Yuanna thought her actions were foolish as she called out to the monster.
“Why are you hunting the orphanage directors?”
A monster cannot speak human language; monsters are the natural predators of humans in beast form.
“Why did you protect others from my attacks back then?”
A monster’s instinct is to attack humans.
“Why! Why are you trying to separate me from the children!”
Monsters are the enemies of humans.
It made absolutely no sense.
Black Cat, as a monster, wasn’t acting like a normal monster.
Of course, no answer came back.
The ultra-low frequency roar that overwhelmed humans, the oppressive presence spreading from the monster core, and even now, the sound of human skulls being crushed, still reverberated in her mouth.
Black Cat, because it was a monster.
“Monsters… must die.”
Taking a deep breath, Yuanna slowly approached Black Cat.
Then, sensing no immediate threat, Black Cat readied itself to flee, lowering its guard slightly.
Its large wings spread wide, burning aflame, while its black, forked tail gradually sank into the shadows.
At that moment, the room’s door burst open.
“Don’t kill! Don’t fight!”
“Don’t do it! Please don’t!”
“Hey, hold on…!”
Children from the next room, orphans from the orphanage, burst through the door and grabbed onto Yuanna’s legs.
Startled, Yuanna tried to free herself, focusing all her senses to not lose sight of Black Cat as it prepared to flee.
If she used her powers at this distance, the children clinging to her would surely be incinerated.
This was why Yuanna disliked people protecting monsters more than she disliked the monsters themselves.
“You, do you even know what you’re doing! Let go right now! This is a monster we’re talking about…!”
“Don’t mess with the cat!”
“The cat is helping us, understand?”
“Heroes never helped anyone!”
As Yuanna attempted to pry the children off, she was struck by the revelation in their voices and stopped mid-action.
The heroes never helped.
It was true. Yuanna knew very well the precarious situation these children were in, and yet she had failed to help.
On the other hand, Black Cat had… taken care of every orphanage director involved in illegal activities.
“…Wait…!”
The moment Yuanna froze, Black Cat took advantage of the opportunity and disappeared.
The great shadow sinking into the ground, the remaining orphanage would be Black Cat’s next target soon.
Yuanna, still gripping the children tightly clinging to her legs with her eyes tightly shut, communicated with the heroes grimly.
“…I lost Black Cat.”
[Understood. Should we…!]
“No, I can’t move right now.”
[Excuse me, did you…get harmed?]
“Huh? As strong as it has grown, I’m still more powerful. There’s no way I’d lose to Black Cat…”
Yuanna paused mid-sentence, realizing how this unpleasant, powerless feeling was akin to having lost to Black Cat.
“…Yeah. I think I did.”
[Seriously?! But…Black Cat is this strong already? If so, it could soon reach the level of annihilation!]
“It’s not to that level yet, anyway… I can’t move right now.”
Yuanna sighed, finding it strange that she was voicing those words.
“Black Cat will only hunt orphanage directors. Don’t unnecessarily provoke it.”
[What…?]
“If it behaves erratically, contact me.”
[Senior…Yuanna Senior?]
After disconnecting the call, Yuanna gently stroked the heads of the children clinging to her legs.
Then, one by one, the children opened their eyes and looked up at Yuanna.
“Sorry… for not coming to help you sooner…”
“Uuuh… Uuuuuuuh…”
“Huuuu… Haaaahhh…”
At last, the children burst into tears.
They cried, breaking down like dams.
After calming the exhausted children and laying them down, Yuanna walked out of the room, looking up at the night sky, feeling somewhat disheartened.
“So…I lost it again.”
[By the way, Senior… There are some… serious pieces of evidence in this orphanage.]
“…Suppress the information. I believe you’ll understand why.”
[…Understood.]
Yuanna already anticipated what the evidence might be as she ended the communication, lowering her head.
It would be problematic if public opinion started portraying the monster as a good entity.
If adults, instead of children, started clinging to protect a monster like today, there would be no way to convince them otherwise.
“…Black Cat.”
Yuanna looked down at her limp hand, recalling the figure of Black Cat.
She had let Black Cat get away multiple times, yet this feeling of defeat—something she had never felt towards a monster—was new.
A defeat only a hero could feel towards a monster.
#
[The Despair-class monster Black Cat has begun its activities. A total of 12 people were attacked, all orphanage directors in W City…]
[After completing one hunt, Black Cat mysteriously stopped its attacks. Regarding Black Cat’s unusual behavior, monster behavior specialists in W City suggested that it might be a monster whose animal instincts overpower its monster instincts…]
[W City’s S-class Hero Starlight, whose real name is Yuanna, stated that this incident merely revealed Black Cat’s true nature…]
On the rooftop of a W City building, I sat enjoying the pleasant breeze as I pulled a cucumber out of my pocket and started munching on it.
I’ve been eating too many greasy foods lately, so vegetables taste surprisingly good now.
I was eavesdropping on the news broadcasts people were watching in the buildings nearby by focusing my hearing.
Some broadcasts conveyed genuine concern, while others defended Black Cat.
[Look, I know I’ll get criticized for saying this… but how many times has Black Cat saved people? It’s probably helped many more people than there are victims, maybe even ten times the number of those attacked.]
[It’s rumored that the orphans who were abused under the orphanage where the victims were directors are now grateful to Black Cat…]
[Perhaps we should install giant cat toys on buildings, even make them into cat towers, as a strategy against Black Cat?]
What news station aired that last suggestion? Are they serious?
“…It’s not a cat, seriously.”
Finishing off the cucumber, I looked up at the sound overhead.
A red streak in the sky: Yuanna was flying above.
In the distance, I could hear the disaster alarm for a catastrophic-class monster ringing.
“It’s gonna be difficult, heroes.”
I took out another cucumber from my pocket and continued eating.
#
A non-human human, after hunting the orphanage directors, I grew even more powerful.
A monster grows stronger the more monsters or humans it consumes.
Especially devouring strong humans or strong monsters makes one powerful, but the fatty directors I ate must have been nutritious even for me, someone who rarely consumes humans.
Now that I’ve much better control over my abilities, I can completely hide my presence for a short while.
It feels like balancing a needle on the tip of another needle – it breaks as soon as my concentration wavers even slightly, but when focused, I can keep it hidden for about 10 minutes.
I understand the technique now, so with practice, it will only get better.
Additionally, the output of my abilities has also improved.
“Bl, ack, Caat!”
Today, I was again hunting a random monster when I found myself being chased by Yuanna, my abilities refined to a point they hardly resemble those of my former self, Han-yeong.
After learning from my earlier mistakes of fleeing underground, where Yuanna could cause a lot of unnecessary damage, I now choose to stay above ground.
Though I’ve worked hard to restore these areas, I wouldn’t want them destroyed again.
I’m now confident enough to evade Yuanna without needing the underground.
Lee Han-young’s power, “Yoo-Young,” was a higher form of power than Ghost Dog’s “Non-Corporealization.”
While the latter only allowed for one to become immaterial, the former allowed control over the boundaries of tangible and intangible matter.
While escaping, I wondered how I could hinder Yuanna more effectively, leading me to connect the non-corporeal state with tangible objects.
I grabbed streetlights with my mouth mid-flight, embedding them into buildings after partially materializing them in my wings, creating barriers as I fled.
On days when I grab a steel pile, I can continuously make barriers.
“Enough with that, you bastard! Stop it!”
“Woof woof~”
While I can ignore these barriers completely due to my non-corporeal state, Yuanna has to melt through them with her powers.
Every time she slows down even slightly, the distance between us widened.
Though Yuanna’s momentary ability and output power are still stronger than mine, my escape abilities surpass hers.
If Yuanna went all-out and melted through buildings in her pursuit, she might catch up to me within the range of her abilities, but she’s not that kind of hero.
Her nature strives to minimize damage as much as possible, a fact I’ve learned well after being chased by her several times, giving me opportunities to stop her.
“Growl…”
“Hey?! What are you doing!”
“Roar!”
“Damn youuuu!”
Sensing that the barriers were becoming insufficient and Yuanna was getting closer, I reached up and snapped the communication tower on top of a building with my paw.
I knew this was an extremely expensive piece of equipment.
Specifically, the antennas on top of the tower, which was made of a powerful alloy that isn’t easily broken, but the strength of a Despair-class monster had no problem.
Yuanna quickly flew in to grab the tower as it tumbled.
Managing to save the antenna narrowly, she welded the tower back into place with her abilities, while I had already moved on.
“You knowingly damaged that! I’ll kill you seriously!”
Now that I’ve created enough distance, this escape is a sure victory.
At that moment, a large sight caught my eye.
A humongous piece of meat on a stick – a kebab food cart.
Escape could happen at any other time, but as a monster, I’ll probably never have another chance to eat such a large kebab.
Monsters’ damages are covered by insurance, right?
It’s free food!
“Woof woof woof!”
So delicious! This place, certified as a great place to eat!
While eating the kebab, holding onto the pole with my hind legs, Yuanna descended to the ground beside me.
Before her feet made contact and struck my back, I deftly twisted my body to avoid.
“Are you really a cat? For real?”
Not a cat, seriously. I merely take forms often resembling feline monsters. Right now, I’m something between a black leopard and a tiger.
Kebab-in-mouth, I climbed and stuck the skewer between a wall before continuing my escape. It’s time to run again after having a good snack!
Today’s escape: my victory.
“Arghh! This is ridiculous!”
