16
Ch. 16 Desperate.
After creating enough distance, I fled underground, erasing my presence as I listened to Yoo Anna’s angry shouts.
Lately, I’ve been using this method, hiding my presence underground before taking human form near a shelter passage.
Once the situation dies down, people emerge from the shelters, so if I walk out far ahead of them, I can escape naturally.
“Hmm, today was lucky.”
Who would’ve thought there’d be a kebab stall? Even in my monstrous form, I’d filled my stomach. Now, blending in with the humans exiting the shelters, I licked my lips.
People looked around, murmuring, discussing Yoo Anna and the Black Cat.
“Did she lose again today? The Black Cat… Is it really that strong?”
“No, isn’t Yoo Anna the problem? She’s an upper-tier S-rank, right? Other cities have two S-ranks, don’t they?”
“Major cities sometimes have two or three upper-tier S-ranks… It really seems like Yoo Anna alone isn’t enough…”
“Is Yoo Anna too weak to handle a Despair-class?”
Most of the conversations revolved around doubting Yoo Anna’s strength as a hero.
W-City’s strongest hero, the S-rank, a rank meant to match Despair-class monsters was common knowledge in this monster-infested world.
Other cities had S-rank heroes who’d single-handedly taken down Despair-class monsters.
So why couldn’t Yoo Anna do the same alone?
Well… Because I kept running away.
Listening to the chatter, I imagined what would’ve happened if I’d fought Yoo Anna like a typical monster.
Monsters could sense each other’s strength through their core vibrations, but humans, who lacked that sense, seemed infinitely weak.
If I weren’t an intelligent monster, I might’ve foolishly thought If I just push a little harder, I could kill her, and get myself killed.
Yoo Anna is strong.
I can confidently say that as the monster who’s had to flee from her every time.
“Shouldn’t they investigate this? Maybe she got her S-rank through connections…”
“I mean, Yoo Anna is pretty, right? Maybe her looks helped?”
“Do monsters care about human looks?”
“Not the monsters, the hero evaluators probably did.”
“Wow… That’s shady…”
“Hmm…”
Somehow, this reminded me of something unpleasant from my childhood.
Ah, it was like hearing about someone who’d filed a complaint demanding compensation after their car was saved from a fire.
Why do people always badmouth those who try to protect them?
“But seriously, isn’t the Black Cat weird? Why are the buildings always fine?”
“Maybe it’s not really a Despair-class…?”
“Fine? It keeps jamming weird stuff between buildings.”
“Hey, our building has one of those pipes stuck in it—now we’ve got a passage to the next building. People chat through it during lunch.”
“What kind of Despair-class monster does that…? Are we sure it’s really Despair-class?”
The answer was: me.
Because I acted so unlike a Despair-class monster, people assumed Yoo Anna was lying.
Either she’d exaggerated a weaker monster’s rank, or her own abilities had been inflated.
Once suspicion took root, everything looked like a lie.
But it wasn’t like I could just let her catch me, or kill her.
Listening to the gossip, I felt a little guilty. Yoo Anna’s reputation was suffering because of me.
“Hmm… I don’t think Yoo Anna is that weak.”
“Huh? Are you a Yoo Anna fan?”
“Hmm… Not really.”
I tried defending her, just a little, but quickly gave up.
Calling myself a fan in front of people determined to tear her down would’ve been stupid.
I’m not that dumb of a monster.
Well… This problem would probably resolve itself if a real Despair-class monster attacked W-City.
There’s nothing a monster can do for a hero.
Yoo Anna would just have to wait for time to prove her strength.
And that day came sooner than expected.
***
[Shouldn’t Yoo Anna’s hero rating be re-evaluated?]
[Seriously, an S-rank who’s failed to catch a Despair-class 22 times?]
[Make that 23 now.]
[Thank you, the Black Cat, for surviving again today.]
“Sigh…”
Yoo Anna, having let the Black Cat escape yet again, exhaled heavily as she checked the public opinion, thoroughly shredded.
Even she had no excuses left for the citizens.
[Are hero rankings even reliable?]
[You think the government’s trustworthy?]
[We never even see footage of her fights, how do we know she’s really S-rank?]
But Yoo Anna couldn’t help feeling wronged.
Demanding a re-evaluation? She’d already defeated a Despair-class monster before.
Were they saying that one didn’t count either just because she couldn’t catch the Black Cat?
She couldn’t understand why people were making such a fuss.
Treating dangerous monsters like tools in some hero power-ranking game.
Wasn’t the important thing is that she was trying to eliminate threats?
I shouldn’t care about this. Just focus on my job.
But the stress kept piling up.
The Black Cat was getting faster.
It was still slightly slower than her, but if it got any quicker… What would people say then?
If only the Black Cat is a normal Despair-class monster…
Even that stupid thought crossed her mind as she blamed herself for failing.
“No… I just need to get faster too… Stronger…”
The Black Cat, an anomalous entity, was growing at a terrifying rate compared to other monsters.
To catch it, Yoo Anna had no choice but to grow stronger herself.
Ironically, chasing the Black Cat had sharpened her abilities.
Fighting an equal opponent, barely missing it each time, forced her to refine her superpower.
She experimented constantly—unlike other monsters that caused immediate destruction, the Black Cat’s near-zero collateral damage gave her room to improvise.
So yes, Yoo Anna could catch the Black Cat.
…Eventually.
She just didn’t know when eventually would be.
“Sigh… Yes, this is Yoo Anna, the S-rank who can’t catch a Despair-class… How can I help you…?”
As she sighed, slumped on the couch, her communicator buzzed.
Then she shot upright.
“…A Despair-class from A-City is headed here?”
***
The escaped Despair-class monster from A-City, Mirage.
The intel Yoo Anna received painted it as eerily similar to the Black Cat.
A shapeshifter that avoided direct combat, vanishing the moment you looked away.
“Could it be the same species as the Black Cat?”
“Possibly… Mirage might even be a higher-tier variant.”
“Why?”
“The casualty numbers are incomparable.”
Mirage was said to emit a dense, hypnotic mist upon appearing.
Those ensnared would willingly walk to their deaths, offering themselves to it.
A trait reminiscent of the Black Cat’s charming appearance—Yoo Anna wondered if they truly were the same species.
“And this footage… Is why its codename is Mirage.”
The W-City monster response team played the video sent from A-City.
A black-armored man—Kage, one of A-City’s S-rank heroes, fought Mirage using his ability, Iron Prison.
His power created indestructible barriers, trapping monsters in inescapable cages.
Kage was famous for slowly whittling down Despair-class monsters this way.
The Ring tactic many heroes used now was modeled after him.
He’d slain dozens of Despair-class monsters.
“This is…”
Mirage, in the form of a dragon, was securely trapped within Kage’s barrier.
Then, in an instant, it dissolved into mist and reappeared outside.
When Kage lunged to recapture it, Mirage transformed into a giant fox, then a butterfly, fluttering skyward.
Just like the Black Cat.
Avoiding direct combat, shifting forms to evade—if they were the same species, this could be catastrophic.
“Should we use the Ring tactic again? Pit them against each other?”
“If the Black Cat hunts other Despair-class monsters, maybe it’ll take care of Mirage for us.”
The heroes spoke as if the Black Cat hunting monsters was a given.
W-City was already its territory—for some reason, it refused to fight heroes properly but slaughtered other monsters relentlessly.
Lately, the Black Cat had killed more monsters in W-City than anyone else.
To the Black Cat, another Despair-class would be an invader.
High-tier monsters were territorial—letting an intruder roam was unthinkable.
That’s why they’d pitted it against the wolf monster before.
But Yoo Anna thought repeating that strategy was too risky.
“…No. If they’re the same species, this could backfire horribly.”
“You think Mirage and the Black Cat might team up?”
Monsters of the same species rarely fought, they often cooperated.
Like the wolf monster from before, if the Black Cat allied with Mirage…
Even if the Black Cat was an anomaly that avoided human casualties, it would likely protect Mirage.
Worse… If they were the same species, they might even reproduce.
If Mirage had come to W-City specifically because it sensed the Black Cat…
They had to kill Mirage before it made contact.
“Issue a city-wide evacuation order. All heroes, assemble and standby. No matter the cost… We must kill Mirage before it reaches the Black Cat.”
In that moment, W-City’s primary target shifted from the Black Cat to Mirage.
All to avoid the worst-case scenario.