I'm Not Your Dad, I'm a Villain - Chapter 58

Chapter 58

In a Place Darker Than the Surface (2)

Crunch, crunch.

Sharp teeth gnawed at the body, and the digestive fluids mixed with protein and calcium to dissolve the mass.

As the previous trembling and screams were absorbed through the esophagus connected to his arm, Gray Anatomy injected a neutralizer into his arm, reverting it back to its original state before extending his hand toward the boat.

“Now, let’s escape. If you board, I’ll get you safely to the continent, so don’t worry too much…”

“Wait a moment.”

His former liege stopped him.

Her gaze was still fixed on the path he had come from.

“Is there something else on your mind?”

“Bread hasn’t joined us yet.”

“…Ah, him?”

What a trivial thing to worry about.

Gray Anatomy glanced around and spoke.

“Shadow, can you bring the friend you made this time?”

-Got it, Anatomy.

A voice emerged from the surrounding darkness.

With that, a black mark on the wall swiftly extended into the ship.

Even if the ship was flooding, there was no need to worry.

His Gift, ‘Dimension Control,’ allowed him to freely manipulate the dimension his body was affected by.

He could transform his body from the third dimension (3D) to the second and first dimensions (lines and points) and even interfere with higher dimensions to teleport to connected coordinates.

He could also affect those covered by his body, ensuring their safe return once found.

“Shadow will protect him, so let’s get going.”

“…Alright.”

Her hesitation was brief.

Knowing Shadow’s abilities well, she nodded and took a seat at the back of the boat driven by Gray Anatomy.

The boat’s engine started, and it began to move toward the open exit.

Voices murmured behind them, but the fate of any additional escapees was of no concern to him.

The water that flooded in from the iceberg collision would disrupt the ship’s balance, and a tilt of just 5 degrees would turn the opposite side into a scene of chaos.

If it reached that point, the ship would sink in an instant.

The whirlpool created by the sinking ship would devastate the area, submerging everything nearby into the deep sea.

So, the sooner they escaped, the better.

“Boss, may I ask you a question?”

As he drove the boat steadily toward the faint shadow of the continent in the distance, Gray Anatomy asked her a question.

Despite his polite inquiry, she maintained her cold demeanor.

“Speak freely. I am no longer your liege.”

“Well, even if the organization is disbanded, I still followed you. And I want to ask something out of old affection.”

While he gazed at the continent, her eyes remained fixed on the sinking cruise ship.

Was she still concerned about her subordinate inside?

“…What do you want to ask?”

“If it’s difficult to answer, you don’t have to.”

His words were driven by concern over her attitude.

A mix of curiosity and something more.

“That guy Bread, is he a hidden executive or something?”

And also a cautious question, given his erased memories.

Her gaze remained focused on the ship in the distance.

As the ship tilted further, her clenched fist against the railing tightened even more…

“…Why do you ask?”

Her response came as she glanced sideways at him.

This was not the reaction of the Boss he knew.

“Well, he’s too absurd to be just a lackey.”

He didn’t doubt that she was his liege.

But it was hard to believe that a man who had protected her so devotedly was just a lowly lackey.

“A lackey who shows no signs of being inferior to me or Seol Hwaran. Moreover, his mental strength is unlike any human I’ve known.”

Despite his broken spine and body, he used his minimal regenerative abilities to strike him.

Even as his teeth were pulled out, the look in his eyes was chilling enough to send shivers down his spine.

‘I’m sorry, Boss.’

And the guilt he felt toward his liege for trying to save him was genuine.

But could a mere grunt possess such absurd loyalty?

“So you think there’s something hidden.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

After voicing his doubts, her gaze slowly shifted from the sinking ship.

She stared at the trail left by the boat, eventually giving a bitter smile.

“I’m sorry, Anatomy. Unfortunately, I know nothing about him.”

“You know nothing…?”

“I only became aware of his existence at the end of the Great War. Before that, I never directly asked about his life.”

A being who had rushed in when he was about to give up everything after their defeat.

To a human, that being was nothing more than a small, bothersome fly.

But why did the moment it burned itself to save him feel so intense?

“Moreover, for the past three years, I’ve only received his protection. Since I was always on the receiving end, I couldn’t learn much about him. I only recently found out he has no hobbies…”

Despite the trivial reasons behind their relationship, she didn’t regret it but felt a sense of pity.

His life sustained by her will.

It wasn’t centered around him but around her.

“…That friend of yours must be quite a workaholic.”

“If you allow it, I’d rather regain my memories of him. You seem to be quite connected to Bread, so you might learn more about each other.”

Using her presence wasn’t something to take lightly, but for an old loyalist, she could endure that much.

But Gray Anatomy felt only mild curiosity toward him.

“No need to revive my memories. Your answer is sufficient.”

His question lacked desperation.

Even if he called him a friend, it was the same.

To genuinely feel friendship toward a human was unthinkable.

“…Do you dislike Bread?”

“Of course not. He’s human.”

But he never lied to her.

He joined her because he despised humans.

That hatred formed the basis of his loyalty, so he couldn’t compromise his attitude out of politeness.

“I only tolerate associating with him because he might have something I haven’t discovered about him that you hold dear.”

Still, if it meant testing his loyalty, he could endure it.

“If that’s the case, then what if…”

Ironically, she was entirely different from her past self.

“If I ever betray your trust, what will you do?”

Before speaking of strength.

If she lost her dignity as a transcendent and fell to a mere human level.

If that day ever came, how would his heart twist?

“…We’ll see when that time comes.”

Gray Anatomy dodged the question and resumed driving the boat.

The motor roared furiously as the boat sped across the sea.

The sound of water swirling grew faintly in the distance.

And then…

***

…Here…

The interior of the ship, where lights and sounds had all gone out.

The heavily tilted ship was a mess wherever you went.

Rooms were ruined by explosions.

Bloodstains splattered on the walls, leading to wave-swept bodies from the lower part of the ship, forming a macabre trail.

Even those bodies disappeared with the raging waves as Shadow reached the cargo area.

An area blocked by rising water, waiting to be submerged.

…Mr. Bread?

A man seated atop a heap of boxes, responding to his voice by lifting his head.

Dressed in a tattered suit and a face covered with a blood-soaked paper bag that even the sea couldn’t wash away.

“Ah, Mr. Shadow.”

As he gripped the tool covering his face, it tore apart with a ripping sound.

It didn’t matter. His revealed face showed a sense of relief.

Yes, there were no more attackers.

As if to say so.

“Did you come to find me?”

-Yes, I did. Are you badly injured?

“…Give me about 10 minutes, and I’ll be able to move.”

He could only move.

With muscle tears, fractures, bleeding, and organ damage, no one could say he was alright.

Even at this moment, the saltwater stinging his wounds must be causing searing pain.

‘Alone, he survived?’

Yes, he had done it.

The dozens of bodies scattered around the cargo area. In that tattered body, all of them.

All on his own.

“…How is Seol Hwaran?”

Did he not realize the shock he had caused?

Still seated on the pile of boxes amid the bodies, he looked down at Shadow and calmly asked.

Ignoring his own body.

Treating the surrounding corpses as nothing.

As if this moment was so familiar, only asking about the one he sought.

But his eyes reflected resignation.

Accepting he couldn’t achieve what he wanted…

-Seol Hwaran likely left.

Shadow forced himself to answer his gaze.

He didn’t encounter her directly, but Seol Hwaran was decisive when it came to operations.

If sinking the ship was the goal, she wouldn’t stay once it was beyond recovery.

If she had already escaped, even his abilities to traverse dimensions wouldn’t easily catch up.

“…I see.”

His calm response was followed by a bitter smile as he quietly placed his hand over his eyes.

“Again…”

As the wet hand wiped his eyes, droplets fell, adding to the weight of his soaked clothes.

“Again, I’m too late.”

The words he uttered were surely filled with regret.

No matter how desperately he struggled.

No matter how many trials he overcame, no matter how many times he survived.

He always arrived at the scene only after everything was over.

None of the outcomes he faced had ever been under his control.

‘Once again, I failed.’

‘I lost again.’

Even the self-reproach was so familiar that his heart was broken beyond recovery.

Shattered into unrecognizable fragments.

-Kwa-gang!

But the world gave him no time to wallow in loneliness.

As space distorted further, the pile of boxes he sat on grew unstable.

Soon, this place would collapse entirely.

Realizing this, Shadow quickly reached out to him.

-Mr. Bread. Can I take you with me?

“Take me… where…?”

He lifted his head momentarily.

His eyes held a fleeting hope.

A hope that quickly appeared and vanished.

“…Yes, right. There’s no time to deviate now.”

How ridiculous.

Even though he had already given up, he briefly thought he might have a chance to catch up with her.

To think he could make such a request when he couldn’t even reach her in the first place.

“Let’s go back. To her side.”

So he chose to return to his role, abandoning what he couldn’t grasp.

His eyes still held resolve.

Though this failure was just another resignation, it didn’t shatter his life.

‘I am not broken.’

No matter how sturdy a tree, once snapped, it cannot stand again. But this frail reed was ready to rise once the wind calmed.

Realizing his own weakness, he prepared to embark on the most arduous journey of all.

Shadow found it hard to ignore.

Even if his body and mind were tattered, if he could maintain that attitude and move forward.

Such a bloom could surely be called ‘nobility.’

‘Boss, I think I understand why you chose him.’

Ouroboros, the evil syndicate.

The second-in-command of the most powerful and terrible group in Pangea’s history, felt a shiver from the man he carried.

From within the ship heading toward the deep sea.

From a place darker than any on the surface, like the belly of a giant beast.

He sensed the stirring of a seed of great evil that surpassed even those born inherently evil.

End of Chapter