Tomura…

Shigaraki shook his head to get rid of the voice in it. He had tried his best to keep that part of his mind locked away and sealed, but it had only grown in power over the days. He paused mid-sentence, trying to get the nagging splotch to go away. It didn’t.

“Tomura, are you alright?” Toga’s squeaky voice found its way through his muddled mind. The League Of Villains closed in on him.

He raised a hand to stop them from moving any further.

“As I was saying, the heroes are all spread thin now.” Focus hardened his voice as he tried to push away the incessant force trying to take over his mind. “So the next best stop for us will be-”

Pain assaulted his brain this time, as though the force had resorted to violence in an attempt to control his mind instead. Shigaraki fell to his knees, before a familiar presence snatched his attention.

“Master…”

The League Of Villains turned around as well, just in time to see the two metre tall man walking casually towards them.

“Master, you’ve finally returned.” Shigaraki’s lips curved into a manic smile. “This is great! Let’s take down this hero society together.”

“Stand down, Tomura. You no longer have a part to play in my plans.”

Shigaraki shifted his body, staring at the man in shock.

“Master, I…I don’t understand,” he asked. “Have I done something wrong?”

All For One chuckled dryly. “On the contrary, you have far exceeded my expectations. Look at the world cowering beneath the feet of your League Of Villains. You have made such a powerful name for yourself, and I am so very proud of you.”

“Then why-”

“That is the only reason you’re still alive now,” All For One cut him off. “You deserve the truth, Tomura. When I picked you up all those years ago, I saw great darkness in you. You were meant to be the perfect vessel for my new body; that was why I took you in. Why do you think I transplanted all my quirks onto your body now?”

Shigaraki’s eyes narrowed. “Your perfect vessel? You were merely harvesting my body for your possession?”

“Very astute, Tomura.” The supervillain spread his arms, as though preparing to embrace him. “But as you can see, I have no need for that anymore. The magic in Pagonis’ world is more than enough to rejuvenate my youth and make me more powerful than ever. My ascension to be the demon lord of this world is already complete.”

Compress stepped forward in anger. “You mean to say you took a trip to Felix’s world and didn’t bring him back?”

“Why should I? He is of no use to me. In fact, his very power threatens my rule over this society. This world is mine to take, and I don’t like to share.”

“What happens now?” Shigaraki growled. “You promised that I would be the future master of this world. Are you going back on your promise?”

“Fool. I promised that Shigaraki would be the master of this world,” All For One said. “You merely bear my surname, but you are not me.”

An aggressive snarl caught his attention. Spinner leapt forward, wielding his swords menacingly. The rest of the league followed his cue, charging at All For One as well. Shigaraki remained rooted to the ground.

The three members were sprawled on the ground less than a second later, wincing in pain. Shigaraki released a gasp of shock, before stretching out a hand at his former Master. Red flashed in All For One’s eyes, illuminating the creepy smile on his face.

“Ugh… let me go! Let me go!” Toga yelled, her arms bound together with her body as though she was in a straitjacket.

Shigaraki struggled against his steel bindings as well, desperately trying to reach them with his fingers. The metal was attached to the ground, as though the Earth had suddenly decided to sprout steel vines.

“Damn it… you sick old geezer…” He panted, glaring at All For One. “I’ll kill you… I’ll kill you for this…”

“You never did learn to control your temper,” All For One said. “Indiscriminate destruction is foolish. Best to keep the useful pieces for yourself first. But I was still your master, and the last thing I want is to lose such a promising protégé. So here’s what’s going to happen.”

The steel dissolved, sinking back into the ground.

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“You have until the end of the day to decide what you want to do. Either join me and rule this society as my subordinates, or die fighting for your useless sense of pride. Choose well, Tomura.”

All For One hovered for a few seconds, before bursting into the distance. The League Of Villains stood groggily to their feet.

“I guess this is it,” Spinner said in a defeated tone. “How ironic it is for the League Of Villains to be done in by another villain. We had a good run. I never thought I’d die fighting beside non-heteromorphs, but I regret nothing.”

“How about beside a friend, Shuichi?” Compress took off his mask, revealing his roguishly handsome features for the first time. “A good show always comes to an end, and it is time for the curtain call. Let’s go out with some fireworks.”

“We can’t beat him. Not even I can, with my enhanced body and all,” Shigaraki said solemnly. “All of reality bends to his will, and we simply do not have the raw power to secure a win. But I hate that man more than anything now. Our power gap is huge, but it’s still better than being forced to submit to his will.”

Toga remained silent for a while, before shaking her head violently.

“No, I won’t allow you to do this!” Tears were brimming over her eyes. “I have lost so much. I love you guys more than anything else; I can’t bear to watch you die too! There’s still so much time we need to spend together…”

“If you want no part of this, we will not hold it against you,” Shigaraki said in an uncharacteristically gentle voice. “But we would rather die fighting than live forever as mere puppets. We’re villains, and we will do what we want. I won’t let anyone take that right from us.”

Toga wiped away her tears. “If there’s anything I want, it is to live and die beside the ones I love.”

The League Of Villains stood together for the last time, steeling themselves for their final fight.

~ ~ ~

Metal whirred as steel crashed into the man’s face with a dull thud. Another war cry rang out as a woman charged towards the armoured hero, swinging a bamboo pole. He dodged the wild swing easily, pushing her back with a kick.

“Hurry, this way!” All Might called out to the cowering public, lifting a huge piece of rubble.

The group cleared out of the burning building soon enough, and he went back to pick up the unconscious people. They may have been the ones who set fire to the building, but it was obvious that they had been hypnotised by someone, or something. There was no time to ponder at the moment.

Tremors shook the ground slightly as All Might landed outside the now collapsing building. The civilians had long fled from the scene, but it did not matter to him. He wasn’t looking for praise or thanks of any sort. What mattered was that they were all safe.

For now, at least.

The mechanised suit retracted into his clothes as he checked his phone again. More emergency broadcasts greeted him coldly, caring nothing about whether there were enough heroes to attend to them. This new villain the heroes had to deal with was certainly a force to reckon with, if he had the capability to destroy streets at a whim and mind control civilians to do his bidding.

All Might sighed at the setting sun. Was the age of heroes really over? Is this how they go extinct? Struggling and drowning under the never-ending waves of danger?

A familiar presence walked up to him. All Might’s body tensed up with apprehension and shock. Could it be…?

“If it isn’t the Symbol Of Peace himself, clothed in a fragile armour of metal.” All For One clapped his hands slowly. “I was wondering which insolent hero I was going to kill for saving all those people. What a pleasant surprise to see my old nemesis, still alive and kicking.”

All Might stepped back in shock. “You did this? You’re the villain behind all these sudden attacks?”

“Is that really so surprising? Some humans must be culled in order for the rest to step in line, after all. Don’t worry, I already killed all those civilians you set free just now. Everything you did was all for naught.”

“Nooo!” All Might’s anguished scream broke the drizzling air as his armour reformed around his body.

All For One laughed sinisterly. “You used to save more than a hundred people in less than five seconds. This time, it took you more than ten minutes. You’ve gotten weaker, All Might.”

“And you’ve gotten fatter,” All Might spat. “Ever plan on changing out of that cosplay?”

“So glad you’ve noticed my renewed youth, All Might. I wouldn’t have to do that if you didn’t punch off the entire upper part of my face.” All For One’s voice dropped to a deadly whisper. “But I did a number on you too, didn’t I? Ah… good times. I sometimes dream of you charging at me with your entrails strewn across the ground.”

The hero raised an open palm at his foe as electricity charged in it. “A wounded hero is the most dangerous animal. You said so yourself. It’s time you find out what it really means.”

A powerful bolt of lightning crackled towards the villain, but it was promptly swept aside as though it was a small paper ball. All For One’s right arm swelled up in an instant, resembling a mesh of random items stuck in a column of flesh. He threw it forward without warning.

All Might braced himself, emitting the most powerful shield his armour could offer. But it was no use.

He yelled as the attack tore through the streets in a huge cone of destruction, disintegrating whatever little was left of the devastated city. All Might fell to his knees as the last of his armour dropped off his body with a light clang.

“You like that? Springlike Limbs, Multiplier, Hypertrophy, Rivet, Air Walk, and Spearlike Bones, as well as four Kinetic Boosters and three Strength Enhancers.” All For One grinned. “I call that my Ultimate Quirk Combination. And I haven’t even used the magic from Pagonis’ world yet. You’re truly pathetic, All Might. So this is how you die. How disappointing.”

The villain’s eyes glowed a dark red-

“Texas Smash!”

All Might looked up in surprise at the small green figure that landed between him and certain demise.

“Are you alright, All Might?” Deku kept his eyes on All For One, who was only staggered despite being struck at point blank by a near full powered punch. All Might stood up and nodded his head firmly.

Green lightning crackled around his protégé.

“Don’t worry, I am here.”