Chapter 341 - Marathon Viewing
Egostic.
Come to think of it, it's been quite a while since I started my villain activities under that alias.
It's been almost 5 years already...
'I really have been doing this for a long time.'
In truth, I've been at it for an exceptionally long time.
This industry isn't structured for villains to have long careers. The moment you get caught by a hero, you're immediately retired.
Especially in this [Stardust!] universe, the power inflation is so severe that it makes it even harder. Basically, all the villains who appeared in the early comics have been overshadowed by the power inflation of subsequent villains and Stardust, becoming total nobodies. When I first started, Crocodileman, an A-class villain who could transform into an alligator man, was considered extremely powerful, but now just look at our Halo who goes around shooting angel death beams...
Anyway, the conclusion is that villains who avoid capture and remain active for a long time are rare in this field. Particularly because I've preemptively dealt with the truly vicious villains from the original work who managed to avoid capture for a long time. Villains like Weapon Master and Scream Maker.
What I'm trying to say is that somehow, I've become the only villain who's been active for this long in the industry.
...As a result, it seems quite a few people are disappointed about the retirement of someone who has inadvertently become such an established villain.
*
["Today will probably be my last act of terror. Today will probably be my last act of terror. Today will probably be my last act of terror."]
Today will probably be my last act of terror. I probably won't be targeting you anymore in the future. Take care, Stardust. Today will probably be my last act of terror. I probably won't be targeting you anymore in the future. Take care, Stardust. Today will probably be my last act of terror. I probably won't be targeting you anymore in the future. Take care, Stardust. Today will probably be my last act of terror. I probably won't be targeting you anymore in the future. Take care, Stardust.
Anyway, this will probably be my last game with you.
You've grown up now. You don't need to play with me anymore.
I probably won't be targeting you anymore in the future.
Take care, Stardust.
=[Comments]=
[KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!]
[This isn't real this isn't real this isn't real]
[Mass PTSD ON lololol]
[Who the hell liked this post? Why is this garbage in the popular posts?]
['That line']
[For real, when I first heard this I was just stunned lol. And he only said it to Stardust, not even to the viewers lol]
ㄴ[For real... did he abandon Team Mango!!!]
ㄴ[Mango who was devoted to Stardust until the end... though he ended up abandoning Stardust too...]
[Lol it's been 3 weeks, right? Wait a few months and everyone will forget... They'll be like "Who's Egostic?"]
ㄴ[No no, everyone's conditioned to wait because Egostic's terror intervals were always at least 3 months... we're screwed]
ㄴ[Mangostick has already ruined everything]
ㄴ[The real problem is that he won't come back even after 3 months lol]
[Writer, do you want to die? Take this down^^]
*
It seems that quite a lot, well, a whole lot of people are disappointed about my retirement...
Most of the fan cafe posts were like this.
First denying my retirement, then getting angry, then trying to negotiate for even one terror act every six months, and finally becoming depressed.
...The problem is that instead of accepting it, they go back to the beginning and repeat this process. Why are they like this?
Of course, there were unexpected advantages to my retirement.
Namely, many people have stopped falsely accusing me of being an S-class hero and have finally acknowledged me as a villain...!
*
[Egostic <<<< Upvote if you agree he was a real S-class 'VILLAIN' lol]
Seeing how he's manipulating the emotions of tens or hundreds of thousands of Korean citizens, he really was a villain...
=[Comments]=
[I'm single but I'm feeling the pain of a breakup...]
[For real, Mango who was single-handedly acting as Korea's human breakwater has retired? This is a catastrophe]
ㄴ[But we still have Stardust]
ㄴ[If we didn't have Stardust either, we'd have to abandon the country and flee lol]
[I don't care about safety or whatever, I'm just sad I can't watch Egostic's terror broadcasts anymore... it was really the joy of my life]
ㄴ[The real thing is that even when life sucked, you could think "just hang in there for a month and Egostic will broadcast" and that kept you going]
[So why did Mango really retire?]
ㄴ[Did he fight with Stardust? This seems very likely]
ㄴ[I don't think so... it just seemed like he had prepared for it]
ㄴ[Be careful saying things like this, Team Stardust members will swarm you]
ㄴ[Honestly, Stardust must be losing her mind too lol. The person who always helped her suddenly disappeared]
*
...Is this a good thing..?
Anyway, I sighed as I looked with disbelief at my fan cafe that Seo-eun was showing me while giggling.
"Why... why are these people acting like this?"
"I think I understand why. Your fan cafe is still ranked #1 in popularity. People will probably take a long time to forget."
Seo-eun said this to me while sitting on a bean bag, smiling brightly with her face cupped in her hands.
...As our Ego-stream technology and information manager, Seo-eun has always enjoyed looking at my fan cafe.
Seo-eun, who was showing this to me, clapped her hands, manipulated the remote control, and said:
"That's right, oppa. There's something really funny. Do you know what your fans are doing these days?"
"What are they doing?"
As I tilted my head and asked, the screen in front of me changed.
There was a post displayed on it.
*
[Mango Stream Season 4 Marathon Broadcast Guide]
Hello. This is Mango Broadcasting Station in charge of the Ego-stream marathon broadcast.
As the Season 3 marathon broadcast is coming to an end, we will soon be broadcasting Season 4.
The broadcast list is the same as always.
#All of Egostic's terror broadcasts from first to last
For parts where Egostic didn't broadcast, we will substitute with the best quality broadcasts from TV stations, and of course, they will be in chronological order.
Thank you.
=[Comments]=
[Let's go~ Let's go~ Let's go~ Let's go~ Let's go~ Let's go~]
[Are you crazy lol how many hours is that all combined? And you're going to watch it all at once? You're not in your right mind]
ㄴ[That's why we're watching it over a week lol]
ㄴ[This is what faith is all about!!!!!]
[These guys are insane, they've memorized all the lines for the key scenes lol. They type out what Egostic is going to say in the chat before he even opens his mouth lol]
[The real insanity was the viewer count, why is it in the 10,000s?]
[The best part is when Egostic announces his retirement in the very last terror act and all the viewers who were drowning in nostalgia suddenly snap back to reality and have meltdowns in the chat lol]
ㄴ[Life is a tragedy when seen up close, but a comedy when seen from a distance...]
[Reason why you don't see the regulars in the comments: Most of Team Mango is already watching the Season 3 marathon so they're not here...]
*
"What is this?"
"Well..."
What Seo-eun told me was absurd.
Apparently, people are rewatching all the terror broadcast videos I've made so far. She says it's because I've retired and there are no new terror videos being updated...
"Since we're on the topic, want to take a look?"
As Seo-eun said this while fiddling with the remote control, a new video appeared.
I wondered what it was, and it turned out to be a channel that was playing a marathon of my broadcasts.
Looking at what was on screen, it seemed to be from the battle with the Moonlight Cult Leader.
From the video came the voice of the crazed Moonlight Cult Leader:
[Yes... even the traitor knows. That you have no way to survive. Just despair, and despair again. Forever... fall into pain... in the afterlife!]
Then the moment the cult leader moved his arm.
The chat window started scrolling like crazy.
*
[Wait!]
[Wait a sec~]
[Wait!]
[Wait]
[Stardust reaching out her arm really looked urgent, it was tense]
[Stardust is calling, wait a moment]
[Waitlol]
[Bububububububu]
[Stardust's scream in 3 seconds]
*
After all those chat messages scrolled up.
Stardust's voice finally came out, delayed:
[....Wait!]
And after that.
The Moonlight Cult Leader's magic bullets began to pour down.
"....."
Watching this, I was dumbfounded.
...Why on earth would they memorize something like that?
Anyway, the chat was turning into the world's greatest line memorization competition.
"Oppa. Aren't these people really funny? Pfft... and kind of pitiful too. So, like I suggested, why don't we start using SNS to let them know how we're doing? Hm?"
As Seo-eun said this to me.
I was staring intently at Stardust's face appearing on the screen.
'...Stardust.'
I wonder what she's doing these days.
***
Korea Hero Association Headquarters.
"Um... Ms. Stardust. Here are the, the approval documents..."
"Yes. Put them there."
"Y-yes, ma'am...!"
The female employee who hurriedly responded glanced at the smiling Stardust and quietly sighed as she left the office.
'Heeng... I wonder if Ms. Stardust is okay...'
It's not that Stardust had threatened her or said anything harsh.
On the contrary, she had responded with a gentle smile.
However...
'...Ms. Stardust, aren't you heading for trouble like this..?'
"Haah..."
This is all because of that man.
The association employee thought this, sighed, and walked down the corridor.
S-class hero, Stardust.
...Smiling as if she might float away at any moment, as if she might break.
Her recent appearance, which anyone could see was precarious, was reportedly the association's biggest concern these days...