The Day the Red Died

The day Han Somi died, we were fighting the third executive of the Dark Kingdom, Bedevides. The bastard was establishing a base somewhere on the African continent, and the six of us ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from the Dragon King Squadron raided the location to take him down.

"Dragons do not shed tears."

"They only soar."

His base was massive. It was a facility where they were kidnapping civilians to conduct biological experiments aimed at enhancing their abilities. We split the team to handle combat and rescue simultaneously, and I took on the decisive battle against Bedevides one-on-one.

"Plague's White...!"

Borrowing the power of Excalibur and Clarent, I barely managed to finish him off. Dragging my mangled body, I scoured the base, searching for my comrades.

"Haa, haa. Uiseok!"

The first person I ran into in the corridor was Kang Yerin. She seemed to have been isolated as well. She was a mess from fighting off the combatants.

"Where are the others?!"

"I don't know! Let's go find them!"

Kang Yerin and I sprinted through the base. Finally, we found the others in the experimental sector. But the situation had already unfolded.

Shin Yukyung, Ji Sehwa, and Choi Minseo were struggling desperately in front of some device. It looked like a massive enhancement apparatus. The area around it was littered with the corpses of civilians who had become the sacrifices. And inside it.

"Somi!!"

Somi was being pulled halfway into it. I rushed straight to the device and pulled at Somi’s body, which had only her upper torso protruding. But even activating the War's Red was useless. The device was already defying the laws of physics, devouring her flesh.

"...Uiseok."

She seemed to have foreseen her own death even then. Though her expression was hidden by her helmet, I knew she was smiling.

"Don't despair. Fight for justice."

I knew she was smiling. With those final words, Somi was completely sucked in. The device closed, and I didn't give up; I forced it open. But there was nothing there. It was a poorly functioning enhancement device that had never succeeded in any experiment. It had annihilated Somi without leaving even a corpse behind.

I don't want to recall the emotions of that moment. Later, I heard from the three of them that Somi had been caught while trying to rescue the civilians inside the device. I believed my own poor judgment had led to that result. If I hadn't split the squadron and we had moved as six, that never would have happened.

But.

"Answer me."

I grabbed Choi Minseo by the hair, lifted her up, and asked again.

"Hii, hiii."

CRASH!

I slammed Choi Minseo’s head into the wall. She still hadn't come to her senses.

"What did you do to Somi?"

"No. I didn't, I didn't suggest it. Yukyung, Yukyung unni. She said she was curious about the device."

"What about Ji Sehwa?"

"She told her to, to go inside herself."

"And then?"

"Yukyung unni said she didn't want to, so Sehwa unni said, then put someone else in."

"And you?"

"N-no. Oppa. I'm sorry."

"And you?"

"I didn't. I didn't say anything."

"What did you say?"

"I didn't. I didn't. I didn't."

"Did you say it would be fun?"

"Ah..."

"Zeo."

Lua placed a hand on my shoulder. My memory had blanked out for a moment. It seemed the demerit of my rage had triggered. Before my eyes lay a blood-soaked Choi Minseo. She wasn't dead yet.

"Bring it."

Lua looked a bit terrified, but she faithfully carried out my order. She brought me the entire box of cherry-colored cloud powder. I scooped up a handful and shoved the whole thing into Choi Minseo’s mouth.

"Ugh— ugh... Eh? Ah, eh? Ueh, ah, ahhhh, ag— th-that— th-that's— th-that's—?!!!”

It was Pestam, but of very low quality. I fed her trash that only showed the 'down' state, not the 'up.' The only reason she had been able to live in a happy dream until now was one thing: she had only used high-purity, special-grade goods. Now that I’d fed her this, the opposite would happen.

The nightmares of the 'down' state would infiltrate her subconscious, and she would confuse them with reality. That was the side effect of Pestam. Her threshold would rise, and no matter how much special-grade stuff she used, the nightmares would eventually become reality. She would have to live in a hellish illusion for the rest of her life. Dying would be better, wouldn't it?

"Green Nature, are you going to kill her now?"

"Soon. I still need her. Check this bitch's memories. I need to know exactly what Shin Yukyung and Ji Sehwa did."

That way, I'll know how much I need to pay them back a hundredfold. But Lua hesitated.

"That... I, I don't have the memories yet."

"Can't you tell with dark matter?"

"This is my first time doing it with Zeo, so I don't know how."

That was closer to an accident during the awakening process. It seemed to be an ability that was originally unlocked at a higher level. I looked down at Choi Minseo, who was writhing on the floor like a worm, her whole body trembling.

"Collect her DNA. We can use it to infiltrate the Association. We should be able to hijack a mecha. Keep Green Nature locked up."

"Understood."

I didn't want to see Choi Minseo anymore, so I returned to the hideout. I checked the Pestam. The quantity was sufficient. It didn't seem to have been stored well, but the loss was minimal. Since it would be hard to use Choi Minseo anymore, I would have no choice but to find out directly from Shin Yukyung and Ji Sehwa. Circumstantially, Somi’s death was an accidental death. But if the cause wasn't a mistake by me or Somi, but these three bitches...

Then locking them in an eternal hell where even death is a luxury would be the appropriate response. I needed to revise the operation slightly.

"Leader. There are those ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who wish to see you."

As I was thinking, a sharp subordinate reported.

"Let them in."

When I went down to the lobby, there were familiar faces. Led by Kang Wan, the heads of the villain organizations I had seen at Pier 7 were gathered.

"Zeorgeus."

"Kang Wan."

Kang Wan stood before me, leading his massive bulk. He glared at me with vicious eyes. Soon, he closed his eyes slowly and bowed his head to me.

"I apologize for my rudeness last time. To think I couldn't recognize a figure like you, I must have been blind."

Considering Kang Wan was a villain who was born to run wild without belonging anywhere, he was being quite polite.

"I was impressed by your resourcefulness in the Cancer battle. Bull & Dozer wishes to join the Villain Union."

Kang Wan proposed it to me. It seemed the others had the same business. From my perspective, increasing my forces was a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠good thing. The more pawns I have to use, the better, and there would be less chance of losses from villains fighting each other. But I had to set the hierarchy straight.

"Wish? In this world, do things always go the way you want, Kang Wan?"

"U, umm."

"I already saved your life once at Pier 7. I don't recall receiving a token of gratitude for that yet."

"...I am grateful for that. I have prepared a token of sincerity. Weapons and explosives. Five containers worth."

"I don't need cheap imports."

I widened my eyes. "Still, seeing as you came to find me instead of El Lena, it seems you aren't completely blind."

"...I couldn't believe the rumor that the boss of the Sacred Tree had surrendered."

Kang Wan was breaking into a cold sweat. It seemed he was still half-doubting it.

"You all, there is one thing I want."

I bared my teeth. "Obey."

At those words, the leaders looked at each other. Even if they weren't at Lena's level, they were still the heads of the most influential villain organizations in this country. It was a problem for their organizations, let alone their ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pride, to bow their heads so easily. I demanded it because I knew that. I intended to mercilessly crush anyone who twisted my plans.

Eventually, someone was the first to kneel.

"...I, Kang Wan, swear loyalty to Zeorgeus, the boss of the Villain Union."

As expected of Kang Wan. As someone who had experienced my power directly, his judgment was fast. Once one started, the others followed like dominoes, kneeling and stating their names.

"...I can't do it."

The one who couldn't submit left the room. There were four who knelt. Thus, the Villain Union expanded in scale with the combination of six organizations. I declared.

"The goal of the Villain Union is simple. Show power. If you obey, I take responsibility. If you defy, I kill you. I will take everything into my hands."

I looked at the faces of the bastards beneath my gaze one by one, making sure to mention it clearly so it would be well-imprinted in their minds.

"Kill heroes. Recruit the unaffiliated, but do not wage war. Rule over the citizens. Never harm children under any circumstances. Execute any villain who violates this, even if they are an ally. And."

I emphasized. "Report traitors. If you report them, I will give you a reward. I will tear traitors apart."

That was how I put the leash on them. This way, they would keep each other in check unless the four organizations united.

"If you understand, move. Immediately exclude the Galactic Empire that gets in our way. The more of them we take down, the stronger we become. Do you understand?"

The leaders replied.

"Lastly, call me Leader, not Boss. Dismissed."

As they moved, one of them approached me and asked.

"May I ask how you managed to recruit El Lena?"

"I gave her what she wanted."

"There was something that woman couldn't get her hands on? Haha, well, this is something."

The bastard shook his head and then asked, "Zeorgeus. Are you a devil?"

I returned a smile instead of an answer.

◈ ◈ ◈

...This sensation again. The pain of piercing my bones, blood vessels, and heart from the inside with a sharp knife. The pain of severing my brain, nerves, and synapses with a thick spear. The pain of slashing my spirit and heart over and over with a blunt dagger.

...Hmm? It seemed it was a misunderstanding. There was no pain. Sunlight entered the corners of my eyes. I slowly opened my eyes. A face was visible. Fluttering hair, sharp eyes.

"Did you sleep well? Zeo."

Lena was lying over my bed.