Author's Note: If we hit 100k views, I'm dropping a 3-chapter mass release! It might absolutely fry my brain, but the support for this story has been insane. We're already at 600 collections, an incredible 80k views, and 300 power stones accumulated. Absolutely wild, guys! Keep that same energy and keep supporting! Without further ado... Let's get back into it.
I was sitting in the stands of the UA sports stadium, blending into the crowd. The atmosphere felt off. Even though they were technically at the climax of the event, you could tell the energy just wasn't the same. After what went down in Deika, fear was heavy in the air. The crowd was noticeably thinner than in previous years; people weren't as eager to watch a bunch of teenagers fight for attention. The shadow of the nuclear bomb was simply too massive to ignore.
As for me, I just sat there, perfectly camouflaged. I had slipped past UA's security systems without tripping a single alarm. I kept my guard up, keeping a close eye on my surroundings, but thanks to Eri's face, I passed as just another kid in the crowd. Now, you might be wondering: Why did you wait weeks just to be here? Simple.
I need Momo Yaoyorozu's quirk.
Honestly, I don't know what I was thinking when I let her go before. Maybe I wanted her to be less traumatized? A brief moment of weakness? Whatever. It doesn't matter now. I need her Creation, which means I need her body too. I have a plan in mind to get what I want. If it doesn't work, oh well—I'll just have to live with the regret... or simply kill her and move on.
I watched the obstacle course with near-total apathy. I noticed Midoriya was still in first place, but something about him had changed: he was using One For All with a lot more fluidity—and a lot more desperation. I guess the world spiraling into chaos because of me (or because of that damn nuke, haha) forced him to grow up fast. Fear is a great teacher, after all.
I shook my head, keeping my eyes on the games. Everything was playing out pretty close to canon without any major surprises, right up until the 1v1 battles started. If there was one thing I remembered perfectly, it was how pathetically Momo wasted her quirk by losing to Dark Shadow. A brilliant mind, completely squandered in a body riddled with self-doubt.
I shifted my focus to the first match: Izuku against the brainwashing kid, Shinso. That mind-control quirk heavily interests me. Combined with my magic and my current voice, I could cause mass destruction on a global scale.
"...Damn it," I whispered, as even more thoughts of scaling my power flooded my mind.
Suddenly, I noticed some people in the stands starting to boo the General Studies student. I looked around, my face contorting in disgust. What the hell is wrong with them? These are grown adults heckling a kid who's just trying to prove his worth. I shook my head again, realizing humanity really goes out of its way to give me reasons to wipe them out.
"Pathetic..." I muttered in Eri's voice, my eyes flashing with an almost imperceptible green glint.
"They don't even realize they're watching their final show."
I looked back down at the arena as my mind processed everything that had happened since I arrived in this world. It had easily been about five years now; I barely keep track of time anymore. From possessing that hero, burning down the house, and gathering evidence against the Hero Public Safety Commission to completely stripping them of their prestige... it's been grueling work. If I weren't a primordial monster, I'd be completely drained, consumed by the sheer effort. I sighed, staring up at the sky, lost in my own head.
I'm sticking to my routine, but even now, instead of introducing myself as the Lich, I'm using Eri's name. Why? Well, remember America's Number One Hero? I want her quirk: New Order. The problem is, that ability is a massive headache. She needs to touch me, and more importantly, she needs to know my name to impose a rule on me.
After spending weeks analyzing my power, I realized that running around shouting that I'm the Lich wasn't exactly a galaxy-brain move. I don't know if that name counts for her quirk to trigger, so I have to play it safe. If I want New Order, I'll have to face her in an all-out battle. While I doubt that'll happen anytime soon, it's better to be safe than sorry. I'm not letting some stupid rule erase my existence because of a slip-up with my name.
My train of thought snapped when I looked back at the ring. Momo's match was over in the blink of an eye; she was knocked clean out of bounds by a single punch from Dark Shadow. Pathetic.
That was my cue. I stood up with the quiet composure of a predator. As I walked, I cast a subtle locating spell to track Momo's energy signature. I pretended I was heading to the restroom, but once I was safely out of the public's sight, I checked my surroundings to make sure I was completely alone. In a split second, my body dissolved into a dark mist.
I slipped into the air ducts with astonishing ease. To think the Lich had such a broken ability ever since his debut in Adventure Time and barely used it... it's incredibly efficient for moving around undetected. As I navigated the cold metal of the vents, I felt Momo Yaoyorozu's presence nearby.
If my calculations were right, she was currently locked away in a locker room or a bathroom, crying her eyes out because she felt useless. Perfect. Emotional vulnerability is the exact open door I need to slip into her mind without any resistance.
"Poor little rich girl..." I murmured, my voice echoing like a metallic hiss inside the duct. "Your power of creation is far too beautiful to be wasted on tears. Let me put it to better use."
I stopped right above a bathroom vent. Peering through the slats, I saw her. She was down there, completely broken. She had no idea that the end of her life as a hero—and the beginning of her eternal servitude—was only inches above her head.
I glanced toward the door to prevent any unwanted interruptions. Using the quirk of that guy who could move through walls, I manipulated the structure to seal the entrance entirely. Then, I locked my eyes onto the girl in front of me. She seemed to be crying excessively, so I decided to wrap this up quickly.
"Sleep," I whispered.
Momo's eyes went dark, and her body collapsed onto the dirty bathroom floor.
I dropped down from the vent as my true form manifested, my bones popping with a dry, hollow crunch. Time to see if my theory holds up. You might be asking: What the hell are you planning to do? Well, in theory, I'm going to fuse with Momo, separate afterward, and use Rewind to see if I can revert to my previous state while retaining a trace of her quirk. It sounds possible in theory; in practice, I have absolutely no idea.
I proceeded without hesitation. I grabbed Momo and felt her body melt into mine. It was a viscous, overwhelming sensation. My bones absorbed the essence of her matter, growing stronger—something I always welcome, since my skeleton is my true self. Once the fusion was complete and I could feel her presence within my core, I separated myself to test my hypothesis. Right after, I used Rewind on myself. I waited a few seconds, feeling the flow of time ripple through my vertebrae, but when I saw that nothing substantial changed, I sighed.
I shook my head, looking down at the girl. I offered her a silent apology; maybe later I'd find a way to undo the process while keeping her power. I absorbed her again, but this time I kept her "alive" in my subconscious just in case, forcing her into a deep sleep while I savored my new access to Creation. Using Overhaul's quirk, I reshaped my face until it was identical to hers.
I walked out of the restroom with a brand-new identity. Though, if anyone looked closely, they'd notice this Momo was suddenly way more jacked. I guess putting the power of a primordial monster into a human container tends to buff the muscles a bit.
I walked through the hallways of Section B until I spotted my next target: Neito Monoma. His Copy quirk was a piece of the puzzle I couldn't pass up. Luckily for me, he was unconscious for some reason—a stroke of good luck I wasn't about to waste. Exploiting the moment, I manipulated the ground to quietly swallow him up. I headed into a nearby janitor's closet, and Monoma's body emerged from the floor in front of me.
Knowing someone could show up at any second, I didn't waste time and fused with him. I felt my body tense violently; my human flesh was reaching its biological limit. If I were a mere mortal, the systemic shock would have killed me already, but since I'm the Lich, my only real concern was tissue strain.
"Hold on just a little longer..." I muttered, feeling the dual capacities of creation and copying vibrating beneath my skin. "This world still has plenty of use left in it."
Out of nowhere, the deafening blare of alarms pierced the air. Out of pure reflex, I reverted my appearance back to Eri.
"Level 5 Alarm. Intruder detected."
"Shit..." I cursed, taking off down the hallway. I could feel a new surge of speed rushing through my legs; the fusion was already paying off. You might ask: Why didn't you just fly in your ghost form? Well, now that they're on high alert, I highly doubt they don't have countermeasures ready for that—like massive vacuums or ectoplasm sensors. Besides, in this physical vessel, I'm much faster on foot.
After weaving through several hallways for a few minutes, I saw the exit in the distance. I was just about to cross the threshold when a sudden blast of red flames erupted in front of me, cutting off my path.
"Damn it!" I barked, skidding to a halt.
The Number 2 Hero, Endeavor, stood before me, his face twisted in pure rage.
"You have five seconds to surrender," he commanded, pointing his hand at me. I felt the heat radiating from his palm skyrocket, but I wasn't about to back down.
"Open..." I whispered.
Green fire began to dance across my hands as I dropped into an archery stance. It was an idea I stole from Sukuna: compressing the fire into a singular point to maximize its piercing power. If this hero was as arrogant as I thought, he'd underestimate me because of my current appearance. I was eager to see how this played out.
We both stood frozen in a deadlock, the tension so thick you could practically cut it. Endeavor started the countdown in a chilling voice.
"5... 4... 3... 2... 1."
"Too bad for you," the hero said, unleashing a concentrated torrent of fire.
I did the same, releasing the emerald arrow.
The two fires collided in the center of the hallway, triggering a brutal implosion. The flames canceled each other out, but the physical aftermath didn't. The resulting shockwave filled the entire corridor with fire and debris. I was sent flying back by the impact; I have power, sure, but my direct combat experience in this world was still limited. Up until now, I had only won using spells. I could tell that simple mind control wouldn't work on Endeavor—at least not right now, thanks to his iron will.
"Stop!" I commanded with magical authority, watching the hero advance through the flames.
He froze for a fraction of a second, as if an invisible force had slammed on the brakes, but his own flames immediately surged violently, burning right through the suggestion and snapping him back to his senses.
"Two quirks?" Endeavor noted, his guard instantly going up. His eyes burned with sharp, analytical focus. "Flames and mind control... a total villain, just like that student from earlier."
Without giving me a moment to breathe, he unleashed a relentless barrage of fire blasts. I began to dodge with erratic movements, feeling the intense heat singe Eri's clothes. I couldn't live hiding in the shadows forever, so I might as well use this as a training session. Endeavor wasn't just a hero; he was the perfect punching bag to test my new capabilities.
Bring everything you've got, Number Two... I thought with an internal smirk as my horn began to glow. Let's see how fast you burn out.
End of Chapter 10