Hero of Radiance: Apollo [HOLD]

Chapter 23: Opposing Forces

3rd POV:

Taking a breath of air into his lung, he could feel the slight burn to them due to all of the smoke and pure heat that was radiating off of the flaming forest around him currently. Years' worth of memories were made in this very park as it was where Izuku, Ozy, and Zahra progressed their relations in each step to even becoming lovers at this spot when they had confronted him about their feelings towards him after each of them had the talk with the parents of the family. However, now.... Now it was turned into a nightmare out of hell as the land was torn apart and everything was burning to the ground due to a few simple words that Izuku had given to the man. Izuku had told the man that he would not heal him as he wanted since Izuku was pretty sure the man floating in the air had been a villain and it turns out that he was correct as the man turned everything in the area to a complete wasteland by the sheer power he held. Izuku though did not show any fear to the man in front of him as it was clear to Izuku that the man had a large gap in knowledge regarding Izuku capabilities and current life due to how the man initially greeted him.

Now you may wonder what exactly Izuku means when he believes that his opponent, that he now knows as Sensei or rather All For One, has a lack of knowledge regarding him? Well, simply put is the fact that when All For One had arrived in the forest to find Izuku alone, he had introduced himself to Izuku but when he did this he addressed Izuku by his name or rather former name. All For One made the error of calling Izuku the Underground Prince, Grace instead of how Izuku is now known as the Hero of Grace. This had sent red flags off in Izuku's minds because only a certain select group of individuals involved in his case and those tied to the World Hero Commission knew of him being the former villain known as Grace. No one outside of this group had really made the connection since Izuku hasn't been out in public for a debut yet so the underworld shouldn't have made the connection but this unknown man did somehow known of Izuku's currently hidden past. Izuku decided to play it up and act the part of being the underground prince once again to see what other information he could obtain from the man and it was quite shocking to learn that the man before him was the number one villain of Japan and a high ranking one of the world!

Izuku knew that he was in a dangerous position due to the capabilities of the man in front of him but he didn't let any fear show nor did he really feel fear in front of the man. Izuku was wary and on edge regarding the man but fearful? No.... not when anything within Izuku's domain was his to rule in regards to life and death. As such, with the man currently deep in his domain there was no need to fear him as Izuku latterly had the man's life in his hands but the one thing Izuku wondered was if he could consume the ancient person's life force all in one go due to how vast it was from what he could see when he had first turned on his quirk and turned it off. The only reason Izuku really had any concerns in dealing with the man in front of him was if he could survive the first wave of Izuku;s hand and if he culd move from the place he was at to Izuku in that brief period. If he was able to hold out then All For One could potentially steal Izuku's quirk which Izuku refused to allow since the man could heal himself and become even more unstoppable than what Izuku had learned of the man during his time as a villain. As such, Izuku played everything along up to the moment he had to make a decision in healing the man or not and of course you know very well from the burning forest that is around Izuku right now indicates what Izuku had said to All For One.

"No." Izuku said to the man and the man was confused on why the so called underground Prince wasn't willing to heal him even with such a high payment and reward being offered. All For One was offering millions of dollars and other assets to Izuku but Izuku had turned him down which confused All For One until he thought that maybe Grace didn't want to help a rival in the underworld since they were both more or less rulers in their countries. However, that assumption was wrong when the second man with All For One who wore a large coat and a hat covering his face for the most part noticed something on Izuku's body. Izuku was still in his Ashwood academy school uniform which the man had heard of before and pointed out to All For One. "Oh...."All For One said slowly and drawn out as he tilted his head upwards a bit as if he was looking down even more upon Izuku. "Now why a villain such as yourself, Grace would be attending a hero school? Would you care to explain yourself?" All For One asked and Izuku still wearing his mask of indifference just looked at the two men in front of him and just shrugged as he spoke. "Because I can?" Izuku said and All For One seemed to be insulted at the tone Izuku took with him as he raised his hand and blasted a portion of the forest away causing fires to break out. In that moment, Izuku knew he was going to be in for a fight that he couldn't avoid any more since the man clearly wanted to be healed one way or another.