Ayume immediately took a stance and struck a mighty blow to his right chest, using up a large amount of force she had stored from the beginning of the battle. She also prevented him from dodging by absorbing all the kinetic energy emitted by his body.
Her blow connected, tearing through his flesh, bones, and many of his organs, drenching Ayume in crimson blood.
“AAHHHH……” All For One screamed in pain. He wasn’t even able to defend himself from the attack due to his earlier foolishness. He began regretting ever coming here and underestimating these little brats.
Ayume didn't stop there. Instead, she ripped her hand out of All For One and punched him again, in the same place, using the remaining force stored in her reserves. She even stopped absorbing kinetic energy from his body to fully focus on her punch. And again, her attack connected, sending him hurtling through the air as he crashed into a nearby wall, causing a small explosion.
Such coordinated attacks were only possible because Shin was carefully instructing Ayume and the rest of the group using his Half-Link. He had even made her punch his right chest because of what he had seen through his Intent Counter earlier. It was that All For One had already been injured in that spot when Shin first saw him, and therefore, he wanted to take full advantage of that fact.
Seeing the attack work like a charm, Shin, who was safely watching from a distance, muttered with a smirk, “Since you dared to come in front of us with such an injury, you should have been ready for us to exploit it. Don't think of us as the weaklings you’ve dealt with all your life.”
In the crash site, Shin could somewhat see a very badly injured All For One standing up. The smaller injuries he had sustained were healing up very fast, but the one just made wasn’t affected by his regeneration quirk. It kept on bleeding as it was a very deep injury, adding to the fact that there was another one before.
Suddenly, All For One looked toward Shin and opened up a portal, instantly arriving in front of him and using his air cannon. Shin saw the attack and rolled out of the way, while aiming his spear at All For One’s injury and striking him. However, although Shin’s attack landed, it didn't do much damage. Still, he continued his onslaught, knowing that his damage was slowly accumulating on his opponent.
Kisuke and Miho joined Shin immediately with the help of Shigeo, continuing their attacks on All For One, making sure to target his right chest. All For One attempted to create another portal, but this time Ayume was ready with a new move she had thought up.
She manipulated the Force energy and used it to strengthen the very space itself, causing All For One’s portal to vanish. This distracted All For One enough, allowing Shin and Kisuke to land continuous hits. All For One, grunting in pain, enlarged his arm for a full-power attack on Shin. However, Shin had other ideas. He ordered Shigeo to exchange him with Ayume, who promptly did so, placing Ayume in front of the attack. This led to a repeat of what happened earlier, where she defended without sustaining damage and counterattacked All For One's chest with a powerful hit.
“Arghhh…” All For One roared in anger and pain as he was blasted back once more. This time, Shigeo acted as he warped All For One in the opposite direction, causing him to blast forward toward the party instead of going back. Shin and Miho continued their assault, and Kisuke took up the opportunity to transform into a weaver ant and spew corrosive acid onto the unfortunate victim, All For One. Seeing their enemy covered in noxious acid caused Shin to feel slight pity for him. But he still continued his attacks.
Suddenly, he noticed a new weakness appearing on his opponent's knees through his Intent Counter. He telepathically instructed Ayume to push him toward All For One with sudden force, and she complied. Shin was thrown at nearly mach speed and struck the perceived weak point.
He successfully managed to land a strike, cutting off his opponent's right leg from below the knee. However, in turn, he received a punch to his stomach, causing him to rock toward Ayume.
All For One, realizing that he wouldn’t be able to win without drastic measures, utilized a special attack, engulfing the area in extremely hot flames.
Ayume instantly used another new move she had been saving in her arsenal, creating a circular dome of force to protect Shin and Kyle, while Kisuke and Miho, who were very close to their opponent, unfortunately got engulfed in the attack before she could get to them.
Shigeo used his quirk to escape the area, while Shin, Kyle, and Ayume felt the heat of the attack under the dome. Shin also felt his Half-Link to Kisuke and Miho being severed, signifying their deaths. Immediately afterward, Shin sensed Shigeo's death too, realizing that the sudden attack was much larger and wider than he had initially assumed.
Shin grimly mentioned it to Ayume and Kyle, who clenched their fists and vowed to kill All For One, no matter the cost.
When the attack subsided, they exited the dome together, only to find the utter destruction caused by the previous attack, turning the entire area where the organization was supposed to be into a desolate zone. The entire facility lay in ruins, including the so-called nuclear-proof bunker, with flaming rubble and ash filling a huge crater.
In the middle of it all stood a man with charred clothing, missing most of the right side of his body, including his arm and leg. How he was even alive, Shin didn't know. But he had to acknowledge the resilience and tenacity of All For One to be able to stand in such a situation. In his remaining arm, he was holding onto a mostly charred corpse that Shin instantly recognized as Shigeo’s, making him understand how Shigeo had died.
But before he could even warn Ayume about this, All For One threw the corpse away and teleported right in front of them, grabbing Ayume by the neck. Shin, realizing the danger, instantly backed away, taking Kyle along with him.
Shin then heard All For One laughing maniacally as he crushed Ayume's head right in front of them. Shin had enough sense to understand what had happened. The reason All For One was able to teleport right in front of them was that he had absorbed Shigeo's quirk and now had successfully absorbed Ayume's too.
But before All For One could make a move on them, Shin telepathically spoke to Kyle, ‘Do it, stop all his quirks from working. You are our last hope, Kyle. Stop this monster’s rampage, and I will avenge our comrades.’
Kyle nodded and brought his tentacle-like arms forward. He opened his mouth and whispered, “This guy has exactly thirty different quirks stored inside of him. With my quirk and my remaining lifespan, I would only be able to stop 27 of them for ten minutes. But I will at least make sure he can't use any of the quirks he's shown us so far, including Ayume's and Shigeo’s.”
After he said this, Kyle’s octopus-like body slowly lifted into the air and he shouted, “CONSTRICT!”
Sensing the sound and the movement, All For One ceased his laughter and became cautious. This was because he had seen enough tricks from the group of kids to learn the lesson of never underestimating them. However, it was already too late for him.
All For One saw the humanoid octopus, now flying in the air, turn white from its original black color. All For One knew he couldn’t wait for the enemy to initiate their attack and tried to teleport. However, he suddenly realized he wasn’t able to do so. His eyes widened as he tried to create a portal, but it didn’t manifest, showing that this quirk had somehow stopped working.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
He tried to use some of his other powerful quirks he had possessed, and yet he found the same result. At that moment he understood that the humanoid black octopus had a quirk that stopped all his quirks from functioning and he didn’t know for how long did the quirk’s effect lasted. Realizing this predicament, All For One started panicking for his dear life.
Seeing his now flustered enemy, Shin turned toward Kyle, who was slowly turning into dust. His comrade had sacrificed his life, giving him a single chance to subdue his opponent, and he wasn’t going to waste it.
Shin didn't know exactly which of All For One's quirks were still working, but one thing he was sure of was that his opponent had definitely misunderstood Kyle's quirk. His opponent believed it stopped all his quirks, and Shin wasn’t going to correct this misunderstanding; instead, he planned to use it to his advantage.
He slowly walked toward All For One with a very confident stride. Once he was near, he stopped and spoke out with a smirk, “Hey, All For One, how does it feel to be bested by some kids? Humiliated, I guess. Oh! … If you’re worried about your life, don’t be. I made sure he would let you keep one of your regeneration quirks. After all, without it, you would have been dead by now, with your current condition. And… you’re more useful to me alive than dead.”
All For One slightly calm down after hearing this and turned toward Shin, whom he felt was the leader of that group of powerful kids. And what a mysterious kid he was!
From start to finish, he had never shown his quirk. At first, he had thought it was something like telepathy. But with how he was able to fight him head-on and even detect his weaknesses… He wasn't so sure anymore.
Truth be told, he came here thinking this would be a very easy task, like the previous two. However, he was completely wrong, and that had led him to this state where he would even have to bargain with a little child for his very life.
Still, he was grateful that he wasn't dead already. As the kid said, he probably had one of his regeneration quirks still active. Or else, he would have already been dead. Hopefully, it was one of the powerful ones. Or else life would be difficult for him for a while if he survived this place. He opened his mouth and spoke in his deep voice, “What do you want, kid?”
Shin, who was using Karmic Vision, was easily able to sense all the emotions felt by All For One and, through them, knew that his bluff had been successful. He answered, “You just have to sign a contract with me. A very simple one. In it, you will agree to give me one of your quirks of my choosing, while also vowing to never intentionally or unintentionally harm me.”
All For One kept silent for a moment, thinking about the pros and cons of this decision. He could see many cons, one of which was being unable to take revenge on this kid. Yet, this sacrifice was nothing compared to being able to achieve his ultimate goal. But he didn’t understand what the kid was actually thinking. So, he asked, “Can't you just force me to give up my quirks? Why would you even need a contract?”
“Didn't I say that you're more beneficial to me alive than dead? And I know you wouldn’t easily hand over your quirks to me. After all, you can't be certain I’ll let you leave once I get what I want. So, I’ll promise it in the contract to give you enough assurance. I also know how powerful you are—you killed most of us alone, even while injured from the start. I don't really want you as my enemy, and maybe, just maybe, in the future, we could even become allies,” Shin explained, his reasoning generously, all while keeping a constant eye on All For One's emotions.
“I don't think we'll ever be allies, since I wouldn't want to keep a person I can't ever hurt near me. Still, I'll agree to the contract,” All For One nodded, his charred visage twisted in discomfort. He added, “But... who would initiate this contract? I don't see anyone else here other than the two of us.”
“Oh! That will be done by me,” Shin replied, causing All For One to blink in surprise. Shin smirked. “Are you surprised that you're not the only one with multiple quirks?”
All For One merely grunted, “I am. Truly. But from now on, I’ll take that into consideration when fighting my enemies.”
Shin shrugged nonchalantly and began to use his Karmic Vision. He had practiced and experimented with this method and was confident in his ability to form an actual contract. However, he had never really gotten the chance to try it out, so it hadn’t evolved into a separate skill yet. He hoped he could pull it off, or his bluff would quickly wear thin, and he would die within moments.
Still, the risk didn’t frighten him. If anything, it excited him more. He knew that growth only occurred during such moments. After all, diamonds are formed under great pressure, and Shin intended to make the most of his current situation.
In the world of threads he now saw, thanks to his skill, Shin searched for the one thread connecting both him and All For One. Once he found it, he grasped the thread with both hands, unlike his Half-Link skill, which only required a mental touch. With his hands, he began to tie a knot in the thread.
It was a difficult process, given there was only one thread and its ends weren’t usable, but Shin was swift due to all the practice sessions he had done for this very purpose. Once completed, he carefully held the knot in his hands, folding his fingers over it as he began to voice out the terms of the contract, carefully noting them in his mind.
When he finished, Shin turned to All For One and asked with complete certainty, “Do you accept?”
“Yes, I do,” All For One nodded.
Shin smiled, opening his palm to find the knot was no longer there, but in his mind, he knew the contract had been successfully created, and the terms would never be defied. There was no penalty for breaking the contract—it simply wasn’t possible. Karma and fate itself would ensure the terms were kept. Even if Shin wanted to break the contract, he couldn’t. It was that powerful.
Even Shin hadn’t expected the contract to be so strict, but the stricter it was, the better it would be for him.
The success of the contract was confirmed by the notification from the system.
[You have gained the new skill, Karmic Contract]
[You have gained the new skill, Revelation]
The second notification surprised him, but it explained what had happened while he was tying the knot. During the process, Shin had somehow gained deeper insight into All For One and learned a significant secret about his main quirk—something Shin was sure even All For One didn’t know. He tucked the secret away for later, as there were more immediate concerns. He needed to finish the deal with All For One and get out of this place before any heroes arrived.
Shin turned to All For One and extended his left hand, declaring, “I want the force manipulation quirk of Ayume, the girl from whom you stole the quirk near the end of our battle.”
“I knew you’d ask for that one,” All For One sighed, touching Shin's extended arm with his remaining hand. He quickly transferred the quirk, though there was an edge of indignation in his gesture.
[You have gained the new skill, Force Manipulation]
[You have gained the new skill, Force Manifestation]
[You have gained the new skill, Spatial Lock]
Shin smiled at the notification. He knew and had already guessed that the Ayume’s quirk was actually a blend of multiple skills due to its versatility, similar to how his arsenal of 5 skills excluding superhuman physique all comes under the purview of Karmic Vision quirk, when a resident of this world identifies it. So it was not much of a surprise.
The first skill was the base skill that Ayume had from from the start. He can distinguish this easily because her quirk was called force manipulation and the skill is also named as such. This is exactly the same as how his quirk’s name is the same as his first skill. Anyway, the force manipulation skill allowed the user to absorb, store, and use both kinetic and potential force with or without direct contact. Though the later can only be used within a certain region around the user, the exact ones he didn’t know as of now.
The second skill, force manifestation, enabled the user to manifest force as a solid object, like the shield Ayume had used to protect Shin and Kyle when All For One unleashed his special attack.
Finally, the spatial lock skill allowed the user to lock off space, preventing any kind of teleportation—another skill Ayume had used during the battle.
Shin considered these skills for a moment before turning back to All For One, after checking the time on his wrist watch, which had surprisingly not been destroyed in the battle. “Within a moment, your quirks should start working again. So, be ready to complete the final part of the contract.”
Shin had included an additional condition in the contract, one that hadn’t been mentioned yet. All For One was to take Shin out of this place and assign one of his capable men to serve him. Shin had been in this world for about a year but he didn’t know much about the outside world personally. Neither did he have any one who knows about him after this incident. So it will be very hard for him to blend into the society that easily.
Thus to change his background, create fake identities, and many other things, he needed a person who would help him and this he had asked in the contract with All For One.
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll do so,” All For One nodded and suddenly began healing at an accelerated rate. He sensed the change—his previously locked skills were now functioning again. Placing his left hand over Shin’s shoulder, he teleported them both out of the now desolate place.