Chapter 44

EP.44 Deepening Doubts

In fact, it had been happening for some time.

Shinharu had been suspicious of Egostic.

Yes, precisely after the airplane terror.

The phone call he made to her was the decisive turning point.

He said he believed in her.

He said she could do it, that she could stop the plane.

What kind of villain tells a hero to do such a thing?

Can he even be called a villain?

It started from then.

Stardus began her personal investigation into Egostic.

The terrorist attacks he orchestrated numbered three.

A ship, a train, and an airplane.

All with zero casualties.

Perhaps it could be called a coincidence.

The so-called Star Dust Group, which supports Stardus, claims that Egostic intended to kill, but Stardus stopped all of them, which is why there were no casualties.

But there was something she knew that others did not.

The last airplane terror was guided by Egostic to ensure no casualties.

When the plane was about to crash and disintegrate, he personally contacted her to stop the plane.

Thus, she could speculate.

Could the previous terrorist attacks also have been orchestrated by Egostic in some way?

Could all the terrorist attacks have been designed to avoid fatalities?

This leads to the question:

Suppose the purpose was not to cause casualties or to demand ransom.

Why did he do it?

Why did he plan the terrorist attacks?

The most common answer is this:

He's a show-off. He's crazy. He's out of his mind.

Yes, that's the most comforting answer.

However, she had doubts.

Could there be no other reason?

Of course, she does not deny that he is somewhat... out of his mind.

But her intuition.

Her intuition whispers to her.

There is something more.

It doesn't seem like that alone is the reason for everything.

So she investigated.

The changes that occurred after the terrorist attacks.

She read newspapers, looked at statistics, and read articles...

What she discovered was this:

Security checks on transportation were strengthened. Cybersecurity for government agencies, broadcasters, and various companies was enhanced.

The crime rate among villains decreased. Egostic himself had eliminated three villains. Since villains do not act when other villains are active, the terrorist rate decreased during Egostic's active period.

However, it would be too far-fetched to say that Egostic intended all of this. It would be too convenient to fit everything to his advantage, and it would not escape criticism.

In fact, the Mango Group, Egostic's fan club, justifies his terrorist attacks with similar logic.

Actually, there is something she feels most strongly about the changes caused by Egostic.

It is that her own power has become much, much stronger.

"....."

She clenched her fist.

The incident with the train and the incident with the airplane.

Through these two events, her power grew beyond recognition. The association had even considered promoting her to S-class.

Of course, promotion is very difficult. Since it is reviewed by the International Hero Association, not the Korean Hero Association, they rarely promote anyone. There are almost no cases of A-class heroes being promoted to S-class.

So, just the fact that it was even considered is a significant achievement.

Her power grew at an unprecedented rate.

Faster than anyone else.

And who should get the credit for this?

Egostic, that guy?

"...I really, what is this?"

That's not it.

It was just a lucky coincidence that the situation turned out well.

Surely, Egostic couldn't have known that stopping the train and the airplane would make her power grow, and orchestrated the terrorist attacks to strengthen her?

'Really... what a ridiculous fantasy.'

Even when she thought about it, she laughed it off as a silly story.

[Well, Ms. Stardus. You did a great job. I couldn't have imagined that you would save everyone in such a way. Your victory.]

[So, go ahead. Clench your fist, gather your strength, and fly into the sky to save people. You can do it. That's who you are.]

"...."

It's an absurd story.

How could he know anything about her, and how could he know that her power would grow?

But when she recalled his previous words, she felt a strange unease.

'Clearly, he's a villain, and he even orchestrated the terrorist attacks...'

Why do his words linger in her mind?

She shook her head to dispel the thoughts.

Just an overactive imagination. An overactive imagination.

And Egostic, that guy, did not just cause terrorist attacks.

The killing of three villains. Including his followers who also caused terrorist attacks, he has killed quite a few.

His毫不犹豫地清除反派的行为，私刑。说得好听是反英雄，但没有正当法律程序就随意杀人，这不过是谋杀而已。

然而...

她从笔记本电脑的屏幕上移开了目光。

她所查看的是从协会长那里获得安全许可的资料。

虽然协会内部称其为最高机密，只有最高安全人员和协会长可以查看，但她是通过强硬手段从协会长那里获取的文件。她强调自己是A级英雄，主张知情权，才勉强获得了批准。

当她质疑为什么这些机密资料不告知英雄，而只在协会内部共享时，得到的只是“出于安全考虑”的荒谬回答。

'啧...把我们当猎犬吗。'

无论如何，她成功获取了这些资料。

这些资料整理了从S级到B级的反派信息。

在文件上醒目地标记为[一级机密]。

她从中查找了Egostic迄今为止处理的反派。

***

[EnzoDiac] 本名全在赫。

S级反派。

术士。

在杀害8人并试图将其作为祭品引发术法时被发现。

危险性在于无法确定术法的极限。

二级机密事项：20.03.24发生的地震是他引起的，但之后被[记录消除]，并宣布为自然灾害。

*只要有足够的祭品，他可以引发任何灾害，因此被指定为S级。国际英雄协会的英雄们正在搜寻中。对国内英雄，除了/立即击杀/命令外，不要多说。

被A级反派Egostic处理。

***

除了Rhino、Teleporter等Egostic杀死的其他反派，她发现了一件事。

他主动杀害的反派，即使目前没有引起任何问题，都具有在未来引发“大规模灾害”的能力。

顺便说一下，她还试图查看Egostic在这些资料中的记录，但由于只有协会长和国际协会联盟最高委员可以查看的[O级机密]，她无法查看。协会长解释说这是国际联盟指定的，他自己也不知道。

虽然有些不安，但她暂时放过了。

重要的是Egostic。从他的行为来看。

'仅仅称他为反派... '

从他策划大规模恐怖袭击来看，他确实是反派。

但他的行为却有很多模棱两可的地方。不仅没有造成伤亡的可疑恐怖袭击，还有追随者的杀害、阻止Alligator Man等许多奇怪之处。

而这次AppleMango事件，更加坚定了她的怀疑。

"...."

AppleMango。

事实上，她一看到他就知道他是Egostic。

声音、身高、行为都一模一样，怎么可能认不出来。

当然，她是唯一见过Egostic真面目的人，其他两人似乎没有察觉。

其实取名AppleMango...他似乎并没有刻意隐藏自己的身份。

但重要的是。

他为什么会在那个地方。

其实上次的事件是故意的。

在得知釜山将发生大规模空袭的情报后，故意泄露ShadowWalker倒下的消息，计划在夜间一网打尽。

考虑到可能会有很多人质，计划由擅长对人战斗的ShadowWalker安全地平息恐怖袭击。

但Egostic...也就是AppleMango已经处理了那些小喽啰，根本没有出手的机会。

Egostic一直胡言乱语，最后离开了现场。

当时应该攻击并抓住他吗？

"...."

是的。

她不得不承认。

她对Egostic的怀疑已经变成了一种确信。

反派怎么会去救人？

表面上他确实是个疯子，但回顾他至今所做的一切...正如网友所说，他看起来像是假装反派的英雄。

但如果是英雄，为什么不干脆做反英雄...为什么要策划恐怖袭击？

是不是有什么她和其他人不知道的，更大的图谋？

其实他只是随心所欲地做事，而她却在过度解读。

但。

高度发达的直觉本身就是一种合理的推理。

她一直怀疑。

而这次AppleMango事件，使她的怀疑几乎变成了确信。

Egostic不是简单的反派。

虽然也不能称他为英雄，但。

说他是敌人也有些勉强，虽然不能算作盟友，但最终还是在帮助盟友。

她不得不怀疑。

Egostic在策划着什么巨大的计划。

那天晚上，她难以入睡。

'Egostic这家伙到底在策划什么？其实他是我们这边的？不，绝对不可能。如果他其实是前辈英雄在扮演反派呢？哈鲁，你终于疯了。'

她满脑子都是复杂的想法，难以入睡。她发誓要在下一次恐怖袭击中揭露他的真面目...

'但他为什么自称AppleMango？这背后有什么隐藏的意义吗？'

***

"真该死..."

"为什么叫AppleMango？说说看，哥哥。明明那么讨厌芒果，其实你喜欢那个绰号吗？"

"请安静...拜托...！"

因为太尴尬了，她想跳下去...