Chapter Nineteen

Signs of The Beast

"Dude, seriously? What the hell happened to you!?" Kaminari asked as he and the rest of the students in the class stared at Mineta's new appearance.

"I didn't think Lily's quirk would activate this quickly, but low and behold!" Mineta said with a grin on his face.

"You do look a bit different. I mean, he does have a pair of wolf ears and a tail." Hagakure said as she eyed Mineta up and down. "He seems a bit more…well girlish."

"Not to mention the balls on his head are less noticeable," Jirou added. "Kind of weird that Lily's quirk can do something like this."

"Do you feel any different than how you are now?" Midoriya asked.

"Artemis, what can I do that wouldn't cause damage to the room we're in?" Mineta asked as the machine goddess spoke.

"Hm, I'm gonna have to take control of your body for a moment darling," Artemis said as Mineta felt his body move on his own. He felt himself pull one of his balls off his head as it soon morphs into an arrow. He soon summons a bow into his hand and fires the arrow. It bounced around the room without hitting anyone for a matter of ten seconds. The arrow was soon heading toward Mineta as he quickly caught it. Once he caught it, it turned back into a ball and placed back on his head.

"...What was that you just did!?" Kirishima asked as Mineta grins.

"Archery skills baby!" Mineta said before making the bow vanish. "I can create arrows from anything I touch. Though, unlike my hair which can morph back into a ball, other objects can't."

"Seriously!? Dude, that's so cool!" Kaminari yelled.

"So you can make arrows and bows?" Sato asked as Mineta shook his head.

"Arrows, yes. Bows, sadly I can only make just the one that I have in my hand." He said before making it disappear as he felt Artemis release her control over his body. "Though the arrows made out of my hair can bounce around for a while until it sticks to a target I choose. I'm sure there are some other things I can do, but that's pretty much it." While Mineta was busy talking to some of his classmates, Mina and Lily were watching from a distance as they whispered to each other.

"Shouldn't you be worried that Aizawa might get mad at you?" Mina asked as Lily shrugged.

"What can he do to me? Give me extra work or something?" Lily said as she leaned back against the wall she was on. "All he can do is just get annoyed and bark orders. Which of course I'm going to ignore."

"Well he wouldn't be doing that kind of stuff if you paid attention in class…or do the work given to you."

"Hey, I pay attention in class…I just choose to pretend to ignore it to lower his expectation of me."

"...Wait what?" Mina asked as Lily sighed.

"There are many things I dislike. Heroes, this society's lack of ability to think for themselves, and people having expectations for me to be something that I will not be. I'm not a hero, nor will I ever be a hero. I'm just a girl trying to survive in this world we live in. So I lower people's expectations in me and have them ignore me…at least until they get a smack to the face on how wrong they were to have less faith in me."

"...You poor damage girl."

"I take offense to that."

"She's not wrong though," Artoria said as Lily rolled her eyes at the divine spirit's comment.

"Even Artoria agrees with what I said," Mina said as it took Lily by surprise.

"Wait, you can hear what Artoria said?"

"You can thank Kama for that…that and I'm pretty sure Artoria is allowing me to hear her."

"Once again, she's not wrong. I figure this would be okay to do seeing how you can't use the device to communicate with each other at the moment."

"...Fair enough. Does this apply to Mineta as well?"

"It should, though I think we might want to wait a bit before talking to him via telepathy."

"Why is that?" Mina asked as she and Lily heard Kama laughing.

"Oh, I can think of a few reasons as to why. Unless you girls are interested in seeing the mind of a pervert." Kama said as it caused Mina to shiver in fear, though Lily would be neutral about it.

"...Is it wrong that I'm a bit curious as to what he's thinking at the moment?"

"Spoiler alert, it involves a harem and you're in it along with the Aphrodite, Mina, and Demeter."

"Huh…I would expect all the girls in class to be in his harem, but I suppose it's not so bad."

"How are you not grossed out by that?" Mina asked as Lily shrugged.

"I'm a fucking degenerate that lived on the streets for ten years doing unthinkable things. Stuff like that doesn't affect me so long as it doesn't involve blood, gore, or evil cult-related stuff. Plus it shows that he's changing on a mental scale."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, let's put it in perspective. Before meeting me, you said Mineta was a pervert and harassed a lot of the girls in this school. But after meeting me, and the talk we had, he became less of a perv, apologized to the girls he harassed, kept his distance from them beside us, hasn't been flirting with any of the girls, and he pretty much has a girlfriend who's just as perverted as he is…though that might be because he reminds her of a lover in a lostbelt she was in."

"Huh…I never really looked at it like that."

"And to seal the deal, he hasn't taken up my offer to let him grope me whenever he feels like it."

"Okay, you make a valid point...I'm still a bit iffy about Mineta."

"Fair enough, but I'm sure he'll be okay with Artemis' help along with the class vice-rep."

"Let's hope so…" Mina said before hearing the door to the classroom open up and the sounds of her classmates rushing to their seats. Both Lily and Mina turned their attention to the doorway to see Aizawa enter the room. The moment he entered the room, he took notice of Mineta's appearance before speaking up.

"...Take off those ears and tail Mineta."

"But this isn't an outfit," Mineta said as he pulled on his ears. "See, it's just like what happened to Mina…only different." Aizawa turned his gaze onto Lily, who was casually making her way to her seat.

"...You just enjoy playing around, like this place is your home?"

"Well technically I live here seeing how you guys don't want me to leave~," She said while giving him a smug grin. "Why do you think I raided the vending machines, and by raiding I mean buying every snack within the machine."

"Of course you did," Aizawa said before making his way to the front of the class. "Today we're having a quiz. It will cover what you learned so far in class for the past couple of days. We're doing this so we can gauge where you are right now. I expect you to take this seriously and not goof off because this will count towards your grade in this class." He said as some of the students let out groans of annoyance, though they quickly stopped upon seeing him activate his quirk. "If you've been paying attention, then this wouldn't be a problem." The pro hero reached into his desk to pull out a stack of papers and placed some on the first row of seats. "Take one then pass the rest back. You have the entire class period to get this done. When you're done, you can either wait patiently for the others to finish, look over some notes, or read something quietly." He said before heading back to his seat.

"Time for a little bit of what I like to call, cheating," Lily said mentally as Mina and Mineta joined in on the mental conversation.

"Isn't that against the rule?" Mina asked.

"Only if you get caught," Mineta answered with a smirk. "It's even better because we can read Mr. Aizawa's mind for the answers~"

"Technically our friends can do that for us given how they're the ones doing the mind-reading," Lily said as she started writing. "Though I recommend you get at least a B or C on this test."

"Why is that?" Mina asked.

"No offense, but you two aren't the smartest bananas in this class."

"Hey!" Mina and Mineta said in unison.

"She's not wrong. Sorry, but both of your past grades aren't the best." Artemis said as the two grand servants mentally deadpan at Lily. "We can help you, but we can only give you a B or C on tests and quizzes. At least until you improve on your skills."

"Well, I guess that'll be fine until then," Mina said with a slight disappointment in her voice.

"It'll also make us less noticeable and less suspicious of people thinking you're cheating," Lily said before turning her attention onto her test. "We'll talk more after school. Right now, focus on your quiz." While the students of class 1-A, a demon god pillar was watching from a distance. Though his attention was focused more on Lily, Mina, and Mineta. He continued to watch them for a while before slowly sinking into the ground and vanishing from sight.

Elsewhere within the slums of Japan, the sound of concrete being cut into, blood splattering across an area, and flash being ripped into echoed throughout the area as AFO was sent flying through the air. Before he could crash onto the ground, he quickly recovered and landed on a nearby light post. The king of villains gritted his teeth from the pain he felt where his arm used to be as he looked down at the one responsible for it. The sound of someone running through a building echoed as a dust cloud appeared. In a matter of seconds, the dust cloud vanishes to reveal a muscular humanoid-like being with a large eyeball in the middle of his chest and antler-like horns on his head.

"How interesting," Goetia said as he looked up at AFO. "So this planet's humans have no magic, but possess powers that would place them on the same field as a high-ranking mage on a human level."

"I must say, you do have an interesting power. One that could rival All Might if put to proper use." AFO said before aiming his fingers at Goetia. "It's still not too late to take up my offer, boy. Join me and together we can bring this world to its knees."

"Arrogant human. You think I would sully myself to join your cause?" He said before letting out a small chuckle. "As I told you before. You and every other human on this planet will be eradicated or be used as fuel to help me create my utopia. A utopia where death is no longer relevant. A utopia where new humans in my making can flourish. Never aging, never fearing death, never committing acts of evil. I will create that world, and this planet will be my testing ground to create it!"

"What a shame," AFO said as the fingertips started to glow. "Then die, foolish boy." He said before firing a barrage of lasers from his fingertips. Goetia in retaliation did nothing as a barrier appeared in front of him as the beams of lasers bounced off it and scattered across the area they were in as it took off pieces of nearby buildings. The beast of pity scoffed at the man's attempt to hurt him as he stretched his arms out. In doing so, multiple eyes appeared from his arms as he soon faired off his barrage of mana-infused lasers from his body.

AFO senses his attack coming and he quickly dodges the attack by using an air walk ability to float into the air. Once he was in the air, he extended a hand at Goetia as he fired off a blast of compressed air at him. The barrier that the beast had made stood firm and unshaken by the attack as Goetia scoffed once more at AFO's attack, though he did notice that the man's arms increased in size and shape for the most part. He quickly launched himself toward the beast's barrier as his massive fists collided with it. The force behind it caused the barrier he made to crack a bit, but in response to this, Goetia caused the barrier to break as the shockwave from it caused AFO to be sent flying backward into a nearby abandoned building.

There was a moment of silence within the area he was in until he heard AFO burst out of the building as he tried to deliver another punch to Goetia's face. Unamused by this, the beast brought up his hand and grabbed the man's fist just before it could land. In doing so, he did feel the force behind his attack as it caused the ground to buckle, but the beast was unaffected by the pain behind it. The moment AFO was within striking range, black tendrils shot out from his other hand as he intended to impale him with it in the attempt to steal his quirk. To his surprise, the rivets bounced off his skin as the beast soon grabbed his other arm.

"Nice try, but with an attack like that, it's not going to hurt me," Goetia said as he started to pull on AFO's arms. The man could feel pain radiating from his arm sockets as the sound of bone being dislocated can be heard. In a desperate attempt to break free of the beast's grip, he activated multiple quirks that involved increasing the size, power, and form of his arms. The beast felt this but still held onto him with a death-like grip. "Increasing your body mass in an attempt to break free from my grip. Perhaps I'll keep you and see how far the human body in this world will last."

"Arrogant boy!" AFO yelled as multiple hands shot out with light developing around the tips of their fingers. "Die!" He yelled before unleashing a barrage of laser beams at him. Like before, the beams bounced off the barrier he made before as he soon ripped AFO's arms off with little to no effort. AFO gritted his teeth from the pain he felt having his arms ripped off before feeling Goetia grab him by the face. Before he could react, the beast soon ripped off the man's legs as he let out a muffled scream.

"This has been a lackluster performance. But you did provide me with some interesting information during this fight we had." He said before crushing AFO's skull to the point where he was knocked out. The moment he was knocked out, a dark sickly portal appeared below him as he soon dropped the man as he sank into it.

"What are you planning on doing with him, my king?" Baal asked as Goetia started to walk back inside of the somewhat destroyed building of AFO's hideout. The moment he entered inside, he soon returned to his human form as he was a young man in his teen years with dark skin, long golden hair, and was wearing a black cloth that covered his body except for his hands and feet.

"I'm planning to see if magic can affect these humans. As you can see, this planet has barely any magic thanks to the seal that Solomon placed a long time ago."

"It would explain why you can't maintain your mature form for less than five hours," Baal said before they both heard another demon god pillar speak up.

"Indeed. Which means the others are in the same situation our king is in as well?" Barbatos asked as the demon spoke up.

"I will need time to figure out where the seals are. During that time I will need to stay hidden." He said before levitating himself off the ground and head down into a giant hole made from the fight he had with AFO. Once he reached the bottom, he would soon notice a vast number of nomus submerged in containers full of liquid. "You all will be my vanguard until I can regain my mature form"

"What would you like us to do until then?" Sabnock asked as Goetia walked around the room filled with Nomus.

"I sent Halphas ahead to scout out the locations of the Grand Servants. Half of you will explore this world of false heroes to find anything that gives off magic. The other half will stay here with me for now." Goetia ordered as he felt thirty of the demon god pillars leave him and scattered throughout the world. The king of demons paused in front of a muscular-looking Nomu as he eyed it up and down. "Flauros. The man I just captured, were you able to gather information from him?"

"So far, this man is full of information about this world. Seems like this human's name is Shigaraki, though he goes by the name All For One as an alias. He is this country's greatest villain. Almost as if he was the king of villains." Flauros said as it made Goetia chuckle in amusement.

"Interesting. Anything else?"

"These creatures that you're looking at are called Nomus. They were specifically designed to take down a man by the name of All Might, who is this world's greatest hero. Seems like we're in the world of false heroes and villains. A black and white concept of labels and whatnot." He said as it caused Goetia's mind to go blank for a moment. "Are you okay?"

"...This world needs to burn...sooner if anything." He said before shaking his head. "These creatures will come in handy if I need disposable pawns." He said before feeling Halphas return to him. "Have you found the location of the Grand Servants?"

"I have, they're located in a school due north of here," Halphas asked as the demon king nodded. "Shall I begin the attack on them?"

"Don't attack just yet…you said they're in a school, correct?" Goetia asked as the demon god pillar nodded…or what could be called nodding. "Use those humans she's with as examples if they're going to be together in one place. Make it a declaration of war."

"My king, if you wouldn't mind. I would like to be the one to use the human that you captured to experiment on?" He asked as Goetia let out a small chuckle of amusement.

"I take it you have something in store for them?"

"It has been a while since I had something to do other than gather magic and information. I want to unleash the flames of hell and war upon this earth. This world is too pure, this world is too peaceful, and this world is weak. The heroes of the past are mourning the loss of the true meaning of the word, hero. We, the nine pillars that govern the armory: Furfur, Marchosias, Stolas, Phenex, Malphas, Raum, Focalor, and Vepar. We, the nine pillars mourn the flames of war. We, the nine pillars honor the dignity of the fallen. In the name of the seventy-two demon gods, we shall not allow eyes to be shut away from the truth of this world's sickness in heroes! "

"Then I will allow you full range over the man known as All For One," Goetia said as he used his powers to construct a throne similar to that of the throne in the grand temple of time as she walked up to sit on it. "Just remember what I said and not attack premeditatively until the time is right."

"Then I shall be off to fan the flames of war on this world," Halphas said before leaving to do as he was given to do.

"Flauros, continue to gather information from the man we captured before Halphas begins the attack."

"As you command, my king," Flauros said before returning his attention to All For One.

"I will rest until I am needed. Till then, continue to do as you're told."

"As you command our king." The demon god pillars said in union before going back to their respective duties.

"This world...will know what true despair means."