Being a Villain is My True Calling

I thought my hand was going to get shredded…

No, had I reacted poorly, my hand could have been obliterated outright.
The sheer shock had left me so petrified, unable to even react defensively.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Forcing my voice down from the shriek it had threatened to become, I regarded the girl who had suddenly erupted onto the scene.

“S,sorry…hic.”

Rather than the ferocious beast who had just demolished my firearm, she now gazed at me with sheer terror, her earlier ferocity utterly dissipated.
It seemed my own startled reaction had prompted an inadvertent show of aggression.

“…Do you realize how close you came to grievous injury?”

She had nearly crippled me, is what I meant to say…

Creak…

Returning to a gentle tone, I stroked her head soothingly.
At my touch, the girl began trembling uncontrollably, nuzzling against me like a cowering puppy.

“H,hic…hic…”

“You simply startled me, my apologies for lashing out.”

For a brief moment, I continued consoling her with tender pats.

“S,sorry…next time no jump in front of gun…hic…”
“Yes…”

And preferably no dismantling firearms with your bare hands either…
While currently whimpering and clinging to me pitifully, she was effectively a walking weapon in her own right.

‘Hmm…’

It seemed I would need to provide her with exceptionally diligent guidance to prevent any future incidents.
At the very least, ensuring she never turned that destructive prowess against me…
I enveloped the girl in a firm, reassuring embrace.

“…So why did you barge in like that?”
“Oh, right…”

After smearing my shirt with a mixture of tears and drool for a prolonged period, the girl finally pulled back, sniffling loudly as she met my gaze with reddened eyes.

“Researcher mister…nice to me…but, to you mean mister…”
“Was the researcher…no, Traitor #1, a kind individual in your eyes?”

“Cling is just a train…but, nicer than other misters…”
“Test subject, enough of that…!!”
“Shh.”

As Traitor #1 made to silence the girl, his demeanor tinged with evident unease, I gestured for him to stay his objection so I could continue listening to her perspective.

“How was he kinder than the other researchers?”

“Umm…he, he no yell mean words at me…no, no hit either…”
“And?”
“Umm…”

Pursing her lips contemplatively at my query, the girl seemed to retreat into her thoughts momentarily.
I gently guided her onto my lap, tenderly stroking her hair in a comforting gesture.

“Oh! The weird thing misters always do! He help with that too…”
“Test subject!! That’s enough!!”

Traitor #1 reacted with palpable shock at the girl’s words, abruptly leaping to his feet in protest.

“Weird thing?”
“…N,no, it’s nothing. So…”
“Other misters get all loopy talking…researcher mister get head clear again…!!”
“You little…!”

Sticking her tongue out defiantly from my embrace, the girl taunted Traitor #1 childishly.
…I could surmise the general situation now.

“So you were the one who undid this one’s brainwashing?”
“Wh,what?! No, nothing of the sort!! There’s no benefit for me in doing that!! And the test subject broke her own conditioning through sheer willpower! If I intended to undo the brainwashing, I would have done so properly from the start and helped her escape!”

“The brainwashing was only applied at the minimum threshold then. Allowing her to overcome it through sheer force of will and flee whenever she desired.”
“That’s not what happened at all!!”

Traitor #1’s pupils seemed to vibrate erratically as panic set in.
I took a sip from the coffee he had brewed earlier, now thoroughly cooled.

“If your intention was truly to aid her, why go through such ambiguous half-measures instead of simply lifting the brainwashing entirely?”

The reason was rather simple, really.

“Because providing that level of direct assistance would have jeopardized your own standing, I presume.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Rendering overt aid placed you at risk. Yet turning a blind eye also pricked your conscience, however faintly. Hence this ambiguous act of feigned benevolence.”

This was the extent of ‘charity’ he could muster.
Applying the brainwashing lightly enough to easily shake off allowed him to shirk responsibility, yet still derive a semblance of self-satisfaction from the pretense of good intentions.

“You are no saint.”
Neither you, nor I.
If we were saints, we would be heroes instead of villains, would we not?

“But we are not entirely devoid of conscience either.”
Simply being no saint does not necessarily make one an utter villain.
Even villains retain some semblance of a moral compass, however skewed.

And this ambiguous benevolence was the compromising result.

“You wished to avoid any personal detriment, yet your conscience prevented you from dismissing the matter entirely. Is that not the truth?”

“……”

Sealing his lips tightly, Traitor #1 averted his gaze toward the floor.
After a momentary pause, he let out a resigned sigh before slumping back into his chair.

“Haah…you’re correct, ambiguous benevolence. Or hypocrisy, if you prefer.”

“I consider it only natural.”

The desire to avoid personal loss, yet still appear virtuous.
A lax interpretation becomes morality, while an ironclad adherence becomes law.
The vast majority of humanity operates under such paradigms.

Unless one is an obnoxiously self-righteous hero, we all live by such selective principles.

“Is there truly anything wrong with that? We are villains, after all.”
“…Villains. Yes, I suppose you’re right.”

Why should villains concern themselves with such matters?
If anything, a villain agonizing over such trivialities seemed utterly ludicrous in itself.

“…So then, what are your intentions regarding me?”
“Originally, I had intended to kill you, however…”

I leveled my newly formed firearm squarely at Traitor #1 once more.
Only for:

“N,no killing!! No hurt…!!”

The girl firmly grasped the barrel, her claws unsheathed in a menacing display.

Crack…crackle…

“…As you can see, circumstances have changed.”

Sparks flew where the girl’s forelimbs met the gun’s metallic surface.
Admittedly, her intensity was rather unnerving, but showing any outward trepidation would be ill-advised…

“What would you prefer I do with him?”

Gently, I brushed away the tears streaming down the girl’s face.

“If you desire his disposal…”

“No hurt!!”
CRUNNCH!!
“Mister no bad!! No killing!!”

“…I understand.”
Very well, no killing then.
I set aside what remained of the disintegrated firearm – a mere handle at this point.

“You would spare me, simply on the whim of a child’s naive plea?”
“I have deferred the choice to this one. If she does not wish for it, I must respect her decision.”

Recalling their initial encounter, while the girl had verbally vented her frustrations at Traitor #1, she had never actively attacked or struck him outright.
For one possessing such formidable might, if she truly loathed him, she could have easily lashed out physically, yet refrained from doing so.
It was evident this child did not genuinely despise Traitor #1, despite her words.

“I have taken countless lives. That child merely sought to assuage her lingering guilt by extending a fleeting act of kindness.”

“Does it truly matter?”
I’ll reiterate – we are villains.
Claiming the most lives is practically a villain’s raison d’etre, is it not?

“This is simply a matter of coveting potential talent.”

An individual who attained senior researcher status at Z-Biotech at such a tender age.
Entrusted with one of their main projects, no less – his pedigree as a prodigy was undeniable.

Moreover, he had been this girl’s primary caretaker and observer.
He would possess invaluable insights into her physiological condition and capabilities.

“I implore you to lend your services to our organization.”

“Ah, to atone for every life taken by preserving an equal number? Something along those lines?”

“What right do I have to make such grandiose demands?”
Certainly not that.

Preaching about atoning for lives taken by preserving others is utter nonsense.
The individuals killed and hypothetically ‘saved’ would be completely separate entities – where is the atonement in that?

“And I’ll reiterate, we are villains. Concerning ourselves with such matters is inherently absurd.”

Draining the last dregs of the coffee, I set the empty cup aside on the table with a decisive clatter.
This was the crux I had been aiming for all along.

“I’m simply asking that you work yourself to death.”
That way, at the very least, you might drag a few others down to hell to keep you company.

“Rather cruel words, aren’t they?”
Traitor #1 let out an amused snort at my remark.
After downing the final swallows of his own coffee, he extended his hand to firmly grasp mine in acceptance.

“Very well then. I shall labor myself to the grave in service to your organization.”

Wag wag-!

“Are you pleased?”
“Y,yesh…!!”

After concluding his discussion with Traitor #1, Gahn Yi-an cradled the girl in his arms as they strolled down the hallway together.

Wag wag wag-!

Seeming delighted by the researcher’s reprieve, the girl’s large ears twitched animatedly as her tail wagged excitedly.

“Even so, please refrain from grabbing my firearms or leaping in front of them going forward. You could severely injure yourself.”

“Yesh…shorry…”

Creak…
The girl wilted apologetically at Gahn Yi-an’s gentle admonition.
Yet she harbored no resentment toward him whatsoever.

‘Nice mister…’

She could sense his genuine concern for her wellbeing resonating sincerely.

‘Different from other misters…’

Thanks to the heightened intuition developed from a lifetime of experimentation since infancy, the girl could discern whether someone harbored malicious intent toward her.

And in Gahn Yi-an’s case, she sensed a distinct difference compared to her typical interactions.
He showed no aversion to her beastly ears, tail, or the aspects that others deemed freakish and repulsive.

‘No yelling…no disgust…’

The girl gingerly touched the bandages he had carefully wrapped around her.
This proactive display of kindness was an utterly unprecedented experience in her life.

While Traitor #1 had provided indirect aid, he had never extended such direct gestures of care like properly dressing her wounds with bandages.
Gahn Yi-an was the sole individual to grant her such compassionate treatment thus far.

“You.”
“Nngh…?”

Rousing from her contemplative daze at Gahn Yi-an’s call, the girl answered groggily.
He responded by gently patting her back in a tender caress.

“This is simply my own curiosity, but why did you ask me to ‘feed’ you earlier?”

“Feed…?”
“We were complete strangers upon first meeting, yet you approached me with that specific request. I’m merely wondering what prompted such trust in me.”

Why had she asked him to ‘feed’ her…?
Slipping back into her pensive reverie, the girl attempted to retrace her thought process.

“Well…you looked fun…”

“Fun, you say?”

Just before her brainwashing had dissipated within the slums, a series of voices had echoed faintly.

‘G,good sir, h,how do we handle thi…!!’
‘Please try to stay calm…’
‘Dammit all!!! That madman just killed someone!!!’
‘No, I didn’t…’
‘How will you obtain the information you desired then?! Oh god…oh no…aaahh!!!’
‘Quiet down for a mome…!!’

While unable to fully comprehend the context, the atmosphere exuded a sense of liberation utterly unlike the oppressive confines of the research facility.
It seemed vibrant, invigorating, thrilling even.

Hence the girl’s decision to seek out Gahn Yi-an in the first place.

“And also…”

“And also?”

Another faint voice had echoed within her consciousness.
If I…
Follow this person…

Crackle-
I can fulfill..
My ‘purpose’…

“……”

“Hello…?”

“Cooo…coooo…”

“There, there…”
Letting out a resigned sigh, Gahn Yi-an gently patted the girl’s back consolingly.

“…Constantly addressing you as ‘you’ is growing rather awkward. Perhaps I should bestow you with a name.”

‘…Irene?’

As her mind grew increasingly hazy amid the resurfacing voices, a single name seemed to manifest.
Clutching Gahn Yi-an tightly, the girl nodded in acceptance.

I’ll have a name too…
…Heheh.

With that final recollection, the newly christened Irene drifted off into a peaceful slumber.