They found Luke tied against a pillar in an abandoned building's basement, with both he and Nyx passed out as if someone had drained them of their stamina.
But by the time morning arrived, things had already gone out of the Heroes' hands.
Nomus were still something people had an idea about — Villains defeated by All Might.
However, it was the matter of Hero Killer: Stain that jolted the people in the morning, along with one other name that just couldn't stop popping up on the screens.
Dr. Blessed!
Hundreds of cameras all over the Hosu City had captured the black-masked man, with a chimpanzee on his shoulder, making a fool of the Heroes last night.
Only a handful of Pro Heroes knew the identity of this masked man.
Ever since the Jaku Incident, they had been keeping it under wraps to secretly hunt the Villain before he could become a threat to society.
So, the majority of the news channels, not knowing this reason, put a reward on his identity.
Dr. Blessed's Wanted Poster had already been circulating among the Villains of the country. Even after months, when they couldn't even find a hint of this man, this award looked like the tastiest dish to them.
In a matter of seconds after posting the award, all news channels across the country began getting calls, learning more and more about the Villain.
Some, of course, also labeled him as a Vigilante as nothing concrete was known about him.
As if this wasn't already a disaster for the investigators, someone released a photo of him fighting a Nomu just before Jaku City's explosion.
Then, one by one, more and more photos came pouring out.
Slam!
Endeavor's fist dented the steel table, fire hissing around his face.
Gran Torino, Mirko, and many other Pro Heroes were in the hospital, eying the morning news, gawking at the images.
"He tricked us…" Gran Torino said, narrowing his eyes.
Dr. Blessed, after stealing a Nomu right under their eyes, had left behind a set of photographs. Those photographs showed another, rabbit-like Nomu fighting Tomura Shigaraki and Kurogiri.
Of course, they had thought that it was Dr. Blessed's way to tell them that he wasn't behind the Nomus and had nothing to do with the League of Villains.
Who would have known that he would supply a copy of those photographs to all news channels as well?!
Not only those photos, but there were even more of them — each more ridiculous than the other.
There was a selfie that Dr. Blessed had taken with UA students looking over their shoulders in the background.
The image had gone viral, with UA getting mocked left and right.
Another image had gone viral, showing Endeavor's butt, Dr. Blessed making a finger gun behind him.
Then there was a short reel of him fumbling over as he tried to drag the burnt-head Nomu with Pro Heroes in the vicinity just looking at him in confusion.
To pour salt over the wound, the entire media was mocking all the Pro Heroes present in the Hosu City for letting Dr. Blessed rescue Hero Killer Stain right under their eyes, tricking them with a — toy gun…
Gran Torino, Mirko, Endeavor, and Tenya's mentor had their teachers' licenses suspended for months for losing their interns mid-battle.
Now, Midoriya, Todoroki, Tenya, and Luke were all hospitalized, with the former three sustaining many injuries and facing inquiry because of their public use of Quirks.
Gran Torino sighed, knowing the deeper implications of all this.
I must talk with Toshinori, he thought, his shoulders slumping. It's true… All For One is coming back…
"All runts of the society will go wild after today…" one of the Pro Heroes mentioned. "Hero Killer's ideology is popping all over the internet."
"Haha…" Mirko suddenly laughed.
Then, taking a last look at the TV Screen that showed Dr. Blessed carrying Stain and Shigaraki and Kurogiri standing on a water tank, she turned around, walking away.
"Where are you going, young Mirko?" Gran Torino asked, worried.
She had raised a storm after learning that Dr. Blessed had appeared right in front of them, and they had failed to do anything. She had gone as far as to call Endeavor useless.
Even my student has bigger balls than you, old men, Mirko had said, slamming an unconscious' Luke's head.
No one could find fault in her words, though.
The basement where they had found Luke had debris all around.
It became clear just with a look that the kid hadn't gone down without putting up a good fight.
"They will release Luke in the evening, right?" Mirko said, without looking back, her eyes glowing with determination. "Till then… I feel like kicking someone…"
One by one, all Heroes began dispersing, leaving behind a blank, rage-faced Endeavor and Gran Torino.
"Some news channels are saying that Stain was with the League of Villains and Dr. Blessed kidnapped him," Gran Torino suddenly said. "Some are saying that Dr. Blessed rescued Stain, and they are enemies of the League of Villains…"
"I don't care, old man," Endeavor said, walking away as well. "They all are my enemies and, one day, I will get all of them…"
…
In Naruhata, Iwao turned off the news and looked at Kazuho seated next to him.
They had the same questions that troubled Gran Torino, but, unlike the old Hero, they knew Dr. Blessed was definitely a third party, neither with Stain nor with the League of Villains.
One thing was for sure, though.
What Dr. Blessed had told them about the Jaku Incident, and a great evil manipulating the world from behind the scenes, was true.
It had taken several top Pro Heroes, like Endeavor, to keep those Nomu from destroying an entire city.
But even Endeavor and All Might couldn't be at every place.
If the number of Nomus kept increasing, who would come to rescue the innocents where the Heroes couldn't reach?
Iwao lit a cigarette as his busted legs began itching, Dr. Blessed's words ringing in his mind.
"The guy's dodgy…" he said, Kazuho nodding along with him, "but… I guess it wouldn't be so bad hearing him out…"
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