Recap

The man jumped up and caught hold of a metal pipe hanging off of one of the two buildings. Then the two started at each other.

Azure opened his mouth as he willed his flames over his would, which quickly healed up.

“Who are you?”

Azure was truly confused. There were many people who would want to get him. The police and heroes would want to capture him, the villains would want to kill him not to mention the fact that he recently learned that he even had a bounty on his head.

There were too many people with a motive to kill him, so he decided to be frank and just ask the man which category he belong, to so he could pay a visit to the person behind this masked assailant.

The man slowly opened his mouth behind the mask and his words made Azure’s pupils shake, slightly.

“I am Stendhal.”

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Inside an alleyway stood two people. One man is holding onto a pipe as if he was a spider, and another man…boy is standing wide-eyed while his arm is covered with azure flames.

After a few moments passed, Azure’s eyes then returned to their normal indifference. Then he chuckled.

"I didn’t suspect that even vigilantes hunted other vigilantes for bounty."

Azure muttered in a low voice. However, in this desolate alleyway, the sound also reached Stendhal's ears. Azure concluded that this man wanted his bounty.

 Azure had done research on major figures in Musutafu before he went around killing. This included a detailed report on the famous heroes, villains, organizations, and vigilantes. 

From what he’s heard, Stendhal is a vigilante who doesn’t belong to any organization. He’s ruthless and also killed his victim. Due to that, there is not much information on him besides his appearance and his name.

Stendhal, hearing Azure’s remark furrowed his brows before saying, "Whether my purpose is to kill you or not, depends on yourself."

"Huh?" Azure muttered in confusion.

However,, Stendhal didn’t answer and instead said, "What is your conviction?" Why is it that you wield your power? "

As Stendhal said this, he sent a menacing glare at Azure. His bloodlust leaked out, causing Azure’s movements to stiffen.

Azure’s face remained cold and impassive, but the slight twitching of his arm said otherwise. ‘Am I afraid?’

Azure had a thought, but he quickly denied it. He placed his non-shaking hand over his arm and replied.

"I wield this power to eradicate the scum of society, to kill criminals, and to protect the innocents in my own way."

As Stendhal heard this, he thought, ‘As I suspected.’

‘I’ve been moving around for a while, and I heard about this guy. Someone who killed the heroes yet is still revered as a vigilante. So, I investigated out of mere curiosity since he could be a possible target.

But when I found that he provided evidence of the heroes' crimes, and through my connections, they’ve all been proven true. I searched more and more about this kid. More than half a year ago, he appeared, and he kills only evil?’

As Stendhal reminisced about his investigations over the past couple of months, he couldn’t help but remember his past. A glare covered his face from behind the mask as he remembered.

"Those ignorant students who only cared about fame and fortune. Even when I tried to educate people about the heroes' ideology, they simply shrugged me off, saying ‘being a hero is nice and all, but fame and money are way better.’

This kid is someone like me. Someone who also reveres the hero’s ideology and is doing the extreme to change the world. "

Stendhal mumbled. Then he cast a glance at the charred corpse that lay on the side of a wall.

He looked at Azure, who was on high alert. He put his free hand in his pocket and pulled out an envelope. He tossed it to Azure and spoke.

"Meet me here tomorrow at 2 am." After Stendhal turned to leave, but before he could, Azure yelled.

"Wait, why should I meet you, not to mention you attacked me?"

Stendhal looked at Azure and decided that if he was to be his student, then he should know the reason.

"I’ve met many people throughout my 26 years of life. I’ve met many different kinds of people. Some desired only fame and wealth, while others sought vengeance, but one man used his power to further his conviction.

A man who, whenever in a tough situation, smiled and reassured people that things would be fine-"

As Stendhal said, he couldn’t help but remember that man. His huge back, his two strands of yellow hair sticking up, and his toothy smile as he says, "No need to fear! Why? Because I am here! "

"-He is a man who uses his power, not for petty things like money, but instead he wields his power for his conviction to help and save people, and he’s done such a great job that he’s been crowned as the number 1 hero.

Many use their power without conviction, and such people are sinners, deserving of death. However, you and I use our power for the greater good of society.

Both this sham-filled society and the criminals who wield their power in the name of petty mischief are targets of my purge. It's all for the sake of a better society.

The training you do would only benefit me. We share a similar conviction. Also, with your weak strength, you would die when facing truly strong opponents. By training you and making you stronger, you can fulfill your conviction and help me with fixing this society. "

Azure looked at Stendhal with a bit of surprise in his eyes. He never thought that someone who tried to kill him would have such thoughts about society. 

He assumed most people who are after his head are doing so for simple, petty goals. But as he remembered Stendhal's last words, he said,

"Weak?"

Stendhal didn’t respond. Instead, he brought the knife that held Azure’s blood to his mouth and licked it.

*Thump*

Azure, who was standing, suddenly found that he couldn’t even move. He was stuck and could only look at Stendhal, who sent a disapproving gaze.

Stendhal grabbed a knife and threw it at Azure. The knife grazed his face before embedding itself into the wall. 

Azure, who couldn’t move, and felt his flames appear on his face, couldn’t help but enlarge his eyes.

Stendhal looked at Azure with a gaze that said, ‘Weak.’

He then pointed towards the envelope that had landed in front of Azure’s feet and said, "That location,  at 2 am." 

Stendhal then scaled the wall in a short amount of time and disappeared. After 7 minutes, Azure had regained control of his body.

 Azure then flew to the skies trying to find Stendhal, but he didn’t manage to find a trace. As he flew towards his current base, he looked at the envelope that was inside his jacket.

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I know you're probably annoyed by Dante announcing his belief 24/7 so I'll try to top too but considering what kind of the world it is that's probably impossible.
Creation is hard, cheer me up!