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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The Black Infestation
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The interior of the building was damp and dark.
Shin Haru walked quietly through it.
"..."
Stepping on something black and viscous covering the floor, she continued forward.
She passed what must have once been an escalator, descending into the basement.
The spacious, open area, which would normally have been bustling with people,
"...Haa."
had utterly transformed, becoming like a hellscape.
The electricity was half out, causing the lights to flicker dimly.
A place usually accustomed to being packed with people, now utterly empty, was eerie enough on its own, but this time, it was even worse.
Something black and writhing covered the entire floor.
These unknown entities had consumed not only the floor but also the walls and even the ceiling.
They looked as if they were alive.
The sight of this vast space being encroached upon by these black, tentacle-like things would have sent shivers of terror down any ordinary person's spine.
Shin Haru, however, merely winced for a moment.
'...Black tentacles. That reminds me of the day I spent with Egostick. Behi... something, I think.'
She even found herself momentarily lost in old memories, recalling past events.
Of course, this was the heart of enemy territory, so she quickly shook off those thoughts and refocused on her mission.
The objective of this reconnaissance was to eliminate as many of the monsters multiplying here as possible and to neutralize the villain responsible for all this.
Capturing them alive would be ideal, of course, but given how dangerous the opponent seemed, this decision had been made.
'...This villain is on a different level from previous ones, in that they can infest an entire wide area and seemingly create other life forms themselves. Looking at similar cases abroad, it's hard to say what might happen if this infestation continues for more than a week...'
Pondering the expert's words, she continued to move deeper inside.
And the deeper she went, the more chilling the sights became.
The underground department store-like space, branching out like an anthill, was also entirely covered in the sticky black substance.
The more she saw, the more her expression soured, as if she were in a horror movie.
It was particularly unsettling that she'd been told there would be some kind of monstrous creatures, yet she saw nothing, only an unsettling emptiness.
Feeling an increasingly strange sensation, she quickened her pace, moving swiftly.
...It felt as if it would be better to fight *something* alive, anything at all.
Shin Haru continued her descent, going deeper and deeper.
And the further she went, the more grotesquely distorted the sights became.
"..."
The spaces were completely altered, unlike anything on the original map.
Amidst the black substance that had consumed everything, leaving not a single gap,
strange objects, as if from the Middle Ages, began to appear one by one.
An antique-looking mirror, a candelabra, even a grotesquely painted portrait.
These bizarre items, sparsely placed, gradually made the atmosphere ominous.
Shin Haru, her face hardened, practically flew through the corridors and finally saw them.
A low growl—
'Them,' rising from within the black liquid.
They looked like small demons. Small heads, two horns, and even wings.
The only difference was that their entire bodies seemed to be made of sticky black matter, so they had no discernible faces. Not even eyes.
These creatures, shaped like small people, were circling and lurking in one particular area. Only within that space, where the black, viscous substance had consumed everything and even light was dim.
And off to one side, a suspicious black liquid was bubbling.
In front of it, where strange black, protuberance-like things had risen, an arm made of black tentacles shot out from the bubbling liquid.
Amidst the grotesque scene.
As she took one more step closer.
*Whoosh—*
At that moment, chillingly.
All the faces of those demon-shaped masses of tentacles simultaneously turned towards her.
"..."
And then, at that very moment.
"*SCREEEEEEEEEEEEECH!*"
All the demons in the room charged at her.
"Tsk..."
Simultaneously, Stardust clenched her fist and stepped forward.
Yes, it was better to fight like this.
A tangible enemy was preferable to an ambiguous fear.
And so, her fist smashed a demon's head.
***
"Haa... haa..."
How much time had passed since then?
Shin Haru, panting, finally raised her head and looked around.
...No more enemies in sight.
And the surrounding area, a complete mess.
Letting out a sigh of relief, she brushed off the black substance clinging to her hands.
...They were stronger than she expected, but she had endured.
Though horrifying to look at, like ghosts, they were clearly organic-like, naturally falling when struck by her fist.
Of course, despite being made of tentacle-like matter, they were surprisingly durable, and dealing with many of them charging at once was difficult, but she was considerably stronger than before, making them manageable.
The problem, however, was not knowing how many more of these things there were.
"..."
With that thought, Shin Haru looked around again.
The black demons she had just defeated seemed to have been absorbed back into the liquid, disappearing.
Confirming this, she instead headed towards where the black liquid had been bubbling suspiciously earlier.
What she saw there was something like a black tumor.
And beneath it, in a black puddle, a horned head was half-formed.
"Tch."
She promptly kicked it, sending it flying, then paused to analyze the spot.
...It seemed that these demons were being generated in front of this bulging black mass, which pulsed like a heart.
Having made that deduction, she put power into her kick and simply punted that demon-heart-like thing.
With a *thump*, the tumor was instantly shattered.
And the puddle in front of it, too.
*—Gurgle, gurgle.*
With that sound, it stopped bubbling.
Only after confirming that no more demons were emerging did Shin Haru finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Whew..."
...This area, roughly finished?
Exhausted and wanting to sit anywhere, she naturally saw that her surroundings were entirely covered in black tentacles and promptly gave up on that idea.
And so, Shin Haru was left alone again in the dark, empty space, illuminated only by flickering lights.
Only then did she re-examine her surroundings.
A vast underground plaza, with something like a fountain.
Although it was all covered in black tentacles, it wasn't hard to imagine this place once bustling with people.
The upper floor was open, allowing a view of the second level.
From there, she looked around, wondering if other creatures might have heard the noise, but when no one appeared, she stood alone, lost in thought.
"....."
Her face naturally hardened.
...The conclusion she had reached after coming all this way and fighting those demon-like creatures was this:
This was a much bigger problem than she had initially thought.
'...Such a level of ability.'
The spaces she had traversed so far were numerous.
And all of those spaces were covered in this black substance.
All of this, created by one person, overnight.
And those demon-like creatures.
Though she had managed to dispatch them quickly, within minutes, the fact that they had given her a considerable struggle meant they were quite strong. Especially since Stardust herself was the strongest among all heroes in South Korea.
Yet such creatures could multiply on their own.
And who knew how many of these multiplying monsters might be spread throughout this vast underground area?
Stardust felt a shiver run down her spine without realizing it.
...Just how powerful was the villain who had caused all this?
At the same time, a certain lament arose within her.
Why, oh why, did villains like this keep appearing?
Was South Korea cursed to never know peace?
"...For now, I'll deal with as many of these demon-creating spots as possible, and then if I just take care of the villain... it should all be over."
She muttered this to herself, alone in the empty space.
As if trying to convince herself.
Naturally, no response came.
Only her voice echoed through the empty space.
...Let's keep going.
After stretching her arms to loosen her muscles, she once again moved deeper inside.
With blue eyes, a slight look of apprehension on her face, she ventured deeper, unaware at the time,
that a pair of eyes had been watching her every move.
***
...Tsk. She's fighting well, but I still have this uneasy feeling.
Should I just step in now, defeat the final boss myself, and force an end to this event?
"[...No, Oppa. You were the one who said she needed to grow, or the world would be doomed, weren't you?]"
A voice echoed in my head, sounding exasperated.
No, I know that. But it pains me to see Stardust struggling in real-time.
Somewhere in the basement of the Trade Center.
Hiding behind a black pillar there, watching Stardust, I sighed.
Beside me, a strange machine floated.
Seo Eun had created it—an Ego-Searcher, a surveillance device that looked exactly like a jellyfish, and it was with me.
'...Still, seeing that fight just now.'
She definitely seems to be fighting better than in the original story. There might actually be a chance this time.
But that's that, and damn it. I'm scared to death. What is this, black liquid monsters everywhere?
Being actually here, in a place that even in the original story drew complaints for being a horror special, my faint heart was quite intimidated.
"[Haha! This place feels as familiar as home! Before I escaped from the underworld, you see...]"
...Of course, unlike me, the Death Knight old man was excitedly humming inside the ring. Listening to him spin his tales, I sighed again.
It had already been several hours since I finally convinced the Egostream members to descend into this basement.
With a nervous heart, as if undergoing a solo test of courage, I had come down into this demon castle's basement, constantly hiding and watching, fearing Stardust might meet a tragic end.
But, well, she seems to be fighting pretty well. In the original, she got injured fighting those lesser demons earlier, but that didn't happen this time.
Right. The fortunate thing is, at this pace, it seems I won't have to step in after all!
I thought so, optimistically.
At the time.