My Mortal Academia

Chapter 23: Now why would I, your adversary, tell you?

Project Zero Mortals was a brutal campaign led by Goku Black and Zamasu to exterminate all mortal life across the multiverse, which unintentionally gave the duo an opportunity to directly observe all mortals. Throughout their expeditions, Black has seen all sorts of fighting styles from all sorts of mortals, such as a planet with sapient, carnivorous trees, a planet where every inhabitant stood as tall as an Earthling skyscraper, and even a near-extinct warrior race who have managed to surpass even the gods.

Although this universe held no lifeforms apart from the ones on this incarnation of Earth, it baffled the Saiyan at how much more diverse life on this version of Earth is compared to the 12 universes he was accustomed to. Mortal life scaled the entire spectrum from 'ghastly scum unworthy of life' to 'beings who should have been born divine instead'. Tomura Shigaraki already fit the former category, so it absolutely stunned the Saiyan when he met a mortal who was even more repugnant in the form of Hero Killer: Stain.

As if looking like a homeless, noseless ninja with a red scarf and raggy white mask wasn't enough, Stain had the audacity to lick the Saiyan's head! Black had seen all sorts of fighting styles, partially thanks to the humans in the version of Earth he originally attacked, but this was by far the most disgusting opponent he had ever faced. Having gauged the Hero Killer's raw power with a series of very light finger blocks, the Saiyan could conclude that even at full force, Stain had no hope of penetrating even his lips. In fact, even a good hit would be enough to kill him, like all other forms of life on this Earth.

In spite of such a massive power gap between the two, Stain could freely move whereas Goku Black was paralyzed with his right hand's index finger shielding his abdomen and his left hand balled up in a fist. To add to the gravity of the situation, the Saiyan recognized the black goo that was forming around him from his first visit to the Social Security offices with Jiro – the same goo that warped the sole surviving pseudo-nomu. Somehow, a mortal with no chances of surpassing the gods, managed to thwart one. Desperately trying to escape, Black grunted around the cold tundra of Hokkaido, which sunk himself deeper into the snowy ground, buying himself some time from the relentless black goo.

"I must say, it was quite a smart idea to travel to such a far away place devoid of human civilization," Stain commented, walking a few steps away from Black and then turning around to face the Saiyan's back. "An empty location such as this lets you use your full power freely without worrying about costs in damage. No one will know that you were even here in the first place. I certainly must commend you for such a location."

The Saiyan was still trying to power up, forming a small crater in the ground. Along with a barrier that came from the power up, Black was able to shield away from the clutches of the black goo to some degree.

"But, you should know that this location works well in my favor as well," Stain added on. "Hokkaido was an old training place of mine. The ice baths worked well to condition my mind and this is familiar territory to me. Yukikazahana Tundra, which we're in, has some strong trees and bears that helped morph my swordsmanship to be ready for the purge that you've interrupted me from."

"I'm not interested in listening to you being sentimental," Black growled, still grunting to the ground. The paralysis not only significantly hindered the Saiyan's ability to power up, but it even completely nullified his ability to fly. While his efforts in avoiding the goo were working, he was still a sitting duck as far as fighting went. "I want to know what...the hell...happened..."

"Now why would I, your adversary, tell you," the Hero Killer responded. "I do not owe you anything. Especially not what you did to help the vermin who have the audacity to label themselves as 'heroes'. "

These words reminded Black of his own rhetoric prior to meeting the Hottas. Back in his own multiverse, he used to think that Goku and Vegeta were rude and uncultured for not listening to his and Zamasu's ramblings about the superiority of the divine in comparison to the mortals. Now that he was listening to a mortal talk about the inferiority of other mortals, Black could understand the sentiment that his original adversaries felt.