CHAPTER 30: JACQUELINE ASSASSINATION

Jacqueline—an SS-rank Hero from Poland. Her power is so overwhelming she can level an entire city in an instant.

Why did I make her my next target? Simple. In the future, she betrays the Heroes and joins the Villains.

With her body-enlargement and strength-enhancement abilities, Jacqueline becomes a deadly, catastrophic threat.

Even Lightnova lost against her in the webtoon.

And here I am, the only one who knows that future—and the only one who intends to change it.

I teleported into a forest deep in Poland.

If I remembered correctly, Jacqueline kept her private hideout somewhere in these woods. She was known as a Hero who rarely came to the Hero Association building.

Thinking back to the webtoon, I remembered that Jacqueline was recruited by a group called The Obsidian Pact.

They manipulated her, corrupted her, twisted her mind little by little.

Unfortunately for them... they exist in the same world as me.

So their plan to recruit Jacqueline? I’ll crush it entirely—by killing her first.

I walked deeper into the forest until I found a building.

No—this wasn’t a building. It was a massive mansion.

This had to be her hideout, the place where she planned everything.

I hid in the bushes, observing the surroundings.

Strange—no guards.

With a mansion this large, there should be at least three to five staff walking around.

I teleported inside.

Suspicious, but I had no choice except to move forward.

I slipped through the hallways, scanning every corner.

Not a single person.

The whole mansion was silent, empty—unnervingly so.

I found a door leading downstairs.

I knew this must be Jacqueline’s private training room.

I walked down the stairs slowly.

At the bottom, I saw her—a purple-haired woman with a well-toned, athletic body, drenched in sweat as she finished a set of push-ups.

It had to be her—Jacqueline.

Or rather... Zofia, her real name.

The moment my foot touched the floor, she stopped and stood up.

"So you’re finally here. I’ve been waiting," she said.

Wait—what?

Waiting for me?

Waiting to be killed?

I cleared my throat.

"Ahem... That’s right, Miss Jacqueline. Or should I call you... Zofia?"

Her eyes widened slightly when I used her real name.

"Impressive. Not only strong—you even know my real name."

"I’m not here for small talk, Miss Zofia. I came here to kill you, because you’ll become an extremely dangerous threat to the world."

Zofia smirked faintly.

What was she thinking?

"Kill me? You think you can?"

...Well, she had a point.

I wasn’t even sure myself.

Suddenly, Zofia lunged at me with a punch.

I dodged instantly.

Another punch came.

Unable to dodge this one, I teleported away.

"Woah... You really are incredible, Miss Zofia. And very enthusiastic."

She didn’t respond—she just smiled arrogantly and sprinted at me again.

I dodged and countered with a lightning-charged punch using Min-seo’s power.

She blocked it, skidding backward.

I followed up with Lightnova’s Light Laser—

But unbelievably, she sliced through the attack with her bare hand.

Then her power surged.

Finally—she revealed her ability.

Good. Now I could copy it.

I stole her power and channeled it into my own body, causing my frame to grow and my strength to increase.

"Oh? You can copy me? How interesting... masked man."

She attacked again—

And this time, her blow landed clean.

Because when I use a copied power, I can’t use my original one—

Meaning I can’t teleport.

Her punch sent me flying, sliding across the floor.

I got back up, but she was already in front of me.

I dodged at the last second and struck her in the stomach, pushing her back.

Zofia smirked again.

"How did you know I would come here?"

I asked. I’d been wondering that from the beginning.

"You tried sneaking around quietly... but I could hear your heartbeat from ten meters away, Villain Indigo Reign."

I froze.

Zofia’s smile sharpened.

She attacked again and again.

Even blocking her blows pushed me backward—her strength was monstrous.

"Ugh..."

"What’s wrong? Giving up already?"

"Hah... of course not."

I switched to Kim Gae-in’s wind power.

My body returned to normal.

I launched sharp, slicing winds at her.

She dodged most of them, but one cut her cheek—a thin line of blood trailing down.

"Oh? You can switch powers too?"

She blurred forward—right behind me.

I barely dodged.

"You’re like a cockroach—running nonstop when chased, and only attacking when far away."

...Okay, that stung a little.

"Hey, don’t insult me. It’s called strategy."

She appeared behind me again—

This time I couldn’t dodge.

Her punch hit me so hard the wall cracked when I slammed into it.

Damn... she was terrifyingly strong.

I switched to So-ah’s fire.

Flames surrounded me.

I attacked—engulfing Zofia in fire.

Her clothes burned slightly, but her body looked completely unharmed.

Great. Fire doesn’t work.

Lightning doesn’t work.

Light doesn’t work.

How the hell do I defeat her!?

I backflipped away to gain distance.

My mind raced.

Fine. Last resort.

I switched back to her own power.

She smirked.

"What’s wrong? Finally giving up?"

I ignored her taunts and dashed forward.

My punch connected.

But when I looked at her face—

Her eyes were sharp and predatory, sending chills down my spine.

I instantly canceled the copied power and teleported back.

"You’ll never defeat me, Indigo."

She wasn’t wrong.

She was insanely strong.

She attacked again.

I dodged, barely keeping up.

While dodging, I formed my original power—

A dark blue light pulsed from my hand and blasted into her.

Zofia staggered back, blood appearing on her skin.

Finally. That worked.

I teleported away, formed my hand into a finger-gun, and fired another blast.

She tried to block, but the beam tore through her arm, leaving it badly injured.

"Urgh... What kind of power is that...?"

Good. Now I could kill her.

I dashed toward her.

She swung at me—

But I teleported beneath her.

I pointed my finger at her chin.

Dark blue light erupted—

And her head was erased instantly.

Her body collapsed, blood spreading across the floor.

"Phew... She was insanely strong... Why didn’t I just use that power from the start...?"

Whatever. Mission accomplished.

I brushed the blood off my clothes and started walking away—

But then I felt something from the dark corner of the room.

A figure emerged from the shadows.

...Zofia.

Standing.

Walking calmly.

Smirking arrogantly.

"What’s wrong? Surprised I’m still alive?"

What...

What the hell is this ability!?

This wasn’t in the webtoon.

That damned author!! I hate you!!