Now There Was No Rest for Villains
Now there was no rest for villains. The Crimson Guild and Seo Dami arrived at the scene in place of the busy Hunter Association after receiving the report. As Park Hangu was being handed over to her and transported to the detention center, he couldn't hold back his curiosity any longer and opened his mouth.
"Cha Yaeun, was it you, the Witch, who taught that woman?"
"What?"
Seo Dami, who had been scrolling through her phone in the transport compartment to prevent any possible escape attempts, stopped and looked up. It was a question she truly hadn't expected.
Typically, captured villains reacted in one of three ways.
They shamelessly claimed innocence, spilled info on other villains to lighten their sentences, or threw sleazy lines at Seo Dami since they were screwed anyway. As if they'd made a pact or trained at the same academy, no captured villain had ever deviated from that repertoire.
But now, for the first time, she'd encountered a villain breaking the mold. Seo Dami, who had treated Park Hangu like mere scenery, finally showed interest. It was just a slight bump above her phone scrolling in priority.
So, unlike her usual ignoring of whatever villains spouted, she responded this time.
"No idea why you're curious, but for the hell of it—no, I didn't. Personally intriguing, sure, but not her master."
"You didn't?"
Park Hangu furrowed his brow. He'd assumed a Hunter Association agent would show up after the report, but Seo Dami appeared instead. Given her nickname "Witch," he'd figured she had to be the teacher. She didn't seem to be lying, deepening his puzzlement.
"Then who the hell taught that woman?"
Getting stronger through gates by hunting was one thing, but fighting people was different. Without proper PvP training, you couldn't fight like that. As a villain who'd battled more humans—fellow Awakeners—than most, Park Hangu could say that with certainty.
"She said she got stronger from reading a novel. Looks like she learned from the book."
"Bullshit."
Park Hangu dismissed it as nonsense, but Seo Dami saw it differently. Legs crossed amid the rumbling engine of the speeding transport vehicle as background noise, she flashed a peculiar smile.
"Why dismiss it outright? Could be true, right?"
In the past, Seo Dami would've agreed with Park Hangu. But recent events had shifted her thinking. She'd gained enlightenment for her second awakening while reading a webnovel. Cha Yaeun might've truly gained something from Lebalheonda too. She couldn't rule it out. Common sense didn't apply in this world. Seo Dami believed Cha Yaeun's interview was likely true—especially after seeing the fabricated evidence from Lee Seoryul. That's why she wanted to meet the author. If Cha Yaeun really grew stronger through the novel, it meant her rival—whom she'd envied, thinking they missed out on talent like Cha Yaeun—was a webnovel writer. What kind of person writes a story that lets hunters gain and grow? What did they know about the Association to write like that? She wanted answers, even if just to resolve that curiosity.
"Tch, you don't listen."
Seo Dami had answered seriously and sincerely, but Park Hangu took it as mockery. He grimaced like he'd tasted shit and changed the subject.
"Hey, what happens to me now? You wouldn't execute me, right?"
"You think I'm the judge or prosecutor? Why ask me about your sentence?"
She shot back incredulously, but honestly, Seo Dami was personally curious too. The Association had requested capturing villains alive whenever possible. That was new. They'd always tolerated kills during arrests to preserve hunter forces. But now they wanted live captures. At first, she thought it was to avoid backlash after Kang Sora's summary execution of Kim Seongho, but it didn't feel right. Something was up.
That impressive Agent's doing?
No evidence, but Seo Dami's gut pointed to Lee Seoryul. And she was spot on. It stemmed from Lee Seoryul's secret meeting with Association President Kang Sora, where she'd demanded "something."
That something was—
"Create a penal brigade?"
"Yes. Imprisoned villains are valuable forces going to waste, aren't they?"
A request to form a Suicide Squad.
Lee Seoryul had no desire to be a whistleblower. In this world's reality, that killed any chance of advancement in public service. But she wanted the rewards for exposing corruption. It would let her break free from rookie agent limits, prepare aggressively against world-ending threats with leeway.
She couldn't let it be known she'd tipped off the Association's rot, yet craved the credit. A contradictory goal, solved simply: only one person needed to know the truth—the throne's occupant, Kang Sora.
To that end, Lee Seoryul had Seo Dami relay to Kang Sora that she was the whistleblower. Naturally, Kang Sora summoned her secretly for a talk and acknowledged the slightly off-kilter but useful card. Competent, strong, principled, with grand ideals to save the world. Shocking talent.
Hearing she'd joined the Association recently while Kang Sora groveled abroad against America, she praised the dead vice president for securing Lee Seoryul—at least for that.
No, that bastard didn't do shit. It was the Association headhunter's win.
Thinking him deserving of death anyway, Kang Sora appraised Lee Seoryul during their meeting. All pros. She'd make a fine successor if groomed. But one flaw... a concern.
When asked how she'd uncovered and investigated the corruption, Lee Seoryul's answer:
"I... saw it in a novel."
Kang Sora doubted her ears, wondering if the girl had mental issues.
"A novel?"
"That... webnovel called Lebalheonda..."
Blushing slightly as she explained, Lee Seoryul aimed for two things by crediting Lebalheonda for spotting the corruption. One: she couldn't reveal her regression. Two: she hoped it'd make the Association notice tls123, approve investigating him.
Those intentions behind her tale. Kang Sora, naturally skeptical—"Hiding an info source out of ambition?"—didn't buy it.
Bold, but I like it. Big players have hidden cards.
Young-looking but grandkid-age in truth, a workaholic who'd never properly dated. No time for webnovels amid gate worries. She interpreted it as ambition hiding sources. She didn't even know what webnovels were.
Is this a generation gap?
Seo Dami would've chuckled at the irony if she'd known. Anyway, Kang Sora decided to claim Lee Seoryul. No trustworthy old guards. Better groom a newbie. Lee Seoryul was overkill—400/100 points. Trustworthy as the reform's spark, promising—no, a monster already self-perfecting. A backwave shoving the front.
Kang Sora gladly recognized her merits, empowering her. But giving real power to short-tenured rookie Lee Seoryul would stir noise. Framing it as "President grooming her own" solved it—credit rewarded without exposure.
Gossip like "President's changed" might arise, but irrelevant. Kang Sora intended change. She'd been a symbol, apolitical and fair—leading to this mess. Now, she'd wield power, even if called power-hungry. Last regression, too late; she became a cynic, abandoning the world. To prevent that, retain Kang Sora's strength—Lee Seoryul stepped up, succeeding wildly.
No one could stop Kang Sora swinging reform's sword now. Radical promotions under reform's banner were fine. Gossip? Neither flinched.
"So, what exactly do you want? I could give you the vacant vice president spot, but even that's too noisy..."
"Some authority and a title, sure—but not that far. Just let me form a team under me."
"A team?"
"Yes, more precisely... a brigade."
And at that moment, Lee Seoryul proposed to Kang Sora using imprisoned villains for a penal brigade. Hearing it, Kang Sora's eyes widened.
Recycling villains...?
Those human trashes? How?
She'd never imagined such a demand.