VILLAIN'S RISING

History is full of people who changed the face of the world, whether they did so through their inventions, discoveries, or conquest.

Their motivations might differ, and they could vary from the pursuit of glory and fame to the betterment of society, but they all had one thing in common.

Every person who changed the world was a visionary.

History remembers them— people remember them… as legends.

So when in the year 2022, after the events of First Light, the world changed, and people were graced with superpowers. Many took it upon themselves to change the world.

Once again, their motivations were different.

Some were blinded by the splendor of fame, while some just wanted to help the world advance toward a better future.

They were divided into Heroes and criminals, who were later started being called Villains.

People who used their gifts to help others were named Heroes, while those who used their gifts to help themselves by disregarding the safety of others were dubbed Villains.

Now, seven centuries later, there have been countless Heroes and Villains.

But among them, two people really stood out and carved their names into the pages of history.

Kale Godhand, aka the Progenitor, the man who plunged the world into chaos by turning humans into his minions and waging war on the whole world.

Arthur Willburn, aka Starsuper, the Hero who brought back the light and saved the world.

And now, on September 29, 2795, another legend is born. The legend of Samael Gracefell.

A boy who stems from the bloodline descendants of Kale Godhand, the Progenitor himself.

A boy who, at the young age of 19, revived the race of dragons.

And a boy who, once again after the Kale Godhand and Dragonheart family, threatens the peace of the world… by raising an army of Dragons against Starsuper.

September 29, 2795, the date when rulers of the sky returned.

-Ghaaauuuuur!

It was a scene that looked as if it was taken straight out of a fantasy book.

A flock of mighty dragons slithering across the sky towards a caped superhero. A boy who held his hands wide open while facing the caped superhero.

Starsuper gnashed his teeth and shot at Sam like a bullet.

However, his speed was so fast that it seemed like he teleported in front of Sam instead.

His hand went straight after Sam’s neck. But before Starsuper could touch Sam, much less grab him by the neck, the force he used to shoot his hand forward was reflected back at him.

A look of confusion washed over Starsuper’s face but only for a second. In the next moment, as if he remembered something annoying, he looked back and saw Lucas standing there with a mocking grin on his face.

For a second, Starsuper had completely forgotten about this boy.

He thought about targeting Lucas first, but before he could even move his body to do so, a large, precise pillar of fire shot at Starsuper.

-Kzzzzz!

The ice turned into water, and the water turned into steam in an instant. As Starsuper lost his footing, he fell into the water, but the fire assault still didn’t stop.

It wasn’t any normal fire either. Not only was its temperature countless times higher, but it was also not extinguishing even in water.

Yes, it was Dragon’s Breath.

Sam looked at the scene of Starsuper getting pushed back by dragon’s fire with an expression of great joy clearly visible on his face.

After a while, the dragon, who was continuously breathing fire until now, stopped.

The flock of dragons started circling the sky right above where Sam was standing. Almost as if they were ready to protect him, all the while waiting for their prey to get back out of the water.

“Sire! You came!” Lucas rejoiced. “I thought I was dead for sure!”

“I told you, you’re getting your revenge on Starboy,” Sam shook his head. “Can’t let you die before you do that.”

“Sire… thank you!” Like a little puppy who was happy to hear his master’s voice, Lucas exclaimed. If he had a tail, he’d be wiggling it right now. “And I see your first goal is achieved.”

“Yup took a few tries, but I did it. I revived the dragons. The best thing is, only I can control them.”

Although Sam was using the word ‘revived,’ he didn’t actually revive them nor bring them back to life. Instead, he recreated their species.

Dragons originally mutated from various kinds of reptiles. It was a widely known fact.

So prior to coming here, Sam bought some reptiles of different kinds. He then analyzed the biological makeup of the dragon corpse he acquired and forced the reptiles he brought with him here to mutate with his [Biology Manipulation].

After the first few initial failed attempts, Sam finally turned a reptile into a dragon.

Although his hideout was destroyed, Sam was more than happy to pay such a little prize in turn for something so great.

After successfully mutating one, he mutated all the other reptiles. Or at least he tried to, but some still failed to mutate.

After a while, his own stamina began to give out. Causing precise mutations in species is a tiring task. It’s part of the reason why Sam couldn’t create an endless army of demons— since demons are, technically, mutated humans too.

In the end, he was able to create 49 Dragons before his strength was depleted. That’s a big enough number to bring an army of Earth to its knees.

Of course, although this was still not going to be enough to bring down Starsuper, this would help him a lot.

However, that’s not the only thing Sam did.

“Sire…”

“Yes?”

“You seem… different. I sense something strange from you-“

Before Lucas could finish his sentence, the ice beneath his feet cracked.

Lucas reacted immediately and jumped a few meters back.

-Bhaaam!

Something shot out from below the ice surface where Lucas was standing. A blur? No, a man dressed in a golden hero suit.

It was Starsuper!

Sam smirked upon seeing the persistence of the one known as the greatest superhero of all time.

The dragons, who were merely circling in the sky until now, reacted first.

Some flew towards Starsuper with the intent to hunt down their prey, while others stayed back, ready to breathe fire on their enemy.

Seeing this, Sam too quickly prepared himself for the battle and took an attacking stance.

Something was telling him that this battle would be the last battle for one of them. Starsuper or Sam, only one of them would come out of this alive.

Starsuper felt the same. Hovering in the air, he clenched his fist. Like a God descending down to Earth, he looked at Sam with a cold gaze.

Soon his gaze turned to the dragons above him, and his eyes started glowing with a golden hue.

It seems like he was prioritizing the dragons over Sam. Although he knew it was a bad decision, it’s not like he could do something else in this situation.

He needed to take out the variables that could hurt him the most right now. Dragons were those variables.

“You’re ignoring me? I’m hurt!” Sam snorted.

As if to mock his decision, Sam activated his [Biology Manipulation].

Yes, his ability could not work on Starsuper. He knew that. But his target was not Starsuper but instead himself!

He used his ability on himself. A thick violet hue enshrouded his figure, and visible changes began appearing all over his body.

Lucas, who was witnessing this sight, was left bewildered. He had seen his sire changing his body to fight multiple times.

But the changes appearing right now weren’t mere body modifications… no! No, they were mutations!

His skin grew sickly pale, and two long, raven-black horns protruded out from the side of Sam’s forehead and slightly curved upwards.

The area below his eyes darkened, and his pupils dilated, turning his whole eye black.

Jet black spikes shot out from his shoulders, elbows, and knees, tearing his tee-shirt and trousers— no, on second glance, they didn’t look like spikes…

They were scales! Reptile scales… no, dragon scales! Although the scales were so big that they resembled spikes instead.

His nails turned black and started growing longer and sharper. His hands resembled a huge pair of claws now.

A long spiky black tail shot out from his tailbone, tearing his already torn trousers even more.

Following that, small black scales, much smaller than the ones on his shoulder, knees, and elbow, started covering his chest, thighs, calves, back, and lower abdomen, almost acting like some sort of armor.

Two large wings emerged from his back, they weren’t feather wings, but instead, they looked like they were made of a thick layer of compliant, anisotropic skin, almost like that of bats.

“A demon…” those words came out of Lucas’ mouth without him intending it.

But he couldn’t help it. After the whole transformation was done, Sam really looked like a demon straight out of a dark Bible.

“No,” hearing Lucas, Sam turned to him and rejected the title he gave him.

Even his voice was different now. It was heavier… much heavier.

After a short pause, Sam spoke, correcting Lucas, “Demon God.”