Dear Heroes, I really am a Villain-Chapter 52: Photon Fury Decision

"Mr. Strauss... That’s not very nice. She’s still in the hospital," Oldcowboy admonished. freёweɓnovel.com

"It’s the truth, Mr. Blackwood. And I think she doesn’t need consolation—unless all of her bravado about being strong and brave was backed solely by her power, and not her will," Strauss replied. His tone remained calm, not harsh or condescending—just stating facts.

But... to Photon Fury, now stripped of her powers, those words pierced her like a blade. She gritted her teeth in pain and frustration. A long-forgotten emotion—true hurt—resurfaced, and tears threatened to well in her eyes.

Knowing that it could take years before her EF regenerated enough energy to restore her photon powers... it was no different than a death sentence for her career as a hero.

Worse, she knew her behavior had earned her plenty of enemies—among colleagues, corporate sponsors, and even within the UEC itself. Not everyone in the UEC was as composed as Strauss. While some brushed off her behavior as immature tantrums, others had taken offense—and a few of them had powerful allies.

"So... what are you going to do from now on, Ms. Pamela?" Strauss asked.

"I don’t know... maybe I’ll try working for the IHB or the UEC while I wait for my powers to return," Photon Fury replied, her voice uncertain, unsure of her path forward.

"Ms. Pamela... let me tell you a story. A tale of a girl... a hero from Triune City-State..."

"This girl didn’t have any flashy powers. But she became known as one of the most efficient heroes in her district. Her criminal and villain apprehension rate was over 95%. The remaining 5%? They were either caught by someone else while she was pursuing them... or died by sheer bad luck," Strauss said.

"She achieved all of that through her investigative skills, her tech, and martial arts training—plus a bit of help from her custom-designed power armor."

"What did she do when she encountered powerful villains? She was basically just a normal person, wasn’t she?" Photon Fury asked.

"She didn’t fight them head-on. She studied them, learned their weaknesses, prepared thoroughly, and took them down before they even had a chance to react. Or she lured them to battlefields where they couldn’t unleash their full powers," Strauss replied.

"Wait... Isn’t that the same as that guy in black armor—Maximilian?"

"Yes," Strauss nodded. "But Maximilian’s EF allows him to drain power... and possibly more. We’re still researching him, so we don’t know the full extent of his abilities yet."

After hearing this, Photon Fury fell silent... lost in thought, reflecting on her past choices.

Strauss, having worked as a hero handler for over ten years, could tell—Photon Fury was beginning to mature. He saw the potential for a great hero in her. Without arrogance, and with a cooler, more composed mind, she could become truly exceptional.

"Mr. Strauss, what about the children in that abandoned building? Did any of them survive?" Photon Fury asked, her tone filled with regret.

"Oh, about that..." Oldcowboy started to answer, but Strauss looked at him and raised his hand, signaling him to stop.

Oldcowboy was confused but chose to go along with Strauss’s decision.

"None of them survived," Strauss said calmly.

Oldcowboy made a face, silently shouting, Are you serious!? He knew those "children" were just mice that Maximilian had planted to deceive Photon Fury’s bioelectric sight—tricking her into holding back her powers.

Hearing the answer, Photon Fury gritted her teeth. She bit her lower lip until blood seeped out. Her fists clenched so tightly that they turned pale. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

She was ashamed... ashamed of her arrogance.

’Why didn’t I train harder!?’ she berated herself.

’If I had trained, if I hadn’t kept my head in the clouds, I could have prevented this tragedy!’

Seeing Photon Fury like this, Strauss let out a faint smirk. With this, the troublemaker might finally realize her mistake and start to change.

After several minutes of crying and sobbing, Photon Fury finally calmed down.

"What about the news... this should’ve been all over the headlines, right?" she asked.

"No... there’s been no such news, Ms. Pamela," Strauss replied flatly.

"But! I just—" she started to protest.

"The truth is, we blocked all news related to this incident. Not even the name of the villain was mentioned," Strauss stated matter-of-factly.

His poker face was so convincing that even Oldcowboy, who knew the truth, found himself briefly doubting.

Did that really happen? Wasn’t it just a trick with mice that Maximilian set up to fool the Photon girl?

"Ms. Pamela, do you think the IHB can afford a scandal like that? I know it’s dirty, and I know you loathe it, but it’s a necessary evil to maintain world order. Can you imagine how many people would be injured or killed in the chaos of protesting or if riot break out if they found out that their children died at the hands of a top-twenty hero like you?"

"We live in a hero society, Ms. Pamela. We can’t afford to let public trust in us crumble. If a hero ever crosses a line too far... we take care of it internally... no outsiders involved," Strauss explained coldly.

"So that’s why the UEC has black ops teams like Blood Mongoose, huh?" Photon Fury asked, her eyes reflecting a growing understanding of the truth.

"This is how adults handle things," Strauss said. "Even if we don’t like it, we still have to do it... because if we don’t, people die."

After listening to Strauss, Photon Fury fell silent. She sat there, deep in thought, contemplating everything he had just told her. After a few minutes, she looked up at him.

"Mr. Strauss, can I return to Central and receive training? I want to train hard—so hard that even if I lose my powers permanently, I’ll still have the strength to hunt Maximilian down and offer his head in sacrifice to those children!" Photon Fury said through gritted teeth, her rage and regret spilling over.

Seeing this, Strauss gave her a professional smile. "Welcome back, Ms. Pamela," he said, extending his hand and shaking hers.