In an instant, the villain closed the distance between them. He punched her once, slamming her against a wall. He then hit her in the guts, again and again. Blood erupted from her mouth, flooding up her throat. She collapsed, vomiting red, struggling for breath.
"Had enough yet?" he scoffed, stepping away. "Why are you trying so hard to save the people who don't even see you as their equal? Are you an idiot?"
Saki gritted her teeth and rose shakily, leaning against the shattered wall for support.
"I'm… not dead yet. You monster!" she snapped.
"Why are you still getting up?" he asked, turning around, his expression growing darker from impatience. "Do you think these people will call you a hero if you continue to take the hits for them? Stop kidding yourself, they don't give a damn about you. All they want is to save their own lives. Why are you trying so hard? Just give up already!"
His aura flared, shaking the ground beneath them. His anger was getting the better of him as Saki's fighting spirit had not been crushed yet. Her eyes were filled with unfounded strength, which left the man perplexed. She was bleeding, broken, too weak to fight back. Yet her eyes still burned with defiance. That stubborn gleam… he hated it.
Saki coughed blood again, her breathing ragged. It was just a question of minutes before she fell unconscious, but she could not let go just yet.
"You are right… Villains will be villains. But… you see, if there's no one–"
Another fit of blood stopped her. She swallowed hard, forcing the words through the taste of iron.
"If there's no one to save them…how can I stay still?! If I don't do anything like the others, then how can I call myself a human being?!" she shouted, her voice cracking.
Saki felt her rage reaching its peak as adrenaline spiked through her system. Her body shook violently as an unknown force flowed within her. She had never experienced this before. And then, she felt it. A heat on her neck. Her V-mark was burning up.
It spread, crawling over her skin as she screamed. An overwhelming energy surged from within, shaking the building. Even the villain froze, stunned by the sheer force emanating from her. For an instant, Broadcaster stood still, surprised by the force coming out of her. Never had he sensed something like that before.
Having nothing left to lose, Saki resorted to the last trick she had in stock. From a young age, her grandfather had imposed a few sets of rules on her.
Firstly, she had to wear restraining bracelets to hold down her superstrength.
Secondly, she had to train every day to learn how to control her strength and avoid causing accidents among normal people.
Thirdly, she was never to use her bloodline ability.
Super strength was not the only quirk that she possessed. Her other ability was one that was too dangerous to be used. So she was told never to resort to them in any circumstances. Nonetheless, as her villain nexus was being triggered, she threw away the rules, thinking that it was all over for her anyway.
In a last attempt to save the hostages, Saki slammed her hands on the wall and focused as her eyes glowed in a vibrant blue. Her energy sank into the walls, breaking them apart into tiny cubes, then reassembling them into a massive hand. Her power surged. One hand stayed on the concrete construct, feeding it energy. The other clenched into a fist, and so did the giant replica.
The villain blinked in disbelief.
Saki hurled the stone fist forward. It struck him with thunderous force. Again and again, she pounded him with the construct, her own body burning up from the strain.
A whirlwind of emotions grew within her as she continued to punish the villain until, finally, with one last cry, she sent him crashing across the parking lot. Her knees buckled. She collapsed.
The hostages rushed towards her, but kept a cautious distance. Her V-mark faded slowly, relieving her. At least she wouldn't lose control and hurt them.
The hand replica suddenly trembled, and as Saki looked up, her pupils shook with fear.
No…
Broadcaster rose from the rubble, blood dripping down his body. He had shattered the giant fist. His expression twisted into a manic grin.
"You! What are you?"
The air thickened. His madness was nothing like earlier. Everyone felt it, the killer's blood thirst. He would slaughter them.
"Do it again! Come on! Show me what you've got!" he yelled excitedly, powering up.
Saki could not move at all, nor could she use her transmutation ability. She was completely beaten down. There was nothing she could do to protect the others now.
In the end… I still failed.
Tears spilled down her cheeks, and she felt even more helpless.
"Come on-"
"Dragon Punch!"
A giant fist made of orange flames knocked through the ceiling and smashed the supervillain. He writhed in flames. And then, Kinryu descended, landing between them and the enemy.
Saki could not believe her eyes. Her idol was standing in front of her once again. However, she noticed something was different about him. His aura was more intense than usual. Fierce.
Flames flickered all over the hero as he glared at the supervillain, who got back on his feet.
"Dragon Breath!"
A torrent of flames engulfed the villain. Kinryu attacked without hesitation, without mercy. He pummelled Broadcaster until the villain was charred and motionless.
The scene in itself was breathtakingly spectacular. But terrifying. It was the first time that Kinryu was so violent. Even during his fights against other supervillains, he was not this aggressive. It was as though he had a personal vendetta against Broadcaster.
"I'm sorry. I should have come sooner. As a hero, I have failed to protect everyone," he said as he turned around and bowed his head to the hostages.
Everyone was at a loss for words. They did not know what they were supposed to say when he had just saved them, despite his claiming this as a failure. As he raised his head, he walked towards Saki, whose consciousness was fading away.
She had lost so much blood, and her ribs were all broken. It would be a miracle if she somehow survived her injuries. Closing her eyes, she finally allowed herself to rest. Unbeknownst to her, her actions had been seen by not only the hostages and those outside the mall but by the whole country. And through her actions, a spark of controversy was ignited and spread all across Japan.
Saki became the centre of debates between those who believed that only heroes should be fighting against supervillains and those who praised her for doing what others did not dare to do. Despite her being born a villain, she ran to the rescue of others, putting her life on the line to save those of others, and many saw this as the very essence of a hero. Especially since the authorities and heroes were late to intervene.
Kinryu's apology only contributed to fueling the public's fire. The lack of heroes to rely on was once again brought to the table. The trust in heroes was shaken.
People began questioning the system.
Why were vigilantes always the first to respond? Why did it take so long for heroes to act?
Amid the debate, one thing was clear: the whole nation now knew of the villain vigilante.
Seated in his private office, Suzuki Daiou watched the broadcast.
"The world is changing," he said, "And only those who evolve can be part of the future. This is an opportunity that must be seized."
Zero sat nearby, silently following the news as well.
"You asked me to look into her. Did you know this would happen?" asked the hero.
"No. I didn't even know she was a villain until you gave me her file. But it doesn't matter. She confirmed everything I needed to know."
He leaned forward.
"HAL is outdated. Our country has fallen behind while places like the U.S. modernize. The revolution must begin. And now, I've found someone who can drive it."
"With all due respect, sir…I don't think that HAL will approve of this."
"It does not matter whether they approve of it or not. If they want my money, they won't be able to do anything. They have long lost their power to impact my decisions ever since they became greedy for money."
Zero shook his head, unsure how to respond to his new employer. Of course, he knew that HAL was not any better either, after all, he spent his whole life there, and if not for Suzuki Daiou he would have been their dog for his remaining days. Still, what Mr Suzuki wanted to achieve would create a lot of turmoil amongst the higher-ups of the Hero Alliance. That was why he could not help but feel uneasy about this whole affair.
Moreover, he felt sympathetic towards the girl's circumstances. He knew that Suzuki Daiou would most likely use her for his ploys, and were she to get caught in his games, she would be seen as a tool instead of a human…just like him.
A few days later, at a hospital in Normal Town Shinjuku—
Saki stirred.
"Finally up," said her grandfather as he put down his newspaper.
The girl winced in pain, trying to get up.
"Don't move. You would not want to reopen your wounds," said the old man as he took the bed controller and adjusted the bed for her.
The girl nodded slowly, finally noticing the bandages and cables on her body. She was wired to a machine and had several injection fluids flowing inside her blood vessels.
"I-"
"You were in a deep coma for three days. It was honestly a big mess. Your ribs were shattered. Some pierced your internal organs. The doctors did not even know whether you would make it out alive."
A heavy silence hovered over the room. Saki avoided her grandfather's gaze, unable to meet his eyes. She almost died at the hands of a supervillain and revealed herself as a vigilante. Surely her grandfather must have been disappointed and furious.
He stood slowly. Then sighed.
"Forget it. I'm just glad that you are alive. You brat. Just what were you thinking?" he said as he stared at her.
Hot tears rolled down the girl's pale cheeks. She wailed like a newborn baby.
"I'm sorry, Grandpa!"
"Are you now?"
The girl nodded, "I'm sorry. I should have listened to you…"
"Do you regret your actions then?"
She sobbed harder but said nothing. He sat beside her. He knew that she did not regret her actions. In fact, he knew that she would do it again were she to relive the day.
"If you don't regret it, then don't apologise. That's not the way of the Honda family. We own up to our choices, understand?"
"But I-"
"You lied to me. You nearly got yourself killed. That pisses me off. But you weren't wrong. You just wanted to help. And there's nothing wrong with that."
He pulled her into a gentle embrace.
"You did great, Saki. A lot of people are alive because of you, even if they don't say it."
Saki sobbed into his chest.
"I was so scared. I thought I would die..."
"It's alright. It's over. You are safe now."