Chapter 432: Lily of the Valley (7)
Chapter 432: Lily of the Valley (7)
Chapter 432: Lily of the Valley (7)
~Hero Association meeting~
Everyone involved with the Association, including myself, is here because of the last remaining stain on Korea, the HanEun group.
An association-wide meeting was being held to hunt down this villainous force, who had fled with all their technology and evidence of their evil deeds.
“All right, let’s call the meeting to order.”
With that, Stardus called the meeting to order, and the discussion began in earnest.
In a huge Association common room, with countless monitors all around, with all eyes on her, Stardus spoke softly.
“The other day, with the cooperation of Egostic here, we pursued and captured the Crocodile Man.”
With those words, the many monitors around them flashed a picture of the Crocodile Man.
The villain, whose upper half is made up of a crocodile-like body, is a villain that rises to the level of S-class villain in the comics.
Created as a result of a researcher’s botched experiment that merged a human and a crocodile, the villain’s heterogeneous origins meant that he retained his powers even after the Sun God’s power was taken away.
As soon as we pinpointed its location, we tried to track it down… but somehow, it managed to escape.
After months of pursuit, Stardus finally succeeded in capturing him this time.
It’s a shame, because I would have loved to have been there to capture it for the broadcast.
“Anyway, after his capture, we learned something important during his interrogation. Let’s take a look.”
After those words a series of quick cuts flashed across the screen, illuminating the small interrogation room.
Crocodile Man and Stardus sat across each other as a video was playing.
[So… you weren’t running away from us?]
[Yes! I didn’t even know you were after me in the first place, it was the HanEun group I was running from!]
As soon as the on-screen Crocodile Man finished speaking in his gravelly voice, the Association immediately began to chatter.
And as if to echo their doubts, the on-screen Stardus frowned and opened her mouth.
[…HanEun group? What do you mean?]
[That’s right! I was continuing my experiments in my secret lab at home, and these guys suddenly barged in? They said they were from the Han Eun Group and wanted to see Dr. Kim Sun-woo, and asked if I would cooperate…That’s ridiculous. Why me?]
Crocodile Man, who had been talking up to that point, was shaking with anger, saying.
[There’s no reason to crawl under anyone’s bed, but when I refused, they suddenly started muttering to someone in their earpiece, and then they raised their weapons and tried to kill me. I managed to knock them down, but they’ve been attacking me ever since.]
[After running away in fear for my life, I was finally caught… Ha! It was you guys this time. I guess that’s better. It’s better than dying].
With that, the video ended.
“This concludes the interrogation of Crocodile Man.”
“What we can tell from this interrogation is that the HanEun Group is still a force to be reckoned with…and they’re trying to work with other villains. That’s about it.”
And with that, Stardus finished.
The Association, once again, was in an uproar.
“Hmm. What are they still up to?”
“Hah. They’re tenacious as leeches. Somehow, they managed to get away first…”
So many words were exchanged.
I was silent for a while, quietly organizing my thoughts.
“…Da-in.”
A voice spoke to me.
I looked up, wondering what was going on, and saw a dark-haired girl in a white shrine maiden outfit.
“Ah, Eun-woo, what’s going on?”
I was Bai Eun-woo, the Moonlight Priestess.
A priestess of the Moonlight Church, she was also an apostle of the Moon God.
She was a girl who had been rescued from an attack by the Lunar Cultists, who had appeared even sooner than the original.
For some reason, the power of the Moon God has also been greatly weakened, making it much easier to save her than in the original…
On the other hand, the magical power of the Eun-woo has also been weakened, which is a shame.
Still, she still has a lot of power left.
Anyway, I looked at Eun-woo, who was looking at me with wide eyes.
By the way, me and Eun-woo are on pretty good terms. I even saved her life.
By the way, I saved most of the people who suffered unfortunate fates in the original work within about two years of losing their abilities. Well, I have nothing better to do, but I have to do that much. No, whatever.
Eun-woo walked over to me and immediately asked me.
“What does Da-in think of this?”
“You mean the HanEun group?”
I thought for a moment.
From Crocodile Man’s mouth, the HanEun Group and Kim Sun-woo were tracking him.
Cooperate or die.
Yeah. Simply put…
“He’s still plotting to conquer Korea. He’s gathering the other villains who still have abilities, and he’s planning another invasion.”
“That’s what they’re saying over there, too, isn’t it?”
“That’s right. Except…”
I was silent for a moment and wondered if that was the only reason.
Earth had suffered a disempowerment event, and as a result, many of the test subjects from the power of sun gods like Behemoth that the group had been studying were likely gone.
In other words, their power would have been halved compared to the original, but…
‘Who knows.’
The current worldview has gone from a modern fantasy where people have superpowers, to the modern day, which is actually the same as the Earth before my possession.
In this situation, if we were to deal with the HanEun Group, which is armed with technologies of a singular level, things could become quite difficult.
‘…Well, whatever.’
I smirked at that thought.
I’m in Stardust so who cares.
I’ve suddenly become akin to Deus Ex Machina with overbalanced superpowers in the modern world.
“Is it just…”
“Haha, no, there’s no difference.”
Anyway, I continued to think about it, and talked to a few other people who came to me.
Finally, the meeting was coming to a close.
“Hmmm, hmmm. Okay. Let’s wrap things up.”
The president of the Association, standing in the center of the room with his back to me, began to speak.
He ran a hand through his empty hair, then continued.
“It’s clear to me that the HanEun Group is currently working on something behind closed doors. Something related to terrorism, perhaps.”
“We’re officially declaring the group a villainous force, and considering the danger, we’re classifying its leader, Kim Sun-woo, as an S-class villain. Now that it’s clear that they’re a national threat, we’ll dedicate all of our efforts to hunting them down.”
“So, all of our heroes, stay on your toes, because something could happen at any moment.”
With those words, the meeting ended.
‘…Kim Sun-woo.’
After the discussion ended, I got up from my seat and walked away, lost in thought.
The technical advisor to the HanEun Group, the man who performed the horrific bio-experiments on Seo-Eun… her nemesis.
In the original story, he was known for inventing technology, so I wonder what he’s doing if he’s still alive.
I’m guessing he’s researching something…
I should go home and discuss this with Seo-eun.
That’s when I thought.
“Hey. Egostic, Da-in-san~!”
I heard a voice calling me from one side of the association.
I looked over and saw Lee Seola…Stardus and Shadow Walker.
“What’s going on?”
I asked, and she chuckled.
“The meeting is over, and I’m hungry, so I thought I’d grab a bite to eat. Why don’t you come with me?”
That’s how she invited me.
Hmmm. How do I do that?
“….”
As I pondered for a moment, I could feel Stardus’ eyes on me.
I wondered what I would have done.
…If I hadn’t been a villain in the first place, and if I hadn’t gotten into the Association like this.
Maybe I would have stayed.
My favorite is Stardus, so just to be able to do something with her, it would have been the right thing to do. That’s what being a fan is all about.
But
“Oh, I’m sorry, it’s okay. I have someone waiting for me.”
“Oh, really? That’s too bad~ When will I be able to eat with Mr. Da-in?”
To Lee Seola, who said that to me, I could only smile a small smile.
…Okay.
As I said, I now have someone waiting for me.
For dinner, I’ll be eating with Seo-eun as usual.
With that, I glanced at Stardus, who was turning away from me, and started to walk away.
I see. What shall we do tonight…I wonder.
And then.
“Wait!!!”
Suddenly, from one side of the Association, a loud voice shouted.
The scream-like sound made everyone turn around in surprise.
An employee was sitting at his computer, screaming with a look of near panic on his face.
“There’s an unidentified flying object coming towards the Association building right now!!! Three seconds until impact!!!”
“What? No, what do you mean…?”
And then, before the exclamations of disbelief could finish the sky began to turn red outside the Association’s one wall of glass and with it there was a huge explosion, blocking everyone’s view.
“…”
My body moved, at the same time as her.
***
Han Seo-eun was looking at the computer and at the meeting at the same time.
“…Is that what happened?”
The HanEun Group is alive and the hateful…Kim Sun-woo too.
“Now, it’s beginning.”
Han Seo-Eun muttered quietly to herself, running a hand through her silver hair.
‘Yes. I’m ready to have a real conversation with oppa.’
It was then that she thought.
[Wait!!! There’s an unidentified flying object approaching the association building right now!!! Three seconds until impact!!!!]
“What…? Wait, what…”
Suddenly, ominous words came out of the speaker and at the same time a huge explosion followed.
Han Seo-Eun couldn’t help but freeze with wide eyes as she watched the CCTV screen of the Association turn red and start to shut down.
“Oh, oh….Oppa!!!!!!!!!”
She ended up screaming and grabbing the computer.
It was the most traumatizing moment of the past three years for Han Seo-eun.