Chapter 92

Haijacking

On the southern coast of South Korea.

There, amidst the surging sea, we were steering our yacht forward.

"Phew... This is romance."

The salty breeze hit my face, and the strong sea wind made my cloak flutter.

We crossed the sea toward our target.

"Hey, Seobin. Where did you learn to steer a boat?"

On the yacht, Chae Sehee, who had been standing there blankly, approached Seobin, who was holding the helm, and asked.

Seobin, in response, replied as if it was no big deal.

"Where? I just learned by myself on the internet at home."

"...? Does that even make sense?"

Since Chae Sehee's tone suggested she didn't believe it, I, standing behind, chimed in.

"Seobin can do anything. He even knows how to drive trains and planes."

"....What? Really?"

"Yep."

"No... huh."

Chae Sehee grabbed her head as if she was dizzy. Sehee, Seobin lives in a different world from us. You shouldn't try to understand it.

Regardless, as can be seen from the way they now converse informally and comfortably, they have become much closer.

This happened because, although it's a bit strange, during the process of interrogating the Han Group researcher we caught last time and Kim Seon-woo, they became closer. Specifically, after the incident with the Han Group's giant weapon, Seo Eun, who had a lot of pent-up feelings, and Seobin, along with Chae Sehee, thoroughly interrogated them before handing them over to the Association.

How much did they interrogate them? Well, it's enough to know that Dr. Kim Seon-woo lost his edge. Who told him to conduct human experiments? He should be grateful I didn't kill him.

Anyway, our current target is in the sea below Busan.

The target is just one.

"Right... There, it's starting to show."

Through the hazy sea, a giant ship could be faintly seen.

A ship with cannons, like those used by Vikings in the Middle Ages, and a large white sail proudly hoisted, began to come into view.

And the special thing about this ship is...

"Hey, what is it? The ship... is floating?"

Yes.

The ship is floating in the air.

This giant airship is the pirate ship, Alice, which we will hijack today, belonging to the villain.

*

After the Han Group's giant weapon attacked Seoul, in the original [Stardust!], Seoul is devastated, and the tone of the story gradually darkens.

The main reason for the darkening tone is, of course, the continuous appearance of strong villains.

Until then, the villains were all pretty weak. Except for irresistible disasters, average villains were all manageable.

But from this point on, the tone changes. The villains become stronger, to the point where Stardust finds it hard to handle them, gradually.

Moreover, the number of villains increases. The well-crafted villains, both in quality and quantity, naturally cause chaos in society.

Even more so, unlike before when they mainly focused on terrorizing Seoul, strong villains start to appear in other regions. This marks the era of the Spring Villains.

In the original, this leads to Stardust gradually becoming exhausted, the tone of the story darkening, and the story of desolation truly beginning... but.

With my appearance, things have changed significantly. Stardust has become stronger faster than in the original, and I plan to mediate or deal with various villains in the future.

And the first of these.

We are here to catch the villain who is wreaking havoc in Busan.

"Wow... What is this?"

Chae Sehee looked up and exclaimed.

Yes, it's a surprising sight when you see it for the first time. A giant airship floating and advancing in the air.

Chae Sehee, who was marveling at the sight of the ship cutting through the sea and splitting the sky, turned to me and asked.

"So, what's the plan?"

"First, we beat up the guys up there."

I said it straightforwardly. If they reform, they become our allies; if not, they become meat.

"Anyway, come on. Hold my hand. Seobin, we'll be back."

"Sure. I'll wait here, so come back soon."

"Ha, right. Let's go."

Chae Sehee, after swinging her fist once, let go of her hand and held mine.

And just like that, we teleported onto the airship.

It's time to correct the villains.

***

The guys leading the airship and plundering are the Lepis Gang, a group of three.

The most distinctive feature of these guys is that they all wear helmets that resemble motorcycle helmets with rabbit ears.

In the original, their first appearance is when they attack Busan. At that time, Icicle, who was unprepared, was caught off guard. Of course, this time it will be different.

Anyway, the giant airship.

There, overlooking the sea spreading in all directions, were three figures.

In the middle stood a guy wearing a red helmet with rabbit ears, and next to him were guys wearing blue and yellow helmets of the same design. They were whispering to each other.

And behind them, we landed softly.

As the creaking sound of our landing echoed, the guys turned their heads to look at us.

"What's that sound? Who are you!"

They saw me, with my black hat and fluttering cloak, and Chae Sehee, who was loosening her fists.

The guy in the middle shouted at us.

"Who are you!"

The guy in the middle, who shouted as soon as he saw me.

I yawned and told him.

"You're my subordinates, you guys."

"What the hell! Blue! Yellow! It's an intruder, get your weapons ready!"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

The two next to him hurriedly grabbed their weapons.

Me?

While watching them, I used telekinesis to levitate the baseball bats I brought.

And Chae Sehee, while making sparks with her fists.

I couldn't help but smile at the sight of them preparing to attack us.

Indeed, the bad guys need a good beating.

"Attack!!!"

With the shout of the guy in the middle with the rabbit helmet, the three of them charged at us, and the fight began.

***

A while later.

"Alright. What did you say earlier?"

I tapped the ground with the bat, looking at the three kneeling on the ground.

"Who's your leader?"

"Mr. Egoistic!!"

"Good, good."

How much time had passed?

The villains, who received 'socialization' education from me and Chae Sehee, were showing signs of repentance and realization of their sins. What a beautiful sight!

"Hey, red."

"Yes, yes!"

The guy in the red rabbit helmet in the middle answered quickly. Yes, it's good when the answers come so quickly.

"Right. Now you're in a temporary alliance with us, Ego Stream."

"Huh?"

"The Villain Union, Ego Stream's second party. Got it?"

"Y-Yes, sir!!!!"

I swung the bat to get the answer I wanted from them.

"....Wow, I can't tell who the villains are when I look at this."

Chae Sehee, watching from behind, whistled.

...Hey, I'm already a villain.

"Anyway, welcome to Ego Stream!"

I spread my arms and shouted loudly.

The first characteristic of villains: after a fight, they're all friends. Even though they're kneeling in front of me, they're still my friends.

After this long 'socialization' session, these Lepis or Rabbit guys completely submitted mentally and made a deep vow to only commit good terrorism in the future. It's effective.

After all the preparations, I contacted Icicle (Seol Ah).

"Hey, I'm ready for the Busan attack. I plan to bring a cannon-equipped airship to the front of the city and make some noise. What do you want to do?"

[...An airship? You always come up with the most unexpected things. When do you want to do this? Then... I'll warn the citizens in advance to score points... and show my heroic side to boost my image...]

"And, hey, get a flashy sail for me. Make it black."

[What? Sure, I can do that. Then...]

After discussing the specific terror date and execution plan, I hung up the phone. Good. That's settled.

Next... I turned to the former villains, who were still kneeling and watching me.

"You said you wanted to attack Busan, right?"

"Huh? No, no! We'll go back quietly!"

"No, no, that's not it. Instead, let's do one job together."

I smiled even wider as I said this.

These rabbit villains, trembling at my bright smile.

We need to get along, right?

Now we're 'partners.'

I prepared the terror with them.

Just bring the airship to Busan and fire a few cannons. It's just a setup with Icicle, so it's nothing. Just make sure the broadcast looks good.

The decisive moment arrived.

***

In the city of Busan.

In the peaceful city, sirens suddenly sounded.

Woo- Woo-.

And soon, a voice echoed throughout the city.

[Oh, this is from Yuseong Group. Terrorists are attacking Busan right now! We detected them before the Association and are urgently informing you. Evacuate immediately!]

From all electronic devices made by Yuseong Group, Icicle's urgent voice echoed.

Despite the sudden situation, the citizens, though confused, quickly began to evacuate.

And after some time.

Beyond the horizon of Haeundae, something huge was flying.

A ship so large it seemed impossible to be floating in the sky.

It was flying proudly over the sea from the south.

On top of this giant airship, a large black sail was hoisted.

And on it, in large letters, it read "EGOSTREAM."

I stood on the deck at the front of the ship, arms crossed, cloak fluttering, looking down at the distant Busan.

"Egoistic! All preparations are complete!"

"Boss! The cannons are ready!"

"Good, men. Advance the ship faster!"

I shouted, looking down at the wide city of Busan.

Hmm. It's refreshing to cause terror in a seaside city instead of Seoul.

I faced the sea breeze and prepared to start the broadcast.

Let's start the show.

***

[EGOSTREAM Broadcast ON]

[The broadcast is live!]

[Oh, what's this airship? lol]

[The ship is so huge! lol]

[Egoistic! Egoistic! Egoistic! Egoistic!]

[?? Isn't this Busan?]

[Egoistic appears in Busan! lol]

[Busan gays, taste the mango from Seoul! lol]

[Icicle is about to explode!]

Upon hearing that Egoistic had appeared, Shin Haru, who was about to rush out without thinking, read the message and rubbed her eyes, looking again.

No matter how many times she looked, the message said that Egoistic had appeared in Busan, not Seoul.

"The place of the terror... isn't here?"

Shin Haru, without realizing it, muttered with dead eyes.

...Why?