Chapter 234 – Faith
“Da-in, you’re Egostic, aren’t you?”
PMC.
The organization I had established and brought together individuals with extraordinary abilities. The PMC members all gazed at me, and no.1 had a serious expression on their face as they spoke to me.
As soon as I heard those words, without a change in my expression, I replied in an indifferent tone, “What are you saying? Don’t talk nonsense.”
“Da-in, we all know before deciding to talk to you.”
And at that moment, it felt like time had almost come to a standstill as I began to turn my head in confusion.
‘Gosh. How could they possibly know…?’
I had made sure not to exhibit any behavior that might associate me with Egostic. I had never even shown them my primary abilities, teleportation, and telekinesis. But looking at their expressions now, it didn’t seem like a casual accusation. They were speaking seriously and with a conviction that suggested they had already discussed this among themselves.
…I’ve been exposed, there’s no other way to see it.
I don’t know how they found out, but now that it’s out in the open, I need to come up with a plan. I was ready to teleport at a moment’s notice and began considering all the emergency plans I had prepared, from plan A to E.
In just a few seconds, countless plans vanished from my mind, and I finally made a decision. Alright, this is how it has to be.
Just as I was about to put my resolve into action, someone from PMC, Seo Chaeyoung, urgently shouted.
“Wait! We don’t care at all whether you’re Egostic or a hero!”
“…?”
“That’s right.”
Then, the superpower user with blue hair, San Sua, nodded her head beside her.
“Whether Da-in is a villain or a hero, we don’t care at all.”
Then, Lee Segeom chimed in,
“We’ve already decided to follow you, so would we betray you for such a trivial reason?”
“That’s correct!”
Heo Dahee raised her hand and added.
“We just want you to be honest with us. Whatever you do, we’ll follow you.”
Listening to the words of my disciples that I had personally trained, I quietly thought to myself.
‘…’
When I consider it based on the intuition I’ve developed as a top-tier villain up until now, this doesn’t seem like the sudden atmosphere where they would say, ‘Actually, we were just joking!’ and turn hostile. I even considered the possibility that this might be a coordinated move with Stardus to lull me into complacency to capture me, but… yeah, I can think about that later. Regardless, I have a specialized escape ability, teleportation.
After completing my strategic assessment, I let out a small sigh and promptly acknowledged the kids.
“Okay… I’m Egostic.”
In response to my shocking confession, the kids’ reactions were…
“Hmm, as expected.”
“Yes, we knew.”
Everyone nodded as if it were an obvious thing. Well, they seem to accept it without any fuss. Nevertheless, they didn’t appear hostile toward me. Whether I was a villain or a hero, our teacher-student bond remained strong. I’m proud of my disciples!
While I was lost in my thoughts, Seo Chaeyoung gave me a sly smile and said.
“Well then… I guess that’s settled. Now, you need to explain everything to us.”
…Looking around, there was some pressure coming in that everyone was smiling, but they wanted an explanation quickly.
Uh-oh. I’m screwed.
***
I had lengthy conversations with the kids, and it became clear that they had no intention of betraying me, period. They didn’t even consider it. They explained that they had received so much from me, and their bond was strong. It was almost unnatural, considering that I had been diligently teaching them about heroism. Maybe my moral education wasn’t as effective as I thought, or maybe they had grown fond of me in the process.
One question I had was how they found out my true identity. I had taken numerous precautions to ensure it wouldn’t be revealed. I had been avoiding any mention or reference to it, so how did they uncover the truth?
When I asked that, no.1 was straightforward.
” Da-in, you like Stardus, right?”
“…Yes, as a hero. But what does that have to do with anything?”
“Because Egostic also likes Stardus, it all started from there.”
“…?”
No.1 spoke as if it were the most obvious thing. I thought of counterarguments, but I decided to let it go. But seriously, can you determine someone’s identity just from watching them on TV? Egostic, the evil villain, is Stardus’ arch-nemesis! It’s the only explanation that makes sense. Maybe they had a moment of confusion.
Anyway, I listened carefully to what the kids had to say. After hours of conversation, I was confident that they had faith in me.
Turning crisis into an opportunity. I thought about integrating the PMC members into my Ego Squad.
Well, I didn’t plan to tell them much yet.
Roughly speaking, I’m acting as the villain Egostic to save the world… Just this much?
“As expected. I was right.”
No.1 nodded as if to say that they had known this all along. Well, I suppose they did know from the start. Why else would they have been following me?
The reason I was being completely honest with them was simple. I wanted to make sure they understood their purpose.
“In the near future, a great disaster is coming. Monsters will pour in.”
“When that day comes, combining the strength of Stardus and the Association won’t be enough to cover the entire country. Many places will suffer, and the nation will be in chaos.”
“When that day arrives, I’ll need your help.”
In response to my sincere words, everyone nodded in agreement with serious expressions.
“But, Da-in, I have a question!”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“But can the four of us handle that…?”
Heo Dahee raised her hand confidently, but her voice wavered as she continued.
I decided to reassure her and share my plans for the future.
“Exactly, that’s what I was going to say… Soon, I’ll be recruiting your juniors. Many of them.”
“…Really?”
“Then, you’ll have to teach them and help them grow. First, the second generation will be around ten students. They’ll be less experienced than you.”
This was the hero multi-tier structure I had planned. I would train only four superpower users, and those four would train ten more. Then, the ten would train twenty more, and so on, until we had a full-fledged hero army. It was the grand plan I had envisioned: a semi-automated power-user production line.
My dream was almost like a half-automatic factory for producing superpower users. Why would I teach other superpower users? It was all part of my larger plan.
“Can you do it, kids?”
“Well, we guess… Maybe…?”
They seemed a bit unsure, considering they had never taught anyone before. However, they were willing to give it a try, and I assured them I would help as a senior, not a teacher. I explained that they would also be receiving hero philosophy education from me.
We continued to have more discussions into the late night hours.
***
“Oh, gosh…”
Home.
I let out a deep sigh as I leaned back on my chair.
We managed to resolve the PMC incident. It was quite an ordeal when the kids asked me, ‘You’re Egostic, aren’t you?’, I felt my heart skip a beat, but thankfully, things worked out.
…I should have built a strong bond with our PMC kids. Wait, I shouldn’t call them PMC anymore. It’s Ego Squad now.
That’s right. The kids asked me to call them Ego Squad. They insisted that they work under Egostic. I’m more used to being called Da-in, but, well, it’s what they want… Besides, it’s a name filled with a sense of belonging and unity compared to PMC.
I should be more careful from now on…
Anyway, as I pondered the future, I realized there wasn’t much time left. Until the gate opens in the sky, and the monsters pour out. Even if I manage to hold them off to some extent, there will surely be limits. Just looking at the numbers, tens of thousands of B-class villains will be running around in just one night. If this isn’t a disaster, then what is? It’s like facing the final boss of a video game.
In a way, this is just a subplot in a superhero comic. If it were a different story, this could have been the main material: an extraterrestrial invasion with a legion of alien creatures, and humanity’s fight against them. Ugh.
Anyway, enough with the digression. The conclusion is simple.
It’s not enough to rely solely on me and Egosquad to prepare for this.
Especially considering the Gate Ritual that Wolgwanggyo performed in Korea, it’s even more crucial. Our nation is a mess.
“…Who are the people that know my true identity?”
For now, Ego Stream members know it, of course. Lee Seola knows it, too. Even Shadow Walker has a rough idea. My villain colleagues, like Atlas and Katana, all know. And now, the Ego Squad kids know, too.
As for the villains around the three A-class heroes and I in Korea, they all know my identity except for Stardus. Is this correct? Well, either way, the most critical thing is that Stardus doesn’t know.
I finally reached a conclusion after long contemplation.
“Alright.”
Given that my identity is scattered all over the place, I might as well consider buying the president position at the association later.
And so, the connection between the hero association and the villain organization began.
The dawn of my new plan.
