Chapter 286

Mirage was a terrifying illusion that pulled the most harrowing or intense memories from within its targets, forcing them to relive their nightmares.

Just as Jarvier had once done, Harmakan had set a powerful barrier to trap the villains of the snow-choked city within the blizzard. But because Harmakan had cast this version of Mirage, it was different from Jarvier’s. While the spell was the same, its effects varied depending on the preferences of the demonic spirit who wielded it. Harmakan’s preference was

evil

spirits, and as a result, his Mirage was far more powerful against evil souls.

Now the villains who lived in the city were being faced with every evil deed they had committed thus far—murder in particular. Each of them was facing the vengeful spirits of those they had slaughtered.

Naturally, Haseul the Harvester was among them.

“Oh...”

When she came to, she realized she was wearing a school uniform.

She bolted up, looking around in surprise. Winter was still all around her, but the snow wasn’t that of a harsh blizzard. Instead, soft flakes gently descended from above.

In front of her, an orphanage was burning.

“Ah.”

Like the other villains, Haseul was encountering a nightmare of her own, but her reaction was rather calm. It had to be, since this moment was something she relived every single day. She could never forget it.

“This again...”

In the winter of her first year of high school, Haseul had awakened and killed the director of her orphanage. The woman had forced the children to smile before the orphanage’s sponsors, but behind closed doors, she revealed a demonic side that she kept carefully hidden. In front of the sponsors, the old woman would beam like an angel—but after they had left, she viciously abused the children.

Even looking back on it now, Haseul believed the woman had deserved to die.

“You seem to be used to nightmares,”

a voice snickered mockingly into her ear.

“You are merely a villain. Your sad history doesn’t change that.”

As if in a trance, Haseul replied, “I have no intention of playing the victim. I’m just another run-of-the-mill bad person. There are plenty like me out there. I killed someone and ran away. That’s all.”

Oh, and then I set fire to the orphanage.

She knew that if a new director had taken over, the same cycle would simply repeat.

Haseul had no real regrets. Even if she went back to that day, she would make the same choice.

However, there was

one

thing she would have liked to change.

“Choi Haseul!”

A shrill voice called her name, and she flinched instinctively.

The burning orphanage’s doors burst open, and the director emerged, staggering toward her.

“You should have smiled more in front of the sponsors!”

As the old woman screamed, her face twisted in malice just as it had back then.

Haseul did not flinch. She was used to this, since she had relived this nightmare every night since the event itself. For some reason, tonight’s nightmare seemed more vivid than usual, but there was really no difference overall.

Perhaps that small change was what gave her the courage to actually ask, “Did you... survive?”

There. I did it. I asked.

Haseul had always wondered whether the director had actually died that day or if she had somehow been rescued and continued clinging to life.

“I never confirmed it,” Haseul murmured.

Indeed, this was her only remaining regret. That possibility—that she might still be alive—was the worst nightmare of all.

“I should have checked...”

Regret always came too late.

There were not many people capable of murdering another person the moment they awakened superhuman powers. Haseul hadn’t been capable of it either. Instead of killing the director herself, she had chosen arson. She had evacuated the other orphans, then set fire to the woman’s office.

She hadn’t been able to work up the courage to kill the old woman with her own hands. In fact, she had even lacked the courage to go back inside and see if she was dead.

Haseul had been afraid. She knew that no matter how much power she had, the moment she met the director’s gaze, she would have frozen like a deer in headlights.

Whenever she felt this way, there was something she muttered to herself almost obsessively. She said the same thing when she soothed the little orphans who came to her every night in tears. The words were just as much for herself as they were for them, but they weren’t comforting—not really.

“It’s fine. It isn’t our fault. We were just... unlucky. There are probably plenty of normal, ordinary orphanages out there.”

In hindsight, it all boiled down to luck. It was simply bad luck that Haseul’s mother, whose face she could no longer even remember, had abandoned her at such a terrible establishment. The gangsters who had operated the orphanage had been unlucky as well.

“Too bad an orphan in their care just happened to awaken as an S-rank,” she muttered.

“Is that why you killed them all?”

the voice whispered.

“Yeah. I killed them all,” Haseul replied. “I went to every building that gang occupied and burned them all to the ground. It was for my fellow orphans if nothing else.”

Suddenly, the nightmare of the burning orphanage vanished.

Haseul’s true hell had begun

after

that night. After killing the gangsters...

“I crossed the border right away.”

North Korea had already become a living hell, but to Haseul, it wasn’t something to fear.

“It was easier to live in a ruined country like North Korea than in that godforsaken place in the south. And I was right.”

She left behind all her fears, burning them to ashes. There was nothing left to be afraid of.

The world she had seen through the narrow window of her orphanage had always been cold. It was a place where no amount of ordinary effort would allow her a normal life. There were no miraculous tales of climbing from rags to riches.

But then she had gained a power that allowed her to escape. There was no reason to pass up the opportunity.

Natural disasters, abnormal weather, all kinds of magic beasts and non-human races—she had seen it all, and she knew too much now for those things to scare her. They weren’t the real threats.

“Humans. It’s humans who are truly terrifying.”

Haseul, the strongest villain in this city of villains, grinned.

Oh.

But there is one thing that disappoints me.

Back then, the association had yet to be established, and she hadn’t even known she was S-rank. It wasn’t until she crossed into North Korea that other villains pointed it out: An S-rank villain could become massively rich and famous.

Still, she had no regrets. Riches and fame were available anywhere with enough power.

“That holds true even here,” she murmured.

“Then surely you must protect it,

this paradise of yours,”

whispered the voice, coaxing her like the devil itself.

Suddenly, the great scythe made of the Stones of the Outer Gods—the very weapon the black ant had taken from her—was back in her hand again. The moment her fingers curled around its handle, a fire ignited inside her, a hot energy that boiled over.

“This power...”

She knew exactly where it came from. It was from the fruits of Álfheimr she had consumed. With the exception of the bank employees, she was probably the single villain who had eaten the greatest number of fruits.

“I will lend you power.

Defend this city with your own hands.”

Without warning, a crimson energy engulfed her body, and she instinctively swung her scythe forward. A crescent ripped through the air—and pierced the invisible walls of the instance dungeon.

The voice laughed.

“Well done.”

The snowstorm trapped inside the city howled as it was sucked outward through the opening with tremendous force. When the wind cleared, the red leaves buried beneath the pristine white snow were revealed.

Haseul swung her scythe again, and the autumn leaves scattered into the air, flying beautifully along the blade’s path. These leaves—imbued with perception-distorting properties—erased her presence from the world.

Having cloaked herself this way, she jumped high into the sky, using the leaves as stepping stones. At the top, someone was waiting for her.

“Yes, very good. Such an obedient child.”

The Apostle of Paradise stood just beyond the instance dungeon, waiting with a radiant smile.

“I hereby appoint you as a high priestess. From this moment on, you are an honorable high priestess of the Church of the Outer Gods!”

In that instant, an overwhelming power surged into Haseul’s scythe.

The apostle raised a hand like a puppeteer moving his marionette and issued a command.

“Heh. Can you feel it, the difference in power? I will grant you every drop of strength that was drawn from the fruits of this city.”

With her usual impassive expression, Haseul lifted her scythe. Immense power began to concentrate inside it.

At this encouraging sight, the Apostle of Paradise smiled in satisfaction. He stretched out a hand and pointed toward the heart of the city.

“Now go! Crush the ones who have defiled your city, who have damaged my garden... Wait... What are you doing?!”

He reeled back in shock. Haseul’s scythe was coming straight for

him

. She had turned against him using the very power he had gifted her.

The Apostle of Paradise evaded the attack, but only barely.

“What is this?!” he shouted. “What do you think you are doing?”

A high priestess raising their weapon against an apostle was unthinkable.

“You want to know what’s going on?”

A new voice entered the fray, sending an icy shudder down the apostle’s spine. He quickly spun around, searching for its source.

Beneath Haseul’s relentless attacks, her shadow stretched unnaturally long. It was grinning at him.

“W-wait, you aren’t...!”

The apostle’s eyes widened in horror. The energy was unsettling... and familiar. His instincts told him he knew exactly what he was sensing.

“C-Commander Beru—”

“Do I know you?”

said Haseul’s shadow, opening its eyes in delight and grinning even wider.

“Strange. I don’t recall you.

Most of those who met me are dead, so that’s no surprise, really.”

The meaning behind those words was clear.

Beru rose from the shadow, locking eyes with the apostle and assessing him. “Ah. You’re only a small fry, some insignificant speck who watched me from afar, too weak to join the fray.”

“Ugh! High priestess, I order you to protect me!” shouted the apostle. He gritted his teeth, trying to reclaim control over Haseul.

“It’s no use.”

Suddenly, Suho’s voice came from right behind him. The hunter’s fist was already drawn back.

“I applied Echo Forest Spring Water to every piece of bread I sold through my bakery, just in case.”

With a single earth-shattering strike, the Apostle of Paradise was sent crashing to the ground.