Dabi silently obeyed, disappearing without hesitation. Right now, he only needed to follow the orders of the League of Villains' leader.
Mirio ignored Dabi's departure. Sir Nighteye had already foreseen that man's death, so chasing after him wouldn't change anything. Right now, his top priority was stopping Midoriya Izuku.
Mirio convinced himself of this and let the man go. Or rather—sorry, but even a hero doesn't want to save someone like you.
He locked eyes with Midoriya. His outfit was almost identical to when he was interning with Sir Nighteye—the appearance of "Akaya Kaiun," the Steel Wire Death God. This realization made Mirio feel uneasy. After a brief pause, he finally spoke.
"Midoriya, it hasn't been that long… but you've changed a lot."
Midoriya nodded in agreement. The unsettling smile on his face faded as he seriously responded to his former senior.
"I found something I have to do. I'm no longer the Midoriya Izuku who dreamed of being a hero."
"…Sorry, but this time, I have to bring you in."
There was no need for more words. Togata Mirio stood on the side of the heroes, and Midoriya Izuku had become the most dangerous "enemy." They were now opponents who had no choice but to fight.
"Come on, this is our second battle."
As soon as Midoriya finished speaking, Mirio charged at him. This time, there was no room for hesitation—he had to capture Midoriya Izuku today.
But Midoriya had already anticipated this. In an instant, his entire body transformed into steel wires while still maintaining a humanoid shape. However, this time, the wires were spinning at high speed, turning him into a horrifying, flesh-shredding machine.
Last time, his final attack had left a scar on Mirio's hand, which gave him an idea—if he turned his whole body into a weapon that could tear apart anything it touched, even Mirio wouldn't be able to attack carelessly.
Realizing this, Mirio stopped his forward movement, but his fists didn't. He instantly threw a powerful punch straight ahead.
"Detroit Smash!!"
A violent storm burst out from Mirio's punch. Even though Midoriya turned his whole body into steel threads, he still had a physical form, and the impact sent him flying far away. After rolling on the ground, he returned to his normal state.
"My head hurts... 'One For All' can't match up to that power at all."
Midoriya struggled to get up from the ground, looking disheveled. It was no surprise that Mirio could send him flying with a single attack. The gap in strength between them was massive—something that skill alone couldn't make up for.
"Midoriya, this time, I won't let you get away."
"Sorry... but I'm already prepared to escape."
Mirio declared his intent to capture him, but Midoriya simply stood up and responded. At the same time, a small Kurogiri warp gate suddenly opened behind him.
"What!?"
Mirio, alarmed, instantly activated One For All and dashed forward at full speed. But before he could reach him, Midoriya's body turned into steel threads once again and slipped through the small warp gate.
Mirio crossed the 50-meter distance in less than a second, but when he reached out, his hand only grabbed air. The warp gate had already disappeared.
"Sorry, this is my escape route. I apologize for taking advantage of your incredible power."
Midoriya's voice came from an unseen warp gate somewhere in midair. That was his final message before vanishing.
Midoriya knew full well that he couldn't beat Mirio. His only goal was to escape successfully. But Mirio had both Permeation and One For All, making even a safe escape a challenge.
So the moment Mirio attacked, Midoriya had already turned his entire body into steel threads. And he had done it so openly that it was practically announcing to Mirio: "Touch me, and you'll get hurt."
Mirio had great battle instincts and reacted immediately. He needed to catch Midoriya without making direct contact. That's why he chose to attack with a One For All-powered wind blast. But Midoriya had predicted that too.
Blown away by the powerful shockwave, Midoriya relied on Kurogiri, who quickly opened a small warp gate. In less than a second, Midoriya had disappeared right in front of Mirio's eyes.
Even with his incredible speed, Mirio couldn't stop Midoriya in time. He clenched his fists in frustration. This was already the second time Midoriya had escaped from him.
"Where is Midoriya!?"
All Might landed from the sky, creating a deep crater on impact. He had been waiting five kilometers away at a safe location. As soon as Mirio alerted him to Midoriya's presence, All Might rushed over in under 30 seconds—only to find Mirio standing there alone.
"Sorry… I failed."
"I see…"
Mirio was filled with regret and self-blame. Seeing him like this, All Might fell silent. Even after all of Sir Nighteye's careful planning, the mission still failed. It was hard not to admire Midoriya's abilities...
"Keep your head up!"
All Might patted Mirio's shoulder, his usual smile still on his face as he encouraged his student. It was something his own teacher had once told him:
"A hero who smiles is the strongest hero in the world."
"So always keep a smile on your face—that's how you'll become the best hero."
"Yeah..."
Mirio forced a smile as he looked at All Might's thumbs-up. But in this situation, the only one who could genuinely smile was All Might himself.
———
Dabi returned to the League of Villains' hideout after finishing his task. As soon as he stepped inside, he saw Midoriya already sitting at the bar, discussing something with Kurogiri.
"You're back already?"
"That hero, Togata Mirio... wasn't he strong enough to take on even *that* guy?!"
Dabi was a bit curious. After hearing that All For One was also beaten down by Togata Mirio, his understanding of heroes became more grounded. At the very least, he wouldn't be foolish enough to challenge someone he knew he couldn't defeat.
"It's not that we came back. We had no choice but to escape back."
Midoriya Izuku corrected Dabi's words. However, there was no trace of defeat on his face. Instead, he spoke with the joy of a winner.
"After all, villains can never defeat heroes. Isn't that how it's always been?"
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