Chapter 76: The Hive Moves

*Moscow, Russia — Villain Headquarters*

In just a matter of days,

the villains of Russia had successfully taken control of Moscow.

The reason was simple.

Russia no longer had an SS-Rank Hero.

Yaroslav was dead.

Since his death, the villains of Russia had become far more aggressive—almost feral.

Their movements were terrifyingly efficient. Entire cities were reduced to ruins overnight, erased before dawn could even arrive.

And now, operating from the shadows, one of the largest villain organizations had risen to dominance across Russia.

HIVE.

Even hearing the name alone was enough to make civilians tremble.

HIVE was not a typical villain group.

They were not reckless.

They were not chaotic.

They were organized.

Their organization consisted of more than seven thousand elite-class villains—each one carefully selected, trained, and deployed.

They were strong.

But more importantly…

They were intelligent.

Unlike other villain groups that relied solely on brute force, HIVE utilized calculated tactics, misinformation, and psychological warfare. They knew when to strike, where to retreat, and how to turn public sentiment against the heroes themselves.

At the center of it all—

Boris Medvedev.

An S-Rank Villain, and the most wanted man in Russia.

Every movement he made was constantly monitored by the remaining heroes.

Yet despite that, they could never catch him.

Because Boris never made mistakes.

*Underground Throne Chamber — Beneath Saint Basil’s Cathedral*

Deep underground, directly beneath the iconic Saint Basil’s Cathedral, existed a massive hidden chamber.

A throne room.

At the center of the room sat a man upon a dark throne, his head resting casually against his hand.

His eyes burned red—like embers that refused to die.

Boris Medvedev.

Before him, countless villains knelt with their heads bowed, their bodies pressed low in reverence.

A white-haired woman stepped forward.

She lowered her head respectfully before speaking.

“Your Excellency… at this moment, our territorial control over Russia stands at only thirty percent.”

Her voice was calm but cautious.

“The primary obstacle is the heroes protecting the ministers and high-ranking officials. We cannot defeat them through force alone. If we wish to remove them… we need something else.”

Boris listened in silence.

Then, in a calm yet suffocating voice, he spoke.

“You’re right.”

The room grew colder.

“We must find their weaknesses,” Boris continued.

“Do any of you possess advanced hacking capabilities?”

Silence filled the chamber.

No one answered.

Then—

A brown-haired male villain hesitantly raised his hand.

“Y-Your Excellency… I cannot hack,” he said nervously,

“but I have a suggestion.”

Boris’s gaze shifted to him.

“Speak.”

“H-How about we request assistance from… Indigo?”

Boris’s eyes widened slightly.

Inside his mind, the idea began to take shape.

“Hmm…”

Considering Indigo was the one who had successfully killed Yaroslav, the thought was not unreasonable.

“Perhaps,” Boris muttered,

“someone capable of killing Yaroslav… could stand on our side.”

He turned his gaze toward the white-haired woman again.

“Alea,” he said.

“As my deputy, do you have information on him?”

“Yes, Your Excellency,” Alea replied smoothly.

A small dimensional rift opened beside her, and several documents floated out.

She began reading.

“Villain name: Indigo Reign.

Rank: S.

Origin: South Korea.

He is currently the most influential villain in South Korea. He has not only killed heroes, but has also eliminated numerous villains. His abilities remain… unknown.”

After finishing, Alea returned the documents into her dimension.

“Indigo Reign…” Boris repeated slowly.

“Truthfully, I have long wished to thank him for killing Yaroslav,” he said calmly.

“I never imagined he was a villain from South Korea.”

Boris leaned forward slightly.

“Alea,” he commanded,

“I want you to travel to South Korea. Take several elite members with you. Meet Indigo.”

His gaze sharpened.

“Do not provoke him. Do not cause trouble.

I wish to form a friendship with him.”

Alea smiled faintly and bowed.

“Leave it to me, Your Excellency.”

She turned and walked toward the massive doors of the throne chamber.

*Yoo Jinhoo’s House — South Korea*

While I was watching television—

“Hwaachuu!!”

I sneezed suddenly.

“Ugh… who’s talking about me?” I muttered.

I refocused on the screen.

Lightnova was currently fighting several Rank A villains.

It had been a week since the incident with Flinch.

Lightnova didn’t look too depressed anymore…

At least, I hoped so.

Still, I couldn’t just sit around like this forever.

I needed to commit another crime.

But what?

I rested my chin on my hand, thinking.

This wasn’t just about me.

I needed to keep pushing Lightnova’s growth as well.

I checked the date on my phone.

The 21st.

“…Ah.”

That event was coming soon.

The missile incident.

The day villains would attack a military base and launch missiles toward Seoul.

I knew exactly who was responsible.

Crocus.

A half-human, half-crocodile villain.

Back then, I had considered killing him—but lacked the time.

Now, there was no avoiding it.

The missile attack would occur on the 23rd.

Two days from now.

In the original story, Lightnova had trained enough to stop dozens of missiles with ease.

But now?

The story had changed completely.

Current Lightnova wasn’t strong enough.

Yes, I once forced him to stop a falling airplane.

But missiles were different.

They were faster.

And there weren’t one or two—

There were fifty-seven missiles.

Stopping them would be like holding back hundreds of cargo planes at once.

“Hmmm…”

If that was the case—

Then my next crime needed to train raw power output.

But how?

I thought hard, but no answer came.

Then I glanced at Lee Donghyun, who was focused on his computer.

I stood up and walked over, tapping his shoulder.

“Hey. Got any ideas for my next crime?”

Donghyun looked up.

“Hm? Ah… you’re planning another crime, hyung?” he said casually.

“Then why don’t you bring So-ah and Min-seo with you?”

I raised an eyebrow.

“They could create a massive fire sphere and channel lightning through it.”

“…!”

That made sense.

A massive fire sphere enhanced with lightning.

If lightning reinforced it, the weight would increase drastically—hundreds of tons, easily.

And with electricity, its speed would skyrocket.

That would be equivalent to Lightnova stopping dozens of missiles.

I smiled.

“That’s brilliant,” I said sincerely.

“I never even thought of that.”

I chuckled.

“And it’ll be So-ah’s first large-scale crime too.”

“No problem, hyung,” Donghyun replied.

“If you need help, just ask.”

I nodded.

Alright.

It was decided.

Tomorrow—

I would commit a crime together with So-ah and Min-seo.

With their combined power, we could accelerate the growth of all three—So-ah, Min-seo, and Lightnova.

A perfect plan.

A truly brilliant idea.

Thank you, Lee Donghyun.

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