Became a Failed Experimental Subject-Chapter 48: A Different Monster

Even so, that number had been kept at a minimum thanks to Starlight flying around at top speed.

"For a despair-class monster we haven't caught for three days, the damage is still relatively low...."

"It’s still a miraculous figure for a despair-class, but it’ll just keep climbing... haa...."

A single shelter could hold about fifty people, and Starlight had already failed to reach ten shelters in time.

Add one more minute for the shelters to fully collapse, plus a few more seconds for the monster to dig deep into the ground.

If Starlight arrived within that window, most of the citizens were rescued, leaving behind only a few injured.

And then they would get shoved into the next shelter... trembling again under the shadow of death.

The resentful, terrified looks citizens gave them when being herded back into shelters crushed the heroes' morale.

"This is no time for defeatist bullshit!"

"Then what the hell are we supposed to do? It shows up in Zone 2, and a minute later it’s popping up in Zone 7, and then suddenly it’s in Zone 11?"

"Even if Starlight manages to land a hit, we think it's wounded, but then it just comes back good as new... we're just getting ground down in a war of attrition. Why are we the ones buying time?"

"A monster that even an S-class hero couldn’t capture until now — and it’s only getting bolder...."

The game of tag between Starlight and Black Cat that had started in a single district had now spread across the entirety of W-City.

Compared to before, Black Cat’s speed was overwhelmingly faster; once it disappeared, it would reappear somewhere else entirely, sometimes hopping from one end of the city to the other, devouring humans along the way.

It was so much faster than Starlight’s flight speed that even A-rank heroes couldn't catch a glimpse of its tail.

At the very least, the heroes had intended to buy time until Starlight arrived — but even that was wearing them down.

"There’s no way... this is impossible...."

"We can’t... we just can’t... we're all gonna die...."

Even if they did manage to spot its tail, a handful of A-rank heroes couldn't possibly capture a despair-class monster that not even top-tier S-class heroes could handle.

All that would come of it would be more injuries and deaths.

If those sacrifices could meaningfully contribute to slaying the monster, the heroes would have thrown their lives away without hesitation — but this was just meaningless death.

Even if the heroes died fighting Black Cat, Starlight still wouldn’t be able to catch it.

It was just too fast, too stealthy.

Black Cat understood humans too well.

It knew exactly how to exhaust heroes, how to make humans afraid.

All of W-City had become Black Cat’s hunting ground and playground.

Had there ever been another monster that pushed the heroes of W-City into such despair?

"Get your heads straight, dammit! Once the S-class heroes from other cities arrive, we can stop it! We just have to hold on until then!"

"Haa...."

"We're not even holding on anymore... we’re just getting dragged around by it, and so is Starlight."

Even as one A-rank hero tried to rally the others, the rest just sighed in helplessness.

Honestly, even if no hero responded when Black Cat appeared, the result would be the same.

People would die, Starlight would give chase, it would slip away, and then reappear somewhere else, playing with new victims.

At that moment, Starlight burst through the door into the waiting room.

"Huff... huff... huff...."

"...You’re working hard."

Starlight, who had flown back and forth across W-City dozens of times, was breathing heavily — something unimaginable for an S-class hero.

Without a word, Starlight immediately went into the investigation room.

The other heroes, seeing her, let out a sigh mixed with admiration and sorrow.

"She's amazing, seriously...."

"She must be determined to catch it no matter what, by now... she’s probably shouldering all the guilt too."

"Guilt, my ass — it's not her fault Black Cat went nuts."

"Fuck... if only Cage hadn’t screwed around back then, if they had just fought together...."

"Everyone to the investigation room!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

The heroes, who had been slumping and groaning, snapped to their feet at Starlight’s command and followed her in.

Inside the dark room, the giant screen was filled with footage of Black Cat captured so far.

The heroes were desperately analyzing Black Cat’s abilities, trying to find a way — any way — to hunt the despair-class monster.

"This hole that appears when it throws its blade-tail... no matter how you look at it, it seems like a wormhole."

"It might be a power similar to the shadow teleportation it used before."

"This is spatial blinking, no doubt."

"The traces left by the blade-tail — the victims say the wound was frozen solid, like it was sealed by some power."

On the whiteboard next to the screen, notes about Black Cat’s newly observed abilities were scrawled everywhere, along with proposed countermeasures.

However, there was one ability for which no countermeasure existed.

The already-known ability: shadow teleportation.

"The moment it dives into the shadow and vanishes, it pops out in a completely different zone — there’s no way to react."

"This speed... it's already beyond despair-class. It might be just one step away from extinction-class...."

"Aaaagh! We’re already out of time, and now you’re telling me we’re even more out of time! What the hell are we supposed to do when it reaches extinction-class?"

"Shut that bastard up already — he’s been losing it this whole time!"

"How can I not lose it? There’s no way to stop that monster bastard!"

"You think you're the only one with a headache?"

"Quiet! The ones suffering the most aren't us — it’s the civilians."

Right now, the civilians of W-City had been trapped in shelters for three days straight.

Unlike calamity-class monsters, which could at least be finished off if an S-class hero showed up, there was no guarantee they could defeat a despair-class monster — the only thing they could do was minimize casualties.

The citizens hiding inside the shelters, fearing the Black Cat who appeared and disappeared at random, could do nothing but wonder: Will it be our turn this time?

Their helplessness was, if anything, even worse than what the heroes were feeling.

"When is S-class support supposed to arrive?"

"Two days at the earliest."

"Fuck... thousands more will die by then...."

"Alright! Enough of this defeatist crap! Let’s figure out something!"

"Is there even anything left we can do...."

The A-rank heroes spoke in dead, hollow voices, drowning in despair.

All the strategies they had tried so far had failed: ambush squads of A- and B-rank heroes had only ended up mocked, as Black Cat ripped open nearby shelters instead; spreading out wide to buy Starlight some time had only resulted in more casualties.

Naturally, the heroes' gazes drifted toward the only one who was even managing to make Black Cat flee — Starlight.

Starlight was staring blankly at the footage of Black Cat looping on the screen.

"...Something’s wrong."

Starlight — Yu Anna — had been feeling a growing sense of unease as she chased Black Cat.

Three days ago, right after Black Cat started hunting humans and fled from the shelter after throwing a tantrum.

When Yu Anna arrived at the scene where a new Black Cat had been reported in a completely different direction, even as she threw her punch, she thought: Something’s wrong.

That day — the Black Cat that had been raging only moments ago — was now laughing like it was having the time of its life.

"It’s... too different."

At first, Black Cat had dispersed like mist when struck by Yu Anna’s punch.

And after taking one lethal hit, just like before, it melted away.

Then again... it scattered like mist.

...It’s different.

No, this is wrong.

This is weakness — these thoughts are weak.

Black Cat had finally abandoned its careful disguise and made up its mind to start hunting.

The game was over; what remained was a one-sided massacre.

As if to prove that Starlight could no longer chase it, the creature rampaged across W-City without restraint.

This is what monsters are.

When they are weak, they hide their instincts; when they are strong, they act however they want.

Still... maybe.

Even though Yu Anna feared she was wrong again, she moved her hands, trusting her instincts.

"This is... different."

Click, click, Yu Anna manipulated the controls, pulling up every recorded video of Black Cat from the past three days.

As she methodically sorted and divided the footage, the other heroes’ gazes turned toward her.

Watching the many organized screens showing Black Cat, Yu Anna’s eyes trembled as she spoke.

"This one's different too... this one's... different...."

"...Senior?"

"It's different!"

Maybe, just maybe—

Even though she kept telling herself it couldn’t be, Yu Anna abruptly stood up and spoke to the A-rank hero standing closest to her.

"Are there any heroes who were wounded by anything other than the ice blades or spatial manipulation?"

"Uh?"

"No, the other way — were there any heroes injured by lightning, fire, wind... the original abilities Black Cat was known for?"

At Yu Anna’s sudden question, the heroes looked at each other.

Not a single person raised their hand, and Yu Anna thought back to how Black Cat had never counterattacked during her assaults.

Every time it fought back, it had used entirely new abilities — never any of the old ones.

Realizing that, Yu Anna’s voice trembled slightly.

"Shapeshifting ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) monsters change forms freely when needed — so why has Black Cat kept the same form all this time? Because that form is advantageous, for deceiving humans... no — because it looks cute, because...!"

"What are you suddenly talking about...?"

"There’s no need to change forms — Black Cat’s appearance is already the perfect disguise!"

With a loud crash, Yu Anna shoved aside chairs and strode to the wall, her fingertips igniting a small flame as she began scrawling burned letters across the whiteboard covered in writing.

"Why... why didn’t I think of this?! Why?!"

"What are you even saying...?"

Yu Anna wrote "Black Cat" across the board and started listing every ability it had shown so far.

Stealth, shadow, phasing, lightning, flame, physical strength, soundwaves, shock, telekinesis, regeneration.

And then, off to the side.

"C-Code... A?"

"Senior, w-what is that...?"

Code A — a temporary designation for a newly observed monster.

Below that, Yu Anna quickly wrote down stealth, ice blades, teleportation — and then her hand dropped weakly.

"Y-You’re saying... this isn’t just Black Cat? It's a different monster?"

"Wait a second, then this absurd speed..."

"We were mistaken because there’s more than one?"

"Why, why didn’t we notice this!"

"It would’ve been stranger to notice...."

Black Cat was already a bizarre monster capable of completely evading detection alarms.

Now, monsters that looked exactly like Black Cat, using similar abilities, were running wild.

It was so unique that no one had even considered there could be more than one.

Because of that fatal assumption, five hundred people were already dead — and just as the heroes' self-blame hit its peak, Yu Anna stared quietly at the board and muttered.

"...There might be another one."

"What?"

Updat𝓮d from freewēbnoveℓ.com.

As Yu Anna wrote "Code B" beside Code A, the entire room of heroes froze.

Between A and B, she drew an equals sign.

Clenching her fists tightly, Yu Anna thought: two identical entities, possessing identical abilities — like a male and female pair, as monster species sometimes formed.

"Otherwise, the movement speed makes no sense, and neither does the recovery rate."

"Black Cat reaching extinction-class..."

"If it really was extinction-class, it wouldn’t even bother hiding! Black Cat is still despair-class!"

"Wait, if that’s true...."

Right now, there were three despair-class monsters in W-City: Black Cat, Code A, and Code B.

Just as the heroes’ despair deepened to the breaking point, Yu Anna’s voice quivered.

"If that’s the case, then..."

Maybe—.

Feeling a complicated tangle of emotions stir in her chest, Yu Anna summoned her power, breathing hot energy into the already sweltering investigation room.

With a heavy thump, she collapsed into a chair, pressing a hand against her forehead.

If the thought that had just crossed her mind was right... should she feel relieved? Or should she be even more devastated?

To be sure, Yu Anna combed through the video footage again.

"...Haa."

After rewatching the footage, Yu Anna wore an expression that looked halfway between laughing and crying.

"Have we... been getting in the way?"

"Getting in the way...?"

In the meticulously sorted footage, two different behavioral patterns appeared.

One was moving away from shelters, and the other was moving toward shelters.

As Yu Anna stared blankly at the screens, her head drooped.

Crushing helplessness, disbelief — and then, following behind it, a hope that drifted through the void.

It was undoubtedly insane.

If Yu Anna was wrong... this would make what Cage did look like nothing compared to her stupidity.

Even so, she had to do it.

It was the only way to reduce the casualties.

Making up her mind, Yu Anna raised her head and opened her mouth to speak, turning to face the other heroes.