Q City was a sunny city, woven together by multiple roads. Though there were many paths branching in different directions, the city itself was not very large. Shimmer suggested that they split into two groups so they could search the city faster. Everyone agreed, and he asked who wanted to go with him.
Leona immediately raised her hand, almost bouncing.
Leona: Me! Me! Me!
The others turned to look at her.
Leona: I mean, I could accompany you if you want. My friends can take care of themselves.
She said it nervously, glancing back at Kael and the rest.
Kael and his friends reassured her without hesitation.
Charlie: Sure, why not? Besides, we can save ourselves from plenty of trouble.
Since they were on agreeable terms, the group split up and went their separate ways.
Shimmer and Leona eventually reached an abandoned area of the city. The heat was relentless, and the air felt heavy, so they decided to take shelter inside a deserted hall for some shade. The hall was vast, supported by many cracked pillars, and the ground beneath them was fractured—clearly damaged by a past earthquake.
Leona slowed her steps, her expression uneasy.
Shimmer noticed.
Shimmer: Are you okay?
Leona: I'm fine, but... I have this feeling… like someone's been watching us the whole time.
Shimmer: It must be your imagination. It's really hot out here—the temperature's probably messing with your head. Here, this should help cool you down.
He handed her a lump of ice.
Leona took it and placed it gently on her head. After a moment, she exhaled, her shoulders relaxing slightly. It seemed the ice was doing its job.
Just as they were resting, a hand suddenly emerged from behind one of the pillars near the ceiling.
The hand slowly twisted, its fingers bending and locking on Shimmer—
Gesturing the shape of a gun, and something shot out from it—
—and slammed straight into Shimmer's right shoulder.
The point of impact didn't pierce cleanly. Instead, the flesh warped unnaturally, swelling into a blob-like mass before detonating outward. The explosion tore through his shoulder, shredding flesh and sending blood splattering across the cracked floor.
Shimmer staggered back with a sharp grunt.
Both of them were instantly on alert.
Shimmer was bleeding heavily. The moment Leona saw the injury, panic flashed across her face and she rushed to his side, activating her healing ability. Light gathered around her hands as she tried to close the wound—
—but halfway through, another shot came flying in from point-blank range.
It was aimed straight at her.
Shimmer reacted on instinct.
An ice wall formed in front of Leona just in time, the projectile slamming into it with terrifying force. The impact cracked the ice violently, stopping just halfway through.
They didn't have time to heal.
"Stop," Shimmer said through clenched teeth. He pulled Leona back and pressed ice against his own wound, freezing it over to dull the pain and slow the bleeding.
He narrowed his eyes and stepped closer to the lodged projectile.
Shimmer: This isn't a bullet.
Embedded in the ice was a fingernail—small, thin, and spinning faintly from residual force.
Shimmer's expression darkened.
Shimmer: These fingernails are moving faster than speeding bullets. That's why they carry enough force to punch halfway through an ice wall I formed in seconds.
Before either of them could respond—
A man stepped out from behind one of the pillars.
DarkKnight: I was planning to finish you off as quickly as possible, but it'd be rude not to introduce myself.
He smiled.
DarkKnight:After all, I'll be the one killing you.
The man took another step forward.
Alessandro: I am Alessandro. Or you can call me Blastfort. And you—Frostbite—will be my first victim.
With that, he slipped back behind the pillar, already preparing his next attack.
Leona and Shimmer both readied themselves.
Another nail shot out—this time from Leona's side.
She saw it.
A barrier snapped into place, and the projectile deflected off harmlessly.
But neither of them noticed the crack beneath their feet.
The fractured ground shifted.
Something pulled—
—and Leona's leg was yanked downward.
———————————————————
Shimmer was born in D City—the poorest among the twenty-six cities, the same place Kael once called home.
They were poor, yes—but his parents never abandoned him. They loved him, stood by him, and never once let him believe he was unwanted.
Life, however, showed no such mercy.
He faced problem after problem—each worse than the last—but his resolve never broke. Somehow, he always found a way forward, pushing through moments that should have crushed him. Even after gaining his powers and earning his rank, impossible situations continued to follow him like a curse.
And when the lives of others rested in his hands, the weight of responsibility grew heavier—forcing him to forge new resolve just to keep moving.
Even now, this dire situation had once again pushed him to the edge.
———————————————————
As Leona's leg was dragged beneath the debris, she screamed in pain.
Shimmer moved instinctively, rushing toward her—but Leona shouted, her voice strained yet firm.
Leona: No! Don't—don't lose your guard!
It was already too late.
A sharp impact struck Shimmer's leg.
Pain exploded through him as he collapsed, the shot ensuring he couldn't escape.
A voice echoed through the hall, cold and amused.
Alessandro: Your feelings are your greatest weakness, Frostbite. They make you weak. Unfocused. Sloppy.
Shimmer clenched his teeth—but then, his expression changed.
He thought.
The hall… it was always filled with moisture.
The cracked walls. The damp air. The condensation clinging to every surface.
In an instant, ice spread across every corner of the hall—walls, pillars, floors—freezing the moisture solid and turning the space into a reflective maze.
In his thoughts, Shimmer spoke calmly-
Shimmer: (thought)You teleport through cover, don't you? That makes you hard to predict.But if your reflection can be seen from those covers… what's saving you?
And then—
There.
Behind the pillar.
Shimmer's eyes locked onto a distorted image reflected in the ice.
Blastfort.
Shimmer: There you are!
Shimmer summoned an ice spike from the wall.
It pierced straight through Alessandro's body, pinning him against the pillar.
Shimmer: Yes. He's immobilized. I won.
Relief barely had time to form before pain exploded through his neck.
A nail—shot from another pillar.
Shimmer staggered.
Shimmer: Impossible… I was sure he was trapped. How? How did he escape?
The nail embedded in his neck began to swell, the flesh bubbling unnaturally.
Shimmer: (thought)This is bad. If it explodes, my blood vessel will rupture.
Ice surged over his neck, sealing the wound, stopping the expansion—but at a cost. His breathing grew labored, every inhale sharp and shallow.
Alessandro: I knew fighting an S-Class would require sacrifice…
Alessandro's voice echoed as he stepped out from behind the pillar.
Alessandro: I didn't think you'd force me over the edge either, Frostbite.
His arm was gone—ripped clean off.
Shimmer's eyes widened.
Shimmer: (thought)Is this man even human? I knew he was determined… but this?
Alessandro smiled.
Alessandro: It seems you were wrong. I was the one with the stronger resolve.
He raised his hand, pointing directly at Shimmer.
Alessandro: Now die.
Leona: SHIMMER!
Both of them turned toward her.
Light bent.
Her energy barrier caught the sunlight and reflected it forward, radiant and blinding.
Leona: The true victor, is the one who embraces his resolve without hesitation. All you needed was a little more—to shine through the darkness.
Her voice hardened.
Leona: Find that resolve. And eliminate the darkness.
Shimmer went silent.
His eyes lowered—not in fear, but thought.
Alessandro scoffed.
He didn't wait.
The nail fired straight toward Shimmer's head.
But just before the nail struck Shimmer's head—
He locked eyes with Alessandro.
The nail vanished.
Alessandro: (thought)Gone…? The nail—disappeared? What just happened?
A sharp ringing echoed through the hall.
Small sparks flickered around Shimmer's body.
Shimmer: Your nails can turn flesh into unstable mass, they destroy tissue from the inside, don't they?
His gaze hardened.
Shimmer: So how about you taste your own medicine?
The nail reappeared—
Straight into Alessandro's abdomen.
It detonated.
As Alessandro staggered, his vision caught something else—tiny shards of ice, suspended in the air around Shimmer like orbiting stars.
Shimmer: Thank you, Leona, because of your resolve… I was able to grow.
He pointed at Alessandro.
Shimmer: And you—here's my answer to your question.My second ability allows me to freeze any vapour or moisture within thirty-five meters of where I stand.When you deflected my nail, I realized something. All I had to do was freeze the molecules around me—create the perfect angle—and return your attack.And now… let's see whose resolve is stronger. Face against my Winter Shards.
The temperature dropped.
The two faced each other.
Alessandro laughed through the pain.
Alessandro: So what? You can deflect my nails.But you can't deflect all of them—can you? Take this!
The hall erupted with metallic screams as nails fired relentlessly.
And it was true.
Shimmer couldn't deflect them all.
The more Alessandro was injured, the more desperate he became.
But Shimmer—
He didn't move an inch.
Standing firm, enduring every impact, determined to prove one thing—
That his resolve would not break.
Out of desperation, Alessandro fired a nail straight upward—
—even as his own body was being torn apart by returning shots.
His injuries were severe.
But Shimmer's were worse.
Shimmer: Enough! Stop this meaningless struggle. Surrender, and we'll show mercy.
Alessandro laughed.
Alessandro: Useless? Did you really think I fired that nail without purpose?
His eyes gleamed.
Alessandro: The one I shot upward… it's coming back down right now.
The nail screamed through the air—
And struck Shimmer directly in the skull.
"I WON!" Alessandro shouted.
But the nail didn't explode.
Instead, it fused into Shimmer's skull—
the flesh knitting instantly, ice sealing the wound as if it had never existed.
Alessandro froze.
Then he saw her.
A woman stood behind Shimmer, holding him steady in her arms.
???: You've done well, Shimmer. Your resolve shines brighter than the light reflected by those ice walls.
Alessandro's voice trembled.
Alessandro: Y–You're… an S-Class hero.
QueenBee.
QueenBee: I'll give you two choices. Finish what you started—
or surrender peacefully.
Cornered, trembling, desperate—
Alessandro pointed at her.
QueenBee: Don't resist, It's useless.
He fired anyway.
Multiple nails streaked toward her—
And midair, they bloomed into roses.
Petals drifted down.
QueenBee: Nails are alive only while they remain part of your body. Once expelled, they're just objects.
She met his eyes.
QueenBee: My ability allows me to turn any object within fifteen meters into a living entity… I can give life to non-living things.
Queen Bee tilted her head slightly.
QueenBee: And right now—aren't you feeling sleepy?
Alessandro staggered.
The strength drained from his limbs, his vision blurring.
Alessandro: What… did you do to me…?
QueenBee: The nails you fired into your own body, I turned them into lavender. Their essence has already entered your bloodstream.
She stepped closer.
QueenBee: You're also losing a significant amount of blood.Once a human loses around thirty percent, the body can no longer function properly.
His knees buckled.
And before he could say another word, Alessandro lost consciousness and collapsed into sleep.
Shimmer asked how she had found them.
Queen Bee explained that she had been nearby—and noticed something unnatural.
Ice.
Outside a ruined hall.
On a sunny day.
Curious, she followed the trail and arrived just in time.
She approached Alessandro first, placing a restraint band around his wrist and stabilizing his wounds.
Then she turned to Leona.
Without hesitation, Queen Bee severed Leona's damaged leg and replaced it with a new one.
QueenBee: The debris has fused too deeply. Even if it were pulled out, the limb would be unusable.
After healing Shimmer as well, she activated CTP.
Alessandro vanished—transferred directly to the Ice Box.
Not long after, they reunited with the others.
And Leona told them everything they had faced.