Author's note: Sorry for the late update! As usual, I have to do a number of things in my life and have to do some researches to write this chapter because this one is most likely one of the hardest chapters that I've ever written! And so far, the hardest chapter to write in this story! And that is because originally, I wanted to write about how much in common the heroes have with the Christian knights of Europe and the Muslim Mamluks of the Egypt and Syria. But I saw that this is my chance to finally give the reason out why this story is renamed "New Age of Ignorance". So just like I am being forced to write about the Third Crusade, specifically the Siege of Acre, instead in the previous chapter. However, I did not consider that to be completely bad because when I picked the Siege of Acre, I knew I made the right decision in choosing it. So I still get to write about how much in common the heroes and the knights really are. And man! I feel so satisfying of getting to write about the heroes and the knights are basically the one and the same! And now that I get to do the same in this chapter! Only that this time, it will be about the Jahiliyyah, aka the Age of Ignorance in the Islamic history instead! I even feeling satisfying because I get to finally bring this subject into the story because I get to do another comparison between the heroes of MHA and the idols that once housed inside of the Kaaba back in the Age of Ignorance! And to make it even better, I am not only get to write about the topic about this age of pre-Islamic Arabia but also get to bring in another one of the occupations related to the cultivation as well! And recently, I've came across a video related to the topic about The Shape of Voice called How A Silent Voice Saved Me - The Perfect Anime Film. And the first thing I thought of after seeing this movie is being talked in this video is about the relationships between Izuku and Bakugo. The talk on this video make me wonder one thing. Does Bakugo deserve forgiveness since he does not even seek one from Izuku? And guess what, this thought of mine is only reinforced when I checked on the page called "Why is villain deku a thing" on Reddit. I've read a few interesting comments on this page and one of them said someting about Izuku and Bakugo are representing two estranged friends seeking reconciliation. And that is when it's clicked me. How can Bakugo reconcile with Izuku if he didn't even ask for forgiveness? Heck, does Bakugo even deserve to be forgiven for what he did to Izuku? If the people are going to say that those from the League of Villains do not deserve forgiveness for what they have done, then who says that Bakugo deserve forgiveness too, let alone his reconciliation with Izuku? And that's what set Bakugo and Shoya apart from one another. Both of them may started out as bullies but by the very least, Shoya sought forgiveness from Shoko after he has been bullied and ostracized himself and even saved her life. Bakugo, however, did none of those. In fact, he didn't even stop bullying Izuku like at all. And yes, I know about him rescuing Izuku while he was being overwhelmed by a villain known as the Dictator in the latest manga. So the idea about "actions speak louder than words" should not be applied here just because he finally acknowledged that what he did was wrong and decided to make it up to his victim by becoming better. Plus, I suspected that Bakugo didn't save Izuku from the Dictator out of kindness of heart for sure. He may only saved him so that he can beat Izuku in this stupid game to become the Number One Hero. Now, about the themed-songs for this story. I'm still thinking between Gurenge and Ways to be Wicked. However, I am also considering Brave Shine, New Era and Burn as well. So there are five options now.
Disclaimer: I don't owned My Hero Academia or anything else related Marvel. I owned nothing but my OCs.
Chapter 7 Hero Worship is Idolatry!
Later in the morning, Izuku gets up on his bed and cooked himself a boiled egg and sandwich ham cheese for breakfast. After he had his breakfast, he took a shower and change his outfit to another one of his regular clothing provided by Kurogiri. Once in his regular outfit, he leaves his apartment for the Bar with No Name. Once there, he told the others who are in the bar at the moment all about what he learned from the Third Crusade. And to make it sounds believable to all of them, he decided to keep the part about his ancestor told him all of this in his dream to himself. Instead, he tells them that he learned all of this from the Internet. Once he finished telling them about his comparison between the heroes and the knights, the actions of the knights during the Siege of Acre and the so-called Massacre at Ayyadieh, where King Richard ordered his knights to have 2700 prisoners executed right in front of Sultan Saladin, Shigaraki, Kurogiri, Lady Nagant and other members of the League of Villains who are in the bar at the moment is quite surprised and interested in what Izuku have sought and learned in order to find the answer to satisfy the Hero Killers.
"So what do you guys think?"Asked Izuku after he finished what he said about the knights and the Third Crusade.
"What you said is clearly something, kid."Said Tomura as he's sitting at his usual spot near the counter with Kurogiri's standing on the other side.
"I heard some people who've studied plenty of histories said something like this before. The ideas of comparing the heroes with the knights, the samurais and the Mamluks are not far fetched. But nobody has ever taken such things seriously before."Said Lady Nagant
"Why not?"Asked Izuku
"Most likely in denial that the heroes can acted like those knights, I assumed."Said Lady Nagant as she shrugged her shoulders.
"Hero worship."Said All For One through the monitor.
"You were listening, Sensei?"Asked Tomura as he turned to look at the monitor with the words "SOUND ONLY" on its screen.
"Yes, Tomura. I was listening to what Midoriya was saying the whole time. And I must admit, such comparison is not only interesting but also quite unique."Said All For One
"So Sensei... about this hero worship you're talking about..."Said Izuku
"It's a cause that make the public refused to accept any negative aspects related to the heroes as truth. But yet, many of them acknowledged the fact that the knights in the Middle Ages are just thugs."Said All For One
"What does that mean, Sensei?"Asked Izuku
"It means they viewed the heroes in the different light from the knights. They're going to do their best to say that the knights and the heroes are not the one and the same."Said All For One
"Despite how much undeniable the similarities between both sides are?!"Asked Izuku, feeling a little disgusted that such things can voluntary be ignored for the sake of glorifying in the heroes.
"It's all about "People wanted to see what they wanted to see" in this matter, boy. To them, heroes and knights are not the same because they believed that the heroes are morally better than the knights and are incapable of such things like plundering and killing innocent people and lied to the authorities that they had defeated the villains operating in the area for the sake of glory and wealth. But in reality, they can do so just like the knights."Said All For One
"Speaking of authorities..."Said Izuku as he remembered about the thought about why the pro-hero like Lady Nagant decided to become a villain while turning around to look at the League's female sniper, who is leaning against the walls alone in the corner.
"You were once a pro-hero yourself. So what drove you to join the League?"Asked Izuku and with that, Lady Nagant's face becomes grim.
"Everything I thought I knew. It was all a lie..."Said Lady Nagant as she's looking down to the ground with sadness written all over her face.
"What do you mean?"Asked Izuku
"I don't wanted to talk about it..."Said Lady Nagant, brushing the subject off.
"Fine. If you don't wanted to answer now, I will not force you. Besides, we have a more important matter to deal with at the moment."Said Izuku and with that, he turned to look at Kurogiri.
"Kurogiri, can you open a portal to Hosu for me? With the new knowledge here, I will deliver the answer to Stain and Lady Deathstrike."Said Izuku
"As you wished."Said Kurogiri and with that, he uses his hands to create a portal that will lead to Hosu in the middle of the bar.
"Are you certain that such comparison will satisfy them, boy?"Asked All For One
"Well, I think-"Said Izuku but before he could finish, All For One interrupted him.
"While it is great for one to be armed with knowledge and wisdom, drawing knowledge and wisdom from many places is also important. If you draw knowledge from one place only, it will become rigid and stale."Said All For One
"Are you saying that... I might not be able to satisfy the Hero Killers with my answer?"Asked Izuku as he turned to look at the monitor.
"I did not say it like that, boy."Said All For One
"Then... what are you implying, Sensei?"Asked Izuku
"I am saying that you might only have one shot to make the Hero Killers our allies."Said All For One
"Then, how can I surely secured the alliance between them and us, Sensei?"Asked Izuku but instead of receiving a reply, a long pause occurred instead.
"Sensei? Are you still there?"Asked Tomura but he does not receive the response either. A few minutes later, All For One finally replied back.
"Find the Immortal Alchemist."Said All For One
"Find the Immortal Alchemist? Who is this Immortal Alchemist, Sensei? And how will he or she help me?"Asked Izuku
"Like Li Lanying, he is a cultivator, specialized in alchemy in particular. He can provide you the knowledge and wisdom you seek to strengthen your answer."Said All For One and upon hearing that, Izuku begin to reconsider about going to Hosu now.
"Where can I find him, Sensei?"Asked Izuku
"He always roamed from one place to another in the Umbara Forest."Said All For One and upon hearing that, Invisible Wall spits his drink!
"The Umbara Forest?! That place is cursed!"Said Invisible Wall
"Let me tell you, kid! It's not worth it!"Said Stitched Giant as he's walking up to the green-haired boy with Martial Hair.
"Cursed? That forest is not cursed. It is merely a speculated assumption made by those who do not practice the arts of cultivation like Li Lanying."Said All For One
"So... the forest is not cursed, Sensei?"Asked Tomura
"No, it is merely one of the many secret places with high concentration of qi that existed around the world. And with the qi that high, some plants and animals can also be affected as well. In other words, the higher the concentration of qi in that area, the weirder the animals and the plants will be."Said All For One
"Cursed or not! That place is dangerous! You can't go there, kid!"Said Invisible Wall
"Why don't let the kid decide what he wanted himself?"Asked Tomura
"If you insist to go, kid. I can go with you as an escort."Said Lady Nagant and once she said that, Izuku begins to think more about this matter.
"The decision is yours, boy. Whether or not you wanted to seek more for information you needed in your quest of finding the satisfying answer for the Hero Killers is completely up to you."Said All For One as the green-haired boy is thinking about this. And after thinking about this for a while, he finally comes to the conclusion of this matter.
"I will go."Said Izuku
"As you wished."Said All For One and with that, Kurogiri disintegrates the portal that led to Hosu and replaced it with the portal that will lead to the Umbara Forest. When the portal is formed, Izuku is the first to walk inside. Then, Lady Nagant follows him inside since she already said that she will be his escort if he decided to go. Once both of them entered, the portal vanished. And once they left, three other members of the League walk into the bar. The first one is a tall, lean man in skull-shaped mask with grey eyes in dark green sleeveless bodysuit with a white belt and black boots named Tesla. The second one is a humanoid shark with a fin on his head in a sleeveless jumpsuit with the diving mask and the diving cylinder strapped to the back of his suit named Sharkyonara. And the third one is a humanoid figurewho has body entirely made of paper runes and have plenty of red eyes on his body named Thousand Eyes.
"Hey, where are Lady Nagant and the kid?"Said Sharkyonara
"They left for the Umbara Forest."Said Invisible Wall
"That accursed place?! Why did they want to go there?!"Asked Tesla
"Some sort of quest for answer to satisfy the Hero Killers, I think."Said Tomura as he's grabbing a glass of drink from Kurogiri.
"So... should we go looking for them? As we all know, that place is cursed!"Said Sharkyonara as he turned to look at Tesla.
"Maybe?"Asked Tesla, quite unsure about this himself, knowing that Invisible Wall and the others are most likley going to protest for going to such a place for sure.
"Well... maybe we should wait for them for a few hours then?"Asked Sharkyonara
"I like the sound of that."Said Tesla
"Then let's wait for them here."Said Sharkyonara and then, he walks toward to the counter along with Tesla and Thousand Eyes.
Meanwhile, Izuku and Lady Nagant are now standing somewhere else in the middle of the Umbara Forest, which is believed to be cursed! And there is a reason believe that it is cursed due to how much dark and gloomy it is! The trees in this forest are so tall that the sunlight barely penetrated to the ground. When they all looked around, all they see are nothing but the forest with the canopy so thick that the sunlight barely be able to get through. Once Kurogiri's portal is disintegrated, the green-haired boy and those who came with him are now on their own. The fact that this Immortal Alchemist that they are looking for is living the nomadic lifestyle in this forest also didn't help them feel better at all because not only they do not know the exact location that he is currently residing in this forest but also the fact that the Umbara Forest is known for a number of urban legends such as the Crocodile Salamanders, the unusually large salamanders at the size of a crocodile that dominated the swamp and all streams within the forest, and the Squid Slugs, the huge slugs at the size of tigers with tentacles of the squids on the faces, the Glowing Snowflake Trees, the trees that bore the glowing blue fruits with shapes similar to that of the snowflakes and many more.
"This place is really creepy!"Said Izuku
"The sooner we find this Immortal Alchemist, the sooner we leave. So let's hurry, kid."Said Lady Nagant
"And since he is a nomad and also never leave this forest, so there is a chance that he will stop at the stream for resting. So I think we should find a stream and wait there for him."Said Izuku
"Despite how much logical that sound, it doesn't mean that he will stop at where you are waiting for him. He may simply just walked passed by."Said Lady Nagant
"Then all we have to do is to block him from-"Said Izuku but then, something else grab him by his right leg and pull him into the air, revealing to be a brownish orange tentacle!
"WHAT THE-"Yelled Lady Nagant but then, her body is suddenly being wrapped around by another tentacle! Then, the owner of the tentacles, a Squid Slug, creeps out from its hiding place. Then, it opens its mouth and ready to devour its victims. But before it could devour any of them, Izuku pulls the Ebony Blade out from its sheath and use to slice the tentacle that is holding his leg off, making him fall down to the ground on his own feet. He then immediately slashes at the tentacle that is holding Lady Nagant, releasing her from its grip once the tentacle has been chopped off. Once the tentacle has been chopped off, the Squid Slug lets out roar, indicating it is indeed hurt from losing one of its tentacles by being sliced by Izuku.
"ROAR!"
"Quick! Let's get out of here!"Said Izuku as he's helping Lady Nagant up on her feet. Seeing the preys are running away, the Squid Slug resorted to use its own cultivation to empower itself! Soon, the huge squid-faced slug is covered with glowing golden yellow aura while beginning to float into the air. Then, it flies after the preys!
"Is it still following us?"Asked Lady Nagant as she is running. Upon being asked, Izuku turned his head around to look back. And that is when he is seeing the huge slug with tentacles for the face is flying after them!
"I don't know that will you believe me or not! But it is really flying after us right now!"Said Izuku as he's running as fast as he can.
"WHAT?!"Asked Lady Nagant and turned her head around to look at what the green-haired boy just told to her herself. And she is so shocked to find that he is very right!
"THIS WILL BE A GOOD TIME TO CALL FOR ARAGORN NOW!"Yelled Lady Nagant
"GOOD IDEA! ARAGORN! TO-"Yelled Izuku but before he could finish, he and Lady Nagant are being forced to stop because they see a Crocodile Salamander is resting on the riverbank near the stream! Upon spotting them, it turned around and begin to crawl toward them.
"I can take care of this thing."Said Lady Nagant as she activated her quirk, turning her right elbow into a rifle and aim it to the head of the Crocodile Salamander.
"That may not be necessary."Said Izuku as he turned around and see that the Squid Slug is now finally catch up to them! Once catch up with its preys, the Squid Slug landed gently on the ground and begin to creep toward them while swinging its tentacles around.
"I think we simply just have to get out of their ways."Said Izuku and he quickly move aside from the left with his escort and run away from the two huge carvniorous creatures of the Umbara Forest, letting them fight each other to get their next meals. Five minutes later, they stopped running and take a stop to get some air and drink some water from the stream. As they are resting, Izuku spots something among the trees. He spots a pair of red eyes staring right at him and former pro-hero turned villain. But before he could tell Lady Nagant about this, a young, cute but creepy female laugh suddenly appeared out of nowhere!
"HEHEHEHEHEEE!"Laughed The Female Voice and that caused both villains to be on alert and perform the back-to-back defense and begin to look around for who or what that is going to appear anytime soon. Behind one of the trees, a silhouette of girl with what appeared two buns on her head and yellow eyes is laughing softly from behind the tree. As both villains are looking around them for whatever that make the laughing noise, they failed to notice the clouds of the purple sleep-inducing gas that begin to creeping toward them. By the time they noticed, it is already too late to do anything and they all begin to feel sleepy!
"What is happening?!"Asked Izuku as he begins to feel sleepy after inhaling some of the purple gas into him and then fall asleep on the ground.
"We... need... to... get... out..."Said Lady Nagant as she's beginning to fall on her knees and collapse on to the ground. Once both of them fall asleep, a boy in black gakuran uniform and white shoes with gas mask with red lens and tubes connected to two oxygen tanks he is carrying on his back and the helmet similar to the one a German soldier used to wear during the World War I then walk out from among the trees on the left of the villains and look down on their sleeping forms. However, he is not the only one who appeared after both members of the League of Villains are defeated. A girl in seifuku school uniform, blue skirt, knee-length black socks and brown shoes with some of her blonde hair tied up into two buns. Their names are Naoki Hayasaka and Himiko Toga, and the former is also going by Mustard as his villain's name.
"Can I stab them? Please! Please! I wanted to stab this cute boy!"Said Himiko as she's jumping happily, exciting at the idea of stabbing the green-haired boy who is lying unconscious before her.
"The Alchemist wishes to question them why they are in the forest. So we have to take them back with us."Said Mustard
"Hmm! You're no fun!"Said Himiko as she picks Izuku up and carry him on her shoulders while her partner grabs Lady Nagant's arms and drag her away. With both trespassers are secured and asleep, both of them take them back to the Immortal Alchemist's camp with them.
Sometime later, at the Immortal Alchemist's camp...
"...ooh..."Groaned Izuku as he's opening his eyes and seeing the blonde girl with two buns on her head is sitting on top of him while also staring right back at him with a smile. Upon seeing her completely when his eyes are fully opened, the first thing he did is let out a scream and scooch away from her a bit.
"AAAAAHHH!"Screamed Izuku as he's scooching away from the cute psycho girl before him. But as soon as he did that, she simply takes a few steps toward him and lean her face down to meet him face-to-face.
"You're cute. And I like cute boy!"Said Himiko with a creepy smile, showing him her fangs.
"And... you are.. quite cute too..."Said Izuku fearfully, doesn't want to pissed her off since he is her captive. However, he has to admit that this girl is really cute too! But upon saying such a thing, the girl's face immediately goes red and her smile begins to become creepier than it already is! And suddenly, things get worse when she pulls a knife out of nowhere and ready to stab him just because he thinks she is cute! But before she could stab him, Mustard, who is feeding Lady Nagant some sort of reddish brown pill at the moment, immediately stops what he is doing and stop Toga from stabbing Izuku!
"Toga! Stop!"Said Mustard and with that, both the blonde girl and the green-haired boy turn to look at him. And behind him appeared to be a box with a head of a robotic dragon with wires coming out from a missing left eye.
"Remember, the Alchemist wants them alive! You will get your chance if their answers do not satisfy them."Said Mustard as he's feeding the pill to Lady Nagant.
"The Alchemist? He is the reason why we are here! Do you two know where he is?! We wanted to talk with him!"Said Izuku
"About what?"Asked Mustard after he fed her the pill.
"About how much in common the heroes have with the knights of the Middle Ages. We wanted to know about his perspective of the current Hero Society."Said Izuku
"That's why you and this lovely lady are here for?! Not to ask him to refine some mystical pills to help with your cultivation?"Asked Mustard
"No! We're not! We're not even cultivators, to be exact!"Said Izuku and then, he, Toga and Mustard begin to hear the moaning sounds coming from Lady Nagant, indicating that she is beginning to wake up.
"... ooh... my head..."Said Lady Nagant as she's getting up while rubbing her head with her left hand.
"So you two are not cultivators?"Asked Mustard as he's getting up while looking at both the green-haired boy and the two-colored hair woman before him.
"And you two are not here for the pills from the Alchemist?"Asked Himiko
"Definitely not! We're here to talk with him about the heroes and the knights! We swear!"Said Izuku, hoping that saying the truth will convince these two to let him and Lady Nagant go.
"Keep an eye on them, Toga. I will go get the Alchemist."Said Mustard and after he said that, he leaves the tent to find the one who Izuku and Lady Nagant are looking for ever since they arrived in the Umbara Forest, the Immortal Alchemist. A few minutes later, the boy in the gas mask is back with someone else who Lady Nagant and Izuku assumed to be the Immortal Alchemist that they have been looking for. The man who came into the tent with Mustard appeared to a bearded man of Spanish descent in purple shirt, purple pants, long black robe, black turban, green gloves and green shoes.
"I heard you are looking for me, boy. I also heard that you wanted to talk with me about how much in common the knights and the heroes are."Said The Immortal Alchemist as he is looking down to Izuku and Lady Nagant, who are now sitting on the floor along with Toga.
"Are you... the Immortal Alchemist?"Asked Izuku
"I am known by many names, boy. To most of the cultivators, I am the Immortal Alchemist. But to most of the heroes and the villains alike, I am Diablo!"Said The Immortal Alchemist, now identifying himself as Diablo.
"Diablo? As in El Diablo?! The famous Spanish villain whose quirk is known as Alchemy? The one who mysteriously disappered after being defeated by the Fantastic Four in Latveria years ago?"Asked Lady Nagant
"The one and only, lady. And no, my quirk is not Alchemy. In fact, I do not even have a quirk at all."Said Diablo as he's smirking.
"Are you saying that... you're quirkless?"Asked Izuku
"Kid, many cultivators are quirkless. So yeah, I am one of those cultivators who are quirkless."Said Diablo
"So why are you hiding in a forest with two kids?"Asked Lady Nagant
"To hide from the rest of the world, of course. Among the cultivators, I am very famous for refining pills while still being wanted by the heroes for the thefts and smugglings of ingredients I needed to make pills."Said Diablo before he turned to look at Toga and Mustard, who is now sitting beside her.
"As for these two kids, I found them trespassing into the forest while being chased by the police. So I help them out and offer them shelters and foods in exchange of defending this forest for me."Said Diablo as he's sitting down on the ground before all of them.
"That's explain why they are still alive in such a dangerous place."Said Lady Nagant as she turned around to look at the blonde girl and the boy in the gas mask.
"Now, I believe you're not here to talk about these two or why I am here living in this forest. You two are here to talk about what the heroes and the knights have in common, am I right?"Asked Diablo
"Yes, we are. I heard from my sensei that you have the knowledge about what the knights and the heroes have in common, why the peoples are in denial that the heroes can be like the knights, the hero worship, corruptions among the heroes and many more."Said Izuku and upon saying that out, Diablo narrows his eyes.
"One God."Said Diablo
"Huh? One God? What does God have anything to do with this?"Asked Izuku
"Because they all live in ignorance of God, boy. And out of this ignorance, they resorted to idolatry that is hero worship. And when they resorted to idolatry, they become corrupted by it. For an example, peoples with quirks ridiculed those who don't have quirks and oppressed them."Said Diablo and with that, Izuku looks down to the ground with the sad face.
"All men are not created equal."Whispered Izuku as he's sadly looking down to the ground. However, Diablo heard him and laugh at what he just said!
"AHAHAHAHAHA! All men are not created equal?! That is the most ridiculous thing that I ever heard! AHAHAHAHAHAAA!"Laughed Diablo, thus confusing Izuku and the others who in the tent.
"Kid, let me get that stupid idea out of your head with this. All men are equaled before God. It doesn't matter what the colors of their skins are, how much wealth they have or who have and who do not have quirks. All men are equaled before God."Said Diablo
"All men are equaled before God?"Asked Izuku
"Indeed, this one is true, boy. Now, back to the hero worship is a form of idolatry. Believe it or not, Arabia once faced such a situation before."Said Diablo
"Really?"Asked Izuku
"Yes, it did. Back then, the city of Mecca in Arabia was the center of trade and idolatry. And the Quraysh merchants and the priests of Mecca made money by using the Kaaba to give sanctuary to the idols of all tribes in Arabia."Said Diablo
"They made money by housing the gods?"Asked Lady Nagant and Diablo nodded to comfirm what she just said.
"Those idols shaped the society of the Arabs back then. During that time, Arabia was a cruel place with no actual forms of laws. Tribal loyalties and customs were the only forms of protection and these two were shaped by the society created by those idols that were housed inside of the Kaaba, and the merchants and the priests who enriched themselves by making fortunes from the pilgrims from all tribes in Arabia who come to Mecca every year to worship those idols and the goods from the caravans that coming from both Syria and Yemen."Said Diablo
"Wow! Those merchants and those priests must be quite filthy rich!"Said Himiko with her usual creepy smile.
"You're correct, Toga. And those merchants and priests of Mecca also economically controlled the entire society in Arabia. With their powers and their wealth, they influenced the tribal laws to benefit themselves. For example, their daughters will be exempted from being buried alive according to the ancient customs."Said Diablo
"I don't like where this is going..."Said Himiko
"Me either."Said Mustard
"There's even more examples about pre-Islamic Arabian society shaped by these idols, their influential priests and the wealthy merchants of Mecca. Like women before the advent of Islam have not legal status or rights for inheritance in Arabia and were treated as nothing else but sexual objects for men, children were considered to be the properties of their fathers, everyone must do whatever it took to achieve fame and established their own legacies, the poor were being mistreated and men can indulged themselves into sexual pleasures with many women as they pleased. Now, do you see what idolatry can do to a society if it is grown too powerful?"Asked Diablo as he's looking directly at Izuku, who is quite shock at how horrible Arabia before the advent of Islam was.
"And how did it end? How did the Arabs finally turned away from idolatry and all of these horrible things?"Asked Izuku
"It's simple. Because he came."Said Diablo
"Who came?"Asked Himiko
"Muhammad, the Messenger of God. When he received the first revelation, announced his prophethood to the people of Mecca and began to preach his message about one God to people in the city, some people began to see through the lies of the society shaped by the idols, the merchants and the priests. But in the end, they are forced to flee. First time to Ethiopia and the second time to Yathrib, now known as Medina. Eventually, a war broke out between God's followers, known as the Muslims, and the Quraysh tribe of Mecca, who were pagans at the time. But in the end, Mecca had finally surrendered after the bloodless conquest of Mecca by the Muslims after the Quraysh violated a truce between themselves and the Muslims. After this conquest, all Arabia was converted to Islam and the lives of the Arabs started to become much better than before because the new religion, new laws, manners and attitudes contained in Islam."Said Diablo
"Like what?"Asked Lady Nagant
"In Islam, everyone is equaled before God since there are no races and no tribes, women have more rights such as the rights for inheritance and to choose who to marry with, children are considered as persons and must be protected, fed and clothed by their own parents, the poor received the better treatment, the acts of manumitting slaves are encouraged and seeking knowledge and answers about all that God created is greatly encourage by the Quran itself. With these changes, the Jahilliyyah has finally come to an end."Said Diablo
"Jahiliyyah?"Asked Izuku
"Jahiliyyah means Age of Ignorance in Arabic, boy."Said Diablo
"Age of Ignorance, huh?"Whispered Izuku as he is thinking of everything that Diablo has told him earlier, ranging from how Arabia used to be a cruel place with the male-dominated society with women and children having no rights whatsoever to how a Prophet changed it for the better of all Arab tribes. And after doing some thinking, he finally realized something! And what he just realized has shaken him deep to the core! After having realized it, he turned to Lady Nagant to ask her something.
"Lady Nagant."Said Izuku as he turned to meet her.
"What is it, kid?"Asked Lady Nagant
"Are we... living in the New Age of Ignorance?"Asked Izuku
"Are you saying that... the Age of Heroes is the New Age of Ignorance?!"Asked Lady Nagant, completely surprised at what he just said to her.
"Hero worship is a form of idolatry, right?"Asked Izuku and she nodded after he said that, thus comfirming that what he said is right.
"It's just like how the Arab tribes back then were heavily depending on those idols before Islam will be preached and the European monarchs and the Church were depending on the knights back in the Middle Ages. The current Hero Society is relying too much on the heroes! Everyone basically voluntary surrendered their freedoms to the heroes, who are basically playing the roles of those European knights and the idols of the era of the pre-Islamic Arabia even! In other words, the pro-heroes are nothing but living idols who preyed on the desperation of the peoples to gain wealth and powers for themselves and their benefactors!"Said Izuku and once he said that, Lady Nagant, Mustard and Toga are completely shocked at what he just said because he just basically said what appeared to be the very well analyzed version of the current situation of the Hero Society by comparing the heroes with the knights from Europe during the Middle Ages and the idols of Arabia before the advent of Islam! Just like the knights of the Middle Ages, the governments are heavily depending on the heroes and are willing to let them do whatever they pleased as long as they remained loyal to the governments. But at the same time, they are also like those old Arabian idols during the time of Prophet Muhammad's birth as well. Like those idols, the heroes preyed on the desperation of the people and received the large sums of fortunes in return for granting the peoples their safeties, securities and other desires such as the merchandises related to the heroes. Izuku was right! The Age of Heroes is the New Age of Ignorance because most people in the society basically are nothing but ignorant peoples who have been blinded by the overglorification of the heroes, thus allowing hero worship to consume the entire society and becoming slaves of the heroes!
"So in a sense, the heroes spiritually chained the peoples and spiritually enslaved them. Am I correct with this?"Asked Izuku as he turned to look at Diablo
"You're indeed correct, boy. Everyone in the current Hero Society is now nothing but the slaves to the heroes. Being chained to be depending on them like how the tribal Arabs back then were depending on the idols and the European monarchs and the Church were depending on the services of the knights. And believe it or not, even those heroes themselves are being chained and enslaved too."Said Diablo
"By who?"Asked Lady Nagant
"By their own greeds and their own faults. They can be called heroes but they cannot be called great people."Said Diablo
"So I was right. This is not the Age of Heroes. This is the New Age of Ignorance, where everyone, including the heroes, is enslaved and chained by someone or something. And a form of idolatry called hero worship is the cause of this."Said Izuku
Author's note: I know you all must be wondering about the whole situation about "everyone knows that the knights in the Middle Ages are just thugs in armors but voluntary ignoring the ideas and/or facts that the heroes can be just as nasty as the knights" here. The reason for this is because it has become the common knowledge in nowadays that the knights during the Middle Ages are nothing else but the vicious and cruel thugs in armors armed swords and spears on horsebacks who can kill anyone and plunder anything they pleased as long as they remained loyal to the monarchs of the realms they served and the Church. I even heard a story about the knights who suffered PTSD and decided to rape the nuns who allow them to take refuge in their monastery. After they finished raping them, I heard they tied them up and dump them into the sea while sailing back to Europe from the Holy Land. If the so-called "chivalrous" knights of the Middle Ages can do this, then who says the heroes cannot do the same? They simply are just at better at hiding their misdeeds behind the backs of the government officials. And here is where the people can use to argue about the heroes and the knights are not the one and the same in their minds. They believe that the heroes cannot do anything bad without the public knowing because it has been more than thousands of years since the Middle Ages and technologies and laws have improved. So the public and the officials were very confident that the heroes cannot do anything bad without them knowing about their misdeeds. Now, let's go to the other topic. As you all can see, I've added the head of the robotic dragon into this chapter. That head belonged to Dragon Man and no, his construction is not yet finished. As for the purpose of having him in the story, I wanted him to scan and learn about all quirks of everyone who participated in the U.A Entrance Exam for Izuku and the rest of the League by attacking the site where the examination is being held at the moment. So when the U.S.J Incident happened, things will turned out a little different from what happened in the canon. But of course, no students, teachers or villains will die after the incident. Originally, I was planning to use the Nomu inspired from a dinosaur like Majungsaurus or Mapusaurus to attack the U.A Entrance Exam. But when I decided to rethink about this and found out that I could use a robot for this, I decided to go for Dragon Man. And you all must be wondering why All For One know a lot about cultivation, right? Well, he lives more than a century and throughout his career as a great criminal mastermind, he has some encounters with the cultivators and learned some stuffs about them before. After all, his criminal empire has an alliance with the Ten Rings Sect in Uzbekistan. And yes, I named Mustard as Naoki Hayasaka since his real name and surname have yet to be revealed, so I decided to give him one. As for why I chose Diablo, it is because in Marvel Universe, he is an alchemist and he has been around ever since the time of the Emirate of Cordoba. But of course, I decided to add him being a cultivator who is specialized in alchemy in as well because I am a fan of manhua that featured cultivation. And I know that I didn't dive much into his backgrounds but that is because the main focus of this chapter is about compairing the heroes with the idols of pre-Islamic Arabia and the knights in the Middle Ages of Europe. That and because I cannot find the hole to finally explain why he is in a cultivator despite being someone coming from Europe or what history that he has with All For One. But if it is possible, I will find a way to explain his backgrounds later on in the story. Now, about the Fantastic Four in this universe. Yes, they existed. You guys can see how much obvious this is when it is stated that Diablo disappeared after he has been defeated by them in Latveria. One more thing, I orginally planned to have only Toga appear in this chapter. But then, I decided to change that by bringing Mustard in. And yes, they are only just friends here because Toga will eventually join Izuku's harem later on.
Questions, reviews, suggests, comments, requests and PMs to me would be appreciate.
TheGreatGodzilla's out, see you guys next time!