I'm Not Your Dad, I'm a Villain - Chapter 23

Chapter 23

The Successor of the Heavenly Demon (4)

***

“Oh, hoho! This time the hero arrived quite quickly, huh? Usually, they start chasing after everything is already burnt down. What’s the occasion?”

“…We happened to be filming nearby.”

Grit.

Spiritas, in her pink dress, ground her teeth as she stood up.

Her shimmering blonde hair glowed as if sprinkled with stardust, but her eyes were filled with intense hatred as she glared at her enemy.

“Filming? Puhaha! Like I care about that! Whether heroes film or not, all I care about are bombs!”

Doomsday spread his arms wide, indifferent to Spiritas’s hatred.

His lack of guilt showed that this entire catastrophe existed purely for his pleasure.

“Yes, bombs are the highest form of art! Art is an explosion! And explosions need even bigger explosions to be truly valuable!”

“Bullshit!”

Spiritas swore, swinging her fist in the air.

In that moment, the superhuman power concentrated in her fist detonated, causing the surrounding air to violently push away.

The pure force of the explosion created a shockwave.

Doomsday, who stumbled in the gust, saw a fist flying at supersonic speed.

“Oh dear.”

Just before the fist could hit, he pressed a switch on his hand.

-KABOOM!

The building they were standing on collapsed, and Doomsday staggered as the structure lost its balance.

As her fist missed and sliced through the air, Doomsday had already used his explosive foot devices to escape to a neighboring building.

“Oh-ho! You also use some impressive explosions! But that won’t satisfy me!”

“That damn bastard…”

Spiritas, who fell with the crumbling building, pushed away the debris and ground her teeth.

Just a moment. Missing that brief chance caused her punch to miss.

A mistake she normally wouldn’t make.

But that one mistake would soon snowball into an unprecedented disaster.

“How about a competition? Let’s see who can make the most spectacular explosion in this city!”

Doomsday jumped from the building using his jetpack.

Spiritas, ready to chase him, was stopped by the sounds around her.

“Ahhh!”

“Save us! Ahhh!”

Screams echoed from all directions.

Despite the alarm, obstacles caused by the explosions blocked escape routes, and people who hadn’t yet evacuated were trapped under debris.

No, the visible people were just a fraction. Many might still be trapped under the rubble, hoping for rescue.

‘I need to save them…’

Her feet moved instinctively to rescue them, but—

-KABOOM!

Another intense explosion erupted not far away.

The villain she missed had started bombing the area again.

Clenching her fists, Spiritas wanted to catch him, but then she heard a woman’s desperate cry from a distant building.

“Help us! Please, save our baby!”

Damn, they’re too far away.

-KABOOM!

Flames rose from the explosion.

Seeing the mother and child swallowed by smoke, Spiritas couldn’t bring herself to move.

‘If I don’t intervene, people will die.’

‘But if I let the villain go, the damage will worsen.’

The dilemma of saving lives versus eliminating evil paralyzed her, blanking her mind.

As a hero driven by a sense of justice, she couldn’t ignore the hesitation.

“Hey, you idiot! What are you doing?!”

It was a shout from someone in the previously exploding area that snapped her out of it.

Standing on a truck, holding the mother and child, was a man looking at her angrily.

“Mr. Manager…?”

Her manager.

Holding the ones she couldn’t save due to her hesitation, his face showed anger directed at her.

“The enemy is just a B-Class villain! What are you doing, standing there, unable to handle one villain as an S-Class hero?!”

“But the people…”

“Leave the rescue to me and the emergency teams! You focus on the villain!!”

Yes, there were not just victims here.

Though late, a large number of fire trucks and police cars had responded to the call.

Under their protection, the injured were being evacuated and receiving first aid to stay alive.

-KABOOM!

But explosions still echoed from afar.

Though a B-Class villain, guns alone couldn’t handle someone navigating between buildings and in the air.

‘Only I can deal with him.’

Despite her anxiety, knowing others could handle the rescue removed her hesitation.

Spiritas leaped repeatedly, heading for the shadow flying with a jetpack.

Towards the villain aiming his cannon at the evacuation route.

‘I have to end this in one hit!’

Spiritas leaped high enough to reach him.

Finally, her hand grabbed Doomsday’s equipment, but it felt much lighter than expected.

“Haha! Sorry, but the first function I added to this machine was the escape function!”

The equipment attached to his body was detachable. It could be separated in an emergency.

Even the separated device was equipped with explosives.

-KABOOM!

The detached device exploded, causing chaos in the air. Doomsday, now with a parachute, grinned in satisfaction.

“Oh, yes! This is it! Haha! This is the ultimate art I wanted to see!”

Thinking he had seized the moment, the hero grabbed the villain’s ultimate bomb and reversed the attack.

As the young flesh and blood scattered in the explosion, those who believed in their savior would fall into deep despair.

That despair would complete his ‘art.’

-KABOOM!

But his opponent was an S-Class hero.

The one considered closest to Justice, acknowledged as the strongest.

“Ugh, ah!”

The hand that tore through the explosion grabbed Doomsday’s parachute, pulling him down to the ground.

Looking up from the ground, Doomsday saw bloodshot eyes glaring at him.

“Ah, right. Escape function.”

The bomb, powerful enough to shatter an A-Class superhuman, only slightly tore her outfit.

Realizing that, Doomsday understood too late.

This was never a fair fight.

“I also have an escape device on my fist. A fatal escape.”

“Wait, no…!”

-BOOM!!

The explosion from her punch shook the ground, burying Doomsday deep into it.

He didn’t die. Superhumans instinctively use their power to protect themselves in immediate danger.

Of course, beating him repeatedly would kill him, but now wasn’t the time for a finishing blow.

“…If you want to put on a show, do it on stage.”

Even after dealing with the situation, the damage was irreversible.

Outside the building, screams continued, and fire trucks were struggling to extinguish the flames.

“This isn’t the kind of show he talked about.”

Just looking at the scene made her feel the weight on her shoulders.

Even with fists capable of meteor-like power, she felt her limits in this situation.

***

The aftermath of a villain’s rampage is usually handled under the Association’s guidance.

But in remote areas with less influence, the hero who solved the incident often takes responsibility until support arrives.

Canceling schedules incurs huge financial losses, but the agency viewed Spiritas’s relief efforts positively and allowed them to stay.

After all, the villain who wreaked havoc across an entire city wasn’t just any individual.

With some media spin, they could market it as ‘a villain with at least A-Class potential!’ boosting her reputation even higher.

“My goodness~ I never imagined Spiritas would visit this humble inn!”

Having worked late into the night to manage the situation, Spiritas and her entourage stayed overnight at an inn in District I.

Late at night, exhausted from spending much time and energy managing the aftermath, staying was inevitable. The silver lining was that, for an inn in the outskirts, it had rare amenities.

“Our inn may be humble, but our hot springs are renowned far and wide. People come from the other side of the continent to enjoy their benefits!”

“Both Spiritas and the manager have private hot springs in their rooms. Please relax and enjoy your stay.”

After completing the necessary arrangements with the innkeeper as the manager, I headed to my private room.

For an outskirt facility, it was comfortable and spacious.

Compared to my previous studio apartment, it was luxurious. I regretted not bringing the Boss here.

“Is she going to be okay?”

Entering the quiet room, I couldn’t help but think of her.

Even if she wasn’t directly responsible, not being able to save everyone weighs heavily.

No matter how super a rookie… No, precisely because she’s an inexperienced rookie with great power, such conflicts likely felt more intense.

“…She needs to be alone now.”

Though I couldn’t say I was entirely unconcerned, what could I do?

I’m a villain, and taking care of her was just part of a job and infiltration mission.

Until the situation develops, I decided not to take any action. I undressed and stepped into the hot spring connected to my private room.

“Mr. Manager?”

Greeted by a woman already in the bath with just a towel.

No, it’s Kana.

But isn’t this bath connected to my room?

“What are you doing here?”

“Well, I needed to talk to you, so I waited in your room. But since you took so long, I decided to take a dip first.”

She calls it sweating it out.

Nonsense as usual, but…

Damn, this situation is too dangerous.

She got in the hot spring before me.

Fortunately, Kana didn’t scream or threaten to erase my memory.

“Um, since it’s awkward to leave and awkward for you to get back in… How about we bathe together?”

The worst part is her nonchalant attitude towards modesty.

Seriously?

A grown woman almost showing her naked body to a man, and you say that?

“Just stay there. I’ll wait until you’re done.”

“Eh, don’t be like that. Let’s bathe together!”

“Hey, hey! Don’t come closer!”

I turned away, resisting as she left the bath.

Sure, she’s always been casual about physical boundaries, but she’s an idol, isn’t she?

If her fans knew she acted like this with a guy, they wouldn’t stay quiet.

And I’m supposedly married. If you keep this up, the villain in me becomes more dangerous.

“Just.”

Though I wanted to voice my thoughts…

The feeling from the hand on my shoulder contrasted with my confusion.

Trembling and fragile…

An unfamiliar reaction from her.

“Just… Can you stay with me for now?”

“……”

End of Chapter