Being a Villain is My True Calling

Initially, they did indeed exhibit outright hostility.
Which was only natural, to be fair.
As an intruder from the outside, to them, everyone except their own constituted adversaries.

Gugugugung.

“Hi there? The warm welcome compelled me to pay a visit.”

Hence, I had thoroughly prepared myself before opening that door.
As I boldly stepped through and addressed them, numerous villains turned their gazes upon me.

“”……””

Though their numbers were considerable, most remained utterly silent.
Merely observing me, the intrusive foreign element, with vacant stares.

‘…Oh, did I perhaps overstep?’

10, 20, 30…no, their numbers defied any attempt at quantification.

They were simply too numerous to count.

-Big bro, flee at once!!

Heeding Rinring’s urgency belatedly, I attempted a stealthy retreat, only to find the iron door had long since closed behind me.

“Now now~ None of you sent me this invitation? I had assumed it was meant for me.”

Though their unresponsive silence proved somewhat discomfiting, I maintained an airy smile, striving to conceal any semblance of vulnerability.

‘Their collective scrutiny exceeds my expectations.’
‘Truthfully, overcoming them all surpasses my capabilities.’
‘Dammit, I should have heeded Rinring’s advice. This appears genuinely life-threatening.’

While calculations raced through my mind, I projected an outward calm.

“[A newcomer, is he? A newcomer?]”
“[Seems like fresh plaything…]”
“[An Oriental this time? Their tender flesh is quite delectable..!]”

Ignoring my words entirely, the villains began muttering amongst themselves.
Their sidelong glances and hushed tones suggested they had already determined their intended course of action regarding me.

-…Big bro? Those remarks they’re making, they’re directed at you, aren’t they?

It would seem so.

“Looks like they intend to devour me?”

The inmates gradually encircled me, their backs to the door.
If so, the appropriate countermeasure here would be…

Bang!

A preemptive strike proves superiority!
Without allowing them a moment’s response, I swiftly drew my firearm and put a bullet squarely through one inmate’s skull.

Prioritizing an apparent leadership figure whose head seemed worth knocking off first.

“One down! Any other takers, you wretches?!”

-B-Bro! Big bro!!

Exploiting their momentary disarray, I intended to swiftly neutralize as many as feasible.
However:

-That bastard’s still alive!!

“[Aiyaiyai…]”

Compelled by that unsettling utterance to reassess my strategy.

“[To shrug off a direct headshot without flinching, what tenacity…]”

The inmate nonchalantly sat upright, casually rubbing the back of his neck.
The bullet seemed to have impacted some densely fortified material, leaving it severely deformed.

“A physical enhancement ability.”

“[Enyuukeu? Ah, the Oriental classification system, I presume. Certainly rings a bell.]”

Judging from its resilience, a bodily reinforcement power impervious to conventional firearms.
A formidable adversary for one primarily reliant on such weaponry like myself.

‘Relentlessly pummeling his skull would prove utterly ineffective against such an ability.’

Furthermore, their meta-abilities were currently dampened by some mysterious influence pervading this sublevel.

For a physical enhancement, the suppression likely manifested as reduced overall strength and durability.
Yet if he could still shrug off direct impacts at this level of mitigation…

‘At minimum an A-class threat. Potentially higher.’

It seemed I had misjudged my choice of exemplary target.

“[Agh, my head’s still ringing…why must the youth these days be so brash and ill-mannered? Hey, brat? Can’t you understand English?]”

“[Sir, shall we intervene?]”
“[How dare you lay a hand upon my prey! You runts just sit back and watch, you ingrates. This one’s mine.]”

His mannerisms hinted at an inmate incarcerated here for an extended period.
If so, his combat prowess was likely considerable – my predicament had undoubtedly worsened significantly.

‘…No choice, then.’

I would have to retaliate within the limits of my capabilities.
And swiftly flee at the first viable opportunity.

“…Rinring, no, Rinny.”
-…Yes?
“I’ll be muting the audio for now. I need to concentrate.”
-What? Big bro, wait…

Beep.

While Rinring excelled at hacking, combat was hardly her forte.
Rather than needlessly distracting her, focusing solely on the confrontation seemed the wiser option.

Gripping my baseball bat firmly, I rapidly closed the distance towards my adversary.

‘If firearms won’t suffice…’

Woooong-

‘Then I’ll bludgeon the bastard!’

I swung the bat forcefully.

Baang!!

The baseball bat reverberated like a gunshot upon impact.
Unsurprising, considering I had intentionally modeled it after a powder-actuated tool.

Specifically, a nail gun – an industrial instrument that quite literally fires nails using immense percussive force.
That very same propulsive power, typically derived from compressed air, gas, or explosive charges, had been adapted into my melee weapon.

‘Tshh…not bad, but my hands are stinging fiercely.’

Despite incorporating recoil-mitigating countermeasures, the residual shock was considerable.
A potent armament, but one with inherent drawbacks.

“[Kuhwik! You wield rather unorthodox weaponry, don’t you, brat?]”
“It struck you squarely, yet you withstood it?”
“[Fuhah! How adorable!!]”
“Damn pesky geezer.”

Hurling a smoke grenade to obscure the area, I charged straight at him.

Woooong-

First, replenishing my energies…

‘Here goes!’

Baang!

“[Relentlessly targeting my head, are you?]”

Despite my forceful swing towards his skull, he casually deflected it with a raised arm.

“[My turn, then?]”
“You simply talk too damn much, old man.”

With trembling hands, I dispelled the bat’s form and immediately manifested a different armament via my abilities.

Woooong-

Guided by the knowledge within my mind, a shotgun materialized from my fingertips.
Well-suited for close-quarters engagements such as this.

Click.

Ensuring he could not evade, I aimed the muzzle directly at his face.

Baaang!!!!

“[Kuhehekk..!!!]”

I pulled the trigger, discharging the shotgun’s payload.

“[This brat, constantly aiming for my head..!]”
“If I wish to prevail, I have no choice but such methods, do I?”

The accumulated damage seemed substantial, as he began staggering unsteadily.
Regardless of bodily reinforcement, repeatedly assailing the same vulnerabile area – the brain – was bound to inflict tangible trauma.

“[Sir! Are you alright?! We must intervene…]”
“[Stand down, you lot!!]”

Swaying precariously, he fixed me with an intense, if slightly unfocused, glare.

“[…And you, don’t even consider lobbing that pathetic grenade.]”
“Your camaraderie with your fellow inmates runs unexpectedly deep, it seems?”

With a sardonic grin, I nonchalantly jingled the grenade in my grasp.
Of course, I had no actual intention of detonating it.

‘Like him, the others might simply shrug it off, and at this range, I could sustain severe injuries as well.’

Moreover, any attempts to cull their numbers could provoke further retaliation, exacerbating an already precarious situation.
For now, maintaining this one-on-one engagement presented the safest prospect for a potential escape.

“[Hruah!]”

Then, he charged forward with a straightforward assault.

Kwaaang!

Though his lumbering speed allowed me to evade relatively easily, the resounding impact against the wall compelled me to remain vigilant.

“Whew, what toughness!”
“[I told you to discard that grenade, brat.]”
‘If I took a direct hit, I’d be utterly pulverized…’

The walls, constructed from specialized fortified materials to contain meta-human inmates, remained utterly unblemished.
Had I been struck instead, the outcome would have been…unpleasant, to say the least.

‘Mei/ker? No, Mei/aker? Or perhaps Mei/eker could result…’

Regardless of the specifics, a chilling hypothetical best avoided.

‘Focus.’

Having ventured this far, perishing would be unacceptably anticlimactic.
I retrieved my discarded baseball bat, grasping it firmly once more.

Several minutes later…

“[Kuhehk…]”

Thud. Thunk…

I surveyed the bloodied, barely standing inmate as he wobbled precariously.

‘…I genuinely thought I might die there.’

Concentrating my initial onslaught upon his skull proved fortuitous. Otherwise, this battle may have taken a far more arduous turn.

‘Not an outright victory, however.’

His arrogance, the variable of my meta-abilities, and his insistence on a one-on-one duel – had these various factors not converged, achieving victory would have been considerably more challenging.

“”……””

‘Come to think of it, the others have remained utterly passive throughout.’

Contrary to their initial taunts about my supposedly tender Oriental flesh and dismissing me as fresh prey, they had been remarkably subdued.
Briefly exhibiting some agitation when their comrade began faltering, but now, with the outcome evident, they refrained from any intervention whatsoever.

‘What’s their deal? Surely they can’t still anticipate some reversal of fortune?’

As callous as they were, such naivete seemed unlikely.
Perhaps they simply accepted the current circumstances as “the top dog changing this time around”.

Befitting this domain where the principle of the survival of the fittest reigned supreme, they may have become desensitized to such deaths compared to the outside world.

In any case, their present inaction presented an opportune window.

Beep.

-…Oi!! Big bro!!

I reconfigured the audio settings, allowing Rinring’s voice to transmit once more.

“Ah, Rinny, you there? Sorry, but I’ll need an exfiltration route right aw-”

-Behind you, behind you!!

Her distinctly flustered tone prompted me to turn…only to find:

“Well now, our acting leader seems to have made quite the unseemly spectacle of himself.”

“[B-Boss…]”

An elderly figure had materialized before the inmate I had just battered, surveying the scene with a disapproving scowl.

“…Shit.”

Regardless of my lack of enhanced physicality, there was no way I could have failed to notice an old man’s approach, nor mistake his presence here.
And on the sixth sublevel of Tartarus, no less.

Coupled with being addressed as “Boss”…

‘A blatant cliché indicative of formidable power if I’ve ever seen one…’

A cold sweat formed instinctively.

‘Can I actually survive this?’

The previous skirmish had depleted nearly half my reserves.
Relentlessly bludgeoning that dense hide had taken a severe toll on my improvised weapon as well.

“Hmm? And who might you be…”

‘Need to flee, but how…?’

The very moment that thought crossed my mind, the old man’s gaze met mine.

Proceeding to scrutinize my attire intently…

“..!! You insolent, wretched brat!!”

Bwaak!!!

“[Guwaaaahh!!!]”

With eyes widening, he violently kicked the already battered inmate’s head with considerable force.

“..??”
“[…??]”
“Can’t you discern his appearance and garb, you ingrates?! He is no mere plaything, but our esteemed guest!!”

“[…Pardon?]”

Amidst the collective bewilderment, the elder declared me to be an honored visitor…

“Speak up louder, you miserable wretches!!!!”

“Eeeeeeyyyyaaaahhhh!!!!!!!!”

…Prompting the current bizarre spectacle unfolding before me.

“……”

So tell me, why are we engaging in this absurd pantomime?