13 Counter Division Debut

"Counter Division? What kind of hero agency is that?" 

Ashido was confused with Makima's agency name, though her mistake was assuming that Makima and her entourage were heroes.

However, it was understandable since heroes were mostly the ones who dealt with villains in hero society. Whether it'd be in the light or the darkness.

"Silly girl, the Counter Division isn't a hero agency of some sort."

"We are an official government law enforcement agency." 

Makima wasn't bothered by the pink girl's confusion as her organization had recently taken off from the ground. But in the future, things will be different. 

With Makima's pleasant personality, the students of Class 1-A began opening themselves to the crimson-haired lady. 

On the other hand, Lady Nagant watched from afar and saw her Master's smile. One would expect the usual fake one, but the current one seemed different.

'For a Devil, Master really likes smiling.'

Lady Nagant thought while trying to practice smiling herself in the background. She lost her former smile when she bloodied her hands for the Hero Public Safety Commission. So it was a bit tough.

She glanced at her Master again and saw Makima looking at her with a smile while patting Ashido's head.

Lady Nagant tried smiling back, which didn't look good since her Master didn't hesitate to slightly chuckle. Lady Nagant looked away from her Master in embarrassment. 

She reminded herself to practice smiling so she wouldn't be humiliated by her Master.

Makima turned her gaze towards the students of Class 1-A and explained her intentions with clarity and grace.

"Our job can be compared to rat exterminators. If some rats dared to leave their sewers, we would be sent to handle them."

None of the students thought of the implication of Makima's words and nodded in understanding. Their reaction made Makima satisfied.

She looked beyond Ashido, making her eyes lay upon the unconscious figure of Thirteen. Her hero costume was broken beyond relief, a testimony of her quirk's power.

"I'll be waking Thirteen up, so protect us from any villains that may emerge in the nearby surroundings."

"An unconscious hero can be killed by the weakest of villains. That's a lesson none of you would want to experience firsthand."

Makima's professional attitude made the students of Class 1-A follow her words. Ashido, on the other hand, felt the deeper meaning of Makima's message.

It was a warning.

This made Ashido determined, despite being weaker than top-notch students in her class. 

"I'll protect Teacher Thirteen." 

Filled with brimming resolve, Ashido left with the others to protect the location while Makima walked forward with her gaze on Uraraka. 

Uraraka had been staring at her for quite a while. Perhaps, since her arrival. 

"Can you help Teacher Thirteen wake up?"

Makima stood before the unconscious Thirteen and touched the heroine's forehead. Thirteen looked a lot more beautiful than one would expect.

"I can, but it will take some time."

Her purpose wasn't only to make Thirteen wake up. But to also have the heroine become her puppy. What a wonderful puppy she would be with her powerful quirk.

Makima's golden irises gleamed with a hypnotic glow as she dug inside the heroine's psyche. This was the first time she punctured someone's mental scape.

It wasn't a dangerous ability to the user or the receiver, but only if the receiver didn't know of the ability's existence. 

Nonetheless, it was a part of the Conquest that required complex movements. It was a bit tougher to use than the usual domination part of Conquest.

Makima carefully pierced through the memories of Thirteen, starting from when she gained consciousness.

Time went forward in the heroine's psyche as the Devil saw thousands of scenes about the horrible childhood brought about by the existence of her dangerous quirk. 

The power of her quirk was disastrous and uncontrollable. Most acquainted with her had come to fear it, even though the little one meant no harm. 

Since the emergence of the Black Hole, Thirteen was isolated by others and her peers. Her parents also became distant from the child, bringing about a rough childhood for the heroine. 

She was the perfect individual to become a villain, a powerful one at that.

But she didn't. 

It was all because of an unknown hero who gave her hope. Thirteen didn't seem to know of the hero's name, but Makima was confident that the mysterious hero was, in fact, a heroine like her. 

'This makes it better.'

'The only thing I need to change is the image and make it clear enough for her to remember.'

With slight changes in the memories of Thirteen, Makima stopped touching the heroine's head and breathed in delight. 

A beaming smile was on her face as she looked at the worried Uraraka and decided to confirm her success.

"There's no need to continue being worried, little lady."

"Thirteen will be waking up soon."

After such words escaped from Makima's supple lips, Thirteen's eyes opened as she cautious glances at her surroundings. 

She took notice of a Class 1-A Student who seemed extremely worried. But soon perceived a familiar individual. Thirteen squinted her eyes as her nostalgic memories flooded her mind.

"Y-You..."

"It's been a while, Kiddo." 

"You have grown to become a fine heroine."

There was a reason why Makima didn't need to use her Conquest too much. It was because she was the best manipulator in the world.

"I was trying to find and meet you. I wanted to thank you, but it was as if you didn't exist."

"So I thought of it as a hopeful dream. I never thought you would be real."

Thirteen trembled as to her the heroine was someone who pulled her out from the darkest moments of her life. The heroine was the reason why she became a hero.

"This isn't the time to be sentimental."

"The USJ is under attack, and we need to make sure that none of the students get hurt."

Makima stretched her pale arms upward and then gave Thirteen a hand. The pro-hero unknowingly accepted the Devil's assistance and stood up from the ground. 

When she left the confines of her hero costume. Thirteen's body was in full display. Her body was clad in a skin-tight black suit, and she seemed to be a bit on the petite side of the spectrum.

Afterward, Makima gazed at the muddled chestnut Uraraka. The student tilted her head in confusion, wondering what the boss lady wanted from her.

Makima grinned and whispered something in Uraraka's ears. The words of the Devil made Uraraka unconsciously blush in crimson red.

Since she had conveyed what she desired to the two people she was interested in the most, Makima decided to take her leave. 

"Thirteen, I'll be hearing more about you later."

"And Chestnut-chan, please think carefully about my offer. I'll be waiting for your answer."

She waved her pale hand to the two while heading toward the area where shockwaves after shockwaves pummeled the surroundings. 

On the other hand, Lady Nagant could only watch her Master with a dumbfounded expression. Where was the intriguing ability of Conquest? 

She expected Thirteen to become a robot and immediately fall under her Master's command. But why was the heroine smiling like she had met her long-lost mentor? And why was a student blushing in the middle of it? 

'Master's abilities work in the ways that one could only see as natural.'

Lady Nagant decided to stop herself from such problematic thoughts. Besides, Thirteen seemed enthralled, which worked best for the Counter Division. 

Meanwhile, back to the central plaza where the vast battle between the heroes and villains transpired, Nomu and All Might pounded at each other with all their power.

Winds brought by the shockwaves of their all-out punches caused some trees to be uprooted and some people to be blown over. 

It was quite a sight.

"I'll kill you!"

Shigaraki was throwing punches towards our white furry friend, Konrad. But none of his weak attacks connected, and he was eventually kicked aside by the polar bear.

*Bam!*

As Shigaraki was thrown into the air, a purplish mist appeared behind Shigaraki, making him grin. The same purple fog materialized beside the blind spot of the polar bear.

"You're dea-"

To Shigaraki, this was his victory. However, he underestimated his opponent. 

As he was about to touch the polar bastard, he felt his instincts scream at him. Shigaraki swiftly retracted his arms while Konrad's paw slashed through his face, destroying his mask. 

He barely dodged the attack, but he didn't get off scot-free. A bloodied scar of three slashes was on his face. The claws of the polar bear were sharp and vicious.

However, he also realized something important.

The polar bear wasn't fighting the way heroes would. The beast was trying to kill him from the get-go.

"Kurogiri, let's get out of here now."

There was no way they could win against Konrad or All Might. If they wished to survive or not get locked in prison, they needed to escape.

"I have the same thoughts, Shigaraki Tomura."

Kurogiri instantly created a purplish mist that could warp them out of USJ. With the emergence of the purple fog, Shigaraki felt confident in his escape and glared at the polar bear.

"I don't know who you are. But I'll find where you come from!"

"And sooner or later, your body will decay under my hands."

"There will be nothing left but the remains of your ashes on the ground. 

Shigaraki grinned as the purplish mist enveloped half of his body. Unfortunately for him, though, his escape was intolerable.

While Kurogiri was warping the two of them, Shigaraki heard a pleasant voice out of nowhere. 

"Saying such horrid things to my precious subordinate. What a bad boy you are."

Shigaraki looked around and saw the source of the voice. 

It came from a gorgeous crimson-haired lady pointing at them with a soothing and mesmerizing smile. She soon opened her supple lips and muttered.

"Bang!"

Shigaraki couldn't feel his left arm anymore. He slowly turned his eyes towards it and saw no trace of his left arm. And the purplish mist that was supposed to take him out of USJ disappeared along with it. 

The young villain was stranded.