Villain Executioner (2)
In this nationalistic light novel, there's a villain called Dokkaebi.
One of the executives in the evil organization Imae Mangnyang, he raids the academy where the protagonist attends starting from volume 1, tormenting the hero at every turn.
"Kuh...! You bastard! How dare you arrogantly sabotage my plan! Just you wait!"
Of course, like any low-ranking executive in an evil organization, all his attacks targeting the protagonist end in failure.
"You're always getting in my way! Put that woman down and get lost, and I'll at least spare your life!"
"I don't know what brainwashing you've done, but stealing one of our organization's executives? I'll kill you for that!"
"You're always interfering! If it weren't for you, our organization could have taken this country! The world too! If it weren't for you!!!"
To be precise, he tries to kidnap the 'heroines' at the academy, only to get blocked by the protagonist who's conveniently nearby, and after repeated failures, his goal shifts to killing the protagonist. His childhood friend heroine ends up in the protagonist's harem. The being who was his direct superior joins the protagonist's harem. And by the final volume, even the leader of the evil organization becomes part of the protagonist's harem.
"Die, protagonist! Even if I die today, I'll make sure to take you with me!!"
In the end, he awakens in despair and corruption, stealing all the villains' powers to become a true final boss-like entity drowning in despair.
That's me.
The original novel portrays him as so pathetic and repulsive that even when he suffers 'BSS' or 'NTR', readers think, "This guy deserves it." He was that hated.
And I ended up possessing him.
I still can't understand why I possessed this guy of all people instead of the protagonist, but right now, I'm operating as a villain for the secret organization Imae Mangnyang, which aims for world conquest.
To survive.
I possessed him after he'd already become a villain, and now I can't leave this organization. If I tried, I'd need to meet someone who can dispel abilities and get 'purified'—specifically, to break the 'restriction' that the Total Leader personally placed on me with her powers.
I considered turning myself in to the Hero Association. I haven't done any major villainy yet, and being a villain comes with way more restrictions than being a hero.
But.
After a few months living as a villain, I'm kinda starting to like it.
Ding-dong.
My smartphone alarm rang. The first thing I saw was the deposit record in my banking app.
Metaburst Co., Ltd.
Deposit
₩34,123,293
"...With three million, anyone could be a villain."
A massive sum had been deposited. 'Metaburst' is one of Imae Mangnyang's many shell companies, and I'm registered as an employee there, getting paid a salary.
Even a secret organization needs money for operations, so they need a way to launder it legally. If heroes ever trace that company, the accounts, bankbooks, and phones would all get seized—but Imae Mangnyang isn't that easy to take down.
Ding-dong.
Another alarm from my pocket. I pulled out a different smartphone.
Hero Archive Co., Ltd.
Deposit
₩21,413,989
Another phone, another account.
"Three mil plus two more."
Hero Archive is another shell company. If one gets busted, they can route payments through the others—Imae Mangnyang manages its members more systematically than you'd think.
I worry sometimes about the International Hero Association—aka 'HERO'—catching on, but until then, I can rake in huge cash without issue. I have three more spots like this, but no 'performance' deposits yet. Stack up the results going forward, though...
"Hit a hundred mil this month's salary."
A place where monthly billion-won kicks are possible? Right here in Imae Mangnyang.
Justice? Heroes? Protagonist? Meaningless in the face of money. I'm a vulgar capitalist scum who kneels before the warm paycheck from Imae Mangnyang.
"Congratulations, Dokkaebi. I'll give you what you want."
"No more, no less—just one bill, please."
"One bill? Will that do?"
"Of course, Total Leader."
"Good. One hundred million in your account. Do well on the next one too."
*Ahem!*
"...!"
And that's how I became a villain. Not because the Total Leader is a stunning beauty, or because all the executives—aka the 'Dark Four Heavenly Kings'—are women. I'm not a morning bird; I'm a money bird.
This is reality.
Light novel world or whatever, it's my reality now. If there's no escape, the answer is to live it up, swimming in wealth!
Boom boom boom—
"What the?"
A harsh horn blared from the veranda window. Was it some idiot running a red light, or another villain showing up? Hard to tell.
Weeee-ooo-weeee-ooo.
The villain alert siren. In Seoul, these go off all the time, so I checked my phone just in case.
"...Not one of ours?"
No word from Imae Mangnyang. If the alert's going off with no heads-up from us, it's a genuine villain sighting.
Click.
I turned on the TV, flipping straight to HTN—the news channel specializing in ability users and breaking villain news.
"Another villain, huh."
Villains pop up every damn day. Today's speeding down the Gyeongbu Expressway at 200 km/h, treating it like the Autobahn and hogging all the fun.
"Tsk tsk. Kid's already cracking."
Common trait among villains: all under 25. Makes sense.
Year 2000. The millennium dawned, and a meteor slammed into Earth from deep space.
It carried alien matter that spread across the planet, birthing a new kind of human.
Ability users. Beings who wield superpowers, freely manipulating the new energy 'mana'.
But only kids.
"New humanity."
The oldest ability user is just 25. Born in '00. Plenty of stories have adults awakening powers, but not this light novel.
Was it resentment toward adults? Resistance? They could have set it up so adults awaken too, or made the first ability users societal pillars by now.
In this light novel world, no suited-up adult coughing "ahem" has powers. Anyone 26 or older—anyone whose birth year starts with '1'—can't manifest abilities.
Humanity entered true generational conflict. Pre-awakening old humanity. Awakened new humanity.
Of course, official new humans number under 100,000—a catch—but their influence is massive.
The world plunged into grand chaos.
No heroes in Seoul. None in Gyeonggi either. Busan's crawling with them. Writer must be from Busan.
The capital's still Seoul on paper, but Busan's the economic heart now.
Extremely speaking.
"Haeundae Hero Association apartments next door go for 500 million won, while Gangnam brand apartments in Seoul drop to 300 million? That says it all."
Light novel fantasy world or not, the people living here are real. I know it's a novel, but to them, it's terror—not knowing when some punk villain kid will pop out and wreak havoc.
This world is my reality now. Transmigrator or reader in a past life? Doesn't matter. I'm a villain executive in an evil organization here.
So.
"......No way."
I looked outside.
"Our neighborhood?"