"Round two you 1-A bastard!"
The sound of explosions instantly made Izuku believe that Bakugo had changed his mind and was coming for him, but the shout dispelled this thought. Looking up he saw Monoma flying through the air, explosions coming out of his palms.
"Huh… it's like I thought, he copies the powers of those he touches." Izuku smiled, "Magicians."
Monoma's cocky smile vanished as dozens of massive fireballs filled his view. He held out his hand, using the Explosion Quirk to vault over them, right into Igris's path. Without the proper time or speed, Monoma was virtually helpless in front of the Shadow who slammed his fists down onto the student's back. As Monoma rocketed towards the ground, he saw that the Smokey had used his massive size and strength to launch Igris into the air.
"I've been watching that Quirk for years!" Monoma felt an invisible force punch his gut, stopping him midair for just a moment before he accelerated once more, "A newbie like you isn't gonna beat me with it!" He braced for a devastating uppercut as he fell towards Izuku, disorientated and bruised, but the moment never came.
A loud air horn filled sounded and Izuku allowed Monoma to crash to the ground on his own, making a Monoma-sized crater.
Igris landed next to his Liege moments later, disappearing into his Shadow alongside the rest of the army.
"And that's all for round one folks!" Midnight shouted, "Forty contestants have been eliminated! The other forty will move on!" Cracking her whip at the screen with the spinning wheel, "For our next bout, we will have the team battles!"
Izuku didn't even have to look around to notice people rushing to either him, Shoto, or Bakugo. Students like Shoji, Mina, Kamakiri, and another girl from 1-B, Setsuna, gathered around him.
"Hold your horses, everyone! Let's wait until the game is revealed before you start-" Midnight froze, in fact, just about everyone in the arena froze. It was a familiar feeling, maybe too familiar.
Izuku was the first to realize what it was, "It's Kurogir-" The air around him warped and the surrounding students were sucked inside a rapidly expanding Gate alongside him.
Midnight was knocked off her pedestal by the intense forces and the nearby students were sent soaring back, their backs slamming into the arena walls. Thankfully, Cementoss and Shoto were there to catch anyone who was tumbling just a little too fast.
"What is this?!" Kaminari screamed out.
"It's that Gate Villain!" Yaoyorozu shouted back as the wind pressure began dying down. She rushed forwards, intending to dive into the Gate after Izuku and the others, but she crashed into a rock solid wall of red energy.
"Again?" Dabi growled as he strutted onto the field, "I swear, that kid just can't escape these Red Gates." He shook his head, "Kyu! Old Man! All Might! Get down here! We're busting this thing open!"
"I don't take orders from you boy!" Endeavor shouted as the flames on his back cut off, dropping him to the ground, right alongside Ryukyu, who glided down on her wings, and All Might, who simply appeared next to them all without any warning.
"You brats better clear out!" Dabi warned, "Otherwise you might get squashed by the pressure."
As Midnight herded all the students away and Cementoss physically dragged Bakugo back, the four S-Ranks got ready. "We're not seriously going to hit this with all our strength are we?" Ryukyu asked, concerned for the wellbeing of the crowd.
"Unless you wanna be charged for the murder of… what… a couple hundred people, then yeah, hold back, but we still gotta try something."
"Oh? Now you're so concerned over this Midoriya. It wouldn't be bec-"
"I don't care about that kid, but I saw at least seven others get sucked in, none of them were above B-Rank."
"Who is this Izuku Midoriya?" All Might asked as he began putting off significantly less Mana than usual. "I saw him at the Entrance Exam and during the USJ, but I was… too distracted to get a full image of his Mana."
"He's just a stronger brat." Dabi spat, "Now can we actually coordinate this?"
While the four S-Ranks positioned themselves around the Red Gate, Cementoss was busy throwing barriers up around the stadium, shielding those who still decided to remain and witness the force of some of the world's strongest Heroes.
"Ready?!" All Might shouted, "NOW!"
Izuku groaned as he rubbed a sore spot on his head and sat up. "What the hell? I've never felt a Gate as turbulent as that before. It was like I was being slammed around in a small tunnel."
"Everyone okay?" He asked groggily, to which he received no response. He sat bolt upright and looked around, "Hello?" Izuku leapt to his feet as footsteps began to echo in the dark and dank caverns. The footsteps were not human and he knew that at the very least that Mina and Shoji were in here with him.
"Igris?" Izuku called upon his knight, "Wanna go meet our hosts?"
Igris nodded and dashed forwards, disappearing in the cavernous tunnel, Izuku strolling leisurely behind him. But knowing Red Gates, Izuku shouldn't have acted so calm. Moments later, Igris came flying back down the tunnel at head height, forcing Izuku to duck under his ravaged body.
"Huh…" Izuku straightened up, seeing that the enemy stomping down the tunnel were none other than High Orcs. They were highly intelligent Villains, equipped with bodies that could flatten buildings.
The lead Orc looked like it was about to open its mouth, so Izuku reacted accordingly.
[Skill: Sprint Lv. 3 has Activated.]
The Villain's eyes caught up just in time to see Izuku slash through his neck with the Angel's Demonic Wing.
[You have Leveled Up!]
"Looks like you guys will provide plenty of experience," Izuku said, letting the sword rest against his shoulder as he retreated back to Igris and gave him a hand up. "I'm not a huge fan of these types of swords, but since I'm missing my good old gauntlets, it'll have to do."
The Orcs growled as Igris stood, the energy radiating from him now on an entirely different level. Izuku smiled, "Looks like you've finally reached Level 30, Igris. Rank-up, Elite Knight Grade." A silent roar escaped Igris as his body spasmed for a few moments and his Mana grew exponentially.
"Well, now that we're ready, how about we call the others?" The Orcs' eyes grew even wider as Hyo, Smokey, Tank, and at least fifty other Shadows appeared behind the sword wielding Izuku, "I don't see any Gate around here, so I guess I'll just have to fight my way through this place."
[Skill: Bloodlust has Activated. All of the enemies Stats will decrease by 50%]
The beasts took a momentary step back, but like the monsters they were, they only had one desire, to kill all humans. With a fervent and anxious roar they charged forwards, intending to fulfill their purpose. Too bad for them… they'd never meet their life's goal.
Uraraka, Shoji, Setsuna, Mineta, Mina, Kamakiri, and Tooru were the unlucky seven to be pulled into the Red Gate with Izuku. They were even unluckier to be separated from him upon being spit out from the portal.
Mineta was the first up, pounding on the solid energy like a mime trapped inside an invisible box. "Help us!"
"Hey squirt!" Kamakiri shouted, "It's a Red Gate!"
"I know!"
"So then stop freaking out!"
"How can I not freak out!"
Shoji rested a hand on Mineta's shoulder, "We only survive this by calming down and focusing on the path ahead of us."
Mineta trembled a few moments longer, but the severe glare in Kamakiri and Shoji's eyes somehow managed to calm him down.
"Speaking about the path ahead of us," Setsuna pointed forwards, the dark tunnel in front of them alight with the red glow of several pairs of eyes.
"Dungeon Jackals!" Uraraka exclaimed.
Shoji, Kamakiri, and Mina were the first to leap into battle. In reality, only Mina and Kamakiri could be classified as combat types among their group, but Shoji had the strength to back up his insane senses.
"Come on!" Tooru called out, turning herself invisible and running to help her classmates, "Dungeon Jackals are only C-Rank!"
It sounded like an absolute blessing. It would be a struggle for seven B-Ranks to beat what was presumably a B-Rank Dungeon, but with Mineta's super strong support Quirk and the rest of them working together, they could handle it no problem.
Their spirits continued to lift as the Villain numbers were steadily thinned. The dog-like Villains were fast, but predictable and within no time, they were all dead.
"Phew, I was worried this Dungeon might have been harder, but if it's just C-Rank… then…" Setsuna trailed off, her eyes unable to comprehend the sight.
Before anyone even had the chance to notice, four dozen High Orcs had appeared in the tunnel's path. They stood with an ugly menace, their guttural language being passed back and forth as they stared down the humans.
"N-No way…"
"This many Orcs… those Jackals… they weren't the real threat… they were just pets."
Shoji held back Kamakiri, who looked like he was about to break and charge them, "We'll only die! They're A-Ranks!"
"Hu…mans…" One of the Orcs growled, his mouth twisted into an unnatural shape as he forced out the unfamiliar syllables. "I am… Kargalgan… I wish to… meet with you… humans."
"What?" Shoji had heard of plenty of talking Villains before, but he'd never heard of ones that wanted to parlay. "Are you the one who created the Red Gate, Kargalgan?"
"...No. Those you speak of… they are the others… the true Monarchs of our realms."
"Monarchs?"
"Enough… come with my men… or die."
"Shoji… you can't seriously be considering this!" Suddenly, it seemed that Shoji had become their leader. "If we fight them here and win then we can wait out the Red Gate's timer!"
"You are… seven… you are… weak… my men… fifty… strong… die by my men's hands… or follow them."
Shoji sighed heavily, knowing that there was nothing else he could do, "We'll follow."
As they began trailing behind the massive and imposing Orc forces, another clash was happening far deeper in the Dungeon, and at the center of its clash was a single teenager, whose Level was climbing at a rapid pace.
Thanks for reading! Sorry it took so long to get this latest Chapter out! Homework has been kicking my ass and I also recently started another fic, a I Am Number Four/MHA crossover named My Legacy, so go check that out! I'll probably get out another chapter of this fic before I begin work on another chapter for My Legacy though, so keep an eye out for it! See you next time!
And don't forget, I've got a discord server for everyone to hang out on! discord . gg/DeFqz5F (Sorry about the spaces, Fanfiction doesn't really like links!)