The sky above Gurugram roared with the beat of helicopters slicing through the dusky air.
Whup… whup… whup…
Below, red and blue lights flashed in a chaotic rhythm, police vehicles threading through the street like metal rivers.
Ambulance sirens wailed, piercing the evening, and the crowd pressed in from all sides — thousands of people, a living tide of fear and fury.
Reporters ducked and shoved, microphones thrust forward like spears. Cameras clicked and whirred as they tried to capture every second of the chaos.
"Breaking news! Last night, at two a.m., another hero and his entire family were wiped out in that building!" the reporter shouted, voice cracking under the weight of the story.
The crowd erupted. Placards rose into the air, trembling hands gripping them like lifelines:
"There is no hero to keep us safe!"
"Who will save us now?"
"Who will save this country if heroes die like this? If they can't even protect themselves, how can they protect us?" The chant rolled down the streets, raw and unfiltered.
"People are asking heroes: if you cannot protect your own, how can you protect us?" another reporter added, voice strained.
"Night Eye — a B-rank hero — killed. Families wiped out. Every day, heroes fall."
Screeech! A car skidded into the middle of the crowd, brakes shrieking.
The crowd parted instinctively, voices rising to a roar.
"That's… Blazefury!" someone screamed.
Blazefury's figure emerged from the car, dark and imposing. The crowd's roar shifted — from fear to exhilaration.
Reporters surged forward, microphones and cameras pointed like weapons.
"Blazefury! What do you have to say about last night? Why are heroes' families being targeted?" one shouted.
Rihan's eyes narrowed. He stared down the reporter, fist clenching. Calm, but the tension coiled like a spring ready to snap.
"I have nothing to say about that," he said, voice low, dangerous. He grabbed the reporter's collar and shoved him back.
The reporter smirked, mockery dripping from his words. "Look at him, everyone. Heroes can only show anger to you — not to those demons out there."
Rihan's jaw tightened. "You think this is easy? Holding a microphone and saying whatever comes to your mouth — that's easy for you?"
The crowd's murmur grew. The anger, the fear, the helplessness — it all surged through the street like electricity.
"Heroes have left UOH. No one wants to be one. Why is that?" the reporter pressed, voice sharp.
Rihan laughed, low and bitter. "Hahaha… Why do you ask that?" He snatched the microphone, flinging it aside.
"Look around! Out of thousands of people, whose hearts ache for the hero or his family? No one! Look at them!" His fists trembled. The air around him seemed to heat, the tension flaring like embers.
A cold, strange laughter echoed from the sky. Heads turned; the crowd stiffened.
A voice came, deep and resonant. "That's why I came. I will remake this world — a world where people truly love each other."
"But to do that," it said, laughter slicing the air like a knife, "you all must die! Hahaha!"
Blazefury hovered, boots lifting off the asphalt. The wind whipped around him, tearing hair and cloak into chaos.
"You think killing humans will make a peaceful world?" he shouted, fists blazing.
"Humanity is what makes humans… human. When it's gone, all that remains is a beast, crazed and dangerous," the voice replied. "In the world I will build, people like this have no place."
Flames flickered around Rihan's body, feeding on his growing rage. Fffft… crackle… His aura burned hotter, brighter, a silent warning to the world.
"You think you're starting something new," he yelled, eyes ablaze. "You're just a criminal. Don't think yourself a god!"
"You rude child, Blazefury. Do you speak to your father like this?" the voice taunted.
"Don't worry about my father!" Rihan snapped.
Pffft… hahahaha… The wind stirred violently, clouds swirling overhead.
"Look around! Do you see them, Blazefury? Cowards. Fearful. Weak. The very people you would die for. People with no courage, no strength to save themselves… and you risk your life to protect them?"
Lightning tore across the sky. The storm came alive. The crowd shrank beneath the gathering winds, voices silenced by awe and terror.
"Lift the veil from your eyes. Look," the voice demanded.
The street went deathly still. Ambulance sirens and helicopter blades faded into the background, replaced by a heavy, tense silence. Faces were flushed with shame and fear. Eyes met Rihan's — then darted away.
"Enough of your words! You think I am a hero because I want people's love?" Rihan continued, sharp, cutting. "No. I was chosen. I was given this power."
Shame spread like wildfire across the crowd. Cameras whirred, recording every second. The world watched, at home, horrified.
"My duty is to protect people because I am powerful," Rihan said. Laughter followed — and a smirk on his mouth.
"You are only eighteen," it sneered. "Such arrogance… I like it. I see that you won't stop.
I don't want you to become a problem for me later."
A black rift tore open above the crowd, pulsing like a wound in the sky.
"Today, the world will lose a hero. They will watch you die on their sofas, safe, eating snacks". It laughed.
"Please… no!" someone screamed, their voice swallowed in the wind.
Swish! A fist collided with Rihan's chest. He flew back, skidding across the pavement.
A massive figure loomed before him: a two-story-tall creature, scales glinting, eyes glowing.
"Kill this hero," the voice ordered. "Torture him. Let his death be a warning to those who would save the ungrateful."
Tita! The creature smashed the ground with its fist. CRACK! Concrete split, dust shot into the air. The earth itself seemed to recoil.
Rihan rolled, rose, and faced it. Flames danced along his fists. The crowd gasped and shrank back, some on their knees, some frozen mid-step.
The battle was about to begin, but even in the first moment, the world could see the stakes. The streets of Gurugram — helicopters, police, ambulances, reporters, screaming citizens — all held their breath.
Rihan's green eyes met the creature's glowing stare. His jaw clenched. Every fiber of his being screamed: This is what it means to be a hero.
And then he lunged, fists blazing.
The city, the world, and everyone watching.