Villain's Rising

"Ayo, long time no see, friend!"

Without any warning, Scarlet Vampire, who was standing just a few steps away from the crash, rushed at Sam.

Her speed was impossible to follow with human eyes. Her eyes glowed red, and crimson red energy gushed out of her fingertips.

The red energy turned into sharp razor-like nails– turning her hand into a claw.

Without any hesitation, Scarlet Vampire swung her claw at Sam's neck, intending to chop his head off.

Sam, who had already sensed this attack coming, transformed his right arm into a long blade and parried the incoming attack.

-Cling!

A loud metal clashing sound throughout the area. Seeing this, Anthony activated his Heat Vision to join the battle.

Two pairs of brilliant lasers shot at Sam with speed comparable to light.

But the pair of lasers couldn't even touch Sam as an invisible wall manifested right in front of him.

"Hruuuuha!" What rang throughout the world then was a loud deafening roar of an infuriated beast.

It was Liberty. She had turned into a giant ferocious beat. She was now almost 2 meters tall with large ripped muscles and rough, cracked skin.

"Hruuuuha!" She roared again and shot at Sam, breaking the sound barrier with her speed.

-BOOM!

In an instant, she appeared in front of Sam, raised her arms up, and threw two giant fists down on Sam with the intention of crushing him.

Sam simply grabbed Scarlet Vampire with his free arm and threw her at Liberty like a rag doll.

Liberty called off her attack and caught Scarlet Vampire with both her hands.

That was a blunder Sam wanted her to make. Without wasting a second, he thrust his arm blade forward and pierced Liberty's right leg.

"Aruuughhaa!" Liberty broke out in a pained scream before hopping a few feets away from Sam.

Sam, with no intention of letting them get away, willed his strength into his legs to rush at them.

-BANG!

But before he could do so, a loud bang sound reverberated, and a bright golden light flashed in Sam's peripheral vision.

-Swoosh!

Before he could react to the light, a bullet whipped through the air before drilling through Sam's temple.

"Bull's eye!" Deadeye spoke with a victorious smile. He was standing on the roof of the tallest building in the area.

Not only did the height of the building grant him a clear line of sight, but he was also very, very far away from Sam's reach.

In his hand was a golden sniper rifle that he used to snipe Sam. Golden smoke was still coming out of the gun's barrel.

Sam bent to his side due to the force of the bullet that pierced his head but soon regained his footing.

He turned his head to the side where the bullet came from. He saw a man in an Italian suit standing on the roof of a tall building, looking down at him and showing him a middle finger.

"Take care of him," Sam murmured before directing his attention to Liberty and Scarlet Vampire again.

However, both Scarlet Vampire and Liberty were nowhere in sight. Sam frowned, but before he could think of anything, a balled fist landed on the side of his face with the force of a moving train.

The force was enough to send Sam flying a few meters to the side.

"Arghh," groaning irritatedly, Sam instantly got on his feet and faced the person who had punched him. It was, of course, Anthony.

"Where's your attention, friend?" Anthony gritted a smile before his body lifted off the ground, and like a bullet, he shot at Sam.

He pulled back his arm and balled his fist again, only to throw a straight at Sam with a strength capable of shattering mountains.

Sam didn't back down. Instead, he activated [Neither Manipulation] and strengthened his body to an inhumane level before parrying the attack with his fist.

-BOOM!

A loud shockwave rose as the Progenitor, and the son of the strongest Superhero clashed in a fierce exchange of blows.

-BOOM!

-BOOM!

-BOOM!

One after another, Anthony and Sam kept throwing punches to overpower one another.

But before their exchange of blows could lead to a result, a huge boulder shot at Sam from his left out of nowhere.

Sam, aware of the boulder nearing him from his left, ducked and dodged the punch from Anthony before crushing the incoming boulder with an invisible force.

However, that one moment of distraction was what Anthony needed. He thrashed his knee forward and hit Sam directly in the face.

The hit was fierce enough to send Sam back flying again. But this time, Sam reacted quickly and performed a backflip in mid-air before landing on his feet.

-BAM!

As soon as his feet touched the ground, a kick landed on the side of his face with incredible force and bent him sideways to his left.

It was a woman– a hero. She capitalized the chance and landed a hit on Sam.

Sam didn't lose his focus and grabbed the leg before twisting it with his bare hand– crushing it in a second.

"Arghhhhh!" The girl screamed in pain but not for long. Sam activated his ability, and his eyes glowed violet before the girl's breathing stopped, and she fell to the ground– lifeless.

Seizing the chance, Anthony rushed him and shrunk the distance between him and Sam before landing a roundhouse kick on the side of Sam's sternum.

Sam was sent flying again before his body skidded on the ground like a stone to a lake and came to a halt after crashing into a nearby building wall.

He couldn't even get himself back up before a blazing fire javelin hit him dead in the chest– gaping a deep wound.

The javelin blazed brighter before blasting and exploding into flames.

-KABOOM!

A loud explosion akin to a TNT erupted and engulfed the surrounding area in bright, dazzling red flames.

The dealer of that attack was a man– a hero. He stretched his arm, and another spear made purely of fire manifested in his hand.

Everyone present there looked at the scene in awe. Hoping that was enough to put down the Progenitor.

But of course, that wasn't nearly enough to let them escape their fate.

When the dust settled, Sam was seen standing there calmly. His chest, where the spear hit him, had already healed due to his excellent regeneration.

His clothes were set ablaze, but he paid it no attention. With a cold, unyielding expression, he looked at the dozens of heroes standing before him– ready to slay him.

"Heh," Sam's lips curled into a smirk. "You think if you unite, you will escape your fate– escape me? No, fate, much like me, comes for all."

The man with the fire spear in his hand pulled back his arm, and several other heroes readied their abilities.

But before any of them could unleash their strength on their foe, several small, bright suns appeared in the blue sky.

Noticing the change through their peripheral vision, they all looked up only to see a few people— no, a few demons hovering over them in the sky.

Their skin dark, eyes glowing red as if set on fire, and flames clustering in front of their mouths to make massive fireballs.

The looks of fear, panic, and disparity took over their expressions as the heroes realized what was about to happen.

Just then, one of the Sentries came forward and created a large blue translucent dome enveloping everyone in a protective barrier.

Anthony, without caring for himself, shot up at the demons in hopes of neutralizing them before they could deal any damage.

His hopes were crushed as he sensed someone coming at him.

It was Sam. He had two bat-like wings coming out of his back as he neared Anthony to confront him in mid-air.

Anthony clicked his tongue and pulled back his fist. However, he felt an invisible force grabbing his hand in place.

Even as Sam closed in, he couldn't free his hand to hit him. He was defenseless!

The poor flaxen-haired boy could only widen his eyes before Sam landed a solid straight right between his eyes.

That wasn't the end of the assault. Sam gripped Anthony by his hand, turned, and tossed him with an inhumane strength– performing a perfect shoulder toss.

-BAM

Anthony lost his flight and balance before crashing to the ground and creating a big crater.

"Arghh!" groaning, he got back to his feet slowly and looked up at Sam.

Sam shot him a smirk and complacently spoke, "Their deaths are on your hand."

As if waiting for that cue, the fireballs hovering in front of Demons' mouths burst out into several majestic Heat Beams and rained down on the heroes.

The dome created by the Sentry couldn't hold for long before it shattered like a piece of glass under pressure.

The whole scene looked like it was taken out of some kind of judgment prophecy. Several pillars of fire connected the heavens to Earth– claiming the lives of countless heroes.

"N-No…." Anthony muttered as he witnessed the one-sided massacre. But his despair turned into fury. He clenched his hands and gritted his teeth. "Damn you!"