Airship Assault
Airship Assault
An endless sea stretching beyond the horizon.
Above the water glittering beneath the blazing sun's reflection,
a colossal ship floated steadily forward.
At the very front of its deck,
with the open sea stretching directly ahead,
I threw my arms wide toward the camera and shouted.
"Hello, everyone! I am Egostic!"
[Egostic! Egostic! Egostic! Egostic! Egostic! Egostic! Egostic! Egostic! Egostic! Egostic! Egostic! Egostic!]
[Why's it been so long lmaooo]
[Mango! Mango! Mango! Mango!]
[Take me! Take me! Take me! Take me!]
[The stream is a laugh riot from the second it starts lololol]
[Wait where is this?? What's with the sea???]
[Looks like he's on a boat but why can I see the sky]
[What kind of event is it today lmaooo]
I smiled at the chat window, which still showed not a shred of caution. I didn't know when it had become like this, but there was no helping it.
Anyway, with my back to the sea and arms spread wide, I continued speaking to the camera.
"Everyone. As I mentioned in the last broadcast, do you remember me saying I would create a Villain Alliance for villains, by villains? I named it Ego Stream."
I paused there, smirked, then dragged in the three rabbit-helmeted figures who'd been fidgeting beside me.
"So allow me to introduce them! These are new villains who have agreed to enter a cooperative relationship with Ego Stream. Please introduce yourselves to the viewers!"
The moment the camera suddenly turned toward them, the trio flinched.
Then Red, standing in the middle, started speaking with a trembling voice.
"H-hello... W-we're the Le-Le-Lepis Squad... yes, um, uh... h-hello?"
No. 1 trembled like a new hire facing an interviewer.
Seriously, how do you call yourselves villains if you're this scared!
[lmaoooooo]
[Why are they so nervous lol]
[Why'd you say hello twice lmao]
[Is this a villain introduction or an elementary-school class-president election? lololol]
[The villains are adorable lololol]
[I wanna lick the rabbit helmet]
[This character design is so fresh lmaooo wtf is this]
Naturally, the viewers' reactions exploded too.
What are you doing trembling like this, it's not like you're at a school talent show.
No. 1 seemed to have checked out mentally after saying that much and simply stood there blankly. The same went for No. 2 and No. 3 beside him.
This would not do. It looked like I had to help them.
I walked over to the dazed No. 1, put an arm around his shoulders, and smiled at the camera.
"Hahaha. This fellow seems a bit nervous since it's their first broadcast. Our No. 1, you've gotta smile, right? Hahaha."
"Haha..."
"These friends call themselves the Lepis Squad. They had this magnificent airship, so I sweet-talked them into signing an exclusive contract with Ego Stream. I was enjoying myself at sea when I spotted them bringing it along. At my suggestion, they joined our side!"
"...Hahaha, yes. That is correct."
[No but lmaooo why does Mango look like such a thug]
[What kind of villain name is No. 1 lol]
[Are they really friends?? They totally look like rehabilitated villains]
[Why does that No. 1 guy talk like his soul left his body]
[That "you have got to smile" shit lololol]
[Is this advice from a veteran streamer?]
[It looks like Egostic caught them taking the airship out for an attack, beat the hell out of them, and declared, "This is mine now." Is that just me?]
...How did they know?
Anyway, I skipped over the minor details and moved to the main topic.
"At any rate, Busan is already right in front of us! Some of you may have guessed it, but today's attack is the conquest of Busan—a delightful journey to turn Haeundae into the Ego Republic!"
While I spoke, the airship floated to the waters just outside Busan Harbor.
At the bow, I spread my arms wide once more and spoke.
"Now! Busan belongs to me. Load the cannons!"
"Yes, Boss!"
With No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 shouting in unison behind me, the gunports along the hull opened one by one.
And at the same moment, I yelled.
"Fire!!!"
"Fire!"
With their cheers behind me, cannonballs began blasting from the gunports toward the city.
The attack had begun.
And then...
I pushed the camera aside for a moment.
I muttered quietly.
"Right. The terror's starting now. All the civilians are evacuated, yeah?"
At my words, Lee Seol-ah's amused voice came through the earpiece.
[Of course. I already evacuated everyone under Yuseong Group's name. Soon there will probably be articles calling Yuseong more competent than the government. Hehe.]
"Right, right. I'll only attack the southern district for now. What are you going to do?"
[Showing up immediately might feel awkward, so I will come a little later. The southern district is empty, but a few people in the southeast have not evacuated yet. I think I should appear when you begin attacking there.]
"Got it. Handle it as you see fit. I'll see you in a bit."
[Yes. See you then.]
After cutting the call, I looked down over the ship's side again.
The camera showed the city under attack by a massive floating ship.
The public would never know it was all a rigged game.
The timing and outline of the attack had been arranged with the hero in advance—a massive deception played on the whole country.
Every attack I had staged against Stardus until then had focused on helping her grow. This one was different.
It would show that I did not stage attacks only in Seoul, where Stardus operated. It would also expand Ego Stream through cooperation with the Lepis Squad and raise Icicle's popularity.
In short, it was a thoroughly planned performance.
Every step had already been arranged. I would attack the city, and just before civilians came to harm, Icicle would appear, save them, defeat us, and protect Busan.
A clean job with nothing to fault.
Standing on the floating ship and looking down, I thought.
Staging an attack somewhere new while enjoying the sea breeze was refreshing, but...
attacking with Stardus was still the most fun.
For now, though, I needed to focus on Icicle.
After thoroughly attacking the seaside area, I moved further inland.
Now the real show begins.
***
Boom. Boom.
A city under attack.
And the civilians who had fled.
"Whoa... what the heck is that?"
Watching the enormous airship that blanketed the city in shadow, people's jaws dropped.
And now, the airship was beginning to approach where the civilians had evacuated.
"Aah!"
And right before they came under fire.
Fweeeeeesh.
Along with a sudden sharp sound from somewhere.
A massive wall of ice rose up in front of the people.
And a woman's cry rang out from behind.
"Don't worry, everyone! I'm here!"
The woman who appeared before them, her sky-blue hair billowing, was...
It was Icicle, an A-rank hero.
She'd appeared at the desperate moment just before the civilians were attacked.
She launched ice at the incoming cannonballs, stopping them in midair, then shouted toward the airship.
"You said your name was Egostic? Stop the bombardment immediately! Otherwise, you'll not leave here unscathed!"
And after her shout, a man's loud voice came from above.
[Hahaha! I'm afraid I can't do that. So you are Icicle, the pride of Busan! A pleasure to meet you. Now, try blocking this as well!]
At his shout, bombs began raining down toward Icicle.
"Not a chance!"
She fired ice in every direction, intercepting every bomb.
At the same time, Icicle created footholds of ice in the air and bounded upward toward the airship.
[Hahaha! Yes, come and try to catch me!]
"Egostic! I'll defeat you right here!"
With the hero and villain's strangely theatrical exchange over,
ice flew from one side and bombs from the other.
And so, above the skies of Busan, the full-scale battle began.
***
Seoul, Hero Association Headquarters.
The Association president's office on the top floor.
There, the Association president looked uneasily at the blonde woman standing before him.
"So, Stardus. You're saying you want to go to Busan right now?"
"Yes."
"....Uh, from where I'm sitting, Icicle seems to be handling things well enough. Do you really need to go?"
"To prevent any unforeseen casualties, I believe I should go as the person most experienced with Egostic. It may also be too much for Seol-ah to handle alone."
Watching Stardus speak calmly with her eyes slightly lowered, the Association president unconsciously scratched his bald head.
...No matter how I look at it, she does not need to go. What's gotten into her?