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Chapter Begins:
Panic slithered across the corridors of UA as the Teachers rushed out of the Principal's office, carrying pale faces.
An itinerary of the events held on the first of the three days of the School Festival had been shared with everyone.
However, given the sheer scale of the event, at-moment events propping up here and there weren't uncommon, either.
That's why, like Midnight, most of the Teachers, who had learned of the Magical Performance happening on UA grounds, hadn't thought much of it.
Nezu and All Might, on the other hand, knew something had gone wrong the moment Midnight mentioned it to them.
Even if such a sudden event was arranged by a group of students, they still needed the Principal's final nod for that.
All Might had been with Nezu since morning, making sure that he would be available if needed throughout the Festival.
And — no one had come to ask for any permission.
Then, who was behind this Magical Performance?!
As if this unknown person wasn't a disaster already, one of the most deranged Villains All Might had met — Tomura Shigaraki — had slipped past the security.
That fact itself had seemed impossible to comprehend if the security guard hadn't shown them Shigaraki's face, captured by a drone.
Given the USJ and Hosu Incidents, UA had employed tight security for the School Festival.
No one was allowed to enter proper ID and a pre-registered Ticket, issued by UA online.
It meant the guards, who were Heroes themselves, weren't letting anyone in without matching their profiles to the Police Database.
Also, it wasn't like Shigaraki could have teleported with Kurogiri's help, either.
There were drones programmed to attack on sight if they had recognized Kurogiri's Quirk-usage pattern.
Then, how did Shigaraki infiltrate the School Festival despite all these measures?!
One could keep asking questions and yet not chance upon answers.
The only thing they could do was to guess Shigaraki's intention.
And, as the Teachers remembered Nezu's guess, their hearts again skipped a beat.
"All Might!" Erasure Head said. "You go ahead and save Luke! We will take care of the Magic one…"
All Might nodded and boomed out of existence.
He just hoped — he wasn't already late…
…
Shigaraki eyed the Nomu, scratching his neck.
Surprisingly, he had enjoyed the Magical Performance, finding it quite amusing despite the blatant lie of not using a Quirk.
Then, pressed for time, he had come to finish the task.
Shigaraki had already learned from a trusted source, the same one who had helped him infiltrate the School Festival without using Kurogiri's Quirk, that the birdboy was inside this Nomu's suit.
Shigaraki would have already crumbled the suit and boy to pieces, if it wasn't for the Nomu's odd behavior.
Class 1-A's Play venue wasn't far from the Magical Performance one.
Oddly, when the Class 1-A took a break, unlike the other children who began eating and having fun, this Nomu kept circling the Magical stage.
Shigaraki had been following it ever since.
He even worried that someone might have recognized him by now.
Suddenly, as Shigaraki ground his teeth, he saw the Nomu taking a different turn this time, disappearing behind a huge tent.
A wide, twisted smile on Shigaraki's lips.
Fastening his pace, he rushed to catch up to the boy.
The moment Shigaraki took the same turn behind the tent, though, what he saw left him rooted to his place, gobsmacked.
Nomu's huge figure was half embedded deep into a black, glitch-like portal.
The moment it sensed movement behind it, it looked over its shoulder, its two eyes rolling disturbingly in its exposed head.
And, as ridiculous a possibility as it was, Shigaraki realized something.
This Nomu wasn't a boy wearing a costume.
This Nomu — was his Nomu…
Shigaraki reached out instinctively to grab the Nomu, trying to make sure if this one possessed the Super Regeneration Quirk after using Decay on it.
But something from the other side pulled the Nomu in, the blackness swallowing the huge creature whole.
At the same time, a massive boom rang somewhere far, as if a storm was advancing toward Shigaraki.
None needed to announce to Shigaraki the bitter truth that — All Might was here.
…
Erasure Head descended on the Magical Performance venue like a hawk, followed by Snipe and Midnight.
More Pros were coming, too.
Till then, they needed to make sure that no one was injured.
But Erasure Head wouldn't let go of this chance to take down the unknown Villain, either.
To his utter surprise, though, the man on the stage didn't run after seeing Erasure Head and others.
"Surrender…" Before Midnight could say her piece, the Magician put his hand against his mouth as if using a loudspeaker.
"Now, for the final performance," he said, "let's all welcome UA's teachers!"
The crowd went wild, children and adults clapping, seeing three famous Heroes surrounding the stage.
After the assistant had disappeared during a magical trick, things had quietened down.
Now, the thrill was back, rising higher in anticipation. Everyone hurriedly took their phones out and again started recording the performance.
Is he threatening to hurt people? Erasure Head guessed. You dare… "Snipe! Now!!"
Snipe, the Pro Hero in charge of the 3rd Year students of UA, possessed Homing Quirk. He could lock on to any target he could see within six hundred meters and make any projectile he released chase after said target.
Erasure Head's hair flailed up, his gaze landing on the magician.
Simultaneously, Snipe pointed the gun at the Magician and fired.
The Magician's body twisted as if he had ropes for the bones as he dodged the bullet. However, the bullet traced an unnatural path midair and struck him anyway.
The crowd gasped.
To everyone's surprise, in the very next moment, the Magician's entire figure crumpled as if he were made of paper.
Erasure Head, Snipe, Midnight, and hundreds of others' eyes widened.
The Pros realized that this person had a way to use his Quirk, despite it being canceled.
The crowd, especially those adults who had been doubting the entire performance from the start, also realized that this magic wasn't because of a Quirk.
Perhaps, in their opinion, that's why Erasure Head had come here.
A child from the crowd suddenly pointed up, making everyone's heads snap up as well.
The Magician was standing on the stage's roof, smiling at them. As roars of applause washed over the surroundings, he bowed to the Pro Heroes and the crowd.
"Thank you for assisting me today," The Magician said, nudging his top hat. "Praise be to Mr. Fool."
Then, covered in a mass of bright flames, he disappeared.
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