Chapter 33

EP.33 HERO

"AAAAAAH!"

The plane began to plummet.

Passengers screamed and clung to their armrests.

[No! Making noise! That's it, I'll cut the last line! Bang!]

Another explosion sounded, and the plane began to fall even faster.

And all of this was being live-streamed to everyone.

"Damn bastard..."

Of course, there were people who were watching the scene in real-time...

"...Mr. President, what do we do now?"

[What can we do... Give up. I'm busy writing a statement of condemnation. Sigh, I'll have to bow my head here and there again. You, prepare to write a report for throwing popcorn at me. Ah, damn. The reporters are here. I'll hang up.]

The call with the president was cut off.

Stardus was left alone, looking up at the sky with a heavy heart.

"Haa..."

The plane was slowly descending.

Although it was falling so slowly that it could be mistaken for a normal landing, the smoke pouring out of both wings clearly indicated a serious situation.

Stardus thought.

Is this almost the largest-scale terrorist attack in history?

Egostic... He finally did it.

The most frustrating thing was that she could do nothing but watch.

The plane was falling at a speed of at least 1000 km/h.

Considering that the train she barely stopped was moving at about 100 km/h, this was roughly ten times faster.

Trying to stop it would be like hitting a rock with an egg, or an ant trying to stop a car.

In other words, she could do nothing.

She could only helplessly watch.

While she was looking up with a heavy heart, her in-ear headphones suddenly rang.

"...?"

She frowned at the unexpected call and tried to hang up, but then she thought,

'Wait... This is supposed to be connected only to the association, right?'

With that thought, she tapped the headphones and answered the call.

A man's voice came through, and Stardus bit her lip at the now familiar voice.

[Hello, Ms. Stardus. This is Egostic.]

"You damn bastard..."

She almost pulled out the headphones and threw them to the ground, unable to contain her anger.

But as he continued speaking, she shut her mouth.

[By the way, I'm curious. Why aren't you going to save them?]

"...What?"

[No, you should fly over and save the plane. What are you doing?]

Stardus felt a surge of anger at his nonchalant tone, but she suppressed it, thinking that getting angry would play into his hands. She spoke calmly.

"...So, you're telling me to stop a falling plane? The one you dropped?"

[Yes, of course.]

His brazen response made her want to punch him hard enough to kill him instantly.

Suppressing her anger, she spoke.

"How am I supposed to stop it? It's falling at 1000 km/h. Are you telling me to die? Ah, that's it. You're crazy."

...Her anger was seeping out, and her composure was starting to slip.

But before she could yell, Egostic interrupted her.

[No, you can do it.]

His voice, which seemed more sincere and serious than ever, made her speechless for a moment.

[You can do it. Stop the plane from crashing.]

As if stating an undeniable truth, like the sun rising after the moon sets.

His voice was so firm.

After a moment of speechlessness, she regained her composure and spoke quietly.

"...Does that make sense? Do you think I don't know you're just trying to get rid of me this time?"

[Why would I want to kill you?]

His calm response followed.

[Without you, what meaning do I have? Without you, I'm just a common villain.]

[You complete me.]

[So, go ahead. Clench your fists, gather your strength, and fly up to save the people. You can do it. That's who you are.]

With that, the call ended.

Left alone, she was momentarily dazed by the sudden turn of events...

Then, as if coming to her senses, she shook her head vigorously.

He's just spouting nonsense as usual.

After all, he's the one who made the plane explode and fall.

I know my own abilities. How can I stop it?

He's just trying to kill me this time, right?

But his words kept echoing in her mind.

'No, you can do it.'

'You complete me.'

'Clutch your fists, gather your strength, and fly up to save the people. You can do it. That's who you are.'

If she only heard the words, she would think they were from a fan.

But these words came from her enemy, Egostic.

'Maybe that's why they're more credible and objective?'

Her mind was in chaos.

She was already feeling helpless and despairing at the thought of watching everyone on the plane die in real-time.

When the villain who dropped the plane called her and told her to save it, her mental state finally broke.

'Right. I stopped a train, so why can't I stop a plane? Isn't a plane just a flying train? Isn't "airplane" short for "air train"? So, maybe I can stop a plane too?'

Her brain started to think with a seriously flawed logic.

Ultimately, her brain reached a conclusion.

[247th Regular Brain Judgment Meeting of Shin Haru]

[Agenda Result: Go save the plane.]

'Right, if I just watch them die, I'll be burdened with guilt for the rest of my life. I might as well try and have no regrets.'

And immediately,

She flew into the sky.

***

"AAAAAAH!"

"HHHHHHH."

"AAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

Inside the plane, screams filled the air.

Although the descent was smooth compared to the explosion, the fear didn't disappear.

Outside the window, the ground was getting closer and closer.

At first, only clouds were visible, but now the sea below was becoming visible.

People were screaming, praying to God, fainting, or quietly closing their eyes, having given up on everything.

As the plane got closer to the sea and people were about to lose hope, thinking they only had a few minutes left to live,

Boom.

A sound came from the front.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

The continuous sound.

It was as if something was repeatedly hitting the front of the plane, making a loud thud.

And a sonic boom.

BOOM.

"Ugh?"

Suddenly, a massive impact was felt from the front.

Passengers were jolted forward as if they were being flung out.

If they hadn't been wearing seat belts, they would have been thrown out.

It felt like the plane had hit something, like a car hitting a tree.

The plane, which was heading straight for the sea to break apart,

Gradually.

Gradually.

Slowed down.

"...Huh?"

Passengers, who initially thought they were dead from the impact, noticed something was off.

Even though they were getting closer to the ground,

The plane was slowing down, as if landing.

"Wh... What?"

The plane, which was gradually slowing down,

Eventually, landed on the sea with a thud.

BOOM.

"AAAAAAH!"

Although there was some impact and the plane split apart,

Ultimately,

All passengers survived.

"...What?"

The sudden situation left the passengers stunned.

They didn't realize they were alive, and they couldn't feel happy.

A few who regained their senses got up and went to the back to find the crew.

There, they found the crew members unconscious and lying on the floor.

They woke them up, had them open the plane's doors, and set up a slide-like device to lower life rafts into the sea.

People slid out and onto the life rafts.

Still in shock, they rowed to the front of the plane.

What they saw was a blonde woman in a red tights, standing on the front of the plane, which was dented and crushed, holding it with all her might, sweating profusely and catching her breath.

It was Stardus.

People instinctively realized she had saved them.

One of them muttered without thinking,

"Hero..."

Hero.

Hero.

Savior.

Everyone there, seeing her catching her breath on the massive plane, felt it.

That.

That person.

Just saved everyone.

She was their hero.

***

[Yes!!! Stardus!!! Successfully landed the plane!!! All passengers are safely!!! Evacuating!!! Fellow citizens!!! Korea is safe!!!]

[Yes, and as you can see.... Wow. She did it! Viewers, the Korean A-class hero Stardus just stopped a plane from crashing in midair! Unbelievable that it happened in Korea.]

[Yes, the Korean hero Stardus just stopped a plane in midair. Amazing. Can Korea do anything?]

[The Korean hero Stardus stopped the plane. Yes, it's great for a rogue state on the peninsula.]

[In Korea, a small country in the East, a hero stopped a plane in the sky. Her name is Stardus.]

[Shocking the US and stunning Japan! Praised by China and feared by France, who is the hero Stardus? "Japan must admit that it has completely lost to Korea in terms of heroes. Even ten Japanese heroes combined can't beat Korea." Shocking revelation by the Japanese Minister of Internal Affairs!]