Chapter 17: Meeting of the Heads of the Largest Villain Organization, ‘7th Pier’

Sreung. I firmly gripped the sword.

It wasn’t the genuine article. The original, imbued with the power of the Azure Dragon, remained stored within Ji Sehwa’s switch.

Still, even as a replica, it was intricately crafted.

It was more than sufficient for my purposes.

“You sick freaks! Where the hell did you get something like this?!”

I moved closer to Ji Sehwa, positioning the sword near her left arm, assuming a poised stance.

“Hey, hold on. The deal was just to stab it! Why are you getting ready to swing?!”

Ji Sehwa’s panicked tone betrayed the realization of her dire situation.

The “hole” in the coffin at her left arm wasn’t merely a small opening; it stretched straight down, marking a line just below her elbow.

“No, no! That’s not all the way through, right? It’s just a hole, isn’t it? Just a hole!”

There was no need for further conversation.

Without hesitation, I swung the blade downward.

The gleaming, azure steel sliced cleanly, tracing a straight line through the gap.

“Ahhhhhh! AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!”

Ji Sehwa’s agonized scream erupted as I delivered the blow.

I tore away the coffin’s arm compartment and retrieved her severed left arm. Tossing aside the transformation device embedded within, I discarded it onto the ground.

“No, no, no! F***! You f***ing bastards!!”

Ji Sehwa stared in disbelief at her severed arm, her eyes wide with shock.

“This concludes today’s game! Blue, it’s been fun. Let’s play again sometime, alright?”

“Wait, wait! My arm! My arm!!”

Ignoring her desperate cries, my subordinates and I took photos of her miserable state and left her behind as we exited the room.

“The new boss is absolutely insane! They’ve already taken out two of the Dragon King Sentinels!”

“Don’t you know? It’s three now! Green Nature’s already been dealt with too!”

“Stop calling them ‘boss.’ It’s ‘Leader’ now! Show some respect!”

“Man, when Origin went down, I thought we were screwed. Who would’ve thought we’d end up in such thrilling times! Joining the villains was the best decision ever!”

“How much did the organization earn just today? With Blue’s hidden funds and the bank manipulations, it’s over a trillion won!”

“My mom tried to stop me from joining Shinzwalk, saying it was just some third-rate villain group. Imagine if I hadn’t come!”

“Shinzwalk? What’s that? We’re Vengeance now!”

“All hail Leader Zeorgeus!”

My subordinates were celebrating wildly, drinking to their hearts’ content.

Currently, Vengeance’s membership stood at 52, including the 46 we absorbed from Shinzwalk, four new recruits, and my trusted aides, Emma and Erua.

Among them, only Erua had proven herself worthy of joining the elite ranks of my dark squad.

“Emma, keep an eye on them. Make sure no drunken brawls break out.”

“Yes, Master.”

Noticing Erua’s absence, I made my way to her room. I knocked on the door.

“Erua, are you in?”

“Yes, come in.”

Inside, she was perched on her bed, knees drawn to her chest.

“Not a fan of the party?”

“It’s… not really my thing.”

“You’re not old enough to drink anyway. Would you like some lemonade instead?”

“Thanks.”

I handed her a glass of lemonade, which she sipped quietly. She resembled a small rabbit as she drank.

“How are you feeling?”

“Alright, I guess.”

A brief silence lingered between us.

“Hey, Zeo.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m a villain now… aren’t I?”

“Yes.”

“Does it suit me?”

“Hmm…”

I brought up her status screen to take a look.

[Dark Matter / Erua]

[Class: Villain]

[Rank: SS]

[Ability: Dark Matter Lv.6]

[Status: Unawakened]

Affiliation: Villain Organization Vengeance

Evil Brigade: Vengeance

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Revenge is her powerful driving force

A new source of power is emerging

She is filled with thoughts of dying while hiding her dangerous secrets deep in her heart

It hasn’t even been a month since I awakened the power of dark matter, yet I am already at level 6. With the support

of my abilities, and even though reaching level 5 quickly was a factor, this growth rate is incredible. Even more so

because I’ve reached an SS rank. The attack on Ji Sehwa must have been reported to the association, leading to an

adjustment of my rank.

If asked whether this suits me, there’s no villain better suited to this role than her.

The difference between an S-rank and SS-rank villain is vast. The power, the danger, the scale—it’s all on a different level.

But the ‘goodness’ she is showing now is quite different from the one I know from the original storyline, so I’m hesitant to answer right away.

“Rua, did you ever want to become a hero?”

“That’s absolutely not the case.”

“Good. You fit this much better.”

“Really?”

Rua seems to have liked my answer.

In the original work, she appeared as a mid-boss during the fourth scenario. Back then, her personality was the very embodiment of rage. It’s quite a contrast to her calm demeanor now.

The difficulty of her first appearance was monstrous. In the first week after the raid patch, the number of teams that

cleared Dark Matter across the entire server was zero.

Only after a series of nerf patches did the difficulty level drop enough for players to manage it.

At that time, people nicknamed her the “Black Witch.” She truly brought hell to the players.
As a villain in the scenario, she met her end in death.

Laughing in satisfaction, mocking the players, she was consumed and exploded by her own dark matter.

Will that plot repeat in this world as well?

No, I’ve already confirmed through the battle with the Dark Kingdom that many things here are unfolding differently than I knew.

Now that I’ve chosen the path of the villain leader, there are plenty of other routes I can take.
But that’s a matter for later.

For now, let’s focus on the Galactic Empire.

If I don’t clear the second scenario, no future will come.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Your future.”

“You know my future?”

“No, I don’t. I’ll find out in the future.”

“…Together?”

“Yeah.”

“…Okay.”

Rua nodded.

“Our funding is looking good this time. The seven people we contacted at the Blue site have brought in some financial backing, right?”

“Yeah. But there’s a reason we needed cash immediately.”

“What’s that?”

“A dangerous element, the Galactic Empire, has appeared. The ‘Seventh Pier’ will be opened.”

“It opened once during the Dark Kingdom, right?”

“What is that?”

I turned to Rua and answered.

“It’s a gathering of the leaders of the largest villain organizations in the country. The entry fee is cash, five hundred thousand won bills, or three hundred billion.”

I returned to the room and took out an item wrapped in newspaper.

It’s Ji Sehwa’s left arm.

It’s from below the elbow, with a length of about 40 centimeters to the tip of the middle finger. The nails are painted in a strange shade of blue.

I’ve high-fived that hand before. We’ve fist-bumped, and I’ve even corrected her posture.

Now, it’s just a piece of evidence for my actions.

I don’t feel joy or happiness seeing the severed arm. I don’t have that kind of psychopathic sensation. I just feel

satisfaction that I gave back what Ji Sehwa had given me.

With just actions and consequences, that’s enough. From now on, Ji Sehwa will have to fight with a prosthetic arm for the rest of her life.

With the association’s technology, she’ll probably get a full prosthetic body, not just a regular prosthetic arm. It’ll probably even enhance her combat abilities.

But she’ll always think of it.

Every time she sees her left arm, she’ll wonder if it’s the price she paid for her actions.

I know the Dragon King Brigade well.

Ji Sehwa, too.

She’ll surely feel guilty.

Though, to be honest, her lifetime isn’t going to be much longer.

I like that.

Of course, dealing with Ji Sehwa isn’t over. The rest of the Dragon King Brigade will face the same fate.
They will serve as nourishment for my villain organization, and I’ll drain every last drop of their power.

What should I do with this arm?

I don’t have a terrible hobby of decorating evidence in frames, so burning it or something feels right. But I had a strange thought.

I bit into Ji Sehwa’s arm and swallowed it.

It was disgustingly filthy.

[Condition Maintenance Lv.3]

[Anger: IRA 10/10]

[Lust: LUXURIA 7/10]

[Gluttony: GULA 9→10/10]

[Form Change unlocked at Lv7]

Huh. Even eating a hero increases my gluttony.

Additionally, my stats have increased slightly. I see. So, this kind of progress is possible with the right goal-setting.

Still, I have no intention of searching for and eating the corpse of a hero. Such disgusting acts are enough when

dealing with monsters.

I’m trying to be a villain, not a monster.

Now, as per my objective, let’s make contact to join the ‘7th Pier.’

The leaders of the largest villain organization in Korea.

The reason for meeting them is simple:

There’s a villain I want to recruit under my wing.

However, it won’t be easy, and I knew it would be a long process.

Two days later, at midnight, I, along with Irua and ten subordinates, headed toward an abandoned pier. Piles of discarded containers were stacked high. We arrived at a specific point.

I slid the invitation I obtained through a crack in the container. It was a black business card with no markings. There was no sign of anyone inside, but someone accepted the invitation, and soon the door opened.

“Vengeance. Welcome.”

A masked man greeted us. The men inside the container opened a hidden door. A passage leading underground appeared. I, Irua, and the subordinates descended the stairs.

We continued down in silence for a while. Finally, a space opened up.

The dimly lit area barely allowed us to make out the objects in the room.

There was a mountain of money. A mountain made of fifty-thousand-won bills. Sitting atop it were six individuals.

They all had recognition-blocking devices activated, making identification impossible. But it didn’t affect me, as I possessed the power of a dragon.

“New face.”

“Vengeance, Dark Matter?”

“Did you bring the entrance fee?”

Irua gestured, and the subordinates struggled to open the bags they had carried. Inside was three billion won. They added it to the mountain of money, making the peak grow even larger.

“Dark Matter. Your strength, having been promoted to SS rank right after your debut, and the reckless attack on the Dragon King Squad, was quite the spectacle.”

There was a woman sitting in the highest position, crossing her legs and opening a fan.
Her alluring figure, an antique white uniform covering her body, and her delicate, almost freezing hair.

‘CEO Elena.’

An SSS-ranked villain and the current leader of Korea’s largest villain organization, ‘Shinseongsoo.’

And an extremely dangerous woman.

“Thank you for the compliment. I haven’t had this much fun in a while.”

Her high-handed voice felt like a tiny needle pricking at your eardrum.

“This is where the bosses sit. Send your subordinates away.”

Another leader murmured in a low voice. Upon hearing this, the subordinates who had carried the bags turned and began to ascend the stairs.

But I remained standing next to Irua.

“Didn’t you hear? I said to send your subordinates away.”
“Fine, geez.”

Irua’s voice was filled with disappointment. She turned and knelt on one knee before me.

“I apologize. I’ll wait outside, leader.”

“Permission granted.”

I could feel the leaders stirring upon seeing this.

Irua left the room, and I slowly moved forward to stand in front of them.

“Nice to meet you, gentlemen. I am Zeorzius, the leader of Vengeance.”