Chapter 19: Before viewing ⑥

[Master───]

Beeeeeeep.

It sounded like Yu Hyesun was shouting something, but the ringing in my ears made it impossible to hear.

When I looked down, blood was gushing from the hole punched through my chest.

It didn’t hurt as much as it felt suffocating. I couldn’t breathe properly, and my body felt like it was submerged underwater—barely able to move.

Even so, my mind was clearer than ever.

Strange.

With a creak, I lifted my head.

Yureon looked distraught. I expected her to sneer, but that was unexpected. Her lips moved as our eyes met, but I still couldn’t hear anything.

Next to her, a line of crows were intensely focused on my every move.

‘Come to think of it, I’m not wearing the mask.’

From beyond those eyes—Lee Seoran… Unni was probably watching me.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Would she have any idea?

That I killed four people.
That I tore out someone’s teeth.
That I’ve been training all this time while resenting her.

Would my sister know that her own little sibling had fallen this far?

If she guessed, what would she think?

Regret? Despair? Guilt?

I tried to picture her collapsing in grief.

My sister sobbing while calling my name.

– Iran, I’m sorry…

That kind of thing…

‘I hate that.’

I don’t want her to blame herself.

It was never her fault to begin with.

She just didn’t pick up the phone one time.
Ignoring a call during a date—how could that possibly be some terrible crime?

Unni has spent her whole life saving others by sacrificing herself.

She finally found happiness… I can’t be the one to take that away.

That’s something that must never happen.

‘She deserves to be rewarded.’

Looking back, I think I must’ve been messed up in the head.

‘In a way, I’m glad.’

If none of this had happened, I probably would’ve committed all kinds of evil just to punish her. And I would’ve left behind a wound she could never heal.

Right. Compared to that horrible future, dying like this is a hundred—no, a thousand times better.

‘Yeah.’

It’s better if I die here.
Before I fall any deeper.

‘But…….’

I can’t stop trembling.

‘I’m scared.’

The awful sensation of my body gradually going cold.
My thoughts breaking off like static.

In a few seconds, everything that makes up “me” will disappear.

‘I don’t want this.’

It’s cold. I’m alone.

…Where am I? Where’s Unni?

‘I want to go home.’

The world began to sway.

Before I knew it, I was home.
Not the villain’s dorm they assigned me to—my warm, lifelong home.

I was reading a book between someone’s legs. A familiar hand was stroking my head.

“Unni…….”

I blinked, and cold grassland air slapped my cheek.

A crow was staring at me with pitch-black eyes.

I’m scared.

“I want… to go….”

I want to go home.
Why? What did I do wrong to be thrown into such a cold, terrifying place?

“I miss you….”

My sister, who was always there when things got hard.

“Where are you…….”

Why aren’t you here with me now?

“I’m… right here…….”

I’m right here.

Please come get me.

At last, the girl let her head fall.

“…….”

From outside the zone, Durek slipped a hand discreetly into his pocket.

Most didn’t notice that he had torn a charm and that Iran had paused at just the right moment.

All except one.

“What are you hiding in such a fluster, Instructor?”

The voice came from right behind him. A boy’s voice.

It was a voice anyone affiliated with the Villain Association would immediately recognize.

Durek turned around and dropped to one knee.

“This lowly villain pays his respects to the Grand Commander.”

Waist-length, watery-blue hair.
A beautiful boy accepted the gesture with the grace of nobility.

“Honor to the glorious pillar of Jo.”

Durek looked up at the boy.
Eyes as deep as the sea stared back at him in silence.

He may have looked like an ordinary boy, but treating him as such would be a grave mistake.

This was someone all villains were meant to revere.

The boy before him was the leader of Jo, the one who oversaw all villain activity in the city of Nova.

“What business does the Ironblood Instructor have interfering in a children’s squabble?”

His tone made it clear—he already knew everything Durek had done. The paralysis charm applied beforehand, and how he triggered it at the critical moment to bring about her death.

The boy perched himself on a rock and swung his legs with playful curiosity.

“It was all for the great cause.”

“The great cause…”

Suddenly, a white hole opened at the boy’s feet.

“The great cause, you say?”

From the hole rose a silver figure.
A knight clad in full silver armor.
From within the helmet, blue eyes glared silently at Durek .

The Immortal Knight.

It was because of this knight that the boy had earned the title “Undying One.”

“Isn’t saving her also part of the great cause?”

The boy’s gaze lowered just a touch.

“Seems you also placed a paralysis charm on Yureon . If you had to choose, you should’ve taken her out.”

“…….”

“Yureon ’s talent is undeniably exceptional. But she’s not quite on the same level as the younger sister of Light. Am I wrong?”

“You are absolutely right.”

“Ironblood.”

At the same moment, the silver knight drew its greatsword.

Shunk!

In the blink of an eye, the blade was at Durek ’s throat.

“Has your love for your cherished disciple clouded your judgment?”

“…….”

Blood trickled down the sword’s edge.
Even so, Durek spoke without a flicker of emotion.

“Originally, it was Yureon who was supposed to die.”

“…….”

“If the mask hadn’t fallen, that is.”

Curiosity bloomed across the boy’s face.

“Iran’s existence must not be revealed yet.”

“And why not? Surely Light suffered quite a blow from this.”

That was true.

But—

“But Light will overcome it.”

“And your basis for that?”

Durek looked puzzled by the question.

“Must I say it aloud? You, of all people, should know best, Grand Commander.”

“…….”

“Though she wavered for a moment, Light will straighten her resolve—if only to bring her sister back. Even the tiniest bit of hope is enough for her to come back like a cockroach. She always has.”

For ability users of light and darkness, talent wasn’t what determined their strength.

It all came down to conviction.
The intensity of one’s emotions dictated how far one could rise—or how far they could fall.

And Light was the strongest light-based user in the world.

“But if there’s no hope at all, then not even someone like her can stand again.”

“……So now that her identity has been exposed, you’ve made sure to crush even the last shred of hope. Is that it?”

“Precisely.”

The boy waved his hand, and the knight vanished with a bow.

His curiosity now satisfied, the boy patted Durek ’s shoulder lightly with a bright expression.

“As long as it wasn’t a decision clouded by emotion, then all is well. As expected, your title of Ironblood is no hollow boast.”

The boy turned to leave, seemingly finished with his business.

But then he paused—one last question seeming to surface in his mind.

“Still, that girl, Iran. I found myself wondering… if nurtured properly, might she not be able to topple Light without needing any tricks? Or is that just my own delusion?”

“…I can’t say for sure, but I thought the same.”

“So if we’d just accepted the risk of exposure and raised her? We might’ve defeated Light and still been left with an overwhelming asset afterward, no?”

Durek shook his head firmly.

“Too uncertain. And ultimately, impossible. Where do you think Iran’s talent comes from?”

“She’s a darkness user, so… her emotions.”

Those who succeed as darkness-type users all have one thing in common: obsession.
The stronger the obsession, the more powerful their abilities become.

“To be precise, it’s hatred. Hatred toward Light . For that purpose alone, Iran was capable of anything.
But there is no emotion as volatile as hatred.”

“……So if she kills Light , she’ll lose her power. That’s what you’re saying.”

With his final curiosity satisfied, the boy left with a look of contentment.
Durek , too, turned away.

The Evaluation Match was over.

Now, the young villains would have to prepare to face the heroes.

The heroes watched the battle with grave expressions.
Their earlier jokes and wagers felt like a distant memory in the weight of the moment.

It was only natural.
No matter how promising a rookie might be, they could never shake the balance between hero and villain.

But those two monsters were different.

“Right-handed. Not formally trained—she fights on instinct.”

Elysia typed every word DOHYEON said directly into her laptop.

“Her left-side reactions are slightly delayed. She hasn’t achieved full unity of body and mind.”

This intel would eventually be distributed to every hero, should that girl ever reach Nova.
It wouldn’t dramatically shift their odds, but it was better than going in blind.

“…Why did she stop?”

The masked girl had pierced Yureon ’s throat. The tiger had leapt.
At that point, all it would’ve taken was a bite to the neck to end it.

DOHYEON’s focused expression twisted into one of confusion.

“Did something happen to her wrist… huh?”

Clang!

Someone dropped their liquor bottle.

“…….”
“…….”

When Yureon had shown her power.
When the masked girl had appeared as her adversary.
Every time, a heavy silence had fallen over the room.

But now, as the girl’s mask was stripped away, the silence was of an entirely different magnitude.

“…….”
“…….”

Not even a breath escaped.

Most had swallowed theirs.

Suddenly, Elysia felt lightheaded.
Her brain refused to process what her eyes were telling it.

No—it was rejecting it.

“…….”

How could this nightmare be real?

No matter how cruel the world may be, surely not this cruel…

But in the end, Elysia whispered the truth aloud.

“Irani…?”

Kim Dohyeon stopped speaking.

So did everyone else.

The girl who always carried a basket of candy and cheered on the heroes with adorable innocence.
The Association’s beloved mascot, thought to have died in a villain attack—

That face was now staring back at them from the other side of the screen.

“…….”

Elysia ’s hands trembled.
Her whole body trembled.
A terror-like emotion surged through her mind.

While everyone watched the screen in stunned silence—

–Thud.

Iran’s heart was pierced.

“No…”

Elysia whispered, unaware of her own voice. Her mind was still fogged over like a dream.

But one thing was clear—
The child she saw as a little sister was dying.

–Where are you…
–I’m here…

It was the moment the girl finally lowered her head.

“…….”

Click.

Kim Dohyeon picked up his sword and walked silently toward the door.
Everyone in the room felt an unfamiliar, creeping dread.

Heroes rushed to grab his arm in a panic.

One of them asked, cautiously:

“Where are you going…?”

Kim Dohyeon looked down at him with shadowed eyes.

“I have to go.”

“Go where?”

“She’s there.”

Kim Dohyeon shoved the heroes’ hands off coldly, then headed once more toward the door.
Too late, they realized his intent—and they clung to him with desperation.

The veins on Kim Dohyeon’s neck bulged.

“She’s right there! Irani’s right there!”

“Calm down! What are you going to do by yourself?!”

“Then why is she the one out there alone?! Get off me! Let go!!”

Even amid the chaos, Elysia couldn’t tear her eyes away from the screen.

Tears welled in her dazed eyes.

Silently weeping, Elysia’s thoughts turned briefly to Seoran.

‘Cruel.’

This was too cruel.