The air grew tense with each step Shindo took towards Diva. She stepped back, trying to make a distance between the two.

“Stop!” She screamed, frightened, “Can’t we talk about this?”

“Did you really think that learning all of my secrets wouldn’t come with a cost?” He asked in a voice so cold that it caused her to flinch, however he wasn’t over.

“You know what? I think you thought you would make a few enemies here and there for searching for anything Herttz related, but you were never expecting to find the “Undaunting villain” himself!”

Shindo’s words thundered throughout the room as he started to corner Diva. With each step he took, he slowly backed the woman into one of the corners of a room, until Diva was stuck between the wall and Shindo.

“Well, here I am,” He whispered maliciously as he was about to prime the controller. However, this is when Diva gave him a victorious smirk.

"I agree, I’ve got more than what I’ve bargained for, but you can’t kill me yet East," She declared. This is when Shindo noticed that she was showing him her phone, which displayed a simple red button with a very small U in it’s center.

"Your phone? Really?" Shindo shot back.

"My phone indeed," Diva was unfazed, "Once I press the button on the screen, all the information I have on you will go straight towards HOC, The police stations, my clients, and specially to the Unwin's employees. You can try to kill me, but will that stop me from pushing this button?”

“What makes you think that spreading my information would stop me from killing you?” Shindo flared, but Diva had a determined face as her finger slowly inched towards a button.

“Do you really want to lose everything?” She asked, deadpanned.

Seconds passed, as the two glared at each other. Diva’s determined smirk challenged Shindo’s anger as he pondered on her threat. It may be a bluff, but over the course of this week Diva had proved this to Shindo: she wasn't a bluffer. In fact, all she has done was keep her words and finish her job. So there was a high chance that she was crazy enough to send that information, even at the cost of her life.

"Fine then. You win." Shindo conceded. He stepped away from the informant, holstered his gadget and clutched his forehead in frustration. This woman’s tenacity had utterly and completely defeated him.

Calming himself down, he turned towards Diva, who had a demonic glint in her eyes. However, she still held on to her phone. Smart.

“Go ahead, gloat or whatever you want to do.”

"Oh what to do, what to do…” She scratched her chin, as if this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

“Now that I know you are Herttz, this sort of changes a few things..." She started saying. " However, I want to determine something before I move onto the main thing. With all that fear you commanded, why did you suddenly quit villainy?"

Her gaze bored into his. Seeing as he didn't have another option but to answer her question, Shindo opened his mouth, carefully selecting the next words he was going to say.

"Why did I quit? That's a good question, but to answer it, I have to answer another question: Why do you think I became a villain in the first place?" Shindo started pacing, but continued on before she could answer. "Well, I was furious. I hated this boring world which punished me for having a thing that always harms me."

He looked straight at Diva's eyes. "In the past, when that pain threatened to rip me apart, I screamed. Multiple times. Yet, I was always ignored, cast away by everyone because I couldn’t help activating something I barely understood. I think that’s where I started to hate everything…. That’s where I started to hate myself for having this curse.”

He paused, as his vision started to get blurry. His back started aching, itching so much that it began to hurt, but he continued pacing.

"Out of spite for myself, I became a gadgetsmith. I studied hard and worked my ass off for that knowledge. And when I finally managed to graduate, when I was finally released into this world, my only desire was to see the world burn."

Shindo faced the green armor and placed a hand on the dusty chest plate.

"I denied my cursed power and decided to become the personification of that denial. It is that spite that birthed the one known as the Undaunting Villain. Although, it is pretty stupid to think I was fueled by anger for so long."

He gave Diva a glance, who had an unreadable face. Nevertheless, he proceeded with his monologue.

"However, heroes always rise to fight villains, that’s just how it is. And that’s how I met the most insufferable bastard to ever grace this earth: Lighteater." Shindo balled his right hand as the memories started flooding back. He had always wanted to forget that smiling man.

"At first, he seemed like a goofball with a bit of brain, and a piss poor excuse of a beard," Shindo described, "However, after two months of fighting, I discovered something about that man that would change me: he had the same power as me, and he wasn't suffering."

He gritted his teeth for a bit, as the seething pain of the vibration crept up his arm.

"How was it possible for him to use it without pain? Why was he celebrated for using it? Why couldn't I--- Gah! Why couldn't I simply have no powers?!?" Shindo breathed a bit to calm himself. “All that repressed hatred I had towards my powers, I… I directed it towards him. I fought that man for four years. Four years! Until at last, he requested to fight me alone in March of 2059. And at that time, I gladly took him up on that offer."

"I know about that. That was the last known fight between the two of you," Diva interjected, "From what I heard from witnesses at HOC, they say you won."

Shindo gave her a blank stare. "Yes and no."

His answer utterly confused the informant.

“Don't get me wrong. I won the physical fight, but..." He tried to clarify his answer to Diva, “It’s just… it only felt like a hollow victory.”

Shindo gazed distantly as he remembered the smiling man pinned to the wall. That single tear the man shed confused Shindo to this day.

"'I'm sorry I couldn't save you.' That was the last thing he said to me." Shindo said. The pain in his arm started subsiding. Diva gasped at that, and Shindo couldn't blame her. It sounded utterly idiotic, but it is what happened to Shindo that day.

"Those words, I don't know how or why, but they erased all the hatred and resentment I harbored for that man. He wanted to save me? Why me? I hated him so much, yet after four years of fighting, he apologized to me for not being capable of saving me. Why did he think I was worth saving?”

That last question almost broke his voice, but he stopped, took a deep breath, and continued on,

“However, those questions were left unanswered. As he fell unconscious to the ground, he managed to take all my hatred with him. I was left void and undecided, "undaunting" no more. I couldn't fight or muster anything, so I disappeared."

Diva looked at Shindo, her mouth was a bit agape, but her silence allowed him to continue.

"In those months, I disappeared. I... I became horrified with the person I became. I started to fear Herttz. I didn’t want to go back to being that spiteful person anymore. This fear is what ultimately led me to decide to do one final act of retirement."

"The Night of Fear..." Diva slowly realized. "That's why you acted so recklessly that night..."

Shindo nodded at Diva.

"Yes. Although not everything that happened that night was my actions, I did what was needed to make my message clear to every person in this city: Herttz wasn't coming back. I ditched my villain persona, my hatred, and simply became Shindo East. An empty gadgetsmith whose stuck with an ever changing power he hates."

Shindo hadn't noticed when she stood up, but Diva was now by his side, keeping him some company. They stood there, silently watching the forest green armor. Seeing it now, after four years of it gathering dust brought Shindo complicated emotions. This armor was the symbol of Herttz, a symbol he used out of spite. However, this armor was also the one time he had been both a free man and a prisoner. It was a jailer, a chain, a prison...

"It all makes sense now," Diva spoke up, "Evrything you said fits the mold. From your knowledge of the HOC’s reaction times, to the way you didn’t get intimidated by villains, even your fighting style. What you told me also fits with your denial to join HOC and your proficiency in gadget-smithing. This answers most of my questions."

She turned to look at him. The petite girl may be smaller than him, but they both knew that the only one with true power in this room was Diva.

"However, I'll get those remaining answers later. For now, I have a proposition for you."

Shindo stared at Diva quizically. What more could she aks of him?

"Don't get me wrong, East. You were once Herttz, one of the most dangerous men alive. However, the man standing before me now is too interesting to not continue observing." She replied while crossing her arms and cocking her hips.

Shindo looked perplexed at her declaration. "You aren't going to sell my information?"

Diva looked straight into his eyes.

"Oh, that all depends on what choice you make.”

She spun around giving her back to him. ”One: I need someone trustworthy with knowledge on how to deal with the underworld to join HOC as a hero. This is where you come in: you will accept the invitation HOC sent me to give you last week, ad once you're in, you will help me find someone.”

Shindo clicked his tongue.

“And what if I don't want to become one of HOC’s heroes?”

“Well then, we'll go with option two,” She said, while shaking her phone in her hand, ”You’ll have to kill me, but your information goes public, starting with the employees at Unwin's."

The two stared at each other for a bit before Diva opened her mouth, “Your choice, Shindo East.”

At those words Shindo scratched his head and gave out a long sigh. This was the third time someone had cornered him this much. Each of the choices Diva gave him would cause a catastrophic change to his life, but he already knew that. He knew that exposing himself would bring a similar decision sooner or later. And in the end, this was the price he had to pay for risking everything to save Ben and Angela.

He pondered on his decision for a while longer, slowly calculating which one to make. Each had benefits and each had consequences, but at the end only one of those choices was a truly decent offer.

"I’ll become a hero then. I’ll help you find that person, but I’ll do all of this under one condition."He slowly said, which caused Diva to raise her eyebrow in amusement.

“Oh? And what makes you think I’ll hear you?”

Shindo crossed his arms. "I would stop being interested if I become too worried, right?"

“Fine, I’ll bite. What do you want?”

"I don't care how you do it, but I need you to destroy the life of Manny Judge. Of course I’ll supply you with anything you need to execute that task."

Diva giggled a bit at that answer.

"You truly are an amusing fellow! Fine, we've got a deal! If it means I have Herttz at my disposal, I'll help you destroy the life of the DSG’s Third Seat," Diva smiled. She then happily fished a simple envelope from her jacket, stretching it towards the man.

"Shindo East, I bid you a formal welcome to The Heroes' Operation Center's hero exams." She said reverently.

Shindo rolled his eyes. "Oh, spare me."

Taking it, the man set it aside on a table and proceeded to look at his old armor and then at Diva. A devilish grin formed on Shindo's face.

"Since I have no choice but to become a hero now, this is just a pile of dusted metal," He pointed at his armor.

Diva's simple smile matched Shindo's devilish grin.

"What are you getting at, East?"

He simply took apart the body armor from the display, and slowly put all the pieces in a big kiln.

"Could you turn on the smelter, Diva? I've got to make myself a new armor!"

Immediately complying, the informant turned on the smelter. This surprised Shindo a bit, seeing as she knew how to do it. However, there were more pressing matters at hand.

Shindo placed the kiln in the roaring smelter, where the armor pieces started to turn red. This is when he took out his phone and dialed to the nearest HOC center and pushed the call button. He waited a bit in line while Diva’s grin widened in amusement.

"You are now communicating with Matilda from Silent District's HOC. How may I help you today?".

Shindo smiled as he looked at his old armor, which was now shinning red inside the smelter. He then looked at Diva, who gave him a thumbs-up, causing his grin to deepen with excitement. "Hello, I'm calling to confirm my invitation to participate in the hero exam."

[Arc 1 End]