Ch.27Nine Dragon Fortress

# Jericho Amael

## Monster Era, where those with special abilities are expected to become heroes who hunt monsters… but reality isn’t quite so simple.

The abilities that superhumans awaken vary tremendously.

Some awaken abilities specialized for monster hunting, while others can merely conjure a tiny flame from their fingertips.

Those with minor abilities often live no differently than ordinary humans, while those with abilities like healing, regeneration, or detection—which aren’t directly useful for monster hunting—contribute from behind the front lines.

And then there are superhumans who neither wish to live as ordinary people nor possess any sense of mission to protect humanity.

The world calls those who participate in crime for personal gain “villains.”

District 9 was like a hideout where villains of W City gathered.

It was also W City’s largest entertainment district.

The most famous spot was Kowloon Walled City, a fortress-like structure converted from an abandoned apartment complex.

This place, called a comprehensive entertainment center, had everything.

The underground parking garage housed clubs and casinos, tournaments were held in the central apartment area, and one could watch through windows from individual rooms while embracing courtesans.

Additionally, anyone could purchase drugs at any time by paying someone wearing a distinctively decorated suit in Kowloon Walled City.

Such a place—villains were cancerous entities embedded in the city, and Kowloon Walled City was W City’s largest cancer cell.

Nevertheless, the reason Kowloon Walled City had survived until now was, ironically, because the villains’ existence benefited W City.

Villains hunted monsters appearing in District 9 as if managing their own autonomous region, and the surplus forces this created were deployed to handle monsters in other districts.

Villains, as long as their influence doesn’t grow excessive, can return greater benefits than the damages they cause.

“But do we really need to leave them alone even in this situation?”

Yu Anna placed a tablet in front of the deputy chief of W City Police Department as she spoke.

“When I previously suggested we needed to properly clean up the villains, you said this: W City has only one S-rank hero—me—so it’s better to borrow the villains’ hands.”

“Yes, I did say that.”

“Then isn’t it fine to eliminate them now?”

On the tablet Yu Anna had placed down was a photo of Black Cat captured on surveillance cameras.

Next to it was a graph quantifying the reduction in monster damage thanks to Black Cat. In essence, Yu Anna’s argument was this:

According to the “black cat, white cat” theory—if they had been reluctantly using villains as an effective but dirty tool—now that Black Cat had replaced that role, couldn’t they discard the villains?

“Hmm… that’s difficult…”

“Why is it difficult? The villains only handle monsters in District 9, while Black Cat is traveling throughout W City catching them.”

“Of course, I understand that Black Cat is, ironically, helping W City right now… but Black Cat is still a monster, isn’t it? One that could turn violent at any moment. Meanwhile… the villains, despite being villains, are humans we can reason with.”

“They can be reasoned with? Ha, that’s ridiculous. And if we’re talking about reasoning…”

Yu Anna, who had been unable to deal with the villains despite knowing what they were doing in District 9, stopped mid-sentence.

The fact that Black Cat was a monster capable of communication was currently known only to Yu Anna, and this information wasn’t something to be casually revealed.

“…If we’re talking about reasoning, Black Cat actually listens better—it runs away scared after just a few hits.”

“That’s not listening—it’s just afraid of you.”

“Anyway, there’s no need to maintain villain organizations anymore. In fact, we’ve maintained them for too long. If we don’t eradicate these criminal organizations now, it might become irreversible.”

The existence of villains prevents newly awakened superhumans from even considering the mission of becoming heroes.

Heroes risk their lives fighting monsters, while villains live by exploiting humans.

These cancer-like entities, if not removed quickly, will grow larger and reduce the number of heroes available to protect citizens.

“Already in W City, the number of people becoming villains exceeds those applying to become heroes. Especially young superhumans who easily fall into superiority complexes—if punishment for crimes isn’t clearly enforced, they become completely lawless…”

“Those are just weak superhumans, aren’t they? Ones you could easily handle if you stepped in.”

“Handle? Are you not even considering rehabilitation?”

“Rehabilitation! Yes, well said. Even if they become villains, can’t they be rehabilitated?”

“What? Are you in your right mind?”

“What I mean is, there’s no need to waste time catching villains. People who want to be heroes will become heroes, and those destined to be villains will become villains. Rather than beating up villains, hunting monsters contributes to the birth rate, and as the birth rate increases, the number of heroes naturally increases too.”

“…Deputy Chief? You’ve been to Kowloon Walled City, haven’t you?”

“What are you talking about? I haven’t—”

Believing such an argument couldn’t possibly come from the police deputy chief’s mouth, Yu Anna concluded that he must have embraced a woman at Kowloon Walled City.

The deputy chief calmly denied it, but he couldn’t escape Yu Anna’s superhuman senses.

Trembling pupils, accelerating heartbeat—convinced there must be a connection between the deputy chief and Kowloon Walled City, Yu Anna picked up her tablet.

“Fine. I’ll go to the Commissioner. You should be ashamed.”

“Do you think the Commissioner will say anything different?”

“…So the Commissioner has also been to Kowloon Walled City?”

“Talk sense! The Commissioner is a woman—why would she go to a place like Kowloon Walled City?”

“How many reports have I read? Do you think I don’t know? They sell men there too.”

“Ahem…”

Having confirmed that the villains’ influence reached too deep, Yu Anna turned away with mixed feelings.

The deputy chief, hit right on target, cleared his throat, and called out to Yu Anna as she was about to leave his office with a disgusted look.

“Listen, Starlight, you don’t understand… Kowloon Walled City is a member of the Villain Association. Unlike A City, our W City has only one S-rank hero—you.”

“So what?”

“It means that when W City officials need to travel to other cities, the highest-ranked heroes available for escort are A-rank. If you rampage here and other villains in the Villain Association retaliate against us, what then?”

“So ultimately, you’re too busy protecting yourselves to care about civilian casualties. Fine! I’ll handle it myself, and you can punish me however you want.”

“Starlight, stop it. If you do something like that, do you think your family will be safe?”

“Deputy Chief Kim Ja-cheol, are you threatening me?”

Yu Anna unconsciously drew on her ability as she glared at the police deputy chief.

The luxurious carpet, out of place in the Monster Era, began to blacken under Yu Anna’s ability, and intense heat instantly filled the deputy chief’s office.

Nevertheless, the police deputy chief maintained his composure.

“It’s not a threat, I’m stating facts… Not just your family, but mine would be in danger too if we provoke them wrongly. So… don’t do it. Starlight, as you said, it’s too late to eradicate villains from W City.”

“…Ha.”

Sensing the deputy chief’s sincerity in his deflated voice, Yu Anna contained her fiery ability.

Only then did the police deputy chief wipe away the sweat pouring from his forehead with a handkerchief.

“And you know… haven’t you heard the rumors? The lord of Kowloon Walled City, Gu Seo-ryong, is already at the highest A-rank level. She might even reach S-rank soon. Are you confident you can win? You must know that villains are specialists in fighting humans. You’re specialized in monster hunting, after all.”

“Then all the more reason to deal with her now. Before she grows stronger.”

“Let’s think positively—if we leave her alone, W City might gain another S-rank superhuman, don’t you think?”

The police deputy chief defended the villain while drinking his already cold tea.

“Gu Seo-ryong has united the villains and keeps them within District 9. If we just give up that one district, we gain a villain leader we can reason with. District 9 becomes a safe zone too. Not a bad trade, is it?”

“Deputy Chief, could you say those words in front of journalists?”

“I could, but the journalists couldn’t handle it.”

As he said, journalists fear villain retaliation and don’t recklessly publish news.

The only place that can fearlessly report news is A City, where the prideful Cage personally beats up villains, calling them strange names like “dropouts who have thrown away superhuman dignity and crawled into the mud themselves”—making A City closer to a villain-free city.

At times like this, Yu Anna increasingly thought that Cage’s methods might be right.

Superhuman governance—that superhumans with strong powers and will should lead incapable humans.

At the same time, Yu Anna thought such actions shouldn’t be taken.

Superhumans are ultimately people, and no matter how powerful their abilities, they should be equal to ordinary humans.

Humans are equal, so they shouldn’t rule over or arbitrarily punish other humans.

But with that alone… villains cannot be eliminated.

Monsters wearing human masks.

# Jericho Amael

“Hey! Who are you?”

Following the scent of my necklace, I arrived at District 9 and tried to enter an apartment in a secluded area.

However, men guarding the apartment entrance stopped me from entering.

Men large enough to reach my shoulder height approached me with fierce eyes, then gradually widened them.

The two men standing in front of me, looking up at me, spoke with tension.

“Um… what brings you here?”

“I came because something I’m looking for is here.”

“What, a guest? I thought you were a physical enhancement-type superhuman…”

The men sighed with relief, then looked over my attire.

“…Did you come from a construction site?”

“Yes.”

“Definitely a customer… I don’t know who referred you or what you want, but Kowloon Walled City has everything. However, it’s not opening hours now. Come back at night.”

“Hmm… I’ll do that.”

Well, there’s no rush… Having confirmed that my necklace and the loan shark were inside this apartment, I decided to leisurely wait until nightfall.

Since there wasn’t much time left until sunset, the wait wouldn’t be long.

As night fell, cars began lining up in front of the apartment, and people waiting for entry increased, loitering around.

“Isn’t it time yet? The sun’s down! Open up quickly!”

“Not yet.”

“I need to get a good spot—I’m ruined if I don’t get that seat!”

“Please line up here for the casino.”

“Open the door! Open the door!”