Chapter 91
There existed three great factions in Become a Hero.
Heroes who pursued justice and a righteous society.
Pandemonium, who worshipped Demons and sought to summon them into this world.
And finally, Villains—those who stepped beyond the bounds of law and used their given powers solely to satisfy their own selfish desires.
At first glance, Villains and Demons appeared similar, but they were, in truth, completely different beings.
Demons moved as a collective within the vast organization known as Pandemonium, united under a single goal—the descent of Demons.
However, Villains were different.
They were unpredictable.
Because each of them desired and pursued entirely different things.
Some sought wealth, others craved bloodshed and chaos.
And there were even those who stained themselves in evil for the sake of revenge.
If Pandemonium was a pure pitch black, then Villains were a murky black, a chaos born from countless colors mixed together.
Above all, Villains were, on average, far stronger than the Demons of Pandemonium.
They were individuals, not an organization.
Thus, they made their names known to the world through their own power.
Yoo Iseo left the Academy today to capture a Villain.
The night air was cold and sharpened her focus.
When she looked down beneath her feet, brilliant neon lights flickered in chaotic hues—almost like her own mind.
She had come out to uncover the cause behind the growing number of disappearances near the club district.
Because of this mission, she hadn’t even been able to show her face to the Student Council for some time.
But this ordeal was finally nearing its end.
There was one common trait among all the missing persons.
They were all regular patrons of the club Honey Jack, operated by the Cheongwol Faction.
Originally, Honey Jack had been just another mediocre club with modest popularity, but around the time the disappearances began, its reputation had suddenly soared.
The club was packed every night, and its fame only grew by the day.
‘If I remember right, the Cheongwol Faction’s boss was an A-rank Villain.’
The boss of the Cheongwol Faction was a dishonorably discharged veteran who had once belonged to the Dungeon Task Force.
True to his background, he possessed ruthless efficiency and remarkable skill.
An A-rank Villain meant someone of mid-to-high, or even high-class strength.
‘The only place that showed any notable change after the Villain incidents began was Honey Jack. I’ll meet the boss… and uncover the truth.’
With a flash of thunder, Yoo Iseo disappeared into the night.
Seo Da-hee’s mind raced with countless thoughts in an instant.
‘Could the information have been wrong?’
‘A Villain? And the energy I’m sensing… A-rank?’
‘A Villain who wears a military uniform and handles weapons… that must be the Cheongwol Faction’s boss. But why? Wasn’t this supposed to be Pandemonium’s scheme?’
‘Should I contact Seongwoo first?’
All signs pointed to one thing—
This was a trap.
Berid had prepared a solid excuse to capture anyone who interfered with his plans.
No doubt, a heavy price had been paid for it.
He opened his mouth.
“I heard there might be an intruder. But I didn’t expect it to be a woman like you.”
“Then, who were you expecting?”
Honorifics slipped out of Seo Da-hee’s mouth instinctively.
The oppressive aura he emitted was that intense.
The man before her was not someone she could hope to handle.
“Expecting someone? No, I wasn’t hoping for anyone to come at all. If no one had shown up, I’d be celebrating, thinking I’d just earned some easy money without having to fight.”
“……Do you intend to kill me?”
At her question, the man snorted with amusement.
Then he reached into his pocket and pulled something out.
A glass bottle that glimmered with an eerie light.
“You came here for this, didn’t you?”
“……”
“Well, at least you won’t die by my hand. That’s part of the contract, after all.”
The Villain looked at her with a relaxed expression.
As she faced him, Seo Da-hee’s mind whirled relentlessly.
The difference in strength was obvious.
With her current power, victory was impossible.
‘I was too careless.’
She had underestimated Berid far too much.
The bastard hadn’t even shared his true plan with his own subordinates.
Not even Seongwoo could have predicted such a variable.
Lia’s trembling voice echoed in her mind.
[Should we contact Seongwoo?]
‘Absolutely not.’
There was a reason she had come here in Seongwoo’s place.
Through Lia, contacting Yoo Seongwoo wouldn’t have been difficult.
And the moment he heard, Seongwoo would have rushed here immediately.
‘That can’t happen.’
Yoo Seongwoo belonged to Pandemonium.
It only held meaning as long as his true identity remained hidden.
So she had to resolve this on her own.
She spread her mana and scanned the surrounding space.
‘First, I need to escape. I’ll think of a plan afterward.’
“I can practically hear the gears turning in your head from here. How about surrendering quietly? I’d rather not waste my energy. You can’t defeat me.”
“I know.”
“Then are you surrendering?”
As if she ever would.
A surge of mana burst from Seo Da-hee’s small frame.
From her outstretched hand, a massive lance and shield materialized.
Boom!
With a thunderous roar, mana gathered around the lance and shot forward like an arrow.
The blast pierced through where he had been standing—
But he was already gone.
Clicking her tongue, she swiftly turned around.
A heavy impact struck her shield, and Seo Da-hee’s small body was flung through the air.
Bang!
The Villain who had kicked her let out a light click of his tongue.
“You’ve damaged the club wall. Do you have any idea how much this interior cost me?”
Seo Da-hee staggered to her feet, pulling herself out of the wall.
However, before she could even regain her stance, the Villain’s attacks poured down.
A relentless barrage of fists and kicks.
Boom, thud, boom, boom-boom!
With each heavy strike, Seo Da-hee clenched her teeth, barely managing to block the blows with her shield.
‘Damn it, he’s toying with me.’
The man had several weapons hanging from his clothes.
Yet, he wasn’t using a single one—he was trying to subdue her with his bare hands.
Suddenly, the Villain’s movements grew wider, his chest opening up as if preparing for a powerful strike.
[Now!]
At Lia’s voice, Seo Da-hee thrust her shield forward and charged.
Crash!
With a rough charge that returned every impact she’d endured so far, she sent him flying through the door of the VIP room.
Hearing the sudden commotion, guards rushed in.
“What happened, boss!”
“The boss is hurt! Get everyone up here, now!”
The guards shouted as they saw the Villain collapse.
Grinding her teeth, Seo Da-hee cursed under her breath.
Even dealing with him alone was overwhelming—if the guards joined in?
Their skills were nothing impressive, but sheer numbers would be a nuisance.
Moreover, each guard was bulky and heavily built, their size unnatural, as if they’d been force-fed muscle and fat.
That made them a poor match against her agile, movement-based fighting style.
Then, the Villain stirred and got back on his feet.
“Shut up. You’re embarrassing me.”
“But, boss—!”
Before the nearby guard could finish his sentence, his neck twisted with a sickening crack.
The large-bodied guard fell to the floor with a thud.
The Villain snarled at the guards surrounding him.
“Don’t you dare interfere. This one’s my guest.”
“……”
Cracking his neck as though stretching, he muttered under his breath.
“Maybe I got too complacent. He told me not to let my guard down… I see now, he had a reason. I was planning to take her alive, but looks like I can’t afford to hold back.”
With those words, he drew a dagger from the body belt strapped to his waist.
As he lowered his stance into a knife-fighting posture, his aura shifted.
The oppressive energy that had been leaking uncontrollably before suddenly vanished, leaving no trace of mana at all.
It was as if he were an ordinary man without the ability to wield magic.
Seeing that, cold sweat trickled down Seo Da-hee’s back.
She gripped her weapon tightly.
In an instant—he vanished from sight.
[His leg!]
Lia’s urgent voice warned her of the incoming attack, but she was too slow.
With a sharp sound, crimson blood splattered.
Pain seared through her leg, twisting her expression.
She couldn’t sense any mana, any killing intent.
His movements were stealthy, swift, and impossible to track with her eyes.
Once again, his form disappeared—and each time, a new wound appeared on her body.
Though her defensive aura of mana kept the cuts from being deep, her stamina was rapidly dwindling.
Lia’s voice echoed.
[It’s dangerous like this.]
She knew.
If not for Lia sensing the attacks first, she wouldn’t have lasted even this long.
“Yah!”
She swung her spear, trying to use its reach to her advantage, but the difference in combat sense between her and a soldier trained in military martial arts was enormous.
Then Lia’s voice rang out again.
[Da-hee, let me take over your body!]
‘What? What are you talking about all of a sudden?’
[There’s no chance if we keep going like this. The gap in skill and compatibility is too great. Let me fight instead!]
Seo Da-hee’s mind raced again.
Lia had never once experienced real combat.
Could she really entrust her body to her in a situation like this?
[Trust me! I’m already the one reacting to his movements anyway!]
‘But you don’t even know how to handle weapons or fight!’
[That won’t matter.]
As Lia spoke, she slowly began to take control over Seo Da-hee’s body.
One of Seo Da-hee’s eyes turned pale gray.
Soon, she felt a new flow of mana entering her—not her own.
Seo Da-hee realized that the source of this new mana was her heart.
Then, she heard the Villain’s voice whisper near her ear.
“You’re daydreaming in the middle of a fight?”
In an instant, he seized her arm from behind.
Crack.
Her arm bent in a grotesque direction.
The Villain let out a mocking laugh.
“You just broke your own arm? Insane.”
Indeed, all he had done was grab her arm—nothing more.
Yet Lia didn’t flinch. Instead, she clasped his arm tightly with both hands.
At the same moment, a white magic circle bloomed from her palms.
Crack!
In an instant, his arm twisted and writhed into unnatural angles, like the flickering screen of a broken television.
Startled, he swung his arm violently, throwing her off.
Lia, who didn’t know how to break her fall, tumbled across the floor.
The Villain glared down at her.
“What did you do?”
He raised the arm Lia had grabbed, growling.
Rather than answer, Lia touched her own dislocated arm with her uninjured hand.
A magic circle formed on her skin—and soon, the twisted limb straightened and healed.
“Magic…?”
It was the secret magic of the prestigious Frankenstein Family—Disassembly and Reassembly—manifesting from Lia’s hand.
Even Seo Da-hee couldn’t hide her shock.
[Why didn’t you ever tell me you could use such high-level magic!?]
‘I can use even stronger spells than this. But it’s not really me casting it. It’s triggered through a magic formula engraved in my heart. It only works with the mana imbued there, so I can’t use it for long. Maybe once or twice at best?’
Lia steadied her breathing, glaring at the Villain.
He didn’t dare to approach carelessly, wary of the sudden transformation in Seo Da-hee’s state.
And Lia didn’t miss her chance—she lunged toward him.
“Whatever you do, it’s useless!”
The Villain concealed his presence again, dodging her attack.
Lia, who was terrible at handling a spear and shield, couldn’t land a single strike.
Her attacks sliced through nothing but air.
“A pathetic excuse for a spear strike.”
“I was never aiming for you.”
From the beginning, Seo Da-hee and Lia’s goal had been to escape this place.
Lia’s hand touched the floor, and a massive magic circle spread outward.
Rumble!
With a deafening quake, the club’s ceiling collapsed.
The full moon hanging in the sky illuminated the dark club—
And in the next moment, a blue bolt of lightning struck down.