The Crazy Villain Regains His Sanity - Chapter 81

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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 81

“What in the……”

Lee Chan-taek’s expression shifted to surprise as he saw Choi Jun-ho arriving at this late hour. His shock deepened when he caught sight of the limp figure dangling from the younger man’s grip. It was Diawara, a Superhuman affiliated with Guinea.
Had there been a late-night scuffle? No—if Diawara had been the one to pick a fight with Choi Jun-ho, there was no way he’d still be alive.
Something was off. Lee Chan-taek’s instincts kicked into high alert; the situation bore the weight of something far from ordinary.
Choi Jun-ho answered the unspoken question.

“A League spy. He suggested we team up to cause trouble.”
“Diawara?”
“Let’s discuss this inside.”
“…Come in.”

Once inside, Choi Jun-ho explained the circumstances of how he’d captured Diawara.
It had been a foolish move by a foolish man.
To thrust his face at a lion that was simply lying there—sheer stupidity.

“I still don’t understand why you’d think I was affiliated with the League.”

…Diawara wasn’t the only one. Others must have harbored the same suspicion.
Lee Chan-taek recalled the rumors swirling around Choi Jun-ho.
The whisper that he might be a League spy had already become common knowledge.
His ruthless methods—more vicious than any Villain’s—his indiscriminate brutality, his cruel Gift: all the hallmarks of a Villain were there in abundance.
The only reason the speculation hadn’t reached fever pitch was the assumption that no League-affiliated Villain would be so brazenly obvious in his conduct.
After all, if someone had been planted as a spy to infiltrate, the last thing they’d do was advertise their true nature so openly.
Diawara, in his stupidity, had believed the baseless rumor and acted on it—resulting in his current predicament of captivity.
Even as Lee Chan-taek let out a hollow laugh at the absurdity of it all, his mind was already racing through solutions.

“Do you have a plan already?”
“I was thinking of reporting this to Japan’s Awakening Ministry.”
“That’s not a bad choice, but it’s better to expand the stage. You’re acquainted with the Macho Man, aren’t you? Inform him instead.”
“Not Japan?”

Lee Chan-taek shook his head with certainty. Though relations between Korea and Japan had never been better, one couldn’t forget the far longer history of competition between them.
With Diawara in hand, there was a risk that the frame could be twisted—that he might be labeled an innocent Superhuman wrongfully detained. To avoid this, Japan needed to stay out of it. The United States, on the other hand, was the ideal power to bring in; they could decisively enlarge the stage.

“If we’re not careful, public opinion could turn ugly. In a situation like this, it’s better to use the United States. They’re the most active nation in combating the League; they’ll be motivated to get to the bottom of this. The Macho Man will create exactly the circumstances you need.”
“Understood.”
“I’ll go with you.”

Lee Chan-taek made his way toward the lodgings of the American delegation alongside Choi Jun-ho, shaking his head in disbelief.
He’d never imagined something like this would unfold during World Awakener Day.
Once word spread that Diawara was a League spy, the fallout would be anything but trivial.
Traveling with Choi Jun-ho, he’d experienced more incidents in the past few days than he had in decades.

‘The storms never cease.’

* * *

The day after Diawara’s capture, every nation participating in the event was thrown into turmoil.
Guinea’s resistance, in particular, exceeded all imagination.
They found it nearly impossible to accept that Diawara, their nation’s sole Superhuman, was affiliated with the League.
The fact that I had seized him after a confrontation, and that many were already inclined to accept this explanation, was striking.
Why were they going along with it so readily?
The situation reversed when the recording of my exchange with Diawara was released.
Guinea claimed it was all a lie, but when the United States and Japan weighed in, public opinion shifted.
I watched James Reed’s expression turn grave. Following Lee Chan-taek’s advice, the moment I revealed that Diawara was League-affiliated, he rushed over and urged me to release the recording to every nation once the rumor gained traction.
But why does he look so serious about it?

“You’re making a fuss over just one thing?”
“No, you don’t get it! This is seriously bad!”

James Reed then began to lay out his thoughts.
The League’s ideology was rooted in Supremacist Ideology, positioning Awakeners at the forefront, which made it an intoxicatingly appealing doctrine to any Awakener nursing grievances.
So there were plenty of Awakeners who sympathized without formally joining the League. Like toxic mushrooms, they spread throughout, and he said cases of hidden sabotage during League arrests or elimination operations were quite frequent.
Governments worldwide couldn’t root out those cooperating with the League, and they had no real grasp of the scale or depth of the collaboration.
Vagueness becomes fear, and fear becomes terror.
The League fed on that terror, grew its numbers, and became a headache for nations across the globe.
But now Diawara was caught. The sole Superhuman in Guinea, he had the power to overturn an entire nation if he chose. Had he moved differently, Guinea itself could have been flipped and sided with the League.
I found the man standing before me far more suspicious.
He’d just explained all of this in Korean with remarkable fluency.

“You’re deliberately pretending not to speak Korean, aren’t you?”
“What are you talking about, Jun-ho! I really can’t speak Korean!”
“You were doing fine just now.”
“I guess the excitement made me sound really fluent!”

Something smells off here.
I’ll shake him down more later.
James Reed, avoiding my gaze, cried out.

“The problem is getting Diawara to talk!”
“What’s the problem with that?”
“If he doesn’t talk, it’ll look like we’re forcibly detaining a Superhuman!”

Even with the recording?
James Reed saw my confused expression and explained that our justification for holding him was weak. We needed to get him to confess as quickly as possible.
So what’s the issue?
Getting someone to talk is the easiest thing in the world.

“Leave that to me. I’ll make him spill everything, right down to his hidden secrets.”
“Is that possible?”
“Yeah. Just make sure the United States covers the bases.”
“Of course! The US wants the League gone so badly! Just trust me and go all in!”
“That’s reassuring.”

I brought Diawara in immediately. It had been two days, but the man had been conscious for barely a minute. I knocked him out again every time he came to.

“You’re doing it right now?”
“Yeah. Won’t take long.”
“What method are you actually going to use···”
“This.”

I placed my hand on Diawara’s head.

* * *

Information about the League was also delivered to the Japanese government.
Japan was naturally thrown into turmoil. They were already suffering from League activities, and the revelation that a state-affiliated Superhuman was League-affiliated could only strike them as a shock.
On the final day of the event, the gathering of all participants was tense.
Diawara, who had undergone Brainwashing from me, knew a great deal of information befitting a Golden Goblin. Naturally, through information consolidation and cross-checking with the United States and Japan, we moved forward together.
Among his intelligence, three pieces proved most useful: first, how the League made contact with key figures across nations; second, how League operations functioned in Africa; and third, the method by which power was artificially amplified.

“The last matter is particularly grave.”

That’s what Lee Chan-taek said. Perhaps. Either way, it’s just a burst of one’s own power—it wouldn’t last long and would come with serious aftereffects.

“The fact that you can artificially cultivate powerful fighters means the League’s military capacity could grow exponentially. They could potentially topple national governments with overwhelming force.”

From the government’s perspective, that seemed plausible. Most of them were probably just puppets anyway, but it would make a difference whether I was fighting them or someone else was.

“If you dig deeper, it means the League’s internal research has reached world-class levels.”

Lee Chan-taek said the League had an overwhelming advantage in this regard.
Since they championed Supremacist Ideology from the start, they used unnecessary personnel without hesitation as experimental subjects.
While state organizations excluded human rights concerns and all manner of unethical methods, the League conducted inhumane experiments using every conceivable means. Of course, there were places that conducted unethical experiments while avoiding scrutiny, but since they had to evade surveillance, they couldn’t match the efficiency of the League, which operated openly.
Of course, there were places conducting inhumane experiments while hiding from eyes, but since they had to avoid surveillance, they couldn’t achieve the efficiency of the League, which operated brazenly.

“The method of amplifying strength is probably inhumane as well.”

It’s impossible through normal means.
If it were possible, it would have already been popularized.
In any case, because of Diawara’s existence, each nation learned that League forces had infiltrated their governments, and they had no choice but to assume defensive postures to guard against them.
From the League’s perspective, having national governments exhaust themselves with internal conflict was as good as holding all the trump cards.

“There’s probably no clear solution, just more caution.”

Lee Chan-taek was right. The subsequent meetings produced no groundbreaking measures—just “Let’s be more vigilant about the League!” and that was it.
Now that they don’t suspect me, things are easier.
I brought them a League spy, and instead of praise, I got suspicious looks. It stung a bit.
After the meeting ended, I received an invitation from the Japanese Prime Minister.

“Thank you for preventing what could have been an unfortunate incident.”

Prime Minister Taketa bowed slightly to me. The Japanese people I’d seen since arriving here generally had good manners.

“I simply did what needed to be done. If anything, Japan’s cooperation made it easier to bring the matter to public attention.”
“We had no choice but to cooperate. Given that we’re suffering from the League, Superhuman Choi Jun-ho’s contribution is considerable.”
“I appreciate your recognition.”
“Without Superhuman Choi Jun-ho’s cooperation, the event would have faced major setbacks. Thank you again.”

The Prime Minister and the Awakening Minister kept showering me with praise. Usually when people want something, they lead with compliments and circle around—what did they want from me?

“Recently, remnants of the League have been running rampant in our country.”
“I’ve heard there are League forces in Japan.”
“As a result, our Monster-hunting capabilities have declined significantly.”

Why are they telling me this?

“So we’re looking to take measures to improve our hunting capabilities, and we need Superhuman Choi Jun-ho’s strength.”
“What kind of measures?”
“We know there’s a Villain called Berserker in Korea.”
“Yes.”
“Would you be willing to help Berserker naturalize as a Japanese Superhuman?”
“Berserker?”

I thought they’d ask me to join them, but this was completely unexpected.
Berserker becoming a Japanese Superhuman? That madman becoming a Superhuman? It would be a disaster for Japan.
Isn’t he worse than me?
Ah, of course, that didn’t mean I would go to Japan.

“I must decline.”
“As expected······.”
“However, I can’t unilaterally block his choice, so I will convey your proposal to him.”

The Prime Minister’s clouded expression brightened.

“Ah, if you would do that, I would be truly grateful.”

* * *

Choi Jun-ho left the room, and the Prime Minister murmured to himself, his features visibly at ease.

“Still, he conveyed the message. So his heart isn’t entirely without it.”
“His sincerity came through.”
“Drawing in Berserker, drawing in Choi Jun-ho as well—it’s not a bad plan at all.”
“Thank you, sir.”

Originally, the Prime Minister had intended to use Choi Jun-ho as a time bomb.
He’d figured that if even a few Superhumans died in the course of several clashes, he could weaken a rival nation’s military strength.
But on the very day of the briefing, after witnessing the one-versus-three fight between Choi Jun-ho and Schvantner, Lora, and Traore, he changed his mind.
To face three Superhumans and dominate them—the martial prowess exceeded imagination, and he realized that the reports about Nuri Hunting were no fiction but absolute truth.
Rather than use Choi Jun-ho, he would draw him to Japan.
Drawing in the unhinged Villain Berserker was also part of the strategy.

“Berserker and Choi Jun-ho are very close. If we embrace Berserker, after the contract ends, we should be able to bring Choi Jun-ho along as well.”

The Prime Minister nodded but clicked his tongue.

“To get Choi Jun-ho, we have to bring a madman. Our situation really is dire.”

There wasn’t a single normal person around Choi Jun-ho.
His younger sister Choi Yun-hee was a promising Hunter, but her ruthlessness was beyond measure—on her first hunt, she severed three legs from a Villain. His former coworker Jung Da-hyeon was one of Korea’s most brilliant minds, but now she was called the Demoness and had become the terror of Villains everywhere. His business partner Lee Se-hee, the Golden Goblin, was a heartless entrepreneur notorious for raking in gold with both fists.
Berserker too was far from sound of mind, given that his very epithet meant he was mad.
But in investigating Choi Jun-ho, the Prime Minister had arrived at one certainty.

“Among them all, Choi Jun-ho is the most abnormal.”

The Awakening Minister nodded in agreement.

* * *

“Kid, what are you saying exactly?”

At Berserker’s question, Shylo, a Debuffer who had crossed over from the United States, opened his eyes wide and spoke.

“The League wants you, Berserker, to rejoin.”

Shylo’s demeanor as he spoke was utterly disrespectful.
He was displeased with the fact that he’d been sent all the way to the southern tip of this cramped country.
Yeosu? The scenery was fine, but it was a place devastated by Monsters, with nothing to see—why was he stuck here? It was clear Berserker lived up to his epithet of being mad.
And yet they’d dispatched him all this way. The League’s overestimation of Berserker and the reality of his own mistreatment left a bad taste in his mouth.
Debuffer Shylo was one of America’s greatest genius Awakeners, and when he pledged himself to the League, he had thrown the entire United States into shock.
In that affair, nearly a thousand innocent civilians had died by Shylo’s hand—but his habit of collecting parts of corpses had exposed the crime to the world.
With that, Shylo became a member of the League.
He was currently twenty-seven years old, and until recently, he had been famous as the world’s youngest Superhuman.
But that title was shattered the moment Choi Jun-ho appeared. And so his feelings toward Choi Jun-ho, and toward Berserker whom he was known to be close with, were far from warm.
They were just slightly exaggerated figures from the world’s periphery.
Berserker’s expression turned puzzled, unaware of these true feelings.

“Me? The one who ran wild and annihilated Korea’s forces? Why?”
“Because you are a Superhuman.”
“So my value has increased.”
“You may think of it that way.”
“Hmm.”

Berserker gave a small nod.
Even that didn’t sit right with Shylo. Here was someone who should be prostrating himself in gratitude the moment an invitation arrived, and yet he was hesitating. The League was the means by which this creature, trapped in such narrow waters, could access an entirely new world.

“I don’t want anything from the League.”
“The League can provide you with everything you desire.”
“Even if I wanted power?”
“The Superhumans belonging to the League are the strongest in the world. You would have much to learn from them.”
“Heh heh, now that’s enticing. Not bad at all. But it doesn’t quite draw me in.”

No matter how much you provoke an Awakener, they inevitably chase after strength. Yet Berserker remained spectacularly ignorant of his own place in the world.
Shylo felt a flicker of killing intent toward Berserker. The way he strutted about after receiving even modest consideration was unbearable.

“Everything changes once I get a single permission.”
“Permission? What permission are you referring to?”
“I have a master, you see.”

Berserker laughed quietly, then drew out his smartphone and placed a call.
The person on the other end was none other than Choi Jun-ho.

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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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