What is a Devil?
What was a devil? Was it the succubus pinned to that pillar over there? Or were the ones conducting all sorts of grotesque biological experiments on her using her body the real devils?
"Kyaaak!! Ugh."
"A-ah, devil...!"
Or maybe it was me, the one smashing these barely human bastards to pieces.
Hearing that word from you lot makes me feel zero hesitation about what I'm doing.
Boom—
I swung my bat, shattering the spine of one trying to flee.
"Guh, heuk...."
His white coat began staining red, and I swung the bat hard at the fleeing researcher's back one more time.
Splat—
The researcher could no longer run. He couldn't even crawl. He just stopped breathing right there.
Today, I killed a person. Or someone who might not have been a person—a devil, perhaps.
Someone's child, maybe. Someone's parent.
But these were clear-cut villains. They researched the Devil's Seed, which would later sprout and threaten the world.
From a personal viewpoint, I killed people. But from a pan-human perspective, I eliminated those sowing the seeds of world destruction.
"Kuhk, uuhk...."
Still alive?
A groan came from inside the chamber where the succubus was held behind the glass.
INTRUDER DETECTED
WARNING, WARNING, WARNING
The alarm had been blaring ever since I shattered the glass, and the machine that had been about to dissect the succubus had stopped.
"I-I can't let you have this...!"
Thinking I was here to rescue the succubus, the researcher tried to restart the machine using an internal control panel.
"Ah, a-ah...?!"
Whirrr.
The mechanical drill was now aimed at the succubus's face instead of her abdomen.
Terror filled her eyes as she looked at me, and they clearly pleaded:
Save me.
[.......]
Without a moment to think, my body was already moving. I kicked off the ground, leaped through the broken glass, gripped my bat tight with both hands, and poured strength into them.
"Kuh, heh heh heuk!!"
The researcher twisted his body, fumbling with the controls.
If I didn't attack him now, he'd surely try to escape somehow.
The moment of choice. Twist my body to subdue the researcher? Or stop that drill?
Hmph.
The bat arced over my shoulder—straight toward the drill, of course.
I'm no frustrating hero.
Clang—!
I smashed the drill arm hard with my bat. The succubus jerked her head aside, and the twisted drill tip merely grazed her cheek.
"Kuhaha! Success! You fool! I—"
The researcher, who had just opened a door that looked like an emergency escape hatch, froze in place.
Your gift.
I kicked the drill arm into the air as I landed.
Spurt—!!
The spinning drill tip, as expected, headed straight for the researcher—and pierced his abdomen clean through.
"Kuh, haak...."
He spat blood from his mouth and died.
It was a grotesque sight too horrific for words, but considering everything that had happened inside this chamber, he deserved it.
"Hahaha!"
At least, seeing the succubus's tear-streaked laugh made it clear.
"Ahaha, well died, you damned bastards...! Tormenting me over and over...! Haa, haa...!"
Still bound to the pillar, she could only laugh and gasp with words, but if I freed her, she'd probably rush over and stomp on the corpses.
Your name?
"...Jeon Yubin. Twenty-two. I've heard the rumors about you."
The succubus gave a hollow smile, scanning me up and down.
"I was just a run-of-the-mill villain when they kidnapped me... How strong have you gotten?"
When were you kidnapped?
"Last fall."
Vague timing. I was known as C-rank back then.
I tore off Jeon Yubin's restraints one by one with my hands.
Now I'm an S-rank villain.
"Impressive. How'd you get so strong so fast?"
Classified. Organization business.
"Right. Classified. Fine. So... why'd you come to save me?"
Save you?
I pulled out not the lab's restraints, but a rope I'd made with my Dokkaebi Bat.
I'm not here to save you.
"......?!"
Snap.
Before Jeon Yubin could move, I bound her tight with the rope. I pinned her wings and arms so she couldn't budge, then forced her face-down on the floor.
"Wh-what the hell are you doing!!"
Why'd you think I came to save you?
I stepped on her back, right at the base of her wings, and rested my bat on the back of her head.
Sure, it's tragic you got experimented on by devils in human skin. But that doesn't make you an angel in a devil's skin.
"N-no! I'm not a bad person!"
Have you ever killed anyone?
"......!"
Jeon Yubin went silent. Naturally. The basic condition for becoming a devil was 'kin-slaying,' and purebred devils like her—unlike those forcibly turned by the Devil's Seed—achieved it the normal way.
Not a rampage from superpower overload. You killed people with your powers, chasing strength. How many?
"I-I didn't kill anyone...! No one!"
Liar.
Not judging by heartbeat or eye flickers—those body-tell signs.
The investigation's done. Jeon Yubin, you killed your junior on Sejong Island and stole her powers. Remember 'Hwang Dohee'?
"......!!"
Jeon Yubin's expression changed. Until moments ago, she'd been radiating injustice from every pore; now it turned icy, sneering at me.
"What? You knew everything?"
Knew before coming. Our intel guy's top-notch.
To sum up Jumo's report briefly:
You killed your junior Hwang Dohee on Sejong Island, stole her mana, then turned devil and rampaged. The island's security said they detained you in a secret prison, but it was really a covert research lab... Something like that.
Using prisoners as guinea pigs was common enough.
Devil now, so human rights don't matter. Right? Dictionary says devils aren't human anyway.
"Ha, haha... If I get out of here, I'll join Pandemonium and expose every ugly truth about this place. I'll demand rights for all devils to live as humans."
Big dreams.
I raised my bat high.
Story's over. Last words before you die?
"W-wait. You're really gonna kill me? For real...?"
Think I'd just scare you, make you confess your villain origin and repent?
"St-stop! Wait! You're not seriously gonna kill me...! We're both villains, why?!"
Jeon Yubin's face grew desperate.
"The one who told you I was here, the one who ordered the raid—they didn't tell you to kill me!!"
She thrashed, straining to escape me.
"Capture me and expose Sejong Island's ugly truths! Use me to uncover the research!!"
Could be. But did you miss what I said up there before coming down?
I leaned in, whispering in Jeon Yubin's ear:
The impure shall all be executed.
Devils die, no exceptions.
Even heroes face moral blame for killing devils but no legal punishment. Why should I spare you?
"I-I have value! Who treats people like this?! Sejong Island's ugly truth! Capturing devils for research, human experiments! You gotta spread that to the press!!"
You're misunderstanding. Think you're the only research subject on Sejong Island?
"No way... Other devils too?! Why spare them?! Why just me!!"
Because.
As obvious as it was:
Hwang Dohee's parents commissioned your death.
"......."
Jeon Yubin said nothing. Like she'd never seen it coming, she stared up at me with a dazed face, as if punched from nowhere.
"How did they...?"
They wanted to see the killer's face, how she lived on. But no visits, no access. That's where it started.
How the commission came in was the organization's job.
Think the one you killed wouldn't commission your death?
As the organization's fixer and 'section chief,' I just carried out the mission.
"Ha, haha...! And you're different?! Hypocrite! You're the same!!"
I know. I've killed plenty, and their families want me dead.
More hated Dokkaebi than Jeon Yubin.
They can point blades at me. But I won't take the hit.
I'm no dumb, frustrating hero.
And.
I shaped the bat's tip into a sharp awl and gripped it reverse.
What I hate most after villains? Devils.
Spurt—!!
Red blood sprayed. Red blood no different from a human's.
Clap, clap, clap.
Beyond the exit the researcher had opened.
"Wow, that's impressive."
A man approached, clapping. Black mask with a ridiculous face, straw mat hat, black hanbok.
"You handle things hot and heavy, Dokkaebi. Did you really have to kill him?"
Who the hell are you?
"Me? Different organization from you, same job to do, but chose a different path from yours."
The man slung a switch-like rod over his shoulder.
"One who'll spread this place's ugly truths to the world, exposing the higher-ups."
Flutter.
He slung the rod over his shoulder, gripped it with both hands, and bowed low like a roly-poly doll.
"Hwalbindang's Malttugi, at your service."