Hearing Decade say that, Lemillion paused for a brief moment, the words not quite settling the way they normally would.
Being called a hero wasn't new to him. It was something he had worked toward, something he believed in, something he tried to live up to every day. But coming from Decade, it felt… different. Not exaggerated, not said to encourage him, just a simple statement, like he was pointing out something obvious.
It left him unsure how to respond.
There was a bit of relief in it, maybe even a small sense of excitement, but it didn't sit cleanly with the situation they were in. The tension of the fight hadn't gone anywhere, and Eri was still in his arms. It wasn't the kind of moment where he could just relax and take it in.
Tsutsumi, on the other hand, didn't think much of it after saying it.
From his point of view, Lemillion stepping in front of that bullet without hesitation, even knowing what it would do to him, he still did it, just to protect someone he barely knew. That alone was what separated him from most of the people who called themselves heroes here.
Tsutsumi didn't see himself the same way.
If anything, he understood that he was the opposite. The title of hero never meant much to him beyond what it allowed him to do. It was convenient, useful, something that gave him room to move without being questioned too much.
He helped people, sure. But not because he felt like it was his responsibility.
He did it because he could.
That was the difference.
Most people in this world treated heroism like to look up to, something that defined who they were. Tsutsumi didn't share that view. To him, most of the people in this profession were just doing their job. They showed up, handled what was in front of them, and moved on.
There wasn't anything wrong with that.
But it wasn't enough for him to call them heroes. For a long time, that applied to everyone, even the Number One Hero.
Tsutsumi had never looked at All Might the same way the rest of the world did. The image, the reputation, the way people spoke about him, it all felt distant, like he wasn't a living person but some kind of dominating mountain people wished to climb and surpass.
So back then, in his eyes, All Might wasn't anything impressive or admirable. That only changed after he unlocked All Might's One For All; he didn't just gain access to the power, and saw the weight behind it.
He saw what All Might had pushed himself over the years, how he genuinely wished to make a better society.
All Might didn't treat One for All like a tool. He treated it like a responsibility.
Even when his body was already beyond its limits, when the injuries should have been enough to force him to stop, he kept going. Holding himself together with what little he had left, using whatever time remained to keep protecting people, not because he had to, but because he believed it was his responsibility to do so.
This is when Tsutsumi began to respect him and see him as a hero.
If it wasn't because of this, when All Might asked for his help with One For All, so he could pass it down to Midoriya, his successor, Tsutsumi would have turned him down without much thought.
From a practical standpoint, there was no real need for him to get involved. After all, the man held that Quirk since he was a teenager all the way until meeting Midoriya; just because he sucked at teaching doesn't mean he won't eventually figure out a way to teach his successor how to control the Quirk.
And standing in front of him, still holding Eri, still ready to keep fighting despite everything stacked against him, Lemillion had met it, even if just for a moment.
Lemillion finally spoke after a moment, his voice a little uncertain, still carrying some of the tension from the fight.
"Uhh… thanks," he said, not entirely sure how to respond, but meaning it anyway.
"You can step back now. I want to have a chat with Bird Face over here."
Decade said it casually, tilting his head slightly as he looked straight at Overhaul, like he wasn't standing in the middle of an ongoing fight.
Lemillion didn't move right away, and neither did Eri. The tone alone was enough to make it clear that Decade wasn't taking this as seriously as he probably should, and that alone made it hard to feel at ease. Before either of them could say anything, Overhaul had already reacted, his palm pressing against the ground as the terrain shifted again.
Spikes shot upward and rushed toward them without pause.
Decade didn't even look at them. He spun a card between his fingers and slid it into his Driver.
Form Ride: OOO! Sagohzo Combo!
His clothes shifted, then his foot came down hard against the ground, and the impact sent a heavy shockwave forward. The spikes that had just risen were dragged back down, crumbling against the powerful gravitational pull, the force pulling everything toward the floor. Overhaul and the men around him were slammed down along with it, their bodies hitting the uneven ground before they could react.
Decade stepped forward slowly, hands relaxed, like he had all the time in the world.
"So what's the deal?" he asked, his tone still light. "Why did you do all of this to your daughter?"
Overhaul's gaze sharpened instantly. His hand pressed against the ground, and the surface rose once more, reshaping into sharp spikes that shot directly toward Decade.
Form Ride: OOO! Lagorietar Combo!
His lower body and headpiece shifted, switching from a silver gray to bright yellow, and the lion headpiece emitted a bright light that caused Overhaul to flinch and shut his eyes for a brief moment. Using that opening, Decade moved in with his enhanced speed, closing the distance and leaping forward as he drew back his arm. His fist came down onto Overhaul's back, the impact breaking bones and forcing his body down into the ground with a heavy crack.
Blood spilled out beneath Overhaul's mask as his eyes widened in shock.
"Don't worry, I didn't kill you, did I?" Decade asked, the same casual smile still on his face.
Overhaul's hand moved quickly to his body, reconstructing himself back to normal before pushing himself away to create distance, but Decade stayed on him, stepping in again and driving another punch into his chest. The impact shattered his ribs and sent him flying back into the wall behind him.
Overhaul hit the wall hard, his body slumping for a moment before he pressed his hand against his chest again, reconstructing himself to keep from collapsing.
Now breathing heavily, with cold sweat running down his face, he looked up at Decade, his glare sharp and focused.
"So do you want to explain why you did all of that to your daughter now?" Decade asked again, still in that same tone.
Overhaul clenched his teeth before answering, "She isn't my daughter."
"I see. So you're someone who likes to touch little girls," Decade replied without missing a beat.
Overhaul: "..."
Lemillion: "!!?"
Eri: "?"
The adults froze for a moment, clearly caught off guard, while Eri looked between them, not fully understanding the words but still sensing the meaning behind them, but she found his words were actually quite true.
What kind of 27-year-old man spends days touching and experimenting on a little girl?
"That-" Overhaul tried to speak, but Decade cut him off.
"Although that still doesn't make it any better," he continued. "Still, I don't find it that surprising... for someone who is mentally disabled like you."
Overhaul's expression snapped, his palm slamming against the wall behind him as his voice rose. "What did you just call me!?"
The structure responded again, spikes rising from the floor, walls, and ceiling, all converging toward Decade at once. He simply placed a card into his Driver.
Form Ride: Zero-One! MetalCluster Hopper!
His outfit shifted to black as reflective metal formed around him, intercepting every incoming spike. The metal moved on its own, breaking the attacks apart and cutting them into pieces before returning to his body, layering over him into a smooth, armored clothes. The coat formed last, settling behind him as it moved slightly.
Decade didn't react to the destroyed attacks.
"Did I stutter? You heard me," he said, continuing the conversation. "So besides touching a little girl, what's your goal here?"
He looked at Overhaul, his expression unchanged.
"Is a peaceful life really that difficult for you?"
He didn't rush to finish the fight. From his perspective, Overhaul wasn't much of a threat to him, so there was no need to end it immediately. Compared to just beating him down and handing him over, understanding why he went this far was more interesting to him.
Overhaul stared at him, his expression tight, his thoughts clearly running as he tried to figure out what to do next.
He knew exactly how dangerous his Quirk was. With a single touch, he could take apart anything in front of him and rebuild it however he wanted. Most fights didn't last long once he got close enough. But at the same time, he also understood its limits.
If he couldn't touch his opponent, then that power didn't mean much.
And against someone like this, that gap mattered more than anything.
"You should have noticed by now," Overhaul said, choosing to speak instead of acting immediately, buying himself time while trying to think of something. "Because you people are infected with the disease known as Quirks. You don't see the hidden danger in it, but I do."
"Go on," Decade replied, still walking forward at the same steady pace.
"As the population continues to grow, stronger and stronger Quirks will keep appearing," Overhaul continued, his voice stabilizing as he spoke, regaining some of his composure now that he had something to focus on. "Eventually, it will reach a point where the world can't sustain it anymore. It will collapse under its own weight."
He raised his gaze slightly, locking onto Decade.
"You're the perfect example of that. Your Quirk is already far beyond what most people can handle. Now imagine the next generation after you, then the one after that. It doesn't stop. It keeps growing."
His tone grew more intense as he spread his arms slightly.
"At some point, it will go too far, and when it does, that will be the end of everything."
Decade listened without interrupting, his expression unchanged.
"And your solution to that," he said, "is to use a little girl's Quirk, dissect her, and experiment on her?"
He stopped, standing just far enough so that Overhaul couldn't easily reach him.
"You don't actually believe she's some kind of miracle cure, do you?"
Overhaul's expression didn't change, but there was a slight pause.
"What happens when she dies?" Decade continued. "Can you still make those bullets? Or are you gonna go children hunting for another kid to touch?"
That was enough to make Overhaul freeze for a moment.
"That doesn't matter," he said, forcing the words out as he steadied himself again, trying to sound confident despite the massive hole in his logic that was just pointed out. "With her alone, I can eliminate this disease from the world."
"That's the problem," Decade replied. "You're not thinking about the scale."
He spoke casually, like he was explaining something simple.
"The current world population is 10,031,304,203. People are being born and dying as we speak. Be realistic with me here. Do you think that with just a single girl, you can somehow clear over 10 billion people's Quirks?"
There was a long pause as Overhaul was unable to come up with anything.
"Nothing? Fine, let's make it easier; there are currently 159,421,853 people living in Japan right now. Tell me, can you clear this many people with Quirks?"
Decade continued, and once again, Overhaul couldn't answer, as that number was simply too high for the current him. He spent years working to finally create the Quirk Erasing Bullet, yet even with so much effort, he could only make ten bullets before this raid suddenly began.
After this, the process of creating more would slow down, due to him having to move to a new location and stay hidden to secretly create them, and even that would take time and resources.
Seeing that Overhaul has no response once more, Decade couldn't help but let out a light chuckle.
"Oh, right, I forgot," Decade said. "This is just your fantasy. Playing the role of the doctor who saves the world from a disease."
His tone suddenly turned mocking, his purple eyes locking onto the man standing before him. "Face it, you don't actually care about saving anyone."
"You just wanted power. Calling Quirks a disease is just how you justify it to yourself. Makes it easier to believe you're doing something meaningful. Or perhaps..."
He paused, letting the silence stretch out a bit longer.
"You don't even need a reason. You just do it because you already know what you are deep down. That you're nothing, a sad, pathetic, lonely animal who just wanted attention, and to do something impactful with its sad, pathetic, pitiful life."
The silence that followed didn't last long.
Overhaul's expression snapped completely, his eyes turning bloodshot as the anger broke through. His hand slammed against the wall, and the structure responded instantly, stone spikes erupting from every direction and shooting toward Decade all at once.