The Crazy Villain Regains His Sanity - Chapter 3

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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 3

“Clean and simple.”

That’s what I thought.
As of today, the blood-crazed Bloodfiend no longer exists.
The old me would have torn apart anything in sight without hesitation.
But now I’d only shattered his shoulders and arms, nothing more.
I hadn’t surrendered to madness—I’d shown restraint. The Villains writhing on the floor like insects were proof that I was still myself.
The Armed Police waiting outside moved in. They arrested the Villains one by one and calmed the terrified civilians.
I dragged Unlock over and tossed him to the Armed Police, who took him into custody swiftly.

“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Why did you charge in so recklessly? What if something had gone wrong?”
“Were you worried?”

At my question, Yoon Hui’s eyes—still glistening with tears—narrowed in that peculiar way she had when she was upset.

“Then why aren’t you dead? I’d be less disappointed if you were!”
“I guess… I’m just not used to being worried about.”
“No matter what I do, you’re still my brother. Of course I worry!”
“That being said, you do nag quite a bit.”
“Then get better at what you do.”

I wanted to say that if she wouldn’t show it through actions, she had no choice but to tell me with words. But seeing her concern, I let it drop.
It felt a little strange.
This scene felt foreign somehow.
Standing openly at the site of a crime.
Many Villains are criminals, but plenty are simply those who couldn’t endure regulation and control. In that sense, I fit both categories in my previous life.
If you’re wanted as a Villain, it becomes impossible to walk openly in this society. The freedom you enjoy as a citizen is stripped away. As someone who is not currently a Villain, I possessed that freedom now. This freedom felt achingly precious.
Then, amid murmuring from outside, a woman with a sword in her hand entered.
Her ponytail was tied cleanly back, her black suit immaculate, and her beautiful face was striking.
While her brilliant aura brought to mind a movie actress, her calm, settled eyes were like a finely honed blade.
Yoon Hui recognized her and gasped.

“Oh? It’s Jung Da-hyun!”

Others around us began to recognize her as well.
The woman approached Choi Jun-ho through the murmurs of the crowd.

“Jung Da-hyun, Officer of the National Protection Bureau Special Task Force Villain Task Force.”

Jung Da-hyun had transferred from the Shinseong Guild—the nation’s largest organization—to become a Civil Servant Hunter, and she was considered the most promising Awakened One within South Korea.
For reference, the Shinseong Guild was where Yoon Hui aspired to join.
Jung Da-hyun had reached Level 3 within a year of awakening, and now, two years later, she’d achieved Level 6. Given that Level 7 Awakened Ones are considered the nation’s core personnel and Level 8 receives world-class recognition, her growth rate was nothing short of extraordinary.
With her beauty, unwavering sense of duty, and exceptional skill, she was regarded as the guardian of South Korea’s future generation.
In reality, ten years later, she would become one of the nation’s top Hunters.
The memory of meeting her in my previous life surfaced.

‘You must be killed because you are a Villain.’

Had she not pursued me, her talents would have blossomed even further.
Her Gift is Intuition. It was also the Gift I’d acquired through Blood Consumption.

“Choi Jun-ho.”
“You’re the one who subdued the Villains here, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I did.”
“If you don’t mind my asking, which organization are you with? Avant-Garde? The Reapers?”

Jung Da-hyun’s voice carried a thick note of caution. I couldn’t understand her reaction. I’d only immobilized them to prevent resistance—I hadn’t killed anyone. Shouldn’t I be praised instead? Yet what comes back is suspicion?

Ah. Could it be because of her Intuition?

When we were enemies, Jung Da-hyun’s Intuition had been terribly bothersome. She’d tracked me relentlessly on pure instinct, leaving no evidence behind—all thanks to that uncanny sense of hers.
Still, I held no shame. Having returned to the past and washed away all my misdeeds, I was nothing but a jobless wretch who’d been leeching off my parents’ bones in my hometown for two years.

“I’m a civil service exam candidate.”

Jung Da-hyun’s eyebrows twitched.

“A civil service exam candidate?”
“Yes, I’m preparing to become a Civil Servant Hunter.”
“Are you aiming for Grade 5?”
“No.”
“Grade 7, then?”
“Grade 9. I even bought some study books.”
“…….”

When Choi Jun-ho held up the reference books he’d purchased at the bookstore today—Civil Servant Hunter A to Z, Complete Guide to Civil Servant Hunter!, One Book to Master Civil Servant Hunter!, and so on—Jung Da-hyun’s mouth fell silent.
Unable to watch any longer, Yoon Hui stepped in.

“Look, Da-hyun. I’m serious. My brother spent five years preparing for employment, and just yesterday he came up from the provincial area to become a Civil Servant Hunter.”
“I see. I assumed you were an affiliated Hunter given your exceptional skills. My apologies.”
Her words said one thing, but her eyes held the gleam of scrutiny.
“May I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“Why do you want to become a Civil Servant Hunter?”

Most Hunter aspirants currently aim to join corporate Hunters rather than Civil Servant Hunters. When you consider financial returns, treatment, and prospects, it’s rare for anyone to apply for Civil Servant Hunter positions without the deepest sense of mission.
So she’d concluded I lacked that calling.

“I couldn’t find employment. So I changed my goal to Civil Servant Hunter.”
“Is that all?”
“Do you need another reason?”
“No, I’ve overstepped. First, thank you for saving innocent citizens from that Villain.”
“…….”

It was an act to pass myself off as an ordinary citizen, yet my chest tingles with an odd sensation.
In my past life, Jung Da-hyun was a Hunter devoted to justice, respected by Awakened Ones and citizens alike. She was one of the most relentless Hunters who pursued me when I was consumed by madness.

“Also, could I get your contact information? I’ll recommend to my superiors that we proceed with awarding you a Certificate of Commendation. Your heroic actions today will certainly help your path to becoming a Civil Servant Hunter.”
“Thank you.”

In the past, we were adversaries who needed to kill each other. Now we would be colleagues.
If that’s the case, I’d do well to erase even the slightest suspicion.
After handing over my number, I spoke to plant conviction in her mind.

“Just so you know, I’m not a Villain. I’m not a suspicious person either.”
“…….”
“I’m serious.”
“…….”

That should do it. By now her suspicion must have dissolved.

* * *

Jung Da-hyun surveyed the scene after concluding the bank robbery that had unfolded that day.
Even though she had eliminated all the Villains, the devastation from moments before still seemed to linger in the air.
Attacks had grown unusually frequent of late.
The Villains’ increasingly cunning movements were driving casualties higher with each incident.
Among all the damage, the greatest toll fell on the innocent civilians.
Today’s incident had nearly cost dozens of lives.
The rigid system of the Special Task Force grated against her—she’d become a Civil Servant Hunter precisely to apprehend as many Villains as possible, yet the framework constrained her effectiveness.

“Choi Jun-ho.”

Jung Da-hyun’s thoughts turned to the man she’d encountered that day.
The one who, with ruthless efficiency, had left ten Villains permanently crippled.
Even that brief glimpse had told her everything.
What Choi Jun-ho had inflicted upon those Villains was one-sided, overwhelming violence.
That brutality resembled not a Hunter serving the citizens, but a Villain himself.
Becoming a monster to hunt monsters.
She had witnessed countless cases of it before.
Yet a blade’s purpose depends on how it is wielded. A sword capable of staining the world in blood could become the finest weapon for hunting Villains.
Her Gift—Intuition—spoke to her with unmistakable force.
If she failed to contain Choi Jun-ho here, he would become an uncontrollable threat.
The background check on Choi Jun-ho revealed little of substance.
He had spent several years attempting to join major corporations, failed, and retreated to his hometown.
Coming back to the city to become a Civil Servant Hunter was all there was to his story.
But the unknown variables absent from any report—that was the problem. Trusting her Intuition over the given facts, Jung Da-hyun decided to heed the warning her Gift provided.

“I need to manage him directly.”

* * *

After returning home, Yoon Hui expressed her desire to receive instruction from me.
She said she had felt something profound watching how I subdued the Villain earlier that day.

“But wasn’t crippling them a bit much?”
“Not at all.”
“Why?”
“If I’d shown those Villains any mercy, they would’ve inflicted far greater damage on the citizens.”
······
“There’s no ending that satisfies everyone.”

The moment a clumsy Villain becomes cunning, they become a catastrophe beyond what civilians can endure.
I’d thought about it often even when I was losing my mind—would this tragedy never have happened if I’d died before gaining complete power? If only a stronger Hunter had come for me back then.

“Are all Villains truly wicked?”
“Some are innocent.”

The world is anything but just. That’s why some become Villains through circumstances beyond their control.

“But they’re only a tiny fraction. And eventually, they become indistinguishable from the rest.”
“It’s difficult.”
“Wrestle endlessly with what justice means to you. Remember this—saving one innocent Villain matters far less than one Villain massacring a hundred innocent civilians.”
“I understand.”

I noticed Yoon Hui’s dejected expression as she returned to her room, but I chose not to dwell on it. It was a growing pain every person had to face.
Though honestly, offering such counsel while feeling this way about myself was self-mockery at best.
Wasn’t I myself the final boss among those Villains?
Even now, when I close my eyes, the faces of those who died by my hand surface in the darkness.
Though I’d lost control of my body, I had ripped out their hearts with these hands and drunk their blood. I was the very pinnacle of evil.
The past doesn’t vanish even if the atrocities were committed in a state of madness.
As disgusting as it felt to seize this unexpected chance and dispense wisdom as though I truly understood, I wasn’t naive enough to let such an opportunity slip away.

“Live ordinarily. Just live ordinarily.”

Today, trying it, it seemed possible.

* * *

In my past life, the circumstances that led to my awakening my ability were coincidences piled upon coincidences.
A Gift only opens when its conditions are met.
But in most cases, people can’t even identify what conditions must be fulfilled, let alone satisfy them.
In my case, I happened to discover it was related to blood, so I tried everything imaginable to open the Gift. I cut myself deliberately, drank blood, smeared it on my skin. Eventually, I drank Monster blood and became addicted to it.
I never opened the Gift, and with such a low Level, my options were limited. In the end, I gave up on steady employment and started working as a Monster cleanup crew.
The cleanup crew secures byproducts after hunts. Monster hides, meat, and blood vary wildly in price depending on freshness.
Every so often, Monsters attract aggro and the cleanup crew gets attacked—it happens.
The day I awakened was a similar situation. While securing byproducts, a Monster caught the scent of blood and attacked. There were far more of them than our hunting team could handle—we were on the brink of total annihilation.
At that moment, to survive, I ate the Monster heart in my hand. I don’t know why, but I acted on pure instinct, and that became the trigger for my awakening.
I was the only one who survived that place.
Monsters and Hunters alike all died. And that power became entirely my own.
The moment a Bloodfiend—the worst kind of Villain, mad with blood—was born.

* * *

After purchasing reference books to become a Civil Servant Hunter, time flew rapidly.
I helped Yoon Hui with Force Operation, and studied mainly from the reference materials.
In the meantime, I received a Certificate of Commendation for subduing a Villain at the Bank. Jung Da-hyun attended the ceremony in person and congratulated me.

“Since you stepped forward for the citizens, you’ll receive bonus points on the Civil Servant Hunter exam.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
“What are you saying? I’m the one sorry I can’t do more.”
“That’s really not necessary.”
“Of course.”

When the Certificate of Commendation ceremony ended and we stepped outside, Jung Da-hyun followed.

“If you don’t mind my asking, when are you planning to take the Civil Servant Hunter exam?”
“In two months. If delayed, perhaps three months from now.”
“That’s later than I expected.”
“There are circumstances.”

The truth was, my reading pace through the reference books was slower than ideal.
The Civil Servant Hunter exam is held once a month with a 3:1 competition ratio. But accounting for actual no-shows, it drops to 2:1, or even 1.5:1 in lighter months.
Silence settled between us, and Jung Da-hyun asked a question.

“What do you think of the Villain Task Force?”
“I think it’s an excellent organization.”
“Then, if you pass the exam, would you consider joining our Villain Task Force?”
“I haven’t given it much thought.”
“Ah.”

Jung Da-hyun sighed. I thought she might be misunderstanding, so I added more.

“It’s not that the Villain Task Force is unappealing. From what I understand, the National Protection Bureau only takes the elite Civil Servant Hunters. I’m just not sure my scores would qualify.”
“So it’s not unappealing. That’s a relief.”
“Passing the exam comes first, anyway.”
“Right, I was getting ahead of myself. I apologize.”
“It’s fine.”

At my expressionless reply, Jung Da-hyun smiled.

“The way you subdued that Villain that day was really impressive.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Still, wouldn’t it be better to exercise a bit of restraint? Three of the subdued Villains reached critical condition.”
“Ah.”

Only then did I grasp my mistake. It wasn’t enough to avoid killing them outright. I should have accounted for neutralizing them and then preventing them from deteriorating into critical condition.
No matter how much recovery agent technology had improved, the dead told no tales.
For interrogation, keeping them alive was essential.
In that regard, Jung Da-hyun was a professional. She spoke of controlling her force precisely with an eye toward interrogation after subdual—because I’d been a Villain in my past, I’d thought merely keeping them breathing was enough, and so I’d revealed my inexperience.
Next time, I decided, I’d have to modulate my strength properly and shatter only their limbs.

“That was my oversight.”

The moment I acknowledged my realization, Jung Da-hyun’s expression brightened.

“Don’t say that. You’re going to be an excellent Hunter.”
“I’ll do my utmost to improve.”

From what I remembered, Jung Da-hyun didn’t shatter Villains’ limbs. There must be some difference in method between clean and thorough approaches.
Jung Da-hyun seemed to have a slightly more aggressive temperament than I’d given her credit for.
We smiled at each other.

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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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