Death Knight
Death Knight
Death Knight.
For hundreds of years he had done nothing but sleep, trapped inside a cramped ring, and now he was savoring the taste of freedom after so long.
And luckily, the ring had found a good owner.
[Kuhahahahaha!]
For the first time in ages, he was fighting a battle worthy of the name.
"Haa... haa..."
The woman before him, now breathing hard as she fought, was the one Egostic had told him to face: Stardus.
'Fight her with your power restrained to some degree, and once things have gone on long enough, pretend to lose and get out of there. Understood?'
He ran through the instructions Egostic had given him once more and tightened his grip on his spear.
The battle was a true joy after so long. He'd been holding back to a degree, sure, but the woman in front of him was doing the same.
And that created a balanced fight.
The combat had gone on for a good while.
When they'd both been knocked back and had a moment of separation, he decided to share his honest opinion with Stardus.
[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.]
And he meant every word.
Even with his power under control, countless people couldn't hold out against him at this level.
Meaning this woman, who'd forced him to use this much of his strength, was truly formidable.
He'd offered the words as a mark of respect, but the blonde woman before him only furrowed her brow and asked about something else.
Where is Egostic—that was what she asked.
Death Knight found the sudden question strange, but then he recalled what Egostic had told him.
'Stardus might ask you where I'm, you know? Since I'm streaming this. She came to catch me, but you're the one there. So then... yeah. Just say, "I'm your opponent. Egostic won't be coming." Only that.'
Right. He had definitely said that.
Remembering the order, Death Knight declared it in a loud, confident voice, adding a little provocation.
[Egostic will not come today! He told me someone like me would be more than enough to deal with you! Bwahahahaha!]
And the moment he said it.
The entire atmosphere of the hero standing before him—Stardus—suddenly shifted.
[!!!]
A drastic change in a foe's presence, the kind only a veteran of countless battlefields could sense.
The woman who, just moments ago, had clearly been holding back.
Now, a ferocious fighting spirit began to pour from her. Something deep, viscous.
The air swirled around her and her hair started to float upward, a clear sign that the situation was spiraling into something dangerous.
And seeing that.
Death Knight simply laughed louder.
[Kuhahahahahaha! Excellent! I don't know what it is, but that's the spirit!]
He could tell from her changed demeanor. From now on, Stardus was about to go all-out.
He couldn't quite understand why she'd suddenly gotten like that, but as long as it meant a fiercer fight, he was all for it.
Good. The real battle began now.
Now Death Knight would have to fight in earnest too. No more holding back.
Having made up his mind, Death Knight beat a fist against his chest and shouted at her.
[Yes, the true contest begins now! Hero Stardus, come at me! I'll give you everything I—]
And then, in the middle of his declaration.
In the blink of an eye, Stardus had flown right up to him.
Blonde hair streaming, one hand clenched into a fist.
He had let his guard down.
Death Knight hurried to block her with his spear as she appeared in front of him.
"Too late."
The short murmur brushed past him.
And at the same time, a massive impact slammed into his stomach.
BOOM.
His body shot backwards at a terrifying speed.
***
"..."
Stardus gave her fist a few quick shakes and then rose into the sky, heading for the spot where she'd sent that bastard Death Knight flying.
[Cough, hack. Krrrrgh...]
The man she'd launched with her punch was embedded in the outer wall of a building across the way, hacking up black smoke.
[Krrgh. To think I was so careless... Cough, hack. I admit it. I have lost.]
He lay collapsed, the armor on his arms and legs hanging slack.
A single punch from her moment of awakening had sent him flying and left him in a near-dead state. Even with his body shattered, he still laughed as he muttered.
And then, before long, his body began to slowly turn to dust.
Even so, Death Knight looked up at her one last time and delivered his final line.
[This is not my end. I am immortal anyway. When I return, I won't be careless, so prepare yourself. Heh heh heh...]
Leaving those words behind, the last of his helmet crumbled to dust and scattered on the wind.
And so, in the half-destroyed city street, emptied of people after the fierce battle, Stardus was left standing alone.
She stared at the spot where Death Knight had vanished, then slowly raised her head to look up at the sky.
Egostic still hadn't come.
***
[Let us watch a highlight reel honoring the late Death Knight, Ego Stream's newest member.]
(Death Knight solo one-man-showing an entire street into rubble.gif)
(Death Knight provoking Stardus.gif)
(Death Knight fighting a quasi S-rank hero on equal footing.gif)
(Death Knight attacking Stardus with a black spear.gif)
(Death Knight overwhelming Stardus with continuous attacks.gif)
.
.
.
(Death Knight getting punched by Stardus straight into outer space.gif)
Death Knight, the G.O.A.T. among Ego Stream's members... We would never forget his sacrifice.
Moment of silence.
=[Comments]=
[Miss you already, Death Knight... Are you happy up there?]
[He said he's not dead, why are you killing him off lol he said he's immortal lol]
↳ [How's he coming back from being dust though T_T]
↳ [Serious analysis: if you go frame by frame, his body is missing from inside the armor, suggesting he's some kind of spirit entity. You see that type a fair bit among European heroes and villains. Probably a form of limited immortality, like he said.]
[Seriously though, he was fighting pretty well and then just got deleted at the end? What happened?]
↳ [Seems like Stardus suddenly awakened her powers.]
↳ [Why all of a sudden???]
↳ [Dunno, but if you look at Stardus's history, her abilities growing mid-fight is normal.]
↳ [Looking at how she attacked suddenly after the conversation, seems like she was waiting for a chance to land a surprise attack and it worked.]
↳ [Ah, I get it.]
↳ [What if the real reason Stardus awakened isn't that, but because she got pissed that Egostic wasn't coming? What if we've all got it wrong?]
↳ [Stop with the delusions!]
↳ [Don't slander Stardus.]
*
[Egostic is actually insane though, for real]
When he first said he was making some villain alliance, I didn't expect much
But it hasn't even been that long since he announced it, and the lineup is already incredible.
Egostic (A-rank), Electra (A-rank), and now this Death Knight who was going toe-to-toe with Stardus—seems like he could even hang with S-ranks.
At this rate, haven't they practically caught up to the Hero Association?
Stardus = Death Knight
Shadow Walker = Egostic
Icicle = Electra
Paired up like that, they looked roughly even. Sure, they were still a little behind at that point, but the frightening thing was that their membership would only keep growing. Given that it was an alliance, there was no way they would be satisfied with that...
Pretty soon, the Villain Alliance might actually become stronger than the Hero Association.
Conclusion: The Association's screwed!
=[Comments]=
[Egostic is seriously insane. Just looking at Death Knight, he's got Stardus-level power plus immortality. Where the hell did he find a guy like that?]
[They'll catch up to the Association soon lol]
[But isn't this actually better? When villains attack, dozens of people always end up dead, so if all the future villains get tied up in Egostic's group, doesn't that actually make South Korea safer?]
↳ [Wait, that's real.]
↳ [What a paradigm shift.]
↳ [This is it lol]
↳ [There's a country that gets safer the more the villain alliance grows? Mind blown]
↳ [We, the entire Mangostic Fandom, wholeheartedly support the growth of Egostic's villain alliance, Ego Stream^^]
↳ [lol this is patriotism lol]
↳ [The domestic patriots' cafe.]
*
[This terrorist attack where Egostic didn't show was pretty disappointing... but one thing's been confirmed... truefact]
What is it? That EgoStar is completely and utterly dead. lol
He came to Busan to terrorize it himself, but when it comes to Seoul? He just sends a minion to do it. lol
Ah lol, Mango doesn't care about Stardus anymore, lol. He's become Ice Mango. lol
Sign here, Stardus Fandom!
Egostic's... arch-enemy... is... Icicle...
=[Comments]=
[I'm in the Stardus Fandom, and this is true.]
[I support StarBucks but Icicle does seem like the real main girl.]
↳ [It's Stardus, you idiot.]
[Nah, not true lol Stardus is the real main girl, stop talking crap lol]
↳ [You poor thing... Don't cry, just talk to us.]
↳ [This guy lol, his brain is seriously broken lol]
[Why the Stardus Fandom is screwed: the cafe will be plastered with Ice Mango posts until the next attack.]
↳ [This can't be real!!]
***
"Good grief, Egostic... How could you not show up yourself and send another villain instead?"
Yuseong Group, top-floor CEO's office.
Sitting alone with her laptop watching the footage of the attack, Lee Seol-ah murmured to herself as she saw Stardus's expression harden at Death Knight's words.
Then, she spotted a comment below the video. [He didn't go to Seoul himself and just sent a minion, so from the looks of it, Icicle is Egostic's real arch-enemy now.] She paused for a moment.
Ahem, well.
...Still, it didn't feel bad.
As she quietly contemplated that, the corner of her lips.
Curled upward, just slightly.