Being a Villain is My True Calling

Wheeeeeeee–!
Wheeeeeeee–!

“[Hey, all of you, stay focused!]”

“[What the hell is going on in the middle of the night?!]”

The emergency siren blaring in the dead of night instantly sent the Tartarus guards into a frenzy.

‘What could be happening on the very first day…’

John, who had been standing guard duty with Bob outside, was somewhat bewildered by the unfolding situation.

“[Haaah…my luck is just dreadful these days. Burp]”

“[Ah, is this not a common occurrence, Bob…?]”

“[Tch, not at all common. I haven’t seen anything like this during my entire tenure here….Burp]”

Seemingly inebriated from excessive drinking, Bob swayed unsteadily, unable to maintain his balance.
Glancing around furtively, John subtly supported the staggering man.

“[And judging by their frantic commotion over there, it seems something has gone terribly awry.]”

“[…Indeed.]”

John and Bob silently observed the disarrayed guards scurrying about.
Bob briefly watched them before rummaging through his pockets to retrieve a cigarette, lighting it between his lips.

“[Didn’t you hear the warning? It mentioned an S-rank escapee, an S-rank. The only place warranting that alert would be at least sublevel 6.]”

Recalling the briefing on each sublevel from earlier that day, John pondered Bob’s words.

Sublevel 6.
The floor housing numerous top-tier villains congregated in one place.

Even with their abilities weakened by the power of the Vestiges of Mystery, the guards found them utterly uncontrollable – avoiding that area entirely except when disposing of corpses.

“[The inmates there were either apprehended by heroes whose powers counteracted theirs, or elite S-rank heroes. Just imagining one of them breaking loose is terrifying enough.]”

“[..An emergency the moment even one of them escapes, I see.]”

And that was precisely the cause for the current commotion.
After comprehending the gravity of the situation, John surveyed his surroundings with a tense expression.

“[Actually, come to think of it, a sublevel 6 breach might be the better scenario. If it’s from the level below that…]”

Bob muttered under his breath.

“[There are lower levels beyond 6?]”

Upon properly registering Bob’s remark, John probed further.

“[I don’t know much either. But I’m well aware that ignorance is bliss in this case.]”

“[?]”

Brushing aside John’s bewilderment, Bob imparted the pertinent concern for them.

“[In any case, we should brace ourselves to submit an incident report at the very least.]”

“[Ugh..]”

The prospect of filing a report on their very first day sent a chill down John’s spine.

“[An incident report on our first day of duty…]”

“[Well, at least we were stationed outside, so we might get off relatively lightly.]”

Right, it was the seniors inside who had failed to maintain proper vigilance, wasn’t it?
Perhaps they would face less severe repercussions?

Oblivious to the fact that their own exterior guard duty had already been compromised, John could only hope the fallout would not extend to them.

“[All armed personnel, advance to the 4th floor! The vanguard has already proceeded ahead, but they shouldn’t have breached the 5th floor yet!]”

Following the directives of the Tartarus deputy warden, who had assumed command in the warden’s absence, the guards began establishing a defensive line on the 4th floor.

“[Stay vigilant, all of you!]”

Heeding the deputy’s orders, the guards meticulously prepared themselves.
Yet, deep down, a collective thought emerged:

‘Surely with these preparations, we can apprehend them, can’t we?’

Not only were their defenses properly fortified, but as Tartarus guards, they were all trained and capable individuals to varying degrees.

In contrast, their adversary was merely one individual.

Deprived of proper nourishment, their health and stamina were undoubtedly deficient.
Regardless of how formidable they might be, with such disparities, apprehending them should prove feasible.

“[At our current numbers, there’s no way they can slip past us! Just do your jobs properly!]”

The deputy warden, harboring similar sentiments, relayed his commands.

[WARNING! WARNING!]

At that very moment, another warning blared.

[B-rank escapee detected! B-rank escapee detected!…]

An additional inmate had seemingly escaped as well.

“[What? Another one has escaped?]”

“[But with unique passwords securing each individual cell, there’s no way to open them without the security keys, right…?]”

“[Is there some issue unfolding below?]”

The guards began to panic.
Observing their unraveling composure, the deputy yelled at them.

“[Stay focused! It’s just gone from one to two escapees! If we keep our wits about us…]”

[WARNING! WARNING!]

And then, the incessant warnings resumed once more.

[WARNING! WARNING!]

[WARNING! WARNING!]

The unrelenting alarms signaled that something had gone terribly awry.

[B-rank escapee detected! B-rank escapee detected!…]

[C-rank escapee detected! C-rank escapee detected!…]

[B-rank escapee detected! B-rank escapee detected!…]

[A-rank escapee detected! A-rank escapee detected!…]

…

Oh shit.

In an instant, the guards were plagued by an unsettling sensation akin to insects crawling across their skin.

“[…Must be a system malfunction.]”

Kugugugugu-

One guard’s voice echoed in denial of reality.
Shortly after, an inexplicable tremor emanated from the level they occupied.

“[Kkyaaahhoou!!]”

“[Let’s all get out of here!!]”

“[Ooohif we escape, it’s over!! Ooohif we escape, it’s over!! Oooh~if we escape, it’s over!!]”

“[Kkyoooooooooh–!!!!!]”

“[These insane-]”

The inmates quite literally poured forth in droves.
Faced with the torrent of emerging villains, the guards’ complexions paled.

“[Pull yourselves together, you bastards!!]”

Witnessing the guards descending into panic, the deputy bellowed at them.

“[If we can’t stop them now, it’ll be disastrous! Are you going to release these scum back into the world?!]”

“[B-But their numbers are too…]”

“[You shitheads!! If we can’t contain this, we’re all gonna lose our fucking jobs!!!! Stop whining and stop them if you don’t want to end up broke!!!]”

“[..!! Hey, hey! Everyone, hurry and stop them!!]”

“[Use your bodies as shields if you must!!]”

“[Shiiiiiiiiit!!!!]”

Galvanized by the deputy’s impassioned exhortation, the guards finally regained their senses and began engaging the escapees.

“[Just five minutes! Endure for five minutes!! By then, the warden and outside heroes will arrive to assist!!]”

“[Kkkeeeeeeeehhh–!!!]”

“[So you enjoyed dishing out beatings, huh, you bastards?! Now it’s your turn to get your asses kicked!!]”

“[Kkyooooooooooh!!!]”

Escapees vs. Guards.
The unprecedented clash within Tartarus had finally commenced.

“Hmm, we should probably exit swiftly.”

“…I concur.”

However, the very individuals responsible for instigating this pandemonium remained utterly dispassionate.

“[Hey! Are you going to get locked up again?! Use brute force if you have to, just push through!]”

“[Puuuuush theeeem baaaaaack!!!]”

Observing the chaotic landscape, Maker – or rather, Akaoni – calmly mingled among the fray, naturally slipping away alongside Alpha.

Despite the deputy warden and guards’ efforts, they steadily found themselves being overwhelmed.

‘I was a bit concerned about it being sublevel 5, but they’re more formidable than expected.’

The majority of the escapees hailed from the confines of sublevel 5.

While not as uncontrollable as the sublevel 6 inmates, the sublevel 5 prisoners were still hardened felons to be reckoned with.
As the lowest level apart from 6, it housed the most severe offenders.

“[Get ’em, you bastards!]”

In other words, they were individuals who had amassed considerable villainy experience.

“[These scumbags…]”

Naturally, being below the uncontrollable threshold of sublevel 6, most inmates on 5 were still within the guards’ capacity to subdue through force.
However…

“[Ughh…damn it, fall back! Gradually retreat and secure our rear defenses!]”

“[There’s just too fucking many of them…]”

The crux of the issue lay in the sheer number of inmates released simultaneously.
No matter their individual levels of threat, having the entire population of that floor – numbering in the thousands – break loose overwhelmed their response capabilities.

“[…At least there haven’t been any additional escapees, I suppose.]”

Apart from the initial sublevel 5 villains, no further inmates had joined the fray – a small consolation amidst their plight.

“[Endure a bit longer!! The heroes and the warden will arrive soon!!!]”

However, no matter how valiantly they struggled to stem the tide, the guards found themselves steadily forced back.
Before long, they had been driven all the way back to the surface level.

“[Uwaaaaaahh!]”

“[Overwhelm them!!]”

“[Kkkeeeeeeeeehhh–!!!!]”

“[Deploy the restraints and cages!!]”

“[It’s time for these foreign currency leeches to reign!!]”

“[Heroes, awaaaahh!! Warriors, awaaaahh!! Time to eat!!!]”

“[These insane psychopaths-!!]”

Recoiling in terror from the unhinged escapees, the guards and inmates clashed fiercely once more.
As they traded blows amidst the mayhem, Akaoni momentarily observed the spectacle.

“Hmm.”

He then turned his gaze towards Alpha, garbed in a tattered cloak.

“Since we’ve reached the surface level, let’s discreetly slip away from here.”

“…Is there a viable method?”

“There’s a secret route through the forest.”

Originally intended for use by a villain group in the source material, but now Akaoni planned to exploit it himself first.

“As long as we can reach the forest undetected, we can escape.”

“…Then let us depart swiftly.”

Releasing a ragged breath, Alpha nodded in agreement.
Just as Akaoni prepared to abscond alongside Alpha, however…

“[Hold it right there, villain.]”

Kwooooong–!!

An authoritative voice rang out as an assault rained down upon them amidst the fray of villains.

Kwoong–! Bang! Kwoogoong–!!

“[Uwaaaahh!!]”

“[Aaaaaahh!!]”

“[You crazy warden! You almost hit us too!!]”

A brief barrage ensued before subsiding.

“Whoa, shit. If not for the old-timer, I might’ve died there…?”

“You are comparatively frail, so exercise greater caution.”

The boulder-like projectiles, akin to hurled explosives, had fortunately been shielded by Alpha – sparing Akaoni from harm.

“[I’m relieved you survived.]”

Turning his head, Akaoni found a stern-faced middle-aged man blocking their path, arms defiantly folded.

“[Return to your cells at once, criminals. The outside air is not meant for the likes of you to breathe.]”

“…Hah, figures. It couldn’t be that simple.”

The middle-aged man’s identity was none other than the hero Victor.
Regarded as the pinnacle of heroism in the current era.

“Alpha.”

“……”

“Can you create an opening for us to slip past him?”

“…Leave it to me.”

And he had once been Alpha’s closest friend.

More precisely…

Kwooong–!

“[Hmm?]”

…had been his friend.