The Worst Villain is Actually a Cute Girl-Chapter 60

Chapter 60: Strange and Suspicious

I opened my eyes and slowly got up.

I looked around and then glanced up at the sky before letting out a sigh.

First, I stretched my arms high to loosen my stiff body. I moved my body this way and that.

After a quick stretch, I tried to recall what had happened before this situation unfolded.

I had woken up alone while the children were still sleeping.

It was because unwelcome visitors had come to the orphanage. Followers of the Grim Reaper Cult. Their unpleasant presence had immediately jolted me awake.

I didn’t know why those bastards had come.

Trying to understand the thoughts of a madman was pointless anyway, so I stopped thinking about it.

Just knowing they were there made me feel like this place was being tainted, and though I wanted to drive them out immediately, I stayed quietly in my room.

Red and Rene took action themselves, and I believed they were more than capable of handling it.

As I had expected, the followers collapsed helplessly before the two of them.

It seemed like it would be resolved soon, so I was about to lose interest.

Suddenly, some strange figure appeared, and then an enormous darkness swallowed us whole.

Immediately after, as if caught in a raging current, my body couldn’t move the way I wanted. In the deep chaos swirling within the darkness, my consciousness drifted aimlessly.

In that current, I saw countless fragments of memories. They tangled together, clawing at my mind, pounding against my head—yet I managed to cling to consciousness until the end.

And when I escaped the wave and opened my eyes, I found myself here.

‘What is this place?’

It seemed I had been transported to some strange location. This place was unlike anything I had ever seen. Twisted and bizarre.

The ceiling, the floor, and the walls were all mixed together, creating a space so disorienting that it felt like my sense of direction was being shredded.

Architectural styles with nothing in common were tangled together, streets merging and overlapping in utter chaos.

It made my vision spin even more.

Floating all around were colorful flowers, roads made of dark clouds, marshmallow floors, and a sky covered by a vast sea where childishly drawn animals swam through the air.

There were cookie buildings, blood-red towers, a blazing fortress, and a golden desert stretching to the horizon.

On that desert, things resembling corpses and dolls marched together, playing instruments.

There were so many strange sights that it was hard to describe them all.

It felt as if several worlds had been forcibly mashed together into one chaotic realm.

I didn’t understand where I was.

But.

One thing was clear.

It was that guy who summoned this space.

‘I have no intention of playing along.’

The longer I stayed here, the more it would mean moving according to the opponent’s will.

I had absolutely no intention of dancing to their tune.

I didn’t even care what kind of place this was or what they were after.

In the end, it would all disappear by my hand and be forgotten. There was no need to bother with it.

I raised my arm high.

With no eyes watching, I gathered my magic freely.

The energy condensed, solidifying into a dark blue sword.

I gripped the sword tightly as an eerie, deep-blue light radiated from it.

The brilliance began to melt the world around me, like watercolor dissolving on wet paper.

If I just swung it, the whole world would collapse.

And that would surely provoke a reaction from the other side.

But just as I was about to swing, I released the strength from my hand and stopped.

The sword lost its form according to my will and vanished.

I brushed off the remaining magic from my hand until it completely disappeared.

The melted world rewound itself, returning to its original state as if time was moving backward.

‘Let’s not act rashly. Rushing to end this could make things even more complicated.’

I calmed my mind.

There was a high chance others had been caught up in this too.

If my actions ended up hurting the children, that would be the worst possible outcome.

The children’s safety was the priority.

Red and Rene were skilled enough to handle things on their own.

It wouldn’t be too late to figure out where this was before taking action.

I began walking through the jumbled streets.

As I gazed curiously at the strange scenery, a round loaf of bread with stubby little legs waddled past me.

It seemed to be a living creature, considering it had tiny eyes, nose, and mouth. I approached and tore off a small piece of its body.

The round bread let out a pitiful squeal and scurried away in a panic.

I touched the part I had torn. It felt just like real bread.

I put it in my mouth and chewed.

It really was bread.

Amused, I chewed thoughtfully as I continued walking.

Living jellies, bread, and pudding-like creatures passed by me, and I took a bite out of each as they came.

Thanks to that, my mouth wasn’t bored while I walked.

Their pitiful cries were a bit of a downside, but I didn’t bother stopping.

‘Come to think of it, there are a lot of doors here.’

Doors covered the floor, walls, and even the ceiling.

I picked a random door and turned the knob.

Beyond the door was pitch black.

I couldn’t see anything ahead, nor hear any sounds. There wasn’t even a trace of presence.

Normally, anyone would hesitate to step inside, but I didn’t care and went in without a second thought.

I heard the door close behind me. When I turned to check, the door I had entered through was gone.

If I couldn’t go back, I had no choice but to move forward.

I began exploring the darkness.

‘Should I light a fire?’

It was hard to see, so I was about to summon a flame with magic, but just then, a blinding light suddenly turned on, illuminating the area.

Hearing a murmur behind me, I turned my body around.

A large crowd of people, dressed in neat and obviously expensive clothing, sat there.

I stayed on guard, but their eyes weren’t looking at me.

To be precise, it seemed as if they didn’t even recognize my existence.

I approached one person and reached out my hand.

My hand passed right through, as if there was no substance to them. It was the same when I tried with the others.

Their faces were full of joy and happiness.

They laughed excitedly, clapped their hands, or wiped away tears from the corners of their eyes while sniffling.

Though their reactions varied, they all looked genuinely happy.

The problem was, in their eyes, I could see a deep, twisted emotion.

Curious about what they found so enjoyable, I turned my head in the direction of their gaze.

‘That is....’

There was an enormous screen, dozens of times larger than the TV in the orphanage.

On the screen, children were being shown.

And among those unfamiliar children, I spotted a familiar face.

‘!!’

A blonde girl—Lena.

But she didn’t look like the Lena I knew. She was much younger, like looking at a twin sister.

I had never heard that Lena had a sister.

As I tried to figure out who that child was, the voices that had been like static suddenly became clear.

“Oh my, look at that child. Climbing up so bravely and jumping despite trembling—how touching. I must sponsor that child with @#!@#$ won.”

“Look how adorably that child hops around. I’ll sponsor them with @!@$ won.”

“No! That child just burned their hand on something hot. This won’t do—I’ll donate !@$!@!$ won.”

“Watching the children play warms my heart. I’ll donate @!@$ won.”

Unconsciously, my expression twisted with irritation.

I could sense their goodwill toward the children in their words, but something about it was horribly distorted.

It wasn’t the usual form of love.

They made a huge fuss over every little action the children made on the screen.

Sometimes, they hastily typed enormous sums into a machine with quick movements of their hands.

Even the children’s actions on the screen seemed off. There was an overwhelming sense of discomfort.

It was as if I was watching a meticulously choreographed play—every movement felt forced.

Looking closely, I could catch slight tremors at the corners of the children’s eyes and mouths, and they seemed anxious, like someone constantly reading the room.

I forced myself to ignore the unpleasant laughter and started wandering around to figure out where I was.

‘?!’

I found a name.

Neverland.

I had heard of it before.

A dreamy paradise, a world where time had stopped, a place of eternal childhood.

It was the name of an organization that kidnapped children and forced them to act innocently, entertaining adults while making huge profits.

So, was this place Neverland?

No. That couldn’t be.

I heard that the Organization had been destroyed by a Problem Solver.

‘What on earth is this...?’

I desperately wanted to help the children, but there was nothing I could do here.

I tried hitting the back of a smiling man’s head as a test, but my hand just passed through.

Letting out a deep sigh, I left the area, leaving behind those unpleasant laughs.

After that, I saw several more children who looked just like the ones from the orphanage.

A child who resembled Bada, crying in an alleyway.

A child who looked like Leon, running away after stealing bread.

I also witnessed pitiful and tragic scenes of people I didn’t recognize.

How many places had I wandered through these doors?

Under a cloudy sky, in a dark alleyway, I saw a familiar face.

Red hair.

Younger than the person I knew, but definitely Red.

In front of the young Red, a dying man was sitting against the wall.

His expression was indifferent, but to me, it looked like he was struggling to hold back sadness.

“You’re really stupid. Why did you help me? If you hadn’t saved me, you could’ve survived. You should be the one in that spot, not me.”

“How could I just leave a kid in danger... cough cough. You’re alive, so that’s enough.”

“Enough? Look at yourself!”

“Kid, I’m weak, that’s all. Just grab my cigarette pack from my pocket and put one in my mouth, will you?”

The young Red took out the cigarette pack from the man’s pocket, placed a cigarette in his mouth, and lit it.

The man exhaled smoke with the cigarette in his mouth.

“Do you have any regrets?”

“None. No regrets. I lived however I wanted... cough cough.”

“You sacrificed yourself for others your whole life, and this is how it ends? You’re just dying alone here.”

“Alone? You’re right here in front of me.”

The man’s mouth curved slightly, as if satisfied.

The young Red didn’t seem to like that.

Clenching their fist tightly, they looked down at him with eyes filled with both anger and sorrow.

“Why did you go that far? What meaning did it have? Even if you helped people and they thanked you, as soon as it hurt them, they turned their backs on you and whispered behind your back. What’s so good about them? Why sacrifice yourself for others instead of living for yourself?”

“You don’t need a reason to do good. You just do it....”

The young Red’s eyes welled up with tears.

Their voice turned slightly harsher.

“The world finds happiness in sacrificing others. No one thinks it’s strange. That’s just how everyone lives! You could’ve ignored other people’s suffering like everyone else. Why couldn’t you? Why didn’t you, when everyone else does? Are you stupid? An idiot?”

A bitter smile appeared on the man’s face.

With sad eyes, he looked at the young Red.

“You’re right, kid. I could’ve just acted based on what benefited me, ignored other people’s pain because it wasn’t my problem. Life would’ve been a lot easier that way.”

The man exhaled deeply, releasing thick smoke.

He was struggling more than before.

“But what meaning would a life have, where everyone just ignores each other and steps on one another? Could you even call that living?”

“Everyone else seems to live just fine.”

“Then I guess I must be the strange one... cough cough.”

“You’re a fool.”

“But wasn’t there a bit of romance in it?”

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When the man gave a weak smile, the young Red’s sadness deepened.

The man spoke again, his voice faint.

“Honestly, I don’t really know... It’s just hard for me to turn a blind eye. That’s just my nature—what can I do? Well, thanks to that, I got to meet you, so I’m satisfied.”

“......”

“Kid, here’s my final piece of advice... Don’t stay trapped in the past too long... If you stay stuck there, you won’t be able to move forward....”

With those last words, the man let out a final breath with a cough.

The cigarette fell from his mouth.

The man was dead.

The young Red lowered their head, tears falling.

I moved on to the next place with heavy steps.

I felt like I was starting to understand the true nature of this world.

This was a dream.

More precisely, a space built upon someone’s memories.

The reason everything was so jumbled was likely because multiple people’s dreams were mixed together.

That also meant my own memories could be here too.

If someone saw my memories, that would be very troublesome.

I hurried deeper, determined to find the source of this dream.