~After the terror was over~

Back at the mansion, I was alone, deep in thought.

Ha

Leaning back on my chair, looking up at the ceiling, I sighed and patted the armrest.

The attack had been successful. Its over, but

Theres something else I care about now.

Then, I saw Stardus.

Why did I react that way?

As Ive always said, Im a very methodical person.

That means I never let my emotions get in the way of my work, especially when it comes to my relationship with Stardus. I live for her as a fan, but I never thought of it as anything more than that. Not once.

But yesterday, when I saw her, I felt

weird.

My heart was beating like a middle schoolers when he realized his first love.

Unable to look away from her eyes, wanting to be with her just a little longer.

I never felt that way before I lost my memory Even if I did feel it, I was angry and surprised to see the emotions Id buried deep inside bubbling to the surface uncontrollably.

No matter how I look at it.

It must mean that something happened when I lost my memory.

I thought, keeping my face stoic.

I felt like everything was connected, including the message Id left, Stardus seems to like me.

As someone who prided himself on being a quick thinker, I thought it through and came to a conclusion.

I, the amnesiac, have a crush on Stardus.

And that was my conclusion.

For the week I was imprisoned, I thought that Stardus must have been involved in some way. I was in jail for a week, and theres a story about Stardus disappearing for a week, so maybe she kept coming to visit me.

Id made arrangements for that before I went to jail, so it shouldnt have been a problem. For more details, you can ask Lee Seola, who sleeps only 3 hours while working these days, what she knows when shes free.

So the natural conclusion was that I had a crush on her and that the crush didnt go away and is still there.

This was actually the most plausible theory.

First of all, theres no doubt that there was some kind of interaction between me and Stardus during my amnesia. I even told myself to ask Stardus if anything happened on the recorder I left for the amnesiac me because the first thing she said when she saw me yesterday was, Did you get your memory back?

And this speculation.

[Stardus seems to like me.]

The message I left after I lost my memory turned into confirmation.

This assholeYou want to believe that because you like Stardus.

Well, I dont blame my amnesia. Stardus was my favorite girl in the first place, so meeting her in real life might make me a little less rational. Im just surprised to find myself possessed by a comic book, but, well. Given the way Stardus has been using her beauty quotient to lure me in lately Well, I suppose Id have a point if Stardus had done the same to me after losing my memory.

Honestly.

Even me now.

If I stay with Stardus, and she continues to attack me like she did back in the Labyrinth.

Even if I know its just a fantasy.

I thought I might get drunk on the sweet fantasy and fall for it.

Im glad that hasnt happened yet, but you never know.

I smirked as I recalled my unforgettable comment.

Stardus likes me.

Yeah.

The amnesiac me never experienced the event, so its understandable to think so. He only saw Stardus in cartoons, and he doesnt really know her.

But Im different. I know she wouldnt like me. Only I, the Stardus expert, knew.

For her, theres a gap between villain and hero.

But this isnt about what Stardus thinks of me.

I thought, and then shook my head.

Actually, that wasnt the problem. The problem is that Im starting to like her now.

It was a quick getaway now, but later? I might not be able to control myself.

Which means Ill get into trouble. Of course, no matter what I do, Stardus will snap his fingers and its over The problem was our Egostream.

..

I quickly came to a conclusion after that horrible thought.

Okay. I guess I should really do it now, before its too late.

My retirement.

Well, I guess theres no reason to terrorize anymore.

I muttered to myself as I turned on my laptop.

Now that Ive easily defeated the final boss of part 3 of the original four-part story early on, the ending is in sight.

Ive been wondering if theres any point in continuing my reign of terror, especially now that Stardus is already strong enough, especially now that villains with all kinds of abilities are slowly coming out.

Ill just have to add the members of the Egostream to the mix, and Ill have no problem growing her abilities. Egosquad would be complete without Egostic.

Originally, I would have delayed it a bit longer, but with the original story coming to an end, and Stardus being as shaky as she is nowI dont think it would be a good idea to get involved with her.

In fact, its a bit awkward for me to do, since Ive already destroyed the original storyline, but I wondered if I need to come to the forefront more since all the important things have already been done. That its time to leave when they applaud, that its time to step back from the front lines of terrorism. Nothing good comes from my involvement with Stardus.

Yeah, maybe its time to get out of it for her sake.

I muttered to myself, fiddling with my mask on my desk.

Actually, now that I think about it, I probably meant too much to her. I kept bothering her and calling her my archenemy, which eventually drove her to the extreme of becoming a beauty queen (). That never happened in the original.

TLN: Stardus used her beauty to seduce him, something that never happened in the original.

I didnt think it was right for me to keep making her care about me, considering theres a lot of story thats going to unfold in the final chapter. I shouldnt be doing it anymore. Sure, Ill still be out there, just not terrorizing, but Ill have less to do with Stardus I predicted.

Anyway, Ill continue to prepare for Phase 4 in the meantime. Ill probably be more outgoing than I am now, and since I dont have time for terrorism anymore, I might as well announce to her that Im not going to do it anyway.

The biggest reason is that I want to take a break. Honestly, I think Ive done my job for Phase 3.

Retirement, retirement~

I muttered and tapped on my laptop.

Ive done all the big things, including the HanEun Group, Moonlight Gate, and the Great Jailbreak. Its time to go. What terrorism at my age.

Of course, before I leave, I was planning to do a few more attacks.

And there are still those events left. Itll be fitting to retire after that.

What about the last one?

Its going to be the biggest one yet, and its going to be spectacular And at the end, Ill just announce to the nation and to Stardus that Im retiring. Okay, perfect.

And with that, I started planning my retirement plan, in earnest.

Slowly, Ill prepare to move away from Stardus.

~And a few days later~

Hey, Da-in, weve got a message from Cathedral.

..

There comes a moment when my retirement doesnt matter.

Ugh, no matter how I think about it, I think Celeste has noticed.

Something else would happen if I went, but I still had to go.

I had to go, because the centerpiece of Phase 4 was Celeste and Cathedral.

In fact, up until this point, Cathedral had almost no presence in the original story, which is set in Korea. In the final phase its where they really come into their own.

In other words, all of the buildup with Cathedral up until this point was really for this.

Okay, lets go.

I said, and rose from my seat.

Slowly, it was time to go.

~A few days later~

Hey, Egostic, its good to see you. I havent seen you in a while.

Egostic. Over here

I walked over to the Cathedral Roundtable, first greeting Li Xiaoping and Katana, who were sitting down and waving at me.

Li Xiaoping, in particular, had a widespread smile on his face.

From what I heard, his organization, the Fire Dragon, had finally conquered China once and for all. Just like the original.

He called me the other day and said it was all thanks to me passing on classified Chinese government information. Actually, he didnt need me, but I just laughed it off. Im glad he thinks so.

Anyway, it was time for our trilateral villain alliance to get into full swing, and I was thinking that I should start meeting with them more often.

Wheres Mr. Atlas?

Oh, he cant make it today.

For the record, Mr. Atlas cant come because theres a crawl in the ocean. Apparently, hes been attacked by some kind of creature. I dont know, but it seems like theres a lot going on in the ocean.

Youve all come.

Anyway, the meeting was finally called to order by Celeste, who appeared in a white saints robe with her eyes closed.

Then Ill speak next.

As she did so, I could feel something.

No.

Celeste stared at me, so openly

Ouch. Im in trouble.