Chapter 302 - Opportunity

# Republic of Korea's Only Hero Prison, Carceris

To enter that place guarded by strict security on a remote island, I had prepared extremely thoroughly. Especially since I wasn't just entering, but being captured and dragged in through official procedures.

After being caught by Stardust, the things I had prepared with Eun-wol were...

"It's done... Da-in, I've applied everything. This should last about a week."

Numerous protective spells.

Eun-wol had taken over a large underground room, preparing magical circles for days to cast various spells on me.

Most importantly, magic to prevent my mask from being removed, and spells related to clothing and recognition reduction. Obviously, these were essential to keep my identity hidden, since being caught this time didn't mean being completely caught.

...Of course, even with all this, if Stardust—who has practically transcended humanity—really wanted to remove my mask, she could, so I had added some tricks as well.

Besides that.

I temporarily placed numerous items inside my coat, including pre-recorded voice recorders. Naturally, I had rigged them so they couldn't be easily removed.

All of this was possible because I knew the trial process for superpowered villains in detail.

"Da-in... you really need to be careful, okay?"

I smiled at Eun-wol as she grabbed my collar and looked up at me, telling her not to worry. Nothing would happen.

Anyway, I was captured according to plan.

And now, I was sitting with handcuffs in the temporary detention center in the Association's basement. A place where they temporarily hold people before taking them to Carceris.

"..."

In a small room in the middle of the basement, surrounded by pure white walls on all four sides with glass that appeared as mirrors to me but allowed others to see in.

"....."

Alone, with a suspicious smile on my face. I just sat quietly, still.

Especially because.

"...Haa."

Stardust stood in front of me, looking at me with complicated eyes.

"..."

"..."

'Hmm...'

To be honest... I thought I'd be taken straight to Carceris, so this situation where I was facing Stardust for so long was quite embarrassing.

Therefore, I just sat quietly with a smile, saying nothing.

In reality, it must be perplexing from her perspective. I had always managed to escape when she nearly caught me, but suddenly I was captured in a situation where I could have easily gotten away. Yet my Ego-stream wasn't even intervening.

Of course, the reason I wasn't too concerned was because I knew the trial process for superpowered villains was extremely quick.

Think about it. Even if you subdue villains with supernatural abilities, realistically, there aren't many ways to keep them subdued for long. I'm just playing along with handcuffs and sitting quietly, but others would have already caused havoc. These flimsy handcuffs don't even suppress abilities.

For named villains with supernatural abilities—that is, officially designated villains of A-rank or higher—the trial process is extremely minimal. They can't even go to court, let alone appoint a lawyer. The trial is conducted separately in the villain's absence, and meanwhile, the villain is already thrown into Carceris.

The reason is that if you're a named villain with an Association rank, you've already committed terrorism, so your guilt is clear without room for injustice... and the regulations regarding crimes using supernatural abilities are quite strict. The legal system in this world explicitly makes exceptions for supernatural crimes.

...So I thought someone well-known like me would be sent directly to Carceris...

"...."

For some reason, I had been sitting for hours in what seemed like an Association interrogation room.

And now Stardus was standing in front of me, staring with suspicious eyes.

Of course, I continued to keep my mouth shut, saying nothing and just smiling.

'....Tsk.'

This was troublesome. Come on, let's get going already.

...So I continued sitting, hoping she wouldn't make me talk. I hadn't prepared any small talk. Just send me to prison already...

"...Hey, Egostic."

And of course, my wish wasn't granted.

Sigh, this isn't easy.

So I avoided Stardus's gaze and tried to wait it out until she left.

...I wasn't even in prison yet, and I was already exhausted...

***

Association basement temporary detention center.

After finishing her interrogation of Egostic, Stardus was now sighing deeply in her mind.

'...Egostic, what are you thinking?'

In the Association's basement, part research facility and part detention center.

In the middle of the spacious underground area was a room with Egostic locked inside, and Association staff busily moving around outside.

Looking through the glass at Egostic, who had been sitting quietly with just a smile on his face, she frowned.

'...He definitely has something planned.'

As an Egostic expert, she knew. He definitely wasn't captured without a plan. He must have some scheme.

A prime example: when she first tried to remove his mask after capturing him, some kind of magic circle glowed around the mask, preventing its removal. When she considered using force to remove it...

'Ah, if this mask comes off, I'll die instantly.'

'...What?'

He had said such an absurd thing with a smile.

...Of course, even though she knew it was nonsense, she decided to leave it alone for now. Anyway...

So with complicated feelings, she stood outside looking at Egostic in the room.

Around her, Association staff were moving busily.

"Yes. He's currently in custody. When will the trial results come out?"

"Ah! We're also waiting, so we're not sure. Haa, just a moment. Let me connect you to the department in charge..."

They were making calls, walking back and forth, and typing on computers.

"...So, even if you talk to us about the protest...!"

In particular, some were shouting about protests with irritated voices.

Hearing this, she suddenly took out her phone and looked at the news on a portal site.

[[Breaking News] Protest for Egostic's pardon currently underway in front of the Korean Hero Association...]

Only then did she realize that protests were happening on the ground above.

Of course, Stardus wasn't particularly surprised. Since she regularly lurked on Egostic's fan cafe, she knew there were many people who liked him and almost worshipped him.

Looking into it further, the fortunate thing was that so far only Egostic's fans had risen up, so the scale was still manageable. However, all media outlets were reporting on this, so the scale was expected to grow.

Egostic would probably be taken to Carceris soon...

'...What should I do now.'

So with chaos both here in the Association basement and outside.

As Stardus stood staring blankly at Egostic sitting at the desk in the center room.

Suddenly, without realizing it, she thought.

"...Wait a minute."

Come to think of it, isn't this an opportunity...?

Currently, Egostic was wearing ability-suppressing handcuffs that prevented teleportation. Whether the handcuffs were actually working or he was just choosing not to use his powers was unclear, but either way, he wasn't trying to escape.

Additionally, Ego-stream, who always appeared like a ghost whenever he and she were alone, was nowhere to be seen. He was completely alone right now.

So.

Egostic, unable to use his abilities.

Powerless.

Sitting in front of her, without his companions, hands bound, more vulnerable than ever before.

'...Huh?'

And realizing this, she.

...More precisely, realizing that there was no one who could stop her from doing whatever she wanted to him, she.

Thump. Thump.

Without even realizing it, she felt her heart racing.

...Of course, there were Association staff watching around them, but that wasn't important. She could just deal with them if necessary.

'...Right. Whether Egostic got captured voluntarily or not doesn't matter.'

What mattered was that he was in front of her, weaker than ever before.

And she had no intention of missing this opportunity.

"Everyone! We've received word from above! The summary trial results are in, and they're ordering us to transfer Egostic to Eastern Carceris!"

The staff who received these instructions from above by phone looked at Stardus.

"Whew... Finally. Let's do that then. For escort assistance... I suppose we should ask Stardus. Hey, Stardu-."

...And then.

Seeing the intense look in Stardus's eyes, they stopped mid-sentence.

Stardus quietly nodded, then approached the staff member holding the receiver, her blonde hair fluttering, and said:

"Yes, understood. And please tell the Director."

"What, what is it?"

"I'll also be going to Carceris with Egostic."

Of course.

She had no intention of letting Egostic go easily.

It no longer mattered to her what scheme Egostic might have.