Who Do You Think You Are, Bastard!

Bang~

"If you weren't maybe useful later, I'd kill you right now, you clown."

After a moment's thought, the crimson glow died out. Ron frowned impatiently, then vanished on the spot, taking the Deep with him. The next second, he was back in the room.

In the later plot, Queen Maeve relied on the Deep to find evidence of Homelander standing by and doing nothing at the bottom of the ocean.

Sure, he could dive down and search himself, but that kind of grunt work was better left to others. Letting that clown live like this might make him suffer even more.

"Ah, where did you just go?

And the Deep, where is he?"

Starlight, still processing what happened, ran up and stared blankly at Ron, who had just disappeared with the Deep.

"I threw him into the sea. Hope he cools off a bit.

Maybe he can find a couple of female dolphins down there to comfort his wounded self."

He straightened his clothes and replied casually.

"How do you comfort?"

Starlight opened her mouth, wanting to ask if it was verbal comfort or something else?

She'd heard the Deep could talk to fish, and some people wondered if he could fall in love with one. Now there probably wasn't any other possibility.

Ron ignored her. She realized she shouldn't have asked, shut her mouth, and changed the subject. Looking at Ron's perfectly chiseled side profile, like an ancient Greek sculpture, she reached out her hand and smiled.

"Thank you.

I'm Starlight. You helped me avoid an awkward situation."

"No need to thank me. A pure girl like you shouldn't be tainted by others."

Ron glanced at her hand, stepped closer, and wore a faint smile like a gentleman.

"If you don't mind, I'd like you to do me a favor."

"What... what favor?"

Forced back until her back hit the wall, Starlight pressed her hands against his firm chest to stop him from coming closer, looked away, and spoke softly, flustered.

Staring at the handsome face so close, clearly feeling the man's breath, and remembering how Ron had appeared to save her and punish the scumbag, her cheeks flushed slightly.

"Here I am, a superhero fighting crime, and today I end up in that classic movie scene where the hero saves the damsel in distress."

"Dear Starlight, that guy just now got my blood boiling."

He grabbed a strand of her hair, sniffed it, didn't answer, and just leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"Ugh..."

Scene shift.

In Vought's public restroom.

Starlight knelt by the toilet, retching in disgust.

She shouted angrily at the stall door.

"How is this any different from that bastard?!"

"The difference is I'm way more handsome and powerful than that clown?

I actually have the power to kick you out of The Seven, but I didn't threaten you."

Leaning against the door, Ron crossed his arms, shrugged at her accusation, expressionless.

"And you weren't exactly fighting it. Half-hearted resistance?"

"You ruined the fantasy I had of you!"

Starlight fell silent for a moment, then realized Ron almost sounded proud. She shot back with a furious yell.

She'd thought today would be like a perfect dream come true. Sure, she'd run into disgusting workplace harassment, but a handsome hero had shown up to save her. Next should have been a sweet office romance.

But in the blink of an eye, the hero turned into a dragon.

"Don't say that. We just moved a little fast, skipped some unnecessary steps."

Outside the door, his tone was still indifferent, almost like he was trying to reason with her.

"Yeah, skipped the introductions, holding hands, kissing, and went straight to..."

Bang! The door flew open. Starlight stormed out, even angrier. She walked to the sink, sneered at Ron, then spun around mid-sentence and accused him.

"You didn't let him taint me. You drove him away. Then you did what he didn't finish!"

She launched into another round of furious rambling.

"Enough. You're not some innocent little girl who's never been through anything.

I was nice enough to come here with you."

Ron was getting annoyed and signaled for her to stop.

"On the contrary, this is my first time, and your moves are anything but gentle."

"Did I complain even once?"

Remembering how she'd faced that clown Deep, she hadn't had nearly this much to say—just ran to the bathroom alone to throw up, and afterward didn't dare utter a word.

"You..."

And he blamed her for not being gentle? Starlight's chest heaved violently; she was so furious she could spit blood. How could anyone be this shameless?

To be honest, he wasn't all that interested in Starlight. It was just a momentary fit of perverse amusement, with no restraint on his part.

Since he had enough power, shouldn't he just do whatever he wanted?

"I was born into a religious family!"

Starlight couldn't take it anymore and cut him off.

"So what?"

Starlight was born into a religious family, but in the storyline, she hadn't followed any rules of chastity—she'd tasted forbidden fruit early and often.

Faced with Deep's threats, she hadn't said no either, caving easily.

Ron's expression turned cold. Done talking, he dropped his arms and turned to leave.

A woman who couldn't get a clue. He'd thought about offering a few words of comfort, but she wouldn't listen to anything. She was already a grown adult, yet she reacted like a little girl, getting treated worse than that waste Deep.

He walked out of the restroom and into a corridor.

Ron's gaze suddenly locked onto a spot. Without warning, he reached out as if grabbing someone by the neck, hoisting them up and pinning them against the wall.

"Hey, who are you?"

Translucent, who had been invisible, materialized, grinning as he asked.

He raised his hands as if in surrender, but his expression was anything but serious.

"Today I've already castrated one clown."

Glancing downward, Ron warned coldly, tightening his grip.

"If you don't want the same fate, don't let me see you like this again."

Translucent, a member of The Seven, had the ability to alter his skin's composition, turning it into carbon-based metamaterial harder than diamond, and could achieve optical invisibility. He liked to walk around naked, invisible, spying on people's privacy.

His invisibility—if he moved too fast or if someone had exceptional eyesight—could reveal a rough outline.

Ron didn't want some naked guy floating around in front of him every day from now on.

"Got it?"

"Who the hell do you think you are, asshole?"

Choking and barely able to breathe, hearing that tone, Translucent's face twisted with rage. He swung a fist, aiming a vicious punch at the man's face.