Became a Failed Experimental Subject

“Oh, the Black Cat otaku’s here.”

“Bl-taku-nim, thank you for your hard work.”

“Wow, if it isn’t the S-Class Hero who’s a total Black Cat stan.”

The day after the report on the Bad Cats' attack ended.

Yu Anna glared at the heroes teasing her and started drawing up her ability.

“A-rankers with high regeneration, how about you try taking a second-degree burn? The weaker ones, line up in the back—I’ll finish you off with a first-degree.”

After passionately explaining the differences between Black Cat and the Bad Cats, Yu Anna belatedly checked the chat window and realized her mistake.

But what could she do? The citizens were already having a blast making fun of her.

Better to laugh than cry—people need something entertaining.

Yu Anna tried to hold it in, but once even the heroes started teasing her, she snapped.

“Uwaaagh!”

“The hero’s setting things on fire!”

FWOOSH!

The heroes, touched by the casually emitted flame, laughed as they ran away.

A little while later, they shoved their phones in Yu Anna’s face, now showing the community reactions.

“They’ve already made emoticons, you know. Have you seen them?”

“I liked the meme: ‘This is Black Cat, and this is Bad Cats.’ Like the S1 model phone and the S1a model. Totally different, right?”

“By the way, are you gonna accept the position of honorary president of the ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) BlackCatMom Cafe?”

“You little punks... Sit. Down!”

As Yu Anna got mad, the heroes chuckled and returned to their seats.

Once everyone had settled, Yu Anna sighed and looked toward one of the heroes.

His name was Soundwaver.

He possessed the ability to freely manipulate soundwaves.

When Soundwaver clapped his hands—clap!—a transparent barrier sealed off the inside of the operation room.

No matter what trick you used, it was now impossible to eavesdrop.

A secret meeting began, one not reported to the government and shared only among W-City’s heroes.

“You all read the cell analysis report on the Bad Cats, right?”

Parts of the slain monsters’ corpses are sent to research facilities in each city for analysis.

Today’s secret meeting had been called because of the analysis results, as well as Black Cat’s behavior during the Bad Cats’ attack.

Some of the cells in the Bad Cats and Black Cat were identical.

In other words, even if not of the same species, they were extremely close subspecies.

Even when confronted by monsters of the same or similar kind, Black Cat had chosen to protect humans rather than join forces with them—just as he always had.

“The one we caught was female, right? And Black Cat’s male? Does he not even have a breeding instinct?”

“Maybe the other monster Black Cat killed was male, and that’s why.”

“They said the monster flesh retrieved in Zone 4 included both male and female samples. The genetic data is nearly identical, except for the sex.”

“Isn’t it more natural to assume it could change its gender freely? There was only one corpse, and if there had been another Despair-class around, Black Cat would've been the one to die.”

“So it changed its gender because it thought it might lose to Black Cat and decided to... flirt?”

“And then Black Cat killed it.”

Two females weren’t even worth eating—humans came first.

What the hell is Black Cat?

There’s not a single thing about him that makes sense.

The heroes of W-City, all puzzled by the same question, set that unanswerable issue aside and brought today’s main topic to the surface.

“What do you think about Black Cat?”

“Honestly... I’m starting to think he’s trustworthy.”

“Same here. We should definitely keep watching him, but... one thing’s certain—he’s not some regular monster.”

“What kind of monster rejects advances from its own species and chooses humans instead?”

“There are humans like that too, aren’t there? ‘Monsters are beautiful,’ ‘Monsters are our friends,’ those weirdos.”

“You mean those dumbasses from that monster cult in D-City or wherever?”

“From a monster’s perspective, Black Cat’s probably a horrifying mutant.”

“To us, though, he’s a welcome anomaly... Honestly? I kind of like him.”

“Still a damn monster though.”

Even a mutation that helps humans is still a monster.

The heroes who’d mistaken the Bad Cats for Black Cat were haunted by the fear that one day, he might go berserk just like them.

But at the same time...

The truth was, they also didn’t want to kill him.

Yu Anna looked around at everyone and let out a sigh.

“I know we’re all relieved that monster-related casualties have gone down thanks to Black Cat... but he’s also a ticking time bomb. We have no idea when he might blow.”

“We get that too, but if you keep tossing him around and stuffing him between bombs and he still doesn’t go off...”

“Then it’s a dud. A failed product, right?”

“But if you mess with it just to be safe and that’s what makes it explode... then it’s on us.”

So—let’s not provoke him.

Last time they met, the plan had been to stay on guard and take him out the moment anything seemed off, but now, the push for “let’s hold off” was far stronger.

“In a way, hasn’t Black Cat already proven himself? That he prioritizes humans over his own kind?”

“Don’t talk to me about proof when it comes to monsters.”

“Not really something a hero should say, but... I kinda want to believe in him, just once.”

“If he ever evolves into an Annihilation-class threat, though, we won’t be able to stop him on our own.”

“On the flip side, if he becomes Annihilation-class and still protects humans, there’s nothing better than that.”

“That’s way too risky. Why do you think Black Cat went berserk this time? If he gets stronger than all of W-City’s forces, do you really think he’ll just sit there quietly? The only reason he’s calm now is because Starlight is stronger.”

“You never know. What if he’s already stronger than us and just acting like this? He is a mutation, after all.”

“Alright, that’s enough. We’re not here today to argue about that.”

Seeing opinions start to split, Yu Anna clapped her hands, drawing all the heroes’ attention.

In the end, the question they had gathered to decide on was just one:

What to do about Black Cat.

“Raise your hand if you think we should kill Black Cat as soon as possible.”

Only three heroes raised their hands, and even they didn’t seem too sure.

“Now raise your hand if you think we should treat Black Cat as part of W-City’s fighting force for now and make use of him.”

This time, including those three, everyone raised their hands unanimously.

No need to keep discussing it—Yu Anna gave her conclusion.

“...From now on, Black Cat’s threat level is downgraded by three stages. We’ll still respond the same way, but his priority will change. No reports to the government. This info stays between W-City heroes only. No records, understood.”

“Senior, does that mean you’re stepping down from handling Black Cat? A three-step drop would mean even a B-rank hero could be dispatched...”

“I’ll... keep doing it. If it shows up on dispatch logs, the government will start pestering us.”

“See? Black Cat otaku till the end. I mean, if you don’t apologize to him soon, he’ll probably keep avoiding you like last time—OW!”

Yu Anna flicked a spark at the hero who kept teasing her.

What pissed her off most was that... what he said wasn’t even wrong.

Her mind was filled with a single thought:

I need to find Black Cat and apologize—fast.

“Everyone be careful not to leak any of this to civilians. Especially you. Stay off the community sites.”

“...Sorry.”

“Alright, then? Make sure the heroes who weren’t here get briefed. And start preparing a public warning: tell citizens that monsters similar to Black Cat might appear.”

“I’m worried about how to educate them. No matter how much we say it, people never listen.”

“Still gotta try. I’ll go out on patrol for a bit...”

Just as Yu Anna was about to clean up and head out, a Despair-class monster alarm blared through the building.

[Black Cat...]

“I’m heading out now! Handle the rest!”

Yu Anna flung open a window and leapt out without hesitation.

The heroes saw the figure of Starlight flying off in the distance and chuckled dryly as a follow-up announcement played.

[...has appeared!]

“Damn, she’s fast.”

“She’s not going to capture Black Cat—she’s going to apologize, right?”

“Can’t believe I just heard the phrase ‘apologize to a monster.’”

Then, the operator doing the broadcast forgot to mute their mic and spoke with a sheepish voice.

[Uh... So, um... Is this really an alarm-worthy event? Ah—s-sorry! Black Cat appearance! He’s, uh, napping in the park! N-no monster present. It was a civilian report!]

“...Seriously, is that bastard even a monster anymore?”

At this point, it was past being ridiculous—it was just funny.

****

After devouring 444, the city was still broken.

The smaller monsters that had fled in fear of the Despair-class monster’s presence had begun to return, causing small disturbances that kept any real recovery from beginning.

Which meant, in other words, that I had no way to make enough money to eat my fill.

It wasn’t that I had no money at all, but many restaurants hadn’t reopened, still uneasy from the lingering chaos.

Even those that had opened were packed with people who’d survived on emergency rations in shelters for three days straight, so I had no choice but to hold out without eating.

I could endure a little hunger, but people couldn't.

In the end, I headed for Black Cat Park for the first time in a while and received food from residents who recognized me.

It wasn’t much, but still—food is food.

“Blaccky! Blaccky doesn’t do bad things, right?”

“Blaccky’s not a bad kitty! He’s a good kitty!”

“Blaccky! Look at this! I drew this!”

“This one! This one! It’s the new Ppappakkung! Look!”

“The kids have really grown.”

“Their pronunciation’s better too, right? All they ever talk about is Black Cat.”

CHOMP, CHOMP—

Tearing into the meat with my bare teeth, hidden behind the playground where people couldn’t see, I ate the meat I’d been handed whole.

The kids, seeing my face for the first time in a while, were overjoyed.

The mothers, meanwhile, swallowed nervously.

“Sorry, we really don’t have much to give.”

“Yeah, the supermarkets still haven’t reopened...”

“He must’ve been so hungry... Look how sharp his abs are.”

“...gulp—eek!”

At that moment, a woman lightly touched my body.

Instinctively, I grabbed the mother’s wrist, pinned her arm against a wooden post, and bared my teeth—

But with a trembling hand, I forced down the instinct.

I slowly let go of her and exhaled a hot breath, warning the mothers.

“Don’t come too close. You look too tasty—it’s hard to hold back.”

“Oh—oh my, oh my, oh dear... M-my husband, he’s at work right now...”

“Honey, he’s a monster, remember? That’s not what he meant.”

“Still, he is male, so... maybe he did mean it that way?”

“H-he’s seriously a beast... M-my heart’s racing...”

What the hell?

I’d expected them to be afraid, but the sticky-sweet emotions wafting off the mothers left me confused.

Come to think of it, hadn’t Yu Hyena shown something similar once?

Could it be that “you look delicious” meant something different from what I understood?

While I stood dumbfounded, the moms backed up slightly and took a seat, starting to talk about the recent events.

“You must’ve been really upset this time, right? Because of those... things called Bad Cats.”

“Seems like there were quite a few victims...”

“We’ve actually made a fan cafe called BlackCatMom to support you, but everyone knows by now it wasn’t you, so don’t worry too much.”

Hearing that, I paused mid-bite and gave them a warning.

“Tell the kids to be careful. To monsters, children are nothing but easy prey.

If another monster shows up that looks like me... then running away is the best option.”

“That’s... true. Okay, we’ll do that.”

“Yeah, I’ll make sure to post about it in the cafe.”

“Should we say something like, ‘Run from Black Cat if the alarm sounds’?”

“That’s probably safest. We’ve been good about teaching everyone to go to shelters when the alarm sounds, but these days, because of Black Cat...”

It’s better to treat monsters with caution, not friendliness.

As I watched the mothers quietly whisper about what they should do, I suddenly realized someone I usually saw here was missing.

“That cop... is he dead?”

“Oh, no, not at all! He got promoted. They say he’s been assigned to Zone 1.”

“Which has actually made things a bit tougher. We’ve had a few thieves lately...”

“He really was a good guy~”

“I see.”

A little relieved to hear he hadn’t died, I stood up and transformed.

The sudden shift into monster form startled the mothers, but the kids, thrilled, came running from the playground and clung to me.

“It’s Blaccky!”

“It’s Kkamnyang!”

“I-is a monster coming!?”

[Not heading here. But it’s close... I’ll earn my meal. Take the kids and go.]

Murder-class and Destruction-class monsters were swimming up from deep underground.

Nodding, I summoned my power.

The mothers scooped up their kids and left the park.

The ability I’d gained from 444—space manipulation.

I had sensed the monsters deep beneath the ground.

And so I split them into pieces—

Tore them apart.

Yeah... this ability’s definitely useful.

“Uwooooh...”

After finishing off the monsters, I yawned and lay down on the sandpit in the park.

I planned to slowly drag the monster corpses up from the depths using space manipulation and eat them.

CHOMP, CHEW—

Like gnawing on squid legs, I bit into the monster flesh.

A lot of thoughts came to mind.

The one that stuck with me the most was the monster from the lab.

Why are they sending monsters after me now?

What are they thinking...?

“Black Cat!”

At that moment, Starlight came flying into the park, carrying a bag.

Seeing her, I stopped eating and sank into the shadows.

Yu Anna, her face in a near-tearful pout, shouted frantically.

“I’m sorry, I was wrong, I said I’m sorry! But—b-but you were wrong too! Why didn’t you just tell me earlier?!”

At her words, I peeked my head out and stared silently at Starlight, then retreated into the shadows again.

She dug into her bag and pulled out beef.

“B-beef...! That’s right, I brought beef... Ah!”

She waved the new beef at me, beckoning me to come over.

But the part of me that still ached from where she’d punched me made me ignore the offer—

And run away.

From far behind, I could hear Starlight’s devastated voice.

“Aaaaaah...”