"Weak!"

I heard the voice of Gigantomachia cry out as I watched his fist come into contact with the double Twice had made of me. I cringed at the sight of my clone melting in front of me under the strain of Machia's power. We had been fighting Machia for what felt like an eternity―even though it's only been around a month and a half since we had started this difficult mission―but our attempts of making Machia submit to our reign was to no avail.

It had been Mr. Compress, Twice, and myself who had been fighting Machia at the moment. Taking into consideration that Gigantomachia could attack for forty-eight hours and forty-four minutes straight with no rest, we had to take turns in battling the giant; although, I had almost always been fighting Machia. I hadn't been sleeping much since we had begun our conquest of sorts―considering that I am Machia's primary target.

Even with the constant physical activity and lack of sleep―leading me to an average of three hours of sleep every two or four days―I can't help but smile. This is one of the most draining and difficult times of my life, but I feel so alive. The drive to reach my goal during the last stage of my preparations is propelling me through the multiple agonizing days in a row I spend fighting the man in front of me.

After this, the ball will really begin to roll. Once I conquer Gigantomachia and make him submit to me, I will obtain All For One. Then, I can begin my plans for 'the enlightenment'. My plans to expose those that have wronged me. Those that have wronged my friends. Those that have wronged humanity. My plans to expose those that pose as heroes and oppose the truth and justice for the youth.

Of course, first thing's first.

I have to make Gigantomachia submit to me.

I began to fire an attack from my whips until I realized that the mental timer I had set in my mind had stopped―signalling to me that Gigantomachia would be sleeping any second now. Watching as the man in front of me―back-handing Twice―fell to the floor, sleeping, I deactivated my whips.

"Is he sleeping now?" Mr. Compress began. "When does that monster find the time to eat?"

"Yay! You're still alive, Izu-chan! You don't look so hot, though..."

"I'm fine, Toga." I grinned. "And that man's slowed down a lot. I'm getting closer and closer to defeating that gorilla each time we battle." I spoke, glancing up at my friends as I took a seat on the broken ground beneath me.

As soon as I felt my body relaxing and my breath evening out from the slow of adrenaline, a ringing sound echoed out of Twice. He slightly fiddled with his suit as he tried to take out a phone from God knows where before checking the caller-ID and speaking.

"Huh? Getting a phone call from Giran." He explained.

Mr. Compress seemed outraged―considering that he'd been attempting to reach Giran for a while and the man's been ghosting him. Telling Twice to inquire about his robotic arm's insurance―or lack thereof―Twice answered the call with masked glee.

"You there, man?! Why haven't you picked up the phone when Mr. Compress calls, you jerk!" Twice yelled into the phone, acting tough, even though he had been gushing over the fact that Giran had been checking up on him ever since they had met, just a moment ago.

"Ah, I'm afraid that would be our fault. I assume I'm speaking to Jin Bubaigawara, the villain known as Twice?"

Murmuring sounded from around Twice's phone as we heard a voice we hadn't expected to hear echo throughout the speaker.

"Who is this? And where's Giran?!"

Thoughts raced through my mind as I listened to the dialogue that ensued.

Was Giran ok?

Did someone capture him?

Were they torturing him?

What's going on?

Although we hadn't been close, and I had only ever spoken to him during deals, I had heard through Tomura that he was the one to retrieve my impersonator's corpse. He was the one who had made that whole suicide scene possible. He was the reason for plenty of my family and old friends' grieving and shell-shock. Without him, people might have misinterpreted the situation as abduction or runaway―which would have made my reveal less cinematic and painful for those that knew me. It also would have made life that much easier on my sister, and who would want that?

"Those are the locations where we've done our dirty deeds..." I heard Mr. Compress say―pulling me out of my thoughts—and making me pay attention to what they had been talking about.

"Greetings League Of Villains!! You are speaking to the grand commander of the Meta Liberation Army... Re-Destro."

"First, the Yakuza, now the Liberation Army... What's with all these old-timers trying to make comebacks, am I right?" I asked rhetorically, causing Toga to giggle slightly. "Is this all because of that interesting book that came out a short while back? Is that your plan? To ride the wave it created to the front of the headlines?"

"How well informed you are! You must be Yagi Izuku, villain name Agony? It's so magnificent to see a young person, like yourself, taking an interest in such a marvellous read! But, no, it's actually the other way around. We created the wave." The voice of Re-Destro spoke from the other end of the phone.

"Well, good for you! Now, where's Giran?! And What the hell do you want?! You better not have touched a hair on that wonderful man's head!!" Twice yelled in rage and irritation at our conversing.

I could tell Twice, and Giran had a special connection―far beyond the understanding of an outsider, like myself. The way Twice had been so excited to speak to Giran only a moment ago―despite him masking his enthusiasm with the question Mr. Compress had asked. The way Twice was acting so defensive with this situation and the state of Giran. The way he seemed so ready to battle an army to save his friend. It all showed me how highly he saw Giran.

I almost envied their relationship. It reminded me of how Tomura and I had been before I had sent him to the morgue.

"Oh, he's here. Alive, of course. And we seek to liberate all metahumans." Re-Destro explained. "We will tear down the existing framework and rebuild this world... As a place where people are free to be themselves and use their abilities as they see fit."

So, basically, they're going after the same thing I am.

They can see the new world.

The one I've been dreaming of since I was just a little kid―getting beaten in an alleyway after school by my sister and her posse.

"Isn't that what you wanted, Yagi? A new world free of the cruelty of humanity? A new world free of the judgment of society? A new world where everyone is able to be who they are, and where we can do whatever the hell we want." Mr. Compress asked quietly―to not be heard through the phone―upon hearing of the Liberation Army's motives.

"Listen, we're busy right now, so how about you liberate our broker, and then call us back when we're not busy." I spoke into the phone, sounding menacing.

The tiredness of being awake for over two days now had been starting to get to me as I felt the adrenaline of my battle completely fading out of my senses. I honestly just wanted to be done with this situation and begin my―now less than three hours―nap. I am still a teenager, so I could go less hours without sleep than Tomura would have been able to.

Why now of all times did this group of retro villains have to capture our broker. This was just poor timing, and I didn't have the time to add another variable into my plans.

That's a problem.

Not everything will go my way in the future, so I will need to improve my flexibility in these situations. This will actually be a good learning experience for myself.

While I don't have as strong a connection with Giran like some of the others in the League, I do still care about what happens to him, so I do also want him back as soon as possible. Especially since he had earned Kurogiri's respect, and maybe even Tomura's―which was hard to obtain.

"Take a break and hear me out, why don't you?-"

"I'd like to take a break, but here we are." I cut Re-Destro off, sounding progressively more angry as my sleep-deprived, teenaged mind was starting to shut off.

"First of all, we will not liberate our hostage, thank you very much." The man spoke calmly. "From him, I've come to learn how tightknit you people are. Your broker is an impressive man. Someone who takes a lot of pride in his work. Someone able to sink into the shadows, always sure to evade the attention of the authorities and heroes." The man paused. "Too bad for you, he was unprepared for an attack from those very same shadows. I commend him for deleting his client lists before we got to him. And when we started severing fingers... The man only refused to give you up―he wouldn't even cry out in pain!"

I could practically feel Bubaigawara's rage, seeping through his aura, as the voice on the other end of the line spoke. The almost mocking tone that the man wore as he explained how he tortured our broker. The way he sounded so joyous as he spoke. It all made Bubaigawara just that much more angry.

He seemed ready to jump through the phone and pop Re-Destro's head clean off as the man continued, explaining that all of Giran's efforts were in vein, since they had recovered the lists that Giran had been trying so hard to protect.

"There are one-hundred-sixteen-thousand-five-hundred and sixteen of our fellow Liberation warriors lying in wait, ready to rise to action! So, I'd like to see you and your puny League try to get your broker back!"

Silence overtook us as we processed what he had said. As the man had spoken the amount of soldiers he had control over, I felt my mind fully awaken and reboot, beginning to understand the threat we had just been sent.

"This guy's gotta be bluffing..." Spinner spoke, speaking of the outrageous number of allies the Liberation Army had in hiding.

"Hm, it seems you're in Niigata? Perhaps deep in the mountains, near the forest?"

Twice acted fast upon hearing that the people who had captured Giran knew our location and threw his phone to the ground, as the man continued to speak.

"Too late, I'm afraid! We already have a lock on you via satellite imaging. Wherever you run, we'll have eyes on the notorious League Of Villains―housing one of the villains that will surely go down in history as the villain to have murdered the Symbol Of Peace!" The man spoke, causing me to grind my teeth. "Endeavor, Hawks, Edgeshot, Mirko, Crust... All those heroes would be upon you with just one little call to the authorities!!"

"How kind of you to have given us a warning!" I beamed. "What do you really want?" I finished in a low growl.

"Destro must be the one to lead this revolution... And your name had gotten too big. Both the League's and Agony's. Your destruction at our hands will signal the second advent of the Liberation Army!"

So that's what this is about.

We've grown to be the infamous League Of Villains, responsible for several casualties and attacks preformed on U.A's hero course, and a kidnapping resulting in the death of All Might―the Symbol Of Peace.

To other groups―trying to grow their name―we would be an inconvenience.

"Consider those fingers as proof of our resolve. No need to draw matters, right? We will fight to liberate the metas of this world... So make your way to Deika City in Aichi Prefecture! That is, if you hope to see poor Giran Freed! Stand against us and be destroyed, or... Do nothing and be captured by heroes!! The choice is yours, Yagi Izuku!"

Challenge accepted.

And I have the perfect plan...