The Crazy Villain Regains His Sanity - Chapter 68

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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 68

My decision to reveal myself through Teleportation had been the plan from the start.
Around the time Cheon Myeong-guk met with Yu Seong-su, I would appear, clean up Yu Seong-su and his associates, and take control of Busan City. That was the scheme I’d laid out.
Without the head, the body always flails about helplessly.
But then they suddenly announced this final debate broadcast, so I decided to watch a bit longer.
I didn’t think it was worth more than a few minutes, though.
The truth is, I have an allergy to bullshit—I have a habit of cutting down anyone who spouts it. I killed Gwak Do-un, who was spouting that trash at the front, for exactly that reason.
He was supposed to be some hotshot Hunter from the Whale Guild who’d made a name for himself in Busan, but he turned out to be nothing.
Then again, both people and Hunters only grow through constant collision in harsh environments. In that respect, despite all of Yu Seong-su’s talk about danger, Busan is actually a peaceful city.
I tore my gaze from Gwak Do-un’s blood and flesh and turned my attention to the next target.

“The City Council chairman is dead, so what comes next? Vice Chairman Nam Sun-ok.”
“Why, why would you—”

A middle-aged woman in her mid-fifties stared at me with an expression of pure fear.
But the money she pocketed was no joke.

“Over the past ten years, you’ve processed 22.9 billion won in budgets, but only 5.8 billion actually got spent? Where did the remaining 17.1 billion go?”
……

Nam Sun-ok’s mouth snapped shut. According to the documents I was holding, 17.1 billion had flowed into the pockets of the mayor and his close associates.
But she didn’t answer. Silence is just consent. So Nam Sun-ok was an accomplice who’d pocketed 6.1 billion and was entangled with Villains—which makes her a Villain too.
And I kill Villains.

“I told you what would happen if you didn’t answer, and you ignored me.”
“Wait, just a moment—”

Nam Sun-ok tried to open her mouth too late. My swing of Nuri was faster.
Caught in the Blade Storm, Nam Sun-ok was torn to shreds just like Gwak Do-un moments before.
The council members gasped—apparently they hadn’t expected me to actually kill her.
I’d been noticing lately that a lot of people seemed to think they wouldn’t die standing in front of me.

“Kill him! Kill that bastard!”

After the two council members fell, I heard Yu Seong-su shrieking.
I clicked my tongue as I watched the mob pouring into City Hall. I couldn’t tell if those were Hunters or Villains.
If they were Hunters, they should’ve had some dignity about it, but these guys scored zero. What would the Busan citizens watching on TV think? That’s why those Villain bastards never make the cut.
I swung Nuri and swept away the Villains gathered at the entrance, then crushed the skulls of those coming closer with Mine.

“Aaaaagh!”
“Please, spare me…”

Watching City Hall turn crimson with blood, it finally felt like something close to war.
The Villains’ steps faltered as they witnessed their comrades torn apart by Blade Storm and crushed to pulp by Mine.
Yu Seong-su only screamed louder at the sight.

“I said kill him! Aren’t you listening?”
……

But the Villains who made eye contact with me just turned their heads away in a panic. Even stupid Villains know their own lives matter.
I swung Nuri and cleared away the heaps of gore piling up at the entrance. Then I drew a long line with Force and issued a warning.

“Cross that line and you all die. Act accordingly.”

The Villains screamed and scrambled backward.
I turned my gaze toward Yu Seong-su.

“Normally you’d be next, but since he’s the main course, I’ll let it slide. But don’t push your luck. One more word out of you and I’ll tear your mouth apart. Understood?”
“…….”

Yu Seong-su’s burst lips closed as if nothing had happened.
I continued my little game, the one only I found entertaining.
Two councilmen who’d pocketed bribes failed to answer in time—game over, they were dead. One of them launched a surprise attack, so I crushed his skull. Meanwhile, I shredded every Villain who’d stormed into the City Council chambers.

“You’re next.”
“Eek!”

Four councilmen down, and the next target let out a terrified squeal. His eyes rolled in panic as he addressed me.

“Sir, if I tell you everything, I really can live, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then I’ll tell you everything! Please spare me!”
“Kang Seong-chul!”

Yu Seong-su cried out in alarm, but Kang Seong-chul only raised his voice louder.

“Shut, shut your mouth! You’ve done nothing but line your own pockets this whole time, and now you talk big? A kingdom, you said? Sufficient forces, you said? Sufficient my ass! Bah! Heh, hehe! I’ll tell this gentleman everything I know. Please, ask away.”
“Good. You look like you’ve earned the right to be the game’s sole survivor.”

I questioned him about the 18.7 billion connected to Kang Seong-chul, and he explained with utmost sincerity.
They’d stolen quite a lot.
That was my honest assessment. They never ate alone—they’d built their own tight cartel and gouged themselves fat on public funds as if it were their own money.

“So you swallowed two billion of it.”
“Ha, haha! Yes. But I didn’t keep it all. There were kickbacks here and there, partners to share with, of course. Naturally, I had to pay tribute to those above.”
“Cough it all up.”
“What? But, but…….”

Reluctance flickered across Kang Seong-chul’s face.
Surely life mattered more than money, didn’t it?
Or had he really thought that playing along with a few words would save him?
If he didn’t like it, he could take that money to the grave.

“Nothing to say?”
“Wait, I’ll spit it all out!”
“Too late.”
“Ugh, aaaagh!”

Whirrr!

Kang Seong-chul was caught in the Blade Storm and shredded to pieces.
Hope he enjoys spending that money in the afterlife.

* * *

“…….”

Yu Seong-su couldn’t believe what was happening.
At first, everything had gone according to plan.
Bring Cheon Myeong-guk to the City Council, fan the flames of resentment over the government’s neglect of Busan all these years, and success would follow. Cheon Myeong-guk was a dove—he wouldn’t see things through to the end, Yu Seong-su had been certain.
And reality had unfolded exactly as predicted.
Busan had long been a city safe from Monsters.
The Korea Strait was unsuitable for marine Monsters to thrive in, making trade with Japan convenient and yielding tremendous profits from mutual needs that differed vastly between the two nations.
But to the citizens, Yu Seong-su had spread the narrative that Busan was under threat, that the government had failed to do its duty against Monsters.
He planted seeds of anxiety in their hearts, cultivated a sense of victimhood and discrimination—which transformed into rage, then hatred, all directed toward himself, Busan’s mayor, as fervent support.

“Everything was perfect…….”

The plan that had been succeeding fell apart the moment Choi Jun-ho appeared.
His inner circle of city councilmen died first. The Awakened Ones he’d bought off and given lucrative positions couldn’t do a thing to stop it.
He’d believed that controlling them would deliver South Korea into his hands, yet now the bitter truth was laid bare before him.
One Awakened was this strong? Everything he’d built over more than a decade crumbling because of a single Awakened?
Even watching it unfold with his own eyes, he couldn’t believe it.
Only then did he understand why the government had come down so hard.
Why Jeon Han-cheol had acted this way. If he had a human weapon like that, he would’ve leveled Cheongwadae and taken Seoul immediately.

“I’ll tell you everything!”

The worst blow was a traitor from within. Yu Seong-su had tried to stop Kang Seong-chul, but the man spilled everything Choi Jun-ho pressed him about without hesitation.
Yu Seong-su himself chose to die rather than give back the money he’d taken.
It felt as though everyone’s lives became meaningless in the presence of Choi Jun-ho.
His own life, or that of any common villain.

“…….”

All of this was being broadcast across Busan.
It was over.
Yu Seong-su closed his eyes, feeling everything he’d built crumble to dust.
If only Kim Young-hwan had been here instead. That greedy bastard would’ve been open to compromise—give up a few territories and call it a deal.
But could the Red Snake ever have wielded this kind of power in the first place?
Was this really a Level 8 Awakened?
There’s only one level between 7 and 8—so why was he this overwhelmingly strong?
Now he understood why the League had warned about Choi Jun-ho, why his subordinates had emphasized the danger of an Awakened like this.
Too late now.
As his thoughts spiraled, Choi Jun-ho’s gaze turned toward him. By then, all the other councilmen had already met their end.

“You going to kill me?”

That monster could kill him without breaking a sweat. He didn’t want to die like this. He had to survive, had to escape. If he could just make it to Seoul and stand before a judge, he could survive this.

“No. Can’t kill the main dish so easily.”
“Right, as expected.”

The bastard understood the situation. Negotiation might still be possible. It would be humiliating, but survival came first.
As Yu Seong-su felt relief at escaping that monster’s grasp—

“But dying would be better than what comes next.”
“What?”
“You talked a lot of shit behind my back about how I couldn’t hunt Nuri, didn’t you?”

That was the last thing Yu Seong-su remembered. A hand rose above his head, and with a warm sensation, his memory went blank.

* * *

“Right.”

After extracting information from Yu Seong-su through Brainwashing, I turned my attention to the Camera Director.

“You were broadcasting this?”
“I’m so sorry! It was all because of my greed…….”

The terrified Camera Director begged for his life.

“Were you in on it with them?”
“No, no I wasn’t.”
“But why are you asking me to spare you? Ah, because of the broadcast?”

I was one of the people who rushed in while watching that broadcast.
As I watched, I couldn’t help but notice the camera work was brilliant—the way it zoomed in on Gwak Do-un while backing Cheon Myeong-guk into a corner actually made me use Teleportation without thinking.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, please spare me.”
“You’re not dying.”
“R-really?”
“I never said I’d kill you in the first place.”
“Oh, oh! I apologize. What I saw today was just so shocking…….”

Now the mood had shifted enough to talk properly.

“By the way, people died out there—did you mark it as 19 and over?”
“Y-yes, I’ll do it now.”
“It’s already finished, though.”
“I-I’ll turn it off.”
“It’s fine.”

Unintentionally, I’d let people die broadcast as all-ages viewing.
I glanced at the Camera Director and approached the unharmed Cheon Myeong-guk. I’d caught Yu Seong-su and Cheon Myeong-guk was safe, so I’d completely fulfilled the President’s request.
My entertaining game was over now.

“You’ve done well.”
“…All I did was protect myself. Thank you for helping me.”
“Just surviving is doing well enough, isn’t it?”
…….

Watching Cheon Myeong-guk smile bitterly, I patted his shoulder.

“Let’s call in reinforcements.”

I tapped the Life-Death Register as I spoke.
After taking Busan City Hall, during the hours before Jung Ju-ho’s National Guard arrived, I toured various parts of Busan with Cheon Myeong-guk. Each time we encountered Villains blocking our path, I killed them, and I even seized every ship those fleeing toward Japan were trying to escape on.
It was certainly taxing trying to handle everything alone.
But once the National Guard arrived and government-affiliated Hunter teams and the military moved in, my workload began to decrease.
Their first task was suppressing the Awakened One units filled with Yu Seong-su’s subordinates and the military forces. I accompanied them and easily seized control by beheading the leader and the commander.

“Ah! If I wrap this up successfully, I think I’ll get promoted, and I can’t mess this up, I’m going crazy!”

When I returned to Busan City Hall, Jung Ju-ho was muttering anxiously.
Yet his commands showed no gaps—hard to keep up with his shifts in tone.

“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“It’s not good! I don’t want the promotion!”
“Good is good, though.”
“It’s not good!”

Unlike the shrieking Jung Ju-ho, Jung Da-hyun standing beside him was grinning from ear to ear.
Her performance today had been exceptional. She eliminated multiple Villains with ease, and completely severed the limbs of twenty gun-wielding Villains.
Word spread that the Rakshasi had appeared in Busan, and more than hundreds of Villains came surrendering—her reputation was far more impressive than I’d expected.
Moreover, her skills had reached a state of complete mastery; it wouldn’t be strange if she broke through to Level 7 any day now.

“You worked hard.”
“Yes, you worked hard too.”
“What, I just killed who needed killing.”
“Are you two seriously flirting right in front of someone with a splitting headache?”

Jung Ju-ho cut in with an irritable expression. He’d been hysterical since earlier.
I should give them some space.

“Since things seem to have stabilized, I’d like to take Da-hyun to level up.”
“Where?”
“To raise her level.”
“What?”
“If she applied to the Japan League, the League would have forces there too, wouldn’t they?”
“…Right, I’d forgotten about the League entirely. How could I forget that? Maybe I’m not fit for promotion after all. I need to report my mistake right away!”

Jung Ju-ho was grinning and agonizing at once, so I offered him some comfort.

“I anticipated that and handled it all, so don’t worry.”
“What? When?”
“Before we arrived at the National Guard.”
“Are you even human?”
“I’ll clean up the rest and be back. Congratulations on your promotion.”
“Congratulations on your promotion, Director.”
“Aaaaahhh!”

Leaving Jung Ju-ho’s cry of anguish behind, Da-hyun and I left Busan City Hall.

* * *

“Right now, you’re ready to reach Level 7 whenever the right opportunity presents itself.”

Jung Da-hyun nodded thoughtfully as she listened to Choi Jun-ho’s words.
The idea that she was ready to reach Level 7 settled pleasantly in her chest.
Most people, no matter how hard they work, never reach Level 7. She too had been called a genius and trained diligently, yet she might never ascend to that tier.
But through Choi Jun-ho’s guidance, she was beginning to feel her own growth taking shape.

“The most important thing is to see it clearly in your mind’s eye.”
“What should I be seeing?”
“The difference between who you are now and a Level 7 hunter.”

Choi Jun-ho advised her that the key was to grasp specifically what that difference was and catch what she could accomplish to close it. As they talked, the two of them slipped toward the outskirts of Busan. Before long, they arrived at a warehouse in a remote area.
When Jung Da-hyun saw the carnage spread across that space, her expression hardened.

“All dead.”

It was a horrifying sight. More than thirty people lay torn to shreds.
At the center of the corpses sat a single figure—a man in his early forties, standing over two meters tall, his massive frame bloated like a balloon.
Jung Da-hyun recognized him at a glance.

She hadn’t known he’d joined the League and come to Busan.
Choi Jun-ho, meanwhile, seemed to have no idea who this man was.

“Yes.”

He seemed all the more impressive now.

“I’ll handle that bastard.”

So he meant to face Arai.
The man was a seasoned Level 7 villain with a notorious reputation. Could he really stand against someone like that?
In the past, he would never have won. He would’ve sensed defeat before the match even began and given up.
But not now.
He could do it. The fact that Choi Jun-ho had said this meant he must have judged it possible to face him.

“I’ll give it a try.”
“Good.”

As he steeled his resolve, he felt Arai’s gaze upon him.
The man must have understood Korean and been listening to their exchange.

“Hope blooms, then.”

Calm eyes turned toward him. Beneath them lay a deep, subtle killing intent that radiated pure menace. His gaze alone conveyed overwhelming strength.
Arai looked at Choi Jun-ho and asked,

“If I win, you’ll let me go?”
“Yes.”
“There’s hope then. I thought I’d simply die here, trapped and helpless. Fine, I’ll face you.”

Then his gaze shifted toward him.

“Nothing personal against you. Blame the one who pushed you into this corner.”

So the man was saying he could win against him now.
Of course—if he asked anyone else, they’d predict Arai’s victory without hesitation. But he couldn’t lose. Not here. Choi Jun-ho had told him to face Arai precisely because he’d judged it winnable.
Steeling his will never to yield, he stepped forward.
But Choi Jun-ho blocked his path.

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you backing off?”
“Pardon?”
…….

Both Jung Da-hyun and Arai wore bewildered expressions.
They needed to clear a space to duel. For him to suddenly block the way made no sense.
What was Choi Jun-ho thinking?

“Watch how I handle this guy. You’ll learn something.”

Wait—wasn’t he supposed to be the one fighting?
Had he misunderstood everything up until now?
Jung Da-hyun wanted to say something as she watched Arai’s stunned expression, but no words came.

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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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