Why am I being called Number 441? Does that mean there are 440 other people who look like me ahead of me? If you're Number 445, then what comes after?
If I'm not Number 1, then—
*Am I not the real Yu Sia...?*
My head was filled with thoughts I couldn't express all at once, leaving me unable to respond to the monster's words.
I felt so dizzy and nauseated that I kept my mouth firmly shut and swallowed hard several times, afraid that if I opened it, everything would come spilling out.
*Don't think about it. Not now... Don't think about anything else right now.*
I know what I need to do. Don't think about anything else.
"Big sis 441, why do you look so upset? Are you feeling sick?"
I opened my eyes at the voice digging into my ears and glared at the monster.
"Shut up. Don't act like we're close. Just looking at your face makes me want to throw up right now."
When I snapped at the monster with a frown, it pouted like a sulking child.
The way it looked so much like a real child—like a human—made my stomach twist.
"You're so mean, big sis. We're family, you could at least speak to me kindly."
At first, I thought I must have misheard such nonsense, but no matter how many times I replayed it in my head, the word that came out of its mouth was definitely "family."
I stared blankly at the monster that had tried to kill Choi Hyun and attacked me, then bared my teeth and growled at the word choice that didn't even deserve a bitter laugh.
"Family...? Family.... Ha, what bullshit, you crazy bitch."
Even nonsense should make some kind of sense, but this was just complete garbage.
"Big sis! The doctor said we shouldn't use bad words!"
"I told you to shut up."
My eye twitched at the sight of it now trying to lecture me.
Is it doing this on purpose? Trying to get under my skin? Trying to make me lose control by pissing me off?
Or is it just thoughtless? Or maybe a psychopath or sociopath? No, if it were that kind of human, it wouldn't feel like this.
Yes, it's just insane. There's no other explanation.
"..."
I should ignore it. Reacting to creatures like this will only exhaust me.
I closed my eyes tightly and opened them again without responding to the monster's words. This time, it even puffed up its cheeks.
"Aren't you being too obvious about ignoring me, big sis 441?"
*If this keeps up, there'll be no end to it.*
I don't know what this lunatic is after, but one thing is certain: continuing this standoff like this isn't doing me any good.
Not only is it wasting time, but if I keep talking with this shameless lunatic, I might lose what's left of my sanity.
Even though this fucker did that to Choi Hyun, killing it would cause problems, so I need to control my strength to avoid killing it.
But if I stay here any longer, I might just want to tear this fucking bitch limb from limb, regardless of controlling my strength.
I want to burn it to ashes from head to toe, leaving nothing behind.
I want to stomp it out of existence until not a piece of flesh remains, not a fragment of organs, just a puddle of blood.
"Your expression finally improved, big sis."
I looked up at the voice full of amusement and met the monster's eyes, wearing a fierce smile similar to when it first breathed fire.
I raised my head, curious about what nonsense it would spout next.
"Now that's more like my big sister."
Who's your big sister?
—Makes me want to kill it.
I shuddered at the sudden chilling thought.
*What am I thinking...?*
Being human, I've had many violent thoughts.
Wanting to knock someone down, or even, in extreme cases, wanting to kill them.
But this was different.
This wasn't an irritated thought born from anger or unbearable rage.
It was a pure desire to destroy and kill something.
No, it wasn't even a thought.
If I hadn't sensed something was wrong, if the monster hadn't spoken to me first, I would have definitely acted on it.
What scared me most wasn't that.
What terrified me most was not knowing what I might do after killing this lunatic who claimed to be my sister.
"Hng...!"
I frowned and pressed both wrists against my temples as my vision blurred and a terrible headache struck.
A throbbing heat, different from the surrounding heat, pulsed beneath my temples.
"Don't resist. Just accept it. Why are you resisting? You're just giving yourself a headache."
"Shut up...!"
"Big sis, no matter how hard you try, no one will appreciate it, you know? Stop resisting and making my head hurt too. Just relax."
"I said shut up!!"
Feeling like I had to do something, I kicked off the ground and swung my claws at the monster in front of me.
Or rather, I tried to.
—The trial for the murder case will now begin.
That single word, murder, wouldn't leave my mind, making me grit my teeth.
If I kill this monster here, I'll surely face trial again, just like today.
And if I kill it, I definitely won't get off as easily as in this trial.
What I killed in the hospital was a mindless beast, but the monster in front of me now... to others, it would look like an ordinary girl.
Back then, it looked like a monster killing a monster, but now...
Gritting my teeth, I stopped my arm and twisted my body to swing my leg instead.
It was a simple leg swing that could hardly be called a kick, but I thought it would be enough.
Just swinging my wings had sent house-sized monsters flying around, so a kick should be sufficient.
That's what I thought.
THWACK—!!
I hit it.
For a brief moment, I was certain from the satisfyingly loud, dull sound that echoed. But then I felt a stinging pain in the top of my foot that made me clench my teeth.
"Ugh!?"
It was strange—I hadn't felt pain even when I was slammed into walls or plummeted from the sky, but now my foot was stinging.
It felt like kicking a sofa cushion only to hit the frame underneath. The sharp pain made my eyes water as I squeezed them shut.
"Big sis is so soft."
I opened my eyes at the calm voice and met the monster's gaze as it blocked my leg with its arm.
The monster hadn't been sent flying by my kick, hadn't even staggered. It was even holding my ankle with one hand.
"How...?"
"You think you're the only one based on the Light Dragon?"
The monster, looking at me with a contemptuous expression, gripped my ankle tightly.
Just as I was starting to worry my ankle might break from the pressure, I felt my body being pulled and my vision flipped upside down.
It was a familiar feeling.
Yes, like when that beast-type Kaiju grabbed my leg and threw me far away in the hospital.
It felt similar to that.
"Guh!?"
I instinctively curled up my body, but I hit the wall before I could complete the motion.
CRASH!!
With a sensation similar to when Choi Hyun had pressed down on my head, my neck contracted and my body felt like it was floating in the air.
When I opened my eyes, I saw the ceiling.
Only after flailing my arms and legs did I realize what had happened.
My damn horns had gotten stuck in the wall.
"You bitch...!"
"Ahaha! Big sis, you look like a mounted trophy!"
I twisted my body and flapped my wings at the mocking words, but no matter how much I struggled, I couldn't budge—my horns were stuck too deep.
Finally, I swung my arm and made a large hole in the wall before I could pull my horns free.
"Ptoo...! Bleh...!"
Fucking concrete dust...!
That would have been fine, but the building must have been built incredibly solid because my right hand throbbed after punching the wall.
Still, it didn't seem to be a serious injury, as the throbbing quickly disappeared when I lightly clenched and unclenched my right hand.
"What an eyesore, big sis. Well, I guess it makes sense that Number 441 would be inferior in performance to me, Number 445."
I quickly looked up and met the eyes of the monster, who was standing with its hands behind its back, smiling at me.
I ground my teeth at its obviously relaxed demeanor.
"Oh? Are you angry? You are angry, aren't you? Hmm, so this is how big sis feels when she's angry. Not a very pleasant feeling."
The monster, with its eyes closed, nodded as if sensing something, then mocked me again, grating on my nerves.
"You've been talking way too much! You fucking bitch...!!"
I was already irritated enough without you constantly getting under my skin...!
Feeling like I might really cause an incident if I held back any longer, I roughly scraped the wall with my claws to vent my frustration.
With a scraping sound, the wall sliced away like tofu under my claws.
"So you've decided to use your claws now? Then I should get serious too."
"What...?"
"Ah, but first I need to buy a little more time."
Saying that, the monster took out something like a button from its pocket and pressed it firmly.
—BOOM!!
The building shook violently with a deafening roar that felt like it would tear my ears apart.
"What did you do?!"
"Nothing much. I just detonated the bomb that Chameleon big sis prepared for me. And you don't have time to worry about such trivial matters, do you?"
Before I could say anything, the monster roughly tore off its scarf and upper clothing with its left hand, revealing the body that had been hidden beneath.
The monster's body was covered in golden scales, and its solar plexus glowed red-hot like a furnace.
"Let's play together, big sis."
Flames flickered between the teeth of the monster as it smiled ferociously.