“You seem to be the leader.”
I used the ‘Head Sever’ skill to move behind the one who appeared to be the leader of the guards and pressed my sword to his neck.
If I just applied force and stabbed now, it would be an instant death situation due to critical hit determination.
He trembled with the fear of death, and that tremor was transmitted to me.
“Why… why are you doing this… this is just a biotech research lab. There are no villains here.”
The voice of the panicked guard quivered.
I was about to say that wasn’t true, but stopped myself.
They were just private security guards hired for pay, so it wasn’t impossible they were unaware.
Besides, a criminal like myself wouldn’t be believed anyway, and debating the matter in this situation was meaningless.
“Hack.”
I struck the back of his neck with the hilt of my sword, knocking him unconscious.
‘Critical Hit’
“The researchers may not be involved, but the K-Shield security personnel do have some direct connections.”
With that, I subdued all the guards.
They were觉醒者s at around C to B rank.
It was a bit difficult to incapacitate them without killing, since attacks after using ‘Head Sever’ are critical hits.
Now it seemed there were no more Awakening Ones nearby.
“I’ve taken care of everything.”
I addressed the elevator.
The doors opened.
Laura. Alpha. Omega.
They began to emerge one by one.
I used the same way I entered the facility to exit outside.
It was late at night, so the atmosphere was eerie.
As we reached the entrance gate, a guard emerged from the security booth, sword drawn.
“Dark Knight! What did you do to our people?! Surely you didn’t… kill them?”
He exclaimed in shock upon seeing me.
Words were unnecessary. I moved behind the guard using ‘Head Sever’ and knocked him out.
‘Critical Hit’
Through the semi-transparent system window, I saw a man in casual clothes nearby.
He had an access card pinned to his chest.
Director Nam Gi-won.
My eyebrows furrowed.
“My my… things are getting interesting.”
I smiled as I said this.
Alpha and Omega, who had just caught up, glared daggers upon recognizing Director Nam.
“Hiiik! Could you possibly have seen everything down there…?”
“You don’t recognize Alpha and Omega here?”
Director Nam’s eyes quivered.
Apparently wanting to deny the reality before him.
I handed my sword to Omega.
“Alpha. Omega. You finish him.”
Trembling, she took the sword.
They couldn’t immediately rush to attack the director and hesitated around him.
I suddenly recalled there was a setting about later Chinese ability users that they couldn’t defy their commander.
“Definitely… something like dog tags?”
I moved behind the director, grabbed his shirt, and tore it to shreds.
Revealing the necklace.
Though not the dog tag form, it was an item that emitted a faint magical power, indicating a similar effect.
I grabbed the necklace and tore it off.
I threw it to the ground and crushed it with all my might.
Crash.
The asphalt cracked with the sound and impact.
The necklace shattered completely.
“That should do it.”
“How… how do you know about that? Dark Knight, what exactly are you…!”
“I don’t know.”
The ‘me’ from before coming to this world.
The ‘me’ who had countless blood on my hands.
Could these two be considered the same person?
The real ‘me’ might have already died.
Even if I could go back, I briefly wondered if it would have any meaning.
“Gah…”
“Huff… Huff…”
Grinding their teeth, Alpha and Omega were breathing unsteadily.
Their pale faces were now bright red, showing their anger.
The inhibitor being broken had awakened the aggression inherent in their genes.
“Such madness! Spare me! Dark Knight, please. These idiotic awakened ones are going to hurt civilians! Isn’t that villainous?!”
“…”
I turned my back on the director.
He’s just receiving his karmic retribution.
“Shit! I should have bought that information! At minimum, I didn’t want… Gaghh. Cough.”
“Information…?”
I couldn’t help but turn my head at the story that seemed familiar.
The sight of the director when I looked back was gruesome.
Ripped out hair.
A broken nose.
Almost toothless mouth.
The man had transformed into a semi-corpse in no time.
The children were continuously unleashing violence on Director Namgiwon.
Punching, stomping, stabbing with swords.
Even I found the sight difficult to watch.
“Hold on.”
I stopped Alpha and Omega.
They obediently listened to my words.
It was fortunate that they hadn’t forgotten my favor.
“What do you mean by ‘information broker’?”
“Guh… please spare me! Ba… I didn’t do anything bad. I’m a victim. Omega… you’re doing this because you hate him!”
With his teeth mostly gone, his speech was unclear, but I could roughly understand him.
“Answer the question. If you speak well, I might let you live.”
Alpha and Omega looked at me in surprise.
“There… there’s a broker. I bought information about danger to the company from… some merchant at a floating party.”
Seemed like the information broker I’d previously purchased information from.
There shouldn’t be anyone else who would’ve known I was going to attack here.
Whether it’s true or not needs to be verified, but I’m not one to take losses easily.
“I see. Finish playing with him.”
“Talk of mercy! Bastard!”
Alpha and Omega joyfully resumed unleashing violence on the director.
Just pure wanton destruction based on primal instincts.
I turned away and started smoking while waiting for their revenge to conclude.
Soon the director’s screams began to subside.
“Did you kill him?”
Alpha and Omega ran up to me, nodding happily while grinning.
Despite the blood on various parts of their bodies, they looked paradoxically pure.
We headed toward our hideout.
*
A few days before Shinnoda attacked the research facility.
Nowadays, most people had accepted ‘Dark Knight’s retirement as a fact.
The rate of ability-related crimes increased, and the burden on heroes was growing.
Citizens began to miss ‘Dark Knight’ one by one.
“If only that ‘Darkness Jumper’ imposter didn’t exist, things wouldn’t have become like this.”
Someone said so.
There were those who nodded their heads, and those who shook them.
A rapper known for his usual aggressive demeanor released a song titled <Dear. Dark Knight> and performed it passionately at his first concert.
♪♬
The rapper swayed his body in tune with the intense beat.
“One day, he appeared. Dark Knight. My home, was-destroyed! Uh, Fire Man!
Hero and Police? They-told-me. The source unknown, unable-to-capture. Uh, Xkka, Damn hypocrites!
24. 407. 24 hours. 407 days. That’s-how-long, I prayed. Yo. Yeah.
One day, he appeared. Dark Knight. Uh, Fire Man? I saw it. Your pale face. You just broke like a childhood toy you used to play with.”
‘Fire Man’ had set habitual fires, destroying numerous households, and this rapper was one of the victims.
After the performance, the rapper gave an interview where he passionately spoke about ‘Dark Knight’.
“Damn failure complex pieces of shit who just engage in keyboard warrior behavior. If I were in his place, I’d want to quit if people acted like that to someone who was devoted like him.”
When asked how he felt about ‘Dark Knight’s retirement.
He was originally a rapper famous for his foul-mouthed concept, with 2.5 million followers on social media.
“When I saw your new song, the theme seemed to be Dark Knight?”
The reporter, taken aback by the raw answers, stumbled over his words.
“I just hope Dark Knight comes back. I want to see villains get justice served to them. Damn villains.”
The rapper suddenly flipped off the camera and took off his top.
A tattoo of ‘Dark Knight’ completely covered his muscular upper body.
“Ah, ah.”
The journalist, pale-faced, left after thanking him for the interview.
On the internet, people who had previously criticized ‘Dark Knight’ began to flood with messages of regret and lamentation.
——————————–
[Really regretting having dissed Dark Knight;;;]
I’m on my way back from my uncle’s funeral.
He was reportedly killed by a villain… with some special ability leaving no body behind.
My mom and grandma were crying so sadly.
Since Dark Knight disappeared, the villain crime rate increased. While I don’t know if it’s directly related, I do feel some guilt.
I should have refrained from cursing when he was around.
Reactions: 19,471 Likes 17,420 Dislikes
Comments: 4,583
[Sigh, looks like someone like you makes it impossible for him to come back. Why does he have to? ㅋㅋㅋ]
[Why can’t people in our country implement ‘do well while they’re here?’ They always go ‘oh they’re fairies now’ when we realize later;;]
[I’d quit too. Doing volunteer work without pay and getting scolded? ㅋㅋ]
[What the hell is this? Acting like a kid who’s sulking because they’re upset and then quitting? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ?]
Reply: [Dark Knight receives payment for his activities? He’s just a volunteer, so of course he’d stop if people act this way.]
Reply: [Internet trolls with inferiority complexes]
Reply: [He’s right not to come back. No need to protect trash like this ㅇㅇ]
[I’ll hold my breath until Dark Knight returns!]
Reply: [Until you’re found dead from holding your breath ㅋㅋ]
.
.
.
——————————–
Several days later, new information about ‘Dark Knight’ was revealed.
Apparently, he had attacked a biological research facility in Busan and killed two researchers.
The trolls were busy criticizing him again, claiming he had turned into a real villain.
However, the situation soon underwent a complete reversal.
On the thoroughly anonymous site ‘BlackSide,’ some materials were uploaded.
Details about the human experiments conducted by the ‘Dark Knight’-attacked CK Biochemical Research Institute, and a detailed account of how the children died.
Finally, the addresses and personal information of the researchers involved in the human experiments.
Korea was thrown into an uproar.
Public opinion demanded punishment for the research institute employees, resulting in their imprisonment with sentences of at least several decades.
