"So it finally begins."
I looked at the villains gathered to raid the Academy.
…Too few. Ridiculously few.
According to the original plan, we should have had three times this number.
"Mir, are you really going through with this? Shouldn’t we gather more people?"
"We don’t have a choice. Dragging this out any longer is dangerous. We don’t know when *they* might show up."
"…"
The plan had been reckless from the start.
We could force our way into the Academy, sure.
If thousands of Ability users swarmed in and tore the place apart, the Academy would be overrun—easily, without a fight.
No matter how strong its teachers had been in their prime, they were retired now. Washed up.
The original plan was to overwhelm the Academy with those numbers, then somehow evade the Association’s heroes and achieve our goal.
The Academy was just an obstacle. The real threat had always been the Association’s heroes.
…But what about now?
Executives and their subordinates had been wiped out in an instant.
All because of some organization that appeared out of nowhere.
It was only natural that the once-certain Academy raid now felt uncertain.
Mir’s perfect plan had been derailed by some unknown force, and the comrades I’d been close with were disappearing one by one.
It was infuriating.
"Only four of us left, boss."
"Now you’re calling me boss?"
"Mir told us to."
"Well, fine. Feels like being one of the Four Heavenly Kings."
I watched the villains smash through the Academy’s front gates and charge in.
The Four Heavenly Kings, huh. Seeing this, I couldn’t exactly argue.
"But we’re doing this for the world, right? I get it."
"…Yeah. All for a world of equality."
Mir stared at the Academy with determination in her eyes.
Her goal was in there.
The Academy’s founder. A hero. The savior of the world.
An object so dangerous that even *that* hero had sealed it away.
But to us, it was the sweetest treasure of all.
"…But if it was dangerous enough to seal away, why not just destroy it? They could’ve done that, right?"
"That’s simple, Annie. Even that hero must’ve realized how revolutionary the artifact was. …It was dangerous, but they probably thought it would one day be used in the right hands. That’s why they sealed it."
"Huh."
"Yeah, no doubt."
Mir said it with absolute conviction.
Well, if she said so, then it must be true.
She was always right, after all.
"According to that book, it’s definitely there. The artifact we want. …An artifact that can blend different species together."
"Was it called the Crucible?"
"Mhm. If we just had that…"
I didn’t need to hear the rest.
It was the same old story.
"Then anyone could use mana, right? Yeah, yeah, I know."
"…Did I talk about it too much?"
"Yep. Way too much."
Mana was the exclusive domain of the superhuman.
And that was why non-superhumans were powerless against them, while superhumans were privileged.
Even if they committed crimes.
If an ordinary person killed multiple people, that was the end. A lifetime in prison or the death penalty.
But superhumans? Even if they killed hundreds, the shortage of superhuman manpower meant that with a bit of luck, they could return to normal life.
"If we get our hands on the Crucible… then people will be able to defend themselves."
"I see."
Someone had once said that to me.
If everyone could use mana. If everyone always had the power to kill at their fingertips.
Wouldn’t that be hell? I’d heard that argument before.
That pushing society into hell under the pretense of helping others was the height of hypocrisy.
And it was true. The mentally unstable, the quick-tempered, the immature—if they suddenly gained overwhelming power, they’d undoubtedly run wild without knowing their limits.
…But the person who made that argument had forgotten the most important fact.
"Ah, they’re here. Faster than expected."
"It’s fine. Still within our projections."
"Should we head in soon?"
"…Yeah, Annie. We should. For the sake of equality."
That the Weaver Menace was a villain group numbering in the thousands.
That’s right—a villain group. An organization that opposed society.
Even if society rejected it out of fear of side effects, even if the negative impact far outweighed the positive.
We don’t care.
This many people gathered with their own convictions. Prepared to defy society.
Sure, there might be some trash who just joined out of boredom, but we don’t care. We’re villains, after all.
We don’t care about the growing pains the world would face if everyone had mana. We’re villains, after all.
We’re the ones who came together to do what everyone tells us not to.
"Ready to burn the world down, Mir?"
"Burn it down? This is a necessary action, Annie. We’re giving society the shot it needs. Doesn’t a vaccine hurt when you take it?"
"…What if it’s the wrong dose and it kills you?"
Mir heard my question and smiled benevolently.
Always so kind, just like her.
"Then… well, maybe we’ll mourn the weak society that couldn’t handle it?"
"…Dorothy!"
"Eek?!"
I barely deflected the blade flying toward Dorothy before slicing the tendons of the villain who’d thrown it.
Leaving them alive might be dangerous, but… I didn’t have time to worry about that now.
She’d been caught off guard by the attack from her blind spot, but she quickly realized just how close she’d come to getting hit.
"T-Thank you."
"Don’t mention it. But look at this…"
All around, students and teachers were locked in battle with the villains.
Where the teachers were, the fights seemed to be wrapping up quickly—only for more villains to swarm in, clinging stubbornly to the fight.
Some students were frozen in panic, unable to handle the sudden chaos.
…This is bad.
"Yu Siwoo!"
"…What?"
"What do you mean ‘what’?! It’s them! The Weaver Menace! Weren’t they supposed to be nearly wiped out?! How are there so many?!"
"As I suspected…"
I’d had my doubts when I saw the animalistic features on some of their bodies, but sure enough—they were the Weaver Menace.
Last time, one of their executives had been with nearly 200 villains, so I knew their scale was large, but I hadn’t expected *this* many.
"The executives—do you see any?"
"W-What?!"
"That rat-like guy who called himself an executive, remember? He said his name was Sipjira, right? There must be more executives than we thought."
"…Probably."
"They’re definitely stronger than the others. We need to tell the teachers—"
"No need for that, chicks."
A sudden voice cut in, and we spun around in surprise.
A towering man, well over 2 meters tall, was approaching us.
"I overheard you mention the Weaver Menace. What’s going on? You know Marmo, don’t you? You must be the students from that lodge."
"…H-How do you know that?"
"No, it's nothing. He was just someone I got along with."
Thwack.
As soon as that sound rang out and alarms blared in my head, a low voice whispered in my ear.
"Shouldn’t I at least give you a travel companion?"
"Shit—!"
It wasn’t that I couldn’t react.
The moment my instincts screamed danger, I raised my sword to defend—but he was way faster than I expected!
I braced for impact, squeezing my eyes shut, but instead of pain, a familiar voice reached me from right in front.
Amelia had somehow slipped between me and the villain, barely managing to block his kick.
"Gah, ugh… That hurts… Hey, old man, you’re pretty fast…?"
"…What the hell, you."
"I’m pretty confident in my speed, you know. Wanna bet on who’s faster? At this pace, I’d win, though."
"Tch."
As if her weak provocation had worked, he lowered his blocked leg to the ground and ran a hand through his hair.
"Cheap provocation. Did you really think I’d fall for that?"
"Ah, so you’re not…?"
"Bingo, chick. I can’t stand it. Come at me."
"Huh?"
"What’s wrong? Not gonna fight? Guess that bravado was all for show."
…What the hell is wrong with this lunatic?
Amelia froze for a second, clearly not expecting that reaction, before breaking into her usual bright smile.
The same smile she always wore. The one that always put me in a tough spot.
"Ha, fine. Bring it! I’m faster than you think."
"We’ll see. Fight me and find out. …This’ll be over quick anyway."
With that short exchange, the two of them exploded into motion, kicking up dust as they moved at insane speeds.
So fast my eyes couldn’t track them. They were fighting, but without my instincts, I wouldn’t even be able to follow the movements.
"Let’s go, Dorothy."
"Y-Yes? But Amelia’s still fighting—!"
"Right now, the fastest way to help is to bring the teacher back!"
Before the fight started, Amelia had given me a look. *Go.*
Knowing her ability as well as I did, I didn’t think she’d lose.
She’d only get faster.
And if she decided she couldn’t win, she’d run. That was just how she was.
So while she tied him up, I needed to get the teacher here as fast as possible.
"…Hmm."
[It’s starting! Amelia and the horse are fighting now!]
"Yeah. That leaves three more…"
A dragon, a dog, and a tiger, if I remembered right.
I tore my gaze away from the two figures kicking up dust in the distance and focused on the other two villains moving farther off.
"They look pretty strong… Do you think the protagonist can win?"
[…Ah. Right.]
"What now?!"
A wave of unease hit me.
Every time the author forgot something, problems popped up. And this time, it was a highlight scene—plus, the guy they were looking at was probably the boss.
In game terms, he’d be a mid-boss.
…But this was their reaction? I already didn’t want to hear it.
[I, uh… I didn’t set how strong he is. …He’s stronger than I thought?]
"Huh?"
[With the protagonist’s current growth… he might not be able to win…?]
"WHAT?!"
The author had just dropped a bombshell.
What?
…He can’t win? Seriously?