“How the hell do you handle your work?!!”
Korean Hero Association Headquarters.
Middle-aged men sitting at a long, wide table bowed their heads deeply at the shout of a middle-aged man in a luxurious suit.
“Losing to villains is one thing, but why are heroes being called incompetent? Why?!”
“…Well, it’s because the villain suddenly live-streamed the heroes falling into a trap…”
“*Sigh*…”
The middle-aged man, who had been raging, let out a deep sigh.
He clutched his head with one hand, seemingly in pain, and plopped down into his chair.
“Useless brats… Can’t even control the media…”
“…We apologize, Association President.”
So, how exactly are we supposed to control the media?
The words lingered on the tip of their tongues, but the middle-aged men could only bow their heads to their superior.
“Those hero brats! What the hell are they even doing?!”
“…They’re doing their best…”
“Doing their best at what?! If they had at least caught the villain! If the footage hadn’t been recorded!!”
If they had caught the villain, their mistakes during the terror attack could have been forgiven.
If the footage hadn’t been recorded, they could have claimed it was just collateral damage from a lunatic villain’s spontaneous attack.
But what the hell is this?!
Heroes! And not just any heroes, but some of the highest-ranked ones, being toyed with by a lowly villain!
The Association President couldn’t fathom such disgrace.
“Think before you speak! Think!”
“…We apologize, Association President.”
The middle-aged man who had been defending the heroes bowed his head deeply under the President’s glare.
“And that guy. Maker or whatever his name is. Have you found any information on him?”
“……”
Seeing the executives remain silent at his question, the President’s face turned red with anger.
“Why the hell is there no information?!”
“…We apologize.”
“Can’t you say anything besides ‘we apologize’? That guy’s an ability user, right?”
The executive nodded at the President’s words.
“Then why don’t you just run an Ability Inquiry on him, you idiots!!!”
Ability Inquiry.
One of the special legal measures for ability users established by the government.
During childhood, when abilities can’t be hidden, they are identified and recorded. Since abilities vary from person to person, similar abilities are grouped and classified, and their information is collected.
When he saw the terror attack, it was clear the perpetrator was an ability user.
But.
“There was nothing.”
“…What?”
“We ran the inquiry, but there was no one matching the description of Maker.”
The executive had people search among summoning-type ability users for Maker, but they failed.
“Excluding the elderly and middle-aged, as well as those who haven’t reached puberty yet, and all females… We found nothing.”
“…Did you perhaps investigate other ability types?”
“We considered that possibility… but it was the same.”
From the footage, it was clear he summoned a gun out of thin air.
It was reasonable to assume he was a summoning-type ability user, capable of summoning objects or contracted beings.
Yet, the Ability Inquiry yielded no results…
“Whether Maker is truly a summoning-type or a new type of ability user, it means he’s either a hidden illegal user or an Acquired Ability User.”
“…It’s unlikely he hid his ability since childhood, so he must be an Acquired Ability User who awakened his power later.”
It felt like forcing a mismatched puzzle piece into place, but it was the most plausible answer.
“*Sigh*… What the hell is he up to?”
The Association President already felt a headache coming on, knowing things were about to get busy.
“…Anyway, the ones who messed up this time. Hold a press conference and make them apologize. Also, release a statement.”
The heroes misunderstood the Association’s instructions.
They were told to thoroughly investigate the 15th floor, where civilians were presumed to be, but also to ensure other floors were checked.
And that they had fallen into the villain’s trap from the start.
It was clear that guy never intended to keep his promise.
The President instructed them to release a statement that completely absolved the Association of blame and placed it all on the heroes and the villain.
A few executives felt uneasy about the President’s words, but the majority who praised him quickly silenced their concerns.
“Within two weeks, make sure the public forgets about this incident.”
This was the story one week before Maker would carry out his next terror attack.
***
The organization members were bustling about.
And there I was, leisurely enjoying my tea time while watching them.
-“Really… I don’t understand what you’re doing.”
Astra’s voice, sounding annoyed, came through the phone speaker.
-“You just moved the location from E District to B District, but it’s essentially the same terror attack, isn’t it?”
“That’s correct.”
-“But why? Normally, terror attacks are spaced two months apart for preparation and to make sure people remember them effectively.”
“That’s true, but that would make people remember ‘Eclipse’s executive,’ not ‘Maker,’ wouldn’t it?”
Eclipse has been around for so long that everyone knows them, but Maker, a newbie villain, is unknown.
If I were to carry out a terror attack two months later, people would just think, ‘Maker? Oh, that Eclipse executive?’ and hardly remember me as a villain.
In other words, this terror attack serves as a review of the last one while also showcasing what kind of villain I am.
“Plus, a New Year’s terror attack? That’ll stick in their memories even more.”
-“…Sometimes it feels like you’re obsessed with making a name for yourself.”
To think you’d ask for this as a reward…
Astra’s voice grumbled.
But there’s no other way.
This is how I’ll increase my influence and draw the attention of high-ranking heroes, the main characters of the original story.
“Still, you’re not hiding your identity, right?”
-“Well, I can’t just not say anything…”
Once the original characters defeat the final boss, I’ll just wash my identity clean and disappear.
‘Thinking about it, by the time the original story ends, it might be too late. I’ve got plenty of money, so maybe I should buy a building and open a cafe or something.’
Deciding to think about it later, I hung up the phone and focused on the terror attack.
“Anyway… it’s about time to start the terror attack. Don’t you have work to do, Astra?”
-“Yes, but before that, there’s one last thing.”
*Ahem.*
Astra cleared her throat.
Then she continued in a serious tone.
-“It’s from the ‘Chief.'”
At the mention of the Chief, I perked up.
‘After our last call, I heard she’s been resting all this time.’
Having suffered severe injuries in the past, her health had deteriorated, and she had been focusing solely on recovery without any external activities.
It had been nearly ten years since she last appointed me as an executive.
-“She said to show her that you’re worth her expectations.”
“…Is that all?”
-“Yes.”
It was a bit blunt, but perhaps it was her way of cheering me on?
Since appointing me as an executive, she hadn’t given me any support, so maybe she felt guilty and decided to encourage me?
“Tell her I’ll exceed her expectations.”
…Or not? Whatever.
-“Alright. Good luck, Maker.”
“Good luck to you too, Astra.”
After the call ended, I looked at the organization members, who seemed ready.
“Well then, shall we greet our guests?”
And so, I began my second terror attack.
And then.
“Your evil ends here, Maker!!”
“Ah, you’ve arrived. As promised, I’ll release the civilians.”
“?”
As soon as the heroes arrived, I immediately released the civilians.
***
The heroes, glaring at me, slowly moved the civilians to safety.
They were the B-rank heroes from E District, where I had carried out the terror attack today.
“What’s your game?”
A man with fiery eyes questioned my intentions.
‘Oh, scary.’
I looked at him, took a sip of tea, and spoke.
“I simply kept my promise.”
“Promise… Right, you said you’d release the civilians if we came.”
“I kept my promise, nameless hero. Now it’s your turn to keep yours.”
“Ha.”
The man made a disbelieving expression.
As the last of the civilians were handed over to the heroes, I stood up from the desk.
“Well, now that the compensation is done, let’s enjoy the game…”
*Whoosh!!!*
Before I could finish, an attack came flying.
An uppercut, delivered with surprising speed for his size.
His stance was good, but the attack was too straightforward, so I leaned back to dodge it.
“What’s this about?”
“The civilians are free, so why should we play along with your games?”
“Hmm~ So that’s why.”
‘Well, I expected this.’
No one’s stupid enough to do everything a villain says.
Especially now that there are no hostages to worry about.
‘But I’ve already shown everything I wanted to show.’
“Alright, enough talk, just take this…!”
“Organization members.”
I cut off the hero’s shouting by raising a hand.
“Knock him out.”
“Wha—wait, ugh!!!”
At my command, the organization members instantly knocked out the B-rank hero.
It’s a good thing I told them to stay still during the last terror attack.
‘If they had messed up, my impact would’ve been ruined.’
As I thought this, I glanced at the unconscious B-rank hero.
I could feel the murmuring crowd below the building, signaling it was time to leave.
I turned and boarded the waiting helicopter.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
At my command to retreat, the organization members quickly gathered their things and boarded the helicopter.
*Whirr—*
The sound of the propeller spinning as the helicopter lifted into the air.
The commotion below grew louder as they realized we were leaving.
‘Get them! Catch them! This time, we’ll definitely…!’
*Click.*
*Boom!!!!*
I dropped the switch as I watched the building collapse.
‘That ended a bit too easily.’
It felt like it ended faster than the last terror attack.
I released all the civilians, didn’t kill any heroes.
Sure, I collapsed the building right before leaving, but there were zero casualties.
In the end, it might seem like I achieved nothing, but for me, it’s a win.
‘I showed off my character.’
There will probably be people analyzing this terror attack compared to the last one.
What kind of tendencies I have, what actions I dislike, and what I want.
A gentlemanly villain. A villain who causes no casualties if you follow his words.
‘Wait, last time he didn’t release the civilians and fought, so why did he release them this time?’
‘The only difference is that this time the heroes actually listened to the villain and stood in front.’
‘Does he really keep his word if you follow his demands?’
In the end, it’s about creating a situation where following the villain’s demands is the only option.
Or rather, making it seem like following him is the better choice.
If those who analyze this spread the information online?
Things are about to get interesting.