――Five Years Ago――

A tense atmosphere enveloped the area in front of the Hero Headquarters in Jimbocho, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. Protected by multiple barricades and makeshift walls, the building looked like a towering fortress.

「Listen everyone, don’t let those mysterious beings get what they want! Make them realize that justice always prevails!」

「「「Ooooooooooh!!!」」」

The government building was guarded by a total of over 100 heroes from all over Kanto. During peacetime, they each maintained peace in their own areas, but the reason they had been called together on this emergency mission was…

「Here they come!」

One of the heroes shouted as he aimed his state-of-the-art ray gun. He immediately caught the target in the center of his sights.

It was a huge bipedal “bear.”

No, how much more relieved it would have been if it had just been a bear that had wandered into the city center. At the very least, this was not something the Hunter’s Association could handle.

The bear wore a cape and a championship belt around his waist.

「Yoo, thank you for coming to greet us.」

Human words come out of its bright red mouth, lined with sharp fangs. Language is a symbol of intelligence that a wild beast could never possess.

He possesses the body of a beast and the intelligence of a man. There is not a single person here who does not understand the danger that this brings.

「That’s the S-class wanted mysterious being… the Hundred Beasts mysterious being Bearion…!」

「Don’t be afraid, we have the advantage in numbers. Let’s lure him closer and then fire all at once.」

「Can such a small gun really work, on that……?」

The immense amount of muscle can be seen even from a distance, eloquently demonstrating that this is a superhuman creature far surpassing not only humans but even bears.

However, the horror of local human disasters is not limited to biological superiority.

「Gahahahaha! You’ve gathered quite a lot of food again! It’s all-you-can-eat.」

Bearion grinned with his mouth split all the way up to his ears, and raised his strong, log-like arms.

The heroes braced themselves for a moment, but soon realized that it wasn’t an attack.

「Bastards, it’s feeding time!!」

It was a command.

As if in response to Bearion’s call, mysterious beings, also half-animal and half-human, appear one after another from the rooftops of buildings and under manholes.

「Gehyahyahya, My claws crave to be bathed in your blood!」

「This world is all about the survival of the fittest, and everything is impermanent, wan… sad, wan… frustrating, wan…」

「Gushasha! This big-jawed mysterious being, Panicdile-san, is going to chew up every single one of you!」

The number of mysterious beings quickly swelled to outnumber the heroes.

Some crawled along the exterior walls of buildings as if they were flat ground. Others used giant wings to fly freely through the narrow Tokyo skies.

The surroundings were filled with murderous intent, causing the air and the earth to tremble slightly.

A cat-eared female mysterious being, who seemed to be an advisor, stepped forward from among the mysterious beings and bowed down to Bearion.

「Ojiki. All 300 members of the Great Hundred Beasts Alliance’s main force are gathered together, nyan.」

「Okay, good job. Well then, let’s get started on the operation to get Haruka back! You bastards, eat up!!!」

「「「「「Gaoooooooooooooon!!!!!」」」」」

The threat formed huge hordes and attacked the terrified heroes.

…………

“The Great Hundred Beasts Alliance”

It is the largest mysterious being organization in Japan, dominating the entire Kanto region. As it is an underground organization, its exact numbers are unknown, but it is said to have anywhere from several hundred to over a thousand members.

One thing is certain: almost all of its members are beastly mysterious beings.

Even amongst the naturally strong mysterious beings, the physical strength of beast-type mysterious beings stands out. Even if they were relatively weak, the best the heroes could do would be to fight back with an armed platoon.

When a thousand of these beast-type mysterious beings gather together, they become more than just an organization; they become a “country”. A powerful military nation in which every citizen has claws and fangs.

At the top of such a super-scale mysterious being organization, the Great Hundred Beasts Alliance, reigned the great leader, the “Hundred Beasts Mysterious being Bearion”.

Having defeated the heroes’ troops, Bearion stood with his arms folded, watching the progress of the battle, which had essentially become a formality.

「The heroes are all defeated, nyan. It’s only a matter of time before we take over the government building, nyanna.」

「Gahaha! We won huh! It was easier than I thought.」

「Of course, nyan. The Great Hundred Beasts Alliance was originally created to rescue Haruka, nyanna. We’ll fulfill our mission, nyanzo.」

Upon hearing the name Haruka, Bearion narrowed his eyes as if gazing somewhere far away.

At that moment, a group of about ten mysterious beings were blown high into the sky in front of Bearion’s gaze.

「Waniiiiiiiii!!」

「Aahh! Panicdile-san is defeated again!」

Amidst the billowing dust, three shadows stood before them, undaunted by the hundreds of mysterious beings.

「Red First!!」

「Blue Second!!」

「Yellow Third!!」

「「「The three of us together, Acceleration Sentai Transmission!!」」」

Red, blue, yellow.

The three warriors struck a pose and announced their names. They were the unit containing the Hero Headquarters’ prided “ace”.

Heroes are combat experts specializing in fighting mysterious beings, and at the same time, they are also national civil servants. Those who achieve particularly outstanding results in their official duties are awarded the title of Ace each year, along with the Best Hero Award.

「What transmission?! Shut up!!」

「Today we won’t back down, wan… Be prepared, wan…!」

The mysterious beings of the Great Beast Alliance, which were overwhelmingly superior in numbers, banded together and attacked the transmission.

――However――

「「「Full throttle! Full Synchro Burst!!」」」

The three warriors effortlessly repelled the approaching mysterious beings with a single stroke of their armor. The Great Hundred Beasts Alliance used their momentum to break through the front lines, but their crushing advance was stopped by just three heroes.

If the Great Beast Alliance is the largest mysterious being organization, then Acceleration Sentai Transmission is the strongest hero unit.

「Come on, mysterious beings, come at me from wherever you are!」

The unit’s leader, Red First, clenched his fist, feeling a solid response. Was it his pride as an elite unit based in Tokyo, or was it an expression of confidence backed by his own abilities?

Whatever the case, it had been proven that even if a group of powerful beast-type mysterious beings joined together, they were no match for them.

Even if hundreds of mysterious beings swarm, as long as they, Transmission is there, justice will never be defeated!

Fight, Acceleration Sentai Transmission!

Full speed ahead towards victory!!

「Hundred Beasts King Lariat!!!」

「「「Gfaaaaaaaaaah!!!」」」

It was a single blow.

Swinging his powerful arm with lightning speed, he blasted all three aces into the void. In place of Transmission who turned into a star, standing on the ground was the giant bear mysterious being Bearion, his muscles bulging all over.

Bearion, who stood on the front line and took on the “Ace”, elicited loud cheers from the mysterious being army.

「Is this the Ace? Gahahahaha! The quality of heroes has really gone downhill!」

「Ojiki is amazing, nyan! So cool, nyan!」

「As expected, wan… The one we admire, wan…」

If Acceleration Sentai Transmission is the strongest hero unit, then the Hundred Beasts Mysterious being Bearion is a mysterious being of an exceptional caliber. If it were not for him, it would be impossible to organize an organization of thousands of mysterious beings.

With the prided ace, Transmission, out of the fight with one hit, the Alliance of Beasts no longer had any obstacles in their way. Terrified, the heroes all rushed to take refuge inside the government building.

However, it will only be a matter of time before that place too is overrun. After all, the objective of the rescue operation lied in the basement of that very building.

「Alright guys, the gate’s open! Let’s rush in and take control!」

「Wait a minute, Ojiki! Someone’s coming out!」

Heroes of all colours were fleeing in panic. She went against the flow of people, yet remained calm as if she was just out for a stroll.

A woman stepped out from inside the government building.

Amidst the commotion of the mysterious being attack, she was the only one who didn’t transform and was wearing only a white jacket, so she clearly stood out from the others.

The woman picked up the ends of her long, slightly brown hair and cast a cold look over her glasses at Bearion, who stood at the head of the mysterious being army.

「What……?」

Was it animal instinct, or perhaps a fundamental fear as a living being?

Pierced by the icy gaze, Bearion felt every muscle in his body tremble slightly.

She was clearly different from the general group of heroes he’s faced up until now. The scent of danger emanating from her is more like a weapon than a person.

Bearion realized this intuitively.

「So you are, the “ace” ……」

「……………………」

The woman, without saying a word, held up the gear attached to her left arm and turned it on.

「Ignition.」

A silver glow reminiscent of a glacier enveloped the woman’s entire body. In less than a few seconds, the woman had transformed into a warrior clad in a silver suit.

As it turned out, Beirion’s observations were correct.

The strongest warriors in Hero HQ, and the pride of Acceleration Sentai Transmission, are not those three. The fourth warrior here is the true “Ace”.

――The name is――

「Silver Zero. Performing public duties.」

---

<Side Story 2: The Villainess Who’ll Die in 100 Days is Quietly Enjoying her Youth (2)

To speak honestly, the young girl whose body I am borrowing is unrefined.

…And this is me choosing my words rather carefully. To begin with, I do not sense in her any spirit to make others feel a favorable impression of her. If her life were to end in only a few more days, and she had no such energy to spare, that would be one thing… but if she is living ordinarily, is it not natural to at least pay a minimum of care to one’s appearance?

And so, I thought to return to her home, arrange my appearance, and then come back… but, where is this child’s house to begin with, I wonder? It is possible it may be far away. If that is the case, then where is her dormitory room?

“It truly is inconvenient, not having any information about oneself…”

With the thought, In that case, I ought to have asked that kind gentleman much more, I let out a sigh as I walked down the corridor.

“Hold on, Cecily! Didn’t I tell you to come see me?!”

The one running toward me from the front was a person who looked exactly like the young girl whose body I possessed.

…They truly are the very image of one another. Only, the refinement and splendor of her grooming is on a completely different level… At the very least, I must give her my gratitude.

“Oh, so my name is Cecily, then?”

“…Are you alright? Did you hit your head?”

“Something along those lines, I suppose?”

As it seemed she truly did fall from the stairs, there was nothing incorrect about that.

From what I observed while walking about inside the academy, the uniforms seemed to be designed differently for each year. In that case, a young girl wearing exactly the same uniform and resembling her perfectly… would that not mean she is Cecily’s elder twin sister?

If that is so, would it not be only natural for me to sweetly rely upon my elder sister?

“Say, Older Sister, would you be so kind as to take me to your room?”

“‘Ol-older Sister’?!”

In truth, between twins there is no real “older” or “younger,” but as I am the one making a request, there is no harm in flattering the other… And as for myself, though I do have a cute younger brother, I have no elder siblings. Since it is such a rare opportunity, would it not be delightful to try sweetly relying on an elder, just this once?

“For Cecily to look like this is ever so embarrassing. Cecily also wishes to become as cute as Older Sister!”

“Th-this is the first time you have ever said something like that to me…  It-it can’t be help, then! Just for today, I shall lend you my cosmetics!”

This “Older Sister” is rather easy to handle, is she not?

I had wondered whether there might in fact be some truly complicated relationship between the two, but if just a little coaxing makes her soften this much… then manipulating her is ever so simple.

And so, the place where “Older Sister” brought me was her dormitory room.

My, my, she seems to have gathered quite fine-quality cosmetics. In that case, she ought to let her (so-called) twin sister make use of them as well. Does she not realize that no matter how much one adorns oneself, if one’s sister is left in such a state, it lowers her own reputation as well?

I, employing the skills cultivated through the refinements of a young lady, briskly set about arranging “Cecily” appearance. While I smoothed her skin with cotton soaked full with lotion, I trimmed the bangs that had grown far too long, treated her split ends, and polished her nails.

“Hey, Cecily… I’m pretty sure the bell for the start of class rang quite some time ago.”

“Oh my, do forgive me. But if I, as Older Sister’s younger sister, were to attend class with such an appearance, and it were to become linked with ill rumors about Older Sister, then I…”

“You… you were thinking even that far ahead, for my sake…?”

My fake tears had deeply moved Older Sister.

With this, perhaps the conditions are now set for “Cecily” to start dressing fashionably.

And so, a little over an hour passed.

I decided to attend class starting from the second one in the afternoon.

I wonder, what lesson might it be?

If possible, I would rather it be a sorcery lesson. Even if I cannot use it myself, I would very much like to behold it more.

However, I seemed to be in a different class from “Older Sister.”

“You! Since I went to the trouble of making you cute, put your spirit into it!”

“Please leave it to me, Older Sister!”

Incidentally, all of the work requiring the use of hands was done entirely by me. Older Sister merely sat beside me, watching and remarking, “What skillful technique.”

Having received such encouraging words from my ever-so-kind Older Sister, even though the bell for the start of the second class has already rung, I shall open the classroom door with confidence.

“I beg your pardon for being late.”

And when I present a practiced curtsey in greeting—

Setting aside the fact that everyone in the classroom was staring intently at me—

A blonde-haired girl standing at the lectern was radiating a three-colored light from her palm! How—how truly beautiful⁉

Without thinking, I pressed forward toward her.

“My, how marvelous, how marvelous indeed! It is so very beautiful! I have observed quite a number of gardens said to be beautiful in various regions until now, but never once have I been so moved as this‼”

To that me, the splendid wielder of the sorcery fluttered her eyelashes that framed red eyes. After looking me over from my head to my very feet,

“You are Cecily Travasta, are you not?”

“From whichever angle you look, I am clearly “Cecily Travasta,” am I not?”

It is true that I arranged her appearance for her, but is it truly something so astonishing?

Although this “Cecily” had been dreadfully negligent in her grooming, the raw material was by no means poor. For now, it is but a makeshift polish, yet if in the long term she does not neglect her upkeep, she is very much a talent for whom it would not be a dream to become a young lady no less refined than the blonde-haired one before me.

Yes—therefore, this young lady before me is a most splendid person.

With but a single glance, one can perceive in her bearing that she has received a noble education, and moreover, she is able to wield such splendid and marvelous sorcery!

“You are truly a magnificent sorcerer, are you not? Might I beg you to tell me your name? I dearly wish for it to be inscribed in the history that I shall report unto god himself!”

When I seized both of her hands and asked, she reluctantly told me, blushing red at the ears.

“My name is Anita Helge…”

<213: The Secret of Bearion
215: Silver Zero>