ShuraZero
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Chapter 87: The Conviction of Monsters
🕑 Added 2025-07-22 11:06:18 +0000 UTC"I've heard enough."
Stain's voice was deep, a sentence handed down in the gloom of the bar. Tomura Shigaraki, lying on the floor under the Hero Killer's boot, stopped struggling. Kurogiri remained paralyzed a few feet away, his misty body unable to intervene.
"Your 'League of Villains' is a whim. A childish goal born from a tantrum," Stain continued, his icy gaze judging the young man from above. "Senseless destruction? That's the goal of a brute, not someone with conviction. What are you after? Fame? Attention? You're just like the false heroes I purge, only with a more depressing aesthetic. You have no philosophy to sustain you."
Tomura scratched his neck more aggressively, nearly tearing the skin.
"Shut up… Shut up, you damn lunatic… You're no one to judge me… You don't know anything about me…"
"I know what I see. A spoiled child whining in the dark, surrounded by broken toys. Tell me, Tomura Shigaraki, once you've destroyed everything you hate, once you've burned the world, what will be left? What will you build on the ashes?"
Stain paused, letting the poisoned question settle.
"Nothing. Because there is nothing inside of you. You are empty."
Stain raised a knife, the notched blade gleaming faintly. The tip approached Tomura's face. But instead of recoiling, Shigaraki's frustration solidified into a pure, terrifying conviction. His voice, once a whimper, became a growl filled with a primordial hatred.
"Build? Reform? That's the language of heroes! The language of hypocrites! I don't want any of that!" His voice rose, becoming a shriek of fury. "I want to crush this society that smiles stupidly while worshipping a single man! I want everyone to see how fragile their peace is, how useless their 'Symbol' is! I want to destroy until there's nothing left of him, nothing of his legacy!"
In a blinding motion, Tomura's hand shot out, his five fingers closing around the knife's blade. There was no blood. The blade disintegrated, turning to gray dust that slipped through his fingers.
"I want to erase everything, starting with the things he loves!"
Stain pulled back his hand, watching the dust fall. He wasn't impressed by the power, but by the purity of that nihilistic conviction.
"That look… That madness… Perhaps you're not so empty after all."
His tone shifted, becoming practical.
"Fine. We'll see what kind of chaos your conviction can cause. For now, our goals align. I want to cleanse this city of its false idols."
"And what do I get out of it?" Tomura snapped, getting to his feet.
"You get an ally who knows how to make heroes bleed," Stain replied coldly. "And I get a stage. Your chaos will be the perfect backdrop for my purge. Take me back to Hosu. I still have business to attend to."
A portal of dark mist swirled in the center of the bar. A few seconds later, Kurogiri, Stain, and Tomura appeared atop a building in Hosu, the night wind whipping the Hero Killer's red scarf.
"So, what's the plan, Shigaraki?" Stain asked, his voice unchanged. "Are you going to keep attacking children on school trips?"
"My plan is perfect. You don't have to understand it," Tomura retorted with resentment.
Stain looked at him with disdain.
"As you wish. I have my own purge to continue."
He turned and, with an agile leap, disappeared into the shadows of the rooftops. Tomura watched him go, his irritation palpable.
"I don't like him," he said in a childish, spiteful tone. "I don't want that guy on my team. He thinks he's so important with his boring speeches."
He turned to Kurogiri, a twisted, cruel smile spreading across his face.
"Kurogiri… release the Nomus. All three of them. Let them sow chaos. Let them destroy everything. Let them play around the city for a bit. And if one of them, by accident, happens to crush that 'Hero Killer'… it would be a happy coincidence."
The light from street lamps and neon signs bathed a quiet Hosu street in an artificial glow. The trio walked relaxedly, carrying bags from their successful retail therapy session.
"I can't believe you convinced me to buy this hat," Toru said, adjusting a stylish wide-brimmed hat. "I feel like I'm going to fly away with the first gust of wind!"
"Nonsense, it looks divine on you," Yu replied. "Besides, it's an excellent distraction tool. No one pays attention to your face if your hat is outrageous enough. That's lesson number one of fashion espionage."
"Okay, back to the topic at hand, pineapple on pizza is debatable," Yu said with feigned seriousness, "but people who put anchovies on it? They're psychopaths. There's no other explanation."
"Totally!" Toru exclaimed. "It's like eating a whole salted fish! Gross!"
Izuku laughed.
"Well, at least we can all agree that mayonnaise is the true public enemy number one…"
His laughter was cut short.
BOOM!
A deep, guttural sound vibrated through the soles of their shoes. Several blocks away, an office building exploded into a ball of fire and black smoke. The screams of panic began to spread like a shockwave.
In a blink, the relaxed, smiling Izuku vanished. His body tensed, dropping into a low, stable combat stance. His eyes, once amused, were now cold and analytical.
"W-what was that?" Toru stammered, dropping one of her bags.
"An attack. A big one," Yu said, her voice taut, already in professional mode. "And deliberate. That was no gas leak."
"It's not just one."
Izuku's voice was sharp, authoritative. Before they could ask, another explosion, this time to their right, lit up the sky. He pulled out his phone.
"Coordinated attack. Multiple targets."
His thumb pressed a red emergency icon on the screen. A map of Hosu appeared, showing his location and that of Ochako and Momo. The message sent was preset and clear.
In a nearby café, Ochako was laughing as Momo explained the aerodynamic flaws in a new flying hero's design from a magazine.
"...so, in short, with that aspect ratio on his wings, he'd generate so much turbulence he'd probably crash into a building on his first takeoff attempt," Momo concluded, sipping her tea.
"But the costume is super cute!" Ochako replied.
Their phones buzzed in unison with a sharp, distinct tone. They looked at the screen and saw the map with Izuku's location flashing in red.
"Momo!"
"I see it." Momo was already on her feet, throwing money on the table. "He's twenty minutes out if we run and take the alleys. Let's go!"
They sprinted out, leaving their drinks and the sense of normalcy behind.
"Dammit! I don't have my suit!" Yu slapped her thigh in frustration. "Legally, I can't act on a large scale. This isn't my jurisdiction! I'm an easy target!"
"You're not a target. You're a seasoned professional," Izuku answered. "Your duty right now is survival. Our priority is to regroup. The hotel is too predictable. We'll move to a defensive point and wait for the girls. Yu-san, take point! Toru-san, cover our rear! I'll be in the middle! Stay close and don't get separated!"
They began to move, not running blindly, but at a tactical jog, sticking to the walls of buildings, using the shadows that stretched in the darkness. The air filled with the smell of burning and the distant sound of sirens.
"This is insane," Toru panted, her shopping euphoria replaced by a palpable fear. "We're not trained for this! We were supposed to be eating ice cream!"
"Shut up and keep running," Yu snapped, her voice harsh but not cruel. "First rule of urban survival: panic kills you faster than bullets. Keep your head down and your eyes open. Izuku, route?"
"Two more blocks west, then we turn south," he replied breathlessly, his mind a map. "There's an abandoned warehouse complex. Multiple points of cover, good visibility, and most importantly, away from the main streets. It'll give us a tactical advantage."
"Good thinking," Yu approved. "Low-level villains are always drawn to the main chaos. The side alleys should be clearer."
"And what if they're not?" Toru asked.
"Then we improvise," Izuku said with a calmness that reassured her more than any empty promise.
They moved down a wide, dark alley. The flickering light from distant fires was the only illumination, creating shadows that stretched and shrank like living things.
Izuku stopped dead. A choked gasp escaped him.
"Izuku-kun, what's wrong?" Toru whispered, alarmed.
It wasn't a sound. It wasn't a sight. An icy chill shot down his spine, a metallic taste flooded his mouth. It wasn't his own fear. It was the perception of an external intent, so sharp and lethal it was like an invisible blade grazing his soul.
"Someone… is watching us," he gasped, his voice tight. "I feel… a bloodlust. Aimed at you, Yu-san."
The intent screamed "DEATH."
What happened next lasted less than a second.
His Empathic Acuity triggered the alarm. His Adaptive Reflexes activated. His body moved. His Bio-Vector Control overloaded his muscles. A whump of displaced air. His perfect agility and balance granted him an impossible grace. He lunged forward and to the left, closing the distance with Yu in a single, fluid motion. His hand closed on her chest. He pulled her back, into a protective and violent embrace. As he moved, his Light Refraction Control warped his silhouette, turning the motion into a confusing blur.
"Izuku, what the hell—!" a choked gasp escaped Yu.
A brutal thwip-CHUNK echoed. A serrated dagger embedded itself in the brick wall, spitting out dust, exactly where Yu's neck had been.
Yu stared at the dagger, her eyes wide. Then at Izuku. His face was a mask of deadly concentration.
From the darkness, Stain emerged. He took his time, each step deliberate. His icy gaze was locked on Yu.
"Mt. Lady. The cover-girl hero. I saw you on the news. Selling burgers. Smiling for the cameras while the city trembles."
He took another step, the firelight illuminating his grotesque mask.
"Do you even remember what it is to be a hero? Or do you only remember the sound of applause and the greed for money? Your only interest is your own image, your own fame. You are the embodiment of everything I despise."
He unsheathed another blade, his long tongue sliding over it in a grotesque gesture.
"You are a disease. A fraud. An imposter who sullies the sacred name of 'hero' for vanity and money. And imposters… must be purged."
