Chapter 264: What Ifs
After Stardus defeated Chinese S-class villain Li Xiaofeng, South Korea, as usual after a large-scale terrorist attack, began to be covered by various articles.
*
[Stardus defeat China’s No. 1 Villains…Netizens ‘thrilled’]
[Association president gives official statement: ‘This was only possible with the strong support of the Korean Association’]
[[Analysis] 10 reasons why Stardus is great, even if Li Xiaofeng wasn’t at full strength]
*
This was nothing new, as Stardus was already dominating the Korean hero scene, but the public opinion was very good even at this point. In the original work, no matter what Hero did, the media would criticize and watch.
Anyway, beating one Chinese villain didn’t change Stardus’ life. Add to that the fact that it was a terrorist attack that was led by the Egostic, and it was almost a given that it would end this way.
“Ugh…”
On the roof of the association building, in the cool breeze, Stardus stood looking out.
‘You already are, a shining one.’
“Mmmmmmm….”
Naturally, she thought at Egostic.
…Honestly, she’s heard this kind of thing before. She’s already gotten a lot of favorable press since the day she caught the plane, and she has a Stardus fan cafe in the first place but she doesn’t actually go to that one, instead she’s more likely to go to Egostic fan cafe…
Anyway, she’s heard quite a few things already. From being the hope of Korea to being said to have already surpassed S-class heroes and even when she heard them, she wasn’t impressed.
Maybe it was because she had bad memories of the media criticizing her in the past, or maybe it was because all the praise was just meaningless talk that would turn into a mistake. She thought.
She didn’t think anything of the public praise.
But then
“You are already a shining person.
“……”
She wondered why Egostic words hadn’t left her head yet.
Was it because he said it with such sincerity, with such conviction in his eyes?
“What’s shining… shooting stars?”
Even as she muttered that, her eyes set against the sky and she couldn’t help but smile warmly at the thought of it.
…I guess it’s just because it’s funny. Yeah. Who says “shining person” like that, right in front of people, without blinking an eye, and really means it. It’s not like he’s writing a poem…That’s why she laughed.
She was alone with her thoughts, thinking that it would be good.
After a while, her thoughts naturally led to what Egostic had said before, and she was stuck.
‘Stardus, you can do it.’
‘No matter what catastrophe befalls you, Stardus, my Arch Enemy, the one I trust, you will overcome whatever comes your way.
“….”
…No, something’s happening, something she was not supposed to know but Egostic was long gone.
In the end, she was left to her own thoughts.
‘…Probably, some kind of large-scale terrorist attack.’
It must be something serious for Egostic who’d never given her such a warning before, to say so.
My best guess is… I have no idea.
In fact, there are so many different kinds of things she’s dealt with in her life that could be called “catastrophes of epic proportions.”
Giant corporate robots, cults, some sort of demonized land erosion… I can’t imagine what’s going to happen this time but I wasn’t worried.
When the moment came, I’d be there to help.
Egostic surely would be there.
“….. ha ha.”
I shouldn’t be relying on a villain…
She mumbles something meaningless.
Again, Stardus was thinking of Egostic.
…No. Honestly, let’s look at what he’s done so far.
Helping her while she was struggling with the madness of the HanEun Group’s mega-weapon.
Stopping the Moonlight Witch from going on a rampage and nullifying her powers, then kidnapping her.
Showing up and saving her before a self-proclaimed demon king, who looks like he’s way beyond S-class, kills her.
Finding out the location of the killer weapon lying dormant in the bizarre ruins beneath Korea, and working with her to defeat it.
…Honestly, it’s no wonder she cares about him.
The problem is, he’s a villain, and he’s a villain with an alliance of villains and a penchant for terrorism.
“…..haha.”
Stardus realized that she was having problem with thinking about Egostic.
I believe in you.
You’re my hero.
…What if he hadn’t been a villain?
What if… what if he was… what if he was…?
-Hwaak.
‘…What if he wasn’t?’
Stardus, who had been thinking to herself, shook her head with slightly reddened cheeks, angry at herself for suddenly thinking such things in her delusions.
“Um…?”
[Stardus, where are you now?]
She got a call from an association employee.
“I’m here on the roof of the association building.”
[Oh, I see, that’s good, there’s a presumed Class A villain in Seongbuk-gu right now! I’ll send you the location, please respond immediately].
“…Yes. Understood.”
Ha.
Stardus disconnected with a sigh, then stretched and flew through the air, her blonde hair whipping around her.
It’s time to get back to work, she thought to herself.
…At the end of the year, something’s going to happen, so she’s going to take care of herself until then.
With that thought, she went to the place where the villain had appeared.
It was about a month or two before the Moonlight Gate Disaster Day.
***
A little over a month before the Moonlight Gate disaster.
[The Hero Association is suddenly building more underground bunkers… The association says it’s for the safety of citizens. Critics in political circles call it a ‘waste of tax dollars’]
“Mr. President, are you doing a better job than I thought?”
I muttered to myself as I listened to the news on the radio.
But who was the one who pointed out that it was a waste of tax money? I think Lee Seola will flip out when she hears it.
As I thought this, I was preparing for the disaster that was slowly approaching.
Of course, Eun-wol was there.
“Eun-wol, are you ready?”
“Yes, Da-in.”
I stood in the front yard of our mansion, watching as Eun-woo drew a giant magic circle and did something.
What she’s doing now is connecting to the magic circles we’ve already traveled across the country to lay down.
After all, she’s the only one who can stop this disaster.
…And as a bonus, we’re going to install a defense spell to protect our mansion from the monsters.
“Da-in, it’s done.”
“Really? Good job.”
With that, Eun-woo’s magic circle was set up and soon, I, who had been squatting beside her, stood up with her.
…It’s starting to feel real that the day of the catastrophe is really coming.
Just as I was thinking that Eun-woo who had her head down for a moment, suddenly grabbed my arm and opened her mouth.
“…I, Da-in.”
‘Huh? Why?’
“…Do you think we can do it?”
“Huh?”
Her words came out of nowhere, without context so I turned my head to look at Eunwol and suddenly, I could see a slightly pale face, trembling with anxiety.
‘…….’
And then I realized.
…If you think about it, Eun-Wol should be the most anxious. The person she was actually fighting now, the Moonlight Church Lord who controlled her life.
She must be nervous, trying to fight against someone who has tormented her all her life, and what if she fails?
I set up the last magic circle, and when I finally saw Eun-woo trembling, unable to hide her anxiety, I grabbed her hand.
“Eun-woo.”
“Eh? Yes, yes?”
She was surprised when I suddenly grabbed her hand.
Maybe that’s why her hand, which was slightly trembling when I first held it, calmed down.
While holding her hand like that, I opened my mouth to reassure her.
“Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.”
“But…”
She mumbled while looking at the floor, avoiding my eyes so I squeezed her hand again and spoke reassuringly.
“We’ve been working so hard to prepare. We’ve made plans. We’ve been working with people, and…most importantly, we thought about how to stop it.”
Yes.
After much deliberation, we came up with an idea to prevent the creation of the Moonlight Gate from destroying Earth.
…The dimensional barrier between this world and the other world is so weak that it’s a certainty that a gate will eventually be created. The Moonlight Church merely devised a plan to hasten the process, intentionally making the gates open in crowded places, killing everyone.
…So, how do we turn that on its head?
We started with that judgment, and soon found a solution.
It’s all about getting through the beginning.
“It’s going to be okay, okay?”
I kept saying that in front of her, encouraging her.
“…You’ll be careful, too, Da-in, won’t you?”
“Of course.”
“…That’s a promise. I only need to make sure you’re safe…”
Finally, I could see that Eun-woo was able to shake off some of her anxiety.
…She even put her little hand on the line to make a promise and with that we headed back to the mansion.
…
Just like that time passed and the weather was getting colder and colder.
“Phew…”
Finally it’s the last month of the year, the day of reckoning.
