Chapter 84 - Acknowledgment

It had been quite a long time since Stardust faced a giant weapon.

".....Haa. Haa."

During the ongoing battle, she momentarily paused her attack to catch her breath and distanced herself slightly from it.

Fortunately, as if giving her a moment to rest, he didn't chase after her or attack.

Thanks to that, she could briefly exhale and rest like this.

"...Phew."

Wiping sweat from the air, she looked extremely exhausted.

Her suit clung to her body so tightly that what was underneath was visible.

Her signature blonde hair was being tossed about by the wind.

In this situation, she objectively assessed herself.

Her current condition was far from good, even putting it mildly.

Except for these brief moments of rest, she had been flying around for hours fighting a weapon several times her size... In truth, it was remarkable she was still standing.

She had pushed her body so hard that it wouldn't be strange if she collapsed at any moment.

In this extreme situation, where she could barely muster the strength to throw a punch,

she paradoxically felt her power gradually growing stronger.

"......"

In her weakened state, trying to exert the same output as when she was in good condition,

forcing herself to draw out power,

she felt her ability unconsciously breaking through its limits.

Just as athletes train with sandbags to improve their skills,

the more she gritted her teeth and struggled to exert her usual strength in this desperate situation, the more she felt something stirring inside her.

It felt like her power, which had been stagnant for a while, was growing again.

She had the intuition that with just a little more, just a little more stimulus, she could experience explosive growth.

With these thoughts, she unconsciously looked again toward the cockpit of the giant weapon where Egostic would be sitting.

Did he orchestrate this knowing her ability could grow in this way?

...Perhaps, for this purpose?

'You can do it.'

Recalling his voice replaying in her ear, she shook her head.

Even so, it couldn't be that far-fetched.

Probably...

Having rested enough, she took another deep breath and prepared to resume the battle.

Yes. Whether he intended it or not, this was an excellent opportunity to grow stronger. The stronger her ability, the greater the possibility of protecting citizens from villains.

For now, let's focus on defeating him.

With that determination, as she was about to step forward,

the earpiece she had forgotten was in her ear suddenly began transmitting a voice.

[Stardust. Stardust, can you hear me?]

"Director...?"

Heading back toward where the weapon was, she unconsciously hesitated.

Why is he contacting me now when I'm busy fighting?

As if answering her question, the Director's voice came through the earpiece.

[Change of plans. Prepare to withdraw soon.]

"....What?"

She couldn't help but tilt her head at the Director's words. She was fighting well, breaking through her limits, and now withdrawal? The situation wasn't particularly unfavorable.

Just as she was about to question him, the Director continued in a low voice.

[The President has fired a GOAB at that location. It will soon hit that giant weapon, so watch your timing and escape.]

"...What did you say was fired?"

[...GOAB-3. A stealth guided missile. It's currently the most powerful missile that can nearly destroy the surrounding area. It's already on its way there.]

The moment she heard this, her mind went blank. A missile was fired? Here?

But wait.

"...Can a missile even take that thing down?"

[Yes. It was developed in secret. It's so powerful that if that thing were in the middle of the city, we couldn't fire it because the city would be destroyed, but thanks to Egostic moving to the outskirts, they were able to launch it.]

"Are you crazy? How could you fire something like that here!"

[Complaining to me won't change anything. It was the President's unilateral decision. He said this was the perfect opportunity to eliminate the vicious villain disrupting the nation. To boost government credibility.]

After hearing this, the excited Stardust tried to calm herself and regain her composure.

Right. An A-class villain. The justification is clear. There probably won't be another opportunity like this. Especially since he's stuck inside that weapon and likely doesn't have the leisure to assess his surroundings.

"......"

After hearing all this, Stardust's face hardened.

Both the government and the association were serious.

They intended to take out both the giant weapon and Egostic right here and now.

...Yes. In fact, it's not uncommon to kill villains who cannot be captured alive.

Many A-class villains, including Egostic, are already on the list for immediate execution.

So

Egostic will die here and now?

"......"

No.

Someone like him would notice a missile coming.

He always seemed to be one step ahead, looking down as if he knew everything, so he must know.

Yes. So he'll probably escape right away. He has teleportation after all.

Right?

[Finally, you've returned, Ms. Stardust! How long were you planning to keep me waiting?]

As she quietly returned, his booming voice came from the giant weapon.

...A villain who waits for a hero to rest sufficiently before continuing the fight.

"....."

With mixed feelings about Egostic once again, she thought.

Yes.

Someone like him will definitely escape during the battle. Of course he will.

And there's still time before the missile arrives. He'll flee soon.

With these thoughts, she continued the battle as if nothing was wrong.

Yet, her mind was in turmoil.

He'll notice and escape, right? He will.

He must already know.

[Why can't you focus on the battle? Pay attention!]

Perhaps because she kept getting distracted while flying,

he noticed something was off about her state and admonished her to focus.

...How ironic. Wouldn't it be better for him if his opponent wasn't focused?

[Stardust. The missile will fall soon. You should start escaping.]

And after some time had passed, the Director's voice reached her ears.

Hearing his words, she looked at Egostic once more.

[Hahahahaha!]

Swinging his massive arms around, still showing no signs of caution whatsoever.

No matter how she looked at it, he didn't seem to know that a missile was currently falling toward his head.

"......"

If that's the case. If she just stays still, he'll die like this.

Looking at him, she momentarily thought about him again.

Egostic. He is definitely a villain. He has caused multiple terrorist attacks so far.

So, if the government wants to kill him, there's nothing unfair about it. It's natural. Dangerous villains should be killed when possible.

However.

Is it right for him to end like this, here?

She thought.

Faced with his imminent death.

She didn't deny him

For the first time, honestly

She reflected on Egostic.

Egostic. At first, she had judged him like other villains—someone who terrorized people for pleasure and committed acts of terror for his own amusement—simply put, a "bad guy."

But when did it change?

Was it when she realized that despite his terrorist acts, there were never any casualties?

When she learned that all the villains he killed were dangerous individuals?

At the festival, when he stopped her from intervening and stepped in himself?

When he said he believed in her, even when she didn't believe in herself?

At another villain's attack site, when he even pretended to be a hero to help?

When he confessed that the reason he collapsed the bridge was to save people?

She wasn't sure exactly when it started.

But at some point—. She...

And so, as she

faced the giant weapon Egostic was piloting,

with her blonde hair fluttering,

only now, with his death imminent, did she admit it.

At some point.

She no longer thought he was bad.

Though she didn't know exactly why herself.

When she looked at him, she never felt the malice commonly sensed from other villains.

Sometimes, she thought the reason he caused terror, the reason he opposed her,

all had some hidden reason she didn't know about.

Egostic is definitely a villain.

Clearly a villain, but why?

Why does she feel a strange sense of kinship whenever she sees him?

At what point did she stop thinking of him as a villain?

Why does she think he's deliberately acting contrary to his true feelings?

She realized, in this moment,

that she wanted to believe in Egostic. No. In fact, she already believed in him without even realizing it.

That he, like her, wanted to save others.

That all his terrorist acts had unavoidable reasons behind them.

At some point, she had been looking for reasons why Egostic wasn't a villain.

And so, the moment she acknowledged her feelings about him for the first time, she decided.

Egostic cannot die like this.

And.

'This time... you owe me one.'

Hadn't he saved her life once before?

Didn't she owe him a debt?

Yes. He shouldn't die like this.

She would stop that missile.

After a moment of silence, she quietly whispered to the association.

"....I'm sorry."

[Huh? Stardust? Stardust? What's going on? Hey! Shin Ha-ru!]

She removed the earpiece connecting her to the association.

And with her decision made,

her action was swift.

She kicked off from her position and soared into the sky.

Toward the direction from which the missile was coming.

***

[What is Stardust doing?]

[Is she running away???]

[She's going up instead of sideways, that's not escaping? What's she doing??]

[Our Stardust has gone crazy!!!]

[She's shooting up like a rocket omg]

"What is she doing right now?"

I couldn't help but exclaim in bewilderment.

Why is she suddenly soaring into the sky in the middle of our fight? Is this some kind of prank?

"Maybe she's exploding and flying away because you've been stressing her out so much, oppa?"

"...I don't think that's it."

I raised my head from the cockpit to watch Stardust as she continued to ascend into the sky.

Seriously.

What on earth is going on??