The Betrayed Red Becomes the Leader of Evil

My body moved.

Once again, I forced myself to stand.

For the first time, I realized it.

I had the confidence to stand back up, no matter how many times I was knocked down.

As long as there was something behind me worth protecting.

And there was one more thing.

If I was this furious, if I lost my mind this completely.

I could actually stand.

“Th-this bastard.”

Ji Se-hwa looked flustered. And why wouldn't he? Until a moment ago, I was practically a corpse from my battle with Dark Arthur, and my left arm had been severed.

I shouldn't have been in any state to stand.

“Apologize.”

“What?”

“Apologize to Somi…!”

“Why would a dead bitch have ears to hear!”

Screaming, Ji Se-hwa lunged at me. A fist flew toward my face.

“Uwooooooooh!!”

I squeezed every last drop of strength from my body and swung my right arm toward him. Our fists collided.

But.

Every bone in my right hand shattered. The muscle fibers exploded. I was blown away by the shockwave and collapsed.

It’s fucked up.

It’s completely fucked up.

Han Somi.

Pink Wings.

She was a member of the Dragon King Squadron, Drauger.

And… she was my lover.

But she died.

Just as Ji Se-hwa said, she died because of my mistake.

Because of my poor judgment in that situation.

Even though it didn't have to end that way.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Somi.”

The person I want to kill for insulting you is right in front of me, yet I can’t even punish that bitch.

Pathetic. Truly pathetic.

Self-loathing washed over me.

“Damn, that scared me. His bones are gone. He used that much power without even transforming? What kind of freak is he….”

I could hear Ji Se-hwa’s complaints.

“I always doubted if he was even human. Before he joined the squadron, didn't he have the appearance of a monster?”

That was because of the dragon trait I chose. To become strong, I had no choice but to pick the ‘Apocalyptic Red Dragon’ from my initial ability options—the most broken one in the game.

When I operated alone, I had the appearance of a dragon-man, which was closer to a monster.

“Maybe he really is a monster. That bastard, he used to chew up the corpses of the monsters he killed, didn't he? Ugh. It was so disgusting I almost puked.”

That, too, is a trait of the Red Dragon. Because it is a dragon with a nature close to evil, it must consume evil to maintain its power.

It wasn't like I wanted to do it. I’ve puked more than once from the sheer disgust of eating monsters.

It was agonizing.

Still, I endured it, telling myself it was to become strong and protect the world.

I explained the nature of my ability to them time and time again.

I begged them to understand.

I thought they, of all people, would know.

“Forget it. Apocamelot is destroyed. We’ve achieved our goal of getting the switch, so let’s escape.”

“Heh. Yeah. Let’s blow this ship up. Our partner mechas are waiting outside, so we’ll take those and head back.”

“Wait a minute. What about Jung Eui-seok?”

Kang Ye-rin, who had been quiet until now, spoke up in protest.

“Huh? That bastard is going to die here, obviously.”

“What did you say?”

“E-eh? I didn't hear anything about that!”

Kang Ye-rin’s voice rose. Choi Min-seo looked flustered as well.

“What were you thinking? Did you really think we’d bring Jung Eui-seok back with us after hearing this plan?”

“W-well, I suppose so…. Then what do we say when we get back? That only Eui-seok-oppa didn't make it?”

“The scenario is that Jung Eui-seok betrayed us for Dark Arthur and we defeated him. The Association President already prepared it, heh. The rewards and honor for destroying Apocamelot are all ours.”

“Honor…! I see…. Then I suppose there’s no helping it.”

Choi Min-seo accepted it immediately, smiling innocently.

“Don’t be ridiculous. That’s murder.”

Kang Ye-rin, on the other hand, bared her teeth.

“Why the hell would you call it murder, you bitch? Are you trying to frame an S-rank hero for murder? You looking for a fight?”

Ji Se-hwa’s expression turned vicious.

“A fight? Do you really think you can beat me?”

Yellow energy flared from Kang Ye-rin’s body. Seeing that, Ji Se-hwa reacted instantly. The moment the Blue Dragon and the Yellow Dragon manifested.

Zap!

Shin Yu-kyung moved first. A ninja moving at high speed. Before anyone knew it, her hand was covering Kang Ye-rin’s nose and mouth. Kang Ye-rin struggled for a moment, but soon passed out from the anesthetic.

“Tsk, what a nuisance.”

“Th-then, shall we head back now?”

“Mm.”

The three of them ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠moved, taking the unconscious Kang Ye-rin with them.

They didn't even look back at me.

My body wouldn't move anymore.

My vocal cords couldn't produce a sound.

All my blood had drained out. My muscle fibers had melted away.

My, my switch.

The Red Dragon’s switch. It was too far away, lying with my severed left arm and the transformation device.

I couldn't even fathom crawling ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that far.

Is this it?

It hadn't been a long time.

Three years, at most.

The days I spent possessed in this world, shouting for justice and peace while fighting evil.

I had run this far, hoping to be even a sliver of hope for the people of this world.

Of course, there were times I wanted to give up.

The woman I loved for the first time since coming to this world.

The one I thought I could give everything to.

Somi.

She, whose soft scent would waft up when I ran my fingers through her pink hair.

‘You must not despair. Please fight for justice.’

She left those words behind before she departed.

Still, I kept every one of those words.

I did not despair until my kick pierced the head of the evil organization. I fought to the end for justice.

The ending, however, was trash.

Kwah-kwah-kwah-kwang!!

The bombs went off.

The explosion drew closer, and soon, it swallowed my body as well.

Along with the massive space battleship of the evil organization, Red Dragon Jung Eui-seok met his death.

The first time.

My body reconstructed itself amidst the debris of the space battleship. Before I knew it, I was floating in space, perfectly intact.

“Fuck.”

I shouted, but in the vacuum of space, no sound could travel.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuuuuuuuuck!!”

A silent scream, if there ever was one.

“You fucking bitches!! You goddamn bitches!! I’ll tear you apart!! Ji Se-hwa! Shin Yu-kyung! Kang Ye-rin! Choi Min-seo! You fucking cunts!!!”

I thrashed around in the zero-gravity space like a madman for a long time.

Eventually, I wore myself out.

I looked at the Earth.

It was sickeningly beautiful.

The resurrection bonus.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

I knew I had it.

I had many bonuses obtained through achievements.

There were also paid items I hadn't used yet, saved for the scenarios to come.

As expected of a pay-to-win game, the performance difference between items obtained normally and paid items was incomparable.

I clenched my fist.

With the resurrection bonus, my current stats were increased fivefold.

I was already an S-rank hero, to begin with.

Heroes are meant to get stronger in times of crisis.

How much power would I have now?

I couldn't even imagine.

I had wanted to delay using this resurrection bonus as much as possible.

The higher your base stats, the more you benefit from a fivefold increase.

As the scenarios progressed, the difficulty would rise exponentially, so I planned to save it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for a moment when things were truly dire to pump my stats.

Well, as proof of that.

I had been floating in space for over 30 minutes without breathing, and I was perfectly fine.

However, I couldn't ignore the laws of physics.

Since I couldn't generate any reaction force, I couldn't move.

It would be simple if I could use my abilities.

It would have been possible originally, but now I belonged to the S-Squadron.

The abilities of a hero belonging to a squadron are stored in their transformation device. If you don't transform, you can't use your abilities.

In exchange for that disadvantage, your power increases when operating as a squadron.

It meant my current power was locked inside that piece-of-shit switch.

I could return the power stored in the switch back to my body. But for that, I needed the switch.

This is the worst.

Am I supposed to float here for a hundred, a thousand years, just staring at the Earth?

Still, there were fragments of the space battleship floating around me.

If I was lucky enough to collide with those, I might be able to generate some reaction force and move.

Let’s endure it a little, just a little longer.

…….

Damn it…….

There’s not even a concept of day and night here.

Is that to be expected?

How much time has passed?

My senses are going numb.

My skin is cold, I’m suffocating because I can’t breathe, and the sunlight is annoyingly stinging.

What are those bitches doing right now?

Are they being welcomed on Earth for defeating the evil organization?

They’re probably strutting around.

Damn bitches.

The joy is only momentary.

There’s a reason I gathered the Fes-Team in such a rush.

The next scenario begins soon.

A theatrical scenario from the original content.

If you look at the difficulty of the ‘Galactic Empire,’ the Dark Kingdom Apocamelot looks like a child’s playdate.

Since those bitches won't even be able to control the switches, Earth is guaranteed to be fucked.

Ah, I remembered.

I had this.

It’s a skill created by an achievement I reached when I was possessed.

A skill befitting a leader, given to the best Red.

“Release.”

Why do you keep asking me, you piece of shit?

“Release.”

Go ahead and get fucked.

You think you became S-rank because you were strong?

Let’s see how you do now.

“Hoo….”

I closed my eyes for a moment.

Peace of mind wouldn't come at all.

Anger, endless anger, flowed through my entire body.

Blue Saber Ji Se-hwa, Silver Mirrored Shin Yu-kyung, Yellow Clocker Kang Ye-rin, Green Nature Choi Min-seo. The faces of the four passed by.

And the Hero Association President. That fucking bitch, too.

Perhaps because my mind had lost its composure, the light in my vision flickered. It shook uncontrollably.

Hm? Light?

I opened my eyes.

A small spacecraft was floating there.

A pitch-black spacecraft approaching me. I knew that shape. It was a spacecraft from the Dark Kingdom Apocamelot.

The door opened, and someone in a spacesuit emerged. They swam slowly toward me and grabbed my arm. They adjusted their direction with air and pulled me back into the spacecraft.

The hatch closed. Decompression.

“Who are you?”

I said in a low voice. The person in the spacesuit slowly took off their helmet.

Horns protruding from the sides of their head. Alluring lips. Exhausted eyes. Jet-black hair, slightly damp with sweat, clinging to their cheeks.

“Pain Queen Morgan.”

“…It’s been a while, Red Dragon-nim.”

Apocamelot’s executive of pain.

Morgan greeted me.