19 The Villainess Returns

November 2, 2052.

South Korea is indeed worthy of being the center of the prana-centric new order.

Despite my overwhelming success in developing my own prana research facility, I can only be considered a half-neophyte in a world governed by the Twelve Sword Families.

The only advantage I have to my name is my inhuman power as well as the nearly limitless source of income I have at my disposal.

When it comes to human resources – simply put, I'm not there yet.

I can decimate an entire Sword Family estate on my own even if their high-ranking members join in but I would not be able to cover my bases and people.

Lifting the cup of wine to my mouth, I quietly muttered "I need to quickly nurture and bolster my own forces if I want to swallow up Seoul."

I savored the taste of the wine, licking my lips as my eyes frosted in derision. It was a particularly cool afternoon so I was wrapped in many layers of clothes.

Every time I exhaled; a small fog escaped my lips. It was probably quite the stimulating sight, moreso for normal people.

I ignored the countless dazed people around me as I continued to enjoy my idle time in the middle of Seoul.

I am currently idling outside a coffee shop, bored out of my mind.

Is there a special purpose for my being here? Well, I recently got tested in a particularly famous hospital. Nothing bad happened, really, it's just that the colors of my eyes have permanently maintained an eerie crimson glow.

I tried to play it off but the Princess was adamant I get checked out and after relatively normal examination, the old seedy doctor who checked me out nearly fainted in shock.

It turns out I was no longer human. They had no idea what I was but I frowned when the petite nurse handed me the results of my examination.

[Name: Alagarassi]

[Age: 22]

[Abilities:]

[Gunslinger – Grandmaster Rated]

[Swordmaster – Grandmaster Rated]

[Prodigy – ????? Rated]

[Prana Manipulation – ????? Rated]

[Virtuoso – Grandmaster Rated]

[Air Hop – Grandmaster Rated]

[Probability Manipulation - ????? Rated]

What with these outrageous stats?! Although I knew it was my extravagant wastage of prana fruit, this was still too ridiculous. I guess further boosting this body's insane potential has led to this moment, is what I thought at the time but I was even further troubled by what the doctor told me.

It seems the part of my brain that controls emotions was slowly dying. The man trembled in fear as I calmly listened to him.

It didn't really mean I was dying or anything but I might as well have if that means I'd lose my feelings.

In fact, I did notice my countenance being closer to gloomy than my neutral and happy-go-lucky nature in the past. At this rate, however, I'd probably turn into a terrible villain – at least by then, it would be true.

I watched the strawberry blonde-haired cold woman who was fiddling with her pen as she sipped her drink in peace.

It was annoying, to be honest.

This woman called me out of nowhere to meet with her a few days after my examination but the woman in question was now calmly drinking milk tea right in front of me with an annoyed expression on her face.

Dr. Sylvia Lee. She was the foremost leader in the field of prana healing as well as the scion of the Lee Family.

She was an empress in her own right and the world was simply in the palm of her hands. She was great friends with the late Artesia as well as the childhood friend of the man who would be king, Arthur Almasy.

She was the complete opposite of Alagarassi Luna y Salvador who was a despised and pathetic character. She was a heroine in her own right.

A side-character who some would probably like even more than the female lead, at least if she was in a Korean Drama series.

And yet, she was seated right in front of me. A completely normal, if not aloof, person.

I raised my brow as I sipped from my brow. My eyes focused on her pretty face.

While her features were indeed beautiful, she was stoic and stone-faced. Calm, intelligent, and attractive.

Her porcelain-like skin seemed glossy while her amber-hued eyes were extremely fascinating. It was as if God had taken the time to sculpt this person from scratch, personally making sure that she was attractive as possible.

She was a different kind of beauty from me. She had a natural stoic feel to her while I was intimidating and unreachable.

I had a high evaluation for myself but I was being practical in my assessment of my looks. I am an experienced womanizer, after all.

Sylvia's deceptively toned body was didn't fit her occupation as a healer, it seemed as though her only hobbies were reading and working out. She was that toned.

The most fascinating thing about this stone-faced beauty is that she smelled like a man. I may have worded that in a weird way but to summarize, she seems to enjoy wearing men's perfume.

She mumbled to herself as she held a small microphone to her mouth. It seemed to be a speech-to-text software that translated her speech to the written word.

I looked at the calluses on her hands. As a researcher, she should have particular marks on her wrists and the side of her arms as she wrote down word after word each day but her hands were smooth and soft.

Let alone a sword, it seems as though this woman has never held a pen her entire life!

Shifting the microphone to her other hand, she used her free hand to take a sip from her milk tea as she continued her narration, audible only to herself.

Her serious expression was really beautiful, even as a woman I do have to admit that Sylvia Lee deserved her reputation as a cold beauty on par with the long-gone Artesia.

I gently placed the wine glass down as I wiped my mouth. I glanced at Sylvia and gently spoke, "Why are we here, Dr. Lee?"

Seemingly caught unaware, Sylvia abruptly lifted her beautiful head as a strand of her hair covered her eyes. With practiced movements, she fixed her hair in place and calmly replied, "Right, right."

She fumbled with her tablet and after a few seconds, she placed it back into her bag. "You, what are you?" She casually said as she was collecting her items from the table.

A look of confusion appeared on my face as I mirrored the troubled expression she was showing me. I squint my eyes as I probed, "Yeah, that's what I was saying. Why are we here?"

Her beautiful eyes fell into further confusion as I returned her question to her. The silence between us was suffocating and the only noise to alleviate the pressure we were both feeling were the occasional people who passed through us.

Sylvia adjusted her glasses and took out a pile of documents from her bag. She calmly handed them to me as she sat back in a relaxed manner.

"That's the problem." She said as a matter of fact. "We don't know what you are and why there are people after you."

There are people after me? I appraised her expression and while she was being casual about all of this, I could feel no intention to lie from her eyes.

I shook my hand as I denied knowing about whatever was happening.

"Listen, Doctor," I read through the pile of documents she gave me. I scanned the vital parts and committed them to memory. "I have no idea what happened to me and this is the first time I'm hearing about being sought after."

I sighed and continued, "I've only been dabbling in business here and there while keeping up with my training."

I put on a pained expression on my face as I appealed to her. "There's nothing wrong with that, right?"

Sylvia chuckled to herself as she zipped her bag. She took another sip from her cup and met my gaze with her beautiful eyes.

Her confidence was attractive but her cold gaze felt like she was putting a wall between us. Her small mouth pursed into a slight frown.

"I have received news from my subordinates that an organization has put a bounty on your head. Specifically, they want your organs."

Her countenance left no room for humor. She was seriously saying that people wanted to harvest my organs. What the fuck has this society become? Oh right, illegal human trafficking and the like have existed for literally hundreds of years. This isn't exactly new, is it?

I think I knew why they wanted me specifically but let's play dumb for a bit longer.

"I see. But what would they want from someone like me? I'm just a poor woman."

Sylvia crumped up some tissue she found on the table as if to indicate that she was getting annoyed. Her face remained calm and composed but I could feel a hint of annoyance in her eyes.

She replied in a monotone voice, "Right. A poor woman."

Sylvia picked up her bags and warned me, "Poor woman. You need to be careful. If you need my help," she pulled out a business card from her pocket and offered it to me.

I smiled at her and slightly bowed my head in thanks. "Thanks, but no thanks."

I gently pushed her hand back as I stood up, prepared to leave. "I can deal with this on my own."

I stepped away from the baffled Sylvia Lee. Just before I left her view, I turned around to give her a gentle wave.

"Thank you for the warning doctor, but shouldn't you be worried about your lover right now?"

Leaving behind a bitch-like comment, I left the smoldering Sylvia Lee who looked like she wanted to punch me in the face.

I giggled as I thought to myself, "The villainess is back, indeed."

The Villainess Returns – End.