….
Interesting, All For One thought.
The temperature continued rising, and All For One, for the first time in decades, felt something almost like concern.
Dabi's eyes focused again on the purple mist, cutting through the distortion to where he knew Shigaraki and All For One's connection existed.
"Are you truly seeking a fight here?" All For One's voice carried dark amusement. "As you've seen, you don't stand a chance against me."
"Yeah?" Dabi's tone was sharp, mocking. "If that's how it is, stop spouting bullshit while hiding behind a hole like a rat."
A light pause from the void.
"Can't come out?" Dabi continued relentlessly. "Still recovering from getting beaten like a ragged dog by All Might six years ago?"
The temperature around him spiked another ten degrees, flames flickering with barely-contained aggression.
"You really have a talent for provoking anger with just words." All For One said, voice still controlled but carrying an edge now. "But unfortunately, I am not in the mood to reply to childish taunts."
"Should I arrange a proper bed and breakfast next time so you can get in the mood?" Dabi's grin was vicious. "For fuck's sake, just admit you're sweating bullets, you scared dog."
Each word was like a slap across All For One's face.
In over a century of existence, across countless bloody battles and encounters with generations of heroes who had tried and failed to stop him, All For One had never been insulted so directly.
He had faced righteous fury, desperate screams, and heroic declarations, but never such contemptuous, mocking disregard for his absolute power.
Even in the back, Midoriya felt that Dabi might be taking it too far.
For a single, agonizing second, everyone in the entire commercial district; from the paralyzed Tomura Shigaraki to the civilians cowering behind the wooden barricades, felt something shift.
It was a sinister, suffocating presence that transcended physical space. It felt as though the fabric of reality itself was being violently torn open, like something ancient, bottomless, and unimaginably malevolent had suddenly focused its absolute attention on this exact coordinate.
The sensation was suffocating, oppressive, and crushing; several civilians dropped to their knees, overwhelmed by pure instinctive terror.
"Congratulations."
All For One's voice had changed completely, a cold, devoid of amusement, carrying weight that made the air itself feel heavier.
"You've managed to push me, Dabi. You're no longer just a nuisance, but a target that needs to be eliminated."
Outside the combat zone, Stain sensed it a fraction of a second faster than anyone else.
The man who had faced down dozens of pro heroes without a single ounce of hesitation, looked down at his own hand.
It was trembling.
Just what kind of being is Dabi facing there? Stain thought, his blood running cold as he stood guard over the panicking crowd.
The students who had been watching from their positions also felt the horror wash over them, and this was just mere presence, not even a direct attack.
It was just All For One's raw, unadulterated anger manifesting as a tangible, crushing pressure.
For a second, the entire Kiyashi Ward went dead silent.
However, inside the combat zone–
Damn, he is the real deal…. Dabi thought.
His [Arachnid Genome] was firing blindly, screaming at his nervous system about an existential threat that defied the physical world.
Yet, through sheer, stubborn will and his breathing technique, he forced his exterior to remain perfectly, mockingly still. He didn't give the monster in the void the satisfaction of seeing him flinch.
No wonder All Might struggled against this guy. Just how many people did he kill?
Just as suddenly as it had appeared, the presence vanished. A long sigh emanated from the purple mist, and everything returned to normal.
"To get worked up over simple provocation..." All For One's voice had returned to its usual controlled tone.
His attention shifted to Shigaraki; the pale, white-haired successor was still paralyzed on the shattered concrete, barely conscious and drenched in his own blood
Pathetic, All For One mused in disappointment. My successor allowed himself to be injured so severely by a single opponent. And I... I allowed myself to lose my composure over mere insults from a child.
The void expanded rapidly, purple mist swallowing Shigaraki's form.
"We will have to continue this conversation another time, Dabi." All For One said, his voice fading into the spatial distortion. "I look forward to our next encounter."
Dabi stared at the collapsing portal, his turquoise eyes narrowing into lethal slits. There was absolutely no way he was letting them escape cleanly.
Capturing Shigaraki was impossible, this is he was aware at least.
All For One would protect his successor at all costs, and the villain was already halfway through the portal.
But there was someone else that is far more important in the long run.
Kurogiri.
The teleportation Quirk user; a living gateway who made all of the League of Villains' teleportation tactics possible.
Kurogiri was the undisputed key to their mobility, their untraceable escape routes, and their terrifying ability to strike anywhere in the country without warning.
If he could sever that logistical lifeline, the League would be crippled.
Dabi closed his eyes for just a second, letting his spider-sense expand to maximum range.
There. He found it.
Kurogiri's actual body, the core that maintained the portal, positioned exactly where Dabi's enhanced senses told him it would be.
But getting to him before the gate snapped shut required flawless, instantaneous coordination.
"Midoriya!" Dabi said quickly, not taking his eyes off the closing portal. "When I give the signal, aim for the marked point and use Black Whip. Don't hesitate."
He didn't wait for an answer, it's not like there was enough time to explain.
Dabi drove forward immediately, committing to the attack with everything he had.
He didn't aim the punch at Shigaraki.
At the exact same moment, a tiny, needle-like arrow made of compressed blue flame shot off to the side from Dabi's left hand.
Midoriya saw it instantly.
There!
Without hesitation, [Black Whip] erupted from his arms, tendrils shooting toward the marked location with everything he had.
The whips hit something of resistance.
Midoriya's eyes widened in realization as he commanded the whips to wrap around the invisible target completely, anchoring tight, before yanking backward with the crushing, enhanced torque of One For All.
Meanwhile, Dabi's fist penetrated the portal.
Then something else happened.
His spider-sense pinged a warning; a pulling sensation, like fingers reaching into his quirk factor itself, trying to grasp something fundamental–
He's trying to steal my quirk!
All For One's hand had caught Dabi's wrist inside the portal, and the villain was attempting to take [Blueflame] through direct contact.
Dabi could feel an invasive, sickening pressure bypassing his skin, his muscles, and his veins, reaching directly into the fundamental architecture of his DNA.
But then... nothing happened.
The pulling sensation hit some kind of barrier, something that prevented the theft from completing.
All For One's quirk, which had stolen hundreds of abilities over a century, couldn't grasp this one.
Dabi too instantly felt the failure.
Obviously, he didn't know the reason, but he is in a situation not to press too much about it.
All he knew is that he was protected against it. Definitely good to know for future reference.
The void snapped shut violently, cutting off the connection.
Dabi drew his fist back slowly, blood smeared across his knuckles, someone else's, not his own.
"I hit him, right?" he muttered, examining the blood with satisfaction.
Behind him, Midoriya had succeeded in his task.
[Black Whip] retracted violently, and there; caught in the dark tendrils like a fish in a net…. was Kurogiri.
The misty villain struggled, trying to activate his warping quirk to escape, but Midoriya's tendrils were wrapped too tightly. The physical body at Kurogiri's core couldn't generate the concentration needed for spatial manipulation while being constricted.
"GOT HIM!"
Dabi turned, surveying the captured villain with cold satisfaction.
"Good work." He walked over to where Midoriya held Kurogiri suspended. "Now let's have a nice chat with this guy."
Flames flickered around Dabi's hands.
"You and I are going to have a very interesting conversation." Dabi said quietly. "About your employer, League's plans…."
"And about your real identity."
He leaned in closer, voice dropping to something almost gentle, which somehow made it more threatening.
Kurogiri said nothing, but the mist forming his body rippled with what might have been fear.
Around them, the mall was in chaos.
The initial terror had broken.
Civilians, guided by Kamui Woods and Stain, were now evacuating properly through the shattered east entrances.
But in this moment, in the center of what had been a battlefield, Dabi stood over his captured prize with grim satisfaction.
He looked up toward where he knew cameras were recording….
Aizawa might be watching right?
The masterpiece was complete, and it was beautiful.
.
….
[To be continued…]
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