Mitarai Fubuki

Given Luke's limited vocabulary, coming up with "Cape Man" was already an achievement.

Luke was pleased with the name, and he began designing his superhero costume around it.

Every superhero had a signature costume.

Homelander, for example, had his blue bodysuit.

For a male superhero, a cape, a full bodysuit, leather gloves, and combat boots were standard issue.

Female superheroes, of course, could go a little bolder with their designs.

After two hours of brainstorming, Luke opened an online shopping site.

He had begun to realize that his superhero costume wouldn't be determined by what he wanted. It would be determined by what he could afford.

After another half hour of deliberation, Luke finally assembled his budget battle outfit.

A pure white cape, a yellow combat suit, red leather gloves, and red combat boots.

Luke's very own superhero costume was complete.

Thoroughly satisfied with his design, Luke placed the order.

As Saturday approached, San Andreas grew increasingly lively.

Luke didn't have to travel far for the superhero selection event. Vought International's headquarters was right here in the city.

The city-center stadium had also been chosen as the venue.

Vought International had its reasons for choosing this city as its headquarters.

As a company built around managing superhero teams, it needed to be based where superheroes were needed most.

San Andreas was just such a place.

It was a city in desperate need of saving.

Though San Andreas had the most prosperous economy in the western part of the Federation, it was also the least safe city for its residents.

Crime rates remained stubbornly high. Criminal organizations were deeply entrenched, and armed clashes broke out again and again.

Beyond the frequent clashes between Evil forces, residents could scarcely count on their lives and property being safe.

Carjackings were especially common.

You could pull over to buy something, and the moment you stepped out, someone would drive off with your car.

Worse, you could be sitting at a red light when a burly man walked up, opened your door, dragged you out, climbed in, and drove away as if he owned the place.

These violent robberies and gang battles had only begun to ease in recent years.

That was thanks, of course, to Vought International establishing its headquarters here.

Even so, San Andreas remained one of the Federation's most crime-ridden cities. It was as though some mysterious force were at work: while ordinary crime had declined since Vought International moved in, crimes committed by people with Psychic Powers were rising year after year.

Saturday arrived before long.

By the time Luke got there, the area in front of the city-center stadium was packed. Even the roads leading to it were clogged with people.

The crowd included not just contestants, but reporters from major media outlets and tens of thousands of spectators.

Guided by several burly men in superhero costumes, Vought International staff struggled to maintain order. They managed to carve a few narrow entry lanes through the crush.

Luke had registered on Vought International's official website a few days earlier. After waiting in line for over half an hour, he finally made it through the checkpoint outside the stadium.

Inside the lobby, Luke saw a string of numbers climbing on an electronic screen straight ahead.

It was nearly noon by the time every registered contestant had entered.

Luke looked up at the screen. The number had stopped at 16,781.

More than sixteen thousand people had signed up for the selection of a new member of The Seven.

Only one would be chosen. Everyone else would be an also-ran.

The competition would be fierce.

Once all the contestants were inside, company staff began assigning them to groups. Each contestant also received an entry form.

Their scores from each test would be recorded on that form.

Without the spectators getting in the way, the group assignments proceeded smoothly.

Luke, meanwhile, was beside himself with delight.

It wasn't the coming competition that excited him. It was the genuinely gorgeous woman standing ahead of him in line.

Glossy black short hair, an almost perfect waist-to-hip ratio, long, straight legs...

He hadn't even seen her face, and his imagination was already running wild.

As his feelings toward others had grown increasingly muted, appreciating beauty had become one of the few things that still excited him.

Unfortunately, the moment didn't last.

The line kept moving, and soon it was the Girl's turn to collect her entry form.

"Name?" asked the staff member checking the contestants' details.

“Mitarai Fubuki.” There was a cool edge to the Girl's voice.

A Neonese woman, Luke thought.

Mitarai Fubuki was unmistakably a Neonese name.

The staff member looked up and froze for a few seconds.

Even as a woman herself, she couldn't help being captivated by the contestant's beauty.

She was an absolute stunner.

Her proportions were almost unreal.

A full bust, a waist slender enough to encircle with two hands, and legs that seemed to go on forever.

She was flawless.

If a woman like her passed the selection and joined The Seven, it was hard to imagine just how popular she would become.

She might even rival Homelander.

So the staff member thought.

“Women's Group Three.” The staff member handed the entry form to the Girl.

With the form in hand, Mitarai Fubuki turned to leave.

As she turned, Luke finally caught a glimpse of her breathtaking face.

He stood transfixed.

She was so beautiful it made his head spin.

"Next," the staff member said.

"Next?" After several seconds with no one stepping forward, the staff member looked up.

A bald man stood there in a daze.

"Baldy!" the staff member shouted, snapping Luke out of it.

"Quit gawking! Do you want to compete or not?!"

Only when someone called him "Baldy" did Luke slowly come back to his senses.

The staff member rolled her eyes at him. "Name."

"Luke."

She compared the photo in his file to his face, then handed him his form.

"Men's Group Fifteen."

Luke took the entry form and turned to scan the crowd.

The Girl had already vanished into the crowd.

Mitarai Fubuki.

Luke committed the name to memory.

Hell's Fubuki has finally appeared!

(End of chapter)