Mirio, Tamaki and Nejire brought the man into one of the more restricted parts of the arena, where they stripped him of nearly all his clothing.
The detonator was placed at the other end of the road, along with his clothes.
"Tamaki, call one of the teachers while we figure out what is going on." Mirio instructed.
Then Nejire walked up to the man with a bucket of icy cold water.
"Wakey wakey." she said as she emptied it on his head.
The man jolted, his eyes snapping open as the cold water slid over his body.
He glanced from person to person, eyes wide in shock and a little bit of fear.
"Who the hell are you kids?! What do you think you are doing?!"
Mirio smiled. "We will be the ones asking the questions. What are you planning here? How many people are you working with?"
The man's face tightened with rage as he struggled against his bounds. "Do you really think I'm going to tell you?! Don't underestimate us villains!!!"
The man smirked.
"You think because you have me it's all over? Ha! This is just the beginning! By the time we are done, there will be no pro hero in UA!"
As the words left his mouth, Mirio's gaze darkened. 'So that is their plan? They are after the teachers, not the students…'
He stared at the man, his gaze unwavering. 'Does that mean the bombs are merely a lure? They are trying to lure out our teachers.'
He breathed out heavily.
Whoever had thought it through had taken his time to properly calculate all the caveats.
The teachers could not stay idle when a bomb was placed in the stadium. But at the same time, if they go after the bombs they would be putting their lives at risk.
They were between the devil and the deep blue sea. No option seemed right…
Mirio grabbed his shoulder, his fingers tightening around it. "I'll ask you again, how many of you are here?"
This time there was no fondness in his voice, just a cold, calculating tone.
The villain frowned. "F-u-c-k o-f-f." he said in a slow mocking tone.
Nejire glanced to the side and pointed at the man. "Tamaki, cut off his head."
"…"
"What the hell do you mean by that?!!!" the man screamed, sweat dripping down his face.
Nejire smiled, but it faintly reached her eyes, just a cold, detached, nearly inhuman smile.
Meanwhile, Tamaki's hand morphed, transforming into a large crab claw that gleamed under the lighting.
He took a step towards the man, his eyes locked on his neck.
The villain gulped.
"Y-y-you are h-heroes! You will never do—eeek!"
He screamed the moment Tamaki locked the claw around his neck.
Tears were forming in his eyes as he kicked his feet forwards in a vain attempt to flee. "I'll talk! I'll talk!!"
'My bluff worked!' Nejire mused.
"There is a villain guarding each bomb and detonator. They are powerful villains meant to take on any pro hero that will arrive, just a mere substitute."
"I swear, I don't know the true number, just that they are highly skilled."
"Are you saying there are more bombs?!" Mirio was taken aback, one bomb was already a big issue, but there were apparently more??
The villain continued to divulge all the information he had, after which Mirio knocked him out again.
"Damn it, I didn't expect there to be more than one bomb. Worse of all, he doesn't even know where they are…"
It seemed as a security measure, he was only told the location of the bomb they were guarding.
The only reason they had caught him was because he broke their rule and went out to get a drink.
"Tamaki, have you been able to reach the teachers?"
Tamaki shook his head nervously. "No one is answering…"
'Could it have already started?' Mirio wondered, anxiety already building up inside him.
"It looks like we will have to act without orders from the teachers—"
"Wait. Midnight just answered…" Nejire said, her expression blank as she listened in.
Tamaki stopped trying to call another hero and instead came closer to Nejire, who was reporting everything that had happened.
But when Midnight began talking, all of them froze.
•••
"What do you mean more than half of the teachers are unconscious?!" Mirio asked.
"All Might was the one who discovered it, most of our heroes are in no state to fight."
'Could this be the work of this group? No, they want to lure the teachers… they wouldn't have gone after them.' Mirio thought.
'And if they were the ones, then the heroes would be dead, not unconscious.'
"I know this may be asking a lot, you are students after all. But we think this is an emergency. All Might can't join the search since they are watching him; neither can we call for external help..."
"Come and find us in the conference room upstairs. We should have thought of a plan before you get here."
"Yes ma'am!"
Midnight ended the call, and Mirio frowned. "Let's go…"
Thankfully, they were already in their super suits, so they had no reason to go back to change.
But just before they stepped out of the room, Nejire's phone began to buzz.
She took it out of her pocket and checked the name of the caller.
— Kyle, cafe boss
'Did something happen?' Nejire answered the call and placed the phone on her ear.
"Hello? Nejire, I found something when you left…"
"What is it?"
"It looks like a map of the arena, but there are some areas marked on it."
Nejire blinked. "What??"
Kyle was silent at the other end.
How had they missed something so important? If they were lucky, then this could be a crucial piece of information.
'The villain said he didn't know where the other bombs were. Does that mean he was lying?'
"Where did you find it?" Nejire asked, already walking out of the room.
"I found it close to the food truck. Maybe it slipped out of his pocket during the fight." Kyle answered promptly. "Is it important?"
"It might be! Just wait where you are. We are coming to get you!"