Chapter 79 - A Stepping Stone For The Future

After Electra's debut and the declaration of the Villain Union's creation, I decided to take a break for a while.

The advantage of being a villain is that you can take a few weeks off on your own after a big job.

Well, actually, I'm just waiting for the main event of the Original Work to happen.

Anyway, we were spending peaceful days like that.

"....I can't watch entertainment news lately."

A lazy afternoon.

While I was playing a game on the TV in the living room with Seo-eun, Choi Se-hee's voice came from behind.

"Why not?"

"Sigh. Because stuff like this pops up every time I check."

She sat on the sofa and showed me her phone screen.

On the screen was a rather dizzying article titled [Egostic X Electra: A Collection of Overflowing Chemistry.zip].

"Oppa! Look ahead!"

"Huh? Ack!"

For the record, I died in the game while looking at that.

"What a trash game."

If you die just because you looked away for a second, what else could it be but a trash game?

"Sigh... What were you looking at? Let me see too."

While Seo-eun looked at Choi Se-hee's phone, I spoke to Choi Se-hee.

"Don't worry too much. It's just people who don't know anything spinning theories anyway."

"No... but it's right there on the main page. Doesn't it bother you?"

Choi Se-hee looked down at me with a complicated expression.

Me?

Come to think of it, I was really startled when the dating rumor with Stardus first broke. To the point where I considered blowing up the broadcasting station.

But, well. Now.

"You get used to it if you keep seeing it."

"...Wow, how helpful."

While I was avoiding Choi Se-hee's sour gaze, Seo-eun, who was beside me, spoke up bluntly.

"No. I'm the one who's been by Oppa's side the longest, so why is it only Se-hee Unnie that people recognize?"

"What do you mean why? It's because you were in the back and Choi Se-hee stood in front of the camera with me."

"Ugh. Don't even bring up the camera. Do you know how embarrassed I was acting in front of it? I almost bit my tongue out of shame when I had to say, 'I am Electra!'"

"....But for someone saying that, didn't you seem to be enjoying it a bit from the middle onwards?"

"Me? Ha! That's ridiculous."

She shut her mouth and turned her head away with a slightly flushed face, as if my words had hit the mark.

And then there was the sound of Seo-eun muttering 'I should... do a terror attack too...' beside me.

Hmm.

Another peaceful day.

***

Still, our Ego Squad. No, should I call it Ego Stream now? Our Ego Stream members aren't just playing around. When it's time to work, they work.

Seo-eun and Subin are busy continuing to build the Ego Stream website. They said something about running macros... I'm not really sure what that means.

The siblings Ha-yul and Cha-yoon are studying hard. Especially Cha-yoon, who declared his ambition to join the Association when he grows up to help me. How commendable.

Choi Se-hee is still undergoing training to control her abilities.

As for me.

I was currently standing in the middle of downtown Seoul.

A street lined with old buildings, a common sight anywhere in Seoul.

I entered one of them, a small building made of red bricks.

Inside the dilapidated building that looked ready to collapse.

Once inside, I went straight down the stairs to the basement.

The basement was just as dark and shabby as the ground floor.

It was a path toward a basement that looked ordinary, but...

If there was a difference...

It was that no matter how far down I went, the stairs seemed to go on forever.

"....Good."

I muttered that to myself for no reason.

This is the right place, isn't it?

I continued to descend the stairs lightly as if there were no problem at all, but then I suddenly delivered a heavy kick to the side wall.

"Come out!!!"

At that moment, the wall crumbled as if it were made of sand.

Beyond that wall, a long corridor stretched out before me.

I'm in the right place.

An elegant stone corridor, softly bathed in green candlelight, stood in stark contrast to the dilapidated building from moments ago. I walked confidently through this place, where a light coating of moss created an even more mysterious atmosphere. Honestly, what era is this that they're still using candles? I felt like replacing them all with LEDs. It's time for some industrialization.

Lost in those idle thoughts, I soon reached the end of the corridor.

A black door stood before me.

It was a sophisticated obsidian door covered in intricate decorations, but that wasn't my concern. Whether it's made of wood, obsidian, or it's an automatic door, things meant to be opened are all the same. So, I boldly threw the door open.

Stepping inside, I found a somewhat spacious room glowing faintly with the same green candlelight.

Passing by various picture frames and a boiling cauldron, I strode toward an area partitioned by a light green veil.

My attire: from the black hat to the black shoes, cloak, and mask. I had already changed into my full Ego Suit. Honestly, I had a feeling she might see through my identity anyway, but I did it just in case.

As I pulled back the veil-like curtain, I saw a small round table with a crystal ball resting on it.

And facing me was a woman.

"Hello?"

As I greeted her and entered, she gave a quiet nod.

Draped in a deep green robe that covered her face, she was the Vine Witch—a villain who would be immediately granted S-rank the moment her identity was revealed to the Association.

Once I took a seat, she finally spoke.

"You're a face I haven't seen before. So, what brings you here?"

"Yes. I'm actually here to make a request."

That's right. The reason I sought her out was to commission a job.

I took out two leather notebooks I had prepared in advance.

One was my diary, and the other was a blank notebook.

"Please put a sealing spell on these two."

"What is the duration?"

"Both until the day I die."

I said that and pulled something else from my pocket.

A small box containing dozens of colorful gemstones.

As I placed the box on the table, she nodded and took the notebooks from me.

She then began to chant in a low voice.

As she placed her hands on my notebooks and muttered the incantation, both books began to glow with a light green light.

After a short while, the light faded.

She handed the two notebooks back to me, indicating they were done.

Taking them back and examining them, I saw mystical light green patterns etched onto the covers that hadn't been there before.

"...Now, no one but the owner will be able to open them or peek at the contents through any forced means."

"Thank you, Witch."

I said that and stood up from my seat.

I'd finished my business, so it was time to leave.

After saying those words, I pulled back the veil again and headed out. As I walked toward the door, a voice suddenly came from behind me.

"...You're walking a difficult path."

I paused slightly at her voice, which sounded as if it were just passing by.

At her words, which felt as if she were seeing right through me, my footsteps naturally slowed.

As expected, someone of her level could recognize it in an instant.

How should I respond?

...Right.

"...Because it's a path someone has to walk."

"Stay strong."

She offered me a brief word of encouragement in response to my answer.

Did the Vine Witch ever say something like that in the original work? I think this is the first time she's ever said something so supportive.

I quietly closed the door and walked down the hallway.

A difficult path.

I chuckled as I mulled over those words.

If it weren't difficult, I wouldn't have started it in the first place.

***

Back home, I looked at the two notebooks spread out before me.

One was my diary. Now that Choi Se-hee was living here, the risk of it being found was too high, so I'd sealed it completely. My goals and everything are written in there; it would be a disaster if it were discovered.

The other was the notebook I'd just bought.

I plan to fill this one up as I go. I'll save that for later.

Having finished my chores, I logged into the Stardus Fan Cafe.

The largest hero fan cafe in the country, which I founded myself. The Stardus Fan Cafe, "Stardus Squad."

Seeing the cafe grow day by day makes me feel strangely proud.

...Though the flaw is that the member count is still less than a quarter of my own fan cafe, the Mango Squad. I mean, does it make sense for a villain's fan cafe to be bigger than a hero's? I feel sorry for those who don't know Stardus's charm.

I grumbled while moderating the cafe.

Stardus photo... save. Stardus praise... like. Stardus dating rumor... delete. Stardus and Egostic look good together? ...Hmm. I'll leave that one alone.

As I was managing the posts one by one, I paused at a certain title.

[I heard from a friend at the Association that Stardus also went into the Haneun Group underground on the day Egostic did?]

I deleted it instantly and blocked the user.

You knew too much.

After the swift deletion, I thought back to the Haneun Group. The enemies of Seo-eun and Subin. The conglomerate that conducted secret experiments. And Kim Seonwoo, the project lead who fled along with his researchers.

Checking the calendar... right. It's almost time.

"I'm finally going to put an end to this."

Yeah.

This time, it's finally time to completely demolish those Haneun Group bastards—the mid-bosses of the original work and living misery-makers.

I stood up from my seat.

I should start getting ready for the broadcast and drafting a plan.

And this time, I'll make sure to call out Stardus specifically.

"...."

It's definitely not because I saw a post on my fan cafe lately saying it looks like Egostic has abandoned Stardus.

Definitely not.