A day had passed since the special episode about the Villain Hunter aired on the That’s What I Want to Know TV program.
Only then did I finally hear the news that the date for my trial had been set.
Takes forever just to hold a trial.
Considering the condition my body was in, the trial had been endlessly postponed, and only now was it finally scheduled.
I wonder how much time I’ll get.
I couldn’t help but grow a little curious about what sentence I might receive. Of course—
No way… is it really part of the Association President’s plan for me to actually serve time?
Whatever plan my imaginary friend had in mind, I hoped it didn’t involve me doing time behind bars.
Hoping to ask about whether it was now safe to remove the ability control devices linked to my life, I kept waiting for the Sword of the Association to visit the detention center…
But several days had already passed without a single visit, and I couldn’t help but feel something was off.
“…Is she that busy?”
Under normal circumstances, that woman would visit the detention center once or twice a day just to check on my condition. Her absence made me suspicious, though only for a moment.
Step… step…
Oh, maybe she’s here.
Just then, I heard footsteps approaching.
Thinking that the Sword of the Association had finally arrived, I lay there pretending I still couldn’t move.
Step, step…
“…Hmm?”
But as the footsteps drew closer, I became increasingly aware of the thick, metallic scent of blood filling the air.
“….…”
In that moment,
I immediately realized something was wrong.
I pressed my right hand to the floor, trying to use my third-person perspective ability to check what was happening beyond the iron bars…
Damn it…
The ability control device was partially restricting that power too. Normally, I could adjust the viewing angle however I wanted, spinning it around at will. But now, my perspective wouldn’t budge. It was stuck, only showing me the space directly in front of my head, as if locked in place.
In the end—
Whatever. I’ll figure something out.
I turned my head toward the bars, pressed my face to the floor, and kept pretending to be unconscious. Watching what was happening above me through my limited third-person view, I silently prayed that the person approaching was the Sword of the Association.
Step… step…
The figure finally walked right up to my detention cell and revealed themselves—
…A villain.
In the man’s hand, now standing right in front of the bars, was the severed head of a prison guard who used to stop by and check on me.
“Hmmm?”
One look told me everything I needed to know.
After the special episode about me aired on That’s What I Want to Know, the villains must’ve realized I was in a weakened state… and now they were trying to kill me and ride the wave of fame.
“Is he already dead?”
As proof, another male villain who followed in behind was holding up a phone, ready to record.
They were planning to either film themselves hunting me down or post proof photos online for attention.
“Shit… We were gonna live stream ourselves slicing the Villain Hunter’s throat…”
Live stream? That didn’t even occur to me.
Villains who’d willingly expose their real-time location through a broadcast made me think they must be seriously confident in their skills.
And just then—
Creeaak–
The guy naturally bent the iron door and stepped into the room.
He began to show signs of approaching me.
So, you’re a supernatural strength ability user too.
I figured out that he was also an individual with supernatural strength ability using brute strength.
Just a little closer.
As I searched for a way to take down this troublesome ability user who was equipped with powers suited for combat, I waited for the moment he’d drop his guard so I could subdue him in one swift move.
Tap, tap—
The supernatural strength ability user lightly tapped my fallen body with the tip of his foot a few times.
“Start the livestream already. Let’s just slice his throat and head back. We’ll stuff and mount the Villain Hunter’s head in our house.”
“Wait, is that seriously going to be the title?”
“Duh, of course. Use ‘In the Middle of Inheriting the Throne’. I mean, the Villain Hunter mainly used supernatural strength too, right? So if I wear this mask from now on, won’t I be good to go?”
Maybe he truly believed I was already dead because his attention was completely fixed on the other villain holding the phone.
Can’t afford to let my guard down.
I tried to grab the unsuspecting man by the ankle and hurl him, but—
“What the hell? He’s not dead yet?”
Since the ability suppressor was still keeping my power locked down, I lost in a pure contest of strength against the villain.
Damn ability suppressor.
Crash!
I took a kick straight on and slammed into the wall.
“What the hell? Is the Villain Hunter really this weak?”
Luckily, despite everything—
Because the elixir had hardened my bones, it had further enhanced my physical body. Even without the augmented alloy suit, I didn’t feel any abnormalities in my bones at all.
Just then—
“We’re live now.”
“Alright.”
Since it was impossible to overpower the man in a pure contest of strength, I decided to confront the villain by combining several different abilities.
“Kneel.”
First, I tried to subdue the villain using word magic, but—
“He broke free.”
“?”
Right behind him, a supporting villain aiding the supernatural ability user had waved his hand a few times and dispelled the word magic that had made the villain begin to kneel.
“Wow… An ability that cancels out other abilities?”
To think there was an anti-caster, someone who could nullify abilities, supporting the supernatural strength user from behind… In a situation where the worst of the worst had combined—
Whoosh—
The supernatural strength ability user charged at me and tried to strike my head with his knee. I raised both hands to block the blow—
Crash!!
Unable to withstand the impact, the wall shattered, and my body was flung straight out of the detention center.
What a troublesome combo.
If the enemy had an ability that could even nullify Mobia’s telekinesis, then the only way to defeat them would be through sheer physical force.
Man, today’s one of those days where I really miss the Association’s Sword.
In a situation where I was losing in a fight that had always been my strength—
If I just touch him and put him to sleep… would that get canceled too?
As I racked my brain, trying to come up with any way to beat them—
Whoosh—
Suddenly, the villain who used supernatural strength appeared right in front of me.
Teleportation really is a cheat.
I could tell that he, like me, was a multi-ability user who possessed several powers.
Bang!!
This time, the supernatural strength user swung his fist to strike my head, but I raised both arms and blocked the attack.
“For someone on the verge of death, you’re pretty quick!”
Excited by the ongoing battle, the multi-ability user immediately vanished from my line of sight.
Fortunately, I was still using the third-person perspective, so I saw him teleport behind me.
He lifted the machete hanging from his waist, aiming once again to crush my skull.
“Stop.”
To buy even a fleeting moment, I used speech magic to slightly freeze his movement.
“Hnngh…!”
I twisted my body around, pressing close to him to minimize the impact—
Grin…
As if he had anticipated even this.
He suddenly looked up at the sky…
Ah. Got caught right in it.
“Ah~ Villain Hunter. Got way too famous for your actual skills.”
He teleported into the sky with me—
Thud—
And slammed his fist down, sending me plummeting toward the ground.
Crash!!
I was smashed into the hardened prison yard with such force that it left a massive crater.
That hurts my pride.
That was when I realized just how effective the elixir had been.
Normally, an impact like that would have shattered bones and torn flesh, activating my body’s regeneration ability.
But even though my flesh was torn, I could feel that my bones were still intact.
“Man, you’re one tough bastard. Aren’t you a bit too hard to kill?”
As I dragged my recovering body out of the crater—
Tap…
“Hmm?”
I saw the ability suppressors that had been locked around both my arms break apart from the recent impact and fall to the ground.
And just like that…
“……”
Without the suppressors, my body didn’t feel any different or show any signs of malfunction.
“So I can finally use 75% of my power now.”
I tried to quickly remove the remaining ability suppression devices as well.
Whoosh—
But before I knew it, the superhuman with monstrous strength was already back in front of me.
It seemed he had concluded that blunt force wouldn’t be enough to kill me, and so he grabbed my right arm, trying to tear it from my body.
“Summon.”
I immediately summoned a needle and flicked it with my finger, landing it squarely on his fingertip.
“Huh? What the—does that thing have poison or something?”
The man instinctively backed away the moment the needle pricked him, probably assuming it was poisoned.
“It’s my first time stealing a multi-ability user’s powers, so I’m curious to see what happens.”
I dipped a finger into the blood that was smeared on my right arm and brought it to my mouth.
“Wow… I didn’t know our dear Villain Hunter had such a twisted little hobby.”
For a moment, I wondered. If I consumed the blood of a multi-ability user, would I really gain all of their powers?
Thump… thump-thump… thump-thump-thump…
I began to hear the sound of my heartbeat growing louder and more intense as the number of abilities I possessed increased.
“…What the hell?”
“What’s wrong, man?”
“Hey…! I-I suddenly can’t teleport!”
“What?”
The voices of startled men up ahead echoed briefly. Only for a moment.
Before I knew it…
Thump… thump… thump… thump…
I found myself inside a darkness where nothing existed.
Domain Expansion?
I realized it instinctively.
This space I was now in…
It was the same dark place the Association’s Sword had entered a few days ago to protect me from that cult’s god.
Of course—
Turns out it’s a place where I can move around more freely than I thought.
Back then, I had been on the verge of death and couldn’t even move properly.
But now, I was perfectly capable of moving within this domain expansion.
Thump… thump… thump… thump…
As the pleasant sound of my heartbeat echoed, I took a moment to glance around.
And there he was. The supernatural strength ability user, standing still just ahead, as if he had entered the domain with me.
The moment I charged at him and threw a punch with all my strength right into his face—
Pop—
“?”
Suddenly, my vision returned, and I found myself standing in the exact spot I had been before entering the domain expansion…
“…Brother?”
And the supernatural strength ability user who had been standing in front of me—
His head had burst like a balloon, far too easily and lightly.
Step… step…
“…Huh?”
Hmm…
“W-Wait a second…!”
Do I enter that darkness every time I steal an ability?
“Th-This is a live broadcast…! T-Twenty thousand people are watching right now…!”
I’ll have to experiment a bit.
“Don’t come any closer!! Stay back!!!!”
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