Chapter 34

EP.34 Rational Doubt

[Hello, everyone. This is the 9 o'clock news. Today in the afternoon, there was a terrorist attack on an airplane by a villain. Our country's hero caught the falling plane and saved everyone. For more details, we turn to reporter Jeon Jae-seung.]

[At 1 PM today, the screens of the three major terrestrial channels suddenly changed.]

The TV, which was showing a variety show, turned black. Suddenly, the inside of an airplane began to be broadcast. People were trembling with fear, and the voice of Egostic could be heard.

[Welcome to the greatest quiz show in the sky, The Egoshow, live!]

The TV showed a pre-recorded image of Egostic, who was smiling evilly.

[This is the third terrorist act by Egostic, who previously broadcast his terrorist scenes twice on public channels.]

Egostic's voice was heard again.

[The rules are simple! There will be 10 nonsense quizzes, and you just need to answer them correctly! If even one person answers all of them correctly, the lights will go out, and the plane will be released safely! But if everyone gets them wrong? Boom. The bomb will explode!]

The passengers were in chaos, trying to solve the quizzes frantically.

[The passengers, despite their panic, tried to solve the quizzes calmly in response to Egostic's threat to detonate the bomb attached to the plane. However,]

Egostic's playful voice was heard again.

[...is not the correct answer!!! What a pity. Well, then, goodbye!]

At the same time, a loud bang was heard, and the plane began to shake.

People screamed as the plane started to descend.

The camera changed, and the news showed a shot from the ground, looking far out to the sea.

At first glance, it might not be noticeable, but upon closer inspection, the plane could clearly be seen descending at an angle.

As the plane was actively crashing,

A small dot began to fly towards the plane.

And the dot collided with the plane.

Boom.

A tremendous vibration could be felt by the camera taking the footage.

The anchor continued.

[Heading towards the crashing plane, a figure flew. Her identity is A-class hero Stardus. She was waiting near the expected landing site of the plane and flew to stop it when it started to crash.]

[Many experts predicted that she wouldn't be able to stop it with her known abilities, but defying those predictions, the plane is visibly slowing down.]

The plane in the footage was clearly falling more slowly.

[In the end, the plane stopped, and all passengers were rescued safely. Stardus was later taken to the hospital, where she fainted due to exhaustion, but the Hero Association announced that her life was not in danger. This report was brought to you by Jeon Jae-seung.]

The reporter's report ended, and the news showed the standing female anchor again.

She opened her mouth.

[Yes, heroes. What are heroes? Justice, salvation, sacrifice, trust... The actions of Stardus this time were truly those of a hero. On behalf of our broadcasting station, we express our gratitude to Stardus for protecting the citizens of the Republic of Korea.]

The anchor bowed her head.

***

[Hey, after doing that much, you can take a day off, right? Come down and look at the sea, and cheer up. Let's run together for the first time in a while.]

"Okay, I'll go this time."

[Really? A promise! A promise, okay?]

"Yeah, yeah."

The call ended, and she put down her phone and sat in the chair in front of her desk, taking a deep breath.

"...."

It had been a few days since she stopped the plane alone.

She was amazed at how she managed to stop it and how she was still alive.

But the important thing was that she stopped the plane and saved people, and she was still alive and well.

She clenched and unclenched her right hand.

Her strength had increased again, and this time it was much more than before.

Seeing her unusual growth, the Association probably realized that they had underestimated her power all along.

They accepted that she already had that much power, but no one knew it.

In fact, her power's increase was not just that.

When she flew towards the plane, gritting her teeth and sprinting desperately,

She overcame another barrier.

For some reason, her flying speed was much faster than before.

The Association explained that it seemed she had underestimated her own power, but

Since it was her own power, she knew it clearly.

Her power was not originally at this level; it had grown.

It wasn't something to doubt.

Really, her power had become stronger.

Why?

Did her power grow to solve a situation that she couldn't handle with her current abilities?

Does that make sense? How convenient is that story?

But the fact that her power had grown was already a reality, and she couldn't deny it.

However, in fact,

She wasn't particularly interested in the growth of her power right now.

What she was continuously thinking about was

Egostic, him.

Due to this airplane terrorist incident, many people who blindly followed Egostic as an anti-hero have disappeared. People have once again realized that he is a villain recognized by the Association.

Although there were no civilian casualties this time, if Stardus hadn't stopped the plane, many people would have died, leading to a lot of criticism.

However,

Stardus, the only person involved in the incident, had a different view from the public.

When she was standing helplessly, a sudden call came.

And he said,

"Go and save the falling plane."

When she asked how she could stop it,

He said with confidence,

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

When she asked if he was trying to kill her,

He said,

"What meaning do I have without you? Without you, I'm just a common villain."

"You complete me."

Surprised by his sudden statement,

He followed up with a voice full of sincerity, almost pleading,

"So, go ahead."

"Clasp your fists, gather your strength in your legs, and fly into the sky to save people."

"You can do it."

"Because that's who you are."

His words, which she had never heard in her hero career, were full of trust and belief in her.

Had anyone ever believed in her like this?

When she first started as an A-class hero, she only heard negative comments like "too young" and "can't solve cases quickly."

She had been silently working to uphold her sense of justice amidst the public's lack of trust in heroes.

But the irony was that the villain, her arch-nemesis, was the first to speak to her with such complete trust.

And it actually happened as he said.

No matter how impossible it seemed, it actually happened.

As he had first predicted,

"Egostic..."

Alone in her house, she quietly muttered his name.

He said he believed in her.

He told her to lift the plane.

But the point to focus on is not that he said he believed in her.

He told her to lift the plane.

Why?

Why did he drop the plane and then tell her to save it?

Why did he drop it in the first place?

It seemed too suspicious to simply say he was a psychopath who killed people with his powers.

The plane that would have fallen if she had done nothing.

But because he told her to save it, she was able to.

So why did he tell her to save it?

Did he plan a crazy death game where the plane would crash if the nonsense quiz was answered incorrectly, but didn't want to see civilians die?

Yes, that's a possibility. But,

Her intuition was screaming that it wasn't the case.

"You are just a common villain without me. I am completed by you."

His words kept echoing in her ears.

Without her, he was just a common villain, so he needed her.

Why would he become a common villain without her?

Would it really make no difference if another hero, not her, faced him? Was it because she was the only A-class hero near him?

It didn't seem to be the case.

Her intuition kept shouting that there was another reason.

It was an unfounded, illogical, and almost delusional guess.

But this time, she decided to trust her senses.

"...I need to investigate his past actions."

What has he done so far?

How did it all end?

If she gathered all the incidents he caused, would something come out?

She got up from her seat and started to go outside.

Egostic. The suspicion that he was planning something and had a purpose behind all this.

It might not be a rational suspicion, but still,

She decided to try to solve the mystery.

Shin Haru got dressed and went outside.

Egostic. Whatever you're hiding, whatever you're planning,

I will find it out.

***

"Ouch, why is my ear itching?"

"Bro, maybe it's because you're not cleaning your ears?"

"No, I don't think that's it."

What is it? Is someone cursing me?