Chapter 302: Opportunities
Chapter 302: Opportunities
Carqueas, South Korea's only prison for super humans.
To get inside the heavily guarded facility on a remote island, I had to be very prepared, especially since I wasn't just walking in, but being captured and taken away in a formal ceremony.
So, before I was captured by Stardus, I prepared with Eon-woo.
"Okay... Da-in, I'm done. This should last a week."
A bunch of protection spells, that is.
Eon-woo took over a large underground room and spent days preparing all sorts of spells for me.
This was necessary to ensure that my identity would not be known, as being captured this time would not mean being caught completely.
...Of course, even with this in mind, if Stardus, who has almost entered the category of demi-god, decides to take off my mask, I can't stop her, so I played a little prank on her.
In addition to that I've temporarily stashed a bunch of stuff in my coat, including a pre-recorded tape recorder. Naturally, I played around with it to make sure they couldn't take it away easily.
All because I know the ins and outs of super villains trials.
"Da-in...Do you really have to be so careful?"
I smiled and replied, "Don't worry," to Eun-woo, who grabbed my collar and looked up at me.
Anyway, just like that, I was caught as planned.
So here I am, in a temporary detention center in the basement of the Association. I sat there in handcuffs, temporarily being held before being taken to Carqueas.
"..."
A small, white-walled room, in the center of the basement to be exact, surrounded on four sides by glass. A place where I could see myself in a mirror, but others could see me from the outside.
"....."
I'm alone, smiling a suspicious-looking smile. Over and over, silently. Sitting still and alone.
Especially because.
"...Ha."
Stardus continued to stand in front of me, looking at me with a confused expression.
"..."
"..."
'Well...'
Actually...To be honest, I had expected to be taken straight to Carqueas, but I hadn't expected to be face-to-face with Stardus for this long, so I was a bit embarrassed by the current situation.
Therefore, I just sat there, smiling quietly and saying nothing.
Actually, I'm sure it's embarrassing for her. I've been running around like I'm going to get caught, and suddenly, out of nowhere, I'm caught in a situation where I think I can get away with it, and my Egostream isn't doing anything about it.
Of course, I didn't think too much of it, because I know that villains with superpowers are tried very quickly.
Think about it. Even if you take down a supervillain, there's not much you can realistically do to keep them down for long.
I'm just sitting there in handcuffs because I'm being taken care of, and if it was anyone else, they'd be all over me. These flimsy handcuffs don't even restrain my powers.
This means that when an officially named villain of the Association is captured, their trial process is very weak. They can't even get to the courtroom, let alone hire a lawyer. They're even allowed to have their trial abbreviated without the villain present, while the villain is thrown into Carqueas.
The reason is that a named villain with an association rating has already committed terrorism, so the crime is clear...and the rules for crimes using supernatural powers are quite strict in the first place. In the first place, the judiciary of this world explicitly applies exceptions to crimes involving supernatural powers.
...Which is why a name everyone knows, like mine, would go straight to Carqueas.
"...."
Somehow, I've been sitting in some sort of Association interrogation center for hours.
Now Stardus was in front of me, eyeing me suspiciously the whole time.
I, of course, kept my mouth shut, saying nothing, just smiling.
"....."
An embarrassment was an embarrassment. No, come on, let's go.
...So I continued to sit there, praying that she wouldn't make me talk. I didn't have anything to make small talk with, so just get me to my cell...
"...Hey, Egostic."
And of course, my pleas fell on deaf ears.
Hah, it's not so easy.
So I avoided Stardus gaze, stalling for time until she left.
...I hadn't even gotten into the prison yet, and it was already hard...
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ******
In the Association underground temporary detention center Stardus was currently sighing heavily inwardly, having just finished interrogating Egostic.
'...Egostic, what the hell were you thinking?'
The Association basement is a laboratory and detention center.
Egostic is locked in a room in the middle of a large, open basement, with the Association staff milling around him.
Looking through the glass, she saw Egostic sitting inside, smiling quietly from earlier.
'...Surely, he's got something on his mind.'
She was an expert on him, so she could tell. Surely he wasn't captured by mistake. He must have something up his sleeve.
As a prime example, when she first caught him, she tried to remove his mask, but a magic circle glowed around it and wouldn't come off, so she thought she'd have to use force to remove it...
'Oh, the moment this mask comes off, I'll die instantly.'
'...What?'
He laughed, saying such nonsense.
...Of course, she knew it was nonsense, but she was the one who decided to let it go... but anyway...
Anyway, with such a complicated mind, she was looking outside the room at Egostic.
All around her, the Association staff was bustling about.
"Yes, sir. He's in custody now. When will we get the results of the trial?"
"Ah! We're waiting right now, so we don't know. Haha, wait a minute, I'll transfer you to the department in charge..."
They're on the phone, pacing back and forth, tapping away at their computers.
"...So, if you want to talk to us about the protest...!"
There were some people in particular who were shouting about the protest in an annoyed voice.
While listening to that, she suddenly took out her cell phone and looked at the news on the portal site.
[[Breaking News] Currently, an amnesty protest is underway in front of the Korean Heroes Association...]
Suddenly, she realized that there was a protest going on outside on the ground.
Of course, Stardus wasn't exactly surprised. She'd always kept an eye out for the Egostic Fancafe, and she knew there were a lot of people who liked him, almost believed in him.
The good news is that, so far, only people who are fans of his have risen up, and the size of the movement seems to be manageable. But now that all the media are reporting on it, she predicted that it will get bigger and bigger.
She's guessing that Egostic will be taken to Carqueas soon...
'...Now what.'
With the Association's basement in shambles and the outside in shambles Stardus stood and stared at Egostic, who was sitting at the desk in the center room.
Suddenly, she thought to herself.
"...Wait a minute."
Come to think of it, isn't this an opportunity...?
Right now, Egostic is wearing ability-inhibiting handcuffs and is unable to teleport. I don't know if it's through the power of the handcuffs or not, but either way, he's not running away.
Plus, without the Egostream that always comes running like a ghost when he and she are alone, he's perfectly alone right now.
A powerless Egostic was standing before her, alone, without his allies, his hands tied, weaker than ever.
'...Huh?'
And then she realized.
...Or more accurately, she realized that no matter what she did to him, there was no one to stop her.
-Thump.
She felt her heart leap in her chest.
...Of course, there were prying eyes around, but it didn't matter. She was going to get bitten anyway.
'...Right. It doesn't matter if he's being held against his will or not.'
Or, more precisely, the fact that he was in front of her, weaker than he'd ever been.
And she wasn't about to let this opportunity pass her by.
"Gentlemen, I've received word from higher ups, the summary trial results are in, and they've ordered Egostic to be transported to Eastern Carqueas for now!"
With that, the staff, who had received the order from above over the phone, looked back at Stardus.
"Phew...Finally. Let's do it. The escort assistant...I suppose we should ask Stardus. Stardus-"
...And so they did.
He stopped mid-sentence when he realized the look on Stardus' face.
Stardus nodded quietly, her blond hair whipping around her face as she stepped in front of the employee holding the receiver.
"Yes, and tell the president of the association."
"Tell what?"
"That I'm going with Egostic to Carqueas."
She had no intention of letting him go so easily.
It didn't matter to her anymore what he was up to.