The Monster Aspires to Be a Hero!

Standing before Jieun, I glared at the man resembling Taeil while using physical enhancement and fortification abilities.
He could be an ability user capable of transforming his outward appearance.
However, the man before me was unlikely to be such an ability user.
The bodily transformation ability is limited to the physical form, like how Greed toyed with my body.
It cannot fabricate clothing as well.
He was wearing the exact same outfit as Taeil.
What did that signify?
I had a similar experience recently.

A mimicking monster.
Right, that’s it.

But it’s peculiar.
What is?

Unlike before, I can’t be certain it’s a monster.
Greed said he couldn’t tell if the being before us was a monster or not.
This was a residential area for humans.
While monster detectors were installed everywhere, none were sounding alarms indicating a monster’s presence.
“Sunbae Taeil. Why were you following us?”
Unaware that Taeil had gotten grease stains on his clothes during lunch, Jieun addressed the Taeil-lookalike out of caution.

“To…talk…”
“…”
“…”
Without a word, Jieun lowered her stance and backed away.
I handed her my smartphone, and she used it to send an emergency call.
A call requesting nearby heroes for assistance.
Within about 5 minutes, a hero in the vicinity would likely come to help.
With that precaution taken, I let out a relieved sigh as the Taeil-lookalike silently observed us.
If it really was Taeil, he would undoubtedly understand the current situation.
As a friend from the volunteer club who enjoys hero movies like Taeil and Joonghyuk, it would be impossible for the real Taeil to misunderstand this scenario.
In fact, any modern person should grasp what was happening.
Yet he showed no reaction.
Mimicking Taeil’s voice with an oddly unnatural tone, walking with a textbook gait unlike Taeil’s distinct posture, and those utterly expressionless eyes.
He was an enemy, no doubt.

“Why…are…you…”
“Hey.”
“Huh?”
“Taeil doesn’t call me ‘Sunbae’. He calls me ‘Kkosum’.”
“…”
This being had persistently followed Jieun and me for the past week.
However, that incessant gaze was only felt around the university campus area.
Just in case, after parting with Jieun at night, I would exit through the window and stake out near her home.

Thanks to Greed, my enhanced body didn’t deteriorate from occasional lack of sleep.
For a week, this entity had only lurked around us on campus.
Whenever I reacted sensitively to the gaze, it would withdraw and hide, but this time it boldly followed us.
Disguised as Taeil, no less.
It was probably trying to lull me into complacency.
Since I had been reacting quite sensitively, it must have mimicked someone I frequently interacted with to approach me more easily.
Just in case its face was seen, allowing it to play innocent.
Having lingered around Jieun and me, it definitely heard her addressing me as “Sunbae”.

“Are you… a monster?”
As I uttered those words, the Taeil-lookalike before me… laughed.
“Kuh, huhuh, huhuhuh, huhuhuhu.”
A laugh far more unpleasant than Greed’s snickering.
The previously emotionless face contorted grotesquely.
Ah, it was an expression I had seen somewhere before.
The same expression the monster from the “Monster Slaying Game” had shown.
That eerie laughter before I had hunted that monster.
Was this the main body?
I sensed Jieun tensing up rigidly behind me.
Just as I was about to warn her, it charged at me with a muffled thump.
“Kyaaaaak!”
Leaving Jieun’s scream behind, I lunged towards the creature.
The entity… no, the monster came at me with outstretched arms.
Like a grappling stance in judo.
Maintaining vigilance, I closed in and unleashed punches at the monster.
This thing appeared human but was a monster.
Later, someone might question why I used abilities against a ‘civilian’ who didn’t attack first.
But I couldn’t afford to hold back against this monster exuding an inexplicable aura.
Pak!
A dull shattering noise rang out, but my strikes didn’t seem to harm the monster at all.

Stay focused!
Heeding Greed’s warning, I tried to disengage, but the monster grabbed me with both hands.
“Ugh!”
Tremendous strength.
Despite using physical enhancement, the sheer weight felt overbearing – any lapse in focus and I might be crushed.
It was like grappling with an immense boulder.
In that momentary deliberation over how to proceed, the monster lifted me and slammed me into the ground.
Kung!
A resounding crash as if a boulder had fallen, shattering the asphalt beneath my back.
While my outer body was unharmed thanks to fortification, my insides churned queasily, seemingly unprotected.
I didn’t lose in sheer power.
Both the monster and I simply possessed enough strength to lift each other’s weights.
But my form had been disrupted by the failed attack, unlike the monster’s stability.

Hence this outcome.
Woong!
Instinctively rolling aside at the sound of slicing air, the monster’s foot struck where my head had been moments ago.
Despite being under 30cm, that foot made an explosive noise as if a shell had detonated, embedding itself in the asphalt.
It was as if a ton of force had concentrated on that single point.
…Dangerous.
Had that attack hit my head, even fortification likely couldn’t have prevented my skull from bursting like a watermelon – a chilling thought.
While the monster struggled to dislodge its leg, I charged in.
Its body was ridiculously hard and sturdy.
So I would have to damage its internals to hunt it down.
As it regained its footing, I slipped inside its guard, grabbed its wrists and slammed it downwards.
Kung!
A boulder-like crash as the monster embedded in the road, cracking the surrounding pavement.

Kyaaaaah!
Nearby civilians likely heard our intense sounds and began fleeing with screams.
Jieun was… thankfully nowhere to be seen, hopefully having escaped to safety.
I focused all my strength into stomping the grounded monster’s head.
Kang!
A resounding clang as if metal had collided, the monster’s head embedding in the asphalt.
It seemed to have an effect, as the monster’s body convulsed like an electric shock had coursed through it.
Just as I moved to stomp its head again, it grabbed my ankle in a vise-grip.
“Ugh!”
Without fortification, that crushing force might have torn my ankle off.
The monster flung me away while still gripping my leg.
Airborne, my body shattered a nearby storefront window before slamming into the interior wall.
Judging by the glittering objects rolling about, it seemed to be a jewelry store, the owner trembling without having fled in time.

“R, run!”
I immediately stood and grabbed the approaching monster.
“Th, thank you!”
The owner swiftly escaped in that fleeting moment.
Guuuuurrr!
We grappled intensely, straining against each other’s grips.
Our strength seemed evenly matched, but the sheer weight difference made me feel overpowered.
After Greed merged with my body, my weight became just over 100kg.
According to Greed, my body became denser, more flexible and efficient than ordinary humans.
Yet despite exceeding 180cm in height with that 100kg bulk, I was being overwhelmed by this monster in human guise.
A literal ton-weight monster.
“Kuhk!”
My feet gradually sank into the shattered asphalt.
At this rate, I would be overpowered.
With that thought, I twisted my wrists and headbutted the monster’s nose.
Kang!
An impossibly resounding clang, the monster’s gripping force slackening momentarily.
I immediately pressed the attack, slamming it down again.
Then I mounted its body to rain down punches on its face relentlessly.
If it had a human form, human tactics should work!