Rise of the Crusader

After the acid rainfall which killed about a quarter of the world’s population in the year 2105, mankind was still recovering from that horrible event when superpowers gave rise to the society.

With about sixty percent of mankind possessing various abilities from manipulation of elements, invulnerability, shape-shifting, acid generation, etc. The world soon stepped into the era of the supernatural.

However, it was very chaotic during that period, as the rise of individuals with superpowers broke all sorts of laws and morals in the societies.

The governments who were tasked with the responsibilities of bringing peace and stability to the economy were nowhere to be found.

Every metahuman in the world acted freely, using their newly gained powers for whatever it is they wanted. Weeks soon passed with the government still not taking any necessary action, and the societies became even more terrible.

It was then that a group of metahuman who couldn’t bear to watch as the world crumbled bit by bit decided to take matters into their hands. They created an organization, recruiting other metahumans with the same motive as them.

The group was called the hero’s league.

.....

The hero’s league was compromised with metahumans who were dedicated and willing to go to any length to fight crimes and injustice, along with bringing peace and stability into the world. They deemed themselves as the guardians of society.

It was after the hero league came to be that the governments who had vanished when the world needed them the most, emerged from hiding. Then, with the government and the heroes league working together, the world soon returned to its usual condition.

Of course, with the condition being that the world had stepped into a new era, and the so-called dream of many had turned into reality.

....

The year 2205, Dale City.

The night is deep, the pale crescent moon shone like a silvery claw at the night sky, and the sky was aglow with bright city light.

In one of the houses in the city, a teenage boy in a black and white stripe pajamas stood in front of a table with a deep frown on his face.

He was putting on safety glass, and accompanied by the glass was a thick pair of black gloves. As the teenage boy continued to stare at the table, the deeper the frown on his face became.

“What am I missing out this time around?!” Raphael mumbled as he scratched his head.

He wasn’t the only one who was baffled, as the blue owl who was on the table was also in the same situation. The owl took light steps, walking around the table, only stopping after a minute and staring at Raphael.

“I have checked it out, the energy meter is well-adjusted. It shouldn’t be of any problem.” Said Raphael.

Every time the owl stopped moving and stared at Raphael, it would get an explanation from Raphael and would then continue to walk about the table. This was how the cycle went on between Raphael and Gus.

On the table was all sorts of equipment. A dremel, a chipping hammer, a flat head screwdriver, a power drill, etcetera. However, those were the tools. What the owl and teenager had eyes fixed on was the gun that was laying on the table.

This was no ordinary gun, this gun in particular generates a blast of absolute zero cold. It shoots a blueish flame which was so powerful that it was able to freeze anything and anyone on impact.

And this gun was handed over to Raphael by a client to help rectify the weakness of the legendary ice gun.

Raphael had been working on the ice gun for about three days now. He had to disassemble the gun, to access the energy meter because only that way would he be able to improve the limited charging capacity which was the main weakness of the gun.

It wasn’t as easy as it seemed, maybe if Raphael had a lot of time on his hand, then he would have been able to gather more knowledge about the gun, but with only a day left, and the money he had spent on this project, if he didn’t buckle things up, he would become broke.

“Wait, a minute!”

Suddenly, Raphael’s eyes twitched, he raised an eyebrow, as he stared at Gus. “I’m at least twenty-five percent confident that it should work.” While he spoke to Gus, Raphael had already grabbed the screw drive and began to disassemble the ice gun again.

In this sort of fieldwork there was no such thing as a hundred percent, even the twenty-five percent, which Raphael mentioned, suggested that he was quite confident in his success.

Raphael had disassembled the ice gun so many times that he now knew the layout of the ice gun like the back of his hand. He only needed a few minutes, and the ice gun was now pieced on the table.

Heaving a deep breath, he removed the pair of black gloves he was putting on, then took the ice gun energy chip. “Here goes nothing.” Raphael clenched his hand around the energy chip.

During the last three days, Raphael had tried almost every move he was aware of, and still, he wasn’t able to increase the ice gun capacity. He had even modified the energy meter and the energy chip, but still, it wasn’t enough.

This was his last resort and hopefully, it was going to be a success because if it didn’t, not only would he end up being broke, but he would also have to build a new energy chip for the ice gun.

As Raphael began to use his powers on the chip, he could feel the chip trembling violently, even trying to break free from his grasp. Sometimes one has to destroy something to build something better.

This was the theory that Raphael was going with. By using his decay powers, he wants to drain the chip of all its energy, then once the chip was completely depleted, he would revitalize it back.

“Raphael!! It’s past midnight already, I hope you are not working on another gadget in your room.”

Raphael was solely focused on the chip in his hand when he heard his mother’s voice. His mouth opened slightly, she must have seen the room light still on.

However, this was a very crucial moment for Raphael. He couldn’t simply let go of the chip in his hand, and neither could he let his mother walk into the room while he was working on the ice gun.

Mother had a strict policy in the house that once it was 10 pm, all his work should be postponed to the morning. There was to be no building in the house after that time, and if he were to disobey those rules, there was a punishment set in place for that.

“Oh shit!” Raphael’s heart began to race as he could hear the footstep of his mother getting closer and closer.

He could already tell that in less than a minute she would make her way to the room, and just when Raphael thought he would be having all his equipment locked up for a week, he suddenly felt a change in the chip.

A smile immediately appeared on his face, “Finally!” The instant he said those words, the door to the room opened instantly.

Raphael’s room has always been divided into two parts. One part was where his bed, bookshelves, and wardrobe were. And on the other side of his room was where his machines, gadgets, and other working equipment were placed.

When Yvonne walked into the room, the first place her eyes went to was his working space. However, she was surprised to find no one there

She then turned towards the other side of the room, and a smile couldn’t help but appear on her face, “He must have forgotten to turn off the light.” Yvonne muttered.

Raphael was laying on the bed with the duvet wrapped around his body, seemingly fast asleep. Even Gus was standing on the perch with its eyes shut closed.

Suddenly, Yvonne began to approach the bed, “Thank goodness, the nightmares are over, and you can finally have a good night’s sleep.” She said with her eyes fixed on her son.

The look which was on her face as she stared at Raphael was simply full of love. She then leaned forward, planting a kiss on his forehead, before making her way out of the room.

The instant Yvonne walked out of the room, Raphael’s eyes opened. A smile could be seen on his face.

The only person in his life was his mother. His father was said to have left him and his mother after he was born, so Raphael had no idea who his father was, and neither did he intend to know.

He turned to the desk beside his bed, turned the light switch on , then pulled out the drawer and brought a book out. With his back then resting on the bed, Raphael began reading the book.

Time soon passed, and the fiery red sun broke through the entanglement of the white clouds, revealing half a smile. A few small white clouds in the sky rushed out of the clouds.

And as the first ray of sunlight lit up the room, Raphael stood from the bed. He placed the book he had been reading the whole time back into the drawer, then after stretching his body for a few seconds, he went to the window of his room.

Raphael pushed the window open and fresh, fragrant air rushed over, “Hmmmmm” Taking a deep breath, a smile appeared on his face.

He was able to drain the energy chip of all its energy, and when he connected the chip to the mega battery in his room, he felt a substantial increase in the chip capacity.

“Raphael, I hope you have gotten ready, breakfast is almost done.”

“You don’t want to be late for the hero academy entrance exam. Even though your uncle is a teacher in the academy, I don’t want you to depend too much on him.”

An expression full of disdain appeared on Raphael’s face when he heard his uncle brought into the conversation. “Huh! Mom, I really don’t see the point in going to this academy.” Said Raphael.

After Raphael said those words, there was complete silence in the whole house. He was surprisingly staring at the door of his room, and a minute later, the door was pushed open. “What did you say?!”

Staring at his mother, who had a deep frown on her face, Raphael heaved a deep breath, “I don’t want to go to the hero academy or an academy in fact.” Raphael stated.

Yvonne began walking towards Raphael who was standing close to the window, “Young man, I want you to look into my eyes and repeat those words.” Yvonne glared at Raphael, who had lowered his head when she stood in front of him.

He bit his lips, and before he even got the chance to lift his head, Yvonne had raised it by herself.

“Now, I want you to say those words again.” Yvonne folded her hands across her chest as she spoke in a cold voice.

Raphael’s eyes twitched as he stared at his mother. He found it difficult to repeat those words, and the longer he stared at his mother, the more his heart ached.

Having lost a quarter of her hair, and her skin becoming paler every single day, it was no longer a secret that Yvonne was very ill. It hadn’t always been like this, but after giving birth to Raphael, Yvonne suffered a very serious injury during his birth.

The doctors had warned her about the consequences and advised her that it was safer to abort the child, but Yvonne was persistent and so young Raphael was birthed.

Yvonne, of course, didn’t inform Raphael about this, and it was only until his mother’s sister cursed him for being a disaster that he learned about it, and ever since then, he blamed himself for the situation his mother was in because if he hadn’t been born, then she would have been perfectly okay.

Unlike the rest of his family, his mother had never for once, blamed him for what happened to her, and she instead loved him with all her heart.

“I will go get ready.” Yvonne nodded her head, then walked out of the room once she heard her son’s words.

Raphael clenched his hand into a tight fist, when his mother left the room, “What are you smiling at?!” He turned towards the right corner of his room, and seeing the blue owl smiling as it hung on the bird perch, Raphael shook his head.

Throughout the entire time, the owl had remained quiet, only staring at Raphael in its usual expression. But Raphael who had been with this owl since he was three years old knew that the owl was mocking him.

He might be able to win any argument against his mother, but once she stared at him that way, his loss was inevitable.