"There he is!"
"Kill him!"
A beam of laser befalls on my path as I dodge aside.
*BOOOM!*
Nothing but a trench of destruction is left behind on the road. Currently, we are in the middle of Mumbai, India, and the citizens have been safely evacuated out of the district.
Buildings collapsed, corpses with molten-red blood spurting at every corner, and an air filled with dust. It seemed as if hell was on earth.
Giant crescent energy flies towards me and a huge muscular man wearing big gauntlets charges at me from behind.
A sphere ball of green dust materializes in my palm as I dive my hand into the ground, expelling tsunamis of green clouds around me. The energy dissipates in the dust.
!
"It's a plague cloud! Do not breathe or touch it if you don't have the appropriate protective gear! Fall back!!" A woman in full armour shouts.
"Argh!!!"
Many heroes who went into the cloud start to convulse, foaming in their mouths before they drop dead as they try to escape. Mere protective masks and gears are useless against my bio-weapon.
The man with a gauntlet trudges out of the cloud and falls to the ground, out cold.
"Mr Fist!" A blonde-haired woman with emerald eyes shouts. She runs to Mr Fist and attempts to heal him.
"Don't touch him! He is infected!" Her colleagues hold her back.
"Damn it..."
Everyone could only helplessly stare at the cloud, unaware of my status.
"Stay back! We are here!" A powerful voice roars through the atmosphere.
A flying man with several other prominent figures floats in the sky.
The woman dressed in a blue swimsuit behind the man flies down with her water wings and lands near the green cloud. With dazzling azure eyes and hair, she extends her arm out as blobs of water engulf the killer clouds, purifying them.
"Tch." I click my tongue.
As the virus is generated from my powers, I am directly linked to every microorganism; I know if they are eliminated or not.
"He is gone!" A hero exclaims.
"Damn it! Search the premise!"
That woman just now must be the Water Saintess, a woman who can manipulate water viciously and have purifying properties. To think they manage to alter her powers to have a sanitising effect.
Ordinary sanitiser wouldn't work on my plague and the normal immune systems won't either.
I run through the alley and pull open the manhole, jumping into the sewer.
The world has deemed me a Z-Tier Villian, one who has eliminated close to half of the world's population using only viruses, bacteria, etc. So my nickname "Plague Harbinger" arises but most people just refer to me as the Villain of Plague. However, in an actual fight without resorting to plague, it is difficult for me to kill any superhero. The only reason for my assigned rank is the difficulty of locating me.
A vibration wave is sent across the entire city.
!!
I can't dodge it. If I interfere with the wave, it would be the same as revealing my location.
The wave hits me and a storm instantly breaks in from above, forcing the sewer to cave in. I leap to a nearby ladder and climb my way into another section of the sewer.
A boy with red hair and eyes, wearing a flashy yellow coat, charges out from the dust of debris and punches me. Static discharge upon impact and I was blown away by a thunder-like power.
*BOOM!!!*
"UCK!" I grasp my stomach as I fall to the ground, coughing blood.
...
The ceiling above crumbles as countless heroes fly overhead. Many heroes stand atop the sewer and stare down at me.
My palm turns purple as I tried to use my powers but-
"Not a chance!" The Water Saintess engulfs my entire body with water, rendering my power useless.
Thousands of drones and helicopters gaze at me from afar, they are broadcasting the fight to everyone in the world.
"Finally, the most powerful Villain has been taken down and brought to his final moments." A loud voice echoes throughout the sky.
Powerful? When I'm this weak? Haha...what a joke.
I wonder how many superheroes have gathered specifically to kill me. 200? 300?
"Your terrorism ends here, Plague Harbinger. I, Golden Justice, will bring an end to your killings!" Says a handsome middle-aged man in the sky. He wears a giant oversized red coat on his shoulders with a white robe inside. With a muscular physique and wealthy status, any girl can be enchanted by him.
...
I cannot escape. I've escaped countless times in the past but this time, I'm surely dead.
...
No, I haven't fulfilled my promise with a friend. I cannot leave this world yet.
Golden Justice lifts his fist and instantly appears in front of me, ripping both the water and my body with a single punch.
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!*
His fist left behind nothing but a fan-shaped trench that extends to the mountains nearby, decimating half the city of Mumbai.
Nothing is left.
"It's the end. Finally..." Golden Justice mumbles.
It's over but no jubilation of cheers came. The Plague that the villain released still roam the world, killing countless. But it should be weakened now that its "leader" is gone.
All the heroes present quickly disperse as their job isn't over yet.
-------------------------
...
...
I'm dead.
I can't see, I can't hear, I can't feel anything.
Is this death? Do I have to stay in this endless void for eternity?
This must be Karma.
I regret it, not my actions, but the fact that I couldn't eliminate humanity.
...
Those heroes are hypocrites. They claim that they protect the world from evil and serve justice yet the very thing they protect is evil...Humans are evil. No matter if the person has a good nature, he or she has a chance of corruption and falling into darkness.
To truly rid the world of evil is to rid the world of humans.
What a pity...
...
...
In the void of darkness, a small crystal of emerald gleams.
What...?
Suddenly, I can hear a heart pulse. The crystal synergies into energy that engulfs my existence. At that moment, millions of information are poured into my head.
I...can feel all the plague I released?! I couldn't do this before...?
No...way...
My powers are awakening? The powers that heroes and villains have can be awakened but an unknown requirement must be achieved. Mine is...death?
Incredible, my control and link with the plague exponentially spiked.
Then...it should be possible to transmigrate my consciousness into an infected.
I quickly proceed to search through every infected for a suitable vessel.
...
It was a huge hassle, I came across many infected but they are mediocre.
And ultimately...
In Japan, there is a boy in the hospital, gravely affected by my virus. He is on his deathbed. However, his body is one of a hero.
No, this guy is a hero!!
Perfect.
Since my virus has taken over the majority of his body, I quickly shift my virus into passive mode and move them into the brain.
Now, I just have to implant my consciousness and replace the deteriorating soul.
Albeit rather slow, I can miraculously force my virus to replicate the functions similar to cells of the brain and replace every living cell with mine.
What was impossible became possible with the help of superpowers as a bright light pierced through the void...
-----------------------------
"HAH! Huff Huff..." I open my eyes as my body jolts up.
...
A white ceiling and hospital smell fill the air. There's a Nasal Cannula wrapped around my face and many tubes attached to my frail body.
"Then Golden Justice went in and-"
!!!!!
"I-Impossible! H-He is awake! Patient Ayato is awake!!"
A pair of nurses walking past my hospital chamber saw me awake through the transparent wall at the side.
How long has it been...
It felt like an eternity trying to take over this body. Moreover...
I gaze at my hand. My power has dissipated and it will take a while before I go back to my prime.
Trying to move my body, some parts aren't listening to me and my coordination is all over the place. With possession of an unknown body, I expected these side effects.
But that doesn't matter, what does is that I'm alive...
Golden Justice and Water Saintess...
I need to get rid of both of them first.
"Ayato!" A woman exclaims outside my room. She quickly inputs a code to the door and it slides open.
"Ayato!" She exclaims again as she goes in for a hug.
"Arck..." I mumble. It hurts...
"Ah... Sorry. I was so worried about you." The woman says.
!!!!!!
I widen my eyes in shock.
"Hmm, what's wrong?" The woman says.
This woman...has blue hair and eyes with a threatening demeanour.
"Water Saintess?" I blurt.
"Hm? Yes?" The Water Saintess replies.
...
"Ah...I'm sorry. I don't remember anything except that." I say.
"O-Oh. That isn't a problem. All that matters is that you are back! I know you will eventually retain your memory someday!" She says with relief.
Interesting...this boy is someone close to the Water Saintess huh...