A sigh of relief escaped me.
The plan was progressing smoothly, exactly as intended.
To move freely, I first needed to somehow slip away from the hostages, and thanks to that idiotic villainess who so readily fell for my provocation, the task proved simple.
This also provided me with a solid alibi.
By now, the other hostages would surely believe I had been dragged away by the villain, suffering a terrible fate.
Once everything was concluded, all I would need to do was find a suitable spot to feign injury and collapse.
Then, I could simply allow myself to be quietly transported to a hospital, appearing as an innocent victim.
Though, I must admit, I never in my wildest dreams imagined my virtue would be in such peril.
“What a vulgar woman.”
I quickly brushed myself off and stood up.
Aside from a few minor scrapes, I had sustained no significant injuries; my virtue remained untarnished, utterly pure.
Only then did I shift my gaze.
Sleeping Bubble.
No, Mimic Girl stood frozen, her bewildered eyes darting frantically about.
[Character Notification]
[Mimic Girl]
[D-Class Villain]
[Real Name: ???]
[Affiliation: VANDAL]
The character notification had changed.
VANDAL, as I recalled, was the name of the villain organization led by Stingray.
So, she was indeed affiliated with them.
Considering their penchant for destruction and plunder, the name felt quite fitting.
For a villain, she had shown a surprising degree of cunning, though it didn’t make her any less repulsive.
Had I known she was merely a D-Class villain, I would have hypnotized her much earlier.
My caution had almost led to a truly unpleasant encounter.
I looked directly at Mimic Girl and inquired,
“Are there any other intruders besides you?”
[Skill: Puppetry is in use…]
“Inside the office, for now, only I… *Gasp!*”
Mimic Girl’s mouth had opened of its own accord, only to snap shut as her eyes widened in shock.
“Co-controlled ability…?! Then, surely, you’re a superhuman…!”
“Just answer my questions.”
I stated quietly, knowing that any realization on her part now was far too late.
Initially, I found it somewhat unpleasant, but now I secretly considered myself fortunate to have acquired a controlled ability.
Had an mimicry-type ability manifested, like Yuha’s friend Cat’s Eye, I wouldn’t have even dreamed of pretending to be a normal person.
“State the number and composition of the villains who infiltrated the office.”
“Stingray is dealing with Fearless… Beyond that, there are two A-Class villains, eight B-Class villains, and forty-three C-Class villains…”
Despite her panicked gaze, Mimic Girl’s mouth freely divulged internal information.
I furrowed my brow deeply.
Cockroaches, all of them.
So many had crawled in.
Perhaps this could even be turned into a valuable opportunity.
The chance to wipe out an S-Class villain’s organization in one fell swoop was not common.
Before my regression, I had missed all such chances, but this time, I was the variable.
If I sent them all to hell, no villain would dare show their shadow in the vicinity for a long time.
“…Among them, one A-Class, three B-Class, and twelve C-Class villains went to the orphanage.”
Suddenly, a particular word seized my attention.
I halted the interrogation and urgently asked,
“Why were so many forces deployed to the orphanage?”
“Th-the orphanage is where Fearless’s cherished orphans reside… They must have sent their core forces to protect them… with the plan to kill both them and all the orphans…”
“…”
I cast my mind back to my memories before leaving for the shelter.
Only one person was currently assigned to the orphanage.
C-Class Hero Psyche.
In other words, Han Sua.
“Ex-excuse me…”
As I was deep in thought, I heard a voice call out again.
Mimic Girl, her face still flushed, inquired,
“W-what are you going to do with me now…?”
“…You?”
“Yes.”
Her suddenly polite tone somehow felt even more unsettling.
She paid no mind to my glare, continuing to rub her legs together coquettishly.
“Um, you seem to be a villain… Is that right…?”
“…”
“W-would you like to come to our VANDAL…? I’ll speak highly of you to the boss… Or, you could just take me with you.”
“Huh?”
“You… need a woman, don’t you…? I’m very good… I’m really confident… Yes…?”
Her syrupy voice echoed, tempting him.
What exactly was she so good at?
Perhaps an ordinary villain might have been swayed.
Despite being a deranged criminal, her base appearance was quite passable, and she was groveling so submissively.
However, she had made a grave miscalculation.
I would never be deceived by a woman’s whispers.
She could flick her snake-like tongue all day; it would be futile.
What mattered more than appearance was inner character.
No matter how beautiful, if she was a lunatic like Marionette, it was utterly useless.
Honestly, I didn’t even find her that pretty.
Perhaps it was because I had been constantly around people like Yuha or Han Sua.
Well, in any case, given that she was a villain, her fate had been sealed from the very beginning.
“…Mimic Girl, you said?”
“Y-yes! That’s right…”
The villain immediately nodded her head vigorously, as if believing her efforts were paying off.
I surveyed my surroundings.
Judging by the scattered experimental tools and glass bottles, it seemed Mimic Girl had dragged me to some kind of chemical storage room.
My eyes immediately fell upon a glass bottle filled with a sinister-looking blue liquid, churning within.
Despite the blatant skull emblem emblazoned on its exterior, I merely smirked and picked it up.
I had decided on her method of execution.
“Drink it.”
“Y-yes…?”
I, with feigned kindness, uncapped the bottle and offered it to Mimic Girl.
On her loose face, a belated, pallid doubt began to creep in.
Her faintly trembling eyes were now brimming with fear.
[Skill: Puppetry is in use…]
Yet, even amidst her terror, the villain’s trembling hand slowly raised the vial to her lips.
“Drink all of this, and I’ll grant you whatever you wish.
Whether it’s to spare your life or anything else.
How about it?
Isn’t that a fair deal?”
“W-what…? How could I… W-wait…! No…!”
Tears welled profusely in the villain’s eyes, yet even this was utterly detestable.
To have lived a lifetime as a vicious oppressor, only to act like a victim in her final moments.
“Try your best.”
Without a backward glance, I stepped into the corridor.
I checked my surroundings, then twisted my wristband, and instantly, a familiar black suit enveloped my body with a whoosh.
-*Screeeech!*
A pained scream, belonging to someone, faintly dispersed.
This was followed by a wet *splat*—the sound of something falling to the floor.
Perhaps it was the sound of her insides melting and spilling out.
In any case, it was of no consequence to me.
I hastened my steps.
It was time to ascertain Han Sua’s choice.
****
Psyche, Han Sua, found herself encircled by dozens of villains.
The villains’ faces were all brimming with composure, as if the outcome had already been decided.
“Hero, do you truly believe you can face us all alone?”
“Hehehe, let’s finish this quickly.”
Derisive laughter filled the surrounding space.
Han Sua grit her teeth tightly.
“Ugh…”
Those present were not mere street thugs, but heinous villains, each with a considerable bounty on their head.
Moreover, VANDAL was an organization infamous for committing atrocious crimes over the past few years.
As they claimed, it was fair to say she had no chance of victory now.
“Hold on.”
One of them stepped forward.
Han Sua immediately recognized him.
He was dressed almost like a gentleman, complete with a coat, a fedora, and a cane.
An executive of VANDAL, the organization led by Stingray.
A-Class Villain, Baron.
“Now that I see you, aren’t you Hwaryeon’s Psyche?”
Restraining the other villains who were about to charge, he offered a seemingly polite greeting.
Han Sua, still not letting down her guard, spoke with a chilling tone.
“…You know me?”
“Of course.”
He nodded.
“There’s no need to pretend any longer.
We were informed of your existence long ago.
Naturally, we wouldn’t harm the bloodline of our sponsor.”
“What…?”
Han Sua’s steadfast guard momentarily faltered.
The sponsor they spoke of referred to Hwaryeon.
A villainous corporation, and the true mastermind behind VANDAL’s current assault.
“Allow us to pass.
Then, you can simply attend to your own affairs, can’t you?
It’s time to abandon this troublesome pretense of being a hero.”
“Ugh…”
At the villain’s tempting grin, Han Sua bit her lip tightly.
This troublesome pretense of being a hero.
It was a remark that struck at the core of her being, a dilemma that had plagued her incessantly.
Hwaryeon.
A wicked villain group plotting to overturn the world.
And she, by birth, was a being inherently bound to it.
Her innocent childhood had simply passed in an instant.
Only when she matured and learned to distinguish between good and evil did she grasp Hwaryeon’s true nature, but by then, she was already too deeply embroiled to escape.
She had once dreamt of a clumsy resistance, but quickly resigned herself to fate.
Hwaryeon was a colossal evil that she, alone, had no way of overcoming.
And before she knew it, she had conformed to it.
Even repeating to herself that she had never directly killed anyone was merely a pathetic self-consolation.
Psyche, one of the ‘Three Strongest of First Year,’ lauded as the future of justice.
Yet, her true identity was already that of a thoroughly wicked and malevolent villain.
Otherwise, she would never have resorted to hacking the Cradle’s database to steal information.
She had simply turned a blind eye to all the wicked and illegal atrocities committed by Hwaryeon.
All the while rationalizing it as “unavoidable” and “impossible to fight alone.”
She couldn’t even fathom how many innocent citizens would die under her silent complicity.
Even amidst all this, unable to relinquish the shell of the hero ideal, she had ultimately found herself standing here.
But then, she realized.
At this point, her clumsy imitation of a hero was nothing more than a ridiculous clown act.
That’s why the man who had entangled her had mocked her so.
“…”
As her thoughts reached this point, Han Sua’s arms fell limply to her sides.
The Baron, seemingly satisfied, nodded his head.
“Let’s go.”
The villains, their guard completely lowered, gradually began to pass her by.
Han Sua merely stood by, her head bowed low, watching them.
‘Yes, this is the right path.’
‘It’s time to stop this hero charade that doesn’t suit me.’
She tried her best to convince herself.
Then, a sudden question arose within her.
“…But what are you planning to do with the children?”
“We plan to kill them all.”
“What…?”
At the Baron’s nonchalant reply, Han Sua bit her lip.
“There’s no need to go that far with the children…! What wrong have they committed…!”
“Well, is this a world where one must commit a wrong to die?
Besides, it’s Stingray’s command.”
“A command…”
“The boss despises Fearless so much, you see.
He wants to grant her the worst possible death.”
Contrary to his words of “unavoidable,” the villain’s lips curved into a crackling smile.
“If we scatter the heads of her beloved orphans right before she dies… *Pfft*, even I’m curious about that.
What kind of expression will Fearless make, I wonder?
*Kekeke*…”
“…”
The villain’s shoulders shook as if he had heard a delightful joke.
Han Sua, her arms trembling, had unconsciously clenched her fists tightly.
Yet, even this time, she ultimately bowed her head weakly, resigning herself to fate.
It was unavoidable.
As a villain, not a hero, there was nothing she could do.
Perhaps for the children too, it might even be better than living in such a harsh world.
“Alright, let’s finish this quickly.”
“Should we kill everything inside and burn it all?”
“How bothersome… I wanted to fight some heroes…”
Behind the villains exchanging remarks as if in jest, Han Sua slowly raised her powerless head.
Perhaps it was merely a meager act of mercy, intending to watch them to their final moments.
However, at the sight before her, her eyes widened involuntarily.
The children of the orphanage had gathered by the windows, watching her, their faces small and earnest.
They even clenched their tiny fists, as if cheering her on, as if she were a hero.
-Don’t give up!
Their small, mouthing lips were unmistakably speaking those words.
Something particularly caught her gaze.
A flower crown, clumsily woven from wildflowers, clutched in a little girl’s hand.
Han Sua then remembered.
The day of their childhood play.
The peaceful afternoon scene that had seemed destined to last forever.
‘Ah…’
And Han Sua let out a soft gasp without realizing it.
The surroundings were utterly silent.
Time seemed to slow, the landscape flowing by with excruciating slowness.
Only at the very end of her indecision did she finally understand.
The true something she had yearned for, over and over again.
And what she absolutely had to do now.
No.
What only she could do.
“Alright, then… *Cough!*”
-*Thwack!!*
The head of a rhino-like villain, who had just stepped into the orphanage, suddenly exploded like a watermelon.
As if squeezed tightly by an unseen hand.
The headless body twitched its limbs on the floor before slowly slumping inert.
The villains, who had been relaxed as if on a picnic, instantly regrouped.
“What was that!!”
“It’s a surprise attack!!”
And before them, as they looked around in shock, came slow, approaching footsteps.
Han Sua, having drawn close, stood with her hand clenched in the air.
Her eyes, as she used her ability, glowed bright red.
As if proudly declaring that she was the one who had just burst the villain’s head.
“You… how dare you betray us…!”
The Baron’s voice, steeped in fury, rang out.
Regardless, Han Sua maintained her resolute stance.
Her body was brimming with more vitality than ever before.
Perhaps she would die once this fight was over.
It wasn’t a number she could overcome alone, and reinforcements were a distant hope.
However, Han Sua smiled.
She had just realized that there was something worth protecting, even if it meant exchanging her life for it.
There was something she absolutely had to do.
If asked why, there was only one answer to give:
Because she was a hero, not a villain.
“Hero Psyche.”
She spoke in a low, yet steady voice.
“The villain subjugation will now commence.”
As if it were the most natural thing in the world.
