The association, having witnessed her extraordinary growth, likely concluded that they had underestimated her power until now.
They had come to accept that she had that level of strength all along, unbeknownst to everyone.
In truth, her power had risen in more ways than just that.
When she flew towards the airplane, when she sprinted desperately, teeth clenched –
She had overcome another barrier.
Somehow, her speed during flight had become much faster than before.
Although the association suggested that she might have just underrated her strength all along,
She knew for certain, as it was her own power,
That her abilities hadn’t always been at this level, but that they had grown.
It wasn’t a matter of doubt – could it be possible?
No, her powers had genuinely become stronger.
But why?
Did her abilities grow themselves just because she faced a situation she couldn’t overcome with her current power?
Did that even make sense? How terribly convenient.
Yet, the fact that her powers had grown could not be denied, as it had already happened.
However, in truth,
She wasn’t particularly focused on the fact that her abilities had grown at the moment.
More than that, her thoughts were continuously occupied with
Egostic, it was him.
Due to the airplane terrorist incident, many who once blindly followed Egostic as an anti-hero had faded away. Through this event, many were reminded that he was a villain recognized by the association.
Although there had been no civilian casualties this time, had Stardus not acted, countless people would have faced death, prompting a rise in voices criticizing him.
Yet,
As the person directly involved, Stardus had a different perspective from the public.
When she was standing powerlessly, merely standing by, a sudden contact came.
And then he said…
Telling her to stop the falling airplane.
“When I asked how I was supposed to stop it,
He confidently assured me.
‘You can do it. Stop the airplane from crashing.’
When I expressed my fear that his suggestion was aimed at killing me, he said:
‘Without you, what meaning is there to me? Absent you, I’m merely a common, garden-variety villain.’
‘You complete me.’
Stunned by his abrupt statement, as I was about to become visibly flustered,
He continued, pleading with a voice filled with sincerity,
‘So, please step forward.’
‘Clench your fists, put strength in your legs, and soar into the sky to save the people.’
‘You can do it.’
‘Because that’s who you are.’
All throughout my time as a hero, had there ever been someone who believed in me this much?
Even when I first started working as an A-class hero, they said I was too young…
✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧ 𝑔𝓇𝒶𝓋𝒾𝓉𝓎𝓃𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓈 ✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧