Making the Resolve
"Great work!"
"Thank you so much, Leader!"
The week was over. Control of the hypnosis had returned to me. I rode back to the station on a large bus with the women.
"Shall I drive you home, Leader?"
"No, that's fine. I'll take the subway."
The crowd dispersed. The women who had been on the same line as me got off one by one. Eventually, I was left alone. Just like always.
It won't erupt right away.
I could feel safe for now. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, a happy feeling washing over me. It had been fun. It felt good. In its own way, it was happiness. A positive memory. A joyful recollection I wanted to carry with me for the rest of my life.
But I couldn't stay trapped in it. I made my decision. I'd done what I could, made the moral choice. So all I had to do was take one more step forward.
I got off the subway. There, at the station, stood a familiar statue. Perfect exposure. A flawless figure as both a woman and a hero. But that beautiful face and body were utterly trivial compared to the achievements of the statue's subject.
The strongest of all. A hero worthy of being everyone's role model. Korea's greatest hero, who single-handedly thwarted a horrific massacre that nearly happened right here at this station and handed countless villains over to prison.
Lee Seowon's statue gazed down at me.
It's been a while since I've really looked at this...
I saw it every day commuting to work, but seeing it after so long brought fresh emotions. It might be a flight of fancy, but whenever I looked at Lee Seowon's face on my way in, it felt like she was giving me strength. Now, though, I'd never feel that sensation again.
I lowered my gaze. There, her words were engraved.
"All of you who strive to do the right thing are heroes."
It was a cliché, an obvious phrase, but she proved with her actions that she truly believed it. After foiling the villains' plan, Lee Seowon didn't boast about the ones she'd captured. Instead, she sought out each and every ordinary person who had helped evacuate others to prevent more casualties. She shook their hands and expressed her genuine gratitude. It was an unforgettable moment for me.
"Doing the right thing..."
No one can live alone. I owed her my life. And yet, before I could thank her, she thanked me first. Maybe I admired her a little. Maybe I envied the good deeds she did and chased the thrill of doing my own "right thing" and earning praise from someone so great.
"Means it gets done."
The power given to me was far too sordid to call a hero's ability. But looking back, I didn't think my actions had been particularly wrong. Even if all my powers were exposed and Lee Seowon came to kill me, I could face her with a clear conscience. I'd tell her I wasn't the villain she imagined. That I'd done my absolute best with what I could. So her gratitude back then—
That it had been the right action.
"...I have to go."
I stood before the statue for a long while, then turned and walked away. Time was short. There was much to do. I needed to get myself sorted.
/////
"Hngh, ungh, aaah..."
In the secret room, hot air billowed thickly. Brunhilde Wagner's eyes were fixed on that man's body.
What the hell is this—
It wasn't a body she could bluntly call strong. The WSC saw countless people come through. Among them were no few whose physical limits had been pushed to the extreme. She'd seen this man's naked body before. Though she lacked sexual experience, as a core WSC combatant, she'd fought alongside other men and monitored them too.
Ungh...
But she'd never seen a man having sex before.
"This... wasn't what I meant to do..."
It had started as mere surveillance footage. No one could enter his space. Get too close, and the suggestion "Do not interfere with religious activities" kicked in hard. But the WSC wouldn't abandon data acquisition, so they sent in drones. Cameras loaded with the latest WSC tech were deployed to film one man's sex acts.
The initial goal was clearly to secure data on the monitoring target. His actions, his words, his internet posts, others' evaluations of him. The WSC wanted everything about him, and sex was just one piece of that puzzle. Access was strictly limited, so Brunhilde had to handle the analysis too.
She had no choice but to watch.
"Ugh..."
She saw what he said while ravishing the woman. Heard his voice thick with lust. Saw his eyes—soft and warm, filled with love for the woman. Saw how his cock moved, how his hands moved, the immense pleasure it brought the woman they touched.
And all Brunhilde could do was lightly slide her fingers into her pussy.
"This..."
She didn't think she was hypnotized. She could stop anytime. She still controlled her body. Yet she remained human, doomed to succumb to pleasure.
The analysis is pretty much done anyway—
As she went limp, about to press harder with the hand caressing her pussy—
"May I come in?"
It was Isabelle's voice. Brunhilde jerked her head up.
"P-please wait a moment!"
She hastily tidied up, but the smell lingered. Isabelle gave a faint smile. She knew well why Brunhilde's face was flushed.
"Surveillance going well?"
"Y-yes!"
"Good. Though it seems you were surveilling something else... Anyway, it's over. The hypnosis is gone, and the training center is filled with the original followers who used those facilities."
"Then In Jisan's followers—"
"They've gone home. Back to their own places."
This hypnosis had lasted unusually long. And he'd fucked an absurd number of women. Yet Brunhilde's judgment was firm.
"I've thought it before, but now I can say for sure."
"What?"
"He acts with good intentions."
Isabelle frowned.
"Explain in detail."
"Looking at his actions and expressions, there are too many inconsistencies for him to be someone who just used his power 'to have sex.'"
Conviction shone in Brunhilde's eyes.
"He feels no guilt or revulsion during sex. His movements are clearly his own will."
"So?"
"The power's activation itself is likely moving in a direction contrary to his will."
Isabelle had vaguely wondered the same but couldn't be sure. Fucking a villain who'd taken hostages, the cafe owner and clerk, his company senior who'd tormented him, and now cult followers as their leader—it all aligned too perfectly with a man's desires. There was no guarantee a man who could do anything wouldn't.
"This hypnosis lasted quite long. Unlike the others, which were just hours or a day at most. And we observed him for an extended time."
This week's data was invaluable. They monitored him normally too, but not under hypnosis for so long.
"His words, actions, how he treats the women—it doesn't seem like someone using hypnosis just to embrace them."
Brunhilde hadn't reached this conclusion lightly. She'd doubted, agonized over and over.
"Maybe he just got lenient because he saw them as women offering their pussies?"
"We've already analyzed his daily life. Compared to how he treats others, his attitude toward the followers... it had something off about it. An emotion inexplicable without guilt."
"Didn't know you understood men's hearts so well."
"Of course, I know little about love or affection. But I know responsibility."
Brunhilde bit her lip hard.
"His seclusion is unnatural too. No thought of using his power for money, yet he casually quit his job and hid in the mountains alone. That's—"
Irrational. If he acted for pleasure, he wouldn't.
"Likely a desperate attempt to control those 'around him' since he can't control his own actions."
"Hmm..."
"Confirmation is complete. The distance from his hideout to the training center wasn't far, but he never visited. And the women who became 'followers' and went there—he'd never met any of them."
Brunhilde already trusted In Jisan.
"He can't control that power; it's controlling him—"
The bell rang.
"One moment... Yes, Chief Protector Isabelle speaking. What report... Ah, the search terms are odd? Needs checking? Yes, yes. Got it. Thank you."
Isabelle took the report with a faint smile, then looked back at Brunhilde.
"Continue."
But Brunhilde was sweating coldly, staring at Isabelle with trembling eyes.
"You should check that first."
"It didn't sound that urgent, but fine, we'll look here too."
Isabelle opened her tablet and checked the info from the WSC team. His search just minutes ago, hot off the press.
"...Huh?"
Isabelle and Brunhilde exchanged bewildered looks. Something terrible was happening.