MTLNOVEL Chapter 4 - Day 4
Day 4
Hero Total Association.
The place where all heroes from around the world belong to and are managed by is currently in great shock and confusion.
The reason for their shock and confusion was simple.
It was because of an incident that occurred in a country called South Korea.
Although Korea’s territory itself might be quite small, it was one of the countries that the Total Association kept a close eye on due to the presence of many powerful ability users.
The incident that occurred in such a Korea was ‘Heart Predation’.
Heart Predation.
To be honest, if an ordinary human had ripped out and eaten the heart of another ordinary human, it would be treated as a crime by a psychopath with unusual tastes.
However, in this case of Heart Predation, the victim was a villain with abilities, and the perpetrator was an ‘unregistered ability user’ who killed such a villain far too easily.
That’s why the Total Association had no choice but to take this incident sensitively.
Moreover, among the nine most famous and dangerous villains in the world.
One of them, who reigns at the top of the villain organization Illuminati, was none other than the Heart Predator.
The era when the Heart Predator first appeared was late 19th century London, England.
In that city known as the City of Fog, the Heart Predator who first appeared had another name: Jack the Ripper.
He had another person’s heart.
Moreover, he possessed an ability that made him endlessly stronger by devouring the hearts of ability users, and it was unknown just how many hearts he had eaten over the past hundreds of years.
However, one thing was certain.
The Heart Devourer’s strength grew endlessly in proportion to the number of hearts consumed.
If the girl who was the perpetrator of this incident in Korea.
If the unregistered ability user’s power was of the same kind as that Heart Devourer?
The moment this thought occurred, the Hero General Association made a swift and resolute decision.
From villains who had killed over a hundred people at minimum.
To villains who had brought down entire small nations at maximum.
They decided to confine her in Tartaros, a prison housing villains so evil that the word ‘atrocious’ wasn’t enough to describe them.
Of course, someone did suggest the possibility that Cheon Seoa was merely imitating the Heart Devourer.
However, the absolute majority agreed to confining Cheon Seoa in Tartaros.
This was because heart devouring was considered an absolute taboo even among villains, so there would be no reason to commit ‘heart devouring’ unless one had the same or similar ability as the Heart Devourer.
* * *
“I didn’t do anything wrong.”
The girl, Cheon Seoa, said with an incredibly calm expression as she was being dragged away with numerous ability suppression devices attached to her entire body.
Beside her were soldiers armed with firearms and heroes of at least Rank 4 or higher.
However, what was strange was that Cheon Seoa’s expression was incredibly calm despite being treated as a criminal and dragged away.
And in the eyes of the soldiers and heroes taking her to Tartaros, there flickered a faint trace of fear.
But that couldn’t be helped.
Even though she was wearing devices that could suppress even Rank 2 ability users’ powers, the ability they knew Cheon Seoa possessed was identical to that of the infamous villain, the Heart Devourer.
Simply eating a heart in front of others was just the first time it happened.
What if she had already eaten countless hearts before that?
What if, as a result, her ability level had already reached Grade 1 or even higher?
If so, the suppression device that Cheon Seoa is currently wearing is nothing more than a simple accessory. It’s neither more nor less than that.
However….
“It’s unfair.”
Cheon Seoa, who was treated like a monster by them, felt truly wronged.
The other party tried to kill her first, so she just took some defensive actions.
Isn’t this clearly self-defense?
Ah, or perhaps…
“Is it because I ate the heart? But isn’t that level something that can be accepted as a ‘unique taste’? As far as I know, there are criminals who have done even more bizarre things.”
As Cheon Seoa spoke with puffed cheeks, the expressions of the surrounding heroes became peculiar.
Certainly, eating parts of the body of someone you’ve killed is not uncommon among villains who are considered heinous.
Especially among the villains imprisoned in Tartarus, where Cheon Seoa is headed, there’s even one who has a record of creating a chimera by weaving together the corpses of over a hundred humans.
However, the problem lay in the fact that the part Cheon Seoa ate happened to be the heart.
‘Does this girl not know about the Heart Eater?’
The Heart Eater, one of the Nine Most Heinous Villains.
Any human living in modern times, even if they’re not a hero but a civilian, should have heard the name of the Heart Eater at least once.
And so, while Cheon Seoa was still complaining, “Why do I have to be locked up in prison?”
Numerous heroes and soldiers were listening to Cheon Seoa’s complaints with one ear and letting it out the other, all while remaining vigilant.
Guuwoong-.
The transport ship that had been crossing the sky landed with a heavy sound.
Only then did a sense of relief flash across the soldiers’ expressions.
The soldiers had been worried that Cheon Seoa might act up, or that the ability suppression device attached to her body might not be functioning properly.
As the transport ship’s door opened, the scene of Tartarus that was revealed was not much different from an ordinary prison.
Just that its size was ridiculously large.
The material that made up Tartarus was so sturdy that even a first-class ability user couldn’t break it down with full power.
And the villains imprisoned in such a Tartarus were all so vicious that it would be difficult for them to avoid the death penalty.
Meanwhile, the villains imprisoned in Tartarus had eyes full of curiosity.
It had been nearly 3 years since a new prisoner was confined to Tartarus.
They couldn’t shake off their curiosity about who this new villain might be, what crime they might have committed, what ability they possessed, and how powerful it might be.
And it didn’t take long for the villains’ eyes full of curiosity to turn into shock.
That little kid is the new inmate?
This is crazy.
What on earth did she do?
The villains stirred as they saw Cheon Seoa disembarking from the transport ship under the guidance of numerous soldiers and heroes.
To their eyes, Cheon Seoa didn’t look like a vicious villain deserving to be locked up here in Tartarus at all.
To be honest, thinking logically, what could a girl who had just become a middle school student have done to be imprisoned in Tartarus?
How long had she walked past the shocked, astonished, and curious gazes of numerous villains?
Instead of the usual body check performed upon entering the prison, Cheon Seoa met the warden who managed the facility.
“Is this the girl?”
The warden of Tartarus said.
He had such a frail appearance that it was hard to believe he was the warden of Tartarus, known as the worst prison.
A somewhat special point was that, judging from the clothes he wore, the book held in one hand, and the interior of the warden’s office, he seemed to be quite a devout religious person.
Of course, that religion seemed quite different from mainstream religions.
“Yes, it is.”
In response to the warden’s question, the hero standing next to Cheon Seoa nodded and answered.
“I see. You all can go back now.”
The warden said, waving his hand.
Despite the clear dismissal that might seem somewhat rude, the heroes left the warden’s office without a word.
After all, this was Tartarus.
A place that obeyed no one’s orders, literally like a small Earth.
Here, the warden was like an absolute ruler, so no matter how famous the heroes who brought Cheon Seoa were in society, they couldn’t disobey the warden’s words.
“Hmm. She looks normal enough.”
The warden muttered, looking over Cheon Seoa who was standing blankly at the door.
Black hair that reached her waist and black eyes. Along with a modest black dress.
The girl in all black from head to toe didn’t look like someone who would commit a taboo like heart devouring, at least not in appearance.
However.
“Well, if she’s ended up here, we can’t judge by appearance alone.”
Muttering this, the warden took something out from his pocket and showed it.
“Well then, shall we take a look into that mind?”
Woong-.
No sooner had that murmur ended than the small glass bead held in the warden’s hand emitted an eerie light.
At the same time.
Crack-!
“Huh…?”
The glass bead instantly shattered and crumbled.
Bewilderment burst from the warden’s mouth at this sudden turn of events.
What on earth is going on?
Why did this thing shatter?
The warden couldn’t understand.
The name of the bead held in the warden’s hand was the Eye of the Sage.
Unlike its name, which suggested it would provide infinite knowledge to its owner, it simply allowed the user to peek into the mind of a designated target.
The Eye of the Sage could penetrate the minds of up to 2nd-tier ability users.
In other words, it meant that it could penetrate the minds of the vast majority of heroes and villains present in current society.
For such an Eye of the Sage to not only fail to read the target’s mind but to shatter upon activation?
This was something unprecedented even for the warden who had reigned over Tartarus for half a lifetime.
‘What on earth is this.’
The warden’s expression instantly hardened.
It was not a good sign.
Is the mental barrier of the girl in front of me so strong that even the Sage’s Eye cannot penetrate it?
No, it’s not just that it can’t penetrate. Is it strong enough to shatter the Sage’s Eye in reverse?
Then, what level of psychic ability does the girl in front of me possess?
Level 1?
No.
If it were Level 1, the Sage’s Eye might not be able to penetrate her mind, but it wouldn’t be shattered in reverse.
Then.
‘At least Zero Level…!’
A bead of cold sweat ran down the forehead of the director as he tried to control his shocked feelings.
If the girl in front of him was truly a Zero Level psychic, it meant that the psychic suppression device attached to her body wasn’t functioning properly.
In other words, if the girl in front of him decided to, he would be as good as dead.
‘This is… dangerous.’
“Oh my, it seems to be defective.”
The director uttered words completely different from his thoughts.
He was acting right now.
If the other party were to notice that he was frightened, who knows what might happen.
The girl in front of him had performed heart consumption, considered the ultimate taboo even among villains.
Of course, it could have been an act of worship or admiration for heart consumers.
Even so, the fact that she performed heart consumption in a busy street, watched by numerous people, and in front of an active hero, meant that the girl’s mind was somehow twisted.
Therefore, the director had to continue acting as if nothing was wrong.
“Well, a criminal is still a criminal. Do you know? The place you’re about to go is considered the worst and lowest place even in this Tartarus.”
The warden tried to smile.
There is still a glimmer of hope.
The hope that the ability suppression device attached to the girl’s body in front of him is doing its job.
Therefore, the hope that the girl has remained quiet without doing anything until this moment.
With that, as the warden smiled at the girl Cheon Seoa and pressed a small bell, the door opened and two guards rushed in.
Both of them were powerful guards classified as 4th-grade ability users.
The warden spoke to them.
“Take her there.”
Flinch-.
The moment the word ‘there’ came out of the warden’s mouth, the guards’ bodies trembled.
However, they soon disappeared, leading Cheon Seoa away without a word.
But just before the door closed completely.
“There are many useful materials here.”
Shudder-.
The warden felt a streak of fear running up his spine at Cheon Seoa’s words, spoken in such an indifferent tone, as if devoid of any emotion, uttering incomprehensible things.