The Crazy Villain Regains His Sanity - Chapter 15

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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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Episode 15

It had come to light that Jeong Ju-ho had been quietly tracking Choi Jun-ho all this time.
The emergence of a Level 8 Villain whose identity remained concealed.
It was a crisis grave enough to bring an entire nation to ruin.
Following the mass disappearance of the Villain organization Big Ten, Jeong Ju-ho had pursued the matter through cooperation with the National Intelligence Service, but he said they’d failed to find any trace.
Yet there had been progress.

“We’ve received intelligence that organizations in Siheung and Gunpo have been holding secret meetings. And we’ve detected signs that Choi Jun-ho’s information was mentioned. The League was referenced as well.”
“……!”

Everyone’s expression froze in shock.
Even Jeong Da-hyeon’s.
Was it because of Choi Jun-ho? Or the word League?
Before I could untangle my own confusion, Jeong Ju-ho pressed on.

“Based on what we’ve gathered from both organizations, they claim to know Choi Jun-ho. To verify whether that’s true and how deeply connected he is to the League, the Villain Response Teams from both cities will move first. And we will.”

Jeong Ju-ho paused, looked around the room, then spoke.

“Catch Choi Jun-ho when he surfaces, drawn out by the intelligence.”
“Director, we can’t catch a Level 8 Villain.”
“I’m not asking you to catch him. Besides, the chances of Choi Jun-ho even showing up are slim. We’re preparing for contingencies. If Choi Jun-ho does appear, our Level 8 Hunters will mobilize as well.”

At those words, everyone’s expression brightened.
I felt absolute faith among my colleagues in the Level 8 Hunters.
Was Level 8 really that formidable?
I found myself curious about just how powerful they were.

“Everyone, prepare yourselves.”

With those words, the National Protection Agency Hunters began moving into position.

* * *

Following Jeong Ju-ho’s declaration, I learned the shape their pursuit of Choi Jun-ho had taken.
The National Intelligence Service’s final objective in pursuing Choi Jun-ho’s trail was Recruitment.
A Level 8 Villain is a walking catastrophe—if the initial response is mishandled, an entire city can be obliterated.
Though Choi Jun-ho had committed slaughter, those he’d killed were Villains. Among them was the Ansan Vice Mayor, but even that was insignificant compared to the value of a Level 8 Awakener.
Yet as time passed, not a trace could be found. The final report was that it seemed as though he’d simply vanished.
Then, at a gathering of Villains, the words “the League” and “Choi Jun-ho” were both mentioned.
The combination of these two terms, Jeong Ju-ho and the National Intelligence Service judged, could shake the very order of South Korea.

“Hearing his own name circulate, Choi Jun-ho might show himself.”

The likelihood was low.
That’s why the Villain organization purge would fall to the Villain Response Teams of Siheung and Gunpo, while Jeong Da-hyeon and I were dispatched as reserve forces and liaisons.

“If Choi Jun-ho appears, don’t engage him directly under any circumstances. Contact us first, then keep your distance.”

That was the extent of our assignment.
The Villains lurking within the city were mostly common criminals, but sweeping out Villains in the urban outskirts—areas beyond the state’s reach—bordered on warfare.
Especially since they made their money by trafficking in Firearms and Monster Hearts and various byproducts through the black market, just like major players would.
The way to weaken Villain organizations was to eliminate this black market. But with all sorts of vested interests tangled up in a market formed beyond the reach of law, no one dared move against it easily.
Why not just push through with brute force? When I said that, Jeong Da-hyeon shook her head.

“We don’t know how much firepower could be concentrated under one authority. Since Villains who are enemies with each other still obtain goods through the Black Market, they’ll unite if we try to eliminate it. That goes against the National Protection Agency’s overarching strategy.”

Don’t let them unite—fracture them, breed distrust, and suppress them without casualties.
That is the National Protection Agency’s doctrine for containing Villains.
From that perspective, a Black Market raid would unite them rather than divide them.
But I believe it’s the most certain way to weaken the Villains.

“If I’m given sole operational authority, I’d like to try it. I won’t let you down.”
“And me? That won’t work?”
“For that, you’d need a promotion, but you’ve had too many Excessive Force incidents, so a promotion is…”

I understand exactly why it won’t work.
Setting that aside, at the border between Siheung and Ansan, two Villain organizations are currently holding a meeting.
Choi Jun-ho and The League were mentioned, but the reason for the meeting is the dissolution of Big Ten, the Ansan organization.
The Villains are mobilizing to seize the power vacuum.
Jeong Da-hyeon and I waited on the outskirts of Siheung.

……

I was monitoring the unfolding situation.
It bothered me that those bastards mentioned Choi Jun-ho at the meeting in Ansan.
If it’s simple impersonation, it doesn’t matter. Back when I was a bloodthirsty psychopath, there were countless Villains who committed crimes under my name. Most were arrested or died by my hand in the end.
But the problem was evidence that might remain where my reach couldn’t extend.
I’ve cleaned up quite thoroughly.
I’ll be honest about it.
My past self was insane—I never thought to hide, never thought to erase traces. Sometimes, when sanity returned for brief moments, I would clean up, but it only delayed pursuit by a little. I could hardly claim to have reached a professional level of concealment. Traces might remain somewhere.
In the end, what I need to do is fixed: confirm what information about Choi Jun-ho emerges from the Villain meeting.

“Do you think Choi Jun-ho will show up?”
“He probably won’t.”
“I think so too.”

I recalled that Jeong Da-hyeon had commanded the scene at that time. Why would she think Choi Jun-ho wouldn’t appear?

“Choi Jun-ho wants his identity to remain hidden. That’s why he chose ‘disappearance’—troublesome as it is.”
……
“He probably killed them all. We still haven’t found those bodies. He’s a chillingly ruthless and dangerous Villain. We absolutely must catch him.”

Watching Jeong Da-hyeon speak with that stern expression, I was reminded of my past self.
If it were revealed that I am Choi Jun-ho—what would happen? Would she consider me a Villain? I didn’t particularly want it to come to light and be confirmed.
One thing became clear.
There is nothing to gain from evidence of Choi Jun-ho coming to light.

“We haven’t been getting radio contact since a while ago.”
“That’s strange. I wonder what happened.”
“I’ll go take a look.”
“What if we wait a bit longer?”

I shook my head.

“In a sweep operation, time is precious. I’ll go near the site to investigate, and if anything goes wrong, I’ll contact you.”
“Understood.”

With Jeong Da-hyeon’s consent, I opened the door and stepped outside.
Cold air clawed at my skin. It felt like a rebuke for the false identity I had constructed. I checked the radio as I headed toward the meeting place.
Despite long having passed the promised time, no contact came, and they didn’t respond to my calls either.
Then, as I approached the Abandoned Factory, the radio crackled to life.
Just as I’d anticipated, something had gone wrong. The voice on the other end was urgent, reporting that they couldn’t reach the other team and requesting assistance. When I saw the radio had gone dead, I moved into action.
When I arrived near the designated location, a figure covered in blood—clothes torn and shredded—approached me.

“Are you the reinforcement? I’m Gwak Young-sik, head of the Villain Response Team in Gunpo.”
“Choi Jun-ho, Villain Specialist Division.”
“You came alone?”
“Yes. The liaison team lost radio contact, so I came ahead.”
“I see.”

Gwak Young-sik’s expression darkened as though he’d sensed the inadequacy of their forces.

“How is the situation developing?”
“We walked into an ambush. There were twice as many villains hiding here as our intelligence indicated. We fought hard, but over twenty are dead and thirty have been taken captive.”
“Was Mal-soja there?”
“We didn’t see Mal-soja.”
“Then this was a gathering of a major organization. They cast their net and we were annihilated.”
“Yes.”

Gwak Young-sik lowered his head.
I watched him for a moment before speaking.

“Can you show me the way?”
“You’re not going back?”
“I’ll first assess how many villains we’re dealing with and report back. I’d appreciate your guidance.”
“…Understood.”

I followed Gwak Young-sik, who moved reluctantly, and arrived near the Abandoned Factory where the two villain organizations were stationed.
The concrete floor still bore fresh blood from the fierce battle that had raged moments before. More than ten personnel stood guard outside the factory.

“The rest are inside. There should be over fifty of them.”
“I see.”
“Won’t you reconsider and leave now?”

Our eyes met in the empty air.
I knew the anxiety that had always lurked behind his gaze, and I moved first.

“What are you—!”

Gwak Young-sik tried to dodge, but my hand reached his abdomen first. The raw Thunder Qi tore through his skin and reduced his ribs, organs, and spine to pulp.
Unable to withstand the force, his eyes trembled as he stared down at the gaping wound in his belly.

“You betrayed them. You sold your comrades out.”
“…!”
“After being betrayed more than ten times, you learn to see it.”

Before he could hear another word, Gwak Young-sik collapsed, his breath stolen away.
I’d learned that the most common way a government hunter dies at the hands of villains is when an internal traitor emerges. Gwak Young-sik had disguised his appearance well enough, but he couldn’t control the emotions that lived behind his eyes.
Now the conditions were right to move alone.

“This won’t do.”

I tried to radio Jeong Da-hyeon to buy time, but got nothing but static.
If I also went silent, they’d suspect signal jamming and take action.
That meant I didn’t have much time left.
Roughly fifty villains.
One government hunter.
A situation ripe for an unforeseen accident.

“I need to finish this fast.”

* * *

What surprised me most after becoming a government hunter was how much more value I placed on villains’ lives than I’d expected.
To be precise, he disliked the way state-affiliated Awakeners appeared in the media for excessive force.
So the best outcome was a clean capture, the next was ensuring no lasting harm, the worse option was injury followed by arrest, and the worst was death or escape during the operation.
But exceptions existed everywhere.
During covert operations, the moment one judged their own life to be in danger, killing a Villain on site incurred no reprimand.
Since becoming a state-employed Hunter, I had never officially killed a Villain.
So wouldn’t it be deemed unavoidable self-defense if I killed every Villain here?
Even though I’d struggled quite a bit to keep them alive for arrest.
Or maybe not.
Truth was, I’d never intended to keep them alive in the first place.
After dealing with the Villains at the entrance, I moved inward without hesitation.

“Mo—monster!”

The pattern was identical: they’d charge forward boldly at first, then panic as more than ten of them fell, yet none could slip past me at the entrance.
I believe in redemption. But I think almost everyone is incapable of it.
A miracle happened to me—I returned to the past, to a time before my crimes—but others don’t get that chance.
A Villain is simply a Villain, nothing more.
It’s far more efficient to prevent accidents by killing them than to spare them and hope they contribute to society. That’s the conclusion I’ve reached.

“No time. Let’s finish this.”

I advanced, having left only the two gang leaders alive. As I approached, shaking off the blood that clung thickly to my hands, both of them paled and retreated.

“Don’t—don’t come closer! Do you know who’s behind us?”
“Choi Jun-ho is behind us.”

Choi Jun-ho is standing right in front of you.

“Tell me what you know about Choi Jun-ho. If it’s useful, I’ll let you live.”
“I won’t tell someone like you…….”

Crack!

I crushed the heart of the man whose mouth was still flapping uselessly.
After kicking the collapsing corpse aside, I licked the blood on my hand habitually, then spat. Amplified vitality Gift? I’d never seen such garbage before.
I turned my gaze to the remaining boss.

“Actually, I’m not that curious. You don’t have to tell me.”
“I’ll tell you everything. Please, just let me live!”
“Speak.”
“B—Berserker is pursuing Choi Jun-ho!”

A name I’d never anticipated spilled out.

“Berserker?”
“Berserker said he has a way to obtain information about Choi Jun-ho and ordered us to spread rumors. He said if Choi Jun-ho appears, he’ll handle it himself. He said he wanted to see Choi Jun-ho.”
“…….”

This was a turn of events I hadn’t anticipated at all.
Berserker and I don’t meet for the first time until fifteen years later in my previous life.
So Berserker was the one who orchestrated the mention of Choi Jun-ho’s name.
Every piece of the puzzle had fallen into place. There was nothing left to wonder about.

“Thanks for telling me. Now let’s end this.”
“W—wait, I know more information! Please, spare me!”
“I’d rather not.”
“Argh!”

My hand reached down toward the creature sprawling and crawling on the ground.

“Stop, Choi Jun-ho!”

A deep voice cut through the air as Jeong Ju-ho’s figure materialized between me and the boss. His sheathed blade, charged with overwhelming force, intercepted my hand before the momentum could dissipate.

Crack!

Thunder Qi tangled and erupted in a series of violent explosions. Blue Force shattered into chunks, pulverizing the corpses scattered across the floor into mush.
Seeing Jeong Ju-ho’s face, I lowered my guard and stepped back. My palm still tingled from the impact.
I’d taken him for a cunning operator, but his skill was formidable.

“This one knows information about the League and Mal-so-ja. I’ll take him from here. That alright with you?”
“Yes, Director.”

Since I had no intention of fighting further, I raised both hands in surrender.

“You’ve made quite a mess here.”

Jeong Ju-ho sighed as he surveyed the factory littered with split skulls and corpses.
Not that he hadn’t lent a hand himself.
Perhaps he was just relieved we’d managed to keep one alive.
A shame, really.

Thud!

“……”

Jeong Ju-ho’s expression hardened as he turned. The boss he’d been trying to save lay dead, his head caved in halfway.

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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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