The move was over in an instant—
Almost as if this moment had been eagerly awaited.
Seo-yoon naturally unpacked all her things in the room once used by Seong-won.
And just like that—
“A hero has infiltrated the villain hunter’s secret base, babe.”
“I already quit being a hero.”
“She’s going to arrest us now. Let’s take her down before she can.”
“I assure you, even if everyone here attacked her at once, we still couldn’t win.”
“Tch…”
I had quit being a villain.
Seo-yoon had quit being a hero.
Sae-eun was still in that in-between stage, not quite walking the path of a villain yet.
Hye-won specialized in selling illegal goods rather than terrorism.
And the only one actually fulfilling her role as a villain here was Pyro Bomber.
That’s how the five of us started living together.
Of course—
“You all seemed to be getting along decently last time I saw you, so why are you still so wary of Mobia?”
“Just choose one person, babe. Pick who you’re going to date between us. Then we won’t fight anymore. One of us might die, though.”
Adding one more Seo-yoon into this house didn’t really change my life in any major way.
So I decided to try and manage things so Pyro Bomber and Mobia wouldn’t fight too much.
“If someone has to die in the end… isn’t it obviously going to be Pyro Bomber?”
“You’re worried about me dying, huh? That proves I’m the main girl.”
“‘Main girl’… in South Korea, really?”
“To a villain, laws exist only to be ignored.”
As Pyro Bomber spouted nonsense with complete seriousness, I stuffed her mouth with tteokbokki and resumed eating.
…
I asked Hye-won to post a listing on Telegraph to buy an ability, but—
“None of the abilities look any good…”
Among the people who reached out, there wasn’t a single ability that I actually wanted to buy.
“An ability that turns paper bags into plastic ones… An ability that tells you you’re going to sneeze five minutes in advance…? An ability that makes your sweat smell like flowers…?”
“Don’t buy the sweat one. I like the way your sweat smells.”
“I agree too, oppa.”
“…Both of you, stop talking nonsense and get back to what you were doing.”
Well, yeah…
Who would be willing to sell a truly useful ability that anyone would want?
“Is there anything good…?”
Truthfully, there were a few abilities I did want.
Like one that lets you control nearby water or one that creates a small flame at your fingertips.
Some of them seemed decent enough at first glance, but…
According to Hye-won, most of the people selling those decent abilities were either TV producers trying to use them as an excuse to meet me or undercover cops trying to arrest me through sting operations.
“Hmm…”
Just as I was feeling disappointed again today, thinking I hadn’t found a single good ability—
“Oh, the Word Mage.”
After wrapping up the day’s business, I remembered my plan to steal V’s ability.
‘I’ll have to kill him.’
I decided to come up with a plan to sneak into the luxury apartment he lived in.
“Hye-won.”
“H-Hmm…?”
“Could you make me a pair of custom earplugs? Ones that let me control the sounds I hear at will.”
“U-Um… I’ll… try… to create… a new… sound-absorbing… material…”
“I’ll help you, oppa!”
“You can’t. I’m going to kill someone.”
“Oh…”
“Then I’ll help you, babe!”
“Considering who I’m dealing with, it’s much easier if I go alone. And Pyro Bomber, I’ll need you to keep an eye on Mobia so she doesn’t try to secretly follow me.”
“Leave it to me.”
“Ehh?!”
Leaving Hye-won behind as she started researching various things to create a new material with sound-absorbing properties…
While browsing Telegraph again to search for abilities—
—
– Chat room with user V
—
I happened to come across someone with the exact same name as the guy I was planning to kill.
Out of curiosity, I entered the chatroom.
And then, I saw it.
“Hm… Hye-won.”
“Huh? Wh-What is it…?”
“Looks like I won’t need those earplugs after all.”
“S-Suddenly…?”
“Things just got a lot easier.”
It turned out the person who messaged me… was the real V.
—
V: Give me all the drugs you have.
That amount’s enough to last someone 60 to 70 years if used alone, right?
I’ll give you my ability in exchange.
—
…
V’s home, where I arrived to steal his ability.
“You live in a pretty nice place.”
As expected from someone with a top-tier ability,
His home was overflowing with expensive valuables and wine.
“The goods?”
“I’ll hand them over right after I receive the ability.”
“What guarantee do I have that you won’t just take my ability and run?”
Honestly, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted.
If I went ahead and killed V as originally planned,
I could’ve just taken all the money and valuables here and made a run for it.
However.
“Since I need to learn how to use your ability anyway, I’ll give you the drugs first and then learn.”
“Hmm… Alright. How do you plan to take it?”
If I could learn how to use the Word Mage’s ability directly from V,
it would be far easier to fully make his power my own than trying to figure it out through trial and error.
For the sake of that convenience, I decided to keep him alive for a little while longer.
“I’ll place my hand on your head and… ‘Sleep’.”
Thud…
As V who was slumped on the sofa started to go limp,
I pricked his finger with a needle and drank the blood that flowed from it.
“Summon.”
Then I summoned the rest of the drugs I had pre-packaged and placed them on the table.
Might as well look around the house a bit.
I began taking a look around his home.
“Wow, I wonder how much one of these costs.”
As I wandered through the grand interior that perfectly suited him,
I browsed the expensive-looking items like I was out shopping.
“So he set up a personal room like this.”
I spotted V’s personal room, furnished luxuriously like an office, and went straight in to look around…
“…Hmm?”
On the desk V had been using,
I found a document with the name “Choi Won-il” written on it.
“So Hero Association staff get stuff like this, huh?”
Wouldn’t you want to know anything related to that guy?
So I immediately picked up the document and began reading through it…
“…….”
By the time I was halfway through,
“…Yeah, that’s the Choi Won-il I know.”
There, I saw that a plan I never could’ve imagined had already been put in place.
—
– Choi Won-il had already found someone who would serve his prison sentence in his place by using a Mimicker.
—
To think he planned to throw someone else in prison disguised as himself using a Mimicker…
I was surprised by Choi Won-il for coming up with such a plan—
But what intrigued me even more was V, who knew this kind of information.
If he’s digging into the guy, they probably aren’t on good terms.
The fact that V was investigating Choi Won-il…
It clearly meant he wasn’t exactly on friendly terms with the former Vice President of the Hero Association.
But then…
I couldn’t help but wonder….why exactly was he digging into Choi Won-il?
…Come to think of it, where did the money come from?
I suddenly recalled a news report saying all the assets under Choi Won-il’s name had been seized.
Maybe his wife had some hidden funds?
V, who’s digging into Choi Won-il… Choi Won-il, who suddenly had the money to buy a Mimicker…
I could sense there was something going on between these two that I didn’t yet understand.
…
After confirming that I had completely absorbed the Wor Mage’s ability,
Just before I stood up from my seat, I turned my head and asked him what he planned to do from now on.
“So, you’re no longer an Ability User. What do you plan to do now?”
“Guess I’ll just spend the rest of my life burning through my fortune—
Doing drugs like an addict or something.”
“I see.”
Honestly, I hadn’t asked because I was genuinely curious.
It was just… I wanted to give him a chance to tell me the truth.
That’s why I kept dragging on the meaningless conversation.
“You seem to have a lot of questions.”
“I was just curious about what’s been going on with the Hero Association lately. Choi Won-il, too.”
“I quit being a Hero just yesterday. I don’t know anything about what’s going on with the Association anymore.”
“Hmm…”
Watching him lie to me so naturally,
“So, we’re done seeing each other now, right?”
“Yes. After today, we won’t be seeing each other again.”
He spoke the truth.
“Summon.”
I immediately summoned the revolver and aimed it at his head. Just like that…
“You’re throwing me away now? Getting rid of me just because I’m no longer useful? I didn’t take the Villain Hunter for someone that cowardly.”
Just as I was about to pull the trigger without hesitation—
“You really think I invited you to my house without making any preparations?”
“Is that so?”
“If you’re confident, go ahead and pull the trigger. The moment I die, the trigger I set in my house will go off.”
Seeing V speak such ominous words, I tossed him one last remark.
“I already took the two Ability treatments you bought from Choi Won-il.”
“…What?”
Click—
I looked down at V’s body, a hole clean through his head, and his face frozen in shock.
The moment he died, the air conditioner suddenly kicked on, and I began to hear the sound of something being released into the air.
Just like I mentioned earlier, I had already taken the two Ability treatments while he was asleep.
And I had also removed all the poisons attached to the dispenser next to them.
So nothing was being released from the air-conditioner-disguised sprayer.
“I definitely gave you a chance. I even offered you important information. I really did want to spare you. It’s a shame, honestly.”
The money Choi Won-il used to hire the Mimicker—
It all came from V.
V had secretly bought two Ability treatments from Choi Won-il to keep me in check.
And because this transaction made him suspect that Choi Won-il might eventually harm him, he started digging into his past.
“I’ll make good use of your money.”
Originally, I should’ve headed straight to Choi Won-il’s house.
But knowing I’d never get the chance to come back here again once I left,
I started gathering anything in V’s house that looked like it might be worth something.
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