Hero Hunt
“Villains have no human rights.” I quietly mulled over the words of Flare—Han Jua—that I'd eavesdropped on.
Considering the extreme hostility toward villains noted in her profile, it could be called the ideology sustaining her. Not hard to understand. Setting aside whatever sparked her hatred for villains, I didn't exactly hold that scum in high regard myself.
“Yeah, well, everyone has their own circumstances and beliefs.”
And when you turn those beliefs into action, you bear the responsibility yourself. Fine to hate villains and want them dead, but since you can't kill them outright, carving an indelible brand—good up to there. But what next? Didn't our Nova nail it? Hatred only breeds more hatred. An eternal brand ensures you never forget the pain, which festers into vengeance.
Just like me right now.
Of course, these days I could wipe it clean without a trace using my ability, but the horrific agony from back then still makes my gut boil at the memory.
“You put a donut in my side—how could I forget?”
If it'd just been a standard takedown, I wouldn't have bothered with Han Jua. Raising Nova kept me plenty busy; no time to fuss over an extra not even in the original story.
But she'd crossed the line enough to drag me into plotting personal revenge like this.
“Flare, you picked the wrong fight.”
I became a villain solely to make Nova the protagonist. Only she gets to harm me—no extras allowed that privilege.
“Ready, Purung-ah?”
“Purrrr!”
My pet horse Purung, transformed by the power of Core Relic-Accel.
A week since the clash with Nova, my condition was peak, and the Core Relic was burning with enthusiasm.
“Good, Purung's set. Alright then...”
I adjusted my coat and mask, then mounted up.
“Hero hunt begins.”
“Neighhh!!”
***
It was truly sudden.
Kwaaaang!
In the midst of chatting with Nova on her way back, an ear-shattering explosion ripped through the air.
A massive dust storm surged from the shockwave, but Han Jua instinctively threw up a barrier of flames to shield herself.
“Wh-what the hell?!”
Too familiar for a mere accident. Just like that day during the escort mission—the bombing from the sky—
“My subordinate made quite the entrance back then too.”
Han Jua's face hardened at the calm male voice, utterly out of place amid the roaring chaos.
She'd never met him face-to-face, but she'd heard that voice before. Slowly, she turned toward the source.
Clack clack.
As the footsteps echoed closer from beyond the smoke, the silhouette sharpened into focus.
And at last, the culprit behind the blast revealed himself.
“Sigma…!”
“Long time no see, Hero Flare. First time facing off like this, though.”
Yeah, definitely the first direct encounter. The moment she got word Nova was at the station, she'd rushed over and unleashed flames without a word at the shady guy lurking by the fallen hero.
The fire had pierced his side clean through—a fatal hit—but then his whole body blurred. She'd fired a stronger blast, but he'd vanished without a trace before it connected.
She'd regretted letting him slip away, but who could've guessed that was Deviant leader Sigma?
She'd been furious when she found out. Vowed to riddle his limbs next time—and now here he was, right in front of her.
“Ha. Trash villain scum. Knows I'm Flare and still shows up without a shred of fear. That side wound not enough for you?”
“As if. That donut you put in my side gave me plenty of grief.”
“Donut? Heh, you're the first to call it that.”
Deviant leader Sigma. The mad bastard who'd ambushed her mid-escort and terrorized a train in broad daylight—standing right there.
Revolting, horrific filth. Vermin-like waste that shouldn't exist. Human trash, a scourge on the world. Villains like this only spread harm—needed to burn them to ash and wipe them clean.
…No. Couldn't kill him. Death was too merciful, too quick. He deserved worse. An eternal scar, a brand to remind him of his sins until his last breath.
Yeah. Just don't kill him. Char him to cinders; the Hero Association wouldn't complain about a threat like that.
“Eyes completely rolled back. What're you scheming?”
“What am I scheming? No point answering a villain, but I'll tell you one thing.”
Whoosh. Flames engulfed her body as her gaze locked on Sigma.
“Just figuring out how to burn you without killing you.”
“Hah. Total psycho bitch.”
Sigma recoiled with a deflated sigh at her madness-fueled aura.
“Don't think you can slip away like last time, villain! I'll make you regret coming alone for life!”
The flames' heat blasted the dust away in seconds, fire walls sealing every direction—up, down, left, right, front, back. A true inferno prison; nowhere to run.
Didn't know how he'd vanished before, but she wasn't letting him escape now.
Sigma's future: his body consumed by her blaze.
A do-or-die moment. Even the toughest villains would tense up here—but
“Looks like you're under a delusion.”
The man before her was far too composed amid the hellfire.
“You think I came alone?”
“What?”
Did that mean he wasn't solo? But he'd been alone since he first appeared. No matter how hard she looked, nothing but Sigma—
Whoooosh—!
A gale-force wind howled. Not the flames' heat draft—a true storm.
The encircling fire walls shredded apart, and suddenly, another figure stood before her where only Sigma had been.
…A horn?
In the blink of an eye, a long, curved horn speared toward her forehead.
What the—?
Another blink, and she finally recognized it: a pristine white horse clad head to toe in white armor.
The villain Nova had battled atop the train on broadcast—DeviantAccel Unicorn.
“……Deviant.”
It had exploded in the fight with Nova, but the Association report claimed no wreckage at the scene. No shattered mech parts, no traces at all—suspicious, but to think it was up and running like this.
“Yeah, my subordinate, taken down by Hero Nova. First real fight with a Core Relic—put up a hell of a battle.”
Sigma nodded, reminiscing.
“Sloppy finish, though. Wasn't fully destroyed, but on a speeding train—hard to verify. If you see Nova, remind her: confirm the kill next time.”
“You bastard…!”
Too late to grasp the truth, and it didn't improve her odds.
Hyper-focused on Sigma, she'd allowed this simple, lethal ambush.
Regret now changed nothing.
Couldn't gauge the horn's details, but the energy pulsing from it screamed danger—instinct's warning.
One wrong move, and god knows what it'd do.
Stuck. No way a cunning villain like him operated solo, but her rage had blinded her to the obvious.
Her mind reeled for an escape as the poised Accel Unicorn suddenly leaped back.
“Huh?”
She blurted dumbly at the unexpected retreat.
Accel Unicorn landed lightly beside Sigma.
“Just now—you died.”
Sigma smirked down at her.
“You bastard—what did you…!”
“Simple. You gave me pain; now I return the favor with humiliation.”
His condescending mockery snapped her reason.
“……I'll kill you. Every last one of you—burn you to nothing!!”
“Kuk—that hero talk? You're the real villain here.”
“Shut up!”
Rage-fueled, flames incomparable to before swirled around Han Jua in a massive vortex.
The air screamed with heat, the ground melting beneath her feet.