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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Vine
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One day, the world suddenly turned upside down, ushering in an era of mystery and the unknown.
Unidentified monsters appeared in the middle of cities, and people began to manifest supernatural abilities as various ‘concepts’ of the world took root within them.
Thus began a long period of chaos and darkness.
Fortunately, modern society, which had regained some order thanks to the heroes, created a space to isolate those who used mystery and the unknown for criminal purposes.
That is, the great prison ‘Karma’, where I am currently incarcerated.
To be honest, I never imagined I would be imprisoned here.
I was always the one sending prisoners to this place.
Well, I still thought I’d be out soon.
I didn’t know what misunderstanding there was, but I believed that once the investigation proceeded, my innocence would be clearly revealed.
“Defendant, Kang Haneul, is sentenced to death.”
However, I was mistaken.
“The sentence will be carried out within a month…”
“What?”
The sentence given to me was the death penalty, which hadn’t been handed down in nearly 10 years.
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“Prisoner number 10156, you have a visitor.”
It was the annoyed voice of a guard that woke me as I lay lifelessly in solitary confinement.
“…”
“Get ready, we’re leaving in one minute.”
I gave the guard an unfocused look, and he frowned in disgust, turning his head away.
Well, it’s understandable.
I’m now a son of a bitch who killed the Rank 1 hero.
‘How did things end up like this?’
Of course, at first, I vehemently protested my innocence.
How could there be no witnesses, even if the entire operation area was under control? Wouldn’t a rough account of the incident be revealed by investigating Justitia and the incapacitated monster? To begin with, I had neither the power nor the ability to kill her.
However, it was all in vain.
Because the evidence that emerged during the investigation, and the few witness testimonies, all pointed to me.
By the time I realized that the situation was going wrong, it was too late.
There wasn’t much I could do as a framed prisoner in the first place, but surprisingly, no one listened to me.
The media had already labeled me as Justitia’s murderer and were constantly churning out reports, and the investigators simply dismissed my claims of fabricated evidence as the ravings of a shameless villain.
It was as if the whole world was against me.
Who could have done this?
What kind of grudge did they have to torment me to this extent?
“Hello, senior?”
The answer to that question was found a little later in the visiting room I entered.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“…Tsk.”
With my hands and feet bound, I entered the visiting room to face a white-haired boy and, as always, my older sister escorting him.
“Lumia, if you think it’s dangerous, call us immediately, okay? There are others waiting behind me besides…”
“Don’t worry, Maru. I’m entering the Hero Academy this year, you know? I’m a proper hero now.”
The boy’s name, who was persistently refusing my sister’s escort, unlike usual, with a relaxed expression, was Lumia Obse.
The very ‘Child of Prophecy’ that the world is currently buzzing about.
“Then, see you in a bit?”
As I watched him listlessly, my sister, who was about to leave the room with a worried look, glanced at me after saying those words.
“Sister, I…”
“Shut up.”
“Ugh.”
I opened my mouth, clutching at straws, but as my sister muttered in a chilling voice, my whole body began to go numb.
“You’re the disgrace of my life.”
“…”
“So please, just die quietly.”
As I collapsed on the spot, my sister left me with those words.
How could they all say the same thing?
Hearing the words I’d heard from the other two from my sister as well, I felt all the strength drain from my body.
“Excuse me, are you alright?”
“…”
“Stay still. I’ll help you up.”
After lying on the floor for a long time, I pathetically got up with the boy’s help.
“So, how are you feeling?”
As I somehow managed to sit down, Lumia, who had a worried look on his face, tapped on his laptop, which he had placed on the desk, and asked me a question.
“How am I feeling? Are you mocking me…?”
As I was about to slowly open my mouth, suppressing the anger boiling inside me,
“How does it feel to have everything taken away from you?”
I froze, seeing him with a chilling smile on his face.
“What… what do you mean?”
Two days before my execution,
He finally began to reveal his true colors to me.
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“By the way, you’re not narrow-eyed yet.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s truly fascinating that even Senior Haneul had such innocent times…”
“Answer me!!!”
I couldn’t hold back my anger any longer and yelled at him as he kept avoiding my question and spouting nonsense.
“It’s obvious what I’m talking about.”
Then, Lumia opened his eyes wide and began his story.
“Your childhood friend who promised to marry you, even though it was when you were young,
Your ex-girlfriend, a chaebol heiress, who chased after you because she liked you,
And even your own sister.”
“You…”
“They all became mine.”
Hearing those words, I finally realized that the groundless suspicions I had harbored were true.
“Did you do this on purpose?”
“And now you’ve even lost Justitia… how heartbroken you must be.”
“Did you really orchestrate all of this?”
When I asked him with a bewildered expression, Lumia smiled faintly and nodded.
“Manipulating information was a bit more difficult than I thought. I wouldn’t have even dreamed of it if I hadn’t started preparing a few years ago.”
“…”
“Ah, rather than that, making you unsure was several times more difficult, though.”
Then, he suddenly started patting my shoulder.
“Congratulations. You weren’t paranoid or delusional. I really was the mastermind, and you simply saw through it.”
“Ha.”
“You worried a lot, didn’t you? About whether everything was just your delusion. How does it feel? Don’t you feel a little relieved now?”
That’s right.
As he said, the misfortunes that befell me were not coincidental.
The fact that my most precious people suddenly betrayed me and Justitia,
The fact that my and Justitia’s positions continued to decline,
Even the incident a few days ago.
It was all because of this bastard.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
Realizing that, the trembling that had been going on throughout my body began to subside.
“What did I do wrong?”
As my anger reached its peak, my head began to cool down.
“What do you want? What’s your purpose?”
The insane hatred for this being who had ruined my life, everything, for some unknown reason, made me calm.
And I didn’t miss that opportunity.
“As you said, because of that great acting, I was doubting myself.”
“Yes, it seemed that way.”
“But why did you, of all times, reveal everything to me now?”
This was truly my last chance.
A last chance to reverse the situation, to extract the whole truth from him.
“It’s an act with no benefit. It’s different from your usual style.”
“Um.”
“So tell me. What’s your purpose? Tell me right now…”
“Excuse me.”
But despite my firm resolve,
“It’s obvious.”
The words that came out of his mouth were enough to shake my mind once again.
“My purpose is you.”
“What?”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“What nonsense is that?”
As I looked at him with a dumbfounded expression and asked him a question, Lumia, who was looking at me with a smile, began to speak in a gentle voice.
“Say, senior. What do you think completes a hero?”
“Cut the crap and answer my question…”
“Senior, answer me.”
I was momentarily enraged by his vague words, but Lumia’s expression as he looked at me was extremely serious.
“…Justice? Self-sacrifice? The desire to help others?”
I wanted to curse at him and get up, but if the interview ended like this, I would be the one at a loss.
So, I gave him a perfunctory answer to play along, and Lumia slowly shook his head.
“No. That’s wrong, senior.”
“Then what is it?”
As I watched his disgusting behavior and asked him a question, Lumia tilted his head slightly to the side and opened his mouth.
“What completes a hero is a villain.”
And then, silence.
“Isn’t that right, senior? Famous heroes all have their own villains.”
Wondering what he was trying to say, I remained silent, and Lumia, with narrowed eyes, began to elaborate.
“For example, the Bat has a Clown. Spider-Man’s life is constantly threatened by the Goblin and Venom, and the Detective has a Professor. Don’t you agree, senior?”
“…”
I understood what he was trying to say, but I also had questions.
The Bat and the Clown? Spider-Man? The Detective?
Who was he using as examples?
As far as I knew, there were no such heroes.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I still have some bad habits left over from the old days.”
As I stared blankly at him, trying to recall, Lumia raised his hand in apology.
“Well, I’m sure you get the gist.”
“So, what does that have to do with your purpose?”
As I looked at him, my patience was wearing thin, so I slightly raised my voice and asked him a question. Just then,
– *Rustle…*
“Please, senior.”
Lumia reached out and grabbed my hand, whispering with a creepy smile on his face.
“Become my villain.”
“…What?”
At first, I thought I misheard him.
“Become my archenemy.”
However, I soon realized he was serious.
“Hate me. Aim for my life. Oppose me.”
“What…”
“Fight me to the brink of death. Become my identity, the one who always cruelly breaks me.”
On his face, which I only ever remembered having an innocent expression,
In his naive eyes, which almost fooled even me,
Something beyond madness had taken root.
“Just like the original.”
I couldn’t hear what he mumbled last because it was too quiet, but I didn’t have time to care.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Because even if I had heard it, I wouldn’t have understood anyway.
“To put it simply… I like you to death, senior.”
“…”
“Ever since I first saw… met you.”
After hearing his further explanation, I could be certain of that thought.
‘He was just a crazy gay bastard.’
The self-proclaimed Child of Prophecy’s true identity was a crazy gay bastard. Then, there’s only one thing I have to do.
“Then the reason you took away my comrades…”
“That’s obvious, isn’t it? It was a consideration so that you could focus on me, not those sluts.”
Stalling by making small talk.
At the same time, I started to concentrate with all my might.
“Then, Justitia?”
“She was someone who was supposed to die that day anyway. Of course, you wouldn’t understand yet…”
I only have one chance.
But I was confident.
Because it was a talent that Justitia herself believed in.
“Anyway, what I’m trying to say is…”
“What a shame.”
“Hmm?”
After a brief pause, I said so in a triumphant voice, and Lumia tilted his head in question.
“What’s a shame, senior?”
“Even after going this far, it seems you couldn’t take everything from me.”
Then, after hearing my words, he quietly frowned.
“That can’t be…?”
“I mean it. There’s still someone you haven’t taken away from me.”
He must have felt it too.
That my words weren’t just a bluff.
That’s right.
Though our connection was short-lived, the one I never forgot.
The one from my childhood who was a turning point in my life, as much as Justitia.
The mentor who first instilled in me the dream of becoming a hero. The driving force that allowed me to continue as a hero even when I wanted to give up.
Even though I no longer knew what she was doing, or even if she was still alive.
“There’s no way someone like that would exist for senior…”
“Too bad, Lumia.”
Ironically, the last line of defense in my mind that Lumia couldn’t know or take away.
“You couldn’t take her away from me.”
Of course, even mentioning a past connection whose life or death I didn’t know wouldn’t grant me victory.
I’d already lost most of my life to this bastard, and in two days, I would be executed for Justitia’s murder.
All I could gain now was a small moral victory and a momentary wavering of the despicable bastard in front of me.
He’d probably recover and corner me again within seconds.
– *Rustle…*
But it didn’t matter.
“Now, focus your eyes on the monitor.”
Because all I needed was that momentary wavering.
“Huh? Ah…”
Lumia’s gaze, which unconsciously shifted to his laptop at my words, slowly glazed over.
“Stare at the rotating circle… That’s right… Now slowly, very slowly… close your eyes.”
Then, Lumia slowly closed his eyes, following my commands.
“Yes, just like that… deeply… very deeply… sink into it.”
I had realized from the beginning that the cautious Lumia had brought his laptop with him.
I wasn’t sure what he was recording, but I confirmed the strange mask symbol he always attached as an accessory to the back of his laptop, so I was certain.
However, that was his downfall.
Because I, who had always been wary and suspicious of him, had secretly installed a voice-activated program on his laptop a few months ago.
By the way, I wonder if the information that the ‘Child of Prophecy’ wasn’t good with electronics was true, even though he should have noticed something was off.
“Hey, Lumia.”
“…”
Well, even if he were someone who could handle electronics normally,
It would have been difficult to detect a simple program that only created a spinning vortex in response to a voice command.
“Hey, gay bastard.”
“…”
The answer to how I managed to disable Lumia with such a simple program is very simple.
In the supernatural era where various ‘concepts’ of the world reside within people,
I, too, had a ‘concept’ dwelling within me.
“…Success.”
The concept residing within me was ‘Hypnosis’.
The ‘Concept of Hypnosis’.
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“First, write a confession of everything that happened so far on the paper next to you.”
“…Yes.”
“And as soon as you go out, submit the paper and turn yourself in.”
“…Understood.”
After that, things seemed to proceed smoothly.
It was only natural.
Those who were once caught by my ability never broke free from the hypnosis on their own.
Even if it was Lumia, who was called the next Rank 1, there would be no way for him to resist me, who had been hiding my inherent concept.
“…”
“Lumia?”
It should have been that way.
“W-what are you doing? Confess quickly.”
Lumia, who reached for the paper with the pen, stopped moving for some reason.
– *Tremble…*
At the same time, his hand began to tremble uncontrollably.
“Is he… resisting…? But how…”
Blankly staring at his arm, now with visible veins, I gritted my teeth and strained my neck.
“Write your true identity on this paper.”
I didn’t know how, but Lumia was definitely resisting my ability.
Then, it’s time for a change of plans.
Even if I couldn’t get a confession,
I had to at least produce evidence that could convince everyone.
“Right now!! Write it on this paper!!!”
Even if it meant revealing my hidden ability to everyone.
Even if it meant being treated as a potential villain.
“Reveal your identity!!!”
Filled with those thoughts, I gave him the strongest command I could muster, with all my might.
“Quickly…”
I stopped shaking him and stared blankly at the paper.
“…”
On the paper was a drawing of a mask, the same as the one on Lumia’s laptop, sticking its tongue out.
“The protagonist always succeeds in resisting mental abilities.”
As I looked away from the emoticon,
A chilling voice reached my ears.
“It’s a cliché, isn’t it?”
Whispering so, and then pressing the emergency call button with a relaxed expression, as if he’d calculated all of this, was Lumia. But,
“By the way, you still don’t seem to grasp how to use your ability properly. Well, you’ll get better…”
At that time, my gaze was directed not at him, but at the empty air.
[Skill: Insight (LV1) has been used.]
More precisely, at this translucent window that had just appeared in my vision.
“What is this?”
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– *Bang…!!!*
“Lumia!!”
It was at that moment that the closed door of the visiting room burst open and my sister rushed in.
– *Crack!!*
“Ugh.”
Before I could react, my sister grabbed the back of my head and slammed it into the desk, and in less than a second, I was rolling on the floor, covered in blood.
“Lumia!!”
“Are you alright!?”
At the same time, a group of comrades rushed into the room, along with guards with grim expressions.
“This bastard…”
“Get Lumia out of here…!”
Lumia, who had returned to his usual innocent expression, was clinging to my sister with a frightened look.
Nevertheless, my attention was focused on only one thing.
<Insight (LV1)>
◆ Name: Lumia Obse
◆ Sex: Female (17)
◆ Special Notes
– [Crossdresser]
– [Misogynist]
– [B ] (Insufficient Level)
“What is this…?”
What Justitia entrusted to me with her last strength,
Was an ability far beyond my expectations.
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Meanwhile, at that time.
“Then, shall we begin?”
In a room filled with darkness, a girl rose from her seat with gleaming eyes.
“It’s time to bring that child out.”
“…”
At her words, the eyes of those sitting there also gleamed silently.
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