All-In: The Life-or-Death Operation Commences (1)
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"Welcome back, Captain Rahe."
"Yes. Good work."
Having finished the captains' meeting at headquarters, Rahe had only just returned to the 7th Division's base.
The moment she arrived, she ran into Spade in the hallway. She returned the younger woman's salute and asked about Club.
Spade had been out on a mission with Club today, after all.
Rahe's memory proved accurate. Spade gave her a report on Club's condition. From what she'd heard, there didn't seem to be any immediate problems.
Even though the villain organization that had kidnapped her was unusually moderate and hadn't inflicted any serious injuries or torture... being abducted by villains was stressful enough on its own. It wouldn't have been strange if some kind of aftereffect had remained.
But Club had proven far more resilient than expected, and apparently possessed a brighter future than Rahe had imagined. Despite everything that had happened, she was carrying on as if nothing were wrong, throwing herself into missions with even greater enthusiasm than before.
Rahe had also heard that Club had spent every waking moment of her disciplinary period training at the training grounds from dawn until dusk.
She was probably furious about being humiliated by villains. The fact that she hadn't broken and had instead doubled down on her training was truly admirable.
Club would definitely grow stronger. She would rack up achievements and shine even brighter in every way.
'As her captain and senior, I want to do something more for her.'
Rahe was a fair person in all things, but she wasn't made of stone. Of course she wanted to support the people close to her, the people who belonged to her.
So... she hoped this incident wouldn't hold Club back. It would be best if Club could extract the good points, the points for reflection, and the lessons to be learned, then use them as stepping stones while discarding all the unnecessary memories and elements.
'Villain No. 13 said he wanted to talk...'
And during the time he'd held Club captive, he'd claimed that after deep conversations, they had come to understand each other.
That claim had ultimately proven to be nothing but empty boasting. When Check and Coco had gone to retrieve Club, he had answered with traps and ambushes. Club herself had said she hadn't heard anything particularly noteworthy while she was there.
For now, the matter seemed settled, but it wasn't that simple.
While No. 13's words had been mere bluster, if other people found out about this, it could still cause serious trouble.
To those who didn't know the circumstances, it might look like she'd been swayed by a villain. Even if it didn't come to that, she could face disadvantages during future personnel decisions.
In the worst case, she could be treated as a spy colluding with villains. If that happened, her career would be over. She would be handed over to a military tribunal immediately, and even Rahe wouldn't be able to do anything about it.
Right now, only Rahe knew the full details. The report she'd submitted to her superiors had been adjusted just enough to avoid outright lying, so the documents alone wouldn't reveal the truth.
That meant the only way problems could arise was if that villain—if Villain No. 13—started spouting unnecessary nonsense.
'As expected, I need to deal with him as soon as possible.'
Villains were enemies that needed to be eliminated anyway.
It was just that recently, groups advocating for villain rights or complicated political entanglements had made it difficult to act aggressively in many cases.
But this time, even if it caused some noise later, she needed to be a little more forceful.
'That aside, my stomach... or rather, my rear... has been aching a bit today. Why?'
"Captain? Is something wrong?"
"No, it's nothing. I'll be going now. Good work, Spade."
Rahe parted ways with Spade and returned to the captain's office.
She had only just come back from the meeting, but her work was far from over.
The moment she sat down to begin, she heard a knock at the door.
At Rahe's permission, the door opened and Apple entered. As always, she had prepared a fragrant cup of coffee.
"Excuse me. Captain Rahe, would you like some coffee?"
"Thank you, Apple. I'll have a cup."
There was no reason to refuse. Rahe accepted the coffee Apple had made, just as she had for the past two days—complete with the sugar cubes Apple had recommended. The sugar cubes laced with brainwashing drugs.
* * *
"Uh... Boss? Are you okay?"
"........"
Villain Organization Abyss — Boss's Room.
Boss Violet sat at her desk, hand covering her mouth in silence. Villain No. 13, who had been summoned before her, stood at attention, doing his best to remain as quiet and unobtrusive as possible.
The boss's mood was far from pleasant. No. 13 already knew the reason. He kept his presence as small as he could so as not to irritate her further.
The source of her foul temper was the message from the Villain Alliance that had arrived earlier that afternoon.
The Alliance's business was, naturally, regarding the order they had issued just recently.
They were asking again whether the complete subjugation of the 7th Division—specifically, whether dominating Captain Rahe—was possible. As if mocking them with a "Do you really think you can pull this off?"
The Alliance's messenger had added detailed demands: they wanted Rahe brought to the next Alliance meeting in two days. They wanted proof that she was firmly under control.
It was an incredibly dangerous request. An Alliance meeting meant the key figures from every major villain organization would be present.
Bringing a hero to such a place—especially the infamous monster Rahe, who could supposedly take on a thousand men alone... What if something went wrong?
If they somehow managed to brainwash Rahe and bring her, only for her to regain her senses during the meeting...
Then things would become truly horrific. A disaster would unfold.
While the leaders of each villain organization would have their own guards and wouldn't be easy targets, there was a real chance that the organization Abyss could become the enemy of the entire Villain Alliance.
If it came to that, simply disbanding the organization wouldn't be enough to end it...
'That said, they don't actually expect us to succeed either.'
Even if they told them to bring Rahe, they weren't genuinely hoping it would happen.
They had simply issued an impossible demand to see what would happen. Their goal was the same one they'd explained multiple times before: they wanted to siphon off Abyss's valuable talent.
-Those trash bastards.
Violet, who had been radiating a terrifying pressure in silence, muttered in a barely audible voice.
To a boss who treated her subordinates like family, their intentions were truly infuriating.
Unable to endure the prolonged silence any longer, No. 13 slowly backed away and quietly slipped out of the room. The boss didn't stop him—apparently she had nothing else to say.
It would be best to leave her alone for a while. Let her cool off a little.
That said, this was stressful for him too. Thanks to the damn Villain Alliance tightening his schedule, he couldn't even leisurely savor the 7th Division females he'd worked so hard to prepare.
'I want to fuck Spade. I want to grope Club's flat chest. I want Coco to suck me off. I want to pound Check's tight pussy. I want Apple's devoted all-night service too...'
Scratching furiously at his head, which was filled with lust and frustration, No. 13 walked down the hallway and ran into Dorothy, who happened to be passing by.
She seemed to have business with the boss, so he advised her to come back later since the boss wasn't in a good mood.
"You'd better handle this well, No. 13."
"Suddenly?"
After he'd given her advice, that was the response he got. No. 13 felt wronged. What had he done to deserve this?
Still, he'd been doing everything he could, hadn't he? He'd nearly taken over the 7th Division and had carried out all of Dorothy's difficult requests without fail.
When he looked at her with a slightly resentful expression, Dorothy continued, elaborating.
"I've already explained everything to the boss. I told her that if we use the brainwashing device I developed, there won't be any problems. Based on all the reports and experimental data you've submitted so far, the success rate is over 80%."
Following Dorothy's suggestions, No. 13 had brainwashed the heroes in various ways. Even after the initial brainwashing, he had tested different scenarios and tools to help the conditioning settle and gather more data.
All of that data had been compiled into detailed reports with Apple's help and submitted to Dorothy. He'd even included video footage each time.
Those efforts hadn't been in vain. Thanks to them, Dorothy could now predict the operation's success rate with solid data. She estimated roughly an 80% chance that No. 13's plan would succeed.
Unless Rahe turned out to be some kind of unprecedented monster, the plan was bound to work.
Dorothy hadn't just said it—she'd shown him the detailed numerical evidence as well. So the boss should understand well enough that subjugating Rahe wasn't impossible.
And yet the boss was still anxious. The reason was obvious.
"The boss is nervous because she's worried about you. She's sorry for putting the fate of the entire organization on one person's shoulders. And she's also worried that if the remaining 20% chance comes true and the operation fails, something might happen to you."
"........"
"The boss thinks you don't have the aptitude to be a villain. She believes your soft personality doesn't suit villainy at all."
Three years ago, No. 13 had been an ordinary person.
He'd had his reasons for becoming a villain, but no grand mission. He hadn't chosen villainy because there was something only villains could do—he'd become one simply because it was the only option left to him.
"So when I say you'd better do well, that's what I mean. How could the boss not be worried when she's entrusting the organization's fate to someone as half-baked as you?"
"...Am I really that half-baked?"
"Well, after watching you for the past month, my opinion has changed a bit. You do have the qualities of a villain. The qualities of a great villain, even. But to the boss, who doesn't know you as well, you probably still look... lacking. Enough to make her worry."
Dorothy chuckled with a mischievous expression.
"In short, she wants you to show her more of what you're capable of. Enough that she can trust you completely when she sees your back. That's what she means. Do you understand now?"
...He wasn't entirely sure, but somehow he felt like he understood.
After all, before now, the only thing he'd had to be proud of was the special power granted by his star sign.
Now that it was gone, even though he'd built up some achievements, it still wasn't enough to earn full trust.
"With that stupid head of yours, maybe you can't even understand this much? Just know that the boss is incredibly worried about you right now. Because the boss is... No, wait, that's not for me to say. I almost said something I shouldn't have."
"...? What? Why'd you stop? Are you trying to piss me off? Isn't the most infuriating thing in the world when someone—"
"Enough. It's nothing. More importantly, I'm a little worried too. So do your best so I don't have to worry."
"Only a little worried, huh... Well, fine. Thanks for worrying at least a little."
No. 13 ruffled Dorothy's hair roughly before walking past her.
Dorothy glared at him while grumbling and fixing her hair, but soon sighed and headed in the opposite direction.