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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: A Fiery Display
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Seo Jayoung.
For the first time in a while, she was feeling a little amused.
"Hmph..."
"Kugh."
The dark night sky.
Above the city center, which had already been evacuated, Seo Jayoung felt as if she were enjoying a kind of fireworks display.
The only difference was that all the 'fireworks' were purple, and they were being fired at a person.
Seo Jayoung wasn't fundamentally the type to move around so actively.
As could be seen from her perpetually half-closed eyes, she basically loved lying around doing nothing and sleeping the most.
Perhaps that's why, even while floating in the sky, she was suspended as if leaning back in the wind, or sitting at an angle. One hand was tucked into her hoodie pocket, while the other was using her ability.
[LOL, why does it look like she's just half-assing this terror attack? ㅋㅋ]
[Is this the composure of the strong?]
[Seriously, this is the first time I've seen someone so relaxed against Shadow Walker.]
[She must be the ultimate counter to Shadow Walker LOLOL]
Of course, that didn't mean she was actually half-assing it. She was just doing it lightly, as if playing, without any pressure.
So, she focused her mind for a moment and gazed at her hand. In a sensation as if time had slowed, the cool energy of her body flowed through her veins, concentrating in one hand. Soon, the area above her right hand began to boil with heat. And simultaneously, a small purple flame bloomed above her hand.
With a feeling of swirling the flame that had bloomed, emitting weak heat, she moved her hand slightly. The flame then began to rotate faster and faster, growing in intensity as if gaining mass. What had rotated on its own now seemed more appropriately described as a blazing purple fireball, rather than a small flame. As if energy were concentrated within it, it repeatedly swelled and contracted, as if about to violently burst.
Then, before it could explode above her hand, she rotated her hand as if pushing the fireball forward, extending her arm straight ahead. In that position, her palm was open. And there, hovering before her palm, was the purple fireball, blazing as if in solitary glory.
And in that state, she applied force with the sensation of launching it forward.
"Fireball,"
With her short mumble, a small magic circle-like pattern appeared between her palm and the flame. At that moment, with a *pop*—a bursting sound—the fireball was rapidly launched. And only then did her time begin to flow normally again.
To Shadow Walker and the viewers, this entire process happened in an instant. For a brief moment, Mist—she seemed to wave her hand—then a purple fireball was instantly fired. Leaving a violet trail in the dark night sky, it streaked towards where Shadow Walker was hidden in the darkness, and exploded.
"Kugh..."
Shadow Walker, hidden in the shadows, tried to evade and block, but that first shot wasn't the end. No sooner had he blocked one strike than another came flying, and then another.
Of course, Shadow Walker wasn't just passively taking it. Seo Jayoung was still casually lying back as if leaning on the wind, lazily flicking flames with one hand. Suddenly, the area around her darkened, and shadows surged upwards.
She swiftly evaded this, her body enveloped in flames. Being small had its advantages, like being able to move easily.
Having that thought, Seo Jayoung gritted her teeth and looked at Shadow Walker, who was now right in front of her. Evading his attack, she finally pulled out her other hand, which had been tucked into her pocket. As she moved both hands, a massive circular ring of purple fire materialized between herself and him. As the ring of fire shot forth, he once again hid in the shadows and evaded.
Soaring and moving across the dark night sky, she genuinely smiled for the first time in a long while.
...Yes. Indeed, just as she had expected, flying and moving across the night sky like this was quite fun. Unleashing her abilities to their fullest, abilities she rarely had a chance to use, and floating in the sky, nestled in a vortex of flames. All of it.
In truth, her ability to do all this was thanks to Egostick. If she hadn't trained so intensely with him, she probably wouldn't have lasted long. She'd probably just shoot a few flames and then run away.
Just as she was feeling proud of herself, thinking that accepting Egostick's proposal had been a good choice, Shadow Walker's figure rushed into her sight.
...So that's the Shadow Walker everyone said was so strong?
But sure enough, just as Egostick had said, he felt considerably weaker in front of her flames. Of course, he was still ignorantly strong at night, just a bit 'nerfed,' so she was still fighting with a good deal of focus.
...But, how much time did she have again?
As Seo Jayoung sent out more flames, she briefly recalled Egostick's words.
'If you're losing, I'll come rescue you, and if you're winning, support will arrive soon anyway, so I'll still come pick you up. So it doesn't really matter if you win or lose, you can just do whatever you want.'
...He had said she could just 'do whatever she wanted,' but.
Seo Jayoung, however, had no such intention.
'Whatever'? That's fine too, but since she'd already stepped up, she might as well win.
So, beneath the dark night sky, with her purple hair fluttering, she unconsciously smiled faintly.
....Dain. He hadn't explicitly shown it, but it was clear he didn't think she would win. Rather, he seemed to expect her to be pushed back.
...But if she were to defeat Shadow Walker, what kind of expression would Dain make? Would he be surprised, or would he praise her for a job well done?
Curious about that, she shone her eyes even brighter and pressed on with greater vigor.
Right, maybe she'd try this this time.
Feeling the sensation of the wind blowing between her fingers, she began to draw something geometric once more.
And so, the purple flames blazed even more fiercely.
The heat of the battle was growing even more intense.
***
*No one can defeat Shadow Walker at night.*
That saying was shattered when the Han-Eun Group's giant robot completely nullified Shadow Walker's abilities.
Even then, his mental state hadn't completely collapsed.
Right, because it was a robot. A giant robot was unavoidable. It was too big, a culmination of advanced science, and an ultimate weapon created by an entire villain organization.
His mental state, which had been holding on with such self-justifications, finally shattered with the appearance of the Moonlight Shaman, who emerged with a storm.
Ah! So now, I, who was once so great, have become a washed-up relic who can't even defeat a single villain at night. Has my glorious era truly passed? How am I supposed to live now?
He already harbored a subtle inferiority complex about being almost indistinguishable from an ordinary person during the day, and now he couldn't accept the terrible reality of being pushed back at night too. In fact, his mental state had shattered so completely that he cut off contact with everyone and secluded himself at home for a while.
Of course, after his solo despair, he eventually recovered to some extent thanks to his girlfriend's help and returned to his daily life.
...He had returned, but his mental state wasn't fully recovered. He still felt despair whenever the thought crept in that there might be other villains who could defeat him even at night.
As he went about his daily life, another villain appeared, one who, to some extent, disregarded his abilities and attacked.
Normally, he probably would have been hit hard by despair again. He might have fought for a bit, given up, and secluded himself at home once more.
However, this time was different.
Because he knew the purpose of this terror attack.
Because he knew Egostick had specially prepared it to help his weak self grow.
He steeled his resolve, gritted his teeth, and fought with all his might.
Yes. More villains like this could appear in the future. Would he just despair every time? No. Now was the time to acknowledge his own limits and take a step forward. That must be what Egostick wanted from him.
In truth, Egostick had done it without any particular thought, but Shadow Walker, who couldn't possibly know that, firmly believed it.
"Kugh... Oh, dear."
The continuous onslaught of fire attacks.
Normally, they would have been nothing, easily defended by his shadows.
But for some reason, Shadow Walker was busy moving frantically to evade those attacks that pierced through his shadows.
Floating against the dark night sky.
A small-statured woman with long purple hair, wearing a black hoodie.
As he evaded her attacks, which involved waving her hand and sending out flames, he occasionally launched his own attacks.
He was gradually refining the direction of the battle.
"Hmph... You said you'd get serious earlier, is this all you've got?"
"Kugh... You wench..."
Conscious of the camera floating far away, recording him, he let out a slight growl of annoyance, tinged with a bit of genuine frustration.
Gritting his teeth, he concentrated shadows in his hand and charged at that fire witch once more.
In truth, even if that woman was putting on a show, he could already see she was slightly more exhausted than at the start.
Which meant there was a chance.
He would definitely win!
Thus, for the first time in the confrontations between Egostream and the Hero Association members, both sides were entering the battle with the resolve to absolutely defeat their opponent.
In response, the battle continued to rage as if it would never end.
On and on.
For quite a while.
***
[Wow lol, this battle is seriously legendary lolol]
[Fighting so incredibly fiercely wwwwwww]
[Oh my, all the buildings are exploding!]
[I live near there and it's chaos, the sky's flashing and there are huge bangs lolol]
[This is the first time I've seen Shadow Walker fight with such gritted teeth.]
[Egostick's new recruit villain is fighting an A-class hero on equal terms with just raw power lolol. At this rate, isn't she S-class right away?]
[But seriously, this girl, Mist, why is she so cute and pretty?? Forget Star Mango or Ice Mango, I think Purple Mango is gonna score?]
[Nah, Stardust is prettier. Don't slander.]
[What are you guys even talking about when you can't even see the chats above properly due to perception interference? ㅋㅋ Do you think Icicle, who fights with her face proudly revealed, is a joke?]
[The Ice Mango boom is coming!]
[Why are you only chatting about this and not the fight lolol]
[But seriously, the fight really is intense. It's lasting a long time, unlike Electra's, which was over in an instant.]
[Who's winning right now? It's genuinely too close to call.]
[Shadow Walker seems to have gotten his form back since the middle and is slightly winning?]
Even though the battle had already lasted quite a long time, the chat window was still active.
I, who had gotten tired and stopped commentating at some point, was watching the fight with a slight sense of bewilderment.
Seriously, kids. Why are you fighting so hard? You could just take it easy...
Especially Seo Jayoung, I don't know why a girl who's lazy about everything is fighting so hard. What for, exactly?
Anyway, that's not what's important.
What's important is that if the fight gets this long and intense, the chances of *her* showing up increase.
And sure enough, just as I'd expected.
Before long, someone entered my sight.
As I had prepared in advance, I muted the camera and turned it away, then greeted the welcome figure who approached me.
"Hello, Stardust. You've arrived, as expected."
"...Egostick."
To my hero, who was flying towards me over the dark city, her blonde hair fluttering. I grinned as I greeted her, while my mind worked furiously.
So it comes to this, after all.
Then the answer is Plan B, which I had prepared.
By the way, Stardust, whom I hadn't seen in a long time, was still beautiful.
Just thought I'd mention it.