When Bai Ye first sucked Fubuki into the Kamui Dimension...
She felt as though his eyes possessed some kind of magic that could pull her entire body into them.
The next instant, her vision went black. Her body felt ill, and everything seemed to spin around her.
In the blink of an eye, she had arrived in this unknown world of perpetual darkness. There was no sun, no clouds, not even a trace of life. It stretched endlessly in every direction, its ground formed from countless enormous pillars.
"What is this place...?"
The unknown was one of humanity's most primal fears. Suddenly finding herself in a completely unfamiliar, eerie world, Fubuki couldn't help feeling afraid.
Could Bai Ye have thrown me into this place...?
That was the only possibility Fubuki could think of.
But how had he done it, and what sort of world was this? Fubuki had no idea.
She could only get up and keep walking in one direction...
Yet even after walking for a long time, she felt as though she had been marching in place.
There were no landmarks in this world, nor anything resembling an exit.
"Does he intend to keep me locked up here forever...?"
Knowing that continuing would only waste her strength, Fubuki stopped and sat down to rest.
Unleashing a killing move on Bai Ye earlier, then being attacked by Armored Gorilla, had already left her rather weak.
I'll keep looking for an exit once I've recovered some strength...
That was what she told herself, but Fubuki suspected she would never find an exit and would remain trapped here by Bai Ye for the rest of her life.
"Bastard... not only did you get in my way, you trapped me here too..."
Fubuki sat on the ground, muttering complaints.
Just then, however, Bai Ye's voice suddenly reached her ears.
"Hey, I can hear you, you know."
Fubuki immediately looked up and discovered that Bai Ye had appeared before her without her noticing.
She quickly stood and brushed the dust off herself, maintaining her usual cool, aloof demeanor, as though unwilling to let Bai Ye see her embarrassing state.
"So you really were the one who locked me up here, weren't you?"
Fubuki stared coldly at Bai Ye.
"Yes, but I only wanted to teach you a lesson. If you still haven't learned it, I don't mind keeping you here for another couple of days."
Bai Ye spoke evenly.
"You're the one getting in my way. Why should I be taught a lesson?"
Fubuki shot back.
"No... there's something wrong with the way your brain works. We didn't even know each other before this. How could I have gotten in your way?"
Bai Ye couldn't help calling her out.
"If you want to surpass me, you're getting in my way."
Fubuki said it bluntly.
"So you mean the rankings? Then you can relax. I won't stay in B-Class and take your number-one spot. I'll move up when the time comes."
Then Bai Ye deliberately touched a nerve. "Speaking of which, why don't you advance to A-Class? You've been number one in B-Class for a long time, haven't you? Doesn't it get boring?"
Fubuki fell silent for a moment. "...I'm under no obligation to answer you."
Her face seemed to betray no emotion, but Bai Ye was practically dancing all over her sore spots.
The reason Fubuki had remained number one in B-Class was actually simple: she couldn't become number one in A-Class.
[Sweet Mask] held a stranglehold on the top A-Class spot. As long as [Sweet Mask] refused to advance to S-Class, she would never be able to become number one in A-Class.
She believed her current strength could earn her sixth place in A-Class, but to her, first place in B-Class mattered more than sixth place in A-Class-even more than second place in A-Class.
It was the only way she could surpass her older sister, at least in name. Tatsumaki was second in S-Class, and first was higher than second, even if it was only first in B-Class...
Not only that, it was the first time she had ever been number one in her life, giving it extraordinary significance.
"So you don't want to answer... but you'll never grow like this. You'll struggle to survive, too."
Bai Ye's tone suddenly sharpened. "Heroes exist to fight evil, not to satisfy their own selfish desires. Of course, I'm borrowing those words from a certain Mr. Saitama, ranked fifteenth in S-Class."
He made sure to emphasize where those words came from. After all, he was merely an ordinary person who had transmigrated, without Saitama's lofty ideals or his profound commitment to being a "hero."
He was just an unremarkable, ordinary person with a little sense of justice, a few lofty ideals, and a little commitment to heroism-but not much of any of them. Most of what he did was aimed at making himself stronger.
Still, at least he didn't arbitrarily suppress newcomers who refused to obey him the way Fubuki did, so he believed he had the right to lecture her.
"You're content to sit at number one in B-Class and gather people weaker than you into a group. Do you think that makes you stronger?"
"Take [Beast King] and [Armored Gorilla], who showed up today. Against enemies even you can't handle, do you think those subordinates of yours can help you?"
"Could it be that you don't want to move up to A-Class because you're afraid you can't beat the people at the top? And on top of that, you suppress newcomers weaker than you. Is bullying the weak and fearing the strong how a hero should behave?"
"This so-called [Blizzard Group] you've built is nothing more than a game of playing house..."
Every word Bai Ye spoke struck where it hurt as he gave Fubuki a merciless dressing-down.
That final remark about "playing house" in particular made Fubuki burn with rage.
"Shut up!"
Seething, Fubuki instinctively tried to silence Bai Ye with her psychic powers.
Only then did she realize that her psychic powers were useless in this unknown dimension.
There was nothing here she could manipulate, apart from the air, which was of little use.
"Losing your temper already?"
Expressionless, Bai Ye said calmly, "Take the situation right now. What can you do to me? Spend more time looking in the mirror and see yourself for who you really are."
"I told you to shut up!"
Completely enraged, Fubuki lost control of her emotions and charged at Bai Ye, despite being unable to use her psychic powers in this world. Her weapon was a Utility Knife she had pulled out from somewhere.
Tears were already gathering at the corners of Fubuki's eyes. Clearly, Bai Ye's cutting words had angered her to the point of tears.
The next instant, however, Bai Ye casually snatched the Utility Knife from Fubuki's hand, clenched his other hand into a fist, and delivered a Friendship Face-Breaking Fist straight to her face.
Fubuki went flying like a kite with its string cut.
Bai Ye wasn't soft on crying girls in every situation. At least Lily hadn't attacked him earlier. Even so, he had held back considerably, or Fubuki wouldn't merely have been sent flying. Her physical fitness was worse than an ordinary person's to begin with, and she normally relied entirely on her psychic powers to fight.
Fubuki lay motionless on the ground. Perhaps the punch had stunned her, or perhaps she was questioning her entire life. She didn't even raise a hand to cover her swollen, burning cheek.
That punch not only made Fubuki feel as though she had nearly met her great-grandmother in the afterlife, but also shattered her pride and childish beliefs.
[Ding! The host has defeated the B-Class Hero "Hellish Blizzard." Reward received: 20 points!]
"Looks like you still haven't grasped your situation. Take some more time to cool off, then."
With that, Bai Ye left the Kamui Dimension, leaving Fubuki alone inside.
P.S. Today's four updates, totaling over 9,000 characters, are complete. Starting tomorrow, though, I won't be updating this much. Keeping it up for too long takes a toll on my body. Once the story reaches 100,000 characters, I'll follow the usual rule of adding bonus updates based on gifts, and try to maintain three updates a day through those gift-funded extras.
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