VILLAIN'S RISING

-At Willburn Tower 19 Hours Earlier

Anthony was looking out the window– gazing down at the city from his high-rise building.

Many thoughts were running through his mind. Thoughts like, where was his sister? How will this battle end? Will his father be safe?

Anthony was nine years old when his father told him about their true extraterrestrial origins.

Although Anthony had always suspected that he wasn’t normal, the revelation that his father told him still came as a shock.

He still remembers how he didn’t eat anything for a week after that talk. He was just that devastated.

For as long as he could remember, Anthony was ‘trained’ by Starsuper in order to become the strongest Hero.

At some point, Anthony himself started to want to become a Hero too. He wanted to be the reason people could feel safe in this world.

However, he never had any close friends due to obvious reasons like his profession and the fact that he was the son of the Strongest Hero in existence.

He could not trust anyone. The person he might trust today can turn out to be the person who stabs him in the back tomorrow.

His only friend was Rebekah. But Anthony wasn’t dumb. He knew the feelings Rebekah had for him were not normal sisterly love.

But despite knowing the truth, Anthony never confronted her about it. Partly because he didn’t want to lose her and partly because somewhere deep inside, he didn’t mind her seeing him that way.

That’s why when Anthony enrolled in the Hero Academy and met Sam, Kiara, Robin, and Drake, he, for the first time, experienced friendship.

For the first time Anthony felt what it was like to be enjoying the peace. What it was like to be carefree of all responsibilities._.

However, as he feared, one of the people he trusted stabbed him in the back.

From the moment Arthur told Anthony about the real identity of the Progenitor, he was cursing himself– blaming himself for not using his Divine Sight on him!

He had so many chances! The reason for all his troubles was right before him all this time!

“Arghhh!” Anthony bit his lower lip and growled in frustration. Never in his life before did he want to kill someone as much as he wanted to now.

“Fuuu,” letting out a deep breath, Anthony calmed himself down. It was not the time to act in a fury.

Anger always makes you irrational. And you can’t win a war with an irrational mind.

“Anghh”

Shaking Anthony out of his daze was a low painful moan from a person coming from behind him.

Anthony instantly turned around, and his gaze immediately went to the person lying on his sofa.

“Drake,” Anthony called out his friend’s name and kneeled in front of his sofa. He gently tapped on his forehead and called him out once again. “Drake, are you up?”

“Mnghh” clutching his head with one hand as if he was waking from a hangover, Drake slowly opened his sleepy eyes.

Bright light overwhelmed his vision, causing him to narrow his eyes in discomfort.

“Wh-Where am I?” With a sleepy look and confused tone, Drake inquired.

“You’re here, with me in Willburn tower!” Anthony instantly replied.

Hearing that, Drak sat himself up before the memories of what happened earlier suddenly bombarded his mind.

“Wait!” He reacted as soon as he remembered, “Where’s Robin!”

Seeing him like this, Anthony couldn’t help but avoid meeting his gaze. However, he still answered. “Drake, Robin is dead.”

“…Huh?” Drake’s face grew pale, his eyes widened, and a look of despair took over his face. He looked into Anthony’s mournful eyes and asked, “Was it, Sam?”

Anthony, who couldn’t tell him that it was his father who blew up the vicinity along with all the students in it, simply nodded.

To be perfectly fair, he wasn’t lying. Sam was the reason for that situation to happen, after all.

Tears started coursing down Drake’s cheeks. He felt a throbbing pain invading his chest. His whole world was crashing down.

Anthony could only hug his friend to assure him that everything would be alright. “We will get him. We will make him pay for this.”

After a few long minutes, Drake finally calmed down. But his red, swollen eyes were still to regain their light.

Anthony told him everything that happened after the Academy incident. He told him about his father’s plan and their intention to stop the Progenitor.

“So, where are they now?” Drake asked– his voice still heavy from crying.

“They are headed to the city of Los Angeles. I am given the task of supervising everything here.” Anthony replied.

“Are we sure he’ll attack both fronts?” Drake questioned. His question was valid.

Which person in their right mind would attempt to divide their already small force?

“Yes, he knows he can’t fight my father alone. He needs him somewhere else. That’s why he will attack both fronts so that my father will have no choice but to leave at least one side open for him to attack.” Anthony nodded.

That was indeed Sam’s plan.

He knew he couldn’t fight Starsuper alone. That’s why he sent two of his strongest Demons to attack Los Angeles and hopefully acquire that relic. All the while, he would attack the museum alone.

Starsuper can only be one of two places. So his chances of winning by attacking two places at once was a full 100%.

He would rather take all the heroes in the world alone than take Starsuper in a 1v1.

Understanding Anthony’s explanation, Drake nodded.

Honestly, he didn’t know much about the Progenitor except what he was taught in the history classes.

But he never thought that someone so close to him would turn out to be the greatest Villain in history!

Was everything a lie, then? Did Sam ever see him as a friend?

Of course not. If he had, then he would’ve never killed Robin.

Seeing the conflicted look on Drake’s face, Anthony placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Drake, I know how you’re feeling right now. My own sister is in danger, too, and I can do nothing to help her.

“We can only confront Sam and hopefully kill him before he takes any more lives. We have to stop him.”

Hearing those words, Drake nodded his head. Sam was not his friend. He was the villain who was threatening this world. He had to be stopped.

“I swear on my family name, Dragonheart– I will bring justice to him.”

Anthony shot a smile at Drake’s words of determination. He was ready now. Anthony may not be human, but he fell in love with this world– with these people.

He was not going to let some Villain, who should’ve been dead, take everything he loves away.

-Knock!

Shaking Anthony and Drake out of their daze was a knock on the door.

But before Anthony could answer, the door slammed open, and a girl in the maid costume barged in.

“Young Master, Anthony, there’s someone on the counter wishing to meet you!” The girl said. The expressions on his face and tone of her voice suggested urgency.

“Who are they?” Anthony questioned with a frown.

“It’s someone calling himself Micheal Rightwill. He’s claiming to be the brother of Progenitor.”

*

-“The identity of the Progenitor is confirmed! Look at the screen. This innocent-looking face belongs to the Villain who is currently threatening world peace!”

Sam mostly ignored all the noises coming from the T.V. and continued to do his work.

The news was repeating the same telecast with Sam’s academic ID picture on the screen. But the word “innocent face” was still ticking him off every time.

He was wearing a lab coat and safety goggles. From the looks of it, he was treating something with chemicals while observing it under a microscope.

A clone standing next to him looked at Sam with a curious gaze.

“What are you doing, sir?” The clone spoke. “What is that?”

It was not as if the clone didn’t know what Sam was doing. The clone branched from Sam, so he shared the same knowledge as him too.

However, because he branched from Sam, he knew like every typical villain, Sam enjoyed reciting his evil plans and announcing his twisted monologues.

“This?” Sam asked, pointing at the trey under the microscope– playing along. “This is my weapon.”

“Your weapon, sir?” The clone shot a confused look at Sam’s reveal.

“I’m going to face several hundred Heroes all alone with a little to no backup. Strong as I may be, even I’m not that arrogant to go there alone, empty-handed without a weapon.” Sam responded with a slight shrug– for the first time in his life, he acknowledged the strength of the Heroes.

“No, no, that’s completely understandable. But what exactly are you doing?” The clone repeated his question before rephrasing it.

Sam just smirked at that question and looked at the trey with a wide grin.

“For the sake of simplicity, let’s just say this is something they won’t be expecting. This is their death and my victory.”