Volume 1 — Chapter 3: The First Enemy of Rank S — Part 1

Miyu Kurohana stood on the rooftop, staring at the system window in front of her.
[Unknown Entity Detected]

Rank: S

Status: Active

Her expression became serious.
"An S-rank villain..."
Miyu knew that powerful enemies would eventually appear.
She had read the entire Starcity Hero comic.
But this was too soon.
"This wasn't supposed to happen yet."
She clenched her fists.
She had only just arrived in this world.
She had awakened her mysterious power.
She had found two potential allies.
Yuna Mizuhara was only D-rank.
Ren Kurogawa was C-rank.
Neither of them knew who had given them their powers.
And neither of them was strong enough to face an S-rank enemy.
Miyu looked at the city below.
"Then I'll have to do it myself."
For the first time since entering the comic...
Miyu was afraid.
She didn't even know the full extent of her own power.
How could she possibly defeat an S-rank villain?
Her hands began to tremble.
"No..."
She wiped away a tear.
"I can't be scared."
She had promised herself that she would save Akari.
She couldn't run away now.
But then something strange happened.
A black butterfly appeared beside her.
Miyu stared at it.
"What?"
The butterfly had appeared from her own emotions.
Normally, the butterflies were attracted to the negative emotions of other people.
But this one had come from her.
Miyu's fear.
Her sadness.
Her determination.
Everything she had experienced since arriving in this world.
The butterfly slowly changed.
Its wings became darker.
Blacker than before.
Purple patterns appeared across them.
Miyu stared in disbelief.
"What are you becoming?"
The butterfly suddenly flew away.
"Wait!"
Miyu followed it with her eyes.
The butterfly wasn't coming toward her.
It was searching for someone else's emotions.

---
The Girl by the Window
Several streets away stood a school.
Inside one of the classrooms, a nine-year-old girl named Sakura Amamiya was standing near a window.
She was surrounded by several older boys.
One of them was the son of a famous hero.
His name was Kaito Shindou.
Kaito possessed a powerful ability.
Telepathy.
He could read people's thoughts and manipulate their minds.
But instead of using his power to help people...
He used it to bully others.
"You really think you could become a hero?"
Kaito laughed.
Sakura lowered her head.
"I-I just want to help people..."
"You're a nobody."
The other boys laughed.
Kaito stepped closer.
"You don't even have an ability."
Sakura clenched her fists.
"I can still become a hero..."
Kaito's expression darkened.
"Really?"
He used his power.
Sakura suddenly lifted off the ground.
Her body floated toward the open window.
"W-Wait!"
The boys laughed.
"Look at her!"
"She's flying!"
"Maybe she can become a hero after all!"
Kaito pushed her farther toward the window.
Sakura began crying.
"Please..."
Kaito suddenly lost control of his power.
Sakura slipped.
Her body fell through the window.
"Ah!"
The boys froze.
Kaito's face turned pale.
"I didn't mean to..."
Sakura was falling.
There was nothing beneath her.
She was going to die.
Then...
A black butterfly appeared.
It flew directly toward Sakura.
The butterfly touched her body.
Black and purple light surrounded the girl.
Her fall suddenly stopped.
She floated in the air.
Sakura opened her eyes.
"What...?"
The butterfly disappeared into her body.

---
The Voice of the Butterfly
Miyu felt something.
She was several streets away, but somehow she could sense it.
Her eyes widened.
"Someone is in danger."
She closed her eyes.
The connection became stronger.
She could feel Sakura's fear.
Her loneliness.
Her pain.
And her desperate desire to prove that she wasn't worthless.
Miyu understood.
The butterfly had chosen her.
Then two different voices echoed through Miyu's mind.
"Manipulation."
"Kindness."
Miyu was confused.
"What?"
The voices continued.
"The butterfly is responding to her emotions."
"It wants to help her."
Miyu looked at the dark butterfly through the strange connection.
She suddenly realized something.
The butterfly wasn't simply a tool.
It had inherited something from her.
Her emotions.
Her memories.
Her desire to protect people.
Everything Miyu had experienced since entering this world had somehow influenced the butterfly.
"It remembers..."
Miyu whispered.
"It remembers what I've been through."
The butterfly had become more than just a manifestation of her power.
It wanted to help.

---
Sakura was still floating beside the school building.
The strange black-and-purple butterfly appeared before her.
A mysterious voice spoke.
"Sorry for the intrusion."
Sakura looked around.
"Who are you?"
"I felt your emotions."
The voice sounded different from one moment to another.
Sakura didn't understand.
Then the voice asked:
"Do you want power?"
Sakura hesitated.
"Power?"
"You were treated like a nobody."
Sakura lowered her head.
"I just want to prove that I'm not useless."
The voice became gentle.
"Then I can give you the power to prove it."
Sakura looked at the butterfly.
"Can I really become a hero?"
"Yes."
The butterfly moved closer.
"You can choose."
"Power to take revenge on those who hurt you..."
The butterfly's wings darkened.
"Or power to prove that you are not a nobody."
Sakura thought about it.
Then she shook her head.
"I don't want revenge."
She looked toward the school.
"I just want to prove that I can become someone who helps others."
The butterfly touched her forehead.
"Then accept it."

---
A brilliant light exploded across the city.
The entire street was illuminated.
The school windows glowed.
Even the nearby heroes' headquarters was flooded with light.
Inside the headquarters, alarms began ringing.
"What was that?!"
"Energy readings are off the charts!"
"Find the source!"
At the same time, Miyu's system appeared before her eyes.
[New Partner Detected]

Name: Sakura Amamiya

Age: 9

Rank: S

Ability: Time Manipulation

Miyu's eyes widened.
"S-rank..."
She stared at the screen.
"A nine-year-old girl..."
Sakura's power was beyond anything Miyu had expected.
Time manipulation.
She could potentially slow time.
Stop it.
Speed it up.
Perhaps even reverse it.
Miyu looked at her own hand.
The black-and-purple butterfly returned and landed on her finger.
Then another system message appeared.
[Power Development Detected]
Your butterflies can evolve through emotional resonance.
Current evolution: Unknown.
Miyu stared at the message.
"So my power can become stronger too..."
She had thought she understood her ability.
But now she realized the truth.
She hadn't even seen its real potential.
Her power wasn't simply about giving others abilities.
The butterflies themselves could evolve.
And perhaps...
There were powers within her that she hadn't discovered yet.
Miyu looked toward the school.
Sakura was no longer falling.
She was floating safely in the air.
The girl smiled through her tears.
For the first time in a long while...
She believed she could become someone.
Miyu smiled.
"Good."
Then she looked toward the city.
An S-rank enemy was waiting somewhere.
But now...
She had hope.
Her secret team had gained its first truly powerful ally.
And Miyu still had no idea what her own unknown power would become.
End of Volume 1 — Chapter 3, Part 1.