There Was a Brief Disturbance
There Was a Brief Disturbance
As I watched the ice cream tower collapse toward me, countless thoughts raced through my mind.
What exactly did I do wrong to deserve trials like this?
...Well, I had done plenty wrong. I had, but...
But isn't this almost on the level of the world being out to get me?
What are the odds of running into someone hell-bent on catching me at a festival?
And the odds of that person's companion getting tangled up with me?
This is absurd. Some shadowy cabal has to be behind this.
A very brief moment.
In that brief moment while the precarious ice cream fell toward me, I had already pictured my future with perfect clarity.
The ice cream would splatter all over me.
Then, given her personality, this woman named Chae-hyun would naturally ask for my phone number or bank details so she could compensate me.
Either one would be a serious leak of personal information. Anything I handed over would have a high chance of reaching Stardus eventually.
Then I would be trapped. Checkmate.
But running away without giving her either one would also be a problem.
Would that not look incredibly suspicious? A stranger covered me from head to toe in ice cream, and I fled without asking questions or demanding anything?
Ultimately, the core issue was whether Stardus sensed something about me.
To anyone else, it might seem that she had barely seen me and had no reason to become suspicious out of nowhere.
But as someone who had read the Original Work, I knew better. I did not know exactly how far Shin Ha-ru's sixth sense—her Hyper Sense—had developed at this point, but it had certainly begun to emerge. After rereading the Original Work dozens of times, I was certain she had looked at me and sensed something strange. Certain.
My thoughts ended.
The ice cream tower was now a fraction of a second from touching me.
The moment it touched me, my life could veer in a horrifying direction.
You know how people find strength they never knew they had when their lives are in danger?
That was exactly what was happening to me.
I had to move.
If I didn't move, I'd die.
"Hup!"
"Whoa!!"
I dodged her and the oncoming ice cream using insane reflexes.
Egostic's Ultimate Secret Technique: Shadow Clone Technique...!
And I succeeded. I dodged!
"Ah."
...Though it would have been better if I hadn't fallen right after.
Roll, roll.
Dust got all over my coat and face.
But sometimes a man had to accept looking foolish—for the sake of my future and the happiness of this world.
So I wasn't embarrassed. Really...
"Big bro!"
"Dain!"
Seo-eun and Soo-bin rushed over, startled when I suddenly went rolling on the ground.
"Ah, I'm fine. Fine."
I stood up, dusting off my clothes.
...Honestly, I was covered in dust from head to toe, so dusting was pointless.
Still, I dusted myself off for appearance's sake. I wanted to get out of there.
"Oh my... are you alright? I'm so, so sorry. I... I was so clumsy..."
Kim Chae-hyun approached me with tears welling up in her eyes.
Thanks to my super-dodge—dodge, /dɑːdʒ/, meaning "to evade"—her three-tier ice cream had smashed into the ground. Flattened in a straight line, it resembled a giant rainbow worm. The longer I looked at it, the more grateful I felt that it had not stuck to me.
First, I had to get the crying Kim Chae-hyun to back away. Why had she suddenly started crying? I was the one who wanted to cry. I did not want to become any more involved!
Behind her, Shin Ha-ru was approaching, looking flustered. No! Don't come closer! Don't memorize my face!
Normally, I was the sort of person who told anyone attempting the "cry first, win first" strategy that tears solved nothing. This was not the time for that, though. Staying here any longer was clearly dangerous. It was time to become sweet civilian A rather than the deranged villain Egostic.
"It is fine. Everyone makes mistakes. I overreacted a little. Ha-ha, I should have moved aside more calmly."
"Hic, b-but still."
"It's totally fine. Really."
By then, tears were streaming down her cheeks. Please calm down. The longer you keep me here, the more doomed I am. Shin Ha-ru is already watching me from behind!
"Alright, Seo-eun. Shall we go now...?"
I said, trying to make a hasty exit.
But Seo-eun was glaring at the crying Kim Chae-hyun. She looked seriously bothered. Soo-bin's expression wasn't good either.
Girls, why are you doing this...
This was not the time. At this rate, we were all going to die!
Just as I was about to say let's go one more time.
Boom.
Suddenly, an explosion echoed from one side of the festival.
"Aaaah!"
People screamed.
Boom— Boom—
A sound that shook heaven and earth.
The peaceful festival turned into a warzone in an instant as screams erupted.
What now, what the hell.
"Ke-hahahahahahah!!!"
A deafening roar, the kind one might hear at an idol concert.
The voice rattled the brain inside my skull, like accidentally turning Bluetooth earbuds to maximum volume before pressing play.
"Stardus!!! Stardus, come out!!!"
Boom— Another crashing sound.
People began fleeing in all directions, shrieking.
I immediately gathered Seo-eun and Soo-bin close. Both looked startled. Neither had any meaningful combat ability, so protecting them was entirely my responsibility.
"Stick close to me!"
I held them both close as I spoke. I could teleport in an emergency, so as long as we maintained physical contact, I could relax a little.
Seo-eun and Soo-bin each gripped one of my hands tightly. Seo-eun in particular was trembling. She had spent so much of her life indoors that this might have been her first experience with a situation like this. Or perhaps it had awakened childhood trauma. Either possibility was bad.
Soo-bin at least looked a little calmer. She'd personally carried out terrorist attacks before, so naturally she had more experience with this. Her usual cheerful expression was gone, replaced by a cold, analytical look as she scanned the area. Watching her, I had to wonder whether her usual timid act was just that—an act.
Shin Ha-ru was already pulling Kim Chae-hyun away from the sound. She intended to move her friend to safety first. It was exactly what Stardus, who valued human life above all else, would do.
"B-Big bro. Let's run away too. Um, warp. Hurry."
"Yeah, I'll. Just let me see who it is first."
Seo-eun was gripping my hand tightly.
Sorry, just wait a little bit.
How many times had I marathoned the Original Work?
One thing I was sure of was that I remembered the detailed timeline almost exactly.
And I was certain: no villain had committed a large-scale terrorist attack during this period in the Original Work.
The villains originally supposed to appear around now were Enzodiac and Rhino, and I got rid of those two ages ago.
I stealthily headed toward the source of the sound.
Walking against the current of fleeing people made me feel like a salmon.
Seo-eun was trembling so badly that I practically held her against me while reassuring her. I could have teleported them somewhere safe first, but that would consume too much strength. I did not know what I might have to do next, and exhausting myself beforehand would be foolish. Sorry, Seo-eun. Endure it a little longer.
I turned the corner and stuck my head out just enough to see what was going on.
A green monster was smashing up all the booths.
A huge monster about the size of a house.
He had the build of an enormous man, but his body was green, his face resembled a crocodile, and a tail whipped violently behind him.
I knew this guy.
He was Crocodile Man, an A-rank villain.
But that bastard was not supposed to appear yet.
Why had he suddenly become active now?
"Stardus!!! Come out!!!"
He was still producing sound-based shockwaves strong enough to rupture eardrums.
Seo-eun and Soo-bin had already covered their ears. Mine felt ready to bleed as well, but they had released my hands to cover theirs, leaving both of my arms wrapped around their waists to maintain contact. I could not cover my own ears. Aagh.
"..."
Anyway, it seemed that I had to deal with him.
I started racking my inadequate brain with explosive force.
My blood type was A.
And I'd read somewhere that people with type A blood thought faster in a crisis. Or had I? Whatever.
What mattered was the expected scenario.
That bastard was calling for Stardus.
He was someone who'd held a grudge against Stardus for a while, so calling her out wasn't unusual.
The crucial problem was that Stardus probably could not respond immediately in her current state.
Being a hero isn't easy.
Once a hero's face became public, even distant relatives could become targets for villains. Applying a Recognition Suppression Device to the face before going out was therefore standard procedure.
Stardus in particular could not simply fly in ordinary clothes. Air resistance would injure her body, so she needed a specially made latex suit.
The crucial point was that Stardus had none of her equipment with her.
She would need to return to the Hero Association and collect it, but the Association was far from here.
Meanwhile, that villain was continuing his rampage, and people would keep getting hurt.
Right.
I knew exactly what Stardus—what Shin Ha-ru—would do.
In this situation, she would intervene even if it meant exposing her face.
"No."
"Big bro?"
I muttered under my breath.
That absolutely must not happen.
How miserable had she become late in the Original Work after revealing her identity in a situation much like this one?
Wasn't everything I'd done until then supposed to give Shin Ha-ru a little happiness? And now it was becoming twisted like this?
Not even over my dead body!!!
"Aaaah!!"
"Ahh, big bro!"
Poof.
I warped all three of us back to the underground base.
It was not an especially long distance, but bringing two additional people took a great deal out of me.
"Huff, huff."
"Ah, we're here. Phew... Huh? Big bro, what are you doing?"
"What am I doing?"
The moment we arrived, I immediately took off my coat and put on a robe.
I grabbed Egostic's signature half-mask as well.
"Seo-eun, big bro is going to work for a while."
I also picked up the special black Ego Bundle packed with weapons, then warped again over a medium-to-long distance.
Alright. I had rested for a full week, so it was time to play again.
***
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[Breaking: Some Madman Is Rampaging Through the Ice Cream Festival—This Is Insane]
[Stardus still hasn't shown up. Where is she?]
[fr, first major terrorist attack in a while. Scary]
[Holy shit, how is that guy so huge?]
[Breaking!!! Breaking!!! Breaking!!! Egostic just started streaming!!!]
[Yo, Egostic just went live on YouTube. Go go go]
[Mangostic LIVE ON lol]
[Let's go~ Let's go~ Let's go~ Let's go~]
[Wait, why did he suddenly start streaming? lmaoooo]
*