True Prologue (2) | Green Rider Hero and Fog Monster

The white-haired woman stared in awe at her savior on the motorcycle, her heart still pounding from the terror of her near-death clutch of the fog-man. She couldn't help but become mesmerized by the appearance of this... armored rider hero.

She had never seen such an odd yet striking hero costume...!

Her savior wore a sleek, futuristic helmet that shimmered under the streetlights. The vibrant green surface was adorned with two large, red, compound eye-like visors, giving it an insect-like appearance that seemed almost... alive. The bug's eye-like visors even glowed, adding to his intimidating and powerful presence. Sharp, angular antennae extended from the top of his helmet, adding to its distinctive bug-like look.

His entire hero costume... no, his entire hero armor matched the helmet's futuristic and sleek style—a green, metallic upper-torso armor with symmetrical arm guards, square-like pauldron shoulder guards, and leg guards.

His armor seemingly designed for agility, yet didn't sacrifice defense. The vibrant green of the armor was accented with metallic silver and red lines, creating a cohesive and striking appearance.

Around the neck of his armor was a white, neck-long scarf, flowing naturally behind him, almost blending into the breeze. Although it seemed out of place against his futuristic armor, it also felt strangely... natural... as if it belonged there.

Underneath the armor, he wore a form-fitting, dark gray almost black suit that clung to his lean yet muscular frame, hinting at both agility and power.

Even his powerful-looking motorcycle bore the same green futuristic design as his armor, creating a seamless visual connection between the hero and his machine.

As he dismounted from his ride... her eyes were drawn to a strange and yet prominent device on his midsection... or in his case, his hero's belt.

A sleek, futuristic white apparatus. It featured an elongated, hexagonal black display screen in the middle of it. It had black triggers on both upper corners of the apparatus and... protruding block-like objects? They looked as if those blocks were plug-like objects that the hero had inserted into the device...

But, the most eye-catching part of her hero's odd apparatus... was on the hexagonal screen of it. It was displaying two symbols that glowed brightly alongside each other: a green bug-like creature symbol occupied the left pane, and on the right pane, a dark gray letter 'M' was displayed, both side by side in perfect symmetry.

She couldn't help but wonder what the purpose of this device on his belt was. It was such a prominent-looking piece that it felt like it was the most important part of his hero costume. Was this one of those hero gears that a few pro-heroes were using to help with their quirk?

Her reverie was broken when she realized that this hero was approaching her. She was still lying on the asphalt ground after surviving the clutch of the fog-villain, thanks to this armored rider hero. The fog-villain himself was sprawled on the ground, groaning in pain, having been struck by the armored rider hero's motorcycle.

But, unlike the fog-villain, his presence didn't incite fear... instead, his presence invoked the sense of safety that she was quite familiar with...

The presence of a hero.

"You okay, lady?" her hero asked, concern evident in his tone as he offered her his hand. She was stunned, staring at his armored glove with wonder and curiosity as she pondered who this hero was.

She could at least tell that the hero was a young man from the tone of his youthful voice. However, she had never seen or heard of a hero like him, so she thought that maybe her hero was newly debuted.

After all... his appearance was so unique that there was no way anyone could have missed him. Especially with the motorcycle he had been using to go around fighting villains... it would have also become a prominent characteristic of his!

Breaking from her deep thought, the white-haired woman eventually took his offered hand, allowing him to help her to her feet.

"T-thank you..."

"No problem~," he replied casually.

Unfortunately, their moment of respite was cut short as the masked hero looked back toward the fog-villain he had sent flying earlier. She followed his line of sight... and saw the fog-villain behaving strangely all of a sudden...!

The fog-villain was acting erratically. His body convulsed and twisted as if possessed by something. Suddenly, the convulsions stopped, and he stood up rapidly. The fog-villain hung his head low... before lifting it suddenly, rage filling his ugly visage as he glared at the armored rider hero.

Around him, an almost obscure dark aura was radiating around his body... an aura filled with malice and hatred...!

The fog-villain even directed his glare at the woman; his menacing eyes made her shriek in terror as she quickly and instinctively hid behind her savior from the fog-villain's threatening gaze.

"Damn you... I'm supposed to be the savior here..." the fog-villain cursed the masked rider hero, but the hero stood unfazed by the intense hate and rage. He confidently stood his ground, protecting the woman hiding behind him. This enraged the fog-villain even more. "Damn you... DAMN YOU...! I'M SUPPOSED TO BE THE SAVIOR HERE! I am... THE SAVIOR!!!"

The fog-villain let out a yell of rage, repeating his delusional claim of being a savior.

Then... a burst of fog erupted from his entire body! The previously clear street was quickly engulfed as the fog encircled and trapped the masked rider hero and the white-haired woman.

"Oh no...!" the woman exclaimed as she saw the familiar dreadful fog surrounding her once again. She had briefly thought she was finally free from the fog-villain's grasp when this armored rider hero came to her rescue, but it wasn't over...!

"Lady," the masked rider hero called her, breaking her out of her state of panic. She looked at his helmet's side visage and somehow... she felt reassured as she saw his apparent fearless attitude. He didn't break his line of sight from the fog-villain, but he did not show any fear, nervousness, or even hesitation.

All she found was a confident hero, ready to face the big bad villain.

"Find a safe spot."

"O-okay!" She nodded, complying with his instruction. The woman then turned around and saw a nearby lamppost, which she quickly went and hid behind it.

Meanwhile, the fog-villain continued to produce more fog by the second. The fog enveloped his whole body and then condensed into a solid form. Slowly... his entire body transformed... into a hulking white monstrosity, bulging with muscles formed by the fog...! His visage became simple yet terrifying, with bulging features that made him look more like a monster than a human.

The fog-villain... no, the fog-monster was born.

"DAMN YOU!!!" The fog-monster roared at the armored rider hero.

The white-haired woman was shocked and terrified by yet another twist of events, seeing the fog quirk user quickly transform into a monster-like entity. She had never seen such a transformation in a quirk user before. She knew and was quite familiar with quirks that turned or transformed the user into non-human forms, but never had she seen anything like this monstrosity.

Was this the fog-villain's innate quirk ability? Using his fog as a form? It could theoretically work, but it wouldn't have to be this solid-looking.

She quickly turned her attention to her hero, trying to discern what he would do now. Instead, she still found him unfazed. He stood his ground confidently, staring back at the fog-monster's deathly glare.

"Turning into an 'imajin' already, huh?" the armored rider hero muttered, using a foreign term.

"Imajin...?" the woman echoed, not knowing what her hero had just uttered. Did he just say 'majin' as in... demon...?!

"DAMN YOU!!! AAAGHHH!!!"

Unfortunately, her question would have to wait as the fog-monster began to charge at the armored rider hero! The ground shook with each monstrous step it took...!

The hero braced himself, his bug's eye-like visors locked onto the oncoming fog behemoth!

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Author Note: Check the concept art illustration of our protagonist's main form in my

P@tre0n.com/demonkingakuma

(Don't worry, it's public post that everyone could see)