The Crazy Villain Regains His Sanity - Chapter 99

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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 99

“…….”

A cold silence settled between Gunji and me.
He’d crossed the line first. Among Awakened Ones, Gift Disclosure is considered a breach of etiquette—a kind of taboo, since it lays bare one’s full arsenal.
So he demands it anyway?
He’s testing me.
I understand now.
He didn’t propose this for the operation’s sake, but out of malice. In that case, there’s no reason to comply.
What difference would it make if I told him anyway?
He doesn’t even look capable enough to matter.

“So you won’t cooperate for the operation?”
“I’m willing to cooperate if it actually succeeds. That’s why I’m here, isn’t it?”
“…….”

He was playing at courtesy while withholding exactly what mattered most. I could feel it.

“Was I wrong about anything?”

Incompetent ones always let their mouths run ahead of their hands. If he doesn’t want to hear this, let him produce results. From what I can see, Gunji excels in defense but has no real striking power. He’s a typical Gift-dependent superhuman—one who can’t rise to the next level while being enslaved to his own Gift.
Watching him, his eyes snap open and killing intent radiates outward. Is he claiming this as his home turf?
About to open his mouth and spew more nonsense, I struck first.

His Defensive Gift held. More Mines erupted outward, left and right and behind, but the barrier remained solid.
To me, it was just a reinforced sandbag.
Though Gunji defended successfully, his balance wavered—inevitable. I pressed with a flurry of attacks to scatter his focus, then slipped close and kicked at his legs. His center of gravity collapsed, leaving him exposed and defenseless in front of me.
My outstretched hand struck his shoulder hard.

So this is why he’s called a guardian deity. In the end, it’s just a reinforced sandbag.
Let’s see how long he can hold out.

Gunji regained his footing, but it meant nothing. If he wants to apologize, he can do it thoroughly in the afterlife.

A long sword blade separated Gunji and me.
If the space had been wider, I’d have sidestepped and pressed through. The Conference Room’s cramped quarters were a disadvantage.
I pulled back without forcing it.

I fixed my gaze on Tsuyoshi. We’d built a decent working relationship, but that doesn’t mean it’ll keep me from killing him.

Lee Se-hee’s words come back to me.
How superhumans who come to foreign lands often die in “unforeseen accidents.”
Is that why she’s doing this now?
Building justification to kill me?
A foolish choice. I’ve killed more people and fled more situations than any villain alive. There’s probably no other case in history where tens of thousands were mobilized multiple times just to take down a single villain. If it comes to it, I could slaughter them all and swim back home.
If she’s showing her hand, I suppose I should play along.
That’s when it happened.
Tsuyoshi lowered his sword and raised both hands, making clear his intention to resist.

“I apologize. Gunji lost a younger sibling he held dear to the League, and the emotions got the better of me. This was a discourtesy committed in my rush to capture the League as quickly as possible. I humbly ask for your forgiveness.”
“…….”

Now, of all times?
I could pretend I didn’t hear and kill him, reclaim my Immovable Heart.
…I thought it, but there was no justification for it.
It looked difficult to kill someone who was disarming himself, apologizing, and attempting dialogue.
The provocation was weak to begin with.
Gunji had given me the opening, but it wasn’t strong enough to close things out the way I wanted.

“Thank you.”

Once I stood down from combat stance, Tsuyoshi thanked me with a bow, then turned and raised his voice in Japanese at Gunji. Gunji didn’t back down—he shouted back. The result was me being sidelined while two Japanese superhumans argued with each other.
After a long quarrel, Gunji finally gave up and retreated, at which point Tsuyoshi sighed and bowed his head to me.

“Thank you for understanding.”
“…….”

With him apologizing so humbly, it felt awkward to refuse.
Gunji’s eyes met mine, and he turned away.
I didn’t like this.
But it was hard to just brush past Tsuyoshi, who kept apologizing despite swallowing his pride.

“I accept your apology.”
“Thank you!”

The atmosphere had completely cooled, so I stepped back without pushing further. I heard sighs of relief from all around. They must have worried we’d actually come to blows.
Tsuyoshi hurried over to Gunji and grabbed his arm, dragging him away. As they left, the look he cast in my direction felt deeply disrespectful.
Should I handle this before it becomes a problem?
If he tries anything again, I’ll have to deal with him.

* * *

“Why are you acting like this!”

Once they’d moved to another location, Tsuyoshi raised his voice in a way uncharacteristic of him.
He knew Gunji disliked Choi Jun-ho. But Gunji was someone who knew how to manage his expression according to circumstances. There was no reason for him to give them cause for conflict like this.

“That man is a villain wearing a superhuman’s mask. We’re accepting help from a villain.”
“That’s only your opinion. Choi Jun-ho is South Korea’s greatest superhuman right now, and he’s recognized globally as a top-tier superhuman. Why are you trying to make this so difficult!”
“Are you really satisfied with just that?”
“What?”
“Is it really okay to resolve this situation by accepting Choi Jun-ho’s help? This is happening in Japan. Are we in such dire circumstances that we desperately need his strength?”
“…….”

Tsuyoshi fell silent. What Gunji had said was something he’d harbored in his own heart for a long time.
But this was a decision made from above. It was undeniable that having Choi Jun-ho as an asset made a real difference.

“So what do you want to do?”
“Let’s handle this ourselves.”
“Are you saying we should defy the Cabinet’s orders?”
“I’m not rejecting it—I’m saying we handle this preemptively. If we can solve it without Choi Jun-ho’s help, it’ll prove we won’t repeat the same mistake. Tsuyoshi, I’m stepping up whether you agree or not.”

Gunji’s resolve was unshakeable.
Tsuyoshi exhaled at the sight of his determined friend. He knew that once Gunji made up his mind, he never reversed course—which meant changing his decision would be nearly impossible.
But this was reckless. Dangerously reckless. Gunji’s Gift was suited for defense, not for taking the offensive against someone else’s position.

“Still—I can’t let you handle this alone.”
“Tsuyoshi!”
“Let me finish. I agree with you that we should be the main force and handle this ourselves. But let Choi Jun-ho take the supporting role—cleaning up the small fry on the periphery.”
……
“If you won’t accept that, I’m taking this to the Cabinet. You’ll be benched.”
“Fine. I’ll do it your way. Do you have a plan in mind?”
“I do.”

Their conversation stretched on for some time.

* * *

Over an hour had passed since the two of them left.
The atmosphere in the room had grown tense. Especially the way everyone’s eyes kept drifting toward me.
Even Park Young-hu was watching me with obvious unease.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I’d heard stories about you, but now I see the rumors are true.”
“What rumors?”
“Well, they’re… rather difficult to mention.”
“That’s all right.”

When I’m streaming, I can see the live reactions in real time—this much hardly bothers me.
Park Young-hu, who’d been hesitating, finally forced the words out.

“They say that once someone becomes your enemy, you show no mercy.”
“That’s not wrong.”
“But that’s what people have been talking about…….”

Of course rumors circulate.
I don’t much care what people whisper behind my back anyway.
But there was something worth hearing beneath Park Young-hu’s words.

“It’s the lack of clear criteria that troubles people.”

Criteria? I realized I’d never really thought about it much myself.
My criteria for acting had been simple: those who deserve to die, those who’ve done things worthy of death, and those who provoke me.
Now that I’m a proper Superhuman, I suppose I should distinguish between them more carefully.
While I was organizing my thoughts, Gunji and Tsuyoshi reappeared.

“My apologies.”

Gunji offered a terse apology, and Tsuyoshi echoed it.

“We apologize again for the sudden situation.”
“…That’s all right.”

I accepted it after a brief pause.
If they’d been a moment slower, I would have acted—but there was no need to bring that up.
With my acceptance, the tension eased, and the discussion began.

“I’ll take the vanguard.”

Tsuyoshi declared he would lead the charge. His Immovable Heart Gift held a type advantage over the Doctor’s curse.
Even with type advantage, wouldn’t basic capability matter most?
The Villain known as one of the 12 Zodiacs is considered so formidable that only a top-tier Superhuman can face them—or so the reports claim.
Tsuyoshi’s evaluation fell short of Witch Doctor’s.
I’ve never seen her myself, so I can’t say exactly how wide the gap is.
Is he testing the operation this time to overturn that assessment?
Given that Gunji and I were held back in a supporting role, the suspicion seemed sound. Once the real offensive begins, we’ll likely intervene—but it looked like Tsuyoshi intended to claim the choicest bite for himself.
Would he actually manage to overturn the evaluation?
Among all the countless assessments made so far, only one had ever deviated from the pattern.
The one where I was deemed insane.
Whether Tsuyoshi could pull this off remained to be seen.

“Of course.”
“Thank you for understanding.”

Tsuyoshi, who had worn a worried expression throughout, broke into a bright smile and thanked me.
Let’s see what he’s really made of.

* * *

Word came through that the League’s reinforcements had arrived, and Tsuyoshi moved swiftly to the vanguard.
Infiltration it was, but he had no intention of squandering an opportunity if one presented itself.

‘I’ll capture Witch Doctor.’

Tsuyoshi had never once entertained the thought that he trailed the 12 Zodiacs.
The Immovable Heart signified a mind that could never be shaken.
He carried immunity to psychic-type Gifts, which was why he could maintain equanimity through the various tribulations of daily life.
The younger brother Gunji had lost was his close brother too. Unlike Gunji, who had been affected by that loss, Tsuyoshi accepted it as simply one of life’s happenings.
An unshakeable mind was a considerable advantage in combat. Yet because his nature inclined him toward reserve and he despised boasting, he’d come to suspect his own strength was being underestimated.
On this matter, Tsuyoshi harbored few concerns. What mattered was confidence in oneself; there was no reason to react sensitively to others’ judgments or be swayed by them, he believed.
But that thinking had shifted recently.
Even though the Cabinet had said they were sufficient, Choi Jun-ho had been brought in.
Did they not trust him? What of Gunji? They were all Superhumans dedicated to Japan’s cause. He felt this situation showed insufficient respect for them. It must be because he hadn’t clearly demonstrated his own ability until now.

“Gunji makes a fair point.”

This time, he decided, he would deliver decisive results that would force them all to recognize his worth.
To claim he harbored no ambition would be a lie. The notoriety of having slain one of the 12 Zodiacs would be extraordinary indeed.
Tsuyoshi infiltrated the League’s hideout at high speed, crossing the sprawling Factory Complex toward the Warehouse nestled at its deepest point, intending to scout it and gather intelligence.
But that intention was thwarted when a visceral shadow materialized before him—a figure rendered in deep obsidian.

“You’re Tsuyoshi, aren’t you?”
“…You.”
“Me? I thought I was quite famous among your group. You don’t know?”
“Witch Doctor.”
“Correct.”

She was Constantina, the Witch Doctor—radiating an alluring beauty even in the darkness.
Her blue eyes held an ancient quiet as they fixed upon Tsuyoshi.

…….

Seeing Constantina revealed before him, Tsuyoshi’s brow furrowed.
He could not fathom why she, known to lack direct combat ability, had chosen to reveal herself.
Constantina, reading his thoughts, laughed.

“Isn’t it a bit late to grow suspicious now that you’ve walked straight into the heart of the trap?”

As she raised her right hand and tapped the empty air with her index finger, a wave of shadow rippled outward. In that same instant, Tsuyoshi felt the world recede from him—his five senses thrown into chaos.
It was the Curse that Witch Doctor favored. Momentarily disrupted by the ambush Curse, Tsuyoshi activated his Immovable Heart.
His eyes, spinning wildly just moments before, snapped back into focus.

“Tricks like that won’t work on me.”
“So you have the Immovable Heart. Then how about this?”

Tsuyoshi lunged toward the Witch Doctor, who was about to cast another curse.
As his Japanese Sword reflected the moonlight and scattered blue Force, the Witch Doctor’s body trembled and then retreated far back. She had triggered a curse in that brief window. The Immovable Heart was blocking the status ailment, but the curse’s power was far more formidable than he’d anticipated.

“Ugh!”

The Immovable Heart is a mind that can never be shaken. The steadfastness of the mind becomes the firmness of the spirit, a force that allows one to hold their center against any change.
Having weathered the curse, it was now his turn to strike.
Tsuyoshi reached Constantina and swung his blade.
Though she was one of the 12 Zodiacs, her notoriety came from her ability to wield curses that could affect Superhumans.
Her direct combat ability was known to fall short of a Superhuman’s.
If that were true, then victory was his.
In the moment he thought she would be cleaved in two and perish, something astounding happened.
Constantina casually deflected the Japanese Sword.
A full-power strike, at that.

“How is this possible…….”

She let out a soft laugh at his shocked expression.

“Did you really think I’d be called a Superhuman without direct combat strength? In Europe, no one believes it. But there are believers far away. Thank you for falling for it.”
“Grrr!”

Tsuyoshi gritted his teeth and swung his blade again. Blue Force flashed, tearing through the darkness, and came rushing down. Constantina met the attack with ease, her pale hands deflecting it without strain.
The exchange between the two Superhumans continued in rapid succession—some thirty strikes in an instant. Tsuyoshi, standing in the heart of enemy territory, poured everything into his assault, but could not break through Constantina’s defense.
Gradually, it was Tsuyoshi, in the middle of the enemy lines, who found himself on the back foot.
Constantina’s smile deepened.

“You let your guard down, didn’t you?”
“Nonsense!”

A black ripple spread through the air, and recognizing that a curse had been triggered, he activated the Immovable Heart.
But this curse was different.
A tremendous impact crashed over him, as if his head had been struck by a blunt instrument.
Tsuyoshi’s eyes went wide, and he gritted his teeth, struggling to maintain the Immovable Heart.

“Did you think I was playing around?”

In that moment of weakness, Constantina drove her attack home.
The instant her fingers brushed his heart, Tsuyoshi felt the Immovable Heart shatter into fragments.
Could there really be a curse that dissolves Gifts?

“The curse business has to find all sorts of ways to survive, after all.”

The words were spoken lightly, but their impact was intensely real.

“Aaaaagh!”

With the wall of the Immovable Heart crumbling, an uncontrollable tide of emotions flooded in.
What filled his mind above all was the hypocrisy of his own actions.
He had killed those who got in his way for the sake of some greater good, even if they were innocent; he had callously abandoned the woman who devoted herself to him for the sake of success. Under the pretense of peace, he had eliminated innocent witnesses who suffered at his hands alone, and had not hesitated to let casualties occur in accidents to inflate his own value. All the hypocrisy he had committed tore through Tsuyoshi’s conscience like claws.
He had done so many hypocritical things that his conscience was shredded.
Why go on living? Did he have any worth to exist? I’m garbage. Living any longer will only bring harm to the world. I should disappear. I will disappear.
Self-hatred spreading without restraint.
The killing blow was the memory of an old lover, buried deep and locked away.
The woman who had supported him from the days when he had nothing. She told him to focus on his training while she took on the work herself, never hesitating to serve him in his hardship.
A woman who believed in him when he had nothing, who gave everything without the slightest doubt.
A woman who accepted his declaration of parting with seeming indifference, only to waste away and die in quiet suffering.
And he had turned away from it all, decisively and completely.

‘Keiko…….’

His remorse for her shattered Tsuyoshi’s mind like a dam breaking open.

“Ugh!”

Unable to bear the weight of it, he drew his Japanese sword and cut across his own throat.

Spray—!

Blood erupted in a fountain as his headless body crumpled to the floor.
A pathetic end for the superhuman who had represented Japan.

“He made me use quite a few of my prepared methods.”

But even superhumans are, in the end, only human.
Before her Curse, the burly and the frail, the Awakened and the superhuman—all were identical.
If there existed a Gift to endure her Curse, she would unleash a Curse to disperse it.
Constantina stood before Tsuyoshi’s corpse.
She smiled, her hand wet with blood not yet cold.

“Now only the Head Breaker remains.”

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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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