A whole day passed... and now everyone knows me by names like Coward, Freak, or even Devil.They don't see me for who I really am.Back then I was just bullied.Now?I'm hated.Straight-up hated.
But the thing that creeps me out the most... is the number burned into my wrist.
I no longer have a zero.
No... now it's -1500.
What the hell does that even mean? I asked myself the first time I saw it.I've never heard of anyone with a number lower than zero.
Am I weaker than someone with zero?!That thought killed me inside, as I hid in some abandoned construction site, trying to stay away from people's eyes.
I wasn't alone.
When I first arrived, I had to cover my nose from the unbearable stench of the homeless lying around.
Am I gonna end up like them too?
...
No.
Hell no.
I had to find a way out of this.I refused to end like this.
As the sky turned dark, I closed my eyes and let sleep take me.
The next morning.
I opened my eyes...
Only to find another pair of eyes staring directly into mine.
"Morning~ hehehe!"
The jump scare nearly killed me.No sound left my mouth.I just turned around and tried to sleep again.
"This has to be a nightmare..." I mumbled.
–SLAP
"Nope! Not a dream, dumbass," the blonde girl said casually, after slapping the life outta me.
"Ow! What the hell was that for?!" I jumped again, already tired of being startled.
"That was just proof you're awake. Hehe~" she giggled, wearing a pink hoodie, blue jeans, and a face way too smug for this early in the morning.
"Couldn't you have done that more gently?"
"Nope."
"…"
Awkward silence.
"What do you want from me?" I finally asked.
"I want you," she said with a weird tone.
"Me?" I asked, raising a brow.
Then she got serious.
"To be more specific... the Villian Company wants you."
'The Villian Company?!'
The Villian Company was the sworn enemy of the Hero Company.When people first started gaining powers after the meteor, three insanely strong individuals appeared... the firsts.But after the third one died, the remaining two split paths.
One of them, Meruem, created the Villian Company.The other, Lucarion, founded the Hero Company.
They clashed.Both evenly matched - until Lucarion gained the upper hand thanks to his allies.Meruem was forced to retreat to another continent, where he began building an army.
"They want me?!" I said in disbelief.
She stayed quiet for a moment... then answered:
"Do I look like someone who lies?"
"To be hone-"She cut me off with a glare that could freeze lava.
"Nah you seems to tell the truth! " i lied....
I paused.
Could this... be my chance?My revenge on those fake-ass heroes?
"Would I be safe with the Villian Company? Would you protect me?" I asked.
"No," she said flatly.
"But we'll give you the power to protect yourself... and take revenge on everyone who wronged you."
I always wanted to be a hero...
But why should I help people who only gave me pain?People who wear the label hero while having the darkest hearts?
I looked her dead in the eye.
"…I want in."
A sly smile formed on her lips.
"Good. I'm Emma," she said, holding out her hand.
I stared at it for a moment, then shook it.
"I'm Kaiser."
"I know~" she winked.
Yeah… I instantly regretted introducing myself.
After a bit of small talk, we decided it was time to leave this cursed city.
After all, the cops and the "heroes" were after me.
"Wait... we can't just sneak out like this," she said.
"What do you mean?" I asked, eyeing my clothes.
My clothes… will people recognize me?
"Your white eyes, black hair, your weird-ass suit, and your voice you're basically screaming, 'Catch me.'"
"…"
She wasn't wrong.
If I walked into a bar like this, I'd probably get caught in five minutes.
"So what now?" I asked.
After digging around in her bag, she pulled out a strange item.
"Take this," she said proudly.
She handed me a cube. It had a skull symbol on each side.
Before I could even ask-
"It's a duplicated artifact," she said.
A… duplicated artifact?
"What the hell?"
"Relax. It's just a low-Black-tier ranked artifact."
"…A what now?"
–Sigh
"It's common where we come from. We've got tons of duplicated artifacts - ranked from Low-Black, to Mid-Black, to Upper-Black Tier. But this ain't the time for a lesson."
"Come on. We're leaving," she said, already walking.