Madness
Madness
[Title] Holding My Breath Until Mangostic Returns
Hup.
=Comments=
[???: But that's what it says here, Doc? (peering into the coffin)]
[I heard the OP died. Please take this post down ^^]
[(I'm the OP. I'm already dead.)]
*
[Title] My Life Really Changed After Mangostic Went Dark
Back when Mangostic still went live,
even if something shitty happened, I'd watch him call himself "Apple Mango" and laugh my ass off,
and crack up at Mangostic edits.
But now that Mangostic's gone, life is just depressing.
No matter how good a day I had,
I'd end up alone in the shower thinking, "How many days has it been since Mangostic last went live?"
"Day 93 since Mangostic last streamed."
Then I'd start crying and feel depressed all over again.
Now I understand why they say Mango makes the man.
=Comments=
[Sir...]
[This is a severe case of mango addiction.]
[It's kind of sad not seeing Mangostic edits on my YouTube homepage anymore.]
└[For real. I miss the days when Egostic would suddenly hijack the TV broadcast and go live...]
*
[Title] Mangostic, Where Are You? Come Back, Come Back
Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Come back! Gnaw... crunch... Gnaw... crunch... Gnaw... crunch... Gnaw... crunch... Gnaw... crunch... Gnaw... crunch... Gnaw... crunch... Gnaw... crunch... Gnaw... crunch... Gnaw... crunch... Gnaw... crunch... Gnaw... crunch... Gnaw... crunch... Gnaw... crunch... Gnaw... crunch...
=Comments=
[Fuck, that's scary as hell.]
[What even is this? lol]
[Just another person ruined by Mangostic...]
[What's with the gnawing and crunching?]
└[Probably biting their nails.]
└[Actual madness. *shudder*]
*
[Title] Yeah, Keep Hiding, Mangostic lolololol
I'll just kill myself and be done with it.
lolololol
=Comments=
[You've finally gone insane.]
[Same old post again.]
[Go ahead and kill yourself. Dozens already did it ages ago~]
[He's going to stay hidden even longer after seeing this.]
[Yeah, go ahead and kill yourself~ He can just stay hidden~]
└[Fuck]
*
[Title] Mangostic Came Back Ages Ago, Though?
(A photo of an ice mango bar)
I'm eating it right now hehe.
=Comments=
[You're... eating Mangostic?]
[Whoa, that's kind of lewd.]
[You scoundrel... Egostic... belongs to Stardus...]
└[Toxic shipper spotted.]
└[Egostic found in the basement.]
└[How'd you know;;]
└[?]
[Mangostic's... stick...]
└[Manager, please ban this person.]
└[Huh? What'd I do? I'm innocent.]
***
"Sigh..."
Shin Ha-ru merely sighed as she browsed Egostic's fan cafe.
She'd even joined the cafe hoping someone there might know where Egostic had gone, since he'd been as quiet as a mouse lately, but the trending posts were all meaningless shitposts.
Three months. Long in some ways, short in others.
But for Egostic, who used to cause incidents every few weeks or months, disappearing for three full months was inexplicable.
Of course, things had been more peaceful because of it.
Other villains still caused attacks from time to time, but they were trivial affairs she resolved with a few punches.
They were laughable compared with Egostic, who sank ships and brought down planes.
In fact, Ha-ru's days had been remarkably peaceful and calm lately.
And yet.
"I have a bad feeling..."
She did.
Like the calm before a storm, she could not shake the anxiety that something terrible would happen once this silence ended.
The thought of what that bastard might have spent three months preparing had become genuinely frightening.
"..."
During university lectures.
While studying at a cafe with her upperclassman.
While resting at home.
While beating down other villains.
The same nagging unease lingered deep in her chest.
She was fully prepared to uncover what he was planning and what his goal was the next time they met. But if he never appeared, there was nothing she could do.
She'd even confided this unease to her friend Icicle, but...
[Oh, Ha-ru. You worry about the strangest things. Maybe he just wants a break. A person can't spend every waking moment carrying out attacks. Don't worry~]
That was all she had gotten in response.
"Sigh..."
Right. By any reasonable standard, she no longer needed to worry about him.
If anything, it was better if he never appeared again. He could stay gone forever.
But as she thought that, her intuition whispered to her.
‘Really?’
"..."
Fine.
She might as well admit it.
Even if he was going to disappear, she wanted him to wait until she'd learned what had been going through his head when he caused all those incidents.
Why had he killed the other villains?
Why had he told me to save them?
If that was his goal, why had he carried out terrorist attacks at all?
...Are you a villain cosplaying as a hero, or a hero cosplaying as a—
Just then, the office door flew open.
"Stardus!"
"Huh?"
The door burst open while she was lost in thought, startling her so badly that she bit her tongue.
Only then did Shin Ha-ru realize that she wasn't sitting in a cafe.
Her university exams were over, and her only remaining routine was camping out in her office at the Hero Association.
If an Association employee had come running in, that meant...
"Another incident?"
"Yes. A villain is carrying out an attack in Mapo-gu right now!"
"Who is it?"
She asked with a hint of anticipation, but the answer was disappointing.
"It's someone we've never seen before. They're calling themselves Rock Bottom."
"Ah, yes..."
Without understanding why she felt disappointed, she stood to change into her suit.
"I'll go right away."
Yet even as she headed out, she could not help but wonder.
What the hell was Egostic doing right now?
***
Deep beneath Seoul, at Ego-Base.
I was extremely busy.
"Oh, oh! Stardus is out!"
I grabbed a bag of freshly microwaved popcorn and rushed to the television.
Whew. It had not started yet.
[Yes! We are here in Mapo-gu, Seoul. The smoke you can see behind me is rising from the scene of an attack by the villain Rock Bottom. And as I speak—Stardus has arrived!]
On the screen, a figure made of rock was smashing a building, and Stardus flew in through the air behind the figure.
"A fight... a fight!!"
I shoveled popcorn into my mouth and watched eagerly.
Rock Bottom. A mindless, rock-bodied villain.
Rock Bottom did not cause casualties and would be knocked out by Stardus in a single blow, so I had not bothered to intervene.
"Ooh, oh!"
The news showed a fierce battle between Stardus and Rock Bottom. I was clearly watching a breaking-news special on network television, but it felt like watching an old superhero movie—one with incredibly realistic CGI.
[Ah! Yes! She smashed it! Stardus broke Rock Bottom's arm! It's completely shattered! Villain Rock Bottom, what will you do now?]
The reporter enthusiastically narrating the fight like a sports commentator was part of the fun.
On screen, the camera struggled to keep up with the action.
I took a sip of cola and watched intently.
A nail-biting contest... or rather, Stardus was simply beating Rock Bottom senseless.
In the manhwa, that had been a fairly close fight. Had I strengthened Stardus too much? She was completely overwhelming Rock Bottom.
She was beating the lump of rock senseless, and the television sounded no different from construction-site ASMR.
As I enjoyed the show, munching on popcorn and sipping cola, I sensed someone behind me.
I turned around and found Seo-eun standing there with a slightly displeased expression.
"Oh, Seo-eun. You're here. Want some popcorn?"
Still chewing, I held out the popcorn tub.
Seo-eun hesitated, then sighed and took a handful.
"Big bro, are you watching Stardus again?"
"No, I'm mostly watching the fight. Nothing beats watching a good fight."
"...For someone who says that, you never watched Icicle take down a villain this obsessively."
"Hmm... Her fights are boring."
Seo-eun gave a dry laugh and perched beside me.
The fight soon drew to a close. Rock Bottom had been reduced to a battered mess, while Stardus stood majestically over the villain. Incredible. Twenty out of ten.
[Everyone!!!! Our hero!!!! Stardus has!!!! Defeated the wicked villain!!!]
Majestic music swelled beneath the reporter's excited announcement.
...Wasn't that the music they played when someone won an Olympic gold medal?
Anyway, it had been a great fight, so I applauded.
No matter how many times I watched, it was fun. What a rush.
Seo-eun seemed to be giving me a flat, unimpressed stare, but it must have been my imagination.
I opened the Stardus Fan Cafe I had bookmarked on my phone.
[Holy shit, that was insane lolololol]
[Is Stardus a god? Is Stardus a god? Is Stardus a god? Is Stardus a god?]
[Today's_Dust_Highlight.gif]
[Link to a Fancam of Today's Fight]
[Taking down one villain is nothing to our Dust now lol]
Our fellow Stardus Fandom members were thoroughly enjoying the victory too.
Hmm... no YouTube videos yet? Maybe I should make one myself.
I was imagining a title beginning with something like "Japan Stunned, America Amazed by..." when Seo-eun asked me a question.
"Big bro, we’ve already been resting for three months. Shouldn’t we be doing something?"
The question came out of nowhere.
I turned toward her. Seo-eun fiddled with her hair and asked again.
"I mean... it feels like we've been playing around too long... I thought maybe it was time to do some work."
Seo-eun... had you been a workaholic all along?
She looked down as if embarrassed, and I thought through the schedule.
Given today's date, those siblings mentioned in the Original Work should have reached that point by now...
After doing a rough calculation, I answered Seo-eun.
"All right. The timing should work now. Let's resume our activities."
"Really?"
Her face suddenly brightened, and I gave her an awkward smile.
Yes, Seo-eun. We were going to do something.
But... probably not what you were expecting.