This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 294

What is a villain?

Once, a broadcasting station conducted a survey on that very topic.

And everyone who participated gave completely different answers.

However, amid all that, there was one question that boasted a 100% agreement rate, and that was, “Do you think villains are dangerous?”

Honestly, that was a pretty obvious result.

After all, those deemed ‘villains’ by the Association were the ones who successfully evaded their pursuit and managed to hide away.

Considering the strength of the Association and how obsessed they are with eradicating crimes related to talents, it could be said that it was utterly ridiculous.

So much so that conspiracy theories started swirling about how the Association deliberately overlooked the birth of new villains to enhance their own value whenever a new villain emerged.

Anyway, no matter how you look at it, those labeled as ‘villains’ by the Association were indeed the ones who actually pulled off this absurdity, and as such, when examining the individuals categorized as villains, most of them possessed tremendous talents comparable to those of legendary heroes.

Of course, that doesn’t mean all villains were armed with outrageous abilities.

There were plenty of people who were classified as villains despite having relatively ‘normal’ talents that made one wonder how it was possible to survive the Association’s pursuit with such skills.

Among those, the worst case was a villain from Japan known as ‘Tricky Face.’

To be precise, they were ‘villains,’ as there was a younger sister ‘Miyazono Koharu,’ known for her talent in disguises, and ‘Miyazono Haruka,’ who had acting skills.

Interestingly enough, this sister duo was once considered promising talent that would be responsible for the next generation in the Japanese entertainment industry.

Of course, now that all their previous criminal deeds together have been fully exposed, even speaking their names has long been taboo.

The reason was simple.

Just their existence was akin to a blemish on the Japanese Hero Association.

What if the incident ended with the level of simply missing them?

It might not have been such a big deal.

The problem was… the two managed to evade the Association’s tracking and subsequently became even more proactive in committing crimes, almost as if mocking the incompetence of the Japanese Hero Association.

Their actions were markedly different from what other current villains displayed, and as a result, rumors circulated that the Japanese Hero Association, known for being more closed off than other branches, eventually requested support from the headquarters.

Of course, even then, the two slipped away effortlessly.

Given the reality of the situation, ‘Miyazono Haruka’ was confident.

No matter who the opponent was, she was certain they would never uncover her true identity.

Moreover, she wasn’t reckless enough to just rely on that confidence.

She had been meticulously shadowing her target, observing their habits right up until they entered the bathroom.

So, she was convinced there would be no chance of getting caught…

“Where is Dogun really?”

What did she just say?

Is she… suspecting me?

Was my pronunciation somehow awkward for her to hear?

That was the first thought that crossed my mind, but that couldn’t be true.

My abilities were not that trivial.

“What’s with you all of a sudden?”

Then why?

Why was I exposed?

While wearing an expression of disbelief on the outside, I carefully brought my hand behind my back.

I still had no idea why I was caught, but since my plan had gone awry, I thought I should quickly eliminate any troublesome factors…

“You… aren’t Dogun.”

Just as I pulled out what I had secretly hidden behind me, a cold, chilling voice whispered in my ear.

And what came with it was—

Chill—

The kind of cold that seemed to carve into my flesh.

Would this be what it felt like to be thrown into a snowfield without any clothing?

I couldn’t move.

“Dogun, where are you?”

It made sense that if I moved even a little, a sound would be heard, and I would feel like my body would be torn apart and frozen at the same time.

Thanks to that, I realized.

What stood before me was a monster.

Then what?

Getting my body out came first.

“W-what are you talking about… Yoonseo, I…”

Desperate to shake my opponent and create an opening, I tried to engage her…

“Not here? So, you’ll tell me.”

With a voice that seemed to have grown even colder, a small, white hand began to reach toward my face.

“Then… you’re not needed.”

In Haruka’s eyes, that hand felt like… ‘death.’

Time rewound a little as Haruka confirmed Dogun had entered the bathroom and began moving toward Yoonseo.

Just then, as Dogun had stepped into the bathroom and was walking toward the urinals lined against the wall, he suddenly felt someone yanking at his collar.

With wide eyes, shocked by the sudden sensation enveloping his body, Dogun began to flail his arms and legs in resistance, but at that moment, he felt the cold touch of metal against his skin.

“Shh… you know, if you don’t want a hole in your neck, right?”

The sweat pouring from him like a river knew no bounds.

The girl’s demeanor, holding a knife against the neck of someone she had never seen before, was entirely mundane.

Actually, it exceeded mundane and veered into the playful.

Which made his heart race even faster, and it was unavoidable.

Considering the girl’s demeanor, it wouldn’t have been surprising if she stabbed him and said, ‘Oh dear, I’ve killed him!’

“How unfortunate. I was hoping to make you behave, but…”

“W-what do you want…?”

“Well, let’s see? We’ll figure that out later… for now… escaping from here is the priority, I guess. It’s not a place I prefer.”

As she said that, the girl smiled sweetly and pushed him forward.

A moment later, what had been hovering beneath his neck suddenly began to press against his back.

“You’re quick-witted, so I won’t drag this on. If you do anything funny… you know?”

Rather than threateningly growling, her calm and playful tone felt even more threatening to him.

That’s why he nodded obediently.

“By the way… hmm… now that I see it, you might just be… my type?”

At that moment, upon hearing those words whispered into his ear, he could finally realize.

The person behind him was a madwoman.

‘Now that I think about it, she’s been stuttering ever since earlier…’

Could she be a foreigner?

Just for a moment of carelessness, here he was being threatened with a knife by a crazed foreigner.

What on earth had happened to my life?

“This is quite troublesome. It makes me not want to keep my promise…”

A promise, huh.

Could it be that someone had hired her to kidnap him?

“Well, I never planned on keeping it anyway…”

It was probably during a moment when he was squeezing his eyes shut, thinking that.

“Then, shall we go?”

At that moment, the words that flowed into his ears instantly jolted him awake.

That’s because, in the blink of an eye, the girl’s face had completely changed.

And that face… belonged to Yoonseo, who was surely waiting for him outside by now.

The only difference was the clothes she was wearing, right?

If both were dressed identically?

Assuming they both stood still without doing anything, distinguishing them wouldn’t have been easy.

“What are you doing? Not moving?”

The girl wearing Yoonseo’s disguise pressed against the knife aimed at his back, demanding him to move.

He instinctively nodded and began to step forward, slowly exiting the bathroom.

“Not that way, this way.”

As she pointed in the exact opposite direction he had come from, he sensed a gut feeling.

It wouldn’t be enough to simply follow her lead.

The problem was… he felt like there was nothing he could do.

After all, if he tried to resist, the metal pressed against him would prick into him.

If he showed even the slightest hint of unusual behavior, she would stab him without hesitation.

If only he had some kind of talent to rely on…

‘Wait a minute…’

Talent…?

Speaking of which, it turned out he had something similar too.

And the moment he realized that, something suddenly flashed in his mind.

He began to move according to her instructions.

Finally, upon reaching the back door connected to the outside of the building, he pretended to push the door with his body, slightly twisting sideways before reaching out to the girl—

“…Head!”

In that instant, as he instinctively bent forward at the voice he heard, something blue brushed past his back and struck the girl hard.