Overhaul sat in his dimly lit office, the quiet ticking of a clock the only sound besides the soft scratching of his pen against paper. His fingers tapped idly against the wooden desk as he reviewed the latest shipments—stockpiles of quirk-erasing bullets, the lifeblood of his grand design. The air was thick with tension, his subordinates standing in rigid silence, knowing better than to disturb him when he was working.
Then, without warning, the heavy steel door slammed open.
A panicked subordinate stumbled in, gasping for breath as if he had just sprinted the entire length of the compound. His eyes were wide with barely contained terror, sweat dripping down his pale face.
"Boss! You—You need to see this!" His voice cracked, frantic and desperate.
Overhaul's golden eyes flicked up from his papers, his fingers momentarily freezing against the desk. His gaze, sharp as a blade, locked onto the trembling man.
"You're interrupting me," he said, voice dangerously calm.
The man swallowed hard but pressed on. "Boss, there's a—there's a massive dragon flying straight toward us!"
Silence.
The other subordinates shifted uneasily, glancing at each other, unsure whether to be confused or concerned. Overhaul merely tilted his head slightly, his expression unreadable beneath his plague mask.
"A dragon?" His tone was flat, unimpressed. "Do I look like I have time for fairy tales?"
The subordinate shook his head so violently it was a wonder his neck didn't snap. "Sir, it's real! It appeared above Musutafu first, and now it's coming straight for us! It's enormous—bigger than anything we've ever seen! And… and people are riding it!"
Overhaul's fingers twitched. That, at least, caught his interest. He leaned forward slightly, his piercing gaze locking onto the terrified man.
"Who?" he asked, his voice quiet but heavy with expectation. "Who is riding it?"
The subordinate hesitated. His lips parted, but no words came out immediately, as if struggling to articulate something that made no sense.
"We… we don't know, sir," he admitted shakily. "We tried everything—our quirks, surveillance tech, heat signatures—nothing works. We can't get a clear look at them. It's like…" His voice dropped to a whisper. "Like they're hidden by something beyond quirks or science."
Overhaul didn't respond immediately. He sat there, fingers still against the desk, his golden eyes narrowing in contemplation.
Beyond quirks? Beyond science?
Everything in this world had a structure, a system, a set of rules. Quirks could be understood, broken down, dissected. The human body, no matter how strong, could be deconstructed and rebuilt into something greater—or erased altogether. That was the foundation of his belief, his doctrine.
But this—this was something different.
A deep, guttural boom suddenly split the air.
The entire compound shook violently, as if an earthquake had just torn through the foundation. The walls rattled, light fixtures swayed dangerously, and the overhead lamps flickered, casting erratic shadows across the room.
Then, the sky outside darkened unnaturally.
Not like a storm, not like an eclipse—something else.
The light seemed to vanish, swallowed whole by an unseen force, leaving only an eerie gloom that pressed down on the base like an overwhelming weight. The air grew thick, charged with something unrecognizable, something alien to this world.
The subordinates tensed, their breaths quickening as a primal fear settled in their bones.
And then—it vanished.
The oppressive atmosphere disappeared as suddenly as it had arrived.
But the uneasy relief lasted only a second.
Because above them, an overwhelming presence surged.
A monstrous shadow fell over the compound.
And when they looked up—
The dragon reappeared.
It loomed directly above the base, its titanic form blotting out the already darkened sky. Its wings stretched out, spanning an impossible distance, casting a suffocating shadow over everything below. The air crackled with power, reality itself seeming to distort around its presence. The sheer magnitude of its being sent a bone-deep shudder through the onlookers.
Overhaul's hands curled into fists. His breath slowed, controlled—but his muscles coiled with tension.
His subordinates, however, weren't nearly as composed.
"What the hell is that thing?!" one of them cried, stumbling backward.
"That's a damn monster! How the hell do you even fight something like that?!"
"Th—That's not a quirk! It can't be! It shouldn't exist!"
Panic spread like wildfire.
Overhaul remained silent. His mind raced, dissecting the situation, trying to force logic into something that felt beyond it.
For the first time in a long, long time—
He felt something foreign creep into his chest. Something he hadn't felt in years. Something he had never wanted to feel again.
A deep, unsettling sense of dread.
----
High above, Ditian hovered, his golden eyes gleaming like twin suns. Xuanyu stood on his back, arms still folded, observing the chaos below with an amused smirk. Bibi Dong, Irene, Albedo, and All Might stood alongside him, their presence exuding an undeniable sense of supremacy.
Xuanyu stretched slightly, glancing at Bibi Dong. "Well, since Ditian and I aren't quest participants, this is as far as we go."
Bibi Dong nodded as her eyes scanedthe surroundings. After a moment, her expression darkened. "I can sense the presence of a small child... she's being taken through the underground tunnels."
Irene exhaled, lifting a hand as glowing crimson symbols formed around her fingertips. With a flick of her wrist, a massive magic barrier materialized around the entire stronghold, trapping everyone inside. "No one's leaving now."
Bibi Dong turned to All Might, her gaze sharp and commanding. "Go. Rescue the child."
All Might hesitated only for a second before nodding. Without another word, he leaped off Ditian's back, disappearing into the tunnels below.
Then Bibi Dong looked at Irene. "Create a playing field for us."
With a grin, Irene descended gracefully onto the ground. She raised her hands, channeling her magic, and in an instant, the entire stronghold twisted and shifted. The ground trembled violently as crimson magical energy surged from her fingertips, illuminating the area with an ominous glow.
"World Reconstruction Magic: Deus Sema!"
A brilliant vortex of energy erupted around her, the sheer force of her magic distorting the very fabric of space. The once-cluttered stronghold buckled and reshaped itself as if molded by an unseen hand. Stone and steel groaned, walls collapsed and rebuilt themselves into towering structures, forming a massive arena unlike anything seen before. Jagged spires of enchanted metal and reinforced stone emerged from the ground, sealing off any potential escape routes. The air crackled with arcane energy, making it impossible to teleport or flee.
Overhaul's subordinates barely had time to react before they were forcefully pulled from their hiding spots and scattered across the battlefield. Waves of Irene's magic dragged them from tunnels, vaults, and hidden corners, depositing them roughly into the newly formed arena. Some screamed in shock, others staggered as the ground beneath them shifted unpredictably. The air was filled with chaos and panic.
"W-what the hell just happened?!"
"I was in the tunnels a second ago! How did I get here?!"
"The whole damn building—it just changed!"
A bruised and disoriented henchman stumbled to his feet, looking around wildly. "This... this isn't possible! Who are these people?!"
Overhaul stood frozen at the edge of the arena, his breath shallow as his mind struggled to process what had just happened. One moment, his stronghold had been secure—hidden tunnels, reinforced walls, layers of defenses—and now… it was gone. No, not gone. Changed.
The entire structure had twisted, reshaped itself into something unrecognizable. His subordinates were scattered across the battlefield, some still stumbling as they tried to regain their footing, others looking around in open confusion and fear. The sheer impossibility of it made his skin crawl.
His fingers twitched. This wasn't a quirk. No quirk did this.
For the first time in a long while, a sinking feeling settled in his chest.
What the hell were they dealing with?
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