"Oh, my feathery ass!" Nyx cursed. "You are growing penises!"
Luke couldn't even gasp at the profanity.
He lay there on the roof in the darkness, clutching his throat.
Fleshly protrusions were sprouting on him everywhere; a sight he was just too much familiar with, while causing mutations in the lifeforms.
It was a lifeform's direct rejection, while simultaneously adapting, to the newly introduced Quirk Factors of different Quirks.
That's why mutations were so dangerous, as they weren't a single Quirk, but many, tiny Quirks stuffed inside a Quirkless lifeform.
The source of Luke's mutations, though, remained unknown.
…
[
You are losing control!
Use Cogitation! Hurry!!
]
…
Luke could barely register Miss Justice's pleadings.
His mind was buzzing as if needles were pricking his skull from the insides. He felt like someone had filled his lungs with mercury, his blood becoming a gelatinous substance.
The very idea of taking a breath filled him with dread, as if he would inhale filth itself.
Somehow, just somehow, Luke realized he was dying, so… he wanted to remember the people he loved.
The image of him and Momo, with Nyx on his shoulder, during their wedding, propped up in his mind.
Incredibly, and coincidentally, that was also the image of his Cogitation.
The more he focused on that image, the calmer he became, the fleshly protrusions on his body retreating at a visible pace.
After a few moments, Luke lay there gasping, his eyes opened wide.
…
[That's it! No more dream-related anything!!]
…
Luke brushed away Nyx's feathers stuck to his face and sat up, the memory of those red eyes bombarding his mind.
There was a horror on his face, but one emotion was even clearer — confusion.
It wasn't the first time he had seen those eyes.
That redness wasn't just a glow. It wasn't just pupils gaining a new color. It was an experience — a constant pull, stemming from the depth of those eyes…
It was like gravity itself had changed directions, the red glow becoming down for Luke.
The confusing thing was that he had seen the exact redness in Bakugo's eyes as well, before the Pro Hero had murdered his family.
"What … was that?" Luke asked, holding his throat. He shared his experience with the System and Nyx.
…
[
I don't know… It was unlike the blue supermassive black hole from your father's dream.
I couldn't even see it coming. Otherwise, I would have warned you. It means, your spirituality didn't pick even a trace of the coming danger.
]
…
"Didn't you dangle your thing before doing Dream Divination?" Nyx asked, a bit angrily.
That's the thing… Luke remembered. He could still see the topaz pendulum rotating clockwise, telling him that everything would be fine.
Despite everything, he did confirm one thing — Divination, though a powerful tool, wasn't all powerful.
But this wasn't the time to think more.
"Let's go…" Luke said, standing up. "I know where the spy is. We can't let him change location without knowing about it."
"Are you serious?!" Nyx asked. "You can't even stand properly!"
Luke grinned. "Don't worry. I have a plan."
…
Luke entered the bar alone, with the black robe's hood hiding most of his face.
He was tall enough to pass as an adult. Combined with the serious, exhausted expression on his face, no one dared to question him as he crawled his way through the crowd.
Luke spied the Brain Thief seated in the far corner, quivering.
The best thing to do was to wait for Sand, as he had already left a note for him on the roof of the building they had been standing on.
However, there was no telling the powers of the Villains assisting the spy. There was also no way to tell when Sand would return.
Also, Sand would have never brought Luke to this mission if he didn't mean to end the spy's life, meaning if they didn't take care of this man today, then something bad would happen.
Even though he had almost died, Luke had gained some concrete info as well. So, the least he could do was to keep the man occupied until Sand returned.
"You are hiding yourself well," Luke said, grinning.
Opposite him, the spy's eyes widened instantly. But, in the very next moment, his shoulders relaxed. "Twice? You ditched them?"
Twice? Luke noted the name. Is that the Villain behind him?
He already knew that the Villain could make clones of anyone. So, he took advantage of the info, duping the spy.
"Don't worry about them," Luke said, playing along. "Let's go."
"No!" Brain Thief hissed under his breath. "I paid the League to extract me out of Japan. I can't keep hiding with the info I have…"
League? Luke noted again and sneered. "You also can't keep sitting here. Pro Heroes can arrive at any moment. Do whatever you want…"
Luke turned around and began walking out of the bar.
The spy stared hard at Luke's back, gritting his teeth. Then, taking a large gulp of whiskey, he rushed to catch up with him.
Luke took the spy to a secluded alley, keeping quiet.
Suddenly, from the sky, a black silhouette fell upon them.
"Found you!" the bird-like monstrosity cried. "You thought you could outrun the Mother of Darkness?!"
Nyx! Luke cursed in his mind. You idiot!
Luke had told her to shout out Raven only. Still, he needed to play the part.
Luke and the spy both stepped back as they saw the giant black-feathered bird with red pupils, its wings spanning the entire alley.
"Oh, shit!" Luke cursed under his breath, letting the spy hear him. "It's… Mother of Darkness… Hawks' Sidekick!"
"What?!" Brain Thief gasped. "He employed a new Sidekick in one day?!"
Luke's lips twitched under the hood. Of course, being a spy, the guy must have kept a close watch on the famous Pro Heroes.
Still, getting new Sidekicks wasn't a big deal.
Also, the sudden turn of events didn't let the spy reason more rationally.
"Hurry!" Luke urged. "Use your Quirk on her. I will guard your body. We can't let her hold us here!"
"Haha!" Nyx laughed bombastically. "Give up, you mongrels!!"
Using her monstrous feet, she pushed the ground, her claws scrapping like steel striking concrete.
The spy looked at the bird, becoming bigger in his eyes as it came nearer, then he looked at Luke, and his eyes hardened.
"Don't leave me behind! Or…" Brain Thief warned Luke and then stared into Nyx's eyes.
Luke waited for three seconds.
Suddenly, the spy's body jerked and fell.
Simultaneously, Nyx's head jerked as well. "Haha!" Brain Thief laughed, stretching the wings. "I feel so… eh?"
The spy's body fell with a thud.
Under the stunned eyes of Brain Thief from Nyx's mind, he saw Luke taking off his hood with a smile on his face.
Then, the blond-haired and blue-eyed boy snapped his fingers.
Within a moment, Nyx lost her humongous size, gaining a new Quirk.
…
[
Quirk Bestowal Successful…
…
Quirk:Black Vision
Complexity: D
Consumption:
— Spirit 8
— Stamina 5
Contact Time: 1 second
Activation Time: 60 minutes
]
…
It was a Very Simple Quirk… blindness.
"What's happening?!" the spy cried from Nyx's mouth. "I can't see…"
He fluttered here and there, falling on the ground, panicking. He couldn't even fly properly.
Meanwhile, now knowing that Brain Thief had not only a Villain but an entire League behind him, he couldn't wait anymore.
Any moment, either Sand or this League could come, the chances of the former event happening higher than the latter, as already predicted by him using Chain Pendulum.
Luke stared at the spy's body.
Kill… The word rumbled in his mind. This man… hadn't done anything to him.
But… his wife and unborn daughter hadn't done anything to anyone, either. Then why they were dead… Why…
"Master…" a squeak entered Luke's ears.
He looked at the head-sized rat staring up at him and sighed.
With a snap of his fingers, Luke granted another Quirk to the rat, who already possessed an Intelligence Quirk.
The rat's eyes glowed blue.
In the next moment, it erased all memories from the spy's head. Everything.
Then, as the rat crawled away from them, it exploded with a bloody squelch.
After a while, Luke saw Sand approaching him from the side and looked up at the sky, his Seer Potion digesting further.
Am I weak, Miss Justice? He asked.
…
[
… Mercy isn't a sign of weakness, Blessed.
But, remember, only those who are strong can afford it.
]
…
Only the strong can afford it… Luke repeated the words, closing his eyes. Then I will afford it… until I can't.
Next to him, Sand killed the spy with one wave of his hand.
*********************
AN: Image of the Quirk-bestowed Rat removing Brain Thief's memories is available
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