Soon, the streets were filled with the special police force, clad in sleek black military suits and armed with cutting-edge weapons. They took over the task of cleaning up the ravaged district, relieving the vigilantes of their duties. Moving with rapid precision and perfect synchronisation, they cleaned up the mess effortlessly—a testament to the Government’s elite special army.

  “Good work, everyone. Even if we’re not seen in the same light as the heroes, we did a marvellous job keeping the citizens safe, and that’s something to be proud of.”

  Armstrong patted his teammates on their backs, pride swelling in his chest. Once again, they had fulfilled their goal of protecting the people. Though society might never acknowledge their contributions, he was deeply grateful for his team. Being a vigilante was no easy task; it demanded confronting the worst dangers known to mankind without salary, recognition, or even basic gratitude. It was enough to discourage anyone.

  Yet, his men persevered. They fought tirelessly, saving lives one step at a time. Armstrong admired them for their resilience—and one in particular stood out. Blue, the youngest of their group, had surpassed his expectations time and again.

  “Blue, you were incredible as always! This time, I’m treating you to a meal. Dinner’s on me, everyone!” he declared with a bright grin.

  “Yeah!” the team cheered in unison.

  But Armstrong soon noticed Blue standing apart, her gaze fixed on the heroes. Even with her mask concealing her face, he could sense the awe in her eyes. She had always admired them—the shining idols in their immaculate outfits and advanced gadgets.

  “Blue,” he called gently, putting a hand on her shoulder.

  “Yes, sir,” she replied, snapping out of her reverie.

  “Let’s go,” he said softly.

  She nodded, but before she could take a step, a blood-curdling scream rang out. Their heads whipped toward the crowd, where the massive arm of a robot was plummeting straight toward the civilians.

  Without hesitation, Blue sprang into action. Her legs propelled her forward, her body leaping across the street. She vaulted over the crowd and struck the metallic arm with a powerful kick. The massive object flew upward, but its weight and gravity soon brought it crashing back down. Still mid-air, Blue rebounded off a nearby wall and launched herself at the falling debris.

  She punched it once. Twice. Thrice.

  The metal shattered into fragments that combusted into fiery orange flames. As the pieces rained down harmlessly, cheers erupted from the crowd.

  Standing before her was Ryu—the current ace of the new generation of heroes. With 123 victories under his belt, the golden-haired leader of Cometz had become a rising star since the team’s debut last spring.

  Blue instinctively stepped back, her heart pounding. She struggled to suppress the urge to ask for an autograph, forcing herself to maintain a professional demeanour.

  “That was an incredible save. Thank you,” Ryu said, extending a hand toward her.

  She froze, staring at his hand, then at his glowing face, and back again. Her own hand trembled as she reached out hesitantly. Ryu grinned and gave her a firm handshake.

  “What’s your name?” he asked. “I saw you fighting those robots with the other vigilantes. You’ve got impressive skills. Are you planning to become a hero in the future?”

  The question struck her like a blow.

  A hero? As if I could ever be one…

  “No. I’m not,” she murmured, her voice soft and tinged with melancholy.

  “Really? But—”

  “Ryu!”

  A swarm of fans suddenly surrounded him, giving Blue the perfect opportunity to slip away unnoticed. She darted through the crowd and rejoined Armstrong.

  “Are you alright?” the captain asked as she removed her mask, revealing deep blue eyes clouded with sadness.

  “I’m fine,” she said, forcing a smile. “What about you, sir? Do you need medical assistance?”

  He shook his head with a proud smile. “Thanks to a certain someone, I didn’t suffer too much damage. How about that dinner?”

  “I’d love to, but I can’t,” she replied, holding up her phone to show the time.

  “Ah, your curfew,” he chuckled. “Sometimes I forget how strict your grandfather is. Another time, then. Get home safe, Blue. And thank you again for today.”

  With a nod, she headed off. While the rest of the vigilantes either accompanied Armstrong or made their way to the hospital, Blue grabbed a taxi headed for the safer zones of Villain Shinjuku City.

  The cab stopped between Block A and Block B, near a narrow alley. The city was split into two halves—one for normal metahumans and another for those afflicted with villain genes. Within the villain sector, the blocks ranged from A to E, each representing a different danger level.

  Saki lived in Block A, the least hazardous of the areas.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  ***

  The circumstances of this division of cities into blocks and Villain and non-villain zones came about a few decades ago from the Genesis Phenomenon a few decades ago. Meteors from a far away part of the galaxy entered the earth's atmosphere, colliding in different parts of the planet. The space rocks disintegrated upon their first contact with earth and turned into fine dust that recovered the entire globe. Within days, people were infected with special genes that granted them special abilities. And from this were born two types of people, those with normal human genes with meta powers, and those whose genes were twisted and corrupted, becoming villain genes.

  Those born with villain genes carried a dangerous potential: a mechanism known as the villain nexus. When triggered, it could drive them into a berserk state, amplifying their powers to catastrophic levels and turning them into maniacs capable of razing entire cities.

  To mitigate this risk, the city was not only split into two halves but further subdivided into blocks based on danger levels. It was the government’s most effective preventive measure against supervillain outbreaks.

  However, this system came with its own price. Villain-designated cities bore the brunt of chaos, frequently suffering from sudden villain nexus activations or deliberate awakenings that unleashed destruction.

  ***

  Stepping out of the taxi, Saki made her way to a public restroom, where she changed into black shorts, a white T-shirt, and a blue hoodie. She emerged as Honda Saki, an ordinary teenager of Villain Shinjuku City.

  Jogging through the streets, she greeted familiar vendors before stopping in front of a large martial arts dojo. The imposing structure stood out amidst the neon signs, graffiti-covered walls and skyscrapers. Taking a deep breath, she stepped inside, where the familiar scent of sweat and gym equipment greeted her.

  Her grandfather’s voice boomed over the clatter of training equipment. He barked instructions at his club members, pushing them to their limits.

  “Come on! How do you expect to win with that attitude? If you want victory, you have to earn it! Complaining about exhaustion when you haven’t reached your peak is laziness, and I won’t tolerate it!”

  As the old man surveyed the training room with a strict gaze, his sharp eyes locked onto the girl.

  “You’re late.”

  Saki froze under his piercing gaze. Her body stiffened as a chill ran down her spine. She immediately bowed at a 90-degree angle. “I’m sorry, Grandpa! It won’t happen again!”

  “Won’t happen again? Didn’t you say the same thing last time?”

  “Grandpa, I—”

  Before she could finish, a swift strike sent her tumbling across the dojo. She caught herself on a pillar, landing on her knees. Bowing deeply once more, she shouted, “I’m sorry!”

  Her grandfather sighed, his stern expression softening slightly. “Alright, get up. I’ll let you off the hook for today.”

  “Huh? What do you mean?” she asked in bewilderment.

  This was an unusual behaviour which left the girl rather flustered. There had never been a day where her grandfather let her get away with her lateness and go as far as exempting her from her mandatory strength training.

  It was part of her daily life, at 7pm everyday she had to do strength training in order to control her physical abilities which were a burden on others. This was something that he had always been particularly strict about—yet, he was setting her free tonight?

  “Grandpa, are you sick?” a serious expression slipped onto her face as she immediately ran to him.

  Her eyes wandered over the old man’s body, examining him from his bald head to his muscular mustang legs, built from years of training as a martial artist.

  Soon their gaze met and the calm grey eyes of the man flickered with warmth before slowly retreating back to its stillness and peaceful expression.

  “Stop overreacting, I’m just cutting you some slack because of this,” replied the old man as he took out his mobile phone, showing to the girl her medical test results.

  She quickly took a look at them, screening through the document at light speed. Her face soon lost its vivid colours as she read the commentary section of the final results.

  “The patient is experiencing a sudden growth spurt followed by an increase in her strength. I advise her to rest and let her body cool down so as to reduce any risk of internal injuries or probable triggering of her villain nexus.’

  “Grandpa…, what should I do?” she uttered, her body shaking as her legs gave out.

  Her mind was in shambles while her thoughts ran faster than she could process. If she overexerted her strength, she might end up triggering her villain nexus, turning her into an uncontrollable monster—something that she terribly feared.

  Her breathing intensified, a turmoil of emotions whirling inside her. Suddenly she felt the warm firm hand of her grandfather on her shoulder, helping her to stay grounded. They stared at each other, his calm and warm gaze pushing away all of her worries. Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly, while straightening her back.

  The old Honda patted her gently, “don’t worry,” he said softly.

  “As long as you rest nothing will happen. So for the next few days, you won’t be training. Just focus on relaxing and letting your body adjust to your changes.”

  The girl nodded, ”alright, I'll do as you say.”

  “I should probably stop my vigilante activities for a while as well. Just until my condition is stable,” she thought to herself, unable to say it out loud as this was a secret that should never be revealed to her grandfather.

  He would lock her inside the house, were he to know about her activities as a vigilante.

  “With that said, go back to the house first, I’ll come once I’m finished with my training. Yoshino already cooked dinner, it’s on the stove,” he continued, dragging her back to reality.

  “Ah-...I’ll wait for you to eat. I’ll go take a bath first,” she said brightly, hiding her thoughts before running to the back of the dojo, heading straight inside their house.

  “This brat…”

  Honda Takumi could not help but sigh heavily as the girl left his line of sight. His heart sank while looking back at his phone. His large chest tightened, suffocated by a feeling he had not come across in a long while—fear.

  He was scared. Frightened by the idea of his dearest granddaughter having to face her true villain side and becoming something that she hated. Of course, whether in her villain state or not, Saki was his family and he would never leave her. Still, in the case where she triggered her villain nexus, there was a risk of the authority going after her.

  After all, Saki was not a normal child. She had powerful genes within her that could cause great damage if they were to be activated. In the worst scenario, she could become a weapon of chaos and a threat to the country, and he might lose her.

  Clenching his fists, he shook his head, forcing the thought away. All these years, he had kept Saki’s strength and abilities under strict restrictions. There was no chance for anything to go wrong with all the protective measures that were taken. At least, he hoped so.

  “I won’t let anyone take my family away,” he whispered, “not this time.”