The Evil Villainess
The name echoed in the quiet of my small room, a phantom whisper long after I had switched off my datapad.
It was absurd, melodramatic, and utterly perfect. The media, in their frantic attempt to create a monster, had handed me a ready-made legend.
I was no longer just Luna, the girl fighting back from the shadows.
I was a concept, an identity, a mask I could wear that was far more powerful than my own face.
I sat on the edge of my bed, the city lights outside painting stripes across the floor.
The chaos at the Aurelius Beacon felt a world away, but the rewards were very, very real. I pulled up my status screen, the red text a comforting and familiar glow.
[STATUS]
Name: Luna
Title: Puppet Master (Fledgling Villainess)
Level: 2 (50/200)
Villainess Points (VP): 1050
[ATTRIBUTES]
Strength: 4 (Below Average)
Agility: 6 (Average)
Stamina: 5 (Below Average)
Intellect: 8 (Above Average)
Charm: 2 (Negligible)
[INVENTORY]1x [Skill Ticket (Grade E)]
The level-up had given me a small but noticeable boost to my attributes. I felt less like a fragile girl and more like a coiled spring.
But the real treasure was the VP.
One thousand and fifty points. It was a dragon's hoard. It represented power, security, and options I couldn't have dreamed of a week ago.
And the Skill Ticket… I examined it in my inventory.
The description was simple: 'Redeemable for one (1) Skill of Grade E or lower from any unlocked Skill Tree.'
It was a wild card, a key I could save for the perfect lock.
The next day at school was electric.
The news reports about the "Evil Villainess" were on everyone's lips, but they were already old news.
The real sensation, the thing spreading like wildfire through the student network, was the manhwa.
I saw it for the first time on the datapad of a student in front of me in the hallway. The art was unmistakable. It was Maya's.
The site was stark and anonymous, titled simply "The Villainess Archives."
The first issue was called "The Fall of the Golden Boy."
It was a masterful, stylised retelling of the Aurelius Beacon incident.
Maya had taken the dry data of her research and transformed it into breathtaking visual storytelling. She depicted Kinetic as an arrogant, shining figure whose golden armour dripped with black, oily tar.
The corporate heads were drawn as faceless men in suits with gaping mouths full of sharp teeth.
But it was her depiction of my team that made me stop breathing.
She had drawn us as figures of shadow and myth.
My pawns weren't clumsy, terrified teenagers.
Leo, the nervous wreck, was depicted as a "Ghost," a slender, hooded figure who could phase through walls and bypass security with ethereal grace.
Jake, the simple-minded brute, was "Havoc," a hulking, masked figure of immense power, capable of shaking buildings with a single blow.
Mark, the resentful techie, was "Oracle," a figure seated before a throne of glowing screens, his face hidden by a digital mask, his fingers weaving webs of pure data.
And me… she had drawn me as she saw me in the library.
A figure on a throne of shadows, my face completely obscured by a deep, cowl-like hood. I had no features, only a cold, calculating presence.
The Puppet Master. The Evil Villainess.
I found my team huddled near their lockers, all staring at a single datapad, their faces a mixture of shock, terror, and something else… something I hadn't seen before.
Pride.
"Dude… look at me," Jake whispered, pointing a trembling finger at the panel depicting 'Havoc.'
"She made me look like a total badass."
"She called me 'Oracle,'" Mark murmured, his eyes wide.
He wasn't looking at the technical details of the hack; he was looking at the powerful, mysterious figure Maya had created.
He was seeing a version of himself that wasn't a bully or a pawn, but a vital part of something legendary.
Leo was staring at the image of me saving him. Maya had drawn it beautifully. The smoke, the flash of the guard's weapon, and then a shadowy, robed arm extending a glowing potion to the fallen 'Ghost.'
It wasn't an act of calculated asset management. In the manhwa, it was an act of profound, mysterious grace.
A master protecting her agent.
I checked their status on the Subjugation tab.
[Pawn 1: Mark]
Loyalty: 15/100
[Pawn 2: Jake]
Loyalty: 25/100
[Pawn 3: Leo]
Loyalty: 78/100
Their fear was still present, but it was being rapidly eclipsed by this newfound sense of belonging, of being part of a story bigger than themselves.
Maya hadn't just documented our mission; she had forged our identities. She had given us our costumes.
And it gave me an idea.
That evening, I sequestered myself in my room and delved deep into the System Store.
My VP balance felt like a heavy weight, a responsibility. I could spend it all on myself, on strength enhancements or powerful skills.
Or… I could invest it.
I navigated to a section I hadn't noticed before, one that must have unlocked with my new level or title. It was labeled 'Team Outfitting.'
My eyes scanned the list. 'Basic Comms Units (Set of 4)' - 200 VP.
'Masking Amulets (Grade F)' - 400 VP.
And then I saw it. It was perfect.
[Item: Shadow-Weave Raiment (Set of 4)]
Description: A set of four customisable outfits crafted from adaptive, quasi-sentient fibres. The raiment bonds to the user at a molecular level. In its passive state, it is completely invisible and intangible.
On a mental command from the user, it materialises, forming a full-body covering with a hooded robe. The base design is a shadowy, featureless silhouette, but the primary user (Host) can implement minor cosmetic alterations to each suit's design before distribution.
Cost: 800 VP
It was an exorbitant price. It would consume almost my entire fortune. It was a massive gamble on the loyalty of three boys who, until recently, had been my tormentors.
But looking at Maya's art, at the powerful figures she had envisioned, I knew it was the right choice. A villainess needs a cadre. A queen needs a royal guard.
And my team needed uniforms. This was how I would solidify their loyalty—not with more fear, but with an invitation. An anointment.
I took a deep breath and confirmed the purchase.
[Purchase confirmed. 800 VP has been deducted. Item has been dispensed to Host's inventory.]
My VP balance plummeted to 250.
My heart hammered, but I felt no regret. In my inventory, four small, dark bundles of cloth appeared. I focused on the item's description, on the customisation feature.
Slowly, carefully, I began to design. I kept the base of a shadowy, hooded robe for all of us. For myself, I kept it simple, a deep cowl that would plunge my face into absolute darkness.
For Leo, 'Ghost,' I made the robe's hem appear frayed and ethereal, as if dissolving into smoke.
For Jake, 'Havoc,' I broadened the shoulders, giving the silhouette a more imposing, brutish feel. And for Mark, 'Oracle,' I added faint, silvery lines that pulsed with a soft light, like circuits woven into the fabric.
They were small touches, but they were nods to the identities Maya had given them.
The purchase was made. The uniforms were designed. The legend of the Evil Villainess and her shadowy agents had been born in the pages of a manhwa.
Now, it was time to bring it to life. I sent out a simple, coded message to my three pawns and my one ally.
Midnight. The warehouse. It's time for a uniform fitting.