Monster King: Thanks!

Bearticguy7: The Rock Humans haven't been born yet.

Euphoria: Well, Momo and Ulric's knowledge fill the tech department. As for Jotaro's hypothetical partner? Maybe.

The Boar: It is not Hayato's mom.

Alexander Lawliet: The calm before the storm of this chapter...

Guest: Lughis the god of light and crafts. Your Kira theory might hold some merit...perhaps the Detective is on the case.

PhantomKnightPercival: Mirkododged a bullet.

FinchFlyingAce: I have plans for Tombstone's next appearance...might even be somewhat soon.


Santana grunted in annoyance as he observed the computer screen.

"An all out attack...there's no doubt. Why would that crusty bastard be so bold at a time like this? Haven't I taught him enough lessons?"

"A full scale invasion force...he never mentioned any of that to me." Dabi said, a look of concern on his face. "Perhaps my defection made him reckless..."

"Such a large scale in numbers too...if a fight breaks out there would be no doubt the heroes would know. What on Earth is that maniac thinking?" The Cartoonist said, sharing Dabi's concern.

"They have seized control over the underground Kanto region...it seems as though they're trying to take our territory." Compress said, pointing towards the map. "They're traveling through the caves..."

"The same caves that I hid Jonathan Joestar's sword...before that Jiro girl and company found it. They're trying to establish a perimeter. This is quite concerning...we may have to prepare for battle." Santana said, his face morphing into an angry glare. "It has been a long time since I have participated in a war, I haven't really been in a full-scale battle since...ancient times..."

Dabi glowered at the screen, and glanced at the Pillar Man. "Let me guess...this is where I prove my loyalty, right?"

"Bingo."

"It's going to be pretty difficult fighting him with one arm."

"Himiko."

The blond hobbled into the room, glaring at Dabi with her one eye. "Santana wants to trust you, so I'm willing to forgive you if you help us. Just know-"

"Toga, I have nowhere else to go. We're on the same side again." Dabi replied, exasperated.

Himiko shoved a mechanical arm onto Dabi's stump, the Todoroki grunting in pain as wires connected themselves to his remaining nerves. Clenching his new fist, he shot out a flame from a small circle on it's palm.

"I'm afraid it's a normal flamethrower, so it isn't as powerful as your Quirk...but some flame is better than none, right?" Santana said, crossing his arms.

"I burnt the original off, I knew what I was signing up for." Dabi flexed his new hand with a saddened expression. "Still...sucks that I got nerfed."

"It's finally happening, the battle I've been anticipating since he first escaped from that cage...the final verdict on who gets to rule Japan's underworld." Santana said, clenching his fist. "Who's legacy shall stand, and who's shall fall?"

"Yours of course." Himiko retorted.

"No...OURS."

Santana stood firm as he faced his most skilled villains, now including Dabi, and put his arms behind his back. "WE built this, except for Dabi but we'll cut you some slack in this case, and now Tomura is trying to tear it down. We must defend the future!"

Everyone was silent, listening intently as Santana launched into a speech.

"Shigaraki, AFO...all they care about is destruction, they are villains for all the wrong reasons. We are different! We have a goal, a goal that we must accomplish one way or another! A world without outcasts, where all are treated fairly! Where no one is a pawn in someone else's game! They stand in the way of our ideal world, and I for one cannot live in a world where we don't accomplish this dream."

Santana sighed and ran a hand through his hair, his shoulders dropping.

"I know you all believe in this too...but I also value your lives, and I know I'm asking you to risk them. If you do not wish to fight-"

"Are you kidding, of course we do!" Compress said, taking off his mask. His brown eyes gleaned with admiration. "We're with you till the end!"

Penance stepped forward, his spiked helmet glistening as he spoke. "My power is disgusting, and always has been. I'm not a masochist by choice, and you understood that. You gave me hope for a brighter future...one where..."

He took off the helmet, revealing his gross skinless face. Yet Santana didn't flinch, no one did.

"I don't have to hide."

The Pillar Man smiled. "Thank you, my friend. I take it everyone wishes to fight?"

Everyone in the room nodded.

"Very well...keep in mind that the fighting may reach civilization. Try and keep unnecessary casualties to a minimum...and look out for heroes. If the war reaches their ears, they will no doubt try to intervene and arrest us all."

"If Endeavor's there, leave him to me." Dabi said. "Other than that, I believe I owe Tomura a few months' worth of deep frying."

"How long were you planning to defect?" Penance asked, turning around.

"Probably since he order me to monitor that unstable asshole, the Necromancer." Dabi confirmed. "Tomura knew the fucker was too dangerous for me...ever since then I had my doubts."

"It's time to do something about it...Touya." Santana said, using the villain's real name. "I have decided to take you in, because I believe in second chances. Please don't make me regret it."

"...I won't..."


A small tugboat sloshed around in the ocean, and Narciso Kujo was hunched over the side, his face turning green as he struggled to hold his fluids in.

Snow was falling from the sky, and the winds were blowing harshly. The tug boat was barely holding it's own in the surprise winter storm...

Which could only mean their destination was close.

Kyoka anxiously tapped her jacks together, wrapped up in a winter coat. Even in the boat's cabin there was a chill, and Kyoka knew damn well what it meant. The colder it got, the more nervous she became, because it was only a matter of time before she entered the haunted prison ship that had been plaguing her mind for the past week.

"Jiro...can we talk?" Tokoyami asked from across the cabin, and Kyoka gave him a brief nod. "How long have you all been doing stuff like this?"

"For me? Since JoJo was hurt after the Sports Festival. He...trusted me to help Izuku with One For All in his place, and I wasn't going to let him down." Kyoka responded. "It was initially only supposed to be him, but one thing led to another and...here we are, a weird underground operation in UA."

Tokoyami nodded, scratching his head. "To tell you the truth...I've had my suspicions that there was something more to your actions for a while now. You guys would sometimes be absent from the dorms, members of your group always got into fights with the villains...now it all makes sense."

"Yup...that's the gist."

"..."

"Hey, I know it's a lot to take in..."

"No, I understand everything. I'm just concerned." Tokoyami said, shifting his weight in his seat. "Finding all of this out, I now can't help but wonder what the future holds."

"I've had the same fears for a while. Hell...sometimes I'm afraid I might not get to see 17." Kyoka said with a dry chuckle. "I've grown afraid of a lot of things..."

"One of them being ghosts."

"Oh yes, absolutely. I've brought a change of pants just in case I soil myself." Kyoka joked, smirking at her friend. "I have hope that we'll get through all this. Who knows? Maybe there may be a day where we can just live our lives without worry...but right now, I've got to travel to one of the worst places I could be, in a slimy rundown tugboat."

Tokoyami chuckled. "Well...that's true. So...you and JoJo huh?"

"Ha! Yeah...that's a whole different thing."

"I wasn't surprised."

"We're getting worse at hiding it. I hope he isn't too worried..." Kyoka looked back towards the mainland.


"JoJo, you look worried."

"I'm fine."

"You've been staring at the ocean for five minutes." Ochako said with a deadpan.

"I'm fine."

"Oookay..." The pair of brunettes turned their attention to the woods. "So, what's the first step JoJo?"

"We go in."

"Well...yes, but what do we do once we go in?"

"Wait for Mirko, and set up camp." Johnny explained as the two began walking into the woods. "In situations like this, it is VERY important to set up camp, preferably higher ground or an open area. We're hunting this thing, but it's likely also hunting us, so we need to hunt smarter."

Ochako watched in disbelief as Johnny opened his backpack and pulled out bear traps.

"JoJo...where did you get those, and why were you just carrying them on your back?"

"Stole them from the Necromancer's hideout after we iced him, figured they would come in handy...in fact..." Johnny examined one of the traps that sported a bent tooth. "This is the one that Kyoka stepped on. Huh..."

"You kept it?! That thing almost took your girlfriend's foot off!"

"It could take The Rake's off, so why not?" Johnny said, stuffing the bear trap back until the bag. "Yesterday's threat is today's advantage. You never know what might work in your favor. Anything can be a weapon if you're creative enough."

Ochako had begun taking notes.

"Yes...okay, continue."

"Yare yare...Mirko is bringing a cooler full of meat, which we need to bait the traps. This thing is intelligent, so it probably knows what a bear trap is, so we also need to gather stick and leaves to mask the traps..."

"Sticks and leaves, got it."

Johnny pulled out a map, and marked a spot. "As for camp, there's an old ranger's station to the north, something we can easily barricade. Momo is also going to send us some equipment by drone..."

Ochako nodded, and grinned. "Cool! This might actually be fun, it's like a camping trip with monster hunting!"

"The question is, who's hunting who, Uraraka..." Johnny replied ominously, and ducked into the woods. Ochako blinked, feeling a chill crawling up her back. The Joestar was quite experienced in this department, so that statement carried a lot of weight...

Were they the hunter or the prey?


Tomura waited patiently as the familiar clunking of heavy boots echoed in the caverns, followed by the sounds of many feet behind them.

Two cold blue eyes appeared in the darkness, followed by the heavily armored form of an angry Pillar Man. Santana's face was covered by his skull visor, making him look as intimidating as always.

"So...it has come to this."

"Indeed. This has been a long time coming Santana." Tomura looked over to see Dabi standing among the Pillar Man's number and sneered. "You know...I actually thought you were my friend Dabi...but you're just a spineless coward like all the rest."

"Keep your eyes on me, you fucking bilge rat." The Pillar Man snarled, his eyes flaring up. "If it's war you want, it's war you'll get. Even in an unstable battlefield like these caverns...I will not spare you this time."

Tomura grinned from the shadows. "I know. Are you about to go on another tirade about 'honor?' Oh, please tell me that you are."

"You do not deserve it. You have no honor." Santana responded, pointing at AFO's successor. "Let it be known, that today shall decide who shall be dominant over the underworld. There will be no fleeing, for I will chase you. There will be no rematch! One shall stand, and one shall fall!"

"That will be you this time, Santana."

Tomura cackled as he rose to his full height, and even Santana took a step back at the monstrosity that began lumbering towards them. His limbs were elongated, his spinal cord was poking out of his back, hands were sprouting all over his body.

He had no eyeballs. They were just empty sockets.

*You know Titan Joker from Arkham Asylum? Like that, but shaggy white hair and no eyes...and a LOT of hands.*

"What have you done to yourself?!"

"I have sacrificed my eyesight in exchange for this newfound power! I am no longer just a human, oh mighty Pillar Man! I am something MORE!" Tomura said, still grinning. "Thanks to the power of the equivalent exchange, I was able to fuse with something other than human, and now I can fight you one-on-one! This is the birth of the True Demon King!"

"Santana...what is he?" Dabi breathed out, horror on his face.

"I...don't know..."

"ATTACK! DESTROY THEM ALL!" Tomura shrieked, all of his hands pointing towards Santana and the LOV forces.

"COUNTERATTACK! SHOW THESE FOOLS NO MERCY!" Santana's commanding voice boomed as he pointed his hammer at the approaching PLF army. "PROTECT THE FUTURE!"

Villains clashed, Quirks went off, Stands began laying into each other as the underground war began. Santana charged along with his troops, jumping headfirst into the conflict and turned himself into lava, burning through the opposing force without pause.

A spiked ball crashed into Tomura, throwing the monster off balance. Penance flipped over him and landed in the middle of a glob of villains, lashing out with his muscle whips. "Lord Santana, how do we handle him?!"

Santana wound up his fist and punched a hole straight through a villain sporting a gas mask, donutting him. "Keep attacking, but with caution! We don't know what he can do with that new body!"

"More than you I'd imagine!"

Tomura's hand grew larger, and swiped across the cave, decaying all in it's path. Santana watched in horror as the caverns began decaying all around them. Floors crumbled, and several of his key players fell down.

Then...it was only them.

"I've been looking forward to this ever since I escaped that cage!" Tomura said with a grin, advancing on the Pillar Man as the battle raged around them, dust and debris flying everywhere. "This is the end of an era Santana, so DIE!"

The enlarged hand slammed onto the ground, forcing Santana to jump over the ensuing wave of decay. Several other hands punched towards him, all threatening to decay the Pillar Man to dust. Santana embued his hammer with fire as he began to turn into air, spinning his arms around.

"I upgraded Lord Wammu's signature move, behold: DIVINE HELLSTORM!"

A swirling spiral of flames and lava burned away the hands, and Tomura barely got out of the way, his right arm being burnt off as well. However, much to Santana's shock...it grew back.

"Was that supposed to do something?!"

*CRUNCH!*

Santana's hammer taking off half of Tomura's skull certainly did.

The villain stumbled around, desperately trying to regain his footing as the Pillar Man slammed an acidic fist into his side, taking a chunk out of Tomura's torso with a splash of blood. Gripping Tomura by the hair, he flung the monstrosity over the battlefield.

"After all this time, you still don't know who you're fighting." Santana growled as he coldly shook blood off of his fist. "I don't know what you have become...only that you are an abomination. A perversion of humanity, so I shall put you down like one."

Tomura sprang up and dashed at Santana, crashing into the Pillar Man with a speed that he could barely react to. The Pillar Man turned into gasoline as Tomura splashed right through him, and was about to turn was the floor crumbled underneath him.

It was a good thing he was a liquid at the moment.

The caverns crumbled away as villains on both sides began crumbling away. Tomura was going berserk, angrily swiping hand after hand at the Pillar Man.

He can take hits from me now, he even regenerates from his wounds! It's not even a regeneration Quirk, this is his body!

What has he become?!

Santana decided to pull off Wammu's move again.

"DIVINE SANDSTORM!"

This one hit Tomura head on, shredding his flesh away as he reached out in an attempt to grab Santana once he was solid. Despite Divine Sandstorm's lethality, Tomura wasn't letting up. He began pushing through the high velocity winds, blood flying everywhere as he continued, his eyeless face snarling with hatred.

He's being torn apart, and he just doesn't care! His hatred knows no bounds!

Tomura grabbed onto Santana's faceplate and crumbled it away, exposing the Pillar Man's face.

"YOU'RE AFRAID OF ME, AREN'T YOU?!"

*CRACK!*

Tomura hit Santana with an uppercut, sending the villain flying towards the ceiling of the caves. Santana slammed into them, scraping across the roof of the cave, and fell back towards the ground.

The Pillar Man felt blood dripping down his face, and while the wound was closing up, it was still a powerful blow. Such strength...

Somehow...he became something other than human. Somehow...he is just as strong as I am! His body...

It's almost as if he's a Pillar Man too...but that's impossible! What is the meaning of this?!

Tomura landed in front of him, strolling over to Santana with a smirk.

"I bet you're wondering how I can see...let alone do all these things. My other four senses are enhanced to the point that they provide me a mental projection of sorts. I can't see you, but I can visualize you in my head. That's how I can tell, YOU'RE SCARED!"

"I don't do fear." Santana replied, standing up. "I'm certainly not afraid of something like you. I'm disgusted more than anything...as if you couldn't get any more pitiable!"

The two titans clashed once more, Santana swinging his hammer as Tomura suddenly grew hands all over his body, forming protective armor. The hands began hardening into stone.

WHAT?!


The number one hero, Endeavor, was at a cafe with Hawks.

"So...I heard you've been visiting UA more often, any particular reason?" The red-headed hero asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I've taken a liking to a few of the students." Hawks responded. Gyro had told him about Santana's warning, how Endeavor couldn't be trusted or affiliated with the Musketeers.

Why? His son is a member of their B team...and he's the number one hero. Why not? I get he's a bit of a grump...

Would something bad come out of it?

From what the kids had told him, the Pillar Man was actually an honorable foe. Santana was a man of his word, so if he thought Endeavor was bad for them...he meant it. It just left Hawks with a lot of questions...

Especially since he grew up idolizing the guy.

Would he hurt their reputation? Does he have dirty laundry that could get them canceled or something should people find out about their association?

"Interesting."

Endeavor shifted his weight in his chair, looking out the window. "The Paranormal Liberation Front and the LOV have been fighting for a whole now, and I'm getting worried their warfare might start affecting civilians. There's also been some...unsettling reports of strange creatures near the Gunga Mountains..."

"Mirko is on that."

"Is she now?"

"Yup."

Endeavor let out a dry chuckle. "Still...sometimes it really feels like we're being attacked on all sides. Now I can truly understand the pressure All Might had to face before he retired. Yet...some situations are weirdly being resolved before we can do something about them. Remember the giant junkyard pillar?"

Hawks nodded, adopting a cool expression to hide his discomfort. He knew all about the battle with the Necromancer, Momo had described many of their battles to him in detail.

"It shattered before we got to it."

"Exactly. It just seems...odd. The disturbance at the Dam...Mt. Lady being unusually quiet about her 'vacation' too..."

Oh right, she knows about them too...couldn't hurt to chat her up about this.

"Maybe we have a guardian angel or two." Hawks replied.

"I guess I just want your opinion Hawks, where do we go from here?"

"Wow...Endeavor asking for advice..."

"Shut up and answer me."

Hawks sighed, scratching his stubble. "I say we try and handle each situation the best we can, to make things easier for the heroes who will come after us...you never truly know what the next generation will be capable of...they could change things for the better."

The number one hero looked uncomfortable for a moment as he turned towards the window.

"Or...they could be ruined by our sins..."

So Santana really was warning them...Endeavor has some skeletons in his closet. Even if he wants to help the Musketeers, if those skeletons get out they'll be pulled down with him.

That really sucks...


Sunlight filtered into the caves as everything was crumbling, and Dabi was struggling to keep away from Tomura's berserker decay. People were dying all around them.

Unleashing a burst of flame, he rocketed himself over the chaos and kicked an opposing villain in the back, sending him face first into the decay. He then landed on his feet, watching the the battle rage on.

Tomura had punched Santana into the sunlight, and the Pillar Man's exposed face was smoking. Santana was actually struggling, his armor decaying away as Tomura's hands began restraining him. Without Genesis being a full suit, he couldn't completely transform.

"BURN SANTANA! BURN!"

*FWOOSH!*

"Put your money where your mouth is, Tomura." Dabi replied as he unleashed flames into his former partner's face, saving Santana. There was a moment where the Santana's eyes met his, and what he saw made him smirk.

Gratitude.

The Pillar Man ripped himself free and got out of the sun, his cracked akin beginning to heal. He then turned his arm into a steel spring, extending it to punch Tomura in the face.

"RAAAAGH!"

Tomura reeled back from the hit, and was doused in flames once more. Dabi hit him again, and again, the wayward Todoroki's face twisting in anger as he took his anger out on his former friend.

"This is why I left Tomura! You only want to destroy shit at the end of the day! Look at you, look at what you turned yourself into! You're just digging our graves!" Dabi yelled as he continued blasting, switching to his flamethrower arm to avoid burning himself. "I'm not going down with your sinking ship!"

The charred skull that was once Tomura's face roared as a fist rocketed out of his back. Santana rushed forward and pulled Dabi out of the way, taking the hit in his new ally's place. Genesis cracked further under the blow, and Santana grimaced.

His decay can temporarily effect Stands...I'm losing my ability to transform certain body parts...he isn't giving me time to regenerate my armor!

Oh my God...I really have to do this.

I actually have to do this...what the fuck?

Santana proceeded to transform his crotch, the only available part of his armor that wasn't affected by decay, into lava, and shot out a stream at Tomura before the monstrocity could grab Dabi.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Tomura screamed as his regenerating flesh melted away from the lava being sprayed in his direction.

Just then, Penance's whips wrapped around Tomura's shoulders, and began yanking the regenerating villain back. "Santana, recover your Stand! We'll hold him off!"

Santana nodded and took a knee.

"Let me know if I should step in."

Penance nodded and slammed into Tomura, only to get smacked aside. However, experiencing pain was enough to get him to discharge energy, blasting the monstrocity with a blast of red light.

"THAT'S RIGHT! HURT ME MORE! THAT WAY I CAN HURT YOU!"

Dabi continued to use his flamethrower arm, saving his blue flames for later. "You're kind of a freak, you know that?!"

"YES!" Penance screamed. "AND IT'S ALL THANKS TO THAT FUCKING DOCTOR!"

Tomura's partially regenerated face smirked. "I remember you...you're the masochist right? Santana really is taking in the bottom feeders..."

"Look who's talking. At least I fight for a cause!" Penance said, smirking underneath his spiked helmet as he curled up into a ball and used his whips to roll into Tomura's ankle, bouncing off of it, but taking a decent chunk of flesh with him.

Tomura bashed Dabi aside and made a break for Santana, only to be assaulted by Mickey Mouse.

"Huh?!"

"DIE MOTHERFUCKER!" Mickey screamed in his high pitched voice, biting into Tomura's skull. The Cartoonist was scribbling random doodles, purposely making mistakes to unleash feral versions of them.

"Get off!"

"I WILL SUCK THE MARROW FROM YOUR BONES!" Mickey continued to scream, laying into the confused Tomura.

"ENOUGH OF THIS!" Tomura screamed, and hand coming up and decaying Mickey to dust, however, Santana slammed into him with renewed vigor, his helmet restored.

He headbutted Tomura with a solid steel version of his helmet, cracking his rather durable skull. Tomura stumbled back, and was trying to compensate...

Santana wouldn't let him.

The Pillar Man angrily pressed the attack, relying on his battle skill to give him the edge. Tomura was now forced to be on the defensive, partying Santana's attacks in a frantic attempt to stop him from getting a critical hit, but he was slowly being overwhelmed.

Santana was in battle mode now, having decided to end the fight quickly.

Every attempt at an attack from Tomura's end was punished with a stroke of the hammer, or a burst of flame or acid. Every attempt at defense was met was a devastating blow.

Santana's rush was strangely beautiful and elegant in it's violence, it was like watching a ballet. His footwork was stellar, every movement of his limbs was precise and calculated. Every blow was earned.

It was really only a matter of time before Tomura made a mistake that would cost him. Santana hit him in the crotch with the end of the handle, and drove the hammer into Tomura's skull, crushing a portion of his brain.

Tomura gurgled and fell to the ground, trying desperately to stand and fight, but the brain damage was severe. It would take quite a while to regenerate.

The PLF forces watched in horror as their leader fell in battle, and some even began to retreat.

"It's over. These inhuman augmentations have failed you Tomura. This was always going to be the outcome if you faced me." Santana said, raising his hammer above his head. "My allies...my friends, fight alongside me, you drove all of yours away. I NEVER fight alone!"

"Who said he fights alone?"

Santana's eyes widened as a familiar voice spoke in his ear.

"SANTANA! LOOK OUT!" The Cartoonist screamed, but it was too late.

All For One drove a spiked hand straight into Santana's bad lung, ripping it out.

"Whoopsie Daisy!~" The masked villain said in a sing-songy voice.


"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S GONE?!" Toshinori screamed into his cell phone, a look of pure terror on his face.

Jotaro opened the door into the former number one hero's office, confused. "What are you yelling about?'

" ALL FOR ONE ISN'T IN HIS CELL!"

"WHAT?!"

"They said they found the cell empty, and this weird porcelain mask inside!"

Jotaro's face was unusually pale. "The strange man Yaoyorozu and Dr. Stewart encountered wore a mask like that...he may be responsible. Fucking hell...this is not good."

"All For One could upset the balance of society as we know it. Japan would fall into an age of darkness if that man is allowed to roam free." Toshinori said, visibly shaking. "What do we do, do we tell the kids?!"

"They're all on missions at the moment! This...this can't be a coincidence. This has to all be connected! AFO breaks out without even a peep, The Barge, The Rake...whatever is going on with the Necronomicon page...something horrible is happening." Jotaro replied, and glared intensely at the wall. "We need to take action before we cross the point of no return."

"What can we do?" Toshinori said, drooping in dismay. "I can't fight anymore...and young Midoriya is still far from ready to face that man..."

Jotaro summoned Star Platinum. "We try to find the source of all this of course. It's about time I got my hands dirty..."


"Does this boat have a heater, or no?" Kyoka asked. "Because I'm cold, and Tokoyami looks like he wants to fly south for the winter."

Tokoyami snorted.

"Sorry Kyoka...it was the only boat we could get on short notice." Jolyne replied, dressed up in a winter coat herself. "We're almost there."

"That just makes me feel worse."

"You'll be fine once we're inside." Jolyne said, patting Kyoka's head as she looked out at the imposing outline of an old prison ship through the snow. "I think. I wonder if they have bathrooms in there...I kind of have to pee."

"It's okay Jolyne, you can just pee in the bucket." Narciso said, pointing at said bucket, which was rusty and gross.

"In front of the kids? That's gross."

"The Barge has been floating for decades, the bathrooms in there are probably worse."

"You're talking to a woman who spent a stupid amount of time in the isolation cells, eating bug infested bread and old mushrooms growing in her cell, I can handle peeing in a 40-something year old bathroom."

"What if there's a rat in the toilet? You know, I heard a story about someone who started down, and there was a-"

"Can we please talk about something else?" Kyoka cut in, her face red with embarrassment.

"It's a legitimate concern for a survival situation." Narciso retorted. "The human body needs to release the toxins and other harmful fluids somehow, we cannot survive unless we flush our systems. See, I am a man, so I can pee wherever I want, but you two-"

"Narciso, stop." Jolyne said with a stern expression. "I can wait, it's not a big deal."

"But where will you-"

"NARCISO."

"Fine...sorry Future-Sister-in-Law."

"...do you even know my name?" Kyoka asked, raising an eyebrow.

"...yes..."

"What is it?"

"You're...uh...K...Kok..no...Kyoko?"

"...no."

"Actually, yes Narciso you're right. Her name is Kyoko." Jolyne said with a smirk, and Kyoka glared at her.

"It is not! It's Kyo-"

"No need, Jolyne's word is law. You're Kyoko now." Narciso responded, leaving the purplette staring at him as he left the cabin. Jolyne began snickering, holding her stomach in an attempt to contain her laughter.

"Jolyne! Why would you do that?!"

Jolyne wouldn't turn around, but her shoulders were visibly shaking.

"He's going to call me that for the rest of his life Jolyne!"

"Heheh..."

"You're such a jerk!" Kyoka said with a grin, kicking the rusty bucket in Jolyne's direction.

Honestly, with the looming threat of The Barge approaching closer, it was nice to get a good laugh in before she started screaming in terror.


Santana coughed up blood as he fell to the ground, crawling on his hands and knees as he struggled to breathe.

AFO held his lung in his hand, examining it.

"Ah yes...it's funny how you fought 'Achilles', and yet you had an Achilles heel of your own. Perhaps you were the true Achilles in this tale all along." AFO said, before chucking Santana's lung into the sunlight, watching it burn away.

"You..." Was all the Pillar Man could say, rage burning in his eyes as he gazed at the villain looming above him.

"Ah yes...I have to thank Tomura for weakening your armor for me, or I probably wouldn't have been able to pull that off."

"Coward...couldn't face me...without..."

"Ah ah ah...you aren't in a position to be calling anyone names my 'immortal' friend. You see, I sort of have the advantage right now."

Santana gurgled as he spat out more blood, slowly losing consciousness. On the battlefield, his allies were slowly being forced away from him, leaving him and the dishonorable bastard that just permanently destroyed his lung in the middle of the bloodshed.

Tomura was healing, but he still didn't have the capability to do much.

"It's funny, just the other day you were saying something about crushing my legacy. How ironic...considering you are now at my feet!"

AFO stomped on the back of the suffocating Pillar Man's neck, cruelly grinding the heel of his dress shoe into his flesh.

"You were always meant to stoke Tomura's hatred, nothing more, nothing less. That was all you ever amounted to! Now my successor is ten times more powerful, even sacrificing his humanity to create something even better than I could've imagined. You have been such an excellent pawn Santana, the best I could ever ask for. Now...the Demon King's future is assured!"

AFO then raised a hand, and a white light erupted from it, blasting Santana directly into the sunlight. The Pillar Man tried to scream as his body began burning away, but nothing came out, only blood.

Everyone watched in horror/glee as the Pillar Man erupted into flames, his flesh burning away at his exposed flesh.

That's when he was compressed into a marble.

Compress snatched his leader and grabbed onto Penance, who hurled them both to safety.

"Master...he's...getting..."

"Leave them Tomura. He's done for." AFO said with an arrogant tone. "Let's get you recovered while our forces clean up the rest of Santana's jobber army...he played with fire, and we gave him a burn he won't recover from."


Compress rolled the marble across the caverns, and Santana's charred body reappeared. "Santana!"

A slight pained wheeze came from the Pillar Man's scorched lips, blood leaking out of his mouth. He was not only alive, but conscious, and in serious pain.

"D-don't worry, we'll have you patched up in no time! We'll...we'll..."

His face was practically a skull. Down a lung, and suffering from severe exposure...

Compress realized the horrible truth pretty damn quickly...

Santana was dying.