Became a Failed Experimental Subject-Chapter 60: You Better Get a Scolding

“How messed up was the report you wrote? There’s not a single thing correct in it. Didn’t it say he had no critical weaknesses? That we can’t catch him because he just runs away without fighting?”

Electrice, seeing Black Cat not run away, looked at Yu Anna like she was pathetic.

“He has a weakness, he’s not running away, and if I just catch him like this, it’s over.”

“I told you clearly, the Black Cat subjugation is called off. Even if you keep going after him, I won’t help you.”

Yu Anna warned Electrice as she saw her steadily ramping up her power while facing Black Cat.

The subjugation had already felt wrong to begin with—but using Black Cat’s traits to take the civilians in the shelter as hostages and calling that a strategy?

Electrice had given her the perfect justification to stop the hunt.

Now, even if someone asked why she didn’t cooperate in the Black Cat subjugation, Yu Anna had an answer.

“You’re just going to let him go like this? Are you seriously a monster lover?”

As Yu Anna stepped back, Electrice grinned as if this worked out better for her, lifting up a heap of concrete and rebar over her head.

Starlight, who was more of a nuisance than help—if she took down Black Cat here, then the strongest S-Class hero would be none other than Electrice.

“Then I’ll take him down myself. Stay out of it!”

“You really shouldn’t go at him alone...”

Electrice, full of anticipation, unleashed a rain of iron just like before, but Black Cat opened up space again and swallowed the debris.

No matter how Despair-class he might be, if he doesn’t move from his spot, he’s just a punching bag.

Any incoming counterattack could easily be dodged by reaction time alone.

Keep up the pressure like this—and kill him.

“Eh.”

The moment she thought that, the space right in front of Electrice tore open, and something shot out from the gap.

RATATATATAT! Along with the sound of a machine gun, the rebar that Black Cat had swallowed came bursting out all at once.

Electrice, who had transformed into lightning to flee in that instant, screamed in shock as she saw the rebar chasing after her.

“W-What the hell?! Telekinesis?!”

ZEEEEEEN! The rebar, now moving even faster than when Electrice fired it, pierced straight through her.

Getting hit in energy form shouldn’t do any damage. Even if rebar is jammed into her body made of lightning.

That’s how it should have been.

“Kgh?!”

Black Cat’s lightning clinging to the rebar acted like opposing electrodes, tearing Electrice’s body apart.

RIP, RIP. As her skin was peeled away by the pain, her concentration broke, and her body reverted to its physical form.

Right next to her, the rebar that had already flown by once rained down on her again.

Electrice focused all her powers to create a defensive barrier.

Her plan was to use electromagnetic induction to deflect the rebar, sliding it past her.

But then, Black Cat began using the same ability as Electrice and interfered with the electromagnetic field.

“Wh-What is this?! AAAAAHHH!”

CREEEAAK, SCREEEECH—the rebar that had been veering off course began shifting direction, one by one.

Electrice, skewered in the arms and legs by the long steel bars, let out a scream of pain.

She was the fastest psychic among the S-Class heroes—but also the one with the weakest endurance.

“What are you doing?! Backup!”

“I told you, I’m not helping.”

From the moment she said she’d fight Black Cat alone, this was inevitable.

If he’s not running away, it means he’s ready to fight.

A guy who usually bolts at the first sign of trouble choosing to fight meant he was really pissed off—or he already had a counter-plan.

It’s no coincidence Yu Anna hasn’t been able to capture Black Cat all this time.

“You think the same trick’s going to work on Black Cat twice?”

Electrice was already down to half her powers—it was practically the same as being crippled.

There’s no way she can catch Black Cat alone.

Still, an S-Class psychic doesn’t go down that easily.

Yu Anna ignored her call for help, thinking this was a good chance for Black Cat to teach her a lesson.

What caught her attention more was Black Cat’s fighting style.

He had realized he could control conductors using Thunderfang’s powers—and now, he was copying the way Electrice used her ability.

Like a human—he was learning how to use powers.

“Starlight! You trying to get an S-Class hero killed?!”

“You’re the one who told me not to help.”

“Help! HELP ME!”

As Electrice transformed into lightning and tried to flee again, Black Cat did the same and blocked her path.

Rebar spinning rapidly around them like juggling balls created a massive magnetic cage that trapped Electrice inside.

“An isolation chamber...?”

Electrice and Yu Anna’s eyes widened.

This time, he was mimicking Cage’s power.

An overwhelming output, and complete control of the ability.

Even if Electrice tried to escape as lightning, she bounced back inside—an isolation cage custom-made just for her.

Within it, space itself tore open and engulfed Electrice.

“AAAAAAAAAAH!”

Inside the cage, Electrice couldn’t do anything.

Even if she was immune to electric-based abilities, she hadn’t expected this level of power.

Yu Anna, thinking the fight was over, let out a sigh and tried to get Black Cat to stop.

At that moment, the battered Electrice squeezed out the last of her power and snatched a single piece of rebar from Black Cat.

The metal bar glowed red, and a beam-like streak of light shot out.

FWOOOM! The tip of the rebar dug into the ground—Black Cat halted his attack and stopped it midair with telekinesis.

“T-Take it down there! If you don’t stop it, everyone in the shelter’s gonna die!”

“That crazy bitch!”

A tug-of-war of powers—Electrice trying to drive the rebar in deeper, Black Cat trying to pull it out.

Focusing both their powers on one bar collapsed the electromagnetic cage, and the floating rebar came crashing down all at once.

The winner was decided instantly.

CRAAACK! The twisted rebar slithered like a snake and wrapped around Electrice’s body.

One after another, the other rebar followed, soaked in Black Cat’s lightning, binding her completely.

“GRRRAAAAH!”

Then, Black Cat swung Electrice.

BOOOM! Still wrapped in rebar, Electrice was slammed into the ground, her body sparking as her mouth opened.

Then again—BOOM! BOOM! Into the wall, into the ground, and again into the ground.

“S-Sa...Save...me...Staaarlight...”

Bound by rebar and interfered with by Black Cat’s powers, Electrice couldn’t even transform into lightning.

She was just beaten down, one-sidedly.

CRACK, CRACK—the sparks flying off her body started to fade.

“S-Save meee...”

“...Hoo... Black Cat.”

Her entire body shattered, even worse than during the fight with Cage.

Starlight unfolded her arms and stepped forward.

This should’ve been enough of a beating.

As awful as she was, she couldn’t just let an S-Class hero die.

“That’s enough. Let her go now.”

“Grrrr...”

Black Cat was a monster you could talk to—he’d give up his core if you asked, and he prioritized humans over his own kind.

Yu Anna had seen that happen enough times, so she tried to stop him with a light heart.

But Black Cat, as if mocking her, bit into Electrice’s body.

“AAAAAAAAAGH!”

“W-Wait...?! Stop it!”

CRACK, CRACK—the sound of ribs shattering snapped Yu Anna back to her senses.

The brain and the heart—sources of power.

Even though she kept telling herself she didn’t want to kill, Yu Anna had been hesitating.

What she saw when Black Cat fought Cage—his true nature.

You never knew when he’d stop acting strangely and give in to instinct.

Because Black Cat was still a monster.

Could it be that the time bomb had gone off now? Her pounding heart screamed in fear, and her powers reacted in sync.

BOOM! Her punch landed, and Black Cat vanished—Electrice dropped to the ground.

Yu Anna saw Black Cat reappear in front of her, eyes locked on her, standing over the critically injured Electrice, who was coughing up blood.

“You—You can’t kill her!”

Facing off against Black Cat, who was baring his teeth # Nоvеlight # and growling, Yu Anna felt a strange disconnect inside herself.

Why was she stopping him?

Just now, the one who acted more like a monster...was Electrice.

“I get that you’re angry. Showing up like this out of nowhere—I’m pissed too. I didn’t know she’d take civilians hostage.”

Still, no matter what garbage she pulled—she was a hero.

As trashy as she was, she was still called a hero in A-City, having taken down countless monsters.

Sure, her personality was a disaster—but she had saved far more people than she failed to.

She was a sword humanity needed to protect itself from monsters.

I’ll make sure something like today never happens again. From now on, no other hero will come to capture you while you’re just standing there. I’ll stop them.

Now that Electrice had set a precedent, Yu Anna would finally have a say. So the pointless attacks on Black Cat by other heroes...

The more Yu Anna spoke, the worse her self-loathing became.

It was the heroes who suddenly came to subjugate Black Cat, even though he had helped capture the Bad Cats. A hero is supposed to protect civilians. But can someone who takes civilians hostage still be called a hero? Can a monster who protects humans still be called a monster?

Black Cat—if he made even one wrong move, had to be eliminated immediately. Electrice—could do something wrong and still be protected. Heroes are spared just for being heroes. Monsters are killed just for being monsters. For Black Cat, the correct answer is always the wrong one.

...Please, can’t we just end it here?

Even so, Yu Anna had no choice but to protect Electrice. Not just because she didn’t want Black Cat to hurt humans, but also to protect Black Cat himself. If an S-Class hero capable of dealing with a Despair-class monster were to be killed, Black Cat’s danger level would increase. The government would try to send even more support to eliminate a high-risk monster before it became Extermination-class. Black Cat would have to be killed before he got too dangerous. In order to stop that from happening, Yu Anna...

Kh...

Yu Anna’s expression twisted as she realized more and more how contradictory her actions were. She didn’t want to kill Black Cat, but she also didn’t want to leave a monster who threatened civilians unchecked. As a hero, Starlight was supposed to doubt Black Cat until the end—but Yu Anna wanted to believe in him. What was it that she really wanted? At that moment, Yu Anna unconsciously let her power aimed at Black Cat die down.

[Why?]

The wind stirred strangely and gave off a low hum. Did she mishear that? As Yu Anna panicked, the wind echoed again, like a voice seeping out from a dark cave.

[You call that human?]

Huh?

A chill ran down Yu Anna’s spine. A monster was speaking. Not like those that begged for their lives, or said “I’m here,” or copied meaningless human words like some others. Black Cat had spoken.

You... y-you can... talk?

A... Aaahhh...! Aaaaaahhhh...!

While the shocked Yu Anna flinched, she suddenly felt a strange force behind her. Spatial manipulation. Electrice, who was already half-unconscious, had her arms twisted. A cry of pain—Yu Anna covered the twisting space with her own power, burning away Black Cat’s energy.

Stop it. Please. So many words circled in silence inside her mouth. The dust-covered ruins. Even with superhuman regeneration, Electrice was still bleeding and in pain. Yu Anna, having forgotten even the shock that Black Cat had spoken, could only hope he would just leave.

Black Cat stared silently at Yu Anna, then slowly sank into the shadows. Monster signal, lost. Black Cat had fled.

Double arm fractures, both legs broken, cracked ribs, stab wounds and impalements all over. After Electrice was hospitalized in the treatment room, those who heard that she had lost to Black Cat quietly rejoiced.

Is it true Electrice got wrecked? Why isn’t the news saying anything?

They’re not even covering the Cat Tower stuff anymore. I guess that makes sense.

Honestly, she’s probably below Cat Tower tier to Black Cat.

I know someone in the treatment ward—they said her fingers are uneven now.

She’s got scars all over. Guess she can’t wear crop tops anymore?

There’s some leftover ability residue in the wounds or something, so her regen couldn’t fully heal them.

Not gonna lie, it’s insanely satisfying to see Electrice get wrecked like that lol

Even when told a monster had destroyed a hero, the civilians just laughed like it was expected. If people had reacted this way at any other time, the heroes might have been crushed. But now, they quietly smiled too.

Didn’t Electrice say she definitely had a plan? Why didn’t it work?

She ignored it all and just charged in.

She’s no different from Cage.

They say it wasn’t thoughtless—she had some strategy she came up with.

Hey, did you hear? Her plan to capture Black Cat was taking shelter civilians hostage.

What...? Wait, seriously? Black Cat took hits to protect the shelter?

Even if that works, you’d have to be insane to actually do it.

Why is she still considered a hero and not a villain?

The hostage situation in the shelter—undisclosed classified intel. The claim that a hero used civilians as hostages was so ridiculous it could cause mass unrest, so it could never be released to the public. That’s why a full gag order was issued. But it only applied to the outside.

Once the absurd story spread within the W-City hero team, hostility toward Electrice rose—and in proportion, favorability toward Black Cat grew.

Black Cat really is something... He protected civilians from a deranged hero.

If the public ever finds out, it’s gonna blow up.

If he weren’t a monster, he’d be a damn solid ally...

At this point, even as a monster, maybe we should just trust him?

Meanwhile, Electrice, now able to walk, ground her teeth as she heard the whispers of the other heroes.

I didn’t lose. It’s because Starlight didn’t help me. She came along but didn’t back me up. I asked for help—Starlight ignored me...

White scars had formed across her tanned skin. While holding onto parallel bars during rehab, Electrice never stopped talking.

W-City is the worst. The heroes here? Trash. An S-Class hero got hurt, and they’re not even worried—they’re laughing. The civilians are all garbage too. The second heroes disappear, they’ll all become monster chow... and they have the nerve to trash-talk heroes...

Wearing gloves to hide the wounds on her hands, Electrice felt like nothing in W-City had gone her way. The big villain who attacked her. Black Cat. The civilians. The heroes. Starlight. Everything just pissed her off.

You’ll regret this later. You think it’s normal to get S-Class backup? You should’ve taken the chance to kill that monster before he gets stronger. Once he becomes Extermination-class, no one’s coming. You’ll all be left to die...

At that moment, a hero walking across the rehab area saw Electrice from a distance and quietly muttered:

Meow.

Hiik?!

Her legs collapsed beneath her. The other heroes watched Electrice trembling in fear and covered their mouths, laughing quietly.

Recently, teasing Electrice like this had become a trend among the W-City heroes.

She even flinches at cat sounds now.

Black Cat really scared the hell out of her, huh?

Ugh... uuuuugh...

Electrice sat frozen in place, trembling in despair. Her broken body hadn’t healed. Her muscles wouldn’t move properly. She felt the ground beneath her slowly becoming damp.

Swallowed by overwhelming shame, Electrice clenched her fists and started to cry. Just then, Iron Might, who happened to be passing by, stopped and poured his drink over her.

Eh...

Splash. Electrice was soaked. The heroes in the corner who’d been laughing suddenly stopped and exchanged awkward looks.

Is that because she kept making him get drinks in the command room?

Damn... I didn’t think Iron Might held grudges like that.

He’s still an S-Class. Guess he’s not scared of her at all.

Cola dripped from her soaked hair. Iron Might stood beside her silently, staring for a moment—then walked away without a word.