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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: A New Opportunity
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At the heart of the pink storm, where purple, lightning-like flashes flickered, a breathtaking silence reigned.
"..."
Staring at me with trembling eyes was the Moon Priestess, a villain who had already devastated Seoul three times with her magic storms.
Unlike the seemingly impenetrable storm that no hero could stop, she, at its core, appeared frail and young.
"....What exactly are you talking about...?"
She asked me, her voice slightly trembling. Seeing the magic circles floating precariously in the air around her, she seemed incredibly flustered.
And this was the perfect moment to press my advantage. I continued to grin, taking a step closer to her with each word.
"Moon Priestess, no. Ms. Baek Eun-wol. I know a lot about the Moonlight Cult. I even know a lot about your Cult Leader."
As I spoke, walking towards her, she flinched and took a small step back.
I smiled at her and said,
"Eun-wol. Be honest with me. The Moonlight Cult causes you distress, doesn't it? In truth, you hate carrying out these terrorist acts, don't you? But you're forced to do them because of the Cult Leader, aren't you?"
As I continued to stride forward, I was soon right in front of her. The small steps she'd been taking back ceased, leaving her nowhere left to retreat, just trembling before me. The magic circles that had been floating in the air had long since vanished, having wavered away.
".....Don't you want to live a life no longer swayed by them?"
I said that in front of her. She just trembled slightly. As expected, just like in the original story, she was utterly helpless when confronted directly. After all, her life had always been one of confinement, manipulated by the Cult Leader and forced to put on fake smiles for the cultists. This might even be the first time she'd ever had a direct conversation with someone else.
Baek Eun-wol still looked up at me, confused. Hmm, I've been pressing her so far, so maybe I should try a softer approach this time.
Having said that much, I immediately knelt on one knee, meeting her gaze. To her, still disoriented, I smiled.
This time, I spoke quietly, gently, as if reasoning with her.
"I will save you."
"Abandon the Moonlight Cult, and come with me."
"I will defeat the Cult Leader."
"So. Won't you take my hand and live a new life with me?"
I finished speaking and extended my hand. She still looked at my smiling face. Though her body still trembled slightly, her eyes were calmer than before.
Then, looking at me with her crimson eyes, she began to part her lips.
"....First of all, I don't know how you know so much about me. I don't know, but... still."
Having said that much, she continued, her voice slightly trembling.
"....Are you really going to help me?"
"Yes. That's right."
"Why... why? I'm just a monster..."
She suddenly spoke to me in a self-reproaching voice. Yes. Now's the chance.
I suddenly grabbed her hand, which she was about to bury into the ground in front of a stranger.
She flinched, startled by my sudden grasp. But I, seemingly oblivious to her reaction, brazenly declared,
"No. You are not a monster."
"Even if others don't, I know. I've seen it. I know that even as you caused all this terror, you tried your best to minimize harm to people."
"Who, knowing that you endured and never fully succumbed to the Cult Leader's control, could call you a monster?"
"Eun-wol. You are not a monster. Don't blame yourself. So,"
I held her, pulling her into my embrace.
"Don't cry."
And upon hearing my words,
She was quietly crying.
***
She had given up on everything. She had even prepared herself to die right there. She had swallowed all her sorrow and made up her mind.
Yes. Even if her disappearance wouldn't end everything, still. It was right for her to exit here.
What appeared before her, as she steeled her resolve, was...
A strange man wearing a mask.
A strange man who suddenly smiled and greeted her, who somehow knew her personal details, and even her innermost thoughts.
Then, a man who told her he would defeat the Cult Leader and asked her to join him.
He was a strange man. She didn't know how he knew so much about her, or about the Moonlight Cult.
But that wasn't important to her.
'Won't you take my hand and live a new life with me?'
She had already given up everything. She had let go of everything, even to the point of giving up her life. And to her, in that state, a lifeline suddenly appeared.
In truth, she had no way of knowing if it was a lifeline or a rotten rope.
However.
It was the only rope extended to her now. A new opportunity, offered to her who had given up everything.
What would change if she kicked it away? She was destined to be used by the Cult Leader, destroy Seoul, and then die at the hands of a hero.
.....So, if she was destined to die anyway,
Couldn't she trust this man, just one last time?
And. Beyond all that, fundamentally,
He was the first person who had ever spoken to her with such warmth.
The Cult Leader, who always gave her commands in a cold voice. The cultists, who chanted meaningless praises about her with vacant eyes. And the perpetually dark room.
To her, who had lived isolated from the world like that. To her, who had been prepared to receive expressions of contempt. He was the first to smile brightly, speak kindly, and offer her a new chance, to break her curse, for the very first time in her life.
That's why she couldn't help but fall for it.
And. When she heard, 'You are not a monster,' after always blaming herself and seeing herself as a monster, she found herself shedding tears without even realizing it.
'Yes... I have nothing more to lose anyway.'
'Just once. Just one last time... should I trust this man?'
***
Good. It seems I succeeded in winning her over, somehow, using the suspension bridge effect as planned.
...Honestly, I had many more lines planned. But the Moon Priestess gave in more easily than expected. It seems she'd been under a lot of stress all along. Well, in the original story, she was a pitiful child who asked Stardust to kill her, so I guess it makes sense.
I thought that to myself, stroking her as she clung tightly to me. ...This feels a bit like gaining a high-maintenance younger sister.
Anyway, that wasn't important. I gently pulled her away from my embrace, where she was still sniffling, and spoke to her.
"So, you've really decided to join us?"
"Yes... But, because of my curse, the Cult Leader... no, the Cult Leader can still monitor me... I, actually, even now..."
She looked up at me anxiously as she spoke. It seemed she could still hear the Cult Leader's voice.
"Yes. Of course we need to break that. Just a moment."
I said that much, then teleported away. Where? Straight to where our Ego-Battleship was.
"Ugh."
"Dain Oppa!"
As soon as I arrived on the ship, Hayul rushed towards me upon seeing me.
"Oppa, what happened? Helicopters are flying everywhere, it's chaotic..."
"Ah. Don't worry, I'm going to start a broadcast soon, so all the attention will shift here anyway."
I said that, checking her outfit. She was dressed neatly in a white robe, exuding a mysterious aura. Good. It's her debut, she needs to look pretty.
"Alright, let's go right away. You can use your healing ability now, right?"
"Yes."
"Good. Let's go."
I took Hayul's hand and moved back to the center of the storm.
And as soon as we arrived, a chilling voice echoed.
"My child. What are you doing?! Answer me quickly!"
"H-h-h-hiek..."
The old man's voice from within the storm, and the Moon Priestess trembling violently upon hearing it. Damn, has the Cult Leader already noticed? There's no time.
"Hayul, quickly!"
"Yes!"
Hayul dashed forward and embraced the trembling Moon Priestess, Baek Eun-wol, who was sitting on the ground.
And at the same instant, a white light radiated from both of them.
"My child. Answer me. My chiiiiild! An-swer me. My. child. A-"
And at the same time.
The chilling voice that had echoed through the storm gradually faded, until it finally vanished.
And silence returned.
"Haa... Haa..."
Only the Moon Priestess, Baek Eun-wol, panting, looked at her hands after the voice disappeared, and muttered blankly.
"...I can't hear it?"
"Yes, Eun-wol. Congratulations. The curse the Cult Leader placed on you has been lifted. You are free."
The easiest way to break a curse. Just call a healer and heal it completely. Done!
At my words,
Baek Eun-wol, still in a daze, spoke with a slight sob, as if she couldn't believe it.
"....Thank you. Thank you. Th-thank you...."
Then she thanked me and Hayul alternately. In the original story, the curse was described as a feeling of one's mind being gnawed away and constantly monitored. So it seemed she felt the change immediately.
"Now, now. There's plenty of time for thanks later. Just calm down for now. Stop that sniffling."
"Yes. Don't cry, dear."
As Hayul and I comforted her, her sniffling subsided a bit. ...Meanwhile, Hayul, just as I'd told her, was stroking Baek Eun-wol with a benevolent smile, like a nun. Or maybe she's just naturally kind.
Anyway. After she had calmed down a little.
I spoke to her, her eyes now filled with much more trust than before.
"Good. Eun-wol, now that the Cult Leader's surveillance is gone, you're officially a member of Egostream."
"Yes. Ah, yes!"
"Then, to celebrate, how about we do a broadcast together?"
"....What?"
We have to go live.
***
News that Egostream's ship had appeared where the Moon Priestess was causing terror spread across the nation in an instant.
Egostick himself must have come, he would stop the terror. No, if Stardust and Shadow Walker couldn't break through, how could Egostick? He wouldn't even reach the center. No, if it's our Mango, who knows... While people were burning with such intense hope, their 'hope circuits' running at maximum overdrive.
Flash!
Suddenly, from the pink storm, a purple beam of light shot up towards the sky.
Everyone's attention was drawn to the sudden event. And at the same time, the storm rapidly changed.
At that moment, when people were most tense.
[LOL Egostick's broadcast is ON!]
Egostick's broadcast went live.
*
"Greetings, everyone! This is Egostick!"