To get straight to the point, the impersonator was the Thunder Emperor.
I realized it after seeing the wounds on Nuts Crusher.
It was this woman who overfilled Nuts Crusher’s peanuts with excessive magic power, causing them to explode.
Although the traces of the explosion were extremely horrific, part of the wound had faint remnants of what looked like a lightning strike.
The lingering echo of magic power.
Just like when Baek Seol-hee hit me with her fist before, leaving a cold sensation on my left hand, attacks from elemental ability users leave such marks.
[This may not be the ideal place to ask a bunch of questions, but in fact, this is a perfect place for a quiet conversation. No one comes here.]
“…….”
[I’m not particularly curious as to why you killed Nuts Crasher. It’s only natural for a hero to eliminate a villain. But the method you used… that is quite intriguing.]
That’s also why I came here.[Why did you impersonate me?]
“Am I going to be executed for impersonation?”
[Depending on the circumstances.]
“…….”
The Thunder Emperor touched her face with her hand.
At this moment, she appeared as a typical woman, wearing a black suit and a white T-shirt — the standard uniform of a Hero Association agent.
But when she was disguised as the Goblin, eliminating Nuts Crusher, she wore the Goblin’s mask and outfit.
I had so many questions personally.
Where did she get that disguise? If it was created with magic power, how did she make it? How did she disappear without a trace under people’s eyes when she was done? Could it be that she reached the level of ‘spiritualization’?
And ultimately, did she wear the Goblin’s disguise for the reason I think she did?
[Now, will you pay the price? Or will you simply answer my questions?]
“If I offer my most valuable thing, can I keep wearing the Goblin’s disguise in the future?”
[Hmm?]
“…I needed the Goblin’s mask.”
The Thunder Emperor calmly pressed her Taeguk Watch with her hand.
As the alarm on the Taeguk Watch was about to go off, she suppressed it with her magic power, consciously deactivating the electromagnetic defense field surrounding her body. ℝ𝖆ℕＯ฿Ɛʂ
“To eliminate these kinds of villains.”
[I understand the need for a mask, but I want to hear it directly from your mouth.]
“…There are too many villains in this country.”
Kim Yoon-ji clenched her fists, staring down at Nuts Crusher as though ready to kill him again with her gaze alone.
“It’s not just the villains from the Secret Society. There’s also Hwalbindang, Jeolheomdan, the National Roe Deer Union, Anti-Nation Gang….”
Their names may sound strange, but it’s precisely because they had such strange names that they were even more dangerous villain groups.
Each one had at least one or two A+-class or S-class villains who were the strongest of their group.
And in their own way, they all engaged in villainous activities.
In some form or another.
“I want to eliminate these villains more proactively.”
[By killing them completely?]
“Exactly.”
[Why?]
“Because there will be no aftermath.”
This woman… she shared the same mindset as me.
“It’s much more beneficial to eliminate them without leaving any loose ends. Especially with villains like these. You, of all people, should understand, right?”
[Ah, yes. I understand. Instead of leaving room for complications later, if it’s a threat to world peace, the correct answer is to deal with it thoroughly. But why are you acting like this now? You’ve been silent until now.]
“……Yes, I have.”
Kim Yoon-ji clenched her fist tightly and reached toward Nuts Crusher.
“Not anymore.”
[Was there some kind of turning point that made you borrow the Goblin’s mask?]
“…Well, I’m not sure I want to talk about that just yet.”
The Thunder Emperor scratched her head and lowered her gaze.
“I figured it out.”
[What did you figure out?]
“The truth of this world. The secret of this country.”
[What do you mean by such ominous words?]
Suddenly, chills ran down my spine as I wondered what she was talking about.
“When a villain dies, they turn into mana powder. But when they survive and are captured…”
The Thunder Emperor.
“…They become a murderous weapon, loyal to the nation.”
It seemed she had uncovered a fragment of this country’s dark secret.
[I don’t understand what you’re saying.]
“No, you do know. That’s why you’ve been killing villains who deserve the death penalty, eliminating all of them through executions. So they could die as humans, not as slaves.”
[…….]
“Execution squad.”
Finally, that name was spoken.
“Not only capturing villains to use as the nation’s workforce, but turning them into mercenaries for wars in other countries.”
[You only realized this now, after becoming an S-class?]
“!!”
The Thunder Emperor turned her head.
[A state-run assassination squad. A group that kills all those who rebel against the nation in the name of national interest. And you only found out about their existence in 2025?]
“…I was late, but I figured it out.”
Behind her, standing with half-closed eyes and a gun aimed at the back of the Thunder Emperor’s head, was Hyeon Se-rin.
[So, you’ve finally seen what lies beyond the flower garden, Princess?]
“…And if I have?”
[Well, if that’s the case.]
Hyeon Se-rin retrieved the gun, then patted the Thunder Emperor’s shoulder as she draped her arm around her.
[If you’ve decided to feel the deepest part of the abyss yourself, I have no reason to dislike you more.]
“…….”
[Still, it’s not like I’ve started liking you.]
“…I’ll show you. How I’ve completely changed, unlike before.”
[…….]
I felt like I should add something, but instead, I restrained myself by tapping the bat on my shoulder.
[Alright. So, where did you learn that? The information about the Execution Squad must have been thoroughly hidden, even from S-classes.]
“Yeah. If I had lived in the flower garden forever, I’d never have known. But… I managed to find out somehow.”
Who told this woman about the dirty side of the country?
“Hwalbindang told me.”
Of course, it must have been someone who wanted to overturn the dark side of this nation.
[Am Gil-dong.]
At that moment, in the outskirts of Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul.
Thud!
Inside a desolate factory, a small light flickered amidst the piles of machines.
It wasn’t the light of a smartphone but a match.
The face of the person who lit a candle in the middle of the darkness with that match stood out as unusually dark, even in the shadows.
“Oh, you’re here?”
“…….”
As the candlelight brightened the surroundings, several ability users who had been resting were sprawled out around the place.
The common feature? All of them were wearing hanbok.
And to varying degrees, they all had traces of blood on them.
“Anyone hurt?”
“No. What about the boss?”
“Not at all.”
A man dressed like a grim reaper loosened his hat strap and sat down on a chair.
Although his black clothes were also stained with red blood, it was barely visible on his face, hidden by the darkness.
“Boss, don’t you think we’re living too much in the dark? Can’t we at least live with some light?”
“If the lights go on in this factory at this hour, they’ll show up immediately. The hounds of those corrupt officials, who want to turn villains into slaves.”
“Hah, couldn’t we just fight them right away?”
A shaman lying on the floor corrected his posture and asked.
“We’re not scared of them. Isn’t it about time we started pressuring them with our strength?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because even though they’re scum, they’re still necessary to suppress the other villain scum. If the authorities disappear, all that’s left is lawlessness.”
“Boss, then….”
“Excuse me.”
Drip, drip.
With the sound of blood dripping, a rather large young man entered the factory.
“I’m back.”
“Ugh, clean up that blood on your stake, will you?”
“…Ah. Sorry. I got a little carried away beating them to death.”
The young man, Malttuk, wiped the blood off his stake with his sleeve and plopped down on the floor.
His mask, too, was stained with red blood, and it wasn’t hard to guess how he had beaten his opponents to death.
“What happened?”
“The foreigners coming down from Gangwon-do are all dead. No survivors.”
“…Good. That way, there’s no chance they’ll be collared by corrupt officials again.”
Click.
“Before they become the government’s dogs—”
Flash!
Suddenly, artificial lights began to flood the inside of the factory.
As the factory was filled with light, everyone quickly put their masks back on and stood up.
[Hwalbindang! We know you’re in there! Surrender your weapons and come out peacefully!]
“That voice….”
“Chuncheon’s Fire Pillar. A traitor.”
Malttuk’s half-closed eyes narrowed beneath his mask.
“I’ll take care of him.”
“…Too bad. I thought we might be able to make contact if we waited here.”
“Make contact?”
“Something like that.”
Hwalbindang’s leader, Am Gil-dong, gripped the crescent-shaped blade with both hands.
“We just recruited a new executive… Tsk.”
Crash!
At the sound of shattering glass, something came raining down like a barrage of arrows.
Literally, a rain of arrows.
Each arrow was imbued with magic power, piercing through the piles of machines and leaving holes in them.
“They must’ve brought archers instead of shooting guns to avoid making noise.”
“Likely. It seems even government agents have shown up. What should we do?”
“We can’t fight public officials. Our target is…”
Am Gil-dong stabbed his sword into the ground.
“…the corrupt officials.”
With a scraping sound, the ground split in two, and Hwalbindang members leaped underground.
[It seems the Korean villains had their own episode here in Korea….]
Well, it didn’t really matter.
The important thing was that it was me who was having this conversation with the Thunder Emperor right now.
[By saying all this, are you implying you’re siding with the Secret Society instead of Hwalbindang?]
“Yes.”
[Why the Secret Society?]
“That’s because…”
The Thunder Emperor scratched her cheek and answered.
“…I’m wondering if there’s a way for me to serve this country, even if I die, even after death.”
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