Although a Villain, My Wish is World Peace

It wasn’t easy to deal with Kim Jae-ho who kept popping out from between shadows at will. With just a moment’s carelessness, fists or daggers would fly aiming for his blind spots.

Eddie could dissipate the opponent’s strength, but that was only possible if they entered his field of vision.

He couldn’t react to fists flying from outside Eddie’s perception.

He had already been hit several times.

Though he dissipated the force when Kim Jae-ho’s fists popped out, Kim Jae-ho’s fists were still strong.

The fist that narrowly grazed Eddie’s face punched straight into the container wall.

Bang!

A sound so loud it was hard to believe it was from a human fist hitting a metal container rang out.

Eddie let out an empty laugh looking at the hole punched through the container wall.

[This much without even being a physical enhancement type?]

Though punching through steel should hurt, there was no change in expression on Kim Jae-ho’s face.

[Wait!]

The moment he saw the purple-blazing pupils beneath the long bangs, Eddie hurriedly opened his mouth, but Kim Jae-ho’s body melted and disappeared into the shadows again.

At the sudden turn of events, Eddie blinked.

Hiding in the shadows and watching for an opportunity, then attacking when a gap appears. A simple strategy, but effective.

Eddie carefully took a breath.

[Haah, this isn’t good.]

There’s a limit to how on edge he can be. Cold sweat ran down Eddie’s forehead.

Just keeping his eyes wide open on guard against someone who might pop out from anywhere consumed his stamina.

He can’t just keep taking this.

‘First I need to reduce my blind spots.’

Eddie carefully stepped backwards while scanning front and back.

Leaning against the container wall, Eddie caught his breath. Block his rear and wait. For that man to appear in his field of vision.

And finally.

Kim Jae-ho threw a dagger from between shadows. But that dagger lost its power before Eddie’s talent and fell. Eddie, who had absorbed all the kinetic energy imbued in the dagger, restrained Kim Jae-ho’s body which had half-revealed itself from outside the shadows.

“Ugh.”

Kim Jae-ho gritted his teeth. Every time Eddie’s pupils turned red, the strength imbued in his body drained away. No matter how much strength he exerted, no strength came out. So he evades. Eddie’s fist passed through Kim Jae-ho’s body and disappeared.

Eddie also frowned seeing Kim Jae-ho disappear before him like an illusion.

The compatibility between the two was extremely poor. Both unable to deal a fatal blow to the other, only minor wounds accumulated.

The legs supporting the bunk bed crumpled, and the wall was punctured. Books Han Seo-hyeon cherished were crumpled and torn.

[Haa, haa…]

Eddie let out rough breaths.

At this rate, there would be no end to the fight.

Edward Sihelis the man. His motto is to never avoid a fight, but continuing a fight with nothing to gain is something only an idiot would do.

Yeah, that’s right. I’m not an idiot!

[Wait, do we really need to fight? Huh?]

Eddie desperately shouted while avoiding Kim Jae-ho’s fist.

[I’m not your enemy. You understand? I just came to tell you the news that your friends came out after conquering the Gate!]

But it was not enough to stop Kim Jae-ho who was already fired up.

Damn it, Eddie bit his lip.

He came to the container just in case, wondering if there was someone missing from Golden Day who had come out after conquering the Gate, but he didn’t expect to get caught up in a fight like this.

‘But I can’t seriously face this guy either.’

He came wanting to make a good impression on Golden Day, but now he’s fighting like this with a mercenary belonging to Golden Day.

Yeah, why should we fight in the first place! As the fight got tough, reason that had left home returned.

Eddie desperately shouted:

[Your boss is badly injured right now! We don’t have time for this, you know?]

Boss.

At those words, Kim Jae-ho stopped in place. Eddie desperately conveyed his words through gestures.

[Yeah! You understand? I!! Am not!! Your!! Enemy!!]

At those desperate gestures, Kim Jae-ho narrowed his eyes and glared at him. Okay, he doesn’t understand. As the silence lengthened, Kim Jae-ho raised his dagger again.

[Wait!]

No, why did he stop just now? Slowly, Eddie retraced the words he had spit out.

[Boss?]

Kim Jae-ho reacted to that word. Eddie desperately shouted:

[Yeah, let’s go to your boss! Boss! Your! Boss!]

Perhaps Eddie’s sincerity conveyed through hand and foot gestures reached him.

[Yeah! Boss! Boss!]

Could they finally communicate? Looking at Eddie smiling broadly with a bruised face, Kim Jae-ho sheathed his dagger. Only then did Eddie finally let out a sigh.

“Do you know where our boss is?”

At Kim Jae-ho’s words, Eddie tilted his head.

“Stupid guy, can’t even speak. How did you live to that age without learning how to talk?”

Eddie, who had no idea Kim Jae-ho was insulting him, just smiled broadly.

[You want to see your boss too, right?]

“Yeah, our boss.”

[Boss! I’m telling you, I know where your boss is.]

Kim Jae-ho stood still glaring at Eddie.

Can I trust this guy? The answer is unknown.

Can I find the boss without this guy? No…

Kim Jae-ho recalled the note Kang Yi-sin had left.

Jae-ho, wait just a little bit.

-> Waited enough.

Don’t go anywhere alone, wait.

-> Not alone.

Yeah, Kim Jae-ho had already waited for the boss enough. It’s the boss’s fault for not coming even after ‘just a little bit’ passed dozens of times.

Besides, if he follows that guy, it’s not ‘alone’ so it should be fine, right?

Having finished his thoughts, Kim Jae-ho said to Eddie:

“Take me to the boss. If you do anything strange, I’ll kill you.”

After saying that, Kim Jae-ho hid into Eddie’s shadow.

[Wait, I didn’t tell you to hide in my shadow!]

Eddie rubbed his face.

[Okay, let’s hurry and go meet your boss.]

Muttering like that, Eddie moved his feet.

* * *

Eddie, carrying Kim Jae-ho in his shadow, headed straight for the hunter specialist hospital.

[Your boss is inside that hospital. It seemed he was seriously injured inside the Gate. Well, I don’t know what happened in there though.]

He occasionally spoke towards the shadow. There was no answer at all though.

[Are you still there?]

Every time he stopped his feet, a hand popping out from between shadows grabbed and pulled his pants.

[You startled me!]

Is he very shy, or what? Eddie grumbled looking at Kim Jae-ho who wouldn’t come out of the shadow at all.

[There’s a limit to treating people like a vehicle. You don’t even want to walk?]

As he grumbled like that while walking, before he knew it they were in front of the hospital. People were swarming in front of the hospital. In addition to the people who had been waiting at the containers in front of the Gate, reporters who had heard the news from somewhere had joined.

It wasn’t strange, since the people who conquered the S-grade Gate that had been receiving their attention were here. The eyes of people wanting to somehow ask them about the Gate gleamed.

[Damn it, how did a C-grade Gate become S-grade! We need to hear what happened in there!]

[That’s right. They say they can’t even conquer the surrounding Gates because they’re afraid this might happen again.]

Especially scientists researching Gates and agencies were eager.

[I understand they need to recover, but isn’t this too selfish? They could at least hold a brief conference to answer our questions!]

[They say even C-grade and below Gates are all under a conquest ban order now. Because there’s a possibility they could become S-grade, it’s too dangerous!]

So that’s why so many people gathered in front of the hospital.

[Let’s pass through.]

Eddie squeezed through their gaps to enter. Despite hearing Eddie’s words, instead of making way, people pushed Eddie away.

[I need to go to the hospital! Hey? I’m a patient!]

Getting hit by Kim Jae-ho actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Seeing Eddie with bruises on his temple and split lips, people finally made way with startled faces.

Thanks to that, Eddie was barely able to enter the hospital. It was the only moment he felt grateful to the man in the shadow.

‘No, I’m not grateful.’

To think I almost felt grateful for being beaten up. Eddie shook his head to clear away stray thoughts.

Though he had finally entered the hospital, the atmosphere here was also harsh. Security guards whose faces were usually hard to see were watching everywhere with burning eyes.

Eddie swallowed hard at the inexplicable tension.

What on earth is all this about.

[Those here for treatment, please come this way!]

A man moved his steps following the nurse’s guidance in front of Eddie who was spacing out.

Eddie discreetly lined up behind that man.

[I didn’t come for treatment, I came to visit a friend…]

[So what’s your friend’s name and room number?]

[Damn it!]

At the nurse’s eye signal, security guards rushed in and dragged the man out.

[Ah, really! Do you know how hard it was for me to get in here!]

Eddie’s mouth fell open watching the man being dragged out. They drag people out like that here? How many people must have caused trouble for…

Both the nurse sitting at reception and the security guards guarding the lobby were filled with anger. The moment he saw their bloodshot eyes, Eddie felt it. If he’s not careful, he could be kicked out too.

[What brings you here?]

The nurse’s face, which had been gentle when she saw Eddie’s battered face, crumpled like an ogre at Eddie’s next words.

[I, I came to visit…]

[Which room number?]

And of course, the same question flew at Eddie too.

[Well, you see, I came to see the Golden Day mercenary group…]

Before Eddie’s words could properly finish, the nurse quickly opened her mouth:

[Visits from outsiders are prohibited.]

[Ah, I’m telling you I’m not an outsider! I came with a mercenary belonging to that Golden Day mercenary group!]

At that moment, there was a commotion outside.

[I’m telling you I’ll just see their face! Really, just see their face and leave! It’s not like they’ll wear out! Is Golden Day mercenary group that amazing!]

The man shouting like that was dragged out by security guards. The nurse who watched that man twitched her eyebrows at Eddie. Eddie was flustered at that silent interrogation.

[No, I’m telling you it’s true. There’s a Golden Day mercenary in my shadow right now.]

Eddie stomped his foot on his shadow.

[Hey, come out! Wait, I said come out!]

If only this man who’s a member of Golden Day would come out, everything would be solved! But despite Eddie’s desperate pleas, Kim Jae-ho in the shadow didn’t budge an inch.

The nurse looked at Eddie with an incredulous face. Eddie’s face turned red at that gaze.

[It may sound like a lie, but there really is a person here…]

This is driving me crazy. Eddie performed a noisy tap dance on top of his shadow. The nurse who watched that pathetic sight said:

[Should I call security?]

Damn it. Eddie closed his mouth tightly with a red face. Realizing how his actions must look, he had absolutely nothing to say.

[…I’ll leave.]

In the end, Eddie had no choice but to leave the hospital as if being chased out.

Damn it! Seriously! After cursing inwardly, Eddie plopped down on a bench outside the hospital where people were crowding.

[Damn, I didn’t know security would be this tight.]

But it wasn’t strange. They can’t accept all those people gathered there after all.

‘Or maybe their condition is still so bad they haven’t regained consciousness.’

Certainly, the leader’s condition that day wasn’t good. How bad must it have been for him to be classified as seriously injured and moved here right away.

‘But still…’

No, security isn’t the problem to begin with.

[Hey, come out a bit!]

Is it because there are people around?

Eddie moved his steps to a corner of the alley where there were no people. Only then did Kim Jae-ho slightly crawl out from outside the shadow.

[You wouldn’t come out earlier when I told you to!]

Eddie pounded his chest in frustration and exasperation. The guy who had been glaring at that sight silently pointed his finger at the building.

[We can’t go in! I’m telling you we can only go in if you’re next to me!]

At those words, Kim Jae-ho let out a deep sigh.

“What on earth are you saying?”

[Yeah, you can’t understand me! Damn, if only we could communicate.]

As Eddie muttered like that, a lightning-like realization flashed through his mind.

Wait, why am I doing this? There’s a good thing called a translator. Eddie, who belatedly had that thought, rummaged through his pocket and took out his smartphone.

[You said you’re Korean, right?]

Eddie, who set English and Korean, wrote what he wanted to say.

[Your boss is in there. I need your help to go inside.]

And he showed the translated version to the man.

Kim Jae-ho, who had been looking at those words quietly, nodded his head.

“You need my help? Okay.”

Eddie waved his hands at Kim Jae-ho who started taking out his dagger first.

[No, not that kind of help! Damn it, put the dagger away?]

That day, Eddie realized.

That there was a barrier greater than language between Kim Jae-ho and himself.