I locked the door and sat at my desk.
Due to Laura’s persistent urging, I hastily opened the ‘Necronomicon’ that had been acquired.
————-<Item>————-
◈ Name
Necronomicon
◈ Grade
— A
◈ Stats
Strength -200
Agility -100
Intelligence 600
Luck -200
◈ Description
A replica of the legendary grimoire ‘Necronomicon.’ All essential functions are included.
※Restriction: One who has made a contract with the demon ‘Covale.’
◈ Effect
Contains various types of dark magic
Assists with dark magic calculations
———————————–
As I opened the book, strange, squiggly alien letters appeared.
There was no way to understand what it contained.
‘How did Sung Mabo read this thing?’
Just as I was internally complaining, Laura urged me on.
[Next page.]
I flipped the page.
I stared at the book for a while, though it was impossible to read.
[Next.]
I flipped the page again.
Around five minutes passed, and Laura was clearly delighted.
[Demons or humans, both use magic so creatively.]
“What do you mean?”
[We need the ‘Philosopher’s Stone.’]
The Philosopher’s Stone.
Though it’s a fixed-drop item, it is not impossible to purchase from the Guild. However, considering my financial situation, it was a struggle. It costs a lot of money, and one must have a clear identity. I had the money, but there was no way to trace where it came from.
“Where do you plan to use it?”
[I’ll enhance my body.]
“Huh? Up until now, you’ve made it sound like there was no chance for me.”
[Not my main body, but a makeshift body to use before creating my main one. Roughly humanoid will do. I got inspired by this book. My soul would remain as is, and I’d control the body remotely.]
‘She wants to create a humanoid physical form?’
I froze as Laura spoke.
Does that mean I won’t be needed anymore?
“If you make a body, does that mean you can resurrect yourself independently?”
[Not true. To strengthen my main body, I’d need power at least on par with a Worm-class Dragon, but a makeshift body can’t generate that level of power. And making a Worm-class temporary body would be absurd.]
“If not, why do you insist on creating a makeshift body?”
[Why? Well… because I’m bored.]
Dragons are a species that, out of boredom, sometimes transform into humans to seek amusement. It’s like a human finding life dull and turning into an ant to join the ant society. Since I’ve been telling her things like “I see the future, stop interfering,” she must have found it uninteresting.
Laura does give me things, so it was a bit difficult to refuse her.
‘The Philosopher’s Stone, huh.’
It would originally cost around five hundred million from the Guild or management.
‘Should I steal it?’
After pondering, I thought it might be best to just slip in secretly, place five hundred million there, and take the Philosopher’s Stone. Even if I get reported, what can they do?
‘Dark Knight is already the villain, anyway.’
They themselves labeled me the villain. I’ve got to tough it out as the bad guy.
“Alright, I understand. I’ll find a way.”
[The use of Dispel will remain unchanged since your soul is attached to your body. But upon gaining a body, the range of magic you can use will expand, improving your battle assistance more smoothly.]
I opened the door and walked into the living room. Park Hayeon was sitting at a small desk, studying.
“What are you doing?”
“Hmm. I’ve been thinking about how I can best utilize my newly acquired skill.”
“You’re working hard, that’s good.”
Hayeon was a more diligent individual than I expected. She put effort into her studies and didn’t neglect her skill development. She didn’t seem like the type to frivolously chase romance either, so feeding her hidden skills now and then should suffice.
“I have some errands, so I’ll go out.”
“Come back safely!”
With a crossbody bag over my shoulder, I left the house. It was filled with equipment for my ‘Dark Knight’ activities.
Today’s goal was a pre-set hunt.
The villain from K Pharmaceuticals had abducted Yang Min-seo, so I’ve fallen a bit behind, but I couldn’t break my promise.
Jang Seo-yoon’s tearful face came to mind.
I had made a promise to her.
To make Hwang Harin pay for her crimes.
*
JW Management.
A luxurious hero waiting room.
Two women were eating dessert.
One of them was Lee Yeonhwa, towering at nearly 185 centimeters.
She playfully hugged Hwang Harin.
“Medusa~ Let’s go to the club after work today~”
“Annoying. Go by yourself. And I told you not to call me Medusa.”
“But everyone calls you Medusa.”
Hwang Harin was a B-rank Ability User with the ‘Petrification’ skill. She had graduated top of her class from Hero Academy and entered a renowned management company to work as a hero. ‘Medusa’ was a nickname derived from her skill, but she very much disliked it.
“I’m meeting someone today.”
“Casual date partner? Who?”
“Silvertail.”
“Whaat?! Seriously? Totally adorable… I envy you…”
“You should go to the club too, but instead of picking up any random guy, find a decent hero.”
Knock, knock.
A knock at the waiting room door.
“Come in.”
The director who oversees the heroes entered and greeted Hwang Harin with a call.
“Miss Harin, let’s talk for a moment.”
“Uh? I’m about to leave…”
“Just a moment.”
Hwang Harin mumbled complaints as she followed the director into the meeting room. The director sat down and put on a serious expression.
“Please sit.”
“Yes.”
The director took out a stack of prints. The first page showed Hwang Harin coldly turning down a young man’s attempted handshake.
The director sighed.
“We keep having these issues. Let me remind you: Heroes are ‘warriors’ who defeat villains, but first and foremost, they are ‘celebrities.’ The majority of your income comes from the citizens, not the government subsidies, which barely cover minimum wage.”
Hwang Harin didn’t like being lectured by a non-awakened being.
“Am I some sort of celebrity prostitute? Should I accept handshakes from random garbage on the street just because I’m a hero? Unless they’re good-looking. Look at this guy, doesn’t he look like someone who hides in some dark corner?”
The director got annoyed at her comment.
“Honestly, a hero isn’t much different from a singer. They both rely on fans’ cheers to survive. Without fan support, you’re earning a monthly salary of 1.8 million. As for you, Miss Harin, you bring in the least profit of all our heroes here at JW Management.”
“Same as singers? We protect the likes of you, Director. Can singers protect people from villains?”
He clenched his lips and flipped to the next page. There was a photo of Harin in civilian clothes watching a hostage situation.
“This is why I called you in today—it’s very serious. Even if you’re off-duty, how can a hero just watch as villains harm citizens? The paparazzi who took this picture is blackmailing us. They’re asking for 1 billion won.”
“Wha—wait! Even on my days off…?!”
Her emotions boiling, Hwang Harin’s eyes bulged open. The director sighed as a warning.
“Think carefully about what you say. We’re considering terminating our contract with Miss Harin. Even if we pay the 1 billion this time, if this keeps happening, the damage will be immense.”
Hwang Harin’s teeth clenched audibly.
‘Without us, you would perish at the hands of villains and monsters tomorrow and wouldn’t even know.’
She gritted her teeth as she responded.
“I… understand.”
“If you understand, please improve henceforth. Always greet people with a smile, and no matter what, fight villains when you see them. Or avoid being seen altogether. You are dismissed. Overstayed by 5 minutes.”
Hwang Harin slammed the meeting room door shut and stormed back to the waiting room, muttering complaints. Lee Yeonhwa greeted her.
“Medusa, hi~!”
“Shut up! Goddammit!”
“Uh-oh. You’re upset?”
Hwang Harin ignored her and gathered her things, then left. She was seething with rage.
‘How dare I endure such humiliation!’
She climbed into her luxury car.
Hwang Harin pulled out a mirror from her bag to check her face.
An expression of bitterness.
“Face pizza. Ha… endure. Endure.”
She couldn’t meet ‘Silvertail’ looking like this, so she forced herself to smile.
She started the car and left.
About 10 minutes later, her phone rang.
It was Lee Yeonhwa. She answered on the speaker. Yeonhwa should’ve either gone home or to a club by now.
‘Did my earlier comment offend her?’
Hwang Harin apologized first.
“Yeonhwa, sorry about earlier. That stiff-necked guy pissed me off…”
[Save… me! Ack!]
Instead of a reply, she heard a scream. The sound of someone desperately struggling to survive.
“What? What’s going on?”
[Why… Why are you, a hero…!]
Then a voice like rusted iron scraping followed.
[No. You’re a villain. Remember your name? Jang Seo-yoon, maybe?]
[H-H-How!]
The horrified Yeonhwa.
And the sound of sharp blades cutting through flesh.
[Cough… Wherever you heard it from, I was young and made mistakes… I’ve been repenting, I tell you!]
[The end.]
Hwang Harin clenched her lips. Clearly, something had gone very wrong.
She immediately called the management agency. Calling the police would lead it back to the hero eventually, so she called direct lines for faster response.
“Yes, Senior. This is Cheolhyeol Mudeuk.”
A young man’s voice. The hero on shift today.
“It’s an emergency. Something’s happened to Yeonhwa. I just received a call. She seems to be under attack by someone who sounds like Dark Knight!”
“Huh?! Really?! I’ll circulate the message and start a search! Is the senior coming over too?”
She pretended not to hear and hung up.
Hwang Harin parked her car on the side of the road. Her thumb tapped the steering wheel as she thought.
Her evening appointment with ‘Silvertail.’ If she missed it this time, she didn’t know when she’d get another chance. He was a busy man.
“How can I let go of this opportunity?”
After pondering for about five minutes, she came to a decision.
To text ‘Silvertail.’
<Uwoo, I'm truly sorry. Something seems to have happened to a colleague of mine, so I need to check immediately. I'm very sorry about today's plans. We'll have dinner another time.>
Recalling her conversation, something unclear was nagging at her mind.
“Who is Jang Seo-yoon?”
The name felt familiar.
“Nothing serious, probably.”
Hwang Harin turned her car around and went back.
She needed to join the search.
