Villain Hides His True Colors

An imaginary space surrounded by darkness.
Assembled here were all existences exuding a monstrous presence.

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A skeleton engulfed in flames, a man with insect wings, a woman with the head of a goat, and etc…

 

None of them looked ordinary.

 

Known as the Eight Evils, they were the executives of the villain group Eighth Layer Hell the World Government had been looking for all this time.

 

Among them, the burning skeleton looked at the surroundings with a short sigh.

 

“…Is this everyone today?”

 

There were only five of them currently gathered here.
He paused when his empty eye sockets reached the third vacant seat.

 

His soured mood could be seen from the way his flames flickered.

 

“Where or what the hell are the others doing! I had even contacted them directly and told them to make sure to attend this time.”

 

Across from him, the goat-head woman spoke.

 

“Well, those guys don’t usually come anyway, so let’s not waste time and get down to business?”

 

“Tsk…it’s always like this, we should be called the five evils instead of eight.”

 

Just as much as how their appearances differed, the executives of Eighth Layer Hell all had different tendencies.

 

Some took the lead in the organization’s work, while there were also individualistic characters who were difficult to even see their faces at all.

 

That was why whenever an executive meeting was held as it was now, it could be said that the sparsely empty chairs were rather a daily scene.

 

“Heuung~ It’s fine, so let’s quickly start the meeting.
My pretties are waiting for me at home.”

 

The insect-winged man said with a provocative gesture.
The goat-head woman nodded in agreement.

 

“Yes.
I have something to do when I get back, so I hope we can proceed as quickly as possible.
Since we’re gathered today…Does it have something to do with Choi Noah? Anyway, aren’t we here because the boy who will become the vessel?”

 

In response to her words, the skeleton replied in a sinking voice.

 

“…Yes.
As you all know, we have failed to secure the vessel this time.
I thought we would be able to revive it this time…”

 

On the day when the member of the organization who had infiltrated Korea’s Hero Training Institute died, the absolute being’s voice rang in his head.

 

The content was that the vessel they had been looking for was Noah.

 

Therefore, he had immediately convened a meeting of the executives and shared what he had heard.

 

As a result, a large-scale wanted order was issued for all members of Eighth Layer Hell.

 

But…

 

Despite such a measure, they had failed to capture Noah.

 

Rather, as if he had noticed their attack in advance, he had lured members of the organization out of the school and killed all of them…

 

The figure alone was about 200.

 

Although there were naturally a lot of low-level members amongst them, it was by no means a number an ordinary hero should be able to deal with.

 

Realizing that something had gone wrong, he ordered the reliable high-ranking members to chase after Noah.

 

And perhaps because they were already one step too late, but there was no trace of him anywhere.

 

Not only Goyang City, where the institute was located, or Pyongyang, his birthplace, but even all other cities in Korea were searched.

 

They couldn’t make sense of it.

 

Especially in the modern world full of CCTVs where there would inevitably be a trace if a person moved somewhere.

 

Nevertheless, the fact that no traces were found meant that he was deliberately hiding his whereabouts.

 

And, seeing that he wasn’t even attending the institute now, it was clear he had already noticed their existence and had disappeared completely.

 

And now that things had gone like this, unless he came out first, there was no proper way for them to find him.

 

As if the others gathered here were aware of that fact, the atmosphere of the meeting was heavy.

 

“Fuck! That’s why I told you not to trust those bugs! What the hell kind of stupid plan was that?!”

 

A man, who had been sitting in a crooked position since the beginning of the meeting, shouted.

 

His face was densely scaled like a reptile.

 

Expressing her soured mood, the goat-head woman retorted.

 

“What you just said, was that nonsense directed at me?”

 

“Of course it was directed at you.
It seems you’re aware.
I thought you were less intelligent than a goat, but how could you not understand what people say?”

 

“You…you dirty lizard! If you wish to die, I’ll grant it.”

 

“Ah, good.
Give it a try today.
For four years, I’ve been in a bad mood every time I see your head, so this is great.”

 

Dark mana surged from the goat-head woman.

 

Not to be outdone, the lizard facing her licked his long tongue and also released his mana.

 

The situation became tense as their mana collided and the unstable imaginary space distorted.

 

However, the moment the two forces were about to collide,

 

“That’s enough.”

 

A deep, heavy voice echoed through the space.

 

The heads of those in the meeting turn to one side.
And there, sat a giant with eight arms.

 

“For now, the priority is to secure the vessel.
It’s not the time to watch a lover’s quarrel.”

 

At the man’s words, the energy that seemed to burst immediately died down.

 

Although he had a quiet personality, everyone knew that once he was angry, no one would be able to stop him, so the two quietly let go of their mana.

 

“Fuck.
You’re lucky today, goat-head.”

 

“Hmph! I can say the same thing about you.”

 

“What~ You two aren’t going to fight today? Boring.”

 

As the tumultuous atmosphere subsided, the giant folded his arms and was silent again.

 

After the commotion had died down, the skeleton nodded and resumed the meeting.

 

“Everyone, what happened has happened…We are in a situation where we have to come up with a new plan.
Does anyone have a good suggestion?”

 

The skeleton’s words left only an uncomfortable silence for a while.
After what had felt like an eternity, the insect-winged man, who was sitting quietly, raised his hand.

 

“Me~”

 

But the skeleton pretended not to see it.

 

What he usually says at the meetings was that he wanted to go home or nonsense that was impossible to understand, so it wasn’t hard to guess what he was going to say.

 

“Does no one really have a suggestion?”

 

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The insect-winged man persisted by reaching out and moving his hips like a child.

 

“Me! Me! Me!”

 

Looking at the annoying behavior, the skeleton sighed.

 

“Huu…what is it?”

 

Contrary to what he had expected, the insect-winged man replied with a rather serious look.

 

“As long as we get the vessel, the rest of the work isn’t that difficult, to be honest.
Isn’t that so?”

 

“Hmm…Well, that’s true.”

 

“Then, we don’t have to act in secret like now, do we?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Heuung~ It’s frustrating! So.
What.
I’m.
Saying! Let’s just take this opportunity to come out.
No half-measures and just go all in.
If we just kill his family and friends, won’t he show up in the end?”

 

“Huh…?”

 

It turned out to be quite a plausible suggestion.

 

In the first place, the organization called Eighth Layer Hell was just something of a tool to achieve their cause.

 

Whether it was money or power, none of that was important.

 

There would be no reason to maintain the organization afterwards if they simply could have the vessel in their hands.

 

“So what you’re saying…Do you mean to use the members of the organization, who will soon be useless as fodder to lure the vessel out?”

 

“Yes! That’s it!”

 

“Hmm…that’s rare of you to say something good for once.”

 

“Huh? What are you talking about? If someone hears that they might misunderstand.
I always say the right things!”

 

They finally had a solution to the problem.

 

What was left was to discuss the plan in more detail and have those not present here today agree to it.

 

Just as the meeting was progressing little by little, suddenly, the reptile man stood up with a scowl.

 

“Ah, fuck! Who the hell is it?”

 

“What is it all of a sudden?”

 

“Huu…Damn, it’s troublesome.
I think I better go back now.
It seems that some fearless fellow has broken into the boundary I’m guarding.”

 

“What! The relic? Is the piece safe?”

 

Those around him jumped out of their chairs and shouted.

 

The reptile man raised his hand to calm them down as if it wasn’t a big deal.

 

“A-ah, you don’t have to make such a fuss.
I’ve had this problem a few times before, and most of them were vagrants who had come in unknowingly..”

 

“Damn it! Don’t scare me like that!”

 

“Haha, I’m sorry.
I don’t think such a rat will cause any trouble, but I’ll be going now just in case.
Anyway, I’ll follow what you guys settle on in the meeting.”

 

“Huu…I see.
I don’t think there’s anything for you to do for a while, so just protect your piece.”

 

“Don’t worry.
Rather than me, tell goat-head to take care of the piece she’s guarding.”

 

“Wh-what did you say? You fucking lizard!”

 

“Haha! Everyone, work hard.”

 

Leaving behind the angry goat-head woman, the reptile man disappeared.

 

And then…

 

“Well, let’s continue the meeting.”

 

In the dark imaginary space, discussion to kill the people close to Noah continued.

 

* * * * * * * * * *

 

It had been a week since the two cartels disappeared.

 

In the meantime, the residents of Kowloon quickly adapted to their newly changed lives.

 

At first there were some rats trying to be kings in the den where the fox had disappeared, but after I had taken them by their throats and hung them in the square a few times, no one created a cartel organization anymore.
They began to lead a healthy life in their own way.

 

“A-ah…I’m hungry… Where the hell did all the men go?” 

 

Red-light district women no longer sold themselves,

 

“Keuhuk! I’m screwed…I’m screwed! How can I make money when there are no customers?!”

 

Merchants no longer traded illegal weapons or drugs.

 

Indeed, eradicating villains seemed really rewarding.

 

In the meantime, I stored the assets and weapons the two cartels had possessed in my inventory.

 

As such, it was a time of replenishing my weapons.
It was perfect.

 

Also, in the secret safe Elizabeth had found that had belonged to the Red Blood Alliance, though not to the extent of being classified as items, there were still quite a few passable Mugong books.

 

Hmm…it was a little vague for me to use, but if I get a chance, I could sell it for money.

 

So I stayed in Kowloon for a while and farmed the hidden items here and there.

 

But…while staying here, rather than farming items, I had spent more time on something else.

 

White Face.

 

An unidentified and rare disease that occurs only in Kowloon.

 

From the information Elizabeth had been inquiring about, there were several characteristics of White Face.

 

First, this disease wasn’t contagious.

 

Usually, diseases that occured simultaneously in certain areas were more likely to be infectious diseases caused by a particular virus.
However, whether through physical contact or airborne, White Face wasn’t transmitted through any means.

 

And the second thing I had found out was that White Face wasn’t a disease caused by a curse, but was a curse itself.

 

In fact, at first I just thought someone had spread an AoE curse of a disease, but in Elizabeth’s words, everything that was happening here was likely to be a curse.

 

If there was a difference, this kind of disease…

 

No, unless it was a legendary potion from the fantasy world, curses like these could never be treated with modern drugs.

 

The most standard way to break a curse was the use of divine power or appropriate spells.

 

However, strangely, ampoules were currently in circulation in Kowloon for those suffering from White Face.

 

But to say the drug was a fraud, that wasn’t the case either.

 

In fact, those afflicted with White Face were living their lives with the help of this drug…

 

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It seemed I had gained a clue.

 

Unless there was a better clue at the moment, it was necessary to meet the person selling this suspicious drug.

 

Originally, it would have been hard to meet a seller if you don’t pay an introduction fee to an existing buyer, but I was guided by Jane, who usually bought the drug.
As such, I was able to meet one of the sellers from the rumors.

 

“Ahjussi, it’ll be your right leg next.”

 

“Keu-keeueuk…R-really…That’s all I know…”

 

“Hmm…Okay, I believe you.”

 

“Th-thank you…keuhok!”

 

Swiik–!

 

After a long conversation with the seller, I was told that he only distributed the drug and that he didn’t know exactly how to make them.

 

I followed the map he had drawn for me and went to the manufacturer he said produced this mysterious drug. 

 

“Really…in such a place?”

 

Jane muttered in disbelief.
And I felt the same way.

 

This was because the place I was led to was the underground shopping center in Kowloon that we had visited the other day.

 

“This is ridiculous…I know this place well and there’s no such facility here.
Were we deceived?”

 

“Hmm…well, let’s go and see first.”

 

I followed the map through the underground shopping center that twisted like a maze.

 

After many twists and turns, at last we were able to reach the destination.

 

***

Reaper Scans

[ Translator – Yasi ]

[ Proofreader – Karane ]

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***

 

And there,

 

“Kowloon Station…?”

 

In the past, there was an entrance to the subway that was built when the Kowloon Group first began construction.

 

But the path leading to the subway was blocked by a thick fire shutter.

 

Was this really the right place?

 

As expected, it was a mistake to give the seller a comfortable death.

 

Maybe I had to go through a cumbersome process of re-catching other sellers.

 

That was what I thought when suddenly, in one corner of the shutter, I saw a phrase written like graffiti.

 

[Those who enter without permission will die.]

 

“Oh!”

 

It seemed I had come to the right place.

 

Normally the place where you’re not supposed to enter was like a quest destination.

 

“Let’s check it out?”

 

Wuung–!

 

I immediately pulled out my sword and cut off the shutter.

 

The smoothly cut shutter fell to the ground and a loud noise resonated through the empty underground.

 

Boom–!

 

Beyond it was a pitch black darkness.

 

Rather than a subway station, it was as if I had stepped into a dungeon where monsters were lurking.

 

An unknown ominous feeling climbed up my spine.

 

I didn’t know what it was…but it certainly smelled suspicious.

 

“Wait here for now.”

 

“I-I’m coming with you!”

 

“Normally the mage is supposed to stand behind in parties.
Don’t troll and just stay put.”

 

I left Elizabeth and Jane outside the shutter and walked in by myself.

 

At that moment,

 

Beep–!

 

Along with an unpleasant alarm, dozens of attack spells poured out in the dark.

 

This!

 

I immediately operated my mana and cast my shield.
A divine barrier formed and lit up the dark.

 

Baang–!

Bang–!

Baaaang–!

 

Fire, lightning, wind, etc…magic of various attributes knocked on the shield.

 

If I had been attacked without any defense, no matter how high my durability was, I would have been unable to escape being wounded.

 

Magic traps.

 

How much money did they spend?

 

These spells were many times more powerful than those set up at Elizabeth’s house.

 

But…

 

Fortunately, these expensive spells weren’t enough to break through my shield and soon all disappeared.

 

I didn’t know who was behind this, but they must be having a heartache.

 

Having wasted so much money on traps, I couldn’t wait to see what kind of expression they will make.

 

As I had such thoughts, I walked a little deeper.

 

Chiiing–!

 

Then, suddenly, along with the clear sound of metal vibrating, I felt an overwhelming energy fluctuation.

 

This…?

 

And in an instant the surroundings brightened and flames big enough to fill the wide underground passage flew toward me.

 

I immediately activated my shield and blocked the whole passage.

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But its power was beyond imagination.
It was similar to the dragon beam made by Dr.
Jaegal in the past.

 

It would be hard for me to withstand this.

 

“Damn it!”

 

In the end, I had no choice but to reduce the size of the shield and increase its density.

 

Thus, I was able to stop the direct attack, but the flames that leaked around me scarred my skin horrendously.

 

Every breath I took, the heat came in and my bronchial tubes burned and I couldn’t breathe properly.

 

A second felt as long as a minute.
At last, the waves of fire stopped.

 

Chiik–!

 

The residual heat from the heated passage became like a frying pan and the wolf set I was wearing burned out.

 

Damn it…I’ve been dressing well these days.

 

For the time being, I may have to wear the clothes Elizabeth had chosen for me again.

 

In the meantime, something was swaying from the ground, and soon Elizabeth, wrapped in shadow, appeared.

 

“N-Noah!”

 

When she saw me shriveled and dried up, she shouted as if she was going to faint.

 

“N-no! W-what should I do? F-for now…”

 

She covered me in the shadow that was wrapped around her body.

 

“Keuh!”

 

Her skin began to burn red because of the heat of the passage that was heated like an oven.

 

“Noona, isn’t it hot?”

 

She held her breath and shook her head.

 

“It’s not hot?”

 

She shook her head even harder.
The expression was quite interesting, but she could really burn herself after a little more, so I decided to stop playing around.

 

Immediately releasing my mana and shaking off her shadow, I spoke.

 

“I really don’t need this, so take it back.
I can’t have noona dying, so stop being so stubborn and quickly take care of yourself.”

 

I had been working so hard to raise her.
It would be such a waste to have her die in such a place.

 

She paused at my words and stared at my body.

 

My skin, which had been full of blisters, was recovering at a rapid pace.

 

As she watched it carefully, she immediately covered herself with the scattered shadows.

 

For some time she kept her head down, then she spoke in a low voice that was hard to hear.

 

“…Hmm.
I’ll try from now on.”

 

Her whole body was covered by shadows, so I couldn’t see her expression very well, but seeing that perhaps she was crying, it seemed to have hurt quite a bit.

 

And perhaps because she was so embarrassed that she couldn’t even say that she was hurt, she stood with her body fidgeting.

 

Yeah, she had always been stubborn.

 

I clicked my tongue.

 

By the way…the attack from earlier somehow felt familiar.

 

The violent flame was like a reproduction of a dragon’s breath.

 

It was so similar to a skill I had enjoyed in the past.

 

This…maybe?

 

As I had such thoughts, a voice was suddenly heard from inside.

 

“Who are you?”

 

And at that moment, Elizabeth, who was next to me, angrily reacted before I could.

 

“You son of a bitch!!”

 

In a flash, she turned into a shadow and disappeared somewhere.
And a moment later,

 

“G-go away! Get away from me…Keuok!”

 

On the other side of the darkness, I heard a little girl’s resistance, and soon Elizabeth appeared again.

 

Dragged in her hands was a girl with the appearance of someone between the age of 15-16.

 

Elizabeth roughly threw the girl who had fainted on the ground.

 

Then, the little girl jumped up from the ground in shock.

 

“Kyaak! H-hot!”

 

The girl blew her burnt hands and cooled them down.
But other than that, there weren’t any abnormalities.

 

As if it was natural to breathe in this heat and as if the burn was just simple heated water.

 

Short height and a young appearance.
And, resistant to heat.

 

I could easily guess who she was.

 

A dwarf.

 

She glared at Elizabeth and snapped back.

 

“R-rude! How dare you, do you know who this one is?! Why did you do this!”

 

“Can I kill her now, Noah? Or can I just cut off one arm?”

 

“Hii-hiii!”

 

Elizabeth said, thrusting a blade made of shadow in hand.
I stopped her.

 

“Noona, hold on, don’t kill her.”

 

“Wh-why?”

 

“That’s because I was here to look for her, of course.”

 

The purpose of my visit here was to find out information on the treatment of White Face.
And there was still some information to be found in this dwarf.

 

But…

 

Actually, in my head right now, I was full of other thoughts than White Face. 

 

Staring intently at the dwarf, I spoke.

 

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“My precious…Do you know how much I’ve missed you?”

 

“N-Noah…? Wh-what the hell…?” 

 

Elizabeth looked at me with a shocked face.
Ignoring her, I approached the dwarf.

 

She shranked back awkwardly.

 

“Wh-what are you doing, human?”

 

“Keuh…You’re really shining brightly even in this darkness…It’s really beautiful even when I look at you again.”

 

“Keu-keuhem…Well, for a lowly human, you do have eyes.
It’s true that this one is beautiful, but…Nothing will come from such praise.”

 

Her lips twitched with a grin as if she was trying to hide her thoughts.
At a first glance, it was obvious that she was holding back her smile.

 

“It’s beautiful from a distance, but…It’s even more beautiful up close.
As expected, you are a work of art.”

 

“Well, well…If you wish, you may get a closer look.”

 

She cupped her chin with both hands and stretched out her head.
As a result, my precious which were on her waist were covered by the clothes.

 

What was this crazy girl doing?

 

I punched her in the face when she was talking nonsense.

 

“Keuk!”

 

The dwarf fainted.

 

At my action, Elizabeth nearby looked at me blankly.

 

“Wh-why…?”

 

I ignored her gaze and grabbed the splendid thing hanging from the dwarf’s waist.

 

“Hehe…we’re finally seeing each other again.
My precious.”

 

A golden dragon decorated the handle, and dozens of different kinds of jewels were luxuriously embedded on the shealth.

 

Rather than for a battlefield, it was more appropriate for art museums as a work of art.

 

I pulled out the beautiful sword.

 

Chiiing–!

 

Along with a clear metallic sound that vibrated, what had appeared was a sword sparkling brightly.

 

“I finally got my hands on it…”

 

I looked at the sword in my hand with a loving gaze.

 

Dragon Sword Gram.

 

It had the most beautiful appearance among my cherished possessions in the first round.

 

I was wondering where Jane had gotten this guy, but it seemed she must have stolen it from this dwarf and fled.

 

Maybe at some point she had come to get her brother’s drug and took it together because it looked expensive.

 

But that said, this sword wasn’t just beautiful.

 

The performance was also incredibly good.

 

< Dragon Sword ‘Gram’ >

Classification: Sword 

Grade: S 

Description: A sword made by the dwarves for the Warrior to kill the dragon Fafnir.
However, it is said that the dwarves were destroyed by the fight between the Warrior and Fafnir.

*Size can be adjusted according to one’s mana.

*Bonus damage against dragons.

*< Dragon Breath > – Absorb fire and deliver a destructive blow.

 

Keuh…it was good to see it again.

 

It was simple, but there was nothing more efficient than this.

 

Needless to say, being able to adjust the size of a weapon in close combat was a tremendous advantage.

 

In addition, the < Dragon Breath > option was more efficient than any other skill. 

 

As I had experienced with my body a while ago, it was absolutely not bad at all when used offensively, but in fact, the true value of this skill could be said to be revealed when used defensively.

 

It was no exaggeration to say that this was the only reason why it was S-Grade.

 

Of course, it couldn’t be helped in the case of fire attacks with special attributes, but with this, I had nothing to fear anymore against most fire magic in the world.

 

But…what was this?

 

At the bottom of the option on the Gram, there was something else written in faint letters.

 

[The spirit of the Warrior Siegfried is currently sealed.
(Hidden).]

 

It was an option I had never seen in the first round.

 

No way…With the trait from the Dwarf gene, I could see hidden options now?

 

I wasn’t certain, but that seemed the most credible now.

 

The first thing that came to mind when people thought of dwarves was the image of a blacksmith.

 

As I had such thoughts, I began to hear someone’s voice in my ears.

 

“No way…Can you hear my voice?”

 

“Wh-what’s this…?”

 

“Aahh! Lucky! Finally, I can talk to someone, super lucky!!!!”

 

“M-my precious…?”

 

I stared blankly at my lovely sword.
The voice continued to chatter incessantly.

 

“Fucking dwarves! I did my best to defeat the dragon, and they cursed me like that! If I had been in good shape, I would have immediately cut off their limbs.
Oh? Come to think of it, I’m already dead?”

 

“Although I’m now locked in a weapon like this, when I was in Nibelung, I was asked to sign autographs at every restaurant I went to, and I picked up women’s skirts just about every night.
Huh? You know what I mean, right? I mean the boom boom shush shush, that kind of thing.”

 

“Ah! I suddenly remembered that the king of the dwarves was actually my friend, but his wife was exactly my cup of tea, you know? So what did I do? That’s…Hehe, what do you think? You want to hear it, right?”

 

“…”

 

My ears were bleeding.

 

The graceful and beautiful Gram was speaking in the voice of a very frivolous man.

 

My precious…had been sullied.

 

Gram, who I had met again, was no longer the sword I knew.
The sword I used to love was no longer in this world.

 

I couldn’t believe my precious sword was possessed by a perverted evil spirit.
The cruel reality dug into my heart.

 

“Hmm? Are you listening to me? Hey~ Hey!”

 

“Damn it! This trash game can go to hell!”

 

As expected, old memories of your love were best kept as just memories.