54
Ch.54 Is this really a monster?
“Oh, the Black Cat otaku is here.”
“Black Cat Otaku, you’ve worked hard.”
“Wow, isn’t this the S-rank hero Black Cat fanboy?”
The day after the report on the bad cats' attack.
Yoo Anna glared at the heroes teasing her and raised her energy.
“A-rank guys with high recovery, want to get some second-degree burns? The weaker ones, line up in the back—I’ll make it quick with first-degree.”
After passionately explaining the differences between Black Cat and bad cats, Yoo Anna belatedly checked the chat and realized her mistake.
But what could she do? The citizens were already excitedly making fun of her.
Better to laugh than cry—citizens need entertainment.
Yoo Anna tried to endure it, but when even the heroes joined in, she finally snapped.
“Gahhh!”
“The hero is setting things on fire!”
Whoosh! The heroes touched by the lightly spewed flames laughed and ran away.
Shortly after, someone pulled up the community reactions on their phone and shoved it in Yoo Anna’s face.
“They’ve already made emoticons out of this in the community. Have you seen them?”
“The meme where it’s like, ‘This is Black Cat, this is bad cats,’ was funny. Like, ‘This is the S1 model phone, this is the S1a model—totally different.’”
“But will you accept the honorary chairman position in the Black Cat Moms Cafe?”
“You guys are really… Sit down!”
As Yoo Anna flared up, the heroes chuckled and took their seats.
Once everyone was seated, Yoo Anna sighed and looked at one hero in particular.
The hero’s name was Sound Waiver.
He had the ability to manipulate sound waves at will.
When Sound Waiver clapped his hands—tap—a transparent barrier spread across the room.
Now, no matter what method was used, no one could eavesdrop on the meeting.
Inside the soundproofed room, a secret meeting began—one not reported to the government, shared only among W-City’s heroes.
“You’ve all read the cell analysis report on the bad cats, right?”
Parts of the slain monster’s body were sent to research facilities in each city for analysis.
Today’s secret meeting was convened because of those analysis results and the Black Cat’s actions during the bad cats attack.
Some of the bad cats’ and the Black Cat’s cells were identical.
In other words, even if they weren’t the exact same species, they were close enough to be considered subspecies.
Even when monsters of the same or similar species came looking for him, the Black Cat refused to join them and continued to protect humans as he always had.
“The one we caught was female, right? And the Black Cat is male? Does he not have any reproductive instincts?”
“Maybe the other monsters the Black Cat killed were male?”
“The monster tissue collected from District 4 had both male and female samples. The genetic info was nearly identical except for gender.”
“Wouldn’t it make sense to assume it could change gender at will? There was only one corpse, and if by some chance there was another Despair-class, the Black Cat would’ve been the one in trouble.”
“If it changed gender, maybe it was trying to court the Black Cat because it thought it would lose in a fight…”
“And the Black Cat killed it.”
A female, and yet he still prioritized humans, whom he wouldn’t even eat.
What the hell is the Black Cat? Nothing about him makes sense.
The heroes of W-City, all sharing the same doubts, set aside the unanswerable questions (best left to combat personnel) and brought up the main topic of the day.
“What do you all think about the Black Cat?”
“Honestly… I think he’s becoming trustworthy.”
“I agree. We should still be cautious, but… It’s clear he’s not a normal monster.”
“What kind of monster rejects its own kind and chooses humans?”
“There are humans like that too, you know? The ones who say, ‘Monsters are beautiful,’ or ‘Monsters are friends.’”
“You mean those idiots in D-City with that monster cult or whatever?”
“From a monster’s perspective, the Black Cat must be a terrifying mutation.”
“For us, he’s a blessing… I kinda like him, honestly.”
“The problem is that he’s still a monster.”
Even if he’s a helpful variant, he’s still a monster.
The heroes who had mistaken the bad cats for the Black Cat this time were afraid that the Black Cat might one day rampage like the bad cats did.
But at the same time… The thought of killing him was becoming harder to accept.
Yoo Anna sighed as she looked at everyone.
“I know you’re all relieved because monster damage has decreased thanks to the Black Cat… But he’s also a ticking time bomb.”
“We know that, but if a bomb doesn’t explode no matter how much you throw it around or squeeze it between other bombs…”
“It’s defective. A failure, you could say.”
“Trying to set it off before it causes harm might backfire and make things worse.”
So let’s not provoke him.
Previously, the consensus had been to stay cautious and eliminate him at the first sign of danger, but now the opinion to hold off had grown stronger.
“In a way, hasn’t the Black Cat proven himself? That he’d prioritize humans over his own kind?”
“Talking about proof with a monster…”
“Not something a hero should say, but I do want to believe in him, at least once.”
“If he ever becomes an Annihilation-class, we won’t be able to handle him on our own.”
“On the other hand, if he becomes an Annihilation-class and still protects humans, that’d be the best-case scenario, right?”
“That’s too much of a gamble. Why do you think everyone assumed the Black Cat was rampaging this time? If the Black Cat becomes stronger than W-City’s forces, you think he’d stay quiet? Right now, he’s behaving because Starlight is stronger.”
“Who knows? Maybe he’s already stronger than us and just acting like this. He’s a variant, after all.”
“Alright, enough. We didn’t gather today for this debate.”
Seeing the growing divide, Yoo Anna clapped her hands, drawing everyone’s attention.
In the end, there was only one issue to settle today,
The Black Cat’s disposition.
“Who thinks the Black Cat should be killed as soon as possible?”
Only three heroes raised their hands, and even they didn’t seem enthusiastic.
“Who wants to treat the Black Cat as part of W-City’s forces for the time being and utilize him?”
This time, every single hero—including the three who had raised their hands earlier—unanimously raised their hands.
Seeing the obvious result, Yoo Anna made her decision.
“…Starting now, the Black Cat’s threat level is lowered by three tiers. Response protocols remain the same, but priority will change… No report to the government. This stays among W-City’s heroes. No records. Meeting adjourned.”
“Senior, does this mean you’re stepping down as the Black Cat’s handler? A three-tier drop means even a B-rank hero could handle him…”
“That… I’ll keep doing it. If the dispatch records show otherwise, the government might get annoyed.”
“Wow, the Black Cat otaku strikes again. Well, if you don’t apologize quickly, you’ll get hurt like last time… Ow!”
Yoo Anna shot a small spark at the hero who kept teasing her.
The most frustrating part was that what he said wasn’t entirely wrong.
Her mind was already filled with thoughts of meeting the Black Cat as soon as possible to apologize.
“Be careful not to leak internal info to civilians. Especially you—stay off the community forums.”
“…Sorry.”
“Alright, everyone! Share this with heroes who aren’t here, and prepare a warning broadcast to civilians about the possibility of monsters resembling the Black Cat appearing.”
“I’m worried about how to educate them. No matter what we say, people don’t listen.”
“We still have to try. I’ll go patrol for a bit…”
Just as Yoo Anna was about to leave, the Despair-class monster alarm sounded in the building.
[The Black Cat…]
“Deploying now! Handle the aftermath!”
Immediately, Yoo Anna opened the window and jumped out.
The heroes watched from the window as Starlight flew into the distance, then laughed wryly at the following broadcast.
[…Appeared!]
“Wow, she’s fast.”
“She’s not going to catch the Black Cat—she’s going to apologize, right?”
“Apologizing to a monster… Unbelievable.”
Then, the operator, forgetting to turn off the mic, spoke in an awkward voice.
[Um… But, uh… Is this really an alarm? Ah, s-sorry! The Black Cat sighted! Napping in the park! N-no other monsters, just a civilian report!]
“…But is this bastard Black Cat even really a monster?”
At this point, it wasn’t just absurd—it was downright hilarious.
***
After devouring 444, the city was still in ruins.
The minor disturbances caused by small monsters returning after fleeing the powerful tremors of the Despair-class monster had delayed the city’s recovery efforts.
Which meant there were no ways for me to earn enough money to eat my fill.
It wasn’t that I had no money at all, but many restaurants weren’t open yet due to lingering unease from the chaos.
The few that were open were packed with people who had survived on emergency rations in shelters for three days, so I had no choice but to endure.
I could endure it, but humans couldn’t.
In the end, I headed to the Black Cat Park for the first time in a while and accepted food from residents who recognized me.
It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing.
“Black Cat! Black Cat doesn’t do bad things, right?”
“Black Cat isn’t a bad cat! He’s a good cat!”
“Black Cat! Look at this! I drew it!”
“Here! Here! The new Paw Punch! Look!”
“The kids have grown so much.”
“Their pronunciation’s better too, right? All they talk about is the Black Cat.”
Munch, munch. From behind the playground, where humans wouldn’t notice, I chewed through the meat in one bite. The kids, seeing me for the first time in a while, cheered while their mothers swallowed hard.
“Sorry, but we don’t have much to give…”
“The supermarkets aren’t open yet, so…”
“How hungry must he be… Look how defined his abs are now.”
“…Gulp. Kyah!”
Then, a woman poked me.
Instinctively gripping the mother’s wrist, I pinned her arm against a wooden pole and bared my fangs before forcing myself to calm down with trembling hands.
Slowly releasing her, I exhaled sharply and warned the mothers,
“Don’t get too close. You look delicious, and it’s hard to resist.”
“Oh, oh my… Oh my, oh my… M-my husband went to work, but…”
“Honey, don’t you know he’s a monster? He didn’t mean it like that.”
“But he’s male… Couldn’t he mean something else?”
“H-he’s really an animal… My heart’s racing…”
What the hell? I expected fear, but the mothers’ sweet, sticky emotions left me baffled.
Come to think of it, didn’t Yoo Hyena give off similar vibes? Maybe ‘you look delicious’ means something different from what I thought?
Confused, I stepped back. The mothers kept their distance but sat down and brought up recent events.
“You must’ve been upset this time… With those bad cats things.”
“There were a lot of victims, right…?”
“We made a ‘Black Cat Moms’ cafe to support you. Everyone knows now that it wasn’t you, so don’t worry too much.”
Hearing that, I paused mid-bite and warned them,
“Tell the kids to be careful. To monsters, children are easy prey. If another monster like me shows up, just run.”
“…You’re right. Okay, we’ll do that.”
“We should spread the word in the cafe too.”
“Should we teach them to stay away from the Black Cat when the alarm sounds?”
“Probably? We used to train everyone to evacuate to shelters when the alarm went off, but lately, because of the Black Cat…”
It’s better to keep your distance from monsters.
As the mothers murmured about what to do, I suddenly realized someone I usually saw here was missing.
“Did that cop die?”
“Oh, no! He got promoted and transferred to District 1.”
“It’s a bit of a hassle now. Thieves have been showing up again lately.”
“He was such a good guy…”
“I see.”
Relieved he wasn’t dead, I stood up and transformed.
The mothers flinched at my sudden monster form, but the kids cheered and rushed over, clinging to me.
“Black Cat!”
“Kitty!”
“Is… Is a monster coming?”
[Not to this area. But it’s close… I’ll repay the meal. Take the kids and go.]
A pack of Terror-class and Crush-class monsters was swimming up from deep underground. As I nodded and raised my energy, the mothers grabbed their children and left the park.
The ability I gained from 444—spatial manipulation… Sensing the monsters deep below, I tore them apart and exploded them into pieces.
This… Is definitely useful.
“Ugh…”
After killing the monsters, I yawned and lay down on the park sand.
I planned to use spatial manipulation to slowly drag the monster corpses from underground and eat them.
Chew, chew… As I ate, the texture reminded me of squid tentacles, and my thoughts wandered.
The most pressing one: Why was the research lab sending monsters after me now?
What were they thinking…?
“Black Cat!”
Then, Starlight flew into the park, carrying a bag.
Spotting her, I stopped eating and sank into the shadows.
Panicking, Yoo Anna made a pleading face and shouted,
“I’m sorry! I was wrong, okay?! But—but you were wrong too! Why didn’t you say anything sooner?!”
At that, I peeked out just enough to glare at her before hiding again.
Then, Starlight rummaged through her bag and pulled out beef.
“B-beef…! Here, I brought beef…! Ack…!”
She waved the meat, urging me to come, but my jaw still ached from her punch, so I left the beef and ran.
As I fled, Starlight’s despondent voice trailed after me,
“Aaaah….”