I’m Not That Villain

68 – Turning Point (5)

Flesh Donut.

A man with an appearance befitting that gruesome name was sitting in the bar Ju Hwarin mentioned.

If there was anything notable, it was the corpse sprawled next to him. A woman who looked like a clerk had a large, ghastly hole in her chest.

Clink.

The man, as if he owned the place, took out a bottle of liquor and glanced back at us. After confirming our presence, he took out another bottle.

“…Could you wait a moment? I just want to savor this feeling for a bit.”

“…….?”

The man poured the liquor into a glass. He held the blood-stained glass up to the light…

And then he tossed the whole thing, ice and all, into his mouth.

Crunch, crunch.

The man, chewing on the ice, swept his empty, fish-like eyes over us. He licked his lips as he looked at Ju Hwarin and Lily.

“You’re beautiful.”

A pure compliment.

But it was far from admiring a beautiful woman.

It was more like finding a toy he liked.

The man’s gaze turned to me. I stared blankly back at him.

“…Are they your girlfriends?”

“…….?”

“I asked out of pure envy. A normal life. It’s something quite distant from me. It’s a story I can no longer return to.”

The man muttered as he poured himself another drink.

“My appearance was always a bit nasty… but now it’s so bad that it’s hard to face. Don’t I have no nose? And I’m bald… well, I know very well that my appearance is unpleasant in many ways.”

“What nonsense is he talking about?”

“I’m saying that if I had a normal face like yours, I wouldn’t be doing this. I wanted to live like you. Having pretty women by my side, enjoying pleasant conversations with them…”

The man muttered in a wet voice.

“Spending sticky nights with them, that’s the kind of life I mean. But it was impossible for me from the start. Because my father tore off my nose.”

“…….”

“I’m a victim too. A victim of domestic violence… I didn’t want this either…”

Crash!

In an instant, the man sprang up. The cup he threw hit the floor and shattered into pieces.

A sudden movement. I immediately stepped back in response.

The other two did the same. The man’s hand brushed past us as we retreated the distance he had closed.

Clang!

The desk where the man’s five fingers touched was carved in a circle.

He started to laugh, his shoulders shaking.

“Your reactions are quick.”

I was slow.

It was only thanks to Scarlett assisting my senses that I was able to pull back in time.

The man gave us a once-over.

His voice changed.

So did his manner of speaking.

“You like this?”

“What?”

“I asked, you like this, you fucker? There’s two of you. Let me have a taste of one. Sharing. Sharing is a virtue, isn’t it? Just give me one hole. Let me stick it in myself.”

“……”

“Let’s have some fun together. Huh? We’re all men. Just give up one of you. Then I’ll let the other one go. Think about it. One woman for two lives. Sounds like a good deal, right?”

The man licked his lips.

“You see, I like to make holes where there aren’t any. If I dig my hand deep inside, I can forget the pain of loss. It’s like the me that can’t stick it in, gets to stick it into someone else. So, just share a little. I’ll use it well and give it back. Ah, of course, it won’t be moving anymore.”

I blinked.

I checked to see if I’d misheard.

“Are you a eunuch?”

CRASH!

The man violently smashed the bottles on the display shelf. Panting heavily, he glared at me.

“Won’t you shut up?”

No.

All I did was double-check what *he* said, so why’s he getting so worked up?

I looked back at Ju Hwarin with a bitter expression. I whispered to her.

“Are all criminals just b*stards like that?”

“…Hmm…not all of them, but…it feels like there are no normal ones!”

“Really?”

Ah.

The guilt that had been creeping up in preparation for any unforeseen events.

Go back down.

The orb floating near my shoulder moved. I lightly grasped the void energy that began to slowly emanate.

“Well, there’s no need to feel sorry for the opponent.”

Indeed, it was necessary.

Street cleaning.

“If you like holes so much, wouldn’t it be better to have one drilled into your own body?”

“…Heh heh.”

The man moved.

“I don’t have a taste for sticking things into a man’s body, but I’ll make sure to put holes in you from head to toe.”

“Taste, huh.”

I moved my hand.

“Go ahead. Idiot. If you can.”

. . .

A battle between those with supernatural abilities.

Ju Hwarin, who had fought with ability users several times, roughly knew how the situation would unfold.

Battles between ability users usually do not end in an instant. They start with a probing battle to prepare for the opponent’s possible tricks…

It usually turns into a long-term battle where each other’s abilities are gradually revealed.

But she was an exception.

Why?

Because she had the magic bullet!

If she showered bullets and hit the jackpot, it was game over. In the past, she had to utilize all kinds of terrain and dig into the opponent’s weaknesses…

This cheating-like exclusive equipment.

It skipped all the steps.

Not only did it supplement the lacking firepower, but it also increased the overall probability. Therefore, skipping the probing battle and excluding the opponent’s tricks as much as possible…

The battle would end quickly by unilaterally pouring firepower from a distance.

Such advantageous fights are usually hard to see even in the upper ranks of SR. No matter how great the ability is, being able to fight from a distance is a huge advantage, and even the hit rate is corrected, so even if she shot roughly, it would hit the opponent, which is an incomparable superior ability.

“……?”

But you know.

The world of Ju Hwarin, who considered herself special enough, collapsed in an instant.

With an absurd black-purple spark, half of the store blew away.

“…Huh…?”

Something flashed for a moment.

Something really flashed. That was the end. It seemed like the black mirror caught some black-purple energy…

And then her vision flew away.

Literally, pure white.

Sizzle…

Blackened ashes stuck everywhere. The black flames that had risen in the scene of destruction were burning the remaining debris, poking around here and there.

And within that…

The villain we had just been talking to existed.

With parts of the upper body and the entire lower body eaten away, only half of the head remained.

“…Th-this is…this is, I mean…”

Not a reconnaissance.

Nor a battle where we gained the upper hand.

Nor a prolonged engagement exchanging moves.

None of that.

The opponent just literally vanished. Engulfed by an unknown power.

No. What is this? It’s strange.

Such destructive power…it doesn’t make sense.

“W-what…what is this…”

Heukgyeong loosened his hands. He brushed off the black-purple current clinging to his coat.

Lily sighed.

“…As always, your output is overpowered. Please control your strength. The shop is completely destroyed.”

“I tried not to be careless, but it feels like I used more power than necessary…I’ll try to restrain myself.”

The casual conversation that continued as if nothing had happened was hard to get used to.

So…uh…um…well…

Heukgyeong used his ability.

In a single moment, the villain in front of him turned to dust.

Are you saying that just the aftermath of his ability blew away half the building?

“You, you…you…what the…”

It’s an abnormal destructive power.

And the preparation time is ridiculously short.

What about the accuracy? The output itself is so high that there was no need to consider accuracy at all.

Everything in front of him was blown away, so it was strange to even think about whether it hit or not.

And yet, there doesn’t seem to be any downside to this ability. The person who used this destructive ability looked perfectly fine.

If I had to nitpick…

He was munching on something like an energy bar.

But for showing such destructive power, isn’t the risk too small? Why is this man, who has such an ability, doing something like craftsmanship?

My head is spinning. But Juhwarin’s eyes sparkled.

“My…my friend…!”

A thrill runs through his whole body.

“My friend is freaking strong..!”

“Yeah. Freaking strong.”

“Ugh!! Partner! Be my lifelong partner! Let’s sweep this industry together!”

“That’s a bit… Anyway, Juhwarin. Half of the head is left… Can we still get the bounty with this?”

“As long as identification is possible! Even half a face is enough!”

There’s nothing more troublesome than having a strong enemy.

But what if that strength is on your side?

Ju Hwarin clung to Heukgyeong.

This person…

Whether as a craftsman or a possessor of abilities…

He’s someone you must never let go of!

. . .

The nights spent roaming the streets increased.

Crime scenes scattered throughout Jung-gu, Seoul. And the countless villains that settled in between.

I became a vigilante by night and a bounty hunter at the same time. The ability-wielding criminals active in Jung-gu, Seoul were certainly mostly those with tricky abilities, but…

What good are tricky abilities?

I sweep them away before they can even use them.

I acted without giving them a chance. And all the infamy I accumulated…

I gave it all in the name of ‘Ju Hwarin,’ just as he wanted.

“I am the greatest killer and bounty hunter of my life!”

As if to prove she wasn’t just an attention seeker, she openly enjoyed it. It felt like she loved the fame itself, not just building a reputation to find her sister.

I also didn’t need to worry about penalties from infamy, so it was a very good deal.

She was happy to gain the fame she wanted.

And I could clean up the streets and make money at the same time.

Moreover, the villains, like chunks of flesh donuts, were all just a bunch of crazies. Thanks to that, I could clean up Jung-gu, Seoul without a shred of guilt.

The number of famous villains I killed exceeded a hundred.

I could feel them sensing something strange and slowly leaving the streets.

The crime rate was decreasing day by day. As a result, the streets were becoming peaceful again.

Of course, the battles themselves hadn’t disappeared. The power struggle between the enforcement agency and Hundred Eye continued daily.

But still.

The heinous crimes had completely decreased.

This should have happened long ago. I didn’t intend to actually help Hundred Eye’s law enforcement…

Well, isn’t it good when things turn out well? If the law enforcement gets cleaned up, Hundred Eye will have less work to do, making it easier to push the enforcement agency out of here.

Moreover, the earnings were quite substantial. I could get my hands on a huge amount of money in just two months, something I couldn’t even touch during my artisan life.

Ah!

Oh, possessor of supernatural abilities!

It’s like winning a real lottery!

I invested all the money I earned into improving the facilities and steadily piled it up in the safe.

At the same time.

Things started to happen.

“…Hundred Eye has declared an all-out war with the enforcement agency. They’ve even set a date.”

A real organized war had broken out.

Jung-gu, Seoul suddenly became a battlefield. In the true sense of the word.

. . .

“Senior.”

“Yui.”

Executor Baeksan spoke calmly. Instead of a body, a machine was attached to his right arm, hidden by clothes.

Yui looked at it with pity. Since the incident at Spa Land…

His senior had lost his right arm.

By that monstrous ability holder, Black Mamba.

“From now on, this place will become a real battlefield. Fights will break out everywhere. Neither the enforcement agency nor Hundred Eyes will back down… Urban warfare will break out day and night.”

“…….”

“Current Seoul Jung-gu has been placed under lockdown. No one will be able to leave until this is over. And what we need to do is identify the illegal arms manufacturer Viper in this war.”

Baeksan put a cigarette in his mouth.

“Now we really step away from the enforcement agency’s work. We must focus solely on our task. Based on the information we’ve gathered, ‘Heukgyeong’ is Viper. Including the time of appearance, it’s almost certain.”

“…….”

“After identifying him, we will withdraw from this front. That’s what we came here for.”

“…But how exactly can we identify him? We don’t even know where he is.”

“There is a link. There’s a villain who goes around killing people who leave malicious comments about Heukgyeong.”

Baeksan draped his coat over his shoulders.

“That villain could be Heukgyeong, or a follower of Heukgyeong. Either way, we’ll catch and interrogate them. Then Heukgyeong’s location will be revealed.”

“…How do we track that person…”

“It’s simple. Absurdly simple.”

Baeksan cracked his knuckles.

“It’s just a matter of me writing malicious comments. Get ready. We need to handle everything and get out before a full-scale war breaks out.”

. . .

“Minjun.”

“It’s Han Dojun, sister.”

Choi Yeseo, the fixer from the Shark Tooth Major Fixer Office, popped a lemon candy into her mouth.

“Are you sure? The recent sharp decrease in the number of villains is because of ‘the three people.’ And among them, there’s someone who uses an ability similar to the one seen in the ‘Black Mirror’ footage.”

“I’m sure.”

“Good.”

Choi Yeseo rolled the candy with her tongue.

“They say the one leading them is a hitman called ‘Matan’… Let’s catch him and make him spill the location of the Black Mirror.”

“Senior, isn’t it dangerous?”

“You know the current situation is more dangerous, right? We followed the Hundred Eye organization to Spa Land to find out what kind of ability criminal organization they are…”

Choi Yeseo shuddered.

“The class is different. This place is full of dangerous people. They said there are at least 25 more like Black Mamba, right?”

“I don’t think you’re falling behind, senior.”

“If you let your guard down, you’ll lose your head just the same. And now, they’ve even set a real war date… It’s practically a declaration from the Hundred Eye side. If you don’t want to get caught up in the war, leave Jung-gu, Seoul.”

The sour taste rises.

Choi Yeseo stood up.

“Matan’s main activity stage is Jung-gu, Seoul, so we can’t leave here. So let’s handle things as quickly as possible and withdraw from the front line. We came to make money, we can’t get caught up in someone else’s war and get hurt. Let’s move quickly. Yeonjun, contact Matan separately. Use the request as an excuse to have a conversation.”

“It’s Han Dojun, sister.”

. . .

“…Hmm.”

Theresa, a follower of the Bad Sector, tapped her cheek with her hand.

She had been busy. Very busy.

A sudden call from her master. And because of that, she had to make a few additional plans.

The escape of the Bad Sector.

It was a plan she had to make, even if it was unavoidable.

But now, it’s over. All the plans are ready, and her master will soon come out into the world again…

It’s time to handle the tasks she had been entrusted with until then.

Viper.

The man her master is chasing.

And he is…

Probably the one called Black Mirror.

Theresa stopped tapping her cheek. She reached out and checked the organized documents.

Jung-gu, Seoul. Here it is. The base of Black Mirror.

But she hasn’t found the exact location yet. Still, she secured at least a minimal connection…

“Renata Lyudmila, president of the trading company ‘Fabrica’.”

She just needs to follow her.

Then all the pieces will fall into place.