Rage
Rage
People walking the streets of Seoul occasionally grumbled about unpleasant weather.
Rain or snow could make merely walking a burden, especially in crowded downtown areas.
When truly rare events occurred—hail or a typhoon—all they could do was cry. Walking became labor.
But if one had to name the single most absurd thing that could happen to a Seoul citizen on the street,
it would have to be a sudden superpowered terrorist attack—a bolt from the blue.
"Aaaah!"
And on a street in Itaewon,
The people who happened to be walking there at this exact moment fled in total panic.
Boom. Crash. Trees, streetlights, fire hydrants, transformers, signs, traffic lights—all began breaking apart.
Everything standing on the street was slashed and smashed, and the once-peaceful avenue became chaos.
"Aaaagh! Move!"
People screamed. The windows of nearby buildings shattered. Abandoned cars, drivers long fled, sailed through the air.
Amid this total mayhem, something was causing all of it.
[Bwahahaha! How truly delightful! Delightful!]
Something clad head-to-toe in armor and helmet, wreathed in a black aura, swinging a massive black greatsword.
The bystanders caught in the disaster had already scrambled away, but the armored figure remained alone on the street, swinging that greatsword, continuing the attack.
[My name is... Death Knight!! Of Ego Stream, the Knight of Death. Who dares face me?!]
In a voice like scraping metal, he bellowed and pounded his fist against the chest of his armor with a clang, clang.
Shouting like that on an empty street, you'd wonder who was even listening, but in truth, plenty of people were watching.
It was streaming through a drone-mounted camera, broadcast on the Ego Stream site.
*
[Death Knight debut lol]
[lmao is this Korea or a medieval fantasy]
[Def an Ego Stream member. Second villain from Egostic's Villain Alliance]
[Where the hell does Egostic find villains like this? Never seen him before lol]
[Looks crazy strong lol why does he talk like such a boomer though]
[Is it just me or can you only see black smoke inside the armor and no body? Creepy]
[All this is fine but where the hell is the main man Mangostic?]
[Yeah where's Ego? "Hello, this is Egostic!" <---- where did he go??]
[By the look of it he'll show up soon lol I believe]
*
The chatter from the viewers continued, and just as the villain who had declared himself Death Knight kept demolishing the street,
At last, she flew in.
Golden hair streaming, hovering silently in the dust-filled air, looking down at Death Knight—Stardus.
The moment Death Knight spotted her, he halted his indiscriminate rampage and shouted at her.
[Hoh. So you are the hero 'he' spoke of—Stardus!]
With that cry, he drew one hand back, and a black spear spun into existence before settling in his grip.
An ominous black aura swirled at its tip.
He looked up at her, suspended in the air, and called out again.
['He' told me plainly that you would stand against me. But I! Saint Petr... Death Knight, shall deal with the likes of you lightly!]
With that, Death Knight lunged at her, black spear raised.
A knight, seemingly the embodiment of death itself, wreathed in black aura and charging with a massive spear—a genuinely menacing sight.
And facing a battle with so fearsome a foe right in front of her,
Stardus harbored only a single question.
'...So where is Egostic?'
***
BOOM. KA-BOOM.
A thunderous roar shook the street as if heaven and earth were trembling.
[Hahahaha! You are indeed quite strong. Truly strong. Not as strong as I, Death Knight, of course!]
Fragments of buildings and pavement swirled through the air.
The battle raged on, fairly evenly matched.
Death Knight, a new villain, was holding his own against the current Stardus, whose power had grown significantly through many incidents.
She would dodge his sweeping spear and land a hit, but his armor's endurance was formidable; he fought back hard.
A powerful foe—the first she'd faced in quite a while.
The fight continued nonstop: flying, launching herself into attacks, again and again.
She batted aside every incoming spear thrust, blocked the relentless chain of strikes, launched her own attacks—and kept the battle going.
The viewers watching these two clash were gripped with excitement.
*
[Whoa, that Death Knight dude is on par with Stardus?]
[A clash between the strongest in the setting, what the hell is this...]
[Where does Egostic keep pulling these standout freaks from? The King of Villains, Mangostic...]
[ngl something's 2% missing without Egostic's commentary]
[Where's Egostic? He better not be a no-show today]
[Nah he'll definitely show up. He's never missed an attack livestream so far.]
[It's under the Ego Stream name so he'll be there. Gonna show up midway.]
[Stardus is here, no way Mango won't come. MangoStar is forever]
[If Egostic doesn't show up I'll shit my pants]
[Screencapped that chat. gg]
*
The battle dragged on.
To any onlooker, it looked like a sweaty-palmed, nail-bitingly tense, evenly matched contest.
But Stardus, the one actually fighting, had only one thought in her head.
'...What is this? When the hell is Egostic getting here?'
The scene was definitely being streamed on Egostic's channel. And the 'he' this villain mentioned—every clue pointed straight to Egostic.
So she had, obviously, assumed Egostic would be here.
Instead, not a trace of Egostic to be seen, and she was locked in a draining, meaningless fight with this bizarre armored villain.
Ting—
Mid-battle, she threw herself against a full-power strike from Death Knight and knocked it aside.
THUUM. Their attacks collided, the recoil hurling them in opposite directions.
[Bwahahaha! Egostic was right. You are quite strong. To think you can fight me on even terms! I have not faced an opponent like you in hundreds of years.]
Watching the villain laugh and boast from across the gap, she felt irritation surge.
...Fine, strong. So where is Egostic? Why are you the one here?
After this long, drawn-out fight, still no sign of Egostic. She finally shouted at him.
"So where is this Egostic you mentioned, and why are you here alone?"
And her question scratched precisely the itch the viewers had been feeling as they waited for Egostic to appear.
*
[fr lol we're watching to see Mangostic, when's Mango showing up~~~]
[SO refreshing!!!]
[Just decided to root for Stardus after that]
[Yeah where's Mango? Get that weird boomer knight geezer outta here!!]
*
As the viewers waited for Death Knight's answer,
Death Knight—
[Hrm? Egostic?]
—at her question about Egostic's whereabouts, scratched his helmet with a finger as if he had no clue, then let out another booming laugh and bellowed.
[Egostic will not come today! He told me someone like me would be more than enough to deal with you! Bwahahahaha!]
With that loud announcement,
The sudden news of Egostic's no-show sent the chat into an absolute frenzy.
*
[?????????]
[Wtf that ain't right]
[This is Egostic's stream, how can Egostic not show up]
[This is not okay.]
[Mangostic come out!!!]
[lol shit I knew something felt off]
[No Mango today? No Mango today? No Mango today?]
[Oh? I'm getting pissed.]
[🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥]
[You wanna throw hands right now?]
[Icicle = He personally brought an entire ship to attack her / Stardus = He just sent some other guy lol]
[Rage MAX 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥]
[Crossing the line...]
*
As the chat truly burned,
Stardus simply stood still, her head lowered.
...So Egostic wasn't coming that day.
Ah. Fine. That was possible. Not that it mattered.
It was just that because Egostic's broadcast was on, she'd naturally—so naturally—assumed Egostic would appear. It didn't matter if it was another villain. She was a hero, after all. A hero's duty was to defeat villains and save civilians. Nothing else mattered.
...But still.
Why had Egostic gone all the way to Busan, personally hauled a warship there, faced Icicle head-on, and wreaked havoc—
—yet sent only an underling against her?
[Egostic will not come today! He told me someone like me would be more than enough to deal with you! Bwahahahaha!]
The villain's earlier words echoed in her ears.
What? More than enough to deal with her?
Ha. Hahaha.
Her eyes sank, heavy and dark, as the thought settled.
Yes. The reason her blood was boiling like this—it was because Egostic was dismissing her. He'd personally led a warship against Icicle, but to her he sent a single underling. That dismissiveness. As if she was no longer worth dealing with himself. As if he was done with her. That attitude.
"..."
Grit. She bit down hard on her lip.
...So, I'm not worth dealing with personally? Sending some other villain is 'more than enough'?
Fine. Then I'll just have to show him he's wrong.
The moment that resolve crystallized,
The aura around her shifted.
***
"Wait, what the hell?"
I'd been sprawled on the sofa eating popcorn, but I jerked upright at the sudden sight.
"Big bro, what is it?"
"Hold on."
My mouth fell open as I stared at the screen: the camera had caught a strange energy coiling around Stardus, and little stones were starting to float into the air around her.
That phenomenon—that usually only happens when someone's power is undergoing another awakening.
...Why the hell is she suddenly awakening on her own?