The Aftermath of the Lab Raid
The long post seemed to be trying to recount every single detail of what the author had experienced, stretching on and on without end. I kept scrolling, but it never seemed to finish.
‘To summarize, he’s a rookie hero. He went on his first mission with some senior heroes, ran into us—the villains—and fled with his tail between his legs.’
When I checked the comment section of the post, dozens of replies were already calling him out, just as I expected.
The countless ordinary people on the community were busy insulting the author while also leaving plenty of comments questioning the post’s credibility.
Then came the follow-up.
The author, claiming there were too many fake accounts doubting him, uploaded several photos he had secretly taken during the mission as proof that he really was a rookie hero.
(Secretly taken photo of the research lab.)
(Shaky photo of Ice Queen.)
(Chaotic scene inside the research lab.)
(Photo of the Training Supervisor and Maker together.)
“Even my photo and the Training Supervisor’s photo were captured.”
“That’s exactly why people are talking about it.”
Astra floated her smartphone into the air using psychokinesis. She flicked her finger lightly in the empty space, and the screen switched from the original post to a flood of news articles.
Just like when I had carried out my own act of terror, the news was completely saturated with stories about me. At first glance, they seemed like ordinary news articles, but—
‘Hmm?’
As soon as the page refreshed, a wave of articles that seemed to be deliberately targeting me flooded in.
‘This feels way too intentional.’
There was no reason for these articles to suddenly appear like this, and when I clicked on them, the content was even worse. The villains that the Training Supervisor and I had slaughtered were now portrayed as loyal security guards simply doing their jobs. The researchers who had been kidnapping people and turning them into test subjects had been transformed into innocent, blameless victims.
‘There’s no way this is coming from some random villain or political faction trying to attack me. If that’s the case, there’s only one place that would pull something like this…’
“It looks like the Hero Association has begun manipulating public opinion.”
“It means they’ve started to see Maker as a real threat.”
Astra nodded in agreement with my words. Since the Association had done this kind of thing more than once or twice, she didn’t seem particularly surprised. Besides, it was even stranger for a villain to care about public opinion in the first place.
‘Still, it’s pretty damn annoying.’
It wasn’t that I felt wronged. After all, I really had killed people. What irritated me was that this was actively destroying the character I had been carefully building for Maker—the image of someone who “won’t harm people if they just follow orders.”
It felt incredibly unpleasant to watch them ignore all the personality and traits I had crafted and instead scream, “This guy doesn’t care about any of that! He’s just a villain who only acts for his own goals!”
‘Tsk. This is going to be a hassle. There are ways to fix it, but… should I just completely change course?’
A villain who only pursued his own objectives. If I changed my direction now, I would end up just like every other villain—mass-produced, without any unique traits. In the end, unless they were overwhelmingly powerful, most of those types were third-rate villains with zero appeal.
“It must be a frustrating situation for someone like Maker, who values individuality and uniqueness above all else.”
“...Haha, I can’t argue with that.”
When I checked a community that discussed heroes and villains, the comment section was on fire.
‘What a shitshow.’
I didn’t particularly care about being cursed at. What really stung was that my plan—to avoid deliberately provoking the heroes while creating a situation where they had no choice but to respond to my terror—was now in ruins.
At this rate, I would have no choice but to start killing civilians for real just to draw aggro.
‘What should I do about this?’
While I was deep in thought about my future direction—
“...Huh? Maker, could you take a look at this video?”
“What is it?”
A single video was simultaneously uploaded across multiple communities.
‘This is… the conversation I had with Ice Queen in the underground lab?’
Judging by the angle, it must have been from a CCTV camera.
Since the voices had been recorded, it was easy enough to understand what Ice Queen and I had talked about.
The content of the video played out like a movie. A rigid, principled hero versus a villain who hated both the hero and the world she protected.
The hero’s words were right, but they felt suffocating. The villain’s words were radical, yet they scratched the exact itch everyone was feeling.
On top of that, it looked like someone had done a bit of editing. The stiff demeanor of Ice Queen and my own free-spirited attitude stood in even sharper contrast.
The video ended with the dramatic scene of me grabbing her hand and pressing the gun barrel against my own chest.
By the time the video finished and I checked the community again, the reactions were explosive.
Before long, the public opinion had completely flipped into an all-out bashing of the Hero Association. It was a perfect example of backlash.
A few rational comments still criticized Maker—
—but they were quickly buried under dozens of aggressive replies.
The original comment was soon deleted under the flood of chaos.
“......”
I ended up watching my public opinion reverse in real time right alongside Astra.
“Still, the fact that public opinion shifted this much without us having to lift a finger… isn’t that a good thing?”
Was it? It really was like getting your nose blown for you. If it was a gain, then it was definitely a gain.
“Yeah, good is good, I suppose.”
I nodded and agreed with her.
Meanwhile, in a dark room with the lights off, a girl was quietly tapping away at her keyboard. She stared at the post she had just uploaded.
Her post contained the video of Maker and Ice Queen’s confrontation.
“......”
The girl watched silently as her post continued to spread further and further. A small, sly smile crept across her lips.