Inko Midoriya was left crying as her world fell apart. She was caught in a villain attack on her way back from her new job as a nurse at one of the hospitals in the suburbs of Musutafu, and her injuries were severe. Her boyfriend Hisashi left her via text saying they should see other people, and she was told that due to the surgery they had to perform... she would never have children of her own. Inko loved children. It was the entire reason she asked to work the neonatal and children's wards. It would take time to earn that position, since the hospital took the protection of those wards especially seriously, but Inko had hope. Now it might be her only chance to be surrounded by that many innocent loving souls.

As she cried a voice like silk spoke to her, "Sweet Inko, your soul is pure and your heart full of love. My name is Amestriael, and I wish for you to help me. I have seen the future and this world needs a hope that will shine like no other, a child. I want you to be its mother. A child born of your light, and empowered by mine. I will not force this on you, but I must ask. Will you help me?"

Inko sniffled, "I-I can't. The doctors say it's impossible!"

The voice laughed, "Sweet Inko, I am an angel... miracles are my calling. So what do you say? Will you help me?"

Inko sniffled, "Yes, perform this miracle, and I will love this child till my dying day." A warmth enveloped Inko, and she fell asleep with the feeling of downy feathers wrapped around her.

Nine months later, the miracle was born. Izuku Midoriya, a boy with ever green hair like his mother, but emerald eyes framed with gold around its edges. His giggle's were like tinkling bells and he just never seemed to frown or cry. The other nurses called him a 'little angel' or a 'cherub', but only Inko knew how true that was. Despite everything, Inko still worked hard and got her dream job, but her favorite would always be the little bundle of joy waiting for her at home.

Over the years, he showed his depths of compassion and empathy. He was always there to smile and whisper kind and reassuring words to others. He never fought, unless it was to protect someone else. He was branded quirkless by the doctor's when he turned five, but his mother never stopped loving him and encouraging his dream. His life was hard, and he was bullied almost everyday, but he never gave up... until that day.

It was a normal day at Jakku elementary school. Izuku was ten and in his last year before going to Aldara Middle school. He was laughed at and bullied, as always, but Katsuki Bakugo, his one time best friend, took it a step further than normal... he told him to do them all a favor… and walk into traffic. After that Katsuki beat him up until he could barely breathe.

After Katsuki left, a voice that left him feeling gritty and ashy came to Izuku and whispered in a voice like warm honey, "Oh my poor cousin! Why do you allow them to hurt you... bleed you... make you cry? They are beneath us. Let me help you. Let me set you free… All you need to do... is say yesss."

Izuku shut his eyes, "No! I will not listen to you. I will stay the course. Mom believes in me, and I will be the light this world needs! I will become a hero just like dad intended!"

The voice sighed, "We will sssee…" Izuku heard a snap, and his pain faded as his body rapidly healed. "I don't enjoy seeing you in pain, cousin. When you're ready... I'll be waiting to free you." The voice faded away and Izuku began his journey home.

Izuku was used to walking home alone. With his mom working so hard to pay the bills, he didn't want to trouble her with this. If thinking Katsuki walked with him helped her to not worry, who was he to tell her differently? Izuku smiled, "Maybe I'll make some of that minute ramen we have, so mom doesn't need to cook tonight. That would be nice."

As Izuku walked under an overpass, he heard a gurgling wet voice, "A bit small, but I'll make due." Suddenly Izuku felt himself wrapped in sticky, slimy goo that smelled like rot, decay, and cruelty. Izuku gagged as it tried to force itself down his throat. The goo laughed, "Wow kid. You're a lot more sturdy than I expected. You're a real hero."

Izuku's vision started to get blurry, and he felt something start to resonate inside him, preparing to come to the surface, but then a new familiar voice rang out from the sewer before the lid shot into the air, "Have no fear, For I am here." A second later, Izuku felt wind pressure rip the slime off of him, and he began to choke and gasp… the feeling inside him fading away.

Standing before him was the number one hero, All Might, and Izuku's idol. He was huge, powerful, and in his debut he personally carried over a hundred people to safety after a bomb went off and leveled a city block containing multiple apartment buildings. He was everything Izuku wanted to be. He watched as the mountain of a man collected up the splattered remains of the villain as he groaned, and prepared to leap away after seeing that Izuku would be fine.

On impulse, Izuku sprang forward and wrapped himself around the hero's leg… as wind started to whip around him. Izuku had never flown before, but he found he wasn't as afraid as he thought he should be. Something inside him felt safe and free as he felt the wind in his hair, and an odd sensation of wanting to spread nonexistent wings overcame him. A few moments later, they landed and All Might looked irked, "Now, I understand that meeting a hero is exciting, but what you did could have gotten you seriously hurt. I need to get this villain to the police before he wakes up, since he is notorious for slipping away."

Before he could leap away again, Izuku shouted the question that had consumed him for six years. "All Might! I have to know. Can a quirkless kid become a hero? I try my best to help everyone... to smile through the pain like you do... but I... please... tell me the truth," Izuku begged, as tears rolled down his cheeks.

Toshinori sighed, "No. I'm sorry. This job is difficult, and that's with a powerful quirk. Without one... no. You would only end up getting hurt or dying. Please be realistic. Helping people is a noble pursuit, but know your limits." With that, All Might bound away.

Izuku just stared as whatever had tried to rise inside him cracked instead. It was painful, but afterwards… he just felt hollow. Izuku continued his walk home until he came across Katsuki in trouble. Apparently the slime villain was just as slippery to hold onto as All Might implied, and Izuku rushed forward to save his bully and one time friend. A few heroes tried to stop him, but Izuku managed to free Katsuki at the cost of a broken arm and a few broken ribs from an explosion set off by Katsuki's quirk. In the process, Izuku managed to shove a pencil into the villain's eye to force him back a step, and Backdraft took over after that forcing him into submission with a fire hose, 'saving the day'. Izuku was then taken to the hospital, but only after the heroes present scolded him for putting himself in danger, and destroying any pride he had in saving Katsuki's life.

A few minutes after the ambulance dropped off Izuku at a hospital he wasn't familiar with, they sent him home... saying his injuries 'aren't that bad' and to just go home, but Izuku heard the doctor scoff, "Fucking quirkless... wasting my time and our resources when people that matter need help."

When Izuku arrived home... The police were waiting for him. A villain tried to hide in his apartment building and Endeavor ended up burning it down during the struggle. Almost everyone got out, but Inko got caught trying to help their 90 year old neighbor escape... and didn't make it out in time. In that moment... what was cracked finally broke, and Izuku just walked away. One of the officers asked another if they should stop him, but they scoffed, "Don't waste your time. He's just some quirkless orphan. He'll be gone soon anyway. Probably make us clean up the mess too. Why do we have to deal with the trash while heroes get the credit?"

Izuku walks to the empty dark park where he used to play and he broke down crying until he heard the voice again. "I'm sorry cousin. I wanted to protect you from this pain. I wanted to free you so you could save her... but now it's too late."

Izuku sniffed, "I hate them... all of them. My mom is dead. My hero... that ass is nothing, but a liar. I try... so hard. Why? Why do they hate me? What did I do wrong? Am I not doing enough?"

Izuku felt a pair of arms wrap around him, but saw nothing. The voice whispered in his ear, "You did nothing wrong. You're a beautiful, perfect child. I'm sorry, my poor little cousin. Your mother deserved better. YOU… deserve better. Do not worry though. I will not leave you. As long as you need me. I'll be here for you."

Izuku sniffled, "Thank you. D-do you still want to help me… free me? I-is it too late?"

The hug grew warmer and tighter, "It's not too late. Say the word... and the deal will be done, but I have to warn you... this will not be painless. Growing up never is."

Izuku took a breath, "Do it. Free me. I have nothing left to lose… I say yes."

Suddenly the voice grew dark as it laughed. Izuku's body felt like it was burning. It hurt all over as a pair of luminous golden wings tore free from his back and destroyed his shirt, and a ring of glowing silver appeared over his head... before it cracked and turned to ash in the wind. His forehead ached and blood rolled down it. His wings paled and the feathers fell as they burned away before hitting the ground. Izuku let out a scream as he writhed in pain and a quartet of shimmering white fangs forced their way out of his gums and his shoes burned away as his fingers and toes began to burn with black fire, his nails lengthening. As the blood ran into his eyes, his sclera burned and seemed to be stained by it, becoming just as scarlet. For a few minutes, Izuku just continued to writhe on the ground as spasms of pain tore through him until he lay quiet and still. The voice returned, "Rise, Little Brother, and tell me your name."

Izuku did so and his eyes glowed with fire that reflected off of his new black horns, "I am Izukael."

The voice seemed to almost smile maliciously as it asked, "And what is your duty?"

"This world betrayed and damned me, so I will burn it down, and return it to ash. Thus decrees, the Betrayed... the Dark Hope. I will bring the corrupt the only salvation they deserve... the burning pit." Izukael smiled, "Thank you… brother. I see it all now. The truth. My work... It begins tomorrow. For tonight… I must rest." Izukael spread his new bat-like wings and flew toward a place where no one would look for him for the night, and he smiled knowing... Hell was coming to claim the damned.

Izukael flew until he reached a sea side dump. It had once been a beautiful place according to his mother, but that had been many years ago. A part of his mind scoffed at the fact that he was going to rest here, like the trash people insisted Izuku was, but Izukael was not that child anymore. With a wave of his hand, Izukael melted a hole into the side of a pillar of trash with his fire that he now noticed had sparks of green in its ebony majesty. Looking around, he found a bunch of tattered and discarded blankets and tarps. He dragged them into his new home of melted steel and glass, the sand having changed under the intense heat of his flames. With that done, Izukael wrapped himself in his 'blankets' and his wings, and began to dream.

In his dream, he saw his mother… alive and just as he remembered her, but she looked at him with sadness and fear. He felt warm judging eyes on him, and he roared in rage. Who was this being to judge him?! What right did they have?! If they had wanted to judge someone, why not the bullies, the adults who encouraged them, or the liars who filled his heart with hope before shattering it? He was free now. He was Izukael, and he would punish the wicked… the betrayers of his faith.

As the sun rose the next morning, Izukael's eyes snapped open, and he let out a long breath as he flexed his body and smiled at how powerful he felt. Holding his hand up, he tried to focus on it and it shifted back into the form of Izuku's hand before changing back. Trying it again with his whole body, Izukael once more found himself in the form of Izuku, with only his eyes remaining when he looked in a broken dirty mirror he found amongst the junk. Running his fingers through his curly mane, he let heat leak out, and soon it was longer and straight. Ripping free a bit of cord, he tied it back into a tiny tail behind him. It wasn't much, but it would have to do.

Making his way through alleyways, Izukael made his way toward his target. He lucked out and found a box of discarded clothes behind one of the stores on his way, and replaced his destroyed shirt with a new black hoodie with bleach stains on the back. Using a claw to remove the bleached sections, Izukael was pleased to find he could summon and retract his wings without further damaging the hoodie. Deciding to leave them out, Izuku let his horns return as well and poke out beyond the edge of his new hood to further show himself as someone new.

Reaching Jakku, Izuku was happy to see the staff parking lot full, but none of the signs that students had begun arriving. Slipping in a side door, he often used to escape his beatings, Izukael began his work. At every door, he subtly melted the locks closed, and checked every teacher as he passed. With a bit of help from his 'brother' Izukael looked for the stink of corruption on each of them. It smelled like rot, and with his new eyes he saw a faint red glow in their eyes. For the few innocent teachers, he reached out and spent a minute making them fall asleep. It wasn't quick or practical, but he wouldn't harm the innocent. When his work was done, Izukael collected the innocent outside, and began the main event. Black and green flames were soon shrouding the building from sight, and preventing exit through the windows. Izukael watched it burn from a nearby building's roof across the street and prevented it from spreading. The dying screams of those he deemed beyond saving acting as a pleasant melody to his ears.

With his task done, Izukael slipped away, but before he left, he snapped and the flames began to shrink and change color to normal reddish orange as he stopped feeding them his energy, and allowed the 'heroes' to put it out. He already knew there weren't any survivors inside, and the building was beyond saving, so at worst they would have to rebuild from scratch, but that seemed unlikely given 'the tragedy' of what happened. Izuku scoffed and returned to his temporary home to train.

For the next month, Izukael trained in peace. He learned his new limits and what his body could now do including: flame domination, shadow control, and his physical abilities like his sharp claws or powerful wings. In short, he played, trained, and laughed like never before. When it came to money or food, that was easily rectified. All he needed to do was wander the back alleys with his new features hidden until a creep was enticed enough to strike. It was surprising how much money you could make turning pedophiles and murderers into charcoal, and Izukael could tell with every sinful soul burned, he grew stronger. The more corrupt the soul, the more his power grew.

Once the beach was clean, and the alleyways cleaned of most of the scum, Izukael made the choice to move on. He'd return to Musutafu some day, but for now he wanted to see the country and explore like Izuku and his mother had always hoped to. Musutafu was just too painful to remain in at the moment. Too many lingering ghosts and memories of better times with the one person who never stopped believing in him.

Izukael walked during the day, and flew under cover of night. The rural parts of Japan were beautiful, and the stars at night captivating. As he traveled, Izukael made it a point to help others during the day as Izuku and hunt at night for those that preyed on his people. This is how he ended up in Shizuoka on the night that he did.

Izukael was currently up in the more rural parts of the prefecture when he saw a group of men in masks carrying katana's and clubs. Quietly following them, Izukael was disgusted to find out they were members of the CRC, or Creature Rejection Clan, a group of racists and bigots who see heteromorphs as monsters or less than human. Hoping to follow them back to their base, so he could purge them all at once, Izukael didn't step in immediately. When he saw them separate and sneak into a home Izukael hoped he was wrong, but then he heard a scream. Rushing inside, he found a pair of adults beaten, but alive, and rushed to the sound of struggling. When he arrived, he saw a little girl with a beak that was bleeding badly and a boy with a bird head about his age trying to use his amorphous shadow to protect them.

With hate in his eyes, Izukael burned the assailants from the inside, but he quickly found it was too late for the little girl. Her big brother, Fumikage was crushed and begged Izukael to save her, even offering to sell his soul if it saved her, and the girl begged through the blood that she didn't want to go. Suddenly his brother spoke up, "Do as I say. These two need not be separated. The girl's body is beyond saving, but a new vessel could do the job. I will teach you how… to make a deal."

Izukael listened closely, before he held both of their hands gently, "I can prevent her from passing on, but she will not be as she is now. This body… can not be saved, but if you both agree, I will make it so that you never will be separated again. Do we have a deal?"

Fumikage and the girl cried, "Yes! We don't care what it takes, just please-" Izukael's hands lit up in black flames, but they didn't burn. The girl's eyes flashed white, and then she slumped… unmoving and no longer breathing. Fumikage screamed and impotently beat on Izukael's chest, "No! Nonono, you said you'd save her! Why didn't you save her?!"

That's when shadowy arms wrapped around Fumikage as his shadow took on a new form and started to cry, "I'm here Fumi. I-I feel different, but it's still me. I think I'm your shadow now."

Fumikage froze and turned to hug her, "Yūdzuka! Thank the dark ones, you're still here." Fumikage turned and bowed to Izukael, "Thank you. Thank you for saving her. I don't know who you are, but we owe you our lives."

Izukael shook his head, "No, you owe me nothing. You are one now, and I'm sorry, Yūdzuka, but your old life is over. That girl over there is still dead, and that's the story you need to tell. If people find out about you, and I'm not around, you both may actually die. Please don't waste this chance. Protect each other, and those you can. That's all I ask."

Both of them nodded, and vowed, "Yes, master! We will do as you ask. We'll become great heroes and save as many people as we can. We promise."

Izukael nodded, "I wish you luck. Sadly, you're on your own now. Your parents are fine, if a bit concussed, and I think it would be best if I moved on… tonight. I'm not worried about myself, but if people start sniffing around it could put you all in danger." They both bowed to him again, and he flew away.

This unfortunately became a pattern as he traveled. Izukael saved a girl with pale skin, blue eyes, and silver hair when she got lost 'hunting ghosts' in the mountains, a dusky green eyed girl and her mother from a drug den where a few were eyeing her with less than pure intentions, a girl with vines for hair and her little brother were saved when a drunk racist tried to firebomb her orphanage/church for taking in homeless heteromorph children, and a brown haired girl's family business when a 'friend' tried to cheat them out of a deal, so he could buy them out and 'look after' the couples daughter.

Unlike Fumikage, Izukael didn't make a deal with any of the others, but he did get most to make the same promise to protect others. Another side effect was the tales of a 'Demon Saint' who hunted in the dark and fed on the guilty regardless of who they were or where they hid; it was said that nothing could stop the long shadow of the Demon Saint. Some just wrote it off as a vigilante playing off a scary story, and others called him a villain for killing the few heroes he found. It didn't matter if evidence was later found of wrongdoing, their fans refused to accept any of it.

For five years, Izukael wandered without a home, but as his notoriety grew, so did the list of heroes trying to stop him until finally a new challenger stepped in with a new offer. Over the years, Izuku's weak frame was lost, and a new stronger, taller young man took his place with long green hair that slightly curled at its ends that he kept tied back most of the time, and a sculpted physique from training, walking, and flying everyday without fail. Resting in an abandoned building, Izukael sensed someone watching him, and he sighed, "I'm on break at the moment. If you're here to fight, I wouldn't suggest it. If you're here to kill me or get revenge… give me five minutes and I'll set you straight. Anyone else, respectfully… just go away. I'm not in the mood."

A pair of red eyes glowed in the dark, but Izukael sensed no new corruption of note, so he ignored them. A few moments later a white creature slid down a scarf held by the red eyed figure, and stepped into the light, "Am I a mouse, a dog, a bear? I'll tell you I'm-"

"It's nice to meet you Nezu, but I still don't care," groused Izukael.

Nezu pouted, "Well, you're no fun. Anyway, I wanted to invite you to come attend Yuuei this upcoming semester." He put his paws together as he spoke before spreading them wide in congratulations.

Izukael sighed and sat up, spreading his wings, "Why would I want to do that? I'm doing perfectly fine on my own, so far, and you don't have the first clue who I am. Why would I give up the lifestyle I enjoy and subject myself to your rules?"

Nezu clapped his paws, "That is inaccurate… Midoriya-san. I've been following your case for a few years now. Also, we both know this crusade is reaching its end. You've avoided killing anyone 'clean' yet as best I can tell, an impressive feat in itself, but for how much longer? The top ten will start taking notice soon, and we both know you can't stand up to Endeavor or All Might."

Izukael scowled and his eyes flared, "Do not speak of those fakes in my presence, Rat King! The time grows near where I will feel their souls burn for the sins they have committed! Mark my words, I will purge those two just like any other corrupt fake hero."

This seemed to catch Nezu off guard, "And what makes you think they are corrupt?"

Izukael laughed coldly, "Your research is failing you, Principle. Endeavor is a glorified murderer, my mother amongst the list, and… The Symbol of Peace is the most corrupt being I've ever met. He stands as a golden god, giving hope to the masses… What a joke! He's an arrogant blowhard who causes more issues than he fixes. He fills children with hope while propping up a broken system that exploits the weak and breaks those hopes more often than not. I have plotted his demise for five years, and soon… Izuku Midoriya's ghost will finally get his justice. I am Izukael, the Demon Saint! I purge the world of corruption and protect the innocent! You have nothing to offer me!"

Nezu sighed, and pulled out a note, "I am in possession of the last will and testament of one Inko Midoriya, along with the contents of her safe deposit box. So, I offer you a deal. Agree to come with us, and give Yuuei a chance, and both are all yours."

Izukael scowled at the mammal before him and growled before extending a hand wreathed in black flames, "Fine, but if you're lying or trying to trick me… I'll make your school my new home, my way, and purge you and everyone connected to this little scheme."

Nezu grinned and shook Izukael's hand, "Understood."