When the League of Villains next met, it was an incredibly tense meeting. For one, it was in a cramped location, a small warehouse in some random city. And secondly, the X-Force was present. It was hard for anyone to focus with the fact that all of them were solely focused on Eros, and vice versa.
These were the people that were working at the behest of a corrupt government, people that the Ritter Der Gotter blamed Germany's problems on. And they viewed him as a thorn in their side, a problem child that put attention on Germany when he shouldn't have. And, he was also branded a terrorist, a danger to the country, meaning that he was their problem.
"What do you need from us next?" the leader of the X-Force asked, and Eros narrowed his eyes. He recognized their voices and breathing patterns. He hated the sounds, as they reminded him of a dark time in his life, something he had long forgotten and had been happy to not remember. Shigaraki glanced to the rest of his allies before smiling, looking back to the group.
"One of our informants tells us that the Heroes are all splitting up and reinforcing all of the smaller schools. We start taking them out one by one with their reinforcements, and we kill two birds with one stone." he explained, and Eros could see where he was coming from with this plan. By taking out teachers and Pros along with students, you defeat not only the Heroes themselves, but everyone connected to them.
You defeat their families by taking away their strongest members. You defeat the Heroes by taking away their next generation. And most importantly, you shatter the world's faith in Heroes, force the entire country, if not the entire planet to restructure the entire society without Professional Heroes as some militant force. Convincing the Pros and schools to thin out their numbers to reinforce them elsewhere allowed for choice locations to be easy pickings. It was smart.
Eros tuned out slightly, his eyes passing across the X-Force until they reached Psylocke. He saw her simply leaning against a wall with an uninterested look on her face. The uniform they all wore was similar, black and hard to make out the details in this dingy location. Her long, black hair was tied back tightly in a braid, and her eyes seemed to look at no one and nothing in particular. She was his primary target.
She had the ability to seal off and weaken the powers of others through her projectiles, spikes that became solid once they pierced her target. He wondered if the amount of power sealed away was in any way connected to the size of the spike, because the spike in his skull was huge, and it gave him constant headaches. However, this wasn't a problem to him. He enjoyed the headaches. The pain was stimulating.
"What about Shiketsu High? They have a few high profile students and a couple pros that go back and forth." Magne inquired, and Psylocke rolled her eyes. "I can take care of them. Who's the best they got?" she asked, and Shigaraki looked to her, his beady crimson eyes conveying little to no emotion. "Gang Orca. Shouldn't be too much of a problem if you can avoid his sonic attacks." he said, and Eros decided that he had heard enough. He had found out Psylocke's targets and had decided to see if he can call in a favor or two.
With the entire student body assembled in one of the large training grounds, they all began to grow worried. This was an odd circumstance, and never before had students been chosen as bodyguards for fellow schools. This was almost orchestrated. If not intentionally by the people in charge, well planned and choreographed from their enemies, forcing them into these situations. It had most of them on edge.
"I'm sorry to have to call you all here this early in the morning and for such a reason, but we've finally decided on who is going where with who. If you'll all head back to your classrooms, your assigned group is in a folder on a desk, along with your teammates and the Pro Hero that's in charge of your group. We are giving you the whole day to pack, and you'll be heading on an overnight train ride to get to your location, where you start your assignment tomorrow." Principal Nezu stated.
"Your primary job is both protection and recon. You are to canvas the school grounds and surrounding town for any Villain activity, and then, under orders from your Pro, apprehend any villains. The primary suspects in the attacks on the schools are the League of Villains, specifically any members with fire based Quirks. The mystery villain that is responsible for the attack on Ms. Joke is also at large, and he wears one of our uniforms and has rainbow colored eyes." he continued, trying to ignore the whispering students.
"Do not allow him to sully our good school's name by masquerading as one of your classmates! We must work with the other schools and Heroes all around the country to stop these Villains from hurting anyone else! Please, take them seriously, but above all, put your own safety and the safety of your peers at the top of the list! Do not let a desire for fame and glory overwhelm your ability to protect and rescue the innocent and injured!" he shouted, the students rather surprised to see their rodent principal so incensed over this issue.
When the students headed back to their classrooms, they all began to talk. Wondering who was going to end up where and with who. Boys wondering what girls were on their team, girls wondering if the pro they were assigned was going to be someone that they could look up to, like Midnight or Mt. Lady. Siblings wondering if they'd be split up. It was almost chaotic, and a purple haired student, lean muscled and in possession of seven colored irises, was able to slip through the crowd in the commotion.
When he reached the faculty office, he peered inside carefully, seeing a few Heroes, namely Gang Orca, Midnight, Cementoss and All Might. He inhaled, realizing that this was his only chance to speak to the one person who might be able to help him without it looking like he betrayed his allies.
When he stepped into the room, the four Heroes stopped talking specifically to look over to him. When they realized that his description matched the mystery Hero that struck down Joke, they all took defensive stances, All Might's withered frame on edge despite his lack of power compared to the villain in front of him. Eros inhaled, lifting his hands and showing that he was unarmed. "I come in peace." he said, and they all frowned, remaining silent as they waited for him to continue.
"I am Eros Konigsliebe. I'm sure that you know me by my work in Toronto, and Ketsubutsu." he noted, and they continued to listen to him. "What do you want?" Midnight asked, and Eros smiled. "While it may not seem like it, I'm on your side. We have a common enemy. I believe Captain Ezekiel told you about the X-Force?" he asked, and they nodded.
"A group of corrupt Heroes from your homeland that were sent here to get you, or something similar." Cementoss noted, and Eros nodded. "They are working with the League of Villains, and I would like to ask something of you, Sir Gang Orca." he said, the aquatic Hero narrowing his intimidating red eyes at him. "After what you've done, why should I even bother listening to you?" he asked, and Eros inhaled. "Because it's for both of our interest that you hear me out. You are heading out to Shiketsu, am I correct?" he asked, and he hesitated. "How did you know that?"
Eros shrugged. "Shigaraki has an informant, that's all I know. However, I do know that Psylocke of the X-Force is the one being sent to attack Shiketsu, specifically to target you." he said, and Gang Orca frowned. "And why does this information benefit you?" he asked, and Eros inhaled. This was the hard part. He didn't think that he'd be able to get what he wanted, but it was of course worth a shot.
"Do you see this spike in my head? She was the one that put it there. And as long as she draws breath and can use her Quirk, my full power is sealed away thanks to her Quirk. Meaning that even if I wanted to defect from the League, not only would I lose my biggest lead on the villains from my homeland that are here, I'm not strong enough to do anything about it." he explained, and All Might frowned.
"Young man, are you saying that defeating this woman will restore your full power?" he asked, and Eros inhaled. "Unless you have some form of Quirk removing or suppressing equipment, than the only thing that will make me strong enough to be of use to you is her death." he said, and Gang Orca laughed. "So you want me to kill this woman? Me, one of the strongest Heroes in the country, commit murder at the behest of someone labeled a Villain on two continents!?"
Eros sighed, shaking his head. "At least send her packing, injured. I can take her life since I am infact a Villain. I'm only repaying a debt to Tomura Shigaraki for freeing me. It's one of two debts I must repay." he said, and All Might narrowed his eyes. "What is the other one?" he asked, and Eros looked to him. Why did he care? It wasn't as if he'd understand what he was talking about, or what he truly meant. Only his brothers in arms would know what he meant. He inhaled, trying to articulate his feelings.
"I owe a debt to Shigaraki for freeing me from the Darkness, and I am going against the Lord's teachings to repay him. However, the debt that I must repay at all costs, even my life, is to repay the Angel that kept me from the Darkness. Her kindness, care and trust of me in my fettered state is something that must be met with gratitude and shows of respect. When I said that I was searching for white wings, I didn't mean a bird, or someone with a Quirk that gives them flight or wings." he explained, inhaling as he thought about it.
Maybe this was how he could get them to trust him. He had to get rid of Psylocke sooner rather than later, and even if he had to dishonorably strike down a fleeing, injured woman and act like it was Gang Orca, it would be worth it. With his full power, he'd be able to wipe out the X-Force, to help out every single one of his allies. He was the one Crusader who had what it took to cleanse and purify his homeland, and it had to be done at all costs.
"When I spoke of searching for white wings, I meant an Angel. The same Angel I owe a debt to. I meant the girl who I was put in the care of for those few weeks, Kyoka Jiro." he explained, and Gang Orca narrowed his eyes. That was oddly convenient for some reason.
"Kyoka Jiro is part of the group traveling with me to Shiketsu. Does that strike you as odd?" he asked, and Eros shook his head. "No, but it does mean that I will be disobeying whatever orders Shigaraki gives me to follow Psylocke and intervene should she be in danger. I will come alone, but if my partner wishes to come along, I can't stop him." he noted, and they frowned.
"How can we be sure that anything you say has any truth to it?" Cementoss asked, and Eros shrugged. "I am a man of the Lord. When it comes to working for God Almighty, I do not lie to those that can help me. If you can injure Psylocke and send her fleeing, I will send her to Hell, and with my power restored, I will be able to start taking out the X-Force and the League from the inside. Or at least send them towards Heroes who they stand no chance against." he mused, and the four of them fell silent.
"Did they buy anything you said?" Dabi asked, curious as to why his new partner would want to do something so stupid against orders. Eros shrugged, sighing. "Not sure. If they did believe me, I'll be able to get away from my days of scaring innocents and working for some freak with a hand fetish." he noted, and Dabi chuckled at that. He too thought that Shigaraki's love of disembodied hands was unusual, and he was the one covered in stitches and discolored skin.
"What's our next move?" he asked, and Eros rose a brow as he cast a rainbow eye to look at his partner. "So you're with me on this?" he asked, and Dabi shrugged. "Until I get bored of it and decide to turn you into a pile of dust." he said, and Eros chuckled. "I'd love to see that. We're heading to Shiketsu, what does the Devil want us to do?" he asked, and Dabi shrugged. "Fuck if I know. I don't pay attention to that idiot half the time. Especially when he's rambling about 'society' and shit. I'm just in it to kill people and set shit on fire."
Eros chuckled. His friend's anarchistic attitude was incredibly amusing, and he resonated with it for some reason. He found a bit of pleasure in what Dabi did, wanton violence for the sake of showing off and inflicting harm. Hopefully it only extended to the people he didn't care for, like the X-Force. He'd hate to end up actually enjoying the Sin of murder.