Chapter 71 - Her Agony

It had been nearly a month since her investigation of the Haneun Group basement.

Since that day, Shin Haru found herself lost in thought more and more often during her daily life.

"........"

Whether she was studying, performing her hero duties, resting, or trying to sleep.

The thoughts that surged up unexpectedly were...

'...Why did he do that?'

She still couldn't be certain about what exactly had transpired in that basement.

What on earth was it?

Why did he act like that?

It was only natural to feel gratitude toward someone who saved your life.

Especially if that person had sacrificed themselves to save you.

Anyone would likely remain grateful for the rest of their life.

But the problem here was this.

The person who saved her had absolutely no reason to do so.

What exactly is the relationship between a hero and a villain?

To put it simply, they are enemies.

Bitter rivals who view each other as their primary targets.

To a villain, there is no existence more bothersome or desirable to eliminate than a hero.

And a hero burns through everything they have to bring a villain to justice.

Therefore, a villain saving a hero is something that shouldn't happen, even as a joke.

But the issue was that it actually happened to her.

"...."

The Haneun Group underground.

It was something she hadn't told anyone yet.

Egostic had thrown his body into harm's way to save her.

Perhaps... if he hadn't stepped in, she wouldn't even be here right now.

Aren't villains the ones who celebrate the most when a hero falls?

In fact, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that every villain in South Korea wishes for her demise.

Dozens of villains had actually tried to kill her before.

But why?

Why did that guy, Egostic, save her?

No. Even if she accepted the fact that he saved her, why did he go as far as throwing his own body to do it?

"......"

Sitting at her desk and working, Shin Haru fell back into her thoughts without even realizing it.

Lately, the same thought kept repeating over and over. No, rather, a sense of wonder. A curiosity born from it.

Why did he save her?

In truth, this incident put an end to all the doubts she had harbored about Egostic.

Yes. Something had been strange from the very beginning.

He went around taking down other villains.

Not a single person had died in any of the terror attacks he orchestrated.

And then, there were the facts that only she knew.

He had told her not to expose her face.

He had told her to stop the terror attacks and to believe in herself.

He had destroyed a bridge to prevent a disaster that only he had foreseen.

And this time, he had sacrificed himself to save her.

Yes. That's right.

Now, she really, truly had to admit it.

Egostic. He was no ordinary villain.

No, 'extraordinary' isn't enough. Could that word even define him?

In truth, she was no longer sure if she could even call him a villain.

Of course, as soon as that thought surfaced, she immediately dismissed it. No. If someone who orchestrates terror attacks, threatens civilians, and kills other villains at his own whim isn't a villain, then who is?

However.

Beyond the chaos he caused, he had been doing many other things behind the scenes.

When you look at the facts, not a single civilian has died because of him.

Yet, how many people have been saved because of him?

The terror attack where his followers took hostages? He stopped it.

The terror attack where Alligator Man went on a rampage downtown? He stopped it.

The terror attack caused by Monkey Spanner at the hotel? He stopped it.

The disaster caused by the monster created by Haneun Group? He stopped it.

...And even herself. He saved her.

While his criminal record certainly paints him as a villain.

If you only consider his accomplishments, calling him a Hero wouldn't be an exaggeration.

Then why does he display such a dual nature?

If he were an evil person, the reason for saving people wouldn't make sense.

If he were a good person, the reason for his terror attacks wouldn't make sense.

Actually, the former can be explained.

Why did he save people if he's an evil person? He had already explained that to her directly.

The terror attack by his followers was because it tarnished his reputation.

The terror attack by Alligator Man was because mentioning his name pissed him off.

The reason he told her to save the people on the airplane was to strengthen the rivalry between them.

The terror attack by Monkey Spanner at the hotel was just because he felt like it while passing by.

The disaster caused by the monster from Haneun Group was because he didn't want the aggro to be stolen.

Right. There's a reason for everything.

All those reasons he had explained to her, one by one, in such detail.

Would it be an overreaction to think those reasons were all just excuses?

No. Let's assume for a moment that he was telling the truth.

That all the good outcomes he's brought about so far were exactly as he explained, and that he really is an evil villain.

But even so.

How do you explain him saving her while risking his own life?

"Sigh..."

In truth, deep down...

Her heart was leaning toward the idea that it was difficult to view Egostic as a simple villain.

No, whether he was a villain or a good man, as he said, she owed him. He had sacrificed himself to save her from certain death.

But to say he isn't a bad guy at all, the terror attacks and the killing of villains he's committed so far still weigh on her.

Yet to call him a bad guy...

"Ugh..."

Yeah.

This is a question with no answer.

In fact, just thinking about Egostic makes her head and heart so chaotic that she feels dizzy.

He's a bad guy, right? But he's done a lot of good things? But then why did he save her?

And most importantly.

Somewhere deep in her heart, in the realm of intuition.

For some reason, her heart kept leaning toward the idea that he actually isn't an evil person.

There is no logic or evidence for that feeling.

It's just that the feeling keeps echoing like a whisper.

Could I be misunderstanding something...

What if even the terror attacks Egostic has caused so far had some kind of deep meaning? Or something like that...

"I must be going crazy."

She shook off her thoughts and gulped down the glass of water beside her.

Now she was even having these absurd thoughts.

"...."

And whenever she thought about Egostic like this...

It always ended with one final thought.

Is he safe right now?

It was actually ridiculous.

A Hero worrying about a Villain. It was something that would make the whole world laugh if word ever got out.

...No. Considering Egostic's popularity, that might not necessarily be the case. Regardless.

The conclusion of her thoughts about Egostic always ended with worrying about him.

He had been so severely injured.

If it wasn't treated immediately, then...

No. Before that, was it even an injury that could be healed with treatment?

When she last saw him, he had a wound so large it looked like a hole had been punched through his chest.

...But surely, there must be a way?

He must have acted so recklessly because he had something to rely on, right?

....Surely. He didn't just die like that, did he?

While saving her, so pointlessly.

"....."

No.

She reminded herself again to stop her mood from sinking without her realizing it.

Egostic. There was no way that secretive, scheming guy would fall so easily. He was surely resting somewhere.

Even while rationalizing it like that, whenever the thought struck her—Am I, a Hero, really worrying about a Villain?—she felt a pang of guilt, as if she were doing something forbidden.

...This isn't worrying about a Villain. It's just because it happened while he was saving her. Ah. Right. Even if he's a Villain, he shouldn't die like that; he should face the judgment of the law. Right.

"Sigh..."

She was worried.

But even worrying was a struggle.

So, she just kept agonizing over it.

...Right. For now, that guy has to be alive for her to ask him anything. She needed to confirm that this guy, Egostic, was alive.

With that logic, she entered Egostic's Fan Cafe again today.

She came here every day, hoping to find some news about whether he was alive or what he was up to...

*

[MUST READ) Whining about one month? Lol, last time it was almost half a year haha]

[Eating a Mangostick in gratitude once a day... Day 26]

[If you just wait patiently, he'll return... Just wait...]

[Last horror broadcast highlights ver.7]

[Wait, why was the clip deleted?]

[But what do we do now?]

[An Ego-fan here, I had a dream that Egostic came to our university festival today]

*

Looking only at the ultimately useless posts that were always uploaded, she let out a small sigh.

Right. Confirmation of his life or death would come naturally through the terror attacks he caused.

So today, as well. Technically.

The Hero was waiting only for the day the Villain would cause a terror attack.

***

"I won't be doing any terror attacks myself for a while."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'm going to live quietly for the time being, so please... please stop asking!"

"Good choice. After pushing your body like that, you should obviously be careful for a while."

"That was informal... Anyway, I won't be carrying out the next terror attack personally."

"Huh? Then what are you going to do?"

"I'll have to outsource it."

I grinned after saying that much.

Right. How much longer did I have to run around and cause terror myself?

To the people waiting for my terror attacks.

There won't be any for a while!

***

[Shin Haru, you have been promoted to a 'Sincere Member' of the 'Egostic Official Fan Cafe'. Congratulations!]

".....Ah."