(My grammarly expired, damn.)
Three teenagers...
The realization just struck me today. We're all teenagers, supposed to be in school right now, yet for some reason, we're fighting for our lives. I am sure All Might will understand when I start thinking that I am not cut out for this.
It was around my vigilante phase when I started to think from a bigger picture. All I wanted was to be a hero who saves people and be like All Might.
Lately, it feels like everything is out to destroy the world. I know being a hero has its hardships and challenges, but I miss the before times when my biggest problems were impressing my teachers, completing my homework, developing one for all, and thinking of cool hero names.
Now, it feels like after extinguishing a fire, another one appears.
The biggest fire right now, an inferno, is being started in this damned prison. Sometimes, I feel like this is limbo. Maybe I am already dead?
Kakeru Ryuen stood up and washed his face in the pool. Then he turned towards us. "Why are we fighting this thing again? It nearly killed all of us." He was worried. I could tell from the look in his eyes that it was one of despair and uncertainty.
"Mahoraga can adapt to anything and everything. Theoretically, it should be able to adapt to this place and, if given enough exposure, likely lead us to an exit." Megumi Fushiguro replied, though I can sense some sort of hesitation.
I wouldn't say he's lying, but it's maybe close. He's hiding something.
"You know, I saw that thing. I thought I was going to die, and then I saw its form. It was a giant, straight out of a comic or manga." Kakeru muttered, clutching his head and then his growling stomach. "Say, about your rabbit shikigami. Can they be eaten?"
Kakeru asked, although I am quite sure he already knows the answer.
Megumi closed his eyes and shook his head. "They're made out of tangible shadows; there's no meat nor anything inside them."
"Now, back to problem number one," Kakeru added. "We can't just go ahead and charge. We need a proper plan." He said, his eyes finally meeting ours for once.
"I have one," Megumi said.
"As always." Kakeru sighed.
"Once a shikigami dies, they can't be released anymore. Instead, it will be merged with another." Megumi said, looking at the ceiling.
I got the gist of what he's suggesting. An all-in-one shikigami. This ten shadows technique, if it were a quirk, then it was a powerful and versatile one.
However, that versatility goes away when all of the shikigamis are merged. All of its abilities amalgamated into one creature. I see the positives, but a creature of that caliber must require a lot of cursed energy, concentration, focus, and control to be actually useful.
"You intend to mix them all, correct?" Kakeru said he caught on.
"Not all of them, but most. We'll start when I can walk properly." Megumi said, then glanced at the creature who was healing him. I can see the creature now, too. A massive, nearly black elephant featuring horns and tusks, with striking pink eyes as its unique color.
Does this mean that I have cursed energy or the 'near-death' condition was still in effect? This power system. It's all very interesting, worthy of study, and an examination.
Megumi rose slowly, body still injured. "First of all, we'll base it on my Merged Beast: Chimera."
...
...
...
"This is the best that you can find?" Kakeru said while holding on a pillar, cautiously glancing down at a huge drop. The bottom couldn't even be viewed; it really was a huge drop.
There were other huge drops, but this is by far the biggest and the most ominous, I have to say. You can't help but wonder what's beneath.
"This should work," Megumi added, then ate the last snack bar.
We needed him to be strong and healthy since he's our only hope of escaping from this place. Now, as for this location.
It was dimmer than the rest of the rooms. I accidentally tripped into the pool when I first discovered this place. I turned a corner and didn't realize the floor had transformed into water.
At the center of the wide pool gaped a massive circular hole. It felt like standing inside a kitchen sink, we watched as the water endlessly spiraled downward, swallowed whole, yet never filling it.
My black whip was coiled around a pillar, securing me from being sucked into the watery vortex.
Megumi then raised both his hands and clapped them together, gesturing some sort of creature with his hands and fingers. He was held back by his shikigami.
"Are you sure we can't sacrifice that rabbit of yours? They can multiply endlessly. Your new shikigami, if it can multiply endlessly, should be powerful enough to overwhelm Mahoraga."
Kakeru added, his hesitance showed his desperation. He wanted to escape from this awful place as soon as possible.
"My rabbits are too useful to merge, same as Nue. These two shikigamis are useful for escape, positioning, travel, and surveillance. I can't recklessly merge them away."
"Great Serpent!" A huge white snake appeared from the wall's shadows and then fell straight into the wide, deep hole. It fell for maybe ten seconds until Megumi shivered. A sign that it died.
"Tiger Funeral!" A tiger appeared with fangs bigger than my whole hand. What a terrifying monster, but it died easily due to the fall. This one was apparently untamed. Megumi summoned it again and this time, sent it straight into the void.
"Divine Dog: Totality." Megumi summoned a strange canine, but it didn't look like a dog. It looked like a giant wolf with humanoid-like hands. It looked like a person who had a wolf quirk transformation.
The whole ordeal took almost two hours. Megumi frequently took breaks in between to gather his bearings, letting his cursed energy recuperate. Megumi then grinned, cackling like a madman as he collapsed straight into the pool.
Is he losing it? That's not good!
I thought there was something wrong with him, but he was just ecstatic in some way. "I hate this, I absolutely abhor this. Now I understand why Nanami hated this. You're always on edge, and the only way for you to improve is to always put yourself in a battle."
A defeated sigh came out of me. I understood his sentiment. It's the same thing for me. I hated combat, but it felt like I had no choice but to fight.