VILLAIN'S RISING

“Sireeeee~! You’re back!”

“There there, Lucas. Did I make you worry?”

“Sniff! Yes! Don’t ever scare me like that! Sniff!”

“Aww, I won’t, don’t worry.”

In the snowy field of the North Pole, in front of a large bunker entrance, two guys could be seen making a fuss.

One of them, the light red-haired boy, was hugging the other black-haired boy’s legs.

Beads of tears coursed down the light red-haired boy’s cheeks as the boy, whose legs he was hugging, gently patted his head.

It could’ve been a truly touching scene if one of them wasn’t naked….

“By the way, sire”

“Hmm? What is it, Lucas?”

“Uh, since you’ve come back alive and you seem so relaxed. Also, not to mention the destruction of the moon. Does that mean….”

“Yes. What you’re thinking is correct indeed. I won, Lucas. Starsuper… is dead.”

As soon as those words, a look of disbelief took over Lucas’ face. He couldn’t believe his ears for a second.

Everyone knows the Legend Of The First Hero. It is a story about how Starsuper and a group of people, who went on to be called heroes, defeated the Progenitor.

Every kid grows up on stories about Starsuper. He’s like a living legend to the people of Earth… no, he’s more than that… he’s a god to them!

It is a widely known fact that Starsuper possesses more than enough power to destroy planets with his punches if he wants to.

Not only that, but there are some things that he could do that no one else could. For instance, he could give out abilities to other people.

But even though he holds that much power, he wields it for the good of the world. He’s an ideal superhero.

And here, a boy no older than 19 claimed to have killed the man known as the First Hero?!

Lucas couldn’t believe what he’d heard. As if to confirm his ears, he asked again, “You… killed Starsuper?”

With a broad smile as if he was extremely proud of what he did, Sam nodded. “Well, technically, he blew himself up in order to stop me. So you could say he killed himself. But you get the point, right?”

Lucas’ eyes were about to fall off their sockets. He heard right! Starsuper really was dead!

But suddenly, as if he remembered something, Lucas frowned. “But I thought you said they can’t be killed?”

“Aren’t you listening? I said he blew himself up,” Sam heaved an exasperated sigh. “Honestly, I survived by sheer luck. If Starsuper had any kind of assistance at all, or if he’d kept his last attack active for five more seconds, I would be dead by now.”

To be honest, recalling that last attack sent shivers down Sam’s spine. It was true that he survived with luck and luck alone.

There were many factors at play there.

Suppose Sam had been only a little closer to Starsuper. If only that last attack would’ve lasted a little longer. If only Starsuper had used his full strength from the start. Or if Sam had failed his dragon transformation.

There were so many things that could’ve gone wrong, and almost all of them were out of Sam’s reach of control.

But the fact that he survived against such great odds was precisely why Sam was feeling more confident now!

He felt as if… the universe itself wants him to win! Fate is on his side!

Just thinking about that was enough to send Sam into grinning his face off.

But right then, Lucas’ astonished voice shook him off. “Well, whatever the case may be! You’ve won, sire! If even Starsuper wasn’t able to defeat you, then Starboy could do nothing now!”

The grin on Sam’s face grew wider until it disappeared for a moment.

“Yes, but we can’t relax. Most of the high-risk plans fail because the ones executing them let their guard down at the very last crucial moment,” he added. “I don’t want that to happen. So we will prepare thoroughly.”

Nodding and finally putting his serious face on, Lucas pulled himself up on his legs and voiced his determination “Yes, sire!”

“So, have you done what I asked you to do?” Sam questioned with a meaningful look.

As if waiting for that cue, Lucas’ lips curled up into a very vicious-looking grin. “Yes, sire.”

*

-Knock

After a few minutes of getting inside his bunker and putting on a nice pair of clothes, Sam heard a knock on the door of the room he was in.

“Sire, he’s ready!” Lucas’ voice came from the other side of the metallic door.

Smirking, Sam swirled and opened the door. Without uttering a word, he and Lucas took the metal stairs to descend to the lowest floor.

“Has he woken up yet?” Breaking the silence, Sam questioned.

pan-d a-n0vel.com “Yes,” Lucas responded with a nod. “I came here and instantly woke him up when you asked me to during your battle with Starsuper.

“But before I could bring him to help you, Starsuper punched you to the moon.”

“Ahem!” Sam let out a dry cough with a flushed face. “I, uh- That was part of my plan.”

“What? Getting punched to the moon was part of your plan?” Lucas asked with wide eyes, not believing even a single word of what his sire said.

“Y-Yeah. Totally,” fumbling hesitantly, Sam said.

“Sureeee~” Lucas teased while averting his eyes.

“Oye! Are you doubting me?! Your sire?!” Narrowing his eyes, Sam pitched his voice high.

“N-No! I believe you, sire! If you say almost dying was part of your plan, then I trust you!” Waving his hands, Lucas lied through his teeth.

“G-Good.” Sam nodded with another dry cough.

While having small chitter-chatter like that, the duo arrived in front of a large metallic door.

Without hesitating, Sam slammed open the door to greet the person inside.

Fluorescent ceiling lights flickered ever so often, and a thick, putrid scent of chemicals filled the air.

In the center of the room lay a broken glass container, big enough to hold two grown adult humans, with shards of shattered glass sporadically spread around it.

Right there stood a young man with pitch-black hair and ruby-red eyes that seemed to possess a shine of their own.

Without even a piece of thread blocking the view of his tall and toned bare body, the boy stood there with an unreadable expression plastered on his face.

That was until he saw Sam entering the room. Only then did his expressionless face turn into relief.

“Brother, you’re okay!” He said, facing Sam.

“Yes,” Sam nodded before finally getting to the point. “And how are you feeling, Michael?”

Michael stood there in silence for a brief moment as if processing a satisfactory answer. After a second or two, he responded

“I… I feel like I’ve been reborn, brother.”

Michael knew very well what Sam had done to him. He has turned him into one of his own minions and altered his body with several mutations, turning him into what the world knows as a demon.

Not only that, but he has also messed with his mind since Michael didn’t feel any hostility toward Sam, no matter how much he tried.

But despite knowing all this, he felt… satisfied?

He felt joy knowing he’d get to serve his brother, the current Progenitor, Samael Gracefell.

Even though Michael remembered everything, somehow, his thought process and opinions were completely changed.

It was a scary feeling… but it was also, in some twisted way, a fulfilling one.

“I was worried, brother,” Michael looked at Sam and uttered with an anxious face. “If you hadn’t come back when you came back, I was about to open a portal to you.”

Seeing his brother in this state put a smile on Sam’s face. A warm, kind, and genuine smile. He couldn’t help but feel as if he had finally gotten a brother—a brother who would never leave him and always support him.

With slow steps, he approached Michael and hugged him in a loving, brotherly embrace.

Michael, although startled at first, responded quickly by putting his hands around his brother’s shoulders, smiling genuinely.

With a wide grin plastered on his face, Sam whispered, “It’s fine. I’m back now, and I’m safe. And now, everything will be okay.”