I’m Taking Over This Villain Organization
"Eeeek! Y-you’re too much!"
The face of Iron Mountain looking up at me was a complete mess. Sweat, tears, and covered in wounds from the battle—it was a testament to the fight.
"Whether I'm 'too much' or not, I don't have the time or the inclination to care."
"I have a dream! I made a promise when I was young. My friend who died protecting me...!"
"Shut up. I'm not interested in your past."
Realizing I wasn't joking, Iron Mountain clamped her mouth shut.
"Are you an S-Class hero, sir?"
"You don't need to know that. Just answer my question."
"A question?"
"It's the price for saving your life. Did you think it was free?"
"W-well, it's not that, but..."
"Where is the place around here where the most villains gather?"
I stated my business. When it comes to local villains, the local hero always knows best.
Iron Mountain looked a bit flustered.
"Villains? How many?"
"As many as possible. The strongest ones you've got."
"Uh... what are you planning to do?"
"You don't need to know."
"Are you going to take them all down?"
"If I have to."
Iron Mountain stood there with her mouth agape, looking completely dazed.
What a foolish woman.
Bang! I stomped my foot.
"Answer me. Before my patience runs out."
"Ah! Yes. There's an illegal underground fighting arena in the next district. Villains fight each other and place bets... Rumor has it they even execute civilians there, but, well, we don't have the resources to crack down on it..."
Iron Mountain looked pained as she answered. It seemed she was frustrated by the reality that her own lack of strength forced her to leave evil unchecked.
"Lead the way."
"If I do, will you become my master?"
"I can send you to the afterlife. You can learn from the Grim Reaper there."
"O-okay..."
Iron Mountain trudged along. I dispelled my transformation and followed behind her.
"Big Jaws goes for the bite! But Outjerk raises his chains to counter!"
"Kill him! Big Jaws!"
"I bet my entire fortune on this! Get up, you son of a bitch!"
The underground arena was filled with heat. The spectator stands were packed. In the center sat a massive steel cage.
The audience consisted of various types. There were villains, and there were ordinary people. Some were high on drugs, while others clutched their betting slips desperately, having gambled away everything they owned.
A guy with tattoos covering his scalp and tongue, a guy with mechanical limbs, a guy growing plants in his eye sockets, a guy who had connected his crotch to his mouth.
It was a motley crew.
I sent Iron Mountain away once she guided me to the entrance. She kept trying to follow, so I kicked her in the rear. It was a sturdy, child-bearing hip.
I spoke to the guards in front of the stairs that seemed to lead to the VIP room.
"I want to meet the operator of this place."
"What? Who the hell are you?"
"Someone strong."
"An intruder? You don't know the rules. Did you come here just hearing rumors?"
"You seem like you want to suck up to the boss, but intruders have to defeat all of today's fighters before they can meet him."
I looked around the arena. A massive, four-meter-tall shark-headed villain was chewing his opponent to pieces.
"Of all days, it's Big Jaws today. He's an A-Class villain."
"Looks like you're scared. Don't piss your pants. It's a pain to clean up."
Rather than just killing everyone blindly, it would be better to talk to the one called the boss first.
I took a step forward. Toward the steel cage in the center.
The shark-head was roaring, drunk on victory. I entered the cage without hesitation.
"Oh! We have a sudden intruder! An intruder! State your name!"
The spotlight hit me. What is this?
"State your name!"
Do I just answer?
"Georgius."
"The intruder! Georgius! He has thrown down the gauntlet to Big Jaws! Betting begins!"
Holographic scoreboards floated around frantically. The spectators began to cheer.
"Closing! Odds are 1.12 to 7.25! Big Jaws' overwhelming popularity shows no signs of cooling! The match begins! The rules are simple! It doesn't stop until one side is dead!"
Simple enough.
"Ooooooh!"
"Kill him, Big Jaws!"
"Tear him apart!"
Madness ruled the crowd. Adrenaline was mixed into every breath they took. It was inhaled by others, absorbed into their blood, circulated, and the excitement grew even greater.
Not all of them were villains. The proportion of ordinary people was much higher. Those addicted to gambling, those addicted to blood.
Even after those terrible days with the Dark Kingdom, was the blood not enough? How much more blood did they want to see?
A human who doesn't even know who they are. A person like themselves, who has a family, friends, and someone precious to them.
They were enjoying and anticipating the scene of that person being torn apart by shark teeth.
Is this human nature? Is this the culture humans have birthed?
Trashy bastards.
"Commence the slaughter!"
"I'll eat you up!"
The shark-head charged at me. I spoke to my heart.
"Transform."
Up a blind alley
The red outer shell wrapped around me.
"Apocalypse."
REVELATION
"Red of War."
BLOODUMBER
I swung my fist lightly.
BOOOOOOM!!
The next moment, the shark-head was gone without a trace; only blood and flesh remained in its place. Only the teeth of the one who was slightly sturdier were scattered and glittering like trophies.
"Uh..."
"Eh..."
The underground arena, which had been full of heat, was left in silence.
I flicked my fingertips.
"Next."
"Yeah, you're a talented new face."
I had entered the VIP room. It was a room where one could see the entire underground arena from the highest point. The left wall was a magic mirror, allowing a full view of the arena while remaining opaque from the outside.
"But don't get arrogant. There have been plenty of guys like you before. That Big Jaws was one of them."
The boss, his face covered in scars, said this while smoking a cigar. Beside him, human weapons—henchmen whose entire bodies had been replaced with slaughter machinery—stood in formation.
"You said Georgius, right? I don't think I've seen that in the villain registry. If you came here after hearing rumors, you've come to the right place—welcome to our 'Sinswork.' I am the boss, 'Origin'."
So this was an underground arena operated by Sinswork. I knew the name. It was a villain organization that appeared around the fourth scenario. It wasn't a particularly significant organization, just a sub-quest.
Since its appearance was still far off, they must have been in the middle of building their power.
"Our villain pool is wide. If you swear loyalty as my subordinate starting now, I can provide all the support you..."
"Subordinate? No, that's not my business here."
"What?"
"Hand over your villains. If you come under me, I'll use you as a subordinate."
Origin paused after hearing my words.
"Hahaha! Well, well. A crazy one has appeared. Well, I like that kind of confidence."
"Boss, should I take care of him?"
"No. I'll do it myself. A guy like this needs an education. An education steeped in fear. He's soaked in the arrogance of believing he's the strongest."
Origin puffed out smoke.
"Let me ask you one thing, Georgius. What is your goal?"
"I'm building the largest villain organization. In the process, I'm going to attack the Dragon King Squadron, Draeojer."
"What? You're going to pick a fight with an S-Class hero? Hahahahaha!"
Origin laughed loud enough to shake the sky.
"Look here. Let me tell you one secret. Do you know what my villain rank is? It's S. An S-Class villain, no less. But do you know how I've survived without being purged until now? I know my place. If you poke a hornet's nest, you get stung to death."
Origin spat out his cigar. A fierce light erupted from his eyes. His body began to bulge and swell, tearing his suit apart.
"Let me teach you. Arrogant bastards die first in this business."
"Then let me teach you one thing, too."
Origin charged at me. His massive, swollen fist was fired like an arrow. I met his fist with my own.
SPLAT!
Origin exploded, and only the chunks of meat that used to be Origin remained in his place.
"The weak die first. The strong live to the end."
I looked around. His henchmen were all paralyzed with fear.
"From now on, I'm taking over this place. Anyone with a complaint, step forward."
No one answered.
"Good. How many villains are under your umbrella? Bring me the list."
"Here it is."
One of the henchmen handed me a holographic tablet. He was quick on his feet; I liked that.
I checked the list. There were quite a few A-Class and B-Class villains.
But this still wasn't enough...
"The match continues! Place your bets! Time limit is 5 minutes! How many will survive!"
I turned my head toward the arena. Were they still continuing that ridiculous show?
"Hmm."
It was even a disgusting spectacle. The civilian execution Iron Mountain had mentioned. It seemed that was the match.
In the arena, there were three villains. And about thirty civilians packed tightly together.
The villains were carrying out a massacre without any hesitation. When they swung their chainsaws and machetes, necks and hearts were severed, and blood and flesh scattered.
They were gambling on how many would survive after repeating that act for 5 minutes.
What great creativity.
Those civilians had surely been sold off there because they couldn't pay their debts. They must have been lured with the promise that their debts would be cleared if they survived, leaving them no choice but to enter.
"You fucking bastards."
The curse slipped out.
Thirty civilians. Among them were children. Four children, around five or six years old. They were huddled in a corner, crying and screaming.
Did their parents sell them? And the audience was cheering while watching that.
Really.
It was a city that had been worth protecting until now.
CRASH!
I burst through the mirror and leaped out. I landed on the ground level and ran straight to the arena, smashing the steel cage to intrude.
A villain holding a chainsaw stood in front of the children. I was going to be a little late. He was already bringing the chainsaw down toward the kids.
Damn it.
In front of those children, there stood a single girl. A civilian.
Like the others, she was just an existence meant to appeal to the audience as a moment of amusement while being murdered by villains here.
Her legs were trembling, and tears were streaming endlessly from her eyes.
Yet, she didn't take her eyes off the chainsaw coming toward her, shielding the children and trying to protect them.
A foolish act.
The frail girl's body wouldn't even serve as a shield; she would be shredded along with the children.
A futile sacrifice.
—However.
Pazzzzz!
The moment the chainsaw touched the girl's head, something black rose up. It looked like static, or perhaps a formless liquid, but it blocked the chainsaw for a brief moment and vanished in an instant.
That gap was enough time for me to reach the bastard.
BOOM!
I turned the villain with the chainsaw into chunks of meat.
I turned to look at the girl. That face. The face that said she had never tasted a single morsel of sweet hope in her entire life.
"...Dark Matter."
It was a face I knew. Dark Matter. Irua. The SSS-Class villain who would appear in the fourth scenario.
