Noticing the despair in Bakugo Katsuki's eyes, Shigaraki Tomura merely glanced at him before turning away.
His goal had already been achieved.
Bakugo had been useful bait to draw out Edge Shot.
Now that Edge Shot had fallen, and Bakugo had clearly refused recruitment no matter what, the boy no longer had much value.
Of course, that did not mean Shigaraki planned to kill him.
He was not some bloodthirsty maniac who killed everyone he saw.
At most, he would have a few subordinates lock Bakugo up.
After all, Bakugo was still part of the future protagonist group.
Killing him would cause trouble.
Besides, Shigaraki had already broken all four of his limbs. Even if Bakugo wanted to interfere now, he could not do anything.
So whether he died or lived no longer mattered much.
With that thought, Shigaraki checked the surroundings. After confirming there were no enemies nearby, he prepared to leave.
After all—
Best Jeanist still needed to be dealt with.
He had originally planned to send Muscular after him, but changed his mind at the last moment.
Best Jeanist was dangerous, but he was already trapped.
Edge Shot was different.
His stealth and mobility were too troublesome.
If left alone, whether he chose to sabotage their plan or focus entirely on rescuing people, Shigaraki's side would have no easy way to stop him.
So it was safer to eliminate the No. 5 Hero first.
That was why Muscular had stayed hidden nearby on Shigaraki's orders and successfully ambushed Edge Shot.
Seeing Shigaraki prepare to leave, Muscular frowned in confusion.
"Are we just leaving?"
As he spoke, Muscular pointed toward Bakugo, who lay battered and unable to move, and Edge Shot, whose life or death was uncertain in the crater.
"Aren't we killing these two?"
Shigaraki rolled his eyes.
Kill, kill, kill.
Was killing all this guy knew?
If they killed these two, All Might and the protagonist group would come after him together later.
Was Muscular going to block them?
Looks like I need to rein in this guy's bloodlust before he ruins something important later.
Thinking this, Shigaraki said calmly:
"Muscular, remember this."
"Killing is only a method. It is not the goal."
"If you lose yourself in the pleasure of killing, then this is as far as you'll ever go."
"Besides, we don't have extra time to waste on something meaningless."
"Our time is limited."
He paused and glanced at Muscular.
"I know you want to kill to your heart's content right now, but that isn't what matters most."
"What we should do now is deal with Best Jeanist first."
"That is the truly important task."
Muscular fell silent.
He understood.
All Might was being stalled.
Edge Shot, the biggest variable, had been dealt with.
One of the two unexpected children had also been crippled.
Only Best Jeanist remained, and Muscular's Quirk countered him well.
This was an excellent situation.
He should not ruin it for personal amusement.
If he killed Bakugo or Edge Shot now and completely enraged All Might, things could spiral out of control.
Injuring someone and killing someone were two very different things.
All Might's anger would not be the same.
Even knowing that, Muscular still found it hard to suppress his excitement.
But seeing Shigaraki's firm expression, he eventually nodded and accepted the order.
After all, he was Shigaraki's subordinate now.
Seeing Muscular listen, Shigaraki decided there was still hope for him.
Then he waved his hand and led Muscular away, heading toward the alternate space where Best Jeanist was currently trapped.
…
Meanwhile, in the real world.
Inside a certain conference room, a group of people were urgently discussing the situation.
"Damn it! The people we sent in lost contact again!"
"Whether they entered from the air or through the building, the moment they approached, they were swallowed!"
"What kind of Quirk is the enemy using?! Have you still not analyzed it?!"
"Even if you can't analyze it, at least come up with a temporary countermeasure!"
The man at the head of the room slammed the table furiously.
Clearly, the situation at the shopping mall had left him both enraged and helpless.
Unfortunately, no one answered his shouting.
Not because they did not want to respond.
Nor because they did not want to save people.
In fact, many of them were even more anxious than he was.
The mall contained not only civilians, but also their families, friends, and colleagues.
But they truly had no way to act.
They did not understand the enemy's Quirk.
Their reconnaissance methods had failed.
They did not even know how many enemies were inside.
Anyone who approached the mall was swallowed and lost contact.
Even communication equipment became useless.
That mall was like a place cut off from the world.
No method could reach the people inside.
Faced with such a strange, one-way trap—
Even if they desperately wanted to solve it, they had no way to begin.
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