CH 185

The demon castle’s basement.

There, Stardus continued catching the monsters.

“Huff…Huff…“

A dim-lighted room.

Creepily sticky black fluid surrounded the space, where damp moisture weighed on the air.

Stardus, fighting another monster, continued going down after being wounded. She went underground.

It’s like a day-to-day life flying nonstop toward the fire.

“Ugh…”

Due to excessive fighting, her body is already sore from place to place.

But she didn’t care, and continued to step down as her intuition led her.

It’s also because her intuition, the ‘super-sense’, warned her that she had to go underground right now.

After all, you cannot protect anything properly, right?

“…..”

It was also because of a certain voice that came to her ears.

Slowly, as she came down deeper into the ground, the light faded and the darkness began to thicken.

There, filled with black fluid, leaving no side to the wall. Some voices were beginning to echo in her head.

Like, a devil’s whispers.

You lost your mom, lost your dad. Is it really the world’s fault that your parents aren’t here? Or is it your fault?

No matter how hard you struggle alone, do you think this world will change? You can’t do anything. Who will understand you?

“Shut up…”

Stardus frowned and continued to move her steps.

…Apparently, it’s a kind of curse in this space, probably created by the villain who started all of this.

And that Stardus speculation was exactly right.

A device that makes an intruder feel extremely negative, cursing themselves. The villain who created this devil castle, the ability that Demonz hung to prevent intruders from entering the sealed place.

Therefore, the voice ringing in Stardus’ head never stopped. To kick her out.

Stardus, who noticed this somehow, clenched her teeth and tried to move forward, ignoring the rising thoughts, but… 

You’ll end up ruining everyone. Think about it… Egostic. You ended up ruining him too, didn’t you?

Who will like you till the end? How long will the public like you? They can always turn to your actions. Egostic, will he keep liking you? 

Give it up anyway. There’s no one who can recognize you just because you’re doing this.

“….”

So the curse here, the bad memories buried inside Stardus, and the negative thoughts she felt recently, were all drawn in. 

Constantly breaking through the dark thoughts that were asleep in her, she pushed them in front of her.

Give it up, get out of here now. If we move any further, no one will know.

“…Ha.”

However, there was one thing that this curse overlooked.

It’s the fact that Stardus’ mentality is not the same as others.

So that this curse, created to drive out the intruder, is counterproductive.

“….I know.”

Stardus muttered, in spite of herself.

But what do you want me to do. I know it all, but I’m just ignoring it on purpose. What does it matter whether this action is meaningless or the public turns their backs on it.

And well, even if Egostic now hates me, it doesn’t matter.

…Maybe.

“Gosh.”

At the negative thoughts kept rising, she made fun of her steps faster, unknowingly frowning.

Yes. Far from slowing down, she went down faster, confronted new monsters and fought back with her fists.

Okay.

There are two kinds of people in the world.

With a person who loses all motivation and lies down the moment she is absorbed by negative emotions.

A person who works harder to drive away the moment he or she is immersed in negative emotions.

And, Stardus was clearly the latter.

Creeeeeeeeeek!

“Shut up.”

Bang-.

Appearing somewhere underground, she knocked down another black monster resembling Gargoyle, and went inside in a state of panic.

Toughly enduring, the curse in her ear continues to gnaw away at her mind.

She came running like that.

In the end, she was able to reach the big door of the deepest floor.

“…..”

A distinct huge door, certain to have occurred after the terror.

She couldn’t even hear the voice anymore.

She was sure that there would be a villain in here who opened all this, and soon she opened the door.

Creak-. Beyond the squeaky open door, there was a large room.

And embedded in the middle of the room, something in the shape of a huge black heart, many times larger than her.

Thump- Thump-

Stardus’ eyes were naturally frowned at the strange sight, which was wriggling as if it were moving alive.

Soon she made a judgment. Oh, I don’t know what it is. This has to do with the villain.

Having finished thinking so, she did not hesitate.

“Well…”

She inhaled, and raised her fist. And a shiny fist at the same time.

It was a trick she gained, beating up countless monsters down here. Freely, put this strange light-emitting force in your fist.

Like that, she raised her fist and stretched it straight out toward the black heart.

BOOOOOOOOOOOM-

“Ugh…”

As it exploded, a great amount of darkness poured out of it.

Heavy black smoke, pouring quickly as if filling the room.

In the room where all the light was lost in such an instant, a roar was heard.

[ARRGGGHHHHHH—!]

At the same time, the darkness striked up a whirlwind.

So, with the sound of something being smashed up above, the spirit of the demon king released from the seal smashed all the way up to the earth.

Devil has been released. You’ll only have terrible pain now.

“Cough, cough.“

Stardus, who had been looking up, left behind from a dusty bottom, also began to fly along with it toward the ground in a hurry.

She came back up like that.

It was her who had been in charge of fresh air for a long time away from the underground, which had only been sealed and dark, but without time, she had to deal with the disaster that appeared before her eyes.

[Who are you to dare waking me up——!!!!!!]

It appeared under the night sky where the moonlight subtly lit below.

Darker than the night sky, it soon roared on the ground, looking as if it were wearing a full-length armor and a cape, with a black figure that seemed to be sucked in.

And at the same time, the one who failed to become the king of the devil, turning his head to a head with two giant horns with a giggle.

Soon it saw Stardus in front of it, and shouted so loudly that the earth would ring.

[Are you the one who woke this body up?——!!!]

[I’ll send you to hell–!]

“Ugh…”

A strong wind soon blew at the same time.

Instinctively covering herself, she leaned back, and at the same time, with a red spear, he rushed towards her with its heavy body.

Living that feels instinctive, the devil’s whisper that erodes in his head again.

Even in the situation where ordinary people would lose their minds, she raised her head and confronted it, which seemed to embody its destruction.

…I wonder where such things come from in this small country in Korea.

“Ugh!”

As soon as Stardus’ fist shone, the battle began.

She fought with all her might.

Although her body was exhausted by the constant fighting, and her mind was worn out, she did not give in.

However, despite it being so.

The opponent was too strong. 

She continued to be pushed back, the devil who was pressing her by endlessly swinging his red spear.

Should I give up here?

No.

Stardus clenched her teeth.

There are things that have been accumulated so far, and there are things that have been lost.

She didn’t run all this time to give up everything here.

With that wish, she swung her fist with all her might.

A light brighter than the stars, a light to drive out the darkness, flashed at her fingertips.

At the moment of the night, to the point of brightening.

Flash-

[ARRRGGGGHHHHHHH——!!!]

The man screamed for the firstime as he bounced far away.

The devil fell down against the wall.

It was the guy who hit and stretched out so well, but that didn’t mean Stardus was normal either.

“Cough…“

Between the smashed buildings.

Stardus, who was sitting in the middle of it, was halfway down due to the side effect of excessive use of his ability.

“Haa… Haa…”

Her barely holding onto her mind, without the strength to move her body.

She did her best. 

Even with a body that was already devastated, he used an attack that was this powerful.

But.

It wasn’t enough.

“Ugh…”

Stardus, who was looking ahead with her hard-to-open eyes and her back leaning on one side of the collapsed wall, smiled at the scene in front of her.

…The demon king, who thought he had knocked him down, was getting up and approaching him. With a red spear, dragging it to the ground.

Haha. Even though I put everything into it, that’s it.

Stardus, who was thinking about it while falling down, felt a sense of disbelief in this situation.

…yes. In fact, it’s not the first time this has happened.

With death on the horizon, Stardus suddenly realized something.

She’s always had a crisis. There were times when my life was threatened, I was frustrated because I met an enemy I couldn’t handle, and there was a moment when I gave up on everything.

But curiously, every time, someone showed up for her. Someone who blocked his life, stepped up when he was frustrated, and cheered for him when he gave up.

…However, can we still say that it is the same as then. I’ve already hurt someone badly, and I’ve knocked him down again. Will he show up again this time?

Of course, it won’t come.

She thought that without realizing it.

The moment she quietly watched the enemy approaching her with such a bitter smile.

Thump-. 

In front of her eyes.

As if, as if it was an obvious thing.

Someone, as natural as ever, fell from the sky.

“Hmm…”

His appearance suddenly appeared very naturally in front of her eye, landing on the ground, humming, and naturally turning his arms and starting to stretch.

Wearing a black hat and a black cloak, covering his face with a mask, his smile was more familiar to her than anyone else.

“Okay… Oh, hello, Stardus. We met again since the last time. Oh, but this time I’m Stardus’ side!”

Looking back at him, who was smiling.

As if nothing had happened, he smiled brightly and spoke to himself as if nothing had happened here, as if nothing had happened, and Stardus laughed unconsciously.

“Haha…”

“Anyway, you’ve worked hard, take a break from now. Does it make sense for my archenemy to fall to another villain, not me? I’ll take care of the rest.”

As always, he smiled at her, saying nonsense, and then raises his weapon against the stopped devil with his back turned.

Soon after, the camera he brought turned on.

“Ta-da! Hello, I’m Egostic!”

Looking at the back of him, smiling brightly at the camera, walking toward the devil with his sword out, flying his cape.

Stardus smiled unconsciously

Quietly, I thought to myself.

Egostic is a villain. This is a clear fact that everyone knows and is recognized by the association.

All right.

But. Seriously, but.

If you keep being like this,

How can I hate you?

“How… I could.”

Stardus looked at the back of Egostic moving forward.

Unconsciously, she whispered.