Samecchi ran as fast as she could through the cold, dark underground passageway. Relying only on the light of her unreliable flashlight, she did as she was told and didn’t look back.

Along the way, Samecchi fell many times and her knees were slightly red.

「Fugyaaa! What? A dead end, ssu?」

The long underground passage came to an abrupt end at the end of the straight road.

Samecchi rubbed the spot where she’d hit her nose from the force of her movements and looked closely at the wall. She then noticed a small handle attached to part of the wall.

「Nsho……nnn……! It’s heavy, ssuu……!」

Just like the entrance, a hidden door disguised in the wall slowly opened. From the gap in the door, the smell of dust and rust tickled Samecchi’s nose.

When Samecchi peeked in, the first thing she saw was a blackened, sooty concrete wall.

The ceiling of the wide, narrow space was supported by round pillars at equal intervals. It appeared that this was an old subway platform that was no longer in use.

However, the rail line itself appeared to still be in use, as the two rails lined up in front of her were well maintained. But the walls had collapsed in places, and the desolate appearance of the line, with no sign of life whatsoever, was truly that of a ruin.

Samecchi shined her flashlight around the area. On the battered station name signboard, there was a sign that read.

「……Hatsudai……ssu？」

　“Former Hatsudai Station Site”

This abandoned station lied underground in Hatsudai, on the border between Shinjuku and Shibuya. Abandoned at the end of the Showa era, the station is now used as a maintenance base for the Keio Line, but people rarely enter the area.

With 10 million people living within Tokyo’s 23 wards, it would seem the perfect place for non-humans to hide.

It was also one of the former hideouts of the “Great Alliance of Hundred Beasts,” the predecessor of the Hundred Beasts Legion.

「There it is, ssu!」

The safe they were looking for was quietly placed in a corner of the deserted platform, as if it had been forgotten.

It was about as tall as Samecchi, but still a little small to be called a hidden safe. However, the heavy door was engraved with a lion and claw marks, indicating that it belonged to the Hundred Beasts Legion.

Samecchi opened the door to the safe with the key that Negadog gave her.

It is a hidden safe whose existence is known only to the upper echelons of the Hundred Beasts Legion. It must be filled with a wealth of gold and silver treasures.

「This, ssu? It’s smaller than expected, ssune.」

But, to her surprise, there was only one small box inside the safe.

Samecchi picked up the box, at that moment.

「Thank you for your hard work.」

A very familiar female voice came from behind her.

There was no way she could have mistaken the voice of the girl who had looked after her for so many years in place of her foster mother. When Samecchi turned around, there was the person she least wanted to see.

「O- onee-cha……」

「I’m not your onee-chan.」

The woman had a straight back, a slender nose, and tied up brown hair that was a little darker than Samecchi’s flaxen hair.

Saya aka Samecchi’s older sister, Samejima Asaka, looked emotionless behind her glasses and gave instructions to her subordinate, Retto, who was standing nearby.

「Kurenai-san. Please retrieve the contents of the safe. If the mysterious being resists, please subdue her.」

Having received the order from his superior, Kurenai Retto was already in combat readiness, clad in his hero suit. The red mask and emblem on his chest shone dully in the light emitted by the emergency lights on the dimly lit subway platform.

「Saya-chan! Give that to me!」

「No way, ssu! I don’t like Victor Red who smells like antiperspirant spray!」

「Eeeeeh?! Asaka-san! Do I smell that bad?!」

「You don’t smell, so please secure the target immediately.」

Retto sniffed his own arm, then regained his composure and readied his hands.

「Understood! Victor Red, will secure Saya-chan!」

「Please make securing the Hundred Beast Legion’s secrets your top priority. The mysterious being doesn’t matter.」

「You’re being stubborn again! Saya-chan is Asaka-san’s little sister, isn’t she?」

「I don’t have a sister. I don’t know her.」

「Oh geez! I’ll catch her for now, so make sure you make up later!」

It seemed like the heroes were having some kind of internal strife.

However, it remains a desperate situation for Samecchi.

This time it might be the end. That thought crossed Samecchi’s mind.

Victor Red is the top of the nation’s heroes and is now the undisputed “ace” of the Hero Headquarters.

There aren’t many mysterious beings who can stand up to him. For example, Samecchi’s aniki, the heinous mysterious Death Green, would likely get out of this predicament with ease.

But Samecchi didn’t send out any request for help. In fact, she couldn’t.

It was jealousy that was binding Sametchi.

For some reason, Kenmochi Minato has recently gained a great deal of trust from Rintaro. And as Rintaro’s right-hand man, Mayuzumi Kirika has resolved the heinous legion’s financial difficulties.

Even within the small organization known as the Heinous Legion, Samecchi felt a sense of rivalry towards the two whose presence was rapidly growing.

It may have been a pure desire for self-expression, a child wanting to attract attention from adults.

However, when she tried to make a sword like Minato, it ended up being nothing more than a decoration. She tried to make money by imitating Kirika, but instead found herself in a difficult position and lost many of her allies.

The crisis that Samecchi now faced was nothing but the result of her own vanity and stubbornness.

Although Samecchi wanted to prove her existence to Rintaro, she also did not want him to see her ugly desires that had led to tragic results.

「Come Saya-chan, there’s nothing to be scared of. Come with onii-san!」

Victor Red’s large hands and heavy breathing approached Samecchi.

「A- Anikii……」

There was no way he would come even if she called him now. It was because she herself had not asked for help.

Fear and self-loathing become a murky vortex inside Samecchi.

The black swell finally spilled out of her large eyes.

「Bieeeeeeeeen!! aniki heeeeeeeeeelp, ssuuuu!!!」

At that time, on the platform of an abandoned underground station.

A gust of wind blew.

A roar approached from the darkness beyond the rails.

The blinding light of the headlights illuminated Samecchi from behind. The station itself had been abandoned, but the rail line was still alive.

A subway car, clad in light, sparks flying, ran right by Samecchi and Victor Red. It was like a steel dragon cutting through the darkness of the underground.

As if the giant dragon had just waved its arm a little.

「Ugebuaaaaah!!」

The subway was moving at several dozen kilometers per hour. A man grabbed onto the side of the train and, using the momentum of the train, kicked Victor Red in the face.

The red suit was blown from one end of the platform to the other, scattering a huge amount of dust.

The other man offsets his momentum by thrusting his pitch-black sword into the platform of the abandoned station.

Behind a cloud of smoke. The green mask, reminiscent of a dragon, reflected the lights of the subway train as it drove away.

「What a hero you are, to get together and make a child cry!」

In front of the eyes of Samecchi and Asaka, who were stunned by the suddenness of the event. The emblem of the fourth organization, the pride of Ark Dominion, the symbol of the heinous legion, the Grim Reaper emblem, fluttered in the air.

The only man allowed to bear that design is the heinous mysterious Death Green. He is Hero Headquarters’ current greatest enemy and the one they are most wary of.

---

<205: Cold Escape
207: Sister Showdown ～I Have Lived A Life Of Shame Edition～>