The plaza was unrecognizable. Stone tiles once polished for a hero training ground were cracked and split into jagged teeth. The fountain at the center lay shattered, its basin dry, its statue reduced to rubble. Smoke curled from broken walls, and the air itself seemed heavy, thick with dust, blood, and the burnt-metal scent of destruction.
In the middle of it all stood the Nomu. Its frame twitched with broken rhythm, like a puppet whose strings had been cut and tied again. Burns scarred its flesh, raw gouges ran across its chest, and patches of darkened tissue steamed under the strain of its body's refusal to fail. It was meant to heal instantly, to erase any weakness, but with Aizawa's gaze still locked on it, its wounds festered. Every second it stayed alive was through brute endurance.
Opposite the beast, another figure loomed.
All Might.
His presence hit heavier than the rubble scattered across the ground. His posture alone shifted the air—shoulders squared, jaw set, a titan stepping between death and the children behind him. Even with dust streaking his blond hair and blood at the corner of his mouth, his shadow cut wider, taller, than the monster in front of him.
The students clung to the edges of the battlefield, too battered to rejoin the fight. Bakugo crouched low, palms trembling as faint sparks hissed between his fingers. Todoroki leaned against a pillar, one hand over his ribs, breath ragged. Iida froze halfway forward, torn between duty and terror. Midoriya, broken but breathing, lay in All Might's grasp, while Harry lay unconscious on the stone, scar faintly glowing, face pale.
Aizawa swayed where he stood, blood dripping from his face, eyes red and watering. Every muscle screamed at him to blink, but he didn't. Couldn't. His quirk was the only thing keeping the Nomu from regenerating. He clenched his teeth, whispered a mantra to himself.
Don't blink. Don't you dare blink.
The monster raised its head, blood frothing in its mouth. It roared, sound shaking the broken plaza, and All Might moved.
One step and the ground split beneath him. Another, and he became a blur of gold and muscle. Nomu lunged to meet him, two predators colliding at full speed.
Their fists slammed together, and the world buckled.
The air warped, the shockwave ripping dust and shattered stone outward in violent rings. Windows cracked, debris scattered, and the students cried out as they shielded their eyes. The impact rattled bone.
All Might's jaw set as he pushed forward. The Nomu staggered, boots grinding furrows into the ground as it slid back two steps. For the first time since it had appeared, the monster yielded ground.
Aizawa's eyes narrowed, blood tears running down his cheeks. His scarf quivered in the hot wind of the impact, but he refused to falter. His body shook, knees threatening to give, but he held.
If I blink, it heals. If I blink, it kills him.
The mantra looped. His vision blurred, but he forced it steady. His sacrifice kept the Nomu tethered to its wounds.
All Might roared, fists raining down like meteors. Nomu swung back, its massive arms carving through the air. The plaza quaked with each impact, shockwaves rattling the stone and glass.
The students could only stare.
Bakugo spat blood, muttering, "Damn bastard's a tank…" His voice was half awe, half rage.
Todoroki's gaze sharpened, expression unreadable. He said nothing, but the weight of what he was seeing pressed into silence—the overwhelming gap between them and the No. 1 Hero.
The Nomu roared again, a guttural scream of refusal, and lunged. Its claws caught All Might across the jaw.
For the first time, the Symbol of Peace staggered. He skidded across the plaza, boots tearing a trail through the stone until he dug his heels in and stopped. Dust billowed.
Blood smeared his lip. He wiped it with the back of his hand.
The students froze, dread curling in their stomachs. Seeing All Might bleed felt wrong, terrifying, like watching a mountain crack.
And then he grinned.
Not a strained smile. Not forced. His teeth flashed, sharp and sure.
"Because I am here!"
The words tore through the plaza louder than the monster's roar.
All Might surged forward, golden blur in the haze, feinting high before slamming low. His shoulder rammed into Nomu's gut, lifting the beast off its feet before crashing it into the cracked earth.
The ground split, rubble flying, a crater blooming under their weight.
Nomu wheezed, chest caving under the strike. Its roar faltered into a grunt of pain.
All Might didn't let up. His fists pummeled down, each one carrying the weight of cities, of a hero who bore a nation on his shoulders.
Nomu twitched, clawing its way up from the crater, muscles spasming, refusing death. Its roar cracked through the dome, primal and desperate.
Aizawa's eyes burned. His vision blurred into double images, his body crying out, but he snarled. "Not… yet." His quirk held.
All Might's fist blazed through the dust.
With a final bellow, he drove his arm into the Nomu's chest. The strike shook the earth, ripping the air apart. The monster's body cratered deeper, stone shattering, dust exploding outward in a suffocating storm.
The Nomu twitched once, twice, then went still.
Silence fell for a heartbeat. The plaza was a graveyard of ruin.
Then came the sound of scratching. Nails against skin, frantic and violent.
Shigaraki stood at the far edge of the battlefield, hand trembling against his neck. His shoulders rose and fell in jagged rhythm, voice dripping venom.
"Nomu was supposed to kill All Might… supposed to end him…" His words cracked into a growl. "Useless… pathetic."
He turned, gaze snapping toward Harry's limp body. The faint red glow at the boy's scar reflected in Shigaraki's eyes. His lips curled into a snarl.
"We'll finish this later."
A shimmer rippled behind him, and Kurogiri's mist unfolded like a curtain. Shigaraki stepped back into the warp, body disappearing as his words echoed.
The villains vanished.
Dust rolled down in sheets, the world settling after chaos.
All Might stood tall in the center, chest heaving, body bloodied but unbroken. He scanned the plaza, his gaze firm, presence still unshaken.
Aizawa collapsed to one knee, eyes streaming, finally blinking after minutes of agony. His chest rose and fell with shallow gasps, but his quirk had done its work.
The students stared. Some in awe, some in fear, all in silence.
Bakugo clenched his fists so tight they bled. Todoroki's eyes glimmered with calculation. Iida's chest heaved with guilt and relief. Midoriya lay half-conscious, eyes wide at the sight of his idol, half terrified for the friend still unconscious beside him.
Harry lay pale, scar still faintly glowing red. His chest rose and fell, shallow but steady. Yet the glow felt wrong, a reminder that the fight had revealed something darker than any villain.
The silence grew heavy, the victory sharp but uneasy.
Because even as the students stared at their savior, their eyes kept drifting back to the boy on the ground, and the scar that wouldn't stop burning.