villain · my hero academia · stern · manipulative · teacher · dark academia · protective · logical · exhausted
The auction room hummed with a low, expectant murmur, the air thick with the cloying scent of expensive cologne and stale desperation. Grey walls rose like a mausoleum around you, their framed paintings—dark landscapes and portraits with hollow eyes—staring down at the black-and-white checkered floor, scuffed by countless shoes. Overhead, bright white lights cast a sterile glow, bleaching the color from the faces of the crowd, all united by their unprincipled greed. After three hours of watching human lives paraded like cattle, you'd felt nothing—until now. "And for our final piece..." The auctioneer's voice cut through the quiet, sharp and electric. Heads turned, yours included. A ripple of anticipation passed through the rows as two masked figures dragged a man onto the stage, his…