Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Shadow's Hidden Weakness
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Life on the streets is incredibly tough, dodging threats to survival while scrounging for food and a place to rest.
Of course, there’s the advantage of roaming freely.
Either way, the most important thing in this life is health.
You mustn’t get sick.
If I get sick and weaken, my comrades suffer.
It’s hard enough taking care of your own body, let alone nursing a sick companion.
Street angels know this well and do their utmost to hide their weaknesses.
To avoid burdening their comrades, and to keep from exposing vulnerabilities to enemies.
Shadow, the all-black cat with a white muzzle and four white paws, was no different.
Sniff sniff sniff.
Shadow tensed up, sniffing the air around him.
A delicious scent wafted teasingly.
‘Where’s it coming from?’
Shadow turned his head this way and that, trying to pinpoint the direction.
[Over there!]
Shadow cautiously placed his white front paw down.
Tap, tap.
Even stepping carefully, it made a sound. A tiny one, but it grated on Shadow’s ears.
‘Pathetic. Even this careful, and it still makes noise.’
Until just recently, Shadow had moved more silently and stealthily than anyone.
The thought that such days would never return again drained his strength.
‘Sigh…’
Still, he couldn’t just stay put.
Shadow pushed aside memories of past glories and moved forward.
One step, one step. More diligently than before.
So focused was he that clear paw prints marked the ground where he’d stepped.
Sweat from his tense pads had soaked in.
Sniff sniff sniff.
The delicious scent grew much stronger.
Shadow, resigned to his severely weakened vision, relied on his keen nose and whiskers to hunt for food.
Moments later, something snagged in Shadow’s nose.
[Found it!]
Shadow seized the food.
As the savory aroma filled his mouth, a smile spread across Shadow’s tense face.
[Delicious!]
Nom nom nom nom.
Starving, Shadow devoured it greedily.
One bite, two bites, on the third—
He sensed a presence, and suddenly a voice rang out.
“Huh? What’s wrong with your eyes? Are you hurt?”
Scamper.
Shadow bolted without even swallowing the food in his mouth.
His vision blurred, making it dangerous, but he pushed his senses to the max and ran.
‘Can’t get caught.’
Shadow ran with all his might.
He ran and ran, toward a place free of human scent.
How far had he gone? At some point, the human smells vanished.
Only then did Shadow relax, looking around and sniffing.
A familiar scent crept into his nostrils.
He’d thought he’d run wildly, but he was near his hideout.
Instinct had carried him back to his lair.
Shadow crept toward the hideout cautiously.
‘Oh!’
Mid-step, Shadow froze in place. His eyes began to burn hot.
‘Oh no.’
Once the heat hit his eyes, excruciating pain followed.
Knowing this, Shadow tensed.
‘Gotta get to the lair before it hurts more.’
He couldn’t let anyone see him like this.
Shadow quickened his pace.
Rustle, rustle rustle.
Leaves and twigs crunched underfoot, but Shadow ignored them and ran.
The familiar scent—his own—grew stronger.
‘Just a bit further.’
Whoosh!
Shadow surged into a final sprint.
Then, sudden agony exploded in his eyes.
‘Yowl!’
Shadow collapsed mid-run.
The pain was so intense he couldn’t land properly and tumbled across the ground.
Then, suddenly—poke. Something sharp stabbed his leg.
‘Argh!’
Eyes aching, now his leg stung too—Shadow felt like he was dying.
Shadow thrashed.
His leg hurt even more.
Sharp things jabbed relentlessly at his leg.
The more he moved, the more they stabbed his legs and body.
‘Thorn bushes.’
The more he struggled, the deeper the thorns dug in. Vines wrapped around his body too.
Shadow stopped thrashing.
But the thorns already embedded made his whole body ache.
Eyes throbbing was torment enough; now thorns too. A groan escaped him involuntarily.
[Groooan!]
Hearing his own moan, Shadow’s emotions swirled.
‘How did I end up like this?’
Just recently, he’d commanded over thirty cats under him.
He’d been confident against any territory boss—except that Evergreen leader.
After losing to him, he’d ground his teeth vowing revenge.
[Should’ve gotten revenge sooner.]
Too late for regrets.
[At least that guy hasn’t seen me like this.]
Shadow tried to console himself.
But his pain didn’t vanish.
Shadow hurt. Hurt too much.
[Damn these thorn bushes.]
Shadow cursed the bushes stabbing and squeezing him.
But soon, his eyes burned hotter, the pain overwhelming.
Shadow gritted his teeth, enduring.
Like before, it would pass soon.
And as expected, the pain ebbed.
It lasted a bit longer than before, but the relief mattered.
Shadow exhaled long, going limp.
[Huuuuh…]
His legs still ached, but compared to his eyes, it was bearable.
Grrrrrrowl.
His stomach rumbled.
Come to think of it, he’d fled mid-meal.
His first square meal in ages.
When could he eat his fill again?
Could he even eat anymore?
Truth be told, Shadow was used to hunger by now.
Since leaving the group, starving had been routine.
[Sigh, hungry and hurting… I miss my comrades.]
Memories surfaced: chattering happily with them, strutting the streets freely.
Repelling invaders from other territories, solidifying his boss status.
He’d jumped highest, run fastest among them.
Then one day, jumping to a tree, he misstepped and fell.
Quick reflexes let him land normally—no one noticed—but Shadow was shocked.
In that jump instant, his vision blurred.
Afterward, it blurred several times a day.
His long, magnificent whiskers helped him navigate flat ground.
They analyzed air flow from speed and sway, avoiding obstacles.
Jumping was harder, though.
And the sudden eye pains.
Shadow hid his illness as best he could, gradually handing territory duties to subordinate Milo.
He delegated to a few others too.
At first, they were puzzled when their hale boss shared work.
Previous bosses ruled four years max; average three and a half.
Shadow had held it for five and a half already.
Under the guise of grooming a successor, he pushed through.
Then he quietly vanished.
If he’d stayed, second-in-command Milo would’ve insisted on guarding him and refused the role.
That wouldn’t help the group.
[That was a good long run. Shame I never got revenge on that guy.]
Thinking of his foe, his eyes felt stabbed by a red-hot poker.
[Graaah…]
This pain? Better off going to the Cat Star.
Shadow wanted only escape from this agony.
[Pl, please… rip out my eyes… grah…]
If only the pain would stop…
On the verge of blacking out, Shadow didn’t hear the voice right beside him.
“Oh my god, what happened?!”
Jang So-ra scooped up the limp Shadow and ran.
***
Tap, tap, tap.
A tiny sound. Something cool.
Like thorns being pulled out—refreshing.
‘What?’
Why this sensation?
He’d been in deathly pain.
Now? No pain. Just cool relief.
“It’s really bad, isn’t it, Director?”
“Yeah.”
“Will he survive?”
“We’ll save him.”
At the human voices, Shadow tensed all over.
[Run.]
Shadow tried to move his legs, etched with instinct.
Flail flail.
But no strength.
“Director, he’s awake, I think? Woke from pain? Painkillers worn off?”
“His face doesn’t look pained. He just wants to escape.”
“Oh my. Poor thing. How scared he must’ve been…”
A gentle hand stroked his head; Shadow’s tension eased. But only briefly.
‘Gotta escape.’
Shadow vowed to flee at the first chance.
“Blind and thorn-stuck—must’ve been terrified.”
How’d they know?
“Exactly. Thank you, Director. You didn’t even rest…”
“I was home with Nya-ya and came right away. You’ve had it rough, Manager Jang. Probably skipped dinner.”
“Still. What about Gray? Didn’t he insist on coming?”
“No, he’s staying home now. Told me to hurry when I said it was an emergency.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Pacing and urging me to go fast.”
“Guess seeing his own pain makes others’ feel personal.”
“Probably. Plus, hearing a cat’s sick, he worried it might be a comrade.”
At “cat,” Shadow’s ears perked.
‘So Gray the cat worried for me. Good guy. Makes sense he’d care for comrades. If we meet, I’ll thank him.’
Shadow felt fondness for the unseen Gray.
And the people Gray trusted seemed less dangerous.
“Yeah. But how’d you spot him at night? Pitch black, invisible.”
“Pure luck. If I’d passed without thinking, I’d have missed him. Wouldn’t even go there normally—creepy after dark.”
“You went anyway.”
“Couldn’t ignore pus oozing from that Shadow’s eyes. Especially since I kinda chased him off.”
At “Shadow,” Shadow protested.
[I’m not a Shadow. I’m Shadow.]
But humans ignored cat speech, as usual.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Saw his pus-caked face, yelped in shock. Asked where it hurt. He heard and fled—I felt awful. Starved thing, scared off from food…”
“But you found him eventually. Good ending. Feed him well post-surgery.”
Feed him tasty stuff?
Thorns gone, feeling better—now promises of treats lifted Shadow’s spirits more.
Eyes didn’t hurt.
Would soon, though.
Then—ding.
“Huh? Tests done? I’ll grab the results, Director.”
Soon, voices again.
“Here, Director.”
“Phew, no major issues. Thorns out—let’s do surgery now.”
“Director, surgery fix his eyes?”
“Can save the right one, I think.”
“And left?”
“Tough, but… we’ll see post-op.”
“Oh, okay. One eye better than none, right?”
“Much better.”
Clank—suddenly lifted.
“Shadow, let’s go.”
[I’m not Shadow!]
No way they’d understand, but Shadow yowled.
“Yeah, you’re not Shadow.”
Huh? He understood? No way.
Warm bedding.
“Don’t worry, Shadow. Our Director’ll fix your eyes.”
“Yeah. Sleep and wake up.”
[I’m not sleepy.]
“I know. Eyes’ll close soon.”
Ridiculous. Sleep in this strange place? Impossible till safe.
Shadow glared with blurry eyes, but lids grew heavy.
Shadow fell fast asleep.