I Hate Systems

Muscle Lantern walked through the streets of the district he was responsible for, in civilian clothes after a long time had passed, 'Even if this is a backward place, it had developed a lot in the past few years.'

He arrived at a toy store, staring at the counter to see a youth there, approaching him to ask, "Where's old man Mida?"

"Grandpa is at home now. Is something the matter, uncle?" The youth behind the counter asked.

"I'll visit his home then, thanks." Muscle Lantern exited the toy store and took a right nearby and walked to the back of the store, ascending the flight of stairs to climb three floors before arriving before a house. This house was built above the toy store, on the fourth floor since the bottom three floors belonged to the store.

Knock! Knock!

The door opened as a girl in her late teens opened it, staring at him before yelling aloud in the house, "The brute uncle is back!"

"Ooi, that's rude." The chiding voice of a woman resounded in response as the girl snorted before picking up a bag to run outside, hurriedly descending the flight of stairs.

"Be careful." Muscle Lantern said upon seeing the girl rush down in a hurry, as if she were running on flat ground.

"Don't mind her, she's awakened." The voice of the chiding lady resounded politely. The owner of the voice guided him inside, "I presume you came here to see my dad?"

"Yeah, sorry to impose without prior notice." Muscle Lantern said in apology, giving the bag of fruits he had brought with him.

"Oh, you needn't be so formal." The lady said despite grabbing the bag without hesitation. She then guided him to a deeper room, opening the door to reveal the seated figure of an old man, "He's happy to have some company to talk with anyway."

"I'm not that old yet," The old man grumbled, "Back in my day, I fought alongside the Genesis Hero…"

"Yeah, yeah, you took an arrow for her. I've heard it hundreds of times." The lady rolled her eyes before walking into the kitchen, peeling the fruits to place them on a tray to serve the guest.

"What did you come here for?" Old man Mida asked, motioning for his daughter to close the room's door after she set the tray of fruits before him.

After she exited the room, his expression turned serious as he gazed at Muscle Lantern, seeing the other party take out a toy cat and place it on the table.

"This is the same as yesterday." Old man Mida muttered, closing his eyes to expand his senses.

A subtle fluctuation spread around from him and vanished. But in the senses of Muscle Lantern, he noticed a bubble surrounding the entire toy store, seething with tremendous power, but output in such a way that no one else noticed it, including old man Mida's granddaughter that had also awakened into a Hero.

'Even after retirement, he's still this powerful. Indeed, the rumours must be true. He fought the Contained Hero and survived to tell the tale.' Muscle Lantern gulped in tension, watching the cat doll catch on fumes.

"Fuu…" Old man Mida exhaled slowly, retracting his energy as he said, "Since it started to burn, this is indeed a fragment of the Contained Hero."

"So, what did you wish to ask?" Old man Mida stared at Muscle Lantern.

"Yesterday, after I retrieved my Hero Costume from its possession, right when I was about to kill it, another fragment made an appearance." Muscle Lantern said, "It resembled a humanoid dog but could casually block my punch."

"You held back?" Old man Mida asked.

"Yes, but it was still powerful enough to shatter the wall. But the humanoid dog didn't even bat an eye and caught my fist." He said, "And it said something confusing. So, I came here to ask you."

"What did it say?" Old man Mida asked.

"That the Contained Villain is the Genesis Hero's father." Muscle Lantern said, flinching upon noticing that he was in a desolate land now, surrounded by rubble as a prehistoric beast eyed him from above, intent to devour him.

A second later, he was back at the room, his body drenched with sweat, trembling in fear as he stared at the old man, 'T-That was his killing intent?'

…

"Mom, no!" A boy shouted in despair, watching a fiery monkey open its mouth and bite on his mother's head, inhaling the smoke produced from the flames vaporising her head.

The scene was desolate, with rubble everywhere, painted with blood of people in numerous locations. Limbs were strewn across the floor, half eaten, with burn marks everywhere. It was apparent that the fiery monkey had embarked on a feast.

"My mother!" The boy bit into his lips in anger and despair, but a second later, the moment the fiery monkey glanced his way, fear washed over him, overwhelming all other emotions. He stood there, numb, recalling the grotesque deaths of the people around him that had been slaughtered by the fiery monkey.

Kuka-kuku-koo!

The fiery monkey stopped eating the lady's body, throwing her half-eaten legs aside before rushing at the boy.

In fear, he resigned himself to his fate, unable to react, watching the fiery monkey appear right before him, about to devour him when suddenly, a leg slammed into its face, sending it flying away.

A figure donned in a gaudy suit, alternating bright golden and magenta arrived, standing before him to glare at the fiery monkey in anger. It was a woman that only seemed a few years older than him, but sported mature eyes.

She stared at him, "Are you alright?"

"I am…" The boy regained his senses before breaking down, "But my mom…"

"This isn't the time to mourn," The lady said, holding his head in close up as she stared at his eyes, "Your name?"

"Mida." The boy replied.

"You have power in you, Mida." The lady said, "The power to save this world from these otherworldly beings."

"I do?" Mida wiped his tears and stared firmly.

"Seek out the power in you with all your might and it will answer your call." She spoke before engaging in a battle with the fiery monkey, gradually losing ground.

"No…" At the sight, Mida growled in rage and thumped his chest violently, suddenly hearing his heartbeat reverberate aloud in his surroundings as intense power filled his being. Followed by a war cry, he leaped at the fiery monkey, unleashing a domain as suddenly, smoke gushed out of the fiery monkey before it began to writhe in pain.

Taking the opportunity, the lady condensed an energy blade and sewered the fiery monkey into two, collapsing in exhaustion soon after, panting as she said, "See that smoke? Its appearance is the sign of an otherworldly being. Our power rejects anything that isn't a product of our world."

"Remember it well, Mida."

…

Old man Mida grabbed the toy cat, watching it burn in a matter of seconds and vaporise, uttering coldly as he glared at Muscle Lantern, "Contained Villain is the Genesis Hero's father? What rubbish!"

"That thing isn't even from our world."