Chapter 27

A few moments earlier…..

Rage….anger….fury….wrath.

These were emotions the Herrscher of the Void was very familiar with. They were the emotions that practically made up her very being. The desire for revenge, the desire to unleash all of Sirin's rage against humanity for wronging her. It was the emotion Void knew, the emotion that defined her being, that separated her from her other half. Where Kiana let go of her anger, the Herrscher of the Void would embrace it.

So why was she struggling to keep it all contained now? Why despite winning, despite having taken her revenge on Endeavor and retreating safely back to the apartment, was she barely able to stand? Did the hero do that much damage to her?

She clenched her head as she stopped floating. She was in agony. Izuku's body, her body, had been pushed to its limits. They were covered with numerous cracks along their flesh, all illuminated with a pulsing neon-pink glow. The more she tried to push her power, the more painful just existing became for her.

Yet when she stopped, she felt agitated. She felt it impossible to stay still. She wanted to keep going, but her body couldn't keep up. She wanted to scream, to erupt in a pillar of Honkai energy, destroying this god-forsaken city and sending every soul to the afterlife, but her body was practically breaking down the more she moved.

Eventually, it became so unbearable, that the very form of the Herrscher fizzled as she nearly collapsed. The Herrscher's body reverted back into Izuku's form as the stumbled forward eventually falling onto the couch. Now free from her mortal form, the Herrscher's ghostly form appeared beside her vessel, still gasping breathing heavily despite no longer needing to.

Choosing to lie on the floor while she recovered her strength, the Herrscher cast her host's body a glance. A scowl had formed on her face as she stared at them. Her body was stiffening as she clenched her teeth. She could see nothing but blood red around the room, with the sole exception being Izuku.

Numerous thoughts ran through her head. Hundreds of ways to torture him, thousands of ways to make him suffer, a million ways to make him wish he did swan dive of the roof. Her mind was racing….if she wanted to…right now she could….

"What am I doing?" She caught herself as her hand was outstretched. She still needed him alive at least…their body needed to remain alive. She had almost destroyed her chance for revenge in a fit of rage.

"What's happening to me?" She asked herself. Even though she had stopped herself. She was still feeling an immense surge of anger threatening to consume her.

This wasn't normal. This was something else. She had been angry before. Of course, she had been. It was to seek revenge for Sirin, to ensure all the rage Sirin had felt could still be returned to the ones who had incited her fury. That was Void's whole purpose for existing. Void had control of herself when she acted on Sirin's rage. She was able to detach herself and act on Sirin's destructive desires.

Now similar desires were overwhelming her, suffocating her. She felt rage, just the same as before. However, in addition to her wrath, something else was there. Something inside her was clawing at her whenever she stared at her…host. It made her feel sick. It made her feel off. She felt….hollow.

"What did you do to me?" She growled as she stared at the boy. He wasn't conscious, but she knew for a fact he wasn't just sleeping. Her connection with him was still there, but it felt strange like he was here but at the same time he wasn't. It frustrated her.

She wanted him to come…if only so she could yell at him and rebuke him.

"Why am I feeling this?" She asked herself. She didn't know who could answer her question.

"Haha…." A young man laughed as he looked up at the burning sig, a sign of Endeavor, the once-great second-best zero. He smiled at this, having witnessed the best show of all. Elated by what he saw he continued to dance, wisps of blue flames spewing out of him as he happily skipped down the city. The buildings burned bright blue as he bathed them with his joy.

Many people were screaming as they saw him but he didn't care. He had just been so happy to see the utter humiliation of the man. Oh, how it was glorious, to see him bathed in his own blood on live television for all the world to see. Unable to stand no more, or even move.

The man's joy was uncontainable as he felt it continuously build and build, needing him to release it all out to the world around him. Even as many others came to restrain him, his happiness could not be contained. They were all turned to ashes as he continued to make his way through the ruined street.

He stopped by a store taking note of how it had yet to be burned. He was just about to set ablaze when he noticed it was a liquor store. "Eh…what the hell…it's a special occasion," The young man said to himself as he entered the store and grabbed a bottle. It was one of the best days of his life and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to celebrate.

Maybe he should head home and check his family, he would love to see how they react to the good news.

"You won? What do you mean you won?" Izuku questioned as he stared at the Herrscher. She didn't respond immediately, only glaring at him. Her eyes started to glow even more intensely.

Izuku felt a wave of pain, surge through his body as he lost his balance and fell back before the Herrscher. He looked at her, only to find her expression unchanging, with no sympathy visible before. Yet more unsettling were the neon veins glowing all over her skin, marks that glowed eerily on his own.

"I mean…that despite your meddling. I survived and walked away from that fight." The Herrscher told him coldly. The veins grew, creeping up her neck as she spoke. "You weren't expecting that. Were you? You thought they could beat me. You thought I'd just roll over and die. Right?" She accused him as she floated forward.

"No…it's not like that." Izuku denied. "I never intended for it to get like this." Izuku tried to defend. "I didn't mean to hurt you," He pleaded.

"Well, you failed," The Herrscher told him. "I got hurt and whenever something hurts me, I usually like to hurt it back." She told him as she bent over and stretched her arms out to him. Izuku backed away but where could he go? He bumped into the wall as the Herrscher's hands fazed into his body.

"ARGH!" Izuku screamed as various sensations overwhelmed his body. He could not move, only feel. He felt himself set ablaze as if he was right back in the fight with Endeavor. The scent of burnt flesh assaulted his nose, as he heard fire crackling around him, his vision obscured completely by the flames.

The Herrscher soon stopped as she pulled her hands out. Izuku coughed as he tried to gasp for air. His breathing had become heavier, his mouth tasted like smoke and ash. He looked at the Herrscher who looked just as dazed as he was. Yet when her eyes fell on him, she smiled and laughed.

"Not so fun now is it," She chuckled maniacally. "It's not fun to be burnt by people you thought were good." She told him as she approached him once more. "You should have known betraying me like this would have cost you dearly," she told him.

"I've spent weeks, trying to be… 'nice' to you, because my previous methods were…unsuccessful with my last host," Void told him. "But there is only so much foolishness I can take," she told him.

"You could have killed my mom." Izuku whimpered as he looked over at the Herrscher towering over him. Void's expression shifted, if only for a brief second."I didn't intend for you to be hit by Endeavor's flames, but I just couldn't let you kill her recklessly," Izuku responded. "It was an accident,"

"AND WHO PAID FOR IT?" The Herrscher shouted as she held out her hand. Izuku felt an invisible presence wrap itself around his throat as he was lifted off the ground. The Herrscher him up to face her at eye level. "WHO GOT HURT BECAUSE OF YOUR ACCIDENT?" She interrogated him.

"You," Izuku choked out.

"That's right," She told him. "I got hurt, because of your mistake," she told him. "So do you know what is going to happen now?" Izuku shook his head. His hair was standing on edge as he looked at the burning amber eyes of the Herrscher. "Now you're going to pay for it, the only way you can," She whispered.

"Hand over your body," She ordered as she reached into his chest and wrapped her fingers around his heart.

"No," Izuku told her.

"Oh, really," She mocked as she clenched his heart. Neon red veins started to crawl all over her skin and Izuku's. "You don't seem to realize what happened. Your body is currently overloaded with Honkai, thanks to that fight. Now you either have two choices, one…you die a less painful death, surrendering your body to me. Or two…you live a more painful existence for the next few days, and then I take your corpse as my new body." She told him as she dropped him back onto the floor. "Either way, I win,"

"Void…please…I'm sorry," Izuku pleaded. "I know you're angry…but…"

"Save your useless drivel," Void told him. "I tried to help you a lot, but in the end, it barely ever amounted to much. It was a waste of time. You just couldn't see what was right in front of you," she told him as she vanished before his eyes.

Left alone, Izuku picked himself up, still in disbelief at what he saw. He winced as he took a step forward, glancing at his body, he noticed the lines of Honkai that had been engraved in him were now glowing more vibrant. He took off his t-shirt, throwing it aside, his eyes widened at the sight before him. His entire chest was now covered in neon lines all pulsing outward from his heart.

Izuku hurried over to the mirror noticing how the lines had made their way up his neck, his green hair turning white at its roots. He looked pale.

"This can't be happening," Izuku tried to convince himself, but even he couldn't deny it. The Herrscher's words still echoed in his head, the rage, the pain, the hate in her voice. It had all embedded itself in his memories, yet they weren't the worst of it. The worst of it was the last feeling that had stayed with him.

It was the pain in her eyes.

"Looks like I might need to update the curriculum," Nezu winced as he looked at the news display. Beside him, Recovery girl was sipping her tea as she also took stock of what had happened. "The fallout from this one… it's going to be among the worst in a long while."

"I don't think there are many ways this could have gone better Nezu." Recovery Girl noted as she looked at the feed. "Even if he succeeded in arresting her…she's already gotten a grip on the public."

"Everyone has their own story of events. Their interpretations of what happened, am I right?" Nezu noted. "Yet so far, she's been the focus of it all. Some people see her as a hero, not bound by the 'corrupt' system who punishes villains in a way that many see as being deserved, often excusing the collateral she causes."

"It's hard to argue when you see it clearly that she saved all those people from the attack, only for Endeavor to burn her right after." Recovery girl pointed out.

"If I'm not mistaken there is still a significant portion who view as a villain," Nezu argued. "For most that's more than enough, she's a violent individual who acts on her own whims. We've just been lucky most of those whims have been in retaliation against villains." Nezu reasoned. "All it took was one reckless mistake from Endeavour."

You never shot first at a villain not unless people were actively in danger. If you did, a fight would almost always escalate especially if you weren't prepared for it. Against the Herrscher, none of them had been sure how to even fight her, much less subdue or defeat her.

"I swear, I knew that hothead attitude of his was going to get him trouble one day, I just never imagined it would be like this."

"How's he doing?" Nezu asked.

"Hard to say. All Might had left as soon as he got wind of it. All I know is that he's in critical condition, but whether he makes it or not." She took a deep breath. "Those injuries aren't ones you just 'survive', even if he lives…he won't be the same," She told the Principal.

"I was afraid of that," Nezu grimaced.

It was quiet in his head for the first time in weeks. True to her word, she left him, or at least her presence had greatly diminished. The Herrscher wasn't there anymore, she wasn't whispering in his ears, she wasn't commenting on what was around them, insulting whatever they saw. It was silent with only his thoughts to keep him company.

He should have been happy. At least he'd finally have peace of mind. That's what he had wanted. Yet it felt hollow. Maybe Void had been right about him. He was technically dying now, yet that seemed to be the least of his concerns. Instead, his thoughts were divided, between his mother and the Herrscher.

The Herrscher was a villain. She was a violent individual who cared little for the lives of others. Yet she had still made an effort to try and help him in her warped way and she had even gone at his behest to save his mom when he had asked, and he had hurt in return. He hated how awful he was about it.

After all…there wasn't any other choice, right? If he didn't stop her, then his mom…she would be….

He didn't know what to think anymore. He hated how she had almost hurt his mom, but he also hated how he had hurt her. It was infuriating. Why does he feel guilty for hurting the girl who wants to destroy all of humanity? Because she was the closest he ever had to a friend? Because even if it was her own goal, she still tried to help him be better.

"Why am I feeling like this?" He wondered. He didn't know who he could turn to for an answer.