Part 1, Chapter 1 (11)

[Villain]

These are villains who awakened heroic abilities but use them solely for their own advancement. Many villains around the world hide their awakened abilities and live among us. If you discover a villain, please call the Association’s report number 17539 immediately!

– [Helpful Game Tip. 164.]

A fist landed squarely on a face.

KWAANG!

It was a punch so powerful it created a strong gust of wind inside the office. He had long since sent many monsters to their graves with this very fist.

But for the first time, that fist was blocked.

Woowoong-

The veil around the girl’s neck had risen, blocking the bald man’s fist.

“De-Deokbae hyung-nim?!”

The surrounding thugs shouted the name of the man who had thrown the punch. Deokbae flushed and pulled his shoulder back.

It wasn’t just a simple punch; it was a full-force blow, putting the power of his shoulder and waist into it. That fist, capable of smashing even a C-rank monster in a single strike, seemed poised to crush the girl’s head.

However, the fist couldn’t even penetrate the veil, let alone scratch the girl.

KUUWOOONG!

“Aaaargh!”

Deokbae clutched his burst fist and collapsed onto the sofa.

“Wha-what is it?”

The henchmen nearby could only be bewildered. The sight before their eyes was the unbelievable moment Deokbae was pushed back by that thin piece of cloth and his fist burst.

The girl, Phoenix, pulled down the veil covering her face with her hand and crossed her legs.

“So, just stay still for a bit. I’m thinking right now.”

“You monstrous bitch?!”

One of the men picked up a golf club and swung it at the back of Phoenix’s head.

KAAANG!

Likewise, the golf club bent as it hit the veil that had risen to the back of her head. The man dropped the golf club and slumped down, his grip tearing in pain.

“Kueeok!”

“A-a Villain?!”

A young man, terrified, pressed himself against the corner of the office.

As far as he knew, there were no high school heroines with blue hair in Korea.

But there was no such Villain in the underworld of this neighborhood either. Wasn’t Deokbae, their boss, already the Villain who controlled this area?

“No. I’m not a Villain. Ah. Should I just say I’m a Villain?”

While Phoenix frowned, lost in deep thought, Deokbae, having regained his senses, clenched his fist again and stood up.

“Kuaaaargh!”

With a monstrous roar, the fist shot towards Phoenix’s abdomen like lightning. Its speed was even faster than the movement of the veil.

Thud.

Phoenix’s small hand blocked Deokbae’s fist. Phoenix lightly gripped Deokbae’s fist with her fingertips, hooked like she was holding a basketball.

“Aaaargh!!”

Deokbae screamed in pain. Phoenix chuckled as if dumbfounded and let go of his hand.

“Such a big guy, yet so dramatic.”

Phoenix picked up a paper cup with half its tea remaining and threw it towards the entrance.

Whoosh! Thwack!

The paper cup, cutting through the air, grazed the nose of the man who was just about to escape through the door and embedded itself in the wall. Concrete debris crumbled from the wall where the mana-infused paper cup had struck.

“Ugh, huhh.”

The man whose nose was grazed couldn’t even make a sound and simply collapsed to the floor. His pants became damp, and a pungent smell began to emanate.

“Ugh.”

Phoenix frowned for a moment, then closed her eyes.

“…I really tried to live quietly.”

Phoenix got up from the sofa and squatted in front of the man who had wet himself.

“Excuse me. I have something to ask you.”

“Yes! Ask me anything!”

The man knelt, looking as if he was about to bow deeply.

“Usually, the next step is to drug them and rape them, right? So what happens to the women who get raped?”

“Th-that is…”

The man glanced at the others, especially Deokbae. Phoenix made a small flame appear in front of the man’s eyes and smiled.

“If you don’t answer, you die~♪”

“We sold them! We passed them around among ourselves and then handed them over to Madam!”

“Wow. What about the men, then?”

“M-men have no commercial value, so we just took their money and buried them…”

“Wow. You guys were proper trash, weren’t you?”

Phoenix nodded as if impressed, then spread her fingers.

“Alright. So, another question. What were you planning to do if I got drugged and incapacitated?”

“Huh?”

“Beep. Disqualified.”

Phoenix snapped her fingers with a smile.

Hwareureuk!

“Aaaargh!!”

Blue flames erupted all over the man’s body. The man screamed in pain, moving frantically around the office. The other thugs were too busy trying to get out of the way to even think about helping him.

“Haaaargh!”

Even while burning, the man tried to open the window and jump out, but fell into despair upon seeing the security bars, like prison bars.

“Didn’t one of them do that? Someone who tried to escape through the window and then despaired when they saw that. I thought it was really messed up when I saw they even put film on the windows so you couldn’t see outside.”

“Kyaaaargh!”

At Phoenix’s taunt, the man kicked off the table and lunged at Phoenix.

“Tsk.”

Phoenix clapped her hands. The man, still in the posture of lunging, was consumed by flames and turned to ash.

Paseuseu.

Only the ash accumulating on the carpet remained as proof of the man’s existence. Even that was consumed by flames and vanished with a flick of Phoenix’s hand.

“M-monster!”

The young man trembled in the corner and shouted. The girl had literally erased a person from the world without a care.

“Who are you calling a monster? You trash in human skin.”

Phoenix approached the man whose grip had torn. The man dragged his butt backward, trying to escape, but bumped into a cabinet.

“Alright. Same goes for you. If you don’t answer right away, or if you say ‘Eh?’ or ‘Nandatte?’, you die. Understand?”

The man nodded so vigorously his head almost fell off.

“Same question as before. What were you planning to do if I got drugged and couldn’t resist?”

“Th-Deokbae hyung-nim first, then in order, uh, sexual intercourse…”

“It’s rape. Why are you trying to sugarcoat it? Just say it like you usually do. Or I’ll kill you.”

“We-we were going to pass you around! All day today! Until my balls are completely empty and not a single drop comes out!”

The man, spitting as he spoke, was desperate. Phoenix continued her questions with a benevolent smile that was hard to read.

“How? In what position?”

“Ah, uh, I mean, aaaaargh?!”

“Can’t answer right away. Disqualified.”

As soon as he stammered, the golf club man burned to ash. Phoenix then approached the corner of the wall.

The young man swallowed hard, unbuckled his belt, and pulled down his pants. At his bizarre behavior, Phoenix stopped in her tracks without a word.

“I-I was going to stick it in your mouth first! Then after I came once, I’d flip you over and-“

“Didn’t ask, don’t care.”

The young man couldn’t even scream as he was engulfed in flames and withered away.

“So, now there’s one left. Your name is Deokbae? Pfft. Alright, Deokbae ajeossi. How were you planning to ‘eat’ me?”

“…I had no such intention.”

Deokbae glared at Phoenix, his two burst fists hanging limply at his sides. Phoenix curled the corners of her lips, sneering.

“Wow. I should have told you earlier that lying means death.”

“Do you think I’m bullshitting? Sorry, but I don’t have sex with crazy bitches like you.”

“Oh my. Look at how this bastard talks.”

Phoenix faced Deokbae.

“So you’re saying you’re different from them? Even though you’re all human traffickers who kidnap people and sell them?”

“…I’m different. I just-“

“Even if some trash is for recycling and some is for incineration, trash is still trash, isn’t it?”

At Phoenix’s words, Deokbae bit his lip.

Red blood trickled from his trembling lips.

“Fine. Kill me. It’s my fault for meeting a monster like you.”

“Who said I’m killing you right now? Ajeossi, you’re not for incineration yet.”

Phoenix grabbed Deokbae by the collar and threw him against the wall.

KWAANG!

The wall crumbled, and Deokbae tumbled down the hallway. Phoenix lightly leaped over the debris and nudged the fallen Deokbae with her foot.

“Ah, ah. I know you’re alive, so get up. Ajeossi, you still have one thing to do.”

“…What if I don’t want to?”

“Oh? You don’t want to? I might even let you live if you do well. Seriously.”

At Phoenix’s words, Deokbae’s pupils shook greatly. His resolute attitude in the face of death became embarrassing; as the lifeline of survival descended, his will wavered endlessly.

“I said you’re recyclable, didn’t I? I tend to favor ability users, you see. Whether you’ll be reused alive or discarded as useless is your choice, ajeossi. Come on. Answer within 3 seconds. Will you do it or not? Three-“

“I’ll do it.”

Deokbae staggered to his feet. Phoenix merely smiled at his appearance.

“What do I need to do?”

“Ah. Well. It’s nothing much.”

Phoenix scanned her surroundings and asked,

“Where is that scumbag who took Lawyer Kim Sang-a-nim earlier?”

* * *

Hocheol lit a cigarette. On the shabby bed, a naked, unconscious woman was trembling.

“Hyung-nim, is it good?”

When Seokpil asked with a disgusted look, Hocheol lay spread-eagled on the bed and replied,

“Nah. You just don’t know the taste of a married woman yet. A woman’s taste, you see, reaches its peak in her ripe thirties…”

“Yeah. I don’t deal with grandmas over 20.”

“You pedo bastard.”

Hocheol adjusted his position, stroking the back of the unconscious Sang-a with his hand.

“So you’re really not going to do it? I’m in a really good mood for once, so I’ll let you use the backdoor.”

“I’m really not interested. And…”

Seokpil wiped his lips and chuckled.

“I told you, didn’t I? I also hooked a fresh high school girl, not just this old lady. If hyung-nim saw her face, you’d sell this old lady to Madam right away, wouldn’t you?”

“Is she that good? Wow, fuck. Can I go right now?”

“Get permission from Deokbae hyung-nim. He’s supposed to handle her for now.”

“Deokbae ‘hyung-nim’? Bullshit. …Why are you suddenly talking about that bald bastard?”

“Hyung-nim, you still haven’t made up with Deokbae hyung-nim?”

“Hey. Honestly, aren’t you and I both selling people to make money?”

Hocheol leaned back on the bed and adjusted his posture.

“You get the name, and! You get the profit, and! Anyway, since we’re selling everything in the world, what’s the harm in having a little fun? Huh! I fucking hate his holier-than-thou attitude just because he awakened some good ability! Fuck! That bastard who’s got a dick like a baseball bat!”

“Deokbae hyung-nim doesn’t sleep with women, though.”

“That bastard, he’s selling people for money too! Fuck! If he ever registers as a Hero, I’ll expose all the evidence I’ve collected. Anyway, if he just gets caught once-“

“Wow. He’s too much even to be called trash.”

The door burst open, and a blue-haired girl strode in. She covered her nose from the pungent smell of semen but her gaze was fixed on the unconscious Sang-a.

“Yes. Nothing to ask here.”

Phoenix snapped her fingers, and flames erupted all over Hocheol’s body.

“Kuaaaargh!!”

Hocheol screamed and threw Sang-a, whom he was holding, onto the bed. He crashed into walls and rolled on the floor of the small room, trying to put out the fire, but it was useless. The flames quickly roasted Hocheol.

“Kueeok…”

Phoenix merely watched Hocheol burn, and when he turned into charcoal and slumped his head, she turned her gaze to Seokpil.

“Hello. We’ve met before, haven’t we?”

“Fuck! What the hell?!”

Seokpil grabbed a camera stand next to him and aimed it at Phoenix. The smartphone attached to the end was violently shaking, recording the scene.

“…Haa.”

Deokbae, who had just followed Phoenix in, frowned at the pungent smell of burning flesh. Seokpil briefly cheered at Deokbae’s appearance, but then he quickly realized the truth.

“Fuck you, you bastard! You betrayed us!”

“I’m sorry.”

“You disloyal bastard! Hocheol hyung-nim picked you up when you were dying in the streets! Fuck, are you betraying us just because you awakened a high-rank ability?!”

“Quiet.”

Phoenix snapped her fingers, and Seokpil was engulfed in blue flames. Deokbae felt dizzy at the sight of him burning without even leaving ash, just as he had seen several times in the office.

“Is it my turn now?”

“That’s kind of the idea.”

Phoenix clicked her tongue briefly as she looked at Sang-a, who lay on the bed as if dead.

Clap.

With a clap, flames erupted around Sang-a’s body. Deokbae was startled for a moment, but he was even more surprised when he saw what the flames were burning.

“Cleaning done.”

The blue flames precisely burned and annihilated only the traces Hocheol had left behind. Phoenix shook Sang-a’s shoulder to wake her up.

“Wake up. Come to your senses.”

“Uh, ugh…”

“Lawyer Kim Sang-a-nim.”

“Ah! Ah.”

Sang-a came to her senses and woke up. At first, she stared blankly at Phoenix, then looked at herself and recalled what had just happened.

“Ah… Aaaaargh!!!”

She screamed like a beast’s cry and buried her face in the blanket. Phoenix glanced at Deokbae and exited the room. Deokbae simply followed Phoenix without a word.

The wind was bitterly cold.

“Hoo.”

Phoenix looked at the cloud-filled sky and smiled with a complicated expression.

“How does it feel? Seeing someone suffering because of you people.”

“I feel sorry.”

“Is that so? Then why did you do such a thing?”

Deokbae avoided Phoenix’s gaze and replied,

“I needed money. …A lot.”

“Does needing money justify doing something like this?”

Deokbae clenched his burst fist.

“I won’t make excuses. It was just the fastest way to earn a lot of money.”

“Hmph.”

With that, their conversation ended, and they stood silently outside the door for a moment.

“Hmm.”

Phoenix subtly glanced into the room and then gestured inside to Deokbae.

“Let’s go in now.”

Phoenix opened the steel door and entered the room.

“…Thank you for saving me.”

Sang-a wrapped herself in the blanket and bowed her head on the bed. Hocheol’s corpse on the floor was so disintegrated it was unrecognizable. Phoenix smiled faintly at the sight and met Sang-a’s eyes.

“Did that satisfy your anger?”

“…Anger? This?”

Sang-a gnashed her teeth and glared at Phoenix.

“If that bastard were alive, I would have chewed him up alive. Him, and the bastards who helped him.”

At Sang-a’s chilling words, Deokbae involuntarily stepped back. Phoenix shrugged towards Deokbae and pointed at him to Sang-a.

“This man was also his accomplice.”

As soon as she heard that, Sang-a kicked off the blanket and rushed at Deokbae. Sang-a, who had somehow managed to put on her original clothes, held a stun gun in both hands.

Seeing Sang-a charging at him, Deokbae quietly closed his eyes.

“Whoa, whoa. Not yet.”

Phoenix extended her hand and stopped Sang-a. Sang-a tried to get past her hand and ran towards Deokbae, but Phoenix grabbed Sang-a by the scruff of her neck and threw her onto the bed.

“Aaaargh! Don’t stop me!”

“Whoa, whoa. Calm down. I’m trying to make a ‘deal’ with you.”

Phoenix stretched one hand forward.

“If you want, I can inflict greater pain on this man than any other pain in this world, and then kill him. A pain so excruciating that he’d think it’s better to just die. A pain that would make him say ‘Please kill me’ hundreds of times, instead of ‘Please save me’.”

“Then kill him right now!”

Phoenix shook her head, looking at Deokbae, who hung his head like a sinner.

“Well, this man is an ability user, you see. He seems to be a physical enhancement type, but his talent also appears outstanding. Even trash can be recycled, you know.”

“What are you talking about?! Kill him! Kill him!”

Sang-a shrieked, pointing at Deokbae. Sang-a, seeing Phoenix just keep smiling, clung to Phoenix and wailed.

“Please, kill him. You’re human too, aren’t you? Then you must know what those bastards did?!”

“Ah. Well, about that…”

Phoenix grabbed Sang-a again and threw her onto the bed. Her perpetually smiling face seemed utterly inhuman to Sang-a.

“I’m a person who’s severely lacking in sensibility, you see? So I place extreme importance on ‘efficiency’. In that regard, I have a question for you. I’ll decide whether to kill or save that man based on your answer to this question.”

“How can you do that?!”

“Right here, I can. If you don’t like it, fine. Deokbae. Let’s go.”

Her action of turning her back without hesitation and pulling Deokbae’s arm surprised Deokbae even more.

“Wait!”

Sang-a rushed forward with superhuman strength and blocked Phoenix’s path.

“The question, I’ll answer it! I’ll answer anything!”

Sang-a glared at Phoenix and Deokbae with murderous eyes. Phoenix rubbed her hands together, smiling with an expectant face.

“Good. Any question is fine, right?”

Phoenix spread her arms and smiled brightly. Paradoxically, Sang-a found that smile incredibly beautiful.

“I’m planning to use that man as my subordinate, so what can you give me in exchange for not killing him? If it’s more profitable than keeping him alive, I’ll kill him for you.”

It was a beautiful, devil’s smile.