The Villains' Hero (second draft)

Chapter 3: Raging Bull & Burning Flames

The sound exploded throughout the area, bringing dust and debris with it. Startled, Karma followed the source to find a woman, in a werewolf form, lying on the ground. Her ash-gray fur was stained with red, sticky blood and she looked exhausted and weak but also terrified. As the dust cloud cleared, Karma could make out the attacking party. He was a bull-man, with a face and horns like a bull. He also had a nose ring, a bull tail, and his eyes were burning with stoked coals of rage. He had an eccentric costume the just made him read bull even more, though it did have gold and white accents to represent good fortunes and luck often associated with bulls.

"Please have mercy..! I just wanted to get food for my kid brother...!" Her pleas had fallen on deaf ears as the bull-man reared up to charge again. She tucked into a ball making herself as small as possible, arms over her head. "Please-"

Her thoughts were incomplete as the bull-man charged at her like a freight train. She screamed, trying her best to shield herself, but the impact never came. Karma had jumped in the way, trying to push the man back by the horns, glad there was hidden chainmail within his black gloves. He was struggling to keep the man away, being pushed towards the woman who looked up in pure shock. "Run, get outta here!" Karma shouted to her, snapping her out of her trance and sending her flying through the city streets. The man stopped as his momentum slowed and he pulled away from a breathless Karma, his raging fire growing stronger. "You dare to interfere with the work of the Great Taurious?!" The bull-man glared, raising his hand to his mouth and suddenly steam escaped his nose. Karma could tell he was trying to look intimidating, but he saw the vape in the bull's hand.

Crowds had begun to gather. The show had begun. Karma's arms were shaking from the impact, he knew he wouldn't be able to take much more of that. "Back off, man! She wasn't even trying to hurt you or anybody for that matter! She just wanted some bread!" Karma had noticed the crushed and shredded loaf on the ground, trampled without a second thought. He had recognized the werewolf lady from one of the ten that had been drafted that morning from Hunloy. Sadly, she must've stolen the bread and got caught by this bull rather than getting home to share it with her family. "The Great Taurious will make you pay, Filth! Interfering in a hero's line of work is punishable by Eros! You should've just stayed out of it!"

The bull began to ready another charge. Karma thought quickly, creating a small illusion to make it seem like he was still standing there as he jumped out of the way last second. The bull charged forward until he hit a building, getting his horns stuck for a moment. Karma tried to get himself ready for another charge but the bull surprised him by pulling his horns out then swinging them wildly as he approached the young male. He was trying to slash Karma rather than charge. Karma kept pace, jumping back with catlike grace, trying not to let the horns graze him. When it seemed like the bull was getting too close, he blasted some blue flames into the bull's face before leaping back several feet. The flame seemed to have done nothing, as while it had burned the bull it just made him even angrier. He began to lower his head into a full body charge, using his foot to paw the earth prior to launch. The train was coming again. Karma knew he couldn't stop the force, especially because the bull seemed to want to throw his whole weight into this one.

There is was, the bull charged him and all he could do was jump out of the way, yet he wasn't expecting the bull to swerve close to the ground and change direction using his momentum. By keeping his center of gravity lower, Karma was fearful due to the increase in control and power the bull gained from doing so. He tried to blast more flames as he came to land from his jump, only for the bull to blast right through. Thinking fast, Karma flipped over the bull-man, somersaulting down his back and onto the ground where he used a backhand spring to readjust his positioning to face the bull as he begun to turn around again. Karma may have been taught how to fight from his father and mother, however he was quickly realizing that being so new to his abilities he was outmatched easily. This bull just didn't stop his onslaught no matter what happened. Karma brought out his claws and tried to slash at the bull as he passed by to regain some lost momentum. The bull's skin was too thick to pierce and Karma started to see where this was going.

Desperate for a solution, he looked around, only to see larger crowds of people and news cameras. This was being broadcasted. Distracted too long, the bull ran full force into karma, sending him flying and slamming into the ground hard. "That's it, Cat. The Great Taurious has won." Karma tried to stand back up, his vision blurred and his chest feeling heavy as he struggled to breathe after being winded so severely. He coughed some blood, implying he had some internal damage. He tried to withhold as long as he could but he found himself collapsing and blacking out.

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Karma awoke in a cell with a single cot against a wall and a bucket in the corner. He was tied up but couldn't activate his fire to burn the rope, so he deduced the rope or the room prevented usage of his abilities. He tried to gather his bearings, extremely sore but it seemed anything major had already been healed. "Look who's finally awake!"

The voice came from the shadows outside the cell, and a tall, slim figure walked out of the darkness. She wore a bright pink suit and had a black tie on with black dress shoes. Her hair was extremely silver-platinum and her eyes were a brilliant amethyst purple with some hidden rainbow undertones. She wore black gloves that she adjusted as she came into the cell. There was something about her that felt mystical, and yet terrifying. "Who are you, where am I?" Karma demanded.

"All in due time, my Pet. In any case, I have been sent by Eros to give you a warning for your rebellion. They did like the ratings and entertainment you have provided Dene, so your punishment was reduced, lucky you. However, you still need to be taught a lesson because no one is to disobey Eros or create traitorous blasphemy. You're playing a dangerous game, Karma Graves."

Chills covered his body and went down his spine, making his hair stand on end. She had said his name with such venom in her voice, he knew it was a threat. She pulled out a blade, smiling. "See, I have healing abilities and quite the sadistic streak. So they send me to deal with problems like you. I can cut you and heal you at the same time. While you may get some scarring, there will be no blood as if you've never received the wound in the first place." She cut her finger on the blade to display the cut healing instantly.

"We have three days. Let's play!"