The sky hung gray above the prison, but inside the women's wing, color returned to one face.
Mayumi sat against the wall, knees drawn to her chest, her fingers trembling around her collarbone.
"He said it," she whispered.
Hana sat beside her, panting. "He really… he said he's the villain."
Mayumi didn't respond at first. Her heart was still pounding.
Villain.
That word should've made her hate him more. Should've made her scared.
But instead… she bit her lip.
"Why does it make me feel this way?" she whispered, her cheeks flushed.
Hana blinked. "What?"
"I hated him," Mayumi said. "I wanted to hate him. I wanted to prove I was better. But…"
She gripped her chest.
"…why can't I stop thinking about him?"
Silence.
Then—BOOM.
A siren blared. Male prisoners were being dragged back into cells. Officers shouted across the yard.
"Everyone—back inside!"
But no one moved.
The prisoners—injured, bloodied, afraid—were still staring at the spot where Ryker had stood. As if a shadow of him still lingered.
"Even after beating all of us," Kujo muttered, "he… he wasn't proud. He wasn't angry. He just…"
"He accepted it," Ryu said quietly, leaning against a wall with a bruised face. "Like it was his fate."
Kujo looked up at the prison tower. "He called himself the villain…"
"…but he fights like someone who's trying to protect something."
Inside her room, Mayumi turned on the faucet, splashing her face.
She stared at her reflection, her voice a whisper only the walls could hear.
"If you're the villain, Ryker… then what does that make me?"
She touched her lips, heart racing again.
"Why does the villain feel more honest than anyone I've ever met?"
The water kept running, but her tears didn't stop.
The yard was silent.
Dozens of prisoners—men once feared for murder, theft, and rebellion—lay scattered on the ground like broken dolls. Blood mixed with dust, pain with silence.
And at the center of it all…
Ryker stood alone.
His black coat waved gently in the cold wind. His eyes, calm yet terrifying, scanned the field like a king looking at his defeated kingdom.
No one dared speak. No one dared move.
"Ryker…" Kujo muttered, still on one knee. "What… what are you going to do now?"
Ryker didn't respond right away. He stepped forward and looked toward the guard tower.
"I don't care about rank," Ryker said. His voice was low, deep, steady. "I don't care about prison rules."
He looked at every prisoner around him.
"From now on… you all answer to me."
Gasps. Some eyes widened. Others dropped their heads in shame.
"You lost your chance at freedom long ago," Ryker said. "Now, you can at least choose how you survive. Obey… and live. Fight… and be crushed."
The officers in the tower hesitated. Even they didn't move.
"Y-You can't just take over," one of them shouted from above.
Ryker turned his head toward him. "Then stop me."
The officer didn't say another word.
Inside the women's prison, chaos had turned to whispers.
Mayumi sat on her bed, gripping the edge. Hana was pacing behind her.
"Did you hear what he said?" Hana asked.
"Yeah," Mayumi replied quietly. "He's taken control."
A long silence.
"He didn't even hesitate. He took down the strongest inmates like it was nothing."
Mayumi clutched her pillow.
"And now…" she whispered, "…he rules everything."
Her heart was confused.
Why did that make her feel safe?
Why did the villain's rule feel… peaceful?
She closed her eyes.
"If this world needs a king… maybe it needs a monster like Ryker."
The next morning, the entire prison felt different.
It wasn't just the silence—it was the weight in the air.
Every man in the cafeteria sat still, eyes lowered, trays untouched. Even the guards stood more alert, hands near their batons.
And Ryker?
He entered without a word.
Clothed in a dark uniform with sleeves rolled up and gloves tight on his hands, he walked with the confidence of someone who had already won. Behind him, Kujo followed like a loyal shadow, carrying a notebook.
"Status," Ryker said.
Kujo flipped pages. "East Block surrendered. West is quiet. The older guys from South asked to meet you. No one's moving without your word."
Ryker nodded once.
He stepped onto the center table—stood high above everyone—and looked over the room like a ruler gazing at his soldiers.
"No one here is innocent," Ryker said, voice calm, steady, and cold. "You all killed. Betrayed. Hurt others."
A few prisoners clenched their fists, but none dared speak.
"I'm not here to forgive you. I'm here to control you."
He looked directly at Ryu, who was sitting alone with bandages on his face and a dead stare in his eyes.
"You hate me? Good. Use that hate. But you'll follow my order."
Then he looked across the room again.
"From now on, this place belongs to me. You follow the code I give you. You fight, steal, or break the rules—you'll answer to me, not the guards."
A silence. Then, one by one, prisoners stood and nodded.
Not out of fear—but because they saw what happened when Ryker fought.
And maybe, just maybe… they saw something more terrifying than fear.
Order.
That Night – Prison Roof
Ryker stood alone, looking at the moon. His coat fluttered in the wind.
"Everything in this world bends under control," he whispered. "They call me a villain… but villains know how to build a world better than heroes ever could."
He pulled out a folded photo—his sister, smiling as a child.
"I'll build a place where no one hurts like we did. Even if I have to become the devil to do it."
In the women's prison, the news had already spread.
"He rules them," Hana whispered, pressing her ear to the old, static-ridden radio. "They say no one breathes without Ryker's order."
Mayumi stared at the wall. She had stopped eating. Stopped talking. All she could hear in her head was Ryker's voice—
"I'm not here to forgive you. I'm here to control you."
She clenched the fabric of her shirt. Her heart beat faster again.
"He's a monster…" she muttered, barely audible. "He manipulates people, breaks them, bends them, burns them."
But her lips trembled—and so did her fingers.
"So why…" she whispered to herself, "why does it make my heart race?"
She covered her face, turning away from Hana. "I'm broken too…"
Hana blinked. "Mayumi, are you okay?"
Mayumi nodded, slowly. "I think I like monsters."
Later – Mayumi's Room
She lay on her bed, hands behind her head, staring at the dim ceiling.
"Ryker… You became a ruler. A villain. But when I think of you… it doesn't feel wrong."
She closed her eyes.
"I don't know what I feel. But it's not hate."
Her heart whispered what her lips couldn't:
"Maybe, I don't want to be saved. Maybe, I just want to be seen… by you."