What is 'evil'?

That was a question not many had an answer for. Other than an abstract and vague concept of what it could be, most people would find giving 'evil' a clear definition practically impossible.

One thing was for certain, however, and it was the fact that many of those people branded as evil by the rest of society often didn't see themselves as a 'really terrible' human being. And when some willingly called themselves evil, they didn't really view their actions as 'evil' per se but were aiming for the potential benefits of pretending to be an evil person.

Making a bluff of, 'I'm this evil, so don't you dare provoke me,' and successfully tricking everyone else with it could make society label an individual an 'evil' person. However, with the exception of a few special cases, most people branded as 'evil' thought that someone ‘evil’ wasn't really a bad person.

In that sense, Takahira Shingo was a bit... special. He saw himself as a villain.

Every person on this planet would come up with all sorts of excuses and arguments to defend the crimes and murders they had committed. For instance, it would be like using the excuse, 'This is what the world of martial artists is like!'

However, Takahira Shingo hated such things. Whatever the case, murder was still murder. A crime was a crime, no matter what....