A/N: Season 2 is here! I updated the cover as well, you guys can go check it out if you want. ^ This season will have a lot more action than the last season, hope you guys are excited. XD

Ayano felt eyes on her back. Being a serial killer required her to be on watch 24/7, so as she felt a presence spying on her as she walked through the school halls, she stopped. She couldn't let anyone find out the truth about her yet, not until she was strong enough. Her impatience grew every day, but she had to bide her time.

She couldn't let anyone overtake her. All threats had to be culled.

She turned around, but there was no one there. Ayano wouldn't let herself get fooled that easily, however.

A different girl was fiddling with her hands, and gulped nervously as she pressed herself against the lockers. She was both confused and perturbed.

Where did she go? she thought, gazing left and right.

"Excuse me."

The girl jumped, turning to face Ayano staring down at her.

Where did she come from?! The girl thought, shaking.

"Why are you following me?" Ayano asked, calmly. Her voice was steady, but her eyes were empty.

"Oh, um…" the girl looked away. "I'm… really sorry about that. I just… wanted to talk to you about something."

"What is it?" Ayano asked.

"Well, uh…" the girl hid her face behind her bangs. She was shorter than Ayano, meaning the latter could leer down at her. Ayano seemed to come off as a calm and friendly person, but she still made the smaller girl a little uncomfortable.

Ayano hated it when people wasted her time with nonsense. How she despised listening to people drone on forever about their backstories and/or motivations. She had a reputation to uphold (she was known for being patient), but that didn't mean she was going to sit around for 3 hours to listen to this girl talk.

"Your name is Oka Ruto, correct?" Ayano asked, calmly. "You're President of the Occult Club."

The girl's pale cheeks flushed. "Um, yeah, t-that's me." She wore the same uniform as all the other female students, but with light blue-grey thigh high spiderweb stockings and finger-less gloves. Matching the spider theme was a black choker with a silver spider on it. She had pale skin, a petite figure, and messy, shoulder-length hair that was navy blue. Her light purple eyes were surrounded like black rings, likely due to a lack of sleep. On her right arm was the red armband of leadership, with a pentagram drawn on it. She was holding a purple leather-bound book, also with a pentagram on the cover.

"You… know the Psychic Sisters, right…?" Oka asked.

Ayano nodded. She had met both Psychic Sisters, and neither of them liked her very much. The feeling was mutual, naturally.

"Oh, um, well…" Oka sweat-beaded. "I'm… um… I'm a really big fan of theirs, because… I'm an esper too."

"Are you?" Ayano asked. She'd heard rumours about Oka being an esper, but no one had ever seen her using psychic powers.

Oka nodded, shyly. "My powers are more… spiritual, because… I can talk to… spirits and demons. Anyway… I noticed over the last few weeks, you've been getting… really strong, and I was wondering if… you wanted to come along with me and the rest of my club to summon a demon at the City Z cemetery tonight…"

"Why me?" Ayano asked, finding herself to be oddly curious.

"Well, you're really strong…" Oka said. "I think… you might be an esper too… or at least, you have the potential to be one… if you come with us, you could… unlock your powers."

Ayano didn't really believe that claim, but there was a chance Oka could become a threat herself. Perhaps Oka's powers were more than what people said they were. After all, even Fubuki had been a mild threat, and Ayano didn't even need to see what her sister could do. And besides, if they did actually manage to summon a demon…

"Okay," Ayano agreed. "I'll come along."

The cemetery. The only time Ayano had been there was to visit the grave of her grandparents, back when she was a middle-schooler. Naturally, she didn't feel anything during the entire ceremony.

Right now, as she faced the silver gates of the cemetery which were only visible due to street lights, she was sure normal people would be scared, or at the very least, slightly perturbed. Ayano felt nothing. She could've been all the same walking into the mall.

As well as herself, Oka was there, along with the rest of her club: a boy named Shin Higaku (the vice president), a boy named Chojo Tekina, a boy named Daku Atsu, a girl named Kokuma Jutsu, and a girl named Supana Churu. For some reason Kencho Saikou was there too, as well as the B Class hero Lily of the Three Sectioned Staff. From what Ayano knew, Lily was apart of the Blizzard Group.

"This is a waste of time," Kencho scoffed. "Demons aren't real. I came here to see examples of psychic power, and all of you are a bunch of emo freaks."

The whole of the Occult club glared at him.

"You're wrong," Daku told him. "Demons are real."

"Where's your proof, then?" Kencho taunted.

"You'll see…" Oka told him.

"Pfft, pathetic," Kencho rolled his eyes. "You're just saying that because you know it's fake."

Ayano glanced at Lily, who was fidgeting with her weapon. However, she gave Ayano a heated glare when she noticed her stare. Ayano didn't believe Lily was a threat, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Excuse me," Ayano walked over to her. "Are you an esper?"

"Me? No," Lily answered, giving her a sceptical look.

"Then why are you here?" Ayano asked.

Lily grimaced, her tone bitter. "I came along because Mr. Remarkable asked me to. And he only came along because he wanted to see if Oka is actually an esper or not."

"Okay guys, let's go in…" Oka said, ignoring a sneering Kencho.

The cemetery was technically closed, so the teenagers had to sneak in Mission Impossible style. Ayano had no problems at all with being stealthy, and the Occult Club were surprisingly adept at it as well. Being heroes, Lily and Kencho got in quite easily. Kencho tried to show off by doing a flip over the cemetery fence. He landed on his feet and sneered at the others.

"Commoners," he commented, snidely. "None of you can top that. I'm a professional."

"Why is he here again?" Supana asked, unamused.

"Follow me, please…" Oka said, pebbles cracking beneath her feet as she walked. She pulled out her phone, using its built-in light as a torch as the group navigated the cemetery. On her back was a knapsack stuffed full of occult goodies. Some of the members looked slightly uncomfortable as they walked through the cemetery. Even Lily was shivering. Kencho, however, kept a smug grin on, and teased the others for being scared.

Ayano, naturally, didn't feel a thing.

The group made it to the end of the cemetery. Sitting there was a large gravestone, surrounded by green-grey grass.

"Here we are…" Oka declared. The teens stood in a circle. Oka took her backpack off, and pulled out a gym mat.

"What is this, gymnastics?" Kencho scoffed.

"It's for the ritual," Shin answered.

Oka then put a skull in the center of the mat. She pulled out a long, silver knife with a black hilt. She used the knife to cut herself in the arm. Blood trickled down.

"Ouch…" Lily cringed. "Was that… really necessary?"

Oka nodded. "You'll see why…"

She put the knife into the skull. She stood up, and grabbed a book about paranormal activity out of her backpack. She opened the book, and began to recite some words that sounded like gibberish. Nothing happened.

"Pfft, this is a waste of time," Kencho chortled. "You are all pathetic. I can't believe you actually thought this would-"

He was interrupted a demonic howl.

"W-What was that?" Lily whimpered.

"Probably just the wind," Kencho responded. "Stop being so pathetic, Lily."

"But it's not windy…" Chojo said.

Oka continued chanting. Another howl rang through the air. The group huddled together.

"I think it's working…!" Shin gasped.

"Oh please," Kencho snorted. "She's a psychic, right? She's probably just using her powers to make it look like it's working."

There was a flash of light. A breeze whistled through the trees. Suddenly, something began to form above the skull. Something powerful and dangerous.

"I don't think that's just her powers anymore!" Shin exclaimed.

It was a swirling black portal. A figure was coming out of said portal. It was a humanoid male, but with a bright white flame for a head. He had two palms of white fire. He wore a black button-down trench coat and matching slacks with brown shoes.

"You're kidding," Kencho breathed.

Lily began screaming. Some of the Occult Club members had gone pale, and were backing away. Ayano stayed still. Oka fumbled with her hands, staring up at the demon.

"Who dares summon me?" the demon demanded.

"I… I do," Oka said, shyly.

"A mere mortal?" the demon cackled. "You are an esper, I see. Yet, compared to those Psychic Sisters, your power is lacking."

"I… I know," Oka sighed. "I'm… better at talking to spirits than using actual powers…"

"Why have you summoned me, the Flame Demon?" the demon asked. "What is it that you want?"

"I… I want to prove that demons… are real," Oka said.

"Is that all, Oka Ruto?" the Flame Demon sneered. "I can offer you great power. I can give you the power that will make you the most powerful esper alive. I can give you fame, I can give you wealth. Yet, you chose to summon me just because you wanted to see whether or not I existed?"

Oka nodded.

The Flame Demon hissed. "Pathetic mortal. You waste my time with your occult nonsense!"

He raised his fiery hands, trapping the teenagers in a circle of raging inferno. They cried out in protest.

"You will die for your incompetence," the demon growled.

Oka sweat-beaded, and began to whimper. Ayano stepped forward, holding up a knife.

"Oh?" the demon turned to her. "Ah, an Aishi. I have not seen one of your kind for a long time. Perhaps you will be of more interest to me. If I lent you my powers..."

Ayano lowered her knife, slightly.

"Ha ha ha," the demon cackled. "It seems I've caught your interest, Ayano Aishi. Dire consequences await the Earth should you wield my powers. But that doesn't matter to you, does it?"

Ayano didn't respond.

"Oh well," the demon cackled. "You are hardly worthy, anyway. You have powers of your own. You and the rest of your little friends will be a sufficient sacrifice."

The fire grew, closing in on the teenagers. Ayano leapt forward, knife out, but the Flame Demon simply shoved her away like she was weightless. She slammed into Lily, and they tumbled onto the ground, millimetres away from the fire.

"Are you supposed to be a A Class hero?" Kencho asked Ayano, snorting. "That was one of the most pathetic things I've ever seen. You should spare yourself the shame and retire right here and now." He pulled out his taser. "Let me show you how a real hero does it."

He sent out a blast of electricity towards the Flame Demon. The demon just sat there, completely unharmed.

"And mortals like you sicken me," he sighed. "A shame, since your sister and your aunt are among the greatest heroes of all time. You will be the first to die, Kencho Saikou."

He snapped Kencho's taser in half, and kicked Kencho towards the raging fire. He was going to hit it for sure. A hand suddenly sprouted out of the ground, catching him. It was a large, white hand with sharp red nails. Kencho made a noise between choking and coughing.

"Oh?" the Flame Demon turned to Oka, who was holding up her hand in the same position as the demon hand.

"Let us go," Oka demanded, her face shadowed. Her voice was bitter and cold.

"Now you have made things interesting, Oka Ruto," the Flame Demon cackled. "Let's see what good these silly powers of yours will do against me."

Oka held up her head, revealing that her eyes had gone completely white. She levitated into the air, the demonic hands surrounding her.

"If you play with fire, you're going to get burned…" she said.

The demon cackled, summoning more fire. It raced towards Oka in a flurry. She used the demonic hands to shield herself. The fire brushed off, turning to smoke.

"So you can defend yourself," the demon chuckled. "But what about your friends?"

Fire zoomed towards the other members of the Occult Club. They screamed, huddling together. Oka's face became more shadowed.

"Stay… away…" she raised her hands, "from… my… club!"

The demonic hands grew in size, protecting the members. Oka leapt towards the Flame Demon, using a wave of dark energy to push him back. He fumbled, his fire flickering like a broken lightbulb.

"Not bad," he coughed. "You're relatively strong for a mortal, Oka Ruto."

"Let. Us. Go." Oka repeated, her voice steady.

"You've proven your worth," the Flame Demon nodded. "I shall let you live. But beware…" his fire seemed to glow brighter, "I am not the true demon you are looking for."

He disappeared in a wave of fire. The circle of fire surrounding the teens was gone too. It was like nothing had ever been here. There wasn't even any smoke.

Oka fell to her knees, the demonic hands vanishing. Her eyes returned to normal.

"President!" Shin shouted, racing over to her. "Are you okay?"

Oka coughed. "I'm fine… I… didn't know I could do that…"

Kencho had gone momentarily pale, but quickly regained his composure.

"Pfft," he folded his arms. "I-I would've defeated that demon if I had my good taser. One of my servants must've given me my crappy taser instead. So worthless."

"I'm just glad we're alive…" Lily said, hugging herself.

Ayano, meanwhile, was staring at Oka. Oka was a threat after all. She was stronger than Ayano first thought. The thought made her furious. Ayano couldn't control herself as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her knife-

"What is going on here?"

Everyone turned and faced an annoyed-looking woman, her arms folded across her chest.

The woman sighed. "Oh, it's just a bunch of high-schoolers. What a waste of time."

Lily gasped. "Miss Blizzard! What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you the same, Lily," the woman replied. She stared at Kencho. "Remarkable? You're here too?"

"Wait…" Oka gasped. "You're… Blizzard of Hell, one of… one of the Psychic Sisters…"

Fubuki faced her. "Indeed. I see you're an esper as well."

Oka began to pant heavily. "I… I… oh wow… I…"

"What are you doing here, Fu- Blizzard of Hell?" Kencho asked, kicking aside his broken taser.

"I got a call about a psychic disturbance in the area, so I came to investigate," Fubuki answered. "I was not expecting to see you and Lily here."

"Well… that's my fault…" Oka answered. "I invited them to come along to… summon a demon, with me and my club…"

Fubuki scowled. "A demon? Well, I did sense some strong energy over here… did you actually manage to summon one?"

"She did, Miss Blizzard!" Lily chirped. "Then the demon tried to kill us all, but she fought it off using her powers, all by herself!"

Oka blushed. "Oh… um… yeah…"

"That is rather impressive," Fubuki admitted. "You seem to be a rather powerful esper, from what I can sense. What's your name?"

"Um…" Oka went even redder. "Oka Ruto, Miss Blizzard of Hell."

"Oka," Fubuki repeated the name. "Say, Oka, how do you feel about joining the Blizzard Group?"

"The… Blizzard…" Oka spluttered, red as a tomato. "But I'm… I'm not a hero…"

"Exactly, Fubuki," Kencho replied. "She's not. Not to mention she's also a huge wimp."

"She will be beneficial to the group, Kencho," Fubuki replied. "With guidance from me, she will make us even more powerful."

Kencho scoffed, crossing his arms.

"Oh…" Oka fumbled with her hands. "You… really want me to join the Blizzard Group…?"

Fubuki nodded. "Of course. I can teach you how to use your powers."

"Okay, then…" Oka gave her a small smile. "I'll join…"

Kencho rolled his eyes, while Lily gave her a small applause.

"Welcome!" she said.

"Congratulations, President!" Shin told her. The other club members joined in with the applause. Ayano stayed in the shadows. Fubuki gave her a wary look. Ayano turned away, a shadow forming over her face. Her phone buzzed. Info-chan.

Hey. So… if you're really into becoming the strongest, you'll be thinking about monsters, too... they can be very strong.

You're probably wondering what I'm getting at here. Well… I found out the Hero Association is having a little meet-up with all the villains. You might find it… interesting to attend.

Ayano had never been afraid of monsters or villains. A normal person, if they were in her shoes, wedged between two villains twice the size of her, would be scared out of their minds. Even the most calm person would feel a slight edge of unease.

But not Ayano. Never her.

She was dressed in a cloak and had donned a mask, keeping her identity a secret. On the stage at the front, there was a Hero Association executive - Sitch, to be exact. Ayano recognised him from the Class S hero meeting during the alien invasion.

"Is that true?" the A Class hero Blue Fire asked. "You asked these ruffians for help? That's what the Association decided to do?"

From what Ayano knew, this meeting was about the prophecy Shibabawa had given all that time ago. Supposedly, despite the alien invasion, it hadn't come true after all. In fact, it was something… much more close to home. Monsters, in fact.

"That's right!" Sitch yelled. "We must come as one to scale the wall humanity is now facing!" On the screen behind him was a picture of every city. "We currently have 391 Class C heroes, 109 Class B heroes, 44 Class A heroes, and 18 Class S heroes! That's clearly not enough! I'm not asking you to do this for free! As long as you take care of the monsters, I'll make sure you're compensated!"

"Don't bother," said the A Class hero Heavy Tank Loincloth. "When it comes down to it, none of these fools are going to be worth anything."

A guy with a switch-blade jumped onto the stage. "You think I'll let that comment slide? I bet I've killed more guys than you!"

"These fools," Loincloth scoffed, knocking the guy off the stage with ease, "lack conviction!"

"Oh, come on," a voice scoffed. "This thing is spot-on… totally spot on. This so-called great prophecy really nailed it. Guess they knew the worst threat level, God, would be upon us. The old guy's right. Even if everyone here worked together, you wouldn't be able to kill me."

"Huh?" Sitch asked. "And who are you?"

The voice's owner smiled. He was a fairly tall young man with a muscular build. He had spiky silver hair that looked like a wolf's ears, yellow eyes, and wore a tight black long-sleeved shirt and loose fitting white martial arts pants with a yellow belt wrapped around his waist. Tai chi slippers finished the look.

"I'm Garou," he answered. "I trained because I admired monsters, and crushed one dojo after another. Well, what's the hold up?" He smirked. "Come at me all at once. Let's find out who's the strongest. That's why I came here."

"Don't," Sitch said. "This is nonsense. You can leave."

"Is that how you treat your guests, Mr. Lawman of justice?" Garou asked. "Welp, I've made up my mind. Cowards need to be punished. I'm about to commit an evil deed, and leave you a massacre to clean up."

"I'm sorry, you three, but it's time to work," Sitch said, facing the A Class heroes by the door. "Show him the door."

"With pleasure," said the A Class hero Magic Trick Man. He leapt towards Garou, only to be strangled by him. Loincloth threw his fists toward Garou, but he dodged at lightspeed. Loincloth gasped and stared at his arm, which looked more like a broken tree branch.

"Come on, old man," Garou chuckled. "Aren't you gonna hit me with conviction? You don't actually need that if you're strong, though." He sent Loincloth flying. "Moron!"

The other villains began to cheer.

"Don't look so certain," Garou cackled, glaring at the other villains. "You're all next."

"What are you talking about?" one asked. "You're one of us!"

"You're wrong," Garou said, holding up a hand. "Heroes always arrive late, but monsters are always first to the party. They show up out of the blue for no reason. Listen up. You're all on the human side. I'm on the monster side."

"A human calling himself a monster?" Blue Fire asked. "How pathetic. I'll send you to a fiery grave!"

He sent a wave of fire towards Garou, only to have the villain slice his arm off.

"I do enjoy tricks like this," Garou chortled. He slammed the blood-stained hero into the wall, then proceeded to take out all the other villains.

"Pathetic," he said, wiping his hands. "Well, this will do for the first show of the monster Garou."

"You are strong," a voice said, catching his attention.

"Hmm?" Garou turned to see Ayano in her cloak. "So, you dodged my attack. Not bad, girl."

He dodged a knife that was aimed at his head.

"Don't even try," Garou chuckled. "You'll end up like the rest of these morons."

Ayano appeared behind him, eyes flashing red. She pulled out a chain-saw, holding it above his shoulder. He lunged out of the way, and kicked her in the stomach. Ayano tumbled across the ground, using another knife to stop her momentum. Her mask was beginning to fall apart.

"You're stronger than these other fools," he cackled. "But you don't have any real chance against me, human."

Ayano coughed up some blood. Her chest was aching like Hell. She stared at Garou, an idea blooming in her head.

"I have a proposition for you," she told him. "You seem to like hunting heroes."

Garou gave her a look.

"I'm hunting heroes too," Ayano continued, taking a step towards him. She held her mask together with her hand. "If we're both hunting heroes, I believe it will be beneficial to work together."

"You want to work together?" Garou laughed. "Don't be stupid. I'm a monster, you're a human. It's not going to work."

"You don't know that," Ayano giggled. "You don't know what I am, Garou. Why shouldn't we work together? Two is better than one. We can take out twice as many heroes."

Garou kept staring at her. "Tch. Who the Hell are you, anyway?"

"Your new partner in crime," Ayano replied. "Garou-senpai."

"Get lost," Garou scoffed. "I'm not your senpai."

He walked away, Ayano's eyes on his back.

She giggled. "Oh, silly Senpai. You don't have a choice."