.”

He expressed that phenomenon as Monsterization.

And that they discovered a Spiritbeast right before it became monsterized.

“We need to find the cause to fix it or whatever, but we need to be able to communicate, right? Even if it looks fine on the outside, the condition continuously worsens, so it was driving me crazy. Then, flash, I thought of you. You can communicate with Spiritbeasts, right? So let’s ask directly and find the cause.”

“You mean for me to examine it.”

Johnny snapped his fingers.

“That’s exactly it. Accurate. Big Brother was strictly against it, but what can we do? We can’t just stand by with two hands idle and watch them becoming magical beasts like this. Shouldn’t we try everything we can?”

“That’s right. You did well to come find me. I’ll help too.”

The words that Dad was strictly against bothered her, but since it was work to save the Spiritbeasts, she had the intention to help actively.

However.

“Damn it.”

When they arrived there.

Seeing the front yard turned into a wasteland and people busily moving around on it, Johnny spat out a rough curse.

“I think we’re late.”

“……Pardon?”

“No. Let’s go in for now.”

When Johnny approached, people bowed and greeted him.

And towards Yuria too.

Most of them were people who had been in Green Circle.

So while there were some who looked at her with hostility due to what Yuria had done, the majority expressed gladness and greeted her in a friendly manner.

“Wow. Yuria? It’s been a long time!”

“You’ve become a total lady! Do you remember me?”

“Of course. Have you been well?”

“Ahaha! Of course! Welcome back! Welcome back!”

Yuria smiled awkwardly.

While doing so, her eyes scanned here and there in the front yard.

The deeply gouged ground and torn down wall.

On the building wall, four sharp claw marks were visible, and the windows were miserably smashed.

‘Smell of blood.’

There was a battle.

And right before they arrived.

When she looked at Johnny anxiously, Johnny, who was whispering with someone, nodded and beckoned to her.

“Yuria.”

“Yes, Uncle.”

“Follow me.”

Johnny took her somewhere.

The place he headed to like that was the back of the building that looked like the headquarters.

There was a massive carcass and a man watching it gloomily.

It was a view of his back, but Yuria couldn’t take her eyes off that man’s back.

That person’s back she could never forget.

‘Dad.’

Yuria felt her heart pounding from then on.

Did he sense their presence?

The man who was looking down at the carcass of the Spiritbeast turned his head.

Once at Johnny.

And once at Yuria.

The two people’s gazes met.

Yuria, who saw his appearance properly, felt her heart sink.

The left eye wearing an eyepatch.

The right sleeve hung down limply like a deflated balloon and was swaying here and there.

And the body that had become excessively thinner than before.

She couldn’t know exactly what had happened during that time, but it was a wretched appearance that made her feel that the time hadn’t been a happy one.

“……Ah.”

Yuria tried to call him.

However, the man, Ianco, who was staring at her dryly, turned his body heartlessly without a single word.

Thanks to that, Yuria’s eyes lost their way.

Johnny, who was in between, was flustered and quickly followed behind Ianco.

“Oh come on, Big Brother, seriously! Big Brother! Big Brother! Just listen to me for a second!”

“Listen to what! I told you not to bring her!”

Left behind, Yuria clenched her fist tightly.

It was a delusion.

‘Dad still hates me.’

The onrushing embarrassment and the thought that she shouldn’t have come began to dominate her mind.

Then, belatedly, the carcass in front came into view.

It was what Ianco had been looking at.

“This is…….”

It was the carcass of a Spiritbeast, a Half-Moon Wolf.

Next to it, two corpses covered with pure white cloth were also laid together; judging by the traces of the battle just now, they seemed to be those who were sacrificed while blocking the Half-Moon Wolf.

‘We are late.’

If so, there was nothing Yuria could do.

She didn’t have the ability to revive a corpse or converse with a corpse.

‘Then what do I do?’

Yuria couldn’t hide her despondency.

The only clue to find the cause of monsterization disappeared as soon as she arrived.

Since even the reunion with her dad, which she had secretly hoped for, ended coldly, it seemed there was no reason to be here anymore.

It was then.

Ianco, who had returned before she knew it, brushed past her side.

“I don’t know for what purpose you came here, but nothing good will come from getting involved with us, so finish your business and go back quickly.”

At the onrushing wave of futility, Yuria crumpled her face in a grimace and clutched her forehead.

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