This Villain is Soft - Chapter 23



Only Noblemtl

Episode 23

“Oh, no. I don’t want that. I have nothing to do with that person. And I won’t have anything to do with that person in the future!”

As Haon answered in a rambling manner, Nova quickly opened her mouth with a softened expression.

“Honey, I’m starting to feel sad.”

Her face was so innocent and beautiful, as if she had never been cold before.

Ha-on clung even closer to Ju-yeol at his unpredictable attitude, stuck his head out, and glared at him.

“Anyway, they’re doing this because they want my abilities.”

“Do you want something else? Should we go home?”

“You crazy kid.”

As Juyeol became more and more annoyed, Nova gave Haon a sly smile.

“If you need to express your affection, why don’t you just tell me?”

“I don’t need it!”

“Come here.”

The moment Nova spread his arms, red flames burst out behind him like the climax of a movie.

“… … ?”

The three people’s puzzled gazes turned toward the night sky where the fireworks were dying down.

Phew─.

Boom! Boom! Bam! Bam!

In the dark sky, colorful fireworks began to explode like crazy.

As Ha-on looked at the fireworks display with a bewildered expression, Ju-yeol swallowed a small curse.

“I think the gunpowder warehouse was robbed.”

The wind carried the acrid smell of gunpowder, confirming his guess.

A look of interest appeared on Nova’s face.

“It looks fun. I needed a place to relax, so this is perfect.”

His interests, famously fickle, shifted quickly.

Joo-yeol, who noticed this, had already sent a signal to the hero headquarters, but it was blocked due to the suspended authority.

“shit.”

As Juyeol clicked his tongue, Nova waved his hand.

“Honey. I’m going to go out and play for the first time in a while, so even if you miss me, hold on for a little longer.”

“Huh? Oh, don’t come!”

“Yeah. See you tomorrow night. I’ll miss you too.”

“No─.”

Haon couldn’t hide his embarrassment at the sight of Nova turning around after saying what she wanted to say.

“… … Are there really people like that?”

“You were a guy who couldn’t live without dying. Have your tastes changed?”

“I don’t know.”

Ha-on grumbled at Joo-yeol’s indifferent response and pushed his back.

“Let’s go to Elder Solmae first.”

“Why that old man? Did you find out anything?”

“You’re hurt. You need to get treatment.”

Juyeol’s feet, which had been walking slowly, suddenly stopped.

“What are you going to do with just a few bullet wounds? That’s enough.”

Haon groaned and pushed his back, but he didn’t budge.

“You’re really not going? Then where are you going to get your injuries treated?”

“I’ll take care of that.”

He quickly turned around and snatched Haon’s cell phone away.

“By the way, what did you shoot at Nova? Did you modify your cell phone into a laser gun or something?”

“Mana Tan? It’s a product of magical engineering!”

Magic engineering. It was a word that came out of Eunhaon’s mouth whenever he forgot.

Joo-yeol narrowed his eyes as he turned the phone around. Except for the fact that it was a model he had never seen before, it was an ordinary phone no matter how he looked at it.

But after seeing the Awakening Orb recharging its energy, I couldn’t help but think of it as just a cell phone.

I felt uneasy, wondering if I had helped create a dangerous weapon for no reason, but if I could find a clue to my brother’s death…

Joo-yeol, who was thinking hard, returned the cell phone to Ha-on.

“Fix my helmet. I’ll come pick it up tomorrow.”

“The repairs are done, but there’s still some work to be done. Can you come pick it up a few days later instead of tomorrow?”

At the urgent words, Juyeol turned around to look at Haon instead.

“No, Nova is coming. I want to start by organizing the research lab’s defense facilities.”

He stood there with a face that seemed to have a lot to say, then replied, “Anyway,” and moved away. He had to let the other heroes know that Nova would be there.

“Juyeol! Make sure to treat your injuries!”

Haon, who had been talking behind his back, also hurriedly left the old city.

Without even knowing that he was thinking, ‘You guys were so different, but in the end, you guys are breaking up.’

* * *

As soon as Haon arrived at the lab, he started by replacing the entrance door.

The multiple layers of metal plates that have absorbed mana will not be easily broken even by a Nova.

It wasn’t invincible, but it was a very sturdy security gate compared to barricades or barriers.

After checking the changed door several times, Haon finally felt relieved and was busy working on various parts of the building without a moment to breathe.

I liked the building overall, but it wasn’t structured well for manipulating mana freely.

“Blue. There must be a defense device in the lab. How do I activate it?”

[Yes. The commands that are activated by Haon’s voice are ‘warning’ and ‘die’.]

“… … .”

Haon, who had been standing there blankly for a moment, linked the defense function to his cell phone.

“Blue. Prepare to defend.”

Following the now mild command, laser guns shot out from the ceiling and walls.

“… … So that’s why visitors can come up to the lab without any special procedures.”

It seems that the defense that ‘Galaxy On’ here thinks of is no different from the attack.

Haon, who was looking around each floor to find something to improve, stood in front of the 5th floor, which was tightly locked with several layers of security devices.

The building, which had a total of five floors excluding the basement, had extremely high ceilings, similar to a ten-story building.

The first floor is where delivered materials are piled up haphazardly.

The second floor is a server room and a place to store unused materials.

The third floor is a storage room for commissioned items and a workshop for production.

The 4th floor is the laboratory where I woke up when I fell into this dimension.

The rooftop is a penthouse.

Each floor had a different use, and we can finally open up the mystery of what the 5th floor is like.

Haon placed his palm on the fingerprint and blood vessel recognition pad with a trembling heart.

And only after entering the password, iris recognition, second password, and voice recognition did the lock open with a green light at the top of the door.

The iron doors on both sides opened with a vibrating mechanical sound, and cold, white smoke poured out.

‘What could they have hidden that required so many layers of security measures?’

Haon, whose eyes were shining with anticipation, flinched at the familiar air seeping through the crack in the door.

“……uh?”

There was no hesitation in my steps as I walked through the door, but my mouth opened wide in disbelief.

As the thick smoke cleared, a laboratory with a completely different feel from the fourth floor was revealed.

If the fourth floor was an extended version of a university lab, the fifth floor was like the laboratory of an evil scientist you only see in movies.

The first thing you see are animal specimens and anatomical diagrams in glass cases stacked like walls.

There were many specimens that were twisted into bizarre shapes, wondering what on earth they were doing with these various animals.

‘Uh. I heard you studied biology and mechanical engineering together… … .’

Haon entered the laboratory through the glass case with a reluctant expression.

A glass flask connected to the condenser held a fluorescent, gold-colored distillate, and extracts boiled over from various test tubes stained the floor.

Next to it, an energy extractor with a faint golden particle coating was firmly fixed to the floor.

Haon, who was examining the golden particles with trembling eyes, let out the breath he had been holding and sighed.

“oh my god.”

It wasn’t a mistake.

A familiar aura was felt as soon as the door to the 5th floor opened. Golden particles were stuck to the energy extractor.

They were all traces of the awakening sphere.

‘So much so that they created a separate research lab for the Awakening Orb? That’s why they asked Juyeol for the Awakening Orb.’

Ha-on, who was frantically looking around the lab, was astonished when he found formulas written on a glass board and materials scattered on the floor.

‘In a world where mana has not been discovered, have they conducted this much research on awakening orbs?’

Just as Haon is a genius, the ‘Eunhaon’ of this dimension is also a genius.

‘It would have been better if you had put that brilliant mind to use elsewhere… … .’

Haon leaned over in front of the small monitor with a disgusted expression.

Near the energy extractor were patient monitors, operating room chairs, and IV tables that you would expect to find in a hospital.

It looks like it has been used quite a bit, so it seems that ‘Eunhaon’ conducted human experiments while researching the Awakening Sphere.

‘This is why I met Solmae.’

Solmae said that ‘Eunhaon’ asked about the side effects of drugs and things like genes.

What could possibly go wrong with conducting human experiments in conjunction with the study of the awakening sphere? An ominous and uneasy feeling rose in my mind.

Haon, who had been staring at the screen and research materials for a long time, checked other pages with a sigh.

“W, what the heck is this… …!”

“Subject 52: Permanent vision damage after 3 doses of unidentified substance. Disposition complete.”

“Test subject #53: Cerebral hemorrhage occurred after just one administration of an unidentified substance. Disposal complete.”

“Subject 54: After 4 doses of unidentified substance… … ”

The paper fell out of his limp hands.

‘How can a person do such a thing?’

Haon looked at the operating room chair with a grim look, its seams ripped from how long it had been used.

‘Galaxy On’ was conducting forced awakening experiments by administering unknown substances to people.

The experiments continued until the body was completely destroyed, as if testing the strength of an object.

“Blue. Have there been any successful cases of forced awakening in the past two years?”

[After reviewing the news for a month, I found no articles about successful forced awakenings.]

Haon let out a sigh of relief at Blue’s answer.

“As expected, this is an experiment that can never succeed without knowing about mana.”

The ‘unidentified ingredient’ written in the research records is probably a lump of energy containing mana.

There would have been a huge number of drugs mixed in there at a terrible ratio, slowly driving the test subjects to death, even if they had not been ‘disposed of’.

‘But it’s strange.’