Stella dragged her feet along the polished floors of the Hero Association, her body heavy with exhaustion.
After a long day filled with back-to-back tasks, she finally managed to tick off everything on her to-do list.
"Ugh... I'm beat," she sighed, her voice barely above a whisper.
Step... step... step...
Suddenly, Stella's steps stopped, as a familiar figure caught her eye.
"Oh! Lilian!" Her tiredness immediately disappeared as her eyes lit up.
Without hesitation, Stella rushed over and wrapped Lilian in a surprise hug from behind.
"Lilian!" she exclaimed, her voice bubbling with excitement.
"Stella..." Lilian, caught off guard, gently removed Stella's arms.
Stella's smile faltered for a moment, sensing something off, but she quickly hid her expression, and asked Lilian.
"So, how was your day?"
"It was alright. The Royal Family is becoming more and more annoying... sigh. Now, the 4th prince is actually entering the battle for the throne, and it seems that Leon, the Crown Prince, is actually getting worse and worse every day."
"Because of that, the Royal Family is putting the blame on me! Fuck... he was alright until a few days ago, but now... he seems like a completely different person." Lilian sighed deeply, furrowing her eyebrows.
"Do you want me to check on him?" Stella asked.
"Ah... there's no need for th—!"
BOOOOM!!!
CRACKK!!
Before Lilian could politely decline, the peace of the moment was shattered by a thunderous explosion.
The building trembled, windows shattered, and suddenly, they were under attack by a group of menacing figures cloaked in darkness.
SPLURT!
As soon as they got inside the structure, they began attacking the heroes that were there and splattering their blood all over the place.
"Fuck! Stella, call all the fucking heroes! It's the "Death Hands Group"! Turn on Protocol 666 for maximum security." Lilian gritted her teeth and dashed towards the hooded figures.
BAM!
She pushed them back with her magic; however, they quickly fought back, like her attack didn't even do anything to them.
"Explosion!"
BAAM!
BOOM!!!
"Fuck..." Lilian gritted her teeth, and quickly, a faint aura enveloped her body.
"Spiritual Horror!" She exclaimed loudly, sending a bunch of spiritual waves throughout the whole building.
The hooded figure clutched their ears in agony, but then a stunning, hoodless woman flew into the structure.
THRRRUMMM!
And as her aura propelled through the whole building, the hooded figures' pain instantly stopped.
"W-what?" Lilian mumbled in shock.
"They actually sent one of their officials!?" She clenched her fists tightly.
{Lilian, we've arrived!}
"Oh... finally!" She sighed in relief.
She rushed into the battle once more, trying to eliminate as many hooded figures as she could.
To her surprise, though, Lilian was unable to kill any of them despite being able to inflict damage on them.
Their coordination was flawless to the point where, just as one was about to take a fatal blow, they instantly swapped places to escape the attack.
And as the battle continued, the Hero Association was gradually pushed back.
They were totally outmatched in the fight as their endurance began to run low.
As a result, they were forced to gather all the heroes on the building's roof.
In an attempt to restore their strength, Lilian swiftly erected a rune barrier around each of them, and the heroes who were healing began to heal each other.
"Dammit, pick up the phone!" Lilian broke the phone in anger.
"Lilian, the connection is completely broken; there is no use." Stella approached her and spoke with a sigh.
"Those motherfuckers completely cut all the energy from the city! And even put up a huge wall that stops our communication stones from working!"
Step...
The soft sound of a woman's high heels hitting the ground made all the heroes turn their heads.
A stunning woman had just stepped onto the rooftop...
"Oh, my~?" She teased with a playful tone, her lips twisting into a mocking smile.
"Look at this, the mighty 'Hero Association' backed into a corner!" She covered her chuckle with a fan, eyeing them with a cold stare.
Lilian quickly stood up and confronted the woman.
"What the fuck do you want!? We didn't do anything to your group!"
"........"
After Lilian spoke, the woman's gaze turned sharp and crazy as a dark-blue light began swirling around her.
She flicked her fan toward them...
SWOOP!
CRACK!
A blast of magic shot out, smashing the protective barrier Lilian had worked hard to create.
"You did nothing...?" Anger and disbelief laced her voice, making it sound more terrifying.
Her eyes widened crazily as she spoke in the most chilling voice they had ever heard.
"You know... it's okay to take treasures from us, or even attack our places... but, your 'Hero Association' crossed a line we can't ignore..."
Hearing her, everyone, including Lilian, felt a wave of fear.
"You have offended our one and only Lord."
Freeze...!
A profound coldness emanated from her body as she spoke, gripping the entire structure and transforming it into a frozen monument.
The heroes couldn't hide their astonishment at her strength.
"T-that... only an 8th-Circle Mage could do that..." A mage hero exclaimed as he saw this action.
After all, the woman in front of them did not use any spells and simply froze the entire building with only her aura.
"Listen here, you pests. If you dare to offend our Lord once again.. something as light as this won't happen..."
"We'll wipe out everything linked to the Hero Association."
Chill...
"Also, just so you know." The woman's lips twisted into a smirk, covered by her fan.
"I'm only one of the seven officials in our group."
"My name's Yumiko. It's been, let's say, interesting to meet you."
With a wide smile, Yumiko vanished into thin air, leaving behind only whispers.
"......."
Silence fell over the heroes.
They stood there, utterly defeated, their pride shattered.
Yumiko alone, just one official and not even their leader, had humbled one of the strongest forces in the world.
They were left with no choice but to accept their defeat.