Chapter 2 - First, I Need to Infiltrate
The Hero had once said.
"The one thing I cannot forgive in this world, is someone laying their hands on what belongs to others."
Yeah. That’s what he said.
And yet…
–Breaking News: Hero Academy ‘Haven’ Solves Capital Incident!
–Hidden Demon Spies Executed on Sight!
–“Can Humanity Eradicate the Demons Once and for All?”
–Haven Faculty: “It’s all thanks to the Hero. We’re grateful he built an academy in a place like this!”
Riiip!
Ruin tore the newspaper in his hands. People in the cafeteria turned to look at him in shock, but he didn’t care.
As if he could afford to care right now?
‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’
My house… became a Hero Academy?
My retirement fund—my entire fortune—is sitting smack in the middle of enemy territory?
What kind of joke is this? Like saying all your life savings accidentally got wired to North Korea.
Still fuming, Ruin looked down at the torn paper again.
On it was the face of a man he recognized. The resolution was poor, but that smile—that insufferably bright smile—was unmistakably him.
‘Yeah. That bastard I fought in the end.’
The one who had shamelessly turned his private property into a damn academy.
Just seeing that smug face again brought the whole fight back to him.
“You again?! Show your real face already, Firefly!”
“I don’t see why I should.”
Back then, Ruin had disguised himself as one of the Hero’s closest aides and succeeded in annihilating the Allied Forces.
Sure, the job had dragged on longer than expected—because it was the Hero—but that was fine. It was supposed to be his last mission anyway.
“And you can grind your teeth all you want, but you won’t be seeing me again.”
“What did you say?”
“I’m retiring after this.”
Firefly dropped his final spark.
After that, the Allied Forces charged deep into demon territory—right into a trap. The entire force was wiped out. Ruin had handled it all by himself.
But who could’ve predicted that his clash with the Hero would open a damn space-time rift?
‘…And the place it dumped me in was hell to escape from.’
When he finally got out, fifty years had passed in the real world?
‘And my precious house ended up in enemy hands?’
Ruin was so baffled, he had marched straight to his superior to complain.
“I bought land and built my house in demon territory. How the hell did it end up with the Hero?!”
“Because he conquered it after you vanished.”
“What?!”
“After you disappeared, that land was taken by the Allied Forces. Simple as that.”
To put it bluntly, it was like Seoul becoming North Korean territory after a war.
“But… but still! Someone was living there! How can they just use it like that?! That was demon land! That means it was demon property! Why—?!”
“Do you even remember where you built that house?”
“…A mountain. A deserted canyon, completely off the grid.”
“Exactly. No sane person would’ve built there. The Hero saw it and thought it was some divine gift—so he built an academy.”
That goddamn Hero!
Messing around with someone else’s home like it was nothing!
“They said the design was so awful, it didn’t even look like a house built for people.”
‘You bastard! Insulting someone’s taste has its limits!’
Ruin was the kind of person who hated dealing with others. He’d specifically picked that spot to avoid neighbors.
In any case, it was a serious problem. The world Ruin had reincarnated into was an extremely polarized one. The map didn’t even show nations anymore—just two giant colored blocks:
White and Black.
The glorious “Union” and the undying “Pride.”
All of humanity’s countries had formed an alliance against the demons.
‘Like the Cold War, with America and the USSR.’
And now…
‘As if the enemy would just give my fortune back if I asked nicely.’
So he made a formal request.
“Technically, I never received my retirement funds, so doesn’t that qualify me for a reissue?”
“I get that you're in shock, but do you have any idea how much money we gave you?”
“…Huh?”
“That amount was equivalent to decades of our intelligence agency’s operating budget. If we tried to pay you again during wartime, it’d collapse the Demon Army.”
Like I care?
He really wanted to say that, but saying more would just brand him a traitor. Not worth the risk.
‘Damn it. I can’t afford to lose that money.’
And it wasn’t just about pride—Ruin had taken on a massive debt. That’s the only reason he’d been working for an agency he loathed.
But that was supposed to be over now.
“You’re really going to hand in your resignation? A top talent like you—”
“I’ve saved up everything I need. My resignation stands. Don’t forget the overdue bonuses either.”
“W-Wait! What are you planning after you retire? Don’t tell me the enemy scouted you—!”
“I’m farming.”
“…W-What?!”
“This damn cursed fate is allergic to settling down. Farming’s the only antidote.”
With his retirement bonus, he could wipe out all his debt in one go. He’d even calculated the dates precisely to wrap everything up—but now this?
‘I am done with this spy crap.’
Ruin rubbed his forehead.
In his previous life, he’d been a black operative for the National Intelligence Service.
His name had been leaked during a mission thanks to some idiot higher-up, and he’d died like a dog.
Of course, that experience made him the perfect spy in this life—someone who’d never get caught.
But this?
This shit?
He was ready to explode at the thought of that Hero stealing his house—but he held it in.
‘Well, at least they probably haven’t touched the vault.’
Because that house? It wasn’t a normal house.
‘It was a repurposed temple of the Nameless God.’
That meant it was full of mysterious mechanisms and traps.
‘But damn that Hero bastard…’
His neck tensed again at the thought—but that wasn’t important now.
The most critical part—the vault—was hidden in a place even the Hero wouldn’t easily find.
‘So all I have to do is get in, swipe my stuff, and get out.’’
The problem?
–Hero Academy, central HQ of the Allied Forces.
–Both the education center and command base of the Union.
“……”
You’ve got to be kidding me.
That’s like my house turning into Kim Jong-un’s mansion.
I can’t just waltz in disguised as a professor or something.
The Hero would recognize me in a heartbeat.
Even if I did sneak in, the moment they find out I’m a spy?
I’d be dead in seconds.
Which means… only one option remains.
- - -
“Thank you for your hard work today!”
“May the glorious light of the Union shine upon you!”
“Screw off, filthy Pride!”
Hero Academy Haven.
Nicknamed the “absolute safe zone,” Haven was both a hero-training institution and the very heart of the human alliance.
The environment was directly tied to real combat, and even the professors were all famous heroes. They said the fall of Haven would signal the end of humanity itself.
In other words, Haven was an impregnable fortress.
Lately, though, the Pride’s aggressive campaigns had left them desperate for fresh recruits.
“Listen up! No one gets in until break time—not even a cockroach!”
“Yes, sir!”
“I don’t care if even the Emperor shows up—keep them out! Understood?!”
“Yes, sir! We’ll stay sharp!”
The elite guard unit’s surveillance was airtight.
Even the Emperor would struggle to breach this fortress—
“Delivery!”
“Oh! Thank you for your service!”
“Right this way, please!”
—And it just got breached.
Ruin casually pushed a dolly through the front gate.
‘No fortress is immune to the power of parcel delivery.’
No matter how secure the place, you can’t stop all outside access.
‘Janitors, gardeners, couriers, security—plenty of viable cover identities.’
All Haven employees underwent strict screening and had ID badges. Other spies called the process ridiculous, but Ruin preferred it that way.
‘Because once you’re cleared, no one watches you anymore.’
And stealing someone’s identity? Basic spycraft for Firefly.
【Skin Swallow】
A mimicry technique that let him transform into whoever he “ate.”
‘Not dead—just eaten and spat out later.’
The courier whose face he borrowed was probably napping in the bushes somewhere. Not that Ruin was too worried, even if the guards had mentioned—
“Even that filthy ‘Firefly’ tried sneaking in recently! Got that?!”
…Wait, what? This is my first time here.
An imposter?
Well, it’s been fifty years—wouldn’t be surprising.
Still, no need to worry.
‘As long as I find the vault, it’s over.’
His senses were razor sharp. The guards and students weren’t paying him any mind. When the eyes around him vanished for a moment, a cold glint flashed in his gaze.
He pulled down his cap and passed between the students. His movements were silent, like a butterfly. No one suspected him. He blended in like wind through the trees.
And the real reason he chose this delivery guy?
“Get that stuff to the dorms, now!”
“Check the delivery address!”
Ruin snatched the recipient list from among the couriers in a blink. To a Black Agent ranked top-tier even in Pride’s intelligence bureau, it was child’s play.
Shff—
The list had addresses and names. Most were dorm students—nothing special.
But then—
‘There it is.’
Faculty.
Because Haven was technically a military base, information on staff wasn’t publicly available.
Only the Hero, the headmaster, and a few media-hungry heroes were known by name.
But a delivery list?
It showed everyone inside Haven—including where they were.
That kind of intel in Firefly’s hands could fetch a fortune on its own, but…
‘Garden… Garden… there it is.’
A smirk crept across Ruin’s face.
Because the door to the vault was in that very garden.
No need to sneak deeper into the academy—this was the easiest route in.
‘Last I heard, it’s been repurposed into a Herbology greenhouse classroom.’
Plus, from what he’d learned earlier, the Herbology professor was considered a washed-up nobody.
In other words, all he had to do was find out who it was, knock them out, and sneak in.
‘Now, the name of this minor hero is…’
–Grancia Farwell.
…Huh?
Why does that name sound familiar?
Ruin called over a nearby courier.
“Excuse me, sir. About this person…”
“Oh, Professor Grancia? Elf with a nasty temper. Just leave the box at the greenhouse. The TAs all ran away—it’s just her now.”
…Damn it.
It’s her.
Far from a minor nobody—she was a top-tier hero!
‘Why the hell is the Hero’s old comrade in a dead-end job?!’
Actually, no—that’s not even the real issue.
Grancia Farwell had been one of Ruin’s ‘targets’ during a past mission.
He’d seduced her for intel, pretended to fall in love, and vanished.
She was probably furious.
Letting out a groan at the name of an old flame, Ruin rubbed his forehead.
‘…Guess we’re skipping the greenhouse route.’
He’d heard rumors that she’d been desperately searching for Firefly ever since.
Better not risk running into her.
Besides, knowing how cautious that elf was, there was probably a barrier or two set up. Sneaking in would be a nightmare.
‘It’s fine. There’s more than one way in.’
Actually, he had a route safer than the garden.
His superior had suggested applying as a professor, but what kind of idiot would do that? He knew where the target was. All he had to do was bypass security.
Why go through all the trouble?
–You should apply.
Yeah, I’ll pass.
–We can help, if you want.
Oh please. Don’t think I don’t see through your ploy to rope me into work again.
His superior’s message flared to life in glowing letters, but Ruin ignored it.
All they wanted was intel on Haven—the beating heart of the Union.
–We’ll reward you handsomely if you uncover Haven’s secrets.
Sure, the reward sounded tempting… But I’m not doing extra work. Can I just take the money?
Annoyed and lost in thought as he detoured around the garden—
“I found you, Firefly.”
“!”
…What?
