When the portal closed, the platform contracted with a loud metallic snap—shrinking back into the small metal plate it had been before.
'That makes two portals this week already. The mission payout should be big this time!' Nova thought, slightly excited.
Happy, Miyu grabbed the plate and raised it high.
"Mission Complete! Now let's go have lunch!"
Nova formed a faint smile as he looked at Miyu. She was the kind of girl who made noise wherever she went.
Her ego was a little inflated, sure, but she was adorable and friendly.
She always wore a white blouse with a brown vest over it. Her hot pants, the same color as the vest, showed off her exquisite, plush thighs. Her red hair was cut short to the nape of her neck, and her blue eyes were like the sky shining over Terra.
Even though her big red boots made her look a little cartoonish, that didn't change the fact that she was a beautiful city girl.
"Lunch, huh? What should we eat, Nova?" Miyu asked.
He shrugged and shook his head. That made the feline girl turn to Elara for an answer.
The woman glanced at the destruction around them and got an idea.
"How about something spicy?"
'Oh. That's a good suggestion,' Nova said to himself.
Once they all agreed, cheers echoed throughout the street. The civilians—who had been hiding wherever they could—emerged from their shelters to celebrate the Empaths' victory.
'Oh, man… It's only Tuesday and I already have to deal with this.'
Sometimes situations like this were a little stressful, but nothing could disturb the heart of Nova Asmodai, leader of his own Empath squad. This was daily life, after all.
"Thank you, Empaths!"
"You're the best!"
"Let me take a picture!"
Some were quieter than others, but there were definitely people who were fans of these warriors' work.
Of course, Empaths were basically local celebrities. They were the humans who chose to risk their lives fighting the Abominations from the asteroid and the Dimensional Portals.
Even though all humans had the potential to develop powers based on their Spectrum, many preferred to leave that to those with talent.
The Empaths of the Local Factions were those talents—the ones capable of wielding the energy that blanketed the planet. That allowed them to use their mutation to its fullest extent, almost like magic.
"Maybe we should leave right now," Nova suggested, glancing toward the rooftops.
Elara agreed and nodded in response, but there was someone who wasn't going to make it that easy.
"But people are praising us! Elara… Nova… Let's go greet them!" Miyu insisted, practically begging on her knees.
"As much as you like the attention, we've got more important things to do. First, we take Rober to the Doc. We need to heal his burns and get him new clothes. We can't leave him like that too long, or he'll wake up grumpy."
"I think the same," Elara added, siding with Nova.
Miyu's ears drooped, falling over her soft, silky hair. Just like her depressed tail, she lowered her head and replied,
"You two always agree on everything."
She had no choice but to accept it.
Nova walked over to the feline girl and placed a hand on her head, ruffling her hair slightly. With his natural calm, he said,
"Let's leave the public for later. I'll buy you something delicious on the way. Now let's get out of here, because a crazed crowd is heading this way."
Behind them, a mass of civilians—finally feeling safe—ran like wild beasts. Nova glanced at them from the corner of his eye and wondered if, deep down, humans might also be Aberrations—but that didn't matter now.
"Fine. Let's go!" Miyu said, crossing her arms as she walked away.
'This girl changes her mind fast.'
Nova had known her for many years, so he more or less understood how to persuade her. After a light pat on the head, she would become as submissive as a small animal. On some occasions, he had even heard her purr.
"Alright! Let's move!" Elara said, breaking the tension as she jumped onto one of the cars crushed like a soda can.
Nova smiled inwardly and, together with his friends, gave the civilians one last look. Then they leaped mysteriously, vanishing like shadows in broad daylight as they ran across the buildings.
The civilians watched them on the rooftops, amazed at how cool they looked.
Empaths always had style. It was like an unwritten rule in human history. Their powers turned them into killing machines, but their hearts—filled with intense emotions—made them people of this world.
That was the source of humanity's power: emotions.
The Psychological Virus stopped being a disease when the strongest emotion in the human heart awakened—Anger, Grief, Love, Trust, Fear…
In the past, the Emotional Spectrum had been forced awake during the cataclysm—faced with murderous Aberrations and extreme stress, many surviving humans unlocked their powers by force.
But that had changed in modern times. The Psychological Virus had become a fundamental part of human life, because the Spectrum chosen by one's heart would dictate the path for the rest of their days.
The group leapt between rooftops. The wind brushed against their bodies, carrying a deceptive calm.
Suddenly, a notification rang from the communicators of the group of friends. As they ran and jumped across the lower rooftops, Elara, Nova, and Miyu pulled out their devices.
The three of them widened their eyes in surprise and looked at each other.
Elara, who had remained fairly serious until now, smiled in a way so cool it perfectly matched her cold emerald gaze. She was so beautiful that the blue sky and white clouds made her look like some mysterious, enigmatic being.
Miyu started laughing, jumping happily across the rooftops as the wind pushed her tail back.
"This day just keeps getting better!"
Nova looked relaxed and excited too, though not as exaggerated as Miyu. He smiled calmly, accepting this fleeting happiness.
It was a strange, subdued kind of joy…
'I'd forgotten this is the best day of the month.'
On February 1st, Year 1325 After Impact, the screens of these young adults' communicators displayed a notification: a large sum of money had been deposited into their bank accounts.
Today, of course, was payday.
"You know what we should do today?" Miyu asked.
Nova and Elara exchanged glances.
"We should celebrate," the armored girl said.
Inevitably, in a rare moment of peace and joy, while carrying his unconscious friend, Nova looked up at the sky and thought:
'Of course we should celebrate, damn it!'
If human emotions are what move humanity, then money moves the entire world. And if you have enough money, why not spend it until you're broke?
Every now and then, you have to know how to enjoy yourself—because you only live, and you're only young, once.