###
[The Hidden Shame of District 9, Nine-Dragon Castle Cleaning, Is This the Beginning of W City’s Anti-Corruption Campaign?]
[Secret Operation Name: ‘Garbage Cleanup,’ The Leader, the Police Chief of W City?]
[Police Chief Oh Hae-young: “As the First Female Police Chief of W City, I can no longer idly stand by and watch the exploitation of the women of W City to build power.”]
[A City, Cage’s Past Statements Highlighted: “All Villains are Trash.”]
[Some Citizens Complain, Arguing Nine-Dragon Castle is Just an Entertainment Venue and Such Measures Were Unnecessary.]
[Completely Destroyed Remnants of Nine-Dragon Castle and Pre-Destruction Monster Alert, Coincidence?]
[Escapees from Nine-Dragon Castle Testify That Black Cat Destroyed It…]
[Large Amounts of Drug Components Detected in the Bodies of Those Who Accessed Nine-Dragon Castle.]
###
The W City community was in unprecedented uproar.
The underground dealings of W City, the massive entertainment venue known as Nine-Dragon Castle, had reportedly been turned to dust overnight.
Rumors swirled: it was the police chief, Starlight, an S-Class Hero, or a group of heroes who demolished it. Some said it was a villain’s hideout.
The truth was more muddled: it was Black Cat who destroyed Nine-Dragon Castle, Starlight lost to the owner of Nine-Dragon Castle, but no, Starlight melted the whole establishment.
In the chaos of rumors, people scrambled to find the truth.
[Looking at the destruction, it was clearly Starlight; everything melted and sparkles. That’s definitely him/her.]
[Starlight! Did you use the eraser technique again? That technique is forbidden!]
[Perhaps it was used well this time. Honestly, those who know recognize Nine-Dragon Castle for what it truly was—a villain’s hideout.]
[To those who live virtuously, it might just seem like a casino or entertainment venue, but those who’ve seen the darker side of life know exactly what it was.]
###
Only two facts were certain: Nine-Dragon Castle was a villain’s hideout, and it was Starlight who destroyed it.
But what about the rest of the truth?
As people grew curious, a hero appeared on the community forum, authenticating their hero registration card.
“I’m a B-Class Hero, here making a truthful declaration. District 9 was practically operating as a lawless zone.”
[The news isn’t being covered right because Starlight lost Gu Seoryong, and journalists are afraid of retaliation. They fear what the villains might do.]
[Starlight destroyed Nine-Dragon Castle all alone.]
[The police chief did nothing. Not Oh Hae-young. ‘Garbage Cleanup’? That’s true—there’s garbage that needs cleaning—but she better step down immediately.]
[It’s true Nine-Dragon Castle hosted drug and m*rder parties. Those involved aren’t even human. Cage was right—villains are trash.]
[The claim that Starlight lost to Gu Seoryong? If that were true, why is Starlight still successfully fighting monsters today?]
[The stories about Black Cat being at Nine-Dragon Castle came from those who were there. Didn’t anyone see the testimony about the arena that made Black Cat fight Rock Lions, under the influence of drugs?]
###
Satisfied by the clear answers, the citizens bombarded the B-Class Hero with questions. Yet soon after, the hero wrote, “I’ve been caught, I’m done,” and disappeared.
The hero probably went off to write an explanation, vanishing from the internet. The conversation about Nine-Dragon Castle continued among the citizens.
—
[My sister came back from Nine-Dragon Castle… we thought she disappeared in a monster attack, but she was held there the whole time. It’s shocking! What were the police even doing?]
[Our eldest sister and second sister are back too. I feel happy, but I’m also scared of the world.]
[Wow, I saw a post that their mom went missing too, but it seems there’s no way to bring her back…]
[The post above? I clicked expecting something crazy, but it turned out to be a gaming chat. Are you serious?]
[I work in the police force… During an overtime shift, I heard loud shouting from the deputy chief’s office. It was about how Starlight acted independently, and the police have no involvement. He was pleading, asking someone to just let this pass.]
[Does this mean the deputy chief was bought off by the villains?]
[It’s not just the deputy chief—higher-ups might have been bought too, like the police chief of A City…]
[There are rumors that the W City police chief is involved. That’s why Starlight acted alone…]
[If that’s true, Police Chief Oh Hae-young needs to step down.]
###
Later, the chief and deputy chief held an emergency press conference and stepped down.
The new chief and deputy chief, alongside the heroes, vowed to the press they would fight against villains and protect citizens.
Standing behind them was Starlight.
After the press conference concluded, Yuanna, relaxing on her couch with a beer, browsed the community forums.
—
[These days, thanks to Starlight and Black Cat, I’ve been enjoying life, but I’m reminded once again how chaotic the world is.]
[f*ck, it’s hard enough living with monsters, but now these villains make it worse?]
[Admittedly, villains who don’t destroy homes are better than monsters who do.]
[Are you defending villains? Are you a villain yourself?]
—
Under Yuanna’s gaze, the community was moving in an unfavorable direction.
The day’s topic: Which is better—villains or monsters?
The problem was that the monsters being compared weren’t ordinary ones.
—
[Compared to Black Cat, villains are better.]
[What? Are you in your right mind?]
[No, I made a mistake—compared to villains, Black Cat is much better.]
[‘Black Cat’s thumb-up emoticon’]
[What? Is that an actual emoticon somewhere? Can you get it?]
[Just make it for me.]
—
There was such a thing? Yuanna, surprised, searched for the emoticon store but frowned at the next set of comments.
[Against Black Cat vs villains, Black Cat wins outright. Do villains pet heads? Do they touch tails? Though they’ve stopped letting people do that now.]
[What do you do with a villain’s petted head…?]
[Gu Seoryong’s head does seem kind of pettable.]
[Black Cat catches monsters and nearly avoids property damage too.]
[Our Black Key is a nice kind of monster…]
—
Talking about a “nice monster”… It’s true in a sense, and yes, Black Cat is kind of nice—but monsters can’t really be nice.
As public opinion compared Black Cat to villains, Yuanna felt uneasy but thought arguing against it would be futile.
—
[Villains vs Black Cat cuteness: It’s like comparing my fingernails with the prettiest girl in the city.]
[If I want a Black Cat keychain, but not a villain keychain—who would want to carry some kind of gangster sign?]
[Where can I find a Black Cat keychain?]
[Just make it for me.]
—
Again! Yuanna frowned at the same fraud twice and thought, this person deserves a ban from the forum. She was about to send a complaint through the hotline but hesitated, remembering herself as an S-Class Hero.
—
[Black Cat photo album: I just want one. Villain photo album: There are some villains I’d want in one.]
[Can you make it for me?]
[Sure.]
—
You’re hopeless, thought Yuanna, and immediately contacted the hotline to block the poster for three days.
Despite the ongoing discussions comparing Black Cat to villains, she sighed deeply.
It’s good that people are wary and hateful of villains.
It helps young super-powered individuals abandon their romanticized ideas of villains and raises citizens’ safety awareness.
Still, comparisons with Black Cat irked her.
—
Why Black Cat? Why not other monsters? It’s because in W City, by now, Black Cat has become like the icon of a “good monster,” but the phrase itself is as contradictory as a hot ice coffee.
There’s no such thing as a “nice monster.”
With that in mind, Yuanna thought of the events she’d experienced.
—
Black Cat protecting children, protecting other heroes, devouring evil people, coming outright to save her this time—what exactly is it? Why does it come now and show off its presence?
How can it claim to be some territorial dominant male while being flustered by barely exposed clothing?
Wait, is that thing even a real monster?
—
“What exactly is it…?”
—
Even to Yuanna now, Black Cat seemed unlike an ordinary monster.
In such a state, is it even right to warn the citizens “Black Cat is dangerous”? Wouldn’t it be better if people regarded Black Cat and other monsters as separate matters?
The problem is, there are still many who don’t think so.
The hashtag, #MonstersAreFriends!, that spread together with the reputation of Black Cat—just this tag alone reveals how many reckless people there are.
—
[Wish to raise monsters.]
[Wish to breed monsters.]
[Certain wealthy people in B City do raise monsters for their own entertainment.]
[I heard they sedated a monster at Nine-Dragon Castle, tamed them, and used them in the arena.]
[Wouldn’t taming some monsters benefit humanity? Why don’t we try?]
—
Among the users of the hashtag, there were plenty of stories of users ignoring monster alerts and trying to capture monsters with butterfly nets, only to end up in the emergency room or get arrested by the police.
Seeing these made her sigh; haven’t monster researchers already attempted all this? They stopped because it’s impossible.
Of course not. Taming monsters is reckless nonsense that puts citizens at risk.
—
[A delivery!]
“Yes!”
—
Yuanna quickly moved to the door when she heard the delivery, carrying in a new freezer she purchased. She then packed the meat in one whole carton, evenly splitting it into the fridge and freezer.
She planned to feed Black Cat this when it comes. She even double-checked a specially-ordered bag for meat, made of the same material as her hero suit, which couldn’t be burned by her flames.
—
“It’s not supposed to be this lively…”
—
While organizing the meat in excitement, Yuanna suddenly remembered herself and sighed.
Why am I smiling when I should be focused on the main objective—to catch villains?
Yes… she must and will capture the villain, Gu Seoryong.
—
“Huh…”
—
With a sigh remembering that night when she destroyed Nine-Dragon Castle.
Upon returning to the castle, she found villains awaiting her, seemingly guessing she’d come back.
It took her just one second to subdue them with her famous “eraser” technique, leaving their bodies melted and severely burnt.
—
But then, amidst villains losing limbs and suffering burns, it dawned on her: Gu Seoryong was gone.
They claimed his name, then charged at her like madmen, even without limbs, crawling across the floor.
—
Their unusual behavior didn’t fit the typical selfish villain archetype, and tests revealed they were drugged, probably poisoned by Gu Seoryong’s venom that he had intended to inject into her.
—
That’s why, even though Yuanna caught all the villains in Nine-Dragon Castle except Gu Seoryong, she couldn’t feel satisfied.
Currently, to Yuanna, Gu Seoryong was more dangerous than Black Cat.
His ability to slowly make her submit—it was clear that if caught too late, he would only regain strength.
And if that continued, he could cause greater devastation than even a Despair-Level Monster.
Is it the monster that’s uncommon, or the villains?
—
” sigh…”
—
It gave her an ever-growing headache.
As Yuanna pressed some chilled meat against her forehead, the phone rang.
Could it be the call she was waiting for? She quickly picked up.
“Hello? Is that Hye-na? Is everything alright? Are you safe?”
