Marionette's Awakening
Authority: Hypnosis proficiency has increased.
Technique: Puppet Show proficiency has increased.
S-rank Villain: Successfully eliminated the Doctor!
The Doctor lay crumpled in a grotesque pose, utterly motionless. Only intermittent spurts of blood fountained from his neck.
Only then did a sliver of reason return to me. I faced the scene with a head cooled somewhat by the chill.
I'd killed one of the future's great evils. Too easily, almost to the point where I wondered if this was really okay.
[Event Calendar]
[September 22nd: 'Doctor's' secret lab discovered → deleted]
Thirst 65% (-30%)
[Caution level reached]
[Body degradation rate 13% (+1% )]
[Recommend follow-up measures]
A barrage of noisy alerts followed one after another. I could check the details later.
I paid no mind to the Doctor's corpse. I planned to leave that monstrosity as is. Let whichever villain, hero, or cop found it first deal with it.
Just in case, I poked around among the unnamed drugs and dried specimens. That's when I spotted something oddly out of place and picked it up.
"...A bracelet?"
◈ Optimal arrangement of polymer fibers refined with nanotechnology
◈ Provides supreme stealth and protection for superhumans
It didn't look like a suit no matter how I squinted at it. After a moment's hesitation, I slipped the bracelet onto my wrist.
With a light mechanical click, it clung tightly to my skin. I gave the groove a slight twist, and a robe-like outer layer extended in a flash, enveloping my body.
Shhhk.
It felt light and natural, like slipping on clothes rather than a suit. It screamed high-end quality at first glance.
But the massive black silhouette reflected in the operating table's mirror was pure villain material. With my face completely masked, the intimidation factor ramped up even more.
I smirked wryly and retracted the suit back into the bracelet.
The Doctor wasn't the type to care about gear like this. Probably some visitor left it as a "gift."
"...This could work."
Not a bad haul—no, this was a damn good one. I'd been needing something to hide my identity anyway.
But scoring a superhuman-exclusive suit as a powerless civilian? Might as well wish for the stars. Complicated purchase processes aside, I didn't even have the cash.
I turned to leave. The surgery had gone off without a hitch, and I'd scored a sweet suit. No reason to stick around.
Then I froze mid-step.
—If you need to sate any urges, just say the word. I've got plenty of suitable things inside...
The Doctor's whisper lingered in my ear like a ghost, even though he was long dead.
Suitable things. The phrasing felt off for mere objects.
I hesitated, then turned back. This was the Doctor's secret lab—no one knew about it. Spending a bit more time wouldn't hurt.
Just check and bounce.
I trudged down a long corridor lit by flickering cheap fluorescent bulbs. Massive tanks held grotesque hybrids of human and animal floating limply.
Behind the iron doors lining both sides lurked dried bloodstains, mutilated corpses—assaults on sight and smell alike.
Without my pre-regression experience, I'd have puked and bolted by now.
It really drove home how rotten the Hero Management Bureau was, turning a blind eye to a hellhole like this.
—Please... please... spare me...
A faint, withered woman's voice echoed.
I focused. The sound came from the iron door at the far end of the corridor.
"S-Sob... Please, please spare me... I won't tell a soul..."
The pleas grew clearer as I approached. She seemed to be the lab's sole survivor.
Too unfortunate to call lucky, but with decent enough vitality to still be kicking.
Of course, I had zero intention of harming her. Even a total stranger wasn't hard to escort out.
"Don't worry. I'll get you out soon."
I donned the suit again and approached the door.
Two terrified eyes quivered beyond the bars.
"Wh-Who...? A hero...? B-But out there..."
"The Doctor's dead. More importantly, know where the key is?"
"Ah...! In the room to the left down the corridor...!"
I ignored her natural question about my identity. She yelped in unbridled joy, no suspicion in sight.
She hadn't fully abandoned hope yet. I'd clung to that same hope once—dreaming of the day Marionette's strings released me.
Too bad mine crumbled to dust. At least this woman wouldn't suffer the same.
Her voice rang oddly familiar, though... Nah, imagination.
Clunk.
I quickly found the key and turned the lock. The heavy iron door swung open, revealing the interior.
"H-Hic... Thank you... really..."
Half-naked amid crusted filth and grime, a woman sobbed.
Delicate features, beautifully sculpted. A beauty, plain as day.
Tears brimmed in her eyes, but they were tears of joy—that much was clear.
And I froze solid.
[???]
[Test Subject]
[Real Name: ???]
A revived nightmare devoured reality in an instant.
I blinked. In the solitary cell's corner, Yuha's severed head grinned at me.
Marionette.
The bitch who'd slit Yuha's throat right before my eyes gazed at me like a savior.
"Hic... I-I really thought I was gonna die... Some psycho grabbed me, and when I came to..."
No chance I'd misidentified her. I'd obsessed over that face for years, right beside me.
No crazy makeup or unhinged cackle, but this woman was unmistakably Marionette. No doubt.
"Sniff... Hehe... Thank you. Oh, did you say you're a hero earlier? What's your hero name... Hrk?!"
I slammed her against the wall and throttled her.
A superhuman's strength is brutal. One slip, and I'd snap a civilian's neck like a twig.
I didn't care. Hell, I'd welcome it.
"Ghk...!"
"What're you scheming, you bitch...!"
"Wh-Why all of a sudden... Khk...!"
"Shut your trap! Don't play innocent!!"
"N-No...! I'm not a villain, I swear... Ghk...!"
Her thin pleas faded.
One more step, and I'd have the revenge I'd craved. Yet I hesitated.
I knew why. Deep down, I sensed her words were true.
"Sp-Spare me... Please... Sob..."
She was Marionette.
It was public knowledge pre-regression that she'd undergone the Doctor's surgery to become an artificial superhuman.
Soon, she'd endure the same procedure I'd survived, beating insane odds to claim her Authority.
But the surgery's side effects would loosen a screw in her head, birthing the madwoman I knew.
Which meant the one before me hadn't become that yet.
Squeeze...
"Khk... Ghk... Please..."
A storm of impulses raged in my skull.
I'd already taken Marionette's Authority—hypnosis.
And one unspoken rule of Authorities: No two identical ones exist under heaven.
The Marionette I knew was gone.
Kill this woman, and even that slim possibility vanished.
Her current defenseless, herbivore-like frailty only fueled my urges more.
The cell's mirror caught my reflection.
I straddled her like a predator, entangled in superhuman violence.
No powerless soul could resist.
Just like she'd done to me.
Realization hit like a brick. I wrenched my hands away.
"Sob... Cough... Hehic... Khk..."
Tear-streaked, she hacked violently.
I ground my teeth, avoiding her gaze.
"Get lost."
"Cough... P-Pardon?"
"Deaf? Before I change my mind... Get the hell out."
"Hic."
My masked, distorted voice boomed with menace.
A sharp intake of breath, then retreating footsteps.
Only when they faded completely did I turn.
"Why play the victim like that."
The lab lay silent. As if I'd been alone from the start.
"Why weren't you the vile villain."
No answer, of course.
An indescribable sensation gripped me.
Today should've been joyous. I'd succeeded in becoming a superhuman for my goal, erased two future great evils.
Yuha's odds of that fate had shrunk accordingly.
Yeah. Truth was, I was just pissed I had no outlet for my rage—a petty reason.
I'd wanted to mock and torture Marionette like I'd done the Doctor, make her feel a fraction of what she and Yuha endured.
But fate delivered an innocent, pitiful girl instead.
Time marches on. A week since I killed the Doctor.
Today was Yoram Academy's entrance ceremony.
"Remember, you are now proud members of this prestigious academy, and carry the responsibility and dignity that entails..."
I let the boring speech flow in one ear and out the other.
This was the general department's ceremony. The hero department's had been days earlier, separately.
A quick scan showed only ordinary faces. Rumor had it two hero freshmen brawled at theirs, caving in the ceiling.
Ah, the damage was still visible.
As I'd told Yuha, I'd entered the general department.
Still, it wasn't your average school curriculum.
Hero department trained frontline guardians of societal peace directly. General supported them logistically—schedules, gear maintenance, sponsor/ad deals, media, legal stuff.
Hero secretaries, basically. Even superhumans can't master every chore.
High demand meant fierce competition, but I'd breezed into the top ranks.
Flunked hero practicals, but aced the written tests. Letting go made it easier.
My old hero obsession felt downright stupid now.
Goal: Worm or ant-like obscurity. Handle shadow work underneath, use skills here to aid Yuha.
"But..."
The ceremony dragged endlessly. Too much school pride.
Bored stiff, I snuck a peek at my smartphone—HimaGal.
A week on, Doctor chatter still dominated HimaGal—pages of it. Legacy media ran 24/7 specials.
Turns out it was the first official S-rank villain death announcement in years.
With no clear cause revealed, conspiracy theories exploded.
Still, killing him was huge. Beyond unethical human experiments, his artificial superhumans fueled chaos.
Existing villains dependent on his drugs wouldn't last past the year without supply.
Yuha's burden lightened accordingly. My identity stayed submerged.
I'd been suited and masked when I released pre-regression Marionette.
Her report to the Bureau probably accelerated the news spread.
Bigger ripple than expected, but still within tolerance.
I still couldn't justify sparing her. Just hoped it wouldn't bite me later.
"Alright, that concludes the entrance ceremony. Once more, welcome to all freshmen, and..."
The closing words snapped me from reverie.
Students trickled out in clusters. I planned to slip into their midst unnoticed.
Ceremony over, but today held something more pressing.
"Woojin!"
A booming voice shattered my stealth.
Yuha popped up in the aisle's center, waving wildly my way.
She bounded over with bouncy steps.
Same academy, but hero and general departments had a subtle divide.
Especially for standout freshman Yuha—no need to elaborate.
Jealous, envious stares poured my way, half and half.
I sighed.