I'm Not Your Dad, I'm a Villain - Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Heroine Contest (2)

***

-Creak, bang.

A faint vibration shook the hall, causing the murmuring audience to look curiously at the ceiling and walls.

“Isn’t it a bit noisy?”

“Haha, it’s probably just the preparations. Surely, villains wouldn’t attack this place, right?”

“No matter how many crazy villains there are, they wouldn’t dare assault this place. Let’s just wait for the contest to start.”

Indeed, this is the stronghold of the heroes.

The audience in the banquet hall was at ease.

Their attention was solely focused on the upcoming contest.

“So, who do you think will win this time?”

“Well, that’s obvious, isn’t it? It’s got to be Femme Fatale Familia. The number of participants even halved when it was announced she’d be retiring.”

Femme Fatale Familia.

Nicknamed Femme Fatale, she has tirelessly worked in the entertainment industry since becoming a hero, capturing everyone’s heart with her unique charisma and elegance.

She’s the epitome of the name ‘Femme Fatale.’

In the entertainment world, she’s rated higher than most S-Class heroes.

“Indeed, with her participating, there’s no chance. If you’re a contestant, it’s better to withdraw. But if you have to pick a contender…”

“What about Spiritas?”

One person suddenly mentioned.

Those around exchanged glances before laughing it off.

“Well, she’s certainly impressive. She climbed to S-Class from the start, and unlike Femme Fatale, who’s retiring, she has room to grow in recognition…”

“But it’s impossible. This stage is about beauty and personality, not fighting. And her recognition comes from inheriting the legacy of the previous generation.”

Their evaluations weren’t entirely positive… In fact, they leaned towards the negative.

That atmosphere was understandable.

To some elites and entertainment industry leaders, Spiritas was a thorn in their side.

“Jack Horse. His power can only be passed on to those without abilities.”

“But Spiritas merely took the seat he created… As a person or a hero, she’s lacking in many ways.”

“Why did Jack Horse choose her? It’s incomprehensible.”

“Indeed. Even if only F-Class could inherit his power, there must’ve been better candidates with noble lineage or exceptional bloodlines.”

“Yet he chose an orphan from the academy. It’s baffling.”

Was their admiration too excessive?

Their negative perspective towards the successor even led them to belittle the choices of their idol, but no one there could restrain them.

The one who made the choice could no longer stand on the stage, and criticizing their wrongs was impossible.

“Let’s start the Heroine Contest now!”

“Ah, it’s about to begin.”

Even the hypocritical and mocking conversations died down as the event started.

The audience was solely focused on witnessing the already predictable result.

As their eyes converged, the host read from the script, moving the contest along.

“Now, who will be the top Miss Heroine of this season? The first contestant is the A-Class hero and living legend… the superstar, Femme Fatale Familia!”

-Clap, clap, clap.

The curtain rose with resounding applause, revealing an older woman who scanned the hall.

As people met her gaze, their faces gradually turned red.

Despite her age, her charisma remained. Her victory seemed almost certain.

“Ladies and gentlemen, citizens, and heroes, thank you sincerely for being here today.”

As the applause subsided, Femme Fatale bowed gracefully.

Despite her advanced age, her voice melted the hearts of those present, capturing their attention.

“As I mentioned, I’ll be retiring as a hero and from the entertainment industry after this contest. I’ve experienced much over my long career, and I feel quite a bit of regret. Especially the thought that if I leave the stage now, people might forget me…”

Expressing her fears in a sweet voice, Femme Fatale’s words made some people laugh unconsciously.

In the entertainment industry, she was seen as equal to the one called ‘Heavenly Demon.’

To think she feared being forgotten after retiring seemed like a joke to those who knew her stature.

“But I’m quite greedy, so the thought of being forgotten is unbearable.”

However, her words were far from a joke.

She genuinely feared being forgotten.

She desperately wanted to be remembered by others.

“I’ll give you all an unforgettable memory today… I hope you’ll like it.”

Indeed.

As the curtain behind the stage opened, items were thrown in, revealing her true intentions.

“…Huh?”

“What, what is this…?”

Spheres spewing a foul liquid rolled across the hall.

Faces of those who picked them up turned pale one by one.

“Ahhhh!”

One person screamed and threw it to the ground.

Others recoiled in shock.

On the floor lay a severed head.

“Ack! What is this!!”

Yes, a head.

The heads of those confirmed to participate in this Heroine Contest.

“Femme Fatale! What on earth is happening?!”

One guest shouted in panic as a cracking sound echoed from his body.

Something had pierced him from the floor of the hall.

“Urgh…”

Blood gushed from his body.

In his fading vision, he saw vines sprouting from the floor.

The vines led up to Femme Fatale Familia’s skirt on stage.

“Aaaaaah!!!”

“What, what’s happening…”

“Everyone, run!!”

The slaughter didn’t stop with one person. The entire hall turned into a bloodbath.

Ironically, the hall was filled with entertainment moguls and businessmen.

Without Gifts, their bodies were easily torn apart by the super-powered plants.

No one expected a hero, especially one who had lived as a hero for decades, to commit such an atrocity.

“Everyone, evacuate!!”

A hero finally appeared, sensing the chaos.

An A-Class hero called Bone Dragon, summoned to protect the hall in case of emergencies.

His body was covered in bony armor from his ‘Bone Armor’ durability ability.

Though he had withstood many villain attacks, this situation was unprecedented even for him.

The most respected A-Class hero was killing her juniors.

And ruthlessly massacring industry leaders.

“Femme Fatale! Why are you doing this?!”

Bone Dragon shouted in disbelief as Femme Fatale Familia extended her hand.

Something shot out of her palm, enveloping Bone Dragon.

“This isn’t the time to relax in front of an enemy.”

A giant plant moved with a squishing sound, resembling a Venus flytrap.

At its base lay a severed arm, presumably Bone Dragon’s.

The liquid covering the bone-studded arm was dissolving the bone without mercy.

-Crack, crunch!

The sight of what was happening inside the plant turned the guests’ faces pale.

‘Even with the experience gap, Bone Dragon is an A-Class hero, yet…’

No, it couldn’t be.

Femme Fatale Familia was a legend in entertainment but a second-rate in combat.

Her Gift, ‘Gaia Bless,’ could grow seeds in her body for binding, but it wasn’t powerful enough to destroy a durability Gift instantly.

Only someone of S-Class could do that.

“Femme Fatale!! Why are you doing this?!”

-Thwack!!

Unable to comprehend, another guest was struck down by thorny vines.

As his body collapsed in tatters, Femme Fatale smiled and raised her vine-covered hand.

“Didn’t I say? I’m greedy and want to be remembered by as many people as possible.”

The vines grew longer after she used her power.

The flowers on them snapped their teeth as if searching for prey.

“But in this age of rapid information, there’s no need for a large audience.”

Yes, she wanted one thing.

For this massacre to reach as many people as possible.

The more shocking the information, the deeper it imprinted on people’s minds.

“Let’s start the show properly!”

As she infused more superpower into the vines connected to her body for a grand massacre…

-Boom!!

A shadow burst through the wall of the hall, colliding with Femme Fatale.

Her body was pushed back, shattering a window, and fell right into the middle of the garden.

“…Haha. I didn’t expect to get hit by a junior at my age.”

The damage was mitigated by the flowers she wore.

Standing up, she quietly glared at the one who had pulled her out of the hall.

A blonde woman in a fluttering pink dress.

“This is our first face-to-face, kid.”

“Yes, it is, Miss Femme Fatale.”

Her face was painted with extreme anger, contrasting her sneer.

Clenching her fists with a cracking sound, Spiritas glared at her blood-soaked senior.

“Or should I call you Villain Femme Fatale now?”

The person before her was no longer a hero.

No matter her past achievements, recognition, or reasons.

She had massacred innocent people.

“Call me Millior. That’s what my close ones call me.”

“Fine, I’ll compromise and call you bastard, you bastard!!”

Spiritas dropped all formalities.

After witnessing what she had done, there could be no pretense of mercy or respect.

Even now, the vines sprouting from her body were adorned with severed limbs.

“Why.”

Seeing people die was nothing new.

Though she wished it didn’t happen, she wasn’t faint-hearted enough to turn away.

But this moment was different for Spiritas.

The person before her had participated in the Great War three years ago.

“Why did you do this? You, who supported him…!!”

Before becoming an independent A-Class hero, she had been the sidekick of the one who passed on his power to her.

“Right… You were his successor.”

Femme Fatale felt a sense of nostalgia from her junior’s bewilderment and hatred.

But more than that, she felt disgust.

The audacity of a still-green kid trying to measure up to her with inherited power.

“But don’t think I’ll back down just because you’re my old partner’s successor. You, who have lived in the spotlight from the start, can’t understand people like me.”

“Shut up, you bastard!! No matter the reason, you can’t expect understanding after committing such acts!!”

As she swung her fist, a sonic boom erupted, the shockwaves rushing towards Femme Fatale.

But the impact never hit her.

A massive tree trunk rose before her, perfectly blocking the storm.

“What…”

“Don’t underestimate me just because you inherited his power. I’ve been a hero for over thirty times the time you have.”

Ha, she laughed leisurely, raising her hand.

A vine moved, holding a syringe.

As the syringe pierced her throat, Femme Fatale’s body began to rejuvenate.

“If someone like me can gain power equal to yours… Haha, what will be the outcome of this fight?”

Her wrinkles disappeared, revealing her prime.

The aura emanating from her body signaled that her power now matched Spiritas’.

***

And…

“Hah. This is a mess.”

The hall had turned into a battlefield in an instant.

Walking through the field of corpses, I carefully examined the syringe I took from someone I killed.

“I see. I get it now.”

The syringe bore the red H mark of ‘Hell Scout,’ an underground pharmaceutical company.

A company owned by an Ouroboros executive before the war.

End of Chapter