She stood alone in the way of the mysterious beings who swarmed the government building. The pride of Hero Headquarters, its absolute line of defense, its ultimate weapon against mysterious beings. She carried the title of Ace, the highest rank of active heroes.

「Silver Zero. Performing official duties.」

While the other heroes were all fleeing, the woman in a silver hero suit nonchalantly muttered.

“Silver”

That is a special personal color for heroes. Heroes are assigned colors to identify them, roughly according to their roles.

Red indicates the team leader, blue is the sub-leader, yellow is in charge for raid. Pink is in charge of analysis and medical care, and green is the substitute (backup).

However, there is one personal color that is an exception among exceptions: silver.

They possess extremely high levels of combat, technique, and analysis. A warrior recognized as having the strength to annihilate an entire mysterious being organization on their own.

The distinguishing color that is allocated to them is silver.

Of the approximately 50,000 heroes across the country, the number who are currently allowed to wear silver could be counted on one hand.

That “Silver” stood in the way of the Great Hundred Beasts Alliance as the last stronghold of Hero Headquarters.

「Everybody be careful, nyan! She’s no ordinary girl, nyanzo!」

「Don’t be scared, buhi. She is alone, buhi.」

「That’s right, paon. And she doesn’t seem that strong, paon. I’ll chop her up and make her into a hamburger steak, paon.」

「Gegege! I’ll kill you, you frilled lizard!」

Against her alone, there were over three hundred mysterious beings in the army.

And they weren’t just a bunch of zako fighters lumped together. They were a group of beast-type mysterious beings that were among the strongest of all mysterious beings.

If she wasn’t a madman, there was no way she wouldn’t grasp the difference in fighting power between them. However, faced with so countless madness, Silver Zero didn’t show even the slightest bit of impatience.

Either she has a very big gut, or she is a genuine fool.

Or….

It is hard to imagine, but did she have unwavering confidence even in this disadvantageous situation?

「Ha, shut up! If you’re getting in the way then I’ll just push through! I, Cheetiger-sama, will be the foremost spear!」

The first to leap out was the fleet-footed mysterious being Cheetiger, an elegant man boasting the greatest speed in the Great Hundred Beasts Alliance. As his name suggests, this cheetah mysterious being has incredible leg strength, and once he kicks the ground, he can reach a speed of 180 kilometers per hour in less than two seconds.

「No hard feelings, girl! If I win, let’s go on a date!」

The lightning-fast claws, impossible to see, much less react to, tore the silver suit to shreds in an instant.

――was what it looked like――

Just three seconds after the attack began, Cheetiger was standing behind Silver Zero and winked as he turned around.

「Fuu, I just cut it to shreds. Was my love too fast for a human?」

「Suppression complete. Moving on to next target.」

「……Eh? Hu- Huh……? I…… Could it be, she got me…?」

The next moment, fresh blood gushed out of Chee Tiger’s entire body.

The attack was so quick that even Cheetiger himself didn’t understand when the attack occurred. The only thing that was clear was that not only his prized legs but also his chest, back, and even his sweet face were covered in numerous lacerations.

Silver Zero’s suit, on the other hand, was as shiny as new, not a scratch on it.

In short, not only was the Great Hundred Beasts Alliance’s fastest attack completely dodged, but it was counterattacked with even greater speed.

This was the only way to explain the situation that unfolded before the mysterious beings’ very eyes.

The silver warrior didn’t even glance at Cheetiger, and quietly steadied her breathing. She bent her hips slightly and thrusted her right hand shaped like a sword forward, while her left hand rested lightly on her hip.

「Confirmed demoralization of multiple targets. Official duty continues.」

Nowadays, many heroes wield cutting-edge weapons, so taking on countless mysterious beings barehanded is not considered insane.

However, her unique stance, which resembled ancient martial arts, emitted a beautiful yet sinister cold aura. It was as if she really could annihilate all of the mysterious beings there by herself.

「Eh, What are you guys scared of, nyan? There’s only one opponent, nyanzo, so we should just surround her then beat her up, nyan!」

「「「Gaoooooooooooo!!!」」」

At the command of Chief of Staff Nyanzo, dozens of mysterious beings coordinated their attacks on Silver Zero. Not only are they strong individually, but this excellent teamwork is the strength of the “pack” that beast-type mysterious beings are so proud of.

Sharp claws, fearsome fangs, twisted horns, and thick tails. They aim at Silver Zero from all directions at the same time.

It was a simultaneous attack by a swarm that was impossible to avoid or block. 　The fate of the silver white warrior who had made a grand entrance must have seemed to be determined in everyone’s eyes.

「Hostile activity continues. Actions will be taken at the discretion of the local officer.」

The moment when countless claws are swung down.

Silver Zero kept her posture low and took a short breath. With steps as silent as flowing water, she effortlessly slipped through the tiny gap that had appeared between the claws.

「Wha……t……?」

「I- Impossible, buhi……」

「Pao……n……」

「……Frilled…… Lizard……」

The mysterious beings that had attacked them fell down with white eyes at exactly the same time. None of them understood what had been done to them.

Fast, but that’s not all.

The mysterious beings of the Hundred Beasts Alliance gasped as they looked at their comrades in the battle against the mysteriously superhuman Silver Zero. Who on earth could stand toe-to-toe with this monstrously strong hero?

The gazes of the mysterious beings naturally fell on the large back of one man.

「I see, so it seems my subordinates can’t handle you!」

「Visual Confirmation of the most important target. Eliminate him as a priority.」

「Gahahaha! That’s an easy thing to say! Well then, I’ll deal with you personally!」

The leader of the Great Hundred Beasts Alliance, the Hundred Beasts mysterious being Bearion. If even the power of numbers didn’t work, then the only one who could stop Silver Zero here was this big boss.

The Kanto Overlord, carrying the hopes of the mysterious beings on his shoulders, went head-on against the mysterious hero, Silver Zero.

And then I defeated Silver Zero in one hit with my deadly Hundred Beasts King Lariat, destroyed the Hero Headquarters, and successfully rescued Haruka.

and they all lived happily ever after.

…………

「No, wait a minute, General Bearion. Do you think you could win at the way it went? No matter how you look at it, that was a losing event.」

「Gahahahaha! So you found out!」

Rintaro, who had been silently listening to the sudden victory of the Great Hundred Beasts Alliance, couldn’t help but chuckle. Bearion laughed without a hint of apology as he scooped up the hot water from the large bath and drenched his face with it.

「…… I lost. I was beaten so badly that I couldn’t do anything about it.」

After a round of laughter, Bearion said, staring at the surging water with serious eyes.

「This scar on my face was given to me then. The Hundred Beasts Alliance panicked when they found out I’d been defeated, and was annihilated. I barely managed to escape with my life and was hiding underground when Grandpa Dragius picked me up, and that’s how I got here.」

You could see the remorse swirling and turning into anger inside his large, bear-like body. His sudden transformation from the cheerful, laughing bear was enough to make Rintaro, who was standing defenseless naked next to him, forget to hold his breath.

「What do you think?　Boring story, right?」

Bearion was smiling self-deprecatingly, but his tone was lacking his usual boldness.

「Brothers. That’s the kind of girl you’re trying to mess with.」

Bearion splashed around in the bathtub and instead of sitting next to him, he faced Rintaro head-on.

His face, deeply scarred, was not ones that showed he was laughing about his past failures. It was the face of a brother who were genuinely concerned about Rintaro, as friend and family.

「So that means that ridiculously strong Silver Zero is…」

「Yes, that’s Samejima Asaka. I even bowed down to that nasty bastard (Tagaraak) whose hobby is peeping to get her to investigate. No doubt about it.」

「……This must be some kind of joke right?」

「Hahahaha! Why would I lie to my brother?」

Samejima Asaka, Samecchi’s older sister. From Rintaro’s eyes, who had met her several times, she did not look that powerful by any means.

However, Bearion said that she is none other than the hero, “Silver Zero,” who singlehandedly defeated the Great Hundred Beasts Alliance.

Thinking about it, it all made sense.

Would a man like Morikuni Ittetsu, the first Hero, Akajustice, appoint just a normal careerwoman as an aide? Could someone with only the experience of being an aide to the Director be entrusted with the role of commander of a unit directly under Tokyo Headquarters? Could someone with no track record, at that young age, and without any connections, be appointed to the position of Chief of Staff?

A hero with the special “silver” personal color. The absolute ace of Hero Headquarters.

This was the identity of a woman named Samejima Asaka, whom even her sister Samecchi did not know, let alone Rintaro, who once belonged to the Hero Headquarters.

「One thing I can say is that for some reason, none of my attacks hit her. Be careful, brother. I’ll go up first.」

Saying this, Bearion roughly pushed the water aside.

As soon as he got out of the bath, he shook his body vigorously to shake off the hot water from his fur. He looked just like a brown bear that had fallen into a river, there’s something almost adorable about it.

However, beyond the steam, Bearion’s steep cliff-like back was covered in countless old scars, just like his face. Looking at Bearion’s scarred back, Rintaro asked him another question that had been on his mind.

「By the way, I was wondering.」

「Aan? What is it?」

「Who is this Haruka-san you keep talking about?」

It may have been an invasive question. The large, stiff figure looked for a moment to Rintaro like a giant rock.

「Haruka is my “family”, literally.」

Bearion answered briefly without turning around, then left the bathhouse.

---

<214: The Great Hundred Beasts Alliance
216: Bath Shark: Relaxation is Not Allowed (2021)>