I own nothing. May contain Out of Character moments.

It didn't take long for Mineta and Midoriya to catch up with the noise. And peering around the corner of the hole, they saw the sort of carnage their target has wrought with Overhaul. There was blood, slash marks, lots of concrete chunks, and destroyed lab equipment littered the room. And in the center of it all were the monstrous looking Overhaul and the armored man, who was more of a giant.

However…

Overhaul, even with his intimidating appearance, looked completely messed up. He was covered in cuts and blood. Some of his extra arms were lopped off at various points. Even his breathing was erratic…

The armored giant though, despite his armor looking melted in several places, moved perfectly fine. Even when a large concrete spike managed to pierce his side, he didn't flinch. He just kept going, swinging that massive sword of his.

"What is that?" Midoriya asked quietly, staring at the sword.

"I don't know… But I certainly don't want to get hit by it…"Mineta answered. It was a two handed weapon, as long as it's easily 2 meter tall wielder, and could cut through any concrete barriers Overhaul put up. In fact, Mineta doubted his body armor could hold up against it.

But what interest the shorter boy more was the armor. Each time, Overhaul managed to touch it, the spot he touched shifts a small amount before the Villain was thrown back. But when Overhaul touched anything else, it was almost instantly shaped into whatever he needed it to be. Even the guy's fatherly theatre mask and refreshing green kite shield on his back had this high resistance. It was almost like…

"But my Baton doesn't have the power to resist Quirks on that level… Could someone else other than the Temple have weapons like theirs?" Mineta muttered, eyeing the battle carefully. However, before any more observations could be made, the armored giant cut off the last of Overhaul's arms. The Villain stood there, his eyes reflecting the deepest despair as he stared at his own severed hand.

"You ruined everything… My chance to recover Eri… My chance to cure this diseased world… Gone…" He muttered, voice completely broken. The armored giant approached before gently placing a hand on the Villain. Then his voice came through… And it made the armored giant sound more like a beleaguered intern than anything else.

"Oh that's a relief! This is actually my first mission unsupervised and I thought I was doing it poorly. You see, I arrived to the scene late, accidentally messed up a few Heroes along the way, and took FAR too long dealing with you… Yeah, no, I fucked up… My Boss isn't going to be happy when I report in…" He said with a sigh.

"Get your FILTHY hands off of me! You invaded my base, killed Chrono, cut off my arms, destroyed the Hassaikai's future, and your only concern is THAT!? How much more can you humiliate me? How much more could you take away!?" Overhaul roared, doing his best to throw off the armored giant. But despite this, the hand that was placed on the Villain's shoulder kept him in place.

"Oh I don't know, there's always…" The armored giant began. That's when Mineta and Midoriya saw him readjust his grip. Now he was holding it by the lengthy blunted area above the cross-guard… In that instant, the two realized what the guy was about to do. And though Nighteye explicitly told them not to engage, they still rushed out of hiding.

"NO!" Midoriya shouted, the sparks of One for All dancing around him. Mineta threw a hairball on the ground, launching his partner forward. But though the green haired boy kicked the armored giant in the head, he barely reacted to it. As a result… The armored giant ran his sword through Overhaul. A sickening gurgle came out of Overhaul's mouth, his pupils shrinking.

He looked down… Then looked back up…

"Your life." The armored giant said darkly. With his other hand, he reached into Overhaul's coat and pulled out two cases. Overhaul, pathetically and desperately, tried to reach for them despite his lack of arms. But it was all in vain…

"Your legacy." Damocles added. The armored giant then crushed the cases before the Villain's widening eyes. The contents were then dropped onto the ground. All of it completely destroyed. All while Chisaki Kai watched.

All while he despaired.

All while Midoriya and Mineta could do nothing.

"There's always something to lose my friend, it's what makes us Human. However…" Damocles continued. But on that last word, he twisted his sword, causing Overhaul to vomit more blood. Initially, when Mineta saw that, he felt that was just plain sadistic. But upon hearing the armored giant's next statement…

He knew this was a ritual. One to ensure the armored man's name is remembered…

"The moment you lose your Humanity and hurt the Road we share... You lose the right to everything. I am Damocles, the Hanging Sword of Crimson, and your Road ends here."

Instead of pulling out the sword, Damocles tore the blade out of Chisaki's left side and splattered blood onto that side of the room. And though Mineta and Midoriya stood behind the armored giant… Drops of Chisaki's blood landed on their faces. Damocles then stepped aside and released the corpse he still held. And from there, the menacing boss of the Shie Hassaikai…

Unceremoniously fell face first into a pool of his blood.

Mineta and Midoriya silently stared at the body of Chisaki Kai. Mineta, thanks to Fenghuang, knew death was always a possible outcome in their line of work. But while he was able to get through the autopsies regarding Stain's victims… This was an entirely different matter. A man died in front of them… The light in his eyes was gone and his blood was on their faces. And the shorter boy knew, this sight won't leave them for a long time.

If at all…

"Don't forget this lesson kids, there are no Roads to the past that doesn't end in tragedy. You'll just be chasing ghosts till the day you become one yourself." Damocles said before he began walking towards the hole in the far wall.

"Wha–!? Hey! Hold it right there!" Mineta shouted, throwing a hairball beneath the armored giant's next step. Damocles inevitably stepped on the sticky orb. But as the shorter boy suspected earlier, the soles of his metal boots didn't stick to it and just peeled away from it like a band-aid. So with that, Mineta placed a hairball in front of him and launched himself at Damocles.

At the same time, Midoriya began his run after raising Full Cowl up a few percentages. The green haired boy then leapt and, together with Mineta, struck the back of the armored giant's head. But while both hits were solid, the only response that Midoriya and Mineta got was that Damocles stopped walking. The pair, upon landing in front of him, immediately turned around and readied their respective stances.

This wasn't over yet.

Damocles didn't say anything right away and just stared at the two from behind his mask. He then began stretching his neck out after rubbing the back of his head. So he did feel that. Though if that was the case… Then how much more do they need to actually put down this giant? I mean, Overhaul clearly couldn't and he was trying to kill Damocles.

"You know, I just realized I killed your target and you needed him for reasons... Hmmm… Maybe, as a fair trade, I could tell you some stuff about myself? Would you like that?" He asked. Damocles' words, which sounded casual and borderline patronizing, stunned both of the boys.

First of all, this man had just killed a man. Overhaul was, for sure, a heinous Villain, but he didn't need to die.

And two, what kind of Villain would reveal information about himself to the Heroes?

Granted, Damocles could just be lying and is looking for a way to safely get out of here. And even if he wasn't going to escape any time soon, Mineta doubted the armored giant was going to be honest about his answers. Still, it didn't hurt to ask since they were asked to find information about Damocles. So, as a test, the shorter boy asked his first question to confirm this.

"How do we know you won't just lie and run the first chance you get?"

"I mean, normally I would… But considering all that's happened since I got here, it's only appropriate that I make up for what I've done. So yeah, I swear you'll get the truth and nothing but the truth." Damocles answered. He then switched which hand held the sword and placed his right hand over his metal covered heart. And what disturbed the two the most was the fact that he sounded completely sincere.

However, that didn't stop the boys from passing this opportunity.

"Then who are you?" Mineta asked.

"My name's not important… But if you need to call me something, call me Damocles. I was sent here to kill that hollow of a man on the floor over there. His crimes against the Road were getting out of hand, so someone had to deal with him."

"Did you have to KILL him!? He couldn't even defend himself anymore!" Midoriya asked angrily.

"Of course I had to. If he was alive, he could still spread his poisoned words and backward ideals. And that, in my opinion, causes far more damage to the Road than any physical action could." Damocles replied simply as though what he was stating the obvious. But there was one word Mineta hung on longer than most. It was something Mirio had said when he first encountered Damocles and the giant himself had just repeated it twice just now.

"What is this 'Road' you're talking about?" Mineta asked. The armored giant's demeanor and tone suddenly changed as he slowly walked back to Overhaul's body. And instead of sounding like a beleaguered intern, he sounded like a philosopher arguing his perspective on life. It was honestly kind of jarring…

"The Road is what Mankind, since their birth, has been traveling down. You, me, and the billions of people on God's green Earth walks down this Road each and every day. And every day, we lay down more of the Road so that those who follow us have an idea of where to go, what to do, and how to treat others. It's a metaphor for Humanity and our progress towards a better future."

Suddenly, Damocles flipped his sword around and planted it into Chisaki's corpse as he turned towards the pair. Mineta tightened his grip around Midoriya's arm as his partner barely held himself back. Does this man have no respect for anything? No… That's not accurate… Damocles only respects those who fit his ideals.

"Then there are people like him… People who take advantage of others… People who drag the innocent and unwilling into darkness… People who selfishly want to destroy the Road… People who want the Road all to themselves… These wastes do nothing but ruin the tomorrow hard working people make and dream of. And I am bound to annihilate all those who would do such a thing. That's why my boss founded Crimson with me… To bring justice to this world and give hope back to the people."

"… Who is your boss?" Mineta asked carefully. This rhetoric… While the shorter boy was sure this was simply Damocles' personal philosophy… There was no way a specific someone wouldn't agree with it. Based on all the evidence, both empirical and intuitive, Mineta had gathered, he knows who this guy's boss was. And Damocles' defensiveness to the question only confirms it. They already know his name.

As such… Mineta and Midoriya couldn't follow Nighteye's orders anymore.

They had to apprehend him, right here, right now.

"Not in the position to say, sorry."

"It's Stain, isn't it?" Midoriya asked, his anger finally subsiding. The armored giant notably flinched to that, his hand moving away from his sword for the first time since they saw him. Midoriya immediately darted forward as Mineta threw his baton to his partner. And once he was in range, Midoriya made another swing at Damocles' head. But instead of smashing into the mask, the baton met the blade of the sword.

A large chip broke off the blade while the baton received a cut at the place of contact…

"Are we really doing this? I injured three heroes by accident. You don't want to know what I could do on purpose." Damocles asked, holding Midoriya's strength back rather easily. However, with Midoriya in front of the armored giant, Mineta crept up from behind with a lab coat he found.

"They weren't prepared for you… We are though." Midoriya said, looking at him dead in his eyes. Mineta jumped onto Damocles' back and quickly tied the coat around his mask. The shorter boy then jumped off before an armored hand could grab him. Midoriya then struck the giant in the head, the light of One for All brighter than usual. However, that didn't seem to bother him a lot as Damocles ripped the cloth from his face.

"Alright… Show me what you've got then." Damocles answered before kicking Midoriya back. The damage wasn't too heavy; in fact, there wasn't a lot of power in that kick. But he was following it up with an overhead swing. Mineta didn't have anything on him that could make Damocles flinch and stop his attack. However, he did have faith in Midoriya's power and Fenghuang's baton. If anything could block an attack, it would be both of those.

He was… Half right…

When the sword came into contact with the baton… The former snapped where the chip was, practically halving its reach and lethality. The later, however, was completely bent where the cut was. And while Midoriya got out unharmed, the baton was now useless in battle. Both parties immediately disengaged by jumping back. They looked at their own weapons with clear confusion on their faces.

"That baton survived an attack from All Might and Muscular with only a slight curve to it… How did his sword break it?" Mineta thought as he stared at his destroyed weapon. Then he paused and looked at Damocles, who in turn was staring at his broken sword. Hang on… His sword was cleaving through concrete, among other things, without slowing down or losing its edge…

Why did it break all of a sudden?

There was only one possibility… That Damocles' equipment, somehow, really was connected to the Heaven and Earth Temple. Like breaks like after all…

"That's a problem… But I still got half a sword. What do you got kids? Plucky determination?" Damocles asked, pointing his broken sword at Midoriya. The green haired boy looked to Mineta. And within the light of his eyes, the shorter boy saw his partner's intent. So with a nod, the two boys went off to do their own part of the plan.

No armor was invincible, there had to be some kind of weakness to it.

Mineta started by throwing hairballs all over the place. Next, Midoriya fired several blasts of Air Force before the two jumped onto a hairball. And while the bursts of air struck Damocles, it didn't even faze him in the slightest. So to follow that attack up, Midoriya launched himself at Damocles. After twisting his body out of the way of a stab, the green haired boy struck the armored giant with a solid kick.

But like before, it didn't even budge him.

Before Damocles could capitalize on Midoriya's ineffective blow, a thick cloud of white enveloped his head. Mineta, taking the opportunity whilst his partner was distracting their foe, had found a fire extinguisher and was ready to use it whenever he could. The green haired boy quickly ducked under Damocles' blind swing and jumped onto a hairball. The white cloud was also starting to dissipate, so Mineta sprayed Damocles' face again when he passed by.

Having enough of being blinded, the armored giant began moving out of the cloud. Though the moment his face emerged, Midoriya had come in swinging. The green haired boy had taken a moment to build up some momentum. This was so that, when the time finally came, he would fly in and slam his iron soles into Damocles' masked face. That time was now.

The sound of smashing metal echoed throughout the room, Damocles finally flinching at an attack. As such, Midoriya refused to let it end and kicked off his face. That gave Mineta a chance to come up from behind and smash the fire extinguisher onto the back of the giant's head. And just like the kick, Damocles reacted to it by stumbling forward.

However, before Mineta could fall to the hairball below, Damocles reflexively swung his sword towards his back. The shorter boy's eyes shrunk as he immediately raised the extinguisher up to guard the strike. A metallic pop, followed by a hiss, echoed through the room as Mineta was knocked aside. He crashed into a pile of debris, jabbing the shorter boy's back with all sorts of junk.

Though thankfully, due to his protective vest, Mineta didn't suffer too much damage. But looking up and seeing Midoriya do almost no damage to their foe, they needed another approach. When shifting his hand to get up, the clinking of glass and metal filled his ears. And looking over to what it was, Mineta immediately had an idea on what to do.

Next to him were some pieces of rebar, some the length of his baton. But more importantly, Mineta had bottles of concentrated sulfuric acid. If he used it on the armor, their attacks will become more effective. Combined with some pinpoint attacks using these lengths of rebar, they could pierce Damocles' armor and pin him down. It'll be easy considering Mineta and Midoriya were more nimble than their opponent.

"Or at least, I hope we are…" The shorter boy thought as he looked back at the battle between his partner and the armored giant. Even with the aid of his hairballs, Midoriya was only just able to avoid the broken sword of their opponent. Despite being so big and wearing armor, Damocles was able to stay a step behind the green haired boy. So it was now or never…

Getting up and taking a deep breath, Mineta entered his pitching stance. Time slowed as his eyes focused on the armored giant. And as Damocles' form shifted as he continued to pursue Midoriya, the moment had soon come. The shorter boy's arm flowed from the one position to another, completing the arc of his throw. And at the apex of it all, the bottle left his fingertips.

The clear bottle flew fast and far, striking the giant's armor with a crack. And what quickly followed was the sound of hissing as the acid ate away at Damocles' armor. But despite this, he didn't react at all to the attack. In fact, he just stood there and looked at Mineta with a shrug. It was as though something beneath his armor was protecting him from the acid that was seeping through the gaps.

"This is why you respect the rules of the lab. No interacting with the materials without proper protection." Damocles said tauntingly, turning to Mineta. But turning his attention elsewhere proved a costly mistake as Midoriya smashed a slab of countertop into his face. Due to the weight of it, Damocles was thrown off balance.

So with that, Mineta quickly hopped onto the nearest hairball and bounced towards the armored giant. He then aimed the rebar in his hand at the acid weakened portion of his armor. And with all of his might, the shorter boy stabbed at Damocles' armor. However, despite piercing through, Mineta could tell that he barely went into the metal.

"Hold it right there!" Midoriya shouted. His partner's voice caused Mineta to act unconsciously. He kicked off of Damocles' chest plate and repositioned himself upon the giant's shoulder. Then, as Mineta held onto the rebar, Midoriya swung the piece of countertop again. This time, the green haired boy aimed at the rebar.

And just like a hammer and nail, both boys felt the rebar go further into the armor.

"There! That should've–!" Mineta thought before Damocles' movement caused him to jump away automatically. Looking at where he just was, the armored giant's hand had grabbed the air there. A second later and the shorter boy would've been caught by him. Damocles then swung his fist around and knocked Midoriya back. Had the green haired boy not blocked with the countertop, Mineta was sure some bones would've been broken.

Damocles didn't say anything else as the two boys quickly regrouped. He simply looked at the rebar in his armor, grabbed it, and pulled it out as though it was a mere splinter. Though based on how there wasn't even a drop of blood on it, the rebar was even less than that.

"Sorry kids, but I'm a bit thick skinned." Damocles said, dropping the length of metal with a clatter. Mineta clenched his teeth as he began reassessing his initial analysis and plan. If his armor was really that thick, then all of Mineta's plans were worthless. It would take too much time and effort for minimal results…

Though that did leave them with just one last option, one he wanted to avoid until now.

"We got to go for the hole in his armor… It'll take too long to bring him down otherwise..." Mineta said, scattering more hairballs around the room. The shorter boy had also picked up another length of rebar in preparation. Midoriya looked a little disturbed by this suggestion. But after another moment, he grimly nodded his head.

"I'm not going to like it… But I don't think we have much of a choice either… I'll see if I can bump up my percentage and get him to react a little more." Midoriya replied, One for All sparking more intensely. Damocles, since he was only a few meters away and heard the two, mockingly stretched out his arms and made a bold step forward.

"If that's your plan then go ahead, come at me! I won't run!"

Midoriya darted forward as Mineta jumped back onto a hairball. The green haired boy kicked Damocles' body before kicking off his chest to avoid the counterattack. It made him react more than normal, but the damage was just about the same. Mineta zipped by and struck the armored giant's mask just after Midoriya's attack. But like the kick, it barely marred the armor.

By the time Damocles reacted to Mineta, the shorter boy was already out of range. But that was when both Midoriya and Mineta noticed something. Damocles, for some reason, had begun moving slower than before. Did one of their prior attacks started to have a subtle effect? If so, then they had to take full advantage of this.

Both Midoriya and Mineta continued to zip all around the armored giant like hornets. Each time one struck him, the other came in from the other side. Damage was still minimal, but Damocles couldn't do damage either since they were too fast for him. And so, this game of cat and mouse continued for a bit. Eventually a pattern was established, something Mineta knew Damocles was waiting for.

But that's the thing about patterns… They were meant to be broken.

Mineta evaded the sword as he passed Damocles, ending up behind him. Upon landing, he picked up a longer piece of rebar and began his charge. Timing this with Midoriya's attacks, Mineta was able to launch himself towards Damocles unnoticed.

Midoriya, upon sensing his friend, kicked off Damocles body with more force, blowing his guard wide open. And with a squelch, Mineta plunged the piece of metal into Damocles' right flank. The armored giant let out a groan as he swung his sword at Mineta. But due the shorter boy's height and reflexes, he was easily able to get away.

Though with Damocles' sword now in motion, Midoriya came in with eyes shining brightly. So before their foe could even correct his blade, the green haired boy drove the rest of the rebar through him with a solid kick. And just like when the shorter boy struck All Might's weak point, the sound of Damocles' flesh being ripped open will stay with Mineta for a while.

"GAAAAAAHHHHH!" Damocles screamed as he finally took a knee. Midoriya landed next to Mineta, the two taking a few minutes to recover their breath. It took some time, but they got him. Though if he was being honest? Had they had came into this fight physically and mentally unprepared; Mineta knew they would be the ones on the ground. He and Midoriya had to thank Nighteye, Lock Rock, Ryukyu, and, to some extent, Overhaul's ghost for their contribution against Damocles.

"I recommend you stay down, you don't want that to worsen." Midoriya said.

"And if you resist, we'll be force to do worse." Mineta said, channeling his inner Bakugou. The shorter boy really didn't want to rely on those other gruesome strategies, mostly since Midoriya and everyone he knew wouldn't approve of them. He was trying to be a Hero like them. And pouring corrosive elements onto Damocles until his limbs melted wasn't exactly the most heroic thing to do…

The armored giant took a few seconds to steady his breathing. He then planted his broken sword on the ground and pushed up to straighten his body. And with his other hand, he grabbed the little bit of rebar that hadn't gone into him.

Both Midoriya and Mineta's eyes widened… He wasn't about to–

With one clean pull, Damocles yanked out the length of metal. Blood splattered all over the ground before he stood up and spilled even more from his wound. The stained rebar in the armored giant's hand then fell, clattering ominously against the spreading red puddle beneath him.

But as startling as that sight was… What scared Midoriya and Mineta more was the fact that Damocles' blood suddenly stopped flowing… And yet the armored giant was still standing. Mineta slowly picked up another length of rebar as Damocles began widening his stance. The sparks of One for All began dancing around Midoriya as Damocles wrapped both hands around his sword's grip.

But while the boys' eyes reflected anxiety and terror… The blank eyes of his fatherly mask looked…

Displeased…

And before either realized, the shadow of the giant was upon them.

And that has been Chapter 105.

This chapter... This is the chapter I wanted to share so badly with you all. When Stain got away all those chapters ago, I knew I wanted to have some serious consequences behind that. And that consequence is him finding the handful of others who are like him, people with ideals who would fight tooth and nail for them no matter what. The first of these people is Damocles, the Hanging Sword of Crimson.

Damocles, his skills and equipment, is in reference to something. Can you guess what that is? As a reminder, he is a giant clad in armor who wields a two-handed sword as long as he is tall. His true face his hidden behind a theater mask that resembles a bearded father and has a green shield stuck to his back. And as a hint... I've described his most (in)famous gesture in the story.

If you have an idea, leave your answer in the usual place.

Anyhow, that's all I wanted to say. So...

Until Next Time. T1.