Dear Heroes, I really am a Villain
Chapter 89: Rebecca

Chapter 89: Rebecca

— Maximilian House —

"Err... don’t be angry at me... okay?" Switch’s nervousness was clear... She was about to tell him.

"M-My name... er... my real name is... Rebecca... Rebecca Lane. I’m the one you’ve been searching for," Switch stuttered nervously.

Ten seconds. That’s how long Maximilian’s brain stopped processing the information.

"Say that again?" he asked, his frown deepening, confusion all over his face.

"I... I said... my name is Rebecca Lane. Owen Lane—also known as Blood Mongoose—was my father." She paused, stealing a glance at Maximilian.

Maximilian: ( °◇°)

Seeing his comical expression, Switch couldn’t help but let out a stifled laugh—but she quickly suppressed it, knowing she was still in the wrong.

[Congratulations! You completed Blood Mongoose’s last wish! (≧▽≦)/ ]

Atherna’s voice rang out in his mind.

— Blood Mongoose’s Last Wish [Full Completion] —

Description:

Blood Mongoose has a daughter; he wanted to know how she is and, if possible, make sure that she’s safe and happy.

Time Limit: None

Primary Objective: Check on Rebecca Lane (Prescott)

Bonus Objective: Make sure she is safe and have a happy life

Reward: Blood Mongoose’s EF Potential Upgrade [Completed]

Bonus Reward: Blood Mongoose’s EF Potential Maximization [Completed]

—

Then, Maximilian’s view shifted into the white space with two chairs—the same place where he had spoken with Blood Mongoose before.

In one of the seats, Blood Mongoose was sitting, facing the other chair. He waved at Maximilian to take the seat opposite him.

Maximilian accepted the offer and sat down across from him.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Graham. I’m truly grateful. It seems you always keep your promises, just as I’ve heard," Blood Mongoose said with a smile.

’But seriously... a smile on his scar-filled face makes him look even more menacing. It’s like the guy is grinning in amusement right before gutting someone.’

Trying to distract himself from the sinister-looking grin, Maximilian noticed something odd. ’As I’ve heard’? Has he heard about me from somewhere? Don’t tell me...’

"As you’ve heard? Have you... perhaps heard about me from somewhere?" Maximilian asked.

"Of course! It’s from—!"

Suddenly, Blood Mongoose’s body began to turn transparent.

"Hey! Admin! I’m not finished talking yet! Don’t send me out! I wanted to—" Blood Mongoose shouted toward the sky.

His body quickly vanished into motes of light, as if he had been yanked out of the space mid-sentence.

[Congratulations, Max! Upgrade starting! (๑>ᴗ<๑)]

Upgrade in Progress

EF: ’Frenzy Trance’ ⇒ ’Beast Lord Physique’

Beast Lord Physique – This ability has three functions:

- Super Regeneration: Can regenerate limbs and all kinds of wounds, no matter how severe, as long as the brain has not been completely destroyed. Regeneration speed depends on the severity of the wound.

- Beast Lord Enhancement: Physical capabilities are increased by 3 times.

- Beast Sovereign Rage: If wounded, physical capabilities increase by 15 times.

EF Potential Maximization ’Beast Lord Physique’ ⇒ ’Beast Sovereign Physique’

Beast Sovereign Physique – This ability has three functions:

- Adaptability Regeneration: Can regenerate limbs and all kinds of wounds, no matter how severe, as long as the brain has not been completely destroyed. Regeneration speed depends on the severity of the wound.

Any wound or body part that has been regenerated due to trauma will gain twofold resistance to the same trauma each time it is regenerated. (This resistance lasts for 48 hours before returning to normal.)

- Beast Sovereign Enhancement: Physical capabilities are increased by 6 times.

- Beast Sovereign Rage: If wounded, physical capabilities increase by 30 times.

[Congratulations! Upgrade completed! \(^o^)/ ] Atherna said excitedly.

Maximilian closed his eyes as he returned to real space.

When he opened them, he registered the current situation: Switch was looking at him nervously, anxiously anticipating what he might do after learning the truth.

Maximilian quickly calmed himself. Switch may have lied to me, but she had her reasons.

"That’s good to hear. I thought the clue had already gone cold," Maximilian said with a smile, then asked,

"Can you tell me in detail what happened and why you lied to me?"

Hearing this, Switch quickly nodded. Since Maximilian asked instead of getting up and walking away, it meant he wasn’t that angry.

"Okay, I’ll tell you."

After that, Switch told Maximilian everything that had happened to her.

She started from when she was still a girl, just a few days after she had gone for her EF test at the age of 16.

While staying at home, a group of soldiers in black barged into her house and kidnapped her.

She later woke up in a cell. At first, the experiments involved blood tests and demonstrations of her powers.

The test results showed that she had Technopathy, a rare and extremely useful ability in this era, but she still didn’t know the exact type.

After a few months, she was relocated to another cell, the same one where Maximilian eventually found her in the ruined lab. The experiments intensified. The researchers subjected her to various procedures, testing every possible input and variable they could devise.

Eventually, it was discovered that her Technopathy allowed her to draw processing power from nearby CPUs to calculate and predict the future. This ability was tested endlessly. She was forced to take strange drugs until her internal organs couldn’t handle it anymore.

The researchers began replacing her deteriorated limbs and organs with bionic parts. That was how she received her right arm.

Her eyes were replaced. So were her lungs, heart, and parts of her digestive system, especially her liver, which had been severely damaged from all the drug injections meant to stimulate her EF.

Then, one day, the combination of drug exposure and cybernetic enhancements broke the safety limit, a restriction put in place to prevent subjects from becoming too powerful and escaping.

Using her newfound strength, she took control of the base’s electronics. She locked down the lab and turned the turrets on the personnel inside, killing everyone.

She also sealed the barracks, preventing reinforcements, and then drained the oxygen from within, suffocating the enforcers.

After eliminating everyone in the lab, she opened the gates and escaped.

That was when she met Honiahaka, who had been scouting the area. Since then, she had stayed with his crew.

After listening carefully, Maximilian finally understood why Switch had lied to him.

It was because the organization that had kidnapped her was still out there, still trying to reclaim their "subject." Even while she was with Honiahaka’s crew, they had been forced to fight off multiple attacks from that group.

"There’s one thing I don’t understand," Maximilian said. "Since you are Rebecca Lane, and the contract didn’t hide the objective, why did you come with me instead of rejecting the contract?"

Hearing this, Switch relaxed a little, though her face flushed with embarrassment.

"It’s because... I thought you might be one of the people hunting me... but I wasn’t sure. That’s why I wanted to go along, to be there, just in case you were."

"I see," Maximilian nodded in understanding, then asked, "By the way, do you want me to call you Switch or Ms. Lane?"

"Since I always call you Max, you can call me Rebecca," Switch... no, Rebecca, smiled at the man in front of her.

"Thank you very much, Rebecca. I’d like to continue our chat, but I need to take care of something. There are several vacant rooms on the second floor; one of them has a sleeping bag. I hope you don’t mind. Tomorrow, I’ll go shopping and buy some furniture for you," Maximilian said before standing up and heading upstairs.

"No, wait! You don’t need to—" Rebecca tried to protest, but Maximilian simply waved his hand, signaling that it was no big deal, before disappearing up the stairs.

Now watching Maximilian’s back, Rebecca noticed he still seemed to carry some lingering anger, so she didn’t dare press him further. She could only accept it and hope that tomorrow would be better.

Maximilian entered his room, locked the door, and walked over to the couch, where he collapsed, resting his body. He massaged the bridge of his nose with one hand.

{Athel... what’s the meaning of this?} Maximilian asked in a solemn tone.

[The number you dialed is—]

{Athel... I’m not in the mood. Don’t do this,} Maximilian said firmly in his mind.

[Umm... wh-what do you want, Max?] Atherna’s voice responded nervously.

{You tampered with the system so it wouldn’t recognize the quest completion when I first met her at the bar, didn’t you?} Maximilian asked.

[No... it wasn’t me! The ’Last Wish’-type quests are issued by the soul inside the system, so... only the soul can recognize the progress or completion of the quest. (・∀・)] Atherna explained, her voice still carrying a hint of nervousness.

{Then what about the time I asked her about her identity? I was already suspicious back then. I don’t believe that, as her father, Blood Mongoose wouldn’t recognize his own daughter,} Maximilian asked sharply.

[Er... well, that’s... that... (￣Д￣)]

{You tampered with it, didn’t you?} Maximilian pressed.

[That... that was with Blood Mongoose’s consent. (￣Д￣)]

{Bonus Objective: Make sure she is safe and has a happy life. The clause ’have a happy life’ is very broad. It could also mean making sure she finds a good husband... or that her future is secure.} Maximilian paused.

{I remember the quest reached full completion the moment I accepted her staying here. And I’m not stupid, Athel. I know she’s interested in me... but that’s just interest. It’s not love, not head over heels. Now that the quest is marked complete in one go... are you trying to push her onto me, Athel?} Maximilian asked, eyes narrowing with suspicion.