CH 172

After sending Metel back to the US,

I decided to do the things I had put off again.

“Dain, you need to rest.”

“…Yes.”

…Of course, I decided to rest for a while because Soobin told me to rest with a smiling face. Actually, I think it’s okay to strain my body once in my lifetime… But I decided to stay still because Soobin is scarier when she smiles.

Anyway, I sat on the sofa and rested for a while. I told Seo-eun and Eun-wol some old stories, and things like that.

“So the God of Light gave courage to humans, the God of the Moon gave wisdom, and the God of the Stars gave love.”

“Da-in, isn’t that a cult story?”

“….!”

Of course, there were small happenings where Seo-eun treated my interesting myth as a cult story and Eun-wol, who was a nun of a cult, was surprised by the word cult.

Well, that’s how it was.

We played games with Choi Se-hee, and everyone rested and read books at the bookstore.

So peaceful days continued.

And today, we went to a cafe with a good atmosphere together.

This cafe that Ha-yul found out about. We came here during the off-hours because it’s popular these days and there aren’t many people.

“Hmm… This place is nice.”

The atmosphere was quite calm, so it was definitely nice.

The interior was also pretty in white, and they had laid grass-like things in front of the cafe, giving a green feeling that goes well with nature.

And with the warm sunlight shining, it gave me a good feeling automatically.

When everyone was satisfied like that, the drinks they ordered came out.

“I ordered a blueberry smoothie. It was sweet and easy to drink.

“Hey, how is it?”

“What?”

While I was drinking the blueberry smoothie with a straw, Seo Ja-young’s lethargic voice came from in front of me.

“How is it? It’s tasty.”

“Really? Let me have a sip too.”

“Sure.”

I handed her the cup when she said she wanted to try it.

After taking a sip and then handing the cup back to me, she said, “It’s good.”

“Isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

She lazily smiled at me and handed me the cup back, and I drank from it again. It was definitely good because it was sweet.

“…Naturally using the same straw…”

“What?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Seo-eun, who was sitting next to me with an inflated bowl, seemed to want to say something to me but gave up.

What’s with the inflated bowl? Does she want to become a hamster or something?

We rested in the cafe for a while, talking about this and that, eating honey bread and trying Seo-eun’s mango smoothie, and listening to Ha-yul’s stories about university.

We were having a good time in a peaceful atmosphere, which we hadn’t had in a long time.

KABOOOOOM-

“What? What was that?”

Suddenly, before the sound of something collapsing on the other side of the building.

And I hear someone screaming, “Ahh!”

“What’s going on?”

Choi Se-hee looks around, and I answer her as if it’s obvious.

“Did a terrorist attack happen?”

“Oh… a terrorist attack?”

“Well, there could be more than just a terrorist attack if there are sounds of things collapsing and people screaming. I don’t know why a terrorist attack had to happen when we were taking a break. “

I paused for a moment, stirring the ice in my smoothie with my straw. Was there anyone capable of carrying out a terrorist attack…?

“Well, since I can’t remember anything specific, it’s probably not a big deal.”

Anyway, over there, the sound of things crashing continued, and in front of the store, people were running away in panic.

Of course, we didn’t run away. With our skills, we could handle most people. Plus, it’s not like the terrorist attack was happening right in front of us.

So we just sat there, sipping our drinks and eating snacks.

…But every time something like this happens, I can’t help but realize that I’m living in a hero story. There’s no peace outside. I’ve already eliminated some of the villains, but there’s always something happening.

“Everyone is running away, but we’re just sitting here. It feels strange.”

“We’re a little bit away, so it should be okay. The people running away are probably the ones who were at the scene.”

“Is that so?”

Seo-eun took another bite of her honey bread.

But did everyone really run away?

I glanced over at the counter, yawning as I saw the part-time worker calmly wiping the cups.

Despite the building shaking slightly with the sound of things crashing over there, everything looked peaceful.

It seemed like they had completely adapted to the state of terrorism in Korea. Yeah, if you get surprised by little things like this, you can’t survive in Korea.

“Then, will Stardus come soon…?”

And then, I stopped at Ha-yul’s murmured words.

Wait, come to think of it, she’s right.

If there was a terrorist attack, that means Stardus will come soon, right?

With that thought, I suddenly stood up.

“Hey guys, I’m gonna go check it out for a bit. You guys can take a break.”

“Why didn’t you say anything? Ugh. Da-in, can I come too? I want to see Stardus’ skills again.”

“Me too!”

“Okay, okay. Follow me.”

“…I really like Stardus.”

Putting Seo Ja-young’s words behind, I went up to the rooftop of the building with Seo-eun and Choi Se-hee.

“Hey, it’s been a while since I witnessed Stardus fighting with someone else on the spot.”

“Ugh, we need popcorn but we don’t have any.”

I muttered like that.

The view of the city skyline was visible at a glance as we climbed up to the rooftop.

And over there, the problematic guy appeared next to the building.

“ROAAAAR! I’ll destroy everything!”

BOOM. BOOM.

The scene of a big black gorilla-like guy, roughly the size of Seo-eun’s Starbuster, breaking down the building next to it.

Of course, like people in the hero universe, they all received terrorism preparedness education well, so they quickly ran away and people weren’t visible, but it was a threatening sight.

“ROAAAAAAR!”

Oh, my god. Now he’s spitting fire from his mouth.

“Hey! The crazy gorilla that spits fire! Gorilla is spitting fire!”

And Choi Se-hee was thrilled to see the scene.

Even Seo-eun, who was just standing still, had her eyes sparkling like a big adult seeing a gorilla.

“Hey, I can’t fight that thing…”

“No.”

“Tsk.”

Choi Se-hee’s request, who sparkled her eyes while electrifying her fists, was immediately rejected.

I mean, I know she likes to fight, but it’s a bit difficult to come out here suddenly. I’m not ready, and Stardus will be here soon.

And even before I could say that.

Someone was already flying over there.

A woman in a red bodysuit, flying with blonde hair. Stardus.

…I feel like I haven’t seen her in a long time. Was it the last time I saw her when I faced Shadow Walker with Seo Ja-young at night?

Anyway, Stardus came right away as expected.

As she headed towards the gorilla, the guy turned his head and was seen checking Stardus.

“Fuck!!!!! Who are you! No one can stop the Black Kong!”

He shouted so loudly that it could be heard clearly from far away.

And then the crazy gorilla punched its belly and charged towards Stardus.

In response, Stardus also charged forward, clenching his fists.

A full-scale battle had begun.

Thump. Thump.

The sound of cracking could be heard from a distance.

As I listened to it, I finally remembered Black Kong, who had come to mind.

…Well, he wasn’t really anything special. Just an extra that passed by in the original work. However, I do remember that Stardus had a hard time fighting him. Of course, in the original work, there was no villain that Stardus didn’t struggle with.

And now, in front of my eyes…

Stardus was fighting the gorilla on an equal footing. He dodged the gorilla’s attacks as easily as water flows, and fought back with his fists.

Stardus was steadily hitting the gorilla.

Well, he seems to be fighting well enough.

While I was watching the fight, Seo-eun, who was watching with me, muttered to herself with a serious expression.

“…It may or may not be possible to fight with Starbuster mk.3… If we increase our mobility…”

She seemed to be deep in thought.

Meanwhile, Choi Se-hee, who was watching the action movie with me and punching the air as if she was also in the fight, was in her own world.

The dynamic battles continued, with the gorilla jumping high and slamming its fists into the ground, and Stardus kicking its back.

I endured Seo-eun’s cold stare as I took pictures to post on the Stardus fan cafe, and analyzed Stardus’s abilities.

…She’s definitely stronger than in the original work, but I’m a bit disappointed. She could be even stronger than she is now. Especially since I don’t think she could catch the monster called up by the Wolgwangyo at this level.

Well, I’ll just have to do better. There’s nothing to worry about yet.

After taking a few pictures, I suddenly noticed that the gorilla had fallen. Stardus stood tall on top of it, and I took another picture because he looked so cool.

However…

For a moment, I thought deeply.

…Now, seeing that even on the day we happened to come out, terrorism occurred, it’s clear that the frequency of terrorist attacks has increased. It will probably continue to increase in the future, especially once the portal at Wolgwang Bridge opens.

In other words, it would be best to start before South Korea falls into more chaos. It’s finally time to start the PMC project that we have been putting off.

As the vehicles of the Association arrived one by one, I looked down at Stardus once again and left with Seo-eun and Choi Se-hee.

Well, it was nice to see Stardus after a long time.

***

“Phew…”

Stardus, Shin Haru.

After capturing the gorilla villain, she wiped the sweat off her forehead while sitting on top of him.

It wasn’t easy, but she succeeded in catching him in one go.

Now, he will be imprisoned in the East Prison for the Superpower holders.

But lately, terrorism seems to be happening more frequently.

… Except for Egostic, of course.

While she was waiting for the association members to arrive, she gasped for breath.

“….?”

Feeling a strange sensation for a moment, she looked up at the top of the building across from her.

In her eyes, there was only an empty sky and rooftop without anyone.

… She felt someone’s gaze for a moment.

Did she sense it wrong?

Shin Haru only thought that with a puzzled expression on her face.