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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The Villain's True Colors
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"...."
That was the conclusion I reached after much deliberation: I was utterly screwed.
Leaving Stardust, who was still flustered and dazed, behind, I quickly scanned my surroundings.
A professional villain knows how to analyze a situation coldly and calmly, even in moments of crisis.
What's different from usual? Is there no escape route anywhere?
As I looked around, I soon discovered something had changed.
The clock on the wall.
What had been a dead electronic clock was now lit up, displaying the time.
[2 : 58.42]
[2 : 58.41]
[2 : 58.40]
...
The time on the clock was ticking down.
Yes, all the secrets were revealed!
"Uh... huh?"
Stardust was still mumbling and flustered.
No, what's with her being so flustered?
A competent hero should, in situations like this, observe the situation as quickly, calmly, and objectively as I do.
The Stardust I knew wasn't like this.
She wasn't this dazed!
...Right, now that I think about it, *that* Stardust was the seasoned one, having gone through countless trials in the latter half of the original story.
This Stardust, perhaps because she hasn't been through enough, is showing a clumsy side.
Tsk. But even so, she shouldn't be like that.
"Stardust!"
"Huh, what?"
To her, who was looking at me with a deeply flustered expression, I turned my head and pointed at the clock.
"Do you see that? The time is counting down, so it seems we can get out once that time is up. So, calm down."
"Oh? Ah, ah."
Only then did Stardust look up.
She frowned at the clock and mumbled,
"Three hours...?"
"Yes, just three hours. It's not that long, so let's wait. Oof."
I said that and then sat down.
If I'm going to be trapped here for three hours, I can't stand.
My legs would hurt.
After sitting down, just as I was about to tell Stardust to sit and wait too.
*Bang—.*
Stardust hit the wall again.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
"How am I supposed to know if the door opens in three hours or if a bomb goes off? And just wait?"
She kept saying that, pounding her fist against the door. She's going to collapse this place!
But no matter how hard she tried, the door didn't budge.
In the end, she gave up first.
"Tsk..."
She rubbed her hand.
What?
Looking closely, blood was dripping from her fist.
No, what on earth is she doing?
"Why are you hitting it so foolishly? Especially when your powers are suppressed."
"....."
"Sigh. Here. Use this to stop the bleeding."
I pulled out a bandage from my satchel and tossed it to her.
Seo Eun and Soobin-ssi packed it for me to use if they got hurt, but it's being used like this.
"...."
Stardust, who received the bandage from me, hesitated for a moment, then cut a piece and began wrapping it around her arm.
"....I won't say thank you."
"Isn't that you saying thank you?"
"..."
She flinched slightly, as if I'd hit a nerve.
No, I wasn't expecting any thanks at all, but I didn't expect her to react like that.
...She's not usually the type to talk to a villain like that. Honestly, when I threw the bandage, I braced myself for it to fly back into my face. I was actually a little surprised when she took it so readily.
What is it? Is her personality a bit softer around this time?
That can't be it. Then is she giving me special treatment?
Why? There's no particular reason for it.
Just as I thought that, the bandage flew at my face.
Just as I thought.
"Ow! Hey, I went through the trouble of giving it to you. What did I do wrong? Will it kill you to just accept it?"
"...."
As I grumbled and glared, she averted her eyes slightly. Maybe she felt a little sorry?
...But honestly, there's no need to feel sorry for a villain.
"Tsk, let's just sit and wait. And it looks like the door will open in three hours. Don't you feel anything 'intuitively'?"
"...Intuition."
She mumbled, hearing my words.
Yes, intuition. Your super sense, I mean. It's almost like precognition.
Actually, I don't know what's going to happen in three hours, so you check it out.
She frowned for a moment, then her expression relaxed.
She probably intuitively felt that it would open in three hours.
Phew, that's a relief. Well, Stardust's super sense might not be fully developed yet... but this much should be accurate.
So, we sat there quietly.
Quietly.
Without moving.
In a small room, just the two of us.
Without a single word exchanged, in silence.
"...."
Wait.
This is hell, isn't it?
***
An hour passed with neither of us saying a word.
All that could be heard was the faint sound of our breathing.
Of course, I wasn't just sitting still.
I took out some snacks from my satchel and ate them. They were delicious.
Stardust flinched for a moment when I reached into my satchel, then let out a slight sigh of relief when I just pulled out snacks.
Why? Was she nervous I'd pull out a gun?
...At least I wouldn't do that, so she can relax.
Or not? Does relaxing mean she lacks a hero's sense of crisis?
"Want some snacks?"
"...Nonsense."
I asked because she looked hungry, but if she doesn't want any, fine.
After that, we continued to sit quietly, in silence. It was terribly awkward.
And awkwardness aside, after an hour had passed, I started to notice... there wasn't enough oxygen in here. My breathing was getting ragged. Is this the sorrow of being in a sealed room?
A lack of oxygen is a big problem. If there's not enough oxygen, your brain doesn't function properly, and you're likely to make irrational judgments. In other words, words might just blurt out without thinking.
...And of course, for me, that would be a disaster. I have so many secrets to hide.
So, I decided to just keep my mouth shut and stay still. They say if you stay still, you at least don't make things worse.
At first, I was so awkward I squirmed, but as time passed, I got used to it. I briefly felt the urge to pull out my phone from my satchel, but I held back, knowing it could expose my identity. I can't even teleport to escape from here.
As I got used to the sound of her ragged breathing, I zoned out, thinking, *just one more hour of this.*
And also, as time passed, being trapped in this small room made it feel harder to breathe. HanEun Group, these bastards, didn't even put an oxygen generator in this sealed room? What kind of people are they?
Thanks to them, my head was getting increasingly hazy. Like I was on drugs. No, more accurately, like I was drunk? Everyone, oxygen is so important.
Man, it's lucky we're only trapped for three hours; if it had gone on longer, it would have been a real disaster. Just as I thought that.
Suddenly, she spoke.
"....Mapo Bridge."
"Huh?"
I was spacing out, looking at the ceiling, but hearing her words, I lowered my head again.
She was sitting with her knees drawn up, arms wrapped around her legs, and mumbled, looking down, not at me.
"At Mapo Bridge, that car that was falling, did you stop it?"
She asked in a slightly muffled voice.
No, why is she asking this out of nowhere?
Looking at her closely, her eyes were already slightly closed.
What, is she sleeping? Doesn't look like it?
Ah, maybe her head is a bit dizzy too.
...She's a super-powered individual, but she's getting lightheaded from a little lack of oxygen?
Ah, her powers are suppressed right now, aren't they?
As I was mentally rambling on with my sluggish brain, she pressed me again.
"...The car, did you stop it?"
A car? Why would I stop a car? If a car stops, is it a manual?
Ah, she's talking about Mapo Bridge. The one that looked like it was going to fall, that I slightly stopped?
...She actually saw that?
I never stopped anything like that. Definitely not.
"I didn't stop anything. I'm a person who always charges forward, after all."
"What nonsense..."
She mumbled in reply, then threw another question.
"Then that airplane, why did you tell me to save it?"
"Didn't I tell you then? For me to become a villain, I naturally need an enemy to oppose me, a hero. A villain isn't just a villain simply because they cause terror. Only when there's an adversary blocking them does a villain truly become a villain. That's why I did it."
"....."
She fell silent again at my answer.
Hmm, actually, what I just said was merely reversing the phrase "heroes are made by villains." Whatever, my head's dizzy, so I'll just answer vaguely.
Just as I was starting to feel a headache and wished she'd be quiet.
She opened her mouth once more.
"Then, destroying Mapo Bridge... did you destroy it knowing in advance that the black monster incident would happen this time?"
No, even she is asking me this now.
It feels like I've heard this from almost everyone. Good grief.
Anyway, as always, just as I was about to look at her to answer that it was merely a coincidence.
I met her eyes.
As soon as our eyes met, she lowered her head again.
But I had seen it clearly just now.
Her sharp eyes, as if trying to uncover all my secrets, looking at me.
"..."
My mind jolted awake.
No, was all that mumbling and clumsy talk just an act? To make me drop my guard?
Shin Haru, truly a terrifying woman. Like a viper.
As my senses returned, I swallowed.
Right. Now that I think about it, something was off.
Why did she so readily agree to form an alliance with me in the first place?
Looking at it now, wasn't it to find out more about me, to extract information?
A shiver ran down my spine.
Stardust, Shin Haru! How far ahead have you planned this...?
Wait, what were her questions so far?
Whether I stopped the falling car.
Why I told her to save the airplane.
And whether I destroyed Mapo Bridge knowing the black beast incident would happen...
When my thoughts reached that point, my face hardened.
If I put together all the questions she asked me.
Is she suspecting whether I'm really a villain?
It might not be true. It might just be my overactive imagination and delusion.
Intuitively, it feels that way, but I don't have a super sense like Stardust, one that only perceives the truth.
Even so, this is a crisis.
From the beginning, as a fake villain, a person merely imitating a villain, I've always had an inferiority complex about the fundamental essence of villainy.
My true identity must not be exposed.
The fact that all these "terrorist acts" are actually for her sake, and that I merely want to save this world...!
So what should I do?
Yes, now is actually the opportunity.
While we're alone like this, I can completely dispel the misunderstanding.
I'll make her abandon her suspicions about me and perceive me as a perfectly evil villain!
To do that, I'll go with a direct approach.
I laughed, pointing to the part of my face not covered by the mask.
"Hahaha... Hahahahaha!!!"
She looked puzzled as I suddenly laughed.
Stardust, Stardust.
A true villain knows how to shake the opponent's mind and bring the situation into their grasp.
In that sense, going all out can also be a tactic.
Alright, let's turn the tables.
"I'll tell you this, and only you... Yes. You're right."
I smiled, looked into her eyes, and spoke.
"I knew that disaster would happen in advance."
"I knew, and I deliberately destroyed that bridge."
She looked bewildered by my sudden admission.
Right. She wouldn't have expected me to agree so readily.
Then, let's keep running my mouth.
"So what?"
"What do you want me to do about it?"
What do you want?