The official recruitment process for the evil organization concluded swiftly. Unlike other major corporations that require rigorous certification checks and conduct stressful interviews that often make the news, there were no such procedures here.

The evil organization sought individuals who were unbothered by the social stigma associated with villains, people who had been pushed to their limits—those who had no other means of survival but to turn to villainy.

The organization's role was to take such individuals and reintegrate them into society's machinery, reshaping them into functioning parts.

“Hail Eblis!” “Hail Eblis!” “As of now, you are soldiers of the evil organization...”

In the distance, a battle-hardened soldier, who had remained in that role for several years and was considered a junior officer, could be seen training the newly recruited soldiers.

It seemed odd that a veteran soldier would be part of the welfare-oriented battle unit of the evil organization, but surprisingly, these individuals were not societal rejects or defeated in competition. They were elites who could easily find well-paying jobs elsewhere—people who had obtained numerous national certifications and even made headlines in online news articles.

It was puzzling why such talents were working in this place, but the boss explained that they had been hired as trainers for the new recruits. Well, in a job where you don’t have to do much work but still get paid a lot, it's not surprising that some people would prefer to just play mobile games and idle away rather than pursue self-improvement.

“Ah, Interviewer?”

While observing the new recruits, a familiar voice called out to me. It was Sten, the retired hero and father. He raised his hand in the organization's signature salute before speaking.

“Thank you so much for accepting me. Really...” “What do you mean? You were hired because of your outstanding abilities, Sten.” “As an unpopular hero, I have no significant abilities. It's all because you spoke highly of me...”

Sten seemed to regard his induction into the evil organization as a great honor, judging by his broad smile and exaggerated gestures.

But when he began talking about the welfare benefits he received as a member of the evil organization, it became clear why he was so happy.

“I never expected that even a low-ranking soldier would receive so many benefits... I was really surprised.” “What kind of benefits?” “Well, for starters, I was given a house. It’s large enough to comfortably accommodate a family of four... Moreover, even though my child is barely old enough for kindergarten, the organization is already covering their college tuition! And these benefits will continue even if I leave the organization, as long as I don’t get expelled for causing trouble.”

These were benefits that were unimaginable on Earth. If such a company existed on Earth, there would be a line of top university graduates vying for a spot. Yet here, it was astonishing that a retired hero or a ten-year hikikomori could join such a company.

Though I wasn't aware of these benefits, I couldn’t react with surprise as a senior member of the organization. Instead, I offered him a supportive smile.

“Things will only get better from here.” “Yes, thank you!” “Oh, and one more thing—I’d like to ask you something... Could you show me your ability, just a little? Just up to your wrist—ah, that's enough.”

After confirming Sten’s ability, I handed him a candy with a broad smile. Sten tilted his head in curiosity as he looked at the candy.

“It’s candy. Go ahead, eat it.” “Oh, um... Thank you.” “Eat it now.” “Right now...?”

Though puzzled, Sten didn’t dare disobey his superior’s order, so he popped the candy into his mouth and began rolling it around. Judging by his expression, it didn’t taste too bad.

Since he had put it in his mouth, there was no chance he would give it to his child or pass it to someone else later. Satisfied with that, I nodded lightly and headed back to my laboratory.

‘What’s this about...?’

Rolling the slightly savory candy around in his mouth, Sten tilted his head in confusion. The person who had given him the candy seemed nice.

Despite looking so young, the fact that he held the position of an interviewer spoke volumes about his competence. Sten found himself quite fond of the interviewer, even though he didn’t yet know his name.

But that favorable first impression didn’t last long.

“Huh? What are you eating?” “Ga-Galm, sir! Hail Eblis!”

As he was heading to the training ground, Sten encountered an S-class villain, Galm. Though Galm had no record of harming innocent civilians or killing heroes, his mere presence and intimidating aura were enough to make anyone shrink back.

Sten, feeling guilty, looked around for a tissue to spit out the candy in his mouth. However, Galm shrugged as if to say there was no need.

“You don’t need to spit it out. Just don’t eat while exercising.” “S-Sorry! But the interviewer gave it to me...” “Interviewer? Who?” “The male interviewer in the middle!” “Oh—I see. So, he gave it to you?”

Hearing that, Galm grinned and stepped closer to Sten, observing him carefully. The atmosphere became so tense that Sten could barely breathe. Overwhelmed by the pressure, Sten swallowed the candy in one gulp.

“Did you finish it?” “Y-Yes? Yes... I finished it.” “Well done. It’s rare to receive something from that guy.”

“Um, could you tell me more about the interviewer, sir?” “You accepted something from him without knowing who he is? He’s our organization’s scientist. A mad scientist who creates terrifying and dreadful things.”

Galm chuckled as if he were teasing Sten. However, Sten couldn’t find the situation funny at all. A mad scientist? And one who specializes in making horrifying and dreadful things?

That’s the kind of character you’d expect to see in movies or comics!

The fact that he had eaten something given by such a person made Sten’s stomach churn with nausea. He eventually dashed to the restroom, where he dry-heaved several times, but the candy he had swallowed never came back up.

‘This is bad...!’

Not knowing what he had eaten, and terrified of what the mad scientist might have fed him, Sten broke out in a cold sweat as he began to exercise frantically.

He lifted heavy weights, hopped on and off boxes on one leg, and practiced breakfalls to avoid getting injured during encounters with heroes.

These were exercises designed not for main characters but for supporting roles—perhaps even less than that. As a former hero, this could have been a blow to his pride, but he didn’t feel that way. Unpopular heroes didn’t receive even the attention that a common soldier might.

These were the days that passed.

“Sten. Your ability is to harden your body, right? How much can it withstand?” “If it’s just me, not even a scratch from a bullet! I’ve never been hit by a cannon, but I assume it would be similar!” “Good. Would you like to join us?”

An opportunity arose. A chance to go on a mission in the newly acquired Z City. Sten, along with several other soldiers with self-protective abilities, were selected.

By accepting the mission, they would be promoted to elite soldiers, doubling their current salary and offering them a lifetime position in the organization if they desired.

Of course, no one passed up the opportunity. Sten was no exception.

“All soldiers, put on your elite combat suits. These are special items crafted by the scientist himself.”

Following the senior soldier's orders, they changed into their combat suits, and gasps of admiration filled the air. The suits enveloped their bodies like something out of a sci-fi movie. Rumor had it that the suits not only enhanced physical abilities but were also nearly impervious to most attacks.

Curious, Sten activated his ability and moved his hand. Unfortunately, even with the suit’s power, he couldn’t move his hand. Well, it wasn’t exactly easy to move heavy metal.

After donning the suits, they boarded the vehicle and listened intently to the mission briefing.

“Your task is simple. This is what the evil organization does best.” “What exactly do you mean by that...?” “Cleanup.”

Galm, who was leading the mission, explained that even though half of Z City had fallen under the control of Eblis Corporation, it was still being illegally occupied by criminals.

Their job was to suppress and drive out these criminals. It was certainly a far more dangerous task than playing cat and mouse with heroes in E City.

And it meant they would have to directly take lives...

“Oh, you don’t have to kill anyone. The guns provided are strictly for subduing. Use them to take down the criminals and hand them over to the police.” “...But isn’t Z City known for having a police force that doesn’t do its job?” “That’s why we’re collaborating with international law enforcement this time. We just need to handle the suppression.”

Fortunately, killing wasn’t part of the job. At this, Sten and the others sighed in relief. Despite being a villain organization, there weren’t many who joined with the expectation of killing people.

Sten, a former hero, was no different. He had applied after researching the organization and its purpose. If it had been like the villains of G City who killed people without a second thought, he wouldn’t have even considered it.

After what felt like an eternity, the vehicle came to a stop.

“—Disembark.”

Galm, who was at the front, called out as he stepped out of the vehicle, followed by the soldiers who quickly disembarked and cautiously moved toward the operation area, staying alert.

Unlike the others, Galm, trusting his own hide and skin, didn’t bother with cover and concealment and boldly marched ahead.

‘He’ll get himself killed like that...’

Just as that thought crossed Sten’s mind, a large pillar shot out from a distance like a missile and struck Galm directly.

“G-Galm, sir!” “Holy—! Take cover!”

As the soldiers panicked and took cover, Galm burst out laughing heartily and pushed himself up, the massive pillar that had pinned him toppling to the side.

“I’ll go take care of that. You head to the operation area. Got it?” “Y-Yes!”

With that, Galm disappeared. His departure left the soldiers anxious and uneasy, but they moved as they had been trained.

They systematically neutralized the criminals, cleaning up the operation area one by one.

There were occasional instances of resistance, but most of it failed to penetrate the suits, and no harm came to the soldiers inside.

‘This is easier than I thought...’

Just as that thought crossed their minds—when the soldiers set foot in a new building—something flew from a distance and crushed the foot of one of the soldiers.

“Arghhh—!?” “Take cover!” “Drag him behind the pillar!”

By now, they had become quite familiar with the drill. They pulled the injured soldier behind a pillar and immediately administered a red potion to treat the wound. Meanwhile, they nervously aimed their guns in the direction the attack had come from.

Soon after, a man emerged from the building, walking slowly. He tilted his head repeatedly as if puzzled.

“That’s odd. Just one foot? I meant to blow off his entire lower half...”

His words alone marked him as a villain, prompting the soldiers to open fire. The non-lethal rounds flew towards the man, who simply raised his hand to block them.

Effortlessly deflecting the bullets, the man snapped his fingers. The bullets ricocheted back at several times their original speed.

“Aaaargh—!?” “Ugh!”

As the soldiers cried out in pain, Sten swallowed hard. It was clear that this was someone beyond their ability to handle. They needed the return of their superior, Galm, as soon as possible.

‘But with no idea when he’ll return, we have to...’

Buy time.

With that thought in mind, Sten stepped forward, revealing himself. The man looked at him with a hint of surprise.

“Oh—you’re bold. Well then—”

Before the man could snap his fingers, Sten activated his ability, encasing his entire body in it. Though he couldn’t move and was essentially a punching bag, he was confident that no one in the world could be a better punching bag than him.

Even against such an absurd power, Sten’s suit only dented in places, but he didn’t let out a single groan.

Slowly, Sten began walking toward the villain. Step by step. He was careful not to reveal that once his ability was activated, he couldn’t move.

“Pretty sturdy... But what if I do this?”

However, even though his inability to move wasn’t exposed, his low mobility couldn’t be hidden, and the man promptly slammed Sten into the ground. Buried in concrete up to his neck, Sten found himself unable to move.

‘Damn...!’

Unable to move, Sten could only watch as the villain left him behind, intending to torment him later, and flew toward the other soldiers. Despite their self-defense abilities, the air was soon filled with their screams.

After all, if their abilities were so outstanding, they wouldn’t have needed to become soldiers for a villain organization. Their abilities had defects that made them unsuitable for mainstream activity.

They were no match for a villain who could effortlessly deflect bullets.

‘...No. Not again—’

In this situation, Sten recalled past experiences.

The time when he, along with his fellow heroes, tried to capture a villain.

But due to his ability, which was only good for being a punching bag, he was of little help and only held back his teammates.

Those memories, still a source of trauma, triggered his PTSD.

However—

‘I don’t want to have any more regrets.’

Stress triggered something within Sten, sparking the need for evolution.

The genetic material within his body responded to that need and began to evolve.

In that moment, Sten realized that the concrete encasing him had receded, that he could now walk out of the concrete floor.

And he did just that.

“Stop.”

“Huh—? Wha? How did you get out—?” “I walked.”

Moving behind the man, Sten calmly reached out. The man, surprised, attempted to use his ability, but Sten ignored it.

The space around the man began to warp, trapping him. Panicking, the man struggled to break free, but once space itself was locked, it wasn’t easy to escape.

“What the hell!? What is this—!?” “My ability.”

At that moment, Sten finally realized the true nature of his power.

After all, it didn’t make sense that he couldn’t move just because the metal was heavy.

If he had truly been that heavy, his body should have rolled across the ground; it didn’t make sense for him to remain immobile in that altered state.

His real ability wasn’t just to harden.

“I’ve locked you in space.”

Spatial Locking.

The ability to fix the space that overlaps with his body.

An impenetrable shield and an unstoppable spear.

“How can someone like you...”

“Hero.”

“...What?”

Sten, almost unconsciously, responded to the man’s words.

Realizing his mistake, he corrected himself.

“Former hero. Current soldier of the evil organization, you bastard.”

And then, with that—

Sten solidified the space, freezing the man completely. He sighed and looked at his comrades, who were staring at him in disbelief.

Seeing their dumbfounded expressions filled Sten with a sense of fulfillment, something he hadn’t felt during his time as an E-class hero. The pure satisfaction of saving people.

Even though he had retired from being a hero, Sten now felt like a true hero for the first time, and a small laugh escaped his lips.