Chapter 56 Heather

If he had a choice, Shintaro Miki would escape this Hunter world at top speed and never return.
Talk of a bright future and a glorious prospect... whoever wants it can have it. Does one feel their life is too long?
He was utterly terrified of [Heather], trembling involuntarily even at the mere mention of the name.
Do not blame poor Miki for his cowardice; almost no one from his era did not fear [Heather], that name lingering like an eternal nightmare.
Shintaro Miki hailed from Earth in the year 2042, a world saturated with [Abilities].
It all began in the winter of 2020.
On December 20, 2020, at the Southern Center Hospital in Lyon, France, a nineteen-year-old youth named [Barrett François] was accompanied by his parents because his hands had frequently felt an unexplained burning pain over the past few months. While waiting patiently for his number to be called in the lobby, he suddenly felt a searing, fiery agony in both arms. Immediately afterward, his arms were engulfed in raging flames, and a jet of fire shot out, scorching a large, blackened patch on the ceiling.
Soaked to the skin, the bewildered youth stood amidst the artificial "rain" pouring from the fire sprinkler overhead.
This was the scene of the birth of the first officially recorded [Ability User] in human history.
As if some inexplicable switch had been flipped, more and more [Ability Users] began to spring up like bamboo shoots after a rain all over the world.
Several general patterns could be summarized:
First, the awakening of an [Ability User] invariably occurred after the physiological age of eighteen, which is globally recognized as "adulthood."
Second, the abilities of living [Ability Users] never duplicated one another. However, once an [Ability User] died, their ability would randomly remanifest in some human being somewhere in the globe, after an unpredictable duration (the previous official record being 1,986 hours).
Third, the awakening of an [Ability User] was entirely random, unrelated to any genetic lineage or external factors.
Although a significant number of [Abilities] awakened, the vast majority possessed no combat capability or bizarre utility. Being able to spew a tiny stream of water from one's fingertips (draining moisture from the body), tasting scent particles in the air with one's tongue like a snake, glowing from the eyes (with a maximum brightness no greater than a 20-watt light bulb), growing long fluff on the skin... such abilities were utterly useless, serving only to add a bit of amusement or trouble to daily life.
Besides, no matter how powerful an ability might be, could it surpass firearms and artillery? Could it surpass a nuclear warhead to the face?
Governments around the world either co-opted, imprisoned, or directly executed the "less than calm" awakened individuals from the early days of the "Awakening Era." Over time, almost all [Ability Users] became obedient, reporting for official registration upon awakening. While subject to slightly more rules and protections than ordinary people, they were neither discriminated against nor placed on a pedestal. If one truly did not wish to register, they could quietly hide and never display their abilities before outsiders for the rest of their lives, continuing to live as ordinary citizens.

This state of affairs lasted for four years, until April 1, 2025—a day destined to be remembered by the entire world:
[The Bloody April Fools' Day].
At the finals venue of the "Super Hero Cup," the largest global scale ability user tournament hosted by the United States, just as the contestants were exchanging blows, a floating figure appeared in the sky above the arena. A slender iron rod materialized out of thin air in his hand, continuously expanding until it became a towering pillar that blotted out the sky.
The next second, the gigantic iron rod swept down with a terrifying, piercing roar, crashing toward the ground below.
With a single blow, the Michigan Stadium, capable of holding one hundred thousand people, along with its spectators, staff, contestants, and even pedestrians, vehicles, and buildings surrounding the stadium, was entirely swallowed up by the terrifying shockwave.
More than 1.5 billion viewers worldwide witnessed this despair-inducing scene through the live broadcast.
Amidst emergency rescue operations, high-ranking officials of various nations also captured the full appearance of this figure through high-definition footage captured just before the broadcast was cut off.
A human male, with matte black hair like crow feathers, an Asian-featured face so strikingly handsome it hardly seemed mortal, a completely calm and detached expression, a height of 183 cm, an estimated weight of 69 kg, dressed in an unbranded black sportswear...
A thorough search of globally registered ability user databases yielded zero records of this individual.
Relevant experts soon suggested—wasn't the iron rod he held somewhat reminiscent of the Ruyi Jingu Bang from *Journey to the West*?
Coupled with this person's distinctly Asian facial features, high-ranking officials from various countries, especially the United States, angrily dispatched inquiries to the relevant departments in China. Yet China was equally baffled: if we had such a ferocious powerhouse, wouldn't we have hidden him long ago to use as a tactical weapon? Is it worth deploying such a weapon of mass destruction for some crappy tournament in ugly-country?
Just as the entire world was plunged into anger, panic, and suspicion, this mysterious figure appeared once again.
On July 6, 2025, the destroyer appeared in Tokyo, Japan.
This time, his targeted objective was the Tokyo Skytree. The former world's tallest tower, standing at 634 meters, was shrouded by layer upon layer of dark clouds that suddenly filled the sky. Accompanied by a terrifying flash of light bright enough to leave burn marks on the retina, a spear-shaped giant lightning bolt slashed across the sky, striking the tower body at an astonishing speed and blasting it cleanly in half.
This 634-meter-tall former world's tallest tower collapsed miserably amidst a ferocious roar.
Needless to say, this time he wielded the signature weapon of the King of Gods, Zeus, from ancient Greek mythology—the [Thunderbolt].
From appearance to departure, aside from destruction, there was not a single superfluous action or wasted word; the think tanks could not even determine whether he was mute.

This time, no one blamed the Greek government, for everyone could see that this person possessed no demands, threats, or aspirations whatsoever; his sole purpose was "destruction."
On December 4, 2025, London, UK; on May 9, 2026, Boston, USA; on February 9, 2028, Lyon, France; on August 4, 2030, Australia...
Aside from the fact that he used weapons from mythological legends every single time, there was no discernible pattern whatsoever, nor the slightest trace of hesitation or pity for human life. It was as if a temper-tantrum-throwing child was randomly swatting at an ant hill in a park sandbox with a little shovel, solely for the sake of venting or amusement.
People could not guess his true purpose at all. The scale of destruction caused by each of his appearances varied; sometimes thousands of people died, sometimes he simply destroyed uninhabited buildings without actively harming any life, and on two occasions he caused no destruction at all, merely floating above the location for a brief moment before vanishing.
He was like a [Natural Disaster] appearing randomly across the globe at unpredictable times, scales, and locations—impossible to resist, impossible to predict, and incapable even of direct condemnation.
Gradually, some cursed him and hated him, calling him the [Demon King], while a tiny minority of twisted fanatics viewed him as the savior of the end times and the king of abilities.
For no other reason than this peerless destructive power, which, if placed in a superstitious ancient era, could entirely be regarded as a deity.
Naturally, various nations had counterattacked, but the time and place of his appearance followed no pattern whatsoever. It was impossible to deploy military forces globally for constant vigilance, and small-scale conventional troops posed zero threat to this mysterious demon king; bullets could not touch his skin, and flames or lasers were utterly useless. Strangely, he never retaliated against these counterattacks from the attacked regions. Once he appeared at the target location and accomplished whatever he wished to do, he would leave on his own accord.
This life of global trepidation continued until April 6, 2034, on the beach of Nha Trang, Vietnam.
Local residents witnessed the mysterious demon king standing barefoot on the beach, allowing the seawater to wash over his insteps, gazing toward the distant horizon as if looking into the distance or reminiscing.
A bold resident took out a phone to take pictures and record videos. Among these local residents was an ardent fan of this mysterious demon king, who took the initiative to step forward and strike up a conversation, speaking in a central Vietnamese dialect: "Who on earth are you?"
The demon king slightly turned his head and slowly uttered a name. Then, he rose into the air and dissolved into the sea breeze and sunlight.
Later, when this phone recording was sent to the research departments of various nations, they were astonished to find that regardless of the listener's nationality, hearing that name instantly conjured its Chinese pronunciation and spelling within their minds—
[Heather].