Volume 1 — Chapter 1: The Girl Who Became a Villain

The city was burning.

Explosions shook the streets while people ran in every direction. Police cars surrounded the area, but none of them dared to approach the battlefield.

Above the city, two figures clashed.

One was a heroine.

The other was a villain whose identity was completely unknown.

No one knew her name.

No one knew her age.

No one even knew whether the mysterious villain was a boy or a girl.

But everyone knew one thing.

She was powerful.

The heroine raised her hand.

"Star Burst!"

A brilliant beam of light shot toward the mysterious villain.

The villain disappeared into a cloud of black smoke.

The attack missed.

A helicopter hovered above the battlefield, its camera recording everything.

Millions of people were watching the fight live on television.

"Who is that mysterious villain?"

"How can she fight Starcity?"

"Does she have a special ability?"

"Is the villain even human?"

The reporters had hundreds of questions.But there were no answers.

The mysterious villain had never revealed her identity.

She had never revealed her real power.

And she never allowed anyone to see her face.

Yet there was something even stranger about her ability.

The villain could give other people superpowers.

Any power they desired.

Strength.

Speed.

Flight.

Healing.

Fire.

Ice.

Even abilities that had never existed before.

Nobody understood how she could do it.

Nobody knew why she did it.

And nobody suspected the truth.

The mysterious villain was actually a twelve-year-old girl.

An ordinary girl from another world.

Her name was Miyu Kurohana.

Several Hours Earlier

There once lived an ordinary twelve-year-old girl named Miyu Kurohana.

She lived an ordinary life in the real world.

She went to school.

She watched anime.

She read manga.

And more than anything else, she loved one particular comic book.

Starcity Hero.

It was the story of a young superheroine named Starcity, whose real name was Akari Hoshizora. She protected the city 

from powerful villains.

Miyu had read almost every volume.

She knew the characters.

She knew their abilities.

She knew the important battles.

Most importantly...

She knew how the story would end.

And she hated the ending.

Akari Hoshizora was destined to die.Not immediately.

Not in the first few chapters.

But eventually, after countless battles, sacrifices, and tragedies, the heroine would face her final enemy.

And she would die as a hero.

Miyu had always wished she could change that ending.

"If only I could enter the story..."

She had said those words many times.

She never expected them to come true.

Until that day.

Miyu was walking home alone.

Her house was strangely quiet.

Her parents weren't there.

Her phone had no signal.

She entered her room and noticed something unusual.

Her favorite copy of Starcity Hero was lying open on her desk.

She didn't remember opening it.

The pages suddenly began to glow.

"What...?"

A strange light filled the room.

Miyu stepped backward.

The world disappeared.

When she opened her eyes again, she was standing in the middle of a city.

A very familiar city.

She stared at the buildings.

At the streets.

At the enormous digital advertisements.

Her heart began beating faster.

"No..."

She knew this place.

She had seen it hundreds of times.

It was impossible.

But there was no mistaking it.

She was inside Starcity Hero.

The comic book had become reality.

She looked around.

There was no family.

No school.

No friends.

No home.

Nobody even knew she existed.

She was completely alone.

For a moment, fear overwhelmed her.

Then she remembered something.

Akari.

Her favorite heroine.

Miyu clenched her fists.

"I know what happens to her."

She knew the future.

She knew the villains.

She knew the disasters.

She knew the battles.

And she knew that Akari was going to die.

"I won't let that happen."

She didn't know how.

She didn't know what she could do.

But she had made her decision.

"If I can't save her as a hero..."

Miyu slowly smiled.

"...then I'll save her as a villain."

Something strange suddenly happened.

Miyu felt something inside her body.

A strange energy.

It was dark.

Cold.

But strangely familiar.

"What is this?"

She raised her hand.

A butterfly flew toward her.

It landed on her palm.

The butterfly's wings were black.

Not ordinary black.

They seemed to contain an unknown color that Miyu couldn't describe.

The moment she touched it, dark energy spread across her hand.

"W-What?"

The butterfly disappeared into her palm.

A voice echoed inside her mind.

Power.

Miyu froze.

"Who said that?"

Another voice answered.

Give power.

Then another.

Take power.

Then another.

Change fate.

The voices sounded different from one another.

Miyu couldn't understand what was happening.

She only knew that something had awakened inside her.

At that exact moment, several streets away, a twelve-year-old girl named Yuna Mizuhara was crying.

A group of older students had surrounded her.

"Give it back!"

"It's mine!"

"No!"

Yuna's negative emotions grew stronger.

Fear.

Anger.

Sadness.

Desperation.

The strange black butterfly appeared again.

It flew toward her.

Miyu watched from a distance.

"What is it doing?"

The butterfly touched Yuna's chest.

Black light surrounded her.

Then the voice returned.

Do you want power?

Yuna looked up.

"I..."

Do you want to protect your friend?

Yuna nodded.

"Yes."

Then accept it.

The black butterfly disappeared into her body.

Yuna suddenly stood up.

A strange aura surrounded her.

The bullies stepped backward."What happened to her?"

Miyu stared in shock.

"I did that?"

She didn't understand her own ability.

But she understood one thing.

She could give people power.And apparently...

She could awaken that power through their emotions.

A transparent screen appeared before her eyes.

[SYSTEM]

World Detected: Starcity Hero

Ability Classification System Activated

Power Ranks:

E — D — C — B — A — S — SS — SSS

Miyu stared at the screen.

"What is this?"

Another line appeared.

[Personal Ability]

Unknown

Rank: Unknown

Type: Unknown

Potential: Unknown

Miyu blinked.

"Unknown?"

She had expected some kind of normal superpower.

Instead, even the system didn't know what she possessed.

Then another message appeared.

[Ability: Power Bestowal]

You can grant supernatural abilities to others.

[Ability: Negative Emotion Resonance]

Negative emotions can attract mysterious butterflies.

[Ability: Unknown]

Information unavailable.

Miyu slowly smiled.

"So this is my power..."

She looked toward the distant city.

She knew what was coming.

Villains would appear.

Heroes would fall.

People would suffer.

And eventually...

Akari would die.

Miyu couldn't allow that future to happen.

She would create her own organization.

She would find people who could become her allies.

She would give them powers.

She would make herself the villain everyone feared.

A villain whose true purpose nobody would understand.

A villain who would fight Starcity...while secretly protecting her.

Miyu looked at the black butterfly resting on her finger.

"If everyone thinks I'm the enemy..."She smiled.

"Then nobody will realize that I'm actually trying to save you, Akari."

From that day forward, the story of Starcity Hero began to change.

And somewhere in the shadows...

A new villain was born.

Her identity?

Unknown.

Her power?

Unknown.

Her rank?

Unknown.

But one thing was certain.

She was coming for the future.

And she intended to steal Starcity's tragic ending.

End of Volume 1, Chapter 1.