Chapter 314 - Her Resolve

# The Prison of Villains

The prison island Carceris, a place from which villains could never escape.

In the middle of it all, Stardust was sweating profusely as she dodged the rising black tentacles.

"Haa, haa..."

Amidst the swirling building ashes and ruined prison structures.

With her blonde hair fluttering, she charged toward the black tentacle flying at her, her fist glowing with yellow light.

"Hnngh!"

BOOM.

The massive tentacle that met her light-infused fist immediately melted into a sticky substance before disintegrating into powder.

These were tentacles that wouldn't budge even when prison guards who had rushed to the emergency used guns and advanced weapons, yet for some reason, they melted helplessly against Stardust's punches.

...No, to be precise, they crumbled as if struck at a weak point only when hit by her "yellow glowing" fist. They took no damage from her other attacks. Only against what fans called her Star Punch—the glowing fist she used instinctively without even knowing how it worked—did they collapse helplessly.

It was actually quite strange when she thought about it, but that wasn't particularly important to her.

"Haa..."

THWACK.

Massive black tentacle towers had sprouted like bamboo shoots all over the island.

As she flew around eliminating them, her expression was troubled, her mind elsewhere.

Naturally, she was thinking about Egostic. About him losing his memories.

"..."

She clenched her fist as she recalled how he had looked up at her in confusion, as if seeing her for the first time.

After he made a deal with the Wish Granter, when he collapsed and got back up, she instinctively realized from his face that he had completely lost his memories.

And why?

When she saw his face looking up at her as if he had no idea who she was, as if she were a complete stranger.

THUD-

Her heart ached sharply for a moment.

'....'

...No, she actually had a vague idea why, but she was gritting her teeth and ignoring it, telling herself it couldn't be true.

Anyway, she was in a very, very bad mood right now.

"Haa..."

THWACK.

...For the first time in a long while, she had thought she was getting closer to Egostic.

During their week together in prison, she had experienced many things with him. Eating meals together, watching movies, or just chatting about nothing important while holding hands and taking walks.

Living such an ordinary life like close friends.

And then, she suddenly realized.

'I...'

Simply being next to Egostic made her happy.

Talking with him, seeing him smile made her smile too.

When he called her name in his low voice while still half-asleep, when he smiled and ate whatever she cooked saying it was delicious, every little consideration he showed her made her smile.

To the point where she forgot that Egostic was a villain.

...That he meant so much to her.

So she had grown closer to Egostic.

...And she thought he was coming around too. Especially when she noticed him blushing and becoming conscious of her presence.

Of course, she had blushed more often than he did... but anyway. She thought they were gradually getting closer according to plan. Honestly, whether Egostic was a villain or not, she knew his heart was good, to the point where she thought maybe his villain status was something that could be fixed separately.

...And, though she couldn't remember clearly. She felt like they had done something together the night before.

Maybe it would be okay with Egostic.

That's what she had thought.

...Until he lost his memories.

"Haa..."

As she destroyed another black tentacle, Stardust swallowed a sigh.

She could understand Egostic, actually.

If he had told her he was going to make a deal with that entity using his memories as collateral, she would have definitely opposed it. Said it was too dangerous.

...Still, even so.

Even so.

THWACK.

After destroying another tentacle, she immediately flew to another one in the distance.

Now there were only a few tentacle towers left.

Of course, some parts of the prison had collapsed, allowing some lucky villains who had been in those buildings to break through even the emergency security systems and escape...

"Hey, Purple, wanna bet who catches more?"

"Sigh... Do I need to show you the difference in our power?"

But members of Ego-stream who could fly using lightning and purple flames had suddenly appeared to stop them, so the situation was relatively under control.

...They were probably all called in advance by Egostic. Predicting that something like this might happen.

Egostic would have planned all of this. Handling everything according to plan was his specialty.

So he must have prepared a way to recover his memories too. In his own way.

So there was surely nothing to worry about.

Because it was Egostic. No one else but him, who always smiled and handled every incident with composure.

"...."

By the time she finally destroyed the last tentacle.

At last, the desperate final attack of the dying Wish Granter came to an end.

And then.

"Hey, hey. Let's go!"

After everything was over, standing momentarily on a nearby tower, she watched an airship departing in the distance.

...That must be the airship carrying the Ego-stream members. And Egostic would surely be on board.

"...."

She didn't feel like chasing after them.

Was it because her conscience would bother her if she captured people who had helped prevent other villains from escaping? No, that wasn't it.

She just instinctively knew that their help would be needed for Egostic to recover his memories.

And. Because capturing them might make Egostic sad once he regained his memories. ...And he might even come to dislike her, so she didn't.

So she just stood there blankly, endlessly watching the departing airship with her blue eyes.

And then.

"..."

Somehow, she felt like she had made eye contact with Egostic.

"...Back to work."

After the airship carrying Egostic had departed.

She turned her head and looked down at the prison island below.

Despite the havoc wreaked by the black tentacles, the prison fortresses looked more intact than expected. Perhaps because the original scale was so massive, the damaged areas were relatively few.

Of course, there might still be villains who had escaped through the emergency security systems and past the Ego-stream members...

She didn't really care.

Because the moment Egostic left her side again, she had plenty of time.

Now that she was alone again. There would be plenty of time to work...

"..."

Thinking quietly to herself, she descended.

Yes. It didn't matter anyway. No matter what others did, the fact that Egostic was her villain wouldn't change.

And, once Egostic regained his memories...

Now she could move forward even more.

"...Haa."

Thinking this, Stardust placed her hand on her chest.

She had no intention of letting him go anymore. Even his status as a villain was gradually becoming less important to her.

She would not surrender Egostic to anyone.

Because Egostic was.

Her villain.

Hers.

"...Let's go."

Muttering this, Stardust flew toward some villains attempting to escape.

With blue eyes that somehow seemed colder than usual.

***

"Oppa, why did you just flinch?"

"...Huh? Oh, I just had an ominous feeling."

On the airship flying through the sky.

Han Seo-eun scratched her cheek unconsciously when she saw her oppa Da-in flinch while standing at the ship's railing, staring blankly toward the prison island.

Oppa Da-in. ...Indeed, as he had said, he had lost his memories. It was obvious just from how he was speaking formally to her and treating her with such respect.

Though it felt somewhat distant and admittedly disappointing...

"...Hmm."

Seo-eun discovered herself feeling strangely excited.

Because Da-in oppa who had lost his memories clearly...

"...Ms. Seo-eun. Is something wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing. Hehe."

Was treating her like an adult.

Seo-eun felt pleased by his respectful attitude, so different from how he usually treated her like a child.

...In truth, Seo-eun no longer looked like a child. Already approaching her second year of university, she had a pure yet cute appearance that made some people turn to look when she walked down the street. She had grown a head taller since Egostic first met her, and her body had matured too. She had even grown her hair out a bit from her previous bob cut.

In reality, no one would think of her as a child anymore.

However, since Da-in had known her since she was very young, he couldn't perceive this change at all.

...To him, Han Seo-eun was just the cute high school student Seo-eun who was like a little sister. And Seo-eun herself was quite aware of this.

'...So, this is my chance!'

That's why Seo-eun thought this way.

Indeed, after losing his memories, Da-in oppa was recognizing her completely as an adult. So if she could cement this adult recognition now, wouldn't it continue to influence him even after he regained his memories?

'...But, oppa without his memories is interesting too.'

Looking at Da-in leaning against the railing beside her, Han Seo-eun thought to herself.

Oppa without his memories somehow felt... cold. Not toward her specifically, but his general atmosphere. His eyes seemed sharper than usual, and he had a much more serious demeanor.

...Come to think of it, she knew almost nothing about Da-in's past. He was originally quite reserved, and he never shared stories about himself.

Perhaps this was an opportunity to learn more about oppa...!

Han Seo-eun's eyes sparkled as she clenched her fist and thought.

...She had already abandoned any intention of returning his diary right away.