Firecrackers exploding in the blue sky.
The camera, which had been shining on the blue sky and the warm sun, slowly zoomed out and soon caught the face everyone had been waiting for: Cha Se-ri's smiling face.
"Good morning, dear viewers and heroes. This is Cha Se-ri. I'm currently in front of the stadium where the second match, postponed due to unforeseen circumstances, is taking place."
Behind her, who was smiling towards the screen, a long line stretched out outside the stadium.
Despite the early morning, the citizens' faces still linger with the fervent anticipation of the heroes' fierce battle, reminiscent of yesterday's heated match at the stadium. Their eager anticipation is palpable, and their eagerness to cheer on the heroes is palpable. Are you all excited?
Waaaa ...
As if responding to the cheers of the spectators waiting in line, he waved his hand and passed the spectators, then the screen changed to inside the stadium.
As Cha Se-ri walked through the dark hallway into the sunlight, the interior of the large stadium began to illuminate.
The stands were spacious, no different from yesterday.
And the sight of the smokescreen, larger and wider than before, came into view through the camera lens.
“The training ground, which was damaged in yesterday’s sudden accident, has been rebuilt stronger and larger than before thanks to the hard work of the staff, so expectations for the second round are expected to be even higher.”
Cha Se-ri looked back at the training ground and turned her gaze back to the camera lens, then smiled and put her hand on her mouth.
"Well then, shall we first invite a special guest to join us today? One of the top heroes, a firefighter and a hero at the same time, Hero Blaze Storm!"
Blaze Storm appeared into the camera angle with a bright smile on his face, receiving a welcoming applause from Cha Se-ri and the staff.
"Hello, viewers. It's a pleasure to be with you. This is Blaze Storm."
As he nodded briefly in greeting, Cha Se-ri soon approached him and thrust the microphone into his hand.
“Then first, Blaze Storm, regarding this incident of destruction of the training ground, the Hero Association stated that the sudden incident that occurred last evening where the stadium was damaged was caused by a commotion between X Chain, one of the second round participants, and the heroes present at the scene. Could you tell us why this commotion occurred?”
The direct questions she asks as a reporter right from the start.
The on-site staff, except for Cha Se-ri and Blaze Storm, flinched for a moment and looked at Blaze Storm at the sudden question that was off the originally planned list of questions.
Unlike the staff who were watching her closely to see if she might show any discomfort at her sudden question, Blaze Storm just smiled leisurely.
"The actions of the Hero X Chain branch were committed despite the Association's repeated warnings. Well, the hero on the scene reacted a bit harshly to his overly aggressive reporting, but in the end, it was just what he sowed."
Cha Se-ri smiled brightly at the camera lens as she read the script written on the cue card in her hand, but inside she was clicking her tongue.
It was clear that what had happened had already been captured on the CCTV at the scene, but before the broadcast team could even arrive, the special ability countermeasures team quickly took action, and in the end, they were unable to confirm what had happened at the scene.
It would have been nice if there had been eyewitness testimony, but the situation unfolded so quickly, and finding witnesses in the crowd was even more difficult.
'If only they had found it, it would have been a real scoop.'
Although she missed the scoop, she tried not to show her regret on her face and quickly looked away from the cue card, looked at the camera, and smiled.
“The problematic Hero X Chain was automatically disqualified from this tournament due to an injury that required nearly three weeks of recovery and sanctions from the association. As a result, Snow Bell, who was also scheduled to face them in the second round, was automatically disqualified from the tournament by default.”
“I don’t think it’s particularly surprising from her perspective, as she has already been showing off her fighting prowess and other qualities.”
At her words, Blaze Storm nodded in agreement, arms folded.
"Her 'Absolute Zero', which instantly freezes the surrounding area, not only incapacitates enemies but also ranks among the top in terms of power."
"As she gets more attention, Blaze Storm, who wields flames in contrast to her, will also receive more attention, right?"
"Hahaha, I can't deny it."
The staff breathed a sigh of relief as the news progressed slowly, exchanging compliments with each other.
*
"..."
The back alley leading to the stadium.
Just like last time, he was walking down a deserted alleyway, wearing a mask and a suit that extended above his neck.
The first match was about to begin, and I had to prepare for the battle against Kingdom, but the events of last night were still lingering in my mind.
Jinsoo, no, glow lantern.
The sight of a friend quitting his job and making excuses, being afraid to talk about it as if it were his fault.
I couldn't help but wonder why he looked so different from his usual bright self when he was acting as a hero.
Would you normally go to that extent defending someone when they quit?
No matter how close your friends or family are, in the end they are just strangers.
It is extremely rare for someone to empathize with someone to that extent and defend them.
There are generally two such cases.
Or, you are defending the object because you like it to the extent of love.
or not
There is something wrong with that person and they feel hurt.
But when they first met, there was no sign of anything being hidden between them. Even in this selection, there was no such talk—
"... ah."
Suddenly, what he had said came to mind.
There is talk that because of poor grades and low recognition, support from the agency may be cut off at any time.
However, in the conversation between the two, there was no mention of when support from the agency might be cut off.
He certainly talked about income, but it was never directly mentioned by him.
"no way."
The moment something starts to come to fruition within me,
Squeak-
A black mid-sized van stopped in front of me.
Soon the car door opened, and men in black suits and masks who looked physically fit began to get out one by one.
I looked at them quietly as they moved as if they were surrounding me.
A formation that slowly surrounds from the front in a winged formation.
As I quietly backed away and tried to go back the way I came, soon the same van stopped on the same road I came from, and guys wearing the same suits started getting out.
Let's see, how many times has this happened in a group fight?
Since I joined Black Crown, I feel like I've been facing situations like 1 vs 17 alone more and more often.
I sighed quietly and turned my head to look at the large figures in front of me.
"I can probably guess the answer, but I'll ask just out of courtesy. Who are you?"
"You don't need to know."
Among the masked people, a person who was quietly looking at me from behind and speaking got out of the car.
"I'm sorry, but I think you'll have to stay here for a while."
At their words, I found myself laughing out loud without realizing it.
The man who spoke to me, who was trying hard to suppress his laughter, tilted his head slightly to the side.
"Is there any problem?"
"No, I mean, I just laughed a little when I saw you say the exact same answer I expected without a single mistake."
I slowly stretched and relaxed my body, starting with my neck, shoulders, wrists, and ankles, while looking at them with my white lensed eyes.
"Every time the villains in children's hero shows make a surprise attack, they always say it with such confidence in their victory that they don't want to reveal their true identities.
'There is no name to tell you when you go to the other world.'
"You don't need to know, you're going to fall anyway."
I slowly raised my head as I watched the enemies slowly begin to pull out what looked like batons one by one.
"But, in the next scene, those guys are completely defeated by the hero, and in the end, the hero finds out who did it."
A black liquid slowly flowed from the choker over his entire body, and a black suit wrapped around his entire body.
The suit wrapped around his entire body, the black bone extended from the choker and unfolded on the outside of the suit, and a gauntlet pain ejector was mounted on his right hand.
Inside the mask, I opened my mouth with a quiet smile.
"Let me try that too."