Prologue: The Wolf's Proposal
Greasy, yellowed papers. Shattered glass bottles scattered carelessly across the floor. I was gasping for breath in the back alley, until the moisture filled the inside of my mask and made my face sticky.
“After all that running, this is where you ended up? How disappointing...”
The one being chased was me—a gray civilian that neither the police, the heroes, nor even the villains would protect. Hated by everyone because I had alternated between good deeds and crimes. Excluding the villain currently cornering me and the hero who would never set foot in a place like this.
“Wouldn’t it be nice if you just showed up when I looked for you? Instead you make me go through all this annoying trouble to find you?”
Explosions echoed from every direction. The city rang with the sounds of special tear-gas rounds and gunfire.
There must have been an electricity manipulator among them, judging by the occasional bursting noises that made my body tremble. Or maybe the tingling running through me was because of her, the one drawing closer.
“They say a man who makes a woman propose is truly a bad person—so I guess that makes you a proper villain now.”
The sound of claws scraping against the wall was loud enough to ring in my ears and vibrate against my skin. The steel claws she always wore caught the moonlight, giving off a faint blue-green glow. …Along with the red stains splattered across them.
“Don’t tremble. I might just pounce on you.”
The criminal organization Bulph that should have been wiped out long ago according to the original story. And the villain Bianca, who should have died long ago according to the original story.
In the middle of the internal power struggle that tore the group to pieces, she was supposed to vanish after leaving behind only a brief mention of her name. Yet here she stood before me, sweeping back her sweat-soaked black-and-white hair from her forehead while breathing out hot, heavy puffs.
“Did you enjoy wagging your tail everywhere like a fox? You’re not even a proper whore—just fluttering around acting cute.”
Bianca licked her sharp fangs with her tongue and rolled her sleeves up again, revealing the lean, corded muscles beneath. Her frame perfectly matched the aura she gave off and the strength she wielded. I swallowed hard, thinking about the worst-case scenario that might unfold.
“If you saved a wolf and raised it, shouldn’t you take responsibility? Huh? Did you think I was some bitch you could play with and toss aside when you got bored? You never even played with me. You never got tired of me and threw me away. You just turned your back because it became something that left your hands.
All those things I thought would be more interesting if I actually carried them out. The past me who believed that touching the original story—which had been nothing but a string of boring events and hollow peace—would make things fun.
I swear I never imagined it would turn the entire city into a sea of fire. To the point that I actually missed that once unbearably dull word peace I had written into this story.
I have connections among the heroes too, but she… must be too busy saving the city and its people to spare me a glance right now.
“Answer me already. Did someone cut your tongue out?” She looked down at me with sharp eyes, one hand resting on her slim waist. With a cigarette between her pleasantly full lips, Bianca lit it.
She really is pretty. If only her mouth wasn’t so filthy.
Yet the cigarette she smoked to show she held the upper hand was thick with impatience. Her eyes darted busily, searching for any booby traps I might have planted.
They say even if the sky falls there’s always a hole to crawl out through, right?
“Stop rolling that tiny brain around and answer already.”
“The one who was playing around wasn’t me… it was you, Bianca.”
I spat the words out before she could force my mouth open and drag my tongue out, slowly backing away with a long sigh to hide my deep breath.
“…Did you eat something bad?”
She answered more gently than I expected. I hadn’t even called her by her real name, Yu Ina.
I had deliberately scratched her nerves a little to make her listen, and she reacted at just the right level. In that case, I might as well wag my three-inch tongue.
As always, striking a bit of a pose.
“Honestly, I’m disappointed. If this is the proposal you’re sending me, it falls way short of my expectations.”
“Bullshit.”
Even while saying that, her pupils were visibly shaking. The cigarette butt… oops. Had it been shocking enough to make her drop it?
“Who the hell do you think caused all this chaos? Fuck, what?”
“Unifying the underworld, cleanly disposing of the disobedient pleasure-seeking murderers, and stopping the reckless spread of drugs—it’s true that everything went smoother because you kept a tight grip on the distribution network. I’m genuinely grateful for that.”
When I mixed in a little praise, she softened noticeably. She snorted, the corners of her mouth twitching.
“But what happened today wasn’t professional. It’s not like you at all.”
Of course, today—when she had cut her leash and run wild—was truly unexpected. No, it was the absolute worst.
“I told you. Whenever I cause an incident, it’s always because I have a clear target and a desired outcome.”
Saving her when she was being hacked apart by blades and blunt weapons had been to shatter the original story’s progression. Becoming her helper had been to make that change more dramatic. Things had gone far beyond my predictions, but still.
“So what, you destroyed the city for my sake? You set fire to places where I might be, carried out indiscriminate terror, and dragged in everyone from civilians to heroes and police? For me?”
Her body flinched with every word. Her eyes looked like a scolded puppy’s, shrinking back, yet those blue-green irises kept glancing at me, trying to read the expression behind my mask.
Her power had grown far stronger. The influence she could wield was completely different from the Bianca who had been dying in the back alleys. If her heart was still this soft despite all that… maybe I could still fix it?
“If you wanted to brag that this kind of behavior—with no intention or rules—was your grand plan, and thought I would praise you for it, then you’re sorely mistaken—”
“Pfft.”
My thoughts shattered along with a bone-chilling sneer.
“I see. Now I understand.” She scratched her head irritably. The sound of grinding teeth followed.
“You’ve been looking at me as a bitch. This whole time.”
“Me, looking at you as a bitch?” The pressure of her slowly grinding the dying cigarette ember beneath her boot weighed on me even more—ah, no. I needed to seize the initiative again.
Calmly. Slowly. Settling my emotions.
“I said it wasn’t like you. When did I ever call you a dog—”
“It’s no different from annoyingly blabbering, ‘My Bianca isn’t like this—my dog doesn’t bite.’”
That single sentence told me everything. The leash had snapped. No, it had already broken long ago, so I should never have tried to put it back on. Because—
“I’m a wolf, Maska. We can get close, but you can’t put a leash on me. You can make me fall for you, but you can’t play with me however you please.” Just as she said, she was a beast. Not livestock that would remain a mere pet.
“Why? Are you thinking the dog you saved and raised is a bad one that bites its owner? Or are you still desperately racking your brain, thinking you can do something about it even now?”
I had been seen through. At some point. Even though my mask clearly had not been removed.
“I blew things up on purpose today. I made the board so big it couldn’t fit inside your annoying grasp.”
I had been anxious. The story had diverged so horribly from the original that it was hard to accomplish anything.
“And the organization you forcibly tied together? It was going to fall apart soon anyway. The drugs? Just like you said, even after all those warnings they still touched them and ruined themselves.”
“…So I just threw it all away. Your kingdom—”
“It would be your kingdom, not mine. Let’s speak properly, shall we?” It wasn’t working. With my hand revealed, any card I threw would simply be swallowed whole.
“You ran away because even you couldn’t handle the board that grew too big, yet you still flap your tongue like you’re so superior.”
The tools I had brought were long since used up. And even if I still had them, could I really win in an all-out fight?
Bianca was the one who had united an organization on the brink of collapse with nothing but raw strength.
“So I have a proposal for you.”
“…A proposal?”
The mercy offered by someone in clear superiority was exactly that—a proposal. Even if it was a poisoned chalice, it would still be more honorable than being torn limb from limb. However—
“Throw everything away and run away with me. Just the two of us. Anywhere. I have more than enough money.”
“…What?”
“Are your ears just for decoration? I said it was a proposal.”
Why was her face turning red? Why was her voice trembling? Where had the momentum she had been using to press me gone—
“We’ve both already gone off the deep end anyway. Let’s just disappear from here without anyone knowing. In this chaos, no one will be able to tell who lived or died.”
The explosions still rang out. Mixed faintly within them were groans and death cries.
“The worst villain and the mastermind who pulled her strings from behind. If we both vanish at the same time, it would be good for the city and the heroes too. Isn’t this the ending you wanted?” The incident had grown far too large to take responsibility for. Could the hero I had been raising to clean up the aftermath… actually manage it?
“So let’s go.” Before I knew it, she had grabbed my hand tightly, fingers interlaced so I couldn’t pull away.
“I told you—even if I can’t put a leash on you… I can still become your friend or your lover. So.”
She slowly leaned her lips toward me, gently lifting the mask I had never once removed.
“With me…” Wait, wait—this isn’t right. What the hell is this all of a sudden?
Proposal, whatever—none of it was registering in my head. We weren’t in that kind of relationship, were we—
- BOOM.
A shockwave suddenly struck both me and her. The hand that had touched the dusty ground was thrown off balance, and our clothes fluttered violently.
“That is as far as it goes, Maska, Bianca.”
A familiar voice. Familiar, yet somehow… excessively sharpened with weight.
The steel chains that flew in an instant seized the hand reaching for me and hurled it skyward.
“…Ah, seriously. You always have to ruin the best moments. Every single time.” The restraints aimed at the wolf were shattered in one swing of her steel claws, but at least I was freed. Thanks to her descending from above.
My insurance. My Plan B. My last card.
The former sidekick—no, now a proper hero, Catena. Her real name was Geum Yu-seon.
Her one-piece dress and long dark-brown hair fluttered as she planted chains in every direction like she was hanging from the sky, slowly descending to the ground. It felt like watching a spider slide down its thread.
She had completely solidified her hero image now. Well done, Catena.
“If you obediently discard your weapons and surrender, we will treat you humanely.”
“Aah, you mean wrapping us completely in chains and hanging us from the sky? I wonder how many people you’ve tied to streetlights today?”
That had been my idea, of course. Thanks to it she had gained recognition and even a sizable fanbase with slightly bizarre tastes. …Should I be proud, or embarrassed?
“Even the death penalty feels too good for a vicious bitch like you, Bianca. I’m only holding back because I’m a hero.”
“Try it if you dare. I’ll rip your throat out first, you bitch.”
Watching them growl at each other, it looked like an opening for me to slip away had appeared. I subtly stretched out my foot—only for chains to come flying.
“The same goes for you, Maska. Remove all equipment except your underwear and lie face-down on the ground.”
…I told you to build an image to gain recognition, not to develop weird tastes. Telling me to strip naked—what the hell is that about?
“As expected of the whore’s protégé. Look at the disgusting shit coming out of your mouth.”
That includes you too, Bianca. How can you spit while lying down?
“Ahem. This is to prevent you from carrying explosives or other tools. Maska was skilled at schemes and escapes, after all.”
At least she felt some shame, so should I call that fortunate? Or—
“So please undress. Before I do it for you.”
Should I be afraid of the way she stared at me with eyes no different from the growling wolf beside me?
Just how the hell did things end up like this?