Being a Villain is My True Calling

On a quiet night.

“[Yaaawn…]”

The man assigned to monitor this desolate island, surrounded by nothing but trees and ocean beyond his workstation, let out a tired yawn as fatigue washed over him.

“[Hey, John! Dozing off on your first day? Should we dock that from your pay?]”

“[Huh! Ahem! Ah, no sir, Bob!]”

Noticing his drowsiness, his colleague Bob chuckled mischievously.
Bob was the senior officer tasked with training John during the handover period.

“[I know it’s your first day with the training and night shift, but try to power through, buddy!]”

“[My apologies…]”

John was a rookie prison guard, newly assigned to this facility.
Being a fresh recruit, he still had much to learn, compounded by the night shift he had been unceremoniously thrust into as part of some supposed “initiation” tradition, rather than its scheduled commencement a week later.

“[But don’t be too disheartened either! In reality, these security patrols can be rather laidback~]”

“[Pardon?]”

Bob flashed a friendly grin, giving John’s shoulder a companionable squeeze.
John, however, failed to comprehend his meaning.

Even so, this was a prison, was it not?
Noting John’s perplexed expression, Bob burst into laughter.

“[Do you know where we’re currently stationed?]”

“[Well, of course, Tartarus…]”

“[Exactly, Tartarus. The world’s worst super-powered criminal facility, a hellish pit for meta-humans. What deranged lunatic would willingly venture into this place?]”

“[Ah.]”

That profound confidence in their workplace struck a chord with John, prompting a reluctant nod of agreement.

Tartarus, the legendary underground super-max of the underworld.
While over 70 years had elapsed since its completion, it had never once experienced a successful breach.

“[Once you’re in this anthill, good luck ever crawling back out.]”

Bring it on, for any inmate brazen enough to come knocking on their doorstep.
With a sly grin, Bob took a swig from his smuggled whiskey flask.

Prompting John to cautiously survey their surroundings.

“[Bob, drinking on duty is rather…]”

“[Relaaax~ I’ve been doing this for years without a hitch.]”

Gulp…gulp…

“[Kyaha! Here, have a celebratory glass for your first day, buddy.]”

“[…Very well, I suppose one drink wouldn’t hurt.]”

After some contemplation, John acquiesced to sharing a drink with his senior.

‘What harm could it do, really?’

Unless driven utterly insane, no villain would dare approach this place.

Swish.

‘Hmm?’

Detecting a fleeting sensation, John turned to scan their vicinity.
Aside from his colleague Bob, no one else seemed present.

“[……]”
“[John? Something wrong?]”
“[…No, sir.]”

Shaking his head dismissively at Bob’s query, John took a seat and began sipping the proffered beverage.

‘Just my imagination, I suppose.’

-Not overlooking a thing here.
“Shh.”

Unbeknownst to him, that faint presence he had sensed was quite real.

-Tartarus, infiltration successful!
“It’s Tartaros.”

The infiltration proved easier than anticipated.
Thanks to the guards’ drunken revelry, I could slip inside undetected.

‘Truthfully, the entry itself wasn’t overly challenging…’

The true difficulty lay in orchestrating an eventual escape.

“Could you guide me onwards from here, Rinring?”

-Leave it to me, I’ll lead you through Tartarus as effortlessly as a garden path~

“Since this is Tartaros, after all.”

For now, it seemed prudent to postpone contemplating the escape.
My objective remained unaccomplished, so I couldn’t afford distractions about the exfiltration yet.

-Beep beep. Take the next left turn~

Following Rinring’s directions, I ventured deeper into the prison’s interior.

-Here’s where the actual prison begins.

Under Rinring’s guidance, evading the guards’ notice, I managed to traverse the ground level and eventually reached the inmate housing area on sublevel 1.

“[Come on, hurry it up!]”
“[The longer you dawdle, the more time gets added, didn’t I warn you? The other guys have already finished up and gone back to their cells, do you plan to keep at it until morning?]”
“[Hic! My apologies!]”

Concealing myself, I surveyed the scene – several inmates performing labor under the watchful eyes of guards issuing reprimands.
This sight elicited a disappointed reaction from Rinring, who was monitoring the footage via my jacket’s covert camera.

-What’s this? Why are they so compliant? Just like any regular prison!

Tartaros.
Certainly, its infamous reputation as the worst penitentiary shaped the common public perception.

‘A hellish purgatory where inmates endure unimaginable torment.’

While the specifics varied by individual, the prevailing notion was that prisoners here suffered unrelenting agony.

-Where’s the vaunted infamy?!

If one expected such harrowing scenes, the rather mundane reality could understandably breed disappointment.

‘Perhaps 40 or 50 years ago, but you won’t find that on sublevel 1 anymore.’

“This is sublevel 1 we’re on, after all.”

Sublevels 1 through 3 housed inmates with relatively minor offenses.
Incarcerated due to their troublesome meta-abilities, yet lacking true malicious intent or formidable powers – mere small-time delinquents.

If villains were ranked, these convicts would barely qualify as D or E-class at best.
Anything resembling a genuine supervillain threat didn’t emerge until the lower levels.

“If you wish to witness the spectacle you anticipated, we’ll need to descend further.”

Since our objective lay at Tartarus’ deepest recesses, we were bound to encounter it along the way.

“Let us proceed gradually.”

-Okaaay~ Hacking complete!

“While it’s nighttime, the guards are still patrolling. Please guide me along routes minimizing our chances of being spotted.”

-Just a moment, let me configure this…

The sound of rapid typing echoed through the comm.

-Got it! All set!

Rinring’s energetic voice resounded with confidence.

-Ready to go, bro?

“I’m relying on your expertise.”

-Eeeh…

Seeming mildly disappointed by my response for some reason, Rinring let out a dejected sound.

Well, what could I do?
I hardly knew how to engage with an outdated meme she was attempting to reference.

“…Of course.”

-Yeeah! Let’s move out!

Heaving a sigh, I ultimately decided to indulge her antics after a momentary internal struggle.
Pleased by my participation, Rinring’s energy levels spiked even higher.

-You’ll need to follow my directions precisely, big bro!

“Let’s attempt a swift infiltration run.”

With that briefing initiation, I set off at a brisk pace.

-Take the left fork ahead!
-Guard straight ahead! Veer right for now!
-Enter that room and pause for 30 seconds to catch your breath!
-Run along this path for about 2 minutes, there’s a large vent ahead! Go through there!
-And then!..
-At this point..!

Thanks to Rinring’s meticulous guidance, I could successfully evade the roving patrols while descending deeper.

-Sublevel 2 seems navigable just like 1, doesn’t it?

Proceeding through sublevels 2 and 3, whose layouts mirrored the first, I eventually reached sublevel 4.
Upon arrival, I immediately concealed myself within a CCTV blindspot and surveyed my surroundings.

Zziing-

-This area is…
“The solitary confinement wing.”

Levels 4 and 5 housed various inmates convicted of severe crimes.
Additionally, troublemakers who had resisted the guards or lacked sufficient power were relegated here.

-Feels like a psychiatric ward, somehow.

Uniform cell doors lined the narrow corridors at regular intervals.
Occasional muffled screams and shrieks could be heard echoing from certain areas.

Compared to the upper levels, inmates here existed under significantly stricter monitoring during their incarceration.

They were prohibited from all activities.
Their sole permissible conduct was to stand facing the wall.

“Should they dare cause any disruptions or unruliness…”

Creeeeak.

Guards would immediately materialize to administer brutal beatings without uttering a word.
Devoid of any discernible emotion, they mechanically dispensed punishment like soulless automatons.

-W-Wow…

“You likened it to a psychiatric ward earlier. An apt comparison.”

Though the distinction lay between merely confining the mentally unsound, versus driving the confined into insanity through such confinement.

Within this stagnant space, solitary inmates could do naught but slowly descend into madness.

“Those who demonstrate potential for rehabilitation and reform may eventually be transferred back to the upper levels.”

-Quite a systematic approach, it seems.

Of course, everyone knew that most case-hardened offenders remained irredeemable despite such measures.

“I’ve recuperated sufficiently. Shall we proceed?”

-Let’s go!

The solitary wings spanned levels 4 and 5.
Excluding the denser CCTV coverage, their layout resembled the upper levels.

-Got the route mapped, big bro! Run for it!

‘Time for a brisk pace.’

Once more adhering to Rinring’s meticulous directions, I resumed my swift infiltration.

“Phew…haah…”

‘Somehow made it this far.’

The door before me, marked ‘B6’, signaled my approaching destination.

‘Stay focused, the danger escalates from here onwards.’

I had safely traversed sublevels 1 through 5 with Rinring’s assistance.
Merely evading the guards’ line of sight had sufficed until this point.

However, sublevel 6 differed fundamentally from the preceding areas.

‘From here, the guards play no part.’

This level represented the root cause behind Tartarus’ notorious infamy as the worst prison.