-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Egoistic's Family
-----------------------------------------------------------------
How long had it been since the last terror attack? Yet, Egoistic had already unleashed a new one.
Coming after the previous incident, which had driven public interest in him to an all-time high, this attack was more than enough to capture everyone's attention.
Like the last time, this attack was also carried out by Egoistic alongside a member of Ego-Stream, the villain organization he had founded.
Stardus, who had practically become his dedicated opponent, was currently facing off against a young girl piloting a suit that resembled mobile power armor.
The battle unfolded amidst people murmuring, wondering where Egoistic kept finding such super-powered individuals every time.
And initially, the situation had swung in Egoistic's favor.
True to its name, Starbuster, the mechanical device piloted by the young girl, had quite an advantage over Stardus, who appeared to be reacting defensively, dodging and blocking the machine's attacks.
Seeing this, everyone had concluded that Stardus was being pushed back—
—but at some point, the tide began to turn.
[Ugh?]
CRASH. BANG.
A fierce battle where only wind and dust swirled.
As the machine's fist swung, smashing nearby outer walls and causing chaos,
Stardus was unleashing an offensive against Starbuster, which was several times larger than herself.
[Damn it..! Are you serious about this?!]
WHAM—.
Starbuster was sent flying a considerable distance by Stardus's attack.
Clutching her mind, which was ringing from the impact once more, the young girl inside gnashed her teeth.
Watching Starbuster, which was now emitting black smoke and had a dangling arm, unlike before, Shin Haru let out a small laugh and spoke.
"Surrender now. It'll be better for you."
At her dismissive remark, the hacker inside gritted her teeth.
[That's rich! Take this!]
As she spoke, the massive Starbuster raised its arm towards Shin Haru.
And simultaneously, something began to whir and emerge from the mechanical arm.
What sprang forth were small-sized missiles.
"...!"
[Haha! Goodbye!]
With the sound of laughter from inside the machine, the missiles swiftly flew towards Stardus.
At the same time, Stardus also pushed off and soared away.
KABOOM—.
The area where Stardus had been standing exploded.
The entire vicinity was enveloped in smoke and dust from the explosion.
[...Gulp.]
Starbuster remained on high alert, peering into the smoke.
When Stardus's form was still obscured by the smoke,
[....Heh. Oppa, I defeated Stardus!]
The hacker inside shouted, seemingly thrilled.
The chat window, accordingly, erupted.
*
[Her calling him 'Oppa, Oppa' has been kinda cute lol]
[Fr, is she Mangostick's little sister? lol]
[Why is the villain so cute when a hero and villain are fighting? She's like a little cousin, makes me wanna cheer for her lol]
[Oh, but did she defeat her...? You shouldn't say things like that carelessly...]
[Even if Stardus showed a bit of weakness against Moonlight Priestess last time, would she really be defeated by an explosion like that?]
['Did I get her' trope) She didn't get got.]
[Stardus's dramatic comeback in 5 seconds lololol]
*
And sure enough.
From within the smoke-filled area, the silhouette of a person began to shimmer.
And it gradually moved closer to the outside.
What emerged from the smoke was Stardus, casually flicking her hair with a hand, not a single scratch on her, not even a speck of damage on her suit, as she strolled out.
[No, seriously. Haa... What kind of superhuman are you? You survived that?]
She muttered in a dejected voice from inside the suit, as if she had already tasted the bitter realities of life at her young age.
*
[Fact) She is a superhuman.]
[She's a super-powered individual, so of course she's superhuman, ahaha]
[The hacker sis is flustered by Stardus, who keeps getting up like a roly-poly toy no matter how much she's hit lololol]
[Ahaha Stardus is a quasi-S-rank hero, you know lol]
[???: You are still a million years too early to face me.]
[It's a profound message telling her to grow up a bit more and come back lololol]
*
The chat window was already buzzing, as if it had expected this outcome.
Soon after, Stardus soared into the air again, swung her arm once, extended her fist, and launched herself towards Starbuster.
In response, the mechanical suit, still operated by the hacker, also raised its massive arm and began to swing its steel fist at Stardus.
And so the battle resumed.
[Ugh.]
Stardus simply pushed forward unilaterally, completely overwhelming Starbuster, the weapon that had been her opponent.
***
[Aaaargh!]
THUMP—.
The final blow, which she had unleashed, squeezing out every last bit of her strength.
The weapon, directly struck by it, was finally sent flying into the sky with the scream of the young girl inside.
The weapon had already been almost completely destroyed by her attacks a long time ago.
The head section of the mechanical suit was also broken, faintly revealing the young girl's form inside.
Watching Starbuster fly away, utterly wrecked.
At the same time, Stardus also pushed off and leaped into the air.
Yes, it was finally the end of what had been a rather long battle.
...Though the battle had dragged on a bit due to how surprisingly sturdy that weapon was—whatever it was made of—it could ultimately be called her victory.
Look, it was already losing power from her final attack, drifting helplessly through the air.
As she mused on this, Stardus thought.
...Though weaker than herself, it had still been a considerably strong opponent. Perhaps A-rank, she wondered.
How on earth was something like this made? What did it mean that she had hacked everything until now? What did it mean that they lived in the same house?
Shin Haru had many questions for that young girl who kept calling Egoistic 'Oppa'.
Right.
She could get more details by taking her to the association and questioning her there.
With that thought, Stardus soared into the sky, her golden hair fluttering in the wind, and reached out her hand towards the young girl in the weapon, who was still floating helplessly in the air.
And so.
Just before her hand could reach the unconscious girl, at that very moment.
WHIR—
In front of her, a purple magic circle suddenly appeared.
Seeing the magic circle begin to glow simultaneously, Shin Haru hastily dodged.
And at the same time.
KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.
A beam of destruction, like the one she had seen amidst the storm before, grazed past her hair.
After the sudden attack ended, when Stardus turned her eyes again, what she saw was—
"....Hehehe, Stardus. I'm afraid I can't let you just take my comrade so easily."
—Egoistic, his hand resting on his black hat, descending from the sky with his cloak billowing,
"..."
—and Moonlight Priestess, a red-eyed woman in a white shrine maiden outfit, creating small magic circles in both hands as she watched Stardus warily.
***
Whew, that was close.
On the outside, I grinned, but inwardly, I wiped away sweat.
It was practically a given that Seo-eun would get clobbered by Stardus, so I had everything prepared in advance. Of course, I was mostly relying on Eun-wol.
The original plan was to rescue Seo-eun at the last moment after she lost, but Stardus suddenly tried to grab her, so I had to intervene quickly. No, I really didn't imagine she'd try to capture her in mid-air.
Anyway, thanks to Eun-wol's hasty deployment of the destruction beam, we avoided the catastrophe of Seo-eun being captured. Of course, Eun-wol also caught Seo-eun, who was flying through the air, with her magic.
After stopping Stardus, I picked up and held Seo-eun, who was unconscious inside the robot. She was light.
"....Egoistic."
Stardus, who had been thwarted by me just as she was about to grab Seo-eun, glared at me and muttered, as if frustrated.
And I gave her a wide smile and said,
"My sincerest apologies. But, naturally, I have no choice but to look after my comrades, do I? They're my family."
"....Family?"
In the middle of the sky, where a cold wind swirled.
Stardus glared at me, while Eun-wol, to deter her, generated magic circles behind me, threateningly.
I floated in the air, holding Seo-eun, formulating my closing remarks.
The terror attack was over. Time to go home.
First, what was Stardus saying? Family?
"Yes, of course! All of us members of Ego-Stream are as close and intimate as family. We're a true gathering of villains. As such, now that... *ahem*. 'My longest-standing comrade' has fallen, how could I possibly stand by and do nothing?"
Good. I said what Seo-eun asked me to, and I established my justification.
I used telekinesis to manipulate the camera still floating by the wire fence, pulling it back towards us.
And then I began my final closing statement.
"Anyway! Very well, Stardus. This is your victory. You've splendidly defeated my comrade. Since you've won, I shall cleanly withdraw from here. I must hurry and treat my comrade, you see."
I said that much, then gestured to Eun-wol.
Understanding my signal, Eun-wol immediately stuck close to my side.
Wrapping an arm around her, I delivered my final farewell to Stardus.
"Then, adios!"
"....."
Leaving Stardus behind with a look as if she had lost the world, I teleported away and vanished.
Seriously, why make such a heartbroken expression?
...But I can't give Seo-eun up, no way.
***
"Stardus, are you alright!"
"Yes, yes. I'm fine."
After the terror attack ended.
Shin Haru was being escorted by the association staff and police who had rushed in to rescue the hostages trapped in the cages and clear the scene.
With a cardigan-like garment they handed her draped over her shoulders, she sipped from a cup and inwardly summarized the day's yield.
The terror attack, as always, ended without any casualties, and the damage to the surrounding commercial district would probably be fine since Egoistic would make some kind of compensation announcement again.
Though it was a shame to have let the hacker go at the end, she could still conclude that she had gained some new information about Egoistic today.
So, inside the car, she organized the information she had learned today.
'That young girl earlier was the hacker... She probably handled all the hacking-related stuff until now.'
'...And, they live in the same house.'
'And what else? Precious comrades, 'family.' He said they live like family...'
As she mulled over these thoughts, she felt her mood gradually souring without realizing it.
The image of Egoistic holding Electra before, and now Egoistic disappearing while embracing both of them this time. And this time, the image of Egoistic hugging the young girl as if she were most precious, emphasizing the words 'family-like comrades,' surfaced in her mind.
"....."
Family, he said. Family.
Hmph, really.