Chapter 281: What a hard guy to kill.

--Wednesday, July 8, 2172

“Now, master.”

From within a sphere of light, Sage announced with a serious tone, prompting Kai, who held a Magnetic Force card in his hand, to declare loudly.

“[Magnetic Force] Cancel!”

With Kai's announcement, the sphere of light vanished. Hovering in the air above the clouds, he swiftly kicked the air and shot off in another direction. Not long after, Kai saw from the sky something uncommon in Japan: a dirty, crime-ridden slum district. Paying no attention to anything else, Kai advanced until he reached what seemed to be a dark garbage dump, where he could see something like an old, battered washing machine being pushed up from below.

From where the washing machine was, Kai watched as what appeared to be weeds grew and took the shape of a naked man covered in wounds and on the verge of death. The man had a large portion of his body charred, no hair, and was missing a leg. Devoid of strength, the man fell face-first to the ground and, with great difficulty, rolled over to look at the dark sky.

But instead of the starry sky he expected to see, the man found a man clad in black armor looking down at him from above. The man's eyes widened like saucers upon seeing the armored man, but soon his smile turned somewhat bitter, and he commented with a broken, tired voice.

“You are truly terrifying, Saito Kai. Your Quirk goes beyond my wildest conjectures; it might even surpass One For All…”

“So that's why you looked so strange when you 'died'; you were fleeing.” Kai commented calmly as he landed next to All For One, who continued to silently gaze at the sky and spoke with a heavy voice.

“My greatest secret, the reason why All Might couldn't finish me off… A Quirk I stole purely by chance from a young girl long ago… Although it allows me to 'reborn' from a seed, it doesn't heal me; it leaves me in the same state I was in when I activated it, and my mind remains on autopilot until my 'death'…”

“You're really good at buying time.”

Kai commented with a casual voice as he swung his sword, cutting through all the earth around them. At that moment, the ground pulsed briefly and rose slightly before falling inert again, the instant two swords impaled All For One and lifted him into the air.

“And you are far too decisive… Not at all like a hero.”

Showing no apparent pain, the weakened All For One looked at Kai and spoke calmly, staring directly where Kai's eyes should be behind the helmet. Kai commented with a quiet voice while carefully studying the 'silhouette' of the Quirk thief with his black-and-white vision.

“That's because I'm not one. In fact, I'm more villain than hero.”

“They even named you the 'Demon King'… That should have been my title, you know? I should be the feared Demon King, the one capable of stealing the future of everything and everyone.”

All For One looked at Kai and commented calmly, the moment Kai raised his hand and conjured a sphere of electrical aura combined with advanced Armament Haki, launching it at the Symbol of Evil while remarking.

“I suppose you have several more 'seeds' if you're this calm. Let's see how many you have.”

The energy sphere managed to vaporize the weakened Symbol of Evil the moment Shino's voice resonated in Kai's helmet.

[Kai, are you okay? We saw several explosions, but we didn't dare contact you earlier so as not to distract you…]

[I'm fine, some things happened, but everything's okay now. I'm chasing someone, see you later.] Kai commented with a calm voice as he rose into the air and waited for the Quirk thief's signal to reappear. Shino let out a sigh of relief and commented softly.

[Okay, see you later. Things here are wrapping up too. I love you.]

[And I love you.] Kai replied calmly and soon communicated with Nemuri, All Might, and Keiko, explaining that everything was fine now.

Just as he expected, after a while Kai felt the [Trace] marker on All For One suddenly reignite, so he quickly headed towards the location at full speed while maintaining a mental conversation with his reliable assistant.

[That Trace was able to identify him after 'dying' was a surprise…] Kai commented with a tone full of surprise, to which Sage, flying beside him, nodded and replied.

[Truly lucky, master. Although, thinking about it, Trace's pact is that as long as the target is marked and alive, we will know its position and weak points at all times. Therefore, it makes sense that if he's not truly dead, it reactivates within the three-month activity period.]

[Yes, but pacts usually have weaknesses and are never so 'literal'. Under normal circumstances, upon 'dying' once, Trace should have stopped working, having fulfilled the condition of not being alive…]

Kai replied with a calm tone as he arrived at the location of All For One, the moment he sent a sword at full speed that pierced and exploded, vaporizing him before he could say anything.

[Could a change have occurred with the aura, Master? Did it 'strengthen' in a way we hadn't detected until now?] Sage sent a mental message with a hand on her chin, to which Kai replied equally thoughtfully.

[It's possible. The Haki changed, and the Mini-self changed, so it's likely the aura also changed in a more qualitative than quantitative way… Becoming more 'literal' in a manner that benefits me.]

Sage nodded and sat on her master's shoulder while sending a message through the mental connection as her wings shimmered with different colors.

[It's possible, especially the self-benefit part, master. If we think about it carefully, the power of pacts comes from the risk they entail; the greater the risk, the greater the power. Therefore, as the aura strengthens, less risk is needed to achieve the same, and thus the ability adapts to minimize it within the pact's parameters.

[After all, it's not the first time we've seen the aura do things on its own, almost like an embodiment of your subconscious, master. I am living proof of that, born spontaneously from your aura, possessing innate abilities that adapted to your needs, and then evolving as your aura strengthened.]

[Sage, clear a slot in the schedule to start testing each ability. We need to know if there are changes and what they are.] Kai ordered with a serious tone, to which the beautiful fairy quickly nodded.

[Right away, master.]

…

…

…

--Thursday, July 9, 2172

After an entire night of chasing the different seeds, having 'killed' at least ten of them, Kai set off for a small island far from the main ones to finish the job. Upon arrival, he was greeted by a destructive energy beam that forced him to dodge. Through his Haki, Kai sensed the Quirk-stealer hiding in the earth and running with all his might, while simultaneously feeling something akin to panic emanating from him.

“It seems they are running out.”

Kai smirked maliciously as he murmured, realizing the Quirk thief was running out of options. Kicking the air, Kai shot towards where the Quirk thief was, the moment he unleashed a brutal slash, splitting the earth in two. At that moment, a beam combined with dark lightning and energy spheres of the same color shot towards Kai, who moved his sword at great speed.

As the energy beam and dark spheres were split in two, defying all logic, AFO shot towards the sea at supersonic speed, clearly desperate, as his body was unable to withstand the brutal friction with the air and was injured. For his part, Kai, quite calm, shot towards the Quirk thief at a similar speed while announcing aloud.

“Sword Field.”

Out of nowhere, hundreds of swords appeared in the air, organizing themselves around Kai and the Quirk-stealer in a perfect sphere that left no gaps. Visibly injured, AFO had no choice but to stop and look at Kai with a dark expression, commenting gravely.

“You are a ruthless man, Saito Kai. You left everything behind just to chase me… By now, your people must be dead.”

“Just as I assumed, it wasn't you behind the attack. Who did you cooperate with?” Kai asked with an authoritative voice as his Conqueror's Haki erupted uncontrollably over the sea, creating massive waves.

“…”

All For One fell silent and looked at the enormous number of swords surrounding him, torn between surprise and fear, the moment he clenched his fists and prepared to do everything possible. But before he could, he felt a cold metal in his chest, causing him to look up over his shoulder, finding a black helmet there.

“I asked you a damn question.”

Without responding, All For One tried to touch Kai in an attempt to steal his Quirk, but he disappeared as if by magic, reappearing in front of him again. With disbelief written on his face, AFO couldn't help but ask while staring at Kai.

“What is your Quirk? Can you also steal Quirks? How do you have so many different and powerful abilities?”

“Do you think I'm a filthy thief like you? Don't insult me. I don't need to steal; I can 'create'.” Kai replied full of contempt while secretly analyzing the 'silhouette' of the Quirk thief with his black-and-white vision.

“Create…? You create Quirks…?”

All For One couldn't help but murmur, filled with disbelief upon hearing Kai, but it was all an act. Simultaneously, he activated one of his abilities, causing all the blood in his body to shoot out in all directions, then change and return to him. At that moment, he was swallowed by a dark substance and appeared dozens of meters away.

“Do you really think that works on me?”

Kai appeared right in front of the Symbol of Evil and commented with a calm voice as the sphere of swords reformed around them, and several swords impaled his battered body. At that instant, All For One inflated like a balloon and exploded, scattering strange flesh and blood everywhere, self-destructing.

“Did he think my detection was based on blood?”

Feeling the Quirk thief's life force fade, Kai couldn't help but comment, somewhat confused. Sage commented with a calm voice, sitting on her master's shoulder.

“He may have been testing different methods to avoid detection each time he was reborn, and he might be running out of ideas.”

“Seriously, this guy is worse than a cockroach…” Kai commented, already tired, as the swords disappeared, and he waited for the Trace marker to reactivate, which happened some time later.

…

“How…? How do you keep finding me again and again?!!”

Lying on the cold sand of a small, uninhabited island, full of wounds, more dead than alive, All For One asked, filled with rage, indignation, but above all terror, as he watched Kai land calmly not far away. Kai activated his Conqueror's Haki and sent a slash towards the Symbol of Evil while commenting with a bored voice.

“It's a wish from my fairy godmother.”

In panic, All For One created protrusions from his back to barely avoid the slash from reaching his head, managing to lose just an arm, and then he screamed in terror.

“Wait! Wait! Let's negotiate! I can help you, give you more power! Help you connect with underworld bosses worldwide! I can even tell you who is hunting you!”

"Seems you still have options. What a hard guy to kill.”

Kai commented casually as a sphere of lightning vaporized the body of the exhausted and terrified All For One. At that moment, Sage commented with a voice full of distaste, looking at the scorched sand.

“All for One is a truly suffocating Quirk… It's almost dawn, and we still haven't finished him off.”

“Yeah… But looking on the bright side, before, because of Ms. Yoshiko, we had no choice but to kill him quickly, but now we have the opportunity to capture him for study. Besides, I've noticed something that's becoming increasingly obvious.

“I feel that the more desperate this guy gets, the stranger his 'silhouette' becomes. It's reminding me a bit of the giant spider when it first woke up.” Kai commented with a thoughtful tone while waiting for the marker to reactivate. Sage nodded and explained with a serious tone.

“Certainly there are some similarities. Also, the genetic data I've recovered from him is somewhat strange. At first glance, it seems like a combination between One For All and a small part of the genetic code we recovered from the spider, but it looks 'edited,' as if it had been artificially simplified.”

“We have to study it thoroughly. One For All and All For One are too strange. The feeling that there's something more behind those Quirks won't leave my head…” Kai commented with a serious tone, to which Sage nodded and replied.

“I'll raise the priority and dedicate several server farms to it, master.”

“I leave it in your hands.” Kai commented with a serious tone and leaped as the marker had activated again.

…

Not long after, Kai arrived at the new rebirth location of the Quirk thief, which seemed to be an abandoned oil platform in the middle of the ocean, and he prepared to attack. But at that instant, AFO, visibly terrified, shouted aloud, filled with palpable terror.

“Wait! I surrender! I surrender! I'll do whatever you say!!”

“Seems he's finally run out of options. Sword Field.” Seeing the once Symbol of Evil desperate and pleading, Kai couldn't help but murmur with a calm smile as he conjured a hundred swords again.

***

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