Chapter 16

EP.16 The Big One is Coming

Stardust. Shin Haru.

A name given by her parents, meaning "a new day."

However, these days, she found it very difficult to face a new day.

"Haa..."

She sighed, putting down her smartphone.

"What's the point of being Stardust, really?"

Those words seemed to echo in her ears.

Public opinion, centered around the internet, had turned against A-Class Hero Stardust, questioning her qualifications.

Honestly, she felt extremely wronged.

What had she done wrong?

Her only sin was saving people whenever she could, even during her college days.

However, public opinion had suddenly turned cold towards her, especially after Egoistic appeared.

She had just rushed out as usual when she heard that Egoistic had appeared in the city, so why should she be criticized?

Worse, she had even tried to capture him to protect the citizens, but it didn't go well.

She didn't realize how much the public had come to admire Egoistic, who decisively eliminated villains.

Seeing how villains, no matter how heinous their crimes, received lenient punishments after being captured by heroes, the public's frustration had been building up.

The anger that had once been directed at judges had now shifted to the heroes.

"Why not just execute them on the spot? Why do you insist on capturing them alive?"

"Because you capture them, they get to live comfortably in prison, don't they?" and so on.

These were absurd claims, but they had quietly spread among the public.

And then, the one everyone had been waiting for, the one who hunted villains decisively, appeared like a comet.

That was Egoistic.

A figure deeply desired by the hearts of the Korean people.

...Of course, there was the cruise ship terror incident. Or rather, it should be seen as a failed terror attempt.

He ultimately didn't carry out the terror attack. When no citizen pressed the button, he quickly realized and gracefully withdrew.

And the incident that overshadowed even that was his solo resolution of the Daehyun Tower terrorist hostage situation.

While other heroes were paralyzed by the hostages, he boldly entered the enemy's territory, rescued everyone without any casualties, and even gave them money.

He also eliminated a teleporter, who was given an A-Class rating due to the risk of escape, in a way that no one knew how.

He showed the public exactly what they were enthusiastic about. It was no coincidence that almost every community liked him and even set up fan cafes.

And those who stood against him naturally received criticism.

And it just so happened to be her.

"Haa..."

Shin Haru took another sip of the mango frappe in her hand.

She felt a sense of self-loathing and pain. She had become a hero to do this?

Even her close senior was saying that Egoistic was good these days, which left her in shock.

Sitting by the window in the café, she looked outside.

Spring had come, and the cherry blossoms were so beautiful.

She had no time to see them, being busy with her college life and hero work.

Yet, she still received criticism.

Even at the recent Hero Association regular meeting, when the director said with a chuckle, "Things have gotten a bit easier thanks to Egoistic these days," she almost fainted.

This isn't normal. Everyone but me has gone crazy.

"Haa... No, I need to pull myself together."

She shook her head and decided to finish her assignment.

Continuing to wallow in self-pity wasn't productive.

She needed to finish her assignment.

With that, she tried to focus on her assignment.

Until a message came in at that exact moment.

"Stardust, turn on the TV right now! Egoistic has appeared again! And he's called you out again!"

Her face hardened.

It seemed it was time to work again.

Shin Haru immediately got up and hurried out.

No matter what, she was a hero.

She went out to do what needed to be done.

***

"Long time no see, everyone! I'm your favorite villain, Egoistic!"

On a cliff overlooking the railway.

There, I greeted the camera.

My appearance, being broadcast live on every TV.

Actually, now that I think about it, just streaming on YouTube Live would probably be enough, as terrestrial broadcasters would relay it anyway.

But I decided to hijack the broadcast again.

Why? To show my strength.

It seems that broadcasters have been paying more attention to security since the last hijacking, but this was to demonstrate that it was meaningless to me. Actually, it wasn't me but Seo-eun who did it... but who would know that?

Bowing my head, I looked at the hologram with my right eye, hidden behind the mask.

A cutting-edge technology created by Seo-eun, allowing me to see holograms like the X-Men suit in the original world. The problem was that there was no software to put into this feature, so I just displayed the YouTube Live chat. And...

[The big one is coming, the big one is coming, the big one is coming, the big one is coming, the big one is coming, the big one is coming, the big one is coming, the big one is coming, the big one is coming, the big one is coming]

[Egoistic Live ON hahaha]

[Just when I was bored, a great event came hahaha]

[What crazy thing are you going to do today hahaha]

[E-Ha (meaning "Egoistic, go!")]

[Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go]

[Mango Stick! Mango Stick! Mango Stick! Mango Stick! Mango Stick! Mango Stick! Mango Stick! Mango Stick! Mango Stick! Mango Stick! Mango Stick! Mango Stick!]

...I'm already regretting this. Are these people thinking this is some surprise event?

I checked my appearance in the camera. As always, I was wearing a black robe from head to toe, with my iconic gray half-mask on my face. I wanted to wear a black wizard's hat too, but Seo-eun begged me not to. Next time, I'll definitely wear it secretly...

Anyway, let's continue.

"Recently, I've been getting a lot of news. Yes, a lot. It seems many people like me? I even checked my fan cafe! Oh, it was amazing. Haha."

I laughed awkwardly.

Scratching my head and laughing loosely, I suddenly became serious.

"But, there's something I want to say. It seems some of you are misunderstanding."

I lowered my voice and walked to the edge of the cliff. The camera followed me slowly, controlled by my telekinesis. Phew, it's a good thing I have telekinesis. Otherwise, I would have had to hire a cameraman. How awkward would it be to talk while a cameraman stood on this cliff?

Still keeping my voice low, I continued, looking at the edge of the cliff.

"I am a villain, folks. A villain, or a 'villain' in modern terms. Anyway, that's who I am. But it seems many of you have forgotten that I'm a villain? I eliminate other villains for my own base satisfaction, not really for your benefit!"

[This guy is totally a tsundere wwww]

I almost fell off the cliff when I saw the chat. Can't I turn this off in the middle? I need to ask Seo-eun to add an OFF function after this.

I almost lost my composure, but I'm a pro. I continued without changing my expression.

"That's why I've prepared another great plan. It seems you haven't fully grasped my fear. Look! Can you see the railway in the distance?"

I used my telekinesis to fix the camera on the train tracks.

The tracks were straight, but there was a fork in the middle.

At the end of the tracks shown by the camera, people were tied up.

"Hahahaha! Can you see them?"

The chat window immediately buzzed.

Yes, this is it. This is it! To make you more afraid!

"I've tied people to the tracks. Here, on the straight track, five innocent people are tied up. And at the fork, only one person is tied up. If the train continues straight, it will hit the five. But do you see that lever? If you pull it, the track will switch, and the train will hit the one person instead."

[I've seen this somewhere before?]

[Isn't this the trolley dilemma?]

[The trolley dilemma in real life ㄷㄷㄷ]

I realized the trolley dilemma was known in this world, unlike in DarknXt.

But it seems no villain has done this before. I sighed in relief.

"Will you pull the lever? Or not? By the way, stopping the train is not an option."

I switched the camera view.

There, the engine room of the train approaching was visible. The original engineer was unconscious, and a masked woman was driving the train. Yes, that's Su-bin. Thank you, Su-bin!

"Be careful, as any reckless action could derail the train. Your only choice is to pull the lever. Now, I have something to say. Stardust, come here. I want to see your moral judgment."

The stage is set.

Now, Shin Haru. All I need is for you to come.

[Stardust again ㄷㄷ This must be true love?]

I ignored the chat window.