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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Moonlight Terror
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Hours had already passed since the pink storm had ravaged downtown Seoul.
Moonlight.
The last thing seen was two Hanja characters, glowing pink, shot into the dark evening sky.
The villain who had caused all this chaos had vanished without a trace, along with the pink aura she had conjured.
And in her wake, only the heroes remained.
"Me, *I*... at night... am this useless.... This is unbelievable! Ugh, I should just go die. Why am I even alive?"
Shadow Walker was hunched in a corner, digging a hole in the ground by himself.
"Seriously... why isn't Dain picking up? Haa... come on..."
And on the other side, Icicle was muttering, holding his phone to his face, a look of anxiety on his features as he tried to call someone.
And in the very center of it all.
Stardust stood, looking at the spot where the villain had disappeared, her expression more somber than anyone else's.
"..."
The place where the villain had been was now a wasteland.
This city, bustling with people just this afternoon, had been ruined in a single night.
In this desolate place, where only debris lay scattered.
Shin Haru clenched her fists, gritting her teeth.
...The destruction of the city wasn't the problem. Buildings could be rebuilt.
The problem was that they hadn't been able to catch the villain, even after all this.
And that the villain, who had disappeared after only projecting the word "Moonlight" into the sky, would most likely return.
And the biggest problem of all.
When that villain returned to wreak havoc again, she felt that she would still be unable to stop them.
"....."
The moment she realized that fact again.
An truly indescribable despair washed over her.
That villain would probably return.
And harm people again, and destroy their homes.
And she would still remain this powerless.
Lost in such thoughts, she suddenly looked up at the sky.
She had felt this kind of frustration before.
But back then, someone had encouraged her.
And sometimes, he would step in himself and prevent things beforehand.
And though she hadn't fully realized it then.
She now understood that he had been a greater strength than she had realized.
How terribly things went when he wasn't there.
Only in this moment, without him, did she truly grasp it.
"....."
And.
Realizing that he wouldn't come this time.
Realizing that he probably wouldn't come next time either.
That fact, without her knowing, made her feel so heartbroken.
It wasn't something to feel heartbroken about, but she couldn't help it.
She just stood beneath the dark night sky, staring at the ruins spread before her.
Blankly.
Continuously, blankly, she just stared.
***
[Moonlight (月光) illuminating the night sky after the terror, what does it mean?]
[Hours-long terror, why couldn't the heroes stop it?]
[[Exclusive] Shadow Walker reportedly holed up at home...]
[Association. Announces establishment of emergency evacuation manual for citizens during emergencies. 'This does not fundamentally solve the current issue,' voices of concern rise.]
[Who is the woman in shamaness attire who identified herself as Moonlight? The Association's common name for her is Moonlight Priestess, searching for her identity.]
The pink storm incident had laid waste to a city in Seoul.
The identity of the culprit was not properly revealed, with only "Moonlight" – these two characters – being known. This incident had turned South Korea upside down.
The reason why Korea, already quite accustomed to villain attacks, was so shaken was simple.
Three A-rank heroes had ganged up on her, but they couldn't win.
What made the public's shock even greater was that one of them was Shadow Walker, who was considered virtually invincible at night.
Perhaps by some divine intervention, there weren't many casualties, but there was no guarantee that would be the case next time.
With all three heroes gone, the Association was telling the media that they were considering countermeasures, but that was it.
And so, South Korea was abuzz.
And online communities were no exception.
*
[Seriously, WTF, is that Moonlight Priestess really that strong?]
Can't even see her face properly.
I get that she alone dyed the entire city with some kind of pink tornado.
But how did Stardust and Shadow Walker get owned even after going all out?
I don't even understand how Shadow Walker lost in the first place.
[Upvotes]1 [Downvotes]0
=[Comments]=
[Apparently Shadow couldn't even get close to where the villain was? He just got completely owned.]
[Experts say that shamaness or whatever probably has something that weakens hero abilities.]
ㄴ[So WTF, she can cause typhoons, shoot stars, AND neutralize powers? How do you even beat that?]
ㄴ[That's why everyone's freaking out about not being able to beat her right now.]
ㄴ[There are even rumors that electronic devices don't work near her LOLOL]
[At this point, shouldn't we borrow an S-rank hero from overseas?]
ㄴ[They say no one's coming because of the neutralization ability... Plus, Stardust is practically S-rank, and Shadow is virtually S-rank at night, and they still got thrashed...]
[We're screwed, basically.]
*
[At this moment... the person I miss the most...]
'That person' who single-handedly dealt with the hotel terror in Busan.
'That person' who stopped the giant crazy worm from crawling around by preemptively destroying its legs.
'That person' who hijacked and stopped the Han-eun Group when they went crazy and invaded Seoul with giant robots.
The greatest GOAT of this era.
"Egotistic"
If you miss him, shall we... hit the upvote button?
[Upvotes]3807 [Downvotes]127
=[Comments]=
[Ah... only after the flowers withered did I realize it was spring...]
[S-rank hero Applemango, please come back]
[Seriously, where's Egotistic? Egosquad or whatever, hurry up and cast that woman and take her away!!!]
[Sigh, damn it, my house was destroyed in this terror attack, but there's nowhere to apply for compensation... Egotistic always took care of it.]
ㄴ[Isn't it weird that he even did that in the first place? LOLOL]
[Things were best when Egotistic was the one causing terror.]
[Sigh, Mango, seriously, can't you just close your eyes and help us out just this once? Stardust, Shadow Walker, and that other guy are all trashed, and you're the only one left....]
ㄴ[Seriously, LOLOL, Egotistic is a villain, you idiot, snap out of it!!]
ㄴ[If Egotistic got involved in this terror attack, he'd help that Moonlight Priestess or whatever, why would he help the heroes?]
***
Oh. I'm planning to help.
"Haa... Should I just step in during the next terror attack?"
"Brother. You clearly said you'd stay put for the first two times and then step in on the third, right? What's wrong?"
"No... *cough*! How can I just stand by and watch our Stardust suffer like that!"
"Dain... Still, you did destroy the magic circles that were enhancing that villain's abilities, so the damage is less, right?"
"Exactly. Hey, what have you been saying all along? That this is a necessary process to help Stardust grow. That you cut it down from four times to two. But what's the point if you only do it once?"
"Alright... alright."
I raised both hands in surrender and slumped back onto the sofa.
Yes. This is painful, but it's a necessary process. Seeing Stardust taking out enemies in a single blow these days, it's true that we need to get the most out of this rare opportunity for her to struggle. Plus, since I'm managing the magic circles separately, I can even adjust the difficulty, making it a safe growth opportunity that won't come again.
The only problem is, seeing Haru struggle like this makes tears well up in my eyes without me realizing it... Sigh. Fine. Just one more time.
As I was thinking that, Hayul came over to me from my room, holding her phone.
"Dain oppa. Someone named Lee Seola keeps calling?"
"Seriously. Is she still doing that? Just turn it off."
"Are you sure that's okay?"
I nodded to Hayul, who tilted her head in question.
My phone eventually turned off.
I couldn't help it. If I told Lee Seola the truth, Shin Haru might instinctively sense the lack of urgency in Lee Seola.
It would be nice to tell Lee Seola that I'll personally step in and stop the third terror attack, as it would put her mind at ease, but some things just can't be done. In fact, since the original plot point of Lee Seola going north to take down Behemoth is gone, it wouldn't be bad for her to grow through this opportunity either.
...Though, of course, I'll probably get an earful once all this is over.
"...Haa."
Watching Stardust's gritting teeth expression on the TV, I swallowed another sigh.
I'm sorry, Haru. I'll definitely go the time after next.
So, just bear with it one more time, okay?
"*Cough*!"
"Haa... Is he going to keep doing this until this whole thing is over? This is a big problem..."
Hearing Choi Sehee clutching the back of her neck and collapsing next to me, I focused on the TV.
As a passionate fan of Stardust, I just had a terrible feeling that the time ahead would be truly awful.
Sigh.
***
And so, even after that incident, time continued to flow.
I shed another bucket of tears while organizing Stardust's photos to upload to her fan cafe.
I cried again when I heard Stardust was undergoing intensive training. Haru, no matter what you do, you can't win!
The Association once again relayed countermeasures and emergency evacuation procedures to the citizens.
And talk began to emerge that the meaning of Moonlight might be related to the Moonlight Cult, a veiled religion.
Not long after I sent another letter to the Association.
Once again.
A gigantic pink vortex appeared in the middle of Seoul.
The Moonlight Cult, the Moon Priestess's second terror attack, had begun.
"Oh no!! Haru!!!"
"Brother... please..."
And Shin Haru and her friends were getting thoroughly thrashed again.
My heart is breaking.