· · ────── ꒰ঌ·✦·໒꒱ ────── · ·
Translated by BiasNil
· · ────── ꒰ঌ·✦·໒꒱ ────── · ·
In the Superhero Association of Korea, only a few people have superpowers.
Among them, even fewer are dual-ability users.
My abilities are telekinesis and teleportation.
Since I have two major-class abilities, I guess I can be considered a golden spoon.
TN: In Korea's "spoon class" slang, a "golden spoon" refers to the top 1%—the rich and powerful.
…Yeah, right. I wish I were a golden spoon.
Sadly, my abilities feel more like a gold-plated spoon than a pure golden spoon.
There's only one reason: all of my abilities are flawed.
Take teleportation, for example. If I teleport 1 km, the exhaustion hits me all at once—as if I'd sprinted that distance at full speed.
I teleported long-distance yesterday and ended up sleeping all day… so there's the flaw.
Among villains, there's only one teleporter with no restrictions. But he has only teleportation.
That means he can do nothing but appear and disappear like a ghost, flashing from east to west.
By the same token, my telekinesis has a big flaw.
It's like the weak claw on a doll claw machine.
I can't hold a person who resists hard; I can only make objects float—like the smartphone drifting in the air right now.
Holding something steady with it is hard, but hitting something is a lot easier. Think claw machines: they can hardly grab anything, but you can still whip the claw side to side.
I guess the one advantage is a kind of "charged attack."* If I build it up for a while and release it at once, it still hits like a truck. I link that with teleportation and go around cracking villains' heads.
*TN: A fully powered attack after charging—common gaming term.
Of course, advantages aside, my abilities are definitely flawed.
Even so…
Still, you know what?
I can handle these little punks with just a gun. That's a skill too.
It's more than enough.
"W-What are you doing?!"
Inside a building filled with hostages' screams,
I answered the guy whose voice shook with shock.
"You were doing shitty things, so shouldn't I educate you a little?"
As he opened his mouth, I gave him a shot.
We were pretty far apart, but the bullet didn't waver and drilled the center of his forehead.
Luckily, that mask wasn't bulletproof. I watched him drop.
Unshakable calm. Ego's bullet.
Of course, I'd pre-tuned the bullet's path with telekinesis. That's my "skill," too.
Phew. I'm grateful for even this shabby telekinesis.
Without it, I could never shoot someone this accurately—my only gun time was mandatory military service.
After three of them collapsed, the rest started aiming at me.
You said you were my followers. Why point guns at me? Clowns.
In this nasty, explosive situation, I peeked at my still-floating phone streaming smoothly.
[He just killed three people LMAO]
[I feel so emotional~]
[Weren't they on the same side? Why'd he shoot them?]
[This is rated R. Look at the blood.]
[Fuck, my brother's there.]
[Isn't this Egostic bastard kinda nice?]
[One shot, one kill. Damn.]
[Damn it, you brats~~~ Is this a game to you? This is real. Why are you laughing? The brats these days…]
[What are the heroes doing?]
[KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA]
[What'll happen to those people ㅜ I'm worried.]
[Everyone, hang in there!]
[Release Kim Sunwoo. Release Kim Sunwoo. Release Kim Sunwoo. Release Kim Sunwoo. Release Kim Sunwoo. Release Kim Sunwoo. Release Kim Sunwoo. Release Kim Sunwoo.]
[Are there any managers? Take these comments down.]
[Ego oppa looks handsome even with half his face covered ㅠㅠㅠ]
[So many crazies in here lol. This is real, you idiots.]
[They're asking for a manager while watching a villain's terror stream. Sick bastards lol]
[If these comments get capped, it'll be a national shame ;;]
…One second of that made me dizzy.
I turned away and took in the scene.
The hostages were covering their ears and shaking.
Yeah, gunshots are scary.
A glance around said most hostages were men and women in their 20s and 30s.
…I don't even know what building this is. A company?
While I was guessing, a guy aiming at me started yelling. Rude.
"Egostic! What did we do wrong? Why are you doing this to us all of a sudden?!"
He screamed. Disgusting.
Frankly, I wouldn't have bothered with this kind of terror if they weren't selling me out. That's a hero's job. (Though, sure, I'm planning to eliminate all the mass-casualty villains anyway.)
Still, for the sake of this fool who doesn't grasp his own sins, I decided to tell him myself. I might be the nicest villain around.
"Mistake? You didn't make any mistakes."
I spun the gun on my finger. They flinched. Funny. They aren't shooting because they think they're my followers. The hostages' trembling glances made me feel a bit sorry. Gosh, am I too soft to be a villain?
"Of course, if you count your ignorance as a mistake, then yes—it's a mistake! If you think of it that way, you guys…"
As I spoke, the guns I'd stashed in my coat rose into the air by telekinesis.
Their eyes went wide at the floating barrels.
Did you think I only shoot by hand?
I have telekinesis, you idiots.
"You've committed high treason. You'll be executed immediately."
I fired in all directions with the floating guns.
Hostages screamed; the "followers" dropped one after another with each bang.
I only meant to "educate" them, but this is a little… aggressive.
Well, maybe what they learned today will help in their next life.
A bullet came at me; I slapped it aside with telekinesis.
Even weak as it is, I can still nudge a bullet off course—especially when I already expect you to pull the trigger.
"AH, AAAAH…"
Everyone fell, leaving one.
All her teammates were dead. One "follower" still lived.
Keeping one alive is simple.
The Association needs someone to arrest… and they'll want a witness for the press conference.
Why her?
She was the only one with long hair. So I figured she's a woman.
What? Why? Is it a crime to appreciate a woman? I'm dignified.
Only woman-haters (and homophobes) would get mad at me. Ignore them.
I holstered my gun and walked toward her with a smile.
Step. Step.
"Oh my god. S-S-Save me…"
Up close, she was shaking hard.
She didn't try to shoot anymore. Maybe she realized it wouldn't work.
I came to a stop in front of her, trembling like she'd break.
"(Sniffle)…"
She was about to cry. I lifted her chin with one hand,
and peeled off her mask with the other.
Her face came into view.
"You look pretty."
I was a little flustered—pretty girl out of nowhere.
Her teary eyes looked up at me and poked my protective instincts.
I almost went soft and wiped her tears, but I pulled myself together and spoke.
"Do you admit your mistake?"
She answered in a soft, trembling voice.
"I-I-I was wrong. I was wrong. I'm sorry."
What's with her? Why's she acting like I'm about to eat her alive?
Her dazzling face shook my composure, but I reeled it back in. No—I'm all about Stardust. I won't be swayed by another woman!
With a firm heart, I asked the question that would break her mental.
"What did you do?"
"W-What? What?"
"I asked: what did you do?"
I grinned as I repeated it. Her legs gave out and she collapsed.
"Oh, oh. I—we… c-caused this without your permission, Mr. Egostic."
"And?"
"A-And… waaah… I'm so sorry. Please save me. Please spare me."
She suddenly wailed loud enough to fill the building.
What's wrong with her? I haven't even done anything yet.
You're the bad guys, but now you're making me look like the bad guy!
…Wait. Am I the bad guy?
Her crying split the building's silence.
[Hahaha. He's such trash lolol.]
Seeing that in chat ticked me off.
I knew they'd call me that someday, but I didn't think it'd be in a situation like this.