BXBX NOVEL Chapter 248: Ep 248 – Apology
After Egostic’s indiscriminate missile terror in various areas, quite a bit of time had passed.
And Stardus…
“Haa, haa.”
She was now on the brink of collapsing.
“He said it was the last one earlier… Why is it the real last one this time…!”
With that lament, she felt like she was about to crumble, but there was no one to lend an ear.
Egostic seemed to have stockpiled missiles in some warehouse or something because no matter how many Stardus intercepted, he kept saying he would bring more from somewhere else.
As a result, Stardus was currently flying almost one lap around Seoul.
For some reason, the place where Egostic picked for the next location was always the farthest possible from her.
“Haa, haa…”
As a result, she had been flying in the sky all day long.
It was almost a relief that he didn’t tell her to go to Jeju Island…
“Yeah… I can just go, right…”
Muttering like that, almost in a dazed state, she propelled her body into the sky.
And in that state, she regained her posture and, at the same time, drove into the air.
Boooom-
Fwoooosh-.
A booming noise could be heard in the sky, and her body was propelled into the sky almost at full speed.
Yeah.
After almost an entire day of spinning around Stardus flying speed had broken the previous limit, and she was almost 50% faster, at least subjectively.
So, whether it was because she had adapted physically or not, she slowly began to think.
“Now it seems somewhat doable, doesn’t it…?”
In the first and second rounds, she almost died for real, but from the third round onwards, she got used to it and entered a state of indifference where it wasn’t as difficult as before.
Of course, she was still likely to die… but even so, with this pace, it seemed somewhat doable.
And just as she was having those thoughts…
“…?”
Suddenly, in the sky, it began to snow.
“…What’s this?”
White pellets fluttered from the sky like some sort of tiny snow.
…No, upon closer inspection, it really looked like snow.
Wasn’t winter over a long time ago…?
As she was flying and pondering this with a vacant mind…
Suddenly, the snowflakes began to grow larger.
Now it was almost like a heavy snowfall.
The visibility was so poor.
“What’s going on?”
What on earth was happening? Just as she was pondering this with a dazed mind, she heard a broadcast from Egostic.
[Yes! Since Stardus is flying so well right now, I’ve decided to add an obstacle. From now on, there will be snowfall in Stardus’s flight path. Thank you!]
Thud.
Stardus, who was flying aimlessly through the sky, uttered in a dazed voice, not even realizing it due to the dizzying vertigo.
“This… this… this little…!”
You’ll see when it’s all over…!
With that determination fresh in her mind, Stardus flew through the blizzard, tears in her eyes.
She had been overheated from continuous flying, but the snowfall made it feel cooler. Haah…
***
“Okay, okay. Things are going well.”
In a makeshift control center set up somewhere in Seoul for this terrorist act, I muttered as I watched Stardus’ movements.
Currently, Stardus speed had increased by more than 50% compared to before. It was unbelievable growth in just one day.
*
[Stardus is getting faster.]
[Is this the majesty of K-Hero?]
[This is bad. Tomorrow, those patriot YouTubers are going to go all out hahaha. I can already see their video titles hahaha.]
[Like if you think Stardus << Just a hero GOAT hahaha. Without Stardus, Korea would’ve been done for hahaha.]
[Is Egostic continuing the terror act right now to make Stardus fly faster? How far does Mango sensei look into this?]
*
Even the viewers could somewhat feel it.
Up until now, it was difficult to feel that she was getting stronger, but for some reason, everyone seemed to notice that Stardus was flying faster and faster, perhaps because speed was a quantifiable measure.
Of course, this method had its issues. The main issue was that Stardus was going through so much suffering!
“Ugh…”
I sighed, pressing my forehead.
I didn’t want it to be this way either, but… but…
Because I knew Stardus so well, I could understand.
If Stardus didn’t grow like this now, she would surely suffer even more later. If she couldn’t save even one person because she was too slow, she would resent herself. Her suffering would be beyond comparison.
That was her personality, after all.
“Haa…”
So, ultimately, pushing Stardus to grow at this pace was for her sake, especially given the Gate incident, which wasn’t far off.
Besides, Stardus was actually doing exceptionally well, as expected. Look at her speed increase. While other heroes spent years to become 1% stronger, she was flying as if she had received some incredible growth buff in just a few hours. With a bit more, she’d double her current speed today…!
That’s why I, with tears in my eyes, added one lap after another so she could completely adapt to that speed. Furthermore, I called Shinryung and Sehee to help make preparations, including having snow and lightning fall intermittently. It was almost like an all-in-one training session.
*
[Like If you hide in the bunker and don’t come out hahaha. Oh, I heard they’re going to fall into our city as well hahaha.]
[Yeah, hahaha. Well, he’s going around every city, and people are saying it’s going to fall here soon hahaha.]
[(Breaking news) All the students in our school have taken shelter in the bunker, hahaha. They’re delighted at the opportunity to skip their classes.]
[Koreans are faster than anyone else, seriously.]
*
As a result of the continuous threat of missile terror and pressure on people to evacuate various cities, I somewhat improved people’s evacuation abilities. As we continued threatening them to go to different cities, people began to anticipate that the missiles would fall in their cities, so they ran to their bunkers.
In this way, I continued the missile threat terror for a while, suppressing my feelings of guilt.
[Da-in, there’s only one missile left to prepare now. I think it’s time to finish it.]
Finally, the time had come.
“Okay, I got it. I’ll start getting ready.”
With a brief reply, I prepared for the final act of today’s terror.
That meant going out there myself and welcoming Stardus, who had blocked all the missiles today.
And most importantly…
There are things I need to give to Stardus today.
I stared at the dark object I had prepared in my hand for a moment, then put it in my pocket and stood up.
Yes, I need to prepare to meet Stardus directly. I should be ready…
“Hmm…”
…Thinking about spending the whole day spinning around and personally meeting her made me break into a cold sweat, even at the thought of running away.
Should I run away now…? The thought crossed my mind.
However…
“…”
…My inner intuition warned me that if I didn’t meet her right now, I might be in real trouble. So I decided to meet her.
…Let’s be careful. Be careful…
***
Amidst the strong winds blowing in the blue sky, it seemed like the sun was setting, casting a reddish hue in the sky. Stardus, who had just sent another missile soaring into the sky, was sprawled on the rooftop of a nearby building, leaning against it while panting heavily.
[Wow, I really didn’t know you’d block this one too. Just now, that was my last missile. Well then, let’s finish today’s terror here. I hope the people of South Korea appreciate having Stardus!]
As she held her throbbing head, Egostic’s broadcast echoed in her ears.
“Now, it’s really… Haa… It’s truly the end…”
Stardus muttered through heavy breaths.
She thought she was going to die for real. Really. It felt like a training session from her early hero days, but now someone was holding a missile and threatening her, making her fly all over the place. Especially when lightning struck her in between…
“Ugh…”
Stardus, with her head spinning, leaned against the rooftop railing while gasping for air.
“Egostic…”
At that moment, as she mumbled his name, a familiar voice spoke from right behind her.
“Haha, did you call me?”
“…!”
The familiar voice came from right behind her. Startled, she reflexively turned around.
There, she saw Egostic floating in the sky, wearing a dignified expression and greeting her.
“Hello, Stardus. It’s been a while.”
Egostic smiled and looked at her from above.
“You… Youuu…”
“Haha…”
As she stared up at him with bewildered eyes, he looked away apologetically. He appeared genuinely sorry.
“Are you… alright?”
“Do you think I’m alright…?”
“H-Haha…”
Seeing his embarrassed coughing and the look of guilt on his face, she found herself at a loss for words.
He seemed genuinely apologetic. Her unexpected reaction left her momentarily speechless.
She felt a sense of apology and guilt from him.
Unable to anticipate this response, she felt confused for a moment. She had expected him to shamelessly laugh it off and say something like, “You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you?” But instead, he was apologizing, and that caught her off guard. A villain feeling sorry for causing trouble…
‘Really…’
It was absurd.
She thought that while her anger was gradually subsiding.
In reality, thinking about it, couldn’t villains have reasons for behaving this way? Perhaps he had valid circumstances that made him extend the time, seeing as she was running late. Maybe there were unavoidable reasons.
Wait a minute. Isn’t this going too far…?
As she contemplated whether to express her anger or not, she was conflicted within herself.
And in that very moment,
…
The sun was slowly setting, dyeing the sky in a deep shade of red.