Chapter 122 - Man

# Hero Association

In reality, organizations like hero associations that oversee all heroes always appear in various hero stories.

And what these organizations have in common is that they inevitably collapse due to internal enemies.

The association in this world is no different.

The association, which somehow managed to function in the early and middle stages under an incompetent but conscientious Director, eventually gets completely devoured by villain forces in the later stages. It significantly contributes to South Korea's downfall by cleverly leading heroes to self-destruction and internal conflict.

There are various other reasons, but to summarize in one line:

Icicle and Shadow Walker.

Not asking for much, just these two. Just recruit these two and see what happens.

So I recalled Shadow Walker from the original work.

Due to his special ability of being invincible at night, he has strong pride and thinks he's very intelligent. But contrary to his belief, well... yeah. He's quite simple-minded, as if he's always running his brain on low power due to fatigue. I saw him in the original work, and despite his powerful ability, he's quite... very simple-minded.

And most importantly, he deeply cherishes his girlfriend.

So what's the best way to become his friend?

Ah! What if I save his girlfriend?

That's why I came here.

"Hello, Mr. Shadow Walker. I'm Egostic!"

I said with a bright smile.

First impressions determine everything. I smiled as part of my strategy to increase likability by showing a smiling face at first sight. Well, I smile naturally anyway, but still.

So from an apartment building about ten stories high.

Facing the cold wind, I greeted Shadow Walker through the window.

And Shadow Walker, receiving my greeting:

"...Am I dreaming right now?"

He said with a slightly bewildered expression.

Messy hair, dark circles under his eyes advertising "I'm tired," and even still wearing pajamas.

He then ruffled his messy hair as if still unable to understand the situation, and continued speaking to me.

"...No, this is definitely reality. Then what are you? Are you here to turn yourself in?"

Still looking at me as if he couldn't understand, he grabbed his forehead as if dizzy.

I continued to grin and opened my mouth.

"How could that be? Of course I'm here for a different reason."

"No... before that, how did you even find my home? What is this all about...?"

"I'm about to tell you something important. Listen carefully."

"...Can't I just capture you here and then listen?"

"First of all, this isn't something I did. So don't get excited and just listen."

"...No. Think from my perspective. If a hero knocks on your window at night, wouldn't you be excited?"

"I didn't do it, I just heard about it."

"...What. What is it?"

"Your girlfriend has been kidnapped by some gang."

"......"

And the moment I uttered those words.

His demeanor, which had seemed somewhat clueless until now, changed instantly.

"No, damn it, I told you I didn't do it. Put that scythe away."

I spoke dryly to him as he somehow summoned a scythe made of shadows in his hand.

I knew this would happen. Being a villain is tough, so tough. Even when doing good deeds, you're met with suspicion. How can I live with such injustice? Huh?

"...You're saying you didn't do it?"

"Think about it. If I had done it, why would I come here to tell you face-to-face? I'd just broadcast it."

"...Right. Broadcast. You're not broadcasting this right now, are you?"

"Don't say strange things. This is off the record. A conversation just between you and me."

"Damn it... Sook-hee, Sook-hee was kidnapped? How do you know that?"

"Let's just say there's nothing in this world I don't know. And here, take this."

Seeing him panic at my sudden words, I quickly handed him a map. I wasn't planning to give it to him so soon, but I could see his mental state rapidly deteriorating, so I handed it over. If I had delayed a bit more, he might have swung that scythe at me, saying "You kidnapped her, didn't you?"

"...What is this?"

"What else? It's the coordinates of the factory district where your girlfriend was kidnapped. Consider it a gift."

"......"

And as soon as I finished speaking, he teleported away using shadow movement.

...? He just left?

"...Hmm, oh. He left right away."

So I stood alone outside the empty window.

...No matter how distressed he was, he just disappeared without even attacking or restraining me.

What was he thinking? If this had been a trap, what would he have done? Of course, there aren't many things that can threaten Shadow Walker at night, but still.

"Behemoth, that's unfortunate."

I offered a casual word of comfort to Behemoth, which I had tucked inside my coat. I thought I'd finally use Behemoth after a while, but it seems there was no need. I specifically brought Behemoth because it could counter Shadow Walker's darkness, but he left without asking or questioning anything, so...

[Da-in! What's happening? Why hasn't the battle started yet?]

"Ah. Uncle Death. Well, um. No fighting today. Just go to sleep."

[What!]

And the Death Knight, trapped in a soul state inside the ring. Too bad for him, as he was expecting a fight.

Really, I thought we'd fight at least once.

My original plan was this:

I tell Shadow Walker his girlfriend has been kidnapped. Then Shadow Walker gets angry and attacks me saying, "You kidnapped her!!" Then I face him using Behemoth and Death Knight. Then I slowly convince him it wasn't me and send him to that factory district... but.

Hmm. He just started sweating slightly and became anxious from the moment he heard me, then teleported away at lightning speed as soon as he received the map.

"...Well. All's well that ends well."

Now I understand why he gradually turned to the dark side after his girlfriend died.

With that thought, I went back down to the first floor.

Through the dark alleyways, a black car was already parked.

I got in very naturally and opened my mouth.

"Ms. Su-bin. I'm back."

"Oh my, Da-in. You're early?"

"Yes. I thought we'd fight, but we didn't. Anyway, let's step on it. Is the destination set?"

"Yes. It's set for that factory area."

"Good. Let's depart right away."

So we began driving through the dark night streets.

...Shadow Walker, with his excellent abilities, can teleport there in an instant, but if I tried that, I'd cough up blood and die. The distance from here to there is too great.

"....."

Come to think of it, if I had known it would turn out like this, I should have gone alone without calling Ms. Su-bin.

I was more than 90% certain that a fight with Shadow Walker was unavoidable, so I had Ms. Su-bin on standby in case I got injured, but now I feel a bit sorry since I'm fine. I could have driven myself.

With a slight feeling of guilt, I headed toward the factory district in the car.

But the backrest is comfortable, and Ms. Su-bin said she was happy to be alone with me after a long time, so I guess it's fine?

After various conversations, we soon arrived at the factory district.

A gloomy abandoned factory at night.

Shadow Walker is probably taking care of the gang inside.

With that thought, I moved toward the factory.

I should at least talk to Shadow Walker before leaving.

***

"Arghhhh!"

"Tsk."

Shadow Walker, Kim Ja-hyun, clicked his tongue.

It had been a while since he had dealt with all the gang members occupying this factory.

"...Sigh. What a mess..."

After freeing all the hostages who had been kidnapped and unconscious.

He took only his girlfriend from among them and came outside.

"...That was close."

He muttered while holding his unconscious girlfriend in his arms.

Fortunately, she was sleeping peacefully without a single injury.

...It really was a close call.

He recalled what he had just seen.

Gang members holding guns, giggling, and playing around deciding who to shoot first.

His eyes had turned at the sight, and he had dealt with them all in an instant.

But the chilling sensation still remained.

He could have lost her to such insignificant thugs.

...If he hadn't been there

"Hello, Mr. Shadow Walker. I see you handled it cleanly. Impressive."

"...Egostic."

Kim Ja-hyun, holding his girlfriend in his arms as he came outside, briefly murmured as he saw Egostic standing in the open space, congratulating him.

Dressed all in black—black hat, black cape, black clothes—with a white mask covering half his face.

...Thanks to him, he was able to save her.

"...."

He quickly recalled the information he knew about Egostic.

Egostic. Even though he didn't care much about daytime events, he had heard about this guy countless times.

The most famous villain in South Korea, and also the most popular. He causes terror but never casualties, and sometimes even prevents other villains from causing terror.

Yes, he had heard a lot through rumors. He had heard that Stardust also pays quite a lot of attention to him.

In fact, he hadn't been particularly interested until now.

But this changes things.

"...Egostic. Aren't you definitely a villain? Why did you help me?"

Yes.

That was Kim Ja-hyun's biggest curiosity.

Setting aside the fact that he knew his identity, why did he inform him about his girlfriend's kidnapping?

And to his questioning, Egostic simply grinned and answered.

"Well, I wonder why?"

"...."

"Just think of it simply. Just because I'm a villain doesn't mean I have to do bad things all the time, right? Heroes aren't always good either, sometimes they do bad things too. So I can do good things occasionally too."

"...?"

What nonsense.

Kim Ja-hyun almost let those words slip out but held back.

After all, it was essentially Egostic who had saved her.

Instead, Kim Ja-hyun thought hard.

His girlfriend Sook-hee always says he's simple-minded and unrefined, but Kim Ja-hyun firmly believes in himself. He's not using his brain, but when he does, he's very smart.

So he started thinking.

Egostic. A villain, but the terror he usually causes has no casualties, and he hunts other villains. Up to that point, one might still say a villain is a villain, but.

"...Thank you. Is there anything you want?"

"Hmph. Just don't tell the association or others that I helped you. If you can do that, I don't want anything else."

On top of that, he deliberately informs a hero that his lover has been kidnapped, preventing crime and saving hostages?

And so his brain reached a conclusion.

This guy is actually good.

"Alright. You must have your reasons."

Shadow Walker came to that conclusion.

His likability toward Egostic had already skyrocketed because he had saved his girlfriend, who was more precious than anything. And seeing that he didn't seem to be a bad guy, his likability doubled.

Moreover, he just asked not to tell others about his good deed, and then disappeared without any lingering attachment.

This is completely, a true man.

"...Egostic. He was a good guy. Of course, I knew it from the beginning."

"Mmm..."

"Oh, Sook-hee! Are you awake?"

And so that night.

That night was the moment when 2 out of 3 A-class heroes in South Korea naturally became allies of Egostic.

***

"....?"

Stardust, alone in her room, was seized by a strange sensation.

What is this? This feeling like everyone is doing something without her?

"...Must be my imagination."

And so she dismissed her working intuition as just imagination.

...Though it left her feeling a bit uneasy.