Chapter 98

A Terror of Art

In front of the forest by the large house, which is the headquarters of Ego Stream, everyone was gathered closely.

They were there to see the Death Knight I had brought.

[Ah! It feels good to be free from the seal.]

This guy, armed from head to toe in armor and helmet that looked like something from the Middle Ages, was chuckling as he adjusted his helmet.

Through the gaps in the gray armor, a black spirit could be seen.

His body was made of a black soul, and it was structured to wear the armor.

Seeing our Desic, who seemed delighted to be free from the seal in the ring, Chae Sehee asked me with great curiosity.

"Hey, what is this? A ghost?"

"A ghost... Well, it could be seen as a ghost, I guess."

Ghost. Spirit. Thought. Familiar. Guardian.

No matter what you call it, it’s hard to call it human now.

You can touch it, but that’s about it.

"....Wow, to think such a thing exists. What is this? If I could just study it well..."

In the meantime, Seun, being a science student, was shining with excitement, trying to analyze the Death Knight.

[Ha ha ha ha! You called me Daiin, right? Thank you for letting me out! The freedom I haven’t felt in a long time is truly sweet. As a token of my gratitude, I will help you with anything I can. Just say the word!]

He pounded his armor with his hand and boasted confidently.

He said he would help with anything. Well...

"Um... Desic, I don’t really have anything for you to do."

[What’s this, Desic! But, what! You have nothing for me to do?]

The Death Knight was startled.

Seeing him, I really had no choice but to say that.

No, I didn’t expect him to have any specific role from the beginning.

I just wanted to catch a powerful villain in advance in case things got tough later, nothing more.

And to begin with, when I saw it in the original work.

"You don’t disappear if you stay out for a certain amount of time, right?"

[How did you know that? Yes, that’s right. If I stay in this world for too long, my energy will quickly run out, and I need to rest. But right now, I’m fully charged and can last for a few hours!]

The Death Knight said confidently.

Yes. Thanks to being sealed in the ring for a long time, his energy seems to be full now.

So, for a while, I can use his full power...

I’m not sure. I haven’t thought about it.

I just wanted to take the ring out, confirm that the guardian spirit was inside, and seal it again.

No... I didn’t expect him to be so cooperative...

"Hmm. Okay. I’ll ask you later. For now, go back inside."

[What? Wait! Hold on! I can do anything!]

Desic let out a final scream and went back into the ring, which hummed slightly.

And as soon as I sealed him again, something suddenly came to mind.

Yes.

Except for the long cooldown, this Death Knight showed a lot of strength in the original work.

So... if he’s this cooperative.

Why not just add him as a new villain to my villain alliance, Ego Stream?

I started to seriously consider this.

Yes. After all, I have other powerful villains I’m pushing as the main ones. But these guys need to be completely charmed from scratch, which takes time.

So, there will probably be a three-month gap in terrorist activities after the Busan terror.

Why not just outsource it to him?

I won’t show my face on camera, just use Ego Stream’s broadcast to have him carry out the terror and only broadcast that.

Since it will be broadcast under the name Ego Stream, people will know it’s happening under my orders, and it will also showcase Ego Stream’s strength.

And I can also train Stardust a bit more.

Although villains are now flooding out and some training has been done, fighting with a strong villain I’ve refined will be a different experience.

The strong villains who have troubled Stardust have all been dealt with or recruited by me, so the remaining villains are relatively weak and can only maintain her abilities, not enhance them.

Only I can make her grow. Hahaha.

Anyway, this Death Knight, who received an S-rank title in the later part of the original work, is quite strong.

Then.

Even if not for the main terror, why not send him out for a mini terror?

If you only send out the main ones, it gets boring. You need some light ones to refresh the mood in between.

Okay. Let’s try it again.

I manipulated the ring again to bring out the Death Knight.

[...Thank you. Ah... I didn’t realize how precious this air is!]

The Death Knight, as soon as he was freed from the ring, knelt down, spread his arms, and looked up at the sun in gratitude.

...No, no. This guy wasn’t supposed to be like this, right? In the original work, he was definitely quiet and serious when he appeared, right? What’s going on?

Anyway, I approached the guy who would be crying if he had eyes and said,

"Will you work with me?"

[Sure! Just tell me what to do!!!]

"It’s about destroying buildings and fighting ability users. Oh, you can’t harm people."

[What? Destruction? Battle?]

He took a deep breath after saying that and suddenly burst out laughing.

[As a man, one does not refuse destruction and battle! Sure! I’ll do it right away!!!]

Kid... You understand the dream of a man, don’t you?

I raised my evaluation of Desic a bit and nodded at him.

"Right! That’s the spirit. Are you ready to terrorize with me like a man!!!"

[Sure!!! I don’t know what it is, but if I can move my body freely, I, Saint Pet...]

"Death Knight."

[...Death Knight. I will show you the power of Death Knight!]

"Great!!!"

Just before the main terror, let’s try a light one!

"....Bro, you’ve become even more of an idiot."

Seun just muttered that.

An idiot. Call me a man.

Anyway, we immediately started preparing for the next mini terror. Since it’s small-scale, we just need to teach the Death Knight basic common sense and what to say and do, and we can go right away, right?

***

[Isn’t EgoStar only supported by has-beens?]

New wine in new bottles.

Let’s give up on Stardust... Honestly, she’s been involved too much over the past time, hasn’t she?

Icecl<----The wave of a new era. Accept it, humble mortals.

The era of Ice Mango is coming!!!!

=[Comments]=

[Stardust=has-been / Icecl=innovation. The change has begun]

[To be honest, talking with Icecl is more fun than with Stardust lol]

[We didn’t even talk much, lol]

[Yeah, poor old wife Stardust can’t lose~ Ice Mango started his villain career by writing a letter to Stardust~]

[The real "Stardust" is undeniable lol]

[The funny thing about Ice Mango fans: They’ve only had 5 joint terrors with Stardust and 1 with Icecl, but they keep comparing Icecl to Stardust lol. It’s a 5x difference~]

[All the Star Dust fans are gathering lol]

[We need to see the trend... The recent trend is Icecl lol]

[If the next terror happens in Busan, it will be quite a show with the Star Dust fans trembling lol]

*

[Man, our EgoStick fan cafe is really dying]

Now they’re even holding a World Cup to see which hero Mango will raise the most lol

What the hell, are they talking about this all day without getting tired?

=[Comments]=

[Yeah... It’s all because MangoStick isn’t causing any terror or broadcasting lol]

[If they caused terror, they wouldn’t be talking about such pointless things lol. It’s all because of our f*cked-up MangoStick]

[They even made a broadcast section on the EgoStream site, but they don’t actually broadcast lol]

[Yeah, the trend is Ice Mango lol]

[Writer][Yeah, lol]

[Why are you agreeing after cursing lol]

[The World Cup is sh*t, but Icecl is the real deal lol]

[Star Dust fans, admit it! EgoStick’s archenemy is... Icecl...]

*

"Ha... Really."

Seoul Hero Association.

Shin Haru, sitting in her office and looking at her laptop, involuntarily gritted her teeth.

She had been reading posts on the EgoStick fan cafe out of habit, but the ridiculous stories that had been posted since last time were making her blood boil.

...What, the idea that EgoStick’s archenemy is Icecl.

EgoStick. She is the only one who knows him best and understands him the most. Where did Icecl come from? Seol didn’t even know anything about EgoStick. She vividly remembered Seol cursing EgoStick to her.

Her hands were already on the keyboard without her realizing it. Tap tap. She typed a comment.

[EgoStick’s only true opponent is Stardust, but there are so many ridiculous things these days.]

She hit Enter and posted the comment, but her mood was slightly uncomfortable because of what she had just read.

[If the next terror happens in Busan, it will be quite a show with the Star Dust fans trembling lol]

"...."

No way.

EgoStick wouldn’t cause the next terror in Busan, right?

She’s tired of it, and she’s only dealing with Icecl. Then?

Her eyes darkened without her realizing it.

...No way, would he?

As she returned to the main page of the cafe with a slightly downcast mood, the place was already burning with numerous posts.

[EgoStream live broadcast ON lol]

[What is this? It hasn’t been long since the last terror lol]

[Here’s Seoul lol. Ice Mango fans are doomed lol]

[Stardust punch! Stardust punch! Stardust punch! Stardust punch! Stardust punch! Stardust punch!]

[Let’s go, let’s go~]

"Ms. Stardust! There’s another terror in the middle of Seoul!"

And a moment later, an association employee burst into the room.

Shin Haru was already in her hero suit, flying out the window.

With a slight smile on her lips.

Yes. EgoStick wouldn’t cause a terror in Seoul, right?

Of course, his opponent is me.

She thought this as she flew towards the scene.

While flying through the sky, she listened to the employee’s urgent instructions through her earphones.

EgoStick. After the robot terror, it’s been a while since we’ve faced each other directly.

***

"Bro. Aren’t you going out this time? Why are you staying home?"

"Well, the Death Knight will handle everything. I’ve got a drone camera, so it’s fine."

It’s so convenient to outsource the terror completely.

Home is the best.

"...Should I eat some popcorn?"

It won’t really make a difference whether I’m at the scene or not, right?