I’m Not That Villain

chapter 88



87 – Pathfinding (2)

I arrived back at the building, now completely devoid of enforcement presence.

The building itself was empty. There was nothing particularly remarkable about its interior, either.

Only an abundance of overturned and broken things, as if struck by a bomb.

“……”

What fool in this world would enter an enforcement agency with robbery in mind?

Whatever Seol Yewon did, it certainly wasn’t robbery.

I stepped over the yellow-taped boundary line.

“…….”

Everything is a mess. There’s little left from which to discern any traces.

But one office, at least, was different.

Blood was splattered everywhere, be it ceiling or floor. Patches of flesh clung to the walls, sometimes together with fragments of black cloth.

I righted an overturned piece of furniture. Underneath it, I found strands of severed hair.

Sky blue.

Sky blue hair.

“…….”

Seol Yewon was here.

Perhaps it was she who waged this battle, too.

But the trail went cold here. Beyond this room, not a single clue remained to be unearthed.

“…What will you do?”

She asked, her voice a careful ripple in the silence.

Wordlessly, I sank into a chair.

I pondered. The deeper I delved into thought, the more the blood seemed to drain from me. To be surrounded by what was presumed to be Seol Yewon’s blood, scattered so carelessly…

Far from igniting, it only grew colder. This thing I call a heart.

“…Scarlet.”

“Yes, Master.”

Beneath the chilling logic taking hold, I conceived the optimal path to find her.

A path. Yes. The path. By discerning the path, ultimately, I could learn how they escaped this place, what they did to Seol Yewon.

But there were no surveillance cameras. Most of the surveillance cameras within Seoul were already shattered, ruins of a bygone era. Only a precious few remained.

The only footage of Seol Yewon that existed was the accidental capture of a stray phone camera during the street warfare.

This is Seoul. A lawless city where oversight barely exists.

But even so…

It wasn’t as though there was absolutely no way to track them.

“What will you do?”

“…Simple, really.”

I glanced upward. All that remained was the ghost of where a surveillance camera had been.

It, reduced to mere husk, would surely have been recording everything within these walls.

Why?

For accurate records are needed to report to superiors.

So it goes with most public institutions. Enforcement agencies are no exception. Video documentation is a necessity in modern society, a way for officials to prove their very existence.

But that doesn’t mean we’ll find it here. Because…

Simultaneously with their retreat, the Enforcement Agency took all video records left behind in this place.

Only the outer shell remains. Just broken machines, devoid of anything salvageable, that’s all.

Even so, within that chain of reasoning, I glimpsed a possibility.

Those who possess the video records from inside this place exist.

And they are currently fleeing, all the way into the territory of Gangnam’s backhand.

Knowing that the surveillance camera records, the ones filming this entire building, are there… that alone is a piece of good news. Somewhere, there will be a scene capturing the day Seol Yewon vanished…

And simply taking down the Enforcer who fought her will surely lead to her whereabouts.

“I’m going to Gangnam.”

“…Hmph. To snatch the records of what happened in this office from that place?”

“Yes. You should back out. Thanks to you, I was able to get this far.”

Infiltrating the Enforcement Agency’s inner sanctum.

And it would surely not end peacefully. A desperate fight would undoubtedly erupt.

“This is my дело. There’s no need for you to get further involved.”

“Don’t want to.”

“……..”

“Let’s go together. I offered to help, didn’t I? Besides, you seem adept with machines, but not so practiced at fighting…”

She brushed off her rear and stood up.

“I’ll do it. Bodyguard duty. You should know it’s an honor, you know? Someone like me, taking on bodyguard work directly is quite rare.”

“…There’s really no need for you to go that far…”

“Don’t refuse. Really. Instead, promise me one thing.”

“A promise?”

“Yes.”

Teresa poked my cheek.

“Tonight too, and tomorrow, sleep with me. That’s all I need.”

“………”

I stared blankly at her.

A woman with no name. There was a reason why we hadn’t exchanged names yet.

We would eventually part ways, and after that, we wouldn’t meet again.

Should I share names even now? I considered it for a moment, but quickly dismissed the thought.

If things go wrong, if I were to be tortured, I might spill her name…

It’s better this way, just remaining unknown.

“I need to ask you something serious.”

“What is it?”

“I’m guessing you’re a gifted one… but you’re strong too, right?”

She smiled.

“If anyone who knew me heard that, they’d all faint dead away.”

“Pardon?”

“Even if I look this frail, I’m truly strong. I poured my entire life into building strength, all for the sake of one person.”

She smiled with her eyes.

“I’m lending you that strength. Just for a little while. So there’s no need for suspicion. Because I’m confident I wouldn’t lose to anyone…except for that single, solitary person.”

. . .

A changed headquarters. Beneath the altered building, the Enforcement Officer guarding the entrance yawned wide enough to dislocate his jaw.

Only a few days ago, it was all racket and ruin, but not anymore. This brief peace, compared to the war just days prior, felt like a bona fide miracle.

But hadn’t they said humans were creatures of adaptation? A body unable to withstand a mere six-hour shift ached and creaked.

…Those b*stards. So thrilled about their given leave, off to the casinos, they’d said.

But the Enforcement Officer knew better. His comrades hadn’t gone to the casinos solely for amusement.

Probably, they all wanted to forget. The memory of that day. The spectacle of people dying in droves.

“…Crazy b*tch.”

The Enforcement Officer, mumbling to himself without realizing it, cleared his throat unnecessarily. He made a concerted effort to forget about Black Mamba, staring intently ahead.

This was a ten-story building that the Back Hand had lent to the Enforcement Agency.

Situated in a sparsely populated area, it was exceedingly quiet here. The only people passing by were homeless men, staggering with drunkenness.

No one who posed a security risk had been seen during his six-hour shift. Likely, he wouldn’t see anyone dangerous during his remaining duty hours either.

The Enforcement Officer surreptitiously pulled out his phone. He blankly scrolled through the internal Seoul SNS.

Plenty of pretty women, aren’t there? Just because it’s a lawless city doesn’t mean it’s all bad.

Why are the prostitute prices so cheap? Should I stop by after work? There’s nothing like a woman to melt away the fatigue accumulated in one’s body…

-Clunk.

The Executor reflexively pocketed his phone. He’d been guarding the building’s rear entrance, and now he glared ahead.

“…….”

But no one was there. Not a soul within his sight.

Must have been a cat, maybe?

The Executor slowly powered his phone back on. Lost to time, he mindlessly scrolled down his SNS feed.

Unseeing, he missed the twin shadows scaling the wall above.

. . .

That was a close call.

But we weren’t caught.

Fourth floor. I slipped into what looked like an empty office, finally able to draw a breath.

Or rather, who could have known? The climbing axe I’d hammered in to ascend had sunk deeper than anticipated, dislodging fragments of the wall.

“That was close.”

She followed me, slipping through the open window as well. I immediately clamped my hand over her mouth.

Pulling her into my arms, I kept our heads as low as possible.

-Thud.

Footsteps echoed in the hallway. A beam of light passed overhead, as if searching the darkened office.

“…Hmm…Thought I heard something…”

The door opened. I shrunk further beneath the desk. The footsteps that entered the room paused at the open window.

“Who leaves this open again? Honestly…”

The window clicked shut, and the sound of footsteps faded once more from the office.

Only then did I release my hand from her mouth.

Silent the whole time, she burrowed her head against my chest.

“Intriguing. Quite the exhilarating sensation.”

“I find no amusement in it. Let’s abscond with the target and leave quickly.”

“Where do you surmise the stored media resides?”

I hadn’t a clue.

But ultimately, there was but a single path.

“…We’ll have to seize someone and inquire. Employing, of course, the most humane methods possible.”

“That’s where my expertise lies.”

“Truly?”

“Two fingers, perhaps, severed strategically. They will talk.”

“…Let’s reserve that as a last resort. First, we need a plan for which soul to… appropriate.”

I cast a furtive glance down the corridor. The figure who had been traversing it had already descended the stairs.

Should we subdue a guard as they pass? The crucial element lay in ensuring no whisper of sound escaped during the entire undertaking.

This place teemed with Enforcers, currently.

The slightest deviation from the norm would unleash that elite force in a torrential wave.

Unlike our previous state, where flight was our only option. Now, retreat was unthinkable; we must fight until the end, extorting that storage device from their grasp.

“We’ve become… criminals, it seems.”

“…A reality we must endure. What choice have we?”

We waited. Waited on, and on.

Trapped in the office, swallowing our voices, we waited for the next guard to arrive.

Just a single moment to ambush them, clamp a hand over their mouth so no sound could escape…

Then, make them reveal the location of the storage device.

-Thud. Thud.

At long last, the sound of footsteps echoed in the hallway. I left the door ajar, waiting.

The footsteps passed the doorway.

She and I lunged forward in unison.

“Mph?!”

Mouth first, then dragged swiftly inside. Forcing the struggling figure into a chair, I pressed a finger to their lips.

“Shhh! Shhh! We don’t intend to kill you, so be silent! Just be silent!”

“Mmph…?!”

“Only one thing. I only need to ask you one thing, understand? Answer it, and we’ll let you go, no harm done.”

The warden’s eyes widened.

At that moment, a voice crackled from the radio clipped to his belt.

[Anything happening on the fourth floor?]

Had some noise escaped…?

I bit my lip. Now that sound had bled out from the radio, we had to answer. The longer we delayed, the more suspicious they’d become.

“…Tell them everything is normal.”

But whether he’d cooperate was anyone’s guess.

“If it were me, I’d never cooperate. Screaming into the radio for them to save me would have a higher chance of survival.”

She seemed to realize this too, cracking her wrists with a sharp snap. As if ready to snap a neck entirely if necessary.

The guard’s eyes hardened. He opened his mouth wide, as if about to shout.

So, it’s going to be like that after all.

Then, it’s better to subdue him here and drag out the time as much as possible…!

“…All…clear.”

Huh?

[Understood.]

The radio went silent.

I swept a hand across my chest, relieved. Feeling awkward, I offered a hesitant thanks to him for making a choice different than I expected.

“Th…thank you…?”

“I’m the one who should be thanking you.”

“Huh?”

“For stopping me from becoming a monster.”

He smiled. Only then did I truly look at the guard’s face.

“Eh…? Could it be that you’re that…?”

“Yes.”

The enforcer I briefly encountered during the escape from Black Mamba.

The same one who was once beating a civilian gave an awkward laugh.

“Glad to see you look so healthy. Haha…”


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