Villain Hides His True Colors

A back alley embracing the darkness of a city.

As fog rose from the sewers under the dim streetlights, from somewhere, drunkards cursing could be heard.

"Ah, fuck! Those girls from earlier are quick-witted."

"That's why I said to get them more drunk before we left! You're too impatient, bastard."

"Hey, quit it. There are days like this. Let's go have some more drinks ourselves."

"I'm pissed! I already set up the camera and everything in the motel. I'm losing money here!"

Bang–!

The angered drunkard kicked a street sign, leaving a deep dent on the iron pole.

"Keukeuk, there the bastard goes again."

"Huu...I really wanted to catch one today."

The group strutted along the narrow alley side by side. Meanwhile, they broke the side mirrors of parked cars and glared menacingly at passers-by.

"Hey, ahjussi. Is there a problem? Why do you keep looking at me?"

"N-n-nothing."

"Tsk. I'll kill you if you look at me one more time."

"Y-yes, yes. I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

People hurried their steps and tried not to make eye contact when they ran into the group.

Before long, they were the only ones left on the streets.

In such a deserted place, a man with a long hood could soon be seen walking.

However, perhaps because he had his head lowered, he unfortunately didn't notice the group in front of him.

Thud–

His shoulder collided with one of the drunkards.

"Hey bastard, have you lost your mind?"

The group grabbed the man by the collar and slammed him into a shop's shutter.

Bang–!

"Bastard, which shithole did you get your home education from? You should at least apologize if you bump into someone!"

"Hehe, this bastard is shit out of luck."

They surrounded the man like a siege.

Without saying anything, he tried to get away from them, but each time they would use their shoulders to push him back into the corner.

"Hey, aren't you going to apologize? Still not apologizing? Ignoring people until the end."

"Wah~ This. I can't hold back. Somebody keep a lookout. It's been awhile since I put someone in their place."

"Hey, then what about the corpse afterwards?"

The largest drunkard grabbed the man by the collar with one hand and lifted him up. Veins swelled from his thick forearm as the man dangled like a doll in the air.

"Does this bastard think he's a serial killer? Take off his gloomy hood."

Whiip–

The hood came off, and what was revealed was a boy who at most looked like a high school student.

"What? It was a little brat?"

"No wonder he didn't react. He must be sulking, keukeuk."

"Good. A cheeky brat like him needs to be hit."

Just as the man was about to raise his fist at the boy, their eyes met.

"?!"

Eyes that were as lifeless as a corpse. Facing such a gaze, somehow the hand holding the boy's collar began to tremble.

With an emotionless expression, the boy asked.

"Are you bad guys?"

"Uh, uh...?"

The man clutching the boy's collar found it impossible to answer. A suffocating killing intent. His whole body hardened like a herbivore in front of a beast.

Th-this guy is dangerous.

He didn't know the boy's identity, but it seemed he had touched the wrong person. Alarms were going off in his head as he slowly loosened his grip and tried to put the boy down.

"Well, there's been some misunderstanding..."

However, contrary to his intentions, his companions still didn't seem to have noticed the boy's oddity.

"Keuahaha! Are we bad guys? Look at this bastard's choice of words. That's so funny."

"We're bad guys. Very scary people who kill people~"

"Hey, but this bastard doesn't look so bad either. If you have an older or younger sister, can you tell them to come?"

"Oh, that's a good idea. The motel is all set up anyway. Keukeuk."

They giggled and burst into laughter. Meanwhile, the boy listened to them before finally opening his mouth.

"I see....You're bad guys..."

Feeling something amiss, the man holding the boy's collar quickly let go and waved his hands.

"W-wait..."

However...

Whoosh–Crunch!

His head was ripped off like a bottle cap.

Blood gushed out like a fountain as his companions watched in a daze and became covered in hot blood.

In the meantime, the boy calmly chewed the ripped head.

Crunch–Crunch–

"H-huh...?"

"Fuck! Wh-what the hell..."

A sight that could only be seen in a horror movie.

The remaining men trembled as they stared at the boy. They wanted to immediately turn around and run, but their bodies were frozen in fear.

Looking at them, the boy smiled.

"I was hungry...lucky..."

For a while, screams filled the alley.

* * * * * * * * * *

"Huu, a little late...maybe."

After Fernando wiped off the blood from his mouth, he put on his hood and walked down the streets again.

He passed through a congested alley and headed towards the dark side of the city. Where he stopped was a dark alley with not even street lights.

In front of him was an old building covered in graffiti. At the building's entrance leading to an underground shop was an old neon sign.

[Den of Evil]

Glowing was a devil with a cocktail in hand. He looked up at the sign for a moment and sighed quietly.

...It's really in bad taste.

Whether it was closed today or hadn't opened yet, there was a sign that read 'Closed' in front of the shop door. However, he ignored it and entered the shop.

Ding-ling–

The little bell on the door shook, and he walked down the iron stairs leading underground.

Soon, an old-fashioned bar with soft lights came into view.

A gentleman with a stylish mustache wiping a glass cup greeted him.

"Huhu. Welcome."

"..."

Azazel, a member of the demon army's special forces. After giving the dead Fernando new power, also gave him the life of an avenger as a reason to live.

He glanced at the blood on Fernando's clothes and smiled quietly.

"Hoho, I had prepared a special meal today, but...it seems you've already eaten on your way here."

"Hmph! Hmph!"

When Fernando looked in the direction of Azazel's gaze, there was a man completely bound lying on the floor.

It seemed he was the prepared food for today.

"It's okay...as long as he's a bad guy."

"Don't worry. I'm already well aware of your taste. I'll wrap him up in a lunch box when you head back later."

"...It doesn't really matter. I can't fill my hunger with just this."

While the two talked, a boy who looked to be an elementary schooler suddenly climbed out from the inner room of the bar.

"Hyuuung!"

Pa!

The boy clung to Fernando's leg like a cicada. Without hiding his bothered expression, Fernando spoke.

"...Get off."

"No!"

"Huhu, Jackson has been waiting for you. Why don't you pamper him a bit?"

Azazel watched the two as if he was looking at two loving brothers. Eventually, Fernando sighed quietly and walked to a bar table while the child clung to him.

Annoying...

The boy named Jackson was suddenly brought here by Azazel one day.

[Please take good care of this child from now on. It's someone who you'll really need.]

Jackson was a survivor of the incident in Hong Kong. A dragon had burned down everyone who attended the Tin Hau festival at the time, but he was said to have managed to survive thanks to his parents' sacrifice.

He had awakened an ability afterwards and was able to emit heavy cold air from his body ever since.

According to Azazel, it was a necessary ability to aid the undead in replenishing their yin energy.

"Hyung, hyung! Look at this! I'm awesome, right?"

Jackson wriggled his hands to create a spherical essence of pure cold air. After doing so, he gave the essence to Fernando.

"I'll give this to you as a gift!"

"...No need."

"No! Azazel ahjussi said hyung should eat a lot of cold food! So you have to hurry up and eat it!"

"..."

At the constant pestering, Fernando eventually took the essence of cold air and ate it. Fresh cold air spread out in his mouth.

"Hehe, isn't it delicious?"

"I can't...taste anything anyway."

Jackson, a boy about the same age as Fernando's sister that had died first. It was as if Fernando saw the shadow of his sister in the boy, and perhaps that was why he felt bothered whenever he saw him.

Not only that, all living beings would feel uneasy when they saw the undead. No matter how well hidden, it was a vital instinct.

* * *

[ Translator - Yasi ]

[ Proofreader - Karane ]

* * *

However, for some reason the boy was very attached to him. He followed him like a duckling following its mother.

As expected...there's something wrong with this kid.

Did the death of his parents twisted him too?

Well...it doesn't matter...

He shook his head. Whatever problem the boy had, it had nothing to do with him.

It was just out of mere necessity that he was tolerating it.

In any case...

"Azazel. Who are they?"

He turned his head and looked around.

A man sitting at a bar table sipping vodka and a pair of man and woman leaning against the wall in arms.

Unfamiliar faces he had never seen before. Looking at their attitude, it didn't seem like they were here out of coincidence.

There was no way there would be ordinary customers who visited this place disguised as a bar.

Azazel stroked his mustache.

"Haha, I was going to tell you even if you didn't mention it. Everyone, please introduce yourself."

The man sitting at the bar table sat up and walked towards Fernando.

Fernando wouldn't have guessed it because he was sitting down but the man was really big. He was about 2.3 meters tall. Even more peculiar were the eye-catching Scandinavian tattoos on his arms.

"Hmm? Hey Azazel! When you told me to look forward to my colleagues, did you mean these little guys?"

The man looked at Fernando and frowned. Scared by this, Jackson hid behind Fernando's legs.

"Grimmer, they're much stronger than you think."

"These guys who are still wet behind the ears?"

He looked into Fernando's eyes for a moment, then gave a short sigh.

"Haa, anyway, a contract is a contract...My name is Grimmer. In Northern Europe where I'm from, they normally call me Death Scythe."

"Death Scythe?"

"Well, it would be faster to see it in person."

A translucent scythe instantly appeared from his hand. A giant sickle made for harvesting in bulk.

"Let's see how useful your soul is."

"Heumph! Hmph!"

Swiik–

He swung his scythe at the bound man wriggling on the floor.

Fernando quietly moved his legs to cover Jackson, but the scene he was worried about didn't happen.

There was no blood or wound left on the man's body. Instead, a group of cloudy colored lights hung from the end of Grimmer's scythe.

"Tsk, you look like a priest, but your soul is filthy."

Flicking the soul made of lights up and down in his hand, he continued.

"Let's see, this guy's power is...fire? Is that so?"

Flames rose from his hand.

Whoosh–!

"Well, as you can roughly see, I can steal other people's souls and use their abilities. And..."

Pak–!

He tore apart the soul in his hand. As a result, the man who was lying on the floor died without any resistance.

"Life and death, I can control it however I want. Hehe..."

"..."

Fernando looked at Grimmer with a rather startled expression. He hadn't met many people with abilities so far, but certainly his ability was special and dangerous.

Azazel added.

"Huhu, even though he looks like that, he's currently a hero. A hero with an A-Rank license."

"What? What's wrong with that?!"

"Grimmer's ability will be of a big help to your 'eating' in the future."

When Grimmer's introduction was over, the man and woman who were leaning against the wall until now, leisurely approached Fernando.

A woman in a kimono smiling playfully, and a man in a formal suit who gave off a feeble impression.

The two had different impressions, but somehow they were an oddly fitting combination.

"The gentleman over here is Yasi. And the lady next to him is Karane. Ah, by the way, the two are married."

(TN: Yes, these are their names. Grimmer’s name is also a reference.)

"Ah, hello? M-my name is Yasi."

"Ora~ Aren’t you a handsome boy? Huhu, I think I'm going to get carried away. Husband! Can I have an affair with him?"

"Keuheuk...F-fine. I'm not a l-loser. I-I won’t get jealous."

"I'm kidding~ Kidding! As expected, my husband is the cutest. Come here, my husband."

"Heup!"

Karane kissed Yasi on the lips. Regardless of the gazes around them, they roughly tore each others' clothes and coveted each other more and more intensely.

"?!"

What were they doing? Fernando covered Jackson's eyes to prevent him from seeing the scene.

However, for some reason that question only lasted a moment before another thought popped into his mind.

That was, it was natural for a couple to show off their affection on the first meeting. It was common sense to everyone in the world.

At times like this, wasn't it necessary I cheered them on so they could have children?

Fernando lifted up his sleeves and cheered the two.

Passionate heat was added to the narrow room, and the sound of breathing coming from the two people became rougher. Just as he was watching the couple's affectionate display,

"Ugh!"

He felt a momentary dizziness.

When he suddenly came to his senses, he saw the couple perfectly dressed and standing in front of him.

"Huhu, that's all."

"Th-this...?"

Fernando had a bewildered expression. What had happened just now?

The couple were definitely engaged in something ridiculous.

However, now he could only recall greeting them. And from what he could tell, their clothes were intact.

On top of that, other people except him were standing as if nothing had happened.

As he doubted himself, Karane grinned.

"My husband Yasi's ability is to 'replace' the information that is transmitted to the brain in a desired form. You can think of it as similar to hallucination...but the only difference is that it manipulates the brain waves and is unrelated to mental defense."

Was the ability part of a sequence? But that alone didn't explain everything.

Even if Fernando had received false information, why didn't he question it? It was obvious what he had seen was illogical.

"Is that your ability by chance?"

"Yes, that's right. My ability is to 'prove' the information by adding the probability of it being true. Like just now, no matter how strange the scene was, I can make it so you don't doubt that it's false."

"...I see."

"Huhu, I think that's enough for our introduction. Then, shall I taste my cute husband's lips this time?"

"Heup!"

Karane kissed Yasi on the lips again. The same scene Fernando had seen earlier. He again doubted whether information had been replaced...

"Wh-what? Do you think this is your bedroom?! Are you crazy? There are children over there!"

"Hy-hyung...wh-what are the ajumma and ahjussi doing?"

"..."

It seemed to be really happening this time.

Fernando couldn't tell the truth from false at all. He looked at them stiffly.

Those are scary abilities.

While the room was becoming increasingly noisy, Azazel approached him.

"What do you think? Their abilities?"

"Honestly...it's amazing."

"Right. If they go all out with their abilities, they can even distort the history of a nation to some extent."

"That's certainly possible..."

"Their abilities will be of great help to you in your future mission."

"Mission?"

Currently, the only mission given to him was to get close to Noah. However, with his death, it was no longer possible.

"Come to think of it...Choi Noah died this time. What should I do...now?"

"Haha, the reason why I invited everyone here today is to explain the new mission."

Azazel, who said that much, clapped his hands gracefully.

Pa–

Everyone stopped and looked at him.

"I think it's time to tell you the mission."

He looked at each of the people gathered here one by one.

"Soul reaper, Grimmer."

"Replacing truths, Yasi."

"Proving lies, Karane."

"Frozen mana, Jackson."

"You're going to be Fernando's faithful companions from now on. Do you all agree?"

They readily nodded as if they had been told beforehand.

Companions?

What was Azazel trying to do by gathering all these people here? As Fernando had such thoughts, Azazel gently smiled.

"The reason why I've gathered you and your companions is because mankind needs hope in this world."

"Mankind needs hope?"

Fernando hadn't expected such words to come from a devil's mouth. The others couldn't hide similar expressions of bewilderment.

"Haha, please don't make such faces. As I said before, our demon army's goal is to save mankind."

"Huu...The hope of mankind...and Choi Noah's death...what does that have to do with us?"

"In fact, I was under assumption that Choi Noah would play that role. So the original plan was to make you his trusted companion."

"Ah..."

"However, Choi Noah is now dead. Well, I don't really believe it completely, but I'm sure he's gone anyway...Now that the situation is like this, we have to rethink our plan."

Azazel's eyes swayed a purplish glow as he looked at Fernando.

"In other words...Fernando. You'll be the hero who opposes the demons from now on."

"...What?"

At a bar called Den of Evil located in the darkest back streets of a city, a new hero party claiming to be the hope of mankind was born.