Villain's Rising

“You know what?” Angie voiced her shock.

“You know who the spy is?” Leaning forward with a wide opened mouth, Micheal voiced his shock too.

“Yes, in fact, I even have proof.” Raising his index finger, Sam stated. “I’ll give you a hint. It’s a ‘she’, and she is from your class.”

“What?” As if a bombshell had been dropped on him, Micheal widened his eyes. “My class? Are you sure, brother? Who is it?”

“But before that, why haven’t you informed the authorities in your Academy?” Angie broke in with one of her perfectly valid questions.

“Yes, your class. Yes, I’m sure. No, I can’t tell you.” After answering all of Micheal’s questions, Sam turned to Angie and faced her. “I haven’t told them because it’s not the right moment yet.”

“Why can’t you tell me-” cutting off Micheal’s question, Angie spoke.

“What do you mean it’s not the right time? There are people who could be in danger!”

Her worry was correct. A spy with the links to a Villain group was the last thing Heroes needed in the city they call their ‘Home’.

“I can’t tell anyone because although I have proof, it can easily be discarded as circumstantial.” Sam said while slowly shaking his head.

“What’s the proof? Tell us!” Angie leaned forward on her chair and awaited Sam’s answer.

However, his answer never came. Sam patted his mouth with a handkerchief and rose up from his seat.

“No, thank you. I know the credits I could receive by giving this information to the Academy authority, then why should I give it to you?” Sam spoke before starting to walk out the hall.

“Wait!” He couldn’t even reach halfway to the door before his mother called him out from behind.

She stood up on her spot and spoke in an asserting tone: “Sam, you can’t keep a clue to yourself. You have to tell the authorities even if your proof is circumstantial or else you would be accused of hiding a Villain’s identity!”

Her concern for Sam was clearly visible in her firm yet worried tone. Sam didn’t turn around. If he did, she would’ve seen the vicious smile he had on his face at this moment._.

Everything was going according to his plan.

Sam knew who the spy was since he was keeping every student and teacher in the Academy in check.

He couldn’t risk slipping up his identity, so he kept everyone in check, and if any of them behaved suspiciously, then he was ready to kill them.

He had eyes on everyone. Every single living thing on the campus was constantly under Sam’s watchful gaze.

In other words, Sam knew everything that was going on in the Academy. He knew every action that the students were taking.

So him knowing who the spy was wasn’t such a big deal. And yes, Sam knew there would be an attack on the Special Exam Island.

Although he had doubts since he didn’t think they could pull it off. But Academy’s security measures disappointed him.

“Fine, I’ll tell you, and you can relay this to the authorities. You’re a sergeant, after all.” Sam said without turning. “You both know her well. The spy is Irina.”

Silence. Utter silence. As soon as Sam dropped the bomb on them, all the noise in the dining room died down, and the atmosphere resembled a graveyard.

“W-What? Is that a joke, brother?” Micheal said with an apparent denial.

“Irina? Irina Watchmen? That’s impossible! She is Michael’s childhood friend, and we have known her family for many years!” Angie was the next to voice her denial.

Sam had expected this. This was the reason he stalled this long before giving them a name.

If he had given them a name instantly, then they would’ve denied his claim immediately too.

Sam didn’t want that. Sam needed to plant the seed of doubt in Micheal’s mind. Sam needed him to act the way he wanted from here on out.

And although they were denying Sam’s claim even now, he was sure that his work was done. The seed of doubt was planted.

That was the reason he created a buildup to the reveal.

Just to make it final, Sam dealt his last hit. He turned his neck and looked directly into Micheal’s eyes.

“I’ll send you the proof picture I have. It’s a picture of her talking to one of the members of that Villain group on the Island. Besides, you tell me, did you see her anywhere during the duration of the Special Exam?”

After calmly uttering those words, Sam left the room. And no one called him out this time. Both Angie and Michael were in denial and shock.

*

Bustling through the windy sky with two bat-like wings on his back, Sam laughed as if he had just done the prank of the year.

“Hahaha! Haha, haha!”

(Calm down, Sam!)

“Did you see the look on his face? Hahaha!”

(Yes, yes, I saw his stupid face. But don’t laugh in victory yet. There is still one more person you have to use)

“Ahh, yes. My path to victory is set! Just need one more life to sacrifice!”

(And don’t forget that you have to acquire-)

Before the voice in his head could continue what it was saying, a bright golden flash appeared in Sam’s peripheral vision.

(Watch out! Watch out! Watch out!)

However, before Sam could react or get out of the way, the bright golden light hit Sam and sent him crashing down.

Like a paper airplane hit with a rock, Sam started coming down.

(Don’t crash! Don’t crash! Don’t crash!)

However, a crash was inevitable. So to avoid any fall damage, Sam turned his body as hard as a diamond.

White crystal-like material spread over his skin, and Sam crossed his arms over his head to brace for the impact.

-Baam!

Like a meteor, a crater was gouged out where Sam crashed, making the ground rumble for a second.

It was still on the outskirts of Academy City, so no one was there to witness this ordeal. Plus, Sam had his Concealment ability active.

But… But if he had his Concealment ability active, then who attacked him, and how did his attacker see him?

Concealment makes Sam invisible to the human eye. Tanya, the woman Sam stole this ability from, even went as far as to claim that even Starsuper can’t notice this ability’s presence.

“Arghh! Who the fuck is it now!” Cursing and groaning in pain, Sam got himself up from the ground.

His skin turned back to normal, and he instantly activated his Bio-sense to sense any and all living creatures in the area.

Like a radar sensing a projectile, Sam sensed someone descending down on him from the sky.

Without lifting his head to see who it was, Sam spun to his right to avoid someone crashing on him.

-Slam!

In front of him arrived a person, but before he could wait for the blur to clear out and see who it was, Sam was sent flying back a few meters from the shockwave that was sent by the person’s landing.

In mid-air, Sam flipped his body and landed on his feet, showcasing his inhuman-like agility.

As soon as he landed on his feet, Sam glanced in front of him to see the face of his attacker. But there was no one in front of him!

Again through his peripheral vision, Sam saw a blur coming at him. It was aimed directly at his head level.

Sam activated his Phasing ability, intending to let the attack pass through.

However, the attack didn’t pass through him. Even in his Phased form, Sam was knocked by the blow, and the force sent him flying back a few meters again.

His body skidded on the ground a few times before coming to a halt.

“Arghhhha! Fucking hell, Rebekah!” Getting on his knees, Sam cursed his attacker before looking at her.

It was Rebekah. She was standing tall in front of him with her cold, expressionless gaze fixed on him.

It was clear from the contextual evidence, like a golden heat beam hitting him and him getting a hit even in his Phasing ability, that it was Rebekah.

“Why the fuck are you attacking me, Rebekah?!” with irritation and frustration clouding his tone, Sam questioned.

“Why? Because you brought harm to my brother.” Rebekah answered with a cold, uncaring tone.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake! He can’t die with just a few punches!” Sam burst out.

“That’s not it. You also broke my trust by weaponizing my DNA!” said Rebekah.

Although she didn’t trust Sam completely, she at least thought that he wouldn’t betray him until killing Starsuper.

But she had underestimated the Progenitor.

“Sigh, you’re right.” Sam dropped his head in an apologetic manner. “I did break your trust.”

Rebekah stood there silently, giving him a chance to apologize.

But in the next moment, Sam lifted his head. His eyes glowed yellow, and his lips curled into his signature vicious smile.

“But it’s your fault for trusting me!” He said. “You thought I attacked you recklessly that day on the Academy’s roof? It was my plan all along!

“As soon as I saw you, I knew you were weaker than Anthony, so I planned on getting my hands on you.

“I planned to torture you and break you! But you didn’t break. So I used my plan B instead! That was to get your DNA, strike a deal with you to stall for time, and create Demons enhanced from your DNA in the meantime!”

“Wh-What?” Rebekah widened her eyes in shock. “You said Demons! That means you created more than one?”

“Yes, Albert was just my first experiment. I’ve created six more like him– No, these six are stronger than him.” Sam replied with a smile that could only be called evil. “How was my evil plan?”

Without waiting, Rebekah decided to kill Sam right then and there. She balled her fist and threw a straight punch aimed at his heart.

Although he was Immortal, she would keep killing him until he would just die. Yes, she needed him to kill her father, but she was not going to put this world in danger for her selfish goal.

-Crack

…But her fist couldn’t even touch him. Her punch stopped a few inches away from his face like she had hit some kind of an invisible wall. A wall that she couldn’t break.

“What’s this? WHAT IS THIS?!” Anxious and panicked by the occurrence of an unknown ability in Sam’s hand, she asked in rage.

“This is your end, Rebekah.”