A Hitman's Guide To Becoming A Hero

The night sky blanketed the earth, while the moon cast a dull sheen over the landscape. A gentle wind swept through the eerily dark, deserted streets.

In one of the forgotten corners of Maybach Town stood a towering building, worn down by decades of relentless rain and neglect. To a passing glance, no one would ever suspect that anyone lived within its decaying walls—let alone beneath them.

Deep inside, a man wearing a lab coat stood with his back to the door, hands clasped behind him as he studied a row of glass tubes. He watched keenly as a vibrant green liquid drained into a thick, black miasma. Upon contact, the miasma seeped into the fluid, causing it to bubble violently as the two substances reacted.

The surrounding monitors instantly flashed with a glaring, crimson ’Error’ message.

The man let out a long, frustrated sigh. "That’s not it."

"Are you sure you’ll be able to get an antidote like this?" A voice came from behind him.

The master paused, glancing over his shoulder. Leaning casually against the wall was a man with a cigarette dangling from his lips. A rifle hung over his shoulder, and a mask concealed his face.

"I am certain," the master replied, turning back to his work. "I must find a cure for this, and I will. If I don’t... then I’ll make the kids strong enough to clear out all these hero pests."

"And what happens to the kids after they’ve slaughtered all the heroes?" Jack asked, a trail of smoke rising from his cigarette. "Will you kill them too?"

A heavy silence stretched between them. The master didn’t answer.

"I’ll—"

"Master," a croaking voice interrupted from behind the door.

"Hexi, come in," the master said, letting out a sharp sigh.

At his command, Hexi slipped into the room. The master flashed him a sharp look. "What is the problem?"

"Master, the Hero Association has ordered everyone to deploy in groups due to the recent attacks. Our targets have been paired together, alongside two C-rank heroes." Hexi’s voice was frantic, and he clawed anxiously at his head, ripping out a few strands of hair as he spoke.

"Paired?" the master asked, a deep frown creasing his brow.

"Yes, Master. It seems like a coincidence at first, but I checked the other squads and it’s the same across the board. Every low-ranking target is paired with at least two heroes of a higher rank."

The master slowly turned his gaze back to the glowing monitor. "With your strength, I believe you and Shadow will be able to handle the C-ranks. You have your orders, but be careful."

"Yes, Master," Hexi said, his voice shrinking to a timid whisper. His hollow eyes stared up, gleaming with a desperate, twisted hope. "But Master... can we take the brains?"

"Have you not eaten any for the past few days?"

"No... no brains to eat." Hexi whimpered, ripping out another chunk of his hair in agitation.

"Alright. I have a supply here. If you succeed in this mission, they are yours."

Hexi’s eyes lit up with manic excitement. "Yes, Master!" With a jagged, uneven chuckle, he turned and scrambled out of the room.

Jack, who had quietly observed the entire interaction from the wall, exhaled a slow breath. "You know his powers grow stronger the more brains he consumes, right? He’s an Impure. Eventually, he’s going to lose control."

"I know, Jack. You don’t need to lecture me," the master replied coldly. "I monitor exactly how much access I allow them."

"If you say so," Jack muttered, exhaling a thick cloud of smoke into the stale air.

"That said, I need you to tag along with them. I have a feeling something is off. The Association doesn’t usually make strategic moves like this so quickly."

"Whatever you say. I’ll keep an eye on them, and if I have to, I’ll step in," Jack said lazily. He gave a half-hearted wave as he turned and drifted out of the room.

Left entirely to himself once more, the master stared silently at the glaring error message flashing on the screen.

"I’ll find a cure... I must"

----

"Is this really necessary? I wanna go home" A hero said as he slumped into the chair lazily.

"HA only ordered this for three days, they’re trying to see if they can find the culprits within this time. So calm down" Bolt replied as he looked around at the group of heroes seated on the large sofas in the living room.

’I wonder what Phantom is planning. Bringing all of us here together, it’s very inconvenient’ even he had to admit that he had other things to do, than staying in a house with a bunch of strangers.

"Exactly! You all should calm down, it’ll end very soon so just relax. Hehehe" Julie said, excitement evident in her voice as she set up her camera in the house.

"You’re the only one who’s excited amongst us all, what’s so fun being here and why are you setting up cameras?" One of the heroes asked her. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Julie turned around and shrugged casually. "I don’t know, can’t I just choose to be happy?"

"You’re the least strongest among us here... If we were to get attacked, you’ll probably die first"

Julie’s brows knitted in irritation, "Coming from tongue man I’m surprised, you might as well go become a frog or something" Julie snapped back.

"Hey calm down all of you" Another hero wearing googles said nervously as he waved his hands in a calming gesture.

"Tsk" Julie hissed as she looked away, ’I won’t let these people ruin my mood. Nicholas and Selena should be downstairs, so I just have to wait and we’ll get action soon!’ just the thought of it sent thrills through her body as she began chuckling.

Tongue Man wanted to snap at her again, but decided against it and looked away.

Watching from the side Bolt could only sigh, ’Why’d I have to be the one stuck with this group?’

"I’ll be back, I’m going to use the bathroom." he said as he walked over to the bathroom, "At least HA was generous enough to give us a good place to stay" He muttered as he entered the toilet.

As he stood in front of the toilet, a dark silhouette slipped silently through the small bathroom window. The figure merged instantly with the shadow cast by the door. Suddenly, the darkness rippled. A thick, black miasma began to leak from the corners of the room, rapidly filling the cramped space.

Sensing a sudden shift in the air, Bolt caught the strange, foul scent. He whipped around to face the intruder—but as his eyes locked onto Hexi standing right in front of him, Bolt froze. He didn’t move. He didn’t attack. He just stood there, staring blankly ahead.

Hexi caressed Bolts face peering into his eyes that now had a purple hue around them.

"This is going to be a long night."

"I agree." Shadow who was standing behind him said.