Chapter 214 - Fist
After introducing Katana, the chat room was completely consumed by madness.
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[???????? Why is that noona appearing there????]
[Identity I never imagined ㅅㅂㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Mangostick X Katana Korea-Japan collab for real? Egostic is truly legendary....]
[Who's that Japanese woman??]
[Info) Katana is an S-class villain from Japan and leader of the Samkyopa, Japan's largest villain organization. With trust in the Japanese government and association at rock bottom, she's practically treated as a real hero by the Japanese public and their favorite figure. With rumors that Samkyopa has taken over the association, she's essentially Japan's true power ㅇㅇ]
[Thanks, explanation wagon!]
[For real, now he's going international ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Isn't Katana as hot in Japan as Mango is in our country? Why is she appearing here when she rarely shows her face even in her home country ㄷㄷ Look at those connections ㅅㅂㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Mango's charm is so overwhelming he even captivates villains from other countries... who exactly is he?]
[But she's really pretty though. Are villains all like this these days? Starting from Ego-stream, this is seriously unbelievable]
[I can communicate with you through a translator. Why is our country's villain Katana there? It's very confusing. But enjoyable.]
[かたなちゃんかわいいwwwwwww]
[Whoa why are there suddenly Japanese comments in the chat? Stop!]
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The chat was scrolling too fast to read everything.
However, I had no time to pay attention to that.
"........"
Stardus, who had been smiling in front of me until just now.
Her expression was now shadowed, and an ominous aura began to spread around her.
It was intense enough that even Katana noticed something was wrong and tilted her head in confusion.
The air felt heavily oppressive.
"....Haha."
Despite the situation, I tried to laugh.
No, what's going on here? What did I do wrong? I just followed my instincts. So why has the atmosphere turned like this? Anyone could see that Stardus doesn't look pleased. Is it because I brought a foreign villain? That seems most likely. Tsk. What should I do?
'Wait, isn't this actually good?'
At that moment, I changed my thinking.
Crisis equals opportunity. If Stardus is angry, it means she'll fight more seriously. Which means her abilities can grow even more.
'....Though I am a bit worried about Katana.'
Well, Katana is top-tier among Japanese villains, so she should be able to hold her own against Stardus. If things go badly, I can just tell her to run.
Having quickly made my assessment, I smiled broadly at the camera and said:
"Yes! As everyone expected, today my old friend Katana has specially agreed to fight for me. Let's see Japan's finest swordsmanship, Katana!"
"...Yes, understood."
At my words, Katana awkwardly nodded her head like a robot.
....She'll be fine, right?
After giving some encouraging words to Katana, who was already looking at me with a tense gaze as if asking me not to leave, I let go of her hand and teleported away from the scene. The air around Stardus had been getting heavier by the minute...
It's out of my hands now. All I can do is cheer them on!
After I left and positioned myself in a hidden spot on a nearby rooftop, how much time passed?
-BOOM.
A thunderous sound suddenly erupted from the place I had left.
It seems the battle has begun.
***
'....How annoying.'
Annoying. That was the thought running through Stardus's mind.
...Egostic finally does another terror attack after so long, and he brings some Japanese woman with him. Holding her hand tightly. Calling her a friend. It was all annoying. She wasn't angry. She was just simply annoyed.
Her smile had long disappeared. All she could see was the dizzying image of Egostic holding hands with that woman.
....Hah, seriously. It's ridiculous. What kind of relationship do they have to appear holding hands? During a terror attack?
Of course, rationally speaking, he obviously had to hold her hand to bring her via teleportation... but still, Stardus was angry.
Without even knowing why herself.
'....Right.'
She took a deep breath and thought.
The reason she was angry was because Egostic brought another villain. And a foreign villain to Korea at that? This isn't right. As a hero, she couldn't help but be furious at this situation.
'....So, it's reasonable to deal with the woman in front of me first.'
With that, Stardus reached a cold and rational conclusion. She would crush this villain called Katana and drive her out of Korea.
And then.
...As for what to do with Egostic, hah. Let's think about that later.
She thought with a cynical smile.
".....Then I'll be in your care."
Just then, a voice from below.
Katana, the woman who had come down to the ground after Egostic had left.
With her black hair tied back flowing in the wind, dressed in a martial arts uniform and drawing her Japanese sword.
Stardus clenched her fist with a serious expression.
As yellow light began to emanate from her fist, Katana leaped toward her like the wind, sword raised.
With a thunderous sound, their clash began in mid-air.
...This woman, I'll definitely take her down here.
With Stardus's firm resolution.
***
Before fighting Stardus at Egostic's request,
Katana had done her research on Stardus.
"Hmm...."
Physical enhancement abilities and flight...
A typical physical-type ability user. However, more powerful than any physical attacker Katana had faced before.
Even so, if she had no ranged attack means or special abilities,
Katana was confident that she, with her sword, would win.
"Hm."
Back in downtown Seoul.
Katana was slicing through the air with her sword.
Moving through the sky at incredible speed, she was pressuring Stardus.
Stardus and Katana. At their level of ability, the fight was no longer like an ordinary battle.
It was like a dazzling martial art performance that ordinary people couldn't even follow with their eyes.
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[Wow ㅅㅂㅋㅋㅋㅋ How fast are they flying that the camera can't even catch them?]
[There are yellow flashes here and there and sword glints but they move so fast you can't see anything ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Katana is seriously insane, I thought she was just a sword specialist but she's appearing everywhere like east to west, wow ㅋㅋ]
[Are they even damaging each other? Everything's moving so fast we can't see anything ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
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Stardus, still officially A-rank, but practically stronger than most S-rank ability users now.
And Katana, who had gathered many under her with just her swordsmanship and abilities, creating her country's largest villain alliance and crushing the association.
Especially since Stardus had no intention of going easy on Katana.
And Katana was also seriously committed to growing her abilities through this opportunity.
Their battle was truly a bloody contest.
'...As expected, the opponent avoids direct confrontation.'
At that moment, Katana.
As she moved through the air at wind-cutting speed, that's what she thought.
Her long, sharp sword, surrounded by sword energy and swung rapidly, made it difficult for Stardus to approach. Especially with Katana's reflexes, she could block Stardus's attacks from any direction with her sword.
While Stardus was fighting with just her fists, if Katana could block all attacks with her sword, the situation was favorable for Katana.
However, unlike Katana who used her abilities to jump high from the ground and then propel herself off building walls to fly around, Stardus could freely fly with her own abilities, which was a difference.
But that didn't necessarily give Stardus an advantage.
"...This is frustrating."
In the sky.
With her hair fluttering, Stardus thought quietly.
It had been several dozen minutes since the fight began, but the situation was ambiguous.
Having to avoid the opponent's sword while trying to attack made landing a hit difficult. In fact, she had only been applying pressure so far without landing a direct hit.
If Stardus were overwhelmingly strong it would be different, but in a situation where their skills were similar, the sword was a dangerous factor. If she tried to attack, she might get cut instead.
So far she was avoiding Katana's attacks while trying to figure out a solution. Avoiding Katana's sword wasn't a problem, but unlike Katana who could freely attack her, it was tricky for her to attack Katana, putting her at a disadvantage.
As Stardus continued fighting while pondering how to avoid the sword and land an attack.
'...Wait, why am I so afraid of that sword?'
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Stardus's mind.
***
"Phew...."
With her martial arts uniform fluttering, her tied-back hair swaying in the air.
Pat-.
Katana continued to pressure Stardus, looking for an opening.
...Just one hit. Just one successful attack on Stardus would be Katana's victory. The situation was already favorable to her. While Stardus was busy avoiding her sword, an opening would eventually appear. And then she just needed to strike that opening.
Of course, Katana also knew that taking just one hit from Stardus would end it for her too... but who was Katana? She was someone who had taken down thousands single-handedly before. She was an expert at not showing openings.
So Katana continued to fly through the air, looking for her opponent's opening.
And then.
"Hyaaah-!"
Extending a straight fist toward her, Stardus charged at her in a straight line.
And.
'...Found it, an opening.'
Katana calmly collected herself.
She didn't know why her opponent suddenly did this, but this was an opportunity. Deflect that fist with her sword, disrupt her center of gravity, then strike her side. That would end it.
'....Since this isn't a life-or-death battle, I should go easy.'
Making that judgment, Katana prepared to deflect the fist with her sword.
Suddenly, Stardus's fist began emitting an intense light.
'...? What!'
"Hah!"
BOOM.
Changing direction, she aimed her fist not at Katana herself but at the sword itself, striking at an angle.
Before the surprised Katana could do anything, with an intense light, the Japanese sword was shattered.
Clang-!
And so, Katana's sword was shattered into pieces in mid-air.
Katana was shocked.
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[Predicted title for tomorrow's Korean pride TV video)[Shocking][Horrifying]Does Korea's K-punch even beat Japanese swords? 1000 years of Japanese swordsmanship kneels before Korea's overwhelming fist! 'From today I've decided to abandon the sword and learn Taekwondo.' The reason why a Japanese Kendo master said this with tears?]
[ㄴThat's dizzying;]
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