A Midsummer Night's Terror
A Midsummer Night's Terror
Latis’s worldwide coastal attack struck every country bordering the sea.
While countless countries were still reeling from the damage, South Korea alone remained completely unscathed.
The provisional conclusion was that South Korea had escaped unharmed entirely because of the villain Egostic.
Every television network and internet platform blasted that fact across the country, sending Egostic’s recognition and popularity soaring again. Even people who normally cared nothing about villains now knew his name.
So now, at the peak of interest in Egostic.
His broadcast finally switched on.
***
A dark night.
On a dim city street, lit only faintly by streetlamps and a few lights spilling from between buildings.
In equally dark clothes, a lone man floated in the sky, his black cloak billowing.
He stayed like that for a moment, his back to the camera, gazing down at the night streets, then flashed a grin at last, faced the screen, and spoke with a broad smile.
"It's been a while. Hello, everyone. I'm Egostic!"
And watching him greet them with his arms spread wide—
The chat window practically exploded. It was pure chaos.
[Egostic! Egostic! Egostic! Egostic! Egostic! Egostic! Egostic! Egostic! Egostic! Egostic! Egostic! Egostic! Egostic! Egostic! Egostic! Egostic! Egostic! Egostic! Egostic!]
[South Korea's one and only S-rank hero Mangostic finally makes his entrance lol]
[Mangostic yahoo~! Mangostic yahoo~! Mangostic yahoo~! Mangostic yahoo~! Mangostic yahoo~! Mangostic yahoo~! Mangostic yahoo~!]
[What took you so long? What took you so long? What took you so long? What took you so long?]
[Ahaha lol tonight's sleep is canceled lol]
[No-regrets Monday-night choice: watching Mangostic live lol]
[Upvote if you're a Mango fan who dropped everything and sprinted in the second you got the stream alert lol]
[Dammit Egostic I believed in you!!!]
The chats were flooding in like a tidal wave.
Amid the torrent of feverish reactions, nearly impossible to follow with the naked eye, Egostic simply kept his arms spread and nodded, as if he'd expected this all along.
"Yes, yes. Good to see you. Good to see you. Have you all been keeping well?"
At his smiling greeting, the chat blazed even hotter. Most of the messages praised Egostic for stopping Latis’s attack single-handedly.
Egostic grinned, then struck one fist into his palm as though the thought had just occurred to him.
"Yes, everyone, I’m happy to see you too, but—ahem. Lately I’ve been hearing propaganda and fabricated rumors about me. Things about how I supposedly protected South Korea or whatever."
Delivered with a laugh as if it were all nonsense, the chat kept blazing.
[Propaganda and fabrication? What propaganda and fabrication?]
[Propaganda where? Fabrication where?]
[Everything they said is a true story though? lol]
[I protected South Korea (true)]
[What the hell is propaganda and fabrication supposed to mean lol]
[Why was South Korea the only country left safe while the whole world was attacked? Thanks to the secret diplomacy of our proud K-villain Egostic! What kind of country has even its villains defending it? America is shocked, Japan is weeping, and so on...]
[Holy crap that chat above is making my head spin lol]
[Why won't you say you protected us! Say what you really mean!!!]
As if he couldn't see the chat window overflowing with protests, he shrugged and continued.
"Well... it's such absurd nonsense that I'm sure no one took it seriously to begin with. It's a completely groundless story. Groundless."
[Groundless my ass lol]
[Dude, you don't even explain why and just say "groundless," what are we supposed to do lol]
[Breaking) Egostic says recent reports are groundless. Evidence? None.]
[We signed a pact, but that does not mean I stopped the attack award]
[At this point the Association should just run a pardon event and wash Mango into being a hero lol]
[Who the hell is buying that lol]
[Yeah, say whatever you want, but the Egostic fan cafe growth rate is literally the highest ever~]
[Mango nonsense ON]
"Ahem... Anyway, I've rambled on too long."
He cleared his throat to wrap up, then shrugged again and turned his back to the camera.
The camera slowly pulled back, capturing him standing alone in the dark sky.
Egostic began to speak slowly, as if telling a story.
"What a beautiful night. The moon is shining especially brightly too."
He paused there, glanced back with a grin, and then continued.
"At night, South Korea has long been said to be safe. People always said there was no villain who could defeat Shadow Walker."
"In that spirit, we at Ego Stream will attempt to challenge his authority once again."
"Allow me to introduce Ego Stream’s newest villain—Mist!"
He stretched out a hand and pointed to one side.
The camera followed his gesture and shifted to the space beside Egostic.
What appeared on screen was a woman.
"......"
Long violet hair fell to her waist beneath half-lidded eyes. She was beautiful and mysterious, the sort of person who would be difficult to approach in real life. In contrast, she wore a simple black hoodie that looked one size too large.
A little shorter than Egostic, she stared absently at the violet flame flickering over one small hand.
Noticing at last that the camera was on her, she turned her head to face the screen.
"....?"
Still wearing that languid expression, she tilted her head at the camera for a moment. Then she made a V-sign with her fingers and raised it to her face.
"Hmm... was that wrong? Well, hello. I’m Mist."
She smiled slightly and raised her hand low near her chest, giving a small wave.
The chat froze for an instant at the dreamlike sight of the beautiful girl with violet hair draped against the night sky.
Then the chat erupted again as though making up for the pause.
[Oh lol what's with this vibe? lol]
[Is this a villain introduction or a celebrity showcase lol]
[Does Ego Stream recruit villains based on looks? How come they're all either handsome or pretty or cute lol]
[From today I'm backing Purple Mango]
[Wait, now that I think about it, it's another woman again lol]
[Mango, you gay bastard, did you seduce another woman again?]
[Egostic/Controversy/Womanizing]
[Casanova Mango lmao]
[Sigh, Star Mango, Lightning Mango, Ice Mango, Moonlight Mango, Hacker Mango, and now Purple Mango has arrived lol just how many are there lol]
[Why is nobody interested in that ability-like purple flame lol]
[Is this his first nighttime attack broadcast? This atmosphere is insane]
While the chat scrolled up like that, the camera cut back to Egostic.
Still smiling, he clapped his hands together and spoke.
"Yes! No sooner have I introduced her than our guest is already coming this way!"
The camera swung around again.
In the distance, a man in black approached wrapped in shadow—the hero Shadow Walker.
"Will he be able to defeat our Mist? I'll step back and watch with all of you. Until later!"
With those parting words, Egostic fell back.
Before the viewers could even feel a pang of regret, Shadow Walker's figure filled the frame.
"...Villain. What are you doing here?"
"Mmm..."
Shadow Walker spoke in a low voice.
The violet-haired woman called Mist brought a finger briefly to her lips, then answered in a lilting, sing-song voice, as if he had asked something incredibly obvious.
"An attack?"
And the moment her words ended.
Fwoosh—
In the dark night sky, a giant ring of purple fire blazed into existence behind her back.
She grinned, still with those half-lidded eyes, and snapped her fingers.
Multiple purple fireballs materialized around her, and all of them began to lock onto Shadow Walker.
"...Ha. Challenging Shadow Walker at night. You have courage."
"...Who knows? We won’t know who’s stronger until we fight... right?"
She answered in the same sing-song voice and snapped her fingers again. The flames hurtled toward Shadow Walker.
Shadow Walker hid his body within the shadows and began fending them off.
The fight had begun in earnest.
***
'...Ugh. As expected, my attacks don't work well on this one either.'
A dark night.
Fighting against Mist, the villain Egostic had brought, Shadow Walker lamented inwardly.
Ah! How had he, who once defeated everyone in a single blow, fallen this far?
More and more opponents were appearing who could overcome him.
As the nightmares of Han-eun Group and the Moonlight Church surfaced again and a wave of despair washed over him, he gritted his teeth and pulled himself together.
'...I see. Is this what Egostic intended?'
Egostic must have known that Shadow Walker became helpless against villains whose abilities ignored his own.
Yes. This entire attack was Egostic’s harsh advice, meant to help him grow mentally: stop sniveling, get a grip, and fight.
"...Right. A man must stand his ground and fight no matter the situation."
He muttered quietly enough that no one could hear him, and clenched his fist.
Yes. Who was he, after all? Was he not South Korea's Shadow Walker?
He could do it.
With that thought, he looked off into the distance where Egostic was likely standing and made a silent vow to himself.
Egostic, I will never disappoint you!
"All right. Let’s get serious."
"Hmm...?"
His resolve renewed, he stared at the woman firing purple fireballs at him.
Yes. He would defeat this woman and earn Egostic’s recognition.
With that determination, Shadow Walker charged in once more.
The sight of him overcoming his despair and leaping back into action—
even he thought it looked manly.
***
[Oh! Shadow Walker is putting up quite a good fight against our Mist. Amazing, simply amazing.]
"President, Shadow Walker is fighting her evenly. He might actually win!"
"No. He looks like he’s losing."
"...What?"
"I think I need to step in."
"What? Wait, Stardus! Please sit down first and—"
At that moment, an Association staff member was sweating bullets trying to stop a hero who was about to take matters into her own hands.