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The CRACK was louder than the BOOM of a literal mountain falling over them, Sand and Midnight realized.
Both Pros were riding a one-meter-tall wave of sand, rushing toward the campsite.
"Can't you go any faster?" Midnight asked, a dread lingering on her face.
The noise seemed to have originated from the region where students were supposed to be.
They had already lost their communication devices at the beginning, so they couldn't even contact Mirko, Gran Torino, or Erasure Head to confirm the situation.
Not to mention, from the look of things, it felt like there were more of these Quirk Amplification Device-wearing Villains.
If that was indeed the case, then it became a matter of debate whether Mirko was strong enough to take on one by herself, at least, not with children around her, which must have occupied a great part of her thoughts.
The only reason they had outsmarted the Villain was because of Sand's luck and their being together.
Otherwise, if one of them had faced that Villain alone, then…
Sand shook his head as Midnight went through those thoughts. "I am not actually controlling the sand under our feet alone," he explained. "It's more like a wave propagation. We are already going as fast as we can."
Slithering around the trees and down the slopes, the Pros eyed the distant blackness, their nose burning with smoke.
"Was that really a Clone?" Midnight asked. "I still cannot believe it…"
She still remembered how a pile of mud had replaced the spot where the Villain should have been standing… or lying dead.
Sand nodded. "I have encountered this Villain before," he told her. "His name is Twice. He can make Clones of himself and others. And his Clones can use his Quirks, too. Not only that, but the Clones of other people he creates can also use their original Quirks."
Midnight's jaw dropped. "That's so… broken."
Sand nodded, his eyes gaining a hard look.
Broken was an understatement, for Twice held the probability of becoming the world's greatest disaster, if it weren't for his mental condition.
After almost failing his mission regarding the Brain Thief because of Twice, Sand had used all of the Saionji Group's resources to find out more about the Villain.
It was then that he had learned who Twice actually was.
It turned out that not only was Twice's, original name—Jin Bubaigawara, Quirk broken, but he himself was broken as well. The fear of multiple personalities and his Clones rebelling against him kept eating away at his mind constantly.
If it wasn't for that, Sand believed that Twice's Quirk was a match for even Luke's Quirk.
"… Actually, I didn't mean that," Midnight clarified after a few moments. "I meant to ask—how did you know it was a Clone?"
The wave of sand they were riding on suddenly shook.
Midnight gasped as her feet slipped, falling backward.
Sand suddenly caught her hand, and both landed on the ground, staring at each other.
"…"
"…"
"Are you okay?" Sand asked, pulling her up, looking away.
Midnight nodded. "What happened?"
"I…" Sand created another mound of sand beneath their feet. "… lost control."
Lost control? Midnight's eyes narrowed. Lost control, my foot! What's he hiding…? "Wait…" she gasped, her eyes widening. "You — didn't know it was a Clone, did you?!"
Sand had already been caught off-guard once by her sudden question.
That wouldn't happen again.
He smiled derisively. "Just how much of a bad guy do you think I am?" he countered, taking offense. "You really think I will kill a man whom I can easily capture, instead?"
Midnight kept her eyes locked on the back of Sand's head, though.
Then, letting out a sigh, she shook her head. "Anyway, I…"
A chill ran down both Pros' spines.
They could already see the path in front of them. It meant that they were close to the students and the location from which the CRACK had echoed out.
However, someone else had appeared in their vision, walking in the same direction.
Sensing them, perhaps, the figure slowly looked over its shoulder, and two blobs of pulsating redness landed over the Pros, making them come to a sudden stop.
Tattered clothes.
A long red scarf tied on his head.
Wielding two curved swords with nicked edges.
"A couple of fakes…" A predatory grin appeared in the darkness under the red eyes as the figure turned around. "How… lucky… am I?"
Sand stepped forward, and Midnight involuntarily stepped back.
"Hero Killer…" Sand said, the Assassin within him waking up.
Midnight ripped off her right sleeve, clenching her teeth. "… Stain!"
…
"Well… ain't this a surprise?" Dabi exclaimed, looking on in amazement as Twice created another Stain.
The Hero Killer blinked several times as a redness began flashing within his pupils.
The moment he stopped blinking, Stain looked around, scanning his surroundings. "How many?"
"Already created one of you, Leader," Twice replied. "You are the weakest."
Then, changing his voice, Twice added, "but still the strongest of us! Haha!"
Stain looked at the swords in his hands, a grin appearing on his face.
Twice's Clones only recalled the memories of the last time they had interacted with Jin himself.
The two Stains he had created were all based on the Stain before he had gone to the USA. Before going, the Leader of the Claws of Conformity had given Twice specific orders about when and when not to create his Clones.
"Dr. Blessed appeared, huh?" Stain hissed after learning everything.
Dabi nodded. "I can't imagine anyone else holding back a Nomu," he said, handing over an earpiece to Stain. "Even if there are many Pros here, the Quirk Amplified Clones must have already injured them. Your first Clone has already contacted two of them, leaving the path to Nomu and Dr. Blessed…"
"… wide open." Stain licked his lips. "Jin. When I have covered half the way, and if I encounter another obstacle, create one more of me."
Dabi's eyes narrowed.
That's exactly what the previous Clone had said, too.
Before Dabi could ask more about it, though, Stain grinned and shot forward —
— heading right toward the place where everyone was unwittingly gathering!
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