A few hours earlier.
Tartarus.
A BAM resounded as All Might punched the glass-wall separating them, itching to knock the teeth out of All For One's mouth.
"Haha…" All For One laughed, bound heavily to the chair with the USA's Quirk Suppression Drug Collar around his neck. "So… it is true. You have become just another roach of society, All Might. A Quirkless citizen. Haha…"
All Might rubbed his fist against the glass, chewing on his anger.
Slowly, he closed his eyes and let out a breath, sitting down on a chair.
When he opened his eyes this time, the anger within his blue pupils had faded a touch, forcing All For One's irritating laugh to gradually vanish.
"Why are you here, All Might?" All For One asked. "The world has no place for a… citizen like you. Not anymore. Get lost in teaching another generation of fools at UA. Get married. Start a family. Go on… do something so that I can snatch it from you once I get out."
All Might scoffed. "You are never leaving this place, All For One."
"Haha…" the Villain chuckled. "I will let you think that."
"Getting a little chatty, are we?" All Might asked.
All For One shrugged. "It's been a while since I talked to a… normal person," he said. "I am more concerned about your outfit, All Might. What's with the costume? Don't tell me you are still playing a Hero… The gimmick's over, isn't it?"
All Might looked at the eyeless face of his mortal enemy.
But all he could remember was the massive creature All For One had become during their fight — a creature that had all but ended the Heroes, including him, if it hadn't been for the miracle brought about by Dr. Blessed.
Ever since then, All Might had been itching to face All For One and demand answers.
But what happened today was the final straw, forcing him to set aside his work and come straight here.
"Where is he?" All Might asked, instead of falling for the obvious rage bait. "Where is Tomura Shigaraki?"
"I don't know," All For One replied humorously. "Unlike yours… Shigaraki has already left the nest."
All Might involuntarily clenched a fist.
If there was a disaster that came close to the loss of innocent lives that night, it was All For One and the other Villains confirming that Midoriya was the current user of One For All.
Young Midoriya was making great advances in mastering the Quirk through the Vestiges.
However, the silence maintained by the Claws of Conformity — a name Shigaraki had seemingly inherited from Stain, abandoning the League of Villains — had constantly unnerved All Might.
When that silence broke, it took the shape of a covert action.
All Might didn't like it.
A greater conspiracy was hidden in it all.
Had that girl managed to draw blood from Young Midoriya and the other students?
If she had, what was Shigaraki planning to do with the blood of One For All's user?
And if she hadn't, was Shigaraki planning more covert operations, threatening the lives of students, or… simply preparing to explode into a bout of rage and act recklessly?
No.
He was not going to get these answers from All For One, All Might felt.
But he couldn't leave empty-handed after coming face-to-face with evil again, either.
"What happened that night, All For One?" All Might asked. "That form… how did you suddenly become so powerful? That power wasn't yours, was it? It was exactly what happened to Stain… In all these years, hiding and dying little by little like a wounded rat, have you… finally become a puppet yourself?"
The humor that was dancing on All For One's shoulders, making them shake, finally ceased to exist.
All Might's heart skipped a beat.
Was he… right? Had All For One, the greatest evil he had ever known, begun working for an even greater evil? Who could make even a Quirk like All For One more powerful than it already was?
"Just…" All Might asked, "… who is Conformity?"
Suddenly, the Symbol of Hope felt the lights around him dimming.
But that could be nothing but an illusion, as such a malfunction, whether technical or supernatural, was impossible at Tartarus… right?
"Who is Conformity…" All For One mumbled the question. "That is a question… vastly above your pay grade now, All Might. But, no. I have not become a proxy for another Villain, if that's what you fear. I am just like you, you know. You are the only Symbol of Hope, even after losing your Quirk. And I… I am still the Evil Demon Lord. The only one."
"What about Stain, then?" All Might asked. "What about Shigaraki? Are you saying that Conformity means nothing when your own Successor named the organization after it?!"
"Haha…" All For One chuckled dryly. "Now you are twisting words, All Might. The thing is… you are not asking the right questions. This world isn't the same world where only we mattered… where only the conflict between us mattered. It has taken a much more hideous shape, beyond your imagination. Haha… You know what the true irony is? You, the No. 1 Hero, are getting left behind on the sidelines."
All Might had a bad, bad feeling just listening to All For One's words, which sounded like a madman's mumblings.
"Madness? Huh…" All For One scoffed, jolting All Might. "What do you know of madness? Why don't you ask your friend, Dr. Blessed, what real madness is? Why don't you ask him what kind of horror he has unleashed upon this world… MY world? What is Conformity… Tch-tch… Oh, what a sorry picture you paint for yourself with that question, All Might. Because, if you had one inch of significance left out there, you wouldn't have asked that question. Instead, you would have asked…
"… What are Monocles?"
Monocles?!
All Might found himself utterly clueless.
"You think I have gone mad… Haha… HAHA…" All For One laughed, shaking all over and forcing security guards to barge in to get All Might out. "Clueless fool! The time has come! This is my world! MINE! I will rip it out of the hands of all Sinners! HAHAHAHAHaha…"
As All For One's roars faded in his ears, they left behind a fog in All Might's heart.
For once, in all these years, he found himself agreeing with evil, all those mad ravings and roars taking the shape of one question in his mind:
Did he — All Might — even know what was happening in the world anymore?!
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