The Villain’s Offer and a Merciless Battle

Su Mo’s gaze fell upon the masked woman, clad in a black, form-fitting suit, who had materialized before her. The woman’s eyes, visible through the mask, crinkled in a smile as she regarded Su Mo.

“You must be so scared, little dear.”

“You’ve done nothing wrong, merely awakened an ability, yet they subject you to such inexplicable violence.”

“…”

Su Mo had no idea who this woman was. Though the sudden, almost maternal gaze was deeply suspicious, it was enough to make Su Mo hesitate before making a move.

Moreover, these words resonated deeply within her.

What had she done wrong?

Absolutely nothing. Yet, for years, she had endured such injustice.

“Come, little Su Mo, walk with your older sister. We won’t harm you.”

“Your older sister will take you to our home, a true paradise where we can finally live freely!”

She extended a hand, a smile still gracing her lips.

Su Mo simply watched.

She blinked slowly.

Seconds stretched into a minute.

The atmosphere grew undeniably awkward.

“Hmm… is something wrong?” the woman in black finally ventured, a hint of hesitation in her voice.

“Nothing at all,” Su Mo replied, her hands tucked into her pockets. “I was just thinking that if I were a helpless child, without anyone, I might have accepted your offer.”

“Villain List Number 27, She Min. Ability: Calamity Beast Manipulation.”

She Min paused, though Su Mo knowing her identity wasn’t entirely surprising. After all, the massive screens across the city broadcast information about ‘villain ability users’ like them twenty-four hours a day.

Moreover, even if Su Mo was still a child, as Number One on that very list, such an astute display was perhaps to be expected.

“My abilities, little dear, can’t be summed up in just four simple words.”

She chuckled softly. “And you *are* a child, aren’t you? Besides… do you truly have anywhere else to go?”

“No,” Su Mo answered, with stark honesty.

“Then…”

“I’ve grown accustomed to a life without reliance on others. Furthermore, with my abilities, I doubt anyone will find it easy to locate me.”

“A superpower user, a villainous superpower user at that.”

Su Mo offered a faint smile. “Just don’t bother me.”

“Eh?”

She Min froze, bewildered as the girl’s figure before her began to warp and dematerialize, like a shimmering mirage.

She took a step forward, extending a hand to touch the fading image.

Her hand passed straight through, grasping at empty air. Su Mo had simply vanished, right before her very eyes.

“Well, that was certainly…”

“…a little dear with quite the personality.”

She Min sighed, resting her chin in her hand and crossing her arms. After pacing for a moment, she murmured, “Was it distrust, then?”

“Perhaps she’s simply confident in her own strength. To have just awakened, yet already master her abilities so quickly… from the available information, is it fire, or dematerialization?”

“Or, perhaps this dematerialization is merely an application of fire itself. After all, mirages are formed by temperature differences creating gradients, where varying densities cause light to refract, projecting distant images into the foreground.”

“…”

“Regardless of whether she possesses dual abilities or a wonderfully unique application of a single power, little Su Mo is undeniably someone we must win over.”

“Alright, the Superpower Squad’s reinforcements are nearly here. It’s time to conclude this battle.”

****

“These energy beams aren’t so terrifying, are they, as long as we defend against them?” White Rose descended from the sky, a halo shaped like a blooming rose appearing before her. It expanded rapidly, enveloping the grotesque eyeball calamity beasts as she unleashed a powerful punch. “Take this!” she roared.

“Be purified, you vermin!”

The colossal white fist descended, imbued with a sacred, scorching power of purification.

However,

The aggregated eyeball monsters instantly dispersed.

It was only then that she realized their forms varied wildly: some resembled flying birds, others land beasts, and even humanoids. Their sole commonality was their single, cyclopean eye.

“Eh?”

Her punch struck nothing but air. Before White Rose could even register her surprise, she heard Hyacinth’s urgent cry from nearby.

‘Watch out!’

A floral barrier shimmered into existence before White Rose. Yet, in the very next instant, the protective bloom was corroded to an inky blackness, shattering into fragments.

At that moment, another wave of gray light enveloped her.

“Ah…” She couldn’t utter another word before she was petrified, falling rigidly to the ground. Her face retained an expression of vivid, lifelike shock.

‘Two abilities, three? No, I was wrong from the beginning. Each of these calamity beasts is a distinct entity! How many of them are there?’

Hyacinth, who had just witnessed her comrade’s fate, suddenly grasped the horrifying truth. Her face twisted in terror, and she desperately tried to flee. But…

It was already too late.

Another stone statue was added to the ground.

The young woman in purple, Redbud, gaped, unable to comprehend how her two powerful seniors had been so swiftly incapacitated in mere moments.

Redbud stumbled to the ground, surveying the gloomy surroundings where the only light emanated from the numerous single eyes. “I… I’m sorry… I’m still just a rookie, I…” she stammered.

She no longer knew what she was saying, only that she was terrified and yearned to escape this place.

Yet, she was met with the same merciless fate as her companions. This time, she watched with chilling clarity as the petrification began in her legs, slowly creeping upwards, gradually…

…rendering her completely immobile.

“…”

****

“Host, how could you just stand by and do nothing?” The little sprite materialized beside Su Mo, chirping and clamoring with an air of profound indignation.

“She’s so pitiful!”

“Hmm…” Su Mo mused, propping her chin in her hand. “But I came here intending to exact revenge.”

“She may be pitiful, but was I not equally so when, as an innocent bystander, I was caught in the midst of those flashy women’s attacks and nearly died? Had they paused even a moment to assess my situation then, I might agree with your sentiment.”

“Uh, well…” The little sprite was rendered speechless.

“By the way, can you stop clinging to me?”

“Host, we’re bound together! We’re going to save the world, remember?”

Su Mo looked at the sprite, a gentle smile gracing her lips, and softly patted its head. “There, there. Whoever wants to save the world can go ahead. It’s just not for us.”

“Host, you can’t be like this! Don’t you remember when we wished upon the stars, promising to never be separated, for all eternity?”

Su Mo shook her head, speechless. ‘That’s clearly just copied song lyrics,’ she thought. After watching the sprite for another moment, she turned and walked away.

“This isn’t satisfying. Someone else already took my revenge.”

“Don’t leave me, Host! Don’t abandon me, it’s dark, I’m scared, wuwuwu~”

“You’re too loud. Cry one more time and I’ll get rid of you.”

“Host, you’re really something! I’m going to cry myself to death!”

“…”

Su Mo felt a headache brewing. She waved a dismissive hand, then snapped her fingers.

“Mmph! Mmph!”

It was simply more convenient to mute the sprite directly.

The now-speechless sprite frantically danced a figure-eight pattern before Su Mo’s eyes. ‘As if I’m a bee and can understand that,’ Su Mo mused internally.

[Host, you’re mean! Undo this quickly.]

Su Mo looked at the subtitles that appeared before her. “Ah, this… this works too?”

****

“Are you certain?”

“The Seven Kingships. They are beings who stand at the pinnacle of all ability users. An S-rank superpower user is the highest evaluation for others, but for them, the current highest evaluation only reaches S-rank.”

“So, it’s true?”

“Yes, they are here for Villain List Number 1, Su Mo!”

“Is that so? Indeed, only something of this magnitude would warrant the attention of such prominent figures. Which one has arrived?”

“It is the Frost Snow Kingship—Lord An Lan.”

“Impossible!”