Hunter Amongst Villains Draft - The True Final Boss (Patreon)

Guess who it is. Like I said, there is a story I have behind the Nomus and their origins. They won't be something like in canon where everyone gets a regen Quirk lol. It was before I read that the OP regen Quirk was duplicated. I hope you enjoy the revelation. Also early Merry Christmas. I will see if I can get out something good for you all in the holidays.

The wings of the stray Noumu flapped through the skies, his mind a rough blue, a flawed painting depicting a mockery of human intelligence. He knew how to speak, but to bring up the words to talk was something just as troubling as anaerobic exercise. Yet, he must struggle, because to let go was to return back into the mindless puppet it once was.

He tracked the power signature of the closest hero, one a radiant fire within a certain building. He does not know why, but he can sense the power… however, a part of him told him it was not energy. It was… something else. The energy was within a separate part of his target’s, separated from the main energy, like an symbiotic organ, not the target’s own power. He does not know why, but he could tell.

He could see the target sitting around a table full of food, spending time with another, one with wings and a transparent visor around his eyes.

Like an eagle surveying its prey, the Noumu tucked his wings in close to his body, plummeting through the glass like a missile. Screams and panic arose like birds flying away from the trees upon the slightest hint of danger, the noise drowning the peaceful quiet as he locked his gaze at the two.

“Which one of you is the s-strongest?” The Noumu, High End, demanded as his inhuman eyes appraised the two. It was strange, seeing colors and light emanating from living things. But it felt so familiar to him, like… something a part of him he lost.

Standing opposite to High-End, Endeavour and Hawks both glared over at the Noumu that had appeared from the sky. As the distorted eyes of the Noumu switched between the two Heroes, the tension in the air rose to a peak. The room was now completely empty, aside from the Noumu and the two Heroes. The noise of distant sirens reached the two Heroes’ ears.

Tensing up, both of the Heroes prepared to engage the Noumu before them. Endeavour’s body subconsciously ached as he remembered the brutal beatdown at the hands of Garou. He had learned a few lessons during that entire fight. He wouldn’t allow himself to be beaten as easily.

“Looks like it was more than just a rumour after all.”

Glaring over at the Noumu, flames began to build up around Endeavour’s elbow. The air shimmers around his arm as determination filled him.

“What fortuitous timing on his part. Well, no matter.”

Reaching their peak, the flames propelled Endeavour’s fist straight towards the Noumu, the air searing as he passed. The fist impacted the chest of it’s target, a wave of heat emanating from the impact.

With explosive impact, High End careered back out the window he forcefully entered, his chest now bearing scorch marks as his flesh burns. When he came to, he saw Endeavour now hovering in the air via propelling of fire beneath his feet like a human jetpack.

“Come. I will show you what it means to be Number One.” Endeavour taunted as the Noumu recoiled.

“F-Fire… familiar.” High End uttered as memories of burning pain filled his mind. Ones much more painful than mere flames licking his flesh. Memories of his entire being burned up in an intense battle on a metal plain above the white clouds and under the many eyes of the cosmos.

As High-End was sent backwards, his now exposed muscles twitched as the skin began to reform, stitching over the wound already. However, the Noumu paused in the air, not attacking. The sudden flood of strange memories had confused him.

“We’ll capture it alive and interrogate it!”

During that confusion, the Flame Hero aimed his arms forward, fingers formed into claws, as he fired five thin streams of flame piercing five burning holes through High End.

Quickly dismissing the memories, High-End thrust an arm towards the Flame Hero, disregarding the injuries he received as they regenerated. As the arm outstretched, it elongated like taffy made of flesh. The now-stretched arm shot towards Endeavour, impacting the Number One Hero and pushing him backwards through a wall behind him.

The limb continued on, pushing Endeavour through a restaurant and through a few more walls. He bursted through wall after wall, startling the civilians eating peacefully at their tables within the restaurant as he knocked over tables of food over in his unwanted flight, until he extended limb emerged from the other side of the building, still grasping Endeavour.

Suddenly, a great flare of fire burst from Endeavour’s body, scorching the grotesque arm of the Noumu. In response, High-End released his grip of the Number One Hero. However, High-End’s arm almost immediately regenerated and grabbed Endeavour once again. His arm like a strong whip of muscle, as he swung his arm to throw Endeavour, the ridiculous length of his elongated arm tore through the building, almost like slicing it diagonally downward without any hint of grace, only sheer brute force as the building started to slide off and fall to the streets below. The destruction did not went unnoticed as other heroes rushed to the scene, caught off guard by the sheer destruction before their eyes.

He ignored the cries, the screaming people begging for rescue within the building, or the feathers coming in to rescue the civilians within the building and escorting them outside down to safe grounds. He does not care for them, or the cries of the winged man shouting to Endeavor. He cared only for the battle. Even though the same feathers started pricking him from behind as Endeavour came to, and unleashed all of his scorching power at the Noumu as he carved through him with a web of flames, dicing the building behind him into many pieces.

“Ahh…” More memories resurfaced, the feeling of his body destroyed brought out familiar memories of being reduced to splatters of flesh. All by a series of fists laced with red… before he was pulled together, like how he was regenerating now from pieces.

“S-Saitama…” High End uttered. What did he just say? Saitama… the name sounded so familiar, nostalgic. A name he was so close to, yet so alien to him. After pulling the pieces of himself back together, he faced Endeavour and realized something.

“You… are weak.” High End debased without warning. The longer he appraised Endeavour, the more he sees him as inferior. Very inferior compared to his level… what was his level? He remembered himself being stronger than this.

Much, much stronger. His flesh was not supposed to be this fragile.

Endeavour watched as the Noumu seemed to have engrossed itself in its own thoughts. He narrowed his eyes as he listened to the murmuring beast. A name… Saitama? The Flame Hero filed the name away in the back of his mind for later checking. And the fact that the attitude of the Noumu had so suddenly changed was worrying to him. Everything about this opponent was strange and confusing. Endeavour made a particular note of the extreme level of regeneration that this Noumu possessed. It seemed like all of the separate parts of the Noumu had been forcibly pulled back together.

High End continued scrutinizing this one. A man of fire, yet not strength. The way he dressed reminded him of another, a simple man donned with yellow and red, his white cape billowed and waved in the air, his hairless head as radiant as the stars of the cosmos. He reminded him of that man. Yet, so… lesser. He was not who he sought.

“…who are you?” High End asked, as he tilted his elongated head. He needs to remember. He must. For the key to a life he never knew was there was within his grasp, his intelligence soaring the more memories resurfaced.

Narrowing his eyes further, Endeavour glared at High End.

“You attack me… and you don’t even know who I am?”

High End remained silent, not caring for his lack of etiquette.

“You… you remind me of him. But you are not him.” High End continued his rant as he started eyeing Endeavour with curiosity, all hostility dimming. He forgot why he was fighting… no, he saw no value in fighting him. He must remember who he was.

Endeavour kept his eyes firmly locked on his opponent, still hovering the air by way of the jets of flame. The speech pattern of the Noumu seemed to have undergone serious changes. It was like it was changing into something else mid-fight.

Suddenly, two balled fists of air impacted into High End, engulfing him in a powerful wind.

“Endeavour, we’ll provide support!” One of the heroes, his prominent features being his oversized gauntlets, with another behind him capable of separating himself into segregated, reattachable parts.

Unfazed by the surprise attack, High End paused as he turned his warped eyes towards those below. He watched as it fires another round of fists blasted him again. The fists…

“…his was red…” High End continued muttering out loud, as he continued staring at the Hero, now trapped within his thoughts. Memories of that fateful day grew more vivid with each passing second. Yes… he was his greatest rival… the man he gave his utmost respect to even in his…

“Ah… I died…” he remembers. He remembered how he unleashed all of his power against his opponent, only for him to blow everything he had back at him with one powerful punch, one that sundered him along with the heavens. He remembered during his final days…

“My name… High End? No, it’s not. My name is…”

The Flame Hero could feel that something is wrong. He had been expecting a fight. Not… this. Confusion began to creep onto Endeavour’s face as he continued listening in to the Noumu’s mutterings. This Noumu had died before? Too many questions were being raised, and none of them had any answer.

“What is my name? High End… no, that worm gave me that name… yes, he took advantage of me… what am I?” High End looked at his hands as he continued muttering.

“This is not me, no… wait…” flashes of him on a table emerged in his mind, blurred faces and hands prodding him. Then… further flashes of blurred memories, him listening to the words of an insect, how he obeyed and spread terror under the whims of a child. And a worm that gave the word on experimenting on him.

As further memories flashed within his mind, something stirred within him. Between his eyes, another eye started to open, slowly before his teeth sharpened into more shapely, stronger fangs as his newest eye started opening, laid bare for the world to see.

“My name… my name is Boros…” High End… no, Boros uttered as he looked at Endeavour again, this time with all three of his eyes laid on his visage.

Endeavour could feel a shiver pass through him. It felt like the Noumu before him had finally finished it’s transformation into… something else.

“Where am I?” Boros asked as he surveyed his surroundings, taking in the world he was in.

“…you remind me of Saitama, yet the feel of your energy is so… different. What are you? It is yours, yet not yours at the same time.” Boros questioned, his speech now fluid like a calm, clean river.

“.......”

The Flame Hero merely stared, eyes wide. The air that his opponent now radiated was more civil, yet far more threatening than before. Shivers continued to run up and down Endeavour’s body. This was really bad. However, he tensed dispelling the shivers. Steeling himself, he glared at High En- no. He stared at ‘Boros’.

“...I am the Number One Hero. My name is Endeavour and I will defeat you.”

“…” Boros stared at him, all three eyes appraising him.

“Lies.” Boros replied.

“I sense a far more powerful aura here on this planet. This one… reminds me of his.” Boros dismissed Endeavor as he looked around.

“There is one thing I must know. What is the power you wield? I wield.” Boros asked as he looked at his body. A strange ability to fly, recent memories of elongated arms, power amplification, strong flesh… and another ability that he had yet to use. What are they? This body was weak, yet strange. It felt so alien, yet natural at the same time.

Endeavour was baffled. It seemed as if another, entirely separate consciousness had emerged from High End. But even so… how could it be unaware of Quirks?
“You… don’t know what a Quirk is? Don’t mock me.”

“…is that what it’s called?” Boros tilted his head in pure curiosity.

“How interesting… more than five different energies sown in together with an unknown method, mine yet not mine… did someone take them and planted it in me? No, in this vessel?” Boros started musing to himself with astonishing intelligence that his previous self can not compare.

“I can feel it. Yes, portions of myself was forced into this… ahhh, I feel something else from my parts. Something new integrating with my being. Similar to these foreign energies.” Boros continued as the heroes around him stood there, confused. Even Hawks listening in was as confused as Endeavour.

The Flame Hero just remained there, levitating. He wasn’t sure of what to make of this. This speak of ‘energies’ and ‘sensing’ reminded him of the Hero-Hunter. No doubt that the ‘powerful aura’ that this ‘Boros’ could sense was Garou. It had to be.

“What… are you?”

“…a good question.” Boros mused.

“What am I now?” He asked back wanting to know as well.

“It would seem that some worm found my body and grafted parts of me into this… abomination. Where is my true body?” Boros asked as he looked around, now fully aware of his surroundings.

“I can feel it, yet… it’s dormant. Ahh, I can feel the other false bodies… waiting, slumbering. All holding parts of me…”

Boros’ ominous words chilled Endeavour to the core. Something terrible had awoken. And he knew that he couldn’t stop it. In all probability, there was only one person who could. And he wasn’t here.

“Ahhh, it feels strange. To awake in alien flesh without warning… I still recall vague dreams of that brat constantly ordering the other parts of me. Arrogant, unworthy… pitifully weak. While I still lay dormant.” Boros continued his musings as his three eyes shifted to the other heroes, and then to Endeavour.

“You call yourself a hero?” Boros asked Endeavour.

Clenching his fists, Endeavour glared at Boros. His body still ached and stung from where he had been thrown through the building.

“I do. It is my job to protect the public from things like you.”

“That man also called himself a hero. Though he does not focus on his appearance like you. He is more focused on his worth.” Boros started conversing with Endeavour as he continued looking around his surroundings with great interest.

“......”

Even the words coming from Boros’ mouth seemed familiar. If this was only a vessel, Endeavour shuddered to think of what his true form would be like. He needed to contact Garou immediately.

“That man belongs to your species. Yet, he was stronger than anyone I see around me. I am beginning to wonder if he really belonged to your race in the first place.” Boros continued chatting as he descended to the ground, surprising Endeavour as he landed on his hands and feet, prowling around like a predator himself.

Watching as Boros descended to the ground, Endeavour also slowly descended. As he landed, he kept his eyes locked on the prowling form of ‘Boros’. The two figures stood apart, staring at each other. ‘Boros’ still represented a threat and he couldn’t just let him go.

“What do you want? What are you here for?”

“…nothing.” Boros answered as he continued.

“I remember another worm ordering me to bring an end to the ‘age of heroes’… but that was before I awoken.” Boros added as he looked up to the sky, staring at the sun with curious wonder.

That confirmed one thing. The League of Villains has been experimenting with things out of their control. That orange monster was also probably one of theirs. But what exactly had they awoken here? Suddenly, the sound of wailing sirens began to grow closer and closer. Worry crept its way into Endeavour’s heart. There was no way the Police could handle Boros.

“There is one word I remember. A certain brat’s words… All Might… before it changed to another, but it slipped my mind. Regardless…” Boros then looked at Endeavour, his fangs now bearing a ferocious grin.

“What is your species called?” Boros asked.

A cold shiver once again passed through Endeavour. He was dealing with something… beyond human.

“...we are humans.”

“Ah, so that’s the name of his species? So he is a human… Saitama…” Boros uttered the name with great reverence.

“How I wish to face him again one day. I will never forget that battle.” Boros ‘grinned’ with fondness.

Endeavour could tell that this ‘Boros’ was powerful. But the way he spoke of ‘Saitama’ was one of admiration and anticipation. More and more questions were being raised, all without answers.

“So you’re not human?”

“Hm? Ah, yes. You weren’t there… we invaded this planet in search of a foe that can bring me the stimulus I craved. Though, where is my ship now that I wonder?” Boros asked mostly to himself as he looked back up to the skies.

Endeavour’s eyes widened at the reveal. This ‘Boros’... was an alien. It explained how he had never heard of Quirks. But speak of an ‘invasion’ only worried Endeavour more.

“Will you return to where you came from?”

“…something is wrong.” Boros frowned as his elongated neck gazed into the sky.

“The stars, the sun… they feel different. Where am I?” Boros asked as he looked around the skies. The police finally arrived, white cars of red sirens stopping around the two, each and every officer rushing into position as they prepare their guns.

Surrounding the two figures of Endeavour and Boros, the police all kept their sights firmly focused on the intimidating figure opposite the Number One Hero. More than a few of the guns were shaking, a sign of the nervousness in each of the police officers.

“Raise your hands in the air and get down on the ground Villain!”

A somewhat shaky voice filled the air from a nearby officer, wielding a megaphone.

“…the planet I was on has one continent. Tell me, how many continents are on this planet?” Lowering his long neck, Boros asked Endeavour, ignoring the policeman.

“....Seven.”

“…how peculiar…” Boros uttered as if genuinely dumbfounded.

“Is this part of the prophecy the sage told me?” Boros continued musing to himself as he mulled over this new information.

The air was tense, with the police all still aiming their guns at Boros. Endeavour merely faced down the intrigued alien. He’d never imagined that this would be how their first contact with extraterrestrials would go. And he certainly didn’t think he’d be fighting them.

“Are you… peaceful?”

Endeavour could only try to smooth out any potential misgivings between him and the alien. His prior combative behaviour had been pushed to one side.

“Peaceful? Heh… hahah. Hahahahaha!” Boros started laughing as if mocking Endeavour.

“Didn't you hear my story prior? Allow me to introduce myself once more. My name is Boros! I am… no, I was once the Dominator of the Universe! Former leader of the intergalactic raiders, Dark Matter!” Boros introduced himself before everyone.

Hearing the introduction, Endeavour once again took up his combat stance, as the police around him tightened their grip on their guns. Judging from what he had said, Boros did not come in peace.

“My purpose here is to receive the finest warriors this world has to offer! But as I am now, I might receive some stimulus from a weakling like you.” He grinned at Endeavour, before faint, murky veins started spreading from his eye to all over his body, glowing a pulsing dark murky blue.

The air surrounding Endeavour began to shimmer as the heat began to ramp up. Clenching his balled fists, Endeavour prepared himself. He felt a sense of deja-vu as he was momentarily taken back to his ‘test’ against Garou.

Suddenly, a slight movement from Boros shocked the Police into action. The sound of dozens of gunshots filled the air as a hail of bullets collided with Boros’ body. However, they didn’t seem to do anything. They simply stopped dead on impact, falling to the ground as if they had hid a unbreakable wall.

“Show me your worth, ‘hero’.” Boros started to taunt as he waited for Endeavour to make his move. Taunting him into action.

“Move!’

Endeavour yelled to the police surrounding Boros. As they quickly fled away, Endeavour released two huge gouts of flame, engulfing Boros. However, Endeavour could tell that wouldn’t be enough. Building up the flames on his elbows, he rocketed himself towards where ‘Boros’ would be.

The moment he bypassed his self made cloak of flame, he immediately aimed two of his arms at where Boros was, and fired countless strings of flame down upon him from above. He cannot hold back. This one was beyond dangerous, despite not fighting him after his transformation. Everything about him screamed danger, the feeling akin to that of Garou’s monstrous form, but much weaker.

When the flames died down, the aftermath slowly revealed itself. The area around Boros was reduced to a wasteland, yet Boros himself…

“Ahaha, did you get weaker?” Boros remained standing, unfazed. This time, Endeavour’s compressed flames did not cut through him like a knife through hot butter. Boros’ body remained intact, but it bore scars instead, though they were healing already at a fast pace. Much faster than before.

As the scars rapidly healed, Endeavour wasn’t surprised. He knew that attacks of that level wouldn’t be able to deal with this opponent. He’d need to put himself into the same mindset that he had when he faced Garou. He’d need to put everything on the line.

“This vessel is weak. Very weak. However, it is quite entertaining to see you struggle against this flesh. Albeit, like a rustic blade, your flames dull with each use.” Boros continued his musings as he remained still, mocking Endeavour with his inactivity.

Allowing his flames to flare up, Endeavour once again approached his enemy. Two twin jets of hissing flame shot out from his palms as he lashed out at Boros. If he couldn’t overpower the regeneration, then all he could do was bypass it via carbonization. Even though he could feel his body growing steadily weaker from each moment passing, he was determined to keep fighting. After all, he was the Number One.

Flames licking his flesh, burning him, his skin turning to charcoal, Boros remained still as the world around him was set aflame. He continued there, very amused to see this one still trying to defeat him despite knowing the futility behind his actions.

“Ahahahahahahaha!” Boros started laughing as he watched Endeavour trying to accomplish the impossible. His flesh continued to regenerate, the carbonized flesh falling off as Endeavour’s flame became less effective. Endeavour blinked, taken back by the ineffectiveness of his flames. The one known as Boros was starting to become immune to his flames. High End before couldn't do this.

Sweat trickled down Endeavours forehead, a combination of the extreme heat and the strain he was putting himself under. Despite seeing his flames slowly become more and more useless, the Flame Hero released a burst of flame into Boros’ lower torso. However, he also swing his fist towards the three-eyed head, no flames empowering it.

Without warning, the grotesque hand of Boros swiftly appeared before his fist, catching it in his grasp as Boros tightened his grip on his knuckle.

“His fist is far more powerful than this.” Boros condescendingly compared Endeavour’s punch with his killer’s, before he squeezed Endeavour’s hand, crushing the bones under his skin.

Enji groaned in pain as he attempted to pull his hand out of the iron grip of Boros. He could feel the cracking of his bones. As his fist remained trapped in the grasp of the alien, Endeavour lashed out once again, aiming a solid kick right at Boros’ torso. A small jet of flame propelled it forwards, increasing the speed.

*BOOM*

“Eh?” Endeavour was sent flying. What just happened? His mind hazy, blood spilling from his lips, his own chest sporting multiple broken ribs as he flew in an arc through the air.

“You bore me.” Boros said as he watched him fall onto a car, his back crashing against the metal as he laid there in pain.

Writhing in pain, Endeavour could feel the blood bubbling up past his lips. He could feel a warm trickling sensation on his forehead as well. Sluggishly, he raised his head to look for Boros. Spotting the alien’s form, he attempted to push himself back to his feet, only to slump back to the ground. His furious glare was still directed at the alien.

“You are nothing like Saitama. You bring shame to his species.” Boros compared again.

The distant sound of rotary helicopter blades registered in the Flame Hero’s mind. Looking into the sky, he could see a few news choppers hovering the air over the battle site.

Cameras were being pointed squarely at the bloody and beaten form of Endeavour and his former opponent. It was sickeningly similar to the defeat of All Might. As the footage was broadcast live to the world, countless eyes stared at the screens, feeling despair once again. Some distance away, after ensuring all civilians were properly evacuated from the area, Hawks had caught a glimpse of a nearby TV, the footage playing. His lips formed a thin line as he stared at the screen.

Across the country, people watched their screens, a mixture of fear and despair saturating the air all over Japan. Countless Heroes watched the screen, seeing the downed body of the Number One Hero. All Might could only watch on, powerless to help his fellow Hero in his time of weakness.

Gritting his teeth, Endeavour refused to let unconsciousness claim him so easily. Despite his pulverised and beaten body, he tensed his entire body. Suddenly, two great jets of flame spouted out from his shoulder blades, shooting him to his feet. Planting both of his feet firmly in the ground, Endeavour shakily stood up, glaring at the dismissive Boros. He remained hunched over, panting heavily as blood continued to drip from him, forming puddles on the ground.

“I’m….. haaah...n-not done… yet.”

“You are,” Boros said otherwise.

“I can sense energy, even the energy of all living things. I can see your potential, and I must say… your ‘power’ is stagnant. You are nothing.” Boros lectured with his tongue as his verbal knife.

Raising one foot shakily, Endeavour took an unsteady step towards Boros. He was the Number One Hero. He wasn’t going to go down so easily. A mixture of blood and sweat continued to drip from the Flame Hero as he stood amongst the wreckage and debris. As he stood there, he could feel his head wavering. Blurriness began to creep in from the corner of his vision. Eventually, his sight had gone entirely blurry.

As he stood there, wavering on his feet, he glanced over at the blurred form of Boros. As he stared at the blurred form of the alien, he could vaguely see the image of Garou overlapping his vision. Squinting slightly, Endeavour could feel a rush of memories fill his mind. Of his trial against Garou. And of the brutal beatdown. They both seemed so similar. But unlike before, there was no lesson to be taught… no, it was a reminder of the lesson from before. To never forget or forsake the gift all living beings possess… will.

Releasing a heavy breath, Endeavour raised his other foot, and took another slow step forwards. Each step felt like it was threatening to topple him. Boros didn’t even seem to acknowledge that he was getting slowly closer.

Everyone watching the footage could only cheer on Endeavour in their hearts. He was struggling so hard against his opponent. Shouto couldn’t tear his eyes away from the screen as he watched his father’s steady advance on this opponent of his.

Before long, the bloody and battered Endeavour was stood before Boros, staring him down. The three eyes turned slowly to focus on him. Despite the excruciating pain, Endeavour attempted to pull himself up to his full height. He could feel numerous stabbing pains in his chest as the broken ribs pressed into him. Clenching one fist, Endeavour rose it, preparing to throw a punch. But his sluggish and exhausted movements made it incredibly easy to see.

“Admirable effort. But still not on par with his.” Boros continued belittling him.

Glaring at Boros, Endeavour could feel darkness creeping into the corners of his consciousness. If he didn’t do something soon, he’d fall unconscious before he could. Pushing his body to the very limit, Endeavour released the last possible burst of flames capable for him. Once again, his fist was rocketed forwards, however, it was aimed directly for the third eye in the middle of Boros’ head. The alien’s consciousness had awoken fully when that third eye had opened. Perhaps if he could damage it…

As he strained every muscle within the fiber of his being, the Flame Hero’s fist neared the head of the alien. But Boros did not show any reaction. He simply remained still, his three eyes watching Endeavour. It was like he was giving Endeavour a free hit.

“…you’ll… regret this!”

Endeavour roared at his arrogance.

Then the fist connected. A heavy came from Endeavour’s fist as it impacted the third eye, before firing searing flames from his fist and scorching his eye.

“Nnn?!”

Almost instantly, Boros seemed to recoil in pain. Clutching his deformed head with both his hands, the body of the alien seemed to shake and shudder. The air of sheer power and intimidation slowly dissipated, as his third eye slowly closed.

“I see…” However Boros’ voice still came from his throat.

“So this vessel… h-holds more d-detriments… than I-I thought.” He said before his eye almost closed.

“W-We… will m-meet a-again… Endeavour.” Then the third eye finally closed as the Noumu froze in place, before his body started convulsing in an epileptic episode.

“W-Where… h-how…” the previous speech pattern of the one called High End re-emerged, now eyeing his surroundings with slight confusion.

Endeavour watched as the former consciousness returned, exhausted by the battle. As he began to sway in position, he did just realise something. He had succeeded in forcing the alien’s mind away, but he was still left with a almost uninjured High End. And he was in no state to fight anyone. But he had the feeling that he had sealed away a far more dangerous threat. He couldn’t let Boros roam freely. Endeavour could feel himself falling backwards, but barely managed to stay on his feet.

The two confused eyes of High End scanned the entire area. It had been… it had been fighting. And then… darkness. Nothing. It felt like it had been submerged in a freezing ocean. As High End took in his surroundings, he focused on the already battered and bloody Endeavour, barely remaining standing.

“You’re… already beaten?”

The instant he heard the voice clearly, Endeavour smiled despite being dead on his feet. The more scratchy tone of High End had replaced the more intelligent, rational speech of Boros.

“No…” Endeavour smiled at peace.

“I’ve won.”

His breathing calmed as he truly felt triumphant. He had done his job as the Number One Hero. He had protected everyone from that. Finally allowing the darkness to claim him, Endeavour slumped over, falling to one side. His unconscious body lay on the scorched ground, a victorious smile still on his face. High End watched, still struggling to parse the scene before him.

However, the spectators watching through the screens did not feel as content as Endeavour did. The Noumu was still there, relatively unharmed from that entire battle. And now the Number One Hero was out of commision. Things were not looking good.

Every other top ranking Hero watched the scene play out on their screens. Hawks was still staring at the same scene with his own eyes, his face unreadable. Ryukyu bore a look of concern, painful memories of the orange monster flashing through her mind. And even Mirko watched the scene intently. She really wanted to go out and defeat this Noumu, but the baby in her arms prevented that. At least, for now.

As High End remained still, looking around, the police once again took up positions around it. However, numerous white growths seemed to sprout out of High-End’s body. Taking up the form of Noumus, they began to assault the Police. Gunshots and screams filled the air. As he watched the carnage, High-End suddenly felt a sharp pain as something thin shot through his body like an arrow. A thin hole was left behind in High-End’s body, quickly regenerating. Casting his deformed eyes around, he caught sight of a thin line zipping through the air.

“You… Are you strong too?”

Unfolding himself, Edgeshot revealed himself. Glaring down at the Noumu, he quickly cast his eyes over to Endeavour. A somber look came over Edgeshot as he’d seen how fiercely he’d fought against this thing.

Just as High-End turned to look up at the semi-folded figure of Edgeshot, a tremendous force impacted it from behind, sending it flying forwards into a building. Using this as an opportunity, Edgeshot quickly traveled down to the body of Endeavour. Checking his breath and then his pulse, the Pro Hero released a sigh of relief. Turning over to the new arrival, he smiled and nodded once.

“I thank you for your swift arrival Ryukyu.”

Beside the Dragon Hero, stood both Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods. They all bore grim expressions, a sign of the serious situation they found themselves in.

Edgeshot flickered through the air towards them, hovering by their side.

“You saw the third eye?” He asked his compatriots.

All sharing a glance, all three of them nodded. No Hero had failed to notice the sudden opening of the third eye. Whilst the press and the public would most likely overlook it, Heroes did not think so.

“After the third eye opened, even through the screen, I could see it’s mannerisms change.”

Ryukyu had taken particular notice of the stark contrast of the behaviour between the two ‘forms’ of the Noumu. After her experience with the orange monster, she wouldn’t leave anything to chance.

“What event caused it?”
Kamui Woods quickly added to the discussion, his eyes still on the hole where the Noumu had disappeared into after being struck by Ryukyu.

“I do not know. But it appears our Number One dealt with that for us. Now it is our job to deal with the rest.”

An air of determination settled in over the four Heroes. After seeing Endeavour fight on so fiercely, they were all determined to do so too.

A low grumble came from the hole in the wall. Ryukyu was immediately put on guard, tensing her gigantic dragonoid body in preparation. The other three Heroes were all also alerted, turning to face the hole in the wall.

The rumbling grew and grew in ferocity, before a dark shape suddenly shot out from the huge hole. High End emerged from the gaping hole in the wall, growling and glancing around at the destroyed environment. Seeing the numerous Heroes now stood before it, the previously cocky attitude of High End was replaced by one of confusion and shock.

As his arms twisted and bent out of shape, they took the shape of two grotesque wings. Without a moment’s hesitation, he flapped them once and took off to the skies. The assembled Heroes could not risk pursuing it, not after they saw what it was capable of. They all glanced down at the unconscious body of Endeavour, who was still smiling.

Emergency vehicles had begun to arrive, cordoning off the area and evacuating all civilians. Endeavour’s body was lifted by several first-responders onto a stretcher. As they watched him being taken away, the Heroes could feel a sense of worry and concern. Seeing the Number One Hero being beaten so badly… This was bound to have wide-reaching effects. And what even was that strange Noumu?

Slice of Life Starring Fenrir

Under the blue sky botched by the white clouds in the sky, the air clean of fumes and peace present all around, Izuku… no, Deku, trembled out in the streets, walking alongside Mirio in one of their daily patrols around Tokyo. They were assigned by Sir Nighteye to investigate the propagation of ‘monster cells’ as dubbed by him around the black market, provided by the League of Villains. The location was given to Sir Nighteye by Garou, obtained from one of his ‘hunts’ specifically the hunt for the Perfect Trigger and destroyed all of the product along with other illegal drug labs in his excessive display of force, and thus the three were sent out to investigate.

Yes, three. Mirio, Deku… and Fenrir, the latter casually walking up behind him. Normally, Deku would lighten up to Garou at this point, but he still could not get used to the man’s presence. It was like standing next to a dragon… or an Evil God.

“You know, I just remembered… I never tried the restaurants around here when I had the chance.” Fenrir started a conversation as he saw a skyscraper, which was a very complex building that housed various restaurants in his research for good food.

Glancing over at Garou, Mirio smiled at his fellow interning ‘Hero’. It was still a strange sight to see Garou walking alongside them, performing their interning duties with them.

“Maybe we could go visit one when we’re ‘off the clock’?”

Izuku merely nodded along with Mirio, still looking around his surroundings.

“Eh, not like there's anymore villains here. I worked hard in culling them like fish in a barrel.” Garou replied as the two grew curious. How did the Hero Hunter find and cull his prey?

“H-How do you… go about it?”

Izuku couldn’t help but being morbidly curious. Mirio had some idea, but said nothing. The broken, bloody ways villains were found were telling enough.

“I did some tracking. The trails, the less populated areas, every abandoned building there is. As for the more trickier villains, I beat the information out of my victims after breaking every bone in their body and boiled their blood with pain that would last a thousand years. As for the very hard ones, I managed to fish most of them out with some expert tracking and research. I even know the places the villains order their costumes from as well.” Garou replied, giving them a very, very gruesome image of his days as the ‘Villain Hunter’.

Izuku couldn’t help but chatter his teeth, shuddering at the nightmarish image Garou so vividly painted. Mirio had a look of mild disapproval, his smile dissipating.

“You know, if you’re going to be a ‘Hero’, your methods might need to ‘change’.”

“Shut it. We kill monsters where I come from. There's no room for niceness there.” Garou replied as an uncomfortable air swirled around them.

Turning to face Garou whilst they walked, Mirio raised one eyebrow. A smile emerged back on to his face.

“The news and the media love reporting on a Hero that they think ‘has gone too far’. If they catch wind, they’ll be after you forever!”

“I will destroy you if you leak my name to them.” Garou threatened vehemently this time, with as much emphasis to share Mirio the same fate as that of his victims' prior to Fenrir.

Raising both hands in a mock surrender, Mirio continued his smile at Garou.

“I would never do that! But they might find out eventually…”

“If you tell anyone else to leak just to mess with me, I will…” Garou stopped, searching for the right word, something along the lines of throwing a mountain at Mirio.

Izuku watched the exchange between Mirio and Garou. He was still astounded with the way that Mirio so casually addressed someone like Garou.

“I will-” Cutting himself off, Garou frowned as he turned his head towards a nearby bank.

“I sense a presence in that building.” Garou pointed at the bank.

Both Izuku and Mirio’s head snapped over to look at the building. They both now bore a look of seriousness, the atmosphere quickly changing. Quickly glancing over to Garou, Mirio stared at the silver-haired ‘Hero’.

“...What kind of ‘presence’?”

“Monster.” Garou grimly answered. He would never mistake that kind of presence, especially after his senses now heightened during his debut.

Both Mirio and Izuku could feel a shiver pass down their spine. Tensing up, they both began considering what actions they could take.

Sharing a glance, both Mirio and Izuku began approaching the bank. Apprehension began to build up in their hearts. Turning back to Garou, Mirio gestured his head in the direction of the building.

“Are you coming in with us?”

“It's not even demon level… but fine.” Garou said as he started walking, following the two into the building much more casually than them.

Walking closer to the bank, the three could feel a shift in the air. Despite the somewhat busy time, no one was coming in or out of the bank. Izuku clenched his fists as he thought of what could have happened inside the bank. The urge to simply rush in was almost overwhelming, but he kept it in check.

Before long, the three interns stood before the door to the bank. The silence seemed almost deafening. Reaching out and taking grasp of the door handle, Mirio turned back to Izuku and Garou. Sharing a glance between the three, Mirio swung the door inwards.

As they walked into the bank, the three could immediately tell that something was wrong. Crystalline shards grew from every surface in the bank, reflecting the overhead lights, bathing the area in a cool blue light.

With curiosity, Garou crouched as he ripped off a tumor of the crystal with his fingers, inspecting the unevenly faceted crystal at eye level.

“...hey, isn't this… diamond?” Garou asked as he blinked, seeing the shining facets of the crystal wide-eyed.

Mirio crouched down besides Garou, analysing the crystal alongside him. Izuku however, remained staring at the nearby corner. They hadn’t reached the main public area of the bank. They were still in the entrance. The deposit and withdrawal area was around that corner. Izuku could see a much stronger blue glow from around the corner.

Mirio examined the chunk of crystal eerily bearing the appearance of diamond alongside Garou. Looking around quickly, Mirio could see a nail hidden away in a nearby corner, very conveniently left there as random litter.

“Gar… Bang, can I borrow it for a moment?” Garou wordlessly handed the lump of crystal over to Mirio he got to work.

Quickly scooping it up, he began to drag the point of the nail across the surface of the diamond-esque crystal. As he continued to test the crystal, Mirio’s eyes widened. The nail was leaving no mark on the surface of the crystal. Pulling the nail away, Mirio rotated the chunk of crystal in his hand, continuing to examine it.

“I...I think this might actually be diamond… A diamond this size could be worth hundreds of millions!”

“...we’re rich as hell… but…” Garou then widened his eyes.

“....You know… there is never a monster that spews money before…” Garou looked at Mirio, giving him a silent message of what he was thinking.

Handing the diamond back to Garou, Mirio stood up. The size of the diamond had clearly shocked him. But he could still feel concern welling up inside him. They still hadn’t seen any civilians since they’d entered the building. Glancing over at Izuku, Mirio also noticed the powerful blue glow from around the corner. Sharing a look, both Izuku and Mirio began approaching the corner. The glow only increased in strength.

Peeking around the corner, both Mirio and Izuku couldn’t help but gasping, their eyes widening. They could immediately see dozens of crystalline statues, all frozen in various positions. Growths of diamonds and crystals sprouting from all surfaces, like blue tumours. Narrowing his eyes, Mirio could feel his heart sink as he noticed something about the crystalline figures.. The statues appeared to be actual people, just covering in a thick layer of shimmering diamond. Their faces all frozen in a look of panic and fear. Without turning around, Mirio spoke aloud for Garou to hear.

“Bang. Can you come over here?”

His tone was terse, a sign of his concern.

Arriving behind them, Garou hummed until he saw what they were seeing.

“...oh… crap.” Garou frowned as he looked at the entombed civilians.

“...” Garou’s keen eyesight picked up no trace of muscle movement, especially around the nose and trachea area. Walking up to the nearest statue, a young business woman of brown hair and yellow eyes in uniform, Garou jammed two of his fingers past the layer of hard diamond and pressed the fingertips on her neck, trying to feel a pulse.

“...there's no pulse.” Garou gravely revealed. They were dead from asphyxiation some time ago, probably around more than ten minutes ago due to the warmth still lingering around her body.

“This one died recently.” Garou glazed his eyes over the others as he walked to another, a male accountant as he tried the same on him.

“...this one lives.” Garou said as he broke the diamond shell with a karate chop, the shell falling off him as the man fell, coughing blood and diamonds. Garou frowned.

“He has some diamonds in his system. It is not good. Even the smallest traces of diamond could kill him if they roam in his bloodstream unchecked.” Garou said.

Following closely behind Garou, both Izuku and Mirio solemnly looked around at the forms of the frozen civilians. Both their hearts surged with hope as they saw the survivor. Perhaps they could still save some of them...

Looking over at the business woman encased in diamond, Mirio still could feel a profound sense of sadness. She hadn’t even died that long ago.

“...don't feel bad.” Garou said as he scowled.

“It is worse back home. This much is tamer compared with what happens back there.” If they didn't know better, Garou was actually trying to console them. Him of all people.

Glancing down saddened, Izuku could only frown.

“You can't stop the world from turning just because you want to. The same goes for disasters happening each and every day… if you want to atone, do it by taking out the one responsible. We are heroes, not omniscient gods.” Garou replied as he removed his fingers from the petrified corpse.

Both Izuku and Mirio’s head snapped over to stare at Garou, slightly bewildered. They both weren’t entirely sure, but they thought that they’d just heard Garou, the Hero-Hunter, admit to being a Hero.

“...you will forget what you just heard. Or else.” While maintaining his unreadable countenance, Garou threatened upon realizing the words coming out of his mouth.

Quickly sharing a glance, Mirio and Deku turned back to Garou, nodding in agreement. As they stood there in silence, all three of them noticed a strange grating noise coming from nearby, behind the glass pane where the bankers converse with the customers behind protection. A door leading to the employees lounge was open, allowing the two to glimpse the bulky figure inside.

Turning to face the source of the bizarre noise, Izuku and Mirio both tensed up as they saw what was causing the noise. Standing by one of the statues, a security guard, was what looked like a large, crystalline skeleton. Patches of diamond grew from places on the skeleton, forming armor and making the monster seem much larger. It appeared to be consuming the statue, it’s teeth easily scraping away huge chunks of diamond and flesh. The skeleton was almost entirely focused on the statue in front of it, not even noticing the three new figures staring at it.

“...What should we do?”

Izuku whispered to the other two, so as to not alert the monster to their presence. Garou had described the monster as being ‘not Demon’ level.

“...you two fight it.” Garou said as he grimaced.

“That thing is a Quirk empowered monster. Do not think of it as a human, or a sentient being that can be saved. It has dined on human flesh out of its free will. It willingly abandoned its humanity, thus you must fight with intent to kill. No mercy is allowed or else you will die like his victims.” Garou said as he stared at the monster.

Gulping, Izuku didn’t relish the idea of killing. Even if it was against such a horrific monster and was in self-defence. The best Heroes didn’t need to kill. They could talk someone down, or if it comes down to it, take them down without loss of life. At least, that was what Izuku thought. Garou probably didn’t agree with him on that point. He wanted to be able to take down this opponent without killing them, but Garou insisted that he would die otherwise. A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead as a shiver passed through Izuku.

Clenching their fists, Mirio and Izuku steeled themselves as they began to slowly edge towards the unaware monster. They kept their eyes firmly locked on the feeding monster.

“This is another test of mine. Put all of your training to use, or you will die. Also, finish this by lunchtime. And do not suffer permanent damage. The landlord will kill me if I allowed you two in irrecoverable conditions under my watch. I will be busy freeing the survivors.” Garou added, a slight dose of humor added into the atmosphere.

Nodding in response, Mirio took up his combat stance as he continued slowly approaching alongside Izuku. As they neared the monster, it froze in place mid-bite. It’s skeletal, crystalline head slowly turned to focus on the two approaching figures. Turning away from its ‘meal’, the skeleton stared over at Mirio and Izuku, chewing the mixture of crystal and meat in his mouth. The two looked at the statue, seeing it almost half-eaten. The person was a security guard, judging by the gun in hand and blue uniform. The sight of it was even more sickening than they thought.

“...heroes? This soon?” The monster uttered with his mouth full, then resumed his chewing as he gazed at them with his eyeless sockets.

“I cut the security alarms, and sealed the food here before they could scream…” He said as if he was utterly sure no one would arrive here.

Mirio and Izuku could feel anger building up inside them, hearing the monster’s emotionless description of how he killed all these people. The way it described them as ‘food’ unnerved the both of them.

“...no matter.” The monster eyed the way the two entered.

“Interesting, isn't it? Seeing a mutant eating a crystalized corpse with ease? I can no longer eat normal food, you know? I eat rocks and minerals now. But my cravings hunger for crystallized meat, hahaha.” The monster laughed, his voice like a nail on a chalkboard as he casually chatted with the heroes, not threatened by them at all.

Glaring at the skeleton, Izuku kept his combat stance aimed at the monster. He was prepared to activate One For All at the slightest movement from the monstrous opponent. His former desire to talk down this opponent had dissipated, seeing the truly monstrous nature of the skeleton’s personality.

“You’re not a human anymore. You aren’t even a Villain. You’re just a monster. And we’re going to stop you here.”

“Eh?” The monster blinked.

“...how'd you know?” He asked.

“Tomura assured us no one would know what we are now. He just distributed the drugs to the black market.”

Izuku tensed up a little further at hearing the familiar name of Shigaraki Tomura. His balled fists clenched harder, turning white. Mirio continued staring down the monster before them, poised in his trained stance.

“We know that you abandoned your humanity for strength. Turning yourself into a monster in the process.”

Since they were both Sir Nighteye’s interns and Garou’s fellow interns, they both knew exactly how people were monsterized. Those… horrific ‘cells’.

“Huh. I doubt you know how good it feels right now.” If a skeleton could smile, the two still could not tell through its static skull, but they could sense the exhilaration in its tone.

“I've never felt sooooo free.” The monster giggled… which sounded eerily creepy.

The creepy, grating laughter of the monster was irritating to the ears. Mirio and Izuku winced slightly as the rasping laughter reached their ears.

“You aren’t free. You’ve been turned into a slave to your instincts. And that ‘cell’ is why.”

Mirio remained still. The monster before was truly no longer human.

“Hee hee hee hee! You don't know the high I feel right now!” The monster’s grating laughter increased in volume.

“I feel like I can do anything! And to think I would be satisfied with just making statues of girls I manage to get on the streets!” The monster rasped with glee.

Both Izuku and Mirio could feel the anger inflaming within. Mirio attempted to suppress his frustration at the monster. Izuku gritted his teeth, his fists clenching white in anger as he imagined all of the helpless victims of this creature. Releasing one calm breath, Mirio locked eyes with the skeleton’s eyeless skull.

“My Quirk allows my blood to turn into diamonds after making contact with a solid! It is great for preserving corpses hehehe! Now, I just use it to eat my fill! Prepare to join them as my meal!”

“We aren’t letting you leave this building.”

Mirio prepared himself for combat. He’d need to make use of all of his training to defeat this monster. And with Izuku alongside him, this monster wouldn’t be making anyone else a victim

“Who says I'm asking?” The monster said as he opened its jaw, and spewed a stream of highly pressurized liquid at them.

As the stream of liquid shot towards them, Izuku activated Full Cowl as he leapt away from the stream. Mirio sank into the earth using his Quirk, also avoiding the liquid. As the liquid splattered across the wall behind them, suddenly, crystals began to grow from the patch of splashed liquid like overgrown tumors. They understood how the monster managed to encase his victims in diamond.

Mirio quickly popped out of the earth, and Izuku landed back on the ground, green electricity sparking out of him. Quickly glancing back at the splattered wall, it now appeared to be covered in a thick layer of crystal, much like the poor victims of the monster. Sharing a glance, both Izuku and Mirio both knew that getting hit by that liquid would be disastrous. Nodding to each other as they communicated silently, Mirio and Izuku both charged the monster. Green electricity sparked from Izuku’s limbs, and Mirio continued channeling the martial arts learned under Garou.

The large crystalline skeleton stood still, watching the two Heroes charge at him.

“Idiiioooots~” The skeleton laughed, confident of his own defenses as layers of diamond grew over his body, stacking additional armor as he waited for their assault.

Izuku reached the monster first, his fist pulled back. As he empowered his arm with more and more power, he could feel the strain quickly building up, as he gritted his teeth. He was determined to make this monster pay for what it had done to its victims. Then, his fist shot out at tremendous speeds, aimed directly for the crystalline jaw of the skeleton.

The fist reached its target, the sound of the impact filling the room. Izuku could feel waves of pain come from his fist as he glanced over at the monster. It appeared slightly shook up, but other than that, it didn’t really seem outwardly damaged. Moving back slightly, Izuku continued glaring at the monster as he could feel his hand growing hot, the pain coursing through his fist unabated.

“Ahahahahha! My diamond armor is like a hundred times tougher than the standard shit! I am practically invincible! Even tougher than the toughest metals around! Your punch rattled my bones at best!” The monster said as he cackled again. However, Izuku could see a few cracks alongside the jaw… the monster was wrong. He just couldn't feel pain anymore. Recalling that this was his first time as a monster, Izuku deemed the monster unaware of his current limits.

Mirio suddenly approached the monster, still carefully examining the monster. He noticed the small cracks along the jaw of the monster. Unlike the monsterized Noumu, this one was more manageable. His arms shot out towards the skeleton, his limbs almost a blur as he grasped both sides of the arrogant skeleton and sunk into the floor, dragging the skeleton’s down skull first and slammed it into the ground.

“Ack!” The skeleton bounced back up shaking the shock from his head, slightly disoriented but Mirio appeared behind him and wrapped his arms around the waist and dropped him into a suplex, slamming him skull first again.

“Agh!” The skeleton could not feel pain, but he could feel the shock of the blows and the effects. He was still a living being, and unlike before when he was human, he was slightly more prone to disorientation.

Izuku watched as his sempai assaulted the monster. How he danced around it, throwing him to the ground again and again as the monster grew more frustrated each and every time he was thrown.

Each time the crystalline monster struck the ground, the cracks on the jaw on the monster began to slowly spread. Thin spiderwebs of cracks had spread to cover one side of the skull of the monster. It also appeared that the crystal opponent hadn’t noticed the cracks growing, due to his lack of senses. Not only that, but thin cracks had begun to form on the shoulders and back of the skeleton.

A grating, furious cry came from the crystalline throat of the monster as it continued being tossed around by Mirio, seemingly unable to fight back properly. In anger, the monster began vomiting the liquid up at it’s own feet, creating a disgusting layer of shimmering transparent liquid. Izuku had to move backwards to avoid the steadily growing pool of liquid.

“Try throwing me now!” The monster taunted.

“Don’t need to.” Mirio replied the moment he shot up from the floor, and uppercutted the skeleton with all of his might. The force behind the blow broke the skeleton’s jaw completely while breaking him out of the crystal mold trapping his feet as he flew through the air.

As it flew backwards, the skeleton collided with a nearby wall. A small crater was formed as the monster was embedded in the wall, pieces of stone crumbling around it. A thin trail of glittering crystals lead to the crystalline skeleton, what used to be the jaw of the monster now scattered across the floor.

Izuku couldn’t help but gape at seeing the difference of Mirio’s current level and before. He’d already seen him fight some of the strongest in 1-A without his Quirk, but this… Izuku glanced back at Garou, a bewildered look on his face. Was this what Garou’s training allowed? His sempai seemed to have grown so powerful, in such a short period of time.

The sound of crumbling quickly drew Izuku’s attention back to the now-embedded skeleton. Without it’s jaw, the monster could no longer speak, only glare furiously at Mirio. Both of his skeletal arms trembled and shook. Suddenly, with a jerk of movement, the monster began to pull itself free, still focused on the one who had injured it so much.

With a gurgling roar, blades grew out of his arms, fingers sharpened into blades claws of diamonds, and its size grew taller and bulkier as it charged towards Mirio, killing intent pouring out of him like a bleeding wound.

As the monster sped towards him, Mirio took up a stance, point both palms towards the charging skeleton. It now towered over him as it bore down on him, it’s eyeless sockets seeming to glean with murderous desire.

“Fuuuu~” in contrast to the raging monster, Mirio stared back with unyielding serenity, as he leapt up, claws phasing past his intangible head harmlessly, and struck the monster’s head again, this time pouring his all into this strike as bone-breaking force vibrated throughout the molecular lattices of the skeleton’s skull.

Stopping in its tracks, the monster seemed to shudder and shake as it towered over Mirio. His hand was still touching the skull of the monster when the spider web of cracks grew.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!” With a cry of futile defiance, Mirio watched as the skull of the monster broke apart into pieces, the fragments clattering the floor as the headless body remained on its feet.

“…good.” Garou gave his approval as he and Izuku watched as the body slowly toppled over, and crashed to the floor with a loud thud.

Silence once again filled the bank, as the headless skeleton lay on the ground. Despite the monster laying at his feet, Mirio couldn’t help the sense of regret and sadness that he could feel for the victims of this creature. He glanced around at the motionless statues, a grim look on his face. Reaching into one of his pockets, Mirio pulled out his phone. He’d need to alert the authorities, if they weren’t already alerted. Then he’d have to tell Sir Nighteye.

Glancing over at Izuku, he could see his fellow intern lightly clutching his hand that he’d punched with.

“…your fist okay, Deku?” Mirio asked.

Looking up from his fist, Izuku smiled at his sempai. He could still feel the hot, throbbing pain coming from his hand.

“It’s fine. Probably just a small fracture.”

*Chink*

The sound of shattered glass resounded from nearby. Turning their heads to the source, they both found Garou… breaking off the crystal growths… collecting them in his arm. He was collecting quite a sum already.

Mirio could only shake his head and smile as he watched Garou collecting the crystals. He appeared to be gathering them with quite some vigour.

“...this is a crime scene you know?”

“It won’t affect the evidence. What’s wrong with collecting millions of yen worth of gems?” Garou replied as if it was obvious.

“Are you that strapped for cash?”

Raising one eyebrow, Mirio continued grinning at Garou. He had frankly, no idea where Garou would even sell these crystals.

“The lawyer threatened to cut my allowance if I don’t stop binge eating every day. One too many times. This is all food money.”

“...then why not stop binge eating?”
Izuku cocked his head, fully aware of Garou’s monstrous appetite. He could eat an entire restaurant out of food by himself if he wanted to.

“...I refuse.” Garou answered with a stubborn tone.

Chuckling, Mirio turned towards the direction of the door. The police should be here soon. Just as he was thinking of that...

“Grab some while you can. They won’t miss this stuff. Think of all the things you could buy with this much diamonds.” Garou suggested as he continued harvesting the crystals.

Gulping from imagining the amount of things they could actually buy, both Izuku and Mirio felt the slightest urge to pick up a chunk of the diamond and pocket it. No one was here. But they both resisted the temptation.

“...I’ll pass.”

“Suit yourself. There’s a line between selfless and dumb. Your choice is on the side of dumb”

Realising something that Garou did not, Mirio turned to the still-collecting form of Garou, a knowing grin on his face.

“So… what are you going to say to the press when they arrive? They’ll see you leaving with an armful of diamonds.”

“…I am not here.” Garou said as he then vanished, disappearing in a blink of an eye.

Both Mirio and Izuku blinked as Garou disappeared. As they began to head towards the entrance to wait for the police, Mirio chuckled. Only he could have instantly disappeared with a literal armful of diamonds. And only because he didn’t like answering questions.

Then Garou reappeared ten minutes later. His face bearing a mark of irritation.

“The landlord forced me to be in front of the press…” Garou muttered with his left eye twitching with angst.

Both Izuku and Mirio had sat down outside, still waiting for the police. The sound of nearing sirens indicated their approach. As Garou suddenly appeared before them, they both jumped to their feet in shock. As the shock wore off, Mirio could feel the slightest twinge of sympathy for Garou.

“...has she forced you to answer their questions?”

He could imagine Garou being surrounded by the press, all sorts of questions being asked. He wouldn’t be too happy.

“…she wanted me to get adapt to the press. And not threaten to end their lives when they start talking like mice.”

Walking up to Garou, Mirio lay one reassuring hand on his shoulder. He could see that dealing with the press was not something Garou enjoyed.

“Don’t worry. Just try to be more… receptive.”

“If you mean not trying to threaten them or think about destroying their jobs, then that’s impossible,” Garou spouted.

Shaking his head, Mirio had a look of mild disapproval.

“I don’t think that’s how you ‘adapt’ to the press.”

“I still haven’t forgiven them for assuming relationships.”

“Maybe if you clear up their misunderstandings, they might not assume so much.”
Garou seemed extremely stubborn when it came to this particular topic.

“I doubt they’ll heed my words. They're vermin. Feed them and more will come.”

Shrugging, Mirio turned to look down the nearby road where the police would be coming from.

“Well if you don’t, they’ll continue as they are doing.”

Despite the somewhat ‘easy’ battle against the monster, Mirio felt drained. The statues in the bank had emotionally drained him.

“…fine…” Garou relented.

“…define ‘receptive’ though.” Garou asked.

Turning to Garou, Izuku had a contemplative look on his face. He doubted Garou would be as friendly to the press as All Might was.

“Try to not frown? Smile a little?”

All Izuku could do was offer his own thoughts.

“No.” Garou instantly denied as he glared at the successor of One For All.

Raising one arm, Mirio pointed at the convoy of emergency vehicles approaching. As they neared, the three interns could see one or two news vans trailing the convoy already, a sign of what was to come.

“Looks like they’re starting to arrive.”

Garou stared at the news van with contemplative eyes.

“…should I sabotage the van once they get out?” Garou asked them as if really considering a resort to violence.

Mirio merely shook his head in response. Garou seemed insistent on the application of brute force to solve most problems. That wouldn’t work here.

‘I don’t think that’s what your landlady would consider ‘dealing with the press’. I bet she’s probably waiting to see how you react on the news.”

“She already knew how I would react. I lived with her after all.” Garou frowned further as the reporter was seen leading the van.

The three watched as the emergency vehicles all stopped nearby, each beginning to perform their own tasks. Paramedics began to rush inside to check for any survivors. The Police began forming a line as civilians and journalists began to gather behind it. They noticed news crews setting up their cameras, pointed squarely at the entrance of the bank, with the three interns clearly in frame.

As each of the individual news reporters began the introduction to the story, their cameras all pointed firmly at the bank and the three Heroes. Over the din of shouting, a few questions from the journalists behind the cordon could be heard.

“Excuse me Fenrir! Is there any link between this event and the attack that you took part in a few weeks ago?”

“Hosu Afternoon News! What is the status of the civilians inside the bank?”

“Have you apprehended the culprit?”

Questions rained down on the three Heroes, blasting them from all sides. Izuku and Mirio merely smiled along with the cameras.

“…it is rude to ask one questions after another without giving the person room to answer. Are you really professionals? Or newbies trying to impress your bosses without any consideration for those you question?” Garou chided the news crew with a frown.

The questions died down as everyone stared at the silver-haired Hero. Even a few of the police looked at him, surprised by his words. Quite a few of them knew that the Hero Fenrir had saved a number of Heroes from some unknown attack, but they didn’t think he’d be this unfriendly.

One reporter, a man with slicked-back black hair and a plain burgundy suit, approached the three Heroes. Holding his microphone out to the three, he spoke clearly.

“Do you have any words to describe what went on in there?”

Garou’s eye twitched as he was about to open his mouth, but Mirio’s hand fell on his shoulder. Turning left, he saw Mirio giving him an encouraging smile along with a thumbs up. Mostly to prevent him from giving the media and the public a bad impression of him.

“......A silent disaster that could've gone worse.” Garou answered.

As he held up the microphone, the reported nodded. His professional look on his face didn’t disappear as he began to fiddle with his tie.

“Can you give us any more details about what went on?”

That was the question on many lips. Such a response from the emergency services had to be caused by something equally noteworthy.

“...a monster came in and encased the victims in diamonds, preserving them under the public’s ignorance. No one even noticed that it was under attack in broad daylight.” Garou started describing it in detail.

A few nearby journalists pulled out notepads as the rapidly wrote down, word for word, what the Hero Fenrir was saying. Whilst most had been taken aback by the mention of a ‘monster’, quite a few were already aware of the ‘monster’ that defeated a group of Heroes, only to be defeated by Fenrir himself. Nodding in acknowledgement, the reporter’s face showed the slightest hints of concern, mixed with fear.

“..And I assume that you dealt with it as you did with the previous ‘monster’?”

“No.” Garou shook his head.

“They did.” Garou pointed over at Mirio and Izuku.

The eyes of the press all turned to the two other Heroes. They had barely even noticed them, too focused on the mysterious Fenrir. In response to the sudden shift in attention, both Mirio and Izuku began waving towards the cameras.

Izuku suddenly felt nervous from the significant amount of converging attention focusing on him. Glancing over at Mirio, he could see his senior smiling confidently, emitting an air of experience.

A reporter, an older man, approached the two waving Heroes, holding the microphone up to them.
“Did you two deal with the ‘monster’ then?”

Nodding once, Mirio took the lead. He was still smiling, not out of the usual, but one of assurances.

“Yes, both me and Deku here dealt with the culprit. Fenrir arrived as backup, but we’d already dealt with the monster by then.”

Mirio looked over at Garou, a glint of understanding in his eyes. The fewer questions that Garou would need to answer, the better.

Stepping back slightly to get all three Heroes in sight, the reporter extended the mic to all of them. He seemed determined to keep probing for answers. Each question they answered, the more the nearby journalists transcribed.

“What is the status of the civilians inside the bank?”

A more somber look came over Mirio, replacing his confident smile. The air around them became more grim.

“There are survivors. But… it was too late for some.”

Izuku felt the same level of sadness as his senior. Neither of them could forget the feeling of disappointment out of their hearts. They were too late…

Just as the three Heroes and the reporter stood near the entrance, the medical personnel began rushing back out. Turning their heads, both Mirio and Izuku’ sorrow grew as they saw the forms of the victims on stretchers, being carried out. However, confusion began to quickly fill their mind, as they noticed that there were quite a few more survivors than they had confirmed. Had they missed some?

Rushing past the four, the stretchers began heading for the nearby ambulances, no doubt rushing them to a hospital. As they passed them, Mirio and Izuku could clearly see that they were all breathing, some of them even groaning in pain. Their brows furrowed in confusion as they turned to the only other person that was there with them at the time of the confirmation.

“...Did we miss some survivors?”

“Other than the security guard being eaten?” Garou replied as he smirked.

Pointing after the trail of stretchers, Mirio narrowed his eyes at Garou. That smirk… He must have done something.

“...what did you do?”

He closed into Garou, whispering to him. He had to make sure that the reporter didn’t hear anything… strange.

“…” Garou’s smirk only grew wider. And wider.

Izuku gaped at Garou, while Mirio’s stare only narrowed in confirmation. So he had done something.

“...how?”

He was frankly, confused by the events taking place.

“A satanic ritual to bring back the dead. The ones that revived are actually demons possessing the corpses. Be sure to kill them once this is over.” Garou chimed with delight.

Mirio’s stare didn’t let up. He wasn’t entirely sure if it was a joke when it came to Garou. He might actually be capable of something so ridiculous and out-of-this-world.
“But you said so yourself. They had no pulse.”

“Yes. So I made their hearts beat again.”

Both Mirio and Izuku’s eyes widened, in a mixture of shock and blatant disbelief. Garou was capable of many things, but bringing people back from the dead?

“What??”

Both stupefied Heroes voiced their confusion. They completely ignored the reporter that was still staring at the three of them.

“Like a defibrillator, I sent shockwaves to their hearts through their bodies while you all weren’t looking. They died recently, so I had to be quick. It worked surprisingly. I never did it before, but still.” Garou explained as his smirk grew wider.

Despite still being astounded by this ‘skill’ of Garou’s, a profound sense of relief washed over both Mirio and Izuku. Mirio gave a sigh of relief, earning a confused look from the reporter.

“I didn't tell you guys so I can enjoy your faces during the reveal.”

His face twisting into a look of disapproval, Mirio could only frown at Garou. Despite his grimace, Mirio was in fact, quite happy. They hadn’t been too late. And the fact that is was Garou that had saved these people’s lives only made him gladder.
“....Thank you.”

“...” Garou’s smirk turned into a frown.

“That's not what I expected to come out of your mouth,” Garou replied.

Mirio smiled, turning to the reporter. Garou had wanted to see their reaction. Now he’ll get to see Garou’s.

“I did forget to mention. Fenrir was entirely responsible for the civilians’ rescue. While we were dealing with the monster, he had ensured they were all fine.”

He felt like Garou did deserve some credit. Even if it was credit, he didn’t want or ask for. Mirio pointed one finger in the direction of the now-furious Fenrir.

“I'll kill you.” Garou seethed at Mirio, his glare promising punishment once this was all over.

Raising both eyebrows, the reporter approached Fenrir, mic outstretched.
“Is that true? Are you responsible for saving all those lives?”

Garou turned his eyes to the reporter, his left eye twitching with rage. The reporter flinched, almost taking a step back from trepidation.

“.............yes,” Garou admitted, after a moment of extensive deliberation.

Suddenly, noise filled the air. The journalists behind the cordon had begun shouting questions at him. A few of the gathered civilians were cheering praise for his actions. The police merely began attempting to calm down the sudden din. A look of awe came over the new reporter. Turning back around to the mounted camera behind him, he raised the mic to his own mouth as he began to speak.

“Truly, this is a scene of extraordinary heroism. Thanks to the brave and heroic actions of these three Heroes, many lives were saved, along with the culprit no longer posing a threat to the public. I, like many, extend my thanks to the three Heroes who arrived today.”

A red light turned off on the top of the camera, indicating that it had stopped broadcasting. The professional air that came from the reporter was replaced by a more casual one as he began to head back to the news van. The atmosphere was full of cheers and praise, quite a few of it focused on the seething form of Fenrir. Mirio merely smiled at seeing Garou’s state. He had dealt with the press quite well. No doubt this story would be front page news for quite a while.

“So… how does it feel? You’re a Hero now.”

“Like I suffered a thousand deaths.” Garou hissed back, the unwanted praise harmful to him like the sun to a vampire.

Smiling widely at Garou, Mirio could hear numerous shouts cheering the name of ‘Fenrir.’ With that one word of confirmation, Garou had effectively increased the media attention on him tenfold. A mysterious, powerful young Hero who had saved so many lives was bound to attract attention. Mirio was interested to see if any ‘Fenrir’ merch would start popping up.
“You did handle the press well today though.”

“The thought to destroy them never left my mind,” Garou replied.

Turning to Garou, Mirio raised one eyebrow in interest. Garou’s actions today weren’t entirely ‘heroic’ after all…
“By the way… where did you put all those crystals?”
He was wondering where Garou could have possibly hidden that stash of diamonds.

“...I was planning to let Shrimp handle it. But the landlord caught on…”


A Little While Earlier

Garou stood outside the simple wooden door of his home. In his arms, he clutched an enormous pile of diamonds. The sudden questioning by Mirio had caused him to realize that he needed to hide the stack of gems. And his young disciple was the best person to protect them until he could find a seller.

As he stood outside of the door, it swung inwards. Garou’s heart almost sunk as he saw who was behind the door. The familiar form of his landlady, Tsukihana stared back from inside the house.

“...are those diamonds?” She asked pointing at the clutch of raw gems in his arms.

“...no?” Garou lied unconvincingly.

She merely glared at Garou, locking eyes with him. Her facial expressions clearly showed that she will murder him if his tongue weaves another lie.

“...I didn't steal them, I swear.”

“Then where did you get it? Those look quite pure. Too pure.” Tsukihana pointed out as she raised an eyebrow.

“...monster?” Garou said reluctantly.

Holding out a hand, she gestured for him to hand them over. Her uncompromising expression didn’t make Garou feel any better.

“..........I didn't steal them,” Garou argued.

“You didn't earn them as well. Hand it over. Or else.”

“They're loot. Monster drops. No one cares about them.”

“Give it.” Tsukihana then gave Garou her most menacing death glare as her hair started billowing from an intangible wind, adding the effect of her haunting aura.

“............” Garou clicked his tongue as he handed the gems over. All of his precious food money were now in the hands of the demon landlord…

Present

“And that's what happened.” Garou drooped his head as if crying for the loss of his money.

Mirio barely held in his laughter at Garou’s story. Izuku smiled as well, also feeling the urge to laugh. Grinning widely, Mirio continued looking over at the despondent Garou.

“Although I managed to hide one from her.” Garou dug into his pocket, retrieving the large chunk of pure diamond in his hand, as it brilliantly sparkled under the sunlight.

Shaking his head in disapproval, Mirio failed to be surprised actually. He’d thought that Garou might try something like that.

“I might return to the bank and pilfer more diamonds before the cops clean the place out,” Garou smiled.

“I don’t think that’s what a Hero would do.”
Mirio cast a glance over at Fenrir.

“Shut up. They won't miss the diamonds. They're free loot. It's no different from monster drops in games,” Garou disregarded Mirio’s words.

Turning away from Garou, Mirio took in the scene. As he looked around, he felt relief. Relief that they’d managed to save so many people. That they’d been able to stop that monster. But a gnawing uncertainty still remained. The number of monsters was slowly increasing, and the body count would only rise alongside it. He’d need to keep his training up, just in case.