Chapter 34

“V-Villain…?”

She stammers, seemingly flustered.

Well, it’s understandable. The person who suddenly saved her isn’t a fellow hero but introduced himself as a villain. Anyone would be confused.

‘I saved her because it looked like she’d die if I didn’t… but what now?’

Looking around, the car’s black box seems long broken…

I can ask Narin to hack the CCTV, so that’s not an issue.

‘The real problem is Tsukino Chise, aka Phantom Luna, here…’

If she goes around saying I saved her or, worse, that I’m a good person, it’ll definitely be a hassle.

The weight of a regular citizen’s words and a B+ rank hero’s words are completely different.

If things go wrong, the image I’ve built as Maker and the rules I’ve set could all become meaningless.

‘…I need a justification.’

So, what I need is a justification.

A villain saving a hero needs a reason.

‘Is there anything I can use as a justification?’

I glance at her.

‘Hmm?’

Then, I notice a boy behind Phantom Luna.

…I’ve got a good idea.

“Why did a villain save me…”

“Are you okay, young master?”

Ignoring her, I smile and speak to the boy.

As if the hero in front of me doesn’t matter at all.

“Y-Yes…”

When I ask, the boy nods, slightly nervous.

“That’s good to hear.”

“W-Wait! Listen to me…!!”

Perhaps annoyed by being ignored, Phantom Luna tries to yell at me, but she can’t finish her sentence.

Whoosh-!

Boom!!!

“Don’t ignore me, you stupid hero!!”

Another ignored person bursts out in anger and attacks.

“Ah, you seem really angry.”

“Yeah, I’m angry!!”

The villain swings his whip.

Every time his whip touches something, a loud explosion echoes.

Swish-!!

And he swings the whip toward us again.

From the distance, it seems like it won’t reach, but…

Boom!!

The whip extends and swings toward us.

I raise my shield and block the attack again.

‘Ugh, that hurts like hell.’

Thanks to the advanced materials mixed into the shield, I avoid the same fate as the surrounding buildings.

But judging by the shock I feel in my arm, I won’t be able to block for long.

“Grrr!!! Move, man! Are you a hero too?”

“A hero? No, I’m a villain.”

“Then why block me!! Aren’t heroes your enemies!!”

“Heroes are indeed clear enemies. If you were only planning to kill that hero over there, I wouldn’t have interfered. But…”

I turn my head and look at Phantom Luna.

More precisely, at the child behind her.

I smile calmly and look back at the villain.

“It seems you need some education on the minimum purpose and dignity of being a villain.”

Rambling explanations to the villain aren’t great.

Just make it look cool. Giving enough clues for speculation is enough.

‘The whip can adjust its size and explodes on contact…’

Returning to the fight, I think about the characteristics of the guy in front of me.

He definitely wasn’t in the original story I remember.

‘Where did this guy come from?’

It’s a bit puzzling, but I decide not to dwell on it.

After all, not all villains appear in the original, and if the original is getting twisted, this is an expected outcome.

Whoosh-

I create a gun and aim it at him.

“If you’re not coming, I’ll go this time.”

I pull the trigger toward the villain.

***

“Guh… guh…”

“Have you learned your lesson now?”

I look down at the villain.

His entire body is charred black, barely breathing.

“I hope you’ll be a better person in the afterlife.”

Click.

I aim the gun at him.

“W-Wait!! Stop! There’s no need to go that far…!!”

From afar, Phantom Luna, who was protecting the child, realizes what I’m about to do and tries to stop me.

Bang!!

Without a moment’s hesitation, I put a neat hole in the villain’s forehead.

“..Tch!”

She grits her teeth, grabs my collar, and pulls me close.

“..Why!! Why did you do that! There was no need to go that far!!”

“This is a bit embarrassing. Instead of a thank you for saving you, I get my collar grabbed.”

I chuckle, seeing her angry.

“Did you really expect a villain to safely capture an enemy and throw them in prison?”

“…That’s not it.”

If you had a problem, you should’ve arrested him yourself, right?

I remove her hand and straighten my collar.

“…Why did you help me?”

“I didn’t help you. I just educated a rude villain.”

I calmly reply to her questioning gaze.

Then, I turn my gaze to the child.

‘Make the eyes as moist as possible. And make it look like there’s a story behind it!’

“..Ah.”

Nod.

As I look at him, the boy lowers his head deeply.

I wave my hand awkwardly, and he looks flustered.

“..I’ll be going now.”

The heroes are arriving soon, and this should be enough to make it seem like I did it out of kindness or for some personal reason, not just for her.

‘There must be some story behind it.’ That’s the speculation I’m aiming for.

“Wait.”

Just as I’m about to leave, Phantom Luna grabs me.

“You. You’re Maker, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

She takes a deep breath and continues.

“I’m grateful for your help today! But since you’re a villain! And as long as I’m in Korea, I’ll definitely catch you! Definitely!”

Next time, we’ll see! I’ll hold you accountable for this!

She points at me, glaring.

“I’ll look forward to it.”

‘If you can catch me, try.’

I smile at her, then take Polia’s hand and leave.

***

“Chise! You’re safe!!”

“Ah! Suzuki-san!!”

After Maker leaves, the heroes arrive.

A woman quickly runs over at Chise’s call.

And then.

Whack!!

“Kyaa!”

She smacks Chise’s head.

“I was worried, Chise! You didn’t answer your phone or Line! Do you know how frustrating that was?”

“Y-You and Kato-san left first! This is unfair!”

Chise holds the spot where she was hit, her eyes moist as she looks at Suzuki.

“W-We were in a hurry…”

“See! You left me behind!”

“Look, if we had just taken the same car from the start! I even offered to pay!”

“How could I be so shameless with a friend! And don’t change the subject! Why is it my fault!”

Chise yells.

Suzuki sighs, looking at her.

“…Can’t I help you?”

A completely different topic from the conversation.

But Chise understands her immediately.

“…That’s my problem. And how could I shamelessly ask a friend for help.”

“Why is it shameless to ask a friend for help…!!”

Chise pouts and shakes her head.

‘Sigh… this stubborn girl.’

Suzuki sighs and looks around to lighten the heavy atmosphere.

“So, what happened here?”

“A villain appeared on the way to the Hero Association…”

“…So you fought?”

A foreign villain whose rank you don’t even know, and if your mask had come off, your identity would’ve been exposed?

Suzuki’s arm starts to tremble.

“No, but I’m a hero. I can’t ignore civilians in danger…”

“That’s true but…”

Suzuki glances at the boy fidgeting nearby.

Then she looks back at Chise. Her elegant green dress now in tatters.

“…Sigh. Alright. I won’t say anything about this. No, you did well.”

Pat pat-

“Hmph! This is nothing for Phantom Luna!”

Suzuki reaches out and pats Chise’s head.

Chise puffs up her chest proudly.

After a short break, Suzuki and Chise start to clean up the situation.

“Is that the villain? The one who did this?”

“Yes, that’s right! His whip kept extending! And boom boom explosions!… But where did the whip go?”

The villain’s body is charred black, with bullet holes all over.

Suzuki looks at Chise with a doubtful expression.

“This isn’t your doing, is it?”

It’s too brutal for Chise.

She’s not a complete pacifist, but she prefers to avoid bloodshed.

‘And the clear bullet marks. She doesn’t carry a gun, so someone else killed this villain.’

There was someone else at the scene.

Suzuki stares at the body for a while, then stands up and looks at Chise.

“Who was it? The one who killed this villain?”

Chise hesitates for a moment.

After some thought, she speaks.

“That… it was someone called Maker.”

“Maker?”

To summarize her words.

A villain suddenly appeared and took care of the villain for her.

“But it felt like he had some ulterior motive rather than just wanting to help.”

Maybe he has some kind of story?

Suzuki thinks for a moment.

“Hmm… well, villains like that are rare, but they do exist. Anyway, you were lucky, Chise.”

“…I guess?”

“Let’s check the other areas. There might still be civilians alive.”

While Suzuki casually looks around, Chise ponders about Maker.

‘Maker…’

Even though he saved her, he’s still a villain who killed someone.

A villain that heroes must capture.

‘I’ll definitely catch you.’

As the sun sets, she burns with determination.

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