The Crazy Villain Regains His Sanity

Lee Se-hee still thought that Choi Jun-ho was someone hard to figure out.

A person who was far beyond normal thinking.

Yet he claimed to be sane.

At first, she thought he was just lying. But after talking to him, she realized he really thought that way. If he wasn’t a government hunter, she would have believed he was a villain.

Still, his strong skills and unknown techniques caught her attention. She investigated thoroughly in order to get closer to him and succeeded.

She felt sorry for the villain who would be targeted by Choi Jun-ho.

It was a refreshing feeling that everything was going smoothly.

Until she entered the training room.

She was curious about what kind of training Choi Jun-ho would give to Choi Yoon-hee and how she could build a personal friendship with the other.

But what returned to her was a big shock.

“This is it.”

“.....”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I have to be okay.”

She stood up with difficulty from the seat, using all her strength on her wobbly legs. But the shock from earlier didn’t diminish at all.

“I’ll be staying here a little longer.”

“Then I’ll go first.”

She watched Choi Jun-ho’s back as he left and then she sat back down in her seat.

“I almost fell over.”

It was an honest emotion that had stripped away her pretense.

What Choi Jun-ho had shown was the momentum imitating that of a demon.

The endless killing intent and hostility of a predator toward its prey was on full display. Lee Se-hee remembered those days a few years ago, when she first hunted demons.

Even though she had the ability to hunt them sufficiently, it was still overwhelming.

It was a situation that every hunter experienced at least once. In that sense, the momentum of the demon shown by Choi Jun-ho was like that was like that of what hunters would feel during their first time hunting.

If hunters who faced this situation for the first time experienced it, it could drastically reduce the likelihood of ridiculous deaths or injuries.

“How on earth...?”

She was so surprised that she even forgot to ask.

One thing was clear: Choi Jun-ho was a person who surpassed his expectations.

He was like a treasure chest full of unknown, and if you made a mistake, he would eat you.

“I want him.”

She said with a smirk.

She must have gone crazy. Even if she had tricked him the first time they met, it was crazy for her to desire a man who had tried to kill her.

Was this why women were attracted to dangerous men? Was this how it was classified? She didn’t think it’s the kind of danger where her life would be in danger.

One thing was clear: Choi Jun-ho must be caught.

***

My talk with Lee Se-hee was quite timely, and it helped Yoon-hee adapt to the momentum of the demon.

Yoon-hee asked why I was posing like a dog, but didn’t it look more realistic that way? Most demons walk on all fours, anyway. The important thing was Yoon-hee seemed to have learned a lot from this new and unfamiliar momentum.

“Wow! I could have died for real.”

That was all I could do.

The next thing was for me to move like a demon and give her some combat experience, but it would take the whole team to do it properly, so I decided to pass that part.

When I thought about it, it felt like I was being too overprotective.

But wasn’t being overprotective better than neglect? I handed the bracelet I received from Lee Se-hee to her.

“Wow, it’s pretty. What is this?”

“A location tracker. Carry it with you whenever you go hunting.”

“Are you crazy?”

There was a bit of a disagreement, but we agreed that she would wear it when she went hunting.

After resolving Yoon-hee’s problem, I was left with my own issues.

While the last Eraser case ended in a happy ending, two problems arose.

The first was the Berserker, who shouldn’t have any contact with me until 15 years later, but had shown interest in the Eraser.

I didn’t know what kind of changes that crazy person would make if he were involved. It’s annoying not to know when and where someone like that would show up. So, I needed to keep an eye on the Berserker.

The second was the versatility of ‘landmines’.

Originally, ‘landmines’ was a Gift specialized for one-on-one close combat, and there were difficulties when facing multiple opponents.

I used to use it because it was the most comfortable Gift for me. I planned to use a sword later on depending on the situation. But the naming of Eraser changed that.

It bothered me when the Berserker said he was chasing the Eraser. If I used a sword, it might be revealed that I was the Eraser.

Then I suddenly burst out laughing.

“Who would have thought I would be obsessed with peace?”

I sincerely reflected on myself. I told myself that I would not repeat my crazy actions from the past, but I had never said that I would be weak and submissive.

In the first place, these concerns would have been meaningless to my past self.

“Just get rid of it.”

***

Although over a dozen villains who had been active in the city were arrested in droves, it was unusual that it did not cause any problems.

There was no excessive suppression. Even though Choi Jun-ho had arrived, everyone was amazed that the limbs were still intact.

When everyone asked in surprise, Choi Jun-ho smiled and left an ambiguous statement, “A genius idea changed the paradigm of arrest. It just costs money.”

Apart from that, daily life flowed peacefully.

Jung Da-hyun thought it was the calm before the storm. Stories about the League were slowly coming to life, and sightings of infamous high-level villains were being reported.

Sooner or later, action would be taken. And she vowed to play a major role in that mission.

“Jung Da-hyun, Choi Jun-ho, to the director’s office.”

“Yes!”

At Jung Ju-ho’s call, Jung Da-hyun went into the director’s office with Choi Jun-ho.

“You’ve worked hard leading Choi Jun-ho all this time. I’m sure he has gotten used to the duties of a government hunter in our agency by now.”

“It was a natural thing to do.”

“It’s all thanks to you, Miss Da-hyun. I still have a lot to learn.”

Jung Ju-ho puffed up as if to take advantage of Choi Jun-ho’s words.

“Not enough. The skill of arresting villains! When you go out once, at least ten people get injured. This time, they seemed intact. Did you change your tactic? Why is the outside intact but the inside is shattered?”

“You’re too kind.”

“I’m not praising you!”

Jung Ju-ho shouted with a face that was about to burst.

She had seen that expression before when she wanted to move from the Sacred Guild to the National Security Agency. It was like looking at an incurable accident scene.

Whenever Jung Ju-ho dealt with her not as a subordinate but as a niece, he complained, “You were so innocent! And the next thing I know, you’re acting like a nuclear fried chicken.”

After barely calming down his anger, Jung Ju-ho let out a thin breath.

“Da-hyun, as you know, Choi Jun-ho has skills that are too valuable to only deal with petty criminals.”

“…Yes.”

“That’s why I want to give Choi Jun-ho some solo missions.”

“What? But Director! Mr. Jun-ho is still a grade 9 and doesn’t have much experience.”

“As someone who believed in his skills so much, it’s awkward for you to talk about his rank.”

“...”

Jung Da-hyun bit her lower lip and remained silent.

“Choi Jun-ho, you can handle it, right?”

“I’ll do my best if you give me the task.”

“No, you can’t do your best. You’ll kill them all.”

“I’ll do my best to save them.”

“See, if you don’t try your best, it means you’re killing everyone.”

Jung Ju-ho, who was relieving his stress by babbling meaningless words, spoke to this side with a more relaxed expression.

“Anyway, it’s simple. I want to give Choi Jun-ho some solo missions because you’re too weak, Da-hyun.”

“...”

It felt like a sharp arrow was piercing her heart. Her legs felt weak, but Jung Ju-ho’s expression remained cold.

“If you don’t want to be a burden to your subordinates, become stronger. Then you can share the task together.”

“...”

“Go ahead. I have something else to talk to Choi Jun-ho about.”

“…Yes.”

With nothing more to say, Jung Da-hyun staggered out of the director’s office.

She didn’t know what she was doing as she returned to her seat. She thought back to the conversation she had just had with the director, her face blank.

The truth was clear.

In the end, it was because of her own weakness that this happened. If she had been stronger and reached level 7, she would not have been excluded like this.

Yes, Director Jung Ju-ho was right. She was weak. She was more accustomed to being called a genius than hearing her own name since childhood, and she was famous for being a member of the Sacred Guild and the National Security Agency, but that’s all. In the future, there would be opponents to face, not only at level 6 but also at level 7 and higher.

“I need to become stronger.”

Jung Da-hyun bit her lips so hard that she could taste the bitter blood and made up her mind again.

***

I had never seen Jung Da-hyun look so defeated. I know it’s shocking to hear that she’s not good enough, but if I became a black agent and took on dangerous missions, she would likely be a liability.

After all, she still needed to improve her skills, but should I help her with her training since she had been helping me?

Come to think of it, since I taught Yoon Hee well and made her the chief recruit of the Sacred Guild, maybe I had some talent for teaching. She rolled around cursing me all the time, but she thanked me after passing the exam. I should talk to Jung Da-hyun about it.

“Okay, the observer is gone. Can we talk freely now?”

“I’ll listen.”

“How far are you willing to go?”

“How far are you willing to let me go?”

“Hey, why are you being so scary? Can’t you cut me some slack? I’m losing my mind because of you these days.”

Instead of answering, I smiled. It was meant to be comforting, but Jung Ju-ho’s expression darkened, as if he had misunderstood.

“I’m always grateful to you, Director.”

“I wonder what crime I committed in my past life. I really lived a good life. Ha! Even if you rampage, there are conditions. It won’t violate the justice upheld by our National Security Agency. There won’t be any innocent victims, preferably it’s something I can handle. And tell me in advance. That’s all I ask. Can you do it?”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Make sure it’s not just lip service! Jung Da-hyun, this is the problem, the problem. Why did you bring such a troublemaker? No, it’s a good thing you brought him. It would have been a lot worse if this guy had been somewhere else. Yes, I sacrificed a hair of my head and saved the world. I can’t go and whine about it when my efforts should be appreciated from above. Ugh!”

I wanted to ask if he’s making an excuse for his hair falling out, but I held it in.

Even though I was out of touch with the world, I knew it wasn’t polite to attack someone who was losing their hair.

***

I seriously thought about what I could do. And I came up with my first meaningful mission as a black agent and wrote a draft of the operation plan and brought it to Jung Ju-ho.

It’s a perfect operation that could build a great contribution for the National Security Agency while ensuring that no innocent victims were harmed.

However, I was not sure if Jung Juho could handle it after the job was done.

Jung Ju-ho was caught off guard after seeing the title of the document.

Berserker Arrest Operation

“Hey, aren’t you the assassin who came to kill me for real? Did Yeom Gi-chul send you? Or is it Park Beom-su? Just kill me in plain sight! Stop turning me inside out!”

Jung Ju-ho yelled.

“Why Berserker?”

“I think unpredictable elements become variables. It’s better to remove them in advance.”

“Do you plan to check the black market since he sometimes reveals his identity there? Do you plan to mess with the black market?”

“Is that not allowed?”

“For now, let’s put that story aside and talk about Berserker first. Why do you think there’s an order of only watching Berserker and not touching him?”

“...”

Maybe it’s because he’s one of the strongest villains in Korea with pure brute force. Before he was called the Berserker, Lee Kwang-jin was renowned for his powerful swordsmanship, and even in his mad state, he was said to have improved rather than diminished in finesse.

However, Jung Ju-ho’s words were different from what I thought.

“Because he’s crazy.”

“Yes?”

“It’s because he’s crazy. You never know where he’s going to go, especially with the Berserker. One minute he’s helping the Hunters, the next he’s wiping them out because he changed his mind. He’ll kill the villains he’s working with because they’re a nuisance, and then he’ll round up the demons and send them back to the city because it’s a killing season, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.”

Jung Ju-ho took a light breath.

“If you still want to catch them, I won’t stop you. But I want you to know one thing. The Berserker is the craziest, most insane villain I’ve ever seen in my life, or in the world, for that matter.”

“......”

I remained silent.

The Berserker was insane, no doubt about it. That’s a clear fact.

I was normal now, but I was a crazy villain in my past life.

And the worst one at that.

But the Berserker was the craziest villain?

“Hoo!”

I couldn’t even show Jung Ju-ho what a really crazy villain was.

I felt frustrated with a strange sense of pride.