Although a Villain, My Wish is World Peace

Xie Haozhu frantically searched for any trace of her Papa, but his whereabouts remained elusive.

Who was it? Who?

Who had taken her Papa away?

Irrational thoughts flooded her mind.

While Xie Haozhu possessed unparalleled talent for destruction, decimation, and obliteration, she was utterly inept at tracking someone down.

This couldn’t continue. She needed to find him quickly. What if something dreadful had already occurred? Her heart was consumed by overwhelming anxiety and dread.

It was then that a lone crow entered her line of sight. Initially intending to ignore it, the crow’s insistent flapping motions seemed to beckon her to follow.

As if entranced, Xie Haozhu trailed after the crow’s movements.

How much time had passed as she shadowed the crow’s lead?

Between the derelict factory buildings where human activity had dwindled, a small abandoned warehouse came into view. The moment she laid eyes upon it, her heart began pounding violently.

Perhaps her instincts had recognized it-

That the person she had been so desperately seeking was inside that warehouse.

Placing her fingertips against the structure, the warehouse walls instantly disintegrated at her mere touch.

“Papa!”

Stepping inside while calling out, an odor she should never have encountered assailed her nostrils.

Blood.

The stench of congealed blood permeated the entire warehouse interior.

The instant she registered the person standing within, Xie Haozhu halted in her tracks.

“You’ve finally arrived.”

It was the very man who had brought her such joy these past few days. But she could no longer greet him with the same warmth, not after witnessing the bound man before him and the dagger clutched in his grasp.

“Why are you here?”

What was the meaning of this scene? Her mind recoiled, rejecting the sight unfolding before her eyes.

While she could visually perceive the situation, comprehending its implications remained utterly incomprehensible.

Meanwhile, that fox-like man nonchalantly uttered:

“I’m sorry, for this was never my intention.”

His hands were stained crimson with fresh blood, the viscous droplets pattering onto the floor. Dazed, Xie Haozhu could only murmur:

“Why…”

She couldn’t understand.

She had harbored fondness for that man. Perhaps she had even believed, or rather, convinced herself that he reciprocated those feelings.

Which was why he had sought her out, why he had spent that delightful time together with her – laughing, conversing, cherishing those precious moments…

Yet the harsh reality before her eyes now seemed to cruelly denounce all those shared experiences as mere saccharine lies.

“Papa…”

But her Papa offered no response to Xie Haozhu’s words, a pool of blood already congealing beneath the chair he was bound to.

“Papa, wake up!”

Desperately denying this situation, Xie Haozhu’s frantic plea was met with the man’s callous retort raining down upon her:

“You were already aware of how despicable this person was, weren’t you? It’s better that such an existence has been eliminated.”

Xie Haozhu remained silent, fearful that uttering any words might solidify this nightmarish reality – her Papa’s death, his disappearance from existence.

So she couldn’t articulate a single syllable.

This had to be an appalling nightmare. If she closed her eyes and reopened them, she would awaken from this hellish vision.

But no matter how many times she blinked or drew ragged breaths, the circumstances remained unaltered.

“So you killed him?”

Finally, Xie Haozhu acknowledged the reality before her. Lifting her gaze, she stared directly at the man’s face.

Infuriatingly, he still regarded her with that same benevolent expression.

“Because Papa was cruel to me? Is that why you killed him?”

“Yes.”

Hearing him justify his actions as if committed for her sake was utterly unbearable.

Xie Haozhu clenched her fists. Extending this fist would instantly obliterate that man’s existence.

But doing so would also erase her Papa. Seemingly aware of this, the man remained resolutely by her father’s side.

“Step away from Papa.”

At Xie Haozhu’s demand, the man shook his head.

“If I move even a single step away, you intend to eliminate me, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

She intended to confirm her Papa’s condition, then eradicate this man.

The man continued speaking:

“Even though he was someone detrimental to you, exploiting and leeching away your very existence.”

“But he was still my Papa. My Papa!”

Despite Xie Haozhu’s emphatic retort, the man merely smiled – a bright, unrestrained smile that felt utterly intolerable to her.

“So move aside.”

In response to Xie Haozhu’s demand, the man abruptly remarked:

“I never did reveal my name to you, did I?”

She recalled the words he had spoken a few days prior:

-It would be boring to simply reveal it now. How about I tell you after we’ve met a few more times?

At the time, those words had filled her with anticipation. She had even thought he would surely disclose his name to her eventually.

But now, she held no interest whatsoever in learning this man’s name.

“I don’t care about your name at all.”

“It’s the name of your Papa’s killer, you know. You should commit it to memory.”

Those words caught her breath. Suppressing the surging fury, Xie Haozhu glared at the man intently.

“Shen Weltschmerz – that is my appellation.”

Shen. A man with the ridiculously arrogant name God. (tl/n: ‘Shen’ here is ‘sin’ from the MC’s name and means god/deity. So even if it’s partly, but he literally has used his own name,.)

Identical to the entity that had repeatedly stolen her memories.

Why, of all titles, did this vile man bear the name of a god?

“I’ll be sure to remember it well.”

“You won’t need to. Once I eliminate you here, it will all be over.”

At those words, the man adjusted his muffler, pulling it up to conceal his mouth. Watching him mask his face, a foreboding premonition gripped Xie Haozhu.

“What are you…”

Before she could complete that utterance, her vision blurred.

Poison.

Her knees buckled involuntarily.

With her rationality slipping away, Xie Haozhu realized she mustn’t lose consciousness here. Desperately channeling her mana, she tried to speak:

“You… kill…”

But her body betrayed her will.

“Pa…pa…”

As she slipped into unconsciousness, the tears her eyes could no longer shed belatedly streamed down her cheeks.

* * *

Confirming Xie Haozhu’s collapsed form, I waved my hand to disperse the sedative vapors. Once the toxins had dissipated, I lowered my muffler – or rather, the mask concealed within the muffler’s folds.

The soporific poison had plunged Xie Haozhu into a deep slumber. She wouldn’t regain consciousness for at least ten minutes. Into her tiny clenched fist, I slipped an item I had prepared in advance. Whether she would read it, discard it, ignore it, or heed its contents – that choice belonged solely to her.

After ensuring Xie Haozhu’s condition, I addressed the ceiling:

“With this, the Anti-Society should no longer pose a threat to you.”

As if on cue, a figure dropped down from above – Qian Chilian.

“You were aware of my presence?”

“It was rather difficult to miss.”

Her overwhelming presence had been unmistakable. Not to mention the occasional murderous glares she had directed my way, as if itching to slit my throat at any moment.

Had I not previously cautioned Han Seo-hyeon and Kim Jae-ho against harming her, we might have clashed even before Xie Haozhu’s arrival.

Regarding Xie Haozhu’s unconscious form, Qian Chilian remarked:

“So this was the ‘Monster of the Anti-Society’?”

I shook my head at her words.

“The true monster was that man over there.”

Qian Chilian fell silent, though I knew she disagreed. Those aware of Xie Haozhu’s atrocities would find it difficult to accept that such deeds had been committed by someone appearing so childlike.

But anyone who had witnessed her actions firsthand, regardless of her outward appearance, would be gripped by an instinctive terror towards Xie Haozhu.

Qian Chilian was no exception.

“She must be eliminated.”

At those words, I shook my head once more.

“No.”

“She’s too formidable an adversary to let live.”

“I’m aware. But you need not worry – the one she seeks vengeance against isn’t you, but rather Shen Weltschmerz.”

My statement caused Qian Chilian’s eyes to narrow.

“Why? Why are you sparing that girl’s life?”

“Well, let’s call it a bout of misplaced pity.”

I had no intention of baring the complex emotions I harbored towards Xie Haozhu to Qian Chilian.

For now, framing it as pity or compassion would suffice as an explanation. It wasn’t entirely inaccurate, either.

I hoped she could truly live, even through such unconventional means.

“If those are the words of our benefactor, I have no choice but to comply.”

With those words, Qian Chilian bowed deeply towards me.

“The Silver Moon Society is deeply indebted to you.”

I could only shrug awkwardly at her profound gesture of gratitude.

“The leader will be waiting for you.”

“No, there’s no need to trouble him when he must be preoccupied. Please extend an invitation once the situation has improved.”

I hadn’t forgotten their abrupt dismissal despite initially inviting us.

Qian Chilian’s expression indicated she had been struck by that thinly veiled barb.

Utterly satisfying.

* * *

“You’re really going to leave her be like that?”

“Yes.”

“Even after stating she might seek vengeance against Boss!”

Meeting Han Seo-hyeon’s accusatory gaze, I could only offer an awkward smile. As if his frustration had reached the boiling point, Han Seo-hyeon pounded his chest while ranting furiously:

“I even summoned the crows to lead her here, so I thought you intended to eliminate any future threats. But what is this? Practically announcing ‘I’m the culprit!’ and then letting her live? I’d go berserk seeking revenge against the Boss too if I were her!”

I responded to Han Seo-hyeon’s grievances with a wry smile. His indignation was understandable – my actions likely did appear foolish. In truth, they were rather foolish.

But I had my reasons for proceeding in this manner.

“If she couldn’t identify her father’s killer, Haozhu would only blame herself.”

Consumed by self-recrimination for failing to save her Papa, she would have embarked on that same path of self-destruction once more.

But if she knew the culprit’s identity?

Perhaps she might muster the will to persevere, if only for the sake of vengeance.

Clinging to life, driven by the singular purpose of eliminating me.

“So why did you have to go that far?”

“It’s simple. I want her to live.”

At my words, Han Seo-hyeon began tearing at his own hair in exasperation.

“Aaaagh, why did it have to come to this? If you wanted to help her, couldn’t you have just kept the Boss’s actions a secret and treated her kindly…?”

“Then I would have merely become another ‘Papa’ figure to her.”

What Xie Haozhu required was a profound growing pain. Not reliance on others, but the realization of how to survive independently.

“Do you really think this method will work?”

“Hmm.”

Recalling the warehouse where I had left Xie Haozhu unconscious, I nodded in affirmation.

“To remember me, she can no longer sacrifice her memories as payment. And pursuing me in her childlike state would be an arduous undertaking, so she’ll have to cease forfeiting her growth as well. That should suffice.”

Through repeated clashes with this harsh world, she would eventually comprehend its cruelties.

“Besides, I have no intentions of meekly accepting her vengeance either.”

Despite outward appearances, I was actively striving to prevent this world’s destruction.

I would absolutely persevere and survive.

“Oh, for crying out loud!”

Clutching his head once more, Han Seo-hyeon exclaimed in vexation:

“So you intended to provoke her animosity from the very start?”

It seemed I would be enduring his complaints for the next few days.