I am an S-rank Hero—Lightnova.
And this was the first time I had ever felt such intense anger toward a villain.
My eyes landed on the female bank teller who had lost her arm.
If she wasn't taken to a hospital immediately, she would bleed to death.
There was no time to waste.
I had to end this quickly.
Lightnova moved.
In an instant, she advanced at the speed of light, launching herself straight toward Indigo.
But it was as if he had predicted her movement.
Indigo narrowly dodged her strike.
Tch—!
Not wanting to give him any space, Lightnova immediately followed up, firing a concentrated beam of light toward his face.
The attack shot forward at incredible speed.
But—
It didn't hit.
Her instincts screamed in warning.
Before the light could reach him, Indigo vanished.
He reappeared near the terrified civilians.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa—calm down, Miss Lightnova," he said casually.
"I don't want any violence here."
"…You say that," Lightnova replied coldly,
"but you already took someone's arm."
Indigo glanced at the injured bank teller.
"Ah… don't worry about that. I'll compensate her."
"Compensation?"
"Don't joke around."
"I'm not joking, Miss Lightnova."
He snapped his fingers.
The woman vanished.
"Relax. She won't die. I sent her straight to a hospital."
That didn't calm Lightnova.
If anything, it made her angrier.
Playing with people's lives…
How cruel.
*Indigo's POV*
Somehow… I survived.
If I had been even a second slower, I would've died for sure.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa—calm down, Miss Lightnova," I said lightly.
"I don't want any violence here."
"…You say that, but you already took someone's arm."
I glanced at the cashier.
It was true.
She lost her arm because of me.
If I hadn't sent her to a hospital immediately, she would've bled out.
"Ah… don't worry about her. I'll compensate her."
Her expression darkened even more.
"Compensation? Don't joke around…"
"I'm not joking."
I snapped my fingers, focused my power, and teleported her away.
"Calm down. She won't die. I sent her to a hospital."
Her anger intensified.
Behind my mask, I smiled.
"Miss Lightnova," I said calmly,
"let's negotiate. Take a breath first."
I sat down on a chair, facing her.
She was furious—but she forced herself to calm down.
"…Alright," she said after a pause.
"What do you want to negotiate?"
"It's simple. Let me leave with the money from this bank, and I guarantee the safety of everyone here."
"I can't do that," she replied firmly.
"Taking the money and escaping means you win."
Oh?
Just like in the webtoon—Lightnova really hates losing.
"Hm… then how about this?"
"I'll take half the money and leave."
"…This negotiation is going nowhere."
Her anger kept rising.
My heart started racing.
"Alright, alright—how about just a quarter?"
"That way, no one else gets hurt."
"…."
She stayed silent for a moment.
"…Fine. A quarter is enough."
Thank God.
I stood up.
"Good. Thank you."
A villain thanking a hero—it sounded ridiculous.
But honestly?
It felt amazing.
I walked over and took exactly one quarter of the bank's money.
*Lightnova's POV*
"…If it's only a quarter, then fine."
Damn it.
Why did I have to go through this?
I'm an S-rank Hero, yet I couldn't capture a single bastard who relied entirely on teleportation.
But… if I was being honest—
With my current strength, I couldn't defeat him.
I hadn't even seen his full power.
That's why I accepted the negotiation.
Indigo Reign…
Who was he?
There was no data on him at all.
Not domestically. Not internationally.
The only thing I knew—
Was that irritating teleportation ability.
After taking the money, Indigo turned toward me.
"Well then," he said lightly,
"see you again, Miss Lightnova."
He tipped his hat in mock respect.
Then—
He disappeared.
"…Damn it."
I clenched my fists.
"This is so annoying…"
A few hours later
Ji-hye arrived at the Hero Association building.
"Welcome, Miss Ji-hye," the guard greeted her politely.
She hurried straight to the director's office.
Inside the Director's Office
"I'm sorry, Ji-hye," the director said,
"but we found nothing about a villain named Indigo Reign."
"What!?"
"There has to be something."
"We tried everything. There's nothing."
"…Hah."
She sighed deeply.
"You look upset," the director said.
"Why?"
"Of course I'm upset!"
"He's the first person to make me feel like this since becoming a Hero!"
"Hahahaha!"
"Director," she said coldly,
"this isn't funny."
"Ah—sorry, sorry," he said, waving his hand.
"I got carried away. You're strong, Ji-hye, but you shouldn't be arrogant."
"So?" he asked gently.
"What was he like?"
"He's weird. Annoying. Irritating."
"Every time I tried to catch him, he teleported away."
She clenched her fist.
"He even dodged my light-speed punches."
"Oh?"
"Then he's extremely dangerous."
"Yes. And worse—"
"He was holding back."
"…Holding back against an S-rank Hero," the director murmured, stroking his chin.
No matter what—
Lightnova would make him pay for this humiliation.
I staggered inside and collapsed onto a chair.
"…Damn."
Teleporting another person drained a ridiculous amount of energy.
"Hah… I really am lucky."
If I didn't have teleportation, my head would've been blown off earlier.
As expected of the main character—she was strong.
Though, at this stage of the story, Lightnova was still relatively weak.
Just like in the webtoon.
Even as an S-rank Hero, she wasn't unbeatable yet.
There was even a chapter where she struggled against an A-rank villain—Pure Nature.
One day, she'd become truly unstoppable.
That was growth.
Experience. Training.
Still…
The way the author tortured her mentally was excessive.
If I ever met him, I'd punch him for turning such a kind woman into that.
I lay down on my creaky spring bed and closed my eyes.
Today had drained me completely.
*The next morning*
I arrived at an illegal facility hidden in the slums.
This was where Professor Teros—an S-rank villain—conducted experiments on kidnapped children.
A future disaster.
Better to erase him now.
Inside a dark room, I flipped the lights on.
Cages.
Children—around 11 to 14 years old.
Fear filled their eyes.
I closed the door behind me.
"…This is disgusting," I muttered.
"They're just kids."
Then I noticed him.
A 14-year-old boy with brown hair.
Lee Donghyun.
A future S-rank villain.
The final boss of the second arc.
He was shielding a younger girl.
Lee Mira—his sister.
Her death was what turned him into a villain.
"…Do you want to be free?"
He trembled.
"Will you free everyone?"
"Of course," I said.
"But on one condition."
"…What is it?"
"Join me. Become my partner."
"…Can my sister come too?"
"Of course. I'll protect you both."
After a long pause—
"…Alright. I accept."
"Good."
I released my dark blue light.
The iron cages melted instantly.
A few minutes later
"Stay here," I said.
"I'll defeat the one who kidnapped you."
"And remember—only open the door if I say 221."
"Okay!"
I left.
Main Room
Bodies littered the floor.
Professor Teros turned toward me in horror.
"Who are you!?"
"Everyone outside?"
"They're dead."
"No—no! I won't die like this!"
He fired his toxin weapon.
I dodged casually.
I could've teleported and ended it instantly.
But I wanted to look cool.
"Remember my name," I said calmly.
"Indigo Reign."
A dark blue light formed.
BOOM—
His head exploded.
I ended the suffering child.
"…I'm sorry."
Afterward
"221."
The door opened.
I saved 78 children that day.
The streets were filled with corpses.
"They won't hurt you anymore," I said.
The children trembled—
But they were finally safe.