Chapter 117 - Her Strategy

"Urgh...."

In a wide street where people had already fled in all directions, leaving no one behind, Shin Ha-ru was engaged in battle with a giant robot known as "Starbuster."

[Haa, haa. Huff, I was a bit worried when my brother said you were so strong, but you're not that strong after all!]

The girl inside Starbuster was trying her best to taunt despite looking slightly tired.

Dodging another steel fist flying toward her, Shin Ha-ru thought to herself.

'Where on earth does Egostic keep finding these villains?'

No, not just one or two, but like peeling an onion, new villains kept appearing one after another, making her wonder. It hadn't even been a few years since Egostic said he would create a villain alliance, and already he had introduced quite a few villains. Electra, Team Lapis, Death Knight, and now this.

And now there was this woman piloting some kind of walking armored vehicle that was as sturdy as a tank.

[Haah. Try attacking! Why do you keep running away?]

...And this girl looked strangely young no matter how you looked at her. Her age was roughly... hard to tell, maybe middle or high school?

Having made this assessment, Shin Ha-ru was filled with anger again.

Employing a minor to do villain work—was Egostic in his right mind?

[Haah, ha! Seeing how you only run away, you're nothing special, lady!]

...But such thoughts gradually faded with the continued taunting.

The constant provocations were starting to crack Shin Ha-ru's mental fortitude.

While she had been thinking 'This poor child is being used by Egostic!' until just a moment ago, now her thoughts had changed to giving this impudent kid a proper adult education.

...Lady? Ha. What kind of baseless provocation was that?

How old did she think she was? Ha, ridiculous.

This childish taunt, which she had never heard from any villain before, actually filled her with rage.

But letting emotions get the better of you before completing the job was amateur behavior.

'A first-class hero must kill their emotions and fight with sharp reason.'

"......"

That saying she had heard somewhere in the past.

Recalling that memory, she cooled her head and analyzed the situation again.

Boom-. Boom-.

Currently, the robot kept attacking, and she was either dodging or occasionally blocking while fighting defensively.

And the girl inside that machine.

[Ugh, aah! Stop just dodging and fight back!]

"......"

She was getting annoyed at Stardust who kept running away and only blocking her attacks.

[Are you going to dodge this too? How about this? Hya!]

Stardust responded defensively to observe the situation.

Watching her, the girl inside the machine muttered.

[I don't get it. Why does my brother always care only about you?]

".....!"

Shin Ha-ru froze at those words.

....He only cares about me?

Trying to control her suddenly racing heart, Shin Ha-ru's mind raced.

In truth, there wasn't much information about Egostic. He was a mysterious figure who always said what he wanted to say and then disappeared.

She dodged another incoming attack and glanced toward where Egostic was.

He was sitting on one of the floating metal cages, talking to the camera.

Yes. This might be her chance.

A chance to obtain information about Egostic, more valuable than anything else.

...A chance to learn more about him, something she had always been curious about.

Having made this decision, Stardust briefly flew away to create distance from the Starbuster, then shouted at her in an angry voice.

"You. Just what kind of villain are you? Another one newly hired by Egostic?"

Pretending to be angry, she mixed in some provocation to gather information.

If she had been facing Electra or Death Knight, she would have only received answers like 'Hmm... who knows?' or 'Hahaha!' and that would have been the end of it.

[What did you say! I wasn't newly hired, I've been his comrade from the very beginning!]

Bingo.

As expected, the girl in the robot started spilling information.

It was a bit annoying how she emphasized being a comrade from the beginning, or called him "brother" to seem close... but this could be used to her advantage.

Still maintaining her outward anger, Shin Ha-ru asked again, with the most incredulous voice in the world.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Everyone already knows you're not Egostic's first comrade. If you were his comrade, what have you been doing all this time?"

[Ugh....!]

Hearing her provocation, the girl burst with frustration and began operating the robot more roughly.

The attacks came much stronger than before.

Dodging those punches, Stardust focused intently on what the girl was saying.

[I am the first comrade! I'm the one who's been doing all the broadcast hijacking and hacking from behind the scenes! It's so unfair!]

The girl spoke as if she was truly wronged.

Hearing this, Stardust raised her voice slightly in surprise and asked.

"You did all that hacking? From where exactly?"

[From where? Obviously, from the same house...]

The girl who had been excitedly talking suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

Then, she whispered so quietly it was barely audible.

'...Huh? No, brother. Isn't this much okay? No? ... Alright, hmph.'

After whispering as if talking to someone inaudibly, she shouted loudly again.

[...Stop saying useless things and just fight properly!]

After saying that, she kept her mouth firmly shut and focused on the battle.

'....Tch.'

Clicking her tongue inwardly while dodging another attack, she looked back and saw Egostic looking in her direction.

...She had almost gotten everything, what a shame.

But it didn't matter.

She could hear the rest of the story after taking her to the Association.

She then stopped her passive behavior of just dodging and began to summon strength back into her body.

Her aura suddenly changed.

And simultaneously.

She charged at Starbuster again. Fiercely.

[...Huh? Wait!]

End this quickly.

That was her only thought.

***

This world is nothing but despair.

It's a hellish world where endless malice and everything that accelerates destruction boils like poison at the foundation of the world.

Humans try to kill humans.

Monsters try to kill humans.

Even gods try to kill humans, such a terrible world.

...Of course, I'm working hard to prevent it.

I'm reducing each and every possibility of destruction one by one.

Though I don't know how long this will last.

Even these moments of smiling, causing terror, and meeting Stardust might not have much time left.

'....Well, it's probably too early to worry about this.'

It's still peaceful for now.

Countless citizens haven't died like swarms of ants, and Seoul hasn't turned into ruins causing South Korea's national fortune to decline.

"........Not bad."

I muttered to myself.

Yes. The peace of the world is being maintained. All thanks to me.

It's good that the world is peaceful.

But the problem is that it's too peaceful, and now society has become one where people like me, villains, are adored.

".....Not bad, not a bad day. Perfect for killing you!"

"Eeeeeek!"

Sitting cross-legged on the metal cage, I shouted at the person below me while waving a gun. Smiling.

The woman trembled and hid in a corner.

Yes, her reaction is excellent. Actually, the reason I'm sitting on this cage is because this woman had the biggest reaction earlier. She's a goldmine for reactions. I like it.

Anyway, after threatening an unarmed civilian forced into a cage with a gun while smiling and saying I'd kill her, I glanced at the chat. This should be enough to make people terrified, angry, and curse at me, right?

[Hahaha Mangostick is finally acting like a villain again lol]

[Like if you want to be trapped in that cage instead lol]

[I want Ego oppa to threaten me with a gun while sexily smiling too... so jealous]

[Mango is kind of cute when he acts villainous... Is this what they call gap moe?]

[I'm in a taxi now, will you put me in a cage too if I rush there?]

...I was wrong. These people are crazy.

Please, please, just one person curse at me.

Did my fan cafe members take over this chat? Is that what's happening?

Thinking that, I turned my head again to watch Stardust and Starbuster fighting.

Seo-eun was still pushing Stardust back, and Stardust was barely managing to dodge Starbuster.

....Strange. Can't Stardust handle this better with her abilities? What's going on?

Originally, Eun-wol and I were waiting to rescue Seo-eun, expecting her Starbuster to be defeated quickly, but it's taking surprisingly long. Is Stardust not in good condition today?

Anyway, that's better for us. I should continue with my evil project.

I pointed my gun at the still-trembling woman and spoke with a smile.

"Now! Ms. Unknown Woman, I'll ask you one question."

"Eeeeeek!"

"If you get it right, I'll let you go. How about it, sounds good? Quickly say it's good!"

"Eek, yes, yes!"

"Yes, yes. Good. Here's the question. What date did I first commit terrorism?"

I said with a grin.

Yes. Evil Project #2: Ask an impossible question. A truly psychopathic villain act of tormenting a hostage who can't answer.

Just as I was about to mock her for not knowing the answer, a small voice suddenly came from inside the cage.

"...April. April..... 17th."

She answered with a trembling voice.

And that date.

It was correct.

.....How did she know? Did she guess?

Momentarily stunned, I turned to look at her. What kind of woman is this?

Still trembling, she lowered her head while making eye contact with me. Unlike before, her cheeks were slightly flushed.

"....Eeeek."

And her scream seemed less sincere than before.

...Alright. Let's stop investigating. This is getting creepy.

"....Unfortunately, you're wrong! So you can't leave. You'll have to stay trapped here. Hahaha!"

[??? Isn't April 17th correct?]

[Yes it's right, the wiki says 4.17 was when he first committed the ship terrorism]

[He's denying it even though it's correct lol]

[Wait how did that woman know that in the first place???!]

[Is she part of Team Mango too? lol]

I gritted my teeth and ignored the chat.

I don't know anything.

After ending the conversation with the hostage that left me feeling uneasy, I turned back to watch Stardust and Seo-eun fighting.

And there.

[I am! The first! Comrade! I'm the one who's been doing all the broadcast hijacking and hacking! It's so unfair!]

Seo-eun was spilling information to Stardust.

...Seo-eun, please.

"You did all that hacking? From where exactly?"

[From where? Obviously, from the same house...]

As Seo-eun was about to reveal internal information, I urgently muted the broadcast and whispered to her through the connected earphone.

"Hey! St... Starbuster, how can you talk so much there! Stop talking!"

Hearing me, Seo-eun stopped snapping at Stardust and whispered back through the earphone connected to me.

"...Huh? No, brother. Isn't this much okay?"

"No, it's not okay."

"No? ... Alright, hmph."

She replied with a slightly dejected voice.

I feel a bit sorry, but it can't be helped. Shin Ha-ru is incredibly perceptive. We need some information control.

So Seo-eun followed my request and kept her mouth shut while focusing on the battle.

And in response, Stardust, who failed to extract information, suddenly started beating up Starbuster as if her previous struggle had been a lie.

...I knew this would happen.

"Moon... Moon Priestess, Moon Priestess respond. I think it's about time we step in."

[Yes, Da-in oppa. Got it!]

Hearing Eun-wol's energetic voice from another receiver, I started stretching my arms to prepare.

Preparing to rescue Seo-eun who would soon be defeated.

Ah, this is tough, so tough.