I Became a National ‘Disaster’ Level Monster

Chapter 141 Season 2 – The Princess Captured in the Demon King’s Castle

The biggest problem in the underground village was, of course, the food shortage.

“At 1,000 meters underground, the ground is too hot to farm…”

“And since all the livestock, like cows and pigs, have been eaten by monsters outside the kingdom’s borders, livestock farming is impossible.”

“There was a time we thought about raising monsters like animals. But…”

The people of the underground village had painfully realized why, in the 6,000-year history of human civilization, humans had only raised animals and not monsters.

“You mean they couldn’t be controlled?”

“It’s not that they couldn’t be controlled…”

“Think of it like trying to grasp water in your hand.”

“Grasp water? That’s impossible.”

“Exactly. It was impossible. As soon as we managed to drag one underground, it went berserk, making it impossible to raise.”

Recalling that dangerous time when, although no lives were lost, it was truly risky, the future hunting squad members all sighed.

Seeing them, I thought we should help as soon as possible.

“Then, we’ll become your hunting squad and go hunt some edible monsters for you.”

“If you do that, we’d be grateful.”

“But as I recall, Shin-woo at this time couldn’t do partial monster transformations.”

“Partial… monster transformation?”

“Oh, right! Father, there’s something I want to tell you about that.”

Partial monster transformation.

The term made it sound like you could transform just part of your body into a monster.

“It sounds vaguely familiar…”

Now that I think about it, I remember seeing my future self doing that in my memories.

To avoid wasting energy, when facing opponents he could easily kill, he would only transform an arm or leg into a monster to mercilessly massacre humans.

So, does that mean I, who inherited part of his memories, can do that as well? This partial monster transformation?

“Jae-won, do you…”

“You want to know about partial monster transformation, right?”

“Yeah, but…”

“First, take a look at this.”

In the middle of my conversation with the hunting squad, Jae-won pulled the sword from his back.

And then.

“Haah!”

The holy sword that shone with a white light was instantly covered in dark energy, and Jae-won’s arm transformed into the shape of a monster.

“This is partial monster transformation.”

“…! So, you could do it too.”

“I was actually more surprised that you couldn’t do this, Father.”

“Really?”

“Yes, because when I was born, I could already do partial monster transformation.”

Jae-won shared with me his unique growth journey.

Unlike me, my son couldn’t fully transform into a monster when he was born.

He had lived at the first, much larger human rebel base, only able to transform his arms or legs in a partial monster transformation. One day, while he was sleeping, the base was attacked.

It was witnessing the death of someone precious to him that triggered his ability to fully transform into a monster for the first time.

“For the record, I’m the only one of your children who can fully transform. For the others, partial transformation is their limit.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. Leon, who fought you in the past, and the other three, don’t hold back to conserve power. It’s just that their form is limited to partial transformation by nature.”

Now that I think about it, when I fought Leon in the past, he didn’t seem like he was holding back.

If he could fully transform, he would’ve done it immediately instead of holding back.

But then, why is Jae-won the only one who can fully transform?

“Maybe it’s because you and Sister are so close?”

“Could be…”

Hearing Ria, who had appeared by my side, I nodded, thinking she might be right.

After all, we’d been a family for over 10 years.

It would’ve been stranger if we didn’t get along well.

Meanwhile, Lady Kurumi, who was listening to our conversation, looked slightly displeased.

“Could it be… that I’m not compatible enough?”

“Lady Kurumi?”

“Ugh… I’ll try harder to improve my compatibility with Shin-woo!”

“Uh, sure. Let’s do that?”

Though I wasn’t sure what she meant, her determined gaze made me clench my fist to encourage her.

Anyway.

“With just partial monster transformation, you won’t have to worry about being detected by present Han Shin-woo.”

“Because it uses less energy?”

“Yes. Your monster transformations are especially flashy, Father. But if you use it like this, it’s possible to ‘assassinate’ him without being noticed.”

“…!”

Assassination!

Come to think of it, that’s a method I hadn’t considered.

In a direct fight, I can’t defeat my future self.

That was already proven when our world’s moon was destroyed.

But assassination?

As history shows, no matter how powerful a general is, if their throat is cut while they sleep, their life can be ended in an instant.

In other words, if I can get close enough, I can take advantage of a moment of carelessness and use partial transformation to…!

“If it’s me, I can definitely kill him…!”

“Certainly…”

“Both being Han Shin-woo, he might confuse your energy with his own for a moment, creating an opening.”

In that brief moment when he mistakes my energy for his own.

And in that moment, I could replicate the movement I glimpsed from his memories and cut out his heart.

There were plenty of monsters wandering the surface to practice on anyway.

“Jae-won, can you teach me partial monster transformation?”

“Of course, Father.”

To hunt monsters and learn at the same time, I immediately followed Jae-won up to the surface.

***

In fairy tales, the princess is always captured by the demon king and imprisoned in a gloomy demon world.

When I first heard that story as a child, I didn’t really understand it.

The demon world is a place without ‘humans,’ after all.

In such a place, the demons would give her delicious food, pick out beautiful clothes for her, and raise her without any lack. Why, then, would the princess want to escape?

As a Beast Hunter, someone who despised humans, it was a story I couldn’t understand.

But now, looking back, Sophia knew the answer, even if she didn’t want to.

“Because there’s someone she cares about… That’s why she wanted to escape, no matter what…”

How many days had it been since I was locked in this room?

As soon as I was brought to the future, I was forced into this white dress.

…It was exactly my style, the kind of thing I’d want to bring back to the past.

The food they brought into the room, the various entertainment devices they prepared whenever I said I was bored—everything was full of things I liked to a creepy degree.

Well, it made sense, considering the one who prepared all of this was Shin-woo.

When I thought about how much Shin-woo cared for me, I felt happy but also overwhelmed with unbearable emotions, knowing that he wasn’t the Shin-woo from my world.

“Let me out…”

……

“I said, let me out!!”

Bang! Bang!

For the past week, I’d been banging on the firmly sealed door, desperate to leave.

I was willing to keep hitting it until my bones broke.

But just when I was about to hit it again, knowing my hand might get hurt,

“Your Majesty, please stop.”

Suddenly, a child appeared behind me, stopping me.

“…Harumi?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“You just returned from the academy, I see.”

“Haha, yes… Something like that.”

The child was Harumi, one of the dozens of daughters that future Han Shin-woo had attached to me to treat me respectfully.

With her joyful pink hair, she appeared cheerful, but she had a rather enigmatic personality. She was the 29th daughter of the empire.

Kitsune Harumi.

“Your Majesty, if you keep stressing out like this, your lovely skin will suffer. So, just try to be happy, okay? Be ha~ppy.”

“…Even if I want to be, it’s hard when I’ve been dragged here against my will.”

“Well, yeah, I guess that makes sense!”

Harumi made a V sign with her fingers to try and cheer Sophia up, but after a moment, she gave up, flopped down on the bed, and sighed.

At first, when Sophia saw Harumi, the daughter of Kitsune Kurumi, she had been extremely cautious around her.

But compared to the other children who went to ridiculous lengths to be formal, Harumi’s casual, high school-like behavior had become endearing.

Before she knew it, Sophia had stopped caring when Harumi entered her room without permission, just lounging around.

“…Are you going to hang out in this room again today?”

“Yep. After all, this is one of the few places where even the tutors can’t come.”

“Sigh, you’re going to get in trouble with your father… Shin-woo, I mean.”

“No way. If it were one of my older brothers or sisters, maybe, but His Majesty doesn’t even know I exist, so I’m fine.”

Ting-a-ling-a-ling.

Lying face down on Sophia’s bed, Harumi pulled out a comic book from her bag and began reading.

Watching her carefree attitude, Sophia’s frustration melted away.

“…

If I start hitting the door again, will you stop me?”

“It’s His Majesty’s order, so I must follow it. I’m sorry, but I can’t disobey.”

“…Why?”

“Huh?”

“Why do you follow him? He doesn’t even know you exist.”

Curious, Sophia asked Harumi.

The other children who had come from the past had also been oddly desperate to please the Shin-woo who barely acknowledged them.

But as if the question itself were strange, Harumi closed her comic book and tilted her head.

“Because you never know.”

“What?”

With a peculiar spark of hope and obsession in her eyes, she replied.

“If I keep listening, he might notice me one day.”

“Notice… you?”

“Yeah. You wouldn’t understand because you’ve always had His Majesty’s love, but all of us, including me, crave his love. Even if it means being scolded or hit, just once…”

Yes, just once…

“Being recognized by Father… That’s the wish of every one of his children, including me.”