The Mastermind

The world turned upside down without warning, ushering in an age of mysteries and the unknown.

Monstrous, predatory beasts—unidentifiable magical beasts—began manifesting in the hearts of bustling metropolises, while various "Concepts" of the world settled into human souls, awakening supernatural powers. A long era of chaos and darkness followed in their wake.

Fortunately, society eventually regained a semblance of order thanks to the rise of heroes. To preserve that fragile peace, they created a facility to permanently isolate those who turned those newfound mysteries to crime: Karma, the Great Prison where I was currently locked away.

To be completely honest, I never dreamed I would end up behind its bars. After all, I had always been the one sending criminals here.

Even so, I had assumed I would walk free before long. Whatever misunderstanding had landed me in chains, I had believed that a proper investigation would swiftly lay bare my innocence.

"The court hereby sentences the defendant, Kang Haneul, to death."

That conviction was my fatal mistake.

"The execution shall be carried out within thirty days, and..."

"What?"

A death penalty. A verdict that had not been handed down once in nearly a decade.

"Inmate 10156, you have a visitor."

The guard's lethargic, irritated voice roused me from where I lay like a corpse in my solitary cell.

"......"

"Hurry up and move. We leave in one minute."

When I cast an unfocused, hollow gaze his way, he scowled with blatant disgust and turned his head. Not that I could blame him. In the eyes of the world, I was the scum of the earth who had butchered the Rank 1 Hero.

Just how did it all come to this?

Naturally, I had pleaded my innocence at the start. Fiercely. I had shouted that it made no sense for there not to be a single witness, no matter how tightly the operational perimeter had been locked down. I had insisted that forensic analysis of Justia's body and the neutralized magical beast would easily reconstruct the sequence of events. And above all, that I possessed neither the power nor the ability to kill her in the first place.

It had all been utterly useless.

Every piece of evidence unearthed as the inquiry progressed, along with the few eyewitness accounts that surfaced, pointed an unerring finger straight at me. By the time I realized how terribly wrong things had gone, it was far too late. Locked away as the prime suspect, there was virtually nothing I could do—and with terrifying unanimity, no one would listen to a word I said.

The media had already branded me Justia's murderer, churning out sensationalist headlines around the clock, while the investigators dismissed my claims of fabricated evidence as the shameless raving of a villain. The entire world was hunting me down, cornering me together.

Who could have orchestrated something like this? What possible grudge could drive someone to ruin me so thoroughly?

"Hello, Sunbae."

The answer to that question waited inside the visitation room I was dragged into moments later.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"...Tch."

Shackled hand and foot, I found myself facing a white-haired boy—and, right by his side as his steadfast escort, my older sister.

"Lumia, if you sense the slightest danger, call us immediately, all right? There are guards on standby right behind me..."

"Don't worry, Maru-ssi. I'm entering the Hero Academy this year, aren't I? I'm practically a full-fledged hero now."

The youth who politely waved off her protection with an easy smile—a gentle, affectionate expression I had never seen my sister wear—was Lumia Obsé. The very sensation currently taking the world by storm: the Child of Prophecy.

"See you in a bit, then?"

As I stared weakly at him, my sister, who had been lingering by the door with persistent worry, shot a cold glance over her shoulder at me.

"Noona, I..."

"Shut your mouth."

"Ugh."

I had spoken up like a drowning man grasping at straws, but the icy whisper that dropped from her lips froze the blood in my veins, paralyzing me on the spot.

"You are the disgrace of my life."

"......"

"So please, just die quietly."

With those parting words, she walked out, leaving me to crumple uselessly onto the cold floor. How was it that every single one of them said the exact same thing? Hearing from my own flesh-and-blood sister the very words the other two had spat at me drained the last vestige of strength from my body.

"Excuse me, are you alright?"

"......"

"Stay still. Let me help you up."

After lying there helpless for an eternity, I was hoisted back onto my feet by none other than Lumia—a humiliation as bitter as it was pathetic.

"So, how do you feel?"

Once I was settled onto the chair, Lumia donned an expression of feigned concern, casually tapping away at a laptop that had already been set on the table.

"How do I feel? Are you mocking me..."

I ground out the words, clamping down on the searing rage bubbling within my chest. But then—

"How does it feel to have everything stolen from you?"

Catching the eerie, chilling grin that had suddenly warped his features, I froze dead in my tracks.

"What... are you talking about?"

Two days before my execution, he had finally begun to show his true colors.

"By the way, you haven't developed that squint yet."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It's truly fascinating. To think there was a time when you were this fresh and naive, Haneul-sunbae..."

"Answer me!"

Unable to stomach his cryptic evasions and nonsensical ramblings any longer, I slammed against my restraints and roared.

"Isn't it obvious what I'm talking about?"

Lumia widened his eyes in mock innocence, his voice soft and lilting.

"The childhood friend you promised to marry when you were young. The chaebol heiress ex-girlfriend who chased after you simply because she adored you. And even your own flesh-and-blood sister."

"You..."

"They're all mine now."

Only then did the baseless suspicions I had harbored in the darkest corners of my mind crystallize into undeniable reality.

"Don't tell me... you planned it all?"

"And now, with Justia-ssi torn from your side as well... you must be heartbroken."

"You really... orchestrated all of this?"

When I stared back at him in stunned disbelief, Lumia offered a faint, serene nod.

"Manipulating the intelligence was harder than I expected. If I hadn't spent years laying the groundwork in advance, I never could have pulled it off."

"......"

"Ah, though keeping you from suspecting the truth with certainty was several times harder, of course."

He casually reached out and patted my shoulder.

"Congratulations. You weren't paranoid, Sunbae, nor were you schizophrenic. I really was the mastermind pulling the strings all along, and you simply saw right through me."

"Ha."

"You were tormenting yourself wondering if it was all in your head, weren't you? Well, doesn't knowing the truth take a load off your chest?"

He was right. Just as he said, the tragedies that had befallen me were no coincidence. The inexplicable betrayal of the women I cherished most, the steady erosion of the standing Justia and I held in society, and even the catastrophe from a few days ago—he had been pulling the strings behind every single one.

"Why... why are you doing this to me?"

The moment the realization set in, the tremors racking my body suddenly ceased.

"What did I ever do to you?"

My rage had breached its absolute threshold, leaving in its wake an icy, lucid clarity.

"What do you want? What is your goal?"

An unadulterated, venomous loathing for the creature who had dismantled my life for reasons I couldn't fathom honed my wits to a razor's edge. And I did not let that moment slip through my fingers.

"You're right. Your performance was so brilliant that I ended up doubting my own sanity."

"Yes, so it seemed."

"Then why lay it all bare in front of me now, of all times?"

This was my final opportunity. The one remaining chance to drag the full truth from his lips and overturn this nightmare.

"There's nothing to gain from gloating to a condemned man. It doesn't fit your usual meticulous style."

"Excuse me."

"So tell me. What are you after? Right now—"

"Hey."

Yet despite my steely resolve,

"Isn't it obvious?"

The phrase that rolled off his tongue was enough to shatter my composure all over again.

"My goal is you."

"What?"

"What kind of bullshit is that?"

As I stared at him dumbfounded, Lumia met my gaze with an affectionate crescent smile and began to speak in a velvety, languid cadence.

"Tell me, Sunbae. What do you think completes a hero?"

"Cut the crap and answer my damn question—"

"Sunbae, please answer."

His absurd question set my temper flaring, but the look in his eyes was dead serious.

"...Justice? A spirit of sacrifice? The desire to help others?"

Every instinct urged me to spit a string of curses and storm out, but if this visitation ended right now, I was the only one with everything to lose. So I played along with halfhearted answers, prompting Lumia to slowly shake his head.

"No. Not at all, Sunbae."

"Then what is it?"

Swallowing my disgust as I watched his smug display, I demanded an answer. Lumia tilted his head slightly to the side.

"What completes a hero is a villain."

A heavy silence fell between us.

"Isn't it true, Sunbae? Every legendary hero has a villain to call their own."

Wondering what madness he was leading up to, I held my tongue. Lumia narrowed his eyes, his voice waxing theatrical.

"Take the bat, for instance—he has his clown. The spider-man's life is constantly hunted by a goblin and venom, and the great detective has his professor. Isn't that right, Sunbae?"

"......?"

I could roughly grasp the point he was trying to make, but it left me thoroughly bewildered. A bat and a clown? A spider-man? A detective? Who on earth is he talking about? As far as I knew, no such heroes existed in this world.

"Ah, forgive me. An old bad habit of mine flared up again."

As I blinked in confusion while racking my memory, Lumia raised a hand in an airy apology.

"Well, I'm sure you understood the gist of it."

"And what does any of that have to do with your goal?"

My patience was fraying at the edges. Just as I raised my voice to press him—

"Please, Sunbae."

Reaching across the table, Lumia took my hand into his own and whispered with a skin-crawling smile:

"Become my villain."

"...What?"

For a moment, I wondered if my ears were playing tricks on me.

"Become my archenemy."

Yet the look in his eyes left no room for doubt. He was completely serious.

"Hate me. Hunt for my life. Stand in direct opposition to me."

"What kind of..."

"Fight me until we're both on the brink of death. Tear me apart, push me to despair, and become the very identity that defines me."

On that face that had always worn an innocent mask, within those gentle eyes that had nearly fooled even me, lurked something far transcending ordinary madness.

"Just like in the original work."

His final murmur was too faint for me to catch, but I had no bandwidth ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to care about a stray whisper.

"What the hell are you even saying?"

Even if I had heard it, I wouldn't have understood it anyway.

"To put it simply... I love you to death, Sunbae."

"......"

"From the moment I first saw... met you, I always have."

His clarification solidified a single, horrified conclusion in my mind.

He's just a deranged homo bastard.

The true identity of the so-called Child of Prophecy was nothing more than a sick, obsessed lunatic. In that case, there was only one thing left for me to do.

"Then the reason you stole everyone from me..."

"Isn't it obvious? It was my way of being considerate—so you would focus solely on me, rather than those worthless sluts."

Humor him. Buy time. Simultaneously, I gathered every ounce of my mental focus.

"Then what about Justia?"

"She was destined to die on that day anyway. Of course, you won't understand just yet, but..."

I had only one chance. Yet I had complete faith in myself. Because this was the talent that none other than Justia had believed in.

"In any case, what I'm trying to say is—"

"Well, that's too bad."

"Hmm?"

After letting the silence hang, I spoke with sudden swagger, prompting Lumia to tilt his head in curiosity.

"What's too bad, Sunbae?"

"You went through all this trouble, but it looks like you couldn't take everything from me after all."

At that, his brows knitted together in quiet irritation.

"That's impossible...?"

"It's exactly as I said. There's still one person you haven't managed to steal."

He must have sensed it, too: that my words were no idle bluff.

Indeed. Our time together had been fleeting, but I had never forgotten her. The girl from my childhood who had shaped the course of my life just as profoundly as Justia had. The mentor who had first planted the dream of being a hero in my heart. The driving force that kept me moving forward, no matter ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠how desperately I wanted to quit. Even though I didn't know what she was doing now, or if she was even still alive—

"There's no way you had someone like that..."

"Pity, Lumia."

Precisely because of that, she was someone Lumia could never know of, let alone tear away—the final redoubt of my mind.

"You couldn't take her from me."

Of course, dredging up a figure from the distant past whose very survival was unknown would hardly grant me victory. My life had already been gutted by this monster, and in two days, I was slated to be executed on false charges of murdering Justia. All I could earn from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this was a petty psychological victory, alongside a fleeting ripple of disturbance in the abhorrent youth before me.

A monster like him would regain his composure in a matter of seconds and corner me anew. None of that mattered.

"Now. Focus your eyes on the screen."

All I needed was that split-second lapse in his guard.

"Ah? Ah..."

Reflexively tracking my voice, Lumia shifted his eyes toward his laptop display, and the spark in his gaze began to glaze over.

"Stare at the spinning circle... That's it... Just like that, slowly, very slowly... close your eyes."

Following my instruction, Lumia's eyelids gradually drifted shut.

"Yes, just like that... deeper... sinking very, very deep."

I had realized from the very beginning that someone as paranoid as Lumia had deliberately brought his own laptop into the room. I didn't know what he had been typing away at earlier, but the back of the device bore the bizarre mask insignia he always carried around as an accessory. It was undeniably his personal machine.

And that was his fatal blunder. Having long suspected and kept watch over him, I had covertly installed a voice-activated script onto his laptop months ago. He should have picked up on something amiss by now; perhaps the rumor that the Child of Prophecy was hopelessly inept with electronics had been true after all.

"Hey, Lumia."

"......"

Well, even if he were reasonably tech-savvy, it would have been difficult to detect a dormant program designed only to display a spinning hypnotic spiral upon recognizing a specific voice trigger.

"Hey, you fruitcake bastard."

"........."

As for how such ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a crude, elementary program could completely incapacitate someone like Lumia, the answer was remarkably simple. In this supernatural era, humanity was blessed with various Concepts of the world. And living in this age, I, too, possessed a Concept dwelling within my soul.

"...It worked."

The Concept granted to me was Hypnosis. The Concept of Hypnosis.

"First, take that sheet of paper next to you and write a full confession detailing everything you've done."

"...Yes."

"The moment you leave this room, submit that confession and turn yourself in."

"...Understood."

From that point on, everything seemed to proceed without a hitch. It was only natural. No one who had ever fallen under my ability had ever broken free on their own. No matter how hailed Lumia was as the future Rank 1 Hero, he had no reason to expect an ambush from someone whose Concept had remained shrouded in absolute secrecy. He couldn't possibly possess a defense against it.

"........."

"Lumia?"

Or so it should have been.

"What... what are you doing? Hurry up and confess."

Pen in hand, Lumia reached for the paper—and abruptly froze.

At the exact same time, his hand began to tremble violently.

"Is he... resisting? But how...?"

Gazing in shock at his forearm where blue veins surged beneath pale skin, I gritted my teeth and screamed, straining every vocal cord in my throat.

"Write your true identity on that paper!"

I had no idea how it was possible, but Lumia was unquestionably pushing back against my ability. Change of plans, then. Even if I couldn't wring out a complete confession, I had to manufacture undeniable proof that would convince everyone.

"Right now! Write it on that paper!"

Even if it meant revealing the power I had kept hidden for so long. Even if it meant being branded a latent villain by the world.

"Reveal your identity!"

Consumed by desperation, I poured every ounce of my soul into issuing the strongest command I had ever uttered. But then—

"Hurry up and..."

I stopped shaking him and stared blankly at the parchment.

"......"

Sketched onto the sheet was a doodle of the very same mask emblazoned on Lumia's laptop—sticking its tongue out mockingly.

"The protagonist always succeeds in resisting mental attacks."

As I pulled my gaze away from that drawn emoticon, a chilling whisper slithered into my ears.

"It's a classic cliché, isn't it?"

Whispering those words, Lumia reached out with effortless composure and pressed the emergency alarm button, as if he had anticipated every beat of this encounter from the start.

"By the way, as expected, you still haven't figured out how to properly utilize your ability. Well, I'm sure you'll improve with time..."

Yet my eyes were no longer on him; they were fixed squarely on empty air.

Specifically, on the translucent blue window that had just surfaced before my sight.

"What... is this?"

Crash!

"Lumia!"

The heavy visitation room door burst open with a deafening crash, and my sister barreled into the room.

Crack!

"Urgh!"

Before I could even register her entry, her hand seized the back of my skull and slammed my face violently into the metal desk. In less than a second, I was sprawled across the floor, drowning in my own blood.

"Lumia-ssi!"

"Are you alright?!"

A swarm of her comrades rushed into the room on her heels, flanked by grim-faced prison guards.

"You bastard..."

"Get Lumia-ssi out of here, quickly...!"

Lumia had already slid back into his naive facade, trembling with feigned terror as he collapsed into my sister's protective embrace. Yet even through the haze of agony and blood, my entire being remained riveted to a single point.

"What on earth is..."

The gift Justia had strained her dying breath to entrust to me was an ability that defied every expectation I had ever conceived.

Meanwhile, at that very hour.

"Well then, shall we get ready?"

Inside a room steeped in shadows, a young woman rose to her feet, her eyes gleaming with purpose.

"It's time to break him out."

"......"

At her declaration, the eyes of the figures seated in the gloom flared with silent, resolute light.