20. #Villain
20. #Villain
20. #Villain
Childhood friend.
The bond between Yu Ha-yeon and Han Si-jun was inseparable.
Yu Ha-yeon was always with Han Si-jun.
They ate together, slept together, traveled together.
In Yu Ha-yeon's memories, Han Si-jun was always there.
And so she could live on, forgetting her painful memories.
The birthday cake vanishing into flames.
Her family, trapped in the fire, shouting that they would save her no matter what.
The sad memories that refused to leave were buried beneath the happy ones she made with him.
He truly was someone precious to her.
But she was never honest about it, and she regretted never properly expressing her gratitude.
'It's okay. I'll thank him later. I'll tell him how much he means to me.'
She kept putting it off, leaving it to her future self.
Because Han Si-jun was always there, she never spoke honestly, always making promises for later.
She grew comfortable with the present.
Every day with him was so happy that she never thought about the future.
Her natural looks and talent.
Even without effort, the world always revolved around Yu Ha-yeon.
Even doing the bare minimum put her above everyone else, so she never imagined moving forward on her own.
If she stepped ahead, Han Si-jun would be the one left behind.
She planned to walk the rest of her life at his pace, growing old together, living together.
But now.
The ending Yu Ha-yeon had envisioned was being shattered by someone unexpected.
"Si... jun..."
Yu Ha-yeon's longtime childhood friend, Han Si-jun. And the pale woman sinking her fangs into his nape.
The wound Han Si-jun had said came from moving boxes.
Yu Ha-yeon realized then that this was not the first time Han Yu-wol had done this.
"Ahh... how...?"
Han Yu-wol regarded Yu Ha-yeon's hollow expression.
A smile spread across her lips.
"Haah... that despair on your face. I'm honestly glad I took this job. This is simply too entertaining."
She pulled her bloodied teeth from Han Si-jun's neck, thoroughly delighted by the situation.
The boy with the exquisite taste.
And his childhood friend.
Stealing Han Si-jun right in front of the girl who shared such an amusing bond with him.
For one who had lived so long that boredom had become her constant companion, this was more than enough to bring her pleasure.
"Stop looking so terrifying, childhood friend girl. Did I ever say I'd kill this boy? He will die someday, of course. But today is not that day."
"...Stop."
Han Yu-wol licked the blood running from Han Si-jun's neck and lifted her gaze.
The female student whose presence had been the most overwhelming among the students.
Her tightly clenched fists trembling, her whole body straining to contain her fury.
She looked ready to explode.
'Can someone who lets their emotions rage ever become a hero?'
Han Yu-wol's sneer dripped with mockery.
"No, no. Don't show your emotions in front of a villain. Every move you make from then on will be read."
"...What do you know."
"Quite a lot, actually. I once dreamed of being a hero myself."
The past.
Though she was a villain now, Han Yu-wol had once dreamed of becoming a hero.
That memory was a piece of history that had faded into the distant past.
But the mindset of a hero was still familiar to her.
Yu Ha-yeon spoke, fighting to stay calm.
"I have no interest in your stories. Just let Si-jun go. If you want something, I'll give you anything. Please, I'm begging you..."
She had started calmly, but her rising desperation shattered the facade.
By the end, she was pleading.
It was Hwang Pil-du's harsh voice that threw fuel onto Yu Ha-yeon's emotions.
"...We're running out of time. Han Yu-wol. Finish the job."
"Just a little longer. We're right in the middle of the fun part."
Hwang Pil-du's words meant the mission involving Han Si-jun.
Knowing full well what that mission entailed—either 'elimination' or 'abduction'—this moment was hell itself for Yu Ha-yeon.
'Th-this can't... I have to... I have to save Si-jun...'
Han Si-jun had been out of her reach for far too long now.
Even if she unleashed her unique ability, 'All Creation,' with her current mana, killing those two monsters was impossible. Any reckless move would almost certainly get Han Si-jun killed.
This was the definition of a desperate situation.
Yu Ha-yeon had only one thing left she could do.
"Please..."
She dropped to her knees on the rough, uneven ground and begged them.
"Please... spare Si-jun... I'll do anything... If you tell me to die, I'll die. If you need someone to act for a better world, I'll do it..."
"...This isn't fun at all."
Han Yu-wol watched her with a cold expression.
Just as a broken flower holds no beauty, she did not consider someone who so pathetically threw away their own pride to be a 'hero.'
For her, the interest vanished in an instant.
'What a shame. Among all those students, she seemed to have the brightest future.'
Han Yu-wol wrapped her slender fingers around Han Si-jun's throat.
"Then, let me make you an offer."
"An offer...?"
"You're free to refuse. The responsibility will be yours. Do as you like."
Yu Ha-yeon lifted her head from where she knelt.
It was a sliver of hope.
She was prepared to do anything.
Red lips parted, and a shocking proposal spilled forth.
"If you kill every one of those students lying over there, I'll let this boy go. Simple, isn't it?"
"Ah..."
Han Yu-wol's eyes curved like crescent moons.
That gaze held nothing but sincerity.
Yu Ha-yeon lowered her head as if plunged into thought and stared at the ground.
Is this really the right thing to do?
No matter how many times she asked herself, the answer was always wrong.
The students lying unconscious, not knowing why any of this was happening.
Among them were friends she had laughed and talked with, and some she was close enough to exchange phone numbers with.
'Na Yu-na.'
As irritating as she could be, she was important to the way the world worked.
Han Si-jun's new friend. The granddaughter of the world-famous NAVI Group.
She had endured Hwang Pil-du's first strike but had been knocked unconscious by the follow-up attack.
The fallen students had done nothing wrong—and neither had Han Si-jun.
Sacrificing the many for the few.
No matter which era you put it in, that was always the wrong answer.
'I... what am I supposed to do...'
Yu Ha-yeon wanted Han Si-jun more than anyone, but she could not bring herself to open her mouth at the villain's offer.
In the end, even after a long silence, she could not answer Han Yu-wol.
"I see. A true hero should never accept a villain's proposal."
The smile said she was satisfied.
Han Yu-wol conferred briefly with Hwang Pil-du.
"...Are you saying you won't complete the job?"
"When did I say that, you meathead? I'm saying we put it off for a bit. For later."
"For later...?"
"Yes. For later. At first I only suspected it, but now I'm absolutely certain. This boy has no mana at all."
"...I'll carry him. We're leaving."
He agreed the moment he heard Han Yu-wol's explanation.
He slung the unconscious Han Si-jun over a shoulder as broad as the Pacific.
His gaze went to the hole in the ceiling.
Han Yu-wol offered a final goodbye to Yu Ha-yeon, who remained kneeling in self-reproach.
"Well, we might meet again someday. Let me give you one piece of advice."
Be wary of the Association.
They are not always on the hero's side.
Some within the Association were good, but there were also those who were not.
The Association had two faces.
Han Yu-wol knew them well.
Leaving only those words behind, Han Yu-wol abandoned the devastated Yu Ha-yeon and vanished toward the bright light in the ceiling.
Anticipating the day when all those lights would disappear and the world would turn black.
The Black Dawn's academy assault came to an end with a single student missing.
And that event became the trigger for Yu Ha-yeon's transformation.
'...I never want to lose anyone again. I won't lose anything else. Wait for me. Si-jun.'
The helplessness of doing nothing.
The self-loathing of making no choice.
The moment her desire for revenge against Black Dawn ignited,
the talent of the future S-rank hero began to bloom.
***
...Where am I?
When I opened my eyes, I saw nothing but darkness.
My mind was hazy, my body powerless.
What was the last thing I remembered before losing consciousness?
Dizzy, I traced back the flow of memories.
'Right, we took down the Golem. And... the Hidden Piece. I got that.'
I could feel the Golem Core inside my body, but it seemed to be inactive, its charge depleted.
Meaning my body was in such bad shape that I'd used up all the energy in the core.
The core's energy only recharges once my body is fully recovered.
'And then... Black Dawn. Han Yu-wol. She bit my neck again.'
Han Yu-wol, whose abilities revolve around blood.
Technically human, but she drinks the blood of maidens to stay young.
And then, in one corner of my mind, Yu Ha-yeon's expression from that last moment surfaced.
'What happened to Yu Ha-yeon? She didn't just throw herself at Han Yu-wol, did she? Please, just be alive.'
The look on Yu Ha-yeon's face was something I'd never seen in my entire life.
Shock. Grief. Regret. Rage. Jealousy.
A tangle of emotions.
I couldn't put that expression into words.
'Well, let's try to move a little first.'
I needed to get a grasp of the situation.
They say that even if you walk into a tiger's den, keeping calm can save your life.
In the pitch black, nothing was visible, but I tried to move my body.
Clank.
The sound of a chain catching.
The sensation came from my legs. No matter how much I strained, the only thing that hurt was my own legs.
If my core were active, I'd at least try to break the chains.
But my body was far from whole.
Click.
A sound like a switch being flicked.
Along with it, light flooded my vision.
Blindingly bright.
Maybe it was because I'd been in the dark so long, but my eyes stung fiercely.
'Wh-who is it...?'
My vision hadn't fully returned. Through unfocused sight, I could just make out the silhouette of someone sitting in a chair.
From that blurry vision, a familiar voice reached me. Han Yu-wol's voice.
"You're awake, Han Si-jun. How are you feeling?"
"...Why have you kidnapped me?"
"Oh my. Calmer than I expected? You aren't even begging for your life."
That's what a Will stat of 8 gets you.
Han Yu-wol dodged the question with a coy answer.
Then another voice spoke.
"Vice-leader. You should explain properly. Handling a request like this doesn't fit our way."
A stiff, clipped woman's voice.
After she finished, more unfamiliar voices chimed in.
"Exactly. Vice-leader, why do we have to keep this punk alive? Wouldn't the money be better? Vice-leader?"
"Quiet. The vice-leader has a plan. Someone like you who never even takes the field wouldn't understand."
"I'm in favor! Totally in favor!"
A chorus of people each shouting their own opinion.
This... looks like I'm in serious trouble.
From the way they addressed Han Yu-wol, these people were clearly other members of Black Dawn.
The room was thick with their hostile energy, a current of tension swirling.
My vision nearly re-adjusted, and the outlines of seven figures began to take shape.
Each one brimming with personality.
Cold sweat trickled down my cheek.
'...I'm done for.'
Thump. Thump.
My heartbeat pounded in my ears.
Every last one of them was a member of Black Dawn with major crimes to their name.
"So, why should we keep this one alive?"
They were all glaring at me—chained and trembling—with bloodlust in their eyes.
This was a situation even a veteran player like me could never have anticipated.