Hero? More like a villain-Chapter 48 - 45: Fake heroes 2

Just then, a group of heroes, their faces hidden behind helmets and masks, appeared in the distance. Iris watched as they approached them. Behind those heroes, a dozen others followed, their eyes scanning the area. Isakawa gently set Iris down.

"Hey, we’re heroes, we came to help out!" one of them shouted.

Iris’s heart lifted at the sound of their words. ’Can we finally go home?’ she thought, her small hand reaching up to clutch onto her mother’s dress. She wanted to believe this so that they can all be safe. She wanted to believe these heroes were here to save them.

But Isakawa’s voice was cold ld and so were his eyes. "What is going on? And stop acting. I already know you’re not Heroes," he demanded.

The leader of the group, a man wearing a swimsuit sneered. "Oh, we were discovered that easily? What a shame," he mocked..

"Then let’s cut the chase—handover the child and we might spare you. The boss stated that the children must be brought back but as for the adults...we may do as we wish," he said with a sickening grin.

Despite the threat neither Isakawa nor Jennifer flinched. Their expressions remained cold and composed.

Iris clutched her mother’s dress tighter, her heart racing as she watched. ’What do they want do with the children? Iris is confused. Very confused.’ She didn’t understand, but something told her these "heroes" weren’t there to help.

One of the men, leered at Jennifer. "Hey guys, this lady’s kind of cute. Why don’t we play with her before we go back? And the man’s quite hot too. I’m sure we can sell him to those perverted..." He chuckled.

Before he could finish his sentence, there was a blur of motion. Isakawa moved in a flash, his foot connecting with the man’s face with a brutal kick. The man flew backward, slamming into a nearby building with enough force to leave an indentation in the wall. His body crumpled to the ground, barely recognizable from the impact.

The remaining men froze, their eyes wide in disbelief as they processed what had just happened.

Isakawa didn’t give them a chance to get into a fighting stance. With his speed, he. appeared behind and twisted the neck of one of the other attackers, snapping it with a sickening crack before the man even had time to react. The others stood in stunned silence, their attention now divided.

Iris’s eyes were wide with awe. She had never seen her father in action like this before. ’Is this... is this what he’s really capable of?’ Her heart pounded in her chest, what she felt was admiration. She had always known her father was strong, but seeing him so effortlessly take down their attackers left her speechless.

Jennifer stood a little taller now, her hand instinctively resting on a pocket knife hidden inside of her jacket. Though Isakawa had already neutralized two of their foes, she was prepared for whatever came next. There was no room for hesitation.

Isakawa’s cold gaze swept over the remaining men. "Anyone else?" he asked, mockingly.

"Kill that bastard and take the child and the woman!" bellowed a Hero in a flowing blue robe, his voice trembling.

"Stay back. I’ll handle this," Isakawa said, his tone calm but steely as he gently moved Iris and Jennifer behind him. His unflinching gaze locked onto the eleven fake Heroes advancing witb clear intent to kill him.

’I hope Daddy doesn’t get hurt,’ Iris thought.

Without another word, Isakawa launched himself forward. His fist collided with the first man’s chest, a sickening crack resounding as the man’s ribs had shattered upon impact. The second man swung wildly, only to have his arm caught mid-air and twisted brutally before it was torn off. A piercing scream filled the air as his other arm was caught as well by Isakawa and bones were shattered like dry twigs.

Isakawa turned his focus to the next opponent, yanking the man forward by his collar. With a sharp knee strike, he obliterated the man’s nose, blood spurting in an arc. Before the dazed Hero could react, Isakawa seized his knife and slashed his throat swiftly causing the man to stumble and fall down dead.

Another man in heavy metal armor charged, brandishing a sword whiles yelling.

The armored Hero brought his sword down with a force that carved a gash into the ground, but Isakawa was already airborne.

In mid-flight, a glint of steel caught the light as Isakawa revealed a hidden blade attached to his boot. He descended, his kick cleaving through the man’s armor and splitting him clean in two and the lifeless body crumpled to the ground.

The remaining five fake Heroes hesitated, their earlier bravado replaced with visible terror. In mere minutes, Isakawa had killed over half their numbers.

"Cowards," one of them snarled, his voice shaking despite the sneer plastered on his face. Desperation etched into his movements, he lunged forward teleportunv to Iris and teleportating back to his original position with Iris, grabbing her arm roughly and pressing a gun to her temple. "Surrender, or the girl dies!" he shouted, his voice cracking with fear as he glanced nervously at Isakawa.

Iris let out a small whimper, tears spilling down her cheeks as she struggled in vain against the man’s iron grip. Jennifer gasped, stepping forward instinctively, but Isakawa raised a hand to stop her.

His cold, calculating eyes locked onto the bearded Hero clad in a bizarre, gaudy costume. "Let her go," Isakawa said calmly.

The bearded Hero laughed nervously. "Oh, I don’t think so. You take one more step, and—"

Before he could finish, a deafening crack rang out. A bullet struck Isakawa’s chest, staggering him. The shooter, a lanky man with a twisted grin, lowered his smoking gun. "Gotcha," he hissed gleefully. "An Anti ability bullet. Let’s see you shake that off."

Isakawa barely flinched, his mind registering the hit but dismissing the pain. His hand moved instinctively to his chest, and crimson stained his fingertips.

The grin widened on the shooter’s face as he fired again. One shot became two, then three, and soon a flurry of bullets ripped into Isakawa. He stumbled backward, his body jerking with each impact until he collapsed in a pool of his own blood.

"Daddy!" Iris screamed, her voice breaking with anguish.

Jennifer also laid motionless on the ground, a sword driven upright into her back. Her body quivered with pain, and a weak groan escaped her lips. Blood pooled beneath her, mixing with the crimson trail leading to Isakawa, who lay lifeless, riddled with bullets.

Iris stood frozen, her wide, blank eyes staring at the horrific sight of her parents sprawled across the battlefield. Her fingers twitched, gripping the edges of her dress. Her mind screamed at her to move, to run, to do something, but her trembling legs refused to obey.

"Mum... Dad..." she whispered, tears spilling down her cheeks.

Jennifer’s trembling hand reached out towards Isakawa, her voice rasping with desperation. "Iris... Isakawa..." she choked, pain contorting her features as she struggled to move. She coughed weakly, her body trembling, then fell silent, unconscious.

Iris’s chest tightened, and suddenly, a flashback flooded her mind. Another woman, strange yet familiar, lay on the ground in a pool of blood. Her cold smile lingered like a ghost in Iris’s memory, and she could see herself, standing there, mirroring that chilling expression as though happy the woman before her was dying.

"No..." Iris muttered, shaking her head violently to rid herself of the vision. She rushed to her mother’s side, tears streaming uncontrollably. "Mum, wake up! Please wake up!!" she sobbed, shaking Jennifer’s limp body. "Don’t leave me! Dad, please... please wake up..." Her pleas turned into broken cries as the bearded fake Hero yanked her away, dragging her backward.

"You’re coming with me, kid," he sneered.

Iris thrashed, her small hands clawing at his grip. "No! Let me go! Don’t take me! Mum! Dad!"

Suddenly, a dark shadow crept beside her. A sickeningly sweet voice whispered in her ear, sending a chill down her spine.

"Don’t you know they’re bad people?" Death’s voice purred, slithering into her thoughts.

Iris’s eyes darted to her side, and there it was—a black shadow looming beside her, its monstrous grin stretched unnaturally wide.

"SO THEN LET’S JUST KILL THEM!!!!" Death’s voice hissed.

Iris’s trembling intensified, and the fake Hero holding her smirked down at her. "Hah! She finally realizes she’s got nowhere to go," he jeered, his fingers tightening around her arm.

Tears blurred Iris’s vision as she fell to her knees, hands clenched into trembling fists. "Just... go away. Iris doesn’t want to hurt anyone like Aunt Sally!!!" she screamed.

"That’s what would get those two killed. If you want to save them let’s help each other," Death stated.

And all of a sudden Iris stopped moving. The pools of blood that once soaked the earth began to swirl around and were drawn toward Iris like iron to a magnet. It spiraled upwards into the sky while twisting and coiling into ball.