The Crazy Villain Regains His Sanity - Chapter 11

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 11

O Jong-yeop lay sprawled on the ground, both eyes swollen purple with bruises.
He’d tried to chase off the pretty-faced stranger standing in front of his house, but the result was a thorough beating.
This man was an absolute force he couldn’t contend with. He’d felt confident after reaching Level 2 not long ago, but he was still vastly outmatched.
Watching the stranger brush off his hands with the casual ease of someone who’d done nothing more strenuous than a light morning workout, O Jong-yeop grimaced.

“Whatever you want, you won’t achieve it.”
“And what makes you think you know what I want?”
“Whatever you say—”
“Never mind. Listen to what I have to say first. You’re in no position to talk.”
Ugh!

O Jong-yeop clenched his teeth, feeling his insides shaken by the force carried in that soft, whispered voice.
This was an opponent he absolutely could not face.
What could this man’s purpose be? Already wracked with helplessness over his brother’s rare illness—there was nothing he could do—and now, unable even to stop this uninvited guest from doing as he pleased, O Jong-yeop felt despair creeping in.

“Don’t make that face. I came to help you.”
“Help me? With what?”
“You’re struggling with your brother’s hospital bills, aren’t you?”
…!

How could this man possibly know that?
The stranger spoke slowly while studying O Jong-yeop’s widened eyes.

“I owe a debt to your father. I’ve come to repay it.”

Rage boiled up inside O Jong-yeop, and he cried out.

“Don’t spout nonsense!”
“Nonsense? What are you talking about?”
“My father abandoned our family and ran away the moment my brother was born!”

So this man did have another agenda. What could it be? Was he from a human trafficking ring? Or some creditor come to collect from the worthless trash who’d abandoned his family?
O Jong-yeop’s stare grew so intense that blood vessels burst in his eyes, turning his vision crimson. But he didn’t lower his glare.
By contrast, the stranger remained composed.

“Ah, is that so? Then let’s say I owe a debt to your mother instead.”
“You bastard!”
“In any case, just know that I came to help you. Stop struggling. So, how much are the hospital bills?”
….

O Jong-yeop didn’t answer. The stranger then took a step toward the house.

“Should I take your brother to the hospital?”
“Wait!”
“How much are the hospital bills?”
“Why are you doing this? Did you come to mock me for being dirt poor with nothing to my name?”

O Jong-yeop screamed, his voice raw. He’d done everything in his power to survive so he could treat his brother. Yet the world had rejected them both. Sometimes he wondered if this filthy world deserved nothing but destruction.

“Sometimes, as you live, luck comes your way. Today, you’ve been given a chance to treat the brother you’ve suffered so long to protect.”
….
“How much?”
“Two billion five hundred million won….”

It was a sum enough to destroy a family. Money that he, a Level 2 Awakener, could never possibly earn.
As he squeezed out the answer, the man’s expression brightened with satisfaction.

“That’s quite a lot. Hold on a second. How much money do I have on me right now?”

The man pulled out his smartphone and fiddled with it for a moment before he paused, scratching his head.

“I’m short about two billion, four hundred and ninety-eight million won.”
……
“Just wait a bit. It’ll come soon.”

With those words, the man left. O Jong-yeop, who had been sprawled on the ground watching the whole time, clenched his teeth at the realization he’d been toyed with and forced his battered body to its feet.
What had he done wrong to deserve such mockery? He wanted desperately to kill his father, the man who had abandoned him and his brother and vanished. He ached for his mother, who had struggled through life and passed away.
Three hours later.
O Jong-yeop, barely managing to calm himself while caring for his brother, reflexively opened the door at the heavy sound he heard outside the house.
The man who had toyed with him during the day was standing before the massive corpse of a monster.

“This should fetch about three billion, right? Grab a knife. I’ll dismantle it.”
……

What the man had brought was a Named Monster corresponding to Danger Level 6—a Saber Tiger.

* * *

……

O Jong-yeop stared blankly as the Saber Tiger was disassembled and its materials stacked neatly.
He still couldn’t believe what was happening.
This man had mocked him and his brother when they were in a hopeless situation and then left. He’d been certain it was mockery, not an act of kindness. Yet the man had returned and hunted down a Named Monster of Danger Level 6 as if he’d simply taken a stroll.
The Danger Level system required Awakeners of the corresponding level to hunt such creatures—a Saber Tiger could only be hunted by an Awakener of Level 6 or above, or by a team of multiple Level 4 to 5 Awakeners.
Yet he had brought it down as casually as a walk in the park. Even watching it with his own eyes felt unreal.
One thing was certain: the fortune he had spoken of had come to him.
O Jong-yeop watched as the man pulled out his heart, licked the Saber Tiger’s blood smeared on his palm, and smiled, then asked him a question.

“What exactly is your purpose?”
“I told you. I owed a debt to your uncle. I came to repay it.”
“But a moment ago you said my mother—”
“Oh, did I? Then let’s say your uncle.”
……

Normal conversation was impossible with this man.

“Even without the Mana Stones, the proceeds should be enough for treatment. Do you think there’ll be a shortage?”
“Rather, it’s more than enough.”
“Then make sure you eat well with the extra money. Nutritional supplementation is even more important than receiving treatment.”

The man extended his hand.

“What?”
“Give me your phone. I’ll help you get admitted to Sungsung Hospital.”
“Sungsung Hospital……”
“I know someone there. They’ll listen if I ask. Will you let me help?”

Just then, O Jong-yeop heard him murmur: “I tried to kill him, but I didn’t actually do it.”
Was he really asking a favor from the person he’d tried to kill?
In the meantime, the man finished entering a number and handed over the smartphone.

“Dispose of the byproducts quietly. You can handle that much on your own, right?”
“Of course—that is, of course. Thank you so much, truly.”
“Think of it as having accumulated good karma in your past life.”

Whatever anyone might say, having the real thing in hand gave me peace of mind.

“Oh, and there’s one more thing I wanted to ask.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“Big Ten—you know about that organization?”
…….

At those words, O Jong-yeop’s face drained of color.
Big Ten was a villain organization operating in the shadows of Ansan, the same group that had approached him when he was searching for work to pay for his brother’s hospital bills.
Had it not been for the favor I’d shown today, he likely would have seriously considered their offer.

“…I have nothing to do with Big Ten.”
“I know they reached out. Just tell me the location.”
“Yes.”

Pierced by that penetrating gaze, O Jong-yeop revealed everything he knew.

“I should pay them a visit.”

O Jong-yeop, feeling as though possessed by a ghost, asked a question.

“What exactly are you?”
“9th Grade Civil Servant Hunter.”

With that, he vanished from sight.

…….

O Jong-yeop, who had been staring blankly, finally came to his senses.
Whatever his true face might have been full of lies, the favor he’d shown me was real.
Why on earth had he shown me such kindness?
His mind was a tangled mess, but one thing was certain.
O Jong-yeop looked at his sleeping brother, O Jong-su. His brother’s face, always twisted with suffering, seemed at peace for once.

“I’ll find him. And I’ll repay the debt my own way.”

* * *

To be honest, meeting O Jong-yeop felt more hollow than I’d expected.
He’d been a friend who’d stood by me until the very end, but the moment I saw him today, I understood.
The O Jong-yeop standing before me was not Slash O Jong-yeop as I’d known him.
There was no bond of camaraderie forged while fleeing from hunters between him and me. To him, I was simply a stranger he’d met for the first time today.
For me, arranging the funds for O Jong-yeop’s brother’s treatment had been a favor born of karma from a previous life, but for him, it was purely unexpected fortune from someone he’d never laid eyes on before.
That’s why I didn’t bother mentioning what I’d thought at first—that he should become a 9th Grade Civil Servant. Once his brother was cured, he’d have the ability to live as he pleased. I didn’t want to step in and decide his path for him.
Live the life you want.
It was all the kindness I could offer to a friend I’d killed by my own hand.

“…I should wrap this up quickly.”

And now I was heading toward the headquarters of the villain organization Big Ten.
They operated in the shadows of Ansan for now, but about ten years hence, they’d expand their influence across the entire southern Gyeonggi region. Drawing Awakeners from the outskirts into their ranks through trafficking, drug distribution, and smuggling, these bastards employed every dirty tactic imaginable—taking families hostage, turning people into drug addicts.
The irony was that they could grow to such an extent because of me.
Back then, maddened as I was, I began moving northward, the opposite direction from Cheongju where my parents lived, and they exploited the chaos as the civil servant hunters focused their attention on hunting me down in the north.
Since I couldn’t pay the price in my previous life, I’d have to pay it in this one.
Looking at the crimes I’ve already committed, these are people for whom death alone serves the world.
When I arrived at the location O Jong-yeop had given me, rough-looking thugs were loitering about in a desolate factory district. I made my way toward where the largest concentration of them had gathered.
One of them spotted me and stepped forward.

“Stop! Who the hell are you?”
“Me? A 9th Grade Civil Servant Hunter.”
“What…….”

Before he could finish, I had his head locked in my grip. I detonated it with Mine, then seized the sword that had fallen from his hand.

“Let’s finish this quickly.”

It was an Old Sword, poorly maintained with gaps where teeth had fallen out. The moment I manifested my Gift through the blade, I was engulfed in a sticky crimson aura.
It was Slash—O Jong-yeop’s Gift.
A Gift that cleaved through everything it touched. Unless an opponent wielded a Gift at least one tier higher or of comparable rank, it was difficult to contend with—a unique Gift by any measure.
As the eerie blood-red swordlight rent the air, the villains’ bodies fragmented. The more blood pooled across the floor, the deeper the crimson tint that clung to the blade became.
After cutting down the three shooters, I stepped into the factory and sensed the chaos outside registering within.

“Enemy!”

Amid the blaring alarm, the villains drew their weapons.
There appeared to be more than fifty of them.
I didn’t know why they’d gathered here, but I secured the entrance, then launched myself into their midst.

Screeeech!

The instant crimson force radiated along the blade, more than five villains’ bodies split cleanly in half.
Unlike Mine, which required direct contact, Slash was optimized for engaging multiple enemies even when the blade didn’t touch them cleanly.
As more than five comrades fell instantly, I felt the villains’ momentum falter.
I pressed on without hesitation, cutting them down one by one.
Those heading for the entrance were my priority. I severed necks, bisected torsos, carved them lengthwise—whatever it took.
Quenching my thirst on their blood, I cut through them with methodical certainty.
In barely five minutes, more than forty villains lay dead.

“M-monster!”
“We can’t match him!”
“Run!”

As I moved to dispatch the remaining ones, something shifted.
A pale figure streaked between the cover and rushed toward me with terrifying speed.

Crack!

I reflexively raised the blade, but the Old Sword snapped cleanly in two.
A devastating left hook drove through the gap. I deflected it with what remained, and a right fist chained after it with equal force.
But I severed his right arm with Slash.

“Ghhhh!”

Gritting his teeth, he swung his left arm—which I cut off just as cleanly.

Thunk.

The moment I saw his face drained of all color, I lopped off his head as well. Caught in the Slash skill, it shattered to fragments.

“Ah, Muscle Cat.”

Only when I saw the head rolling across the floor did his identity come to me.
Muscle Cat was a villain with a bounty exceeding five hundred million won. He was notorious for targeting well-built men and killing dozens of them. His movements were swift, and his estimated Level placed him at 5—I’d heard repeatedly that immediate report was mandatory upon sighting.
But other thoughts dominated my mind.

“Would just bringing the head be enough? Or should I take a verification photo?”

Villains sometimes claim bounties anonymously, but long tails get stepped on eventually.
Since I had no intention of revealing why I’d been here today, I decided to leave it.
I smacked my lips and picked up the sword rolling on the ground, finishing off the remaining thugs. As I turned toward the inner office, two figures came scrambling out.

“I surrender! I’ll surrender! I’m the boss of Big Ten.”

I didn’t bother listening. I slit his throat.
My gaze shifted to the gaunt man standing beside him, looking to be in his early sixties.

“I… I’m the Ansan Vice Mayor….”
“So what.”

I didn’t let him finish. I took his head clean off.
When no one in the factory was breathing anymore, I looked around.

“Ah.”

Savagely severed limbs, flesh, and blood clung thickly to the floor and walls. Scraps of meat hung from the ceiling.
More than fifty corpses scattered across the ground—it was a landscape of massacre I’d seen often during my time of madness.
The sticky warmth of blood on my hands dredged up old memories.
I’d killed far more than I’d anticipated.
I felt the coolness spreading through my head and let out a sigh.

“When am I going to clean all this up.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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