Chapter 19 - Sword in the Forest
The battle had started and Avenger was going to enjoy it.
He waited so long, so very long to gut the little shit stain for what happened months ago. His masked and body itched at the thought of it, even though his current body did not have any of the previous wounds.
The brat moved swiftly, rushing towards the giant Nomu before it could engage anyone else. The giant reacted by trying to crush him in one swing, but the hit missed as Shirou dodged under him, leaping away as the giant had given him his full attention.
Too bad that Avenger noticed and made his way towards him, eager to enact some form of revenge.
"Oh no you don't–
–but he was stopped the moment his foot got caught by something. A quick glance was enough to see a black blob connecting the pavement to his foot. It didn't move, or rather, it wouldn't move. Trying to do so nearly caused him to stumble.
"What in the…?" Angra Mainyu muttered.
"Your fight's with me you bastard!"
Avenger blinked and turned towards the offender, a midget who was grasping two more black blobs, ready to throw them at him. His eyes were set in determination, yet his eyes did not betray the fear he held… nor did the fact that his diaper-like costume was being put to good use.
"… You're shitting me, right?"
"What are you doing, Angra?" Shigaraki shouted as Kurogiri followed him towards the other two twerps. "Hurry up and gut the little shit!"
Easy for him to say.
Avenger grumbled and shifted his feet to get a better view of the orb. A quick slash with Tawrich and the orb cut neatly into two, freeing him.
Now he could gut the little–
The moment he set his foot down, another blob took its place.
"Oh come on!" Avenger whined. "You're not making this any easier for you, bag of diaper shit!"
He cut it off again but bolted forward, leaving the midget no time to react as he struck out with a kick, caving his small chest in and breaking his ribs!
… at least, that's what was supposed to happen. Instead, his kick hit another sticky blob of shit, lessening the impact but still sending the stain flying off a few meters away.
The shit seemed fine though, he got back on his feet even though he looked like he just saw his life flash before his eyes.
"You're really getting on my nerves…" He said as he raised his foot and cut the blob off again… only for another blob to hit his mask.
"That's it, you're dead." He declared, feeling no glee at the squeal of fear from the midget as snot ran down his nose.
He'd seriously just gut this disgusting brat and be done with it.
The moment that Mineta and Emiya had managed to distract the Beast and Nomu respectively, Midoriya rushed towards the final pair of villains alongside Asui.
He prayed that Emiya and Mineta were going to be fine, but he did not like their chances at all.
Don't think about it!
"Tsuyu-chan!" Midoriya shouted, using her first name as she wanted to get her attention. "Throw me!"
She didn't hesitate and tossed him forward with her tongue.
Midoriya allowed One for All course through his finger, the power flooding through it once more.
Don't break. Don't break. Please don't break!
Midoriya flicked his finger forward.
BWOOM
It broke.
Aided with the force from Asui's throw, the resulting blast of air halted their advance as they braced for impact. Midoriya held back a wince that came from using All-Might's quirk, the previous attack destroying his pointed finger.
He had seven fingers left, meaning he had to sacrifice one finger to do it, but there it was.
An opening!
Asui Tsuyu didn't waste the opportunity and launched herself towards the amalgam of black energy flicking her tongue out again and wrapping it around his neck brace.
"Kerokero!"
"Not again– Guagh!"
The villain couldn't react in time as he was dragged off and spun around in the air like a yo-yo. She grew dizzy at the movement but maintained the speed and velocity. Her job was to keep the teleportation quirk user out of the fight, she was doing it well.
There was still another villain around her. Shigaraki recovered and moved as quick as he could appearing next to her and ready to turn her to dust.
Midoriya anticipated the act and intercepted with another blast from his fingers, breaking his middle finger in the process. Six left.
Shigaraki grunted at the force, but managed to create a foothold for himself by digging his fingers into the floor, turning it to dust to create a little trench for himself.
"Get out of the way, you damn follower of All-Might."
"I can't do that."
Shigaraki sucked on his teeth in contempt as he bolted forward once more, realizing that as long as Midoriya was there, he would not be able to help out his comrade.
Midoriya had to beat Shigaraki soon. Asui could not keep spinning for long, approximately a minute or two would be her limit, which meant that Midoriya only had that long to take out Shigaraki.
Not good odds in the slightest.
Midoriya dodged an open-handed swipe from the villain and aimed his finger at him, ready to let loose another powerful flick.
He couldn't because Shigaraki anticipated it and struck out with a kick. It stopped Midoriya but it lacked power due to the odd pose in which he kicked from.
Midoriya was about to flick once more but the warm feeling around his ankles told him otherwise. A quick glance was all he needed to know that due to Shigaraki's odd position, he managed to snag Midoriya's ankle without much issue.
Shit!
Midoriya reacted by flicking the prepared finger, blasting Shigaraki away from his leg, but it didn't prevent the cloth where he grasped from turning to dust, revealing his bare ankle.
Midoriya grit his teeth in frustration. He only had five fingers left to use.
Not good… not good at all.
And as Shigaraki got back up, Midoriya knew he was going to use the rest.
Shirou was a survivor.
He had survived the Holy Grail War, he had survived appearing in an entirely new world, above all he survived the fires that burned everything around him.
He was no stranger to the mere act of surviving, so there was no need to explain what he meant to do against the behemoth before him.
The Nomu charged, legs shattering the concrete beneath it and arms bulging as it dug into the dirt, pushing itself faster and faster towards the third-rate magus.
Shirou knew that he would be able to fight this creature to an equal footing, especially if he was limited to just Kanshou and Bakuya. In fact, he had an advantage against foes with far superior speed and power.
After all, Archer's style was tailored to fighting beings that far surpassed him.
However, fighting out in the open wasn't exactly to his cup of tea. He knew that his classmates were going to be too focused on their own battles to focus on his, but there was a chance that he would prove to be a distraction.
Especially if he was going to kill this creature.
Shirou leaped back to avoid a wild flail of a punch, which destroyed the concrete behind him with a thunderous boom.
Even now he could see the looks of concern that his classmates had sent him.
They would need to focus in order to survive the battle they found themselves in. If Shirou needed to purposely handicap himself by moving into an entirely new battlefield, then he would gladly do so.
He heard no words of protest as he dove deeper into the surrounding forests. The sound of trees and roots being torn away only told the magus that the creature was following him.
Good.
Shirou weaved under a branch and leaped over a bush. Behind him, that very same branch was blown past him alongside the sound of bushes being thrashed.
It was far too dense within the forest to even attempt fighting the creature, especially since it could seemingly ignore the trees that tried to inhibit any large swings.
The tree that flew and crashed beside him told him that very clearly.
Shirou readied the married blades and spun on his heal, turning back to face the Nomu, which gazed back blankly as it destroyed a tree that got in its way.
The magus wasn't in a very large or wide area, but it was still a large enough clearing that warranted some form of movement. Wide enough that it wouldn't inhibit any of his swings or attacks.
Besides, based on the tree that was blasted away, the rather small clearing would increase in size in due time.
The Nomu charged like a bullet, left arm thrown forward less like an actual punch and more like a battering ram.
There was no point in lowering his guard to lull the creature into attacking his openings. The creature didn't even seem to consider the idea of attacking someone's openings, but rather focused on a single-minded assault on its target.
But that assault was wild without cohesion, easy to predict.
Shirou dodged it with ease, allowing the fist to fly by his left side and expose the gut of the creature. He did not waste the opportunity and slashed with Bakuya, cutting deeply into the Nomu with the added aid of the creatures own weight.
The Nomu swiped with its left arm, hoping to smack Shirou away but weaved under it. At that time, he managed to see the Nomu's right fist raised, ready to crush Shirou under its superior weight.
Shirou's position was awkward after dodging the swipe, but it gave enough clearance for him to leap forward, between the Nomu's legs. Along the way, he did not hesitate to cut into its thighs, dropping the Nomu to its knees as the nerves were severed.
The Nomu pivoted on its knee, right arm swung to backhand him, but Shirou leapt away so that it wouldn't even hit him. It was then that Shirou noticed something.
Regeneration!?
Shirou was lucky that his instincts allowed him to dodge a swipe from its left arm. He dodged with a back leap away as the hand slammed onto the forest floor, cracking the floor at the same time.
That was very irritating. In addition to its ability to tank hits, absurd strength and speed, it also had a way to mitigate the kind of damage that Shirou was proficient at.
Wonderful.
The Nomu stumbled up on its feet and charged, its legs having already healed from the damage he had did.
Shirou dodged it once more and gripped his blades tightly, spinning on his heel and allowing the Nomu to charge pass him. However, he did not let any sort of opportunity pass as he lashed out with Bakuya, severing a single hand off.
The Nomu crashed into a tree, destroying it in the process. It gazed at its severed left hand but turned back to face Shirou.
The stump rippled as muscle fibers exploded forth, wrapping around newly created bone structures before pitch black skin took its place.
It even worked on limbs to an extent. Did this mean that even attempts at dismemberment would yield nothing?
This was going to be troublesome.
While Avenger had growing annoyance at the predicament he found himself in – and the fact that he was being held up by a midget of a student – Mineta had different thoughts running through his mind.
HOLY SHIT! I'M STILL ALIVE!
Mineta was a nice kid, spent his days doing what every other kid his age would do and peep into the showers of the girls changing room for a chance at nirvana.
This though? This predicament he was in?
No kid his age would ever want to be in it!
Why did he agree with Emiya!? He could have been running away right now, far away from the crazy man in the mask with two scary looking daggers that could cut him in two!
Damn it! Calm down, Mineta!
The enemy is right in front of you! What would Midoriya do!?
Right, he would probably just stay calm and– IN THE NAME OF HOLY PANTIES HE'S COMING RIGHT FOR YOU!
Mineta leaped away in a panic and dodged a slash from those weird dagger looking things, but couldn't avoid the kick that followed. He didn't really have to, seeing as he had been mildly prepared and covered his torso with his sticky blobs to soften the impact.
But he was still sent flying a fair distance, his feet only catching the ground after bouncing a few times. A quick glance told the little student that the villain was rushing towards him again.
So in turn, Mineta did as anyone else would have done.
He panicked.
"TAKE THIS!"
He grabbed blobs from his head and threw them like his life depended on it, which it did.
The scary man in the mask growled. "Cut that out!" He was definitely annoyed at the blobs being thrown at him, severely so. Enough that Mineta could see his frustration as he dragged his way forward, cutting through the blobs to reach him.
He was going to reach him.
He was going to reach him!
HE WAS GOING TO REACH HIM–
Through sheer luck, Mineta managed to avoid being skewered and somehow managed to roll his way between the villain's legs and arrive behind him.
Take advantage of the opening! Take advantage of those hands that could swipe panties at the speed of light!
Mineta threw as many blobs as he could as his legs, ensnaring them both like concrete.
"Why you little–!"
Mineta would not be finished! He tore out blobs from his head even as they started to bleed and threw them at him, covering the villain from head to toe as he struggled to move.
"I did it!" He cheered, even though his imagination wasn't entirely accurate to his actions.
The villain wasn't exactly covered from head to toe, it was just the entirety of his legs. He watched him struggle to move, but even when he wore that bone-white mask, Mineta could feel the burning gaze of hatred he had.
Scary! This is too scary!
He watched as the villain growled to himself and raised his blades…
Mineta blinked, why were the pointy ends pointed towards himself?
He got his answer when the villain stabbed his own chest and allowed his blood to flow to the ground… where literal monsters grew and formed out of them.
Mineta could feel his world shattering.
"Oh come on!"
He forgot about the villain's quirk.
Midoriya winced as he felt a piece of his clothing turn to dust, a flick of his finger sent the villain a fair distance away.
He only had one finger left.
Shigaraki looked a bit winded, but otherwise, he was fine. Either that, or he was a master at concealing the fact that he was hurt at all.
Midoriya was at least sure he broke a rib of his or two.
A quick glance to Asui was enough to know that she probably had a headache, yet she continued to spin round and round to prevent the warp quirk user from doing anything.
"Why don't you run off to help your friend?" Shigaraki asked.
"What do you mean…?" Midoriya said after a pant.
"That Emiya kid," He elaborated, possibly a ploy to distract him or buy time. Midoriya didn't let it continue and rushed him, hoping to take him out before Asui lost consciousness from her intense rotations.
"He's fighting the strongest one of us, you know? Our own ultimate countermeasure to All-Might! " Shigaraki added, dodging a punch and moving to grip his nape. A flick was prepared and the villain jumped back preemptively.
However, it was just a bluff as Midoriya did not actually use it. Instead, he chose to wait for a better opportunity to use his last shot.
"He'll be crushed like paste," the villain added. "Also, his swords won't be able to do anything. Nomu has regeneration too, so all the slashes and cuts in the world won't be able to take him out."
Midoriya winced at that. He had little faith to begin with at Emiya's chances at fighting the Nomu, but that faith was quickly dwindling with that new information.
"Not that it matters actually…" Shigaraki sighed. "… It was about time that you showed up."
Huh?
Midoriya took a glance to the villain's side, his own eyes widening at the sight.
The Beast was there, standing beside him as he cut off pieces of what looks to be Mineta's quirk off his body.
"Sorry, the little midget was a pain in the ass to deal with."
The Beast!? Then that must mean that Mineta–!
Midoriya sent a quick glance to where he last saw the boy, only to find him running towards them with eyes wide in fear. "Help me, Midoriya!"
Behind him, were several humanoid creatures, seemingly formed from tar were chasing him, albeit slowly. Emiya had warned them about that quirk, but it looks like Mineta hadn't been able to prevent it from being used.
There were sticky blobs stuck on them, but the tar-like creatures seem to ignore it entirely, absorbing them slowly and coating them in their own black tar, effectively removing the stickiness of the blobs.
That wasn't good.
Mineta skidded to a halt in front of them, his head and scalp bleeding heavily from overusing his quirk. "We need to run! Come one, come on!"
"We can't run," Midoriya informed. "The moment that Asui-san lets go of that villain, they'll be able to catch up with us in no time," An additional glance was sent around them. "Even if we did somehow manage to restrain them for an escape… we're completely surrounded by the tar monsters."
Mineta sent a look around them, frowning as he too noticed that the tar monsters weren't heading towards them, but circling around to prevent escape. In fact, they already have.
The small hero-in-training groaned and whined at the same time. "Damn it…!" In the end, he focused on the villains in front of them. "That guy in the mask is too fast for me to keep up with! I can stall him but he always gets free!"
Midoriya was admittedly having a similar problem. Shigaraki was dangerous for him to fight. Even if he could keep him away with One for All, the maniac of a villain would just charge right back in like a man possessed.
What if they… It was incredibly risky but it could work.
"Mineta-kun," Midoriya called. "Let's switch!"
"Huh?"
"Deal with the other one! I'll take the Beast!"
Midoriya bolted towards the villains, no doubt sure that they overheard the plan. Before they were able to react, Midoriya used his final finger and flicked, launching both the villains a fair distance away, separated.
Mineta's mind finally caught up to his plan. "Oh for the love of– fine!" He rushed towards the pale villain with two blobs prepared in his hands.
Before the villain could get up, Mineta threw the blobs onto him wildly, not having any time available to throw with careful aim, only hoping that even just one would land a hit.
Mineta's reckless code of action ended up working as the few that managed to hit ended up locking his limbs in awkward positions, his arms bent and his legs failing to drag itself off the ground.
Unfortunately, Shigaraki simply reached out and wrapped it around one of the orbs… which turned it to dust without much hassle.
Mineta balked. "Oh come on!"
One by one, he turned the blobs keeping him restrained to dust, sending Mineta a nasty glare all the while he did.
"Keep throwing them, Mineta-kun!" Midoriya shouted. "Keep him occupied!"
"R-Right!" Mineta gave a hasty nod and pulled out another blob, wincing as he felt his scalp tear from the effort, and threw as much as he could.
Even if this villain could turn them into dust, he would need to do so one at a time and wait until it was finished turning to dust, which would take a few seconds or so.
Mineta didn't know if his diet affected how long it would take to turn to dust, but at the moment he knew that as long as he threw the blobs, then this villain wouldn't be able to move.
"Damn it you annoying mob!" The villain growled as he was hit in the face by the blob. "Cut that out! Where the hell is Nomu!?"
Mineta would not be able to keep it up for long, his scalp was already bleeding like a faucet. His head felt light and he could barely stand straight.
But, if he didn't continue, then that meant he'd be dead. He didn't want to die!
Better to feel mind-boggling pain now rather than certain death later!
Midoriya ran past Shigaraki and towards the downed Beast.
His fingers had all but broken leaving them to dangle about. He couldn't feel the pain now due to the adrenaline, but he was going to dislike the prospect of it later on.
He focused on the villain in his sights, using all the willpower he could muster, clenched his fist, and allowed One for All to course through.
The Beast realized his intent and flipped onto his feet, both his odd-shaped daggers prepared to gut Midoriya mid-charge. Midoriya didn't really know what else he could do here, so he went with the default action.
He threw his clenched fist forward.
The Beast anticipated it and caught his wrist and threw Midoriya away like a rag doll. The young teen rolled across the floor and cried out in pain as the concrete dug and scratched his skin.
Midoriya held back any further cry of pain and pushed himself onto his feet. Although in doing so, he was just in time to see the Beast upon him, lashing out with a kick.
He was fast…
"Gaugh!"
Midoriya couldn't hold in his scream when he felt a rib snap as he was sent flying back. He tumbled once more, yet the Beast was on him once more his leg raised to crush his skull.
… unrelenting…
It was a miracle that Midoriya found the effort to turn his body away, letting the kick crash down onto the concrete floor, cracking it like a dinner plate. The Beast was quick on his reaction and pivoted, kicking Midoriya on the ground back towards the rest of the fight.
… like a Beast.
"Midoriya!" He heard Mineta call out in worry.
Asui reacted and opened her eyes, having closed them earlier to deal with the dizziness, but once she did her pupils spun out of control. She tripped on her feet and crashed onto the ground hard, the dizziness finally taking over.
Midoriya could tell she was dazed from the swirls across her face, but as he struggled to get on his feet, he found that he could do nothing.
Mineta followed soon after as the Beast kicked him towards them, allowing Shigaraki to finally stand unimpeded once more.
"That was annoying," Shigaraki declared with a grunt. "What took you so long?"
"I had to put one of them down," the Beast said, not a hint of fatigue present on his form. "Not that it matters, they're all down now."
These two villains beat them.
Midoriya gritted his teeth in frustration, even as a bit of blood left his lips.
Was this how it would end? Two villains alone were enough to take them out? Surrounded by tar creatures slowly moving towards them, Midoriya saw no avenue for escape.
No! They weren't going to die…
"M-Midoriya…" Mineta mumbled, legs pushing himself up from a small pool of blood, all of which came from his scalp. "W-What do we d-do?"
They weren't going to die…!
The Beast cackled.
"Goodbye brats!"
They weren't going to–!
"–DIE!"
Midoriya widened his eyes.
That wasn't his voice.
A plume of explosive fire barreled through the wall of tar monsters around them and towards the two villains like a missile. It was an incredibly apt description because the resulting explosion covered the field, which caused Mineta to stumble beside him.
Ice formed from behind them, forming above them like a protective shield as three figures took center stage.
"Sorry we're late," Came the soft-spoken words. "There were a lot more villains we had to take care of on our way here. Those weird monsters didn't make it any easier."
Todoroki?
"You can relax now!" A boisterous voice added. "Get ready for a manly comeback!"
Kirishima?
"You look pathetic!" An aggressive and condescending voice screamed. "Why be a hero when you can't even beat these small fries, Deku!?"
K-Kacchan…?
The three of them took their stance in front of them, their backs casting a shadow on their injured and disoriented forms. Kirishima with his nervous yet eager grin, Todoroki with a cold and calculating gaze, and finally Bakugo with nothing but murder in his eyes.
"Just keep your ass on the floor and don't do shit!" Bakugo warned with a growl, raising his single grenade-like gauntlet towards them. "I'll kill these assholes, alone!"
"Kill?" Shigaraki muttered. "Aren't you supposed to be a hero?"
"SHUT UP!"
Midoriya gazed at the three of them once more and nodded to himself. "B-Be careful, the pale one can turn things to dust with a touch. T-Those tar monsters are controlled by the one in the mask, b-but he doesn't need them to fight because he's insanely fast and strong."
"I don't need YOUR advice!"
"Thanks, Midoriya," Todoroki said in contrast to the teen's childhood friend. "Sit there and rest. I met with the others earlier and they said that Iida ran to get help. Reinforcements will be here soon so time is on our side."
"They did say that Emiya should be here," Kirishima mentioned with a hint of worry. "Do you know where he went? Or did he…?"
"Emiya is fighting in the forest over there," Midoriya answered, gesturing with a tilt of his head. "He's fighting something called Nomu. It's strong, fast, and capable of taking a full-on punch from me without any issue… they called it their ultimate countermeasure to All-Might."
The three of them paused.
"Shit…" Kirishima muttered. "One of us has to go and help him out."
"We can't," Todoroki said. "The warp quirk villain is up. He seems ready to rejoin the fight. It's three on three now, so if one of us leaves…"
"… Then these guys will be unprotected…" Kirishima nodded with a wince. "Damn it, Emiya better be okay over there."
"T-The one with the warp quirk–" Midoriya added. "–he works together with the pale one. B-Be careful for combination attacks…"
Todoroki nodded. "Got it."
All Midoriya supposed he could do now was rest until he could fight again.
Hopefully, that was sometime soon…
Yaoyorozu Momo bit her lip in silent relief.
They had made it to the entrance of USJ, where they were met with the other students of class 1-A. All of them look battered, but they held their guard as they kept an eye out for any approaching villains.
When their eyes met with hers, they cheered.
Sato came over and grabbed Kaminari, who had fallen asleep sometime earlier from keeping his eyes closed, much to the very warranted complaints of Jiro who had to carry him the entire way.
Yaoyorozu would have helped, but Jiro was insistent that she be the one to carry him, citing that she had been the only one capable of reacting to sudden combat with her weapons.
Jiro could too, but her attacks were loud and dragged attention.
After they regrouped, Yaoyorozu sighed as she sat down. Her eyes drifted before landing on their astronaut-like teacher… the back of his armor shattered and broken, exposing his bruised back wrapped in what looks to be tape fashioned into a bandage.
"Sensei, are you alright?!" Yaoyorozu asked in a hurry.
"He's fine," Sero answered from beside her. "We made him take a nap to recover his strength. He woke up earlier when we met up with you, but he fell right back asleep."
"Is that not dangerous?" She asked. "What if he takes a nap and…"
"Don't worry, it won't be an issue," Sero reassured. "I know a little bit of first aid. The damage has mostly been treated and the bleeding stopped a while ago. He just needs rest now."
Yaoyorozu wanted to say more but kept it to herself.
"At least let me make regular bandages," Yaoyorozu said. "I mean no offense Sero-san, but it looks rather uncomfortable."
"You might reopen the wound so I advise against it."
The response came from the teacher, who woke up once more and tried sitting up. Uraraka came and applied her quirk on her, just to alleviate the stress she was putting on her. Uraraka still held onto her so she wouldn't float away.
"Are you sure, sensei?" Yaoyorozu asked.
"It's fine, I can deal with it." Thirteen answered, "More importantly, which of you are battle-ready?"
"Jiro-san and I are still capable, Kaminari might be experiencing a little dizziness," Yaoyorozu replied. "I might have injured his retina with a flashbang, so he should get looked at as soon as possible."
"Alright, have Kaminari sleep for now," Thirteen sighed. "Yaoyorozu. Jiro. You now have two choices, either join the rest on lookout duty or head off to the central plaza to help out Emiya."
Emiya-san?
"Was he teleported there?" Jiro asked. "Are we going to save him?"
"Neither, Emiya ran down there to try and save Aizawa-senpai!" Thirteen complained. "Todoroki was here earlier and offered to go help, same with Kirishima and Bakugo. A little extra help should sway the tide to their favor."
Yaoyorozu stood and created a quick spyglass to gaze at the battle.
"They seem to be fine, it's a rather even battle right now…" She muttered. "… but, I don't see any sign of Emiya-san there."
"That's worrying…" Thirteen muttered.
"Let me see," Jiro asked, to which Yaoyorozu complied and handed the spyglass over. "… Kirishima looks like he's struggling. Should we go and help?"
"Who is he fighting?" Sato asked, arms raised and ready. "I can go help."
"… He's fighting some dude in a mask," Jiro reported. "He's being battered around pretty badly."
"The Beast…" Thirteen muttered, "If we all go together, then perhaps we can deal with him together. His raw physical ability will be more of a problem than his quirk though."
"Er… guys?" Shoji muttered, only now just talking. "I don't think we can do that."
Jiro looked offended. "Why not?!"
He stood up and pointed a limb towards the stairway. "Because we're going to have to deal with the horde of villains going up the stairs!"
Yaoyorozu widened her eyes and stared down the path.
There she saw fifty, maybe a hundred villains, all of whom dragged themselves up the stairs with nasty grins or scowls on their face.
Among them was the villain she herself knocked out not too long ago.
"Oh no…" Thirteen muttered. "Push me up! I'll use my quirk!"
"Villains also approaching from both sides!" Shoji shouted, "Ten or so to the left, maybe twenty or more to the right!"
"Can't we retreat?" Sato muttered. "We should be able to leave like Iida did. It'll be safer"
"Negative," Shoji replied. "We won't be able to make it in time without leaving Thirteen-sensei behind."
"Leave me then. Run and get to safety," Thirteen ordered.
"No!" Yaoyorozu shouted back, surprised at the lack of self-care she displayed. "We're training to become professional heroes! We are not leaving you behind!"
"You can't save everyone. If you leave me behind and escape then that's fine with me!"
"No offense teach," Jiro said with a frown. "But denied."
"Okay, so we're surrounded," Sero said. "We're boned, aren't we?"
Jiro wasted no time moving towards Kaminari. "Wake up! We need some of your 'awesomeness' to help us!"
"Wha~?" He muttered, his eyes only opening now. They widened at the boot above his ass. "Okay, wait! I'm up, I'm up!"
"Kaminari and Sero, take the east side," Thirteen ordered, deciding that this was no time for honorifics. "Ashido, Uraraka, Sato, and Yaoyorozu take the west! Jiro, you'll help me with the ones down there."
"Eh? Just the two of us!?"
"I know what your quirk is," their teacher said. "Use it as long as you can and then I'll use mine. Alternate the quirks and we can mow them down."
Can they hold them off?
"Come on, Kaminari," Sero called. "I'll create a choke point. Can I rely on your quirk?"
He nodded, but he still appeared a tad dizzy. "As long as they don't move too much, I should be able to hit them!"
Can they really hold off that many villains?
Yaoyorozu took a look at the approaching villains from the west and sighed to herself. She turned to her makeshift team and hefted her polearm. "Okay, who wants a gun?"
They were going to survive.
Or die trying.
Todoroki maintained a calm demeanor.
Panicking was never helpful, so he threw it aside until he could find a way to get a clear idea on the battle before him.
Bakugo had run off to attack the warp quirk user, Kurogiri. That left him open to an attack, as much as the blonde would have disagreed, from the pale one named Shigaraki.
It was only due to his quick thinking that he managed to intercept the attack with his ice. A quick tidal wave made the villain dodge, but his hand had gripped onto the ice… and turned it into vapor?
That didn't make sense. In all forms of logic, his ice should have melted at the very least, but returning into vapor form?
A quirk that turns things to dust… It was interesting to muse around with. Perhaps it didn't follow any laws of physics and simply separated objects into individual minuscule pieces.
Whatever the case was with that quirk, Todoroki knew he remained with an advantage against him.
The sound of a body hitting the ground dragged his attention. He saw Kirishima had chosen to do battle with the one in the mask, Angra Mainyu, yet he didn't appear to be winning in the slightest.
In the kindest way possible, he was being beaten up like a punching bag about to break. His quirk was strong and kept him alive, but even from here, Todoroki could tell that those kicks and punches could have easily broken ribs.
He needed to offer aid, seeing as Bakugo was already far away tackling that Kurogiri person. He was already keeping down this Shigaraki without much issue, he could spare to aid him.
He breathed to focus, ignoring the cold that appeared over his forearm.
A quick burst of his quirk sent a few bullet-like icicles towards the masked villain. He reacted and instantly broke the icicles with ease. Even if he couldn't see his face from under that mask, Todoroki felt that he had a look of annoyance underneath it.
He muttered something he could not hear. Whatever it was, Kirishima definitely heard it and shouted towards them.
"Look out! Midoriya! Mineta! Behind you!"
Behind?
But Todoroki already had his dome of ice protecting them–
The sound of ice shattering caused him to act.
Todoroki turned from the fight and focused on the injured trio, the dome around them slowly breaking as a lumbering black creature reared back its incredibly oversized arm.
His ice wasn't going to withstand that attack.
More ice was needed.
Todoroki forced it out, ice from his right side burst forth like a torrent, ripping through the concrete as it speared through the tar-like-creature, watching as it exploded back into blackened tar in response.
He also sent more ice to reinforce the dome around them, with added spikes as a deterrent.
That effort went wasted when he realized that there were over a dozen tar creatures, who had stood about recently, that charged at their injured classmates. From the corner of his eye, he noticed the one he had destroyed slowly reformed itself.
Shigaraki broke out of his icy prison once more and ran at him again, gaining considerable distance.
Shit!
Todoroki did as before and sent out more ice, spears of it towards the tar creatures that lumbered forth, waves of it towards Shigaraki, and a few icicles towards Angra Mainyu.
His quirk wasn't going to last if he kept it up forever, which meant he had to prioritize.
Obviously, his classmates took the first spot, seeing as the villain he was facing couldn't overwhelm him–
It was only through Todoroki's luck that he evaded a swipe from the pale villain, whose eyes narrowed at the failed attack.
How did he get past the ice!?
Todoroki sent a wide blast and pushed him away, pouring more and more ice to push him farther away, but not towards Bakugo or Kirishima. It would be incredibly bad if he chose to attack someone else that was closer.
He watched as the pale villain was using his superior speed and admittedly impressive maneuvers to dodge his ice waves this time. Growing ever closer with each dodge and weave.
The only counteraction to it was to make sure he couldn't evade his ice this time. A larger wave that covered a larger surface area would suffice–
The sound of his ice dome being attacked again and the scream of pain that Kirishima had grated on his attention.
Damn it!
"Bakugo!" Todoroki shouted as he doubled his efforts at destroying the approaching, yet seemingly endless, tar creatures. "Can't you help Kirishima out!? I'm occupied!"
"I can't, you blind or something you shithead!?" He shouted as he blew back Kurogiri, rushing and giving him no room to breathe or rest. "The moment I let up on this bozo he'll be fucking about somewhere else!"
Which meant that Kurogiri would go after either him to help Shigaraki, or directly to their injured classmates.
What a shitty situation… His hands were tied with multitasking three jobs. His ice would not last forever, so in terms of importance, Todoroki made his choice.
He kept his ice on Shigaraki and the endless tar creatures making their way towards his classmates.
He could only hope that Kirishima could hold on until they found a way out of this mess.
The Nomu did not roar as it charged, blasting dirt and stone out of its way as it barreled its way towards Shirou in what seems like the thousandth time today.
Shirou dodged it like before, a frown of annoyance on his face.
This Nomu did not tire, so waiting for it to tire out was out of the question. Obviously fighting it head-on was a bad idea, even if he lobbed off a piece of its brain.
Shirou had tried that earlier, but even the brain itself had regenerated so it was impossible to kill.
He would need to go for the heart of the problem.
Literally.
I am the bone of my sword.
The Nomu charged and Shirou dodged, cutting into its calves.
The Nomu stumbled but Shirou did not let up. He dashed onto its back and cut into its nape, watching as the creature fall flat on its face as it lost all feeling in its body.
Shirou stabbed Kanshou and Bakuya into that nape, knowing that it wouldn't hold off the regeneration for long. However, it was more than enough time to trace a weapon that would bypass and negate its regeneration.
"Trace… On!"
Shirou's fingers traced the shaft of a spear that appeared in his grasp. It was a blood-red spear of unnerving design.
It was made from the remains of a great beast's skull, made not to ensure a swift death but to lengthen it. The spines that trailed the tip of the spear would ensure the suffering of those once it pierced its enemies' hearts.
Shirou could attest to that, after all.
It was the spear that pierced his own heart.
Gae Bolg.
The spear spun on his fingertips, watching as the Nomu had recovered all bodily functions and closed the gap.
He needed a little bit of time to use the Noble Phantasm to gouge out its heart, so he would need to fight and disable the Nomu again, something that the blood-red spear of Cu Chulainn was all but eager to accomplish.
The spear lashed forth, digging itself into the palm of the Nomu. Shirou reinforced his body to follow through the actions of the Irish warrior, swinging the spear to the side and watching as the Nomu followed suit and crashed into the dirt, the spear wrenching itself out as it did so.
However, the intentions of the spear and the wielder did not stop there. Shirou obliged as he rushed forth, spinning the cursed spear as it cut deeply into the Nomu's back, severing its spine and halting its lower body movement.
The Nomu tried to backhand him with its uninjured hand, yet Shirou anticipated it. He allowed himself to fall into the movements, slashing the Nomu's hand clean off.
Another spin of the lance cut off its entire arm.
Shirou knew he had done enough and retreated.
This creature would take at least several seconds to regenerate and charge once more, but Shirou would end the battle here.
After spinning the Gae Bolg for a single cycle, Shirou shifted his grip and pointed the tip of the cursed spear to the floor.
Bloodlust amplified.
Pure killing intent and unconcealed thirst filtered out of spear. Shirou flooded it with prana, not enough to break it, but just enough so that he could use its special ability.
"Gae…"
The Nomu got onto its feet and turned to charge.
–The Barbed Spear that Pierces with Death.
"… Bolg!"
A flash of red as the spear's tip bolted forward, a crystallization of an Irish hero's legend and fame screamed into the world as it flashed its way towards the Nomu's flesh.
The Nomu reacted by throwing its fist forward, watching as the spear tip dug through the entirety of its arm–
The world paused.
That was wrong.
–The Nomu couldn't even react as it was blasted back and hefted up into the air, the fang of Chulainn's dog lashing out wildly as it utterly speared through the creature's chest, a thousand barbs obliterating it from the inside out.
The Nomu fell back onto the forest floor with a heavy thud, not once moving as its heart ceased to beat.
Not that it had a heart capable of beating anymore.
It would not be able to regenerate from that damage, the spear ensured that regenerative abilities would take a considerable amount of time before it even developed a scab.
Saber herself took half a day to regenerate it, but that was while paired with her scabbard–
Shirou blinked.
A scabbard?
Where did that thought come from?
Shirou shook it away and refocused.
He would dare not to dispel the spear. If he did, then the spear's ability to halt its healing and regeneration would cease. He did not want to imagine the Nomu returning back from the dead with its heart back in its place.
So Shirou spun the spear and pierced the open chest cavity, digging into the dirt underneath where he would leave the cursed spear.
The Nomu was done for…
Shirou took a few moments to steady his breathing.
… But the other villains weren't.
It didn't take long before he found a well-concealed ledge, it was right next to him in fact. What he saw was surprising though, there were new arrivals from their side.
Todoroki Shoto, Kirishima Eijiro, and Bakugo Katsuki.
But where were the others?
A quick glance to the side revealed the answer. Midoriya, Mineta, and Asui seemed to be resting away under the cover of a semi-dome of ice. However, they were surrounded by tar creatures punching their way through the ice.
Based on the look on the two boy's faces, they would attack the tar creatures as soon as they were able to. He couldn't say the same for Asui seeing as she was unconscious.
Until then, Todoroki was doing an ample job at multitasking his fight with Shigaraki and protecting them.
He kept Shigaraki at bay, using tidal waves of ice to simply overwhelm the man, who couldn't disintegrate his way through as efficiently as possible.
The ice that he did touch didn't shift its molecular state and turn to water, but instead, it faded away like vapor, as surprising as it sounded. He was able to push through towards Todoroki, but another wave of ice sent him back with the added side effect of freezing a few tar creatures that got in the way.
Kurogiri was swerving and swaying, trying to avoid the explosions that came from Bakugo.
His explosions ended up blasting away his warp clouds somewhat and made it hard to actually attack him. It was harder still with the added fact that Bakugo was aiming for the metal neck brace with reckless yet calculated abandon.
Kirishima, on the other hand, didn't have a favorable matchup in the slightest. Only defending and unable to deliver any attacks or deal any damage to the Avenger.
Whereas every other fight seemed slightly in their favor, Angra Mainyu was dominating that fight. He kicked him around like a feral beast, leaping from weak spot to blind spot, striking where it would hurt most as quickly as possible.
It was fortunate that Kirishima's quirk kept him a bit protected from Angra Mainyu's raw power.
He would be the first one to receive help then.
Shirou traced his bow and leveled an arrow.
Breath in…
He focused on the target–
… Breath out.
–and he let the arrow soar.
It flew across the battlefield in a second, catching the attention of Angra Mainyu who weaved away from it awkwardly, allowing Kirishima to finally throw an attack in.
It did little to no damage, but it was good enough.
Shirou was definitely low on prana after tracing two Noble Phantasms and a whole plethora of Kanshou and Bakuya – oh how he wished that he had access to Rin's prana or possibly the remaining unlocked quarter or so of his circuits – but he had enough left in him to pull an Archer.
Like Archer, he would shoot arrows from his vantage point until these villains dropped. Black Blood Vanguard fell from his arrows as soon as they made to reform and aiding Kirishima from being attacked too much.
He would have used a Noble Phantasm, but it seems that the situation was now heavily in their favor and under control. With Bakugo getting closer and closer to the warp quirk villain and Todoroki focusing more on incapacitating Shigaraki now that Shirou aided them.
As such, there would be no need to do so.
Shirou was about to let loose several more arrows, but his fingers halted as he felt his nose twitch.
Prana radiated from that battlefield.
But it was not from him.
There were only two other people who had Prana in this world.
And one of them was Avenger.
There was only one conclusion here.
Oh no.
Kirishima smirked as the arrow flew and hit the Beast.
That arrow must have belonged to his fellow redhead! He was fine! Some countermeasure to All-Might this Nomu must have been if it couldn't even beat a U.A. student!
It seemed that the other villains managed to realize that and doubled their efforts.
"You lost!" Kirishima cheered with albeit childish glee. "Just give up and surrender–"
"DIE, YOU FUCK!"
"–or die, whatever works," Kirishima muttered with exasperation. He respected Bakugo, he really did, but sometimes he was just a little too much.
As the Beast swerved away from another arrow, he growled.
"Okay, that's it!" the Beast shouted. "Shigaraki! I'm going to need a new fucking body after this!"
Kirishima blinked.
"What?"
At that moment, Kirishima felt something… he… he felt–
–Rage, murder, greed, hate, anger, arrogance, despair, terror, annoyance, regret, death, pain–
Kirishima's lunch caught up to him and he lurched.
"Kirishima-kun!" Midoriya called out in fear.
He wouldn't get the chance to respond as he was kicked away by the Beast.
As Kirishima felt his consciousness fading… he swore that he saw the tattoos ripple and glow with a horrifying light.
Shirou wasted no time and dashed towards the clearing.
Avenger was doing something, the sick and vile prana that he felt from afar was impossible to miss. Had he been holding back a trump card this entire time!?
Shirou gritted his teeth.
He had to drive the servant away from his classmates. Whatever this trump card is, if it included prana then his classmates were at an extreme disadvantage.
A hail of arrows left his bow at frightening speeds, far too impossible for it to be done by a regular human. Luckily, Shirou was aided by reinforcement to make it a reality.
It was also lucky for his classmates, who were blessed with the fact that Avenger had back-pedaled away, leaping away and deflecting arrows that strayed too close to him.
What if he used his Noble Phantasm, Verg Avesta?
No, that couldn't be it. If it was then Angra Mainyu wouldn't be deflecting his attacks like that. He would have taken the damage and let the accumulated damage reflect back onto him.
What if it was an entirely new Noble Phantasm?
The rippling of those tattoos unnerved him greatly.
It didn't take long before Shirou entered the battlefield with Avenger directly in front of him. A quick glance showed that Kirishima had been grabbed by Midoriya, who recovered enough to grab him and run to safety–
Where did the Black Blood Vanguard go?
When Shirou turned to look, all he saw were puddles of black blood, slowly drifting and fading away into smoke. A quick look to the others told him that they had done nothing to warrant their disappearance.
So what happened to them?
"Welcome back sword brat," Avenger said, not at all disturbed at the lack of his quirk's monsters, focusing only on the growing malicious curses around him. "Had fun with the Nomu?"
Shirou didn't reply, as he usually did, and simply held the familiar grip of the married blades. It was best to use them here, seeing as he didn't know what attacks the Avenger could do in his current state.
"Boss is going to be pissed…" He muttered as he saw Shigaraki's icy assault increase tenfold without the black blood vanguards to keep his attention divided. "Meh, he'll be fine."
It was then that Shirou had a conclusion.
"Whatever it is you're doing," Shirou started. "You can't use your quirk at the same time, can you?"
"Wow~" he blatantly drawled. "Aren't you a sleuthy dog? Got a nose that can sniff shit too?"
That would explain why he didn't use it earlier at the entrance. He needed the Black Blood Vanguard at the time to prevent Iida's escape, not that it helped, but it was definitely a factor that their plans had to adapt to.
An explosion caught their attention. However, it wasn't from Bakugo.
From the door, a figure appeared in his usual teacher's uniform. However, as recognizable as he was, it was impossible to miss the frown deeply etched onto his face.
It was All-Might.
In that instant he blurred and attacked– wait, why were there that many villains at the gates!?
However, he wasn't alone. To the side of the entrance, a part of the wall was blasted away, taking out several more villains, as another figure pushed through.
What in the…
"SHIROU!" Mount Lady shouted as she landed, the debris not hitting any of his classmates. She swiped with one arm and a dozen or so villains were sent flying. "Hold on! Mama's coming!"
He blinked.
…Yu?
"Oh… He's here." Shigaraki muttered as he dug his way out of the ice, his eyes noticing both the symbol of peace and the giant woman quickly approaching them. "Oi, Kurogiri. Grab Angra, we're going with the backup plan."
Shirou narrowed his brow.
He had gotten rid of the Nomu, who was apparently their countermeasure to All-Might, but they had a secondary plan…? They were outmatched now that two professionals had arrived, and more without a doubt arriving soon after, so what could possibly–
Verg Avesta.
"Understood, Shigaraki Tomura!" Kurogiri appeared after evading Bakugo.
In that instant, the malefic presence amplified, stunning his surrounding classmates, rousing the resting injured, and sending fear through the few villains that managed to stumble their way onto the battlefield.
This… was bad.
The curses that formed on Angra Mainyu's form exploded as Kurogiri, who fought the instinctive urge to run away, enveloped him in his warping shadow.
"Plans take priority brat." Angra Mainyu chuckled as he faded behind Kurogiri's black mist, his voice taking a sinister tone. Almost as if it wasn't his own voice, but the voices of several others crying out in anguish. "Don't worry though, I'll be back soon!"
It would be dangerous if he managed to get away.
So don't let him escape!
Shirou quickly threw both Kanshou and Bakuya towards him, only for it to be hastily rebuffed by Tawrich and Zarich, sending them spinning away and piercing dirt with ease.
Angra Mainyu smirked.
"Bye."
The curses enveloped him finally, allowing nothing but a beast wrapped in curses and ill omens to fade away.
Shirou turned back to the entrance of USJ, where the malefic presence had shifted… where the rest of his classmates had stayed.
Oh no.
Toshinori Yagi– no, All-Might, seethed at the villains that were assaulting his students.
Hurt his precious students, would they? Not while he still drew breath!
In an instant, he blurred around the battlefield. Lesser villains dropped around like flies as he maneuvered across it.
"Yes! All-Might's here!"
Nothing stopped him. Not the villain with a huge fist, not the villain with web-like nets for arms, not even the villain who controlled earth.
"Awesome! He's taking them all out!"
They all fell in righteous fury as All-Might protected his students.
Mount Lady was not complacent either, grabbing troublesome Heteromorphic villains and throwing them away. She was aiming at the deep sections of the watery area so they would probably sustain no lasting damage.
They were Heteromorphic quirk users, so they were naturally more physically well-off than others.
When the USJ entrance battlefield finally fell into silence, All-Might allowed himself to exhale a breath he had been holding. His old wound ached like it always did when he exerted himself, but as long as he did not truly force himself, then he would be fine.
"Everyone, are you all right?" All-Might asked. He looked around the gathered crowd of students with a frown. "Where's everyone else?"
"S-Sorry, All-Might-senpai," Thirteen said weakly. "I-It was my fault. They were warped away by a v-villain. They should still be here in the b-building."
All-Might nodded. "Don't worry, Thirteen. Mount Lady and I will handle things from here on out. The principal is going to be here in a few more minutes with the other teachers." He turned to the rest of the students. "You can all rest now, we'll take it from here–"
It was as if time had stopped.
The atmosphere had changed, almost as if the very air around them had hardened into sludge. It was like trying to breathe underwater.
W-What's going on!?
It was… incredibly familiar.
Impossible! Could it be!?
All-Might shifted his gaze towards the stairway behind them where a slew of unconscious villains lay. The few that still had consciousness stirred and crawled away as the black mist formed…
… and something equally black crawled out, two baleful eyes gazing back.
"Thanks a lot, Kurogiri," The thing muttered, its very voice grating on the walls of All-Might's mind. "It would've taken too long to get here otherwise~"
Was that a villain?
The black mist behind it shifted shape, forming into something vaguely humanoid.
Kurogiri hesitated to reply, only allowing a single utterance of a question to escape him.
"… You– what are you?"
"I told you guys before, didn't I?" It answered, the corners of its wolf-like mouth curling up in what appears to be a smile. "I'm Angra Mainyu."
There's no doubt that this guy is a villain, but… something like that couldn't be a regular villain. He doesn't even feel human.
The creature turned to face them, the students freezing once caught by its gaze. They weren't even the creature's main focus yet they still felt the sheer evil that reverberated from its presence.
"All-Might, right?" It asked. "I'll admit, I haven't really done research on who you were." It chuckled to itself as Kurogiri backed away, something within him instinctively compelling him to. "Well, not that it matters. You'll die here today, All-Might."
This thing could only be a monster.
The wave of malice made it hard to breathe. A single glance to his fellow hero and students told him that even they found it hard to breathe. It was like they were suffocated by the very evil that flowed from it.
"… Angra Mainyu, was it?" All-Might muttered to strike up some conversation. It was a carefully chosen tactical decision made to give time for the other professional heroes to arrive. "I don't think I've ever–"
–Like an explosion of black, the villain hurled itself forward towards him.
Tactics be damned!
All-Might held his ground and raised his fist, throwing it forward like a bullet, the very air shattering against his might. The moment his fist made contact, an explosion of air took hold.
The concrete surrounding them shattered creating a smokescreen around them. His fist had destroyed it just as much as the bone and flesh of the villain that All-Might felt his fist dig through–
"GAUGH!"
Who had screamed?
It only took a few seconds to realize that it was he who screamed, a small burst of blood escaping his jaw as he felt his collarbone shatter.
The villain was sent hurtling back, bits and pieces of it falling off as it did, revealing a blackened body underneath with All-Might's fist left a mark on his collarbone.
The body got back up, with the mark on his collarbone fading as the bone, flesh, and tissue regrew. The black shadows surrounding the body reformed back into the blackened villain of before.
All-Might twitched his head towards his own shattered collarbone…
… and he saw an all too similar mark of his own fist sitting there.
"Damage reflection, or possibly redirection…?" All-Might muttered as he appraised the villain before him. "Not only that but enhanced speed and regeneration as well… but, how–?"
So many abilities could only be explained by multiple quirks–
Multiple quirks?
It can't be–!
"What's wrong?" The creature – no, Angra Mainyu, taunted. "Feeling a little pained?"
The declaration dragged All-Might into reality and out of the sea of dread and despair. He swiftly turned to Mount Lady, using an absurd amount of effort to force himself to do so.
He screamed. "Get the students out of here! NOW!"
Mount Lady stumbled as she stared at the black being. She could only nod as she extended her hand out, allowing the students to hop on with Thirteen.
She managed to retreat away and out of the building, leaving All-Might alone.
Alone with 'Angra Mainyu'.
Shirou was worried, extremely so at the condition of his classmates now that Angra Mainyu was up there. He couldn't even do anything at the present!
The blast of wind and power did nothing to abate his worries.
Focus!
Shirou shifted his gaze towards the pale villain Shigaraki, who simply stood where he was. He stared at them with a look of boredom, fingers twitching towards his throat as he scratched at it furiously.
"To be honest, I don't have much faith that Angra could do anything to the Symbol of Peace," Shigaraki admitted, watching as Todoroki and Bakugo directed their fiercest glares at him. "But, since the sword brat got my Nomu somehow, we don't have much choice but to rely on him."
They would have charged the villain for a swift takedown, but that would require getting close to him. Bakugo could risk it but the villain's speed was already superior to the blonde so he would have been outmaneuvered with ease.
Todoroki looked worse off, his quirk was no doubt stressing his body to some degree. Half of his body was covered in flecks ice, hindering his movement. It seemed like he was incapable of making sudden movements, but Shirou was sure that he had the ability to melt the ice of him. Why wouldn't he do it?
"What do you think a scrawny fuck like him can do!?" Bakugo screamed, dragging back the magus' focus to the villain. "All-Might is the symbol of peace, the absolute pinnacle of power! There's nothing that trash mob can do!"
"We agree there, brat," Shigaraki admitted. "But, he seemed like he was confident enough. If he fails, then we go home. Simple as that."
Shirou frowned. He wasn't completely sure what the strength of the number one pro hero was, but he knew that it wouldn't be able to help against the Avenger.
Bakugo gritted his teeth wildly. "This little–!"
"Todoroki-san, Bakugo-san," Shirou called, urgency in his tone. "We need to get up there and help him out. He can't deal with him alone."
Bakugo ceased his baleful glare and adopted a complex look of confusion. "Huh? What in the fuck are you talking about?"
"I'll have to agree with Bakugo," Todoroki admitted. "He did not seem to show any ability, of his seemingly multiple quirks, that could harm him."
Shigaraki merely chuckled. "Is faith in the top hero so low already… or is it something else?" His gaze focused on Shirou whose eyes constantly shifted between the battlefield and the fight ongoing at the entrance. "Maybe… you know something that we don't?"
Tell them the truth, Emiya Shirou.
"Angra Mainyu has the ability to completely reflect damage he's taken to the one who inflicted it," Shirou answered, still truthful but concealing his origins. "I don't know how strong All-Might is, but if he lands too strong of a blow on him, then he'll end up taking all the damage too."
"... which means his strength is entirely negated," Todoroki concluded.
"Angra used it on you before, didn't he?" Shigaraki muttered. "Now I see…" His form shook as maniacal laughter bubbled up from within him. "I see! Angra had that kind of ability! Why did he keep that from us? Crazy bastard."
The black mist formed behind him as Kurogiri reappeared. "… It is done, Shigaraki Tomura."
"You look down? Something wrong?" Shigaraki asked, but there was no concern in his voice, only mirthful joy.
"I can speak about it later, but first I suggest that we leave," Kurogiri suggested. "It's impossible to escape if the other heroes arrive. It is best that we leave now."
"Right…" Shigaraki nodded. "We'll do that later. I want to watch first, got it?"
"… Understood, Shigaraki Tomura."
The black mist formed and warped around them.
"I'm not letting you fucks go!"
Bakugo bolted forward with a sonorous boom, hurling himself towards the blackened portal… Only for the mist to fade completely, letting the blonde student roll across the concrete.
"They got away," Todoroki observed. "They'll probably be up at the entrance with All-Might. If we hurry, we can catch up to them."
Midoriya, who had gotten back on his feet despite the clear bruises that he wore, simply nodded. "We'll have to get Asui and Mineta to safety first."
"We?" Bakugo muttered. "What makes you think that you're in any damn shape to follow, Deku!?"
The teen frowned in response.
"As much as I dislike it, Bakugo is right," Todoroki said. "You're far too injured to be able to help out. You'll only be a liability at this point."
"You too, half-and-half!" Bakugo growled, shoving a finger to the teen's chest. "You're half fucking frozen! You ain't gonna be helpful at all!"
Todoroki frowned and made to argue, but a hand from Shirou stopped it.
"Todoroki-san, Midoriya-san, can you both get Asui-san and Mineta-san out of here? While you're at it, Aizawa too. He looks like he needs treatment," Shirou asked without a glint of hesitation. "You're both not combat-ready against the villains. You should get the other's to safety first."
Todoroki regarded him and sent a look to both of his classmates, both the fainted one and the one with a bleeding scalp. Above all, there was their teacher, a professional hero, knocked out with the skin flaking off his arm. It was... quite unsettling to look at.
"Fine," He said. "Midoriya, can you carry Aizawa-sensei? Your arms are in worse condition than mine, but the alternative is carrying both Mineta and Asui. I could try carry Asui and Aizawa, but..."
"It's fine, I can handle carrying him!" He nodded and picked up their teacher, feeling just a tad bit strained. However, it was much better than carrying two people. Mineta protested for a few seconds as he was picked up by Todoroki, but he eventually succumbed to exhaustion.
Once that was all said and done, Shirou turned to where Angra-Mainyu had run off.
"Let's go, Bakugo-san."
"Shut up! I don't need your help!"
No, the young teen probably didn't.
However, All-Might certainly would need theirs.
Shit!
All-Might, even as the number one professional hero, did not like the odds he faced at the present.
He had power, almost immeasurable amounts of it, but would that matter when his own power could be turned against him with ease!?
"Pardon me for asking," All-Might tested. "Do you know anyone named 'All for One'?"
In that instant of the question, All-Might found the creature had appeared before him, its hands looking significantly elongated like razor blades.
Of course, he wouldn't answer, Toshinori! Get your shit together!
All-Might managed to dodge it and leap away, but he was followed by Angra Mainyu on all four of his limbs.
It was almost like he was a beast.
All-Might grit his teeth and slammed a fist onto the concrete floor, creating a smokescreen that surrounded his form.
He could not afford to attack the creature, not if he would get harmed in return. That quirk must have some sort of limitation. It cannot endlessly reflect damage like that…
… Can it?
All-Might leaped away without disturbing the smokescreen to gain a considerable distance. His back was toward the stairway, which meant he could try to evade it if possible.
His efforts of careful avoidance were made moot as the creature leaped forth dispersing the smokescreen with ease as he barreled towards him.
Even if it can reflect damage…
All-Might pivoted, wincing as a claw tore through a piece of his flesh, and grabbed the beast by his arm. With an exertion of effort, All-Might threw him down the stairs.
The villain howled as its back impacted the steps, destroying them for each step he rolled down.
All-Might checked himself and sighed in relief.
It looks like he needed to be the one to inflict the damage to receive it back. Using other materials such as the environment seemed to do that trick.
You don't become the number one professional hero without some out-of-the-box thinking.
Once the villain halted its roll and stood on its feet, All-Might grabbed a piece of the obelisks holding up the USJ signboard and threw it down, impacting Angra Mainyu with the full force of–
Another spurt of blood escaped him as he felt his back break from the force.
Oh, come on! Even thrown projectiles count!?
His back was in pain, but he knew that his enemy wouldn't care. In fact, it was confirmed when he saw the villain of malice and hate crawl out from under the signboard and ran towards him on all fours.
His back was still in pain, but he would not yield the high ground.
All-Might slammed a fist on the weakened surface of concrete, shaking the stairway as the rocks and rubble tumbled down towards the villain, who stumbled and rolled as it tried to reach him.
However, he had received no damage this time.
This monster's quirk is extremely confusing!
All-Might prepared himself and leveled his options on what to do. He could not directly inflict damage on the villain, so he would need an outward stimulant to achieve the same effect.
A simple glance to the watery district was enough to consider.
All he would need to do is submerge the villain until it passed out. Monsters still needed oxygen to breathe.
All-Might was prepared for the next charge that Angra Mainyu would throw but found himself confused when there wasn't any action being taken.
Where did it go?
He received his answer when he felt the concrete shake underneath him.
All-Might leaped back in time to avoid the sharp claws that threatened to tear out his throat. He would have normally kicked him away, but then he would've sustained damage.
All-Might didn't know the limits of this monster's regeneration and damage reflection, so he couldn't make any risky plays now, especially since he knew how strong his own punches could be. His first-hand experience being an indicator.
The villain crawled out from under the stone concrete and seemingly grinned at him.
Had the villain dug underground? Since All-Might shattered the stairway, it was possible that the stairway weakened enough for the villain to swim through. Granted, he had to have the appropriate strength to tunnel through it.
"Miss me?"
"Not at all!"
All-Might bolted forward, aiming to grab the creature and drag him off into the ocean. Angra Mainyu anticipated it and bent its body in an unnatural way, claws sinking into All-Might as he passed him.
"You're human, right?" The villain asked with a smirk.
All-Might clutched his side where blood flowed, wincing as he realized his old wound had been struck. Did it know about his weak point?
"Then, that makes this easy!"
All-Might burst forth with a kick, ready to send him flying. The villain didn't even bother to dodge, awaiting the damage to be reflected.
However, he didn't kick it at all. Instead, he pivoted on his feet and wrapped his arms around the creature, exactly like the prelude to a German suplex.
Except he wasn't going to slam his head into the dirt.
"You're coming with me!"
All-Might leaped up into the air and towards the pool of water.
"I don't think so."
All-Might watched as the arms of shadow that he had wrapped his arms around mixed back with his body, two new arms to replace it appearing above him, attached to where the shoulder blades were initially.
They swung down and sent All-Might hurtling into the forest below.
All-Might held back a scream of displeasure as he impacted the forest floor. Luckily the ground seemed to be softer than usual so he didn't take much damage.
However, he quickly rolled onto his feet and leaped away as Angra Mainyu came crashing down from above him like a suffocating meteor.
"You're certainly relentless, aren't you…?" All-Might muttered, his muscles tensing as he prepared to either evade or attack once more.
All-Might knew that his foe was ever so slightly faster than him at the present, so running away wasn't even an option. If only he hadn't expended his energy earlier this morning, then he could've been able to keep up!
"A Beast always pursues his prey, isn't that right?" It said, voice echoing. For some reason, All-Might could hear the emphasis in one of those words. "Being ruthless is just par for the course!"
All-Might leaped to the side in another dodge, but the villain anticipated it and leaped after him. It miscalculated though, seeing as All-Might remained rooted near a tree when Angra Mainyu thought he would continue deeper into the forest.
When the villain prepared to turn back and maul the professional hero's throat, All-Might grit his teeth and ripped a tree out of the ground. He held it tight in his arms and swung.
All-Might held back a smirk.
As expected, the villain did not try to block, so the log flew up and above into the sky.
Angra Mainyu only looked confused at the action. "What the hell was that supposed to do?"
All-Might allowed himself a small smirk.
"Lovely weather we're having…"
The Angra Mainyu growled in annoyance and prepared to charge. However, it halted its steps as it gazed toward the sky, the sound of a segment of the concrete roof shattering from an incredible impact.
All-Might smirked.
"… It'd be terrible if it rained."
Angra Mainyu held back any remark as he dodged the falling debris.
None of them would manage to permanently harm it, that was something All-Might knew, but it would no doubt buy him some time. It wouldn't be able to reflect the damage back at him either, seeing as he was not the one to throw the debris at him. Gravity did that job perfectly well.
It was like a hail of iron and stone, crushing the surrounding trees into nothing but bark and leaves, but none of them hit All-Might. He had kept an eye on all the falling debris so none of them even got close. If any did, then he would have battered it aside with ease.
Angra Mainyu growled in irritation as a boulder of concrete snapped one of its arms the wrong way. "Fuck it!"
All-Might narrowed his eyes as he watched the villain, shadowy tendrils extending from around it, flailing wildly as it knocked aside falling debris with ease.
They wrapped around debris, crushing them, swatting them aside, even flinging them towards All-Might. There was no more cohesion to the monster's form all the while it charged with focused ferocity.
It looked less and less like a villain and more and more like a beast.
The professional hero gritted his teeth and decided to tank a blow. He let loose a punch
The shimmering of its unnerving shadows caught his attention, mainly the fact that the shadows seemed dimmer than before.
It was actually easier to breathe now almost as if the haunting presence had somewhat dissipated.
So it had a time limit?
That was just a guess, but it was one that All-Might would stick with.
"Give up!" All-Might shouted as the debris had finally stopped raining.
The villain didn't seem to care, bolting forward with the shadowy tendrils behind it lashing out wildly. He was clearly aiming for a close-combat scenario to utilize his quirk.
All-Might wasn't going to let it happen.
He leaped forward, raising his fists to launch a fist at the villain, but at the last second jumped upward, causing the villain to lash out at nothing but air.
However, All-Might felt his momentum disappear when something wrapped around his ankle.
A shadowy tendril.
It seems that it already learned how to deal with his evasion tactics.
Angra Mainyu cried out, its voice becoming a disjointed symphony of screams and echoes, as it slammed All-Might back onto the ground behind him, but that wasn't all the villain did as he began to spin.
All-Might raised his arms to protect his face as he was slammed through different trees around them like a rag doll. Bark splintering as it dug into his skin, while rocks and debris cut into his flesh as he passed by.
It didn't continue for long as the professional hero saw an opportunity. He dug his fists into the dirt and halted his momentum, taking the villain by surprise for just a split second.
That second was all he needed to sweep his legs under the Villain tripping him as he crashed down into the dirt.
He was already too far away from the watery area to make it in a single bound without this villain getting out of his grasp. So he settled for the next best thing.
All-Might slammed a leg down on the weakened dirt and watched as the ground cracked around them. He shoved the villain into the weakened soil and toppled several trees on him.
He felt the painful impact of the bark, but as long as All-Might kept an eye on him, he wasn't going anywhere.
"Now, to get back to the–"
All-Might cried out in pain as he felt something dig into his side…
… A blackened arm, sticking out of an equally blackened mist.
All-Might felt it spread from within him like barbed wire, making every movement to retreat fruitless. The blackened mist expanded as the villain stepped out, with two others beside him.
"This is the symbol of peace?" The pale one with a multitude of hands muttered. "So much for being the top hero, right?"
All-Might responded by throwing a punch towards him but halted it the moment the black mist appeared in front of him like a barrier. His instincts telling him that it would be a bad idea to follow through with that punch.
"Angra, make sure he doesn't move."
"Fine, fine, fine."
The obedient tone in that monstrous visage was off-putting, even more so when you saw that the pale villain didn't really seem that bothered by it.
"You know," The villain started. "You guys could've helped out sooner."
"You looked like you were having fun," The pale villain said. "I didn't want to get in your way."
The blackened villain scoffed as the shadowy tendrils grew out from him, although All-Might noted that they were much slower than before.
He was probably reaching his limit now.
"Kurogiri, do as planned and warp half his body."
"I dislike guts in my body, but it cannot be helped."
All-Might instantly realized what they planned to do. He moved to get away, but the barbed shadows grew within him as the extra tendrils wrapped around his limbs in a vice grip.
He couldn't get away.
Damn it!
As the black mist descended on his form, he could only chuckle to himself in minor defeat.
Sorry, young Midoriya.
"DIE!"
"What!?"
All-Might's eyes snapped open as an explosion ripped through above him, dispersing the black mist in every direction. The sound of whirling steel cutting through the air amplified as it passed by, severing the tendrils that latched onto him.
Seeing his chance, All-Might leaped away as far as he could. It wasn't very far, seeing as his gut screamed out in pain and protest at the exertion.
He landed on a cliff ledge, looking down on the villains as they grew confused at the interruption.
"Are you alright, All-Might-san?"
Emiya Shirou?
"Fucking villains, can't win by yourselves huh!? Weaklings!"
Bakugo Katsuki?
"I'm fine," All-Might answered, keeping a palm on his bleeding gut. "Thanks for the save, you two."
"Aw come on!" The bestial villain cried out in annoyance. "This is why you should've helped out sooner!"
"Shut up, Angra!" The pale villain retorted. "We just have to do it again."
"Tch, can't do that…" It muttered, the shadows on his body fading rapidly. "…I'm all out of time."
Once the shadows dispersed, all that remained was a single man with a very much shattered bone-white mask on his face. Had it broke in the middle of their fight somehow?
All-Might's own face wasn't broken beyond repair, so perhaps it was the debris that did it.
The villain's body finally slumped down onto his knees weakly. "This body is gonna break now… fucks sake."
"We should retreat, Shigaraki Tomura," Kurogiri advised. "With both Nomu and Angra Mainyu out of it, we cannot defeat the symbol of peace."
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" Shigaraki cried out, arms raised as he prepared to charge. "We can still kill him! I can still–"
"Right, fuck this."
In an instant, Angra Mainyu slumped back up and slammed a fist at the nape of his ally. That very same ally fell to his knees as his consciousness faded, only to be dropped into a blackened portal by Kurogiri.
"He's gonna kill me for that later," Angra Mainyu mused. He sent a look back up to the cliff. "Looks like I wasn't able to kill either of you this time! Lucky break for you, right?"
Either?
All-Might was confused on that statement but didn't let his expression show.
"God damn it this mask is getting in the way…" The villain growled in agitation. He raised his palms weakly and ripped it off of his–
… what?
"Much better!" The… villain, cried out in relief. "It was fucking stuffy in there man. Glad that's gone now."
Bakugo stared, his mouth falling open at the sight. "… The fuck is this?"
"Stop dawdling and get into the portal," Kurogiri berated, feeling just a tad bit more assertive now that Angra Mainyu's 'other' form was gone. "The other Pro Heroes will be here soon."
Angra Mainyu nodded and ruffled his fingers behind his hair. "Fine, fine. Big boss is going to be pissed."
The two villains faded, but their shock did not.
All-Might turned a simple glance to Emiya Shirou, who wore a similar expression of shock.
"Oi, Sword-bastard," Bakugo growled, yet there wasn't much aggression in there. Far more shock and confusion if anything. "Why did that bastard…"
All-Might's student struggled to find a way to word it carefully and gave up, resorting to his usual brutish tone.
"… Why the fuck did that mook have your damn face!?"
From the clueless expression that Emiya had, they wouldn't be getting answers anytime soon.
"… Let's focus on getting to a safe place first," Young Emiya suggested. "It's a bit too dangerous to be out in the open right now."
"I agree with your confusion, young Bakugo," All-Might found himself saying. "However, I say we follow young Emiya's suggestion. We can talk about this later."
Bakugo looked like he wanted to argue, but growled to himself and walked away.
All-Might followed suit with Emiya Shirou, but none of them said a word.
They were all far too confused about what had just happened today.
Too many concerns and far too many questions.
A little rest in a jacuzzi… All-Might wasn't going to say 'No' to that idea.