LGHTNOVELBOOK 19
Black, the black cat of the orphanage.
She was a leader who ran faster than anyone else to mediate fights and reconcile children.
The leader grew up to become a hero.
Appearing at crime scenes faster than light to defeat criminals.
Taking the injured to hospitals.
And disappearing again faster than light.
A hero who had solved dozens of cases before even receiving an official hero license.
Flash Black.
“I’ll somehow cling to them so they can’t escape. Please subdue them and call either a hero or the Security Management Bureau.”
“M-me?”
“You’re Flash Black, aren’t you?”
“Ah. Th-that’s true, but.”
However,
Black was a timid girl.
‘I have to face two enhanced humans alone?’
She was just a girl who happened to kick a petty thief while rushing to the bathroom.
‘The senior… doesn’t seem like she’ll be helpful in combat…’
She was just a girl who collided with bank robbers while going to buy limited edition desserts.
‘They’re still so big no matter how I look at them…’
She was a girl whose childhood stories had spread as inspiring tales without her knowledge.
‘Should I take them down one by one? But what if the senior gets hurt?’
She was a girl who became an unregistered hero because people practically pushed her into it.
‘Ah. What do I do? What do I doooo?!’
Her hesitation dragged on.
“Kehak!”
In the meantime, a collision occurred.
Shana, who had been blocking the bulky man with staggering steps, flew several meters and rolled on the ground.
“Kuk. Kugh…”
Lying face down on the ground, she was gasping for breath.
It must be because her solar plexus was struck hard.
“S-senior! Are you okay?”
At that moment, something absurd happened.
“Hey, you stupid idiot! If she dies, we’re screwed!”
“I-I tried to hit her with a glancing blow, but she suddenly…”
Not only the bulky man who had thrown Shana, but even the one who had tried to break through Black, both crouched beside Shana making a commotion.
If only it had stopped at a commotion.
They put their hands on fallen Shana’s chest, and eventually even tried to touch her lips.
“Wh-what are you doing?!”
“What do you think? CPR, of course.”
“C… CPR?”
“Yeah, damn it! The kid looks like she’s dying!”
Is that something the guy who just hit Shana with his shoulder should say?
Black felt her common sense crumbling as she shouted.
“I-I’ll do it, so back off!”
After pushing away the two bulky men with waving hands, Black quickly knelt beside Shana.
Labored breathing.
Trembling body.
Unfocused eyes.
There wasn’t a single part of Shana that was okay.
‘This is too severe for just CPR…’
The slang for Shana Midgard in Aesir Dormitory was ‘Glass Flower.’
It was because she frequently got hurt, broken, and shattered.
Status ailments that other Athenas easily recovered from could be life-threatening for her.
She heard that recently, due to unstoppable bleeding, Shana had become the first patient in the Regin Academy infirmary of the 31st year of Huse.
Although she wouldn’t easily become a fragment of life like humans do,
she was far too sickly for an Athena.
‘In that case…!’
Black raised her right hand high into the sky.
A gold bracelet with a dragon head ornament shone from her exposed wrist.
Whoosh!
A golden beam shot from the mouth like a dragon’s breath, flying high into the sky.
The light that touched the clouds soon formed a pattern.
The symbol of Regin Academy and
the legendary dragon well-known as the badge for academic excellence.
It was the image of Fafnir.
“What was that just now?”
“Damn it. It’s a call to the Student Council…!”
“What? Student Council?!”
With the signal sent up, all dormitory student council members of Regin Academy would soon arrive at the scene.
In other words, it meant the Thunder Emperor, whom the bulky men and Count Train feared so much, would be coming.
The subordinate bulky man lowered his voice and asked his boss.
“Shouldn’t we at least tell the boss about this?”
“Good idea. Let’s get out of here first.”
While Black, who had fired the signal flare, was focused on giving artificial respiration,
the two bulky men prepared to sneak around her back, hugging the edge of the alley.
‘So, first I need to check the patient’s breathing, right…?’
Meanwhile, Black began the artificial respiration procedure.
Her right hand felt the weak heartbeat under the breast.
Her ears heard Shana’s wheezing breath.
…And her nose.
Smelled the strawberry scent emanating from Shana’s mouth, which was inexplicably turning purple.
‘Extra Cream Strawberry Latte…?’
She was momentarily distracted by thoughts of the drink she had left behind.
But this was a procedure she had performed many times.
Black pinched the nose, held the jaw,
and pressed her lips against Shana’s in a crossing manner.
The sweet strawberry scent still lingered.
However, the longer she smelled it, the more certain she became.
This was a different scent from the Extra Cream Strawberry Latte.
Throughout the time she was giving breath, that fragrance continuously triggered something in Black’s memory.
It was an intense and exciting scent,
as if someone was forcibly pumping her heart.
‘What is this…? I’ve definitely smelled it many times before…’
“Black.”
Thump.
“You are a hopeless Athena.”
Thump. Thump.
“Do you still want to be like the Thunder Emperor?”
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
“Then run faster than anyone else in this world.”
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
“And more quickly than anyone else, make sure to obtain it.”
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
“This ‘Minerva’s Owl’…”
At the edge of Black’s vision, as she recalled the vague memory along with a heart-pounding sound,
“Eek?!”
There were Shana’s eyes,
precariously hanging at the end of round eye lines, staring right at her.
They were beautiful gem-like eyes,
but filled with such murderous intent that it was chilling.
As startled Black fell back on her buttocks,
the girl who had been dying and unable to breathe properly just moments ago, trembling like a zombie, raised her body.
“Kehak!”
The blood-mixed breath bursting from Shana’s mouth was a signal indicating a major problem deep within her body.
“Uwak, shit!!”
The bulky men who had been sneaking past Black’s back screamed like children and rolled to the side.
The villains who needed to be caught were escaping, but Shana’s condition was too poor.
Black gritted her teeth and forcibly pressed on Shana’s brow.
“Don’t tense your stomach!!”
“Kak… kek…”
“Relax! Please! Relax!!”
It was an attempt to prevent her from raising her body.
But somehow Shana’s struggling didn’t stop.
“Is, is that thing really alive…?”
“B-boss. L-let’s run away!”
The bulky men fleeing.
And Black restraining the struggling Shana.
“Why, why are you doing this? You’ll die at this rate!!”
“Chase th— Kak…ah!”
“Chase?”
“Ka… pek…”
Despite what must be excruciating pain,
Shana was struggling desperately to convey something.
Her bloodshot eyes were directed at the bulky men escaping out of the alley.
‘Could she be asking me to catch those guys…?’
Even while severely injured, she reminded Black of the Thunder Emperor who once took a magic bullet meant for a hostage with her own body.
It was truly the behavior of a personification of justice.
‘But… I…’
The two bulky men were clearly not ordinary humans.
They were enhanced with physical augmentation procedures or enhancement magic.
It was only because they were tense due to Black’s reputation.
If they had fought properly, Black would have been covered in blood just like Shana.
After all, her reputation was created by the public.
She had always been pushed by some mysterious hand.
She had never willingly jumped into any scene.
She was scared.
She was always scared of villains.
But she always had to shout with a calm voice.
“Amazing speed! The name Flash Black really suits you!”
“F-Flash Black…?”
“Yes! I just came up with it!”
A hero name that the Thunder Emperor personally gave her.
A bit embarrassing but cool.
Flash Black.
She didn’t want to be someone who would disgrace that name.
Because someday she wanted to become a hero who could truly use the “kick that catches light” as the rumors said.
“Me… together…!”
It was right to chase after the two escaped bulky men.
And it was also right to watch over the fallen Shana until the academy’s support arrived.
“Okay, I understand, so please relax.”
Then there was only one option left for Black.
She should carry Shana in her arms and chase after them.
“If it hurts, please tell me!”
Although she wasn’t as great as the rumors claimed,
she was confident she could run faster than anyone else in this world.
♦♦♦
When I was hit in the solar plexus with a knee, I definitely took fatal damage.
Yet now I’m perfectly alive.
I’m like a zombie.
————————————————
<< Shana Midgard >>
Regin Academy / Aesir Dormitory / 2nd Year
— Enhancement effect ‘Vermilion Heart’ active
(Time remaining: 39 days 1 hour 22 minutes)
— Weakening effect ‘Impulse Lv7’ active
— Weakening effect ‘Knee Fracture Lv5’ active
— Weakening effect ‘Difficulty Breathing Lv8’ active
[ Status ]
Vitality 0/12
————————————————
‘This is even better.’
It seems to be time to praise myself for deciding to use this status ailment as a weapon since its effect is beneficial.
Vitality 0. What would people expect from an Athena in a half-dead state?
If I stick to Black like a leech in this condition, it becomes easier to witness the event with my own eyes without having to do anything.
Rumors might spread that Shana Midgard was at the scene with Black.
But anyway, it’s Black who’ll be active, or the Thunder Emperor who will arrive soon.
I can quietly blend in as someone who was rescued.
I’ve successfully turned crisis into opportunity.
“B-boss. L-let’s run away!”
I can’t let go of this sudden event that I’ve been clinging to even in this condition.
“Why, why are you doing this? You’ll die at this rate!!”
“Chase th— Kak…ah!”
“Chase?”
“Ka… pek…”
Until Monegarm appears.
Black absolutely needs to stay close to those two guys who are practically the key to the sudden event.