13.03.2023
It is I, the Absolute Madman and I'm back with another chapter of this 40k/religious-esque adventure!
Without any ado, let's dive right in!
Izuku wasn't sure where he'd woken up. It was a plain room with a large window on the wall to the right and a chair on the opposite side of the table that he was seated at. His confusion lasted only a couple of moments before he began recalling everything that he's done when he was taken over by the daemon.
Speaking of - that accursed case was currently standing in the corner, but the link was silent, so there was a possibility that the daemon had escaped captivity. There wasn't much he could do at this point though. His entire body was sore and he wanted nothing more than to rest, even if this chair was far from comfortable. At least he didn't seem to have any wounds, so that was something at least.
"Wake the fuck up samurai, you have visitors incoming." The daemon suddenly spoke and Izuku's head snapped towards the case. "Thought I gave you the slip?" The daemon barked out a laugh. "And where exactly would I find someone so attuned to the Warp, huh?"
There it was again. Izuku has heard about this 'warp' thing before, but he was still unsure as to what exactly it might be. He didn't have time to ponder this however as a set of doors behind him opened and a couple of people stepped in.
The expressionless visage of his homeroom teacher was impossible to miss, but Izuku was more focused on the little rodent person? that was standing on his shoulder. The last person to come into view was a man wearing a tan overcoat and a matching hat.
Aizawa sat down and then created a bridge with his arm to allow the creature on his shoulder to disembark and step onto the table.
"Hello Young Midoriya. How are you feeling?" The creature asked, studying Izuku's entire form closely.
"Sore." He responded shortly, unsure of how his voice would sound after what he expected to be an extended period of disuse.
"That's understandable, you did perform some quite extraordinary feats just a couple of days ago, so I'd be even more surprised if you didn't feel any drawbacks." The creature responded with a kind smile that could fool most people. But Izuku wasn't like most people. He knew his every move was under strict scrutiny. "Oh, but where are my manners?!" The rodent suddenly exclaimed and bowed slightly. "I'm Principal Nezu, this is detective Tsukauchi and you already know Aizawa." The creature introduced those gathered in the room.
"I assume you have some questions?" Izuku decided to cut the chase short and get straight to the point.
"Some doesn't even begin to describe it." The detective stated with a tired sigh. "As you probably know, all security systems of the USJ had been sabotaged and we were able to bring them back online only after the incident had concluded. As such there was no footage for us to review and we had to rely on the statements of the students and teachers, all of whom pointed to you being the one to… dispatch the villains. Is that correct?" Tsukauchi started questioning.
"That's… complicated." Izuku answered honestly.
"How so?" The detective pried.
"It was definitely my body, but it wasn't me who did it. Though I guess technically I am still responsible for what's happened." Izuku explained.
"I don't really understand what you're talking about, even though you seem to be telling the truth. My quirk is called Lie Detector and it does exactly what you'd expect it to do. You've been telling nothing but the truth right from the start so there's no reason for me to suspect this is a lie, but it doesn't really make sense." Tsukauchi stated as he scratched his head, clearly puzzled by Izuku's cryptic explanation.
"Would it be okay if I showed you what I'm talking about?" Izuku asked and saw his three guests share a single look before nodding in sync and granting him permission. "Could you hand me my case then?"
"Well, it's currently holed up in the precinct, but it should be possible for me to arrange a transport, though it will probably take some time to be delivered." Tsukauchi stated as he reached into one of his pockets in search of his phone.
Izuku actually allowed himself to smirk gently at their ignorance. He was honestly quite surprised that they didn't see the case when they entered, but it was bound to be quite amusing to observe.
"There's no need to do that. The case is right behind you." Izuku stated and all three people turned around, immediately spotting the object in the corner and turning right back to face Izuku, probably expecting an explanation. "Let's just say that it doesn't like being separated from me."
His three visitors shared another look before Tsukauchi walked away and picked up the case, which he then put down on the table directly in front of Izuku.
Izuku opened the case and, as expected, it was empty. They probably separated the case and the bastard sword and stored them as two separate pieces of evidence, but Izuku was pretty sure they didn't think about searching the case thoroughly. His hunch was right when a look of surprise appeared on Tsukauchi's face when he heard a second set of clasps being opened.
"Prepare yourself, there is no way to tell how it'll react upon being released." Izuku warned them and then undid the last clasp, before opening the hidden compartment.
Inside the hidden compartment was another sword, though this one was much slicker than the one that they already confiscated. This sword however was much more than a mere blade.
"You're trying to act all tame, huh?" Izuku mused out loud, confusing his visitors as his gaze was firmly glued to the blade. With a sigh he lifted his head and continued speaking. "This is the Blade of Antwyr. It may look like any other sword, but in reality it's a daemon bound in physical form. Come on, introduce yourself!" Izuku shouted and hit the blade's hilt.
Immediately a wave of pure hatred and dread washed over the room, freezing everyone except Izuku firmly in place with terror alone.
"How dare you, you insolent brat?!" All of them heard a voice in their heads.
Izuku, being already used to the daemon antics, was unphased by the sudden outburst, but the other three were less unfortunate. They clutched their heads with all their might as if they had suddenly felt the mother of all headaches. It honestly reminded Izuku of the first time he himself was exposed to the daemon's influence.
"That's enough from you." Izuku stated simply and closed the case once again, the hatred and terror vanishing as soon as the hidden compartment was locked.
"Wha-What was that?" Nezu asked, his previously kind facade nowhere to be found and his eyes sparkling with great interest.
"That was the thing responsible for the massacre at the USJ and I was the one that set it free. You see, as far as I know the daemon can't appear in our world in a way other than this sword, so it's constantly looking for a host, whom it could overtake, luring potential candidates with promises of power, glory, relief, anything that might work really. Back at the USJ the things were… pretty rough. Letting him wreak havoc looked like the only way to stop them, so I gave in and let the daemon take over. I wasn't expecting him to do so much damage…" Izuku explained, hanging his head in shame as he admitted to having failed as the daemon's warden.
"A real demon…?" Nezu mused out, not quite sure how to handle this sudden reveal. "How is it even possible?"
"Nobody knows. The Blade of Antwyr was supposedly first found during the fourth crusade, but mysteriously vanished on the way back to Rome. From that point there were many documented cases of the daemon appearing throughout the history and bringing death and destruction everywhere it went before eventually being trapped inside this very case which was then buried underneath the Fujikuma Monastery on Mount Fuji." Izuku continued the tale.
"And how exactly do you know all of that?" Tsukauchi, who was by far the most confused out of the three, asked.
"Oh, I grew up in the Monastery!" Izuku replied with a smile. "The daemon reached out to me one day and led me to its prison. I almost freed it right then and there, but was thankfully stopped. Once I discovered the Blade of Antwyr I was educated on the history of the Blade."
"Wait, the demon reached out to you even though it was trapped in the case? How is that possible?" Aizawa, who'd stayed silent up till now, questioned.
"We're not exactly sure, but the daemon says that it's because I'm attuned to something called the Warp." Izuku shared his suspicions and went on to explain once he saw curiosity and confusion appear on their faces. "The Warp seems to be something like a different dimension. It's where the daemon draws his power from. The Warp is supposedly vastly different from our world, hence why the daemon can't manifest his true physical form without a host."
"So… you can communicate with this demon even when it's locked up?" Aizawa asked.
"Yes. We share a psychic link which cannot be severed. It can talk to me and vice versa, though it's usually the daemon that initiates the conversations. We're not exactly on speaking terms…" Izuku explained with a frown.
"And how often does it talk to you?" This time it was Nezu that asked the question, curiosity evident in his eyes.
"Basically all the time. Most of the time it's like a quiet whisper in the back of my head, a buzz that you can't focus on or get rid of. There are times however when he clears my head and makes sure that his words are heard."
"If it's so dangerous, then why can't we just bury it in some remote place that no one will ever find?" Tsukauchi voiced his thoughts.
"You already tried locking it away, isn't that right?" Izuku countered with amusement. "Jailing the daemon is no easy feat. It was quite the miracle that it didn't try to escape from Fujikuma, cause I'm pretty sure it was able to do so and we wouldn't be able to stop it no matter how hard we tried. Due to the link we share, the daemon knows where I am at all times and it can teleport to me even if the case is locked. Thankfully it can't teleport out of the case."
"So you're the only one who can stop it?" Aizawa asked.
"I'm not sure anyone can, but I'm probably the best person for the job." Izuku admitted, not calming anyone's nerves.
"Is it possible to harness its power without being possessed?" Nezu suddenly spoke up, dropping the bomb as he locked eyes with his student.
"Pardon?" Izuku responded in shock.
"Would you be able to draw on the demon's power without giving up control?" Nezu cleared up, the intensity in his gaze unlike anything Izuku's ever seen.
"I'm… not sure. I was so focused on keeping the daemon locked away that I never thought about it… It could be worth a try, though I'm not sure how successful it might be." Izuku replied after a minute of thought. "I vaguely recall certain stories about people using the daemon's powers to achieve their goals but it was never specified whether or not they could actually control it."
"You can't be serious!" Aizawa opposed the idea. "You saw what that thing could do and now you want to set it free again?!"
"Yes, but in a much more controlled manner. You saw the reports yourself Aizawa. That monster had multiple quirks and from what the students told us it was meant to kill All Might of all people. Even he himself wasn't sure if he'd be able to beat it. Midoriya here managed to do it, so he's our best bet in case these things appear again." Nezu calmly argued his idea, bringing up valid and logical points which Aizawa could not refute as it would go against his ideology.
"So Midoriya would be using the demon's powers on the students during exercises?"
"Of course not! Not at first anyway. We would need to start in a controlled environment, preferably with someone who could subdue young Midoriya in case things went south." Nezu explained, seemingly convincing Aizawa to agree with his proposal. "Now, all that's left to do is ask the man in question himself." The Principal stated before turning back towards Izuku. "What do you say young Midoriya, would you like to try taming your daemon?" The rodent asked with his paw outstretched and a genuinely kind smile on his face.
Izuku was conflicted. He was supposed to make sure that the daemon stays locked up forever and now they wanted him to take control of its powers? This didn't sound right. It didn't feel right. But maybe, just maybe, it was what he should do? He couldn't deny the fact that the daemon is far stronger than he is, so being able to borrow that power would surely be useful. There were pros and cons to both sides of the argument, but one side had to outweigh the other eventually. Izuku was simply hoping that he picked the right scale to tip.
"I'll do it. I'll try harnessing its power." Izuku said as he grasped Nezu's paw and shook it, cementing their agreement.
Izuku was released and ordered to go back to the dorms whilst Nezu battles the bureaucracy and prepares for the school to be reopened after the break period. The dorms were close to being the last place he wanted to be at, as all of his classmates were probably there as well and that would mean that he was heading straight towards another interrogation.
"How about we cut loose then? Stretch our legs again, huh?"
He knew that he couldn't avoid them forever though, so it was better to get it over and done with now rather than later. They'll probably hate him or at least be scared of him and things will never be as they were, but if Nezu was willing to give him a second chance then he can take this. He will protect them even if they turn their backs on him.
As soon as he stepped into the common room all eyes were on him. Well, not exactly all eyes as there were a couple of people missing from the crowd, but those he was on speaking terms with were there and that's what mattered to him.
"Hey, it's Midoriya!" Kirishima exclaimed as soon as he saw him, which brought the attention to him in the first place.
The redhead jumped up from his spot on the couch and dashed towards the new arrival.
"Man it's so good to see you! Where were you?!" The enthusiastic man asked with worry evident in his features.
"I- I'm not exactly sure. I don't remember what happened after the USJ. I woke up a couple of hours ago." Izuku admitted with a sigh.
"That's expected after a stunt like that!" Kirishima stated with a thumbs up. "I'm just glad that you seem okay. You lost consciousness just before the teachers arrived and we couldn't wake you up no matter how hard we tried." He explained.
"I lost consciousness?" Izuku mused to himself.
"Yeah, Yaoyorozu was watching the whole thing and saw that you just fell to the ground and that aura that was around you vanished in an instant!" Kirishima confirmed.
"Would you happen to know anything about this?" Izuku questioned the daemon.
"Disturbances in the Warp grew too severe and I lost the link to my power which cut the fun short. I had to retreat to the Blade to avoid the Warp lashing out at me." The daemon explained with surprising ease. Izuku was certain it would avoid answering his questions.
"What even was it back there? You looked like a man possessed!" Kirishima exclaimed, unknowingly striking the nail on the head.
"That's because I was." Izuku admitted with a simple smile. "I was hiding something from all of you, something that came around to bite me and by proxy you in the butt. No more. If you don't want to listen to what I'm about to tell you then you are free to leave, I won't force you to do anything against your will." He said and then waited, but, to his surprise, no one got up. He was sure that at least one or two people would decide to leave, but that was not the case. They waited patiently for him to start his tale. "Alright then. Let me warn though, what I'm about to tell you might sound like a fairy tale, but it's a completely true story."
And with that he began his explanation, intending to convey everything that he's already shared with Nezu, Aizawa and Tsukauchi. They'd probably learn about all of this anyways, so it was better if he was the one to break the news to them.
"That's… wow. That's some heavy stuff." The normally upbeat Kirishima summed up once Izuku was done with his story. It was clear that he was struggling to come to terms with the slew of information that was suddenly dropped on his head as were a few select others in the room.
Izuku didn't blame them for it. He had exactly the same reaction when he first heard the story all those years ago. A sudden movement caught him off-guard and by the time he realized what was going on, Tokoyami was already standing in front of him with his hand outstretched towards him.
"From the moment we met I sensed that you were battling some inner daemons, but I could've never guessed that you were battling an actual daemon all this time." Tokoyami stated seriously. "It must've been tough for you, but if you ever wanted to talk about it, I'd be happy to help."
"So manly Tokoyami!" Kirishima exclaimed, seemingly back to his usual self. "I'm the same bro. If you need help just ask!"
One by one his classmates made similar offers, none of them shying away from him or showing any signs of hesitation. It honestly caught Izuku off-guard even more and made him feel something that he's experienced only twice in his life.
He reached out and shook Tokoyami's hand with a smile.
"Thank you." Izuku simply responded, hoping his words were able to convey everything he wanted them to.
On the inside Izuku felt like he really belonged here. Like he's found a new home.
World-building at its finest! Am I rite or am I rite, am I right?
I hope the backstory makes at least some sense, though I guess it'd be pretty OOC for me if it did... Eh, I'm content either way as long as you guys enjoy it!
Have a great day and I'll catch y'all in the next update!