At the Hero temporary headquarters in Asagaya, there were two old men looking at a map of Antarctica on a monitor. One is the CEO of the facility, Ittetsu Morikuni, the director of the Hero Headquarters.

In contrast to the muscular Morikuni, the other was a thin old man who looked His face has wrinkles befitting his age, but his spine is firm and straight. The blue shirt he wore under his white coat showed off his youthfulness, which was not befitting of his age.

「Man, this is getting complicated, damn it!」

「Don’t get so worked up. Your blood pressure will go up again.」

「I know! But how can I stay calm about this!」

The name of this old man, full of the spirit of an Edokko, is Seiji Tanba. He is the head of the Science Department, in charge of the Research and Development Department at Hero Headquarters. He is responsible for the development of almost all of the heroes’ armaments, including the Victory Transformation Gear and King Victory.

He was also in charge of a top-secret underground mysterious being facility that was attacked and destroyed in the previous battle.

The R&D Department was charged with the responsibility of creating a power that would enable the weak human race to resist the mysterious beings by bringing together the best of all possible sciences. This was the responsibility of the R&D Department and the philosophy of a man named Tanba.

「So Mayuzumi Kirika is a failure after all.」

「Don’t be stupid!　Kirika is the best work of the R&D Department!」

「But she went out of control. A weapon that lacks stability is useless.」

「That’s what I don’t understand!　It shouldn’t have been such an easy lock to remove…….」

A file in the monitoring room of the General Staff Headquarters. It was a piece of top-secret material that had once been unearthed at the Hero Headquarters in Jimbocho and brought to the Asagaya Temporary Base.

The name of the plan inscribed in the file is “Kaijin Cell Diversion Plan”. This was the truth about herself that Mayuzumi Kirika had seen a few days before her mysterious being awakening.

Ten years ago, a plan was launched under the leadership of Tamba, who had been the head of the R&D Department since that time. The plan was to convert the strong bodies and regenerative abilities of mysterious beings into heroes.

「So you’re the one called Kirika, huh? I’m Tanba, the head of the R&D Department!　Your grandfather and I have known each other for a long time!」

「…………」

「You sure aren’t a friendly person!　But that’s also fine!　Being a hero is a lonely thing!」

「…………」

The subject chosen was seven-year-old Kirika, the granddaughter of Ryuzo Mayuzumi, who had once awakened and disappeared as a mysterious being.　

Immediately after the Mt. Fuji explosion disaster, she was taken in by relatives as her parents had just gone missing.

When Tanba learned of this, he persuaded her relatives to place Kirika under the de facto supervision of the Hero Headquarters under the guise of giving her swordsmanship training. On the surface, of course, this was for humanitarian reasons, to take care of the bereaved families of the mysterious being victims.　

However, she was born with the qualities of a top-class mysterious being, making her the perfect candidate for the “strongest hero with the strength of a mysterious being” sought by the Hero Headquarters.

Tanba believed that if she could suppress the mysterious being’s awakening, her power could be a trump card against the mysterious being. Judging from Mayuzumi Kirika’s achievements, this plan was in fact correct.

There was also the fact that she was the granddaughter of an old friend, so it wasn’t a mistake to pay special attention to her.

「Kirika, you will be a great hero. I guarantee it!」

「……Is that so.」

「So today I’m going to teach you swordsmanship!　I want you to master my Mugetsu Itto-ryu!」

「……Yes.」

Fortunately or unfortunately, she had never opened her heart to anyone since the disaster. She was a child who only did what she was told and did it without hesitation, and had nothing to do with emotional experiences. While this was worrisome for Tanba, who wanted to proceed with his plan in secret, it was also convenient.

It was already known that “emotion” plays a major role in the process that leads to the awakening of a mysterious being. Kirika, who had little emotion to begin with, was the perfect candidate for the research to artificially suppress the awakening process.

As Tanba had assumed, the girl gradually took the mysterious being’s power into her own hands without being aware of it. Several years passed, and the numerical results were far beyond Tanba’s expectations.

One after another, she broke the previous records in hero schools, and her overwhelming physical abilities surpassed those of all heroes in the flesh. This was the moment when the plan to artificially create the strongest hero in history was fulfilled.

「Kirika!　That’s a hell of a result!　I knew you had it in you!」

「……Is that so.」

「By the way, you don’t seem to be doing so well lately.　Are you being bullied at school?」

「……Nothing happened, nothing.」

Despite Tanba’s concerns, there were no problems until the on-the-job training was conducted as scheduled.　

However, the mysterious being awakening occurred as the team was steadily making on-the-job adjustments in preparation for full-fledged field deployment. Of course, they had taken the utmost precautions to prevent the mysterious being from awakening.

From Tanba’s point of view, it was like having his precious jewelry stolen from a tightly locked safe. And the “thief who unlocked the safe” was undoubtedly the heinous mysterious Death Green.

He knew that Kirika adored a man named Kuriyama Rintaro and that he was killed by Death Green. However, Tanba couldn’t believe that Kirika awakened only out of anger.　

The possibility that someone who created some sort of trigger was on the Hero Headquarters side seemed extremely high.

「Director Morikuni, Director Tamba, thank you for your hard work. I made some coffee.」

「Ain’t that nice!　……Sweet!　This coffee is too sweet!」

「For those of us who work within the company, sugar is essential.」

「Crap!　You’re gonna kill me with diabetes!　You haven’t changed in that way since the old days, Samejima!」

Asaka Samejima, a former Victor Ranger Commander from the Operations Staff, quickly put her glasses back on.

「I apologize, I have a sweet tooth.」

In the monitor, a red dot was approaching the sky over Antarctica.

…………

A hero’s day starts with short sleeves.

「It’s a bit chilly in Antarctica, indeed!」

Retto exhaled a white breath and slapped his own toned arms.

He landed in Antarctica, where the outside temperature is minus 30 degrees Celsius. It’s so cold that you can hit a home run with a wet towel, not just a banana.

Astonishingly, even in Antarctica he was wearing short sleeves.

「Well, it should be around here… but it’s not a good idea to spend too much time on this!  Hey! Mayuzumiii! !」

This time, Retto landed in the Antarctic with a mission to “search for people. However, his red partner was already covered with a thin layer of ice.

Let me explain! This is Victor Red, Retto’s new favorite plane, the “Victory Falcon”! This bright red aircraft flies at Mach 1 and can take off, land, and glide even on rough terrain!

This is truly a masterpiece machine that the Research and Development Department of the Hero Headquarters, which develops new mecha one after another, has put the best of its technology into!

There was a shadow staring at Victory Falcon from afar.

「Hey, if we get on that thing, we can go home, right?」

「Then, let’s rob him quickly, ssu!」

「But there’s nowhere to hide when it’s open like this…….」

They are the mysterious beings of the secret society Ark Dominion, the enemies of Retto. Among the group is the girl Mayuzumi Kirika, whom Retto has been searching for.

「Kurenai-senpai is looking for me……. Please let me try to persuade him.」

「Persuade? Mayuzumi, they may be trying to kill you.」

「Please leave that part to me. I have an idea.」

The searched, Mayuzumi Kirika, walked across the snowfield without listening to Rintaro’s words. In this silver world, anything that moves stands out.

When Retto spotted Kirika, he waved his hand in the air.

「Hey, Mayuzumi!　Here!　This way!」

Kirika gradually approached the carefree and unsuspecting Retto. Retto ran up to his junior who walked towards him without changing her expression.

「Well, I’m glad I found you so quickly!　Asaka asked me to pick you up… Buok.」

Kirika’s fist, clenched like steel, accurately shot Riketo’s unprotected solar plexus. His body bent in a “く” shape and flew about three meters before being pulled down by the gravity of Antarctica and buried head first in the snow.

By the time Rintaro and Samecchi caught up with them, Retto had already stopped moving.

「Senpai!　I succeeded in “persuading” him!」

「Can we stop insisting on persuasion in the current sequence of events?　What was that about having an idea?」

「”If you don’t give yourself a chance to deny it, you will inevitably get affirmation.”…. that was what senpai said.」

「Eeeeh…… Did I say such a thing……?」

Rintaro scratched his head and looked up at the stolen Victory Falcon aircraft. If Hero HQ wasn’t so stupid, they would have enough fuel for the return trip.

Rintaro carries the white-eyed Retto into the cabin and takes a quick look around the cockpit. Fortunately, from a cursory glance, it looks not so different from King Victory.

「Okay, I think I can move this guy……」

「Seems like we can go back sooner than expected, ssune! But senpai, should we bring that red person back with us, ssuka?」

「We can also leave him here. But, he would probably be able to replace the stove here.」

「It’s true, ssu!　It’s warm only around this person, ssu!」

Rintaro operated a switch, and the Victory Falcon’s huge engine starts up.

Rintaro leaned out of the cockpit and extended his hand toward Kirika. Kirika looked at Rintaro and stretched out her arm, but she found it difficult to grasp his hand.

「Can I, really go back as well?」

「Come on, Mayuzumi, do you think I would come all the way to Antarctica and go home empty-handed?」

「But I’ve treated the mysterious beings pretty badly in a lot of ways……」

「It’s okay, ssu!　Everyone in Ark Dominion are good people, ssu!」

Rintaro and Samecchi looked at Kirika, who hesitantly kept her eyes down, and smiled at each other. They grabbed both of Kirika’s arms at the same time and pulled her forcibly into the Victory Falcon.

「Anikii! We successfully secured her, ssuyo!　Guhehe, ssu!」

「Well done, Samecchi!　Let’s leave right away!」

Rintaro closed the hatch and immediately sat down in the cockpit. He maneuvered the many switches attached to the base and took the controls.

The Victory Falcon began to glide across the white plains with a cloud of snow.

And when it accelerates sufficiently, its red wings take off into the sky. The Victory Falcon roars its huge engines and accelerates in the blink of an eye. Kirika gazed out the cockpit window at the land of Antarctica, which was getting farther and farther away.

Only a broken green nameplate was left in the middle of the white canvas.

That is no longer necessary for Kirika now. When Kirika looked at the cockpit, her eyes met Rintaro’s, who looked as if he were in a daze.

「What, Mayuzumi, do you want to drive?」

「No, thank you. I’m kind of tired.」

「Then Samecchi will be the pilot, ssu! Despite how Samecchi looks, Samecchi is an ace pilot in game, ssu!」

「Okay, come on, Samecchi! But, acrobatic flight is prohibited!」

Samecchi sat on Rintaro’s lap and grips the controls of the Victory Falcon. Rintaro grips the controls as if he is covering her small hands.

Kirika was unable to open her mouth towards the two, who looked like close siblings or father and daughter. Then, whether he knew it or not, Rintaro started talking to her.

「Mayuzumi, Do you not want to go back to Japan?」

「That’s…… not the case. After all, It’s the same no matter where I am.」

Rintaro thought for a moment, then smiled wickedly and said

「Listen Mayuzumi, the world is an absurd place. No matter how much we wish for it to be a certain way, it never changes. To say the least, it makes me angry, and sometimes it makes me cry.」

Looking out the window, Rintaro talks to Kirika just like how he had done so at the hero school.  Although it seems that there is a lot of personal resentment now.

「The world isn’t kind at all… but then, just keep loving until the world becomes kinder. In your own way.」

「……Is that, your usual lesson?」

「It’s just some advice from a “peace”-loving heinous mysterious being.」

Rintaro’s smiling profile looked a little tougher than the one from hero school days that Kirika knew.

Outside the window, the white, lonely land fades into the distance. Finally finding her own place in the world, Kirika is unlikely go back to this land anymore.

Antarctica became smaller and smaller, and soon disappeared beyond the horizon.

---

<73: A Sandwich in Crevasse
75: The Return of the Red Wings>