I Woke Up and Found I Had Become the Villain

Day 7

“Hmm.”

The warden looked down at the four inmates who had become flattened jerky and let out a suppressed groan.

What on earth could have happened here?
Only superpowers could kill people in this manner.

However, this is Tartarus.
The villains imprisoned here are all unable to use their superpowers due to suppression devices.
Even the guards who can use superpowers are set to receive an alarm the moment they use them.

That rule applies to everyone without exception.

Could it be…

“Has there been no confirmation of an external intrusion yet?”

“W-well… The check is complete, but there are no traces of intrusion anywhere.”

Hearing the subordinate’s report from behind, the warden’s brow furrowed.

What on earth is going on here?
Who could have committed such a horrific act?

“The CCTV… would be useless, I suppose.”

“Y-yes, that’s right.”

This was someone bold enough to commit murder inside Tartarus.
Moreover, whatever they did was untraceable even by superpowers specialized in tracking, to such an extent.

Such an opponent wouldn’t be caught by mere CCTV cameras.

It was then, as the warden was thinking about how to solve this situation.
“D-Director! We found it!”

“What?”

A shout from a guard running from afar.
Surprised, the director’s eyes widened.

How?
How did they find it?
No, more importantly, who is the culprit?

Seeking such answers, the director looked at the approaching guard.
The guard, panting heavily, spoke urgently.

“Do you remember the prisoner confined in the solitary cell on the lowest floor?”

The lowest floor… solitary cell?
If it’s that place….

“Are you talking about the girl who committed heart cannibalism?”

“Yes! That girl was the culprit!”

…!

At the guard’s answer, the director’s eyes bulged open.

It was unbelievable.
No, it was impossible to believe.

That girl was wearing a device to suppress her abilities.
Moreover, the solitary cell located on the lowest floor of Tartarus boasts such strength that even a first-class ability user couldn’t break through with full power.

From such a cell, how on earth did the girl escape and commit murder?

No, more importantly, how did this guard in front of me discover this fact?

With such a question in mind, the warden opened his mouth.

“Are you certain?”

“Yes, I’m certain. Just in case, I checked all the CCTVs of Tartarus, and it captured that girl escaping from the solitary cell and killing the villains here.”

“Huh-.”

The warden let out a hollow laugh.

She committed murders without leaving any trace.
Moreover, a girl who could come and go from Tartarus’s solitary cell as if it were her own home, to think she would be caught by mere CCTV.

However, more than dozens of people have already confirmed those CCTV footage, so it couldn’t be some kind of illusion.

“I understand. I should check that footage myself first.”

With those words, the warden hurriedly moved to his room.

* * *

“Ha! Haha! Ahahaha-!”

Returning to his room and checking the CCTV, the warden laughed like a madman.

The monitor in front of him showed the image of Cheon Seoa moving by tearing through space.

Of course, there are abilities that allow one to move by leaping between spaces.

But no one could move by ‘tearing’ space.

As far as the warden knew, only one being was capable of that.

‘It’s the Heavenly Lady!’

His master.
One of the nine most vicious villains reigning at the pinnacle of the Illuminati.

The oldest villain since the concept of ‘villain’ was established, active from ancient times to the present.

A being who uses the power of demons residing in hell.

The Agent.

A being whose name, appearance, and age are unknown, and thus is only called ‘The Agent’.

It was certain.
The Cheon Seoa reflected on the monitor was clearly the Heavenly Lady that his master, the Agent, had been looking for.

“I never thought such luck would come to me!”

It was good that he had been cooped up here in Tartarus all this time!

The director expressed his joy with such thoughts.

He’s not the only one looking for the Heavenly Lady.

The Agent had deployed numerous people to search for the Heavenly Lady.

Other villains of the Illuminati were also using their own people to search for the Heavenly Lady.

Of course, all nine villains were calling the Heavenly Lady by completely different names.

“This, this is not the time. I must contact the master immediately…!”

Bang!

Suddenly, an explosion echoed in the ears of the director who was immersed in joy.

Simultaneously, the solid building of Tartarus shook violently.

“Wh-what! What’s happening!”

The director, startled by the sudden explosion, shouted angrily.
However, everyone nearby was also surprised by the sudden explosion and didn’t know the cause.

Deren’s expression contorted at that moment.

Bang!
Boom!

Once again, several explosions occur.

At the same time, Deren realized where these explosions were coming from.

The deepest part of Tartarus.
A place created to imprison villains who committed the worst imaginable crimes.

He realized that these explosions were occurring in what was conveniently called the ‘solitary confinement’.

And.

“Damn it!”

As far as Deren knew, there was only one being capable of creating explosions of this magnitude.

A powered individual who lost his parents to the Heart Devourer and only wished for revenge against it.
However, unable to reach the Heart Devourer, he had redirected his anger towards managing numerous villains in Tartarus.

“Kang Taeshin! You idiot!”

Kang Taeshin.
Known to possess the power of ‘explosion’, classified as a Grade 3 ability.

But the power of the explosions occurring even now, and the fact that they could affect even Tartarus, would easily make it a Grade 2 ability.

Moreover, Deren suddenly realized why he had done this.
And who he was targeting with these actions.

“This damn bastard! How dare he target the Heavenly Lady?”

There was no longer any lingering attachment to Tartarus.
After all, he didn’t belong to Tartarus or the Hero Association, but to the villain organization Illuminati, where the nine most heinous villains reigned at the top.

Therefore, the warden, my lady.
In other words, he was trying to smuggle Cheon Seoa out of this place and return to his master.

Kugugu-!

“If even the slightest scratch appears on my lady’s body, I will never let you die easily!”

Kwajik! Kwajijik!

Everything around him twists and compresses.
The warden who performed such a miracle rushed towards the solitary cell.

Meanwhile, in the solitary cell located at the lowest level of Tartarus.

Cheon Seoa, who was imprisoned there.

“Why are you doing this to me?”

As the guard, with eyes rolled back in anger, rushed towards her causing powerful explosions in all directions, she said with a puzzled expression.

“I didn’t do anything to you.”

“Heart Devourer! Did you think I wouldn’t recognize you just because you’re in a different form!”

“Heart Devourer?”

At the guard’s shout, Cheon Seoa tilted her head.

She is just Cheon Seoa, not the Heart Devourer.
Why did this person in front of her confuse her with someone else?

“I’m Cheon Seoa. Heart Devourer? Who is that person?”

“Are you still putting on that ridiculous act? This is a suppression device that can seal even a first-class ability user! Only the Nine Villains can use abilities while wearing it! And!”

Didn’t you perform heart predation first?

Kwagagang!

Dozens of intense explosions occurred around Cheon Seoa.

Intense shockwaves spreading in all directions, along with intense heat that incinerated everything to ashes.

Although it wasn’t enough to destroy Tartarus, it was still powerful enough to shake it unsteadily.

However.

“Hmm, heart predation. Heart predation. What’s the problem with this heart predation thing? I really don’t understand.”

Cheon Seoa walked out of the explosion, looking too calm, and tilted her head.

Perhaps she had spent too much time in the Repair World, and even her basic common sense had been adjusted to that of the Repair World.

However, Cheon Seoa knew all too well that even when she lived on Earth, heart predation wasn’t something that would cause this much anger, disgust, or fear in someone.

To begin with, for Cheon Seoa, who had entered the Dao stage and transcended all laws, rules, and causality, forgetting didn’t exist.

Thus, the guard continued to cause explosions, trying to kill Cheon Seoa.
How long did this non-confrontation continue between the guard attacking Cheon Seoa and Cheon Seoa remaining unaffected?

“Stop, Kang Taeshin!”

Kwajijik!

A man appeared and shouted angrily.
Everything around him was twisting and compressing.

The guard called Kang Taeshin was surprised by the sudden appearance of the man and the miracle he performed.

“Di-Director? How did you get here? No, more importantly, that ability!”

The guard, Kang Tae-shin. The warden he knew.
No, the warden known to the world was a human without any special abilities.

That’s why at this moment, the sight of the warden easily compressing the walls and floor of Tartarus, which even a first-class ability user couldn’t break, was enough to surprise and confuse Kang Tae-shin.

Meanwhile, the warden looked at Kang Tae-shin with angry eyes, but the moment his eyes met Cheon Seo-ah’s.

“I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you, Heavenly Lady.”

The warden said reverently, kneeling on both knees and bowing his head.

At this, Kang Tae-shin’s eyes filled with even more shock.

“Heavenly Lady. I’m sorry, but I’m not a Heavenly Lady. I’m just Cheon Seo-ah.”

“I know. However, He told me to deliver these words when I meet the Heavenly Lady.”

Despite Cheon Seo-ah not even knowing what a Heavenly Lady was, the warden acted as if nothing was amiss.

Perhaps it was natural, as the agent had only considered Cheon Seo-ah as the Heavenly Lady, without uttering the word in front of her.

Meanwhile, the warden bowed his head once again and spoke in a reverent voice.
“Gujunggumajingyeol. Thanks to the grace you bestowed upon me, Heavenly Lady, I was able to achieve my revenge.”

“Ah!”

The moment the word ‘Gujunggumajingyeol’ came out of the warden’s mouth, Cheon Seo-ah finally understood why the person in front of her was calling her the Heavenly Lady.

Gujunggumajingyeol.
It was one of the magic techniques she had passed on to help a pitiful human she first met in the past, as a small act of kindness.

However.

“I can’t believe you’ve survived until now. You must have trained quite diligently.”

Cheon Seo-ah said, nodding her head with an impressed expression.

The director was simply bowing his head silently towards Cheon Seoa.

Kang Taeshin had a bewildered expression on his face, as if he couldn’t understand the situation unfolding before his eyes.

What on earth.

“Di-Director? What is going on?”

What could be happening?

It was at that moment when Kang Taeshin voiced his confusion through his own mouth.

Riiip-.

Suddenly, the space behind Cheon Seoa’s back tore open, and a man walked out of it with heavy steps.

The director bowed his head even lower, while Kang Taeshin, surprised by the man who walked out of the torn space, muttered.

“The… Agent…?”

The Agent.
One of the nine most vicious villains who created and reigned at the apex of Illuminate.

However, in reality, he was such a pitiful person.
And because of that, he was someone who received a small help from Cheon Seoa.

That man smiled at Cheon Seoa and said.

“It’s been a long time, Lady Cheon.”

“It has been a long time indeed.”

Cheon Seoa also smiled back at the man and replied.