The Novel’s Villain

24. Villain (2)

Japan faced a drastic downfall shortly after the disbandment of the Japanese Association of Competent People. The Gate turned over to the Federation, and they couldn’t seek help from the international community.

An unidentified group dressed in black went wild and annihilated the groups of competent people scattered across the country. Meanwhile, the Federation arrested all high-ranking officials, as well as the shaman. The competent people of Japan already had their thread of life cut off completely as all high-ranking officials possessed only bizarre skills.

The surviving Japanese competent people accidentally joined the remnants of the Seven Dragons Association. They, too, were in the same boat. As they talked to each other, they realized that there was a deep misunderstanding. It turned out that it was all a ploy devised by Lee Jin-woo. They couldn’t have been beaten like this otherwise.

South Korea was said to have acquired ten Gates and was now in fierce negotiations with the governments of other countries. Korea’s position was the best of the best.

At least, they wanted to cause a serious blow to G&P and Korea. That was why an artifact was created through the artifact data that caused the Gate incident. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that all the remaining resources of the Association of Competent People went into it, but the result was unstable and small.

The Seven Dragons Association and competent Japanese people secretly entered Korea. They had to go through a lot of trouble since almost all the branches were gone and were already homeless when they arrived near the JW Gate after struggling without any help. It was revenge that squeezed the last of their strength. But, there could be no greater joy than the moment when the terrible sight unfolded at the JW Gate.

Yeah, they would all be screwed up!

Kanji, a competent person from Japan, nodded with determination. He was once a very popular Knight in Japan. Now, he was nothing more than a beggar wrapped in stinky rags, as well as a burgeoning terrorist. In his arms were mana bombs and artifacts created by extracting that data, and others with mana bombs surrounded him. It was the afternoon of the most crowded weekend.

Kanji dropped a mana bomb in the most crowded places. It would distract them long enough for him to reach the JW gate.

When he dropped the mana bomb and was about to run away, someone grabbed his shoulder.

“Sir.”

“Huh…?”

Kanji couldn’t help but be surprised. He couldn’t even feel the presence until he grabbed his shoulder. He turned his head and looked behind him.

A man dressed as a security guard was holding onto the bag containing a bomb. His name tag read James Dean. He smiled softly as he looked at Kanji.

“We will be troubled if you throw your trash here.”

Kanji tried to shake him off with force, but he didn’t move. His power, which was once at the level of a Knight, didn’t work.

“Ugh!”

“Huh!”

The same was true of other competent people around. A female employee holding a balloon knocked his colleague out and dragged him somewhere. When the man who was cooking at the stall threw the spatula he was holding, a Knight from the Seven Dragon Association collapsed. Yet, he didn’t fall to the floor just like that. A cleaner who approached quickly drew him into a big trashcan very naturally before anyone noticed. He disappeared quietly without a sound.

It was such an absurd end.

‘W-what the hell is going on…’

Kanji couldn’t understand. He tried to struggle, but his body felt stiff and wouldn’t move. What kind of security guard was this powerful? Kanji looked at the mana bomb the guard was holding. If it exploded, he’d get hurt, but he thought he’d be able to get out of there somehow.

“Hmm.”

The guard looked at the bag in his hands and clenched his fists.

Peeing! Pushhh!

A small noise leaked out of his hand with a flash of light. Smoke wafted out when the guard opened his hand.

Puck!

The blade of his hand approached at great speed to smack Kanji in the neck. What Kanji saw before he collapsed was a large trash can approaching him.

“Have they started moving?”

James Dean had a serious expression on his face. He walked over to the stall and looked at the street vendor with sharp eyes.

“Waffle, strawberry flavor.”

“How about cafe latte?”

“No ice.”

“I see. All right.”

The street vendor nodded and then left for a while. At the moment, security in the JW jurisdiction lightly surpassed the world’s highest standards.

“James, a missing child was found at the Cultural Center.”

“Oh, yes! I’ll be there, Sir.”

“Yes, ah, don’t be so formal with me.”

“You’re still my senior. How couldn’t I?”

The security guard who approached James Dean shook his head. James Dean ran to the missing child discovery area to find Rachel, who was comforting the crying child. He wanted to keep this peace until the end.

* * *

The village seemed busy with guests. It was said that people from the Goddess Order and Count Ehorce were coming to purify the dungeon. The upper class belonging to Count Ehorce was also said to be coming, so it seemed like something related to Selena.

Jin-woo went to the trading post. It was constructed so that merchants from outside could sell their goods, but there was nothing but crops and statues. The statues were of the Goddess carved from wood. It was beautiful.

‘Umm…’

The Goddess was the main heroine of the Middle-World. It was hard to say that she was attractive, though. Although the Goddess Order was rife with corruption, she laughed and talked with the main character without feeling any responsibility. To put it bluntly, she was naive.

‘Well, it was a novel that shouldn’t be read with such deep thought.’

Jin-woo thought so and nodded. Still, he thought the Goddess was kind, so he seemed to be able to talk with her. Anyway, the village ran out of water, so they had to go deep into the forest to retrieve it, but that wasn’t enough for the entire village to use. It was difficult to even welcome guests.

‘It’s my fault…’

The situation was bad. The trade with these high-ranking people seemed like a pretty big opportunity. Jin-woo had even rid her of that misfortune. Now that Selena couldn’t fall into the villain role, he thought to help her as much as possible.

Selena and the guards were on their way to greet their guests. Then, when the security guard rushed in and said something, she was startled and began to move quickly. There seemed to be something urgent going on. Jin-woo was about to return to the Sanctuary, but he blended in with the villagers and followed. A fishy smell spread out as he walked along the road.

Jin-woo had no choice but to stop.

“The road….”

“T-the reservoir…fish?”

The reservoir exploded horribly. Like a waterfall, muddy water and fish were gushing out along the hillside. A carriage was seen hanging on the tree. And below it, a man who looked like a nobleman was stuck helplessly.

“I-it’s a curse…this land is cursed.”

The man was covered in fish scales and slime. It was so sticky that he was stuck soundly to the tree. Selena, as well as the guards and the villagers following her, paused.

“Does a curse…really exist?”

“God has abandoned us.”

“Ah, ah…Goddess Luna.”

It was a worthwhile sight. Muddy water gushed out, and grotesquely large fish flowed out and swept everything around them. A sudden change in the beginner dungeon, a dungeon was appearing inside the estate and even a swarm of bizarre fish. There was no way to explain this other than a curse.

‘This…’

Jin-woo thought it would calm down when the energy was diluted over time, but the reservoir burst. Rather, the Emperor of Gold seemed more insane than the Incarnation of Evil. This happened because the reins were unleashed in Middle-World. The Black Flame Dragon would have been better.

The villagers stumbled in shock, and some wept. He felt his consciousness pricking with guilt.

“It’s just a disaster! Let’s save those people first!”

Selena calmed the villagers. The villagers pulled out the people caught in trees and the man buried in a shoal of fish. Fortunately, no one had died. Even though many were caught in slime, it was full of energy.

“U-Uweeeeck!”

“Gasp!”

Thanks to that, they could hold onto their consciousness, which made it rather like torture instead. They pulled one such man from a mass of slime and fish.

“W-water…”

He was wearing a ring studded with a large ruby and splendid ornaments. Although it was messed up by the slime, it was still flashy. Selena handed over a potion in a glass bottle and a waterskin. The priest drank them greedily, but then he trembled and vomited everything. The water was warm, but the fishy smell remained even though it had been purified. No, it felt like the fishy taste in his mouth was amplified even more.

“Kueegh! Kuegh!”

The old priest seemed to run out of breath. His body trembled.

Jin-woo could see that Selena was panicking. The old priest looked quite high-ranking.

‘Umm…’

It would be a big deal if that priest died because of him. Jin-woo, who was watching from among the villagers, took out water and drinks from the subspace. When he put his hand into the subspace, the bandage loosened slightly and seeped into it. Although it was a plastic bottle, it looked like a glass bottle, so he thought it would be okay.

Jin-woo approached them. Selena looked up at him as he approached. He was dressed very neat, unlike the others. He didn’t seem to be an ordinary person with the vibes he gave off. He was wearing an unusual-looking black robe, and there seemed to be a halo shining over his head. His slowly approaching figure looked almost holy.

The effect was created by the Emperor of Gold. The villagers were surprised to learn that Jin-woo had been around until now. He first splashed water on the priest’s face. When the freshwater touched him, the priest’s breathing returned to normal. His body shivered for some reason.

“Ah, ah…”

The priest shed tears. The clean water flowed, and the slime around him disappeared. The fishy smell also decreased rapidly. Seeing the tears, he began to shed, it must have been very painful. Jin-woo handed him a drink.

‘It’s good to get rid of the fishy taste.’

It was a slightly carbonated lemonade; it wasn’t unusual in Middle-World either, so that was his first pick. The priest carefully drank it.

“Ah!”

The priest’s eyes blurred. A blank look came over his face. Although he seemed to lose his mind, he looked okay. Jin-woo recovered the plastic bottle and looked around. Many people needed water, but there was a lot of water in the subspace filled with food.

‘Let’s give it out generously.’

“Is there a place to put the water?”

“Yeah? Yes! Wait!”

Selena stared at him blankly, suddenly startling at Jin-woo’s words and quickly moving to instruct the guards. They brought over a large jar.

‘They thought I was a wizard anyway…’

Jin-woo thought it would be okay to go with that from now on.

“I have some water. I’ll give it to you.”

Jin-woo put his hand into the jar. He took out a plastic bottle from the space and poured water into it, then retrieved the empty bottles immediately. He was concerned about the attention he received and didn’t want to pollute the good environment of the Middle World. After filling the jar with water, everyone was staring at him.

“Thank you.”

“No. I have enough water, so I’ll give it to you.”

Jin-woo had no choice but to say that at Selena’s response. He could see the people suffering from the fishy smell and slime. As he glanced around, a fish the size of a palm sprung out of a man’s mouth. He wanted to cast purification magic or something like that, but all he could do was provide water and drinks. He poured water into every jar the village had.

There was an empty storage tank nearby, so he poured water into it as well. Jin-woo tilted his head as the water seemed to shine a little.

[D] Blessed Bottle of Water

A bottle of water blessed by golden power. The golden mana has turned the bottled water into the water of life. Drinking the water of life improves one’s overall ability and energy due to the blessing. It also increases your chances of falling in love.

Jin-woo checked the subspace containing groceries and camping equipment. There was a golden hue on them as well.

“…I’m sure it’ll be okay.”

Villagers were carrying jars and working hard to rescue people. Anyway, that was a good thing.

Jin-woo looked at the fish fluttering on the ground.

‘Suddenly, I’m craving sashimi.’

It was a freshwater fish, but there were no parasites. Jin-woo took the fish and returned home through the Sanctuary once outside the village. When he was making sashimi with the fish in the kitchen, Yoo-na, who sensed Jin-woo’s appearance, appeared.

“Tuna…no, it’s a fish I’ve never seen before.”

“It looks good, doesn’t it?”

“It’s the first fish with legs I have ever seen.”

“Hmm?”

Jin-woo looked at the fish on the cutting board. It did indeed have small legs.

* * *

The Count Ehorce estates produced Goddess statues, ensuring they maintained a good relationship with the Goddess Order. Being verified by the Order was the only way to get rid of the stigma of owning a cursed land and being a cursed lady. Selena had no choice but to ask for a favor as she accepted Count Ehorce’s unreasonable demands.

Many claimed that it was because of black magic that she had learned her right to manage the estate. There was a hope to retrieve it back when it was found that the black magic she had mastered had nothing to do with the abnormalities in the estate.

‘Is that going to happen?’

The Order was corrupt. They sucked out people’s blood while eating with the nobles. The engagement was canceled, and why she was cornered was also because of those ties between the Order and other nobles.

Her parents died because of the corruption in the Order. It was then that she learned black magic.

‘I’d rather have a contract…’

If the Goddess abandoned her people, she would abandon the Goddess herself, even going so far as to sign a contract with the demons, which was said to be taboo. She made such a promise.

“Ah…”

Selena was devastated. The sight before her eyes could only be described as a curse. This misfortune had always followed her like a tail. She hastily saved the priests and nobles, but the verification was already over.

‘The high priest…’

A high priest was suffering from the accumulation of slime. Even wiping the mucus away didn’t help work well, and water was of no use. It seemed like he was out of breath. At that time, what appeared was a man wearing a robe. There was no dirt on him even though he stepped on the ground covered with mud and water.

Selena could see the dirt was deflecting away from him. All the dirt was pushed out like the sea was splitting, and the disgusting scent seemed to have disappeared wherever he moved. He poured water shimmering softly in the sunlight on the high priest and handed him the golden liquid. He then filled their jars with water.

When he put his hand in, it was filled with water that felt sacred. Was it magic? No, the scene was close to a miracle.

‘Who the hell is…?’

The high priest returned to his senses. Selena turned her gaze to the high priest and then looked to the stranger. Suddenly, he was gone.

“Oh, ooh…”

“Are you awake?”

The high priest jumped up. He was rumored to have a nasty personality, typical of a corrupt high priest. There was nothing Selena could do, even if he treated her as a demon.

“This miracle…what a miracle!”

The high priest knelt and looked up at the sky. Although he had a lot of wealth, he could be satisfied with the power he had. But as soon as he was baptized with the clean water and the golden liquid washed over his body, a tingling sensation filled him with freshness. As the vital energy disappeared, guilt filled that space.

He regretted his actions. Why would he cling to such trivial things? Looking back, it was an empty life. He had a life with nothing left but rubbish.

He would never walk that road again.

The divine power of the high priest was growing stronger. He was overwhelmed with emotion as he remembered the man who had saved him. His halo was so holy and divine. He was finally able to find the true path he had to walk.

“Saint…he’s a saint!”

“Pardon?”

The high priest grabbed Selena’s hand.

“Sacred ground! This is sacred ground! Hahaha! Thank you, thank you!”

Selena just nodded with a puzzled look.