Monster.

I sighed as I shook my head. I was at the back of the group that was now following the police officer back to the mall, or, in this case, now that I knew her name, Matsushima.

Can't say I know who she is. If she's part of the show, I didn't recognize her, since I only watched the anime while on Earth. Well, not that it would change much at this point.

I also took the opportunity while the group talked to the cop to step back a bit and put the Humvee in my inventory. No matter how unlikely, I wouldn't risk someone stealing my car. Yes, my car. Even though theoretically it belongs to Shizuka, or in her friend's case, I had grown too attached to the machine. I'm taking it with me.

I'll see if I can equip the Humvee with runes, maybe change the metal to one from Terraria when I get the chance. My goal was to build a mobile base. If the worst happened, I'd just grab the car and get out of there.

[GeniusBillionairePlayboy]: Started the stream later than usual today, did something happen? I don't recognize the cop up front. (Iron Man yawning emote).

[WiseWizardGleam]: True, I spent most of the morning waiting for the stream. I don't have much to do. It's one of the few hobbies at my age. (Old wizard in a rocking chair emote).

[JiraiyaIsAnIdiot]: True, true, my old bones aren't what they used to be either, but watching the kid is one of my favorite pastimes these days. (Sitting frog emote).

[BestToadSannin]: What old bones?! Are you kidding me? You didn't look old when you threw me out of Mount Myōboku during training yesterday. And speaking of that. WHERE. IS. MY. MONEY! (Shouting frog emote).

These were the only four in the (CHAT) now. Red and her team are probably in class, and the rest are working or something. I don't really know. It seems like only the old folks had time to spare, old folks and Stark, in this case.

Looking at the new member of the (CHAT), by the username, it confirmed, it was indeed Jiraiya. So, I guess the other one is Fukasaku. I remembered him; he's one of the old frogs that hung out on the shoulder of the sannin and Naruto, the man, if I recall correctly.

Looking at where we were going, I mentally pulled up the minimap as I continued walking.

("We only found this cop. She mentioned there's a group of survivors in the mall. That's where we're heading now.")

There was also the fact that I slept in later because Saya decided to drain me until I was tired last night. But let's keep that a secret. I'm glad my enhanced regeneration applies to everything. If not, I'm sure I'd be in pain down there.

I walked calmly behind the group while keeping an eye on the surroundings and the minimap. There weren't many zombies nearby, and the only people I could see were from my group and a few yellow dots in the mall.

It didn't take long for Matsushima to lead the new group to the entrance of the mall. I thought her group might be on the second floor, but they had taken refuge on the first floor, near a convenience store, I suppose for food.

The police officer was the first to run to the mall survivors' group to talk to them, something about finding new survivors or something like that. I wasn't paying attention since the moment I saw the survivors, most of them turned green, indicating they were allies, except for one.

One of those yellow dots quickly changed to green, then blinked red when he looked at the group, and went back to green again. It seemed like he couldn't decide if he was green or red. I didn't have to look far to figure out who he was since he was the only guy staring at the girls in the group with lust, especially Shizuka.

He was a man. He must have been around thirty or older. He wore a round black beanie, a white t-shirt, boots, and a black jacket with matching pants.

I could see this guy would be trouble. I was already regretting following this cop to the mall, but, no matter, if he tries anything, I'll punch his face a few times before tying him up somewhere and throwing away the key.

I took a deep breath. If necessary, I wouldn't like it, but I wouldn't hesitate to kill the guy. No matter how shitty I felt afterward, it would be better than letting something happen to the girls.

I must not have hidden my gaze very well since the beanie guy quickly noticed my stare and stared back at me. I kept staring at him without looking away. He lost our staring contest, as he was the one who looked away while clicking his tongue and walking behind the mall survivors' group.

Interestingly, I noticed that at the end, when he went back behind the group, the dot representing him had turned green. Was he afraid to do something to me here? I mentally nodded; at least his instincts weren't complete crap. Anyway, I'd keep an eye on him.

It didn't take long for Matsushima to finish talking to the survivors and return to our group accompanied by another police officer. She was a petite woman, a bit taller than Saya. She had light brown hair, short, unlike her police friend who had black hair.

She wore a uniform similar to Matsushima's, probably a different rank. When she approached, I could see that she was lively, as her blue eyes seemed to shine like Alice's.

"Pleasure to meet you," she said while waving enthusiastically. "Asami is happy to meet new survivors!" Her smile was cheerful.

I just sighed disappointedly as I listened to her introduce herself. Seriously, why speak in the third person? That didn't even make sense! At least someone seemed to like it, as Kohta was looking at the new officer like a love-struck teenager. Oh, well...

I just shook my head and went behind the boy while pushing him gently forward. "I'm Devas, and this is my friend Kohta. He's a bit shy, so if you could introduce him to the rest of your group, I'd appreciate it."

I could see that Officer Asami quickly nodded and didn't even introduce herself to the rest of the group before dragging blushing Kohta with her to the mall survivors. I gave the boy a thumbs-up while wishing him good luck.

The rest of the group found my actions amusing, judging by the smiles on their faces. Takashi even gave me a discreet thumbs-up. It seems he had caught on to what I did.

Matsushima saw that it was just her again and approached, "So, do you want to find a place to stay now, or are you going to explore a bit first?" She pointed to the mall as she spoke.

Before she could continue, I stopped her. "We're not staying, don't worry. In fact, I have a better idea, one second." I went to Takashi and put my hand on the backpack he carried on his back, ignoring the boy's confused look. I took the radio Saya's father had given me from the inventory, pretending to take it out of the backpack.

I used the frequency he had told me to use. It didn't take long until I heard the man's rough and toneless voice.

"Devas, you called early. I thought it would take longer, is something wrong? Over." Even with the neutral tone, he seemed concerned, probably thinking something happened to Saya.

I didn't waste time with my response.

"Nothing happened, don't worry. Just calling to say I found survivors. You said before that if we found people, we could send them your way. Over."

I couldn't help the smile that appeared on my face. It was amusing to end each sentence with "Over" for some reason.

"I see, how many and where? Over."

I didn't answer right away but approached the black-haired police officer first.

"I'm passing the radio to a cop here; she'll know the location and number of people better than I do. Her name is Matsushima; I have no idea about her rank. Over."

I didn't know if I should say "Out" too, as I was no longer on the radio but someone else, so I just shrugged and handed the device to Matsushima, who looked astonished between the radio and me.

"Here, it's a friend of mine." I handed her the radio. "He has a large group of survivors, talk to him. When you're done, come to me." Seeing her waving enthusiastically, I just turned and went to my group. I'll let Souichiro handle things since I didn't know the area well. I didn't want to unintentionally provide incorrect information.

Seeing that they were talking over the radio, I took a few steps back while waiting for them to finish. In the meantime, I just returned to the group. I could see that they were talking with some of the mall survivors.

Rei and Saya were talking to an elderly couple lying on an improvised bed, while Shizuka examined the elderly woman combing little Alice's hair. Further to the right, Takashi was talking to a guy with shaved hair and glasses, who seemed to be my age, maybe a bit older.

Zeke was running around the two while playing alone.

Kohta was still talking to the officer speaking in the third person. They both had a smile on their faces, so I guess everything was going well. Finally, Saeko, the group's samurai, seemed pensive and aloof. She leaned against one of the mall walls, silently observing the others.

I approached her slowly and leaned against the wall next to her.

"Wanna tell me what's going on in that head of yours?" I said while offering her a cereal bar. Seeing her refuse, I just shrugged and started eating the bar myself while waiting for her to respond.

I didn't have to wait long before she furrowed her brow and started, "Can I ask you something? It's a bit rude, so I'm not sure if I should..." She seemed hesitant.

[GeniusBillionairePlayboy]: Is this where she confesses to him? (Iron Man eating popcorn emote).

[WiseWizardGleam]: I don't think so; she seems serious. I've seen enough teenage confessions while wandering the halls of Hogwarts to know what one looks like. (Wizard eating popcorn emote).

[JiraiyaIsAnIdiot]: I don't know human customs well, but from what my idiotic disciple says, it doesn't seem like she's going to do that. (Old frog eating popcorn emote).

[BestToadSannin]: Do you guys realize how weird this looks from the outside? You seem like 3 old folks chatting in a bar or something! (Young frog shaking its head emote).

Ignoring the (CHAT), I remained silent while waving to Saeko. Seeing that I agreed, she hesitated a bit before asking me.

"How... did you feel?" She seemed even more hesitant. "You know, when you killed those people..." I could see that she regretted asking before even finishing the sentence.

The (CHAT) fell silent. I guess they were expecting anything but this. I can't say I wasn't caught off guard as well.

Taking a deep breath, I took a few seconds before responding. It wasn't a topic I wanted to talk about, but she seemed distressed for some time already. If this would help her, so be it.

"Why?" I started. "Why do you want to know? I'm not mad at the question or anything, but I need to know the reason." I pulled a chair from the inventory, offered one to her as well, but as she declined, I just sat down while continuing. "You wouldn't ask me this out of the blue like this."

She still seemed hesitant, but since I hadn't shown any displeasure or anger with the question, she gathered courage and began to tell me her story.

Four years ago, she had been attacked by a man one night while returning home. However, she was able to easily overpower the man since she had her wooden sword with her.

After seriously injuring the man, she called the police, who released her due to the circumstances, as it was clearly self-defense, and the man had already been wanted for harassment and attempted rape for some time. But the events of that night left her with a profound revelation.

She discovered a sadistic side that enjoyed inflicting pain and suffering, that had fun while beating the man.

"That's why!" She seemed breathless after telling the story. Whether it was from getting excited remembering beating the man or from nervousness, I didn't know. "I need to know; I know I'm not normal, so I need you to tell me, to confirm." She had a fixed look in her eyes as she looked at me. Lucky for us, the rest of the people in the mall weren't paying attention to this area.

Sighing, I finished eating the cereal bar and threw the plastic into the inventory. Was this the moment where I grabbed her from behind, squeezed her chest, and shouted some kind of nonsense or something? I don't think I have enough charisma for that.

Well, here we go. "First of all, I'm not going to be the person to judge you here; being more sadistic than usual is not a crime." It was strange, but by then, each to their own fetish.

I waited for my words to sink in before continuing, "Second, there's a big difference between liking to inflict pain, being sadistic, and killing. What I did, Saeko, was kill two men." Interestingly, I thought I would feel bad talking about it, but it was like narrating a movie.

"Even though they were scum, it was still a life. Remember that." I paused. "Anyway, how did I feel? You ask. At the moment, relief, maybe happiness." A sick pleasure in seeing those two vermin die after almost killing everyone for no reason.

I saw that she seemed surprised by my answer but didn't say anything as she waited for me to continue.

"After that? Bad, it's not a good feeling, knowing that you took a life. However much of a human garbage the person you killed is, it's still an unpleasant feeling, like something sticky sticking to your skin and not wanting to come off."

That's how I felt. It wasn't debilitating; I wouldn't hesitate to kill if necessary, I knew that, but it was something bad, disgusting. I felt dirty every time I thought about it.

I could see that she was pleased with my answer and gave a bitter, self-deprecating smile.

"I knew it; that's how a person should feel. You feel bad when you think about it." She seemed almost at peace, as if accepting something. "Not like me, a monster who doesn't deserve something as pure as love."

I swear I had to take deep breaths a few times before I could speak again. I'm glad no one in the (CHAT) commented anything, as I don't think I could keep a straight face.

I really hope I wasn't like this when I was a teenager. If I was, I'm glad they don't tell me. A monster? Seriously? It's one thing to enjoy hitting other people and being happy about it, another thing is to call yourself a monster for a fetish that half the population has.

I sighed as I stood up and put the chair back in the inventory. "Follow me, let's go outside for a moment." I didn't say anything else and started walking. I could hear that she was following me, so I didn't turn around.

Passing by the girls talking to the elderly couple, I waved to them. "Going outside with Saeko for a moment, be right back, okay?" I could see that they were confused, but they nodded in agreement.

Leading Saeko outside, I stopped in an empty and more open part of the mall. I could see on the minimap that some people had followed us. Glancing discreetly to the side, I could see it was the whole group, Takashi, Rei, Saya, Shizuka, Alice, even Kohta and the two police officers had come to watch.

Well, I was already streaming this, more audience wouldn't hurt. Saeko had also noticed them, but didn't say anything, so I didn't mind.

"Here, take this." I threw the wooden katana to her. Since she received the real katana at Saya's house, she had asked me to store the wooden one in the inventory.

She didn't seem to understand why I was throwing the wooden katana to her, but she caught it anyway. Seeing that, I took a few steps in front of her and stood a few meters in front of her.

"Let's make a little bet, shall we?" I started while relaxing my muscles, assuming a calm pose. "Let's fight; you said you're a monster, right? It should be easy for a monster to beat an ordinary human." I smiled at her while gesturing for her to come.

I could see she didn't like it; her furrowed brow said that. I didn't let her speak as I continued. "How about it? The winner can give an order to the loser, simple and straightforward, isn't it?" I changed my smile to a provocative one.

It seemed to work, as she adjusted her grip on the wooden sword, but she didn't seem convinced.

"What does this have to do with the earlier conversation?" She seemed to think I was mocking her, probably. It wasn't entirely false, but I had a reason for all this.

Putting a hand in my pocket, I waved the other playfully. "If you want the answer, just beat me, ensuring for yourself that there's a reason." I finished while putting the other hand in my pocket. "Or do you think you can't win against me? I'm not even armed." In reality, I was sure she would beat me in a fight, armed or unarmed. That is, if I fought fair.

That seemed to be enough, as she held the wooden katana with both hands and came at me with a clean strike towards my shoulder. I just shook my head, watching where the strike would hit and didn't move.

Even before the strike got close, a steel plate appeared between the wooden sword and my body, making the strike hit the metal that wasn't supposed to be there.

Saeko lost her balance with the strike hitting the wrong spot, but before she could react and recover, I took a step forward, grabbing her wrist while pushing her back with a slap between her breasts, making her gasp in pain. In that time, I took the opportunity to take the sword from her hand as she fell to the ground.

"Dead." I said to her as I watched her fall to the ground.

I'll worry later that the two police officers saw me using the inventory, for now, I had a small lesson to teach.

Ignoring the sighs coming from the watching group, I spun the wooden katana in my hand while smiling playfully at her.

"A monster wouldn't lose to an unarmed ordinary human, curious, isn't it?" By this point, Saeko had already recovered but was still sitting on the ground rubbing between her breasts with a painful expression.

She looked at me and said sarcastically, "I don't think a normal human makes things appear out of nowhere." Not exactly out of nowhere, but from my inventory, but it's okay in this case.

I just shrugged and threw the sword back to her. "Come on, get up, what are you waiting for?" She looked at me confused.

"I lost, I can admit that. What do you want?" She seemed confused, not understanding the reason for all this, but still took the sword.

Still in my relaxed pose, I waved with one hand, calling her back to the fight. "A monster wouldn't die just from that, and even if it died, a monster usually doesn't die just once." I waved for her to come again.

She seemed to understand at least that and ran back to me, this time already expecting that I would block the attack with something. Mistake for her to think like that.

While she ran, when she lifted her left foot, I placed a box under it using the inventory. When she stepped back on the ground due to the change in terrain, she stumbled and would have fallen face-first if I hadn't placed a mattress where she was going to fall.

"Dead again, for a monster, you're quite soft."

I poked her head with a finger just before having to step back from the sword strike that came at me. This time I didn't need to say anything; she had already gotten up, but didn't run like the last times, she stood still holding the sword with both hands while studying me.

Seeing that she was going to wait for me to go to her, I pulled a chair from the inventory and sat down. Even so, she didn't move, stood still while waiting for me. She only moved when I pulled out a book and started reading.

Ignoring the samurai coming my way, I turned the page of the recipe book I was reading. It wasn't just to help Saeko that I was doing this; it was a good test to see how the inventory performed in battle. I hadn't been disappointed so far.

She was smart and a swordsman miles ahead of me, as the way she moved was different. She expected me to put something under her foot again; her strike was also lighter, as if she expected me to put something in front of the sword. Wrong again.

Seeing that she was close enough, just before her strike hit me, I swapped her wooden sword for a party balloon that harmlessly hit my shoulder. I'll edit her face later in the recorded stream because it was priceless the expression she had made.

I just poked her chin with my fingers, lifting her head up. "Dead again, once more." I threw the wooden katana a few meters away for her to pick up. She didn't say anything as she went to get the sword.

This repeated one, two, three times. After a while, I had stopped counting. Every time she ran at me, I did something different, everything but draw a weapon against her. By this point, she was filthy from falling on the ground so much. Even with me putting mattresses under her, she was still dirty.

Even with that, she had a smile on her face. After a while, she had started to enjoy herself. It seemed like she was taking it as some kind of challenge or something. I don't even think she noticed the smile, but it was time to stop this little game. Several minutes had passed; I needed to talk to Matsushima about the deal she and Saya's father had made.

This time, I didn't do anything when she came running at me. It was funny to see the way she moved, as if she expected the sky to fall or the ground to turn into cotton or something. It was amusing, but no, this time I just stood still, waiting for her to attack me without reacting.

She noticed this, as in the last second before her sword hit my shoulder, she stopped, less than a centimeter from touching me. I smiled at her while pulling a chair for her to sit. This time, she had accepted; she seemed tired.

"Why... did you... do... this?" She was panting but managed to say between breaths. I ignored her and handed her a water bottle, a bottle that she drank in less than three seconds.

Wiping her chin, she handed me back the bottle while asking me again.

"Why did you do this? What was the reason for all this?" It was kind of sad that she hadn't noticed; even the (CHAT) seemed to agree.

[JiraiyaIsAnIdiot]: She's excellent in Kenjutsu, but not very good using her head, right? She didn't even realize that all her strikes weren't fatal. (Emote of an old frog shaking its head in disbelief).

[WiseWizardGleam]: I don't think it's entirely her fault either. From what we heard, she's confused. We can't blame a teenager for being a teenager. (Emote of an old wizard with eyes shining with wisdom).

[BestToadSannin]: I can only shake my head at this; it's sad that she thinks she's a monster just for that when she's quite normal compared to the kunoichis of Konoha. (Emote of a young sad frog).

[GeniusBillionairePlayboy]: I can't disagree, but seriously DS? What the hell, it must be hell to fight against you. I get some things, but the ball pit was too much of a jerk move! (Emote of Iron Man laughing incredulously).

I shook my head while pushing the (CHAT) aside and turned to the confused samurai.

"Saeko, tell me where you attacked me, all the points in this 'fight.'" I couldn't help the sarcastic way I said the word, but she didn't seem to notice, probably due to fatigue. She just thought for a moment before answering.

"On the shoulders, mostly. Why?"

I just sighed.

"Saeko, at no point did you attack me to kill, and I'm sure after halfway, you were on autopilot. Do you really think a monster would do that?" I could see she wanted to retort, but I didn't let her speak.

"I won in the end, didn't I?" She closed her mouth and just nodded. "Well, let's do this, you're not a monster, that's obvious." I stood up while stretching. Sitting for so long made my muscles stiff.

I prepared myself as I wasn't sure what I was going to say was right, besides the fact that I was already shrinking in embarrassment, but it was necessary. "So let's do this, if you think you're a monster, okay." I wasn't going to convince her this way, so let's reverse my tactic.

I extended my arm while offering my hand to her.

"Then be my monster, if I tell you to attack, you attack; if I tell you to run, you run." I could see that she didn't expect this, as she seemed shocked by my words.

"If I tell you to kill, you kill; if I tell you to live, you live, understand!?" I finished with a louder tone while looking deep into her eyes.

She remained silent for some time. I was already starting to feel embarrassed, thinking it hadn't worked, before Saeko started shaking, starting from her shoulders, and then began laughing loudly while looking up.

I could see small tears running down her eyes too. At this point, I really didn't know if it was from joy, nervousness, or anger, but I think it was joy since she took my hand and knelt in front of me.

"Alright then, master." She said while emphasizing the word, making the sentence even stranger. "I will be your monster."

While I shrank in embarrassment and died inside, she seemed to be having the happiest moment of her life. Since she smiled at me, the first truly happy smile I saw her give while standing up and whispering to me.

"I hope you take responsibility for this."

At this point, I was sure it would have been better if I hadn't followed that damn scream.