Chapter 11: Dog Monster

While Yohan hesitated, unsure of what to do, the Dog Monster looked at him with cold eyes, then staggered and slumped down on the spot.

Its tongue lolled out, chest heaving hard—it was clearly in bad shape.

“Ah…!”

Come to think of it, the creature had gone into shock right before giving birth, and its amniotic sac had burst.

A premature birth on top of the trauma—it made Yohan wonder if the life inside could possibly survive.

‘Wait, hold on. Now’s not the time to worry about a Monster giving birth to another Monster, is it? Shouldn’t I be stopping this instead?’

Maybe this was the last chance to kill that Monster.

Yohan gripped the Heavenly Demon Spear tightly and cautiously took up a stance.

Its most dangerous weapon was the laser it fired from its mouth.

That laser was powerful enough to erase the tough body of the Alligator-Tooth Monster, but it had a flaw.

It could only shoot in a straight line.

Yohan knew that it took a moment for the Dog Monster to charge its laser, and he had watched for that timing.

Even if it suddenly sprang up from its seated position and fired, he was confident he could dodge.

‘Right, before one turns into two, three, and they attack together, I need to take out this terrifying laser-shooting dog.’

As Yohan steeled himself and cautiously approached, the creature’s gaze remained fixed on him.

That was all.

It didn’t seem to want to fire its laser, nor did it show any intense hostility.

It was somehow different from the usual Monsters, which would attack and devour anyone on sight.

Unlike those, this one showed no madness—if anything, it was calmer and more composed than a human.

‘Could it think I’m an ally because I killed the Alligator-Tooth Monster? No way.’

Shaking off the thought, Yohan moved closer.

He felt tense for no reason.

He worried the Monster might unleash its full power and fire the laser.

After all, this was the same creature that had vaporized the Alligator-Tooth Monster’s head with a single blast, when Yohan had needed dozens of strikes just to crack it open.

Even knowing its weak point, if he missed the timing, he could end up like the Alligator-Tooth Monster, with parts of his body erased without a trace.

Yohan kept his guard up, inching closer, focused.

Then it happened.

The Dog Monster, which had been watching him, flinched and lowered its head.

It looked away from him—right now!

Not missing the chance, Yohan sprang forward, thrusting his spear at the Monster.

He had to finish it in one blow.

He might only get this one chance.

“I—”

“…!”

But the attack failed.

Did it fire its laser?

Or dodge?

No.

Yohan had seen the tiny life, still squirming and not yet free of the amniotic sac.

The moment he saw that small life, the Heavenly Demon Spear shrank away, becoming just a little stick, and Yohan landed softly beside the Dog Monster like a demure girl.

The Dog Monster ignored Yohan completely, busy licking the amniotic sac.

“Geez… Hey, you’re supposed to use your teeth, not your tongue!”

Most animals, even at their first birth, instinctively tear the amniotic sac and cut the umbilical cord with their teeth, then eat everything and let the newborn suckle.

But sometimes, there are ones who don’t know how to do it, lost and unsure.

This Monster was exactly that.

Grrrr…

Yet, acting like a mother, it bared its teeth when Yohan showed interest in its pup.

It was a different reaction from before, but Yohan was sure the Dog Monster wouldn’t attack him.

A mother, sensitive around her young, will be wary and attack even her owner or handler if they get too close.

If it really wanted to attack and kill him, it would have done so already.

It was just being defensive because he was too close.

“Hey, teeth! Use your teeth to cut it!”

Yohan, now acting like a midwife, pointed at the pup and mimed tearing with his teeth.

The Monster didn’t understand, watching Yohan warily and whining, still busy licking the amniotic sac that trapped its pup.

Soon, the movement inside the sac stopped.

Whimper, whine…

The Dog Monster let out a sorrowful cry.

‘Is this thing really a Monster?’

It was such a sad sight, Yohan almost forgot the laser-firing terror he’d seen earlier.

Watching the Monster lick its lifeless pup with a mournful expression, Yohan’s heart pounded with sympathy.

‘That poor little thing never even saw the light of day…’

He felt a surge of pity.

Without thinking, Yohan reached out toward the unmoving pup.

Grrrrrr!

The Dog Monster bared its teeth at Yohan, who tried to take the dead pup, but he didn’t care.

Quickly, he snatched it up and peeled away the amniotic sac with his hands.

Seeing the limp, blood- and fluid-soaked pup, Yohan massaged its chest and blew air into its mouth.

“Huff~!”

Massage again.

Then another breath.

He repeated it several times.

It hadn’t been long since the pup had stopped breathing, and soon it coughed up water and began to squirm.

“Hey, did you see that? It’s alive!”

Yohan handed the pup back to the Monster.

Thinking her pup was dead, the Monster now licked it excitedly.

“Now, the umbilical cord! You need to cut the cord!”

As if understanding Yohan’s words, the Monster bit through the cord and kept licking its pup, who crawled over and found its mother’s nipple.

Unlike the mother, who couldn’t even handle the amniotic sac, the pup followed its instincts and nursed skillfully, as if it had done it before.

Yohan watched the scene with satisfaction.

To a newborn, there are no enemies or allies, no high or low status—only the powerful instinct to survive in its mother’s arms.

Yohan just watched, smiling warmly.

– 1 hour remaining until Game Over.

“When did it get so late?”

Yohan, mesmerized by the sight of the pup suckling at its mother, snapped out of it at the notification echoing in his mind and scratched his head.

He’d been so caught up with someone else’s offspring, he’d forgotten to worry about his own.

He turned to look at the café. On the second floor, Jeonghu and Seoyoung were pacing nervously.

Yohan glanced back at the Monster and her pup, then headed toward the café.

“Dad, are you alright?”

“Hey, I almost died because of you. Why’d you attack for no reason?”

“I thought I could hit it properly.”

Yohan rapped Jeonghu on the head as he scratched it.

“You got cocky just because you hit that big Monster in the eye.”

“Sorry. But seriously, are you okay? Isn’t that thing dangerous? It was shooting lasers and all—”

“Maybe it thinks I helped, so it just left me alone. It gave birth to a pup.”

“…A pup?”

Seoyoung, who had been watching with a worried look, perked up her ears.

“Yeah, even Monsters have babies. Huh.”

“A Monster… But if it doesn’t attack people on sight… could it have been some kind of pet on the Spaceship?”

“A pet that shoots lasers? Well, on a Spaceship, I guess anything’s possible. Maybe a laser-shooting dog isn’t a big threat to them—those alien bastards.”

Muttering curses at the Spaceship again, Yohan looked around.

Luckily, the café’s second floor was a family home, with blankets and clothes scattered everywhere.

“It’s getting chilly. I should at least bring them something.”

“Can I come too?”

Seoyoung asked cautiously, but Yohan shook his head firmly.

“It might see anyone but me as a threat. If you get hit by a laser, you’re off to heaven. Just stay here.”

“…Okay.”

Seeing Seoyoung’s disappointed face, Yohan smirked.

She never showed it, but she was weak for cute things—his eldest daughter.

Worried about the chilly weather, Yohan went back to the Monster with a blanket to cover them…

“Wait, another one?”

Another pup had been born.

Unlike the first, which was pure white like its mother, the new one was brown and already nursing.

Maybe it had learned from watching Yohan, as the amniotic sac and umbilical cord had been removed properly this time.

“Looks like there are more to come, judging by her belly…”

Yohan trailed off.

He’d spotted other pups lying off to the side—ones that were already cold and dead.

The sacs and placentas had been removed, so it wasn’t suffocation. Most likely, they’d died from the shock of the Monster’s earlier battle.

“Tsk tsk…”

Clicking his tongue in pity, Yohan draped the blanket over the mother and crouched beside her.

“Coming all the way to Earth pregnant… You’ve had it rough. Why’d you even come here?”

– 10 minutes until Game Over.

There was no answer from the Dog Monster. Only the notification updated him on the situation.

“Yeah, as if you could talk.”

Yohan let out a small laugh and dusted himself off as he stood.

It really had been a hellish four hours.

He’d faced real Monsters twice—no wonder he was exhausted.

If the second Game was like this, how would he survive the third? The thought weighed on him.

With a cigarette between his lips, Yohan blankly watched the smoke drift by, then glanced at the Monster’s pups squirming as they nursed.

– The Game will now end.

Before he knew it, ten minutes had passed.

Crushing his second cigarette, Yohan spoke to the Dog Monster.

“Take care. Raise your pups well. Not that I know if you’ll get the chance, but… if possible, don’t come back to Earth.”

Just then—

As soon as the notification ended, the mother stood, whining anxiously, and licked her pups with desperate energy.

For a moment, Yohan wondered—when time runs out, would the Monster disappear, and would the pups vanish too? The thought made him sad.

Then, the mother’s body began to slowly fade. Unlike when they died, she turned into white particles that floated up into the sky.

Maybe they were collecting her for recycling? That thought gave him a bit of relief…

“Huh?”

Something was off.

The mother was returning to the sky, but the pups were still whining, searching for her milk. They weren’t turning into particles.

“What’s going on?”

Yohan muttered to himself, puzzled. Then he locked eyes with the Dog Monster.

Gone was the cold, proud gaze—instead, the Monster looked at Yohan with desperate eyes and lowered her head.

She nudged her pups toward Yohan with her nose.

“What? What do you want me to do?”

As she pushed her pups toward him, she kept looking at Yohan, even as she faded away, barking and nudging the pups again and again.

Her desperation was almost heartbreaking. Unable to watch any longer, Yohan hurried over and gathered the pups into his arms.

The mother stuck out her huge tongue and gave Yohan a lick, then gazed longingly at her pups.

And just like that, the Dog Monster vanished.

“…What the…”

Yohan stared blankly at his arms.

Two pups, their blood not yet dried, wriggled in his embrace.

With a dumbfounded look, Yohan glanced up at the sky.

“Hey! Come back for your pups!”

There was no answer from the mother who had vanished into the sky.

Whimper…

Only the pups, whimpering pitifully at Yohan’s outburst, remained.