How a Villain Catches a Villain (2)

I moved toward Bone China.

It was close.

An Yumin was a heartbeat away from taking that spear.

She fought better than I expected, but still…

Bone China forging a spear of darkness like that meant we'd hit the final phase of the boss raid. Which meant he'd already burned through a serious amount of stamina and mana.

The difficulty went up — but so far, everything's still following the scenario I drew.

An Yumin and Aegis had held the line well. Chaotic dumped a massive temporary buff on its user, and the backlash after that buff wore off was brutal.

Which means I can't afford to drag this out any longer.

The instructors locked inside the barrier would be breaking free soon enough. Bone China would be looking to kill one cadet as a trophy and then pull out — the one who'd put up the fiercest fight against him.

Obviously, that was An Yumin.

A shrieking whistle cut the air.

The mere presence of that spear tore the atmosphere around it.

A spear materialized from Chaos-attribute mana. If that lands clean…

Bone China had slipped in through a gap in the Ark System, but he hadn't nullified the system entirely.

As long as someone carrying killing intent is present, the cadets get ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a defensive buff.

That was why no one had died yet. But a Chaos-attribute attack was on a completely different level — a special property even the Ark couldn't fully block.

If that hits her dead-on, An Yumin won't just be badly hurt… her life might be on the line.

Even if she survived, Chaos-attribute damage left lingering aftereffects. That would be a problem. An Yumin was the original protagonist — until every plot thread in story mode had been resolved, she still had a role to play.

Just like she's playing it right now, holding Bone China off for me.

Bone China's eyes were locked on An Yumin. My speed was still ordinary-civilian level, and that sluggish approach was exactly why he hadn't noticed me yet — proof of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠how exhausted he really was.

Then An Yumin's eyes went wide as she spotted me.

Why are you helping me?

I couldn't hear the words, but I could read them plain as day in her gaze. Minutes ago I'd been furious enough to curse her out. Now I'd come to save her.

A sharp crack split the air.

Right on cue — Choi Hana put a round into Bone China, exactly as planned.

Nice work.

A barrier flared from his pendant and shielded his body, but the unexpected sniper fire still rattled him.

"What kind of cheap trick is this?! You thought a pathetic shot like that could break my barrier?!"

Bone China whipped his head toward the direction the bullet had come from. The shot had come from the right. I'd approached from the left.

"Huh?"

He finally sensed something was wrong and tried to turn — but it was already too late.

Now!

Right then, the system activated.

Strength and Intelligence of a mere 25 and 23 — and yet I could feel it.

On par with Aegis's three. No — better.

The effect of the title Unknown. Like I'd just downed a dose of Chaotic, Strength and Intelligence surged in an instant.

Flames roared to life.

The furious blaze racing along the blade of the Holy Knight Sword was proof enough. A blue-glowing barrier tried to shield his body for a split second — then the Holy Knight Sword smashed clean through it, and the strike drove into him.

"GAAAAAHHH!!"

A clean, decisive hit. His body caught fire. He screamed and tried to move.

"Kh… wh-what… an instructor? No — I-I have to run…"

True to form for a villain, he tried to bolt immediately.

"That won't do. I don't let prey walk away."

I locked eyes with him. Bone China — the same man who'd been toying with cadets moments ago, eyes still wild with Chaotic-fueled madness —

— and his body locked up solid.

I swung the sword one more time.

And finally brought him down.

Hell Week was over.

But Theia Academy was still in an uproar. The Ark System responsible for cadet safety had been breached, and the full inspection that followed left several departments on temporary suspension for days.

The board must have been losing their minds.

Then came the following Wednesday. I was sitting in the main conference hall of Theia Academy's central building — a heavy room packed with the Academy President, every instructor who'd participated in Hell Week, and the key figures of the Student Council. I was there as a witness to the recent villain incursion, alongside Aegis.

That was when a short, young-looking — no, childish-looking — elf spoke up.

"Still, the fact that we only have injuries and no fatalities is an enormous relief."

The Board Chairwoman. Instructor Lee Suyeon hurried to answer.

"These cadets here did something truly remarkable!"

Every gaze in the room swung toward me and the members of Aegis.

Well. Not my problem.

A wave of praise followed. But at my core I was a villain — a cheap commendation or a few kind words didn't move me much. Ha Yeeun was answering with a self-satisfied air.

"We only did what we were supposed to do!"

I smirked inwardly.

While fretting herself sick on the inside.

Episode 1 was cleared. That meant the first quest on the underworld side — the one tied to Choi Hana — was about to begin. A quest connected to the Goddess Religion. Which meant Ha Yeeun and Aegis would get pulled in right alongside it. She was putting on a calm front, but between her packed schedule and her streaming work, Ha Yeeun had been visibly on edge. She'd even picked up a broadcasting rival lately.

That streamer had caught my interest.

A VTuber, right?

A streamer who never appeared in the original. But I'd already confirmed that the difficulty gap between the original and reality was real — so a butterfly effect spawning a new streaming rival for Ha Yeeun wasn't strange at all.

That VTuber crew… something about them feels off.

And somehow, they seemed connected to the underworld. Maybe that was why Ha Yeeun had been texting me every single day lately.

Not that any of it was worth reading. I ignored them all.

The meeting droned on. Academy business, none of it particularly relevant to me. I half-listened while checking the rewards from the last quest through the system.

Difficulty went up, and I still took the boss myself.

As far as I was concerned, I'd extracted every scrap of profit Hell Week had to offer. The effect of the title Unknown had exceeded my expectations — a direct attack buff against villains, plus the extra boost from the surprise-attack judgment.

That's what let me hunt Bone China down.

More than anything, the Fear Debuff applied against villains had been outstanding. It lowered the target's elemental resistance and even carried a temporary paralysis effect. Two clean hits from me, and he'd gone down cold. Instructor Lee Suyeon arrived afterward and made the arrest — and naturally, the arrest record went under my name.

And just like that, the final episode of Chapter 1 was cleared. First clear, plus a solo boss clear on top of it.

Thanks to that, the base currency rewards had swollen nicely.

Ten SP. Perfect.

During Hell Week, I'd felt the lack of Speed stats keenly. It was only because Aegis had worn Bone China down that I'd managed it at all. If I'd had to face him from the start, I wouldn't have gotten anywhere near him.

No — I wouldn't even have been able to react to his attacks.

I was still a body that would die if a cadet so much as brushed past me the wrong way. Looking ahead to the underworld quests coming up, the risk was far too high. Even if the title Unknown could jack up my attack power, without the durability to back it up, my life was on the line.

But with this, the story changes.

Right after putting Bone China down, I'd quietly pocketed the Barrier Pendant. The Association wouldn't know the barrier effect came from the pendant, so lifting it left no real trail. The Barrier Pendant was Rare-grade — and more importantly, I'd confirmed it registered as a Mirror object. That was as good as acquiring a new Authority at the same time. The Demonic Power boost from the act of seizing it was pure extra profit.

The meeting finally wrapped. Then came the awards ceremony for Aegis and me, the ones who'd done the most to take down the villain.

"Cadet Lee Junwoo. As Board Chairwoman of Theia, for your courage…"

I've got Crime Research Club after this. Can we wrap it up already…

But right then—

Huh?

I'd written it off as a meaningless certificate — but system currency came with it anyway. I took the award the Board Chairwoman held out. I could feel the eyes of Aegis's four members on me, and ignored them.

What bothered me more was the gaze from farther back. Red twin-tails. A short second-year cadet was watching me with pointed interest.

The Student Council President.

And once the entire meeting had concluded and we filed out of the conference room, the Student Council President finally approached me herself.

"I-It's not like I have any particular business with you… n-no, I'm so sorry!! Actually I have a lot of business!! That just now was a mistake, so… w-would you please talk with me?!!"

I'd already known from the original, but that speech pattern still threw me a little. The Student Council President was a fully realized twin-tail tsundere. Even Scarlet, the Vice President standing beside her, looked startled by the way she talked.

I moved to a different spot with them.

"L-Lee Junwoo, wait a second!"

Ha Yeeun's voice called after me, late. I ignored her, of course.

Meanwhile, in the Crime Research Club room at the Student Council building, Jeong Siu — who'd arrived first — was in a state of mild panic.

"What's wrong? Ah, does watching this make someone look like too much of an otaku? But this VTuber's been blowing up lately. She sings really well, too."

Yun Hyeona, second-year and president of the Crime Research Club, was watching a Nurtube video on her tablet PC — a virtual Nurtuber's stream. As she'd said, the VTuber was loaded with the kind of aesthetic that so-called otakus ate up, and there was no reason a street punk like Jeong Siu would have any interest in that culture. Honestly, his instincts recoiled from it on principle.

"Th-that's not it, senpai!"

But that wasn't why Jeong Siu was flustered. That VTuber was the leader of the VTuber crew that had recently gotten tangled up with FluffKyun on the streaming scene — so Jeong Siu had actually seen her a few times already. The real reason he was losing it was the voice.

I had a bad feeling, but that voice… that's Choi Hana for sure!

He nearly had a heart attack. Choi Hana's image and hardcore otaku culture did not mix in the slightest — and more importantly, Choi Hana was one of Unknown's, one of Lee Junwoo's, girlfriends.

Junwoo-nim… don't tell me he's developed some unique tastes? Even for this kind of otaku… no, this kind of weeb stuff?

And right then—

"Hey."

The clubroom door opened and someone walked in.

It was Lee Junwoo.