"Izuku Midoriya, how on Earth did you manage to stab yourself with your own dagger?!" Grandmother's voice echoed off of the walls of her house, such was her fury. Izuku knew she was perfectly aware of how it happened – as the All Mighty had said, she was always watching – and that the theatrics were for her other guests. That didn't make it any less frightening to have a Goddess shouting at you, regardless of how small she was.

Iida was unaffected by the nature of their travel, having been in "Granny Chiyo's" house before, but the other Godlings looked around curiously. The building they had entered from was stone, but the interior was clearly wood. Uraraka gasped softly as she looked out the window and saw nothing but nature – a far cry from the city that should have been there.

"It wasn't me, Gr-Granny Chiyo," he began, only to be cut off by Mina.

"Yeah, it was a vampire. Your grandson came to save me with nothing but a dagger and a chair leg." She didn't look at Grandmother at any point as she spoke, taking in the building around her.

This earned Izuku a disapproving glare. "What are you doing fighting vampires? Mirai said he hired you on as a scribe, not a bodyguard."

"I... Someone had to help!" he protested. Despite the fact that she knew why he did it, he flushed in embarrassment as he defended himself. He felt positively foolish, hanging between Iida and Mina, an arm over each, barely able to stand under his own power while he tried to justify the decision to attack a creature who outclassed him in every conceivable way with a piece of broken furniture.

Grandmother strode forward and gripped the bone hilt of the blade. Before Izuku had managed to object to the action, she deftly ripped it out of him. It was a very precise motion, and the dagger left his body without so much as scraping against a bone or cutting an extra inch of flesh. He still cried out in pain, of course, and clamped his hand over the wound as the blood came welling out, free of obstruction.

She then held it with two fingers, as though it were something particularly disgusting. She held it out to Iida, who had been informing Mina that Izuku was not actually her grandson before he had been cut off by the Godling's exclamation. "Tenya, wash this off in the basin over there."

Wide-eyed at the suddenness of it all, Iida nodded and dutifully followed orders.

"Bring him into that room," Grandmother said to Mina, pointing with her cane. She opened it for them as the nymph brought him forward as he desperately tried to keep as much blood in as possible. "On the bed, on his back, please. You can put his bag next to the armoire. Thank you, dearie. I'll come to see the rest of you in a moment, I'm going to need some time to work on Izuku."

"Is he going to be all right?" Mina lingered over the bed.

"He'll be just fine. I've healed far worse from much weaker folk, and you'll soon find that a mule is less stubborn than this boy. You can go wait in the other room, and tell the others not to worry about bleeding on my furniture. I can get it out easily enough. Do shut the door behind you."

The Godling hesitated for a moment, but nodded and left.

Once the door shut, Grandmother sighed. She was gathering bandages and sponges from a small cabinet and produced an already full washbasin from under the bed. "It went as well as could be expected, but I do think you should avoid fighting monsters until you learn how to do so properly."

"Someone had to help," Izuku repeated. His head was swimming now. Without his dagger blocking the flow of blood, he felt like it was all rushing to get out of his body. "Should... Should we be talking about this with them in the other room...?"

"The doors are thick enough that I'm not concerned about it. Move your hand and let me clean the wound." Once he complied, she began her work. "I just want you to be careful, Izuku. We certainly don't need that vampire becoming a Godling, and if you pick fights so far from doors, you put yourself in much more danger."

She was doing something while she treated him. Despite the fact that Izuku had taken no medicine or remedy, the pain was being dulled, and bit by bit his head was clearing up. "I didn't –" He winced and gasped slightly at a stinging pain that flared when she pressed too hard on his injury. "I didn't pick the fight. I don't even want to fight, but... I have to, if I'm going to protect people."

Grandmother sighed. "Be that as it may, I need you to think with your head, not your gut. The power you've gained from your mantle thus far is substantial compared to what you can normally do, but the ability to shatter brittle bones with a single punch barely puts you on the level of even a young vampire. You have a long way to go before you're ready to fight a creature of that caliber."

It was a sobering thought. While fighting the vampire's minions, he had felt the strongest he'd ever been by a considerable margin. He had to fight to keep it under control and not let what felt like boundless might flow through him. It was a hopeful sign that he'd continue to get stronger, and that perhaps one day there truly wouldn't be a limit on what he could accomplish. However, knowing that right now he ranked only among the lowest of that parasitic breed was frightening. Vampires were strong, there was no question about that, but there were monsters roaming the world that made even them appear infantile by comparison. The All Mighty's warning about a Godling who walked with monsters jumped to the front of his mind. That vampire had mentioned that 'he' had said she could have Mina's mantle. The obvious link between the two was not nearly as worrisome as the implication that he had more creatures under his command.

"Grandmother, do you know anything about the vampire that attacked us?"

"Hm? Not quite, no. I hadn't watched her much at all until just before she attacked you." She finished layering a bandage over his wound.

"Do you know what Godling she's in league with?"

"Come now, dear, you know that I can't answer that."

Right. He had forgotten about the cat-and-mouse game of questions and answers he had to play to learn anything from her. "Uh... In that case, is –" He was interrupted by the most unpleasant sensation, which caused an uneasy gurgle to escape his throat. Izuku could feel his body knitting back together from the inside. Starting from the farthest points the dagger and spearhead had reached, his innards were pulled back into place as though a tailor were drawing them nearer with a needle and thread. A warm, squishy feeling advanced ahead of the tingly pulling. As he watched the bandages progressively redden, Izuku realized that the feeling was excess blood being forced out. Well, very little of it was likely excess, considering how much he'd lost – perhaps 'displaced' would be a better word.

As the last of the tingling left his chest and flank, a cup was thrust into his hands. "Drink," Grandmother commanded. He obeyed, but quickly found it to be an effort. Whatever this was, it wasn't water, and it was absolutely foul tasting. The only reason Izuku was able to suppress the gag was out of a desire to avoid offending her. "After you've finished that, there's a bath and some bread over there." She pointed towards a door opposite the one they had entered through. "Take a bath, wash the blood off, and eat the food. You'll be staying here tonight – you've lost a good bit of blood, and the closer you are to me, the easier it is for me to make you replenish it faster."

He finished downing the drink and, after a shuddering breath, said, "But I have questions!"

"And I have a gaggle of Godlings in my home who all need varying degrees of healing. Your questions will have to wait, Izuku."

"Wait! Can... Can I just ask the important one?"

Grandmother sighed. "One question."

"Why hasn't Lady Neya taken her mantle back from Todoroki?"

The Goddess flinched, and her expression couldn't have been very dissimilar to the face one made when being punched in the stomach. "Well... The short answer is because she can't. Once the mantle is given out, it can't be taken back unless the Godling dies naturally, or by something that isn't alive enough to inherit it. For better or worse, Todoroki has that power now, and he will until someone else kills him for it."

"But–" This answer fed into more questions, but he bit his tongue. She had only given him the one question, and the others were hurt. As much as he wanted to ask, he'd have to settle for now. "Okay."

Grandmother smiled and patted his arm. "We'll talk after you've cleaned up and the others have left." With that, she left the room to tend to his friends.

Several Minutes Earlier

Mina shut the door behind her. Her worry must have been showing on her face, because the other man – Tenya? – commented almost immediately.

"Don't worry for Midoriya. He is surprisingly hardy, and he is in good hands. After his encounter with the Godling of War, he was nearly unrecognizable for the burns, but our host was able to heal him completely. She even replaced his eye."

Ochako gasped. "He lost an eye?!"

Tenya nodded grimly. "Indeed. The Godling savaged him thoroughly, and yet Midoriya persevered. While he is not a skilled combatant, I don't know that I've met a finer man in my life. He has no regard for himself, which is problematic for multiple reasons, but he is willing to put his life on the line to keep others safe."

For reasons she didn't understand, a feeling of intense shame welled up in Mina's chest. She crossed her arms to try and smother it. "Sounds like you two have known each other for a long time, huh?"

"No, actually. Slightly over a week, perhaps?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Really? Only for..." Mina paused. "Well... I guess I've known him for maybe an hour, and he's already nearly died for me..." She hugged her arms tighter to her chest. Why wouldn't this stop? It's not like she made him to do anything! "If you've had a whole week, I guess that gives him a lot more chances."

"I've known him since just before dinner, and he stood off against a Godling to protect an old priest," Ochako said helpfully.

What was with this guy? She needed to change the subject, get this feeling off her mind. "So... You were saying that the old lady isn't actually his grandmother?"

"That is correct. She is the grandmother of Izuku's former master, the Wizard Nighteye."

Ochako nearly shrieked. "NIGHTEYE?!"

The sudden noise from the girl made Mina jump. "Whoa! What's the big deal about this Nighteye guy?" Mina uncrossed her arms to stick a finger in her ear and rub around a little bit, hoping that it would dull the pain.

"Nighteye is just the most powerful seer in the world! His ability to divine the future is legendary among wizards! I've told you about the portents I get in my staff?" She held it up for emphasis. "They're nothing compared to what he can do. It's like... It's the difference between a child stacking rocks and an architect making a stone building!"

"He was the most powerful seer in the world," Tenya corrected quietly. "The Godling of War killed him. Midoriya was trying to save him even as he was half dead from his own injuries and the building burned down around him."

Ochako covered her mouth with her hand. "No..."

The blue haired Godling nodded. "I saw his body myself. We should speak no more of this here – his grandmother mourns his loss intensely. I suspect that it is, in part, why she so dotes upon Midoriya."

"So... If Nighteye is Izuku's old master, does that mean he's a wizard? Because some magic would have been really handy against that vampire." Curiosity killed the nymph. Bringing him up directly brought that shameful feeling back, but she had to know.

"No. Midoriya has no magical ability himself. He served Wizard Nighteye as a scribe. I understand that he originally desired to be apprenticed, however."

Pretty tough for a scribe, all things considered. Mina had thought that they were just humans that sat around writing on paper all day. Apparently whatever Izuku was doing made him a lot tougher than normal – maybe that wizard had him lugging dusty old books around all day? Or maybe he was just born that way? Giving up on hiding from the unbidden shame, she considered the odd human as she fell back and lounged on a couch. It wasn't quite long enough for her to lay comfortably – her head barely reached to rest on one armrest, and the other supported her calves. The padding helped, but it still felt a bit wrong. She slid down until her head rested on a cushion and her knees hooked over the far armrest.

After a moment of silence, she said, "So, I guess you guys are off to look for the Palace after this?"

Tenya didn't respond. When it became clear that he wasn't saying anything, Ochako said, "Not yet. Iida said he had some sort of other commitment to deal with first."

The aforementioned Godling gave her an exasperated look.

"What could be more important to you than finding the Palace? I had you pegged as the kind of guy who'd be determined to win this whole Game as soon as possible."

"I'm not divulging any further details about my commitment at this time."

"He apparently hasn't told Izuku, either," Ochako said.

Mina peered at Tenya before shrugging and returning to her previous relaxed position. "Well, guess we'll figure it out when we get there."

Iida sputtered incredulously. "We? Excuse me? Do you presume that you're going to be joining us?"

"Yeah, kinda."

"On what grounds do you think it's acceptable to invite yourself into our company?"

"Well..." Mina started counting on her fingers. "One, I can't exactly stay here, since someone apparently caught wind of me and sent a vampire to kill me and get my mantle. Two, it should be pretty obvious I'm not going to steal the throne from you. I mean, I spent a month in the same city doing nothing but reveling. You really think I have aims to be Queen? Three, I don't exactly care to be alone, since that vampire is definitely coming back for revenge after I melted her face off. And... Oh, what else..." she tapped at her lips in mock thoughtfulness. "Oh yeah, four, that vampire got a taste of Izuku, and as far as she's concerned, his veins run with ambrosia. You seem to have a pretty high opinion of him, so I'm sure you're about as happy as I am about the idea of her sucking him dry."

The blue haired man looked progressively more irritated as she numbered off her list, but it all drained from him as soon as she mentioned her final argument. "Wait, what? What do you mean, 'his veins run with ambrosia'?"

"Uh, exactly what I said? She got some of his blood on her hand, and when she licked it off, she got really creepy about it. Like, creepy even for a vampire. 'Oh, darling!'" she mocked, clasping her hands together by her face. "'I had wanted to play with you, but you're so delicious, I have to have you now!'" Her face dropped from the fake cheerfulness into a look of utter revulsion and she shuddered. "Or something like that."

Ochako wore a similarly concerned expression, but Iida's was mixed with frustration. "I suppose you raise valid points, but I still don't care to cart around every Godling that wants to follow me. One of you will be lying, eventually."

"You know, Iida, if you keep treating every Godling you meet like they're out to get you, you won't be a very popular King," Ochako said quietly.

"Or a very popular God if you don't make it there first," Mina added cheerfully. Ochako shot her a look that suggested she wasn't helping. Mina didn't particularly care. She was going to go with them whether Tenya liked it or not. What was he going to do, kill her? Ochako and Izuku wouldn't stand for that.

There was a fifth reason that she didn't share with the others for why she wanted to come. Or rather, she had lied about what the first reason was. Certainly, she wanted safety from the vampire and the same for Izuku, and she didn't want to put others (or herself) in danger by staying in one place too long again. She wasn't lying when she said that she had no interest in being Queen, either. No, this reason was something far more personal and much more rooted in the curiosity about humans that was ever present in her life. What could drive a human with no skill in fighting to follow a Godling and a vampire out to what was, in all likelihood, his own death? The only ways she could reason that both of them had managed to leave alive were either a fluke or divine intervention, and her wounded savior didn't show any signs of having an intact plan or a trick up his sleeve when he arrived.

Something was different about Izuku Midoriya, and she had a burning at the deepest core of her being to find out what. The power of this question made all the desires to learn about humans she had had previously in her life guttering candles in comparison.

The sound of the door opening interrupted her train of thought and the continued conversation between Tenya and Ochako that she hadn't been listening to. Mina leaped off the couch. "Is he okay?"

The old woman smiled graciously. "Calm yourself, little nymph. I already told you, Izuku is a stubborn boy, and I'm still a fine healer, even in my old age. He's taking a bath and having some food right now. He'll be staying here tonight so that I can speed up the rate at which his body makes new blood, and he'll be right as rain by morning. Now, come here and let me have a look at you..."

The bath had been surprisingly pleasant. Izuku had expected to be surrounded by red water and want out immediately, but most of the blood had soaked into the bandages. While the bath did tinge slightly pink, he felt inclined to stay a while due to the presence of soap and the water being comfortably warm. Even though he'd only been on the road with Iida for a couple of days, it felt nice to wash the grime of travel off.

What had been more surprising than the bath, however, was how muscular his body was. Izuku had been too preoccupied with his treatment and questions earlier to pay much attention to himself, but he almost couldn't reconcile what he looked like now with how he'd been merely a week ago. He thought back to his birthday and how he'd struggled lifting that chest in the reliquary. How heavy would it seem now? These muscles certainly came from the mantle, but he wondered if they were the source of his constant aches. It was well known that the process of becoming stronger was a painful one. To do become so with such speed would likely hurt, indeed. He sighed, as thinking about the pain seemed to remind his muscles to renew their complaints.

He found new clothes waiting for him when he finished his bath. His old ones, ripped and torn in multiple places (not to mention soaked with blood), were nowhere to be found. In their place were a white collared shirt, impossibly soft to the touch, a light green vest, and a pair of dark pants. He left off only the vest, setting it aside for tomorrow. Izuku was not surprised to find that they fit him perfectly. Apparently, Grandmother was always watching, which was a slightly unnerving thought. Regardless, after a struggle to finish doing up the last of the fine buttons (his fingers were slightly numb and wouldn't work exactly as he wanted them to), he emerged from the room he had been treated in.

Grandmother, Iida, and Uraraka were seated at a table drinking tea, by the smell of it. Mina was laying across a couch in a position that didn't seem entirely comfortable. She didn't stay there long, however. As soon as the door had opened, she looked to it and then rolled off the couch. "Izuku! You're okay!" She ran over to him and peered at his chest, then at his side, poking the latter tenderly. "You are okay, right?"

Mina was very close to him. He tried to fight down the burning he felt starting in his ears before it could spread to the rest of his face. Without the adrenaline or the dagger stuck in him, it was much easier to remember that she was a girl, and a very pretty one at that. "Um. Y-yeah, I'm fine. Gran–" He swallowed. "Granny Chiyo is, uh. She's a good healer."

"I'm glad you're all right!" chirped Uraraka.

"It's good to see you moving under your own power, Midoriya," Iida said without rising. "I'm led to believe that you will not be using your room at the inn tonight?"

"Uh... No, I'm staying here."

"In which case, would you kindly give your key to Miss Mina? She –"

Mina interrupted him with a groan. "Can you quit with the 'Miss'? My name is just Mina!"

He continued as though she had not spoken. "– has indicated that she has, for the duration of her stay here, been sleeping in the fields, which is highly unsafe considering that there is a vampire with motive to kill her."

"Sure, yeah. That's... I mean, we've already paid for the room, and that way you'll be nearby in case she comes back, right?"

The nobleman nodded. "My thoughts precisely."

The nymph grumbled in Iida's direction at his total disregard for her request, but turned back to Izuku. "Thanks for this. It was his idea, but..." She bit her lip. "I didn't realize I was scared of going to sleep until he suggested it."

Izuku frowned. Scared to sleep? If she had been sleeping in the open, it made a certain kind of sense... "It's, uh, no problem. I mean, even if I was using the room, I'd let you sleep there if you were afraid to sleep outside." His face immediately caught fire as he finished the statement. "I-I mean, I'd sleep somewhere else, obviously! I didn't mean that I'd want you to sleep with me! Um! But it's not because you're, uh, not because–! Um! I-it's just not, um, proper, and..." He trailed off as he heard Uraraka trying to stifle a giggle. Was it even possible that he could embarrass himself more at this point?

Mina made no attempt to hide her laugh. "You are way too worried about what you say, Izuku." She put a hand on his shoulder. "Just say what you want and the rest will figure itself out!" Then, quietly and with a wink: "Besides, we both know it's not because you don't think I'm pretty."

In that moment, Izuku wondered if dying to the vampire might have been preferable. Something about his reaction made his tormentor laugh hard enough that she snorted.

"All right, that's enough," Grandmother said. "I'm sure you're greatly looking forward to having fun at Izuku's expense, Mina, but he needs to rest for tonight. You all can have at him tomorrow. Izuku, why don't you get Mina your room key, and then we'll all say good night and you can rejoin them in the morning?"

He nodded vigorously, desperate for any escape from this situation. As the others assented to the notion, he spun on his heel and marched back into his temporary room. It only took him a moment to fish the key out of his satchel, after which he turned around and immediately yelped in fright. Mina had entered the room behind him, scarcely making a noise.

She seemed about as startled by his exclamation as he was by her sudden appearance. Once they both finished their brief screaming, she laughed sheepishly and held out her hand. "Thanks again. I don't really think she's going to recover in time to come after me before sunrise, but... I just want to be careful. I don't plan on dying when I have a few thousand years of Godhood ahead of me, you know?"

He gave her the key. "Y-yeah, it's... Listen, I don't want you to, um... You shouldn't have to be afraid of going to sleep, you know? So, uh... Any way I can help."

Mina didn't leave after her handed it to her. She looked at it and ran over it with her thumb for a quiet moment. "I really am sorry about treating you like some average sex-obsessed creep. You're a great person, Izuku." She bridged the scant inches between their faces by standing on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for saving me from the vampire."

She left at some point after that. He wasn't exactly sure when because his brain wasn't working properly. He was dimly aware of his surroundings and the dull aches he'd become so familiar with over the past days, but the thing occupying his attention the most was the inferno blazing above his neck where his head used to be.

Izuku had never been kissed by a girl. As such, he struggled to comprehend exactly why Mina would have done that and what it could mean. The most obvious explanation would be that she was grateful and she preferred a peck on the cheek over a hug or some other similar expression of the feeling. Such logic, however, was unwelcome in his wildly malfunctioning mind and found little purchase. It spun theory after theory, each more wild and outlandish than the last, as to what that could have meant. As they reached higher and higher, a single rotten thought soured it all.

He was lying to Mina, just like Iida, Uraraka, and his mother.

No matter what he did, he couldn't escape the lies. He thought back to his last visit to Grandmother's house, when he had made the decision to travel with Iida. It was supposed to give him time to figure out how to resolve the situation in a way that was fair to his friend, but the continuing addition of new traveling companions was causing it to spiral out of control. A clean solution seemed less likely than ever, rather than becoming clearer.

"Yagi's given you a burden that might just be too big for your shoulders." Grandmother's voice broke through his thoughts, and he started slightly.

"I... How did you know what I was thinking about?"

"Because it's written all over your face, dear. Come, let's get your troubles off your mind. You had questions for me." She left the room to return to the table she had previously been seated at.

Izuku followed and sat with her. Where even to begin? He had so many questions, and there already wasn't going to be enough time to get as much sleep as he'd like...

"You had been asking about Todoroki's mantles before," she reminded gently.

As good a place as any. "So... You said that he had the power from Lady Neya's mantle. Is it... Does it become less powerful because he already has a mantle? Is it... I don't know, shared between them, I guess?"

Grandmother shook her head. "It is not. Yours works a bit differently, but most mantles are infused with a set amount of power. The remainder stays with the God it came from until such a time as their Godling reaches the Palace and claims the rest."

Izuku's stomach sank. He hadn't seen a comprehensive expression of power from many of the Godlings he'd met, but he remembered very well the kind of power Kacchan had been able to muster. With Todoroki being a Demigod of both of the Gods he had a mantle for... "How much power did Lord Hellfire give him? And Lady Neya to Fuyumi?"

"The most power a mantle can hold is set in divine Law. While Hellfire could break the Law with concerted effort, the mantles are watched very closely. At the outset of the Game, setting aside him being a Demigod, Todoroki wouldn't have any more power than any other Godling unless their God intentionally gave them less."

Nighteye's burning manor filled his mind, juxtaposed against Iida reading in the library. "But some Godlings' powers are better for fighting than others."

"That's right. The powers Todoroki has access to from his mantles certainly lend themselves towards the sort of acts Hellfire has encouraged of him."

Izuku furrowed his brow. The way she had phrased that sentence seemed oddly intentional, but he couldn't think of a way to ask the question it evoked. He settled for the next best one. "Do you mean that there are other powers that he doesn't have access to?"

"Of course. You didn't think that Yagi's powers began and ended with his strength, did you? There are facets of your mantle that you have yet to comprehend. There are powers Yagi has that you will not possess until you claim your Godhood, and there are some that will be lost forever when you do."

"W-what? Lost forever? Why?"

"Mantles change when they're passed on, Izuku. A mantle's scope isn't set in stone... Well, not unless you're Crimson, at any rate." She softly chuckled at her joke. "No, a mantle is defined by who you are, how you perceive yourself, and how you perceive the mantle itself. Because you're a different person than Yagi was – and is, I suppose – there are some abilities he manifested that you will never even conceive of. Even if you do, they still might be beyond you just because they don't fit within the framework of your mind."

"I... I don't understand. Like what?"

"I can't very well tell you that, dear. Telling you about powers you haven't figured out yet would be rendering aid in a way that breaks the Law." She looked towards the door. "But I do have a good example. Take your friend Mina. She's already figured out how her powers are different from Midnight's. Midnight's powers manifest as powders and perfumes, and she uses these to invoke, encourage, or banish certain behaviors or conditions on others to promote... well, revelry. This certainly isn't the extent of her ability, but it's all that matters right now. Your clever nymph friend realized very quickly that she doesn't create these effects in the same way. She makes her Nectar, and she can make the Nectar have properties derived from her knowledge of plants. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that, as a Flower nymph, that knowledge is substantial. Mina is capable of doing things that Midnight could never do – for example, feeding people. Her Nectar can nourish the body because there are plants that she knows are nourishing and make good food or drink. Midnight could make someone drunk, but it would only be by the effects of alcohol and how it relates to revelry – they wouldn't have actually ingested anything. On the other hand, Mina could never instill in someone the urge to dance, which Midnight could do with a wave of her hand."

Izuku felt on the cusp of something important. This had implications that would make the next generation of Gods even more different from the current than he had previously imagined. "So... Does that mean Mina isn't the Godling of Revelry, then? Since her powers are done through plants, she's the Godling of... Something else?"

"That is a marvelous question, dear, but it's one that I certainly can't answer."

"Well, it'd... It'd have to be something close to Revelry, right? Because you said that how you perceive the mantle affects what it lets you do."

"That would be a reasonable assumption."

He wasn't sure what that something would be. It could be that Mina had more powers that he wasn't aware of that would allow him to refine the evidence and come closer to a good conclusion. What did this mean for the others, though? How would Uraraka and Iida's mantles change?

How had his changed?

That was the most important question for him. Last to enter the game, coming in with no power compared to the full scope of what his friends and competition had, and unable to properly communicate his intentions or even his nature... Knowing himself was the one of the only things he had going for him. Adding uncertainty about what his mantle actually was made him uneasy for multiple reasons, but the clearest one was the added difficulty in figuring out what he was capable of doing.

"I am the Godling of Strength." It wasn't a question.

"Are you, now?"

He nodded. "My muscles have grown unnaturally fast since I've been helping people. Strength also seems like something I would have had a narrow enough perception of that it would be difficult for it to manifest differently than it did for Lord Yagi."

"The powers you've manifested thus far do bear a striking resemblance to Yagi's. I wouldn't be surprised to find the mantle had changed little in that regard."

He had thought as much. Strength was straightforward, which was welcome against the uncertainty he found himself rife with. "I don't know if I'm the Godling of Justice, though."

"Have you felt particularly just? Or that you might have powers aligned with such a concept?"

"No, I haven't felt just at all since I've gotten the mantle." How would that change the mantle, he wondered? Feeling antithetical to a concept so close to it must have a profound effect on how it formed when he received it. "Do you know what else I'm the Godling of?"

"I do."

"Do you know what my powers are?"

"I've a strong feeling. I haven't had Nezu for tea lately, and between the two of us, we can usually hash out our suspicions and see who's correct about what."

"Do you think I'll figure it out by myself?"

"That's a good question, Izuku, but answering it could point you enough in the right direction that it would be considered rendering aid."

With this line of questioning coming to a close, it seemed prudent to shift to another subject that had been bothering him. "Grandmother, why is it that... How can you heal me and not be breaking the Law? That has to qualify as helping."

"Another excellent question, and one I can even answer. Yagi changed the Law when he picked you. He made it so that as long as a Godling was saddled with some burden or condition that would make the Great Game more difficult for them, a boon can be rendered upon them. You know what offset you've been forced to accept, of course. Yagi deemed that having access to my healing was roughly as beneficial as your ban on revealing your nature to others was detrimental."

"Then... Why can you heal the others? Do they have some restriction on them like I do?"

"Of course not."

"But that means that you're helping them."

"I most certainly am not. You are helping them."

"But that... actually... makes sense." He held his chin in his hand. "Because they don't have access to your healing, only I do. I'm able to bring them with me, but that isn't rendering aid because you aren't deciding to heal them, I'm deciding to share my boon. Right?"

Her eyes shone with pride. "Precisely."

It honestly seemed like a technicality. Following the letter of the law rather than the spirit, so to speak. That said, he wasn't exactly going to complain that his friends had access to healing. Healers were hard to come by at the best of times, and with the travel that they'd be doing to find the Palace, having one that's accessible from any locking door in the world was invaluable. That's not even touching on the fact that she was the healer.

A yawn split his face. It had to be late by this point, and he'd need to link back up with the others early. He'd need what sleep he could get if he wasn't going to slow them down tomorrow. Time to ask the really important questions, then. "Earlier, you had said that you didn't know much about the vampire."

"That's right."

"That means you do know something. So... The 'he' she referred to. That's the Godling that Lord Yagi told me walks with monsters, right?"

"I couldn't possibly answer a question like that, Izuku."

"Right, sorry. She serves the Godling who walks with monsters. That's got something to do with his mantle." He had a strong feeling about who it was. He'd had an epiphany in the bath, but he didn't want to get ahead of himself in case he was following a flawed train of thought.

"What kind of Godling would have a mantle that attracts monsters?"

"Monsters are traditionally considered to be forces of chaos, incapable of melding with proper civilization. There are several Gods who don't care for cities and kingdoms, but there's only one who is considered actively destructive."

Grandmother nodded, gesturing for him to go on.

"She serves the Godling of the Great Devourer."

"Such a ridiculous name," she scoffed. "You may call him what you wish, but his name was Shigaraki, back before he became a God and let his ego completely escape his ability to control it."

Izuku swallowed. He didn't think he could refer to a God so casually, least of all the Devourer. He wasn't a particularly superstitious person anymore, but he had never quite shaken the belief that to say his name (his Godly name, that is – he doubted there was a mortal alive that knew what his name had been pre-Godhood) drew his attention and invited disaster upon the speaker and their family. Of course, Izuku didn't particularly feel in danger now, despite that nagging feeling. After all, even the Great Devourer wouldn't break the rules of the Great Game so overtly by killing a Godling.

Right?

"Is there anything you can tell me about him? The Godling, I mean. And the vampire?"

She looked at him wearily.

"I mean, maybe their names? I can't see that being particularly helpful. All it does is let me call them something other than 'the Godling of Destruction' and 'the vampire.'"

After a moment, she spoke. "I suppose that's not incorrect. His name is Tomura, and hers is Himiko Toga."

He frowned. "And I suppose that knowing why he doesn't have a last name would be considered 'helpful.'"

Grandmother nodded. "That's all I can tell you about them, unless you can find a way to your own answers."

There were so many things he needed to know about this Tomura. How many other monsters did he have under his sway? Certainly more than Toga, the All Mighty had very clearly said 'monsters.' What kinds of monsters? What could he expect from them? What kind of powers did Tomura command? All questions, of course, that couldn't be answered. It made Izuku uneasy. He had already sent one of his minions to try and claim a mantle, and she had very nearly succeeded. How long until she came back? Until other monsters came for his other friends? What happened when he sent a monster after a Godling that was all alone?

The kind of Godling that would send monsters to murder his competition is exactly the kind of person Izuku had become a Godling to protect the world from. There was no doubt in his mind that, by the end of the Game, he and Tomura would fight. Hopefully, it would be before his monsters could claim any mantles, and Izuku could keep such a horrid influence out of the next pantheon.

"Already feeling the burdens of leadership?" Grandmother smiled.

He blinked. "How do you keep doing that?"

"I've been around for a long time, dear. I don't mean to diminish you, but you're only eighteen. It's quite easy for me to tell what you're thinking." She patted his arm. "You'll make a fine King once you get there, but don't spend too much time worrying about things you can't control. Take a deep breath and head off to bed. I'll wake you at dawn and you can go meet your friends."

He took the ordered breath and tried not to think about Tomura or Toga, but instead of his friends.

His friends that he was lying to.

Izuku let the breath out. That certainly made him feel worse about every facet of the situation he was in. There was nothing to be done for it, though. Bidding good night to Grandmother, he turned and headed to his room for the night.

Traveling with Mina and Uraraka was a very different experience than traveling with Iida. The nobleman wasn't a conversational slouch by any means, but it was very normal for long stretches of silence as they trekked down the roads. When they did speak, it tended to be about things of an academic nature, or something to do with the swordplay, or a shared interest they found that they had. With the other two in tow, however, the conversation never stopped.

Uraraka was happy to discuss whatever any of them brought up. She and Izuku had in common their lowly station at birth and their above-average education. She wasn't quite as well-read as him, since she had been properly apprenticed to a Wizard rather than just taught to read by one. She proved a match for both himself and Iida on many academic topics while also having a surprising knowledge of several trades. Her parents had both been multidisciplinary; her father had the distinction of membership in both her hometown's masonry and carpentry guilds, while her mother possessed similar credentials as a potter and tailor. The dues kept them humble, but they were never hard pressed to find work. For more traditionally feminine topics, she found a ready partner in Mina, and so never wanted for someone to talk to.

Mina certainly channeled her nymph heritage in her preferred conversation. She delighted in the natural world, excitedly pointing out rare plants that were visible from the road, identifying animals by the sounds echoing out from the distance, and speaking at length of the beauty in the various flowers they saw. When she saw a flower she was particularly enthusiastic about, she would leave a small helping of Nectar at the base of its stem. When a lack of external stimuli prevented her commentary, she would readily speak on facets of human cultures and behaviors that she found interesting or intriguing, or that she didn't understand. While his personal experience with nymphs was lacking, Izuku did find himself surprised by how engaged she was with human society. He had expected a level of casual curiosity, but largely thought that a Flower nymph would be more invested in her own world rather than the human one.

The changes in the traveling mood weren't unwelcome by any means. It was going to take some adjusting to, but Izuku found that he enjoyed the increase in conversation. Even though he didn't participate in a decent chunk of it, just listening to and learning about his new friends was... well, exciting. It felt new and different. It probably had something to do with him not being a social creature for much of his life, else he would have encountered this feeling sooner. Regardless, he was here now, and he was going to enjoy it.

Or rather, he was mostly going to enjoy it. As the sun sank in the sky and afternoon passed into the earliest stages of evening, Mina had suggested they take turns asking each other questions. She wanted to know more about everyone and felt it was only fair that she provide some of her own answers as well. Uraraka had been wholly in support of the idea, but Iida was uninterested. When their eyes shifted to him, the anxiety of saying 'no' outweighed the anxiety of everything else.

Iida had begrudgingly participated, and several rounds of basic questions had followed – inquiries about upbringing, hobbies, and families. Much to his misfortune, however, those ran dry as it came back around to Izuku, meaning he had to come up with a question that had substance.

He felt the women looking at him expectantly. Indecision paralyzed him, and he felt like he was going to start sweating. Finally, he glanced up at Mina and a question struck him. "What, uh... Why do you have horns?"

She cocked her head. "What? What horns?"

"You know, your, uh..." He used his fingers to make little horns in imitation of the two that stuck out of the top her her head.

Mina's eyes widened and she ran over each of them with her fingers. "Oh! These? I guess they do look kind of like horns, huh?" She laughed. "They're not, though. They're my branches!"

"Branches...?" Uraraka asked. "Like, wood branches? Do Flower nymphs usually have those?"

"Nope! My great... great? Grandfather was a Wood nymph, and my great great grandmother was a Flower Nymph. My great grandfather was a Flower nymph, like his mom, but he still had all sorts of bark on him and had branches sticking out of his arms and legs. Then my grandma had bark on part of her stomach and her side, and my mom has a branch that comes out of her shoulder. It's really cool though, it blossoms in the spring! And I just got these little guys." She tapped at her branches again. "They don't blossom or anything. They're great for tying flowers into my hair, though! See?" She looked down to show that the flowers woven into her hair were, in fact, ultimately tied off at the base of her branches.

"Do you have much sensation in your branches?" Iida asked. Izuku could tell he was genuinely interested in this (admittedly rather odd) line of questioning, as opposed to the earlier ones that he engaged in purely from social obligation.

"Not really. Not unless they break or someone really starts yanking on them, and that's mostly just because it hurts my scalp."

"They break?" Izuku asked. "I mean, of course they break, they're wood, but... that sounds horrible."

She nodded. "My mom said that her branch didn't hurt very much when it broke if it was towards the end, but I think since mine are so short, it hurts no matter what for me. I remember the first time I broke one, I cried for hours. Or at least, it felt like hours. I was only five, so it was probably a few minutes. But they grow back pretty quick, so once the initial pain is gone, it's mostly just annoying and a little itchy around the base."

"Do you have sap?" He felt embarrassed for having asked the question as soon as it left his mouth. It was such a ridiculous thing to ask, but it had leaped out of his mouth before he'd even properly realized he was thinking it.

"I don't think so? I mean, I guess I could, but if I do, it always comes out mixed with blood." To his relief, Mina didn't seem to think the question was odd at all. It did, however, create an extended silence. Or maybe people just didn't have any more questions about her branches? Izuku gave it even odds.

When it became clear that nobody else had anything to say on the matter, Mina informed Iida that it was his turn to ask a question. After a moment of consideration, he asked, "Uraraka, what magics are you trained in?"

Instead of answering, she looked down and clutched her staff tightly to her chest. Mina winced and sharply inhaled.

"I'm... sorry, have I offended you somehow?"

She sighed. "It's not your fault. You didn't know, and you didn't have any magic before getting your mantle."

"What do you mean?" Izuku asked. He shared a glance with Iida, who looked every bit as confused as him.

"Well, my master was a specialist in antimagic. You know, dispelling and warding against hostile magics. I didn't take as well to that, but he still made sure I had a solid grasp of it. 'You'll never win a fight trading the enemy blow for blow,' he'd always say." She pitched her voice down in an apparent impression of the wizard. "'You need to ensure that he can't touch you while you lay the foundation of his defeat.' I learned all sorts of different spells from him and the tomes he had, but force magic always came easiest to me. And then... When I got my mantle, I couldn't do magic anymore."

Iida drew his head back. "That makes no sense! Is your mantle not from the Thirteenth? She is the Goddess of Magic!"

"I don't know why," she shrugged. "I kept trying, but I couldn't make anything happen. I finally managed to work some basic force spells, but they felt completely different. The way I harness the energy, the way it feels, even the way it manifests... they're all different from how I learned when I was a normal mortal. I haven't managed to figure out anything else since, just variations of force spells."

To Izuku's surprise, Mina was nodding along as though this made perfect sense. "When I got my mantle, it broke my connection to my tether." She gestured to the stems in her hair, each bearing many flowers. "I thought I was going to die at first, but Lady Midnight told me not to worry about it, that it was normal for nymphs to feel that way when they became Godlings. After I had experimented with how my mantle worked for a while, I tried casting a spell to grow new flowers where my tether had been before I put it in my hair. Nothing happened. I haven't been able to cast any of the spells I used to. It isn't like I had to re-learn them or anything, either. Nymphs are born understanding how their magic works. It's part of us." She rubbed her arm self-consciously. "And... yeah. I don't have that anymore."

Izuku and Iida looked at each other again, unsure how to even begin comforting the upset Godlings they traveled with. After an awkward moment, the nobleman looked up and said, "The sun is getting low. We should find a place to camp, I think."

Izuku nodded his agreement, but Mina looked up, confusion on her face. "What? We've got to have at least an hour and a half before it gets dark!"

"We have to set up camp, which takes time, and I still have to give Midoriya lessons before the day is out. I'm sure you understand the value of having him actually able to defend the two of you from the vampire, should she return."

Izuku opened his mouth to tell them her name, but then snapped it back shut. How did he broach that information? How could he have possibly received it? Or rather, how could he lie about how he received it convincingly enough to not draw suspicion to himself? No, for now, that information had to stay with him.

It took Uraraka agreeing with Iida and explaining to Mina that setting up camp involved more for them than finding a tree or flowerbed to curl up in before the whole party was in agreement. The Godling of Intellect (Or was he, Izuku wondered?) led them off the road a ways until a suitable place to pitch camp could be found.

As the humans set their bags down and began unpacking the materials needed to raise their tents, Uraraka addressed Mina. "Are you sure you don't want to share? I don't have a lot, so there's room for you in here."

The nymph shook her head. "Nope! I sleep under the stars. Nymphs deal with weather better than humans, we don't need silly things like 'tents' or 'blankets' to get a good night's sleep!"

The Godling of Magic gave her a long, worried look, but didn't actively protest the decision.

Mina watched curiously as the three of them set up their tents, asking many questions about why things we done the way they were or what purpose something served. Each of them answered as the questions were asked. Izuku even stopped to demonstrate the process more slowly so that she could see, which caused his tent to be the last one up by a considerable time. When he finished, Uraraka had returned with stones to build a firepit and Iida waited impatiently a short distance away, training blade in hand.

It was at that moment that Izuku remembered that just a few days prior, Iida had said that they would begin sparring during his lessons. Part of him was excited to move onto the next stage of his education, but part of him dreaded the beating he was about to receive. After all, Iida had been doing this for a great many years, while he had less than a week of learning underneath his belt. He swallowed, retrieved his own practice weapon from his backpack and stepped out to meet his teacher.

"Remember, Midoriya, I will win our first several bouts, at least. You may find that you cannot win in earnest for a long time yet. This is not a failing on your part. You are learning, and learning well, but you have a long way to go. Do you understand?"

He nodded. "Y-yeah."

"Good. Before we begin, I want you to demonstrate all that I've taught you thus far. It will bring it to the front of both your mind and your muscles, and it will serve as a good stretch beforehand."

He did as he was told, running through the basic defensive and offensive forms. As he did so, Iida continued: "There are many that I've yet to teach you, but they are more advanced sets. You will not see them until I am satisfied with your combat performance. There is no point in learning the higher forms without a good foundation. Your fundamentals must be second nature for you to survive in a fight against an opponent of any real skill."

Izuku repeated several of the forms without being told, knowing that Iida wouldn't be happy with the sloppy execution of them. Normally, he didn't expect he'd have an issue, but he was acutely aware of two sets of curious eyes watching him as he practiced. It was one thing for his instructor to watch and appraise his movements. To have others do so was unexpectedly nerve wracking.

"That's enough," Iida finally said. He raised his sword up. "Touch your blade to mine. This is not something you should practice on the battlefield, but in any friendly bout or tournament, you will be expected to salute your opponent before beginning. There are many ways this can be done, but this is the method I am most fond of." There was a soft clack as his sword tapped its partner. "Now, three steps back." Once they had distance between them, "Begin."

Izuku had started in a defensive form, expecting Iida to mercilessly press him from the start, but his opponent did not move. He realized after a split second that he was expected to strike the first blow. He inhaled deeply through his nose and, as he began to exhale, took a strong step and a half forward and lunged. It was at the very edge of his range – the tip would only have nicked the leather over Iida's chest had it connected, but this was the safest way for him to engage and see which defense he was going to need to overcome.

With a contemptuous flick of his wrist, the nobleman sent the incoming attack far off course. Only his hand and forearm moved – the rest of him was stone still. No emotion crossed his face as he kept his eyes trained firmly on Izuku. With a step to the side and then forward, the green-haired man swiped at the other's side in a horizontal stroke. Iida's arm moved in earnest this time, blocking the blow and rolling the sword off of his own. Izuku made sure not to hesitate and brought it back up, only for it to be met again. This time, he initiated the slide of his weapon and skidded it down the length of Iida's, trying to quickly come around his guard. It should have been a clue that something was wrong when this was allowed to happen. The other Godling brought his arm up, ending the contact early and letting Izuku's attack travel through, but it met nothing but air. With a swift pivot, Iida dodged the attack and properly retaliated. Off balance and still trying to follow through with his own attack, Izuku failed to move out of the way and took a solid hit to the chest. Thankfully, his own breastplate absorbed the shock. He staggered back, sword raised in a defensive posture.

Iida didn't hesitate to come back in, but this time, Izuku wasn't completely on the metaphorical back foot. He blocked two incoming strikes, the first a vertical swipe and the second a lunge, before attempting to riposte. Even though he was out of position, Iida was able to deftly interpose his weapon, using his off hand to steady the block against Izuku's attack.

"Very good!" he complimented. "A lunge can be a difficult thing to block, and your answer was well conceived."

The Godling of Strength didn't respond, not trusting himself with the distraction. He brought his sword back and feinted a slash at the leg, only to bring the tip up and attempt to stab at his friend's torso. It had no chance of going through, as the feint was seen through the moment it was executed. Iida knocked Izuku's sword up and brought his back around with impossible swiftness, landing another hammering blow on his armor. This one actually made Izuku wheeze as the air was forced from his lungs, but he kept his grip on the sword and brought it back down to guard himself from another assault.

Iida feinted twice, once to each side. Predicting a blow to the center, Izuku shifted to block a lunge, but instead Iida swiped down from his second feint into Izuku's leg. He hopped back, rubbing the aching spot where he'd failed to parry. He jumped backwards again to dodge the next attack and blocked its follow up.

This was not a winnable battle by any means, but he couldn't stand the idea of it ending without him landing a single hit on Iida. The obvious question was how to do so, but that wasn't easily answered. He knew that his teacher was going easy on him, but –

A sharp pain erupted in his side. "Out of your mind, Izuku!" the blue-haired man said harshly. "Remember! That will get you killed in a real fight!"

His face flushed red. That would have been embarrassing enough alone, but knowing that Uraraka and Mina had seen it as well was humiliating. He pressed the offensive, using light, fast attacks to try to overwhelm Iida. This failed miserably as each and every strike was deftly parried. He blocked another attack as he silently cursed the impenetrable barrier that was the space around his opponent's torso.

As he took a step to the side to reposition, a thought occurred. He had been going for body shots, and a leg once or twice. Iida seemed to be expecting that. His eyes flicked to the other man's wrist for a moment as he feinted a downward strike. He tried to wrap around and avoid the training blade to strike at the hand holding it, but his sword met nothing but air.

"Good! That was a good instinct! Your eyes gave you away, they telegraphed your attack!"

As Iida came back in for another attack, Izuku tried to watch his eyes to see where the attack was coming. All it earned him was a failed block – those blue eyes never wavered from his own. With his frustration growing, he made hard, heavy swings as he advanced. Resounding cracks echoed through the clearing as Iida blocked, but his sword was forced very near to his face. In a moment of horror, Izuku realized he was starting to pull on his mantle. He took several swift steps backwards, taking another deep breath to banish the divine power rising in his arms.

The nobleman came in for another lunge, which Izuku dodged. His retaliation was blocked and his sword nearly knocked from his hand as Iida rolled his sword around Izuku's in an attempt to disarm him. Though he managed to keep hold of it, there was no way he could block the follow up strike. Instead, he brought his blade directly down onto Iida's shoulder. Finally, he struck true, even if it cost him what would likely be a nasty welt on his left arm where his opponent's attack landed.

"Enough!" Iida called, stepping back and rubbing his shoulder. A round of applause came from their observers, along with several cheers. "That would have cost you your arm, but I'm very proud of you for having the presence of mind to strike when you realized you couldn't block."

"Thank you," he replied, speaking for the first time since the duel had begun. He realized he was breathing heavily. It made sense, but he hadn't noticed until he'd stopped moving. "I just... I couldn't stand the idea of going the whole fight without hitting you even once."

"In truth, I didn't expect that you would. Moreover, I didn't expect you to fight as well as you did! You blocked and dodged many more attacks than I predicted. You've translated what you've learned from your drills into actual fighting maneuvers much better than most students with your experience that I've seen."

His chest swelled with pride at the compliment. "I'll do even better next time," he said confidently.

Iida smiled and readied his blade again. "Prove it."

Izuku touched their blades together, and they began again.

The segments in Grandmother's house always last longer than I expect them to. I think they turn out pretty well, though, so I'm not complaining!

I know I said last chapter that the Gods' lore corners would be happening in the side project as we learned about the Godlings before/as they got their mantles, but today, we're going to be learning about The Great Devourer. It'll be some time before we meet Tomura himself, and knowing about the God is going to be important moving forward. While the information isn't immediately required, this is one of the more sensible points at which I can provide it.

The Great Devourer

Major Purviews: Destruction, Monsters, Chaos

Minor Purviews: Murder, Anarchy, Rebellion

Worshippers: Monsters, people who are amoral/morally depraved

The Great Devourer is not worshiped in polite society. He has no temple or official priesthood. To bear the sigil of the Devourer or publicly claim devotion to him is to make yourself a pariah. Historically, he has stood against the other gods in most respects, but has a particular antipathy towards Yagi the All Mighty. The Temple of Yagi teaches that the two have ever hated each other, and it was only through great effort that he became King of the Gods rather than the Devourer.

The Cult of the Great Devourer possesses a startling number of human members. While most hide their allegiance, occasionally, bands of them gather with monsters to wreak havoc on the innocent.

Many Gods have nuanced purviews, aspects of them that could be applied towards things that are traditionally considered good or evil, right or wrong, what have you. The Great Devourer is not one of them. His rebellion is not the righteous uprising against a tyrant – it is the bloody revolt that manipulates those participating to grab power for the leader while spilling as much blood as possible. His destruction is not the natural passing of something that needs to fade so that new life may arrive, but the intentional and malicious harm of anything that does not serve him.