Although a Villain, My Wish is World Peace

After laying Kim Jae-ho down, I surveyed our surroundings with my dagger in hand. But it seemed he had already killed everyone present here. An eerie stillness pervaded the area – oppressively silent, to the point of suffocation.

Slowly, I began advancing forward. There were numerous locked rooms. One by one, I opened their sealed doors.

Partly to search for any potential survivors, but also to locate any remaining data they might have stored.

I discovered rooms labeled ‘Laboratory’ and ‘Materials Storage.’

The laboratory reeked of an overpowering, cloying scent of blood. No matter how much disinfectant had been used, that stench remained thickly embedded, instinctively furrowing my brows in disgust.

The miniature chairs, operating tables, and the grotesque surgical instruments surrounding them – it wasn’t difficult to envision the atrocities that had unfolded within.

The materials storage room was far more disturbing, if I’m being honest.

Well, calling it a ‘materials’ room was putting it mildly – it seemed more akin to a warehouse for the harvested ‘components’ extracted from those laboratories. As much as I disliked applying such terminology, the descriptions they had labeled indicated as much.

The moment I laid eyes upon those so-called ‘components’ they had meticulously arranged, my sanity momentarily slipped away.

Their diminutive sizes, barely larger than what a child under ten would possess – I couldn’t bring myself to articulate further descriptions.

—They met excessively merciful ends.

“I would say so.”

For such depraved individuals, having their heads merely burst open was an insufficiently agonizing demise.

I incinerated all those ‘components’ stored within, channeling mana-fueled flames that reduced everything to untraceable ash.

One could only hope the children from whom those parts had been harvested found a better place.

The next few rooms I encountered were empty. And then the third room finally led me to what I had been searching for.

The area labeled ‘Records Room’ was remarkably tidy. Unlike the other repulsive spaces, this contained only paper documentation.

Their insistence on maintaining handwritten records hinted at their dedication, did it not?

Although there were awakeners capable of perceiving any digitally stored information as well.

Picking up a random stack of papers, I began perusing them.

—These are…

“The decades of accumulated data compiled by those bastards. Records literally inscribed with human blood and flesh.”

Ray could instantly memorize all this information. I intended to transfer every scrap of data here through his capabilities.

Perhaps we could even uncover methods to treat the children who had undergone experimentation…

—Master, look at this document here.

Responding to Ray’s prompting, I mechanically flipped through the papers until my gaze landed upon the indicated file.

—Registration information on the children.

It contained the personal details of every child who had passed through this facility – names, ages, dates of birth. And for some entries, there was even information on their eventual dispositions documented as well.

With this data, I could potentially locate their families.

But upon reading the details listed beneath, I grit my teeth in fury.

“They were sold off, these ones.”

Among them were the utterly subhuman dregs who had accepted money in exchange for delivering their own children and families to this place.

“For this child’s parents, I believe a personal visit will be in order.”

I instructed Ray to store the children’s information. As I continued sifting through the data, Ray spoke up again:

—This child.

Even without him elaborating further, I understood. Dated five years prior, an all too familiar face stared back at me from those files. Considerably younger than his current appearance, but unmistakably recognizable nonetheless.

“Well…”

These were Kim Jae-ho’s records. The name field was blank, but that pudgy visage was undeniably his. Most of his details were listed as unknown, with only his year of birth clearly documented.

And that birth year was the startling revelation.

“Sixteen?”

Kim Jae-ho was actually a year younger than Han Seo-hyeon. Frozen in stunned disbelief at this fact, Ray snickered derisively within my mind.

—All this time, you’ve been insisting your boy Han Seo-hyeon address this one as his ‘hyung’, haven’t you?

“Of course I assumed Kim Jae-ho was the elder! With that physique of his, who could have imagined he was only sixteen?”

Kim Jae-ho stood over 185cm tall despite his perpetually hunched posture. Coupled with that ruggedly harsh countenance, I had naturally presumed he was considerably older than seventeen.

Oh dear, what a mess. The family hierarchy had become utterly convoluted.

—That brat’s going to throw a tantrum if he finds out.

“We’ll just have to keep this under wraps.”

—Under wraps, you say!

“Ah, in any case, that’s precisely what we’ll do.”

As I bickered with Ray while organizing the data, a presence stirred from outside.

Instantly, any traces of mirth vanished from our demeanors. Undoubtedly, any human presences lurking about this area now would be considered ‘hostile.’

Gripping my dagger tightly, I rose to my feet.

Had there been a survivor after all?

With dagger in hand, I flung the door open, fully intending to plunge my blade into the first person I encountered.

But the moment I registered the source of that disturbance, I could only relax my stance in dismay. It was merely a group of terrified children who had entered my view.

“What’s this, now?”

The instant I let my guard down, the children charged straight at me.

“Wait! Just a moment!”

I shouted at them to stop, but the children ignored my words and continued their assault. Though their fists were tiny, the mana they channeled packed considerable force – some even had fists as hardened as sledgehammers.

“Ugh.”

They might have been children, but these were no ordinary youths to be underestimated. All of them had undergone physical modifications and awakened to their talents at an extremely young age.

The mana they unleashed relentlessly battered my body. Unable to retaliate against mere children, I could only hunker down as they mercilessly pummeled me. My skin ruptured, bones cracking audibly throughout my battered frame.

—You idiot! Blast them away with your mana!

‘But I might injure them.’

They were children who had endured unimaginable torments while confined to this hellish place their entire lives. I didn’t want to inflict even the slightest harm upon them.

—So you’ll just let them batter you to death instead?

I racked my mind for a way to repel the children without causing them any injuries.

Then another voice rang out:

“That’s enough.”

Kim Jae-ho appeared, shielding his abdomen with his arm. His blood-soaked, imposing figure immediately prompted the children to halt their attacks in unison.

Bang.

Glancing towards that clattering sound, I spotted some kind of hammer lying on the floor.

So it hadn’t just felt like sledgehammers – they had literally been using actual hammers to bludgeon me. No wonder their strikes had seemed excessively forceful.

Slowly, Kim Jae-ho approached the children and me. The children retreated warily, shooting furtive glances between us.

“Don’t hit this person.”

“Why not?”

“He’s a good person.”

At Kim Jae-ho’s painfully naive remark, I couldn’t help but sigh deeply.

Not exactly a convincing endorsement, was it?

And yet, having Kim Jae-ho vouch for me as a ‘good person’ was unexpectedly touching. It meant the months I had spent mentoring him hadn’t been completely meaningless efforts.

Staggering to my feet, I noticed how the children scurried about like iron filings repelled by a magnet whenever I moved.

While their skittish behavior was rather endearing, it pained me that they viewed me with such trepidation.

“Look, this uncle here may not exactly be a ‘good person,’ but I have no intentions of harming you all. In fact, I’ve come to rescue you.”

The children froze at my words, then silently communicated amongst themselves through fleeting glances.

“I know it’s hard to believe. But all I want is to get you out of this hell.”

Counting their numbers, there were ten children in total. Their average age seemed around eight or nine, with the eldest appearing barely ten at most – all heartbreakingly young.

“Are you the only ones left here?”

Instead of answering my query, the children only exchanged more furtive looks. Then, one of them finally addressed me:

“You said you came to rescue us?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Why?” I echoed in confusion.

“Are you just going to take us to some other horrible place?”

At those words, I blinked in surprise.

“Well, if you want to remain here, I won’t stop you.”

Exaggeratedly shrugging, I surveyed our surroundings.

“But surely you don’t actually wish to stay in a place like this? If you want to leave, I’ll help you get out.”

“That’s not what I was asking! I asked if you’re just going to take us to some other terrible place!”

The child’s expression was one of utter desperation. I couldn’t begin to fathom the atrocities they had endured here, nor would I ever truly understand.

But having experienced my own nightmarish orphanage and longed to escape from there…

I could vaguely comprehend their mindset, at least.

The fear that even if they fled this hell, only another hellish existence awaited them.

“No, I’ll be taking you all to our home. And let me tell you, our place is pretty awesome.”

—You mean that rundown hovel devoid of even wallpaper, exuding utter shabbiness?

‘It has a rather rustic charm, doesn’t it?’

—The one that inflicts horrific nightmares upon any unfortunate souls lured inside?

‘Precisely what makes it so awesome.’

Waving my hand dismissively, I addressed the children:

“Want to come to our home?”

No matter how I phrased it, they were still only children in the end. Children required adults to care for them.

Which meant the ‘adults’ residing in this place were less than human filth.

For exploiting these children’s needs, their desperation, in the most vile manner conceivable.

While their numbers were greater than expected, and their conditions more dire than anticipated…

The children ultimately accepted the hands I had extended towards them.

And that alone was sufficient reason for me to take them away from this place.

* * *

News broke of an orphanage being attacked and raided.

People were aghast at this development.

Even more shocking was the fact that all the children residing at that orphanage had seemingly vanished without a trace, leaving not even their corpses behind.

While that much was publicly reported, there were additional undisclosed details as well.

That this entire incident had come to light due to an anonymous ‘tip.’

And the horrifying truth that this particular orphanage had actually been a facility for kidnapping children, subjecting them to inhumane experimentation and forcibly awakening them.

Biting her lip, Do Chae-hee surveyed the gruesome remnants scattered across the premises. Wherever she turned her gaze, mounds of mutilated corpses stretched as far as the eye could see.

“Even acknowledging the atrocious human experiments occurring here, this was outright massacre.”

At Park Cheol-wan’s statement, Do Chae-hee could only nod silently in agreement.

“Damn it.”

She had been completely unaware that such a nightmarish facility even existed within South Korea. To kidnap children, subject them to physical modifications, forcibly awakening them – the fact that such monstrous crimes had been unfolding right under her nose.

Tightly squeezing her eyes shut before reopening them, Do Chae-hee asked Park Cheol-wan:

“There’s still no lead on who made that initial tip, I presume?”

“No, they used some kind of secure communication channel, maybe a burner phone. But my hunch is that whoever made that call is likely the perpetrator behind this whole incident.”

Do Chae-hee nodded, having arrived at the same conclusion.

“Do you think Weltschmerz could really be the one behind this atrocity?”

“Hard to say for sure, but if it truly was that bastard, you’d have to admire his flair for showmanship. To commit such acts, report it himself, and even leave behind that signature calling card of his.”

The ‘Weltschmerz’ scrawled in blood splatters across the scene was undoubtedly identical to the mark she had witnessed at the auction.

“But why would that man commit such deeds?”

For the auction heist, deducing a financial motive hadn’t been too difficult.

Money.

But in this case?

Among the publicly reported details was the fact that ‘children’ had resided at this orphanage. And those ‘children’ were now missing without a trace.

“If he took those children from here, just what does he intend to do with them?”

At Do Chae-hee’s words, Park Cheol-wan fiddled with his cigarette before replying:

“I really didn’t want to voice the worst possibility, but…”

“Which is?”

“If he doesn’t plan to traffic those kidnapped children elsewhere, then could he be intending to brainwash them into his own personal forces?”

That hypothesis seemed so plausible that Do Chae-hee couldn’t help but clench her fists tightly.