Chapter 23: Amadeus Mask
"Is this the place...?" Following the directions in his earpiece, Midoriya arrived at the Flood Zone. Although his mind was filled with doubts, the desire to save Kaminari overpowered everything else. He had come here without even saying goodbye to Tsuyu.
In front of him was a medium-sized cruise ship, its bow pointing toward the adjacent marine park. It floated silently in the center of the water.
As far as Midoriya knew, this ship had been sliced in half by a villain's water-jet Quirk during the initial attack when he, Tsuyu, and Mineta had been ambushed.
So what was this ship doing here now? Had the school approved the funds to drag a new one over from somewhere? Or was this an illusion created by the enemy's Quirk?
"See the ship in front of you? Get on board," the earpiece instructed again.
There was no more time to wonder about where the ship came from. Since the enemy had directed him to come aboard alone, did that mean he was on the ship right now?
Midoriya took a deep breath and plunged into the water.
When a sopping-wet Midoriya emerged from the water, his green hair was plastered to his head like seaweed.
Perhaps the enemy had anticipated his arrival, as a rope ladder had been lowered for him over the side of the cruise ship. Without hesitation, Midoriya climbed aboard.
(On a side note, Midoriya's hero costume was still being repaired, so he was wearing the standard school gym uniform.)
"Go below deck. Stop at the door at the end of the hall."
Although Midoriya had been on a structurally similar ship before, the situation then had been urgent, and he had only stayed on the main deck. This ship wasn't large, with only two levels and a dozen or so rooms. It didn't look like a new model, but rather a style that had been popular in the last century. The soundproofing was poor; even on deck, he could hear the mechanical vibrations from below.
Midoriya descended the stairs and walked down the corridor. In less than a minute, he reached the end of the hall. He reached out, turned the handle, and the door swung open.
The room was dark and small, only about twenty square meters. Aside from a table in the center, the room was lined with black instruments blinking with green lights. Directly in front of him, a massive screen covered the entire wall.
The screen was divided into numerous smaller panels. The top-right corner showed various alleyways from different perspectives. In the center, a large panel that took up a quarter of the screen displayed a first-person view—Midoriya's own—showing everything in the room, like watching his own live stream on a webpage, infinitely reflecting the same image within itself.
Is this my point of view? Have I been under surveillance this whole time? On a screen in the top-left corner, Midoriya could see many of his classmates. They were facing a tall man who seemed to be holding a white handbag.
"Yo. You're here."
This time, the voice didn't come from his earpiece. It was crystal clear, right beside his ear. A figure was leaning against the wall. His attention had been so focused on the only source of light in front of him that Midoriya hadn't noticed him at first.
Startled, Midoriya no longer had time to study the screens. He snapped into a fighting stance, facing the man. "Who are you?" he said in a low voice. "Why did you capture Kaminari? Why are you monitoring us here?"
Midoriya had many questions for the person in front of him, but the most important one was: where was Kaminari right now?
The man stepped out of the darkness and stood before Midoriya. The large screen now displayed his image.
He was dressed in black like a clergyman, with a golden cross hanging on his chest. He wore a golden mask and held no weapons, seemingly having no intention to fight.
With one hand behind his back, he smiled. "Hello. A pleasure to meet you. You can call me Amadeus Mask. Or just Mask, for short."
"Amadeus... Mask..." It was a name Midoriya had never heard before. There were no Pro Heroes with that name in his notebook.
"You came straight here without any delay. Excellent," Mask said, nodding in satisfaction. "If you had been a step later, your friend might not have been salvageable."
As he spoke, a locker creaked open. Midoriya instinctively turned his head and saw Denki Kaminari inside.
Kaminari was seated in a chair, a seatbelt strapped across him. His wrists and ankles were bound by steel cuffs that extended from the chair itself. Seeing Midoriya, he struggled, trying to speak, but the tape plastered over his mouth only allowed muffled sounds to escape. He shook his head frantically, a pleading look in his eyes, as if begging Midoriya to leave.
"Kaminari-kun!" Midoriya had been relieved to see that Kaminari was safe, but seeing him bound and unable to move, he turned to glare at Amadeus Mask. "Why is he tied up like this!? I'm here! Let him go!"
"Why the rush?" the man said with a smile. "He isn't harmed right now."
He isn't harmed... Midoriya had just begun to feel a sense of relief when the man's next words made his heart leap into his throat.
"However, I can't say the same for what's about to happen..." The man turned to face the screen, his back now displayed in the monitor. He took out a remote and pressed a button. The image instantly switched to the crater in the middle of the earthquake zone.
"Now that all the actors are assembled, let our performance begin."
One thing is for sure, Midoriya thought, this enemy can't be with the League of Villains. If he had been there during the first attack, he never would have stood by and done nothing.
On the screen, Bakugo held his hands behind him, constantly setting off explosions to accelerate, and instantly closed the distance to the enemy.
"DIE!"
Bakugo kicked off the ground and leaped into the air, clasping his hands together in a striking motion as he brought them down toward the enemy's face.
The enemy reacted quickly, taking a step back and meeting Bakugo's strike with a knee kick.
Seeing the enemy change his move, Bakugo didn't panic. A savage grin spread across his face. "You fell for it, you bastard! I knew you'd do that!"
Flames erupted from Bakugo's palms. As his clasped hands collided with the enemy's knee, a massive explosion occurred, instantly enveloping them both in smoke.
"Did Bakugo get him!?" Kirishima grinned. "That guy really is strong! I bet he could go toe-to-toe with some Pro Heroes!"
A moment ago, they had wanted to help, but Bakugo had insisted on fighting the enemy alone and had charged in without coordinating with anyone.
They had thought Bakugo was being reckless, but now it seemed he had a plan after all.
"Ugh—!" Through the smoke, they could vaguely see the two figures locked in combat. Although Bakugo was much shorter than his opponent, he was incredibly agile and possessed a prodigious talent for fighting.
They didn't clash for long. A figure was sent flying out of the smoke. With a spiky, blond explosion of hair, it was—Bakugo!
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