120
Ch.120 Not A Cat
It was a sight of silently opening its mouth and drooling, but the citizens quickly caught on to what it meant and moved swiftly.
An Annihilation-class monster was not hunting and eating humans but quietly asking for a meal—there wasn’t a single person in A-City who could stubbornly refuse to feed it.
The fact that it was tolerating this situation was something to be grateful for.
And so, canned food, packaged meals, and various other foods retrieved from the ruins of the shattered city entered the Black Cat’s mouth.
The estimated amount was roughly 3,000 servings.
That was the Black Cat’s single meal.
[It eats 3,000 servings a day by itself—is this for real?]
At first, the citizens of A-City expressed some dissatisfaction about this.
And understandably so.
Currently, the issues at A-City’s food production facilities weren’t just about losing the master code.
Some areas had collapsed due to the seismic waves from the monster Code: Aulbear, which had devoured Yeo Woon-jae.
The high-ranking government officials responsible for the city’s recovery system had fled somewhere, and the master code managing the city had also been lost.
Considering the wounded, food production, and various resources, it was certain that A-City’s food supply would run out within a month.
[This is A-City. We’re only getting one meal a day as a precaution for emergencies. We’re starving.]
[Meister needs to come and fix things, but when the hell is she coming…?]
Because of this, the citizens of A-City could only hope for Meister to return quickly and repair the facilities.
Yet, Meister remained unable to leave W-City.
[Starlight needs to recover first.]
[I’m from W-City. Honestly, even though we’re laughing and chatting in the community right now, we’re freaking out.]
[That bitch Electress is rattling the city day and night hunting monsters.]
[Starlight was quiet, but because of Electress, I’ve been sleeping with earplugs lately.]
[Electress has been working so hard lately that I’m starting to like her a bit.]
[A-City’s situation is heartbreaking, but if we send Meister and Electress there now, W-City would be wiped out if even one or two Despair-class monsters show up.]
For Meister, who was practically defenseless, moving required an escort of at least S-rank.
But that S-rank hero was constantly hunting monsters without a moment’s rest.
With the Black Cat and Starlight gone, W-City was in a dangerously precarious state.
In this situation, sending Electress and Meister to A-City would be suicidal for the entire city.
An S-rank hero needed to be sent to W-City first before they could switch places.
However, Kage was in critical condition, and Starlight was still recovering.
The only S-rank hero in A-City who could move freely is Baskerville.
[Why don’t we just send Baskerville first?]
[Why the hell would we send that shitty dog?]
[In cities with lots of villains, he’s S-rank in name, but against monsters, he’s not even worthy of the title… Ahh… That human slaughterer!]
Reluctantly, the citizens had no choice but to quietly wait for Starlight to recover.
During that time, the Black Cat continued devouring food.
Some days, it ate 4,000 servings. Other days, 5,000.
But even as its food intake increased, the citizens’ complaints gradually faded over time.
[But why aren’t any monsters showing up?]
[I mean, it’s good, but what’s going on? Why aren’t they coming?]
A ruined city, injured heroes, and the absence of a proper S-rank hero to fight—this was a feast laid out for the monsters lurking around the city.
Yet, not a single monster had come near A-City, which had lost all its defenses.
The reason? W-City’s Black Cat forum had clued them in.
[Monsters don’t show up when the Black Cat’s around.]
[It always looks like it’s just lying around, right? But it’s actually sniping monsters from a distance.]
[If you get close, you can sometimes feel a low hum—that’s its ability activating to hunt monsters. I overheard the W-City heroes whispering about it.]
[So it’s not just sleeping?]
The Black Cat, sprawled lazily in the center of A-City, yawning, was single-handedly keeping all the monsters at bay.
In exchange for just 3,000 servings a day—or sometimes double that—the city’s safety was guaranteed.
[What the fuck? Does this even make sense? Are we really living in the Age of Monsters?]
[Honestly, it makes sense. Why would monsters willingly walk into an Annihilation-class monster’s territory?]
[Ahh… This is what we call the Black Cat’s Domain…]
[It used to cover just one district, but now it’s protecting an entire city after reaching Annihilation-class?]
[Technically, it’s just the center of A-City. That’s where all the survivors are gathered now.]
[The center of A-City is about the size of all of W-City… That’s fucking huge…]
[And it only eats 3,000 servings?]
[This is the Black Cat…?]
[Should we just… Starve a little?]
[If this is how it is, why were people against superpower humans getting free meals before?]
[Is that even comparable?]
[Look at the difference in scale.]
The citizens of A-City gradually shifted from thinking, ‘It eats 3,000 servings?’ to ‘It only eats 3,000 servings?’
Now, more than half of the survivors voluntarily brought portions of their rationed meals to the Black Cat.
When other cities heard this news, they were stunned. They canceled plans to send S-rank heroes and instead focused on figuring out the truth.
[A-City’s alarms aren’t broken—monsters really aren’t showing up?]
[This is… Insane.]
[Now I get why W-City has the Black Cat cult.]
[It’s literally a guardian deity.]
[All-powerful cat~protecting us all~the time of awakening has come~humanity is safe~]
A-City, now a safe zone under the Black Cat’s protection in the Age of Monsters.
Now, there wasn’t a single person in any city who hadn’t heard of the Black Cat.
And one by one…
Unusual movements began within A-City.
[But do we really have to give it back?]
With Kage, A-City’s representative hero, in critical condition, the citizens felt a serious threat to their safety.
And now, something—no, something even greater—had taken its place in A-City.
[Hey, hey, we’ll give you Electress. Let us keep the Black Cat. You’ll still have Starlight and Electress—the two S-ranks you always wanted.]
[What kind of nonsense is that? How can you even compare Electress and the Black Cat?]
[The Black Cat is only staying because it’s waiting for Starlight to recover, you know?]
[Did the Black Cat ever actually say that?]
[I heard cats like sand. Maybe it just likes the ruined A-City?]
[That… Makes sense?]
The people W-City hated the most—those trying to take the Black Cat away—were slowly gaining influence among A-City’s citizens.
[Does W-City even have enough space for the Black Cat’s size now?]
[If the Black Cat goes back to W-City, it’ll feel cramped as hell.]
[Why don’t we just give up half our district for the Black Cat?]
[If we held a vote now, it’d probably be unanimous.]
[You damn land-hoarding bastards are acting like thugs!]
[A-City bastards, what’s your excuse?]
[What’s that supposed to mean?]
The citizens of W-City, who had adored the Black Cat and laughed at its unchanged demeanor even after becoming Annihilation-class, were now sharpening their knives against those who coveted their Black Cat.
[What have you guys ever done for the Black Cat?]
[We were the ones petting its head, feeding it meat, and cheering for it back when it was just a bullied Despair-class loser!]
[Since when was Despair-class considered a loser?]
[You’re proud of feeding a monster?]
[Damn right! It’s W-City’s collective achievement that made the Black Cat prefer beef over humans!]
[Oh, so thanks for raising it well, but we’ll take even better care of it from now on, okay?]
[If you really love the Black Cat, shouldn’t you want it to go where it has more space and better food?]
What had started as jokes gradually turned serious, and soon one side of the forum became a battleground of insults between W-City and A-City.
Eventually, a separate Black Cat Dispute forum was created.
[You W-City bumpkins are so damn greedy.]
[Do your food factories even produce seafood? We have a river—we do. Cats love fish.]
[Got any chicken? Once our facilities are fixed, we’ll have plenty.]
[Isn’t our food production facility three times the size of W-City’s?]
[A-City bastards, why didn’t you all just die to the monsters?]
[Huh? That’s crossing the line.]
[You’re the ones crossing the line, you fucking assholes.]
[A-City folks, we’re renaming our city to M-City today. Turns out it wasn’t A-City that collapsed—it was just missing an ‘M’! ^^]
[By that logic, shouldn’t W-City be missing a ‘W’? Or did you flip it upside down?]
[I’m from M-City, minding my own business—what the hell are you guys doing? This is pissing me off.]
[That A-City bastard from earlier—I’m 60. In this era, surviving this long deserves respect, but I’ve never seen someone as shameless as you…]
Yoo Anna, watching the forum flood with endless insults, felt a headache coming on.
An entire city had been devastated, and this was what they were doing?
She wanted to just delete everything and tell them to stop fighting, but even the moderators from each city couldn’t handle the arguments spilling across multiple forums. They had to create a separate space for it.
Arguing like this wouldn’t change anything—heroes and the Black Cat couldn’t be traded just because citizens wanted it. The Black Cat did whatever it wanted.
But the citizens wouldn’t see it that way.
Yoo Anna’s instincts trembled with unease.
A Black Cat ownership dispute was about to begin—one where the Black Cat itself had no say.
[If this is how it’s gonna be, why don’t the A-City refugees just come to W-City?]
[Isn’t it the opposite? How would all of A-City’s citizens even fit in that tiny city?]
[No, you guys come to A-City. Bring Meister, bring the Black Cat, and help rebuild the city.]
[Are you insane? Mass migration in this era?]
[You want us to leave the city and die?]
[You say that like you know what you’re talking about? Are you telling us to die?]
[I was just messing around because W-City was getting riled up, but this is getting out of hand. Let’s rebuild A-City and make a Cat Tower New District.]
[W-City, you guys can’t even handle its food intake. Let us take good care of the Black Cat, okay?]
[Wow, you guys really have no conscience.]
With all the strange simultaneous appearances of Despair-class monsters, the Black Cat reaching Annihilation-class, and Yeo Woon-jae’s monsterization—Yoo Anna already had enough monster-related headaches.
And now, the citizens’ focus had shifted to debating which city owned the Black Cat.
[Starlight, are you reading the forum? Are you just gonna let them take the Black Cat like this?]
[Give them a taste of the ‘Eraser’. Please!]
[I thought there was some conspiracy behind the sudden wave of Despair-class monsters, but maybe it’s divine punishment?]
[Look at these W-City bastards—they’re not even human.]
Why? Just when the unprecedented monster crisis had ended, she now had to brace for an even more unprecedented emotional war among citizens.
"I’m going insane for real…"
***
On the seventh day since Kage lost consciousness, the day the Black Cat’s total food intake surpassed 33,200 servings—
Yoo Anna, finally recovered enough to use her abilities without strain, rose from her hospital bed.
In every sense, she could delay no longer.
And when the citizens of A-City heard of her recovery, they gathered outside the hospital and raised their voices.
"Thank you, Starlight!"
"But can’t you leave the Black Cat behind?"
"Starlight! We’re grateful, but the Black Cat should stay in A-City!"
"You’ve worked hard, Starlight! But give the Black Cat a new city!"
The citizens expressed their gratitude to Starlight, the first to rush to A-City’s aid, while loudly voicing their true desires.
Stepping out of the hospital room, Yoo Anna glanced at Baskerville, who had followed her, then raised a fist to the sky.
"Uwahhh!"
"What the hell was that?!"
BOOM! The deafening noise silenced the crowd as Baskerville levitated speakers above their heads.
Yoo Anna, after endless deliberation in her hospital bed, had reached a decision on how to handle A-City.
"Citizens of A-City, this is Yoo Anna."
Taking the microphone from Baskerville, she began explaining her plan.
"I know everyone is anxious. After discussing with Baskerville, we concluded that even if Electress came, A-City lacks the capacity to defend itself. In this situation, if the Black Cat and I return to W-City, it would be like delivering a death sentence to most of you."
"Yeah! We don’t want to die!"
"Don’t leave us like this!"
Monsters were drawn to densely populated areas—stronger ones, in greater numbers.
If the Black Cat and Starlight left now, casualties in A-City would keep rising.
Meister might even die.
Naturally, they couldn’t just abandon A-City in such danger.
"However, with either Meister or Electress here, holding out for three minutes without casualties is possible."
"Three minutes…?"
"What do you mean, three minutes?"
"I apologize for the lack of presentation equipment. Those with phones, please check A-City’s official announcements."
On A-City’s website, Meister had posted details about the railgun catapult at Yoo Anna’s request.
Three minutes.
That was the maximum time it would take for Yoo Anna to launch from W-City and reach A-City.
"…Huh?"
"Is this even possible?"
"But she got here super fast last time."
"It didn’t take three minutes, did it?"
"This time, the cannon’s setup and charging process with Electress’s energy took extra time. But once it’s ready, I can arrive within three minutes, no matter what."
Every citizen of A-City had witnessed Yoo Anna’s absurdly fast arrival.
"If a Despair-class monster appears in A-City, I will arrive within three minutes. I promise."
"Three minutes is… Pretty fast."
"Wait, why not just leave the Black Cat here instead?"
The citizens nodded at Yoo Anna’s plan but still protested, demanding that the Black Cat stay.
Yet even that resistance crumbled under her next words.
"The Black Cat won’t stay in A-City just because I tell it to."
"What do you mean? If you—!"
"You tamed it, didn’t you?!"
"It’s not tamed. It’s an Annihilation-class monster—one that doesn’t attack humans, protects them, and happens to be somewhat friendly to me. That’s all."
"Ah…"
"I can’t stop the Black Cat from following me. But if I stay here, Meister won’t be able to return to A-City. And if the Black Cat keeps eating at this rate…"
A-City’s citizens would starve to death.
Right on cue, the Black Cat licked its lips hungrily under their collective gaze.
"W-well, I guess we have no choice…"
"If Starlight doesn’t go back, Meister can’t come to A-City either."
"She said she’d get here in three minutes…"
"For now…"
Yoo Anna waited, letting the citizens discuss among themselves, then slowly rose.
Having heard the best possible solution, the crowd no longer demanded she leave the Black Cat behind.
Instead, they showered her with gratitude.
"Thank you for coming so quickly!"
"Thank you, Starlight! Three minutes! Make sure you get here in three!"
"If a monster shows up, I’ll pour water into my cup noodles! If they’re done before you arrive, you’re dead!"
"Then, the Black Cat will leave A-City after Electress arrives… Probably."
And as Starlight flew back to W-City amid the citizens’ cheers—
Among those who stayed behind, another murmur began.
"Wait a second, if Starlight didn’t tame the Black Cat…"
"Doesn’t that mean we might actually get to keep it in A-City?"
"She said the Black Cat would leave later, but there’s a chance it won’t… Right?"
The citizens exchanged glances, then moved in unison as if they’d made a pact.
"Starlight’s gone! Forget about holding back—feed it as much good food as possible before it leaves!"
"Everyone, bring food! Now!"
"Even if we starve tomorrow, let’s make sure the Black Cat is full! So it’ll want to come back even if it goes to W-City!"
"Ow! Stop pushing!"
The citizens of A-City stampeded toward the food distribution center in a chaotic mass.
Amid the commotion, the Black Cat, who had been yawning, opened its eyes wide.
"Mrrow?"