In the middle of the road, where a police line had been set up,
there were splashes of red blood everywhere, making the scene very unsettling.
Hwang Harin arrived late and tried to push her way into the police line.
The police stopped her from entering.
“Entry is prohibited to non-relevant parties.”
“I’m a hero.”
“Ah… yes.”
When she flashed her credentials and got agitated, the police stepped back.
“Ironblood Invincible” saw Hwang Harin and waved at her.
“I’m here.”
“What happened? Did you find Yeonhwa?”
“That….”
“Speak quickly.”
“Over there, that pile of ashes is ‘Powerlifting’…”
Powerlifting.
That was the alias of Lee Yeonhwa.
Hwang Harin turned her head, only to see ashes and a sticky note.
The word “Murder” was written on it.
“…”
It began to drizzle.
The ashes that had been Lee Yeonhwa were being washed away by the rain.
“No! Cover it with plastic quickly!”
The police urgently sought out some plastic to cover the ashes, but already about half had disappeared.
“Ironblood Invincible” carefully added,
“The deed is believed to be the work of Dark Knight. The method is said to be extremely similar.”
“Why on earth…? Dark Hero my ass! You’re just a psycho villain! What did Yeonhwa do wrong?”
“I, I agree…”
There was nothing Huang Harin could do at that moment.
The opponent was ‘Dark Knight’.
Name, gender, age, and physique—everything was unknown.
Some even questioned whether it was human at all.
There were even speculations about it possibly being a humanoid monster that emerged through a gate.
Hwang Harin gave her statement about the call to the police and then left the scene.
She felt a bitter sense of melancholy.
‘A friend has died, and yet, I can do nothing about it.’
On her way home, near her house, Hwang Harin bought a lot of alcohol from a convenience store.
She planned to drink heavily till she got thoroughly drunk.
As she was leaving the convenience store, a group of delinquents entered, tense and wary.
She loaded the alcohol into her car.
The rain was pouring harder now.
Drenched like a wet rat, Hwang Harin cursed and got into her car.
“Help!”
A cry came from the convenience store.
The delinquent gang was intimidating the store clerk.
Seeing the clerk’s neck being held up suggested the presence of an awakened one among them.
She thought of the sarcastic comments from the company back then.
[How can a hero just stand by and watch while villains harm citizens, even though it’s your day off?]
[We’re even considering terminating our contract with you, Hwang Harin.]
“Gaslighting my ass, bullshit…”
She ignored it and left.
A black mist-like substance was swirling near the entrance of the convenience store.
Hwang Harin’s residence was a detached house.
She parked her car in the garage.
Bang bang bang.
A sudden metallic sound from the garage gate.
“What’s that?”
Bang bang bang bang.
The sound was getting louder.
Deep down, irritation was bubbling up within Hwang Harin.
“Damn it. Who is it?”
She stepped out of the garage.
The evening where the sun had completely disappeared.
Pattering.
A torrential rain was pouring.
A shadow cloaked in black slowly revealed itself.
Hwang Harin intuitively knew what this was.
“Dark Knight…!”
Hwang Harin immediately used her ‘Petrification’ skill.
She knew ‘Dark Knight’ to be an assassin.
If given even a moment, he would surely strike.
“Huh…?”
The ‘Dark Knight’, who should have turned completely into hard stone from foot to body to head, was walking stiffly towards her.
In his unique voice, he said,
“You haven’t changed a bit since that day. Your combat pattern is the same.”
As if he knows her, ‘Dark Knight’ spoke.
Hwang Harin felt irritation rise due to the mysterious information gap.
“What nonsense is this? Do you know me?”
She thought to herself.
If he killed Lee Yeonhwa and came for her, that means there’s some connection.
“Then, an old acquaintance?” The suspects that came to mind were…
Reflecting on her life so far, she roughly calculated how many people were interested in her survival.
10 villains, 2 heroes, and about 30 non-awakened individuals…
“There are way too many.”
Hwang Harin quickly went back into the garage and opened the trunk.
In the trunk was a sword.
She was an Academy graduate too.
Even though she specialized in the wizard category, she still had her signature weapon.
“Damn, bring it on. Don’t think you can kill me too.”
She said something that wasn’t logical thinking about it—after all, this was the guy who defeated Lee Yeonhwa, the owner of the ‘Titanic Strength’ skill—but she bluffed to prevent her mind from crumbling immediately.
“Do you know why you will die?”
“Who will die? You’ll be the one to die, you wannabe dark hero with a case of edgy syndrome.”
“Seoyoon Jang.”
“What? Is she your mom or something?”
‘Dark Knight’ paused in motion, impressed.
“Did you… forget?”
“Looks like some grudgerolling woman, but do I know all women with grudges against me?”
“The women’s restroom, second floor annex of the Academy, fourth stall.”
Hwang Harin now recalled something.
A crime she committed at the Academy.
“Seoyoon Jang… Wasn’t she someone with out-of-body experience abilities?”
Finally, Hwang Harin remembered who Jang Seo-yoon was.
Still, admitting her wrongdoing was a separate matter.
“Oh, you’re talking about Jang Seo-yoon. It was his own fault he committed suicide. Why blame me for it?”
“…”
“Even if you hadn’t interfered, he would have probably fallen himself and gotten broken. Damn, it wasn’t my fault.”
“Amazing. To think there are people so disgustingly selfish. Even a villain who sold their soul to the devil isn’t as bad as this.”
Hwang Harin’s self-centered thinking was completely exposed to ‘Dark Knight’ who knew all the details, provoking a sigh.
He started walking towards Hwang Harin again.
“The promise will be fulfilled.”
Hwang Harin swung her sword.
It was a clean slash.
However, the opponent was unfavorable.
The body of ‘Dark Knight’, after being hit by the sword, turned into a black mist.
The approaching ‘Dark Knight’.
The retreating Hwang Harin.
The harsh reality pressed down on her.
It was the opponent that even the dealer and tanker Lee Yeonhwa couldn’t handle.
Hwang Harin, with “Petrification” as her only skill, had no chance to win without it.
The sense of defeat that seeped into her mind began to dominate her spirit.
“Well, wait a moment. Sorry, it’s all my fault. Yeah, I’ll surrender. Rather than going to jail, I’ll go to the police station tomorrow morning to confess. You, being a hero wannabe, should know that receiving legal judgment is the best thing to do, right?”
‘Dark Knight’, who had maintained a completely unflinching attitude, stopped.
He pulled out a recorder from his coat, sneering.
“It seems I need proof to believe that. Speak of the crime, the accomplices and the bystanders without missing anyone.”
“Say, if I do, you’ll let me live, right?”
“Yes. Since you’re surrendering, I consider that enough.”
The light on the recorder turned on, indicating the recording had started.
Tears streamed down Hwang Harin’s eyes.
If this leaked, her life would be over.
She would never regain her standing as a hero and might spend her entire life in jail.
Even so.
It was better than dying.
“Hwang Harin, Lee Yeonhwa, Kim Eun-hee, Nami Hyang, Yoo Jae-young. While we were 2nd year students at the Academy, we killed our classmate Jang Seo-yoon. After petrifying her, we placed her in the restroom…”
When ‘Dark Knight’ noticed her trying to skew her testimony to her advantage even slightly, he stabbed his knife into her limbs.
Before long, the confession of sin was finished.
The ‘Dark Knight’ put the recorder back into his coat.
Hwang Harin weakly smiled as she looked up at him.
“Hey, so you’re gonna let me live now, right?”
“Come to think of it, you called me a dark hero wannabe just now. There’s something I need to correct. I am not a hero.”
Suddenly, Hwang Harin noticed that ‘Dark Knight’ had disappeared from right in front of her.
Huff.
Huff.
A terrifying breathing sound was heard around her ears.
“How can someone who kills people at random be called a hero? I am a sinner.”
“AAAAHHH!”
Goosebumps appeared over Hwang Harin’s entire body.
‘Dark Knight’ was behind her now.
“I move to save my own life and to protect this world, that’s all.”
His dagger danced gracefully in the air.
Hwang Harin’s arms and legs flew off into the sky.
“You said you’d let me live! You said you’d let me live!”
“Turns out that was a lie.”
Hwang Harin fell to the ground, unable to rise without legs, and began to crawl around desperately.
“It was a lie.”
The heavy boot of ‘Dark Knight’ came down on Hwang Harin’s back.
She writhed, spitting blood from her amputated limbs.
“You villain! You’re a villain!”
‘Dark Knight’ squatted down and grabbed her hair, forcing her to look into his eyes.
“Medusa. You could have spared Jang Seo-yoon. Even after losing an arm, her life wasn’t in danger. Yet, you killed her for your own advancement.”
He unsheathed the academy’s practice dagger.
Though many students had used it, its edge was completely dull and wouldn’t cut even if touched.
‘Dark Knight’ placed the dull dagger against Hwang Harin’s throat and moved it left and right, sawing.
The dull blade couldn’t pierce her skin immediately, but as he continued to saw, it began to tear little by little.
After about a minute,
Finally, her neck started to tear open.
The capillaries burst, spurting out red liquid.
“Heck. Choke. Uuuuuuhh.”
Hwang Harin began to cry.
The slowly encroaching death.
She had no means to overcome this fear.
‘Dark Knight’ kept sawing.
Until he could use the ‘Succession’ skill.
When her neck was almost half-cut and her bones were visible, that time had arrived.
‘Dark Knight’ finished everything and took out a dustpan and broom from his bag.
A different method of operation from usual.
He swept up Hwang Harin’s ashes and sprinkled them into the toilet in her house, flushing it.
He placed a sticky note that read “Murder” and the recorder at the blood-stained garage.
“With this, your grudge should be resolved.”
‘Dark Knight’ muttered these words and then left the scene.
