I'm Not Your Dad, I'm a Villain - Chapter 83

Chapter 83

Truth (2)

“That’s impossible…”

“Aren’t you curious why Femme Fatale Familia betrayed the Association despite being the Heavenly Demon’s sidekick?”

Femme Fatale Familia.

As the Heavenly Demon’s sidekick, she was considered the epitome of justice, someone who would never betray anyone.

“She too wondered why the Heavenly Demon didn’t kill her. So she began to delve into the shadows, trying to uncover the truth behind his mercy.”

What she discovered was incredibly brutal, but she couldn’t deny the Heavenly Demon’s choice.

His decision wasn’t wrong.

Even if it wasn’t right, she thought it was inevitable.

“And in the end, she realized that all the Heavenly Demon could do after becoming terminally ill from that war was to take the truth he learned to the grave.”

“That’s impossible…”

Her immediate denial was reflexive.

Spiritas couldn’t dismiss it as nonsense.

Before it happened, she had believed in her and couldn’t erase her sympathy for the deceased.

“What was that truth…?”

What truth drove her to that extent?

She momentarily wanted to ask the one who knew.

-Creak!

As they reached the outskirts of the city, multiple vehicles entered the road, illuminated by the dawn sunlight.

They bore the Association’s emblem.

They must have come upon hearing the news of Gigantes’s capture, to escort him.

“We are agents dispatched from the Association to handle the situation.”

“We’ll take over the escort. Could you please hand over Gigantes to us?”

Managers in suits and armed personnel.

As Spiritas hesitated, Gigantes whispered while collapsing limp.

“Whether you believe me or not is up to you. It might be better for you to find out yourself rather than hearing it from me.”

No trace of regret in his demeanor.

As Spiritas withdrew her hesitant hand, the agents started to take custody of him.

The meeting with the mastermind ended there. As she watched, the Association staff began bringing auxiliary supplies like towels and water bottles.

“Spiritas, you’ve done a great job. Thanks to you, we can expedite the recovery of District B.”

“All the reduced damage is thanks to you, Spiritas.”

Gratitude, encouragement, cheers…

Normally, she would have accepted all of it willingly, yet Spiritas’s expression wasn’t good.

‘Did Uncle Marjack spare her?’

Gigantes’s words still echoed in her mind.

‘If that’s the case, everything that happened in this city is because Uncle Marjack didn’t kill her…?’

It might seem like an outcome-based conclusion, but Spiritas couldn’t dismiss the thought lightly.

Why did the person she admired make such a misjudgment?

No, was it truly a misjudgment?

Did he make such a misjudgment because what everyone blindly believed was wrong?

-Boom!

As distrust began to brew, a loud noise erupted.

It was the sound of the vehicle prepared to escort Gigantes flipping over.

“Ahh!!”

Whose scream was that?

At least it wasn’t from the Association’s people.

It was the prisoner, Gigantes, who slammed his head on the ground screaming.

“Gigantes is rampaging!”

“Subdue him!”

The Association’s defense forces urgently surrounded him, but despite the weapons aimed at him, Gigantes couldn’t withdraw his power.

His body was already broken beyond repair.

Yet the vehicle was lifted above him, a result of recklessly using his power without regard for his condition.

The blood flowing from his upturned eyes proved it.

“You all…”

To the extent that his brain was partially destroyed.

“How much longer do you plan to insult her…?”

Even risking his own life, he used his power to threaten the surroundings while weeping.

“These damn bastards…!!”

No, it was resentment.

An emotion that could never be felt from someone who previously accepted his end calmly.

“How can you call yourselves justice! Because of you, she had to abandon her beliefs…!!”

As Gigantes, having lost his sanity, was about to throw the vehicle lifted by his power.

-Slash!

A flash of light flew from afar, slicing through his neck.

With his severed head falling to the ground, the weeping around him ceased.

It was an unexpected intrusion for everyone present.

Even Spiritas, though exhausted, was no exception.

“…Ro.”

But the perpetrator was someone Spiritas knew.

Not very close, but someone she occasionally met when visiting the Association, a hero she had a personal connection with.

“Ronin, Uncle?”

The senior-most A-rank hero, Ronin Blade.

Though not publicly active, his tenure as a hero equaled that of Femme Fatale Familia.

And a veteran who survived the Great War three years ago.

“…It’s been a while, daughter of stars.”

Holding a blood-stained dagger in a reverse grip, he quietly walked through the Association staff to face Spiritas.

Wearing a mask and a hood, his attire was dark and Eastern in style.

But he too was covered in blood and dust, showing he had been tirelessly working at the disaster site.

“Why.”

But what Spiritas felt from him was not camaraderie or gratitude, but betrayal.

“Why did you kill him?”

“To reduce the damage.”

“He was so damaged he couldn’t even use his superhuman strength. He didn’t need to be killed!”

“Considering the worst-case scenario, he had to be killed.”

“But…”

-Swish!

As he swung his sword, the blood on the blade scattered.

Vector Control.

For him, who could adjust the momentum received by himself and his tools, removing foreign substances from his sword was easy.

“Daughter of stars.”

Yet despite the hesitation he might have felt.

He showed no reluctance in wiping away the traces of killing from his sword.

“Saving evil is only as long as everyone’s safety is ensured. It exists to show the public that we can handle great evil. We must prevent any harm to the public under the pretext of putting criminals on trial.”

Even death could not be a punishment to them.

That logic was only applicable within their capacity. Keeping a criminal they couldn’t handle was foolishness beyond arrogance.

“Once an incident occurs, discussing responsibility doesn’t help recovery… I believe you understand this, given your experience at this disaster site.”

Yes, wasn’t it possible to handle the situation in District B from the start?

Yet citizens, complacent in their comfort, refused to evacuate, and the Association, not wanting to admit their incompetence, downplayed the risks as always.

“That guy…”

But understanding that and what just happened were different matters.

“I subdued him. I could have killed him anytime, but I brought him alive because I thought the Association could perfectly control him!”

When he left her, he had accepted his fate. He had resigned to his situation.

Though evil, he had some humanity left, giving Spiritas hope for his rehabilitation.

She didn’t know why he suddenly lashed out and lamented, but wasn’t it a result of recklessly acting in a desperate state?

“Did you not trust me? Or…”

They should have subdued him somehow.

They needed to prove they could handle such problems lightly. To show the public that justice didn’t succumb to evil and could control them.

“Or was there a reason you had to kill him?”

Yet, without even attempting such efforts, they killed him.

Didn’t his earlier lament seem to indicate something had deeply offended them?

“…Daughter of stars.”

After a long silence.

Ronin Blade quietly removed the hand clutching his collar.

“I don’t know what he told you, but please don’t be swayed by the whispers of evil.”

The conversation ended there.

As Ronin Blade walked away, Spiritas couldn’t contain the emotions welling up inside her.

Ronin Blade.

A senior A-rank hero among the current heroes.

Yet, he didn’t care about public recognition, only focused on eliminating villains. He neither assisted higher-ranked heroes nor kept lower-ranked ones close… He was a watchdog silently following the Association’s orders.

From the beginning to the end, walking a path completely opposite to Femme Fatale.

“Spiritas, I’m sorry. Due to our negligence…”

“What.”

Perhaps he continued to work for the Association even knowing she had been corrupted?

Did he silence the villain, who knew the truth, fearing the risk of it spreading to the public despite being at the brink?

“Why did Gigantes lash out? What did you all say to him…?”

“The thing is…”

The Association agent, who seemed clueless, expressed only confusion about the situation.

He then relayed the message Gigantes had told him to her, word for word.

And…

“…What?”

Hearing those words, Spiritas was horrified.

“Seolhwa… is dead…?”

It was so sudden.

She couldn’t believe it.

***

…And still, it was early morning.

[This just in, the leader of the organization Pandemonia, which attacked District B, has been confirmed dead in District E!]

Hearing the urgent voice of the announcer resounding in the motel room, I felt my breath catch.

I had heard she targeted District B, so why was she found in District E, blocks away?

No, more importantly, dead…

Could Seolhwa have died so suddenly?

“Ah, it turned out this way after all.”

But the person next to me wasn’t surprised, only letting out a bitter laugh.

As if he had anticipated this.

Even the sudden news of an executive’s death didn’t faze him.

“…Anatomy.”

“Oops, I spent too much time engrossed in the broadcast. I need to finish up camp with the kids when they wake up…”

Despite my call, he nonchalantly got up.

After tossing the remote on the bed, he put on his outdoor clothes, preparing to leave.

“Then I’ll go check on the kids. If you’re tired, rest here. You were just brought in as a helper…”

-Bang!

“…Why is he acting up again?”

I grabbed him and slammed him against the wall, but he just looked down at me nonchalantly.

That gaze felt incredibly contemptuous.

“Did you know?”

“About what? That there’d be news of Seolhwa’s death?”

-Bang!

I punched the wall next to his head.

Skin tore and bled, but I didn’t care.

There was something more important than a wound that would heal with time.

“How much did you know?”

“…Ha, you’re a funny guy.”

Despite my question, he just chuckled.

The look in his eyes was clearly mocking.

No, it was outright deception.

He had shown this countless times before, but now I understood it was to ridicule my delayed reaction.

“Friend, did you really think the two of them would have a showdown in this raid? That the two women you care about would catfight, and the winner would stay by your side… Did you think it would be such an obvious development?”

“You think I’m joking?!”

I pulled him closer by his collar.

Suppressing the urge to tear his head apart… Yeah, if I ripped his mouth open here, I couldn’t hear anything.

“Tell me right now. What happened?!”

What did he know?

And why did he let her go without saying anything?

“Fine, I’ll tell you since you want it so badly.”

Seeing my desperation, he smirked and prepared to reveal the truth I didn’t know.

“Just don’t blame me. I had nothing to do with this, it was all her doing.”

I guessed it before he even spoke.

This was a story with a predetermined ending.

[Encountering and killing Seolhwa in District E was the A-rank hero, Unbreakable Vanguard, who was recently promoted…]

Her revenge.

From the start, it was destined to end in tragedy.

End of Chapter