Chapter 41: The Feeling of Being a Person who has become

Imagine being in a horrific car accident.

As usual, you’re going about your daily life, idly fiddling with your phone, when suddenly your body is jolted violently, and a blinding light flashes before your eyes.

That’s where your memory cuts off.

When you open your eyes, your throat feels as though it’s on fire from dryness. Your eyelids are so heavy, as if stitched together, that it’s hard to open them. Your entire body is consumed by indescribable pain.

And your legs are gone.

The part of your body that was intact just moments ago is now missing.

You can no longer walk as you did before.

You can no longer live as you used to.

The horrifying realization of your loss—this collapse of your mental state—surpasses even the physical pain.

How could such a sense of loss ever be described?

Who could possibly understand it?

But perhaps the most significant issue in this case was something far worse.

No one could understand what she had truly lost.

In the explosion, everyone at the scene, except for Yu Chaemi, lost their lives.

She had been abducted, lying slumped in the back seat, and was fortunate enough to sustain fewer injuries and survive.

Of course, even so, she had been only five minutes away from death.

Yu Chaemi underwent emergency surgery and, thanks to the best medical technology, returned to her original appearance without a single scar just a week later.

The people who had been worried about her all sighed in relief and celebrated her miraculous recovery.

But there was one person who knew that something had been lost.

Something truly important.

Elli was dead.

The cause was likely shock. She couldn’t bear the pain and faded into unconsciousness.

Unable to find her, Rena went on a rampage for several days after waking up, acting like someone who had lost their mind.

Then, for the next few days, she wandered aimlessly like an empty shell.

After that, a deep sense of hatred began to engulf her.

“…Those damn heroes.”

The kidnappers were no more than a pile of ashes. They posed no threat to her.

If it weren’t for those heroes…

If it weren’t for those bastards…

Heroes were always like that. They flaunted their abilities, amassed huge fortunes through fame, and basked in their superiority.

The only difference between a hero and a villain was whether they operated within or outside the law.

But there wasn’t even anyone to blame.

The punk kidnappers had no backers, and the hero had been an individual yet to debut.

Everyone had died, leaving no one to take responsibility.

“…‘Harden.’”

Rena gave a command to her fingertips. Her skin instantly solidified to a hardness that could rival titanium.

If only she had been able to say those words a little sooner.

The sequence of events might have changed.

As she drowned in regret after regret, spiraling into even deeper despair…

“Yu Chaemi, your discharge has been approved.”

The face of the nurse who smiled brightly as she delivered the news came into view.

At the sound of that name, she realized.

She was never Yu Chaemi to begin with.

That name belonged to Elli.

She was nothing more than a fragment of an enchantment.

From the very start, Elli had been the one in control of the consciousness. The only reason she could see the world was because Elli had allowed it.

This body, this knowledge—everything had belonged to Elli from the beginning.

Or rather, it all belonged to Yu Chaemi.

If she were just an ability called an enchantment, then…

It was only natural to use that enchantment to restore everything to its rightful place.

Rena began to accelerate.

She honed her intellect with relentless precision.

She jumped into the family’s power struggle to claim El Corporation, just as Yu Chaemi had wished.

She founded the Sacred Tree to mobilize every available means and took control of the underworld.

She carefully preserved and maintained this body in its best possible state.

After all, it was never truly hers—it would eventually have to be returned to Yu Chaemi.

She never neglected her training to strengthen the enchantment.

Its effects could only extend as far as the physical laws allowed.

But she believed.

By becoming stronger and stronger, one day…

“Revive.”

Even the divine authority-challenging incantation could turn into reality.

The strengthening of the incantation had hit a wall.

It had stopped growing at some point.

That was why, as soon as she secured the position of CEO of El Corporation, she initiated the Sky Lens Project.

And that was why its failure left her in despair.

Looking at the horribly mangled corpse of the test subject in front of her, she lost all hope.

The dead could not be brought back to life.

It felt like a warning from the heavens, a punishment for challenging God.

No, it wasn’t merely a warning.

An analysis of the test subject’s corpse revealed no clear cause or explanation for the transformed matter of their body.

Even treatment was impossible.

The body she was meant to return to Yoo Chaemi was utterly ruined, and despite her abilities, she couldn’t resurrect her from the agony of death.

This was the fate she deserved.

The only reason Lena, still standing as Elena, hadn’t crumbled was because of her entanglement with this man.

Jorgeus.

No, Jung Ui-seok.

A despised hero who, after being betrayed, had become a villain and now sought her out.

“How tragic.”

They say repeated coincidences are fate.

She had to admit it.

The moment his scythe had reached her neck, she had already lost to him.

Only her petty pride had stopped her from admitting it out loud.

“I want to bring Yoo Chaemi back to life.”

Without the will to suppress the words escaping her lips, Elena finally spoke the name.

Yoo Chaemi wanted to bring Yoo Chaemi back to life—what an absurd riddle.

Most would consider it wordplay.

But Jung Ui-seok stroked his chin thoughtfully, as if lost in serious contemplation.

“Yoo Chaemi, incantation. You’re not twins, are you? If we’re talking about physical conditions… I see. You have the personality of the body’s original owner, Elena.”

Jung Ui-seok deduced the truth in an instant.

Elena let out a hollow laugh.

This man—what was he?

“Am I right? Reviving a lost personality… It requires interference with the concept of the mind. Mental manipulation removal. To reach that level, I’d have to level up significantly. It’ll take time, but it’s possible.”

It’s possible.

The moment those words reached Elena’s ears, her eyes lit up with fierce determination.

“Join me, Elena. Then your wish will come true.”

Jung Ui-seok extended his hand to her.

She stared at it blankly.

“But,” he added.

“As villains, we value betrayal over loyalty, contracts over camaraderie. When you achieve your goal, you’ll betray me. So, before that, I’ll add another leash to your collar.”

Hearing his cold voice and seeing his beast-like expression, Elena understood for the first time in her life what it felt like to be the subordinate.

The chilling sensation of having her breath stifled.

“If you understand, take my hand.”

It already felt like a collar was tightening around her neck.

She could see a vision of the leash held firmly in Jung Ui-seok’s hand.

“…I refuse,” declared Elena.

At the same time, her dark matter, which had been frozen, began to move again. She canceled all the incantations she had cast during the battle.

“Jung,” she slowly raised her right hand as she spoke.

“Go ahead and tighten it as much as you want. The moment it loosens, I’ll tear you apart.”

Jung Ui-seok seemed satisfied with her response, a smirk forming on his lips.

Elena finally took his hand.

And she added one final statement.

“…From now on, call me Lena.”

“Good. The new switch sample isn’t bad.”

Shin Yoo-gyeong smiled contentedly.

At the training ground, Shin Yoo-gyeong and Kang Ye-rin were growing stronger rapidly. Despite already being S-class heroes, they seemed to have no limits.

Watching them, Ji Se-hwa felt a twinge of impatience. Her growth was slow in comparison. Of course, it was better than Choi Min-seo, who wasn’t even here.

‘…Not that any of this matters anyway.’

She was still confused.

The reason she had become a hero was for a stable life.

To escape the tiresome punk life and gain the opportunity of a steady job.

Ji Se-hwa didn’t fully believe in Jung Ui-seok’s talk about her S-class talent.

She never cared about justice, peace, or the safety of civilians in the first place.

If her disposition had to be defined, Ji Se-hwa was closer to chaos/neutral.

Had the villain organization scouted her before Jung Ui-seok, she would have become a villain without hesitation.

The only reason she considered peace to be “correct” was because Jung Ui-seok had taught her so.

She held no convictions. Others never came before her own safety.

But as she continued, greed began to creep in.

Looking at the growing balance in her bank account, she wanted more.

The more the numbers grew, the more at ease she felt.

She hadn’t yet realized that there was no limit to those numbers.

She still didn’t know that the amount of wealth sacrificed for false security was infinite.

‘What should I do about that bastard, Jung Ui-seok?’

She still hadn’t made up her mind.

When she judged him as an enemy, she opposed and even killed him.

But when she realized the association president had deceived her, she began to doubt her decision.

If not for that deception, she might not have taken such an extreme course of action, even if her relationship with Jung Ui-seok had remained strained.

Perhaps their initial encounter had been genuine.

Back then, Jung Ui-seok had shown her—someone with no clear values of her own—what “good” and “justice” meant.

Though she wasn’t aware of it, Jung Ui-seok had played the role of a father figure to Ji Se-hwa.

Could acting like a hero now change how Jung Ui-seok viewed her?

That faint hope lingered in her heart.

Caught in such conflicting emotions and unable to decide, she couldn’t focus on her training.

Of course, by now, there was nothing she could do to earn Jung Ui-seok’s acknowledgment.

Kang Ye-rin recognized this reality and was racking her brain for an alternative approach, but Ji Se-hwa’s thought process hadn’t reached that level yet.

“I feel like my ability has evolved,” Kang Ye-rin said as she opened and closed her fist.

“Evolved?”

“Yes. Before, I could only slow time inside the sphere.”

Shin Yoo-gyeong threw a shuriken at Kang Ye-rin. Activating her ability, Kang Ye-rin stopped the shuriken as it entered the sphere around her.

“This… time has stopped?”

“Yes, though the duration isn’t very long.”

Kang Ye-rin grabbed the halted shuriken and returned it to Shin Yoo-gyeong.

“That’s impressive. In close combat, it’ll be quite effective.”

The atmosphere between Kang Ye-rin and Shin Yoo-gyeong was good. Ji Se-hwa clicked her tongue at the sight.

At that moment, their transformation devices sounded an alert.

“This is…!”

“It’s a deployment request. The Galactic Empire’s invasions have been frequent lately, but it hasn’t been serious enough for us to get involved.”

Ji Se-hwa checked the details and frowned.

“A high-ranking officer…! Let’s move quickly!”

Following Kang Ye-rin’s command, Shin Yoo-gyeong and Ji Se-hwa nodded.

“Cancer’s ability range is a radius of 500 meters, forming a dome one kilometer in diameter.”

Lua reported to me as we observed the scene from an optically camouflaged airship. The location was Yeouido.

“Jung, the Yongwang Squadron has arrived.”

“I see.”

With a high-ranking officer appearing, their involvement was inevitable.

It would be an excellent stage.

“This airship feels more cramped than it looks. How much longer do we have to wait, Jung?”

A voice of complaint sounded behind me.

She was dressed in her usual white uniform, but with red embroidery added.

[Villain Squadron Configuration]
[Squad Name: Vengeance]
[Leader: ‘Georgius’ Jung Ui-seok]
[Members: ‘Dark Matter’ Lua]
[‘Elena’ Lena]

Currently, Lena was a member of the Vengeance squadron and was benefiting from my buff effect.

“Just a little longer. We need to see how incompetent the Yongwang Squadron really is.”

I calmed her down.

Let the curtains rise.

This would be the first step toward villains ruling the world.