It was a peaceful day.
Everyone else was at their jobs or minding their own business.
But here I was, all alone, standing on a rooftop and spying on a man’s house through his window.
“Fuck…”
Muttering to myself on a rooftop like this… it makes me crave a cigarette.
I don’t have any, though. I quit after I fell into this world.
Tsk. Maybe I should start again.
No. I’ve come this far. I can hold out.
Black hair, black robe, black cape.
A man dressed head-to-toe in black, with a gray half-mask obscuring his features.
That’s me, right now.
Yeah, I look like some edgelord teenager going through a phase.
If I wore this on the subway back in my world, I’d be a viral meme in an hour. ‘Spotted on the number 3 line…’
But in this world, this is normal.
This is, more or less, the standard villain uniform.
Because this is the world of the superhero comic, [Starfall!].
One moment, I was reading the final issue. The next, I woke up here.
Aside from a little telekinesis and the ability to teleport, I was dropped here with nothing.
I guess I should be thankful they gave me any powers at all.
It's a hell of a lot better than being stuck in the body of some regular schmuck.
…But is that all? Telekinesis and teleportation?
No wonder I was so frustrated after my abilities manifested.
Of course, some people might say I’m being greedy.
“Aren’t two superpowers good enough?”
But disappointment is disappointment.
In the latter half of the original comic, nearly every major character had some kind of overpowered, cheat-like ability, including the hero. And I’m supposed to survive until the finale with this bargain-bin powerset.
Then again, that’s a problem for the distant future.
That’s not the point right now.
For now, I just have to work hard.
At what?
First, killing villains.
Specifically, the current S-class villains and any A-class ones with the potential to evolve and threaten the main character.
Honestly, it’s ridiculous to think a loser like me could kill them.
But I have an advantage that defies common sense.
I’ve already read the comic. I know the future.
I know the main villain's name, their hideouts, and what they look like.
“Man…”
Alright, time to get started.
I shot one last glance at the man in the window, then flexed my fingers.
It was time to assassinate a villain.
The house was quiet.
In a room drenched with sunlight, a man sat alone, tearing at a piece of bread with a sour expression.
Behind him, another man materialized from thin air.
“?!”
He sensed something, a presence, and started to turn…
But it was too late.
“Goodbye, Grizzly.”
The man’s face went white at the sound of a stranger's voice.
“Ack—gack!”
His throat constricted. His breath caught as if he’d choked on his food, his body seizing violently.
BOOM.
God.
It’s grotesque.
The horror of what I’d done left me momentarily speechless.
It wasn't my first time, so the revulsion wasn't as strong, but… ugh.
The guy deserved it, though.
A-class villain, Grizzly.
A psycho who gored people to death with his horns.
He was a notorious figure in this city, which is why I chose to eliminate him first.
He had the potential to evolve into an S-class threat, a truly insane killer.
Of course, even now he was a formidable villain, which is why I had no choice but to take him out this way.
Teleport in, kill him from behind. The weak have to fight smart.
My telekinesis is only good for a single, powerful burst.
Goodbye, Grizzly. It was fun reading your scenes in the comic.
But I couldn't risk the panels of you crushing people to death becoming a reality…
Maybe because this was my second murder, the sick feeling in my stomach was duller. Am I getting used to this? That’s a chilling thought.
…From now on, I’m just using a gun. Quick and clean.
This is the last time I’m blowing someone’s head up like a melon.
After taking one last look at my handiwork, I walked past the body, leaving the blood-soaked living room behind.
I rummaged through the bastard’s closet.
Just as I thought.
I found Grizzly’s mask.
A heavy mask shaped like a rhinoceros head. Perfect. I’ll just place this next to his body.
That way, there’ll be no doubt who the victim is when they find him.
Alright. Time to go home.
No, wait. I should leave a souvenir.
What, though?
After a moment’s thought, an idea came to me.
Yes. This should be enough to draw their attention. To really get under their skin.
My mind made up, I set to work with my black-gloved hands.
Ugh. I am never doing that again.
The Heroic Response Command.
Also known as The Hero Association.
Stella Clark, an A-class hero with the association, code name Starlight, was rendered speechless by the grisly scene inside the quiet suburban home.
“…So, you’re saying the victim is Grizzly?”
“Yes, that’s right,” the police officer beside her replied, his face pale.
“By the time we arrived, alerted by the neighbors, it was already over. The killer was long gone. We believe it’s the same perpetrator as the last incident.”
As he finished, another officer who had been searching the house chimed in.
“Yes. And given that the victim is another villain, the pattern fits. And that… that message is definitely…”
The officer’s voice trailed off, apparently unable to find the words to describe the horrific sight.
A body lay on the floor, its head exploded. Behind it, a message was scrawled on the wall in red blood.
Death to a man worse than myself.
Death to a man weaker than myself.
For you, Starlight.
The handwriting was crude and slanted, like something scrawled by a dramatic teenager.
But written in blood, the words carried a chilling weight.
“Crazy fucker…” Stella Clark murmured, her expression hardening.
No one, not even a villain, deserved to die like this.
They were meant to face judgment in a court of law, to be punished by a fair trial.
“…‘For you, Starlight,’ he says. Ha.”
She had no idea why this killer had chosen her as his focus.
But if this was his way of provoking her, she had to admit it was brutally effective.
A villain who murdered other villains in such a gruesome manner.
This man.
He was going to regret getting her attention.
Her face a mask of determination, Stella Clark turned and left the scene.
It didn’t matter if the victim was a villain.
What mattered was that a killer was loose on her streets.
And she would be the one to stop him.
[Today at 7 p.m., the-class villain known as Grizzly was found dead in his home. The cause of death appears to be a cerebral explosion, and the perpetrator is currently unknown. The Hero Association has designated the person responsible as a new A-class villain, defining them as ‘a villain who carries out terrible and cruel personal sanctions.’ The killer is believed to possess telekinetic abilities…]
The news anchor’s voice drifted from the television.
Oh, they’re talking about me.
Lying on my sofa, game controller in hand, I turned my attention to the screen.
Stella Clark’s face appeared.
[…The-class hero Starlight has declared the killer an unforgivable criminal and vowed to do everything in her power to apprehend the villain who has inexplicably targeted her. The reason for this targeting remains unknown…]
So, they found my little present.
I picked up my phone and started scrolling through the news online.
Article, article, article. And… the comments.
[Honestly, if he only kills villains, doesn't that make him a hero? Why label him a villain?]
[I'm all for vigilantes, haha. They’re right. You put villains in jail and they just break out again. I’m rooting for this guy to kill them all.]
[Go, new villain! Starlight, just let this one go.]
“Oh…”
I sank into thought.
Somehow, the internet was on my side.
Looking through the news sites and community forums, the public sentiment was clear.
“…”
Is it just because I’m only killing villains?
Yeah, at this rate, they'd start calling me an anti-hero, and they wouldn't be wrong.
An anti-hero… or a dark hero, or whatever.
“…This is a problem.”
A serious problem.
If I keep getting praised by the public, Starlight will eventually face criticism.
I can’t let that happen.
Starlight. She’s the true hero of this world, and my favorite character.
Everything I’ve done, hunting down these villains, has been for her.
Though she’ll never know it.
My goal is to make her path easier.
I want her to thrive, to avoid the life-or-death struggles and character-breaking trauma that I know are coming.
However, she is the main character.
She needs to overcome hardship to grow stronger.
“Hmm…”
So what do I do?
How can I turn public opinion against me and, in doing so, help her grow?
There is one way.
My official debut as a villain.
“…Hmm.”
[Starfall!] isn’t the only comic I’ve ever read. I’ve seen countless superhero movies and read their source material.
And if there’s one thing every successful superhero story has in common, it’s an impressive villain.
Right. And I’m going to systematically eliminate every impressive villain this comic has to offer.
Hmm.
If this were still just a comic, the fans would curse my name.
I’m going to force the plot to focus on a single, primary antagonist. Me.
Unlike other comics, [Starfall!] was the one I loved most.
In fact, I didn't just enjoy it; I was obsessed. I devoured every panel, analyzed every line, and lived inside its world long before I ever fell into it.
So, since I’m actually living in this world now…
Shouldn’t I be the one to push the story forward?
As the one person who loves this world more than anyone.
As the one who admires its hero more than anyone.
I will become this world’s villain.
A real villain. The bad guy.
Honestly, what was I going to do, live a normal life here?
I’ve read enough superhero comics to know how these things go.
My debut needs to be the next big event.
It has to be impressive.
“…Need to find some bombs, find some people…”
I’m going to be very busy.
At the office of The Hero Association of Korea.
“Miss Starlight! You need to turn on your TV, now!”
Stella Clark looked up from the documents on her desk as a colleague burst into her office.
“What’s wrong?”
“That villain! The new one! He’s hijacked the airwaves! He’s broadcasting on all channels!”
“What?”
She scrambled for the remote and flicked on the large television mounted on her office wall.
On the screen, a figure stood against a stark black background.
A gray mask covered the upper half of his face.
He began to speak.
[“Hello, citizens.”]
The mystery villain had finally shown his face.