Chapter 76

EP.76 Counter-Terrorism with Caution

"Lightning Punch....?"

In front of my mansion, in the forest.

There, I was training Sehee's abilities.

"Right. Gather electricity in your hand, then clench your fist and throw it."

"Huh? Do I really have to? Wouldn't it be better to just shoot electricity from my hand at a distance?"

"Just try it once."

As I urged her, Sehee, though skeptical, obediently followed my instructions.

She clenched her fist and focused electricity in her hand.

Just as the electricity began to gather in her clenched fist, I spoke again.

"Try to concentrate even more electricity in your fist, pushing it to the limit."

"I'm already doing that...!"

Biting her lip, she concentrated even more electricity in her fist.

When she felt it was ready, I told her.

"Alright! Now throw it over there!"

"AAAAH!"

Sehee extended her fist, charged with electricity, towards one side of the forest.

At that moment, *BOOM*.

The electricity gathered in her fist, like a giant gauntlet, enveloped her arm and shot forward with a tremendous sonic boom.

*BOOM*.

The electric shockwave attack, with its immense power, devastated one side of the forest. Trees were shattered and flew in all directions, and the ground was scorched black by the electric waves. Yellow currents, like concentrated lightning, swept through the area in front of her.

As the smoke cleared, the completely devastated landscape of the forest was revealed.

Looking at her with her mouth agape, I chuckled and said,

"How about that? That's the Lightning Punch. Impressive, right?"

"....Wow. Damn."

She was panting, unable to take her eyes off the destruction she had caused.

She had completely obliterated one side of the forest, turning it into ruins.

"Let's call it a day here. The more you practice, the less burdensome it will become. Here."

I handed a towel to her, who was drenched in sweat.

After taking the towel and wiping her face, she spoke to me.

"....But, how can there be such a difference in ability just by gathering electricity in a fist? Why is it so strong?"

"Ah, because... a punch is 'romantic'..."

"Romantic my ass... But, how did you know this? That clenching electricity in your fist makes it so powerful?"

She looked at me with curiosity.

How did I know? Well, this is a technique you'll use as your main attack later on.

Originally, you would learn this through trial and error in the later parts of the story, but now that I'm here, there's no need to take the long way around, right?

Of course, I couldn't say that, so I just chuckled and said,

"Didn't you know? I know everything."

"Ha. You're so full of yourself."

"Keep practicing the lightning strike too."

"Got it. Hey, but... do I really have to say that cheesy line you told me to?"

"Of course. That's the key."

"Ha... Damn, life..."

"And remember, your goal is to electrify the Stardusts as much as possible with electricity."

Try to toughen them up a bit.

"Got it, got it!"

I chuckled as she grumbled and walked away, and we walked back to the mansion together.

Yes, Sehee, or Electra... now that she has learned lightning, electric shockwaves, electric storms, and the Lightning Punch, even if her proficiency is a bit low, she is quite close to the final specs of the original Electra.

Looking at Sehee, who was walking beside me with a towel in hand, I thought to myself.

In fact, if we consider only the Sehee I first met, she would definitely not stand a chance against the Stardusts. She would probably be taken down with just a few hits.

However, with her current level of skill...

She might be able to hold her own against the Stardusts, to some extent.

***

And now, back to the present.

In the heart of Seoul, at a crossroads.

"Ugh."

Stardust, she gritted her teeth and dodged the attack.

The streams of electricity coming from all directions were gradually becoming too numerous to avoid.

Ultimately, to get closer to the villain, she decided to advance while taking some hits.

"Ugh..."

When hundreds of thousands of volts of electricity hit her, she felt a sharp pain.

But, as a physical enhancement user, she managed to endure it with her mental strength. Yes, this level of pain, she could endure. For now.

"Ha ha ha ha! So this is what an A-rank hero is capable of?"

As she struggled to break through the storm of electricity, the villain laughed and taunted her.

The villain, who called herself Electra, with her face flushed red, continued to emit electricity in all directions.

Buildings around her were destroyed, the ground cracked, and all kinds of objects were damaged.

But Stardust avoided all obstacles and steadily flew towards Electra.

Just one hit, just one successful attack, and it would be over.

Of course, with Electra constantly fleeing, it wasn't easy.

The battle continued.

Electra, riding the storm of electricity, kept shooting 100,000 volts of electricity towards Stardust. Stardust kept flying around, dodging the attacks and trying to catch Electra.

Electra, when she got close, would either ride the storm of electricity to quickly escape or keep striking lightning around her to maintain distance.

However, while Stardust, despite being electrified, only became slightly more breathless and continued to pressure Electra at a steady pace, Electra was visibly tiring from the prolonged battle.

Her orange hair was scattered by the wind, and she cursed.

"Ha, ha. Damn. You're really persistent."

As she panted heavily, Stardust, following the manual, announced again,

"Electra, right? Surrender now. I'll capture you without further attacks."

"Fuck off!"

Although Electra shouted loudly, she was visibly losing strength as time passed.

The storm of electricity that had been sweeping around her was weakening, and the streams of electricity she kept shooting were gradually decreasing.

Decisively, Electra, now breathing heavily and barely dodging Stardust's attacks, was in a precarious position.

Unlike the early stages where Electra had been pressuring Stardust with her electric attacks, now it was the other way around, with Stardust pressuring Electra.

Yes, it was time to end this.

Seeing Electra within her range, Stardust quietly said,

"It's over now."

As Stardust clenched her fist and flew straight towards Electra,

Electra, seeing the scene, spat and gritted her teeth, shouting loudly,

"Who the hell thinks I'll fall like this!!!"

With that, she cut off all the electricity she had been emitting.

On top of the storm of electricity, she clenched her fist and began to gather all the current in her hand.

Stardust approached, but Electra didn't run away. She stood still, focusing only on her hand.

As the wind gathered in her hand, sparks began to gather and fly from her fist.

When Stardust was right in front of her, Electra finally raised her head and glared at Stardust.

As the giant sparks began to fly from her hand, Stardust's fist flew towards her...

At the same time, Electra also extended her fist towards her.

"Let's see who wins-!"

Electra's secret move-

Lightning Punch (電氣强拳).

Electra, clenching her teeth, shot her electrified fist at Stardust.

Stardust also threw her fist at her at the same time.

*BOOM*.

A tremendous explosion echoed through the heart of the city.

*BOOM*.

The shockwave from Stardust's punch and Electra's electric wave collided.

Hundreds, thousands of sparks shot out from the two of them, and the surrounding buildings were destroyed, filling the intersection with dust.

How much time had passed?

As the dust cleared, the two figures finally came into view.

Through the thick dust, what was revealed was Stardust, floating relatively intact in the air, with only a few sparks flying from her body.

And Electra, standing precariously on the storm of electricity, clutching her abdomen and slightly bent over.

"Cough, cough. Damn. Cough."

Was it because of the excessive use of her powers, or because she had exchanged a blow with Stardust?

Electra, thrown far by the shockwave, was barely holding herself up, swaying.

'It's over.'

Seeing her state, Stardust organized her thoughts.

Although she had managed to endure, the final attack had been dangerous for her too. She had slightly exceeded her power limit.

Up until now, the only person she had pushed this hard with just her raw strength was... this woman, Electra.

I don't know where she came from, why she started the terror, or who the 'he' she mentioned earlier is... but I'll find out naturally after capturing her.

First, I need to arrest the villain in front of me, who is in a state where she can't resist.

To make the arrest, Stardust flew towards Electra, who was still swaying and unable to regain her composure.

Just as she was about to grab Electra, who was right in front of her...

Electra suddenly disappeared.

"....?"

As if she had evaporated. Her hand was now slicing through empty air where Electra had been just a moment ago.

Where had she disappeared to, just when she was right in front of her? As Stardust, confused, looked around.

A fluttering sound came from above her.

'What is it?'

As she reflexively looked up, what she saw was...

The black hat.

The black robe.

The black cloak.

Wearing a half-gray mask.

Holding the Electra, who had been standing there just a moment ago, in a princess carry, looking down at her.

"Hello, Stardust."

"Egostic...?"

She had never imagined they would meet like this.

"Yes! That's right. It's been a while. I'm Egostic. Nice to see you!"

Egostic, smiling widely at her, was standing there.

***

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

[Damn, it turned on so suddenly lol]

[Folks, EGOSTIC LIVE is ON!!!!]

[Stopping everything to start the stream in a panic, what a mess lol. I'll go first lol]

[Who is that lady I see as soon as I enter?]

[Shocked) Egostic announces affair... Leaving Stardust for infidelity]

[Why is the first thing I see when the stream starts her holding a woman in a princess carry lol]

[Erotic Stick is gay lol]