Chapter 68

A room filled with a distinctly antique atmosphere.

A middle-aged man with graying hair and a woman with light blue hair were facing each other.

“[Are you leaving now, Ice Queen?]”

“Yes, that’s right. Victor-nim.”

Ice Queen looked at Victor and bowed her head deeply.

“Although it was a short period of about half a year, I learned a lot as a hero.”

“[…No need to bow your head like that. It’s not like I taught you anything grand.]”

During the hero exchange period, we simply worked together.

There was nothing particularly special that I taught her.

“Even if the words you spoke were casual, they were of great help to me.”

“[If you gained any insight by my side, that’s all thanks to yourself. This old man just meddled a bit.]”

“Old man? Please.”

Victor tried to brush it off with a joke, but Ice Queen couldn’t accept it.

Victor.

A hero from Russia.

“Currently, there is no one in the world who would evaluate and treat Victor-nim the way you do.”

The undisputed number one hero.

“How could you speak of the hero who is regarded as the best in such a way?”

“[Number one hero, huh…]”

Ice Queen’s clear eyes made Victor gaze blankly into the air, as if lost in thought.

“[…Anyway, I’m not such a great hero. I just meddled a bit, that’s all.]”

“Even so, it’s true that I gained a lot of learning during this hero exchange.”

Even though she’s an A-rank hero, it hasn’t been long since she shed her rookie label.

She grew rapidly, but only in terms of combat strength. In terms of experience, she still lacks compared to other higher-ranked heroes.

The advice Victor gave to Ice Queen helped her appear as a proper hero in a short time.

“So before leaving, shouldn’t you say goodbye to the person who taught you?”

“[Stubborn…]”

Ice Queen bowed her head once again.

At her stubborn attitude, Victor let out a chuckle.

“[Even though it was a short time, it was good to work with a fine hero like you.]”

After a brief farewell, Ice Queen turned and headed for the door.

“And…”

Before stepping out, Ice Queen turned her head to look at Victor.

“Thank you for stopping me back then.”

She was referring to the time when she was enraged by a villain’s absurd ideology and almost killed someone.

‘If I had made a mistake, it could have been a disaster.’

It wasn’t a mistake during battle; she had completely subdued the villain, so it would have clearly been intentional murder.

She might have faced some disadvantage.

‘And I almost crossed the final line as a human.’

I’m still not sure if subduing villains is the right thing to do.

But whether killing them is necessary is something I need to think about more.

“How can I repay this debt…”

“[Debt? It’s just a fellow hero stopping another hero.]”

She almost made a hasty decision on something that requires deep thought and consideration.

Since Victor stopped her from making that decision, Ice Queen couldn’t help but feel grateful to him.

“Still, if there’s anything you wish for, please let me know.”

“[Huh, do you think I want your pocket money or something?]”

“It doesn’t have to be that… By the way, pocket money? Really…”

Victor snorted and waved his hand.

“[I’m stronger, richer, and my connections are beyond compare.]”

“Ugh…”

Ice Queen bit her lip as Victor chuckled.

She couldn’t argue because it was all true.

“[What can a young one give to an old man like me?]”

“…Still, if there’s anything you need help with, please contact me anytime.”

Though it’s likely that her help wouldn’t make much of a difference.

Ice Queen is one of the thousands of A-rank heroes worldwide,

and Victor is regarded as the greatest hero among all heroes.

In terms of wealth, strength, and influence, Ice Queen falls short of Victor in every way.

“……”

Still, if there’s one thing Victor wishes from her.

“[…Next time.]”

“Huh?”

“[Next time, if you see someone who seems to need help, just meddle a bit like I did.]”

Just revealing an old, stubborn ego.

Victor smiled as he looked at Ice Queen.

“[That’s all I wish for.]”

***

In the room after Ice Queen left.

Victor stared at the door she had just exited.

“[The greatest…]”

He muttered her words and took a sip of whiskey.

“[Such words don’t suit a cowardly old man who merely survived.]”

As if reminiscing about the past, he gazed blankly into the air before letting out a chuckle.

***

“Welcome to today’s game, everyone!”

“Sa-save me!! Please save me!!”

“Waaah…! I’m sorry! Waaah!!!”

“F*ck! What did I do wrong? Huh?!”

People screaming in response to my greeting.

“It seems we have many enthusiastic participants in today’s game.”

I’m carrying out another act of terror today.

“Polia-nim?”

“Yes.”

At my words, Polia turned the camera with her psychokinesis.

Looking at the camera now facing me, I smirked.

“Do you see the prisoners locked in the large iron cage behind me?”

“Why are we prisoners?!!”

“Good question.”

In response to the loud voice from the cage, I theatrically pointed at it.

“Everyone here doesn’t know what crime they committed to end up here. That itself is a crime.”

“What the hell does that mean?!!”

Like a scripted dialogue, the conversation piled up predictably.

It feels almost routine.

“Looking at the materials displayed here, you’ll understand, right?”

“Th-those are!”

“No one here would say they don’t know after seeing these. These are all things you wrote yourselves.”

I turned my back to the camera and looked at the hostages.

“Maker Gallery… was it? Did you really think a villain would just stand by while you used villains as shields?”

As I smirked, the hostages turned pale.

“B-but even so, how did you get our personal information?!”

“That’s right! You said our personal information would be safe…!!”

Did they really believe the admin’s words so blindly?

Their absurd attitude made me laugh involuntarily.

‘Well, they must have low intelligence and only know how to shift blame, which is why they only leave hate comments.’

“That admin personally handed the data to me. ‘Please eliminate those who have turned the gallery into a place to vent their stress, contrary to its original purpose, and who think they won’t get caught.’… he said.”

“This isn’t what we agreed to!”

“I was tricked! If I knew this would happen, I wouldn’t have written those things!!”

“F*cking Juddak, you bastard! You sold us out, didn’t you?!”

They wrote those things of their own will, so why are they blaming Juddak…

I’m having some stray thoughts today, but I continued with my script.

“Anyway, that’s enough introduction of the prisoners.”

“Ahhh!!”

“Next, I’ll explain the consequences of losing the game.”

“Losing means…”

“Of course, the price the player heroes will pay if they lose.”

*Snap!*

I flicked my finger.

A steel plate rose above the cage.

The peculiar thing was that the part overlapping with the cage had numerous sharp spikes attached.

“If you lose the game, attack me, or try to secretly rescue the hostages, then immediately…”

*Thud!*

“Understand? Well, the heroes have been through this before, so I doubt they’ll make such a foolish choice.”

My theatrical smile left the people speechless, mouths agape.

As always, I finished all my lines.

“Now, it’s time to explain the game…”

And by the time I finish the explanation…

“That’s enough, Maker!”

“Ah, you’re here. Phantom Luna-nim.”

Phantom Luna makes her entrance.

It’s become a routine close to daily life.

“What exactly is your problem that you keep doing these terror acts?”

“I don’t have any particular complaints. For me, this is just work.”

“For something like that, you’re putting in too much effort!”

“There’s extra pay.”

I carry out terror acts, and she comes to stop them.

It’s become a routine over the past few months.

“By the name of Phantom Luna! I will definitely catch you today!”

“Your spirit is as strong as ever today.”

“On top of that, I’ll take down Eclipse and make you unemployed!”

She seems to treat this as routine too, as even she, who used to be so serious, now jokes with me.

‘At this rate, we’ll end up talking casually.’

Suddenly, it felt absurd.

Is this really the relationship between a villain and a hero?

“Anyway… hurry up, Phantom Luna-nim. You need to save the citizens, right?”

At those words, Phantom Luna started approaching me.

“The game is simple. The hero here will face the three villains I’ve prepared.”

What followed was straightforward.

Phantom Luna had no choice but to participate in the game due to my threats and the hostages.

“Haah!”

“Ugh!”

“Blow them away! Silpi!”

She fought the villains I brought (kidnapped) through dialogue (threats).

Phantom Luna was putting up a decent fight.

“Hmm.”

But it’s a bit disappointing.

‘She’s growing, but slowly…’

She’s definitely getting stronger, but her growth is slower than expected.

“Kyaah!”

As expected, Phantom Luna was gradually being pushed back.

“Oh dear, in this situation, the citizens will never be saved.”

“Shut up…! Maker!!”

What’s the problem…

Is it some kind of burnout?

Or is it a lack of dopamine?

Anyway, perhaps because I’m tired of this routine, my mind isn’t working properly.

‘…I must have relied too much on terror lately.’

I could reach one conclusion.

There’s a lack of tension.

Not just for the heroes, but for me as well.

‘Now that these terror acts have become routine, there’s no sense of crisis.’

How can there be any excitement or growth in something that happens routinely!

The realization I came to myself made the boredom vanish.

‘I need something unfamiliar.’

Something new, or fresh.

If not, I need to create a sense of crisis again.

There’s a big plan in the works, but we’re short on players to move the story forward.

What to do?

“Me-Maker-nim!”

While I was pondering, a voice called out to me.

It was one of the villains I kidnapped from the streets for this terror act.

“I-I won!”

“Ah, so it seems.”

The villain looked at me with a thrilled expression.

“C-can I go back now? I-I did everything you asked…”

Phantom Luna was lying on the ground, defeated.

Through her butterfly-shaped mask, her eyes were fixed on me.

“……”

I think I understand one of the reasons why the tension is gone.

“You’ve lost the game, Phantom Luna-nim.”

I smirked and continued.

“Polia-nim. Release the psychokinesis now. Since you’ve lost, you must pay the price.”

“..!!”

Has the tension faded?

Then I need to create tension again.

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