Melissa stared at the Lavos Squid in sheer fascination.
Right before her eyes, Dr. Blessed had brought an organism from an entirely different world into reality.
Yet the most startling, exhilarating revelation came when Melissa examined the creature through her Spirit Vision: she couldn't detect a single telltale sign of a… Quirk.
Experimenting with Spirit Vision whenever she accompanied Big Sis Kazuho had honed her instincts for detecting Quirks — not necessarily their precise nature, but unmistakably their presence, with a minimal margin of error.
If an individual possessed localized Spirit Points, particularly organized in a defined, deliberate matrix, that individual had a Quirk.
A simple observation, but a clear, conclusive result.
Naturally, identifying more complex or diffuse Quirks proved challenging due to the absence of centralized focal points. Still, given sufficient time, Spirit Vision allowed her to map out the underlying structures and observe how Spirit Particles interacted within a spirit body, providing just enough data to formulate an accurate deduction.
That was why, as Melissa studied the Lavos Squid, she could state with 99.99% certainty that it possessed no Quirk at all.
The Apostles had always — always — operated under the assumption that Dr. Blessed's Quirk was centered around bestowing Quirks onto living organisms.
Yet watching this alien squid, and recalling the precision with which Leader had manipulated both his own Spirit Particles and those of the mundane squid, Melissa had every reason to believe their assumptions couldn't have been further from the truth.
"Bioalchemy permits me to mutate a biological matrix as I see fit," Dr. Blessed said, sending Melissa's heart into a violent flutter. "Bestowing a Quirk is merely one specific application of that broader principle."
Melissa deactivated her Spirit Vision and looked up stiffly, meeting Leader's unreadable gaze.
"That's…" she stammered. "… That doesn't even compare. I thought Uncle Might's or Star's Quirks were broken, but… this… this is on another plane entirely…"
Dr. Blessed smiled humbly.
"It is not quite as omnipotent as you make it out to be, Miss Shield," he noted calmly. "You, of all people, understand the inherent caveat of such an ability."
Melissa gave a slow, reluctant nod.
She glanced back toward the fish tank, where the Lavos Squid flexed its iridescent tentacles against the reinforced glass.
A minute error in Spirit Particles interaction and arrangement — a momentary lapse in concentration — a lack of knowledge of creature's biology — and the entire process would unravel catastrophically.
Who knew what horrifying mutations the organism would suffer as a result?
Furthermore, Melissa possessed a sharp intuition that all such failed mutations would exact a brutal toll on the user's mind and body as well.
Which meant Bioalchemy was effectively useless to almost everyone on the planet, save for a microscopic elite possessing the intellect to execute it without self-destructing.
She couldn't wield it.
Her father could wield it, perhaps… but only after spending over a dozen years experimenting with it.
Because Bioalchemy demanded endless cycles of experimentation, decades of specialized biological and Quirk-related mastery, and a mind nothing short of generational genius.
Melissa's pulse hammered against her ribs.
For a long time, she had privately harbored the theory that Luke was Leader's true persona, and that the composed, adult figure guiding the Apostles was merely a disguised alter ego.
Witnessing Bioalchemy in action completely shattered that premise.
Luke was merely a teenager.
No matter how brilliant the boy might be, he simply could not have possessed the biological lifespan required to amass the encyclopedic expertise necessary to command Bioalchemy.
Which meant Dr. Blessed was using Luke as an alter ego, not the other way around.
Which meant Dr. Blessed had infiltrated the world of Pro Heroes, not a teenage Luke playing vigilante.
Which meant Dr. Blessed had embedded himself inside UA High for his own designs, not Luke stumbling into leadership over the cult of an otherworldly god.
The chilling question was: why?
This was the crux of the demonstration, wasn't it?
Leader wasn't merely explaining his Quirk to her, Melissa believed.
He wasn't simply explaining the hidden mechanics of Potions and their Ingredients.
He was… exposing his true identity, peeling back the curtain on his motives and strategies.
At first, Melissa had felt deeply honored that Leader had chosen to share such monumental secrets with her.
Now, however, realizing the deeper implications of his disclosure, she couldn't help but feel a creeping sense of foreboding.
Dr. Blessed turned and strode back toward the metal workstation where the vial of silvery liquid rested.
Silently, stripped of her earlier enthusiasm, Melissa followed and took a seat across from him.
"There are two distinct classifications of creatures," Dr. Blessed began. "Beyonder creatures — entities bearing Beyonder Characteristics; and Extraordinary creatures — beasts endowed with inborn abilities. In our context, a Beyonder Characteristic is equivalent to a Quirk. Keep that in mind; we will return to it shortly. First, tell me what you deduced while observing the Lavos Squid."
Melissa closed her eyes to steady her racing pulse.
Pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose, she exhaled slowly. "Corruption. There was no corruption."
Corruption was nothing but an erratic, uncontrollable behavior of Spirit Particles.
Melissa hadn't learned to see it, but she had learned to sense it through Spirit Vision.
Leader had previously clarified that it was the divine Corruption originating from Mr. Fool that granted them the miraculous abilities corresponding to their Sequences. It was this same Corruption that continually eroded their psychological stability, threatening to reduce them to monstrous Rampagers if they lost control.
Leader had never sugarcoated it, even though it stemmed from the deity they worshiped.
It was what it was: a refined poison.
And they had all willingly drunk it, praying its toxicity would never consume them.
Yet this Lavos Squid, despite hailing from Mr. Fool's world, carried no divine taint whatsoever.
Which meant…
"The Lavos Squid is merely an alien," Dr. Blessed confirmed with a nod. "Not a true Extraordinary Creature. It requires another catalyst to cross that threshold. A vital, indispensable ingredient."
"… What is it?" Melissa asked softly.
Leader smiled faintly, lifting the small vial between two fingers. "Let us examine the inorganic component first," he said. "I mentioned earlier that obtaining organic materials is comparatively straightforward. Now you know why. Bioalchemy is powerless when applied to inorganic compounds, though. More importantly, we face a far greater dilemma. Can you tell what it is?"
Melissa looked closely at the vial.
For Leader to treat it with such care meant it had to represent an ingredient, similar to the Stellar Aqua Crystal.
Guessing the liquid's nature, she found the answer Leader was guiding her toward.
"No matter which world you stand in," Melissa murmured, "water is always water. And… mercury is always mercury."