Chapter Twenty-Seven

Calm Before The Storm

[Nighttime, Safe House]

"I just want to say that you really are a rarity!" Curious said as she eyed Lily up and down from the couch she was placed on by Hinako and Mina. The safe house they were in wasn't the best seeing how it resembles that of a nightclub bar mixed with a common Japanese apartment house where three to four people could live in. But it was nice, nonetheless. "I mean you're the villain killer. The villain killer that has been in the shadows killing high ranked criminals for the past ten years!"

"I didn't pick the name, hero society picked the name for me. I only killed the criminals because they were either in my way, came after me, or I needed money from them." Lily said as she noticed Curious writing down what she just said. She soon looked over at Hinako with a tired expression on her face. "Is she always like this?"

"Always excited and eager to hear a new story where she would get herself into trouble? Yeah...it's very annoying and gets us into trouble a lot."

"Journalism is about getting the information from the source. Not from rumors and gossip that will lead to false information!" Curious said as she turned her gaze towards Lily. "The weird pillar thing that appeared in the USJ. Do you know what it is? So far there isn't information on this being called Halphas other than the demonology of it being part of the Ars Goetia. Is this some kind of demon that manifested into the world? Who was it that summoned or made it? Is it someone with a powerful quirk?"

"Don't you think you should let her rest a bit? I mean, she did have to fight off All Might, Endeavor, and a bunch of other heroes as well." Mina asked as Curious looked over at the pink girl with a sheepish grin on her face.

"Right, right, of course. I can wait just a bit longer to get the interview started. But allow me to properly introduce myself. On the field, I go by the name Curious. But seeing how we're in a seclusive place, my real name is Chitose Kizuki." Curious said as she motions to Hinako who was reading a book.

"I already told you my name. Just call me Hinako or Yu." Hinako said as she looked over at Mina, Barghest, and Lily. "We're part of the Meta Liberation Army. If you're wondering what that is? The M.L.A is an organization that follows the philosophy that the free usage of Quirks is a basic human right and emphasizes liberation over regulation." She said before tossing over a book called the meta liberation war perfectly on Lily's abdomen. "To hero society, this organization would be labeled as a villain organization that rivals that of the big bad himself. All For One."

"...That name sounds familiar." Lily said before picking the book up and started to read it.

"Wait, so this organization just wants people to have the right to use quirks as they please?" Mina asked as Chitose nodded her head.

"We believe that we the citizens should have the right to use our quirks. Not so that we can do whatever we want with them, but as a means to either defend ourselves from villain attacks or just in general. Quirks are a part of us humans, and it should be our civil right to use our quirks without being restrained or regulated by the means of a hero license."

"So basically you want to free people from the system the heroes placed on this world. To make them strong and not weak?" Lily said as Chitose nodded.

"Indeed. Hence why my leader, Re-Destro, wanted me to recruit you to our cause and why he wanted me to save you before the heroes caught you."

"Hm….how many people have the M.L.A killed that might prove to be a problem?"

"A lot. Sometimes the leader kills people that don't have the same mindset as him and insults his father, Destro." Hinako said as Chitose stared at her. "It wouldn't do us any good if we lied to her. Would you rather have her attack us once she learns about how the organization operates when it comes to killing people that might be a problem?"

"...I mean if I was in his shoes, I would do the same. Well the killing of people that might leak out an important secret." Lily said while skimming through the book she was given.

"A-Are you willing to join us?"

"Hm. Mina, Barghest. What is your opinion on this?" Lily asked as Mina and Barghest looked over at Chitose for a moment before looking at Lily.

"My philosophy is that the strong protect the weak, and the weak should help the strong. If this army of yours is as strong as you claim it to be, then I will assist it." Barghest answered and Lily looked over at Mina.

"I mean, they did help us out in giving us this safe house to hide in. So they have my trust….for now. Plus we are friends, so I can't just leave you hanging by yourself." Mina said as Lily looked over at Chitose and Hinako.

"Looks like we'll be coming with you to the M.L.A." She said as a wide smile appeared on Chitose's face.

"Wonderful! I knew you would join us given your background as the villain killer!" Chitose said before standing up and pulling out a phone. "I'll inform Re-Destro about this! Excuse for a second." She said before heading out of the room. The moment she left, Barghest followed after her, but for a different reason.

"I will go and patrol the area. We have escaped the heroes, but they might have sent someone that can track us."

"Make sure you don't kill them, but knock them out and toss them in a trash can or somewhere away. Also if you see Gawain, bring him here to the safe house." Lily suggested as the servant nodded before leaving. The moment she left, Lily's attention was turned toward Mina as she noticed parts of her clothing were melted off by her acid. "Looks like our little trip to the mall was a huge bust. Sorry about that."

"Hey, it's fine. I kind of figure something like this would happen sooner or later. I just didn't think they would pull something like that on the spot...which begs the question. How did they know we were going to the mall?"

"I'm going to assume that they had someone tailing the both of us. That or they have someone that can read into the future to pinpoint when and where we would go...which I wouldn't be surprised if there is a quirk like that within the hero society." She said before examining herself. "The suckish part about all this is that we're gonna need a new change of clothes, but it might take a while before we can do that."

"For you maybe. Keep in mind that you can change into your knightish wizard look." Mina said before examining herself. "Me on the other hand. These are the only clothes I have, and they're barely holding due to them not being acid proof. Man, the black tank top went so well with the navy blue shorts and sneakers." She said before looking at Lily. "Really wish I had packed my clothes ahead of time."

"Nothing to do about it now until later." The pseudo servant said before letting out a low yawn. "I'm going to bed. Mina, inform the others about what's going to happen tomorrow at the Sports Festival. I would do it myself...but I've reached my limit for today."

"What do you mean by that?" Hinako asked as she noticed Lily quickly fell asleep. "...It surprises me that she could continue a bit before passing out like that." She said before looking over at Mina. "Care to explain what she meant by what's going to happen tomorrow?"

"Um...it would be best if we wait for Chitose to come back."

[Hero Association]

"Oh my, I knew that the villain killer was good, but I didn't think she could take down Japan's symbol of peace and justice~" Koyanskaya said as she looked over the report given to her by Sir Nighteye. "I did warn you that something like this would happen. Even with your ability to see into the future, the future is not always set in stone." She said before spinning around in her chair.

"That may be true, but to think she can handle her own against All Might and Endeavor. Even a skilled villain would have a problem dealing with them both."

"Well you have to remember. All Might, Endeavor, and a lot of the older generation of heroes are getting old. Sure they have been something during the prime of their career, but no one can escape the flow of time. Everyone or everything dies. Not to say that All Might will die anytime soon, but he will die of old age along with everyone else." Koyanskaya stopped spinning around in her chair as she pulled herself up and walked over to the window of the room they were in. "Some people are blessed with quirks that can slow down the aging process, while some can make themselves young with just a flick of a finger due to said quirk that they have. We're not gods Nighteye, we're human. You, me, and even All Might."

"You sound like you've been living a long life with a statement like that."

"Well I have been around since the creation of Hero society. Started as an intern, before getting a permanent job, and soon becoming President after giving them the idea of regulating quirks before the civil war between heroes and the Meta Liberation Army. A dark time for hero society that should be buried and never brought up. Less we end up spreading fear and unwanted ideas to others." She said before looking over at Nighteye. "Which is why we need to bring the villain killer in asap. It's bad enough that she was able to turn a student from U.A on her side, we can't have more people joining her cause. Whatever the cause may be."

"From what we could gather, she seems to know the monster that attacked the USJ." He said before handing her a folder with the picture of the demon god pillar. "Aizawa informed us that this creature is sentient and represents what we can guess is an organization of sorts."

"And the monster's name?"

"Halphas. We don't have much other than that, but we are looking into the name and who it might represent." He said before showing another folder of Lily fighting against All for One and the servants along with her fighting against the demon god pillar. "We have reason to believe that Lily might know something about this creature."

"You think she's in league with it?"

"Hard to say. They both seem to know each other from how casual their conversations were from what Aizawa reported."

"Hm, I'll look into this when I get the chance. But for now, we'll have to wait and see how this turns out."

"Wouldn't it be wise to take action, Ms. President?"

"You can't go looking into the darkness blindly without a plan. We don't know what this thing is other than it being hostile. Not to mention some of the heroes are currently recovering from what happened at the mall. All Might, especially seeing how he was poisonous."

"Right...what should we do until then?"

"For now, we'll focus on the Sports Festival. The people of Japan and the kids of U.A High School need something to get their minds off of work and blow off some steam~" She said before giving off a sexy pose while giving a snapping pointing fingers at Nighteye with a wink. "And I don't mean a spa break that I usually take after a hard day at work~"

"You think it's wise to have the Sports Festival? Especially after what happened this afternoon?"

"The Sports Festival is the pride and joy of U.A. High School. To cancel the event would be devastating to the up and coming heroes of the next generation of heroes. Plus we have heroes all over the country attending it, so if a villain does try to show up, they can just defeat them and take them to jail."

"I suppose you're right."

"See, nothing to worry about. Now head on back to your agency, I have a ton of paperwork to deal with." She said before pointing a finger over at her desk. "A lot of paperwork to do."

"Yes, of course. Thank you for your time." Nighteye said with a bow as he walked out of the room. The moment he left, a devilish fox-like grin appeared on her face. "Messing with humans so simple as him just doesn't get old~"

"Seems like you're enjoying yourself." Rasputin said as he appeared out of nowhere.

"Well why wouldn't I be enjoying myself. Weakening the human race with this stupid system was just the tip of the iceberge. Killing off the old hero association by random accidents and taking control of this country was easy like taking candy from a baby~"

"And having the heroes hunt the girl is a sign of pleasure to you?"

"Well you said I couldn't kill her, so why not mess around with our little beast slayer. Plus this is good training for when she'll face Goetia tomorrow. If she kills him there, then we can deal with her and the servants she summoned later on."

"Basically sending heroes after her until she reaches her limit and kills them."

"Indeed. So for now, we'll just sit back, relax, and watch the bloodbath." She said before going back to her seat and used her magic to deal with the paperwork. "I know I will."

"Do as you will. I will return to doing what I was doing." Rasputin said before leaving the room.

"Hm, perhaps I should head over to the Sports Festival. Mainly to see how Lily will overcome this fight…" She said before an idea appeared in her head. "Oh...I can make her suffer even more with this~"