Modern Monster

The rich man slowly marched up to the feeble lady who lay on the concrete after his violent kick and brutally lifted her by the hair, leaving the mother shrieking in excruciating pain.

“S-STOP IT!…. I-IT HURTS!!!…”

Despite the pain, the woman still clung tightly to her child, not letting go for a moment. People around her stopped in horror as they watched the scene unfold. Yet, no one lifted a finger to help. Kaiyo was scared…

How could a human be so cruel… so heartless…

The man grinned in satisfaction, seeing the woman scream in pain. But to him, she deserved far more punishment. Clenching the woman’s hair with one arm, he coughed up mucus and spat it on her face. “Splat!”

The mucus landed directly on the innocent mother’s face. She barely had the energy to make eye contact as tears coursed down her skeletal cheeks. The mother gave up.

No… stop it. This isn’t right. Kaiyo’s breath caught in her throat. Her hands started shivering in anxiety. She frantically looked from side to side to see if there were any Knights or police around. What the man was doing was assault! He couldn’t get away with such a revolting crime.

It was at that moment she spotted a few well-dressed Knights standing by their post across the street. Why in the world were they not preventing this? Kaiyo ran toward them with urgency.

“Sir! Please help that homeless lady. That man is assaulting her!” she exclaimed at the two Knights. They looked at each other with nervous expressions and shook their heads with a sigh.

“I’m sorry, we cannot help with this,” one replied reluctantly. Kaiyo looked at them, disbelief overwhelming her expression. She assumed they were joking!

“WHAT!” she growled. “What do you mean you can’t help her? SHE’S BEING ASSAULTED!”

“Miss, I’m going to ask you to calm down,” the Knight ordered her.

She couldn’t believe this was real life. Right in front of the Knights' eyes was an active crime scene, and they were bluntly disregarding it as if the man were committing a common mistake! Kaiyo twisted her head in horror, watching the man continue brutally assaulting the woman with an eerie smile.

“Y-you have to do something…” Kaiyo murmured in terror. She felt like throwing up. How could someone take pleasure in doing such things? Such an alien thought couldn’t be processed in her brain.

“I’m sorry,” the Knight’s expression suddenly turned into guilt.

Despite being troubled by the sight, why weren’t they stopping him? It doesn’t make any sense!

“We were ordered to watch him until he safely arrives at his destination,” the Knight started. “Young lady, that man is Kyro Tensin. He is a wealthy and powerful man–”

“That doesn’t mean he’s above the law!” she immediately cut him off before he could further explain. The Knight replied with a brief, disappointing shake of his head.

“No, miss, you don’t understand. He is above the law. Mr. Tensin is one of the biggest investors for the A-O-K. Displeasing him means we drastically lose funds to sustain the organization. We simply can’t arrest him.”

Kaiyo couldn’t believe what she was hearing. No matter what that man did, it wouldn’t even mean anything? What kind of justice system was this? She thought being a Knight meant honor and sacrifice, but was this the actual truth?

Directly from the Knight's words, a murderer could be left without punishment just because they held money and power. What kind of world did she live in? How did they reach a point where money was more important than morals?

“SLAP!”

Kyro smacked his hand across the malnourished mother’s face. She let out a moan of pain before–

“SLAP!” Then again…

“SLAP!” …. Again.

“SLAP!”

The sound bounced off the city's walls, echoing through the filthy alleyways. It felt like the city had turned silent as he performed the same action again, again, and again. Kaiyo lost count of how many times the man aggressively slapped the woman, but after a few times, she stopped moaning in pain. Her already dull and lifeless eyes turned even more vanquished. Kaiyo didn’t think someone could look worse than she already did, but the man proved her wrong…

“How do you like that, pig!?”

“SLAP!”

“Will this teach you? Or do you want me to demonstrate some more? I don’t think you learned from your mistakes…well!?” Kyro leaned forward and shouted in her ear. “I don’t hear you!?”

“I-I…I’m…” she moaned with her eyes rolled back, barely conscious.

“I’m?” he repeated. “Tell me! I’m what? Finish your f*cking sentence, you filthy piece of shit!”

No response… The mother finally went completely unconscious. The child she grasped onto so dearly fell to the ground with a thud. Kaiyo let out a cry of dismay.

She didn’t care what happened to her anymore. She needed to save that baby! Kaiyo started sprinting toward where the infant had fallen.

“Wait, don’t–” The Knight tried to stop her, but it was futile. Her motherly instincts were moving her body on its own. Kaiyo simply couldn’t let this baby die. If she didn’t do anything, it would keep her up at night.

“Tsk… weak pig.” The man was reaching his hand toward the infant, but Kaiyo was faster! She quickly grabbed the polyester towel where the innocent baby had lain. The man was taken aback by her swiftness.

Kaiyo protectively grasped the child and soothed his painful cries of distress. The more she looked at him, the more her heart panged with sympathy. The poor thing was all skin and bones. His ribcage was sticking out from his stomach, and he barely had the energy to cry. His hands were merely the size of her fingertips. She couldn’t even believe she was holding a baby from how light he was.

“Huh? And who are you?” he snorted out, narrowing his thin plucked eyebrows.

“YOU MONSTER!” Those were the only words Kaiyo could blurt out. A few tears fell down her face and landed on the baby.

“HA! Why the hell are you crying? Don’t tell me you’re actually crying for that filthy pig?”

Kaiyo didn’t respond. She only glared at him with hate and disgust.

“Why are you looking at me like that, young lady? You have a problem or something?”

The civilians gathered around them were murmuring in low voices, watching the scene unfold. She hadn’t intervened earlier because she genuinely thought someone would come and stop this madness. But who were they supposed to call? The police? The Knights? Did that even matter at this point? The evil person standing in front of her was above the law. She couldn’t do anything to help.

Kaiyo was, yet again, useless. All she wished to do was curl up in her bedsheets and wake up from this nightmare.

“Are you hearing me?” Kyro called out with a sneering tone. “Or will I have to teach you a lesson too?” His lips pulled back into a grin. Widening her eyes in terror, she gripped the infant and stood her ground. Kaiyo’s slender body trembled uncontrollably as she took a few steps back in fear. Kyro, still with a broad and eerie grin, followed her.

She could never outrun such a tall and muscular man. She was scared. Dad, Sen, anyone, please help.

Her silent prayer was answered, but not in the way she was expecting…

Something triggered her Super Sense. A rush of sounds swept inside her mind abruptly. Between the busy city's clatters, she felt the presence of something different. Something not human, and it wasn’t an ant or dog. It was something much, much more terrifying. She couldn’t pinpoint where or what it was, but it was close.

She could hear it, whatever it was, clicking in weird grunts. She could feel its claws scratch the gravel as it drew near. But no matter where she looked, she couldn’t even find where that sound was coming from.

“Oh, missy, what is it you’re looking for?” Kyro's cold voice made her Super Sense shut off.

She turned her gaze back at the man while he reached his hand out.

“Now, don’t worry, I don’t really care about the mother or child anymore,” he reassured her.

Blinking in confusion, Kaiyo relaxed her trembling body. Before she could ask, the rich man's expression changed. The annoyed grin he gave before shifted slightly into something else. Kaiyo stopped breathing in sudden fear.

That smile… I don’t like that smile.

She quivered, looking at the glint that sparkled in Kyro’s eyes.

Every muscle in her body screamed with disdain and the urge to run away. The manner in which he was looking at her was that of a predator gazing at its prey. She felt like hanging meat, ready to be devoured by an insane and hungry lion.

She could only stare hopelessly as he approached her, his loathsome and evil expression unwavering.

“I do, however, have taken an interest in you…” He creepily licked his lips. “What a helpless girl, but yet you stood up to me in such a brave fashion. Truly bold.”

He touched her head, running his dry fingers down to feel the texture of her thick and silky hair.

Her eyes widened in panic, ready to scream for help… but who would help her? No one was coming. Even if the police arrested him, he would simply bail himself out. She lived in a world where the wealthy and powerful could do whatever they wanted without repercussions. And even if the public's discontent is genuine, it wouldn’t make a difference. In the end, he ruled what the public saw.

“Girls like you are very rare. They’re so rare. In fact, I haven’t even met a single one.”

She felt a dry hand touch her waist. Kaiyo let out a yap and pushed him away.

“Oh my, why are you so afraid, dear? I just wanted to take the baby,” Kyro said, moving his stocky head where she moved, continuing to eye her down.

That was a lie, that was such a blatant horrifying lie…

The way he looked at her, the way he caressed her body, told her everything she needed to know. This person was not only a brutal and cold individual, but he was also an aberrant predator.

“No, stay away from me…” She stepped back, and then suddenly, Kaiyo accidentally tripped over the pavement, resulting in her falling to the ground.

“Ugh!” Her yelp wasn’t because of the pain but because Kyro moved slowly towards her again and again.

Please, she prayed to whoever was listening, Anyone…

The man reached his hand out, gesturing to help her up, but that was not his intention to begin with. She knew exactly what he wanted. Letting out a suppressed scream of dread, she closed her eyes–

…

“CLICK.”

“CRUNCH! SPLAT!…”

She suddenly heard an odd clicking sound followed by something resembling a splash of water. She opened her eyes in confusion. But nothing could have prepared her for what she saw in front of her legs.

It was Kyro’s decapitated head in a pool of his blood…