Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Hero of Justice, or Villain Corrupted by Pleasure? (1)
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◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ As shallow darkness blanketed the city and people's productive activities paused for a moment,
it was evening in the bustling district where folks sought out delicious meals to soothe the fatigue of labor and wandered in search of entertainment.
>
This street, which should have been alive with laughter and chatter,
had once again been detected with movement threatening to plunge its citizens into danger.
>
"Grraaaaaargh!!!"
A hulking brute of a man, his body several times larger than an ordinary person's.
>
Wearing nothing but a white shirt and leather pants, without so much as a weapon in hand,
the man had suddenly appeared in the bustling district and begun attacking people.
>
"Kyaaaaah! It's a monster!!"
"What the hell is going on?! Uwaaak!!"
>
A form closer to a beast than a human, exuding monstrous strength.
And the ear-piercing roar that seemed to flaunt that superhuman power.
>
"Gr... grrr... Graaaaaargh!!!!"
>
- KABOOM!!!! - Screeeeech... Thud... From bars and barbecue joints where people gathered in small groups,
to shops displaying and selling all manner of luxury goods—he destroyed them indiscriminately, this massive villain.
>
His grotesquely swollen muscles alone were enough to crumble the outer wall of a four-story building.
>
"That's far enough! Cease your destruction now!"
>
It had been a mere three minutes since he appeared on the street and started wrecking buildings.
One four-story structure lay fully demolished, and he was already eyeing his next target in this hair-trigger situation.
>
A voice brimming with clarity and unshakeable confidence rang out.
Her orange hair whipping in the wind, A-Rank Hero Ignition boldly shouted right in front of the villain.
>
"Grr... grrr... Graaaaaargh!!!"
"Eek?! This guy's... not listening to a word I say!"
>
More beast than man, the villain merely growled ferociously,
showing no sign of responding to her call.
>
"In that case! A beast calls for a beast's punishment, doesn't it?"
"Grrr..."
>
- Fwoosh— Flames erupted around her legs in an explosive burst,
and using that propulsion, she leaped high into the air.
>
"HyaAAAAH!!"
>
Both legs extended straight toward the villain,
she unleashed a massive explosion from her palms and slammed down.
>
- KABOOM!!! "Gr... graaaaaargh!!!!"
>
The villain writhed in agony from Ignition's kick that landed squarely on his right shoulder.
>
Yet despite an attack powerful enough to shake the ground with its blast,
he had sustained only minor injuries.
>
'Direct hits aren't cutting it...?'
>
Blood poured from that small wound in considerable volume,
but it clearly wasn't a fatal blow to bring the villain down.
>
Ignition eyed the bellowing villain, like a enraged bull, and pondered other ways to take him out.
>
'That body of his... something's off. Could it be...?'
>
Observing the villain closely, she spotted several oddities.
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Numerous surgical scars and needle marks on the monster's skin surface.
And the blood oozing from his wounds was more purple than red.
>
It evoked a major societal issue that had arisen about a decade ago.
>
"Grr... graaaaaargh..."
>
People transformed into monsters through illegal special drugs or mechanical devices that abnormally hypertrophied their muscles and bones.
>
Through countless experiments, certain massive conglomerates with evil intent and advanced tech
had created 'monsters' possessing tremendous destructive power in a single individual.
>
Monsters weren't beyond what heroes could handle,
but the problem was they were growing ever stronger with time.
>
Moreover, these monsters could be the organizations' minions,
or innocent citizens used as guinea pigs—and there were plenty of the latter cases.
>
In other words, the monster before Ignition's eyes might be an innocent citizen.
>
"Gr...! Uwaaaaaargh...!"
>
The purple blood gushing from the monster's shoulder widened the wound,
and a nose-stinging stench spread across the street, now pooling in purple puddles.
>
Fortunately, the district's citizens had mostly evacuated to safety far away,
but Ignition sensed something amiss.
>
While the berserk monster's rampage was quieting down,
paradoxically, his body was swelling despite the heavy blood loss.
>
'No... no way!'
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And just as Ignition noticed and moved to react—
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- BOOM!! The ominously unstable monster suddenly erupted in a deafening roar as his body exploded.
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"Urgh!!!"
>
The blast's shockwave reached even Ignition, who stood at a distance on the street,
and when the dust settled, only a purple puddle and building debris remained.
>
'Confirmed. This is one of those new suicide-type monsters.'
>
True to the name, it had obliterated surrounding buildings and structures,
leaving not a scrap of flesh behind—just thick smoke filling the void.
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With no casualties, Ignition breathed a sigh of relief,
but one nagging discomfort lingered in her mind.
>
The fact that this monster might have been an ordinary citizen.
>
The female Yoon Do-hwa had already become the loyal minion of Villain Dominator,
and her current hero activities were maintained at his command.
>
Yet a spark of righteous heroism still flickered in her heart.
>
Though perception alteration had rooted her identity as a sex-processing slave and spy villain,
that unextinguished sense of justice unsettled her.
>
'Right. This is... just the job. Part of what Master Dominator ordered.'
>
Just carrying out orders, nothing more.
She turned away from the old self who would have grieved with pity even while defeating them.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Hero Ignition. Villain appearing in S City's downtown district neutralized.] [Situation terminated by presumed explosive monster villain's suicide detonation.] [Requesting prompt follow-up support.] ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Haaah... I'm beat."
"Do-hwa unnie! You're back from the mission?"
>
Do-hwa returned to the hideout, stretching wearily.
Ji-woo was humming a tune while sweeping dust from the place.
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"You're back?"
"Master!"
>
Si-yoon, lounging on the sofa and scrolling his phone, greeted her too.
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"You look exhausted. Busy day?"
"Yeah... Monsters have been popping up more frequently lately, so..."
"Monsters...?"
>
Si-yoon reacted as if he'd never heard of such a thing.
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"They're like experimental subjects some villain groups make using illegal drugs or devices.
The problem is... those subjects could be innocent citizens."
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"Hmm. If we had the tech or facilities to make them, they could be pretty useful.
But that's still a ways off for us, huh?"
>
Brushing aside the part about innocent sacrifices,
Si-yoon focused solely on the efficiency of deploying monsters.
>
For a thorough villain like him, that mindset was natural,
but Do-hwa couldn't hide her bewilderment at his attitude.
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"It's horrific. The one I took down... might've been a citizen."
"Experiments on innocent civilians... that's way too risky."
>
The very dismay she'd felt hours earlier.
>
She was merely a spy villain doing hero work for her organization,
yet inexplicably, a righteous sense of duty to protect citizens rattled that thought.
>
'How can he... think like that...?'
>
Do-hwa unwittingly felt disappointment and doubt toward her master.
>
Her deeply rooted heroic justice clashed with the lewd spy identity overlaid by perception alteration.
>
'Who... am I...? Who... am I...?'
>
"Something wrong, unnie? You look off..."
"Yeah. You hurt or something?"
>
Ji-woo and Si-yoon worried over Do-hwa's troubled expression.
>
"No! Just... tired, that's all. Mind if I crash in the room first?"
"Sure... whatever."
>
Forcing a casual smile for the two, Do-hwa retreated to the room with the large bed and lay down.
>
"Master, do you think something really happened to Do-hwa unnie?"
"Hm..."
>
Si-yoon had gleaned from her expression.
>
It wasn't negative emotion from fatigue or pain,
but psychological unease and confusion.
>
'Could a command be overridden for some reason? Or the imprint fading...?'
>
His commands on imprinted subjects were absolute, without question.
>
Moreover, these weren't ordinary folk but two A-Rank Heroes, top assets of the Hero Union.
[Status: Imprint Stage 2 (Corruption Level 100%)] According to the display Si-yoon saw,
Do-hwa's imprint was definitely intact.
>
Her corruption level was even at 100%.
It should've evolved to the next stage by now.
>
'Maybe... there's a condition for the imprint to evolve to the next stage...?'