Maruha

The entertainment company under Night Chains once surveyed the internal members about their movie and TV show preferences, and Maruha's answer to "a movie or TV show that deeply influenced you" turned out to be an action flick with mediocre box office sales, whose plot was about a lone hero destroying a certain crime syndicate. She noted that her favorite part was when the cold-blooded, insufferably arrogant villain got driven into a corner by the hero bit by bit, and she wrote, "The film perfectly portrayed the patheticness of a once-esteemed person begging for mercy to survive." It's unclear if it was a coincidence, but soon after that movie was no longer screening in theaters, an infamous delinquent was attacked near Maruha's residence and ended up in a seriously miserable state. It's almost as though he was punished by an unknown hero, said the residents who were glad to hear the news.

Maruha's combat skills are beyond outstanding, likely because her Ascension Ability is ideal for combat, to begin with. Nonetheless, hotel guests who have been comforted by her smile probably wouldn't wish to see what she's like on the battlefield. With her two dearest weapons in both hands, she's capable of slashing a colossal Chaos Remain into two in a flash, which hardly makes for a good subject to discuss in the pleasant, luxurious Night Chains Hotel.

Maruha never compares her two jobs. To her, there is no conflict of interest in whether or not she's an waitress or a righteous executor; instead, the two jobs complement each other. She can gather intel from people's conversations at formal events or high-end restaurants, sieve through them to locate the target, leave the hotel to change into her "working gear," and then execute whatever needs to be done before cleaning up and returning to the hotel. It is a process she has gone through innumerable times.

Of course, the best part is getting to hear customers talk about "the result of her execution" while she serves food in the restaurant. Punishing criminals gives innocents peace of mind and also discourages other criminals. There's nothing that gives her more motivation to work than this.

One time, while Maruha executed a punishment, the desperate criminal hugged her thigh and howled like an animal, begging, "Please! ...Anything you want! Money? Chaos Stones? Or the official proof of residence for any Bonfire City? I can give them all to you... Please, just let me go!"

She stayed silent, simply staring at that tear-streaked face that was scrunched up from terror. The criminal knew there was nothing he could do now that his attempted bribing flopped. He could only ask one last question before taking his last breath, "Why?"

"Why?"
Maruha repeated that question in her mind after leaving her secret base in the darkness and stepping back into the sunlight. Lowering her head, she saw dried blood stains between her fingers and quickly washed them off with water once she got back to her hotel dorm. However, the accumulated emotions in her heart over the years—the pleasure of punishing criminals and the slight daze afterward—can never be washed away.

Why? Even her colleagues at Night Chains who are at most acquaintances had asked her the same question. Though they wouldn't stop or interfere, they were curious how one movie managed to change a person's life to such an extent.

Naturally, Maruha could easily give answers like "for justice" or "to be a hero," but when she reapplies dark nail polish on her fingers after washing away the blood stains, she's well aware that she isn't doing this solely for those pretentious reasons. Still, it wouldn't be accurate if she answered "just to satisfy my own desire," at least not entirely.

Maruha didn't answer that already dead criminal or those "concerned" colleagues, not because she didn't want to but because she couldn't.

Her hope is to someday, meet that wise one behind Night Chains whom her teacher told her about and obtain an answer that can convince herself. Before that day comes, she will continue walking the path she selected even with that question endlessly repeating in her heart.