The Worst Villain is Actually a Cute Girl

Chapter 27: One Who Seeks to Become a Hero

Isaac glanced at Nina, who had turned into an ice statue.

He wore a faint, lonely smile, but his eyes were indifferent, as if he couldn't believe they had once shared so much time together.

"A useful and rare NPC... But what can I do? I can't let her ruin the plan, so I had to act first."

Even though he had harmed his own comrade, he felt no guilt whatsoever.

His attitude was simply that of someone lamenting the loss of a valuable piece, which made it all the more chilling.

"Really now, how did she even find this place? Well, she has good instincts, so it’s not strange that she figured it out eventually. But of all times, why now...? Sigh~ That’s why I always told her not to get too curious."

It’s difficult to recruit an NPC who is both highly skilled and possesses a decent personality.

Especially in this cruel world, where attachments mean little and death is the norm.

In truth, he had wanted to keep her as an ally.

But leaving such an uncertain factor unchecked could jeopardize everything.

If Nina had been a heroine or an important NPC, he would have captured her and erased all her memories of this place through brainwashing.

But Nina was just an ordinary NPC.

Even if it was a waste, he had to discard her for the sake of security.

Isaac lightly patted Nina’s shoulder.

Small cracks began to form in the ice statue.

"Well, don’t resent me too much. This is all for the sake of the world. If anyone asks where you went, I'll just say you died during a mission."

Isaac waved his hand casually in farewell, then walked past Nina and headed toward the massive glass chamber.

The ice statue shattered into countless pieces.

His steps remained light.

Isaac pressed up against the glass chamber and looked down.

It was pitch-dark with not a single light to be seen.

But he knew exactly what lay below. His eyes gleamed like those of an excited child.

As he gazed at the successful creation slumbering at the very bottom, a satisfied smile spread across his lips.

"It took so long. Getting here was truly a long journey. I can't let it be ruined now."

Before he became Isaac, he had been an ordinary man from South Korea, just like any other.

The man had been playing a game.

The game’s name was Apocalypse World.

As its name suggested, it was set in a futuristic city with fantasy elements, depicting a world in decline due to excessive technological advancement and human conflicts.

The game’s difficulty was incredibly high.

It was so hard that he had slammed his keyboard multiple times, shouted in frustration, and constantly fought the urge to quit.

Yet, he refused to give up.

Because of his pride.

Only after playing for over 500 hours did he finally reach the true ending.

"No way!! What the hell is this?! This shitty ending is the conclusion?! Seriously?!! Do you know how much time I spent on this? Aaarghhh!!!"

The man was consumed by rage.

He couldn't accept it. He didn't want to accept it.

It wasn’t that the ending was bad.

He just felt it wasn't rewarding enough for everything he had gone through.

Fueled by anger, he furiously typed on his keyboard—faster than ever before.

He poured every single emotion he had felt while playing the game into his words.

That’s how his 11,400-character review was born.

Of course, it wasn’t an objective, rational, or logical critique—just a rant filled with raw emotion.

Feeling relieved after venting, he collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep.

When he opened his eyes again, he had become the game’s protagonist—Isaac.

"What the hell? What is this?! Why am I Isaac? Don't tell me... this world is...!"

He quickly grasped the situation.

The world he had awakened in was Apocalypse World, and he had become Isaac.

It was overwhelming.

He couldn’t believe something that only happened in fiction was now his reality.

But he accepted it quickly.

"It’s fine. There's nothing to worry about. I have knowledge of the original story. And I’m Isaac, the protagonist. There’s no problem at all."

Rather than despair, he found a new purpose in this world.

Using the knowledge of the original work, he would create an ending far more perfect than the game.

In other words, he aimed for world peace.

The man firmly believed that he had been reincarnated as Isaac to save this world from its impending destruction.

Thinking that way only made his heart swell with excitement.

He abandoned his past and resolved to live as Isaac for the sake of his dream.

"Who is that rookie? His skills are incredible."

"I heard he contributed the most in this joint mission."

"To be that skilled at such a young age... Talent is terrifying."

"One day, I'll be like him."

These were the astonished whispers of many Problem Solvers.

Despite coming from a peaceful world, being a Problem Solver was surprisingly not difficult for him.

Some quests were easy because he knew the original setting, allowing him to achieve results far more perfect than in the game.

Defeating villains was also simple.

Isaac’s power was overwhelming, and with his status window and knowledge of the original story, he could utilize his abilities far more efficiently than in the game.

"Thank you! I survived thanks to you, Problem Solver."

"Sob... I’m really glad a Problem Solver like you exists."

"Big brother, thank you."

Gaining the trust of the citizens was easy.

His efforts to prepare for the future naturally led to a good reputation.

"You are...?"

"My name is Isaac. I’ve heard a lot about you, Miss Red. I look forward to working with you."

"Really? Hmm, I heard you run an orphanage too. You’re quite the unusual one."

"Haha, I just like kids, that’s all."

"Why so formal? Just talk casually. I feel like we’ll get along well."

He made contact with the heroine early.

With his knowledge of the original story, he understood the heroine completely, making it easy to raise his favorability with her.

Like a ship sailing with a tailwind, Isaac’s life in this world was smooth.

His knowledge of the original work and Isaac’s natural talent—

Everything he did succeeded with terrifying ease.

Isaac never once questioned it.

To him, it was only natural for things to go in his favor.

After all, he was the protagonist of this game.

The protagonist could never fail.

The story always revolved around the protagonist—it was fate.

If things continued like this, he was certain he could achieve an even more perfect ending than the game.

As long as there were no unexpected variables.

"Grim Reaper...? Grim Reaper Cult...? What the hell are these guys? They weren’t in the original work."

For the first time since waking up in this world—

Isaac’s face twisted in deep frustration.

The Grim Reaper.

One of the Four Great Organizations that ruled the underworld.

And the Grim Reaper Cult, a group that worshiped him.

Neither of them existed in the original work.

They were mysterious new figures and organizations.

Nothing was known about the Grim Reaper.

His identity, his goals—nothing had been revealed.

What was certain was that he was powerful, and every time he appeared, the city was thrown into chaos.

"Where the hell did that monster come from?!"

Isaac fell into deep thought, wondering if his actions had distorted the original story.

But he concluded that wasn’t the case.

After all, a being as powerful as the Grim Reaper had never existed in the original work.

If he had, he would have appeared at least once.

Isaac was irritated.

More than that, he was anxious.

He feared that the Grim Reaper would disrupt the ideal course he had planned.

Alarms rang in his mind.

Unless he dealt with the Grim Reaper, his perfect story would never come to fruition.

To defeat the Grim Reaper, Isaac first approached the Grim Reaper Cult.

He needed information to uncover the Grim Reaper’s identity and develop a strategy.

Building a friendly relationship with the Grim Reaper Cult was surprisingly easy.

I shared a few pieces of knowledge from the original work to help them, and they easily opened their hearts to me.

Additionally, since the Grim Reaper Cult was foolish, I found it rather useful.

However, I couldn't see a way to strategize.

There was an absolute lack of information about the Grim Reaper.

‘Useless fools… How can they call themselves the Grim Reaper Cult and know so little about the Grim Reaper?’

Using my knowledge from the original work, I devised a plan with Isaac.

But every single option was highly risky.

If I used the characters from the original work to catch the Grim Reaper and something went wrong, all my efforts up to now would be wasted.

Either way, the losses were significant.

‘That’s it! Why didn’t I think of that sooner?!’

As I was deep in thought, a brilliant idea struck me.

A way to eliminate the entity known as the Grim Reaper without harming the characters from the original work.

As the saying goes, fight poison with poison. If the entity is a threat, then I’ll remove it with another entity.

I decided to create an incredibly powerful creature myself.

And I had just the right one in mind.

A monster that had brought me endless frustration and failure in the game.

Creating it wasn’t difficult.

I had already eliminated the mad scientists from the original work who created the Boss, stealing all their research materials in advance.

With the support of the Grim Reaper Cult, my status window, and my knowledge from the original work, the process went smoothly.

However, I hit a single roadblock.

The most crucial ingredient needed to complete the monster.

The pure mana and bodies of children.

The children of this world were special.

As if adapting to a dying world, many were born with unique powers.

Such children were essential for the monster’s creation.

‘Even the mad scientists in the original work realized that and used them to complete the monster.’

But in order to conduct the research, children had to be sacrificed.

Of course, their lives couldn’t be guaranteed.

The decision wasn’t hard, and the hesitation was brief.

I calculated that sacrificing the children to eliminate the Grim Reaper was a cheap price to pay.

Moreover, their deaths would stir sympathy and comfort among people, especially allowing me to build deeper relationships with the heroine.

In the end, I abandoned the children.

I felt no guilt over my actions.

After all, I didn’t think I had done anything wrong.

They weren’t even important NPCs.

They were simply children I had taken in to raise favorability. Their role was over.

‘They would’ve died long ago if it weren’t for me anyway. Thanks to me, they lived longer and enjoyed happiness. So, using their lives for myself and the world shouldn’t be a problem. They wouldn’t be too resentful.’

After the children went missing, no one suspected Isaac.

Everything went exactly as I had calculated.

However, an unexpected variable occurred when Red began keeping her distance after holding a funeral for the children.

But I wasn’t too concerned about that.

I was sure it would be an easy problem to resolve.

As long as I had knowledge of the original work, capturing the hearts of its characters was a simple task.

Isaac pushed forward with the research.

Anything lacking was supplemented by bringing in more from outside.

As a result of that research—

The monster was nearly complete.

And it was even stronger than the original, thanks to the abilities of the status window.

“It’s still not enough. It’s lacking, but with just a little more research, it can be perfected. Once it’s complete, the Grim Reaper will be finished!”

Isaac imagined the future he had dreamed of.

A hero who saved the world.

A happy life with the heroines.

Everything he had ever wished for was within his grasp.

Isaac's face was filled with joy and ecstasy.

Beep—!

“…?”

Beep—!

At that moment, a strange sound shattered his happy thoughts.

It sounded like an alarm.

Isaac frowned at the interruption.

He slowly walked toward the source of the noise.

It was coming from between the shards of ice where Nina had been.

Beep—!

Isaac kicked aside the ice fragments, then suddenly stopped.

His expression hardened.

A small device blinked with a red light.

Isaac knew exactly what it was.

And he knew who it belonged to.

“Why do you have this…?”

Of course, there was no answer.

One thing was certain—the information about this place had leaked.

And it had reached the one person it absolutely should not have.

Nina had activated the device Red had given her in case something happened to her.

The device recorded the scene and the data here.

The moment Nina lost her life, all the information and the location were sent to Red.

Isaac felt dizzy, his mind thrown into chaos.

‘It’s fine. It’ll be fine. There’s no problem. If I explain it well, she’ll understand. Who wouldn’t understand when it’s for saving the world?’

His plan had completely fallen apart.

He had to move forward with the next step earlier than expected.

Isaac immediately crushed the device, then called the Grim Reaper Cult.

After giving his orders, he hurriedly left the place.

Not toward the Grim Reaper, but toward another entity—

The orphanage.