Luke stared at the shimmering, transparent, almost-solidified potion.
"Is it ready?" Nyx asked.
Luke nodded.
Gehrman Sparrow had already returned, leaving Melissa terrified.
But Luke had no choice but to do it, especially after learning of Ms. Shield's desire to go out into the field.
The Apostles weren't Heroes.
Luke wanted nothing more than to instill that in her mind.
Melissa had grown up looking up to figures like All Might.
On I-Island, she had interacted with not one or two, but hundreds of Heroes; some even standing true to that name.
So, it was natural that if Melissa—not Quirkless, but a Beyonder—left the headquarters for society, she might end up playing the part of a Hero as well.
That was not something that would play out in her favor, though.
Luke knew that as a Beyonder, Melissa had no choice but to leave this hole eventually.
Not only did she need to digest her Potion, but it was also crucial for her to maintain a sound mind so as not to lose control.
That was why Luke had devised the plan to let her witness the creation of an Ancient Wraith, going so far as to bring Gehrman Sparrow into the picture.
"You scared the shit out of her, you know," Nyx said. "What if she… decides to leave?"
Luke looked away from the Scribe Potion, took a deep breath, and faced Nyx. "Then leave she shall," he said. "I will wipe her memory and let All Might handle her. She is still only a Clown. A mental cue will be enough for her not to use her Beyonder abilities for the rest of her life."
[…]
Nyx stared at Luke. "Cruel," she commented. "You hate this, don't you? The idea of Apostles changing their minds…"
Luke grinned like a clown. "Maybe…" he said. "Maybe it's not the idea of Apostles changing their minds that I hate, but the idea of Dr. Blessed changing his…"
[That's why you used Gehrman's face?] Miss Justice asked, keeping Nyx in the loop.
Luke brought his gaze back to the potion vial. "Not really," he said. "Whether it is the Apostles or Dr. Blessed, they all knew, from the very beginning, what they were getting into. Things rarely go entirely our way, no matter how strong we are. All we can do is make our peace with it, knowing that the price we would have paid otherwise would have been much, much greater than a bunch of Villains dying at our hands."
At that, both Miss Justice and Nyx nodded.
[It's time,] Miss Justice said. [Go on, Luke. The Scribe Potion's Backlash is tricky, but… in your case, it might not be much, especially with me around.]
Nodding, Luke switched to his original, teenager appearance.
He had been aiming to become a Scribe around the time of the Pro Heroes' raid on the Shie Hassaikai compound, consolidating his digested Faceless Potion further while waiting for Ms. Kazuho to finish her mission.
However, the events that had unfolded recently, especially Sand's abduction by the Sequence 5 Wraith, who had to be working with or for the Shie Hassaikai, had pushed Luke's timeline forward.
Then, only today, right after Mirko had accepted him as a Sidekick and made him file the paperwork, he had received Trick*Step's text confirming that she had secured the diary pages.
Luke had been returning to UA at that time.
Canceling those plans and making an excuse about another family emergency, he had gone directly to headquarters.
Ms. Kazuho hadn't lied about completing the mission, but she hadn't told the full truth, either.
She had indeed secured pages from a diary supposedly older than twenty-two years.
But… she had failed to mention that she had stolen the entire diary.
That was going to become an issue down the line for Kazuho, especially knowing to whom the diary belonged.
Still, Luke saw the silver lining.
With the entire diary at hand, he wouldn't need to search for another set of pages when Kazuho rose to Sequence 6.
Moreover, starting tomorrow, Luke would have his work cut out for him as Rabbit Hero: Mirko's Sidekick.
Thankfully, she had always pursued her personal vendetta against the Claws of Conformity instead of carrying out regular Hero work assigned by the Commission.
While filing the complex paperwork—as becoming a Sidekick without a Provisional Hero License was illegal under the law, and you needed to justify such recruitment as an extraordinary, extreme circumstance—Luke had found numerous reports on the Shie Hassaikai on her personal computer as well.
This meant she had likely learned of the bloody clash between the Claws and the Yakuza, which had cost lives on both sides.
So, it wouldn't be too difficult to direct Mirko toward the Shie Hassaikai, Luke believed.
But it wouldn't be that easy, either.
All in all, with how events were unfolding compared to his previous life, Luke couldn't afford to take chances when it came to Eri, Sir Nighteye, and Overhaul, especially with Sand and the Sequence 5 Wraith in the picture.
In a single night, Luke had resolved not only to create an Ancient Wraith, but also to gather all the ingredients and brew the Scribe Potion.
It was already morning outside.
Luke knew he needed to report back to Mirko as soon as possible before Eraser Head could call the Saionji household for an explanation and discover the truth.
Not to mention, even if the public didn't know yet, the entirety of UA must have already learned of his becoming a Sidekick.
So, it would be natural for teachers and students to reach out to him.
Some would even reach out to Aina, as she had accomplished the same feat a year prior, becoming the youngest Sidekick in Japan without a Provisional Hero License.
Congratulatory messages had likely already flooded his father's inbox.
Luke feared one of those emails would be from Aizawa.
So, finding grim amusement in that possibility and carrying a faint smile on his lips, Luke switched to the Apprentice Pathway and…
… downed the Scribe Potion, taking one more step on his journey to defy Fate!