Ch.1717. The Meeting of Top Villain Organization Leaders, ‘Pier 7’

*Shing.*

I gripped my sword with confidence.

It wasn’t the real thing. That was stored in Ji Se-hwa’s Switch along with the Blue Dragon’s power.

Though a replica, it was quite an elaborate piece.

This would be enough.

“You sick bastards! Where did you even get this thing?”

I brought the sword to Ji Se-hwa’s left arm and took my stance.

“Hey, wait. The agreement was to stab me. Why are you taking a slashing stance?”

Ji Se-hwa looked flustered. She must have finally realized something was wrong.

The hole in the tube on her left arm.

It wasn’t just a hole, but a line drawn right below the elbow.

“No way? Is this thing completely hollow all the way down? No, it’s not! It’s a hole, right? Just a hole!”

I didn’t need to hear more.

Without hesitation, I brought the sword down.

The blue steel mass traced a clean, straight trajectory along the gap.

“Ugh, AAAAAAHHHHH!!”

Finally, Ji Se-hwa screamed with all her might from the depths of her throat.

I tore off the tube part of the arm and pulled out Ji Se-hwa’s severed left arm. I threw the transformation device on the ground since I didn’t need it.

“No, no! Fuck, fuck, you fucking bastards!”

Ji Se-hwa stared at her severed arm in blank dismay.

“Today’s game ends here! Blue, it was fun. Let’s play again sometime?”

“Leave it, leave it! My arm! My arm!!”

My subordinates and I took pictures of Ji Se-hwa as she thrashed about.

We left her behind and exited the room.

◈ ◈ ◈

“The new boss is completely insane! He’s already taken down two Dragon King Sentai!”

“Don’t you know? It’s three! Green Nature is already being worked on too!”

“He’s not ‘boss,’ call him ‘Lord’ like he ordered! You have to follow orders!”

“Wow, when Origin collapsed, I thought we were screwed, but I never imagined such thrilling things awaited us! Becoming villains was the right choice!”

“Do you know how much our organization made today? With Blue’s secret funds and our financial operations, it’s over 1 trillion!”

“When my mom said she was joining Sinzwork, I tried to stop her, saying why join such a third-rate villain organization, but if she hadn’t, we’d have been in big trouble!”

“It’s not Sinzwork anymore, it’s Vengeance now!”

“Long live Lord Gerogius!”

My subordinates were excitedly drinking alcohol. Currently, Vengeance has 52 members: 46 acquired from Sinzwork, four newly recruited, plus Emma and Lee Lu-a.

Among them, none had yet caught my eye as worthy, so Lu-a was my only evil sentai member.

“Emma. Make sure they don’t get drunk and start fighting.”

“Yes, master.”

Not seeing Lu-a, I headed to her room. I knocked.

“Lu-a, are you there?”

“Yeah. Come in.”

She was crouched on the bed.

“Uncomfortable at the company dinner?”

“Yeah, somewhat…”

“Well, you’re not old enough to drink anyway. How about some lemonade?”

“Thanks.”

I handed her the lemonade, which she sipped eagerly. Like a small rabbit.

“How are you feeling?”

“Okay. More or less.”

A moment of silence.

“Hey, Geo.”

“Hmm?”

“I’ve… become a villain, haven’t I?”

“That’s right.”

“Does it suit me?”

“Hmm…”

I checked her system window.

[Dark Matter / Lee Lu-a]

[Occupation: Villain]

[Rank: SS]

[Ability: Dark Matter Lv.6]

[ [Undeveloped] ]

[Affiliation: Villain Organization Vengeance]

[ Evil Sentai Vengeance]

[Alignment: Chaos-Good]

[Revenge is her powerful driving force]

[A new driving force is being added]

[She is filled with thoughts of death while burying a dangerous secret in her heart]

Level 6 in Dark Matter ability, less than a month after awakening it.

Even with my ability’s assistance and considering levels up to 5 rise quickly, it’s an incredible growth rate.

And her SS rank. The attack on Ji Se-hwa must have been reported to the Association, raising her threat level.

If asked whether it suits her, there’s no one more suited to be a villain in terms of talent.

There’s a world of difference between S-rank and SS-rank villains. Both in ability and danger level.

But the “good” she’s showing now is quite different from what I know of the original work, making me hesitant to answer directly.

“Lu-a, did you ever want to be a hero?”

“Absolutely not.”

“That’s good. It suits you perfectly.”

“Really?”

Lu-a seemed pleased with my answer.

In the original work, she appeared as a mid-boss in the fourth scenario. Her personality then was the embodiment of rage. Quite different from her current quiet demeanor.

Her first appearance had an incredibly difficult raid. The number of sentai teams that cleared Dark Matter in the first week of the raid patch was zero across all servers.

Only after gradual nerf patches did it become barely clearable.

People called her the Black Witch then. She truly delivered hell.

As you might guess from being a scenario villain, she met her end in death.

With a satisfied smile that seemed to mock the players.

She exploded, consumed by her own dark matter.

Would that development repeat in this world too?

No, I’ve already confirmed in the battle with the Dark Kingdom that many things flow differently from what I know.

Having chosen the path of an evil lord, there are plenty of other routes available.

Above all, that’s for later.

Let’s focus on the Galaxy Empire first.

If we don’t clear the second scenario, no future will come.

“What are you thinking about?”

“About your future.”

“Do you know my future too?”

“No, I don’t. We’ll find out together.”

“…Together?”

“Yes.”

“…Okay.”

Lu-a nodded.

“We’ve secured quite a bit of funding this time. Seven contacts from the Blue operation are already working on the financial sector, right?”

“Yes. But there was a reason I needed cash immediately.”

“What is it?”

“With the Galaxy Empire appearing as a threat, ‘Harbor 7’ will open. It opened once during the Dark Kingdom incident too.”

“What’s that?”

I turned to Lu-a and answered.

“It’s a gathering of the heads of Korea’s largest villain organizations. The entry fee is cash, 50,000 won bills, 30 billion won.”

◈ ◈ ◈

Back in my room, I unwrapped a newspaper-covered object.

Ji Se-hwa’s left arm.

It’s the part below the elbow. About 40 centimeters long to the middle fingertip. The nails are painted with an oddly blue polish.

I once high-fived this hand. We did fist bumps, and I corrected her posture too.

Now it’s just evidence of karma.

I don’t feel joy or happiness looking at the severed forearm. I don’t have such psychopathic sensibilities. But I do feel satisfaction in returning what Ji Se-hwa gave me.

Actions and consequences are enough. Now Ji Se-hwa will have to fight with a prosthetic arm for the rest of her life.

With the Association’s technology, it won’t be just a prosthetic but a cyborg arm. She’ll probably come back with something that actually increases her combat power.

But she’ll remember forever.

Every time she looks at her left arm, she’ll wonder if this is the price she’s paying for her actions.

I know Dragon King Sentai best.

And Ji Se-hwa too.

She’ll definitely feel guilty.

Though that “forever” probably won’t be very long anyway.

I’m quite pleased with this.

Of course, dealing with Ji Se-hwa doesn’t end here. The same goes for the rest of Dragon King Sentai.

I intend to squeeze them to the last drop as nutrients for my villain organization.

What should I do with this arm?

I don’t have the nasty hobby of framing evidence as decoration, so burning it would be appropriate, but I had a thought.

I bit into Ji Se-hwa’s arm and swallowed it.

Disgustingly dog-like.

[Maintenance Condition Lv.3]

[Wrath: IRA 10/10]

[Lust: LUXURIA 7/10]

[Gluttony: GULA 9→10/10]

[Form change unlocked at Lv7 release]

Hmm. Even eating a hero raises my gluttony.

Additionally, my stats increased slightly. Indeed. Such things are possible depending on goal setting.

Still, I have no intention of hunting down hero corpses to eat. Eating monsters is enough for such disgusting acts.

I’m trying to become a villain, not a monster.

Now, as planned, let’s make contact to participate in “Harbor 7.”

The heads of Korea’s largest villain organizations.

My reason for meeting them is simple.

There’s a villain I want to bring under my command.

However, it was certain this would be a difficult and lengthy operation.

◈ ◈ ◈

Two days later at midnight, Lu-a and I led ten subordinates to an abandoned dock. Discarded containers were stacked everywhere. We arrived at a specific point.

I slipped the invitation through a gap in the containers. It was a black business card with no markings. Though there was no sign of people inside, someone took the invitation, and soon a door opened.

“Vengeance. Welcome.”

A masked man greeted us. Men opening a secret door inside the container. A passage leading underground appeared. My subordinates, Lu-a, and I descended the stairs.

Only footsteps echoed for a long time. Finally, we reached an open space.

In the dark place, there was barely enough lighting to identify objects.

There was a mountain of money. A mountain made of 50,000 won bills. People sitting on top of it.

Six in total. All had identity concealment devices activated, making identification impossible, but these didn’t work against me with the dragon’s power.

“A new face.”

“Vengeance, Dark Matter, is it?”

“Did you bring the entrance fee?”

Lu-a gestured, and the subordinates struggled to open the sack they had brought. Inside was 30 billion won. They added it to the mountain of money. The peaks grew even larger.

“Dark Matter. I’ve been watching your skill, rising to SS-rank right after debut, and your foolishness in attacking Dragon King Sentai.”

At the highest seat, a woman with crossed legs opens a fan.

An alluring body. An old-fashioned white uniform covering her entire body. Hair so delicate it looks like it would freeze at the mere sight.

‘CEO E.lena.’

An SSS-rank villain and the current head of Korea’s largest villain organization, “Holy Tree.”

And a very dangerous woman.

“Take it as a compliment. It was quite entertaining.”

Her high-handed voice felt like piercing the listener’s eardrums with tiny needles.

“This is a place for bosses. Send all your subordinates away.”

Another leader muttered in a low voice. Hearing this, the subordinates who had moved the sack turned and went back up the stairs.

But I remained standing next to Lu-a.

“Didn’t you hear? Send your subordinate away.”

“Alright, fine.”

Lu-a’s voice sounded disappointed. She turned and knelt on one knee before me.

“I apologize. I will wait outside, Lord.”

“Permission granted.”

I could feel the leaders’ agitation at this sight.

After Lu-a left, I slowly walked forward and stood before them.

“Pleased to meet you all. I am Gerogius, the head of Vengeance.”