Chapter 9: Fake Indigo?

After Indigo appeared in France and defeated the French S-Rank Villain, Andreo,

the world’s attention began to shift toward him.

At first, the Global Association only saw Indigo as an ordinary villain, another criminal on the loose.

Back then, no one really knew who he was.

But after he showed his power in public, the world started taking him seriously.

People from all over began to fear him, especially in Korea, Indigo’s homeland.

And now, the latest breaking news, Indigo attacked Gimpo Airport, bringing down a Korean Air plane.

His name was suddenly everywhere, even overshadowing celebrities.

And when the Chairman of the International Hero Association made his statement, the world trembled.

> “Indigo Reign has the potential to become the world’s top-ranked Villain.

We’ll do everything we can to capture him.”

*Present day, Namdaemun Market*

A new act of terror was unfolding.

After attacking Gimpo Airport, Indigo began his assault on Namdaemun Market.

Explosions everywhere, chaos, destruction, fire, and casualties.

Lee Donghyun

ran for his life through the burning stalls.

The air was thick with smoke. The market looked like a war zone.

He knew this Indigo wasn’t the real one, because Yoo Jinhoo, the real Indigo, was home right now.

Screams filled the air. People ran in every direction.

Donghyun barely escaped alive, gasping for breath after inhaling too much smoke.

Then, a massive explosion erupted behind him.

*At home*

I was resting peacefully on my favorite couch, relaxing.

I turned on the TV, wondering if there was anything interesting on the news.

Then I froze.

> [After attacking and sabotaging Gimpo Airport, Indigo Reign has now launched an assault on Namdaemun Market!]

What the hell…?

“Huh? What’s wrong, oppa?”

asked Kim Gae-in, just out of the shower.

When she looked at the TV, she gasped too.

> [Explosions are happening everywhere! Namdaemun Market looks like a battlefield! We’re calling for a Hero to intervene immediately!]

Then Lee Mira, who was studying beside me, turned toward the screen.

Her face went pale.

“T-That’s the market Donghyun went to!”

said Lee Mira in a panicked tone.

Damn it… Why does bad luck always hit the moment I try to relax?

*Namdaemun Market*

Everything was in flames.

Donghyun struggled to get up, his body covered in debris.

“M-My leg… it’s numb…”

he groaned in pain.

Suddenly, the fake Indigo appeared before him.

Fear instantly gripped Donghyun’s heart.

’W-What…? How did he teleport? Why does he have the same powers as Jinhoo hyung…?’

He could feel death hovering right above him, one wrong move, and it’d be over.

The fake Indigo raised his right hand, forming a gun shape with his fingers.

A deep blue light started glowing at the tip.

That power… it’s just like Jinhoo hyung’s! How can he copy it?

Before the shot could hit Donghyun, Yoo Jinhoo teleported in, wearing a makeshift mask.

He grabbed Donghyun and warped them both back home.

*Back home*

The moment they arrived, Donghyun collapsed to his knees, drenched in sweat.

“Donghyun? Are you okay?” I asked, both worried and curious.

“H-Hah… I… I almost died…”

I fell silent.

After catching his breath, he explained everything.

“Hm… A fake version of me who can use my powers… what kind of anomaly is that?”

Something like this never happened in the original webtoon.

Is it because of my presence here?

Mira tended to Donghyun’s wounds while Gae-in stood with her arms crossed.

“If he’s that identical to you, oppa,”

she asked,

“then what’s the difference?”

“Only his eyes,” Donghyun said. “Behind that mask, his eyes glow red, like lasers.”

Hearing that, I started forming a theory.

“Maybe he’s a robot, one that copied me, my powers, and my agility… but who the hell could’ve built something like that?”

Then, the TV blared again:

> [After destroying Namdaemun Market, Indigo was seen teleporting away! Heroes arrived too late. Our S-Rank Hero, Lightnova, is unable to respond after exhausting himself saving the falling Korean Air plane.]

He doesn’t talk. His aura’s terrifying.

He moves and fights just like me.

He’s practically my perfect doppelgänger.

I need to investigate this — something’s gone off-script.

I have to find out what caused this divergence.

For now, I decided to let the fake Indigo act freely… while I gather intel.

“What if we just… let him be for now?”

I said.

“What?”

“Oppa, are you serious?”

Gae-in and Donghyun both asked.

“Yeah. As much as I hate it, I can’t just rush in blindly.

If I fight him without understanding what he is, I might die.”

They both nodded. They understood.

Charging in without knowledge is just digging your own grave.

Still, something felt off.

I hoped my theory, that he was just a robot, was right.

But deep down, something didn’t add up.

This world, this cursed webtoon world, was built on advanced tech.

But could a human really create a robot so perfect it could copy everything about me?

I started thinking back…

Which villain had the skill to do that?

Later that night, in my room.

I sat by the window, lost in thought.

Then it hit me, there was one man who could possibly do it.

Dr. Richard.

An American scientist living in Korea.

He’d been exiled from the US, no one knew why.

Whatever the reason, I had to meet him.

*The next day – A secluded house in Gangnam*

Wearing my full gear, I walked toward a small, isolated house, Dr. Richard’s place.

As I reached for the door, it opened.

There he was: brown hair, a light brown coat looked like he was about to go out.

But when he saw me, he froze.

“Hello, Dr. Richard,”

I said calmly.

“I’d like to talk privately. Don’t worry, answer honestly, and I’ll leave peacefully. Now, shall we go inside?”

Without a word, he stepped back in.

A few minutes later

“So,”

he said.

“from what you’ve told me, you think I created a robot that perfectly mirrors you.”

That threw me off.

“I see… but there’s nothing I can tell you,”

he continued.

“Because I wasn’t the one who made that robot.”

“What?”

He wasn’t lying — I could see it in his eyes.

“I can build robots,”

he said.

“But perfectly copying someone’s power? That’s beyond me.”

“If I had made that fake Indigo, there would’ve been at least one or two moments where its power glitched. But this one… doesn’t.”

He’s right, I thought.

In the webtoon, Dr. Richard could copy powers — but never flawlessly.

I showed him a video recording of the fake Indigo using my abilities.

“Hm…”

He watched quietly — then suddenly stiffened.

“Mr. Indigo,” he said, his voice low. “There’s only one thing I can tell you.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“He’s not a robot.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Believe it or not, that’s the truth.”

No. That’s impossible.

How could a human copy my power that perfectly?

Even Yaroslav, Russia’s SS-Rank Hero, whose ability is Power Copy can only copy up to 80%.

Any higher, and he’d die instantly.

“So what is he, then? A human like us?”

“I don’t know,”

Richard admitted.

“But I’m certain of one thing he’s not a robot, nor is he being controlled.”

That only made my frustration grow.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep