Academy’s Villain Professor-Chapter 143 : Chapter 143

Chapter 143 : The Chase (3)
Deeper and more secret than the previous alley, hidden in a back alley at the very end.
Only there could he finally meet the Sage.
Just like last time, his eyes were covered with a bandage, and his body was hidden in the shade between the alleys, making even his silhouette blurry.
He was enjoying a game of solo Go, fiddling with the stones.
He looked much healthier than last time, so it seemed life was treating him well.
Indeed, with all the social turmoil recently, there was plenty to see.
As Hocheol briefly watched the Sage, the thug who had led the way shouted with great tension.
He was so flustered that he had forgotten to use honorifics again.
"W-we found him! Give me the antidote, quick!"
Ah, right.
Hocheol waved his hand dismissively.
"What antidote? It wasn't poisonous in the first place, so get lost."
Of course, the thug wouldn't believe him just by words, and indeed, he looked skeptical.
So Hocheol popped one of the pills he had forced on them earlier into his own mouth and swallowed it.
But that alone wasn't enough to reassure him.
The thug was about to argue, but he couldn't say another word.
At some point, Jian's thorny vines had shot up and were aimed precisely at his brow.
She exuded an air of blatant displeasure and said shortly.
A guy who doesn't believe Hocheol's words.
She found that more unforgivable than the thug's unpleasant gaze or his previous rude behavior.
"Get lost."
Despite the warning, the thug remained standing there.
Finally, she flicked her finger.
The sharp tip of the vine shot out like a bullet.
A red line was drawn across the thug's cheek.
"There will be no more warnings."
Honestly, if she had her way, she would have torn off his limbs, pulled out his tongue, and gouged out his eyes.
In her villain days, she had done that to all those who had looked at her that way.
However.
She peeked at Hocheol.
Then she lowered her hand and withdrew the vines that were about to put a hole in the thug's body.
If I did that, Hocheol would scold me, right?
She at least had that much sense.
Eventually, the thug ran away.
Hocheol, who had been staring at Jian, reached out and lightly patted the top of her head.
"Right. You did well to hold back."
"...But do I always have to hold back like this?"
"No? You can give them a decent beating. But looking at your eyes, you didn't seem to have any intention of stopping at just a few hits."
In this day and age, it's hard to get revenge if you can't control your strength.
He stopped patting her head and instead stroked it gently.
"I'm not saying you shouldn't hold back. It's just. You're a little too extreme. Let's fix it slowly."
"...Yes."
The warm hand stroking her head, plus the praise, eased her mind a little.
Hocheol turned his gaze back to the Sage.
The smile on his face, which had been taunting just moments before, had faded considerably.
It seemed he had been hoping for them to get their hands dirty, but was disappointed that the situation had ended more moderately than he had expected.
No matter how neutral he was, his inclinations leaned towards the villain side.
I'll have to teach him a lesson with Go again.
Thinking that, Hocheol approached him.
However, before Hocheol could take more than a few steps, the Sage raised his hand.
He held up his palm as if to say, "don't approach."
Then he closed his hand again, pointing not at Hocheol, but at Jian with only his index finger.
Hocheol let out an exasperated sigh.
"Seriously."
To change opponents because he saw no chance of winning at Go.
"That's pretty pathetic."
Of course, it wasn't really for such a petty reason, but because he was more interested in Jian than in him.
Hocheol eventually turned around and called Jian.
"Do you know how to play Go?"
"No."
If anyone other than Hocheol had asked that question, she would have asked if they were crazy.
It was that obvious.
Should I change the game to Alkkagi?
As Hocheol was contemplating that, Jian added.
"But I know how to play Gomoku."
During her days as a test subject.
She had been subjected to all sorts of experiments, and even in their spare time, they had no freedom.
They were confined to a room of a few square meters, just waiting for time to pass.
And the only entertainment for those young ones was occasionally playing Gomoku with pens the researchers had dropped.
Hocheol tilted his head.
If there was a Go board and Go stones, of course Gomoku was also possible.
"Really? Then give it a try."
"...What if I lose?"
"It's fine. You don't have to win. Don't feel pressured."
No matter how much the Sage said that he had to be beaten for him to say something helpful, he wasn't that unreasonable.
What was the point of talking about winning or losing against a complete beginner?
At those words, Jian was finally able to relieve her burden.
She would have been genuinely sad if she had lost and caused trouble for Hocheol.
"Yes."
As she obediently approached the Sage, she hesitated for a moment.
Turning only her head back, she looked up at Hocheol with an expectant gaze.
"Um, if by any chance I win... will there be some kind of reward?"
"A reward."
Hocheol didn't know much about Gomoku either.
Just the condition that winning meant connecting five stones.
And no matter how simple it was, he didn't think for a moment that the Sage would lose.
Jian only knew the basic rules.
Still, it would be good if she was motivated.
He shrugged his shoulders and said nonchalantly.
"Alright. If you win, I'll grant you one wish, within the scope of what I can do."
Hocheol had casually thrown it out, adding the realistic condition of "within the scope of what I can do."
But the receiving end was completely different.
"A-a wish!"
Jian jumped up and down on the spot.
Has she ever raised her voice like this in front of Hocheol before?
No, never.
Hocheol's words were that shocking.
Damn, a wish.
With this, couldn't she make all sorts of situations she had only dreamed of a reality?
She scurried over to the Sage and squatted in front of the Go board.
"Then while you're doing that, I'll..."
Hocheol checked behind him.
The thugs he had forced to swallow the glucose candy earlier were looking at him with fear-filled eyes.
"Give us the antidote!"
They were holding their weapons just like before, but.
The difference in skill was already clear, so no one dared to attack first.
But for them, who still perceived what they had swallowed as poison, it was die this way or die that way.
They might as well bet on the slim possibility.
They won't believe me even if I say there isn't one.
If I just beat them up a bit and chase them away, they'll realize in an hour that there was no poison.
Hocheol picked up a piece of wood lying nearby.
These guys smelled a bit, so he didn't want to hit them with his bare hands.
After a few whacks with the club, the alley became quiet again.
Hitting them mainly on the upper body so they could walk away on their own legs was quite effective.
He didn't have to get his hands dirty, as they all disappeared on their own.
Gomoku wasn't a game that took all day like Go, so the match should be over by now.
Hocheol put his hands behind his back and cautiously approached the Go board.
And seeing the situation on the board, he muttered in disbelief.
"No, even if you're both beginners, there's still such a thing as experience."
The result of the match was a victory for the black stones after a fierce battle.
Jian had won.
He asked, more out of genuine curiosity than sarcasm.
"Old man, you can't even win this?"
The Sage quickly added, as if making an excuse.
"It required a more profound strategic battle than I thought."
"Hmm."
Hocheol crossed his arms and made a meaningful sound.
At the sound and gaze that clearly showed his inner thoughts, the Sage shouted irritably.
"Ah, fine! I got my ass kicked! Damn it, the first move is too OP in this game!’’
"Mister!"
Meanwhile, Jian was more overjoyed at getting a wish than at winning.
She completely ignored the Sage's suggestion for another round and shot up.
"Alright. What kind of wish are you going to make?"
"Well, actually!"
She seemed to have something in mind.
She said it immediately without any hesitation.
No, she tried to say it.
She opened and closed her mouth for a moment.
Then she clutched the hem of her clothes with both hands and changed her words.
"I don't have anything in mind right now. Can I tell you later?"
"Alright. Then. Don't blame me if you forget later, okay? Anyway, you did well."
Hocheol praised her briefly and sent her back to Sohee, who was standing behind her.
Now only Hocheol and the Sage were left.
He squatted down to meet the Sage's eyes.
"So, how is it?"
Of course, the question was not about Gomoku.
"Has the new era you wanted arrived?"
In their last meeting, the Sage had told Hocheol in their conversation that he was waiting for a new era.
The cause was clearly the fight between Hocheol and Jian.
But their conflict had, in a sense, flowed in a completely unexpected direction, leading to a result that no one could have predicted.
Who could have guessed?
He let out a long sigh and leaned his back against the alley wall.
"It was a rather bland result."
Whether Hocheol died at Jian's hands.
Or Jian died at Hocheol's hands.
He had expected one of them to be erased, but to think they would get along so well.
"But a twist like this isn't bad either."
If every story went as expected, it would be boring in its own way.
"And it's probably not over yet, anyway."
Beneath the Sage's bandage, his golden eyes shone brightly.
His gaze was directed at Jian.
"An interesting type. It's rare to see a hero like this, or a villain like this."
"Her personality is a little bad, but. Is she that special?"
"It's not simply a matter of good or bad."
The Sage gave a brief assessment of the person named Jian, whom he had observed while playing Gomoku.
"A completely empty person."
She had no confidence in her own heart.
Everything was empty, and she lived without any clear consciousness or purpose.
Of course, the Sage had seen such people several times.
Jian's uniqueness went beyond that.
"This type of person, even if you put something in their heart, it dries up and dies quickly. That's why nothing they accept lasts long. But there is one thing that has remained."
The Sage pointed his index finger at Hocheol.
"And that is you. Human love is a truly frightening thing. Can you handle it?"
"Of course I can."
At Hocheol's overly firm answer, the Sage burst out laughing.
"Alright. Let's see. What your end will be like. Whether you succeed. Or fail. At least for an observer, it will be a truly enjoyable amusement."
He asked as he cleaned up the Go stones.
"I had a good laugh today too. So, what were you so curious about that you came to find me?"
"Why ask? You already know."
"You're looking for more than one or two things right now. Tell me exactly which one you need."
"Tsk."
Hocheol clicked his tongue in blatant disappointment.
He had intended to vaguely blur his words and, whatever the answer, say that he had been asking about something else, and get one more piece of information.
Well, he wouldn't be so naive as to fall for that.
Eventually, he asked about the most urgent matter.
"One of my former subordinates. The medical officer. Do you know where he is?"
The Sage answered immediately, without even pretending to think.
"The battlefield."
At the completely unexpected answer, Hocheol's brow furrowed.
"Why there?"
"He seems to have joined a rather large corporation."
"...Ah."
Hocheol let out a groan full of annoyance and scratched the back of his head.
This way, he couldn't even get help from the LUNAR Auction.
He had thought he would be hiding somewhere.
To think he would be so boldly settled in the open.
No, maybe it couldn't be called the open.
In any case, it was a situation that went beyond all the scenarios he had anticipated, and if he had to say, it was close to the worst.
"The corporation?"
"Block Oscorp."
"...Damn. Not just rather large, it's one of the top five."
It was the name of a massive corporation that even Hocheol, who had no interest in this field, had heard of at least once.
And it wasn't just a large domestic company, but a foreign one.
"I can't even do bad things properly anymore. How am I supposed to catch him?"
Hocheol let out another deep sigh as if the ground would collapse, and hung his head.
A mega-corporation that spanned the entire gate industry and had established its presence not just in this country, but all over the world.
"Kidnapping or threats are difficult, and I can't just barge in through the front gate. Ah, then maybe..."
However, Hocheol showed no intention of giving up and was already making plans.
Honestly, that reaction was unexpected for the Sage.
No matter how absurd Hocheol's capabilities were, he was now just an individual.
Moreover, Hocheol's current goal was, strictly speaking, not even the final goal, but just the beginning of the intermediate process.
In fact, even if he didn't catch the organization's doctor, it wouldn't be a major obstacle to tracking the real goals of 'Transcendence' and the 'Gudohoe'.
He wasn't without pride, but Hocheol was much softer than in the past, so he had expected him to agonize over the various realistic conditions and eventually give up.
Unable to overcome his curiosity, he asked.
"Isn't it worth giving up if the opponent is Black Oscorp? What's the reason for your obsession?"
Hocheol raised his head again.
"Whether I was a villain or not. There's one thing that hasn't changed. An ironclad rule that must be followed."
This was something that had not changed, and could not change.
He ground his teeth slightly.
Whether the doctor had joined the organization as a member of the 'Gudohoe' from the start, or had turned traitor after joining.
The fact that he was a traitor was clear.
"I. Don't forgive traitors."
He was determined to make him pay the price.