I’m Not That Villain

81 – Missing (1)

War had broken out.

Not a surprise attack, but a full-fledged, total war.

People poured out from Hundred Eyes’ headquarters. Not dozens, not hundreds, but a scale that approached the thousands.

The crucial thing was that each and every one of them possessed an ability.

From the lowest ranks to the top brass.

Each individual held at least one power, moving as a single entity.

Nay… I predicted a large number, seeing as they called it a vast organization, a vast organization…

But good heavens, are there this many? Like a swarm of ants, aren’t they?

“Stay put.”

She said, curtly, as she left the room. A few, seemingly high-ranking officers, followed behind.

Dressed in suits, each armed to the teeth, they departed. They said the operation would unfold via numerous secret passages connecting the headquarters’ interior to the outside world.

“…Whew.”

An awful lot of them are going to die.

Truly.

This side and that side, well, at this point it’s become strange to try and discern right from wrong.

Hadn’t I seen it? Enforcers beating civilians to death, treating them as criminals.

Even so…now that things have come to this…

It’d be better if fewer people died, wouldn’t it?

*KWAH-aaaNG!!!*

Far off. From a great distance, the sound of something exploding echoed. And with it, the armed forces positioned in front of headquarters could be seen mobilizing.

At this juncture, there was effectively nothing I could do. The only task I had to perform now was…

Just one.

“Scarlett. How’s the phone repair coming along?”

“The repairs using these makeshift electronic contraptions here are nearing completion. Just a moment…”

A stray wire from Orb brushed against my phone on the desk.

Then, *thwack*.

A spark erupted shortly after.

The phone began to boot up again. I immediately checked the network.

Just as I suspected. Anything like an internal intranet was completely busted. Probably because everything, starting with the network, had gone haywire.

I glanced out the window. Down on the street, several pillars, presumably telephone poles, lay toppled on the ground.

Just as I suspected. To communicate with the outside, it seemed right to escape this place. But even so, I couldn’t just leave…

Perhaps waiting for the war to end sooner, as she said, was the right thing to do.

A continuous roar echoed from the street. Pillars of fire shot up with each explosion.

My appetite completely vanished, and I drew the curtains shut. I sat in the chair and swept my hair back.

Orb whirred and landed in front of me.

*Charrrr-lick*.

Scarlett’s hologram materialized with a brief static sound.

Starting from an opaque hue, the hologram fully solidified into a human form and sat demurely beside me.

“Master. Your heart rate is elevated. Anomalies detected in your physical state. Are you perhaps experiencing mental fatigue?”

“…To a certain degree?”

Well.

One way or another…

In the end, I’ve become involved in this thing called war.

Mental fatigue, naturally, began to creep in. Even if I tried to ignore it, my nerves were still frayed.

Not that I regretted the things I’d done. It was necessary, even, to protect the foundation of my life.

“I just…realized something again,” I muttered.

“What is it, Master?”

“That I’m what matters most. What I possess. Everything else…well, I don’t really feel like concerning myself with it too much.”

A wretched humanity, that.

Swallowing the words I couldn’t speak, I burrowed deeper into the sofa.

Scarlett, clinging to me as if to lean on my shoulder, whispered,

“You are the most important thing to me, Master.”

“……..”

This…

Precious little daughter of mine!

“The feeling is mutual, Scarlett.”

“…Master…♥.”

For now, resting my weary body seemed paramount.

It’d been so loud since dawn, after all, I hadn’t been able to get any proper rest. I thought I’d managed a nap after eating, but even that was just a snatch of sleep.

I don’t know what kind of things will happen next…

All the more reason to sleep. To prepare for what comes.

. . .

The Executive Agency against the Hundred Eyes in full-scale war.

The gunfire and explosions, the powers warping the city, it had been days. And at its end, only this remained…

Her words, echoing.

Black Mamba’s promise that the war would end within days.

“…Whew.”

The city’s din had vanished.

Bringing with it a silence that seeped into the half-destroyed buildings.

My worries, it seemed, had been needless. I watched as the city was cleared with astonishing speed.

The Public Safety officers, the Enforcers.

They were retreating. Their desperate flight from the city, leaving it entirely, was a pathetic sight.

Was it because they fought on unfamiliar ground? Or was there another factor?

The reason eluded me, but one thing was certain.

The Public Safety Bureau was fleeing Hundred Eyes, scrambling to escape the city.

“A load off our minds, Master.”

“Indeed.”

The city was being rebuilt swiftly. Civilians emerged from hiding, embracing each other, while Hundred Eyes members began cleaning the streets one by one.

It was as if they were filling the government’s role. Though, I suppose, since it was their territory to manage, it made sense for them to clean it up themselves. They’d need to fix it up properly to attract people back, so they could collect protection money once more.

It didn’t take long for the ravaged streets to regain a semblance of order. Nothing was truly devastated to begin with, mostly just surface damage, which allowed the restoration work to proceed rapidly.

Fifteen days since the war began. The communication networks were fully restored in those few days. Of course, the restoration was limited, but in certain areas, at least, cell phones were functional once more.

So, I immediately called my acquaintances.

…However.

No one answered the phone.

“…Huh?”

All of them were the same. They simply didn’t pick up.

It wasn’t even a rejection that followed. The ringing just kept going, then cut off abruptly.

[Cannot connect, after the beep to voicemail…]

“……?”

If it was just one person, I might have let it be.

But it wasn’t one person. All four I called were like this.

Seol Yewon too.

Renata as well.

Joo Hwarin also.

Even Lily didn’t answer.

“…What is this?”

Even if it was coincidence, wasn’t it strange?

I hastily rummaged through my messages. I even opened the talk app and checked, but there were no greetings.

Except for me, everyone else was outside the city. Even so, for something to happen like this…

Something had happened.

Somewhere I didn’t know.

“I’m ba…”

“Baek Soyeon!”

Black Mamba, having toiled away and returning home late at night, opened the door.

I went straight to her. Gripped her arm.

She flinched, twisting her body slightly.

“Wha– what is it? Something wrong? Why are you doing this?”

“You said you’d give me a reward, no?!”

“I… I did say that… but did I suddenly change my mind? What is it? Suddenly in need of some quick cash or something?”

“Find someone for me!”

“…What?”

I gripped her arm tighter.

A bond forged, inadvertently, within the belly of this Seoul.

But even if, upon closer inspection, the beginning itself was somewhat… odd…

Now, I didn’t want to let go.

In that underground facility. In my workshop…

The days we laughed and joked together were so very pleasant.

“I’m begging you… please…!”

“…What. What are you suddenly going on about? Hey. Calm down.”

Baek So-yeon sharply brushed my hand away. Instead, she carefully cupped my cheek.

“Speak clearly, so I can understand. Alright? Who is it you need to find?”

. . .

I recited to Baek So-yeon every defining characteristic of the people I needed her to find.

She tidied them quickly.

“No photographs?”

“…Regrettably, no.”

“Then that’s fine. The information is sufficient… well, with this much, finding them shouldn’t be an issue, but…”

Baek Soyeon, after a pause, glanced back at me.

She seemed to deliberate for a moment, then urged me away with a firm hand.

“You, leave here and wait at your residence. That underground bunker you were hiding in.”

“What?”

“That will be better for you. You don’t want to be famous, do you? But the longer you stay here, the more impossible that becomes. So, Lee Seojun. Now that things outside have somewhat settled, go back to your house.”

Baek Soyeon glanced back at me.

“…I can always come find you later.”

I only intended for it to be a fleeting connection…

How did things become so tangled?

But I had no choice but to nod. I needed her help. Even after more than half a day, nearing a full one, none of my acquaintances were answering their phones.

“It will take some time. It’s not a matter within Jung-gu, Seoul, but something outside.”

“…How long?”

“Well, I don’t know. Still, I’ll say this for certain. Because I’ve said I’ll find them, I will find them. In the meantime, rest at your residence. The aftermath of the war is causing vermin to slowly crawl onto the streets, so it will be somewhat noisy. We need to clean up the streets a bit.”

Baek Soyeon lightly pinched my cheek.

“Don’t come out. Understood? I’ll contact you once a day to check.”

“What is this, some kind of girlfriend thing?”

“…Wh-What nonsense are you spouting?! Just don’t come out! Understand?!”

I nodded to her shrieking voice. But I had no intention of holing up there, as she’d instructed.

Something had clearly happened to my acquaintances, judging from the situation. Severe enough to completely sever all contact…

I had to find them. Personally.

But first, I needed to be as prepared as possible.

I returned directly to the facility. As if no intruder had ever been there, the inside was unnervingly quiet.

Inside, I had only one task. To equip myself with proper combat gear and leave the Jung-gu district of Seoul.

“…Haa…”

Starting with equipment checks, I finished all the preparations for battle. I packed more than enough portable preserved food, then placed my shotgun-shaped specialized equipment into a case that could be slung across my back.

Seol Yewon’s home was the first place I went.

But there was no trace of her there.

“…….”

All that remained was merely the echo of her life. After sneaking in and peering inside, all I found was a clean space, missing a few pieces of furniture.

The only thing that caught my eye…

I picked up a framed photograph I had never seen before, resting on the table.

“…….”

A picture of her and me.

From Spa Land, when we were indulging in the massage chairs…

A photo presumably taken in secret.

It, framed and hung, was the entirety of the furniture to be seen in this room.

“…Tch.”

I have to find it, after all.

I can’t abide by things as they are.

And so, I turned on my heel. I retraced my steps to each of the shops we’d visited together.

But it was nowhere to be found. Not a trace of her remained.

…Then…

Renata, first and foremost.

I shifted my course towards Renata Lyudmila’s office.

Her office was certainly a turning point. The whole place was overturned, as if it had been raided.

I tried to find a witness, but all shook their heads, claiming they’d seen nothing of the scene when it happened. Meaning, I could glean nothing from this place either. Zero.

Where in the world is everyone doing, anyway? Who attacked Renata’s office?

Lost in thought, I moved forward, and then I turned my head, hearing a rustling sound from within an alleyway.

A shock of white hair, splayed amongst trash bags. Legs thick with dried blood.

“…You…?”

I had no choice but to halt, recognizing the face.

That woman, sprawled there like half a corpse…

It was the foreigner who’d advised me to leave Jung-gu, Seoul.