78
Ch.78 Whyong Mioong
“Meow.”
After swallowing that parasite, I gained a very peculiar ability.
A clone… No, perhaps division.
I can create a monster the size of an ordinary cat.
This monster, made by carving out a piece of my core, is Terror-class.
It has no special abilities, just the physical prowess of a the Black Cat.
Since it shares my thoughts, it doesn’t attack humans.
It’s a truly useless ability.
Even if I shave off my power to create a Terror-class monster, there’s nothing it can do.
Still, there might be a way to make use of it.
Just like how Number 3 shared consciousness with the parasites, I can share the vision of my divided cats.
If I detach a portion of my power and hand it over, we can couple our spatial manipulation abilities to travel over great distances.
If I swallow the divided cat again, the power returns to me intact…
If I scatter cats all over the city, I could appear at monster scenes faster than any alarm.
Intrigued by this division ability, I practiced daily, creating small cats and reabsorbing them.
Splitting my core to make a cat was quite tricky, so I could only make one per day.
If I get used to it and can divide many cats at once, this might not be such a bad ability.
“Wha—what the—what the hell is that? A—a kitten? Are you giving birth to kittens?”
While I was practicing my ability, Starlight reacted unusually violently to the cat monster that appeared while I was licking a tub full of Churu.
The smell of excitement, wide eyes, ragged breathing.
“Wha—what is this? It’s seriously cute! This is too much! How is this any different from a real cat?”
“Nya.”
Starlight grabbed the cat monster by the scruff of its neck and lifted it.
Annoyed at her handling a part of me, I reabsorbed the cat monster back into my body.
“Ah—ahh! I—I just wanted to pet it for a bit!”
“Ooong.”
The smell of a lie.
No matter how you look at it, she was planning to take it home.
Divided monsters are weak… Even if Starlight picked it up, it couldn’t resist, and if things went wrong, it might even get taken down by some insignificant monster.
If that happened, a part of my power would disappear completely.
In many ways, it’s a troublesome ability.
“…Anyway, I’m planning to treat the remaining infected humans. Electress said she’s coming back to W-City for that… This time, she’ll stay quiet and leave. It’s an unofficial schedule.”
“Waoong.”
Starlight grilled expensive meat for me while telling me about her recent work.
Not because she particularly wanted me to listen, but just to vent.
I chewed on the tender beef and half-listened.
“And, if you want, A-City offered to help build a giant cat tower in W-City. Interested?”
“Kyyaaak!”
Why do they keep treating me like a cat?
Angry at being mistaken for one, I refused, leaving Starlight confused.
“If you hate cat towers so much, why do you keep sticking steel pipes into buildings to make them and play around?”
“Oongwoongwaang.”
“Just say it.”
[That’s not making a cat tower.]
“Then what is it?”
[Hmm.]
Well, what is it… Playing with construction materials on tall buildings?
Fusing them into structures with my abilities so that only heroes can dismantle them, enjoying their frustration?
Or is it some important ritual to satisfy my monster instincts?
Come to think of it, I don’t even know why I do it.
“No matter how I look at it, you’re a cat, so why do you hate being treated like one?”
“Waaaang.”
“Wait! Hey! Don’t sharpen your claws there!”
Starlight smacked my head as I dragged my claws across the concrete floor.
Ignoring the non-lethal impact, I kept scratching, leaving deep grooves in the surface.
“Ugh, now I have to file another repair request! Sharpen your claws in the dirt by the stream!”
“Waong.”
You don’t get it—that’s too soft and unsatisfying.
Truthfully, as a monster, I don’t need to sharpen my claws.
I just do it because it feels good.
After finishing the meat, I stretched and yawned. Seizing the moment, Starlight petted my back.
“Can’t you bring out that cat somewhere else next time?”
“Ooong?”
“There are a lot of weird people lately. If you take it out, someone might really try to steal it.”
“Waong.”
She’s right—W-City has been swarming with strange people lately.
If word spreads about my division ability, every cat monster I split off might get kidnapped.
Since this ability carries the fatal flaw of permanently losing power if the divided cats are taken, it’s best not to use it in front of people.
“And next time, if you’re going to another city for a walk, let me know first—Ah! Wait! I’m not done petting you!”
I slipped out of Starlight’s grasp and jumped off the rooftop.
Now that I’m full, maybe I should look for work.
Lately, there’s been a lot of demand for cleaning up traces of insect monsters around the city.
***
[Damn it, I wanna line up those Whyong bastards in the park and slap them all at once.]
[Every time I see Whyongs talking nonsense, I just wanna punch them.]
Researchers from other cities coming to study the Black Cat, citizens visiting out of curiosity, government officials offering to build cat towers or provide demolition zones to lure the Black Cat to their cities—
The locals call these outsiders Whyongpa (Whyong faction), mocking their annoying attempts to interfere with the Black Cat.
“Capture the Black Cat! Dissect the Black Cat!”
“Citizens of W-City, wake up!”
“Monsters must die!”
“It’s selfish for W-City to hog all the benefits!”
The Whyongpa, gathered from various cities, clumsily chased the Black Cat around, irritating the locals who just wanted to quietly observe.
After exterminating insect monsters, the Black Cat fled back to the rooftops to avoid the commotion, while the Whyongpa marched through W-City’s parks, busy protesting.
“Execute the Black Cat!”
“Loan the Black Cat to us!”
“Citizens of W-City, wake up!”
Though their slogans differed, their goal was the same: to take the Black Cat away from W-City.
Naturally, W-City residents were furious.
[Because of these jerks, we can only see the Black Cat from afar now. Is this fair?]
[If the heroes hadn’t been controlling the outsiders, it’d be worse. They’d probably be throwing poisoned or drugged meat at the Black Cat.]
[Seriously, why are other cities making such a fuss? What have they ever done for us?]
[They already agitated the Black Cat before under the guise of research, and now that things seem safe, they’re openly coming to take it.]
[Every time the Whyongpa screams about dissection, it pisses me off.]
[What would they even learn from dissection?]
[If they piss off the Black Cat and it storms their city, what then? LOL.]
[Tactical Black Cat, anyone?]
[Tactical Black Cat (We can’t control it either)]
[Thinking about it, this is infuriating. If the Black Cat gets mad and rampages, W-City is the one that suffers.]
The more the Whyongpa demanded the Black Cat, the stronger the backlash from W-City residents grew.
Already anxious when the Black Cat left to hunt insects, fearing it’d be taken by another city, the influx of people trying to steal it ironically strengthened W-City’s unity.
[Fellow Woongpa and Waongpa of W-City, now is not the time to fight among ourselves. Let’s unite against the Whyongpa.]
[Let’s protect our cat together!]
W-City residents banded together, discriminating against outsiders.
Without a W-City ID, you couldn’t get near the Black Cat. Restaurants spiked outsiders’ food with strange seasonings, and accommodations canceled reservations to kick them out.
Yet, the outsiders—practically operatives here to steal the Black Cat—dug in stubbornly, forming a ‘The Black Cat Liberation Movement’ while living like vagrants.
“Free the Black Cat!”
“The Black Cat is a public resource!”
“Release it for all citizens!”
“W-City, wake up!”
“Hey! Shut the hell up! Because of you, we can’t even get close to the Black Cat!”
“Get out of W-City!”
One side protested to hand over the Black Cat, the other to drive out outsiders.
The Black Cat watched it all indifferently, yawning.
Amid the tension, a new faction emerged.
“Everything depends on the Apostle’s will!”
“Do not doubt, do not fear, and dare not raise a blade against the divine form!”
“How dare you call the Apostle a public resource? Such blasphemy!”
Survivors from D-City, who had migrated to W-City as refugees, displayed unmatched unity, cursing anyone who dared interfere with the Black Cat.
To them, everything was divine will—humans meddling would only bring wrath.
“When all seemed lost, the Black Cat saved us. To judge its color as evil is human arrogance. Only faith will bring salvation.”
“All-powerful~ our beloved cat~ who saves us all~ and grants us life~”
Having been saved by the Black Cat in hopeless times, these survivors became fanatics, even more devoted than W-City residents.
As their zeal pushed back the Whyongpa, the watching heroes and locals murmured in awe.
“Wow… They’re insane.”
“They call the Black Cat a god… They’re serious.”
“That Black Cat hymn is deranged.”
“But can you blame them? the Black Cat really was their savior.”
“Watching the Whyongpa flee from their madness is kinda satisfying.”
The refugees stood like a wall, singing at the top of their lungs to drive the Whyongpa away.
Impressed, W-City residents began accepting them as fellow citizens.
But it didn’t last.
“Citizens of W-City! Offering meat to the Apostle with one hand is sacrilege!”
“Disrespect will anger the Apostle!”
“Lifting your head to gaze upon its form is blasphemy! Unless the Apostle sits in a high place, do not look upon it! Dare not look down upon the Apostle!”
“All-powerful cat~ rains fury’s flames~ even as the world ends, my faith stands firm~”
Now clashing with W-City residents for different reasons, these fanatics earned the nickname Mioongpa (Crazy faction).
The Mioongpa, meaning madmen, became W-City’s lunatic collective, serving as a cautionary tale for the Black Cat Moms’ Cafe.
[Our Black Cat Moms’ Cafe opposes Mioongpa proselytizing.]
[We are a group that cherishes the Black Cat, not worships it.]