[Age Restriction Notice: 15+]
This work contains material inappropriate for readers under the age of 15.
Parental guidance is advised.
"There are no truly evil people in this world."
How absurdly sweet those words sound.
This book was published eight years ago, yet it still holds up well. I'd call it a must-read for anyone visiting the Gorum Mansion.
I loved everything about it—especially how it delves into the hearts of those villains who became monsters for reasons beyond their control. I was just thinking how great it would be if two or three more books like this were written, maybe even becoming bestsellers—when a rough coughing sound echoed from below. Sa Yoon set the book down.
"Urgh…!"
The man who had been hit by the falling book let out a groan. Trembling, he gripped Sa Yoon's leg, which was pressing down on his chest. Inside the gate, only the man's muffled groans echoed.
"Why…"
"..."
"Why are you doing this…?!"
The man's face twisted in anguish as he cried out. Sa Yoon met his resentful gaze, glancing irritably at the translucent system screen that nearly filled his vision.
"Do I…"
His languid voice drowned out the man's groaning.
"Do I really need a reason to do this?"
At that shameless answer, the man fell silent. Sa Yoon's eyes shifted toward a corner.
"Why did you kill them?"
"…Them?"
The man tilted his head at the question, glancing toward the pile of monster corpses near the gate. It was the kind of chaotic sight you'd find in any gate.
"Why… that…?"
Sa Yoon crushed the man's testicles underfoot, his gaze cold.
"Khuh!"
The man coughed up black blood, spitting dryly as his body convulsed.
"When someone asks you a question, you answer."
Those eyes—cold, lifeless, stripped of warmth—looked down at him as though he were already a corpse. The man followed that gaze upward, only to meet the dead stare of one of his fallen comrades.
"Hhk…"
Startled, he instinctively grabbed Sa Yoon's leg, clinging on out of sheer survival instinct. Sa Yoon sneered at the pitiful sight.
Look at that desperate hand.
Grasping for a frayed, rotting rope.
How pathetic.
That was all he was holding onto—a rotted lifeline.
"B-because of the quest…!"
"Hm?"
"The quest! We had to clear the gate! They attacked, so I had to fight back—I just wanted to live…"
"If you'd answered properly from the start, I wouldn't have paid you this much attention."
The man spoke quickly, glancing nervously at Sa Yoon. He didn't want to end up like his dead teammates.
He couldn't understand how someone like Sa Yoon—who asked such strange questions—had even made it into a beginner gate. Why kill his teammates? Why ask things that made no sense?
None of it made sense. All he felt was fear.
Who would ever ask why monsters were killed?
Monsters had to be slain so the gate wouldn't overflow, so people wouldn't die. Did this man not know that? Impossible.
He must just be toying with me. Killing time.
If I die, I'll end up just like the others.
Realizing what awaited him, the man's face turned pale. Sa Yoon brushed the dust from the man's chest.
Click, click.
The sharp rasp of a blade tearing through the air made the man squeeze his eyes shut.
"See? In the end, if you don't kill the monsters, you'll be in danger. That's why you killed them, right?"
"Y-yes! Yes, that's right…!"
"So did I."
"…Huh?"
"You mean, if I don't kill you, I'll be in danger—right?"
"...?"
The man, who had just been begging for his life moments ago, froze. The look in Sa Yoon's eyes was pure madness.
Ridiculous.
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn't grasp why he'd be a threat to this man. The stranger had killed his whole team with a flick of the wrist. How could he possibly endanger someone like that?
"W-what…?"
Even without understanding, he dared not speak. He knew that the moment he opened his mouth, something would snap—crack, crack.
"AAAGHHHH!"
"Why so loud? I barely even pressed down."
Sa Yoon's voice was cold as he stomped harder on the man's chest.
"Kh—hkk!"
The man writhed in pain, unable to form words. He didn't dare protest, terrified that something even worse awaited him.
With just a D-rank, one could live comfortably. And he was C-rank—he only had to clear this beginner gate to be treated like a VIP. He wanted to live. He wanted to survive more than anything.
Tears welled in his eyes as he looked up.
"Please… spare me. I won't tell anyone what happened here. I'll keep it secret, I'll disappear—please…"
"You'd say the same thing even right before I kill you."
How would you even know?
As terror pushed his reason to its limits, a dreadful clarity came over him. He realized his mistake.
How could anyone stay so calm while killing? Maybe this man could hear the cries of the monsters he'd slain.
Or maybe… he was one of them.
A monster wearing human skin.
He realized—too late—that he'd chosen wrong from the very beginning.
His thoughts ended there.
"Khuhk…!"
A strangled sound escaped his throat.
In a careless instant, his life was taken. Eyes wide, trembling, he stared at Sa Yoon until his body went still.
The corpse began to freeze over. Sa Yoon stood and started counting.
One, two, three, four.
Nine bodies in total, frozen within the gate. The missing headcount was now filled.
Ding!
Congratulations!
You have sown the seed of hope for "The True Evil of Humanity" and struck fear into the hearts of thousands.
Villain reputation +1,000,000. (b ≧∇≦)b>
What a tasteless thing.
"Cheap tricks."
Sa Yoon muttered as the system window blinked before his eyes.
Finally—one hundred kills. Quest complete. Wiping the blood from his face, he walked toward the last fallen man.
Gathering the loot from the dead, he cleaned the blood off his rusted SS-grade knife, sheathed it at his side, and glanced down at the book lying on the floor.
"There are no truly evil people in this world."
Sweet words—but far from true.
The notion that villains become villains only because of circumstances was novel, sure—but in the end, evil was still evil.
It would've been more accurate to title it:
"There are no villains without reason."
Clicking his tongue in disappointment, Sa Yoon stepped out of the gate once he'd met the clear condition. He'd hoped for a reward, but as expected, there was none.
Naturally—Sa Yoon wasn't a beginner.
Crackle, crackle.
Retrieving his knife and the book, the space around him began to tremble. As the familiar vibration set in, he pulled a lighter from his pocket.
Click.
Flame bloomed in his hand. He tossed the lighter toward the four corpses, watching the fire devour the silence.
Whether anyone would call it a mock funeral, who knew? Sa Yoon stared at the burning remains for a moment, then turned to leave.
Beep!
The gate shuddered, releasing a blinding light that swallowed him whole.
Breaking News.
The leader of the criminal syndicate "The Shadows" has declared open war against the foreign guild Ruskia…
As soon as he stepped out of the gate, a massive screen displayed the urgent report. Sa Yoon clicked his tongue, unimpressed.
"Yeah, I'm eating lunch. …Mhm. Just bring them here. The place is—"
He hung up, just as a familiar car horn sounded. He didn't want to go, but the man on the other end was loyal—so he'd go.
He'd hunt them down to the ends of the earth if he had to.
While waiting for lunch, he overheard the people around him whispering.
"Was it the Shadows again?"
"How can anyone live in such a messed-up world?"
"What are the police even doing?"
"They're like the mafia overseas. You'd have to start a war to take them down, so the cops just keep them in check."
"I'm scared, honey. Maybe we should move abroad."
"Don't be ridiculous."
As if going abroad would change anything.
Listening to their chatter, he chuckled softly. Pointless words. Not worth hearing. As he narrowed his senses, the voices faded, and the air around him fell silent.
"This damn system must be loving this."
The most notorious criminal syndicate in the world—The Shadows.
No phrase fit better than "the worst of all villains" for Sa Yoon, the leader of that gang.
He thought, if the system wanted him to become the vilest villain of them all, it must be thrilled beyond measure.
And as if to confirm that thought, a familiar blue window appeared before his eyes.
Congratulations!
"The True Evil of Humanity" has struck fear into the hearts of thousands.
Villain reputation +1,000,000. (b ≧∇≦)b>
What a tasteless thing.