Hearing the word "kill" from Iwao was like All Might openly rooting for capital punishment for Villains.
It felt odd.
However, the matter of Wraith, especially combined with the gravity of the implications he had put forward, was crazy enough to bring the word out of even Iron Mentor, Luke knew.
If, somehow, Amon figured out how to create a Sequence 4 Compound Monocle using Dr. Sam — if the scientist survived ORIGIN — then He wouldn't wait to go through the entire process all over again.
A fresh Sequence 4 Monocle of a Pathway of His choosing would require Amon to find a much better specimen first. Meaning, He would definitely go for a person who had only recently lost their Quirk; or, He would make that happen.
Second, Amon would have to wait until the said Monocle rose to Sequence 5 and survived.
It was clear that Compound Monocle was only at the early stages of its research and was far from reaching mass production of Sequence 7 or above Potions.
So, Amon might directly go for advancing the only Sequence 5 He perhaps had — the Wraith!
There was a caveat in this series of thoughts, though; one in Apostles' favor.
Luke had a very strong feeling that despite the Digestion-less process of Compound Monocle, making the Beyonders advance faster than the ordinary Acting Method — there must be some great restriction or drawback to reaching a Sequence 5 so fast.
Otherwise, why stop at only one Sequence 5 Wraith?
Even if Amon was finding it difficult to create more Sequence 5s because of the high usage of Corruption, He would still ensure having more of these Monocles around him to do His bidding, right?
That made sense to Luke.
Unless…
Unless He already had a legion of Sequence 5s scattered across the globe.
Luke pushed the dark thought into the back of his mind. There was no point in drowning himself in evidence-less dark fantasies. Melissa was already on top of the game when it came to keeping an eye on the strange events occurring around the globe. If she found something worth looking into, he would let Gehrman have a look at it.
That was the point of all this, anyway, Luke realized, taking a deep breath.
He was not a one-man army.
Nor could he be, given the nature of his enemies.
I can't be everywhere at once, Luke thought, nodding to himself. I must trust the people I have surrounded myself with to do the right thing with a shared mind. Hmm…
With that thought, he found it was best to continue the meeting.
"We have two more things to discuss," Dr. Blessed said, once the hint of murderous atmosphere had abated. "First, I have intel that the Claws of Conformity are going to make contact with Shie Hassaikai."
That kicked the last dregs of the earlier, dark silence out of everyone instantly.
"Intel?" Iwao narrowed his eyes. "From where?"
Dr. Blessed smiled.
"Geh…" Kazuho shut her mouth, looking terrified. As if a snake had hissed behind her, she looked around, fearing that the killer was watching her from the dark corners. When she couldn't sense anything, only then did she turn back and ask, "… Mr. Sparrow?"
Luke held back a twitch and shook his head.
"We have a new member?!" Melissa asked, excited.
"… A potential one," Luke admitted. "The point is that the intel can be trusted."
And the group fell into thoughtful contemplation, imagining the consequences of such a meeting.
"They must be after Compound Erasure themselves," Iwao said.
Kazuho nodded. "Leader, is there any way we can put them against each other?" she asked. "Like, Shigaraki and the others might not know that Shie Hassaikai is working with Monocles, right? So, if we tell the Claws that, then Conformity would definitely act, no?"
Silence.
Dr. Blessed and Iwao shared a glance.
That was just the thing they would have thought.
For Kazuho to come up with it all by herself not only showed that she was growing, but also showed that she was losing the innocence she had once possessed.
That was good as well.
The field they were playing in presently demanded that they be extraordinary, not innocent.
"Solid plan, Trick*Step," Dr. Blessed praised, bringing a smile to Kazuho's face. "There's just one problem."
"… problem?" Kazuho and Melissa both uttered simultaneously.
"Remember the vessel of the evil god?" Nyx cawed, joining the conversation. "What do you think would happen if Conformity were to find out the boy's true nature?"
The two girls' faces paled.
What would happen?
Disaster!
Iwao leaned forward like a teacher. "If we cannot control the exact mechanics of how Claws would act against Shie Hassaikai after learning their partnership with Monocles, then it's best to let it proceed naturally and keep an eye on the outcome." He then looked toward Dr. Blessed. "I am seeing more Credits coming my way, right?"
Luke nodded. "We need to take out the Sequence 5 Monocle before we move against Shie Hassaikai," he said. "Both Kannagi and that Wraith can result in serious loss of life if they remain together."
"Move against Shie Hassaikai?" Iwao questioned.
Melissa clenched her fingers into fists as Luke explained Eri's situation to them.
In the next moment, Iwao and Kazuho were already seething, grinding their teeth.
"Eri's Quirk is too important…" Luke said. "It had been important even before, with the threat of Conformity getting His hands on her. Now, with Amon… Sigh. I wouldn't be surprised if He has sent the Wraith specifically for the little girl."
"When?" Iwao, Kazuho, and Melissa merely asked.
Luke tapped the table, remembering one of the rare events Momo had discussed in detail.
Not only because this event involved Midoriya, Eri, and others, but also because… it was during this event that they had lost one of the most prized Pro Heroes who had stood a chance of turning the Final War in Heroes' favor by leagues and bounds — Sir Nighteye!
"Soon…" Luke said. "In a few weeks."
The Apostles nodded.
"Now, the second thing…" Luke said, licking his lips. "Do any of you know someone who is keeping a Diary for over twenty-two years?"