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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The Fall of Brazil
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The Fall of Brazil.
In the original story, this was the point where the world gradually began to spiral into chaos.
The number of superpowered individuals, once few, steadily increased, bringing with them a rise in villains. These villains would even form alliances and launch invasions overseas, causing widespread pandemonium.
Up until now, entities like Behemoth, Han-eun Group, and the Moonlight Cult had primarily devastated Korea. But from this point on, everyone globally would begin to suffer, collectively. Naturally, our country would be twice as devastated.
And naturally, I had no intention of letting that happen.
Even if I lacked the information to cover overseas, surely I could protect a small peninsula like Korea if I threw myself into it, right?
In any case, international society was becoming increasingly chaotic.
To survive this war-torn era, power was essential.
And since this world relied entirely on superpowered individuals for its might, talent was ultimately the most crucial asset.
In other words, the struggle was about which faction possessed even one more talented individual.
"....."
And I had already, in advance, assembled a talent pool superior to anyone else's.
Seo-eun, the strongest hacker and an inventor; Death Knight, an undying combat weapon; Eun-wol, who utilized magic, a concept distinct from superpowers. All of them, I had taken under my wing before they could fall, unlike in the original story.
On top of that, I even went all out to recruit a few villains who were supposed to appear later. The precious elemental ability user Choi Se-hee and the healing ability user Lee Ha-yul, who would become increasingly important later on, were prime examples.
Of course, they were powerful enough as they were, but you could never have too much talent. Especially considering the latter half of the original story... I'm still hungry.
But then again.
Ultimately, as the scale grew, other things grew in importance just as much as talent.
Whether villain or hero, it was always people dealing with people. Of course, later on, monsters would emerge, but until then, all terrorist acts were perpetrated by humans.
This meant that, in the end, a certain degree of politics was also necessary.
And since a faction was essential for political maneuvering, that's why I had created a villain alliance in the first place.
".....Soon, I suppose."
A world map hung on the wall.
Gazing intently at it, I quietly muttered.
After the fall of Brazil, society had initially been chaotic but eventually found stability again. However, I knew this stability wouldn't last long.
According to the original story, the next event would occur soon.
The first global-scale terrorist attack, and the largest ever to have occurred on Earth until now: the villain organization 'Lattice's' worldwide coastal invasion.
And.
"....From that, could I somehow exclude only Korea?"
That was the plan I was making.
***
Lattice's Worldwide Coastal Invasion.
In South Korea, it was an incident where monsters suddenly emerged from the three surrounding seas all at once, laying waste to coastal cities.
Up to this point, it seemed like just another routine terrorist attack in the original story, albeit on a main event scale.
However, the story changed slightly if this happened not just in Korea, but simultaneously across the entire world.
It was shocking that the attacks occurred simultaneously in major countries worldwide, including Japan, China, India, Russia, Europe, and the United States. It was an unprecedented, enormous-scale terrorist attack.
And there wasn't much time left until it happened.
"....So, you're saying terrorist attacks will soon occur simultaneously along coastlines worldwide?"
In the Ego Stream meeting room, opened after a long time.
There, Seo-eun, who had listened to my explanation, responded to my words.
"Yes. It's almost certain information."
"....How do you know that, Oppa?"
"I heard it from a reliable source."
(For the record, that reliable source was my own brain.)
At my words, Seo-eun, though seemingly displeased, nodded and replied.
"...Well, your information has never been wrong so far, so I guess it's true."
As Seo-eun thankfully convinced herself, Choi Se-hee, who had been listening quietly, suddenly asked me.
"Hey, but then how do we stop it?"
"...I never said we were going to stop it yet, did I?"
"You're going to try to stop it anyway."
"...I suppose so."
Choi Se-hee chuckled at my words, as if she'd expected it.
...I felt like my identity as the leader of a 'villain' alliance was somehow wavering.
Anyway, as I cleared my throat and chose my words, Eun-wol, who was sitting with us, spoke up a little louder, as if summoning her courage.
"....I'm in! We'll protect the world! What should we do first?"
Eun-wol clenched her fists as she spoke.
Her eyes sparkled, clearly full of genuine enthusiasm. Cute.
I kindly told Eun-wol.
"We need to talk."
"....Huh? With whom?"
"Who else? That villain group, Lattice."
"Uh... talk with villains?"
"Yes. We're villains too. Villains to villains, we should resolve it peacefully through dialogue."
"...Oh."
Eun-wol, who seemed to have been expecting a fight with evil villains, looked a little downcast.
Sorry, Eun-wol. The adult world usually solves everything with words, not fists. ...Though, come to think of it, wasn't Eun-wol an adult?
In any case, the time had finally come to put our identity as villains, not heroes, to good use.
"Alright, here's the plan..."
The core of this operation was to resolve it purely through negotiation.
And so, I explained what we needed to do.
***
Well, time passed like that.
During that time, Stardus defeated two newly emerged villains, Lee Seol-ah finally succeeded in acquiring and merging several other companies, and people had forgotten all about the Brazil incident, living peaceful daily lives.
And me?
I was lying on a makeshift sunbed on the roof of our large house in the mountains.
Seriously, I'd felt so good lying on a sunbed at the beach and enjoying the view last time.
So I just went ahead and made something similar to a sunbed, but super plush, right on the roof, and lay down on it.
In my hand was a glass of wine.
Cheval Blanc, 1947 vintage.
It was one of Lee Seol-ah's collection pieces that she'd given me when she declared she was quitting alcohol.
A taste of deep richness.
Yes, a fitting gift for myself, having completed a major task.
Over the past while, I and the Ego Stream members had been busy. Truly.
And the result.
Ego Stream had signed a non-aggression pact with Lattice, the villain group based in the Atlantic.
The main point of the agreement was that Lattice and Ego Stream would not act hostilely towards each other.
This naturally included a clause that neither group would devastate the country to which the other group belonged.
"...Why does this old man keep texting me?"
Of course, there was a minor issue: ever since our last meeting, the American leader of Lattice, for some reason, kept sending me nice English quotes, as if I'd messed up our 'affection points'. But that was easily solved by just replying with something like [:) b].
Just as I was proudly enjoying the satisfaction of having protected South Korea and Stardus, a gust of wind suddenly blew from beside me, and a magic circle appeared. Then, Eun-wol popped out, with Seo-eun clinging to her back.
"Oppa! We've been looking all over for you, what are you doing up here?"
Seo-eun detached herself from Eun-wol and hopped over towards me.
I clinked my wine glass at Seo-eun and said.
"Oppa is just lying here alone, enjoying some adult time..."
"Wow! The view up here is amazing, isn't it? Maybe we should put a rocking chair or something here and sit next to you, right, Eun-wol?"
"Yes. That would be nice."
Eun-wol chuckled as she replied.
...No. My private space...
Regardless of my thoughts, Eun-wol asked me, sounding curious.
"So... Dain Oppa, is it really all over now?"
"Yes. Korea will be safe. Oh, right. And Seo-eun, since you're here, perfect. Let's get some work done."
"Ugh."
Seo-eun made a face like she'd been caught, but it couldn't be helped. It was her own fault for coming here.
Just one thing to update.
I must have had a photo of me shaking hands back then, right?
***
A hero's daily routine was monotonous.
Their main task was usually waiting in the office when no terrorist attacks occurred. Especially on rainy days like today, they'd stay indoors even more.
While doing so, Shin Ha-ru was clicking her mouse, researching something.
[Hemoptysis]
[Hemoptysis and Health]
[Diseases when a 20-year-old man coughs up blood]
"Even a small amount of hemoptysis can indicate a serious illness. There's a high possibility of an abnormality in your body, so it's advisable to visit a hospital...?"
Muttering with a serious expression and researching various things, she eventually sighed, closed the window, and naturally navigated to a website she frequently visited.
Immediately, the real-time trending posts appeared.
Shin Ha-ru naturally clicked on one.
*
[Breaking News) Announcement Category Added to Mangostream Website!!!]
(Website_Image_before.jpg)
As you can see, the Ego Stream website originally only had the main page, member introductions, and a small 'damage compensation application' link at the bottom, right?
(Website_Image_after.jpg)
But now a new 'Announcements' category has been added lololol What does this mean? Doesn't it mean they'll be communicating with viewers outside of broadcasts from now on???
(EgoStream_Logo.jpg)
Ego Stream <<<< World's Strongest Villain Organization if you agree lolololol
[♡]851
=[Comments]=
[Mangostream! Mangostream! Mangostream! Mangostream! Mangostream! Mangostream!]
[Oh, this is really big news]
[Wow lololol This is huge lololol]
[I never thought Ego-stick would do something like this, it's unexpected. Curious what kind of announcements they'll post lololol]
[Seriously, I've never seen people get this excited over an announcement category being added lololol It's like they're all collectively hypnotized lololol]
ㄴ[Haha lololol]
ㄴ[It's all because Mango doesn't communicate regularly... Ugh, he's got my brain]
ㄴ[Why would a villain need to communicate regularly lololol]
[Is something big coming??? Is something big coming???]
*
Just as Shin Ha-ru's interest was piqued by the rather intriguing news, her office door suddenly burst open.
"Stardus-nim!!! We have a huge problem!!!"
At the urgent expression of the Association employee, Shin Ha-ru's face hardened.
...As the comments predicted, something big was indeed coming.
"Right now! The whole world is in chaos!!!"
Something a bit too big.