Dreaming of Stars

by Gushy48

Sanji Inochi, a selfless man who is unable to use his Quirk—Dreams, being considered Quirkless. Through luck and seemingly-impossible odds, he finds his way to U.A. High School in Class 1-B. With what Life brings to 1-B, the society that they live in—the Hero Society—will forever be altered. (x-posted on AO3)

50. Fight Until Dawn

Sasaki Kendo

"—endo!"

"Claude—! I'll—!"

"—careful! Dammit—! —get! —Kendo!"

"Huh…?" Why am I being picked up? "Hey… Who the hell…? Guh…"

I go unconscious.

My eyes flutter open and the first thing that greets me is the pathetic black sky. It's empty with no stars out, and I'm pretty sure I see some wisps of dark smoke in the air. There's some artificial light from the nearby fixtures, but that's about it. I'm laying on the ground. Nothing feels broken, thankfully. I'm sore in a few places, prolly a few bruises, but I think that's the worst of 'em.

Alright, I'm alive. Unfortunately, I'm alive. What's next… Oh right, I need to figure out what the fuck just happened. Last thing I remember was Ishtar's glowing purple eyes then something powerful crashing into me. But wait a fucking second…

I was on the top floor of Pollux when that happened.

I'm on the ground.

How the fuck did I survive a sixty story fall?

"Ugh…" I groan, slowly sitting up. I'm in the plaza where… Where Lian was giving Re-Destro one hell of a fight. If it wasn't for the fact that I've been in this plaza before, I wouldn't have recognized it. Well, maybe I would've. I was taking a nap right next to the decapitated head of this poor American Hero. This poor bastard was memorialized here before someone got the bright idea to cause property damage.

No one's near me though. Actually never mind, I'm wrong. To my left, Hakan Aldemir is laying next to me groaning in pain like he just got shot ten times. His stab wound opened up, but I think he suffered more than that if he's groaning this much.

So that begs the question: if my team managed to reach the same plaza where Lian and Itsuka's team were at, then where the hell are they? And where the hell are the Meta Liberation Army punks?

"We have no time to argue about this!" I hear someone shouting. It's Lian. He's with everyone else; well, everyone besides from the M.L.A. soldiers plus Re-Destro. They're off to the side. Re-Destro's no longer in his—whatever-the-fuck-you-call-it—black state. His soldiers are tending to his injuries while listening in on everyone's conversation. Alright, let's see if I can walk over there. I can't miss the conversation.

"Ah—" Hayami's backup katana is laying next to me too, "—someone brought my katana over. Great, now I can commit seppuku just like my ancestors."

As soon as I grab it, I hear someone to my right. "Mnn…"

"Itsuka…?" Fuck, how did I miss her? She's laying on a bed of green, thorny vines made by her classmate, Ibara Shiozaki. Jeez, Re-Destro really did a number on her. Just looking at her makes my chest boil up with anger, but it's no good to get angry right now. She'll be alright, I know it. "Shit, sweetheart… Sorry I didn't notice you sooner…"

She doesn't respond. At least, not something I can understand. Fuck. I'mma remind myself to kill Re-Destro later, if Sanji doesn't get to him first.

If I remember correctly, then Ishtar isn't a Zabaniya of the Order of Assassins… She's the leader. The fucking leader, No.2 in the Villain list internationally. Even though she probably can't register my words, I tell her, "Sit tight, 'Suka. We could be in some deep shit, so don't do anything drastic. Your senile old man will take care of everything."

I leave her behind. I see some of my idiots in front of me. Itsuka's team; Jurota Shishida, Nirengeki Shoda, Reiko Yanagi, Yui Kodai, and Kojiro Bondo, are surrounding Lian, Grandmaster, and The Count. Ibara Shiozaki and Sanji—of course Sanji got injured—are at the far end.

"What'll happen to my classmates and Miss Kendo?!" exclaims Shishida. I'm not there yet, but I can already hear a shouting match going on. "The top floor erupted in a black shadow that razed the upper portion of Pollux! It's completely destroyed! Look!"

He gestures towards Pollux and he's right. You can't recognize the fucking place anymore. The rubble is scattered all around the vicinity. I'm surprised no one got hurt from the debris. Guess we'll chalk that up to dumb luck.

Grandmaster—broken left arm—tries to calm Shishida down, "Mister Shishida, we are trying to formulate a plan! Give us a few moments of peace before the next disaster occurs!"

Lian adds on, "Listen to the detective, darling! We're a fair bit away from the hotel, but trouble will come rushing here soon! As far as I'm concerned, we are not letting any of you children fight!"

Bondo stammers, "B-But we're Heroes!"

The Count tries to cut in, but Shoda interrupts him, "Yeah! I mean, we were fighting the M.L.A. just a few minutes ago! We have to help!"

Yui nods; Yanagi speaks up, "I concur! Despite our lack of strength compared, even summed together, to Re-Destro, if all of us here fight this Shadow Villain, surely we will remain victorious? We have the advantage in terms of numbers."

Shiozaki, who takes a gander at her brave yet stupid friends… As much as I wanna say she's the reasonable one, those eyes have a spark of rebellion in them. "This Shadow Villain have committed a grave sin upon the bodies of our allies. That is unforgivable and require the utmost repentance from this fiend. Despite our age, we are Heroes too, Shangdi! We must bring this heinous villain to light!"

Before any of the adults could speak, not even me, Sanji jumps into the fray of voices, "No. I get that you guys feel guilty about what happened to Itsuka—believe me, I am too—but this is an awful idea. You won't be able to fight back, because you can't fight back. You'd be dead in an eyeblink."

"Oh!" Shiozaki exclaims, "Now you're worried about our safety? After you berated us for our inaction against Re-Destro right before you ran off recklessly, drunk on rage? Not only are you a two-faced man, you're also a hypocrite!" Okay, what the fuck happened between these two?! I thought they were on much better terms on this!

"Ibara, you don't understand—!"

"—Oh, what don't I understand? What kind of a 'monster' is this Shadow Villain anyway? What could she have possibly done to make you turn your stomach inside out?"

"I—!"

"ALRIGHT!" I finally enter the conversation. My booming voice shuts everyone up, and everybody's eyes are on me. The adults are relieved to see me. I thought they'd be able to take control of the conversation; damn though, that just means the kids are being reckless. 'cause they were losing control of the conversation. "I don't give a damn about your petty high school drama, alright? Sanji is right, Lian is right, Count is right, and Grandmaster is right. None of you are going anywhere near this bitch, okay? The combined power of U.A. can't hold a candlelight to her. Really, in that fucking place, the only one who stands a chance is All Might, and that's the truth. We'll take over from here, got it? If you don't like it, then c'mere 'cause I'm gonna knock you out for the night. You're too much of a liability to keep 'round if you continue to be argumentative 'bout this. Otherwise, sit down and shut up. You understand?"

The kids give me reluctant head nods; well, everyone except for Sanji. I'm surprised though. Sanji would more than argue with us about fighting Ishtar. Although he doesn't know her real identity, he would still fight because he's that kind of guy. But he's not. What could've made him give up so easily?

"Her?" Yanagi asks. "You are aware of the identity of the Shadow Villain?"

Sanji deduces, "It's Ishtar. It's definitely her. She could be the only logical answer. The M.L.A. couldn't have someone as powerful as the Shadow Villain lying in wait, otherwise they would have fought Lian when the operation started so they wouldn't have to split their forces more than they needed to. And if the Shadow Villain was someone new, either the M.L.A. or us would've noticed them or at least reported something suspicious. So it has to be on our side, and the only one who stands out is Ishtar."

Grandmaster looks impressed, kinda like a dad being prideful about his son. "Wonderfully deduced, Mister Inochi. I would praise you more, but we're on a timer at the moment. But yes, Ishtar Mikhail is the Shadow Villain. To make this summary brief, we suspected that she was the Shadow Villain before the operation started which is why we isolated her on the top floor of Pollux.

"However, she was...more powerful than we had initially anticipated. Thanks to Claude's last-minute thinking, he managed to use Aftershadow to throw all of us out the nearest window. Fortunately for us, we were positioned near the vine cushion that Miss Shiozaki created for Mister Inochi's and Rin's escape from Castor. It was a stroke of luck, truth be told. We escaped with some injuries, and that in itself is a miracle."

So that's how we managed to survive the fall. Damn, we were lucky. Honestly, we were too lucky. We should've planned something in advance, but at least we're alive.

Shishida rubs his mouth and tries to process what Grandmaster told him. "So Miss Ishtar is the Shadow Villain… Is she that powerful? Enough to send Shangdi on his knees?"

Lian reluctantly nods. "Yes, darling. She is that powerful. Master Kendo just said that only a Hero on the caliber of All Might has favorable odds of winning. Unfortunately, we don't have All Might; we have myself. Ever since Pollux exploded with shadows, Ishtar's location is unknown. I sense her presence, she's in this area, but I don't know where. Unfortunately, we won't find out until…" he looks at me with his eyes widening, "Master Kendo."

"Yeah?" I reply, my voice uneasy from how he suddenly addressed me.

"Who's watching your granddaughter and Mister I-Lied-To-My-Saviors'-Faces?"

"...Fuck."

We hear someone whistling behind us.

My heart drops. Gripping the sheath of my katana, slowly, ever-so-slowly, I turn around. We all do. The overbearing sense of death begins to weigh down on my shoulders, and I feel my body almost dropping from the invisible weight. The kids stammer and stutter, finally feeling the intensity from Ishtar's presence. They're paralyzed. None of them can move a muscle. The only kid who could move is Sanji; even then, his body is not cooperating with him.

Lian whispers something to us; I couldn't hear what he said. He pushes through the crowd and stands in front, combating Ishtar's aura with his own. "Come out, darling."

Sitting on top of a light pole that's shining on Itsuka and Hakan… It's the assassin of the hour. She's no longer wearing her work uniform. Instead, she's wearing dark violet robes with some splashes of black, shrouded in a thick ebony cloak that nearly covers her entire body. Fuck, I can't believe I left Itsuka alone! Hakan too, but I don't really give a shit 'bout him right now.

"I was wondering how long it will take for you to finally notice your fatal mistake," Ishtar snarks, her vibrant amethyst-like eyes looking at me in particular. The light reflects off of her two Arabic short swords; from how razor sharp the edges are, it looks like she can cut the light itself. So she's the sort who uses two swords. "If this was a regular mission, they would've been killed and you would notice long after. But I have to commend you, Master Kendo. You raised your granddaughter well. She hasn't said a peep ever since she saw me. Or, is it because she's too drunk with pain to even register reality?"

Ishtar's right arm becomes a blur, and she points her sword down at Itsuka. My heart jumps at the sight. "How about I end her misery right here? I'll be saving her a lifetime of despair and sorrow."

"Don't you dare!" Sanji shouts, stepping forward but he falls on all fours, his exhaustion catching up to him. The Count crouches down and helps Sanji back up, berating him in whispers. He'd better not do any impulsive shit, I swear to God.

Slowly picking her right arm back up, her eyes narrow, locking onto Sanji. "My good man, I always had a sneaking suspicion that you were more than you seemed. It appears I was right, but that's not currently relevant. You're a non-issue."

With grace, she jumps off and lands without making a sound, not a single decibel of noise. We watch Ishtar as she leaves Itsuka behind before approaching Mister Jackass who's glaring bullets into her. "F-Fuck off…."

"I decline."

SHNK!

She drives one of her swords through his right foot.

"Gah—! Kuh—!" Hakan's screams of pain echo throughout the plaza. Absolutely bone-chilling, they are. Don't think I'll get used to screams like that. And the kids, unless they went through something horrific, are witnessing a brutal act right before their eyes.

"Could you scream any less of a man, worm?" she berates him, "So haughty, so arrogant… I can't stand men like you, especially liars who put their own allies in danger."

I hate the bastard for lying about Ishtar's true identity, but we need him to stand even the smallest chance against Hassan-i Sabbah. But how? Lian, as powerful as he is, isn't guaranteed to win in a fight against Villain No.2 in the entire world.

"Lian…" I mutter. "We're in deep shit."

"I'm thinking, Master Kendo," he answers in a whisper. "We have a wildcard in our hands: the Meta Liberation Army. We need to make proper use of them. Even if we can't get them on our side, we just need a window of opportunity so I can strike."

Grandmaster nods. "Then it's settled. I'll do the talking."

"Save our sorry asses, Grandmaster," I wish him luck.

Carefully, not making any sudden movements, he moves to the front of the group. "Hassan-i Sabbah—"

"—W-Who?!" Shoda exclaims behind us. In whispers, obviously. Bondo shuts down and whimpers.

Shishida's jaw drops. "H-Hassan-i Sabbah?! We've read about that Villain in our textbooks! But to see her in the flesh…!"

"That must be why I felt such a nocuous air from her emanation. It's a miracle that I have the fortitude to speak, let alone compose my wits," Yanagi murmurs. Yui, for once in her life, genuinely looks terrified.

"An assassin originating from the Middle East… However pious she may convince herself to be, the Lord is not with her," Shiozaki says with vindication.

"Hassan-i Sabbah…" Sanji mumbles, "...now it makes sense."

Grandmaster clears his throat, getting Ishtar's attention again, "Hassan-i Sabbah, what are you planning to do with us? We're perfectly aware of what you're capable of. And I'm sure the Meta Liberation Army is aware as well."

"That's a good question, Grandmaster. But before that." She pulls her sword out of Hakan's foot, causing him to let out a low rattle. Focusing her attention to the M.L.A. knuckleheads near her, she flicks some blood off of her blade. "I almost forgot about you lot. Ideological radicals fighting for basic Quirk use as a 'human right' in the name of humanitarian good. There's nothing more humanitarian than sieging governments, killing thousands of innocents in attacks, and injuring thousands more in 'protests'. How benevolent."

One of the soldiers, a total musclehead shouts, "Shut your mouth, whore! You're one to talk! I don't give a fuck who you are, we've been fighting for our rights against this shitty world!"

Ishtar tuts. "Ah yes, Japan is such an oppressive country! You have thousands of Pro Heroes who wait on you hand and foot, not kind soldiers with smiling rifles! Your politicians are bounded by law, what misery! You have men and women who can glutton themselves on a gorges of food, not an ounce of starvation anywhere! Compared to you Japanese, us bastards in warring countries are some of the most privileged in the world!

"What a farce. I despise you, so-called 'liberators'. When Quirks first came about, the most developed countries suffered for a decade or two before prospering once Rhode Island set precedence. Yet what about the nations who sat on a tightrope between prosperity and handship? All it takes is for one morally-corrupt man to gain great power. What do you think happened to those countries, my good man? How could we prosper when such a thing was a bygone dream out of reach?

"So be quiet, you perverted braggart. Sit there like a dog, but if you bark any more, then I may just have to put a muzzle on you."

The Meta Liberation Army is speechless. Well, they were speechless with Lian, but Ishtar put them in their place. In the grand scale of things, they really do have more blessings compared to those bastards in third-world countries in the Middle East.

But hey, the M.L.A. don't like being put in their rightful place. In fact, they hate it. They hate it, they hate it. Point out their flaws, they get angry. That's all they have: anger.

So the big guy with muscles, he stands up. He's all brawns and no brains. Re-Destro, injured as hell, pleads, "Heavyweight, wait—!"

"—Don't you fuckin' insult us, you bitch!"

STOMP STOMP!

He charges over to Ishtar like a rampaging bull. Ishtar takes a few steps forward and watches the idiot run at her. Once Heavyweight, guess that's his codename, reaches her, he coils his heavy right fist back.

"Die—!" SLICE "—guh—?"

Heavyweight falls to the ground clutching his neck.

Ishtar sighs. "Mortal arrogance is nigh infinite, isn't it? Pathetic… You're just a flick of my wrist. That's all you are: a flick."

"Holy crap!" Shoda cries.

"Did she—?! Did she murder that man?!" Shishida too.

"Yeah," I say, "you kids oughta look away now." As Heroes, they'll see the sight of bodies, but I didn't think it would be this soon.

Most of them do what I say. Everyone except Sanji and Shiozaki. Heavyweight got his throat slit. From the moment he charged straight at her was the same moment he committed suicide. She, with just a flick of her left wrist, cut his jugular. At least, that's what I think. It's like she never moved at all.

Grandmaster grits his teeth. "Well, I may or may not have indirectly contributed to a man's death, but so be it! Shangdi, I've given you a window of opportunity! Make use of it!"

Lian nods. "Roger that, darling! Get Little Fire and what's-his-face out of there as soon as possible!"

BURST!

Before we have the chance to respond, he ignited Astral on his feet and blasted towards Ishtar so fast that his body basically became a blur of golden light. Ishtar sees him coming and realizes her mistake: she's standing in a pocket of light from the fixtures. With her first fight with Grandmaster, Count, Lian, and Hakan, they found out that her weakness is light. Her Quirk is naturally dispelled by it.

Even with how strong she is, I don't think Ishtar has the power to stop Lian who has the literal force of a bullet train packed into him.

LEAP!

So she jumps backwards, leaping into the dark where light won't touch her. Unluckily for this broad—!

—CRASH!

Lian literally flies into her. The golden comet bursts once again, igniting like a rocket. He takes Ishtar and curves upwards straight into the air. Alright, that's one way of taking her out of the picture! Just fucking fly her out, I guess.

"Come on, Master Kendo!" exclaims Count, "Shindeka, you're staying here because of your broken arm!"

"I'm coming too!" Sanji says.

"As am I!" and then Shiozaki.

I turn towards the two kids. "You two—!"

Sanji interjects, "We're just carrying Itsuka and Mister Aldemir out! I'm not planning to fight Ishtar, trust me!"

"Alright," I grumble, "c'mon then! We don't have time to lose!"

A brawl of light and shadows ignite a quarter of a kilometer above. We feel the faint ripples of the shockwaves that both of them are pumping out. Lian's blasting energy attack after energy attack into Ishtar. She finally shows off her Quirk. Shadows materialize around her: tendrils, spikes, you name it. Astral and whatever-her-Quirk-is are clashing together, and just like what we expected, they're equal in strength. But there's something more worrying: Ishtar's Quirk isn't being dispelled by Astral. I thought light took her Quirk out completely, but I was wrong. Light weakens it.

The four of us reach Itsuka and Hakan. Shiozaki and Count work together to lift Hakan's pathetic ass off the ground; me and Sanji carefully lift Itsuka off of her bed of vines. Sanji tells her, "Don't worry, we'll get you out of here, Itsuka!"

Itsuka mumbles. It doesn't look like she even knows what's going on.

While we make our way back, I spot Heavyweight dead on the ground with a pool of blood centering around his neck. The M.L.A. are looking at their fallen comrade with scorn in their eyes, especially Re-Destro. They might want revenge, which can work in our favor I need to ask Grandmaster to convince them to fight with us. He has a sweeter tongue than I do. My tongue's as bitter as medicine.

I hope we don't need 'em though. If Lian's strong enough, he'll take Ishtar down. That's the best case scenario, but tonight has literally been worst case scenarios after worst case scenarios.

At least this quick mission went well. We get Itsuka and Hakan back with everyone else. We hand Itsuka off to her friends, including Sanji and Shiozaki. They tend to her while we deal with the asshole in the room, or well out in the cold air: Hakan Aldemir. Me, Grandmaster, and Count are letting him lay on the ground while his foot bleeds. Count has gauze in his hands, waving it above him. "How's your foot, Mister U.H.N.?"

Hakan starts, "I get that you're mad—"

—And I stop him, "'Mad' doesn't exactly describe how we feel, jackass. How would you feel if, hypothetically, a high-ranking official in an international organization lies to you about a Villain's true identity? Who turns out to be one of the strongest Villains in the world! Whose master worked with the motherfucker who killed my wife and friends. Can't be us, right?"

Grandmaster manages to form a smile. "As you can see, one of us takes great offense. This is the last chance to tell us what's really going on. Otherwise, we'll tell Lian to let Hassan-i Sabbah do whatever she wants to you."

Hakan stares at the three of us interrogating him. We're not torturing the poor bastard. We're just incredibly slow with how we give our injured medical attention. That's what we are: sloths. I bet he wants to keep the information close to his chest. He can't though because how can he afford the consequences otherwise? If we lose, he dies. He has to give in, else we will gladly feed him to the wolves.

"Alright…" he mutters. "Alright! I'll tell you everything!"

I smile. "Good. Make it quick and snappy. Our savior's fighting for your life, y'know."

The poor bastard sighs. "Don't remind me… God, where do I start? Well, I'm sure all of you are aware about the nature of All Might's Quirk, right? If you don't know already, we have a designation for Quirks like his: Origin-types. Long story short, they're Quirks that manifested during the Origin of Quirks. Somehow, they managed to survive the game of genetics and persist to this day, becoming some of the most powerful Quirks out there.

"They're the only type of Quirks that can possibly have a different condition for inheritance. Shangdi, who has Astral, is born with it like most people; though, only the men in his family can inherit it. On the other hand, we have those like what you're most familiar with, where two completely unrelated individuals can possess the same Quirk.

"How does this relate to Hassan-i Sabbah though?" Grandmaster asks.

"I'm getting to it!" he growls. "Moving along, then we have the Order of Assassins! During the Origin of Quirks, the Middle East blew up—literally. An all-out war broke between countless faction groups vying for power. Across the land, there were stories of high-ranking men suddenly falling dead. Some said they were assassinated by an incredibly small bullet. No evidence. Some said they were poisoned. No evidence. As theories began to pile up with no evidence to support them, the Hashashins appeared from the shadows. Everyone knew the answer behind the mysterious deaths.

"After all, the Hashashins are integrated into history. They were masters at the art of assassination, revitalizing an ancient organization of the same name from thousands of years ago. The modern day Hashashins wanted to get rid of the warlords and dictators that plague their homelands. They stopped at nothing to achieve it. Every line was a line they crossed. And standing on the pile of crossed lines was the first Hassan-i Sabbah, the angel blessed by Death.

"With a single brush of a finger upon your bare skin, you were branded with what we call the 'Mark of Death'. It was invisible and undetectable by any sort of technology. But one thing was clear: no matter who you are, how much time would pass, where you are even, Hassan-i Sabbah could demand your death. And it happened. It was impossible to stop it. You would die no matter what from 'natural causes'.

"That's the power of Death: the ability to kill anyone by the faintest touch upon command. It was the ultimate Quirk for assassination. But there's one thing: How could Death be transferred to others? It's simple: He can only transfer Death to descendants of the original Hassan-i Sabbah from thousands of years ago. If a descendant of the original Hassan-i Sabbah receives the Mark of Death, they would inherit the Quirk instead of, you know, dying.

"We found out that Death has some sort of…'feature' that allows the user to find these descendants. So the first Hassan-i Sabbah managed to find the second. And he passed it onto the third successor, and then to the fourth. And the fourth came across a ravaged village in the center of a war-torn Iraq. But the village wasn't destroyed by war. No, a single girl destroyed it. She was right at the center surrounded by half-torn bodies."

"Ishtar Mikhail, or whatever her real name is," I say.

Hakan nods. "Yeah, and that's how the fifth Hassan-i Sabbah came to be. And arguably, out of the other iterations, she is the most powerful of them all. So yeah, it's pretty bad fucking luck that we met her."

"Yes, our luck is absolutely pisspoor! But so what?!" Count yells-asks, "Ishtar inherited Death! Why isn't she capable of killing us as we speak?! Why is she using a Quirk that doesn't fit its description?!"

Hakan's eyes wander towards the empty night sky. "Think, Count. Just because you inherit a Quirk, it doesn't mean it replaces your old one. Unless you're Quirkless, so you don't have a Quirk to replace. The Quirk you see right now? That's Ishtar's original Quirk: Darkness. She's able to manifest darkness around her in various shapes and forms.

"But I understand your question. Why aren't we dead right now? Well, Death has a unique condition: there can't be two people who can actively use Death at one time. Death will be turned 'off' for one of them. That's what happening here. The fourth Hassan-i Sabbah is still alive, so Ishtar can't use Death.

"And we, the U.H.N. with assistance from various nations, went through a painful operation to find and capture the fourth Hassan-i Sabbah a year ago. We locked him somewhere remote and deep, putting him to sleep and pray everyday that he doesn't wake up.

"No one person knows his exact location. We have officials who knows pieces of his location, and I'm one of them."

I blow air out of my nose. "So that's why Ishtar is here… She has to kill her old master. Pah, she deserves it."

Grandmaster comments, "How callous."

I shrug my shoulders. "So what? With what Hakan said, no two people with Death can use the fucking thing at the same time. One of them has to die, so Ishtar is actively trying to find her old master to slit his throat. She's not getting my pity. The Hashashins worked with you-know-who when I was still 'round."

Hakan nods. "That's right… The U.H.N. captured the fourth Hassan-i Sabbah before, and we temporarily put him in Tartarus. Then, a prison break happened. In hindsight, it was a stupid decision considering he was still active."

"At least the U.H.N. gave Tartarus some apology money to build up their defenses to become the most fortified prison in the entire world," I muse. "Considering y'know, you gave him the perfect leverage to talk with the Hashashins n'all."

"That's a lot to take in—" someone says behind me, "—from the sounds of it, it's no wonder that I puked when I sensed her presence."

It's Sanji. This sneaky bastard eavesdropped on the entire conversation. Grandmaster exclaims, "Mister Inochi, I thought you would be tending to Miss Kendo! So this is how it feels to be listened in on…"

He scratches the back of his neck. "Sorry, but you know, I thought this took priority considering we're dealing with an incredibly dangerous Villain. Don't worry, I only caught bits and pieces to get a general idea of what's going on."

"Hmph," Count huffs, going ahead and wrapping gauze around Hakan's foot. "Can you elaborate more on this 'sensing her presence' thing? Lian mentioned it off-handedly."

Nodding, he expands on what he said before, "When you were talking about Origin-type Quirks, that was when I started to listen in. A couple of days ago, I talked to David Shield to learn more about my Quirk. Turns out, I have an Origin-type too."

Grandmaster and Count let out a "Huh?" in unison while Hakan predicted as much. For me, can't say I'm shocked. I didn't go with Sanji during his visit to David; Hayami only told me that Sanji wanted to keep some things private and that was that. But I always knew something was special about him. This seals the deal. Hell though, imagine the odds of taking in the kid who has the same Quirk type as Toshi…

Sanji explains, "Just like Lian and Ishtar, I have an Origin-type. For some reason, we can sense each other almost like our Quirks are resonating. From Ishtar's presence, it was so powerful that I threw up and Lian fell to his knees. But there's something I can't understand.

"If Death is inactive in Ishtar, how could I feel her presence? Better yet, if my Quirk is inactive in me, then how could Lian sense my presence? Because he has by the way, you guys weren't here for that. So I think Death is active much like how Dr—I mean, my Quirk is active: walled off by a blocker, where for Ishtar, it's the condition you talked about earlier. But she still has access to some aspects of Death, I imagine. Aspects that we don't know about."

If what Sanji saying is true, then Ishtar has more cards against us than we know about. Not to mention Quirk Passivity. Having two Quirks mean double the passive effects, but I have no idea if Death gives her that. It's better to assume it does and admit we're in way over our heads. Facing this fucking grim reality, the only fitting response is a mediocre and tired sigh. "God Sanji, how do you know all this?"

He nervously laughs. "Because I have access to certain aspects to my Quirk, just not the main functions. It's, uh, a very complicated and long story that I can't get into, but believe me on this." His eyes gaze up towards Lian and Ishtar fighting. "How else could Darkness be able to contend with an Origin-type Quirk? Either Ishtar was gifted with something incredible that rivals Origin-types, or Death is boosting its power. It's safe to say that it's a combination of both, most likely."

I can almost hear Grandmaster gritting his teeth, his look of grim saying more words than a news article. "Damn, but at the very least, we prepared for a contingency in the event that Ishtar Mikhail is who Hakan says she is. We're correct! Well, to an extent."

Ah right, thank God we had that. Hopefully, that comes into play and restricts Ishtar where we can at least fend her off!

Sanji looks at us blinking in confusion. "Uh, what contingency? You guys didn't tell us that you suspected Ishtar."

The Count laughs, putting a hand on his hip. "Well, Hayami Kendo was also informed. Let's hope the genius engineer pulls off a miracle."

All of us look towards Lian. I add on, "Let's hope Lian pulls off a miracle too."

---

Seventh Heir of Astral, Fifth Heir of Death

Those below are forced to watch two cataclysmic giants turn the night into a fiery display of light. One, a Chinese Hero hailing from an elite family blessed with power; the other, a Middle Eastern Villain who became the next heritor of a campaign piled with corrupt and immoral bodies of regimes.

As tense conversations echoed on the shattered streets below, Lian Fei-Long and Hassan-i Sabbah filled the silent night with a blood-chilling ambiance with the notions of certain death stalking from the shadows. Explosions of energy meagle with the sounds of the abyss, clashing together to create a harmony that the word "chaos" would be the only word to describe it.

The aesthetics of the struggle… One could say that it's wholly similar to Lian's fight with Re-Destro—that is, if one would call that sight a "fight". Re-Destro's Stress took on the malignant black, although valiantly, faltered against the golden light of Astral. However, despite the deep shade of black that Stress took on, it was nothing compared to the Darkness that the fifth Hassan-i Sabbah holds. It's a different sight altogether. Darkness takes on a darker, more meaningful shade of black.

It's the shade of black one would achieve when they shut their eyes, or when they're standing in a middle of a forest without a spec of light to be seen. One can say that the faintest light is blinding in the darkest night; it's an optimistic saying to say the least. Yet, even in the Darkness, even the brightest light wielded by chivalrous hero would fall to its knees whimpering. A man doesn't need to have an Origin-type Quirk to feel the mortal terror that Hassan-i Sabbah simply is.

Lian realizes this truth in the first few seconds. He isn't fighting a woman, he believes. Rather, he's fighting a monster that can hardly be called "human". As Hassan-i Sabbah tries to kill him with each attack, he can almost feel the eyes of each and every soul that she killed hovering behind her. From his first encounter with Hassan-i Sabbah, he's able to dispel her attacks with a simple emission of Astral. After all, they emitted enough light. They disappeared almost instantly, but here? He believed that his Quirk would be the perfect counter, but he's proven wrong. Despite his light, the Darkness persists. It's stubborn, incredibly stubborn. That only meant he needed to increase the potency of Astral in order to wane its strength. Just like the classical stories of a war between light and darkness, this battle seems to be bringing the trope to life.

How troublesome! cries Lian inside his own head. I underestimated the tenacity of this darling's Quirk. She's strong enough to defeat plenty of No.1 Heroes around the world. As pessimistic as this sounds, I may be one of the few capable of facing her.

Despite the Darkness's obstinacy, it's no match against Lian's will. No matter the foe, he dedicates his body to the protection of others, especially those innocent and weak.

"Ha! Goodness me, darling! You really are a fierce one!" he exclaims with laughter in his voice. That's the man he is. Always finding something to smile for even when the world is collapsing around him.

He levitates in the air, laughing harder after the last bout of exhaustive attacks. The act of levitation itself is a feat considering the nature of Astral. It's impossible to continuously discharge Astral similarly to a jet engine propelling an airplane. Rather, it's like a firearm shooting individual bullets. How he's achieving levitation is like an automatic rifle on full auto. His flight consists of constant miniscule bursts of Astral strong enough to hold his weight in the air and propel him if needed. As a result, he manages to achieve pseudo-levitation. To be able to float without any visible sign of imbalance is a skill he trained for years.

"Ishtar Mikhail! No—!" Lian turns back to the Villain in front of him. "—Hassan-i Sabbah, how about we have a sit-down and negotiate a ceasefire?"

"Are you getting exhausted, Shangdi?" replies Hassan-i Sabbah. "Did Re-Destro tire you out that much? And his pathetic soldiers too?"

He shakes his head. "No, I'm more concerned about your well-being. I'm what you would consider to be a gentleman, darling. I don't want to scar a beautiful woman's face if I don't have to."

Scoffing, Hassan-i Sabbah raises her right hand, her Arabic robes flapping in the wind. "Such a shame I have to scar yours."

"Well damn."

WHRRRR!

Almost like a violent geyser of water, Hassan-i Sabbah spews Darkness from the palms of her hands. Just moments after their appearance, they take shape into a mass of dark tendrils that lurch forward towards Lian. It's nearly invisible, camouflaged into the night. They crawl through the air like arms from the underworld. Even their advance sounds like the lost souls trying to wade their way through the muck of the underworld's river.

Lian grits his teeth. How troubling… I'm barely able to see her attacks. Well then, this may sound corny, but let there be light!

CRACKLE!

Golden energy crackles throughout Lian's body. A sharp radiance of light blisters the air with thunder-like pins against his skin. He drifts his right arm back before pushing his palm into the center of the gaping black mass of Darkness.

GOLDEN ASTRAL 100: GOLDEN HAND - WAVE!

BOOOOOM!

At his maximum output, his strikes the center of the gathered tendrils. Upon impact, they dissipate and wither away into ash. The light overwhelms the shadows, exterminating them just like rats. Gusts of wind overwhelm the space around them, almost becoming unbearable to breathe, let alone see.

FWOOOM!

Lian's instincts flare up. As soon as Hassan's Darkness was exterminated by his palm strike, he catches the glimmer and shine of one of her short swords flying towards him. It's being propelled by Darkness no doubt, a projectile that's more like a missile than an arrow.

BURST!

Barely, he blasts himself to the side, narrowly avoiding a blade impaling his stomach. A small cut lands on his hip.

FWOOM FWOOM!

Seriously, darling?! A flash of panic runs through his mind as he hears the two familiar sounds once again. The launched sword changes trajectory within an instant, flying back towards him. Its partner is rapidly approaching his location from behind. Both of them are aiming for his vitals. Hassan-i Sabbah really is trying to kill me! Well, what should I have expected from the leader of literal assassins?

He discharges a burst from his feet and launches himself further into the sky. Hassan-i Sabbah increases the intensity of her attacks. As her swords chase after him, the Darkness follows suit like a flock of eagles trying to catch their prey, both attacking him on all angles.

BURST BURST BURST!

Lian is put on the defensive. He evades all of Hassan-i Sabbah's attacks through a mixture of bursts and the contortion of his body, knowing that just one, only one gets through, it would mean his death.

They dance in the air, constantly fencing on top of a tightrope without a net to catch them if they fall. It's almost impossible to count how many times Lian narrowly avoids death, where if he moved just an inch less, he'll become another statistic for Hassan-i Sabbah. She's the one who murdered countless men and women; she accumulated a graveyard filled with bodies, and there is seemingly not an ounce of remorse leaking from her eyes.

Attacking over and over and over, avoiding over and over and over. It's endless. Where's the end? Where's the end to the onslaught? Through sweat-covered eyes, Lian can't see it. He heaves, but his heart won't feel the serene beats of a calm mind. Hassan-i Sabbah, with her observant eyes, catches this window of opportunity and lifts her robe-clad arms. "Perish!"

PROVINCE OF DARKNESS!

A giant orb of Darkness encases and closes Lian inside, spanning a diameter of twenty-five meters in every direction. The surface flickers and emits soft embers of shadows like the surface of the sun, and the only thing Lian can see is the abyss itself. It's like he's drifting in empty space. No matter where his eyes may wander, it's impossible to see anything other than the color black.

"Goodness…" Lian mutters to himself in utter disbelief. A rising fear creeps through his body, crawling through every muscle and tendon before taking over him completely. The sight of the pure, unfiltered darkness is a sight foreign. The human mind can't comprehend what he's seeing. It's the psychological terror that paralyzes him for just a moment.

SUR-WHOOM!

The sphere shrinks. He'll be crushed with the weight of shadows. The impending doom wakes Lian from his paralysis, and he realizes that if he spends just a second more being idle, he would unceremoniously perish.

I truly can't believe you made me feel such a childish fear. For a second, I thought back to all of those kids who would hide under their blankets because of how terrifying the darkness is. I feel almost humiliated. Though, I confess that you're one of the few who I fear. From the second you appeared, I knew you would be in my nightmares after tonight.

Gathering his wits, Lian takes a deep breath.

SUR-WHOOM! SUR-WHOOM!

The orb of Darkness dilates and contracts like a beating heart. It shrinks in size, its diameter being reduced to twenty meters then ten. The hairs on the back of Lian's neck stand up. There's tendrils ready to pierce his body and skewer his organs. He can't see them, but he senses their presence, almost like there's one just mere centimeters away from his throat.

Allow me to respond in kind, darling.

GOLDEN ASTRAL 100: DIVINE SHIELD - DRAGON'S DEFENSE!

Around Lian's body, he showcases his similar Super Move. Erupting from his body, a field of Astral emerges around him. With his External Manifestation, the enhancement that allows Lian to manifest Astral outside of his physical body to a limited range, it allows for a new innovation with his techniques.

Striking like lightning, his Dragon's Defense tears through the air.

ZWOOM—CRASH!

Dragon's Defense clashes with Province of Darkness, and with a roar, casts the shadows away.

LAUNCH!

Hesitating not for a moment, he emits an explosion that shoots him towards where he last saw Hassan-i Sabbah, and fortunately for him, she stayed where she was. A bold smile blesses his face. "Hah!"

Pulling his right palm back—

—CLASH!

He tries to strike the center of Hassan-i Sabbah's chest with another powerful palm strike, yet he feels the stinging cold of steel against his palm, her swords. She pushes against him with the flat of both swords, surprisingly contending with his strength despite her appearance.

Lian laughs. "Ha! It's much harder to kill me than you'd believe, Hassan-i Sabbah! I'm like a cockroach, believe it or not! Thanks to our previous bouts, I figured it out!"

Before, when I first met this darling with the two detectives and the suit, I used Astral at fairly low power to dissipate her shadows. Yet throughout this fight, some of her shadows continued to persist even in the presence of Astral. When I was forced to use the full capacity of Astral, they faded away just the same.

Hassan-i Sabbah's Quirk is indeed weak to light, but that doesn't explain the entire story. It is weak to light if her shadows are weaker than the light emitted. However, if her shadows are just as potent or even more potent than the emitted light, they will still persist; although, I'd imagine they'd function at weaker capacity.

There's a comforting fact that I can live with: using 100% of Astral will undoubtedly dispel her shadows no matter how strong they are. During our first encounter, both of us were limiting ourselves. Here, if I increase the intensity of my attacks, then she'll surely match!

"Then, I'd better stomp you just like any other pest!" Hassan-i Sabbah retorts, pushing against Lian with her blades. "Begone."

"Certainly, darling."

Hassan disengages from the struggle and floats back; Lian raises his arms into a stance. To mock her, he winks and sticks out the tip of his tongue.

—The fire in their bodies ignites.

BAM—! WHAM—!

Using Darkness, Hassan-i Sabbah multiplies the damage done with her sword strikes by propelling her blades at the apex of her swings to maximize the velocity.

Using Astral, Lian follows the same technique but with his hands. However, there's a twist: upon impact, he releases a duplicate attack taking the form of an energy blast, effectively attacking twice with a single action.

BLAST—! KER-BOOM—!

It's impossible to keep up with them. Within a second, they must have exchanged a ten blows each. Within a second, they blitzed around in the sky faster than jets. Like comets, blazes of black and gold rupture the fabric of the atmosphere.

The resonance of their Origin-type Quirks ring inside their heads, acknowleding each other as worthy opponents. To terribly underestimate the other is a fatal error; thus, they experiment. They feint, they test the reflexes of the other, and they try unorthodox ideas in an attempt to finally land a solid hit.

They throw a variety of attacks, both using the "human" side of their fighting styles—swordsmanship, martial arts—and the "abnormal", their Quirks. It's like the two of them are in a conversation. Every sentence is a fully executed attack, and every retort is a counter. As witty as both of them are, neither have gained the upper hand.

In the next exchange…

Lian throws his elbow towards Hassan-i Sabbah's windpipe; she evades and follows up with a fatal slash to his jugular; he catches the blade with both hands and uses his knee to turn her stomach inside out; she twists herself in the air to avoid the attack completely and kicks Lian away; he raises his forearm just in time to take the brunt of the kick, forming Baubles over his head to assault her with irritating lasers; she deflects the first few lasers that come after her before closing the distance; with both hands, he emits a larger laser in-between his palms; channeling the power of Darkness, she summons a tendril that corkscrews in the air, manipulating the wind currents and thwarting his laser upwards; he puts more power into his Baubles, increasing both the intensity and quantity to continue his assault before she gets any closer; she takes a gamble and throws a tendril into each Bauble, and much to her surprise, they dissipate. She's right in front of him.

CLASH!

With both swords, she swings them down upon Lian's shoulders in an X formation. Reacting, boldly at that, Lian catches them. The razor-sharp edges dig into his hands, finally drawing blood. They hover, eyes locked, muscles tense. For a few seconds, nothing happens. Although unspoken, they agree to a small period of respite.

Hassan-i Sabbah comments, "Your golden orbs. They can be destroyed."

"One of my weaknesses, I suppose. After all, my Baubles are flimsy manifestations of Astral. Their mere existence bounces on the edge of destruction. And you, I assume your Quirk can continue to persist in light if it's potent enough?"

She nods. "Correct. It's not as simple as casting light upon me, Shangdi. Your light has to be bright enough to burn away the dark." Putting more strength into her arms, she begins to force her blades deeper into Lian's hands.

Lian grits his teeth, feeling the sharp pain. "So that begs the question: Which one of us have more stamina in regards to our Quirks? Who can hold out longer, darling? Myself, when using 100% of Astral; or you, when using 100% of Shadows, or Spooky Abyss Magic, or whatever is the name of your Quirk?"

Hassan-i Sabbah smiles. "Why, you were using 100% of Astral this entire time? I should have known. You took me into the air to prevent collateral damage. The wind we generated would be enough to level entire blocks, frankly speaking. But here's the fault in your rather presumptuous question..."

CRACKLE!

Black bolts of electricity begins to crackle along Hassan-i Sabbah's body. "Allow me to demonstrate how powerful Darkness is."

"—Eh?!"

BOOM!

"Guh—!" Just in the nick of time, Lian blasts himself away from Hassan-i Sabbah before she explodes into a black mass of Darkness. He escaped the immediate vincity, yet he's not out of the woods just yet. From the explosion, small black worm-like spikes protrude from its surface and expand outwards into the empty space. They lay small, but many cuts along Lian's skin. He feels the pain of a thousand stings clashing against the cold violent air raging forth from Hassan.

Lian levitates and stands against the rapidly-transforming scene. Before, Hassan-i Sabbah was utilizing blazing fast tendrils to pierce through Lian's guard in addition to her own attacks using her dual short swords, not solely relying on her Quirk to fight. But now, it seems she's completely giving into her Quirk.

"Perhaps it wasn't the brightest idea to confess that I'm using 100% of my power…" Lian mutters to himself. There's an argument that can be made, but who's willing to argue right or wrong in a situation like this? Chuckling though, Lian bats his hair out of his view. "But anyhow darling, if you're willing to put everything you have into your Quirk, then I must reciprocate. It seems we have to prove exactly why most fear our existence."

With their Quirks alone, they could rule countries if they proved to be ruthless enough. Crush the powerful under their feet and truly define "strength" in its purest form. Now, they are finally demonstrating their ultimate birthright.

After all, they were limiting themselves.

Hassan-i Sabbah was raised to be a master in various forms of combat. She is a master assassin, paralleled by none in the art of killing. An expert in the human body, a supreme of the blade. By the mere fact that she fights with actual weapons, she's humble enough to rely on her own mortal body instead of completely relinquishing responsibility to her Quirk. And to imagine that she's able to combine both aspects, both human and abnormal, into a black symphony, she is truly one of the most dangerous people in the entire planet.

Lian Fei-Long is exactly the same; although he doesn't use swords, he is a master martial artists hailing from China. Like how Hassan-i Sabbah combines swordsmanship with Darkness, he combines martial arts with Astral. Some of his Super Moves are simply martial arts techniques aided with his Quirk! But much like Hassan-i Sabbah, he's unable to use Astral to its fullest extent because he enjoyed fighting in close quarters so much. Only a man like him would enjoy seeing his opponents up close. Though, some may say he's somewhat a victim of his own circumstances. Unlike Darkness, Astral is a very destructive Quirk. Recklessness would only result in destroyed property, so in actuality, his current fighting style balances effectiveness and sheer destruction.

With Lian and Hassan-i Sabbah sharing such similiar traits, they naturally find themselves at a standstill. Their close combat prowess is matched; they are both trained in the art of warfare. Facing this impasse, how can they achieve victory over the other? It's completely impractical to stop using their Quirks and fight like they're Quirkless.

Then, what would happen if they abandon the "human" aspect of their fighting styles? Swordsmanship and martial arts are inherently "human". They are tools where humanity invented for the art of war, like how hammers drive nails and how scythes cleave grass. But this truth stands out: tools are the great equalizer. If you find yourself weak, take up a firearm. If your work is too inefficient, invest in machinery. If you're lacking in knowledge, pick up a book.

But the "abnormal", the powers that drive humanity into the realm of impossibility, what would happen then? They're the powers given to them from birth. In essence, they are "talent", the very thing that separates the hard-workers from the gifted, as no matter how hard one can work, they will never reap the same fruits as those who are prodigies. How can a firearm contend with a Quirk that shoots out projectiles that penetrates through everything? How can a piece of machinery contend with a Quirk that makes objects weightless? How can a book contend with a Quirk that naturally makes one a genius?

Quirks are the great unequalizer. Lian Fei-Long and Hassan-i Sabbah are prodigies; they are gifted; they are talented. Lian is born with an Origin-type Quirk, a surefire way to become one of the most powerful figures on Earth. And Hassan-i Sabbah wields the most powerful Origin-type Quirk at all, coupled with the ability to fester in the dark.

They mastered their bodies, becoming more powerful than most Pro Heroes; more importantly, they mastered their Quirks, becoming the luminaries of strength.

Thus, that's the answer they've arrived to: they are throwing away what makes themselves relatable to the average man. They stripped themselves of their "humanity", and they will demonstrate why they are the sovereigns of the world.

And Hassan-i Sabbah proves her sovereignty. As fast as Lian's pride grows, it sinks almost immediately.

He stands at the face of Darkness. Before his eyes, he witness a scene from a horror. Hassan-i Sabbah is swallowed. She disappears, not with a bellowing rumble that shakes the earth, but rather a chorus of whispers growing so loud that, instead of rattling the crust, it jitters the heart. In front of Lian lies a beast of epic proportions, as if he's witnessing the transformation of a beast from gospel. The size seems to rival a small mountain.

The contour of the beast, all of its shadowy edges and curves, its spindle-like appendages and its soft muses of the wind, is nigh invisible. It's surrounded by a cyclone of Darkness. However, it's not traveling in a single, specific direction—here nor there, clockwise nor counterclockwise, X nor Y nor Z. It's traveling in all directions on all axises—up, down, around, clockwise, counterclockwise, diagonally, inverted, reversed, all sorts of mind-boggling ways that challenge the mind.

Lian squints his golden eyes into the heart of the beast, and the beast leers. Through the wall of shadows, covered by a veil over that conceals much of its form, it seems to be an amalgamation of ancient beings told in primeval texts. Perhaps this beast is inspired by the scriptures of the Abrahamic faiths? Maybe, it's a possibility.

His eyes are transfixed on the smallest details, following the faint lines of shadows throughout the entity. If I reached out and touched the dark, his mind begins, I'd surely be torn apart by the strands of each of my muscles.

How many eyes do you have? he asks it, almost expecting a response. There's countless eyes staring at him, mocking him, jeering him, humiliating him, laughing, taunting, bickering amongst each other, bantering about how insignificant he is—an ant standing on its hind legs furiously waving its arms at the boot. How many eyes does it have? Two? Maybe four, or six, or eight, or perhaps infinite? As far as the Darkness reaches, is it as far as its eyes can go?

How many swords does it wield? Forged using the abyss between the stars, just how sturdy is its metal? How can this foreign beast wield them? Possibly, just maybe, it possesses hands, many of them even. Born from a human mind, yet this resembles nothing of humanity. Is it considered human?

Or is it the sun? The beast that floats, through the stormwall, takes on that shape. The closest comparison Lian can make is that, whatever this manifestation is, it resembles the sun. The burning darkness of the sun sears an image, although concealed, camouflaged in the absence of the stars, that one simply is unable to forget. This monster, this foul beast trembling the fabric of the world, Hassan-i Sabbah calls it—!

—AHRIMAN—!

Lian manages to squeak a chuckle from his prideful lips. Hah, I'm so envious that our human minds can only go so far, darling. You, somehow, managed to create something so foreign that I'm trembling in my shoes, and I'm not even wearing any! That's when you know I'm truly terrified…

You didn't tell me that you weren't using your Quirk to the fullest extent. Here I was, arrogant in my thinking that I had a wonderful chance. What joy you might be feeling, seeing the hope drain the color from my golden skin. Alas, I'm proven wrong.

However...

WHOOOSH—!

Lian releases his inhibitions.

I'm not particularly fond of fear! Yet you'd be mistaken if you believed I would stay here and die! I know many Heroes who were afraid and intimidated by the stronger Villains they come across, yet they're some of the bravest I know. They're afraid, but they say, "Even though I'm shaken, I'll act in spite. Willingly becoming idle and practicing inaction are two things worse than fear, and I won't live with myself if I adopt that cowardness."

Although I'm strong, although I'm the one that many fears, I adamantly refuse to concede just because someone finally made me afraid. I'm completely unable to create something as massive as that garguantuan beast, but know this: the crumbs of Astral that fed you before, I'm prepared to give you a larger, grander feast!

How can Lian go farther than he already has? It's literally impossible to go beyond what he has already showcased. That is correct. That is true. He's not attempting to increase the potency of his attacks; as if he would go beyond 100% and enter 200%, or even the absurd 1000%. In actuality, he's dramatically increasing the properties of his emissions—the size, proportions, numbers, any aspect he can manipulate at will. The scale of his creations can dramatically increase relative to Hassan-i Sabbah. If she wishes to create an indescribable demon forged in Darkness, he'll construct a blade to slay such a thing.

WHIRRRRRR!

Ahriman puslates, sending waves of tremors through the chilling air. The hairs on the back of Lian's neck stand on end. Something is coming. Perhaps it'll be a tendril that'll pierce his heart, or perhaps, a claw that will grab him until he's crushed. Whatever it is, he already declared that he will not become idle nor practice inaction.

From how well Ahriman camouflages into the background, it's incredibly difficult to see its attacks.

But despite that—!

GOLDEN ASTRAL 100: SHINING LIMBS - SWORD OF GOUJIAN!

"—Disappear!"

Lian raises his right arm high. A shimmer of light shines brightly in his skin, almost as if his arm itself is made out of gold. Then, before the encroaching shadows swallow him, his arms falls. A golden blade shines true, formed in the arc of his swing, crafted in the might of Fei-Long Family. It stands tall as a grand oak, and its power electrifies the air like a lightning storm. The blade crashes; the blade cleaves through the dark. The shadows, so arrogantly proclaimed by Hassan-i Sabbah to resist the light of Astral, slithers away into obscurity.

The Sword of Goujian, named after the timeless sword, is the perfect weapon to hack at the approaching Darkness.

Hassan-i Sabbah, buried deep into the mass of Ahriman, roars. Relentlessly, to slaughter and maim the Hero who has the capability to stand against her, she commands Ahriman to send a legion of shadows to impale and gouge the entrails from Lian's body.

ZWOOM ZWOOM ZWOOM!

Damn! Lian curses in his own mind. In order to put an end to this, I must break through the storm wall and find Hassan-i Sabbah herself!

BLAST!

Lian propels himself towards the eye of the beast with a mighty blast. His body soars, tearing through the air like a fighter jet. Eyes locked forward, his attention focused on the crashing waves of Darkness.

—SWORD OF GOUJIAN!

HEAVEN'S DIAMOND—!

Four Baubles form around his body, firing beams of smoldering light that scalds the limbs of Ahriman with a vengeful hiss like venomous snakes. With his arms, they swell with the glow of Astral, pounding against his fragile bones. Even for a powerful man like him, constantly concentrating the full extent of his power and making his attacks be as whimsical as possible is incredibly draining.

SLICE CLEAVE!

—But Lian doesn't care. He screams from the adrenaline pumping throughout his veins, unleashing a combination of wide, sweeping slashes from his arms and big, bold lasers from his Baubles, all while propelling himself forward closer to Ahriman.

As he gets closer, his heart begins to tremble. From where he was at before, it was a massive beast. Yet with each meter closer, each centimeter closer, he can truly begin to feel the scale of this monster.

But he doesn't care! Fear, anxiety, doubt, they have no place in his mind! Even when the natural human instinct is to run away, just to spite the natural survival instincts inside him, he runs towards the danger with a smile on his face!

Even when the terror is trying to pull him away from this horror, he takes a step closer! Even when it means certain injury, or even death, he takes another step! In pursuit of true heroism, to protect everyone he holds dear, and the beautiful world that gave him this life, he continues to pursue the lofty goal of peace!

Even when the tainted roots of Darkness embolden themselves, even when exhaustion is making the world dimmer, victory is an absolute!

—BLAST—!

Piercing the abyss, he reaches the wall of Darkness that protects the heart of Ahriman. There, lying beyond the border, is the Villain he's sworn to defeat!

"—Ah." Lian levitates on the edge, just about fifty meters from the wall. He has a thousand cuts on his body, evidence of how many times he avoided death. "—It's impossible to pierce through that wall with what I have now! If I lay just a finger on you, I'll be cut into cubes and be served in a broth! Then, you have given me the honor of breaking through your defenses with a new technique."

He laughs. "You'll need to thank Valjean for this Super Move. Who else would be insane enough to turn their body into a living weapon?"

Lian closes his eyes, and the world has gone silent. The creeping walkers of the night stalk him, quickly slithering, but he pays them no mind. The storm wall of shadows must be penetrated. After this, I'll be drained of my energy. This is my one and only chance.

WHOOOOOSH!

A tempest erupts from Lian, parting the ocean of shadows around him. A swirl of gold wisps burst and radiate from his veins.

"Separate Heaven and Earth—"

The air's split, typhoon-like winds. His eyes turn an electrifying gold, strands of lightning striking indiscriminately around him.

"—Become mountains. Become rivers—"

He exhales; then, he leans forward.

"And turn eternal—!"

—BURST!

Lian morphs into a golden comet exploding with vigor, crashing through the sound barrier. He cuts through the fog of Darkness and leaves a clear line in his wake. With his Baubles, Lian forms a spearhead-shaped energy dome of Astral like one of his other Super Moves, Dragon's Defense; however, it expands out over a large area over time. Here, he's not giving the dome a chance to expand.

Since it's only fifty meters from his position to the wall, he'll cross the distance within a fraction of a second, maybe less than that. He's turning his body into a railgun propelled with the overwhelming power of Astral, all to pierce through the outer layer of Ahriman.

Although Hassan-i Sabbah is a terrifying foe, even she isn't fast enough to counter Lian. In fact, she underestimated him. She never expected to see such a terrifyingly fast, and incredibly reckless, stunt. And with that mistake, it's her failure.

Ahriman is an indescribable monster that brings cosmic horror into the mortal hearts, yet Lian brings the light to dispel the devil completely. He aims to tear away the seams that connect the mortal realm to the divine realm, to create the earth and bring the gift of nature, and to bring the concepts of humanity that keeps the universe balanced. This is—!

GOLDEN ASTRAL ONE HUNDRED: PANGU!

—CRASH!

Lian pierces through. The golden dome that surrounded him shatters like glass, and he lets momentum carry him far into the heart of Ahriman. There, he sees Hassan-i Sabbah floating at the center with color drained from her skin. From the moment Lian catches her eye, despite looking the same himself, he exclaims, "Found you, darling!"

SOAR!

He doesn't use his Quirk to propel further. It's not that he doesn't, he can't. Using Astral any further, he'd drop dead before reaching Hassan-i Sabbah. Still, he sent himself fast enough through the barrier that the momentum will carry him all the way to her.

Hassan-i Sabbah grits her teeth and reaches down towards her waist.

Lian pulls his right palm back.

Time slows down as they gradually come to a head.

Once they meet, Ahriman explodes into a cloud of wispy shadows.

And they fall towards the earth.

---

Sasaki Kendo

CRASH!

Well shit.

Lian and Ishtar crash through the skyway that connects Pollux and Castor, plummeting into the concrete in a giant cloud of dust and smoke. If I didn't know any better, something like that would've killed them. But these guys? They're immortal. Even if they get caught in a nuclear blast, they'd still survive somehow.

"Good God…" Count mutters. "They took each other out."

"I wouldn't count on it, uh, Count," I tell him. "Something in my gut tells me we aren't done here. C'mon, get ready. We're the only two who are capable of fighting."

"I'm more than capable to help you," Grandmaster states. "Do you think I'll let the kids fight the second most dangerous Villain in the world?"

I'd whack him over the head right now, but he doesn't need a concussion added onto his laundry list of injuries. "No, but your left arm is broken. It's literally in a makeshift sling that Shiozaki made."

He furrows his eyebrows. "I suppose it's a good thing that I'm right-handed, Master Kendo."

"And I'm ambidextrous, whoopee-do."

Sanji speaks up, "What about me? I can—"

"—Pretty sure you're a 'kid', Sanji. Plus, you're just as injured as Grandmaster, if not worse!" I shout at him. "Stay back and make sure none of your friends get involved."

"But—!"

"Don't mean to interrupt, but the smoke's clearing!" exclaims Count. The four of us turn towards the crash site. I have my katana drawn, Count's ready to charge in, and Grandmaster has his revolver out. Sanji, well, we're not letting him fight.

As the smoke clears…

Sanji shouts, "—Lian!"

"Guh…" Lian has a sword impaled through his side. "Hah… W-Well then… D-Darling…"

"Ahh…" And Ishtar's bleeding from the mouth, Lian's palm resting squarely at the center of his chest. Her ribs must be shattered. "D-Damn you, Shangdi…"

SHNK—!

—GRAB!

Ishtar pushes her sword in deeper, and Lian moves his hand off of her chest and grabs Ishtar by the throat.

"Hrraaah—!" Lian screams, still suffering from the heat of the battle. He squeezes Ishtar's throat with a single hand, and almost instantly, her face starts to turn blue.

"—D-Die!" shouts Ishtar. She slides a few centimeters deeper into Lian's flesh, causing his screams to grow louder. But his tenacity doesn't stop. With his left hand, he tries to punch a hole through Ishtar's head, but she manages to grab his wrist just in the nick of time.

They're locked in a battle of endurance. If their stamina was a soaked towel, they're squeezing every last drop of water out. Whoever runs out of water first, they lose. If we let them continue on, they'd surely destroy each other.

It's a shame that we never agreed to have a fair fight with Ishtar.

"Grandmaster," I signal him. Guess I'm using him after all. "I'm pulling the lughead out."

"Alright."

BANG!

Grandmaster fires. As soon as he does, I dash forward with Count behind me. The sound of the bullet catches both of them off-guard, then the soft thud of lead picking up dirt. Even though Grandmaster was really aiming at Ishtar, he missed by a mile. I mean, I don't blame him. Tonight has been a really rough night, but a distraction is all I need.

Seven meters away, I see Lian turning his head slightly to see us. His grip on Ishtar's neck loosens, and in that moment, I see her making her next move. I shout, "Count!"

KICK—!

—LEAP!

Ishtar manages to pull herself back and kick Lian towards us, letting her foot slide her sword out of his gut. I jump up and over Lian; for Count, he has the pleasure of catching that idiot. Tightly gripping on my katana, I spin around and bring it down onto Ishtar. She barely has the stamina to block my aerial attack, so to take advantage, I follow up by kicking her in the side of the head.

She tumbles onto the ground right as when I land. Heh, she has to use her sword as a third leg to stand herself up.

"M-Master… Kendo…" Ishtar mutters while clutching her chest. She's breathing pretty heavily. Good, Lian did manage to break her ribs. It'll be incredibly hard for her to breathe, so if she decides to tussle with me, she'll be at a disadvantage.

I take a step back, having both Ishtar and the two knuckleheads in sight. At the latter, I ask, "Is Lian doing alright? Getting stabbed is not a picnic. That's not something most people can walk off."

Lian, the comedian, decides to laugh as if that'll help his case. "Hah! I—hak! I'm...perfectly healthy… But, I'm afraid you might have to take my place, M-Master Kendo…"

"Jeez…" I scratch the back of my neck. "Making the elderly do your hard work, Lian. But alright, I'mma wrap this up quick. If the assassin here still wanna fight."

We moved Hakan away from the hotel. He's with the kids; they're our last line of defense, and I hope to God that we don't gotta use 'em. From the state Ishtar's in, I don't think she can pull any big tricks like before. Whatever the fuck she made up there, that must've drained her. 'Cuz otherwise, I'm fucked. If I was twenty years younger, I would've been just under Ishtar's level. But I'm just an old man. I'm not as fast and nimble as I used to be.

Ishtar straightens her back. She whips out her other sword and gets into an offensive stance, leaning her body forward in preparation to lunge at me. "I'm afraid I won't concede that easily… No matter what, I must get my hands on that filth. Even if it means cutting through you and the rest of your merry band."

"You're really that desperate to kill your own master, huh?" I taunt. "Not gonna lie, you deserve that pain. Consider it payback for him working with All For One back in the day."

She grits her teeth. Looks like she has some bad memories of that bastard. "Don't mention that man. I wasn't apart of the Hashashins at that time, but Master told me about the cruelty of All For One. We were indebted to him, so naturally, we had to get rid of a few nuisances. Even so, he was the type of man we would decapitate and display his head. But—"

"—But, there were some people he wanted to kill with his two hands," I growl.

Ishtar shakes her head. "True, but we anchored ourselves onto that fiend. When we wanted to pull that anchor, we found that it weighs just as heavily as our sins. The same applies to his allies and his enemies. No one can escape his webs."

...That sounds just like All For One. He still has a card up his sleeve. What a cunning motherfucker. From the moment he worked with the Hashashins, he opened the road to leveraging them later. There is no "one-and-done" with that guy. Same with me. I'm roped back into this mess. Might as well do everything I can.

"Heh, you have my pity." I whip my katana around, responding to her stance with my own—a chudan-no-kamae stance where the blade is situated at the middle. "But y'know what, you don't have my sympathy. You, just like All For One, just like the rest of 'em Meta Liberation Army, are trash. You're against us at the end of the day."

"I always knew that," she responds, almost sounding disappointed. "I am serious, Master Kendo. I will cut through you and everyone here."

"You already killed a man. I don't need to take you for your word."

Ishtar, out of the blue, breaks out of her stance and stands up straight. For a good second, she doesn't say anything, like she's expecting me to say something else. All she has is a slight smile. It's a sad smile. "Then, I don't have to apologize for doing this."

I hear Lian shouting, "Get back, Master Kendo!"

SWRRRRR!

Wispy shadows hang from her clothes. So she didn't run out of juice. Ahaha… Damn. I thought I had a good chance at beating her. As soon as I see the shadows, as fast as I can, I leap back. But I know it's not fast enough. Darkness can span a soccer field within seconds. With how close I am to Ishtar, I'd need to teleport to get out of harm's way.

Jeez… I'm looking at this in a hundred different ways. I genuinely mean that. There's just not a good ending for me. Or for Count and Lian too. The three of us are screwed. The only way to counter is by shining a bright light onto Ishtar. Lian can't use Astral anymore. Dawn doesn't come until, like, what? I don't even fucking know at this point. It's been such a long night.

We can't win. Not in this situation. We're in checkmate.

The most I can do is, after I leap back, pull up my katana and hope that I somehow block the wormy tendrils of Darkness.

And I shut my eyes.

CLICK!

Huh—?!

CLICK CLICK CLICK!

"Shit, that was way too close for comfort! Dad, you okay?!"

"Hayami…?" God, I forgot about her…

"Lian!" I hear Rin shouting. Out from my peripheral, he jumps down from a shattered window and stumbles on the landing. Count blasts him with a quick berate but Rin doesn't seem like he's listening. He's checking up on his older brother even with those injuries he got.

"Master Kendo! Don't we make a dramatic entrance as always?!" Oh, there's that ratface Monoma. I'd rather die. "That's one way of bringing the spotlight to you! Quite in a literal sense at that!"

Yeah, that was the entire plan, you idiot. The adults, including me believe it or not, talked about Ishtar's real identity as a member of the Hashashins. Though, we thought she was gonna be a Zabaniya since someone told us that. While the rest of us focus on possibly taking Ishtar down on the top floor, Hayami prepared for a contingency: in the event we make it onto the ground—let's be honest, it was incredibly likely since Re-Destro and Lian would be fighting outside—she was gonna do some engineering magic on the spotlights at the theater. She'd explain the situation with everyone else and get them to help bring the spotlights out here. And God said, "Let there be Light."

"Hah…" I can't even say words right now. I'm way too worked up after thinking I was gonna die and/or maimed. Taking a hot second to breathe, I holler back, "Goddamn! Finally! But if you're thinking about helping me, you're dead wrong!"

Count—with Rin trying to wrap some bandages around Lian's chest—provides some much-needed context for 'em, "As much as we appreciate you saving our lives, this woman is not a Zabaniya!"

Ishtar exchanges glares with me and the rest of the newcomers. She spins her swords around her hands, once more getting into an offensive stance. I hear her mutter, "Dammit all…"

Count finishes, "She is Hassan-i Sabbah! The leader of the Hashashins, the No.2 Villain in the entire world!"

"Who is the leader of what in the how?" Tokage stammers.

"The Hassan-i Sabbah…?" Honenuki mutters.

"Yeah, the one and only! Which is exactly why you aren't fighting!" I yell, going back to the chudan-no-kamae stance. "She's more powerful than your class combined ten times over! Even Lian was nearly killed by her!"

Kamakiri shouts back, "So y'think you're our best shot, Master Kendo?!"

Hayami agrees, "Dad, you can't be thinking of fighting her by yourself! Count and Rin hafta get Lian the hell outta here!"

"And y'think I'm gonna let kids fight a Villain this dangerous?! Yeah no, Japan is already letting kids risk their lives everyday! But like hell I'm gonna send them into a literal death sentence!"

Rin fights me on this, "And we'd be sentencing you to death if you leave you alone!"

Lian, even him, says, "W-We may not have a choice, my elder…"

Above me, the kids are ready to fight. The only ones who're hanging back are Shojo Fukidashi and Okichi Tokugawa, and that puppy too. Besides from 'em, everyone is just 'bout to fight for the last time in their life. Ishtar sees everyone fired up, and she just grimaces. Huh… I thought she'd laugh, seeing as she's an evil bitch n'all. "Don't...make me kill all of you here. I don't care what happens to Japan, it's not my responsibility. Your lives are none of my concern."

"—But they're our concern."

LIBERATION 100% - STRESS OUTPUT BURDEN!

"—What—?!"

CRAAAAASH!

I nearly get wiped out by a sweeping tide of black shit. I get knocked on my ass with my vision covered by a cloud of dust and smoke. When it settles, Re-Destro is back on his two feet, mustering enough strength to maintain himself in his gargantuan form. Behind him are his minions, and Grandmaster is way in the back with a smile. Hah, that bastard really convinced Re-Destro…

Unfortunately for us, Ishtar managed to evade Re-Destro's attack somehow. I didn't even see it, but she's somehow hanging from the bottom of the skywalk. Okay. These fucking people… Toshi, Lian, Ishtar… Why do they all gotta be powerhouses…

Ishtar growls, "You…"

Re-Destro glances at Lian, the same guy who demolished him earlier, then at Ishtar, the same woman who stabbed Lian. His eyes flash with the realization that, well, he isn't the cream of the crop. In fact, the creamiest of the crop—that metaphor sounds too weird now—are the two who just tore up the air. Tch, this only means Re-Destro will be a tougher opponent down the line. He's willing to chase after power.

"Miss Ishtar Mikhail…" Re-Destro begins, "...or Hassan-i Sabbah, whatever you'd prefer… As much as I am dismayed at the current educational institutions that pump out these Hero-riddled children, I won't allow you to murder them in cold blood. Never I would imagine fighting alongside Heroes to topple a greater threat."

Re-Destro looks at me. "And Master Kendo, allow me and the rest of my soldiers to end tonight. I'm not sure just to what extent she can use her Meta Ability, but once it's morning, I'm sure it'll be incredibly difficult for her to fight."

I hate this bastard, but I can't say no. Better him risking his life than mine.

"Fine. Good luck. Stay alive, would ya? It'd be a damn shame if you kicked the bucket now." Re-Destro smiles while I look up at everyone at the broken windows and spotlights. "You guys up there, keep on those spotlights!"

They shout out words of encouragement while I fuck off to the rest of the group on the ground. Behind me, I already hear a big fight breaking out. Re-Destro is barking orders while Ishtar is clashing blades with them. Yeah, don't wanna get in the middle of that.

Grandmaster's with Count, Lian, Sanji, and the rest of the kids too. Oh, Hakan is here too. He's off by himself. For some reason, they decided to get closer to the fight. And Itsuka… She's conscious. Well, enough where she's thinking. She's still laying down on a hair bed that Shiozaki made, but she's talking to Yui.

"Grandmaster." I approach him with Count, Lian, Rin, and Sanji altogether. Rin's busy putting bandages on his brother. "Looks like you managed to convince Re-Destro to risk his life for us. Good job."

Grandmaster strains a smile on his face. I can tell that he's dead tired. "You're welcome… At the very least, if Re-Destro doesn't defeat Hassan-i Sabbah here, he'll tire her out until dawn comes. At this point, it's a matter of preparing for the worst."

Behind him, I see some of the kids running out of the hotel: Fukidashi (the brother), Honenuki, Tokage, Monoma, and Komori. They see us and as soon as they run up, I snap, "I thought I told you to man the spotlights."

Tokage flashes a finger-gun at me. "Your daughter told us to support you guys down here. We tried to used the walkie-talkies but we didn't get a response, so we figured they were damaged during the big fight."

Grandmaster tilts his head towards Tokage, indicating that she has a point. Well, "she" as in my daughter. "Your daughter seems to understand what could happen. She sent some of the students who were most skilled in crowd control."

I groan, rubbing my mouth. "Y'know what would be a great idea? An amazing idea, even? One of us get some fucking help. So, y'know, we don't resort to sending kids off to a master assassin? I know I-Island security must be down or taken over or whatever the hell is happening at the central tower, but there are hundreds of Heroes. Are you telling me that no one is noticing the fireworks show that Lian and Ishtar just put on a few minutes ago?"

Monoma comments, "Given that every important figure is at the central tower, they'd need to accidentally stay back just like us. Hah…" He looks at Tokage. "I just remembered that your father never gave you the limousine, correct?"

Tokage nods. "Yup. It never came. I called him, nothing. I texted him. He left me on 'Read'." Did he actually leave his own daughter on 'Read'? What an asshole…

Grandmaster raises an eyebrow. He mutters, "Did he anticipate—?"

BOOM!

An explosion went off behind us. I glance behind me and it's nothing that can hurt us. The fight's getting increasingly chaotic. I even see more soldiers coming to help Re-Destro. Must be from the guys everyone beat the shit out of. But despite the growing numbers, Ishtar is holding her own. The Meta Liberation Army aren't attacking in turns. They're trying to overwhelm Ishtar by attacking simultaneously, but she is way too fast and strong for them. Even when she's injured…

FWOOM!

Oh, now there's a giant ice spike.

"Haha!" Lian laughs. He puts an elbow on Grandmaster's shoulder. "It's Geten, that darling! Even he's in the fray too? Oh look, it's those plates! Stalwart managed to wake up too? Well, in my defense, I went easy on them."

I don't wanna think 'bout what Lian's definition of "easy" is, but at least more of the Meta Liberation gang is helping out. Never believed I would say that, but desperate times and all that crap.

"Haven't seen Vainglory or Curious yet. Indignation and Trumpet might be on their way here," I say. Quietly, Sanji stands beside me. Finally, he got some bandages for the wounds he got. "Still, don't got a lot of faith that they can win this. You holding up alright? How's Itsuka?"

"Delirious. She tried to get up before, but—" Geten drops a pillar of ice onto Ishtar. She manages to avoid it somehow, "—but, uh, we made her lay down. I'm just...shocked, y'know?"

"Kinda. Tonight has been a series of shockers one after another, so you gotta be more specific than that."

"Well, I mean—? I guess—? How do I even say this…? Uhm, I'm just a little, a, uh, a little, uhm, taken aback in thinking that I'd in the same power level as Lian and Ishtar. Look at her. Even though—" One of the Meta Liberation soldiers get thrown out of the arena on the opposite side of us, "—feel sorry for him. Anyway, even though she's injured, she's still capable of fighting an army."

Right. He has an Origin-type Quirk like Toshi and Midoriya. And Nana too, if we're counting her. One For All is prolly the most powerful Origin-type out there. At least…that's what I like to think before I saw Lian and Ishtar. Sanji, the kid who I taken in all those years back on a whim, has an Origin-type too. After years of being ridiculed for as a legally Quirkless kid, he's more powerful than 99.99% of the Earth's population.

Why do I end up with all of the crazy kids?

"It's—" Re-Destro does another one of his Stress energy discharges or whatever the hell you call it, taking out the lobby of Pollux with a single swoop, but it doesn't do shit to Ishtar, "—hmph, it's must be weighing heavy on you, huh? Well, that's why you got me. We don't know what your Quirk is, but I'mma do my best."

"If this is any indication, then I'd need to do better than my best," Sanji responds. I don't have a response for that. Because I find myself agreeing with him. I hope to God that Ishtar isn't the kind of Villain we hafta fight, but who knows… We might as well have to.

We watch the M.L.A. fight Ishtar, and they're losing. Even with their coordination—scarily good coordination—Ishtar powers through them with brute force. She cuts the soldiers down, but I don't think I see a single dead guy or girl anywhere. Sure, she cuts 'em, yet they're still squirming 'round like worms. For some reason, she's sparing 'em unlike the first guy.

But she definitely isn't sparing 'em from pain. She manages to hop on one of Stalwart's plates and reach her. Before Stalwart can move, Ishtar kicks her into a surprisingly still-intact glass window. Unfortunately for Stalwart, the window doesn't break. Like a rubber ball, she bounces right off and falls onto a pile of concrete and rebar.

As a few soldiers try to get her out, they make themselves easy pickings for Ishtar who knocks 'em over them within a second. Re-Destro tries to help out with a wild right hook filled with Stress, but Ishtar jumps right over him. He's barely able to prevent himself from punching his allies, curving his fist just upwards towards the spotlights. The bastard nearly hits Hayami and the rest of the kids. Unluckily, a few of the spotlights break. Hayami shouts, "Watch where you're hitting, dammit! Are you trying to get us killed?!"

Count says, "Shit, that idiot took out some of the spotlights, and Ishtar still looks combat-ready. Mater Kendo—"

CRACK!

—Ishtar grabbed a rock and tossed it into another spotlight. It shatters.

Sanji exclaims, "Master Kendo—!"

"—Fuck me!" I whip out my katana. "Ishtar's tryna break the spotlights! Sanji, stay here!"

I didn't hear anyone else try to stop me before I rush into the fight. The M.L.A. might've gotten reinforcements, but since they're already tired with our fight, they're wearing down by the second. In fact, just right now, the Ignite guy—the one who can ignite anything upon touch—flies over my head.

Me and Hayami cross eyes.

If the spotlights go out, take the kids and get the fuck outta here! I tell her with my eyes. She doesn't have a choice other agreeing with me.

SHATTER!

Ishtar gets enough time to shatter another spotlight with a rock. Dammit, I need to count 'em. One, two three… Ten spotlights. She destroyed four of them already.

SHATTER!

Make that five. Hayami's shouting at the kids to retreat.

I'm closing in. But, it's gonna take me a long-ass time to get there.

BAM CRASH!

She takes out a few soldiers, putting them out of commission. From above, I notice Trumpet and Indignation watching. Trumpet starts shouting inspirational shit to inspire his soldiers, but even with the boost in strength, it's not enough.

SHATTER!

Six spotlights.

Ahead, one of the soldiers is dragging an unconscious guy out of the fight. From a quick glance 'round, there's a lot of unconscious/barely conscious soldiers. Some bloodied up, some exhausted, some discouraged, and some of 'em might be dead for all I know. They gotta get out of here. Not 'cause I actually 'bout them, but 'cause they'll get in the way.

SHATTER!

Seven.

There's 'bout twenty more soldiers still willing to fight. Re-Destro's standing against Ishtar with a winter wonderland surrounding them—thank Geten for that. Both commanders are dead tired, dead in the eyes, and dead to me, but the last part isn't relevant.

Geten slams down onto Ishtar's position. Icicles break through the earth and try to impale the sorry assassin. Like usual, it doesn't work. She manages to avoid the icicles just barely where she doesn't get stabbed through the heart. Cracking one of 'em open with an elbow, she grabs one of the pointy ends and shoves it into Geten's side, kicking him away.

Re-Destro cries "Geten—!" right before he tries to crush Ishtar in-between his fists. He's fast. In his exhausted state, he's just barely slower than I am when I was in my prime.

But Ishtar's faster than that asshole.

CUT!

In an X-motion, she carves an X into Re-Destro's chest before he's even able to bring his arms forward. He falls to one knee, and color begins to replace the blackness of his flesh.

The soldiers are stunned, paralyzed. As much as Trumpet is yelling at them to move, seeing two of their commanders getting tossed like that isn't great for morale. Fucking twice.

Re-Destro starts shrinking back down to his human form. Steam's coming off of his muscles just like Toshi. He has his head lowered, ashamed and humiliated once more. This time, he's in a lot more pain than before.

There's no way that I can fucking make it in time. If I was a few decades younger, yeah, I probably could sprint my way there within the minute. Now? With these rickety old bones? Fuck no.

Even with everything I could do—!

SHATTER SHATTER!

—Ishtar destroys two more spotlights. She holds up a sizable piece of concrete that barely fits in her hand. Eyeing the last spotlight, she doesn't waste a second to gloat, "This...charade is over. Tonight… I'm ending this horrible night here…"

THROW!

SHATTER!

Once more, it's night, and I just arrived at the horizon.

Trumpet yells at the top of his lungs, "Everyone retreat! Fall back! Fall back! It's impossible to fight against that horrible creature when in darkness! Someone carry our Grand Commander out!"

Ishtar leans forward, her dark, bloodied hair covering her eyes as wisps of Darkness begin extruding from the ground. The soldiers start retreating, but some of them are staying put to drag their commanders out. Too bad for 'em. If I mess up, then we'll have a mighty fine gravestone.

Pushing through the useless sacks of shits, pushing my legs as far as they can go, I meet up with Ishtar. An almost invisible cloud of shadows surround her with a small gaps. She's charging up a big attack. Hell, she might be morphing into her final form.

I just don't have time to wait 'round and let her finish!

At the last second, she sees me! "Huh—?"

—At the last second, just cut the bitch open!

SLICE—!

"—Gah! Ah—! Haah—!" Damn, I'm one lucky motherfucker! Not only was Ishtar caught off-guard, the Darkness is weak enough where I can barely cut through! I dig my blade an inch or two into her right shoulder, gripping the hilt as hard as I can and trying my fucking best to drive it downwards! "You—! Master Kendo!"

I can feel the Darkness trying to push my blade out, but I'm doing everything I fucking can to not let that happen!

"Master Kendo!" Re-Destro exclaims behind me.

"Shut the hell up!" I shout back. "Do something useful and retreat with the rest of your fuckers—!"

CRASH!

"—Shit!" Ishtar's doing something that I was afraid she'd do! Trying to push the sword up and out wouldn't be the greatest plan since I'm using my strength to force it down! Instead, she's using Darkness to apply pressure perpendicular to the blade! And unfortunately, I'm Japanese! Katanas were never the strongest swords in the world! These things will snap like twigs!

So what the hell do I do now?! If I pull out, then I'm toast! But if I let Ishtar break the katana, then I'll have nothing left to fight with! Fuck, I just need to buy some time! Hayami has a Plan B, right?! Does anyone have a flashlight or some shit like that?! C'mon, I know someone has a plan to save my ass!

"Master Kendo—!" Ishtar screams. The pressure's getting a lot stronger! I don't know how long 'til the sword breaks!

"Just shut up! Give up already! You lost, so just fucking give up—!" I scream back. I stand my ground and just keep trying to dig in! The katana's starting to bend, but I can hold out just a second longer!

CREAK!

Right?! Can I actually hold out for that long?!

CRACK!

Shit—!

"—On your right!"

Who is—?!

ISSHIN JUKAZE - BLAZING FUJIN!

I turn to my left and see a soaring blade of fire coursing through the air. It's about as tall as me, and it's as hot as a bonfire. The light kills the Darkness surrounding me and Ishtar. I myself nearly get bisected if it wasn't for my natural instincts to get the fuck away. Ishtar manages to pull my blade out of her shoulder and dive in the nick of time. She stumbles and crashes her back into a still-intact icicle.

I catch my breath. After all, I just avoided two near-death situations back-to-back. I'm one lucky bastard. I stand back up—hell, I didn't even know I was on my ass in the first place—and see just who the hell did that.

And of course…

---

Sanji Inochi

"Master Kendo!" I shout, but he runs away. He sprints right into the thicket of broken bodies and shadows. Ishtar's breaking all of the spotlights that Hayami and the others prepared. I don't know what he's even trying to do! The M.L.A. is done! They fought the best as they could, but as soon as Ishtar finishes them off and the spotlights, it's game over! I don't know how long 'til sunrise, but it's long enough where we'll surely die!

"Master Kendo!" I shout again. Before I know it, I'm chasing after him. I take a few steps forward but I feel a hand grabbing onto my shoulder and pulling me back.

"Sanji, are you insane?!" Count yells. "We're not letting any of you kids even think about fighting Hassan-i Sabbah!"

"Then who will?!" I cry back, throwing his hands off of me. "The M.L.A. are on their last legs, but once Ishtar destroys the spotlights, they're done for! And Master Kendo's running right into the inferno! I don't give a shit about the M.L.A., but I can't let him die!"

He grabs me by the collar and pulls me close. "It doesn't mean that you need to get more injured, or worse! It's downright suicidal, Sanji!"

"Who else will do it?!" I gesture towards my friends. They're watching the fight from afar with dread in their eyes. "Everyone is either paralyzed with fear or too injured to fight! Count, your Quirk is literally called Aftershadow! You'd only be giving Ishtar fuel to the fire!"

There has to be a way we can win! Master Kendo's jumping off a cliff without a parachute, and somehow, we need to build a net before he plummets to his death! How can we do that?! How the hell can we do that?! The spotlights will be gone before we can even reach him! We just need light! But how?!

Count's grip on my shirt tightens, his knuckles turning pale white. "We… We can figure something out! Maybe… Maybe Shindeka can use his Quirk, but that might get him killed! Dieu, donne-moi une réponse…"

I look around at everyone else. Setsuna's anxiously biting her nails, her eyes darting around as if she's trying to find a solution. Rin's trying to force Lian to sit down; Lian is doing what I'm doing right now. Shiozaki's preemptively raising a wall of Vines with her hair with Yui and Yanagi trying to create a barrier to at least protect everyone. And Grandmaster's doing his best to not let us break out into a full panic. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Hayami leading her team down. I don't think she has a backup plan for this…

What can we do?

Just what can we do?!

THUD!

A body fell a few meters ahead of us. It's a pink-haired soldier. Count sees him and groans. He lets go of me and runs up to him. As much as he wants me to stay put, I'm following right after him.

We both kneel, and Count carefully turns the pink-haired man's head towards him. Count asks, "Are you still alive, M.L.A.?"

This is the guy with the weird gloves… Wait, he's Ignite. His Quirk can light anything on fire no matter what the object is.

I look down at my katana.

"Did a flash of inspiration strike you, tenth heir?" the first heir says in my head. I'm never gonna get used to having voices in my head. "I know what you're thinking. Not because I can read your mind, but I know you well enough. This plan of yours has such low odds of survival that it might as well be suicidal. Fighting a Villain of that caliber is both brave and idiotic. Quirk Passivity would kill you before you even took a step. However… Old habits die hard, I suppose."

It's the only plan we have.

Ignite mutters, "I'm in so much pain… I think I'm gonna die…"

SHIING!

I unsheathe my katana. Count's eyes go wide.

Ignite stammers, "Woah woah woah woah! Okay okay, I'm not in pain anymore! Don't mercy-kill me, I'm genuinely alive! Look! See, I'm breathing!"

...Right. That probably looked a little bit murder-y on his end, but who cares about that? I turn the blade horizontally, parallel to Ignite's body. Looking down, I tell him, "Use your Quirk on my sword."

Ignite looks confused. "Eh?"

Count grabs my shoulder again. "What are you thinking, Sanji?!"

"We don't have time for questions! Ignite my sword right now! Or I might think about mercy-killing you to save you from your own indecisiveness!"

"Christ!" exclaims Count. "When did you get into the habit of threats?!"

I ignore him. Ignite, whether he likes it or not, touches the blade with two of his fingers. The second afterwards—!

—IGNITE!

The blade bursts into flames. He says, "I'm skilled enough where I can use Ignite to partially light an object on fire. That… That'll last you as long as you don't put it out or your sword breaks, whichever comes first."

"Can't believe I'm thanking the M.L.A. for this," I mutter with a small, just a faint smile. Count glares at me. With his eyes alone, he's giving me a tongue-lashing with each word telling me to stay put. To that, I just reply, "Trust me. I… I have a plan! I'm not gonna win this fight, so convince everyone to display a show of force! We're not strong, but we can bluff!"

Before he can stop me again, I take off running towards Master Kendo. And crap, the last spotlight just gave out! Ahead of me, soldiers are retreating from Ishtar. Some of them are carrying their unconscious, or maybe straight up dead, friends outta here! And Re-Destro is one of the last ones to shamble out.

Master Kendo manages to cut through the weak walls of Darkness and into Ishtar's shoulder, but that isn't enough to stop her. That's far from enough.

There's no way I can make it in time to help him. Even with my flaming sword—hot to the skin—it's impossible to catch up without super speed. That's why…

The first heir says, "'Isshin Jukaze', the name of your technique. With your duel with Vainglory, you were able to produce wind pressure that swept the plastic chairs and tables. You're thinking about replicating the technique here."

That's right, I respond inside my own head—that's a thing now, But it has to be different. Back then, it was unrefined. There was no shape. No form. It was raw wind, like misshapen steel ready to be turned into a blade. Just like an artist though, if I shape that wind, then it would produce exactly what I would need to save Master Kendo.

Lian was able to produce energy attacks through the arcs of his arms and legs. So, if I concentrate the entirety of my power to the sword, then surely, then surely! It'll give me what I need!

"Your ingenuity is remarkable, tenth heir." He laughs. "Sad to say that it's a high possibility that we may only talk when you're in high-stress situations. Yet, I have faith that you will live. Go on and conquer."

I will.

At the top of my lungs, I shout, "—On your right!"

ISSHIN JUKAZE - BLAZING FUJIN!

WHOOOOSH!

Out from my blade, a stunning artwork of fire is launched towards Master Kendo and Ishtar. It's wind pressure formed directly from the arc of my swing, and with Ignite lighting my sword on fire, that wind pressure catches flames. The fire kills off the Darkness surrounding Ishtar, causing the two of them to dive out of the way just before getting severely injured.

As I finally close the distance, I run right by Master Kendo. Ishtar's still a threat. While she's leaning back against an icicle that Geten made, I can already see brief flickers of Darkness coming off of her robes.

There's no way in hell that I'll let you try something like that!

She lashes, "You damned—!"

—SLASH!

"Dammit all…" I mutter as I stand in front of a icicle that has been cut in half. To my left is Ishtar, who managed to barely avoid injury once again. She's drained. The color in her skin is almost gone. She might drop at any moment now.

Somehow, either through sheer endurance or pettiness, her short swords are still in her hands. But seeing as she can't lift her right arm, she drops it.

I take a few steps back, keeping my eyes on Ishtar. She isn't trying to use her Quirk again, but who knows… Death is ringing inside my head. The resonance is blasting away at my skull.

Before I know it, my back hits Master Kendo. He shoots me a dirty look, but he has a soft smile strewn on his lips. "Never should've come here, Sanji."

I tighten my grip. "I know, but I had a dumb idea and it worked."

"Story of my life," he says with a small laugh. "Now trade, gimme." Master Kendo takes my flaming katana out of my hands, giving me his nearly-broken one. There's a hairline fracture in the middle. I could probably break it with a good whack.

Now that I'm here, Master Kendo has a much better chance than I do. Even though he can't generate wind pressure like me, the flaming sword will provide enough light to dispel the Darkness. I'm just here as emotional support honestly. I'm still recovering from what happened earlier. If I push myself just a little bit, I'll collapse.

Master Kendo can fight. Still, do we? Do we wanna continue fighting? That's why…

"Give up," I tell Ishtar. "Just give up… You might be the second most powerful Villain in the entire world, but you've been driven to your limit at least a hundred times. First Lian, then the M.L.A., can you really fight any longer?"

She doesn't answer. All she does is lower her head.

I call out to her, "Ishtar—!"

DASH—!

—CLANG—!

"—You stubborn bitch! Enough is fucking enough!" Master Kendo nearly pushed me over before blocking the strike that would've surely killed me. Ishtar's not done yet… Dammit, why is she fighting so much?!

KICK!

Master Kendo kicks Ishtar in the stomach, sending her back into a sturdy icicle. He dashes forward and tries to cut her open from the side, but all he did is cut the icicle clean in half. Both of them start darting around the near-labyrinth of icicles and concrete, like some kind of fairytale decided to crash land in the real world.

I hear the clang clang clang of swords. I can barely see them as it is. The only thing I have is their reflections off of the icicles, but even then, it's not like I can keep track of reflections, especially when they're moving fast.

Master Kendo, despite his age, is just as fast as Ishtar now. She's slowed down enough where he can finally match her on relatively-even ground.

Demonstrating his mastery over the art of combat, he perfectly anticipates and counters Ishtar's attacks, thinking ten steps ahead and acting on those predictions. Unfortunately, Ishtar is a master in just that, maybe even more so than he is.

Just like the fight between Lian and Ishtar, I feel like they're on an entirely different world. Master Kendo swings his blade with such vigor and speed that one can think he's at the edge of obtaining enlightenment, but Ishtar has this ferocity that casts a permanent shadow that covers the heart—the difference of sophisticated bladeworks meant to serve the greater good and the so-called "righteous craft" specifically made to murder and kill in the most gruesome ways.

Each clang of steel sends vibrations throughout the air, some of them so strong that some of Geten's icicles start shattering like wine glasses.

Clang clang clang clang, time and time again, I watch them fight. They exchange bullet-like attacks that wear down their blades more and more. I stand my ground, not interfering in the slightest. I won't interfere. I'm just a liability if I try to act. Once I step in, it'll be the moment when Master Kendo loses.

CRASH!

Just a minute after watching them fight, Ishtar crashes into another icicle in front of me. I jump back as the same time as Master Kendo nearly decapitates Ishtar. The latter ducks towards my direction but her eyes are on him.

Master Kendo spots me, and here I am looking like a lost kid. He doesn't say or signal anything to me. Just… He just charges at Ishtar and clashes blades with her. I back up more.

Ishtar pulls herself away from Master Kendo and quickly spins around—her body is just a black blur—trying to slash at him downwards across his chest. He manages to block her attack, but she spins again and again, attacking with each rotation. Master Kendo blocks each of them with ease, albeit with heaved breaths.

With the fifth rotation, a loud clang, crash, and everything else that comes with ripples throughout the air. Ishtar manages to slam her sword so hard that Master Kendo is almost on his knees.

CLASH!

—Then on the sixth rotation, Ishtar hits with enough force that Master Kendo is disarmed. His katana is knocked upwards and into the air. It's impossible to fight without a weapon. Knowing this, he leaps back as if he's jumping, but Ishtar's faster by just a margin.

KICK!

Her foot launches forward like a cannon, striking him square in the chest. He's knocked back towards me. When he finally stops rolling, his katana—used to be my katana—lands right next to his head nearly skewering him. "Master Kendo, you alright?!"

"Ugh, fucking hell! What do you think?!" he snaps before trying to stand back up, but he hurts himself doing so. The kick might've cracked his ribs, or worse, broke them. Before both of us can do anything, Ishtar's already on our position. There, her sword is pointed at our throats. Checkmate. Any wrong move, we're dead.

My eyes are inching towards the flaming sword in front of me. I can grab it. Ishtar, though, has the reaction time to cut my hand off before I can wrap my fingers around the silk wrap. Dammit...

"Your fears are well-founded," the first heir says, "the moment you cross blades with Hassan-i Sabbah, expect a heartbreak in both a metaphorical sense and a literal one as well. It is impossible to fight her on even ground regardless of her injuries. There is a clear and distinct difference between you and that assassin: you have not grown.

"She is similar to a flower already bloomed, yet you on the other hand, you've yet to spread your petals."

That only confirms my fears, but he's right. Each time I try to come up with an action plan, all of them result in me lying in a pool of my own blood. Grab the sword—I get my hand cut off; charge right at her—my heart will be cut open; try to stall—she'll take my head off of my shoulders; blink wrong—say goodbye to my eyes.

She's a natural-born killer. When I would say that she feels no remorse for her actions… I feel like I'm doing her a disservice for some odd reason. Although I have a sword pointed at my neck, her eyes are shaking. It could be from exhaustion, yet there seems to be something deeper than the physical exertion she's suffering from.

I tried to appeal to her sense of logic—failed. If I try to appeal to her emotions, I don't know what would happen. I don't know the kind of woman she is other than the fact that she's a murderer who killed more than the population of a small town.

So what can I do? I'm useless in a fight, literal dead weight. My words… I don't know if I can trust myself to say the right words. I'm seething at the fact that Master Kendo is hurt, yet anger is the worst possible emotion to feel right now.

As a hail mary, I mutter, "Ishtar…"

"—Quiet," she callously said. A small wavering breath goes into her nostrils and painfully comes out of her cracked, bloody lips. "Hakan… Aldemir…"

Master Kendo curses, "Y'still on this shit?! D'ya think you can win now?! If I, a worn-out Hero could fight you on even ground, then y'think you're strong enough to continue fighting?! What a load of fucking bullshit!"

"Be quiet!" she shouts. "I have no patience for your babbling! I've ended regimes with my own hands! Your legacy can die at the end of my blade…"

Death emerges. The dark, paralyzing eyes of the other Hassan-i Sabbahs come into existence. Like astral beings watching from beyond the stars, they watch and wait. The pressure of their gazes alone weighs more than buildings. Master Kendo sputters; even he can feel Death pressing onto his spirit.

And especially me… Because our Origin-type Quirks resonate with one another, I feel like I'm getting crushed by the foot of a giant. But—!

"Hah—!"

A migraine makes my head ring.

"I see. I suppose I may have to step in for a moment. Forgive me for this," the first heir's voice rings out. Unlike before, where his voice echoes inside my skull, he sounds like he's everywhere at once. "Perhaps this will pacify the shadows behind her."

I hear footsteps behind me. I don't have the strength to turn around, but I know it's him.

"Ah death… The one acquaintance that accompanied us from the beginning of our journey and to the very end. It is the single mystery that no mortal man has found the answer to. Yet time and time again, it takes and takes.

"How heavy do blood-tainted hands weigh on the scales? How heavy are the tears of those grieving against their hearts? Who has the audacity to claim that Hell is the pinnacle of suffering and punishment when there is a place on Earth where morals eroded like waves grinding mighty boulders into dust? Where the roots of blossoming flowers turn an impure red from the crimson filth seeping into their veins?

"I, too, have asked myself these questions.

"As a wayfarer through the streets of Japan, there was always that looming silence that fell upon the populace. The innocent voices once apprised their love for life soon became an antiquity of a forgotten era. The indignant, well-natured fellows were either killed for their insolence or intimidated into severing their own tongues—all due to the claws of the drunken few happily toasting to their newfound power.

"Children were torn from their mothers' embrace, mothers sacrificed themselves for their families, and fathers were senselessly slaughtered for having the courage to fight. Grief became commonplace; madness birthed death, and death birthed madness. Truly, it was one of the bloodiest periods in my country's history.

"'This is the end times,' I heard many say. 'The accumulation of mankind's transgressions have angered God. The despots pirouetting around the earth will sever our feet so we will be unable to walk in Heaven when we inevitably pass. We, the weak and feeble, will never find peace, for our inaction is the worst vice of all.'

"And so, they wake up the next day hoping they would perish in their sleep, only to remain disappointed when the sun peeked from its nest. Their eyes were glass, but their tears were dried, forever cursing themselves for their mediocrity and subjugating themselves to a lifetime of despondency.

"Then, they arrived at my doorstep. Always, my home was a haven for the lost. I made it a habit to have a fresh pot of tea brewing in anticipation when a lamenter sought out counseling. So much so that they said, 'You brewed tea for me? On this very day when I needed you? It's as if you were waiting for me.'

"To which I replied, 'Of course. My tea was always hot, yet you noticed its warmth today.' In spite of the kind words I gave to those despairing, each account chipped away at my spirit.

"Constantly, insistently, I asked myself, 'How much longer will I stay isolated in my hometown surrounded by mountains and sea? How much longer can I endure these regaling of tales before my soul shatters? There were no heroes. Villains remained, villains persisted. What must I do to bring stability in this war?'

"There was only one answer. I found other like-minded individuals such as myself. We began an era, and I, the wayfarer, left blood in my footsteps. The road I traveled had bodies piled at the sides, and regret carried not a single feather in weight. In the eyes of the divine, how heavy do my blood-tainted hands weigh on the scales, when that blood belonged to some who could barely be called 'human'?

"Was it heavier than the tears shed by those in which the dead has abandoned, and thus, condemned me to eternal damnation? Or was it lighter, and thus, absolved me? As of now, I have yet know the answer, but I am one of the few between Heaven and Earth.

"I am one of the few made eternal by that war.

"And of you, Hassan-i Sabbahs, the choir of reapers, this boy does indeed pose a threat. He has the potential to topple you if left alone. After tonight, he will never forget your faces. Even still, I adamantly refuse to allow further harm upon his body, nor the bodies of the rest of them. They are destined to fight against evil, and that boy, as sad as I am to say, may very well be destined to travel the same road as I.

"To end his life would guarantee a future where Japan will suffer once more. Seeing as how war can utterly destroy a once beautiful country… You, out of us all, should understand my words.

"Time records, history warps. Our legacies, to the end, have been and always will be veiled with blood."

"—Hah!" I nearly cough out my brain due to the pain. Ishtar visibly reacts as well. Briefly, a flash of shock makes its way through her face before she goes back to looking like an evil murderer again. Her eyes soften though, and she lowers her sword where it's pointing at the dirt.

Master Kendo mutters, "What the hell just happened…?"

Ishtar cracks a small laugh. "Something unexpected, I suppose. Looking at that boy is like looking at an old mirror. I don't envy you, Master Kendo. You have a monster in your care."

"The hell does that supposed to mean?!" he says while I'm still trying to recover from what just happened.

And I don't get a chance to do anything. Behind me, I hear a stampede of footsteps. I turn around and see my classmates and Count coming into play. Ishtar sees them and sighs like she's disappointed.

They shout so many things that I can't really tell who says what. It's mostly a jumble of "We're gonna fight you, Ishtar!" or "Prepare to get your ass kicked!".

This would be a perfect moment to bathe in the glowing camaraderie, but it doesn't feel...right? If that's the, well, right word for it? I don't feel a killer's intent from Ishtar anymore.

With his fists raised, Count cries, "I'd really suggest that you give up—!"

Ishtar interrupts, "—I concede."

"Or else we'll—! Wait, did I hear you correctly?"

She drops her last remaining short sword at Master Kendo's and my feet. "I concede. Don't make me repeat myself for the third time. That vermin you protect, he can live for another day. This is a conditional victory on your end, I suppose."

After hearing those words, Master Kendo releases a breath. He helps me up. I can barely believe what I'm hearing. Ishtar's surrendering. Master Kendo takes the words outta my mouth, "Well shit, alright… What 'conditions' though?"

Ishtar eyes me in particular. "Let us meet again in the future, Mister Sanji Inochi. When you're a proper Hero, that is. Perhaps then…" She starts to walk backwards with a smile that's somehow filled with sympathy. "...We can have tea and reflect on our lives that God has cursed us with."

The sun rises.

Her Darkness is only a flicker of a candlelight, hovering at the soles of her feet.

"I'll never forget the pain you caused," I tell her. "I can't imagine myself having tea with you."

"You'd be surprised." The Darkness grows larger, just about to swallow Ishtar whole and right into the belly of the beast. "Keep my swords. Both of them, if you wish. They'll be a reminder that your Quirk saved your life."

She laughs. "And a reminder that you lived. Quite fitting for a man whose surname means 'life'."

And she disappears just like that. She's gone. I didn't know she can escape that easily, and I don't wanna begin to understand how she did it. The fight is over.

That's it. Ishtar's gone. There's no triumph, only relief. I don't have to keep fighting anymore. My flaming katana, which is still embedded in the dirt, has its flames dispersed. I grab it and put it back in my sheath. Ishtar's swords… I guess they're mine too. I take them and…

"Master Kendo, do you mind holding onto these for me?" I ask, handing the two short swords to him.

He takes them off of my hands. "This'll be one helluva souvenir for your first trip outta Japan. Hope we get to keep 'em."

And we turn around. There's all of my friends plus mentors—in my eyes, I only see a desert of worn out faces. When they realize Ishtar retreated, they exhaust a cascade of breaths that they were holding. Some celebrate by yelling at the top of their lungs, like Tetsutetsu, while some take pride in their victory in silence, like Rin.

I even hear some of the M.L.A. cheering too. They chant that the grim reaper is gone, that the M.L.A. will live forever. I felt happy that we won but these assholes ruined it.

"Chin up, Sanji." Master Kendo shoots me a small smile. "You survived. I dunno what the hell your Quirk did, but it saved our asses. What did it do anyway?"

What did it do exactly…? The first heir… He talked to the other Hassan-i Sabbahs, didn't he? That can happen? Origin-type Quirks can actually communicate with each other? I need to ask the first heir myself, so I can't give Master Kendo a detailed answer now. I mean, I barely have the mental energy to try and process everything. My body's finally winding down.

"Uh, I guess it talked to Death, and Death gave up. Which, now that I'm saying it out loud, sounds kinda unbelievable without context, heh." I scratch the back of my head. Master Kendo clicks his tongue, muttering something about the "crappy animes" that the Fukidashis watch.

We catch up with the rest of the crew. Hayami's the first one to run up to us. Nearly, she almost raises a hand and beat our brains in, but she restrains herself from doing so. She's more relieved than angry. "Dad, Sanji, you guys alright? Nothing's broken? Well, nothing more is broken? Can you see me clearly?"

Master Kendo answers for us, "We survived, surprisingly. Although this guy did something stupid—he's an idiot after all—we lucked out." Behind those words, I can feel him saying, Next time, don't win because of luck. That's what happened here.

"Yeah… Thank goodness for that…" My attention turns to my friends, and a few of my mentors. The Count's chatting with Grandmaster while everyone else is standing around muttering to themselves. Weird. I would think they'd say something about me and Master Kendo making it out. There's something else going on. "Grandmaster, Count. What're you two talking about?"

Grandmaster clears his throat and turns towards where the M.L.A. are at—their side of the battlefield. "You'll see. Come." He gestures for us to join him with the rest of the group, and we do.

Everyone is here, including Itsuka's who's laying on a bench; she's in no state to properly contribute as much as I hate to say it. The other one who's sitting out is Hakan Aldemir. We gave him the courtesy of living. But I gotta say: I don't wanna extend that courtesy to Re-Destro. He oughta get his head lopped off. There's his liberation.

Before the final—actually the final—part of tonight, I take a once-over at Ibara and the rest of my friends who I yelled at earlier. Ibara's the first one to catch me looking at her, and she averts her eyes. I can't seem to gauge how everyone else feels; they're more focused on what's in front of us.

I know I yelled at them, and I probably ruined their image of me inside their heads. But… I don't know… I should focus on the more pressing issue.

And that is, well, the entirety of the M.L.A. fighting force tonight. Everyone made their way down here, and pretty much every single person is injured in some shape or form. Well, except for one person who's dead. Sucks to be him, but I really don't care.

Standing proudly with a haughty smile, Re-Destro's there with bandages covering about ninety percent of his torso. How he's able to still smile is beyond me. Putting his hands together, he tilts his head just slightly like he's curious, acting like a salesman at your front door. "Grandmaster, the deal. Care to explain for the good of the group?"

Grandmaster sighs. His dirty black hair wavers in the wind covering his left eye. "I suppose so. Listen up well. In order for the M.L.A. to aid us in our fight against Ishtar, we'd need to give them something equally important as our lives. You might've deduced it already, but that is the flash drive that we fought so hard to obtain."

...Tch.

"Figured," Master Kendo says, "these asshats are corporates. You're not gonna get something for free. There's always a catch."

I don't like this one bit. If I was in Grandmaster's shoes, I'd just give them a fake flash drive. Or maybe, persuade them a little harder considering the No.2 Villain internationally repeatedly said that she would kill all of us indiscriminately. A part of me wants to speak out, but what good will that do? I'll be outnumbered.

Especially when everyone begrudgingly accepts what's happening. Everyone, including Lian. He thinks this is the best play.

"Y'grittin' your teeth, Quirkless," Togaru whispers after nudging me with his elbow. "Must be pretty pissed, eh? After fightin' Vainglory t'get that MacGuffin, I mean. No fuckin' idea if I'm usin' that right, but I don't give a damn."

"Well, if you saw Rin almost dying, then subsequently saw Itsuka almost dying too, then after meeting Ishtar, saw that we're giving up the one object that we literally bled for, then yeah, I'm a little more than upset. If you think Re-Destro or any of the M.L.A. deserves a fair game, then I disagree. My honor for them ends at the tip of my blade, so they better not get themselves impaled."

"..." He crosses his arms. "Y'look like him, y'know. Again."

"Who?"

"Never mind." Togaru looks up at nothing in particular. "When we get back ta Japan, you'd better own up to ev'rything. Otherwise, I'mma gut ya."

...What does that mean? What do I own up to? "Just tell me what you want from me. Don't wanna play these games right now."

Unfortunately, I don't get an answer. Togaru gestures for me to look ahead when Grandmaster raises his voice; he has the flash drive in his hands. "The contract in question. It all revolves around this small thing."

He drops it, and with a single motion…

CRUSH!

Grandmaster destroys the flash drive by crushing it under his feet. That's it. The fruits of our labor has rotted, dramatically-speaking.

Re-Destro adds salt to our wound by clapping. "Wonderful! Now there's no evidence that this ever happened. Really, all of us have plausible deniability when the Heroes eventually arrive! What an amazing deal, Grandmaster! I must commend you! We can say 'We were attacked by Hassan-i Sabbah, and we have her swords to prove it! We acted as honest, humble members of our great nation and defended our lives against the greater threat!'"

Curious chuckles. "I can't imagine the positive press we'll receive after tonight. This really played in our favor believe it or not! That brutish man who died will become a martyr even! 'Brave Hero Sacrificed Himself Against the Angel of Death!' I can see the headlines now!"

Trumpet proclaims, "This truly is a wondrous victory for the Meta Liberation Army! One step forward to the grand future! One step—"

"—into the grave, if you darlings keep pontificating." Lian stands up from where he's seated. In an instant, a heavy weight falls on the M.L.A.'s soldiers, including the Top Executives. "We'll do our part to ignore your existence. Well, to an extent. The public will surely remain ignorant that there is a new wave of imbeciles about. Yet who can say the same when Japan's Hero Public Safety Commission is made aware?

"So I wouldn't be uppity about tonight, darlings." Lian points where the broken flash drive stands. "A war has officially begun. You'll have a lot of enemies to face."

He takes a look at Hakan Aldemir and sighs. "Maybe the United Hero Nations as well, but they probably would stick a thumb up their behinds."

With careful steps, Lian stands in front of the group. Spinning on the heels of his feet, he turns around to greet us with a wide smile. Although his golden hair has strands of crimson running through it, although his smile is half-caked with blood, his presence is uplifting; he's like the rising sun. "That's why your lot is here, darlings. I must say! I've never seen students who were incredible under pressure as you were, especially against a formidable foe! Let alone the near-infinite potential I see in you! You are born to be comets! Shooting stars! You may be traveling amongst the cosmos as we speak, but when you break through the skyline, your light will be shining brighter than even that golden apple in the sky! So shine! Shine gloriously and glamorously, would you?! You darlings will do that for me, correct?!"

"Yes!" my classmates shout in unison. I'm the only one who didn't shout. While Lian was talking, he was looking directly at me. He was talking to everyone, but he was talking to me. That message is meant for us; however, it's meant specifically to me as well. He's telling me, You have infinite potential, Baihu. Your friends are some of the strongest I've seen, but you are different. You can become truly amazing. When the next meteor shower comes, I'll look at the brightest of the bunch and be reminded of you. Let that become reality.

"Shout louder, just so the M.L.A. can feel your spirit!"

"Yes!" they shout louder. He's still looking at me. This is a promise, and I have no intentions to break it.

"One more time!"

"Yes!" and I finally join. Lian shines his sparkling smile, satisfied with the promise we made. God, or whatever the heck is up there, sees Lian, and lets the wind breeze through the ruins of the twin hotels. The sun turns the sky a saffron color, ripening the world into a shining golden apple.

When the stars fall, I need to be the one to catch them. When the night falls, I need to be there standing at the crepuscule.

—BOOOOOOM—!

Metal falls from heaven. In the distance, the Central Tower collapses into an implosion of metal, and I can faintly hear the cries of the onlookers. The debris fall like meteorites, scattering themselves all over I-Island and into the ocean.

We gawk at the destructive, yet beautiful sight.

But I can't help but wonder… Just how many times will I see witness this?

How many times will I see destruction?

After the incident with the Central Tower, Heroes and emergency services came to our position almost immediately. Some of them included Valjean and Monarch, even. Odysseus opted to evacuate those trapped in the Central Tower, so I wasn't able to see him. We elected Re-Destro, Grandmaster, Count, Lian, and Hakan Aldemir to detail what happened tonight to them. From what Master Kendo tells me, they gave them two different stories.

The real story is what we went through: the Meta Liberation Army attacked us because of Setsuna's crazy plan, then out of the blue, Hassan-i Sabbah appeared to try and capture Hakan Aldemir. Due to Aldemir's deception, the United Hero Nations owe us a ton of favors to keep us quiet after he endangered all of our lives—that's what Grandmaster was happy about. After all, there's nothing stopping us from spilling the many secrets that we heard. They'd better please us or this will be a disaster for them. In fact, we called in our first favor: we're keeping Ishtar's swords. Well, I didn't call it in. Grandmaster and Master Kendo fought to keep them.

On another note, they're properly made aware of my existence. Aldemir told Master Kendo that the U.H.N. has a list of Origin-type users around the world and ask the respective government to keep a very close eye on them. Lian is obviously on that list. He reassured me that Japan will do everything they can to foster my growth. After he said that, I promptly replied, "You do realize that a big chunk of Japan is apart of the Meta Liberation Army, right? In their eyes, my best interest is a gravestone with my name on it." He laughed.

The Hero Public Safety Commission in China and Japan will be informed of the incident. Once connection was finally established, we're to get on the first plane back to Japan and go to a designated location. U.A. officials will also be there.

The other story is what the public will hear: Hassan-i Sabbah terrorized a poor class of Hero Students and wealthy corporate suits, resulting in the death of one and injuring many. However, due to the ingenuity of the Heroes present, both the students and the corporates were able to fend off Hassan-i Sabbah due to their strength in numbers and raw power in the form of Shangdi. But Class 1-B won't be in the news. We'll be remaining anonymous, which I'm glad for. U.A. could get shut down completely if the public knew. It comes at a cost: with Curious and Indignation at the reins of the media, they will do everything to prop themselves up with this story. They're making themselves as valiant Heroes.

The Gemini Hotels is… Well… It's destroyed. Master Kendo snarked that the owner will have "one helluva time milking the U.H.N. for everything they're worth".

The other incident in I-Island was caused by a Villain named Wolfram who took over Central Tower with a band of goons. I don't know what happened specifically, but apparently, David Shield was allegedly conspiring with him. The conspiracy turned sour and Wolfram defected. Due to the teamwork of a class of students, "including a green-haired boy and All Might", they were able to defeat Wolfram. Personally, I don't know who this green-haired boy is.

Nope, not at all. Not one bit. His name can't possibly be Izuku Midoriya.

"Of course 1-A has the more popular incident! That damned Izuku Midoriya, that Deku! I will—!" Awase slapped Monoma after he heard about 1-A's involvement in Wolfram's attack.

But anyway, David Shield is arrested… I… Uhm, I don't know how I feel about that. He seems genuine. I can't imagine why he wanted to conspire with a Villain. Whatever the reason is, I think… I think his heart was in the right place. He never showed signs of hidden malice.

What else am I missing? Hassan-i Sabbah… Ishtar Mikhail… What about her? She escaped, simple as that. It was like she never existed. Grandmaster told me that the U.H.N. will give Aldemir the worst scolding in his life.

Let's see… The M.L.A. is still hidden to the public, the most powerful people in Japan knows about them, we're anonymous, we know about Wolfram and David Shield, Ishtar's gone…

I guess it's just us. I went around and talked to everyone. It was the least I could do. Now that I calmed down, now that everything was over… We could finally have some peace.

Lian… I approached him first. "Baihu, good morning! I can finally tell you that! I'm afraid my trip is about to end soon. My father demanded to come back to my homeland. When we next meet, I expect that you will be able to cut mountains."

Naturally, Rin was by his side. I yelled at him. "That's...unreasonable, Lian. You know that." I asked Rin if he would visit his father, but he shook his head. "No. I don't...hate my father, but I'm purposefully not seeing him. It's a, hmm, it's a long story. I hope you don't mind that poor answer." I assured him that it wasn't. After all, my entire life is made of long stories. Rin awkwardly laughed. "I know. Inochi, are you—?" Lian interrupted him by asking a silly question, ushering me away.

After leaving, I saw Setsuna walking behind me and I grabbed her arm. She gave me an awkward smile after I told her that we need to talk. "Right yeah, I know… I messed up, whoops. In a way… You can say that I helped us in the end?" I said nothing and crossed my arms. "Yup, right. Sorry Sanji. Wish I could say more, but my head is in the mud right now. I really want to sleep and process everything that just happened."

Almost forgot about one thing! Mister Tokage, her father. I asked her about him. "Oh right! Dad! He called me after Wolfram got arrested, being worried sick. I told him what happened—yes, the entire truth—and he went silent for a few minutes. All he said was, 'We'll have a talk when we get home.'"

Then Tokugawa appeared from thin air. "Afraid you would receive that kind of response from a calculating man such as Fuyushiro Tokage. He could calculate a game of chess without a single physical move. So when someone takes the chess board and throws it off the table, it's only natural that he'll be furious." I asked at who: Setsuna or the M.L.A.. "The latter, obviously. He hates them." We have that in common.

I heard the great Neito Monoma rant about 1-A. Sighing, I turned around and started to walk over. "Hear me out, my friends! I need this! After the night we've been through, we deserve a moment to release our anger! After we literally fought a dangerous assassin from another country, 1-A and the M.L.A. have the audacity to hog up the media headlines?! Are you joking?! This isn't funny anymore, it's a tragedy! I need a catharsis for these negative emotions boiling in me, my goodness!"

Togaru was sitting in front of him. He saw me; instead of greeting me with his eyes, he looked away like I didn't exist. "Catharsis? Really? I know a guy named that. Maybe you should meet 'im. Y'know, two shitheads shakin' hands an' gettin' to know each other. While I just sneak up from behind an' stab the fuck outta—"

"—Do you have to threaten us all the time?" Kaibara interrupted. He noticed me but went back to Togaru. "It's kinda like Honenuki and his puns. They're inseparable, just like you and threats."

Honenuki stomped into the conversation. "At least me and my puns make a better couple than Kamakiri here! D'you guys agree with me? C'mon, I know you agree with me! We need 'em ever since those M.L.A. clowns exist!" He noticed me. With droopy, sad eyes, he tried to persuade me with pitiful looks alone. Everyone else wanted me to say no.

Seeing as I was stuck between a rock and a hard place, I decided to do the next best thing: just leave. Neito started up another rant but I heard Kaibara whacking him over the head. Coincidentally, I accidentally bumped shoulders into Awase. "Oh, hey uh, dude…" It was awkward since this was the first time we were talking after I had my shouting match. "You okay?" I nodded. "Good, that's, uh, good… I think, uh, I think I should go beat up Monoma."

I watched him leave and do exactly that. He literally flicked Neito's head so hard that it turned him red. However, hearing Awase so awkward around me, I sighed. Before I knew it, someone's hand was on my shoulder: Tsuburaba's. "Awase told me what happened. Kinda hard to believe you had those words pent up in ya." I asked him if we were okay. "Mhm, yeah, but I'm not the one you gotta make it up to. That idiot doesn't hold grudges too well, so you'll be fine. You could punch him, but if you took him out for ramen afterwards, he'll act like you're best friends. Don't know 'bout everyone else though." I told him that was what I was afraid of. Tsuburaba gave me a sympathetic look and wished me luck.

"But you're still my bro, bro!" Then Tetsutetsu came. Tsuburaba was startled ten meters into the air. He cursed at Tetsu and walked away huffing. Tetsutetsu laughed it off and put his arm around me. "Tsuburaba needs some more steel in his bones, ha! I don't care what ya say, Inochi! Just don't act so down, it's not like ya! If y'wanna beat the crap outta Villains, then I'm with you one hundred percent, y'hear me?!" I had no choice but to agree. "Awesome! I'mma catch you later! I smell meat!" Some of the emergency services were providing food for us, so he ran off to deplete their supplies.

"Ah Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, the barbarous carnivore who developed not a single inkling of wit nor manners." The great Shihai Kuroiro was next to me, one of the ones I yelled at. "If you're pondering about what transpired earlier, I will assume that stress hurts us all, even those built like castles. Yet, I will admit that… Well, I never thought you would have those colors. Vengeful, hatred for evil… At the same time, wearing such a genuine smile… I wonder what kind of a man you are." I smiled. I told him that I ask myself that question all the time. Kuroiro looked at me and patted my shoulder. It was awkward. I could tell he never physically comforted someone before. "Rest up. You and Kendo."

He left to go check on someone else soon after. I noticed Shishida and Yanagi over to my right. They were on their phones rapidly scrolling through I-didn't-know-what. I walked over and asked what they were doing. Shishida perked his head up while Yanagi hid her phone. Shishida said, "We're reading the news reports as they update. They really are pushing the fabricated story we provided. Some of them asked for our identities, but naturally, we declined." I commented that we didn't need the nasty media on our butts. To that, Shishida laughed. "I agree. After today though, I fear what would happen to the Japan, yet justice will prevail at the end."

Yanagi nodded. "I concur. From the recently transpired events and the revelation of the Meta Liberation Army's resurgence within Japan, one would believe such a thing as a conspiracy theory. Yet now, this is not the case… Though, all of the great stories and legends have the heroes vanquishing magliance as its climax. The same will happen here." I nodded. As much as I wanted to agree, something told me it wasn't going to be that easy.

A few moments later, I got distracted by the clopping of feet: Pony. She hopped over and gave Ibara some gauze. They surely didn't have a positive opinion of me, but I thought it was a good idea to talk to them. Before I could take a single step, Manga stopped me. "Don't. Don't talk to them, Sanji." Looking down, I asked him why. "I checked up with 'em earlier. They don't wanna see your face, especially Shiozaki." His answer made my heart drop. "She's really upset, so much that I just don't wanna go near her at all 'cause her eyes could kill a man. I would wait until we go back to Japan." I nodded; it was the only option I had.

Enough about Shiozaki and Pony though, I asked him about Shojo. "Oh, she's doing fine. She can't move her hands though, and she doesn't feel like talking. This shook her up, but uh, she'll be fine. She has Kagesuke on her lap. Before I leave..." He squirmed around awkwardly trying to find the words to say. "...Uh, how do I say this?" I told him if he was going to apologize, he shouldn't. "Oh, I'm not gonna apologize. I might be a scrawny nerd but I know you're in the wrong here—got enough of a backbone to tell you that. Just make sure you clear everything with Kendo first after, y'know, she gets better." I assured him that I would. With a clumsy goodbye, we went our separate ways.

It wasn't the...greatest conversation. After Manga, I wandered around. I heard small snippets of conversation from the M.L.A. soldiers, whispering among themselves. I felt almost tempted to tear our their tongues; their comments were the last thing I needed. That was when I noticed Shoda. He was talking to one of the soldiers. In fact, he was giving him some water and snacks. I approached Shoda and pulled him off to the side, asking him what he was doing. "Oh uhm, he looked like he needed it. Are you...not okay with it?" Without hesitation, I confirmed his suspicions. It was dangerous to let down his guard around these people. If they attacked us, just teenagers, then they would gladly pull underhanded tricks. Even though I told him that, he frowned. Shoda looked disappointed; it was the first time I've seen that expression on his face. "Uhm, I don't really care… I-I'm sorry, but I believe we need to treat them like how we treat each other. Otherwise, I wouldn't call myself a Pro Hero. That's what we are, Inochi." I knew I wouldn't convince him otherwise, so I told him that he was a saint. A small smile replaced the disappointment, and without a word, he went back to what he was doing before.

Next, I saw Yui, Komori, and Bondo together. They were sitting on a slab of concrete with a song playing from Komori's phone. She was singing while Yui was providing adlibs in the only way she knew how: humming. Bondo was only there to relax. They looked peaceful, so I figured bothering them would interrupt the good vibes they had.

I decided to check up on Grandmaster and Count. They were talking having a small conversation to themselves. I eavesdropped a little, but I couldn't tell what they were saying. Besides, it only took about ten seconds before Count noticed me. "Are you eavesdropping on us, Sanji?" I raised my hands trying to mean no harm. I only wanted to ask about Aldemir. Count groaned. "He was taken to a nearby hospital with armed guards. So finally, I can politely say that the United Hero Nations can go to hell. Pah, lying to us about Hassan-i Sabbah…"

Grandmaster pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "At times like these, a cigarette is perfect. Especially with a glass of sake… Don't worry about us, Inochi. You ought to finally rest after what happened. Unless you have something urgent to tell us." My mind automatically went to the first heir. It wasn't a good idea to tell them just yet, so I shook my head. "Well then, I believe you have someone important to see."

"That he does." Hayami joined the conversation. "Itsuka's conscious, as in fully conscious. The doctors were amazed, and they were even more amazed when she tried to stand up. Me and Dad forced her to lay back down. She's asking for you." My next and final stop was determined, but I wanted to know about Master Kendo; where was he? "He's going to the Central Tower to scold Midoriya and Toshi. By that, he's gonna make sure that they end up in the hospital if they weren't traveling there already." That sounded like him.

I didn't want to keep Itsuka waiting. I quickly said goodbye before rushing over to the medical tents that the doctors put up. After a few minutes of searching—I should've asked around—I found Itsuka's tent.

And now, I'm standing right outside the flaps, or whatever you call the entrance of a tent. I made sure everyone was okay, and I need to make sure that she's okay too. Master Kendo and Hayami probably told her what happened. About Ishtar, about Aldemir, about everything.

"Alright…" I mutter to myself. I push through the heavy white flaps and walk inside. Itsuka's laying on a cot with an IV drip. The first thing I say is, "Remember that promise about not getting hurt? The shoe's on the other foot this time."

She straightens her face. "Look at the smartass here. I was waiting for you. What took you so long? Mom and Grandpa told me what happened with the two alphabets." Two alphabets…? Oh, the M.L.A. and the U.H.N., that's what she's talking about.

"I wandered around honestly…" I sit down next to her. "I feel like there's something incomplete that has to be, well y'know, complete. Unfortunately, couldn't find out what it was. So now, I'm sitting here, talking with you, and thinking 'bout the Meta Liberation Army and their grip on Japan. Eh, it's not the only thing I'm thinking about."

"So what are you thinking about?" Itsuka looks down and tries to cross her arms, but she can't. She fumbles around with them before laying her arms at her side, pretending that I didn't see her little dance. "Uh, I would guess but there's a lot to unpack."

I sigh. "Exactly. Way too much to unpack. Once we get to Japan, we're meeting with the Commission about what happened tonight; afterwards, I'm probably going to get singled out."

"Because of your Origin-type Quirk?" she asks, and I nod.

"Because of my Origin-type Quirk." My foot starts to anxiously tap. "For an entire night, three Origin-type users were in the same space. Lian Fei-Long, Hassan-i Sabbah, and Sanji Inochi. From watching Lian and Ishtar—I mean, Hassan-i Sabbah fight… I realized exactly how weak and undeveloped I was. And… And how strong I could be."

Itsuka goes silent. Her eyes dart around like she's trying to come up with the right thing to say. Then finally, she finds the answer. "Do you think you did enough?"

"Hmm?"

"I mean, after everything, do you think you did enough to help? To fight?"

I shake my head. "Not as much as I could've. I barely helped. Lian fought for me. The M.L.A. fought for me. I saved Master Kendo's life, but he fought for me. And at the end…" I shut my eyes. "I was spared because of my Quirk. I wanted to do something more, but I couldn't. To fight Hassan-i Sabbah is to callously die, so I felt really useless, y'know? Especially after I knew how large my potential is."

"Heh, imagine how I feel getting strapped to a cot like this." She gestures to herself; Itsuka's more of a mummy than a human. "But y'know what? Hindsight is a real asshole. I was replaying my fight with Re-Destro a thousand times before you came in here. All of us could've done more, but do you know what's guaranteed? All of us will do more the next time 'round, especially you."

"I really hope so." I gulp. My "conversation" with Ibara's team spins in my head over and over. "Hey Itsuka, can I ask you something?"

"Do you think I can get up and walk?"

"Good point, but uhm…" I scratch the back of my head. "Do you think I'm...weird?"

She goes silent. "...Be more specific."

"Itsuka."

"I'm serious!" she exclaims. "First of all, you came into my house as a random foster kid who's been born with something that sounds like a Quirk and isn't! Then turns out, apparently this same guy's actual Quirk is on the same classification level as All Might's! Not to mention your weird personality quirks—pun not intended—that gets me thinking, 'This idiot definitely deserves to be in a circus.' You stress me out, Sanji! There isn't a single minute that I don't think about you and how weird you are!"

"Heh." My cheeks heat up. "S-Sorry. Guess that's a stupid question…"

I wanted to talk about the M.L.A. and how I feel about them. I'm just thinking about the M.L.A. and how I feel about them. Compared to everyone else, I'm the odd one out. Is it strange to say that I don't really consider them as human? They selfishly fight for freedom, yet they killed so many people. The textbooks that we have, they scratch the surface of what happened back then. They destroyed, they killed, they pillaged… They caused so many to suffer. Is it really strange to say that...

Scum like them should die?

Maybe it is. Maybe it's not. What I believe is right. They don't deserve to be called human, so they should be treated as such: subhuman. But I know not everyone shares this belief. It's...dangerous. I'm not sure if that proves there's something seriously wrong with me, but I don't wanna expose Itsuka to those kinds of thoughts. Not… Not right now, at least.

"Hey Sanji," Itsuka gets my attention, "where did your blush go? I swore you were blushing."

"I wasn't blushing," I lie. I was completely blushing, and I think I'm blushing now. "I don't know where you got that silly idea. You might be delirious. I'll go ask the doctors to get the sedatives."

She grabs my hand. As much as I love handholding, Itsuka's trying to crush my favorite hand: my right. "Don't try to lie. I might be in bandages, but I got enough arm strength to hurt you."

I manage to slip my hand out of her grasp. "Jeez, Itsuka… Is me blushing that important to you? D'you want a confession that much?" My wording makes her giggle.

The word "confession" makes her blush. "A confession's nice, but I wanted to see if I could tease you. It's not everyday that I see you blush. Most of the time, it's you making me blush. I wanted some revenge."

"Revenge? You might be the death of me, Itsuka." I stand up. "I'm gonna get some water. I'll be back soon. If something happens, scream."

"Like a siren."

I walk out of the tent. Itsuka will be the death of me someday, I swear… I mean that. But anyway, I was half-telling the truth. I did want some water, there was just something else that was more important.

I forgot that I needed to talk to one more person.

I find a secluded area where no one will hear me. Then, after taking a deep breath, I call out to him, "First heir, are you still with me?"

No answer.

"First heir."

Still no answer. It might be true what he said: we can only talk in high-stress situations. Damn, I wanted to—

"—Tenth heir." I look up and see him standing in front of me. His body is engulfed with white, and only his single golden eye shines. Once I register his presence, my head starts ringing. "Unfortunately, I'm fading. Though, I have a few moments to converse. Let me begin by saying congratulations. You survived. As fortunate as that may sound, the preservation of peace has ended. It's merely a rule of life that all things, even those preserved, must eventually decay. Preservation in itself is the act of delaying the inevitable, and you know precisely what this inevitability is, do you not?"

"The decay," I answer. "If we can't preserve peace anymore, then peace is beginning its decomposition."

He nods. Putting his hands behind his back, the first heir paces back and forth. "You must have many questions, tenth heir. And here I am, relaying warnings to you. I apologize. Your time is much like my own."

"Speaking of which…" What he said to the previous Hassan-i Sabbahs, it's so strange. There's only one time period he could be from: the Origin of Quirks. It makes sense after all. He's my ancestor; the very first one in heritage of Dreams. But there's something more important than that, something way more important. "First heir, who are you?"

He stops. His back is turned, his body completely still. "Who am I? That is a wonderful question. I am simply the accumulation of the suffering of others. As I was born of innocents' sorrow, as I was the death of evils' wits. I was revered, I was feared. 'Hate' was not a word many would use to describe my sentiment towards evil. 'Hate' was unsuitable, much like how 'evil' was unsuitable for this earth.

"Who am I, tenth heir? That is a wonderful question. To the earth, I am its frost. To my companions, I am their light. To my foes, I am their shadow. To you, I am your mirror."

The first heir's body starts to waver. He's becoming transparent. "Tenth heir, I apologize for my riddle. I really couldn't tell you who I really was. Yet when the time comes, everything will make sense."

"I hope so, because nothing makes sense," I say. All these vague answers and riddles, all these questions and no answers! I don't know anything! After tonight, I haven't progressed as far as I wanted! Not as much as I hoped! "Nothing makes sense at all!"

"Enjoy yourself, tenth heir. Feast and toast to the whims of youth, bring joy to the ever-turning tides of the sea, concern not the absolute time to what may be but what today is, and smile when the night befalls.

"Only the earth knows what limited time you have left."

"Why are you talking so much just to say 'seize the day'?! I know that! But I need to get stronger faster! I only have Isshin Jukaze as a foundation! But! But you know that Quirks are needed to even think about facing the kinds of people we're up against! Just give me something other than riddles! Answer me like how you answered me back with Vainglory, first heir! If you can't tell me who you really are, what legacy you left behind, then just give me a name!"

"A name…?"

He looks at me strangely.

"Alright. I'll give you my nickname, not my legacy. I'm sure it won't cause any harm." The first heir begins to disappear. "I quite liked it; it's similar to how your Master Kendo, Sasaki Kendo, is often referred to as 'Saki'."

His body dissipates, leaving only his barely visible head. Dawn steadily approaches, and he smiles.

"Yoru. Isn't that such a pleasant name…?"

He's gone.

"Hah…"

I turn my head towards the sky.

"Yoru… Just what kind of a man were you?"

---

Author's Notes:

Holy shit, when was the last time I posted a chapter? November? Yeah, I think it's November. So uh, turns out... Getting burned out sucks. This arc was a pain to write, especially the fight scenes after fight scenes. It's not that I've written so many fight scenes back-to-back, but it was the nature of these fight scenes that really pained me. Lian v. Hassan-i Sabbah was difficult to write because I had to showcase why they're pretty fucking strong—legitimately two of the strongest characters in-universe—and constantly rewrote aspects of these scenes over and over. It was only until recently that I decided, "I just need to get something out honestly. End this arc and move onto the next." And I managed to do it where I'm comfortable with the quality presented. I'm not completely satisfied but hey, fanfiction is good practice for writing.

The hardest scene was after Lian v. Hassan-i Sabbah actually, where everyone is in a single place against one person. Constantly, I had to go, "Who would be fighting? Who would sit out?" That's why the M.L.A. got involved so Master Kendo doesn't have to risk his own life—only then, he had to anyway because the M.L.A. were already exhausted with their previous fights. Then, of course, I had to insert Sanji in there somehow because he ultimately ends the fight. Fun fact: Originally, Sanji and Hassan-i Sabbah were supposed to have a "fight scene" together but I realized it made 0 sense because Sanji would literally die within a second. Really, he legit could only use Blazing Fujin and that surprise attack (where Hassan-i Sabbah clearly wasn't expecting it) before he became dead weight. After that, he had to let Master Kendo fight but even then, he was losing.

Even after Hassan-i Sabbah got her ribs shattered by Lian, teetering on the edge of death by exhaustion, she managed to not only beat the combined forces of the M.L.A. and Master Kendo; additionally, she reasonably had the ability to kill everyone without much trouble. And that's without Death, her Origin-type Quirk. In terms of the power scaling, she is one of the most powerful Villains in the universe, and she can easily kill All For One if/when she finally utilizes Death. For Lian, he's a bit weaker than Hassan-i Sabbah, but he's still pretty dang strong. Overall, the fight scenes in this chapter were incredibly messy to write, but I pulled through and didn't drop the series altogether. Now, we can finally move onto post-I-Island stuff.

So... What's gonna happen after I-Island? Good question. Obviously, they're going back to U.A. We're right in-between Season 2 and 3. There's only one arc between us and Training Camp, and that's the "Fireworks Festival Arc". It's purely a wind-down/fluff arc where everyone can digest what the fuck happened at I-Island, both Class 1-A and 1-B. This is where canon starts to diverge heavily: it's right after I-Island.

In canon, Hero Society is obviously going to shit (especially when you read the manga, hoo boy that shit got crazy). Here, I'll do my best to explore it through the Meta Liberation Army. Canonically, they have forces within not only heroism, but in the business world, government, and other important fields of modern-day society. They are the elites of Japan, and like what Yoru (the first heir of Dreams) said, the preservation of peace has ended. The decay of peace is beginning. You'll begin to see a lot more of the world and see how many aspects of society begin to react and contort with the M.L.A.'s influence, and how ultimately, Class 1-B has to deal with this. Unfortunately, Sanji has to deal with this. He's right at the epicenter.

Speaking about Sanji, uh, yeah. Last chapter, if you remember that, he yelled at his friends about his somewhat-disturbing beliefs: he really doesn't care about the lives of Villains to the point where he looks at them in disgust. Some of his friends saw this side of him before during Catharsis, but now, Class 1-B will begin to see his shortcomings. Looking back on the development planned for Sanji, I came to realize that, if you squint really hard, he's a bit of an edgy character. "A bit" is understating it, but you get my point. I am trying my best to make him his own character and try to develop him as best of my abilities, and well, with the upcoming arcs, we'll see how it'll go. His backstory is pretty interesting in my eyes, especially about his ancestors. Yoru saved his ass, but we don't know anything other than the fact that he's originally from the Origin of Quirks, and it's heavily implied that he killed a lot of people, particularly Villains.

But when will we truly get an answer? In the later arcs...

Fireworks Festival: Everyone goes to a Fireworks Festival on the last week of July, enjoying a moment of peace after the battle they endured through.

Forest Training Camp: The League of Villains attacked the training camp where the first-years are studying in, ruining their idyllic summer trip.

Tsukigami: Taking place after Kamino, Sanji deals with the aftermath of the League of Villains' attack. Meanwhile, Grandmaster pulls together the complete story of One For All from the very beginning, back to the Origin of Quirks and the rise of Vigilantism.

Provisionals: With much strife, he has to earn his Provisionals despite the knowledge he gained during the Tsukigami Arc.

Nomu Trinity: An organization captured three defective Nomus and turned them into lab rats; however, they escaped. Under the internship of Grandmaster and The Count, Sanji Inochi and a few others are tasked to recapture the Nomus. However, the eternal man watches from afar.

Cultural Festival: After the chaos that was the internships, everyone gets another chance to wind down with U.A.'s Cultural Festival.

Joint Training: Class 1-A and 1-B are squaring off. Bad blood and rivalries will be settled.

Heroism Transfer: The General Courses, instead of participating in the Joint Training exercise, have their own examination conducted by U.A. to determine who will move onto the Hero Course next year.

Mugazuki: The Hero Work Recommendation Project, sponsored by the Hero Public Safety Commission, sent Class 1-A to Nabu Island (where they will unfortunately face Nine). Class 1-B is sent to a town surrounded by mountains and sea, a quaint town in fact... Named "Mugazuki". They could almost feel the warmth of freshly-brewed tea.

Operation Matsukaze: The United Hero Nations called upon Japan to help facilitate the transfer of a dangerous Villain to China. There, Sanji Inochi reunited with old friends and old foes alike.

Stargazer: The epilogue of Part 1 of Dreaming of Stars.

These arcs are subject to change, but this is the outlined plan I got. Poggers.