122
Ch.122 This Is My First Time Experiencing This
“You’re not… Thinking of not eating, are you?”
“What are you talking about! There’s no way the Black Cat would eat only A-City’s food and refuse W-City’s!”
“This is a dish made with the combined efforts of everyone in W-City! Black Cat!”
“I was cooking this even during the monster alert earlier! I risked my life for this dish! Eat it now!”
“Uuugh….”
Unable to withstand the pressure from the citizens of W-City, I took a bite of the kebab in front of me.
As I pulled the skewer out with my front paws and ate, the movements of the citizens grew even more frantic.
“He’s eating! Feed him more!”
“Feed him everything!”
“The food’s going to run out! Can’t you cook faster?!”
“We need more heat! Flame-type heroes! Hurry up and help!”
“What are the flying heroes doing?! Hurry up and deliver the food!”
“Uuungooooh…!”
I tried to eat quickly to finish it off, but why does the food keep increasing?
I roared at them to stop bringing more as I forced myself to finish the food.
I had once thought about eating until I was full in my monster form, but not like this.
This isn’t a meal anymore.
“Meeeooww….”
“Look, he’s lying down because he’s full.”
“Look at that bloated belly.”
“Seriously, did A-City’s folks feed him or starve him?”
After finishing what must have been an immeasurable amount of food, I sensed the citizens’ growing unease as they gradually slowed down and lay down on the spot.
Surely they’d be satisfied with how much I’d eaten.
Hundreds of W-City’s chefs, seeing my swollen belly, gradually slowed their movements and wiped their sweat with the towels around their necks.
“It was W-City, not A-City, that made the Black Cat eat until he was full!”
“Wooaahhh!”
“Waaahhh!”
The citizens filling the park cheered as if they had defeated a giant monster, looking at me lying on the grass.
Even Starlight, far from calming the citizens, was firing celebratory shots into the sky with her powers.
“But is it really okay to use our food like this?”
“And it’s not even cultured meat—real livestock, just like that….”
“Everyone, calm down a little.”
“Who cares! Do you want A-City to take the Black Cat away?!”
“Huh? Are you guys from Whyong?”
“Hey, there’s a Whyong here!”
“No! No! I’m not from Whyong!”
“The Black Cat belongs only to W-City! We must protect the Black Cat at all costs!”
With no one stopping the madness, the chaotic meal ended, and the park grew even noisier.
On top of the people gathered in the corner to avoid interfering with the chefs’ movements, more citizens kept flooding into the park upon hearing that the Black Cat had returned.
“Uh, senior?”
“Is this… Really okay?”
“Wait… This is too much!”
Amid the growing crowd and commotion, the heroes helping the cooks began flying up one by one.
“What about crowd control? Where are the police?”
“The police are all coming here too!”
“What?!”
“Ahh! Stop pushing!”
“Citizens, please calm down! You can’t gather in such large numbers in one area!”
“Is it really okay for this many people to gather in one place? What about monsters?”
“The Black Cat’s here!”
Though the heroes belatedly tried to control the situation, they couldn’t stop the citizens from swarming the park.
Doubt and unease—was the Black Cat really an Annihilation-class monster? Was he really here in W-City’s park?
The citizens, determined to see for themselves, filled not just the park but spilled onto the roads and buildings, packing every space.
“Get out of your cars! Walk! What’s with the cars?!”
“Don’t climb on the police bus! You’ll damage it!”
“Our company building is open! The Black Cat has returned! Let’s welcome the Black Cat, who came back to protect W-City even as an Annihilation-class monster!”
“Our company is open too! Don’t stay dangerously on the roads—come inside and let see the Black Cat together!”
“Isn’t that even more dangerous?”
“The heroes are all here! Even if we fall, the Black Cat or the heroes will save us!”
Amid the ever-growing crowd, drones and broadcasting helicopters flew overhead.
“Wow, this feels surreal. I didn’t know W-City had this many people.”
“Is that the Black Cat? That black furball? He’s huge!”
“He’s Annihilation-class! Of course he’s big!”
“Citizens of W-City! And heartless citizens of A-City! I’m here at the park where the Black Cat has returned! Do you see it?! The Black Cat, his belly full, lying not on A-City’s hard concrete rubble but on W-City’s soft grass…!”
“The Black Cat! How about dessert?! Chicken pudding! A recipe prepared just for you! I may be late, but I’ll do my best!”
“The Black Cat! The Black Cat!”
“Disperse! Everyone, disperse!”
Phones shoved in my face, flashes, lights, and the noise of drones flying everywhere.
The heroes tried hard to send people back, but not a single person left—instead, they inched closer to me.
The heroes hastily formed a barrier around me, leaving me unable to move under the wave of people.
“You can’t gather in such large numbers in one area!”
“B-the Black Cat! It’s me! I fed you! I threw food! I gave you food! The Black Cat!”
“Stop pushing! Stop pushing!”
“It’s dangerous! Don’t come any closer!”
“If a full Black Cat rolls over, everyone will be crushed!”
I had thought about taking a nap since I was so full, but I forced myself up to avoid the encroaching crowd.
The moment I did, the citizens’ emotions erupted.
“H-He’s huge…!”
“This is Annihilation-class?! He’s seriously enormous!”
“Oh no! He just moved his front paw! His paw is huge! So much jelly!”
“The Black Cat has risen!”
“Woooaahhh!”
I roared at the citizens to back off and spread the wings folded at my waist.
“Kyaaa! The Black Cat’s roar is so cute!”
“Wings! Wings! His wings are huge!”
“The wind carries the Black Cat’s scent!”
“Our all-powerful savior~ spreads his wings~ bringing heaven to earth~!”
“Ahh! Stop pushing, damn it!”
Some sang loudly, children climbed on their parents’ shoulders to throw food with all their might, and people leaned out of buildings as if they’d fall any second.
This is too much.
Uuung! The uncontrolled resonance of my core rang out, and the city’s alarms blared with eerie screeches.
“Waaahhh! What’s that sound?!”
“Kyaaaahhh!”
“Is this the Annihilation-class alert?!”
Amid the sound of sensors malfunctioning, I flapped my wings once and soared into the sky, fleeing elsewhere.
Below, the people in the park all screamed in unison.
“Black Cat is…!”
“Nooo! Don’t gooo!”
“After him! Chase him!”
“Kyaaaahhh! Kyaaaahhh!”
The citizens surged in the direction I flew.
“Calm down! Everyone, calm down! Please!”
“Hey! Calm dooown!”
The heroes’ control was utterly useless.
***
After the full, Black Cat, left W-City’s park and lay down in the closed-off outskirts.
Some citizens, who would never have come to this dangerous place—the fortress city’s outer walls—without the Black Cat, gathered and shouted with all their might toward the distant, disturbing the Black Cat.
“Black Caaat! We were wrong!”
“Come back to the city! Come sleep inside!”
“Eat! We’ll feed you! Come eat!”
Despite their calls, the distant Black Cat only flicked his large ears and continued sleeping.
Meanwhile, W-City was left with unprecedented numbers of injured citizens.
While the Black Cat slept, Yoo Anna appeared at an official press conference and bowed deeply in apology.
“Far from preventing the chaos, I contributed to its cause… I sincerely apologize.”
The announcement of injuries due to failed crowd control.
That day, approximately 6,000 minor and major injuries occurred from the crushing crowd.
The highest number of casualties W-City had suffered from monster-related incidents in the past year.
[Should this be called a disaster? What even is this?]
[Went to see the giant Black Cat and broke my arm…]
[I’m bruised all over. Wow; first time I almost died from being crushed by people, not monsters.]
[A crush risk in this day and age? How is this possible?]
This happened because even the police, military, and heroes—who should have controlled the crowd—had all gathered to see the Annihilation-class monster, Black Cat.
“I… Heard that A-City was trying to take the Black Cat away and temporarily lost my mind….”
Meanwhile, Starlight, who should have been controlling them, had been busy grilling kebabs.
Such a foolish mistake led to an entirely preventable accident—she must be furious.
Feeling belated shame, Yoo Anna announced measures to prevent a repeat.
“To ensure this never happens again, W-City’s military, police, and heroes will enforce strict control over citizens’ access to the Black Cat.”
Currently, W-City’s citizens are desperate for the safety zone created by the mighty monster, the Black Cat.
Complete control is impossible, so access within a 500-meter radius of the Black Cat will be strictly enforced.
The only park in W-City large enough for the Black Cat to lie down will have restricted entry.
Watching the broadcast, not a single citizen voiced dissatisfaction.
[After this incident, we really need some control!]
[LOL, haven’t seen a crowd this big in ages.]
[The heroes did well, right?]
[People forgot how scary crowds can be in this monster era.]
[Who could’ve predicted something like this in this day and age?]
[It’s a miracle no one died.]
[Only because heroes flew around rescuing everyone—a crush death wouldn’t have been surprising.]
Thanks to the heroes’ efforts, there were zero fatalities.
The injured were classified as monster-related casualties, receiving hefty insurance payouts, with no life-altering injuries.
[Even soldiers and police went to the park, but once the crowd grew, they tried to control it.]
[If we’re pointing fingers, A-City’s to blame.]
[If anything, Starlight grilling kebabs is endearing. She was desperate to keep the Black Cat.]
[Wasn’t she the first to step up to protect W-City by helping cook?]
An unusual situation where none of the injured, their families, or citizens were angry.
Instead, they raised another issue.
“Starlight, no one blames you. Kebabs? Whole hog BBQ? Without your help, could they have grilled all that meat in time?”
“Enough apologies for the injured! Everyone agrees on controlling access to the Black Cat! We can’t upset him!”
“This happened because we feared another city might take the Black Cat!”
“Let’s put the past behind us! What’s the plan going forward?!”
What must W-City do to prevent other cities from taking the Black Cat?
Other cities, hearing that an Annihilation-class, the Black Cat could create a de facto safety zone, were in an uproar.
[Share the Black Cat!]
[The city with the most citizens should take him!]
[No! The most vulnerable city! Give the Black Cat to the city with the highest misery index!]
[Monster safety zones stem from Annihilation-class cores! Dissect the Black Cat and share his core among cities!]
[What kind of psycho wrote that? Attack a peaceful Black Cat?!]
[Track that bastard’s citizen ID!]
[Bring the Black Cat to B-City! From today, B-City is the Black Cat City!]
The day before, A-City’s citizens had even livestreamed feeding the Black Cat, declaring they’d taken him.
An issue simmering since before the Black Cat became Annihilation-class had now exploded.
“We can’t let him be taken! The Black Cat belongs to W-City!”
“Um….”
“Starlight! As W-City’s proud Black Cat enthusiast, what’s your solution?!”
“W-Wait, I’m not the Black Cat otaku….”
W-City’s citizens united against the looming threat of the Black Cat being stolen.
“According to W-City polls, the most popular proposals are: brushing the Black Cat, building a Black Cat tower, and making a Black Cat bed!”
“Wait, hold on.”
“With the Black Cat here, we could expand into closed zones like A-City! We need a Black Cat special zone!”
“We need dedicated chefs for the Black Cat’s tastes! Over 100 volunteers! The mayor supports this—what do you think?!”
Yoo Anna, overwhelmed by the reporters’ rising voices, pounded the press conference table.
“Calm down!”
But unlike before, the reporters didn’t quiet down.
Instead, veins bulging, they shouted louder.
“Is now the time to calm down?!”
“Even you can’t restrain the Black Cat anymore!”
“If we do nothing, we’ll lose him!”