Air Hero

Master Tenshi II

“N-n-nuclear bomb?”

Max is surprised to hear that, but there is no point for Master Tenshi to give him a lie.

“Yes, after all, there’s a thermonuclear bomb called the hydrogen bomb. They fear that one day I will lose control of my power and endanger many people's lives. That is why they were politely asking me to live in this place.”

“But, isn’t that basically nonsense? I know very well how good is your control with your ability. After all, none of us could use our ability to conjure two rabbits playing with each other. Not to mention, asking you to live here, that’s just a nice way to put it. They are literally confining you to this place.”

Hearing Max’s word, Master Tenshi can only let out a wry smile.

“It’s not like I couldn’t understand why they are doing this. They feared that one day I would be a factor that will threaten the association. Because of that, they decided to keep an eye on me by asking me to live in this place. I don’t want any trouble to follow up, so I live in this place voluntarily. You know, humans fear the unknown as their instinct, and they feared death. It is normal for them to fear me.”

“But, how could the association do that?”

“That’s what I want to explain to you regarding the case of the member of the association that is involved in the drug cartel. You should know that the association isn’t as good as it looks from the outside. Corruption, petty schemes, it all bound to happen when people are gathered together. Not all of the people in the association agreed with the plan of having me live in this place. However, some people still feel that it was a need to put me under supervision. What I want to say is, although not all of the people in the association are good people, not all of them are bad too.”

Max can finally see what Master Tenshi is trying to say.

“While it might be true that some of the people in the association are involved in the drug cartel, you couldn’t blindly accuse them. Here’s where it will be tricky. For you to find the bad ones from the good ones.”

“But, isn’t that too heavy of responsibility for a new hero like me?”

“I don’t want to say something cliché like with great power comes great responsibility. I want to say that if you want to make a change, you should start by doing what you can. It’s not like all the heroes are stupid and couldn’t find out something that you’re able to investigate. They are just planning carefully to make sure that they aren’t catching the wrong person. After all, we’re not in the position to kill everyone rather than letting the culprit run free.”

After hearing what Master Tenshi is saying, Max finally realized. It wasn’t that nobody is aware of the thing that is happening right now. There should be heroes that are aware of what is happening. It’s just that they are biding their time to act in order to catch the criminal that is rotting the association from the insides.

“So, Master Tenshi, what should I do?”

“Well, since you’re on the mission to catch someone from the evil mastermind, you better finish that first. I am aware that the Enforcer of Justice badge has been issued. There’s a bigger problem on hand than catching the thorn inside the association. That is why the people that are already aware of this aren’t making their move. After all, we have a bigger crisis that we need to deal with before cleaning up the association.”

Max finally understands what Master Tenshi is saying. Although the United Heroes association is trying its best for the people, the public’s opinion of the association isn’t good. That is because of the incident three years ago and now the Olympics incident.

If the fact that there are people inside the associations that are involved with criminal acts comes to light, the already low reputation will plummet and will cause wild unrest with the people.

“Since we’re talking about this, I want you to know that the association is divided into several factions. The first one is led by Mighty Red. He is trying his best to change the association to be better than what it was. However, his attempt is hindered by the second faction, the people’s faction. I call them the people’s factions because they always tried to do everything in the name of the people. However, what they are doing is actually for their own benefit. It is easy to predict that they are the one that is suggesting me to live in this place. They are also the ones that always try to stall for time the moment we suggested an all-out war with the Evil Mastermind. They say that there will be too many casualties from our side and other excuses, but finally, they give in because of the last incident.”

Hearing the sudden information, Max feels a headache coming. After all, he doesn’t expect such things to happen inside the United Heroes association. People always said workplace politics is scary, and he finally gets a glimpse of it today.

“As for the last factions, they are just people that don’t want to take sides and always act to find profit for themselves. I believe the people that are associated with the drug cartel are from this faction.”

Max nodded after hearing Master Tenshi’s explanation. Max himself took a deep breath and sighed as the problem is more complicated than he expects. Looking at Max, Master Tenshi put his hand on Max’s shoulder and look at him in the eye.

“Max, just do what you think is right. After all, as a hero, you should have your own vision of justice. Your belief, your principle, stay true to it, and don’t let yourself be swayed.”

After hearing the words of encouragement from Master Tenshi, Max smiled and nodded.

“Thank you, Master Teshi. What you tell me today, I would keep it in my heart.”

After talking with each other for some time, Max then decided to go back.

“Master Tenshi. Once again, thank you for today. I will take my leave now. If not, the guards will be suspicious with my visit.”

“Mhm. Take care out there, Max.”

“Yes!”

Looking at Max’s figure disappearing in the distance, Master Tenshi let out a big sigh once more.

“I wonder, what will Max think the moment he finds the truth behind the United Heroes association and the Evil Mastermind. When you learn that what you think is white is actually black, can you stick to your own belief?”