My Hero Academia: Son of Justice

by Jayme F. Midorikawa

The son of the disgraced former greatest Hero of The Soviet Union is extended a chance at a new life by the Symbol of Peace, All Might. After having lived so long resenting Heroes and Villains, and being scared to death of his own Quirk, will he be able to step forward and become the Hero he once dreamed of, and will he be able to find new purpose through friendship, or even love?

81. Hokkaido Arc Part 16 - Squire to Knight

Hello again, everyone. The Hokkaido Arc's climax continues ever, ever onward. I hope you're all continuing to enjoy reading through it, seeing all of your favorite Heroes get their times to shine, and the backstory they've long since deserved where needed. I'm slowly but surely reaching the end of it, with many more exciting future plans to steam from it as we go forward, and I hope you'll all continue to experience it all the way through alongside me with just as much excitement.

I'd like to give another thankful shout-out to all my beta readers, consultants and contributing artists: Mizu, Jonny, Syyndev, Akane Kahomi and SukiChan2509. And I'd like to once more extend my gratitude to all of you for your continued patronage and readership, and hope to one day hear from any one of you, what you think of this story as a whole, or even just a chapter in particular. I do this for all of you just as much as for myself.

My Hero Academia is the property of Kouhei Horikoshi and Shonen Jump. I only own my original characters and the original events surrounding them.

A/N: [[]] indicates that characters are contextually speaking Russian.

Chapter 82

Squires to Knights

(Оруженосцы Рыцарям)

The sensation of flying weightlessly through the air as a result of Whiteout's assistance was indescribable for Knightfall, Tenya and Tetsutetsu as they all three made a mid-air beeline for the ever-approaching hospital on the cliff side next to Gagaringrad. Tenya tried his best to utilize both the tailpipes on his legs and arms together to try and control the trajectory of himself and his fellow intern and their teacher, especially when they could all begin to see the tiny visages of the large Serbian, Ljubomir, with his large cannon-like arms, with the single sight of an older man strapped to a wheelchair sitting motionless mere feet from him.

[[Who's that other guy on the roof? You think it could be another soldier we don't know about?]] Tetsutetsu immediately asked, the edge in his voice all but itching for another battle to start.

At the same time, Tenya was much more pensive under his helmet. [[With those restraints, I don't think so. Let's not forget, those two soldiers at the hospital said their leader was among the people being kept prisoner here.]]

Given what information the Heroes had all been given before coming here, and with what they were seeing now before them, it was only natural to assume this to be the leader of the covert soldiers, whom they referred to as Konstantin Khodamchuk.

However, even as the three Heroes were making their approach as gravity began to take hold once more, Ljubomir himself could already begin to make them out in the sky, and with deadly focus, aimed his cannons up at them and opened fire with a two-arm mortar barrage, sending multiple fiery projectiles whistling right for them. [[EAT THIS, YOU DAMN PESTS!]]

[[BRACE YOURSELVES, YOU TWO!]] Knightfall ordered his two interns the moment the sound of cannon fire reached them, with Tenya and Tetsutetsu already seeing the explosive rounds heading their way.

Focusing his Quirk to his hands from his head, Knightfall focused on drawing in the largest sources of solid stone he could reach on such immediate notice. Within seconds, with a roar of water managing to break through the artillery whistling and air friction, the Asteroid Hero was managing to pull up, and from there hurriedly draw in a multitude of large boulders from the ocean floor. However, even with the speed with which they were flying in now that they were out of the water, with the Heroes' trajectory and speed in relation to Ljubomir's counter-attack, it was going to be way too close.

BKOO-BKOO-BKOOM!

And too close it indeed was, as the rocks managed to fly directly in front of the trio as a shield just a split second before impact; the shockwave of the blast itself alongside the heat proving powerful enough, but the resultant scattering of rock pieces proving just detrimental enough to break their mid-air momentum, sending all three of them plummeting down into the waiting foliage of the trees below; their respective armor and Quirks keeping them from worse injury than considerable bruising and ringing heads.

From atop the roof, Ljubomir came rushing to the edge, having watched their crash landing from start to finish, and already lining up his cannon arms for their landing spot: [[You assholes aren't getting off that easy!]]

His voice came echoing down to the three Heroes, thankfully loud and clear enough to let them know to start moving, just before another barrage of whistling rounds came raining down right on their heels, blasting away multiple trees and showing them in wood chunks, rocks and dirt; the forest proving too dense and uneven for Tenya to move them all further with another Recipro Burst.

Ljubomir's rate of fire was unceasing as he continued carving more and more fiery blast craters into the woods along the face of the hill, before eventually taking the next logical step and, following their on-foot trajectory, firing directly where they would be going, thus forcing them to scatter out of their cluster in order to avoid getting taken out all at once.

[[This is clearly little more than a standoff! I wouldn't be surprised if Pietro is getting ready to set sail and remove the prisoners from the basement to take along as collateral! We can't let that happen!]] Knightfall ultimately theorized loud enough for Tenya and Tetsutetsu to hear, just as they all finally emerged out into the open from the edge of the woods, keeping themselves close to the wall lining the courtyard so as to stay as much out of Ljubomir's line of sight as possible.

[[As long as he continues firing on us from up there, however, we won't have a chance to get inside and stop him!]] Tenya countered, rushing in to grab Tetsutetsu just before another round blew a hole into the wall just where he'd been running to.

[[Then one of us needs to serve as a distraction for that asshole! Get me up there and I'll make him sorry, Iida-san!]] Tetsutetsu aggressively suggested the moment he was back on his own feet again, just as Knightfall pried out another boulder from deep within the ground to block off another shot flying for Tenya.

[[His Quirk is too powerful for either of you two to take on alone, and neither will I allow you to put yourselves in harm's way when there's a far more important objective to be fulfilled! Your size and speed compared to mine gives you a greater advantage in indoor combat, and a Hero's duty is always to protect and save civilians first and foremost. That is why I am entrusting that task I entrust to you, Ingenium-kun, Real Steel-kun. I know you both can pull it off.]]

The moment Knightfall made his intentions clear, he was already producing several more large stones from the ground beneath his own feet, creating a towering stone column that hurriedly propelled him up to the roof, with the summoned stone rubble of the courtyard walls serving as makeshift shields against every shot Ljubomir could fire at him; each one growing in power the closer the Pro Hero got.

All the while, realizing the responsibility they were being entrusted with, Tenya and Tetsutetsu exchanged serious agreeing nods before darting for the now-visible front door to the hospital, with the latter already donning his Iron skin again in case of further gunmen waiting within the windows up the face of the building.

Up on the roof, realizing his attacks were still being blocked, Ljubomir was ultimately forced to jump back just as Knightfall leaped from his stone spire and landed before him, standing just as tall and mighty as he did back in the train tunnel a mere day ago. As the stone-armored Hero stood before his Serbian opponent; his studious eyes went right past his shoulder to the sight of the smaller and older man within the wheelchair at the other end of the roof.

With the utmost confidence and professional air, Knightfall directly addressed the man in question: [[I'm to naturally assume you are the prisoner known as Konstantin Khodamchuk? Two of your men informed my allies and I about you, and the circumstances we're currently facing. Rest assured, however, that on my word as a Hero, we will see you, your last remaining man, and all the people being kept prisoner here, to safety…and the Villains responsible will face their due consequences.]]

Konstantin was momentarily stricken speechless by the fact that not only were two of his men still alive after they had been taken away, but that they had likewise given even the tiniest bit of assistance to the Heroes now trying to put a stop to Pietro's schemes this very moment. However, before he could even say anything, let alone expressing thanks; Ljubomir aggressively stepped in between, taking a stance that could only ever have been for close-quarters combat: [[Good luck with that, old man! You're gonna have to get through me to do that, and I'm ten times stronger than I was the last time, and you could barely stand up to me then as it was. Besides, we're already taking care of those three traitors ourselves.]]

There was no time for Knightfall to even feel the dread of what Ljubomir was suggesting; for the moment having no idea how they could possibly get one of their own outside the water wall without the presiding authorities noticing and informing the Heroes at that moment. There was no time, because the moment Ljubomir even noticed a single flinch in reaction from the Hero, he had one arm aimed from his hip and firing with a speed befitting a gunslinger.

Knightfall barely had the time to even get his stone-armored arms up over his midsection to take the brunt of the blast, dragging backwards on his feet by a couple yards, before Ljubomir had his other arm aimed and firing. This time, Knightfall reacted by dipping his body to the left, swinging his right arm outwards as the stone debris all around hurriedly gathered to form the smallest shield for the round to bounce off of, just before detonating at his side, forcing him that much further forward towards his opponent.

And Ljubomir was more than ready for this, as he already re-hinged his left hand to his wrist and came jumping in with a devastating haymaker to Knightfall's head; the Hero's stone helmet thankfully mitigating the majority of the damage, but even with the unmistakable sound of several of the Serb's bones in his fist breaking, he was showing no sign of being even slightly debilitated, even as Knightfall swept his attacking arm aside and immediately followed through with a sharp jab to Ljubomir's face, fully connecting, but showing no sign of having actually hurt him to an extent.

[[So it really is true, that Valera boy must've resurrected you just like your leader. No wonder your tolerance for pain is so high.]] Knightfall muttered in realization, as he and Ljubomir proceeded to start ducking, swerving, throwing and taking punches and knees from one another on a repeating rhythm, both powerhouses absolutely going at it, with Ljubomir's bleeding wounds still showing no sign of slowing him down; just as much as Knightfall continued to fight, even as the numerous insane punches began to make even the smallest spreading cracks throughout his armor; ultimately forcing him to start recalling the stone armor on his biceps down to his fists in order to add that much more power to his punches.

As long as he could keep his assault going and stop Ljubomir from bringing the fight anywhere close to Konstantin, then any injury he would have to take in the process would be worth it. The fact his young opponent was quick-witted enough to try popping off cheap shots with his Quirk even in such close quarters, pretty much made the threat of major injury an all-but 100 percent guarantee.

[[You're pretty quick and tough for such an old brick shithouse, I'll give you that much! But you not wanting to get an asshole like him caught in the crossfire will always make you Heroes weak! We and our commander are guided by a much higher purpose, and that makes us free!]] Ljubomir taunted just before ducking and swerving underneath a left hook Knightfall threw, swerving to the Hero's momentary blindside quick enough to dislodge his left hand from his wrist again, by this time having already been charging up in secret, and planting the barrel right up against his momentarily unprotected bicep point-blank.

BKOOM!

The ensuing explosion's heat rippled all across the roof with enough wind power to nearly tip Konstantin over in his wheelchair, while Knightfall was sent tumbling across the opposite end, with Ljubomir grinning sadistically as he stood tall and strong over the veteran Pro.

As the smoke cleared, the initial confusion Knightfall had been hit with quickly gave way to a trembling form of shock when he looked to the Serbian, ready to get right back up and bring the fight with him again…before suddenly realizing that the left arm he was trying to bring up to form another shield was nowhere to be seen. Looking inward towards his shoulder, the Asteroid Hero's eyes visibly went wide, even from within the eye slit of his helmet, as he was met with a smoking stump just below his left shoulder.

The sight of Knightfall visibly trembling as the shock finally kicked in was a sight that couldn't help but make Ljubomir laugh. [[You see?! Not so tough without all your digits to help you out, are you? If you can't focus solely on beating your opponent and burden yourself with the well-being of meat shields like these, you're just begging to get taken down. The fact you're all risking your lives for someone who would happily see everyone like you and me dead without a second thought is what blows me away.]]

WRAM!

Ljubomir's continuous taunting as he approached his fallen target had left him momentarily open, as Knightfall had brute-forced his way through the now-registering pain of his lost arm just enough to where he could send some of the stone rubble of his destroyed limb's armor flying like a cannonball straight into his enemy's lower back, causing him to fold considerably and come crashing face first to the ground. If he wasn't genuinely hurt, then he was at least stunned, and that was all Knightfall needed to hopefully put this fight to an end.

Unfortunately, Ljubomir couldn't be caught off-guard for long before he started barrel-rolling himself further and further back from every punch and stomp Knightfall was starting to send his way, before finally blasting himself away and back onto his feet, using one of his cannons to blow a hole into the roof in the process.

Knightfall wasn't going to give him the chance to recuperate or try any other backhanded tricks, though, as he came rushing in and planted a furious right hook straight into the Serb's left ribs, knocking the wind out of him just long enough to send a devastating left knee right into his sternum. [[You can mock Heroes all you want, young man, but it doesn't change a thing about who I really am, who we all truly are! A Hero who fights only for himself, and not for the well-being of all others, can hardly be called a Hero at all! Knights were some of the earliest examples of Heroes, and they stood for chivalry, for the protection of all they knew was right, and that's exactly the kind of Hero I've always dedicated myself to being! A trigger-happy sociopath like you, and a deceptive tyrant like your commander, will never do anything to break our spirits; for our spirits are just like our codes of upholding true justice: unbreakable!]]

With nearly every statement, even when Ljubomir was beginning to try throwing retaliatory punches or dodges from every strike thrown his way; Knightfall's righteous fury was only continuing to grow more and more in intensity, with his lucky hits bringing a power to match. It was honestly enough to where, even in his resurrected state, Knightfall could visibly see exhaustion and pain starting to reflect in his razor-sharp eyes.

BKOOM!

Just as he'd gotten Ljubomir's back to the nearest wall, Knightfall's face had suddenly been met with an instant eruption of concussive power and heat from down below, knocking him right off his feet and bouncing head over bottom before nearly crashing through the edge of the roof and down to the ground below, only just stopping short of doing so by sheer luck.

[[Man…I didn't think anyone was gonna be able to make me feel pain again…looks like I owe you a lot more credit, gramps.]] Ljubomir's voice initially came in muddied, but it didn't take long before Knightfall could make out the distinctly condescending form of respect he was pretending to put on, as he actually extended a hand his way. [[I would ask if you're good for another round…but it looks like you don't have a leg to stand on, regardless.]]

Just like before, a once-numbed wave of new pain came rushing furiously up Knightfall's body and directly into his brain, as no matter how much he tried to will himself to get back up, his body simply wouldn't; his legs wouldn't obey.

And that was when he was finally able to lift his head just enough to where he could see both his legs, even in their fully stone-armored state, had been blown clean off at the knees, as though they had both stepped directly on their own respective land mines. It then became all too clear that he had let himself become consumed with tunnel vision when expressing his Hero's ideals; thus allowing Ljubomir to prepare a low shot for his legs once he'd gotten himself backed up against the wall.

Already, the Serbian soldier had both his cannons leveled at Knightfall's head; his narrow purple eyes reflecting pure malice. [[You put up a hell of a fight…I wouldn't blame you for bowing out now. Go out with some dignity while you still can, Hero.]]

K-KRAK!

A fastball of a medium-sized rock came zipping in from behind Ljubomir's back, slamming straight across the back of his head, knocking him off focus just enough for a whole flurry of scattered stone pieces and rocks to come rushing in and pelting him all over; not only distracting him from finishing off his valiant opponent; to his ever-increasing fury, but also ultimately gathering themselves around Knightfall's body enough to lift him back up; swirling about from underneath his now-missing legs fast enough to literally keep him levitating on two makeshift backup legs. [[It's not dignity that matters most…it's courage to fight evil to one's last breath.]]

Of course, even as he could still say this, there was no denying that the pain from these, some of the worst injuries he'd sustained in his career thus far, was mounting, and there was no telling how much longer he would be able to keep going before losing consciousness. Taking Ljubomir down beforehand was utterly paramount at this point.

---

From the moment Knightfall had launched himself up for the roof of the hospital, Tenya and Tetsutetsu had all but plowed their way through the front door, hearts racing in preparation for another fight; still surprised they hadn't been fired upon from even one potential gunman in the windows overlooking the courtyard.

Upon realizing the lobby was similarly empty, their eyes both settled on the nearest door nestled in the farther corner, with Tetsutetsu already rushing for it. [[That girl said the way to the basement was a door in the lobby, that's gotta be it! C'mon, Iida-san!]]

Just as he was about to reach the handle, he realized Tenya wasn't right on his back, and thus instinctively looked back to see the Class A president was instead focusing on the continuing hallways leading further into the hospital. [[Sensei suggested Pietro may be trying to make an escape; we can't let that happen, and if we both focus on the basement, it could give him a chance to slip away behind our backs.

[[Your Quirk gives you far more physical strength, Tetsutetsu-san. If you focus on getting the prisoners out of their cells, I can investigate the rest of the hospital for Pietro, that doctor Alyosha Mikhalkov, or most importantly Giver-san and Valera-kun. My ear protection is still holding firm as well. How about you?]]

The moment Tetsutetsu confirmed his own protection against Pietro's Quirk was still holding up, as well as clearly showing understanding for his partner's idea; Tenya took off into a mad dash into the heart of the hospital, while the Iron-skinned boy practically tore the basement door off its hinges, clutching it like a shield in preparation for another waiting bout of gunfire, only for such a thing to never come, and thus encouraging him to come racing down.

By the time he reached the bottom of the stairs, he could already hear the numerous resonating voices of people within the heavy steel doors lining the only hallway left. Wasting no time, Tetsutetsu began slamming his Iron fists against the handles, the hinges, whatever he could reach the quickest, rushing in and smashing the restraints on the people inside; ultimately hurriedly making his way from one cell door to the next, with about one third of the cells proving to be empty.

Once he reached the second-to-final door at the end of the hall and smashed the handle off, prying it open; he was met with a sweltering wave of intense heat that sure as hell wasn't in all the other cells. Without hesitation he rushed in, looked for the first sign of cables running from the heat lamp upon the ceiling; ultimately tracking it to a small fuse box nestled against the ceiling in the hall.

Once he smashed it with his fist, the hum of the lamps finally died, already resulting in cries of immense relief from the adult man and woman laying half-melted inside; whom Tetsutetsu could already tell were starting to solidify and reconfigure themselves again, undoubtedly proving themselves to be Maja's parents, just like in her recounting.

[[Who the hell are you, young man?]] Tetsutetsu was momentarily caught off guard that any one of the adult prisoners had actually stuck around instead of just making a break for freedom like he'd expected; instead finding whom he could only assume to be the parents of all of Pietro's soldiers and Maja's brainwashed friends, looking to him imploringly for answers after having been kept down here for what sounded like months.

However, knowing that the clock was still ever ticking onward, and not knowing just how much helped Tenya or Knightfall ultimately needed; his answer was as concise and professional as he could make it: [[It's okay, I'm a Hero student from Yuuei Academy; I'm here with several others who've been interning with the local Pros up here. We've found out what that Pietro guy has been doing up here, and we're all here to help you and everyone in town, and to stop him!]]

[[What about our children?!]] One of the mothers amid the crowd suddenly asked, immediately spurring a cacophony of similar declarations from the rest of the parents, all demanding answers in regards to their captive kids, with Maja's parents finally stepping back out into the hall on their own feet again.

[[That's right; that madman abducted our daughter and brainwashed all of our children into his soldiers! What are you Heroes doing for them?]] Without even missing a beat, another, much younger, pair of adult voices suddenly spoke up from within the crowd: [[Those maniacs kidnapped our son Valera and have been using him like a guinea pig! Have your friends managed to get him back at least?!]]

Tetsutetsu could feel his stomach twist and his heart start to pound from the pressure of being all these people's only source for answers. Simply using his brawn to rescue people and fight was a lot easier than this, but there was no way in hell he was going to just not say something; that was just the Heroic thing to do. And so, with a steadying breath, he went with the only answer he could honestly give: [[My partners have been managing to help subdue all of his soldiers…your kids included, without hurting them, don't worry. As for your son, Valera-kun; my partner is searching the hospital for him as we speak. Rest assured, we aren't going to stop until we bring all of this to an end, and all your kids are brought back to you safe. And as for your daughter, Maja-san; she's managed to get free from that Pietro guy's Quirk. She was the one who helped us learn about everything that's been happening here. She's safe and sound far away from here, I promise. Right now, I need to get you all to someplace safe from the fighting, alright?]]

While he could definitely tell some of the adults were less than enthused to know their children were involved in a full-blown conflict like what he'd described; Tetsutetsu could still see that at least his attempt at professionalism was resonating with them, as nobody was telling him to go to hell or accusing him of giving meaningless platitudes, at least for now. To nobody's surprise, the parents of Valera looked to be the most distraught to know their child hadn't been recovered yet. By comparison, Maja's parents both looked immensely grateful to know their daughter was safe and seemingly back to normal.

As the parents all began to make their way for the exit to the lobby, Tetsutetsu turned his attention to the final door of the basement, smashing its hinges away and prying the door open. Based on what Maja had described, it sounded like the crew for the gunboat that had been hijacked would be held in here. And better yet, if they were still here, then that would mean Pietro and most likely Valera, the Giver and the doctor Alyosha Mikhalkov wouldn't have left yet. With any luck, Tenya would have already come across them by now, and at least was holding them off right now.

However, all of that hope went right out the window when Tetsutetsu looked inside the final cell, and was instead met with nothing more than a flickering fluorescent lamp hanging over four empty walls and a roof. The whole crew for the gunboat was gone without a trace…and with them; he could only naturally assume that meant Pietro, Alyosha, The Giver and Valera were already gone from here by now, too.

Now he could only hope that they weren't in fact far too late, and the madman hadn't already long since set sail with that boat and the submarine. If not, then not only was their whole mission here effectively rendered all for not, but the future consequences were more dire than words could do justice for now.

As he began to turn to guide all of the freed parents out of the basement, Tetsutetsu came to an immediate stop at the sight of a single young adult man in black now standing at the foot of the stairs ahead, with dark hair and a mustache, and eyes he could already feel were radiating a vicious intensity as he stared them all down.

However, the recollection of what all his fellow interns had described all of Pietro's closest soldiers looked like, ultimately came a split second too late, as the moment Tetsutetsu got his arms up and over his eyes to protect himself; the newly arrived enemy he now connected to be the one called Hristofor Stoyanov suddenly emitted an all-consuming wave of pitch blackness directly from out of his eyes, sucking away all visible sight for every single person in the basement hallway all at once, leaving them all utterly blinded and standing in what felt like an infinite void, even if they could still feel the floor beneath their feet and the walls at their fingertips. Their disorientation was still absolute.

This was what The Giver's Quirk was able to do for Hristofor's. Now, not only was he able to take away the sight of multiple people at once, but now he didn't even need direct eye contact in order to suck away all visible rays of light in any given area he was aiming at. Even for anyone looking from the outside, it would have looked like he had turned whatever area he chose into a pitch black void.

Of course, he was still able to see them clear as day, as he pulled the strap off from over his shoulder, connected to a heavy-duty pump-action shotgun; the KA-CHIK of its slide instinctively forcing many of the adults ahead to dive down in a panic, while Tetsutetsu was already donning his Iron skin again on kneejerk reflex.

BKOOM!

The resounding gunshot that echoed deafeningly up and down the narrow hall coincided with a slamming blow of pure buckshot driving straight into Tetsutetsu's arms and stomach, knocking him off his feet and back-first into the wall.

Pumping another round into the chamber, Hristofor began to close the distance between himself and Tetsutetsu; moving light on his feet around all the huddled adults; not nearly surprised to see them unable to fight back after having been kept imprisoned for so long.

[[If even one of you damn Heroes was able to make it this far already, then that must mean the rest of my comrades have already failed…including her, right? You and your goddamn friends went and put her down with the rest of them, didn't you?!]]

BKOOM!

Another resounding shotgun blast punctuated Hristofor's quickly growing anger at the thought of Eliška being beaten by a bunch of Heroes; hammering Tetsutetsu further back into the wall. The sound of the pump being slid back to chamber another round actually emboldened the Class B hothead to try rushing the opponent that sounded to still be directly in front of him.

However, Hristofor's home field advantage in the darkness allowed him to see his young enemy's impulsiveness coming from a mile away, and thereby sidestep Tetsutetsu with no effort, and even go the extra step of pulling out a magnum revolver from behind his waist and leveling the barrel point blank to the back of the boy's head. It didn't matter if his skin and hair was still currently coated in Iron; the sound and impact from this close would still hurt like hell, which was satisfying enough on its own, as far as the enraged Bulgarian soldier was concerned.

BLAM!

The resounding gunshot that ricocheted off the back of Tetsutetsu's head still left his head ringing like a thousand bells at once, sending him crumpling onto his knees as he clutched his head to try and make it stop that much quicker; the disorientation shattering his focus and bringing his skin back to normal, while Hristofor simply leveled his pistol at his head once more.

However, the click of the hammer being pulled back managed to breach the ringing in the Hero intern's head, spurring him to launch his left leg back with as much strength as he could, hoping to at least kick one of Hristofor's legs out from under him.

His speed was definitely enough to catch Hristofor by surprise, as he was forced to leap back to avoid getting hit, but immediately after did he fire another round, this time for the small of Tetsutetsu's back. Fortunately, the fact his foot hadn't met anything had given the Class B boy all the warning he needed, as he'd already focused enough to get his Iron skin back, allowing the bullet to rebound off his back, and drive into the ceiling.

Of course, there was still no telling just how many more Iron injections those armbands Mei had given him were left. Tetsutetsu knew that time was not on his side, and somehow he needed to fight through this blindness and take Hristofor down before his Iron supply would completely run out and leave him utterly screwed.

With that urgency fresh in his head, Tetsutetsu practically leapt from his prone position on the floor, swiping his hand to knock Hristofor's gun off balance as he pulled the trigger again; the bullet ricocheting inside the nearest cell, but still being loud enough to spur several frightened screams from the rest of the huddled adults. That reaction left Tetsutetsu mentally chastising himself.

'Dammit, man, pay attention! Sensei would never forgive you if you got one of these civilians hurt trying to rush things! Don't let this asshole get a bead on them, no matter what!'

Tetsutetsu's maneuvers were becoming more focused and less reckless; but Hristofor wasn't letting that get him by surprise, as he kept popping off one shot after another into the Iron boy at point blank range; hammering into his stomach and, with the last round in his pistol, leaving a major crack and dent in the palm of his left hand when he tried to pry the gun away.

With the pistol used up, Hristofor tossed it aside and now found himself ducking and weaving away from and past every strike Tetsutetsu tried to throw his away; his ability to see in the void granting him an ever-increasing advantage. However, that still did nothing to extinguish his own growing rage at the boy's tenacity, as Tetsutetsu continued to power through another shotgun blast to his midsection that nearly knocked him onto his back.

[[I swear I can't stand you wannabe Hero brats! You grow up thinking that Heroes are just always gonna magically be there to solve all your problems, and go into the world thinking you'll be able to do the same! You have no idea how the real world works! You don't know what the rest of us, the people that actually once looked up to Heroes, had to go through; starving and cold in an orphanage, constantly having to remind ourselves and each other that one day, the Heroes would come and everything would be better! But then the Flash happens, and we get thrown out on a rail, even the youngest among us, just because we had Quirks! Then one day passes, then another, and another, and no matter how far you go, no matter how much you keep trying to reassure yourself through all the struggling, the Heroes never come, you're never saved, and the next thing you know, your friends are dying of the cold and hunger in the middle of the night, and all you're able to do is ask why the Heroes the adults always said would save you, never showed up, why the world that was supposed to welcome you turned you away! You kids live in a goddamn dream world, and it pisses me the hell off! Our commander took us in from the brink of death, and he's going to save the world for us like you piece of shit Heroes never could!]]

BKOOM! WRAM!

As Tetsutetsu's latest punch resonated against the steel frame of a cell's doorway, Hristofor immediately followed up with another point-blank shotgun blast to the Iron boy's ribs, slamming Tetsutetsu straight into the wall of the cell inside, only to then immediately afterward get the butt of the gun slammed straight into the bridge of his nose, bouncing his head off the stone wall with a resounding metallic ring, disorienting the boy while the Bulgarian continued: [[You getting the picture yet, you little brat?! If you ever wanna have a chance at surviving in the real world, you've only got yourself and your comrades to trust, not some lofty head-in-the-cloud ideologues like your precious Heroes! You're just setting yourselves up to eat shit and die otherwise, like you are right now!]]

BAM!

Just as his finger rested on the trigger and began to squeeze, Hristofor found himself getting tackled into the wall from behind with an increasing weight, forcing him to lose his focus and deactivate his Quirk, returning sight to the whole of the basement just in time to reveal nearly all of the parents having bum-rushed the Bulgarian after following the sounds of his movements; their fear having now been replaced with determination. [[DON'T YOU TOUCH THAT BOY, YOU SCUM! YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR TAKING OUR CHILDREN, YOU LITTLE BASTARD!]]

However, Hristofor's shock was quickly offset by an indignant rage as he managed to bring one of his legs up from underneath the weight, and kick them back just enough for him to level his shotgun's barrel at the face of the nearest of the parents to him, finger still on the trigger and the chamber loaded. [[GODDAMN YOU ALL!]]

BKOOM! WRAAAM!

The moment he'd been able to see Hristofor was leveling his gun at the shockingly courageous parents trying to intervene for his sake, Tetsutetsu's blood ignited like magma, sending him rushing in like an iron bullet, grabbing the barrel and even pulling it towards himself at the moment the trigger was finally squeezed, throwing himself further in the way to take the entirety of the blast in order to protect the whole crowd; their countless shocked gasps punctuating his act of pure valor in the heat of this battle.

Hristofor couldn't even pump the slide again before one of the adults further in the crowd suddenly swiped their arm in a chopping motion, creating a contained rush of wind that sliced his shotgun in half, leaving him wide-eyed with disbelief before Tetsutetsu grabbed and yanked him forward by the collar.

[[You've got some serious damn nerve to go lecturing me about having ideals when you can point a gun at civilians so easy like that, you hypocritical bastard! If that kind of cruelty is your idea of how to live in the real world, then I reject it with everything I am, you hear me?!]] Tetsutetsu's voice rang loud and clear in Hristofor's ears, as he threw the Bulgarian soldier right back against the wall he'd just been rung against, pinning him right up against it with a forearm to his neck, forcing him to look into the young Hero's beady pupils.

[[You think you sound so smart, high and mighty when insulting Heroes, acting like you know everything about the world?! You just sound pathetic, if you ask me! Ideals don't make us weak, they make us who we are, makes us all able to become Heroes! If you once believed in Heroes like you said, then you clearly had ideals of your own then, too! You could've easily stepped up and become the Hero you and your friends needed back then and you know it!]]

Despite the grip Tetsutetsu had on him, Hristofor was still refusing to give up the fight, hooking his arm and legs around his own, and using leverage to flip them both over into a rolling fight across the cell floor, with the Class B student refusing to release his hold as he continued: [[I follow my ideals to become the exact kind of Hero I want to be; the kind that can take all the heavy hits to protect those that can't! That's my ideal, what gives me courage! That's just who I am! But you threw the idea of you becoming a Hero, and your ideals away so easily, because you're a damn coward!]]

Through sheer luck and fortunate positioning, Hristofor was able to finally push his legs forward in a kick, sending Tetsutetsu off of himself, and buying enough time to finally draw out the small Makarov pistol tucked underneath his jacket, pulling the hammer back and lining up with the recovered student's head.

BLOOSH!

Only for a sudden whip of melted wax to come zipping in and wrangling itself right around Hristofor's wrist, pulling his arm this way and that just at the moment he let out his first three shots; all of them slamming into the walls harmlessly, and thus buying Tetsutetsu the chance he needed, as he all but sprang up from the floor and drove his Iron fist straight into the soldier's gun, shattering it to pieces with a piercing ring, before just as quickly reaching his swinging hand right back and grabbing his opponent by the collar once more.

Even with his sharp teeth gritting as hard as they now were; even with the angry intensity burning in his eyes, there was a surprising restraint in Tetsutetsu's tone as he spoke this time: [[I don't know exactly what happened to make you and your buddies get so cynical and join up with that psycho…but I am sorry you had to go through it anyway. If I can stop anyone else from going through the same thing as a Hero from now on, though…then maybe you can take a little comfort from that.]]

POW!

With all the compassion he could possibly justify expressing to Hristofor having been said, Tetsutetsu finally put the punctuation on his declaration with a single precise blow to the corner of the Bulgarian's neck; leaving Hristofor's eyes rolling back and his body going slack as a tumbling pile of bricks.

Seeing he was now unconscious, the wax whip around his arm finally let go, drawing Tetsutetsu to find it was, to no surprise, Maja's father that had come to assist him at the last moment. The rest of the adults looked similarly relieved to know the fight was over and one of the potential saviors of their children was alright.

Emboldened by their shared victory, Tetsutetsu lifted Hristofor's body over his shoulder as he made his way into the hall. [[Follow me, everyone. I'm getting you all some place safe while my partners do the same for your kids.]]

Not needing to be told any further, the rest of the parents urgently followed on his tail all the way up the stairs. Once he'd stepped out into the lobby, Tetsutetsu was nearly bowled over onto his side from someone rushing out on his blind side; eliciting numerous shocked gasps while he tried to maintain his footing, only for several of the adults to immediately after exclaim in both shock and overjoyed relief: [[MAJA!]] [[MOM, DAD! EVERYONE, YOU'RE ALL OKAY!]]

Tetsutetsu looked back in shock of his own to find that, indeed, the wax-haired Polish girl was right there, currently being encircled and embraced by both her parents and the other parents as they all three began weeping in relief to see each other again, just as several police officers came rushing in on her tail as well, quickly stepping in to maintain order on the scene when the adults all started to swarm them for some kind of answers.

As soon as the police took Hristofor's unconscious body off his hands, Tetsutetsu instinctively approached Maja while she was assuring her parents that she was alright. [[How the hell did you and the police get here? I thought nobody was able to even get close cause of that damn water wall and that Volga guy controlling the ocean currents.]]

As relieved as he genuinely was, his natural intensity couldn't help but make his question sound naturally accusatory. Thankfully, Maja didn't look remotely bothered as she answered: [[It's a blessing in disguise, is why. Pietro's officially considered me, Linguist and those two soldiers to be loose ends, so he sent Jozef and another one of our locals with a door-making Quirk to slip past the wall and into the hospital to kill us. I was able to chase them through the way they came and knock them both out, so we don't have to worry about them anymore. The best part is, my disrupting them has left a doorway for us all to get here and to the Arakisu hospital with. Now you guys can all move the townspeople through that door where they'll really be safe, and we can support the rest of you for the rest of your mission. Where are all the others, by the way? Are they alright?]]

While the police were escorting the rest of the parents back the way they had come for the miracle doorway; Tetsutetsu instinctively looked back in the direction of the hospital entrance, leaving Maja looking notably worried, even as she tried to reassure her parents into leaving with the police, and that she would be right behind them all.

[[Honestly, I can't say what the situation in town is right now. Me, Knightfall-sensei and Iida-san came rushing over here to stop that Ljubomir bastard from hammering us all with more of his mortar shots. I guess that's what Giver-san's Quirk has done for him. So far, Iida-san said he was going to check out the rest of the hospital to find Pietro, Giver-san, that doctor and Valera-kun while I took care of the basement. I hope he's had some kind of luck.]]

BRRRM! BKOOM!

The timely resonation of two consecutive explosions came echoing through all the floors above, with enough force to even make the ground beneath their feet shake. Tetsutetsu and Maja both instinctively looked up in reaction, both feeling the same sensation of dread run down their spines, with the sharp-toothed boy already breaking into a run. [[Sensei might need help!]]

[[I'm coming with you!]] Maja immediately declared as she began to run after him, only for her mother to swiftly grab her by the forearm and stop her in her tracks. Looking back, the young girl was stricken with just how deeply and utterly fearful her parents both looked. [[Maja, please think about this! We only just got you back, we can't risk losing you forever like this!]]

Looking from their faces to her mother's grasp on her arm, Maja had to suck in a very emotional breath before clenching her hand into a fist. [[I don't want to lose you guys, either…but I can't just sit back and do nothing, either. If Pietro gets away with the hardware he has, there won't be anywhere safe for anyone anymore. I helped make this possible…please, let me have this chance to try and make it all right again. I promise we'll all be together again by the time this is all over. Do you trust me?]]

Her parents both clearly looked half ready to simply put their feet down and outright forbid her from going by force if necessary. In the end, though, her father put a firm hand upon his wife's shoulder, breaking her intensifying hold upon Maja's forearm. [[Of course we trust you, sweetie. Dear, you know she's always talked about wanting to be a Hero…and if she's fighting alongside students who could hold out for this long and so effectively, she may very well be in the best hands she can be right now.]]

Her mother didn't say anything at first, momentarily shaking her head in instinctive denial. However, the moment Maja could feel the grip on her arm loosening; it was pretty much all her mother could answer with that didn't require words. With her heart jumping in her throat, and the determination and adrenaline to go with it, she took off like a flash after Tetsutetsu. [[Go with the police, you guys! I promise you'll be safe and sound there, and I will come back!]]

---

A couple minutes earlier…

To Tenya's growing worry, by the time he was already halfway up the height of the hospital, using his speed to rush from door to door and check the insides, he had still come across no sign of anyone he'd been hoping to find; no Pietro, Alyosha, Giver, Valera, or the last of the actual brainwashed soldiers he'd been informed of, Anatoly if his memory was correct. The closest he had come to any kind of clue was a room that clearly looked to have been a hastily emptied and abandoned science lab or operating room, undoubtedly Alyosha's lab if he had to guess.

What was causing him just as much further concern, was that even after the last couple of minutes, he could still hear the sound of continuous rumbling explosions resonating from several floors up above, and all the way down to the ground floor. Clearly Ljubomir was giving Knightfall more trouble than he had hoped, and with neither himself nor Tetsutetsu to provide assistance, there was no telling how their battle was going to turn out.

'I can't simply turn back. There's still a few more floors to check out. If none of them are there, however…then we need to start preparing for a worst case scenario we need to act on. But first things first! Please hold on a little longer, Sensei!'

Alas, Tenya's fears were confirmed, as the rest of the floors up to the roof provided no presence or evidence of anyone still being there. Worse yet, the smell of smoke was becoming more and more pronounced, and the now-deafening explosions showed no signs of slowing down, which only increased his concern for Knightfall's safety. However, even if he wasn't able to find Pietro, Valera or The Giver, he could only hope that Tetsutetsu's end of the mission was turning out better, and he at least knew he could do something to help their sensei.

The door to the roof had already long since gotten blown to fragment from the sheer concussive force of the countless explosions that had gotten tossed around since the battle had begun. It was frankly a miracle that the entire roof and top floor of the hospital as a whole hadn't been reduced to smoking rubble. However, as Tenya finally emerged out the doorway onto the battlefield, he wasn't able to gauge the situation for long, as the very first thing he saw from right to left was:

Konstantin in his wheelchair rolled right back up to the very corner of the roof, one shockwave away from getting thrown right over the edge.

Knightfall zipping across the roof to avoid or deflect every explosion, kick and punch Ljubomir was throwing his way, all through the use of a swarm of floating rocks replacing a missing left arm and both of his legs.

And most distressing of all; that in the heat of this battle, while the Asteroid Hero's back was turned, he had no idea that the very last of the brainwashed soldiers fitting Nikolay, Mina and Kyouka's description; Anatoly, was barely visible around the next corner of the same protrusion on the roof Tenya had just come from, with a loaded rocket launcher resting on his shoulder that was aimed right for Knightfall's back.

Whether that soldier had been hiding up here the entirety of the battle, or if he had only just gotten up here shortly before Tenya did and Knightfall simply hadn't been able to notice made no difference. All Tenya could focus on now was to try and help his teacher whichever way he could; which in this moment amounted to only one thing. With his feet taking off from under him, the Class A president bolted for Anatoly at the very moment he opened fire, springing forward in a desperate leap and driving his right foot directly into the side of the projectile with all the focus and power he could send into his foot on such instant notice. The impact was clean, and he could feel its trajectory shift under the force of his kick just enough to make a difference. However, while it still managed to avoid hitting Knightfall in his center mass, it still flew close enough to graze past his armored left shoulder and explode a mere foot afterward; sending the Asteroid Hero and Ljubomir flying back apart from each other, and hitting Tenya and Anatoly both with the immense shockwave hard enough to send them both tumbling and crashing into what little barrier lining the edge of the roof on this side was left.

As the smoke cleared and the ringing in his head subsided, Ljubomir got back to his feet, gazing upon the scene of what had just unfolded, with Tenya and Anatoly both struggling to get back on their feet, while Knightfall was laid on his back in the middle of the roof; all of his flying rocks now lying motionless all around him.

After all the effort the Pro Hero had been putting him through; to see him and one of his familiar interns in such a sorry position brought a sadistic chuckle and a smile to the Serb's ashen-covered and bloodied face. [[Don't you dumbasses get it yet? No matter how powerful your Quirks are, neither of you are gods. The next one of you to get up is gonna get a real rude reminder of that, so just stay down like the dogs you are!]]

Taking in the current positioning of himself, his two opponents and his teacher, as well as the approaching sound of Ljubomir's footsteps, Tenya knew there was at least one thing he could do to make the rest of this battle just easier enough for Knightfall to act on.

Knowing he couldn't risk tipping his opponent off on what he was planning with his typical battle cry, Tenya instead focused on firing up his Engine Quirk through his legs and arms, producing a deafening roar just as his body launched right for Ljubomir like a human cannonball, driving both feet straight into the Serb's barrel chest, and kicking off of him like a springboard, sending the soldier rolling back and bouncing to the opposite side with surprise and force; but also sending himself flying back at just the right trajectory to grab Anatoly by his shoulders just before they both went freefalling down into the foliage of the trees once more.

Tenya's resultant blackout only last a couple seconds at best, with many of the branches having managed to break his and Anatoly's fall. What he had just done had been an insanely risky and altogether reckless gamble that, had anyone else tried it, he undoubtedly would have reprimanded them to hell and back.

However, given their circumstances, and the fact that his breaking the fall through his armor had still managed to finish knocking Anatoly out cold (upon checking to make sure he wasn't badly injured and still breathing, of course), Tenya was willing to make this exception, hurriedly moving further into the forest in order to get his unconscious carry-on away from any site of immediate retaliation.

This proved to be the best call Tenya could have made, as Ljubomir had wasted no time once his head had stopped spinning, to come rushing across the roof and aiming both his arm cannons at the woods, specifically at the newest hole in the foliage the boy had to have come falling through. [[Time for you to taste some real hellfire, boy!]]

WOOSH!

However, just at the moment before firing, Ljubomir felt his whole midsection get ensnared in what he quickly discovered were highly concentrated mixes of rubble, stone and sheer pulverized rock reduced to dust, pulling him back with increasing force he couldn't fight against for long, before finally feeling a hand grab him roughly by the shoulder and forcefully pull him back around. [[You won't lay a hand on my squires, you fiend!]]

BKOOM!

Acting out of pure reflex and bloodlust, Ljubomir opened fire on the very first sign of Knightfall to meet his eyes as he let himself get turned around; his hate numbing himself to the heat and kinetic force of the resulting explosion.

All the sheer pain the Asteroid Hero was already consumed in barely managed to dilute that of the blast he took at point blank; feeling his last arm burn away to nothing as his body flew like a rag doll, feeling almost as though he were outside of his own body looking in, even as he flopped and crashed into the wall beside Konstantin in his wheelchair. If this sacrifice had been enough to save Tenya and buy him a little more time, than he had no regrets. 'Such is the duty…of a Hero.'

Down below, Tenya had managed to get himself and Anatoly to just the right spot so that he had been able to see the valiant action Knightfall had taken to protect him, and the explosion that followed after. With the state he had seen his teacher in earlier, there was no telling the state the Asteroid Hero was now in, and Tenya would be damned if he wasn't going to do anything about it.

Ljubomir was distracted, Anatoly was severed from Pietro's Quirk (he could for now only hope) and safe from any immediate crossfire, and thus the armored young Hero knew what he needed to do. Thankfully his Engines had already managed to cool down after running his latest Recipro Burst, and so it was time to kick himself into high gear once more; bolting out of the woods, across the courtyard and literally up the face and height of the hospital, flying like the wind as he finally crested the top and came diving in with all his tailpipes roaring like a dragon, while Ljubomir still towered over Knightfall's now-limbless form.

The sight of his teacher in such a tragic state had Tenya's anger rising within his chest in a manner he hadn't experienced ever since his confrontation with the Hero Killer Stain. That thought had him more than worried, as he knew this was neither the time nor place to start letting his emotions take away from his ability to act practically. But he also knew it would be able to help him fight with that much greater strength, and partnered with his ever-observant mind, that gave him the best advantage he could hope for.

And so, with a righteous declaration of [[YOU'RE NOT HURTING ANYONE ANYMORE!]], Tenya drove another blinding kick right into the arm cannon Ljubomir was already aiming in his direction, knocking his aim off as he fired, and allowing Tenya to plant his other foot on the young soldier's shoulder to once again use as a spring board, propelling himself over the top of the roof access outcrop, just before Ljubomir fired another reactionary shot, blasting the entire thing into flaming rubble just behind Tenya's back.

Thankfully, with the inclusion of his still-running Recipro Burst, Tenya was able to duck and slide under the majority of the flying rubble, kicking himself up and over off a corner of the roof barrier, and sending himself flying back at the right angle to ricochet off a sizeable piece of mid-air debris, flying right for Ljubomir directly and kicking both his legs outward into his arm cannons, spreading them apart away from the Hero's center mass, and allowing Tenya to swing both his hands into the opposing corners of the Serbian's thick neck with exceptional power, leaving his body limp and stunned from the immediate pressure.

That didn't mean Ljubomir was out of the fight, though, as he was already trying to reconfigure his aim on Tenya once he had his feet back on the ground. However, Tenya's adrenaline and fighting energy was far from spent, as he was already acting on the immediate threat, dashing all around Ljubomir so he couldn't get a bead on him, and driving a hard-hitting foot into the back of his knees, his sides, the back of his head, his sternum; virtually anything Tenya could reach at a moment's notice while on his enemy's blindside; anything that could keep him from steadying himself and getting another shot off.

All the while, what Ljubomir was too dizzy to realize as he kept trying and failing to block and counter Tenya's speedy attacks, was that he was slowly but steadily being inched closer and closer to the opposite edge of the roof. Once he would have nowhere else to go, that was when Tenya was planning to finally land the finishing blow to this battle.

[[You…little…bastard! DON'T GET COCKY WITH ME!]]

With an animalistic roar driven by pure adrenaline and rage, Ljubomir suddenly swung both his arms out and spun with everything he had, using Tenya's own speed to his advantage, as the armored young Hero ended up getting clothes-lined as a result, flipping back and crashing to the ground. Unfortunately, even with as fast as his brain was catching up with what was going on, he still now found himself being towered over by an enraged hulking Serb, with both of his arm cannons glowing with power as they were both pointed directly at his head at near point-blank range, just short of reaching the end of the roof like he'd hoped.

[[IIDA-SAN?!]]

The sudden intrusion an urgency of Tetsutetsu's voice sounding out from the remains of the roof outcropping stirred Ljubomir and Tenya's attention both, just in time to find the Iron boy and, to both their shock, Maja Kieslowska come emerging out into the open; both equally shocked, and just as quickly getting into fighting stances of their own, upon seeing the state of Knightfall and Tenya's predicament.

Keeping one cannon on Tenya's head, Ljubomir just as quickly leveled his other at the two newly arrived youths; Tetsutetsu already starting to charge forward to take the ensuing blast to protect his surprise ally.

BOOMF!

With all of his attention on the incoming young Hero, Ljubomir had failed to notice just how close he'd been brought to the farthest corner of the roof, and as a result, just how close he and Tenya had been brought to the same spot where Konstantin Khodamchuk had been forced to remain in his wheelchair throughout the chaos of their battle, only by complete luck having managed to avoid getting blasted into a thousand pieces up to this moment.

All this time, he'd been forced to watch just how valiantly all of the Heroes these teens had come here with were fighting against Pietro's forces, and after seeing what this particular fight was ultimately boiling down to, and knowing just what was at stake if the Heroes were to fail, his internal conflict had finally cleared away to a determination like he hadn't felt in far too long. They were all ultimately fighting for the same thing, and if there was anything in the world he was able to do to help these Heroes save everyone back home, then there was no earthly way he could do otherwise.

As such, with Ljubomir's attention drawn away, and with his back turned to him when standing so close, Konstantin had done the only thing he realistically could in his restraints, and started rocking his body back and forth within his chair, before finally forcing himself to his left hard enough to tip himself and his wheelchair over, crashing into the Serbian's back and knocking him off balance just enough to break his concentration before he could attack.

With Ljubomir being forced to stumble forward while Konstantin fell the rest of the way onto the roof floor, this gave Tenya the opening he'd been desperately hoping for; the opening to curl his legs back, and with the tailpipes on his arms roaring as he focused his Engine Quirk, proceeded to propel himself up from the ground by his arms with punishing force, driving the soles of both his feet straight into Ljubomir's jaw as Tenya flipped backwards back onto his feet, knocking the once towering young foreign soldier straight up into the air off his feet as his head reeled back from the incredible power behind that two-footed kick.

With Ljubomir's body momentarily suspended in the air, it was the perfect position for Tetsutetsu, with the built-up momentum of his charge, to spring up into the air and drive his Iron-reinforced shoulder straight into his stomach, knocking the wind right out of him, and ultimately slamming him down hard into the roof with a resonating SMASH!

With the large Serbian momentarily down for the count under Tetsutetsu's added weight; Tenya and Maja were both just as quick to come and aid Konstantin back upright; the Polish girl building her Wax over one of her fingers to form a momentary blade to cut away the older man's restraints. [[Good, it doesn't look like you're hurt too badly. You're very lucky.]]

However, the moment Konstantin really looked her over upon hearing her voice, his brow furrowed with distaste. [[You're not like the rest of the Heroes that came out here…or the Bezpalov boy that came with them. You…you were one of the people serving under Pietro! I saw you in the basement after we'd tried to escape!]]

His recognition of Maja from back then had his aggressive drive to defend himself already spiking, looking like he was about to start trying to strangle her where she stood.

In all honesty, Maja had been bracing herself for a reception like this once she'd decided to try fighting back against her former comrades, hence she showed no fear or desperation, even when Tenya was visibly preparing to get between her and Konstantin upon realizing the older man was getting ready to attack her. Instead, she answered as straightforwardly as possible: [[That's right…but if Pietro's gone, and I'm still here, coming in with one of the Heroes on top of that; then that surely must tell you where I stand with him and his Quirk. This is my one chance now to at least correct one of the countless mistakes I've made since he came here. I don't expect you to trust me just like that, if ever. I don't blame you; but I'm not gonna let Pietro get away after what he's done to all of us, that's my promise.]]

It was easy for Tenya to see this was a promise Maja was expressing for herself just as much as for quelling Konstantin's aggression. The look in her pink eyes as she said it looked far too similar to the same kind of pure drive that his own classmates often reflected when expressing their desires to become the best kinds of Heroes they could be; which instilled him with a natural swelling of pride. [[Your courage is commendable, Kieslowska-san…but how on earth did you manage to get here from the hospital? The water wall is still up.]]

[[That Pietro bastard sent a couple of his people to the hospital with this crazy door-making Quirk that let them slip right past it just like that, so they could try and kill her and those two soldiers! There's a whole bunch of police officers helping secure the place and get the basement prisoners through the door to the other hospital as we speak!]] as Tetsutetsu hurriedly explained, Tenya felt a great touch of relief. If the police were fortifying out here, then perhaps that meant they could finally provide the much-needed support for the evacuation efforts of the rest of their allies back in town.

With that thought crossing his mind, Tenya finally realized something, with Tetsutetsu, Maja and Konstantin all quickly following suit: [[Listen…the town. The gunfire's all stopped!]]

Rushing to another end of the roof to get a better look, Tenya wasn't immediately sure whether the silence that now hung over the whole of Gagaringrad was inherently a good thing, no matter how much he wanted to make the assumption based on his inherent faith in his fellow Heroes' abilities and strength.

BKOOM!

The silence was immediately shattered, as in his own moment of distraction upon realizing the fighting in Gagaringrad had stopped, Tetsutetsu had taken his eyes off of Ljubomir's flattened body beneath him, just at the same time the large Serb had regained consciousness, immediately gathered the position he was in, and charged up one of his arm cannons in retaliation.

The explosion that rang deafeningly against Tetsutetsu's midsection (the boy barely managing to re-activate his Iron in time) sent him flying higher and higher up like a ragdoll in a momentary stunned state. Neither Tenya nor Maja could act to try and catch him, however, before Ljubomir leapt back up onto his feet with his other cannon fully charged and aimed directly at the Polish girl herself while she was still in momentary shock from the first explosion; the Serbian soldier's face twisted with rage and genuinely foaming at the mouth.

[[YOU PIECE OF SHIT TRAITOR!]]

VRRRM!

Like a shot did Tenya come flying in to deliver another precise kick to the side of their enemy's aiming arm, knocking it just off course as he opened fire, but still sending the round into the roof just a few feet behind where Maja was standing, producing a devastating blast of debris and a shockwave powerful enough to send herself and Tenya both flying; the latter much more so as he had the disadvantage of being in mid-air when it happened.

After bouncing off the ground once, Tenya barely managed to dig his feet and fingers into the ground to try and stop his backwards momentum; but Ljubomir's aggression and desire to end this battle was at a fever pitch, as he fired an immediate follow-up shot at the place Tenya was just beyond, blasting him that much further back across the roof, with several high-speed chunks of debris slamming against him hard enough to crack and break away the chest plate and left shoulder plate of his armor, and leave a debilitating series of cracks across his mask and helmet.

Tenya had momentarily blacked out from the sheer power of that last explosion; his head ringing agonizingly, but his senses managed to return to him just in time to realize he was about to go over the edge of the roof that directly overlooked the cliff face and the sea; and naturally reached out and grabbed onto the ledge with all the strength he had, though with the punishment his body had already been put through, he couldn't hazard a guess as to how long he could stay like this.

By the time he'd managed to get himself halfway back up onto the roof, Tenya could hear the familiar charging up sound of Ljubomir's cannons, looking up to find the near feral-looking Villain staring him down with both arms aglow and aiming for his head; both barrels growing brighter and brighter as he was now already at the point of opening fire.

Still hanging halfway off the roof, the bespectacled Hero was now in the worst position he could've found himself in, with no feasible means to dash out of the way in time, especially since his Engines were still trying to cool down from his previous Recipro Burst.

However, the faintest sign of movement from behind Ljubomir's back caught Tenya's attention, just before he was met with the sight of Maja baseball sliding forward from between the Villain's legs, immediately aiming her two melted-looking arms upward and back as she barely managed to bring herself to a stop just before colliding with Tenya. [[WAX BLOCK!]]

Going with the very first idea that came to mind for a Quirk attack, Maja's arms both shot out from her elbows as two massive globs of Wax, both slamming straight into the barrels of Ljubomir's arm cannons and just as quickly solidifying once they met their mark, all while the shocked Serbian had still been in the process of opening fire, now with his weapons completely jammed and no way to call off his attack.

BKOO-BKOOM!

Just like that, Ljubomir's muscular body was engulfed in two devastatingly powerful explosions ripping out from the insides of his arms; the shockwave nearly sending Maja crashing into Tenya, before Tetsutetsu had come sprinting in mere seconds before the explosion, diving forward and grabbing both his allies by their collars, using all the raw strength he still had after having taken an explosion point blank, to finally pull the Class A president back up onto the roof fully.

Looking back, as the smoke finally cleared, the three Heroes were met with the sight of Ljubomir lying amid a smoking crater, covered in ash and his own blood, while both of his arms had now been cut off just below his shoulders, both already cauterized and smoking from the sheer heat and power of his final attacks. And yet, as a testament to his resilience and strength, even after suffering such a debilitating injury, and lying completely comatose, he was still visibly breathing.

That seemed just about the perfect proof any of them could have asked for, to know that this most difficult of their battles was finally over, and they'd managed to help each other come out of it victorious, even if Tetsutetsu was now visibly bleeding from the mouth after all the major blows he'd taken from guns and explosions alike; Tenya was feeling extensive bruising all over, as well as a few cracked ribs, and Maja had a few bleeding lacerations of her own all over, from the bullet graze to her head from much earlier, and the numerous flying shrapnel having done a number on her as well.

With all of the explosions having finally come to an end, the police that had been left on standby at Maja and Tetsutetsu's suggestion, had finally started to emerge, and upon looking over the extensive damage of the scene, as well as everyone present's injuries, they immediately got to work transporting the comatose Ljubomir, and the similarly shaken yet pensive-looking Konstantin back into the hospital for the miracle doorway to safety.

"You three have done an incredible thing today. We should get you back for treatment with wounds like those, though," one of the officers finally suggested after getting off the radio with yet more officers down below, who'd called in finding Anatoly's unconscious body in the woods before taking him back as well.

The pained expressions on the three young Heroes' faces made it clear that none of them were stubborn enough to think they weren't hurt. Despite that, however, Tenya and Tetsutetsu both were steadfast as they shook their heads. [[Thank you, officer, but there's still a great deal of work that needs to be done.]] [[Yeah, our friends still might need us…and there's still something way more serious we gotta do next.]]

BRRRING

At the perfect moment, Tenya's cellphone suddenly began to ring, and he was instant in answering, standing as rigid and ready for action as ever when seeing who the caller ID was: [[Bezpalov-san, what's the status of the Gagaringrad efforts? Are you and the others all right?]]

Putting the call on speaker so Tetsutetsu and Maja could both hear, the sound of Nikolay's tired-sounding voice on the other end came like a breath of fresh air: [[Yeah…yeah, we're roughed up, but all in all we're still in one piece. We've finally managed to get the situation here in town all wrapped up, along with most of Pietro's closer soldiers. You have Mina and Kyouka-san to thank for that. We've just finished getting the townspeople into the evacuation vehicles at the agreed-upon spots outside of town. We noticed the explosions from the hospital have finally stopped. Please tell me that's the news we're hoping it is.]]

Tenya let out a shaky sigh of relief, just as Tetsutetsu excitedly grabbed the phone himself so he could answer: [[You're damn right it does! We got that guy with the Blackout Quirk and that damn Mortar or Grenade Launcher asshole out of the picture at last! Knightfall-sensei's hurt real bad, but get this: we got a way to get everyone out of here to safety entirely! That Maja girl actually found a way here and helped us out big time!]]

Immediately, there was a sound of scuffle on the other end, before Mina's voice suddenly came through on the other end: [[What? Maja-chan, for realsies? How's that possible? Is she okay? Hey, Maja-chan, are you there?!]]

It was hardly surprising for Mina to be so excitable knowing they had another friendly face here to help them out, hence the amused smile on the Polish girl's face once Tetsutetsu handed her Tenya's phone. [[Yeah, I'm here, you guys. It's true. Pietro sent Jozef and another of our people with a doorway-making Quirk to get to the hospital in Arakisu City to try and kill me, Linguist and those two soldiers. I was able to chase them back through the way they'd come before they could close it, so the police have come with me. We've already helped get all our parents out of the basement cells and through the door, so they're all…they're all finally safe.]]

Maja had to choke back some long withheld tears of immeasurable relief at this point as she handed the phone back to Tenya. [[If she and the authorities have managed to get through, then that tells me she's managed to help us detain Jozef and this door-maker as well. By my count from all the testimonies we were given to work with, I believe that takes care of all of Pietro's closest soldiers that we know of…well, except for one.]]

The reminder that they still had Pietro himself, the rest of the spirited away townspeople and Volga to deal with, had put a considerable damper on what was altogether a rather positive mood among the Heroes. That was bad enough, hence why it felt so painful for Tenya to have to continue down this road: [[What's more, I looked over every single room of the hospital up to the roof. I couldn't find any sign of Pietro, that doctor Alyosha Kieslowska-san mentioned, Giver-san nor Valera-kun. I think we only just missed them before they took off.]]

[[Yeah, the gunboat crew in the basement was gone, too. They must be getting ready to set sail already.]] Tetsutetsu added in, and the trio could just feel the oppressive weight coming down on their friends on the other end just as much as upon themselves.

[[Right now, from the looks of it!]] Maja suddenly exclaimed with incredible urgency, drawing Tenya and Tetsutetsu over to where she was now standing at the edge of the roof overlooking the sea. Instantly could they see the distant images contrasting against the light of the sun reflecting off the water: the two black shapes of a small gun-bearing boat, and the pitch black extended monolith of a submarine and its tower gliding across the surface of the ocean.

---

Upon the tower of the submarine, Pietro and Volga both had been studiously observing the ever-continuing situations both in Gagaringrad and the hospital. With his binoculars, the commander had been able to see so much unfold; his biggest reactions coming when Maja had ended up showing her face on the roof of the hospital to assist those tenacious Hero students in fighting Ljubomir into submission. This having followed so shortly after Volga had reported loss of radio contact with Eliška, had left Pietro's trembling hands gripping his binoculars to the point the lenses bursts out in fragments.

With the ceasing of all sounds of battle at both locations, Pietro looked like he was one muscle tic away from punching the next face he saw, especially as he could just feel the eyes of the Heroes upon the hospital roof looking directly at him, even as the distant little specks they now were.

With a trembling breath, Pietro finally broke this oppressing silence: [[So…it looks as though Spitfire and Doorkeeper have failed in their mission…just as Grenadier, Petto and everyone else has. Even the training I gave our young veterans over all these months wasn't enough against these goddamn idealists and their tenacity. No matter where you go, some things just don't change. Sheer power makes more of a difference than military tactics does these days.]]

Volga could see how white-knuckled Pietro's grip on the rim of the tower with his one flesh and blood hand was. He could even hear how the steel was creaking in the grip of his prosthetic hand as well. This had been far from the outcome Pietro had been hoping for, and with how volatile his temper had become so recently with his new look, it wouldn't have been out of the question for him to lash out. The former River Hero was practically counting on it.

Then…there was nothing more than the creaking of teeth gritting together, and finally a sharp intake of breath, and a world-weary sigh of resignation, offset by the newfound determination visible in his clouded eyes. [[No matter. They all did their part, and so will we. We've already set out, and Konstantin Alexandrovich Khodamchuk has seen us set sail, and therefore knows his efforts have all been in vain. That's all I ever wanted that man to feel. Comrade, you can take the wall down.]]

On his word, Volga finally released the one bit of focus through his Quirk he'd been maintain for nearly an entire day thanks to Giver's Quirk, and let out a sigh of the utmost physical relief. Just like that, the ever-present vertical walls of white water from the ground below all came collapsing down on the woods and Gagaringrad like a heavy rain. No doubt the Heroes inside and the authorities and emergency services that had been forced to remain outside, were beside themselves with surprise. It certainly wouldn't be long until the latter, along with the media, would all finally come rolling in.

But none of this made a difference to Pietro now that they were here, as he calmly removed a walkie-talkie from under his military coat, watching the town and the hospital with a piercing focus. [[Captain Kuznetsov, this is Commander Granin. Relay the following fire orders to your men on artillery: one-hundred ten degrees to port, the hospital atop the cliff face. Focus all cannon fire on that target. Await my command.]]

As soon as the sound of the gunboat Rakhmaninov's memory-altered captain, Emil Kuznetsov, gave an indication of understanding for Pietro's orders on the other end, the commander looked back to the small town of Gagaringrad lining the coast, knowing this would be the last they would ever see of it, and feeling a great deal of satisfaction for it. [[Comrade Volga, please use your Quirk to give the Heroes a proper goodbye for us, will you?]]

However, when the water wasn't starting to move unnaturally at his command like he'd expected, Pietro snapped to attention in time to see the clear physical hesitation evident in Volga's body language, now that he was wearing a new helmet over his head.

The commander had to physically fight back the instinctive reprimanding rushing up his throat at the sight of such hesitation from his most powerful soldier; instead gripping the tower's edge with his fake hand again as he leaned in so Volga would have no choice but to look him in the eye. [[We've come too far to afford any backing down now, Comrade, you know this. I know some of our soldiers are still out there, but they all knew the inherent risks when they came with us all the way out here to begin with; we all knew them. They fought and paid the price so that we could ultimately be able to defeat our enemies, let's not make those sacrifices meaningless, you understand?]]

Volga's body language and stance was still so rigid, making it difficult for Pietro to tell if he was fighting the urge to actually follow through on his orders, or if his resistance was truly so strong as to actually make him have to fight to be able to follow through instead. [[I'm sorry, Commander…I just can't forget about Kolya like that. He's still my godson, no matter how you look at it.]]

A firm grip upon his armored shoulder was the first thing to answer Volga's sentiments, as Pietro's milky eyes burned with authority. [[I know that, but this is a war we're in, remember? We can't let such sentiments stop us in the face of the enemy, Comrade! Need I remind you just how many people lost their families because of the Flash his father caused through his arrogance and recklessness; not including those of our comrades here as well? That boy stopped being your godson and a potential ally the moment he made the choice to stop us from seeing justice done for all those that died for us to get this far. You swore to give everything you had to help us see our mission through. Are you really such a miserable excuse for a Hero that you can't even bring yourself to see justice done for the ones you couldn't save before?]]

That last particular jab, in conjunction with yet another probing from Pietro's Quirk resonating in Volga's ear through his helmet, was what finally drove the ex-Hero to shake away the last of his hesitation, filled with a newfound soldier's resolve. Pietro released his grip the moment he could see Volga's body language shift, a satisfied smirk starting to lift the corners of his scarred mouth.

With that, Volga's arms began to lift, his hands open with palms turned towards the sky, as though he were trying to lift up something of incomprehensible weight entirely on his own. The same time as he did this, the waters before them began to unnaturally churn and foam, soon reaching all the way across to the shore of Gagaringrad.

---

Shortly after the police had started moving Ljubomir, Anatoly and Konstantin down to the doorway to the Arakisu hospital, and at just about the same moment that Tenya, Tetsutetsu and Maja had notified their friends down below of the sight of the two naval craft in the distance; the otherwise peaceful seaside air was suddenly broken by the sound of a cluster of cannon fire from far off; only there was no need to even speculate where it had come from, as a massive plume of fire and smoke had erupted from the side of the gunboat, although it had been too far away for the three students to immediately realize how it had turned its cannons toward their position.

[[EVERYONE GET OFF THE ROOF!]] They all three screamed with frantic urgency as they began to race for the nearest police officers, grabbing them tight before they could even gather exactly what was happening. Tenya and Tetsutetsu had likewise begun to race for Knightfall's prone form, but the seriously injured Pro Hero had by now not only thankfully regained full consciousness, but had likewise been made very aware of just what was about to happen.

He was one final step ahead of his interns, as from the moment he heard the distant cannons fire, Knightfall was already focusing what little strength in his Quirk he still had left, to sweep up all of the stone debris from all over the roof, as well as prying out all the rocks he could from out of the cliff face he could possibly latch onto with his power; and bringing it all flying up like one massive telekinetically driven vortex to sweep Tenya, Tetsutetsu and Maja off their feet and off the roof for the hillside trees ahead, with all of their rescued police officers still in tow the entire way.

[[SENSEI, WAIT! STOP! NO!]]

Both his interns' voices could be heard screaming these desperate protestations the entire way down, and as much as it stabbed at his heart to not be able to give them both at least a final parting word of sagely advice to carry with them…in every other way, he had no regrets as far as his teaching of them had been concerned.

'You've all learned and applied yourselves with my teachings splendidly, you kids; more than you could ever know. Ingenium-kun, Real Steel-kun, Rocketti-chan…you and all your friends are exactly the kind of Heroes this world needs with All Might gone. This world and its people…I know they'll be in good hands…with a new generation of truly knightly Heroes like all of you looking out for them. Be strong, be brave…and always be kind…to yourselves, to each other…to all.'

PEEEEEEEEEW-BKOO-BKOO-BKOO-BKOO-BKOOM!

With an apocalyptic and fiery fury, the cluster of naval artillery fire finally came raining down upon the hospital face and roof, annihilating anything and everything in their path with no mercy. Within a matter of seconds, the entire once marble-white structure came collapsing in on itself in a hellish storm of ash, steel, stone and fire, with the rest unceremoniously and cruelly collapsing and sliding off the edge of the cliff, and raining down with a thunderous roar into the unfeeling white waters below.

---

Down in Gagaringrad, the Heroes' shock at the realization that the whitewater walls had finally collapsed and left the area open to the authorities, was quickly offset by High Noon and Whiteout taking on their roles as Pros to guide the already-incoming police cars and ambulances at the town entrance, with numerous news vans not far behind. The added boots on the ground provided for some much needed relief when it came to finally getting the evacuation vehicles carrying the unconscious townspeople and soldiers out of the area and back into Arakisu City.

Once the last of the citizens would be evacuated, they would finally be able to regroup with their friends at the hospital, and put together a plan to catch up with Pietro and the remainders of his forces out on the water. They all knew they were equally as tense and anxious to do so, even as they were managing to ultimately save as many people as they already were.

BKOO-BKOO-BKOO-BKOO-BKOOOM!

The distant yet devastating thundering blasts of numerous artillery explosions coming from the direction of the hospital had stricken every one of the Heroes with the hand of chilling horror; finally given voice by the students all screaming out for their friends when they saw the collapsing flaming wreckage of the hospital, all having unfolded mere seconds after hearing Tenya and Maja confirm Pietro's current escape.

"We've gotten the last of the evacuation vehicles out of the perimeter the water wall had left! We can secure everything down here, so you all go and check on your allies!" The leader of the present police officers immediately took charge when seeing what had just happened, and observing the young Heroes' reactions alongside their Pro mentors.

Since Leonid's Quirk had to temporarily make those affected by it forget how to speak and think in Japanese, it was down to Nikolay to once more serve as the bridge between the police and his fellow Heroes as he stepped forward: [[Alright, everyone, the police said they can take care of everything else down here! Let's go!]]

FSSSSSSH!

However, just as the Heroes were all about to get launched up into another arcing flight through Whiteout's assistance toward the hospital ruins, the ever-growing sound of the hiss of mass amounts of water suddenly moving, had broken through the air, and drawn all eyes present to the visible shoreline. Just as the noise reached its crescendo, the Heroes were all met with the sight of the waters in the harbor receding further and further back, leaving what boats were still intact lying limply in the wet sand.

However, there was no need for something as common as curiosity at such a sight. The Japanese Heroes and their students were all more than familiar with the warning signs for a tsunami; even Nikolay had long since learned to recognize the same warning signs.

[[There haven't been any earthquakes recently; we rarely get them this far north.]] High Noon muttered in grim realization to herself, as Nikolay immediately spoke up with the only guess that made any sense: [[Volga.]]

As though that were the magic word, just as the hiss of the water had finally died down, they were already able to see a rapidly growing, and most distressingly fast moving tidal wave come rushing their way from the oceanic horizon with the ferocity of a full blown stampede of pure nature at work, through the power of a single man.

Without a moment wasted, Whiteout was suddenly launching herself up toward the harbor with a frigid gust under her feet, all the while shouting back to her fellow Pros and all their young charges: [[STAY CLOSE TOGETHER AND GET EVERYONE OUT OF HERE! I'LL TRY TO SLOW IT DOWN!]]

True to her word, she was already proceeding to unleash two arctic wind fronts from her hands, freezing the front-most of the wave into solid ice. However, unlike any other natural wave of rushing water, it was as though the power that had created it in the first place was deliberately pushing with increasing force against her own; proof positive that Nikolay's guess was right on the money.

As such, Whiteout had to push herself harder and harder as she finally met solid ground, fighting through the numbness already starting to take hold in her fingertips as she tried to bring about the coldest temperature winds she possibly could, all in the hope of buying her fellow Heroes enough time to evacuate the last of the emergency services, police and media. But with Volga actively pushing back, she couldn't rightly guess how long she could realistically keep this up. With every wave she frozen, the water behind it came crashing right through like it was nothing. It was an ever-repeating process that was soon to spill over.

[[SENSEI, WE'VE GOTTEN EVERYONE OUT AND BACK DOWN THE ROAD! COME ON!]] Momo called out from the town entrance after a whole minute of this standoff. Whiteout couldn't risk breaking her focus with a sigh of relief, but she knew she could at least propel herself up and back the way she had come while keeping her freezing counter going. From there, they could all follow after the other evacuees and let the last of this Oceanside assault run its course. Surely this kind of strain would have to leave Volga winded enough for them to finally launch a counterattack once this was over, even with the benefit of The Giver's Quirk.

However, what the Blizzard Hero hadn't counted on (nor any of her fellows for that matter), was that yet more equally towering waves were coming over the tops of the icy fronts she had erected already. Volga had actually taken her move into account, and decided to mount a hydro pincer attack as a response, catching Whiteout on her blind sides while she was still focused on the majority of the harbor, bringing it all crashing in on her, and subsequently tearing through and up the entirety of the town with inhuman speed.

All that power came rushing up to the gathering of Pro and student Heroes before any of them could even call out once they'd seen the waters engulf Whiteout where she stood. Even as Nikolay and Kyouka tried to use their Quirks to push even a little of it back, the sheer strength behind the waves overpowered them all like it was nothing, sending every one of them tumbling up and over within their frigid depths with nary a hope of being able to regain control.

The waves came blooming into mist as they finally tore into the frontline of the trees bordering Gagaringrad; the current dissipating just as quickly as it had built up by the time Volga and Pietro both knew they had completely devoured the town and the Heroes trying to save it.

Volga had to fight to catch his breath after having used his Quirk in two such extensive and demanding ways in such short succession; the helmet giving no betrayal of whatever emotions were going through his head now that he knew he'd done what had to be done. In contrast, Pietro was visibly smiling from ear to ear as he looked upon the ruins of the hospital, now a giant pile of smoking rubble, and the flooded ruins of Gagaringrad.

[[Goodbye, Konstantin Alexandrovich. And goodbye to you too, oh brave and valorous Heroes. Well done, Comrade. Our justice is so close at hand now. I'm heading down to monitor things here. I want you to keep an eye on things by the Rakhmaninov from within the water. There's no telling what other little tricks the Navy might have in store for possible intrusions.]]

Pietro didn't even wait for Volga to even give a sign that he understood his orders, before finally descending into the confines of the submarine, slamming the hatch door over his head; and leaving Volga to have to suck in a hitched emotional breath of resignation, before subsequently leaping from the rim of the tower and down into the depths.

And there it is, everyone, the newest chapter this week. I really tried to emulate what Horikoshi tends to do with his more one-off and less explored characters by at least giving a defining look into their viewpoints as Heroes, in order to at least add a little more depth to their characters in the time they have. I can only hope I was able to pull that off well here with Knightfall, since I really wanted to try and add some similar gravity to the danger of this arc's climax.

If you liked what you read here, please be so kind, if you would, to leave a review sharing your thoughts and feelings on the story or this arc or even just this chapter, please.

I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your week, enjoy the summer, and I'll see you all with the next chapter on 06/25!