“I’m not a clean freak, but there’s a limit to things, just so you know.” Momo stepped inside and closed the door behind her. “This room is a total mess. There are even some of your underwear strewn about. Don’t you have any decency? What if it wasn’t me, but a guy who showed up here?”

  "Hey, lass. It seems you have a misunderstanding. The only reason I allowed you to intern under me is because I’m repaying a favor, I owe to someone. And I’m only doing this because you’re a woman. I wouldn’t have taken you on as an intern if you weren’t," Mirko declared. She tilted her head in uncertainty. "Then again, maybe I would have, but this arrangement of you staying in my house? That wouldn’t happen at all. After all, there’s a high chance I’d pounce on someone who interests me, since I don’t have any barriers when it comes to sex. So, it could be pretty traumatic for them with how I’d dominate them."

  "What??" Momo's expression turned flabbergasted as her mouth gaped. She couldn’t believe such things were coming out of the mouth of a pro heroine, even though she was standing right there. She knew Mirko was direct, but she never expected this.

  "Oh, by the way," Mirko continued casually, "if I allowed a man into my humble abode, it would most likely be because we’re going to have sex. At that point, him seeing my underwear wouldn’t be much of a problem." Mirko grinned as she began changing her clothes, completely unbothered by Momo watching her. "After all, he’d be seeing a lot more than just my panties."

  Momo was left completely speechless by how vulgar and direct Mirko was being. Though, to be honest, part of her wondered if she could learn to be that bold, at least in front of Shin. Yet, it seemed like another item had been added to the to-do list for this week.

  In this manner, Momo watched Mirko change into her hero costume, after which Mirko dashed out of the house, calling over her shoulder for Momo to follow. Momo shook her head but complied, trailing behind. The moment she exited the house, she saw Mirko perched up in a tree, nodding at her as she said, “Now, try to keep up. I won’t stop for you.”

  With that, Mirko took off, moving at high speed with powerful hops. Momo exhaled slowly and smiled. She stretched out her hand, and her palm began to glow. From her hand, something similar to a skateboard swiftly emerged, though it had no wheels. She tossed it in front of her and jumped onto it without hesitation. The board didn’t touch the ground; instead, it hovered about 10 cm above it as Momo stood on it. It was clearly a hoverboard.

  Positioning herself, she tilted slightly backward, and the hoverboard sped forward, propelling her in her desired direction. She quickly caught up to Mirko, who seemed impressed with the creation and Momo’s riding skills. Mirko sped up again, and the chase became a game of cat and mouse—Mirko was the mouse, and Momo was the cat. They continued this way until they reached the city, where Mirko finally stopped, right in front of a crime scene.

  Momo observed what was happening. Three villains were causing public mayhem, destroying cars while people fled the scene. However, she could also see several individuals who were seriously injured or unconscious. She quickly pieced together their motives, especially after noticing the bags of money they were carrying—they were trying to steal.

  Momo recognized these villains as small-time crooks with basic quirks. They wouldn’t be much trouble for someone like Mirko. Yet, Mirko didn’t act. Instead, she turned to Momo and said, “Now that I’ve seen how you move, let me see how you fight. Your mission is to defeat them quickly while protecting the civilians. And I won’t be helping you at all.”

  “What?? What about the safety of the people?” Momo responded with frustration. “Isn’t it a hero’s responsibility to ensure their safety?”

  “Well, this fight would be too boring for me, so I’m leaving it to you,” Mirko shrugged. “And the people aren’t too injured, nor do I think the villains will harm them too much. So, this is the perfect opportunity for you to practice heroism.”

  “What in the name of...?” Momo was left confused by Mirko’s reaction. Then, she remembered something one of her classmates had once told her—that Mirko became a hero solely to fight, with no other reason behind it. At the time, Momo hadn’t believed it, but now, seeing it firsthand, her perspective on heroes was shifting. Her previous understanding of what heroes were had shattered, and a new one was forming.

  Still, Momo didn’t let her thoughts shake her. She had some understanding of the hero system from Shin, who was quite knowledgeable on the matter. Now, with this shift in perspective, she could see things from another angle. Considering Mirko’s stance, she realized that Mirko would have intervened if the harm to civilians were serious. But there were likely heroes who would do nothing, even in that case. This was why Shin was so determined to change things.

  Regardless, Momo wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity in front of her. Momo kept her hoverboard steady, gliding just above the cracked pavement as she approached the villains. They were too distracted by their looting to notice her, carelessly stuffing wads of stolen cash into duffel bags.

  She exhaled, mentally preparing herself. This was the perfect opportunity to test Quantum Arsenal in a real battle. It was a technique she had refined through rigorous training at U.A., an answer to the biggest flaw in her quirk—creation speed. Normally, generating complex objects took time, forcing her to rely on slower, more deliberate planning in combat. But by memorizing the complete designs of various weapons in advance, she could now manifest them instantly. The trade-off was a sharp increase in energy consumption—each use drained significantly more of her body’s stored fat. She had to be mindful not to overextend.

  Steeling herself, she activated it, instantly manifesting a pair of short, curved daggers in her hands. The polished steel gleamed under the early sunlight. The lanky villain moved first, his quirk activating as his arms extended toward her like snapping cables. Momo deviated sharply, tilting her hoverboard to the side as she dodged. She countered with a quick slash, aiming to cut his outstretched limb, but her timing was slightly off—the blade only grazed the surface. The strike disturbed his control, though, causing his tendrils to whip wildly before retracting.

  She instantly dismissed the daggers and manifested a mace and angled her hoverboard downward, accelerating toward the second villain with the heavy weapon in her hands. He was activating his quirk as his skin turning a dull metallic as his body mass increased. Momo struck before he could fully harden, landing a hit against his ribs. The impact wasn’t enough—his body had already begun absorbing the force.

  His counterattack came fast. A heavy fist swung toward her, forcing her to pull back sharply. She barely managed to weave around it, but her retreat left her momentarily unstable on the hoverboard. Adjusting quickly, she dissolved the mace and summoned a reinforced staff. The moment he shifted to charge again, she lunged forward, striking the side of his head. The first hit staggered him, but he wasn’t down yet. Gritting her teeth, she followed up with a second strike to the back of his neck, finally sending him tumbling to the pavement.

  That left one more. The third villain, who had been watching carefully, raised his hands before she could turn fully to him. A sudden explosion of light flashed across the street forcing her to squint, her vision instantly hazy. But she had prepared for something like this. Even half-blinded, her fingers moved instinctively, manifesting a smoke grenade launcher. She fired at his feet, a thick cloud of black smoke expanding rapidly between them. His quirk relied on vision, and now neither of them could see. The playing field was even again.

  Dismissing the launcher, she created a weighted chain and listened carefully for movement. Footsteps—uncertain, shuffling backward. She let the chain fly. He barely had time to curse before she closed the distance, swinging her staff downward. The strike landed clean, knocking him unconscious instantly.

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  Silence settled over the street, broken only by the distant wail of sirens. Momo exhaled, lowering her staff. Her limbs felt heavier than before, the drain of Quantum Arsenal catching up to her. It was effective—far more efficient in direct combat than her usual method—but she had already used it multiple times in quick succession. She couldn’t afford to push herself much further, as she could tell her physique had thinned a bit. Since it hadn’t dropped below a certain level, her suit hadn’t automatically injected the stored fat yet.

  Dismissing her weapon, she adjusted her hoverboard and turned her attention toward the back, where Mirko was standing, clapping her hands in applause. However, she wasn’t alone. Mt. Lady had joined sometime during the battle. Momo also noticed Kamui Woods nearby, tending to the wounded. Additionally, four of her classmates—namely Ibara, Mina, Sero, and Asui—were coming toward her with expressions of appreciation.

  "Wow, that was amazing. You fought so brilliantly!" Mina exclaimed as she hugged Momo once she got close.

  Sero stepped forward, his face joyful. “Really! That was a great fight. Congratulations on your first act of heroism.”

  Ibara, as silent as always, simply nodded in approval. Asui, however, asked with a confused expression, “But how did you vanish your weapons during the fight? I’ve never seen you do that in our classes.”

  Momo, who was the recipient of the question, answered as she pulled away from the hug. “I can unmanifest my created objects whenever I wish, and when I do, I get back half of what I originally used in their creation.” She paused for a moment to let them process. “I discovered this ability during my internship at I-Islands, which is why you haven’t seen me use it.”

  “Oh, that’s awesome! Now you won’t have to worry about your fat dropping too quickly,” Mina grinned, clearly pleased with her friend’s progress. She leaned in closer, lowering her voice to a whisper, “And by the way, you look amazing in your hero suit. The design is perfect, and it really emphasizes your curves—especially your large chest and full hips, which I’m totally envious of.” She then continued in a normal voice, “This suit is definitely better than your old one, which showed too much skin. It’s more modest, but still highlights your figure in the best way. I’m sure when you go pro, you’ll be one of the most stunning heroines out there.”

  Momo smiled and graciously accepted the compliment. As they continued chatting, Mirko and Mt. Lady approached her, and her classmates fell silent. Momo wondered what was going on as Mirko spoke up, “You use your quirk quite well, in ways I never thought you could when I got your file. However, we’ll need to work on your direct combat skills. You weren’t bad, but I can’t say you’re good either.”

  “Yeah, my assessment is the same,” Mt. Lady chimed in with a smile. “You should be grateful that you’re going to learn physical close combat from one of the best. And you’ll get plenty of practical experience, not just theory or observation, with all the villains we encounter.”

  “Yeah, that’s a huge change, isn’t it?” Mirko added. “In previous years, students who came for internships couldn’t directly participate in battles because they didn’t have their provisional hero licenses yet. But now, they’re allowed to, for some reason. Why did the stubborn Hero Association change its rules?”

  “Well, that’s because of Shin, our classmate,” Mina said proudly. “He’s working tirelessly to improve society, and this is one of the changes he brought about, according to what I heard from Aizawa-sensei.”

  Mirko’s eyes widened in surprise. “These changes were made by someone of your age?”

  “Well, even though he’s our age, he acts very maturely. He’s also very influential. And he’s incredibly powerful. So powerful, in fact, that I don’t doubt he could defeat the two of you,” Sero said with pride.

  “He’s that powerful? Really? Then I’d love to meet him and have a fight with him one day,” Mirko said, her voice filled with an excited, battle-hungry grin.

  Suddenly, the sound of an explosion echoed from the north side of the city. Momo looked at Mirko, who had already jumped into action the moment the sound rang out. Then she looked at Mt. Lady and her classmates. They exchanged nods and charged toward the next possible battle with villains.

  ……

  On the very last day of the internships,

  Shin headed straight to the Hawks agency after concluding his time with the gang. His mind was preoccupied with the report he needed to prepare, as well as the information he intended to either obscure or withhold from his encounter with the League of Villains.

  Once he reached the agency, Shin started creating the report detailing his encounter with Stain and his unintentional visit to the League of Villains' headquarters. He included the names and quirks of the villains, which he had deduced from their conversations. He also mentioned the mysterious master, which made Hawks visibly tense, though Shin refrained from stating their identity.

  This report led to an initial scolding from Hawks, who then thanked him for the valuable information. Hawks took the details to the Hero Public Safety Department and the police force, keeping himself busy, which helped Shin successfully divert his attention, which he had originally intended.

  In the present, Shin was walking through the streets of Fukuoka on his final day in the city when he suddenly sensed an imminent threat. Acting on instinct, he shifted to the side, narrowly avoiding a fatal attack. However, his lower left ribs, back, and left arm were shredded by the strike. He immediately activated his force shield and reinforced it with his energy, despite the heavy bleeding.

  His consciousness began to slip away, but he fought to stay awake, using his Force Regeneration, a skill he had created during the sports festival, to enhance his body’s natural healing. In essence, he was directing his force energy to inside his body and stimulating the cell regeneration process. This in addition to the higher-than-normal regeneration he had due to the Superhuman Physique, his bleeding stopped. However, even though it wasn’t enough to heal such severe injuries, it helped to prevent his potential death.

  The sound of screams reached his ears, likely from onlookers horrified by the sight of the splashing of his blood. He also didn’t feel any further attacks on his shield, so he deduced that the assailant had fled, realizing they had failed to finish him off in one blow. As his vision grew blurry, he heard a familiar voice—Hawks’. Weakly, he lowered his shield and finally lost his consciousness.

  …

  A short while ago, Hawks was enjoying a rare moment of peace, relaxing after the previous day’s stress-filled work. He had spent the day forwarding and investigating some critical information he’d recently uncovered. And where did he get this information, you ask? It came from a particularly exceptional intern who had joined his agency to learn from him and his team.

  Shin, who had returned from his infiltration of one of the country’s largest gangs as a spy, provided a detailed report about his findings. At first glance, the report was excellent—especially considering it was Shin’s first time working undercover. However, when Hawks reached the section detailing Shin’s encounters with the hero killer Stain and the League of Villains, he found himself completely dumbfounded.

  He didn’t even know how to react. Hawks had been working as a double agent, convincing the League of Villains that he was on their side. Yet, some of the information Shin managed to gather was far beyond what Hawks expected they could uncover in such a short time.

  Hawks grew tense as he read about the mysterious figure referred to as the ‘Master’. This revelation carried major implications, particularly given their discoveries about the Nomus following a particularly grim incident in Hosu City, where dozens of heroes had lost their lives. Thankfully, four UA students managed to prevent further devastation. They somehow defeated the hero killer, Stain, who had been leading the attack, and even held off three Nomus off until reinforcements arrived.

  From what was uncovered, it became evident that the Nomus contained DNA from multiple individuals and had more than one quirk. This made it clear that the League was engaged in human experimentation and had someone capable of transferring quirks. This revelation caused great concern, as it hinted at the possible return of a long-feared enemy. The mention of the ‘mysterious master’ all but confirmed that the symbol of evil was alive and devising something dangerous. Hawks had no choice but to report this information to the authorities, given its importance. As a result, he endured an incredibly stressful day explaining the details of Shin’s findings.

  By the time he could finally relax, Hawks was watching TV and enjoying a moment of quiet. But fate had other plans. A call from one of his subordinates interrupted his peace, reporting a nearby attack that had thrown everyone into panic. The victim had encased themselves in a translucent dome, making it impossible for his team to approach. Hawks’ gut twisted with a terrible realization as he comprehended who it might be. Without hesitation, he flew off toward the scene.

  When he arrived, the sight was worse than he had imagined. A translucent dome stood amidst blood splatters, with pieces of flesh and bone scattered around. Hawks approached the dome and called out to Shin. The barrier collapsed, revealing an unconscious Shin, his entire left side mangled and torn beyond recognition. Hawks could see exposed ribs protruding from his chest, and Shin’s left arm was stripped of flesh, leaving only bone. It was a scene straight out of a nightmare, with blood pouring from his numerous wounds.

  Hawks immediately checked Shin’s breathing, and was relieved to find him alive. He carefully scooped him into his arms, being unbothered by the blood. He flew toward the nearest hospital, while also instructing his subordinates to contact UA and report the incident. Upon reaching the hospital, Shin was rushed into emergency surgery. Hours later, the doctors emerged to brief Hawks on his condition.