"We should go," Kurogiri said for the hundredth time. "There's no telling if Dr. Blessed would return or not. It's better to let master…"
"NO!" Shigaraki replied, drenched in blood. "I want to see Nomus burning the entire city!"
More than that, he wanted Heroes dying under the Nomus' hands.
"Where's that brat?!" Shigaraki asked, annoyed. "I was told he would be here! Give me those…"
Shigaraki snatched the binoculars from Kurogiri and began looking around.
All For One had told him that the blond-haired, bird-brat was in Hosu City as an intern. So, logic stated that he would be around the Nomus as well, where all the Heroes were gathered.
One of the three Nomus couldn't be seen anywhere.
But Shigaraki could still see the remaining two, and he couldn't see the boy matching Luke's appearance there.
Suddenly, his eyes landed on a scene that exploded the rage bubbling inside him.
Endeavor reached the spot where a black-skinned Upper-Tier Nomu was wreaking havoc. With a single punch, the No. 2 Hero sent the Nomu flying, breaking its arm.
However, in the next moment, Nomu's arm regenerated.
Unlike other Heroes, though, Endeavor ignored the regeneration, grabbed the Nomu's head as it came to attack him, and burned the entire thing to a crisp, carbonizing it.
With a thud, the Nomu fell, losing life.
"Arghhhhhhhh!" Shigaraki growled, scratching his neck like a madman. "Why are they losing?!"
All For One had given him three Nomus.
After losing three Nomus before, one during the Jaku Incident and two during the USJ incident, the usable Nomus' numbers were already dwindling.
Shigaraki had brought them all here to kill Stain and Luke, meanwhile creating chaos in the city. This would have put him and his League of Villains on the map.
Contrary to what Shigaraki hoped, the Nomus were the ones getting beaten here as well.
Banging his fist on the iron roof of a water tank, where they were standing, Shigaraki saw as Endeavor left the scene, chasing the last remaining flying Nomu, who had taken a woman hostage.
Endeavor then used his Quirk, Hellflame, to create a fiery arrow and shot it at the Nomu.
With a burning hiss, the fire arrow passed right through the Nomu's brain, exploding its one eye, the woman falling off from its loose grip.
Saving the hostage, Endeavor continued the chase, disappearing behind several buildings.
Grinding his teeth, Shigaraki momentarily brought the binoculars back to the spot where Endeavor had burned the head off a Nomu.
And the moment his distant sight landed on that scene, the hair on his neck stood up.
There he was — trying to drag Nomu's massive body — like a clown.
Dr. Blessed!
Shigaraki was so stunned that he couldn't even put away the binoculars.
There were many Heroes on the scene who were as bewildered as Shigaraki, perhaps, gawking at Dr. Blessed with a small chimpanzee dancing on his shoulder.
The black-masked man grabbed the Nomu's shoulder, tried to drag it, and slipped.
Then, he began asking the Heroes for help…
Suddenly, just as the Heroes stepped toward him, sensing something was wrong, Dr. Blessed pointed up at the sky, holding his head.
Caught off guard, all Heroes looked up, fearing that the flying Nomu had returned.
Even Shigaraki couldn't avoid the momentum, and the binoculars lifted by a millimeter in his hands.
There was nothing to be seen in the sky, though.
When all the eyes hurriedly landed back on the scene, they found a black curtain on the ground as if it was covering a massive object.
Then, almost instantly, the black curtain vanished, leaving behind nothing but a tarot card, depicting The Fool.
"…" All Heroes looked at each other's faces, gobsmacked, realizing that they had been fooled.
On the other hand, the entire binoculars decayed in Shigaraki's hands, crumbling into dust as he used his Quirk on it in anger.
"Oi… Kurogiri…" Shigaraki said, standing up, with an uncanny calmness in his voice.
Kurogiri stepped back as Shigaraki's bloodlust seeped into his bones. "… Yes?"
"I…" Shigaraki said, smiling gently. "… I hate getting tricked…"
…
On the other part of the town, Gran Torino and other Heroes had gathered around a bound Hero Killer, Midoriya, Todoroki, and Tenya standing on one side.
"Are you sure?" Gran Torino asked, stunned. "Why did he tell you that?"
Midoriya and others couldn't believe it themselves.
Behind the selfie that Dr. Blessed had left them, there was an address, saying that they would find Luke there.
"… It can be just another trap…" Gran Torino mumbled. "Still… I will call young Mirko…"
Mirko was scouring the entire city, searching for Luke ever since they had lost him.
Gran Torino had just taken out his mobile when the flying Nomu descended upon them, grabbing an exhausted Midoriya.
A chill ran down everyone's spine.
If it went too high, even Gran Torino wouldn't be able to catch it.
Suddenly, a figure blurred through the Heroes like a wraith, licking the blood drops that had fallen from Nomu's injured eye.
Flying overhead, the Nomu suddenly lost all bodily functions, losing height.
In another instant, Hero Killer: Stain, defying all odds and logic, appeared over it and mutilated its brain with a short knife.
With a thud, the Nomu fell, dead, Midoriya landing next to it, with Stain standing on top of them.
Simultaneously, Endeavor arrived there, too.
Stain looked up, his eyes landing on Endeavor.
"You fake Heroes…" Stain said, a massive bloodlust rooting all Heroes to their spots. "… I must… take back what it means… to be a Hero!
"Come! Try and get me — You fakes!!!"
All Heroes' hearts skipped a beat as the entire world pressed upon them.
Suddenly, someone appeared right behind Stain and hit the back of his head, knocking him out.
Silence.
Everyone just stood there in pure surprise as Dr. Blessed grabbed both Stain and the dead Nomu with his left hand.
"HAAAAAAAAAAA!" Endeavor, burning with rage, raised his fist.
"Ata-ta-ta…" Dr. Blessed took out a handgun and pointed it at Midoriya's head. "Move and I will turn this kid into a Nomu… Haha! Did you get the joke? … No? Tch!"
Space parted behind him, revealing blackness.
Dr. Blessed stepped back, almost dragging Stain and Nomu. "Tell you what…" he said with a blatant hint of amusement. "… I think I should just kill him… to send a message…"
"NO!" Gran Torino shot forward.
Endeavor burned the ground between him and the Villain.
Tenya and Todoroki forgot all limits, reaching out for Midoriya as well.
Still, nothing was as fast as Dr. Blessed's finger, pressing on the trigger with a click.
When all of them reached the spot, blood boiling in their veins, Dr. Blessed had already melted into the blackness, leaving behind…
… a toy gun, pouring out bubbles — popping off against Midoriya's head.
*********************
AN: Original Image of Dr. Blessed firing the toy gun at Midoriya is available
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