Apocalypse: Building And Hoarding My Way Through.
Chapter 76: The System Has Set You Up To Fail!

Chapter 76: The System Has Set You Up To Fail!

The sight that greeted her was enough to ignite her fury anew. Kato stood hunched over a mangled corpse, blood dripping from his fanged mouth.

"You’re finally here. You can join me." Kato said with a smirk, his gaze fixed on Scarlett.

Without hesitation, Scarlett lunged at him. Her clawed hand shot out, gripping his throat with inhuman strength, lifting him into the air. Her claws dug into his flesh, black blood trickling down her hand as she tightened her grip.

"How dare you kill one of the survivors!" she snarled, her crimson eyes blazing with fury. The growls of nearby monsters grew louder, responding to her rage, though none dared approach. They could sense that Kato wasn’t just human but also a monster like them.

Kato smirked, unfazed by her wrath. "Take a closer look before you judge, Scarlett," he said, his voice calm despite her grip on his neck.

Scarlett hesitated, her expression faltering. But before she could react, Kato’s body shimmered. He twisted in her grasp, slipping free and phasing through her, emerging from the other side. Scarlett staggered back, a cry of pain escaping her lips as blood spurted from her mouth.

"Damn you, Kato," she hissed, collapsing to her knees.

Kato chuckled darkly, wiping the blood from his mouth. "You can’t stop me, Scarlett. You might want to save these humans, but we both know what you are. Sooner or later, you’ll give in."

Scarlett glared at him, her eyes burning with defiance even as her body trembled. She knew he was right, but she refused to surrender, not yet.

Kato sneered, as he glanced down at Scarlett. "For your information, I wasn’t feeding on your precious survivors," he said, his tone thick with mockery. "I was actually eating a wild deer I caught nearby. Look around if you don’t believe me."

Scarlett’s gaze drifted downward, settling on the mutilated carcass of a deer lying on the ground. Most of its flesh had been devoured, leaving only the head and a few internal organs untouched.

"You know," Kato continued, his smirk deepening, "it would take a lot more than this to harm me. Even though we’re both SS-ranked, I’m still ahead of you. You see, I consume human flesh and drink their blood. That’s why I’ve been granted abilities you can’t even begin to imagine. I could kill someone in an instant, Scarlett. I’m faster than the wind, like a shadow passing through anything. And you? You’re still stuck clinging to your humanity."

Scarlett winced at the lingering pain in her chest, still kneeling on the blood-soaked ground. "Why?" she whispered, her voice trembling but resolute. "Why must you kill humans? Is it really just for rank? Just to grow stronger? I’m ashamed of you, Kato."

Her words, though quiet, reached Kato as clearly as if she’d shouted them. He laughed, the sound cold and hollow. "You’re so naive, Scarlett," he replied, shaking his head. "I guess it’s because you arrived in this world later than the rest of us. You’re the last of your kind to show up, after all. But even so, I expected you to be smarter."

Scarlett’s crimson eyes narrowed, but she said nothing, letting him continue.

"We half-humans, half-monsters don’t feed on humans just for rank or power," Kato explained, pacing back and forth. His movements were deliberate, almost predatory. "We feed on them because that’s our only real source of food. You can’t survive on animals alone. Monsters, on the other hand? They’re created from humans who died. Their rotting corpses were transformed into the creatures we fight. Eating them would be like consuming poison.

"And Animals?" He snorted, kicking the half-eaten deer with disdain. "They’re nothing but snacks for monsters who can’t get their hands on humans. That’s the natural order here. It’s laughable that you think you can survive by clinging to this fragile moral code of yours."

Scarlett clenched her fists, struggling to process his words. Her heart ached, not from the physical pain she’d just endured, but from the weight of Kato’s chilling revelations.

Kato paused, staring down at her with a mixture of pity and superiority. "Besides," he said, his voice softening, though the venom remained, "what’s the point of feeding on animals when there are humans? Humans grant us immense power. They’re the reason we’ve survived this long. Do you really think the system that governs this world cares about saving humanity? Don’t be foolish. The system is cunning, Scarlett. It plays both sides, dangling the illusion of salvation in front of us while ensuring we remain monsters."

Scarlett’s head snapped up, her crimson eyes blazing. "The system?" she hissed, her voice low but filled with fury. "That damned system!"

Kato chuckled darkly. "You heard me. Victor has been killing humans for as long as this apocalypse has raged. He captures some, turns them into monsters to serve his command, and keeps others as a food source. He’s stockpiling flesh to last him even after this so-called apocalypse ends. Don’t you see? This world isn’t about saving humanity. It’s about survival, our survival."

Scarlett’s breathing quickened as the weight of his words pressed down on her. "Victor..." she murmured, the name like ash on her tongue.

Kato’s laughter echoed through the night, loud and unrestrained. "You can’t save humanity, Scarlett," he said, his voice dripping with scorn. "It’s a task that was never meant to be fulfilled. The system has set you up to fail. And deep down, you know it."

Scarlett’s trembling form remained rooted to the ground, her mind a storm of conflicting emotions. Kato’s words gnawed at her resolve, but she refused to give in.

"I’ll prove you wrong," she said, her voice low but steady. Her crimson eyes met Kato’s dark gaze, filled with defiance. "I’ll find a way to break this cycle. I’ll save humanity whether the system wants me to or not."

Kato’s smirk faltered for a moment, but it quickly returned, his expression unreadable. "We’ll see then, Scarlett. We’ll see. I wonder how long you’ll last."

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