Stormy skies...

Rain continued to fall as Radalan walked through the empty alleyway on his way home. He had just gotten done running an errand for the night.

And by running an errand, meaning committing murder...

"Another one down..."

Radalan, the Unknown Hero Killer, slayer of those who once fought for the light, but refuse to after loss and being broken by the villains that ruled this vile world.

Three options: Freedom to fight again, freedom to run free, or if both are turned down; a crossbow bolt through the neck.

Of course he never mentions the last option; it's only chosen after the "hero" turns away from him.

And it happens time and time again...

He hated them, hated how weak and pathetic they were...

Radalan had pawned Aladar to Jet for the night so he could go run his "errand", and debated on picking him up, but just didn't feel like doing so.

After all, it was time for the depression to hit, and boy did it hit harder than ever.

The large Zangoose stopped walking and stepped under an awning to get out of the rain for a minute. He pulled out his phone and opened the gallery app to view a video he had saved; it was a video he had downloaded from Aladar's phone while he was asleep, and had watched it multiple times.

It was a really stupid thing to do during his depression bout, but he just couldn't help it...

The video started with him: Delga.

Just looking at the red dragon was enough to make Radalan's body shake. There were many videos of Delga out there that he had caught glimpses of that pretty much scarred him, but this was nothing like those horrors.

Delga was sitting on a couch, playing on some sort of game console. Whatever game he was playing he couldn't see, but Delga was really focused, and a second later, he made some gesture with his hand as if he was spinning something on his finger.

"I never back down." He said, matching the voice of whatever he was playing.

"You look like you're having fun!"

That voice came from Aladar, and Delga turned his head and blushed as he viewed the Zangoose.

"A-are you taking a picture?" The dragon asked, slightly nervous.

"How can I not?" The Zangoose replied. "You seem to be settling in pretty well. It's nice to see you feeling good, also didn't expect you to be such a gamer and mimic the characters of game~"

Aladar chuckled and Delga scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"W-well..." The dragon said, a shy smile appearing on his face. "This r-really helps me keep my mind off the bad things. And uh, it feels nice to just sit around and play this game with you."

"So, let's remember this moment!"

To Delga's surprise, Aladar had scooted right next to him, and held the phone up so they were both in the frame.

That was the end of the video.

Radalan had obviously deduced that Aladar had meant to just take a picture of both him and Delga, but accidentally recorded a video that happened to end as he was going to take another picture.

That didn't matter though, what did was Delga...

The large Zangoose's body was shaking more, resulting in him shoving his phone back into his pocket and walking back into the rain.

Delga's smile was burned into his mind. Such a smile did not exist in his world; the only time he saw Delga smile was the day he took his life.

And that was no warm and comforting smile; just one of spite and despair...

Walking was hard, thinking of the dragon. Radalan held his crossbow, the one that had claimed the lives of many "heroes" that continued to disgrace the ones who had fallen.

His eyes welled up as he squeezed the weapon.

"Why..."

He asked to no one.

"Why was I so weak? Why couldn't I help him? Why did I only get stronger after he died?"

The thought of the abused dragon was enough to make him mad, and as much as he hated to say it, he was jealous of Aladar being able to save his Delga.

But most of all...

"Why do all of these pathetic nothings get to live?!"

All of those "heroes" who gave up their self-respect to become the pets of terrible monsters, while Delga was fighting tooth and nail as the whole world used and abused him.

It just wasn't fair...

_________________________________

Yup, while Aladar and Jet are chilling at Jet's place, Radalan is lamenting the loss of the man he pitied and didn't know he had feelings for after killing a "hero".

That's his drive.
Fake heroes and people with losing fetishes are a prime target for the Zangoose assassin because he thinks their existence is a disgrace to those who have died and are being tormented on a daily basis.

Is there any hope for him? Will he ever heal and start to move forward without causing chaos to the villains and their "hero" pets? Is that spirit Delga real, or just a figment of his imagination created from his regrets? Who knows? This is a world run by evil after all.

A wonderful commission I got from  Resondog of Radalan