I Became the Academy’s Kibitz Villain

Chapter 340: One Who Deserves To Die (5)

Brainwashing.

Hypnosis.

Mind control.

These abilities, which made people think in ways completely against their will, were terrifying just by hearing the words. They could be considered among the worst.

In this world, the foundation of abilities was “thought power.”

The power of thought was the power of ability users, and manipulating thoughts allowed you to make an ability user do anything.

Of course, whether it was brainwashing or hypnosis, once it was broken, retaliation was inevitable. But, as in most works of fiction, such brainwashing was rarely easily undone.

The hypnosis technique possessed by Seon Ga-eul was mainly used on sleeping individuals.

While the target was asleep, she whispered her desires into their ear, causing them to lose their sense of self.

“Could you throw away the food waste for me, please?”

“Could you make the apartment under joint ownership with me, please?”

As the will to serve Seon Ga-eul quietly embedded itself into the unconscious mind of the sleeping man, he became her slave without even realizing it.

Do Chang-nam, however, didn’t seem to be one of Seon Ga-eul’s slaves.

Seon Ga-eul had turned many men into her slaves, but it seemed she wanted to approach Do Chang-nam with a pure heart.

But I wasn’t Do Chang-nam. I was Do Ji-hwan, and knowing about Seon Ga-eul’s ability, I kept my distance from her, citing personal training and mission work.

Then Seon Ga-eul lost control, and with Hyeon Se-rin, I killed her on Jeju Island.

“Many people are aware of Seon Ga-eul’s ability, hypnosis,”

After taking care of the Bone Eaters that swam up from the sea and reporting it to the Hero Association, we left the cleanup to the association agents and the three of us returned to the pension.

“It’s not on the Hero Wiki, but it’s information that everyone who knows, knows, right?” Yumir asked.

“Yeah, you can find it for sure on the dark web.”

In the world of light, information about deceased individuals was documented as objectively and dryly as possible.

Because they were, after all, deceased, there was a certain degree of consideration when listing their information.

But the dark world was different.

The men who had been harmed, manipulated, and abandoned by Seon Ga-eul’s hypnosis harbored immense malice toward the so-called “Witch of the Rising Sun.”

Seon Ga-eul’s body, her preferences, and the abilities she used—all this malice was uploaded to the sea of information, and anyone who wanted to know about her could easily find out through the dark web.

Her hypnosis ability.

“Some people call it ‘gaslighting.’”

“Gaslighting?”

“Yeah. It continuously eats away at the target’s mind, making it seem like they’re under brainwashing.”

It was not exactly the right thing to say in Korea, but it was similar to how this country emphasized loyalty and patriotism through ideological education, forcing you to devote yourself to the nation.

The question was, did you educate people to be loyal to the country, or did you make them give everything—liver, gall, bank accounts—for one woman’s gain?Nôv(el)B\\jnn

“Where is this hypnosis ability now?”

“It’s gone.”

“What?”

“The Witch of the Rising Sun died, and it disappeared with her. I didn’t keep anything. When I killed Seon Ga-eul, I burned all the remnants of magic powder along with her remaining magical energy.”

“Then what’s inside that urn…?”

“Just bone dust, no more valuable than a similar amount of flour. It’s been preserved, so even if you eat it, it would do nothing. And if you drink it, you’d die from poisoning.”

I rubbed my fingers together as if sprinkling a pinch of salt.

“If someone from the government or an organization gets hold of that bone dust, they’ll try to analyze it. They’d quickly realize what’s in it and know that whoever killed Seon Ga-eul was filled with incredible malice.”

“What did you do?”

“Nothing special. I just mixed a bit of potassium cyanide into the bone dust. Even an ability user would drop dead after inhaling it, and for an ordinary person, it’s ten times the lethal dose.”

“Potassium cyanide… When I looked it up, it came up as cyanide.”

“That’s right.”

“….”

Yumir looked at me with a slightly bitter expression.

“Teacher, when you talk like this, I really get the sense that you’re a villain.”

“It’s a trap no hero would ever set or even think of.”

Even I could admit that it was extremely wicked.

It was staged as if an evil spirit that defeated an A-class hero was on the rampage, smashing the skulls of those trying to take the spirit’s remains. And when they finally got the urn, they died from inhaling the bone dust.

“People should know not to secretly steal someone else’s urn and lick it.”

“It’s not just licking it; it’s death, isn’t it?”

“If you’ve done something that deserves death, you should be punished for it. It’s not like anyone forced them to inhale bone dust. Sure, I made it tempting, but I didn’t set up the situation as some kind of social experiment, did I?”

“Then what was it for?”

“Even without a social experiment, it’s to deal with those desperate fools who would scramble to inhale any mana powder the moment they hear about it, no matter where in the world.”

Just then, data arrived on my Taeguk Watch.

It was information gathered by Brewer. The report contained real-time details about individuals intercepted and arrested across Jeju Island, compiled for the Hero Association’s Jeju branch. The names and abilities of those captured were briefly summarized.

“It’s a real mess. Do they want that hypnosis ability that badly?”

“Hypnosis ability… What kind of miracle does it perform that makes people desire it so much?”

“To put it extremely, it enables things that modern medicine and science can’t solve.”

It was akin to a “mystery of the human body.”

At that time, the Ability Crime Countermeasures Committee was gathered in Busan’s Blue House.

“Is this all the information we have on this woman named Seon Ga-eul?”

“Yes, that’s correct. She’s a graduate of Sejong Education Institute. After graduating, she traveled across the country meeting various men. She registered as a hero but barely engaged in any actual activity… a drifter.”

“Then she went to Jeju Island and died.”

The president and the committee members were reviewing the documents about Seon Ga-eul with serious expressions.

“Does this woman really possess such an ability?”

“Yes, that’s correct. According to those who have experienced it, they reported significant changes.”

“A woman who gave men hope for money… But why did she become the Witch of the Rising Sun?”

“She was trying to cross over to Japan. She boarded a ship from Jeju Island with plans to reach Japan but disappeared during the process.”

“A woman trying to cross over to Japan alone… Just thinking about it gives me a headache.”

The president pressed his temples and gritted his teeth.

“I understand. No matter who inherits her ability, it’s clear that it will cause serious social unrest. Whether it’s her, a ghost, a demon, or a lich, the investigation is ongoing, but what happened to Ji Cheon-hyang is a fact. Raise the crisis level and send more agents from the association to Jeju Island. Gather as many people from the south as possible.”

“But that would leave a security gap…”

“As unpleasant as it is, we’ll have to trust those Hwalbindang scum.”

The president shook his head in frustration, as if he couldn’t stand his own words.

“Damn it. As if other problems weren’t enough, now we have this on top of everything… Ugh. How many people have been caught entering Jeju Island illegally so far?”

“More than 20 ability users have been officially identified. They’re temporarily locked in the Iron Chest, but we can’t hold them for long. According to international law…”

“So after a week, they might be released and sneak back onto Jeju Island? Ugh, what a nuisance. Why is this ability… No, I get it. It’s an incredible ability.”

The president rubbed his neck.

“If I had that ability, and if I gave speeches to the entire nation every day for just a year, I could create the worst villain who controls the entire population in the name of ‘for the country.’”

“…You’re approaching this politically, but some people have considered it from a different angle.”

“What do you mean?”

“Baldness.”

Suddenly.

“As a way to overcome it.”

The atmosphere in the meeting room grew even more serious.

“To be extreme, if you whisper in someone’s ear every night for about six months, their hair roots will revive, and their hair will grow long again.”

In the era of abilities.

“Grow, hair, grow. It sounds like a joke, right? But it’s real. While you can’t kill cancer cells through self-hypnosis, you can revive dead hair roots.”

“So the reason why villains all over the world are after Seon Ga-eul’s hypnosis is to overcome baldness?”

“Not just baldness, but baldness as well.”

Though it was said as a joke, the real terror of hypnosis lay in the fact that the hypnotized individual became utterly dependent on the hypnotist.

“It’s a joke, but in reality, she’s a woman who instills ‘hope’ in people.”

You could do it.

What kind of hope those words gave depended on who was saying them.

“Hope Hypnosis. Belief becomes reality.”

Well, that was the kind of ability it was.

“Imagine if a man had that ability and whispered in a woman’s ear. What do you think would happen?”

In the end, abilities could either be a force for protecting people, a means of salvation, or a tool for dominating someone, depending on who wielded them.

“Illusions are shattered.”

The power of hypnosis could sometimes manifest as the strongest force.

That was the case in this twisted world, where the character’s hypnosis ability was influenced by the Korean Wave (Hallyu).