Chapter 66

EP.66 A Wrong Encounter

Confusion.

My first encounter with Stardus left me feeling confused.

Why is she here?

You didn’t come here in the original story!

But there was no way I could say that.

So we stood there, facing each other in silence, a strange tension between us.

...No, who would have thought we’d meet like this, hundreds of meters underground, far from the surface?

Stardus, who had the same bewildered expression as me, quickly composed herself and returned to her cold demeanor.

She asked me coldly.

"...You. Why are you here?"

That’s what I wanted to ask.

"...No, Stardus, why are you here?"

"I’m a hero. Of course I have to deal with the monsters and dangerous substances inside here."

She answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Yes, that’s true. But...

You weren’t supposed to come here!

As I remained silent, inwardly shouting, she suddenly smirked and cracked her knuckles.

"And... it’s a good thing. An unexpected bonus."

Wow, I’ve never seen Stardus smile since I came to this world.

She looked like a goddess, smiling and cracking her knuckles.

If only that smile wasn’t meant to capture me, it would have been nice.

"If you surrender now, you won’t get hurt too badly."

With that, she lunged at me.

Well, teleportation.

As she charged towards me, I teleported behind her.

But as if she had anticipated it, she turned her head and swung her arm behind her.

I had no choice but to move further back.

"Wait!!"

"What do you mean, wait?!"

Despite my desperate cries, she continued to charge at me, her blonde hair flying.

What are you doing in this narrow corridor?!

"Wait, let’s take a time-out!"

As I kept dodging her attacks with teleportation, she finally gave up on capturing me and clenched her fists.

Hey, are you crazy?! If I get hit by your punch, I’ll die instantly!

"Hey, Miss Stardus! Calm down a bit!"

But it seemed like she didn’t hear me, and she lunged at me, throwing a punch.

Fortunately, I managed to teleport away just in time, but the wall took the hit instead.

Boom-.

Even though she must have controlled her strength to avoid killing me, the wall still shook and groaned.

The ceiling shook, dust flew, and the lights flickered, creating a chaotic scene.

"Are you going to destroy everything here?! Calm down and listen to me!"

The underground was still shaking.

Only after she had destroyed half the corridor did Stardus finally calm down.

"...What do you want to say?"

Ah, she’s willing to listen to what I have to say.

She fixed her blue eyes on me and raised one arm to her waist, as if signaling that she wouldn’t attack for now.

Now, I need to talk my way out of this.

Or I’ll be taken away...!!

"First, I don’t want to fight. We didn’t expect to meet like this, right? Why don’t we each go back to what we were doing?"

"...You want me to let a villain like you wander around this top-security facility?"

Hmm, that’s not going to work.

"No, I didn’t come here to do anything. I just wanted to broadcast because I was angry at Han Group."

I showed her the camera as I said this.

"...Broadcast here?"

Her expression worsened.

Is this a mistake too?!

As Stardus prepared to attack me again, I quickly spoke up.

"Wait! How about a temporary alliance?"

"Temporary alliance?"

Despite her skeptical look, I pressed on.

"Stardus, you don’t know how dangerous it is down here, right? Since we’re in this situation, why don’t we form an alliance and go down together? Even if you try to capture me, I can just teleport away. But since we’ve met, why don’t we help each other? I’m curious about what’s down here too."

Hmm, even I think this sounds ridiculous.

If she were to attack me now, saying, "I’m a hero, how can I form an alliance with a villain?" and charge at me, it wouldn’t be surprising.

Ah, what should I do now? Should I just run away? Behemoth, my power-up, goodbye...

Just as I had made up my mind, she frowned and then suddenly relaxed.

Then she said this.

"...Fine, let’s go together until we reach the bottom."

"Huh?"

"...Why are you surprised when you suggested it?"

As I was taken aback, she turned her head with a slight smile.

"Follow me. I was having trouble dealing with everything alone, so your help would be useful."

"Huh? Ah, yes. Okay."

Watching her lead the way down, I followed her in a daze.

But... what’s going on?

I thought my suggestion was absurd, but seeing her readily accept it left me confused.

What’s going on? What’s her plan? The Stardus I know wouldn’t do this.

I expected her to attack, saying there’s no way a hero would compromise with a villain, but her sudden change left me bewildered.

So, we ended up walking together through the underground.

...What’s happening?

***

Stardus.

As soon as she descended into the underground, she encountered countless monsters.

They looked like they had melted, all white, and each seemed to possess some kind of ability, which made her shudder.

Her feeling of unease grew stronger as she entered the laboratory.

The horrific records of their experiments.

The experimental subjects, already escaped, were long gone, leaving only their records behind.

*

《RKCB-0064》

[Provisional Name] Hell Cat

[Precautions] Very fast. Be careful when feeding.

*

*

《RKCB-1107》

[Provisional Name] Teleporter

[Precautions] Can teleport to escape. Maintain A-level security. Be cautious of attacks from behind.

*

"Horrible..."

The monsters, born from inhumane experiments.

Thinking about how they would have continued these experiments in the heart of Seoul if this incident hadn’t been exposed, she shuddered.

If this incident hadn’t happened.

And if Egoistic hadn’t destroyed the bridge.

Terrible things would have certainly occurred.

"..."

She continued to move forward, slowly eliminating the monsters she encountered.

As they went deeper underground, communication was cut off, and the lights flickered, creating a foreboding atmosphere.

The numerous branching paths added to the maze-like environment.

But she was undeterred.

Her developed intuition guided her, telling her this was the right path.

In front of where her senses led her,

"Ah!!!"

Egoistic, startled, swung his sword as he emerged.

Indeed, she was also very surprised.

Who would have thought Egoistic would be here?

But she quickly regained her composure.

This is an opportunity, whatever it is.

Why he’s here, I don’t know, but let’s capture him and think about it.

So she lunged at him.

"Wait!!!"

"What do you mean, wait?!"

As she lunged to capture him, he predictably teleported away.

Finally, after she nearly collapsed the underground room by smashing the walls, she stopped and listened to what he had to say.

His explanation about coming here to broadcast.

"Temporary alliance?"

His proposal to form a temporary alliance and go down to the end of the underground together.

She inwardly laughed. Why should she form an alliance with a villain?

She was about to reject it and attack him again.

But then a thought crossed her mind.

'Wait. This guy can just escape using his ability, right?'

That’s right.

She had overlooked it because he had been teleporting short distances, but Egoistic could easily escape from the underground if he wanted to. He always disappeared right after causing a terrorist attack, didn’t he?

...That can’t happen.

Would there be another chance to meet him alone in such an isolated place?

No, probably not.

Given his character, the next time they met, it would likely be in front of a camera broadcasting to the entire nation, on a stage he had set up.

This might be the only chance to be with him without being at his mercy.

'...If I reject it here, I won’t be able to capture him or learn anything, and he’ll just escape.'

Then, why not?

If I keep him close, I might learn more about him.

Maybe this is a chance to resolve the questions I’ve had about Egoistic.

And if I keep him close, I’ll find out exactly why he came down here.

Besides, he hasn’t shown any intention of harming me, and if it comes to a one-on-one fight, I’ll win easily. It’s not particularly dangerous.

'Right, this is just to gather information before he escapes.'

Making this excuse to herself, she said to him.

"...Fine, let’s go together until we reach the bottom."

"Huh?"

He was surprised by her quick acceptance of his own proposal.

...Funny, did he expect me to reject it?

Thinking about it, this is the first time I’ve seen him look surprised. Until now, I’ve always been the one caught off guard by his actions.

"...Why are you surprised when you suggested it?"

Feeling a bit amused, she couldn’t help but smile.

I didn’t expect to capture him today.

But here,

This might be a chance to resolve the questions I’ve always had about Egoistic...

***

With Stardus accepting the temporary alliance, we entered the maze together.

...What’s she thinking? I still don’t understand.

So, I followed her, not lowering my guard.

Is it normal for a hero to worry about being betrayed by a villain, and for a villain to worry about being tricked by a hero?

As we went deeper, nothing particularly eventful happened.

The occasional experimental subjects were easily dispatched by her punches, which made me feel less scared. I was a bit scared when I was alone.

When I occasionally made jokes, she would ignore them, and that would repeat.

Of course, sometimes she would fail to suppress a smile, quickly recompose herself, and tell me to be quiet, which was kind of cute. I know all your funny spots.

As we approached the end, more and more laboratories appeared.

She looked through the documents with a serious expression.

What was I doing?

She didn’t let me see the secrets, so I just watched her.

Hmm, maybe this is a kind of reward for being a fan.

Stardus, with her long blonde hair and tight red hero suit, searching through the laboratory, was a sight to behold.

Good, good.

It seemed she had figured something out.

We moved further inside. Why is this place endless? It’s not like an ant’s nest.

The most surprising thing was how Stardus knew exactly where to go.

Did she survey the area beforehand?

...No way, her super senses couldn’t have developed that quickly. Come on.

Anyway, this time it felt like we had really reached the end. I could feel a breeze coming from somewhere.

...But how can there be a breeze underground?

As we continued walking, we faced [Top Secret Area].

And next to it, a red-painted corridor.

"...What’s this place?"

To her question, I just shrugged.

"Let’s go in and see."

"Hmm..."

After some thought, she decided to go in.

So we went in together.

The corridor led to a small room.

"A room for suppressing superpowers...?"

She muttered, reading the sign on the door.

Suppressing superpowers? Does that mean abilities won’t work inside this room?

Han Group had this technology?

This is serious technology...

As I looked around with a serious expression, Stardus turned to me, tilting her head.

"...Egoistic, you go in first."

"...Me? Why?"

As I said this, she quietly raised her fist.

...Right, right. I’ll go in.

"Yes, yes. I understand."

So I entered the small room.

A white, sealed room. Apart from a clock, it was completely empty.

So, abilities really don’t work in here?

I tried using telekinesis on the bundle I had brought.

"Huh?"

Oh, it really doesn’t work.

What about teleportation?

I concentrated, but nothing happened.

This is interesting.

"How is it? Can you really not use your abilities?"

"Yes, it seems so. What’s the principle behind this?"

As I looked around, she came in to test it herself.

"...It really doesn’t work."

As she tested her abilities, I examined one of the walls.

If this is used well, it could be a game-changer. What’s the principle?

As I was investigating, there was a sudden thud, and the room shook. What’s happening?

I turned around in surprise and saw Stardus with her fist embedded in the wall.

Even though her abilities were suppressed, her strength was still strong enough to leave a fist-shaped dent.

I looked at her in disbelief, and she avoided my gaze, looking embarrassed.

"I just wanted to confirm if everything was really suppressed..."

"No... Even if you want to confirm, you can’t just punch the wall like that!"

We could have been buried alive!

Just as I was about to argue, an alarm sounded at the entrance.

The entrance, which had been open, was suddenly sealed off by a shield that dropped from above.

Thud-.

"What, what’s happening?"

Stardus, confused by the sudden situation.

Of course, I was just as confused. What’s going on?

A concrete barrier suddenly dropped, sealing off the space that had been a corridor.

"..."

Oh...

So the current situation is...

We’re trapped in a sealed room deep underground,

with Stardus, and we’ve both lost our