Ch.24This Is Ridiculous…

# Black Cat, Escaped Again… I’m Sorry

The local news broadcast of W City showed a photo of Yu Anna bowing her head apologetically.

After Cage’s recent broadcast, Yu Anna, who had fought Black Cat, became the hero who let Black Cat escape yet again.

Even with two S-rank heroes working together, with citizens’ cooperation and a full evacuation, Yu Anna had prepared various excuses in case people asked why she had let Black Cat escape despite all these efforts.

“There was a possibility of capturing if I pursued, but I chose to protect S-rank hero Cage who was right beside me. Also, if we had continued fighting, the damage caused by Black Cat’s escape would have increased exponentially… Since Black Cat is a unique monster that changes abilities to match opposing heroes, I couldn’t predict what variables might occur…”

Protecting a comrade! Do you want to lose one of your S-rank heroes?

Protecting buildings! Do you want to lose all your homes?

Listen, if that feisty cat keeps transforming and destroying everything, we might have to sacrifice W City to capture Black Cat!

“I’ve properly wounded Black Cat’s body, so I believe it won’t take dangerous actions for a while if I step forward… I’ll minimize damage, and for this, I’d like to ask citizens and other heroes to cooperate by not unnecessarily provoking Black Cat. I’m aware some people are feeding monsters, but since this incident has clearly made Black Cat recognize humans as hostile targets, this would be even more dangerous than before…”

Anyway, I’ve taught Black Cat a lesson, so stop provoking it in weird ways.

Stop feeding it. Because of you, there are too many idiots trying to capture Black Cat, making things difficult.

Please listen.

You saw Black Cat going wild, right? Do you want to see Black Cat and me destroying W City while fighting?

After giving all these appropriate excuses, Yu Anna reported the damage situation.

The damage caused by Black Cat this time included 83 buildings, but citizens who would normally have been angry at Yu Anna for provoking Black Cat didn’t show any anger toward her at all.

[W City should be renamed to Yu Anna’s City.]

[Why Black Cat fears Yu Anna.]

[The true nature of the Despair-rank monster, but Yu Anna suppresses it.]

[Star Punch! Star Punch!]

Citizens everywhere were sharing photos of a muscular Yu Anna with an enormous jaw beating up a kitten.

In the photo, Black Cat had a golden shining knight toy hanging from its front paw.

S-rank hero, Cage.

The hero from A City who was severely injured by Black Cat this time and became the target of W City citizens’ criticism.

[Cage came here trying to catch Black Cat and my house got blown away.]

[Black Cat was being well-trained by Starlight, and seeing how Starlight beats it properly, Cage probably thought he could catch it too?]

[From the moment Starlight caught Mirage, it was proven she’s stronger than Cage, and now Cage fans can’t even argue against this.]

[If Starlight hadn’t been there, Cage would have died. Our W City actually protected A City, you know?]

[Starlight unnie is so cool ㅠㅠㅠ]

Due to Cage’s battle with Black Cat being broadcast live, everyone could see how Black Cat completely toyed with him, contrary to expectations.

If Cage had tried to catch Black Cat alone and failed, he might have earned some sympathy, but the video showed a critical problem that even citizens found hard to understand.

[Cage isn’t weak, but he’s ultimately a high-tier tanker and supporter]

[But he tries to be a damage dealer too while looking down on actual damage dealers.]

[Why did he try to catch it alone? If he had worked together with Starlight from the beginning, they would have caught it already?]

[Ah… just Cage!]

He had asked for citizens’ cooperation, claiming he would work with Starlight to catch Black Cat, but then tried to face Black Cat alone to look cool.

At first, when he seemed to be overwhelming Black Cat, he was praised as the epitome of coolness, but the moment everyone saw him being used as a human mop and hammer to finely chop up the prison interior, he became a troll who had made an arrogant mistake.

[This guy’s pride can be cool sometimes, but looking at him now, he seems like a total loser.]

[When catching someone weaker, he’s a true emperor who minimizes citizen damage, but when facing someone equal or slightly stronger, he immediately becomes a toy…]

[This is all because of cat moms. They say Black Cat is safe, so idiots trying to capture Black Cat are running wild, and seeing them, Cage underestimated Black Cat too. Cat moms are ruining W City.]

[Why are there Cage moms and cat moms but no Yu Anna moms?]

[Hey? Making fun of an S-rank hero’s appearance is a bit…]

If there was something to criticize about W City’s damage, it was Cage.

Public opinion was formed to praise Starlight and criticize Cage, while some citizens’ tearful videos gained attention.

[Black Cat won’t let me pet its head anymore ㅠㅜ]

[It growls when I try to pet it… what should I do, it must hate humans now ㅜ]

[What should I do… don’t you remember me? You used to let me touch your tail…]

[What will happen to our Blacky ㅠ]

[This is all Cage’s fault!]

[I was honestly a Cage fan, but seeing Blacky angry makes me hate him…ㅜ]

The video showed Black Cat baring its teeth and threatening someone who had been helped by it before and was trying to pet it while offering meat.

People who had seen it demolish a hero as a monster couldn’t ignore Black Cat’s warning.

Rumors even began to spread that people trying to feed it drugged meat were immediately getting their hands cut off.

People feeding Black Cat blamed all of this on Cage.

And to this, the people of W City showed an unexpected reaction.

[Is this video from after Cage came, not before? Did Black Cat save someone again?]

[It still eats meat well?]

[What? Did Black Cat catch another monster?]

[Cat mom people, please evacuate first instead of feeding Black Cat]

[Black Cat running away as soon as Starlight appears is starting to look cute.]

[Ah, more cat moms are appearing, damn it]

While criticizing the act of feeding monsters, they welcomed the fact that Black Cat was catching monsters again.

After all, no one wants to see a Despair-rank monster running wild.

But why doesn’t Black Cat attack people?

As citizens’ curiosity about this grew, they pointed to Starlight as the reason.

[Seeing how its leg gets torn off with one attack, it seems Starlight has properly educated it with violence.]

[Maybe it gets moderately angry and runs away after eating monsters, but it refrains from eating people because Starlight might kill it?]

[Starlight is properly playing the role of Black Cat suppressor]

[But if Starlight can’t catch Black Cat but properly suppresses it, isn’t that actually good? It eats a lot of monsters, like having one more S-rank hero.]

[I’m not a cat mom, but this seems right ㅇㅇ; We should catch it someday, but maintaining the status quo isn’t bad either?]

[If Starlight just prevents Black Cat from attacking citizens, isn’t it wise even if she’s deliberately not catching it?]

[Wasn’t it concluded that taming monsters is impossible?]

[Isn’t there a difference between humans weaker than monsters trying to tame them and beating them severely to show dominance and make them obey?]

[More monster researchers will come to W City.]

Thus, public opinion about Yu Anna changed from a flawed hero who couldn’t catch a Despair-rank monster despite being S-rank to a suppressor of a special Despair-rank specimen.

And then, Cage, who had been everyone’s target of criticism, opened his eyes.

“…Citizens of W City and A City, I apologize for causing concern with this incident.”

Cage, who had suffered multiple fractures throughout his body—injuries that would have been fatal if he weren’t a hero—appeared before the camera with a pale face, showing a weak voice unlike his usual prideful demeanor.

“To be honest, I believe my arrogance was the problem. I always had overwhelming victories when competing with Starlight, yet Starlight’s monster record was similar to mine, so I wanted to confirm my strength definitively.”

Cage’s unprecedentedly humble attitude, so different from his usual confidence, touched the hearts of his fans and created sympathetic public opinion.

Additionally, the confidential information Cage calmly revealed—that he was stronger than Starlight when heroes fought each other—was immediately confirmed as fact through malicious reporters who sought out Yu Anna.

As a result, the malicious public opinion toward Cage had to subside.

[Looking at what Starlight says, Cage always won when they fought?]

[Cage is not only good at catching monsters but also villains. W City might not know because there aren’t many villains there, but the reason Cage is treated as the best hero in A City is because he’s good at catching both monsters and villains.]

[If Cage is a defense-specialized hero, Starlight is just an attack-specialized hero.]

[What’s so great about a hero defeating another hero? Being good at catching monsters is the best.]

[Cage endured Black Cat’s attacks for quite a while, but Starlight would probably be done for after just one hit?]

[Starlight: Why get hit? Can’t you just dodge?]

[To be fair, Cage isn’t weak, Black Cat is just stronger.]

[Black Cat runs away from Starlight, and Starlight loses to Cage?]

In conclusion, a confusing structure formed: Starlight, who defeated Mirage who defeated Cage, couldn’t catch Black Cat who defeated Cage who defeated Starlight.

At this point, some citizens realized that saying which hero is stronger than another is foolish.

After all, depending on ability compatibility, a stronger person could be defeated by a weaker one.

[So does this mean we can’t catch Black Cat for a while?]

[The S-rank hero who came to help is severely injured, and only Cage has the ability to contain Black Cat.]

[Cat moms must be excited.]

Black Cat will continue its monster-eating activities in W City for a while.

Regarding this, W City citizens thought it wasn’t bad, despite some anxiety.

If they just left it to Starlight and were careful not to get close to it, Black Cat was a special specimen that could be helpful to citizens.

“…How ridiculous, these W City vermin…”

Seeing the citizens of W City feeling relieved despite this situation, Cage spoke while unwrapping the bandages covering his entire body in the ambulance.

“Nothing has been resolved in the end. The monster called Black Cat still exists in W City, like a bomb that could explode at any time… Yet, these people, far from thinking they should defuse the bomb, are happy thinking it’s fine to leave it alone as long as it hasn’t exploded yet…”

In front of him, Yu Anna, who was seeing Cage off as a fellow S-rank hero, looked at community posts on her smartphone and spoke with dissatisfaction.

“I find you more ridiculous. Coming out with exaggerated bandages in front of the camera… Since when did S-rank heroes become so weak?”

S-rank superhumans are already beyond human, and multiple fractures throughout the body heal completely in about a week with good food and rest.

Moreover, Cage had faster recovery than ordinary superhumans.

Yu Anna found it absurd that Cage had appeared before the camera pretending to be injured when his injuries had almost completely healed.