Chapter 114

Woosh! Boom!

With a tremendous explosion, the front door shattered, and a devastating gust of wind swept through the house.

Before the force could engulf the interior, Irian quickly fetched three puppets hidden in the shadows to shield herself.

Whoosh!

“Tsk!”

Splinters, carried by the wind, lodged into Irian's puppets. A few grazed her cheek. As soon as the gust subsided, she sent two of the puppets towards the entrance and then summoned ten more.

Her immediate need was to escape.

Irian was ready to entrust her puppets with the fight while she looked for a way out. However, she could sense the magical energy from both the entrance and the balcony windows behind her, indicating that all escape routes were blocked.

As that realization hit, the balcony window shattered with a crisp sound. A sharp dagger and the shards from the broken window, drawn by some unseen force, hurtled towards her.

Woosh!

“Block it!”

Reacting instantly, Irian commanded one of the puppets guarding her back. It threw itself in the path of the incoming shards, blocking them with its body. However, it couldn't stop the dagger, which pierced the puppet and continued towards Irian. She tried to dodge, but the blade embedded itself into her shoulder.

Thud-

“Ugh!”

Thump! Thump!

She quickly pulled the dagger from her shoulder and turned to face the entrance. The sounds of multiple villains rushing in were unmistakable. Five, to be precise.

Before the weapons they carried could target the Puppeteer, she promptly placed both hands on the ground, summoning ten puppets. She immediately climbed onto one, intending to escape through the window.

But a villain who entered through the same window launched a kick towards Irian, who was on the puppet's back. The impact sent both Irian and the puppet crashing into the wall.

Boom! Crunch!

“Kugh!”

The puppet shattered in half, and a powerful jolt surged through Irian's torso. However, there was no time to recover. The same villain threw a punch at her face. Irian raised her arm in defense, but the sheer force sent her crashing through three consecutive walls.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Aaahhh!!”

“What, what's happening?!”

“It's a villain!!”

Screams echoed around her.

Rising dust obscured the surroundings. The soft steps of the villains approached from beyond the broken walls.

Shortly after, a villain, standing over the fallen Irian, arrived. Irian, lying on the floor, looked up at him.

It was a face she recognized.

An A-rank villain. The Executioner.

He looked down at Irian and began to speak.

“I never imagined the Puppeteer would be a woman.”

With those words, the executioner drew his dagger.

He coldly looked down at Irian and said,

“You know the fate of traitors.”

Whooosh!

As he said that, he hurled the dagger towards Irian's heart.

Swish-

However, that sound wasn’t of flesh being pierced.

For a moment, the executioner's face contorted in shock.

What he thought was Irian turned out to be a puppet with Irian’s face.

“Spread out. She couldn’t have gone far. Use more manpower if needed, but find her at all costs.”

With those words, the villains who followed him dispersed, and the executioner left the apartment to search for Irian elsewhere.

Meanwhile, in Hajoon's dormitory.

"Ugh... damn it..."

It was already late into the evening, 10 p.m., and just as Hajoon was about to drift off to sleep, he was rudely awakened, his face twisted in annoyance.

Was it because of the distant wail of sirens he heard from outside the window?

Certainly, that was part of it. But the main irritant was the unknown person who dared to call at such an ungodly hour.

With a scowl, Hajoon checked the caller.

"...?"

Upon seeing the identity of the caller, he stared at the caller ID in disbelief.

Kim Hajoon turned to face Irian and looked down at her.

He then bought a high-grade potion from the store window and sprinkled it on her body.

Wounds that began to disappear, encased in a faint glow from her body.

But her despondent eyes, which seemed to have lost hope, slowly drifted to the floor as they gazed at Hajoon.

The Puppeteer asked, "Why did you come?"

"..."

"It wouldn't matter even if I died, right?"

She questioned him with a feeble tone, void of energy.

Now that there was no need to act, she asked Hajoon in her usual tone.

Hajoon silently stared at Irian for a moment with a calm demeanor before speaking.

"You didn't really care about being in the Alliance, did you?"

The Puppeteer, who betrayed the Alliance as soon as her life was in danger, probably felt no allegiance to them.

"..."

Irian confirmed his statement with silence. She indeed felt no loyalty to the Villain Alliance.

That's why she thought there would be no repercussions even if her double-dealings were exposed.

But now, things were different.

"They've found out about you in the Alliance. They'll probably chase you to the ends of the earth."

Her listless eyes locked onto Hajoon's.

After a brief pause, meeting her gaze, Hajoon spoke.

"Why don't you just join me and become a hero?"

For the first time, an emotional change flashed across her face. She scoffed at Hajoon's suggestion, almost mockingly.

"My parents were killed by heroes, under the guise of it being a 'necessary sacrifice' to defeat a villain. And you're asking me to become one of those heroes?"

Irian's face contorted with emotion, anger evident in her voice as she began to lash out.

"Wanna hear something interesting? Heroes kill civilians too. Whether by accident or on purpose. Many heroes give up on rescuing and end up causing death, all while justifying it as 'unavoidable.'"

She had seen many heroes.

Heroes who deliberately abandoned rescues to cover up their own mistakes. Or those who accidentally killed civilians due to their own incompetence.

Yet, most of them would deflect the blame onto the villains, hiding their own mistakes without even an official apology.

All Irian ever wanted was a simple apology.

"And you're asking me to become one of those heroes?"

She questioned Hajoon once more, genuinely wanting to understand.

She never wanted to be associated with such people.

Hajoon looked at Irian for a moment, furrowing his brow, and then responded with a confident statement that left Irian momentarily taken aback.

"Do you really think those trash are heroes?"

"Why... why are you defending them?"

Questions clouded Irian's face.

And Hajoon, with a deeply furrowed brow, addressed Irian.

"Do you really think I'm like those guys?"

For Hajoon, it was a necessary retort.

Upon hearing those words, a hint of realization sparked in Irian's eyes.

With just that one sentence from Hajoon, Irian finally understood.

Why she had tried so ardently to cooperate with him.

'A hero...'

An irregular.

He never let anyone die, regardless of the situation.

He was the ideal hero, one she believed couldn’t exist in reality.

And when such thoughts crossed her mind, Irian could only lower her head, her face caught in an awkward expression, neither able to laugh nor cry.

Beneath the night sky, he seemed so radiant, while she felt utterly insignificant in the engulfing darkness.

"It's different... incomparably so."

Irian replied to Hajoon's words, her voice choking with emotion.

It was as if even drawing a comparison would be disrespectful to him, she earnestly denied his statement.

Then Hajoon, with a faint smile, extended his hand to help her up from the ground. Irian, lifting her head, hesitated for a moment before slowly taking Hajoon's hand.