Surviving as a Brainwashing Villain in a Hero World

Chapter 2

“Stay right where you are, or I’ll roast you alive.”

‘What should I do? Should I just ignore her and jump in?’

I was planning to escape to a place where no one knew me and sell the jewel for some rest and relaxation.

But, of course, the world isn’t that simple.

A-class hero Ignition was looking down at me arrogantly from where she stood.

“Um, well, you see….”

“Yes?”

“I was just trying to survive… make a living! It’s hard to get a job these days, you know… Hahaha….”

“Stop making excuses and come out quietly, or you’ll really get hurt.”

I tried to smile as pleasantly as I could to save myself,

But it didn’t seem to be a very effective move.

She already had sparks of flames crackling in her fist again.

“Aaahhhh!”

I turned around and jumped into the hole.

If I’d stayed there any longer, I might have wet myself in fear.

I slid down the metal escape route for what seemed like a long time.

The friction was almost setting my butt on fire, but it didn’t last too long.

— Thud! Thud! Thud!

“Aaaahhhh!”

Maybe because the hideout had been heavily damaged in the hero attack,

The escape route suddenly ended abruptly, as if someone had cut it clean off.

“Phew.”

Hero Ignition was already standing at the end of the escape route, waiting for me.

“Ah! Ow…”

As I fell, the jewel in my pocket seemed to shatter,

And something, presumably pieces of it, started stabbing my leg sharply.

“I warned you, you’d get hurt, didn’t I?”

She mocked me with a look of contempt.

How pathetic must I look to such a magnificent hero?

Like some insignificant insect struggling to survive compared to her.

“Just come quietly, will you? Stop making a fuss.”

It was a hopeless situation.

Was I really going to be dragged off to prison like this?

Or would I receive an even worse punishment?

What did I do so wrong?

Sure, I came here with bad intentions of becoming a villain, but I worked hard too!

This is so unfair!

— Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiing—

Suddenly, a tremendous noise came from my pocket where the broken jewel shards were.

“Ah! What’s that sound?”

“Ugh…”

A sharp noise, as if it would burst my eardrums, rang for a moment,

And as it subsided, an incredibly bright light, so blinding it was hard to see, burst forth.

It was so bright it illuminated the dark warehouse like a sunny street at noon.

The light shone on both of us, and then, like the noise, it quickly faded away.

“Ugh…”

“Ow… my eyes…”

The jewel shards that had been piercing my thigh vanished without a trace after emitting that light,

And when I looked up, Ignition had collapsed on top of me.

“What the?!”

“Eek!”

With her chest pressing down on me, no less.

“You… you… you perverted bastard!!!”

“I swear it wasn’t on purpose! Please! Calm down!”

Ignition, her face red with shame, stomped her feet in rage.

I let out a sigh of resignation, thinking I was truly dead now,

When I noticed something floating next to her—a translucent screen-like thing.

[ Target Information: A-class Hero ‘Ignition’ Yoon Do-hwa ]

[ Ability: Ignition ]

[ Status: Imprint Level 1 (Corruption Rate 0%) ]

[ Available Commands: Body Control / Nullify Superpower / Arousal ]

I’ve definitely seen something like this before.

It’s a status window, like those you often see in RPG games or isekai-themed manga.

It seemed to show the information of the person I was looking at, rather than my own.

‘Could this be because of the light from the jewel?’

Hero rank, hero name, and even the ability.

Comparing it to the information in my memory, it was definitely about that hero…

But I wasn’t sure what the ‘Imprint’ and available commands meant exactly.

[ ‘Imprint’ can be etched onto the target upon direct physical contact. ]

[ ‘Commands’ can only be used on targets with an ‘Imprint.’ ]

As soon as I thought I didn’t understand, the status window kindly provided an explanation.

It’s quite polite, explaining things I’m curious about right away.

But have I ever touched Ignition directly?

…Oh. The chest, earlier.

Anyway, what’s important is to get out of this situation.

It said I can use ‘commands’ on targets with an ‘Imprint’…

For example, the ‘Nullify Superpower’ command.

[ Applying Nullify Superpower to target ‘Ignition’ Yoon Do-hwa. ]

The message popped up at the bottom of the screen as soon as I thought about using the command.

‘But, will this really work…?’

“If you won’t come quietly… I guess I’ll just have to roast you and take you, well-done.”

“What, what?!”

How could she say something so terrifying so casually?

Do you need to have that much guts to become an A-class hero?

If I’m destined to die, I might as well just burn to death here,

But if that status window is really some new ability I’ve suddenly gained, I might survive.

—That’s what I was thinking when Yoon Do-hwa reached out her hand and tried to unleash her flames at me, so I closed my eyes.

“Huh?”

“What… What’s going on? Why aren’t the flames coming out…?”

Nothing happened from Yoon Do-hwa’s right palm that was aimed at me.

Just like the message said, the ability nullification really worked!

“Hey! Come on! The fire won’t come out!”

She kept waving her hand, but not even a small spark appeared.

“Pffft…”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

An A-class hero, not a rookie, getting flustered and saying, ‘Why isn’t it working?’ It was too funny to watch without laughing.

“Hey!”

— Thwack!

Her kick landed squarely on my head as she heard me laughing.

“Ugh!”

“You… dare laugh at me?”

After years of getting hit during combat training and going through numerous battles,

I thought I could handle punches and kicks easily.

But that kick was powerful enough to lift me off the ground—I couldn’t just shrug it off.

‘Oh, damn… Did I break my neck or something?’

Fortunately, my tough body seemed to have endured the kick.

As expected, being an A-class hero isn’t just about having abilities.

— Whoosh—

Before I could even get up, Yoon Do-hwa came flying at me again with a whooshing sound.

I saw her coming at the last moment, but I had no time to react.

“S-Stop!”

[ Applying Body Control to target ‘Ignition’ Yoon Do-hwa. ]

“Whaaaaat?!”

As soon as I shouted for her to stop, ‘Body Control’ activated,

And Yoon Do-hwa, who was flying towards me, abruptly fell to the ground and sat down.

“Now I can’t even move my body properly…!”

“Barely made it. Phew.”

As I approached her, who was still on the ground, unable to move, a message popped up.

[ Status: Imprint Level 1 (Corruption Rate 13%) ]

The corruption rate increased from 0% to 13%.

So that means the more I use those commands, the higher the corruption rate rises.

“…Do you think this will change anything?”

“Well, something will change, right? At least I won’t die.”

Wait a minute.

This situation….

I’m still a low-level combatant, but I’m a villain nonetheless,

And this Ignition person is spouting such lines, completely neutralized right in front of me.

This feeling welling up from deep inside my chest.

The dream of making a hero kneel before me, even just once!

For the first time, I feel a shiver running through my whole body, like I’m truly becoming a villain.

“Kuuh…”

I lifted her chin with my finger and looked her in the eyes.

I’ve seen scenes like this in many dramas and movies where the villain does something like this.

Hehehe.

“D-Don’t touch me! Let go of me, I said!”

She has a face that could easily make her a celebrity or idol, doesn’t she?

Her features are a mix of cat-like and puppy-like, in the perfect balance.

— Tap, tap, tap —

While I was admiring her appearance,

I heard the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs from below.

‘I should get out of here….’

No matter how broken this ability might be, I need to survive first.

Since Yoon Do-hwa has been imprinted, I can control her with commands somehow,

But the other heroes are not under my control.

Moreover, the condition for imprinting is direct physical contact.

Earlier, it worked because I accidentally touched Yoon Do-hwa’s chest,

But if it were another hero, I might be beaten to a pulp before I even got close enough to touch them.

I would love to play around with an A-class hero a bit more now that I’ve gained this power, but I have no choice.

“Wait. Could this work?”

I had a good idea and whispered into Yoon Do-hwa’s ear.

“Today at 6 p.m., meet me at the back gate of Seongnam University.”

A command specifying an exact time and place.

I’m curious if such a specific and limited command would work.

But I won’t know unless I try.

And it’s too good of an opportunity to pass up, testing this power on an A-class hero.

“If I jump from here, I probably won’t die. And it looks like there’s no one around.”

Leaving her with a sort of hypnotic suggestion, I jumped straight out of the window.