Fear!
The staff stared at him with expressions of shock. Most of them were retired heroes that had been active in the city-state of Nampur until retirement. They ranged from B-Class to C-Class Heroes.
Some of them indeed had a run-in with a fragment of the Contained Villain, having experienced the terrifying nature of the most fearsome villain to exist in their world.
But to date, the most they had faced was a small fragment, on the levels of C-Class Heroes. The stronger fragments had never been active around their city-state. For people like them, suddenly informing them that the source of all the problems in the world, a villain among villains, the Contained Villain himself had arrived was too much to endure.
Thud!
One of the C-Class Heroes fainted in response, but before he fell to the ground, a figure flashed behind him and caught him. It was Compass Carburettor.
He placed his hand on the other party's forehead, unleashing a gentle wave of energy that woke him up. The Hero sprang back in reflex upon gazing at him, feeling like his heart was about to jump out of his chest.
"You needn't worry," Compass Carburettor addressed as he stared at the people, formulating a casual, laidback attitude, "If I actually wanted to do something to you, none would be able to defend against me."
"Anyway, the fragments you faced were just parts of the power that I had shed before I went to sleep." Compass Carburettor said, "They aren't under my control."
"Y-Y-You expect us to believe that?" A B-Class Hero stammered before gazing at Muscle Lantern with fluster, "Why the heck have you invited a Villain to the Academy? Have you gone bonkers?"
"I've already informed the headquarters of this. And nothing has happened after that." Old man Mida interjected, eyeing Compass Carburettor from the side, "It's hard to believe for me too that he's the Contained Villain. But he indeed possesses the powers that the Contained Villain fragments possessed."
"Well, if you didn't give in to your fear and bothered to think about my title, you'll have your answer." Compass Carburettor said as he stared at the faculty that were in a tense state, preparing for a battle, "Whether it's the title of a Hero or a Villain, they are declared by the Hero Association with a purpose. And it typically denotes the person's power and motive."
"What's my title then?" He asked the group.
"Contained Villain…" Old man Mida muttered, his eyes lighting up a moment later in an epiphany as he stared at Compass Carburettor, "You mean to say you were…sealed?"
"No, I was just contained." Compass Carburettor said, "I arrived at this world seventy-five years ago and have only woken up a week ago. The ones that caused chaos were fragments of my power that were beyond my influence."
"Then…" Muscle Lantern thought for a moment before deciding to ask anyway, "One of the fragments I faced recently said something strange. What's your relationship with the Genesis Hero?"
"She's my daughter." Compass Carburettor said, sensing dread fill the room in response, 'Well, it wouldn't be easy indeed. But this is for the best.'
Usually, he would have fooled them entirely to wrap them around his objective. But this time, he decided to proceed with the truth, though of course, he threw Gehera's actions under the bus.
The reason was simple, he was exploring himself better. And hence, he decided to take actions that he otherwise wouldn't and see how he would fare. Basically, he was courting trouble.
"I mean," Compass Carburettor rolled his eyes, "Even the Genesis Hero should come from somewhere, right? Also,"
He pointed at their Hero Suits, "How do you think these suits are created?"
It was something he could sense ever since he woke up. His left-hand Secret Society member was still alive. Or rather, only the Invoked Spirit was alive. The Dreamland had been consumed to fuel the world's development.
As for the Invoked Spirit, it seemed Stencil had modified it into a machine that printed out Hero Suits.
Pointing at the suit, Compass Carburettor said, "They are created from one of the fragments that I shed."
"It seems those fragments were speaking the truth." Muscle Lantern massaged his forehead before looking at the faculty, "It's time for our inauguration ceremony. Let's continue this after that, shall we?"
With that, Compass Carburettor was the first to walk out of the faculty room, clearly able to sense the feelings of the others, 'They are finding it hard to believe what I said. Well in due course, they would believe it, especially since it's only a matter of time before Stencil announces her goal.'
Murmur!
The faculty followed him out as they arrived at a large auditorium where all the students had gathered. But strangely, the students weren't assembled in order like they had been instructed but rather were huddled in small groups as they stared at their smartphones.
Discussions had sparked throughout the auditorium, confusing the faculties.
"What happened?" Muscle lantern approached a student, observing that the other party sported an expression of disbelief.
"S-Sir, what does this even mean?" The student pointed at his phone, asking in utter confusion, "The Hero Association just announced that there are other worlds out there. And now, they are claiming to invade those worlds to bring justice to the Villains rampaging around there."
"A world named…Gunmetal Gold?" The student tilted his head, staring at the image of a world that was displayed on the screen.
"What the heck is this?" Muscle Lantern said in alarm upon observing a city filled with people who seemed a mix between human and robot, sporting large artificial extensions on their bodies, littering the dark streets of a world that never seemed to have experienced sunlight.
Suddenly, the screen flickered before the image of a woman in her twenties flashed into existence, sporting jet-black hair littered with shining stars, making it resemble the night sky. Her eyes too were the same, one suffused with absolute power.
The moment her face appeared, the expressions of everyone calmed down, replaced with an unshakable level of trust. After all, the entity on the screen was the one that changed their world.
Genesis Hero!
