Night had fallen hard on the city, the alleyways steeped in a gloom that only the brave or foolish ventured into. Kael Ishiro was neither—he was something else now. Two months of grueling training had forged his control over Darkbind into something precise, something sharp.
Tonight, the shadows weren't something he feared. They were his weapon.
He landed silently on a rooftop overlooking the closed back entrance of a gas station. His breath caught slightly as he spotted movement below. Something hulking and uneven shifted in the dark, followed by a low, wet growl.
Kael narrowed his eyes. Definitely not your average thief.
A shape stepped into the light—a man, or something close to it, hunched with muscle and a gnarled, jagged maw that split from ear to ear. It chomped through the steel lock on the door like it was warm bread.
Rottmaw.
Kael recognized him from an agency database Voidflare had made him memorize. Minor villain with a majorly dangerous Quirk—Decay Maw. Anything he bit into would dissolve, slowly disintegrating into sludge. Not fatal instantly, but definitely a threat.
"Cameras aren't even on," Rottmaw muttered, licking his mutated lips. "This city's so used to heroes, they forget danger doesn't need a license."
Kael dropped from the rooftop, shadows flaring at his feet to cushion the landing.
"That's far enough."
Rottmaw turned slowly, yellow eyes glinting.
"Oh? A rookie in the shadows?" he sneered. "You look barely older than a sidekick. Run home, little boy."
Kael stepped forward. Darkbind slithered out from his arms like living ink, forming twin curved blades.
"I don't run."
…
Rottmaw lunged.
Kael dodged left, letting the villain's enormous jaw snap shut on empty air with a CRACK. The pavement beneath them splintered where Rottmaw landed.
Darkbind sliced out in a wide arc, but Rottmaw's thick skin deflected the strike. Kael flowed backward, shadows pulling him across the ground like a skater on ice.
The villain snarled. "You've got a flashy Quirk. But let's see if it stops this!"
Rottmaw's body twisted unnaturally as he took a feral leap, jaws wide. Kael summoned a wall of Darkbind between them—his shadows dense and curved like obsidian. Rottmaw bit down on the wall, teeth cracking through the shadow but not all the way.
Kael clenched his fist, and the wall exploded outward, sending Rottmaw flying into a dumpster.
Kael didn't wait.
He dove forward, Darkbind coiling like a whip behind him. He launched it toward the villain's legs to bind him, but Rottmaw rolled away, narrowly escaping.
"You think you're strong enough to stop me?" Rottmaw barked, saliva flying. "You don't know what it's like to be hated for the way you're born!"
"I know power doesn't justify hurting innocent people," Kael replied, voice firm.
Rottmaw's eyes glinted with rage.
The villain charged again, this time swinging with brute force instead of biting. Kael blocked with a shield of shadow, but Rottmaw's raw strength sent him skidding across the alley.
Kael gasped—his ribs ached. The guy hit like a truck.
Kael flicked his wrists. Twin tendrils of Darkbind launched forward, curving around the alley like snakes. Rottmaw ducked, but one caught his arm and pulled.
Kael spun and sent a second tendril for the legs—wrapping and yanking. The villain toppled forward, and Kael jumped into the air, shadows curling up to form a giant hammer mid-leap.
He came down hard.
The hammer smashed the pavement where Rottmaw had been—had been. The villain had rolled at the last second.
Then Kael felt it—teeth on his arm.
"Gotcha!"
Rottmaw's jaw clamped down on Kael's left forearm. Pain exploded like lightning as the fabric of his sleeve began to melt.
Kael screamed.
Darkbind surged from his body, lashing like a sea beast enraged. It tore Rottmaw off and slammed him into the wall.
Kael clutched his arm—skin bruised, burned—but no disintegration. He'd managed to layer a thin shadow shield between the bite and his flesh.
Too close.
"You think you're special?" Rottmaw groaned, staggering up. "You're just a lucky brat with a power you don't deserve!"
Kael's eyes narrowed. His pain fueled his focus.
"You're wrong. Ive made this power my own and trained consistently to control its rage. I deserve it. Every bit of it."
He planted both hands into the ground.
Darkbind spread beneath the alley like roots, crawling under Rottmaw before the villain could react. From beneath, spikes of shadow erupted—corralling and pinning his limbs to the ground.
Kael stepped forward slowly, arms out, as two long blades formed at his sides.
"Your Quirk… you used it to take. To destroy."
Rottmaw tried to bite the shadows holding him down, but they thickened into a vice grip.
"You don't deserve to carry power if all you do with it is hurt people."
Rottmaw's eyes widened. "What… what are you gonna do?!"
Kael's eyes flared violet. Balancekeeper flickered in his veins—
But he didn't use it.
Instead, he retracted the blades and turned his back.
"I'm not you."
Arrival and Aftermath
Police sirens wailed in the distance—someone had called it in.
Kael vanished into the shadows moments before they arrived. When the authorities entered the alley, they found Rottmaw straining against shadow tendrils that faded seconds after he was secured.
"He took me down," the villain mumbled. "Just a kid…"
The officers looked at each other in confusion.
…
Kael stood on the rooftop above, arm bandaged, shadows gently swirling at his feet.
He'd won.
No one had gotten hurt. Not seriously.
He didn't use Balancekeeper—not this time. For the sole reason of not wanting a mutated mouth filled with acid and slime,
But next time? If the villain had been more dangerous—if they had killed everyone in that gas station, i wouldve taken it for their sakes so that theyd never have to see that quirk again and strike fear into their hearts. Luckily Rottmaws only objective was robbing everyone one of their cash and not taking lives.
He looked at the bags of cash and wallets sticking out from his shadows. 'Ill return these to the people personally..'
He them looked up at the skyline—the city stretched far and wide, glowing, trembling, vulnerable.
Villains like Rottmaw where able to go this long in there lives without getting caught and brought to justice. With a qurik like BalanceKeeper however, Kael could put a end to Villains permanently.
Taking their quirks, giving them to quirkless people who deserve a chance. Or keeping them for himself until the day he dies.
Creating a world without quirks.
'Doesn't sound like such a bad idea. Everyone would be equal again..'
Kael stood up and smirked. 'But for now, a little Villain hunting shouldn't hurt..'