77
Ch.77 Synonym for Hero
[How long has it been since an entire city disappeared because of a monster?]
[Isn’t this the first time a city that survived until the late stages of the urban fortification plan has been wiped out?]
[D-City was already lacking in people, attractions, and infrastructure, so it was memed as D-Least-City, but who knew it would actually vanish…]
[I just can’t process this. Am I the only one feeling this way?]
[Well, in these times, unless it’s the city you live in, it’s hard to feel anything.]
People who simply focused on the fact that a city had disappeared.
Among them, those who remembered the chaos of the early days when monsters first appeared seemed traumatized, insisting that the Black Cat needed to be eliminated immediately.
[I remember my family being wiped out by a monster…]
[That’s how it was when a Grade 1 monster, Identification Code 005, destroyed my hometown.]
[Damn, the numbered grades and identification codes—that’s ancient history.]
[If a monster wiped out an entire city, it should be the top priority for extermination.]
[This is seriously dangerous; it has to be killed no matter what.]
In this era of stability, a monster capable of annihilating an entire city—just how powerful must it be?
Among them, the more level-headed citizens focused not on the Black Cat but on the parasitic monster that had been the real threat.
[It wasn’t the Black Cat that destroyed D-City—it was Baal.]
[They say insect-type monsters tend to swarm, but has there ever been a monster that grew this large?]
[This is no joke—it’s a Terror-class monster.]
[Baal is classified as Terror-class, but its danger rating is Grade 1. It’s on par with Annihilation-class.]
[The detected grade is below Terror-class. Has there ever been a monster with such a messed-up rating?]
[No, being on par with Annihilation-class doesn’t mean it’s as dangerous—it’s safer than Annihilation-class but more dangerous than Despair-class.]
[Oh, really? Well, it’s not quite Annihilation-class, I guess.]
If anything, Baal was the one who destroyed D-City, while the Black Cat destroyed the nest that was D-City.
To them, the Black Cat was a grateful presence that had eliminated the hidden threat slowly consuming the city.
Those who thought this way were particularly concentrated in W-City.
[Holy shit, God Cat over here is now hunting dangerous monsters from afar on its own.]
[All hail the Great Cat!]
[My boyfriend’s a hero, and he said the Black Cat’s naps are actually its way of remotely hunting monsters!]
[Wait, so it went to exterminate bugs because it was annoyed by them constantly showing up in W-City?]
[The Black Cat…? It’s not a monster… It’s the Guardian Deity of W-City!]
[Fact is, if not for the Black Cat, W-City would still be under movement restrictions and social distancing.]
[The monster auto-detection and interception system, BLACKCAT, is W-City’s pride. Other cities, are you scared of our Black Cat?]
The citizens of W-City, who had been directly exposed to the terror of the parasitic monster, were too busy praising the Black Cat.
To them, it was just playful banter, but citizens from other cities who saw these posts took them seriously in more ways than one.
[So, W-City’s monster, the Black Cat, is genuinely protecting the city?]
[And it’s not just any S-rank—it’s strong enough to make regular S-rank look like jokes?]
According to Kage’s report, Vector, an S-rank hero infected by the parasite, was still able to use his abilities normally.
In fact, it seemed like the parasitic monster inside him was even helping, as he emitted an unusual energy wavelength and demonstrated output beyond his usual capabilities.
And yet, the Black Cat completely annihilated D-City despite interference from such an S-rank hero.
A nightmare-like monster protecting humans and cities?
For those constantly suffering from a shortage of heroes, there was no sweeter story.
[Wait, so W-City’s coping mechanism wasn’t just edited videos or memes—it was real?]
[I thought W-City was just making self-deprecating jokes because they couldn’t catch the Black Cat.]
[Same.]
[Citizens of A-City already knew the details about the Black Cat. But a monster is still a monster.]
[True, but being a monster actually makes it more useful in some ways. Just off the top of my head, there’s so much it could do—like being deployed to dangerous areas where even heroes can’t go.]
[If we could weaponize monsters, suppressing closed zones wouldn’t just be a dream.]
[This is terrifying… If W-City ever gets into a conflict with another city, couldn’t the Black Cat just rampage like it did with D-City?]
[What has our city even been doing?]
[Why don’t we have a monster like the Black Cat?]
The desire to turn the powerful monsters infesting closed zones into guard dogs for their own protection.
Citizens of other cities, as well as those in high positions, reached the same conclusion.
[Monster weaponization? Wasn’t that deemed absolutely impossible?]
[But looking at the Black Cat, hasn’t it already succeeded?]
[That thing isn’t a lab specimen—it’s just a mutant monster.]
[Reading through all this, it seems the Black Cat is just an insanely unique variant.]
Monster weaponization—a long-abandoned, failed plan.
Perhaps it was time to try it again.
[Then, shouldn’t we capture the Black Cat, dissect it, and figure out what caused the mutation?]
And for that, they would, of course, need the Black Cat itself.
***
[I refuse. The risk is too high.]
[But, Kage… If A-City could just eliminate the Black Cat, all cities would benefit…]
[If you’re thinking of dragging A-City into your gamble, stop. Frankly, we’re not confident we can subdue it either.]
[T-Then… What about…]
[Electress and I have already lost to the Black Cat once. I suggest you reread the combat report Starlight and I wrote before you consider this further.]
Beep.
The moment Kage ended the call, the phone rang again.
[This is Kage. I’m busy, so skip the pleasantries and get to the point.]
[Thank you for taking my call. This is Yoon Gil-sang, mayor of G-City.]
[I said skip the pleasantries.]
[My apologies. Would you be willing to assist G-City in luring the Black Cat? We have a plan—]
[Luring it? Even with two of A-City’s heroes assisting, we still lost it. The Black Cat doesn’t even trigger monster alarms. If you provoke it and it rampages, are you prepared to handle that?]
[That’s…]
[And another thing—G-City’s heroes have already sent me their opinion that they’d rather not provoke the Black Cat. If you want to proceed, convince them first. But know this: G-City’s heroes aren’t stupid enough to provoke a monster that even Kage, Electress, and Starlight couldn’t capture.]
Beep.
After pointedly ending the call, Kage turned to Yoo Anna, who was on the video call.
[I expected this much, but I didn’t think there’d be so many fools dreaming of weaponizing monsters.]
"...You’re holding them off well."
[My promise with you is one thing, but this is personal disgust. They’re just idiots looking to exploit the situation.]
“At least they recognize the Black Cat is a unique variant and aren’t trying to tame other monsters.”
[I’d prefer if they did. Then those incompetent pigs would all die.]
Kage’s murderous glare caused the screen to flicker as he momentarily lost control of his energy.
[These fat, complacent pigs who’ve never seen the reality of the field or monsters just push heroes into life-or-death situations at the slightest misstep… Heroes are no longer tools for politicians. As long as I’m here, I won’t let that happen.]
“…Times have changed.”
[Say it right. The times didn’t change—I changed them.]
“Fine, I’ll give you that.”
Yoo Anna shrugged, genuinely grateful for this much.
Since Kage ascended to a political position with the absolute support of the people as a hero, many things had improved for heroes.
Proper wages (previously denied under the assumption they’d die soon), the Hero Registration System banning secret human experiments, strategic planning to increase survival rates, the passage of the Hero Special Act…
Some heroes even referred to Kage as not just a shield protecting citizens from monsters, but a shield protecting heroes from the government and citizens alike.
[The Black Cat and Baal have reignited the tension that the government had been letting loose. I’ll use this opportunity to expand my authority further.]
And Kage intended to leverage D-City’s destruction to grow his influence even more—all for the sake of heroes.
His goal was to fill all high-ranking decision-making positions in the W-City with superpower humans.
[Still… No matter what, this is exhausting.]
Beep beep beep—
As the ringing started again, Kage sighed and tossed the phone to an A-rank hero in the room.
“They thought they’d always be safe, but even high-ranking officials were among Baal’s victims. They must be scared.”
[If that’s all it takes to frighten them, they’re nothing but pigs. Incompetents who lucked into high positions as the times changed…]
His disgust for non-superpower humans—those who sat in equal positions despite their inferiority—was palpable. The two A-rank heroines silently massaged his shoulders.
[Starlight, why did you call?]
“…I’ll send you the data.”
After a few minutes of waiting with the video call still connected, Yoo Anna finally sent Kage the latest research data.
“The parasites’ activity dropped sharply after the host died. To be precise, their cognitive abilities regressed to the level of ordinary parasites.”
[Research on infected citizens? You’re still doing that?]
What Yoo Anna sent was a report on citizens whose bodies had been taken over by parasites.
While other cities had already resolved the issue by identifying and executing all infected humans, Kage’s expression grew complicated at the fact that W-City was still holding onto theirs.
[Every other city has eradicated the parasites, yet W-City still has them… Give up and kill them, Starlight.]
“There’s a chance for a cure now.”
[That’s your pathetic flaw. It’s why I never wanted to acknowledge you. You’re never realistic… Hopelessly stupid.]
Tsk. Kage clicked his tongue in clear dissatisfaction.
[Are you saying my decision was wrong? That we shouldn’t have killed all of D-City’s infected humans?]
“No, I think that was the right call. But… I was always thinking of a cure, so I want to see it through.”
[Even though every other city chose to kill the infected humans… Cutting off the rotten part—an efficient, quick, and certain solution, your stupid self could never manage.]
Kage sighed tiredly and rubbed his eyes.
[So, what’s the cure?]
“Surgical removal of the parasites attached to the brain and organs.”
[Even if you do that, can you really call that living? Removing parasites that have eaten and replaced language centers, memory, and parts of the brain is like cutting out chunks of the brain itself.]
“That’s why I need you to put in a request with Meister. To see if a replacement brain can be made… I’ve marked all the organs that need extraction. Whether it’s bio-cultured or mechanical, as long as they can be replaced, they can return to normal lives.”
After reading through the data, Kage smirked silently.
[Fine. Once the replacement brain is complete, I’ll send it to W-City… Hmm, Electress mentioned wanting to visit some restaurant in W-City she’d never tried when she has time. I’ll have her deliver it.]
As he organized the files, Kage stared at Yoo Anna through the screen.
[…You’re still an infuriating woman.]
“What, suddenly?”
[You’ve managed to turn my already bad mood into the worst it’s ever been, you idiot.]
“Are you picking a fight right now?”
[Take it as praise. ‘Hero’ is a synonym for ‘idiot,’ after all.]
“What kind of nonsense is that?” Yoo Anna scowled as Kage chuckled and hung up.
Should she be annoyed or grateful that Kage agreed to make and send the replacement brains?
Still, there was a chance more citizens could be saved.
Holding onto that hope, Yoo Anna left the comms room with a conflicted expression—only for the newly designed Black Cat alarm to blare throughout the hero department building the moment she stepped out.