15
Ch. 15 It's Going To Be Too Hard To.
Yoo Anna thought to herself that she was being foolish as she spoke to the monster.
"Why are you hunting orphanage directors?"
Monsters can't speak human language. Monsters are humanity's natural predators, born from beasts that have transformed.
"Why did you protect someone else from my attack back then?"
A monster's instinct is to attack humans.
"Why! Are you trying to separate me from the children?!"
Monsters are humanity's enemies.
It made no sense at all.
Black Cat's behavior was not that of a normal monster.
Naturally, there was no response.
The overwhelming infrasound vibrations, the oppressive pressure radiating from the monster's core, the sound that even now resonated in her skull, threatening to crush it—Black Cat was, after all, a monster.
"Monsters... Must die."
Letting out a long exhale, Yoo Anna began slowly approaching Black Cat.
Only then did Black Cat slightly lower its guard, preparing to flee.
Its massive wings spread wide, burning with energy, while its forked black tail gradually sank into the shadows.
At that moment, the door to the room burst open.
"Don’t kill it! Don’t fight!"
"Stop! Stooop!"
"W-wait, hold on...!"
The children from the next room, orphans from the orphanage rushed out and clung to Yoo Anna’s legs.
Startled, she tried to shake them off, having been focused on preventing Black Cat’s escape.
If she used her powers now, the children holding onto her would burn to death.
This was why Yoo Anna hated those who protected monsters even more than the monsters themselves.
"Do you even know what you're doing?! Let go! That monster is—!"
"Don’t hurt the cat!"
"The cat helps us!"
"The heroes never helped us at all!"
Yoo Anna, still trying to free herself, froze at the children’s words, shocked.
The heroes had never helped.
It was true, even though Yoo Anna had vaguely known about the children’s situation, she had been unable to help.
Meanwhile, Black Cat had... Taken down every single orphanage director involved in illegal activities.
"...W-wait!"
The moment Yoo Anna hesitated, Black Cat seized the opportunity and vanished.
The dark shadow sank into the ground. Soon, Black Cat would visit the last remaining orphanage.
With the children still clinging to her legs, their eyes tightly shut, Yoo Anna grimaced and contacted the other heroes.
"...I lost Black Cat."
[Understood. Then, return immediately—!]
"No, I can’t go back yet."
[Huh? D-did you... Lose?]
"Hah? Even if it grows stronger later, my abilities are still superior for now. There’s no way I’d lose to Black Cat..."
She trailed off.
No matter how she looked at it, this unpleasant, powerless feeling was exactly what defeat felt like.
"...Yeah. I guess I lost."
[Seriously?! No way, B-Black Cat is already that strong?! If that’s true, it’ll reach Annihilation-class soon—!]
"It’s not that bad. Anyway... I can’t leave yet."
Yoo Anna sighed, even she found her own words strange.
"...Black Cat is only hunting orphanage directors. Don’t provoke it unnecessarily."
[What...? What do you mean?]
"If it does anything beyond that, contact me."
[Senior? Senior Yoo Anna,?]
After cutting the communication, Yoo Anna gently patted the heads of the children clinging to her legs.
Slowly, the kids, who had been squeezing their eyes shut, began looking up at her one by one.
"I’m sorry... For not coming to help sooner..."
"Sniff... Waaah..."
"Uwaaah... Waaaaah...!"
Finally, the children burst into tears.
Like children do, as if the dam holding back their emotions had broken.
Soon after, another communication came through from the heroes.
[...Black Cat has escaped.]
"Casualties on your side?"
[One. The orphanage director...]
As expected, Black Cat had only hunted the orphanage director before disappearing.
After putting the exhausted children to bed, Yoo Anna stepped outside and gazed up at the night sky, feeling strangely hollow.
"Yeah... I let it get away."
[Um... Also, senior... We found some pretty serious evidence about this orphanage...]
"...Suppress the information. I trust you know why."
[...Understood.]
Yoo Anna already had an idea of what that evidence might be. She hung up and shook her head.
Public opinion forming around the idea of a monster doing good would be problematic.
If adults, not children, started protecting monsters, it would be impossible to calm them down like today.
"...Black Cat."
Yoo Anna looked down at her weakly outstretched hand, recalling Black Cat’s form.
She had let Black Cat escape many times before, but this was the first time she had felt...
The first time a hero had ever felt defeat at the hands of a monster.
***
[The Despair-class monster Black Cat has begun its activities. Its victims total 12—all orphanage directors in W-City...]
[After completing its hunt, Black Cat stopped, as if lying low. Experts on monster behavior in W-City suggest that Black Cat may be an entity driven more by beastly instincts than typical monster instincts...]
[S-class hero Starlight, Yoo Anna, who had previously warned about Black Cat, stated that this incident proves Black Cat has finally revealed its true nature...]
On the rooftop of a building in W-City,
I sat enjoying the pleasant breeze as I pulled a cucumber from my pocket and crunched into it.
Lately, after eating too much greasy food, vegetables tasted amazing.
I pricked up my ears toward one of the buildings, eavesdropping on the news broadcasts from the opposite side.
Some stations spoke in serious, concerned tones, while others defended Black Cat.
“I know I might get flak for saying this, but… Hasn’t Black Cat saved more people than it’s killed? Like, dozens more than the 12 victims.”
[Rumors say the children from the orphanages run by the Black Cat’s victims were being abused, and they’re all grateful to Black Cat...]
[As a countermeasure against Black Cat, why not install giant cat toys on buildings, shaped like cat towers?]
Where was that last broadcast from? Were they sane?
"...I’m not a cat, seriously."
Finishing the cucumber, I looked up at a presence in the sky.
A red streak—Yoo Anna was flying.
Tuning my ears, I could hear the distant alarm of a Disaster-class monster.
"Must be tough, being a hero."
I pulled another cucumber from my pocket and munched on it.
***
As a non-human human, after hunting the orphanage directors, I grew significantly stronger again.
Monsters grow stronger by consuming other monsters or humans.
Especially strong humans or monsters provide more power, but since I hadn’t eaten many humans, even those fatty lumps were decent nourishment.
Now that I had better control over my abilities, I could completely hide my presence for short periods.
It felt like balancing a needle on another needle—the slightest lapse in focus would break it, but with concentration, I could maintain it for about 10 minutes.
Now that I understood the trick, continued practice would improve it further.
Separately, my power output had also increased.
"Blaaack Caaaat!"
Today, while hunting another monster, I was chased by Yoo Anna again. Using my enhanced abilities—now far beyond what could be called Lee Han-young’s superpower, I weaved through the cityscape to escape.
After learning what Yoo Anna would do if I fled underground, I avoided doing so unless I had a solid lead.
I’d worked hard to repair the city, it’d be a shame to wreck it again.
Now, I was confident I could lose her even without going underground.
Lee Han-young’s superpower, Drift, was a higher-tier ability than a ghost hound’s intangibility.
Unlike simple intangibility, which made the body unable to interact with the physical world, Drift allowed control over the boundaries of what the body touched.
While running, I wondered how I could hinder Yoo Anna further, eventually realizing I could link intangible objects together.
While fleeing, I’d bite into a tree, then phase it into a building, creating obstacles mid-flight.
If I was lucky enough to grab steel beams, I could keep making barriers.
"Cut it out, you bastard!"
"Waaah~"
Unlike me, who could phase through obstacles, Yoo Anna had to melt through them with her powers.
Every slight delay widened the gap between us.
While her raw power and attack potency still surpassed mine, my escape skills had now overtaken hers.
If she recklessly boosted her output and melted entire buildings to chase me, I might still get caught, but Yoo Anna wasn’t that kind of hero.
She always minimized collateral damage—a trait I’d noticed after being chased so many times. Now, I could even stall her.
"Grrr..."
"Hey?! What are you—!"
"Meow~"
"Hey, you little—!"
Running out of things to bite for obstacles, I flicked a communication tower’s antenna with my paw, snapping it off.
Yoo Anna frantically flew over to catch it.
I already knew how expensive those antennas were.
The tower itself was made of durable alloy, but against a Despair-class monster’s strength, it stood no chance.
Barely saving the antenna, Yoo Anna welded it back with her powers.
Meanwhile, I fled elsewhere.
"You did that on purpose! I’ll kill you for real!"
With enough distance now, escaping underground would mean my victory.
But then, something incredible caught my eye—
A giant skewer of meat. A kebab food truck.
I could escape anytime, but when else would I get to eat such a massive kebab in this form?
Monster damages were covered by insurance anyway.
Free meal.
"Meow~"
Delicious! This place is legit!
Holding the skewer with my paws, I tore into the kebab.
Just as Yoo Anna landed, her feet aiming for my back, I twisted away effortlessly.
"Seriously, are you actually a cat?!"
"Purrr!"
I’m not a cat, seriously. I just often take the form of a feline monster—right now, I’m something between a black panther and a tiger.
Clutching the kebab, I leaped away, filling my belly as I fled.
Before leaving, I lodged the skewer into another wall.
A tasty snack meant it was time to escape again.
Today’s chase was my victory.
"Ugh! Really, ahaaaaaaaaaaa!"