The Worst Villain is Actually a Cute Girl-Chapter 27

Isaac glanced at the frozen statue that had once been Nina.

A faint smile lingered on his lips, but his eyes were devoid of emotion—cold and distant, completely detached from someone who had once stood beside him for so long.

“She was a rare, actually useful NPC... but what can I do? I couldn’t risk her ruining the plan, so I had to act first.”

Despite laying hands on someone who was once his comrade, there wasn’t the slightest trace of guilt in him.

Only a chilling sense of regret—like someone who had lost a valuable piece in a game.

“Seriously, how the hell did she find this place... Well, she’s got good instincts, so maybe it was just a matter of time. But right now, of all times... Ugh. I told her before, didn’t I? Not to get too curious.”

Recruiting a talented, well-rounded NPC to your side was never easy.

Especially in a world like this—cruel and unforgiving, where death was an everyday affair and attachments meant weakness.

He had wanted to keep her on his side. But he couldn’t leave loose ends that might jeopardize his plan.

If Nina had been a heroine or a key NPC, maybe he would’ve restrained her and erased her memories through brainwashing.

But Nina was just a regular NPC.

Even if it was a waste, he had to discard her for the sake of safety.

Isaac gently patted the shoulder of her frozen form.

Cracks began to form in the ice.

“Don’t hold a grudge. It’s all for the sake of the world. If anyone asks where you went, I’ll say you died on a mission.”

With a lazy wave, as if bidding farewell, Isaac passed Nina and walked toward the massive glass chamber.

Behind him, the ice statue shattered to pieces.

His footsteps were light.

He stood before the chamber and peered downward.

No light, pitch-black all the way down.

But Isaac knew exactly what was down there. His eyes gleamed with childlike excitement.

He smiled, looking down at the successful specimen sleeping at the very bottom.

“It took so long. Getting here really took so long. I can’t let it fall apart now.”

Before Isaac became Isaac, he was just an ordinary man living somewhere in South Korea on Earth.

He had been playing a game.

The game was called Apocalypse World.

A futuristic dystopia with fantasy elements, where civilization had declined due to runaway technology and human conflict.

It was a brutally difficult game.

So difficult that he slammed his keyboard multiple times, shouted into the void, and constantly felt the urge to quit.

But he never gave up.

His pride wouldn’t let him.

After more than 500 hours of grinding, he finally reached the true ending.

“What the hell is this?! This bullshit ending?! Really?!! Do you know how much time I put into this? AAAAAARGH!!!”

He was consumed with rage.

He couldn’t accept it. He didn’t want to accept it.

The ending wasn’t necessarily bad.

He just felt it didn’t reward the journey he went through.

Blinded by fury, he slammed his fingers onto the keyboard, typing faster than ever before.

He poured every emotion he had felt during the game into one massive post.

A 11,400-character review was born.

Of course, it wasn’t objective or logical. It was pure emotion.

But once it was out, he felt relieved. He collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep.

When he opened his eyes again, he was Isaac—the protagonist of Apocalypse World.

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“What the hell? Why am I Isaac? Wait... This world is—!”

He quickly understood his situation.

He had awoken in the world of Apocalypse World, inside the body of Isaac.

It was shocking—something that only happened in fiction, now happening to him.

But he accepted it quickly.

“It’s fine. No need to panic. I have all the knowledge of the original. Plus, I’m Isaac, the main character. There’s no problem.”

Rather, he found a goal in this new world.

Using his knowledge of the game, he would achieve a far better ending.

In other words, world peace.

He believed he had been reborn as Isaac to save this collapsing world. That thought alone filled him with exhilaration.

He abandoned his past and resolved to live as Isaac.

“Who’s that kid? Damn, he’s good.”

“Apparently, he was the top performer in the recent joint mission.”

“That much talent at his age? Scary.”

“One day, I wanna be like him.”

Praise from countless fixers.

Despite being from a peaceful world, fixer work came surprisingly easy to him.

For many quests, knowing the original lore allowed him to achieve far better outcomes than the game ever offered.

Taking down villains was simple.

Isaac’s strength was overwhelming, and with his stat window and knowledge of the game, he could draw out his power far more efficiently.

“Thank you, fixer. You saved us.”

“Sniff... We’re lucky someone like you exists.”

“Thanks, mister.”

Gaining the public’s trust came just as easily.

The work he was doing to prepare for the future earned him a solid reputation.

“You are...?”

“I’m Isaac. I’ve heard a lot about you, Miss Red. Looking forward to working together.”

“Yeah? Hmm, I heard you run an orphanage too. That’s pretty rare.”

“Haha, I just like being around kids, that’s all.”

“No need to be so formal. You seem like someone I could really get along with.”

He established a connection with the heroine early.

Thanks to his knowledge, boosting her affection was simple.

Like a boat carried on a favorable wind, Isaac’s life in this new world was smooth sailing.

With the original game’s knowledge and Isaac’s innate talent—

Everything he touched went perfectly.

He never questioned it.

Why would he? Everything was going his way.

After all, he was the main character of this world.

Nothing could go wrong for the protagonist. All stories revolved around him. He thought of it as fate.

And if things continued this way, he was sure he could reach a far better ending than the game ever had.

As long as there were no variables.

“Reaper...? Reaper Cult...? What the hell are these guys? They weren’t in the original!”

From the moment he arrived in this world—

It was the first day Isaac’s face twisted in genuine panic.

The Reaper.

One of the Four Major Powers ruling the underworld.

And the Reaper Cult, worshiping that very figure.

Characters and factions that didn’t exist in the original story.

Nothing about the Reaper was known. Not their identity, not their goals—nothing was clear.

What was certain was this: the Reaper was powerful. And every time they appeared, the city was thrown into chaos.

Where the hell did that kind of monster come from?!

He fell into deep contemplation, wondering whether his own actions had twisted the original story.

But Isaac ultimately concluded that wasn’t the case.

After all, the Reaper—such a powerful existence—had never appeared in the original game.

If they had existed in the source material, there would’ve at least been a hint, a mention, something.

Isaac was irritated.

More than that—he was anxious.

He feared that the Reaper would shatter the perfect narrative he had so carefully built.

His thoughts, his instincts, rang alarm bells.

Unless he could bring down the Reaper, his ideal ending would never be possible.

To defeat the Reaper, Isaac decided to approach the Reaper Cult first.

If he wanted to formulate a strategy, he needed intel on the Reaper’s true identity.

It didn’t take much to earn the cult’s favor.

He shared a few pieces of knowledge from the original game and helped them out—they quickly opened up.

They were, in all honesty, stupid. But that made them useful in their own way.

Still, no real strategy emerged.

There was just too little information about the Reaper.

Useless bastards... You call yourselves the Reaper Cult and you barely know anything about the Reaper?

Using his meta knowledge, Isaac tried constructing various plans.

Every one of them came with major risks.

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If he tried using original game characters to fight the Reaper and something went wrong, everything he had built would collapse in an instant.

No matter how he looked at it, it was a massive gamble.

Wait! Why didn’t I think of that before?!

In the depths of his stress, a brilliant idea struck Isaac.

A way to eliminate the Reaper—an aberration—without sacrificing any of the original characters.

Fight aberration with aberration. Use poison to cure poison.

Isaac would create something with his own hands—an overwhelmingly powerful construct.

And conveniently, he already knew of one.

A monster that had repeatedly brought him frustration and defeat in the game.

Creating it wouldn’t be hard.

He had already taken out the original game’s mad scientists responsible for birthing the boss and stolen all their research.

With the Reaper Cult's support, his own status window, and his knowledge of the source material, everything had gone smoothly.

Everything—except one thing.

There was one final wall in his way: the key material needed to complete the monster.

The pure magical energy and bodies of children.

In this world, children were special.

As if in response to the crumbling world, some children were born with unique powers.

Creating this monster required those children.

That’s what the original mad doctors realized too. That’s how they finished that monster in the game.

But the research required sacrificing children.

Naturally, survival couldn’t be guaranteed.

The decision didn’t take long. The choice was easy.

He calculated that if he could kill the Reaper using those children, it would be a small price to pay.

He also calculated that their deaths would stir public sympathy—and especially deepen his relationship with the heroines.

So, Isaac discarded the children.

He felt no guilt about it.

Because he didn’t think he had done anything wrong.

They weren’t important NPCs anyway.

Just kids he had brought in to build favor. Their role was done.

They were going to die someday anyway if I hadn’t stepped in. Thanks to me, they got to live longer and ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ even be happy for a while. Using their lives for my sake, and the world’s—there’s nothing wrong with that. Even the kids wouldn’t resent me for it.

After the children went missing, no one suspected Isaac.

Just as he had planned.

The only wrinkle was that Red began distancing herself after holding their funeral.

But Isaac wasn’t too concerned.

With his knowledge of the source material, winning over characters was always easy.

He resumed his research with renewed focus.

Whatever was missing, he brought in more from outside. And finally—

He completed the monster.

Stronger than the original, thanks to the power of his status window.

“It’s not quite ready yet. But just a little more... just a bit more research and it’ll be perfect. Once it’s complete, the Reaper’s finished!”

Isaac envisioned the future he dreamed of.

A hero who saved the world.

A happy life surrounded by heroines.

Everything he ever wanted, finally within reach.

His face was intoxicated with joy and elation.

Beep—!

“...?”

Beep—!

Then, an unfamiliar sound rang out, breaking his happy fantasy. Like an alarm.

Isaac frowned at the interruption.

He slowly walked toward the source of the noise.

It was coming from the shattered remnants of Nina’s frozen body.

Beep—!

He brushed some shards aside with his foot—then froze.

His expression darkened.

A small device, blinking red.

He knew what it was. He knew whose it was.

“...Why do you have this...?”

Of course, no answer came.

But one thing was certain—information had leaked.

And not just to anyone.

To the last person who should’ve seen it.

Nina, anticipating that something might happen, had activated the device Red had given her.

It had recorded the scene, the lab, and its data. And the moment Nina died, it had sent everything—location included—to Red.

Isaac’s head spun. His thoughts tangled into chaos.

It’s fine. It’s fine. No problem. If I explain it right, she’ll understand. Who wouldn’t understand something done to save the world?

The plan was ruined. He had no choice but to move the schedule forward.

Isaac immediately smashed the device, then called the Reaper Cult.

He gave new orders—then hurriedly left.

Not toward the Reaper.

But toward the other aberration... in the orphanage.