"Mhm."
Hearing Shigaraki's words, Muscular responded casually before glancing toward the screen.
He wanted to observe what Best Jeanist was doing and decide the best timing to launch his attack.
But then—
he suddenly noticed that Best Jeanist's figure had completely disappeared from the screen.
Seeing this, Muscular gave Shigaraki a strange look.
"Uh… isn't it a little late to open the gate now?"
"Looks like he already escaped."
As he spoke, he pointed toward the now-empty alternate dimension displayed on the monitor.
However, to his surprise, Shigaraki remained perfectly calm after hearing that.
There was not even the slightest trace of panic on his face.
And in truth—
he genuinely was not worried.
Because he had already prepared a backup plan for this exact possibility.
"Escaped? Impossible."
Shigaraki curled his lips confidently.
"You think I'd just let him escape?"
"Relax."
"He's not getting out."
Shigaraki knew very well how troublesome things would become if Best Jeanist managed to reunite with All Might.
One specialized in overwhelming offense.
The other excelled at support and precision control.
If those two worked together, they would become extremely difficult to deal with.
That was precisely why Shigaraki had deliberately separated them with the explosion before the operation even began.
Besides, when it came purely to rescuing hostages, Best Jeanist's Quirk was actually more convenient than All Might's.
For that reason alone, Shigaraki absolutely could not allow him to reunite with All Might and interfere with Kūgai's strategy of exhausting the Symbol of Peace with an endless stream of civilians.
Thinking this, Shigaraki casually tapped the screen.
The next moment, a new image appeared.
An unfamiliar scene.
Pointing toward the monitor, Shigaraki smiled confidently.
"See?"
"He can't escape."
"Everything is under my control."
Muscular instinctively looked toward the image.
Then he saw it.
Best Jeanist had indeed escaped from the previous dimension.
But what appeared before him was not the real world.
Instead—
it was another deserted alternate dimension almost identical to the last one.
Clearly, even after exhausting tremendous effort to break through the spatial wall and escape the first prison, everything had been meaningless.
Because ahead of him still lay countless more alternate dimensions.
He still could not return to reality.
Unless he found Kūgai—the owner of the dimensions—and defeated him, he would remain trapped inside this endless maze forever.
Best Jeanist had obviously realized this as well.
But instead of becoming discouraged, he immediately resumed his previous actions.
Mechanically.
Relentlessly.
As though he did not understand exhaustion.
Once again, fibers spread from his clothing and extended outward in every direction, searching for weak points in the new dimension.
Seeing this, both Shigaraki and Muscular instantly understood his intentions.
Best Jeanist intended to use this crude method to forcibly break through every single alternate dimension one after another.
Thinking of this, the two of them could not help admiring his perseverance.
If they were in his position, they probably would have given up already.
Of course—
admiration was admiration.
But they still had to eliminate him.
After all, they were villains.
With that thought, Shigaraki turned toward Muscular.
"Go, Muscular."
"Take care of him."
"If he keeps this up, he might actually succeed."
"I'll contact Kūgai now and have him open a gate for you."
As he spoke, Shigaraki took out his phone and contacted Kūgai, who was currently inside another dimension with his subordinates, busy delivering "gifts" to All Might.
He ordered Kūgai to open a passage leading to the alternate dimension where Best Jeanist was currently trapped.
Soon, a semicircular opening appeared in the air.
On the other side was an area close to Best Jeanist's current location.
Seeing the portal, Muscular nodded silently.
"Got it."
As he spoke, he stepped toward the gate.
But just as one foot crossed through the opening, he suddenly seemed to remember something.
Turning around, he looked toward Shigaraki.
"Oh right, Shigaraki…"
"When you came up with this plan, you already prepared an escape route too, right?"
"Hm?"
Shigaraki blinked slightly in surprise.
He genuinely had not expected Muscular to ask something like that.
More importantly—
he had not expected someone who looked like all his muscles had grown directly into his brain to actually think about retreat plans.
"I mean our escape route."
Muscular frowned.
"We've already trapped All Might and the others for this long."
"There's no way the people outside haven't reacted by now."
"The police surrounding the area must've already realized everyone inside the mall disappeared."
"They've probably started rescue operations already. They just haven't found us yet."
"But Quirks consume stamina."
"They can't stay active forever."
"And once the Quirks deactivate, we're definitely going to be surrounded by heroes and police."
"Plus, once the dimensions disappear, the Symbol of Peace and the other top heroes will come out too."
"At that point, we won't just be facing rescue teams anymore."
"We'll also have enraged top heroes led by All Might."
"So when that happens…"
"How exactly are we supposed to escape?"
Hearing this, Shigaraki looked at Muscular with genuine surprise.
He truly had not expected this seemingly brainless brute to think this far ahead.
But honestly—
he was pleased.
Because what Shigaraki wanted was not a mindless meat shield.
Someone like Muscular—
a subordinate with both overwhelming combat power and enough brains to think ahead—
fit his tastes much better.
And more importantly…
Muscular kept saying "we."
That clearly meant he had already begun viewing himself as one of Shigaraki's people.
He had accepted their side as his own.
And that was unquestionably a good thing.
Thinking this, Shigaraki suddenly felt that rescuing Muscular from prison had been one of the smartest decisions he had made since arriving in the world of My Hero Academia.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 60 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/StrawHatStudios