Both Gehrman Sparrow and Alexander Becking looked at Samuel Abraham with stunned faces, but for entirely different reasons.
Dr. Sam was an assistant to Dr. Shield at I-Island over six months ago.
It was he who had hired actual Villains to steal the Quirk Amplification Device and all the related technology, instead of faux Villains as suggested by David Shield.
The actual Villains who had appeared at I-Island, though, turned out to be working under the instructions of All For One, betraying Dr. Sam.
That betrayal had led to utter destruction, with All Might, his students, and thousands of people who were at I-Island at that time almost dying.
The only reason their deaths hadn't come to pass was because of Dr. Blessed's timely arrival, who had frozen the world, while defeating Dabi — the Villain who had also successfully run away with the Quirk Amplification Device.
Surprisingly, that betrayal had also almost led to Dr. Sam's death.
In his case, too, Dr. Blessed had caused a miracle, pulling the man out of death's grip by performing surgery on him.
But, because of the severity of the injury to his mind, perhaps, Dr. Sam had become a little… weird, constantly mumbling the name of Mr. Fool.
Still, despite his deranged state, the USA had bought the prisoner for itself, hoping to unearth the lost secrets of the Quirk Amplification Device through him.
Before they could do so, the Apostles of Mr. Fool and the Claws of Conformity had attacked the LA Villains Detention Center, both aiming to get their hands on the scientist for the same reason.
In the end, neither the Apostles nor the Claws nor the USA's Pros had manged to get the scientist, with Dr. Sam ending up disappearing into thin air.
It was that event that had led to Alexander Becking's involvement in this mess.
It was that event that had forced him out of his post of Warden, fully assuming his role as the Radiant of Gravity.
One could even say that the only reason Alex was standing here, in the Control Room of ORIGIN, was because of Dr. Sam.
So, as he looked at the scientist, standing in the Control Room with absolutely no sign of corruption or mutation, anger from the depths of his heart oozed from the Radiant's blue eyes.
Of course, that anger was based on only half the things related to Dr. Sam that were known to the top echelon of the USA Hero Society.
The other half became the reason behind Gehrman Sparrow's unusual quietness.
Because, unlike the rest of the world, only the Apostles of Mr. Fool knew who had actually taken away Dr. Samuel Abraham at the end of that fiasco.
Amon — the Demigod-level Parasite plaguing the world, with His true body — an Angel — housing the Moon, sharing the planetary body with an Evil God.
Also, even if they couldn't prove it, only the Apostles knew that Amon was somehow using Dr. Sam's expertise to create Monocles — Quirkless people who believed in the Evil God… Beyonders from Pathways that weren't even similar to those of Amon or Mr. Fool!
So, as Gehrman looked at Dr. Sam, the first thought that bubbled in his mind was… to run.
But the moment that thought appeared, it was squashed by cold reasoning as well.
Gehrman had wanted to run because of the threat of Amon that went along with Dr. Sam's presence in front of him. However, Amon would never show Himself in front of a Radiant, given that Singularity constantly remained with them.
So, it was natural to assume that even though Amon had sent Dr. Sam here for an obvious nefarious purpose, He hadn't come here along with His puppet in any form.
In fact, Gehrman could use this opportunity to learn more about what Amon was up to through Dr. Sam.
Realizing that, the Faceless let his shoulders relax.
Of course, unlike him, Alex had no reason to relax or even hold himself back.
Leaving behind a rush of air, the Radiant appeared next to Dr. Sam, grabbed him by the throat, and lifted him high toward the ceiling.
The scientist kicked his legs vainly as Alex's fingers choked the life out of him, his glasses slipping off his reddening face.
Then, grinding his teeth, the Radiant loosened his grasp.
Dr. Sam fell on the floor with a thud, coughing loudly as he tried to breathe.
"It was you, wasn't it?!" Alex roared, looming over the man like death. "Speak! What did you do to Star and Skycrawler? What did you do to ORIGIN's crew? Speak, you bastard!"
Gehrman approached Alex from behind, then.
He crouched to pick the glasses off the floor and put them on Samuel's face.
Then, slowly, he pulled the revolver's hammer before touching the muzzle against the scientist's temple. "… Two…"
"…" Alex's eyes widened. Yes, he was angry. But he didn't dare to kill Dr. Sam until he figured out what was going on here and how to get Star and the kid back to normal. There was a reason that he had come here, despite the monstrous risk. Because, at the end of the day, no matter the loss and sacrifice, he must work toward the bigger picture.
But seeing the lunatic pick up his counting where he had left off…
Alex suddenly realized that Gehrman Sparrow was no less deranged than Dr. Sam himself.
In fact, he wouldn't even be surprised if the lunatic did pull the trigger.
Gehrman, as if proving Alex right, opened his mouth. "One…"
Alex, with his eyes as wide as possible, lunged to grab the revolver.
But before he could do so, and before Gehrman could act on his lunacy, Dr. Sam… smiled.
"I came here to find Him… the real Him," Dr. Sam said, the two men next to him listening with bated breath. "When I had no one by my side, He gave me company. When I could see nothing but the darkness, He became the light. When I was lost, He found me. He pulled me out of madness and showed me a future… where I could worship Him for eternity."
"Who?" Alex asked, his hands unknowingly trembling.
Gehrman's right cheek twitched as if he had just gulped.
"All…" Dr. Sam said, smiling ear to ear. "All I do… is in the service of the great Mr. Fool!"
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