Chapter 1: Prologue part 1

In a beautiful and lush mountain on the outskirts of a prosperous city, filled with nature and small, curious animals, where it was common to go on small excursions, weekend picnics, camping, and other recreational activities, an unexpected tragedy for some, but inevitable for others, unfolded, as if it were the chronicle of a death foretold.

"ALISA, RUN!!! I'LL TRY TO BUY TIME!"

In the middle of an uneven crater of burnt earth, there was a middle-aged man with black hair, tanned skin, and a robust, muscular body, who was in a terribly wounded state, practically agonizing, trying to get up from the ground with great difficulty while shouting with all his might.

The man was wearing a black shirt, burnt and torn in several places, along with short jeans that, like the shirt, were little more than rags, the color of which could not be determined as they were completely covered in blood and mud, as was much of his body.

But the most shocking aspect of the man's deplorable state was one of his feet, which was completely mangled, resembling nothing more than spoiled minced meat attached to his leg, a condition that seemed to have affected his other foot, which was burnt and covered in blood, barely shod by a destroyed black sports shoe.

Behind the man stood a young woman who, although in better condition, still appeared quite badly injured, her beautiful white summer dress torn in several places and stained with blood, which she tried to cover with her body, shielding a small boy of about five years old with a bloodied face who was unconscious.

"Hehehe, do you really think you can get out of this, Iron Palm?"

Responding to the man's desperate shout came a nasal laugh full of disdain and malice, as a slim man with simple features, silver eyes, and blue hair emerged from the bushes. He appeared to be around 40 years old, dressed in a white lab coat over a sleek black business suit, accented by a striking red tie.

As he reached secure distance from the man struggling to stand on his one functional leg, the blue-haired man put his hands in the pockets of his lab coat, adopting a relaxed posture with a mocking smile on his lips.

Following the blue-haired man, fifteen individuals of various heights and builds, dressed in black robes that covered their entire bodies and wearing identical white oni masks on their faces, emerged from the bushes and stood around him like loyal followers.

The man, also known as Iron Palm, managed to stand up, clenching his teeth so hard that one could hear the small cracking sounds. He glared at the blue-haired man, his eyes practically bloodshot, radiating boundless hatred and murderous intent.

Iron Palm's mind was on the verge of madness, not only due to the immense shock of the situation and the precarious condition of his wife and son while a lowlife villain mocked the scene, but because he knew who this man was, and his presence was only a harbinger of something he did not want to face.

The blue-haired man was a crazy bastard known as BioBlast, a villain captured in a joint raid carried out by several heroes just over a month ago, primarily thanks to information Iron Palm had obtained after capturing some villains who were attempting to rob a convenience store with a very problematic weapon that fired a ray which, upon contact with a person, petrified them.

Although the robbers were labeled as villains, they were nothing more than a couple of idiots who had taken a weapon one of their brothers had hidden and decided to make easy money by robbing a few stores. However, the fact that said brother had such a weapon was a sign that something bigger was happening.

Following the lead on the weapon, Iron Palm quickly discovered that this 'brother' was a former talented genetics student who was expelled from the university under suspicious circumstances involving thesis plagiarism. Afterward, he disappeared from the public eye and could only be seen on rare occasions at his parents' house.

After tracking this brother, Iron Palm learned that he was employed at a clandestine laboratory conducting human experimentation, run by that bastard BioBlast. Curiously, the fact that he had that weapon had nothing to do with the lab; it was a personal project based on his quirk.

Once Iron Palm gathered enough information about the heavily guarded lab, he decided to request support from other hero agencies. Together with the police, they managed to dismantle the lab, capture all participants, and free the victims, thus closing the case.

Due to the success of the case, Iron Palm decided to make up to his family for the months he spent buried in work. To celebrate, he took a short vacation with his family to camp in the woods for a few days. But to his absolute disbelief, here was that blue-haired bastard, who caught him by surprise, inflicting a mortal wound that ended up injuring his wife and son.

"How the hell did you get out of Tartarus, bastard…"

"Ooh, ooh, ooh, the perfect Iron Palm is cursing, what should I do? I think I broke the great 'Hero', hahaha."

In response to the words full of hate, spoken with difficulty by Iron Palm, BioBlast only laughed sarcastically, while the fifteen people around him stood still as statues, almost like mannequins and not real people.

"Answer the damn question, son of a bitch."

"Hahaha, this is so funny, you know. After all the mess you created, destroying the beautiful lab that took me so long to build, it's really refreshing to see you like this, agonizing like a dog. It was definitely worth delaying my departure to deal with you."

"…"

BioBlast spoke in his nasal voice, full of arrogance, delighting in Iron Palm's state. Iron Palm remained silent, his fists clenched, filled with rage and intent, which only increased the blue-haired man's delight as he continued to speak casually.

"And well, I never actually needed to escape from Tartarus because I was never there. Hehe, you see, in my line of work, you eventually end up with very powerful clients who, with just one word, can make the authorities turn a blind eye long enough for one of my useful subordinates to take my place. So, it's just a matter of calling in a few favors, and voilà, the one and only BioBlast is ready for action."

"…"

BioBlast's words visibly soured Iron Palm's expression. Although he had suspected it, hearing the direct confession that confirmed his suspicions was harder to accept than he had anticipated. This put a distorted and crazed expression on the blue-haired man, who continued speaking.

"What's with that face? Shocked by the reality of this world? Hahaha, THAT'S WHY I HATE YOU 'HEROES'. YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A BUNCH OF CLOWNS IN TIGHT SUITS GOING AROUND SCREWING OVER TRUE SOCIAL BENEFACTORS LIKE ME!!! I IMPROVE THIS SOCIETY WITH EVERY ADVANCE IN MY RESEARCH. I ENHANCE QUIRKS BEYOND WHAT WAS THOUGHT POSSIBLE, AND THANKS TO A PATHETIC EXCUSE OF A 'HERO' LIKE YOU, I LOST YEARS OF WORK AND PROGRESS, I LOST ALL MY NOTES, MY…"

Taking advantage of BioBlast's erratic rant, punctuated by wild gestures to emphasize his words, Iron Palm began to analyze his situation, searching for possible actions to take. He put on different expressions to play along with the egocentric bastard, aiming to buy as much time as possible.

In his current situation, Iron Palm knew that fighting wasn't an option. Not only was he outnumbered and in a terrible physical state, but the fact that Alisa hadn't moved after his shout could only mean one thing: she couldn't move. This left him tied up and almost without options.

On the other hand, calling for reinforcements was impossible. Although the attack that left him in this dire state was a type of explosion, the sound was surprisingly low, and being relatively deep in the forest didn't help. Moreover, if that bastard had dared to show up, it meant that, at a minimum, there was no one close enough to hear anything.

Additionally, his phone had been destroyed by the explosion, and Alisa's phone had most likely flown away along with the tent, which was nowhere in sight after she ran to protect Kai when everything happened.

This left only one last option: to prepare a strike strong enough to at least stun the bastards in front of him for a while, while also making enough noise for someone to suspect that something was happening and call for help.

(!!!!!!!)

While Iron Palm was contemplating his options, he suddenly felt a brief change in his emotions, undoubtedly a message sent by his wife Alisa using her quirk, as he felt his anger subside and sensed a couple of emotions impossible to feel in a moment like this, which were also incredibly fleeting.

Focusing on the emotions, Iron Palm noticed they came in pairs: security and lust in the first pair, quickly followed by sadness and helplessness. This gave him very important information. Firstly, Alisa was conscious and could still use her quirk. Assuming that the first pair of security and lust was to confirm it was her, the second pair confirmed his suspicions: she was not in a condition to move.

Consequently, Iron Palm decided to use all his mental strength to change his emotions without altering the expression of anger and helplessness he was showing to the crazy bastard who was still giving a speech, wanting to send a small secret message to his wife. With that, his plan of action was ready.