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After giving the Sludge Villain his instructions, Shigaraki shifted his gaze toward Muscular, who had been silently observing from the side the entire time.
Truthfully, Shigaraki was rather interested in him.
After all, in the original storyline, Muscular had been one of Izuku Midoriya's major opponents during the Forest Training Camp incident.
And honestly, one of the reasons Shigaraki came to the mall today—aside from making a major move and expanding the influence of his organization—was to personally see what this "important supporting character" was actually like.
The moment he noticed Shigaraki looking at him, Muscular's attention sharpened as well.
He had also been evaluating Shigaraki from the moment they met, trying to figure out what exactly made someone like the Sludge Villain so loyal to this boy.
"So you're Shigaraki?"
To be honest, Muscular couldn't immediately see anything particularly special about him.
He couldn't even tell what Shigaraki's Quirk was.
At first glance, Shigaraki looked like nothing more than an ordinary teenager.
Aside from the mask covering part of his face, there was nothing visibly unusual about him at all.
Still, Muscular wasn't foolish enough to underestimate him just because of appearances.
If even a dangerous bastard like the Sludge Villain willingly served under him, then Shigaraki undoubtedly possessed something extraordinary.
Most likely—
an absurdly powerful Quirk.
Otherwise, Muscular refused to believe the Sludge Villain would obediently bow his head to some random kid.
Hearing the question, Shigaraki smiled faintly.
"That's right."
"I'm Shigaraki Tomura."
"And I'm also the leader of Destiny."
As he spoke, he casually extended his hand toward Muscular.
"You're Muscular, right? Sen'gen mentioned you to me before."
"Nice to meet you."
He genuinely looked pleased.
After all, Muscular was only the second person who had openly called him "some brat" to his face.
The first had been Butcher.
Unfortunately for Butcher—
he was already dead.
Or rather, turned into a Nomu and currently undergoing adjustments inside the factory.
Yes.
Shigaraki had overheard Muscular and the Sludge Villain's earlier conversation from outside the room.
And because he found Muscular's comments mildly irritating, he decided to give him a tiny lesson.
Just enough to teach him the meaning of respect.
Of course, Shigaraki only intended it as a warning.
He had no intention of crippling or killing him.
After all, Muscular was still useful.
Ruining one of his own fighters before the real battle even started would make the whole game much less entertaining.
"Yeah. Nice to meet you too."
Completely unaware of Shigaraki's thoughts, Muscular was slightly surprised that Shigaraki had actually offered him a handshake.
Honestly, this boy didn't feel much like a villain at all.
Still, Muscular didn't dwell on it.
Without hesitation, he reached out and grabbed Shigaraki's hand directly.
…He actually dared to shake Lord Shigaraki's hand?
Watching from the side, the Sludge Villain's mouth twitched slightly.
For a brief moment, he genuinely admired Muscular's ignorance and courage.
After all, people who casually shook Lord Shigaraki's hand usually didn't end well.
Still, he had absolutely no intention of warning him.
He wasn't stupid enough to offend his own boss for the sake of someone he had only just met.
Besides, it was already obvious that Muscular must have offended Lord Shigaraki somehow.
Otherwise, there was no way Lord Shigaraki would choose to "educate" him during their very first meeting.
And just as the Sludge Villain expected—
the next second, Muscular's scream exploded through the room.
"How was it?"
"Not bad for a brat's Quirk, right?"
After giving Muscular a tiny dose of revenge and teaching him a quick lesson about manners, Shigaraki casually sat down nearby and looked at Muscular's pained expression with open amusement.
Hearing that, Muscular's mouth twitched violently.
Now he finally understood why Shigaraki had done this.
So it was because of the "brat" comment earlier.
This guy was absurdly petty.
And unbelievably vindictive.
Muscular almost wanted to argue.
But before he could say anything, Shigaraki continued calmly.
"Allow me to properly introduce myself again."
"I am Shigaraki Tomura."
"Leader of the organization Destiny."
"My Quirk is Decay."
"It destroys anything I touch."
"As for the actual effect…"
"I believe you just experienced it personally."
He smiled slightly wider.
"How was it?"
"Pretty nice, right?"
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he added casually,
"Oh, right."
"One more thing."
"What you experienced just now…"
"…was only about one percent of my output."
Muscular immediately rolled his eye.
Nice?
Nice my ass.
His hand had almost been destroyed.
If Shigaraki had truly used his full strength, Muscular suspected he would've turned to dust the instant they made contact.
That Quirk was completely broken.
And that had only been one percent?
Thinking about that possibility made Muscular feel his scalp go numb.
The image alone was terrifying enough.
But now he finally understood why the Sludge Villain obeyed Shigaraki so completely.
With a Quirk like that, how could the Sludge Villain possibly dare rebel?
If he disobeyed, Shigaraki could probably erase him in seconds.
Originally, Muscular thought the Sludge Villain's possession ability was already terrifying enough.
He never expected the Sludge Villain's boss to be even worse.
A Quirk capable of destroying anything through touch.
No wonder the Sludge Villain served him so loyally.
Compared to Decay, the Sludge Villain's Quirk suddenly felt much less impressive.
And honestly—
Muscular's own Muscle Augmentation wasn't much better either.
Thinking of that, Muscular decisively buried any lingering dissatisfaction about Shigaraki injuring him earlier.
He absolutely did not want to hand Shigaraki another excuse to "teach him a lesson."
After all, the guy had nearly destroyed his hand simply because Muscular called him a brat.
If he offended him again, who knew what kind of revenge Shigaraki would come up with next?
The ending would probably be ugly.
Of course, Muscular did wonder whether Shigaraki was exaggerating about only using one percent of his power.
But after thinking about it briefly, he abandoned the idea of testing him.
If Shigaraki was bluffing, then fine.
But if he was telling the truth…
then the price of testing that claim might be something Muscular couldn't afford.
Because if it really was true—
then the likely result of that "test" would be very simple.
Instant death.
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◇ Shigaraki has personally entered the operation, and Muscular has finally understood just how terrifying Decay truly is.
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◇ Read ahead now to see how Shigaraki uses his broken Quirk on the battlefield and how the heroes react when Destiny begins its public rise.
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