Dandelion’s Past and a Dire Proposition

Dandelion saw Red Spider Lily off. She harbored a natural hostility toward this guest she wasn’t particularly close to. Even if it might just be her own one-sided thoughts, no matter how she looked at it, letting her stay overnight was out of the question.

Returning to her room, the room full of Saint Lily’s photographs.

Today’s prayers concluded, Dandelion opened her eyes. She was truly not in the right state, struggling to find inner peace.

“Saint…”

She gazed at the wall of Saint Lily’s photos, her memories seemingly drifting far away.

She recalled the day they first met.

It was a rainy day. A sudden calamity beast attack. Having just transferred to this city, she was trapped in the underground parking lot of a department store.

Extremely unlucky.

But she didn’t wallow in self-pity. After all, she could escape on her own.

She didn’t flee. She was simply waiting for the rain to stop.

She didn’t like the rain; that damp, depressing feeling, that sticky, heavy sensation that robbed her heart of all lightness. Like a dandelion soaked by water, lacking the resilience of a bird, she instantly lost her ability to soar into the sky, sinking into the mud, left to stare at the gloomy heavens and listen to the world lamenting all that was wrong.

The cries from inside the mall came in waves.

In a world almost entirely populated by superpowered individuals, true helplessness—or a complete lack of self-defense ability—was rare.

Yet, oddly, many people gave up from the start, simply waiting for others to rescue them.

After all, resisting might lead to injury, maybe even death. Why not leave it to the professionals?

It was only human nature. No harm in that, if they just stayed put and waited for rescue.

But some people refused to do even that. They ran around, screaming, triggering mass panic, which only strengthened the calamity beast and made rescue harder. And even if they were saved, these people who had already given up wouldn’t necessarily be grateful. They’d take it for granted, maybe even complain about why the rescue took so long.

Best to steer clear of such people. Don’t think about saving them. They’ll drag you down, and you won’t even get a shred of remorse from them.

And what about the rescuers?

What about the superpowered teams?

The answer was: not much.

When a calamity beast appeared, they moved slowly, never in a hurry. They’d rattle off all sorts of practical reasons, stalling at every level—first the guards, then other teams. “The world will keep turning without us,” they’d say. “We’re just here for a cushy retirement. If it weren’t for the money, who’d want to lift a finger?”

That was a D-rank superpowered team.

But C-rank teams were treated almost like celebrities. Well, local idols at best. They had press conferences, runway shows, and plenty of product endorsements.

There was even this damn frivolous guy who kept causing scandals, all sorts of sordid affairs. What was that all about? What was happening?

Was this a C-rank superpowered team? Why didn’t anyone care? Could issues of public image just be laughed off? Was that how things were?

Until that day, the pursuit of ‘Shadow Snake.’

A mission exclusive to a C-rank team.

……

The cries from the mall continued. She couldn’t help but cover her ears.

She chose to ignore them.

Raindrops pattered down.

How long had it been?

Her eyelids felt so heavy. She drifted off to sleep.

Come to think of it, there was still a calamity beast around, wasn’t there?

Maybe if she fell asleep like this, she’d never wake up.

That wouldn’t be so bad, would it?

If it could end without pain, that would be best. But if it hurt, it would only be for a moment, right?

The waterlogged dandelion sank into the mire, never to fly again.

She woke to the scent of sunlight. Everything around her was battered and broken. She realized she was being carried. The girl holding her—she knew her.

Quite a coincidence.

She was also a flower-type girl. Dandelion had caught a glimpse of her before and remembered her name. It was very special. ‘Saint Lily.’ Named after a flower, but the prefix wasn’t a color or a scent—it was ‘Saint.’

There was blood on her forehead. Rubble kept falling from the ceiling of the underground parking lot.

“You must be really scared, being alone~”

“It’s okay, don’t be afraid! Hold on a little longer, I’ll get you out safely!”

Throughout this, Dandelion felt as if she had lost her voice. She just stared blankly at Saint Lily, who carried her out of the dark cave into the light.

For her, Saint Lily’s teammates at the time looked utterly shocked. Their surprised expressions seemed to say, ‘There really was someone else?’

But Saint Lily just left another sentence: ‘I heard crying; there must be more children. I have to go back~’

Without hesitation, she rushed back into the mall.

……

“Back then, Saint only knew sealing magic. She had no protection at all. Anyone normal would be scared, would hesitate! How could she go back?” Dandelion’s gaze softened. “Just because she heard a child crying? What kind of reason is that?”

She felt the warmth of light, basking in it. Her heart grew light and airy, able to take flight again.

Gradually, Dandelion’s gaze steadied. Yes, there was nothing to fear.

Compared to losing the light, losing Saint, nothing else was worth fearing.

****

“Host, after a round of brain-storming, I’ve been thinking: the destruction of a city—that’s one thing. But a sovereign’s fall—isn’t that too great a price?” Su Xiaoqian circled around Su Mu.

“What kind of great disaster is coming in the future that requires a sovereign’s life to fill?”

“Uh…” Su Mu was speechless. Her brain was foggy, already planning to shut down. She hadn’t expected her external brain to still be working.

“Could it be because of Saint Lily?” Su Mu said. “In that state, Saint Lily would give everything for revenge. If I hadn’t stopped her from eliminating Frost Snow Sovereign back then, maybe… because she hadn’t completed her revenge, she still had a chance to live.”

Su Mu sat down on the sofa, poured herself a glass of water, and sighed.

“Then Saint Lily would chase after Frost Snow Sovereign. Compared to the greater casualties she might cause in the future, wouldn’t it be better to let the sovereign die here?”

“…” Su Xiaoqian was speechless. “Host, don’t make it sound so easy. A sovereign isn’t some discount item. How can you just throw one away? If we saw a future where a sovereign fell, no matter what, I think we’d try to change it.”

“How could we… At the very least, if the sovereign doesn’t die in Peaceful Union City, we’d have to try to struggle a bit, right?”

“…” Su Mu’s eyes said: Then what do you think is going on?

“Hmm…” Su Xiaoqian hesitated. “Is it possible… the target is Frost Snow Sovereign?”

“Huh?” Su Mu felt like the kid’s brain might be fried. She was the one who said a sovereign was important, and now she’s suddenly switching sides, saying the precognitive ability user wanted to harm the sovereign.

“Host, I have a reason. First of all, Lily’s ability seems specifically designed to counter Frost Snow Sovereign.”

“Saint Lily has ‘Blessing.’ Unless she’s quickly dealt with, the more she attacks, the more her attacks will become targeted in the later stage. It’s like she’s specifically made to counter her.” Su Mu directly refuted this reasoning.

“Mmm… What you said makes sense too. Still, this shows that Lily has the potential to trade one-for-one with any sovereign. Right now, it’s just potential, isn’t it?”

“…”

“A sovereign is the pinnacle of superpowered beings (excluding the host). To defeat a sovereign, even if ordinary S-rank superpowered individuals ganged up, the casualties would be severe, and they still might not succeed.”

“And sovereign versus sovereign isn’t a guaranteed victory. Even if they win, there’d likely be aftereffects. The loss would probably be even greater than sending in S-rank ability users to die.”

“But using Lily… wouldn’t the cost be minimal? And after she takes her revenge, she’ll self-destruct? Very green and pollution-free?”

“…” Su Mu opened her mouth, then instinctively gulped down a mouthful of water. “Cough, cough~”

Tea sprayed out.

“Host, are you okay?”

“No…”

Xiaoqian, your way of thinking… it’s a bit terrifying, isn’t it?