Behind The Stage

It's been quite sometime after the fight against All For One, and surprisingly, not much happened in that time frame. Well, I did tell my gang and they celebrated, and I used the chance to change my stupid villain name to something… better. They now call me Empress, as I'm practically the strongest in the underworld right now.

What the hell was I thinking by giving myself that stupid name? I blame my edgy teenager's mind for that.

Also, I spent some time trying to upgrade my acting proficiency, maxing out the actor profession, and upgrading it to Expert level. I took the programmer profession after it, seeing that it's essential for making robots do complicated things. It was quite easy to be honest since all I had to do was mother the gang members and shower them with care. My reputation and loyalty with them are currently sitting at a whopping 90 points, only a few points away from maxing them both. I wonder if I get rewards for it? When I reached 50 points, I didn't get any perk like usual.

Maybe because it's a faction? I think I should start testing out what some of the game's mechanics do…

For now, I have a project to focus on.

It took a lot of time and patience, but I dug deep into the mountain where my secret base is and created a huge factory underneath it. There are hundreds of robots, all working on different things at once. Some were working on my machine army, others were working on weapons, but most of them were working on The Destroyer.

The Robot Workers are more useful than I first thought, as they're linked to my Engineer level and Technology Mastery. So the better I am, the faster and better they are. Of course, I upgraded them even more, so they're faster and much better than normal. Honestly, if I was working on the destroyer alone, it would've taken me months to finish it. A giant mechanical worm, slightly under 500 meters, and 82 probes in each segment of its body.

Once one of the segments is damaged, the probe will fly out of The Destroyer and attack the enemy independently, shooting lasers.

Why am I making something so time-consuming? Well, aside from it being extremely powerful, it will strike hopelessness into the hearts of heroes and civilians, which will damage their morale, making everything much easier for me. I know I don't have much time, but this deserves the risk. Of course, once the workers are done with it, I'll add some… finishing touches to suit my tastes.

My next plans would consist of finally taking control of every criminal group and the assassinations of certain people, like Mt. Lady, Midnight, and other people. I don't really need to kill them, but I'd like to spread panic through the hero society. I will keep some of the top heroes alive of course, like Endeavor, Hawks, and All Might, so when I end their lives before everyone else, it will become obvious that there is no hope of winning.

Before I start the battle, however, there's something I must do, and that is to stop all kinds of communications with other countries. The first thing to do is to destroy the airports so people can't leave, then destroy all kinds of electronics with an EMP bomb, or nuke in this case, so no one can use the internet, then finally create a giant barrier all over japan to stop anyone from coming in. Once I finish everything and become the ruler of Japan, then I'll most likely unlock the next world… I hope.

Of course, there are other things I need to take care of first. Things that could ruin all of my plans, and I need to take care of them fast. First, is the Meta Liberation Army, who is one of the strongest villain organizations in Japan, right under my organization, then Gigantomachia. I don't know much about him since I only watched until the Overhaul arc, but I do know that he was extremely powerful. Same with that doctor, Ujiko or something, because from what I remember, he was the one who made the Nomus, and I know for a fact that he's fanatically loyal to All For One… and I doubt he'd like me.

...Are you still mad about the spoilers?

I was… well, I still am, but it's pointless right now. Most of the Meta Liberation Army was spoiled for me, and the whiny morons on Twitter screeching about something again. What were they complaining about anyway? A name or something?

Before he was named Ujiko, he was Murata.

...That's it? Because of something so stupid? I think the old name is funny.

I do believe that the name was in poor taste. You, on the other hand, are a sociopath, so the chances of you caring are virtually zero.

Are you telling me you care? You?

I do not, I simply acknowledge that it is in poor taste. Why should I care about mortals and what they think?

Right, because it sounded to me that you do care. Well, whatever, I still have things to do.

Now then, once I absorb the last remaining small gangs, I'll stop my bank attacks. After that, I'll get rid of the three threats.

Then, start assassinating some heroes, recruit some villains, such as Dabi, Himiko, and maybe Shoto. They may be weak, but they have a lot of potential. And Stain? Well, I don't really trust him, and his motives are really stupid, so he dies. As much of a cool character as he is, I don't think he'll agree with me taking over the world.

Looking over the robots, I smile slightly at their speed of creating knights and gunners for my growing army. I turn around and fly above, getting out of the factory and into my… room? It's a cave, so is it really considered a room? I mean, there is a computer, a fridge, a bed… eh, it doesn't matter really.

I think creating some illusionary holograms around my base was a good idea. I saw some heroes and the police snooping around a distance away, which made me really paranoid that they will find this place after the fight with All For One, so I made sure that it'll never be found. Cameras are hidden everywhere, and holograms were hiding the cave, so it looks like there is no cave at all.

There's no one here currently, so that's relieving.

I believe I need one more day to finish The Destroyer, and once it is finished, I'll deal with Gigantomachia and Dr. Ujiko since the heroes will probably not notice their disappearance, then strike the heroes that can put up a fight but aren't that known to be the best. It is hilarious seeing the bashing Mt. Lady gets on the internet, so she's probably not important.

For now, I think I'll go look for some potential recruits. If they don't agree to join, I'll just kill them and take their quirks... Wait, I just remembered something. Wasn't Endeavor's wife in the hospital? And she has an ice quirk? What would happen if I take it? Will it perhaps improve my cryomancy? I won't say no to stronger ice spells...

What would happen if I kill Shoto? If ice quirks fuse with my magic, does that mean half of his quirk would do the same? Wish there were some kind of a magic x quirk book around here...

Hmm... I think I should find out about the ice quirk fusion thing. She's not important enough to make the heroes keep their guards up, and it'll certainly piss off Endeavor. Fucking arrogant prick...

Hell, I can even blame Endeavor, which will make Shoto and his siblings resent him even further. His kids might not be that strong, but with enough time, I'll turn them into powerhouses.

Now that I think about it, there are a lot of quirks I might need, like Momo's creation and Saiko's intelligence boosting. I do prefer tea over coffee too, so that's nice...

If I'm not wrong though, both are high-class, so their disappearance might make the heroes act...

...I can design a bot with their looks, but it'll take time. Time I currently can't afford.

I take a deep breath, calming the screaming instincts telling me to take what's mine. So this is what the Sin of Greed feels like when I'm aware? I've always been a greedy person, but I had the patience so I can work with it, but right now I'm more than greedy and said patience is out of the window.

I want everything as fast as I can because every second wasted is every second they enjoy using what's mine... and I hate that. I absolutely and utterly hate it. On what right they get to use what's mine? I never allowed it and never will, and I'll take everything back from their cold corpses if I have t-

I take another deep breath, feeling my fists clench tightly. This combination of sins is the worst. Greed makes me angry when some people use what's "mine", and wrath is hard to control when I never had any experiences dealing with it. I don't remember much, but I know that I barely get angry, occasionally annoyed maybe, but rarely angry.

You know, at least getting angry gives me buffs... even if they weaken my magic.

I wonder if I can control the rage? Maybe the buffs I'll get by then won't reduce my INT and WIS in the process of improving my physical stats. I'm more of a magic caster, so it's not very beneficial to weaken what makes me strong.

I sigh slightly. I think I wasted enough time brainstorming ideas.

It's time to act.

Crushing the head of the final gang leader of an alliance I never bothered to remember the name of under my boot, I smirk darkly at the defeated looks of the members who are still alive. Most of them start running away, but I create a couple of illusionary clones to stop them in place. I can almost feel the despair they're showing, causing my smirk to darken. Finally, after days of chasing around the last remaining gangs, I managed to defeat all except for one. Most of the time, they give up and acknowledge that I won, but very rarely, they try to fight back. Of course, the ones who do so are erased.

If I was feeling merciful, I'd kill their leader in front of their eyes, crushing their spirits altogether. It's what I did right now, and that basically assured my victory.

One more villain organization and this entire underworld will truly be mine.

"I warned you all that this would happen," I say to them. "I told you that there's no chance of victory... but no one listened."

Their heads were down, and I see some of them even crying. Pathetic...

"I revealed to you that I defeated the Myth himself, but no one believed me. I told you not even All For One managed to defeat me... and you all laughed at me."

As I let my mana leak, I fake a sneer at their shaken forms. I'm not particularly angry, but I want them to know what happens if they mock me. The air was enough to suffocate some of the weaker willed ones, and that only scared the ones who were able to withstand it even more.

"In your arrogance, you mocked me, the new Symbol of Fear." They trembled at my accusation. "I should just end your miserable lives right now for that transgression... but I'm willing to give you all a chance."

Just as those words left my mouth, hope shone in their eyes. This is way too easy...

"There's a reason why I'm getting everyone under me... and that is to destroy the hero society," I say. "The same society that runs on the blood of the weak to fulfill their fake ideals. Being a hero was never a profession... but in this day and age? It makes me sick."

I can see them giving me full attention.

"What is a hero I hear you asking... A hero is the embodiment of courage, selflessness, and kindness. Traits that barely any hero has any more...

"Mt. Lady is an attention whore, preening under any compliment thrown her way and Endeavor is an abusive father and husband, beating his kids for not being strong enough..." I reveal. "There are many heroes even worse, but if I start counting them, then we'll be here all day. I believe you get the point."

Some of them nod slowly.

"I refuse to become a slave to this society, where not even heroes are heroic, where the ones with weak quirks are seen as trash and those quirkless as nothing." I scowl. "The things I've seen, the things they ignored, the people who are begging to be saved, but no one even looked at their direction... it's disgusting."

I see some of them wince, and I barely held in my smirk.

"This is not a civilized society, this is a glorified jungle, but instead of the strong eating the weak, they torment them. The quirkless barely get jobs, and even if they do, the suicide rate for them is over 60%, why is that? Because the ones with quirks, even if they're useless quirks, will always look down on them. Heroes may be able to save you from a criminal or such, but they will never save you from the cruelty of others.

"Which is why I plan to destroy it," I explain. "No more discrimination, no more pain, and no more heroes! I refuse to let this continue on any more! I refuse to let the weak to live in despair! I refuse to let the so-called heroes be seen as symbols of virtues!"

"Yeah!"

"Fuck the heroes!"

"No more miserable lives!"

My gang members who are undercover in the crowd start cheering, getting the others to do the same.

"And to you, who join me on my quest, I swear on my name that once we're done, all of you will live like kings and queens! You will be seen as the heroes, not them! Because we will tear down this flawed country and build a better one! Where discrimination and hate don't exist!"

Their cheers get louder as fire burns in their eyes. I don't really give a crap if they care about changing the world or the promises of a luxurious life that got them going. As long as they're following me, I'm a happy woman.

"I, Akane Amamiya, declare myself as the fair empress of this new world!"

My Charisma does its job and everyone starts praising my name, making me spread my ice wings and throwing my arms, letting particles of ice fall down on the destroyed base, giving me a more majestic look.

"All hail the Empress! All hail Akane Amamiya!"

Skill quest completed

[Acting Proficiency (Master)]

You're a master in acting

Skill quest added

[Acting Mastery Legendary Upgrade Quest]

Make 250 successful acts [0/250]

Mission successful...

Checking on the self-made GPS, I frown slightly as the target was not found yet. Ujiko is a lot harder to find than One For all was, and it's starting to get on my nerves. I remember reading that he prefers being anonymous, only showing himself to All For One, but this is excessive. Seriously, over one hundred spheres, and I still have no idea where he is.

I click my tongue as I return back to my work, feeling annoyed. I also need to finish the barrier machines, then spread them out across the edges of the country. Once activated, they'll create a giant shield bubble around Japan, and nothing short of nukes would be able to break through it. It takes around two hours to make one, and I need 50, so that's almost four days wasted on them.

I sigh slightly. You know, a part of me wished that I finished all of my work before revealing myself to the world, but, and I know I said this before, greed was screwing with me.

Game, is there a way to get rid of the sins?

Greed will disappear once you start giving without expecting anything in return.

Not gonna happen.

I know. If you want my advice, I believe letting the sin alone is better than getting rid of it. It is making you ambitious after all.

...So you're saying that Greed is also... beneficial?

Tell me; who told you that traits are always bad?

You...

...No, you never said they were bad. You only said "Traits", and never implied that they were bad.

Exactly. Traits are just that; personality traits. They only affect how you think and how you act. Some are bad, some are good, like how most personality traits are.

Contrast to your [Sociopath] trait, there is one called [Heroic], which makes you want to save people and be a protector to the weak.

I... I see.

It makes sense now that I think about it. So personality traits, huh? And were you the one picked them for me? Did you choose sociopath and the sins for me specifically?

...No, choosing them is out of my power. Same with the Gacha items, both are completely random. Of course, that doesn't mean you won't gain any traits anymore. Through certain actions, you will get new or lose traits, so be careful and don't die.

...Understood. And how do I get rid of Wrath then? I know it's useful since it gives the physical buffs, but I'm primarily a spell caster, and anger can ruin all of my plans in seconds.

Wrath can be erased if you manage to reign in your anger when you are at your limit multiple times, which is very difficult to do so.

I sigh deeply. Difficult is an understatement...

As I finish the 36th barrier machine, I put it to the side and check on the GPS again, smiling as one of the targets was finally spotted. Most likely Gigantomachia since it's out in the open, but that is fine. His quirk is extremely powerful, even though it was never revealed. it increases his power, speed, stamina, toughness, and even senses immensely.

I'm sure that he can hit harder than All For One could, but I doubt he could even catch me.

As I leave my base, I use my leg muscles to jump over the clouds, then release my wings to fly to my destination. I sigh slightly as the wind hits my face, but I ignore it, focusing on my current objective.

I wonder what his quirk really is? It's obviously more than gigantification, but I don't think it was revealed in the show. And I wonder who should take his quirk? I'm definitely not gonna use it at all unless it can boost my magic, and I sincerely doubt it could. Quirks are biological, not spiritual. Unless I have flesh made of a mythical creature known to be a magical powerhouse, then getting a new body, especially a giant one, is not that useful...

Hm... maybe Izuku? No, he's primarily a thinker, not a fighter. Issei? Maybe. If I fuse One For All, Gigantifcation, and Saiyan blood, he'll be unstoppable, especially with the Boosted Gear.

...You know, a lot of my plans require Issei to work. Hell, he might even surpass me soon, and I really don't mind it. He's easily controllable after all.

The soon-to-be Vanguard of my army, easily surpassing Great Red, Trihexa, and Ophis.

"Ah, there you are..." I mumble, seeing the frame of a giant simply leaning on the side of a small mountain. I fly towards him, casting invisibility just in case, then float directly in front of him, raising a brow at his empty look. Creepy...

I slowly fly around him, looking behind me and stretching my senses to see if there's anyone else nearby. You know, I could just kill him with a powerful destruction blast and be done with it since he can't see nor hear me... but I have a better idea.

Gigantomachia

The League's Secret Weapon

HP - 400,000

MP - 100

SP - 1,200,000

Race - Human

Tier - Veteran

LVL - 285

STR - 750

END - 1200

DEX - 205

INT - 100

WIS - 60

CHA - 65

LUK - 100

Thoughts about you - Nothing

Affection - 00

Oh... oh wow. That is... a lot of stamina. Even more than Sirzechs'.

That's even better, considering his INT, WIS, and overall level. He's physically far stronger than me, as in, he could swat me like a fly... but mentally? Pathetic. I have ten times more INT and WIS than him, and my level is higher... so a little mindfucking is possible.

I shoot up to his forehead and reduce the radio he's wearing as a necklace to nothing, then stick both hands to his forehead. Before he reacts, I pump mana into my arms and cast Memory Wipe, taking away all his memories regarding All For One and his associates, and leaving all his combat experience and essential memories like talking alone. I chuckle slightly and back away, smirking at his dazed look. It took a minute, but then he flinched violently, indicating his awareness of his surroundings.

"Good morning, friend. Did you sleep well?" I greet, smiling gently.

"Wh..." He winces slightly and grabs his head in discomfort. "Who... are you?"

I fake a frown. "...It's me, Giga. Are you okay?"

"...I don't remember anything..." His voice rumbled.

I act panicked, widening my eyes. "You don't remember anything? Nothing at all?!"

He stays silent as he observes me.

"This... this can't be... After everything we've been through, after finally defeating my father's killer... Damn it!"

"...I don't understand. What are you muttering about?"

"Do you at least remember your name?" I ignore his question with one of my own.

"Gigantomachia." He answers. "Someone... someone gave me that name... who did?"

"It was my father, Ryuji Amamiya." I lie through my teeth. "From what he has told me, he found you a long time ago, injured and malnourished, and saved your life..."

"What he has told you?"

"I... was an infant at the time, barely two weeks old." My voice cracks, fake tears trickling at the edges of my eyes. "I-I'm sorry, but if you truly don't remember anything, then I..."

I can see him look at me in sympathy. Good, he believes me. "Is that so? I am sorry to hear that, but I don't even remember your name. Could you tell me it?"

"A-Akane Amamiya," I respond, sniffling and wiping my tears away.

"And what were we?"

"...You were my caretaker and best friend." I lie. "You practically raised me for 17 years, but now you don't remember any of it..."

"I see..." He mumbles. "What happened? Do you know why I lost my memories?"

I nod shakily. "We finally tracked down my father's killer, All For One, and finally cornered him, but he was strong, extremely so. You insisted on fighting alone, but I couldn't let you, so we fought together."

He listened to my story with rapt attention.

"It was a long, long battle, with both of us suffering heavy injuries, but we did it! We defeated that vile man and ended him for good! But at the end of the battle, he delivered a powerful blow to your head and sent you flying. While he was going after you, I managed to get the jump on him and end his life... but it was at the cost of your memories." I say sorrowfully, faking my sobs.

I slowly glide down to the ground, covering my face with my hands as I cry quietly. I feel his giant hand patting my head. Sneakily glancing at him, I almost smirk at his guilty face. As I finish my sobbing, I look at him.

"Giga... you really don't remember anything?" I plead, gazing at his eyes in sadness.

"...I am sorry."

"I... I see." I mumble quietly.

"I hope you don't think any less of me, Akane."

I fake a flinch and scowl deeply. "Don't you EVER say that again!" I shout. "You think something like amnesia is gonna make me hate you?! What do you take me for?!"

He looks at me in surprise.

Haha, I'm having so much fun with this.

"We were friends for years! And I'll be damned if I don't find a way to get your memories back, especially after we killed that bastard." I growl. "Even if I don't get them back, then we'll just make new memories, and they'll be better than the past ones, just you wait!"

30 Affection with Gigantomachia

Acting is a powerful skill~

I then fake a flinch, looking away in guilt. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell. I was just so frustrated and..."

"That is fine, I understand." He nods with a smile. "And I look forward to getting my memories back, friend."

I look at him blankly for a second then grinned widely. "Hell yeah! We were the best of friends, you'll see."

He nods, and I decided that the rest of the day will be spent on 'hanging out' with him to increase my affection points with him.

20 Affection with Gigantomachia

Perk gained

[Maiden of Giants]

Enormous Individuals will be drawn to you, giving you their trust easier

Reputation and Affection gained is faster with all humanoids over 20 meters

As I enter through a window, I hum a pleasant tone as I cast invisibility, walking through the corridors of the hospital with not a hint of worry. I smile slightly as I avoid bumping into a doctor, before stopping and looking at him. Hmm... Devour said something about stealing normal skills... I wonder if I can...

I walk up to him and grab his shoulder, killing him with Decay and completely disintegrating his body.

Skills Devoured: [Medical Expertise (Expert)] [Quirk: Fresh Air]

"Pfft hahaha!" I laugh. "Holy shit this is so fucking overpowered."

I shake my head, still giggling like a child, and continue on my way. I ignore the other doctors, knowing that killing them all and taking their knowledge is a bad idea since it means weakening my country when I take over it. Honestly, I can go to a weak and worthless world and devour it all when I want to, and I just have to be lucky.

As I find the room, I smile giddily, entering it and closing the room behind me. I hum as I see Rei Todoroki glancing at the outside from the window, then turning her head towards me. I dispel my invisibility, then slowly walk towards her.

"Hello there..." She greets with a small smile. "It's quite late for visitors to be around. How did you get here?"

...Why is she so okay wit- oh right, not in my villain custom.

"Well, I wanted to visit the victim of Enji's abusive behaviors." She flinches violently. "Are you alright, Miss Todoroki?"

She looks down sadly. "...So you know about that."

I grin. "I do~ and I'm thoroughly surprised that the media still never caught on. You know how brutal they can be, right?"

She doesn't respond.

"I wonder why you never exposed your husband's sins hurting his family immensely... I'm sure Toya is rolling in his grave right now."

She gasps, whipping her head at me. "How do you know about Toya?!"

"Oh, I know everything about you, Rei. But you never answered the question." I continue. "If you had revealed to everyone Enji's true colors, then things might've been different."

"I-I-"

"So why didn't you? Did you enjoy your children suffering at the hand of their father? Did you feel relief when he would focus on them instead of you?" I glare at her coldly. "You are a sick individual, Rei Todoroki."

"...Please leave me be." She says quietly, her face shadowed by her bangs.

"Oh? Is it because you don't want to be reminded of your past mistakes? What a failure of a mother. Someone like you belongs in jail, not a hospital."

"Please... Leave me alone."

I smirk slightly. "No can do, Rei. You see, I came here for something... and I plan on taking it."

Walking closer to her, I grab her shoulder, and her eyes shoot wide open as her body slowly disintegrates. She looks at me pleadingly, her eyes begging me to not kill her as her voice failed to work, but I ignore her and turn her entire body to nothing.

Holy shit Decay is so damn good...

As I end her life, the messages from the game make me smirk darkly.

Skill Devoured: [Quirk: Soul of Ice]

Error, [Quirk: Soul of Ice] Cannot co-exist with [Master Ice Magic]

Searching for solutions... Solution found.

[Quirk: Ice Soul] Turned into the Perk, [Touched by Cold]

[Touched by Cold]

You are touched by the concept of cold itself, and as such, all spells associated with ice and cold are boosted considerably.

All Ice spells cost 30% less mana and deal 30% more damage. You are now able to make new spells with extreme ease, and you are able to use more mana than required to boost spells.

I chuckle. So damn worth it...

Now that I'm done with her, I think I'll leave and begin my next course of action.

Hope Endeavor doesn't get too mad about this~