Chapter 246 - Full Speed
In the Republic of Korea, where all kinds of incidents occur daily, television is the best medium for delivering news quickly. Why? Because whenever you turn it on, there's always a "Breaking News!" alert about a villain appearing.
That's why TV and radio ratings are surprisingly high.
Especially since some villains hijack broadcast stations and air their terror threats live on TV.
Just like now.
"Ahem, ahem. Hello everyone."
Like many times before, the TV broadcast had been hijacked.
And there, the villain who always causes ratings to spike whenever he appears was on screen.
None other than Egostic, the Republic of Korea's A-class villain.
*
[Mango appearing on stream after 100,000 years lolololol]
[Why did you take so long!!! I've been waiting for a villain like you for ages]
[Look at the viewer count rising in real-time lmao]
[Mango-yaho~ Mango-yaho~ Mango-yaho~ Mango-rook-rook~ Mango-rook-rook~]
[Chat is moving so fast wow]
[Yodel-hi yodel-hi mango-le-hi-yo~ Mango-le-i mango-le-i yodel-hi-yo~ Yodel-hi yodel-hi mango-le-hi-yo~ Mango-le-i mango-le-i yodel-hi-yo~]
[Sup is this that famous Ego's room? Damm lucky i'm here lmao☆]
[What's with these idiots mindlessly spamming "mango haha" before even watching the video lol]
[Why is no one paying attention to the current situation? Where is Mango now?]
*
Despite being broadcast simultaneously across various platforms, the chat on the official homepage was scrolling at an insane speed.
Among those who had been busy typing in the chat, some finally calmed down enough to question Egostic's current appearance.
Because his appearance on screen was...
"I'm Egostic. Nice to meet you."
Unlike usual, he was sitting in a chair with his legs crossed, casually holding a cup of tea against a green background.
To be precise, he appeared to be in some kind of studio set rather than at a crime scene.
"Hmm... this is nice."
Perhaps because of this, he seemed more composed and relaxed than usual.
Leisurely sipping his tea, it was hard to tell if he was about to commit an act of terror or start a news broadcast.
*
[??lololololol]
[Is today not a terror attack but Ego-Cafe time?]
[Having a relaxing cup of tea before terrorism is understandable...]
[Why does he look so natural lol]
[I'm also drinking a cup of Boseong green tea in front of my monitor. Feels like having tea time with big bro Mango]
[Real-time Hero Association situation: They're just staring blankly because they don't know what he's doing lol]
[This guy gets this many viewers just by sipping tea wwwww]
*
After broadcasting for a while, sitting in the chair drinking tea, Egostic finally placed his cup on the round white table. Still with his legs crossed, he clasped his hands together, smiled at the camera, and spoke.
"Yes, everyone. It's nice to meet you all again. How have you been?"
With that bright smile, he snapped his fingers.
The green background behind him changed to white.
Only then did Egostic stand up and adjust his black robe.
Now the camera moved to show only his upper body.
In this pose, he sighed and began to speak.
"Sigh. Everyone, I actually have a concern these days."
"It seems that you all don't find my terror attacks very threatening anymore! Is it that no matter what terror occurs, you think you won't die? Have you all become desensitized to danger? There are many citizens suffering from this safety insensitivity syndrome. How unfortunate."
Even clicking his tongue and nodding his head as if this were a serious issue.
And in response to his words, viewers' reactions quickly filled the chat.
*
[????lololololol]
[You think we won't die? (Says the guy who has killed 0 civilians)]
[Isn't it common sense to enjoy when an S-class hero holds an event????]
[Gasp! Who made our Mango angry!! Aren't you scared?]
[Wasn't Mango a tsundere? ...Oops I'll stop here]
*
Seeming to notice the viewers' reactions, he shook his head and spoke in a serious voice.
"Hmm, there's something you all don't understand. The reason you've all been safe until now wasn't because of me, but because Stardus has been too good at stopping my terror attacks! Sigh, if it weren't for Stardus, all my attacks would have succeeded. How unfortunate."
After naturally praising Stardus, he finally seemed to get to the main point.
With an evil grin, he began to speak.
"So I've made a decision."
"I'm going to carry out a terror attack before Stardus can stop it!"
"Now, let me introduce!"
With those words, he snapped his fingers.
Simultaneously, the white background behind him changed to show the sky above a city.
More precisely, it showed a massive missile floating in the air by magic.
"Yes! That's right, no more mercy. I'm simply going to drop a missile over Seoul!"
And as soon as he finished speaking.
Wobble.
The missile began to tilt in mid-air as if it would fall at any moment.
At the same time, he snapped his fingers again, and a map of Seoul appeared behind him.
Then a red dot appeared on the right edge of the map, with a cute missile emoticon placed there.
...Unlike the not-so-cute situation.
Nodding with satisfaction, he smiled at the camera and said:
"Still, dropping it right away seems a bit much. Let's say... 20 minutes. Yes, I'll give you 20 minutes. After that, I'll just drop it precisely. Of course, it's an incredibly powerful one, so one hit will blow away the city. You'd better declare an emergency and run away now!"
After saying that, he added with a smile:
"Of course! If Ms. Stardus arrives in time, that might be a different story. And since I feel bad for Ms. Stardus who suddenly has to work overtime, I'll ease the conditions a bit."
Saying that, he zoomed in on the map to point out the location of the Association bunker near the city where the missile would fall.
"If everyone in this city can get into the bunker in an orderly fashion within the time limit, I'll extend the time a bit. Let's see your unity, shall we? Though I doubt you have any. Hahaha!!"
After saying that.
With a smile in his eyes, he spoke as if directly addressing someone who might be watching this broadcast.
"Now, you have 20 minutes from now. Let's see if you come."
"Start!"
*
[Mangkyaaaaaaak~]
[Of all places it had to be where my workplace is lol. Who put a missile over my head?]
[My boss is crazy, bomb sale... no, free distribution gasp]
[Run away~~~~~]
*
And with those words.
The city right below the missile realized that a missile would fall on their heads in 20 minutes and panicked.
Naturally, the Hero Association was also in chaos.
"Quickly, call Stardus!"
"Director, we've successfully connected with Stardus!"
"Really? Quick, tell her to depart immediately!"
In their frantic state, they didn't know.
That Stardus was already flying through the sky at full speed.
***
A hero's life isn't easy.
Of course not. Heroes exist to face villains. And villains, by nature, can cause terror anytime, anywhere.
At least in the Republic of Korea, heroes other than Shadow Walker can sleep comfortably at night thanks to his existence, but it's still tough.
Heroes must stop whatever they're doing—eating lunch, taking a shower, watching a movie—and respond immediately when a villain appears.
Yes, she understands that. She understands, but...
"Ugh..."
In the skies above Seoul.
Flying at full speed like a human jet, Stardus swallowed such thoughts.
'Egostic...!'
This is really too much...!
'Why does it have to be so far away...'
She thought this while almost holding back tears.
Waking up with a hangover from drinking the night before, without time to mentally prepare, only to see Egostic causing terror for the first time in ages was bad enough.
But the place where he was causing terror was also extremely far from her home!
It seriously made her wonder if Egostic had some grudge against her.
"Ugh..."
But she couldn't afford to fly slowly since he had given so little time, forcing her to fly with all her might.
[Ms. Stardus, 10 minutes left. Please go a little faster!]
'Egostic...!'
And so Stardus flew through the sky, holding back tears as her blonde hair fluttered behind her.
Making a vow to scold Egostic thoroughly when she arrived...
***
"Sob..."
[Oppa, why are you making crying sounds again?]
"No... it's nothing."
How could I say it's because I feel sorry for Stardus who's sweating and flying hard since morning...
But I had no choice.
To prevent Stardus from shedding tears of regret later, I needed to push her to develop her flying ability now, even if it's tough.
And the best way to develop the protagonist is to present her with a crisis to overcome. That's why I had no choice but to resort to such extreme methods.
"Stardus... hang in there!"
It's not like I'll be there when she arrives anyway...!
And for even more growth, after she arrives and stops the missile, I'll immediately drop another missile at the opposite end of Seoul... so she'll have to fly again...!
Stay strong, Stardus...!
I sent those words of encouragement silently while swallowing my tears.
My heart ached.