Chapter 21: 21

I took a moment to appreciate the item in my hand.

 

The shabby hwando from a moment ago had been transformed into a beautiful work of art after being synthesized.

 

Its sheath was now dyed in a beautiful purple and red varnish, and inlaid elaborately around it were wolf patterns in an oriental style.

 

I slowly drew the sword.

 

Wuung–

 

An eerie cry resonated.

 

The surface of the sword was smooth as if looking into a mirror. On the strangely clean blade, my face covered with blood was clearly reflected.

 

I slightly cut my finger on the tip of the sword, but there was no pain or feeling.

 

But soon after, drops of blood began to rise between the skin that I thought was fine.

 

Good.

 

This sword was very sharp.

 

Rather than a sword made for fighting, it seemed to be more suited as a surgical tool.

 

Before, if I had cut a person with such a weapon, I would have probably died of old age before I could even kill them.

 

But it was different now.

 

< Red Velvet Curse >

Classification: Sword 

Grade: A 

Description: A sharp sword that emits an eerie cry and is sharp enough to put even its owner in danger.

*Indestructible.

*The more blood it soaks up, the more demonic energy is emitted from the sword. (Effect: Sharpness increases).

*< Wolf Hour > – Accelerates thinking and improves dexterity [3/3] (24 hours cooldown).

*< Absolute Defense > – Nullify any attack once [1/1] (1 week cooldown).

 

The effect that had blossomed at the expense of < Strong Socks > which had kept my feet dry for a while.

 

Indestructible.

 

Thanks to this, Red Velvet Curse will never dull, even if my arms were to break in the future.

 

And on second thought, it seemed the option paired well with the sword.

 

On top of that, the original sword and pendant effects were also successfully extracted even though they were slightly lowered.

 

In any case, the options that had been removed from the sword were the damaged ones, so it didn’t mean much now.

 

The effects extracted from the pendant also had their charging time increased or the number of uses decreased, but the difference wasn’t that significant.

 

But if there was one thing that was lacking, it was that despite synthesizing a weapon with five option slots at best, there were only four options.

 

Nevertheless, since the options related to physical and mana were lost, I could cover it with Vampiric Touch.

 

Anyway, in conclusion…

 

I had gotten such a great item!

 

This was why I couldn’t give up the taste of synthesizing. Sure enough, there needed to be RNG in games.

 

Perhaps because I had killed a lot of bad guys in this round so far, I was really lucky whenever I played gachas.

 

But…What should I do now?

 

I looked at the scraps left over from the synthesis.

 

The socks, which had always been clean, had become dirty like the feet of beggars, and the pendant which was given to me had lost its antique gloss and had somehow turned into something like a Chinese fake.

 

Of course, it was still an elaborately crafted pendant, but frankly, the design looked like something a child with hero-syndrome would make, so I didn’t really want it.

 

Hmm…I should just give it back to the brat.

 

Although he was a pervert, he was still the one who had given me an A-Grade item. It would only be polite for me to show at least that much sincerity.

 

Thinking about how happy he would be, I put the pendant into my inventory.

 

And at that moment,

 

“Th-that bastard over there!”

 

The terrorist, who had ran away while I was looting the items, reappeared with his colleagues.

 

Roughly counting, there were about 20 people.

 

The bald masked man at the forefront of the group spoke.

 

“So…Everyone was attacked by that naked punk?”

 

“Yes, yes! That’s right! So quickly…Keuk!”

 

The bald man suddenly hit the back of the subordinate’s head. His forehead wrinkled.

 

“Hey, you punk! Are you kidding me in this situation? What kind of dangerous child would take off all of their clothes like it’s some playground?!”

 

The subordinate standing next to him hurriedly spoke.

 

“I-I’m telling the truth! There’s no reason for me to joke around! Th-that guy is really crazy. I think he’s at least as strong as Vera.”

 

“This punk really wants to die. How dare you mention Vera? What if she hears you?”

 

“P-please believe me. If I’m lying, you can have all my share of the money this time.”

 

“Hmm…are you really telling the truth?”

 

He seemed to be agonizing for a while, and soon he began to approach me with his subordinates as if he had made a decision.

 

I didn’t know if he really believed what his subordinate had said or if he was just cautious in the first place.

 

They slowly built a siege by drawing their swords against a young child like me.

 

“I wanted to try this even if you guys hadn’t. This is good.”

 

< Wolf Hour > 

*One use has been deducted.

*Charges remaining [2/3].

 

The effect from the newly acquired weapon was activated. And then the world turned red in an instant.

 

My blood began to pump faster, and my heart felt as if it was beating out of control.

 

And…Except for me, the world began to move slowly like a broken clock.

 

Hmm, so it was this kind of effect.

 

It seemed to be an acceleration buff similar to the one Feoria had used.

 

I took a step forward in the world that had turned red.

 

My body shot at a high speed like a spring that had been released.

 

The terrorists were still out of their minds. And in a blink of an eye, I was in front of them.

 

Wuung–!

 

Along with an eerie cry, my sword was unsheathed. I cut the neck of the man who was closest without using mana.

 

Swish–!

 

I couldn’t feel any resistance as if I had cut down tofu. Because of this, the blade came out the other end at the same speed.

 

Even after cutting down one person, my world was still red. I took another step.

 

Shocked expressions gradually spread across their faces. They twisted their bodies little by little to try and avoid my blade.

 

But would it work?

 

I, like a batter who had returned to the bench after hitting a home run, passed by while looking over their backs.

 

Swish–!

 

The blade penetrated their backs and even the bones were neatly cut. However, far from becoming dulled, it was getting easier and easier to cut.

 

They couldn’t even tell what had passed as I took the life of the last guy in line.

 

As a result, I had broken through their siege.

 

Immediately after, the sight of the world regained its color, and the time that had slowed down returned to normal.

 

Only then did screams belatedly come one step later.

 

“Keu-keuk…”

 

“Aahh! M-my back…!”

 

When I looked back, dismembered bodies were scattered everywhere. Only half seemed to have been taken care of.

 

Passable?

 

It was a very satisfactory result.

 

Red Velvet Curse that had cut them became colored with a subtle redness as it emitted a demonic aura.

 

The frightening aura felt as if my arm would be cut off just from holding it.

 

It could be said that this would be okay to put it in the collection of famous swords that I had collected in the first round.

 

There weren’t many weapons that could cut people down so easily without using mana.

 

However, the taste I felt holding it was slightly disappointing, so I thought the score should be reduced a little.

 

Well, if I meet a stronger guy later, I would still be able to get the taste of cutting one way or another.

 

As soon as I thought as such, the bald guy from a moment ago shouted as if he was having a fit.

 

“Y-you, wh-who are you?! Are you from Namgung?!”

 

He was twice as big as the rest, with thick muscles around the whole body, and even a large sword as big as his own body.

 

I stared at him. I didn’t know if he would be able to satisfy me, but…

 

Lifting my sword again, Red Velvet Curse let out another roar.

 

Soon, I slowly approached him. But the man stepped back and trembled pathetically.

 

“A-answer me! Who are you? If you are a hero, I’ll surrender right away!”

 

He threw his large sword on the floor and raised both arms. As a result, the other terrorists next to him also threw their weapons away and knelt on the floor.

 

“W-we made it clear that we are no longer willing to resist! So you must guarantee our right to life under the Anti-Oversuppression Act!”

 

“Th-that’s right. Frankly, this is oversuppression!”

 

“You animal! I’ll report you to the Human Rights Committee and have you stripped.”

 

The terrorists suddenly uttered strange words and began to act brazen.

 

“Hmm?”

 

I had no choice but to tilt my head. It seemed they had mistaken me for a hero when they saw my righteous self.

 

Of course, I was going to be a hero soon, but I was undoubtedly not one yet, so I didn’t want to intentionally mislead them.

 

At the mistake, I honestly confessed.

 

“I’m not a hero yet.”

 

“H-huh? Then why are you…”

 

The bald man, who was moving back while on his knees, fell over after being caught against a dead body.

 

Pointing my sword at him, I answered.

 

“What’s the reason for playing games? Simply because it’s fun.”

 

Swish–!

 

I split his body in half.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t feel the taste from my hands that I was hoping for.

 

* * * * * * * * * *

 

“From now on, you guys will act in pairs! The goal is to secure the safety of the citizens and to find the child from earlier. No matter what happens, de-escalation before engagement! Understand?”

 

“””Yes sir!”””

 

Kim Taehi and the investigators who had followed her spread out as they searched the hotel.

 

She even ran around the hotel with mana.

 

However, everywhere were only the scattered bodies of dead guests, and no survivors were found.

 

Furthermore, the hotel was large, so there were more than a dozen areas in the lobby alone.

 

If they were to include other auxiliary facilities and rooms, even a whole day wouldn’t be enough to search it all.

 

“Damn! Fuck! What the hell!”

 

She cursed as she ran.

 

Even now while they were searching, the criminals were slaughtering innocent people.

 

Every second delayed was another loss of life. With such a heavy responsibility, sweat flowed down to the point where her shirt was soaked.

 

Then suddenly, an unfamiliar landscape came into view.

 

Different from the dead guests she had seen so far, there was a dead body wearing a black mask. The profile was the same as the terrorist she had seen on the tablet earlier.

 

She rushed to the body. It was neatly cut off at the neck.

 

And she could feel it intuitively.

 

This is…the child’s work.

 

Having experienced numerous villains using swords, she knew one fact.

 

That it was rare to cut a person’s neck during a battle like what was seen in movies and games.

 

This wasn’t a matter of morality or conscience. It was simply human anatomy.

 

The human neck was surprisingly difficult to cut with a single stroke.

 

Therefore, it was natural to attack a wider and easier-to-kill area rather than aim for such a narrow area during a desperate battle.

 

Of course, there were cases where people with sadistic hobbies would cut off the victims’ neck, but most of them were non-combat situations or something that happened in the process of unilateral slaughter.

 

But it’s different with the boy.

 

He had aimed for the neck when he didn’t have to. As if there was a great grudge against terrorists.

 

So in this hotel, the boy was the only one who would do this.

 

I have to hurry…

 

She quickened her steps. Soon after, a few more dead bodies appeared.

 

As if they had died while running away from something, the bodies were split on their backs.

 

It was a common wound that appeared frequently on victims of terrorist attacks.

 

She left the corpses alone and kept running. Like the fairytale Hansel and Gretel, the scattered bodies on the floor guided her.

 

And the moment she finally turned a corner, she had no choice but to widen her eyes.

 

“?!”

 

What came into view was just the color red.

 

Everywhere was dyed red.

 

There were as many as 20 scattered corpses, and all of which had died in an unrealistic way.

 

Even including the days when she was a hero, she had never seen such a scene before.

 

“Uh…Uh…”

 

She unknowingly blurted out nonsensical sounds as she looked at the terrible scene. As she was staring blankly at the scene, at that moment, at the end of her gaze, she could see the child she had been looking for.

 

It was definitely a naked boy without a single piece of clothing, but at a first glance it looked like he was dressed in bright red clothes.

 

How much blood did he spill to make it look like that? She couldn’t even begin to guess.

 

Suddenly, the child raised his arm. He held a long sword in his hand.

 

And where the sword was headed, she could see a terrorist who was still alive and trembling.

 

The moment she saw it, she rushed straight to the boy.

 

“W-wait, stop!!”

 

But as soon as she was about to grab the boy’s arm, an alarm rang in her head.

 

Woosh–!

 

The blade that was about to cut the terrorist suddenly changed direction and fell on her.

 

A blow without giving her a chance to defend. However, with the instincts she had gained from her years of experience, she was barely able to respond to the attack.

 

< Graphitize >

*Gauntlet

 

Thick carbon gloves were produced along her arms.

 

Armor of the hardest material on Earth that had made her a B-Rank hero in the past.

 

Her armor and the boy’s blade collided.

 

Boom–!

 

“Keuk!”

 

She spat out a small groan. A very light wound had formed in the place where the blade had struck.

 

The power in the attack itself wasn’t very strong, but the boy’s sword was sharp enough to break through her absolute defense.

 

Luckily I fended it off.

 

The moment she tried to persuade the boy again, the blade of the sword, which was blocked by her armor, turned straight and aimed at her waist.

 

D-dangerous!

 

An unexpected attack that had caught her off guard. She never imagined that he would attack again.

 

She instinctively used her mana and blocked the attack.

 

“Keuk!”

 

And the boy, who couldn’t overcome the backlash, flew back and rolled away.

You are reading story Villain Hides His True Colors at novel35.com

 

“Ah, no!”

 

Realizing what she had done, she tried to run straight to the boy.

 

But fortunately, the boy suddenly jumped to his feet and pointed the tip of his sword at her. It was a surprising amount of concentration that even ordinary heroes didn’t have.

 

The boy smiled.

 

“Ajumma, you’re really tough.”

(TN: Ajumma means middle-aged woman, madam, aunty, etc…)

 

Instead of being intimidated by the attack, the boy was smiling as if he was having a lot of fun. Like she had thought, the child wasn’t normal.

 

And…He tried to kill me with all his heart just now.

 

It had been a really long time since she had felt such a blatant killing intent. For some reason, her spine chilled.

 

However, it wasn’t a matter to think about now. She hurriedly shouted at the boy who was about to charge at her.

 

“W-wait a minute! I’m Kim Taehi, a senior investigator from the Hero Association!”

 

Tuk–

 

At her words, the boy stopped and asked with a suspicious look.

 

“How can I believe that? You could be lying to me.”

 

“H-hold on. I’ll show you my ID.”

 

She hurriedly took out her ID card and threw it at the boy. And when he received it, he looked at the ID card and Kim Taehi alternately before speaking.

 

“This is a different person no matter how I look at it.”

 

“Th-that…”

 

“As expected, you were a terrorist.”

 

The boy lifted his sword again with a betrayed look. She blushed and spoke in a hurry.

 

“N-no! In fact…it’s because of filters and the angle…”

 

“Hmm…how can I believe that? Then show me now. I’ll judge based on that.”

 

“Wh-what are you talking about?”

 

“Take a selfie and show it to me.”

 

“…”

 

The boy said as he looked at her with his arms folded. He seemed to be serious from his expression.

 

***

Reaper Scans

[ Translator – Yasi ]

[ Proofreader – Karane ]

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***

 

Why did she have to take a selfie at a bloody site like this? She felt like she was losing her mind.

 

“D-do I really have to do it? I’m really Kim Taehi! You can’t tell by how it looks? I’m obviously Kim Taehi! M-my subordinates can verify it once they come in a little while.”

 

“Like I thought, a terrorist…” 

 

“No, I’m not! H-hold on a second.”

 

Looking at the boy who had lifted up his sword again, she took out her smartphone.

 

…It’s all for the safety of the citizens.

 

Kim Taehi, who had reigned as a tyrant in the counterterrorism investigation team, gave up thinking straight.

 

She puffed up her cheeks and took a selfie at an angle.

 

The boy who was covered in blood and the terrorist watched with a serious expression.

 

Click–

 

She quickly added a filter to her selfie and threw the smartphone at the boy. He looked back at her and the picture, then showing it to the terrorist behind him and asking.

 

“What do you think? Do you think it’s right?”

 

“I-I think it’s right. My eyes for a person aren’t great but…I think this is the same person.”

 

Kim Taehi, who was hearing all of this, couldn’t help but tremble at the feeling of being deeply humiliated. She just felt fortunate that none of her subordinates were here.

 

After some time, the boy threw the smartphone back at her.

 

“Ah, so you were telling the truth. I’m sorry. I attacked you because I thought you were a terrorist.”

 

“No…it’s fine…I understand.”

 

The boy smiled brightly.

 

Somehow, she felt like she was being teased, but she recalled her purpose for coming here.

 

She was here to protect such a reckless boy from danger.

 

But that’s a relief. He understands my words.

 

Perhaps he was a righteous boy at heart, even if he was just a little lacking in the head.

 

Considering that the boy was located at the venue where the nursery schools gathered, there must have been no opportunity for him to receive a proper education.

 

It’s important for a child to grow up in a proper environment…

 

If something went wrong, a boy with such a promising future may be corrupted and become a villain.

 

Even though the people the boy had murdered today were criminals, they were also human lives.

 

If he was to start taking the weight of life lightly, he might commit another murder at the drop of a hat.

 

On the contrary, if someone could take good care of such a gemstone, then he could become an important talent that protects the citizens in the future.

 

But who in the world would do that?

 

A child with such a personality might cause a big accident if they let their guard down for even a little. And it was probably hard to find parents with the will and ability to control it.

 

Maybe I…

 

As soon as she fell into thought, the villain who was kneeling on the floor shouted.

 

“I-I’ll surrender!”

 

“Under the Anti-Oversuppression Act, I hope there will be no more harm that comes to me.”

 

She clicked her tongue when she heard it.

 

Awful human rights laws.

 

These people would always start bringing out human rights when their positions were at a disadvantage.

 

Did they really deserve to talk about human rights?

 

She recalled the corpses of countless civilians she had seen on her way here. There were young children, young couples, and bodies with traces of sexual assault.

 

Did those people leave the house knowing they would die today…?

 

And every moment such as this, she would feel skeptical about what she was doing.

 

“Trash like you should really be grateful for the law.”

 

“Haha…I’m always grateful for it.”

 

She took out handcuffs and approached the terrorist.

 

At that moment,

 

Swish–

 

A red solid line formed on the terrorist’s neck, and then he fell to the side. And next to it, she saw the boy putting his sword back in its sheath.

 

“Wh-what the fuck! What the hell are you doing?”

 

She couldn’t have imagined such an unexpected action from the boy, so she unknowingly cursed.

 

But the boy spoke in a very calm and composed tone.

 

“I have to kill all the terrorists.”

 

It sounded as if killing them was his only reason for living.

 

A blind sense of goal that didn’t waver no matter what anyone says.

 

What had happened to this young child for him to hate terrorists so much?

 

Then she realized. The reason why she couldn’t take her eyes off the child.

 

Ah…As expected….Does he have the same pain as me?

 

It was as if all the puzzle pieces were coming together one by one. Perhaps his family was a victim of terrorism.

 

She looked at the child who was still smiling. The smile began to look different.

 

I see…even now…he’s crying.

 

For him to not even be able to express his feelings, how much pain was the boy carrying? She managed to hold back the tears that were about to burst.

 

At that moment, the boy suddenly turned around and began to walk toward the elevator.

 

“Wait, where are you going?”

 

The boy answered.

 

“It’s not over yet. There’s more terrorists above.”

 

He calmly confessed that he would continue to kill. But she couldn’t say anything about it.

 

As an adult, and as a former hero responsible for the safety of the citizens, she had to stop him right now.

 

But…At the same time, as a mother who had lost her daughter, she had no choice but to make a foolish decision.

 

She wondered if her daughter would have looked like the boy now if she had died and her daughter had survived instead.

 

If that’s what it takes to save you…I’ll protect you from the side.

 

Before the boy could do so, she pressed the button on the elevator with a confident step.

 

And then she looked straight into his eyes and spoke firmly.

 

“This is originally my job. I won’t say anything about you following me anymore, but I won’t forgive you for spilling anymore blood on your hands.”

 

As she spoke, the look in her eyes overlapped with that of the hero ‘Black Tank’ that was active in the past.

 

* * * * * * * * * *

 

All of a sudden I was standing in front of an elevator with a woman who was trying to act cool.

 

What was wrong with this aunty?

 

Strangely, there seemed to be a lot of people trying to stick to me these days. And regarding this, if I had to guess why…

 

< Mark of a Warrior >

*Favorability increases easily.

 

In the end…wasn’t it because of this?

 

Gaining popularity among the public was naturally very important if I wanted to be a hero.

 

However, it could be annoying at times when people appear out of nowhere like now.

 

Nevertheless, I could say that it was rather helpful this time.

 

Considering that her defense had deflected my Red Velvet Curse a moment ago, I thought she would be perfect to use as a meat shield.

 

Well, it wouldn’t hurt to take her along like this.

 

I had heard from the terrorists earlier that their goal was Namgung Taesu.

 

And the head of the terrorist group, a crossbreed between a troll and a human, was going to attack him.

 

Apparently he was a terrifying powerhouse equivalent to a B-Rank hero.

 

On the other hand, looking at my ability, it was around E~D Rank. Like hitting a rock with an egg, it was virtually impossible.

 

But as I had various skills that others didn’t have, it wasn’t right to simply consider the general hero level.

 

Even when I was a villain in the past and was always on the run from the Hero Association, I always fought and won against heroes of higher ranks.

 

In addition, now that I had Red Velvet Curse, I was far beyond my rank in terms of offensive power.

 

It was worth a try.

 

Ding–

 

The elevator arrived. The door opened and bullet marks could be seen embedded in several places.

 

Looking at it, I felt as if I was about to enter the boss room of a dungeon.

 

Come to think of it, I had almost forgotten.

 

I opened my status window without getting onto the elevator.

 

It was a rule to set up your skill again before entering the boss room.

 

I had gained 3 levels from the venue earlier, and then 2 more in the lobby. In all, I had reached level 24.

 

The lobby had a lot more monsters, so that was a given when you kill weak monsters. Then again, it was thanks to them that my level had risen this much.

 

I invested the Fragments of Growth in Body and Mana.

 

< Level 24 (+5) >

Body: 2.15 -> 2.77 (+0.62)

Dexterity: 2.01

Mana: 1.67 -> 2.17 (+0.50)

Spirit: 2.08

*0 Fragment of Growth

 

And then…

 

[ All stats have exceeded 2 points. ] 

[ Physique has increased by one stage. ]

 

Every stat had finally exceeded 2. Because of that, my body’s constitution had reached another level and my durability had increased.

 

I can worry less about dying now.

 

And next was skill. I used the Skill Selection I had gained after a long time.

 

[ Used Level 20 Skill Selection. ]

[ One of the following skills can be learned. ]

 

(1) < Sancai Tempering Art >

Classification: Mortal

Grade: E

Description: Introductory martial art method that is good for laying the foundation.

 

(2) < Shield >

Classification: Magic

Grade: E

Description: Create a protective coating to defend against physical attacks.

.

.

.

 

Perhaps because it was a Level 20 Skill Selection, but it seemed that there were quite a few useful skills now.

 

But I scrolled down without paying attention to these skills. There was another list of skills that were shining.

 

[ Special Selection. ]

 

I was wondering if it was the case, but it was there as expected.

 

The achievement I had gained this time was also a ‘feat.’

 

Looking back on the previous case, I thought it would be difficult for these new achievements to give out useless skills.

 

I carefully looked through the skill lists.

 

(a) < Giant Hunter >

Classification: General

Grade: C

Description: Additional damage against targets larger than yourself. (*Extra additional damage against Giant type.)

 

(b) < Plant Communication >

Classification: General

Grade: C

Description: You can hear the voices of plants.

 

[ Level 25 Skill Selection will be forfeited if you select a Special Skill. ]

 

In any case…I saw a trash skill.

 

Even without that skill, I was already suffering from hearing the conversation of plant obscenities.

 

Just because it was a Special Selection didn’t necessarily mean all of them would be good.

 

I chose one of the skills without hesitation.

 

[ You’ve learned < Giant Hunter >. ]

 

In fact, it wasn’t much of a choice.

 

Considering that my body was that of a child now, I had acquired a very useful skill.

 

And…wasn’t there a saying that trolls were descendants of giants?

 

I didn’t think everything would fall into place like this. As expected, this world was a game of luck.

 

A smile leaked out without me realizing it.

 

And I guess because I had been standing still for a while, Kim Taehi quickly began to pour out words.

 

“What’s wrong with you all of a sudden? Hmm? Are you scared? If you’re scared, you can go back now! You’ve done enough. No, it can be said that going back now is true courage and revenge! Because…”

 

I ignored her, who was talking nonsense with a rather solemn look, and reopened the elevator door.

 

“Are you coming?”

 

“Huh? Y-yeah…L-let’s go.”

 

She had a surprised look on her face as she hurried into the elevator. As the door slowly closed, I had a thought.

 

In the end, it seemed to always come down to catching a troll to get your beginner license.

 

After today, I’ll graduate from being a newbie.

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