Chapter 201: Sentience
_________ POV Narration_________
Heroes were already gathering in droves, all centering around the UA campus for the quick transportation that the high school could provide.
Namely, Toga or Monoma, who could copy Beru's/Kurogiri's quirk and teleport everybody to the scene instantly.
But they still weren't sure if acting was a good idea. The heroes that were near the scene of the attack all reported getting an eerie feeling every time they attempted to approach the scene.
Some even seemed to get sucked into the light, only to be spat out an injured and unconscious mess afterwards.
It was a gruesome scene, and no one knew how exactly they could approach the orb in the first place.
Beru arrived on the scene with squinted eyes, the news cameras quickly caught sight of him as they observed the entire situation from a distance.
"It seems like the Symbol of Peace has already arrived at the scene!" The news anchor was quick to comment on the situation, as relief was evident in his tone.
People already trusted Beru to a sickening extent. The people at home all heaved a sigh of relief when seeing his figure on the screen.
Nezu, as well as every hero present in the auditorium at UA, was also observing the scene on a large screen. Many of the heroes had similar reactions to that of the general public.
Nezu still looked a bit concerned as his eyes wandered towards the former symbol, Toshinori, who also looked a bit concerned at the situation.
They knew no one was truly invincible, and they had already established that Beru had lost two of his limbs. An otherwise crippling injury to anyone that wasn't, well, Beru.
Nemuri was also thinking in the same fashion as the two of them. She gritted her teeth as she cursed a bit under her breath.
She had just arrived at the auditorium herself. Most of the heroes in Musutafu were already present, as well as some from neighboring prefectures.
Some had stars in their eyes as they finally got to see their idol in action on live television.
Beru swaggered from side to side as he took steady steps towards the red orb, the attractive force of the orb didn't even seem to register for the Ant King.
Only his antennas seemed to be reacting slightly, dancing calmly in the wind that the red orb's pull was creating.
Beru opened his mouth to release some steam, he pointed his palm forwards as his forearm expanded and his entire arm turned red.
The heat he was radiating was melting the ground underneath him, with a grunt, he released the attack, only charging it up for a few seconds.
What would've been a powerful air cannon, was now turned into a raging inferno of smoldering heat.
The camera crew in the distance could feel the sweat evaporating from their brows as the concrete melted around the scene.
The simple combination of Air Cannon and a few fire quirks, coupled with even more enhancing quirks, seemed to be a lot more destructive than anyone could've expected.
Beru didn't react in a strong way though, he just looked at his steaming arm with an odd gaze.
The heat also didn't last long, a cyclone was formed in an instant, and the red orb swallowed the flames in a few seconds.
"... Why did Yori have to keep this piece of scrap?~" Beru asked no one in particular as he rubbed his chin with his steaming arm.
Just as Beru was calculating his next move, the orb completely stopped. Standing still as the near blinding light it was emitting died off.
Beru's antennas also stopped swaying, as the wind died down along with the sphere's attraction force.
Everyone observing the situation looked on with bated breath. No one had any idea what surprises were in stock. Some even thought that the situation was over with Beru's destructive attack.
But things were far from over, the orb seemed to be moving, constricting unnaturally and taking the form of something else entirely.
Beru squinted his eyes once more as the orb twisted itself into a familiar figure...
A tall and brooding humanoid ant with a red armoured exoskeleton, glowing white eyes, sharp claws, two small pincers extending from its abdomen, and two transparent ant wings that had a red hue to them.
Its mandibles opened and closed as they made metal clashing sounds constantly.
The orb's new appearance gave everyone watching a strange feeling. It was an almost instinctual feeling that no one could aptly describe.
Both Nezu and All Might could somewhat tell what that feeling was though... It was a strange sense of dread.
One that Nemuri could also feel, amplified by the fact that Beru was alone, facing a being that they didn't know the limits of.
The only reason people weren't trembling in fear due to that feeling was the fact that they still could see Beru's back. Facing that being without even the slightest hint of fear or dread.
"Now... This isn't quite what I was expecting~" Beru said as he tilted his head a bit. The being in front of him mimicked his confused movement, but Beru could clearly see a strange glint in the being's eye.
Beru himself could feel his own mouth forming a smile, his jagged teeth showing as he studied the being in front of him.
The being also mimicked that movement, the smile seemed a lot less menacing though. It seemed like Beru had the advantage in the intimidation department.
"I didn't know I had such a fanatical following among the stars~ To think you'd even take my image~" Beru did what he knew best, joked about the situation.
But his tone and attitude were both fake this time, as his eyes studied every angle and ridge of the being in front of him. The Orb had become a perfect copy of him.
The only thing that was confusing now was... What exactly was this orb even supposed to be?
"Amusing yet fascinating. To think that an inferior being such as yourself has gained this amount of strength..." The being finally spoke after a while, looking at its own hands with curiosity.
Every time it clenched its fists, metal clashing sounds could be heard. Then its gaze turned towards Beru, withholding the same curiosity, although with a bit of disdain mixed in.
Beru's expression didn't change one bit though, although his eyes did glint with curiosity as well.
He found it rather amusing that a being made out of rock could express that much emotion just from its eyes.
He also hadn't expected the formerly useless space rock to be an actual sentient being. He also hadn't expected it to be able to speak or to be a condescending asshole.
"You sure have a mouth on you~ I don't want to be called an inferior being by someone copying my appearance though~," Beru said as he rolled his shoulders a bit.
"Hmph, I'm just taking this ugly form because you happen to be the strongest person I came in contact with. Don't flatter yourself, earthling."
"Oooh~! Using big words are we?~ Say~ Since when are you able to speak?~ It took me a while to learn Japanese fully, a bit annoying that you just have it grasped already~"
Beru wasn't going to make the first move in this situation, instead, he chose to probe for as much information as he could before actually engaging the extraterrestrial being in front of him.
"As if I'd need a long time to learn your barbaric language. I merely needed to peer into the memories of some of the people that came in contact with me. You little ants live interesting lives."
Beru released an exasperated sigh as he realized just how annoying talking to the alien was going to get.
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