Chapter 392 - Heroes And Saints

Republic of Korea, Seoul airspace.

Below, a modern city sprawls out, and above, the blue sky fills the space.

...And currently, in that place where a battle between Egostic's army of angels and heroes is taking place.

"Hmm..."

In the midst of the terror, the sudden appearance of a silver-haired woman in white saintly robes in the sky was enough to bewilder everyone.

The leader of Kathedal, Celeste.

The woman called the strongest in the world.

She was currently standing in the sky, looking down at the Seoul landscape spread below.

...To be precise, she was standing with her numerous angel soldiers and looking down at a hero with flowing blonde hair.

The woman down below who was looking up and glaring at her standing in the sky was...

None other than Korea's S-class hero, Stardust.

Looking down at Stardust, Celeste was thinking:

'Hmm... So there was indeed a reason why Egostic pays special attention to her.'

The world's number one villain, Celeste, who came to Korea.

The reason she came here was simple.

'...Just what kind of woman is Stardust that Egostic cares about her so much?'

She was simply curious about Stardust.

...Having already reviewed Egostic's past records, Celeste knew that all of Egostic's past terrorism and actions revolved around Stardust.

Why on earth did he care so much about Stardust?

What kind of woman was Stardust?

...And what kind of relationship did they have?

'...Well, I should check it out once.'

For that reason, she had casually dropped by Korea, as if taking a neighborhood stroll.

Just to check what Stardust was really like, and then leave.

And now, she appeared where Stardust was, right when Egostic was causing terror.

While South Korea was thrown into confusion as the sudden appearance of the #1 ranked villain was being broadcast, Celeste was quietly observing Stardust.

'...Indeed, she is strong.'

She thought quietly to herself.

Just by standing in front of Stardust, she could feel the tingling power of stars on her skin.

She could feel the powerful star energy emanating from Stardust, incomparable to Egostic's.

...And she naturally sensed how that power was the complete opposite of the power of the sun.

'Indeed, it makes sense that Egostic would try so hard to recruit her.'

Clearly, having that kind of power on their side would be a great asset.

That was the extent of her impression.

After all, no matter how strong Stardust was, she didn't seem strong enough to defeat Celeste herself. She had no intention of fighting seriously anyway.

If an enemy of that level of danger had belonged to her country, she would have dealt with them by any means necessary.

But since Egostic was managing her, there was nothing to worry about.

However.

...Still, Egostic's attention to Stardust bothered her.

And now, back to the present.

With the sudden appearance of the representative of the villain alliance Kathedal, all heroes retreated, and only Stardust stepped forward to stand before her.

In that brief moment, having organized all her thoughts, Celeste...

Dressed in white saintly robes, with her silver hair flowing and eyes closed, exuding her characteristic mysterious aura, she opened her mouth.

"Hmm... So you are Stardust."

"...Yes. Why have you come here?"

Stardust replied with a wary expression.

Meeting her blue eyes, Celeste smiled and spoke.

"Ah. My loyal subordinate Egostic talked about you, so I came out of curiosity. I wanted to see for myself what kind of hero was bothering my villain so much."

And upon hearing those words, Stardust tried not to show it, but...

...She couldn't help her expression from hardening a bit.

'...Ha. Loyal subordinate? Her villain?'

How absurd.

Who gave her the right to call him her villain?

Stardust.

In fact, she knew something about Celeste. Because Egostic had told her.

'He definitely said she's the villain who plays the biggest role in preventing the apocalypse.'

That's why he became friendly with her.

...It was uncomfortable to hear even then, but now it was clear.

That woman. She's after Egostic.

"....."

And while Stardust was thinking with a hardened expression,

Celeste was thinking the same thing.

'Look at that hardened face.'

Her face hardened at the mention of Egostic.

...That clearly meant she cared about Egostic.

Just as I thought.

'And look at that shameless, tight-fitting red suit...'

Was she trying to seduce Egostic with that? How shameless.

With such thoughts, Celeste couldn't help but open her eyes and look at her with golden eyes, sneering.

"Hmm, but well. Nothing special. I don't understand why Egostic pays attention to you."

A clear provocation.

...For a moment, Stardust almost lost her composure at those words, but she took a deep breath and thought.

Right. Stay calm. That woman probably hasn't even held hands with Egostic. Getting excited means losing.

After all, in the end, isn't she the one currently connected with Egostic?

So.

...Stardust crossed her arms, smirked, and said with a smile to Celeste:

"Is that so? Well, maybe he liked something other than my power. Oh, you wouldn't understand since Egostic is only by your side because of your power."

"...Hahaha. That's funny... indeed."

Crack.

At Stardust's surprisingly good comeback, Celeste's eyes turned cold for a moment.

How dare she. A mere hero, looking down on the relationship between her and Egostic, bound by their shared villain status?

"Hahaha."

"...Hahaha."

After that exchange.

Looking at each other and laughing, the two realized as they coldly faced each other.

That no more conversation was needed between them.

And so.

BOOM!

The battle between the hero of stars and the saint of the sun was now beginning.

***

*

[Stardust! Stardust! Stardust! Stardust!]

[Is the fight between Stardust and Saint Sister real? My heart is pounding... truly a magnificent battle]

[Honestly, Saint-Mango is possible too lol, starting with me lol]

[So why are those two fighting?]

[ㄴCouldn't hear their conversation, but they're probably fighting over Egostic?]

[Legal wife battle ON lol]

[Wait, the world's strongest villain is here fighting and everyone's so calm? You're all crazy lol]

[Ah lol Celeste is on Mango's side too so no worries lol]

*

"Huff, huff..."

After hearing the news that Celeste suddenly came to Korea and was fighting with Stardust,

I rushed to the scene and leaned against a nearby building, panting from the aftermath of teleportation.

"Huff... cough."

Ah, damn. Now I'm even coughing up blood.

After quickly wiping away the blood, I leaned against the wall and looked at the battle scene.

"Whoa..."

BOOM!

Flash Flash

RUMBLE

Bang. Bang. BAAAAANG.

"Oh my..."

The sky was a chaotic mess of yellow and white flashes.

All kinds of thunderous sounds echoed, and with sounds like the sky was collapsing, strong winds blew through the area.

...Looking up at the sky where such a battle was taking place, I was secretly impressed.

"...Oh."

One thing was clear.

...Fortunately, neither of them seemed to be fighting with their full strength.

They were fighting with the intention to win, but they were keeping within certain limits. Stardust knew because I had explained that Celeste was on our side, and Celeste probably didn't want to destroy Korea suddenly, considering my position.

But still, they were clearly testing each other's skills.

...What caught my attention was Stardust, who was evenly matched with Celeste.

"...As expected."

As I thought, Stardust had truly become stronger.

At this point, even with Celeste holding back, she was fighting on equal terms with the flying calamity from the original story.

...Especially considering that Stardust grows exponentially stronger as the Sun God gets closer to our dimension.

Yes. I've raised one hero well. Sniff.

However...

"...Hmm, this is a bit troublesome."

BOOM!

I looked up at the two still fighting with a troubled expression and muttered.

...With the Sun God's revelation approaching soon, it wasn't good for these two, who would essentially be on the same side, to be fighting like this.

So, it was time to end this.

I took out a Max-amplifier enhanced by Eun-wol's magic from my pocket.

And from below the building where the two were fighting,

I spoke loudly into the amplifier:

[Ahem. Stop, stop! Ms. Stardust, Ms. Celeste. Stop fighting!]

My voice echoed throughout the city.

....Wow, it was so loud that the windows of nearby buildings vibrated. Ah. I didn't mean for it to be this loud.

Anyway, it definitely got their attention.

"...Egostic?"

"Hmm..."

Their fight slowly began to cease.

Not missing the opportunity, I immediately teleported to where the two were flying on opposite sides of the sky.

"...Hahaha. Hello, Ms. Stardust. And... Celeste."

"Hmph."

In the blue sky where the wind was blowing.

Up there, looking at Stardust with her blonde hair flowing and sweating as she glared at Celeste, and Celeste similarly with her saintly robes clinging to her body, arms crossed and floating.

I quickly winked at Stardust, then turned to Celeste with a smile and spoke to her.

"Haha, Ms. Celeste. What brings you here?"

"Hmm. I came to deal with the woman who's been bothering you, but you suddenly stopped me, which is troublesome."

"...Hahaha. Come, come. Let's talk about that over there."

Feeling Stardust's glaring gaze from behind, I hurriedly went to Celeste's side.

Wait. Is Celeste wearing the ring I gave her now?

With that chilling thought, I looked down and was relieved to confirm she wasn't.

"...Ahem, ahem. Ms. Stardust, haha. Then we'll be going now. Goodbye!"

"Hmph..."

And so, I quickly took Celeste and fled the scene.

...Worrying about the aftermath to come.