Death

by tmb1112

Death is a Quirk that can only kill. A perfect Quirk for a villain, but what if the boy who manifested that power just wanted to be a hero? Enrolling in U.A. might not be enough when all your Quirk can do is kill people. Follow Zach Sazaki from his first day in Class A on a story that spans years, as he learns to be a hero, finds out more about his Quirk, and too much to summarize!

234. Chapter 234

Disclaimer: I don't own Boku no Hero Academia

Chapter 234:

The screen in the corner of the Tokyo courtroom cut off. The courthouse was silent. The video stopped playing as Whiteout set off one final E.M.P.

Everyone had expected some sort of result to come from the battle. They thought it would be clear who had won and who had lost. Yet there was no more footage of the final charge against the Capos in the Siege of Wampajawa. Complete silence filled the court as they all stared at a blank screen with nothing playing on it. What had just played lasted longer than the court proceedings. It had lasted longer than most feature films, and yet it kept their attention nonstop throughout it.

Zach glanced away from the screen before anyone else. He looked towards the center of the bench and Judge Yuranama whose expression was not severe or discerning anymore. Even a man like him can't see something like that and, Zach's eyes lowered from the gray-haired judge's face. His eyelids partially closed and twitched, and he quickly stopped that and made his expression calmer. My defense hasn't changed. He showed them the truth to try and set me free, but it's not that simple, Gentle. You can't just-

Zach turned back to the screen as it cut on all of a sudden. Damn you, Gentle. You kept going? People in the room flinched as they really thought it might be over for a second, even though they had all kept staring anxiously awaiting a resolution.

The film looked different than it did the last times it faded in or recovered from damage. "Did you fix it?" A voice of a woman asked next to Gentle who had his helmet down in his hands pointed up towards his face. His camera caught more a dark silhouette of his facial expression than his face itself. The lights in the room he was in were dim. They shaded more onto the right side of his face than his left that was so shadowed over that it was hard to see his eye. When he moved the helmet to his side though to show La Brava the cameras on the side of it, the shorter woman next to him looked and then gained a small smile as she was happy to see one thing go right.

Her right eye had an eyepatch over it and her face had been cleaned up of blood. Her hair had been retied behind her head and pulled close to her scalp, as she had a new helmet down in her right hand she was ready to put back on. La Brava's shirt no longer had a hole in the front or back of it. The gap of time between the cuts got interpreted by some watching as an explanation to them from the senders that more time had passed this gap. They could also tell from the lack of cracks on the replaced lens and how clear the picture quality was. Even in the darkness, small details of his and La Brava's faces could be made out in the high-definition camera.

La Brava rose up her helmet while Gentle put his own up on top of his head. The two of them stood together off to the side in a tent that was more illuminated around only a couple of patients, though even near them the lights were blocked by panels on the outsides of their medical beds to keep as much light from escaping as possible. Other beds just had the dim lights from the machines strapped up to patients blinking and illuminating what they looked like. Even in that dimness, Gentle's camera could make out enough of what those people looked like when he turned towards them.

Dozens of people lay on beds and stretchers in the dark medical tent Gentle had turned his camera back on in. There were people without arms, ones without legs, ones with one arm and one leg. Some had bandages around the tops of their faces over their eyes, or over one eye, or wrapped around ears and over disfigured noses. Heart monitors beat to show their statuses thanks to wires stuck all over them. Most of them were still in parts of their dark armor at least, though the patients were all out of their helmets as were many of those who were rushing about between the beds to try and help their only conscious doctor.

"I said Kimocilin! Arko has a Penicillin allergy- No! Over there, Elsa's type B negative."

"Hank! We need you-"

"Just hold him together, Mark," Hank snapped without looking towards the person who just called that his way who was next to Mark and the patient in front of him.

That patient was not being cooperative which is what caused his subordinate to call out for the doctor to come help them. "Don't move," Mark said in a more stern voice straight at the patient rather than calling the doctor on him. Mark looked into his friend's eyes as Zach looked back at him, and the younger man eased his arm back down to his side without wincing despite the gash Tama had seen open up and spill some blood that Mark struggled to stop from dripping. The fact that Zach was standing at all was an insane feat still to Gentle who stared towards the leader of the Army of Death, standing while so many others in his army lay in front of him on their tent beds.

Tama crouched back down and she leaned forward, wrapping more white bandage around Death's stomach only to run out of the roll. "I need another, and more tape," she whispered up at Death's face, then she turned and did a quick limp-sprint to a metal surgery table that had medical supplies on it. As Tama dug through the supplies, Mark held his right and left hands up while facing his leader with a dark look on his face and one of creeping regret as well. Death shook his head back at Mark at the sight of the look the older man was giving him. The single shake of his head towards what Mark was thinking told the American that Death did not feel the same way and did not wish Mark had just used his Blood Control on their enemies from the very beginning. The same way, Death was telling him, that he did not regret just using Death to murder everyone. The look in Zach's hazel eyes made the regret fade back away from Mark's expression as he gave a short nod back at him to finish that silent conversation no one else heard.

Beep-beep-beepbeepbeep…

"Hey- hey Hank! We need you-"

"Death stop-" Mark grimaced but he ran after Death, keeping his right hand lifted at him while putting his left hand out and grabbing the other shoulder as the one Zach grabbed of their comrade seizing on a medical bed.

"Help him!"

"Shit, what is going-" Hank moved his patient's head that he glanced up at from the larger wound he pulled bandages away from on his torso. His hair was wet on the back left side of it and there was a stain on the pillow from another wound that had not demanded as much attention before. "Damn it! We need to-" Hank snapped his head to the heart-rate monitor as their patient coded.

"Fizz! Stay with me buddy!"

"Get the crash cart!"

Gentle put his hand out and onto the shoulder of the short woman who started stepping forward past him. He stopped her, and she glanced back but did stay where she was and just looked back instead towards an area where Gentle felt enough of their people had crowded that any more would just get in the way. He watched as Death helped Hank who looked even more frustrated but did not say anything about his bandaged-up patient at the moment as Death twisted the knob for Hank to attempt defibrillation.

Danjuro Tobita squeezed on Manami Aiba's shoulder a little tighter as their comrades failed. Death looked to Hank questioningly at why the doctor stopped trying, but Hank shook his head back at their commander who turned and looked back down at Fizz's body. He reached out and lowered his right hand down, pressing his palm in his glove into Fizz's chest and then sliding his fingers out of it rather than forcing Death out into him. He touched Fizz with his bare hand, and his head bowed nonetheless as nothing was happening.

"Another one," La Brava heard a low whisper behind her. She glanced backwards which made Gentle turn partially to the side and just catch sight of Spiral's head turned to the side on his bed behind them in the shadows. "How many…" the teenager's voice trailed off, his consciousness fading.

"You." Hank snapped at his patient finally when Death gave up on saving Fizz. "Back there," Hank ordered, pointing back to the table that Tama was standing at. He glared Tama's direction too, and Tama looked back at Hank apologetically that she failed to keep him in one place as Hank ordered her to.

Death walked back towards where he was supposed to be. He walked in the direction Gentle was in under that tent, putting the front of his body directly in line with Gentle's helmet cam.

Zach's face was completely covered in bandages. They wrapped around his skull behind the back of his head so tightly that his black hair struggled to fall through. They wrapped his cheeks and above and below his lips. The bandages on the left side of his face and the ones around most of his neck looked the worst. They had the most red seeping through them, much more than the right side where there was not even any blood showing through on the right side of his forehead. The work done there had been enough to keep it sealed underneath the bandage. Not all of his wounds were so easy to deal with. And not all the damage dealt to him could be fixed just by patching him up.

"You cannot allow these to fall out," Hank scolded his patient who pulled right off several needles to help Fizz who had started seizing close to him. Hank held Death's inner right arm out and stuck a tube back in where it had come out, and he taped it down this time with twice the tape. Then he looked down towards the bloody wound that Tama had called him over for and Mark stopped controlling as precisely to show Hank where the continuing damage was. "You lost far too much blood," Hank snapped as he pulled out a different needle that was not connected to any tube. He put the plastic covering in his mouth and yanked it out that way as he was wiping clear a spot next to that wound with his other hand that was already in a new sterilized glove. Hank injected next to the wound then pulled out a tube of cream that he squirted onto his hands and rubbed together before rubbing right on top of the wound that made Zach wince once then stand there steadily even as Hank rubbed over an open wound.

That open wound was not bleeding anymore even when Mark lowered his right hand though. Death looked down at it then nodded at Hank who frowned up at the teenager's reaction. "If you continue to move around you'll open more wounds. I know you won't stop, but do not," Hank continued while glaring towards Mark in front of him. "Do not speed up from how fast I told you to transfuse it. Any faster!" Hank shouted with a spin to Death who just opened his mouth, "And your body will shut down. It won't matter if he can pump your blood, if it's the blood that's killing you. Do you think you can separate it?" Hank questioned Mark skeptically, and Mark shook his head as there was no way he could do that when he was only just getting used to this kind of precision.

"Sir." A voice spoke up behind Death.

Death nodded at Hank after hearing Mark's response to him that told Zach his own orders would be superseded in certain instances here. Hank hurried off as another of the standing Army of Death members called him to help one who looked much worse for the wear and was missing their left leg from the thigh down. Gentle was already looking towards tent flaps that opened while lights dimmed for a moment, and the people outside hurried in behind the one who had spoken in to inform Death that they were there. Death's position in the tent was close to the two black tent flaps that pushed inwards and then fell behind those people and were instantly sealed up to keep light from escaping.

The group of six who just followed Dead Silence inside stared at their savior with huge eyes at the sight of his body. Death had on only a pair of tight black shorts, as he needed his whole torso, his right arm, and both lower legs exposed for Hank to help deal with his injuries. Much less skin was showing than all that though, as Tama had come back and was continuing to wrap in the remaining areas that Hank had finished working on last. His wounds were harder to see when his body was wrapped head to toe in bandages. He looked more like a mummy than ever when Tama finished, covering over seventy percent of his body in bandages as it was easier to wrap all the way around him rather than cut many pieces and tape them all. His mouth was partially uncovered just enough that he could move it and the inside of his mouth could be seen between the parting bandages. And there was also a gap between the piece that went over the bridge of his nose and under his eyes and the cloths going around his forehead.

"These are the six who want to join us," Dead Silence said. He moved to the side and turned inwards while Gentle walked forward now and looked to the group who came in. There were three men and three women exactly, and all of them were wearing black sweatpants and long-sleeved shirts that had been provided for them. Despite the general darkness of the room, who these people were was easily identifiable by the way two of them had scratched their necks already since entering the tent. They all had red markings around where the tight collars had bound their throats, and some had similar red marks on their wrists and ankles too.

A seven foot tall man with huge muscles who had been one of the ones to scratch his neck anxiously there stepped forward. He looked down at Death's bandaged-up face and his own scrunched up in frustration. "I wanted to come back and fight-"

"Without knowing our tactics, you would have gotten in my way." Death responded calmly to the figure whose first words to him were in anger.

"I understand," a beautiful dark-skinned woman behind the taller man started, stepping forward on his left side and brushing a hand past his sleeve to try and get him to calm down. She nodded at Death with a look wanting to show that she really did, but she added, "But we want to help you. All of us. They told us you'd take us wherever we want to go but-"

"Good. We can use the help," Death replied. He looked around at all six when she was speaking but they all appeared in agreement with her, even the angrier man who did not respond to what Death said which had been what a different Army of Death member already countered at him when that woman on the Extraction Team had left them to return on her own. He was told just a few minutes ago how she had not made it through the rest of the battle. The large man stared at Death in surprise though at Death's response as did the others with him. Death turned to Dead Silence, "Get six sets of armor over here outfitted to their sizes, now."

Dead Silence nodded and ran out off while another two dark soldiers were just entering, managing to make it out before the tent was sealed. "Wait- just like-" one of the other formerly enslaved men started.

"Sagitus," Death said while looking to one of the two men who just entered the tent. "When the lights come on, take these six in a patrol past the western perimeter towards Vince's chopper." Zach's head shifted a little to the shorter man of the two who nodded at him in a way showing the last thing that Death ordered him to do had been completed. "When you see them getting close, take the attention into the air as you head up for the Cloak." Vince nodded back at Death and then ran out of the tent without a word.

"You heard him. Follow me, we'll get you armored up," Sagitus said, motioning for the new soldiers to follow him.

"You'll have orientation later. We need to move quickly," Death said to the surprised group in front of him. "Just follow Sagitus and he'll lead you around. Keep your helmets pointed forward and don't hesitate. We need them to see higher numbers."

"Mark," Death said, looking next to him at the brown-haired man who was checking on one of the blood bags attached to Death's body. "Get out there and prepare for Light-Up. Tell me when-"

"Hold on," Hank started, standing close to them as he was working on a different patient. He glanced up then back down and said as he moved his hands rapidly, "I need everyone here we can spare. They're dying and you-"

"If Mark stops will I die?" Death asked.

He stared at Hank who grit his teeth then started to say, "You wouldn't-"

Before the 'but' could even escape his lips, Mark looked back at Death and he nodded at his leader in a focused way while lifting back up his helmet. He ignored Hank who spun back as he saw Mark running out of the tent. He opened his mouth to argue, but Death spoke in a low voice looking down next to Hank at the bed he was standing next to. "How is she?"

Hank looked back down at the girl who Death walked right up next to. She was strapped to multiple machines and had a slow heartbeat as she lay there with most of her body covered in bandages just like his was. Gentle glanced her way for a moment too then looked back at La Brava who had her helmet on but was leaning her head forward and staring towards that bed concernedly too. Hank frowned that Death took Mark away when he wanted his help, but Death decided that he needed it more and sent him off. The doctor's frown stayed, though it became for a different reason as he looked to his youngest female patient who Death asked about in a soft voice while looking down at her mostly-covered face.

"I've stopped the bleeding, but in the final charge against the Capos alone she was shot six separate times. If she hadn't altered the makeup of her organs before the attack to protect herself…"

Gentle looked to his right and across the tent where one of their comrades laying on a bed rose their right hand from their stub of a left shoulder to cover their eyes with it. They covered their eyes first then lowered that arm to their mouth instead to muffle their voice as the sobs were too loud that another dark soldier next to him scolded him to be quiet. Muffling his scream into his only arm showed the tears pouring down the sides of his face, his expression agonized for more reasons than just the lost of his limb.

Death did not look away from Hank who also glanced that direction for a moment only to turn back to the commander who lowered his right hand down and brushed it over the girl's forehead. "Save her," Death whispered to Hank.

"I don't know, if I'll be able to," Hank replied. He did not look to give false hope to his commander who stared back at his face with his teeth clenching at the sound of that pessimistic response. "So many here are in critical condition-"

"Wake up Curalia," Death ordered. Hank's eyes widened, and Death nodded over towards a different patient on his left. "Use Hyper's blood to-"

"She already used Trigger. That's what knocked her out-"

"Hank."

"She is my patient," Hank retorted. He stared down the teenage boy in front of him ordering him to do something that he could not do. The doctor refused and shook his head sternly at the teen to show he would not be swayed, "It could kill her to get her up now. Curalia would-"

"If you get her up then she can save our comrades. You think she would thank you for letting her rest while they die?" Death asked coldly. He glared down the medic in front of him who froze with his mouth open. "If she dies," Death said in a lower voice. "Then at least, I can still save her." Hank's eyes shook at the suggestion, but Death continued to him, "So many here are on their second life. It should be her choice to keep going, even if it kills her."

"You're not giving her the choice-"

"Then give just enough to wake her up and ask first, but you know how she'll respond," Death said in a dark voice back to the doctor in front of him who grit his teeth and pulled his head back frustratedly as there was no doubt in his mind about that. "I'm sorry, Hank. We cannot allow anyone else to die. Wake her. That is an order."

"Rebel," Death continued right away, lifting his right hand to his head and tapping on his ear. "Status on the closest trucks."

"Cherasaw's a thousand miles out still with the majority," Rampart started.

"You've got three teams that will be there within the hour. Don't go too fast," Rebel replied to Death's actual question.

"Raylei." Death said the woman's name and waited a moment before continuing in a very low voice, "You are leader of Support now. Report on ground tech-"

"We're all set up on the east side." Raylei responded, her voice dark as well as she answered rather than the former Support Squad leader. "Ready for you."

"Good. Seraphim," Death made the order while still holding a hand to his ear. He glanced around the tent but did not see her, so he ordered the woman through his earpiece, "Establish the perim-"

"Death."

Zach looked to his side at Grabble who was sitting on the side of a stretcher where he had had his right leg worked on but was testing his own weight off the bed now. He had on tight black shorts but a fresh pair of armored pants next to him he was about to put on. The man with large Pincers over his head looked to Death and locked eyes with his commander's while Gentle and La Brava also looked over towards him confusedly. Grabble shook his head though after cutting off Death, and he said in a low voice, "Seraphim's gone."

Death shook his head back. "No, I revived her." Grabble kept frowning and Gentle's partner at his side rose her hands up to her head to cover her mouth only to touch her visor instead so the whimper still came out. Death shook his head more though at the soldier with tall Pincers sticking over him, "I just saw her. She was-"

"When we chased them down, after the Capos fell," Grabble said. Tama looked towards her friend who glanced back at her then sadly nodded to show he was serious while facing Death again. Death's eyes grew huge as he had not seen her since that final charge but never thought she- "This guy she ran past was just pretending to be unconscious. He, he caught her by surprise." Grabble's voice lowered more and he finished in a sad tone, "Right through her heart. It was, quick."

Death lowered his head for a moment. La Brava whimpered and stepped back to lean on a pole that was helping hold up the tent. Gentle looked towards her in a concerned way about his partner who he had often seen with Seraphim when not with him. He lowered his own head a moment later though as he thought of the purple-haired woman who was one of the strongest they had. Then he lifted his head fast and stared at Death who spoke, "Grabble." The man with tall Pincers rose his head back up too, while Hank stared over from another bed he stood next to in shock at the revelation, and other patients who heard what was said lay in even more pain on their beds. Death continued in a steady serious voice, "You have Beta Squad. We will reorganize later, but go ensure the perimeter has two on either side of every other light-"

"Zach-"

"That's Death," Death scolded La Brava who just gasped his old name. He looked towards the short woman who pulled her helmet back in surprise as she was not expecting that stern response at her. Gentle frowned too but said nothing as Death said to her, "We do not have the time to mourn." Death looked around at others shocked he could just move right past one of their strongest comrades' deaths like that. The thought of Beta Squad's leader dying was unthinkable to many of them who had just seen her, but they looked to Death who had sounded shocked by the news too but who now was moving right past it. He paused for a second as he looked at their faces, and then he said in a lower voice, "She didn't die for this city alone. There's work to do, and it needs to be done now. Remember her in your own ways. As I will," Death finished, then he looked back at Grabble and motioned him away.

Tama nodded her head hard after Grabble did the same. "I'll keep watch on them all," Tama said, knowing where she belonged and then nodding next to her at her long-time comrade from back in the U.S. Special Forces. The two of them got their helmets back on, but those who had investigated Rodney Black already recognized his old squad members who they had also been looking into and finally saw that they truly had joined the Army of Death.

"Keep up the guise and make us look full capacity. Maelstrom, Finalee, Aurora," Death continued without pause. He spoke out their names and looked around while continuing, "Get ready to create world effects-"

"Sir."

Death frowned deeper again but nodded at his comrade to continue. "Who?"

"Finalee… and Aurora, are both-"

"Maelstrom," Death repeated, moving past it instantly and speaking her name again with a dart of his eyes around.

"Yes Commander," he turned around and looked at the shorter woman who had her helmet on already. "I'll be ready to bring the storm."

Death nodded at the woman who sounded serious about it and without need for further orders. The confidence that came from her helmet impressed him enough that he added to her, "At your own discretion then." There was too much to do for him to micromanage everything, but Maelstrom did not even pause as he gave her that responsibility.

She just nodded her head at him and replied, "Understood, Commander." Then she turned and headed out as others had.

"We've got the first five hundred out and ready," Mark reported to his leader who had been waiting for Mark's update.

"Death, sir," Zach heard another voice speak up in his ear before he could respond to Mark. That voice came into Gentle's earpiece as well, and he heard them say in a quiet tone, "We, found Blackjack's body. Looks like he's been dead from probably, the beginning of the battle."

Death rubbed his forehead over his bandage but shook his head around. He had already suspected as much about Blackjack but even finding his body did not mean anything if he had been dead for that long. "I'll try anyway. Have him put aside before Exodus sees to it," Death whispered in response. "Mark. Exodus. Get out there and be ready. Everyone else in positions."

"Sir, the clothes your asked for," a figure who just entered the tent spoke to his leader.

"Shirt." Death ordered while lifting his hand to catch it.

"Wait, you can't move right-" Hank started towards his leader.

Death pulled the needles out of his arms again. He lifted the shirt and put it over his head carefully, then he pulled one sleeve back before doing the other he had to release the first to grab. He grunted then turned the back of his head to Gentle who he stepped back towards. "Tie the sleeves. Keep my eyes in the collar gap," Death made the order, and Gentle lifted his hands and tied tight the long sleeves behind Zach's head. When Death stepped away and turned, the head hole of the shirt had been pulled tight so it looked more like a slot just meant for his eyes. He had the shirt over his head like the covering of a ninja, though the rest of his body still looked a mess in the white bandages soaking through in several areas with blood. "Cloak," Death ordered, looking back at the soldier who just entered the tent and still had another article of clothing on him.

The soldier stepped forward and tossed the black cloak at his leader who ducked his head and then pushed up into the wider bottom of it. His head went up through the cloak and into the hood he had to readjust over his scalp. The shadow of the cloak covered up most of his face that the black shirt was wrapped around to only keep his eyes visible. The rest of his body became fully shrouded and it was impossible to even tell that he was missing his left arm any longer. "RRrggh," Death growled and he clenched his eyes tighter, then snapped them open with red irises glowing out of the hood before fading again to their normal color.

"This is risky," Gentle whispered in a low voice to him. "You have nothing left."

"It's not risky if they don't know that," Death replied calmly. Then he ordered to all those his voice spread to, "If anyone notices a sensory realizing what is going on, put them down before they can spread dissent. Amplify their fear. We need this to work or the day means nothing…"

In a courtroom in Tokyo a little over a year after this event was filmed, Midoriya Izuku stared at the footage in as much amazement as he had been in through the actual battle of Wampajawa. "…I needed it to be perfect, so I brought Seraphim, Darling, and Mark." She was someone he considered one of his best, he thought as he remembered stories Zach had told him about fights with his comrades. It was not just that one woman who Midoriya imagined though as he thought back on all he just saw. Right after they lost so many comrades they're still moving forward. He is, Midoriya reminded himself while looking back to his friend's head that was pointed towards the screen as well and watching what Gentle had filmed after the battle was already over. Midoriya looked back to the screen though and could not help the awe of what he was seeing from filling his body. I didn't know how to measure it.

The Army of Death's power as the strongest villain group hiding all around the world. I knew what you had established them as, but I didn't realize it yet. I didn't understand then, Midoriya's lips pursed but not in frustration or anger. He just watched the screen where these dark soldiers continued to move and follow Zach's orders as he told off the doctor warning him about what moving was going to do to his body. What Deku just watched at the end of the battle had left too much of an impact on him. They were all willing to fight to the death because Zach told them it would save the world. That's why they followed him. These aren't villains all around the world, Midoriya thought in realization. Not the one in Italy, or in China, or wherever he has those comrades hidden across society like Eziano did. They're the best people- the best heroes…

Except they're not heroes, Midoriya reminded himself. He did not get upset at the thought though, he just corrected himself, They were soldiers fighting a war. People say that war isn't necessary. That it's never been needed because it's horrible to kill your enemy just because you disagree, and yet they were not fighting an enemy that anyone could say was right. They were willing to die for us, and, I can't see them as bad people. Just like Zach said to TyreFire sensei the other day, they may not be "good" but they aren't villains. I can no longer see them as such.

It cannot be that easy, Ectoplasm stared towards the screen in disbelief. He would allow those people to join… They wanted to fight during the battle, and he did not let them return. It was not pure irresponsibility. And, he offered them freedom. They chose to follow- Of course that's it. Sazaki, would not have forced anyone to help him. I never considered it but, Ectoplasm shifted back in his seat after staring in shock when Death just gave orders to new soldiers with barely a second thought about allowing them in. He has shown many times how he draws people to him. In ways I never considered. When he always tried pushing away, they were drawn to him even more.

"Stalsky Lenx is with the first group," Raylei spoke to her leader as Death looked to Gentle and La Brava and motioned for them to follow him. They heard their Support Squad leader's voice in their heads as she continued, "One of King's top lieutenants who was not at their Russia fortress during the raid on his compound. It was luck alone, as he was out recruiting in Siberia according to King, who to our advantage thought Lenx had betrayed them to 'just happen' to be out of the base when we attacked. Lenx will flip easily if we just tell him the truth. King thought he already flipped because Lenx got lucky and escaped us, so we'll threaten to send him to the same prison King is in. Should be enough to get us everything from him."

"Alright." Death responded. His voice was low though, and he continued in a lower voice after stepping out of the tent into the dark ruins of Wampajawa. "On my signal, everyone."

They were on a road somewhere in a city where the buildings across the street from the tent opening were completely destroyed. It was easy to tell what they had once been though. Building after destroyed building lined the side of the road. Death turned left after leaving the tent and started walking down a road cleared of much debris so there was at least room for vehicles to drive down it. Gentle and La Brava followed after him, and they did not have to go far to get to a much wider clearing. It was far larger than any plaza in the city had been, with the rubble from buildings around the actual plaza destroyed or pushed away to make the area wider.

The city was pitch black. The silhouettes of the broken buildings on the sides of the road just cut off to show that there was a much wider clearing with all that dark floor. Some eerie feeling filled the air of the courtroom in the future as everyone stared in confusion at what was going on. They were still in Wampajawa. It did not look like it had been very long since the end of the fight. The Army of Death's leader was still finding out about comrades of his who had been lost in the battle. The flames were out though. No embers burned anywhere in the city that could illuminate it at all. The sky was dark but also blacker than a normal night, maybe from clouds, maybe from a thick layer of smoke still filling the sky, no one knew. What they started to notice though was past Death and in this clearing, the floor was not completely flat. And it was not completely silent there either as there were noises of struggling in the darkness. Everything was too shadowed over to make out what was happening though. Even as Death stopped in place, with Gentle on his back right and La Brava on his back left, no one could tell what was going on.

Then, Death's eyes glowed red as he faced the open plaza. "Light it up." Death ordered.

Bvvvnn ch! Ch! Ch! Ch! Ch! Ch!

A hum whirred and two bright floodlights shone down from fifteen meter tall posts on Death's right and his left sides. Two more huge lights turned on with loud clanks of the power connecting, then another set, and another continuing all the way around the clearing. The floodlights looked like those at the top of a baseball stadium shining down to illuminate the field. They were massive and all pointed inwards and down at the floor of cleared space. The lights blinded those down on their knees in even rows and columns going from just ahead of Death ten feet away to the opposite side of the clearing. They all had strange thick green loops around their bodies holding their arms to their sides and their legs together as well. The green loops were semi-translucent but appeared hard and apparently strong enough to hold the hundreds of villains who just got light flashed on them.

In a line in front of Death were twenty five villains, one directly in front of him and twelve to his right and left. Past the man straight in front of his face were nineteen others with gaps between them wide enough for the dark soldiers in their ranks to walk between. The gaps were just as wide in front of and behind each villain as they were to their right and left sides. Two dark soldiers stood in those equidistant rows and columns already, walking back and forth with their helmets on and watching their prisoners closely. Exodus and Mark walked through the lines of villains, and Exodus jumped up and landed down next to a villain whose arms started extending to slide farther out of his loop and help him stand. Exodus slammed his right fist into that villain's head and then stomped on his back.

Mark glared at a villain who they knew was particularly dangerous and whose eyes were part of that danger. They had a steel visor wrapped around the top of the man's head, and Mark looked away after a moment as that man appeared as scared as everyone else who they had ordered repeatedly to be quiet and gave harsh punishments to those who did not while the lights were still off. Mark looked back towards the front of the crowd of 500 villains kneeling there in rows of 25 that went 20 back in the columns. As the villains around him opened their squinted eyes from being blinded by the light, they all focused straight to the front in the direction they all were facing. Most of them did not have blindfolds on. They stared towards the front and looked where they had seen the two glowing red orbs before the lights all turned on. The lights were pointed in towards them, but some light did leave their clearing and illuminate the dark soldiers just outside it who stepped forward closer to them.

On either side of every other one of the huge floodlight posts, two dark soldiers stepped forward and rose up rifles they pointed in at the captured villains. Hundreds of villains knelt in fear as two dozen dark soldiers stepped in front of the lights and held their automatic rifles in their hands not pointed directly at anyone but definitely an implied threat that they could be shot at any time by this surrounding force. They were truly captured. In the custody of the Army of Death. And it was terrifying for all of them as well as those watching who had no idea what the Army of Death were about to do with their prisoners.

Gentle stood behind Death and did not step forward this time but stayed where he was on the exterior of the crowd when Death moved closer. His voice amplified out of speakers near those floodlights, from the first word out of his mouth after the lights came on, "Villains." Death's tone was modulated despite not having a helmet on. Somehow even without his armor, he still appeared like one horrifying figure. Those watching could see the looks of fear that extended on most of the villains' faces as they were on their knees and faced with Death.

Even though the people watching this later on had just seen him tie a black shirt around his head, and he could not even tie it himself, he still intimidated them. The fact that it sounded like he could not use Death but so confidently just walked up in front of 500 captured villains, or that he had ripped out needles filling him with more blood because of all they had seen him lose before, or maybe just the sight of him standing there victorious alone. They had watched as Death's army was annihilated. His comrades all fell and it looked hopeless. But Death stood there in front of his captured enemies. The victor, looking down over an army he had defeated. His own forces had wanted to run, they had died, some of them a second time twice whilst Gentle was watching. Gentle had wanted to flee. Everyone on his side had seemed to think the fight was lost. And there Death stood. In the ruins of the City of Villains that he refused to flee from.

Imagine what they must be thinking, Dendo stared towards the villains on the screen who Gentle had in his angle. Dendo did not pity them but there was a piece of him that tried to image their feelings in that situation and it made a chill go down his spines at the very idea of it. They have no clue what is going to happen to them. Death himself, standing before them. Dendo grit his teeth while looking back from the screen and to the head of his classmate for only half of one term of their high school lives. He pictured Death standing there and taunting him after he had won their fight without even touching him. I was right the whole time. I knew from the first day, and he convinced me otherwise. He lied, constantly. And… and I don't know why, but I don't care about any of that. What he did after though, Dendo frowned after his previous thought and got a more intense look on his face as he thought he was going too easy without watching what might be the most damning part of it all.

Death scanned the crowd knelt before him. The silence was deafening after he addressed those he had captured. They all stared right back at that dark figure in a black cloak whose face was shadowed but looked pitch black under the hood other than his glowing red eyes. No one else said a word, and Death spoke in a voice that reverberated around them, "You have lost. From here, you will be transported to various prisons around the world. Your lives are over. The only thing you have left to decide is how shitty you want the rest of your life to be." His dark voice boomed over the clearing of villains staring straight towards this horrible figure that none spoke up against even as some of that fear was being replaced by confusion and a reluctance to accept what he was saying.

Some glanced around to their sides for an escape route. On Death's right side and out past the lights closest to him, a figure on four legs was jogging forward and became less of a silhouette as he got closer to the lights. Sagitus did not turn in towards the huge group but instead just ran around the lights without the guards on either side of them looking back towards him or to the other six people running behind him in two lines of three. In the direction Sagitus was running towards, more noise filled the air as rotors of a helicopter spun faster to the point they could be heard over the thudding footsteps of those running and murmuring people nearby and the wind alone. Vince's helicopter started lifting in the air just out of sight past the back lights opposite the clearing as Zach, and Death and Gentle both heard in their helmets as Vince was rising, "The Cloak is right overhead." The camp appeared active. Those who had listened to Death plan these events out watched what appeared to be the natural occurrences of a military base but were carefully planned maneuvers to make their forces appear larger than they were. It was all deception, and there was no way for the villains to know it.

"You have a choice, villains!" Death yelled out. "Do you want to spend your life in a maximum security prison for what you have done? Or do you want minimum security, and a chance at parole?!" Death yelled out his offer towards his prisoners. He looked towards them out from under his hood, watching as expressions changed and villains started wondering to themselves about this offer and if Death was seriously making the same case heroes would make. Some of them were frowning, getting more defiant looks in their eyes, and Death's voice lowered three notches and made most of those who were gaining cockier expressions to wipe them from their faces instantly. "Or, for those of you who a maximum security prison would be the reward I grant you for your compliance, non-compliance will land you somewhere far worse. Those of you who refuse to speak will find yourselves waking up in a gulag."

Did he just say- Jirou started thinking before it was repeated a second later.

"That's right. I've captured too many of you. They were running out of space in their prisons, so I allied with a few certain governments who were very willing to take me up on my idea," Death said this in a dark and menacing but also cocky tone towards the villains who had never heard anything about this. "You think your City of Villains was well hidden? This world is vast. And there are deeper shadows in parts of the world no one ever goes to. NO ONE will ever find you. In those areas that these governments had hidden away, we have brought all their most sadistic and insane prisoners. The ones too dangerous to be allowed in normal prisons who I so generously offered to take off their hands! The guards will stay out of the way, and allow you all to butcher each other! You will live in fear for the rest of your lives, as short as they would be in such a place," Death threatened.

"You will tell me who you are, where you come from, what villain group you are a part of- I want to know the names of every one of your associates, all your clients, every connection you have, and all your victims… Everyone you blackmail and all the corrupt politicians who help you- I want all of it!" Death shouted this out at the 500 men and women kneeling before him who stared back at the dark figure who they had expected to torture them and who had never heard anything about a punishment like this. They had heard many stories about those who were captured by the Army of Death. Not many of the stories could be verified. No one really knew what happened when the Army of Death captured them, and so what he was saying was as believable as anything else.

"And if you don't give me all of that information- and I will know if you're lying!" Death roared at them. "I will throw you into the deepest holes in the darkest corners of this world. You won't need to worry about what will happen to you if you tell me about the other villains you know, because they will never find you." His eyes scanned across other villains farther back and he locked gazes with a few whose whole bodies shook as Death looked them in the eyes. Then his gaze shifted closer to the first row, and he stepped forward and then slowly walked down the line to his left. "I would torture it out of every last one of you, but I don't have the time," he threatened in a snarl while looking into the eyes of every villain he walked past. "So I will just give you the choice. Tell me, and receive preferential treatment. Or make me angry…"

Death walked by a man who looked anxious and like he might talk if grabbed, then he stopped at the next figure who was burlier and had a more defiant look in his eyes. Death turned his body fully and glared down at the figure who continued glaring up though got sweat on both sides of his face as Death walked right up in front of him. The cloaked figure stared down with glowing red eyes into his prisoner and made the East Asian villain gulp as he was approached directly. Death was five people from the end of the line and the front left corner of the villain crowd. He stared into the villain's eyes and said in a deep voice, "You. Tell me who you are."

The man's heart rate spiked. He bit down and his lips pursed then opened up. "Fuck you-"

"Gulag."

La Brava lifted a pistol and fired into the man's chest. A dart spiked in his torso and he dropped down to the ground instantly. Death stepped to the next person left and glared down at him, "You."

The figure staring back at him just stayed silent and stoic. His expression was unwavering, and Death stated, "Gulag."

La Brava shot him and he dropped too. Death walked to the next, and he growled in a deep voice that boomed over the crowd, "If you think you will be safe by not telling me what I want to know, then know that you-"

"Just shut the fuck up already."

Death closed his mouth. He turned his head and looked to the spot at the corner of the captured villains. Zach had noticed the man start grinning a few moments ago and now the guy spoke up against him with a cocky smirk and a mouth full of sharp teeth. His two horns sticking out over his forehead were red, and his hair was long and silver. His skin was pale and his body lean and muscular. The Caucasian man smirked at Death who heard a voice speak into his ear, "Armenio Tuncil. Wanted for triple homicide. Affiliated with the Georgian Red Militia group. His Quirk is in his hands…"

Death walked past a villain who had been the most scared of the others but looked more hesitant to say anything after two villains in a row had just been dropped unconscious to be sent to a "gulag." He did not know what these places would be like, but he was also scared of the other villains all around him who were watching as Death questioned them. His relief only flashed on his face for a second before his eyes snapped back to Death who snarled in a scratchy voice, "Tuncil. Tell me where the rest of your-"

Death had approached the man and stood in front of the guy who had closed his mouth after telling his captor off a few seconds ago. Death had not noticed it, but the guy was amassing spit by sloshing his tongue around. He opened his mouth and spat a glob of spit straight at the dark figure. The glob hit Death in the chest. Death glanced down at the spit, and every other villain around Armenio was silent with many of them gawking at the guy for such a bold move. Death's own soldiers gripped their weapons tighter. Some villains in the crowd smirked after watching it though. They chuckled to themselves, and Death rose his gaze back up from the spit to the man in front of him who tilted his head back and spoke in a cocky tone, "You are just a little boy, Death. No one will say a word to you." He spoke in English but with a thick accent from his home country. He stared in a cocky way at Death whose teeth ground back and forth as he glared back at this figure before him.

How do I play this? I needed to start off strong- Death's thoughts started moving quickly but before his red eyes and sped-up mental capacity could help him come up with a quick solution that he needed, a young girl's voice screamed out behind him on his back left.

"Sorry Death-" a dark soldier that had run forward and grabbed this girl was pulling back on her, while the child of around ten or eleven years was swinging her arms and clawing at the air past the dark soldier's arms. He picked her up but struggled as she thrashed to get out, "This is the one they were looking for. She slipped away-"

"Hashi ran'ka! Ran'ka! Ama ish ish! Ran'ka ISH! Ama tu isshi-kan'to…" The girl screamed and swung her arms towards the man in the front corner of the crowd of kneeling villains who all turned to this child wearing a loose black long-sleeved shirt. Her neck was chafed and red, and she screamed in sheer rage towards the villain directly in front of Death. He could tell who she was looking at because he had turned sideways when looking back at her and saw her eyes glaring directly into Armenio's.

"Mark," Death said in a low voice. "What is she saying?"

He did not recognize the language. Death questioned his comrade who was farther into the crowd a few rows but could hear the girl's enraged screams from there. Mark stayed quiet for a second after the question, looking towards his comrade who was holding this child back from charging at Armenio and clawing his eyes out like it looked like she wanted to. She screamed out again at the top of her lungs, and Mark spoke in a voice that reached Death's ears as well as Gentle's, "She says that he is the one who, raped her younger sister to death."

Death looked from the child back to the man who smirked towards that young former slave girl. His lips puckered and he blew a kiss towards her before turning his head and smirking right back at Death from one of his victims. Death stood there for another second then turned his head towards Gentle who was behind him on his back right a few yards away. Gentle looked right back into those glowing red eyes, and he nodded his head at him.

Death looked back at the villain who was still smirking right at him and opened his mouth-

"Firing squad."

A drone lowered out of the darkness above the lit-up area in an instant. The drone's engine holding it up was quiet. It lowered directly in front of Armenio Tuncil's face, and the shocked villain who thought he had figured out his enemy's bluffs dropped his jaw while his eyes locked on the end of the barrel of a small cannon sticking out of the bottom of the drone.

The image cut and everyone watching froze in shock as they were holding their breaths at the statement Death made. The clip cut out and then right back in, and Armenio was on the floor with a pool of blood around his head. Other villains panicked as Death killed one of their own after they had already been captured, but Mark and Exodus were expecting the sudden outbursts from several of them. A few tried getting to their feet, and some started using their Quirks even in their captured states, and Mark and Exodus turned to the closest ones to them and took them back down, brutally.

Exodus grabbed the sides of a man's head he appeared behind as the guy was getting up, and his hands glowed bright white causing the villain to scream. Mark swung his arms out and gripped two of them around their throats using thin whips of water so condensed and tight it was like steel wire that started to cut through their necks. Villains closer to the sides of the area turned and looked at the edges of the clearing past the lights to see if they could maybe run, but the soldiers around those lights all stomped forward and rose up their rifles that they aimed straight at villains close to them.

"Get down!"

"I will fucking shoot you!"

They pushed their barrels forwards. The lights all around the outsides of the clearing in the meantime, were flickering as soon as the drone put a hole in Armenio's head. Death had turned his head around while Gentle was watching the crowd in front of him, and he looked to the girl and the man holding her who was able to pull her back easier now with the girl's struggling ended. Her eyes were still bulged but tears started flowing freely now as the rage had nowhere else to go, and his comrade took the child away while Death looked back forward. The strobing lights showed dark soldiers screaming at their prisoners, aiming rifles at the terrified people who thought they might be shot just kneeling there, making them want to run, which was actually going to get them shot by the scared Death soldiers who knew they could not fight off this many enemies.

Then the flickering lights cut off, and a bolt of lightning shot across the sky. The flash during a moment of darkness was followed with the loudest thunder most of the villains had ever heard in their lives. "BAKOOOOOOOM!" The thunder came instantaneously with the lightning because of how close it was. That meant that during the moment the thunder cut off all their screams and struggles, and the lights that had only been pointed down at them were cut off, they could see what was up in the sky that just got illuminated by the lightning.

Above the helicopter rising higher over them, was a silhouette under the clouds. It was directly overhead. All of the villains stared up as the lightning illuminated it. They stared at the airship that covered so much of the sky that should it fall, it would crush every last one of them. It had four massive turbines that held up the sleek black ship appearing like some sort of flying aircraft carrier. Lightning shot over it and illuminated the dark clouds that billowed and swirled over the Cloak of the Army of Death that had millions of people staring in awe as they watched this insane video.

"ENOUGH!" Death screamed after the thunder. Another bolt of lightning struck. It struck down closer to Death, branching over his head and slamming down into the ground near him. Some of the electricity from it looked to hit one of the bright lights that only pointed down near him and shone on the dark figure at half brightness. His red eyes flared in that semi-darkness while the villains all stopped moving and just stared directly at their enemy leader whose cloak blew in the wind and rippled behind him in an even more terrifying way. "Did I forget the last option? I didn't think I needed to tell you," Death's voice filled his prisoners with terror. "I thought my name alone would give it away."

The lights came back on. Death froze and his voice cut off for a moment. He took in a deep breath while hiding it from under his cloak, and he growled in a voice that echoed out over the speakers to the villains kneeling before him. "Did you think I was giving you a choice? You will tell me what I want to know. Or I will throw you in a pit to rot. Give me what I want, and I may help you. Or maybe I just won't kill you!" Death screamed, and the way he said it reminded the villains of where they were and who this was. There were no rules or laws they could rely on. They were completely at his mercy.

"R-Ryabb Washieem! I am a freelance mercenary from Andosh-Umbat!" A light-skinned man with jet black hair called out his name and where he was from. "I have only the location of one of my employers-" Death looked towards him finally after he had started yelling out from four rows back still near the left side of the clearing, and the man yelling out from his knees pulled his head back and screamed out in a much louder voice, "The Riana Hall! Where they hold the hockey games in Inchava, Kambit! There's a base underneath the arena. I don't know anything else I swear- WAIT!"

Death ran forward and he grabbed the villain on his knees by the throat. Mark had gone up behind a different villain who Gentle had snapped his head towards when the guy spun this talkative villain's way to yell at him to shut up. Gentle did not need to do anything there, as Mark put the barrel of a tranq pistol to the villain's back and fired into him and put him into the dirt. This saved the moment from getting side-tracked or the other villains to remember to hold strong, and instead they watched as Death strangled the man who had just spoken up so quickly about who he was and people he was giving up. "You will be going into a gulag. The worst of them." The villain's eyes opened up wide and bloodshot.

Those eyes trembled as Death leaned his head down closer to his face and snarled, "Why is it that you spoke up so quickly after what happened to that murderous rapist? Is it that you've committed similar crimes, and you fear retribution?" Death searched the villain's eyes, and his right hand clenched more, then he just released and nodded off to his left at a dark soldier who walked away from the lighting structure and up behind the gasping man who fell down onto his face and was spitting up on the floor. They clicked a button on the side of their rifle and then fired a dart down into the enemy's back, suggesting the weapon had been set to live rounds which the soldier went back to after shooting by clicking the same button again.

"The rest of you will be judged based on the information you grant me ALONE! You will never see each other again. You will never live a free life." Death turned to his right and glared down a line of villains, many of whom averted their gazes, staring straight forward or looking down at the floor instead of making eye contact with this monster. "But you will have a chance to make your lives somewhat better than the hell I could send you to."

"NOW TALK!" Death screamed, and he walked down to the next man who he glared directly at from a foot in front of. No one moved to help him. No one said a word against Death this time. The reality of their situation had become definitive. And the man Death stepped in front of started speaking. He said his name first, then where he came from, and what villains he fought with.

Gentle watched as this happened, then he said in a low voice, "Go. Now. Support, keep up."

La Brava glanced towards Gentle then turned her head and looked away from the lights as she heard the Support Squad on the ground respond affirmatively. Gentle looked her way and nodded at the shorter woman who put her pistol away then jogged off towards Raylei due to the many voices that started asking questions at the same time. Dark soldiers moved in from the perimeter around the clearing. They moved into separate rows. Over a dozen of them, moving forward with rifles at the ready and their headsets on to transfer all the information they received directly to their comrades who were writing it down and keeping track of it all.

"You're a murderous fucker, but that was good information. I suppose maximum security is fit for you…"

"Liar. I know exactly who you are, Kimiki. Enjoy the psych ward of The Black Gulag in northern Siberia. I hear they don't have any heating at all in the prisoners' quarters. Hahaha…"

"Start dragging them off. We have the first transport vehicles ready. Get the one for the 'gulag' in Siberia out here for show," Death's voice remarked.

He said the word 'gulag' in a strange tone almost as if he was mocking the villains his comrades continued to intimidate information out of. In the moment he made that statement, every single person watching felt their understandings of this video to be thrown out the window. Heroes thinking about investigations they had to start in order to locate these gulags suddenly realized how insane it would have been for this to actually be real. Others trying to figure out how Death had managed to set up so many of these prisons that he could hide all these villains felt baffled by their own previous thoughts and how convinced they had been. Some of them even knew before this that the villains they were seeing had been captured by heroes and sent to prisons around the world where they currently were, which meant that those people they were watching getting sent to gulags were not actually being sent there at all.

It's all a lie, Uraraka thought in disbelief. Every- everything! The army he's pretending is so strong around them. The- the horrible prisons he's pretending to send them to! Is it all really just- They think he can control the weather! That he's some all-powerful, God! Or something. Uraraka leaned back in her seat as she watched Death stand back in front of the middle of his enemies at the front of the pack. Three drones lowered down into the air above the villains and were slowly moving back and forth along the lines, the cannons on bottoms of them turning and pointing at the villains who Rampart was watching closely to see if any might try organizing some escape attempt.

499 villains still alive in the clearing, and those who remained conscious were accepting their positions and that they were about to get thrown in jail. They saw others giving away information and most felt no honor compelling them after seeing a few get away with it. Why should they have to suffer if not everyone was going to do so? The code was out the window. They were talking. All of them.

Is this really… Lemillion's lips were flat and his eyes darted over to Zach Sazaki in this courtroom then back to the boy on the screen who started yelling out at all the villains again while letting his men do the interrogations. This is how they did it? How they got the information to allow them to be what they were? He's, he's breaking so many laws… He's not torturing them. Is that part of the lie? That they just don't have the time for torture? Lemillion's mouth was dry once again as he watched the scene of the Army of Death soldiers intimidating all of their prisoners. They threatened them, and when villains refused to speak, they knocked them out and made taunts about the horrible "gulags" they were going to be sent to.

"Have a truck ready to bring the first group south to BLEEP. By sunrise that truck should be able to make it back and pick up more-"

"Sunrise isn't early enough. We need to move them all quicker…"

The voices in Gentle's helmets were overtaken as Death yelled out, "…You decide from this moment how you will spend the rest of your lives! Depending on how much new information you give me, I may send you to Austria, or to Sudan. Esquomalador, or the U.S." Death threatened sending villains to Sudan and the United States, places that the villains knew the justice systems treated criminals more harshly and with worse penalties than the other two nations. "Maximum or minimum! Comfort or PAIN! You decide!" Death yelled, and some villains in the middle of hesitantly talking to their captors spoke more rapidly as they ratted out every other villain they knew. More lightning had flashed as Death screamed 'pain,' and the direction Gentle was looking as that happened showed two dark towers in the distance and half of another one. They were all that remained to show that this really was the same Wampajawa everyone had watched Death descend into before.

His fear tactics worked. The more villains to speak and fall, the quicker other villains were to speak up as well. They no longer had as large a group to assist them with any thoughts of escape. They no longer had any confidence that Death would not just kill them on a whim if they were the next to try and flee or fight back. Any cocky looks had vanished as the Army of Death swept through their ranks, clearly able to kill any one of them if they tried to fight back at this point.

Hundreds of them knelt there submissively, as under 30 Army of Death members made them feel like they were vastly outnumbered and outmatched. Midoriya lost the angered expression he gained back when the lights were strobing. He had been shocked as Death ordered a man killed, and then he watched in fear as the Army of Death soldiers beat down the others trying to resist and it looked like so many might be killed for a few seconds. Since that one kill though, he had not seen anyone else killed. No one was being tortured by their captors. And the villains gave up their information voluntarily.

"Getting information from villains was never hard. Because, villains are all cowards." Midoriya remembered Zach telling him this not long ago. He thought of his friend taunting them to him in a tone that sounded so menacing at the time even as he described how he had captured so many villains in only a few days. "…And boy did I spread rumors through the underworld of what I did to villains I captured. The villains afraid that I might do something to them gave up other villains with barely a push most of the time. Because they're cowards. They all feared me. So each time I caught one villain, I learned the location of ten others…"

Every word he says. Midoriya stared more in awe at the screen than a minute ago as he watched the Army of Death work. The mass interrogation was going too perfectly now. Everyone was talking, and heroes had never seen anything like it before. He told me, before I had confirmed he was even Death. When he just talked about Terra. "In war, every action I took was a deception…" He told me so much that I just thought he was making up. Making most of it up, at least… but it wasn't. None of it was a lie. Fraisha, was Darling. Midoriya thought in a pained way as he had heard too many stories about Terra that he had completely ignored. The war against the Arcasians was just replacing the war against the villains he fought. This is the Siege of Razmatan! It's all- It's all true. He told me the truth all that time. And all he said about deception, and war, manipulating the world to believe what he wanted us to.

But, that kind of manipulation isn't unknown to me. Midoriya looked down at the back of Zach's head just in front of him. You told me that I had to keep my secret forever or make the decision to reveal the truth soon. That what All Might did was responsible only as long as no one ever found out about the secret. "What All Might did was great. Don't get me wrong. But had it been discovered then it would have been much worse than people finding out what the truth was, because people would have also found out that All Might had been lying to them. Their greatest hero." If you really thought like that, Midoriya realized with his face scrunching up. Then just having Wampajawa revealed to everyone has to make you feel like, like you've failed. Your mission, your goals, so many reasons you fought for were just broken by your friends for your sake, which means it was your fault.

Deku could see the partial expression on Zach's face from behind him. He had no idea how his friend was keeping his straight demeanor without reacting much at all to what he was watching on the screen. Why is it that you can just sit there and accept it? It, it must be- If you trust Gentle that much, then you know the AoD wouldn't do it just to help you. They did it because you being out of jail was more important than those secrets. But I don't see how this is going to keep you out…

Midoriya was not the only one re-hearing things that Zach had once told him. "Villains are cowards." Sero gulped as he watched a villain explain all about one of King's old safehouses that had been transformed into a larger base. He talked about several of the world's Most Wanted villains at the time of filming who were not in Wampajawa and were using that safehouse. The villain was more scared of the Army of Death soldier standing in front of him with a rifle pointed at his forehead than he was of those renowned hero-killing villains at the moment. "…They prey on the weak and innocent, and run from heroes. I would threaten them with all sorts of scary things, and they wouldn't be able to see my own or any of my soldiers' faces so it kept an air of inhumanity about us. I made the villains feel like there was no way to reason with me." He threatened them with those things, but he also killed them! Someone he had captured- Again! Just like with Kurogiri… Even if that villain, deserved what he got. Sero finished in a more conflicted tone in his own head as he imagined the look of the villain taunting a girl Sero expected had also been at his mercy, even if she had survived him unlike her sister.

But no one should have this kind of power. The kind of ultimate power Zach's showing off here is beyond justice. It's just, terror. Psychological torture even if not physical. Sero stared at the screen confusedly and furled his forehead so it wrinkled up as he watched a villain deny some soldier in front of Gentle. Yet, so many of those villains are just getting knocked out and sent to prisons. Those soldiers could go farther and get the information- Is it morality? Is there even a line?! One they know that they wouldn't cross?!

Only minutes ago he found out about Seraphim, Yaoyorozu imagined the look on Zach's face as he talked about that woman when they were in China. He, just moved past it. So fast. Could he have done that with anyone? Even people like Gentle, or Darling even? I don't think he could… but the him back then?

The one who taught him how to block me out, Himazuri was thinking of the same woman that Yaoyorozu's mind was on. She was so amazing. I saw her through that fight. And I saw him take out all of those who tried attacking his mind. He could have done that to me. He almost did, by reaction alone. When I caught him off guard he nearly… If black smoke had blasted out of my eyes in class, everyone would have known. If he had reacted just a little more harshly! I almost- Guilt filled the girl already feeling sad at the thought of the woman she saw fight so brilliantly at Zach's side that day. Seraphim. One of his comrades who helped him win this day. A hero.

Zach's old Class 1 homeroom teacher did not know what to think of the interrogation he was watching. The speed at which the dark soldiers swept through the ranks was absurd. One of the villains said a few things about himself and what group he was in, but the Army of Death already knew more information than that which they knew he had access to as well. They called him out on it, putting him down with a dart and yelling at each other to drag him off to some 'Torture Land Gulag' that a dark soldier made up on the spot and laughed about before demanding information from the next villain in his line. 'And tell the truth this time,' the dark soldier whose face was hidden behind a helmet taunted, their voice modulated, impossible to tell if they were man or woman, or if they were even human.

Hazano shook his head and looked down as he listened to La Brava's voice in Gentle's headset, "Drag him to the holding position in Sector 8. We'll take all of the Velorent and the Mad Monkeys and leave them at the Velorent base in Nebraska that Argentos confirmed the coordinates of. Tip off the heroes only upon arrival there, should only need a single squad and slip out quick; they'll arrive when everyone's down. Set it up like a common drug deal gone wrong- No! Put Lee-Ming with Taiyo and his men. We have enough contacts in Mongolia who will just accept the credit. No need to set up a fake incident…"

They haven't slowed down for a second. They can't, not with all those prisoners there who will- Hazano's thoughts cut off in his own head as his reasoning frustrated him too much. They still killed hundreds. Thousands probably. Yet they captured thousands more, right? This is the "first" 500 that they brought out. And I recognized too many of the villains in this city who were famously captured by heroes. Ones who are not in this group of 500. And they are not satisfied with just those captures. They have caught many of the world's most wanted in a single day, and yet their only concerns are on the future. No matter how many have fallen. That man, Blackjack…

I knew that he would die in the battle. The villain who Sazaki trusted to take out the defenses in the Siege of Razmatan, Hachiman closed his eyes then rose his head back up and looked towards his former student who he had for a shorter time than any he had taught before. Only half of a semester. He looked at the boy who he had disagreed with that day for trusting someone especially with the Quirk that Sazaki accredited him with. It wasn't a lie. The lies he told, weren't all lies. That was just the way Sazaki had to tell the truth in order to stay out of prison.

He really put the lives of all his soldiers in the hands of one villain. He trusted him, with nothing to base it on! And, considering how close the battle was, Hazano looked towards his student in a more inspired and respectful way as he lost the lingering argument that he had held onto even after that conversation where Sazaki had explained how his comrade had saved them. Sazaki's decision to trust him may have won him the battle, and likely saved, Hazano flattened his lips out and pursed them together at the way he stopped that thought. He saved lives that day. Stopping that many villains globally. Stopping the Villericans. He undoubtedly saved innocent lives. And yet, he also just executed a man with no due process. No jury. No judge… He was all three. As they've called him, for years.

Gentle kept a close watch on his surroundings and over the huge crowd of villains who were speaking more with every one of the others who was dragged off to be sent to a gulag. His eyes scanned over the villains and past Death who had gone to some of the strongest ones out there to threaten personally. He looked by his other comrades, and he watched as hundreds of powerful villains from locations all around the world gave up where they were from and what groups they were part of that had people in Wampajawa.

"They're giving us everything."

"Multiple responses giving confirmation to at least 800 locations so far, thousands more individual responses for tips…"

"We're getting too much. This is only the first 500-"

"You two. Start getting the next five hundred ready. Can't let the conscious simmer for too long, and more are getting up."

"We don't have the transports yet for this group-"

"We have to move by sun-up. All or nothing. Right now."

The speaking got quieter in Gentle's helmet. The image started to fade to black.

When it faded back in, Gentle was walking across the front of a huge group of villains back to a larger size than it had just been when the video cut. None of the villains down on their knees were ones from the previous group of five hundred which suggested a new group had been brought out, or maybe that they were even past another group and much farther into the night now.

The Gentle Criminal was looking inwards towards the villains who had Army of Death soldiers marching through their ranks demanding information from hundreds of new faces. The bright lights shone down on them but still showed just a little bit past the clearing behind those lights, and when Gentle looked in he spotted a group of seven people doing a patrol on the outside of the lights running an identical pattern to what he saw before. A helicopter flew overhead, and Death yelled over the noise of it at the villains he was interrogating in as loud and commanding a voice as before the video cut.

Gentle walked through a dark gap between the lights and over to a couple of long tables set up next to each other. There were two people sitting at the longer table that had more computers on it. La Brava and Raylei were both quickly typing on the keyboards in front of them. A pair of black boxes on the screens also had moving white lines as Rampart and Rebel assisted the girls, and another box appeared for a second as Cherasaw reported in from a plane on the way towards Wampajawa. Half of his communication was bleeped out on the video as he mentioned how he was messing with Flight Control over Bleep bleep bleep. Gentle had continued to mask the location of Wampajawa itself throughout the video's post-fight aftermath.

As his old friend walked to this table on the recording, Zach thought about what Gentle had just turned away from in the clearing with a whole new group of villains back there. His eyes lowered from the screen he had been staring at like everyone else in the courtroom. I realized that the only way to get them to talk quick enough was to replicate the first time. Scare them more. 500 was too many that they felt they were safe in their numbers to stay silent, but we had to move so fast, and so I had to kill one person each time to show how serious I was. In Zach's head flashed images that Gentle did not show. He imagined a man's skull bashed in under his boot. Then he saw the slaver who he kicked in the face, and stomped on his throat, and grabbed him by his long hair that he pulled up while still stomping on his neck. A single hard tug that spiked his spine out of the side of his neck, as the man begged to God not to die. I tested which method of killing them was worst. The way to make them hesitate least to speak. That method, it worked well, and yet I went back to the drone after. I- I wish that pause I had then to be less brutal would have lasted through the world loop.

But after Wampajawa, in the weeks of the world loop after while we were so strapped for time, I continued that method. Kill one to quickly make the rest ready to talk. And it worked. And interrogation times cut down dramatically. And I saved more lives because of it, whether or not it was the right thing to do, Zach's eyes looked back at the screen and he worked as hard as he could to keep the darkness from spreading on his face. Whether or not I remember how terrifying I had to become in those days. It sped up my movement. Allowed me to keep up.

"Gentle," La Brava started when she glanced back and saw Gentle came over to check on them. He stopped behind the table and lowered a hand down to his side that he rubbed under the bottom of the camera angle but suddenly reminded people watching this how badly Gentle had been injured too. Some had even assumed that Death had revived him after the battle for Gentle to be moving around like this, but they all knew that Lifebringer's revivals healed all of a person's injuries so Gentle grabbing at his side there meant he had yet to die. As concerned as La Brava would normally be for her partner, she just looked back at the screen that she was dealing with and the map of the world on it that had national borders on it though only barely visible.

The map was so hard to make out, because there were red dots all over it. Raylei typed in a new address on the left of the two keyboards in front of her so the one closer to La Brava, and she plugged it in which made a new red pin drop down on the map on the screen directly in front of La Brava. The pin fell amongst so many others that it was impossible to see, and La Brava had to double-click on the screen then do so again to zoom in on western Europe. Once it was zoomed in enough like that, the borders became easier to see, but so did the individual markings on the map that were still so many that over a hundred were visible at once. At least a dozen in each of the larger European countries on the map.

La Brava tapped a button on her keyboard while speaking to Gentle, "The path of the Cloak has to stay straight or we'll be bouncing around too slowly. There are at least six locations already in this area that we should definitely have everyone there for. And another thirty at least that can't be done- or shouldn't be done by himself. All of the squads need reorganizing so I'm just basing it on a Squad 1 through 10 structure at the moment…" The button that La Brava pressed made names of villain groups as well as various different pieces of information to appear in small bubbles next to pins. Those bubbles would end in ellipses though for all the ones that had longer notes of information which would cover too much of the map if they appeared. Even what did pop up covered almost the entire map again, though La Brava clicked on a few of the bubbles in particular then tapped the same button on the keyboard that minimized the rest of the information and made the other pins smaller as they were un-highlighted.

Each of the bubbles that widened upon her highlighting showed small pictures of villains on wanted posters or their mugshots from previous arrests. There were pictures of them caught on cellphones or security cameras too. Next to their faces was information about their Quirks, their villain organizations, and the word 'Connections' in red that La Brava's mouse went over for a moment on one of them. As soon as her mouse went over the label, out from that pinpoint on the map shot a bunch of different red lines connecting to areas around the nation and over borders to different villain groups as well as cities. One of the corruption lines in France went straight towards Paris, and La Brava muttered in annoyance, "Even more of the Manguers D'Hommes keep throwing Chuvreaux under the bus. He's not the only one though." Her mouse went over to a different bubble and over a 'Connections' label on that one which shot ten times as many red lines away from a bigger villain group which was one of the ones La Brava had as a larger pin necessary for a full-group takedown. Those red lines shot to countries all over Europe that she was suggesting had leaders in league with villain groups.

"We'll deal with the corruption on the second run through," Gentle started with a hum. "It's less pertinent, though we'll send quite a few tips for the ones we are more confident of. Leave the others to shiver and potentially reveal their true intentions in their fear." Gentle leaned forward over his partner for a moment and put his right hand down over hers on the mouse, and her cheeks went red in her helmet as he moved the cursor over a bubble that illuminated as he clicked on it. "If you are on the current Squad 4 for individual assignments, I believe this would be a great position to have them surveil. Death could then follow this path," Gentle moved the mouse more and La Brava slid her hand away to allow him without it being as romantic anymore.

While the path of the Cloak was still on the monitor screen that Gentle's visor cam recorded, Gentle started a different line that had a lot more zigs and zags than the straight line it cut across. Gentle saw the different squad locations that La Brava had marked off the main path, and he connected them with a new line that also cut towards other red dots he re-highlighted with the black line cutting over the map. "A fifth squad will be here, and the first squad should have finished with clean-up and been able to arrive here on time. I do believe they need more than one squad to be here for him, and I will move in from the Cloak myself," Gentle hummed as he brought the cursor close to the line of the Cloak for the location he currently marked.

What is that line? Bakugo had sweat forming on his forehead as he watched Gentle bounce the cursor around without bringing up putting any other squads at several of the locations.

Raylei spoke in a low voice while helping the other two out, "We should try to get him to take a break after the coast-"

"Seriously?" Rampart remarked skeptically.

"On the first run through?" Gentle scoffed at the idea. Some people in the court's gallery frowned at the sound of Gentle's tone right there. They glared at the screen and the man who said, "We should be across the Americas before the end of the day after, though we can't hit everything as the line will need to run north to south. Instead of crossing the Atlantic, we'll go above the Arctic and down. Once we hit the cape, the cut across the Pacific will be a time to rest for all. He'll have to slow down, and there should be a few hours in there…"

I can't even tell at this moment that Zach's in charge, Midoriya thought in an uneasy way. It's more like they're considering him as some weapon. Or some unstoppable force they're just using, or something.

La Brava glanced to her right, and she nodded that way at Raylei who turned to see a man getting marched over by one of their other comrades. "Look who's finally conscious," La Brava said in a dark voice.

"This bastard finally woke up," Dead Silence growled as he shoved the prisoner in front of him.

"Focus, my dear," Gentle told her. She looked back at her own screen and continued plotting a course for the Cloak, now jumping ahead to the Americas they had yet to work on and had more red dots appearing every second as Rebel and Rampart were focused more on processing the confessions and interrogations going on behind them. Gentle refocused on those as well though as he heard coughing in his headset.

Gentle turned and glanced back towards the crowded illuminated area. Mark kicked a villain across the face then walked with Death away from the captive man who he aimed back at and fired a dart into without looking at him. They heard Mark's voice come over Zach's coughs, "Take a few minutes." Mark said it seriously to the teen who he thought would not listen to him without that tone. Zach knew that showing that weakness in front of the prisoners was foolish though, but he could not hold it back that time as hard as he had tried.

Zach walked towards the tables though where the very small support team was gathered at the moment. He marched towards Gentle and La Brava with just a short glance at the other shorter table that Raylei had rolled her chair closer to as the prisoner her comrade had dragged over was bent in front of her and next to a keyboard she slid to him. The two of them were threatening the villain they had brought over, but Zach focused on the path that La Brava showed him with a nod at the map. "We're working through all the information. There's so much to do though-"

"We leave at dawn," Zach said. He said it in a low voice and moved his right hand to the edge of the table that he curled his fingers into to steady himself for a moment.

La Brava spun and Gentle also turned quickly to him. Gentle started, "There are way too many of them here-"

"We have to go. Too many of the most powerful groups already know what happened here for sure. If word spreads too much, we'll be hitting empty bases and fortresses full of traps. We need to hit them hard, and now." Death spoke with assurance and just focused back on the map and more red dots that were popping up every second on a map already saturated with them. His red eyes darted all around it, zipping back and forth and examining everything that he reached forward to check. His right and only hand went to the keyboard and he typed slower than usual, "New arm?"

"I already requested it-" La Brava started.

"Have them incorporate the tech we send from here into new prosthetics. Lots of newly lost limbs for heroes and us that can be upgraded," Zach continued on without pausing for a second. "Multiple weapon research labs have been discussed by the prisoners. Target them specifically for the first spin of the coming world loop. We'll have to go around the world faster than ever, and nonstop," Zach said with a look towards Gentle and into his helmet with his glowing red eyes. "Nonstop," Death repeated. His voice was low but not scratchy or anything. He just said the word intensely to his comrade who could see nothing but glowing red eyes and shadows under Death's hood even from that close.

"These are all of the accounts," a scared voice whispered.

Death looked away from Gentle without waiting for a response from his comrade. "Oh that's very nice," Raylei said to the man who Dead Silence pushed harder forward then let go of which made the lanky villain start panting heavily as he jolted free. Raylei took control of the keyboard again and typed rapidly after the account was unlocked, and she pressed 'Enter' then leaned back and grinned as numbers on the screen went to zero in a couple of seconds. "Let's check how much that was total- whoo," her tone rose and she leaned her head back in an impressed way. "400 million in U.S. dollars."

Death stomped away from Gentle and La Brava right as Raylei said it. The gasping man who was looking anxiously at Raylei and trying to avoid looking at Death suddenly spun to the dark figure marching towards him. "W-Wait!"

Death's right hand snapped out and he grabbed the Banker by the throat. "Banker," Death growled at the villain in front of him. "You slimy fuck. They had you nice and guarded today." Death cocked his head to the side as he sneered it at the terrified villain in front of him whose expression of sheer terror was caught on Gentle's visor. That look got worse though as Death lifted him up by his neck and then slammed his back down onto the empty space on the table next to Raylei's equipment that made her reel back and grab her computer so it would not fall off the shaking table.

The Banker gasped but choked as Death gripped his throat tighter after slamming him down on the table like that. As injured as Death was, he slammed a grown man onto the table like he weighed nothing. Whether his wounds opened up under his dark cloak was unknown but many people suspected he did with the irresponsible movement. That was not what most of them were thinking about though as they gawked at Death who leaned down over the man's face. "$400 million? Do you think I'm an idiot?"

Death leaned his face down closer to the Banker's. "I-I'm not a villain. I-I'm just an accountant," the man stammered with tears in his eyes.

"I know," Death hissed in a menacing whisper at him. "You're nothing. But you work for some very powerful people. Now," Zach's right hand moved back and forth over the villain's neck he started rubbing. "Do you know what happens if I decide to slip one finger out of my glove?" He asked it in a disturbing voice. It was scary to see from close up. It made people feel shivers and pits in their stomachs at the sound of Death's threat and how not one person could tell themselves with any confidence that he was not about to do it.

The Banker's tears fell from his eyes. He opened his mouth and gasped out, "Please."

"I could kill you so easily," Death whispered down at him. "But that wouldn't be enough for a man like you. You sniveling coward," Death taunted. He loosened his grip then grabbed the Banker by his shirt and stood him back up off the table in front of him. The white man was on shaky legs and Death steadied him before saying in a calm voice that was somehow even more terrifying than how he was speaking a moment ago. "No, I'm going to send you to the same prison I sent King. Or maybe to Bolivar's. Someone who has a lot of money that you hold onto. And then I'm going to spread a rumor in that prison about how you talked."

"Wai- wha-" Banker's fear skyrocketed.

"Killing you? Sure, I could threaten you with that," Death continued to the shaking man in front of him who looked much more afraid of what Death was saying now. "But you and I both know that I don't know nearly as horrible tortures as those fuckers. When they think that you betrayed them?" Death wondered, and he sounded like he just smirked and laughed at the thought of it. "Oh man, I don't have the imagination to think of what they're going to do to you."

"Why?! Please- I don't want- You can't!"

"I can do whatever the fuck I want," Death snarled and leaned his head forward that made the Banker pull his back so much farther. Death had let go of his shirt, but he grabbed the Banker by the chin when the man tried to pull away. Zach yanked him back towards himself, then he said in a much darker and extremely serious voice, "So I will give you one last chance. I know exactly how much money you hold the access codes to. If you try to lie. If you try to hide the rest of it again in fear of them, I will know. So if I don't get that exact amount uploaded in this next, and last chance I am giving you, you will be killed by methods I am not evil enough to come up with. But they will know. Now, do it." Death turned his head and pushed him back towards Raylei who just leaned away to let the villain do what Death told him to.

The villain reached to the keyboard fast and opened up dozens of new tabs and banking accounts. A blue box on the side of the screen slid around and checked on what he was doing. Virus' voice went into Death's helmet, "He's initiating the wire transfers. He's… He's not finishing."

The Banker turned his head and glanced for help from his left. La Brava completely ignored him while Gentle stared silently through his helmet towards him. The Banker looked around desperately for assistance, even looking back towards other villains who were mostly giving up information as well without holding back as much as he was. He looked at Death though in a horror unlike any other as he found himself stuck between a rock and a loaded gun. "They'll kill me," he gasped out.

"They will never find you," Death retorted. He crouched and leaned closer to the Banker's head. "If you do this for me, I'll have you put in the most minimum security prison I can find. We'll change your name. Change what you look like. You can disappear into obscurity in witness protection. And though you will still spend your life in prison for what you've done, I will allow you to live." Death said the last part in no dark tone but just a compromising one. He did not sound to be talking in a softer way or one like he was trying to be friends with this man. However, he did sound to be telling the truth. He made the offer then leaned back, "Finish it. Give me everything. Bankrupt the world's villains."

Banker stared back into Death's pure red eyes. He did not know if he trusted Death to keep his word. Yet he had hope now, and he did believe Death would keep his word in the other direction at least with telling the worst villains in the world how he had bankrupted them.

"Put it in these accounts," Virus' voice came out of the computer screen this time. He was watching the Banker and knew the man was almost finished. Raylei did not have to do anything this time. Banker kept typing and then stopped as he had already plugged in the final codes and was now just working with the computer for the transfers, which Virus could handle much better and quicker on his own. "I'll take this," Virus remarked, and the windows started switching around and sliding all over the screen.

Zach stepped closer to the computer and he watched as Virus opened up an account of their own. "Let's see how much we've got…" Virus said.

There was no count-up to get to their amount. All of a sudden the transfers went through, and the account they were staring at had a number in it. "$42, billion," Raylei whispered.

"Haha, and there we go! I'd been feeling strapped for cash lately," Rebel remarked in a jovial tone through the computers.

"We're billionaires again," Virus agreed in also a smug and happier tone at the sight of the cash in their account.

"The entire Killmanjaro bank. Such a stupid system," La Brava said with a snort. Though, it did take Alpha longer than expected to get to him.

Endeavor and Todoroki were both watching in as much shock as most other people who just watched that go down. They had remembered like most others the talk about the "Banker" during the actual battle, but only now did they realize the significance of capturing him. It was when the blue window on the computer screen mentioned the word "again" though that both father and son thought of the same incident. They each remembered the bank they had visited after an Army of Death robbery, and Shoto's eyes shifted towards his father for a moment before his expression could steady again. Zach had billions of dollars at his disposal…

Zach's a billionaire?! Mineta thought. Then he clenched his teeth as that should not have surprised him, as he imagined a box full of stacks of cash that had been sent to him right after he got out of Tartaros.

"Hey Death check this place out," Virus started, and a picture of an island for sale on the internet popped up on one of the screens in front of him. "What do you think? There's a volcano on the island, but we could build a super volcano base-"

"I think a fleet of luxury yachts would be more fitting," Rebel countered with pictures of giant boats that popped up over the images Virus made appear.

"Stay serious," Zach scolded the other two who had never seen so much money in their lives let alone had access to it. He had not either, but he did not get flustered or even pause to take in the fact that they had tens of billions of dollars at their disposal now. "La Brava, start sending it around," Death ordered the woman next to him. She nodded and clicked down on a file on the bottom of her screen that opened up an entire cabinet-like bank of information spread across her screen. Dead Silence pulled the Banker back and the villain gazed anxiously at Death who had yet to confirm to him where he would be spending the rest of his days.

The dark figure leaning forward next to La Brava moved his hand forward as La Brava just slid the mouse around with her hand shaking at the order he just gave her. Her helmet twitched and glanced up to the side at Death, and Gentle was still just staring past them and at the massive number on the screen that even he was not expecting. Raylei could not find her voice and just turned to gawk at Death too at the order he gave like it was any other request and this was not some insane thing. The way they reacted made those watching feel slightly better that this really was not such a common occurrence despite Death moving straight through without hesitating.

"Put ten million aside. Get the rest out there," Death started.

Instantly, Rebel countered him, "You're going to need more than ten million for the resupply alone, and-"

"Do what I tell you to," Death said darkly. Then he continued speaking moving right forward without any argument this time.

"Open the list of terraformers," Death ordered the short woman next to him who was too unsure about what she should do first. La Brava moved her mouse quickly to a file that she clicked open and gave them a list. "Examples," Death continued. Her hands started moving quicker as he gave her commands, and La Brava made images appear next to the names of people on a list in their archives. There were Quirk names over images of time-lapse displays showing barren areas turned green. They watched as trees rose up out of the ground and grass spread. A different image showed sand turning to dirt. Another showed a blurred-faced man slamming his hands down into the ground and making the entire earth in front of him shimmer then start to grow barley out of it. "Alright, we'll start off with one million dollar salaries for single year contracts. Make a charitable organization and create their web page. Offer benefit packages as well."

"We'll need some new companies," Death added while looking away from La Brava for a moment to the screen.

"Got a whole list of shell names I've been coming up with," Rebel replied. "Generating imaginary CEO's…"

"Launder our money around a few times, make sure it's tax free and can't be tracked," Death ordered his team of hackers who were creating something beyond what anyone expected him to do with the money they just watched him obtain. "Let's get some security firms in here," Death said, moving his hand to La Brava's keyboard himself and typing away quickly too. "Any that appear too close to villainy need to stay in the light. Hire them to protect the terraformers in the more dangerous areas. As long as they have options in the light they'll stay out of my way."

"Bleep bleep's Quirk cannot maintain the oases he creates," La Brava started, getting back her confidence herself as Death did not slow and expected them not to either. "And there is no fresh source of water that his Quirk manages- but if we take Bleep as well…"

"Bringing easily accessible fresh water to places that have never had it coincides with the food security projects," Death responded to her. "Save those who can create fresh water for the larger works though. Filling aquifers and restoring ground water reserves. It's the supply chains that need the most assistance to prevent the need for mass terraforming that would take too many years to provide immediate solutions…"

"Commander, should we refill the accounts for the ocean waste separation-"

"Only create two new shells to funnel a maximum of ten million into each this time," Death countered. "Make some noise about them though. Get some positive press on it and create hashtags that hit companies contributing to the waste hard. Their billionaire presidents either contribute to the funds themselves or their PR will take a hit and they'll lose more than they could have offered. They'll change the practices either way if we hit their pockets hard enough…"

"Bring up existing housing development projects in the lowest income areas…"

"Sir. We have a hundred fake identities to use. Obituaries for them are lined up too if anyone digs too deep."

"Establish a line with the education department of Eritrea through legitimate sources. Their new Quirk laws are teaching to students but the teachers aren't all heroes. Get them to either have the teachers certified or hire heroes for those courses."

"We need watchdogs to ensure the prevention of villain training in Congo, Gorran, Russia, and Panama too. UN funding on the issue is blocked up and those education systems need the funding-"

"Going through the governments will be too slow. Just have some fake eccentric rich boys off inheritance alone offer grants to public education systems-"

"What about the special election between Reyes and DeLaney in Texas? It's on Friday and DeLaney's close in the polls-"

"If they want the education system to change to train Quirks that's up to them. Keep watch on it though and if Reyes wins get ready to protect the changes from manipulation. I won't allow the progress to be twisted..."

"Take four hundred thousand and keep these food banks from shutting down. The mass increase in food supply won't happen faster than people will continue to need this kind of place. Funnel nine hundred thousand to incentives for the waste inspection teams along the Dankski River and five- no, six hundred thousand to management efforts and NGO's already cleaning it. The land is poisoned there and- check if we have any Quirks on file from anywhere that we could send a purifier-"

"Death, we've got this," La Brava started to the man next to her. He was micromanaging down to the hundreds of thousands when they had billions to spend. His orders were hard to track and yet he had enough people working with him who were great with computers or in the computer who were keeping up with him. They were actually starting to move faster than he could. Death was watching as problem priorities they had focused on but never had the massive surplus of wealth to deal with were popping up in front of him for him to make decisions on, but some of those decisions were occurring quicker than he was making them. He looked into La Brava's eyes to check if she was sure, but she nodded at him and said, "I'll move it all. They need you back there."

"Anything over five million give me the final confirmation." His eyes rose back from her to the computer screen as he watched their massive wealth start to finally drop down decimal points from the 42 billion they had initially. His eyes locked on the map where NGOs and their own fake companies mixed. Shell companies popped up on the screen then closed down as all the accounts going through them were emptied to completion. Money was transferred across dozens of accounts in different banks to companies to individuals with fake identities. The money was untraceable and none of it was just going into storage. It was all being spent as soon as Death got his hands on it. He stared at the screen where an issue he had focused on appeared over central Asia, "We've taken down the Armed Mancinos here so they're no longer a problem, but they stole tens of millions from people there and destroyed hundreds of millions in property damage."

"Figure out who didn't have any insurance of the people who got screwed over," Death ordered. "Fund their reconstruction efforts and get them back on their feet. Then get which insurance companies didn't fuck their customers. Trustworthy ones that got fucked for this… alright, there should be a housing development project in the area someone's suggested since, and of course it doesn't have the funding to get those poorer people homeless for the moment inside yet. Let's get them all in those houses and buy them insurance from these companies, reimburse them through legal means and then keep a close watch on how the construction goes so there's no need for the insurance to have to pay any out again in the coming decades-"

"Death, these two aren't talking."

"Impundulu won't say a thing. I'm getting a little nervous holding him here."

"Death, there are over a thousand awake in the holding areas. We need to get the next 500 out already-"

"Shit! Death, the roads getting out here aren't- I'm sorry. One of the trucks just spilled off the road. The driver's alright but the vehicle's in disrepair."

"Have the bodies of the generous donors cremated and their ashes scattered no matter who it is. Don't leave any physical record of their existence but make them appear as if they could have existed," Death ordered, taking another step back from the computers as he had another dozen jobs to do. It looked like he wanted to stay here though and keep micromanaging these efforts. As he had been speaking, he sounded excited and in his voice was a cockiness and victorious tone that made people staring at him watch in pure amazement at the sight of him.

"Eliminate world hunger. Make water insecurity a thing of the past. Remove the impetus for crime, and build a lasting peace. And use the villains' money to do it," Death finished like he was smirking while turning back to the Banker who gawked towards Death only to spin in disbelief at the response from the support table and those on the other side of the screens.

"Understood, Commander!"

The same people who had just watched Death so menacingly threaten the Banker with a fate worse than Death, watched that same terrifying man construct a safer and better world. The things he talked about went so above and beyond any hero activities that it made the heroes in the courtroom who had spent their lives trying to make the world better feel inferior to the teenager they were watching.

That's- that's not- Dendo's eyes shook as he stared at the screen after listening to all Gentle had just recorded. His fists curled over his legs in disbelief, He had a grip over everything. His power stretched to every corner of the world! Controlling it all with money?!

"You can do good without a single yen to your name. But you can always do more good, with money," others in Zach's Shiketsu class heard his voice echoing in their minds. They could see themselves sitting around a table at lunch listening to him talk about things so confusing to them but that he said with such confidence that they were true. Reika, Kotsumura, Flugeru, and Manzo all could picture the look on his face as he described the good that could be done with an excessive amount of money. "I could go out right now and stop a villain from beating on a homeless man, or I could stop that fight and give the homeless man some spending cash to get back on his feet, buy a suit and go to a job interview. That's a simple example but it all kind of works the same way…"

I didn't understand what he meant by it all works the same way, Kotsumura thought with sweat all over his face. Even as Zach tried to explain it to him on a more macro scale than just helping out individual homeless people, Kotsumura could never wrap his head fully around what Zach was telling him. "Stopping villains is good and all, but that rarely stops the root problems that face society."

I told him that that was just the way things are, Reika thought. Her heart-rate was skyrocketed as she imagined how she had just shut him down on talking like he could fix those things that existed to the roots of their world. He didn't care about the way things are though. He just- he's so-

Amazing, Principal Memuria watched her former student who she had expelled. All of her fellow faculty and the students who were in class the day of Zach Sazaki's term report remembered what he had told them that day about the very charities he was creating in the shadows.

"And there are ways we can address it now and see that those problems do not come to pass! With these advancements will come other gains as well. No need to worry about the poor going hungry, as there are charity groups currently terraforming deserts with special permissions from governments in the Middle East, Africa, North America, and in China and India. Various people with Quirks that can create grass, plant seeds, grow trees and forests, make it rain and fill lakes! Those people are working to change huge swaths of land in projects that don't have much publicity but are working hard to bring excesses of food to places there haven't been before."

Kimona sat in shock at the sight of the origin to charities that he had looked into after the report Sazaki had made. He had wondered about the charities the boy mentioned because he had never heard about them before. I didn't even notice anything suspicious. Not at all, the pro hero could not believe he had not been able to see the criminal dealings behind such things that he had looked into. Or, is it that they're not criminal at all? Sazaki had his people paying for a year's worth of salaries at most- this was last March. It's April. Is nothing we're watching here connected? Anything they don't bleep out for the video, is something they're assured won't be able to be tracked back to them or ruin any of their- they're so powerful! So far advanced!

"They are not non-profit, but rather new, experimental 'charities.' Ones no one would have heard of before a year ago because that's when they were created. And since they are so new, it is hard to determine whether or not they will work yet so I don't see that it's strange it would not be considered 'news.'"

Inasa knew now why it was they had never heard about these things before Zach told them about it. He told us how these charities were meant to stop world hunger and do so many amazing things, but I also believed the reasons he gave for why we had never heard of them! It wasn't that though. He just hid it. He hid them. He hid everything he did! I- I don't get why.

All the funding came from Death, Yaoyorozu thought while smiling right at the back of Zach's head in front of her. That's why no one ever heard of it. No celebrities funneling money in publicly to help themselves along with the charities. It's just turning money from villains' into money to feed the hungry. And not just to give them food, but provide for them the means to get their own food in the future. He never just does one thing.

Every step is looking 100 moves into the future, Midoriya thought without feeling surprised at the idea of it at all. He could picture Zach talking about his leaked report from their first year and expected nothing less as he wondered how much good could come from all Zach had just done. I always knew that was how he acted, so to do it on this wide a scale? And he spent so much time telling me about how horrible so much of what he did was…

This is why we beat Class A, Muoko thought. How much higher the stakes were for him. I watched him from day 1 and could see it as he turned our class into a force able to take down Class A behind him. A general who turned us into better heroes, because he wants us to better save people. That's what I see he had done in those two months he was with us. I understand the reason now. He's just that kind of person, to do something like that for no other reason than to make the world better.

As Death finally turned back to go assist with the arrogant villains in this group of 500 who did not want to talk, Dead Silence started taking away the Banker who he assured would actually be getting the special treatment Death promised him. The Army of Death did not want to just knock out all the villains who were not talking yet, because many of those were the most dangerous ones who had the locations of other very dangerous villains they were searching for. Before Zach could even walk back to the force fully, one of the men closest to the side of the clearing pulled his head aside from the barrel of a rifle a dark soldier threatened to shoot from, and the broad-shouldered villain with a menacing look on his face shouted the Banker's direction, "That was our money you fucking dead man!"

The villain who had super hearing shouted towards the Banker when he was brought semi-close to them. The Banker turned and stared with huge eyes that someone had heard him give it away to the Army of Death, and he begged Dead Silence to go kill that villain right now. The tied-up villain down on his knees darted a look to Death who turned and started on a straight line towards him, and the man roared out, "You think you're going to get away with this?! Every fucking villain in the world's going to be coming for you-"

"LET THEM COME!" Death roared down at the man whose face shook as much as he tried to keep it leaned forward at his enemy. Death glared at the orange-skinned villain's rough face. The man grit his teeth and glared back in a furious way at him, but Death's teeth ground back and forth too at the expression the man showed him. "You took that money from the rest of the world! You stole it first, I'm just taking it back."

"You think I'm afraid of all those you claim will come for me?" Death wondered at his enemy in a taunting but also much more intense tone. He stepped through further into the lights and Gentle looked more back fully towards him from the woman at his side who continued redistributing the villains' wealth across the world. She was in the middle of sending relief efforts to areas damaged by recent flooding and earthquakes, including Qingxiao where the people watching the livestream a year in the future could only cry out their love for Lifebringer even more.

Death looked around at all the villains still on their knees in this area. There were over a hundred of them still conscious and refusing to give up any information but who the AoD had not knocked out yet as their confessions were too important. "That was the whole point," Death remarked. "Take your money, and I'll force the rest out of hiding. Drag them from the shadows whether or not you give me their locations. I'll find them anyway!" Death yelled, and he shouted tauntingly at his enemies, "Because they won't be able to stay hidden when they've lost everything they have. They'll get sloppy, and I'll find them, and you know I will. So you'll hide what you know, and what I already know from what all those other cowards have already told me, and I'll drop you into a hole in the ground to spend the rest of your days in fear. A pitiful fate you've chosen for yourselves for no reason other than pride and a false sense of honor that you know, in your hearts, is just an excuse to cover up your own fear."

"And you are afraid," Death continued, snapping his head to one side and glaring at a group of villains on their knees close to each other who were mostly keeping their mouths shut because the others around them had kept quiet. "Afraid of the heroes who will continue to track you down and arrest you in higher numbers than ever before. Afraid of me, as I hunt you to all corners of the Earth and rip you from every shadow! And you're afraid of them! Because they're getting too strong for you," Death sneered at his enemies in such a taunting and cocky way.

"People are getting too strong for you. Regular people are training all around the world because they're sick of you filth," Death's voice got louder and he spoke down to the losers in front of him. "They're training to protect their families, their homes, their children, and themselves! They are so much stronger than you are!" He yelled it in a tone as if laughing that they thought themselves strong in the least just by managing not to reveal all the information he was asking for. "That's why you're hiding here in the shadows and they're not! They would stand against you if villains attacked again, and… and so many of them would die." Death's voice lowered and enraged as he seethed it at the villains with his voice echoing over the speakers again.

"Because they're so brave, they'd die to protect what they care about. Something you villains could never understand!" Death yelled. "And if they knew you were here, they would have attacked with hundreds of thousands. With millions!" Death screamed. "So many would have died. So many heroes would have fallen if they came, and people would lose the things they look to: the heroes who have been making this world so amazing, who have been beating villains back all this time." Death's chin bowed and he grit his teeth then growled, "If they died in large numbers here, it would shake the public's faith in them… So instead, Death came!"

He yelled it at the mass of villains before him who stared back with wide eyes at their enemy's reasoning he yelled out in confidence that forced the idea into their heads. The courtroom was silent as Zach shouted this on the screen with a bloody shirt wrapped around his face and a body that should have barely been functioning hidden under his cloak. Death yelled out though with no sign in his voice of the injuries he had sustained, "Because people are ready to fight you in the streets, but they will never have to! They're going to keep getting stronger which is perfect because villains will never be able to rise again when regular people who are so much stronger, so much better than you, are protecting themselves! But I'll never make them prove it to you. I'm going to stop you villains before that day comes when all the people of the world are ready to face you themselves, because if villains came to fight those people, villains would lose, but many of those great people would die."

"Making children into orphans. Hurting too many people with their deaths," Death's voice started raising again. His tone got angrier but as convicted as any voice he had spoken in all day. "Shaking the peace that they so desperately want again- and I WON'T LET YOU DO THAT TO THEM!"

"Hell yeah we won't," Grabble growled in agreement from a light he stood at, aiming his rifle down towards Impundulu's head as were two others near him who watched the leader of the Grootslang as closely as possible. He grinned like those other two who watched Impundulu so closely though, because they could see the look on even that villain's face was shaken from what Death had said to them.

Impundulu was responsible for the CHAF bombing. He had killed the entire Combined Hero Attack Force. In February, more heroes had been killed than any other month of all of the Age of Villains. King had hired villains to kill heroes. By all accounts, the drop in numbers of heroes should have resulted in fewer stopped villain incidents and fewer villains captured. There were only a couple of explanations for how heroes had managed to stop record-breaking numbers of villains in March, and how in April that record of arrests was shattered again despite a huge drop in villain incidents as well. Impundulu knelt there in front of those who had actually stopped the mass-hero-murdering villain, and his eyes shook as Death's speech convinced him too much. No matter how many heroes he killed, no matter how many Army of Death members he eradicated, it meant nothing if regular citizens themselves were capable of what Death was suggesting. All those actions meant nothing.

"Now you will answer my questions," Death said as he stepped up directly to one villain who had been defiant but mainly because others around him were also able to keep their mouths shut and he felt safe in numbers. "Because you must know that I will win this war either way. You're an imbecile if you don't realize that. Trying to fight for a losing cause is one thing if you actually cared about the cause. Tell me, what is your cause? What do you really care about?" Death leaned down in front of the villain's face and his red eyes flared as he looked into the man's soul. "If the answer is your own life, then tell me what I want to know. Because if not, you're acting contradictory to your own interests for nothing. No purpose. No reason. Just stupidity and arrogance."

Gentle looked back from Death at the woman next to him when one of the villains over there next to Mark suddenly started telling him all about the Old Skool Greasers. She could hear it transferred directly to her to deal with, as others behind the computers and at her side needed to deal with the other responses from villains who all started speaking at the same time.

The soldiers the villains found themselves up against were not normal villains and neither were they heroes who were fighting just because it was their job. The kind of conviction Death displayed showed them how weak their own resolves were and how little they wanted to stay in this fight against someone like him who would shout all that in such confidence. They wanted out. They wanted to not be against him anymore. The City of Villains was already destroyed. None saw any further reason that they should fall completely with it.

Every word out of his mouth, Shoji thought in awe at the change in demeanors of all those villains who started talking. Death's own troops were getting the information out quicker and his support teams were dealing with that information and processing it for them to manage in the future. Shoji could see the map getting even more saturated in red pins of villain locations that the Army of Death had to search and attack. No wonder so many people followed him. Shoji pictured Zach stepping out of the War Boys base that he had located against all odds. He succeeds where no one else can. Using methods that, that no one else would consider.

Zach really feels that way, Tetsutetsu thought. His head tilted back and he crossed his arms, thinking back on the time Zach presented his first year report to their classes. He thinks regular people would all be heroes if they had a chance. Death felt that way too. So he never stopped believing in it. That's, really… cool.

Every time Zach starts speaking it's like, it's like I can barely breathe, Uraraka stared at her classmate on the video who Gentle glanced back towards as Death personally started to interrogate Impundulu about other members of the Grootslang who were not in Wampajawa at the time of the attack, as well as other powerful groups they had aligned with. Uraraka thought of Zach standing before the Capos and their army of villains at the end of the battle he had somehow come out of the victor. He had no chance and won anyway. Everything he shouted about defeating them when it looked like it was over and he really did it.

When he slipped up and mentioned what Egypt looked like after the CHAF explosion, he gave away that he had been there. I got so mad at him for that, because he was there protecting people in a time of so much chaos! And this? THIS?! How could no one have ever seen this? How could no one know it existed?! Uraraka felt everything she knew was thrown on its head, and yet the video continued showing more and more snippets of Death's deeds that got more insane by the minute. The Gentle Criminal is showing us all of this now for a reason. But if he never did, then we never would have known any of it. We would have been oblivious forever and never have known what he did… Uraraka's eyes started opening even wider somehow as she listened to the short partner of the Gentle Criminal speaking at his side.

"…The backlog of information is going to take weeks to fully get out there," La Brava complained. "We need to start calling in tips to the heroes now."

"We need to filter through them all first and figure out where we can call in the tips," Rampart muttered frustratedly back. "Not enough information on too many to just blindly send them in-"

"Well we have enough on hundreds to make the calls," La Brava snapped at him. "Just start making them-"

"La Brava slow down," Death ordered. She glanced over her shoulder towards her commander who stared her way and made the slightly older woman take in a deep breath to calm down. "You focus on the disbursement of the cash alone. Command, Raylei, start with the 'anonymous tips' between processing new information. Have it go on simultaneously, and contract out to any willing parties to avoid using bots they'll be able to notice. Rampart's right though, keep the tips only on the lowest levels right now. We need to more carefully process which locations heroes might face some danger before sending them in."

Death moved back towards the support tables as the clearing emptied of more and more of the remaining villains his other comrades were working through. The map in front of Gentle that he had zoomed in on himself to check a single nation in Asia's red dots, numbered over 60 locations inside their narrow borders from what quick counters could tell when they looked at it too. "We already had a ton of hits before Wampajawa, but we've so far tripled how many mandatory targets we need to do personally," Gentle said in a low voice to the man who stepped up behind him. "By the time we reach too many of them they'll already be empty if we don't allow heroes to take on more-"

"Don't call in anything above a potential danger level B," Death said back to Gentle who frowned at him for that response. "Though most B's we cannot risk without at least nearby proximity to me, or a joint effort that we'll try to stay in the shadows for so they don't see us."

"You're slowing us too much when we need to be moving faster," Gentle argued.

"It won't slow us down," Death countered right back. "We'll just have to move faster to hit even more of them. Gentle, too many have fallen." Death walked up to his comrade and stared into his visor from straight in front of him. "Any more fall and this stretches out longer. And we have to fight harder. Though we're already at the point of no return. This is it," Death looked back forward and stepped past Gentle to be closer to La Brava and the support team trying to manage so many different things at once. The new information they were receiving, the money they were trying to distribute to charitable causes, and now the "tips" that Death started telling his soldiers to deal with as well.

"Open up police precincts and hero agencies," Death ordered, and blue and green pins emerged all over a map that still had the red pins on them. "Now filter out all that we've had close contact with before. Remove any agencies of heroes who have investigations into suspicious tips, and keep out anyone with too close of ties to our ADTF pursuers." Blue and green dots vanished all over the maps as his comrades used algorithms and maintained a level of safety and anonymity in their process.

"Some of these areas have too many locations all at a level you shouldn't waste time at yourself," Rebel said, zooming in on a section of the map where some drug dealers had given away dozens of their lower dealers as well as various chains of production and supply in the areas to such a local level that it was not worth the Army of Death's time. "Should we just find a friendly hero-"

"Just change up the format of the calls enough. Make them believable," Death ordered. "Now we've never had this much information at once before. Make sure not to send too much information to any individual precinct. One or two and done. Remove them from the board." Death started tapping his fingers on the table next to La Brava while his red eyes darted back and forth along the monitors. "Intermingle the locations we'll leave unconscious villains at with more detailed tips on the weaker villains whose locations we'll send heroes to without any support. The heroes will be continuing their own work at the same time though so keep an eye on that and make sure not to overload them. I'll take on any excess. With so many unconscious villains appearing all over the heroes are going to notice. The media will take too much attention, so we'll need real 'anonymous tips' thrown in as well."

"A couple people have actually-"

"We need more than that. Can't leave it up to chance," Death countered Raylei on his right. "We'll set up dozens of actual tips on our own. Search social media for people with the kind of personalities to make the tips. Vocal backers of the movement. Then narrow it down to those who have the Quirk-abled means to obtain the information and see if they call it in when we let them hear it. We'll push the media towards them and make it international news. Make sure the global trend looks legitimate…"

What did he just say!? Jirou's jaw hit the floor.

Tokoyami's heart raced and yet he found himself feeling less surprised by this than most everything he had already seen. As convincing as he made things, heroes are perceptive. They don't just operate in single areas and jurisdictions. In Italy and in America, I saw it with Hawks. Tokoyami's eyes shifted to Midoriya who was staring in shaky amazement at the screen too despite all he already knew. We saw it together when the Italian heroes took that tip so graciously and without really looking into where they got it from. They knew the Army of Death was helping, but they didn't want to look into it too deeply. After all, if that was a common occurrence, but the AoD were everywhere, then just how massive would their enterprise have to be? Even thinking about it like that would have been intimidating. So they all just accepted it. We did.

"Too many thousands of villains will be discovered unconscious in the next few days," La Brava started in a low voice. "There's no way we'll be able to hide it all-"

"We will if it's not just the next few days," Death countered her. She glanced back at him but he was serious and continued, "All of these locations will continue to get us thousands and thousands of more captured villains every day. The rate at which they're captured will reach heights never seen before. Far higher than the rest of this month. We'll pick up the speed twice as fast- three times even. I can do it," Death said with a glare towards Gentle who opened his mouth and did not even get out a word yet. "And when so many villains are being captured by heroes in actual fights at the same time, there won't be any time to focus on us. Too much will occur in the light for anyone to be distracted by the shadows. The anonymous tips will look real to anyone not searching for the pattern. They'll all find it weird but they won't notice the pattern if they're not looking all around the world. The ADTF will see it but they'll be too slow to keep up. We'll just leave a trail to help Endeavor and those guys as best as possible…"

Endeavor put his hand on his forehead and lowered his gaze in an embarrassed way. Literally just running us around.

The rest of the ADTF felt similarly emasculated as Death talked about their group tracking them to try and arrest them in such a carefree tone. The way he added how he was actively trying to assist them did not surprise any of the members who had captured far too many villains during their travels hunting down the Army of Death to deny it was true. So often in tracking the Army of Death they had been led directly to enemies who the Army of Death apparently trusted them enough to take care of, though some of them wondered now if in their hardest fights the AoD were not hiding nearby ready to come out and save them or for Death to revive them should things have gone wrong.

"Make sure we're not on track to work with any group of heroes or station more than twice, three times if it's indirectly. Don't let any of the patterns become noticeable. Go to eastern Texas," Death ordered, and La Brava zoomed in on a part of the map she clicked over to rapidly to try and keep up with him. "There have been too many tips here already. This is the first location to look for pro-tip activists. Get several notices out there. Deal with the lower Villericans' groups we found out there first through some assisted tips, and try to get that within the next two days before we drop the Villerican arrest. There won't be any proof that it's connected to those lower tips but people will make assumptions and there'll be speculation that the 'anonymous tips' led to the arrest of Redfox. After that no one could doubt the legitimacy and efficacy of the tips."

Death sounded like he started smirking as he came up with a foolproof method to convince everyone of his lies. Raylei and La Brava started typing quickly to input algorithms and locate people to assist them unknowingly in their conquests. And Death spoke behind them, "It won't ever stick as an actual societal change otherwise. People will become suspicious in the coming days with the influx of tips about to hit, if we don't have some civi's out there talking publicly about how they were 'inspired' to help the movement. To help reduce the activity of villains." Death narrowed his eyes at the screen, "Deceive them all."

How can that be real? Kerushi thought with a look next to him to see if Dendo or Flugeru believed it.

Trabo ran his hands up through his hair. For a while now he had stopped doubting what he was watching, but again that doubt filled his mind. This can't be…

He tricked the whole world, Kotsumura thought. And after he came back he tried to lie more but, Kotsumura's eyes shook and water filled them. He lied about the Colosseum. He kept trying to call it that, but he told me about the Pit. Kotsumura thought about his friend losing it in the bathroom the day their whole class had confronted him and he himself had attacked Zach over not saving Ireni. That place was real. The marks on his neck, just like all those other people- Kotsumura bit down hard and sucked a breath through his nose as he tried to stay quiet and keep watching how this ended.

He really had that much power? Sato wondered, finding it hard to wrap his head around it fully yet. He was making hashtags trend, and directing the media- He had heroes and police moving to his step! And no one ever caught on! No one did! They had to come out and tell us… That's suspicious though. Like, did they keep it all quiet just so that they could do, this- for what reason though? Why would that have- why not just do it back then if they were going to do it at all?! Why get hunted down all that time if what they were really doing- Sato's eyes darted to the back of Zach's head for a moment then the back of that same head on the video screen. If all you were really doing, was, was… I don't even know how to describe it! But it's unbelievable.

"Get the last of them out of here."

"Couple hardasses in this group. Won't say a thing."

Death started back towards the clearing, but he did not rush towards one of the kneeling villains to threaten them. "We're short on time. Just, get them out of here."

"Well now, you fools get to go straight to the worst of the gulags- hey, I wasn't finished with that."

"There's no one to pretend for. Just knock them out and help get the next five hundred…"

The remaining villains under the lights were shot full of drugs. Dark soldiers moved to drag them away, and a truck drove up between two of the huge lights with the back of it opened up still and awaiting more prisoners to be loaded in. The back of the vehicle was already full of people strapped down and unmoving. In the sky overhead, the noise of a huge cargo jet lowering towards the slightly reconstructed airfield of Wampajawa could be heard on its descent.

"At this pace we're not going to finish by sun-up."

"Sir, heroes in Bleep have noticed some of the flights coming this way."

Gentle looked away from La Brava and over his shoulder towards Death who was confronted by multiple different problems at once. The teen had just grabbed a villain under his armpit though and was dragging the man off towards the truck to hand him off, and he answered his comrades' questions and gave orders of what to do to respond to their issues at the same time. Death rose his only arm and coughed into it a couple of times before gripping onto the side of the truck he just handed off a villain to his comrade standing in the back of. Death's head bowed, and he growled to cut off another cough before answering someone over comms instead of the soldier behind him who just asked if he was okay.

As Gentle was staring towards Death, he also noticed some of the others who finished dragging off villains or who lowered their weapons because the current batch of prisoners was finished. Two standing at the closest light to him crouched down and one fell from his crouched position onto his butt. Gentle rubbed his side then started looking back for La Brava who he was going to help for a little as she was one of the ones who did not have a break at the moment. He heard two people talking to his side though and realized Rebel put their voices in his helmet too.

He looked back in the direction of the medical tent and past one dark soldier who just turned to his friend coming up behind him. The injured man who just left the medical tent continued muttering, "…Yeah, I'm fine. Better than," his head turned a little and he glanced back out through his visor towards the medical tent. He looked back towards his comrade and said in a dark voice, "Gregor just…"

"Should I get Death?"

"That was his second time today," the one who just left the med tent responded with a shake of his head. He walked farther from the tent and up to his friend who cursed under his breath before hunching forward and grabbing his knees frustratedly and in exhaustion.

"How, many is that now?" the one who just grabbed his own knees whispered.

"Seventy-nine." The one who came out of the med tent replied, making the other snap his head to the side fast. "I was working through it," he answered that quick head-snap from his friend who did not really think his comrade knew the actual number.

"79?" The other whispered in shock. He stood back up and stared in a shaky way at his friend who nodded once slowly. "That's more than half of…"

"Yeah. And that's just our own. Reinforcements came out even worse…"

Half? Zach's eyes lowered from the screen in front of him and to the defense table. He stared down past his fists that uncurled as he stared through them. Half. It was… half?

"…And half of those left are back there," the one who just left the medical tent muttered. "We have to, nnh- we gotta keep going," he started walking forward again and tried to stand up straight as he did, but he winced midway through his sentence and groaned as he walked by his comrade who had bowed his head and was just panting and gasping for breath.

They can all barely stand, Hagakure's lip trembled as she watched the scene.

Gentle turned his head and looked away from those two. He looked back towards the more illuminated clearing that was empty at the moment. What those two soldiers had just been talking about accentuated everything all those watching had already come to understand. It was not until the talk of the actual numbers did they really see it though. As they looked at around twenty to thirty dark soldiers in the area in front of Gentle, they realized that this was it.

Most of those who Gentle just looked towards were barely standing anymore. Holding up such powerful appearances in front of the huge groups of 500 villains was a struggle for every person who had spent the entire day fighting. They were intimidating groups of villains more than ten times as large as their own forces. As Death himself was walking back in Gentle's direction, he glanced around too and saw too many of those who were supposed to be going and getting the next 500 were just standing around or sitting on the floor. He opened his mouth but froze as he looked to his right and watched as a woman wobbly on her feet reached to her side to grab the post of the huge light.

Her hand grasped at air. She was falling forward already and just grabbed at air as she tripped and fell…

Death was at her side. "Flare," Death said. He caught her with his right arm under her chest and he lifted her back up to be steady on her feet. He held her by a shoulder and shook her a bit so her helmet would look towards him and he could look his red eyes straight into her visor. His red eyes even dimmed from the glow to just be red in the irises, and he stared into the woman's helmet that finally stopped bobbing around as much to steady and focus on him. "I need you to wake up. Keep standing and get ready for-"

"C-Commander," Flare whispered. Her voice cracked as she spoke the word, and her helmet bowed slightly as she said it. Gentle started walking closer to them but froze as Flare gasped out, "I can't-"

"It's okay," Death told the woman who sounded so pained. "If you need a moment-"

"No I- this is… I can't keep…" Flare stopped herself as she stared back into Death's eyes looking at her expectantly and hopefully. She had to turn away, but she gasped out again and started panting heavier. Some of those Gentle could see still seated bowed their own heads, and they were gasping and panting too as they heard what Flare was saying. Mark wanted to go get the next 500 out here, but if this was how the Army of Death looked when they brought them over, the villains would surely try to escape and attack them all.

Flare panted a few more times then looked back up at Death who was still watching her. She flinched, and she bit down with a dart of her head both ways to see other people looked even worse than her. She spun back and said in a voice on the verge of tears, "We can't all keep going like this." Her voice was hurt as she told her leader it, but she looked into his eyes from an arm's length in front of him and then whispered, "I can't. I'm scared… I- I don't want to die again, and we can't do this. We can't-"

"Flare." Exodus began.

Death lifted his right hand towards Exodus who stood more in the clearing than anyone. Most others were just behind the lights or over at the computers, somewhere in the shadows to make it harder to see how badly they were hurting right now and how much they were struggling just to stand. Death lowered his arm. His head turned from Flare and he looked over towards a group of three dark soldiers who managed to keep standing but were some of the only ones who looked actually sturdy on their feet and strong enough to go for another round of this. His head turned the other way and he shifted his gaze over another ten, fifteen dark soldiers as he faced towards the computers and saw Raylei and La Brava look back towards him too. He then turned and his red eyes without a glow in them at all just stared towards Gentle's visor, then he looked past and at two other men slightly farther than Gentle too.

"We're stretched so thin." Another dark soldier behind Death as he made that turn started. "Death, we need to stop for a minute and-"

"A single day," Death whispered. He cut himself off but he shook his head and then started louder, "If we took even a single day… Do you know what happens?" He bit down himself behind the shirt over his face, then he started harshly, "When word of the fall of Wampajawa spreads across the underworld, the strongest of those whose locations we currently have will be the first ones to pack up and abandon their bases. There is no time to stop. No time to lick our wounds, or to mourn the fallen." His head snapped back to Flare for a moment and he stared her down intensely, "Because the second we do that, we give up the opportunity. We give up the momentum. And we're already not going to get all of them. Already, I'm sure, there are those out there who heard about the attack on Wampajawa and have spent the day building new bases that no one here knew the location of. Triakuza. Pueblos. Amaterasu and Fergus! They'll all slip away, and we'll struggle and fight to find them while at the same time fighting all the others who did not disappear!"

"But this time, we bankrupted them. We took from them their cash flow." Death continued on in a dark but louder voice, "They won't be able to hide for long! They know, that this is the turning point. As much as we do. With the fall of the City of Villains, they know that they have to do something now. That we're too strong to ignore or they'll be taken out one after the other, until none of them are left!" Death yelled. He coughed after shouting it out, but he cut himself off after only one cough then stood up straighter and glared around at his comrades, a few of whom stood up when he looked their ways. "They will come for us," Death informed them.

"They will hit us harder than we have ever been hit. I don't know when. I don't know how, yet." Death paused then said in a much darker tone, "But they will be the ones who come for us next time. All those who escape us on this world loop. As we circle the world over and over in the coming weeks to hit every group of villains, in every country, on every continent! We will find base after base empty. They will disappear, and they will gather together and organize again. But this is the last time." Death added that and looked back to Flare in front of him, then turned his head and looked behind him at another man who was just trying to talk about stopping for a little. "This is it. This is the endgame. The final push!"

"And if we miss a single day! Out of our schedule," Death paused for a second then shook his head back and forth. "Hundreds more villains may escape in that day from the locations we know about. Thousands could." Death whispered that last part that made so many of the few dozen standing around him bow their heads and grit their teeth in fear and frustration, panic and worry. "And I won't just send the heroes to make up for our lost time. I won't risk their lives. But our lives?!" Death yelled, and he snapped his head around to glare at his comrades in their dark armor, all of their faces obscured by black helmets. "Our lives mean nothing compared to theirs. They have to," Death seethed.

"I cannot risk heroes' lives because people look to them for security. They look to them for a smile and a face they can trust. The bravest and strongest of our society. Things that we can never be," Death hissed. He walked away from Flare and more into the light. He stared off towards individual dark soldiers staring his way. "They will protect the world in the light, and us from the darkness. But when they die it hurts the world. It hurts those who look to them for safety. It weakens the perception of global security. When we die?" Death shook his head back and forth and stayed quiet after asking that to the very people whose lives he was telling meant nothing.

I don't get it, Mineta watched in confusion as Zach said these things to his soldiers. "Half." They said he lost half at once, and I- I thought I finally understood. Why Zach took it so hard in the joint training with Shiketsu. When he pretended like he was really losing people, because he had before. But then why is he saying this? "And they all died!" I know he cared! I know he cares about those people so why?!

"And yeah," Death continued. He looked around and stared off towards one soldier still sitting on his butt and grabbing at his stomach with both hands while bowing his head, glad his helmet hid the tears that flowed as he heard how impossible their fight to come was going to be. "Things are going to get harder," Death assured his already scared comrades. He turned and yelled out at another two standing on either side of a light to his right, "We're going to arrive at our strongest enemies' bases and find them empty! And we'll know that those powerful villain groups will be joining together. Knowing that they cannot wait to be attacked by us, they will come for us instead! They will hit us. Someday soon. Months? A couple of weeks? I don't know! But they will organize into a more powerful force than we have ever fought and come after us!"

"So if we take a break," Death whispered. His voice lowered much more and he shook his head, "If we pause and then go after them and miss some more villains, letting them join with that massive group? Making the odds that much worse when we finally have to face them?!" Death yelled it in a question to his forces if they really wanted this to be what happened. "I know, that it's hard. I know! We just lost more people, than we have ever lost before. And I know they were your friends. They were mine too." He shook his head back and forth once then said determinedly, "But we cannot stop to mourn them. You must push them from your minds, in order for us to do what needs to be done. Remember all those we lost in your own way, as I do…"

"But don't mourn. There is, too much," Death hissed. "Far, far far too much. And I have to keep going, in order to do it all! And I know we're down so many people and we won't be able to replace them- we won't be able to ever replace them! But we won't be able to replenish our forces before we make our next moves either. Not quick enough. And yet we will move nonetheless… I will." Death said the last part in a lower voice but as steady as all he had been saying. He said it as if he would go on whether or not anyone else was ready to commit to the same. His head snapped up and he yelled, "I know that if I wait, that next battle will be all the harder, and more of you will die than… So I won't stop!"

His teeth ground back and forth and he curled his right fist at his side. He swung it out to the right and yelled, "I will not rest!" The commander of the Army of Death stood there in front of them panting, but his teeth clenched and he yelled out again, "I will not SLEEP! Not if it means going any slower. I am going to move as fast as I can. Faster than I ever have- I! Am going to fight every single day- every minute- EVERY SECOND!" Death screamed. "Until I've gotten them all."

Death curled his chin down towards his chest. He turned his body to the side and looked off towards a group of three who stepped closer towards the light but stayed on the same perimeter around him as everyone else was. "Because if I don't, then we're lying when we say how many our fallen comrades were worth." He seethed his words out then rose his voice louder, "Our comrades who died today did not die for this city alone! That's not nearly enough. Each of them didn't die for this mound of rubble. Their actions here will get us so many others who we track from the information we got today, and through the next dozen of these group interrogations! Thousands of villains, and all of them with five to ten different locations to give us. There's too much!" Death yelled out. He yelled it knowing it was true just like the rest of his forces did. Yet then he added, "Far too much, for me to do alone."

"And I can't do it alone," he whispered. He shook his head and lowered it a little. He looked down then grit his teeth hard, then harder still to the point they could hear it in Gentle's helmet. "And I promise that I'll never let you die!" He snapped his head up while yelling that. "I- I know, my word may mean nothing right now. I know I've told you that before," he hissed. He turned to his right and looked towards Exodus, "I know- I know that it might mean nothing when you've heard me say it before, but I'll say it again. And I swear that I'll protect you. I will never let you die and yet- though I say that… even though I won't let you- you could still…"

Death was struggling to get the words out. He stopped himself for a moment then started louder, "I won't but-" He gripped his fist tighter at his side then said in a lower voice, "It will be dangerous. I can't tell you it won't be. I can't tell you, that you're going to, survive. But I cannot do this without you. I can't," he repeated. "I need you by my side. This is it. The endgame. Every day. Every single day we need to keep up the speed. Move faster than ever before. And if we miss even a single day! That would be a thousand more villains who organize against us. So we'll fight injured, and we'll fight without everyone, because we have to move! And it will be harder than it has ever been before."

"Those enemies who have survived this long in our war are already the best of them. So the ones who we go after now and have already abandoned their bases, are the smartest and strongest remaining who will reorganize. Group together. And come back at us for one final counterattack. I know it's coming!" Death yelled in assurance. He yelled it confidently and with dread in his tone but no lack of resolve despite how bad he was suggesting that would be. "So we need to recover before then, and we need to replenish our forces, and we need to take out as many of them as we can before that fight comes to make them weaker, so that when that fight comes we can survive that battle too! And until that day, we will loop around the world over and over, hitting every base and every corrupt official! Capturing thousands and leaving anonymous tips everywhere we go while we slip away back into the shadows!"

"And when the world loop is done, and we hold off that final attack, and when Fergus and Amaterasu, the Triakuza heads and the Pueblo jefes, and Eziano Mozcaccio himself is ripped from his pedestal! Only then will we be able to create a peaceful world. A safer world, for all those out there who we're keeping away from this fight. All those who don't deserve this. And you don't either," Death added. "And I will protect you with everything I have, and revive you if you fall but... but I know you may not trust me when so many of our friends died today."

He paused for a second then continued strongly, "I can't order you to come with me. I won't even ask you to," Death said, shaking his head side to side darkly as he spoke it. "I can't force you to stand by my side, but I need your help." Death's right fist curled so tightly and his body shook as he pursed his lips hard behind the shirt over his face.

"But know if you stay… I am going to ask more of you than I have ever asked before- I am going to ask more of you, than any person has ever asked of another human being before!" Death roared at the Army still standing around him. "I will ask you to fight with me against odds that no sane person would ever go up against! I will ask you to fight with me every single day until the war is won! Because every second those villains are out there, innocent lives are being taken. And I won't let that happen anymore. I have to care more about their lives than yours, and that doesn't mean I won't protect you but you know! You know it isn't safe. You know, that you might not make it."

"And if you die?" Death continued. His tone rose and he called out at those still staring at him and not backing down despite all he just said, "You will die nameless! And faceless! No one will ever know that you died. They, they won't know who you were! They will never know your names! None of them will know why you died, or what you fought for- none of them will every remember you!"

"BUT I WILL!" Death yelled. He screamed it at the top of his lungs and slammed his right fist into his chest, then he panted there for a few seconds after. "Ahh hahhh, ahh… I will," he repeated. He looked his comrades in their visors one by one, "I will remember you like I remember every one of those who we've lost to get us this far."

"Let that be enough." Everyone stared towards him in silence as he promised to remember them, as he desperately asked them to stand by his side and fight with him even though they would never receive credit or gratification. Just the knowledge that Death would remember them. That alone, was all they needed though.

Gentle watched from just farther out than the perimeter where the rest of those dark soldiers were standing. Anyone conscious and ready to help stood there gathered around their leader who looked around hesitantly and even like he could not blame them if they spoke against him after what he said. But they all nodded. Every last person surrounding Death stayed quiet this time. There were no more arguments about slowing down or people whimpering about how it was too much, how they were too tired, too injured. Gentle's head looked back and forth along that sparse line of dark soldiers who could still stand after the Siege of Wampajawa.

"How is he even still standing?" Raylei whispered behind him. "After all that fighting, the blood loss, bringing back over 100 people- Trigger twice! How is he still doing it?"

Gentle felt as amazed as the woman whispering that to La Brava at her side who was also staring back but then turned her head and looked at Gentle instead. She watched as he looked back and forth along that line of dark soldiers who all stood there without hesitation. "When we win," Death continued finally to those still standing around him. Not one had backed off, and he told those who were willing to follow him, "And the people of the world once again can live their lives without living in fear, and the Age of Villains is over, only then can we rest. When we put up the barriers that keep those in the light from falling into the shadows, when we've done whatever we can and everything we can, only then…"

"And it's not going to be easy. I am going to ask you to follow me the depths of Hell and beyond! To burn out every shadow!" He yelled at those he was certain were still going to follow him now. Death spun and yelled, "To free all those in the chains of monsters! To create a free world, a peaceful world, a world where those we left behind can live in peace and happiness! But for that future I need you to be my soldiers. My arms and my legs! To protect me like I will protect you!"

"At this moment they're still as strong as ever. If we fall, those villains who have been fighting us all this time will be too powerful for those remaining heroes to stop. It's all on this," Death assured them. "The fights to come will be bloody! They will be brutal!" He yelled out. "And we will fight every day. And I will fight, a dozen battles a day- two- I will fight as much as I need to. I will fight as hard as I can- I will fight! Until my last breath," Death snarled. He growled it and spun his head to look towards one of his largest comrades to his right who stared back and gave a strong nod that made Death snap his head back the other way to look at others as he yelled, "I will fight! I will fight in the oceans and in the skies. In every hemisphere. In every nation and every city- Wherever villains are, I will hunt them down! I will not stop- I will never stop- I will FIGHT! For as long as I can…"

"And we'll fight with you, Commander," Exodus said. Zach turned back to the right and to that large man again who bowed his head then rose it back up in a strong way as determined as he had ever been.

"I'll follow you to the end."

"No matter how hard it gets," another man agreed on Zach's left.

"I'll fight with you," Flare spoke back up. She shook her head around rapidly then snapped her chin up and called out louder, "I'll fight for you!"

"Already getting to work finding you some more arms and legs, boss," Rebel reported into their headsets. "I'll get you some new faces as quick as I can."

"Going to start with that ten million. Make sure you're rearmed as fast as possible," Rampart agreed.

"We need to find a place to bring all the slaves we got today, and we still have those test subjects from the last lab in India we hit…"

"We'll do it though. With you leading us, Death. I know we can."

"We all do."

Gentle leaned back. He stopped turning his head so quickly to each of those dark soldiers responding to their leader. His face focused solely on the one figure everyone else was watching. Then his head turned and he looked back towards the tables behind him. The Gentle Criminal stared towards his partner, La Brava. He looked towards her as Raylei called out in agreement to Death and shouted about what she was going to do, and La Brava looked towards him and he imagined her eyes behind that visor. Gentle looked back forward and then lowered his helmet.

Everyone staring at the screen listened to those voices shouting out so resolved to fight no matter what the cost. All of them shouting about fighting to the death if it meant they could save the world even with no chance of ever getting recognition for their acts. And Gentle's head bowed. He stared down and lifted his hands in front of him. "Hahhh," he sighed, releasing what sounded like the longest breath of his life as it escaped his lips. His head shook side to side, and then he rose up his right hand towards his helmet…

The video cut off. The screen cut to black.

Zach stared towards the screen for another few seconds just as everyone else was. Most of them already understood just as he did though, that nothing was going to come back on this time. That might have been it, Zach wondered to himself. His expression was flat and he just calmly stared at the screen as he imagined what he just watched for the first time ever. Gentle changed. I could practically see what he was thinking. I never knew he was still recording then but, he stopped there. Right then, that day, and the day after too. When Gentle was the only one to see the full truth of Virginia with me. Watch those videos- I need to distract now. Not with that though. I need a distract, because the video is over.

It's time to defend myself.

"So I just want to start off by saying," Zach began while still in his seat. Every eye in the courtroom turned straight towards him. "I don't think any of that was real. I definitely didn't do any of that, and I think it was all faked."

The three judges in front of Sazaki stared down at that teenager and could not figure out what to say. The prosecution was at a loss for words at the moment too. Zach's own defense attorney just slowly turned her head to the side and blinked a few times in confusion, needing to repeat what he just said in her head a few times in order to comprehend what was just spoken.

Sero lifted his head back up and looked to the back of his friend's skull. He had clenched his eyes shut when Zach yelled how he wouldn't sleep and how hard he was going to fight. Sero's eyes clenched and all he saw was Zach in his old apartment's bathroom, gripping the sides of his sink and staring into a mirror with a look of panic.

His old Shiketsu classmates had seen it as well. The confusion they had felt when Hazano sensei stopped talking one day to wait for Sazaki to focus up. "When I was gone, I fought in a war on a different world that took everything I had. I saw things and, I did things…" Memuria and Norasaki both thought of what Sazaki had told them when they were questioning him after he left school to fight the Subspace Devils. Hazano remembered the way Sazaki had looked in class that day before he flew off, though he was thinking on the later time as well that had been the one much worse than before the attack on Desusuta that Zach excused himself from class for.

Reika could imagine the day that Zach did not leave class. She could see Himazuri turning away from him and sobbing as quietly as she could. The look on Zach's face that day had made her feel like every interaction the two of them had had before it must have been faked. That it was all just some persona they were witnessing. A show he put on that annoyed her to realize, because even if he could get slightly back to normal after it, once she had seen it that was it. Those tears poured down Hikari's face as she listened to Zach's mind that day. All those things he kept secret from everybody, but that you knew. Reika glanced to her side and to the brunette who stared in a shaky way towards the front of the courtroom and the defendant who had been the only one to speak so far since the video ended. You knew. You saw things that kept you from telling any of us about that secret. Stuff that had brought you and Zach so much closer, which I noticed, but I also saw you start to look at him more sadly like you are right now.

Reika's eyes shifted back towards Zach herself and then down for a moment. She had to raise her own right arm to her face, and she rubbed away the lone tear that just slid out of her right eye. What was it that you saw? Was it even worse than that? I don't know but, did you watch him break that promise again? Reika just rubbed the tear away and grimaced harder as she almost made more start to fall with that thought.

Midoriya just thought about the same thing Reika had. He imagined it for a different reason though. He thought of Zach standing in the Fundong FLICC in front of a mother and child and making a promise to them. Then he saw himself and Zach standing there in front of The Invisible Hand who had stared at Zach in shock too as Lifebringer broke down in front of them. "They're all counting on me. They all believe I can… And I can't. It's something I can't do- I promised her!"

Midoriya had found it too hard to breathe after he watched Zach make that promise again to those who remained in his forces after such a devastating battle. He had heard Zach tell him too much about the "world loop" and the "Battle of 6 Armies" that came after Razmatan, and he knew that Zach had broken that promise again. His own eyes watered as he heard Zach's cracking voice that day in China, "I promised. I made that promise, knowing I might not… I knew I might not be able to keep- but this time, this time when I made it I thought-" Midoriya closed his eyes and sucked in a sharp breath to try and calm his racing heart. "…I've broken that promise more times than I can count. I make it to push myself harder. I promise directly to people, without knowing if I really can but- but I know that if I make the promise I'll take it harder when I fail…"

Oh Zach, Midoriya let out the sharp breath slower and opened his eyes back up. His sad eyes stared at the back of his friend's head. They were half-closed and depressed, and he did not know what to even think in the moment after everyone in this room and beyond saw what they did. Why do you do that to yourself? Why, Zach?

A Doctor Reena sat at her desk in her office at home. She had to get to work soon and as much as she wanted to keep watching, she could not drive distracted either as she had operated on too many stupid patients in the past. Reena knew she needed to get up and go already, as her patients needed her to come in, and yet she leaned back into her seat and brought her left hand up to rub over her forehead. The doctor imagined what Lifebringer had shouted at his comrades: "Nameless." "Faceless." They all died without ever getting credit. No one even cared.

Reena's face scrunched up and she had to clench her eyes shut as she thought about the look on his face when she showed him their appreciation video for all he had done to save them from Sleepless. Tears slipped from her eyes, Was that why he reacted that way? She thought of him calmly walking away and trying not to react, like he was unaffected and did not care, and yet she also watched as he gripped his chest so hard in pain.

Maybe that pain he felt, Yaoyorozu thought as she imagined the same moment after she and Zach had watched that video together. Maybe some of it can fade now that they all do. Zach, at least try to hold onto that, Momo thought it at the back of his head as she felt her whole body shaking at the sight of his expression now that showed no emotion as if that video had nothing to do with him at all.

"I can defend myself from that video just fine," Zach continued casually. He lifted his right hand and turned it over in an open palm over his table. He did it slowly with no sudden movement while keeping an eye on Kamui Woods and Cyn-Thia who were both just staring at him in too much shock to really react to his movements in any way. "Explanations I can come up with right here: Maybe the video is somehow real, but the person on it was a doppelganger. Someone copying my appearance and Quirk with their own, using my appearance because I went missing the same time they started acting."

"Or more than likely, the video is completely doctored. It has zero basis in reality at all," Zach continued. "As there are many, many continuity errors in that video with things that we know happened in different ways. Things that just couldn't have happened," Zach reminded as if everyone else was getting too caught up in the doctored video. "I am not Death," he said while looking up to the middle of the bench and straight into Yuranama's eyes.

He's still trying? Mt. Lady thought while looking over towards the boy. All that we just saw… Yeah, there were some weird things on it. Unbelievable stuff. Really, unbelievable. There were a lot of well-known villains in that video who were definitely captured by- or at least heroes took credit for capturing them. It can't all be a lie, can it?

"Is that really…" Yuranama stopped himself. He froze and he cleared his throat. Keep a steady head. Calm down. The trial has been going on for hours after when it could have ended. After it should have, Yuranama slowly tore his gaze off of Sazaki and looked towards the prosecution. Most of the prosecutors were just staring towards Zach Sazaki though in shock. "Does the prosecution, have anything else to add?"

The prosecutors glanced back to Yuranama. They spun to the defendant though. Then they looked back. Lemillion lowered his gaze down to the floor and then after a moment rose it to Yuranama and said in a soft voice, "We don't, your Honor."

This is it, Kotsumura grimaced and curled both of his fists as tightly as he could. All of that, and they're just going to send him right back to Tartaros! He- He was- Kotsumura bit down on his bottom lip, unable to put how he was feeling into a comprehensive thought.

Bakugo Katsuki could though. He sat back on his pew in the gallery and just stared with flat lips towards Zach and softer eyes than usual. He could imagine seeing Zach in the joint training forest out of view of any camera angle. Before Zach had noticed him there, before they had their conversation, he had seen the look on Zach's face that he had told himself was probably faked. It was not until during the conversation that he realized it wasn't. The agony over what had happened in that training did not make sense for him to get worked up over, and Bakugo had doubted it because of the way Zach was smiling and talking with his friends as if everything was fine, just moving forward… I saw what losing those classmates did to him.

Even in his victory. The pain he felt even though none of them had actually died and it really was just training, Zach had treated it like losing them. He had set it up that way beforehand to make it feel real for him, Bakugo could understand the reasoning for Zach to have actually wanted to get real training in. But he also understood, He's so experienced that to have lost 7 classmates, 7 friends, even as strong as he is? It had to feel like… Bakugo just locked his eyes on the back of Zach's head as the main judge of the trial looked back at the defendant now. He just moved forward then though. He kept going without stopping despite having lost 79 people for real. When could he have ever gotten over something like that? Or was that, what he was really thinking about in the training dome? Bakugo wondered to himself.

"I became a warrior… A soldier… A commander." Bakugo recalled again what Zach told him in those woods while looking completely serious. While trying to tell him the truth about it as best that he could. He told me how he enjoyed battle as a warrior, and I could see that too. Bakugo thought of Zach's helmet getting cut open and his face sliced in half, and how he was killing people while falling apart, how brutal and violent it was, and yet how into it Zach looked as he grinned in that instant he caught sight of. He told me how because of the person he was before he went to Terra, he was the only one who could have survived it. Yet then he looked at me like he was second guessing it, like he thought I could have… Bakugo thought of what Kirishima yelled at Zach when he listened to their fight. He could see Kirishima in the corner of his vision with his eyes clenched shut as he imagined Zach screaming in his face as he finally let out how he was feeling. But Bakugo could only think of Kirishima telling Zach how he had wished he had gone with Zach back then. And he thought to himself, I wish he had brought me along too…

Though if you told me back then, Bakugo admitted to himself right after his previous thought. I would have just kicked your ass and tried to get you to stop considering it. Not that you would have listened.

"Do you have, anything to say for yourself? Before the sentencing?" Yuranama questioned.

Zach stared up at the gray-haired judge who looked down at him in such an uneasy and confused way. The stern demeanor of the old hero official had shattered. He just looked at Zach with the same look in his eyes as both Wilson and Kanno to his sides. None of them are even going to argue those points? Zach thought. He grit his teeth and he slowly pressed his hands down on the table in front of him.

Zach Sazaki stood up in the courtroom. He had no idea that the cameras had been cut off, but the producers and television stations that had been televising news hosts outside of the courtroom discussing what was going on inside for the past couple of hours suddenly turned back on the live cameras inside. "Only this," Zach began. "It wasn't me." He turned his head and looked away from the judges. Zach looked towards the prosecutors and shook his head, "You can say, that villains have used these excuses in the past and that's all they were, excuses."

"But you know that it's not true every time! You can't always trust that a video hasn't been messed with. You never know, if someone wasn't just making that video look like me. You can say that you had it fact-checked and authenticated, but they said the same thing about those videos that Firesale photoshopped for Mongoloid!" Zach yelled. He yelled it frustratedly and shook his head again as bringing that up just made people stare at him with even huger eyes all over the courtroom. "Videos that showed people cheering for that villain, and you all thought those were real too. Everyone just believed it with no other evidence. And you did it because to assume that someone with a Quirk that could alter the video was involved, would mean you have to doubt every piece of video evidence from here forward, but maybe that's what needs to happen. At least when it's a trial against someone so famous, that anyone with a Quirk that could edit videos, anywhere in the world, could have motive to create those videos."

Zach paused and he quieted down. He turned his head and looked around the entire courtroom once over. His eyes did not lock on a single person behind him even as he checked all of their expressions. He did not make eye contact with anyone. Then he looked back to the judges who he could see knew the truth. "If that video is at all real," Zach began. His tone was different from how he was just speaking. Gone was his attitude of confidence and like he still had reasonable excuses for all they had just seen. Instead, he just spoke in a calm voice that sounded more authentic, and it made people stare towards him in as much silence as they had sat through Gentle's videos. They had to make sure they caught every word he said.

All over the world people just sat quietly and looked at Lifebringer as he stared back at the judges who would decide his fate. He went on, "If the video was all true and that day was real except for the part of my being there, then, it seems to me… like they know where every single villain in the world is." Death said the words and he nodded his head while looking straight into Yuranama's eyes which caused the judge's eyes to bulge. "If those things did happen and someone was just wearing my face while doing it, then it looks to me like all the villains still out there, the corrupt officials, businesses that know they were working with villains and still might be, Death knows about all of them. They know and they're coming."

WHAT?! Lemillion stared towards the defendant to his right who just made all the breath pull out of his lungs.

"From what I just saw," Zach continued. "Death can't be everywhere at the same time; there just aren't enough of them. It looked like they were handing off a lot of information to heroes, but not all the information will be." He paused then said in a lower and darker voice, "Death is coming for all those villains out there. It's just a matter of time."

Is he seriously doing this? Todoroki's eyes shook and he leaned forward in his seat closer to his classmate.

Ojiro's tail curled and his fists clenched at his sides as he saw what Zach was doing as others around him were realizing the same. Fight it, Ojiro thought futilely at Zach.

"Death is going to come for every single villain," Zach said. "That's what I got out of what we just saw," he added. "And since he knows where they are already! That means all the villains right now who are out there not yet captured, are ones that the Army of Death has decided not to call heroes to go after. If they're still out there and haven't been caught yet, it's because the Army of Death intends to go after them themselves. So to those villains, I would just say… Turn yourselves in."

Midoriya finally pulled back in his seat after staring at Zach with eyes as big as saucers for the past thirty seconds. His teeth clenched so hard, Until the very last second! He knows this is it, so as his very last act of freedom he's, he's going to use it. Use everything. Midoriya's lips pursed and trembled as he watched his friend make this "plea" to villains that sounded far more like a threat considering it was not a hypothetical if Zach really was Death. That's what the Army of Death fought for. To make the most good. So you want your final act, to be capturing more villains. Zach you- You're too-

"You don't want the Army of Death to be the ones who find you. Based on what we just saw, maybe they won't try to kill you, but you never know." Zach pursed his lips himself and then said, "They're not heroes. Who knows what they'll do when they finally take out the time to come for you?"

Zach finished. He sat back down behind the table and next to his stunned lawyer who could not come up with a single word to say to him. Zach did not look at Hanuri though. He just closed his eyes for a few seconds and then opened them back slowly and kept his head partially bowed as he awaited the sentencing. Gentle, I have no idea why you would release that video. Because you did though, I have to make it worth something. I have to at least try. One last time.

Kanno looked inwards and up at Yuranama. Yuranama kept staring down at Sazaki for a few more seconds but Wilson too looked in towards him and the three old men stared at each other in silence though they were already conversing just from those looks alone. Wilson shook his head up at Yuranama who paused for a moment but nodded in agreement and understanding that Kanno clearly showed on his face too. Kanno gulped and he looked down at the bench in front of him. Redfox. Wormhole. Impundulu and Kongamoto. Karmile. So many others. Far too many. And if we accept the battle of Wampajawa, then we accept what came after as well. All of that information that the Army of Death was going to use, it's on video. Too much.

We cannot accept that video as reality, Yuranama told himself. He understood it as did the other two judges. The power the three of them held now was beyond anything they were already prepared for when they came to oversee Lifebringer's trial. A trial which could determine what mortality meant for the entire world, and yet only now did the pressure of a trial far too important crash down on their heads. If we accept the second video evidence as real, then hundreds of hero statements must be lies. Or lies by omission. Should we accept that the entire world was deceived, then as a society based under the rule of law, we would need to retract so much. Everything. All of it would need to be looked into. If we don't, then we're not upholding the law either. And that video couldn't be real- it is. It is but it can't be.

Judge Wilson thought the same thing. He looked at a boy he had once presided over what felt like so long ago now that he could see a much different man sitting there before him. Calling that video evidence would mean we would have to release, thousands of monsters. How did no one notice?! What caused all those villains to stay quiet about it? Was it fear of retribution from Death- or did the villains all know… Death spread that rumor. He had the power, to spread the rumors through prison that they talked to him. That they gave him information! He could have- he did! Wilson's eyes shook then darted back to Yuranama. I understand it. His methods were brash. They were cruel and yet, yet what's at stake is far more than the truth. I know it's not our job to think about this but, but how many people die if we let those villains out? If we let them out and put Zach Sazaki away instead? What kind of justice is that?!

"If those videos, I mean," Kanno began softly next to him at his fellow judges. "The source of them is unknown…"

But so was the first one, Yuranama thought.

As illegal as all of that just was, Roady turned his head and stared towards his old friend sitting there awaiting his verdict. I think I finally understand. I never got why you did the things you did. But I never tried, to understand it. I just assumed you were wrong. Because I thought I was right. I get it now though, Zach. I understand why you did it. And, I think you're pretty fucking cool for it.

I told him that he was the coolest person I ever met, Kotsumura thought. And I didn't even know he was- he was a one-man-army! No, no, Kotsumura corrected himself. He imagined all those fights where Zach was on his own fighting against all the villains around him and taking them all out, and yet he remembered why it was he was able to watch those fights. He remembered how Gentle was there watching his back the whole time. He had an army. An army that he created on his own. Who does that? Kotsumura cracked a small smile even as he closed his eyes sadly and lowered his head.

How he got the Banker to talk, Sero imagined. He took that money and just, he tried to make the better world we talked about! Ending world hunger? I thought it was cool to imagine and might work, but you had already started working for it when we talked about it! You were already-

The strain he puts on his body, Recovery Girl thought frustratedly and with a sad look in her eyes as she stared towards one of her favorite students. He injected with Trigger a second time that day. After the injuries he already sustained on his heart that I have seen. The internal wounds that had his kidney replaced, his stomach and liver- To have injected with Trigger with your body like that is one thing, but to do it a second time?

He was about to go straight from that battle into the next one, Dendo thought as he pictured Zach shouting at his comrades to follow him the very next day. But that's not surprising at all. He did it here. He got injured all the time and came into class the next day nonetheless. And even before Wampajawa, he was injured before that fight. He had just fought Eziano Mozcaccio! He had his throat cut! His throat, that's so covered in those red marks that look just like, the slaves' necks do? I don't get it. But he was fighting even while injured, and he was still so strong after it and just kept going.

He cared about his comrades, but more than anything he cared about all of us, Mineta thought while holding his breath and just staring in disbelief as he finally saw Zach being Death. Hearing Zach talk about it himself, he never understood it as much as just watching it on video showed him. Zach always talks badly about himself. And he doesn't brag. And he always sounds so guilty. But he fought for all of us so hard. I know it tears him up inside that he didn't save them, but he put them in harm's way to protect all of us.

When we think of "why?" Iida wondered to himself. Why did he do it? Why did he go through all of that? There can be no ulterior motives. No other reasons why he put himself through it, when he could have died at any time. So it is exactly what he said. He did it for us. For our peace. For our safety. Freedom from war… And he succeeded. The world is at peace.

I already knew it was probably true, Hawks thought while looking closely at the phone in his hand and shifting his gaze from the judges he was watching carefully right there. But that kid is responsible for the end of the Age of Villains.

The timetable works out, Endeavor thought. The "coming weeks" from the end of March. Between then and a month or two. The time he thought it would take for that counterattack to come. From the end of March all throughout April I couldn't keep up. Most people around the world didn't realize it, how there were too many tips to count, endlessly coming in all over far too fast for me to get around. Not even all the ADTF had known what was happening because they were busy dealing with incidents in their own countries.

Endeavor sat back in his seat and did not hide the respect on his expression at all. Or the gratitude. The AoD considered us to be the strongest heroes and thus left actual villain fights to us instead of just buildings of unconscious villains. They knew that we would have taken offense to that. We might have thrown a wrench into their plans by admitting more often than other heroes how it was them who assisted in the arrest. Still, they never sent us to locations the AoD didn't think we could handle. Endeavor looked towards the teenager who he had fought side-by-side with multiple times. I resigned from my post, because I couldn't go after Sazaki when I knew it was him. Not after seeing him in the licensing exam. I knew what had to have broken in him for it to have reached that point, the cracking voice I heard the day of the Sports Festival…

I knew that man had been through so much already when I chose to resign, but Wampajawa is so much more. I couldn't believe what I was watching. Even I couldn't. He was as much in disbelief of what happened as he was that he was caught so off guard by it even though he thought he knew more about them than anyone. If the Army had brought us along, even if we could have avoided the corruption that kept him from including us, my ADTF would have been killed. Many of them, at least. Endeavor did not doubt that at all, and yet he still felt even more gratitude while looking towards Lifebringer in that moment. Maybe that battle would have ended quicker though. And more of the Army of Death would have survived. The ADTF were mostly on their first lives… but Death wouldn't do it. He didn't want to bring us in. He didn't want heroes fighting his war, or dying.

More than most people, I get it. I know. I know about the Villain Summit. I know that a few weeks from Wampajawa works perfectly from the end of March when the sudden surge in captured villains began. When Sazaki must have sped up. Endeavor's teeth clenched as he imagined how quickly Death had flown off after saving his life, shouting at him in such a desperate voice about how he needed to get back to his fights. And that was late April. From Wampajawa all the way until then, and then until the Villain Summit afterwards which must have been it. That was the final battle he mentioned. I know he kept going afterwards anyway, but that truly was the end of it. And people thought it was the Sports Festival- it was both. It was both, and yet both were because of him. It was all because of him. And now he has to go to…

"The video," Yuranama spoke up. "Which we most recently received, came from an unknown party and received no verification or authentication. Although we deliberated accepting it as evidence and thus did not cut it off immediately, I cannot claim to know how legitimate that recording was. However, what I do know is that many of the villains seen in that video were not captured by the Army of Death."

The courtroom and those watching on television stared towards the old hero official who stated this in a serious tone regarding the epic battle they had all just witnessed. Many stared at him in confusion, though many others mostly in the pro hero section completely understood why Yuranama was saying these things. "Whoever sent this video thereby designed a fabrication. One that, reveals a fatal flaw in how we view video evidence, in legal trials."

Zach's head stayed pointed straight forward. At his side though, Hanuri's whole body flinched and she rose her head fast and stared at Yuranama with huge eyes as did the prosecution across the front of the room from her.

"Compared to the short clip from Egypt, the recording provided afterwards was hours long and had much better quality. It did not appear to be fabricated. And yet, we know it must have been," Yuranama continued. "Should it be authenticated or not, comes to be less of the issue as the source of the video and in fact, the truth behind Lifebringer's defense. If a video of that size and magnitude and quality could be produced solely for the purpose of evidence in this trial, then we must question all similar such evidence, no matter how legitimate it appears. The one video of actual proof which the prosecution provided was received from a questionable source as well. The motives of whoever sent that video to the prosecution could be to remove Lifebringer from the public sphere. It could have been completely created by villains through a use of a Quirk, one which, as Sazaki suggested before, could have gotten past our means of authenticating it."

Yuranama glanced to either side to check the other judges who both nodded in agreement with him. Then he looked back forward and said, "As such, there really is no difference between the first piece of video evidence and the second piece which also has Death's helmet off and Zach Sazaki inside it. If the second video of imprecise origin has to be discounted though because of a clear disregard for the facts of what truly occurred, then the video from Egypt which was similarly obtained should also be discredited."

"Therefore, without the prosecution's key piece of evidence, I must agree with the defense that all other evidence provided was circumstantial and does not place Zach Sazaki at the scene of any of Death's crimes."

Wait a second, Zach had continued staring forward but his eyes slowly rose up towards Yuranama who was staring right back down at him.

"And thus, Zach Sazaki, I hereby find you acquitted of all charges pertaining to your being Death." Yuranama lifted up his gavel and slammed it down in front of him. "This court is adjourned."

It took a couple of seconds, but Zach stood up from his seat. Not a word was spoken in the rest of the courtroom. None of the prosecutors spoke out against the sudden decision to dismiss the case. On both sides of the courtroom, everyone stared straight forward as Zach turned to his side. He walked out from behind the table and then turned away from the bench and straight down the aisle cutting the room in half.

To his left in the section behind him, rows of students all just stared forward in disbelief. Everything they had seen throughout the entire case told them that Zach was Death, and they sat there with their jaws dropped at the verdict handed down. Most of them could not turn their heads or look towards Zach either though. Most did not know what kind of expression to look at him with. And they could see him in their peripheral vision. Just as the heroes on the other side of the room could. More of them could look towards Lifebringer than his own friends and peers could though. They turned slightly and glanced inwards towards that boy who stared back through the court with his eyes steady and his expression flat. His lips stayed flat. His look was unwavering, and yet there was something about it that had so many of them holding their breaths and feeling their entire bodies tremble at the sight of him. It was not fear they felt though. Not frustration, nor anger, and yet they shook in their seats as he started walking down through the gallery as everyone else stayed seated exactly where they were.

He's… free? Midoriya was staring with a dropped jaw at Yuranama until he flinched from noticing Zach walk by him on his side. Only then did his head turn, like most other people in the row who looked back and towards Zach as he walked back through the courthouse.

"Lifebringer," a voice called out from back at the front of the room.

The stern head judge who had presided over the trial had called out the young hero's name. As Zach Sazaki said nothing to his verdict and walked for the double doors, Yuranama called out to him and the teenager stopped. Zach stood there with his footsteps ending and the room becoming quiet again. All eyes were on him, and yet Yuranama had stood up from behind the bench. He stood and stared towards the teen whose cold and steady demeanor could not hide it all this time.

"Ah hah, ahh… Thank you." Yuranama spoke the two words and made half the people in the room spin their heads back to the judge who had just granted a not guilty verdict to Death. The ones who spun though, slowly looked back as they saw Zach Sazaki's jaw lock.

Then Zach started walking again. His jaw was locked so his teeth clenched together behind his lips. He walked through the courtroom in silence with his eyes pointed straight forward and not looking at any of the people he knew on either side of him. His eyes just stayed pointed straight ahead, so much to the point that he was clearly avoiding looking at anyone. His footsteps seemed a little too fast too. Zach's lips were not pursed but although flat, they were moving the slightest amount. His eyes were doing the same thing.

Himazuri's mouth was wide open and her head bowed far as Zach walked by her row. She turned to the opposite side as the center aisle, no air in her lungs to make any noise even as tears flooded down her face to the point that other Shiketsu students who could see her with Zach walking by in the background found their own tears spilling out. They stared at him in even more pain at the way Himazuri looked, all of them in too much disbelief and shock of what just happened to move let alone call out to him.

Mother Russia turned her head calmer than anyone else in her row. She turned and looked towards the teen heading back through the room, and she felt a pang in her heart as she watched him go. Unfortunately, I am sure Dover is watching this. She thought it sadly for the bear, and yet it was not just for Dover that she felt that gripping feeling in her chest. I was out cold when he made that final speech. I wish I had heard it though, because I would have stayed for the weeks to come instead of going back to Russia. I know I continued to help them from afar, but while I took my time to get a prosthetic and back into the field, even without a limb he was still going to fight. Even as damaged as the rest of them were, Sazaki had them keep fighting on. I respect him for that, but I pity him even more.

I can't-

Zach pushed on the double doors of the courtroom and stepped outside. Bright light shone in his eyes for a moment and he squinted. Then he stepped outside and a few more steps to the top of the stairs.

"Lifebringer!"

"Life-bringer."

"Ah haa, ahh- Lifebringer! Are you… Did you do-"

Some people tried talking to him. The reporters tried making out questions, but they were too close to him. They were too close to that face looking down at them. And as he stepped further forward to the top of the steps completely, both the police who were turned around facing him and the reporters behind them all inched backwards. They backed away as he neared them. His eyes scanned over them and over their cameras. His expression remained as flat as it was on his way out of the courtroom, but his jaw locked even tighter as they stopped even asking him anything.

And then one of the reporters holding up a microphone lowered that mic down to their side. The woman was in her mid-forties, and she had two kids, and she just called up to him, "Th-Thank you."

Zach's teeth clenched. His teeth bared though he kept his lips covering them. His eyes shook and then focused straight in front of him instead of darting to the next person as someone called to him, "Thank you!"

"Thank… thank you, Lifebringer."

"Thank-"

Zach snapped his head down. He crouched and a massive pair of black wings tore out of his shoulder blades. The huge feathery black wings snapped down into the ground under him, and he shot hundreds of feet into the sky in an instant. Then he spun around and created a shockwave in the air with how hard those wings flapped behind him. He just flew away.

---

A/N Thanks for reading. Sorry for another really long update time guys. I moved out west, drove from NY to Los Angeles though, so that took me 4 days straight. Then I had to look for a place, and I'm looking for a job, and I'm hanging out with some friends out here and surfing... I got pretty busy. Spent a lot of time writing and editing this one though, and I started up on 235 yesterday instead of posting this one first as I was really looking forward to getting started on the next one right after finishing 234. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Let me know any of your predictions for what's to come now. And let me know what you think of the way the trial ended. Response time:

Dandydrewz chapter 233 . Sep 21

I started this chapter yesterday, read almost non stop all day. Continued reading on breaks at work and then again this afternoon. And I cannot wait for more. Every arc, chapter, and character is written so well that I really can't give you enough credit for how epic this story is. I have been blown away by the sheer insanity and story you have created (shout out to the insane arc in the underground lab, had me at the edge of my seat the whole time), and now you bring the Battle of Wampajawa. I don't have the words to describe how awesome this all is. Keep up the amazing work and stay safe in these wild times.

XD Kind of figured that would be how long for most people to read it. Thanks a lot for the compliments and I'm really happy you're liking the story so much. That's still one of my fav arcs too, really had fun writing the Scotland lab chapters! Thanks for reviewing!

Lief 17 chapter 233 . Sep 22

Just finished with this chapter and I'm shocked and amazed! I love this story more than canon! You're one of the best authors in this site!

Thanks a lot! Hope you enjoyed the new chapter too!

sloganlogan chapter 233 . Sep 20

What a chapter, got the notification as I was going home from work and couldn't wait to jump in. Took me the better part of 5 hours to read the whole thing but it was well worth it. My only complaint about this story is that it has effectively ruined My Hero for me. I cant watch it without thinking "wait where's Zach?" I cant wait for the next chapter even if it saddens me that it will bring this story closer to its end.

Whoa 5 hours? Speed demon here compared to how long it took me and a few others to read (reread) this chapter. XD Sorry for ruining MHA for ya, I swear that wasn't my intention ;) but I am glad you enjoy the story that much. Story is close to an end... but as for how close, only time will tell! Thanks for the review!

born75th chapter 233 . 16h ago

This is a work of art. I've been reading this legendary chapter all day and just stopped now at 330am. Thank you so much for this. I'm so happy i found this story and have followed you since the beginning

Can you make a discord? Fate, a Harry Potter fanfic, has almost 3 million words. Almost as long as yours. The writer has a discord chat for the fanfiction where his readers can discuss latest chapters, thoughts, feelings and emotions. Sometimes the writer also pops in with his thoughts. It's honestly really chill and makes the community feel more connected with your story. Could you do it for yours? So many things I'm sure we would all love to talk with each other about regarding ur story

So I want to start by thanking you and everyone else who reviewed to this last chapter. It really was a massive one and I appreciate everyone's reviews and support on it. Saying that, I'm giving myself an out to not write another 30 responses here (so sorry guys if yours didn't make it and I didn't respond to you, but there really are a lot in there). As to you Born, I'm glad you enjoyed it as well! As for the discord though, that's not something I'm going to do. People ask me a lot in these reviews about stuff like that, discords, and TV tropes pages, and I gotta say that if something like that happens, it's not going to be me who creates it. Writing a TV tropes page for my own story just seems weird to me. Like JK Rowling doesn't hop on Potterpedia and Elon Musk doesn't write his own wiki page (at least I don't think they do). And I don't want to compare myself to them, but it just feels to me that if people like my work enough that I get a TV tropes page for a story then that's something I deserved. If people want to make a subreddit about it or talk on a discord and discuss stuff about the story, I'd be happy to see stuff like that too. But these review responses are the height of what I'm willing to do on my own outside of my writing itself. This right here is the "community" for my writing. At least the community I'll sponsor or, something. My thoughts about the story that I'm willing to say will appear down here, and it's never going to be much. I'd fear that I would wind up accidentally spoiling something about the story that I've had in my head for years to the point that I've forgotten I haven't put it down on the page yet. Maybe when the story's done, and I've published the final chapter, I'll do a question and answer thing... But don't hold me to that! XD Anyway guys, I hope you enjoyed the new chapter and look out for a new one coming... hopefully quicker this time!