A Big Bad Bug

I am currently patrolling for monsters. I had already stopped by the dojo for a while, but Bang told me to self-study today as he had business and we both knew I couldn't learn anything with Charanko.

So now I was searching through City Z. I lived here and I honestly didn't want to go to an entirely different city no matter how fast I was now.

How fast was I?

I could run at around 90km/hr (60miles/hr). So a little faster than the average horse. Otherwise known as far above as the average human. I don't even know how I got this strong, but I wasn't against it. So still slow if I want to just run to the next city over.

There was already the ghost town in the northeastern part of City Z, so I might as well head there for monsters considering it's known for having them.

Who knows, maybe Garou is even there, not that I am ready at all yet. I still don't have a counter plan to his rapid adaptability, or any idea on how to use my strange powers on command.

'Hm?'

I heard a slimy noise coming through an alleyway I was walking by. Maybe someone was eating sloppily? I feel that isn't the case however.

I backed up to the alleyway I just passed and noticed that the alleyway is ridiculously dark, especially for daytime.

'Now, if that isn't suspicious, along with that slimy sound I am hearing, then I don't know what is.'

As I turned to walk into the alleyway, I heard a sound vaguely resembling that of a steam train whistle, which made me stop my steps.

The sound got louder as loud stomping followed it.

Not long after, a shadow burst from the alleyway, blasting the sides of the buildings on each side of the alley.

I hurriedly dodged into a roll as I watched what looked like a giant caterpillar start to barrel down the streets toward a forest just outside of City Z.

Well that was the only notable thing in that direction anyway.

I grabbed onto the side of the caterpillar, reacting a little to the mucus that coated its body. Why are bugs so gross?

Anyway, the caterpillar was sprinting down the road as I stabilized myself on its back. The caterpillar was incredibly fast, as to be expected of its many legs. Faster than me for sure, thankfully his large body gave ample warning, but this bug really was like a train.

He blew away any car he passed by causing chaos wherever he went.

I had to stop him before he destroyed too much. While I would love to get paid for this, I wasn't part of the Hero Association and didn't plan to join for a little while.

Not for any particular reason, but I want to have time to practice a bit more, since I heard new Class C heroes have to do one heroic activity a week. I don't really want to go around doing menial tasks when I could be getting stronger to beat Garou and protect the city easier.

Using my fingers like a sharp knife, as I had trained them like Master Bang asked, I sliced the monster's back to get its attention.

It was surprisingly easy to cut, as purple blood spurted upwards, which was fucking gross. I don't like swearing but ew.

I spittled instinctively as the caterpillar suddenly stopped and I was thrown off.

Flipping and landing safely, I stared at the caterpillar who was now staring me down. He had gotten on his hind legs making him look much larger and more intimidating.

"I am Steam Caterpillar, what do you think you're doing?" The caterpillar looked down on me, literally and figuratively.

"Well what I am about to do is beat you to see how strong I am, I have no comparison, so I hope you're stronger on average."

"Well of course I am strong! I am one of the most powerful of the Insect Kin!" He proudly declared.

'I feel like I heard something I wasn't supposed to.' I thought. I mean, the fact that there are others is a big red flag in my mind.

"Well I suppose I'll have to squash you like an insect then!"

That was a sick one-liner. I might have to write some down later for other monsters.

"What!? You dare?" Steam Caterpillar leaned forward and charged again.

Seems charging is one of his only moves, though what could you expect from something with legs barely big enough to push it forward.

As it approached me at high speeds, I managed to time a hard hit to the side of its head, squishing inward and breaking it's light exoskeleton; it toppled over, along with the rest of the segments of his body like a subway train derailing.

It was honestly kind of satisfying to watch it slide across the ground.

To follow up I flipped forward and axe kicked one of its middle segments, just to weaken it a bit.

After sliding to a stop, the caterpillar managed to flip its front up, causing a wave of the rest of it's incredibly long body flipping back up.

It charged at me again, this time alternating which direction it was going in a squiggly line. Which didn't change too much in my opinion.

Before I could do a simple counter, it spit at me. Making me have to dodge everything rather than hit it in the head again.

That wasn't going to stop me from hitting one of it's middle segments as hard as I could, however.

I punched as hard as I could, breathing deeply and enhancing my body and reinforcing my punch with my legs, ending the punch with a twist in order to deal at least some minor damage.

To my surprise however, the entire caterpillar buckled inwards toward the point that I punched, with a big hole in the side of it.

Well, it wasn't that big, but it was big for me. Blood leaked out and so did a bit of the internal organs as the caterpillar immediately died to that punch hitting its heart.

'Lucky.'

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A/N: I feel like I missed something that I can't seem to remember.

Also, do tell me if I screw up. It helps me refine my story writing.