—The Villain Hunter Is Dead—
It had already been two days since the news had spread throughout South Korea.
If someone asked me what I’d been doing during that time, I could answer proudly:
I was aiming to win the “Don’t Get Out of Bed” challenge.
…What am I even supposed to do?
My childhood imaginary friend.
The president of the Hero Association.
A hero from another world.
According to her, I was supposed to fight against a cult called the Heavenly Will Cult…
“…When, where, and why am I supposed to fight, exactly?”
How am I supposed to prepare for a fight when I haven’t been told anything?
“What’s the use of knowing the future… if you’re not going to share it with me?”
She seemed all too eager to show the future to the Sword of the Association.
Why, then, was I the only one left completely in the dark?
“…What is this?”
I spotted a familiar name in a post on a social media site popular among office workers.
—
Hero Association of Korea – l*****
[Has anyone seen the Sword of the Association recently?]
I remember the Sword of the Association stayed in the Vice President’s office until a new one was appointed.
But it seems like she hasn’t shown up for the past four days.
[Comments]
-: Maybe the president gave her something to do? Didn’t the President also ask for protection for the Villain Hunter last time?
ㄴ (OP): Villain Hunter’s dead now, so she should be back to her original job.
ㄴ : The president probably gave her another mission.
ㄴ (OP): Ah, that so?
-: The Sword of the Association resigned.
ㄴ (OP): ??? How do you even know that??
ㄴ : I’m the one who processed the resignation. Pretty high up in the ranks.
ㄴ (OP): Yeah right, you’re full of it.
ㄴ : Believe what you want. Just know the Sword of the Association is gone. And shouldn’t you show some respect? I outrank you.
ㄴ : Look at this clown trying to pull rank on Blah. You wanna end up like the Villain Hunter? Want me to turn you into the next Vice President, huh?! HUH?!?!?!?!?!!!
-: What the hell is going on here, lol
-: Who even is the Sword of the Association?
ㄴ (OP): You wouldn’t know unless you work for the Hero Association. She is the Association’s top fighting power.
ㄴ : Top fighting power after Mobia left?
ㄴ (OP): Nope, even when Mobia was still in, she was still number one. Also famous for being the only person who could have private meetings with the president.
-: If she is so famous, how come I’ve never heard of her?
ㄴ : Like I said, you wouldn’t know unless you worked for the Association.
—
The Sword of the Association quit the Hero Association?
The post about the Sword of the Association not being seen around the Hero Association was, if anything, simple in content… just a plain observation.
…Come to think of it, she didn’t show up even when I was in the detention center.
It bothered me a little, the fact that she hadn’t appeared at all since I’d been locked up.
“Seo-yoon?”
“Yes, oppa…?”
“Can you come here for a second?”
I called Seo-yoon over, planning to ask if she knew anything about the Sword of the Association…
“J-Just a moment…!”
“…What’s with your voice?”
“Well…! I-I mean…!”
Then it hit me. Last night, right before bed, Pyro Bomber had begged me so much that I ended up transforming her into me.
I hurried straight to Seo-yoon’s room. And of course…
“…What are you two doing?”
“Roleplay.”
“…Please don’t do that with my body.”
“Then you do it yourself.”
“…Let’s just finish what we started.”
“Ah, but I’m starting to get bored. You don’t even smell like you.”
“…How could you already be bored? It’s only been two days.”
“Because the body’s not really you!”
The two of them were going all in… using my body for a roleplay.
Roughly… the premise was something like going on a date with the fake version of me.
“What the…”
“The voice isn’t even yours, and the most important part…. the lower half is missing. So, it’s disqualified.”
Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, only 75% of my ability had been used.
The silver lining was that the voice and the important parts hadn’t been copied.
“……”
Well…
Thanks to the Mimicker ability, Pyro Bomber and Seo-yoon had grown closer. They were even calling each other sister. I guess that was a positive change if anything.
Anyway.
“If you’re not going to cooperate, could you leave? We need to finish our roleplay. Oh, and in six hours, you need to transform Seo-yoon into yourself again. Got it?”
“Wow… the audacity.”
My goal was information about the Sword of the Association.
When I reached out to Seo-yoon whose face was redder than a well-ripened apple, gesturing for her to come over…
Thump-thump-thump-thump…
“?”
fwump…
“???”
The way Seo-yoon ran into my arms so naturally…
It was clear she was way too immersed in the roleplay.
“I’ve been NTR’ed.”
“Please don’t get too caught up in the roleplay.”
“Oh right. I’m not Go Min-hyuk.”
“Seo-yoon, you too… don’t get too into it. I won’t tell you not to roleplay, but… I’m not the villain hunter in your scene right now, okay?”
“Ah…”
…
In the end, it turned out there was no information about the Sword of the Association.
Apparently, she had only ever followed the President’s orders and never formed personal relationships with anyone.
“So even all that kindness she showed me… was just because of the President?”
There were a few things I’d wanted to ask her in person.
How she could enter and exit a domain so naturally.
Whether I too could control domains as freely as she could.
What the President’s name was, and so on.
“I had so many things I wanted to ask.”
It’s disappointing… but what can you do.
Because it was a situation where making the impossible possible would require the power of a miracle.
When I entertained the ridiculous thought that if I could somehow artificially create a miracle, I might gain the overwhelming power to move freely in and out of domains—
“…Wait a second, maybe it could actually work?”
Suddenly, an idea came to mind. How I might artificially create a miracle.
I immediately picked up my phone and started searching for gems that symbolized luck and miracles.
As a result—
“Luck is emerald, and miracles are diamond.”
I found that these two incredibly expensive gems could potentially create a miracle just for me.
“Sae-eun!”
I grabbed the diamond ring that had been my parents’ keepsake and rushed into Sae-eun’s room.
“Yes?”
“Use every bit of this diamond ring. Don’t leave a single piece and grant me a miracle.”
“…A miracle?”
“Mhmm.”
“Um…”
“Do you have any emeralds?”
“I do… sort of.”
“I’ll buy every emerald you have at double the price. Use them to cover me in luck.”
“…Miracles and luck aren’t exactly things you can see, so I’m not sure if it’ll really have any effect…”
“It’s fine. It’s my money, so I’ll take full responsibility. Can you do it for me?”
“Um… okay.”
If I awaken with luck and a miracle…
Maybe I really could get the miracle I’m hoping for.
…
I was covered head to toe in luck and miracles as I walked toward the Hero Association.
Even if it’s an artificial miracle, a miracle is still a miracle.
Meeting the Sword of the Association would be best. But even if that doesn’t happen, something good should come of it.
Even if I don’t end up meeting the Sword of the Association,
Maybe I would have a moment of enlightenment on my walk. Like someone discovering the truth of the world. And then I could figure out how to manipulate domains naturally.
My top priority was to freely control domains, a power stronger than any other ability.
If I could just freely control domains, I’d immediately use that ability and reduce these abilities of mine with a suppressant.
I was also planning to finally take off this uncomfortable ability controller device I’ve been forced to wear.
Then I’d truly be free—
“Mom, that man has something sticking out of his ankle.”
“Oh my… oh dear…”
“?”
“What is that?”
“You shouldn’t look at things like that. He’s dirty, just dirty.”
“…….”
Right.
This is why I haven’t been going out lately…
Haah… and of all places, this controller has to be strapped to my ankle, and I couldn’t even remove it. What were people supposed to think when they see it?
They would probably assume I was some kind of child molester who deserved to be beaten to death… or a repeat sex offender…
…Honestly, being mistaken for someone into bestiality might be better…
The real issue was…
…My luck.
I stepped out, believing in my luck….and now people were misjudging me because of this thing.
…Should I just go back?
I used an entire diamond and eight emeralds, but… in the end, luck and miracles were invisible things…
“…This sucks.”
Feeling like I’d wasted all that money for nothing, I turned around and started heading back to my hideout.
Well, who knows. I might just run into the Sword of the Association on the way back—
Whack—
“….!”
A sudden hit to the back of my head made me turn around…
Only to see some students who had thrown a rock at me running away without even looking back.
…So much for luck.
Yeah…
It’s not like the world’s ever been kind to me anyway…
Should I go after them… or just chalk it up to some righteous kids giving a lesson to a supposed predator…?
***
“This… is the urn containing the ashes of the Villain Hunter’s mother.”
News reports were saying that the Villain Hunter had died.
But just because the target was dead didn’t mean there was any reason to stop seeking revenge.
“Well done.”
I accepted the urn from my brother who was a fellow member of the Heavenly Will Cult and my personal shadow.
“I’m really looking forward to this afternoon’s service.”
I was planning to take the urn containing the Villain Hunter’s mother’s ashes to the worship hall in five minutes and personally offer it to the Ancient God in a performance.
“Cult Leader!! Cult Leader!!!”
“Hmm? What is it, brother?”
A fellow believer burst into the cult leader’s chamber with an expression of sheer urgency.
“The Ancient God… has begun the ‘Selection’…!”
He claimed that the Ancient God had started the Selection years earlier than the designated date.
“What kind of nonsense are you spouting?”
“Cult Leader…!”
Just as there are jokes that should never be made, this believer had clearly crossed a serious line.
“The Ancient God has always endured hunger well—”
I was just about to scold him for speaking such ridiculous nonsense when—
“……”
A thick stench of blood suddenly filled the air.
“…What is this?”
As soon as I caught the scent, I realized something was terribly wrong.
I quickly moved to head toward the sanctuary where the Ancient God was said to be resting…
“What… is going on…?”
It was time for the afternoon worship, so all the believers had gathered in the worship hall…
Only to witness a horrifying sight—
They were taking their own lives, slamming their heads against chairs or walls.
Death… is needed.
“O-Oh, Ancient God…! Wh-Why…! You… You clearly told us… th-that there was still plenty of time left… didn’t you…?!”
Death… is lacking… death… is needed…
“Ancient One…! You must come to your senses…! Ancient One…!!”
At this rate… it will return… at this rate… it will come back…
An unstoppable force… is trying to consume… me…
“…A-Ancient… One…?”
He had told us the Selection wouldn’t begin for several more years…
But for some reason, the Ancient God had suddenly gone into a frenzy…
Ah, I’ve found it. A new… death.
“No!! Please, no!! S-Spare us…! D-Didn’t you say… you would let us live?!!”
Contrary to the promise… he would consume everyone here…
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