Just beneath Tetsutetsu, Kirishima, and the others, who were still struggling to resist the near-endless barrage of ice swords, Wolfram, his limbs pierced and pinned by the blades was lifted into the air toward the snowman atop the ice dragon.
"Time for us to go."
Looking at the smile hidden under the snowman's hood, Wolfram gritted his teeth through the pain, gasping and sneering, "Are you kidding me? Is this how you treat a senior cadre?"
"Who do you have to blame but yourself?"
The snowman reached out and removed the Quirk Amplification Device from Wolfram's head, responding nonchalantly.
"If anyone's to blame, it's your own greed and limitless ambition that led you to make contact with people we never should've dealt with behind our backs."
"He came to me!" Wolfram snapped furiously.
The snowman simply shrugged and looked down at the device in his hand. "But you accepted his power... and then kept it from us."
Suddenly, he raised his head and stared into Wolfram's eyes coldly. He spoke in a low voice, "That alone is enough to be considered... betrayal."
"You! You brat, what do you know?! What could you possibly understand?!" Wolfram roared in fury.
He swore then and there, he hated nothing more than these little punks. Who gave them the right to interfere with him? Who gave them the right to talk down to him?!
"Whether I understand or not doesn't matter. Mr. Destro will understand."
With that, he ignored him and swept his gaze over the heroes below, his eyes lingering for a few seconds on Kaminari and Midoriya.
"Let's return."
Roar!!
The ice dragon beneath him let out a powerful cry, spreading its massive wings and soaring into the night sky. The moonlight reflected in the snowman's eyes.
Boom!
At the same time, the iceberg under his feet shattered into mist, which then, under some unseen power, turned into a violent blizzard.
It not only obscured everyone's vision, but also completely cut off any hope of pursuit. In terms of ice manipulation, he was clearly a cut above the current Shoto Todoroki.
"What is it?"
Hearing a voice through his earpiece, the snowman glanced back at Wolfram, now re-pinned to the dragon's back, and replied, "We have the man and the device, but it's damaged. No other intel was found."
"Alright. Good work."
"For the liberation of Quirks!" the snowman declared firmly, looking up at the starry sky beyond the dark clouds.
Drip, drip, drip.
But just as he said this, Wolfram—still impaled—suddenly coughed up a mouthful of black, foul-smelling fluid.
"Huh?!"
The snowman noticed something was wrong and turned around, but before he could speak, he watched in shock as Wolfram's body was engulfed by the black liquid and vanished before his eyes.
"What... what just happened?"
"He's gone."
The snowman's lips twitched. After a moment, he whispered, "Wolfram disappeared, right in front of me. It must have been some kind of teleportation Quirk."
"Can you track him? If not, come back. The Quirk Amplification Device is what matters most."
"Chief, I can sense it!" The snowman's gaze grew cold. "The location he teleported to, it's not far from here."
"You should come back. It's likely that he took Wolfram. It's too dangerous for you to chase him."
But instead of fear, the snowman's eyes lit up with an eerie glint of anticipation.
"Chief, I want to try. Don't worry—I'll be fine. After all, the sea is second only to the poles for me."
On the other end, Destro—seated in his office—listened quietly to the snowman's confident words. After a moment's thought, he responded:
"Then give it a try. See how powerful he really is. But prioritize collecting Quirk data and your own safety."
"Understood!"
The headset went silent. Destro stood and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the peaceful cityscape of Nihua.
"All For One… the most evil ruler of the dark world…"
Just saying the name caused an enormous pressure to weigh on him. But that pressure, he stored in his Quirk.
"I've gotten stronger... but it still might not be enough."
Far from Nihua, out in the sea near I-Island, a black cruise ship was quietly making its way toward Japan.
Suddenly, a surge of black sewage materialized on the deck, and Wolfram—his body limp—crashed down onto the steel floor.
Boom!
Four sharp, handleless ice swords remained lodged in his limbs. Because of their intense cold, the blood around the wounds had already frozen.
"We meet again, Mr. Wolfram," All For One said calmly, dressed in a black suit, looking down at the figure on the deck.
"You seem... a little worse for wear than last time. Would you like a shower and a change of clothes?"
"O-One… All For One…" Wolfram looked up at the tall figure in horror.
But then, forcing a strained smile, he said, "Thank you, thank you for saving me! I swear, I'll always be loyal to you! I'll serve you faithfully!"
"Oh? That's wonderful." All For One smiled. "As it happens, there's something I need your help with."
He then looked down at the young girl standing beside him.
"Tomomi-chan, be sure to thank Mr. Wolfram. He's kindly offering you his Quirk. What a generous man!"
"W-What?" Wolfram froze. He was giving his Quirk… to her?
"Thank you," Tomomi said coldly.
Suddenly realizing what was happening, Wolfram's face contorted with terror. He screamed, "No! No! Don't take my Quirk! Don't take it!!"
To someone like him, obsessed with power, status, and dominance, his Quirk was everything.
He could lose his status, his wealth, his women, his allies... but he could never lose his Quirk.
Because as long as he had his Quirk, he could regain everything else.
"Don't worry. If you cooperate, I'll give you a million dollars afterward. That's more than enough to live comfortably in Japan," All For One said softly, walking toward him.
"No! No! No!!!"
A moment later, a blood-curdling scream tore through the starry night at sea, filled with rage, terror, and soul-crushing despair.
Boom!
Wolfram collapsed on the deck like scrap metal drained of power, unconscious and broken after having his Quirk forcibly extracted.
"Perfect. This 'metal manipulation' Quirk pairs beautifully with your 'sharp' Quirk. Most importantly, they're the same type."
(To be continued.)
***
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