Chapter 35

Li Chongxuan.

A transmigrator who had been an ordinary citizen of China in his previous life, he had spent his life alone as a single dog, ultimately dying in some obscure little corner unknown to anyone.

Now, he was a child who had spent eight years in this colorful world as Uraraka Shige.

Whether in his previous life in a society ruled by law or in this life in a society of "heroes," he had never killed anyone, never seen anyone brutally murdered beside him, and still less experienced what it felt like to have someone killed by another person while protecting him.

Until today... Until the policewoman fired the last three shots of her life and lost her life at the hands of the "villain," he had never experienced this feeling, whether it was shock or something else.

It was hard to describe, difficult to put into words. In any case, his mind was desolate now, completely blank.

He had almost lost his own conscious awareness, driven only by instinct and certain obsessions.

On top of that, there was the fear and inner demon brought on by the time he had lost his arm, buried deep in his memories and causing a faint phantom pain in his left arm whenever he recalled it. So when he heard Terumi Genga's suggestion, he agreed without the slightest hesitation.

When Terumi Genga saw his lord knight behave so uncharacteristically, in a way that completely contradicted the image of him in his mind, he was somewhat disappointed, but he did not dwell on it much.

After all, he could tell that something was wrong with Uraraka Shige. In fact, it was precisely because he had noticed that he had made the suggestion.

He had suggested it because he believed Uraraka Shige needed help and protection right now. He wanted to step forward and, like the image Uraraka Shige had left in his heart, be a hero who could help him. Just as Uraraka Shige had swiftly and cleanly rescued him from the molester, he wanted to be a hero who could save and protect Uraraka Shige in return.

So when Uraraka Shige accepted his suggestion, he was actually a little delighted. He felt that he was one step closer to the lord knight he admired, and one step closer to the dream in his heart.

Just like the protagonist of the knight novel his mother had left him.

"...My lord knight."

Terumi Genga murmured the title he usually used for Uraraka Shige. To him, it seemed to be a kind of faith.

He watched Uraraka Shige walk farther and farther away in a daze, seemingly unaware of what he had agreed to or what kind of suggestion Genga had just made. Genga had already made his decision, and his gaze was no longer as shy, even timid, as it had been when he first met Uraraka Shige. Instead, it was utterly resolute—or perhaps it was merely a child's stubbornness?

But there was no doubt he had made up his mind.

So he deliberately stayed where he was for two seconds, using his Quirk to disguise himself as Uraraka Shige. Only when he saw the "villain" reach the other end of the narrow passage did he suddenly run in the opposite direction from Uraraka Shige, giving the "villain" only a fleeting glimpse of his back, just enough to convince him that he was Uraraka Shige.

"Why run away? Why waste my precious time? Wouldn't it be nice for us to quietly bring things to an end together?"

The "villain" kept talking in a disgusting tone like a fucking idiot as he pursued Terumi Genga relentlessly. The pedestrians and vehicles on the street had been temporarily cleared away, while the "villain" had earlier been wounded in the left shoulder by the policewoman. As a result, the distance between him and Terumi Genga continued to close at a pace that was not slow, but could not be called fast either.

"Brat, you can't escape."

Meanwhile, Uraraka Shige, heading in the other direction, was gradually coming to his senses. Emerging from that blank state, he began to realize what had happened. Strangely, it was as though he had entered sage mode, and he was able to calmly recall and think things over.

What exactly is this "villain's" Quirk? What will he do next? And what should I do?

He needed to consider the questions one by one, but before he could work out the answers to those three, Uraraka Shige was more concerned about something else, something he remembered only vaguely but felt was very important.

What... did Genga say earlier?

Uraraka Shige ran down the empty street, then suddenly stopped. Given the "villain's" build and his own short little legs, the man should have caught up to him by now, since he had not used his Quirk during this time. Yet there was no sign of the "villain" behind him. And where had Terumi Genga gone?

He remembered that he was supposed to have sent Terumi Genga and Ochaco to seek help from the police and a "hero" agency, but he also vaguely remembered that Terumi Genga seemed to have deliberately waited for him a while and said something to him, and he had agreed...

But why wasn't Terumi Genga with him? Where was Ochaco? And what about the "villain"?

If the "villain" didn't come after me, he either ran away or went after someone else... But my build should be easy to recognize...

After all, he was a boy, and a little shorter than Terumi Genga...

A little shorter than Terumi Genga...

Uraraka Shige suddenly remembered that, with his support and help, Terumi Genga seemed to have developed some techniques for his Quirk... such as turning into beings no larger than his own real size. Although until now he had only been able to disguise himself as things whose appearance he knew very well, such as cats and dogs... was he a stranger to Terumi Genga?

"Ha... That idiot..."

Uraraka Shige remembered the suggestion Terumi Genga had made to him, and what Terumi Genga's Quirk could do. Then he turned around, activated his Quirk at full power, and began racing in the exact opposite direction.

"Bang!"

Terumi Genga was only a little taller than Uraraka Shige and about the same build, but his physical stamina was far inferior. He was merely a little stronger than an ordinary eight-year-old who did not exercise often.

He knew that, and therefore knew that there was no way he could outrun the "villain." So when he first suggested to Uraraka Shige that they split up and flee, he had already come up with an idea that might let him escape.

His Quirk.

Whether he used his Quirk to conceal himself or disguise himself as something commonly seen, all he needed was a suitable chance to get out of the "villain's" sight. In just two or three seconds, he could vanish completely from under the "villain's" nose.