Hero

"Hmph... Are you done talking?"

Masked Heroine kept her head lowered, her voice hoarse.

The man in black at the front couldn't see her expression.

But at this point, what could possibly go wrong?

They had deliberately chosen the moment she came to pay her respects... The Association was far away, and they were beyond the range of Shen Yin's Mental Link.

Firefly Rank...

That already put her above most Magical Girls.

But it was nowhere near enough to escape the ambush they had prepared.

He raised an eyebrow.

"What, you're still trying to act tough?"

"You haven't denied a word I said, have you? Do you still not see what you really are?"

"Of course I do..."

Masked Heroine slowly raised her head.

"You're right."

"I'm... really not anyone special."

"I'm a coward. I'm afraid of getting hurt, afraid of disappointing people... I put on this mask because, hidden behind it, I never had to let anyone see the real me."

"Everything you said was true."

She spoke one word at a time. Her voice trembled at first, but as she went on, it grew steadier.

At some point, the smile faded from the man's face.

He had a bad feeling...

"But."

Masked Heroine suddenly broke into a grin.

"You got one thing wrong."

"What makes humanity great is the noble way we face our fears—"

"The Magical Girls who came before us had it carved on their gravestones to remind those who followed!"

"There's nothing shameful about fear! Anyone would be afraid when facing danger!"

"But courage..."

"The hymn to humanity is a hymn to courage!"

"Even if I'm shaking all over, even if I can't stop crying—as long as I have the courage to face my fear!"

"I'll always be—a hero!"

Masked Heroine gripped the mask on