chapter 5

The hero rushed through the narrow darkness, into the suffocating presence of rotten odors and lack of light. In front of him, a villain fled for his life, his stamina already depleting bit by bit - chased for the crime of several kidnappings and abductions along with theft. He was a mutant, one bearing the features of a grasshopper be its head, arms, or legs.

Like a grasshopper, he possessed the power to leap great distances, but at the cost of great stamina. Currently, at most thrice a day was his limit, any more will lead to immediate collapse, a weakness his pursuer was exploiting at this very moment.

The Hero was catching up with the villain in the darkness, ready to run him down like a bull and bring him to justice. Accelerating his momentum, he swiftly closed enough distance to throw a right hook, striking the villain's skull to the point of instant knockout.

"Ack?!"

Squawking, the cricket villain tumbled in somersaults, crashing into the garbage cans in the darkness and immobilized.

"Your crime spree has ended, villain."

The hero declared. As he reached for the phone in his back pocket, a voice halted him in his tracks.

"Yo."

The sudden voice emerging out of the seemingly unending blackness set the Hero instantly on edge, their eyes darting back and forth around the surroundings.

"So, you're a hero, huh? Must say, you look… quite meaty. As meaty as Darkshine. How strong are you?" The voice in the darkness queried, the sound echoing from everywhere as if he was a haunting phantom.

A chill passed over the Hero. He couldn't see anyone around him. But the feeling of being watched never left him.

"Hmmm, bullhorns? You part bull?"

The hero felt something touching his horns on his head, a few casual flicks on the hard bone, along with something weighing around his left shoulder.

Whipping his head around, the Hero was immediately confronted by a scene he did not expect. Squatting on one of his shoulders was a lithe man, his visage dimmed by shadow, but his features still discernable despite the lack of light. A mix of confusion and suspicion immediately overtook the Hero.

"Say, is your bodily condition natal?" The figure asked, flashing his pearly white teeth with a ferocious grin shining in the shadow.

The Hero could feel the sweat begin to trickle down his forehead, leaving wet trails behind. Egged from stress and instinctual fear, The Bull Hero attempted to shake the man off his shoulder, only for the said man to leap from his roost, landing in front of his eyes. He barely made any noise at all as he perched down, only the woosh of the parting air even indicating the impossibly soundless landing.

"You… another villain?"

Clenching both of his weighty fists, the Hero kept his eyes firmly locked on the sinister figure before him. Judging by his sudden appearance and demeanor, the red-haired man must not have come for any reason other than violence. But there was something about him that set his instincts blaring, a dark foreboding sense of danger that must be stopped or else unspeakable danger will unfold.

"You can say that — the name's Garou. I had a few titles, but I prefer either the Human Monster or the Hero Hunter. Maybe the latter. So, you ready to be my first victim?"

That answer was more than enough to spur him into combat.

Tensing up, the Hero twisted his body and cocked back his right. Every one of his Quirk-enhanced muscles bulged and swelled as he wound himself up.

"Oh, and don't bother calling your friends."

Lifting his hand, The Hero could see…

"What?"

Since when did he take his phone? The hero paused his windup, patting his back pocket with his other his surprise; he felt an empty spot where his phone should have been.

"Don't worry. You'll get it back. After I break you." Garou smiled before throwing the phone away behind him, letting it clatter the hard concrete.

"Come at me. You'll be seeing a lot more red once I'm done with you."

Gritting his teeth, the Hero glared at the figure before him. His fear now seemed to be mixed with vengeful anger, showing itself in his narrowed glare.

"So you're here to free your comrade, huh?"

With one thumb, the bullish-hero gestured over towards the knocked out villain, still twitching from the sheer impact of his punch. If this new villain would not attack instantly, then perhaps he could be coerced into revealing more information.

"The hell is he?"

The newcomer peeked at the cricket man, only to tilt his head in confusion. As for said cricket man, the villain stirred in his unconsciousness, groaning in pain as he slowly picked himself up.

"Don't you play dumb. Why else are you here if not for him? Which gang are you from?"

Taking a step towards the villain, the Bull Hero spat out at him. This guy had to be a part of some villain gang or organization. But then again, there was something about this guy...

"No, seriously. Don't know him or any gangs here."

Garou shrugged, before entering his stance, knees bent and arms angled in a predatory design - one that radiated experience and skill, a feeling so different it felt almost… alien compared to those of the usual ilk.

"Show me what you got."

The taunting was enough. With a cry of effort, the Hero took another step towards the villain, just close enough - twisting his body now in the opposite direction, his balled fist shot out; beads of sweat dripped from his forehead, as he poured all of his strength into it.

CRACK*

In response, Garou's fist swiftly met his, the result the opposite of The Bull Hero expectations. The bones in his fist shattered, while the shoulder of his right popped out of its socket with a sickening crack.

"AUUUUGGGRRRHH!"

The Hero recoiled in pain, holding his now-shattered hand up in the air, his fingers currently twisted at unnatural angles, with the skin pulpy and riddled with contusions.

"What the hell? That it?" Garou asked, his surprise evident by his rapid blinking eyes.

Clenching his other fist, the Hero began to pant heavily. His eyes shifted from his broken hand over to the villain.

"I expected a fight with a Quirk like yours. Don't you have super strength or something?"

Judging from his tone, The Bull Hero could tell he felt as if he was cheated of his promised fair game.

"I'm not… argh… done yet. I still… haaah…."

"Let's see."

In a split second, with an immense impact of which flinches the mind of those that heard the sound, Garou's fist was lodged within The Bull Hero's chest, deep through bone and squishing the lungs behind the ribs.

The result, The Hero vomited blood as darkness consumed his vision, the whites appearing in his eyes before he fell to his knees with a heavy thud.

"Yeah, we're done. Congratulations. You've completed and utterly wasted my time." Garou sneered before dislodging his hand from his victim's chest, leaving him alive but barely.

Garou turned around, refusing to give him another glance even as the rest of him fell face flat to the floor.

"Don't tell me other heroes are this weak?" Garou muttered. His hunt had just begun, but his start was anticlimactic; so much so, Garou felt like demanding his first victim to refund his wasted time.

As for the criminal, he slowly picked himself to his feet, eyeing his supposed savior with a sense of awe.

"Whoa. Thanks, man. That was awesome, taking down-"

Before the villain could speak another word, his face slammed to the wall toot sweet with overwhelming force, his consciousness giving in as his face intimately engaged the stone.

"Trash."

Garou turned and walked away after disposing of the villain as well. He would not allow the scum to misinterpret his actions as his duty to evil as a whole. The phone appeared at the corner of his eyes, attracting Garou's attention to the device.

Looking at the phone on the floor in his path, Garou pondered in thought. Picking it up, Garou fiddled with the device for a moment, scrying the features on the phone hoping to acquire the contact numbers of heroes for future use.

"What's this?" Garou, however, found something like a map blinking green on the screen - a radar of sorts, evident by the lime yellow concentric rings and the red arrow indicating the position of the holder.

'I heard of heroes back home using these to call for backup. I wonder…'

Perusing the number of buttons available to him, Garou found the Emergency button. A wicked idea coursed through his mind as he weighed his current choices.

One, he could fight an angry mob of heroes regardless of the risk. Or two, pick them off one by one. The second choice was indeed safer, but, considering how weak the hero behind him was, he decided to test the waters. Also, what better way to spread his infamy than a pile of broken bodies in the middle of the streets?

The image of the macabre scene alone made Garou smile ever more. He might need the body behind him as an… incentive. Or two for more impact.