No Spoilers
"Anyone can tell she's the mastermind."
I muttered it under my breath while reading the novel.
The Indomitable Hero!
It was a dime-a-dozen third-rate novel, but with the fantasy elements people loved and writing that was decent enough, it had managed to gather a pretty solid readership.
As a fantasy novel junkie myself, I'd followed along with the author for roughly two hundred chapters, and I genuinely thought it was a decent read.
The story of a righteous protagonist who never gives up, fighting to the very end to bring about peace.
Cliché or not, I didn't think anyone actually hated that kind of story.
Before I knew it, I checked my phone — 1:00 AM.
Lying in bed with the novel open, I suddenly felt the urge to share my thoughts with other people, so I hopped into The Indomitable Hero community.
The place was full of posts — criticism, praise, the works. I hit the write button.
She's got enough power to wipe the floor with the protagonist, but she shows zero interest in hunting monsters or taking down the demonkin.
Sure, she helps the MC sometimes — but that's just because she's interested in him. Not a shred of actual goodwill involved.
She's the classic twist villain who stands back with her arms folded, watches everything go down, then stabs everyone in the back at the finale.
That line she dropped on the protagonist at the end of chapter 142 feels like foreshadowing too.
More than anything, I was sure of it after this chapter — the scene where Lily looks terrified the moment she sees Athena.
Lily's hometown is Drax. And Drax is the territory Athena manages.
If Athena were a good person, would Lily have any reason to be that scared?
Calling it now: Lily's going to be the one who outs Athena as the mastermind later.
I've got a bunch of other suspicious stuff linked in the comments. Go check it out.
"…Did I get a little too fired up?"
I'd started out meaning to write something casual, but before I knew it the words caught fire and I ended up pouring my heart into it.
I was just that frustrated.
The character I was dead certain was the mastermind — Athena — ranked fifth in popularity among the novel's cast.
A beauty with haughty charm and overwhelming combat power, who took an interest in the protagonist and occasionally lent a hand. She wasn't officially a heroine yet, but in the readers' hearts? Already locked in.
I could already picture them losing their minds when the author eventually stabbed them in the back, so I posted the thread with every scrap of suspicious foreshadowing I could dig up.
Anyone who'd actually been reading The Indomitable Hero properly would understand exactly what I was saying.
Feeling oddly proud of myself — like I'd just installed a speed bump to save the readers from getting blindsided — I turned off my phone screen.
I really don't want to go to work…
I finished getting ready for bed, cursed the chains of corporate life, closed my eyes, and drifted off without much trouble.
Bzzzt-crack-crackle—
"…Wh… what was that…"
A sound like electricity shorting out jolted me awake on pure instinct.
Had I imagined it?
I looked around, confirmed nothing was wrong, then instinctively unlocked my phone.
AM 4:44.
Of all the times to wake up, why this one?
A vaguely uneasy feeling settled over me.
Still, I needed every scrap of sleep I could get before work tomorrow, so I tried to shove the discomfort aside and turn the phone off — until the flood of notifications lighting up the screen snagged my attention.
Huh? Why are there so many notifications?
They were all from the alert I'd set for The Indomitable Hero community.
"Guess the post I made earlier blew up."
I opened it and found a HOT badge marking it as a popular thread, along with a mountain of upvotes and comments.
Judging by the reactions, a surprising number of people seemed to be buying my theory.
"I'm telling you, she is the mastermind."
Feeling pretty pleased with myself, I started replying to the comments one by one.
I was so thorough about it that before I knew it, I'd reached the very last one.
"Wh… what the hell is this."
Hey what the fuck gives you the right to just spoil everything? I spent months carefully crafting that twist and you, a reader, can't just shut up and read like a normal person? Why the hell are you running your mouth?
I'm seriously pissed right now. Has nobody ever told you not to spoil shit for people? I've been building Athena's twist arc for dozens of chapters and you just killed the entire impact. Take responsibility.
Take responsibility. Take responsibility. Take responsibility. Take responsibility. Take responsibility. Take responsibility. Take responsibility. Take responsibility. Take responsibility. Take responsibility. Take responsibility. Take responsibility. Take responsibility. Take responsibility. Take responsibility. Take responsibility.
Take responsibility. Take responsibility. Take responsibility. Take responsibility. Take responsibility. Take responsibility. Take responsibility. Take responsibility. Take responsibility. Take responsibility. Take responsibility. Take responsibility. Take responsibility. Take responsibility. Take responsibility. Take responsibility.
"Is this guy insane?"
Looking at that deranged wall of replies made my head spin.
What, was he the author or something?
It was just a theory I'd thrown together based on vibes — why was he having a full-blown meltdown over it?
But the world was full of all kinds of people, and all kinds of lunatics. Years of community life had already taught me that, so I brushed the comment off without a second thought.
Then, ready to squeeze in a little more sleep before work, I went to turn off the screen —
BZZZZT-CRACKLE-CRACKLE—
"Gyaaaaaah!"
A sensation like my hand getting electrocuted made me fling the phone to the floor.
It hit the ground with a heavy thud, and a strange light bloomed across the screen.
I leaned in closer to see what it was.
The words TAKE RESPONSIBILITY were stamped across the screen in massive white letters.
"Take responsibility for what."
Take responsibility
Take responsibility
Take responsibility
Goosebumps prickled across my skin at the inexplicable phenomenon.
But something about the situation felt strangely familiar — like I'd seen it somewhere before.
I thought hard, and then it clicked. Most of the possession novels I'd read started exactly like this…
Ah, no way. This can't be happening, right?
"W-wait a second!!!"
Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me…
And just like that, I blacked out.