Villain's Rising

-Zhing!

A pair of lasers, hot even to melt even the toughest of metals, shot at the light red-haired boy at breakneck speed.

However, instead of hitting him, the pair of lasers just phased through him as if he was nothing but air.

“Stop hiding, Lucas. Come out!”

“No, if I do that, you’ll kill me! Hahaha!”

Lucas, who was hovering in the air, confronting Starsuper, was bending light all around him to conceal his real body.

While concealing his real body, he was also using the light to create a mirage of himself to deceive Starsuper.

In simple words, he was creating an illusion of himself.

“Don’t you wish that Lightbringer was here? He would’ve spotted me in a second!”

While hiding his presence, he made sure to mock Starsuper by intentionally talking about Lightbringer.

Starsuper, however, knew better. He knew that Lucas was merely taunting him to buy time.

“And how are you standing there with no expression on your face? Aren’t you feeling at least a little bit bad about killing all those heroes? They thought you would save them from the Progenitor, but instead they lost their lives to you! Ahahaha! What kind of hero are you?!”

He gritted his teeth in a fury. They were the reason he had to kill those heroes! They were the reason he was fighting this pointless war! They are the villains!

Yet, this guy here had the audacity to blame him for what he did?!

“You can’t stop me if you keep on defending yourself. To stop me, you have to attack. And when you attack, I’ll spot you!”

“Yeah, it’s a good plan. However, what makes you think I will attack? You know as well as I do I’m merely here to stall for time.”

Hearing those words, a smile formed on Starsuper’s face. In the next moment, his body shot past the mirage that Lucas had created of himself like a bullet.

“Huh? Wait, where are you going?!”

Without answering back, Starsuper flew off in the distance. Lucas, using his Vector Manipulation, immediately followed after him.

“Tsk, so you are running away like a coward?!” Lucas taunted, hoping to get a reaction out of Starsuper.

“Yes, since you are hiding yourself like a coward!” Starsuper yelped back. “I’ll destroy the whole north pole if I have to do so in order to find the Progenitor!”

“Well, fuck….”

Lucas was in a bind here. If he tried attacking, his position would be compromised, and Starsuper would spot him.

After that, he would definitely use divine sight to suppress his ability and kill him.

And if he doesn’t attack, it would take about 15 minutes at most till Starsuper scouts the whole north pole at the speed he was moving.

That leaves Lucas with one other option. Call for backup.

Since Divine Sight can only be used on one target at a time, Lucas could use the backup he’d call as bait and attack Starsuper.

But then again, no bait would last over a minute when put against the strongest superhero of all time.

The strongest demon they have in their ranks after Lucas is Kiara. But since she was compromised, the strongest after Lucas would be Marcel Nickelson.

However, Sam had already planned something in mind for him, so Lucas couldn’t call Marcel for backup either.

The only remaining options to use as bait were the civilians of the academy city that Sam turned into demons.

However, Lucas knew they wouldn’t be of any use since those demons only possess superhuman strength, speed, and reflexes with no abilities whatsoever.

That would be like challenging Starsuper in his own game.

“Tsk, fine then!”

After coming to the inevitable conclusion that there was no other way, Lucas decided to forfeit defense and go on the attack.

He couldn’t let Starsuper get to Sam. No matter the cost, he won’t ever let that happen.

Even though he could only buy a few more minutes at the cost of his life, he would gladly do so. That’s the level of loyalty Lucas possessed for Sam.

And why wouldn’t he be loyal to him? After all, Sam gave him what no hero in the world could.

He gave him strength. He gave him his sister back. And he even promised revenge on Anthony for what was done to his sister.

He knew this deep inside him that even though his brain was programmed to stay loyal to his sire, he would’ve gladly chosen to give his life for Sam’s goal, even if it wasn’t.

“You talk about justice all the time, Starsuper. But where was that justice when I needed it.”

“What…?”

Suddenly Starsuper heard Lucas’ voice from behind. He halted his flight and turned around, only for his gaze to meet a slender, light red-haired boy hovering there.

“I asked, where was this justice that you so talk of when I needed it? When your own son injured my sister during one of his hero missions due to his inexperience, you suppressed that news. You didn’t bring him to justice. Nor did you give my sister, who was put into a coma because of your son, any justice. Where was this justice then?”

“You… You are talking about that elementary school attempted bombing incident?!”

“Yes. That day, due to your son’s inexperience, my little sister was sent into a coma. When Anthony flew through the roof, a broken part of it fell onto my sister. Yes, he saved many lives that day, but he also ruined one life. My sister’s life.”

“Lucas, you–”

Before Starsuper could speak in response, Lucas cut him off.

“I know what I’m talking about is unreasonable. Starboy saved 256 lives that day and at the cost of only a few injured students. The death toll could’ve been way worse. But isn’t it you Willburns who talk about equality all the time? So tell me, Arthur Willburn, if everyone really is equal and justice should be served at all cost, why wasn’t my sister given any justice?!”

At this point, Lucas was basically screaming. He initially started talking about this incident in hopes of guilt-tripping Starsuper and buying some time for Sam, but as he spoke and remembered the scene of his little sister being taken away on a stretcher by doctors, some pent-up emotions in him resurfaced.

“Lucas… I’m sorry for what happened to you. And I’m sorry your sister wasn’t given justice. It turns out, despite what earthlings believe, I’m not a god.”

With a hint of sadness and disappointment, Starsuper continued.

“I am, much like any other human, biased to my own kin. But even if you wanted revenge, siding with the Progenitor was not the right decision! He has plunged the world into chaos! Countless lives have been lost because of him, and the death rate will only go up from here! Don’t you care about them, about your own race, about humanity even a little?!”

Long silence enveloped the sky at that moment. Only the sound of passing breeze could be heard.

Lucas hovered there in one place as if he was frozen. With a forbearing expression plastered on his face, he broke this long pause before saying

“I do, honestly. I do care about this world, and I do care about humanity….”

“Then–”

Just as Starsuper thought he had swayed the light red-haired boy with his words, Lucas spoke, cutting Starsuper off.

“And that’s why I think what Samael is doing is right.”

“…”

“And one more thing. You mentioned that I wanted revenge for what happened to my sister….”

“…You don’t?”

“I do. For what your son did, I will kill him. But there’s one more thing I want, perhaps even more so than revenge.”

“…And what is that?”

“Justice.”

Starsuper was at a loss for words. He couldn’t believe how Lucas had gone. For the sake of his petty revenge, he was willing to accompany Sam in a goal that would result in the death of millions, no, billions of people!

“Your justice will get billions of people killed! Can’t you see that?!”

“I know,” nodding his head, Lucas replied. “Many would die, but most will survive. When Sam is done with this world, a new one will be forged. A better world. A world without any miseries or tragedies. A world where people can live in peace and harmony, striving towards one goal— humanity’s betterment. Everyone will be united as one.”

Starsuper hovered there silently without uttering a single word in response. His eyes were locked on Lucas with his hands clenched into fists.

“You asked me whether I feel for the people who died or are about to die in this war. I do. But it is as you said, let justice be served… through heaven’s fall.”