That’s How They Became Villains

#34. Forewarned Terror -8-

Branch Chief Park Seong-tae regretted it.

The number of viewers for First’s live broadcast reached a whopping 370,000 people.

At first, Park Seong-tae was also immersed in the atmosphere of the chat room created by First.

He felt a tingling pleasure every time those high-nosed Royal Roaders were electrocuted and burned to death one by one.

Baek Sinhee, Park Seong-tae’s wife, who was secretly researching a monster’s corpse that she had accidentally acquired, was one day suddenly found as a dead body.

The fact that the Royals were connected to her death was a clear fact revealed by the note that Sinhee left for Seong-tae.

So Park Seong-tae couldn’t help but be drawn in.

He couldn’t help but fall for First’s temptation, the whispers that sought to cut down greater evil with a blade forged from malice.

At this, Park Seong-tae’s soul left his body and looked back at his current self.

“That’s right…!! Kill more!! Crush the high noses of the Royals!!”

His appearance, completely assimilated into the overheated atmosphere and inciting murder, was that of the evil person Park Seong-tae had so hated.

It was the same for other viewers watching the broadcast.

If 370,000 viewers are watching the broadcast, only about 10,000 of them are typing in the chat.

The remaining 360,000 viewers were overwhelmed by the overheated atmosphere of the chat room and couldn’t do anything.

It was truly a scene of madness.

First was clearly abusing the voting system to turn all the viewers watching the broadcast into murderers but the viewers forgot how to discern reason in the atmosphere created by First’s broadcast and were immersed in the pleasure before their eyes.

The moment he realized this, Park Seong-tae broke out in a cold sweat.

What, what have I done?

Blinded by momentary revenge, how many people have I turned into murderers?

Please, stop this murder play! Anyone!

At that moment, a brilliant golden light stepped onto the stage.

The hero, Last, rushed onto the stage.

First was so happy about this that she unconsciously raised the corners of her mouth but to those watching, it looked like an expression of ridicule.

“I thought the face looked familiar…The rumored first-generation enhanced human, the hero of Cheongang City. Isn’t that the A-class hero Last? Do you have any business with me?”

“Stop this absurd murder play right now.”

Last declared in a firm voice.

At this, the people around flinched.

They were afraid that if he upset First, the anger might extend to them as well but First, as if she liked Last’s firmness, expressed doubt in a manner different from before, more polite.

“Why? I haven’t touched ordinary people. What I’ve touched is only the evil that eats away at society. Isn’t a hero supposed to represent the will of good and innocent citizens?”

“That’s precisely why. There are not only criminals on this airship but also innocent citizens who have done nothing wrong. There’s no reason they should be swept up in your farce.”

“I clearly warned them. I said I would come directly if they launched the airship. Despite seeing that, boarding this airship was their choice. Last, let me ask you one thing. Do you really think they boarded this airship with only pure intentions?”

“Are you saying that if their intentions weren’t pure, they deserve to lose their lives?”

“In some cases, perhaps?”

A tense exchange of arguments went back and forth, with neither giving in to the other’s point.

Last, faced with a debate that showed no sign of ending, blurted out a question he had been pondering, in an attempt to change the topic.

“First, was it? I have something I want to ask as well.”

“Go ahead, I’ll at least listen.”

“What’s your reason for punishing evildoers while declaring yourself evil?”

And that caught Cha Yu-ha, hidden behind the mask of First, off guard.

Declare myself evil? Me?

No, that’s not right. Anyone can see that First is evil.

She induced viewers to participate in a murder show through instigation and spread a murder virus even to innocent ordinary people on the airship.

…But in fact, there was no such thing as a murder virus.

All the Royals and inmates who had been electrocuted so far were just knocked out briefly and moved elsewhere.

It was a kind of line that Cha Yu-ha had drawn to protect herself, a line for someone who was once an ordinary person to not forget their identity.

The elderly woman who tried to shoot and kill her or the mysterious window that kept making this world look fake.

In days filled with covering herself with new lies daily she made a minimal struggle to not forget who she is.

Last surely didn’t know this. Neither did the viewers watching this.

But First, who had been hit right on target, stared at Last blankly for a noticeably long time.

It was clearly strange enough for even the viewers to notice.

“…Heheh.”

Belatedly, First started to make her characteristic fabricated laugh to hide her inner thoughts.

Somehow, Last overlaid Cha Yu-ha’s face in that appearance.

“Do you know? Sometimes there are just people who want to see the world burn.”

“At least you don’t seem to be one of them.”

“…Ah, is that so?”

Triggered by Last’s light provocation, First shouted.

“Then let’s see exactly what I can do from now on.”

-Click!

Electric collars like the ones before were attached to the necks of the trash who hadn’t yet made it to the stage, and to Last.

“Now, dear viewers! The final curtain has finally risen!”

“The title of this game is ‘Hero and Villain, If One Must Disappear, Which One Should It Be?'”

The reaction in the chat room was unanimous.

Isn’t this a game with a predetermined answer?

Isn’t it right for the hero to survive and incinerate the villain?

But First added one more rule here.

“Of course, if we proceed like this, the result would be too predictable and boring, right? So this time, I’m going to give the authority to activate the collars not to you viewers, but to you, Last.”

Two remotes, one red and one blue, appeared before Last.

“The red one is the remote that activates your own collar. And the blue one is the remote that activates the collars of the remaining nameless trash.”

“The rule is simple. Press a remote. It doesn’t matter which one. Then we’ll leave the bag with the vaccine on the airship and withdraw without doing anything else. You can also collect the bombs we’ve installed on the airship, we won’t touch them.”

Silence fell.

At first glance, it seemed like a problem with an obvious answer. It did before the remotes were placed in Last’s hands but if Last himself was conducting the execution, the story changed.

A hero was supposed to be a savior, never a judge.

If he pressed the button to activate the villains’ collars here it would look like a hero executing villains to save himself.

First was saying: If protecting is so good, try sacrificing yourself.

In reality, the collar wrapped around Last’s neck contained a high-voltage current of a different dimension than before.

If the button was pressed, the collar’s current would instantly penetrate Last’s entire body and painfully burn his insides.

Tension filled the air.

No one could predict what choice Last would make, except for one person.

“If I press this, you promise to withdraw, right? Not a lie?”

“At this point, why would I lie? It would be unseemly.”

“Then that’s enough.”

-Click.

Last pressed the button.

Naturally, it was his own.

With a ‘crackle!!’ of electricity, lightning flashed all over his body. Black smoke rose. Muscle fibers were exposed beneath the peeled skin.

“Wh-what…!!”

Even the trash who unexpectedly survived couldn’t hide their shock at Last’s action.

They didn’t know who this fool on stage was, but who in the world would take someone else’s side when their own life was at stake?

But Last pressed his own button without any hesitation.

And then, with his fist clenched tight, he was trying to endure the charge of the high-voltage current.

At that sight, everyone was at a loss for words.

The chat room that had been immersed in anger, and the Royals who were the source of the evil, all fell silent.

As they did, a golden aura began to rise from behind him and spread in all directions and the electric shock stopped.

Last was still standing in place, this time, without losing consciousness.

“…”

Last looked at First’s broadcast screen with bloodshot eyes.

Although bloody, his blue eyes, which hadn’t lost their intelligence, penetrated the minds of the viewers watching the broadcast.

“…Ha!”

At that absurd sight, First let out a snicker.

“Hahaha!!!”

Eventually, her laughter, filled with a kind of satisfaction and ecstasy, began to spread throughout the city.

“I like this finale.”

“Keep…your promise.”

“Ah, of course. I’ll leave the vaccine here. As long as it’s administered within 24 hours, no one will die.”

At those words, Last, who had been standing with difficulty, collapsed as if relieved.

Last fell helplessly below the stage but dozens of pairs of hands caught his body.

Watching that scene quietly, First muttered something in a tone clearly different from before, as if reciting, and the broadcast ended.

Sometime later, on Arc’s official community:

[(Breaking News) The guys who got electrocuted are all alive] [355]

[Bump up if you secretly think it’s fortunate you didn’t participate in murder] [135]

[Maker << These bastards just wanted to do entertainment lol] [34]

[???: It was fun, let’s have a drink] [48]

[No lie, didn’t you see the lightning flashing on Last’s body? They really tried to kill…] [27]

[If it’s a villain alliance, aren’t there others besides First? Why don’t they show their faces…] [27]

[First? Last? Why are these bastards’ names matching?] [39]

“What…what is this.”

Chae Yu-ha looked at Nazha with eyes that seemed to be seeking an explanation.

Nazha just shrugged her shoulders and said nothing.

“I mean, I wasn’t planning to hide it anyway. But that doesn’t mean it had to be discovered in just one day.”

As if stung by this, Agio looked at a distant mountain.

Chae Yu-ha immediately delivered a dropkick, sending Agio flying out the window.

It was a reward.