I Became the Academy’s Kibitz Villain

Abilities were something one was born with.

But among those with abilities, could there exist such a user?

An entity that knew all abilities.

An entity that could use all abilities.

And an entity that could bestow such abilities upon others.

An entity capable of bestowing abilities even on those born before the 2000s who were not ability users.

If such an entity existed, it would be sought after by people all over the world.

Those without abilities would want to become ability users.

Those who were ability users would want to become stronger.

The girl realized

How her own ability was perceived by others.

Others saw her as just an ordinary E-class ability user and overlooked her, but the girl quickly became independent from the world using her known abilities.

And she founded the association, ‘Yi Maengmangnyang’.

Despite being only 7 years old, she absorbed an entire group and through modest but expansive moves, she eventually took over America’s business world.

Her goal was world domination.

The primary goal was to unify the world under one banner, making everyone an ability user.

Social chaos?

They’d delve into that in detail later.

“The Chief is the one who bestows abilities. I am the one who erases abilities. And you are the one who steals abilities.”

The final boss.

The true final boss (year-round crisis).

The protagonist.

“Probably, besides me, you, and the Chief, no one else in the world can interfere with abilities themselves.”

“That’s incredible. Then why hasn’t the association been able to identify me until now?”

“They couldn’t find you. They were searching, but they never suspected it would be you.”

America was considered the Chief’s main stage, but mobilizing the association’s manpower based on uncertain information was a challenging task.

“If I didn’t exist, they would have continued their search for you. If there’s a giver, there must be a taker.”

“Ah, so because of your existence, there was no need to specifically look for me?”

“Right.”

Stealing abilities.

Erasing abilities.

“In the end, the result is the same: making ability users into non-ability users. It was decided there was no need to bother stealing abilities just to recycle them.”

“Because the ability is already tainted?”

“New is always better than a tainted used one, isn’t it?”

I reviewed the recorded video on the tablet again with Yumir.

“Name.”

“It’s Park Eun-jung.”

Interrogation room.

Park Eun-jung, who had been hit in the head with a Goblin bat, sat in a chair, her posture straight out of a textbook.

“Age.”

“21 years old.”

“How many people have you killed so far?”

“As an information agent of the Hero Association, I have killed three.”

“Boyfriend?”

“None.”

Like someone under a soul-snatching spell in a martial arts novel, or like a job applicant in front of a corporate interviewer, she answered every question straightforwardly.

“After awakening your ability, what did you think?”

“I thought ability users were superior.”

“And those who did not awaken their abilities?”

“Whether before or after the Cataclysm, I thought all those who did not awaken their abilities should be weeded out.”

“An advocate for ability superiority.”

“Whether in Korea or anywhere else, there are more than a few people with that ideology.”

“Where should abilities be used?”

“I thought they should be used to eliminate anything that hinders me.”

“Why did you collude with Pandemonium and the rebels?”

“Because it made me stronger. I would even use the devil’s power if necessary.”

Park Eun-jung effortlessly spilled everything about herself in response to my questions.

Before losing her memory, perhaps before her “personality was erased,” Park Eun-jung was a typical advocate for ability superiority, a self-centered being who wanted to use her given ability for personal advancement.

But now?

“The Chief, you see, is thinking this way.”

I pulled up the last video of Park Eun-jung after her intensive mental training was completed.

“Not all ability users need to become heroes. But if you are born with an ability, at least have the mindset to work for society as much as a public servant does.”

“It suddenly feels weird to hear ‘public servant’, doesn’t it?”

“Well, let’s correct it then.”

Not all ability users could become superheroes.

However.

“Hope that all ability users live with the mindset of firefighters or thoracic surgeons.”

I hoped to live a life contributing to society and helping non-ability users with the abilities I have, wherever I was needed.

“It’s a kind of re-socialization.”

“Manipulating people’s memories, forcibly changing them… That’s going to raise ethical concerns.”

“I know. That’s why we’re considered a villain organization.”

We’re aware that, although it’s for the sake of implementing social justice, the process was harsh and unfair.

“But, look at this.”

I pointed to the end of the last video.

“Park Eun-jung. What’s your life goal from now on?”

“I will…”

May 2nd.

Before standing in front of others, the newly reborn ‘Neo Park Eun-jung’ answered with a mechanical posture.

“To contribute to the nation and humanity, and to realize universal social justice. That is the mindset I’ve reawakened as an agent of the Hero Association.”

“……”

The Hero Association President, ‘Jeong Gi-jo’, saw the person in front of him, Park Eun-jung, as a completely different person.

“Ms. Eun-jung.”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“You’ve changed a lot. Even just before being deployed to Sejong Island, you were quite laid-back.”

“I am reflecting on my past behavior.”

This was not a woman who would give such an answer.

She used to be a woman who would sit with her legs crossed on the table, grumbling and getting annoyed.

“Did you undergo some kind of torture?”

“Nothing of the sort. I’ve just come to realize again the mindset a hero should have.”

“Did you go through some kind of green camp?”

“Green camp… I don’t know about the military, but maybe it’s similar, if not more certain.”

Park Eun-jung’s words were unabashed.

If she had been forcibly administered drugs, she might have spoken awkwardly.

But there was no sign of that in Park Eun-jung.

Rather, she was so calm it made you wonder if it was okay for her to be like this.

“Ms. Eun-jung, I’m sorry to say this after your return, but you’ll be sent to a research facility in Masan for about a month. They’re going to check how they turned you and other agents into such good people.”

“You may do as you please. If that can prove our ‘conversion’.”

“……”

Conversion.

Transforming into a completely new person?

“What, was the ‘evil’ inside forcibly purified?”

“It might be similar. If there’s a chance for rehabilitation, one should reflect and live a life of remorse, but if that’s insufficient, salvation is necessary.”

“Are you admitting that you were brainwashed into forcibly becoming a righteous person?”

“It’s not brainwashing. It’s just enlightenment.”

Park Eun-jung placed her hand on her chest with a gentle face.

“Like meeting a great being and awakening to spirituality, I’ve met someone who awakened me to what justice is.”

“The Dark Charisma?”

“Though he calls himself by that name, to us, he is truly an ‘Ally of Justice’.”

“……”

The President covered his face with his hands for a moment.

“Alright. What is the justice they speak of? Villains must be killed without question?”

“Act according to the universally valid logic and concepts of society, and according to one’s own beliefs.”

“Ms. Eun-jung, your original belief, I hate to say this, but wasn’t it ability superiority?”

“It was. …I’m ashamed.”

Park Eun-jung blushed, bowing her head in shame.

Fidgeting with her fingers and even clasping her legs together, she seemed embarrassed and ashamed as if she was being pointed out for her ‘dark history’.

“I admit it. I was like that. But I’ve come to realize that being born with an ability means I should use that power not just for myself but for others.”

“Were you brainwashed into thinking that?”

“If that’s what you call brainwashing, then yes, I was brainwashed. The Park Eun-jung filled with evil is gone, and I’ve become Park Eun-jung, who wants to be a true agent and hero of the Hero Association.”

“Sigh.”

The President of the Association couldn’t help but sigh.

“In my life, I’ve seen heroes fall to villainy, but how should I describe this? Justice corruption? Re-socialization? Forced brainwashing? Did they ingest some magical fairy dust? Or maybe…”

Suddenly, the President recalled a special effects cartoon he had seen as a child.

“…Maybe they were hit with something like a ‘Fixer Beam’?”

“Excuse me? What is that?”

“Or suffered a ‘Mind Crash’?”

“Excuse me?? Mr. President. Is that, by any chance, a newly discovered ability?”

“……Too old, I guess.”

The President took a moment to sip his coffee, feeling a bit bitter.

“Am I that outdated…”

It was black coffee, but it somehow tasted sweet.

“Alright, Ms. Eun-jung. Whether you’re an ally of justice or whatever, congratulations on returning to the path of a hero. But.”

The President displayed a photo.

“Can we not do this?”

“It’s unavoidable.”

In the photo.

Agents of the Hero Association, including Park Eun-jung, were all striking a similar pose.

“It’s not like you’re trying to duel, what’s this all about.”

“Duel…what?”

“…Sigh. You wouldn’t know, but there’s such a thing…”

The President was overwhelmed by an indescribable emotion.

Even if others called him old-fashioned, he felt nostalgic for the past but had no desire to see people in reality acting the same.

“Anyway, that’s it. So, there was absolutely no torture, right? That’s how you understand it?”

“Yes. …Well, if there was something.”

“What?”

The President perked up his ears.

“What was the torture?”

“Not having Korean meals for all three meals a day, but mixing in Western meals for at least one.”

“…….”

“Lunch included bread and soup, steak, roasted broccoli, etc. It wasn’t exclusively Korean meals for all three, but a mix with Western meals.”

“Without kimchi?”

“They served kimchi and pickles together.”

“……Then it’s fine.”

Jeong Gi-jo (40 years old, President of the Hero Association) decided to stop overthinking.

“…It’s not like I’m a washing machine, sigh.”