VILLAIN'S RISING

“Just… Why are we here again?” Rick facepalmed.

He has been traveling with Starsuper for weeks now. It took them 6 days to locate that Dungeon that the Progenitor used as his dwelling during his last days.

And just when Rick thought he would finally get to go home, Starsuper flew him to some other location.

Yes, Starsuper flew him.

Rick was a 35-year-old grown-ass man and Starsuper carried him in a princess’ carry position and flew him across the globe.

Could it get any more ridiculous? Poor Rick.

At first, Rick was pretty excited about the whole deal when Starsuper asked him to come along with him on his mission.

Rick had always been a fan of Starsuper since his childhood. Since the young age of 7, he always tried to walk the path of righteousness like Starsuper.

Starsuper was his childhood Hero. Rick even had his action figure. He still remembers how he used to hug that action figure to sleep every night.

So, obviously, when Starsuper asked him to come along, Rick instantly agreed.

Yes, the princess’ carry position was strange, but Rick’s excitement overwhelmed his embarrassment.

However, as the time passed, his excitement grew dull by the day. And by the end of day 6, the excitement he had on the first day was nowhere to be seen.

Traveling with Starsuper was hell! Because Starsuper had superhuman stamina, it was impossible to keep up with him.

Although he was offered piggyback rides, Rick swiftly refused them. He didn’t want to feel more embarrassed than he already was._.

Not only that, but he also had to face a fact about his childhood hero. That was that Starsuper had the loudest snore he had ever heard.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Starsuper snorts so hard that it can even wake up the dead!

So not only Rick was exhausted during the days, but he was also sleepless during the nights.

His face, which was as red as a cherry on the 1st day, was now devoid of any color.

And right now, blue lines were clearly visible on Rick’s forehead along with the dark circles under his eyes.

He was standing beside Starsuper and they both were standing in front of what looked like a big castle.

This castle, according to Starsuper, was their last destination before they could return home.

Rick took out his cap and put it on his bald head. Although Rick was bald and a bit chubby, he was by no means ugly.

He had deep blue eyes and a face that many women in the past had described as ‘cute’. You can call Rick a living, walking teddy bear.

After seeing that his obvious question was ignored by the man in the cape beside him, Rick irritatingly asked again.

“What are we doing here!” He spoke through his chubby cheeks.

“Sigh,” letting out a sigh, Starsuper followed to answer his travel mate’s obvious question. “We, my friend, are here to meet the fortune teller I told you about.”

“Still on to that,” Rick shook his head before frowning his eyebrows. “Still, why are we in front of an abandoned castle in the middle of nowhere?”

They really were in the middle of nowhere. They were in the Sahara Deserts.

What unsettled Rick more than anything was the fact that there was an abandoned castle in the middle of a freaking desert!

Why? Why would someone build this here in the first place anyway? And most of all, why were they here?

“Because this is obviously where she lives you dum-dum,” said Starsuper in a ‘didn’t I make that obvious enough’ tone.

“Tsk,” Rick clicked his tongue. “Could’ve put it in a nicer way.”

Although he was vexed, what could he do in front of a 6’9 feet tall muscular guy whose bicep was big enough to cover his head?

Every second they were together, Rick was getting disillusioned and the image of his childhood Hero that he had made up in his mind was crumbling.

If only he would’ve refused to take this trip with Starsuper… Maybe, just maybe, he could’ve lived on with the perfect image of his childhood Hero in his mind.

Just as Rick was cursing himself, the two giant gates of the castle made a loud metal scratching against metal sound before they started opening up inwards.

Soon, the inside scenery of the castle was visible. With just one peek Rick could tell that the inside and outside look of the castle were heaven and earth apart.

The outside of the castle looked like it hadn’t been taken much care of. The walls were in dire need of plaster and polishing while the gates and fences were rusty.

But on the inside, there was a garden leading up to the inner main door. The garden was well taken care of by a professional and even the cobblestone path was clean.

“Come on,” like a puppy, Starsuper called out to Rick as he went in.

“Tsk,” clicking his tongue in frustration again, Rick followed.

After walking down the cobblestone path, the duo reached up to the main gate. There was no one to welcome them by the outer gates so did they open up by themselves?

This whole ordeal was giving him an eerie feeling to Rick but he kept his mouth shut out of fear of embarrassment.

As soon as they walked up to the inner entrance, Starsuper knocked on the door thrice.

-Knock -Knock -Knock

Just like the gates, the door instantly opened up all by itself too. Seeing this, Rick couldn’t hold back anymore.

“Okay, what’s going on?” Rick asked. “Why is this place so horror movie-like?”

“Haha!” Starsuper cracked up, making Rock feel more frustrated if anything before he answered. “Well, she likes it dramatic.”

“I’m sorry what? Who likes what?”

As if waiting for that cue from Rick, the candles that were lighting up inside suddenly blew up, leaving the duo in the dark.

-Slam!

At the next moment, the door behind them slammed closed and a chill breeze went past them.

“Umm… Arthur, I’m starting to get scared!”

Without bothering to reply to his anxious friend, Starsuper just kept his silence and waited for the dramatic entrance to wrap up.

“Why have you come here, you foolish mortals?!”

A chilling voice, colder and sinful than anything that Rick had ever heard, resounded throughout the castle’s entry.

“Leave now or I shall claim your life!” The voice declared.

“I don’t think we are welcomed here, Arthur!”

Starsuper just kept his silence and put his hand in his pocket.

“So you refuse to leave? Fine then!”

As soon as the voice said that, the temperature in the whole atmosphere dropped and chills ran through Rick’s spine.

“Arthur! Man, let’s just leave!” He tried to beg the man in a cape but to no avail.

However, Arthur just ignored Rick as he was doing up until now and took his hand out of his pocket.

In his hand was a chocolate bar, Rick was about to retort why Starsuper was taking out a bar of chocolate to eat now of all times but before he could say anything, Arthur’s next actions left him stupefied.

“Catch!” shouted Arthur as he threw the chocolate bar in the air.

Before the bar could fall down to the ground, a black shadow appeared into existence and disappeared along with the bar.

“Wha-What was that!” startled, Rick shouted.

His question was soon answered when the black shadow moved into the light.

It was a girl, seemingly no more than 13-14 years old. She had black hair and brown eyes with pale skin and a small adorable triangular face.

On her face was an angry frown and her cheeks were puffing out in a pout.

“Why are you here Starsuper?” She said while chewing on the chocolate that Arthur threw.

“Is this a way to greet an old friend, Heya?” With an amused smile, Starsuper asked.

“I asked, why the hell are you here?” The girl named Heya, eyed Starsuper with a threatening gaze as she repeated herself.

“Ooff! Don’t scare me like that! Do you know how fragile my heart is?” Putting a hand on his chest, Starsuper dramatically expressed.

A bulging nerve appeared on the girl’s face but before she could open her mouth to utter anything, Starsuper spoke up.

“Okay, jokes aside, I’m here to ask you for a favor.”

Knitting her eyebrows in a furrow at those words, Heya slightly tilted her head before speaking.

“What kind of favor? If you’re here to ask me about your children’s future, I’m gonna whoop your ass!”

Not minding her threat, Starsuper replied while rolling his eyes.

“Shut up, Heya. Now listen, I’m here because I doubt that– No, I know that the Progenitor has returned,” Starsuper mustered up the most serious tone he could as he said those words. “He’s back in this world.”

Beads of sweat appeared on Heya’s forehead as her eyes widened at those words.

“You mean to say, my Master has returned?”