Chapter 3

Chapter 3

“Clean and done.”

That was what I thought.

As of today, the blood-crazed Blood Lord no longer exists.

The old me would have torn them apart the moment he laid eyes on them.

But this time, I only neatly shattered their shoulders and arms.

I wasn’t swept up by madness, and I held back. The villains writhing on the floor like worms were proof that I was sane.

The armed police who had been waiting outside entered. One by one, they arrested the villains and calmed the terrified citizens.

I dragged Unlock over and tossed him to the armed police, and they cuffed him in an instant.

“Oppa! Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Why on earth did you charge in so recklessly?! What if something had gone wrong?!”

“Were you worried?”

When I asked with a smile, Yunhee’s tear-tinged eyes narrowed sharply.

“Of course I was! What, you think I’d be disappointed you didn’t die?!”

“It’s just... being worried about feels unfamiliar.”

“...I’m your little sister, no matter what. Of course I worry!”

“For someone who worries, you sure nag a lot.”

“Then stop giving me reasons to.”

I wanted to say that since I don’t express things through actions, she has to hear it in words to know—but seeing my sister worry about me, I held my tongue.

It tickled a little.

And this scene felt unfamiliar too.

Standing here with my head held high at the scene of a crime.

Many villains are people who committed crimes, but plenty are also those who simply couldn’t endure rules and control. In that sense, the me from my past life was both.

Once you’re wanted as a villain, it becomes impossible to walk the streets proudly in this society. The freedoms you enjoy as a citizen are stripped away. As someone who is not currently a villain, I now had those freedoms. And they felt maddeningly precious.

Just then, a woman with a sword in hand entered amid the murmuring outside.

A ponytail tied up neatly, a crisp black suit, and beautiful features to match.

Her brilliant aura was reminiscent of an actress, but her calmly sunken eyes were like a single well-honed blade.

Yunhee recognized her and looked startled.

“Huh? That’s Jung Dahyun!”

Not just her—others began recognizing Jung Dahyun too.

Amid the murmuring around them, the woman approached Choi Junho.

“I’m Official Jung Dahyun of the National Guard Bureau Special Team, Villain Task Force.”

Jung Dahyun had transferred from the Shinseong Guild—the largest in the country—to become a public service Hunter, and was counted among the most promising Awakened talents in all of Korea.

For reference, the Shinseong Guild was Yunhee’s goal.

Jung Dahyun reached Level 3 just one year after awakening, and now, two years later, she had reached Level 6. Considering that a Level 7 Awakened is treated as a national asset and a Level 8 as among the best in the world, her rate of growth was astonishing.

With her beautiful looks, strong sense of duty, and outstanding skill, she was named as one of those who would protect the future of Korea.

And indeed, ten years later, she would become one of Korea’s top Hunters.

The moment I had encountered her in my past life surfaced in my mind.

‘Because you are a villain, I must kill you.’

If she hadn’t chased after me, her talent would have blossomed even further.

Her gift was ‘Intuition.’ And it was also the gift I had taken through Blood Devour.

“I’m Choi Junho.”

“You’re the one who subdued the villains here?”

“Yes, that was me.”

“May I ask your affiliation? Avant-garde? Reaper?”

There was a thick wariness in Jung Dahyun’s voice. I couldn’t understand her reaction. I’d only incapacitated them so they couldn’t resist—I hadn’t killed a single one. Shouldn’t I be getting praised instead? Yet what I got in return was suspicion?

Ah! Could it be because of Intuition?

When she was an enemy, Jung Dahyun’s Intuition had been incredibly annoying. The way she chased after me purely on gut feeling without leaving a shred of evidence—that was thanks to Intuition.

Still, I had nothing to be ashamed of. I had returned to the past and washed away all my evil deeds—I was nothing more than a jobless bum who’d been leeching off his parents back home for two years.

“I’m studying for the civil service exam.”

Jung Dahyun’s eyebrow twitched.

“A civil service exam, you say?”

“Yes, I’m preparing to become a public service Hunter.”

“Are you going for Grade 5?”

“No.”

“Grade 7, then?”

“I’m preparing for Grade 9. I even bought books to study.”

“......”

When Choi Junho held up the reference books he’d bought at the bookstore today—Public Service Hunter A to Z, Public Service Hunter: Complete Mastery!, Public Service Hunter in One Book!, and so on—Jung Dahyun’s mouth closed.

Yunhee, unable to watch any longer, stepped in.

“Um, Dahyun-nim. It’s true. My brother spent five years preparing for a job, and he came up from the countryside yesterday to become a public service Hunter.”

“I see. Your skills were so impressive I assumed you were an affiliated Hunter. My apologies.”

That was what she said, but the eyes looking at me held a probing light.

“May I ask one question?”

“Yes.”

“Why do you want to become a public service Hunter?”

Most aspiring Hunters these days aim for positions at major corporations rather than public service. Considering the money, the treatment, the prospects—almost no one applies to be a public service Hunter unless they have a strong sense of duty.

So then, did she think I lacked that sense of duty?

“I couldn’t get hired. So I changed my goal to becoming a public service Hunter.”

“Is that all?”

“Is there a need for more reasons?”

“No, I overstepped. First, thank you for saving innocent citizens from the villains.”

“......”

It was an act to disguise myself as an ordinary citizen, yet my chest felt strangely ticklish.

In my past life, Jung Dahyun was a Hunter who defended justice and was respected by Awakened and citizens alike. She was also one of the Hunters who had pursued the maddened me most persistently.

“And could you give me your contact information? I’ll petition my superiors to push for a commendation. Your heroic actions today will help you become a public service Hunter.”

“Thank you.”

In the past, we were two people who had to kill each other—now we were people who would become colleagues.

If that was the case, it was best to clear away even the smallest suspicion.

I handed over my number and added, to instill some confidence.

“For your reference, I’m not a villain. Nor am I a suspicious person.”

“......”

“I’m serious.”

“......”

There. That should have cleared her suspicion.

* * *

Having wrapped up today’s bank raid case, Jung Dahyun looked over the scene.

Even though all the villains had been cleared away, the earlier carnage seemed visible still.

Raids had been unusually frequent lately.

The increasingly cunning movements of villains were causing greater and greater damage.

And the ones who suffered the most were innocent civilians.

Today’s incident, too, could easily have killed many people.

The Special Team’s rigid system. As someone who had become a public service Hunter to arrest as many villains as possible, she didn’t like it.

“Choi Junho.”

Jung Dahyun thought of the man she had met today.

The man who had crippled all ten villains with merciless precision.

Just from that brief glimpse, she could tell.

What Choi Junho had inflicted on the villains was one-sided violence.

It resembled not a Hunter who should serve citizens, but a villain.

Becoming a monster to catch monsters.

She had seen countless such cases.

But how a sword is used determines its purpose. A sword that could drench the world in blood could become the finest sword for hunting villains.

The gift she possessed—‘Intuition’—spoke strongly.

If she did not stop Choi Junho here, he would become an uncontrollable danger.

The career record she’d looked up on Choi Junho was unremarkable.

Several years of attempting to join major corporations, then retreating to his hometown after failure.

Coming back up to the city to become a public service Hunter—that was all.

But the unknown territory not in the reports was the problem. Jung Dahyun, who trusted her Intuition more than the information given, decided to follow the warning her Intuition provided.

“I’ll have to manage him myself.”

* * *

After returning home, Yunhee expressed her wish to receive training from me.

She said she’d felt something significant watching me subdue the villains today.

“But wasn’t crippling them going too far?”

“Not at all.”

“Why?”

“If I had shown mercy to those villains, they would have inflicted even greater harm on citizens.”

“......”

“There’s no ending that satisfies everyone.”

The moment a clumsy villain becomes a cunning one, they become a disaster citizens can’t handle.

Even when I was mad, I thought about that often. If only I had died before gaining complete power, wouldn’t this catastrophe have been avoided? If only a stronger Hunter had come to kill me.

“Are all villains evil people?”

“There are innocent ones too.”

The world is never just. So there are those who become villains because they were pushed into unfair circumstances.

“But they’re an extreme minority. And in the end, they become no different from other villains.”

“It’s hard.”

“Keep thinking endlessly about what your justice is. Remember—rather than saving one innocent villain, that villain could slaughter a hundred innocent citizens.”

“Okay.”

I was bothered by Yunhee’s gloomy expression as she returned to her room, but I decided not to mind it. It was growing pain everyone had to experience at least once.

Then again, I was no different, mocking myself as I said these things.

Wasn’t the final boss among those villains none other than me?

Even now, when I close my eyes, the faces of the people who died at my hands float up.

I lost control of my body, but with my own hands I ripped out their hearts and drank their blood. I, who grew stronger that way, am the pinnacle of evil.

Even if the deeds were committed in a maddened state, the past doesn’t disappear.

Clinging to an unexpected opportunity and giving advice as if I knew anything—it disgusted me, but I wasn’t naive enough to let the opportunity slip by.

“Just live normally. Normally.”

After trying it today, it seemed possible.

* * *

In my past life, the trigger for my awakening was a coincidence stacked upon a coincidence.

A gift opens only when its conditions are met.

But in most cases, people can’t even figure out which attribute it’s related to, let alone meet the conditions.

In my case, I happened to learn it was a blood-related ability and tried everything imaginable to open the gift. I cut myself, drank blood, smeared it on. I even got poisoned by drinking a monster’s blood.

I couldn’t open the gift, and my Level was low, so what I could do was limited. In the end, I gave up on finding a job and started working on a monster cleanup crew.

A monster cleanup crew secures byproducts once a hunt is finished. Monster hides, meat, blood, and so on vary greatly in price depending on freshness.

Then, every so often, aggro would spike and the cleanup crew would be attacked by monsters.

It was a similar situation back when I awakened. While securing byproducts, a monster that caught the scent of blood attacked, and there were so many more of them than the hunting team that we were on the verge of annihilation.

At the time, I ate the heart of a monster I was holding to survive. I don’t know why, but I acted on instinct, and it became the trigger for my ability to awaken.

The only one who survived that place was me.

The monsters died. The Hunters died. And the ability became mine entirely.

That was the moment the worst villain, maddened by blood—the Blood Lord—was born.

* * *

After buying the reference books to become a public service Hunter, time passed quickly.

I helped Yunhee with Force manipulation and studied mainly from the reference books.

In the meantime, I was also awarded a commendation for subduing the villains at the bank. Jung Dahyun attended the ceremony in person and congratulated me.

“Since you stepped up for citizens, you’ll receive bonus points on the public service exam.”

“Thank you for going out of your way.”

“Not at all. I’m the one who should be sorry I can’t do more.”

“It’s really fine.”

“Yes.”

After the commendation ceremony ended and I stepped outside, Jung Dahyun followed.

“If you don’t mind my asking, when do you plan to take the public service Hunter exam?”

“Two months from now. Three at the latest, I’m thinking.”

“That’s later than I expected?”

“I have my circumstances.”

Truthfully, my pace through the reference books was a bit slow.

The public service Hunter exam is held once a month, with a competition ratio of 3:1. But accounting for actual no-shows, it drops to 2:1, and sometimes as low as 1.5:1.

A brief silence settled, and Jung Dahyun asked.

“What do you think of the Villain Task Force, if I may ask?”

“I think it’s an excellent place.”

“Then, if you pass the exam, how would you feel about joining our Villain Task Force?”

“I’ve never considered it.”

“Ah.”

Jung Dahyun let out a sigh. Thinking she might have misunderstood, I added,

“It’s not that I dislike the Villain Task Force. As far as I know, the National Guard Bureau only takes the elite among public service Hunters. I’m not sure my score would be enough.”

“So you don’t dislike it. That’s a relief.”

“Passing comes first, after all.”

“Right, I was getting ahead of myself. My apologies.”

“It’s fine.”

At my answer, which showed not a flicker of expression change, Jung Dahyun smiled.

“The way you subdued the villains that day was impressive.”

“Is that so.”

“Yes. Still, wouldn’t it be better to show a little mercy? Three of the subdued villains ended up in critical condition.”

“Ah.”

Only then did I realize my mistake. Not killing them on the spot wasn’t everything. I should have accounted for them going critical after being incapacitated.

No matter how good recovery potions have become, once someone’s dead, they can’t say a word.

Keeping them alive was essential for interrogation.

In that regard, Jung Dahyun was a pro. She was talking about adjusting my force with interrogation after subdual in mind. I, a former villain, had assumed keeping them barely breathing was enough, and revealed my clumsiness.

Next time, I’d moderate my strength and break only the bones, I decided.

“That part was my mistake.”

When I acknowledged the realization, Jung Dahyun’s expression relaxed.

“Not at all. Junho-ssi, you’ll surely become an excellent Hunter.”

“I’ll do my best to improve.”

From what I remembered, Jung Dahyun didn’t shatter villains’ limbs. Maybe it was a difference between the clean method and the sure method.

Perhaps Jung Dahyun had a somewhat more aggressive disposition than I’d thought.

The two of us smiled at each other.