The fight continued. This time, I didn't wait. I charged at him, appearing directly in front of him in an instant. Stain attempted to attack, but I caught his movement and parried his blade aside.
"Fast," Stain said.
"I could say the same about you."
He tried to strike me again. I dodded and immediately attempted to get behind him, but Stain anticipated my move. He spun around almost simultaneously with me, his blade whistling right past my shoulder.
I stepped back.
Now this was getting interesting.
Stain wasn't stronger than me. I realized that right away. But his experience was on a completely different level. Every single movement of his had a purpose, and he didn't waste a second doing anything unnecessary.
"Mephisto," Midoriya called out behind me.
"What?"
"He's waiting for you to make a mistake."
"I noticed."
Stain charged forward again. This time, I let him get closer. I parried his strike with my hand and intended to hit back with the other, but instead of retreating, Stain spun around and used my momentum against me.
He caught me in the side. It wasn't a heavy blow, but it was enough to force me to step back. We charged at each other again, this time with me increasing my speed. The shadows began to swirl around me, and within seconds, we exchanged a rapid flurry of attacks. Stain managed to dodge most of them, but he was gradually losing ground.
Todoroki seized the moment. "Now!" Ice spread across the ground, forcing Stain to leap back, and I appeared right in front of him. "You have a problem," I told him with a smirk.
Stain merely smiled. "So do you." In the next instant, he whirled toward me, his tongue touching the blood left on his weapon.
I snapped to alertness. So that's it. "Mephisto!" Midoriya shouted as Stain moved. I was prepared to dodge, but for a split second, I miscalculated his direction.
His blade grazed my arm. Nothing serious, but it was enough. Stain licked the blood from the blade. And I felt my body freeze up in an instant.
"There." Stain stopped. "Now don't move." I went completely rigid.
Stain slowly approached me. Midoriya charged in immediately. "I won't let you—" Stain turned and forced him back with a single move. Todoroki tried to strike, but Stain evaded his attack as well.
Iida attempted to pull himself up.
"Midoriya..."
"Iida, stay down!"
Stain turned back to me. "Now you understand." I couldn't move. I could only stare at him. Options raced through my mind. I had forgotten his Quirk worked through blood—how could I mess this up so badly?
"I have to admit," I said calmly, "I underestimated this."
Stain raised his weapon. "That will be your last mistake."
Just then, Todoroki's voice echoed behind him. "Not a chance."
Stain turned. The ice forced him to shift his direction again, but Stain knew exactly what to do.
He dodged the attack and closed the distance straight to Todoroki.
"Todoroki!" Midoriya tried to stop him.
Stain knocked him aside. The situation spiraled out of control in seconds. And I still couldn't move a single muscle. "I really don't like this," I muttered to myself.
Stain was about to attack Midoriya. "Igris, arise." Black matter spread across the ground, and a tall figure in armor stepped out from it. His sword appeared in his hand almost instantaneously.
Stain stopped dead in his tracks. "What..."
Igris took a single step forward and then attacked. Stain barely managed to parry the strike in time.
"Mephisto," Midoriya uttered in astonishment. "Just a little help." Igris positioned himself in front of me and continued the fight without a single word. Stain attempted a side attack, but Igris blocked it with his sword. Sparks briefly illuminated the alley.
I slowly tried to flex my fingers. The paralysis was beginning to fade. "Just keep him busy for a moment." Igris immediately pushed Stain back. This time, Stain was the one with a problem.
Even though he was fast and experienced, he couldn't fight Igris the same way he fought us. Every single attack of his was stopped, and every counterattack forced him to retreat.
After several more exchanges, Stain leapt backward. He looked at Igris, then at me as I slowly stood back up. The paralysis had worn off. "Thanks, Igris." Igris glanced at me briefly and then leveled his sword at Stain once more.
"Now then, we can continue." Stain gripped his weapon tightly. Except this time, he wasn't facing a single opponent anymore.
There were two of us. And behind us stood three students who, despite their exhaustion, were still trying to prepare for another attack. Stain looked at everyone.
"Heroes..." His expression shifted. "All of you are so stubborn."
"That's one thing we have in common." I lunged forward.
Igris attacked simultaneously from the other side. Stain tried to find a way between us, but this time he had no room to maneuver. I caught his movement, and Igris immediately cut off his escape route.
"Now!" Todoroki used his ice instantly. Stain leapt back, but Midoriya appeared from the other side. "Detroit..." Stain tried to dodge him, but I stopped him. "Not a chance." The impact knocked him aside.
Stain hit the ground and remained motionless for a moment. Sirens were wailing all around us now. This time, professional heroes were closing in fast.
I looked at Igris. "That's enough." Igris retreated immediately. Stain tried to pull himself up, but Todoroki blocked his path with ice once more.
Midoriya remained standing next to Iida. And I looked around at everyone. The fight was over. "Well," I sighed, "so much for my last day of internship."
Midoriya looked at me, while Todoroki offered a faint smile. "You're going to have a lot of explaining to do." I looked toward the direction of the sirens, a single thought flashing through my mind. Yeah. Main thing I'll have to explain to Hawks is why I completely vanished during his patrol.