59
Ch.59 How to Deal with the Black Cat
It was Electress's third day in W-City.
As she had confidently claimed, her injured body had fully recovered.
Her neatly repaired flight jacket, tank top, special-material leggings, and rugged sneakers.
Electress, sitting with one leg crossed over the desk, was crackling with sparks in the operations room.
"I'll just kill that cat-like thing right away and hunt down that damn bastard within the remaining time... I went easy on him last time. If I see him again, I’ll yank out steel beams and finish him in an instant..."
"Can you calm down your abilities a bit?"
Electress, who had been quietly seething, jerked her head around at the sound of Starlight, Yoo Anna's voice.
"Hmph, why should I?"
"The other heroes are getting uncomfortable."
"I'm just warming up so I can rush out at any moment! And if they’re uncomfortable with this, then they’re just weak, right? Tell the weaklings to shut up."
Noticing Iron Might entering the operations room, Electress snapped in an irritated tone.
"Hey! A-rank! Get me a drink!"
"Go buy it yourself."
"What kind of rookie training does W-City even do?"
Yoo Anna sighed.
Electress was the epitome of strong against the strong, weak against the weak. Even among fellow S-rank heroes, this was the extent of her cooperation.
The only saving grace was that she didn’t act this way toward monsters, but no S-rank hero was as exhausting to deal with as her when it came to fellow heroes.
Not to mention, among W-City’s citizens... No hero was as criticized as her.
[Why the hell is Electress or whatever even in W-City?]
[I’ve never seen a hero with such a trashy personality before.]
[I got knocked out by that bitch Electress, and she stole my seat at a restaurant. When I woke up, my company’s lunch break was already over.]
[My arm got electrocuted and still isn’t working right... At least the monster damage insurance got approved.]
[Electress flew by and threw trash that hit me—does this count for insurance?]
She loved food and would cut lines at any restaurant she visited.
She never carried a wallet, telling people to bill the Hero Headquarters before disappearing.
If citizens didn’t listen to her, she’d electrocute them into unconsciousness.
[Do heroes in A-City act like this?]
[Well, even if she does, there’s not much citizens can do. She’s an S-rank superpower human, after all.]
[Wow, suddenly Starlight seems like an actual saint.]
[Electress electrocuted an S-rank hero for not greeting her—is that really something a hero should do?]
Day by day, the number of citizens in W-City who disliked Electress grew.
At the same time, people began comparing heroes to the Black Cat.
[Why is everything Electress does so infuriating?]
[How is this bitch a hero while W-City’s cutest, the Black Cat, is a monster?]
[Is she really here to catch the Black Cat? Why even catch the Black Cat?]
[Is it because of those bad cats or whatever that went wild last time? Trying to get the Black Cat before he goes berserk too?]
[But he’s been behaving well lately—why provoke him now?]
[Even Kage couldn’t catch him—how does Electress plan to?]
[The Black Cat is way better than Electress—can’t they just leave him alone?]
After news spread that Electress had come to hunt the Black Cat, some even began openly supporting the Black Cat, going beyond mere defense.
[If she provokes him and fails to catch him, won’t the Black Cat go berserk for real this time?]
[Did she come to W-City to increase monster damage? Is she a terrorist, not a hero from A-City?]
[I just hope she gets beaten like Kage and leaves.]
[Don’t kill her, but beat her to near death.]
[Go, Black Cat!]
Rather than hunting the Black Cat, they wished Electress would get humiliated and run away.
And it wasn’t just W-City’s citizens who thought that way.
"Wow, I never thought I’d want to cheer for a monster in a fight against a hero."
"Is Electress even a match for the Black Cat?"
"Senior, are you really going to hunt the Black Cat? What about the meeting we had recently?"
"...I don’t know either."
The decision to leave the Black Cat alone for the time being was made in W-City’s secret hero meeting.
But now, with an S-rank hero from another city providing support, they had no choice but to comply with the hunt.
There was no justification to refuse.
Monsters were meant to be hunted, and heroes existed to eliminate them.
"I have a bad feeling... If she actually catches the Black Cat, things will just go back to being as exhausting as before..."
"I know."
Right now, W-City was benefiting immensely from what could be called the Black Cat Special.
In this situation, hunting the Black Cat would gain them nothing.
On the contrary, capturing the Black Cat would leave W-City, already short on heroes, even busier.
The noisy citizens defending the Black Cat were just an added bonus.
[District 6, Disaster-class monster appearance! Repeat. District 6, Disaster-class monster appearance! A-rank heroes on-site are engaging!]
Then, the alert everyone had been waiting for blared through the speakers.
As planned, A-rank heroes were holding the line against the Disaster-class monster while minimizing civilian casualties.
In such situations, whenever reinforcements were delayed, the Black Cat would appear to assist the heroes.
[The Black Cat has appeared!]
"He’s here!"
At the long-awaited news, Electress shot up from her seat and, with a thunderous KWA-RR-RRUNG!, leaped out the window.
KWA-CHANG! The shattered window and the lingering electric current left the other heroes grimacing.
Behind them, Yoo Anna shouted at the remaining personnel before rushing out after her.
"All personnel! Prepare for the worst-case scenario! Stay on standby for combat!"
After jumping out the window and accelerating, Yoo Anna stared at the fading afterimage of Electress far ahead and sighed.
Compared to Starlight, whose maximum speed was the speed of sound, Electress could reach her top speed almost instantly—supersonic movement.
On top of that, she is the fastest hero, capable of moving at lightning speed, even if only for a moment.
[Electress has engaged the Black Cat!]
"Evacuate the A-rank heroes on-site!"
Hearing that Electress had already arrived, Yoo Anna pushed her speed even further.
***
By the time Yoo Anna arrived, Electress was already warming up, bouncing in place.
"You’re late. Is this really the same S-rank who once rivaled Kage?"
"Since when do heroes care about hierarchy?"
Fortunately, Electress wasn’t stupid enough to charge in alone like Kage.
The retreating A-rank heroes, and behind them—the Black Cat, who had been tearing into the Disaster-class monster, now silently stared at Electress.
Ears stiffly erect, tail lowered.
Since the bad cats incident, his wariness had noticeably increased.
Just as Yoo Anna grew bitter at the thought of further public disdain, Electress let out a mocking laugh.
"That’s the Black Cat? Seriously, he’s Despair-class? Why does he look so weak?"
"Did you... Even read the reports properly?"
"Hmph, skimming through them was enough."
The Black Cat possessed a new ability called Stealth, allowing him to conceal his power.
The energy sensed and his true strength were different.
Could she really not know that? Yoo Anna began feeling uneasy just as the Black Cat sank into the shadows.
In that instant, Electress scattered an electromagnetic field in all directions.
The monster alert systems installed throughout the city were based on Electress’s technology.
Electress was both A-City’s strongest spear and its monster detector, swiftly rooting out any monsters that slipped in.
"There!"
A steel beam ripped from an unrepaired building, charged with electricity, shot out and embedded itself into the Black Cat’s shadow.
Immediately, as the Black Cat tried to sink deeper underground, Yoo Anna clenched her fist.
Biting back the urge to strike, she punched—and the ground where the Black Cat hid melted inward.
A miss. But Electress followed up, driving more steel beams into the Black Cat’s location.
Escape, pursuit, escape... After three repetitions, the Black Cat realized fleeing was futile and emerged from the shadows onto the ruins.
"Starlight, you couldn’t even chase something running at that speed?"
Yoo Anna recalled Kage’s words—with Electress, they might actually be able to catch the Black Cat.
Even if Electress only disrupted the Black Cat’s escapes faster than Yoo Anna could, it would be a huge help.
It felt like finally grasping the Black Cat’s tail, always just out of reach.
Should she let go or pull harder? As Yoo Anna hesitated at the possibility of hunting the Black Cat, Electress’s body began glowing gold.
"Was that all? Just a weak hit? If that’s enough to make him flinch, he’s not even that tough. Kage lost to this?"
"Don’t let your guard down."
"Guard? Pfft... I’m just baffled. You struggled against this?"
No way, right? Just as Yoo Anna felt unease, Electress crouched like a sprinter.
"Change of plans—you just provide backup. I’ll show you what an S-rank from A-City is really capable of."
"Hey—!"
Before Yoo Anna could react to Electress’s reckless disregard for the plan, a bolt of lightning struck the ground.
KWA-RR-RRUNG!
Electress’s ultimate move—Raiden Surge—mimicking the Disaster-class monster Thunderclaw’s ability.
Electress, her body transformed into pure energy, pierced through the Black Cat like lightning.
The deafening thunderclap that followed sent shockwaves rippling outward—and the Black Cat’s body swelled up, glowing gold.
White patterns etched themselves over his black fur, his face growing rugged.
Thunderclaw—a Disaster-class monster that manipulated lightning—had absorbed Electress’s ability.
"Thunderclaw’s trait...!"
"Grrrooar!"
Then, the Black Cat’s body, having swallowed Electress’s power, turned into lightning itself.
*KOO-OOM!*
With a thunderous explosion, he charged, releasing bursts of light. Electress zigzagged through the air, dodging the lightning’s aftermath.
"What the—?! He actually turned into Thunderclaw?!"
KRR-RR-RR!
Electress landed smoothly, one knee down, hands braced against the ground.
"If that’s the case...! Now’s the time to strike!"
ZZZT! CRACKLE!
Her electromagnetic field pulled debris from the ruins, forming a massive concrete-and-rebar fist.
Thunderclaw’s weakness was exhaustion after a lightning-charged rush.
KWAANG!
The concrete mass hurtled toward the Black Cat—who dodged it with feline grace.
The Black Cat wasn’t Thunderclaw.
His weaknesses could be compensated for with other monsters’ traits.
"What are you doing, Starlight?!"
The Black Cat perched atop the concrete fist and opened his mouth.
High-output energy gathered before him—a beam cannon.
In that instant, Electress panicked.
"Backup!"
"Tch!"
Yoo Anna had no choice but to strike.
KWAANG!
A pillar of pure destructive force shot forth—but the Black Cat closed his mouth and conjured a wall of flame to block it.
Fire and wind abilities—he’d shown wind manipulation before, but now, after swallowing Stormcaller, his output was strong enough to scatter Yoo Anna’s flames.
The bad cats’ spatial manipulation, Lee Han-young’s swimming trait—every ability the Black Cat used belonged to something he’d eaten.
As Yoo Anna realized this, Electress yanked her arms free from the concrete debris and clasped her hands together.
Between her outstretched palms, scrap metal spun rapidly.
HUM-HUM-HUM!
Melted by vibrating electromagnetic waves, the rebar bullets transformed into a railgun shot.
The very technique that earned Electress the title of A-City’s strongest spear.
Its trajectory would obliterate the Black Cat—and the buildings behind him...
"Wait—!"
Yoo Anna’s mind flashed not to the Black Cat, but to the potential civilian casualties.
The railgun’s range far surpassed her own abilities—it could reach beyond the evacuation zone, where people might still be trapped.
A massive shockwave. The world turned white as the railgun fired.
But its projectile hit nothing.
"Seriously, this thing’s a monster. It reacted to that?"
A split-second before impact, space itself tore open—the Black Cat swallowed the shot and reopened the rift above him.
The projectile vanished into the sky. Relieved, Yoo Anna turned her fury on Electress.
"What the hell was that?!"
"What? Why?"
"That thing—it could’ve reached outside the evacuation zone! What if civilians got caught in it?!"
"Building damage~? Pfft. If this were A-City, Kage would’ve blocked it all."
True—in A-City, Kage always contained the aftermath of Electress’s abilities.
But W-City had no hero capable of handling Electress’s power.
"This is W-City! Don’t just fire without thinking! What if civilians had been caught in that?!"
"Hah? Where would civilians even be? Don’t tell me... There are idiots who didn’t evacuate despite a Despair-class monster and heroes fighting nearby? When the monster could go anywhere?"
Electress used her ability to rip countless steel beams from the concrete debris.
"Who cares if those morons die?"
"You—!"
"More importantly, why did the Black Cat block the railgun instead of dodging?"
KRR-RR-RR!
Electrified rebar bullets rained down on the Black Cat like machine-gun fire.
The red-hot projectiles gouged deep into the ground.
Then, the Black Cat, who had been dodging the steel beams raining diagonally from above, suddenly stopped moving.
He dodged left, then right, before finally standing still and blocking the attacks head-on.
"Ah, I get it now. That’s what the reports mentioned?"
The Black Cat no longer dodged, instead using multiple abilities to block the steel beams, while Electress relentlessly poured on the attacks.
The bizarre sight made Yoo Anna frown.
"Weird. And you couldn’t catch him until now? Hah, just how incompetent is W-City?"
Electress ramped up her output, firing steel beams with enough force to pierce underground shelters.
At that moment, Yoo Anna heard a child crying, terrified by the tremors.
The sound came from a shelter behind the Black Cat.
The Black Cat wasn’t dodging because he couldn’t predict how deep the steel beams would penetrate.
He was using his unique trait—protecting humans—against them.
Taking them hostage.
"You insane bitch! Cut it out!"
Realizing what Electress was doing, Yoo Anna swung her fist at her.
THWACK!
Electress went flying, crashing into a building.
CLATTER!
As the steel beams fell from the severed energy flow, Electress pulled herself from the rubble and spat blood.
"...Starlight, what the hell was that?"
"You’re one to talk! Do you think this is how a hero should act?!"
"If sacrificing a few civilians means catching a Despair-class monster, then of course you do it! It’s the least the incompetent can contribute—a noble sacrifice!"
"Noble sacrifice?! Who the hell wants that?!"
The biggest reason Yoo Anna hated Electress was her extreme superpower human supremacy.
If Kage believed it was a superpower human’s duty to lead the weak, Electress believed those too weak to help heroes deserved to die.
Time spent coddling the disobedient minority was better spent killing more monsters.
Civilians who didn’t obey the heroes were potential villains.
If sacrificing a few powerless civilians meant killing a monster, so be it.
Faced with that mindset again, Yoo Anna exploded.
"I’m filing an official complaint with A-City over this. What you’re doing isn’t support—it’s terrorism."
"I’m not the terrorist here, you are! How long have you left a Despair-class monster this easy to catch unchecked? What if it evolves into an Annihilation-class? Could you even handle that?"
Objectively, Electress might have a point.
Exploiting a monster’s traits was a basic strategy—the Black Cat was a threat that needed elimination, even at a cost.
But the method Electress proposed was too revolting for Yoo Anna to accept.
"Get lost! The hunt’s over—W-City will handle the Black Cat ourselves!"
"Are you out of your mind?!"
As Yoo Anna flared her abilities, Electress frowned, sensing she was serious.
"Tch, fine. I don’t need your help anyway. I can catch the Black Cat alone."
The Black Cat’s weakness—using civilians as hostages—made it all too easy.
Hearing the implication, Yoo Anna unconsciously wreathed her arms in flames.
"I said the hunt is over."
"Why? Because a few civilians might get hurt hunting a Despair-class monster?"
Electress faced Yoo Anna, electricity crackling around her.
"People die fighting monsters—especially Despair-class ones. So what? Didn’t you just kill 500 to take one down recently?"
"Killed them...?"
"This is why you still haven’t caught a single Despair-class monster. His weakness is obvious—why aren’t you exploiting it?"
"Shut... Your mouth."
"Oh~ I get it. The rumors about you being a monster sympathizer are true, huh? You let that cat live because you didn’t want him dead? Or—is it because you can’t stand me proving I’m stronger than you and Kage?"
What could she even say to that?
Using civilians as hostages to attack a monster—such a backwards act, yet Electress showed no awareness of wrongdoing.
Yoo Anna was beyond angry—she was getting a headache.
"Grrrr..."
Then, the Black Cat growled.
A monster that chose escape over fighting heroes—the Black Cat should’ve fled by now.
Assuming he’d already run, Yoo Anna turned toward the sound.
Right beside the building, where steel beams had rained down.
The Black Cat stood there, unmoving.
His expression was as furious as during the bad cats incident.