Villain Eaten By The Hero - Chapter 104

104

Upon reconsideration, Seo felt that perhaps he could endure imprisonment for Belze’s sake. With a decisive nod, he looked at Jihyeok with a sense of relief.

This was probably the best course of action. While he could scheme and maneuver around with Belze, pretending to chase and be chased, it was certain that surveillance would follow him closely, leaving no room for other activities. If he wasn’t proactive, they might assign another hero to take down Bellze.

The last thing the Hero Disaster Headquarters wants to do is lose Seo, and they’re not about to let someone with his affections get away with it. The threat level towards Bellze would skyrocket unlike before.

If Seo were to turn into a villain, then, they would spare no expense to mobilize all resources to eliminate both Seo and Belze, without any regard for mercy or leniency. Someone as closely associated with the headquarters as Seo would become the top priority target the moment he switched sides.

That’s why they needed to make sure Seo stayed behind. If that happens, the manpower would be focused on dealing with the boss of <Cheonha>, leaving no time for low-level executives like Belze. Maybe <Cheonha> would unexpectedly become more aggressive and solidify its position.

If Seo’s unlucky, he might get caught by the other heroes, but Belze can handle that. After all, he had said himself that Belze could only live as a villain, so she would find a way out somehow.

“You’re going to quit being a hero and become a villain?”

“No, I’m not switching. Despite being in this situation, I still take pride in my life as a hero.”

Even when associating with Belze, Seo never leaked any secrets or operations of the Hero Disaster Headquarters. The same was true with Belze.

Despite appearing precarious to others, Seo genuinely enjoyed his work and relatively faithfully led a life as a hero.

He hasn’t turned his back on society, hasn’t been afraid to defend the weak, and hasn’t chased after money or fame, even when being targeted by many. It’s safe to say he’s a pretty good hero.

He still had no intention of becoming a villain. But he also has no intention of doing anything to make Belze suffer.

So he’ll just have to step aside and take his punishment sweetly.

Of course, it would mean throwing away his reputation, fame, freedom, and future that he had built up until now.

But for Belze, it was worth it.

Although their time together wasn’t long, it was worth sacrificing everything.

“Are you trying to do something like that when you say you take pride in being a hero? You’re crazy. You’ve lost it. Fine, go ahead. I’ll bring that woman first. I’ll catch her and I’ll show you the mess she makes in front of you-.”

Before he could finish his sentence, a thick chunk of metal flew and stopped just inches away from Jihyeok’s neck.

Almost piercing his throat like a spear, Jihyeok stood there pale-faced, barely trembling as if his breath had stopped.

“If you think I’m about to quit being a hero, you should watch your mouth.”

Seo muttered calmly.

“In this situation, a few more sins won’t hurt.”

Jihyeok’s mouth, which had been babbling, shut tightly.

***

[Hero Ravi Sentenced to Prison…] 

[Hero Ravi Accepts Responsibility and Willing to Pay the Price] 

[Hero Ravi Arrested Yesterday Afternoon] 

[Hero Disaster Response Headquarters Announces Operation to Clean Up the World] 

[Hero Ravi Rejects Special Mission… Tragedy of Unrequited Love?]

“Meteor Daily is still going after Seo. Haven’t they had enough bitterness yet?”

Belze clenched her jaw after reading the headlines on the internet. Ever since yesterday, the headlines had been all about Seo.

It was expected to cause a significant stir, not just ending as a major scandal, with the person involved volunteering for imprisonment. Even Belze, who knew the details, was taken aback. Citizens who didn’t know the specifics were even more bewildered, some writing novels or passionately criticizing either Belze or Seo.

The tone of the articles mostly revolved around questioning why he made such a choice or expressing disappointment in the Heroes Disaster Headquarters’ response. However, some articles sporadically mentioned scandals related to spies, portraying Seo as a figure tangled in a tragic love affair.

“Hmm.”

However, what truly mattered wasn’t public opinion or the articles. It was Seo’s next move.

It wouldn’t be hard for someone from the outside to raid his prison or his transport vehicle and take Seo out. However, such a task is something Seo could do himself. If he had decided to become a villain, by now he would have been standing in front of Cheonha’s hideouts on his own.

But the fact that he hasn’t means that he doesn’t intend to. Instead of running away or fighting to the death, Seo chose to remain a prisoner at Hero Disaster Headquarters.

Just as Belze liked Seo but couldn’t live as a hero, Seo liked Belze but wouldn’t live as a villain.

“Mmm.”

Belze wanted to respect Seo’s opinion. From the start, she knew that he had a somewhat naive side as a hero.

It was Seo’s opinion, not hers, that being together was agonizing, and that he was greedy and would do anything to be with her without a promised future.

Belze hadn’t really thought about the distant future as she had lived as a villain not thinking about tomorrow. More accurately, even if she wanted to, she couldn’t imagine it properly, so meeting secretly as a hero and villain was okay. As long as he loved her.

So, the dilemma Belze faced was what to do about it. With the news of a two-year minimum sentence spreading, she wasn’t sure if it was right to let Seo go.

It wasn’t a matter of being able to wait for two years or not. It was a matter of whether to let Seo suffer or not. Of course, it’s natural to want to hold hands and hug each other at this moment.

But if Seo was okay with it, she could quietly wait for two years. It might not be a big problem if she made useful tools or disguises like a Dreamer’s dream.

But she wasn’t sure if she could really do it. If it would be okay to just leave him, who had thrown away all his honor, reputation, future, and freedom, and be behind the cold bars.

And leave Seo to bear the burdens and hardships alone.

While scrolling and clicking the left mouse button to navigate through pages, Belze’s hand slipped. She’d accidentally hit a bookmark, and the news page had been replaced with a clean layout.

But then she realized that the screen looked vaguely familiar. The layout looked familiar, but the main image resembled a signpost.

Curious about what page had been bookmarked, she looked closely, and to her surprise, it was indeed a page she knew very well.

It was a page operated by someone who used to write fanfiction about Seo and her. It used to prominently feature Seo’s pictures, so she almost mistook it at first, but it was definitely the same page.

Instead of a picture, the main announcement read: “[Closing the homepage due to the Ravi disciplinary case. Thank you for your support. Thank you for loving Seo.].”

There had been several strange incidents recently, but this was truly unexpected. As Belze made a puzzled sound in front of the computer, Wonha passing by peeked at the screen and was surprised.

“Is this person really closing the website?”

“Yeah, seems like it.”

“I’m surprised this person didn’t mention it when the scandal broke. This person used to write so vividly about Kim Seo.”

Since Seo’s relationship with Belze had become public, Seo, who had been called derogatory terms or similar, had been referred to as Kim Seo or other more respectful terms.

“Yeah, that person liked Seo too.”