Kryptonians: Man of Steel

Chapter 1533 The Crab Man Who Became a Monster After Eating Too Many Crabs
Even if he looks as pathetic as a stray dog, even if he is seen as an incomprehensible madman by others.

He never had the right to choose.

The cold, impersonal numbers of the countdown were like a death knell: [00:04:15].

Hikigaya suddenly sprang up from his seat, his movements swift and desperate, yet he still managed to blend in skillfully with the other students who were also getting up to go to the restroom.

He lowered his head, his bangs falling even deeper, concealing the barely suppressed fear and anxiety in his eyes. He hurried through the noisy corridor, avoiding the gazes of the crowd, like a silent shadow gliding towards the deserted old school building.

The afternoon sun filtered through the sparse shadows of the trees, casting dappled patterns of light on the gravel path leading to the abandoned open space behind the old school building. The air was filled with the scent of damp earth and decaying plants.

He quickly scaled the wall and left the school, speeding away.

The closer we got to our destination, the stronger the indescribable, pungent fishy smell became, mingling with a salty stench reminiscent of a seaside fish market and... a more nauseatingly rotten, sweet odor.

When Hachiman Hikigaya suddenly burst out from behind a clump of wildly growing, almost shoulder-high weeds, the sight before him froze him in place.

In the center of the open space stood a being that completely defied common sense.

Its upper body is a huge, thick, angular, bright red crab shell that gleams with an ominous, oily sheen in the sunlight streaming through the gaps in the high wall.

The crab shell's structure was abnormally twisted, not a natural creation—the seams of the chitinous carapace showed rough growth and adhesion, like a poorly made stitched monster.

Two arms, covered with the same dark red carapace but clearly of human structure, extend from the sides of the crab's body. Instead of hands, they end up as two disproportionately large, metallic claws!
The inside of the jaws is covered with tiny serrations, and it makes a teeth-grinding "click" sound when it opens and closes.

What's even more bizarre and mind-bending is its lower body.

Below the waist were two thick, hairy, and distinctly human male thighs!
Those two legs were thus naked and connected without any transition to the huge crab shell.

The most glaring thing was the dirty, wrinkled white loincloth with unidentified stains around its waist.

This comical yet terrifying combination imbues the entire existence with an indescribable sense of disgust that desecrates the natural order of life.

"Ugh... fresh... blood..."

The strange creature seemed to sense someone intruding, and its head, which was embedded in the front of the giant crab shell, was also covered with dark red chitin, and whose human facial features could barely be discerned, suddenly turned around.

His crab-like, cloudy eyes darted around, locking onto Hachiman.

It breathed heavily, and a foul-smelling stream of air gushed out from its mouth-like openings.

Hachiman's heart sank to the bottom of a cold valley.

In the corner of my field of vision, the scarlet system countdown was coldly ticking: [00:00:55].

There was no time to think, no time to fear; the instinct for survival overwhelmed everything.

He almost scrambled to the side!
call!
A tremendous gust of wind, carrying a strong fishy smell, swept overhead!

A heavy, sharp-edged crab claw slammed down on the spot where he had just been standing. Gravel and dirt were easily swept away, leaving a clear crater in the ground.

"Hehehe... You dodged it?"

The crab-like monster let out a muffled, metallic laugh. Its enormous pincers slowly rose, their jaws snapping shut, aimed at Hachiman, who had just rolled over and was still covered in mud and bits of grass. "But... it's no use! Fresh... high schoolers... are the best!"

It strides forward with its two human thighs covered in thick hair, thumping the ground in an extremely uncoordinated, swaying manner, and approaches once again.

Each step caused the ground to tremble slightly, and the loincloth swayed ridiculously, creating an absurd contrast with the menacing oppressive feeling of its upper body.

"wait wait wait!"

With his back against the wall, Hachiman had nowhere to retreat. His lungs were burning with pain. He suppressed the urge to vomit and shouted hoarsely, trying to grasp at any slim chance of avoiding the fight, "What...what are you? Why are you attacking people?"

"thing?"

The crab-man seemed to pause for a moment, its shell-covered head tilting slightly, a flicker of... confusion crossing its murky eyes. Then, a mixture of anger and a strange sense of pride replaced the confusion. "Foolish humans! Look closely! I am... I am the great crab-man!"

It even used its relatively small left pincer to tauntly tap its thick main carapace on its chest, producing a dull "thump-thump" sound.

"Crab...human?"

Hikigaya repeated the absurd term with difficulty, his eyes fixed on the glaring loincloth around the other person's waist. The sense of absurdity was like a cold tide, almost drowning his last remaining rationality.

At the edge of my field of vision, the scarlet numbers of the countdown were like the forked tongue of a viper: [00:00:19].

"That's right! Crab Man!"

The strange man suddenly raised his two giant pincers, striking a pose that he thought was imposing, but in reality, he looked precarious due to his unstable center of gravity.

"You ignorant humans! You don't understand! Crabs... are treasures of the ocean! They are... the ultimate delicacy! I... I understand them so well! I love crabs! I eat them every day... every single day! Steamed, boiled, grilled, made into tempura... crab sashimi... crab roe rice... crab paste porridge... Ah! The taste! Unparalleled!"

Its voice suddenly rose, carrying a morbid fervor and intoxication, and its turbid eyes seemed to truly reflect a delicious illusion, with even a trace of suspicious, sticky saliva seeping from the gaps in its mouthparts.

"and then?"

Hikigaya's voice was as dry as sandpaper, his body was as tense as a fully drawn bowstring, and his peripheral vision was locked on.

"Then?"

The crab monster seemed to have been asked about its proudest moment, its enormous claws waving excitedly, creating a whooshing sound. "And then... a great evolution occurred! My love for crabs... transcended the boundaries of species! My devotion... moved the will of the ocean! Look!"

It pounded its crimson shell again, "I ate so many crabs! In the end... I... I became part of a crab! No! It's the sublimation of a crab! I! Am a crab-man! This is... this is proof of love! This is... this is the ultimate evolution of food!"

It was engrossed in its own logic, its two human legs stomping excitedly on the ground, its loincloth swinging violently.

Within a fraction of a second, muscle fibers in the body tense up and explode under the forced electrical signals from nerve endings!
(End of this chapter)