Villain Encounter # 5
Villain Encounter # 5
In the end, I was forced to hang my head and write up something like a statement. This is the first time I've been pressured into submission like this since becoming a superhuman.
I won't forget this humiliation.
ㅡScribble.
Anyway, the bastard picked up my statement with his right hand, left arm tucked into his right armpit, and read through it with a blank face.
"...Suppressed the combined forces of villains and monsterkin with a bazooka."
He muttered to himself.
"Where did the bazooka come from?"
"It's written right there."
I even wrote that part down.
But.
ㅡBANG!
"Talk!"
This crazy bastard started slamming the table again and screaming at me! You psycho! It says right there that I took it out of Leona's car!
"Are you insane! It's all written down, why do I have to talk! Sir! I said it's written right there!"
"You little shit!"
"Gah!"
Suddenly he stretched out his arm, grabbed my shoulder, and lifted me right out of my seat as he shouted!
"Killing a brat like you right here and now wouldn't even be a thing! Answer properly!"
"Agh, fuck!"
"Shut up!"
I am fucked.
Seriously, isn't this guy not a government official at all... but a villain disguised as one? No normal hero would ever spout this kind of crap.
"I'll ask again. The bazooka. Where did it come from?"
"Leona keeps it in her car. She handed it to me, so I used it. Let me go."
"I see."
ㅡRustle.
The hell is with this guy?
He lets go right away?
Surprisingly, he let me go immediately and flopped back down. Completely unpredictable bastard.
"Anyway. You said earlier that a strange monster appeared right before you fired the bazooka. What exactly was it?"
"A strange monster I'd never seen before."
"That's what I'm asking. What kind of monster?"
He's putting sharp emphasis on every single word, but how the hell am I supposed to know?
What the hell is he playing at?
"It... was a weird white thing. It had a carapace... I don't know its exact identity—"
"I'm asking what kind of monster!"
"I don't know!"
"Don't know? You said you don't know. I'll make sure to write that down clearly."
ㅡScribble scribble.
Is this guy actually a mental patient? He suddenly pulled out a pen and started writing down notes while mumbling.
"Alright. Next question. You said you fired the bazooka after seeing that strange monster. Why did you shoot?"
"What? Because they're the enemy, so I shoot."
"The enemy? So you can just shoot if they're the enemy? Just shoot a bazooka?"
He's asking about the obvious?
I knew it already, but this guy's got clear personal malice toward me. This isn't an interrogation. He's just twisting my words and tormenting me.
Why the hell would a guy on the government payroll do this crap? It makes no sense. Doesn't even seem like there's any reason behind it.
"Yes. If they're the enemy, I shoot. You never know what they might do."
"Tsk, tsk... what has this criminal brat been learning, I wonder?"
Motherfucker.
"Okay. Shot it just for fun. I'll write it like that. Wanted to kill someone, so I shot for fun. This report's gonna be worth reading when it's done. Right? Worth reading?"
What the hell does he want from me?
"Sounds like bullshit to me. I didn't say a single word like that."
"Okay. Non-cooperation with the investigation. Writing that down too. So, why did you guys wait until that white monster appeared?"
"Timing the attack. While I was doing that, the white monster showed up. Like I wrote there, it looked like the villains were trying to capture it, so I figured I had to stop them. So I shot. Okay?"
I fired back bluntly.
"Why did you have to stop them?"
This bastard's at it again!
"Of course I have to stop them! The villains were trying to do something! I'm a goddamn hero cadet! I have to stop them, don't I!"
I'm being threatened to hell and back, but I can't hold back my frustration!
If I die here, Leona and Yu-ri will avenge me!
Instructor Lee So-ra and Chairwoman are here too! Fuck it, I'm not holding back anymore!
"Hey."
"What!"
"Am I a joke to you? Am I funny? You arrogant little shit. What are you banking on to act this crazy?"
"I'm acting crazy because I can't stand listening to your bullshit anymore. Got a problem? You son of a bitch? Ill-bred bastard. Guess your mom raised you like that."
"Ha, hahaha. This little shit is serious."
Scratching his head as if dumbfounded, he continued talking.
"Cursing at me won't do you a single bit of good. Okay. I got it. Insulting an inspector. Verbal abuse. Defamation. Non-cooperation. You're getting aggravated charges. Okay. Just go rot in prison."
"Yeah. Your mom."
"Son of a bitch."
"If I go to prison, can I visit your mom's pimp locked up there for fathering you? I'll go and ask him what the hell happened for a son to turn out to be a psycho like you, you piece of absolute shit."
"This little shit's gone completely. Hey! Stop recording! Kill the camera!"
Suddenly he shouted at the wall.
"Are you retarded? This idiot's talking to the one-way glass all by himself. Hehehe."
"Haha, good grief. Hey. The camera's not rolling. Wake up."
"What camera? The camera filming your mom is rolling just fucking fine! Why do you keep pretending you don't know! Your mom! Is being filmed!!!"
"F-Filmed? Ha, haha... Look at this guy? Wow, this ridiculous bastard really takes the cake! Hoo!"
ㅡBANG!
As I kept spitting out meaningless insults, he slammed the table in irritation.
Ah, I should've done this from the start. I nearly got gray hairs trying to respond normally. I thought I was going to lose my mind, but I'm finally coming to my senses.
"Anyway, I'm going to ask you questions again. If you refuse to answer, I'll tack on charges of insubordination, treason, and drug trafficking."
"Why the hell are drug trafficking charges coming from this?"
"Oh? You only objected to that one? So you admit to insubordination and treason? Okay. Confession secured."
He said with a smirk.
"Your mom's confession secured too. I'm telling you I didn't do that, and you keep bitching."
"This ridiculous bastard's bitching right to the bitter end? Fine. Then another question. Why did you have to stop the villain?"
A continuation of that earlier question.
"Because it hurts civilians if villains do bad things. I stopped them as a hero. Okay?"
"Hehehe, hey. You're really just gonna answer like that? You think someone's gonna cut you some slack by answering politely like that? Uh. I'll just write the statement. Fired the bazooka to help the villains destroy evidence and disrupt the scene. I'll write it like that? You get it?"
"Why do you ask if you're just gonna write whatever? Are you brain-dead? Just write it."
"Who knows? Next question. Why did you help the villains destroy evidence?"
"I didn't destroy anything."
When I answered that.
"Yeah. Good. Keep answering like that. I ask, you answer. Don't give me any dog shit or bullshit, just state the facts. Got it?"
Suddenly he's showing a reaction I can't understand.
"Your mother abandoned you at an orphanage right after you were born. No dog shit or bullshit, just stating facts. Got it?"
"Ha, this fucker's really... so goddamn tiring. Then next question. Everything you heard while you interrogated the villains. Recite it word for word without missing a single syllable."
"Oh, well..."
So I answered him, mixing in curses to play along.
I seriously felt like I was going insane. No kidding, I genuinely felt like a real criminal. Fucking hell. Where did all the good heroes go? Where the hell did a shitbag like this come from?
Right before I came out here to the sea, I'd only met good heroes. But here, either the area's cursed or the land itself is just shitty, but everything's gone to hell.
I made a decision.
Once I get strong enough later, I'm fucking destroying this asshole. While carefully jotting down his crimes in the Death Note of my heart, I answered all of his absurd questions.
* * *
How much time had passed?
Right when my throat was completely parched from thirst.
ㅡBANG!
The door to the interrogation room exploded off its hinges.
Fuck, are the muscle boys finally coming in to actually beat me up? The instant I thought that, a flash of red hair caught my eye!
"Oh my god! Instructor!"
I'm saved!
"I really missed you!"
"Kim Geun-cheol."
Who knew the stone-faced instructor could look like an angel! I immediately kicked off the desk, charged over, hugged Instructor's legs, and started bawling!
"Sniff! No! Instructor! Just listen! We were taking down monsterkin and villains to protect the civilians, and that son of a bitch right there was beating me up, spouting bullshit, threatening—"
"Quiet."
"Mm."
I better be quiet.
"Sit down."
"Yes, ma'am."
I went right back and sat down.
"Hoo."
Still, I'm saved.
No, I mean, seriously. Honestly, when I handed over the villains to the soldiers and was waiting for the hero guy who was supposed to come down from upstairs... the mood was super amicable.
It was so damn fun up to that point.
But that fun atmosphere was shattered the moment the shitty heroes from Namsan came down. After that, I've just been stuck in here getting completely screwed with!
Those bastards!
"Right! Instructor! What about the others!"
"Leona is a foreigner, so she's waiting separately. But I've already pulled out Lee Si-hoo and Woo Yu-ri."
"As expected!"
ㅡBANG!
"Gahk!"
Suddenly, Instructor Lee So-ra kicked the table in front of her and pulverized it!
"...Instructor Lee So-ra."
"What."
"This puts me in a difficult position."
The shitbag who'd been interrogating me like a tiger just moments ago said that while looking at the Instructor.
ㅡTremble.
His shoulders were shivering like the Little Match Girl left out in the cold, draped in nothing but a straw mat. Yeah, look at him. You bastard. How dare you threaten an academy cadet?
You're dead now that the Instructor's here!
"Hey! Hey, you son of a bitch! Act like you did before, you fucking retard! What! Scared now that the Instructor's here!"
From what I've gathered, Instructor Lee So-ra is a retired hero with tremendous pull. Her fame is massive. A punk like this is nothing but a one-hit KO for her.
But wait. Those agents knew the Instructor from the Special Operations Division?
"Kim Geun-cheol. Is it acceptable to use vulgar language in front of your instructor? Quiet."
"Mm."
As I answered, I glanced over, but the guy was just looking a bit cowed and avoiding the Instructor's gaze.
He's scared.
"The kid's lips are completely chapped. You interrogated him your way without even giving him water? And you did this to an academy cadet?"
"It's regulation."
"Then this is regulation too."
"Instructor Lee."
At that moment.
Instructor Lee So-ra walked right up to him, step by step.
ㅡBANG!
Literally a BANG sound rang out as she smashed his face in!
"Uwaaaaaagh!"
How the hell can you throw a punch like that at a person's face!
But it didn't end with just that!
"Let me remind you of the proper regulations on assault."
"Gagh...! Wait! Just a moment!"
The Instructor started brutally beating the bastard in front of her with her bare fists, as if he were a human punching bag!
ㅡBANG!
ㅡSLAM!
Body blows slammed into his abdomen and ribs, an uppercut to the chin. A hook smashed into the side of his head.
"Gagh...! Puhuk!"
The bastard who interrogated me was drenched in blood in an instant. Blood burst from all over his body, and bright blue-black bruises swelled up. In just a few seconds, the guy turned into a bluish-purple alien Na'vi...!
Was this guy actually an alien hiding his identity?!
"Cough!"
The one-sided beatdown only stopped when he finally coughed up blood and collapsed to his knees. And Instructor Lee So-ra, who'd just committed such ferocious violence... was honestly not a single hair out of place.
She just spoke like normal.
"Now, let's hear the story."
So terrifying!
I already knew our Instructor was a terrifying person, but seeing her like this again, she's just so goddamn awesome I can't handle it!
"Sob! Instructor! You're so awesome! Thank you! So cathartic!"
"Wh-What?"
"I've never seen anyone as cool as the Instructor in my life! You are my true idol! My role model! Thank you so much for beating the shit out of that bastard! Instructor!"
"Th-This brat... Seems he definitely wasn't interrogated enough. Stop talking nonsense and sit still."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Seriously the coolest person in the world!
I've never felt so refreshed. Absolutely. This is how a person should act.
"But Instructor. If possible, I'd like to participate in that assault too."
"Excuse me?"
"Gagh... Th-That guy is seriously... urgh."
"Look at the way that bastard is talking, Instructor. Let me just lend you a hand."
Seeing that bastard splayed out on the floor makes me want to beat him so badly I can't hold back.
"First, with this chair, I'll really lay into him—"
"Quit messing around and go sit in the corner. If you spout nonsense one more time, you'll regret it."
"Okay."
Now I'll really shut up.
"Anyway. Back to the story. You. What the hell were you thinking conducting an interrogation like this?"
"Huff... huff..."
"Speak."
"Brainwashing... whether the subject was brainwashed by enemy ability users, or given a suggestion... if not, whether they became some sort of medium... if their memories and information are confused... if their values have been altered... if their personality has been swapped... if their body has been stolen... if their insides and outsides have flipped... if their brain has been replaced... if they've started worshiping an otherworldly entity... I was trying to check for..."
What?
What the fuck is this bullshit.
"I-I've been brainwashed? Instructor?"
Instructor Lee So-ra didn't answer me.
"You run that kind of test in this manner? Surely there were better methods."
"To be absolutely certain in the field... I still need to run more tests. Since the subject now knows the truth, this type of interrogation won't work anymore. We'll need to move to a specialized facility for talk therapy and counseling—"
"Shut it. That sort of thing can be done at the academy."
I have no goddamn idea what I'm hearing right now.
"Kim Geun-cheol. Don't believe a word of it. This kind of method isn't something you use on an ally or a hero cadet. It seems this bastard got used to foreign practices and wanted to take the easy way out, but you don't do this to an innocent cadet domestically."
"I-Is that so?"
No, wait.
Domestically?
Is that how they do investigations in foreign countries?
That thought briefly crossed my mind, but it wasn't the important thing right now. The important thing is that this bastard conducted an illegal investigation on me!
"Wait a minute! I almost just let that slide, but the conclusion is that you interrogated me domestically! In a way that should never be used on a Superhuman Cadet! Which put me in pain! Just for your own convenience! You conducted an illegal investigation!"
When I yelled that forcefully, Instructor Lee So-ra nodded.
"Under a formal inquiry, that's what it would come to."
"I will formally file a lawsuit!"
"Wh-What? I feel like I've heard those words before...?"
He's right!
"As a righteous hero, how could I ever tolerate such tyranny! I absolutely cannot condone this! This is not the way of a social leader or a hero responsible for the people's safety! This is what back-alley thugs pull!"
This isn't what a hero does! It needs to be corrected!
"I think this should all be made public, the systemic rot fixed, and I should formally receive compensation! I'll write up the complaint! Right here, right now!"
"W-Woah, now... Kim Geun-cheol? Calm down a little."
"I! WILL! SUE!!!!!!!!"
"Calm down! Setting your sights on this!"
I glared at the respondent!
"Ha, haha..."
The government bastard, whose entire body was red and purple with blood and bruises, laughed awkwardly and spoke.
"Like I felt when we were talking earlier..."
"What?"
"You’ve got real guts, kid. Seems like you’re fully loaded with the crazy gene too. Isn’t that right, Instructor Lee? A guy like this is exactly the kind of talent the Special Operations Division needs. Hey, Kim Geun-cheol—when you graduate, join Special Operations—"
"How dare you try to act friendly now, you son of a bitch!"
"Huh?"
"I said, I'm suing you, jackass!"
What's with the 'huh', you crazy bastard!
"You piece of trash! Does the government pay you to act like that?! You goddamn fucker! My tax money goes to a bastard like you, you fucking waste of space! Goddammit, acting like that just shames the hell out of your whole family, got it?! You psycho bastard!"
"Ah."
I'm suing!!!