Chapter 36

Chapter 035

The criteria for defining a villain organization are quite ambiguous.

Those who dream of world domination are considered villain organizations, and so are those who engage in all sorts of illegal activities to gain profit.

Naturally, this includes anti-government forces and those who seek to overthrow the state.

Such as attempting to overturn the national system.

Or trying to expose the government's secrets and plunge the country into great chaos.

Or simply wanting to see the country fall apart.

The organization known as 'Hwalbin Party' is more about exposing the secrets of the rulers rather than overthrowing the government.

They aim to uncover the corruption of government officials and bring down those who indulge in malfeasance from their high positions.

They are an extreme group that doesn't care about the means to achieve their goals.

This is an organization that also appeared in the original work.

From the protagonist's perspective, it could be considered a group of 'allies' and 'comrades,' but unfortunately, it is far from being a group for a villain like me.

"Why did you kill Jeon Yubin?"

Maldungi walked in a circle around me and asked.

"Even if you could kill her anytime, couldn't you have done it in a better way?"

[A better way?]

"For example, recording a video."

Maldungi took a ridiculous pose, as if aiming a camcorder.

Rustle.

As I swept my hand across my face, the mask changed.

It resembled the mask of the fallen Jeon Yubin.

"I became a demon, but after taking me underground, they forced me to undergo experiments!"

It was a woman's voice.

A voice that closely resembled Jeon Yubin's, so much so that if I hadn't been talking to her just now, I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.

"Even if I couldn't resist...sob...it would have been better if they had recorded a video."

[To spread it on the internet?]

"Not necessarily now. The more evidence videos, the better. Isn't it best to have as many cards as possible?"

[You often end up discarding them all without using them.]

I aimed the bat at the completely lifeless Jeon Yubin.

[Did you come here to take her body?]

"...I have to take the body. Although I couldn't secure a living Jeon Yubin, I will take the dead one and return."

Maldungi aimed a long, pipe-like stick at me.

"S-class villain Oni. I know you are strong enough to toy with S-class villains, but I—hey!!"

Flame.

Maldungi flared up.

[Hey?]

"No, no! What are you doing! Stop it!"

[I don't want to.]

Flame.

The golden flames that spewed from the end of the bat stuck to the demon's body and began to burn it.

[Demons don't just die; they must be completely eradicated, leaving no trace. As you said, the high-ups could use the demon's body for more human experiments.]

"That's true, but...!"

[The same goes for you.]

After the flames had sufficiently consumed Jeon Yubin's body, I aimed the bat at Maldungi.

[You also intended to use Jeon Yubin's body for something. You would find evidence of her human experimentation, use it as proof, and record it in a video.]

"That's true! But we are different from them!"

[No, from my perspective, you are the same.]

"Are you saying the Hwalbin Party is a villain organization?"

Maldungi's voice began to harden.

"Are you equating us, who have a noble purpose, with those trash who kill people?"

[Not exactly, but if you feel inferior in that regard, it's your problem. I just meant that using a body for your own purposes is the same.]

"......You are not someone I should talk to."

Maldungi gripped the stick like a sword.

"'That person' said you should be brought into our Hwalbin Party, but you are indeed a 'villain.'"

[From the government's perspective, whether it's the Oni of the pact or the Maldungi of the Hwalbin Party, you are all villains.]

"Are you defending the government?! Those who perpetrate such vile deeds behind the scenes?!"

[You're overreacting.]

I have a rough idea of what kind of person he is.

[A pitiful individual, obsessed with his ideals.]

"......!!"

Maldungi's body stiffened.

[I don't know what the Hwalbin Party stands for, and I don't need to know. Regardless of what you think the Hwalbin Party's ideals are, I am just fulfilling my duty as a member of my organization.]

Flame.

When the golden flames subsided, only black ashes remained where Jeon Yubin had been.

[Killing Jeon Yubin and leaving no trace of her body is my mission.]

With the power of the flames, I completely erased Jeon Yubin from existence.

[I won't stop you if you want to take the ashes, but I'm done here. All I have left to do is leave this facility.]

"...I can't just let you go."

Maldungi, who had been walking in a circle, stopped.

"You will be a significant obstacle to the future of our Hwalbin Party. I will exclude you from now on."

[Do you have the ability to do that?]

"Of course...!"

Rustle.

Maldungi, wearing a mask like a demon, gripped the stick with both hands and charged at me.

[?!]

An incredible speed.

I tilted my body to the side while holding the bat vertically, and Maldungi's stick grazed past my bat.

"Hah!"

Although his initial attack failed, he sneered at my inadequate response and quickly spun around, swinging his arm inward.

Gripping the stick in reverse, he aimed to stab my face.

A speed that even a decent B-class—no, an A-class—would find hard to follow.

Crack!

Maldungi struck my mask.

He turned his head and laughed at me with his eyes.

"...?!"

But he soon panicked.

His stick had hit my mask precisely, but it didn't even scratch it.

[Where do you get the nerve to try to damage my handsome face?]

I kicked Maldungi's back.

Boom!

With mana-infused force, I kicked his back, sending him flying and rolling on the ground.

"Kuh...! How...?! The attack clearly hit...?!"

[I let it hit.]

I adjusted my slightly disheveled mask.

[An attack without the intent to kill isn't worth dodging.]

"What...!"

[You were trying to remove my mask. So you didn't stab my face directly but grazed it to knock the mask off.]

Maldungi's attack lacked the will to kill.

[Unfortunately, I have always surpassed the battlefield of mutual destruction. Do you know how many people have tried to kill me?]

"...I don't care."

Maldungi stood up, firmly gripping the stick.

"Trying to remove your mask and use your face for blackmail... I regret it."

[Until now, only one person has removed my mask.]

"Who?"

[Of course, it was our great, strong, and beautiful leader.]

Only the leader has ever removed my mask by force.

[Let me make a counteroffer. Would you like to join our pact?]

"What?"

[We always welcome new powerhouses. Although I deliberately opened up, not many people have actually attacked my mask. Your skills seem at least A-class... no, higher.]

I am hiding my true strength now, but Maldungi is also hiding his.

[I don't know who you are or what your true identity is. But your power seems more fitting for our pact than the Hwalbin Party.]

"Ridiculous. Do you think I would become an ally with people who kill indiscriminately and shout about world domination?"

[You're still young. When someone offers you a recruitment, it's polite to at least take their business card. But then again, how would psychics know about social etiquette? More importantly...]

Whine, whine, whine.

Vibrations began to echo throughout the base.

[I can hear it. The sound of water. They are trying to drown everything here.]

"Ah...?!"

I can hear the sound of water from far away.

They might be flooding the entire base with seawater and disabling all electronic devices.

"Such...!"

[Normally, I would have left before the enemies did this, but someone delayed me. We are going to be drowned here.]

"Kuh...!"

Maldungi turned and tried to escape in the direction he came from.

He probably infiltrated through a different route than I did, but unfortunately, the water is pouring in from the direction he is running.

"Such...!"

[I'll settle this debt later.]

I ran behind Maldungi and struck the back of his neck with the bat.

Smack!

I swung the bat forcefully enough to make a loud noise, and Maldungi fell forward.

No response.

He fainted.

[I don't know how you arrived at the same time as me, but we can settle this after we escape.]

I tied Maldungi's limp body with a rope and slung it over my shoulder—

[......?]

Something.

I felt a sensation I shouldn't have felt. Was it just an illusion?

'No, it must be.'

It must be an illusion.

Whoosh.

Seeing the wave of seawater pouring from the exit, I steadied my breathing.

'I'll think about it after I escape.'

I ran straight toward the seawater.