The fresh men ran, their limbs torn to shreds. Behind them, a huge black sun slowly approached.

「Why!? Wasn’t Hinosmera unable to exert her strength if she got wet!?」

「Like I said, I was thankful to y’all.」

Although the information coming from the Hero Headquarters is a mixture of authenticity and falsehood, the characteristics of the mysterious beings are relatively accurate, as they can mean the difference between life and death for the staffs.

One of them is that “Hinosmera is weak against water and cannot exert her power when wet.”

However, she was wrapped in a fresh jute bag with excellent breathability and water absorption. And the numerous heating appliances installed on the loading platform of the Fresh-go were more than enough to help Hinosmera come back to life.

「Awawawawa……! We were merely doing our job……!」

「That’s right that’s right! I was also against it, Hinosmera-san!」

「Bastard Karin Orange! What are you doing trying to only save yourself！」

The Freshmen, trapped in a desperate predicament, finally started an ugly feud among themselves. Staring at them with cold eyes, Hinosmera quietly swung her arm down.

The black sun accelerated with the movement of her arm.

「……After all, this is a mysterious being. Ya can’t escape from the hell of robbing or being robbed, that is the work of mysterious beings.」

Hinosmera’s special move, the artificial sun “Musume Fusahose”, is immensely powerful. Even if you are wearing a hero suit, the 6,000-degree flames, which are comparable to those of the sun, will consume your suit and even your soul.　

But even in the face of the deaths of the heroes, no hesitation or conscience came to Hinosmera. Only deep disappointment and an inexhaustible anger that rages more fiercely than the sun filled her heart.

「Noooooooo! Heeeeeelp!」

「If ya’ ain’t prepared to die in battle, then don’t even start it in the first place!」

Hinosmera screamed at the heroes who were so pathetic. Her uncontrollable anger exploded at their foolishness in trying to take credit for the live of Samecchi without being prepared to risk their own lives.

To Hinosumera, who hated, resented, and hated everything as a mysterious being, wandering in a labyrinth of malice. That same female mysterious being, Samecchi, showed her the light with her pure white heart.

It’s all up to you to decide what you like and what you dislike. Whatever blackness is in your heart, just paint it all white. If the blackness still leaks out, you can pick it up and dye it white again.

Her eyes were so straight and pure as she told her so. If only everyone in the world could love others as she does. Humans, mysterious beings, and heroes would all be able to live with a peaceful heart that has nothing to do with anger or resentment.

But, that isn’t meant to be.

The world is rife with those who take advantage of the powerless for personal gain.

「’Cause there are people like ya!」

Flames tinged with anger, hatred, resentment, suffering, sorrow, and pain loomed over the heroes. The black sun seemed to symbolize Hinosmera’s explosive anger.

―― Dark flames tried to engulf the freshmen. At that moment.

Gyagyagyagyagya! ! !

A sports car leapt in front of the black sun with its rear wheels sliding.

Then, at breakneck speed with hardly any deceleration, it hit the three freshmen one after the other.

「「「Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!」」」

The fresh men were bounced around like pinballs by the impact of being run over. Then, they went over the railing and fell 50 meters into the sea, screaming.

The burst of the black sun and the man’s jump from the sports car were almost simultaneous. The 6,000 degree flames melted not only the sports car, but also the railings and asphalt in the area.

「Hot! Wooaah!? My cloak is on fire!?」

The man spun around on the spot like a dog chasing its tail, trying to put out the fire on his cloak. When the fire was finally extinguished, he coughed once and faced Hinosmera.

A somewhat heroic, toxic green suit, a mask reminiscent of a ghastly dragon, and a V-sign that glinted dully on his chest. The V-sign of victory shone dully on his chest.

The emblem of the god of death adorned his slightly burnt cloak. It is the emblem of one of the four executives of the Ark Dominion, the Heinous Mysterious Death Green.

「My bad for stealing your prey. I have no discipline you see.」

「You are, Samecchi’s brother…… Death Green?」

「Welcome Hinosmera, I’m glad you remember me. It was worth almost getting stabbed.」

Kuriyama Rintaro, the Heinous Mysterious Death Green, put his hands on his chest and bowed ostentatiously.

The vibe he gave off was different from the gentle aniki she saw at the secret base or on the subway platform towards Samecchi.

His demeanor was fluid yet makes one nervous. Despite his aloof words, he was cold and indifferent, not revealing the feelings he harbored in the pit of his stomach.

With such a dignified personality, if it were Hinosmera 10 years ago, she would have tried to add him as her subordinates at all costs.

But more than that, it was a surprise to Hinosmera that he showed up here in the first place.

「……Why are you here? You were wrapped around by Samecchi in the basement, weren’t you.」

「For the sake of his cute little sister, a brother can fly in the sky and even run on the Shuto Expressway at 300km/h.」

The Death Green Transformation Gear, which also serves as a radio, flashed green.

『This is Scout One, wan. We successfully lured the target to point R as planned, wan.』

『This is Scout Two,nyan. The goal is complete, finishing the guidance and tracking mission, nyan!』

「Well done dog-cat duo, but your timing is terrible. Let me be cool and badass in a situation like this.」

『Sorry, nyan.』

Hinosmera’s eyes widened at the leaked communication.

「…………Lured, Guidance……?」

「Yeah, but getting caught by Samecchi was unexpected. It was supposed to end there, but hey. It was a good thing I had insurance in place.」

「Are ya saying that bein’ kidnapped by a hero was as expected?」

「No, as expected I can’t plan it that far. But thanks to you, it was easy to guide. Cars only drive on the road when they’re upside down after all.

Guided, this man said, indeed.

Hinosmera looked around once more.

They were in the middle of the Rainbow Bridge, a huge 800-meter-long suspension bridge spanning Tokyo Bay. This is the best place to hunt down Hinosumera, the water-weak Purgatory Mysterious being, and the best place to kill her.

「Huh, you’re doubting me? Didn’t I say it? “Welcome”」

「yer’ sayin’ that ya guided them here for me……? Don’t be an idiot, I don’t even know where we were going.」

「Ah, but you have stepped into the land of death. Whether or not You were abducted by the heroes, the outcome is the same. If you want to avoid battle and run away, you will have no choice but to go through one of the bridges, over the Sumida River, or this Rainbow Bridge.」

「Yer’ really good at bluffin’. Then why did ya expect me to make such a detour all the way from Ginza?」

Although her words were gentle, a black flame was burning in Hinosmera’s heart. Anger, impatience, and humiliation filled Hinosmera’s heart now.

It was all a coincidence anyway, it was just his words, there was no way she could admit it. She who had once risen to the level of an executive at Ark Dominion, was forced to dance in the palm of this man’s hand.

「No, Hinosmera, you chose this rainbow bridge…. All the other bridges had been destroyed」

Rintaro didn’t seem to be offended and said without any hesitation.

「……Ha? All……?」

True to his word, every one of the nearly 10 crossing bridges over Chuo Ward was destroyed. In fact, the Shuto Expressway was also cut off in places, and the Freshmen with Hinosumera on board had to make a major detour as a result.

As Rintaro said, even if there had been no accident, Hinosmera would have made the same decision in order to avoid a series of head-on battles in the rain.

「I told you. A big brother is willing to fly and take the transportation infrastructure back to the Edo period for the sake of his cute little sister.」

「I see, so ya included rain and heroes in yer calculations……」

「I’m not so soft-hearted as to cut corners against a superior opponent.」

He is unrivaled when it comes to “mysterious being hunting,” and he will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. Ten years ago, when Hinosumera the Purgatory Mysterious being was an active executive, there was no such man among mysterious beings, let alone heroes.

Hinosmera had a faint feeling as she interacted with Samecchi. The person who will purify evil like herself will surely be someone with a pure and white heart like Samecchi.

But now she is thinking quite the opposite.

「Come on, this time it’s a dead end. I’m going to get Samecchi’s body back.」

It is not goodness that destroys evil. It’s a more sinister evil that does.

---

<148: The Black Sun That Never Sets
150: Purgatory Mysterious Being Hinosmera vs. Heinous Mysterious Death Green>