episode_0001

Villain 13 was, without exaggeration, the strongest and worst villain, and the object of fear for all who lived in S-city.

People said that he was a cruel and heartless villain.

People said that he was the strongest villain, true to his vile character.

People said that he was the incarnation of a demon.

People said that he was the very charisma of a villain.

Although about half of those evaluations needed to be qualified with terms like ‘self-proclaimed’ or ‘perhaps’,

still, he was undoubtedly a promising villain, drawing the attention of some heroes as a super-dangerous individual.

Let me say it again: he was truly a garbage villain, fully deserving the title of ‘worst’.

He was nothing short of an incarnation of terror, spreading fear to countless people.

It was also him who recently manipulated the subway train schedule, causing confusion on the lines and creating enormous traffic problems.

It was also him who, seeing someone squatting to relieve themselves, pushed them over and stole their toilet paper.

It was also him who recommended a water dispenser that only gave out lukewarm water to someone trying to pour water into their cup noodles.

Hiding inside a store and mixing up all the pairs of Bluetooth earphones – everything was the doing of Villain 13!

Unbelievable!

The worst!

Trash!

Demon!

In this way, his cruel and devilish actions continued without ceasing, day after day,

and as a result, all citizens living in S-city feared his existence.

Villain 13, who leisurely enjoyed their fear and displayed the poise of a relaxed villain,

today, without fail, was triumphantly enjoying his villainous life, orchestrating cruel villainous terror befitting an evildoer.

――Little did he imagine that on this very day, he would fall to the very bottom.

***

“You atrocious villain! Villain 13! This time, I won’t let you get away! I’ll tear your limbs to shreds and throw them into the East Sea!”

In S-city, the capital of South Korea, at a certain bank.

Villain 13, who was committing the tremendous atrocity of grilling and eating pork belly with his subordinates on a griddle in the heart of the bank, the center of currency circulation, turned to scoff at the hero who had come to catch him.

In his hand was an appetizingly wrapped ssam.

“You shouldn’t do that, Hero. Illegally dumping trash in the ocean? That’s not something a hero should do.”

For a villain, he at least seemed to know that he himself was trash.

Hero Spade.

A red-haired A-rank hero belonging to the 7th squad of the Hero Association, which was in charge of S-city.

Facing her, with her ample bosom and alluring thighs visible beneath her hero uniform skirt, Villain 13 leisurely chewed and swallowed his lettuce wrap.

“…Stop stuffing your face!”

“No!!”

“Aaargh!!!”

When he answered resolutely and shoved a new lettuce wrap into his mouth as if to show off, Spade, who was watching, ground her teeth and stomped her foot loudly on the floor.

Each time she stomped, the bank’s marble floor cracked loudly.

‘What a brutishly strong, gorilla-like woman.’

Though a chill ran down his spine for a moment, Villain 13 feigned nonchalance and scrutinized Spade from head to toe.

On the surface, Spade appeared to be nothing more than an extremely ordinary average woman. If anything, her beauty was what stood out.

Her long limbs looked healthy, but that was merely an appearance of health; she wasn’t actually muscular like a gorilla.

Her body felt rather slender, as if she couldn’t even overpower an adult man.

However, as an ‘Awakened One’ chosen by a ‘Constellation’, she could not be judged simply by her appearance.

Even if she looked that way, the mere fact that she displayed superhuman strength capable of cracking a marble floor just by stomping her foot proved it.

Awakened One.

Those chosen by ‘Constellations’ who began appearing in the world at some point, for reasons unknown and causes unfathomable.

Granted ‘mana’ and specialized ‘knowledge’ that ordinary people would normally never encounter, they could wield extraordinary abilities and magic that normal people could only dream of.

Spade was also one such Awakened One,

and as her A-rank indicated, she was a monster not to be underestimated.

How many villains had been reduced to a bloody mess by her hands so far?

The anecdote of her single-handedly annihilating an entire villain organization when she had just become an adult was famous even among villains.

A woman whom villains ought to fear.

That was the hero named Spade.

―However.

―Even in front of such a monster, Villain 13 seemed to feel no fear at all.

He had had several opportunities to face this hero before.

And he had never once lost to her.

No, Villain 13 had never once experienced defeat.

Chosen by the strongest Constellation,

not once since becoming an ‘Awakened One’, a path originally granted only to women.

Villain 13 was indeed the one and only man who fully deserved the title of ‘strongest and worst villain’.

“Come on, Hero. Don’t just talk. It’ll just end up the same way as last time anyway.”

“You…!”

Spade’s face flushed with shame, as if recalling their previous encounter.

This was because she remembered being counterattacked when she tried to ambush Villain 13 before, and suffering such a humiliating experience that she couldn’t even lift her head.

And, in proportion to the shame burning in her chest,

her rage and hatred towards Villain 13 soared as if to pierce the sky.

“Just give up already. Whatever you do now, you can’t do anything to me. Despite being weak.”

“Shut up! So you’re saying I should just stand by and watch a villain?!”

“If you know you can’t win, then yes, you should.”

From behind Villain 13, his subordinates’ jeers floated over.

They all knew very well that the hero before them stood no chance of winning against them.

Is that how all heroes are? Or is Spade especially strange?

Do they not know the word ‘give up’? Or is it the word ‘difference in skill level’ that they don’t know?

If they had any sense, shouldn’t they know how to give up by now?

“Fine. If I watch any longer, I might actually grow fond of you. I’ll properly teach you a lesson this time, enough to make you utterly despise me.”

“Who’s growing fond of…!”

“Right, right. Come on, attack.”

Villain 13 remained completely nonchalant. His attitude was: come at me anytime.

At Villain 13’s attitude, Spade’s eyes ignited.

“Die! Villain 13!!!”

Gathering red mana into her fist, Spade shot forward like a literal bullet.

Facing such a Spade, Villain 13 remained calm.

This much is nothing.

As always, I’ll subdue her effortlessly.

***

‘…………….Hm?’

――He realized it only when Spade’s fist was already right in front of his nose.

His original intention was to let Spade’s fist get dangerously close,

then lightly snatch it, and deliver a heavy counter to Spade’s unguarded body.

He had planned to punch her solar plexus and knock her out instantly.

But he couldn’t do it.

It wasn’t because she was a woman.

He wasn’t scared either.

Simply, purely,

he couldn’t do anything.

He felt no power.

The mana that had always filled his body and steadily supported Villain 13 was now completely undetectable.

Huh…?

Oh……..?

WHAMMMMMM!!!

THWACK! THUD! CRASH CRASH CRASH!!!

“Villain 13-nim?!!!!!!”

Villain 13’s body was sent flying like trash by a single punch from Spade, knocking over chairs and sofas placed in the corner of the bank before tumbling across the floor.

“Ah… Ugh… Oh…….”

It hurts. It hurts. Seriously.

It hurts enough to die.

I feel like I’m going to die.

No, more importantly. What in the world is happening?

Why can’t I feel any mana at all?

Why, unlike usual, can I not exert any strength…

『―――Ah. Can you hear me? Can you hear me?』

‘………….?’

Huh? Something just…

A voice… Did I hear something?

『Ah, you can hear me. Good.』

『Hello, my friend. Nice to meet you. This is our first time conversing like this.』

It wasn’t a delusion. Clearly, someone’s voice was audible.

A peculiar sensation he had never experienced before, as if the voice wasn’t entering through his ears but being transmitted directly to his brain.

His vision blurred from the intense pain, as if his entire body was crushed, but the voice in his head continued speaking as if it couldn’t care less about his situation.

『My friend. I am Constellation-nim, who chose you and bestowed power upon you. You may worship me with tears. I permit it.』

『I like interesting things, my friend. The reason I chose you was because I thought it would be fun.』

『I have always watched with satisfaction. Yes. Your actions, my friend, always seemed pleasant, or perhaps fun, and I liked that.』

『But lately, shall we say, a certain monotony… or perhaps the fun has diminished compared to before.』

『To put it bluntly, it’s boring, or to put it differently, I’ve grown tired of it.』

『So, while I was contemplating what to do, a good idea suddenly occurred to me.』

『Yes.』

『Indeed, I thought I should increase the difficulty a bit.』

『And so, my friend, from now on, I will no longer supply you with mana.』

『Won’t this make things a bit more interesting? I will watch closely to see how you survive from now on.』

『That’s all for now. We’ll talk again if the opportunity arises.』

With ‘Goodbye’ as its final word, the voice ceased to be heard.

That was the end of it.

He didn’t even have the luxury to utter a word like ‘Don’t joke around’.

And so, Villain 13 lost all his power and fell.