Chapter 181 - Preparation And Execution

Hero.

A hero is someone who protects citizens and upholds justice in society.

Shin Ha-ru believed that the extraordinary abilities heroes possessed were given to them solely to protect people and punish evil.

Therefore, heroes must be fair to themselves and stricter than anyone else when it comes to evil. Even if everyone else finds villains charming, only heroes have the duty to judge villains by fair standards.

For heroes, villains are simply targets to be dealt with.

So.

Her current thoughts were wrong.

"....."

Egostic.

Shin Ha-ru was thinking about him today as well, just like any other day.

Is Egostic a bad person?

If asked that question, she could answer yes.

From the numerous terrorist acts where he put hundreds of lives at stake,

to killing villains without trial, to gathering other villains to form a team.

Yes, he is a bad person, but...

"Haah..."

...why doesn't he feel like a bad person to her?

Is it okay for her, as a hero, to have such thoughts about a specific villain?

Of course, there was a reason for her confusion. While Egostic was a bad person, he hadn't only done bad things. In fact, if you think about it, Egostic hasn't killed any civilians yet, and considering the incidents with Behemoth, Han Group, and the Moonlight Cult, you could argue he's saved more people than not...

"No, what am I thinking..."

Shin Ha-ru muttered while pressing her forehead.

Yes, stop thinking about it. Her mind has been strange lately because Egostic keeps appearing in her dreams.

Egostic is a villain. A villain she needs to capture.

That's all there is to it.

And anyway.

'...He might consider me his enemy now too.'

Shin Ha-ru thought bitterly to herself.

Isn't that right? After calling Egostic her archenemy, she almost killed him without recognizing him.

Of course, it all started with Egostic deceiving her and committing terrorism out of nowhere... but seeing him lying there covered in blood, that didn't seem to matter much.

Shin Ha-ru. She wanted to capture Egostic, not nearly kill him.

"...."

Next time they meet, even if Egostic is more hostile toward her than before, she will endure it. It's only natural for a villain to be hostile toward a hero. Rather, it was strange how Egostic had been cheering her on as "his hero" despite her being his enemy, taking knife wounds for her, and stepping in when she was struggling.

However.

Thinking about him looking at her with contempt.

Somehow, it hurts.

She thought bitterly without even realizing it.

Yes. Let's not think about Egostic anymore. I'm a hero. Protecting the Republic of Korea from other villains. That's all I should focus on.

"Ms. Stardust. We have additional investigation results about the Moonlight Cult that caused terrorism last time."

"...Ah, yes. I understand. Let's check it out."

Yes, let's just work, work.

With that, she composed herself.

[Breaking news, Korean World Trade Center occupied by villain... transformed into a demonic castle-like appearance.]

Finally, another terrorist attack had arrived.

A big one.

***

Korea Hero Association.

Though they normally wouldn't bat an eye at ordinary villains due to frequent terrorist attacks,

the place was now in complete chaos.

"Damn it! Have all the civilians evacuated?"

"Yes! Since the corruption happened gradually throughout the early morning, there weren't many civilians at the terrorist site to begin with."

"Phew, that's a relief at least... what a mess this is."

Early morning.

The Director, who had rushed to work after the sudden news in the predawn hours, wiped his sweat with a deep sigh. As if he didn't have enough hair left to lose, he felt like he might lose what little remained.

After finally taking his seat at the control center, he asked a nearby employee with a glimmer of hope.

"By the way... could this terrorist attack possibly be Egostic's doing?"

"Our investigation shows it's the sole work of a villain who calls himself 'Demons,' and it appears to have no connection to Ego-stream."

"Sigh, damn it. Of course my life wouldn't be that easy. This is a disaster, what are we going to do?"

The Director muttered with a sigh, looking ten years older. Just then, Stardust arrived.

"...."

Stardust wasn't in a good mood, having dreamed yesterday about Lee Seol-ah hugging Egostic and laughing together.

After greeting the Director and taking her seat, Shadow Walker also arrived, looking drowsy as if he had just woken up from a nap in the association's break room after being called in early morning.

After all the heroes active in Seoul had arrived, the briefing began.

The professional-looking employee with glasses in charge of the explanation pointed at the large screen and began speaking calmly.

"First, the villain who identified himself as Demons is estimated to be in his 20s or 30s and presumed to be male. From the restored video recordings, we can't see clearly, but it seems to be a thoroughly planned operation."

As he spoke, he displayed the phrase 'Demons Castle' that the villain had scrawled on a stone with some kind of black, sticky substance.

"As the name 'Demon Castle' suggests, the entire World Trade Center building above ground and all underground facilities have been corrupted by a black liquid generated by him. Also, the building appears to be transformed into a demonic castle, as if created by an illusion."

When he finished speaking, the screen changed.

It showed a long, wide building consumed by something dark. And above it, the image of a castle with black, pointed spires drawn in darkness.

The pitch-black medieval castle standing incongruously among the gleaming skyscrapers created a bizarre and chilling scene.

As everyone's faces hardened at the sight, the employee continued his explanation with a rigid expression.

"Currently, that black, sticky substance is present throughout the building's interior and underground, but it doesn't seem to harm humans upon contact... However, according to our exploration team, monsters are being born from that black liquid."

The screen changed again to show a video.

It captured the underground scene beneath the demon castle.

Black tentacles spread across the floor in the dark, empty space.

And from one corner of the darkness, strange life forms were emerging one by one from the black liquid, taking shape and forming.

As everyone realized the seriousness of the situation while watching this bizarre scene, the association employee continued his explanation.

While the World Trade Center's ground level had taken on the threatening appearance of a demon castle, it was actually an illusion, and the real issue was underground, which was connected like a winding ant colony.

In that vast, complex underground network, numerous monsters were apparently being cultivated, and the one responsible seemed to be the villain called Demons.

So, presumably, dealing with this villain would solve all the problems. That was the association's conclusion.

"Tsk... Unfortunately, since this is happening in the middle of Seoul, we can't just fire missiles, and it's underground too... This is troublesome."

The Director clicked his tongue and muttered, to which the agent nodded and explained.

"Yes. Currently, the most appropriate way to resolve this situation seems to be eliminating the villain causing all this... We're certain he's somewhere underground, but we'll need to find the exact location. And..."

He continued with a troubled expression.

"Based on our investigation before dawn, it appears that the villain's black substance interferes with Shadow Walker's abilities."

"In other words, I'm useless again. Hahaha..."

After muttering self-deprecatingly with a haggard face, he slumped against the backrest and lowered his head, his eyes full of dark circles.

Shadow Walker, once called the Night Emperor, defeated for the third time in a row.

Leaving him in his dejection.

In the end, there was only one hero who could resolve this situation.

"Ms. Stardust."

"I understand."

Stardust, Shin Ha-ru, nodded briefly.

Naturally. It was her turn to step up.

The detailed schedule was coordinated.

Demons was immediately declared an S-class villain, and all areas near the World Trade Center turned demon castle were closed to the public.

A few hours later, in the desolate, empty streets.

Shin Ha-ru, who had arrived there, quietly took a step forward.

Her objective was to eliminate the monsters proliferating in the demon castle's underground while searching for Demons, who was presumed to be in the deepest part.

After taking a deep breath, she carefully made her way into the darkness.

Toward that place where only she, the monsters, and the villain called Demons would be.

***

Meanwhile, at that same time.

Ego-stream headquarters, the main house.

"Catch him!!!"

"Oppa, stay still!"

"....I'm sorry, Da-in oppa."

"Wait, wait! Listen to me. And Eun-wol? Can we pause the magic circle drawing and resolve this through conversation?"

After I revealed that I would enter the demon castle's underground, our Ego-stream headquarters became somewhat chaotic.

...Help me.