Five shadows drifted by in the warm, late afternoon sun. They bent down, one by one, placing white lilies on the slab of granite dug into the ground. A few of them whispered prayers of condolences, but he did not. If God existed in this world, He was undeserving of worship.

“What happens now, Senpai?” Toga asked him quietly.

Felix took a moment to pause.

“We tear down everything they’ve built,” he said without emotion in his voice. “And create a better place from the bones of their society.”

“You’ll help us?” Shigaraki no longer donned his mask, although he still left a few hands around his body. “How about your own world?”

“I’m already dead to them. So be it. It’s your call, director. If you still intend to destroy everything you hate in this hero society, count me in.”

“If I may, Shigaraki.” Compress turned to him as well. “What actually happened between you and Re-Destro? One moment ago he was dead set on eliminating all of us, and now he gives you control over his army? What’s the trick here?”

Shigaraki plucked out a hand from his shoulder.

“I killed my family when I was a child. My grandmother and grandfather were kind. My father? Not so much. There was a rule at my house. Only one, put in place by my father. No talking about heroes. Believe or not, I wanted to be All Might back then. Did you know? My grandmother was a hero too. Not any hero, either. Her name was Nana Shimura, All Might’s mentor.”

The League released a collective gasp of shock.

“Anyway, my father beat me up every time I talked about heroes, so I learnt not to. But I was still a child, and children make mistakes,” Shigaraki continued languidly. “That night, my neck was itching terribly. I had received a particularly severe beating from Dad, so I sought comfort with my family dog, Mon. What a terrible time to manifest my quirk.”

He chuckled dryly.

“When Mon crumbled, I thought a villain was after us. And when my sister fell apart, I thought it was someone else. Well, maybe not. I can’t deny that there’s a small part of me that suspects that I knew what I was doing. Because when I touched my fleeing father, I intended to kill. The resentment piled up over the years, little by little. And I didn’t itch anymore.”

Felix folded his arms with an impressed look on his face. Normally it would take years of counselling to resurface such traumatic memories. Even a telepath had to be extremely careful when extricating these memories. Shigaraki’s awakening to his true self was nothing short of a miracle.

“Oh by the way, I used to be called Tenko Shimura. But don’t get any ideas, though. I still prefer Tomura Shigaraki. After all, Master gave that name to me,” Shigaraki said. “Shigaraki was my Master’s surname. And Tomurau, meaning to mourn. After all, it was my destiny to make the world grieve. Remembering all these events caused my quirk to overload, and so it evolved.”

“You still haven’t answered Compress’ question, leader,” Spinner said.

“Ah right. To be honest, I don’t know. All I know is that I beat Re-Destro, and sent his pathetic warriors scuttling away with a single glare.” The leader shrugged. “He said something about ‘Free use of meta abilities. Not suppression, but true liberation’, if I recall correctly. That crazy man even called me a ‘shining beacon’, and that I was the successor of Destro’s principles.”

“Wow! You are so cool, leader!” Toga piped.

“Huzzah! We live to fight on.” Compress clapped his hands gleefully. “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.”

His mouth slammed shut immediately as he glanced at the tombstone.

“Most of us did, anyway…” the man mumbled.

“Won’t we have attracted a lot of attention with all that destruction, though?” Dabi asked.

“Not to worry. From what I heard, the Meta Liberation Front had used a fake emergency to lure heroes to a faraway location so they could attack us without fear of interference.” Felix said. “The residents of Deika City banded together in resistance, and the heroes joined the fray after realising they’d been tricked.”

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Felix furrowed his eyebrows, trying to remember what else the propaganda chief, Skeptic, had written in his fake news article.

“Of course, all members of that criminal group were eventually killed, and the heroes closed the case. Some said the untrained civilians did more harm than good by using their Quirks to fight against the threats, but the world at large couldn’t stop talking about the heroism of the residents. Talk about true liberation of meta abilities…”

“Yes. Thank you for summarising my article, Sentinel.” A lanky man sauntered up to the League Of Villains.

Speak of the Devil…

“It’s time, comrades. Come with me.”

~ ~ ~

Herds of people stretched out for as far as the eye could see, while huge pillar columns stretched upwards into darkness. There were at least a thousand people, all cheering and mingling among themselves.

A huge stage lay at the front, and in its middle stood a middle aged man. His prominently long nose poked ahead of his obtruding chin, and his hairline steered way clear of his small eyes, resting far up his forehead.

The man adjusted his green tie and straightened his pin striped blazer, before tapping the microphone lightly.

“Welcome and thank you for coming, liberation warriors! I am Re-Destro. It’s a pleasure to see you, for I have glad tidings. Today, the Metahuman Liberation Army will be reborn!”

More cheers resounded in the huge underground base. Felix cast a nervous gaze at the sleeping giant behind the people, hoping that the noise would not wake him. It was true that Shigaraki had brought Gigantomachia to heel, but one can never be too sure when it comes to a monster like that.

“I had believed without a doubt that the League was an obstacle. But now that I’d faced them, I realised that I had blinders on!” Re-Destro said enthusiastically. “I was a prisoner of my blood, unable to break free from what I’d been taught. But they have shown me real liberation. A new dawn is ahead of us!”

“Do not mistake my actions for a mere surrender, my friends! I am simply doing what’s best for our cause.” The man gestured to the villain leader. “Tomura Shigaraki is truly free! He has filled me with awe, which necessitated my abdication. From this moment, the Liberation Army recognizes Tomura Shigaraki as its grand commander. As we move toward freedom and strive for Destro’s world, the Metahuman Liberation Army and the League of Villains unite under a new name!”

“Ooh! Here we go, here we go!” Toga clapped excitedly as Shigaraki stood up slowly from his seat and walked to the front.

“Now, the name please, Tomura Shigaraki!”

Re-Destro stepped to the side, making way for Shigaraki.

“The Paranormal Liberation Front,” Shigaraki said. “We have decided that this term is more inclusive than ‘villain’. The nine people on stage are my lieutenants, and teams will be assigned to them based on our needs. Let’s do whatever we want.”

The crowd erupted in cheer once more as the League Of Villains promptly made their way off-stage. Re-Destro scurried towards Shigaraki.

“Excellent work today, Grand Commander!” He grinned, holding up a small glass of wine. “Can I interest you in something to drink?”

“Go-”

Shigaraki’s phone beeped, almost on cue with his words. He stared at the caller’s name for a moment, before leaving to take the call. Re-Destro’s grin hung stubbornly on his face as he turned his attention to Felix instead.

“I really must thank you for exposing the mole in our organisation,” Re-Destro said. “You stopped the heroes from dealing us a devastating blow.”

“At the cost of everything I valued in this life,” Felix muttered darkly.

“We’ll liberate the world together, boy.” The man raised a glass to him. “That is your goal, right?”

The boy smirked slightly. It was funny how trust is thrown out of the window when a power imbalance was clearly present to both sides.

“My path is a narrow one, and it hangs over a steep cliff,” he said cryptically. “If others fall off the path, it’s not my fault.”

Re-Destro paused for a moment, before releasing a whispered laugh. He nodded at Felix, his eyes twinkling with understanding, before walking back to his fellow liberators.

Shigaraki emerged from the back.

“Listen up, guys.” He ushered the former League Of Villains to him. “As promised, Doctor Ujiko will be granting me more power. So I’m going to be gone for a few months. I trust you are capable of taking care of yourselves.”

“Aww, already?” Toga pouted. “We’ll miss you, leader.”

“Don’t push yourself too hard, Shigaraki.” Felix gave him a congratulatory pat on the back.

“Don’t get into too much trouble, all of you.” Shigaraki sounded almost as though he was smiling. “I’ll be back. And when I do, I’ll use all the power I’ve got to destroy All Might and his legacy. Our next fight will be their last.”

“I’ll hold you to it.” Felix paused for a moment, before lowering his body into a short bow. “... Leader.”

He watched the man walk out through the door with his head held high. At long last, the streak of unfortunate events had seemingly reached their triumphant conclusion. But a strange sensation stirred within the boy instead; a sensation that almost reminded him of the adrenaline rush before a tough battle.

Felix smiled for the first time in a week. He was just getting started.