Evils' Pride
After all the small talk, follow-up stories, and hospital visits finally came to an end, I stepped out of the hospital room and spotted Aile leaning against the wall near the entrance. I spoke lightly.
“Have you reflected?”
“……Y-yes.”
“Make sure nothing like this happens again, Aile.”
At those words, Aile’s lips twisted and fidgeted. It was the classic behavior of someone raised in an oppressive environment—full of resentment and things she wanted to say, yet too afraid of getting scolded to voice them. When I gave a small nod to show it was okay to speak, she opened her mouth cautiously.
“B-but… she was a hero… We’re an evil organization. Isn’t it fine for an evil organization to attack heroes…?”
“It’s fine for an evil organization to attack heroes?”
“Yes…! After all, that person must have become a hero knowing full well what she was getting into—”
“That’s wrong, Aile.”
“Wrong? What exactly is—”
I let out a sigh as I looked at her. Aile’s shoulders flinched at the sound. It was honestly absurd that I, who had joined far later, had to explain this to a senior executive who had been part of the organization for years… but I pointed out the misunderstanding she held.
“We are an evil organization, not villains. Of course, people will lump us together with villains, but we have our pride as an Evils organization.”
“……Pride?”
“That’s right. The boss doesn’t announce the scheduled dispatch date in advance and send out members for no reason.”
An evil organization wasn’t simply a gathering of people rebelling against society. Unlike those who stumbled into villainy through random crimes, the Evils had a clear purpose—their methods simply happened to involve villainous acts. For example, the Beast King Galrm lived for battles against the strong. For example, Aile sought connections with magical girls. For example, I sought survival in this world.
We were different from villains who had no purpose or ideology and simply spread chaos and madness.
“Carry yourself with pride as a dark magical girl, Aile. The circumstances worked out in our favor this time so I stepped in, but there won’t be a second time.”
“……Understood.”
“Don’t look so down. Want to go grab something good to eat?”
After giving my junior a proper education on what it meant to be part of the Evils, I smiled lightly and shifted the mood. The sudden change in tone left Aile flustered for a moment, but her mouth and stomach were honest.
“Then… tteokbokki…”
“Sure, sure. Let’s go.”
At the restaurant we visited, I learned just how much a girl’s combat power skyrocketed when faced with spicy food.
Niverna finished her treatment and returned to duty. The Hero Association had continued running smoothly without her. From the outside, it looked like she wasn’t needed at all, but the actual staff felt differently. The Association’s workload was overwhelming—especially since lives were on the line. The employees were constantly buried in work, so Niverna’s swift return after treatment made her a welcome relief pitcher.
“Niverna! Sorry to ask right after you’ve returned, but can you head out on dispatch?”
“Yes. Of course. Where to?”
“The Evils again, what else?”
Recalling Galrm’s face—the one who had left her in such a sorry state not long ago—Niverna nodded immediately. She headed straight to the designated location and waited. Showing up early would only lead to complaint calls from Evils Enterprise, and the villains who had announced their arrival often failed to appear on time. So she sat in a nearby café, sipping an Americano through a straw while she waited for the clock to tick down.
Soon enough, the pre-announced attack by the Evils began.
“—Uahahaha! I have arrived!”
Galrm’s voice, far more energetic than it had been several months ago, echoed across the entire city. At the same time, evacuation alarms blared from phones and street speakers. Hearing the sirens, Niverna set her coffee down and dashed out. Several other heroes dispatched alongside her to stop Galrm followed right behind.
“That’s far enough! Evils!”
“We won’t stand by and watch your evil deeds!”
“Oh—you’re here?”
In the past—just a few months ago—Galrm would have sent his combat troops first and only stepped in after they fell. But now that he had regained his prime strength, even that brief delay felt like a waste. Since ordinary troops could never stop A-class heroes anyway, he chose not to expend his subordinates needlessly. He rose immediately and began fighting the heroes himself.
“Did you warm up before coming? Last time that pink-haired one seemed pretty weak. Were you on your period or something?”
“—Formation Five!”
“Just like we practiced!”
“Good stance. No need to chat with the enemy.”
With those words, Galrm launched into hand-to-hand combat. A simple exchange of punches, kicks, and strikes—typical for a beastman. Yet that very simplicity allowed him to overwhelm A-class heroes. Pure strength. Pure speed. Pure technique. They crushed the innate ESP that humans relied on.
“Kuuuugh—?!”
“Kuhahaha! No improvement at all! You unconsciously glance at your weak points when defending!”
“You crazy battle-maniac! Who gives commentary in the middle of a fight?!”
The heroes ground their teeth in frustration as Galrm leisurely offered them guidance even while dominating them. But Galrm paid them no mind and kept muttering. Whether his condition was especially good today or the heroes were simply off their game, it didn’t take long for everyone except Niverna to end up sprawled on the ground.
Galrm scratched his chin, looking genuinely disappointed.
“Already over… Hmm. Should I request an extension today?”
Watching him seriously consider destroying a few more buildings to summon additional heroes, Niverna’s eyes widened.
“……Very well. Keep acting that relaxed.”
“Huh? Have you lost your mind? What kind of hero talks to a villain like—”
“You must have boasted tremendous power since childhood. An overwhelming strength no one could compare to. A dazzling talent. You probably felt like the protagonist of the world.”
Until recently, she had envied such geniuses. She had been jealous of the main characters of the world. She had belittled what they possessed while secretly wishing to become like them. And now? Not much had changed. Niverna still wanted to become the protagonist—an absolute being who received everyone’s attention and love.
“—To choose villainy despite having such power and talent.”
“What have you been babbling about this whole time?”
“I’m saying you’re pathetic.”
That was why she couldn’t contain her anger when she saw someone like Galrm wasting his gift. In the past, even if she couldn’t hold back that rage, there was nothing she could do about it. It would have ended as nothing more than a loser’s inferiority complex. But not anymore.
“I will guide you.”
Transformation. A new suit overlaid her existing one. The hero born from wearing two layers of armor stood proudly before the evil executive.
“—The way a hero should.”
“I don’t know where you picked up that toy, but with just that much—”
The moment he tried to continue, Galrm flinched as Niverna charged straight at him. Even though he had let his guard down slightly, he had lost sight of her for an instant. By the time he located her again, she was already in striking range. And Niverna was no longer the inexperienced hero who had once been weaker than him.
Her fist, seizing the perfect opportunity, slammed into Galrm’s abdomen.
Kwaaaaaang—!
Sent flying all the way to the far end of the building, Galrm finally stood up from the debris, rubbing his stomach with a delay.
“Hu, huhahaha—! Uahahahaha! You’re strong!”
“……Suppressing you in one blow was too much to ask, it seems.”
“How arrogant! You think you can take me down in a single hit?”
Despite his words, Galrm’s face was filled with a wide grin. Smiling slyly, he approached Niverna and clenched his fists, taking a proper stance.
“—Still, that’s fine. Arrogance and pride are virtues of the strong.”
“Is that so? Right now, it feels like I could defeat someone of your level whenever I want.”
“Hahahaha—! Good! If you can manage it, I’ll let you capture me, hero!”
The next instant, the fists of the Beast King and the hero collided. The battle between the two superhumans continued all day long, and neither side fell until it was over.
When Niverna returned to the Hero Association that day, she was promoted to S-class hero. For the first time in her life. It was the moment she stepped into the world of the protagonist.
My colleague was too noisy. Mostly the furry beastman colleague. This muscular beast who showed up uninvited despite not being particularly close barged in like he owned the place, occupying a corner of the room and bursting into loud laughter. The worst part was that my strength wasn’t enough to shut his mouth… Science? What was the point of researching it? In front of a beast whose arm circumference had three digits, I was nothing but a hairless monkey.
“Uahahahaha—! Scientist! I suddenly thought of you after so long and came to visit!”
“Ah… yes.”
“I met a really interesting one! She wore some kind of suit and became way stronger than before! Looks like they have a genius like you on their side too!”
“I see……”
While giving half-hearted replies, I quickly realized the suited person Galrm was talking about was Niverna. It seemed the equipment I had made with moderate care was being put to good use.
Galrm was one of the strongest forces in our organization and a monster who held the title of Beast King—granted only to the few strongest among beastman heroes. If she could stand against someone like him, Niverna would no longer fail to achieve her dream from lack of attention.
I’ll have to keep this a secret from him…
I glanced sideways. Galrm was already clutching a liquor bottle and chugging it down. If that battle-crazed idiot learned that Niverna’s suit was my own creation, what kind of request would he make? He would probably throw a tantrum demanding I build a machine that could defeat him. I could make it, but it would be extremely annoying. The infrastructure required to build such a machine was lacking. I could create the infrastructure myself, but that would require funds in the hundreds of millions to billions… Even if the boss was the chairman of a global conglomerate, securing that much capital would be impossible. And even if it were possible, using it for something as trivial as a hobby evil organization would be complete nonsense. One wouldn’t go bankrupt from making a single item, but still.
Above all else—if such a device were created and then stolen by someone else, it would spell disaster. I must never forget that this was a world where counterfeit techniques like ESP engineering existed.
If one day someone with an ability like machine control or machine hypnosis appears and claims the device as their own… it’s over.
If a machine capable of suppressing Galrm—the organization’s greatest military asset—were taken away, there was no telling how it might be used. It didn’t seem like the world would benefit. That was also why I refused to create weapons strong enough to escape my control.
“—Hey! Scientist! Are you even exercising?! What is that forearm? Only two digits?!”
“……This is normal for humans.”
“This won’t do. Let’s go train.”
“No, I don’t really want to…”
“—Let’s go.”
Watching Galrm drag me toward the gym while emitting killing intent, I regretted not upgrading Niverna’s suit even further. I should have just let her win and had that beast arrested right there…!
But reality ended in a draw between the two, and as the price, I was subjected to Sisyphus’s eternal punishment of pulling on an iron bar that never seemed to end.