Became a Failed Experimental Subject-Chapter 24: This Is Ridiculous...
"We lost Black Cat again... I'm sorry."
A photo of Yu Anna bowing her head appeared in the local W-City news articles.
After Cage’s recent livestream, Yu Anna had become the hero who—yet again—failed to catch Black Cat.
Despite two S-Class heroes working together, despite full civilian cooperation and a complete evacuation, Black Cat still slipped away.
Yu Anna had prepared several excuses, anticipating people might ask why—after all that—she still failed.
"There was a possibility of capture if I continued pursuit, but I chose to protect the S-Class hero, Cage, who was right beside me.
Additionally, had the battle continued, the damage would have escalated exponentially due to Black Cat's unpredictable transformations.
This monster changes powers based on its opponent, so we couldn’t predict what would happen..."
I was protecting a comrade! You wanna lose an S-Class hero?
I was protecting buildings! You wanna lose your entire block?
No, seriously, if that sharp-tongued little bastard starts transforming left and right, tearing shit up, we might end up paying with the whole of W-City just to catch Black Cat.
"I inflicted substantial wounds on Black Cat, so I estimate it won’t engage in high-risk behavior for now.
The damage will likely remain minimal.
To ensure this, I ask for cooperation from civilians and other heroes—please refrain from provoking Black Cat unnecessarily.
I've heard some people are still feeding it—given this latest incident, Black Cat now clearly sees humans as enemies. Feeding it will be even more dangerous than before..."
Anyway, I beat the crap out of him, so don’t go poking the damn thing and causing more chaos.
Stop feeding it.
Thanks to you people, a bunch of idiots think they can capture Black Cat and it’s making everything harder.
Just. Listen. For once.
You saw Black Cat rampaging—what, you wanna see me and him turn W-City into rubble again?
Having thrown out all her carefully rehearsed justifications, Yu Anna reported the damage.
This time, Black Cat had destroyed 83 buildings.
But instead of blaming her like usual—“Why’d you piss him off and cause all this?”—the citizens didn’t express a single complaint.
[W-City should be renamed Yu Anna City]
[Why Black Cat is actually scared of Yu Anna]
[The true nature of a Despair-Class monster—and the woman who holds it back]
[STAR PUNCH! STAR PUNCH!]
People were gleefully sharing a photo of musclebound, big-jawed Yu Anna beating up what looked like a kitten.
In the picture, a golden toy sword dangled from Black Cat’s paw.
That was S-Class Hero Cage, the A-City hero who got seriously injured by Black Cat—and had become the punching bag of W-City.
[That asshole Cage came here blabbering about capturing Black Cat and got my house blown up]
[Starlight’s been training Black Cat just fine—maybe Cage thought he could handle it too after watching her smack him around like a ragdoll]
[The moment Starlight killed Mirage, we all knew she was stronger than Cage. This seals it. Cage stans can't even argue now.]
[If Starlight hadn’t shown up, Cage would’ve died. W-City just saved A-City, FYI.]
[Starlight unnie is so cool 😭😭]
Cage’s fight, broadcast live, showed everyone how badly Black Cat toyed with him.
If Cage had been fighting alone and things went south, he might’ve earned some sympathy.
But the footage had one fatal flaw: even the citizens couldn’t make sense of what the hell he was doing.
[Cage isn’t weak, but he’s a high-tier tank/support hero]
New novel 𝓬hapters are published on ƒreewebɳovel.com.
[Then why’s he acting like a goddamn DPS? And trash-talking DPS at the same time??]
[Why the hell did he go in alone? If he’d teamed up with Starlight from the start, they would’ve caught Black Cat already.]
[Ugh... Classic Cage.]
He had asked for everyone’s cooperation, claiming he’d work with Starlight.
But then he locked himself in with Black Cat trying to look cool.
At first, when he looked like he was overpowering Black Cat, he was hailed as some badass alpha hero.
But the moment he got used like a mop and a mallet, getting ground into dust inside his own prison—he became the arrogant dumbass who ruined everything.
[That pride of his is hot sometimes, but now? He just looks pathetic.]
[He’s a beast when beating on the weak, minimizing collateral damage like a pro.
But the second his opponent’s his level—or stronger—he turns into a chew toy.]
[This is all the Cat Moms' fault. They keep saying Black Cat’s safe, so now a bunch of idiots think they can catch him. That’s what made Cage underestimate him. Cat Moms are ruining W-City.]
[Wait, why are there Cage Stans and Cat Moms, but no Starlight Stans?]
[Uh... maybe stop roasting an S-Class hero's mom? Just saying.]
If anyone was to blame for W-City’s destruction, it was Cage.
That was how strong the public opinion had swung: full praise for Starlight, full blame for Cage.
In the middle of all this, some citizens uploaded heartbreaking footage.
[Black Cat won’t let me pet his head anymore 😭]
[He growls if I try to pet him... did he stop liking humans? 😢]
[You don’t remember me? You used to let me pet your tail...]
[What do we do now, poor Blackie 😭]
[This is all Cage’s fault!]
[I used to be a Cage fan, but after seeing Blackie get mad, I started hating him... 😢]
One of Black Cat’s former feeders had tried to offer meat and pet him—but he bared his teeth and growled menacingly.
After seeing Black Cat destroy a hero like that, no one could ignore the warning.
Rumors started circulating: anyone trying to slip drugs into his food was getting their hands chopped off.
Everyone blamed Cage.
And surprisingly, W-City’s citizens weren’t shocked.
[Wait, this video is from after Cage showed up? Did Black Cat save someone again?]
[He’s still eating the meat though?]
[What the hell? Did he take out another monster?]
[You damn Cat Moms—stop feeding him and start evacuating already]
[Black Cat running away in a panic every time Starlight shows up is kinda adorable]
[Ugh, now we’ve got even more Cat Moms. Fuck.]
People mocked the idea of feeding a monster—
but deep down, they were relieved Black Cat was still out there killing other monsters.
Nobody actually wanted to see a Despair-Class monster rampaging through the city.
And so the big question began to grow:
Why doesn’t Black Cat attack people?
Citizens began settling on one answer: Starlight.
[Dude rips limbs off monsters in one hit—pretty sure Starlight beat that into him with some proper violence training.]
[If he eats a monster, he just throws a tantrum and runs off. But if he ate a person, Starlight might actually kill him. He’s scared of her.]
[She’s doing a great job keeping him in check.]
[Honestly, even if she can’t capture him, as long as she suppresses him, it’s basically like having a second S-Class hero out there.]
[I’m not a Cat Mom, but... this kinda makes sense. Someday we’ll have to catch him, but for now, this setup works.]
[If Starlight’s just making sure he doesn’t attack civilians, isn’t not catching him actually smart?]
[Didn’t they say taming monsters was impossible?]
[There’s a difference between some weak human trying to tame a monster, and beating the shit out of one until it submits.]
[W-City’s probably gonna see a flood of monster researchers now.]
Just like that, public opinion on Yu Anna shifted—
from flawed S-Class hero who couldn’t capture a Despair-Class threat
to the only one capable of suppressing a unique, high-risk Despair-Class monster.
And finally, the man everyone hated—Cage—opened his eyes.
"To the citizens of W-City and A-City... I sincerely apologize for the concern I’ve caused."
With full-body compound fractures—injuries that would have killed anyone who wasn’t a hero—
Cage appeared on camera, face pale, voice weak, a far cry from his usual arrogant self.
"To be honest... I believe it was my own arrogance.
Whenever I sparred with Starlight, I always won.
But her record against monsters was similar to mine, and I... I wanted to prove my strength once and for all."
Cage’s uncharacteristically humble demeanor touched his fans, stirring sympathy.
And when he casually dropped classified info—that he always beat Starlight in direct combat—
malicious reporters ran off to confirm it with her.
She didn’t deny it.
The public mood shifted again.
**[Starlight said herself Cage always beat her in a fight? Damn.]
[Cage isn’t just good at monster hunting—he’s great at taking down villains too.
W-City might not know, but in A-City, Cage is treated like a top-tier hero because he excels {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} at both.]
[Cage is built for defense, Starlight’s an offense specialist. That’s all.]
[Why the hell are we comparing heroes fighting each other? The real measure is how well they take out monsters.]
[Cage took a full beatdown from Black Cat and held out—Starlight would’ve been knocked out with one hit.]
[Starlight: Why get hit? Just dodge lol.]
[Let’s be real, Cage isn’t weak. Black Cat’s just stronger.]
[So Black Cat runs from Starlight... and Starlight loses to Cage?]
In the end, a confusing power dynamic began to form:
Starlight, who defeated Mirage (who had defeated Cage), couldn’t catch Black Cat,
who beat Cage, who had beaten Starlight.
Some citizens finally realized that arguing about “which hero is stronger” was stupid.
Because in the end, depending on how powers interact, the strong can still get eaten by the weak.
[So... we’re not catching Black Cat for a while again, huh?]
[The S-Class hero they brought in is seriously injured, and the only one with containment powers was Cage.]
[The Cat Moms are probably thrilled.]
Black Cat would continue his monster-eating rampage across W-City.
Despite some anxiety, most citizens felt it wasn’t so bad.
As long as they left him to Starlight and didn’t get too close, and handled him cautiously,
Black Cat was a unique creature that was, in a way, helping them.
"...These W-City lowlifes really are unbelievable..."
Watching the citizens breathe a sigh of relief in the face of all this,
Cage muttered from the back of the ambulance, unwrapping the bandages covering his body.
"Nothing's been resolved. That monster Black Cat is still here in W-City,
a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment...
And yet these idiots aren’t even thinking about defusing it.
They’re just happy it hasn’t gone off yet."
In front of him, Yu Anna—there to see off her fellow S-Class hero—
scrolled through the community boards on her phone and scoffed.
"You know what’s really unbelievable? You.
Coming out wrapped in all those ridiculous bandages just for the cameras.
Since when did S-Class heroes get so fragile?"
S-Class psychics had already surpassed the limits of human biology.
Something like full-body compound fractures?
With good food and enough sleep, they’d recover completely in about a week.
Cage, in fact, had faster recovery than most.
Yu Anna herself had nearly healed up before stepping in front of the camera—
so watching Cage ham it up like he was still half-dead had her completely dumbfounded.
