Chapter 216 – Her Grief
Above the bustling city of Seoul, the wind howled through the sky.
-Clash!
Stardus, who had shattered Katana’s blue spirit sword with her fist, was confident in her victory.
“…..”
Of course, Katana didn’t just stand there and take it. She quickly regained her composure and tried to summon another spirit sword into the air.
Swish.
“Haha, too bad, but it ends here!”
“….Egostic.”
As if embracing Katana from behind, Egostic appeared. He held her in her arms as they teleported away from Stardus, maintaining some distance from him.
“Katana, are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
Egostic continued to hold Katana as she responded with a composed expression. She had stopped summoning her spirit sword, seemingly accepting the situation.
*
[Is this the end of the broadcast?]
[No! Is it ending here??????]
[More! More! More! More!]
[Come on, Mango barely appeared today, is this fair????]
[We’ve been watching them fight for an hour straight!]
[At this point, isn’t it safe to say Stardus won? Hahahaha]
[Katana-chan was fighting from Korea according to the news, but there’s no point if it’s already over. Hahaha]
*
While the chatroom erupted with comments about the broadcast ending, Stardus’s attention was elsewhere.
The two of them clung to each other like lovers. Yes, she understood it intellectually that Egostic was probably just supporting Katana as she was about to fall. But the heart had a different way of thinking.
Stardus’s heart fluttered as she watched their intimate embrace.
‘Why am I feeling like this?’
In truth, whether Katana and Egostic were embracing or not didn’t matter to her. As a villain, she shouldn’t care about who hugged whom or what they did.
However, for some reason…
Why did her heart ache so painfully when she saw Katana looking at them with such a dark expression?
When the two finally separated, still holding hands as if they were reluctant to let go, they both turned to face Stardus.
“Okay! Haha, I thought I could easily defeat Katana, but Stardus, you really are tough. While I don’t know what might happen if Katana continues the fight in a foreign land, it wouldn’t be right to push her further. So, we’ll end it here!”
Egostic still smiled and continued speaking, but Stardus didn’t hear his words. He merely looked at the hands that Katana and Egostic had been holding onto, which now hung in the air.
“……”
“Then, we’ll conclude today’s terror here. Goodbye, everyone!”
Egostic’s final words echoed, and he manipulated the camera once more. Then, he turned his head to look back at Katana and Stardus.
They were still holding hands.
“Haha, Stardus. I won’t lose next time…”
As he spoke confidently towards himself, he paused when he saw her expression.
Honestly, Stardus couldn’t understand why he was angry. Why should he care about what Egostic did or said? After all, he and Egostic were just a villain and a hero, nothing more, nothing less.
But…
When Egostic held Katana’s hand so tightly, an image from his memories surfaced in his subconscious, and deep within his inexplicable feelings, he couldn’t help but think that he should be the one holding that hand, or that he had been robbed of something.
For some reason, she couldn’t quite comprehend, but she felt a sense of loss, as if something that should have been her was taken away.
“S-Stardus…?”
Startled by her own unusual reaction, she looked at Egostic’s bewildered face.
…And yet, she couldn’t help but feel a bit resentful towards Egostic for breaking some unspoken promise.
With both of her fists clenched tightly, Stardus couldn’t stop himself from blurting out
“…You jerk.”
…That was the best she could do.
She couldn’t explain what was wrong, but one thing was clear—Egostic was a jerk.
…A jerk.
***
Today, I felt good.
First and foremost, I successfully completed the mission with Katana. Seeing Stardus make such significant progress in just a few hours was a big deal. Katana’s attacks, which resembled butterflies and bees, had proven to be beneficial for Stardus’s reflexes.
Yes, up until that point, I had a positive outlook.
“Okay! Haha, I thought I could easily defeat Katana, but Stardus, you really are tough. While I don’t know what might happen if Katana continues the fight in a foreign land, it wouldn’t be right to push her further. So, we’ll end it here!”
Under the clear sky, Egostic spoke while embracing the gasping Katana, making her appear calm.
I delivered my closing remarks to the camera, feeling satisfied with the day’s events. Given that Katana had used her Heart Blade and fought alongside Stardus, I felt that we had done enough for the day.
“Well then, we’ll wrap up today’s terror here. Everyone, take care!”
*
[Mango failure~]
[Bring Electra with you next time for sure. It’s been a while since we saw our electric mouse.]
[For real, why do Egostream members hide and not show themselves? Terrorize more often!!!]
[I have a dream that Mangostick will engage in direct terrorism like the last Dragon and Mango terrorism…
[Damn, people are requesting terrorism content from the new concept villain. What’s going on? Hahahaha”
[But, wasn’t today’s terrorism fun? It was just so dazzling that there was no time to rest your eyes. Hahaha]
[And Katana is so pretty. Hahaha]
[Mango x Katana, this is a hit.ㄷㄷㄷ]
*
Seeing the positive atmosphere in the chat, I decided it was time to end the broadcast. After all, it had been a successful day.
As I turned off the broadcast, I couldn’t help but wonder what the future held for Stardus. The moment when I saw the chat, the mood shifted, and I felt something strange.
“Haha, Stardus. I won’t lose next time…”
But as I spoke those words to Stardus, something unexpected happened.
“……”
She lowered her head, her fists clenched tightly.
And then, an eerie atmosphere seemed to surround Stardus.
‘….W-What’s going on?’
Feeling the oppressive tension in the air, I instinctively tightened my grip on Katana’s hand. Katana, too, appeared tense, with her left hand hovering near her waist, ready to summon her Heart Blade at a moment’s notice.
Should I teleport away from here right now? That thought crossed my mind as the ominous atmosphere continued to build.
However, I had a gut feeling that fleeing would only make things worse. I wasn’t sure where things had gone wrong, but leaving now might lead to even greater trouble.
So, cautiously, I called out to Stardus once again
“S-Stardus…?”
And at that moment…
She raised her head again, her blue eyes glistening in the light, and something moist?
In that moment, my brain froze. Stardus hesitated for a moment, then muttered softly to me
“….You jerk.”
“….”
I didn’t know what was going on, but I felt like I was the bad guy here.
As both Katana and I fell into silence, Stardus wiped her eyes quickly with her hand.
“……”
She glanced at me again and then turned her back.
Swooooooosh.
Disappearing with a swift movement, almost like the wind.
And.
“……What just happened?”
“Well….”
Katana and I remained standing in the air for a while, both confused and perplexed by the situation.
…Had Stardus ever left the scene before the villain did?
***
[Egostic, teaming up with Japan’s S-class villain Katana for a terrorist attack? Check out today’s Entertainment News at 9 PM for a breakdown of Stardus and Katana’s showdown, as well as Egostic’s global influence!]
That night, after the terrorist attack ended, people talked about the day’s events nonstop. Everyone discussed how Stardus had become stronger and how Katana was indeed formidable.
Particularly in Japan, Katana was seen as a staunch rival to the oppressive and ineffectual Association and government. Her popularity was soaring, and the news of her collaborating with me in Korea had caught the attention of many. As a result, my name had gained some recognition in Japan, and people were curious about how I had become acquainted with Katana.
Among the many surprising reactions from people, one stood out: despite the unexpected alliance between Korea’s top villain and Japan’s top villain, there didn’t seem to be much concern about a potential threat. Some even described it as “reassuring,” although I was unsure what they meant by that.
Besides the mixed reactions, one thing was certain…
Honestly, those things weren’t important to me at the moment.
“Da-in, what are you doing going back and forth in the living room?”
“Well…”
The only thing that mattered to me right now was one thing.
“…You jerk.”
Stardus had been extremely upset, almost crying, as she glared at me with a distraught expression.
I couldn’t help but wonder why she was so angry.
“…..Hmm.”
The fact that there were too many variables to pinpoint a single reason was the biggest problem.
***
That night.
Shin Haru’s house.
“Ugh…!”
Thud. Thud.
Shin Haru had her face buried in her pillow, her hands repeatedly pounding on the bed.
“I must be crazy. Seriously, why did I do that?”
Tears welled up in her eyes as she muttered.
‘…You jerk, hic’
“Ughhhhh…!!!”
“W-Why did I do that…? I must be insane….”
And so, until she fell asleep that night, Shin Haru continued to pound the bed in frustration.
Because she was embarrassed…
