179 Chapter 178

(A/N: This chapter was brought to you by Sil3nt, a surprisingly vocal member of the community (U w U)...)

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"This doesn't feel right..." said Mirio, furrowing his brows as he held one of the fox statues in his hands, preparing to smash it over another.

"It's not meant to," said Izuku, shaking his head. "But the fact remains that if the breaches aren't cleared, they will invariably overflow into the outside world. I'm all for trying to reach a compromise with the entities responsible for their creation, but monsters like this aren't really 'real' so much as they're constructs of Mana. That's why they disappear and drop things like Mana Crystals when defeated."

"Right..." muttered Mirio, raising a fox stature over his head and slamming it down as he shouted, "POWER...!" As he did so, his Strength increased from 95 to 139 briefly. Ordinarily, that wouldn't be enough to damage the statues, but as the boost was achieved by instinctually channeling Mana through his body and into it, pieces of the first fox statue shattered and splintered off when it impacted the second.

Exhaling a sigh, Mirio reached up to wipe his brow with his forearm but was stopped by his costume's yellow visor. The rest of his outfit consisted of a white, skin-tight top with yellow trim, green-and-yellow shoulder pads, and the number '1000000' stamped across the chest in bold yellow font. Below that, he wore predominately blue pants with accents of white and a green band around the waist and off-white, greave-like boots with built-in knee guards and bright yellow soles. Above, completing his outfit, he wore a flowing red cape and dark red gloves.

Removing his visor to get at his brow, Mirio jokingly remarked, "Looks like I need to install a headband in my visor."

"Or you can just not wear one," said Nejire, dropping down from the sky to take a short break. Her Quirk allowed her to fly, but it required her to hold the same pose for extended periods when she hovered, causing her joints to lock up and muscles to spasm from prolonged tension.

Before Mirio could respond, Nejire, who used her real name as her Heroic alias, pointed out, "Face masks and secret identities only work if you're a vigilante and no one knows who you are. You took first place among the third years in this year's sports festival, broadcast worldwide. The whole country knows who you are."

"Eh, don't be so sure," said Izuku, smiling wryly as he pointed out, "I also took first place among the first years, but since I was inactive for a while, I get tons of people filing police reports when they see me flying around. Lemillion here definitely stands out, but unless they're a fan or someone who follows that kind of thing, even most Pros forget who the winners of the Sports Festival were within a few months."

"Are we taking a break...?" asked Tamaki, approaching the group with a fox statue in his right hand, currently transformed into the crushing claw of a lobster. Unlike Mirio, he didn't seem to mind destroying the statues, his expression barely changing as he 'snipped' off the head of the one he was carrying.

"That Quirk of yours is pretty interesting..." Izuku remarked, nodding and giving Tamaki a quick once over. The youth's Hero Costume consisted of a black nanomesh bodysuit that covered most of his body, excluding his hands, bare feet, and head. The bodysuit was adorned with gold plating around the arms and shoulders, but it was mostly decorative, unlike the manifold purple pouches covering his torso and sides. They contained the various food/ingredients he used to enable his Quirk, while his off-white pants and thick hooded cloak were flame retardent, bullet resistant, and insulated against electric shocks. With his sharp eyes, spiky hair, and elf-like ears, he could easily pursue a career as a male model or idol, but his looks were undermined by his perpetually anxious expression and inability to meet the gazes of others...

Avoiding Izuku's gaze, Tamaki replied, "It's nothing special...a straight-up reinforcement-type Quirk would have been much better..."

Shrugging, Izuku responded, "Maybe. But, once you've 'awakened,' your Quirk has ridiculous potential. I mean, if you can manifest the traits of whatever you eat, just imagine how powerful you could become if you got your hands on Dragon meat."

"And how do you suppose I get my hands on Dragon meat...?" questioned Tamaki, incredulously appending, "Do you expect me to start taking bites out of monsters mid-combat?"

"Don't say that so judgmentally," said Izuku, pointing out, "There are tons of people whose Quirks revolve around biting or even sucking the blood of others. Yours gives you a powerful incentive to do so, so if push comes to shove, don't be afraid to bare your teeth. It may end up saving your life, and if that isn't a compelling enough reason for you, just keep in mind that the stronger you become, the more people you can protect."

"And you would look adorable with a pair of fox ears," said Nejire, smiling as she held her hands up to her forehead, fingers extended like fox ears. Tamaki snuck a peek at her as she did but quickly looked away, a bead of sweat appearing on his cheek as a faint red hue colored his cheeks.

'Looks like I'll need to be careful if the signs Nejire is sending aren't just her fooling around...' thought Izuku, feeling it would be a bit dickish of him to proactively flirt with the blue-haired girl if one of her best friends had a crush on her. Who and what she liked were ultimately for Nejire to decide, but it was well within his power not to 'exacerbate' things.

*thoom* *thoom* *thoom*

Following the sound of heavy, earth-quaking footsteps, Izuku, Nejire, Mirio, and Tamaki raised their gazes to meet the withering stare of a massive, predominately white fox with red facial markings and nine red-tipped tails undulating behind it as if it were underwater. Its height was easily tens of meters, but no one panicked as Izuku readily affirmed, "It's just another illusion. The monsters charged with protecting the core must be feeling panicked."

Narrowing its golden, red-trimmed eyes, the colossal fox remarked, "This form may be an illusion, but we come bearing the word of Inari Okami-sama. If you are true and faithful citizens of Wakoku, you shall kneel and prostrate yourselves our divine countenance..."

"Wakoku...?" parroted Nejire, tilting her head cutely to the side with her right index finger on her chin.

"It's the antiquated name of Japan before it became Nihon, The Land of the Rising Sun," explained Izuku. That was barely scratching the surface of what Wakoku represented, but he didn't see the need to explain things in detail. It did, however, reveal a few things about Inari Okami. After all, the names Wakoku and 'Land of Wa' referred to a period when Japan was regarded as a tributary state of China. If a Japanese scholar were to hear one of the principal Kamis of the Shinto religion referring to them as 'true and faithful citizens of Wakoku,' they would probably blow a gasket.

Curious and wanting to confirm his suspicions, Izuku shouted, "Wakoku is no more! The land beyond this demesne is Nihon, unified under Yamato in the name of Amaterasu Omikami!"

"Amaterasu..." muttered the massive fox, its features scrunching in mild annoyance. Amaterasu was one of the 'three precious children' of Izanagi and Izanami, the Creator Gods of the Shinto Pantheon, of which Inari was supposed to be a member. However, as modern Shintoism was 'rewritten' and 'borrowed' from older religions to legitimize the authority of the ruling elite around the turn of the 7th century, similar to what happened in other countries, it was impossible to discern the truth as those in power tend to spare no effort in erasing evidence that contradicts their claims or lessens their hold over others.

Demonstrating that it might really be speaking on behalf of Inari Okami, the massive fox eased its expression and asked, "Tell us, Child of Nihon. Does Amaterasu Omikami currently preside over your people, or is there another who serves as her proxy?"

"This may come as a shock, but before these demesnes began to appear, which we refer to as breaches, no Gods were active in the outside world," answered Izuku, quickly clarifying, "Plenty are worshipped, including you, but there is no empirical evidence any of you existed."

"I see..." muttered the massive fox, lying down and crossing its forepaws as it added, "Then the Age of Gods truly did come to an end. But we find it peculiar...if that's the case, how are you here? Each of you possesses a fragment of Telania's authority. If you don't rule over others, you must be subordinate to someone more powerful. Tell us who you serve."

Before Izuku could respond, Mirio thumped his chest and loudly asserted, "We're Heroes-in-training! Our duty is the public we protect!"

"Heroes..." repeated the giant fox, momentarily narrowing its eyes before opening its mouth wide and laughing without inhibition. It seemed to find Mirio's comment genuinely hilarious, so much so that it needed to wipe a tear from its eye once it was finished, remarking, "We see how it is. You're in the transitory period preceding the birth of new Gods. That brings back memories..."

"Probably, but not quite," replied Izuku, confusing 'The Big 3' and causing the giant fox to stare at him inquisitively, curtly stating, "Explain yourself," as its massive tails began to sway noticeably faster.

"Are you familiar with the Convergence...?" asked Izuku, causing the fox's eyes to widen in realization. It had been wondering how it was still alive after the Age of Gods had ended, and Izuku's question helped the pieces fall into place.

"Then the Convergence wasn't just a fairy tale..." muttered the giant fox, lowering its massive head and snout to stare directly at Izuku as it stated, "If thou seeketh salvation through us, we offer an accord. One among you shall become our vessel. The rest shall offer their souls as tribute. Do this, and we shall defend the people of Nihon from all calamities brought upon them by the Convergence..."

"You're asking us to sacrifice ourselves...?" asked Tamaki, a severe frown marring his face.

Raising its head, the massive fox challenged, "You're Heroes, no? If your sacrifices could save millions of lives, do you not have a moral obligation to accept our proposal? Or do you foolishly believe you can protect more people than the God who saved your ancestors from famine and plague?"

Answering in Tamaki's stead, Izuku pointed out, "You can't know how many people a single person can save until their life has run its course. Also, you may be a God, but if your first act is to demand sacrifices, it's virtually guaranteed you'll ask for others. To that end, it sounds like you're far more concerned with protecting your food source than keeping people safe from harm..."

"And? What's the problem with that?" asked the giant fox, adopting a very human expression of amusement as it pointed out, "If their fate is to die without our protection, purposefully becoming our nourishment to protect others is a noble act. Besides, whenever we utilize our power to ensure a bountiful harvest or fend off an enemy, we sacrifice a part of what makes us Gods. It's only natural that those who benefit from our sacrifice return it in kind..."

"Are all Gods this shameless?" asked Izku, exhaling a scoffing chuckle that caused the massive fox to frown. Then, before it could tell him to explain himself, he pointed out, "You say it's only natural that you receive sacrifices in exchange for using your power, but here you are, asking us to sacrifice ourselves without offering anything in return. Sure, you say you'll protect the people of Japan, but it's not like we would be around to verify if you were speaking the truth. More importantly, you're not even the most powerful or influential God that Telania has revived."

Shaking his head, Izuku's expression hardened as he crossed his arms and asserted, "Even if you were true to your word, your promise doesn't mean shit if you lack the power to keep it. And if you don't make a deal with us before we close this breach, you'll effectively cease to exist. So, instead of trying to pressure us into sacrificing ourselves for the 'greater good' of your stomach, I would suggest you start thinking about how you can convince us not to rid the world of your parasitic ass. Because, news flash, unless asshats like you go out of your way to sabotage them, things like poor harvests aren't a thing in the modern world."

Following his words, Izuku leaped high into the sky, activating his Sky Regalia to hover at eye-level with the fox as he said, "And humans are far past the stage of needing Gods to guide and protect them. It's 'you' who needs us. And that's a truth not even Telania herself can escape..."

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(A/N: Kick the dog.)