Chapter 65 - Path to Godhood

A loud boom resounded as Rikiya Katsukame's head exploded into meat paste and splattered brain matter.

Overhaul stared with wide eyes as a feeling of despair overwhelmed him.

Without even doing anything, this random person suddenly went on to slaughter over half of Shie Hassaikai and killed most of its powerhouse, leaving only him and a few other trusted members alive.

But, that would soon change as the noose of death tightened around their necks.

Ryuji's eyes flashed with joy as he said, "Come."

Overhaul immediately reacted and pushed both of his hands down to the ground, forming a series of sharp spikes that shot toward Ryuji.

Chronostasis' long-winded hair shot forward at extreme speeds, arriving right in front of Ryuji at the same time as the spikes protruding out of the ground.

Yu Hojo lunged himself forward and ignored Ryuji's overbearing aura. At this moment, Trigger's mind-numbing effects were becoming an advantage for them to resist their innate fear of death.

"Good!" Ryuji chuckled and started to use the other Quirks he managed to acquire to test them out and train his practical combat experience.

They're nothing more than worthless souls to him, only Overhaul's Quirk was the one thing that allured him the most in this operation.

His eyes were tinged a bit of orange as he started to exert his control on the electromagnetic spectrum, one of the four fundamental forces of reality.

Originally, this Quirk was quite weak and required a lot of training by the original holder to hold potent power, but One for All overcame this weakness with its endless reserve of energy that defied all laws of physics.

Sparks erupted out from the tips of his fingers to form electric spears hovering in the air. Then, a thin barrier of luminescent light formed around his body as the spikes and hair were evaporated upon contact.

The electric spears tore through the air and arrived right in front of their bodies, but Hekiji Tengai's barriers augmented by Trigger managed to resist it and only dimmed by a little.

Yu Hojo silently heaved a sigh of relief and restored the barriers to peak condition.

As the barrier of light around Ryuji's body dissipated, he waved his hand and a ball of dirt flew up and hovered in front of him.

Yu Hojo swiftly arrived in front of Ryuji and was about to swing his pillar-like crystalline sword, but the ball of dirt shone with a dazzling white light and expanded in size to form a metallic wall.

Bang!

The crystal pillar collided with the metallic wall and Hekiji Tengai stared with a shocked face as the metallic wall didn't even form a single dent. Instead, it was his crystal pillar that snapped in half.

"Interesting…" Ryuji muttered with an intrigued smile as he started to use more and more of his Quirks.

It was exhilarating. To have such a deep connection with the fundamental building blocks of reality, the rules that governed the universe, it was mystical. It was divine.

He felt like he was a god that can alter reality with a single thought. To turn lead into gold or snap his fingers and split the sky into two.

Of course, he was holding back by a lot right now to not cause a large commotion, but even this was intoxicating for him.

He didn't need to scheme. He didn't need to make hundreds upon thousands of preparations for one single expedition. He didn't need to create plan after plan for every single possible accident that can happen.

Strength was all he needed.

So what if a nuke was shot at him? He can just blink and the nuke would just obliterate into dust!

This was the terrifying power he now wields, and he's just lacking one final Quirk to gain full control over the four fundamental forces.

As the metallic barrier snapped the crystal pillar in half, the large wall of metal shrunk down into nothingness in the next moment. Then, as golden sparks erupted out of Ryuji's body and his eyes were coated in a bluish luster, gravity was warped to the extreme.

Bang!

A bright flash of light erupted as the shrunken down metallic wall suddenly expanded into a blazing hot ball of orange light. Yu Hojo's body was flung backward like a bullet, crashing onto a wall as his charred flesh emitted rising smoke. The yellow barrier around his body was already gone, blown to bits and pieces like paper melting in a mountain of flames.

'Extreme gravity and electromagnetism to create a miniature nuclear reaction that almost formed a star. In just 15 years, I have already gained this much strength…' Ryuji looked up to the starry night sky with his golden eyes shining brightly with endless brilliance.

In just 15 years, he was already so near to conceptualizing his own pathway and reaching the peak of 3rd Stage, entering one step closer to the realm of metaphysical gods that hold dominion over the concepts of reality.

When he first arrived in this world, it was full of uncertainty and shock. Then, as years passed, as his experience grew, and as his foundations deepened, he was finally tasting the extremely sweet fruits of his labor.

It was majestic. It was sacrilegious.

In a world where gods roam, in a world where a single person can rival entire nations, he has finally the confidence to go toe to toe with the likes of All Might and New Order!

This was merely the start.

This was merely the beginning.

He dispelled his melancholic thoughts and moved his attention back to the ragtag group of villains in front of him.

Overhaul was clearly shaken from the fear he felt.

He clearly understood what just happened.

How couldn't he? His power was deeply intertwined with forces that governed reality.

The unknown masked man in front of him did something that shook his heart and soul.

"He…" Overhaul gulped as his mouth felt dry. "He created a star…"

"This…" Overhaul widened his eyes in fear and rage. "Who are you!"

"Do you want money?!"

"Do you want revenge?!"

"Do you want the secret to our Quirk Destroying Drug?!"

"Tell me! Maybe we can work it out and-"

"Shush…" Ryuji chuckled and placed his index finger in front of his covered lips.

"Do you want to know what I want?" Ryuji asked in a teasing tone.

"Yes!" Overhaul shouted swiftly.

There's no other way. The gap in their power was simply too big, too ridiculous.

It was akin to an ant trying to take down an elephant.

If they had millions of ants, then sure, maybe they might have a chance, but right now, only a few of them were left.

Even if he was a prideful person, Overhaul knew that death was the only thing left in that foolish path of sin. Instead, he'd rather relent and surrender to gain the chance to live another day.

"Hehehe…" Ryuji chuckled and shook his head. "The one thing I want… is your life!"

His aura exploded out like a tidal wave, pressing down on their bodies and shaking their souls.

Overhaul widened his eyes upon hearing this.

'He wants to kill us! There's nothing to sway this lunatic!'

In the next moment, Chronostasis reacted just as quickly and shot his hair toward Ryuji in a futile attempt to resist.

But, Ryuji snorted and snapped his hand. Gravity warped and a strange hole appeared in the middle of the air, warping all light around it to appear as a strange curvature in space.

Swoosh.

Chronostasis hair actually appeared right behind him, piercing through the yellow barrier around his body and stabbing through his heart.

"Kuwak!" He coughed out blood through his mask as scarlet liquid dripped down his neck and dyed his clothes red.

Ryuji then twisted his arm as Chronostasis' hair expanded out into sharp spikes, gouging out his eyes and piercing through his brain.

Only Hekiji Tengai and Kai Chisaki were left.

Ryuji killed them one by one with shocking efficiency and power, with each kill displaying strange and mystical abilities.

What was his Quirk? What is his ability? How can he do so many strange things?

Stars. Gravity. Telekinesis.

They were all different abilities with no same origin. There shouldn't be a Quirk in existence that can be this diverse and varied in terms of abilities and strength.

Overhaul was dumbfounded and simply stood in shock.

There was nothing he could physically do right now.

The gap in their strength was heaven and earth. He can do nothing or affect anything.

The once proud and aloof leader of Shie Hassaikai was standing helplessly without being able to provide a single bit of help.

Rage bubbled within his heart, but fear overwhelmed his entire body and soul.

Ryuji shifted his gaze onto Hekiji Tengai and smirked.

His eyes flashed with orange light once more, and Hekiji Tengai widened his eyes in the next moment.

Horrifyingly, he found himself raising his arm toward his throat against his will. It was as if someone else was manipulating his will and thoughts, his very brain and mind!

Electrical synapses flared in his mind as a strange mystical force influenced his biological thought process. His body's natural fear of death was overwritten by the external electrical will flowing inside his mind as his hands approached his neck closer and closer.

Then, as he grabbed his throat with ruthless tenacity, Overhaul watched as his own subordinate started to strangle himself to death without being able to do anything.

It was a horrific scene, but to Ryuji, it was the most beautiful theatrical play he has ever witnessed.

Thoughts, in essence, were just electrical impulses fired off from the countless neurons within the human mind. His original Quirk, Mind Dragon, could indirectly affect the thoughts and wills of others by linking their souls and minds, but this time, it was a lot different.

He directly altered their minds by controlling the electrical signals flowing through their mind. It was a power that overrides the thoughts of others and controls them from within.

It wasn't just an indirect control that relied on a linkage between heart and soul, it was a forceful iron hand that grabbed another person's mind with an unmovable grip.

Ryuji finally moved his gaze to the main target of this operation—Kai Chisaki.

With blank and lifeless eyes, Overhaul watched as Ryuji extend out his hands, and golden sparks erupted from his body.

In his final moments, he saw the dazzling night sky shine brightly with endless stars.

…

Ryuji returned back to Hidden Order's headquarters and gave his orders.

Inside Shie Hassaikai's base, groups of thugs rushed in wielding guns and metallic bars and started to destroy the place. They shot the dead corpses and created a fake scene of what truly happened.

With the destruction of Shie Hassaikai disguised as a gang war between two yakuza groups, Ryuji calmly cloned Overhauls's Quirk and waited for the inevitable.

After a few days, Ryuji walked out of a dark shadowy room with bloodstained hands and walked toward a glass tank.

Inside the container, a malevolent red star shone brightly in the dark room, illuminating everything with a crimson hue.

It emitted a domineering pressure that caused the surrounding liquid around it to bubble and continuously change shape and form. It sometimes turned into gas, sometimes into solid, and sometimes back to liquid.

This was Overhaul, a power that can disassemble and reassemble matter with a wave of one's hands. It was a Quirk that controlled the building blocks of the physical world, matter!

"Telekinesis, Creation, and finally…" Ryuji's eyes shone brightly with a golden and rainbow light. He stretched out his hands and slowly absorbed the glowing red star into his soul, "Overhaul."

Countless tendrils shot out of One for All's colorful star and amped Overhaul beyond its original limits.

Ryuji's eyes shone brightly with a baleful red, green, and violet light. The entire world around him shook as golden sparks erupted out of his skin.

Everything in a one-kilometer radius turned into dust, exposing the endless white plane that stretched out to infinity and beyond.

If he wasn't inside Hidden Order's sub-dimension right now, this phenomenon would have even been more terrifying as countless lives were taken.

As his power stabilize, Ryuji snapped his fingers, and the endless cloud of dust around him transformed into a whirlpool of endless atoms. Eventually, it gathered and gathered into a small, spherical… black hole.

Ryuji approached it and touched the edges of this world-ending celestial object and smiled, muttering under his breath with complex emotions, "Four fundamental forces, One for All, and All for One…"

His eyes seemed to see past the black hole and through the edges of time, staring at a distant future where one single man stood unrivaled against the entire world.

He chuckled and closed his eyes, envisioning the future that was only a single step away, "The last thing left is New Order."

"Once I have it, then my path to godhood is guaranteed!"

AN: This chapter has 2188 words.

Unedited, but I have a valid reason. I may not have just spent hours on conceptualizing an original nove - Fortune Stealer.

Ahem, does that mean I'll drop this soon because I'm fucking sick and tired of writing fanfics and want to try out writing an original novel again to itch that urge every writer has on creating their own original works? Maybe.

(June 25, 2023 - 577th day of writing)