Ep.122 Real Man

The Hero Association

Honestly, organizations like the association that always manages all heroes appear in various hero movies.

And the common thing about those groups is that they’re crushed by their internal enemies.

That also applies in this universe.

The association, which was led by a president who is incompetent but still has a conscience, is eventually completely eaten by the villains in the second half. And it affects greatly the end of Korea, such as leading heroes to self-destruction and internal strife.

Other than that, there is one reason or another, but it cannot be described within a sentence.

Icicle and Shadow Walker.

I don’t wish for anything big. Just those two. I want only two of them on my side.

That’s how I thought of Shadow Walker in the original comic.

Because of his special ability to be invincible at night, he thinks he’s very smart, but unlike his own belief hmm… Yeah. Maybe he’s always tired and running his brain at low power, he’s a bit simple-minded. I saw him in the original, hmm. He’s pretty naive, unlike his powerful ability.

And anyway, the most important thing is that he really cares about his girlfriend.

Then, what’s the best way to become his friend?

Oh! Why don’t I save his girlfriend?

That’s why I’m here.

“Hello, Shadow Walker. My name is Egostic!”

I smiled brightly.

The first meeting is the way to decide everything. I smiled at the first impression as my own plan to increase likability. Of course, it’s kinda funny, but anyway.

In an apartment about ten stories high at night.

Facing the cold wind, I greeted Shadow Walker through the window.

And Shadow Walker who received my greeting,

“…Am I dreaming now?”

He looked slightly bewildered.

He has messy hair and dark circles under his eyes as if he’s advertising ‘I’m tired’. Even still wearing his pajamas.

Then he shook off his disheveled head as if he still didn’t understand what was going on.

“….No, it’s definitely the reality. Then what do you want? Are you here to turn yourself in?”

He still looked at me as if he still couldn’t understand.

I still grinned at him, who was holding his forehead as if he was dizzy,

“How could that be? Of course, I came for a different reason.”

“I mean… How did you know my house? What the hell…”

“I’m going to say something important now. Listen carefully.”

“……Can’t I just arrest you right here then listen?”

“First of all, this is not what I did. So don’t get enraged and listen carefully.”

“….No. Put yourself in your shoes. If you’re at night and the hero knocks on your window, wouldn’t you be enraged?”

“I didn’t do it, I also heard from somewhere.”

“…What. What is it?”

“Your girlfriend was kidnapped by some gang.”

“……”

And the moment I said it.

His atmosphere, which seemed clumsy until earlier, changed in an instant.

“Gosh, fuck. I told you I didn’t do it. Put that sickle away.”

As I saw him summoning a sickle made of shadows in his hand, my heart dropped.

I knew this would happen, the villain is sad, super sad. Even when I do something good, I’ll be suspicious, so do you think I’ll feel fair? Hug?

“…You didn’t do it?”

“No, think about it. If I did it, why would I come here and tell you, in a sweatshirt? I should’ve just turned on my live show.”

“…Yeah, your live show. Didn’t you turn this on just now?

“Stop saying weird things, this is off the record. It’s just between you and me.”

“No, fuck… Sookhee. Sookhee was kidnapped? How do you know that?”

“There’s nothing in this world that I don’t know, just keep that in mind. And alright, here.”

Seeing him panicked by my sudden words, I flicked over a map. In fact, I didn’t mean to give it to him already, but as I saw that his mental state was collapsing quickly, I handed it over first. If I waited a little longer, he’d be like, ‘You kidnapped her, right?” and swing that sickle at me.

“…What is this?”

“What else? It’s the location of the factory where your girlfriend is kidnapped. It’s a gift.”

“……”

And as soon as I’m done, he just teleported through his shadow and disappeared.

….? You just left like that?

“…Well, uh. He went right away.”

So I stood alone outside the empty window.

…No, no matter how hectic I was, he just disappeared without attacking or tying me up.

What if it was a trap in the first place? Of course, there are so many things that can threaten Shadow Walker at night.

“Behemoth, it’s a shame.”

I delivered a heartfelt consolation to Behemoth, who was packed in my coat. I thought it’s been a while since I could use Behemoth, but I didn’t get the chance. Only Behemoth can deal with the darkness of Shadow Walker, so I brought it with me, but Shadow Walker left without asking or fighting, so oh well…

[Da-in! What happened? Why hasn’t the fight started yet?]

“Oh, Desik old man. Oh, hmm. There’s no fighting today. Just get some sleep.”

[What?!]

And Death Knight is trapped in a spirit state in the ring. It was a pity for him to expect to have a fight.

No, I really thought we’d fight at least once.

My original plan was this.

Tell Shadow Walker that his girlfriend had been kidnapped. Then he goes crazy and attacks me, claiming, ‘You kidnapped her!’ Then I use Behemoth and Death Knight to confront him. And I was going to persuade him that it wasn’t me and send him to the factory.

Hmm. From the moment he heard me, he was slightly sweating and nervous, and as soon as he got the guidance, he teleported quickly and disappeared.

“…Well. It’s a good thing anyway, I guess.”

I can see why he became dark since his girlfriend died.

With that in mind, I came down to the first floor again.

A black car parked in advance, through a dark alley.

I got in there very naturally and opened my mouth.

“Soobin, I’m here”.”

“Oh, Da-in. You’re early?”

“Yes. I thought we’d fight, but we didn’t. Anyway, please hurry. Is the destination set?”

“Yes. Towards the factory.”

“All right, let’s go right away.”

That’s how we started running down the dark streets of the night.

…Shadow Walker, he’s so talented that he can teleport there in an instant, but if I do that, I’ll throw up and die. How far is it from here to there?

“…..”

Come to think of it, if I knew this was going to happen, I should have gone alone instead of calling Soobin.

I was more than 90% sure that the fight with Shadow Walker would be inevitable, so I put Soobin on standby in advance in case I got injured on the way, but I feel sorry that I’m still fine. I could drive by myself though.

Feeling a little sorry, I got in the car and headed to the factory area.

But the backrest is soft, and Soobin said it’s good that there’s only the two of us after a long time, so I guess it’s fine then?

As we shared conversations, we quickly arrived at the factory area.

A dreary night at the abandoned factory.

Maybe Shadow Walker is already in there fighting with the gang.

With that in mind, we headed to the factory.

I have to talk to Shadow Walker before leaving.

***

“Arghhh!”

“Tsk.”

Shadow Walker Kim Ja-hyun chuckled.

It’s been a long time since I’ve dealt with all the gang members occupying this factory.

“…Haa. What’s going on here…”

Release all the hostages who had been kidnapped and fainted.

He came out, taking care of his girlfriend who was mixed in the gap.

“…That would have been a disaster.”

He muttered, holding his fainted girlfriend in his arms.

Fortunately, she was sleeping peacefully without any wounds.

…That would have been a real disaster.

He remembered what he had just seen.

Gangsters with guns, giggling and trying to kill someone first.

He went out of his mind at the sight, and he took care of everything in an instant.

The giddy sensation remained.

I could’ve lost her to these gang bastards.

….If it wasn’t him

“Good evening, Shadow Walker. As expected, you neatly handled them all. That’s amazing.”

“…Egostic.”

Kim Ja-hyun, who came out with her girlfriend in his arms, recited briefly as he stood in a vast open space and congratulated him.

He’s wearing a black hat, a black cap, and a black suit, covering half of his face with a white mask.

…Thanks to him, he was able to save her.

“….”

He quickly recalled the information Egostic said he knew.

Egostic. He wasn’t interested in what happened during the day, but he heard about him many times.

He’s the most well-known villain and the most popular villain in Korea. He heard that there were times when he did terrorism but never caused casualties, and he rather prevented other villains from causing terrorism.

Yeah, he’s heard a lot about him, too. He’s heard that Stardus cares about him quite a bit.

Actually, he wasn’t that interested in him.

But this makes a difference.

“…Egostic. Aren’t you a villain? Why did you help me?”

Okay.

That was Kim Ja-hyun’s biggest curiosity.

Why did he tell him that his girlfriend was being kidnapped?

And to his own questioning, Egostic only answered with a grin.

“Well, can you guess?”

“….”

“Just take it easy. Villains don’t always have to do bad things, do they? Heroes aren’t good every day, sometimes they do bad things. Sometimes, I can do good things.”

“…?”

What the hell is he talking about?

Kim Ja-hyun swallowed the words that almost came out of his mouth.

One way or another, it’s actually Egostic who saved her.

Instead, Kim Ja-hyun tried to think about it.

His girlfriend Sookhee always called him naive and dumb, but Kim Ja-hyun believes strongly in himself. It’s just because he doesn’t use his brain much, but he’s very smart once he actually uses it.

Then he began to think.

Egostic. He’s a villain but his usual terrorist attacks didn’t have any casualties and he only hunted down other villains. But some might say that ‘Isn’t villain still villain after all?”

“…Thank you. Is there anything you want?”

“Ha. Don’t let the association or anyone else know that I helped you. I don’t want anything more if you just do that.”

In addition to that, he let the hero know his girlfriend has been kidnapped, preventing crime and saving the hostages.

So his brain produced results.

So this brat, he’s a good guy.

“I see. You must have your reason.”

Shadow Walker concluded so.

Since he has already saved his precious girlfriend, his feeling for Egostic is already up to the sky now. He doesn’t seem like a bad guy there, so the likeability has doubled.

He disappeared without a trace, even leaving a message to others not to inform them of his good deeds.

Isn’t this a real man?

“…Egostic. So you’re a good guy. Of course, I knew it from the beginning.”

“U-Ugh…”

“Sookhee! Did you wake up?”

That night.

That night, it was a moment when two out of three A-class heroes in Korea naturally became Egostic’s side.

***

“….?”

Stardus, who was in the room alone, was seized with some strange sensation.

What is this? It feels like everyone’s doing something except herself.

“…It might just be my feeling.”

Just like that, she dismissed her gut feeling, which was still working hard today.

…Leave her a little bit uncomfortable.