The Crazy Villain Regains His Sanity - Chapter 16

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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 16

“…….”

Oh Jong-yeop couldn’t open his mouth at the gruesome scene unfolding before his eyes. He’d always been cheerful, and had already carved out his place as the National Defense Bureau’s mood-maker, but the atmosphere simply didn’t permit speech.
Jung Ju-ho, who had drawn closer without notice, surveyed the training grounds as he recovered and spoke.

“You’ve never seen a scene like this before.”
“No, sir.”
“You’ll see it often from now on. That’s what it means to fight Villains and Monsters.”
“More than that, I didn’t realize Jun-ho’s abilities were at this level.”
“He’s your friend—and you didn’t know?”
“I only knew he was impressive.”
“I see.”

The image came to mind of how casually Choi Jun-ho had hunted the Saber Tiger. It occurred to him that Jun-ho might be more formidable than he’d thought.
Just what kind of person was this man?
His publicly announced Level was 5, but no Level 5 Awakener could hunt a Saber Tiger solo. That meant he had to be at least Level 6—and he’d just matched the director’s strike head-on.
Jung Ju-ho was a Level 7 Awakener chasing closely behind the rumored strongest Superhuman of our time, a Level 8. As the most likely candidate for the next Level 8 advancement, the probability that Choi Jun-ho had already reached Level 7 was high.

‘Level 7 at twenty-five? I really was thrashing about trying to kill myself.’

Rather, that fellow Jong-soo, who called him brother purely and familiarly, was a step ahead of him.
It was then that Jung Ju-ho nearly dropped the Sword Sheath in his right hand, catching it again at the last moment.

“Director?”
“It’s nothing.”

Without so much as a flicker of expression, he shifted the Sword Sheath to his left hand and walked on.

* * *

“…….”

Jung Ju-ho stared at his right hand, which still tingled with a lingering numbness.
The reason was clear: the aftershock from blocking Choi Jun-ho’s attack head-on had yet to dissipate.
It had been just a single collision. Yet Choi Jun-ho’s blow clung to him like the haunting echo of a first love.

“He’s Level 7.”

The measurement results had indeed shown Level 7.
Jung Ju-ho recalled his direct clash with Choi Jun-ho.
The man’s gift was Mine—identical to that of Franz, Germany’s Grand Master. Yet Jung Ju-ho, who had once seen Franz, had never realized that Mine could be this relentless and devastating.
The same held true for the Villain boss who had just died. Hadn’t his head simply burst open from the slightest brush of contact? Anyone witnessing it would have thought a bomb had been planted in his skull.
At this point, he had to accept reality.

“Could he actually be Level 8?”

Jung Da-hyun’s words at the time of Choi Jun-ho’s Level measurement came back to him.
She had suggested that he might be Level 8—that the measurement device’s limit was Level 7, so he could have been registered as Level 7 when he was actually higher.

“Twenty-five. Level 8. Does that even make sense?”

Since Awakeners had emerged, the youngest Superhuman to reach Level 8 had been twenty-nine years old. And that had only been possible because the state had backed him with full support.
By contrast, Choi Jun-ho had been unemployed until early this year. There was a gap that simply defied comprehension.
Was he doing a hundred push-ups, sit-ups, and squats every day, along with a ten-kilometer run?
In any case, if Choi Jun-ho truly is Level 8, the situation changes entirely.
Level 8 is classified as “Superhuman”—the object of yearning for all Awakeners.
They were the nation’s principal military asset and a measure of national power itself.
South Korea stands among the world’s top ten nations in Awakener strength.
But whether they could exercise that power to its fullest extent was another matter.
Of the four Level 8 Superhumans, one belonged to the state and three to major guilds. To borrow their strength when needed, the government had to accept substantial cost.
As it stood, bitter competition for dominance with the large guilds was already underway.
If Choi Jun-ho became a Level 8 Superhuman under the National Defense Bureau, the balance would shift.
Jung Ju-ho, who had long worked under the government to check the large guilds, felt his interest quicken at the prospect of this new Level 8 Superhuman.
A treatment befitting his rank was certainly possible. Yet something nagged at the back of his mind.
What Choi Jun-ho wanted remained unclear. His past was murky.
Above all—could this man be controlled?
Frankly, if Jung Da-hyun hadn’t brought him in, he would have mistaken him for a spy sent by a rival department to obstruct his promotion.

“I should hear the man’s own thoughts first.”

Upon returning to the National Defense Bureau, Jung Ju-ho summoned Choi Jun-ho.

* * *

“We’ll extract information from the Villain captured outside the factory without fail. Wait a bit longer, and we’ll have intelligence on Malsoja and the League.”
“Yes.”

I had already heard all the information I needed, so I simply nodded.

“I apologize for deploying you to what turned out to be a trap.”
“Not at all. There was no real danger.”
“Good to hear.”

Jung Ju-ho fell silent and studied me quietly. He seemed to have something on his mind, so I waited for him to broach it.

“Have you thought about taking a Level measurement—a higher-tier one?”
“Haven’t I already undergone one?”
“I mean the measurement above that.”
“Above that?”
“Choi Jun-ho, I suspect you’re Level 8.”
……

I neither confirmed nor denied it, holding my silence. Jung Ju-ho seemed to find my reaction unusual.

“Level 8 Superhumans possess power strong enough for us to call them that. It means you’re a rare and special existence in South Korea. Does that stir no feeling in you at all?”
“It seems I truly have no strong thoughts about Level.”
“Others would stake their lives to raise their Level. You’re different.”
“I thought becoming a civil servant Hunter would be enough.”

To me, Level was merely the measure of Hyul-jong’s strength. How many people had I killed to acquire that power? Though I had claimed it, the shadow of the past only deepened with each passing moment.

“Director, is it your wish that I undergo a Level measurement?”
“Yes.”
“Is it good to become Level 8?”
“It is. You can gain wealth, fame, attention—everything.”
“May I ask for details?”

Jung Ju-ho began explaining Level 8. Called the pinnacle of national power, Level 8 Superhumans are classified as the strongest Awakers and revered as such.
In fact, some nations even assess national power by the number of Level 8 Awakers they possess, and as Monsters grow stronger with each passing day, national stability—the security rating that keeps a country’s existence from wavering—rises accordingly. This is a prerequisite for attracting foreign investment.
Therefore, every nation zealously pursues acquiring Level 8 Superhumans. It is a seat that grants wealth, fame, and power alike.
I began to understand what becoming Level 8 meant.

“It becomes a nuisance, then.”
“…You could say that.”

Jung Ju-ho laughed hollowly at my one-line summary.

“And it’s good publicity for the National Defense Bureau too.”
“If you wanted to, you could make an astronomical amount of money.”

To be honest, I don’t really mind being used as a shield and spear. In return, I gain something from it, and even when troublesome situations arise because of me, Jung Ju-ho has proven to be an excellent buffer.
He stated frankly that the National Defense Bureau couldn’t offer me the same financial guarantees as the large guilds.

“But being affiliated with the nation comes with protection, free hunting, tax cuts, and so on. Though honestly, no matter how I think about it, the large guilds do seem better on the money front. You’re not actually thinking of leaving, are you?”

It seemed there was no option for me to refuse measurement.
Then again, if the final goal of every Awakener is Level 8, who would turn that down?
Anyone but someone like me.
Honestly, I have little appetite for money and no interest in chasing fame. After my previous life, my mind worn thin, my highest priority is my family’s happiness.
But if I become Level 8 and grow more famous than I am now, will my family be happy? My child pursuing his own path, my parents in the countryside running their orchard? Yun-hee, who’s only just started at the Sacred Guild and is beginning to use her abilities?
I was certain that Choi Jun-ho’s parents and younger brother would become unhappy under the pressure from those around them.

“You said that becoming Level 8 would greatly expand my authority. As a government hunter, I’d be given my own executive power.”
“…Yes, that’s right.”
“Even if I’m given that authority, I don’t think I’d abuse it. Please don’t worry.”
“No, you’re a time bomb waiting to explode. A nuclear one at that.”

I decided he was saying such things because he’d never actually experienced a nuclear explosion.

“I remembered the ledger we obtained when we dismantled that drug organization last time.”

The countless names written in that ledger.
Some of them had paid the price, but far more continued to live in wealth and power unchanged.

“When I become Level 8, can I arrest those people without hesitation?”
“…Wait a moment.”

Not possible?
Jung Ju-ho was looking at me with his eyes closed.

“We didn’t arrest all of them partly to prevent major chaos, but also because some names in the ledger were false. And some of them were actually small-time offenders who’d only used drugs out of curiosity a few times. There were extenuating circumstances, so they received light sentences.”
“I see.”
“In any case, there was effort to contain it without expanding things too much back then. That’s why those with comparatively lighter crimes ended up with lighter punishments.”
“You went through a lot, Director.”
“I appreciate you understanding. In any case, when you become Level 8, it will be possible. But those connected to them will likely cause all manner of trouble.”

Couldn’t I just arrest them all too?
I wanted to press further, but my counterpart looked exhausted.

“I won’t undergo measurement.”
“…Why?”
“Wealth, fame, and power are all fine, but attention is not.”
“…….”
“And I don’t want to go elsewhere either. So I wanted to ask you for something, Director.”
“What is it?”
“I’ve heard that the directors of the National Defense Bureau, the External Cooperation Management Bureau, and the Monster Defense Front Bureau can appoint Black Agents.”
“Don’t tell me…”
“I want to become a Black Agent.”

After careful deliberation, Jung Ju-ho ultimately accepted my request.
And he sank into his chair with a look as if he’d been burned white-hot.

“I did get a hidden blade out of this, but somehow I feel like it’s going to be my own neck that gets slit…”
“Please trust me, Director.”
“I only say it because I doubt myself.”

Have I failed to earn your trust through my work so far?
I need to work harder to prove myself to Jung Ju-ho.

* * *

Once the negotiation ended, my thoughts turned to the League.
What could it possibly be that made Jung Ju-ho and the National Defense Bureau show such wariness?
Jung Da-hyun answered the question forming in my mind.

“The League is a Villain organization operating covertly across the globe. It’s organized as a cellular network, making it difficult to uproot, and it exerts tremendous power by interfering in sensitive matters.”
“But it’s still just a Villain organization, isn’t it?”

Jung Da-hyun shook her head.

“The world’s worst Villains belong to the League.”

Something felt off.
In my previous life, I was called Hyul-jong—the worst Villain in history. I roamed South Korea and eventually the world, wreaking every conceivable catastrophe. Yet somehow I knew nothing of the League. The gap between what Jung Da-hyun described and what I remembered was so vast I couldn’t tell what was true.
Had my appearance caused some variable to shift?
Only half a year had passed, and I’d committed no crimes—lived quietly. It was too soon for a global Villain organization to emerge because of me.
Jung Da-hyun said the League’s danger lay in what they called Esper First.
It was an ideology that preached Awakener supremacy—that the superior among them should dominate the world.
The problem was that many people accepted this as righteous. Not only Awakers controlled by state power, but even Awaker-born politicians in key positions across nations were secretly lending their support.
As a result, several Third World nations collapsed, and incidents occurred where Awakeners seized power.
In response, developed nations had designated the League as an enemy of the world and were conducting cooperative operations to eliminate it.
Prospective Awakeners were completely blocked from accessing League information—the entire global internet had been censored to prevent them from learning of its existence.
I was astonished. The League was an organization of such magnitude? Yet my ignorance of it meant it would soon disappear, wouldn’t it?
After finishing her explanation, Jung Da-hyun told me about the results of her recent training with Yun-hee.

“Indeed.”

“Not at all. If anything, I was the one treated to delicious food. Which is why I was wondering—would it be all right if I treated you in return?”
“Of course. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Oh, no—you shouldn’t expect anything. My cooking skills are rather poor. But since I was treated so kindly, it only feels right that I offer something in return.”
“I’ll await your hospitality with joy.”

An organization of that magnitude—I should have known of it.
The reason I couldn’t stop thinking about the League was simple: their existence could act as a variable.
This life of mine had already been twisted in significant ways. But those changes were confined to my immediate surroundings; everything else flowed in the direction I remembered.
That’s why I couldn’t overlook the League. Partial though it was, an organization where Awakeners zealously gathered and the world’s worst Villains were enlisted.
As a former worst Villain myself, I couldn’t afford to be ignorant of such a place.
So why didn’t I know about them?
Had they never once approached me with an offer to join?

In that moment, a fleeting image crossed my mind.

“…I remember now.”

At last, the weathered memory surfaced from the depths of my consciousness.
It was from the time when I was mad.
Many approached me back then. Some harbored a desire to challenge me; others sought to exploit my strength. All of them died by my hand.
Among them was a faction that offered to accept me as one of their own.
They called their organization the League.
They spoke of how the world’s discord stemmed from inferior beings holding power, and they argued to me that the world would need to be overturned in order to create a new era.
After hearing their entire pitch, I killed them.
After that, the League came several more times to try to persuade me.
Each time, I killed whoever came.
I killed and killed again, and when they continued to be a nuisance, I went to their headquarters and slaughtered everyone remaining.
After that, I never heard the name League again, and it faded from my memory.
In my previous life, South Korea had become purged of the League because of me.

“Ah, so it’s them.”

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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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