Chapter 214
With the pilot coming over the intercom to inform them they were a half-hour out from their drop point, Izuku and Kaina, the latter serving as his little spoon, opened their eyes.
Interrupting the reflective state Kaina had succumbed to after a seventy-seven period in the dreamscape, Izuku kissed her right shoulder, cupped her left breast, and whispered, "We need to shower and get ready..."
"Right..." muttered Kaina, extricating herself from Izuku's embrace and climbing off the bed before inspecting her body. Because she had a much stronger impression of the version of herself that had spent nearly twenty years in prison, she had reverted to her 'true form' during their stay in the dreamscape. Becoming a kid again left her feeling a fairly potent sense of incongruency.
Picking Kaina up by the pits of her arms, much like a cat, Izuku carried her to a small but extravagant bathroom, set her on the counter, and removed her socks for her before she joined him in the tube-like shower of her own accord. She didn't show much emotion, even during their lengthy stay in the dreamscape, but she used the suds covering her body to proactively rub against and wash him after he was finished carefully cleaning her lithe and athletic frame.
"I'll dress myself this time..." muttered Kaina, waiting for Izuku to finish drying her hair with a thick, heated towel. The latter was slightly surprised by this, as Kaina had required him to pick her outfits and dress her during their stay in the dreamscape, but he didn't make a fuss and replied, "Sure thing, kitten..." before kissing the top of her head...
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Though their plane was scheduled to land at Lima International Airport for maintenance and refueling, Izuku, Kaina, and a group consisting of Mirio, Tokoyami, and their liaison from the World Hero's Association were set to leap from the plane mid-flight to reach their destination, a military outpost constructed around the breach containing Fediel.
Seeing Izuku and Kaina enter the aft cargo hold, which opened at the back to permit luxury cars and other large objects to be loaded, Mirio, wearing a black and muted gold variant of his Hero Costume, raised his hand and shouted, "Hey, Midoriya-kun! It's about time you two showed up! I was starting to worry!"
Following Mirio's words but waiting for Izuku and Kaina to approach, their liaison, a petite but intelligent-looking tall woman with aquamarine eyes, raven-black hair fashioned into a pixie cut, bangs framing the right side of her face, and an athletic figure garbed in a predominately black bodysuit, glowered at them from behind red-rimmed glasses as she remarked, "You should have arrived at least fifteen minutes ago."
"If you can rewind time, I'd be happy to do so," retorted Izuku, causing the woman, Special Agent Samantha Walker, to narrow her eyes slightly. Instead of pressing the matter further, however, she said, "We'll drop the moment the aft doors open. Our point of contact on the ground will mark the LZ using infrared flares. And remember, this is a covert operation, and none of you are authorized to perform Heroics within Peru. If an incident occurs, you will exfiltrate and regroup at one of the previously discussed extraction points. Understood?"
"Understood, Ma'am~!" replied Mirio, snapping to attention and offering a salute while Izuku, Tokoyami, and Kaina either nodded or simply stared at Samantha with a neutral expression. Fortunately, things didn't have the opportunity to become too awkward as the voice of their pilot came over the intercom, stating, "Thirty seconds to drop point. Stand clear of the aft doors."
Following the pilot's words, the lights lining the cargo hold turned red, and a low alarm began to sound as the aft doors gradually opened with a loud mechanical whirr. Surprisingly, little backdraft managed to enter the cargo hold, but the sound was beyond raucous, making it virtually impossible to hear what anyone was saying without the use of an earpiece.
Touching her right hand to her ear, Samantha, whose red-rimmed glasses had transformed into skydiving goggles, shouted, "Go, go, go, go...!" while making a wide circular motion with her left hand and arm. Mirio, despite being unable to fly, was the first to comply, smiling and laughing loudly as he leaped from the plane with his arms crossed over his chest. Tokoyami was close behind him, but not before directing a nod to Izuku, prompting him and Kaina to leap from the plane in his wake, freefalling nearly three kilometers through the cold morning air of Peru's coastline...
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As they both could fly, Izuku and Tokoyami reached the designated LZ without issue. Kaina arrived a few moments later, but since she had been outfitted with a sleek version of the Rumble Regalia, allowing her to make platforms of air to step on, she also had no real difficulty reaching the LZ, albeit with considerably more exertion.
"Are you okay...?" asked Izuku, helping Kaina to arrest her momentum as she came in fairly hot, similar to a paraglider. In response, the purple and pink-haired met his gaze, her expression tepid and eyes narrowed as she pointedly remarked, "I wouldn't have had any problems whatsoever if my crotch wasn't sore..."
"Seems like you're good," mused Izuku, releasing Kaina from his embrace before looking around for Mirio's Proximity Marker. The beady-eyed youth was the first out of the plane, but because he couldn't fly or equip ATs, he plummeted directly into the Earth using his Permeation Quirk. Fortunately, ever since he joined Izuku's Party, he no longer had to worry about falling to the Earth's center and slingshotting to the surface to get around. Now, he could move directly through objects at a rate several times his running speed, allowing him to reach the LZ and emerge from the ground in just a few seconds despite landing several kilometers off-point.
"Good, everyone's here..." said Samantha, emerging from behind Izuku as if she had been hiding there the entire time, courtesy of her Quirk, Stalker. It permitted her to mark a target, know their location, and teleport behind them. The only prerequisite was that she needed to have a certain degree of interest in the person she wanted to track, but even with that limitation, she was one of the most adept investigators working for the WHA.
"Hopefully not for too long," came a second voice, drawing Izuku's and everyone else's attention to a 193cm tall woman with bushy white hair, golden eyes, and a long ponytail. More notably, she had black, bull-like horns, a bull's tail, massive tits, and an extraordinarily well-developed body, fully on display as she wore an outfit that resembled a cow-print swimsuit beneath a long-sleeved half-vest and skirt that were black on the outside and yellow inside. The collar of the stylish jacket was lined in fur, much like her black boots, and she had pointed ears and mismatched black-and-white stockings.
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Name: [Maria Arinella Testarossa]
Title: Rampaging Bull(Strength+100)
Quirk: Momentous Force
Bond Level: 57
Current Level: 90
Effective Level: 196
[Attributes]
Strength: 582
Agility: 189
Vitality: 808
Intelligence: 62
Dexterity: 203
Luck: 225
Free Attributes: 270
[Perks]
[Thunderous Thighs], [Thick Skull], [Force Transfer]
[Skills]
[Tackle], [Bulldoze], [Power Slam], [Meteor Drop]
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'That's one hell of a woman...' thought Izuku, his eyes widening ever so slightly as Maria, better known by her Hero Name, Black Pucara, made her way over to them, crossing her muscular arms under her massive chest as she declared, "The Presidente doesn't appreciate foreigners meddling in Peruvian affairs. You have forty-eight hours to finish what you came to do. Then you need to leave."
Pushing up her glasses, which had returned to normal, Samantha stated, "The WHA understands and empathizes with the Presidente's concerns, but the Meta World Transveral Phenomenon isn't merely a Peruvian affair. This particular breach is of special interest to many international groups, so we will leave 'after' our investigation is completed. No sooner."
Though she barely came up to Maria's breasts, Samantha crossed her arms and maintained a stern expression, undaunted by the much larger and more powerful woman. She wasn't a combatant, but she wielded her status and authority as a high-ranking member of the WHA without fear of reprise.
Clicking her tongue, Maria broke eye contact with Samantha to stare at Izuku, her Bond Level increasing to 63 in a single go as she sized him up and asked, "You're Izuku Midoriya, Hero Name: Paragon, correct?"
"Something like that," replied Izuku, adopting a fearless smile despite his words causing Maria to frown.
"My name is Maria Testarossa, Hero Name: Black Pucara," stated Maria. "My Agency has been tasked with watching over and keeping you safe during your stay in Peru. Your death would cause a lot of problems for a lot of people, so I will be accompanying you when you enter the breach. Presidente's orders."
Before Samantha could point out that Maria joining them wasn't a part of their arrangement, Izuku casually replied, "Sounds good." His response caused Samantha's brow to twitch, but as he was technically in charge, she remained silent, looked away, and scanned their surroundings using the HUD projected into her pupils.
Feeling slightly gratified by Izuku's quick and favorable response, a smile developed across Maria's face as she thumbed toward the west and said, "The breach we'll be entering is about 3.7 kilometers off the coast. There is a military outpost nearby where we can stock up on food and supplies if needed."
"That shouldn't be necessary," replied Izuku, rising a few centimeters off the ground and smiling as he added, "Unless there was some kind of mix-up, we should have everything we need on the pontoon that should have been prepared before our arrival."
"I haven't checked it myself, but it should be good to go," affirmed Maria. Then, with her whip-like tail flicking behind her, she turned and took the initiative to take off running, shouting, "Follow me...!" as she very quickly accelerated. Her Quirk, Momentous Force, allowed her to generate a forcefield around her body that reduced friction and accumulated kinetic energy as she accelerated. The stockpiled energy permitted her to barrel through just about anything in her path, so while she struggled to change direction, it was easy to see why Maria was the No. 2 Hero in all of Peru...
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With their pontoon capable of traveling upwards of 60km/h, it only took a few minutes for Izuku's group to reach the partially submerged ruins that served as the site of Fediel's breach, the Bone Palace, colloquially known as the Gateway to Ukhu Pachu. Fediel had garnered quite a reputation for herself over the past few months, so once Izuku's group passed through the military cordon and entered the breach, they were unsurprised to find a substantial military presence and an archeological encampment inside a spacious forest clearing. More notably, a step-like pyramid could be seen in the distance, seemingly comprised of weathered gold and larger than a small mountain.
"Could this be the Legendary City of Gold...?" asked Tokoyami, his eyes widening at the breathtaking and slightly intimidating sight. The pyramid might have been constructed of gold, but it had a skull motif and a facade that looked like countless skeletons, both animal and human, attempting to clamber over one another as they climbed toward the temple complex and altar at the top.
"Some believe so, but you'd be wise not to take anything," replied Maria, explaining, "According to the information we received from Fediel herself, this structure is produced from the offerings buried alongside the dead to ensure a peaceful afterlife. If you loot even a single loose bullion, you will be cursed with undeath, unable to die, feel, or taste anything but ash and ever-intensifying cold. The only 'cure' is to offer yourself at the altar at the top of the temple, but it's difficult to say which is worse...gradually turning into a skeletal popsicle or having your soul devoured and enslaved by the physical manifestation of Death itself...?"
Noticing Izuku staring off into space rather than paying attention to what she was saying, Maria was about to ask him what was wrong when black markings started to appear around his eyes, making them appear sunken as glowing purple veins rapidly spread to encompass his eye sockets, the surrounding skin flaking away like fragments of crystal or glass...
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(A/N: Well, that can't be good...)