After safely returning to my hideout with Seo-yoon’s help,
I immediately ran to Sae-eun and asked if she could remove the gem ability that was affecting me.
“Well… I can’t purify positive effects.”
“…Why not?”
“I don’t really understand how the ability works… I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s not your fault. It was my choice, after all.”
“…Did something happen?”
“You’ll find out when the news comes out later.”
She said she couldn’t erase the positive effects of the gem ability…
…But this isn’t a positive effect, is it?
“Wait, now that I think about it, it’s not a positive effect. Go ahead and purify it.”
“Oh…! Uh…! To purify an ability made of diamond… I’ll need a higher-quality diamond…!”
“Okay, never mind.”
A better grade of diamond?
Even with all the money in the world, finding one better than my parents’ wedding ring would take a lot of time.
So I decided to give up on purifying this effect…whatever it was, whether blessing or curse.
“Hye-won.”
“H-Hmm…?”
“With the last bit of augmented alloy we have left… could you make me a new villain suit?”
“I… I al…already… fi..finished.. it…!”
To protect my entire body in the safest way possible—
“Ah… no. I shouldn’t wear it.”
“Wh-Why…? I-Is it… not… good…?”
“No. I’m just sure I’ll lose the clothes I’m wearing.”
“…The clothes you’re wearing now?”
“Yes.”
If someone asked whether it’s possible to lose the clothes you’re wearing…
Today, I’d definitely say yes.
Anyway.
“Thank you. You always quietly work behind the scenes to prepare everything for me. I really appreciate it.”
“He… Hehe… Hihi…”
As a gesture of gratitude toward Hye-won, who always works hard behind the scenes for me, I gently patted her on the head…
“……”
“……”
And was immediately met with horrified expressions from two women staring at me.
“They say people change when they’re about to die…”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Oppa…! No matter how hard things get, suicide isn’t the answer…!”
“Why are you saying that too?”
I casually passed the two women who were giving me strange looks.
After grabbing the car keys from the room, I decided to drive myself to where the Sword of the Association was located.
Tick—
“This really doesn’t feel right.”
As soon as I pulled out the car keys,
I saw a bit of blood well up where the sharp metal edge had grazed my finger.
“Don’t hurt yourself!”
“I told you, it’s not like that.”
Seeing me like that, Pyro Bomber yelled not to self-harm and suddenly threw herself into my arms.
I pushed her away with my injured hand.
“Just once. Just let me hold you before you die!”
“I already told you. I’m not going to die.”
Things had been relatively peaceful for the past few days, but now…
Pyro Bomber had started clinging to me again.
As I struggled to push her away and head outside—
“…Why are you licking that?”
Because I pushed her away with my bleeding hand,
I now saw Pyro Bomber sensually licking up the drop of blood that had trickled down her cheek.
“Hoooo…I totally just did you.”
“People don’t call drinking a few drops of blood ‘doing it’. And… if we did call it that, do you have any idea how many people I’ve ‘done’ so far?”
“As expected of you. Alpha male Go Min-hyuk…. dozens of people! I want to be one of them!”
Was she saying she wanted her ability stolen through bloodsucking, or that she just wanted to be “done”?
Either way, leaving behind Pyro Bomber, who was once again passionately trying to flirt with me today…
I was about to speed up since I was running a bit late to meet the Sword of the Association when—
“What a shame~ I’m actually really good at trembling under you and—…huh?”
Pyro Bomber, who’d been pretending to climax with a dramatic shiver,
was now holding a fire ball in her hand.
“…Huh?”
“…What is this?”
Leaving Pyro Bomber, who was blankly staring down at the flame orb in her hand—
Whoosh-whoosh—
I waved my hand just to be sure,
And, sure enough, I could confirm that the fire ability I had was now gone.
“…Wow.”
It was clear now that Pyro Bomber had taken my ability.
And the way she had been able to steal it was—
Fwoosh—
“Babe! Look at this! I-I evolved!”
Just like how I could steal an ability by drinking an ability user’s blood,
Now someone who drank my blood could steal my ability.
…Holy crap. Does that mean if a mosquito bites me, we’ll have supernatural mosquitoes?
Shaking off the horrifying scenario of an insect invasion that flashed through my mind,
I swore to never donate blood—
Not that I was planning to anyway.
“When I wave my hand around like this, fire comes out now!”
I began to tell Pyro Bomber the truth, even as she was celebrating her supposed evolution.
“You know I can steal abilities through bloodsucking, right?”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Well, the ability to create fire….that was originally mine.”
“Oh… this was yours? So I didn’t evolve… I just stole it?”
“Yes. It seems that if you drink my blood, you can take the ability I possess.”
“…Then I guess I should give it back…”
But—
“No. Every time I created a fireball, it got so hot I couldn’t hold it for long. But seeing you use it… it really feels like this power suits you.”
“Really?”
“You’ve gained an ability that fits you perfectly. Since things have turned out this way, why don’t you keep using it?”
Seeing how happy she looked, how could I possibly take it back now?
“I love you!! Marry me—mmph!”
So I gave her the ability as a gift.
Pyro Bomber, overjoyed, tried to leap into my arms—
“It’s hot…! Put out the fire first, at least…!”
Neither of us….neither me nor her—
Knew how to extinguish the flames created by the fire ability.
“Aren’t you two talking for a bit too long?”
Just then, the door creaked open and Seo-yoon entered, clearly showing signs of jealousy.
“Look, Seo-yoon!”
“What is it?”
Fwoosh—
“…Huh?”
“He gave it to me as a gift.”
“He gave you his ability?”
“Mhmm!”
Thanks to Pyro Bomber, who started bragging about the ability she received from me as a gift…
Seo-yoon also learned how she could receive an ability from me.
As a result…
“Uh, um… then… in that case… I want it! The summoning ability!”
“I can’t just give any ability I want to whoever I want. But why the summoning ability?”
“Why else? It’s because Seo-yoon’s head is always full of thoughts about stealing the underwear you’re wearing—mmph—mmph!”
“I-It’s a secret…!”
“Well… I do want to give it to you, but I can’t just hand it out as I please.”
“Then let’s do it this way.”
“…And how exactly is that?”
“I’ll drink blood too until it appears!”
…
…
“You’re a lot later than I expected.”
“I ran into a mugger on the way.”
“Did you take care of them?”
“I got taken care of.”
“…What?”
On the way back after giving Seo-yoon the third-person perspective ability as a gift.
If I could do as I wished, I’d give away one more ability, leaving just ten abilities in my body,
Then destroy the ability suppressor attached to both of my ankles.
But I don’t know which ability might disappear, so it’s too much of a gamble.
Since I still didn’t know how to handle domains, I wanted to avoid the risk of losing major abilities like word magic.
So first, I decided to find the Sword of the Association and learn how to control domains from her.
“Well, that’s not what really matters here.”
However…
“More than anything, what’s most important is you, Villain Hunter.”
“…How did you end up like this?”
The woman in front of me now…
Was in no condition to teach me how to use a domain.
“I overused my domain ability.”
She had wasted away.
Just a few days ago, she had a robust, healthy body…
But now, she looked like she could barely stand.
There was nothing left of her but skin and bones.
“Why are you lying in a run-down house like this instead of a hospital?”
“This place… just reminds me of my hometown. That’s all.”
“Is there no actual owner of the house?”
“He was a villain, so I killed him and took it over.”
“…I see.”
Come to think of it…
Looking back on what the Association President told me, I felt foolish for not considering how dangerous domain abilities could be.
I’d taken too lightly the idea of wielding a power tied to death without any consequences…
On top of that…
“…Do you know how much time you have left?”
“Yes. Let’s see… about twenty minutes.”
Maybe it was because I had arrived too late.
The Sword of the Association, who supposedly knew the future, said she had roughly twenty minutes left to live.
And somehow, asking her to teach me how to handle domains now… felt like the kind of thing a psychopath would say. Like I was toying with someone in their final moments.
“…Even though it was your duty, thank you. Truly, for helping me.”
“Don’t mention it. It was just my duty.”
“…How could that be your duty? Risking your life to protect me?”
“That’s what I came here for.”
“…Huh.”
I began a brief conversation with the dying woman.
…
We talked about two main things.
What her childhood had been like.
And how she ended up becoming the Sword of the Association.
“So that’s what happened.”
She said her childhood, which was the first thing I asked about; had been incredibly bleak.
She lived the life of an orphan, abandoned in an alleyway.
Naturally, the conversation flowed to the second question.
The Association President had taken in that abandoned orphan and raised her, earning her loyalty.
“Yes. Now… about 20 seconds left.”
“……”
There were about 20 seconds left before the Sword of the Association died.
In those final moments, I found myself wondering what I could possibly say to her.
“I still remember it, whenever I close my eyes…”
“…What do you remember?”
“The day you… saved me from the War Monkey’s attack…”
“…What?”
“I’ll be returning to my world now. And there… I’ll continue to cheer on the Heroic Villain Hunter’s journey.”
“…Wait, hold on. Returning? Weren’t you dying?”
“Yes. I’ll be going back… to my original body, in my original world.”
“???”
Fsshhhhh…
The Sword of the Association who was now breaking apart into pieces and slowly scattering showed one final, beautiful smile.
She vanished, leaving behind only her last words. She told me to stay strong.
“…Ugh, if I’d known, I would’ve asked how to enter the domain properly!! Seriously!!”
It was one of those moments where I regretted getting all serious, thinking she was actually dying.
“Come back!! Come lie down over here again!! I’ve got questions…! Come on…! Geez! You could’ve just told me from the beginning that you were some kind of being who crossed over from another world….!”
President of the Association…
I always wondered why she never told me anything about the future..!
Turns out she only shared it with people from her own world. What a petty woman.
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