Redemption

The moment the hybrid collapsed, sirens screamed across the park's perimeter. Government agents arrived in waves, sealing off the area, cordoning civilians, and scanning the ground for biological residue and magical traces. Drones buzzed overhead, capturing footage, while armored vehicles rolled in to secure the creature's carcass.

Alex stood silently beside Shield Maiden as the chaos unfolded. He was drenched in sweat, his body shaky from the strain of summoning both an item and a hero in rapid succession. Bliss rested at his feet, her aura gently easing his headache.

Agent Yurei stepped out of an unmarked van and approached, her expression unreadable.

"That was good work, Dispatcher," she said. "Damn good."

Alex tried to speak, but his voice cracked. Yurei handed him a sealed water bottle. "Vitals are spiking. We'll get you checked at HQ."

Just then, Shield Maiden turned to face him. Her expression was calm, but something in her eyes shimmered—a light behind steel. Without a word, she raised her hand and drew a glowing rune in the air. The light pulsed once, then drifted toward Alex's chest, vanishing into his body.

He blinked. "What was that?"

Shield Maiden didn't answer. She simply nodded once and stepped backward into the fading portal. A shimmer of light, and she was gone.

Yurei arched an eyebrow. "That... was different."

"She's never spoken," Alex murmured. "But this time she did something."

---

Back at the government dispatch center, Alex sank into his office chair. The room still felt unfamiliar—clean, sterile, clinical—but for now, it was home. Bliss curled on a cushion beside his desk, humming faintly with healing.

He lifted the coffee mug.

Today's flavor: hazelnut cinnamon.

A small smile tugged at his lips. "Well, that's new."

He took a sip and leaned back, staring at the digital city map projected on the far wall.

For a long while, he said nothing. No grand thoughts. No self-praise.

Just silent contemplation, a racing heart slowly finding its rhythm again, and the faint afterglow of a rune that still lingered—warm—in his chest.

He noticed something else too: his mental energy felt... denser, like it had adapted to the strain. Constant depletion followed by Bliss's passive healing had slowly conditioned his mind.

Curious, Alex decided to test the threshold. He focused, channeling energy into a summoning for an item—not a hero.

The orb shimmered.

A silvery object clattered onto the floor, humming faintly. It looked like a piece of unknown metal, shifting and gleaming like liquid mercury but solid in shape. He felt it resonate with Zipline.

She appeared in a blur, her usual athlete-style skate outfit catching the metal's glow. The material flowed up her arms and legs, reshaping into a more armored version of her clothing—flexible metallic fibers weaving into place.

The new suit shimmered as it adjusted to her speed. Segments detached into compact shields, a collapsible blanket, and utility braces.

"Now you're not just fast," Alex said. "You can protect others too."

Zipline smiled, nodding once before vanishing back through the portal.

He steadied himself. One more.

This time, for Magician.

The orb swirled a deep violet, and out of it floated a worn runic book, pages turning rapidly despite the lack of wind.

Alex reached toward it.

The book zipped away.

He chased it. So did Bliss, hopping energetically after the enchanted object.

It floated in circles until Alex sighed and summoned the Magician herself.

The moment she appeared, the book stilled, then drifted into her hands as if magnetized. She opened it, and a flash of energy rippled around her.

The book bound itself to her essence.

Her illusions shimmered more vibrantly, her healing aura pulsed stronger, and beneath her fingers flickered traces of shadow magic.

Alex leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. His vision blurred slightly at the edges.

"That's enough for today…"

He let his head rest for a moment, Bliss hopping into his lap.

Later, with his energy stabilized, he completed the day's mission using Zipline—swift extractions during a collapsed bridge incident. Civilians rescued, minimal injuries, maximum efficiency.

It was a good day. But he had definitely hit his limit.

And still, a new thought gnawed at him—one that had started as a whisper and now bloomed louder with each summoning.

The heroes he summoned weren't blank slates. Each carried something—an emotion, a memory, a weight. Healer's quiet eyes, Magician's haunting spells, Vault's intense focus, and Zipline's eagerness to help… they all felt like pieces of a story half-told.

Yurei had once speculated aloud: perhaps these heroes came not just to serve, but to resolve something unfinished. An unresolved fate.

Maybe, when that fate was fulfilled—when the mission or emotion they clung to was complete—they would vanish on their own.

That thought brought strange comfort.

He wouldn't be stuck summoning endlessly. He wouldn't forget them either.

Each hero was a chapter. A fragment of a story. And someday… their endings would come.

Alex sat quietly the next morning, swirling his coffee and glancing toward Vault's summoning seal.

He activated it, and Vault appeared in his usual silent stride.

"Hey," Alex began, unsure. "I've been wondering… what brought you here first? That day. Why answer me?"

Vault paused but didn't meet his gaze.

"It was more than just the fire," Alex added softly.

Vault looked toward the window. "I don't want to talk about it."

Alex nodded. "Okay. When you're ready. I'm here."

They didn't speak after that. But something heavier lingered in the air.

Later that day, they were dispatched to a warehouse fire—a simple civilian rescue turned trap.

As Alex coordinated from the roof, a shadow lunged from the smoke.

A Villain.

Alex barely turned in time to see the brass knuckles gleam in the flames.

Vault intercepted the blow, pole cracking against Knuckleduster's fist.

"Still breathing?" The Villain snarled. "Guess the fire didn't finish the job."

Vault didn't reply. He fought harder than Alex had ever seen—measured, relentless. Every move screamed purpose.

Eventually, The Villain fell back, bloodied and furious.

The Villain launched himself forward with a roar, fists glowing with kinetic energy. His figure was bulkier than before, wearing a darkened, reinforced coat laced with crimson lines, and a jagged black mask that hid his features.

Alex stared, confused—until he heard the voice.

Gravelly. Furious. All too familiar.

It stabbed through him like a memory he couldn't outrun.

"Knuckleduster...?"

The weight of the truth landed hard. This wasn't a random villain. This was the man who framed him. Who left him to save his own career.

It was him.

The realization hit like a punch to the chest, but the battle had already begun. Vault spun his pole in tight arcs, deflecting blow after blow, but each impact sent tremors through his arms.

A punch grazed Vault's shoulder, denting the pavement behind him. He flipped backward, landing with precision, then jabbed forward, striking Knuckleduster's ribs. The older man grunted but powered through it, swinging both fists in a crushing arc.

Vault ducked, rolled to the side, and jammed his pole into a street sign base, using it as leverage to launch himself upward. He came down hard, electricity sparking as he tried to overload Knuckleduster's gear.

Mid-air, Vault twisted his strike—and cracked into Knuckleduster's mask.

Fragments of black fell away, revealing his face to the world. Cameras zoomed in, and spectators gasped.

Knuckleduster's expression shifted from rage to panic. Exposed and recognized, he hesitated for a split second.

Then, without a word, he turned to flee.

But it was too late.

Government agents surrounded him, weapons raised. Drones recorded his every move as the perimeter sealed tight.

Nearby, a voice from the crowd shouted, "That's the monster from the fire! But that's a hero"

Another: "He attacked his own!"

The words cut deeper than the wounds. Knuckleduster's eyes twitched. Rage overtook him.

With a roar, he snapped the temporary restraints using the kinetic charge in his new gauntlets.

He lunged—not at Alex this time—but toward the crowd.

"I'll show you a monster!" he screamed.

Alex's breath caught in his throat. But Vault was already moving.Reporters on the perimeter captured everything live.

The world saw Knuckleduster for who he truly was—violent, unrepentant, and obsessed.

He roared, thrashing, activating the item-enhanced knuckles given by the Boss. Crackling with kinetic energy, they dented steel with a swipe.

"You stole everything from me!" he bellowed, eyes locked on Alex. "You think they'll love you like they loved me?"

He charged.

Vault was already in front of him, face calm, pole raised.

The battle was brutal. Sparks flew, metal clanged, and every movement was captured by drones.

But it was too late.. He came down hard, electricity sparking as he tried to overload Knuckleduster's gear. But the villain's gauntlets absorbed the current.

Knuckleduster sneered. "You'll need more than that, rookie."

Vault said nothing, twirling his pole and adjusting his stance.

The clash resumed. Punches flew. Vault swept Knuckleduster's legs, only to be caught mid-air by a counterpunch that sent him skidding across the pavement.

Alex watched in tense silence, heart pounding. This wasn't just a brawl—this was personal.

Vault stood, bruised but steady, and narrowed his eyes. He was waiting for the moment. The opening.

And when Knuckleduster lunged for the civilians, that moment came.

Knuckleduster fought like a man who couldn't stand his own reflection.

But Vault fought like someone ready to finish his story.He knocked Knuckleduster away.

Knuckleduster turned to crowd and tried to take them hostages.Knuckleduster had been seconds away from tearing through the crowd. Civilians had screamed, scattering, trapped by debris. Alex had frozen.

Vault hadn't.

With one final strike—driven by urgency and desperation—Vault electrified his pole with a surge from the nearby power grid and thrust it through Knuckleduster's chest. It was the only way to stop him.The strike hit true.

Knuckleduster gasped, his rampage halted, and he collapsed.

Gasps echoed from the crowd as Vault staggered back, eyes on Alex.

Light began to gather around him.

He was fading.

Alex stepped forward, stunned. "Vault—"

Vault turned to him, his voice low. "I once let a vile villain go. Thought mercy would change him. I believed everyone deserved a second chance."

He swallowed hard. "But he didn't change. He used that mercy to hurt others. A lot of others. I've carried that guilt ever since. Every battle, every save—I always questioned if I was doing enough. If I was still making excuses."

He looked at Knuckleduster's motionless form, then back at Alex. "But this time, there were no doubts. I did what needed to be done. Maybe now, I can finally let go."

The light around him intensified, soft and golden, as if the world itself acknowledged the weight he'd carried.

He looked at Knuckleduster's corpse, then back at Alex. "But not this time. This time, I did what was right."

He exhaled slowly, his expression calm for the first time.

He looked at Knuckleduster's corpse, then back at Alex. "Maybe… maybe saving you makes up for it. Maybe he'd forgive me now."

With a small, peaceful nod, Vault smiled for the first time.

And then he was gone—his body dissolving into light in front of the world.

As the last shimmer faded, something small and solid formed in Alex's palm. A piece of Vault's pole, etched with strange symbols, warm to the touch. It pulsed faintly—residual energy or perhaps… a gift.

Alex stared at it, unsure of its meaning, but knowing deep down: this was Vault's parting message.

A final chapter closed.