"A devastating fire erupted late last night at a local gym in Mustafu. Authorities have confirmed at least one causality, the owner of the gym, who's body has not yet been found. Two survivors have been identified, one of them a student from U.A. Highschool, Dante Graves."
"At this time, Graves' current whereabouts are unknown. Rescue units have not been able to make contact since the blaze was extinguished."
"The second survivor, a male of unknown identity is currently being treated under police watch, no official statements have been released."
Itsuka Kendo froze mid step in her home, the news playing faintly from the living room.
Dante?
She turned and rushed to her living room. The screen showed aerial footage of the scorched remains of the gym, smoke still curling into the sky. Her stomach dropped as she read the words on the screen. Missing, Unaccounted for, Presumed alive.
Her hands curled into fists.
"Please be okay."
Her heart pounded. She remembered the way Dante would usually brush things off, usually distant, like he was always carrying something heavy. He wasn't the type to just go missing, he must've chose this.
'What happened? Who caused the fire? Why hasn't he come back?'
She didn't say it out loud, but one thought clawed at her chest, 'please don't be doing something reckless.'
…
*CRACK!*
A body slammed into a dumpster, another being dragged before slammed into a wall.
There were fourteen villains, all armed, fairly coordinated too.
And Dante was in the middle.
They all came at him from all directions.
Knives. Blades. Even guns.
Dante didn't bother moving, he just observed.
From behind, a tendril lashed out without Dante doing anything, snatching a villain mid air and slamming him into another, bones cracking. Little Dante wasn't visible, not to anyone else, but when he and Dante worked together, he worked like a second brain.
"You deal with those in the front, I can cover you." Little Dante said in the depths of his mind.
Dante nodded once and stepped in.
His eyes suddenly vibrated rapidly, he noticed the muscles in the closest man's shoulder activate, signaling a punch incoming, Dante ducked before he could even throw it and drove his fist into the man's gut, then twisted and flung another man into a brick wall. Sludge wrapped around legs, yanked their feet from under them, dragging them across the pavement.
He was everywhere.
One villain shot Dante square in the forehead, but the bullet barely broke skin, Dante turned to look at the man, before Dante could say anything, little Dante had already severed his head. Another man lunged at him with a jagged blade, Dante grabbed his arm and enveloped it in sludge, turning his bones to dust.
They were pretty strong.
But Dante was constantly getting stronger, even in the battle, thanks to Kaijin's eyes he could see everything.
Five minutes later, the alley was silent.
Dark red sludge writhed across the wall and floor like sentient shadows, holding the villains down to the ground as if they were stuck in quicksand. They twitched, groaned, cursed.
Thirteen of them were stuck to the floor and walls. Immobile.
One man, trembled, but conscious, looked at Dante.
"Y-you want info? Fine… I'll talk!"
Dante stepped closer, unbothered. "Speak then."
The man swallowed hard. "The League of Villain yes? They've been moving! They've been recruiting people! Gathering names, quirks, bodies, something big is coming… I don't know what, but everyone is on edge!"
Dante stared, eyes glowing brighter in satisfaction.
"Good," he said flatly.
He placed a hand on the man's shoulder and gently patted it.
Then he hit a pressure point on the back of his neck—thud. Out cold.
The others? Those who refused to give him any info?
They were already gone. They had just kindly donated Dante an extra 195% added onto his current physical strength.
The bodyguards increased his strength by around 60%
Kaijin increased his strength by 100%
The three perverts increased his strength by 45%
These villains increased his strength by 195%
He could feel it, and he didn't know exactly how it worked but it seemed like regular thugs/villains individually increased his strength by 15% at a time. Then how come those bodyguards and Kaijin gave differing amounts?
Dante would come up with a hypothesis later.
And yes, he is killing people. But in Dante's mind, the world would be better without them.
Unless they listened to him, in that case…
Outside a police station, an unconscious man lay on the curb, the one who had answered Dante. His life had been spared, but he was still a villain, so he would leave that to the police.
After this, Dante found himself standing outside his old apartment complex. For a long moment, he just kinda stared at it—the cracked brick walls, the flickering hallway light visible through the narrow window in the stairwell.
This is where he had been living.
His first home.
He stepped inside, the stairs groaned beneath his feet.
Inside his apartment, everything was exactly how he had left it.
The air was still.
He moved deeper inside, opened his closet and pulled out a duffel bag. He filled the bag with his clothes, some water and every single notebook he had filled, pages stacked with battle observations, villain patterns, quirk tests, names, sketches, ideas.
The entire life of Dante Graves, condensed into black ink and singed corners.
He zipped the bag shut, pulled out his phone, left one single message to all of the people in his contacts. "Don't find me." Then left his phone on the counter.
He took one last look at his apartment and left without turning back.
Outside, he flew through the air in silence, the wind howling past his ears, his mind somehow serene.
Minutes later, he returned to the sewer that lead to the underground lair.