A Labyrinth Called the Underground
A Labyrinth Called the Underground
"Yeah... I don't think I can go in. That black stuff clinging to the walls keeps me from using darkness. Shadow Movement would be difficult too."
"I see. Dr. Kim Seon-woo, was it? What the hell did that bastard make...?"
"President! Can't I go too? Sending Ha-ru in alone is way too dangerous!"
"Icicle. I told you, it's too dangerous. You may be strong, but you're vulnerable to surprise attacks, aren't you? Going in with so little protection would be a gamble."
The conference room on the top floor of the Association.
Only the Association president, three A-rank heroes, and the highest-ranking officials were gathered there, and a heated debate was underway.
"But then! How does sending Ha-ru in there alone make any sense?"
"Haah... I've been against it too. But Stardus keeps insisting. Icicle, why don't you try talking her out of it?"
"Ha-ru! Why are you suddenly going in there? It's already safely sealed off. There's no need to rush in, is there?"
Seeing Seol-ah whining at her, Ha-ru took a moment to choose her words.
Why she was going in there.
There were many reasons.
"Seol-ah. We don't know when the safeguards might fail and let those monsters escape. It's better to deal with them beforehand. And Han-eun Group may be hiding more, so I want to secure whatever data I can."
"Hmph..."
Seeing Seol-ah pout, unable to offer a real counter, Ha-ru swallowed the rest of her thoughts.
Truthfully, she hadn't planned to go in this soon either.
But.
Her increased strength gave her confidence that no matter what happened down there, she could return in one piece.
And.
She was also a little anxious.
In truth, Shin Ha-ru was fairly confident.
She was confident she could deal with almost every villain in Seoul and stop any attack.
In fact, she had captured every villain except Egostic and thrown them in prison... and hadn't she managed to stop Egostic's attacks too?
Maybe that was why.
The latest disaster had shaken her deeply.
Without Egostic, there might have been tens of thousands of victims. The thought was horrifying.
So she had no choice but to admit it.
That she had been... less useful than a mere villain.
A villain had essentially handled what she, a hero, couldn't.
Thinking about it, this wasn't the first time.
The same had been true of Alligator Man's attack. Without Egostic, the damage might have been much worse.
I can't let this go on.
She was genuinely growing anxious.
A hero worse than a villain—that was unacceptable.
At the very least, she had to handle the aftermath properly. Otherwise, she would disgrace the name of hero.
"Still... couldn't you wait a little before going...?"
At Icicle's timid objection, Shadow Walker, standing nearby, quietly cut in.
"As I saw when I went in, the signal cuts out once you go deep enough, so waiting won't accomplish much... If you're going in anyway, I think sooner rather than later is the right call..."
In the end, with even her final objection rejected, Icicle stared at Stardus with worry in her eyes.
Stardus merely gave Icicle a reassuring smile.
Right. The underground.
Whatever the hell Han-eun Group had done down there, she was determined to uncover it.
"All right then, let's put together a plan."
And so, the lights on the top floor of the Hero Association stayed on late into the night.
They were discussing Stardus's exploration of the Han-eun Group Underground Complex, scheduled for the very next day.
***
Deep beneath Seoul, in the conference room of Ego-Base.
Beneath flickering lights, I finished my explanation.
"...There's a lifeform called Behemoth down there—the dream creation those Han-eun Group bastards were developing. We're heading out tomorrow to intercept it!"
The moment I finished, the conference room fell silent.
What the hell. Why is nobody reacting?
While I stood there blinking, Ha-yul, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke.
"Um, big bro. Leaving aside how you know all this... is it dangerous?"
Dangerous?
"Uh... it'll be a little dangerous, yeah. Honestly, I don't really know what's down there either."
The Original Work never described the Han-eun Group Underground Complex in detail.
It just said the place was full of grotesque monsters and that Kim Seon-woo stole Behemoth from inside. Something like that.
I was honestly a little nervous, but if anything happened, Ha-yul would heal me.
More importantly...
Rocket Punch...
I wanted to try a Black Rocket Punch too.
How long was I supposed to keep living as a one-trick pony with nothing but my pathetic telekinesis?
A man's got to gamble sometimes!
"...So, big bro, you’re determined to do something dangerous again?"
Just then.
Seo-eun, who had been staring at the floor, spoke quietly.
Wait, did the conference room just get a little chilly?
"Come on. It's not like I'm going to die. Haha."
As I scratched my head, Seo-eun's clenched hands began to tremble, her head still bowed.
What is this ominous feeling?
"NO! BIG BRO, DO YOU HAVE A BRAIN OR NOT?! DOES TREATING YOUR BODY LIKE THAT MAKE ANY SENSE?!"
Seo-eun suddenly slammed her fist onto the table with a bang and shouted.
What a rude little brat!
I looked desperately to Soo-bin for help, but...
"...Dain, you came back injured last time too, and now you're saying you'll do it again?"
She only sided with Seo-eun, fixing me with the same chilly stare.
So much for having anyone I could trust!
In the end, I got thoroughly chewed out.
Come on, a guy should be allowed to push himself a little.
You can't rake in big gains only walking the safe paths. A real man's gotta make a wager every once in a while, don't you think?
Of course, saying that only got me yelled at more.
Why does nobody sympathize with me around here?
Anyway, if I got hurt, Ha-yul would patch me up. I was counting on her.
...She will, won't she?
At any rate, I got permission on the condition that I take a camera down with me, stream the feed in real time, and keep communicating regularly.
Wait. Aren't I the leader of this organization?
Why am I the one having to get permission?
Something about this felt wrong, but I decided to let it go.
Anyway, tomorrow was the day.
***
The next day at noon.
Right around the time people were enjoying their lunch, I was hiding at the site of the Han-eun Group building collapse.
Between the rubble of the ruined building, an opening like a sinkhole was visible.
That must have been where Behemoth burst out. The hole was enormous.
...The Association had already filled it with cement, of course. A good call, since otherwise every monster down there would have escaped.
Not far away was the entrance to the Han-eun Group Underground Complex.
A place beneath the excavated ground, sealed shut with multiple layers of shielding doors.
Association personnel guarded it closely, keeping everyone out.
They patrolled out front with guns and sunglasses. In their suits and shades, they looked straight out of Men in Black. But, well.
Patrol or not, none of that mattered to me.
One teleport and it was all handled, wasn't it? Teleportation was king. It would have been even better without the side effects.
Anyway, once I had checked the situation and finished preparing, I teleported straight inside.
In an instant, the air changed.
When I opened my eyes, the bright sunlight was gone. I was now underground in stale, musty air.
Above me, lights flickered on and off, on and off.
In that gloomy atmosphere, a dark corridor stretched ahead of me. Inside, I'd bet monsters were crawling everywhere.
Hmm. Pitch-dark, and monsters on top of it.
"...."
No. I couldn't call myself a professional villain if this scared me.
I was Stardus's archenemy. Self-proclaimed, sure, but still. I couldn't be frightened by something like this.
I checked the bundle I'd prepared. Guns, bombs, a camera, and snacks. Snacks were important.
Outfit... black wizard hat, black robe, black cape on top of that. Perfect all-black fashion. And the finishing touch: a grey mask covering half my face. Good. Perfect.
All preparations complete, I turned on the camera and started the broadcast.
This kind of thing was best when streamed.
It wasn't a terror attack, so I didn't hijack terrestrial TV signals. I just streamed on YouTube.
Despite the surprise broadcast, the chat began scrolling rapidly.
[?????]
[What is this?????]
[Mangostic! Mangostic! Mangostic! Mangostic! Mangostic! Mangostic! Mangostic! Mangostic!]
[New broadcast! Let's gooooo!]
[Is Mango a god? Is Mango a god? Is Mango a god? Is Mango a god? Is Mango a god? Is Mango a god?]
[Is this the broadcast of Seoul's guardian, S-rank hero Apple Mango?]
[Thank you thank you thank you thank you]
[It's really been four months since he went dark? Feels like yesterday. Mangostic really is a legend...]
[Did he really destroy Mapo Bridge because he knew this would happen? Explain pls]
[Where is this anyway? Why's it so dark]
[What other crazy crap is he gonna pull today lol]
The viewer count shot up.
I spread my arms and greeted them.
"Good day to you all! Welcome to my Ego-Live!"
Those Han-eun Group bastards were definitely watching, weren't they?
Suck on that.
The Association... well.
They'd been too scared even to open the shielding doors. I was going to kill a few monsters along the way, so they'd probably be grateful. Right?
***
"Dammit! Can we reach Stardus right now?"
"The call's going through, but she isn't answering! Given how much time has passed, she must already be too deep for communication."
"Damn it! Why the hell did she have to go in now of all times? Fine! Whether they meet down there or not, I don't care anymore. I'm furious enough as it is. Secretary, bring me some popcorn!"
".....Yes, President."
The Association president watched Egostic's broadcast while crunching on the popcorn his secretary brought.
He was certainly putting the saying "If you can't avoid it, enjoy it" into practice.