[Day 12 – 12 days left]
Charlie groaned in frustration.
Charlie: Argh! We've been at Sector 7 for an entire day and found nothing. Now it's already the second day—and it's night again!
Leona: They're not pranking us or something… right?
Michael shook his head.
Michael: Unlikely. The WHA would never give us false information. Besides, there was a report about a missing hero around these parts. So it's very possible a Dark Knight might actually be here.
Charlie rubbed her temples.
Charlie: Good grief… I'm exhausted and still dealing with a hangover...Look—a hot spring! Japanese style, too. Let's rest there for a while.
The others didn't object. They were just as tired, and Charlie's suggestion sounded more than reasonable.
Meanwhile, Michael's wounds from his previous fight against Adam were healing unexpectedly fast. Within a single day, the injuries had already closed, leaving behind only faint scars.
Japanese hot springs offered a tranquil oasis.
Soft steam drifted upward as mineral-rich waters embraced weary bodies, slowly dissolving the exhaustion of the long journey. The timeless ritual of soaking in the warm spring created a quiet sanctuary—an island of calm where even battle-hardened heroes could find a moment of renewal.
Bizarrely, they were the only ones there, though they assumed it was simply an hour when most customers did not visit.
After paying the fee to use the hot spring, they headed to their respective changing rooms. Following the traditional custom of Japanese hot springs, they first washed themselves thoroughly before entering the bath.
Once they finally stepped into the steaming waters, Charlie let out a long sigh of relief.
Charlie: Ha… now that hits the spot. Feels great, right?
Leona: Hmm…
Charlie leaned back against the smooth stone.
Charlie: Say, I've been meaning to ask… why did you run away? And how did you and your sister end up on good terms again?
Leona fell silent for a moment before answering.
Leona: …I ran because I couldn't stand the thought of living like a bird trapped in a cage. What I wanted was to feel alive—to feel the wind over my head. To go wherever I wished without guards, without fear, and to stand on my own two feet.
She paused, staring at the rippling water.
Leona: She had every right to hate me… and I wouldn't blame her if she did. Juliette was always more mature than I was. She took her responsibilities seriously—more than I ever did. Our parents could never have a son. No one really knows why, but my father always said he was blessed with four daughters. That's why he became so protective of us. In the end, I told her the truth… that no matter what, I still care about all of them. I love every one of them. Juliette may seem harsh on the outside, but her heart is as soft as cotton.
Charlie: How did you survive after you ran away?
Leona: Oh, I always carry my ATM card with me. I withdrew about a hundred million before I left.
Charlie blinked in disbelief.
Charlie: You've got to be kidding me. Every kid in the world would envy you.
Leona gave a small shrug.
Leona: Well, I'll head out first and wait for you guys.
Charlie: Okay…
After Leona finished changing and stepped outside, a man suddenly stopped her. She asked if he needed help, but the moment she looked at his face, her own expression filled with fear.
Meanwhile, on the men's side, Michael was still sitting in the hot spring.
Michael: (thought) What Charlie said earlier might be true. We've spent an entire day searching Sector 7 and found nothing—no leads, no witnesses, nothing at all. But somehow… I'm certain someone is out there. Someone dangerous. But... where would they be?
At that moment, a stranger entered the hot spring, appearing to be just another customer.
Stranger: Mind if I join you?
Michael: Of course not. Please, go ahead.
The stranger steps into the hot spring.
Stranger: Hmm… it's as good as they say, isn't it… Strand Cord?
Michael's eyes sharpened instantly.
Michael: So you're the one we've been searching for. Mind telling me who you are?
Raymond: Sure. The name's Raymond—codename: Castle of Glass. Unlike my fellow Dark Knights, I'm not much of a fighter, nor do I possess destructive abilities. But…
He smiled faintly.
Raymond: …I am far more dangerous than they are.
Michael: Are you bluffing, or trying to pull out some kind of trick?
Raymond: Take your chances. The moment you attack… your friend here dies.
Raymond lifted a small spherical glass orb in his hand. Inside it, Michael could clearly see Leona.
Michael instinctively moved, but Raymond's voice cut him off.
Raymond: Don't you dare fucking move, or I'll drop her. These spheres are extremely fragile. If it breaks… she dies too. I've heard you have two sisters. I'll take good care of them. And maybe—if you're obedient—you might even become an uncle someday.
Michael's jaw tightened. Rage burned within him, but Leona's life was at stake. Slowly, he forced himself to calm down, drawing in a deep breath before exhaling.
Raymond watched carefully.
Raymond: (grinning) So… you finally did it. Taking that deep breath and exhaling—that was your sign anger, isn't it?
Michael suddenly launch his Cord Breaker, launching his fist toward Raymond. But before it could reach him, the trajectory abruptly shifted. The attack veered into a small spherical glass orb floating in front of Raymond—and in the next instant, Michael himself was pulled inside the sphere.
Raymond: My ability is somewhat complicated. It requires two conditions to activate. First, you must show signs of anger. Second, any part of your body must be positioned in front of the sphere—or in other words, the sphere must be behind you. Unfortunately for you, you walked straight into my trap.
Michael slowly stood and surveyed his surroundings. Inside the sphere, he found himself standing upon what looked like a vast plain of cracked earth. When he looked upward, he could clearly see everything outside the glass.
Trying to escape, he attempted to shatter the sphere by lifting boulders and hurling them at the glass. But when he tried to lift them, he realized something strange—he couldn't even muster the strength to break the ground itself.
Though he still possessed his string abilities, confusion crept into his mind. Why couldn't he lift even a simple rock?
Raymond: Oh, my apologies. I forgot to mention something. Once you're inside this sphere, you can only use the very first ability you discovered when you obtained your powers. And another thing—I lied about the sphere being fragile. This sphere is incredibly hard and tougher than diamond. So don't even think about breaking out. Hahaha…
On the women's side, Charlie remained in the hot spring, lost in deep thought.
Charlie:(thought) Why? Why did he show up that day? After all those years, I tried to escape from him, but… the scars he left… the trauma he gave me… No. Stay strong, Charlie. Fight through it—like you always do.
Just then, she heard a heated argument coming from the men's side. Quietly, she listened in. From the voices, she quickly realized that the man on the other side was a Dark Knight.
Raymond: Two down, one to go. I believe her codename was Astra, right? She'll be easy to deal with—just like I dealt with Guardia.
Charlie: Looking for me?
Raymond turned around and saw Charlie standing there with nothing but a towel wrapped around her body, having come out in such a hurry that she didn't even have time to dress.
Raymond: Bravo. Didn't expect you to come to me so directly.
Charlie: Release them… or this will end badly for you.
Raymond chuckled.
Raymond: Oh… how frightening. And what exactly do you intend to do, Miss Washboard?
Charlie's expression changed instantly the moment she heard those words.
Michael: Ah, shit.
Charlie: Come again, motherfucker?
Raymond smirked.
Raymond: Have your friends ever told you how flat your chest is? Looking at it, I could imagine using it as a cutting board. Hahahaha… Ever tried pumping your breasts? Because they're flat as fuck. Hahahahaha…
Charlie's eyes twitched.
Raymond noticed immediately and took it as the sign he had been waiting for—anger.
Without another word, Charlie dashed forward at full speed, launching a furious barrage of attacks. But in the next instant, her body vanished from sight and was pulled straight into another glass sphere.
Raymond chuckled.
Raymond: Good thing I came prepared. Learning their weaknesses was easy—and they're idiots on top of it. The moment I turned around, I simply dropped a sphere in front of me and let her walk straight into my trap.
He picked up the sphere that now contained Charlie.
Raymond: The scariest heroes, they say? Ha. They're nothing compared to me.
Suddenly, a faint cracking sound echoed nearby.
Raymond: Hm? Did someone break in?
He glanced toward the windows, but they were perfectly intact.
Then the cracking sound came again.
Raymond slowly looked down at the glass sphere in his hand.
The sphere Raymond was holding—
specifically the one containing Charlie—began to crack.
Raymond's eyes widened.
Raymond: I–Impossible! It's supposed to be unbreakable!
The sphere shattered.
Charlie's fist burst through the broken glass and drove straight into Raymond's face—then another followed.
Charlie descended on him like a beast, her fists pounding Raymond's face in a merciless blur until his head snapped back and forth under the onslaught, blood and broken teeth bursting from his mouth as the sheer violence of her strikes hurled him across the hot spring as the others finally emerged from their own spheres.
Charlie continued her rampage, smashing everything within sight.
Charlie: WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU HIDING, MOTHERFUCKER?! SHOW YOURSELF! I'M GONNA RIP YOUR SOUL APART!!!
Leona blinked in confusion.
Leona: Why is she so mad when someone insulting her chest?
Michael: It pretty much goes back to her school days. When I was in eighth grade, I heard stories about a girl beating up boys twice her size. They called her 'The Beast.'
He folded his arms.
Michael: And I've personally seen her knock out guys much older than her on my way home from school. Apparently, she got constantly mocked for being flat-chested, and it pissed her off to no end. Once she loses her temper over it… she pretty much goes blind with rage.
Charlie suddenly drove her fist into the hot spring floor, the sheer force shaking the entire area and blasted the water out of the hot spring, exposing Raymond—who was clearly in no condition to taunt or fight anyone anymore.
Charlie:(breathingheavily) Found you… you piece of fucking shit.
Raymond:(whimpering) I–I was w-wrong… P-Please… forgive m-me…
Charlie erupted into a furious barrage, her fists crashing into Raymond's entire body in a relentless storm of blows that slammed into his ribs, stomach, shoulders, and jaw with such overwhelming force that his body twisted and snapped violently with every impact, each strike driving him farther back like a ragdoll caught in a hurricane of punches.
Leona: Should we stop her?
Michael shrugged.
Michael: Nah… let her cool off.
Eventually, once Charlie had finally calmed down, they secured Raymond, who was completely battered up and full of red bumps, and sent him to the Ice Box.
Afterward, they apologized to the hot spring owners for the damage. Fortunately, the WHA always covered the costs whenever heroes managed to capture a Dark Knight at the same location where the fight occurred.
Just as they were about to leave, the owners called them back, saying they had forgotten someone.
When they returned to check, they found a man lying nearby, appearing to be in his early twenties. Noticing the watch on his wrist, they assumed he must be another hero who had been unlucky enough to get caught by Castle of Glass.
They woke him up.
Stranger: Haa… Where am I?
Michael: Take it easy. You're in a hot spring, in Sector 7, I City. Can you tell us who you are and what happened to you?
Reuben: My name is Reuben, codename Skylarker. I was caught by a Dark Knight's ability and trapped inside it for so long that I eventually got bored and fell asleep. Is he still here, or—?
Leona: Don't worry about it. We took care of him. Or… should I say she?
She points at Charlie.
Reuben: Then you have my deepest gratitude. How can I repay you?
Charlie: Don't bother with that. Anyway, where's your team?
Reuben: I went solo after a heated argument with them. Haven't seen them since.
Leona: How about joining us for a while? Our leader would be happy about it.
Reuben: That's very kind of you. I hope your leader likes me.
Michael called Kael and arranged to regroup at Sector 9 the following day. Afterward, the group searched for a place to rest and eventually found a small tourist refuge where they decided to spend the night.
Even at bedtime, Charlie and Diego continued texting each other through their watches, exchanging lovey-dovey messages until they finally drifted off to sleep.