23
Ch.23 You are A Monster Right?
It was complete chaos. The situation had spiraled into utter despair—the seemingly human-friendly anomaly called Black Cat had turned hostile, and now an S-rank hero named Kage might die. Everyone watching the broadcast was in shock.
Among the flood of messages blaming her for not helping, Yoo Anna sighed and spoke to the camera,
"...The fact that the prison is still intact means Kage hasn't lost consciousness yet. Even if I attacked, I couldn’t break through. It’s not that I won’t help—it’s that I can’t."
The chat exploded even hotter.
[So Kage is definitely going to die?! What’s A-City gonna do?!]
[Why the hell did they let Kage come to W-City, those fucking idiots!]
[If Kage dies, W-City is screwed, right? Can Starlight even handle that thing?]
[Starlight, please! Save him!]
[Someone calm the Black Cat down! PLEASE!]
[Why the fuck did that bastard come to W-City alone instead of teaming up with Starlight?!]
[We’re so screwed. LMAO, if this psycho’s gonna die, he should die alone—not drag W-City down with him!]
[Tell Kage to release the prison!]
Even if the prison were released now, would it change anything?
If Kage had trapped the Black Cat inside with her from the start, maybe they could’ve won.
But he’d already made a fatal mistake—one that couldn’t be undone.
Yoo Anna snatched the camera and antenna from the two A-rank heroes.
"Both of you, leave."
"Huh? B-But..."
"If the Black Cat comes out soon, you’ll just get in the way. Go."
"Ugh... Kage..."
Sniffling, the two handed over the equipment.
Yoo Anna was about to cut the broadcast, but after seeing the chat’s panic, she set up the camera and antenna in a stable spot.
Please don’t turn it off. It was better for people to face reality than tremble in uncertainty.
As a hero, she had a duty to reassure the terrified citizens.
Stepping into frame, she stretched exaggeratedly and spoke calmly,
"Alright, everyone... The fact that the Black Cat hasn’t torn Kage apart yet is actually good news. It means its teeth can’t pierce his armor—it won’t devour him alive."
[THE FUCK KIND OF GOOD NEWS IS THAT?! YOU JOKING?!]
[Is Starlight insane? How is a fellow hero dying good?!]
[Wait, so the S-rank can survive if he’s just knocked out?]
Her attempt at optimism was lost in the hysteria. She clarified,
"You’re all overreacting. If it’s waiting for him to pass out before eating him, that means the prison will open—and I can jump in the moment it does."
[...Huh?]
[Wait, is Starlight saying she’ll save Kage? Did I hear that right?]
[HOLY SHIT! STARLIGHT! I KNEW I COULD COUNT ON YOU!]
Yoo Anna smirked at the instant shift in public opinion.
People... Living under constant threat from monsters made them volatile. It was exhausting.
Then—her superpower senses detected a tremor in the prison’s energy.
"It’s about to break. Well then, time to give it my all."
[STARLIGHT! YOU GOT THIS!]
[STARLIGHT! STARLIGHT!]
[YOO ANNA FROM CLASS 2-B, FIGHTING!]
[SAVE Kage! PLEASE!]
[STAR PUNCH! STAR PUNCH!]
Unable to bear the chat any longer, Yoo Anna tossed her phone aside and braced herself.
Flames flickered around her as she revved up her Flare Drive—amplified after defeating Mirage.
BOOM!
The moment Kage was hurled against the ceiling, shattering the prison as he flew out—Yoo Anna, the human bullet, was fired.
"HAAAAAAAAAA!!"
A perfectly timed, supersonic strike.
Her fist, wrapped in searing energy, tore through the dust storm in a straight line.
Even with her enhanced physique, the recoil would’ve shattered her arm—so she led with her elbow, glowing red-hot like a missile warhead.
Just before the falling Kage could crash, the fox-shaped Black Cat lunged—only to be intercepted mid-air.
"KYAAAANG?!"
Her aim, guided only by shadow and instinct in the dust, was slightly off.
CRUNCH!
Two of the Black Cat’s forelegs were blown clean off as Yoo Anna skidded across the ground, bloodied but relentless.
Screeching to a halt parallel to the ground, she kicked off again—catching Kage mid-fall.
The viewers, witnessing the unimaginable, fell dead silent.
[...Starlight is fucking strong.]
Cheers erupted from the shelters below as Yoo Anna, oblivious to the chat, grinned despite the gravity of the situation.
Her attack hadn’t killed the Black Cat.
In fact, the monster had already regenerated its limbs, shifting back into its usual black panther form.
That terrifying, amorphous healing factor—Yoo Anna clenched her fists and glared.
"Alright then... The real fight starts now, huh?"
The city was fully evacuated.
With Kage’s help, the area had been secured. Even if she wrecked the place, no one would blame her.
And the Black Cat—exuding bloodlust with razor-sharp eyes, drool dripping from its maw—was finally showing its true nature.
The instinct to tear humans apart, to devour them.
"Tch. So this is the real you?"
Its usual round, almost-cute eyes were gone. Replaced by a predator’s gaze.
Monsters were humanity’s enemy. Humans were monsters’ enemies.
That’s why they had to fight.
And Yoo Anna had no intention of letting the Black Cat walk away now.
"KOOOOOORRR!!"
The Black Cat charged, wreathed in flames.
The inferno melted the broadcast equipment in an instant.
Yoo Anna retaliated—firing photon bullets from her fingertips.
The Black Cat liquefied, dodging into the ground—only for her to stomp, igniting the earth beneath it.
The battle raged,
The Black Cat morphs into a flaming bird, claws raking Yoo Anna’s torso.
"Weak! That barely stung!"
A gorilla-like form swinging her like a club—only for her to blast free with a shockwave kick.
A serpent’s petrifying glare met her sun-hot aura, stone crumbling to ash.
CRASH!
Yoo Anna plowed through five buildings before skidding to a stop—then lunged back, beast-like.
But the Black Cat... Was just standing there. Dazed.
It stared at the ruins—the unconscious S-rank, the devastation it had caused.
Yoo Anna’s killing blow froze mid-swing.
"Huh?!"
The Black Cat—now back to its panther form—blinked at her with round, confused eyes.
No bloodlust. No hostility.
Just... Its usual self.
"Wait—are you... Not fighting anymore? You’re running again?!"
The Black Cat nodded. Like a human.
As if it had regained its sanity.
Yoo Anna hesitated.
Kage was down. Containing the Black Cat without the prison would require massive collateral damage.
But... The monster wasn’t rampaging anymore.
Against her better judgment as a hero, she lowered her fists.
"Sigh... I’m losing my mind."
She looked around.
Kage, unconscious. The melted equipment.
No records left of this battle.
That fact made her reckless.
"Why do you keep running? Why don’t you attack humans—no, wait, you did attack, but... Why do you keep helping people hurt by other monsters?"
Asking a monster questions was absurd.
But she waited for an answer anyway.
The Black Cat stayed silent.
Right. Monsters can’t talk.
She rephrased,
"...You are a monster, right?"