CH 180

[Muahahaha! That’s right. Of course, I never thought you’d go down that easily, so I thought it was just a show, but Arielle was going crazy and I even thought about storming into Korea to get revenge for you all at once!]

“Oh my, chairman. Am I really such an easy person to kill? Hahaha! Your words alone are appreciated, but there’s no need to go that far. The media always exaggerates things anyway.”

[I guess you’re right. But, by the way, I saw news about you somewhere and my daughter was so surprised and crying and stuff. She seemed to want to see you…]

“Haha, Ariel? I should go see her later then.”

[Sure, come visit anytime. Lattice City is always open to you. Oh, and I heard that the meeting of the Cathedral or something like that is happening soon. You should come to see it then.]

-Muahahaha!

With Atlas’ hearty laugh, the call came to an end.

“Phew…”

After ending the call with Atlas, the ruler of the North Atlantic, I breathed a sigh of relief.

…Why would they come to Korea and seek revenge? Revenge for what?

From now on, I’ll designate Soobin as my hotline and have her receive my calls instead. Sigh.

But, ever since I heard that Arielle was worried about me, I couldn’t stop thinking about her.

Hmm… What if I try to recruit Ariel Ego Stream? If I do it really well, it might be possible? Of course, I’d need Atlas’ permission…

As I was thinking about that, something entered my mouth.

It was a yellow tangerine slice.

“Hmm?”

Without thinking, I opened my mouth and it went inside. It was sour and tasty when I chewed on it.

When I looked down, I saw Seo Jayoung lying on the bed reading a comic book, eating a tangerine with one hand. She was probably giving me one while eating for herself.

She fiddled with the tangerine with her small hand, peeling it and putting one piece after another into my mouth. Her hoodie sleeves were too big, so her hands looked even smaller.

As I chewed on the tangerine that had entered my mouth, I thought to myself.

…But wait, when did this tangerine come in?

“Hey, how long have you been here?”

“…I came in while you were on the phone. Didn’t even notice, huh?”

Seo Ja-young said, munching on an orange.

…She’s really standing out in a strange way.

“Okay, let’s go now.”

“Huh? I just got here…”

“We need to eat breakfast.”

“But my breakfast is oranges… ugh…”

I lifted Seo Ja-young up with my telekinesis and took her outside.

She used to toss and turn at first, but now she’s lying on her back in mid-air reading a comic book.

…She’s going to ruin her eyesight like that.

Anyway, I went out into the living room like that.

My body is much better now, so I can use my powers as much as I want without any problems. Probably. And sometimes I have to use them little by little to keep my senses sharp.

…Of course, for the time being, everyone, led by Soobin, has told me not to go outside and cause trouble or strain myself, but I think this much should be okay.

“Hmm…”

“When did you get here?”

“I came in while you were on the phone. Didn’t even notice, huh?”

Seo Jayoung spoke with a mandarin in her mouth.

“…She’s a strange one.”

“Okay, let’s go.”

“Huh? I just got here…”

“You need to eat breakfast.”

“My breakfast is mandarins… ugh…”

I grabbed Seo Jayoung by the arm and pulled her outside. She had been lying on the ground, reading a comic book. She used to toss and turn, but now she was lying upside down in mid-air. She’ll ruin her eyesight like that.

Anyway, we walked out to the living room.

I’m much better now, and I can use my powers without any problems. At least, I hope so. And I need to use them a little bit every now and then, so I don’t lose my touch.

Of course, Su-bin and the others have told me not to go outside and cause any trouble or strain myself for a while… but I think this should be okay.

“Mmm…”

As I entered the living room, I saw Seo-eun sleeping on the couch, with Eunwol sleeping on her shoulder.

“Da-in, don’t ride anything strange… okay?”

…What kind of dream is she having?

After I put Seo Jayoung on the ground and sat down next to her, Seo-eun finally opened her eyes and sat up.

“Da-in… Did you sleep well?”

“Mmm…”

“Yeah…”

Seo-eun rubbed her eyes and woke up, and Eunwol woke up with her.

Hmmm….

As Seo-eun stretched, I turned on the TV, and the news was reporting on the usual mundane events.

…Yeah, it looks like it’s going to be a peaceful day for Korea today.

But tomorrow, all hell will break loose.

Finally, tomorrow is the day the main event starts.

That mysterious and massive terror attack.

“Umm…?”

I shook my head, still lost in thought, while looking at Seo-eun dozing off.

…Let’s just have breakfast and think for now.

Is Soobin in the kitchen?

I thought to myself as I got up from my seat.

That’s how I spent a peaceful day.

The next day, when I woke up from my sleep, the incident had finally broken out.

***

[Breaking news, everyone! The Korea International Trade Center has been occupied by an unknown villain in the early hours of the morning! The association is currently blocking the entrance of civilians around the area. Oh… as you can see, the condition of the building is not good!]

The long building was situated horizontally, and the street that was usually filled with people was now deserted, as if it had never been there.

And at the center of it all was the building.

It used to be an ordinary building placed horizontally, but not anymore.

That mysterious and massive terror.

“Um…?”

As I was pondering such thoughts, I still couldn’t focus

and shook my head back and forth, looking at Seo-eun who was dozing off.

I changed my mind for a moment.

…Let’s have breakfast and think about it for now.

I wonder if Soobin is in the kitchen.

As I got up from my seat, I thought that way.

That’s how I spent a peaceful day.

The next day, when I woke up from sleep.

The incident had finally broken out.

[Breaking news! The Korea Trade Center has been occupied by a

suspected villain overnight! The association is currently

restricting access to civilians around the area. Ah…

As you can see, the current state of the building is not good!]

A long, horizontal building stood tall.

The streets around the place, usually crowded with people, were suddenly empty.

And in the center of it all, the building stood.

It was just a normal, long, horizontal building during regular times.

But now, the situation is completely different.

Clannnnk-

A strange wail emanated from around the building.

The once sparkling and shiny building, reflecting the glass, had lost its original appearance, dyed in a shrinking darkness.

From the left to the right of the building, everything was covered in sticky and murky darkness.

And like a giant adult, those sticky darknesses adorned the spires and roofs of the building, making it look like a dark castle. In reality, it was a one-story building with a spacious basement, but at least at a glance, it looked like a medieval castle.

Yeah.

The complex shopping mall in the center of Seoul had turned into a dark castle of a devil overnight.

“Wow… Da-in, what is this?”

Seo-eun asked me, watching the scene on TV.

And to her, I gave a short answer.

“That’s a devil’s castle.”

“…A devil’s castle?”

Yes, a devil’s castle.

Amidst the common darkness that has engulfed this place, the association has announced that they are pouring all their efforts into understanding the situation. It is presumed to be a terrorist attack caused by an S-class villain or something greater…

I clicked my tongue as I watched it. Haa, it looks like it’s starting just like in the original story since I didn’t stop it beforehand.

The main terror attack of this quarter, also known as the Demon Castle Incident.

I quietly observed the situation that had befallen us, with the area around the place shrouded in a heavy aura, as if it were evening even though it was still daylight, with only black energy spreading ominously around the perimeter.

Perhaps the one responsible for this incident, the demon ability user who caused it all, was sitting inside.

Thinking about him, I recalled the contents of the original story once again.

…The Demon Castle terror attack.

A villain named Demon completely took over a complex shopping mall in Seoul and caused a terrorist attack.

More specifically, the villain used the place as a base to create black creatures that resembled demons using their own abilities, and aimed to conquer Seoul with them. From now on, similar demon-like creatures will start to awaken from the black substances inside that place.

After maturing for a while, they will all emerge and attack Seoul together. Of course, there is still some time left until that happens…

The characteristic of this terrorist incident is that the culprit is different from other villains before, as he is someone who has a bit of a twisted mind. Of course, it’s a minus point that he advertised the terrorism loudly in the neighborhood instead of doing it quietly from behind, but he believes in his abilities. As he claimed, he demonstrated his ability to stop anyone in Stardus, regardless of their identity.

But anyway, such talk is unnecessary.

What’s important is this:

“Stardus produced another trashy work.”

To catch the culprit, we have no choice but to go into the innermost part of the demon’s underground. The culprit is located right in the innermost part.

However, did the culprit who caused this terrorism make the path to catch him easy? Of course not, he laid out all the devil creatures he created everywhere, making the path like a maze, with traps set up as well.

In other words, if we were to compare it to a game, it could be said that this place is like a huge dungeon. The path to get there is ridiculously difficult.

Furthermore, this is also the first legion-type villain to appear since before the Wolgwanggyo. To fight against this villain, you have to fight against many of them. There are so many monsters made of sticky darkness inside, wandering around. Each monster is strong, and there are many of them. It’s a setting that is troublesome in many ways.

So, at first, I tried to take care of the villain who caused this before this incident even happened. Stardus had to roll around a lot because of this incident in the original story. The original Stardus was also weak.

However, after I fought Stardus directly in the robot suit the last time, my thoughts changed.

…Although looking at Stardus now, it seems possible, since her abilities have become much stronger?

Of course, it’s good for her to experience this kind of terror in terms of her ability improvement. As the protagonist of a superhero comic, she becomes stronger as she faces adversity. And from what I saw… I think it’s possible enough with the current Stardus.

So I just let it go.

Eventually, the terror happened as planned.

While the gloomy devilish appearance was on the screen, Seo-eun, who was watching that eerie sight, asked me as if she was worried.

“Da-in, do we have anything to do? It looks really dangerous in there…”

“No. There’s nothing we can do. We just have to trust Stardus.”

To Seo-eun’s puzzled gaze, I replied like that.

I trust our Stardus. She has become strong enough now to defeat that level of threat.

…Right?

“….”

But why do I keep feeling so worried?

***

[Breaking news! Hero Stardus has entered the Blackened Comprehensive Trade Center, also known as ‘Demon Castle’! The association has reported that she entered alone without any companions…]

“Ugh…”

“Da-in, why are you shaking your legs like that?”

Several hours later, I sat on the sofa, anxiously tapping my feet as I listened to the news anchor’s report.

…No, the more I think about it, the more anxious I become. Can our fragile Stardus handle it inside there? She went through a lot of suffering in the original story. Did I make the wrong decision?

I’m so uneasy, too uneasy.

As I contemplated for a while, I made up my mind and stood up, clenching my fist.

“That’s right. I can’t just sit here. I have to go in there too.”

“What did you say? Are you crazy, Da-in?”

Don’t stop me.