Villain Hides His True Colors

At a remote meadow outside Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Where the blue sky meets the vast earth, clumsy tents made of tarps situated together could be seen.

The tents numbered about 50, and although it couldn’t be compared to cities with modern infrastructure, considering that it was situated in the middle of nowhere without electricity, water or sewage, it could be said to be an unusually large village.

“Hey, you rascal! I was saving this to make cheese. You shouldn’t drink it!”

“Oh, I’ll have just one sip, ajumma.”

A woman milking a goat and a little girl peeking curiously next to her.

It was a peaceful and picturesque scene reminiscent of a TV documentary.

However, if there was one difference, it was that the villagers’ appearance looked quite different from ordinary humans.

From beasts with hair all over their bodies, to an old man with horns on his head like a goblin, to a minotaur woman who resembled a monster more than a human, various races could be seen living together in one place.

Even though Earth had become a multi-ethnic society ever since its dimension opened up, it was still an extremely rare case for there to be so many different races living together in such a village.

And, in the backdrop of this unique village, there was a secret…

That was, the fact that the people who were living here were illegal immigrants who had refused the World Government’s control and fled.

“If you keep being naughty, don’t you think the bad man will come and take you away?”

The aunt who was milking the goat said to the girl in an intimidating tone.

However, rather than being scared, the girl laughed hard.

“Eh~ Don’t lie to me. Who the hell would come to a place like this? It’s not scary at all.”

“Oh, my. She’s not afraid anymore. The cuteness is gone.” 

“Hehe, then can I have this?”

“Aye…fine. I don’t think I can make cheese with this anyway, so just take it with you.”

“Wow! Thank you, ajumma! I’ll enjoy it!”

The girl carefully held the bucket of milk the aunt had given her and ran home precariously.

I’m glad…This will last for a while.

She had been living alone in this strange world after the sudden death of her mother two years ago.

But fortunately, she was able to survive somehow thanks to the neighbors living here who had felt sorry for her situation and had shared their food like earlier or had given her food behind her back.

Thus, she had always felt grateful to them.

When she first came to this village she was frightened by the terrifying appearance of the inhabitants, but now that she was used to it, she couldn’t see them as anything but family.

I want to grow up soon…Then I can help with the work.

She had always hated her small body that couldn’t be of help.

As she was heading to her tent on the outskirts of the village, raindrops suddenly began to fall from the sky one by one.

The weather is unpredictable today…

Although the weather in the meadow was normally unpredictable, the sky where the sun was shining brightly just now quickly being covered by dark clouds was truly fickle.

Let’s hurry…I might catch a cold if my clothes get wet…

She didn’t want to get sick and cause more inconveniences to the villagers who she had been indebted to all this time.

As such, she hurried her steps. 

But at that moment,

Booooom–!

Lightning struck from the sky with a deafening roar.

“Kyaak!”

Startled, the bucket she was carrying dropped, spilling the goat milk as it seeped into the ground and disappeared.

She looked at it with a stunned expression.

Ah…It’s been a while since aunty took care of me…

She looked towards the tent where the aunt lived with regret.

And at that very moment,

Boooom–!

Another roar erupted as a blue lightning bolt fell down towards it.

“N-no!”

She shouted reflexively and went back thoughtlessly the way she had just come from.

Is aunty okay…?

This was a vast plain without a single tree. On the other hand, the aunt was very big, so maybe in the worst case the lightning bolt had struck her.

She couldn’t shake off the bad feeling.

Arriving at the aunt’s house out of breath, fortunately, the aunt was fine without a scratch.

Phew…that’s a relief.

She breathed a sigh of relief inside.

However…

The aunt’s expression was somehow unusual, and when she noticed her, she hastily shouted.

“Run!”

“What? What do you…?”

Just as she felt something amiss, a light flashed again from the sky.

In response, the aunt immediately rushed to hug her.

Boooom–!

The lightning that fell in an instant hit the aunt’s body directly.

An acrid smoke rose from the aunt’s body that was covering her.

The aunt’s skin was completely charred and there was even a smell of cooked meat rising from her.

“Kyaaak! A-ajumma!”

She shouted as the aunt collapsed on the spot.

But even in such a state, the aunt was still trying to protect her.

“It’s…dangerous.”

Suddenly, lightning began to fall indiscriminately from the dark clouds.

Boooooom–! 

Boom–! 

Boooom–!

Countless lightning bolts rained down around the village.

Every flash of light burned the tents as the rain gradually grew heavier.

And she, under the aunt’s body, closed her eyes tightly, covered her ears, and trembled.

After an unknown time, the nightmare was finally over.

The thunderstorm, which seemed to have lasted forever, had finally stopped.

I-is it over…?

She quietly opened her eyes and crawled out from under the aunt’s body.

Soon, the aunt’s body, which was hard to recognize even the shape, came into view.

“Ah…a-ah…!”

It wasn’t just her that looked this way but so did all the residents of the village.

Unlike their usual scary appearances, everyone who had always taken good care of her had turned into burnt charcoal.

“A-ah…uh…ah…”

She stood absent-mindedly in the rain.

A short time of less than ten minutes. In that short period of time, everything had disappeared.

Was it the anger of God?

She couldn’t understand why this had happened at all.

Soon, through the thick rain that was falling endlessly, someone in a black raincoat walking slowly could be seen.

“This…there was a survivor…”

The man’s face wrinkled as if he had come across an unexpected situation.

Not only that, a long curved sword arcing blue lightning could be seen in his hand.

As such, she instinctively knew the moment she saw it.

The man in front of her was the one who had created this tragedy.

“S-spare me…”

What the town elders’ had always used to scare her, the very bad man had appeared.

* * * * * * * * * *

A very rare S-Rank hero in this world and a figure respected by many people.

Shin Cheonho, ‘Lightning Sword.’

He looked down at the girl in front of him and let out a short sigh from the bottom of his heart.

How could I be so unlucky…

He had wanted to use a thunderstorm from a distance instead of his hands directly.

That should have been enough to get rid of the people here.

But whether it was bad or good luck, the girl in front of him was alive and well.

Next to her was a large charred body as if it had been struck by lightning several times

She must have been hiding down there to save her life…

On the freckled girl’s face, tears could be seen clinging to her eyes.

“S-spare…S-spare me…”

Shin Cheonho’s expression soon stiffened.

Is what I’m doing really right…?

An order issued directly from the World Government.

He didn’t know what the reason was, but he had to make sure to erase this village from the world today.

With his capability, it was a very easy thing to do, but for him, the kind of work he was doing now was more daunting than dealing with any villain.

Looking at the girl crying her eyes out had reminded him of his daughter when she was young.

He, who was loved and respected by his daughter, was doing something so horrible.

Would he be able to show this side of him to his daughter?

Really…it’s a fucked up world.

He stared at the girl for a moment before putting his sword back into its sheath.

Next, he took out some money from his pocket.

“Hurry and leave here.”

“Y-you…A-are you letting me go?”

“Yes. You don’t have much time, so quickly run for it.”

“…”

The girl had an expression of mixed nervousness and relief. However, at the bottom of such feelings was an indisputable resentment toward him.

He knew very well that it was foolish to let her go.

Not only was he responsible for the mission, but one day she could bare her teeth at him.

However…

I really can’t do it.

***

[ Translator – Yasi ]

[ Proofreader – Karane ]

No matter how much he had dirtied his hands after becoming a hero, he couldn’t bring himself to kill such a young girl.

“Hurry up and go! Come on!”

“…S-someday…You…”

The girl left a meaningful remark before slowly turning around and running straight in the rain.

Shin Cheonho watched her back as he let out a long sigh.

“Really…It’s not easy to live.” 

He didn’t know how long he would have to continue to dirty his hands, but he knew it wasn’t something he wanted to do anymore.

And especially after this mission was done since he had promised to meet his daughter for the first time in a while.

He never wanted her to see this side of him.

Yeah…with this it’s done.

But at that very moment,

Swiik–

Along with a sharp cutting sound, the girl’s body, which was running far away, was split in half and fell.

?!

He stared at the sight with wide eyes. Soon, a figure gradually approached in the pouring rain.

Clank–

The dull sound of metal hitting.

A black man in full body armor trudged along, shaking off blood from his sword.

Soon, he spoke in a nonchalant tone as if nothing had happened.

“Mister Shin. Don’t you think you need to be certain of your work? I can’t believe you missed one. From what I see, I think you better focus on your work a little more.”

“…”

An Inspector in charge of the dirty affairs of the World Government.

Pamir, ‘Paladin.’

Shin Cheonho stared at him in anger.

“…Did you have to kill her?”

“Isn’t that obvious? That was the mission we had received. But…in any case, how come you don’t look so happy? Do you have any complaints?”

Pamir’s eyes turned poisonous like a snake. Shin Cheonho wanted to immediately cut him with his sword, but what came out of his mouth was the exact opposite of his feelings.

“…Nonsense. It’s…just because I’m tired.”

Pamir, as if he was reading all of his thoughts, spoke with an insidious smile.

“Hoho, I see. Well, even an S-Rank hero can get tired.”

“…”

Soon, Pamir uttered a warning with a grave expression.

“But keep this in mind. If you don’t want to lose everything you have…You better not have such idiotic thoughts from now on.”

“Of course.”

“With great power comes great responsibility. Don’t ever forget it.”

“…”

Shin Cheonho was a genius who had quickly developed his abilities from an early age.

He beat up villains and continued his training with more effort than anyone else.

The media praised him as someone who would become an S-Rank hero, and he too didn’t doubt that one day he would become an S-Rank hero.

S-Rank that transcended everything.

Becoming such an absolute being was the most important goal and dream in his life.

And, through all the efforts, he had finally become the S-Rank hero he had dreamed of.

However…

When his dream was realized, the nature of an S-Rank hero was completely different from what he had imagined.

If I knew this would happen…I would have given up my efforts back then…

The World Government would never allow individuals to have more than a certain level of power.

Thus, he was given two choices.

Get banned by the World Government and have them seal his power below a certain level, or perform their duties as he was told.

In fact, up until this point, because he couldn’t give up his lingering affection for power, he had eventually chosen the latter.

As a result, in the name of maintaining world peace, he was mobilized for all sorts of dirty work.

And among them it even included missions to kill those seemingly innocent like today.

“Mister Shin. I want to continue working with you for a long time. So I hope you don’t have those idiotic thoughts anymore. I mean it.”

“…I understand.”

“Huu…I know you still have some complaints, so I’ll personally explain it to you.”

Pamir said as he narrowed his eyebrows and continued.

“According to Oracle’s prediction, an S-Rank hero was to be born here in the near future who will cooperate with the demon army. And because of that person, more than 10,000 innocent civilians would have died. We stopped that today.”

Shin Cheonho couldn’t refute Pamir’s words. He naturally knew the existence of Oracle, but he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Between the World Government’s orders, couldn’t they remove those who would interfere with their interests under the pretext of the Oracle’s prophecy?

And, such people haven’t committed a crime yet, so was it the right thing to judge them?

“…”

Even if he had such thoughts, the only thing he could do was keep it to himself.

He was already a dog of the Hero Association and had learned many secrets, so even if he quit now, he didn’t think they would let him go quietly.

Especially his daughter who had just become a hero. The likelihood of him being at a disadvantage was very high.

That…I can’t let that happen.

As a result, even if he had to get his hands dirty, he had no choice but to endure the circumstances somehow.

I have to endure it for Rahui’s sake.

Even though he hadn’t always been there for her, she was his precious daughter he couldn’t be more proud of.

“Well, this much should be enough for you to understand…I’ll stop here. Anyway, this is the end of the mission, so I look forward to your kind cooperation next time.”

“…I understand. Thank you for your efforts.”

Shin Cheonho wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.

It was hard for him to control the urge to pull out his sword when together with such a crazy fanatic.

I’ll have to go back quickly and find out about the school festival schedule that Rahui is going to participate in.

As he thought as such, he called his companion that was hidden in the thunderclouds onto the ground.

Soon, a bird fluttering with blue lightning all over its body landed.

A mythical spirit with large wings.

He got on the back of the lightning grouse and said goodbye to Pamir.

“Then…I’ll go first.”

At that moment, Pamir suddenly spoke.

“Oh, wait a minute. Come to think of it, didn’t mister Shin say he was going back to Korea?”

“Yes, but…what about it?”

“That’s good. I’d like you to give me a ride to Korea on the way. Coincidentally, I have something to deal with in Korea.”

Pamir said with a smile, showing his white teeth.

Finally, the two sat on the back of the grouse and headed to Korea.

* * * * * * * * * *

A man with a shaggy face wiggled his thick fingers and manipulated a tablet.

On the screen, the words ‘Choi Noah’s ARK fanclub’ were seen.

Hmm…is something wrong?

Go Changsu had a worried expression as he looked at the tablet.

Unless something special had happened recently, the president of the fan club that had been posting Noah’s updates every day had stopped their activities without any notice.

Looking at the pictures the president had uploaded, it seemed the person was probably someone close to Noah.

Maybe the president is sick?

Although he had never seen the president’s face, they had always been communicating through the fan club, so his worry wasn’t unwarranted.

He continued to stare at the tablet screen with a worried look.

Meanwhile, Kim Taehi, who was passing by Go Changsu, stopped when she saw him like that.

What’s up with him?

A new recruit who was too energetic for his own good. Why was he frowning?

She crept up behind him and peeped at the tablet screen.

“Choi Noah’s…Fan club? It’s still work hours, so what are you doing?”

“Heuk! Wh-when did you get here?”

The startled Go Changsu sprang to his feet.

“What are you doing?”

“Ah, just gathering information…Haha, this place always has the latest news on Noah.”

“Huh…?”

As if her interest was piqued, Kim Taehi grabbed the tablet

Looking at the images on the screen, it was decorated much better than she had thought.

Not only that, the membership was over 50,000.

“What’s this? There are so many people who joined the fan club?”

This number was equivalent to fan clubs of famous heroes.

Also, it was really a surprising number considering that he wasn’t even an active hero yet.

Go Changsu spoke proudly.

“That’s not all. As a large number of new members are flowing in from abroad, I think we’ll easily surpass 100,000 soon.”

“Well, I see. It’s understandable because of what happened this time.”

Kim Taehi recalled the incident that was still buzzing in the media.

The sudden appearance of a monster estimated to be S-Rank in Hong Kong. And a boy just 13 years old who defeated such a monster.

This time, not just in Korea, but it was enough to create a sensation around the world.

So far, countless heroes had made their names known to the world, but no one in history had ever done anything so drastic as what Noah had shown.

I was worried for nothing…

She knew he was gifted from the moment she first met him.

However, she never imagined that he would make his name known worldwide in such a short period of time.

And recently, when she heard of the plan to use Noah as bait to draw out Eighth Layer Hell, she was so worried that she couldn’t get anything done at work.

However, given that situation, he had suddenly disappeared…

From her and other heroes’ perspective at the Gyeonggi-do branch, they couldn’t help but think that something bad had happened to Noah.

But all such worries were for nothing…

Dragon Slayer…That’s a great nickname.

She didn’t have to worry about him being helpless anymore.

Come to think of it, I feel sorry for her.

In fact, Samaria who was responsible for him had been having a hard time.

To cover up his disappearance to the Hero Association headquarters, the Gyeonggi-do branch had to produce a plausible report every week.

As such, Samaria was summoned every day for interrogation.

Huu…I wanted to be his strength.

Why would such an outstanding boy need her help?

Recalling what she had said just a few months ago, she felt her face burning.

She smiled dejectedly.

Maybe what she could do now was just like Go Changsu. It may be simply joining the fan club and leaving cheerful comments.

“Haa…I have to see him soon because of the investigation anyway…I should at least buy him a delicious meal then.”

“Oh! That sounds good. Then, do you want me to book a restaurant for you in advance? I know Noah’s taste well.” 

“Okay. I had promised to buy him something delicious, so don’t think about the money like at office parties and find a really nice place this time.”

“All right!”

When the two of them were continuing their conversation, suddenly there was a loud noise.

“No, what are you saying right now?!”

A shout from a very angry man. It was the voice of the Branch Manager of Gyeonggi-do, Jenon.

What the hell’s going on?

Kim Taehi knew Jenon’s personality from having worked with him to some extent, and she didn’t remember seeing him ever this angry.

Feeling something amiss, Kim Taehi and Go Changsu quickly headed in the direction of the noise.

Then, standing there was a strange man who they were seeing for the first time.

A black man dressed in holy armor shining radiantly.

And on his arm was an armband indicating that he belonged to the World Government.

The Inspector…

Kim Taehi gulped nervously when she saw him.

She had often heard of their notoriety, but it was the first time she was facing one up so close.

And usually, when an Inspector was dispatched, not so good things followed.

What brought him here…?

For some reason, an ominous foreboding crept up.

Just then, Jenon’s agitated voice was heard.

“That is absolutely ridiculous! How can Choi Noah, the victim of Eighth Layer Hell, suddenly become a criminal colluding with them?!”

“?!”

She doubted her ears.

Choi Noah, a criminal?

In front of the Inspector, she blurted out.

“What the hell does that mean?”

The Inspector replied with a suspicious smile.

“According to a cooperative investigation conducted by the World Government and the Hero Association, hero trainee Choi Noah was found guilty of working for Eighth Layer Hell.”

She couldn’t understand what he was saying.

Just from the park incident alone, how many members of Eighth Layer Hell did Noah kill?

Logically speaking, there was no way he was a member of the organization.

It didn’t add up. To the point where the man’s mental state was in question.

“Fuck! What nonsense are you saying?”

The agitated Go Changsu jumped up and shouted.

Not only him but other members of the Gyeonggi-do branch voiced their protest.

For them, who had spent more time investigating this case than anyone else, they were well aware of the nonsense the Inspector was saying.

“This is an abuse of authority!”

“You’re framing an innocent person! What rubbish are you saying all of a sudden!”

“No, did you even read the report we wrote?!”

A commotion quickly broke out.

However, even at such a sight, the Inspector only watched them quietly.

After an unknown time, terrifying mana suddenly sprang from his body. And as a result, everyone broke out in cold sweats due to the pressure.

Even for Jenon, the same A-Rank hero, the pressure was so strong that his face stiffened.

All those who were noisy became silent, and soon there was only silence.

In the breathtaking atmosphere, the Inspector opened his mouth with a look of pity.

“Huu…you don’t have any common sense. That’s why you’re stuck in the back of the woods like this.”

Ignoring the others, he looked at Jenon and spoke.

“Don’t you know best that the reason doesn’t matter?”

“What? No, that doesn’t make sense…”

“After all, this is a direct order from the World Government.”

“…”

Jenon simply clenched his fists and gave no answer.

Looking at the rest, the Inspector pulled up one corner of his mouth.

“If you really don’t like the reason, I can change it. If it’s not the Eighth Layer Hell, it’s the demon army, or I could say he was planning a terrorist attack. I can make up as many reasons as you want.”

“What’s important here is…The World Government and the Hero Association has judged Choi Noah’s presence to be dangerous.”

“So for now, it’s decided that Choi Noah will be arrested.”

Kim Taehi recalled one rumor she had heard.

[Heroes with more than a certain level of power are subject to special management by the World Government.]

At the time, she thought they were just treated well like VIPs, but looking at it now, that didn’t seem to be the case.

Like the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty, the Hero Association was managing heroes close to S-Rank.

How can this be…

She and other employees of the Gyeonggi-do branch had stunned looks.

In the end, what was the justice they’ve pursued all this time?

Soon, the Inspector’s calm voice was heard.

“Anyway, now that’s out of the way…Choi Noah’s arrest, I look forward to your kind cooperation.”

As a result, everyone began to set up a plan to arrest Noah at the upcoming school festival.