I Became the Academy’s Kibitz Villain

There was an organization called Hwalbindang.

There was no need to go into too much detail about this group; it could be summed up in one line:

The largest villain organization in Korea.

Outwardly, they advocate for justice, claiming to steal from the wicked and distribute wealth to the poor.

Their most concrete action was preventing the outflow of Korea’s resources to foreign countries.

Whether it was people, wealth, abilities, or information, Hwalbindang worked to prevent anything from leaving the country.

Even the corpses of A-class ability users.

The ones who made this possible were the executives of Hwalbindang—the 3 Leaders.

One of them was right before us, the S-class villain, [Seonmudang].

“Yeah. Even the Secret Society must be troubled. You’ve started something big, and now people keep trying to get their hands on the corpses.”

[You’re suggesting we handle the ones after the Mana Powder together?]

“Of course. You’ll cooperate, right?”

Seonmudang reached out toward me.

Her small hand stretched forward from under the white cloth, and the face of this black-haired girl was filled with unwavering conviction.

[Indeed, it seems that not only Korean but even foreign ability users are scrambling to lick corpses.]

She was confident we would cooperate.

[However, I refuse.]

“Huh…?”

[We will act on our own. There’s no reason to cooperate.]

“What? You caused this mess, and now you’re telling us to clean it up?”

Seonmudang, looking at me in disbelief, turned her gaze to Hyeon Se-rin.

“Sister, is this right?”

[…Hmm. Hold on, strategy time. That’s fine, right?]

“You don’t get long. One minute.”

Seonmudang puffed her cheeks and stepped back.

I immediately turned to Hyeon Se-rin, and we exchanged mana while holding hands.

-She seems to be misunderstanding something.

-Seonmudang has the reputation of a killer, and she’s acting just like it.

-We only have a minute. Let’s get to the point.

-Hwalbindang believes that the Goblin is real. Hyeon Se-rin, is it in our interest to reveal this information now?

-If it were someone else, we should keep it hidden. But with her, it’s fine. Let’s reveal it.

We reached an agreement.

I released Hyeon Se-rin’s hand, and Seonmudang’s expression, which had been glaring at me, softened for a moment.

[Before we proceed, let me confirm one thing. Who do you think killed the Nut Crusher?]

“Wasn’t it you?”

[What if it wasn’t?]

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“…The news said it was you.”

Seonmudang tilted her head.

“If it wasn’t you, then who could disappear like that?”

[It was probably someone with a similar ability.]

“Someone skilled enough to take down an A-class? But we’re talking about an S-class villain.”

[There could be someone who developed such an ability. Now, you.]

I pointed my finger at Seonmudang.

[You’re awfully rude for someone so young to be speaking informally.]

“Wow, look at the Goblin acting all old-fashioned, like some Confucian patriarch.”

[You think this is being old-fashioned?]

[We’re not in a position to be polite to each other. Leave this to me.]

Hyeon Se-rin put her hand on my shoulder and stepped forward.

[Yu-jeong, I can vouch for him. It wasn’t him.]

“Hmm…”

[We’re here to find the real culprit too. In the meantime, we were handling the ones trying to steal Mana Powder.]

Hyeon Se-rin spoke warmly to Seonmudang—Nam Yu-jeong.

It had to be that way.

Though both were S-class villains, they were once S-class heroes who fought side by side in Korea.

Hyeon Se-rin chose exile, while Nam Yu-jeong chose to join Hwalbindang.

And until then, they had been very close friends.

Close enough not to reveal each other’s true identities to their organizations.

“If you’re saying that much, I’ll trust you. But even so, foreigners are still coming here to steal corpses. Will you help us?”

[You’re speaking to me completely differently than you did to Doul.]

“So what if I am?”

[…]

Though she acknowledged the formality, the atmosphere remained awkward.

Was this the attitude of an active Korean high school girl?

[Fine. The important thing is that I’m the Goblin, and you’re Seonmudang. What is Hwalbindang’s goal? To secure Nut Crasher’s corpse?]

“No. Our goal is to eliminate those trying to steal the corpse. If someone tries to take the body, it means they want to use it for evil purposes.”

[I see. So Hwalbindang’s stance remains the same. Understood.]

The reasons Hwalbindang got involved:

First, to prevent the outflow of resources abroad.

Second, to stop the exploitation of corpses by the so-called ‘higher-ups,’ or to carry out their justice.

‘Their commitment to their ideology is admirable.’

If they were just villains seeking personal gain and causing chaos, the Secret Society would have already stepped in and destroyed Hwalbindang.

However, at least for the executives, their leader aimed to walk a path that, while different from the Secret Society’s, was similar in nature.

The kind of people who would call Hong Gil-dong or Im Ggeokjeong villains deserving of death were likely corrupt officials who had their wealth stolen through ill-gotten gains.

[If that’s really the only reason, there’s no need for the Secret Society to treat them as enemies.]

“So, are you going to cooperate?”

[No. We won’t cooperate.]

I stepped back, and Hyeon Se-rin also stood beside me with a bitter smile.

“Sister?”

[Sorry, but I’m with the Secret Society. I can’t align with your ideology.]

“Sister, we’re not bad people—”

[You’re letting Koreans pass through, right?]

Seonmudang’s expression shifted from that of a rejected puppy to one full of mischief.

[Foreigners can’t steal Korea’s resources, but if Koreans steal Korean resources, that’s a different story.]

[Why are you smiling so meaningfully? Am I wrong?]

“No, I just realized the Secret Society operates on a global scale.”

As Seonmudang raised her hand to her face, a ‘mask’ covered her features.

“There’s nothing wrong with Koreans using Korea’s resources, right?”

[…….]

Hwalbindang was an organization that the Secret Society had no immediate plans to interfere with, but they saw it as a necessary evil that would need to be uprooted one day.

It was a necessary evil.

“If we don’t stop them, there will be people trying to smuggle corpses abroad, and then we’ll lose national resources.”

[Do you trust the government? What if they misuse Nut Crusher’s corpse?]

“Could they? With Hwalbindang around? With us here, how could they dare to secretly steal the body? If they did…they’d be punished. For sure.”

Considering that their presence at least kept corruption in Korea somewhat in check, they were difficult to eliminate right away.

The same went for Haegneul.

Haegneul and Hwalbindang.

Both were ultimately doing their best for “Korea’s benefit,” so in this nationalist worldview, touching or dismantling them would cause quite a backlash.

We had to acknowledge that having Hwalbindang meant there were fewer traitors selling out the country.

“It’s unfortunate that you won’t cooperate. So, what’s next? Are we going to fight?”

[There’s no reason to waste energy fighting you. Doul feels the same.]

[Yeah, and you wouldn’t win against me and the Goblin anyway.]

She came here to cooperate because she knew she couldn’t win.

If things went south, she might have to fight that woman over there.

Crackle.

Blue lightning flickered in the dark night sky.

Hyeon Se-rin and I turned our gaze toward the rooftop of Haegneul General Hospital, where the lightning struck.

[Is it starting?]

“Tch…!”

Seonmudang kicked off the ground.

As if trying to get away from the hospital’s vicinity, she quickly fled the area.

[She’s quick to run. Well, that’s probably why she hasn’t been caught yet.]

[What? Are you disappointed that she’s the same S-class villain as you?]

[I’m too old and beyond that kind of disappointment.]

[Really? I thought you hated being grouped with other S-classes.]

[Even if she’s an S-minus-minus class, S-class is still S-class.]

Seonmudang was considered S-class because she received that title before Taejo evaluated her.

In terms of actual combat power, she might be at the lowest level of S-class, but she sure ran like a typical K-high school girl rushing to get in line for lunch.

Crackle.

Dark clouds began to gather over Haegneul General Hospital.

With one arm around Hyeon Se-rin’s waist, I raised the Goblin Bat high into the air with my other hand.

[The smart thing to do when facing a real S-class attack is to avoid it if you don’t think you’re S-class.]

As I infused a bit of magical power into the tip of the Goblin Bat…

Flash!

Suddenly, countless bolts of lightning began to rain down from the sky in every direction.

BOOOOM

Blue lightning crashed down in multiple places.

Between the roads stretching from the hospital, and through the gaps between buildings, the bolts struck.

Aaaaaah――!!

Ugggggh!!

With every lightning strike, painful screams echoed.

Those who took the lightning directly to the crown of their heads would be electrocuted and fall to the ground.

On the rooftop of Haegneul General Hospital.

As he adjusted his long, dark blue hair, which shimmered in the electric light, the Thunder Emperor reached out to the sky once again.

“These druggies really have no sense of fear.”

Crackle.

The moment the lightning flashed again, the sound of people collapsing could be heard from all directions.

“…They won’t come to their senses until lightning burns their scalps down to the roots. Tsk.”

The Thunder Emperor rubbed the back of his neck and turned his head.

The place where the lightning struck.

A man in a suit, holding a white-haired woman in his arms, with a black bat raised toward the sky.

The face was clearly that of a Goblin mask.

“Tch.”

The Thunder Emperor smirked as he eyed the electric charge gathering at the end of the Goblin’s bat.

KABO

With an irritated flick of his hand, he summoned a massive bolt of lightning.

But the direction was…

Aaaaaaaaah!!

Kuh, Haaah!!

…in the opposite direction of the Goblin.