The Masked Villain (4)
After having Art create the costume, I finalized the plan at home. If I waited too long, the security systems might be reinforced, so I sketched out a rough outline and headed straight for the Association Building.
“Why the hell am I so nervous?”
I tilted my head back and stared up at the colossal Association Building. It was the kind of skyscraper that made the term feel perfectly fitting. The glass facade sparkled so fiercely under the sunlight that I had to squint, my face twisting into a slight frown.
“What’s got you so tense?”
“Gah?!”
The sudden whisper made me flinch hard enough to jolt my shoulders. I creaked my neck around like a rusty hinge. Flan was staring at me with a puzzled look that clearly asked what on earth I was doing. She tilted her head, examining my face with open curiosity.
“You look nervous. Genuinely.”
“Ah, I was just remembering the first time I stepped inside this building. Yeah.”
“That would make anyone tense. Or… wait. Weren’t you so nervous back then that you nearly spilled iced coffee all over your senior while trying to greet them?”
Flan nodded as if it all made perfect sense, but my expression crumpled like I’d bitten into something rotten. I was scared shitless back then. Of all people, it had to be that senior with the terrible rumors swirling around her. I’d almost dumped iced coffee on her while trying to introduce myself. Flan had been the one who stopped me. I wonder how that senior is doing… I think she retired.
“You really don’t need to remember that part.”
“I remember almost everything important.”
“That wasn’t important.”
“It was to me.”
Flan spoke in her usual flat, indifferent tone, face completely expressionless. I shut my mouth. A brief silence settled between us. I considered asking if that memory really mattered that much to her, but in the end I simply nodded and let it drop.
More importantly—
“Aren’t you busy? And how did you even find me…?”
“Ah. I was in a meeting about whether we should strengthen security again. As you know, the basement has already been breached once. On my way past, I noticed you wandering around on your vacation.”
“……”
Flan spoke calmly, then looked at me with eyes that seemed to ask, And you?
Security, huh. Of course.
I tried to keep my expression neutral, but the brief shadow that crossed my face was unavoidable. I needed to rescue Ar as quickly as possible. Noticing the change, she narrowed her silver eyes at me.
“It’s only been one day since your vacation started. Why are you back already?”
“Oh, I just came to slack off a bit at the Association. My place doesn’t have any decent training facilities. At least here the coffee’s free, right?”
“True. Mm, that’s reasonable.”
Flan spoke as she casually rolled up her sleeve and glanced at her wristwatch. Seeing that same cheap silver watch, I frowned and asked,
“You’re still wearing that thing? It’s so low-quality.”
“It tells the time. Whether it’s expensive or cheap doesn’t matter. You bought it for me with what little money you had because you said time was important. I value it quite a bit.”
Flan gave a single nod as if to say she was leaving, then turned and walked into the Association Building.
That girl really hasn’t changed at all.
I stood in front of the building with a blank look for a moment before raking a hand through my hair and following her inside. The interior of the Association Building was impeccably clean. It wasn’t so much flashy or sophisticated as it was simply, perfectly neat. I took a deep breath, had my identity as Lee Kang-woo confirmed, and stepped deeper into the facility.
“B-class hero, Lee Kang-woo confirmed. You’re currently on vacation, however…”
“Yeah, I just stopped by.”
I shrugged at the employee who was staring at the computer screen with a troubled expression. The employee nodded and let me through. The so-called free coffee for staff turned out to be nothing more than instant mix. …Figures.
While stirring the mix coffee in front of the water dispenser, a wave of self-loathing hit me. With facilities like these, they could at least open a proper café for free. Though Flan would probably call that unreasonable.
I can’t rescue her right away. I need to establish an alibi first.
If a villain attacked the moment I arrived, the suspicion would be overwhelming. I’d loiter around for a while, then head to the office, change, and go down. It wasn’t perfect, but in my opinion it was good enough.
So for about two hours I wandered around, got in a few people’s way, chatted with a junior whose face I barely remembered, and then slipped into the bathroom. Since this was an internal area where CCTV coverage was spotty, it should be fine.
“Hoooooo… I can do this. Fuck… Playing the villain, of all things.”
I covered my face with both hands, ran through my objectives a few more times, then snapped my fingers.
Click.
The black suit slid over my body like liquid. The mask revealed itself as well. I stepped out of the stall, checked myself in the mirror, and neatly arranged my messy hair. The result was the perfect image of a villain.
Oh, for god’s sake…
After a moment of despair, I decided to test a line in the bathroom.
“Hwahaha! What a bunch of pathetic fools. Are you truly that desperate to hide something?”
The mask altered my voice into something light and theatrical, making me sound exactly like a real villain. I had been a hero for ten years. No matter how I looked at it, this appearance was far too unfamiliar.
I curled my lips into a crooked smile and left the bathroom. I strolled down the corridor with deliberate ease until, for the first time, someone’s eyes met mine.
“V-Villain!”
The man stumbled backward in panic the moment he saw me. I shrugged my shoulders theatrically.
“Oh dear, have I been discovered?”
“It’s a villain! Villain!”
The man screamed and fled. Immediately after—
Weeeeee—!
The siren began to blare.
“Now then! The villain has arrived!”
……
Ar stared vacantly at the ceiling. From the corner of her eye, she could see her blood being drawn in real time through the transparent tube. The dark crimson liquid had already exceeded several liters.
Aah…
True Ancestor vampire, Ar. Like all vampires, she grew stronger and increased her thralls through blood. The endlessly regenerating blood symbolized limitless power, but right now it was nothing but a curse.
The researchers’ voices drifted to her faintly.
“She turned one of the researchers into a thrall and used him to break in here. We should stay on guard, don’t you think?”
“Forget it. That bastard kept muttering about wanting to die until his mind finally snapped… Tsk.”
To a vampire, blood was life itself. When the blood disappeared, death followed. Regeneration stopped. The researchers kept her barely alive in a half-corpse state, draining her again and again. Every single day she touched death. A fate where she could never die even if she wished for it.
I want to die.
Ar trembled all day long. From the cold of death. From a life without love. She let out a hollow laugh.
“Haha… Hahaha…”
“……”
“Hahahahahahaha!”
Ar’s bound body shook as she laughed louder and louder. Her red eyes darted wildly.
That man.
The one who had looked at her with eyes full of incomprehension until the very end. She could still see his trembling pupils. And just like that, there was no salvation. Only pity, and then nothing. The world had always been that way for Ar. The moment hope appeared, it was snatched away. She could never die even if she wanted to.
Kill me. Just kill me already!
She was screaming inside when—
Ding.
The sound of the elevator descending echoed. The researchers muttered, “Is someone supposed to be coming?” and stared at the elevator with puzzled eyes. The doors slowly opened.
A man in a black suit wearing a mask. Around him lay countless fallen guards and heroes.
“If you’re going to go through all this trouble to hide her, isn’t it only polite that I come pay a visit?”
“…!”
Ar’s eyes flew wide open. A villain? How did he get all the way down here? The researchers panicked and tried to move Ar quickly, but with a sudden rush of air, the villain was already standing right in front of them. He scanned the room, then casually shoved the flustered researchers aside.
“If you’re going to protect her so desperately… then I suppose I’ll just have to take her.”
It happened in an instant. While Ar was still blinking in confusion, the villain let out a booming “Kwahahaha!” and stepped into the elevator before the security measures could activate. The researchers tried to chase after them, but the reinforced security doors slammed shut with a heavy bang.
The villain rode the elevator upward. Once he confirmed there were no surveillance cameras, he slipped the mask off slightly. It was that hero from before.
“Ar.”
“…!”
Ar’s eyes widened in shock, but it only lasted a moment. The man put the mask back on. The elevator doors opened with a ding.
Before them stood a swarm of heroes and security personnel.
“This many? I suppose this is the heart of the Association after all?”
“Surrender peacefully!”
A guard bravely stepped forward, but the man simply tripped him, then dashed through the opening.
“Next time, hold your position better! Kwahaha!”
The heroes immediately moved to intercept. An ice spear flew at him, but he tilted his head to dodge. Fists, spears, and bullets rained down. The villain spun smoothly, lowering the arm cradling Ar, and caught a spear shaft with his bare hand.
“You should practice more. Your stance is still far too sloppy, don’t you think?”
“You…!”
The moment the hero’s face twisted in rage, the villain yanked the spear, throwing off his balance.
“Well then, shall we?”
The villain sprinted toward the glass window. From what he’d seen in the elevator earlier, this floor was… the eleventh!
“Hiiiiaaaak!”
Ar’s face turned deathly pale as she screamed. The window shattered with a tremendous crash. While glass fragments sparkled like stars in every direction, Ar stared blankly at the villain’s face. She could see his eyes. It really was that hero from before.
Ar smiled ever so faintly.