A Hero in a Demon School!!!!

"Are you done shouting?" Izuku said with a tired sigh as he plopped back into a chair. It had taken him five minutes to make the demon in front of him stop letting out an ear-piercing screech. Across from him, he could see Nana rubbing her temples, clearly looking just as irritated by the demon's noise as he was.

"So... what are you?" Izuku asked the shadowy demon, who had only appeared once before, after the Flying Race, almost deafening the entire school with its screech.

"Oh, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Alikred. I am the avatar of the Ring of Gluttony," the shadowy demon introduced himself, spinning around as it suddenly changed its appearance. Now, it no longer resembled a demon made of smoke; instead, it had assumed a more human-like form with only one eye, a pair of big, long pointed ears protruding from its head. It also wore a black waistcoat, pants, gloves, and shoes, with a white shirt underneath. "Strangely enough, I can talk now and I don't understand why."

"Alikred, huh..." Nana mused, scrutinizing the demon in front of her. "What's up with your appearance?"

"Oh, this? It's to make it easier for readers to imagine how I look," Alikred responded, earning raised eyebrows from both Nana and Izuku. "Anyway, as I was saying, I don't know why or how I can talk or communicate with you right now. However, I've been self-aware for quite a while, observing fragments of Izu boy's life from within this place."

"By the way, talking about this house, what is this place?" Alikred asked, taking an empty seat on the couch. "There are a lot of things here that I don't recognize, not to mention that room with a lot of posters and things resembling some muscular man."

"I think it's a vestige realm—hold on! Did you just say that my All Might merch is here?!" Izuku exclaimed, cutting himself off with a high-pitched squeal as he dashed into his room.

"What is going on?" Alikred blinked twice, trying to make sense of the situation.

"Give him a moment," Nana sighed, shaking her head with a hint of amusement. As she predicted, a few minutes later, Izuku returned clutching an All Might plushie and settled back into his previous seat.

"Sorry about that," Izuku apologized, clearing his throat. "As I was saying, this is a vestige realm brought into existence by my quirk. But that's the part I don't get— the vestige realm shouldn't exist in the first place, not when Yoichi is not here."

"I see, but what is this 'quirk' thing you are talking about?" Alikred asked.

Izuku and Nana exchanged a glance before letting out tired sighs and explaining the entire truth about Izuku's reincarnation and One for All to Alikred.

"Oh, Izu boy, I knew you were human, but it turns out you're much more fascinating," Alikred said, his eye sparkling with curiosity.

"Thank you for the compliment," Izuku retorted with a frown.

"Izuku, I have a theory," Nana said, capturing Izuku and Alikred's attention. "Do you remember what this place looked like before?"

"Yeah, it was a piece of land in a void with eight chairs," Izuku replied.

"It wasn't just that," Nana shook her head. "That place was part of a bunker where All for One was keeping him. It was formed from part of Yoichi's memories, just like this place was formed from yours."

"But that means..." Izuku glanced at Nana.

"Yeah, Izuku, One for All has completely become your quirk now," Nana affirmed, smiling at him. "It has fully integrated with you and your body."

Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted when they heard a faint voice of Opera trying to wake Izuku up.

"I guess it's time for me to wake up," Izuku said as his body started vanishing from the vestige realm. "See you later," he added before opening his eyes in the real world.

Sitting up on his bed, he murmured to himself, "It wasn't a dream, was it?"

"Indeed not, Izu boy. I, Alikred, am undeniably real," Izuku received a response as the demon within the Ring of Gluttony materialized on Izuku's shoulder in its altered form.

"Yeah, I figured that much," Izuku chuckled to himself. "Lately, all the weird things are turning out to be true."

"Anyway, I should start getting ready as well," Izuku said as he got up from his bed, stretching his limbs. After all, he only had two days left of the break before school resumed, and he had things to do. So after finishing his morning routine and breakfast, Izuku left the house and flew to a specific location he had in mind.

******

'Cutthroat Valley...' Nana said as she recognized the place they had just arrived at. She recalled their last visit here when they had saved one of Izuku's classmates from the Guardian of this valley.

"Yeah, I figured we should work on expanding your move set," Izuku said as he summoned Nana in her Mega Rayquaza form. "And we need to lessen the intensity of your Hyper Beam. Last time, you almost obliterated Alice and Sabnock with that attack."

"Yeah, I really went quite overboard that time," Nana said with a strained smile.

"Don't feel bad, Nana, I understand," Izuku smiled at her. "But we still need to contain it enough so that we can use it on other people without... well, deleting them from existence," he chuckled, stroking the back of the child from the Cutthroat Valley who had come running to Izuku and tackled him to the ground as soon as he landed in the valley.

"Well then, Nana, why don't you start by firing a Hyper Beam at those rocks over there?" Izuku pointed to some huge rocks in the distance.

"Ok, let's give it a shot," Nana said, preparing herself. In the next moment, she fired a yellow beam of energy at the rocks, completely obliterating them. Izuku then asked her to fire a few more beams while he observed from the sidelines.

"Hmm..." Izuku pondered, stroking his chin. "...something doesn't quite feel right."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Nana inquired, hovering above Izuku in her colossal dragon form.

"I just feel like your attack is missing something," Izuku explained. "Your Hyper Beam could be much stronger than this."

"I see what you mean," Nana replied. "So what do you suggest I should do?"

"Hmm... I have an idea," Izuku said thoughtfully. "Nana, when you charge the attack, try focusing the energy into a singular point before firing it."

"Ok, let me give it a try," Nana said as she began charging the attack, attempting to concentrate the energy on a single point, as Izuku had suggested. However, just as the color of the concentrated energy started to change, Nana lost focus, and the energy vanished from her mouth.

"Wow, this is much harder than I thought it would be," Nana said, panting. "This is going to need much more focus than a normal Hyper Beam."

"Yeah, I figured that much," Izuku replied. "But don't worry, give it another try. I'm sure you'll get it."

And so, Nana persisted, attempting again and again until, on the eleventh try, she finally managed to maintain the charged energy while focusing on a single point, successfully firing the concentrated attack.

The effect of her concentration was evident as the yellow beam of energy now had a reddish hue. Upon impact, it didn't just destroy a large area like before; this time, the ground underneath and around the impact began to melt, and the air in the vicinity heated up.

"Wow, that was amazing..." Izuku said, staring at the affected area.

"Yeah, charging attacks takes a few seconds, but I'd say the results are worth those extra seconds," Nana said, equally amazed.

"That was a fabulous attack indeed," Alikred said, manifesting itself on Izuku's head.

"I know, right?" Izuku grinned. "I still think we can improve the potency of that attack even more."

"Wait a minute, weren't you trying to achieve the opposite of this?" Alikred pointed out.

"'Oh'" Izuku and Nana said as they remembered that they were trying to lower the intensity of Hyper Beam not elevate its power, like they just did.

"Well, I guess it's better to be overpowered than underpowered, right?" Nana suggested.

"Yeah, you're right," Izuku nodded. "These attacks of yours could serve as our backup for when we encounter an enemy that I can't handle alone."

"Oh, trust me, you're going to need stronger attacks in the future. There are plenty of demons stronger than they appear," Alikred explained. "Your grandpa, for example, could easily shrug off or block that attack you just used."

"So you're saying we have no choice but to keep improving," Izuku's tone turned serious.

"Yeah, Izu boy, especially considering your special circumstances," Alikred said, poking Izuku's cheek.

Izuku nodded, knowing exactly what Alikred was hinting at. He knew that for a human like him, Demon World was a dangerous place. Every day he was living in danger of getting eaten alive however despite that he wanted to live here and to do that he needed power to defend himself and his people.

"Anyway..." Izuku shook his head, setting aside those thoughts for the moment. "Nana, care for a spar for a bit?"

"Sure, I could use some movement in this body," Nana said, her golden tendrils connected to her horns glowing along with her golden eyes. "And I can teach you how a real pro fights."

******

It has been a few hours since Izuku and Nana started sparing and the sun was already traveling towards the horizon. So deciding to not overdo things Izuku decided to stop, "Nana I think that's enough for today," Izuku said, rubbing the side of his arms.

"Already?" Nana asked, her huge body still still flying in the air. 

"Yeah, I would rather not overexert myself since," Izuku replied. "But you can go on if you want, I will just sit here nearby," he said and started walking away.

As Izuku walked, he massaged his sore arms, feeling the ache reverberate through his entire body. Sparing with Nana has taught him two things about her Rayquaza form.

Firstly, he marveled at Nana's astonishing durability in that form. It surprised him how effortlessly she endured his attacks, even when he pushed himself to use 50% of One for All. Not that he was complaining though, after all, the more people he can use 50% on the more chance he has to increase the percentage he uses.

The second thing he learned was the fact that Dragon Tail hurts like a bitch. Just taking a single hit from that move, was enough to send him hurtling backward, crashing through various rocks. Now you must be wondering why didn't he dodge assuming a creature with such a large body would be slow, but that wasn't the case with Nana, not at all. You see, despite her size, her serpentine structure allowed her to move swiftly through the air. On top of that, Nana's experience with Float from her last life also helped her to adapt to aerial combat much more quickly, thus providing Izuku with a much more difficult challenge than he had anticipated.

While thinking about the spar, Izuku finally reached the rock where he'd securely stashed his backpack. The child of the Guardian stood guard over it, looking oddly proud of the responsibility. Wanting to reward the child, Izuku played with it for a while before settling down and retrieving a notebook from his bag.

"Oh, you brought a study material with you?" Alikred asked manifesting itself on Izuku's shoulder. 

"This is not study material, just my notes that I made during the lecture," Izuku explained. "I just like to note down things in a way that makes it easier for me," he explained, opening the book and flipping through the pages until he reached a section titled "Magic."

 "So, you're studying about magic?" Alikred peered into Izuku's notes.

"I'm trying to..." Izuku's shoulders slumped as he frowned, gazing at the notes before him. "It's like... I can make things happen, but I can't wrap my head around the 'why' or the 'how' behind it all."

"Is it some kind of energy inherent in nature itself?" Izuku mused. "Maybe it's like a force that's always there, surrounding us, waiting for someone to tap into it. Like air or gravity—something existing but unseen without external interference."

"In my old world, many ancient cultures believed in an energy flowing through everything," Izuku reflected. "Some called it mana, chi, or prana. They believed it was the essence of life itself, the foundation of magic."

"Or maybe—" Izuku began, but Alikred interrupted by flicking his forehead.

"You are overthinking things. Magic is not something so complicated," Alikrid explained. "Magic is the ability to make your thoughts come to life and its origin is based on desire!"

"The core of magic is your imagination," Alikred continued. "The strength of a spell is influenced by how vividly you can visualize it. The clearer the image, the more potent your magic becomes."

"Imagination... visualization..." Izuku pondered Alikred's words. "It's much simpler than I expected."

"Oh don't worry, there are branches of magic that go much deeper than the simple explanation I provided however right now you don't need to worry about them," Alikred said. "You can start learning about them once you master the basics."

"Mastering the basics first... that makes sense," Izuku nodded in agreement. "Maybe I should—" Before Izuku could finish his sentence, his attention was caught by a purple ball of energy shooting toward the sky. A defining sound reverberated through the atmosphere as the purple ball exploded into a barrage of glowing, meteor-like balls, descending in a rain upon them.

Recognizing the attack, Izuku's reflexes kicked in, propelling him into immediate action as he soared upward.

"Izuku!" Nana's urgent call trailed behind him, but Izuku persisted, ascending higher into the sky as the meteor-like objects hurtled towards him with alarming speed.

'Izuku, you got this!' Izuku rallied himself, swiftly switching his ring to 'Ifrit' mode. With determination, he raised his palm toward the incoming meteors and cast "Tenebris." A massive dome-shaped purple barrier materialized over their heads.

Tenebris: A low-level barrier spell capable of enduring a few attacks before shattering.

In the next moment, the meteors began crashing onto the shield, causing immediate cracks to form.

"Darn it! I won't be able to hold it for long," Izuku muttered through gritted teeth. But then, he recalled Alikred's words about imagination as the essence of magic. 'Imagination,' Izuku thought, closing his eyes and concentrating on his spell.

'Think, Izuku, think!' he urged himself. 'Something tough, sturdy, reliable... protective...' A smirk formed on Izuku's face as he realized the answer was right in front of him all along. 'Let's do this!' he exclaimed, focusing his imagination and desire as the barrier above them began to shift and transform, responding to Izuku's thoughts. The cracks that had threatened its integrity moments ago began to fade as the shield altered, now resembling jagged, rock-like protrusions that mirrored the hardness and durability of an unbreakable shield.

The meteors continued to collide with the shield, but this time, it stood firm, showing no signs of cracking. Eventually, the meteors ceased, and Izuku lowered the shield.

"So, Nana, care to explain how on earth you managed to use Draco Meteor?" Izuku asked as he flew toward Nana.

'Well, you see, I was trying to come up with a new attack,' Nana began to explain. 'I wondered what would happen if I kept charging my attack instead of firing it like a beam. So, I tried that, but then the energy I was charging turned purple at some point. I panicked and launched into the air, thinking the energy would disperse, but instead, the ball stopped at a certain height and started raining down meteors on us.'

'I'm sorry for causing you trouble...' Nana's voice lowered, regret evident.

"It's okay, and since no one got hurt, we can overlook it," Izuku comforted her. "Besides, even if it was a mistake, you stumbled upon something incredible."

"Speaking of incredible," Alikred floated in front of Izuku's face. "What you did with that shield was nothing short of commendable. What exactly did you do, Izu boy?"

"You mentioned that the basic element of magic is imagination, right?" Izuku smirked at Alikred. "So, I visualized the strongest shield I knew and just as you said, the spell transformed according to my desire."

"Anyway, we should get going; I think we've caused enough chaos for today," Izuku said with a strained smile, surveying the damaged surroundings. "But before that," he added, retrieving his notebook. Flipping to a fresh page, he wrote a new heading, 'Improvised Spells,' and under it, he documented the spell he created that day:

Red Riot Rampart

******

Later that evening, Izuku was sitting in his room, studying with the help of Balam's picture books. Just as he was deeply immersed in his books, the door creaked open slowly. Izuku looked up, momentarily startled, to see his grandpa, a twinkle in his eye and a wide grin stretching across his face.

"Hey there, Izuku!" his grandpa greeted, holding a glossy envelope in his hand. 

"Hey, Grandpa! Come in," Izuku glanced up from the colorful pages of Balam's picture books, wondering what kind of surprise his grandpa had prepared this time. Then he set aside the book and gestured for Sullivan to enter.

Sullivan stepped into the room, a playful glint in his eye as he held up the glossy envelope. "I've got a surprise for you, Izuku!"

"What is that?" Izuku asked looking at the envelope.

"Why don't you see for yourself?" Sullivan said and handed the envelope to him.

Izuku's curiosity piqued as he carefully took the envelope from his grandpa's outstretched hand. Sliding a finger under the flap, he carefully opened it, revealing a pass adorned with flamboyant decorations and intricate designs. However, his eyes caught onto a particular line that explained the purpose of this pass: 'Congratulations Fortunate One for a chance to meet and spend a day with the most beautiful and lovely Akudol in the world, Miss. Kuromu."

To be continued...