"I am the Execution Devil. The one true justice that lies at the end of sin. You wish to be a hero? Come with me, then. I'll make you the most righteous hero of them all."
It all began in Qing Qing City, China with a baby that radiated golden light.
After this phenomenon, many people around the world began to manifest different kinds of superpowers, which became known as Meta Abilities.
The dawn of this extraordinary era was marred by a breakdown of society caused by the sudden onslaught of criminals empowered by their newfound "superpowers" and ordinary people being prejudiced against the new minority.
As chaos and unrest ensued due to the outbreak of Meta Abilities, ordinary civilians decided to take matters into their own hands to bring order to society, and thus "heroes" appeared in the form of Vigilantes.
At some point within this period of unrest and vigilantism, a woman gave birth to a son with a Meta Ability. As this son grew up, he faced a lot of discrimination and abuse for having a Meta Ability. His mother supported him, stating that her son's Meta Ability is just a Quirk of his. Although at the time, her message was scorned and even led to her murder, decades later, "Quirk" became the most common term for such Meta Abilities.
Soon enough, more and more people began to be born with Quirks until, eventually, the quirkless population shrunk from eighty percent to a mere twenty.
As society adapted to the new status quo, the Police Force moved to prioritize leadership and to maintain the status quo, and as such, decided not to use Quirks as weapons.
Of course, as times changed, so too did the way in which people commited crimes.
With the rise of Quirked society, there also came the rise of 'Villains'.
Villains are people who use their Quirks to commit crimes, cause destruction, and potentially put innocent lives at stake.
There are many different types of villains in the world, including thieves, murderers, drug dealers, hate groups, and terrorists.
These criminals, for the most part, are kept in check by an… alternative form of law enforcement called Pro Heroism.
Izuku Midoriya was four-years-old when he realized that he wanted to be a hero.
There wasn't any major incident that incited it.
His parents were both alive.
They were both normal people.
His mom was a housewife.
His dad, a salaryman.
They both had Quirks.
His mother had a weak form of telekinesis that allowed her to attract small objects.
His father, firebreathing.
He was probably the most special member of his family due to the simple fact that he had the most peculiar quirk of them all.
Nothing.
He was completely quirkless.
The first doctor that they had gone to said it plainly, almost cruel in how blunt he delivered his assessment of his chances of gaining a Quirk and becoming a hero.
"I'm afraid there's no hope for him."
The next three doctors were gentler, but their overall assessments remained the same:
"It's very unlikely that he'll develop a Quirk."
"It's around his age that most kids develop a Quirk, unless there's a very specific trigger, it's very unlikely that one will manifest in the future."
"There's always the Police Force. They do good work, even if most people don't pay much attention to them."
Izuku was not going to develop a Quirk in his lifetime.
Even so, he wanted to be a hero.
He wanted to save the day.
Wanted to help people.
Save them with a smile.
He wasn't going to let Quirklessness stop him.
It didn't bother him if people laughed at him.
If they didn't think he could do it.
"I'm afraid there's no hope for him."
If the other kids thought it was stupid.
"Still got your head in the clouds, Deku? Tryin' to be a hero?"
He was gonna be a hero.
It was his dream.
He wasn't going to just let it go.
If he needed to, he'd become the first Quirkless hero and show everyone that it didn't matter.
That was the promise that he made to himself.
I'll be the hero that saves everyone with a smile. The hero that makes everyone smile with him!
The first person he said those words to was his mother.
For some reason, she burst into tears.
Izuku had no idea why.
He told his dad over the phone one day, just as the man was getting off of work.
Dad went quiet for a bit, before telling him to put his mother on the phone.
She shooed him out of the room. Sent him to go play at the park with his friends.
He didn't know what was said, but he did know that after their talk, Dad started coming home less and less.
By the time Izuku was six, he stopped coming home at all.
Every month after that, Mom would get an envelope in the mail from him.
Usually from a new place, always from somewhere overseas, usually with a bit of hero paraphernalia attached.
The last place was… California.
He sent a postcard with Star and Stripe on it, so he was probably in Santa Monica.
Seven years was a long time to be without a dad, Izuku thought that he was doing fine.
He didn't attend the same junior high that all of his old 'friends' from elementary did.
They all went to Aldera.
His mom sent him to Soumei.
It was an elite private school.
Most of the students there came from families with money and the ones that didn't were wunderkind.
Of which Izuku was neither.
Yet another way in which he was an outlier.
His mother paid a lot of money to get him enrolled and he studied hard every night to make sure he wasn't left behind when it came to curriculum.
His physical scores weren't the best, but they weren't the worst either.
He didn't have many or really any friends.
But that was okay. He liked to keep to himself a bit more.
They would say 'hi' to him when they saw him in the hall and they wouldn't do things to his desk or shoes or bag when he wasn't around.
If anything, Izuku took their apathy as a strange type of kindness.
He just didn't stand out, so it made sense that they didn't notice him.
At the very least, he was pretty sure he wasn't being bullied.
"Midoriya-san, I really think that you should think of something a bit more realistic."
Well, as said before, he was pretty sure.
He hoped that the bespectacled boy in front of him held no malice when he spat on his lifelong dream.
"What do you mean by that, Iida-san?"
He also hoped that the smile on his face didn't falter as he asked his question.
The boy in front of him offered no smile, his expression hard and stern, like a professor scolding a particularly unruly pupil.
"I mean that it would be best if you found some other place to continue your schooling. You're a good student, Midoriya. I imagine that you could get into any number of schools should you take their entrance exams. But attending a hero school in a hero course… it just seems a bit out of your league."
Out of my league?
"You're not the most physically inclined. Even without the rest of us using our Quirks, you barely eked out a spot in the middle of the pack during physical assessments. There is a practical exam at every hero school, and apparently, U.A's is the most physically demanding."
Izuku opened his mouth to respond, but Iida apparently wasn't finished.
"I understand that you said it's your dream to become a hero, but it's a line of work where people can die if you're not prepared. A dream is nice, but maybe you should start dreaming more realistically."
More realistically…
Izuku felt his fists clench.
"I'm not saying this to be mean, I just think-"
"Thank you for the thought, Iida-san. I'll keep it in mind. Now, if you don't mind, I need to catch the train."
"Midoriya-san, wait-"
With a shortness that was unbefitting of his normally timid nature, Izuku turned on his heel and walked straight out of the empty classroom.
Start dreaming more realistically. Who are you to decide if my dream is realistic?
Izuku was stewing the whole train ride and then the walk home.
Tenya Iida was someone that everyone at Soumei knew.
He was everywhere that no one wanted him to be.
Nosy and in everyone's business.
As far as Izuku was aware, Iida didn't have any friends either, but he did have the top marks in their grade.
Ranked highest both academically and physically.
It would honestly be surprising if he didn't end up getting accepted to whatever hero school he applied to.
Izuku had respect for the guy's work ethic, he just wished he wasn't so self-righteous.
For some strange reason, Izuku was Iida's favorite subject whenever it came to his sanctimonious crusade.
The 'talk' that they'd had that day hadn't been the first.
They would always be after class, and they would always go along the lines of-
"Midoriya-kun, whatever you're doing is wrong. I'll teach you how to be better."
It was such a pain.
Izuku just wanted to be left alone and do his own thing.
Is that too much to ask?
The greenette looked down at his palms as he walked up the stairs to his and his mother's apartment.
Broke the skin. I'll wash off inside.
It hardly even stung, but his mom would probably freak out if she saw blood on palms.
She barely supported his plan to become a hero, the last thing he wanted to do was give her even more cause for alarm and then start another argument.
She's already stressed enough.
He reached the third floor of the building, walking over to the first door on the right.
'Midoriya', the plaque read in simple black text.
He cursed as he read it and looked down in search of something.
Where'd it fall this time?
He checked beneath his feet to make sure he hadn't stepped on it.
He looked down the stairs to ensure that he hadn't missed it on his way up.
Nothing on the stairs or the landing below.
He looked down the hall, and saw a small slip of white at the end of it.
He walked over and picked it up with a sigh.
Of course the wind blew it off. Should've replaced the tape this morning.
He'd replace the tape after washing the blood off his hands.
Pi! Pi! Pi!
He checked his phone.
Message from MOM
Received at 17:35
Hey sweetie, I'm still at the store.
I'll probably be closing today, so dinner's going to be a bit late tonight.
But to make up for it, we'll have your favorite!
But I'll need some mirin and we just ran out (-.-||)
You
Sent at 17:36
Alright, I'll run to the store near the station.
Mom
Received at 17:38
Thanks, hon! There should be some money on the kitchen counter, enough to buy the mirin and some snacks for yourself if you want. Love you XOXOXO.
You
Sent at 17:38
Love you too.
Izuku closed his phone with a small, satisfying snap!
She's having way too much fun with those emoticons now.
He had changed into a hoodie and jeans to get more comfortable.
Though, when he thought about it, he felt a gimp suit would probably feel more comfortable than Soumei's uniform.
Probably give the same message too.
That message being, "I like getting pegged."
A lightly derisive snort left him as he grabbed the money off the counter, slipped on a pair of red sneakers at the entrance, and left the apartment with the paper sign on the door that read 'Higashiyama'.
"¥4,480, please."
"Here you go."
"Thank you. Please come again."
He left with his items in hand as swiftly as he could.
There was no rain in the forecast for the night, but he didn't like the look of the dark clouds up in the sky.
He didn't want to be caught out without an umbrella and he definitely didn't have enough cash on him for a disposable at the store.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Thunder rumbled in Izuku's ears as he reached the crosswalk, standing next to a kindergartener with a strange hat with horns protruding from its front.
He bit back a groan as he realized that he'd likely have to throw his clothes in the wash and take a bath before his mom got home.
His mom would likely fret over him if he walked in like a drenched rat.
Neither of them needed that headache.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
More thunder, it sounded closer this time.
Pedestrian light was still red.
The kindergartner was shaking slightly.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
He now seemed to be on the edge of tears.
The pedestrian light was still red.
Izuku decided to be a good guy.
He crouched down so that he was on the child's level.
"Hey."
The boy turned to him with wide eyes while still shaking.
"H-h-hi?"
Nervous? Or still scared? Either way, he responded and Izuku was already down.
"I'm Izuku, what's your name?"
"K-Kota."
"Nice to meet you, K-Kota-kun."
The child puffed out his cheeks.
"Not 'K-Kota'! Kota!"
Izuku laughed.
"Right, my bad. Kota-kun. How old are you, Kota-kun?"
"Four."
"Really? Where's your mom and dad?"
The boy pointed across the street.
Izuku followed his finger and raised a brow.
Water Hose's Agency?
They were relatively new heroes in the area, having returned from a two year hiatus recently.
As far as Izuku was aware, they weren't even in the top 500 rankings when it came to pro heroing, but they'd done some work with Backdraft so their local popularity was shooting up.
Well, alright.
"They asked you to meet them there?"
The boy nodded.
"And then we're all gonna walk home together!"
In the back of his mind, Izuku felt a slight pang of jealousy, but he pushed it down as he smiled.
"That sounds great, Kota-kun! You must be really brave if they asked you to come to the building all by yourself."
As the young boy preened, Izuku smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head.
"Wish I could be as brave as you. I gotta cross the street, but I usually do it with a friend. And that thunder scares the heck outta me…"
He looked to the side as he trailed, but watched from the corner of his eye as Kota looked at him with surprise in his eyes.
Then, just as he was expecting, that surprise shifted into something that Izuku likened to bravado.
"Well, if it can't be helped, I can walk with you until I get to the agency. But then you need to be brave after that. 'Kay?"
Izuku shot up and beamed.
"Thanks, Kota-kun!"
The boy blushed and turned to look across the street again.
The pedestrian light turned green and Izuku felt a tug on his sleeve.
He looked both ways, but didn't have to look down to see who owned the tiny hand that was leading him across the street.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
More rumbling as the pair reached the middle of the crosswalk.
It was so loud that Izuku felt the ground rumble beneath, as if the earth itself was complaining about the noise up above.
Kota stiffened, but kept forward, his grip on Izuku sleeve tightening slightly.
The greenette held back a chuckle as he watched the young lad put on a brave face just for him.
BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!
WHIIIIIRRRRR!
And when the ground next to them sundered and a giant drill rose from beneath the ground, all Izuku could think to do was grab and throw him the rest of the way across the street.
He'd never been all that strong, but Kota definitely made it to the sidewalk, landing a bit rougher than Izuku intended, but otherwise unscathed-
WHIIIIIIIRRRRRR!
-and wide-eyed in horror as Izuku's world erupted into one of pain and red.
They say that when you start to die, your life flashes before your eyes.
This phenomenon is caused by a hormone called DMT.
It is a hormone that is found naturally in the human body and is hailed by many as the 'Spirit Molecule' as trips under its influence often feature peoples' spiritual ancestors and/or gods.
When a person dies, their brain floods with DMT.
When a person believes that they are about to die, a microdose of DMT is released directly into the brain.
This tiny dose of this naturally occurring hormone allows one to review/recall their entire life in the fraction of a second, so as to see if -from past experience- there is any way to escape the deadly situation alive.
Izuku experienced this phenomenon.
He laid, growing colder and colder on cracked and ruptured concrete; his ringing ears barely registering the ruckus around him.
The screams of terrified pedestrians.
The whirring of a massive drill.
The rumble of thunder overhead as a downpour broke through the clouds above.
He couldn't feel his legs.
He felt a continuous chill in his torso, but he couldn't even shiver.
His mind raced, memory after memory rushing to the surface, trying to save him before his body shut down entirely.
His vision was fading.
He couldn't feel his tongue.
The rain thudded dully against his face.
More memories, his entire life, all thirteen years worth, running like film off a reel.
Nothing there could save him.
Situations like the one he was in were just…
Out of my league?
Iida was right.
He hated to admit it, even in his mind, but Iida was absolutely right.
So what if he really wanted to be a hero?
There was a difference between having a dream and having the strength to fulfill that dream.
Case in point, the fact that he was bleeding out in the rain, having saved one little boy for maybe 5 seconds max.
"I'm afraid there's no hope for him."
"Still got your head in the clouds, Deku? Tryin' to be a hero?"
"A dream is nice, but maybe you should start dreaming more realistically."
Mixed with the rain, a single tear rolled down his face and a final memory rolled through.
"I'll be the hero that saves everyone with a smile. The hero that makes everyone smile with him!"
What a crock.
With that final thought, Izuku Midoriya died alone in the rain.
"Is that all?"
What…?
"Is this where your justice ends?"
Who…?
"Pathetic and alone, caught off guard and slaughtered by a devil that's barely greater than a runt?"
Devil…?
"Are your ideals built upon such faulty foundations that your pride would allow you to die so ignobly and so ineffectively?"
In-eff-ective?
"I'll be disappointed if I don't get to witness a full journey like I was promised, so I would like to make a deal."
Deal?
"I will save your life, and lives of the ones around you right now. In return, I would ask that you show me your justice."
My justice… You want me to show… my justice? But who…?
"I am the Execution Devil. The one true justice that lies at the end of sin. You wish to be a hero? Come with me, then. I'll make you the most righteous hero of them all."
You'll make me… a hero?
"Aye. Do you accept my contract, Izuku Midoriya?"
…I…
WHIRRRRRRRRRR!
Die! Die! Die! DIE!
Blood.
Blood!
It needed more blood!
It needed more blood or it was going to die!
Humans.
They had blood.
They had so much blood.
They had enough blood to feed it.
They had enough but not much by themselves.
It needed to find more.
It needed more-
"Stop."
Something wrapped around its neck. A rope?
It shouldn't have been enough to stop it.
It was a devil.
It was the Drill Devil.
Its massive screw drill head could break through any wall.
Its muscular human body was strong enough to break any chains.
So why?
Why was the rope around its neck keeping it still?!
"Human hair is an interesting thing."
WHIRRR! WHIRRR! WHIRRR!
It struggled harder.
It could hear the assailant walking up to it.
When it got close, it felt a foot bury itself into its back.
CRACK!
If it could've screamed, it would've.
"Apparently, assassins like to use it as a garrote, because it isn't easy to cut untangle oneself from."
The rope got tighter. It felt the flesh of its neck rupture.
"So you might understand that hair from a devil would be even stronger.
Its hands desperately clawed the ground before it, trying to scramble away. The rope got deeper and deeper.
"I would prefer to give you a proper execution, but there's only so much time that I can spend on a runt like you. So, I suppose this- is- Goodbye!"
The rope slid all the way through its neck, and its head spiralled into the air.
Before it died, it saw one thing that it wasn't expecting.
A young human, shirtless, with wild green hair and freckles.
On the human's exposed torso was an ugly stretch of scarred skin, twisted into a strange spiral.
The last thing it noticed was the bright exploding star in the human's left eye.
Its final thought before fading into nothingness was-
Beautiful.
Drill Devil-DEAD
Execution by: Beheading
