episode_0020

021

Villain.

It refers to criminals who abuse their supernatural abilities or magic for their own greed.

In the past, society was thrown into chaos by numerous villains, but they have not posed a significant threat up to the present.

With the establishment of the Hero Association, extensive government support, and the emergence of numerous hero training institutions, the environment is no longer conducive for petty criminals to run amok.

Most villains operating in South Korea were nothing more than petty criminals.

However…

*Cough, cough… Ugh.*

“Weak.”

The girl, with her hair shining white under the faint moonlight, looked down at the man with a nonchalant expression.

The man, breathing heavily, faced the girl with a face in shambles, as it was the best he could do at the moment.

“Mid-tier hero, right?”

Appearing to be in his late teens or early twenties.

Thin, slender hands and feet.

Lifeless pupils.

“Choi Seok-hwan of the Mirinae Clan. I heard he used to be quite successful.”

In a dark alleyway scattered with bloodstains.

Choi Seok-hwan, a mid-tier hero known as ‘Iron Wall’ in the Mirinae Clan, sporadically coughed up blood.

Despite having worked as a hero for over ten years.

He never thought he would fall to a girl like her.

Damn it.

*Cough… You, you criminal… brat…*

Choi Seok-hwan was by no means a weak hero.

He had taken down villains with two-digit numbers before.

He had also faced powerful monsters in the city and cleared dangerous dungeons multiple times.

It wasn’t just that this girl was strong.

It was more than that.

“Is it because of alcohol? If you were sober, the outcome might have been different, don’t you think?”

*Huff, huff.*

Alcohol.

Yes, alcohol.

Choi Seok-hwan was drunk.

That’s why he couldn’t perform at his usual level.

He could justify his defeat by blaming it on alcohol, saying he lost because he was a mess due to it.

But deep down, he thought he just lost because he was weaker.

“You know.”

Suddenly.

“What do you think is the difference between a hero and a villain?”

*Huff, huff. What nonsense are you talking about all of a sudden?*

“Think about it. Heroes and villains. Aren’t they similar? Using powerful abilities to fulfill their own desires. Isn’t that right?”

The girl spoke in a nonchalant tone.

“You accidentally killed a civilian while on duty after drinking four years ago, right?”

“That… that’s…”

An undeniable fact about Choi Seok-hwan.

It was inevitable that his brows furrowed at the sudden mention by the girl.

He wanted to shut her mouth, but his broken body, already falling apart, was far beyond his control.

“But in the news, it was reported that you sacrificed yourself while fighting villains in an unavoidable accident. They conveniently left out the part about being drunk and causing the accident.”

Choi Seok-hwan involuntarily bit his lip.

Not many people knew the full story of the incident.

It had caused a stir at the time, but thanks to the clan’s help, it was swept under the rug.

But how did that little girl know about it?

“The families of the victims sued you, but thanks to the Mirinae Clan’s legal team, you received a suspended sentence for accidental manslaughter.”

“…”

“A few of the families who didn’t accept the verdict protested in front of the Mirinae Clan, but later, when the media lost interest, they received notices of resignation for forgery and tampering from their own companies, right?”

“…”

With immense power and wealth.

These giant clans could influence not only the business world but also the media and legal systems.

Turning a few ordinary people into fools was not a difficult task.

“We’re both criminals, aren’t we? Right?”

“What the… Ugh?!”

The girl stepped on the man’s waist with a light tap of her head and continued speaking.

“What’s the difference between us? Do you have a background that can cover up crimes? Committing crimes without leaving evidence?”

“Stop, ugh!”

With each firm step, Choi Seok-hwan writhed.

Like a worm.

There’s an old saying that when you step on a worm, it wriggles, but in other words, a worm has no choice but to wriggle when stepped on.

Yes, Choi Seok-hwan was a worm.

Already with a few broken bones and one arm and left leg twisted, he was a worm too weak to even rebel properly.

A bug that crumples when stepped on…

“Why do you act as a hero? Power? Fame? Is that why?”

“S-stop, ugh! Stop!”

As she pressed harder, Choi Seok-hwan’s front teeth wobbled and then fell out. His nose was already crushed, and his forehead was starting to sink.

Ugh! This woman.

Does she intend to kill me by stepping on me!

This crazy…!

“But I, you know.”

Choi Seok-hwan tried to move his trembling hands to push the girl’s foot away, but it was futile.

His body…

His body wouldn’t listen.

“I exist.”

The girl’s gentle voice echoed in Choi Seok-hwan’s ears amidst the excruciating pain and only that voice comforted him softly.

Very kindly.

“Please, stop! P-please, spare me…”

“If you hate being a hero.”

Suddenly, a cracking sound!

“Really.”

The sound of bones twisting was loud.

Oh. But what’s this? Did she ask to spare me at the end? Disappointing. The girl shrugged her shoulders.

A hero begging for his life from a villain?

It’s not even funny.

Wasn’t weak justice said to be incompetence?

This Choi Seok-hwan was not only incompetent but also powerless.

Truly disqualified as a hero.

The girl quickly organized her thoughts.

She slowly removed her foot, and a few teeth were stuck to the sole of her shoe. As she brushed them off, several teeth fell to the ground.

“Hmm.”

“…G-gurgle, g-gurgle.”

The man was trembling all over, foam coming out of his mouth. His jaw was dislocated, and his cervical spine seemed damaged.

He didn’t look well, but he wouldn’t die.

After all, she never intended to kill him.

Death is just a rest.

The girl didn’t want to give this man a peaceful rest. Pain is what makes you alive, she thought.

She wanted this man to keep living.

Continuously.

“…Of course, you won’t be able to act as a hero anymore.”

The girl smiled once and then rummaged through the man’s pockets to find her phone and called an ambulance.

Suddenly, the girl walked away.

Out of the dark alley.

“…?”

– Ring. Ring.

Suddenly, the girl’s phone rang.

She glanced at the caller ID and recognized the person she knew well.

She took out a new outfit from her bag, changed out of the blood-stained clothes, and answered the call.

“Why all of a sudden?”

“Yoo Da-hee. Did you see the news today? The Union guys received commendations.”

“Oh, for now.”

The girl with white hair, Yoo Da-hee, nodded at the man’s words.

Six trainees had appeared at the academy and defeated a high-ranking monster, causing quite a stir.

So she was annoyed, but…

It was no wonder that it was Yoo Dahee and her group who sent the monsters to the academy. Opening a rift to the desired location was not an easy task, so the outcome of this incident was very unsatisfactory.

We ended up just promoting the hero hopefuls, didn’t we?

I thought a few of them might die.

“I didn’t expect everyone to survive.”

“It’s not that you didn’t do your job properly, right?”

The Union Academy can be considered a cradle.

A cradle for the origin stones that will be responsible for South Korea.

“Sending two monsters of that level and not having a single casualty, does that make sense?”

So Yoo Dahee decided to trample on the children known as the sparks of hope. She wanted to crush the tiny sparks that were called the flames of hope.

“Did I do well according to the plan? I sent the students who made it to the finals to the training grounds. Honestly, I didn’t expect no one to die even with the Minotaur and the long-armed monkey.”

“Anyway, nothing seems to go right.”

Yoo Dahee let out a deep sigh.

The instructor knows she is a high ranker.

But the situation was one where she had burdens in the form of children.

To succeed in subduing the Minotaur in such a situation. She was definitely an impressive figure.

Is she rotten to the core?

“The kids were amazing too. Who would’ve thought they would take down the long-armed monkey with the black hands among themselves.”

Yoo Dahee chuckled at the man’s words on the phone.

They made a fuss about being the golden generation, but they were clearly different from before.

…So she wanted to break them even more.

“Ha. At least I wanted to retire Hong Daye.”

She may have weakened due to past trauma, but Hong Daye was a figure mentioned as a 10th candidate.

It would have been beneficial in many ways to retire Hong Daye when thinking about the future.

Didn’t she subdue the Minotaur this time without proper equipment?

She was truly a troublesome woman.

“But what about the others?”

“Baek Yurin is still obsessed with Dokgo Daeyi and Seong Yu is into bullying.”

In simple terms, they were doing whatever they pleased.

Well, it didn’t matter either way.

Originally, Yoo Dahee and her group were cooperating for their own purposes.

They got along because they had a common intersection, but each individual’s goal was different.

“They don’t even contact each other about the academy’s subjects.”

“Yeah.”

The person on the phone agreed.

“Oh, right. There was a pretty interesting guy among the commendation recipients, right?”

“Who?”

“This guy named Lee Jinhyuk.”

“I don’t know the name. Who is he?”

Yoo Dahee blinked her eyes.

She was already keeping an eye on the person she needed to be cautious of.

“Forgot? He was one of the recipients this time.”

“Oh. Him?”

Yoo Dahee responded somewhat indifferently.

Lee Jinhyuk, Lee Jinhyuk…

Honestly, he was just a nobody, right?

If it wasn’t someone like Lee Siwoon, Yoo Seolhyun, Seo Nari, or Yuriya, was there really a need to remember them?

She had looked through his personal information once because of this incident, but Lee Jinhyuk had a very poor practical score.

Although his theoretical score was commendable.

“So, what about him?”

“He seems like someone we can use as a brain. Did you see the match Lee Jinhyuk had? He progressed smoothly as he designed, right? I was surprised.”

“Alright, enough.”

Yoo Dahee cut him off, showing no interest.

She knew he was about to start with too much information.

Whenever he saw a hero he was interested in, he always did that.

“Next time, aim for when they’re on a retreat or during finals. Find out the details such as location, number of people, attending instructors, schedule, etc., and send them over here.”

“Okay. Got it.”

“So… do you have anything else to say?”

“No? Well, it’s getting late, should we wrap it up? I have to go to the academy tomorrow.”

“You’re quite the honor student.”

And with that, it was over.

Yudahee hung up the phone without any further words.

That guy was definitely eccentric in Yudahee’s eyes.

Unlike other kids, he didn’t really have a reason to go to the academy, but he seemed to have hoped to enroll himself.

Saying he wanted to see the aspiring heroes in person.

“He claims to be a hero fan himself but enjoys destroying heroes. Clearly not in his right mind.”

They say you can only become a true hero by overcoming hardships and trials, right?

But if you falter in the middle, then you weren’t cut out to be a hero in the first place, spouting nonsense.

“So, what about the kids from Team 1 and Team 16 who defeated the monkey monster?”

He mutters to himself while looking up at the distant moon.

“Well, I guess there’s a certain thrill in stepping on others.”

Next time they meet, he’ll make sure to step on him.

Very thoroughly.