Chapter 84

Chapter 84

Disdain for the Weak (1)

That life was destined to end in tragedy from the very beginning.

The one who understood this best was none other than the person living that life.

The lingering memories of that day haunted her every moment.

Sometimes she thought it might be better to throw herself into the flames of hell, but she couldn’t choose to turn her back on the world with her own hands.

Because she knew that even after she escaped, those things continued to happen.

Because she knew that even if she disappeared, someone else would reach out to do the same thing.

‘So, even if I fall into the depths of evil, I will end the fate that began on that day with my own hands.’

That was the only thing driving the shattered life of a woman.

***

“To think I’d come back here again.”

A ruined city at the end of a long journey.

Located in the mountainous area of District E, it was a prosperous academic city just a decade ago.

But failures in crucial research, consecutive disciplinary actions against those responsible, pressure from the Association, and internal exposés caused it to quickly fall into ruin, leaving only traces of its brilliant past.

‘It’s a funny story, isn’t it? This massive research facility collapsed just because one test subject disappeared.’

Yet, Seolhwa couldn’t find any satisfaction in that.

The horrific acts committed in the name of justice were left unpunished because there were no results to show for the investment.

The deaths of the innocent victims were not honored, and the atrocities committed here were buried, with the truth hidden in darkness.

‘But the remnants that weren’t disposed of are still buried underground. If they could have found a way to resolve the lack of support from the Association, they might have continued their research until now.’

Rank-up, Multi-Gift procedures… and the social chaos that resulted from them.

All of this was understood even before coming here, born from selling off the remnants of this city in the shadows.

-Creak, clank!

Seolhwa pushed open the door of the suspected mastermind’s place and stepped inside.

Though it was a place she had passed once, now only emptiness and darkness remained.

The only other thing noticeable was the dust.

Even though her breath was stifled by her mask, she moved deeper into the facility without concern.

Towards the facility filled with darkness deeper than the early dawn.

-Sizzle, sizzle.

At the end, she reached a place where light shone in the darkness.

In a cluttered lab, numerous monitors, though unrepaired, faintly illuminated the interior.

The noise from all directions. Papers scattered messily across the desk and floor, filled with content similar to what she remembered.

Among them were various packaged frozen foods. The expiration dates ranged from a few years to a few months, showing that someone had visited periodically and spent time here.

“We have a guest.”

A voice suddenly sounded.

Seolhwa felt her heart drop but kept her composure, adjusting the collar of her hanbok.

Yes, the time has come.

“…Dr. Edmund McCoy, is that correct?”

Facing her was the person responsible for the research back then, someone she had never confronted, having only seen in documents and on TV.

But Seolhwa instinctively knew.

‘It’s him.’

Everything she had investigated and the circumstances here indicated he was her target for revenge.

“Ah, that old title. I didn’t expect anyone to still call me doctor.”

The man… or should she call him an old man, laughed without reading her emotions.

“Continuing research in an abandoned facility still makes it accurate.”

“Haha, a kind thing to say.”

Stepping into the light of the monitors from the darkness, his appearance became clear.

Sunken eyes, a wrinkled face, disheveled white hair…

Time had taken its toll, but the lack of care emphasized his decrepit state.

“But it’s still disappointing. I hoped to hear such titles from the public, not from someone like you, a villain.”

Despite his condition, McCoy showed confidence.

He was someone who had long served the Association… no, a legitimate ‘executive’ of the Association.

“Seolhwa, is it… This is our first meeting.”

Once overseeing this city, leading groundbreaking research at this facility, a researcher who had dominated an era.

Though his glory was shattered by her escape, he continued his research out of stubbornness or to overcome failure.

“But why are you here, while the attack on District B continues?”

“Quite relaxed, aren’t you? You’re facing a former executive of an organization that almost destroyed your faction.”

“Haha, it would be funny for an Association executive to be scared of a villain.”

“Only in a place where the Association can protect you.”

The Association’s support was a thing of the past.

Now, even the Association wanted to cover up what happened here, but he continued his research, evading their watch.

His activities, the distribution of resources, and necessary personnel were all operated through the shadows.

“Did you really think you could rely on the power of an executive after erasing all traces?”

She had already grasped everything happening here.

The shadows couldn’t protect him, and even if they could, they couldn’t stop her.

“You’re filled with resentment. But as a villain, it’s only natural you see me, a follower of justice, as an enemy.”

But where did that confidence come from?

Was it because he had faced many evils as a researcher and an executive of the Association?

Or because he himself had deeply immersed in evil during his pursuit?

“But I find you interesting rather than resentful.”

“…Interesting?”

“Anyone with a bit of knowledge in physics would find your power anomalous. Stealing the heat of objects completely overturns the laws of thermodynamics. Isn’t it intriguing?”

It seemed nonsensical.

She had also felt the peculiarity of her power.

No matter how mysterious a gift is, it functions by transforming ‘something into something else.’

Changing something requires a catalyst, and the great strength displayed by humans is just a physical ability applied or transformed through their gifts.

They cannot create something from nothing or make something into nothing.

“But your power isn’t something that can be dismissed like that. The total energy in the universe is fixed. If the temperature drops somewhere, it must rise elsewhere… but you only steal heat without ever releasing it.”

Absolute Zero.

Where did the heat stolen by that gift go?

Total loss is impossible in physics, even through a gift.

Assuming our current understanding is correct.

“Your power isn’t achieved by just… a single gift.”

But if the heat wasn’t destroyed but manipulated by multiple linked abilities to ‘appear’ that way.

If multiple gifts were intricately combined to balance and create the power called Absolute Zero.

“…Who is it?”

That was the extent of Dr. McCoy’s understanding.

He didn’t yet know the origin of that power.

“Who granted you that power?”

As frost spread from her feet, filling the surroundings with cold, Seolhwa began to compose her thoughts.

“I’m not obligated to answer that.”

He had forgotten.

No, it was better this way.

The reason she came here wasn’t to seek his forgiveness or to vent her frustrations.

“I’m just here to fulfill my reason for coming…”

She just wanted to teach the world.

That the evil born from justice naturally despises and seeks to destroy it.

That the existence of someone like her is inevitable in this era, and simply informing the world of that is enough.

“Yes, the reason you’ll be buried here is because… a villain like me has come.”

That was enough.

-Sizzle.

As she prepared to swing her sword with that thought, the noise around her grew louder, and her vision began to blur.

“…What?”

A sudden dizziness.

Her body tilted and then collapsed to the ground.

-Sizzle, sizzle!

The noise from the monitors intensified.

No, it wasn’t from the monitors; it was in her head.

As if something was out of place, her body weakened, and her vision distorted heavily.

Proving it wasn’t a mere illusion, the inside of her mask began to fill with a metallic smell.

“Multi-Gift… It’s a technology I’ve researched since I joined the Association.”

Amidst it all, his voice was clear.

Following that voice, she looked up stiffly and saw a device aimed at her, antennae pointed.

“Though the world shunned the research, leading me to sell the data to villains, the damage caused is trivial compared to the gains. I’ve made devices to control them. Once officially recognized, I can capture them all.”

Yes, something from that device was affecting her power, binding her body.

By disrupting the balance of the multitude of gifts that formed her perfection.

“But you were active even before I sold the research to the underworld.”

Dr. Edmund McCoy, an executive of the Association.

He genuinely doubted her existence.

“Why are you, who never went through my research, affected by this control device?”

Why does a being he never encountered respond to his control device?

And why does she feel so eerily familiar?

End of Chapter