The chaos skyrocketed in Mustafa City as villains and robbers swarmed the streets, annihilating everything in their path. Thick smoke billowed and lingered through the atmosphere; houses and stores were engulfed in flames, while civilians lay wounded, crying out in agony.
"Where is All Might?!"
The injured citizens screamed, pleading for the villains to cease their relentless rampage. Unfortunately, All Might could not be present at the scene—he was in another prefecture, engaged in hero work. To make matters worse, his time had run out. His stamina had depleted entirely, rendering him incapable of reverting to his muscle-bound form.
The villain clutching the ancient relic sprinted with a malicious grin curling his lips, desperate to reach a safe location and uncover the artifact's true nature. "Is it some kind of Quirk enhancer? Or is it something far more dangerous?" He darted down a narrow hallway while his comrades fought to buy him precious time to escape.
The invasion of the hero research laboratory had been flawlessly executed; the relic was now in their possession. Shortly thereafter, news broadcasts flooded the airwaves, reporting the incident in Mustafa and urgently calling for heroes to intervene and halt the attack.
…
[In a dark room]
"Excellent, I love it!" A man shrouded in a black hood watched the coverage, smirking as he pondered how those lowlifes had managed to orchestrate such a brazen operation in broad daylight.
The hooded man bared his teeth in a wide grin, his hands slowly tracing down his lips as he rose from his chair. "Show yourself, All Might!" The chair from which he had stood instantly disintegrated into dust particles as he strode out of the room.
…
Ren managed to pull himself together; with gritted teeth, he clenched his fist and struck his thighs as hard as he could. "I can't die here," he muttered, biting his lip as he slid his backpack onto his shoulders. "Where the hell are the heroes? Where's All Might and Endeavour?"
His body reacted faster than his mind—his quirk activated instinctively, cleaving the tree hurled toward him by a monstrous villain clean in half. "What just happened?" He stared at his fist, hastily deactivating his quirk, knowing it was against the law.
Is it wrong for a civilian to defend himself with his quirk in public?
He asked himself with a wry grin, scrambling to flee the scene. Sprinting at full speed, he collided with adults and children alike as he raced away. The monster villain who had thrown the tree witnessed the entire exchange unfold. "What's with that quirk of his? The master will be pleased to acquire that."
The monster villain let out a thunderous roar, swinging his arms horizontally and hurling police cars and heroes aside like ragdolls, sending them crashing into a massive building. He broke into a steady run, closing in on the young boy who had just demonstrated the use of a formidable quirk.
"Shit, I'm reaching my limit. How long will it take him to signal the retreat? I mean, he's stolen what he wanted, so we need to get the hell out of here before the pros arrive." The monster villain muttered under his breath, gritting his teeth in frustration as he approached his fleeing prey.
"Why the hell is that villain trailing me?" Ren whispered, diving into a hallway and springing forward as fast as his legs could carry him. "Don't tell me… am I about to get kidnapped?" He kicked a stone, stumbled, and crashed into a dumpster with a loud groan.
The villain shrank back into his human form, withdrawing the knife strapped to his waist. "Kid, what's your name?" The villain brandished the blade.
Ren broke into a cold sweat, struggling to pick himself up off the ground as his breath came in ragged gasps. His heart pounded at lightning speed as the realization dawned on him: perhaps today was the day he was destined to die. "I'm sorry, big bro, mom and dad… I think I'm going to die," he murmured under his breath.
The villain tossed the knife into the air and caught it with his other hand. Crouching low in front of Ren, he spoke. "Listen up, kid, this confrontation wasn't actually part of our plans."
"P-plans?"
"Exactly. If you don't want to get hurt, you'll do as I say and fetch us some money." The villain scratched his head. "You're a U.A. student, right? Amusing."
Before Ren could shout for help, the villain struck him on the head with the dagger's hilt—so hard that the young boy crumpled, unconscious, blood streaming down his brow.
The villain's phone buzzed; he pulled it from his pocket. Glancing at the screen, a wide smirk spread across his face. "Mission completed. Let's get the hell out of here."
The villain swallowed a red substance; his veins pulsed crimson as he transformed back into his monstrous form. Clutching the hostage in his massive fist, he strained not to crush him as he leaped upward, shattering the ground and collapsing nearby structures.
Instantly, all attention turned to him. The cops opened fire relentlessly, bullets ricocheting harmlessly off his skin. Extending his hand, he displayed the civilian he had captured.
"Cease fire and clear the path—or else… I'll crush him to death," the villain ordered, applying slight pressure that jolted Ren back to consciousness, eliciting a cry of agony.
"Cease fire!" Detective Eizo Tanuma commanded. "Release the kid, and we'll let you go." He stalled, hoping to buy time for the pro heroes en route.
"Go to hell!" The villain smirked and bolted, knowing the pros were closing in—and that capture would mean imprisonment in the highest-security facility.
His comrades leaped onto his colossal frame as they fled. Behind them, the city blazed; fire and smoke choked the air, buildings and stores lay in ruins, and civilians suffered miserably from their rampage.
"Hey, Mato, what's that thing? I feel something strange and powerful emanating from it."
"No idea," Mato—the mastermind of the heist and leader of the pack—muttered. "We'll find out once we reach the hideout."
"Will that thing make us the strongest villains in history?"
"Who knows. Let's get the hell out of here befor—"
Boom!!
"What was that?" One of the villains yelled.
A figure emerged from the smoke, her silhouette sharpening as the haze dissipated. "Yo, villains," she said with a confident smirk.
"What the hell is she doing here? The Rabbit Hero: Mirko?!" Another villain bit his lip in frustration.
Mirko is a dark-skinned woman of average height, possessing narrow red eyes with long, defined eyelashes and straight white hair cascading to her thighs. Her hero costume consists of a sleeveless white leotard with dark purple trim accenting her shoulders and waist.
Her gaze shifted from the villains to the boy held captive. In an instant, her silhouette vanished as she blitzed the giant villain, landing a decisive, powerful kick that sent him and his comrades crashing to the ground.
"Are you okay?" Mirko asked Ren.
"Thanks for saving me. I'm fine now."
Mirko patted Ren's head. "It's not safe out here. You should hurry back to the cops right away."
"O-okay," Ren stammered, his cheeks flushing bright red after realizing Mirko had embraced him, his head briefly resting against her ample chest.
Amid the chaos and destruction, Ren caught a sharp glimpse of the ancient talisman the villains had stolen from the hero research facility. "Isn't that the thing they stole earlier?"
He swallowed hard, concealing himself in the smoke as he crawled toward the mysterious object.
I've got to return this to the pros or the cops right away. He made up his mind, firmly grasping the ancient artifact and quickly slipping it into his pocket.
Now, I just need to hand it over to the police.
One of the villains charged at Mirko, his fist wreathed in spikes as he struck. She sidestepped effortlessly, but the spikes extended further. Mirko's eyes caught a glimpse of Ren's silhouette, and she moved swiftly to shield him—the spikes piercing her hands, blood streaming down. "Didn't I tell you something earlier, kid?" Mirko gritted her teeth.
"Yes, you did, b-but… I've got something to give you."
"Huh? Get the hell out of here right now, kid! Don't you realize how dangerous it is?" Mirko crushed the spikes and hurled Ren away from the battlefield as he crashed into a glass storefront, his body pierced by shards.
Coughing a mouthful of blood, he pulled himself up and limped out of the shop. There, on the ground, lay the talisman, staring back at him.
The ancient object rolled across the floor, seeming to lock eyes with Ren. He gulped, sweat sliding down his brow as curiosity overwhelmed him.
He slowly picked it up, removing the talismans from it. For a moment, nothing happened.
His eyes widened in shock. 'What the hell is this? A burnt finger?' He wondered to himself.
Then, the finger twitched in his hand. A dark aura began to leak out.
Staring at the strange finger, a massive explosion shook the street behind him as Mirko engaged the villains. Startled, Ren gasped and stumbled backward—the finger slipping from his grip and shooting upward.
Before he could react, the shriveled digit dropped straight between his lips.
"Wha—?!"
He tried to spit it out, but he had already swallowed it. Now, it was too late.
Immediately, a burning sensation spread through his chest; black markings crawled across his skin.
"Finally… a vessel."
A deep, guttural laugh escaped his lips.
"After all these centuries… I have returned."
.....
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