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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Vine
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“*Gasp*… *gasp*… *sob*…!”
“This option is quite powerful.”
Instilling trauma in the vice principal proceeded smoothly.
Because the custom hypnosis app Pandora made in exchange for five energy drinks was overflowing with useful functions.
“S-stop… stop it! Save me! Somebody help me!!”
For example, this option that temporarily distorts the amygdala and makes the subject perceive everything as fear.
Seeing the vice principal, his eyes bulging like a toad’s, writhing on the floor, it was working remarkably well.
“It’s good, but the problem is that it’s indiscriminate.”
“Ugh… *groan*…”
After roughly testing its performance, I pressed the reset button, and the vice principal started staggering, drooling.
“*Cough*!?”
The sight was quite disgusting, so I kicked him hard, sending him crashing into the railing.
‘He rolls well.’
His round, ball-like body was fun to roll around. Should I try rolling him in the opposite direction this time?
“Cough… w-wait! Wait a minute!”
As I approached him with that thought, he suddenly yelled, his body trembling.
“Y-you rookie hero… this is excessive force!”
“Huh?”
“H-harming someone who has already surrendered is illegal! You should have learned that in training!”
Of course, I knew that rule very well.
That’s why I became a black ops agent.
But did this guy just call me a hero?
“Do I look like a hero to you?”
“I initially thought you were a villain since I had no information on you. But didn’t you just say you wouldn’t kill me?”
It seemed he was seriously mistaken about something.
Did he just interpret my words about not killing him however he wanted in his own head?
He was quite self-centered.
“Non-lethal force is the identity of a hero. Isn’t that right? *Chuckle, chuckle*…”
“That’s right. You’re absolutely correct.”
However, the more self-centered a person is, the more foolish they tend to be.
“*Gasp*!”
“Those are some wise words coming from someone about to get beaten up.”
Even if Resurrection wasn’t in a normal state to report about me, he should have noticed by now.
Why was he chuckling with that creepy look in his eyes?
“Are you a monster too?”
“W-what…?”
“There’s a small tentacle wriggling on your temple.”
I looked down at him with a pitying expression and asked about what had been bothering me, and the vice principal blinked for a moment before muttering.
“That’s impossible… I’m just an agent…”
“Hmm.”
Judging by its location on his temple, a vital point where even the slightest movement could be fatal, it seemed to be there to silence him.
Considering the situation earlier, extracting information from him was out of the question.
“Wait, but… how can you see that?”
As I clicked my tongue in disappointment, the vice principal’s eyes widened.
“You… are you a villain?”
“You’re just noticing now? Impressive.”
There was no more time to waste.
So, I whispered sarcastically and started tapping on my smartphone again.
“*Gasp*!? *Cough*…”
“But it’s too late.”
As it happened, I had the perfect common sense alteration for him.
“*Gasp, gasp*… *wheeze*…”
As I activated the options I had chosen beforehand simultaneously, the vice principal clutched his throat, his face turning pale.
“W-what… *gasp*… did you… do…?”
“You are now experiencing hyperventilation.”
“…What?”
Time to kindly explain things to my hypnosis therapy subject.
“When a person breathes excessively, the concentration of carbon dioxide in their body decreases. This leads to symptoms such as difficulty breathing, dizziness, paralysis, and intermittent fainting.”
“W-what…”
“From now on, you will permanently experience these symptoms until the moment you die.”
Fear filled the vice principal’s eyes.
“Medication won’t help. It’s an alteration of common sense.”
“You…”
“Well, making a hole in your throat might make it a little better. That’s why I prepared other symptoms as well.”
It would be troublesome if he got this scared.
“From now on, at random times, you will feel the same fear you felt earlier.”
“…!”
“You will perceive everything around you as fear. You might even wake up suddenly in the middle of the night.”
As I said so and smiled, the vice principal’s expression went blank.
“Ah, don’t even dream of suicide. I’ve adjusted your subconscious to give up on it.”
“…”
“As taught in the hero training course, human life is precious. Right?”
As I asked, the vice principal, his face turning blue, spoke in a trembling voice.
“Why… why are you doing this…?”
“Hmm.”
“This… isn’t something even a demon would do…”
What?
Was he lecturing me?
Judging by his serious expression and stern tone, it seemed so.
This was truly ridiculous.
It seemed he didn’t even remember what he had done.
Then, I had no choice but to remind him.
“I’m… a person… not your plaything… *Gasp*!!!”
So, I kicked the vice principal in the groin with all my might, and he stopped talking, foaming at the mouth.
“I don’t know if you’re pretending not to know or if you really don’t, but
“What…?”
…those are all symptoms of panic disorder.”
The heinous acts he committed under the guise of admissions.
The sad mental illness suffered by the female students who were hospitalized because of it.
“S-somebody… help…”
“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”
Hoping that his illness would get at least a little better, I kicked his groin again, rupturing it.
“This is my identity.”
“*Gasp*…!”
The first hypnosis therapy ended successfully.
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“Freeze!”
“Don’t move!”
With my revenge complete, I was about to leave to join the executives when I heard sharp voices from the entrance.
“Oh ho.”
It was the students.
Judging by their combat stances, they seemed to recognize me as a villain.
‘There aren’t many familiar faces.’
The problem children of Class 1, Year 2, whom I was in charge of until a few months ago, and the kids from Class 1, Year 1, whom I’d just met, weren’t there.
They must have been hastily gathered.
Therefore, they weren’t much of a threat, but there was one exception.
“Surrender.”
A face I didn’t particularly want to see here.
“Then I will show you mercy.”
Minamoto Himari.
The heiress of Japan’s top corporation, which monopolized mystery and the unknown, and the current student council president of the International Hero Academy.
And my ex-girlfriend, who confessed to me, asking me to be her everything.
She was walking towards me, her neatly styled black hair fluttering.
“Why should I surrender to you?”
I asked, suppressing my boiling emotions as much as possible, and Himari replied.
“You caused a disturbance in the middle of the academy. I can’t just let you go.”
Saying so, she threw the smartphone she was holding at me.
“…Huh?”
I reflexively caught it, momentarily panicking, thinking she was also using the hypnosis app, but
…what I saw on the screen wasn’t the hypnosis app, but a live broadcast streaming in real time.
“Why am I…?”
It didn’t take long for me to realize that the subject of the live broadcast was me.
Because I was the one on the screen.
– *Bzzt…*
As I blankly stared at the broadcast of myself,
“Neutralized.”
…she appeared right in front of me, giving orders to the students behind her in a monotone voice.
“Your ability has been sealed. Cease your useless resistance.”
Her words were true.
The moment she approached me, the hypnosis app in my hand malfunctioned and stopped working.
The reason was, of course, her ability. More precisely, it was thanks to the concept residing within her, the concept of Domain.
‘This talent is ridiculously overpowered.’
A rather threatening ability that sealed any ‘supernatural ability’ within a certain range.
Of course, it was an ability that could be countered by simply not getting close.
However, there were tons of villains neutralized by failing to do that simple thing.
“Excuse me.”
As I silently prepared for battle, Himari, who had been staring at me, suddenly frowned and spoke.
“Would you mind taking off your mask?”
“…Why?”
Did she recognize me?
I briefly thought so, but I was wrong.
“It’s difficult to read your emotions with just your eyes.”
Saying so, Himari tilted her head, as if trying to see my face better.
‘She hasn’t changed.’
Despite being blessed with innate talent and social standing, she lacked one thing.
Emotions.
She severely lacked the ability to feel and empathize with emotions.
The fact that our first meeting was a secret mental therapy session requested by the chairman of her corporation said it all.
‘Brings back memories.’
Yes, that mental therapy session.
That’s where our relationship began.
“If you’re going to be uncooperative, we have no choice.”
“…”
“Neutralize the target using the provided batons and taser guns.”
How did things end up like this?
Memories of my time with Himari started flooding back.
One day, during the endless therapy sessions,
…she looked at me intently, her chin resting on her hand, and unconsciously smiled.
Then, she was startled and widened her eyes like a rabbit.
With her usual expressionless face,
…but in a trembling voice, she asked me to take responsibility for her emotions, since I had taught her what they were.
As we walked together, if I showed even the slightest sign of fatigue, she would analyze my expression, her eyes darting around.
When I quietly held her hand, she would look at me for a moment, then intertwine her fingers with mine.
All those memories were so vivid.
“Since we don’t know his danger level, please proceed with extreme caution.”
I, who had been lost in the past with my eyes closed, heard Himari’s cold voice and smiled wryly, raising my hand.
[Skill: Defense (LV1) used.]
“H-huh?”
“What?”
As I deployed the barrier in front of the approaching students, they froze, trapped, and looked around in confusion.
‘I knew it.’
Judging by that, my assumption was correct.
This ability Justitia possessed was
…beyond the level of a ‘supernatural ability,’ something else entirely.
But then, what exactly was this ability?
Why did Justitia have such an ability, and why did she pass it on to me?
“…Did you just use your ability within my Domain?”
As I was lost in thought, Himari’s voice came from the front.
“How is that possible?”
Although she didn’t show it outwardly, having known her for so long, I could tell.
That a hint of confusion was mixed in her voice.
“Every ability has a weakness.”
“Did you figure out the weakness of my ability?”
“Well, who knows?”
I smiled quietly at her unchanging demeanor and then slowly started walking forward.
“By the way, aren’t you being too careless?”
“…”
“The end of a hero who relies too much on their ability is often anticlimactic.”
Then, she suddenly widened her eyes as if frightened and slowly started backing away.
To an outsider, it would look like she was stepping back in fear.
But that was precisely what made her so terrifying.
Having learned from me what ‘emotions’ were, she was adept at exploiting them.
The moment I attacked, thinking she was defenseless, my neck or arm would probably be gone.
“Well, whatever. Take this.”
Knowing that very well, I rummaged through my pocket and took out the documents detailing the vice principal’s corruption and threw them at her.
“This is…?”
She took the documents, still pretending to be frightened.
“Information about the vice principal’s corruption.”
“…”
“That should be enough to put him in Karma.”
With that, I tried to leave.
It was already too much for me to deal with her, and my body was in a terrible state from using my abilities consecutively.
– I’m about to retreat, are you ready?
Dice’s message came through my earpiece, as Pandora seemed to have just restored the communication that had been down for a while.
“…Aren’t you going to kill me?”
However, I was too reluctant to leave just like that.
“I won’t kill you. I just wanted to give you this.”
“…”
I wanted to get back at her, the one who coldly abandoned me when I needed her the most.
“Take this.”
“What is it?”
So, I looked at the business card she handed me, pretending to be oblivious to her plan.
“…I’m grateful that you saved the children.”
“…”
“If you have time, let’s talk sometime.”
Scratching my head, I reached for the business card she offered.
“In prison, slowly.”
At that moment, Himari, as I expected, drew a blade from under her sleeve and swung it at me with a cold glint in her eyes, emitting a chilling murderous aura.
[Skill: Paralysis (LV1) used.]
“…!?”
However, it was futile.
“That’s… too clumsy.”
Although ‘Paralysis’ only lasted for about a second, it was enough.
“Faking emotions.”
“…!”
Whispering so, I quietly pulled my arm back
– *Slap…!*
…and slapped her across the face with all my might.
“…Ah?”
Then, she clutched her reddened, swollen cheek, her expression dumbfounded by the pain she’d never experienced before.
It seemed she didn’t know what expression to make in this situation.
“You’re truly pathetic.”
To think that after going to someone who taught her about true emotions, her emotions had actually regressed.
It was simply laughable.
“…Nice revenge.”
So, as I was smiling with relief, a voice reached my ears.
“Sorry for kidnapping you without asking.”
I was being carried away from the academy like a princess in Dice’s arms.
“I’ll have to explain everything that happened today.”
Chuckling, I looked towards the rooftop where Himari was.
“Clumsy…? Me?”
The black and white joker card, which had been fluttering in the distance, landed on Himari’s head as she blankly stared at us and muttered something.
“…Don’t talk nonsense.”
That was my last memory of that day.
“What do you know about me?”
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Meanwhile, at that time.
‘…That eye.’
Great Order, rescued by other heroes and being transported wrapped in a blanket, was
‘It was only for a fleeting moment, but I definitely saw it.’
…lost in thought, her expression blank.
‘…Was that really you, Kang Haneul?’
A moment later, she started grinding her teeth quietly.
‘Then why… why would you save me there, even in that state?’
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