Just as an angered and frustrated Endeavor and Gran Torino rushed to another spot where Nomu was wreaking havoc, three UA students were battling it out with Hero Killer: Stain.
Tenya Ida had gone alone to tackle the Villain who had left his older brother paralyzed for the rest of his life.
That, of course, turned out to be a mistake.
If it wasn't for Midoriya guessing Tenya's intention and arriving to save him timely, Stain had all but killed the boy.
Then, Todoroki, who was also in Hosu with Endeavor for his internship, had also joined the two of them.
In the dark alley, Stain blurred between walls of ice, slicing them apart, and pillars of fire as Todoroki tried to keep him away.
Tenya was lying on the ground, bleeding from his shoulder.
Stain had already paralyzed him with his Quirk.
To Stain's utter surprise, though, both Midoriya and Todoroki felt like they were well-versed in close fighting, despite their heavy use of Quirks.
Still, even though the boys had trained in close combat, it wasn't something that could let them close the gap between their abilities and Stain's.
One moment, Stain was still dodging Todoroki's consistent onslaught.
In the next moment, he appeared right in front of him, his blade's edge almost pressing against Todoroki's throat.
Seeing this from afar, something snapped within Tenya.
Pushing his Quirk to its limit, he shot across the alley and kicked, breaking the sword in half. "Freeze my legs!" Tenya shouted. "I…"
A dagger came flying and plunged deep into his shoulder.
"Ida!" Midoriya shouted, getting up as well.
"It isn't easy to change one's moral…" Stain said, eying Tenya. "… This world… doesn't need Heroes like you…"
Stain dashed forward in a murderous charge.
Todoroki froze Tenya's legs, cooling his mufflers.
Recipro —
The fire coming off Tenya's legs burned blue and, with a massive BOOM, he shot toward the incoming Stain.
— Extend.
One For All —
Midoriya let out a breath, the taste of blood lingering in his mouth. Tiny electric bolts cracked around him, his hair standing on their ends.
— Full Cowling!
And before Stain could even react, Midoriya's punch and Tenya's kick landed on him, knocking him out.
As if that wasn't enough, a massive icicle flashed into existence, trapping the Hero Killer.
As Midoriya and Tenya fell, Todoroki caught them using ice, and then the boys stared up in disbelief as if Stain would begin moving at any moment.
Midoriya held his right hand as he took several deep breaths, eying Stain. "I think… he's gone. Let's take away his weapons, first."
Todoroki nodded, a stunned Tenya still looking at Stain.
However, just as the boys were about to move, the sound of a door opening entered their ears.
Midoriya, Todoroki, and Tenya simultaneously looked beyond the icicle trapping Stain and found a door, with a glowing blue outline, opening right through the wall.
A black-masked man, with his eyeholes glowing red, and wearing a white lab coat, peeked out of the door.
A chimpanzee was sitting on his left shoulder, scratching its head.
Midoriya's heart thumped so loudly that even Todoroki heard it. Unlike Tenya, both he and Midoriya knew now what kind of utterly terrifying situation they were in.
"Dr…" Midoriya said, shaking.
Todoroki finished the word, a chill running down his spine. "… Blessed."
Time seemed to stop in the dark alley as Dr. Blessed looked at the children, then at another Hero lying far away, and finally at Stain.
"… Cough!" Dr. Blessed coughed, clearing his throat. "Sorry. I think I got lost… Carry on."
Then, to everyone's utter surprise, Dr. Blessed stepped back, the door disappearing behind him.
Midoriya and Todoroki's blood pressure dropped so fast that even their eyes felt the coldness.
Then, before their bodily functions returned, another door opened on the wall of the opposite building, Dr. Blessed's head looming out again.
This time, burying his shock with sheer willpower, Midoriya shouted. "He kidnapped Luke!"
Todoroki's pupils dilated suddenly. Tenya, who still hadn't come out of shock, looked at Dr. Blessed with pure wrath.
Fire burned Todoroki's left side, frost freezing the space to his right. Midoriya gave up on holding back at all, bringing 100% power of One For All to his left hand.
Tenya stood up, smoke coming out of his muffler, both his arms dangling to his sides.
Yes.
At this moment, the boys were ready to take on the most mysterious but deadly Villain.
Dr. Blessed scratched his head, mimicking the animal on his shoulder. "Luke? Do you mean the boy with the bird? He is right behind you…"
Huh?!
The statement was ridiculous.
But, in the heat of the moment, the boys' heads involuntarily snapped back.
When they saw nothing but the darkness in that direction, their hearts skipped a beat.
Oh, shit…
Frame by frame, their heads rotated back, fearing the worst.
With Stain, even a moment had been enough to lose their lives.
With Dr. Blessed, they had already been tricked into losing several moments.
So, when their eyes landed on nothing but emptiness where Dr. Blessed had been standing, it was like they had skipped a step while hurriedly coming downstairs.
Midoriya's knee struck the ground.
The fire and ice around Todoroki puffed out of existence.
Simultaneously, Tenya slumped back against the wall of ice as well.
"Hey…" Tenya suddenly said, his eyes going wide as they landed on the trapped Stain. "… What is that?"
Midoriya and Todoroki looked up and found a passed-out Stain holding two cards in his hands.
Slowly, both cards fell and slid on the icicle before coming to rest near the boys, facing down.
Midoriya and Todoroki picked a card each before turning them over.
One was an image — showing Dr. Blessed taking a selfie, both he and his monkey making a V with their hands as the three boys looked in the opposite direction.
The other was a Tarot Card — Number 0 — The Fool!
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AN: Original Image of Dr. Blessed's Selfie (including Midoriya, Todoroki, and Tenya) is available as Inheritors Tier cover. Everyone can see this image on my page in membership options
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100 Power Stones: +1 Bonus Chapter