Walking purposefully through the streets of Limbo with everyone outfitted in similar, matching suits, Izuku couldn't help but feel their group of mortals and demons looked less like a band of heroes and more something out of a mafia b-flick. The fact that more-or-less every soul that they passed, mortal or otherwise, continued to go out of their way to avoid them only added to that feeling.
At least it's… efficient, I guess…?
With everyone desperate to give them space, their pace could be a hurried walk, despite the crowded city that would usually make anything more than a saunter awkward. Thanks to that, after only a brief few hours Izuku could see a fierce, white light stretching over the rooves of buildings, clawing at the tops of the alleyways they were walking through. Apparently they were nearing the end, meaning Limbo was clearly smaller than the other Circles, seeing as Lust took hours on a speedy hellhound. Or maybe Limbo was actually larger, but being an outer Circle meant a smaller sectoral radius still equated to a similar or identically-sized circle. Maybe the layout of hell didn't even operate by euclidean geometry, or perhaps it changed based on the needs of the presently-deceased.
Or perhaps it had actually taken longer than a few hours. Limbo seemed trapped in an eternal dim red sky, like a dark sunset blurred by light fog. It was possible that Izuku just hadn't noticed how much time had passed, seeing as the trip had been so infinitely more pleasant than the other Circles. Riding Cerberus was admittedly comfortable, but any mount was still an unfamiliar and alien experience compared to just walking through the streets. Let alone a mythical beast who was also his sort-of-friend-maybe(?). They even seemed to have functional public trains here, though Justice had elected to leave them unused for a reason she was suspiciously evasive about.
But more than that, the trip had given Izuku a few hours to chat with his two fellow 'mortals', with people that made this whole experience that little bit less like an adrenaline-fuelled hallucinatory nightmare. He'd learned that Todoroki wasn't just quiet in class, but rather quiet, period. He'd answer most questions without much hesitation, but usually with blunt, concise answers. It seemed that dying had also loosened his tongue on one or two issues that seemed more personal than Izuku could imagine usually sharing. He seemed happy when talking about his two siblings, but decidedly less so about an older brother he 'used to have'. The whole deal with his father was just… Wow.
Hagakure, meanwhile, was on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, her excitable attitude from class seemingly turned up to 11 from the emotional high of being able to see herself for the first time. Apparently she was one of five siblings (Izuku was starting to feel left out); an older sister, a younger brother & sister, and a non-identical twin brother. She'd been hesitant to share many details, and Izuku suspected it was to avoid making Todoroki feel worse, but the Quirk-enthusiast's natural curiosity had earned some basic information: A mother with a the power to absorb light and convert it into physical prowess, a father with wind manipulation limited to a few centimetres around his hands, and a slew of siblings with powers deriving from one or both of them. Apparently none of them had full invisibility like her, meaning those issues had been fairly unique.
"I mean, I always kinda knew what I looked like thanks to some tricks we figured out pretty early on. Spoiler: Being covered in flour is not as fun as it sounds."
"Because it sounds like such a riot." Justice commented sarcastically.
"I know, right!" Hagakure answered in kind, "I don't even wanna imagine what it'd be like trying to replicate that with… what do we have here, ash?"
"We have sand in some areas; basically ground-up brimstone." Justice suggested.
"I don't like sand." Todoroki contributed sagely.
"Yeah, it's rough, and irritating…" Hagakure was trying to hide a smile at the dumb reference.
"And it gets everywhere." Izuku found himself smiling in turn.
"And not in a fun way…" Modeus pouted.
"But now I don't have to!" Hagakure quickly moved on as Izuku flushed red, performing a small twirl and turning invisible and back again for emphasis, "Almost makes being stuck here with only Todoroki for company worth it."
"Sorry." the boy in question immediately replied.
"Wha- Nonono!" she quickly waved her hands, a difficult thing to interpret as she turned invisible out of embarrassment, "I just mean being stuck here without my family or old friends or anything – it would've been way worse without you here!"
"Mm." Todoroki nodded, "Likewise. Being stranded alone in Hell for weeks does sound difficult."
"'Stranded'?" Justice echoed, "Didn't you guys get the welcoming talk?"
""… No?"" the two replied, before Todoroki continued, "We were given our 'list of sins' by 'Pandemonica' then, after 'accepting' that we committed them, fell into some kind of auditorium with about thirty similarly confused people-"
"And by 'similarly confused', he means 'stunned into silence and/or crying and/or screaming and/or having a mental breakdown over the fact they just died'." Hagakure clarified.
"Then we were given this-" he pulled a small leaflet out of his suit, "By a demon in similar attire to yourselves with black horns, and asked to leave."
"And by 'asked' he means we were told 'it's now our lunch break; leave or you're on the menu'. I'd assumed they were joking but now…" Hagakure trailed off as Cerberus threw her an 'innocent' grin.
"… Can I see that?" Izuku asked, and Todoroki gave him the leaflet without hesitation.
'Welcome to Hell!'… Well, that's original… Turning the page, the small leaflet turned out to be a brochure with some basic information. Turning a few more, he realised it was dozens of pages disguised as only a couple, no doubt through demonic magic or something similarly outside his current comprehension. 'A beginner's guide to Hell', 'How to cope with loss', 'Top 10 debauchery spots in Limbo'… It seemed to cover some of the basics regarding the outer Circle's structure and how to go about 'living' there. Izuku, with Todoroki's permission, decided to pocket the item in his tie for now. While there might be some useful information in there, he was more concerned with something that had been nagging at him for a while
"What do you mean, 'for weeks'?" he looked between Hagakure and Todoroki, "You guys said something at the diner which made me think you've been here a while. I didn't have time to ask due to…" he glanced at Justice, who simply elected to pay him no mind beyond donning a smug grin, "… Impromptu lessons. But I wanted to clarify… You've definitely been here longer than two days?"
The two shared a glance, before both turning to face Izuku, "That's right." Todoroki stated simply.
"The days here may be a bit odd, and maybe our internal clocks aren't 100%, but it's definitely been at least a week." Hagakure elaborated, "I think more like two or so, but absolutely zero chance it's less than one."
"Why do you ask?" Todoroki questioned.
"That's…" Izuku found himself unable to continue, "I…" had it really been two weeks? His experience since arriving in Hell had been the most difficult in his entire life, yes. His perception of time was likely off kilter, almost certainly. Had it been traumatic? Absolutely. But, no matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn't see the time he'd been escaping be more than a day or two. The pain and suffering made it feel like weeks, months even, but putting that aside, no matter what angle he looked at it…
"No." Justice interrupted his thoughts with a flat tone, "You haven't been here that long."
"… Was I-"
"You didn't need to mumble." she cut him off with a slight smile, "It was an obvious question written all over your face. The answer is a bit tricky." she spun around, walking backwards with ease while facing their group properly, "You see, time isn't quite as 'absolute' as you might think. Obviously you guys finally figured out some of the kinks, high velocities and black holes and that, but despite knowing that time isn't such a hard-and-fast rule in theory, you seem pretty set on it being more-or-less concrete through your lives. Thing is, you can only tell how much linear time has passed based on your perception of it. That's usually not a problem; position of the sun, how tired you feel awake, how refreshed you feel after waking up, clocks, etc. You've got a lot of markers day-to-day to keep you oriented. But when you travel to Hell?" she shook her head, "Completely different story. High stress, unfamiliar situation, occasional localised dissociative amnesia, adjusting to your newly-deceased form… Suddenly, those markers go out the now-obsidian window, so your perception of time becomes distorted. Combine that with the cobbled-together mess of arbiters, subordinates and overflow agents we have covering things, and your observed time becomes less of a clear linear path and more…"
"… A wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey ball?" Hagakure asked, curiosity mixed with some excitement in her voice.
"… Weird way to put it, but sure." Justice shrugged, "Which means-"
"We have no idea how much time has passed since we died…" Izuku muttered, face paling at the idea, "H-How long-?!"
"Not sure." Justice immediately answered, "Usually it's only a few hours or so, but with the backlog we've got it's quite a bit longer."
"Q-'Quite a bit'?" Hagakure echoed.
"H-How long?" Izuku asked.
"Like…" she turned around to continue walking straight, scratching the back of her head in thought, "Maybe… Around… A month… ish?" her words were met with stunned silence.
"I find that answer vague and unconvincing." until Todoroki put their thoughts to words.
"A month…?" Izuku muttered to himself. A day or two was bad enough, but a month?
That would mean… Wait, doesn't that mean U.A. will be hosting the sports festival? Will they even still be doing that? They've… lost at least three first-years and maybe a teacher or two from what Todoroki's story suggested. Will they decide not to host it? Will they be allowed to host it? Surely some kind of education board has to get involved, if not the Hero Association…
Such ideas ran through Izuku's mind as the group continued on through the streets of Limbo in silence, his mortal companions evidently grappling with their own thoughts on the subject. With the lack of other stimuli, Cerberus pushed against his hand. While the whole petting thing still felt slightly awkward, especially in her human form, he had to admit it was a welcome distraction from fretting over things he currently had no control over. Instead he had to settle for the simple goal of 'we need to get back to the mortal world and fix things as soon as human/demon-ly possible'.
The distraction didn't prove necessary for long, however. At the end of yet another street, Izuku could see the group finally reach what seemed to be casting the white light over the streets and paths they'd been walking through. The light's source shone brightly, the alley comparatively cloaked in darkness, and Izuku was unable to see what was beyond. Upon reaching the end, he could see naught but white as his eyes tried to adjust, a dim wave of heat rolling over him.
"And here we go…" Izuku could just about see a smile on Justice's face underneath her sunglasses that he was really wishing he could've borrowed. After a few seconds of his eyes adjusting, however, he was able to make out a huge wall of flames in the distance, shining a bright, scorching white, with occasional flecks of bloody red swirling in the inferno. The wall extended as far as the eye could see in any direction, and while the heat wasn't terrible here, the mere thought of what it'd be like closer up made him sweat.
"So I guess this is what separates Limbo from…" Izuku started.
"The gates of Hell." Justice filled in, "And thanks to the presence of some friendly arch-demons," she gestured to herself, Cerberus and Modeus, "Those aren't really an obstacle so much as a fancy door."
"We're almost there!" Cerberus exclaimed.
"Hey, so, not to spoil, the mood, but I do have one question." Hagakure asked, "How are we supposed to get through?"
It was a valid question. It seemed their bodies down here didn't follow human biology one-to-one, but Izuku was still confident that marching through a towering wall of white-hot flames would be hazardous to his health.
"I could keep us cool with ice?" Todoroki suggested.
"Sure, if you wanna be steamed instead of roasted." Justice replied.
"Ok…" Izuku sighed, "So what's the challenge? I would guess we're supposed to renounce our sins and 'accept the lord' or something, but considering the previous attempts, just not thinking atheist thoughts seems more likely…"
His classmates looked at him curiously at the guess; he still hadn't quite given all the details of his journey thus far. But as expected, Justice simply chuckled.
"Not a bad guess, gotta admit. But sadly, no, escaping Hell ain't that easy. In fact, this isn't designed as a test. It's a perimeter fence." the statement made Izuku's eyes widen.
"T-Then, what're we supposed to-"
"Designed to keep in mortals and low-level demons." her smile grew that little bit more smug, "Thankfully, we aren't low-level."
"Well, that's great for you…" Hagakure pointed out.
"Which is why you'll be staying close." she nodded briefly to Cerberus. At her gesture, the three bodies all smiled at the three mortals; one happily to Izuku, one politely to Hagakure, and one fiercely to Todoroki, before they all shifted into their hound forms.
"W-W-W-WHAT-"
"… Oh." Todoroki sighed, interrupting Hagakure's shock, "Cerberus. Right."
… I probably should've said something, shouldn't I? The thought occurred as he pet his assigned Cerberus, an action he was far happier to do while they were in their dog form.
"Each of you take one Cerberus." Justice told them, "You stay in the centre of her back, you make yourself small to minimise contact with the flames, you cling to her for dear life."
"And her body shields us from the flames?" Izuku checked.
"Partially!" her reply didn't fill him with confidence, "And when combined with your new heat-resistant suits, it should last long enough. Probably."
"""'Probably'?""" the three mortals echoed.
"Hopefully." Justice shrugged, "It's the best chance we've got. I'll stick close to Izuku in case you need extra protection."
"He wouldn't need protection with me-" even in hound-form, Cerberus still had enough fine motor control to smack Modeus. The sight of a giant hound smacking her with its paw felt like it should be surreal, but at this point it scored a 6 at most in the scale of 'weird scenes Izuku has witnessed in the last 24 hours'
"What about us?" Todoroki asked.
"If you get fried, you'll be sent back to Limbo with a slap on the wrist. Maybe sent to Greed at worst, something we can easily get you out of once we're done. Izuku goes, and it's all the way down to Judecca."
"He's a higher priority." Todoroki nodded in understanding.
"Don't worry, I can protect you~"
"Protect Hagakure. Even if it's minimal, I can regulate my body temperature better than most." Todoroki disarmed Modeus with complete seriousness.
"With pleasure~" not that she stayed disarmed for long, sliding up to a subsequently-invisible Hagakure.
"Ok then…" Izuku took a deep breath before climbing atop his Cerberus.
"Let's go." Todoroki did the same, though he could swear his Cerberus let out a slight growl.
"I'll see you guys on the other side!" Hagakure's cheer was infectious, and her Cerberus soon adopted a similar disposition.
It's been a long journey… It may have only been a day or two, but it honestly felt like months… he shook off the thought.
But that's all meaningless if I fall here. Just one last push, and I should be able to fix-
"Arf!" Cerberus barked happily before taking off. Their bounding party approached the inferno, the mild heat growing into an intense summer day.
Wait, not me… We should be able to set everything right. I couldn't have gotten here without everyone's help… Justice, Cerberus, M- he glanced at Modeus for a moment, Malina, without any one of them…
The heat grew to a sauna.
No, even Miss Modeus helped make part of my suit. Without any one of them I would have failed, if not before then here. And I'm sure I'll need Hagakure and Todoroki when we get to the other side.
The sauna grew to an oven.
I'm not going alone. With everyone's help, we can do this!
They leapt towards the flames.
I WON'T LET THEM DOWN!
Cerberus flew into the fire, waves of scorching air crashing against Izuku.
OHGODIT'SHOTIT'SHOTIT'SHOTIT'SHOTSOHOTSOHOTHOTHOTHOT
All determined thoughts were burned away by the raging hellfire sweeping over his skin, into his mouth, up his nose, into every fold and crevice it could find to sear pain into each individual cell. His mind was flung back to ten years ago, to the feeling of Kacchan's first explosions against his skin when he tried to stop him. To the feeling of intense agony, to complete helplessness as he was against the mercy of the unstoppable inferno that was his former friend. It was the only thing he could remember that had ever felt like an inescapable, impossible pain.
He'd take a decade of nothing but that feeling if it meant one second less in this purgatory.
With nothing else to do he merely clutched stronger onto the fur beneath him. What had been a comforting warmth in the colds of Gluttony was now an unbelievably relieving cool in this burning hellscape. The memory of the fatal cold felt desirable now, but it also brought a far more chilling possibility to his mind.
Is this… What Judecca would be like…?
The thought brought him even more resolve to bear through the pain. If he fell here, failure wouldn't even be an escape. It'd be a spiralling pit that brought nothing more than further pain and suffering.
I can do this… He grappled to Cerberus tighter and fought through the pain. He bit his lip, feeling the blood it brought soon charred by the flames.
We can do this…
We can do this…
WE-
"And we. Are. OUT!" Justice's words were accompanied by unbelievable relief, the swirling hell breaking into a blazing heat, but one that felt like a welcome icy chill in comparison.
"We… I… Did we make it…? Did Todoroki and Hagakure-"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAandwe'reoutOHTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU" looking to his left he found Hagakure breaking through just after him, while Todoroki was there between the two, gasping heavily.
"H-Here…" he quickly made large chunks of ice and threw them to his mortal companions.
"T-Thanks, Todoroki…" Izuku replied.
"I love you, Todoroki…" the three sank into their pieces of ice.
"… Wait what-"
"What?"
"So." Justice hopped down of Cerberus and began to help Izuku, ignoring his two confused and cooling companions, "I know that was kinda intense-"
"'Kinda'?" Izuku echoed.
"'Catastrophically' would be more accurate…" Todoroki moaned as he tried to get off Cerberus, who seemed intent on knocking him back-and-forth instead.
"I seriously thought I was dead there for a second!" Hagakure exclaimed as she slid off Cerberus, deftly dodging Modeus' apparent offers.
"Technically you already are." Justice pointed out, either not noticing or just not acknowledging the unamused stare Hagakure gave her. Probably the latter.
"What matters is we're through." she emphasised, "And other than the lock on the gates being kind of a pain, that's an issue we demons can deal with. For you guys, the hard part's over."
"… Really?" Izuku asked hesitantly. They'd gone through so much in such a short time, part of him couldn't believe it. Surely there was something else? Some further obstacle, some new challenge they'd have to push through.
Was that… Really it…? He could feel tears begin to form at the relief.
"Really." Justice reassured him with a hand on his shoulder, "All you've got to do now is sit back for a few minutes, recover, and let us open up the gates up ahead. Just leave it to-"
"Justice." a new voice spoke up, further from the wall of flames. It was harsh, yet measured, a single word conveying feelings of frustration, uncertainty, resignation… For a moment, Izuku couldn't bring himself to look towards its source.
Especially as Justice's hand had clamped tightly on his shoulder.
"Shit…" she cursed under her breath with a small scowl, before immediately reversing her attitude as she released Izuku's shoulder, smiles and chill vibes amped up way past 11.
"Hey, Judgement, how's it hangin'?" turning to the new arrival, Izuku was met with…
With…
With a demon of purple-black skin, almost charred unlike the rest of hell's inhabitants, though still with (long and chaotic) silver-white hair, black horns, and a black tail. But what set her apart in Izuku's mind was the outfit: Gone was a formal attire of a suit, replaced with a ripped jacket, a belt only holding up what looked like underwear, and metallic claws more akin to a sci-fi villain than the cotton gloves he'd seen others wear. But the core that made her outfit stand out was…
"How is her outfit showing more skin that Yaoyorozu's?" Hagakure asked in a whisper, "Isn't that, like, her costume's whole point? And how does that bra even work?!" she gestured towards the broken clothing that, by all standards, should not be able to remain in place.
"… Demon magic?" Todoroki guessed.
"The power of fan-service." for once Modeus' input actually seemed accurate. Izuku couldn't help but feel that was a bad sign.
"What are you doing here?" the new demon, 'Judgement' – yep because I needed more red flags – asked bluntly.
"Oh, come on, don't be like that…" while Izuku admittedly hadn't known her for long, he swore Justice's upbeat and carefree tone held an edge to it, a hint betraying its false nature. His bad feeling about the situation only got worse.
"How long's it been since I last saw you? Like, months at least!"
"Thirty seven years."
"Damn." Justice snapped a finger, "Doesn't time fly?"
"When you're not taking your job seriously, perhaps." Judgement growled, "Now, you didn't answer the question: What are you doing here?"
"Oh, y'know how it is, gotta break the rookies in somehow, right? Figured Gehenna was a good way to show 'em who's boss…"
"But I thought we were-" Izuku silently, as subtly as he could manage, grabbed the now-human Cerberus' hand, imploring her to please stay silent. From her reaction, it seemed his panic was visible to her, and she nodded understandingly.
"Thanks again for the help guys." Justice nodded back to Cerberus and Modeus, "Couldn't have asked for a better demonstration of why not to screw with demons."
"That's what you're going with?" Judgement sneered, "You're claiming these three mortals are all sinners of Limbo you've recruited as, what, interns?"
"I'm not claiming anything, I'm telling you-"
"Because the reason I'm here is to follow up a report one of my succubi made."
"Look, we really don't need to hear about a bunch of discount Modeus-"
"Apparently, a mortal soul was seen high above the cliffs of Ferox, effectively bypassing the winds of Lust and thus the border to Limbo." her gaze intensified with the statement.
"Ha! Sounds like they've hitting the ambrosia too hard." Justice's smile was strained.
"My thoughts exactly. So imagine my surprise when I learn that not only have you abandoned your post yet again, but that you are in the ring of Limbo – outside your domain – without any inter-ring notifications and, most curiously, that you have a mortal fitting this supposedly drug-addled succubi's description in remarkable detail. Albeit in new attire." the glare turned towards Izuku, before her bright white eyes intensified in their light before the disapproving frown on her face turned into one of full-blown anger, a final point made through ground teeth, "One who's soul labels him bound for the deepest pits of Judecca!"
Wait, how can she-! Izuku's eyes went wide – she knew, just like that?! Was that an ability all demons had?! Did Cerberus and Modeus know his fate from the moment they met and just not care? Or…?
No, wait… Her eyes flashed, she's called 'Judgement', demons seem to have unique abilities…
"Is it like Justice's soul vision…?" he unconsciously muttered.
"Hm." Judgement's brow rose a fraction, "It seems you aren't completely hopeless. And if he knows about that." her gaze turned back to Justice, "I'm guessing there's a reason you felt the need to explain how your sight works?"
"Oh, you know…" Justice's smile never wavered, but Izuku could practically see the sweat forming on the back of her neck.
Wait… Did I just ruin everything by saying that? Did I screw everything up again because I couldn't keep my stupid mouth shut for one damned SECOND?!
"I-… I'm sorry…" he managed through an empty voice.
"Don't be…" Justice sighed, turning back to whisper a response to him, "I should've known she wouldn't be here if she wasn't certain. We were in for it the moment she made it here before us."
"What do we do…?" Izuku whispered back.
"Well, usually I'd say make a break for it and hope at least one of us gets through. But you've proven weirdly popular with demons so far." she shrugged slightly while inclining her head towards Cerberus, "I guess we give diplomacy a try?"
"You know, conspiracy usually works best when done in secret." Judgement stated harshly.
"Look, we were not- wait, does that count as conspiring? Whatever," Justice shook off the thought, "So, here's the deal…"
Instead of trying to talk around the issue, she decided to run through a brief synopsis of what had led them here: Izuku's death, his arrival in Hell, and his deal with Justice allowing him to temporarily visit the land of the living and return his quirk to his mentor. From her reaction, i.e. allowing the tale to continue and not immediately attacking their group, Izuku got the impression that Judgement was actually willing to listen and be reasonable to some extent.
Also, he felt lying abysmally would end particularly badly for him here.
"So yeah, that about sums it up." Justice turned to Izuku, "You got anything to add?"
"Uh, well, that's…" he scratched the back of his head lightly, unsure how to respond to that, "Well, just… In all honesty, I'm still not that confident in my knowledge of the demon hierarchy and how Hell's systems work, but I understand that Justice is taking a big risk in offering to help me. I want to make it clear how grateful I am for that."
"Aww, it was nothing…" usually he'd argue Justice brushing off his thanks, but right now there was a more pressing point to get to.
"But also, Miss J-Judgement, I want to make it clear that my intent isn't to avoid punishment here. Once I've returned this power, I'll come back and take any punishment deemed appropriate. I think I now owe some time to some demons for some things…" vague, yes, but so were the terms of his contract, "B-But excepting any commitments for that, I'll take any punishments deemed necessary ha- well, not happily… but without complaint. But I can't leave things the way I did. Not when there's even the tiniest chance I can make it right. This power…" he clenched his fist, feeling the familiar power of his inherited quirk coursing through it, but with the untamed wildness that seemed to emerge upon arriving in hell.
"It didn't always belong to me, but was entrusted to me. And it isn't right that it dies with me. It's something that needs to be passed on to someone worthy." More worthy than me… "To create more heroes like All Might. More beacons that shine through the darkness of villainy, to create a brighter world for everyone. This power doesn't belong to me, not really. One for All belongs to everyone." he bowed his head down as low as he could, all but begging the demon before him to permit him passage.
"Please, don't punish the people of the world for my failings."
After his impromptu speech, the group gave a moment's pause. Under ordinary circumstances, Izuku had no doubt he'd have become a bubbling wreck halfway through. But this was too important, conveying his true feelings too essential to even have time to worry about his anxiety acting up. They had to get through.
Please, let us through…
"Well…" Judgement sighed after digesting his words, "I'll admit: I've not heard a speech like that in an age."
"So we're cool?" Justice asked hopefully. Izuku dared to raise his head, only to find Judgement wearing a resigned frown.
"No." she replied coldly. But it wasn't without emotion, or compassion, it was a rejection tinted with regret. But that was overshadowed by stronger conviction.
"But-"
"But speech!" Cerberus reacted in shock.
"I know, right! I'm trying to memorise it… Damn, I wish I'd brought some paper…" Modeus groaned.
"Oh, c'mon!" Justice exclaimed, "Can you not even bend a rule for once in your life?!"
"I did." Judgement replied venomously. Gone was any semblance of regret or pity, replaced instead with barely contained anger, now directed solely at Justice, "In fact, I allowed a mortal to return to the surface with a number of demons, against my better judgement. And you expect me to allow it again, despite what happened? Or did you simply forget?"
"… This is different." and now gone was Justice's carefree and jovial demeanour, forced or otherwise, replaced with a stone wall of emotions.
"Indeed, it's worse. This is not a jovial group merely seeking entertainment which will go spectacularly off the rails. Instead, I see a sinner who will do anything to try and right his wrongs in the Mortal Sphere, and I see a path of chaos and destruction in its wake. The afterlife compromised, humanity stalled, the laws of life and death violated." her expression softened slightly as she turned back to Izuku, "Once our backlog is sorted and work is calmer once again, I'll take up your assigned punishment with Loremaster personally. Until then, however-"
"That could take decades!" Justice shouted angrily, "And you just expect him to suffer unspeakable torments all that time, while the world collapses from something we could've prevented?!"
"The mortal world will collapse. Ours will continue as normal, though perhaps with a slightly larger population." she shrugged, "Those are the duties we have been assigned, the rules we must follow-"
"Screw the rules! You think Lucy gave a damn about the rules when she took over hell? Or Azazel when becoming Loremaster?!"
"If the latter did, perhaps she'd still have her arms. If the former did, perhaps you'd still have your eyes."
At the statement, a cold silence dominated the group. Even the roaring fires of Gehenna behind them seemed to calm in response to the frozen atmosphere. No one had a response to such a statement. How could they? Izuku had simply assumed her blindness was natural, a side-effect of her ability and part of however demons were… born? Made? But no, clearly there was more to the story, and clearly it was still a sore subject.
"Cerberus." Justice's tone had cooled to an icy statement. "You get everyone to the gate. I'll keep her distracted."
"But, Justi-"
"She's already made up her mind, Izuku." as she cracked her knuckles, he found it difficult to face the reality of the fact she was right. All this time, Judgement hadn't once shown any possibility of changing her stance. Regret? yes. Sympathy? absolutely. But never once had she shown indecision. Any hint that she might be convinced to see things their way.
No… Izuku corrected his thinking, She can see our perspective. She just thinks it's wrong.
But no matter the circumstances, the history behind their conversation, whatever Judgement was fearful of happening again, no matter the laws of the afterlife governing such decisions… Izuku couldn't see any way that he'd accept staying here and depriving the world of One for All as being the 'correct' decision.
"I can help-"
"You are a mortal." Justice interrupted his offer, "A newly-deceased, inexperienced, untrained, incredibly fragile, dies-and-it's-all-for-nothing, mortal. She is one of the most physically powerful demons in existence, over a millenia old, ex-leader of the elite exorcists, still trains regularly, properly armed, and wants you dead." she raised her fists into a fighting stance with a sigh. "And I'm out of practice, lacking gear, and can't keep you covered in a fight. Best I can do is keep her distracted long enough for you to get out."
Izuku glanced back from Judgement to her, finding determined eyes behind the sunglasses. Eyes not looking for an escape, nor a victory, but with a route set and a grim finish in sight.
"Wait, what?! But- I'm not leaving you behind!" he rejected the mere thought, "I would've been rotting in Judecca if it wasn't for you! I- I would've frozen in Gluttony! Drowned in Tentatio! Baked in Lust! I never even would've-"
"And your alternative suggestion is, what? Die here? Make the whole thing pointless?"
"That-" Izuku faltered in his response. He wanted to snap back, to shout that he'd never do such a thing and that she was oversimplifying, but… Was she right? Was this the only way? They'd come so far- so far that they could see their goal in the distance… To come all this way and continue without her felt wrong, but…
To come all this way for nothing…? For everything we did to be in vain? To let One for All die?
"Hey, don't worry." she tried a smile, but it was without her usual charm and sincerity, "I'll be fine. Just make sure to come back when you're done, or I'll drag you down to Hell myself!" Izuku could already feel the tears leaking down his cheeks.
"I-"
"A noble sentiment." Judgement, the demon blocking their path, forcing their hand, interrupted. Looking towards her, Izuku realised she'd crouched into a leaping stance, and in the blink of an eye she rocketed towards him.
"But what makes you think-!" Justice was suddenly in front of him, blocking a strike but not the now-crazed eyes boring intently into him.
"I'LL ALLOW IT?!"
"CERBERUS!"
"""Right!""" their triplet companion jumped into action from Justice's call. Just as Judgement was able to break through the block and throw a deafening kick at Izuku, he could feel large teeth on the back of his neck, latching onto his collar and hoisting him backwards. Barely a centimetre passed between him and Judgement's blade-clad black leather boots.
Another moment and Cerberus had flung him back, evidently trying to put distance between him and their foe, giving Izuku a momentary birds-eye-view of the situation: All three Cerberi had morphed back into their hound forms, the first was carrying Hagakure and Todoroki (the latter of whom was positioned ready to create some structure of ice at a moment's notice), the second who'd thrown Izuku back had darted forwards to help Justice, who had already thrown a blocked-punch which created another wave of wind rushing outwards, while the third was out of sight-
"Gotcha!" only to be revealed carrying Modeus, who'd caught him on the way down.
"T-Thank you!"
"If you wanna thank me-"
"ARF!" Cerberus barked aggressively back at Modeus as their group began taking off.
"OH NO YOU-" Judgement's attempt to lunge for them was intercepted again by a strike from Justice and a bite from Cerberus, each coming from different angles but being blocked simultaneously with minimal visible effort on Judgement's part. To make sure they were difficult to follow, Todoroki began erecting ice walls between them and the fight, their sides dripping with water vapour thanks to Hell's heat. Within moments Izuku could hear the walls being smashed, but the vapour…
"Todoroki! I've got an idea!"
"Make it quick!" he didn't stop creating ice.
"Make a chunk of ice in front of us – Cerberus, can your flame breath-" at his suggestion Todoroki formed a gigantic iceberg which both Cerberi proceeded to incinerate on their way past. The sudden burst of intense heat turned the solid to liquid to gas all in a split-second, and with an excess of energy and mass, the whole thing quickly dispersed into a cloud of steam – perfect cover for their escape.
"Ow!" Hagakure winced.
Too bad their suits didn't block all the heat…
"DAMN YOU!" Justice casually blocked the enraged and sloppy punch that punctuated Judgement's yell. All the strength in the world was pointless when you couldn't properly direct it, and Izuku's whole sauna plan had thrown Judgement for a loop. While Justice could still see near-perfectly, the heated water vapour in the air doing little to obscure the flow of the soul, those relying on typical sight were probably having more of an issue.
Not bad… she grew an unseen smirk realising the situation gave her a temporary advantage, lunging at Judgement in an attempt to capitalise before the steam dissipated. She threw a punch-
"ngh!" but the fallen angel's instincts stopped the blow from hammering home – the punch directed at her stomach instead only clipping the side of her chest as she dodged out of the way. Justice tried to follow up with a kick to her legs-
"Ow!" only for Cerberus to headbutt her out of the way, winding her for too long to press any attack.
An apologetic whine made clear that Judgement wasn't the only one having trouble seeing through the steam. Ignoring the unexpected friendly fire, Justice focused on trying to stop their opponent from escaping. Another lunge, this one a faint to try and stomp her foot – anything to reduce mobility and give the advance party extra time. But it was rendered moot with the slightest, jerking shift of Judgement's position. Judgement was on the back foot, but Justice had overextended, a moment's hesitation would see the tables turned.
She pressed the attack, turning into a shoulder-slam, smashing into Judgement with as much force as she could muster. She was knocked back to the ground, skidding towards the flaming wall and outside the denser part of the steam cloud while Justice tried to recover with a stumble. Cerberus lunged towards them with a decent chance of actually hitting the right demon this time.
"ARF!" as the hellhound bit down at Judgement's prone form, she wrapped up into a backwards roll. Cerberus' teeth sank into hard stone, while Judgement sprang forwards from her roll to deliver a hard kick strong enough to send the crimson beast flying backwards. Justice swerved around the airborne dog, intending to pull her down lightly. The sight of Judgement launching herself to try and get past forced her to reconsider, leaving Cerberus to recover by herself while Justice intercepted their foe.
An action Judgement seemed to predict, her dash attempting to hide the windup for a high kick that Justice could see coming a mile away. Blocking the leg with one hand, she used the opening to deliver a quick punch square into Judgement's chest, sending the demon skidding back but otherwise not enough to cause any notable harm.
"… Very well, then." Judgement grunted before taking a proper fighting stance, raising her fists into a position more reminiscent of a swordfighter than a brawler.
"Finally got the memo?" Justice asked while falling into her own faux-boxing stance, a slightly-limping Cerberus falling into line at her side.
"Indeed!" She prepared to launch forward with cold-iron claws outstretched, "If you insist on standing in my way, I WILL REPORT YOUR BETRAYAL OVER YOUR CORPSES!"
She launched forward, Justice barely able to dodge the enraged, sweeping arc of her claws that would've spelt an anticlimactic end to their match.
The duel quickly turned from a battle of distraction into a fight for survival, Justice and Cerberus weaving a desperate dance between Judgement's lethal attacks. A wide arc – backstep; a burst of flame – block; a thrust – sidestep, a horizontal follow-up – duck, counter with a punch (for all the good it did).
Really wish I'd kept those gloves…
At the time putting them aside had seemed like such an obvious idea. Those garments had been ones she wore out of both her position, and a promise. She'd long since stepped down as high prosecutor, and that promise had been a lie from the beginning. Handing those back had felt so good- well, not good, but… Satisfying? Maybe not, but for whatever reason it had felt right.
However, fighting one of Hell's most powerful demons without a cold-iron lined armament felt distinctly wrong. 'I'll be stuck regenerating for who-knows-how-long and I'll wake up to an absolute shitstorm' wrong.
And being out of practice doesn't help…
But still, despite being on the back foot, she was doing better than expected. Yes, she was constantly on the verge of death with Judgement's razors coming close to giving her a bold new haircut, but hey, at least she was on the verge of death. That counted for something, right?
Optimism absolutely brimming, she continued their dance of after-death, whirling through a blur of blades to sneak in as many blows as she could. Cerberus was holding up… less well. Her form had long-since reverted to human to try and avoid any more cuts, but those already delivered saw blood seeping through her sleeves, her trousers, her waistcoat – a nasty gash to her forehead had reduced her to a single eye's vision.
And the cost of her smaller frame was any attacks she could land barely fazing Judgement. She'd been able to fall more-or-less into step with Justice when it came to dodging, but any counter-blows were all but pointless. Add in the fact she still wasn't able to avoid all of Judgement's attacks, and at this point she was useful as little more than a distraction.
"Cerbs!" she tried to whisper loudly enough her voice would be heard. The slight twitch of Cerberus' ear indicated it was, "You need to regroup with the others!" Justice had to suddenly dash forward and duck into a face-first slide to avoid a fast-flying horizontal leap.
"What?!" Cerberus tried to go in for an attack, but was pushed back as Judgement span into a blur of blades before even landing. She quickly hopped back next to Justice so they could whisper privately "But help-!"
"They need a PD to get out, and you don't count unless it's all three!" she grabbed Cerberus by the shoulder, urging her to leave, "I'll keep her distracted long enough, so you need to-"
"IGNITE THE SIN MACHINE!" her order was interrupted by Judgement's screech, the ground beneath them quaking with a split as whining cogs whirred beneath them.
Aw, Hell…
As a rusted machine of eternal punishment erupted from the ground before them, chains sent spiralling up in every direction. A moment later, the hurricane of twisted metal folded in on itself, the chains flowing around Judgement as the machine lifted her into its core.
"GO!" Justice quickly pushed Cerberus towards the others before the monstrosity could complete. Thankfully, she finally listened, a look of uncertainty the last thing she showed before transforming into hound form and bounding off as quickly as she could.
Their choice made, Justice turned around to face a battle she'd have trouble winning in the best of conditions. A battle she had absolutely no chance of winning in current conditions.
Yeah… she raised her fists weakly.
"SUFFERING MUST BE MADE!"
This is gonna suck…
"Arf!" Cerberus knelt down enough for Izuku to climb off, while Modeus slid off effortlessly; looking back, he could see the shining flicker of Judgement's claws battling with Justice and one of Cerberus' hound forms.
"C'mon, we gotta-" Modeus cut off, glancing around frantically.
"What?" Izuku turned to look forwards, and could see their group was mere metres from the threshold: A grand, looming doorway of cracked stone tinted red, carved into a pitch-black wall that soared infinitely tall and curved around in both directions. It was flanked on either side by two braziers mounted on tall columns, and preceded by…
"… A bunch of rocks?" he took a step towards their goal – they'd finally reached-
"STOP!" Modeus immediately clung onto him, not letting him get near the end, "It's a trap!"
"What's a trap?" Todoroki asked, walking up alongside the two as their group dismounted.
"That is!" Cerberus exclaimed, gesturing vaguely at the rocks in front of them.
"The…" he blinked, "The rocks… Are a trap…?"
"Are they, like, cursed rocks…?" Hagakure ventured.
"They look kinda…" Izuku struggled, "Uniform, I guess-" wait.
A number of rocks arranged in an odd pattern with a number of gaps which, from what Izuku could see, were set in a remarkably uniform matrix and blocking the doorway in a seemingly convoluted way.
"Is this one of the block puzzles Justice mentioned…?"
"Is that what you mortals call them?" Modeus asked.
"I think so. Also, uh… Could you…" he squirmed in place, becoming uncomfortably aware Modeus was still holding onto him.
"Well, I suppose there's a time and a place for these things." She backed off of her own volition. That felt like a monumentally bad sign.
"I don't get what the big deal is-" Hagakure stepped forward, the tips of her toes encroaching on the outline of the area. Instantly, she was transported into the centre of a square in a puff of red smoke, a threatening black sphere showing the number '33' hovering above her.
"D-Don't move!" Izuku called out. If this worked how he thought it did, a misstep here would be fatal. He hurriedly explained what he knew of the puzzle, that the number above Hagakure's head was probably the number of moves left, that they had to reach the door in that time or else… And Cerberus thankfully contributed the basic rule of being able to kick a block forward, but only if the space beyond is free.
"And if I run out of moves…?" Hagakure asked nervously.
"How d'you feel about soul reclamation by cleansing flame?" Cerberus asked.
"Not… Great…"
"Don't worry Hagakure!" Izuku reassured her, "The move counter hasn't changed, so we can figure it out and direct you carefully!"
"… Ok… I'm counting on you guys!"
"Don't worry." Todoroki stated, "I'm good at these."
"Argh…" one Cerberus suddenly clutched her side.
"Sorry…"
"She packs a punch…"
The statement prompted Izuku to look back at the battle, and while it was difficult to make out from a distance, he could tell from the flurry of blows originating at a blue-and-silver blur he assumed was Judgement, and frantic dodging from Justice and Cerberus, that they weren't doing well.
"Uh, Mi- Cerberus?" Izuku asked weakly.
"Hm?"
"What happens to you and Justice if Judgement…"
"Oh, don't worry."
"We won't, like, die die."
"Growing that third body back will just be…" she hesitated.
"… Unpleasant…" the word clearly meant something more painful than she was letting on.
"Right…" Izuku nodded sadly. She was putting herself through this much, just to try and help him?"
"And Justice…?"
"Ah…" a Cerberus scratched the back of her head.
"Well, she'll have to reform…"
"'Reform'?" Todoroki echoed the question on both their minds.
"Something demons have to go through if we're killed in Hell." Modeus provided, "Well, assuming our essence isn't obliterated, but Judgement would never do that. How long it takes to reform depends on how much power we hold, how many times we've died recently-"
"A whole bunch of stupid and convoluted rules." Cerberus pouted.
"- but it's always…" Modeus stopped.
"'Unpleasant'?" his suggestion was met with uncomfortable nods by all demons present.
"H- How long would it take Justice?"
"Well…" Modeus took a keen interest in the ground.
"… A while…" Cerberus added.
"As in a few hours? Days? A week?" Izuku insisted.
"Maybe, like…" she trailed off again.
"… a century?" Modeus muttered.
Izuku's breath caught at the number, "A- a hundred…"
"Like… four max." Cerberus '''reassured''' him.
"That's…" Izuku trailed off. What could he even say to that? That it was horrible? That it ridiculous? Insane? Unfair?
For the horrible crime of wanting to help a dumb kid not be cast into eternal torment for dreaming too hard, she'd be put through centuries of what sounded like similar suffering. That was how it worked, apparently. That's what they had to accept, apparently. That what this point had led them to: Abandon the person who'd given Izuku a second chance, abandon one of the two people in his life – pre- and post-death – who had ever put any measure of faith in him, abandon the person who tried to help him return a power which was the only thing standing between Japan – if not the world –and total chaos. Abandon her to literal centuries of was the deal, APPARENTLY.
One life – not even a life, more a severe and long sentence – had to be given, so that the rest of the world could live in peace.
"…" Izuku breathed deeply. The feeling of fire and brimstone filling his being helped to bring him some kind of strange, twisted clarity. "Todoroki, can you-"
"I've got it." he nodded back, summoning a platform of ice to get a better view of the block puzzle alongside a Cerberus that could provide assistance. Izuku turned his focus to the battle behind them, starting a march back in their direction.
No matter how he viewed it, how he rationalised it, how he justified it… He wouldn't accept such a deal, apparently.
"Hey, what're you-"
"I'm going to help two people I care about." Izuku cut Modeus off, glancing at Cerberus as he continued on, "I may not have known them for long, but I know they wouldn't just leave me behind. I refuse to leave them."
"I totally would!" Cerberus protested.
"I know Justice wouldn't."
"You don't know that!" Modeus tried to protest.
"Doesn't matter." he continued, "I still refuse."
"But, but-!"
"You don't know what you're walking into!" Cerberus yelled.
"I still have to try!"
"Do you even know how a demon duel works?!" Modeus exclaimed.
"No, but that won't stop me!"
"It will when you hit Judgement off-beat!"
"That's a chance I'll have to-" Izuku faltered, turning to face Modeus.
"… Wait, what do you mean 'off-beat'?"
"Well," Modeus started after clearing her throat, "When demons collide, it is not merely a fight of physical prowess, nor a contest of the mind, but an epic battle of the soul. As they trade blows, the song of their hearts is unleashed, clashing and fusing into an unheard symphony which-"
"SUFFERING MUST BE MADE!" Judgement cried out in the distance, whereupon a mighty metal thing burst out of the ground.
"Is there a short version?!"
"You need to be in tune with their souls and time your fighting to the rhythm, or your attacks could be thrown back at you." Cerberus provided, "Oh, and also you get stronger the longer you're in tune."
"Ok…" Not really, but there'll be time for processing all this later, "And how do I 'tune in', exactly?" his question was met by a look of bewilderment from both companions.
"I… Don't know." Cerberus admitted.
"Demons just kind of… Get it." Modeus added.
Of course. Why would I expect anything I try to help with to be simple- heck, possible-
"… Try this…" Modeus interrupted his thoughts, almost certainly reading them on his face, "Watch the two fighting. Watch their movements, watch their timings. If you're set on this, might as well make sure you have a chance."
"Ok…" Izuku nodded, unsure. Following her advice, he tried to focus on the battle at hand.
Despite still being a good few hundred meters away, the clear landscape of a barren brimstone wasteland made it possible to make out roughly what was going on, even beyond a Cerberus that was retreating towards them and the gate: The metal monstrosity seemed to be some kind of machine, one with azure fire, shining chains- and was that a conveyor belt? Judgement stood atop in some sort of control recess, while Justice was running along the conveyor, desperately dodging the onslaught of chains she was throwing her way
She was moving with skill Izuku had never seen, bending with flexibility that seemed inhuman, weaving through the roaring whips in a beautiful display of unparalleled acrobatics. The most minute of motions found the smallest of cracks in attacks that would've otherwise been fight-ending. The entire display was incredible, Justice hypnotising…
Hypnotising… Izuku repeated back, eyes widening slightly, No – rhythmic! I can see it!
Every step was taken in time to a mute metronome, every dodge done in a silent dance – even the cacophony of the chains followed a pattern, betraying the time signature and ever-increasing tempo they were fighting in.
"Ok…" he repeated, "I think I see it…"
"Now you need to join it!"
"Join it how-"
"Just start with this…" Modeus caught his attention to show that she was lightly swaying her hips. After blinking in bewilderment, he realised the swaying was done in time with the fight, and quickly tried to follow suit. His movements were awkward at first, but the simple motion was soon easy to slip into. Focusing back on the fight to make sure he was moving on-time…
'hmmmmmmmmm!'
What- his eyes fully widened in surprise, a familiar feeling surging through him in a completely alien way.
One for All?! But- but how…
He remembered how it had felt when he'd tried to use it on the border of Limbo. The chaotic storm that he was unable to mould into anything useful. But now, that chaos was shaping into something more. With every beat of the fight, he could feel the power surge momentarily, with every sway of his hips, he could feel it moving through him. And with every moment that passed, he could feel it growing ever-so-slightly stronger.
I just need to direct it… he imagined the power within him as an egg, the surrounding microwave's wattage increasing steadily with the hum of the music. He tried to picture what All Might would do: Go for a flashy move that would save everyone – oh, I bet he'd use a New Hampshire Smash or maybe-
"Woah!" suddenly the power lost its momentum, the rhythmic flow breaking into an unidentifiable swirling once again-
"Calm down." Cerberus advised him.
"Don't try to overthink it." clearly Modeus could read his mind, "Focus on the rhythm. Focus on the fighting. Focus on what you want to do." she gave him a small smile, "The rest will come naturally."
"What I want to do…" Izuku repeated, calming back into the simple swaying and thus regaining a sense of balance and control over what was inside him.
What's inside… me… Not All Might, not anyone else… me…
He realised that moves like All Might's smashes had never existed until he performed them, despite (apparently) numerous heroes holding the power before him. He briefly recalled Malina's words, that even the clothes they arrived in were mere reflections of how they viewed themselves. He realised that what happened here, what he neededto do here: What he wanted.
All right… he set his focus to the fight ahead, and what he would do. He watched Judgement's attacks, Justice's dodging and eventual failure to do so. He observed the way Judgement moved, her lightning-fast bombastic attacks cease as she thought the fight won, replaced with a domineering swagger as she approached Justice's fallen form. He saw that his opportunity was at hand, and how he would take it…
And then he felt a light peck on his cheek set his entire body ablaze.
"For luck!" he could vaguely hear Modeus' voice, but he was too focused on how to contain – no – how to use the extra power that was now surging through him.
"One for All…!" he watched Judgement splay her arms wide, completely open to an attack so long as he closed the distance. He felt the fight's symphony reaching a crescendo, strength unlike anything he could imagine at his now-burning fingertips…
"Six-hundred and sixty-six percent…!"
"Gah!" a chain struck Justice's arms, the block stopping a fatal blow but still sending her spiralling to the ground.
"IT'S OVER, JUSTICE!" more chains wrapped around her to prevent any escape as Judgement jumped down from her control space, "YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME!" she threw her arms wide in victory.
"Yeah…" Justice coughed with a mock smile, "You're right…" she tried to roll her shoulders, only for the chains to stop any movement. Though Judgement concealed any emotions beyond 'bombastically pissed', she could feel her preen at her victory over one of Hell's strongest fighters. Justice would definitely be hearing about this later…
"Out of practice, no weapons, you being an insane tryhard, take your pick… But at the end of the day, you're right… I can't beat you… can barely even act as a distraction…"
"Gehenna…!" Justice's smile turned genuine, nodding in the direction of the hero wannabe she'd sent ahead.
"But he can."
Judgement turned in time to see a humanoid green missile screaming towards them at Mach speeds. She tried to raise her guard but it was too late; sloppy; pointless. Her arms completely crumpled at the force of Izuku's fist, his body wrapped in a river of green fire which flowed on to collide with her stomach.
"SMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!"
Judgement was sent hurtling backwards in a torrent of wind and fire, crashing into the bulk of her sin machine just for the steel wall to implode, her body continuing through unimpeded. She was carried with huge, broken chunks of metal back through the flames of Gehenna in a screaming rage. Justice wouldn't find out until later just how many buildings she totalled as she came crashing down into Limbo.
The look on her face was priceless.
"Holy shit…" Justice breathed as she easily broke the now-uncontrolled chains, "I could tell from your soul's buildup something was coming but this…"
Towards the end of their fight she'd felt another presence impinge on her duel with Judgement. As the presence built in power she'd quickly figured out it was Izuku's signature with his unmistakable soul-boosting… 'Quirk'… thing he'd been sent down here for. He was lucky Judgement was so busy dealing with- and then gloating over- Justice to notice anything, because once his soul was amped up beyond recognition (she'd probably have to thank Modeus for that… or she could just not mention it and spare the trouble) it was pretty obvious what he was trying to do.
But I'd just been expecting him to help out in an upset, I didn't expect a frickin' One-hit KO…
"I've gotta say that was-" she turned back to Izuku to find him on the floor where he'd collided with Judgement. With a grand total of 1 limb still functional.
Both his legs and the arm he'd used to punch were looking… not great.
Pretty sure they're not supposed to be purple… she grimaced, Or bend like that…
"Ok, let's go…" she picked up the broken boy and quickly headed towards the gates.
"Did I…" Izuku mumbled, the pain clearly making it difficult to speak – how he was even conscious looking like that was beyond Justice, "Did I-"
"You did good, Izuku." she decided to reassure him. Looking back at the sin machine's wreckage, she couldn't help but feel that was an understatement.
"You did good."
If I alter the rock to the left first… Todoroki shook off the idea in frustration, No, then we run out of movement… Immediately head right? No, then the key becomes unreachable… Head through that formation- No! Then you have to circumvent the whole thing to reach the gate…
"Looks like things're heating up over there…" the demon accompanying the ice-user tried to distract him with irrelevant information. She'd been providing worthless commentary ever since he started trying to unravel this infernal maze, but at least it was better than-
"Figured it out yet? Or should we just send your friend down there back through to Limbo?" her taunting was accompanied by a malicious smirk full of pointed fangs.
"… I've almost got it." he muttered through clenched teeth. He'd been trying to figure out this blasted block puzzle ever since Midoriya had left, and he almost did have it… He just needed a few more moves and he'd already have a path, damn it!
Is it an impossible task? He glanced towards the fire and brimstone, That'd be appropriate, but Midoriya's new 'companions' seemed honest regarding the possibility of initial escape, at least… he sighed, Not that we'd have much of a chance puzzling out the lies of ancient creatures if we tried, though…
"Hey, Todoroki-"
"I've almost got it." he immediately reassured his classmate, who was taking the fact she was trapped within a deadly hell block puzzle remarkably well, "Don't worry – just another minute…"
"All right…"
"Or maybe two minutes?" the demon taunted, "An hour? A day?"
"I'm getting close…" he managed to grit out before tasting the smallest speck of blood. Apparently he'd bit through his lip in frustration.
Doesn't matter… he squinted at the mess of tiles as the arena threatened to blur into a sinister, mocking face, I've almost got this – just need to shave off a couple of moves… There has to be a way…
"Oh!" the demon chirped up, "Looks like Izuku took care of it!"
"What're you-" a moment later a great gust of wind tore past from the direction they'd come, threatening to knock Todoroki off his ice perch before he stabilised himself. Looking back, it seemed the fighting was over, the only visible remnants some kind of half-mangled metal monstrosity…
"We need to hurry!"
"I'm working on it!" he exclaimed in response, finally losing his patience with the infernal shapeshifter. What did she think he'd been doing all this time, sightseeing?! He'd already gotten Hagakure sent to hell once thanks to his incompetence, no way was he letting it happen again-
"You have to double back after knocking the bottom-right rock."
"I said-" he caught himself mid-response. Glancing back at the arena and factoring in her suggestion, he quickly had an idea for some other pathing solutions. A few seconds of mental movement later and he had something viable.
"Why didn't you-" say something earlier, his response caught in his throat upon looking at the seemingly-innocent smile tinged with fangs of the monster in front of him.
"Why would I?" her words were as sweet as poisoned sugar. Of course – why would a being that viewed mortals as playthings and food ever dream of helping one unless absolutely necessary.
Midoriya needs to watch his back… But then again, given everything else that he had to deal with, constantly watching out for the moment these demons betrayed him was unlikely to be a priority.
Or I guess… he glanced back at Hagakure, who'd immediately (if prematurely) jumped to their classmates' defence when she thought he might be in danger. He began giving her directions to reach the end unharmed.
We'll watch each others…
PAIN
That was the only thought currently registering in Izuku's mind: Pure, unmitigated pain. Both his legs were screaming at him for being so reckless, his right arm burning with such intensity he briefly wondered if he'd been thrown back into Gehenna.
He felt some pressure on his back – was he being picked up? Hopefully; he wouldn't be able to move himself otherwise. A gentle warmth flowed from the touch, which was sadly overwhelmed by the movement slamming pain into his limbs with the white-hot intensity of a thousand Oklahoma smashes.
'… ppened… ?!'
'…e purple…?'
'...t again…' snippets of familiar voices filtered through the onslaught of agony, all lost as even the slightest movement felt like his original would-be punishment. Is this what people at the depths of Hell felt like, every moment of every day for the rest of eternity?
No one deserves that…
After being sent through pain more intense than the rest of his time in literal Hell combined (excepting maybe Gehenna), a touch on his cheek sent the pain into remission. It was somehow gently warm, yet soothingly cold. A relaxing massage, yet an alerting warmup. After struggling to open his eyes, he found the familiar faces of Justice, Modeus and Todoroki looming over him.
"Hey." Justice said nonchalantly, like she wasn't carrying the remains of Izuku's broken form.
"H-hey…" he grit out.
"You ok?" Todoroki asked quite possibly the dumbest question he'd ever heard, "Relatively, I mean. Soul not… breaking or anything?"
"Nah, he's good." Justice provided, "Relatively, I mean." she looked back towards him, "Thought you'd want to see this." she gestured forwards, prompting Izuku to painfully turn his head the same way.
There, in the distance, were the Gates of Hell he'd fled not a few minutes ago. The gate that they'd been travelling to all this time. The entrance to the mortal world, the portal through which lay the people Izuku needed to find to make things right, was right there. Not two dozen meters before him.
And there, not a meter before it, stood Hagakure and all three Cerberi. With a nod by Justice, the demon's three forms began pushing on the doors; one on the right, one the left, and one both. For a moment, the grand gates made not the faintest trace of movement, and Izuku could feel his heart threatening to give out from despair. But then-
*creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek*
The doors groaned open, the sound of metal scraping against stone ringing out. Justice carried him forwards to the doors.
"Usually I'd get you healed asap, but-"
"Still in a hurry…" Izuku groaned, "I know…"
They'd managed to fight back Judgement – somehow – but he imagined that she was just one of many forces present in the underworld. Who knew how many minutes, how many seconds, they had before those forces began streaming in. As their group approached, Justice slowed despite the risk.
"Here we are, the last vestige of Hell." she glanced down at him, "Go beyond here and you're breaking a whole mess of rules. Could even risk getting your soul broken as punishment when all's said and done. Last chance to-"
"I'm not turning back." Izuku replied resolutely. They'd come too far to-
No… he corrected himself, It isn't because we've 'come too far already'. It's because we've still got a long way to go…
"Alright…" Justice smirked, before turning towards his classmates "And you two?"
"A broken soul is a small price for rubbing death in my father's face. Besides…" he glanced towards Izuku and Hagakure, "We're fellow heroes-in-training. I'd be a pretty poor one if I left Midoriya to save the world alone."
"Yeah!" Hagakure shot her fist in the air, "No way I'm letting any of my friends get hurt again! Class 1A, together forever!" she put a hand out flat.
"Together." Todoroki put his hand on top.
"Toge-ow…" Izuku struggled to add his still-functioning arm, but eventually managed, "… Together…"
This may be my fault… But if I fail here, everyone loses… he looked around the group supporting him: Former classmates and literal demons, working together towards a better world.
Well, technically it's more everyone wants something in the approximate direction needed for a better world I guess but still! It was moving! It wasn't weird that he was crying! Plus, that may have been due to the pain…
"Awwww…" Modeus coo'd at their display of camaraderie, before Cerberus pointed back past them, towards the way they'd came.
"Hey, guys…"
"Is that…"
Justice glanced backwards, "Ok, time's up – let's go right now come on MOVE IT!" she darted through the gates with Izuku in arms, the importance of the moment somewhat muted by the fact he could barely feel anything beyond his limbs on fire as he was literally carried to their destination.
… Maybe Aizawa-sensei had a point…
Questions of his utility aside, Izuku was carried through the gates and into a large circular room, one lined with darkened brimstone that was soaking wet. Looking towards the centre, he found a cylindrical stream of murky white fluid stretching upwards into a bright, white light. At its base, the stream flattened and spread out through the room, with the only other thing of note being a rowboat that seemed capable of holding about 8 people.
He didn't have time to wonder if that was a colossal coincidence or if there was supernatural shenanigans regarding its size before Justice tossed him in. Ow…
"Cerbs, help me with the gate – everyone else start rowing!" Izuku made it one groan before she yelled back that he was exempt.
"I can still help…"
"Save your strength." Todoroki placed an obsidian oar in place.
"Yeah, we've got this!" Hagakure manned the other oar which Cerberus had slotted in. As they began, he heard the loud, metallic groan of the gate begin to close. A glance in their direction showed that apparently a) once pushed, the gates closed by themselves, and b) riding a vertically-flowing river with its own gravitational pull was disorienting enough that Izuku could barely feel the muted pain of his shattered limbs over the overwhelming urge to vomit.
Is this how Uraraka feels when she overuses her quirk…? I wonder if she's- The thought forced him to shut down any further ideas with a shake of his head – he'd slap his face if it didn't hurt to move. From Todoroki's story, they had no way of knowing what happened to their other classmates. Worrying about something they didn't know much about could be left to when they weren't actively escaping Hell.
A few moments later, Justice and the last Cerberus had leapt back to the boat, bounding up the five or so meters they'd travelled with athletic and spatial prowess in equal measure, their centre of gravity shifted halfway through the jump. The boat's rocking forced Izuku to swallow a small amount of vomit that was threatening to come up, but at least the new burning sensation in his throat could distract him from the more severe pains.
That sounded like a healthy coping mechanism.
"Ok c'mon close close close close closecloseclosecloseclosecloseclosecloseclosecloseclosecloseclosecloseclose-" Justice muttered with fingers crossed, Hell's gates slowly but surely sealing themselves…
*KRRRK-* Before they were stopped a few seconds before shutting completely, a familiar purple-black demon standing between them. Now far more black than purple with what he assumed to be burns from Gehenna, coated in a thick layer of stone and with an expression reminding Izuku more of a beast than anything Cerberus had ever become.
"Ok people, ROW!" Justice ordered.
"It won't be enough!" Cerberus replied, hurrying her rowing speed regardless.
"Can we- I dunno, throw something at her?!" Hagakure asked.
"Good idea!" Cerberus answered, "Tobodoki, curl up into a ball and-" she was cut off by the now-familiar humming of Izuku charging up One for All. The chaos he'd felt was back but now lessened, whether by distance from Hell, experience, acclimatisation, or Modeus grabbing onto him desperately and thereby some providing some form of 'demonic stabilisation', he wasn't sure.
"Don't!" Justice yelled, "A punch from that will capsize the whole thing-"
"GOT IT!" Izuku pulled out an old trick. As Judgement leapt towards their craft, he aimed his blow in her direction. Her face morphed from feral anger, to a mixture of fear and incensed anger.
Was concentrating One for All into his only functioning middle finger petty? Perhaps.
*VWOOM*
But as the opposing demon was halted in her jump, while he was launched back into the rowboat, forcing the entire thing to take off screeching up the stream like a speedboat, no one could claim it wasn't effective.
"Have I ever told you that you're completely insane?!" Justice exclaimed, holding on to him and keeping stable in the boat to help keep him from flying out. Modeus was desperately clinging onto him and looking like she was about to have a heart attack, Hagakure doing the same but clinging onto the stone-faced Todoroki, and Cerberus had somehow gone up to the front of the craft as it bounded up towards the light.
"S-Sorry…" Izuku chuckled awkwardly.
"'Sorry'? HA!" Justice flashed a feral grin, "When did I claim that was a bad thing?!"
"You're both crazy!" at Modeus' frantic exclamation, Izuku replied in a way he honestly didn't expect:
He laughed. As the boat shot upwards through the stream, as Judgement's knocked-back prone form became smaller and smaller, as it began to dawn that this was it, that they just might have escaped? As their escape continued, as the seconds passed and Judgement showed no sign of being able to catch up… He laughed. He laughed like maniac.
It didn't take Justice long to join in.
A/N:
And so our boy has cleared the Gates of Hell. That's it, he's out, he made it; it's bound to be smooth sailing from here on out, 100%, no scam.
This chapter ended up being way longer than I'd have liked; originally the start of it was supposed to be last chapter and the end was supposed to be the next, but just due to how the flow ended up best working we ended up with this instead. Considering the contents, however, I think that a longer-than-usual chapter is more than justified. Also, it made me realise I need more practice writing fight scenes. I've been doing some research on how to improve them so hopefully they'll get better going forward.
We've now had our first explicitly hostile confrontation. I'm aware some people aren't going to be fans of that, because Judgement is great and, like, fair, but hopefully it was still entertaining conflict and I think I've managed to show that it's not due to her being eVIl or anything, but differing priorities. Also some other stuff that totally won't come up later trust me it'll be fine.
Anyway as per usual feel free to leave comments with thoughts, ideas, constructive criticism etc., and hope everyone has a lovely weekend!