A month later,
Dr. Blessed's HQ
In the hall where the Apostles of Fools conducted their meetings, at the head of the table, Dr. Blessed went through the meticulous reports.
On his right, Iwao Oguro the Marauder sat, wearing a white lab coat, a black mask resting on the table in front of him.
With his knack for taking advantage of petty criminals, he had already digested the Marauder Potion. The only reason he hadn't become a Swindler, yet, was because he hadn't accumulated enough Credits.
After deliberating over it with Miss Justice, Luke had come up with a clear system to award successive Potions' Sequences to Mr. Fool's followers.
Each member, if he/she was a Beyonder, would need to gather Credits, depending on their contributions.
For example, gathering more followers for Mr. Fool, especially those who were eligible to become Beyonders, attracted the most Credits.
And, recently, anything related to Stain as well.
Dr. Blessed nodded, putting the document down.
"Are you sure about this?" he asked flatly. Though secretly, alarms were ringing in Luke's mind. "We cannot act on assumptions, especially when Stain is involved."
In the last few weeks, Mr. Iwao Oguro had found many things after raiding big and small Villains.
First, Rabbit Hero: Mirko had confronted Hero Killer: Stain and had been injured gravely.
That hadn't made any sense to Luke until Knuckleduster showed him a bandaged Mirko in the hospital.
Second, Iwao had also learned of the rumor of Stain having multiple Quirks.
Third, there was a name spreading across the country like a virus — The Claws of Conformity — an organization that was openly recruiting Villains with strong ideals, led by none other than Hero Killer: Stain.
As if these points weren't enough already, now there were talks of The Claws of Conformity pairing up with The League of Villains.
Hearing Dr. Blessed's doubt, Knuckleduster nodded, holding a grave expression on his face. "Something's going on… hidden in all this," he admitted. "It's like they are waiting for something before acting out with full force."
Luke tapped the table with his finger and let out a breath.
"Magnificent work, regardless, Mr. Knuckleduster," Dr. Blessed said. "With this, you have gained enough Credits to get the Sequence 8 Potion. When you return, hold a ritual and ask for Mr. Fool's Blessing."
Iwao Oguro stood up, put his right hand on his chest, and bowed. "Praise be to Mr. Fool."
Behind the black mask, Luke's lips twitched.
He knew exactly what a man like Knuckleduster thought about religious cults.
The only reason Iwao Oguro was playing along, acting like a fanatic, was because his goals aligned with the organization — The Apostles of Mr. Fool.
Also, if he wanted to gain more power to tackle the rising issues and mysterious, evil entities, then he had no choice but to be a part of the organization, whether he did it willingly or not.
As he saw Iwao taking his seat, Luke finally realized what Mr. Fool meant about buying faith.
It didn't matter what Mr. Iwao thought right now about Mr. Fool, Luke analyzed. Sooner or later, if he kept getting results, he would end up becoming a true follower anyway.
Then, nodding to himself, Luke looked to his left.
Kazuho was seated there, dressed as in the same white coat, also without a mask.
"Acting as my Assistant during the Magical Performance should have aided you a lot in the digestion," Dr. Blessed said. "But — that service cost you Credits, too."
Pouting a little, Kazuho nodded. "I understand," she said. "I haven't digested my Potion. So, I will wait to gather more Credits."
Unlike Iwao, who had the means to openly act as a Vigilante and pursue leads, Kazuho was restricted in her Acting by many factors.
She was a student, which aided Apprentice Potion's digestion, but she didn't receive much feedback because of it.
Even in Luke's case, he had found himself facing a sudden wall at the end, too.
It was only when a fake Momo appeared in his dreams, guiding him and clearing his doubts, that he finally digested the Apprentice Potion.
"You can pair up with Mr. Knuckleduster for a mission," Dr. Blessed suggested, understanding her difficulties. "Then, he can share the Credits with you. Just like when you two caught the Volcano Thieves.
"If you wish, later, you can use those Credits to hire me again. I will arrange another event where you get to act as my Apprentice."
Kazuho's eyes lit up.
Fumbling, she hurriedly stood up. "Praise…" She forgot which hand to use. Knuckleduster cleared his throat and lifted his right hand. Blushing like a cherry, she put her right hand on her chest. "Praise be to Mr. Fool."
Luke used all his Clown's abilities to not facepalm.
Then, deciding which place to hit next to gather more information about this evil match-up between Stain and All For One, Luke sent the two back.
"Maybe that's why Seer Pathway has such an odd Sequence — Clown," Luke lampooned, taking off his mask. "To not laugh and break the mysterious persona… Haha!"
Nyx flew out from a dark corner.
"I want to join you guys, too," she said. "I hate sitting in the corner…"
Luke didn't fall for it, though. "You just want to do something perverted to Ms. Kazuho…"
Nyx's beak opened and remained in that place for some time. "… No way… I wouldn't do that…"
Not so surprisingly, that's exactly what Nyx had been aiming for. Looking at Kazuho and not able to plant her face between her boobs… It was like a curse.
Shaking his head, Luke's eyes again fell on the document submitted by Knuckleduster, making him frown.
"I don't understand," he said as Nyx landed on his shoulder. "Given Conformity's nature, shouldn't Stain be working for All For One already? A partnership suggests that they are working together… on equal grounds…"
As Luke always kept up a Spiritual Wall during these meetings, they didn't mind discussing Conformity and Singularity openly.
Also, the gathering of multiple Quirks within a single entity was Conformity all about, Luke had learned through Mr. Fool. So, the progression of these events made the least sense to him.
"I am missing something," Luke said, sighing. "I am missing something about All For One."
Suddenly, he remembered the words that had been lingering in the back of his mind for so long.
… We have the answers you seek…
Luke stood up with a decisive nod.
Finally, it was time to visit them again — the Vestiges!
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