There was currently a major incident shaking up South Korea.
– Former Vice President of the Hero Association, Choi Won-il is mentally ill?
– “The Villain Hunter killed my entire family!” Delusional disorder? Or an elaborate psychological game?
– A murderer who slaughtered his whole family? A split personality?
– Famous actress A reveals her ideal type during a broadcast… the Villain Hunter…
“I’m going out for a bit.”
“Me too.”
“…Where do you two think you’re going?”
“To kill famous actress A.”
“I’m just going to torture her.”
“Both of you, stop talking nonsense and sit down…”
Former Vice President of the Hero Association, Choi Won-il is mentally ill.
Or a madman who killed his own family just to avoid jail time.
The topic began spreading rapidly across various online communities, and from a conspiratorial perspective, there were even some deeply insightful takes suggesting the Villain Hunter truly was behind it all.
Of course—
“But hey, oppa. What’s the truth?”
“What is?”
“Did you really do it? Or is it something even you don’t know about?”
“Yeah, I’m curious, babe.”
“I-I’m curious…! Really…!”
Even the women living in my own house didn’t know whether I was truly involved in the incident or not.
“Curious?”
“Yes!”
The fact that even my colleagues, who knew I wasn’t home at the time of the incident, couldn’t tell the truth—
It made me feel proud as if I had pulled off the perfect act of terrorism.
They say there’s no such thing as the perfect crime, but knowing I’d made it happen gave me a nice boost in self-esteem.
“Hmm…”
These sparkling eyes looking up at me…
That strange pleasure I felt from their gazes started to bring me joy.
Maybe, after having lived so busily with “Choi Won-il” as my sole target, I was finally starting to have room for other emotions.
Can I live a normal life now… even try dating, maybe?
“Anyway, I’ve gained a new power. Want to see it?”
“Yes!”
“Show us!”
As I savored this addictive feeling, I found myself wanting to become a bit more of a normal person—
No longer someone indifferent to everything.
Just as I was about to reveal the new ability I had gained and explain in detail how I carried out my crime—
You fucking bastard!!!
“?”
“?”
“?”
Everyone instinctively turned their heads at the subtle yet harsh curse that echoed in the distance.
“Huh? What was that?”
“What the…?”
In an instant, all attention shifted away from me.
“….…”
Maybe that’s why—
When the twinkling eyes that had been looking up at me disappeared, it felt like that addictive feeling was being taken away by someone else.
“I’ll go check it out.”
Wanting to reclaim that addictive thrill, I quickly stepped out of the house to deal with whatever was happening nearby…
I really do feel more at ease now. My mind is clear.
As I walked to the source of the noise to see what had happened,
I realized just how much peace of mind I had gained lately.
When I arrived at the scene where the swearing was coming from—
“You fucking bastard.”
“I’m sorry…”
“Didn’t I tell you not to lay a hand on the merchandise?”
Slap— Slap—
A man in the distance was slapping another across the face…
Thud— Thud—
…while others beside them were busy digging into the ground with shovels.
…Huh?
It was obvious at a glance.
What those men were doing.
“Boss… is this deep enough?”
“Dig deeper.”
“Understood…!”
They’re burying a body… near someone else’s house.
Illegal corpse disposal.
Men trying to bury a body just 200 to 300 meters away from someone else’s house.
What are they doing, trying to tank the property value?
Not that the property here has any real value.
Still, burying a body near someone’s home could never be seen in a good light.
Go bury it somewhere else.
Slap— Slap—
I walked up to the man who was so busy slapping someone that he hadn’t noticed anyone approaching.
Tap tap
As I approached him from behind and tapped his shoulder—
“Damn it! I told you to dig faster!”
The man snapped without even turning around.
“Yes, boss…? Huh…?”
“…B-Boss…?”
Only then did the two men digging finally look up and notice me.
“You fuckers, if I turn around now, I swear I’ll kill you. Just keep digging.”
The only one who still hadn’t realized what was going on kept swearing nonstop.
I stood there for a moment, curious to see how far he’d go.
“You bastard. You’ve been here three damn months. Shouldn’t you have learned to stay the hell away by now, you dumb fuck?”
Slap— Slap— Slap—
After slapping the other guy a few more times, the man must’ve gotten irritated at the presence he still felt behind him. He snapped his head around—
“I said dig the damn— huh?”
“Let me have a turn.”
I slapped him squarely across the face while he was still looking back at me.
Wham—
I held back a little, but the sound rang out sharp, and the man who got hit tumbled straight into the pit.
…Does this mean I just committed illegal corpse disposal too?
“Aaaagh!!”
Fortunately, the guy wasn’t dead.
The guy, now clutching his nose with both hands as blood gushed out, started screaming at the workers digging the ground, ordering them to attack me.
“Kill him! Now!”
Since I wasn’t wearing my villain hunter mask,
They didn’t know I was an ability user and came at me with shovels, trying to beat me down the honest way.
Swish— Swish—
But there was no reason for me to just stand there and take such sloppy attacks.
I moved a few times, casually dodging their incoming swings.
Thud—
“…….!”
Just as I caught both shovels aimed at my head with one hand and was about to slap those two across the face…
Fwoosh—
“Hmm?”
One of them suddenly began cloaking his right hand in flames. He quickly let go of the shovel I was holding and hurled a fireball at my clothes.
“Oh.”
Thanks to that, my shirt caught fire and began burning fiercely—
But right then, all I could think about was…
If I have that, can I become Fire Fist Ace too?
The thought of becoming the anime hero I watched on TV as a kid completely filled my head.
Sssshhh—
I ripped off the burning shirt with a rough tug, then wrapped the still-flaming cloth around my fist.
“I can do that too.”
“???”
While a non-ability user tried to hit me again with a shovel, I grabbed him, knocked him down,
and ran toward the flame ability user who was now staring at me like I was completely insane.
“Son of a…!”
When I tried to move behind him, he turned to keep me in check. So I grabbed him by the neck and forced his head to face forward.
Just like that scene from the anime that made me bawl my eyes out as a kid…
Thunk—
From behind the man, I swung my fist straight through him, creating a huge hole as my hand burst out from his solar plexus.
Of course…
“Hmm… The anime and reality are pretty different.”
Unlike the grand scene I remembered from the anime,
I realized that reality was nothing but brutal.
“Tch. No romance in this at all.”
I pulled my fist out of his back, then, intending to steal the flame ability for myself, casually brought the blood on my hand to my mouth and swallowed it—
“Next time, just go quietly—”
Buzzzzz—
“Hrk…!”
Suddenly, a mind-splitting pain erupted in my head, and my ears were filled with a deafening, dizzying ringing.
“Ghhk…!”
Agonizing pain surged through my entire body. So intense it was impossible to endure with a clear mind.
At some point, even breathing became excruciating, and as I struggled to understand why…
“Wh…at… the hell… is… this…!”
Blood was streaming from my nose, just like the man who had fallen into the pit.
“Hah… Ha… Hrk…!”
Seeing the state I was in, the corpse dumper—
Perhaps thinking this was his chance, he suddenly rose from where he had collapsed,
raised his shovel high above his head…
“Hrrrgh!!”
…and tried to bring it down on me, who was still gritting through the pain—
Crunch—
Seo-yoon-ah… you came…
Thank god…
This time… Seo-yoon came for me…
Thank god…
Thank…
Th…
Hurts like hell…
That was the last thought I had before I blacked out.
***
Just as Mobia used telekinesis to snap the neck of the man who was about to ambush the villain hunter—
And was about to fly toward Min-hyuk, whose body had started to tear and regenerate over and over again—
“Damniiit!!”
The leader of the group, who had just crawled out of the pit and hadn’t yet grasped the full situation,
lunged forward to attack the villain hunter.
Mobia immediately drew her pistol to shoot him—
“Hands up!”
“……!!”
At some point, the police had arrived and were now aiming their guns at the corpse dumper.
…What the hell is going on…?
Why were the police here?
Why was the villain hunter in that state?
Nothing made sense in this chaotic mess—
I need to get him out of here. Fast.
Mobia and I, who were hiding in the telekinesis, were trying to retrieve the villain hunter and quickly go to Se-eun to treat him.
Pause…
“What are you doing?”
“That person is…?”
As if she’d seen something she wasn’t supposed to see…
Mobia stood frozen in midair, staring off into the distance. Curious about what she was looking at, I turned my head in the same direction—
And there…
“Why the hell is she here?”
A woman with a katana at her waist was calmly walking toward us.
“…She’s the Sword of the Association.”
“And who the hell is that? Why should I care? Is she helping Min-hyuk right now?”
But still…
No matter who she was, what did it have to do with us?
Thanks to Mobia’s telekinesis, we were invisible to her—
And she shouldn’t be able to hear us either, so we just needed to hurry up and get Min-hyuk out of here—
Dip…
Mobia suddenly turned her gun toward the woman known as the Sword of the Association.
Well…
“…What the hell is she?”
“…She’s a monster.”
“You’re calling her a monster?”
“…Yes.”
That woman…
Just now, while I was perfectly hidden under Mobia’s telekinesis—
She looked straight at me and gave a small bow in greeting.
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