Romans 4:4
Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.
Given that the boy was already unconscious which wasn't a good thing he decided to get him out of there as soon as possible before his state worsened further due to the smoke and heat. Picking up the boy in a princess carry he looked for the nearest window and burst out just like he had entered while shielding the boy.
After a quick glance around he found the boy's mother.
'Showtime.' he thought to himself.
He straightened him back and spread his wings showing them off as much as possible while maintaining the warmest smile. He looked truly angelic as he slowly descended with the boy in his arms landing in front of the boy's mother before slowly retracting his wings with the crowd gaping at him as he did.
"Don't worry ma'am. Your son is right here. He should be ok now." he said with a brilliant smile as he gently handed the unconscious boy over to her. As soon as she could tell he was still breathing she broke down sobbing holding him in her arms for a few moments while repeating her thanks between her sobs.
"Thank you...thank you... so much..." she sobbed. There were some people in the crowd that even clapped and cheered proud of this young boy that managed to do what none of them even dared to try.
The paramedics finally managed to escort her away to one of the ambulances to get her son hooked up to oxygen and check him over for anything they could help him with.
'Image is always important and this goes double in the MHA universe.' James thought to himself satisfied with his performance. He hoped some people had taken videos and photos while he descended with the boy. That shit would look great in the news and social media. He had already noticed that part of his quirk was causing him to have some sort of minor OCD that would push him towards looking elegant and classy in whatever he did. He could ignore this drive, but why would he when it only helped him and unlike actual OCD had no real drawbacks. It was just an awareness of how he was being perceived and how to optimise this perception.
When he had handed over her son he strangely sensed part of something being torn from the mother and being dragged into himself though it was ethereal and he couldn't quite place what it was and where exactly it went. He just knew it was with him now and it seemed to have slightly empowered him somehow.
"Young man. Wait right there!" he heard a man yell from behind along with some shuffling.
Some of the present police officers that wanted to apprehend him for being a minor and using his quirk publicly were rushing towards him. However his bodyguards quickly intercepted them and "kindly" convinced them against this. The benefits of being rich and being escorted away by the police would ruin the image he had just built up which would be unacceptable. By the time he got home he knew all this would already be resolved by a few calls to the police chief effectively burying the whole illegal quirk use thing. With a little spin influenced by his family's PR department and he would come out as the heroic youth that couldn't stand seeing a young mother crying over her dead son and was forced to use his quirk to save the young child. Being a little rebellious could simply be excused with his young age.
After making sure everything was ok he walked back towards the limousine where Momo had been waiting with the driver.
Momo ran up to him tears staining her face while grabbing his jacket tightly and refusing to let go. When he had taken off to the building the only thing she could think of was that he wouldn't be returning. The thought so powerful she wasn't even able to worry about the boy he was trying to save and only being able to wish he made it back safely no matter what.
"Sorry if I worried you Momo dear." James answered while giving her a tight hug which she returned hungrily causing him to smirk internally while gently stroking her back to calm her down. He had effectively hit three birds with one stone. He had improved his image even starting to build his "heroic" image for when he started going to UA. He reinforced Momo's fear of losing him growing her dependence further once again without it being obvious. Lastly he learned a bit more about his quirk confirming that the wings and complete physical enhancement wasn't the limit of his powers. Also combining what he had been able to determine so far with what had just happened started giving him some suspicions as to what his quirk was exactly.
He had black feathered wings, had inhumanly good looks, a superhuman body. Now he knew he had formed some kind of agreement with the mother and got something intangible from her after completing his end of the agreement. The agreement could be seen as a verbal contract and the black wings combined with some kind of supernatural contract ability definitely pointed in the direction of Hell.
'Is it incubus?' he wondered.
'No, I have the good looks. However the wings don't match the general conception of an incubus and they also aren't really known for dealing in contracts rather gaining power purely by extracting it from their sexual partners.' he convinced himself.
'It also doesn't seem to be demonic given the lack of horns or other demonic features unlike the wings which indicate fallen angel. So something devil-ish instead.' he continued to reason.
'So some kind of high level devil. Can't be THE devil right?' he shook his head feeling he couldn't narrow it down that far at this time.
They quickly got into the car together with Momo still glued to his side even after they got in and buckled refusing to move even an inch away at least until they go to his home.
Wonder if he'll be able to get that ability of making people say their desires like from the TV show. Aaannyways Thanks for the chapter.
Personally I think the coolest would be being able to control people with only his words, like demiurge
I think his quirk is changing him a bit~ He's quite different from how he was in the first few chapters, unless the author never showed us his "dark side" till now.
It's like how Toga's quirk changed her, since she finds blood delicious, so obviously she'll want blood
Always thought that no quirk usage and it being illegal was pretty dumb when it came to certain situations, people can't use it to protect themselves, protect family or others etc without a license is pretty dumb
Plus the fact that pretty much everyone with a mutation quirk simply can't not use their quirk since it modifies their body meaning technically they are always using their quirk. Or the fact that most people with a quirk that improves their mental attributes in some way probably get away with using their quirk in their day to day life without anyone every getting in trouble for it.
"Sorry if I worried you Momo dear."
This should either be dear or momo, having both just sounds wrong.
Tftc
It's intentional. Dear would be too intimate so he is using both to be more intimate than just using her name, but less intimate than just saying dear which when used on its own generally indicates an outright romantic relationship.
I love this kind of MC 😍❤️he is my favourite MC so far
Is Momo gonna grow up to be something like Mikasa?
Hoo~ boy.
Remember that controversy around Mushoku tensei about grooming and pedophilia? Yeah, he is literally raising a child into becoming his obedient, dependent lover.
I'm gonna sit this one out chief, never was the biggest fan fan of anti heros anyway.
He isn't even an anti-hero. He is a villain or rather I classify him as an anti-villain. The mirror to the anti-hero. Either way he isn't a good guy. Kind of goes hand in hand with being the devil.
@prognastat
If you go by the "DC" TV series Lucifer then he is more of a good to anti hero kind of guy. Don't know about his counterparts in the DC comics though.
@MrX The tv show variant has smoother edges than the comic variant, but even the show portrays him more as someone bored of being bad than being outright good. He is only one of many inspirations for the MC though.
Thanks for the chapter! Please don't disappear again!
He reinforced Momo's fear of losing him growing her dependence further once again without it being obvious.
Well, unfortunately Momo won't have any character development or growth... I somewhat understand the mc's motivation in doing this, but in the end, Momo just an accessory that he will eventually get tired of and then form a harem... Sorry, I'm traumatized due to another platform
Ah to MC not just Momo is an accessory. They all are. He is an outright scumbag.
Some of the present police officers that wanted to apprehend him for being a minor and using his quirk publicly
Uh just to check author, you are aware that 'mutant' type quirks exist right?
Enough that Eraser Head states that he can't 'cancel' mutation type quirks because they are natural.
Or does Hagakure the invisible girl get arrested every time she leaves the house because she also can't turn off an ability?
Do they arrest every guy with wings because they can't turn off that ability? Even if it is claimed they saw him before he 'opened his wings' it is easy to say they weren't fully spread and most wouldn't have paid extreme attention to everyone on a busy street next to a burning building.
I am very aware, and it has no applicability to anything I have said. It's canon that it's illegal for quirk users to use their quirks without a license. Mutant quirks get an exception for just appearing different. However if they were to be using their power granted by their quirks to save someone or fight crime they would be breaking the law.
So using your example, Hagakure wearing clothes, but being invisible would not be a crime. If she takes of her clothes and uses her invisibility to sneak into somewhere or spy on someone effectively "using" her quirk then it's a crime.
Having wings is legal, using them to fly on public property or private property you don't own without a hero license. Once again illegal.
Right I guess, sorry I was still thinking with real world laws and logic there, I forgot some of the specifics of how the fiction decided to run things. Also how they would apparently know the difference between someone choosing to 'activate' their quirk vs it being passive; like invisibility or some dexterity based quirk.
Since the whole place lacks the concept of good Samaritan laws, ignores the potential of 'self defence' and the like. Just all that weird fictional law for plot restrictions of the original series.
No problem then, thanks for reminding me and thanks for the chapter, have a cookie
@JHarp It's weird because the series treats it like its gun laws or something. However that doesn't really work 1 to 1 with quirks. It's not like people have guns as part of their body that can't be removed.
Also there are plenty of quirks that don't have an easily provable "use". Like say you have a minor strength improving quirk, but it is very weak and only boosts you passively to peak human strength and you are using that as a construction worker all the time. Are you breaking the law? I mean by the letter of the law yes. What about mind related quirks that improve your memory or intellect? If you use it and run a business are you breaking the law? What if it's a passive improvement so you are always improved?
It would at least make some sense if the law was about using your quirk maliciously for example to harm people or commit crimes. However for some reason the law is simply about using quirks in general without a license.
It only really makes sense as a literary device to both create villains and also force the whole hero school thing which is kind of MHA's whole schtick. If the MHA world actually was real though the law would make little real sense as it is.
I mean the series itself regularly ignores it showing kids in class(before UA) using their quirks just to have fun or to bully people and there are no consequences.
@prognastat I mean if people keep calling their fists/biceps or anything as 'guns' then maybe it was just laws based on mistranslations then I suppose it makes sense in some weird way if they decide catching someone falling from a bridge with a tail is illegal, but with your arm is perfectly fine.