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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Stardust's Doubts
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[South Korea is currently swept up in the Stardust craze. #Stardust is trending in real-time, showing no sign of fading...]
[Unprecedented popularity... Stardust battle highlight video surpasses 10 million views in a short time... Rises to the top of popular video lists worldwide.]
[Foreign media also paying attention to this incident... An unprecedented event where day turned to night, ended by the proud Korean hero, Stardust.]
[Unprecedented popularity among all heroes... The Association's winning streak continues.]
"Hahahahahahaha!!!"
After the situation was resolved.
On the top floor of the Korean Hero Association.
There, the Association President beamed.
"Alright. Stardust. Are you feeling better now?"
"Yes, Mr. President."
"Yes! That's our Stardust, alright. This time was truly a massive success! Do you know how shocked I was? I really thought the country was doomed! Hahahahahahaha!"
The Association President continued to laugh.
And watching his reaction, Shin Haru felt a growing unease.
'...Did I really defeat it?'
Indeed.
The attack she had launched, emitting light against the monster as her last resort, possessed an astonishing output even now, thinking back on it.
It was probably the strongest attack she had ever unleashed.
However.
Shin Haru had never once believed that attack could defeat it.
She had only done it with the resolve to land one final blow in the last moments.
Her gut told her that it wouldn't fall to such a simple, ordinary attack. Unless, of course, it had a 'weakness'...
That's why.
Shin Haru couldn't believe she had defeated it with such an attack.
And.
"Stardust. Don't worry. I'll personally make sure to contact the International Association Headquarters and demand your immediate promotion to S-rank! Hahaha, an S-rank hero belonging to our Association! Hahahahaha!"
"....."
Watching the Association President, who firmly believed she had defeated it, her discomfort grew.
...Did I really defeat it?
Along with that doubt, there was a hazy memory she'd seen just before losing consciousness after the monster fell.
When she launched her attack, she distinctly heard a 'bang'—a sound like a gunshot.
And someone, she was sure, had been standing on the rooftop.
...And that someone was probably...
Just as Shin Haru was recalling someone, the Association President's laughter once again filled the conference room.
"Anyway, Stardust. You'll get a bonus this time, so take a good rest, alright? Go on a trip somewhere. I heard there's a warm beach on the East Sea, despite this weather. Go relax there. You deserve a reward for all your hard work, don't you? You're a national star now, hahahaha!!!"
"Yeah, Haru. You worked hard, so rest. *Hiccup*. You really did something big, didn't you?"
Beside her, Icicle, her face flushed, said so with a warm smile.
Shadowwalker, who had been lost in thought by himself nearby, suddenly snapped out of it and spoke.
"Uhm... Hm, oh? Oh, right. Stardust. Your fight was truly magnificent. You should rest now. Aren't you South Korea's hero? Icicle said she'd handle the rest."
"...Excuse me, *hiccup*. Ja-hyun? When did I say that?"
As even Icicle and Shadowwalker, following the Association President, spoke such words to her, Stardust began to feel a slight sense of guilt.
...Yes. It was true that she had fought to the very end, risking her life.
But had she truly been the one to finish it?
The 'bang' sound, the shadow on the rooftop.
Someone who knew more than anyone, whose main weapon was a gun, who seemed to wear a mask, and who had always saved her in moments of crisis.
At the same time, the image of a man flashed through her mind, but she shook her head.
...It's too much of a stretch. Maybe I just misheard and mis봤 it because I was exhausted at the end. There's no evidence other than my own intuition, is there? Besides, he's a villain.
However.
Shin Haru's intuition screamed powerfully, insisting one thing was certain.
...That, it was something she couldn't have defeated.
Someone else must have helped.
Perhaps, definitely him...
"Haha! To defeat that monster single-handedly, Stardust. The more I think about it, you truly are..."
"Mr. President."
Interrupting the excited Association President's chatter.
Finally, Stardust, Shin Haru, confessed.
"...No matter how much I think about it, I don't believe I was the one who defeated it."
The moment her words ended.
The atmosphere suddenly froze.
"...What did you say?"
As the Association President's face stiffened upon hearing her bombshell statement.
There were others even more flustered than him.
"...*Hiccup*."
".....!"
They were Icicle and Shadowwalker, both looking pale.
***
"What are you talking about, Haru? Of course you're the one who defeated it, hahaha, *hiccup*. Aren't you mistaken?"
The first to speak in the frozen atmosphere was Icicle.
Having already heard the full story from Dain, she knew he had secretly defeated the monster.
'...And because I timed it perfectly, Stardust will never, *cough*, know I did it. She'll be sure it was her.'
'...Mr. Dain. You clearly said Haru wouldn't know!'
Lee Seol-ah, who felt as if his confident words from their phone call were echoing in her ears, resented him inwardly as she clutched her dizzy head and continued speaking to Stardust.
"Who else would have defeated it there besides you? Haru, are you feeling dizzy from waking up after fainting?"
"No. I definitely saw someone. Someone was on the rooftop. And I think he was the one who defeated it."
"Stardust. That's not true."
"...Shadowwalker?"
Stardust questioned Shadowwalker's sudden interjection.
Receiving her gaze, Shadowwalker quietly thought to himself.
'...Egoistic. He clearly said he didn't want his identity revealed.'
With that, he recalled his memory of that day on the rooftop.
He, who had adamantly not wanted to be known, who had insisted he wanted to live in the shadows as a villain.
And he, who had been coughing up blood, continuously.
And from that, Shadowwalker formed a hypothesis.
'...Is he terminally ill?'
Why would that man choose to live as a villain, not a hero, doing good deeds yet accepting the infamy of being a villain from the world?
Why would he, who seemed to care about this world and its people more than anyone else?
...Perhaps it's because he's terminally ill, and he's doing this to prevent people from losing hope if he were to die while acting as a hero.
If his departure date is already set... and he chooses not to form attachments, living quietly in the shadows as a villain to protect the world.
'...Ugh. Egoistic. You truly are a man among men.'
A dark hero protecting the world from the shadows... Egoistic...
Shadowwalker, having painted an epic in his mind, came to a conclusion.
Yes. For a true hero like Egoistic, I can at least do this much.
Don't worry, Egoistic. Leave this to me.
Seized by that conviction, Shadowwalker shamelessly spoke to Stardust again.
"Just before you delivered the final blow, I scanned your surroundings thoroughly. No one was near you. And certainly, no one was on any rooftop."
"...That can't be."
"Trust me, Stardust. You know my ability, even when weakened in the dark, can at least perceive that much."
"At that time, there was no one around you. You were the one who defeated it."
"That's right, Haru. Who else would have been there? Of course, you defeated it. You must be feeling weak these days, seeing things. Should I tell you about a good resort?"
"...."
"...Hahaha! Yes, Stardust, you must have been mistaken. You really gave me a fright. Well, I'd better go explain to the reporters what kind of help our Association provided."
"Ah, Haru. I'll be going too. *Sigh*, lately, corporations and politicians are all going crazy trying to take down my company, *hiccup*. I need to figure out a countermeasure for that... *Sigh*. It's really tedious."
"...I'll be going too. Being awake during the day really makes me sleepy. ...But Icicle, is that, by any chance, alcohol?"
"What? If I don't have this these days, I go crazy, so I need to drink it regularly, okay?"
"...You've been hiccuping since earlier, so that's... that. No, never mind. Do as you please."
As their voices gradually faded away.
Soon, only Stardust remained in the conference room.
"..."
In the space everyone had left.
Stardust, left alone, still mumbled quietly with a serious expression.
"...No, that can't be...."
A situation where everyone, except her, seemed to be conspiring to tell her it was just a mistake, that it wasn't true.
...That was a mistake?
Impossible, it can't be...
With everyone denying it, she was now utterly confused.
...Did I really just imagine it?
"...No matter how I think about it, it felt like Egoistic."
She finally admitted it without realizing.
...Yes, perhaps she was relying too much on Egoistic, causing her to be mistaken.
Wait. Relying? I'm relying on Egoistic, a villain?
"..."
*Flush*.
Her face flushed without her realizing, she shook her head, quickly correcting her thoughts.
No way. I must just be really weak these days and imagined it.
...But no, it really did feel like Egoistic. My intuition told me so.
"...Am I delusional?"
No.
Still, I think Egoistic was the one who defeated it.
She merely mumbled words that no one else would hear.
Yes.
...This time, I should trust my intuition.
As she thought this, she suddenly snapped out of it and looked around the empty conference room in bewilderment.
...Wait. Now that I think about it, where did everyone go, and why am I alone?
And so, Shin Haru, who had been sitting alone in the large, empty office, got up and left.
...Everyone is being too much.
***
[Mang-Bung recounts the tale of his soul being sucked out]
That day, Mang-Bung, a corporate slave whose body was being ground down at work,
Suddenly, he heard a *Kwah-rah-rah~* sound from outside.
So he rushed out in a hurry, and damn, the sky was darkening, and monsters were popping out.
Everyone screamed, "Aargh!" and scattered in all directions,
When suddenly, his body became unable to move, as if someone had grabbed him, and he was pulled into the air by that monster;;
Then, it felt like someone was pulling his hair,
And he felt something being squeezed out of his body, like juice from a popsicle.
He had invested heavily in "all-in" stocks, but he didn't expect his actual soul to be sucked out, lol.
Anyway, after being pulled out, the feeling was super weird. He was stuck next to the monster, feeling a bit hazy, like he was dreaming? He had a faint awareness.
While he was like, "Uh-oh," a yellow light suddenly flashed, and he returned to his body. If Stardust hadn't been there, he would've been stuck as a soul forever, right? Damn, just thinking about it is scary.
What I felt today confirms that the afterlife probably exists, for real...
My words got a bit disorganized, but
Conclusion: From today, I'm supporting EgoStar.
=[Comments]=
[The conclusion is a bit weird, isn't it?]
[LOL, what a rare experience you had in life.]
[Seeing as you finally realized EgoStar, it must have been a good experience.]
[EgoStar suddenly skyrocketing LOL. They weren't even involved with Egoistic, what's going on?]
ㄴ[Ah, lol. Mango is good, and Stardust is good, so if they combine, wouldn't it be twice as good, lol?]
*
"Ha, *cough*. Funny, *cough*. *Coughing fit*!"
"Oppa! Are you okay?"
"Uh, of course, *cough*. I'm f-fine... *cough*. *Coughing fit*!!!"
"Kyaaa! Hayul unnie!!!"
"I'm coming!"
After all the incidents ended.
I, who had been continuously unconscious, kept spitting up blood even after waking up.
*Sigh*. Is it even fair that I'm practically dying just from using teleportation a few times?
How are people with crappy abilities supposed to live...
"I swear, Oppa, you're the death of me!"
"Seo-eun... I'm about to die and collapse myself... Eun-wol, *cough*. Get me a fresh handkerchief, please."
"Yes, yes!"
*Sigh*.
Seriously, I need to retire soon or something.