I Became the Academy’s Kibitz Villain

[Tsk.]

After Hyangdan’s escape.

[Release the fusion.]

[Hmm… It’s a pity. I could have enjoyed that a bit longer. Do you really need someone to talk to?]

[Talking to myself does seem somewhat psychotic, doesn’t it?]

I disengaged the fusion with Gunggi to facilitate conversation.

With Hyangdan’s demon avatar by Laplace’s side destroyed, there was no one left in Phuket to threaten us.

[It’s a shame. Had I known the avatar was here, I would have investigated further.]

[I didn’t know it was an avatar.]

Initially, it’s impossible to discern what beings the new Seven Sins, led by Duoexini, were, what special abilities they possessed, and what their codenames were.

However, some things could be inferred.

[The Seven Sins, they’re all worse than Duoexini, if not equally bad.]

Crazy bastards.

One spread demons nationwide under the guise of promoting a hero in traditional Korean attire, while another instigated revolutions in Korean history abroad.

[Perhaps the picture Hyangdan drew was… a tyranny overthrow?]

[That’s likely. The military, heroes, and even the government. By exposing the tyrant’s unforgivable crimes, they incited the citizens to protest in the streets.]

In a way, we were used by Hyangdan.

Although the revolution’s spark wasn’t from the people but from external villains, due to the society exposing Laplace and the Crimson General’s crimes, eventually, people learned of the tyrants’ misdeeds.

Killing those who tried to uncover the truth about the dictatorship.

Selecting foreign tourists to be confined on an island.

Forcing Koreans on Succubus Island to procreate.

Sending non-Koreans to “God’s resting place” to turn them into slaves.

Implanting bombs in their heads to prevent them from leaving.

And turning their children born there into weapons for their own use.

[The Kosians born on the island will eventually blend into this country as citizens. And then they’d systematically vote, turning the tyrants into mere puppets in power.]

[Had it been at least another ten years, it would’ve become a truly dreadful country. A world where only those who colluded with the dictatorship could survive.]

[…A wonderful world for those who suckle the warm milk they offer.]

Of course.

Such a future, imagined by those colluding with Laplace, will never come.

[Creating a dictator to incite the citizens to overthrow the dictatorship. There’s nothing crazier than that.]

[And if a revolution occurs outside, would that revolution also be fabricated?]

[Exactly. Thoroughly. From the beginning to the end, all orchestrated by Laplace’s demon.]

Not just because we intervened, but because Laplace’s demon wouldn’t have wanted such a future.

[It’s all over now.]

I set fire to Laplace’s head-exploded corpse.

I gathered the remaining magic power of Gunggi after releasing the fusion and burned Laplace.

[Farewell, spearhead of the fabricated dictatorship.]

Whoosh.

The Crimson Flame, Gunggi’s flame, instantly melted Laplace.

The blazing flame burned so fiercely that it didn’t leave even Laplace’s charred remains; it melted everything to ashes—muscles, flesh, and even bones.

[If it had been Pandemonium, I would’ve just burned him with real fire and left only his ashes, announcing ‘Laplace’s Mana Powder for Sale!!’ at an auction, right?]

[Had you done that, I would’ve quit the society.]

[Hehe. Same here. The society… doesn’t go that far.]

The mana powder he had absorbed up to now was probably made this way too.

Killing ability users, burning their flesh and muscles, and grinding their bones to powder.

Whoosh.

The flames died down.

The fire had consumed everything so thoroughly that there was nothing left to burn, and it faded like a spent matchstick.

Now, Laplace was no more.

While traces of Laplace’s existence remained, the entity that was Laplace had vanished without a trace.

If there’s anything left, it would be the red bloodstains splattered on the carpet from when he was hit with my bat.

[He enjoyed hedonism without even realizing he was being manipulated. Maybe I should have tormented him a bit more.]

[Even the hits intended for defamation caused a backlash among the people. That should be enough.]

By now, the broadcast people were watching would show Laplace joyfully getting beaten.

And the extent of the violence was just enough for people to feel vicarious satisfaction from seeing Laplace being hit.

No matter how villainous, it shouldn’t induce doubts like ‘Aren’t they going to beat him to death?’ or sympathy like ‘Beating him that much is a bit too much.’

I had learned to temper my use of the bat on many villains over time.

Though I couldn’t prevent the magical explosion implanted in Laplace’s head by Hyangdan, Laplace suffered enough to be tormented nearly to death until then.

[Now the problem is Laplace’s accomplices.]

I looked outside the Hero Association building.

The crimson flames of a barrier spread across the broken window, obscuring the view inside; everyone outside was restless, eager to know what was happening inside.

Hyangdan was the only one who crossed the barrier.

Others waited outside for the barrier to disappear.

Anxious about what might be happening inside.

[Well, it seems they’re not curious.]

Gururug.

In the middle of Phuket’s streets.

[To think they’d bring out a tank.]

The tank started moving around the roads.

A tank emblazoned with a red wolf baring its fangs.

[Even using the military to declare martial law and instill fear among the people to incite a revolution.]

I lightly flowed mana through my hands.

[In this age of abilities, that just isn’t possible.]

Gugugugu.

The tank continued along the road.

People on the streets quickly moved aside, fleeing from the terrifying tank.

“Ah, to all citizens in Phuket, we are currently in a state of quasi-war, and we are searching for the villain ‘Goblin’ who attacked Phuket.”

“This is a real situation. Anyone engaging in disorderly conduct will be considered a member of the Secret Society.”

The old general’s voice, Jeokrang, echoed from sirens all around the roads.

“From now on, our 7th Division will purge the reactionaries inside Phuket.”

On the screens visible to the public, the general with a blood-splattered white beard read out a declaration of martial law with an expressionless face.

“Do not trust the heroes. Some of the Hero Alliance are colluding with the Secret Society. The chairman of the Hero Alliance was a pawn of the Secret Society. Laplace is now struggling against the Secret Society’s executives, Gonggi and Goblin.”

Next to him, a non-mosaicked corpse, the chairman of the Hero Alliance with bullet wounds all over his body, was rolling on the ground.

“All circulating videos are forgeries and false. They were pre-recorded by Goblin, and the person being assaulted in the videos is not Laplace. Anyone sharing these videos or sympathizing with the Secret Society will be arrested immediately. If they resist, they will be shot.”

No matter how much one knew the truth.

No matter how well one understood the situation.

Who could easily speak out when someone pointed a gun at their head and threatened them?

If there was such a person…

“Yaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!”

Gugugugu.

The tank was speeding along when it suddenly stopped.

Above the road where the tanks were lined up, a taxi had stopped sideways, blocking the road.

“Shut that barking dog up!”

A middle-aged man dressed in overalls and a shirt, looking like a typical pot-bellied taxi driver, had blocked the tank.

The tanks, aligned in a procession towards the main road, attempted to veer off course, but a taxi driver daringly approached the front of the lead tank, blocking its path.

Every passenger leaned out of the windows.

Facing just an ordinary taxi driver, the tank gradually increased its speed.

Grrrkkk.

The confrontation began.

“Cough!”

In a space shrouded in darkness, a woman coughed up blood and rose to her feet.

“Cough, hack, cough…”

Her lungs seemed to tear with each cough, as she continuously expelled blood.

Yet, even amidst her coughing fits, she managed to tap on her Taeguk Watch, activating the TV and swiftly connecting to an internet streaming site.

“Ha, hahaha…”

In the video,

A man stood blocking seven tanks.

Surrounded by citizens on both sides, the woman clenched her fist, watching as the tank inched closer to the man.

“Yes, that’s it. You, nameless, become the ‘martyr’…! The catalyst of the protest, a common citizen’s death…!”

Drip.

Blood trickled from the woman’s lips, yet her smile was wide.

She hoped the tank would crush the citizens.

That would ignite the revolution—

Boom!

“……What?”

The tank halted.

Its wheels spun, but the tank itself remained immobile.

“……Ah.”

In front of the tank,

A man stood, his hand extended towards the tank, shielding the fallen taxi driver.

“That man is…”

The camera zoomed in on the man, who was gripping the tank’s metal.

“Nguyen?!”

The hero, Nguyen, had single-handedly stopped the tanks’ advance.

Alone.

[In an era where ability users surpass military forces, employing the military to enforce a dictatorship is futile.]

Applying pre-Cataclysm logic in a post-Cataclysm world is pointless.

[Those aliens, they really don’t understand humans at all.]

People took to the streets when they felt compelled to act because no one else would.

If

There was someone who could ensure the safety of the citizens and represent their cause.

Then, the citizens would trust and support them.

They declared their commitment to protect safety and bravely stepped forward before anyone else.

Their name was ‘Hero.’

All over Phuket, boys and girls in school uniforms came out and began to subdue the tanks.

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