Although a Villain, My Wish is World Peace

Han Seo-hyeon pulled his brother’s soul from his body. Han Jo-hee’s screams rang in his ears. Despite his trembling body, Han Seo-hyeon didn’t stop raising him.

Han Seo-hyeon’s mana, stained tar-black, burrowed into Han Jo-hee’s body. And simultaneously, Han Jo-hee’s final memories were etched into Han Seo-hyeon’s mind as if unfolding.

[It hurts… It hurts! It hurts, please stop.

Suffering… I want to die! No, I don’t want to die.

My younger brother, my, my younger brother…

Seo-hyeon-ah, how can I, Seo-hyeon-ah, Seo-hyeon-ah!

I’m sorry, Seo-hyeon-ah. Hyung is sorry. For being unable to do more, hyung, hyung was wrong.

Seo-hyeon-ah… Seo-hyeon-ah…]

All that remained at the end was his own name.

As the screams subsided, Han Jo-hee’s soul appeared before him. Although Han Seo-hyeon had witnessed many deaths, facing someone’s soul was a first.

Perhaps it was the price of summoning. Han Jo-hee’s soul was crumbling apart. In that state, Han Jo-hee simply stared at Han Seo-hyeon for a long while.

“Hyung.”

Shedding tears, Han Seo-hyeon spoke to Han Jo-hee.

“I’m sorry, really sorry. I’m the one who should be sorry.”

Whether due to Han Seo-hyeon’s lack of skill or because too much time had passed since Han Jo-hee’s death, conversation between them was impossible.

Fear, anger. Sadness. Resignation and concern for Han Seo-hyeon himself.

That concern, it crushed Han Seo-hyeon.

Han Jo-hee’s corpse crumbled. The bruised, wounded flesh scattered like dust, leaving only white bones.

“I, I…”

Only then did Han Seo-hyeon realize his mistake. He had turned his brother into an undead. The skeleton clattered as it stood before Han Seo-hyeon.

“Until the end, hyung was worried about me. And he would obey my will no matter what, so he’s telling me not to apologize. It felt like he was saying that.”

That was how they had ‘contracted,’ he said.

“Releasing the contract is also my will, but I just couldn’t, I couldn’t send hyung back again.”

At Han Seo-hyeon’s words, I patted his shoulder.

“I want to take revenge on those bastards, somehow.”

As if anger had resurfaced anew, Han Seo-hyeon trembled violently.

“For that, we need to properly understand your ability.”

Clashing headfirst now would only end up shattering us. I told Han Seo-hyeon:

“Right now, you can barely summon. We need to find out your limits, what exactly you’re capable of.”

Since this was the first time contracting a skeleton, it was even more crucial to fully grasp his own abilities.

After neatly organizing the cup noodle wrappers, I asked Han Seo-hyeon.

“You said it will never dissipate?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s have you face off against me first.”

“Against you?”

“Yeah.”

Seeing me lightly stretch, Han Seo-hyeon narrowed his eyes.

“I heard your talent was ‘lies’ or something.”

Ah right, now the whole nation knew my secret. Damn it, I was now a wanted fugitive nationwide.

“Well, there are some other minor things too.”

—Minor things, he says!

Brushing off Ray’s outrage, I told Han Seo-hyeon:

“Don’t worry about me. Just show me your full power.”

We took positions in a suitable open area.

With a tense expression, Han Seo-hyeon summoned the skeleton. Although it could no longer be called Han Jo-hee, it still felt somewhat uncomfortable.

Well, that discomfort was only momentary.

I drew the dagger strapped to my thigh.

“I won’t hold back, so you come at me with everything you’ve got too.”

The skeleton awkwardly bent its posture, its stance utterly sloppy. Just in case, I slowly walked around it, but its openings remained abundant. I approached and thrust my elbow into the skeleton’s neck, shattering it.

In an instant, the skeleton’s neck vertebrae snapped, and its skull dropped to the ground.

“Weaker than I expected.”

I hadn’t even needed to draw in mana. A mere physical assault was enough to easily destroy the skeleton, its durability that lacking.

Beyond just poor endurance, its movements were so sloppy that its lack of combat understanding was painfully evident.

The skeleton with its severed neck rattled as it searched for its missing head. I wonder what would happen if I shattered its thighbone?

Slowly approaching the skeleton, I kicked its thighbone. Tung, the thighbone flew outward.

Having lost its thighbone, the skeleton immediately collapsed. It squirmed on the ground, attempting to rise, but failed to stand again. Watching this with a blank expression, Han Seo-hyeon bit his lip and dispelled the skeletal summon.

“How long until you can resummon it?”

“2, 2 hours.”

I shrugged and said:

“Then let’s continue working until then.”

At my words, Han Seo-hyeon glanced at me and rose from his seat.

“Yes.”

Unlike before, his response was quite obedient now.

—Still, it seems you no longer find the brat quite as laughable.

At Ray’s words, I let out a chuckle.

* * *

Two hours later, the skeleton reappeared before me, perfectly restored. And within 30 seconds, I had shattered it again.

Han Seo-hyeon was rendered speechless.

“You need a lot more practice.”

At my words, Han Seo-hyeon’s face flushed red.

It seemed he had become newly embarrassed by his previous brashness towards me, given his lacking abilities.

Well, it was quite serious. I asked Han Seo-hyeon.

“Didn’t you receive any combat training at the academy?”

“I was in the mage class, so we mainly practiced mana manipulation.”

“You didn’t receive any combat training at all?”

Hmm. Even for mana-based talents, anything could happen inside the gates. That’s why Babel had put everyone, mages included, through hellish regimens. At my muttering, Han Seo-hyeon’s face paled.

“B-Babel? You’re a Babel Academy graduate?”

“Um, I’m an alumnus there.”

“Why would a graduate from there be…”

“It’s a long story.”

I gazed wistfully into the distance, acting as if it was an intricate tale. Not knowing what misunderstanding he had, Han Seo-hyeon trailed off.

“Bo-Boss.”

“Hm?”

I was taken aback by that address. Well, I had told him to call me Boss, but I didn’t expect him to actually use that term.

“I have many shortcomings. I’ve been rude until now, so please teach me. How can I become stronger?”

At those words, I let out a sigh of ‘Huh.’ Stroking Han Seo-hyeon’s unkempt hair, I said:

“Even if you didn’t say that, I was planning to teach you anyway. Don’t we have the same goal?”

“Yes, yes.”

Giving a wry smile, I told Han Seo-hyeon.

“But in return, you’ll obediently do whatever I tell you to, got it?”

“Yes.”

For now, I intended to put Han Seo-hyeon through Babel-style training. No matter that he was a necromancer meant for the rear lines, he was too weak currently.

And there were additional details I needed to confirm.

“Is the skeleton reconstructed each time you summon it? Or does it enter some personal space before emerging? If it’s the concept of a personal space, can you bring other items too?”

At my questions, Han Seo-hyeon blinked in confusion.

“Um, I’m not sure. Do I really need to know that much?”

“Of course.”

In order to find some way for even my talent to inflict damage on monsters, I had tried every possible method.

Whether this worked or that didn’t, I had attempted everything that would make others click their tongues in derision if they saw.

Although I couldn’t find a way to properly utilize my talent until graduating from the academy, I had gained many things thanks to that effort.

“There’s nothing more important than accurately understanding the limits of your own ability.”

I decided to conduct some tests with Han Seo-hyeon.

Using a marker, I drew on the skeleton’s body. Then I asked Han Seo-hyeon to dispel and re-summon it.

Fortunately, re-summoning an undamaged skeleton only took 5 minutes, so I could quickly confirm the results.

The re-summoned skeleton still bore the drawings I had made.

It didn’t seem to be reconstructed, but rather the exact same entity that had been previously dispelled was emerging.

“If it’s not being reconstructed but stored somewhere before appearing.”

Perhaps other things could be stored along with that skeleton?

Next, I tied a ribbon around the skeleton’s body.

“Wh-what is this?”

“It’s for an experiment, just an experiment.”

Desperately ignoring the guilt that even such actions felt like desecrating the deceased, I asked Han Seo-hyeon to re-summon it.

Remarkably, the ribbon remained tied on the re-summoned skeleton’s head. I continued sending various other items with the skeleton and discovered a few key points.

The experiment showed that only objects under 5kg in mass and 30 cubic cm in volume would remain.

“This capacity will likely increase as you become more accustomed to summoning.”

Looking utterly drained, Han Seo-hyeon slumped to the ground. Having re-summoned dozens of times for all these experiments, it was understandable.

“I, I think I’m going to puke.”

“But it was helpful, wasn’t it?”

At my words, Han Seo-hyeon nodded with a pallid face.

“This was the first time I’ve summoned anything like that.”

“The first time? Ah right, you previously mentioned lacking practice materials.”

“That, and… I just felt reluctant.”

Until now, Han Seo-hyeon had never properly utilized his own talent.

“Everyone said my ability was ominous. Unsettling. At the academy, no one liked me either.”

Why though? He was quite tall and reasonably good-looking. Sure, his poor posture might have hidden his height, and that handsome face was obscured by his shaggy mane, giving off a gloomy aura, but still! That was no reason to ostracize him!

—Curiously, your evaluation seems even harsher.

‘What do you mean? I’m just stating facts!’

—You’ve built up quite a bit over these past few days.

To be honest, Han Seo-hyeon didn’t have the most pleasant personality either.

Just like me.

But the ones who understood the heart of an outcast best were fellow outcasts.

“Don’t bother with what those idiots say. And what’s wrong with your ability? You just need to learn how to properly wield it.”

At my words, Han Seo-hyeon asked:

“Isn’t it strange? I turned my own deceased brother into a skeleton.”

“Well, it is a bit creepy, I can’t say it’s not at all unsettling. But not quite to that extent either.”

Whoa, my double negatives were getting convoluted.

Now that Han Seo-hyeon and I were in the same boat, I didn’t want to say anything too harsh to him. But it was indeed a rather strange matter. Someone would find it unsettling, and I did think it was a bit creepy too.

But you see.

“The brother I saw, it felt like he would do anything to protect you.”

I didn’t know Han Jo-hee deeply. But the person I had witnessed seemed to have cherished Han Seo-hyeon tremendously.

“That skeleton might not be your brother anymore. But you know, if even a shred of your brother remains within it, it will be unconditionally on your side. The most reliable ally you could have in this world.”

Han Seo-hyeon turning his brother into a skeleton had been an unavoidable decision. To avenge his brother, to uncover the truth behind it all, this kid had willfully turned his brother’s end into an ongoing present.

But I was in no position to point fingers at him for that.

“Your brother would probably blame me instead. Asking what I was doing, making his precious younger brother suffer in these remote mountains. Unable to even send you to the academy, instead raising you as a fledgling criminal.”

There was no way Han Jo-hee’s resentment would be directed at Han Seo-hyeon.

“That’s what your brother would say.”

At my words, Han Seo-hyeon simply lowered his head.

Seeing the damp patches forming at his feet, I turned away.