#89 What is Justice?
Between heroes and villains, far more villains had died by my hand. For one thing, villains were the bad guys, but more importantly, there were overwhelmingly more of them than heroes.
As far as I knew, there were fewer than four hundred officially active heroes. Villains, on the other hand, were so numerous that no one could even tally them up. And yet Dark City somehow maintained its fragile peace—not just thanks to the efforts of ordinary people and heroes, but because the villains kept each other in check.
If heroes outnumbered villains, the villains might have banded together against them instead of wasting energy on infighting. But if heroes started dropping in number, that was bad too. It would shatter the delicate balance we'd barely been holding.
Villains would grow bolder, and heroes wouldn't be able to arrest them so easily. That's why I usually just knocked heroes out. Villains, though? Straight to the neck slice.
Of course, I didn't always spare heroes. Sometimes there were those insane bastards who made you wonder if they were even heroes at all.
"Steel Armor, didn't I fuck your mom? Come on, call me Daddy! Your mom tasted so damn good when Daddy pounded her?!"
"What the hell? Not a villain—a hero? And he's trash-talking my mom? This guy's a psycho!"
Any hero who spewed crap like that got the instant chop. Right now, my no-kill rule was off. No mercy.
Light particles burst from the dead hero and seeped into my body. No one else saw it but me.
Player privilege, no doubt.
It was a scene that didn't fit the chaos at all. Even in the middle of heroes and villains unleashing superpowers in a massive brawl, no one else noticing was impossible. This bizarre phenomenon was visible only to my eyes, happening only to me.
What set me apart from everyone else? Simple. I was the player; they were NPCs. This was something only the one and only player—me—could experience.
That queasy feeling when I meet a superpowered person... the experience points turning into tattoos when I kill one... offering up duplicate superpowers as tribute to boost my superpower experience...
Those were the player perks I'd figured out so far.
This can't be all there is.
It didn't feel like the end. There had to be more system powers I hadn't discovered yet. Because players are the protagonists of this world. The story bends to my actions.
If I'd known, I would've poked around more during the tutorial system week.
I'd wasted that precious week of tutorial access like an idiot. But what could I do? Karma's a bitch.
Fuck karma! They should've explained shit properly in the tutorial! This is all the devs' fault!
Lightning-fast pivot.
Man, I've got some balls.
I stretched my back and scanned the surroundings. My eyes caught the news crew filming the scene. A helicopter hovered overhead—they weren't missing this blockbuster event.
"I was only gonna kill half..."
Thanos bro said exactly half, and I planned to follow his lead. Bros like him were my life's signposts, guiding me as the seniors they were.
But with the cameras rolling, I couldn't keep murdering. That's why Shadow Killer's infamy was sky-high—he killed like it was breakfast.
Even playing villain, you had to manage your rep. Otherwise, you'd end up having to kill everyone for real. And that'd cut the fun short. This game was meant to last.
"Oh yeah, I turned off no-kill mode, right?"
So my kill stack reset to zero! Ahh... Was there a villain as merciful as me? Tsk tsk. Accidents happen.
"Anyway, had my fun. Time to bail."
Too bad I didn't finish Shadow Killer, but whatever. The way he looked at me, like he knew something... He was clearly the final boss, the climax of the story I'd write.
Shadow Killer and I were fated to be locked in a gritty rivalry. Because—
Shadow Killer's superpower was anything but ordinary.
"Come back bigger."
With that, I snapped the neck of the last villain charging at me and slipped into the alley.
*****
"No, don't!"
"Kuhuhu! Die!"
A massive villain had a hero on the ropes. He hoped his allies would help, but everyone was busy with their own fights—no spare attention.
The hero was about to die—
"Igloo!"
—but he didn't. An igloo formed rapidly around him, blocking the villain's attack.
"Haat!"
Ice Queen, having saved the hero, hurled sharp ice spears at the villain. They pierced his body, and he screamed that he was done for.
With the villain neutralized, Ice Queen dispelled the igloo. In its place stood the hero, looking dazed.
"Ah, Ice Queen..."
"If you don't wanna die, get your head in the game!"
"Y-yes, ma'am!"
"Haaaaat!"
"...Damn, she's got charisma."
The hero muttered as he watched Ice Queen coolly move on to the next villain. It wasn't like only girls fell for the prince on the white horse saving them—guys could crush on a badass heroine too.
"Urgh... Damn it..."
"Hoo."
Ice Queen took down another villain and sighed, surveying the battlefield. It was a brutal fight, but momentum was shifting to the heroes. Powerful villains like Demon Baron, Viper, Vifner, and Gargoyle were still holding out, but incoming reinforcements tipped the barely maintained balance.
With the tide turning, even the S-rank and A-rank villains up front started pulling back.
What happens next?
Ice Queen sighed inwardly as she watched. Dark City was about to plunge into chaos far worse than this battle.
The Hero Association had dossiers on every villain in the city. They might not know residences or identities, but they tracked powers, alliances, enmities.
Today proved that intel wrong. Take Demon Baron, for example—an S-rank villain supposedly at odds with Shadow Killer. Their organizations clashed constantly, racking up casualties. The Association had even schemed to play them against each other.
All for nothing. Demon Baron wasn't Shadow Killer's enemy. Ally or subordinate.
Other infamous villains were friendly with Shadow Killer too. A perfect deception using their own members' blood—the Association fell for it hook, line, and sinker.
Now that the secret alliance was exposed, Shadow Killer and his villains would show their true colors. Dark City's peace was shattered.
Haa... Things are gonna get busier...
"Hm?"
Then Ice Queen's eyes locked on a man—no, a villain. Black suit, skull-masked face: Steel Armor.
"Gaaahhh!"
"Guh?!"
Steel Armor killed anyone charging him, hero or villain alike, then casually exited the fray.
"..."
Ice Queen watched his back vanish into the alley and instinctively gave chase.
*****
"Nngh~! Used too much power? I'm beat."
I stretched in the alley. My body felt heavy. I just wanted to get home, shower, hug Elis, and crash.
Crack!
"Hm? Ice?"
A massive ice wall blocked my path just as I moved. It felt familiar, so I smiled and turned.
"Steel Armor."
"Long time no see, Ice Queen."
Sure enough, there she was. Couldn't see her face behind the mask, but her eyes screamed tension.
"Your allies are fighting villains out there, and you came to catch me?"
"..."
She stayed silent. Why the dramatic tension? Was she seriously trying to take me down?
"Wouldn't it be better to save even one more ally than waste power on me?"
"...To you."
"Hm?"
"I have a question for you."
"A question?"
What was she curious about? Ah! My number? Another woman fallen for my charm? I wasn't S-rank villain—I was SSS-rank stud.
Sure, Ice Queen could have my digits. Burner phone anyway.
"My number is..."
"What is justice?"
"010... what?"
"What the hell is justice, Steel Armor?"
"...?"
I stared, baffled, at Ice Queen asking about justice with dead-serious eyes. Wait, you're the hero. Why ask me?
"Justice... Aren't you the hero who enforces it, Ice Queen? Why ask a villain like me?"
"Because you... You, who told me to enforce justice—you must know the answer. So tell me. What is justice?"
"Hm..."
When did I say that to her? Oh, right—when I rescued Elis from that drug den, I told her pursuing me to go enforce justice instead.
"..."
It was just a throwaway line. Like, stop chasing me pointlessly and catch some rapists in the act. No deep philosophy.
"What is justice, exactly?"
"Uh..."
Sweat trickled down my back. Instinct screamed: This was my shot to boost Ice Queen's affection!
She wasn't as stacked as Elis, but Ice Queen had her own appeal. Especially those mysterious silver eyes peeking from her mask.
How to phrase it to max her favor? Think, brain! Work!
Blood rushed to my head, neurons firing. The answer: Just pounce!
You fucking moron.
That's what my brilliant brain came up with?!
"Tell me, Steel Armor. What is justice?"
"Justice is..."
Screw it. I slowly opened my mouth to the expectant Ice Queen.