Chapter 357 - Reunion (2)

"...Egostic."

Under the rainy night sky on the rooftop.

There, Stardust quietly said that to me.

"Honestly, I'm strange, aren't I? Suddenly acting like this with you."

"...It is puzzling."

I answered calmly as expected.

...In truth, it was more than puzzling.

Why would she, a hero, act this way toward me, a villain? And not just any hero, but that paragon of justice. The protagonist of this world, Stardust.

And as if to answer my question,

Stardust gazed at the night sky and slowly opened her mouth.

Then she began to tell her story.

"Actually, at first, I disliked you. Because you were a villain. Naturally. I just wanted to capture you."

"But... when did it start? Ah. It was probably then."

"That day you caused the terror attack on the airplane. The day you made the plane fall."

"When I thought I couldn't stop it. When I was about to give up. Do you remember what you said to me?"

After saying that much, she looked at me with a slight smile and said.

"...You called me. You told me I could do it. That I was perfectly capable of stopping the plane from crashing."

'You can do it. Stop the plane from crashing.'

"At that time. I didn't believe you. I thought, how could I stop that? I thought you were trying to trick me into getting killed."

"But then you said you had no reason to kill me. Why would you, when I was the one completing you?"

'Why would I do that?'

'You complete me. So step up. Fly into the sky and save those people. You can do it. Because that's who you are.'

Yes.

And at that moment, Stardust finally succeeded in flying into the sky, stopping the plane, and saving everyone.

"It must have been from that moment."

"When I started paying more attention to you than before."

When no one believed in me, when even I didn't believe in myself.

The first person to believe in me, to tell me I could do it.

It was you, a villain.

After saying that much, Stardust smiled weakly and quietly stood up.

Her gaze still fixed on the rainy night sky outside, her blonde hair fluttering in the wind and rain.

While I was staring at Stardust, who was glowing alone even in the darkness, as if entranced.

Stardust, still wearing her wet red hero suit,

Looking at the night sky outside, continued speaking without making eye contact with me.

"...And then. Many things happened."

"The Han-eun Group launched a large-scale terror attack, the Moon Priestess attacked Seoul, the Demon King awoke at the Trade Center..."

As she listed past events one by one while looking at the sky.

After saying that much, she turned around, met my eyes, and said.

"After all that time passed, do you know what I realized?"

"...What was it?"

"That you were always by my side."

She looked into my eyes and said with an honest voice.

"I can't even imagine a life without you anymore."

"....."

"...Haha. Funny, isn't it? Me, a hero, depending on you, a villain. But what can I do? That's the truth."

After saying that much.

With a bright smile that a hero should never show to a villain.

With tears welling up in her eyes, she said this.

"...The truth is, you made me this way."

"While always calling yourself a villain with words. Always being the first to rush to me when I was in danger. Risking your own life to protect me. Always looking only at me, continuing... continuing to stay by my side."

"How could I, how could I..."

"How could I possibly dislike you..."

"How could I possibly live alone without you now..."

Swoosh. Ahhh....

Against the backdrop of the gradually subsiding rain, Stardust wiped away her tears after confessing like that.

Then, with a hollow laugh, she looked into my eyes and said.

"You know what? When you weren't causing terror attacks. I was waiting for you to cause one, just so you would come."

"Do you know why I acted cold to you at the end? I was trying to get your attention because you weren't paying attention to me..."

"When you said you were retiring, do you know how, sniff, how painful it was for me? I had become unable to live without you. And you just suddenly left..."

After sobbing for a moment.

Then, as if she had made up her mind, she looked down at me with a voice full of even more conviction than before and said.

"...So, I'll confess here."

Like that, in the evening when the sun had disappeared beyond the horizon. When even the moon wasn't visible.

Against the backdrop of countless stars adorning the night sky.

Step

Stardust came one step closer to me.

Meeting my eyes, with tears welling up and a bright smile, she confessed to me.

"I love you, Egostic."

"Please don't ever leave me again."

......

Like that.

As if she had laid down everything inside her, she confessed to me with a quiet smile.

...Hearing Stardust's confession.

'...How.'

'How did it come to this?'

...I felt complicated emotions.

Clearly, this wasn't my goal.

My goal was to become a villain and elevate my hero, Stardust, to the top.

My goal was to become her arch-enemy, to let her step on me and rise up.

That's why I cleared away everything that hindered her, and instead became her enemy to help her grow as a hero...

'...Where did I go wrong?'

Was it a mistake to approach her as a villain, deliberately becoming her arch-enemy?

Should I have refrained from stepping in whenever she was in danger?

...Should I have avoided spending so much time with her?

It didn't matter what it was.

...What was certain was that I had made some huge mistake in the process.

And that mistake came back to me in a way I could never have imagined.

...The one who always shone brightly with confidence.

The true hero who endured alone even in the most desolate situations.

Because of me, she became dependent on me.

She became obsessed with me.

As I was thinking about this and feeling troubled for a moment.

'.......'

As if craving my answer.

In front of me, against the night sky, looking at me with a somewhat anxious expression... with a somewhat unheroic, fragile appearance, Stardust looking at me with her blue eyes.

Now, I had to acknowledge with a certain realization.

'....I see.'

I understand.

The Stardust in front of my eyes now is a different person from the original Stardust I knew.

A person who has been changed by me, by Egostic.

...No longer the hero Stardust in my memories, in my recollections.

...

As I was thinking that.

...Then, I smiled inwardly.

'Different, huh.'

Yes.

The original Stardust in my memory and the Stardust in front of my eyes were certainly different.

...But, what difference does it make?

In the end, what I liked wasn't the Stardust in my memory, but Stardust herself in reality.

After all, I was inevitably always a fan of Stardust.

Fighting with me, battling, sometimes joining forces to defeat other villains.

Always prioritizing justice, never hesitating to save others.

In the end, the person I liked hadn't changed.

I was prepared to accept her in any form, after all.

Until now, I had always tried to stay far from her side.

Because my existence could be a hindrance to her. Because being with her could harm her.

I had always suppressed my feelings and pushed her away.

...However.

If she needs me.

If she is completed by my presence at her side.

Shouldn't I no longer hesitate.

No longer hide my feelings.

...And willingly stand by her side as well?

"...Alright."

With that answer.

I stood up, wiped her tears with my hand, embraced her,

And as if making a promise to her and declaring to myself at the same time, I answered sincerely.

"I will never leave you again from now on. I will always be by your side. If that's what you want."

"...Really?"

"Yes."

I answered like that.

With a grin, I said to her.

"...Didn't I promise you? That I would be your arch-enemy."

"How could an arch-enemy leave their hero?"

"...But you did leave until now."

When I said that, she replied with a somewhat sulky voice.

"Well..."

...I hesitated for a moment.

Then, after organizing my thoughts briefly, I cleared my throat and said.

"Actually, I was planning to return. I just didn't tell you because things were hectic."

I looked into her blue eyes and spoke with a sincere voice.

...It wasn't a lie. I was planning to return as a villain under the pretext of becoming the Korean branch representative of Kathedal. Though I would only manage from behind the scenes rather than taking the front stage...

Anyway, hearing my answer, Stardust still muttered in a sulky voice while in my arms.

"I don't believe you."

"...So, prove it to me."

Saying that.

Snuggling more into my arms, with her blonde hair flowing down, looking up at me with her blue eyes.

I realized what I needed to do next.

Like that.

......

Under the star-filled night sky.

I held her body and slightly lowered my head.

"....."

At the same time, Stardust closed her eyes and brought her face closer to mine.

Like that.

Finally, our lips met.

"Mmm..."

The cold feel of her suit against my arms, contrasting with the warm sensation in my embrace.

At the same time.

As if not wanting to lose me, I held Stardust tightly in my arms, kissed her, and thought.

...Until now.

After falling into this world, I thought I had become a villain obsessed with a hero.

But that wasn't it.

'...I didn't become a villain obsessed with a hero.'

I.

Without even realizing it.

...I became a villain whom a hero is obsessed with.