The Meeting of Villain Leaders, 'Pier 7'

Sring.

I gripped my sword with a flourish.

It wasn't the real thing. That was safely stored in the switch of the Jisehwa, along with the power of the Blue ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Dragon.

It was a replica, but a fairly sophisticated one at that.

This would be more than enough.

“You sick bastards! Where the hell did you even prepare something like this!”

I brought the sword to the left arm of the Jisehwa and took my stance.

“Hey, wait a second. The deal was to stab, right? Why are you taking a swinging stance?”

The Jisehwa panicked. It seemed she had finally realized something was wrong.

The hole pierced into the arm of the tube.

It wasn't a hole at all, but a line drawn straight across just below the elbow.

“No way, right? It’s not pierced all the way through to the bottom, is it? It’s not! It’s a hole, right? It’s just a hole!”

There was no need to listen to any more of her drivel.

Without hesitation, I brought the sword down.

A slab of cold blue steel drew a clean, straight trajectory along the gap.

“Kuh, AAAAAAAAHHH!!”

At the same time, the Jisehwa finally let out a scream from the depths of her throat with all her might.

I tore off the arm section of the tube and pulled out her severed left arm. I didn't need the transformation device, so I tossed it onto the floor.

“No, no! Damn it, damn it, you fucking bastards!!”

The Jisehwa stared at her severed arm with devastated eyes.

“The game ends here for today! Blue, it was fun. Let’s play again sometime, shall we?”

“Leave it, leave it! My arm! My arm!!”

My subordinates and I snapped photos ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the Jisehwa as she thrashed about.

We left her behind and walked out of the room.

“The new boss is a total maniac! He’s already crushed two of the Dragon King Squads!”

“Don’t you know? It’s three, three! He’s already started working on Green Nature too!”

“I told you to call him Leader, not Boss! You have to follow orders!”

“Wow, when Origin exploded, I thought we were screwed, but I never imagined such a thrilling thing was waiting for us! I’m so glad I became a villain!”

“How much did the organization make just today! Between the slush funds Blue had and the financial sector jobs we pulled, it’s over a trillion won!”

“My mom tried to stop me when I said I was joining Sinzwork, asking why I’d join such a third-rate villain organization, but I would’ve been in big trouble if I hadn’t come!”

“What’s Sinzwork? Now it’s Vengeance!”

“Long live Leader Georgius!”

My subordinates were excited, guzzling down alcohol. Currently, Vengeance had 52 members. 46 from the acquisition of Sinzwork, four new recruits, and then Emma and Irua.

Since there wasn’t anyone among them who caught my eye yet, Irua was the only member of the Evil Squad.

“Emma. Manage them so they don’t get into fights while drunk.”

“Yes, Master.”

Since Irua wasn’t in sight, I headed to her room. I knocked.

“Lua, are you in?”

“Yeah. Come in.”

She was huddled on her bed.

“Is the party uncomfortable for you?”

“Yeah, well…”

“You aren’t at the age to drink, anyway. Is the lemonade okay?”

“Thank you.”

I handed her the lemonade, and she sipped it happily. She looked like a little rabbit.

“How’s your condition?”

“Yeah. It’s alright.”

A brief silence followed.

“Hey, Geo.”

“Hm?”

“I… I’ve become a villain, haven’t I?”

“That’s right.”

“Does it suit me?”

“Hmm…”

I checked her through the System window.

It hadn’t even been a month since she awakened her Dark Matter ability, and she was already at Level 6. Even with my ability’s support, it was an incredible growth rate.

An SS grade, at that. The raid on the Jisehwa must have been reported to the Association and led to an upward adjustment.

If she asked if it suited her, there was no one with more talent for being a villain than her.

There was a world of difference between an S-class and an SS-class villain. In both ability and danger.

However, the ‘goodness’ she was showing now was very different from the version I knew in the original work, so I was a bit hesitant to answer readily.

“Lua, did you want to become a hero?”

“Absolutely not.”

“That’s a relief. It suits you very well.”

“Really?”

Irua seemed to like my answer.

In the original work, she appeared as a mid-boss in the fourth scenario. Her personality back then could be called the very embodiment of rage. It was quite a contrast to her quiet demeanor now.

The difficulty of her first appearance was also insanely high. The number of squads that cleared Dark Matter in the first week of the raid patch was zero across all servers.

It was only after time passed and nerfs were applied that it became barely clearable.

That was when people gave her the moniker, the Black Witch. She truly delivered hell.

As you might expect from a villain in a scenario, she met her end in death.

Wearing a satisfied smile, as if mocking the players.

She was consumed by her own Dark Matter and exploded.

Would that development repeat in this world too?

No, I had already confirmed during the battle with the Dark Kingdom that many things were flowing differently from what I knew.

As long as I chose the path of the Evil Leader, there would be plenty of other routes.

Above all, that was a matter for later.

For now, let’s focus on the Galactic Empire.

If we don’t clear the second scenario, no future will come.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Your future.”

“Do you know my future too?”

“No, I don’t. We’ll find out as we go.”

“…Together?”

“Yeah.”

“…Yeah.”

Irua nodded.

“The funding is pretty well-secured this time. Through the seven people we contacted at the Blue site, we’re even working on the financial sector, right?”

“Yeah. But there’s a reason I needed cash immediately.”

“What is it?”

“Since the threat of the Galactic Empire has appeared, ‘Pier 7’ will open. It opened once during the Dark Kingdom incident as well.”

“What’s that?”

I turned to look at Irua and answered.

“It’s a meeting of the leaders of the nation’s largest villain organizations. The entry fee is 30 billion won in cash, in 50,000-won bills.”

Back in my room, I took out the item wrapped in newspaper.

It was the Jisehwa’s left arm.

The part below the elbow. About 40 centimeters long to the tip of the middle finger. The nails were painted with a suggestive blue polish.

There was a time I had high-fived this hand. I had fist-bumped it, and even corrected her posture.

Now, it was nothing more than evidence of karma.

I didn’t feel joy or happiness looking at the severed arm. I didn’t have such psychopathic sensibilities. I only felt the satisfaction of having properly returned what I had received from the Jisehwa.

As long as there is an act and a result, that is enough. Now, the Jisehwa would have to fight with a prosthetic arm for the rest of her life.

With the Association’s technology, she wouldn’t just get a prosthetic, but a full cybernetic limb. She might even come back with something that increases her combat power.

But she would think about it for the rest of her life.

Every time she looked at her left arm, she would wonder if this was the price she paid for her actions.

I knew the Dragon King Squad better than anyone.

And the Jisehwa, too.

She would definitely feel ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠guilt.

Though, in the first place, she didn’t have much of that ‘lifetime’ left.

I like it very much.

Of course, the handling of the Jisehwa didn’t end here. The rest of the Dragon King Squad would be the same.

I intended to drain them to the last drop as nutrients for my villain organization.

What should I do with this arm?

I didn’t have the sick hobby of framing evidence, so burning it was the right thing to do, but I had a sudden thought.

I bit into the Jisehwa’s arm and swallowed.

Disgusting like a dog.

Hmm. Gluttony increases even when I eat a hero.

In addition, my stats rose slightly. I see. Depending on the goal setting, even this was possible.

Still, I didn’t intend to go around hunting and eating hero corpses. Eating monsters was enough for such disgusting acts.

I was trying to become a villain, not a monster.

Then, as planned, let’s make contact to participate in ‘Pier 7’.

The leaders of Korea’s largest villain organizations.

The reason I wanted to meet them was simple.

There was a villain I wanted to bring under my command.

However, it was certain to be a difficult and long process.

Two days later at midnight, Irua and I headed to an abandoned pier, leading ten subordinates. Abandoned containers were piled high. We arrived at a specific point.

I slid the invitation I had obtained through a gap in a container. It was a black business card with no markings. There was no sign of anyone inside, but someone accepted the invitation, and soon the door opened.

“Vengeance. Welcome.”

A masked man greeted us. Men opened a secret door inside the container. A passage leading underground appeared. Irua, my subordinates, and I descended the stairs.

After a long while of only hearing our footsteps, we finally reached a space.

There was only a little lighting in the dark place, so we could barely identify objects.

There was a mountain of money. A mountain made of 50,000-won bills. And those sitting on top of it.

Six people in total. They were all running perception-blocking devices on their faces, so it should have been impossible to identify them, but that didn’t work on me, as I possessed the power of a dragon.

“New faces, I see.”

“Vengeance, Dark Matter, is it?”

“Did you bring the entry fee?”

At Irua’s gesture, my subordinates untied the sack they had been struggling to carry. The 30 billion won inside. They added it to the mountain of money. The peaks grew even larger.

“Dark Matter. I’ve enjoyed watching your skills, rising to SS-class as soon as you debuted, and your foolishness in raiding the Dragon King Squad without fear.”

There was a woman sitting in the highest seat, crossing her legs and fanning herself.

A bewitching body. An antique white uniform wrapping her entire body. Flowing hair that looked like it would freeze you just by looking at it.

‘CEO El.Lena.’

An SSS-class villain and the current leader ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of ‘Divine Tree,’ the largest villain organization in Korea.

And a very dangerous woman.

“It’s a compliment, so I’ll listen gratefully. It was fun for a change.”

Her high-handed voice felt like it was piercing the listener’s eardrums with a pile of tiny needles.

“This is a place for bosses. Send all your subordinates away.”

Another leader muttered in a low voice. Hearing that, the subordinates who had carried the sack turned around and headed up the stairs.

But I stood still next to Irua.

“Didn’t you hear? I said send your subordinates away.”

“Alright, geez.”

Irua’s voice was disappointed. She turned and knelt on one knee before me.

“I apologize. I will wait outside, Leader.”

“I grant it.”

I could feel the other leaders agitated by the sight.

Irua left the spot, and I slowly took a step forward, standing before them.

“Nice to meet you, gentlemen. I am Georgius, the leader of Vengeance.”