Chapter 98 - Small Terror

At the headquarters of Ego-Stream, everyone was gathered closely in the forest in front of the main house.

They were all there to see this Death Knight I had brought.

[Ah! Being released from the seal makes me feel alive again!]

This guy, armored from head to toe in medieval-looking helmet and armor, was laughing while clicking his helmet.

Through the gaps in his gray armor, a black spiritual body was visible.

His body was composed of a black soul wearing armor.

Seeing our Death Knight so happy about being released from the seal in the ring, Choi Se-hee asked me with great curiosity.

"Wait. What is this? A ghost?"

"A ghost... Well, I suppose it could be seen that way?"

Ghost. Soul. Thought form. Familiar. Guardian spirit.

Whatever you call it, it's difficult to consider it human anymore.

You can touch it, but that's about it.

"...My goodness, I can't believe something like this exists. What exactly is this? If I could just study it properly..."

Meanwhile, Seo-eun was showing her science background by eagerly trying to analyze this Death Knight.

[Hahaha! Da-in, was it? Thank you for releasing me! Freedom tastes so sweet after so long. As my thanks, I'll help you with anything I can. Just say the word!]

He declared confidently while pounding his armor with his hands.

He says he'll help with anything he can. Um...

"Uh... Death Knight. I don't really have anything for you to do?"

[Death Knight? What's that! But, what did you say? Nothing for me to do?]

The Death Knight was startled.

Looking at him, I really had no choice but to say that.

I didn't have any particular role in mind for him from the beginning.

I just wanted to capture a powerful villain in advance for later, nothing more.

And originally, from what I saw in the original work...

"Don't you disappear after being out for a certain amount of time?"

[How did you know that? Yes, that's right. If I wander around this world for too long, my energy runs out and I need to rest. But I'm full of energy now, so I can last a few more hours!]

The Death Knight declared proudly.

Right. He seems to be at full power now, probably because he was sealed in the ring for so long.

So I can use his power at 100% for a while...

I'm not sure what to do. I hadn't thought about it.

Initially, I was planning to just take the ring, confirm there was a guardian spirit inside, and then seal it again.

I didn't expect it to be so... cooperative...

"Hmm. Alright. I'll ask for your help later. Let's go back in for now."

[What? Wait! Hold on! I can do—aaaaaaah!]

With that final scream, Death Knight was sucked back into the ring. The ring vibrated slightly with a humming sensation.

And just after sealing him again, something suddenly flashed in my mind.

That's right.

Apart from having a long cooldown after each use, this Death Knight showed tremendous power many times in the original work.

So... if he's this cooperative...

Why not just add him to my villain alliance, Ego-Stream, as a new villain?

I started seriously considering this idea.

I already have powerful villains I'm planning to use as my main force. But recruiting them from scratch will take time.

There will probably be about a three-month gap in terrorist activities after the Busan incident.

Should I outsource to him?

I wouldn't show my face on camera, just broadcast his terrorist activities under the Ego-Stream name.

Since the broadcast will go out under the Ego-Stream name, people will know it's happening under my direction, and it will demonstrate Ego-Stream's power.

And it would give Stardust some training too.

She'll get some training from the flood of villains appearing anyway, but fighting against a strong villain that I've refined would be a different experience.

The truly strong villains who used to torment Stardust have all been dealt with or recruited by me, so the remaining villains are relatively weak and can only maintain her skills, not strengthen them.

Only I can help her grow. Hahaha.

Anyway, this Death Knight was strong enough to earn an S-class designation in the latter part of the original work.

So then.

Should I send him out for a mini-terror attack rather than a main one?

It's natural to get tired if you only keep showing the main events. You need lighter ones in between for a change of pace.

Good. Let's call him out again.

I manipulated the ring again to release the Death Knight.

[....Thank you. Ah... I never realized how precious this air was!]

The Death Knight immediately knelt down, spread his arms toward the sunlight, and expressed his gratitude.

...Wait, this wasn't his character? I clearly remember him being taciturn and serious during his few appearances in the original work. What's going on?

Anyway, I approached this guy who would probably be shedding tears if he had eyes instead of a helmet.

"Do you want to work with me on something?"

[Absolutely! Command me anything!!!]

"It involves destroying buildings and fighting ability users. What do you think? Oh, and you can't harm civilians."

[What? Destruction? Combat?]

After saying that much and taking a breath, he suddenly burst into laughter and exclaimed.

[A real man never refuses destruction and combat! Excellent! I'll do it right away!!!]

This guy... he really understands a man's romance!

Mentally raising my evaluation of Death Knight, I nodded and said:

"That's the spirit! Are you ready to carry out a terror attack with me like a real man!!!"

[Yes!!! I don't know exactly what that is, but as long as I can move freely, I, Saint Petr...]

"Death Knight."

[...Death Knight. I'll show you the power of Death Knight!]

"Excellent!!!"

Let's do a light one right before the main terror attack!!

"...My brother has become even more foolish."

Seo-eun just muttered that.

Foolish? Call me a man.

Anyway, we immediately began preparing for the next mini terror attack. Since it's small-scale, once I teach Death Knight the basic common sense and what to say and do, we can go right away...?

***

[Isn't Ego-Star just for supporting has-beens?]

New wine needs new wineskins.

Let's let go of Stardust... Honestly, we've been too entangled with her for too long.

Icicle <---- The wave of the new era. Accept it now, you lowly mortals!

The era of Ice Mango is coming!!!!

=[Comments]=

[Stardust=Has-been / Icicle=Innovation. The change has begun]

[Honestly, watching him banter with Icicle is more fun than with Stardust lol]

ㄴ[They barely even talked, what are you talking about lol]

[Nope, can't give up on the original wife Stardust~ Mango started his villain debut by writing a letter to Stardust~]

ㄴ[The "legal wife" Stardust is undeniable lol]

ㄴ[The funny thing about Team Ice Mango: Terror attacks with Stardust so far: 5 times, with Icicle: ONLY 1 time! Yet they keep comparing Icicle to Stardust lol. That's a 5x difference~]

ㄴ[All the Team Stardust members from the neighborhood have gathered lol]

ㄴ[You have to look at the trend... The recent flow is definitely Icicle]

ㄴ[The trembling Team Stardust members would be a sight to see if the next terror attack happens in Busan again lol]

*

[Our Egostic fan cafe has really gone downhill]

Now they're even holding a World Cup tournament about which hero matches best with Mango lol

Why are you talking about this all day? Don't you get tired of it?

=[Comments]=

[For real... This is all because of Mangostick<<<< who doesn't carry out terror attacks or stream broadcasts lol]

ㄴ[True, if he caused terror attacks, we wouldn't be spreading these useless topics lol. It's all because of our useless Egostic]

ㄴ[He created a broadcast section on the Ego-Stream site but doesn't even stream, damn]

[Seriously lol it's so pathetic lol. But the trend is definitely Ice Mango, that's true]

ㄴ[Original Poster][For real lol]

ㄴ[Why is the original poster complaining but then agreeing lol]

ㄴ[The World Cup is stupid, but Icicle is definitely the legal wife lol]

ㄴ[Team Stardust, admit it! Egostic's arch-enemy is... Icicle...]

*

"Sigh... really."

Seoul Hero Association.

Shin Ha-ru, sitting at her desk looking at her laptop, found herself grinding her teeth without realizing it.

She had habitually gone to Egostic's fan cafe to read the posts, but lately, absurd stories had been popping up that made her blood boil.

...What nonsense, saying that Egostic's counterpart, his arch-enemy, is Icicle.

Egostic. She was the only one who knew him best, who understood him best, so where was this Icicle coming from? Seol-ah originally knew nothing about Egostic. She vividly remembered Seol-ah badmouthing Egostic to her face recently.

Before she knew it, her hands were already on the keyboard. Click-clack. She typed a comment.

[Stardust is the only one who truly understands and confronts Egostic, but lately there's been a lot of nonsense.]

After hitting enter and posting the comment, her mind became slightly uncomfortable because of what she had seen earlier.

[The trembling Team Stardust members would be a sight to see if the next terror attack happens in Busan again lol]

"..."

Surely.

Egostic wouldn't carry out his next attack in Busan again, would he?

He said he was tired of her now, that he'd only deal with Icicle. If so?

Her eyes darkened without her realizing it.

...Could it be?

As she returned to the main screen of the cafe with a slightly downcast mood.

The site was already burning with numerous new posts.

[Ego-Stream live broadcast ON lololol]

[What? It hasn't been that long since the last terror attack lol]

[It's in Seoul lol Team Ice Mango utterly destroyed lol]

[Stardust punch! Stardust punch! Stardust punch! Stardust punch! Stardust punch! Stardust punch!]

[Let's go let's go~]

"Stardust! Another terror attack in the heart of Seoul!"

And moments later, when an association employee urgently opened the door.

Shin Ha-ru had already changed clothes and was launching herself out the window.

The corners of her mouth turned up without her realizing it.

Right. There's no way Egostic wouldn't carry out an attack in Seoul.

As expected, his counterpart is her.

With that thought, she flew toward the incident site.

Listening to the association employee urgently giving her the location through her earpiece as she soared through the sky, she thought:

Egostic. It's been a while since the robot terror attack. I'll finally face you directly again.

***

"Brother, aren't you going out this time? Why are you staying home?"

"Death Knight will handle everything anyway. I've sent drones with cameras, so it's fine."

Outsourcing the terror attack 100% makes things so comfortable.

Home really is the best.

"...Should we eat some popcorn?"

It's not like anything would change if I were at the scene anyway.