Silence.

That was the only thing I heard when I opened my eyes.

I felt my body lying within something, yet I could not see what it was due to the darkness around me. I blinked several times, trying to adjust my vision only to realize that there were indeed no light sources even managing to make it where I was.

But I didn't ponder too much on it, as soon, I heard the hissing of an unsealing capsule, clearly, the one I was in. Slowly, the lid above me shifted off, revealing a pure white ceiling above me. There was hardly any light in the room I was in, but there were some sources that I wasn't able to see yet due to my eyes adjusting to the area.

I sat up and confirmed my suspicions that I was in a metal pod, only wearing some sort of hospital gown with long hair brushing against my arms. I looked left and right to see that several tubes were connecting to the pod I was in, no doubt tubes injected in the capsule I was in.

I wasn't scared, nor confused, nor angry, just completely expressionless. I looked ahead of me in the room I was in, finally seeing something that caught my attention. The room was rather large but dimly lit up in blue, the only light sources coming from the monitors of several computers in the room. But what really caught my attention were the several people standing a few feet away from where I was.

These people were completely frozen as they stared at me, all of them wearing lab coats and two of them even holding rifles that trembled in their hands.

There were more people behind them by the monitors, all of them whispering to each other or trying to peak a look at me. They were all clearly scientists of the sort, and if they were staring at me, then I'm their subject. I didn't particularly care to understand that about the situation, I was more intrigued about what would be the rest of the circumstances in who I am.

Speaking of which... I don't even know who I am.

No recollections of who I was, no memories of anything before waking up, and feeling nothing familiar whatsoever from the scene around me. The doctors standing around, the computers in the area, the large double-metal doors at the end of the room, there was nothing I could connect to.

I shifted my attention to just the adults right in front of me, narrowing my eyes at them, which intimidated them to take a step back. How ironic, to be scared of the one you've just created even when you could've put safety measures. They had visible looks of fear as they stared at me with a variation of emotions in their eyes: fear, confusion, excitement, quite a variety.

After what felt like minutes of pointless silence, I stood up in boredom, seeing nothing happening around me. That made everyone gasp and finally speak out.

"D-Did it work?" One of them uttered.

I don't know what they meant by, 'work,' but I was breathing with no backlash signs on my body, so everything seemed fine to me.

The scientist in the front of the group stepped forward, his hands behind his back and a tired stare. He was a more experienced looking man, one who seemed to be the oldest from the group. He had several white strands in his otherwise black hair, a grayish mustache, wrinkled skin, and blue eyes with rectangular glasses over them.

He got closer, being only a few feet from me now.

"How... are you feeling? Do you remember anything at all?"

Do I remember anything? To ask me that, it seems clear that they intentionally wiped any memories I had of anything. Whether it was with or without consent from who I was before, it didn't matter since I was here now. I was silent at this man's question, not trusting him or any of these people who viewed me like I was some sort of wild animal. If they were cautious of me, then it was clear we weren't going to have any functioning relationship, it's bound to end in disaster when I can find someone more interesting to work with.

Seeing that I was going to remain silent to him, the old man frowned. Hm? It doesn't seem like he's afraid of me anymore, now he looks irritated.

"I'm sure you're thinking of several different things right now... So I'm going to speak to you to hopefully answer any questions you may have."

He stood proudly as he spoke.

"Your name is Enso Ureshi."

Hm, I wonder if that's my actual name or the one provided to me?"

"You have been... 'born' out of the efforts from everyone in this room. My name is Dr. Yasahiro, the one who took charge to go through with creating you.

I didn't know whether to interrogate him or let him ramble on, it seemed like either way he was starting to inform me of what was happening.

Dr. Yasahiro spoke once more. "As for 'why' we created you... You have a very important purpose, once that you're previous identity agreed to. You must head out and-!"

Before he could continue, a loud alarm began baring throughout the apparent lab we were in, accompanied by flashing red flashing lights that lighted up the entire area. I simply gazed up at the red lights, an unamused gaze on my face as I wondered what was wrong.

Everyone in the room began to panic, nearly everyone running back to their monitors and trying away with expressions of fear or confusion.

The doctor just remained where he was, looking over everyone with a more panicked expression like the rest of them. It was as if everyone instantly forgot about me, which was rather foolish if you ask me. To ignore the thing they all created? Hmph.

"What's going on!?!" Dr. Yasahiro demanded to know, his voice booming even over the alarms, quite impressive.

One of the other experts sitting at a monitor was frantically typing several things, his eyes widening in horror at what he saw.

"H-He found us..." The middle-aged man whimpered. He stood up with his eyes nearly blood red. "HE FOUND US!!"

Everyone else in the room seemed to freeze. Some of them started crying, others hyperventilating, and others just looking... lifeless.

"What!?!" Dr. Yasahiro left me behind as he ran over to the desk of the one that spoke, taking a look at the monitor screen.

His eyes widened as he saw something. I was only able to pick up faint sounds of screaming and tearing from the monitor's static audio. What a poor quality device in a room full of high-grade equipment...

The head doctor stood up and pointed at a group of other staff on the other side of the room.

"Put up every available defense we got!! We can't let him get to our last hope!"

Last hope? Hmph, could they be referring to me? They can't truly expect that I'd be an 'Ultimate Hope' of the sort for everyone, do they? They really seem like they're planning to rely entirely on me.

"After that, everyone, evacuate to the emergency portal! Don't waste ANY time!"

Dr. Yasahiro then ran back to me as fast as he could, approaching me while everyone else listened and started typing away to activate every single defense of... wherever we were.

The doctor planted both hands on my shoulders. If it weren't for the fact I didn't sense any hostile intent from him, then I probably would've just propelled him back.

"Listen to me, Enso! I know you just woke up, I know that you must be confused about what you're doing here, but I need to know if you can fight!! If you can use the abilities you were able to develop!?!"

I looked down at my own hand. It seems that he's implying that I have some sort of superhuman powers, that must've been the point of the capsule I was in. However... Although he's telling me this, nothing came to mind about what type of 'powers' I even had. I literally knew nothing about myself. What I can do, who I was before, and what I'm supposed to be now.

The doctor continued, "You need to fight against the monster that'll be coming here! All that matters here is for YOU to survive! No matter what, you must go out and get stronger, you must be able to take 'him' on!"

I wondered who he was referring to, keeping silent as I listened closely and stared into the doctor's eyes. I was barely able to hear him over the blaring alarm, but thankfully, in a few more seconds, the alarms seemed to shut down as if someone caused it.

"I don't know if it worked or not, but... I'll find out!" Dr. Yasahiro suddenly cocked his hand back into a fist, then swinging it forward right at my face.

In that instant, something just seemed to have seeped into my mind naturally. I suddenly had a flash of something go through my mind, a vision of familiar movements, then moving on instinct.

I raised an arm as a sudden phrase came to my mind.

"Brute Style"

My body coursed a white aura around me, one that hardened all the way to my hand. The doctor's hand bashed into my palm, cracks from his bones occurring and causing him to back up while holding it in pain.

But despite having his hand now broken, maybe even shattered, the doctor glanced up at me with a big smile on his face, even chuckling while wincing.

"Yes... Yes! So you can recall your styles after all!"

Styles? Was that what that was? Why did I remember something called 'Brute Style?' Perhaps my 'powers' will come naturally, such as now, which this doctor seems to intend anyway.

Some of the other scientists in the room turned their heads in shock.

"Dr. Yasahiro! Y-You're hand! We have to get that treated-!"

"I should be the least of your concerns!" The doctor snapped at everyone behind him. "If you turned on the defenses, then get out of here! You know where to go!"

Everyone was in momentary stunned silence, but after repeating the doctor's words in their heads, they all formed serious expressions before nodding.

"Thank you, doctor." Many of them bowed before running around and heading out of the room in a frantic run, hoping to get to safety. Some of them grabbed laptops with them as they followed the others, leaving one by one until a few were left that hesitated.

"Doctor! Are you not coming along with us!?" One of the remaining few asked as he got to the metal exit doors.

Dr. Yasahiro glanced back at them with a small smile, shaking his head. "No... Leave me behind. I have to speak to him until the very end... 'Both' of them."

I wonder what he meant by that, but the remaining few people in the room already seemed to know what he implied. They all looked rather sad but bowed respectfully as they gave their final goodbyes.

"Sir... It has been an honor working with you. I hope everything turns out the way you planned..."

All of them then left the room in a dash. I gazed ahead at where they were going and saw them leave into a white hall with lights overhead, only to take a right and disappear.

All that was left was the doctor and me, both alone in a completely silent room. The old man let out another chuckle as he walked all the way to a switch near the exit.

"Those idiots... They always looked at me like some sort of genius..."

He grabbed the switch with his unbroken hand and pulled it down. The large double metal doors of the exit then slammed closed, and over those doors, two more doors closed with barricades going over them.

"But I guess I can see why... They all have a lot to learn."

The area was nearly dimmed in total darkness, the faintly lit monitors being the only light sources of the room. However, I then noticed actually another light source illuminating the area, one right in front of me. Wherever I turned my head, it seemed red light seemed to follow, which had me immediately conclude that my eyes are glowing red.

The doctor turned around and started walking back to me, still holding his broken and now slightly swelling hand.

"So... You haven't answered my first question." He casually started speaking as he approached me. "How are you feeling?"

"Bored. And also feeling left in the dark."

That was the first time I spoke throughout the entire event, wishing to get more information about exactly what was going on.

When I spoke, the doctor's eyes visibly lit up, and a large smile formed on his face.

"Yeah... That's to be expected."

He walked even closer to me, reaching a hand up and putting a hand on my shoulder.

"But... It's good to hear you speak again. Even if..." He waved a hand to point at me, "All of 'this' changed."

"But you just pointed to all of me."

"Exactly!" The doctor laughed. "We had to change all of you. Even your voice sounds more serious than how it was previously... I'm gonna miss it."

He then raised a hand and gently grabbed my cheek, giving it a playful squeeze. "Heh, but it seems that you'll always have that baby face on you."

I used my hand to gently grab the doctor's hand and remove it from my cheek, not amused by his actions.

"Who was I before?" I asked him as I released his hand.

"Heh, sorry... But there's a reason we wiped your memories, you know?"

"Then can you tell me why I was created in the first place?" I asked instead.

The doctor sighed, "You're purpose, Enso... Is to be our last acting hope of saving the universe."

"Quite the task." I remarked, unfazed by this.

My response made the doctor laugh again, "It's amusing how accepting you are of anything said, but I guess that's just what comes with your new personality."

"So, you manipulated my emotions? You took them all away?" I asked, curious by how that would be done.

"We didn't 'take' your emotions. We just gave you a... personality change. This is to ensure that not too much will faze you, allowing you to fight even the most terrifying of creatures."

"So I'm supposed to be some sort of emotionless warrior? Just meant to 'save' the universe? Save it from what?"

The doctor looked down with a sad expression. "From the one coming here right now... He should be here in a moment."

He looked back up at me with a tiny, but still sad, smile. "But don't believe that simply eliminating him is your only purpose... I want you to live out your life and find where it is you're meant to be."

"And do you have a clue as to where that is?" I questioned.

The doctor patted me on the shoulder again. "Heh, you'll have to figure that out yourself, kid."

He then pulled his left arm back and reached deep into his coat pocket.

"But, I will give you something to help you travel to find such a place while also finding ways to get stronger." He pulled out something that I eyed.

A black watch.

"I'm assuming there are special attributes about that device?" I asked, knowing fully well it wouldn't be ordinary if it was meant to help me.

"Of course there are. But can you put it on? Normally I would, but... my hand is kinda broken." The doctor joked, holding up his right arm to reveal his swollen hand.

I reached out my hand as I received the watch from him, taking a moment to put it on.

The doctor seemed excited as I clicked it in place, then taking a moment to admire it.

"Press the screen!" He ushered me.

I listened and tapped the screen, turning on my new accessory and admiring all the different functions.

"That device is your key to travel. Be sure to always follow where it takes you if you desire answers about yourself. Oo! And it can fix your current problem too!"

"You mean of my lack of information?" Enso questioned.

"No, your clothes."

I looked down at myself and was reminded that I was still only wearing a hospital gown.

"..." I glanced back up at him. "Okay... So how does it fix that?"

The doctor clapped his hands together. "Oo! Let me help you with that!"

He took my hand and showed me what to do on the screen.

"Just tap here and there, and... Presto!"

In a flash, my gown was gone. In place of it was a rather peculiar set of clothing. It was a professional black suit with a pure white dress shirt and even a red necktie included with it.

"..." I stared down at myself before gazing back at the doctor. "Are there any different attires?"

"Nope!" He declared almost... proudly. "It's perfect for you!"

"...Alright, then." There wasn't anything I could do about my appearance, so I might as well not bother arguing about it.

The doctor then looked to be more serious. "Always keep that watch with you. If you do, then everything you wish to figure out about yourself will be clear in time."

"Did you not choose to erase everything I knew already about myself? Yet you expect, and even sound like you're hoping I regain them?" I questioned that contradiction.

"As I've stated before, this is so you can face Musuko and other monsters without being intimidated." The doctor declared.

I narrowed my eyes. "Musuko?"

The doctor's gaze fell.

"Is that who I'm supposed to be fighting against?" I asked.

The doctor closed his eyes into a face of pain.

"Yes... Although he goes by a different name now... Lynch."

"What an odd name." I remarked.

"Well, it's how he wants to kill you." The doctor remarked with a sad chuckle.

To joke about something like that in such a grim situation... He's rather laid-back, isn't he? I wonder if that's how he's attempting to calm himself?

"How he wants to kill me specifically? What does he have against me?"

"Well-"

Before the doctor could respond, a loud bash echoed, and the metal on the doors visibly dent.

"..." The doctor and I had our gazes on the barricaded doors, both of our eyes narrowing.

"Is that him?"

"Yes... That's him..." The doctor muttered.

Two more bashes dented the door.

"Enso... I'm sorry."

"Hm? Why?" I tilted my head to him.

"You didn't ask to be here, you didn't ask for any of this... I can only hope you find a way to become happy again."

Two more dents occurred, and light was seeping in through the door now.

"When he comes in... Don't save me. The doctor glared at the repeatedly bashed door.

"I'd rather have you alive for information." I didn't hesitate to respond.

"That watch is all the information you need. If you try to keep me alive... then it'll all be used against you. I won't answer anything you ask, just know that you'll have everything answered in due time, I promise."

"...So be it." I responded without much care.

For someone to be ready to give their life away right now. I suppose what he says of being used against me may be true, but I am obviously someone with emotional importance to the man, so to be ready to never see me again after changing me is just... foolish.

This time, an explosion was what finally sent both metal doors and anything reinforcing it flying in several directions. A large cloud of smoke kicked up and obscured the room's entrance, spreading around the area.

The doctor and I were both unfazed by this explosion, simply staring ahead at the large clouds of smoke obscuring whoever was behind them. Within the smoke, I saw a large black silhouette of someone who was slowly making his way through. He was visibly hunched over, and his feet let out large stomps as he got closer to revealing himself.

The first things I saw were the red eyes and mouth glowing through the smoke, an unchanging gaze that stared straight through. The next thing I saw was his arm. It was pale, skinny, and had old bandages around most of it. I even caught sight of what I swore was bone showing, rather peculiar to see.

Then the figure stepped out of the smoke entirely, revealing his entire appearance. The rest of his body looked nearly identical to his arm, looking corpse-like as he stomped heavily into the room. His head had a brown hood over it and his face had a dark gray trauma mask, one that had many marks along with a few parts chipped away.

I saw the old noose around his neck, one that was dirtied and showed signs of blood on it. Seeing that made me narrow my eyes at thinking, 'that's what he wants to kill me with?' It was unamusing to see.

But so this was Lynch? The one I was meant to fight against? He did look like the monster everyone was afraid of, that's for sure. And with that blood all over him... It seems he's quite an experienced killer. His appearance would normally terrify everyone who laid eyes on him, but for the doctor and I, we were unfazed by him.

Lynch's glowing red eyes honed in on the doctor from behind his mask, making him tightly ball his hands into fists, his fingers cracking as he did so. The doctor had an unwavering glare towards Lynch as he stood up straight and composed.

All of us were silent for a few moments, with Lynch and the doctor eyeing each other down. I couldn't tell if Lynch noticed me at the time, as his head was visibly just engrossed on Dr. Yasahiro. His breathing was raspy and hoarse, but he let out a chilling chuckle before I heard his equally raspy and menacing voice for the first time.

"Knock, knock."

"Hm, well, if there's one good thing that came out your changes, it's that you finally gained a sense of humor." The doctor chuckled. "You could do better with the jokes themselves, though."

Lynch seemed to growl as he crossed his arms, "Hmph, and what do you know about humor, you damn old man?"

"A lot more than you. You need to time your punch lines better." The doctor returned.

Lynch shook his head as his breathing hardened out of frustration.

"Even when I could snap your neck in ANY moment, you still just HAVE to continue lecturing me, don't you?"

He lowered his arms and stomped forward a little closer.

"All you ever did was criticize me... I was never good enough for you like everyone else..."

That made the doctor form a sad and guilty expression.

"It wasn't that you weren't good... I saw you with so much potential. We can still fix you Musuko-!"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

Lynch swung his arm at a desk and sent it, along with its components, flying to the side. Dozens of computers and other machines created sparks as they shattered into piers, briefly creating flashes of light that ignited the area.

The doctor sighed, "And you still have that temper of yours... You really have to learn to control that."

Lynch slammed his fist down on another desk and instantly shattered it.

"You're saying you can 'fix' me!? You want to fix me when I'm already perfect!?! I did everything to prove that I could be like 'them,' that I can lead everyone, and I became like this while trying to do just that! Then what did you do?! You just locked me up like a wild animal!"

"Your condition was unstable! We had to keep you isolated! You were far too dangerous to everyone, including yourself! And now look at you! You became what we all feared, a threat to everyone!"

"I was fine! And I became the strongest out of everyone! But then... even then... It was always someone else. While I was rotting away, everyone else was being treated like champions... Your own kid, you treated your own kid like a monster..."

Hearing that, I raised an eyebrow, taking into account of their relationship.

"And what are you supposed to be now then?" The doctor narrowed his eyes. "You don't think that you've become something better, do you?"

Lynch's head tilted with a crack, the villain letting out a raspy laugh.

"Of course not. You guys viewed me as a monster, so shouldn't I act like one? It sure was fun, just going around, cracking skulls, and pulling them out too."

"Oh please spare me the gory details..." The doctor frowned.

Lynch stopped as he stared down at the doctor, letting out another growl.

"You act like you don't care about those people, but I damn know you do. You should've heard their screams... It was so pleasant. And now... Now I just have to find that damn goody two shoes you love so much. To hurt him, to BREAK him... He did this to me. Then everything you've ever known will be gone. You'll have finally lost EVERYTHING!"

The doctor looked down in guilt, even a tear going down his eye.

"Sorry to say... but he's no longer here."

"That's a damn lie. I can smell him even from here. He's close, I know it."

Lynch then took the time to actually look around the room, finally catching sight of me still sitting in the pod I woke up in.

"Hm? Who's that?" He titled his head. "Could it be I missed one?" He stepped right beside the doctor and stared at me.

The doctor turned his head back with a sad gaze towards me.

"That, my dear boy... is who you're looking for. My last remaining treasure..."

Hearing this, Lynch clenched his hands furiously as his eyes and mouth began to glow an even more intense red that before, this glowing directed at me.

"Bullshit... There's no way that's him. He looks nothing like him." Lynch turned and stared down at the doctor in irritation. "You aren't telling me you actually managed to give him 'more' powers?"

The doctor shook his head, "No, he still has the same techniques that he made himself."

"Then what gives?" He turned his head back to me. "Why the hell does he look like a vampire from a cheesy romance?"

He made opened his palms, eyes shining brightly red. "But I guess it doesn't matter. In the end... HE'LL DIE TOO!!"

Lynch suddenly pointed a palm and sent several energy balls directly at me. I reacted by vanishing from the spot to spot to avoid being hit by any of these spheres. They traveled behind me, and into the machine my pod was connected to.

I knew what would happen, so I jumped up to the side as the machine exploded, then landing in a crouching position. My expression didn't change at all. I wasn't worried nor intimidated, simply staring ahead at Lynch with a blank gaze.

Lynch didn't stop there, as he pointed his palms and sent out a stream of lava towards me. Once again, I moved rather quickly, vanishing from where I was and then appearing on a table. I heard the burning substance's hissing as it hit the walls, but didn't care as I had to jump to avoid several rotting tentacles burst from the ground and tried to grab me.

I landed on another table as these tentacles followed me. I briefly saw that Lynch had his palm on the ground, and no doubt was creating them. I thought about how to counteract these limbs stretching at me, especially when I saw several large thorns appear on them.

And then it happened again, I instantly seemed to remember familiar movements, a familiar name, a familiar power.

My eyes flared up in red as a black aura burst around me, taking a deep breath as I let whatever this feeling was take over naturally.

"Legendary Style..."

I felt something form in my hand, a pure black dagger of the sort. I then felt my body move in a familiar feeling as I grabbed this dagger with both of my hands.

"Reaper Of Worlds!"

My eyes flashed red as I leaped forward and thrust my momentum into a somersault, holding my dagger as I swung it to rapidly spin in a vertical circle.

"Wheel Of Cruelty!"

I basically turned into a spinning saw blade as I flew right into the tentacles and shredded them apart, then continuing to spin right towards Lynch.

"What in the-?" Lynch pointed his palm and sent a beam of red energy forward at me. However, somehow I mowed right through it, splitting the beam into several around me as I suddenly kept going forward.

"You little-!" Lynch's body started glowing in a blue aura before he out a wave of force in all directions, pushing everyone around him back and sending it to the walls.

I was part of this, feeling the force sent me out of my spinning, but I managed to flip upright and land on my feet, holding my black dagger.

I stared with narrowed eyes at Lynch, not bothering to question what I remembered or what was the weapon in my hand. By this point, Lynch stopped his assault and stared directly at me, both of his bony hands cracking into fists in anger.

"That's not him... That's not the pathetic kid I know."

Lynch turned his head right to confront the doctor, only for him and me to see that the doctor was sitting with his back against the wall, launched from Lynch's shockwave the villain emitted to send everything flying.

However, my eyes caught sight of that he had been impaled by something during our momentary clash. He had cuts from flying shattered glass and had a table leg right in his side, causing him to bleed from the mouth.

"*cough* *cough* You should... nngh, really pay attention to... *cough* your surroundings..." The doctor said with a painful chuckle.

Lynch wasn't amused nor seemed to care to see the injured man. He just marched over to him and reached his bony hand forward, grabbing the doctor by the head to look at him.

"What the hell did you do, old man? That's not him. Those eyes, they aren't his. And that expression... He's never made it ONCE!"

He glanced his head over at me, my dagger now vanishing from my hand.

"What the hell happened to you?"

I simply continued to stare at him with an uncaring expression. It was clear Lynch my have a variety of attacks to use against me, but as seen just now, taking me down wasn't as easy as he expected it to be. Perhaps I was weak before, and that pod I was in helped enhanced my abilities?

Lynch turned back to the doctor, clutching his head harder and making him groan in pain.

"WHAT DID YOU DO, OLD MAN!?!"

The doctor just chuckled, "Sorry to... nngh... disappoint you, but... *cough!* He doesn't... remember you."

There was a moment of silence in the room, Lynch's red eyes and mouth glowing more intensely in what I guess was rage.

"What?"

"Heh... He remembers... nothing. *cough*!"

Lynch's breathing sounded harsher.

"Nothing...? You're shitting me..."

"Nope... Heh, nngh! That's not... the hero... you know. He's... completely someone new."

They both addressed me as a 'hero,' but something seemed off hearing that. I suppose it did make sense since I was created to destroy Lynch and 'save' the universe, but there was still something just... wrong here.

Lynch's large hand was visibly shaking on the doctor's head.

"If he doesn't remember anything... If not us, this place, or when he came..."

He suddenly used his free hand to punch the wall above the doctor, causing the entire room to tremble like a small earthquake.

"THEN WHAT'S THE POINT OF KILLING HIM HERE!?!"

I looked up at some dust coming from the ceiling and keeping my balance from the force of that punch.

Lynch just seemed to be losing it.

"IT'S LIKE YOU ERASED HIM FROM EXISTENCE! HE'S NOT THERE! WHAT'S THE POINT OF TORMENTING THE ONE I HATE THE MOST IF IT'S NOT EVEN HIM!?!"

Despite the pain the doctor was experiencing, he had a smug smile.

"Why do you think- *cough* I made him like that...?

Lynch pulled the doctor's head forward and then pushed it back, smashing it against the wall.

"You did that JUST to piss me off!?!"

The doctor's glasses fell off, and his head was bleeding, struggling just too stay conscious.

"N-No... This is... so he'll be the one. *urgh* to stop you..."

Hearing their dispute had me staring curiously from afar. I didn't know what to do right there, as listening seemed to be the only thing I should be doing. The doctor told me not to save him, and even if I tried now, it seemed too late. Lynch literally had his life in the palm of his hand.

The villain lowered his head, so his face was inches away from the doctor's.

"You think he could beat me? You think he'll stay this way and take me down?"

The doctor weakly shook his head. "Of... course... not... He won't... just stay like this."

That made Lynch's raging red eyes seem to dim down.

"Then... He'll remember? He'll be able to remember?"

"In... time... I know... you won't kill him... until then."

The room was entirely silent now as Lynch processed what the doctor said. Then he let out a chuckle, then a laugh, then that laugh grew into a raspy but chilling boom in the room.

"You really were the smartest, old man... I could never deny that. To think you really managed to trap me in this... 'game' of yours. I have to give you credit. But this just makes things even more fun for me. I'll follow wherever he goes, find more powers to 'borrow,' and I'll make anyone he tries to talk to ends up even worse than those little friends of yours from earlier. Heh, maybe it'll even 'trigger' something from him?"

The doctor closed his eyes with a sigh. "To think... you stepped this low... *cough!* *cough!* *cough!* Hmm... Just how... nngh... petty do you have to be?"

He visibly relaxed, his body feeling limp.

"I just hope... you can find peace... Musuko."

The doctor's eyes turned towards me, giving one last smile as Lynch's eyes flared up so bright that they shot out light like flashlights.

"I told you... NOT TO CALL ME THAT!!"

There was a violent crunching sound, and I saw Lynch's palm close all the way on the doctor's head, crushing it with blood seeping through his fingers.

I felt a minor disappointment that my only sane source of information was gone. It seemed that Lynch knew a lot about me too, but to ask an insane creature who only has the intention of killing... me? Me from before? Either way, it's clear he would only come for my head.

Lynch's raspy pant was cringe-inducing for me, surprising when I should've probably cringed at him letting go of what used to be the doctor's skull.

His neck sounded like it repeatedly cracked as he turned to me, blood dripping from his fingertips.

"Even he can't laugh at that..."

"He can't laugh at all now that he's deceased." I pointed out.

That made Lynch give an amused chuckle. "Funny... Now you're the one without a sense of humor instead of me. Or how the roles have changed..."

He took a step forward.

"But... I can't kill you now. It just won't have the same feeling I've been excited about... It won't be the feeling that's kept me up day after day..."

"So instead, you'll stalk me until I become what you remember me as?" I asked in a bored tone.

"Oh? So you DO talk." Lynch chuckled. He then tilted his head as he noticed the watch on my wrist. "Hm? Oooooh. So that's what he plans for you to do."

He turned and walked towards one of the still connected and decently working computers of the room.

"So you know what this does too?" I asked, raising my wrist to show the device on it.

"Heh, of course I do." Lynch raised his hand towards one of the computers' USB ports, jamming his finger right into it. "I made it, after all."

I narrowed my eyes. "Someone as mentally delusional as you, creating something like this?"

"Scary, isn't it?" Lynch scoffed. His eyes and mouth started to glow blue as the computer that had his finger started glowing. I could only assume he was absorbing information from it. "That old man did always tell us that the most dangerous psychopaths, are the one with intelligence."

"That's an odd thing to 'always' tell someone." I remarked uncaringly, walking around the room while eyeing him. "But from how you say 'us,' it sounds as if you're quite familiar with me as well, aren't you?"

"I'm sure you'd like to know, wouldn't you?" Lynch pulled out his finger from the computer before smashing it to the side. "I'm sure you want to know why this is all happening to you, to know what you're supposed to do, to know just who ARE you?"

"Of course I'd be interested. Even if I ever tried to make my own identity, then I'm sure you'd come in and forcefully remind me anyway. So it's logical that I should be figuring out my identity while taking you out."

"Smart boy. Then let's do something... Let's do what something that you've ALWAYS wanted to do together." He chuckled as he walked around the room.

"And that is?"

He stopped, being directly across from me now.

"Let's play a game."

That added an element of confusion, but interest in where he was going with it.

"A game?"

"Yeperoo. What you've always wanted. You always wanted to pry me from my work for it, now here's your chance."

"But I'm not the one you're referring to."

"Not yet." Lynch declared.

"..." I sighed. "So what do you mean by 'game?'"

Lynch seemed pleased as he started to speak.

"I guess you can call it more of a... 'test.' First of all, tap the screen of that watch."

Looked down at my wrist and did what he said, the tap turning on the particular device.

"Now, all you have to do is follow that thing wherever it takes you. You can interact with whoever you like, do whatever you want, go wherever you like in the places you get taken to. And as for me... I'll just be doing the same. Following the same places you go, doing what I want to everyone there, occasionally breaking a bone of yours here and there... Hehe, that'll be so much fun."

I frowned. "That's the 'game?' That's basically already the situation we're forced in."

Lynch wagged a finger with a laugh, "But the 'game' is seeing what results come out of it."

"What' results' do you mean?" I asked.

He pointed one of his grotesque fingers at me.

"Let's see if you can find out your main purpose."

"Isn't it to destroy you?" I pointed out.

Lynch shook his head, "That was why you received an upgrade to your abilities and why you had your personality wiped out, to be able to face me. But..."

His pointed finger aimed at my watch.

"You don't know what was your purpose BEFORE that, right? What that device is going to point you to, why you have these powers, why you were so important to the doctor, why were you even here in the first place?"

"And... That's what you want to test? To see if I remember everything again?"

"Not just that... I want to see if you can actually live through everything and still call yourself 'human.' You'll be forced to make many, MANY choices while you travel, I'm sure. And I wonder just how much weight you'll gain from these choices."

I couldn't say that I understood, because I completely didn't. I couldn't sigh as I asked another question.

"So... How do you know who 'wins' the game?" I asked sarcastically.

Lynch rubbed his hands together in excitement.

"Easy. The winner will be determined in one~final~showdown. We'll both know it when the time comes."

Such a vague response made me lose interest.

"Hmph... It doesn't seem like I have a choice anyway."

"Of course you don't. And this game won't be easy for you, hehe."

Lynch raised both of his arms and pointed his palm up.

"Now then, I don't want you... 'cheating' and looking around here for anything about yourself so..."

I looked up as Lynch's palms suddenly blasted two large energy balls up into the ceiling. Both spheres dug right into the ceiling and I heard them burrowing around, dirt leaked out of the holes, giving me a clue that I was actually underground.

"Let's get rid of it, shall we?"

The moment he said that, I heard both orbs explode in the distance, causing the entire area to shake violently. I saw parts of the ceiling leak out dirt, clearly going to collapse soon.

"Hm... Well this is a problem."

Lynch bellowed in laughter as more pieces of the ceiling started falling.

"Oh I can tell this is going to be SO much fun!" A black portal then emerged under him, the villain sinking into it as he gave a final wave. "I hope we have SO MUCH FUN!! BWAHAHAHA!!"

Then... he was gone.

"Hm..."

I sighed as I felt sprinkles of dirt fall on my arm.

"I'm in danger."

I immediately got to running, avoiding falling debris as I made my way to the exit ahead. It was only now I realized just how large this room was, running past several pieces of tables and computers still on the floor. But I had to be careful because I was barefoot and the ground was covered with shattered glass.

I ended up jumping onto two tables still standing before diving out into the white hall just as the rest of the large room caved behind me.

I heard it already crashing down, pushing myself to run faster. However, as many people know, mass destruction is usually faster than someone running away, so of course, the area's collapsing was catching up behind me.

I knew I had to be faster, which was then I got another flash of something again.

My eyes turned yellow as an aura of the same color formed around me, I took a deep breath as stopped running and crouched down, unfazed to hear the crashing come even faster.

"Snipe Style-"

I heard the ceiling crash and fall over me.

"-Ricocheting Bullet."

I blasted down the hall faster than before, reaching the corner of it in just a second and then using the wall to jump and sharply turn the corner and continue down the next part of the halls. I kept moving quickly to find an exit, only to find out that wherever I was, it was big. No matter where I went, there was always more to explore.

"This is getting annoying."

*Beep!* *Beep!*

"Hm?"

I looked down at my wrist while running, noticing that something actually appeared on my watch screen.

Travel to a new location?

There were two options of yes and no. I glanced back at the collapsing destruction still occurring, hearing more explosions ringing out throughout where ever I was.

I guess anywhere else was better than here.

Fine Lynch, if you really want to 'play' in this game of yours.

I tapped the 'yes' option, my watch starting to glow white.

Then let's play.

_______________________________________

~{Hosu Hospital}~

Everyone's eyes shot open in shock.

Gran Torino stumbled back and supported himself on Izuku's bed, panting with sweat dripping down.

Izuku, Todoroki, and Iida were no different, the trio finding themselves looking down with their eyes completely open, panting hard as they recalled everything they just saw.

Enso was holding his head and groaning a bit, the process of peering into his mind clearly having some sort of backlash.

"Damn... I always forget about the after-effects..."

Gran Torino gulped nervously before standing up and composing himself.

"Ya think ya coulda given us a warning before ya did that!?!" He snarled.

"My bad... I forgot."

Everyone ignored him say that, just caught up in the vivid memory they had seen. They saw everything Enso had seen, felt everything he felt, they just had the full experience of what he went through.

Izuku panted harder than everyone else, recalling the time Enso looked through Bakugo's memories in the festival, then also making him relive exactly what he went through from his own perspective.

Right now, he would normally be mad at Enso for using 'Memory Breach' once again without even warning him, but he was more shocked by what he had seen.

Several things were answered from the group from watching through all that. Enso really doesn't remember anything about himself, the doctor by the name 'Dr. Yasahiro' was the one who gave Enso's name before... dying, and Enso was really only directed by his watch.

Izuku connected this memory to the time Enso told him about the first time he traveled into another world, finding a town with slaves, and then killing the dealer behind it before absorbing his energy.

"A-A-And then... That's when he thought his p-purpose was to... k-kill... To murder and absorb their power, to remember himself and finish off others..."

Enso shoved his hands into his pockets and looked down, vividly remembering that experience once again.

"So now you've seen my first encounter with him... And now the rest of you know exactly what kind of person he is."

He started pacing around the room.

"And I've misled myself into what I should've been doing. It turned out this watch took me to anyone with an abnormal power relating to a special kind of energy. And I believed that I should take them out so that I would regaining everything I had lost about myself in return. But it only ended up being flashes of my memories... It was only when I interacted more with one of these special individuals when I started remembering... 'chunks' of my memories rather than bits."

"And now... here you are." Gran Torino sighed. "I guess you really were just put in an unlucky position..."

"So... How much have you remembered about yourself since then?"

"KYAH!" Izuku was scared out of his mind when he heard this voice right behind him, not expecting Ikari to have come out and speak.

"KYAH!" Ikari was scared by the sudden scream as well.

"D-Don't scare me like that!" "D-Don't scare me like that!"

...

Both deadpanned at each other.

"*Ahem*-!" Enso said, getting their attention. "What I remember now isn't really too much... As I've mentioned, the people I've taken out have only given me flashes of memories, and these flashes were usually of just places. The only time I remembered something bigger was... the other time I constantly interacted with someone the way I am with Izuku."

"You taught someone else in another world then? How'd he end up?" Gran Torino asked curiously.

"That's a story for another time." Enso said while... frowning?

Izuku had an uneasy feeling about what happened.

There was then dead silence from everyone in the room, the only sounds being the honking from outside, and the beeping monitor in the room keeping tracks of the boys' state.

"Enso..." Todoroki said, being the one to break the silence. "About everything we learned about you... Everything you've done... I don't think it'd be easy to just forget it as we get back to U.A."

"Are you hinting that you'll report me?" Enso turned to him.

"No, Izuku would probably be mad if I did. But now... It feels like I can't just sit around and treat everything like it didn't happen..." Todoroki continued.

Enso narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean?"

"I mean... You're whole goal... is to fight Lynch, isn't it?"

Enso looked down, "It's mostly to figure out who I am, but yes... that's part of it."

Todoroki stared right at him with unwavering eyes. "Then, let me help."

"Eh?" Izuku blinked.

"Excuse me?" Enso couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "That's... unexpected."

"Hold up, ya wanna help this... 'alien' fight something that'll probably get ya killed in the worst way possible?" Gran Torino asked.

Todoroki just nodded, "We're all aiming to become heroes anyway... So, of course I'd want to help. But..."

He looked more serious than ever.

"I'll need you to teach me like you have for Midoriya."

"EH!?!" Izuku stammered.

Iida turned to Todoroki, not looking surprised at all and rather, just serious like him.

Enso tilted his head curiously, "You mean... teach you everything I've taught him?"

Todoroki nodded, then looking down at his own hand.

"During our battle with Stain, it was clear that Midoriya was the one who did the most for us... I was only able to just keep Stain away while Iida was on the ground most of the time. And in the end, Midoriya was the one that had to save both Iida and I when we were somehow struck..."

Todoroki's eyes glimpsed at Izuku as he continued.

"Midoriya has gone through so much... He's gone through things that someone like him should've have gone through, has been hurt so many times when he didn't deserve it, and he's taking the burden nearly on his own..."

He turned back to Enso.

"And even then, he's been thinking of everyone but himself. He's been putting himself on the line and going through so many terrible things because of it. He's saved both Iida and I while teaching us things we should've known... And I want to return the favor."

"I see..." Enso looked down with a hand on his chin in thought.

"Please teach me as well!" Iida unnecessarily shouted.

Everyone's attention was on him, the boy's hands balled into fists.

"Midoriya has been an outstanding friend for me, always caring for me and everyone else... But I was never able to show my appreciation for him. I wasn't even there to console him after I heard of Bakugo's horrid actions, I was too absorbed on myself and my brother... And then I just made even more trouble for him by going after the Hero Killer... I couldn't even take Stain down, I was defeated in an instant... while Midoriya was able to fight on par with him. I... I want to be able to do something for him... at least to help him deal with everything going on..."

"You guys..." Izuku stared at them with warmth radiating in him.

"Hm..." Enso hummed, glancing at both of them. He then turned around and glanced at Gran Torino.

"Oi, why you looking at me?" The elder frowned.

"Because I'm not sure how you'd feel if I brought in two other students into my... 'cause.'"

Gran Torino scoffed, "Well, I don't think whatever I say would sway them away. They're doing this for the kid, not you, anyway."

"Fair enough."

Enso turned back to Izuku, "And how do you feel about this?"

"W-Well..."

"We'll make a squad!"

"GYAH!" Izuku jumped as Ikari emerged from his stomach mysteriously.

"They know about Wrinkly Skin already, so they should help us out! If more people could fight and spin like my partner and Mr. Poker Face-!"

"Excuse me, what did you call me?"

"-then they'd be so much stronger heroes!" Ikari stretched from Izuku and got close to Iida and Todoroki, both staring up at the entity in wonder.

"But...Why wouldn't Enso want to teach our whole class to be strong like them then?" Todoroki then asked.

Everyone then turned to Enso, expecting him to answer.

He sighed, "Of course I didn't want to train an entire class. I didn't want them knowing of my history, and it would be hard to hide it if I'm constantly training them with Izuku. I know that pretty much of all them don't even trust me as it is now, especially after the festival, so I don't think I could trust them with this information even now."

He then crossed his arms. "But you guys deserved to know what was going on after seeing Lynch... So that's why I decided to tell you both about him and myself."

"So... Doesn't that mean you can also teach these guys to help?" Ikari asked, pointing his hands from Enso to the two recovering students.

"Again... What does Izuku think?" Enso sighed.

Izuku looked down nervously. "I-I mean... I wouldn't mind them training with us, b-but when it comes to helping us fight against... Lynch..."

"Midoriya, just let us help you." Todoroki said.

"Please... Don't think you have to deal with this by yourself." Iida added.

"This makes it sound like you're gonna get stronger just to go off and fight that monster on your own." Gran Torino stated.

There was a moment of silence.

"No, I'm sure they'll act the same with Lynch as any villain. They won't go after them by themselves-"

Enso paused, glancing back at Iida.

"..."

He glanced forward.

"Now they won't go after them by themselves-"

Iida let out a depressed sigh.

"-they'll fight if forced to fight for their lives, and they'll get stronger for the sake of stopping these villains and to save people. So... I'll teach them, not for the intention to throw them against a villain, but for the intention to help them become what they want."

Izuku smiled.

Iida's face brightened as he bowed as much as he could while sitting.

"Thank you! I'm in your care, sensei!"

"If you ever call me that again, I'll make sure you won't have kids this time." Enso said as he raised his fist with his eyes and aura flashing blue.

Iida turned pale as his hands instantly reached down between his legs, shivering in place as his face looked like he recalled several amounts of trauma.

"Thank you, Enso." Todoroki calmly said.

Gran Torino scoffed, "Guess I'm out then. You guys made your choices. Kid, be ready for a beating when you get out of here."

Izuku sweatdropped with a nervous laugh. "Y-Yeah..."

"Meh, we can take him." Ikari nodded beside him.

Cross-veins formed on Gran Torino's head, but the elder headed out the door, "Oho? We'll see about that."

"B-Bye Gran Torino..." Izuku shivered, knowing that Ikari might've made things worse.

As the elder closed the door behind him, Enso looked down at his watch, frowning when he looked at the time.

"I guess I should leave too... Kamui is probably furious with me right now." He sighed.

"You were interning with Kamui?" Todorki asked curiously.

"Sadly. I'm sure he's mad that I ran away full speed with my quirk..." Enso turned to Izuku. "Will you be alright?"

Izuku looked down with a sad smile. "Yeah... I will."

Enso nodded, "Then I guess I'm gone then." He then turned and walked to...

The open window?

Izuku's expression became blank.

"Eh?"

At the window, Enso turned to Izuku and saluted him.

"ENSO! DON'T YOU DARE-!!"

"See ya."

Enso backed up and jumped a bit, letting himself fall over the windowsill.

"STAIRS, ENSO!!! STAIRS!!!" Izuku shouted after him.

Iida and Todoroki both sweatdropped.

______________________________________

~{Outside}~

Enso landed on his feet outside of the building.

"Gah!"

Several people cried out in shock to see the male come out of nowhere and land so gracefully. Butt Enso didn't care for their reactions and stood up, immediately making his way down the sidewalk with his hands in his pockets.

"To think he came so soon... Things are becoming more dangerous than ever..."

His eyes were cold and serious as he thought of Lynch.

"This time... It'll be different. I'll make sure of it."

Enso turned the corner and made his way into the city he was in.

"*Sniff*."

He stopped, suddenly picking up a hint of something sensitive to his nostrils.

"*Sniff* *Sniff*."

He smelled something out of the ordinary, something you don't just sniff anywhere, something near.

He turned his head and glanced down into an alleyway, peering into the dangerous darkness ahead.

"..."

He turned his head and looked around him, looking to see if anyone was watching him, but not surprisingly finding the busy people all rushing to be somewhere to work so early in the morning.

So Enso took the chance to walk into the dark alleyway. He followed the smell around a corner, peaking his head to confirm his suspicions on what it was, and then he found it.

Blood.

Enso narrowed his eyes to see a blood trail leading deeper into the alleyway, eyeing how fresh it seemed.

"What in the world...?"

He walked forward and followed the trail, realizing as he did so that it was actually leading somewhat near the hospital he just left. He only walked for about a minute before turning another corner and stopping.

He saw where the blood led to.

Enso's aura flared up in black, and his eyes once again started glowing blood red. Yet he looked calm and didn't seem worried, just walking ahead as his black dagger formed within his right hand.

He stopped his movement a few feet away from the source of blood.

"Hero Killer Stain... correct?"

Indeed.

Sitting on the ground with his back against a dumpster, his body covered in blood as he struggled to breathe, was the one that basically caused the whole ordeal with the U.A students now in the hospital.

Stain twitched on the ground, his head slowly looking up to gaze at Enso. His hand was on the spot where Izuku had pierced him, feeling it bleeding despite Todoroki having treated it a bit yesterday. His other wounds were also opening up with some of his bandages ripping, clearly from forcing his body to move when he had escaped.

Enso narrowed his eyes as he saw the villain without a nose and with piercing red eyes. He had a look of pain and anger on his face, glaring at the one in front of him.

"Y...You..." He managed to speak, breathing hard in the process.

"You know me?" Enso asked, picking on how he addressed him.

"I... *cough* saw you run in... Nngh... To save the kid..."

"I see." Enso's head looked around the part of the alleyway he was in, not even worrying about Stain attacking him. "Did you come here hoping you could sneak into the hospital and steal medical supplies?"

Stain just grunted as he gazed down at his wound and placed his other hand over it.

"*Huff* *puff* That damn... kid..."

"If you're referring to Izuku, he's deeply sorry for harming you the way he did. He never intended to go that far." Enso stated.

Stain slowly rose his head to stare at Enso again.

"Then... He really just lost it- *cough* *cough* because..."

"His quirk is something he's having trouble controlling. He only wanted to stop you, not kill you."

"Heh... *cough* Thought so..."

There was then a moment of silence between them, with Stain taking deep breaths to keep himself stable.

"Are you alright?"

Stain paused for a moment as he stared up at the boy with an eyebrow raised.

"Are... Are you serious?"

Enso blinked as he gazed down at the state Stain is in.

"Oh, right."

"Moron..." Stain thought as he narrowed his eyes, staring at Enso's own. He saw Enso's lack of emotion, his cold demeanor, and his lifeless eyes.

At the same time, Enso stared at Stain with a newfound curiosity in him.

"Why did you do it?"

"Hm...? *cough*" Stain glared.

"I saw your video... I saw your last moments of standing up against all those heroes... You took the lives of several heroes, tried to kill students, and despite being so wounded... you kept standing to fight. Why? What was the point?"

Stain stared in silence at the boy, his lips then slowly forming into an evil grin.

"Heh... You don't get it... do you?

Enso frowned. "What?"

"You... You don't get just... *cough* what kind of society... we live in?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you... think all heroes fight for the people?" Stain breathed deeply.

"..."

Enso thought about earlier words from Kamui when he had walked with him.

"You mean suck up to them?"

Kamui shook his head, "No... You could give that reason for selfish heroes who desire fame and fortune, but for heroes that genuinely care about the well-being of the public, we use these patrols to raise their spirits."

"Heroes don't raise the spirits of the public for themselves, they do it to help give people a sense of hope and freedom from worry. We want them to feel safe and not worry about villains or disasters."

"No... Of course not." Enso found himself answering.

That made Stain's grin fade, getting completely serious.

"Do you know how many fakes would rather work as 'heroes' to make some cash, rather than to actually save the people they're supposed to be working for?"

"A lot, I'm sure. Apparently, being a hero is a profitable profession."

Stain's pupils dilated.

"They deserve to be purged!"

"But in the end, they still save people, don't they? Even if it's for the income, they still end up saving lives, right?" Enso pointed out.

Stain just scoffed, seeming as if he ignored the wounds his body had, speaking perfectly clear.

"But what about when it really matters? Do you think a fake would save someone if they could leave them without anyone knowing? If they were scared that they'd risked their pathetic lives? True heroes wouldn't hesitate to save anyone, but fakes would. A moment of hesitation is all that's need for a disaster to occur."

Enso stared at Stain, feeling such a dangerous aura coming from the villain, one full of something that kept driving him to act.

"So... Are you really saying... that you were actually thinking for the sake of the people?"

Stain looked down and chuckled, then spitting out blood.

"I was thinking... for the sake of society. To form a world of true heroes."

"..."

Enso's aura faded away, but the glow of his eyes and his dagger still remained.

"And... What about the villains hurting people? Doesn't working with them go against what you're saying about society? You were with the league, were you not? And they seem to just want to destroy everything."

Stain growled, "I'm not exactly with them... Those bastards didn't understand... They don't have a true goal, nor the conviction for it. They just use their power because they have it, to kill things they don't like... But that Shigaraki at least has the idea that he wants to change the current society we have, I'm just hoping he won't end up being like any other pathetic thug..."

Stain glanced back up at Enso, his piercing gaze against the boy's cold but curious eyes.

"Then... What about a villain with the firepower to kill millions, but whose focus is on just satisfying his bloodlust and to satisfy a grudge against someone?" Enso asked him.

Stain raised an eyebrow at him. "That's oddly specific..."

He turned his head repeatedly coughed a few times, then gazing back at Enso.

"That just sounds like someone that should be gutted..."

"..."

Enso titled his head.

"Interesting..."

"Just like you."

Enso paused, "What?"

Stain was completely still with his focus on Enso.

"You... *cough!* *Cough*! Damn it... You attend U.A, don't you?"

Enso nodded.

"Hmph... But you'll never be a true hero." Stain coughed again.

"...What makes you believe that?"

"Heh... Your eyes."

"My... eyes?" Enso narrowed his gaze.

He then saw Stain pull a small knife from his pocket, the villain forcing himself to stand as he let out a soft but chilling laugh.

"That look... in them... *huff* *puff* You're... like me..."

Stain leaned his back against the dumpster to support himself, holding his blade tightly in his right hand, ignoring the pain from his wounds.

"You do... *cough* what has to be done... You don't hesitate... to do what you believe is right... Whether taking a life or saving someone... *huff* *puff* That's what that look tells me."

His body struggled just to stay up.

"And yet... you don't... have the same views as me... do you? You just *cough* *cough* do things... because they convenient you... right?

"..."

"You lack the conviction... for a real goal... For a true path... to lead the world... to change society..."

Stain got into a fighting position, holding his blade forward with his pupils shaking.

"In the end... People like you... who think for only themselves..."

Enso could practically see the aura of dangerous pressure coming from Stain, enveloping then entire alleyway he was in. He saw everything turn red, saw Stain just turn into a black... monster with monstrous red eyes.

"Are always meant to die."

Stain jumped forward with a cry, blood flying off him as he swung his blade.

Enso's expression didn't change, but his hand moved.

There was the sound of a slash that seemed to split the air while instantly stopping the aura of pressure filling the alleyway.

And a blade clanked onto the floor.