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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: A Familiar Foe, Enhanced
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The city was once again in turmoil.
Following the villain who rained down bombs like chicken feed from the sky, and then the battle between a giant robot and a hero—
And as if the course wasn't over yet, a new villain appeared.
It was a knight in black armor, enveloped in electricity.
It was the Death Knight.
"...."
The Death Knight's appearance was identical to when Stardust had encountered him before.
A jet-black helmet resting on his head. Black armor covering his body, and a tattered cape behind him.
And in one hand, resting on the ground, a greatsword as tall as a man.
Up to this point, he was the same as before, but the biggest difference was that.
His entire body was crackling with visible electricity.
"Hahahaha!!! Power courses through my veins!!!!"
And that created a significant difference compared to last time.
The Death Knight swung his colossal sword.
As he raised the massive greatsword, its surface crackling with electricity just like his body, towards the sky—
Rumble—.
KABOOOM.
".....Haa."
Lightning began to strike down from the sky.
Stardust, flying through the air, dodged them.
"Hahaha!!!! How's that!!!!!?"
"Old Man Death! It's about time you attacked!"
"Alright. Now, I'll get serious!"
The Death Knight, who had been standing still, merely swinging his sword, began to move his body in earnest at Electra's words, as she sweated profusely behind him, supplying him with electricity.
"Hmph!"
Seeing the Death Knight charge at her, wielding his massive greatsword, Stardust thought glumly.
…I just wanted to see Egostic, why do things keep spiraling like this today?
Swallowing a sigh, Stardust clenched her fist.
Right. First, defeat them all, then think.
***
"Who's winning right now??"
"Looks pretty even lol"
"Death Knight is seriously strong. He's even stronger now that he's got electricity around him, wow."
"The way electricity sparks every time he swings his sword is so cool, lmao."
"Wow, but Stardust looked really strong last time, how is she holding up?"
"How's she holding up? It's practically Death Knight + Electra, a 2-on-1 fight against Stardust, lol."
"Oh, now that I look, Electra is shooting electricity from behind him, lmao."
"I can't tell if I'm watching the news or a movie, it's so flashy, lmao."
"Haa…."
"Hahahaha!!! Is that all!!! Show me more!!!!"
Watching the Death Knight swing his sword as if dancing, Stardust admitted it.
He was strong. Much stronger than last time.
In fact, compared to her last fight with the Death Knight, Stardust herself had grown significantly stronger. In the interim, she had faced the Moonlight Maiden and the Moon Monster, evolving her abilities considerably.
This meant that the Death Knight was fighting her on equal terms, even with her enhanced power.
"..."
Stardust pondered as she watched the Death Knight unleash electricity and swing his greatsword.
…It's a problem that he constantly emits electric shocks during his attacks, creating multi-directional pressure that makes defense difficult, but the bigger problem is offense.
The Death Knight's entire body. Or perhaps his very essence? Anyway, currents flowed through them too, making it quite troublesome to attack. It was like trying to hit a hedgehog covered in thorns; dealing with him wasn't easy. Attacking him would also cause her harm.
"Come on!!! Don't run away like a coward, come at me!!!!"
Lightning bolts surged towards her with every swing of his sword.
Dodging them, Stardust racked her brain.
…Her stamina was already a bit depleted from defeating that mechanical device, the Starbreaker.
And now the Death Knight had appeared, even stronger than before, putting her in a rather difficult situation.
The Death Knight's already powerful attacks were now enhanced with flowing electricity, and he could even launch long-range attacks by swinging his sword to summon lightning, making it difficult for her to create distance and recover her stamina.
Moreover, as mentioned, the currents flowing through his body made it quite tricky for her to attack.
This meant the battle would inevitably drag on. Even if she wouldn't lose, it would take a considerable amount of time to defeat him.
And for Stardust, who desperately wanted to confront Egostic and confirm if he was the same person she'd seen on the beach earlier, this was the worst possible outcome.
"....Haa."
She turned her head to look, and Egostic was floating far away on one side, filming the scene with a camera. He was too far to see clearly.
In short, the current situation was turning out very unfavorably for her.
"Hahahaha! Stardust, you're nothing before this evolved power!!!!"
The Death Knight continued to swing his sword, bringing down lightning.
Yes, that lightning. The electricity was the problem. The biggest difference between the old Death Knight and the current one.
If he didn't have this electric ability like last time, she could have defeated him already…
As she thought this, something suddenly clicked in her mind.
…If the electricity surrounding his armor and greatsword was the problem, then couldn't she just get rid of it?
With that sudden realization, she flew through the air, carefully observing the Death Knight.
…Right. From afar, something made of electricity was being shot towards his back. That must be what was supplying him with electricity all this time.
Then, if she dealt with the one supplying the current, wouldn't all of this end?
Having made that decision, Stardust shifted her gaze from the Death Knight to another spot.
Specifically, to where the current was being supplied, faintly connected to the Death Knight's back like a charging cable.
"....There."
After muttering briefly, she pushed off from the air and plummeted vertically downwards.
To be precise, towards the source supplying electricity to the Death Knight.
"Hey!!! Where are you going!!!!"
Ignoring the Death Knight who was swinging his sword and rushing towards her from below, she descended even faster from the air, heading straight for—
"No, what?!"
—Electra, who was sweating profusely beside a building on the other side, supplying current to the Death Knight.
Seeing Stardust descending rapidly towards her, Electra's expression was clearly flustered. Seeing Stardust rushing down like an arrow, she hurriedly spread an electric force field around her body and spoke to Stardust.
"Hey, why are you suddenly messing with me?!"
Electra cried out, as if wronged, quickly cut off the current supply to the Death Knight, and fought back against Stardust by shooting electricity in all directions.
But that wasn't a big problem for Stardust, who had already successfully approached within attack range.
"....Ack."
In the end, the complacent Electra was easily knocked out by Stardust.
"No!!! What a cowardly person! Fight fair and square!!!!"
The Death Knight, who rushed over belatedly, swinging his sword, was no longer a major threat as he had already lost his electric abilities.
"Aargh!!!"
Stardust, squeezing out her last bit of strength, finally took down the Death Knight as well.
Thus, she had defeated everyone and stood alone.
"Phew…."
She felt like she was about to collapse.
That was her immediate impression.
This was her first time facing three villains consecutively.
Her stamina had drained much faster than expected; it was hard to even move her body.
In other words, if another villain popped up in this situation, it would be extremely difficult for her to handle.
"..."
With that thought, Stardust turned her head and looked around. Having already experienced such an unfair ambush once, she naturally became wary.
Fortunately, it didn't seem like another villain was going to appear.
That meant.
After judging that the situation was more or less resolved, Stardust looked up.
And there.
-Clap clap clap clap clap clap.
Egostic was seen clapping from high in the sky, looking down at her.
…Finally, huh.
Stardust, Shin Haru, flew up into the sky with a slightly stiff expression.
Yes, she would finally see him now.
Shin Haru quickly ran through the situation in her mind.
She was certain that she had been with a man presumed to be Egostic on the beach.
And then, Egostic appeared in this city, far from that beach, while she was with that man.
This meant that since one person couldn't be in two different places simultaneously, one of them wasn't Egostic.
And she personally suspected that the one in front of her was a fake created by some method, not the real Egostic.
Because she instinctively felt almost certain that Dain, the man she saw on the beach, was Egostic.
Ultimately, if the Egostic floating there was proven to be a fake, then it would confirm that Dain was Egostic.
And whether the person floating in the air was the real Egostic could be determined simply by meeting face-to-face and talking.
Because she was an Egostic expert, of course.
With that firm resolve, Shin Haru ascended to the sky where Egostic was, and what she saw was—
"Long time no see, Stardust! You've gotten considerably stronger since last time. That's amazing!"
It was Egostic, smiling nonchalantly and clapping for her.
'…Huh?'
And at the sight of Egostic, Shin Haru's mind went blank for a moment.
…He looks like the real Egostic, though?
***
Barely, safe.
Looking at Stardust, who was staring at me in apparent confusion, I let out a sigh of relief inwardly.
…While Death Knight and Electra bought me time, I barely managed to rush here and secretly swap places with Eunwol's illusion.
Of course, I teleported in the meantime, but this much is fine. Aside from my whole body aching…
"…No. Wait, what is this?"
Seeing Stardust clutching her head in confusion as she looked at me, I just smiled as if I knew nothing.
"Hmm. Still, it seems it wasn't easy for you, was it? Haha! You must have fought for a long time, your head must be hurting!"
"...."
I felt a twinge of guilt inwardly, but I kept my smile as Stardust clutched her head and glared at me accusingly.
And then, after glaring at me slightly, she—
Sighed, then spoke to me.
"No, haaa…."
"What's wrong?"
"....Hey."
"Yes?"
Suddenly dropping her informal speech with me, she then asked me directly.
"That, that was you, wasn't it?"
"…Huh?"
"The one I was with earlier, wasn't that you?"
"Cough. What in the world are you talking about? Did you have a dream?"
The Egostic Secret Art:
Playing Dumb.
I tilted my head as if I had no idea what she was talking about. As if I'd just heard the most outlandish thing in the world, feigning utter innocence. I know nothing… I know nothing…
At the same time, I checked the broadcast. Right, just in case, I'd muted it a long time ago. Which meant I could go completely off the rails.
"…No, earlier at the beach…"
To her pressing me, I, on the contrary, shouted brazenly. Everything's about momentum, momentum.
"Stardust. Cough. What in the world are you talking about? You're not even trying to fight your arch-nemesis, whom you haven't seen in months, but instead, you're spouting such strange, cough, nonsense. Is this how a hero should behave!"
"No…"
"What? Is this how a hero should behave? Cough, tell me! Cough."
I rode the momentum and shouted like that.
Just go wild, go wild. Go completely off the rails. Don't let her get a word in edgewise.
But why am I coughing so much? At such an important moment, tch.
At my sudden, thoughtless outburst, Stardust's expression hardened.
"Hey…"
"Cough. What?"
"You…"
She spoke, looking at the lower part of my face.
What's wrong with her? Is something on my face?
So I brought my hand to my face.
Something was there, and I looked.
"....Blood?"
A trickle of blood was flowing from the corner of my mouth down my chin.
…No, seriously. Why at this exact moment?
'…You've got to be kidding me.'