The Hunter Amongst Villains

Chapter 23: Demons and Hope

A pure beige room.

Hawks sat on the chair, tied by rope and bound in iron.

His only companion was a giant troll-like creature with skin hard as stone, standing by the only door, wooden mahogany, his only path to freedom... and a growing army waiting on the other side, ready to do Garou's bidding.

His only food was the nutrient slurry they kept injecting into his veins, not letting the gag remove from his mouth. His wings regrew, but they still bound his wings in iron.

A shell of iron immobilized him. He could not fly out even if he wanted to with all his feathers.

He had lost count of the time already... there was nothing he could do other than ponder his fate and the consequences.

He imagined the Bureau firing him for his epic failure.

He imagined every citizen that looked up to him staring at him with complete disappointment, shamed and shunned by society and mocked by the villains.

He imagined... everything that could go wrong.

The possibilities of what Garou could do to him were limitless. Right now, Garou held the ax that could execute the current society if he wanted.

The turning of the doorknob broke the silence. Hawks looked up, his dreary eyes losing their gloom, when he saw the Demon of Hosu himself walking in.

He was dragging a chair behind him, and following the Hero Hunter was a small coterie of what looked like bodyguards. The Golden Spider and Chisaki were behind him.

Garou was no longer wearing the mask, his single blood-red eye staring at him as he pulled the chair forward until it faced Hawks.

Hawks stared at Garou as he sat down, now staring at him in the eyes.

"...Are you here to torture me? Haven't I suffered enough?" Hawks quipped.

"I don't know. Have you?" Garou asked back. "I'm actually here to tell you something. My... new subordinates. Hmm. 'Subordinates'. It is a word I never thought I'd say... This place has a way of bending people's perspective."

Hawks stared at Garou stoically. He was too tired to think at the moment.

"I am going to cut to the chase. My most trusted people want to pry every little secret you're hiding behind that head of yours, every dirty little secret your Hero Association has in their skeleton closets."

Hawks narrowed his eyes at Garou with defiance.

"So you fall so low to torture Heroes willingly... Not that I'm surprised given your cruel streak."

"I'm not gonna use that kind of torture on you." Garou shot his accusation down. "No, I have someone with a special Quirk that will make you tell the truth whether you like it or not. I may not look like it, but I know how to use Quirks better than most of you Heroes. You just need the sense for it."

Hawks' eyes widened.

"And if you have the bright idea of killing yourself, I can just dangle your corpse in front of Hosu or whatever city that likes you the most. I will ensure that everyone in Hosu knows you're a coward in the end, taking the easy way out. And I'm pretty sure you don't have some kind of secret Quirk that lets you fake death through hibernation or something. If so, surprise me if you can."

Hawks was rattled, shaken as anxiety forced sweat to trickle down his pores. No words could properly describe his situation other than complete checkmate.

"I'm curious to learn your Hero Society's dark side. The sheer good publicity out there looks more like a desperate door to hide what's on the other side... so I'm going to make you an offer."