Chapter 13 - Flash Mob

[Live Egostic Update) He just popped up on the street LOL]

(photo)

What even is this LOL

=[Comments]=

[Oh what the—? LOL]

[Live event is ON LMAO]

[Isn't this dangerous? I honestly don't know]

[Ahaha, are they filming a movie? LOL]

[Dude, you'll die filming that—run for it Shiver]

└[Real-man special) filming a crime scene]

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[OMG guys, Mangostick just showed up on the street!]

(video)

[Oh, what? Another terror attack? Scary...]

[Nah! This time it looks like he's chasing someone!]

[Yikes, in the clip some guy's sparkling while bleeding—this isn't murder, right? T_T]

[No way, you can tell he's hunting a Villain, yeah?]

[Dark Hero of Darkness, Mangostick! Take me with you!!!]

└[What even is Mango Squad LOL]

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[Real-time Trending #1]

#Egostic

***

"Huff... huff..."

Kim Hak-cheol, the Teleporter, forced his body forward, gasping raggedly. Normally a teleport this short would be effortless, but right now he was anything but normal. One hand clamped to the gunshot in his abdomen, he kept moving. Just forward. Only forward.

His vision swam. His limbs felt like lead. He was dying.

A surge of rage flashed through him.

What did I do to deserve this?

All he'd done was rob a few banks. Sure, a couple of people had died in the process, but that was their fault—why jump in his way?

He blink-stepped again, but pain and dizziness blurred his focus. Teleportation demanded a clear mental picture of the destination, and for the first time in his life a bullet had shredded his ability to think. He simply leapt to the farthest point he could see—again, again—though even that grew harder as darkness crept in.

"Gah!"

"Wha—what?!"

"Eek!"

He was in the heart of the city, a district thick with foot-traffic. A blood-soaked man flickering in and out of existence between pedestrians was bound to cause a scene.

Still, he had to keep going.

Because behind him—right behind—that bastard was closing in.

"Hello, citizens! Egostic here, at your service!"

"Yes, yes—bit busy right now, sorry! Oops!"

"Don't be alarmed, folks. I won't hurt you!"

"I'm just taking out the trash so you can all get back to your lives!"

That voice from behind—Egostic, the smug bastard.

Kim Hak-cheol knew him, of course. In South Korea, not knowing Egostic was tantamount to admitting you were a spy. All week the TV, the internet, every passer-by had buzzed with his name.

He knew the stories: two Villains assassinated. Yet Hak-cheol hadn't worried. Do you fear lightning and refuse to leave the house? He figured the dead Villains must have had personal run-ins with the Hero. People don't kill without reason.

So he'd been sure—utterly sure—that Egostic wouldn't come for him, wouldn't even know who he was. And if, by some miracle, the Hero did appear, Hak-cheol could always teleport away.

That certainty was betraying him in real time. Who expects a gunman to burst in while you're relaxing at home? The price of that miscalculation was chasing him down the street, dripping blood.

"Come on out, trash! Today's pickup day!"

"A-Rank Villain Teleporter—time to go to hell!"

"Trash belongs in bins, and trash Villains belong at the Lord's side!"

Egostic ranted like a lunatic, bellowing for the crowd to hear. To Hak-cheol, nothing was more terrifying than that voice—never fading, never faltering, no matter how far he jumped.

He groaned between teleports.

"Ngh..."

The world spun. Making it this far with a bullet in his gut was already a miracle.

If he hadn't possessed teleportation, and if his body hadn't squeezed out every last drop of strength in the face of imminent death—

He would already be a corpse.

"But alas, it seems your life ends here!"

Hearing the ranting from behind, Kim Hak-cheol finally collapsed.

His body's strength had given out—he could no longer teleport.

As he hung his head, gasping for breath, a shadow fell over him.

He lifted his gaze to see who cast it.

There stood a Villain wearing a half mask, grinning wickedly.

"Teleporter! You know what you did!"

"Hah... hah... Please, spare me. Please spare me..."

"Oh! You want me to spare you?"

At those words, Egostic looked around.

They were surrounded by a crowd of people.

Addressing the citizens encircling them, Egostic called out in a theatrical voice:

"Everyone! This piece of trash here stole billions in assets and murdered four innocent people! He slaughtered people who were someone's husband, someone's father, someone's friend, someone's son—innocent people who did nothing wrong! Should we let him live?"

"Kill him!"

"Kill the bastard!"

The frenzied citizens' shouts for death rang out.

Among them were some who wondered—didn't that bastard Egostic try to drown hundreds of innocent sons and daughters himself?—but not a single person would say that out loud in front of a gun-wielding Villain. Life is precious, after all.

In the midst of the cries demanding death, Egostic looked down at Kim Hak-cheol, shrugged, and grinned.

"They say kill you, don't they?"

"P-please. J-just once. Just spare me this once..."

"Really? Just once? Well, since it's just once... should I spare you?"

Kim Hak-cheol's expression brightened momentarily at Egostic's seemingly positive response.

But before Kim Hak-cheol could even open his mouth, Egostic's hand was already reaching out.

"Sorry, Hak-cheol, but that's not happening!"

The moment Egostic's laughter-tinged words ended, a bang echoed from somewhere.

That was A-Rank Villain Teleporter Kim Hak-cheol's last memory.

***

"Phew..."

One more bullet, and the Teleporter was finally dead.

As he breathed his last, the surrounding crowd erupted in cheers and applause.

"Thank you. Thank you."

When I bowed exaggeratedly in greeting, people clapped even louder.

But... uh...

H-hey, guys. I'm technically a Villain, you know?

So... what are you all doing crowding around me?

This world is surprisingly similar to my original world, except for the existence of superpowered individuals like Heroes and Villains.

But times like these remind me all over again that I'm in a different world.

When? When people applaud and celebrate after watching someone get shot and killed right in front of them.

I mean, shouldn't they be scared, screaming... something like that when someone gets shot dead before their eyes?

Yet here they are, smiling and clapping in front of a bleeding corpse as if it's nothing. It gives me an odd feeling.

Like watching people eagerly enjoying a public execution in medieval times. I guess there's not much difference, is there?

Maybe in this world, people have grown accustomed to death from the constant clashes between Heroes and Villains, or perhaps there's another reason.

Wait, hold on. Setting everything else aside—I'm a Villain, remember? I'm not a Hero, so what are you all doing?

I gave the still-applauding crowd a grin, then turned and said:

"Thank you! Thank you all! But you know, I'm also a Villain. What would you do if I suddenly started shooting at everyone here?"

At my words, people finally flinched and stopped.

Right, so you do have some common sense after all.

Only now?

Anyway, I had no intention of actually scaring them, so I added:

"Just kidding, everyone! I don't randomly harm innocent citizens! Whenever I pull something, I announce it beforehand, call the Heroes, and then make my move, so don't worry! Today I just came to clean up a Villain who's a bit more 'nasty' than me, so you can rest easy!"

At my words, people visibly relaxed.

Seriously, if you're going to be that scared, don't come close in the first place...

[Bro, if you're done, come out. Before the Heroes arrive.]

Seo-eun's voice came through my earpiece.

Right, time to leave.

Ugh, but I've been teleporting constantly and I'm exhausted, and now I have to go long-distance again. This is killing me.

Just as I sighed and was about to take off, a loud voice rang out from above.

"Egostic!"

Startled by the voice, I looked up to see—

"Stardus?"

Wait, why are you showing up here?