Kurogiri

"Thirteen, and... Eraser Head." A strange man with a hand over his face seemed to be their leader. "According to the teacher schedule we got a few days ago, All Might should be here today..."

Jilan Jiyu narrowed his eyes. These guys actually knew U.A. High School's internal teacher schedule. Was it because of the commotion that day, or had they already infiltrated the school the same way they had now...?

"So it really was your doing a few days ago?" Shota Aizawa didn't look surprised. Presumably, he had already prepared a response to a sudden attack like this. Watching the enemies draw closer, he discreetly gestured to Thirteen, apparently signaling for them to retreat.

"Where is he?" The man's voice was low, as if it came from hell, and he seemed somewhat disappointed. "We went to all the trouble of bringing so many guys here, but the symbol of heroes... All Might isn't here..."

He seemed to lose interest. "Forget it. We'll kill you brats first, then."

Seeing the strange men approach with excited grins on their faces, everyone seemed less panicked than convinced the intruders were idiots.

"The villains-are they stupid? Sneaking into U.A. High School? That's way too dumb!"

Yaoyorozu wasn't as optimistic as the others. "Sir, what about the sensors that report intruders?"

"We have those?!"

"Of course we do," Shoto Todoroki reasoned. "I don't know whether they only appeared here or all over the school, but since there's been no response, they must have a Quirk that deals with that."

"They knew when our class was and deliberately chose this enclosed space far from the school building. This must be a carefully planned surprise attack with some objective in mind."

"No, that's not it. We're the only ones under attack." Jilan Jiyu threw away his helmet and turned around. "They probably caused that commotion in the cafeteria to find the sensors. Since they showed up so brazenly, there can't be enough of them to cover the whole school. They'd only target a single class, using their numbers to overwhelm and wipe it out. It's harsh, but I have to say it: we're on our own."

"How could this happen?!" None of them could accept the facts Jilan Jiyu had laid out. They were too shocked to speak.

"Jilan's right. The villains have disabled the sensors. Kaminari, try using your Quirk to contact someone." Shota Aizawa turned to Thirteen. "Get them to safety. Leave this to me."

"Sir, are you going to fight alone?! Eraser Head's fighting style is to erase the enemy's Quirks and then capture them. It's not suited to a head-on battle like this!"

"Heh." Shota Aizawa could be heard chuckling. He said softly, "You can't be a hero with just one trick."

As everyone watched, Shota Aizawa leaped off the platform several meters above the ground and charged at the many villains!

"Huh? This guy's charging in alone? Does he think he's All Might?!"

Several villains rubbed their hands eagerly, taking Aizawa's charge for a moth flying into a flame. They met him with vicious grins.

"My Quirk!"

One villain's Quirk let him fire bullets from his hands. But after taking aim, he was shocked to find he couldn't use it. His fingers, which should have flashed with gunfire, didn't respond at all!

The same was true of several people around him. In the moment they stood there stunned, several strips of bandage wrapped around their bodies at once, leaving them no room to move!

The bandages around Shota Aizawa's neck seemed to have become deadly lengths of white silk, steadily closing in on them. With a forceful swing, he sent the bound villains flying helplessly into the air, where they slammed into one another!

"Mr. Aizawa's amazing! He's using his goggles to hide his eyes, so they can't tell whose Quirk he's erasing. That makes it impossible for them to coordinate!"

"And even against villains with passive enhancement Quirks, Mr. Aizawa has the advantage in close combat. That's a Pro Hero for you!"

Iida shouted at the muttering Midoriya, "This is no time to analyze! Come on!"

Seeing how completely one-sided the fight was, Jilan Jiyu felt a little relieved. He stopped Midoriya, who was fired up and wanted to rush in and help.

"If we go help him, we might be able to defeat all of them!"

Jilan Jiyu said bluntly, "There's only one thing we need to do right now: get away from this battlefield so Mr. Aizawa won't have to worry about us. So turn around and head for the exit."

A burden...? Izuku Midoriya fell silent, clenched his fists, and turned to run toward the entrance.

Maybe I'm still a burden now, but one day... I'll become strong like All Might!

He silently swore it to himself.

"Oh no, there's a villain ahead!"

A shapeless mass of black mist suddenly appeared before them, forcing everyone to stop. Like Mr. Aizawa, he stood in the way of everyone in Class A.

"Pleased to meet you. I am Kurogiri, and we are the League of Villains. We have come to visit the heroes' headquarters to eradicate All Might, the symbol of heroes, once and for all."

His words seemed absurd, but his gentlemanly manner lent them a measure of credibility. Jilan Jiyu had a feeling—they were serious. They really did intend to kill All Might!

"All Might should have been here according to the original plan. Was there a change? Did he somehow guess our plan?... No, that's impossible. Nobody would have thought he was our target."

His form grew indistinct, spreading into the surrounding air like gas escaping from a container.

"Well, it makes no difference. My duty is to... What?!"

Mr. Thirteen, whose cumbersome equipment had forced him to run in the middle of the group, stepped forward and stood in front of everyone. But to everyone's surprise, Kirishima charged at the villain, with Katsuki Bakugo close behind. Both of their attacks struck him!

"Didn't it occur to you we might take you out first?!"

Kirishima looked triumphantly at the villain, whose form was hidden by the smoke from Bakugo's explosion. "You'll pay for underestimating us!"

"No, move, both of you!" Mr. Thirteen noticed that the villain still seemed to be moving and wanted to attack with his Quirk, Black Hole. But Kirishima and Bakugo were completely in his way, leaving him no chance to attack.

The black mist swallowed the white smoke. The villain didn't seem hurt; instead, he expanded his form, enveloping an even larger area with his body.

"That was close, very close. You may only be students, but you're diamonds in the rough, just like Tomura..." The mist spreading from where his arms should have been suddenly closed in like an embrace, enveloping everyone in his black mist!

"So, I must ask you to take your leave once again!"

Just like that road in Morioh where one could not look back, when Jilan Jiyu turned to look at the black mist surrounding him, it lunged at him, clinging like maggots to bone as it tried to pull him into a darkness where no light could be seen!

Jilan Jiyu was completely unable to resist. With only his face still outside the mist, he looked at his classmates being swallowed up before him, and only one thought remained.

I haven't even done anything bad. Why am I going out the same way as that guy Yoshikage Kira...?