I'm Not Your Dad, I'm a Villain - Chapter 98

Chapter 98

Will of Fortune (2)

“Huff!!”

Unbreakable Vanguard.

As his name suggests, his body boasts incredible durability. But at this moment, it was crumbling under the blow of the hammer I wielded.

Even I was surprised by the absurd power I had unleashed.

-Crack.

But it wasn’t just his body that couldn’t withstand it.

The handle of the sledgehammer dug into my palm.

Beyond that, my arm broke in reverse, sharp bone fragments puncturing my elbow and spilling blood.

“…Ha, what is this nonsense?”

Pain was familiar, so I didn’t mind.

What surprised me was that I had never experienced something like this before.

My arm breaking because it couldn’t withstand the superhuman strength emanating from my body was new to me.

-Crack.

But the surprises didn’t end there.

As I tried to advance despite my broken arm, the bones in my arm moved on their own. Even though I didn’t intend it, my arm was rapidly regenerating at a visible speed.

As if what had just happened hadn’t occurred at all.

Not just my arm, but even the hammer that had broken in the previous strike.

“I get how it works now.”

In short, whatever I wish for, my body, as well as the tools in my hands, will regenerate.

“…Cough.”

As I observed my now fully healed body, I heard a cough.

The blood flowing from the cracks in his broken mask indicated that he had suffered significant damage from the previous impact.

“What the hell is going on…?”

“I don’t know either.”

Responding quietly to Vanguard’s words, I hoisted the hammer onto my shoulder.

I endured the weight through sheer superhuman strength.

Realizing that this power came at the cost of many sacrifices.

“I’m still not sure if gaining power this way is the right choice.”

Yes, I had made an irreversible choice.

Though I now had the power to twist even a predetermined future, an uncertain future is utterly terrifying for humans.

“But I’ve spent half my life in this hellhole. Don’t I deserve this kind of reward?”

But that was something I had always been prepared for.

Putting aside worries about the future and focusing solely on fighting with my body.

-Boom!

So I felt no hesitation in choosing to charge right away.

I simply unleashed the power surging from within.

-Boom!

My full-force strike pushed back Vanguard’s body, but the recoil was transmitted straight to mine.

Bones broke, muscles tore.

The hammer in my hand shattered, scattering fragments everywhere.

-Whack!

A fist aimed for that moment struck my covered head.

I felt my bones breaking and my brain mashing from the full-force punch.

But that was only momentary.

-Crack, snap!

Black threads emerged from my body.

They stitched my severed body back together, and my consciousness immediately revived, urging my next move.

As my broken arm regenerated and the weight in my hand returned.

-Boom!!

Vanguard was sent flying from a hammer blow imbued with vast superhuman strength.

Though my arm broke again, I advanced.

Knowing that by the time I closed the distance, I would already be back to my original state.

“Now this is a fight!”

Yes, this was the power I gained by abandoning my predetermined fate with my own hands.

The fate that follows like a wheel (Wheel of Fortune) no longer confines me.

My will-driven fate (Will of Fortune).

I can’t manipulate reality like Boss or foresee the future to avoid impending dangers.

But with my will, I can reattach broken limbs, restore shattered weapons, and keep driving the enemy back.

It’s not a grand power deserving the title of a gift, but at least.

As long as my will doesn’t break and I don’t give up halfway.

-Snap!

But I wasn’t the only one who gained power after overcoming trials.

-Boom!!

A fierce red spark.

Right after, a punch struck, dismantling my body and sending me flying.

Even though I protected myself with as much superhuman strength as possible, the force was enough to pierce a hole in my abdomen.

Before gaining this power, that alone would have rendered me incapacitated.

-Crack!

But now, it’s enough if I can endure the pain.

If I wish for it to heal, my abdomen recovers, and as long as I don’t let go of my weapon, it returns to my hand.

The speed was incomparable to before I awakened my ability. Far better conditions than when I could barely control my body.

“…It seems you’ve also entered the realm of demons.”

Grasping my rapidly healing wound, I faced him quietly.

His entire body was a mess. Wounds covered his body, still bleeding.

Though his body was tough, once his defenses were pierced, it would be fatal.

But that made his ‘finishing blow’ even stronger.

As long as he could exert his will to not yield to the enemy’s attacks.

“Shut up.”

And he was still getting up.

As if he hadn’t given up yet, firmly believing in his own righteousness.

“I’m different from you. I act strictly for justice…!!”

“Sure, if you say so.”

I didn’t find it pitiful or laughable.

In this situation, the one to be blamed would be me rather than him.

“…I’ll give you some sympathy. For selling your conscience for your beliefs.”

A hero who ventured into heresy for justice and a pure villain.

Even a child could tell which is the worse being.

“Why.”

Yet, was there something he couldn’t accept?

“Why… why do you go so far?”

Suppressing his pain, his voice trembled as he questioned me.

Why I strive for evil.

“…Now you want me to tell my story?”

“You showed genuine effort to save a child! Why are you still protecting her!!!”

It wasn’t a cheap provocation or a shallow consideration.

He genuinely couldn’t understand why I stood here.

“Thousands died because of her. Tens of thousands were injured, and hundreds of thousands lost their homes!!”

Was everything he saw during our first encounter just a lie?

Even now.

“Heroes…”

As he held onto a slim possibility that I was here for reasons other than being a villain.

“Many heroes died because of what she did. Innocent people lost their lives because of that one woman!!!!”

But what he thought of me didn’t matter.

“You know that applies to you too, right?”

Though less of a piece of trash than me, he was still someone who could be called evil in context.

Gifts are given one per person. Thus, the concept of multi-gift inherently involves stealing someone’s gift.

To balance abilities, one is not enough. Just as Seolhwa was the perfected result after years of experimentation, he too sacrificed many to achieve his current strength.

They could be criminals, heroes who died in battle, or volunteers like himself for multi-gift surgery.

“Shut up and answer my question!!”

Avoiding a direct response, Vanguard shouted at me.

But through the broken lens, I saw more betrayal than anger towards my provocation.

“A self-proclaimed villain…”

Even after just one encounter.

What did he sense from me?

“Why do you go to such lengths to protect that woman!!”

What had that meeting triggered?

Why did he cling so desperately to me?

“…Reason.”

But that was still someone else’s business.

Ironically, I wasn’t in a position to chat leisurely with him.

As my enemy, I had to intentionally reject and sever his sentiments.

“Do you think I need a reason to do this?”

“…What?”

“The crying child.”

But if he wanted an explanation, I would give it to him.

To lessen even a bit of regret in this fight.

“The result of you not reaching out to the crying child is that person.”

“…”

“Do you think it didn’t matter because there are so many orphaned brats?”

Committing heresy where no one can see.

Was justice such a convenient tool, such a narrow concept?

If that was true, the justice they believed in was worse than fanatical faith.

At least, the faithful minded their behavior even when no one was watching.

“The cries of the children you ignored echo in my mind every moment.”

And I was a human living in an era governed by such people.

So, every time I closed my eyes, I remembered.

‘Wahhhh!’

Existences that could only cry out in danger, seeking sympathy or waiting for help.

It was just imagination, but there must have been many such villains I encountered.

“While you ignore those cries, praising yourselves. Thinking this society is perfect.”

Of course, regardless of their circumstances, villains don’t deserve sympathy.

No matter the motive, they are trash.

Their actions can never be justified, nor should they be understood. True villains must not seek justification but always be ready for judgment.

“It makes me sick. Seeing that.”

More disgusting than the idiots who forget such facts was the damn society that nurtured them.

To protect the whole over the individual.

For the sake of sustaining society, forcing small sacrifices.

“If you truly claimed justice, you should have known what you were ignoring before criticizing them.”

“That…”

“You!!!”

-Boom!

I don’t think my thoughts are wrong.

That belief-infused hammer blow struck the ground, causing the space to tremble again.

“…If you truly upheld justice.”

Using it as support, I glared at the person in front of me.

“You should have always been wary of what would arise from the places you overlooked.”

The birth of evil.

There is no reason for it.

Justice, by excluding what it can handle, leaves room for evil to appear as long as not everyone is saved.

“It’s natural in this era. Even if it weren’t me, someone else would be standing here.”

So those aiming for justice should never sympathize with evil.

If the fundamental cause of evil isn’t erased.

If the flawed system of society isn’t overhauled from the start.

“…Legitimacy.”

My words didn’t seem to resonate.

“Don’t you have any intention of claiming legitimacy?”

No, he must understand.

He too is a being called evil.

He understands better than anyone what I mean.

“Are you satisfied just defining yourself as evil?”

Yet, for the sake of justice.

Calming himself with such consolation, he asked me one last time.

Truly.

Could I withstand a future where I might die miserably, unrecognized by anyone?

“Mercy and forgiveness should be sought in court.”

So I answered.

I was already prepared.

“This is a battlefield. If something doesn’t sit well with you, just crush it.”

“Ginger Bread.”

As he called my name.

His trembling body from the pain finally stilled, and he aimed his clenched fist at me.

“You really are a damn villain.”

Adrenaline from rage.

Forget the pain, and the hesitation seen through the broken lens was gradually engulfed by murderous intent.

“…You realized too late. Damn hero brat.”

His words delighted me.

Being called a damn villain by a hero felt like a dream after crawling at the bottom.

“Yes, we both know we’re bastards, but we don’t think the other’s path is wrong.”

Hearing that, I realized I had finally stepped into the battlefield I longed for.

I realized again.

What we’ve been doing all along isn’t a fight of great good versus small good.

Nor a fight of unconfident good versus confident evil.

“So before we properly clash, let’s settle one thing.”

A villain’s enemy is another villain.

The world is always manipulated by the fight between evil and evil.

“Here…”

With that realization, I gripped my hammer and made a quiet resolve.

Including the follower of justice before me.

I would clash with everything in this world called evil.

“The winner here gets the right to talk about justice.”

Remembering that everything began with a flyer I saw on the street long ago.

End of Chapter