Chapter 2

Chapter 001

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December 2024, somewhere in Gyeonggi Province.

Late at night.

A narrow alley illuminated only by the harsh glow of fluorescent lights, devoid of neon signs.

"Huff, huff…!"

A young man was running down the alley, panting heavily.

Dressed in a simple T-shirt and jeans, what was unusual was that his entire body was covered in deep, sword-like wounds.

And those wounds were continuing to spread in real-time.

Thud!

"Aaah…!!"

The young man rolled on the ground.

Reaching up to his earlobe, which felt prickly, he found his hand covered in warm liquid.

"Ugh, ugh…!"

He had been cut.

The burning pain was more intense than any he had ever experienced.

But he couldn't just stay still in this pile of garbage.

"Someone, someone, help me!!"

Rip!

Just as he shouted for help, the garbage bag next to him split in half.

The garbage that spilled out was like brain matter, and the young man swallowed hard, imagining it as a preview of what might happen to his own head.

"Ugh, ughh…!"

He knew he shouldn't scream, but he couldn't help it.

There.

"Where do you think you're running to~"

A woman in a full-body black tights approached from behind, whistling a tune.

Her face was covered by a mask, her eyes by sunglasses, and her hair was completely hidden under a latex hood.

"If you get caught now, I'll cut you cleanly in one go. Okay? Do you want to be sliced up instead?"

The moment he heard her chilling voice, the young man recalled a news story he had seen in passing.

-...The superpowered villain [Pepper Cutter] targets young men in their 20s...

Pepper Cutter.

The so-called "ruiner of men."

Using her superpower like a toy, she would lash out with a whip and, in the end, cut away something as precious as life from her male victims.

If he were caught by this woman, he would surely die.

He would be found as a blood-soaked corpse, his lower half drenched in blood.

"No!!! I don't want to die!!"

The young man was desperate.

"Hero! Please, someone, help me!! Please!!"

"There's no one to help you?"

Swish.

A whip flew toward the young man's neck.

Not an ordinary black whip, but one that resembled the thorny stem of a rose.

This whip was the superpower of the villain, Pepper Cutter.

She might have been called 'Rose Whip' or something similar, based on her ability to manipulate plant stems as a whip, but the evil deeds she committed as a villain had given her a far more terrifying name.

"There's no one to help you. Even if someone notices the commotion, no one will come to your aid. They're all hiding."

"Gr, grgh…!"

"As soon as you call the hero, an alarm will go off, and I'll deal with whoever set it off first. Is there anyone listening? Go ahead and call. I'll take care of everyone, men and women alike."

Pepper Cutter intimidated the surroundings with a confidence that was chilling.

While it was possible that someone in the alley might notice the commotion and call for help, unfortunately, it wasn't that simple.

The moment a call was made, a loud alarm would sound.

Pepper Cutter had the ability to find and kill the caller, even if they were inside a building.

"Ha ha ha, shall we begin the harvest? Don't worry. I'll cut you so quickly you won't even feel the pain."

"Stop…! Why are you doing this!!"

"Why? Do you need a reason? Ha ha, there is no reason."

Pepper Cutter licked the handle of the whip in her hand.

"I have the power to kill people, and no one can legally stop me. Even if I kill someone with my superpower, it doesn't affect my 'real life.' Understand?"

"You can't be…!"

"You're right. I'm unregistered. I'm still a regular person who hasn't been registered as a superpowered individual. I could be someone you met this morning, or someone living in the same city or country as you. Either way…."

Swish.

"You will die here."

"Gr, grgh…!"

"It's not just a quick death. You'll feel the pain until you die. Why do I do this, you ask?"

Pepper Cutter leaned close to the young man, removed her mask so only he could see, and smiled widely.

"Just because. I want to. I want to cut and dismember men. Why? Is it strange? Just think of it this way: a psychopath who awakened a superpower became a villain."

"Ugh, cough, huff…!"

"Oh, what's wrong with you? Look, your pants are wet. Why are you peeing yourself?"

Pepper Cutter stomped on the young man's chest with her boot.

"Disgusting. Ugh, you're-"

Wailing.

An alarm began to sound from behind.

[Villain detected! Villain detected! Heroes, please respond immediately!!]

Annoyed by the loud alarm, Pepper Cutter turned her head.

"Damn. If you report me, I'll-"

At the other end of the alley.

A man in a black suit, holding a smartphone displaying the villain detection alert, stood there.

Even his tie was black.

The only color he had was the 'Oni Mask' that emitted a golden glow.

"What…? No way?!"

Pepper Cutter's voice faltered.

"How…? Why are you here?!"

[Didn't they teach you in elementary school to report criminals to the police and villains to the heroes?]

"Y-You…!!"

Swish.

Pepper Cutter roughly retracted her whip from the young man.

"You're a villain too! And a member of a secret organization…!"

[That's why I'm here. I can't just let someone who kills people indiscriminately go, especially if they're a villain in our 'organization.']

Clank.

[I have no choice but to execute you.]

The man in the Oni Mask, Oni, put his smartphone in his suit pocket and pulled out something from behind his back.

[Pepper Cutter. You have disgraced the name of our organization. As an executioner of the organization, I will now execute you.]

It was a baseball bat.

[Our organization doesn't kill people indiscriminately. This young man will one day become a servant in the world our organization will conquer.]

The bat, which seemed too clean to be aluminum, was black as ebony, with sharp golden thorns densely embedded.

[All of humanity will become 'taxpayers' and 'slaves' to the 'Commander.' You have indiscriminately killed those who could have been slaves to the Commander, so your crime is grave.]

"You, you…! What are you going to do to me?!"

[Execution as a villain. Execution as a citizen. It's simple.]

Oni held the bat in one hand and aimed it at Pepper Cutter.

[I've reported you, and now I'll hand you over to the heroes.]

"You're crazy! Don't villains have some sense of camaraderie, even within the same organization?!"

[I'm not the kind of villain you think I am. And don't put me on the same level as a villain like you. I am.]

With that, Oni disappeared.

[An officer of the organization.]

Smash!

Appearing beside Pepper Cutter like a mirage, Oni swung the bat with full force, striking her side.

"Ugh!!"

Pepper Cutter was instantly slammed into the wall.

The impact was so strong that a human-shaped crack appeared in the concrete, and blood began to flow from the holes in her latex suit where the thorns had pierced her waist.

[Execution doesn't discriminate by gender. The only ones who can avoid this bat are young children.]

"You, you…!"

[Don't pretend to be in pain. Your victims, who were cut and pierced, suffered more than you.]

Smash.

Oni swung the bat down again.

This time, he struck her leg with the part of the bat without thorns, but the impact was so strong that it cracked the concrete floor.

[You will be sent to a superpowered prison. Our organization doesn't need to rehabilitate someone like you.]

"Aaaah…!!"

Oni picked up Pepper Cutter's sharp whip and wrapped it around her body.

The whip, which had cut and pierced countless men, now became a tight rope binding Pepper Cutter's entire body. Oni raised the bat high, ready to strike the fallen Pepper Cutter again.

[You've heard of torture, right?]

"Stop!!"

A sharp voice rang out from a distance, and something whizzed past Oni's mask.

"Next time, it'll be your head! This is just a warning!!"

It was a bullet.

A white sphere embedded in the wall was a magic bullet manifested by a superpower, and outside the alley stood a woman in a white uniform.

[You're a hero.]

"Yes! I am-"

[I still have work to do, but…fine. Since a hero has arrived, I'll leave the scene.]

Oni holstered the bat at his waist and pressed his mask firmly to his face.

[Goodbye.]

Flash!

As golden powder sparkled around Oni, he vanished as if by teleportation.

"Ah!"

The woman in the white uniform bit her lower lip and gritted her teeth, then quickly approached the spot where Oni had been, rifle in hand.

"...This is 'Snow White.' Report. Situation…resolved."

-How did it go?!

"[Executioner] Oni executed Pepper Cutter."

The woman, Snow White, clenched her teeth as she looked at the bound Pepper Cutter.

"One day, I will catch you…! Oni…!"

* * *

Nearby, in the alley.

"Tsk, got involved in a troublesome situation just passing by."

The young man in the black suit and Oni mask removed his mask.

His entire body then shimmered with a golden light, and soon the young man-

"De-transform."

Was naked.

* * *