Chapter 15- Progress Check
'Focus.'
'Let the power flow through you.'
'Focus'
'Control it.'
'Focus'
'Conjure the flames.'
"Enchant: Hell blaze!"
Izuku held his sword up admiring his handiwork. The black green blade was engulfed completely in a vibrant violet flame.
Hell blaze. A dark everlasting flame that certain members of the demon clan can produce. It is unrivaled in its destructive capability. It burns much hotter than normal orange flames and in addition, being burnt by the flame will cause irreversible biological damage. Any mortal could die from bleeding to death from just a small cut, and not even immortals with the strongest regenerative capability can undo the damage. The only exception to its unique properties being powers from the goddess clan, which are now a rarity in this world.
Hell blaze is the ultimate offensive ability.
But it is one reserved for special circumstances.
He spun the blade around in his hand getting used to the feeling of the flames on his weapon. Treating it like an extension of his body just as how he was taught. The flames didn't falter one bit. He breathed in, steeling himself for the next step. He drew the blade back and took a stance.
The ground beneath him began to rumble but he closed his eyes and focused his thoughts on the task at hand. Suddenly, massive pillars of rock and dirt erupted beneath him trying to hit him but he reacted too fast, jumping in the air and using the pillars themselves to dodge, crisscross across the air bouncing from one to the other with high speed.
He leaped from another pillar but this time with enough force to shatter the rock as he used his new momentum to kick down another pillar. Dust clouds erupted from the debris making it difficult to see but Izuku kept going with this strategy but the number of attacks don't seem to decrease at all.
He was midair before he looked down and saw a massive hand made of earth reaching up to grab him. He twisted his body away while at the same time, delivering several reverse grip slashes effectively severing all of the fingers on the earthen hand. He fell back down to the ground but used the momentum to imbed his flaming sword into the arm's length tearing it a new one and incinerating it all together.
The flames ate away all the debris before they could even touch the ground. Dust covered the entire training ground blocking his view. The battle wasn't over however, another massive hand appeared from the cloud of dust and it was much quicker than the last one. He barely dodged it, jumping backwards into the air with a flip. He drew his sword back and delivered a powerful concentrated attack of hell blaze slicing off the wrist of the hand that reached for him.
He landed back to the ground and the dust began to settle. Towering shadows appeared from the dust clouds and he could make out a human like shapes. The dust dispersed and he finally realized the situation he was in. He was completely surrounded.
Nine 7- meter stone figures stood all around him. They all had the same look. One very familiar look. Honestly, what the heck? Curly hair, soft baby face features, and perfectly symmetrical diamond-shaped freckles on both sides of the face just below the large round eyes. They had different expressions as well. One looked happy, the other shy, and another looking surprised and shocked. It was actually pretty funny.
The one whose hand he chopped off joined the others and it looks like their attack was about to begin. They all charged at him at the same time aiming to probably trap him under all that weight. He stood his ground, waiting for all of them to get just close enough.
"Dark Nebula."
A dome of darkness erupted from him colliding with all the giant golems pushing them back and knocking some down as well.
The darkness dissipated and he began his counterattack. He charged into one having a goofy smile and slashed at its neck leaving a clean slice and a dismembered stone head on the ground.
'One down.'
He leaped again avoiding a fist that left a cratering dent in the solid metal floor.
'These ones are much stronger than the others before.' He mused.
He looked up to his attacker, this one had an embarrassed expression and its face was a darker tone than the the others imitating his iconic blush. Still midair, he launched himself with a powerful flex to the golem straight at its head. He busted through the head sending rocks flying all about.
'That's two.'
The other golems he launched back finally regained their footing and began running at him full throttle. He drew his blade back, sucking in a long breath.
'Breathe.'
'Breathe and... Burn'
The blade was reignited with a fierce burst of dark flames.
"Hell blaze Wave."
He pointed his sword at the direction of three golems and a massive torrent of dark flames erupted from the blade. The fire engulfed all that was in its direction, effectively reducing them to nothing but ashes.
'5 down, 4 to go.'
He spun around slicing at the knees of another golem running up to him with highly concentrated force, making the air in front of him do the slicing without him having to move from his spot. The golem fell forward crashed on its stomach still skidding towards him. He punched it straight in the face as it reached just in front of him, shattering its whole form into bits.
He looked towards the last three golems with a confident smile. Something that he's developed over the course of his long training, yet it was something he never noticed.
"Condensed darkness."
His arm was enveloped in darkness before all of it gathered and accumulated into a singular floating orb right in front of him. He pointed to one of the golems and immediately the ball flew like a bullet towards its target. It pierced through the golem's torso before rebounding and piercing the golem again, this time in the head. Izuku made gestures with his fingers, mimicking the way a certain fairy boy, controls his weapon. The golem, or what was left of it, fell to the ground in seconds covered in holes before shattering.
The green haired half demon then gestured to the adjacent golem and the ball of darkness swooped in but instead of going right through it like it did with the other one, it stuck itself within the golem's chest.
"Hell buster!"
Izuku closed his open palm into a tight fist. The golem exploded in a fiery display of darkness and debris. The battlefield was littered with the remains of the fallen fighters, dust and rocks scattered all over the floor.
Izuku watched as the last golem, the one whose hand he severed from the start and the one wearing his determined smile on its features, charged at him in one final attempt to defeat him. He twisted his sword in a reverse grip and jumped in the air right in front of the golem and with more force than usual, brought the blade down on the golem's head. The cutting edge, imbedding itself in the hard stone before slicing through it like a ripe apple.
The golem stood motionless as Izuku landed back on the ground behind it. He twirled his blade in his fingers and wiped the blade clean of any dirt using his elbow. He sheathed the blade on his back and the golem's figure finally gave way and collapsed into two perfectly vertically cut halves.
In the control room...
"Okay. Now he's just showing off." Prince said, recalling a scene from one of those classic action movies he's watched where the badass swordsman cuts down all his opponents with maximum coolness.
"He obliterated my cute golems mercilessly." Flaura pouted with fake sadness. Aside from being cute, her golems here were significantly stronger than the ones she would normally construct. Her ability to create golems isn't something she has quite used often but they still are extremely well sculpted especially when it comes to people who she finds endearing.
"Eh. It's still pretty sloppy. He could've finished that fight much quicker if he didn't waste so much time standing around." The blonde yawned from his seat bearing his canines. True enough, the greenette did stand around too much and acted too calmly.
"Stop being so negative. He did amazing!"
"He did well with regulating his power usage and his flame control has greatly improved compared to last week. I must say that he has learned much."
"Patting yourself on the back there Gawain?" Prince gushed.
"It is hard not to feel proud when his performance is this excellent. He's gotten really good in just a few months. I don't recall reaching this level of mastery with Sunshine years back."
"Agreed." Merlin's eyes drifted to the side.
The doors to the control room opened and the subject of discussion walked in with an accomplished smile on his face.
"So, how'd I do?" He asked excitedly.
"Definitely much better than last time. Your movements were so fluid when you were dodging those rock pillars. In terms of control, you could use some improvement. The amount of destruction you caused could have been less if you completely destroyed the golems. The debris could've caused more damage to buildings and people alike." Gowther summarized while fixing his glasses.
"Oh... you're right."
"In terms of technique, you managed to use your special moves flawlessly. Using dark nebula to escape being surrounded, focusing hell blaze on a target rich environment, keeping a distance while using condensed darkness and following up with hellbuster all the while keeping the damage contained..."
"It was beautiful."
"Thank you." He flushed at the compliment.
"Thank yourself, your improvement is your doing not ours."
"I know... you've said that a lot of times."
"And we'll keep reminding you until you get it through that skull of yours."
He rubbed his neck sheepishly at that.
"You kids sure grow fast. I remember you having only a combat class of 26000 three months ago. You've been pushing yourself a lot." Hawk commented while munching away on some food he brought down with him.
"I had to. I can't be a hero if I'm more of a danger than an actual help. All that power control training with Gawain-san sure did help me a lot."
He slightly shivered at that memory. His training with the meek man was by far the most difficult and frustrating of all the sins.
Power control and regulation training with Gawain.
"Get the hell out of my way!" Izuku screamed in a tone much deeper and much more menacing than his usual voice. Frustration and anger clearly evident in his ominous black eyes. The large demon mark on his forehead was pulsing, a clear indication that he was in a more hostile state of mind and the aura he radiated was purely intimidating. His opponent however never faltered even in the slightest at his threats.
"My, my... you're still quite energetic aren't you?" Gawain mocked the little demon boy. "I must say I'm impressed you're still bold enough to command me. I haven't even showed you a fraction of my true strength." The silver haired man sighed with a smugness that rubbed the boy in a wrong way.
"I'm going to be the strongest hero and nothing will stop me from achieving that. Not even you."
"Hahaha... then come and put your words to the test. See if you can even land one good hit on me." Gawain challenged with a big confident smirk plastered in his face.
Izuku grit his teeth in agitation, letting out a grunt of annoyance. He charged at the large man, throwing a concentrated punch. He missed as Gawain moved out of the way with astounding speed for someone so large and bulky. He moved so fast, the greenette couldn't follow with his eyes. A large shadow was cast behind him and he spun around throwing a powerful kick but missed again.
"Stay still!" He charged again, throwing punches and kicks but managing to miss every single one of them. Seeing as his strategy wasn't working, he leaped backwards into the air and summoned the demon darkness in his body. He coated his arms in darkness, shaping it in the form of two massive blades.
*Berserker Slice* He swung his massive bladed arms at where the Sin of Pride stood leaving a massive X-shaped slash. An eruption of darkness followed right after the slash engulfing the area. He landed back on the ground watching intently for his target.
Standing in the middle of the attack completely unfazed and now shirtless was said target. The man's face was mockingly calm, feigning boredom.
The giant of a man clapped his hands slowly, mocking an applaud. "That was a commendable attempt..." Izuku's eye twitched in irritation at being mocked again. He let out a battle cry once more and crossed his bladed arms in front of him charging straight in at full force.
"...but you still need to do better if you even want to best me." Gawain raised his massive hand high up above his head and brought his fist down on the boy once he was close enough. Izuku, having no sense of backing down, brought his arms up and blocked the man's massive hand which canceled out all the momentum he had put into his charge.
A massive explosion of force exploded between the two powerhouses blowing gusts of powerful wind around the danger room. Izuku grit his teeth, using all his strength to escape underneath the large fist seeking to crush him. His arms were giving out and he was being pushed down onto his knees.
Gawain looked down on the helpless boy. "Hmph." He put more force into his arm and...
Boom*
Gawain stood at full height in the cloud of dust and debris, his opponent on the other hand...
Sprawled on the floor unconscious was Izuku. His form back to normal covered in dust and a particularly nasty bruise on right cheek.
"Gawain, I told you to go easy on him." Merlin appeared between the two. Her hands on her hips, a disapproving look sketched on her face.
"My apologies, Merlin. I may have gotten too caught up in the moment there." He knelt down and began inspecting the unconscious boy checking for any serious injuries. " Don't worry, he's not too hurt from that... I think."
He could still feel the force from that punch even when it was weeks ago. It reminded him of just what magnitude of power he was dealing with and will be dealing with once he masters his power.
After the incident with that murderer, he persistently wanted to find a faster way of gaining control over his... dark side. (Pun intended)
Gawain approached him and told him of the training method Merlin had put him through to gain control of his power Sunshine. That training follows a simple concept and procedure.
First, trap him in a room where he can unleash his power without being detected and with minimum internal damage.
Second, have someone very strong (in his case, Lancelot) to beat the crap out of him until he can finally tame his more aggressive side through sheer battle of wills.
It was working much more effectively than the initial plan of having him go through constant day-to-day therapy with Gowther, no offense to the doll. He was a very good listener and interpreter.
So far however the 'beat the crap out of him training' was working far better. In every altercation, his more grim counterpart never initiated a fight. It was only when provoked by Gawain's mocking and pitying that he lashed out. Still, he couldn't do anything about his personality change, but at least now he can control his actions whenever he was in demon mode.
He sighed and rubbed his neck in slight frustration at that but it seems like he'll just have to live with it. Not that he planned on using that much power anytime soon. It was only a final option of sorts, a last resort as the power boost he gets from it can overwhelm anyone he faces both physically and mentally.
He walked into his room. The tavern was closed for today because the head chef had somewhere to be thus leaving the place unable to operate. Merlin suggested he take a break as he's been working/training/studying almost 20 hours a day everyday. It wasn't because he was forced to either, he independently volunteers to do so which everyone appreciates but even they want him to rest... and to remember to shower.
After living here for more than half a year now, his room had changed greatly compared to what it was when he first moved in. Hero merchandise (mostly All Might but there were some new ones like the ninja hero: Edge Shot and the rising star: Kamui Woods) covered most of the shelves and stands. The wooden walls were covered in more diverse posters, some of which were about heroes from the old generations, franchises, and even motivational posters. His king-sized bed had a lime green mattress with matching green blankets (because his All Might colored one was still in the laundry).
On the far end of the room sat his work desk in front of the window overlooking the busy street below and from where the tavern was located, he could catch a glimpse of Tokyo tower in the distance just behind some tall buildings. On his desk, were all the essentials any student would need these days, writing tools, a PC (his old one from his apartment), reference materials some of which were the old, ancient and occasionally cursed kind, and of course, a stack of notebooks filled to the brim with hero analysis information including detailed breakdowns of their statistics, quirk, fighting styles and patterns, strengths and weaknesses. 27 pieces with over a hundred different heroes now.
If one hero were to find himself/herself in one of these pages, they'd instantly be thinking that whoever owns the notebook was a genius villain plotting to destroy him/her... or just a really REALLY obsessive fan. Fortunately for them, Izuku was the latter.
Although... where did he get all that information you may ask?
Well, a certain doll may or may not have had access to the national hero communication network used by most pro heroes in the country and all the data on every hero using that network, even underground heroes and special cases heroes.
As a member of SDS, their private seven member organization, which stands for "Supernatural Defense Squad" which was just an alias for "Seven Deadly Sins", they had a lot of freedom when it comes to access to classified and EXTREMELY classified information. The kind where hit men were paid to eliminate people just for knowing.
Izuku hasn't been involved in anything top secret other than his current situation and new life. Merlin said it'd be best if he waited til he was in complete control of his power which honestly speaking, feels quite near. He's becoming more and more skilled everyday they said. His only real short coming was his drastic change in demeanor whenever he goes demon mode but when it comes to strength, speed, precision, combat proficiency, ethics and morality, he received three stars or so they say but he doesn't believe he's that amazing.
He plopped down on his bed, checking through his phone (his old one broke when he was attacked months ago) for any updates on the latest hero news to keep his mind busy.
As he scrolled through the myriad of hero related news, his thoughts came flooding in. A few new articles about villains being captured and detained caught his eye but none of them really held his attention for long. The image of a blonde man flashed through his mind and he dropped his phone on the bed.
'Still no news on him.'
He let out a sigh. No matter how many times, he tried to push the memory of that encounter in the back of his head it always came back. It was a persistent thought that kept bugging him. Just when he thought that he couldn't be scarred anymore after his trial, the world just had to make him encounter a bloody serial killer. He didn't regret saving that person's life but he did regret letting that man escape. Very much so.
The man feared by the name of Muscular, the carnal killer.
Gowther had shown him the man's file after looking into his memories and what he found out did little to ease the growing pit in his stomach.
49 attempted murders,
37 kills,
8 left critically injured.
Two of his known victims were two pro heroes almost a year ago which left him with a severe injury, enough to make him flee and go into hiding but even then, reports of attacks from him have been received in little over two months. It was clear that Izuku's suspicions were right and that made him fuss over his failure even more. This man could've been detained by now; no one else's life would be in danger and there would be one less villain in the streets to wreak havoc and terror.
He sat himself down on his computer chair in front of his work desk opting to keep his mind busy and clear from anymore stressful thoughts. The time will come when he can make up for his mistake. He just hopes it's soon enough.
The time will come when he will face him again.
He exhaled loudly, relaxing his clenched fist. He shouldn't think about that... not yet anyway. It was still far too dangerous for him to feel that level of emotion.
He looked over to the stack of notebooks to his side and reached out to grab the one on the top, the one that he's been so busy updating recently.
"Self-analysis for research and training, No. 22"
He flipped through the pages, reviewing some of the important things he noted down.
Izuku Midoriya
Quirk: Ominous Darkness
Quirk description: Capable of producing a jet black fluid-like substance that can be controlled at will, change forms to create tools, produce dark flames, instantly close wounds and increases user's over all physical abilities and senses.
This was what he put in his quirk registry which pretty much sums up everything he can do now. If he could, he would've left more info about his powers out but since it was illegal to write lacking and false information about your quirk then he pretty much had no choice, that and more questions about his mysterious extremely versatile power he would rather not answer will be avoided if he just came clean.
To make his quirk less questionable than it already is, it was also registered that he was rare case of being a very late bloomer and that his quirk only manifested after experiencing a tragedy which entirely wasn't false. It was one thing to posses such a powerful and mysterious quirk and it was another for it manifest so late in life. It was very uncommon for quirks to appear after the age of four much less fourteen.
He stopped at the section he was looking for.
"Techniques"
A list of all the unique skills he can do, arranged and categorized in terms of lethality, which he considers to be the most vital piece of info he needs to take into account in a fight. Non-lethal if it can't kill or at least not injure someone too much; lethal if it has the possibility to kill someone; and extremely lethal if it 100% guarantees an average person or group of people will die with no hopes of surviving the attack.
Counter vanish- non-lethal; disperses the force of an attack equally in the air around it, cancelling it out.
Blackout- non-lethal; darkness that swallows anything effectively cancelling it or rendering it immovable.
Cocoon of darkness- non-lethal; surrounds an area with darkness that can negate and nullify the senses of the opponent making them helplessly trapped in a void-like environment.
Black whip- non-lethal; tendrils of darkness that can grab and restrain opponents.
Binding darkness- non-lethal; darkness that wraps around the opponents body in a tight embrace.
.
.
.
Dark nebula- lethal; explosion of darkness that can stun and even incinerate opponents.
Condensed darkness- lethal; focuses all the darkness into an extremely dense ball with great mass that can be used to stun opponents or penetrate through them.
Divine 1000 slices- lethal; extremely fast and precise consecutive slices that cuts down anything to dust. Often used in junction with the hell blaze enchantment to increase damage output.
Hellfire- lethal; conjures special orange flames relatively hotter than usual and can be shaped into different forms. If pushed further, it can become hell blaze.
Darkness flutter- lethal; releases small particles of darkness that form black fog in the air that can suffocate and poison opponents if inhaled.
.
.
.
Blaze burst- extremely lethal; impales the opponent with a blade and releases a torrent of hell blaze from within them.
Hell blaze wave- extremely lethal; a concentrated torrent of flames that can incinerate steel armor and nullify regeneration. It can even track opponents.
Hell buster- extremely lethal; detonates a powerful explosion using condensed darkness from within or around the opponent.
Berserker slice- extremely lethal; using blades made out of darkness, releases a barrage of slices that create eruptions of hell blaze from anything the blades cut.
Dead end- extremely lethal; creates a large ball of darkness that disintegrates anything in its way and causes massive damage to the surrounding area upon detonation.
.
.
.
This was another one of his dilemmas. It was clear as day that most of his special moves were optimized to cripple the enemy with overwhelming power or to just kill them entirely but killing them is definitely out of the question. He will not be ending anyone anytime soon which means that most of these abilities are only to be used against less 'alive' things especially the extremely lethal ones or they won't be used at all which was a bit of a shame.
He took his pen and began marking several names, jotting down more notes on ideas on how to make his other moves less likely to kill someone. He may have not killed someone (with one exception) with his extremely lethal moves to know for sure that his attacks were as deadly as described but he sure won't be testing that. The Sins were the only ones who have ever been on the receiving end of those attacks and it was clear that they were much stronger than an average person but even they managed to sustain some form of damage from him which impressed even himself.
Speaking of the Sins, grabbing another notebook (this one was labeled 'No.14'), he flipped through all the data he's collected for the past few months about the seven other residents of his new home. And it was a lot of data. The amount of curiosity that accumulated in him from the mysterious nature of magic and quirks came bursting out the day he started training.
His doubts about his previous breakdowns of their combat classes were completely erased once he saw what they were truly capable of. He thinks their powers are so amazing in so many ways that he couldn't stop himself from asking everything there is to ask which Merlin found very endearing and gave him the go signal to ask away much to the discomfort of the others minus Gowther. They gave in anyway, seeing as how talking about quirks and magic lifted his spirits.
He flipped through the pages, to the section about Gawain. The man was the one who taught him how to regulate the output of his magic without wearing his necklace, to keep it from leaking out of his body while he fought. It was the most logical choice for him to be the one to instruct him in that field because similarly both of them radiate a large amount of power and heat. Though similar in those terms, they're powers come from opposite sides of the same coin.
Gawain's power however was only active during the day when the sun is up unlike his which is active 24/7 but just like him, Gawain wears a special piece of jewelry (a lion ring) that completely deactivates his power. His necklace only limits the amount of power he can draw out and acts like a shock collar or rather, a weight inducing collar, if he ever goes beyond the limit. The point of this is he's got a new idea on how to control his powers.
He needs a support item.
Or another one to be specific.
Most heroes use them to cover their weaknesses or amplify their powers but in his case, he needs something that can contain them. Items that can cushion his punches, that can absorb the force of his movements, that can hide his supposedly intimidating presence.
He needed a costume. One that can do all of those so he doesn't have to exert so much effort holding back. That's right! Every costume has custom made equipment specifically designed to help heroes control their power. His necklace kept his power down already but why stop at one support item? Surely Merlin also has more of those power restraining accessories.
He began scribbling down ideas for his costume, sketching the design and the features that he wanted. After a few minutes of arranging his ideas, he looked at the final product of his work.
A suit that hid his whole body from the world to keep his power contained and at the same time hide his identity.
Gauntlets that can handle the force of his punch while at the same time mitigate them.
Boots that can cushion his kicks and silence his steps.
A helmet that can dial down his senses and help him focus more.
And fire extinguishers just in case.
The suit also has to be fire resistant and preferably light and flexible he thought, with mini pouches to store some first aid supplies.
It was a simple design but he was pretty confident it was exactly what he needed to boost his performance in the real thing.
He'll need to bring this to Merlin and see her thoughts about it. An idea popped up in his head which he probably should've thought of earlier. This suit was going to cost money and probably a lot too even though Merlin could probably cover the bill herself without making a dent in her wealth . Finding perfect materials that can satisfy all his requirements was going to be tough not to mention one of those requirements was to hide an overwhelming presence from the senses of everyone he comes across as to not scare them to death.
It was as clear as day that his demonic power has an affect on people around him.
Instant,
Unbridled,
Fear.
The encounter with Muscular only proved that to him. He may have been unable to remember most of what had transpired in that alleyway but one thing that he could remember, that would always haunt him... was the man's eye.
The way it shifted from rage to utter terror in an instant made him question his nature. It made him scared of what he could become if he doesn't master control soon.
He can't imagine what that would be like. He won't allow that to be. He doesn't want to be feared. He wants to help.
He sighed. His hyperactive mind was at it again and it was getting worse by the day. Sometimes he finds himself unable to stay put. He needs to constantly be doing something or else bad thoughts keep popping up in his head.
He looked at the digital clock on his bedside and it had only been about twenty minutes since he first entered his room. Another downside of having inhuman speed and hyperawareness was that time feels like it's moving so slow when you're not busy.
With most of his notes done and Merlin's assigned homework finished early, he needed to find something to do.
'Gowther said he was planning to clean the basement.' Now which one, he wasn't sure. Maybe he could lend a hand.
"There's so much stuff in here!" His voice echoed in the massive space he was standing in currently. "Do you own all of this?"
"Yes well, I've been quite the collector through the centuries. There were so many eye catching things you would want to experience and keep along the way, books especially." Gowther pointed out as he approached a four sets of large 2m tall bookshelves completely filled to the brim with thick leather and hard bound books, probably novels.
"Every story I've read and felt for is worth keeping." Gowther said reminiscing on the precious emotions the books had given him.
Izuku looked around at all the items that were present. Books, fabrics, paintings, all forms of arts and literature were neatly organized but some have accumulated dust probably from the years of negligence. Most of the art weren't from Japan but were from Europe or he assumed so. The style and the presentation were definitely foreign.
"So what do we need to do with all of this?"
"We'll be moving somethings out and donating them."
"You're fine with giving these things away? I mean, wouldn't you want to keep it for the sentimental value?"
"I do but I think it is best that some of these things can go so I can have more things to store here. I'm not giving away all of them just a select few like these books. I have all of the stories stored in my brain down to every word so I have no more need for them and I'm sure that other people will find them enjoyable as well. A much better plan than to just leave them here to rot any further."
"Where should we start then?"
They started from the front working rigorously through their way toward the far back, shuffling through more boxes of books.
'How many books could one person own? How many more could they read?! This is enough to fill a library... ten times!' was the thought of the greenette as he lifted another box of books. This one was filled with books from the 21st century about science fiction.
The two carried on with their cleaning for another hour or so, sorting through another pile of books before finally moving on to the authentic paintings to be donated to a museum. While cleaning, Izuku had noticed a lot more of the things kept in this absurdly large basement. One painting caught his attention the most however.
"Hey Gowther-san."
"What is it?"
"Are these... you guys?" He asked, pointing to the large wall mounted painting behind a dusty shelf. Gowther stepped closer as Izuku moved the shelf aside and swatted some of the cobwebs away. It had several individuals in various poses, a few he could recognize and some greatly resembling some people he knows. There was a blue haired man with a scar on his cheek, a small blonde holding onto a beautiful white haired woman, a brown haired girl smiling brightly while clutching a chestnut haired man's arm with large butterfly like wings on his back, a frail looking man with glasses and then there was who he could only recognize as Merlin in... a very provocative outfit...(he blushed heavily), Gowther who wore his iconic heart pendant, and lastly a very familiar round pig. They were all what seemed to be a tavern of sorts.
"My, my, I haven't viewed this portrait in centuries. This, Izuku, was the original Seven Deadly Sins. I painted it myself so I had a physical reminder of the final moments we had when we were all still together."
"What happened to the others?" Izuku's asked involuntarily.
"We disbanded when our job was finally done. We all had to take different paths eventually but it was the time that we spent together that allowed us to find those paths."
Gowther pulled at a rag covering something revealing seven marble statues in mint condition. Each was a detailed model of each person on the picture with names written on their stands.
"I had carved these from the finest marble available in the kingdom of Camelot as a tribute to my comrades and friends and all the adventures we've been through. Even if history doesn't remember us, and the things we've done and the things we fought for, I'm glad I made these." It was true that the modern world had no record of the band of knights that fought of the demon clan's assault and the demon king's desire to conquer all of what was now Britain.
"They look amazing in my opinion." Indeed they did. Every detail was carved with upmost accuracy from the curves and wrinkles on the clothes to the fibers of the hair.
Izuku admired the detail of the statues with great interest. They looked to be life-sized models if their heights were to go by. He focused his attention in the shortest among them. It was about 5 inches shorter than himself and had curly messy hair adoring a face with large warm eyes a big friendly smile.
"This is Captain Meliodas...right?" He asked the doll.
"Mm. That's our good old captain alright."
"You guys said he was the strongest among you and I can only guess that he's super amazing too. Now that I have his power or at least a fraction of it, I won't be surprised if you guys expect me to be as good as he was, if not better. So, I'll do my best to meet your expectations." Izuku said the last part with a mix of worry and determination.
"We never gave you our expectations and we're not pressuring you to be the best of the best." He placed a hand on his shoulder and looked him straight in the eye.
"So long as you can learn how to live in harmony with your new self and use your power for good, that's enough." Gowther assure him and offered his classic smile.
Izuku smiled back at the reassurance from his mentor but before he could reply, a glint in the corner caught his eye and he was drawn to it. He moved a few boxes out of the way and he found what he was looking for.
A sword. A dusty one.
It was sheathed in a scabbard that had a serpent like figure running across it; the handle was a combination of gold and green with what could only be the dragon's sin emblem on its golden hilt.
Gowther having sensed his sudden intrigue followed suite and gasped in surprise. "What a surprise and a coincidence you found that. Our captain's sacred treasure...
Demon sword Lostvayne!"
Izuku's eyes widened. 'A sacred treasure. A weapon with magical properties designed specifically for each of the Sins to greatly amplify their power and draw out their full potential.' He thought back to Prince's explanation on his sacred treasure, The Spirit Spear, Lobero.
"After our captain had to leave this world, I kept his sacred treasure. The lack of use over the centuries however left it completely drained of all of its magic but with your powers coming directly from its old user, you may be able to revitalize it! Oh what luck!" Gowther looked all giddy as he finished his sentence.
"So does that mean I can use this?" The freckled boy asked hopeful with growing eagerness.
"Why of course! No one else has the potential to draw out its true abilities other than the person it was made for or someone with very similar powers."
"I see." He felt a tinge of excitement make its way up his back sending waves of electricity throughout his body.
He unsheathed it revealing the beautiful curved blade. It was split into two shades of green one darker than the other and with careful patterns carved onto it with 5 circular holes running across the whole thing. It was definitely foreign. Izuku took a deep breath and tried to channel his magic to the blade to 'revitalize' it as Gowther had said.
He looked to the blade...
And nothing happened.
'Huh?' Izuku tilted his head to the side in wonder.
Gowther sighed. "It's not responding to your will. That's a bit disappointing." He frowned.
Several hours later...
"So what's so important that you had to call a meeting?" Asked Prince to his tall cousin. They were all seated on a round table. Gowther and Merlin were the only ones not present at the moment.
Lancelot had just returned from wherever he went and immediately called all the "staff" to discuss some things. What they were, they were about to find out.
"Well as you guys know, business had been booming the past few months thanks to the extra helping hand around. So, I've been thinking hard on what you said and I've made up my mind."
"Huh? Which one are you talking about?" The fairy raised an eyebrow.
"The one about you not getting a promotion sooner." Lancelot explained making Prince sit (float) up straight in surprise.
"Wait! I'm getting promoted? Seriously?!" He asked.
"Yep. I think it's about time you get one and I have the perfect job for someone with your skills..."
A bucket of cold water washed over the brown haired boy and dread suddenly set in his stomach. The realization that a 'promotion' didn't always mean a good thing bounced in his head.
"You're the new delivery boy!"
"Ehhh?! Why in the world would I want to be a delivery boy?!"
"That's because you have the best sense of direction out of all of us. Remember all those times you got lost and almost always found your way back? And besides, ever since little chef here (he placed a hand on Izuku) came along, he's been the one cleaning up most of the mess in the tavern which is supposed to be your job."
"That's different but more importantly, I don't want to go out to random places just to deliver your food to lazy customers who can't get it themselves." Flaura rolled her eyes at the irony of what he just said.
"I'll let you borrow my motorcycle."
"..."
"No. Still no." Prince declined, turning his head away. Despite the creeping temptation in his mind. No, he was stronger than his cousin's weak attempts of bribery. He definitely wasn't thinking about cruising around on a sweet red Honda Fireblade. Definitely not...or so he tried to tell himself.
Lancelot smirked mischievously. Even without his empathic abilities, the small pause in his response was enough to give of the hesitation in his mind. All he needs is a little more motivation.
"You sure? 'Cuz..." the blonde man pulled his little cousin closer and whispered something in his ear. Prince's eyes widened and Lancelot pulled away.
"Alright, I'll do it." The fairy prince answered quickly in a tone full of seriousness.
Flaura's mouth dropped, shocked at the sudden change in attitude wondering what could've made her immovably lazy brother to actually agree to a job that required him to utilize his legs.
'What the...?'
Izuku on the other hand had scarlet running across his cheeks as he heard the whole exchange while Gawain remained quiet in his spot.
"What did you tell him?! Izuku what did he say?!" Flaura asked a bit too desperate sounding, still in shock at the unusual behavior from her brother.
"Well uh... he uh-uhm..." before he could even formulate a proper sentence, the boy in question answered.
"Sorry sis. It's a talk among men. Right Izuku-kun?"
Izuku just flushed a deeper shade of red and sat quietly in his spot.
"Great! We'll talk about our agreements later but for now, the main reason I brought everyone here is to introduce you all to our new waitress." Lancelot had a gleeful smile on his face. "You can come in now."
"Wait you hired someone? Is that what you've been doing?" Hawk asked
"Not at all Master, I didn't hire; she volunteered! I thought it was a good thing to have another helping hand in this place."
All eyes turned to the door way as a new figure walked in. Standing in the hallway was a girl with long violet hair and matching violet eyes wearing an unzipped black jacket, a blue skirt with long black stockings.
Izuku unconsciously stared. His head throbbed suddenly, a feeling of deja vu sinking in but he didn't know why.
"Hi, my name is Yukika Hayami."
~End of chapter~
Bonus: "Turn up the heat"
"So how do we go about this?" Izuku asked the two people training him today. "I'm surprised you two volunteered to do this with me... but-but I don't mind you guys stepping in, not at all, . It's just that I thought Gawain-San would've made more sense since his powers are mostly fire-based as well."
"Gawain isn't here right now, so someone has to take over for him and lucky for you it's us."
"Lucky indeed. First and foremost, you need to know exactly what you're dealing with here. Hell blaze ain't just any flame. It's the deadliest kind of fire to exist in hell. So learning how to control it is a priority. Even though you're not going to be using it against people, its destructive capability can help you in a lot of other ways. You can figure that out on your own."
"For now we'll be focusing on helping you tame the flame so to speak. You're fire powers are on another level compared to normal fire quirk users you see on TV. Unlike most of them who can just conjure flames and expel them as is, you have full control over the hellfire you produce."
"How do you know all this?"
"Our best friend was part demon and he could control his flames perfectly. So we're assuming you can too, not to mention your powers do come directly from his dad."
"Oh that makes sense."
"Anyways, let's get started. Conjure up that hellfire and let's see what you can do."
He nodded vigorously getting excited at the prospect of exploring more of his new powers. Only to realize that he has no clue on how to begin.
"First how about you try something simple like imagining fire, the heat and light it gives off, the kindling sound as it burns its fuel source, you get the point."
He did as he was advised and soon enough, a small but intense violet flame arose from his open palm letting of an extraordinary amount of heat for its size.
"Hmph. Not bad."
"Coooool!" Izuku gawked at his own accomplishment.
"More like hot! Seriously! I can feel that from here!" Prince shielded the skin on his face at the intense heat from the amethyst flame.
"S-sorry!"
"Ok-ok second lesson, you need to learn how to regulate the temperature of that."
"How do I do that?"
"Well, how about try putting less effort into it?" He said with uncertainty
"Hey it's working."
"Sweet! Now see if you can summon it with other parts of your body. Like your arms or something."
"I did it! With this, the possibilities of offense and defense are going to look so cool!" Izuku began muttering about shooting fireballs and creating flame shields just like the number 2 hero, Endeavor does with his own quirk which has a very similar name to his own power.
As the freckled teen began his muttering session, an idea popped up in the fairy prince's head.
"Hey Midoriya-san, have you ever heard of the Human Torch?"
8 hours and one fire extinguisher later...
"Oi, I said focus."
"Y-Yes sir."
After an epic fail of trying to imitate a comic book character as well as a certain flame hero's signature fiery facial hair, Lancelot took it upon himself to punish the stupidity of their resident quirk nerd along with the idiot who influenced him to cover himself in fire.
Izuku, after a change of clothes (the other ones were incinerated into nothingness) absolutely disliked his current predicament. It was super uncomfortable and even slightly embarrassing.
He looked like a circus trick! His arms were outstretched to the sides parallel to the ground, his left leg was outstretched behind him all the while he balanced from the big toe of his right foot on the pommel of his unsheathed sword.
To add to the hardship, Lancelot decided that they extend his training to more...practical uses of being able to conjure fire and to make it more spicy, he decided to include balance and absolute focus to his 'training.'
He was in this ridiculous pose all the while Lancelot used him as a human oven. The man placed down 9 trays of unbaked apple pie on him at a time and told him to use his hell blaze to cook them just right. 4 on his right arm and 4 on his left and 1 on his left foot. And the worst part is that it's already been 5 hours!
He had superhuman stamina, yes but the amount of concentration and effort he had to exert to keep his balance all the while ensuring that the apple pies weren't over or undercooked as well as heated evenly drained at his spirit. He was beginning to tremble and the pool of sweat beneath him only grew larger as the strain of his muscles and the heat from his were getting to him.
This was the 12th batch too. Curse the person who had ordered this much apple pie. Then again, he did overcook a good number of the first few batches.
"Oi, turn up the heat a little on your right right palm, this one's still raw." Lance looked down with a disapproving gaze, making Izuku wince.
"H-Hai." He felt like passing out.
He breathed in to steady himself, pushing himself to the limit of his stamina only to realize how much of a mistake breathing in was.
'Curse this wonderful aroma!'
His stomach grumbled...rather loudly too.
'When will the torture end?!'
A/N: Sorry for the late update. Classes are insane even from behind a screen and within the safety of your own home.
This chapter was pretty fun to write and i took my time enjoying it as I did. All the little tidbits and foreshadowing makes me so excited for the road of this story.
Stay tuned for more updates!
