Chapter 10
Chapter 10
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Respected EX-Class Villain in America
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Paat-!
Do-hyun's figure vanished from the screen.
He'd activated his stealth skill to conceal his presence.
"We lost him."
"...Psychic Engineer, not even with your abilities? You can detect not just visual fields but astral energy too, right?"
"He hid that perfectly too. That guy's no ordinary Lv. 7."
"No way... is he an Lv. 8 N-S rank...?"
The S-rank in the grading system meant 'Special'.
But people called it something else.
The 'Star' shining in the sky above.
It wasn't wrong, considering the prestige of S-ranks.
However, with S-ranks from around the world gathered in America, they started dividing the stars by class.
Lv. 7 was just a regular Star.
Lv. 8 above that was called Nova-Star. Meaning a star that shone even more brilliantly.
There was debate on whether 'Nova Star' was academically accurate, but since it started as internet slang rather than an official term, no one quibbled much about it.
"...He's not an Lv. 8 Nova-class. No signs of spiritual power or intent... you know, Soul Force."
"You think a plain Lv. 7 could pull that off?"
"He has unlocked his soul limit. But he's not upper Lv. 7 either. Through the cameras, his movements looked solidly mid-tier."
Lv. 7 S-ranks were divided into three tiers.
Low, mid, upper.
The benchmark was whether they'd unlocked their soul limit.
Pre-unlock: low.
Unlocked: mid.
Post-unlock and meeting certain AAA criteria: upper.
"Whether he's upper or mid, no way he pulls off something like that."
"I agree—his skills surpass calculations."
"This isn't the time for chit-chat!!"
Kwang!!!
The black villainess, Red Scarlet, slammed her foot down.
"The request didn't say we'd have to fight some monster like that instead of those Lazy Pigs. I'm out."
"Hold on. My analysis says if we team up, beating him isn't impossible."
"Hmph, team up? What makes you think I can trust you guys? You forgetting one of us is a traitor?"
"...I think the same as Scarlet. Fighting a guy like that when we don't know who's the traitor? That's suicide."
Three S-ranks ganging up could beat an Lv. 7 upper, no problem.
But the issue was they didn't trust each other.
They suspected betrayal, even wearing bomb collars around each other's necks—a common trick among untrusting villains.
What teamwork or trust in a setup like this?
Just as two of them tried to bolt in opposite directions toward the lab's secret emergency exits.
"I did say we need to combine our strength."
Click-
The bomb collars around Red Scarlet and Bloody Gentleman's necks emitted warning beeps.
"Fuck, no way?"
"Yeah, I've had control of your collars for a while now. Don't take it personally. I just figured you'd pull something like this, so I took precautions for the sake of cooperation."
"...I'll kill you, motherfucker."
"Save that energy for Genocider."
Kkiiik-
The door to the stairs leading down to their underground hideout creaked open.
The blood-soaked devil, Do-hyun, appeared, looking down at the trio with a sly grin.
Scarlet and Gentleman gulped.
Psychic Engineer Cheng spoke with sunken eyes.
"...Looks like he's no pushover."
Do-hyun whistled low as he eyed the three villains.
'Damn, they look delicious... Wait, no, that's not right?'
It was a flaw of his class.
Catching villains made him assimilate their essence, stirring a genuine appetite like he was staring at a gourmet meal.
'Guys like these might taste as good as premium hanwoo ribeye or spicy pork stir-fry... Whoa, snap out of it.'
Do-hyun quickly analyzed their power levels with Shadow Knight's keen senses.
'All three Lv. 7 low-tiers. Though at Lv. 7, low or upper doesn't matter much.'
An Lv. 7 low could beat an upper sometimes, so it wasn't a huge deal.
Currently, uppers didn't even know how to fully wield their power.
Anyway, the strongest was the Chinese villain, Psychic Engineer.
'Even same Lv. 7 low, he's a whole different breed from the other two.'
Do-hyun had never encountered Red Scarlet or Bloody Gentleman in past regressions.
They vanished without a trace before he could meet them.
But Psychic Engineer Cheng was different.
He always ended up fighting him.
'First time catching him at such a low level, though.'
Cheng in Phase 2 or 3 was a real pain to deal with.
Now? Not so much.
His strength came from what backed him—and at this point in time, no real reason to fear.
'Chance to snag Psychic Hacking this early? Jackpot.'
It was a skill that would help Do-hyun's future plans, even more than what he'd devoured from Pierrot.
"Hey, bros. Wait long?"
Do-hyun spoke in a deliberately thuggish drawl.
Objectively, his current abilities couldn't handle all three at once.
Objectively speaking.
But real fights didn't always follow the data.
Do-hyun was a master at bending battles to his will.
First, he shook their psyche.
"What's with those cute little necklaces? Cheng, you didn't have to go that far."
"!!"
Scarlet and Gentleman glared at Cheng, who scowled.
"...Cheap trick. Don't fall for it."
"Oops, my bad—was that supposed to be a secret? Duìbuqǐ, dàguǐ, zhè yīnggāi bú shì nín xiǎng yào de shì."
"!!"
Do-hyun's Chinese made all three stiffen.
The two suspected Do-hyun and Cheng were in cahoots; Cheng froze at the term 'Great Ghost'.
Great Ghost was his true backer—known only to him.
"Nǐ zěnme huì rènshi dàguǐ?"
"Yǔ Guīgǔ Hēixīng zhī xì, qǐ dú rǔ yī rén hū?"
Pinning Great Ghost's identity nailed Cheng's expression in place.
Meanwhile, the other two, not understanding, grew even more suspicious of him.
"...What are you waiting for? Get him."
At Cheng's order, the two gritted their teeth and charged Do-hyun reluctantly.
Chwaaaak!!
Bloody Gentleman's class matched his name: blood manipulation.
A unique class called blood sorcerer in Asia.
Blood from the scattered researchers around the silo flew at Do-hyun like spears.
Red Scarlet was a knight class.
A berserker subtype.
Her eyes flushed red, body heating like an enraged bull.
'Weak.'
Even at full power, they wouldn't be easy for Do-hyun—but tough.
Right now, holding back due to suspicions toward Cheng?
No contest, even if they went all-out.
Sruruk-
Do-hyun vanished from their sight.
Full-power Shadow Knight stealth skill.
"Scarlet, he's on your side!!"
"!!"
S-rank Shadow Knight stealth was impressive, but detectable if right in front of you.
But Scarlet was berserking.
Half-assed, not full throttle.
Senses dulled; she completely missed Do-hyun.
Seogeok-!
'Ho. S-rank after all.'
Do-hyun chose immediately.
Berserkers were common; he'd done this before, no hesitation.
Bomb Attack (Lv. ?)
Assimilating skill... (On successful hit, inflicts bomb-like destructive force)
A skill that delivered explosive damage on hit.
Perfect for Do-hyun's currently weak direct attacks.
It boosted his stats too—more than eating all those A- and B-rank mooks earlier.
But that wasn't all.
"This the button for that cute necklace? Woof woof, wanna try?"
Each held their own detonator for the collars.
Do-hyun had snatched Scarlet's from her pocket lightning-fast and dangled it at Gentleman.
"Woof woof, not playing? Three, two..."
"W-Woof woof!"
"Haha, sorry, gotta do it. Click! Kwaaaang!!"
"Kraaaack—!!"
Bloody Gentleman screamed in terror.
But nothing happened.
He'd only pretended to press.
'Killing like this drops devour efficiency.'
"You dare toy with me...!"
But no time for rage.
In his panic, Do-hyun vanished again—this time completely.
'W-Where?'
Gentleman gulped.
One second, two, three.
No Do-hyun, and each passing second hammered Gentleman's heart.
"Psychic Engineer, what the hell?! You really teamed up with him?!"
"Wait. Accelerating now."
"What?"
"Almost done. Shut up and hold on a bit."
Thump. Thump.
Gentleman's fear eroded his calm as time ticked.
His blood magic faltered.
And then.
Seogeok!
Do-hyun slit Gentleman's throat.
This time, he held off choosing.
Blood sorcerers were rare; better to mull over the best skill later.
"...Why give me time?"
Cheng asked sharply.
Weeeeeeng—!!
The silo blared with frantic alarms.
Cheng hadn't been fighting Do-hyun—he'd been accelerating the silo's meltdown.
Had Do-hyun ignored Scarlet and Gentleman to take Cheng first, it wouldn't have worked.
"Ending it quick would be anticlimactic."
"What...?"
"This is my American debut stage. Gotta make it flashy, right?"
Cheng eyed him, wondering if it was a joke.
Do-hyun's face was dead serious.
Everything unfolding was per his design.
The dead villains ahead, Cheng, and the secret 'hidden boss'.
Unwittingly, they were actors in Do-hyun's scripted stage.
...Even staking their lives.
"I don't know who you are, but... if you know Great Ghost, you know what I am?"
"The way you say that—you're scared of me, huh?"
"!!"
"You know you're dying by my hand today anyway, right? I'll wait—call your master. Who knows? Maybe he'll show to save you."
The moment Cheng bit his lip.
Something happened to his laptop.
Chwaaaak!
A sinister black aura rose, seeping into Cheng's eyes, ears, nose.
"N-No!! Kraaaack—!!"
Cheng screamed in agony.
Moments later, his aura shifted.
A vile energy that turned the stomach even from afar.
A 'demon'—one of the world's great scourges alongside the Outer Gods—had descended on Cheng!
Meaning Cheng wasn't just a villain; he was a demon follower!
'For an impactful debut, gotta bag a demon.'
Seeing the demon, Devourer of Evil ravenous with hunger.
Do-hyun, assimilating it, licked his lips and spoke.
"What should I call you? Black sheep's bastard child? Or the true face of 'Mephistech,' the Silicon Valley Chinese Big Tech AI? Ah, you're just a lesser demon, so any name works? Tell me how you wanna die. I'll respect your tastes if I can."