The Villain's Sister - Chapter 91

Raphael was trying to kill Tristan.

That simple sentence pierced through everything.

The fact that Raphael was a villain.

“Deva. Are you protecting Tristan Lindbergh?”

And that Tristan was a police officer and a hero who fought against villains.

Raphael would never stop.

Not until he died.

“Shoot.”

Standing in front of Tristan, I stretched out my arms to shield him.

I couldn’t tell whether the distortion on Raphael’s face was because of betrayal or shame. I hoped it was the latter.

“If you’re going to kill Tristan, kill me first.”

“Deva. How could you do this to Mr. Raphael….”

“That’s disappointing.”

“Shut up, Raphael.”

My head cooled and my fingertips turned cold.

I knew Raphael made money doing bad things, but now that someone close to me had become the target, it felt different.

Leaving Raphael alone until now disgusted me.

“Did you even listen to what I said? I told you to meet a man who’d protect you, not one you had to protect.”

“I don’t need anyone’s protection.”

My feet were wet from the water.

When I glanced down, I saw blood spreading red beneath me.

While keeping Raphael in sight, I took the gun from Tristan.

“Hey, what are you trying to— Ugh! Haa. Put that down.”

His pale skin, his groan, the distorted corners of his eyes. I brushed Tristan’s thin cheek. His bones were sharp from sleepless nights spent patrolling the city.

I breathed energy into him. Startled, Tristan frowned instinctively.

“You, right now….”

“I’m sorry. This is all my fault.”

I raised the gun and aimed it at Raphael.

Between my lips came both agitation and sobs. A breath belonging to neither escaped.

My vision kept blurring. Tears streamed endlessly down my cheeks.

Every piece of fiction reflects reality.

Love and hardship, the fate of overcoming trials and gaining happiness, the invisible rule of the world that punishes sin.

Just as villains in comics meet miserable ends, so too are the endings of real villains obvious.

So now, it really had to end.

Once the story reached its final chapter… then I wouldn’t be able to stop it alone.

‘If I have to lose you, it’s better to put you in prison.’

Call me insane if you want.

“Are you protecting that bastard right now?”

“Raphael. You must not know this, but I’m not a fourteen-year-old kid anymore.”

I placed my finger on the trigger.

Raphael’s expression subtly crumbled.

It was a faintly smiling, vaguely twisted face. Something between tenderness and pain.

“Do you even know who he is—”

“That doesn’t matter! The fact that you’re trying to kill someone! Nothing else matters but that!”

“Of all people, you should understand me.”

“That’s why I tried to convince you. I told you to leave, to stop already… I reported you to the police, I ran away to stop you… I’m sick of it, Raphael. I can’t do this anymore! I can’t take it any longer!”

“Deva. You shouldn’t do this. We shouldn’t be pointing guns at each other.”

Raphael moved.

Even though I was holding a gun, he didn’t seem to feel threatened.

“Don’t come closer!”

“I know you can’t shoot.”

“No. I can. You made me this way!”

The moment Raphael stepped toward me—

Bang!

I pulled the trigger. The bullet grazed Raphael’s ear and struck the wall.

“Argh!”

Raphael grabbed his ear. Red blood dripped between his familiar fingers.

“Mr. Raphael! Your ear, your ear!”

“Ah….”

The bullet might as well have hit my heart.

Even though I had made up my mind, guilt spread like wildfire, consuming the world.

The weight of sin crushed my lungs until I could barely breathe.

With a blood-smeared face, Raphael warned me, “When you shoot a person, you aim for the head or the heart. Try again!”

My hands trembled violently. My mind went blank.

Once more, my vision blurred white.

What was I trying to do? Kill Raphael with my own hands?

Me? Kill Raphael?

What I wanted was to stop him, not to hurt him.

‘Should I heal him? No, if I heal him, it’ll mean I’ve submitted to him, and I won’t be able to stop him.’

But to let him live the rest of his life missing an ear…. Even if he rotted in prison, if he couldn’t hear properly….

What should I do? How did it come to this?

What went wrong?

The gun in my hand looked strangely distorted.

My head was spinning.

The ceiling shook. Everything I saw felt unreal.

‘What is this….’

The recoil that had transmitted through my body when I pulled the trigger kept replaying in my head.

The smell of gunpowder made me dizzy, and my arms went limp.

The world spun round and round. My vision turned white.

“Ah. Ha. Haha….”

Raphael had killed Andrew because of me, and yet I dared to shoot Raphael….

Was trying to stop Raphael nothing more than arrogance on my part?

What did I think I could possibly do?

“Uh… huh… uh….”

I was tired of this situation and of these emotions. I was sick of living itself.

The ground warped beneath me.

The broken fragments of wall doubled, then tripled, then multiplied into four and five.

Then up and down switched, left and right flipped.

And then—

Thud.

Raphael dropped the gun to the floor.

He strode up and grabbed my shoulders, shaking me.

“Deva, Deva!”

“Snap out of it. Deva, get a hold of yourself!”

“Deva!”

Clap. Clap.

The loud noise snapped my focus back.

Raphael was snapping his fingers right in front of my eyes.

I saw his terrified face.

He’d made that exact expression long ago when a call came from Langfester Hospital saying a patient was in critical condition.

“Deva! Can you hear me? Deva!”

“Raphael. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

Blood dripping from his ear stained Raphael’s shoulder.

The sight made me nauseous.

After everything Raphael had done to raise me….

I broke down crying, gasping for breath.

I’d had such a foolish thought.

Running toward ruin. That was our fate as siblings, yet I shot Raphael, thinking I could break free from that path.

I quickly breathed energy into Raphael’s body.

The flowing blood stopped, and the missing ear began to grow back.

“Raphael. Wherever you are, I’ll be by your side. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

Then I wouldn’t have to shoot Raphael, and Raphael wouldn’t have to stop the runaway train by force.

“If you fall into hell, then I’ll go to hell with you.”

“…Deva?”

Raphael’s expression stiffened as he gripped my arm tightly.

I smiled brightly.

The perfect ending for everyone had been right in front of us, and I’d only been flailing all this time.

“Yeah. If you die, then I can just die too. I’ve already died once anyway….”

“Deva!”

Raphael grabbed both my arms and shook me.

Ahaha… hahaha… everything was so simple it made me laugh.

Raphael, pale with fear, pulled me into a tight embrace. He was trembling.

Armed police officers flooded in.

Raphael held and comforted me until they handcuffed him and took him away.

His trembling arms were still warm, and I secretly cursed the world for it.

***

[Giselle Moltke. Not a Death Adder spy, but a whistleblower!]

— …It was revealed that she had been the anonymous collaborator who had leaked classified documents from Death Adder and other underground organizations. This fact came to light when she applied for police protection and revealed the full story.

— Giselle Moltke had handed over thirteen critical files to the Organized Crime Division. It was also discovered that last year’s June raid on Death Adder’s secret warehouse was made possible thanks to her cooperation. …(omitted)… Tristan Lindbergh took charge of protecting the whistleblower’s safety, and the two pretended to be lovers to avoid suspicion.

— The police announced they would do their utmost to ensure Giselle Moltke’s protection and added that they would spare no effort in treating Officer Tristan Lindbergh, who fell into critical condition during the police station attack.

[Tristan Lindbergh. In critical condition]

— On the 4th, Raphael Kapuzen, the second-in-command of Death Adder, turned himself in, revealing his true identity. He was Raphael Moltke, the fugitive who led the Orotaine Prison breakout seven years ago and had been imprisoned for first-degree murder.

— …Raphael Moltke and Liam Fabian escaped their cell, and Officer Tristan Lindbergh, the first to arrive, was shot during the confrontation….

— With Big Bear’s intrusion, Liam Fabian shot the officers on-site and fled, while Raphael Moltke was arrested at the scene. His supervision will be transferred to the Central Military….

— Tristan Lindbergh was immediately taken to the hospital but remains in critical condition…(omitted)… The police suspect Big Bear invaded to seize Death Adder’s secret funds….

“They’re killing an innocent man. Maybe I should sue them too.”

Tristan rolled up the newspaper and threw it into the trash can.