The King of Heroes: Null/Virtue

Goliath

A/N: Just realized, I screwed up Touya's name in the previous chapters. I referred to him as a Todoroki, when I mentioned the NULL Lord Shoto's last name as Irc Ferrix, and Fuyumi's last name as Roku Ir in my notes, with the note that Fuyumi took her mother's name. So Ferrix for Enji, and Ir for Rei. I'm gonna go back and correct that, but I thought you should all be aware. Touya's name in this fic should actually be Touya Darx Ferrix, but it doesn't matter too much since it's just flavor text based on loose rules I made up for the Onyx language and I pretty much just refer to him as Touya.

*******

"Well, at least we're both unhappy," Shigaraki said, sitting comfortably on a throne overlooking his respective testing ground.

Izuku, meanwhile, was standing by the railing of the second floor, refusing to take himself as seriously as Shigaraki for something like this. A coronation? Fine. A national address? He'd be as regal as he possibly could. But this? He'd test fairly, with strict expectations, but he wasn't going to lord over them.

Anna, ever the unbiased rule-maker, made the NULL Lord and the Eternal Lord a pair, believing that it would result in a more diverse assessment.

They would all eventually coalesce to vote, but being a Lord was no small title. It came with a hefty amount of power and prestige regardless of the Lord you were.

So, in order to foment the harshest critique, the pairs were made up of the least connected Lords. So Izuku couldn't go with Crimson Lord - Momo, or Virtue Lord - Himiko. Just like how Himiko couldn't be paired with Setsuna.

"You bring a challenger from Mirrim?" Izuku asked.

"Why wouldn't I?" Shigaraki asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Just curious. Not everything is a mind game."

"I disagree. Every question, every action, every word. It tells a story."

Izuku chuckled. "If you had seen time the way I had, you'd know that some parts of history are as bland and unassuming as they seem."

"History? Perhaps. Psychology? I can't agree personally."

Izuku shrugged, just as the arena filled with an iridescent flame, preempting the arrival of their first tester.

"Oh... kay?" Izuku mumbled.

"You know this whelp?" Shigaraki asked.

Izuku nodded slowly. "I just didn't expect him of all Onyx to show up for this."

"Touya Darx Ferrix, the Cremation Lord."

"He's certainly got the arrogance of an Onyx," Shigaraki remarked. "Not even tested and he's presenting himself as the Cremation Lord, not testing for that spot."

Izuku used his superposition to instantly teleport down to Touya. The sickly-purple scales on his face recoiled in surprise. He had seen a lot of shit, and he would've liked to think he was an immovable object, but seeing someone teleport without a sense of Lumina, a portal, or a cast delay, was pretty unnerving.

"Yeah he doesn't pass. Pretty pathetic to flinch at that. You know how many times this asshole just popped into existence inside my own fucking castle?!" Shigaraki yelled from the second floor. "If you're gonna be a combat Lord, have the decency to act like one!"

Izuku ignored him, asking one simple question, "Why?"

Touya recovered quickly, replying with a smirk and a, "Why not?"

Shigaraki tilted his head back and forth. "Not a terrible recovery!"

Touya suddenly doubled over, clutching at his stomach. "I didn't see him move... how? I didn't even feel any wind or..." He stumbled, but stayed on his feet.