Chapter 57

Chapter 57

In a Place Darker Than the Surface (1)

The transformation of everything into a battlefield happened in an instant.

Although the explosions had ceased, the cracks in the walls and ceilings were widening, and the fires in each area were consuming the oxygen needed by the isolated people.

Those who barely escaped the collapsing scenes were met with malicious attacks.

Everywhere I went, the scene was filled with corpses. As I wielded my axe, I endlessly replayed a memory in my mind.

‘Why did you join the organization?’

Back when hope still existed.

A time when we believed we could achieve something.

‘Because I had a lot of complaints about society.’

‘I hated the heroes… Although that alone wouldn’t have made me join, the Boss’s speech was incredible.’

‘My dream is to one day stand beside her. I don’t know if that day will come, but…’

‘Why not? If you keep trying, you’ll get there someday.’

Everyone back then had aspirations.

Drawn by the light of a transcendent being allowed to stand above humans, they believed that with her, they could achieve anything.

‘…Revenge.’

But there was one person.

Out of all those who were with us back then, there was one person who didn’t show any strength born from such beliefs.

It was as if she was being pursued by something far darker and more wretched, unable to be captivated by that light.

‘I want revenge.’

We all sensed it.

Even though she spoke of revenge, there was no hatred or resentment in her eyes.

Her downward gaze, trembling hands, it was unmistakably the emotion of fear.

‘That could be the case.’

How could we question a reason born from such emotions?

So we just remained silent. At the time, it seemed the right thing to do.

But now, having heard the whole story after so many years, that silence feels like regret.

Yes, we didn’t understand what evil truly was back then.

What we displayed was not courage but folly, a realization that became even more apparent.

“Spare me. I was wrong. Please, stop…”

-Slash!

The villain’s head split in half under the force of my axe.

He had charged at me with arrogance at first.

“Shut up.”

I kept swinging the axe at his corpse until the hateful smile in my mind was gone.

“What are you begging for your life for? You attacked first, and now you’re begging for mercy? Do you think you have the right to feel wronged after doing this?”

Gripping the hatchet with my broken fingers.

I spat out the truth I realized toward the kid who was once like me.

“No matter the reason, you have to see it through to the end. If you chose this path out of spite and despair, then fight till the end! Curse the world and rampage with all your might!”

Isn’t that what being evil is about?

No one takes responsibility for what you’ve done.

You must bear the consequences of all your actions.

There is no sympathy for your stories, no opportunity to plead your case. Walking the path of evil can’t be done with a half-hearted resolve.

Not because it’s right.

But because if you don’t brace yourself, the end will always be miserable.

“Why… Why do you act as if the world will understand your shitty deeds?”

But why her…

She has walked this path longer and stood at greater heights than me.

She should know how miserable the end is for those who walk the path of evil with a half-hearted resolve. So why did she do this?

“…Seolhwa.”

Or has she forgotten?

Did the defeat that day make her forget such an obvious truth?

“You shouldn’t have become a villain.”

No, it’s not that.

She didn’t become a villain out of folly like us.

Her beginning was just a girl scared and running away.

When she looked back on the path she had run from, she realized she had come too far.

Yet the world still showed no will to change, and her past haunted her, forcing her to resign and walk this path.

The so-called justice of the world.

Forcing her to choose this path called evil.

“Shut up.”

But to hell with that common sense.

A life that ends in regret from the start, is that even remotely acceptable?

“Everyone, move.”

So I must stop her.

For not understanding her fear back then, swayed by folly.

For not understanding her wounds and only spewing my resentment, thus distorting her heart.

For her unintended rise to a villain executive due to unwanted power, and her ruin after failing to achieve her cause.

For not urging her to leave this path even in our last meeting, for all those days not turned into regret.

-Boom!!

At that moment, a flash from the opposite end of the corridor.

The arm exposed to its trajectory was shredded, and shrapnel sprayed across the walls.

The attack came from a man in a cowboy hat leading more than ten villains.

“Looks like you’ve been rampaging quite a bit.”

Did he figure out I had taken down the other villains by the blood on me?

Though his mocking grin irritated me, I couldn’t charge at him immediately.

The man before me was not like the C-class minnows I had faced.

‘A-class villain, Despera.’

From the lawless Z-district, a villain who treated the law-governed area like a lawless land.

A murderer and robber who also worked as a mercenary for villain organizations, now participating in the destruction of this ship under Pandemonia.

Damn it, did they bring this trash because their goal was mere destruction?

“Oh, your bleeding’s already stopped? I underestimated you because of that paper bag, but you’re a regenerating ability user, huh?”

While I was gritting my teeth, he casually raised the brim of his hat with the magnum in his hand.

Though he must have noticed my bleeding had stopped despite losing an arm, he showed no hesitation in aiming his gun at me.

“But your regeneration doesn’t seem that good.”

Yes, most regenerating ability users would not only stop bleeding by now but also start regrowing flesh if they’re C-class, and bones and muscles if they’re A-class.

But I couldn’t do that.

So gripping the axe with my remaining arm and approaching them was possible only through sheer will and determination.

“Ha, fighting with a half-healed arm? You’ve got some guts.”

-Click.

Two barrels aimed at me.

They were larger than typical handguns.

If those bullets hit, they wouldn’t just penetrate but explode and destroy the targeted area.

“Still, life isn’t just about guts.”

-Bang!

The gun fired, and the bullets hit me, shattering the bones in my shoulder and tearing apart the muscles before exploding.

When the second bullet hit the same spot, my arm was torn off and fell to the ground.

Precision hitting the same spot twice.

Using his ability, Rebound Control, to nullify the recoil on his body.

“No matter how much a bug struggles, it dies when a human steps on it.”

His magnum, controlled by his ability, was a recoilless weapon.

With accurate aim, it had a 100% hit rate, and even rapid fire, impossible for a normal human, was possible for him.

Both my arms were torn off, leaving only my head and legs barely standing.

Just standing… No, an ordinary person would have already died from such injuries.

“…Still standing. You truly are a regenerating ability user.”

Of course. Gifts function regardless of medical death.

Even after heart and brain failure, regeneration continues.

Regenerating ability users gradually heal and stabilize even from injuries deemed fatal, making death by trauma rare.

“But even regeneration has its limits.”

-Bang, bang!!

More bullets mercilessly fired at me.

“No regenerating ability user can survive if their heart and brain are pulverized.”

My head and heart.

The remaining parts of my body shattered, and everything went dark.

The intense pain vanished, and my thoughts numbed.

A familiar sensation. Unable to use my head was something I had experienced multiple times.

Even in such a state, my will remained.

“Seol…”

Yes, my will remained even now.

To move.

My fallen body rose, driven by sheer will.

“Seol, Hwaran.”

Above my shattered jaw.

My vocal cords and mouth gradually regenerated, allowing me to utter her name.

“What… Still not dead… Huh?”

He gasped, seeing me rise.

Surviving after losing my head and heart must have seemed bizarre.

“What… What is that…”

It didn’t matter. As long as I could move, it was enough.

So move.

Even if you can’t stop her, at least try.

One word, even. Borrowing from our past, convey at least one word.

“You… What are you? You weren’t a regenerating ability user…”

“Move.”

“This monster bastard!!”

“Move, you damn bastards!!!!”

-Bang, bang!

Bullets hit my body again with a roar.

Despite feeling my body being torn apart, I closed the distance between us.

At the end, I swung the axe at him.

-Slash!!

The axe bounced off his superhuman shield.

The intense recoil in my arms didn’t matter.

If one strike didn’t kill him, I’d strike again and again.

Until he was dead.

“Stop…”

-Whack!!

With the final strike, Despera’s eyes rolled back.

Feeling no remorse, I turned from his trembling body and limped away.

“Despera’s down…?”

“That monster… What is that body!!”

The faces of those who watched turned pale.

They had been laughing at first.

Now, realizing their leader was dead, they hurriedly prepared their weapons and Gifts.

But they were stronger than me.

There were more than ten of them, and judging by the commotion ahead, even more would block my path.

“…A thousand times.”

Yes, really.

Really, it was familiar.

For what I wanted to do.

For things I thought I couldn’t do to keep appearing and hindering me.

“Charge at me willing to die a thousand times, you bastards.”

How long must I walk this thorny path?

How long until I achieve my goal?

Still, if I endure and push forward, something will change.

Though baseless, I believed that moving forward with all my might would bring change.

That belief was my driving force.

I prepared to take another step with that belief.

-Kwa-gang!!

The world claimed even that will as folly.

At that moment, the ground beneath me completely collapsed.

“The ship is tilting!!”

“It’s too fast! Escape immediately… Aah!!”

As the ship tilted and those on it slid down.

The accelerating speed buried their screams in the darkness, and I saw a massive vortex sweeping everything away.

Even stripping the last vestiges of resistance.

Plunging me into a deep, dark abyss.

***

…And then.

“Damn, to think Seol Hwaran would land such a blow.”

At the lowest level of the Titanic.

Gray Anatomy sighed deeply, looking back at the ruined scene he had escaped from.

“Who would have thought the largest cruise ship in Pangea would meet such an end in the middle of the ocean?”

Even with some onboard security and heroes, Pandemonia would have brought all their forces to sink the ship.

The one who crashed the iceberg was someone who could stand hundreds of meters deep.

With such a moving disaster determined to sink the ship, the heroes here for leisure wouldn’t be able to handle it.

“Didn’t you foresee such an event?”

As he lamented the situation, a small girl followed him.

Gray Anatomy, recognizing her distinctive red hair, smiled faintly and shook his head.

“How could I? I’m not a god. But the Boss has better judgment than I do, so I thought she might have guessed…”

“If this situation were solely her will, perhaps.”

Unfortunately, the weakened Boss could only perceive what was in front of her.

Even if she knew something was being hidden, she couldn’t grasp the details. Such caution might have been a mere misunderstanding when facing Gray Anatomy, but now it was beyond her control.

Could she make such a choice knowing her existence? Such bitterness lingered.

“Well, if she’s now parted ways with us, let’s just move on.”

Chewing on his feelings, Gray Anatomy urged departure.

But her gaze shifted to something in Gray Anatomy’s hand.

“What will you do with the one in your hand?”

“Mmph, mmph!”

Held by a tentacle formed from his transformed right arm was a villain from Pandemonia.

Probably the A-class villain Napalm Puncher, but whatever his infamy or strength, he was now a helpless captive.

A weak prey trembling before a predator.

“Aaah! Monster, monster!!”

As soon as his bindings were released, a scream erupted, but Gray Anatomy ignored it and extended his other hand.

From his hand emerged a cherished pet, nurtured with love.

-Crunch!

The creature’s mouth snapped around the A-class villain’s body in an instant.

End of Chapter