89
Ch.89 Worse Than a Cat
Then, if it is not brainwashing? Is Yeo Woon-jae himself connected to the research facility?
The drug was made for Yeo Woon-jae by the research facility. Meister was just being used for her ability.
Either way, what needs to be done next is clear.
The traces of the research facility are in A-City.
Find Yeo Woon-jae, interrogate him about the research facility… Or kill him.
"I guess I need to find Yeo Woon-jae."
"That’s faster than sitting here agonizing over it. But, hey, how are you going to get to A-City? Don’t tell me you plan to go the same way you did to D-City?"
"Is there a problem?"
"There’s nothing but problems. Want me to explain if you don’t know?"
As I nodded for her to go ahead, Gu Seo-ryong listed several reasons.
A-City is different from D-City or W-City.
There are far more heroes and soldiers, making visual detection easier, and the alarm systems are constantly upgraded to the latest models.
On top of that, Electress, an S-rank hero, monitors the entire area with detection abilities incomparable to the alarm systems.
We need to move stealthily to avoid being caught by the research facility’s people, so flying in as a monster isn’t a good idea.
"So, we have to enter in human form. When Meister returns, she’ll have to take the train, right? We can sneak onto that train."
"Electress is also in W-City."
"What?"
I recalled Electress in the sticky air of a deserted building corner. Gu Seo-ryong clicked her tongue repeatedly.
I’ve seen it a few times—this is her habit when deep in thought.
"She must’ve followed to escort Meister. Then, in A-City, the only hero who could threaten you and me right now is Kage… Maybe Quake if we stretch it? Right now, we could sneak in undetected, and it’s the perfect time to search for the research facility’s traces in A-City."
With a final click, Gu Seo-ryong stopped muttering and looked at me.
"Alright, I need to find out why Meister is staying in W-City for a while. I need to know how long she’ll be here…"
"She’s injured. Meister was in the treatment room."
"What? Did someone attack Meister? The villains in W-City have mostly been captured by Starlight, so there shouldn’t be anyone reckless enough to do that."
"Ability overload."
"Ability backlash? Meister? What happened?"
Gu Seo-ryong still doesn’t know that Meister is just a weakling with an ability unsuited for her body.
When I briefly explained what I knew about Meister’s ability, Gu Seo-ryong’s eyes gleamed ominously.
"What the hell? That’s an absurd ability. It answers anything you ask?"
"There are significant limitations. The output is insufficient, and the processing is lacking."
"Then just dope her with drugs. Even if it eats away at her reasoning and lifespan…"
"She’s already taking something."
"Oh? She’s already on them? I wonder how long she’s been taking them… She might already be an empty shell. Perfect condition."
Gu Seo-ryong made a meaningful remark and sharpened her claws.
"Ahh~ I want to brainwash her. Use her as I please."
"If you do that, she’ll die."
"If you weren’t here, I’d really do it. But I’m too scared of the Black Cat to try anything."
Meister’s body is too weak to withstand something like that.
At my warning, Gu Seo-ryong clenched her fist in frustration.
"So, Meister isn’t some monstrous genius but just a hero with one incredible ability… That’s disappointing. It’s like expecting a cute mascot and seeing a bearded old man inside."
"I think I get it."
Feeling a similar disappointment, I nodded. Gu Seo-ryong made a strange expression and muttered.
"If Meister really is just a hero with nothing more than that… It’s still impressive."
It’s an oddly human sentiment, hard to believe it came from Gu Seo-ryong.
As she said, Meister is weak, which makes her all the more remarkable.
Power barely equivalent to a D-rank hero.
Her ability must’ve backfired and landed her in the treatment room more than once.
Yet, with just that meager strength, she’s kept humanity alive until now.
She risked her life to save others.
Even when she could do nothing.
Thanks to that weak hero, people gained a little hope.
Me, Gu Seo-ryong—we were like that too.
"But then, what about that ability? Can’t you just eat it?"
This was an utterly monstrous suggestion. Hearing Gu Seo-ryong’s proposal, I thought it wasn’t a bad idea.
An ability that eats abilities—if I consumed Meister’s ability, I’d have enough processing power and output.
But… I don’t feel like it.
"I don’t need it."
"Hmm, is it because you’re strong enough not to need it? Or do you just not want to eat a former hero?"
"Do I have to answer?"
"Doesn’t matter. If you don’t want to eat her, don’t."
Gu Seo-ryong shrugged and wrapped up the conversation.
"Alright, let’s get to the point. The best plan right now is to keep Electress and Meister tied up in W-City while we head to A-City. It’d be good if Meister caused something that overloads her ability. Like a monster rampage?"
"Don’t harm civilians."
"A little sacrifice won’t hurt?"
"If the goal is to overload Meister’s ability, there’s another way."
"What is it?"
"Just meet her."
From what I’ve seen, Meister has a bad habit of using her ability first whenever she’s curious.
It’s a habit born from the urgency of the monster era, where answers had to come before communication.
If I keep stimulating her curiosity about me as a monster test subject, she’ll use her ability nonstop to help people.
"Meet her and what? Ask her to stay in W-City for a while?"
"That’s not bad either."
"Seriously?"
The reason for overloading her is to keep Meister in W-City.
As Gu Seo-ryong said, just asking would be more efficient.
"I’ll handle Meister myself."
"Ugh, I don’t get you. Fine, do what you want. We can figure out how to get to A-City later… Wait, are you just leaving like this?"
Having decided on the next step, I moved to the edge of the clearing, ready to leap away.
Gu Seo-ryong called out to me and approached.
"Got more business?"
"I just put Gugu to sleep, so let’s spend some time alone. You courted me and now you’re just leaving? I’m hurt."
"Sagugu isn’t asleep."
"Huh? I just saw her lying in bed earlier…?"
Glancing, I sensed Sagugu jumping around a distant rooftop and stared silently in that direction.
Gu Seo-ryong scowled and leaped away before I could.
"I can’t stand this!"
***
Meeting Meister again wasn’t hard.
The very next day, I went to the Hero HQ, followed Meister’s scent, and headed underground.
Near the treatment room, in a place where she could collapse anytime, no hero stood guard.
As if they’d been cleared out in advance.
"…Sniff… Ugh… Hic…"
"Meow."
Slipping through the door crack, I entered the room to find Meister crying.
Pills were scattered around, bedding in disarray from tossing and turning.
Startled by the cat’s cry, Meister’s eyes widened when I moved to where the cat stood.
Eyes red and swollen, tears still flowing despite being dried up.
The moment Meister saw me, she sniffled and smiled.
"I knew you’d come…"
A bright smile radiating deep despair.
With emotions bordering on a scream, Meister spread her arms.
"P-please… Kill me."
A tired voice—resignation, acceptance, words that suggested she knew my ability.
She must’ve used her ability last night to ask about me.
When I stayed still, watching silently, Meister spoke as if trying to persuade me with what she’d learned.
"If a human becomes a monster… Then, a monster that doesn’t attack humans is created. But that’s not a human. It’s not transforming monsters either."
Meister’s original goal: a way to create monsters that protect humans.
But what was created was just a human turned into a monster.
"If there hadn’t been experiments to weaponize monsters, if those attempts hadn’t happened… You wouldn’t exist."
I’d already guessed as much when I heard she was asked to improve a drug believed to be from the research facility.
Meister’s ability was used to create me, regardless of her intentions.
"It’s me… Because of me… again… I can’t take it anymore…"
The more Meister struggled to save the world, the more it fell apart.
At first, she succeeded in laying a foundation no one else could, but that was it.
The more desperate she became, the more unintended victims appeared.
"So, please eat me! Take my ability!"
In the room, the thick fragments of emotion and thought linger in the air.
Like sparks igniting, Meister’s intense emotions burst forth.
Through a monster’s senses, I tasted Meister’s thoughts directly.
It’s my fault, my fault.
If only I’d done better.
Only I can do it, I have to do it.
Even if it’s something I can’t do, no one else can.
Meister has reached her limit.
Broken beyond the point of enduring the weight of a hero.
Yet she tried to hold on.
Thinking of the lives she could save with her ability, gnawing at her own life with guilt and self-blame.
Sacrificing, atoning, self-harming.
At the end, she found an escape.
A monster that was once human, an ability that eats abilities.
A monster that could take her burden.
"Please kill me. I’m… I’m useless now… I know it too. That I’m stupid, that I’m lacking."
Tears flowed, carrying faint hope and joy.
Living is pain. The only reason she endured was fear that her death might lead to others’ deaths.
Even in death, she wanted to save others.
Meister is human.
A weak human burdened with the title of hero.
A human who tried to bear everything alone.
"Take it. My ability, my life."
"Growl."
After slowly chewing and swallowing Meister’s emotions and thoughts, I sighed.
Now, I clearly see Meister’s problem.
This woman really doesn’t communicate.
Her goals are noble, but she decides everything alone, stubbornly believing she’s right—a pitiful fool.
No, she doesn’t even decide for herself. She doesn’t even trust herself.
Her ability does everything for her.
I flicked Meister’s forehead with telekinesis.
"Hyahk?!"
[You’re just like Sagugu.]
"Huh? Ah—ahk, ah!"
[Shut up. Think. Communicate.]
Thud, thud, thud. With each hit, Meister’s despair turned to confusion.
[Why should I eat you?]
"Ah—ah! If you eat me, like that woman Lee Han-young, if you eat me and make it your power… You can save so many people. My ability is better suited for you than—"
[Did you read my memories with your ability? You can even do that… Disgusting.]
"S-sorry… But—"
[Are you stupid? Why would you read someone else’s memories without permission? Didn’t your parents teach you? Or… Do you not have parents?]
"Huh? Well, no, but…"
[That was out of line.]
"Ow!"
Thud! I smacked her head again and restrained Meister with telekinesis as she reached for the scattered pills.
[Are you going to ask why I’m doing this?]
"Huh? Y-yes…"
[Why don’t you ask me what you’re curious about instead of your ability first?]
"Because… The ability tells me everything."
[No parents, then. If you’re curious about me, ask me first.]
"But the ability… Tells me. Ow!"
[Ask me.]
Had the habit already taken root? Every time Meister closed her eyes to use her ability, I flicked her forehead harder with telekinesis.
"Why won’t you let me use my ability? Why won’t you eat me…?"
[Just because.]
"Just… Because?"
[Didn’t your ability answer that? Whether I’d eat you if you asked or not.]
"Well, but… The Black Cat helps humans, and you’re a monster that eats abilities. You’ve already eaten another human and used their ability."
[You thought with your stupid brain. That’s why you’re wrong. That trash ability didn’t explain properly either.]
"Because I’m lacking! That’s why—if you eat me! Ow!"
[Shut up.]
Under the barrage of flicks, Meister shed different tears than before.
[I take back saying you’re on Sagugu’s level. You’re worse than Sagugu.]