Rose's Sinister Grin
“Hey?”
But Nova's expression sours even more at the seemingly friendly greeting.
“Rose...”
“Why so freaked out? You're hurting my feelings.”
It's obvious no villain would be hanging around the Hero Association.
She's one of Nova's colleagues, after all.
But not all colleagues get along.
Especially those whose personalities are utterly shattered—they don't mix well with others.
Even in the hero business, where they save lives and take down villains, people like that exist.
“I'm so upset I might just kill someone~”
It's too vicious to pass as a joke, but the real horror is knowing it might not be one.
She spins a dagger connected to transparent wires around her finger, flashing a sinister smile.
A single beauty mark beneath her torn-up smirk makes her lips stand out even more, sending chills down the spine.
Nova's face twists further.
“Ah, just kidding.”
She smirks slyly at Nova's guarded reaction.
Her words are impossible to read—sincere or not?
“I got disciplined recently and my pay got cut. Can't let that happen again, right? Gotta hold back.”
A hero's job is to crush evil and rescue those in danger.
But "crushing" doesn't just mean subduing.
Instant kills.
S-rank heroes hold the right to choose death—and they wield that power fully.
Twisted another way, it means they can legally kill people if they abuse it.
“Anyway, I heard some fun news...”
Her signature cruel smile spreads.
Her golden eyes gleam with murderous intent and the wild, unhinged light of a maniac.
“Our Nova rescued a sidekick. Wonder who it is?”
Thud!
Nova doesn't hold back and swings her fist.
Crack.
Of course, it's not meant to hit her directly.
If two S-rank heroes clashed here, they might blow half the headquarters to bits.
It's a warning. A massive crater dents the wall right next to Rose's head.
Riiiing...
Rose doesn't flinch at all, but the shockwave from that massive fist makes her ears ring unpleasantly, a slight rupture buzzing in her head.
“Hey, swinging your fist as a warning is fine and all... but damn, your punches are loud.”
Rose replies to the warning with a nonchalant look.
Clearly, that fist didn't scare her one bit.
“Rose...”
Even Nova, always high-energy and pumped, cools to ice.
“This is your warning. Touch my sidekick, and you're dead.”
“And if I do?”
“You won't walk away unscathed.”
Rose stares at Nova with her signature sinister smile.
“......”
Neither backs down in their staring contest.
One side: cheerful powerhouse in tight, stretchy sportswear, fighting with overwhelming force.
The other: skin-tight black latex like a spy, specializing in assassinations and sabotage.
Complete opposites in every way.
But Nova stands firm with unyielding resolve.
Rose figures she won't get much out of this.
“Kidding~ Just some light colleague banter, you know?”
“Yeah, not as fun as I hoped.”
Rose vanishes somewhere with that.
“Nova, it's been ages since you came to headquarters.”
Nova's stiff expression softens at the familiar staffer's face.
“Oh, hey!”
“Yeah, but why the long face? Something wrong?”
“Nah. Ran into Rose on the way.”
“Ah......”
The Hero Association exists to manage and support all heroes.
Even so, some people are just hard to trust on a human level.
Rose is obviously one to watch.
“Eh, she's always like that.”
“Was she always a hero?”
“She's been S-rank since day one. And her kill skills? Top-notch.”
The staffer gives a wry smile.
“You get what I mean?”
“Yeah, I get it...”
Nova narrows her eyes slightly.
No normal civilian wakes up skilled at killing.
“S-rank from the start. And way too good at it to be legit.”
No one without hero experience gets rated S-rank combat prowess right away.
She was definitely in a crime organization before becoming a hero.
And given her skills, probably high up—not some grunt.
“Why let someone like that become a hero...?”
“She's useful to society as a hero, so we make do. Don't dwell on it.”
Even poison can be medicine in the right dose.
Of course, Rose is more like lethal venom, but she's undeniably competent.
“No one matches her on infiltration ops lately.”
“Lately?”
“Mission to infiltrate a terrorist group, ID the org, neutralize the threat.”
But the staffer's face sours despite the success.
“What happened?”
“The members were... wrecked. Bones all twisted... urk.”
“Ah, no need to go on!”
Looks like she interrogated them hard.
Not the standard info-extraction kind, but the sadistic human malice variety...
She didn't harm them for the mission—she used the mission as an excuse to harm them.
“Ugh... anyway, what brings you here?”
Best not to dwell on the bad vibes.
And there's good news.
Nova amps up her energy to lighten the mood.
“I found a hidden awakener!”
“For real!? We've been short on heroes lately—perfect!”
The gloom lifts instantly.
“Who is it?”
“My childhood friend!”
“Your childhood friend? Figures you'd find one. S-rank prodigy and spotting awakeners.”
He beams like it's his own friend who awakened.
“Your ranking would climb even higher based on achievements alone.”
“Aw, shucks, hahaha!!!”
She laughs heartily, clearly pleased by the praise.
“But how'd you think to test your childhood friend? Getting team lead approval must've been a pain...”
“Oh, uh...”
She can't exactly say she saw her doomsday future, so she rolls her eyes with a grin.
“Just a hunch! Bam! Picked him like that!”
“Jealous. That good an instinct? Mind picking lotto numbers for me?”
“Sure! But don't get your hopes up.”
She confidently scribbles a full set of numbers.
No telling if they'll actually win.
“Ah, anyway. Getting carried away here.”
The overexcited staffer reins himself in, clearing his throat awkwardly. Ahem...
He sits back down and shuffles meaningless papers.
“So, when can your friend come to the Association?”
“Anytime he wants. He's got free time right now.”
“Great. Have him come next week. We need to dust off the talent scanner for unawakened folks.”
“Got it!”
The staffer clutches his lotto ticket.
“And results tomorrow? If I win, I'm out!”
Come tomorrow, he'll hit fifth prize and make a weird face—that's a future secret.
Nova doesn't lose her cool even now, clenching her fist without a hint of tension.
“Got it!!! Where?”
“Roger, on my way!”
“Hmmm... I see.”
In that blooming smile-filled spot, an uninvited guest lurks.
Obviously, a cluster of ordinary staffers.
Rose is among them.
Disguised as a regular staffer, sitting there.
Of course, she fed the real occupant a sleep-drug-laced meal.
She'll catch up on her nap shortage and wake up later.
'Awakener childhood friend...?'
Rose smirks invisibly.
'This'll be fun.'
Though it won't be fun for the parties involved.
Right there in the staff room, the radio crackles.
“Hmmm.”
She sheds her disguise.
“Roger~ Rose has it. What's the job?”
The room freaks out.
“W-wait, who the hell are you?!”
“H-hero? Why? Where's the real staffer?!”
Of course, dropping the disguise shocks everyone.
“What happened to the one who was here?”
“Same mission as Nova?”
“Ways and means~ Anyway, heading that way.”
“Hey, find her quick!”
Even though she's the cause, she plays it off casually like it's no big deal.
“Sorry~ She's probably sleeping it off somewhere. No need to worry.”
The turncoat hero heads out first.