Ch.9898. Ultimate Villain Championship

CRASH!!

I deliberately broke down the door as I entered Bloom’s hideout. His subordinates, who were about to enter combat stance, immediately backed away and bowed their heads when they saw me.

Behind me followed Lu-a, the Prism God, and several members of my personal guard unit. Without needing to make any further threats, Bloom immediately emerged from inside and bowed his head in respect.

“Lord.”

“Bloom.”

“How is it that you’ve come all the way to this cold place without any notice…”

Bloom raised his head and met my eyes. I approached him and asked at close range.

“Are you still distributing Pestam?”

His reaction to my question was quite different from what I expected. He neither begged pitifully for his life nor resigned himself to his fate. Instead, he calmly answered as if he’d been expecting this moment.

“I am.”

“You know well what happens when you disobey.”

“I do.”

“What’s your reason?”

Bloom seemed to have no regrets despite knowing he was about to die.

It was quite unexpected.

“Honestly, I predicted this day would come when you, a former hero, began unifying villains. Some like Kang Wan have completely assimilated to your ways, but there are many villains like me who prefer the old methods.”

“What method is it that you want?”

“Drugs are a main source of income for villain organizations. That’s common sense. I understand your big picture that comes from prohibiting this in the long term. If I had been part of Vengeance from the beginning, I would have followed without hesitation. But I have subordinates under me. Quite many of them.”

Bloom continued speaking fluently.

“I’m not a thug who empties my subordinates’ pockets. That’s all.”

“Bloom, you and I go back to Harbor 7, and you’ve faithfully carried out my orders since the villain alliance.”

“That’s right.”

“Must I execute you over something like this?”

“If that’s your will, there’s nothing I can do.”

There was no hesitation in Bloom’s eyes.

“Your drug distribution is destroying the slums. You can’t even manage your lower organizations, and children are being used in deals and dying. Still have no intention of stopping?”

“Lord.”

Bloom stated the obvious fact.

“A villain would never prioritize citizens he’s never met over his subordinates.”

Right.

That’s correct.

“There will be no pain.”

“Thank you.”

I created a white void and instantly erased Bloom’s temple.

***

Bloom had been trustworthy, so losing someone to manage Russia was a considerable loss.

I had Kang Wan look into personnel selection, but the fewer people I directly manage, the easier it becomes for the organization to collapse.

I needed to expand my network. Strong villains I could personally contact, manage, and trust.

But before that.

“Sulphur.”

What kind of person is he?

In the end, he rescued people and eradicated the drugs being smuggled in that area.

He even dealt with one of the main executives of Vengeance, currently the most powerful villain organization, weakening our forces.

An impressive achievement.

“He’s like a real hero.”

I couldn’t help but smile. The actions he took this time didn’t even require particularly strong abilities.

A wise guy.

He deserves praise for catching my attention. Especially for calling himself a hero.

“Lu-a, please issue a wanted order for a hero called Sulphur. Description: pure white suit, height around 160 centimeters.”

“Okay. Geo, you look happy.”

“Me?”

“Yes. You’ve been so stressed lately thinking only about Vengeance business. I’m relieved to see your expression relaxed.”

Lu-a gently stroked my face. Her skinship is becoming more natural.

“It’s thanks to you.”

“Really?”

Lu-a played with my hair while smiling. I wonder what makes her so happy.

“Leave it to me. I’ll find him soon.”

Lu-a said that and actually brought several witness reports within a few hours.

But this Sulphur was an elusive character appearing here and there all over the world.

Fortunately, I was able to hear testimony from someone I knew, so I immediately met them through Lu-a’s quantum field.

“Red… Lord Gerogius, it’s been a while!”

“Yes.”

Lee Jung-hye, a former hero called Iron Mountain and a Resistance leader, bowed to me. We met at an orphanage.

“What happened to the Resistance?”

“Anthology disbanded when the Washington Hero Association was dissolved. We achieved our goal. Since then, I’ve been volunteering here.”

“It suits you.”

“Thank you!”

Jung-hye bowed so deeply she might hurt her back.

With Vengeance’s active investment, facilities to protect orphans have been established all over the world.

Especially in war zones and underdeveloped regions, rescue operations are continuously underway.

“So, about that white hero?”

“Yes. Actually, anonymous donations have been left at the orphanage occasionally for about a month. Since they were strictly anonymous, I wanted to see who it was, so I hid in the bushes at dawn to catch them in the act.”

“And it was him?”

“Yes. There were rumors about a white hero going around. I have ocular implants, so I saved the footage of what I saw.”

Jung-hye handed me a file containing images of Sulphur.

Pure white. Flying without wings, wearing a cape and an elegant alloy suit. Not large in stature, but his body looks nimble yet by no means soft.

It’s a brief video of him leaving donations and immediately disappearing, but I could clearly confirm his appearance.

“Geo, what do you think? Does he look strong?”

“Strength aside, I’m annoyed that he’s openly challenging me.”

“Really?”

Of course.

For someone who calls himself a hero and acts like a real one to name himself Sulphur means he considers Gerogius a true villain and intends to hunt him down.

“Jung-hye, what do you think of this person?”

Jung-hye made an “umm” sound, thought for a moment, and answered.

“Isn’t it proof that Lord Gerogius is creating a better world? At least when I was working as a hero in the slums, I never saw someone like this. It probably means there are more people like me who are inspired by Lord Gerogius’s ideology.”

Jung-hye, unaware of the situation, answered innocently.

Well, since Sulphur appeared because of me, she might be somewhat right.

“Are you satisfied with your current life?”

“Of course. The children are growing up safely, the city’s crime rate has clearly decreased. When I was a hero, it felt like I was wearing clothes that didn’t suit me, but now I feel much lighter.”

“I see.”

“If you need the Resistance, please give the order anytime. All unaffiliated ability users are standing by.”

I lightly extended my hand to Jung-hye and then returned to the hideout with Lu-a.

***

The next morning, I woke up to find Lu-a had rolled off the bed again. I lifted her back up and covered her with the blanket. Lu-a, sleeping deeply with her guard down, had worse sleeping habits than I expected.

After washing up quickly, I went to the office and found Lena sitting in my seat.

“What is it?”

“What kind of morning greeting is that?”

“The Galactic Empire kind.”

“Hehe, Ui-seok, you’re getting good at comebacks. I heard from Lu-a. You executed Bloom.”

“Yes.”

I sat across from Lena.

“You know he was capable, right?”

“But he didn’t obey.”

“He obeyed for a year. Before that, he obeyed me at Harbor 7 too.”

Lena was making it clear she was upset I hadn’t informed her first.

“Are you saying I should have spared him?”

“Have you forgotten? I could have narrowed our differences of opinion with my suggestion.”

“I couldn’t leave such an uncertain element. Besides, you’re busy right now. Maintaining suggestion commands consumes mental energy, and I can’t have you do that for my work.”

“…Hah, Ui-seok, how considerate of you.”

Lena averted her gaze and half-covered her face with a fan.

“He had to be dealt with. There was actual damage.”

“Damage. Ui-seok, I don’t intend to oppose what you’re doing. But villains selling drugs and killing people is only natural.”

“I know. I’m just telling them not to cross the line.”

“Crossing that line is also a villain’s instinct. Think positively. They’re a species that pursues freedom. If you suppress them, they’re bound to explode.”

Bang!

Lena somehow produced a party popper and set it off right in front of my eyes.

“You’ll need a place to resolve the villains’ dissatisfaction. A battlefield to eliminate those who can’t be controlled while finding loyal ones and increasing our strength.”

Lena handed me a stack of reports. She preferred physical documents over electronic ones.

I checked the contents.

“Ultimate Villain Championship?”

“Open a legal battleground where anyone from around the world can participate. Give the winner a suitable reward.”

Indeed. As with the Civil War, Lena’s ideas are quite helpful.

Since Scenario 4 is gone, I need to create my own scenario.

“You’ve divided the participation into two categories. Unlimited rules where killing is allowed, and non-lethal rules.”

“Violent villains who would participate in unlimited rules aren’t necessary for you, so they’ll thin themselves out. If it were me, I’d use anyone capable regardless of such distinctions.”

That’s exactly right. I felt Lena’s consideration in perfectly understanding my intention.

“Those who participate in non-lethal rules and perform well are likely to be loyal. Select them and entrust them with important responsibilities.”

“Excellent idea. With motivation, the level of villains worldwide will rise. Let’s set the prize money at about 50 trillion.”

“How generous.”

“Most of those who rise through the non-lethal rules will be recruited anyway, so it’s like a transfer fee. The problem is the winner of the unlimited rules, the strongest and most cruel one who remains.”

I couldn’t help but smile.

“You’re thinking something bad?”

“Of course. That’s what villains do.”

And while we’re at it.

Sulphur.

Let’s try to lure him out too.