25
Ch.25 It's Not an Average Monster
"You stupid bitch, don’t you know how to put on a performance like this? There’s nothing more effective at shutting up these filthy, hate-filled bastards who don’t even grieve for the injuries of the guardian protecting them. I just reminded them of the fear that if the shepherd guarding the sheep disappears, the sheep will be the ones torn apart by wolves."
"Yeah, sure… Whatever you say…"
"A superpower human sometimes needs to disguise themselves as weak. If it’s to guide these lowly creatures in the right direction…"
"Ugh, yeah, okay, got it. Just hurry back to A-City already."
What’s the point of deliberately making citizens anxious? Though she thought that, Yoo Anna couldn’t help but feel a little envious of Kage’s ability to manipulate public opinion at will—unlike her. Sometimes, the stress from citizens acting clueless and selfish was hard for even Yoo Anna to bear. She had no intention of copying him, but from a mental management perspective, Kage’s methods weren’t bad.
As if to prove it, a crowd had gathered at the train station connecting the cities, waiting for Kage.
Having kept bandages only on his head, neck, and one arm—the parts visible outside the blanket—Kage lay back down and covered himself. When the ambulance arrived at the station and Yoo Anna, along with other A-rank heroes, helped Kage out, he waved his injured hand with dignified composure despite his pained expression, facing the cameras.
[Waaaah! Kage! Kage!]
[Mr. Kage! Don’t be in pain!]
[Don’t die!]
[Mr. Kage! We saw you on W-City News! Are your injuries okay?]
[Mr. Kage, just—just one word! Please say something about the Black Cat!]
Watching the citizens fawn over Kage like this left Yoo Anna feeling hollow. She was playing along with this act to prevent news of their discord from spreading, but even the reporters, who usually clawed and snapped like rabid dogs, were asking unusually tame questions.
"See? To lead these lowly creatures, you sometimes need this kind of showmanship. If you don’t know, learn."
"If the reporters weren’t here, I’d punch you for real."
Even amid the noisy crowd, the superpower hearing of S-rank heroes allowed them to whisper without being overheard. As Yoo Anna pushed the stretcher into the train, two A-rank female heroes—Kage’s subordinates—bowed to her.
"Yoo Anna, this time… Truly, thank you."
"Thank you for saving Mr. Kage."
At that, Kage, still smiling and waving at the citizens through the window, spoke in a voice completely at odds with his expression.
"Starlight, I’m grateful for your help this time… But don’t think this means you’ve beaten me."
"Ugh… This again? Since when do heroes keep score like this?"
"Losers always say things like that… But I’ll admit it, Starlight. You’re at least my equal… Or close enough."
"Yeah, yeah, I already know your intelligence is at my level or below. Now hurry up and leave."
"Starlight."
As Yoo Anna, tired of dealing with Kage, turned to exit the train, Kage called her back in a serious tone.
"...Be careful. That thing, the Black Cat… It’s not a normal monster."
"Yeah, yeah, I already figured that much."
"Listen seriously. The Black Cat is—"
"And yet the guy who knew that still tried to solo it? Anyone with eyes could see two S-rank heroes fighting together would’ve been better."
"Yoo Anna! A monster with that many abilities defies common sense! If not for that, I would’ve—!"
Yoo Anna didn’t wait for Kage to finish, stepping out of the train.
[Starlight! What about the Black Cat?!]
[Is it safe? Now that even Kage has been defeated, with only one S-rank hero left in W-City, isn’t it an uncontrollable threat?!]
[Move aside, everyone, you’ll get burned!]
Yoo Anna flared her abilities, driving back the swarming reporters before igniting her entire body in flames and taking off into the sky.
As she flew, she recalled Kage’s words.
She already knew the Black Cat wasn’t normal.
But after that day, after speaking to the fleeing Black Cat, she knew even more.
"Seriously… What kind of monster is that cat… Ugh!"
[The Black Cat sighted! District 7, the Black Cat sighted!]
Just then, a monster alert blared in Yoo Anna’s ear. Startled, she adjusted her flight path toward District 7.
"Exact location? Report the current situation."
[Location is District 7! Turtle Park, currently… Uh, it’s flying around with kids on its back…?]
"Ugh…"
At the flustered operator’s voice, Yoo Anna sighed and increased her speed.
What kind of monster carries kids on its back?
It’s not like it’s going to eat them—it’s probably just playing.
"I’m going insane."
There’s a limit to how not normal something should be!
***
At the scene, the Black Cat was flying around, protecting children from a sudden swarm of ghost dogs and blood crows. When Yoo Anna arrived, the Black Cat handed the kids over and slaughtered the monsters at a speed incomparable to its usual fleeing pace. Yoo Anna watched with a complicated expression as the Black Cat checked the children for injuries—then punched it.
"Waaahhh…!"
"Hey, didn’t I tell you to stay away from people? Huh?"
"Don’t hit Blacky! Don’t hit Blacky!"
"Mean lady!"
"Wh—mean lady? Kids~? Okay, okay, your aunt won’t hit the Black Cat anymore, alright? Now hurry to the shelter!"
"Blacky ate the bad dogs that tried to eat us!"
"It’s Black Cat, not Blacky, and they’re monsters, not bad dogs. Wait—why’s your pronunciation like this? Did you lose a tooth?"
"Yeah, my toof fell out. My toof is—"
"Oh, I see~ Hey, don’t fall! Stay away from it."
"Waaahh."
After confirming the kids were unharmed, the Black Cat, shooed away by Yoo Anna, began chewing on the monster corpses one by one.
Watching the gruesome scene of blood and flesh splattering, Yoo Anna seized the moment to point at the Black Cat.
"See? The Black Cat’s a scary monster. If you keep getting close, it might suddenly eat you!"
"Blacky’s not scary! Blacky’s nice!"
"Ugh—hey! I told you to stop approaching people! Especially kids!"
"Waaah! The mean lady’s scary!"
"I’m not a mean lady! Call me aunty! Come here, you little troublemakers!"
"Waaah! Mommy!"
"Waaah!"
Seeing the kids insist the Black Cat wasn’t scary, Yoo Anna scolded the monster, then slowly flew them to a temporary shelter.
Once all the kids were safely handed off and the area evacuated, Yoo Anna found herself alone with the Black Cat in the deserted city. She gestured for it to come closer, but the Black Cat cautiously sank into the shadows, wary of another punch.
"Come out. I’ll buy you beef."
"Mrrow?"
"Tch…"
Damn it, why is it cute? At the Black Cat’s seemingly beef-recognizing reaction, Yoo Anna turned away, careful to avoid CCTV cameras, and headed to the nearest butcher shop. She pulled out her hero ID card—a multi-purpose tool that doubled as a credit card and key for locked facilities—and opened the shop, sealed shut during the monster alert.
Grabbing a chunk of beef, she self-checked out at the register before tossing the meat to the Black Cat.
"Mrroww."
"Huh? Not gonna—wait, what…? Ugh, seriously."
The Black Cat snatched the raw meat mid-air and plastered itself against Yoo Anna’s back. The sizzling sound made her realize it was using her as a grill. Annoyed, she grabbed the meat and sandwiched it between her palms.
"Since when do monsters care about well-done meat… There, done!"
"Mrrooww."
"What?! This is cooked enough! You want me to adjust the doneness too?!"
"Waaahh."
With another sizzle, Yoo Anna grilled the meat further before tossing it into the Black Cat’s mouth. She glanced around nervously—if anyone caught the Starlight, the one who told people not to feed monsters, giving beef to the Black Cat, the fallout would be disastrous.
"Mrrowrr."
"That’s an adorable sound… You like beef that much?"
Hearing the cute noises the Black Cat made while eating made Yoo Anna’s ears tingle. She pulled out her phone and started recording.
Chomp chomp chomp—Black Cat devoured the beef in seconds, then opened its mouth for more. Watching drool drip from its maw, Yoo Anna sighed and grilled another piece.
Was this why it didn’t attack humans? For beef?
"Which do you like more, human meat or beef?"
"Mrrow."
A monster preferring beef over human meat… That was unheard of. Past attempts to tame monsters involved feeding them beef, but they never stopped craving humans.
Was this unique specimen helping humans because it liked beef more? Because humans made delicious beef…?
"Today’s beef is a reward for behaving. From now on, if anyone tries to pet you, hiss at them. Got it?"
"Mrrooww."
"And with kids… Ugh, never mind. Don’t scare them too much. Or… Should you? Damn it… Why am I even having this conversation with a monster?"
"Mrrow."
"Fine, here’s more beef. Ugh, seriously…"
Yoo Anna sighed, recalling the day the Black Cat defeated Kage.
Was the Black Cat really different from other monsters? The moment she voiced the question, the Black Cat nodded.
That realization hit Yoo Anna like a truck.
-How the hell do you understand human speech…?
She’d suspected it, but a monster that truly comprehends human conversation? The Black Cat’s intelligence was far beyond expectations—which made it even more dangerous. But it also meant more people would target it.
A monster that didn’t attack humans and understood human speech.
Later, Yoo Anna even managed a short conversation with the Black Cat.
-If you’re a monster, act like one. Attack humans. Why do you keep protecting them?
-Purrr…
-What’s that, you don’t want to? You don’t like attacking humans…?
-Mrrow.
-Y-You’re serious? Wait… Am I really talking to a monster right now?
Unlike monsters that mimicked human speech through learned patterns or deception, the Black Cat communicated with Yoo Anna without a hint of aggression.
Though wary, Yoo Anna vented her frustrations.
-You can’t just let anyone pet you. That’s why someone shot you with a tranquilizer recently.
-Mrrow…
-Wait, you’re male, right? Do monsters even have genders?
-HISSS!
-Okay, okay, I won’t look! Jeez, I already saw everything when you were flying—why’re you acting like I’m harassing you now?
-Purrr…
-Whatever. Just stop approaching humans. Don’t make more trouble for me…
After that, the Black Cat actually started baring its fangs at approaching civilians. It still saved people from monsters, but the fact that it listened to her softened Yoo Anna’s heart.
At the same time, she realized the Black Cat could cause even bigger waves. If its ability to converse became public, cults preaching human-monster harmony, rich idiots thinking they could tame it, and government researchers would all flock to W-City.
So Yoo Anna didn’t report it.
As a hero, she was obligated to share intel on monsters—but the Black Cat was unique. Recording this wouldn’t help against other monsters, and worse, it’d provoke the Black Cat unnecessarily. Then it’d throw another tantrum, wreck the city, cause chaos…
So for now… Status quo.
It wasn’t like she was sheltering a monster. She couldn’t capture the Black Cat alone anyway, and it wasn’t attacking humans.
Like Kage said, it was like leaving a dud bomb unexploded. Yoo Anna knew her choice might be wrong.
She knew… But…
"...So cute."
Yoo Anna cautiously reached out to pat the Black Cat’s head as it quietly chewed beef.
The moment she did, the Black Cat flinched, leaping back and sinking into the shadows. It fled so fast, as if fearing another punch. Yoo Anna froze mid-reach.
"N-No, I wasn’t gonna—I just wanted to pet you… Ughhh…"
It lets other people pet it!
Yoo Anna sighed, staring at the ground where the Black Cat had vanished. She keyed her communicator and reported,
"This is Starlight. The Black Cat… Got away again."
…Next time, she would pet it.
***
Author's Note:
Thank you for reading!
Lately, I’ve been considering submitting this for a contest.
But if I do, I’d have to reupload it from the beginning...
When I first posted this, I didn’t know the contest was happening, so I’m not sure what to do.