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Chapter 78: A Polite Declaration of Kidnapping

Chapter 78: A Polite Declaration of Kidnapping

I had thought about it a few times.

“My engraving suits a villain more than a Hunter.”

The power of Allure doesn’t really fit the role of a Hunter.

Just because someone awakens doesn’t mean they have to become a Hunter.

In fact, a lot of awakened people choose to live as ordinary citizens.

The Hunter profession is mostly for the rare few born with combat-type engravings,

And only those with the will to keep fighting monsters without breaking down

In short, the number of awakened who don’t become Hunters isn’t small either.

Unlike Hunters, who at least try to follow rules and ethics, some awakened individuals use their power to ignore society and laws.

A person with strength far beyond that of normal humans.

A single person strong enough to threaten the very systems meant to uphold the law—

“Nice to meet you. I’m Dang Geon-hee, from Team 1 of the Terror Division, Villain Association.”

The kind of evil that eats away at society.

People called those awakened who committed crimes: Villains.

“…I think I misheard you. Could you say that again?”

“Yes, I’m Dang Geon-hee, Team 1, Terror Division, Villain Association…”

“No, seriously—what kind of villain scouts people like some K-pop agency?”

And now, that villain was standing in front of Si-woo.

Wearing a sharp suit and politely bowing his head.

I just came out to enjoy a rare day off—what the hell is this mess?

Si-woo accepted the business card Dang Geon-hee offered.

He read the neatly laminated card again.

Even for someone like Si-woo, who’d seen his fair share of absurdity, it wasn’t easy to process the fact that someone calling themselves a villain was approaching him this politely.

Terror Division… not Anti-Terror Division?

He hadn’t misheard.

It wasn’t an anti-villain group, or a counter-terror division.

Right there, on the card handed to him, it clearly said: Villain Association, Terror Division.

“This isn’t some April Fool’s prank, right?”

“April Fool’s ended about three months ago.”

“So you’re saying this is real??”

“Yes. The Villain Association doesn’t usually kidnap people to recruit them. Villains tend to be so unpredictable that if you try to kidnap one, they’ll say they were forced to join even after death.”

So… it’s not like they never do it, huh?

Trying to make sense of this absurd conversation, Si-woo took a sip of his hazelnut latte.

As the sugar hit his brain, he studied the self-proclaimed villain in front of him.

Did some new kind of agency open up for villains or something?

After all, what was a villain?

An awakened superhuman.

Someone with powers far beyond ordinary people, who could only be dealt with by other awakened ones.

To Si-woo, villains were terrifying monsters, that was the image he had in his head.

“What even is the Villain Association?”

“Just as it sounds. An association for villains. Since we’re all technically criminals, we figured out a way to… survive, in our own way.”

“Well, you’ve really got the wrong guy. I’m not a criminal or a villain, I’m a student at the Hunter Academy.”

If anything, he was on the opposite side, the side that hunted down villains.

The ones who locked up monster-like freaks.

“Should I report you now, or later?”

“As expected, you’re showing it through your actions. But keep in mind, we also have ways to protect ourselves.”

Thud.

A device was placed on the table.

Si-woo had never seen it before, but judging by the blinking red light, he could easily guess what it was.

“It’s a flow-blocking artifact. It stops everything from mana to electronic signals, nothing flows in or out from this space.”

“Hah, you’re surprisingly professional about this part, huh?”

“When you deal with villains often, you pick up a few survival tricks. Last time, I nearly had my heart stolen by a cursed doll while scouting a new recruit. Would you believe that?”

“Yeah, sounds about right for a villain.”

More than anything, it was hard to believe this guy was even human.

Even if someone from the Hunter Association approached Si-woo like this, he’d be suspicious, but this was the Villain Association.

And they weren’t even trying to recruit a regular person, they were approaching other villains—people who had already committed crimes, who were used to carrying a few emotional scars or grudges.

Approaching someone like that with this kind of calm pitch?

Even if it wasn’t Si-woo, most people would’ve either run or ignored them.

Honestly, it’d be more believable if this was a fake group the Hunter Association made

“…But your tone changed real fast, didn’t it?”

“It didn’t seem like a lie. I’m not the kind of guy who’d politely speak to criminals unless I had to.”

“Fascinating. That attitude aligns well with our Association’s values.”

“Enough nonsense.”

Get to the point.

At Si-woo’s question, Dang Geon-hee nodded and held out a sheet of paper.

“If you look at this first, it’ll help you understand.”

“What is this—”

He didn’t even need to finish the question.

Every name written on that page was already etched into Si-woo’s memory.

These people…?

“These are the names of those who, over the past six months, put in requests to have you kidnapped.”

Ha.

Connections from his host days.

More precisely, a list of clients he had served during that time, all neatly listed on one piece of paper.

“A total of 87 cases. No requests for murder, only abduction. Of course, we got the usual revenge jobs, like taking out a rival company exec or an ex-lover, but everyone listed here? They only wanted you taken.”

Makes sense.

No one wants a corpse.

Though… maybe there’s someone out there who does.

“So what, you came to kidnap me?”

“Nope. We’re villains, sure, but we still get paid to do jobs.”

And we’re not some cheap errand boys.

Dressed all sharp, only to flake like this.

Si-woo gave him a look that screamed Seriously?

But Dang Geon-hee didn’t flinch.

He simply sipped his espresso.

“Then why did you come find me?”

“We wanted to ask if you’d be interested in joining the Villain Association.”

“No.”

“Very firm.”

“You thought I’d just say yes?”

“Not at all. You’re not just anyone, you’re a top first-year at the Hunter Academy. You’re even receiving advanced training from the Arkineth Guild. It’d be foolish to expect someone with such a bright future to throw it away and become a villain.”

Then why even come find me?

Before Si-woo could even ask, Dang Geon-hee began to speak.

“But with the kind of attention you’re getting, you must feel some amount of hatred toward people, don’t you?”

“…”

“I doubt I hit a nerve or anything. Since you chose the path of a Hunter, not a villain,

But even someone born good isn’t immune to becoming evil.

“Being admired is nice, sure, especially as a man. But when that interest crosses a line, from curiosity into obsession and harassment, it’s a whole different story, especially when it comes from women. And believe it or not, we villains specialize in this kind of thing.”

That truly villainous, unpleasant smile.

With a face like he’d seen right through Si-woo’s heart, his eyes gleamed with a dark light.

Si-woo couldn’t hold back his disgust, and frowned deeply.

“Yeah, you’re definitely a villain.”

“Exactly. Even if I act sane for the sake of conversation, I’m still not a normal person.”

“Then I guess you know what I’ve got to say to a villain like you.”

Si-woo raised his middle finger.

Though he stood from his seat, his expression remained grim.

Half of his drink was still left, but he didn’t want to look at this man for even one more second.

Dang Geon-hee nodded as if he understood.

“Thank you for your time. It really is hard to corrupt a future Hunter.”

“Right. So if you get it, get lost. You’ll probably end up on the news soon anyway, but I don’t want to be involved when that happens.”

“That’s a shame. Honestly, I really did want to bring you along… as a comrade.”

“…What?”

Something about Dang Geon-hee’s words felt off.

Si-woo instinctively began gathering mana, but Dang Geon-hee moved even faster, placing his hand on the artifact.

“Plan C has failed. Villain Yu Ga-eun.”

“Proceeding to Plan D.”

Crackle—!!