Blood trickled down Izuku's limbs as the face of stone got close, its haunting smile filling his vision.

"H-How?! How are you doing all of this?! Were you in control of the System from the beginning?!"

"System?" Miyuki asked. "I haven't the faintest idea what you mean, boy. And no, not even we, as rich and powerful as we are, could arrange this all," She said, gesturing to the grand chamber. "This was all set in motion by something far larger than all of humanity."

"We just so happened to meet someone who was willing to teach us how to manipulate the situation a bit. He brought this place to the physical world we inhabit, and gave us permission to do as we saw fit." Akihiko patted one of the statue's spider-like legs. "And this is little more than a doll to be controlled."

"Our plan to become one with Villain-kind has been in motion since that palace was discovered in the arctic, but our contact has been helping us along the way for some time. And when we found out our daughter was destined to become the Shadow Empress, well, it was almost too perfect." She caressed Yaoyorozu's thigh with the ceremonial dagger.

"But you? A nobody?" Akihiko scoffed. "We'd gathered and scouted hundreds of the most influential people in the world in preparation to discover the Shadow Monarch, and it turns out to be an E-Rank nobody?"

"You want to be... one with the Villains?"

Miyuki smiled. "Even with wealth, and Awakened powers that put most humans to shame, there is a limit to what we can do. To cross any of the National-Ranks would be akin to suicide. Humans have grown prideful. It is time for us to rise to the forefront of power and subjugate humanity alongside the Villains. We will give them the leadership they need, and by becoming the Shadow Monarchs, we will no longer be mere mortals. They will recognize us as such, or die."

"That's it?" Izuku groaned as the spikes piercing his extremities shifted. "That's all you want? All of this power, all of this insane worship, and you want more power? That's all you could strive for?!"

Miyuki giggled in a playful manner, like a school girl looking upon her crush. "Isn't that what we all strive for? You should know better than anyone that once you get a taste of power, it is impossible to stop there."

"Yeah, I did want to be stronger," Izuku admitted, "But only for the sake of those around me. If I was cut off from my power right now, I would go on living, happy for what I had been given. As long as stronger and stronger threats pop up, I'll get stronger too, but not to become a dictator, to become a Hero."

Akihiko again scoffed. "Ah... the follies of All Might's teachings. You see, boy, we too seek the betterment of humanity. To bring two species under the rule of single power, we shall create-"

"Force." Izuku interrupted. "You'd force two species under a single ruler. That's not gonna lead to anything but chaos and revolution."

Miyuki shrugged. "Perhaps those things will come about, but might makes right, and we will be the pinnacle of the food chain." She licked the tip of her dagger, almost shaking from anticipation. "Now, shall we get started?" She asked, prompting her husband to stroll towards Izuku.

"And what makes you think I was gonna let you do anything to her?" Izuku questioned, a fierce fire in his eyes.

"What makes you think you can do-"

[Title: Hysterical Strength of a Hero has activated.]

Through sheer force, Izuku snapped the four limbs holding him down, yanking the black limbs out of his flesh and casting them to the ground.

"Get him!" Miyuki shouted at the statue creature.

[Elemental Fire Gem has been removed from Speedstrike.]

[A-Rank Elemental Ice Enhancement Gem has been added to Speedstrike.]

*******

[Skill: Speedstrike (Ice)]

Toggled Skill

Mana Cost: 2 Mana per second

Description: When this Skill is active, the Player will move 100% faster and will be immune to any environmental or debuff slows. As the Player runs, they can accumulate an additional 75% speed boost.

*******

Izuku blurred, narrowly avoiding another stab of the creature. "I'm a lot different than the last time I faced this thing. And I have an advantage. You don't even know about the System."

[Orb of Avarice]

Izuku waved his gauntlets, conjuring several massive blades of ice and slashed at Momo's bindings. They absorbed a massive amount of the magic contained inside the attacks, explaining how they managed to hold Momo in the first place. But even they couldn't stand against the buffs from Izuku's dagger and the Orb of Avarice.

As Momo fell, still weak from the restraints, Izuku leapt through the air, catching her in his arms, and thanks to the Yaoyorozu's shock, it wasn't until he landed back on the ground that he had to worry about an attack.

Izuku threw up a wall of ice, momentarily blocking the stream of pure darkness flowing from Miyuki's hands. He tore off Momo's gag and blindfold, using his magic to conjure some water for her to drink.

"Ugh... you... run..."

"No... I think we should end this right here," He said. "You've had to run from them for too long."

"Too... strong..." She murmured, just as the chanting began.

Izuku looked through the ice. The creature was still waiting for its next command, but the hundreds of robed figures surrounding the altar were up and chanting.

[Buff Magic is being activated.]

[Cursed Magic is being activated.]

[Enchantment Magic is being activated.]

Izuku couldn't even read all of the alerts, they were simply popping up too quickly. That and the fact that he had to start running again.

He picked up Momo and sprinted off using Speedstrike just in time to avoid another beam of darkness that shattered his ice wall like it was nothing, burrowing into the wall behind it for over a mile. Not even Izuku's trump card of the Orb and the Cryonic Entropy dagger could surpass magic that was being boosted by so many different Awakened Humans. Not to mention there were likely a few Quirks in the mix.

His power, on its own, wasn't enough. And he couldn't ask Momo for help, since the bindings had stolen all of her Mana to keep her weak. The System Store probably had something, but he didn't have time to look.

THUNK!

The creature buried its limbs just behind Izuku, again barely missing him.

Akihiko raised his hands, creating dozens of fire javelins and flinging them in a wide buckshot pattern to restrict Izuku's movements. If he stayed in one place to dodge them, he'd be crushed by the creature, but if he moved, they'd tear through him. And with the physical repercussions of Hysterical Strength and the wounds from the creature still there, he didn't have a lot of raw strength to spare.

Using a scary amount of his Mana, he conjured another wall of ice, this one thicker and imbued with more Mana than the last, allowing him to dart off to the right, following the wall in hopes of getting back to the doorway.

But it wasn't enough. Three of the fiery spears burned a hole in the wall, and though weakened, were more than enough to run through Izuku's legs, forcing him to stumble and fall. He turned onto his back at the last moment to hit the ground instead of Momo, but it was long enough for the enemy to bear down upon him.

Concentrating everything he had left, he made one last ice wall, maintaining it with all he had left as the attacks bore down on him. The creature cracked the top of the dome, the darkness and fire burrowed away at it, and Izuku's Mana was close to empty.

"S...Shit..." Izuku muttered, cracking a smile in spite of the situation. It was all too much for him to handle, so all he could think to do was smile in his last moments. "I-I'm sorry, Momo," he said, cradling her body against his chest. "I really wanted to be a Hero... I really wanted to save you..."

She looked up at him doing her best to manage a weak smile. "Not your... fault. You were the first to ever try..." She said, laughing quietly. "You were the first person that ever made me feel safe... and loved."

Tears welled up in Izuku's eyes. "And you were the first person that I felt I could trust by my side."

"You know... I still have my own Quest to complete," She said, a glimmer of mirth in her eyes as she closed them, leaning forwards to plant a kiss on Izuku's lips. It was gentle, soft, and reminded Izuku of the sakura blossoms that fell around you. Magical.

"I... I love you," She breathed against his lips.

Now Izuku's vision was entirely obscured by tears. "I love you too."

Izuku's Mana hit zero, and the magic rushed towards them.

[Quest: Inner Circle Part 3 has been completed.]

[The Shadow Empress has awoken.]

For a moment, everything froze.

[Quirk: Genesis has Evolved into Shadow Genesis.]

Momo delicately lifted her hand, now cloaked in shadowy mist, taking the Orb of Avarice from Izuku. The ice wall, faltering under the duress of the two Yaoyorozu's, became an immovable wall of endless darkness, swallowing the attacks like they were nothing.

She clenched her fist, causing innumerable spikes to emerge on the other side of the wall. They shot out much in the same way Akihiko's fire javelins had. Peppering the cultists, many of their buffs disappeared.

And now, with his own hands freed, Izuku activated Stealth, leaving Momo to handle the impenetrable defenses. He didn't have much Mana, but it was regenerating fast enough to allow use of his invisibility Skill.

With his dagger in hand, he sliced through tendons and knocked them unconscious. He was careful not to kill. Not because he was worried about morality, he was too furious at that moment to care about such sensibilities. The true reason he didn't take any lives was because it was Momo's judgment to pass. They were her source of fear and mental distress for her entire life, she deserved to decide the fate of each and every one of them.

"Wha-What is this?!" Miyuki screamed. "She wasn't supposed to have Awakened yet!"

"He lied to us!" Akihiko said through gritted teeth, his many enhancements failing. "Dammit Stain! I will kil-" He was cut off as a massive spike ran through his thigh.

Momo emerged from the darkness of the shield, her hands manipulating strings that were pulling on the statue-faced creature. "It seems that this thing recognizes us now. As the true Shadow Monarchs."

"Momo, wait... you don't know-" The same injury was inflicted on her mother as the creature heeded Momo's beck and call. She cried out as an artery was pierced, blood spurting forth as the limb was pulled from the wound.

Momo reached out, a wave of energy spreading forth, Dominator's Touch. She used it to grab her mother by the throat and pull her close. "I just wanted someone who cared for me..." She said mournfully.

"W-We did care for you!" Miyuki stammered, trying to stem the bleeding, but she wasn't even looking at her daughter.

Akihiko went to launch a fireball to save his wife, but Izuku cut into his shoulders, deeply cutting the muscles so that he couldn't even lift a finger.

"I wouldn't do that," He said, placing his dagger against the man's throat.

Momo looked over to him. "Izuku?"

She didn't even need to convey her question, he got the picture immediately. "I will never think any less of you, no matter what you do to them." It was rare to see such pure anger in Izuku's eyes. It was the sort of rage and frustration that only came about when thinking of his once close childhood friend. But even that sort of anger was completely engulfed by this torrent of fury.

He kept it well hidden. He was always ready to give someone a second chance, even if it was a Villain. But there were limits. There was misguided evil, someone put onto the wrong path, who needed help. There were Villains, like Baruka, who clearly had some good, deep within them. And then there was such all consuming malevolence that even Izuku didn't harbor hopes of reaching out to them. The Yaoyorozus were no different than that.

"Then the cultists can get prison time, but you two..." Momo looked upon her "parents" with tears in her eyes. "I can't feel safe... not with you in this world."

"W-W-Wait... please... j-just think about this, M-Momo!"

"I have," She muttered. "For so many years I dreamt of a moment like this... I hoped that I would see some good in you. Something, anything, resembling a mother or father."

"N-No!" Miyuki tried to shoot magic at her daughter, but Yaoyorozu batted it aside. She shared the same strength as Izuku did now. Without the legion of cultists buffing their magic, her parents were helpless before the Shadow Monarch and Empress.

"But it's clear that... that you'll never be anything more than selfish, power hungry, billionaires. You'll never be parents." Momo snapped her fingers and the creature on the ceiling drove two of its legs through their skulls, impaling them onto the stone below, and keeping them upright.

Momo collapsed to her knees, choking back sobs. Not because she had killed her parents, but because she knew that they had never cared for her at all. Not in the deepest recesses of their mind, had they seen her as anything more than a tool.

"I'm here," Izuku said, wrapping her in his arms as she released years of torment, of sadness, of fear. She bawled into his arms, knowing that she was truly free for the first time in her life.

*******

Izuku wasn't sure when Momo stopped crying, but it was around the time he noticed the creature hanging above them, motionless and still staring down at them, waiting for instructions.

Momo sniffed, wiping at her nose. "Let's destroy it," She said, pointing to the face. "I looked into the magic that makes it work. There's no soul to take, and it can't leave this place. I'd rather it be in pieces than in someone else's hands."

Izuku nodded, holding the Orb of Avarice with her. Both raised their free hands.

Momo sliced it to bits with blades of shadow, Izuku with blades of ice. They sliced it thinner and thinner, until it collapsed into a heap of scrap, unrecognizable from the horror it had once been. And when it was gone, the two heaved a sigh of relief. The demons had been exorcized.

"HEY! IS ANYONE IN THERE?!" The shout made the Shadow duo jump in surprise. The massive golden door was being pounded on... by Nejire.

"Yeah we're in here!" Izuku called back.

"Hang on! I gotta blow this thing open!" She said, the sound of her yellow energy gathering on the other side of the door.

It wasn't necessary, but Izuku still shielded Momo's body with his own as the entrance was blasted inwards, coming down with a crash that shook the room.

"Oh... uh... wow..." Even the bubbly Nejire was at a loss for words upon seeing the carnage. Hundreds of cultists, two dead billionaires speared through the head, and Momo huddled against Izuku, still clothed in the same sheer dress, so sheer that it wasn't an exaggeration to say she was wearing nothing at all.

"These are the people who kidnapped her," Izuku said. "Can you take care of this for us?"

Nejire did her best to muster a sweet smile at Momo, "Of course! Anything you need, I'll make sure it happens. I've got a small army searching the house, I'll get them down here to arrest these lowlifes."

Izuku nodded his thanks, and picked up Momo. She was stronger than ever physically, but emotionally, she was still a wreck. "I'm gonna take her home."

"Y-Your place..." Momo stammered against his chest.

"Sure thing," He acquiesced, trying not to focus on her state of "undress."

*******

Thanks to both of them being in possession of Stealth now, neither were hindered as Izuku ran back home with Momo in his arms. As he opened the apartment door, he called out to Kei, getting no answer. It spooked him, but Momo pointed out a note on the coffee table.

'Hey doofus, no idea what's going on or where you went. Sleeping over at a friend's tonight.'

She listed the number of the friend and told him she'd be back tomorrow.

"I'll draw a bath," Izuku said, gingerly setting the exhausted Momo on the couch and grabbing some food and drink for her to replenish herself.

By the time she was done eating, the bath was ready and it was getting late. Running all over the place had taken more time than Izuku thought, and the time they'd spent underground had clearly been longer than an hour.

"Maybe it dilates time like a Red Gate," Izuku mused to himself as Momo bathed. He had already gotten himself a pillow and blanket for the couch, so that Momo could use his bed. He could've used Kei's bed, but she was pretty uptight when it came to her room's sanctity. It was a thought that made Izuku chuckle. Besides, there were plenty of nights he'd accidentally fallen asleep on the couch, it was more than comfy enough.

But just as the exhaustion of the day began to pull on him, he felt a warm hand take his.

He blinked the sleep from his eyes, "Sorry... I was starting to nod off..." He kept blinking, because he was sure his eyes were deceiving him. Momo was wearing a silky smooth negligee, which was borderline lingerie

"Uhm..."

"Do I need to carry you?"

"Carry me... where?"

"T-To bed..." She said, averting her eyes, a blush creeping up her face.

"M-Momo, this is a delicate time..." He said, trying to tiptoe around the situation. "Maybe you need time alone to..."

Her face went from pink to bright-red as she realized his meaning. "I'm not asking you to sleep with me, dummy! J-Just... stay with me..."

Izuku let out a small sigh of relief and a chuckle as he pulled himself up from the couch. "I'm not going anywhere," He said, holding tightly to her hand as he led her to his bedroom.