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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The Information War
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"Ugh..."
The wide street was deserted, everyone having already fled in every direction.
There, Shin Haru was locked in combat with a colossal robot, known as 'Starbuster'.
[Haa, haa. Heh, my big brother said you were really strong, so I was a little worried, but you're not th-that strong after all!]
Inside Starbuster, the girl piloting it, though visibly a little tired, was desperately trying to provoke her.
Dodging another steel fist flying towards her, Shin Haru thought to herself.
'Seriously, where does Egoistic keep finding these villains?'
No, it wasn't just one or two; watching new villains pop up like layers of an onion, she couldn't help but wonder. It hadn't even been a few years since Egoistic declared he'd form his own Villain Alliance, yet he'd already introduced quite a few villains: Electra, the Lepis Faction, even Death Knight.
And now, a woman piloting some kind of mechanical device, tough as a walking armored vehicle...
[Haa. Come on, attack me! Why are you just running away?]
...And this girl, no matter how she looked, seemed strangely young. Her age... I don't know, maybe middle or high school?
That realization filled Shin Haru with renewed anger.
Hiring a minor to do villain work, was Egoistic out of his mind?
[Haa, ha! Looks like you're nothing special, Auntie, just running away!]
...Those thoughts gradually faded as the voice continued.
The constant provocations were slowly starting to crack Shin Haru's composure.
Just a moment ago, she'd been thinking, 'Egoistic must be exploiting that poor child!' but now, her thoughts shifted to needing to teach that impudent brat a lesson as an adult.
...'Auntie,' huh. What kind of baseless provocation was that?
Just how old was she, anyway? Ha, the nerve.
Such a childish provocation, one she'd never heard from any other villain, instead filled her with righteous anger.
But letting such emotions get in the way of her work was the mark of an amateur.
'A first-class hero must suppress their emotions and face challenges with sharp rationality.'
"..."
Those words, heard long ago.
Recalling a past memory, she cooled her head and analyzed the situation once more.
Thud. Thud.
Currently, the robot was continuously attacking, and she was fighting defensively, dodging or occasionally blocking the blows.
And the girl inside that machine.
[Hmph, argh! Don't just dodge, fight back!]
"..."
She was clearly getting annoyed with Stardus, who kept running away and only blocking her attacks.
[You'll dodge this too? What about this then? Take that!]
Stardus, for now, was responding defensively, observing how the situation unfolded.
Watching her, the girl inside the machine muttered.
[No, I don't get it, even fighting you. Why does big brother always only care about you?]
".....!"
And at the words she casually threw out, Shin Haru paused.
...He cares *only* about me?
Clutching her suddenly pounding heart, Shin Haru's mind raced.
Truth be told, there wasn't much information about Egoistic. From the start, he was a veiled figure who would always say his piece and then vanish.
She dodged another incoming attack and subtly glanced towards where Egoistic was.
He was sitting on one of the steel mesh structures suspended in the air, chatting while looking at a camera.
Right. This might be her chance.
Egoistic. A chance to obtain information about him, information more precious than anything.
...A chance to learn more about him, something she'd always been curious about.
Having made that decision, Stardus suddenly propelled herself back, putting distance between herself and Starbuster, then shouted at the girl in an angry voice.
"You. Where did you even come from, villain? Are you another one Egoistic just hired?"
Words thrown out, feigning anger, subtly mixed with provocation to extract information.
If it had been Electra or Death Knight, whom she'd faced until now, she probably would've just gotten a 'Hmph... who knows?' or a 'Hahahaha!' in response.
[What did you say?! I wasn't just hired! I've been with big brother, his comrade, from the very beginning!]
Bingo.
Just as she'd expected, the girl in the robot began spilling everything.
While her emphasis on being a 'first comrade' and calling him 'big brother' to act chummy was a bit annoying... she could actually use this.
Still feigning anger on the outside, Shin Haru asked again, her voice dripping with incredulity.
"What nonsense are you spouting? Everyone already knows you're not Egoistic's first comrade. If you were his comrade from the start, what exactly have you been doing all this time?"
[Ugh...!]
Hearing her provocation, the girl erupted in frustration and began operating the robot even more violently.
The attacks came crashing down much more fiercely than before.
Dodging the fists, Stardus listened intently to what the girl was saying.
[I *am* his first comrade! I'm the one who did all the radio jamming and hacking from behind the scenes until now! I'm so unfairly frustrated, really!]
The girl spoke as if the world had wronged her.
Hearing those words, Stardus raised her voice slightly, feigning surprise, and asked.
"You did all that hacking yourself? From where, exactly?"
[From where, you ask? Obviously, from the same house...]
The girl, who had been excitedly chattering until then, suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
Then, she whispered so quietly it was barely audible.
'...Huh? No, big brother. Isn't this much okay? No? ...Alright, hmph.'
After whispering inaudibly as if to someone, she suddenly shouted loudly again.
[...Stop talking nonsense and just fight me properly!]
Saying that, she clamped her mouth shut and focused on the battle.
'...Tch.'
Clicking her tongue inwardly, she dodged another attack and glanced behind her, seeing Egoistic watching them.
...She was almost there. What a shame.
Still, it didn't matter.
The rest of the story, she could get it out of her once they dragged her to the Association.
Then, she stopped her passive behavior of constantly dodging and began to summon strength back into her body.
Her momentum suddenly shifted.
And at the same time.
She lunged at Starbuster again. Ferociously.
[...Huh? Wait!]
End it quickly.
That was her only thought.
***
This world was nothing but despair.
A hellish world, where endless malice and everything that accelerated its destruction simmered like poison at its very foundation.
Humans tried to kill humans.
Monsters tried to kill humans.
Even gods tried to kill humans—such a horrific world.
...Which, of course, I was painstakingly preventing.
I was systematically reducing every possible scenario leading to ruin, one by one.
Of course, I don't know how long this will last.
Even meeting Stardus while causing terror and smiling like this, might not last much longer.
'...Well, it might be a bit early to be worrying about this already.'
For now, it was peaceful.
Countless citizens hadn't been slaughtered like ants, and Seoul hadn't been reduced to ruins, causing the fate of the Republic of Korea to decline.
".....Not bad."
I muttered.
Right. The world's peace was being maintained. All thanks to me, of course.
It was good that the world was peaceful.
But it was *too* peaceful, to the point where people now adored villains like me. That was the problem.
".....Not bad, not bad weather at all. For killing you, that is!"
"Hieeeek!"
Sitting cross-legged on the steel mesh, I brandished my gun and shouted at the person below me. Smiling.
The woman, trembling uncontrollably, cowered in a corner.
Right, her reaction was truly excellent, I liked it. In fact, the reason I was sitting on this grating was because she had the biggest reaction earlier. A reaction buffet, this is. Good.
Anyway, having forcibly trapped an unarmed civilian in the grating and threatening to kill her with a gun, all while smiling, I subtly glanced at the chat window. This should be enough to make people scared, angry, and curse me, right?
[Kyahahaha, Mangostick's finally acting like a villain for the first time in a while, lololol]
[If you wanna be trapped in that grating instead, hit like lolol]
[I wanna see Oppa Egoistic smiling sexily and threatening me with a gun in person too T_T So jealous T_T]
[When Mango does villainous things, it's kinda cute...heh. Is this gap moe?]
[I just got in a taxi, if I rush there, will you put me in the grating too?]
...Wrong. These people were insane.
Please, please, just one person, curse me.
Did the kids from my fan cafe lease this chat room? Is that it?
Thinking that, I turned my head again to watch the scene where Stardus and Starbuster were fighting.
Seo Eun was still pressing Stardus, and Stardus was desperately trying to avoid Starbuster.
...That's strange. Stardus can't even handle her with her current abilities? What's going on?
From the start, Eunwol and I expected Seo Eun's Starbuster to get trashed quickly, so we were waiting to rescue her, but it was surprisingly dragging on, which was a strange feeling. Was Stardus not feeling well today?
Anyway, if that's the case, it's even better. I should just continue with my bad deed project.
I aimed the gun at the still trembling woman and spoke, smiling.
"Alright! Ms. Jane Doe, I have a question for you."
"Hieeeek!"
"If you answer this correctly, I'll let you go. How about it, good, right? Say 'good' quickly!"
"Hieek! Good, good!"
"Yes, yes. Good. Here comes the question. What was the date of my very first terror attack?"
I said that, grinning.
Right. Bad Deed Project, Phase Two. Asking an unanswerable question. Tormenting and teasing a hostage who couldn't answer—a truly psychopathic villain's act.
Just as I was about to tease her for not knowing the answer, a small voice suddenly came from inside the grating.
"...April. April..... 17th."
She answered in a trembling voice.
And that date was.
Correct.
"...How the hell did she know that? Did she guess?"
My brain froze for a moment, and I turned my head to look at her. What kind of woman was she?
She was still trembling, meeting my gaze, then quickly bowing her head. On her cheeks, unlike before, there was a faint blush.
"....Hieek."
And somehow, her scream was less enthusiastic than before.
...Alright. Let's not look into it further. It's too unsettling.
"....Unfortunately, that's incorrect! So you can't leave. You'll have to remain trapped here. Hahahahaha!"
[??? Isn't it April 17th?]
[Yep, that's right. The wiki says 4/17 was the date of his first ship terror attack.]
[No, it's right, why's he gaslighting her lololol]
[Wait, how did that woman even know that in the first place???]
[F*ck, is she also part of the Mango Cult? lololol]
I gritted my teeth and ignored the chat window.
I don't know anything.
Ending the unsettling conversation with the hostage, I looked back at the scene where Stardus and Seo Eun were fighting.
And there.
[I! Am! His first comrade! I'm the one who did all the radio jamming and hacking from behind the scenes until now! I'm so unfairly frustrated, really!]
Seo Eun was spilling all the information to Stardus.
...Seo Eun, please.
"You did all that hacking yourself? From where, exactly?"
[From where, you ask? Obviously, from the same house...]
To Seo Eun, who was about to reveal even internal affairs, I hastily muted the broadcast and whispered to her through my connected earpiece.
"Hey! S-Starbuster, what are you doing, talking so much out there! Stop talking!"
Hearing me, Seo Eun stopped snapping at Stardus and whispered back through her connected earpiece.
"...Huh? No, big brother. Isn't this much okay?"
"No, it's not okay."
"It's not okay?... Alright, hmph."
Seo Eun answered in a slightly deflated voice.
I felt a little bad, but it couldn't be helped. Shin Haru was too perceptive. Some information control was necessary.
So, Seo Eun, as per my request, clamped her mouth shut and began to engage in combat.
In response, Stardus, having failed to extract more information, suddenly began pummeling Starbuster, as if her previous struggles had been a lie.
...I knew she'd do that.
"Eun... Moonlight Miko, Moonlight Miko, respond. I think it's about time we stepped in."
[Yes, big brother Dain. Understood!]
Hearing Eunwol's cheerful voice from the other end of the receiver, I slowly began to stretch my arms and prepare to step out.
Preparing to go rescue Seo Eun, who was about to get thrashed.
Ah, it's exhausting, truly exhausting.