Han Jua silently gazed at her reflection in the mirror.
A grotesque burn mark ran along her side—one that had not been there before.
There was no need to even ask whose handiwork it was.
Because it was a result she herself had carved into her own flesh.
She had hastily cauterized it to stop the bleeding, but even as the master of flames, this brand she had seared with her own hands seemed impossible to erase.
"Nngh…!"
When she absentmindedly touched the edge of the scar with her fingertips, a far sharper pain than expected made Han Jua furrow her brows and groan involuntarily.
"It hurts… more than I thought."
It was only natural.
After all, it was the same flame she had heated to match the weight of their sins and pressed upon villains, vowing to bring them eternal agony.
What had been suffering for others could hardly be sweet when turned upon herself.
If there was any difference, it was merely that the brand had been carved into herself rather than a villain.
"…Didn't they say hatred begets hatred?"
Recalling the words of a B-rank hero who had tried to lecture her, Han Jua let out a self-mocking laugh.
And at the same time, a man's voice pierced her ears like an auditory hallucination.
It was the mockery of Sigma, newly designated as an S-rank villain—the highest threat level—by the Association.
*Becoming a hero and indiscriminately spamming area-of-effect attacks without watching your surroundings? You fail as a hero.*
She wanted to deny it, but there wasn't a single thing wrong with his words.
For someone calling herself a hero to be blinded by a villain and allow destruction around her—there was nothing more laughable.
Honestly, before he pointed it out, Han Jua's world had contained only the target called Sigma.
And embarrassingly, even when she heard the faint voice of a citizen calling for help amidst the rubble, the scales in her heart had tipped heavily toward the villain before her eyes rather than the citizen.
If Sigma had said nothing. If he hadn't awakened her, she would surely have chased only the villain to the very end.
"…What kind of hero am I."
Once her thoughts reached that point, Han Jua found herself utterly pathetic.
No matter how blinded by hatred she had been, to have forgotten even the most basic duty of a hero.
"I wonder if that citizen is safe…."
Concern for the citizen came late, but she wasn't sure she had the right to worry.
If only she had fought with a bit more caution. No, if only she had at least lured him away to somewhere other than a residential area, no one would have been caught up in it.
Her gaze returned to the scar in the mirror.
From now on, every time she looked in the mirror, or whenever this area throbbed, she would recall that day.
This brand, which she had used so that the sinners she punished would never forget their crimes amidst lifelong agony, was now working upon Han Jua herself in exactly the same way.
A punishment that forcibly made her relive the moment she had failed in her duties as a hero.
Perhaps that was why this grotesque mark seemed more fitting for her current self than anything else.
"Pfft, what value could something like this have that they'd try so hard to protect it…."
Recalling the Association President's words—that this incident was entirely the villain's doing, and Han Jua had merely been caught up trying to stop the villain—a hollow laugh escaped her.
She would have felt a bit better if she had been disciplined, if she had stood trial, but the fact that she couldn't was nothing but stifling.
She could have done so if she spoke her conscience, if she refused the Association President's proposal, but—
*What, was it the brat's birthday? No wonder they were throwing a party.*
*Birthdays, how nice. Then I'll give a special gift.*
*Yes, wouldn't it be a shame to die on such a fine day like today?*
*Rejoice, brat~ Since it's your birthday, I'll let only you live. Just you.*
—Not yet.
Until she found him, until she killed him, she could not step down from this position.
So until then, I'll just have to be a little more shameless.
@
He had said he'd carry out terrorism like it was nothing, but this was no ordinary task.
Drawing up plans beforehand and making various preparations accordingly were issues, but among them all, the most important was surely our Nova, right?
It was basic to have animals monitor in three shifts around the clock to track Nova's movements, schedule, and even her mood that day, and to extract information through the Core Relic—Stella.
"Ugh, gross."
"Hey!"
Makina was sending a contemptuous look, but this was unavoidable even for me.
Although this world was inside a novel written by that bastard Danaka, and I possessed knowledge of the original work, that was ultimately a story from three years later.
Not to mention Korea was destroyed, and the main setting was Japan.
If Korea were the main setting in this world and Nova were the protagonist or a supporting character, I would have been able to predict her future actions, but our Nova was an extra villain who didn't appear anywhere in the story, wasn't she?
Therefore, to make Nova a protagonist rather than an extra villain, I had to collect data step by step from the ground up and create trials suited to her level.
That was why I was using my abilities while suffering, but I still didn't invade her privacy.
No matter how much data was needed, digging into someone's private life or sensitive matters was crossing the line.
From the start, Stella firmly refused to answer regarding private areas.
"…How do you know that?"
"So, is the investigation I requested finished, Makina?"
"Hey, don't change the subject!"
Anyway, that's why at first I thought everything would be solved if I just watched Nova.
Fighting against the Absolute Evil, protecting Korea, and walking a flowery path while receiving praise from everyone—how much would that bastard Danaka's stomach hurt?
Moreover, in the original *Byeonshin Musang*, Koreans mentioned were few enough to count on one hand, and even then there were no named characters of note, so I had thought there was little need.
"The list of A-rank and above heroes and the Association's confidential documents you requested. They seemed to pay considerable attention to security, but this much is nothing to me."
"As expected of Makina! I believed in you!"
"Hmph!"
But even if she didn't appear in the original, Flare's abilities made her impossible to simply ignore.
In terms of simple output or specs, my subordinates armed with Core Relics were overwhelmingly strong, but the sense honed through ability utilization and real combat experience was a variable that couldn't be ignored.
In fact, when they fought Flare, if I hadn't intervened directly, Puring might really have been in danger.
It was partly because that woman was the type to go berserk so extremely, but that too was a problem stemming from lack of information.
For characters from the original, there were many ways to deal with them—what abilities they used, how they fought—but for these local heroes whose names didn't even come out, there was simply no way to gauge them.
Even if my terrorism helps Nova grow and ultimately becomes the path to protecting this country, it is strictly a crime.
Therefore, I had to be even more thorough, as I could be caught or killed at any time due to unforeseen variables.
"Good work, Makina. I'll handle the rest, so get some sleep."
"Tch, I was going to do that even if you didn't say anything."
Monitoring with animals was tough enough with just Nova, so extracting information on the remaining heroes was sufficiently handled by Makina's electronic hacking.
"Hmm. Nothing particularly unusual about the A-ranks."
"Yeah. But the problem is the S-ranks."
"They certainly seem like they'll be quite the variable."
"Right? What I think is…."
She had been complaining until just a few weeks ago, but after seeing Nova's performance last time, Makina had become proactive.
It was partly because she felt responsible for her role, but it seemed she also had expectations for Nova's potential.
Although our motives differed, since we shared the common goal of stopping the Absolute Evil, we could be considered to be in the same boat.
To repay Makina's expectations, and for the monumental debut of an S-rank villain, shouldn't this terrorism be staged splendidly?
"Since that's decided, tomorrow I'll go scout the site."
"Huh? Site scouting?"
As if hearing unexpected words, Makina blinked her eyes.
"Isn't it obvious? There's a big difference between reading blueprints or text and actually going to see and feel the site. Especially since the place we're using as our stage this time is what it is, wouldn't it be good to go look around every corner beforehand?"
Well, on the surface there was such a strategic reason, but I added on with a deliberately stern expression.
"Besides, Makina, you haven't properly rested since coming to Korea. You've been cooped up in your room staring at monitors all day."
"…And whose fault is that?"
"Yes, yes, you've suffered greatly because of me. Our genius technician."
Although I had brought her along for my purposes, I had been inwardly concerned that she hadn't seen the outside even once since waking up.
Going out to play with her under the pretext of site scouting wouldn't be bad.
"H-Hmph! If you ask so earnestly, Jinwoo, I'll specially go with you."
She spoke as if grumbling, but her eyes were already sparkling.
Seeing the corners of her mouth twitch, she seemed quite excited.
Keke, our little one likes it that much, shall we let her enjoy it properly?
Ah, of course, don't forget the main job of site scouting either.
@
Squirm squirm—a line of cold sweat trickled down my spine.
How did it come to this?
I had clearly just come out lightly to play with Makina, to scout the site and buy something delicious, yet currently, the two of us were facing what could truly be called the greatest crisis of our lives.
"Ah, so um… uhh…."
Lee Seoha (Nova), tightly gripping the hem of my sleeve, fumbling for words and bewildered.
"…I feel like I've seen you somewhere. Your face is oddly familiar."
And Han Jua (Flare), resting her chin on her hand with a puzzled face, staring intently at me.
What the hell is going on?!
I had just come out to scout the site for the next terrorist attack and to play with Makina, but—
*Why are Nova and Flare here!?*