Chapter 47: Hero Necro
*FIVE YEARS LATER*
"Ryu June, villain name Shadow is on the move. His last seen was around 2pm, within the premises of Paradise Park. Your job is to apprehend him immediately to avoid further destruction of lives and properties!"
"I understand."
"Hero Necro, I believe you can handle it so don’t fail me, don’t fail the Hero Organization!"
"I understand!"
"Captain, we are ready," a young girl with short white hair and glasses said as she approached hero Necro.
"Where is Ace?" He asked, staring at her with his golden eyes.
"He’s uhm...." The girl was reluctant to speak, hero narrowed his eyes at her.
"He’s what?" He demanded.
"He’s — He is sleeping!" The girl blurted out and frowned her face.
"I see," Necro mumbled and walked past her, his blue hair swaying as he walked gently yet steadily.
He turned, heading to one of the rooms on the door, when he got there he stopped in front of the door, raising his hand to knock. His fingers rapped against the wooden surface, the sound echoing through the quiet hallway. No response.
He waited a moment before knocking again, louder this time.
Still nothing.
Sighing, he crossed his arms and said in a firm voice, "If you don’t wake up now, I’ll have to deduct today’s pay for lazy heroes."
Instantly, the door was shoved open.
A short boy with messy red hair and freckles appeared, rubbing his sleepy eyes. His uniform was half-worn, the jacket hanging loosely over his shoulders. "I’m up! I’m up!" he grumbled, stifling a yawn.
Necro arched a brow. "Good. Now get yourself together. We have a mission."
Ace groaned, muttering something about heroes never getting any rest as he straightened his uniform. The girl with white hair, standing behind Necro, adjusted her glasses and shook her head. "If you weren’t so lazy, you wouldn’t have to rush all the time."
Ace shot her a glare. "Not everyone has your weird energy, Zia."
Necro turned on his heel and started walking. "Enough. We move out immediately."
Ace sighed, pulling his jacket on properly. "Yeah, yeah... Another day, another villain."
With that, they hurried after their captain.
Outside of the apartment was a small black bus waiting for them and they immediately boarded it and it drove off immediately.
Inside the black bus, the air was tense with anticipation. Necro sat at the front, arms crossed, staring out the window as the city blurred past them. Zia tapped rapidly on her tablet, scanning reports and surveillance footage. Ace, still half-asleep, slumped into his seat and stretched his arms with a groan.
"So, what do we know about this Shadow guy?" Ace mumbled, rubbing his eyes.
"Ryu June, alias Shadow," Zia replied without looking up. "Wanted for multiple thefts, arson, and at least three confirmed assassinations. He manipulates shadows, using them for stealth and combat. Last sighting was in Paradise Park, which means he’s either on the move or hiding somewhere in the area."
Ace whistled. "Great. Another guy who loves playing hide and seek."
Necro finally spoke, his voice calm yet commanding. "Don’t underestimate him. If the Hero Organization is this urgent, he’s more than just a common criminal."
Ace clicked his tongue. "Yeah, yeah. So, what’s the plan, boss?"
Necro turned slightly, golden eyes gleaming under the dim bus lights. "We split up. Zia, you’ll monitor from a distance, tracking movements. Ace, you’ll cover the park’s exits—make sure he doesn’t escape. I’ll engage him directly."
Ace gave a lazy salute. "Got it, Captain."
Zia pushed her glasses up. "I’ll keep communication open. If something feels off, call for backup immediately."
The bus slowed down as they neared Paradise Park. The streets were quiet, unusually quiet for the day.
Necro narrowed his eyes. ’He’s here.’
"Positions," he ordered, standing as the bus came to a stop.
The doors opened, and the three of them stepped out of the bus.
The moment Necro stepped out of the bus, a chill crawled down his spine. Something felt off. The streets were too quiet, the usual hum of traffic and distant chatter eerily absent. A single streetlamp flickered overhead, casting long, shifting shadows across the pavement.
Zia’s fingers flew over her tablet as she analyzed the surroundings. "Something’s wrong," she murmured. "I had a clear read on Shadow’s last location, but now... it’s like he vanished."
Ace sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Great. A villain who literally lives up to his name."
Necro didn’t respond. His golden eyes scanned the area, senses sharp. He could feel something watching them.
Then—
The streetlamp flickered again.
And this time, when the light came back on, Ace was gone.
Zia let out a sharp gasp. "Ace?!" Her head whipped around as she frantically tapped at her device. "He—He just disappeared from my radar! I don’t—"
Necro’s muscles tensed. His hand instinctively reached for the weapon at his side.
A faint whisper drifted through the air, carried by the wind.
"Hero Necro... do you fear the dark?"
Necro’s jaw tightened. "Shadow," he muttered.
The darkness around them seemed to shift, stretching unnaturally. The flickering streetlamp finally went out, plunging them into darkness.
Then—something moved, it was fast.
A rush of air. The faint sound of footstep above them.
Necro spun just in time to see a shadowed figure perched on the edge of a nearby rooftop, glowing red eyes peering down at him.
Then, without a sound, the figure leaped, heading straight for him.
Necro barely had time to react. The moment Shadow lunged, the darkness around them exploded—inky tendrils shot out from the ground, twisting toward him like living creatures.
With a sharp breath, Necro moved. He sidestepped the initial strike, his instincts kicking in as he rolled backward, avoiding the claw-like shadows that scraped against the pavement where he had just stood.
Zia let out a sharp cry as her tablet flickered wildly. "He’s manipulating the entire area! I can’t track Ace or anything else!"
Necro didn’t respond. His focus was locked on Shadow, who landed smoothly a few feet away, his crimson eyes glowing with eerie amusement.
"You reacted faster than I expected, Hero Necro," Shadow murmured, his voice smooth and taunting. "But let’s see how long you can keep up."
Before Necro could counter, Shadow vanished.
Darkness swallowed the space between them, and suddenly—whispers filled the air.
"Necro... you can’t fight what you can’t see."
Necro’s fingers tightened into fists. He could sense movement, circling and waiting. The shadows shifted, forming distorted figures—illusions meant to disorient him.
Then— A sudden attack.
Shadow reappeared behind him, a blade of pure darkness slicing toward Necro’s neck. It was too close.
Necro twisted at the last second, narrowly avoiding the strike. But the moment he did, the ground beneath him gave way.
Darkness consumed his footing, and a force yanked him downward.
Zia’s voice echoed somewhere in the distance. "Captain!" before the world was swallowed in black.
Necro was falling and somewhere in the depths of the shadows, a familiar voice murmured.
"Did you really think you were the hunter?"
Darkness swallowed Necro whole.
It wasn’t like falling through air. It was thicker, heavier, like sinking into something alive. The deeper he fell, the more the shadows pulled, wrapping around his limbs, coiling around his throat like fingers pressing against his windpipe.
Then, his back slammed into something solid.
The impact sent a sharp pain rattling through his bones, but Necro barely had time to register it before his senses screamed ’Move’
He rolled to the side just as a jagged spike of darkness burst from the ground where he’d landed. If he had hesitated for even a second...
A low chuckle echoed through the void.
Necro pushed himself up, golden eyes narrowing as he scanned his surroundings. It was a vast, endless abyss of shifting blackness. There was no sky, no floor, just swirling shadows, rising and falling like waves.
And standing in the middle of it all, watching him with an eerie smile, was Shadow.
"Welcome," Shadow said smoothly, his crimson eyes gleaming. "You’re the first hero to see my world and still be breathing."
Necro clenched his fists, his body tense but steady. "Where’s Ace?"
Shadow tilted his head. "You should be asking where you are."
Necro didn’t have time for games. He took a step forward, but the shadows beneath him shifted, throwing off his balance. Shadow laughed.
"Don’t bother," he said. "This isn’t your world, it’s mine. And here, I control everything."
Necro exhaled slowly. The hero organization had files on shadow manipulators before, but nothing like this.
"Then I’ll break it," Necro said simply.
Shadow raised a brow, amused. "Oh? And how exactly do you plan to do that when you can’t even stand?"
Necro didn’t answer. Instead, he moved.
Despite the unstable ground, he pushed forward, his body adjusting as he closed the distance between them in a single, swift motion. His fist shot forward but Shadow was already gone.
A whisper brushed against Necro’s ear.
"Too slow."
Pain exploded across Necro’s ribs as something slammed into his side, sending him flying. He hit the shifting ground hard, the impact leaving a sharp ache in his chest.
Shadow appeared a few feet away, his form melting in and out of the darkness like a mirage.
"You still don’t get it," Shadow mused. "This isn’t a fight, Hero Necro. This is an execution."
The shadows around him moved and then they attacked.
------
Meanwhile....
Ace’s eyes snapped open.
He was lying on something cold and hard. His head ached, and when he tried to move, he realized he couldn’t.
Something was wrapped around him—tendrils of darkness, tightening with every breath he took.
"Zia—" He tried to call out, but his voice barely came out.
A new voice cut through the silence.
"So, you finally woke up."
Ace stiffened.
Footsteps echoed in the distance. And then, stepping into the faint light that barely illuminated the area, was a figure Ace did not recognize.
It wasn’t Shadow, this was someone else.
And they were smiling at him.
