Are there waves on the river, too?

I don’t know. I don’t think there are. Because it’s a remote area.

But right now, it does not seem like a problem if I described the waves hitting the river.

It was sunny and bright.

It is a good day when birds are singing, and flowers are about to bloom.

Nevertheless, the river looked so vicious.

Both are cruise ships.

Something terrible is about to happen to the guests who came here for pleasure.

[“Yes, there are bombs on those two ships right now. Boom! And everyone on those two ships… will die without being able to say goodbye to their loved ones.”]

The criminal’s voice came out on national terrestrial TV.

He is the first villain to ever succeed in hijacking a radio.

[“Who am I and why am I doing this? Let me introduce myself. My name is Egostic. You can just call me Ego. Should I also tell you my resume? S-class villain Enzodiac. A-class villain Rhino. Yes, I killed them. Why? Because it’s fun?”]

After saying that, he winked.

Although the eye on the other side was unseen because it was covered by the mask.

[“Well, am I a murderer? No! I’m not. That doesn’t make sense. Of course, we should make a way for everyone to live, right? In that case, I hope that the A-class hero Stardus will be here within 10 minutes. Why? Because if she doesn’t come… Unfortunately, we’re going to have two more Titanics today.”]

“I’m going now. Please go outside and open the door on the rooftop first.”

“Okay, yup!”

After the staff closed the door and rushed out.

Shin Haru changed to her suit in haste.

She wore a red latex suit and connected her in-ear earphones.

She ran toward the windows and launched herself up.

[Stardus. This is the Operation Control Room. I’m going to tell you the coordinates of the A-class villain Egostic. Seodae…]

The villain gave her 10 minutes.

And considering where the villain is now.

It was more than enough time for her.

***

“Phew… Fuck.”

I turned off the camera and put it in my pocket.

Perhaps by now, the situations of the two ships are being shown on the broadcast.

The camera, which I installed in advance, will be broadcasting two panicking situations.

“Oh, I seriously want to smoke so bad.”

Perhaps, Stardus is going to fly here soon.

My heart fluttered at the thought of seeing her, my favorite character. But just thinking of her cold stare towards me…

Hmm.

Why is my heart beating even faster?

Anyway, I hope she feels satisfied with my setup.

It is not just terrorism. It is terrorism mixed with a prisoner’s dilemma.

I have been putting bombs on the ships for hours just for this.

Purchasing bombs, hiring people, scheduling, hijacking broadcasts…

I had lived as a normal citizen all this time, so it was not easy for me to attempt to terrorize.

What would I do if I did not have any money?

Well, I managed to get here somehow.

The Amazed Brother, are you seeing this?

The story you drew, I am going to represent it myself in this world.

Although, there might be a little bit of manipulation and variation…

I checked my outfit once again.

Black robe, black pants, black cape, black hair.

And a gray mask that covers only half of my face, deeply inspired by the Phantom of the Opera.

Perfect.

I am standing on the rooftop with a view of the river.

As I looked up to the sky from the railing, I began to see something getting closer to me.

Someone was flying this way, cutting through the air.

She was coming this way with her blond hair in the air. It was the hero of this world, hero Stardus.

BAM! And she landed on the rooftop.

Wow! Hero landing!

As a fan of the original work, my heart is running so fast as I see her landing in style.

But, uh, why is she coming to me?

“Oh, my god! I have the detonator in my hand! You should stop!”

As I shook the detonator in my right hand, she began to slow down.

As she stopped completely, she folded her arms, and started staring at me.

“……Egostic.”

“Yes, that’s my name. You remembered.”

“Remove the bombs right now. Then I’m just going to give you a few hits before arresting you.”

“Haha. You know I won’t do that, right?”

Her face twisted at my words.

…No matter how twisted it is, she is still gorgeous.

“Come on, don’t frown too much. I told you on the broadcast, right? I’ll let everyone live.”

I spoke up while winking at the camera which was filming us. Just before she arrived, I made sure that this scene of us would be on the broadcast.

“Miss Stardus. I’m quite interested in you. Yes, a lot.”

Whether I spoke or not, she was just staring at me with her mouth shut. Is she giving me a chance to talk first?

Under her silence, I continued.

“A late bloomed hero, who went from class C to class A. A person who doesn’t compromise with any evil with her own justice and belief. You’re the representative symbol of a human hymn. Personally, I deeply respect you.”

She looked annoyed at my hidden face behind the mask. She still looks pretty though.

“If you’re going to talk nonsense, just shut up. What are you trying to say?”

Oh, I just wanted to compliment you on the nationwide live broadcast.

If I do this, more people will recognize my Shin Haru!

Anyway, I should stop fanboying.

It is time for the real show.

“Now now. Here’s what I want to tell you. If you open the lower right drawer in the captain’s room on both ships, you will find the detonator.”

“The detonators are used to blow the other ships off. Not your own boat, the other one!”

Stardus’ face wrinkled at the end of my words. Yeah, she should understand what I said, right?

I continued with a gentle smile.

“Okay, the way to save everyone’s lives is simple.”

“No one has to press the detonator.”

“The time limit is 30 minutes, and you cannot press the detonators of two ships.”

“Instead, as soon as you press the button of one ship, the other ship will go BOOM… Oh, my.”

“Well, the people on the ship that press the button first will ‘100%’ be able to live. So it’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

She still does not seem to understand.

Right, she probably thinks that no one would ever press the button.

I grinned and said to her,

“Miss Stardus, who loves justice so much and always praises human beings.”

“After this, I hope you’ll realize how evil and selfish humans are.”

After that, I clapped and shouted out at the same time.

“As I said earlier, the time limit is 30 minutes. Well then, good luck everyone!”

I turned the camera off as soon as I ended my sentence.

And then I switched to the images of the cabins on two ships.

“Now, shall we watch it together in this special seat?”

She glared at me, but I just shook two detonators in my hand at her.

Be well-behaved!

I showed the images of the cabins on the screen with a beam projector installed on the roof wall.

Stardus stared at it with an indifferent expression.

“Do you think people will move as you intended?”

She shot me with her words.

Oh, perhaps she thinks that people are quiet and calm so they do not even want to press the buttons, right?

“Well, you’ll see.”

I said with a smile.

The video started to play on the wall.

Understanding the situation on the ships, her face soon began to stiffen.

[Press the button!!!! They’re going to kill us all! We have to press it first to survive!]

The sight of people bawling out.

Why is it the opposite of what you expected?

Of course.

I put a few agitators there.

If they scream at everyone and tell them to press the button, the person next to them will also think that they should press it as a tuning effect.

My plan is to use people’s anxiety by screaming and making them believe they will die if they do not press it.

Hahaha.

[Button!! Button!! Button!! Button!! Button!!]

Watching her annoyed expression at the unexpected situation, I grinned.

I am a professional villain.

I have to plan things in advance so that everything goes the way I want, duh?

Now, let’s see what kind of chaos will happen, shall we?

“Stardus. Don’t you think it’s a little different… Haha, from what you expected?”

Gosh, I should not laugh.

But why is it fun to tease her?

***

“Helicopter! Did you prepare the helicopter?”

“Yes, we have already prepared it beforehand so I can move in case the ships explode.”

“Phew, there is nothing else besides that, right?”

“Other B-class heroes have also been assigned near the Han River!”

“I don’t think they’ll be useful. Ha, there is no answer from Stardus since she’s being held there.”

The Hero Association of Korea’s Control Center.

In this crowded place with countless agents, the 50-year-old president of the association was wiping sweat from his bald head with a towel.

Just when he was thinking that things have become peaceful again after a while, but then why is this happening?

Still wiping his sweat, he muttered as he watched the situation of the cabins on the screen.

“…But why are they making a fuss about pressing a button? If you don’t press it, you’ll live, right?”

“…I don’t know either, President.”

“Oh, gosh…”

[I’m not going to press the button!!!!!]

The situation in the cabins was still a mess.