The Reason for the Fight — KABOOM!!!
Suddenly, an explosion rocked the hospital building. The outer wall crumbled in a cascade of debris, flames roared upward, and thick, scorching smoke billowed out.
Onlookers screamed in terror, scattering in panic. Nam Hyunsu still hadn't made a move.
Which meant, "Shit. Looks like there's more than one villain here."
Seo Chaerim seemed to grasp the situation too, her face twisting in a scowl as she muttered under her breath. This was bad. No, the worst.
Nam Hyunsu was heading straight for the crowd gathered in the parking lot. And inside the hospital, another villain was unleashing terror.
One enemy, he could handle. But taking down multiple villains alone without any casualties? Impossible.
Still, there was no time to hesitate. He needed to find a secluded spot to transform fast—but Seo Chaerim grabbed his arm.
"You gonna fight?"
"What?"
Her question would've been impossible if she didn't know his secret.
"How did you—"
"Heard it from Yerang."
"Yerang? You mean Hwang Yerang?"
Oh god. That meant Seo Chaerim was with the Villain Alliance too.
The unexpected revelation left him stunned. Two of his teammates were villains? Who could've imagined?
From the association's perspective, he was a villain too—so their team was all villains. What a ridiculous coincidence.
"Why fight? This has nothing to do with you."
Nothing to do with me. She wasn't wrong.
Nam Hyunsu had said he'd let him go. If he just slipped away quietly, he'd be safe, at least.
The people here were strangers. Thinking back on how they'd treated him earlier, he even felt a bit resentful.
But he couldn't just stand by and watch people die right in front of him.
He'd wanted a normal life. No running from heroes as a villain, just an ordinary civilian—that was the plan.
Was it, really? Was that his true heart?
After the fight with Hwang Yerang, he'd practiced speaking in werewolf form every night. Pointless if he was going fully normal.
"Heroes will show up soon. You'll get chased down too. Still gonna fight?"
"Yeah. Still fighting."
"Why? Wanna play hero? You, a werewolf?"
"You say it's got nothing to do with me, but people are dying right here—think I can just look away? You piece of trash."
He roughly shook off her grip on his arm and glared at her.
People were dying. This was a novel world, but to him now, it was reality. Not some tragic news on TV—this was happening right in front of him.
He admitted it now. Deep down, he'd never believed he could live normally forever.
He'd known he'd step up if something like this happened.
Hero complex, like she said? Or craving the protagonist role? He didn't know.
Didn't matter. Tragedy unfolding before his eyes, and he had the power to stop it—why the hell should he just watch?
Dreaming of being a hero, wanting to protect people—what was wrong with that?
He was a villain, but not a monster. Even if heroes caught him someday, he wanted to face himself proudly.
Even if the whole world called him wrong, if he believed it was right, he'd do it.
"Sigh. Now I kinda get why Yerang wanted to recruit you."
"You psycho bitch. Think I'd team up with terrorists like you?"
"What? Why the hell are we terrorists?"
"You kidding? Last time, yesterday, and today! You pull this crap and act all righteous?"
"...You don't seriously think I'm with them, do you?"
"Then what?"
"Goddamn it, what the hell did Hwang Yerang tell you? Look, we're not with them at all!"
Seo Chaerim scratched her head furiously, irritation boiling over. Their conversation wasn't meshing.
Some misunderstanding? What misunderstanding? That Hwang Yerang and Seo Chaerim weren't Villain Alliance?
"Then what are you?"
"Forget it! Ask Yerang later. First, we gotta stop this."
"You're fighting too?"
"You handle Nam Hyunsu. I can't be seen, so I'll take the one inside."
She left him standing there dumbfounded and dashed into the hospital.
What the hell was this?
Maybe assuming Hwang Yerang was Villain Alliance from the start was wrong.
But she'd said she was a villain herself. Invited him to join "us."
Wasn't "us" the alliance?
Thinking back, something else was off. Nam Hyunsu had said "you guys" could go.
If they were alliance mates, no reason to "you guys" him and Seo Chaerim.
From Nam Hyunsu's attitude, he knew nothing about them.
So, aside from the Villain Alliance, Hwang Yerang and Seo Chaerim belonged to another villain group.
And from Seo Chaerim's demeanor, it didn't seem like the terror-pulling radical type.
He had no clue how this world worked. Hwang Yerang should've explained properly from the start.
Anyway, Nam Hyunsu first. Deal with aftermath later.
Crack. Crunch. Bones twisted, skeleton and muscles swelled. His 170s cm frame shot past two meters in an instant. Vision rose high, fur covered his body, claws sprouted from hands and feet.
"Grrr..."
No human words—just a beast's guttural growl leaked from his maw.
He'd practiced speaking lately, but still couldn't manage it well. Didn't matter now.
He charged at Nam Hyunsu, who looked ready to slaughter the crowd any second.
Inside the hospital, Stormbringer waited, noting the sun's descent. Time to move.
They'd timed the terror for after dark to lure the werewolf.
Couldn't risk it as an unknown variable—better eliminate it for sure.
But last night's attack? No werewolf.
Too many heroes? Werewolves were sneaky deceivers; impossible to read their minds. Infuriating.
No werewolf wasn't a problem. The terror was planned anyway.
Public sentiment was already sour from last night. Another hit at the victims' hospital, heroes failing again? Association's rep would tank further.
Goal: stir chaos, slip out before heroes arrived.
Bonus: his infiltrator teammate among the supporters was here. Should be easy.
He began.
Detonate teammate's bomb—boom—flames erupted.
Bombs were perfect for instant panic. Even unseen witnesses freaked, turning the scene to pandemonium.
Hospital packed with last night's victims. They screamed and fled.
Stormbringer headed slowly for their ward, aiming to kill.
"Causing all this chaos—what're you still doing here?"
Seo Chaerim called out from behind. Amid the fleeing masses, his calm stride screamed guilt.
"Hero? Too fast. No, unfamiliar face. Who're you?"
"Guess. Why should I tell you?"
All association heroes' faces were public online; Stormbringer had memorized them.
No match for her. Not a hero.
Then... the werewolf?
Maybe some unknown ability user. Didn't matter. Interfere? Die.
"No time today. Let's end this quick, miss."
"Hmph. Cocky bastard's annoying."
Seo Chaerim tensed, eyeing him.
Shit. Can't win this. Came here to hide my powers from crowds—if I'd known, I'd have taken Nam Hyunsu.
She cursed inwardly, knowing she couldn't beat him outright.
Buy time till Jeong Yuseong downed Nam Hyunsu. She activated her power.
Crack. An ugly sound split the air, a jagged rift tearing open wider. From the fissure, six monsters emerged.
Stormbringer's eyes widened.
"No way... Heh. Heheheh! Ahahahahaha!! Never thought I'd find you here! Betrayer!!"