I'm Not Your Dad, I'm a Villain - Chapter 31

Chapter 31

The Star Girl Spiritas (2)

***

“…This rookie.”

Such determination, born from that belief, seemed detestable.

An amateur who is merely a fake.

Trying to surpass the ‘real deal’ right in front of me.

“A rookie who just happened to inherit power, what do you know!!”

But could the nobility in her appearance have touched Femme Fatale’s reverse scale?

Femme Fatale’s ability spread, casting away all patience and sympathy. The surrounding trees rapidly elongated, encircling Spiritas.

As massive trees imbued with superhuman strength surged from all directions.

If this was her full strength, this attack would be the culmination of her mission.

‘Old man, how do you do that?’

Yet Spiritas did not despair.

Silently recalling his teachings, she calmly stepped forward.

‘Haha~ You want to learn the ultimate Moon Walk of this body?’

‘What? It’s just walking backward, what’s so ultimate about it…?’

‘It’s ultimate. The ultimate move to finish the stage!’

A man she could no longer see.

After adorning the stage that day and passing his power on to her…

He succumbed to his chronic illness and left the world.

“…Moon Walk.”

But memories with him remain.

That admiration also lives in her heart.

A technique practiced countless times in pursuit of that admiration.

Though she never mastered it as perfectly as he did, it’s enough to make it her own without the finesse.

-Crack!!

As power surged to her legs, her body moved backward.

Was this stance, walking backward in place, to evade the attack?

‘Naive thinking!’

This entire forest is her enemy.

How could she evade an attack from all of them?

-Boom!

Confident in her certainty, her body staggered as she amplified her superhuman strength.

Not just her body.

Even the trees rushing in her direction suddenly deviated, missing her.

Even those that brushed against her caused minimal damage, far from a direct hit. This was certainly not the intended outcome.

‘What, what…’

The anomaly was noticed as she felt bewildered.

-Kaboom!!!

The ground split open.

Her body, rooted in the earth, was thrust forward.

From her vantage point atop towering roots, her body was propelled straight to the woman below.

-Pow!!

Before the gap closed, a full-force punch launched her back.

As Femme Fatale staggered back from the blow, Spiritas pivoted on her rear foot.

-Crack!

The ground beneath her feet shifted again.

As her body, which should have been flung back, was pulled forward, veins popped on Spiritas’s fist.

“What in the world…!”

The surprised mouth that uttered disbelief was shut by the second punch.

As Femme Fatale was knocked back again, she finally realized what was happening.

‘It’s not just walking backward.’

Yes, it’s not just walking backward.

In this moment, the ground beneath her feet was being pulled.

“Ugh!!”

Femme Fatale, knocked down by the blow.

Her body, firmly rooted in the ground, should not have been moved, but she was not free from a technique that collapses the ground.

“Stand up.”

Spiritas stepped toward the fallen Femme Fatale.

“You said you’ve lived thirty times longer than I have? Are you planning to stay down after taking two punches?”

The realization that the rookie looking down on her was now looking down at her.

Enraged, Femme Fatale steadied herself and clenched her fists.

“It’s not about how long I’ve lived; it’s about experience, you brat!”

-Crack!

Countless tiny roots spread through the cracked ground.

Plants rapidly grew, forming various shapes.

Massive leaves rotated like saw blades, sharp-toothed Venus flytraps prepared to spew acid, and large seeds readied to launch like bullets from flowers.

An amplified superhuman strength transformed the environment into a living fortress.

-Boom!!

One stomp disrupted their balance, causing the attacks to miss their targets.

As the soil collapsed, burying everything.

Despite the efforts sprouting and emerging, everything was buried and writhing underground.

‘How…’

As chaos ensued, the forest was upended by pure strength.

Femme Fatale Familia’s face turned pale.

‘I should be as strong as an S-Class now. So how…!’

In superhuman strength, she was superior. Passed down through generations, it was an unavoidable gap.

But ultimately, it’s just pure superhuman strength. Physical power without special abilities is inferior to Gifts.

Jack Horse reached second place with such power because he mastered delicate control.

Generations of honed, seemingly uncontrollable superhuman strength, perfectly managed.

‘But this one is different.’

Yes, without any finesse, she’s merely pouring out immense power around her.

Chaotic and crude.

Unlike Jack Horse, who had elegance and skill, she lacked ‘beauty.’

“This is not the Heavenly Demon…”

The innate talent and relentless effort Jack Horse honed.

As she felt those being tarnished by the opponent in front of her.

“Such brute strength shouldn’t belong to an ignorant brat like you!!”

-Boom!!

Her desperate cry was crushed by a punch.

Femme Fatale’s body fell into the shattered earth.

“I know. This power is too much for me.”

Panting heavily, Spiritas.

Though her fists trembled, her eyes blazed with determination.

“But I’m the one who inherited it.”

Criticizing how to wield that power is tantamount to mocking his choice.

“He chose me.”

Knowing her admiration was ultimately for Marjack Colson’s power, not the person.

“What…”

As those words echoed, Femme Fatale saw Spiritas’s red eyes looking down at her.

Reddened whites, turned completely crimson.

Her skin turned redder, emitting smoke.

‘Unlimited Position.’

An ultimate move only Marjack’s heirs could use, allowing massive superhuman strength.

It amplifies the output of superhuman strength, dramatically enhancing physical abilities.

So, the brute force so far stemmed from that technique?

“…Are you planning to die?”

But powerful techniques come with penalties.

It’s like pushing muscles to tear themselves apart. It grants explosive power but damages the body, a double-edged sword…

Using this technique, Jack Horse defeated Ouroboros’s monster in the Great War three years ago, worsening his illness.

“I’m not planning to die. I’m going to push myself just enough not to die.”

Even with control, the pain would be immense.

Feeling immense superhuman strength tearing through the body is unbearable for an inexperienced rookie.

“So why are you worrying about me now?”

But Spiritas, gritting her teeth, endured it with sheer will.

Instead, she expressed concern for the ‘villain’ in front of her.

“Why don’t you worry about yourself? If my body gets wrecked, I have somewhere to go, but you don’t.”

“What…”

-Drip.

Blood poured from her nose.

Dizziness from the drug’s burden.

Approaching her limit.

Continuing to fight would be dangerous.

“Help me!! Save me!! You agreed to help for connecting you to the company!!!”

Realizing this, Femme Fatale gritted her teeth and shouted.

Strong as she was, her opponent was also fighting recklessly. She too would soon reach her limit.

If someone rescued her in that gap, she could escape.

Surely, someone was watching.

But…

“Why, why…?”

No one came for her.

Surely, they agreed to cooperate, so why?

‘Do you know the difference between a villain and a hero?’

A seemingly foolish belief.

But Spiritas understood her actions.

She had already heard it from someone.

‘Villains? I asked about heroes…’

‘More than half of the villains are ideologues. They think they’re right.’

‘…’

‘Even if they turn evil, many still believe they are just.’

Yes, the one before her was the same.

For some reason, believing herself right, she turned to evil.

‘But remember… No matter how right they think they are, no one supports them. That means they can’t even have insurance for when things go wrong.’

‘Insurance…?’

‘In society, people have safety nets even if they fail, but villains don’t.’

Yes, that’s the difference between villains and heroes.

Without laws, there’s no need to keep promises, and without morals, one can’t expect anything when it comes to self-preservation.

“It’s not me who lacked resolve, but you.”

That alone showed her lack of awareness.

Femme Fatale Familia.

She might be a veteran hero, but as a villain, she was a novice at best.

“If you planned to be a villain, you should have expected this.”

“Gah!!”

Rushing in, Spiritas landed a series of blows. With her body ruined by drugs, Femme Fatale couldn’t even defend against the relentless assault.

Spiritas stared down at the fallen Femme Fatale.

She powered up her fist for the final blow.

“Don’t… underestimate me…”

Coughing blood, Femme Fatale rose.

“You think I did this on a whim!?”

A sharp instrument. No, a syringe.

Countless syringes loaded with drugs plunged into her body, causing a heat haze to rise.

Superhuman strength surged explosively.

Seeing this, Spiritas couldn’t help but gasp.

“You maniac… Are you planning to die here!?”

“Aahaha! Aaaahahahaha!”

But Femme Fatale had already lost her mind.

Drunk on the surging power, her only thought was to kill her opponent.

If she couldn’t recover, she’d take her down with her.

-Kaboom!!

Plants surged up with that intent.

A disaster far greater than the overturned earth.

Thousands of trees surged like waves, targeting Spiritas.

-Swish, thud!

Spiritas moved through the trees.

Even as trees erupted around her, targeting her, she broke through.

Crack, boom!

Solid waves continued to form, turning debris into the foundation of towers.

As it accelerated, Femme Fatale’s screams grew louder.

“Just die already!!!”

Countless trees surged, aiming only at her.

Leaping repeatedly, Spiritas gathered superhuman strength in her legs.

And then…

-Boom!!

With a fierce leap, she soared.

Superhuman strength radiated heat, glowing as an afterimage, turning into a flash as she ascended.

“Think you can escape…”

She tried to pursue with her power.

But ironically, the distance created in that brief moment overwhelmed her drug-addled mind.

“What is that…?”

Mach 3 speed in an instant.

A distance of 5 kilometers.

“How far is she going…?”

From the ground, she would appear as a faint light, like a distant star.

End of Chapter