-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The Containment Room
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Bewilderment.
My first feeling upon encountering Stardust was pure bewilderment.
What is she doing here?
You weren't supposed to be here in the original story!
However, there was no way I could say such a thing.
And so, we stood there, facing each other in an awkward silence.
...I mean, who would have thought we'd suddenly run into each other hundreds of meters underground, so far from the surface?
Stardust, who had been wearing an equally flustered expression, quickly composed herself, her face returning to its cold demeanor.
She asked me, her voice icy.
"...You. Why are you here?"
That's what I want to ask you.
"...No, Stardust. Why are *you* here?"
"I'm a hero. Of course, there are monsters threatening civilians and dangerous materials inside here. It's only natural that I come and deal with them."
She replied as if I'd asked the most obvious question.
Yes, she's right. She's right, but...
You weren't originally supposed to come here!
As I silently screamed inside, my lips pressed shut.
She suddenly smirked, then began cracking her knuckles.
"And... this works out perfectly. An unexpected bonus."
Wow, I think this is the first time I've seen Stardust smile since coming to this world.
She looked like a goddess, smiling as she cracked her knuckles.
If only that smile wasn't aimed at catching me, it would have been truly wonderful.
"If you surrender quietly, it won't hurt too much."
With those words, she lunged at me.
Right, teleport.
The moment she lunged towards me, I teleported behind her.
But as if she'd anticipated it, she immediately turned her head and swung her arm backward.
I had no choice but to teleport further back.
"Wait!!"
"Wait for what?!"
Despite my desperate cry, she continued to fly towards me, her blonde hair streaming behind her.
What are you doing in this narrow corridor?!
"Wait, let's call a timeout, a timeout!"
As I continued to evade her attacks with teleportation, she finally gave up trying to catch me and clenched her fist.
Hey, are you crazy?! One punch from you and I'm dead!
"Excuse me, Stardust! Just calm down a little!"
But she seemed not to hear me, flying straight at me and throwing a punch.
Fortunately, I barely managed to teleport away in time, but the innocent wall took the brunt of her punch instead.
*CRASH!*
Even though she must have held back to avoid killing me, the wall still groaned and trembled upon impact.
Thanks to that, the ceiling shook, dust flew everywhere, and the lights flickered. It was pure chaos.
"Are you trying to destroy this entire place?! Calm down a little and listen to me!"
The underground facility was still shaking.
Only after she had half-demolished the corridor did Stardust calm down.
"...What is it?"
Ah, so she's going to listen to what I have to say.
Fixing her sky-blue eyes on me, she rested one arm on her hip, as if pausing her attack.
Alright, I need to talk my way out of this now.
Otherwise, I'm getting dragged away...!!
"First of all, I have no intention of fighting. Didn't we both come in here without expecting to meet like this? How about we just go about our own business?"
"...Are you telling me, a villain, to let you freely wander around this top-security facility?"
Hmm, this doesn't seem to be working.
"No, I mean, I wasn't here to do anything bad anyway. Han Eun Group was being so despicable, I just wanted to broadcast it."
I said, showing her my camera.
"...You broadcasted this place?"
Her expression was getting even worse.
Was that a misstep too?!
As Stardust seemed to be clenching her fist again, preparing to attack me, I quickly spoke up.
"Wait! How about we form a temporary alliance?"
"Temporary alliance?"
Despite the look she gave me, as if I were spouting utter nonsense, I bravely continued.
"Stardust, you don't know how dangerous this place is either, do you? Since we've met like this anyway, how about we form an alliance and go together until we reach the very bottom? Honestly, even if you try to catch me, I can just teleport away. Rather than that, since we've met, why don't we, you know? Help each other out. I'm also curious about what's down here."
Hmm, even I thought it was pure nonsense.
It wouldn't be strange if she immediately yelled, "Are you telling me, a hero, to form an alliance with a villain?" and lunged at me.
Ugh, what do I do now? Should I just run away? My Behemoth, my power-up, goodbye....
Just as I had already made up my mind internally, she frowned for a moment, then suddenly relaxed her expression.
Then she replied:
"...Alright, fine. We can go together, but only until we reach the bottom of this place."
"Huh?"
"...Why are you surprised when you're the one who suggested it?"
Seeing my bewilderment, she chuckled slightly and turned her head away.
"Follow me. It was going to be difficult to handle this alone anyway. You can help me out."
"Huh? Ah, yes. Alright."
Watching her lead the way down again, I couldn't help but follow her, as if entranced.
No... what just happened?
I thought what I said was ridiculous, even as I said it, so seeing her readily accept left me completely bewildered.
What is this? What's her game? The Stardust I know isn't like this.
I fully expected her to attack, saying there's no compromise with a villain, but for her to suddenly react like that, I couldn't help but be flustered.
And so, she and I walked together into this underground facility.
...What in the world is going on?
***
Stardust.
The moment she descended into this underground facility, she encountered countless monsters.
They were hideously deformed, as if melted, and all shared the common trait of being entirely white.
Though they all turned to dust with a single punch from her, the fact that each of them possessed some kind of ability sent a shiver down her spine.
And that feeling intensified as she entered the research labs.
The horrific records of their experiments.
The test subjects, once confined behind glass walls, had long since escaped, leaving only their records behind.
*
"RKCB-0064"
[Provisional Name] Hellcat
[Precautions] Extremely fast. Exercise caution when feeding.
*
*
"RKCB-1107"
[Provisional Name] Teleporter
[Precautions] Can escape by teleporting, so maintain Grade A security at all times. Beware of attacks from behind.
*
"Horrifying..."
Monsters born from inhumane experiments.
The thought that if this incident hadn't been exposed, they would have continued these biological experiments in the middle of Seoul, made her body tremble slightly.
If that incident hadn't happened.
And if Egoistic hadn't destroyed the bridge.
It was clear that terrible things would have occurred.
"....."
And so, she continued to walk forward, slowly eliminating each monster she saw.
As they descended deeper into the underground, communications cut out, and the lights flickered, creating an ominous atmosphere.
On top of that, there were countless branching paths, like a tangled maze.
However, she was unhesitant.
Her intuition, which had developed over time, guided her, telling her which way to go.
And in front of the place her senses led her.
"Aargh!!!"
Egoistic stood there, startled and swinging his knife as she suddenly appeared.
Yes.
To be honest, she was also extremely flustered.
Who would have known Egoistic would appear here?
But she quickly regained her composure.
Right, whatever this is, it's an opportunity.
She didn't know why he was here, but she'd catch him first and think about it later.
And so, she lunged at him.
"Wait!!!"
"Wait for what?!"
She tried to catch him, but as expected, he kept teleporting around, evading her.
Eventually, she nearly collapsed the entire basement by punching the wall, and only then did she stop and listen to what he had to say.
His words about coming here for a broadcast.
"Temporary alliance?"
His proposal to form an alliance and go down to the very end of this underground facility together.
Upon hearing that, she scoffed internally. Why on earth would she, a hero, form an alliance with a villain?
She had been about to refuse and attack him again.
Then, a thought suddenly flashed through her mind.
'Wait. That guy can just escape with his ability anyway, can't he?'
That's right.
It was a fact she had overlooked because he had only been teleporting short distances until now, but Egoistic could, if he really wanted to, instantly escape from this underground facility entirely. Hadn't he always disappeared right before her eyes after every terror attack?
...That won't do.
Would there ever be another chance to meet him alone, in a place like this, where no one else was around?
No, probably not.
Given his personality, the next time they met, it would likely be in front of cameras broadcasting to the entire nation. On a stage he had set.
This might be the only moment they could be together without her being manipulated by him.
'Anyway, if I refuse him here, I won't be able to catch him or learn anything, and he'll just escape.'
In that case, perhaps.
If she kept him by her side and they traveled together, wouldn't she learn more about him?
The questions she had always had about Egoistic might... be an opportunity to be resolved.
And if she kept him close, she could also find out exactly why he came down here.
Besides, he had never shown any intent to harm her so far... And if he didn't run away and they fought one-on-one, she would easily win. So there was little risk.
'Yes, this is just to extract information before I lose him anyway.'
Making an excuse to no one in particular, she said to him:
"...Alright, fine. We can go together, but only until we reach the bottom of this place."
"Huh?"
He was surprised in return, even though he was the one who proposed it, when she readily accepted.
...Funny, he must have expected me not to accept and just threw it out there.
Now that I think about it, this might be the first time I've seen him flustered. Until now, she had always been the one caught in his pace and at a disadvantage.
"...Why are you surprised when you're the one who suggested it?"
Feeling somewhat amused, she let out a small chuckle without realizing it.
Yes, she hadn't expected to catch him today.
Instead, here.
This might be an opportunity to resolve the questions she had always had about Egoistic...
***
Stardust accepted the temporary alliance proposal, and so we entered the labyrinth together.
...What is she thinking? I still don't understand.
And so, I followed her, not letting down my guard.
It's not a hero worrying about being backstabbed by a villain; it's a villain worrying about being backstabbed by a hero. Is this even right?
As we ventured deeper inside, nothing particularly unusual happened between us.
The occasional test subjects that appeared were dealt with by her with a single punch, so it wasn't even scary. I was a little scared when I was alone, though.
When I occasionally cracked a joke, she'd just ignore them, and that's how it went.
Of course, sometimes, she'd fail to suppress her laughter, letting out a small chuckle, then quickly compose herself and glare at me, telling me to be quiet. That was kind of cute. I know your sense of humor inside and out.
Had we reached the end? More and more research labs began to appear.
She searched through various documents with a serious expression.
What was I doing?
She wouldn't let me see, saying a villain shouldn't look at classified information, so I just watched her.
Hmm, actually, being able to see my favorite character up close for so long, isn't this some kind of reward?
Stardust, with her blonde hair cascading down, dressed in a form-fitting red hero suit, rummaging through the lab, was quite a sight to behold.
Nice, very nice.
Had she found out something?
We headed further inside again. No, why is there no end to this place? It's like an ant colony.
What was even more surprising was Stardust, who was moving confidently, as if she knew exactly where to go.
Had she investigated this area beforehand?
...Surely she hasn't developed her supersenses already. Nah.
Anyway, this time, it really felt like we had reached the end. I could feel a breeze coming from somewhere.
...But how can there be a breeze underground?
What we encountered as we continued walking was a sign: [Top Secret Area].
And next to it, there was a passage plastered with red paint.
"...What is this place?"
To her question, I merely shrugged and replied.
"Let's just go in."
"Hmm..."
After some thought, she decided to enter.
And so, we went inside together.
Walking down the passage, we came upon a small room.
"Superpower Suppression Room...?"
She murmured, reading the sign attached to the front of the room.
Superpower suppression? Does that mean abilities can't be activated inside this room?
No, Han Eun Group had this kind of technology too?
This is seriously dangerous technology...
As I was looking at it with a serious expression, Stardust, who was in front of me, turned around, nodded her head slightly, and spoke.
"...Egoistic, you go in first."
"...Me? Why me?"
When I said that, she quietly raised her fist.
...Alright, alright. I'll go in.
"Yes, yes. Understood."
And so, I entered the small, two-pyeong room.
A sealed room, covered in white on all sides. Aside from a clock hanging on the wall, it was simply clean and empty.
So, abilities really can't be used in here, right?
As a test, I tried to use telekinesis on the bag I was carrying.
"Huh?"
Oh, it really doesn't work.
Then, teleportation?
I concentrated, but nothing happened.
This is interesting.
"How is it? Are abilities truly unusable?"
"Yes. They are. What's the principle behind it?"
As I was looking around, she came inside, as if to test it herself.
"...It really doesn't work."
While she was testing her abilities, I was examining one side of the wall.
If used well, this could be a huge deal. What's the principle...?
While I was thoughtfully examining the wall, a loud bang echoed from behind me, and the room shook. What was that?
Startled, I turned around and saw Stardust, who had punched the wall.
Even though her abilities were suppressed, the wall was deeply dented in the shape of a fist, likely due to her inherent strength.
As I stared at her with a bewildered expression, I saw her awkwardly avert my gaze.
"No, I was just trying to confirm if everything was truly suppressed..."
"No... Even so, why would you hit the wall so mindlessly?"
If something went wrong, we could have been drowned here!
Just as I was about to scold her, an alarm suddenly blared from the doorway we had entered through.
And the open entrance to the room was suddenly blocked by a barrier that descended from above.
*THUD!*
"Wh-What?"
She was flustered by the sudden turn of events.
And of course, she wasn't the only one. I was dumbfounded too. What's going on all of a sudden?
A concrete barrier suddenly descended, blocking the space that had just led to the corridor.
"....."
"....."
And so, silence filled the small room.
Hmm.
We're screwed.