Chapter 112 - After The Incident

The gradually weakening purple storm.

In the final moments of the footage broadcast live across the nation, a blimp could be seen calmly disappearing through the storm.

[Hahahahaha! Everyone, farewell!]

The masked man, Egostic, smiled at the camera and disappeared after giving a simple hand gesture as a greeting.

And still in his arms, the Moon Priestess remained quietly with a flushed face.

And beside the two, a woman in a white robe standing calmly.

With that, the blimp vanished into the night sky, and the footage finally ended.

After that night passed, the next day.

The Republic of Korea

Both in reality and online.

Was in absolute chaos.

*

Cable TV debate channel.

[Look at everything Egostic has done so far! At this point, wouldn't it be fair to call him a true hero?]

[Um... don't say such strange things. No matter what, Egostic has committed acts of terrorism]

[So! Has there been even one fatality? Has there?!]

[...There haven't been any casualties so far, but if things had gone wrong, there could have easily been...]

[Be quiet!]

A man shouted, causing the middle-aged panelist to break into a sweat.

The jury sided with the man who supported Egostic.

*

Current affairs program.

[Egostic. Until now, everyone has known him as an A-class villain. But have you heard the rumor that he used to be a hero?]

[Our program "The Truth" has thoroughly investigated a man who entered a hotel terror scene in Busan, claimed to be an S-class hero, and then disappeared.]

[A-class villain. And S-class hero. What could be the truth?]

*

News.

[Good evening. This is the 9 o'clock news. The Moon Priestess's second terror attack that had been burning Seoul. Many citizens were trembling in fear. That terror has now ended during its third phase. None other than by the villain, Egostic. Our reporter Kim Dong-han brings you this unbelievable news.]

*

Economic newspaper.

[KOSPI rebounds for first time in a month after Egostic's counter-terrorism operation... (Photo: Cheering securities firm employees)]

*

YouTube.

[America is shocked, Japan is flipped upside down, and even the Queen of England is surprised by K-villain Egostic, raising Korea's global status? "I want to live in Korea where villains are no different from heroes." Korean immigration expected to hit an all-time high!]

*

Egostic's fan cafe was, needless to say, buzzing.

[World's greatest villainㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Like if you agree this era needs the best villain allianceㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[There are still people calling an SSS-class hero a villain?]

[Call to action) Petition for Egostic's hero reassessment in the National Assemblyㄱㄱ]

[Like if you've been camping on this cafe non-stop for the past two daysㅋㅋㅋ]

[Mangostick <- This guy is just good at everythingㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Worth waiting almost half a yearㅋㅋㅋ]

[Damn the Egostream members are legendaryㅋㅋ]

[3 A-class heroes <<<<< 1 Egostic for realㅋㅋ]

*

[Hey, God. Why aren't we starting the meeting?]

(Just an image of God looking straight ahead)

"Egostic hasn't arrived yet."

=[Comments]=

[1000 likes but 0 comments, are you guys crazy?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

*

[We are living in the era of Egostic]

For real, without Mango, Seoul would've been on the brink of destruction

How the hell did he seduce the Moon Priestess like that ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

=[Comments]=

[Good at terrorism, good at seducing women, there's nothing he can't doㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Seriously, he literally seduced her, did you see her blushing?ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

ㄴ[First time seeing the Moon Priestess and she's blushing in Mango's arms ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[The Moonlight Cult or whatever just got NTR'dㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

ㄴ[Golden Sun Mango... abbreviated as Golden Mangoㄷㄷ]

ㄴ[Woohoo wwww Got the priestess of the Moonlight Cult☆]

ㄴ[But when he was caught on camera I really thought he was the Golden Sunㅋㅋㅋ]

*

[Mangostar and Ice Mango were all water rocketsㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

Now it's the era of Moonlight Mango

(Photo of Egostic embracing the Moon Priestess)

(Photo of the Moon Priestess blushing in Egostic's arms)

Are there any other women around Egostic with this level of skinship?

Ahㅋㅋㅋ Until now it was just speculation, but now it's realㅋㅋㅋㅋ

=[Comments]=

[Boarding the Moonlight coin like crazyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[For realㅋㅋ and since they're on the same Egostream team, the possibility is super highㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

ㄴ[Electra is also a villain... is Egoctra forgotten?]

ㄴ[Who's that? I don't even remember]

[Also, wasn't there a new woman caught at the end of the video? That woman in the white silk clothes]

ㄴ[Yeah, it was mentioned on the Egostream website too. Moonlight and Saintess were added. Saintess must be that woman]

ㄴ[Mango has suspiciously many women around himㄷㄷ]

[Actually, a video leaked online of Egostic stroking Stardus before entering the storm~ Can't give up on Egosticㄷㄷ]

ㄴ[? Where did you see that?]

ㄴ[Wait whatㄱㄷ]

ㄴ[Someone posted it on their blog just a while ago but the entire blog disappeared wtf?]

ㄴ[Delusional gay....]

ㄴ[Is this the average Team Stardust member...?]

ㄴ[No, damn it, it was really there!!!!]

ㄴ[Team Stardust can't win with facts so now they're fighting with propaganda and fabricationsㅉㅉ]

ㄴ[Damn it, I feel so wronged]

[But I'm really curious about the Association's reaction nowㅋㅋㅋㅋ What are they doing?]

***

Korean Paranormal Ability Association.

Also known as the Hero Association, in their meeting room.

"Hahahahaha!! I'm truly relieved."

"Director... please, show some dignity..."

"No, how can I not be happy? Ah! I really thought we were screwed this time. We were about to abandon Seoul and relocate the capital. But then Egostic suddenly appeared out of nowhere and solved everything. How could I not be happy? Hahahahaha!"

As the Director's loud laughter echoed throughout the meeting room,

the Association personnel sitting beside him spoke with awkward expressions.

"Um... but Director. This doesn't seem like the time to laugh. The media keeps publishing articles asking what the Association was doing while a villain was solving the incident..."

"Oh, that? What has our media response team been doing? Tsk. Well, call them and tell them to publish an article like this. Ahem. 'Thanks to our Association's heroes who held out until the end, this incident was resolved with minimal damage. Although a villain's affiliation has changed, the Association will continue forward without wavering.' Something like that."

"Yes. Understood."

"Hahaha! Anyway, this isn't even a problem. Better than Seoul's destruction!"

After laughing for quite some time, the Director finally composed himself and began the official meeting.

"So. What are our heroes doing now?"

"Stardus is currently receiving treatment at the hospital, and Icicle has returned to Yu-seong Corporation to sponsor the victims. Shadow Walker... is still secluded at home."

"Sigh. That Kim Ja-hyun... Really... A young man can experience failure once. Why is he so withdrawn?"

"I hear his girlfriend is still trying to contact him... but it doesn't seem to be working."

"Well, he'll probably get better with time. Let's think about that issue later. Are there any other matters to report?"

At the Director's question, one employee who had been hesitant spoke up cautiously.

"Um... and, we're getting a lot of inquiries about Egostic these days."

"What?"

"Inquiries about when he'll be promoted to S-class. The Moon Priestess under him is already S-class, and people are asking why Egostic, who leads an alliance of numerous A-class villains including her, is still A-class..."

"That? Didn't we submit an inquiry to the International Association Oversight Committee before? Stardus and Egostic, they still haven't been promoted to S-class?"

"No. I believe it's being delayed because the headquarters is in chaos due to a villain attack."

"Is that so? The headquarters is in America? Anyway, those Americans never have a peaceful day. Anyway, forget that. Are we tracking the Moonlight Cult as Egostic mentioned?"

"Yes. It seems our previous deductions were correct. It appears to be a religion that worships its leader as God's apostle, and that leader seems to possess special abilities. However, the organization is so secretive that it's quite difficult to obtain information."

".... How on earth did that Egostic find out so much? Anyway, well. But since Egostic took away that Moon Priestess person, they must have taken a big hit too, right? Hahahahaha!"

***

Deep underground. An alien-looking cathedral.

In the shadowy place, a follower approached the cult leader, knelt down, and spoke.

"...I'm sorry, leader. It seems the connection with the Moon Priestess has been completely severed."

To the follower's words spoken in a low voice,

the leader sitting in a chair was silent for a moment, then quietly spoke in a scratchy voice.

I understand. Anyway, there is no eternal life granted to apostates.... She was merely a slave of God, so whatever happens to her will be her karma.... Our plans are unaffected, so it doesn't matter, my child. You may go now.

Although the cult leader spoke as if it were nothing,

the follower noticed the leader's hand trembling violently on the armrest, and quickly bowed his head and fled.

And once again alone, the leader

quietly muttered.

Egostic...

Yes.

....A youngster worth remembering....

***

While the Moonlight Cult leader is anxious,

Koreans are praising him,

The guardian of Seoul who has the world's attention, K-villain Egostic.

"Oppa. Why did you stroke Stardus? Are you advertising to the whole neighborhood that you like her?"

"Hey. That... hugging that priestess in front of so many people and touching her face... wasn't that, um, too suggestive?"

"Da-in. Someone named Lee Seol-ah keeps calling."

"...."

I was currently having an in-depth discussion with my members about my relationship with Stardus and the process of recruiting these villains.

Still behind me, the Moon Priestess, Baek Eunwol, was clinging tightly.

....Help me.