Although a Villain, My Wish is World Peace

The drugs are just a side venture. Seol Rok-jin’s real target is to capture this Baek Do-san before me and make him his own man.

“He’s targeting me, that guy.”

“If he gets his hands on Mr. Baek, all of this will become his.”

At those words, Baek Do-san burst into laughter.

“Ahaha! So he thinks he can so easily swallow me whole?”

Not just a thought – it had truly become reality. Seeing my expression, Baek Do-san slammed the table with a thud.

Startling.

—He has quite the temper.

Well, the ruler of the underworld couldn’t afford to be meek.

“He really thinks he can brainwash me and place me under his control?”

“Yes.”

“The guy who goes around claiming all awakeners deserve to be killed is actually an awakener himself?”

“Awakeners are a minority, aren’t they? Even if he presents himself as their representative, he would just be the leader of a minority. He abandoned awakeners.”

What Seol Rok-jin desired was to take this nation of South Korea into his own hands. To achieve that, he would stop at nothing – killing, betraying, driving people into the abyss of despair, none of it was off-limits.

“But it wouldn’t be easy for him to get close to me, even with a brainwashing ability.”

“Wasn’t that traitor quite close to you?”

At my words, Baek Do-san closed his mouth with a stung expression. Getting close to Baek Do-san was certainly no easy feat. But in the midst of chaos, with one of his trusted subordinates guiding the way during a surprise attack?

That was how Seol Rok-jin had directly confronted Baek Do-san through such a simple method.

“There would be no need to even subdue Mr. Baek. It would be over the moment you made eye contact.”

“Hah, why is a guy with such an ability still stuck in that position?”

“He can keep at most one or two people under perfect control at a time. It’s easy to turn someone into a vegetable, but controlling just one person is difficult… or so he says.”

Since I had heard those words directly from Seol Rok-jin, they must be accurate. Although I had heard this when the number of people he could brainwash had increased to five.

“Haha, so he plans to use one of those precious cards on me?”

“Isn’t it worth enough?”

I was simply stating facts without any flattery. Baek Do-san, who had been intently staring at me, let out a mocking laugh.

“Is this the time for me to express my gratitude for your high regard?”

Saying that, Baek Do-san’s expression turned serious.

“So what should I do now?”

“You dealt with the traitor, but it was too late. Seol Rok-jin will be bringing his own people here.”

“I don’t think he would be able to defeat me in a fight.”

“There’s a high chance he’ll bring at least one 5-Circle awakener, and that guy uses poison. It’s not life-threatening, but the moment it spreads, your body becomes paralyzed. If he came with that poison awakener…”

“We would be at a disadvantage.”

While Baek Do-san’s forces were vastly outnumbered due to the surprise attack, the presence of that poison awakener had been a major factor.

If he had brought that person in the past, there was no reason not to bring them now.

The problem was that none of Baek Do-san’s subordinates were capable of neutralizing that poison. After all, his side consisted mostly of ordinary people, not awakeners.

“Yes, if we had prepared gas masks in advance, it might have been different…”

Saying that, I looked at Professor Geum. I wish Professor Geum had given me a bit more time.

Catching my gaze, Professor Geum immediately raised his voice first:

“What if I had been late after trying to prepare those? Huh? If not for me, you two wouldn’t have even met today!”

Well, he did have a point there.

“I wish you had believed me.”

This time, I subtly glanced towards Baek Do-san. But unlike Professor Geum, who found amusement in teasing, Baek Do-san remained unfazed.

“I can’t afford to believe everything that’s said if I want to maintain my position.”

—That’s also true.

Hmm, had I sounded too much like a fortune-teller? In any case, the mood had lightened. It was time to return to serious discussion.

“So we need to launch a thorough ambush on our side.”

We would strike at the napes of those who had come to strike our napes.

This could be quite fun.

* * *

The cargo terminal on Sendo Island had containers scattered everywhere. Baek Do-san’s subordinates took positions between those containers. If they couldn’t change the deal date, they would change the deal time. Seated there, Baek Do-san immediately contacted the other party and completed the deal swiftly, like stir-frying beans.

This bought us some time before Seol Rok-jin’s arrival on the island. During that time, I set up traps.

“I’ll be placing these all over.”

To think I would be using my lifeline artifacts for this situation. At my words, Baek Do-san smiled and said:

“Don’t worry, I’ll repay you many times over.”

I nodded at Baek Do-san’s words. He even opened his armory for me. Well, the quality of a modern gangster’s arsenal was about as expected – mediocre at best.

“Oh, why is this here?”

I blinked at the anti-tank mines.

“Ah, those were complimentary service items from before.”

Good lord. The best ‘service’ I had ever received was at most dumplings from the military. Just how big a scale was this guy operating on?

I left the anti-tank mines as they were. They were far too excessive for today’s use. But I did manage to gather a few items from the armory.

After gathering all the necessary items, I took out the mask I had prepared.

—Ugh, even looking at it again, the taste is too awful.

I heard Ray’s disgusted voice, but I defiantly wore the mask regardless. Wasn’t it rather cute?

“What’s that for?”

“I have circumstances where I can’t reveal my face.”

While I didn’t mind exposing my face to gain Baek Do-san’s trust, I couldn’t allow Seol Rok-jin’s side to see my face.

Moreover, this would be the first time in this life that I confronted Seol Rok-jin.

I wanted to etch a striking presence.

“Oh! So you have that kind of taste?”

For some reason, Professor Geum was approaching me with a wide grin. What was that smile for? Sensing an ominous feeling, I subtly shifted my body back.

“I quite liked mask heroes when I was young too.”

“That’s not it at all.”

Where was this otaku trying to go with that?! Comparing this precious mask that preserved my anonymity to children’s transformation shows! Flustered, I shouted that out, but Professor Geum was already looking at me like a comrade.

—Uhahaha! See, I told you that mask was utterly tasteless.

Damn it. But I couldn’t give up on it. I absolutely couldn’t meet Seol Rok-jin bare-faced.

Seol Rok-jin would be coming here.

Putting too much faith in his brainwashing ability, and trusting that traitor, he would likely let his guard down recklessly.

While the 40-year-old Seol Rok-jin might be different, there would still be a chance against the Seol Rok-jin in his 30s who hadn’t fully ripened yet.

I couldn’t miss this opportunity to land a blow on that bastard.

“Anyway, fighting!”

It was the most uninspiring cheer I had ever heard. From the sidelong glance we exchanged, it seemed Baek Do-san shared the same thought, our mutual sighs practically audible.

It would soon be time for Seol Rok-jin’s arrival. We each dispersed to our assigned positions. I too concealed myself between the containers.

—Will you be okay alone?

At Ray’s words, I nodded.

“I told you, it’s better if no one confronts Seol Rok-jin directly. It would be troublesome if they got brainwashed and turned against me.”

In any case, there likely wouldn’t be many people remaining by Seol Rok-jin’s side in the rear guard, so I would be sufficient alone.

After some time had passed, a boat quietly docked at Sendo Island’s pier. The number of people on board was around twenty-five to thirty. Not a large number, but Seol Rok-jin wouldn’t bring incompetent people.

Hidden in the shadows, I scanned the faces of the people disembarking one by one. And finally, I found the person I had been waiting for.

—That’s the guy who committed those vile deeds, you said. But he looks too ordinary, it’s creepy.

‘What matters is one’s inner self, not outward appearance.’

—That’s what the ugly ones always say.

Brushing aside Ray’s taunt, I swallowed hard.

We had planned to ambush them the moment Seol Rok-jin set foot on this land. Just as I was about to burst forth, an immense fog began obscuring my vision.

I immediately signaled to the person on the other side to halt for now.

An awakener with a water-related talent? Or poison? My thoughts became muddled. Following that fog, shadowy figures swiftly dispersed across Sendo Island in an instant.

Fortunately, the fog didn’t seem to harm the body, but the obscured vision was a problem.

—Damn! We were supposed to ambush them as soon as they got off the boat.

‘It’s fine. I had already conveyed that they would be entering, so we can just proceed to Plan B.’

Ambushing and annihilating the enemy upon landing would have been a good plan, but there was no need to recklessly engage them.

“It seems we’ll have to proceed with Plan B.”

[Understood.]

Hearing the voice from the other side, I let out a breath.

As the ruler of the underworld, Baek Do-san wouldn’t be careless either, so I believed his side would handle those who had infiltrated accordingly.

In any case, my target was Seol Rok-jin.

Apart from my personal desire to land a blow on Seol Rok-jin, I couldn’t entrust his brainwashing ability to anyone else.

I carefully advanced through the fog. Although the limited visibility was stifling, I could hear the enemies’ voices if I listened closely.

I swung the wire with a dagger attached up and down. Once centrifugal force built up in the wire-bound dagger, I twisted my body and flung it towards the source of the noise.

Puhk.

The dagger I had thrown struck an enemy’s hand directly.

“Kkeuk!”

It would have been better if it was Seol Rok-jin, but unfortunately, it was just one of his bodyguards. The man tried to pull the dagger out of his hand.

There was a reason I had attached the dagger to a wire made of highly conductive material instead of a regular weighted chain.

-Zizizit!

“Uaaahk!”

The man’s body convulsed like popcorn before crumpling to the ground. The enemy had been neutralized. I immediately retrieved the wire, pulling it back.

“What’s happening!”

Hearing the scream from within the fog, the bodyguards belatedly reacted. Simultaneously, the fog cleared as if erased by an invisible eraser.

Despite one of his bodyguards collapsing right before his eyes, there was not a hint of tension on Seol Rok-jin’s face. Rather, an expression of intrigue surfaced. To him, this whole situation must have seemed like mere child’s play.

“A mask?”

One of Seol Rok-jin’s bodyguards muttered those words unconsciously upon seeing me. I took out a potion vial from the bandolier around my waist and flung it straight at the man.

“Ick!”

The man dodged the potion vial and charged at me. 

Crack, the vial shattered and spilled its contents on the ground.

—Oh no, that didn’t work.

Huuk, I lowered my stance and closed the distance with the enemy. Against an armed opponent, the way to counter was to not give them an angle.

Unless they possessed a special talent, conventional guns could only attack in a straight line. So as long as I didn’t stand within that straight line of fire, I would be fine.

—Easier said than done.

‘It’s simpler than you think.’

Ba-ang. A bullet grazed right past my ear.

See? I just dodged that bullet, didn’t I?

—It grazed you. You’re bleeding, you fool.

“Huhk, hufuk.”

Taking cover behind a boulder, I let out ragged breaths.

My stamina had indeed dropped significantly compared to before. But even after resting and conditioning my body these past few days, I still hadn’t regained my peak condition from the academy days.

So I needed to end this quickly.

“He’s an electrokinetic. Everyone, be careful.”

Once again, I threw a potion vial towards Seol Rok-jin’s direction.

“Watch out!”

The vial was shattered by someone else’s hand.

“Resorting to petty tricks, are we?”

I continued throwing potion vials while evading the enemies. But the vials were repeatedly shattered, not a single one hitting its mark. Seeing me fail to land a proper hit despite throwing vial after vial, the bodyguard curled his lips in a mocking sneer.

“No matter how many times you throw, it won’t work on me…”

“That’s enough.”

Before the man could finish speaking, I ignited a flame from my fingertips. The vials had contained oil. And thanks to that, this place had become an oily battlefield. Flames rapidly spread from the spot my hand had touched.

“Uaaahk!”

The bodyguard I had been fighting immediately caught fire. At his horrific appearance, the other bodyguards standing beside Seol Rok-jin flinched.

“That’s enough.”

At Seol Rok-jin’s words, the bodyguards halted. Slowly, Seol Rok-jin walked towards me.

“Alright, since you’ve come this far, why don’t we have a little chat?”

As he spoke those words, Seol Rok-jin’s pupils shone with a yellow glow.