<Bright>

 

 

 

“H-Hello!” (B)

After carefully setting the pup down and stumbling onto his feet, Bright addressed the occupants of the room.

Sweat trickled down his neck.

‘Talk about trash luck, goddamn it!’

Staring at ground, he struggled to meet their gazes.

In this room were two of arguably the most important people in the world. Sun—the incarnation of the word "hero"—lounged casually on the couch, while Yuki—the second-ranked hero—stood staring idly out the window. Bright didn’t have a problem with Hero Sun; after all, he had prepared to meet him today. The one he had a problem with was Hero Yuki.

She was a known menace in the hero space.

Unfriendly, uncooperative and mean. She frequently ignored colleagues, invites to important celebrations and even fans who were kids. These acts weren’t that bad in and of themselves. In fact, many people would forgive such acts, honestly speaking. Heroes were people at the end of the day. They deserved some peace. But what made it different for her was the sheer look of disgust she wore whenever interacting with people. She looked genuinely repulsed at the fact some would even try. Thus, a negative view was born of her. The fact she also used darkness as her source of power didn’t help.

She was mysterious and dangerous.

And… unfortunately, the only hero strong enough to form a serious, mutually beneficial partnership with the top hero.

‘These are some fine floor’

Trying to distract himself from reality, Bright felt a small desire to complain. Was it too much to hope he wouldn’t have to meet her? Maybe, but it didn’t have to be so soon. He wasn’t good against people who could resist his charming nature.

“What’s so interesting down there?” (S)

An unhurried, playful voice tickled Bright’s ears as a shadow fell on him.

“Yes, what is so interesting?” (Y)

Another silently dominating voice joined in with an accompanying shadow.

‘So fast?!’

He hadn’t seen, much less heard, them move.

“N-Nothing!” (B)

Bright forced his face up.

He quickly swallowed bitterly.

‘Life is not fair, huh?’

Money.

Power.

Looks.

These guys had it all. Especially the looks. Hero Yuki and Hero Sun were a striking pair, blessed with extraordinary good looks. Hero Yuki possessed an almost ethereal beauty. Her light blonde hair framed a face of cool detachment while her light blue eyes observed the world with distinct aloofness. Hero Sun, by contrast, possessed a warmth that drew people in. His dark blonde hair complemented his ruby red eyes that radiated unprecedented charm.

“Bright, was it? Mind if I ask you a question?” (S)

‘Of course I mind…’

“N-Not at all, go ahead!” (B)

A smile bloomed on Hero Sun’s face.

‘Why does that feel somewhat sinister?’

“Tell me. Why did you want to become a hero?” (S)

Relief flooded Bright.

This was a common question. It was a favourite for interviewers and the like.

He practically got its answer memorised.

“I want to become a hero in order to fully dedicate myself to serving humanity.” (B)

Bright took a deep breath.

He confidently met the eyes of the two heroes standing in front of him.

“The wickedness of monsters and villains cannot be allowed to persist. They are a tenacious evil seeking to loot, pillage and destroy all we stand for. This is a reality I can not allow. I will be the sword to stand in their way. I will be the axe to chop their dreams. I will be their end.” (B)

With every word, Bright’s voice grew stronger.

“My desire is to serve as humanity’s shield against these calamities! See to it that we not only survive but thrive!” (B)

Bright beamed while wrapping up.

This would impress them, no doubt.

Holding eye contact, he waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

Complete silence.

“No other reason?” (S)

Neither of them looked particularly impressed.

“Uhm, uh, n-no?” (B)

Hero Sun sighed.

“A hero is a symbol.” (Y)

An interjection was made.

“More than a sword or shield. They are a symbol that represents the whole of humanity.” (Y)

Hero Yuki locked eyes with Bright.

“If they fall, humanity falls. And so, they must battle, and must fight, and must shed blood for humanity. Victory to a hero is not a dream but a reality they must make. To win is their sole goal. Triumph, success, and conquest are all the natural states of a hero.” (Y)

‘…. How grim’

Bright didn’t become a hero for any such nonsense. He only did so because it was convenient for his goals. Those being accumulating and spending as much money as fast and humanly possible. Being a decent hero paid extremely well. Given his inherent skills, this career suited him perfectly well. It was perhaps one of the few where starting out this young wasn’t frowned upon.

“Knowing this, do you still desire to be a hero?” (Y)

“Yes!” (B)

Naturally, he couldn’t say that.

It would be unbecoming of a hero.

Agreeing to whatever would be much better.

Hero Yuki slightly turned to Hero Sun.

“Haaa, right I guess that’s enough pointlessness. Let’s go see what you can do, shall we?” (S)

 

 

“Come on, we haven’t got all day now.” (S)

Observing the man who stood opposite him in what looked almost like PJs, Bright sighed.

He might be the top hero, but wasn’t he underestimating him a little too much?

Hero Sun let out a yawn.

Bright frowned.

In this pure, white room, he held the complete advantage. Every surface – the walls, flooring and ceiling – was made of a highly reflective material. A hum in the air spoke of fluorescent lighting expertly hidden all over. He would be hard-pressed to lose here. Daylight, Bright’s ability, allowed him to absorb any sources of light and use that stored energy to enhance himself or fire destructive beams.

It was an ability that made him the most powerful upcoming hero.

He shouldn’t be taken lightly.

The energy flowing into his body was already starting to cause familiar jittering.

‘But… then again, he is the top hero’

Hero Sun’s ability artificially resembled Bright’s own. He manipulated light in extraordinary ways to defeat all his challengers. From creating whole prisons out of light, to firing light rays capable of reducing a city to ash, he was no slouch.

‘Right, let’s start off easy’

Taking a stance, he had been taught by the enthusiastic Chairman, he prepared to engage.

Feet shoulder-width apart, slightly angled and knees bent.

It was a close-quarters form.

Bright threw a punch.

In an instant, the energy that had been building up fired out.

‘Ugh…’

Frankly, it was an unpleasant experience. The sudden loss of energy always left him feeling lightheaded. No matter how many times he practised, he still couldn’t get used to it.

The light beam shot off to its target.

Bright channelled the energy remaining in his body and focused it on his eyes.

Now, while he might call the attack a “light beam”, in actuality, it was more like a plasma beam. It was fast, but it didn’t move at the speed of light. A hit was guaranteed most of the time, but Hero Sun was incredibly quick—at least from the few clips Bright watched of him.

He needed to learn his movements.

‘Wait, when did he move?!’

A was a mere step away from his initial position.

Enough to completely dodge the attack.

Earlier, when Bright had witnessed his disappearing trick, he came to the very normal and logical conclusion that he just had to enhance his eyes in order to see him move. After all, Bright was considered one of the fast, if not the fastest, in the young division. Awakened people are already generally stronger and faster than normal; combined with Bright’s ability, it, in theory, should’ve been enough.

“You shouldn’t lose focus in battle.” (S)

A smooth voice whispered right next to Bright.

He sharply turned.

‘Since when!?’

Hero Sun was standing, almost lazily, pointing to something ahead.

Bright followed his finger.

‘Ah?’

The beam he had shot was reflected right back at… him.

The pain was brief, but the shame was eternal.

Pulling himself off the ground, he swiftly inspected his armour for damage.

It was pretty bad.

While the shiny scales had reflected some of the attack, the damage was still severe.

Scales were missing.

Bright balled his fists.

He needed to get more serious.

 

 

The scowl Hero Yuki wore deepened as more blood gushed.

“Hehe, sorry there, kid.” (S)

At the words, Bright instinctively tried to raise his hands to cover his nose with tissues.

They were promptly swatted away by the person in front of him.

She raised her own instead.

Bright flinched at her touch.

Sitting in the dining room, Bright took the time to silently reflect on his battle with Hero Sun.

It was simply pathetic.

After failing his first attack, he switched to melee combat, then ranged plus melee.

They all failed.

He couldn’t touch the hero, much less hurt him.

The battle then raged on for quite a while until Bright exhausted his body completely.

The cause of the nosebleed. All the energy Bright received from the lights was amazing, but it did nothing to lower his body’s fatigue.

‘Sigh, this is a feeling I don’t miss’

Given how powerful Bright was, he rarely ever exhausted himself. The only exception being when he first awakened. Those were terrible days.

Finished cleaning his face, Hero Yuki got up.

“Come.” (Y)

A little over the day, Bright followed her without question. They walked through the sitting room and up a flight of skilfully hidden stairs. Arriving at the second floor, they strolled down the beauty hall until they came across a door decorated with a half moon and sun joined together.

“Freshen up here.” (Y)

Hero Yuki unlocked the door, handed the keys to Bright and then left.

‘Why does she have keys?’

This was Hero Sun’s house, no? They may be workmates and collaborate on things, but they weren’t that close, were they?

Pushing the door open, Bright was greeted by a sight.

A horrific sight.

Well, okay, not entirely. The room was lavish and nice, but something was clearly wrong with it.

From the bedsheets to the displays and collectibles strung around.

‘Why the hell is my stuff here?!’

He’d been robbed.