Something Big Is Coming
Something Big Is Coming
Stardus. Shin Ha-ru.
A name her parents had given her, meaning "a new day."
Lately, though, welcoming a new day had become very difficult for her.
"Haah..."
She sighed and lowered the smartphone she had been looking at.
[Honestly, what has Stardus even done?]
Words like that seemed to echo in her ears.
Public opinion had spread across the internet.
Doubts about A-rank hero Stardus's qualifications.
Honestly, she felt deeply wronged.
What had she done wrong?
Her only crime was making time to save people even while attending university.
But public opinion had suddenly turned cold toward her.
All after that bastard Egostic appeared.
She had simply been going about her day as usual, heard that Egostic had appeared downtown, and rushed over. Why should she be the one getting cursed at?
She'd even let him go without making a proper attempt to capture him because she was worried the civilians might get hurt.
She hadn't realized.
She had not realized just how much the public liked seeing Egostic eliminate other villains so decisively.
People had watched vicious criminals get captured by heroes only to receive slaps on the wrist, and their frustration had been building for years.
The anger once aimed at judges had eventually spread to the heroes as well.
Why insist on taking them alive when you could just execute them on the spot?
Aren't those bastards living comfortably in prison because you people keep capturing them? And so on...
It was nonsense, but the discontent had already begun spreading quietly among the public.
Then, like a comet, the person everyone had been waiting for appeared.
Someone who hunted villains with satisfying finality.
That was Egostic.
He was the figure the people of South Korea had dreamed of deep in their hearts.
...Of course, there had been the cruise ship incident. Or rather, the attempted terrorist attack, to be precise.
He had never actually carried out the attack. When none of the civilians pressed the button, he accepted the outcome and withdrew without a fuss.
Then came his single-handed resolution of the Daehyeon Tower hostage crisis, an event big enough to bury the cruise ship story entirely.
While the other heroes were immobilized by the hostages, he strode into enemy territory alone and rescued every hostage without a single casualty. He even gave them money.
Then he somehow tracked down and eliminated Teleporter, who had been ranked A because of the danger that he might escape, all by himself.
He'd shown the public exactly the kind of things they would go wild for. It was no coincidence that almost every online community liked him and that a fan cafe had even opened.
Naturally, anyone who opposed someone like that was bound to be criticized.
And that person just happened to be her.
"Haah..."
Shin Ha-ru took another sip of the mango frappe in her hand.
Was this what she had become a hero for? She felt ashamed and miserable.
She had even been shocked when a close upperclassman said that Egostic had been growing on her lately.
Sitting by the cafe window, she looked outside.
Spring had arrived, and the cherry blossoms along the street were blooming beautifully.
But between university and hero work, she had no time to go see them.
And yet she was still the one being criticized.
Then there had been the latest regular Hero Association meeting.
When even the director laughed and said, 'Things seem to have gotten a little easier lately, thanks to Egostic,' she'd nearly passed out.
This was not normal. Everyone except me had lost their minds.
"Haah... No. Get it together."
She shook her head and decided to finish her assignment.
Continuing to wallow like this was not productive.
She should just do her assignment.
She pulled herself together and was about to return to her assignment.
Then, at that exact moment, a call came in.
[Stardus, turn on the TV right now! Egostic has appeared again! He called you out again!]
Her expression hardened.
It seemed it was time to work again.
Shin Ha-ru immediately sprang from her seat and hurried outside.
No matter what anyone said, she was a hero.
She went to do what had to be done.
***
"It's been a while, citizens! This is your favorite villain, Egostic!"
I stood on a cliff with a clear view of the railway below.
From there, I greeted the camera.
Once again, my image was being broadcast live on every television.
Honestly, by then I could probably have started a YouTube livestream and let the terrestrial networks rebroadcast it on their own.
But I hijacked the airwaves again anyway.
Why? Because it showed what I was capable of.
The broadcasters seemed to have tightened their security after the last hijacking, so this was meant to prove that none of it mattered to me. The truth was, I had not done any of it—Seo-eun had handled everything. But who would know that?
I bowed my head and checked the hologram with the eye hidden behind the right half of my mask.
It was cutting-edge technology Seo-eun had built, a function that let me view a hologram in front of my eye like a powered hero wearing a movie suit. The problem was that we had no software to put on it, so I simply displayed the YouTube live-chat window. And what I saw was...
*
[SOMETHING BIG IS COMING SOMETHING BIG IS COMING SOMETHING BIG IS COMING SOMETHING BIG IS COMING SOMETHING BIG IS COMING SOMETHING BIG IS COMING SOMETHING BIG IS COMING SOMETHING BIG IS COMING SOMETHING BIG IS COMING SOMETHING BIG IS COMING]
[Egostic live ON lol]
[I was just getting bored and now we've peak content lol]
[What insane stunt is he pulling today lol]
[Ego-hi! (Short for 'Hi, Egostic.')]
[Let's gooo~ Let's gooo~]
[Mangostic! Mangostic! Mangostic! Mangostic! Mangostic! Mangostic! Mangostic! Mangostic! Mangostic! Mangostic! Mangostic! Mangostic!]
*
...I was already regretting this. Did these people think it was some kind of surprise event?
I checked how I looked on camera. As always, I wore black robes from head to toe and my signature gray half-mask over my face. I had actually wanted to add a black wizard hat, but Seo-eun had begged me to restrain myself just this once, so I had not worn it. Next time, I'd sneak it on for sure...
Anyway, I should keep talking.
"I've been hearing all sorts of things lately. Yes! Quite a lot, actually. It seems I've many admirers out there. I even saw my fan cafe! Goodness, that was something. Ha-ha."
I spoke with an awkward laugh.
I scratched my head and smiled sheepishly.
Then I suddenly turned dead serious.
"But here is the thing. I believe some of you are misunderstanding me."
I lowered my voice and walked toward the edge of the cliff. The camera slowly followed me, moving closer as I went. I was controlling it with telekinesis, of course. Thank goodness I had telekinesis, or I might have needed to hire a cameraman. How awkward would it have been to stand on a cliff delivering a speech while a cameraman stared at me?
Still speaking in a low voice, I looked over the edge and continued.
"I am an evildoer, everyone. These days, I believe you call that a villain? In any case, that is what I am. Yet many of you seem to have forgotten that lately. I eliminated those other villains for my own base satisfaction, not for your sake!"
*
[This guy is a total tsundere lolololol]
*
I nearly fell off the cliff when I saw the chat. Could I not turn it off in the middle? Once this was over, I had to ask Seo-eun to add an OFF function.
I nearly lost focus for a moment, but I was a professional. Without letting my expression change, I continued.
"With that in mind, I've prepared another magnificent event. It seems you still haven't grasped how terrifying I am. Now! Everyone, can you see the railway in the distance?"
I used telekinesis to fix the camera on the train tracks.
The line ran straight ahead, but partway along it was a switch where another track branched off.
At the ends of the tracks shown by the camera, people had been tied down.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha! Everyone, can you see them?"
The chat erupted in an instant.
Yes. This was it. Be more afraid!
"I tied them there—people, right on the tracks. Five innocent people are tied to the straight track where the train is heading. Only one person is tied to the branch line. If the train continues straight, it will run over the five. But do you see that lever? Pull it, and the track will switch. Then the train will hit only the one person tied over there."
*
[Wait, I think I have seen this somewhere?]
[Isn't this the trolley dilemma?]
[Live-action trolley dilemma lol]
*
Only after reading the chat did I realize my mistake.
Right. Unlike that movie, the trolley dilemma was already known in this world.
Still, it seemed no villain had ever tried this before. I swallowed a sigh of relief.
"Will you pull the lever, or will you not? For the record, stopping the train is not an option."
I switched the camera feed.
It showed the cab of the train racing toward the tracks. The original engineer lay unconscious, and a masked woman was driving. Yes, that was Soo-bin. Thank you, Soo-bin!
"Keep in mind that if you try anything foolish, I may simply derail the entire train. Pulling the lever is your only option. So I will say it now. Stardus, come. I will observe your moral judgment."
The stage was set.
Now, Shin Ha-ru, all that remained was for you to come.
*
[Stardus again lol At this point, is this true love?]
*
I completely ignored the chat.