129
Ch.129 I am Not
“Listen carefully to our demands!”
“First! Stop calling us the Wretched Ones! We are the Black Cat Liberation Front!”
“First! Stop blocking our employment in W-City! We also have the right to survive!”
“First! End W-City’s monopoly on the Black Cats and share them with other cities!”
“Liberate the Black Cats!”
As the refugees chanted their demands like slogans, the heroes and police outside the perimeter frowned.
“No wonder they’re called the Wretched Ones… This just fuels more discrimination.”
“They’re louder than usual.”
“Must be because they’ve got an A-rank superpower human with them.”
“Any word from the senior?”
“They said it’s fine to subdue them if we can avoid civilian casualties. Immediate backup isn’t possible—they’re still fighting a Despair-class monster in A-City.”
The faint hum of awakened energy, imperceptible to ordinary people, heightened the tension among the superpower humans. Yet, the W-City heroes showed no immediate intent to attack.
“They’ve been keeping their cool so far… But today they’re crossing the line.”
“Keeping their cool? They’re the ones who got caught poisoning the Black Cat food.”
“That was just a fringe group—even they discriminate among themselves.”
“The main culprits were quietly arrested by the senior earlier. Those guys didn’t even resist.”
“Their goal isn’t terrorism in W-City—they just want their demands met. They won’t attack first.”
One of the heroes gestured with their chin toward a group of superpower humans amplifying their voices with strange claims.
“W-City! We know everything! You’ve completed a drug to control monsters and are hoarding it!”
“Why won’t you share it? Selfishness to keep W-City safe! We won’t stand for it anymore!”
“The Black Cats prove it! Taming an Annihilation-class? There’s definitely something going on!”
“We know! You’ve already tamed other monsters and hidden them!”
The refugees’ fervor grew, a mix of blind faith and distrust. Even I could tell their claim—that W-City developed a monster-control drug when even research institutes couldn’t—made no sense.
The heroes sighed and continued whispering, glancing at me.
“They say not to discriminate, but they make it impossible not to.”
“They’ve really outdone themselves with today’s nonsense.”
“If we leave them, more conspiracy theories will spread.”
“Fine, let’s subdue them.”
“Primary target: Park Deun-deun?”
“Wait! No fighting!” A police officer among the heroes raised their voice. The heroes frowned at the repeated warnings.
“We don’t want a fight either. If superpower humans clash, civilians get hurt.”
“Those agents always use refugees as shields…”
“With an A-rank on their side, talking won’t work anymore.”
“Even in the worst case, our goal is to arrest Park Deun-deun.”
“No! Don’t touch Park Deun-deun!”
“What’s with you? First, you say we can’t take the Black Cat, now we can’t attack him?”
“That guy’s the reason the agents are riled up—the A-rank superpower human. Of course, he’s the primary target.”
“It’s… He’s—ugh! Seriously, don’t! It’ll be bad if you attack him!”
“Wait, Park Deun-deun…? I remember now! He’s Yoo Hyena’s bodyguard!”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
As the heroes and police exchanged information about the superpower human named Park Deun-deun, someone suggested contacting Hyena.
“Isn’t the guy on Hyena’s security detail off today? Someone call her.”
“Confirmed. Park Deun-deun, currently using the name Han Mu-ryo. No relation to Guryongseong. Yoo Hyena’s weekend bodyguard. Eats a ridiculous amount.”
“So, the conclusion is: he’s just siding with them because he’s hungry, not an agent?”
“Yes, exactly!”
“How hungry do you have to be to side with agents for food?”
“Makes me want to hit him.”
“Absolutely not! Ugh, I shouldn’t have reported this! Should’ve stayed calm!”
“You’re the one who called the emergency.”
“What’s going on?”
Soon, Iron Might, who had put down the loudspeaker, approached the heroes and heard about Park Deun-deun.
“Hmm… If Park Deun-deun is really just hungry, we might resolve this easily.”
“How?”
“There are only two A-ranks here—me and Park Deun-deun. What if I talk to him quietly, at a volume only A-ranks can hear? Ask him to help us subdue the agents.”
“If that works, the power balance shifts drastically.”
“Right. With two A-ranks, we can subdue the agents before they react. The rest just need to disarm the refugees…”
“Iron Might.”
I called out to Iron Might, ensuring only him heard.
“Can we do this now?”
“Huh? What did you say?”
Before the agents around me could react, Iron Might stared at me in shock.
“What’s wrong?”
“You were listening to our conversation from this distance? An A-rank…?”
The heroes had been agonizing over how to handle a clash with unpowered refugees. Now, that worry was gone. So was my concern about being chased as a villain.
All that remained was escaping this noisy, exhausting place.
“Let’s begin.”
“Everyone! Move! Protect the civilians!”
“W-What?!”
“They’re charging! The heroes!”
“They finally showed their true colors—urk!”
Against superpower humans, a little excess force is fine.
As Iron Might burst from the perimeter, I unleashed fragments of memories I’d digested from Yeo Woon-jae.
Like pulling a book from a shelf, the memories flooded my mind—human knockout principles, lethal pressure points, carotid strikes, central nervous system disruption, brain-shocking blows.
“Ghk.”
“Eek.”
“Koff.”
With whip-like precision, my fingertips grazed jaws, knocking out four before they hit the ground. I moved toward a reacting superpower human, flicking a single finger against their neck.
A light but bone-deep impact—like a forehead flick—cut off their energy hum, dropping them.
“Slee—?!”
Fast reflexes—probably high B-rank.
I kicked off the ground, accelerating to slap aside an ice spear midair, then drove my palm into the superpower human’s stomach, releasing the force in a burst.
“Hrk!”
The super flew backward, landing near the heroes. Another B-rank unleashed lightning—the fastest energy form—straight at me.
“There are civilians—!”
Iron Might, sensing the lightning, slammed a steel fist into the ground, scattering conductive iron dust.
“Eek?!”
I caught some stray lightning, then appeared before the B-rank, crushing his wrist.
“Aaaaagh!”
He screamed as I prepared my next move—a strike to the forehead? No, the Adam’s apple.
“Stop! Don’t—whoa?!”
Iron Might lunged at me. I reflexively halted my attack, grabbing their arm and spinning them to the ground.
“Hm.”
Almost messed up, too engrossed in Yeo Woon-jae’s memories.
Iron Might stared up at me, wide-eyed.
“You… What are you? Are you really A-rank?”
I reviewed my actions. To avoid killing, I’d limited myself to mid-tier A-rank speed and power—just refined technique making it seem higher.
I offered Iron Might a hand.
“I’m A-rank.”
“No, I mean—what the hell, man.”
Iron Might took my hand, dusted off, and the surrounding superpower humans froze. Refugees dropped their weapons.
“Did he kill them? Instantly?”
“Kyaaaaah!”
“They’re not dead. Just unconscious,” Iron Might explained, slapping one awake.
“Huh? Where—? Iron Might?”
Relieved murmurs spread as police collected weapons. Soon, the instigators were cuffed and glared at me as heroes dragged them away.
“You’re just another W-City lackey!”
“Black Cat-loving scum!”
“Easy now. You crossed the line today. We tolerated your protests before.”
“You’re the ones who crossed the line! Sending all these heroes!”
The heroes muzzled them with gas-emitting masks that sapped strength.
“This situation is weird,” one hero muttered.
Police lectured the armed refugees while heroes gathered around me.
“We’re not arresting the refugees, right? Just educating them?”
“Yeah. Civilians wielding knives against C-ranks or higher is still legal.”
“Blades are just toys to us…”
“They’re right—we did swarm in first. That’s threatening.”
“That was the police’s call.”
“Now that it’s over, there was no real danger from the Black Cat.”
“If he’d really sided with the agents, it would’ve been dangerous.”
“The police didn’t mess up. They reported it before things escalated. Now we’ve legally arrested the agents.”
“But what’s up with this guy? He’s not A-rank—he’s S-rank. Can there be unregistered S-ranks?”
“Well, Hyena vouched for him…”
The mysterious A-rank, Park Deun-deun. The more they talked, the more attention turned to me.
“Park Deun-deun?”
“Hm.”
“Could you come with us? Sorry, but we need your cooperation. This isn’t an interrogation—just an investigation.”
Iron Might politely asked, warning that fleeing could lead to a warrant. The heroes clearly weren’t letting me go.
When will I get to eat in peace?
“…Fine.”
To avoid more trouble, I followed.
---
“Mu-ryo would never do that!”
In a dim interrogation room at District 3 precinct, Yoo Hyena grabbed Iron Might the moment she saw me.
“Why would someone turn down from several jobs, side with the Wretched Ones? You’ve got it wrong! Mu-ryo is—”
“Hyena, calm down.”
“Mu-ryo just doesn’t understand what’s wrong! He’s just hungry! Right?!”
“I was just hungry.”
“See?!”
“We know. Park Deun—Han Mu-ryo—ugh! This guy cooperated, so we wrapped things up fast. It’s weird, but we’re going with the hungry explanation for now.”
“Not for now—he really eats a lot.”
“Yes! He was just hungry! That’s why we’re still investigating!”
Iron Might tapped his tablet, reading my answers aloud.
“How’d you get your A-City super license? Why’s the registration so recent? How’d you get here without a train? Your answer: I walked for good food. Does that make sense?!”
“…You can walk to A-City if you’re hungry.”
“No! It’s weird! I was just going to hear you out and let you go, but this makes no sense! It’s not normal!”
“Our Mu-ryo isn’t normal! I mean—!”
Well, I’m a monster, so she’s not wrong.
Hyena faltered under my gaze.
“Sigh… Anyway, we’re not holding you as a villain. Just verifying facts.”
“What facts?”
“The senior is confirming your A-City registration. We’re waiting.”
While Iron Might stepped out earlier, I overheard his call. Since my registration is legit, I waited quietly for Starlight to clear me.
Hyena frowned.
“She’s coming here? How long does it take to check?”
“She called 10 minutes ago.”
“That’s more than enough time. Why’s he still here?”
“She said she wanted to talk to Park Deun-deun…”
“What?”
Then, a familiar sound came through the soundproof walls.
Whoosh—the roar of flames in the wind.
Starlight’s footsteps approached.