CH 178

An empty space.

A bright white light that fills it.

A voice echoing from that strange place.

Kid… Only you can…

Please.

Please… save this world.

…I’m sorry.

And with a faintly heard final word, the view changed again.

A sky stained red.

Desolate streets.

Collapsed buildings.

“…Da-in! Wake up! Hurry, please help!”

“I can’t… I can’t do anything… I don’t… have the strength…”

And the sounds coming from somewhere.

And.

‘Cough… I’m sorry…’

‘… Third line… Please… even without me… please…’

Whimpering and sobbing.

‘Are you… dying? Sob… Sob…’

‘……’

‘I’m sorry…’

‘I can’t… give up… I can’t let you go…’

Tearing sounds from all around, as if piercing my ears.

A sound of something screaming, accompanied by a brightening sky and a darkening surrounding.

And then.

Screeeeacccccch.

“Sob! Sob sob.“

And with that tearing sound, I woke up from my dream.

The first thing I felt was my body, drenched in sweat.

Damn it, another nightmare.

As I held onto my throbbing head, a loud voice came from somewhere.

“Da-in!”

“Ugh.”

Suddenly feeling weight beside me.

I woke up while grabbing my head tightly.

“Haa… ha. Da-in, Da-in, you finally woke up.”

On the opposite side, I saw Ha-yul smiling while putting her hand on my stomach.

“Sob… Da-in…”

“Oh dear, Seo-eun, it’s okay now that Da-in’s awake. Why are you crying again?”

“Sob, if I had made it a little better, this wouldn’t have happened…”

Seo-eun suddenly burst into tears. After everyone gathered to hear the news of my awakening, the room became lively again.

After confirming that I had woken up, everyone was relieved. After calming down and soothing Seo-eun, I realized that my body was fine except for being a little hungry.

I was shocked to hear from Soobin that it had been five days since I fainted.

“What? It’s been five days already?”

“Yes. Do you know how worried everyone was, Da-in?”

With slightly reddened eyes, Soobin explained the events of the past few days with an unusually loud voice.

“While I was fiercely fighting Stardus, she worriedly watched me fight without any special instructions from me. Then, in an unexpected moment, I suddenly took Stardus’ finishing move and was completely destroyed, so she immediately rushed over in shock.

Eun-wol flew at the speed of light and barely saved me, otherwise it would have been a big problem,” Soobin explained. “I came here unconscious, covered in blood, with broken bones and internal injuries. Ha-yul worked hard to heal me.”

“But the problem is that I couldn’t get up again after that treatment. They all watched over me with worried eyes,” she said.

“Da-in, from now on, you can’t go anywhere alone. If you’re going somewhere, go with us. Got it?” Seo-eun said, holding onto me with swollen eyes.

And surprisingly, Seojayoung, who was sitting next to me, also spoke up.

“Yeah… Seo-eun is right. You’re using your body too recklessly.”

She poked my arm with her finger and said that. Choi Sehee, who was sitting next to her, nodded her head with a worried look on her face.

So I had to make a promise in the hospital not to use my body recklessly from now on. It feels like I’ve made this promise several times already…

Anyway, after resting for a while and eating porridge, I sent everyone away and recovered my strength. Then I asked Soobin how she reacted to my surprise attack. Even though I ended up getting beaten pretty badly in the end, I fought Stardus fairly, so maybe there will be a positive reaction…?

So I asked Soobin in a sneaky way. Her response to my question was shocking.

“…What? Egostic death theory?”

I couldn’t hide my bewildered expression and asked, “No, why would such a crappy theory…”

In response to my reaction, Seo-eun sitting next to me widened her eyes and said while tapping her phone, “Of course, Da-in. Your injury was caught on camera at the broadcasting station. Don’t you think everyone would think that way? Look.”

Seo-eun showed me her phone screen in front of me as she spoke. There was an article there.

[A-class Villain Egostic Injured… Ego Stream Has No Comment. Suspicions of Death Among Netizens…]

Underneath the sensational title was a photo.

Although the image quality was a bit poor because it was taken from a distance, my appearance and my bloody state were very clear.

“There’s a commotion now, Da-in. People are thinking that you’re dead.”

“Gosh… Would I die that easily? Why are they thinking like that?”

“They really thought you were about to die this time! Ugh… Anyway, it’s all over the news.”

“Is that so?”

So Seo-eun showed me a few other things as well. For example, the trend of “Egostic death” was on the rise in real-time, and my video was still holding the top spot in the domestic YouTube real-time popular video rankings along with Star Das and Robotan. I couldn’t believe it.

This is a big problem.

I was shocked to see that. Well, even if villains are terrorizing, they could get hurt. It’s a logical leap to say that they could die because of that. Even if villains are seriously injured, they usually escape and reappear, neatly healed. At least that’s how it works in the hero stories I’ve seen.

Anyway, after finding my phone, I quickly searched for public opinion. The news of Egostic’s death was circulating quite a bit, and even Egostic fan cafe was on fire.

And I took this issue quite seriously.

…Did the villain die because he was playing around with his alt account and got beaten up? That’s such an image destroyer…

More importantly, if people start to believe that I died, new villains could emerge, claiming to be the second Egostic. This villain battle is all about gaining recognition. It’s hard to attract attention, but when rumors spread that I’m dead, it’s the perfect opportunity to provoke. I can’t know what’s happening during my absence. Especially considering that I am the most influential villain in South Korea.

…And of course, I don’t think it’s true, but if Stardus believes it, it could be problematic. Until she becomes strong enough, she should consider me her enemy, her goal to become stronger. But what would happen if I suddenly died?

Thus, there was suspicion of the death of South Korea’s top villain.

While watching Korean citizens who were showing symptoms, I made a decision.

“No, we can’t just let this go. Let’s broadcast it right now.”

“Broadcast? Now?”

“Yes, just a simple broadcast letting people know I’m still alive. It’s too chaotic not to.”

I made a decision to quickly end this sudden controversy.

No, this event wasn’t anything special. It was just a preview of what’s to come in the main event that happened next. Why did this chaos happen?

Of course, I convinced Soobin, who was glaring at me skeptically due to my condition, that it was just a sitting talk show before turning on the camera and starting the broadcast.

That’s enough joking around.

I’m perfectly fine, guys.

***

After the first report of Egostic’s death controversy, Korea was literally burning due to the suspicion of one villain’s death.

Community groups were facing off against each other in Egostic fan café Mango Union and the Stardust fan cafe, and it was a complete mess.

Experts warned that if Egostic’s death was true, other villains who had been suppressed could rampage, and overseas villains could invade Korea, causing the public to take this matter seriously. There was even concern about what would happen if the leaderless Ego Stream went on a rampage.

And at that moment when something seemed like it would explode.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Egostic’s broadcast came on.

[Hello everyone, this is Egostic!]

A broadcast that turned on so suddenly.

On the screen, Egostic looked perfectly fine, sitting calmly in his chair and speaking.

He said something about trying to play a prank and failing, and then promised to win without any more incidents in the future.

And with those words, the broadcast just ended, with a final statement: “The terror will continue!”

A broadcast that lasted only a few minutes, turning on and turning off abruptly.

However, its impact was tremendous.

[Breaking News: Egostic is alive and well.]

[Egostic’s death is revealed to be a false rumor.]

[Egostic: “I will continue to work harder on terrorism.” Netizens can be relieved.]

Within minutes of the end of the broadcast, countless articles began to pour in.

And just like that, within a few hours, Egostic death rumor incident ended cleanly as a happening.

“If you never once thought that Egostic would die, then you’re a fucking idiot Hahahahaha”

Yeah, no way our Mangostick would fall so easily HahahahahaoHahahahahaol

If you didn’t even have a doubt, then you’re a fucking idiot HahahahahaoHahahahahaol

[3884 likes]

=[Comments]=

[Super like Hahahahahaol]

[Look at the speed the likes are going up, fucking hell HahahahahaoHahahahaha If Mangostick was really dead until yesterday, what the fuck? Is it true? My heart feels empty…]

ㄴ [Ah Hahahahaha That was just something Hahahahaha]

[Honestly, if you didn’t feel relieved after watching this broadcast, super like Hahahahaha ]

ㄴ [Seriously Hahahahaha]

ㄴ [I smiled as soon as I saw Mango Stick’s face Hahahahaha]

ㄴ [If there’s no Mango Stick, life is not worth living Hahahahaha… Half of the meaning of life disappears]

[What the fuck is the point of being happy that the villain is dead or alive HahahahahaoHahahahaha]

ㄴ [? This incident is a case where an A-class hero caused trouble for an S-class hero. What the fuck are you talking about?]

ㄴ [Isn’t this guy from the fucking loser cafe?]

ㄴ [Fuck!!!!!!! This is what faith is!!!]

***

At that time, as if to say when did Korea go crazy again, stability was quickly restored.

“….Ah.”

In a dark room, sitting alone on a bed, Shin Haru unknowingly dropped her phone while reading a news article.

“…Thank goodness.”

“Thank goodness, thank goodness…” she murmured with a slightly moist voice.

Although it was something unimaginable for her to feel relieved that a villain was still alive, she couldn’t think about it right now.

…It’s fortunate that he didn’t fall.

She only had that thought in her mind.