Ch.52Don’t Become My Comrade

“My sister has a colleague who can see other people’s ‘memories.’ But she can only use that ability once a week.”

I think I know which colleague that is…

No, more importantly, if this is the “kidnapping event” that I saw in the original work, I was in real danger.

“Right now, we’re holding about a hundred people who witnessed the Jamsil Monster, just like you, inside our hideout.”

“A-a-a hundred people?!”

“Yes. So you won’t be lonely while you’re detained. There’s even a doctor among them, so we can leave your physical condition to them.”

It was clear they were doing this to see as many people’s memories as possible at once, since the ability could only be used once a week.

That makes sense, as the Villain’s Troupe’s kidnapping event was one of the most grinding content I had experienced.

True to their evil organization nature, the Villain’s Troupe first kidnaps anyone who might have the information they want.

Recruitment or intimidation comes only after the kidnapping.

Of course, it was also part of the Villain’s Troupe’s aesthetic to safely return those deemed unnecessary later, but…

‘I’m definitely going to be necessary…’

I wasn’t just connected to the Jamsil Monster—I was the Jamsil Monster itself.

‘The moment I’m taken away, it’s a guaranteed bad ending…!’

With my body in this condition, I wasn’t even sure if I could properly transform into a monster.

Even if I could fully transform, that would essentially be confessing my identity to Katarina.

Above all, once she discovered my identity, there was nothing I could do to silence Katarina.

Even if that method was “killing” her, it would be impossible to hide my secret from her.

Because Katarina was someone who possessed the ability to never die even in death and never forget what she had seen.

“I-I don’t want to go!”

Since she was a kind villain after all.

With a glimmer of hope, I tried to appeal to Katarina’s conscience, curling up like a frightened mouse.

But.

“…? So what?”

“……Pardon?”

“I’m not exactly asking for your permission right now.”

Before being a kind villain, she was a “villain”—the leader of the Villain’s Troupe.

She simply nodded indifferently, as if to say “what do you expect?”

“Don’t worry. We only plan to extract your memories of the Jamsil Monster. We’re not going to eat you or anything.”

But that’s exactly what I can’t allow.

Unable to move a finger, I was about to be dragged to the Villain’s Troupe headquarters on my hospital bed without any resistance…

CRASH!

At that very moment.

“?!”

Just as I was being dragged to the entrance of the VIP room, a golden flash burst through the window.

By the time the startled Katarina turned around, Sophia had already leaped to her chest, holding a scythe ready to swing.

“Who do you think you’re taking…!”

“When did she—”

“If you’re taking anyone, take only me!!”

Whoosh.

A horizontal slash aimed at completely cutting the opponent in half from point-blank range.

The reaper’s blade seemed about to take Katarina’s head.

But true to her official title as one of the strongest villains in human history…

Thump.

“…!”

“Phew.”

Katarina successfully caught the B-rank Hunter’s surprise attack with one hand, just before it could slice her neck.

With glowing red eyes, she looked down at the shocked Sophia, ready to knock out the young sprout with her other hand raised like a guillotine.

THWACK!

“…Guh?!”

Until that moment when a baby monster, summoned between their overlapping shadows, pierced through her abdomen.

“Don’t touch my brother.”

“T-this is… a monster? Then that means…”

“Too bad for you. We ambushed you with a summoned monster as well.”

“…! A Beast Hunter?”

Seriously, what kind of Beast Hunter fights in close combat like this?

Naturally, Katarina had assumed she was a Hunter specialized in close combat since she charged in with a scythe.

But to think her true identity was the rare Beast Hunter…!

Moreover, the monster summoned quietly from under the shadow was a humanoid monster of such high quality that it could momentarily be mistaken for a human girl.

“I couldn’t have seen this coming…”

“Stay still. Otherwise, I’ll have Lia pull her hand out from your abdomen.”

Sophia warned Katarina, who gave a bitter smile.

If Lia were to pull her hand out of Katarina’s abdomen now, it would certainly cause an impossible amount of excessive bleeding.

No matter how much of a great villain she was, matching National Authority-Level, she was still human, and such an injury would surely kill her within minutes.

“Who are you? Why are you targeting Shinwoo?”

“……”

“If you don’t answer, I might really kill you.”

The look in Sophia’s eyes that Katarina faced was one ready to take a life.

Having already sensed the vast difference between herself and the woman before her.

For whatever reason, the opponent had only tried to “subdue” her, and the surprise attack had only succeeded because she didn’t know Sophia was a Beast Hunter.

In other words, this relationship could be reversed at any time.

Even while holding onto her life, Sophia urged for an answer, knowing she could be counterattacked if she let her guard down.

But making that determination seem futile…

“A Beast Hunter in close combat… that’s really unfair…”

“Rather than that, please answer my question…!”

“Little girl. Shall we try again?”

Suddenly, from who knows where, Katarina brought a knife between her eyes and Sophia’s, shocking everyone in the hospital room.

But the truly shocking moment was yet to come.

“Well then, let’s meet again in the next ’round.'”

“…! Sophia! Grab her quickly!”

“Uh, okay?”

SPLURT!

Sensing danger, Lia quickly pulled her arm out of Katarina’s abdomen.

A waterfall of blood poured through the gaping hole, and normally this would be the moment to beg for mercy.

SLASH.

Katarina directly sliced her own throat with the knife.

Her head, smiling with closed eyes, slowly separated from its original position.

Thud.

“…Huh?”

It rolled lifelessly to the floor.

“Damn it!”

As Shinwoo clicked his tongue, the world began to fade to white.

***

A horizontal slash aimed at completely cutting the opponent in half from point-blank range.

The reaper’s blade seemed about to take Katarina’s head.

But true to her official title as one of the strongest villains in human history…

Thump.

“…!”

“Phew.”

She successfully caught the B-rank Hunter’s surprise attack with one hand, just before it could slice her neck.

With glowing red eyes, she looked down at the shocked Sophia, ready to knock out the young sprout with her other hand raised like a guillotine.

And at that moment.

CRACK!

“Ugh?!”

“Lia?!”

Katarina immediately struck down on Lia’s head as she emerged from the shadow between them, while pretending to target Sophia.

Surprised that her sudden ambush had been countered with another ambush, Lia collapsed to the floor, losing consciousness as blood flowed from her eyes, ears, and nose.

“H-how did you…?”

“You thought I didn’t know you were a Beast Hunter?”

“…?!”

A surprise attack method that couldn’t possibly be countered unless she knew Sophia’s identity.

Shocked that her strategy had been foiled, Sophia was quickly knocked unconscious by a chop to the neck, just like Lia.

“Of course I didn’t know. That’s why I was caught once in the previous ’round.'”

Rather than a previous round, it might be more accurate to say it was something experienced in another “parallel world.”

Katarina Volit.

Her ability as a Hunter was “interference with parallel worlds.”

If her current self were to die, she could move to a parallel world that was the same but could yield different results, while fully retaining those memories.

She could sense nearly infinite parallel worlds where different outcomes could be produced.

“That took some time.”

And the only person who could recognize her ability was Katarina Volit herself, who knew about the existence of parallel worlds.

Katarina planned to continue with her task of taking Shinwoo’s bed outside the hospital.

But then.

“…?”

Was there such a scene in the previous parallel world?

The boy who had been lying down until the moment of her death was now somehow sitting up, pointing a glass shard at his own neck.

As if trying to use himself as a hostage.

“I… I won’t go with you!”

“Hmm… a ‘branching point’? This is troublesome…”

Even if she wanted to subdue him, the sharp glass shard was already slightly pressing into Shinwoo’s neck.

If she approached carelessly, the reaction might cause his throat to be cut immediately.

So Katarina took out the suicide dagger from her thigh and pointed it at her own neck, just as Shinwoo was doing.

And since she had already seen what to do after subduing Sophia…

‘In the next round, I should knock him out immediately after subduing them, without wasting time.’

Just as she was about to slit her own throat as always to start over…

“Don’t move to the next round.”

“……What?”

Words she shouldn’t be able to hear came from right in front of her.

Surprised by Shinwoo’s words, which seemed to indicate knowledge of her ability, Katarina put away the blade she had held to her neck.

Then, with a grim expression never shown in the original work, she glared at Shinwoo.

“What exactly do you mean by that?”

But as if he had already anticipated such threats…

“I’m talking about parallel worlds.”

“…!”

“I can sense them too.”

“What did you say?”

Sweat ran down his face, but Shinwoo smiled, trying to appear as relaxed as possible.

“Even if you give up on this world and move to the next one, your starting point will still be when you confronted Sophia. That’s how you set it up today.”

“How do you know even that…?”

“But I’ve already been clutching a glass shard from the moment Sophia broke the window entering the room. In other words, my suicide is already a foregone conclusion whether you go to the next round or the one after that.”

Katarina’s face, which had been full of hostility, was now filling with surprise and curiosity.

Looking at Katarina, Shinwoo said:

“Katarina. I don’t know why you’re looking for the Jamsil Monster right now, but the ultimate goal of your Villain’s Troupe is to cure the ‘Monster Disease,’ right?”

“You… what exactly are you?”

“I’ll cooperate with you on that. However, there are two conditions.”

“Two conditions?”

Pausing briefly, Shinwoo held up two fingers.

His method to avoid the Villain’s Troupe route while still building affinity with them was as follows:

“First, don’t accept me into the Villain’s Troupe. And second, completely end your interest in the Jamsil Monster.”