Ch.6Chapter 1. Living as a Villain (1)

About two days had passed since the Red Scarf incident.

I immediately fled to Gangwon Province to hide, stole clothes from a rural market, and then took a taxi home.

What about just returning as the Goblin?

-That’s the house where the Goblin disappeared! Fire missiles!

-Minister! That’s a densely populated civilian area!

-Doesn’t matter! We’ll disguise it as an accident caused by the Goblin exploding! It’s a small sacrifice for the greater good! Kill him!!

If I returned home as the Goblin, missiles might suddenly rain down on my house while I’m sleeping.

That’s the kind of neighborhood I live in.

After Red Scarf’s head exploded.

After dealing with Red Scarf, I immediately went into hiding to avoid the people rushing toward us from a distance.

Snow White didn’t chase after me.

She seemed deeply shocked that a villain had been “killed,” and I didn’t have time to comfort her.

-Let’s meet again. Sorry, but I don’t have time for pleasantries right now.

-There’s the Goblin!! Catch him!!

Those powered individuals rushing from the distance were the government’s “execution squad.”

Unlike me, a villain who captures or kills other villains, the government has also created special forces to eliminate villains.

[It’s a plea deal! If you capture the villain-killing Goblin, we’ll release you on probation. In exchange, you’ll follow orders from above.]

[What? I can get out of prison, kill people if ordered, and most importantly, catch that bastard Goblin with my own hands? Bring me the stamp!]

These are villains I’ve put away.

It’s called “resocialization,” but they’re essentially the government’s dogs.

And these government dogs routinely fabricate, conceal, and manipulate situations to protect the state’s interests.

Just like the headline that reads:

“Goblin Smashes Red Scarf’s Head.”

The deeds of government dogs are twisted to suit the tastes of the media and V-Tube wreckers.

“What a cruel bastard. How could he blow up the head of someone who just became an adult and was recently released from juvenile detention, villain or not?”

“You’re talking about yourself.”

“That’s exactly my point.”

I greeted the woman I met at a secluded café.

“Chairwoman. Don’t you think it’s too much? The way the country treats villains like this.”

“That’s what it means to live as a villain. If you want to formally oppose them, you have no choice but to mask your face. Become a V-Tube star and secure fans.”

This small blonde girl, about 20cm shorter than me, looking almost like a child, is the head of our evil organization, “The Syndicate,” “Yimemangryang.”

“Manager Do, how about debuting as an idol? A villain idol. If you become a male idol that people are crazy about, your fangirls will defend you even if you kill villains.”

“No thanks. Just thinking about the embarrassment when my transformation wears off… ugh.”

I waved off the chairwoman’s suggestion.

“But you’re strong now, right? Honestly, being a villain executioner is quite popular. Among people who’ve lost family to villains.”

“Those people would change their minds if they saw me when my transformation wears off.”

I become incredibly strong when I transform into the Goblin.

The secret to how an ordinary villain like me became so powerful is that after being possessed, I trained desperately to survive.

While the original Goblin was just a regular executive under the Four Executives, now I’m undoubtedly among the top 6 of Yimemangryang.

The top 1 through 5 are naturally the chairwoman and the “Four Heavenly Kings” below her.

“When the transformation ends, I become naked. Who would like that?”

“That’s why you’re building your body, right? To prevent social suicide?”

“Ugh.”

The chairwoman’s gaze shifted to my body.

After being possessed.

I did my best to build my body.

So that if my transformation wore off, people would say “Damn, look at his body…” rather than “Haha, look at that guy’s body.”

“If the stylish suited Goblin turned out to be a pot-bellied balding middle-aged man, his popularity would plummet. But what if he had a bodybuilder’s physique? And then…”

The chairwoman’s gaze moved downward, and she began lightly stroking her iced tea cup up and down.

“The Goblin’s club…”

“Chairwoman. That’s sexual harassment.”

“Manager Do, you should be proud. You’re carrying around the Goblin’s club.”

“I said it’s harassment.”

This woman.

If she weren’t a minor, I would have dealt with her long ago, but I’m holding back because she’s underage.

Well, being a minor is why she’s seriously running an evil organization dreaming of world domination.

A woman with an IQ far exceeding 200, unmeasurable by conventional IQ tests, using her genius brain to run this evil organization.

-The world is so messed up that I’ll rule it myself.

After contemplating world peace over and over, she concluded that directly ruling the world would be the most certain and fastest solution, so she created the evil syndicate “Yimemangryang.”

Thanks to her, I can live well as a villain, and thanks to her, I can escape this false murder accusation.

“Alright, alright. Let’s put Manager Do’s idol project aside for now and talk about ‘Red Scarf.’ Anyway, the situation isn’t as bad as we thought. Because of this.”

The chairwoman took out a tablet and played a video.

“Manager Do. Isn’t it incredibly fortunate? Thank goodness a nearby CCTV was working. Hmm.”

“Isn’t it being deleted from V-Tube right now?”

“The fact that it spread on V-Tube means everyone who needed to see it already has. Ta-da!”

It was quite an old video, showing footage from a CCTV on the Gyeongbu Expressway, with me and a white-haired powered individual in the frame.

Red Scarf lying on the ground with his wings torn off.

Snow White trying to restrain me using ice magic.

Me approaching Snow White with a bat over my shoulder like a gangster.

And then, from over 20 meters away, Red Scarf’s head suddenly explodes.

“Because of the distance, there’s no sound, but anyone would think you were going over to start trouble.”

“I was going to warn her because she was interfering with my handling of Red Scarf.”

The reality was different.

What I actually said was thanking her for cooperating with me, and her replying that it wasn’t cooperation but her own decision.

But without sound, the video makes it look like I attacked Red Scarf and was going to attack Snow White next.

“See this? How you bent down and approached her? I thought you were going to kiss her at that moment. Kyaa…!”

“What kiss? How could I kiss anyone wearing the Goblin mask?”

“I thought you were going to kiss her through the mask and say ‘Next time, I’ll give you a real kiss’?”

“No.”

“Disappointing.”

The chairwoman pouted.

“Try it next time. That’s how we’ll shake Snow White’s heart and bring her to our side.”

“…Sigh. Are you serious?”

“Yes. I’m always serious.”

The chairwoman straightened her posture seriously.

“I want to bring Snow White to our side.”

That’s why I subdued Red Scarf instead of killing him.

Recruiting Snow White, an S-class hero.

If I had to describe what kind of person the chairwoman is, I’d say she’s a “tiny little kid.”

She’s really greedy for talent.

That’s why she came all the way to Seoul, Korea to meet me in person.

Why?

Because in just half a year, I’ve become an executive directly managed by the chairwoman!

“It’s good to have people rise from the bottom like our capable Manager Do, but it’s also good to scout people with known abilities, right? Especially those who are treated unfairly by the government.”

“Your words are wise.”

“Heroes currently affiliated with the government are all under government influence, knowingly or unknowingly. It’s not for nothing that Red Scarf called heroes ‘government dogs.’ There are actual tracking dogs, but most have their leashes tied to the country.”

The chairwoman openly frowned.

“Family. Money. Patriotism. Friends. Religion. Land. They find anything that can be a leash to oppress heroes. Above all, the biggest leash is…?”

“Sejong Island?”

“Exactly! What powered individuals want most. The source of their power… the land itself that can increase mana. Since living in a house on the East Sea increases mana, powered individuals can’t easily leave this land.”

The chairwoman shook her head.

“Mana is the power of powered individuals. Increasing this mana is their goal. That’s why they’re not afraid to touch such fearsome things.”

The chairwoman swiped the tablet screen sideways.

“Overseas, they call this the ‘Devil’s Eye.’ Devil’s Eyes. Magical Eye. The name doesn’t matter, but what’s important is that it instantly amplifies a powered individual’s mana… like a forbidden drug.”

I know.

That’s the root cause of all the incidents and accidents in this world.

“The government is making this. The place where it’s probably being made is… ‘Sejong Island.'”

Far away.

Fifty ri by sea, southwest of Ulleungdo.

“Sejong Academy, the powered individual training facility. There’s a high possibility they’re researching demonic power there. So.”

There’s a huge island.

An island more than 10 times the size of Yeouido.

“Manager Do?”

“Yes, Chairwoman.”

“I need you to infiltrate the academy.”

“……”

So.

It’s come to this.