This story is being written under the assumption that you're familiar with the Villain To Kill webnovel, so if you're entirely clueless, I highly recommend checking it out as I won't be detailing absolutely everything as some terms will remain unexplained as I assume you already should know about them.
In any case, I hope you enjoy the first chapter.
____________
"I-I give up, please... s-spare me!"
"Begging for mercy? How pathetic."
At the current time, in what looked to be an abandoned section of a large city, a certain 'event' was currently underway. As for the specific location, it looked to be on the roof of a large building in terms of overall surface area as opposed to height, though the building certainly wasn't lacking in terms of height.
It was at least eight or so stories tall.
There were a number of individuals who were all either sitting or standing, but were all no doubt looking towards the center where the main 'attraction' was being held. There were those who watched with indifference, interest, and also fear.
As for the main individuals, there were two.
The first was a muscular shirtless male with countless tattoos all over their body, and this person was currently on the ground shaking like a leaf in a violent storm. His eyes shrunken in fear, and his face twisted to match his emotions.
As for why?
That answer came in the form of the person standing and looking down at him, though considering their appearance, the only thing that could identify them as a person really was their humanoid form that was no different to that of an adult male with a compact and defined muscular physique.
As for the rest, it could only be described as inhuman.
The male's body was covered in a strange white substance that formed a bodysuit of sorts around his entire body from head to toe, the only exceptions were his face that was black along with the large spider-shaped pattern on the front of his body.
Although he possessed no visible mouth of any sort, the pair of sharp glowing red eyes was enough to strike unbelievable fear into the defeated male that was now pushing himself against the ground in an attempt to make distance between himself and the one in front of him.
"You're a Villain, aren't you? Show some backbone." A calm yet disdainful voice came out of the human-like figure. "After I took over here, like the others who tried, you want to overrule my decision for banning senseless killing. Since that's the case, you yourself should be prepared to die."
"Wait... I-I'm sorry, I was wrong. W-We should hav-!"
"Shut your mouth." The humanoid figure promptly shut the male's mouth by using his clawed hands to grip around the person's mouth, forcing them to desperately breath through their nose. "I'll give you a chance, whether you die or not is entirely dependent on you."
With no effort whatsoever, the humanoid figure held the male up from the ground and high into the air. The kicking and struggling that the person displayed had no effect on the humanoid individual, only serving as a means to exhaust himself.
"Stop struggling, you'll need your energy soon enough." With a hint of amusement in his tone, the humanoid reeled his arm back along with the person who he was holding on to. "Although unlikely, it's not impossible for even the weakest Villain or Psyker. Congrats... if you survive."
Ignoring the muffled scream, the humanoid figure performed a powerful throw that created a small but powerful gust of wind. The other male was sent flying through the air like a bullet, shooting through the air towards some unknown area of this abandoned city section.
The one responsible watched indifferently with crossed arms, a number of those around him staring at him with hints of fear, though those who did were among the minority. As for the others, it was respect.
"Would you like someone to check the result, boss?"
"That's unnecessary." With a shake of his head, the humanoid responded nonchalantly to the person who spoke to him. "If he returns and causes more trouble then I'll show no mercy. If he disappears or has died, he's no longer my business."
Speaking of the person who had come up to talk to him, it was a young male with fairly pale skin and a head of black hair and pale green bangs that matched his eyes. As for clothing, it was fairy simple and consisted of a simple light-grey long-sleeve shirt underneath a black leather jacket, a pair of baggy black pants, and black boots.
As for accessories, he had a black leather wrist-band with spikes on his left wrist and also a black face mask that covered only his nose and mouth. Finally, there were a number of silver chain-necklaces hanging around his neck.
This individual was Pan Kyung, and one of the two closest people here amongst the group to the white suit wearing humanoid.
"Has Poseidon returned yet?"
"Not quite yet." The green-haired male responded as he took out his phone from his pocket to check something. "He's most likely still back in the city restocking our supplies. Do you need me to call for him?"
"No need, I was just curious." With casual movements, the humanoid began to walk away. "Actually, see if he needs any assistance. We're running lower on supplies than I expected. If he needs, send a few others to assist him."
"Understood. What about you? Going on a hunt?"
"Yeah, you take control of everything until I return."
Without waiting for a response, he quickly began running instead of walking, running at incredible speeds towards the edge of the building. Before he reached the very end, from both of his wrists or palms, he fired a thick strand from either hand made of the same substance that his bodysuit was made of.
Using them like ropes, with his inhuman strength, used them to pull himself forwards with incredible force as he was soon sent flying up into the air before he began diving down from the building at high speeds.
Whatever happened afterwards was unknown to anyone who witnessed this, and the idea of the fall killing the person never crossed their minds. A fall from an eight story or so building? At most, it'd be a bit of a headache.
"The boss is as scary as ever..."
"Think anyone else will challenge him?"
"You kidding me? No one in their right mind wants to get on Symbiote's bad side."
____________
The one known as Symbiote was currently speeding his way through the city, no longer in the abandoned section, but within the very much lively and active areas. Swinging from building to building using tendrils made from the same substance as his suit.
Occasionally, he'd propel himself forwards by using two fired tendrils that he'd pull hard on to boost himself forwards. Repeating such motions through the air, he was able to cover a lot of ground in record time.
Even so...
'I spent way too long dealing with that guy, I should've just finished it quickly.' Was the annoyed thought that passed through Symbiote's head. 'The Bounty is about to begin and I haven't even located the target.'
While still swinging, Symbiote waved his hand in front of him as a holographic screen popped up in front of his face. Despite still being in movement, the screen followed perfectly along with him through the air.
-
[Bounty Hunter System]
➣ Status
➣ Lottery Wheel
➣ Daily Bounties [Available: 0/3]
➣ Active Bounties [Completed: 8 | Ongoing: 1]
-
Wasting no time, Symbiote tapped his finger onto the last available option, to which a new screen was soon displayed to him next to the existing menu screen that he had just brought up.
-
[Active Bounties (Completed: 8 | Ongoing: 1)]
Ongoing:
➣ Blaster - [Estimated Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆] [More Details]
Completed:
➣ Stun Man - [Estimated Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆] [More Details]
➣ Steel Crusher - [Estimated Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆] [More Details]
➣ ...
-
As can be seen from this screen, it was a simple log of all the bounties he had taken down and was in the middle of taking down. From the looks of things, Symbiote currently only had one bounty to complete for the day.
Although there really wasn't any true purpose, at least none he'd found so far, for having a log of completed bounties aside from glory sake, it was there. For right now, the important one was the current ongoing bounty.
-
[Bounty Target File]
➣ Target: Blaster (Photo)
➣ Estimated Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆
➣ Location: Gadam Shopping District (Time: 6 - 8 PM)
➣ Description: A depraved individual who adores explosions and gore, having a sadistic thrill for his gruesome hobbies. Has the ability to create bombs on the fly, either as traps or to directly wrap around people.
➣ Reward(s): [20 Prestige] [15 Credits]
-
This was the information he had on his current target, and of course, he had done some of his own research to see if there was any other pieces of info he could obtain aside from just what the system provided him.
The most important points were covered by the system, so everything he found online and such was more just overall public image and reputation. In Blaster's case, he was a crazed murderer who had taken over a hundred lives and had only recently been smuggled into Korea.
Closing down the system, Symbiote quickly returned a section of the bodysuit on his leg back to normal as he fished out his phone from his pocket, quickly checking the time as he landed on the edge of one of the taller buildings.
'It's almost seven, that means the guy has already been around for almost an hour here.' Clicking his tongue, Symbiote pocketed his phone as the area where his pocket was, was once again hidden back underneath the bodysuit. "This is a pain..."
Although the bounty file gave him a general area, it didn't give him anything truly specific. Meaning, he'd have to try and locate Blaster's specific location on his own, which who knows how long that might take.
"What do I-!"
Symbiote was interrupted by a loud explosion as his head immediately looked to the side, where he could now see a large burning building in the distance. Even from his current position, he could hear the screams of fear of the people in that direction.
"Guess I know where Blaster is..."
Without hesitation, Symbiote dropped off the roof and quickly began swinging his way to where the explosion was. Running along the sides of the buildings, swinging, and propelling himself through the air to do so.
____________
Inside of the burning shopping mall, a number of individuals could be seen present. Two of them looked to be a mother and her child, nothing too special, but the remaining two individuals certainly were.
The first was a male with spiky black hair who was also wearing a majority black, the minor exception being the clawed gauntlets that had blue accent lining them. There were also a set of symmetrical black tattoos of sorts on either side of his face.
As for the second male, they had seen better days.
Not much could be made out right now, and the reason being was that they were currently seemingly unconscious in a pile of rubble on the ground as the former male looked down at the limp form of his most recent opponent.
Due to the assailant now unconscious, the bombs that had been placed around the area, including the ones that had been strapped onto the mother, had now all disappeared and any danger that came along with them went as well.
[Do you feel okay?] A voice belonging to a strange black wisp-like entity with a single large eye sounded beside Cassian, the name of the black-clothed individual. [That blast from earlier...]
"...I'm fine." Cassian reassured, though his tone was a little unconvincing. Shaking his head with a big sigh, Cassian glanced at Moros, the name of the wisp-like being. "We should take care of the hostages first."
As Cassian turned and walked towards where the mother and child were still tied up to a set of chairs, he could only stop and look at them helplessly as they looked up at him with eyes filled with unrestrained fear.
He couldn't blame them though, he was a Villain.
Due to the nature of Villains across the entire world, it was only natural that the first instinct civilians felt towards them was fear. Even if he had just saved them from that maniac, a Villain was still a Villain in their eyes.
[Cassian!]
The male in question heard Moros's yell and quickly turned his head, and almost instantly, he got into a defensive position as he saw a figure standing calmly in the broken wall he created when he first attacked Blaster.
Although humanoid in shape, the figure was anything but from appearance alone. Cassian wasn't shaken by that fact though, Villain's came in all sorts of different clothing styles depending on what said Villain chooses.
Villain's couldn't completely change their physical appearance to something else entirely, but could do so to a certain degree, especially when it came to clothing. Villains also all typically possessed some kind of mark to signify their status, Cassian's face marks for example.
However, looking at the figure in front of him, Cassian felt uneasy.
This individual's choice of 'clothing', if you could even call it that, was beyond bizarre. It was intimidating, even so despite lacking a visible mouth, which made him wonder how the person could breathe seeing as there didn't seem to be any kind of opening for air.
"Who are you?!"
Cassian demanded in a threatening tone, his stance guarded as the figure in the broken wall simply stared quietly at him with those red eyes. He was the type to typically jump in to attack, but his instincts were holding him back.
[Cassian, be careful] Moros warned seriously. [Something about them isn't right...]
"You don't have to tell me..."
"Seeing as you're the only one here, am I safe to assume you saved the civilians? Good work, wasn't expecting that from a Villain, it's pretty rare." A casual yet firm voice finally sounded from the figure. "You have my thanks for doing the heavy lifting. You can leave Blaster to me now."
"He's already been dealt with." Cassian responded as he glanced at the unconscious Villain not too far away from them. "You can just leave it to the Psykers to arrest him once they arrive, he won't be waking up any time soon."
"Indeed he won't be." Symbiote spoke casually as he looked at Blaster's unconscious form. "As for the Psykers, I'm afraid they won't be doing any arresting today."
"What do you mean?" Cassian narrowed his eyes as his body tensed. "Are you with him?"
"Don't get me wrong, we're not on the same side." With a shake of his head, Symbiote responded. "The Psyker's will be collecting him, that is true. However, they won't be arresting him, he's my target."
"Target...? Wha-!"
[Cassian, look out!]
Cassian was taken off guard when Symbiote seemed to disappear in a flash, appearing behind him and the hostages. Before Cassian could properly respond, Symbiote gently chopped both the mother and child on the back of their necks.
"You...!" Cassian gritted his teeth as he attempted to throw a punch, which narrowly missed as Symbiote leapt over him before landing gracefully a few meters away, having landed near Blaster's body. "What did-!"
"Calm down, I only knocked them out." Symbiote nonchalantly interrupted. "It's best they don't witness what happens next. I did it for their sake, they'll thank me if they get the chance, though I doubt it."
Symbiote casually bent down before grabbing Blaster by the top of his head, easily lifting him up. Cassian then saw Symbiote hold out his free hand, watching as the clawed hand morphed into a sharp blade.
"What are you...?"
[...!]
Both Cassian and Moros watched as with a swift motion, Symbiote used his morphed arm to slice right across Blaster's neck. It even seemed to take a second or two for the cut to register, the head separating from the body as the latter dropped to the ground limp, and a pool of blood forming beneath it.
As for the head, Symbiote casually let go of it as it too dropped and rested beside the main body. As soon as this occurred, Symbiote heard a familiar dinging sound as he glanced to see a small notification appear to him.
[Bounty Completed: Blaster (Estimated Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆)]
"With that, my hunt for the night ends."
"Why did you kill him?" Cassian demanded, although a bit shaken by the casualness of the killing, wasn't too shocked as he looked at Symbiote with a critical look in his eyes. "I already apprehended him, killing wasn't necessary."
"As I said, he was my target. It's as simple as that." Symbiote began walking towards the hole in the wall as he responded. "Even if he wasn't, he deserved to be put in the grave anyway. I'll leave the cleanup to the Psykers, and I'll leave those hostages to you. Good night."
"Wait...!"
Cassian wasn't able to say anything else when Symbiote performed a powerful jump that sent him flying forwards a number of meters off and away from the building. Just like how he got here, he began swinging away as Cassian could only watch.