And now, the moment you all have been waiting for….. Disaster! Time for things to go to hell in a handbasket in what will undoubtedly be the longest chapter thus far. I intend on making the whole incident a single chapter. Kytheon will kick ass and get his ass kicked in traditional Kytheon fashion. So let's go and see what happens!
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"For today's hero basic training, it's turned into a class with three instructors, All-Might and me, and one more person."
Kytheon picked his head up at that declaration. A special class? This was new, and unlike any of the previous hero basic training classes. He wondered what this meant that they were doing. And needing three teachers? Whatever it was, it was bound to be big.
"What will we be doing?" A kid, Hanta, if Kytheon was remembering correctly, called out.
Aizawa, though he did it with his usual lack of enthusiasm, held up a card that said "Rescue" in bold blue letters.
"Disasters, shipwrecks, and everything in between. It's rescue training."
Kytheon perked up with a smile. Now this was interesting. Finally teaching the students another important aspect of being a hero. It wasn't enough to fight villains, Heroes were meant to help anyone, anytime, at any cost. This was certainly something he could get behind in terms of curriculum. Judging by the comments of some of the other students, there were varying degrees of enthusiasm for this idea.
"Hey, I'm not done. You can decide if you want to wear your costume or not this time. Because there are probably costumes that limit your abilities, too. The training will take place off-campus, so we are taking a bus. That is all. Start getting ready."
Kytheon heaved a sigh of relief. He got to wear his armor again, that is great! Granted, if he ends up needing to do a water rescue exercise, he may need to shed it as armor like his is not the best when it comes to swimming. But he would just need to cross that bridge when he gets there, it isn't like he would be able to just ignore an incident just because his armor would get in the way.
Soon he was clad in his armor and out with the rest of the students when he glanced over and saw Momo approaching him. He tilted his head in greeting.
"Hey there Momo. Are you excited for this exercise?"
The creation hero nodded her head. "I am. My quirk, while versatile in combat, is definitely much more suited for rescue work. Emergency blankets, fortification for unsafe architecture, life rafts or vests, I will be able to handle any of it. I feel that this will showcase what I am capable of better than any other exercise."
Kytheon nodded with a smile. "I can certainly understand that. I myself am better suited for conflict resolution, but that doesn't mean I'll be useless here. Never underestimate what a determined man can do with their muscles. I mean, there's that video of All-Might saving people from a burning building…" He smiled. "He is most definitely more suited for combat, and yet he makes it work. So can I." He had to admit, Momo was certainly correct about her analysis. What he wouldn't have given to have someone with her capabilities on some of the disaster fronts he witnessed. Now that he was thinking about it, he couldn't imagine what Ravnica looked like now, regardless of who won.
Momo gave her own small smile. "You're a rare kind of person, Kytheon. You're aware of your shortcomings, an-" She was cut off by an ear piercing whistle. Kytheon winced and looked over to see Tenya there.
"Did… Does he just… casually carry a whistle in his hero costume? I mean, I can understand why, but… Man." He said with a chuckle before going on over to see what the commotion was about.
"Form two lines by your student numbers in order to make boarding the bus go smoothly!"
Kytheon sighed, and winced as he heard Tenya start blowing the whistle intermittently. He shook his head.
"Tenya, relax. While I am all for order and all that jazz… It's a bus. Just let the people sit where they want."
"Right! Of course, class representative!" The bespectacled teen said with a bow. Kytheon sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Tenya. We're friends, my office doesn't change that. Please don't call me that" He said, eliciting a small chuckle from some of the surrounding students. When the bus pulled up and everyone began piling on, Kytheon couldn't help but smirk. The bus was quite spacious, and all of the seats went along the sides, which would have rendered Iida's methods moderately pointless.
He boarded and went to sit at the back of the bus, which allowed him to easily see all of the other students onboard. He allowed himself a small smile and a chuckle when he saw that Izuku was seeming to struggle with some social interactions with classmates. He shook his head, which caught the attention of the invisible girl seated next to him, a fact he could only tell by the sight of her shoes and hands.
"Something the matter, Iora?"
"Please, call me Kytheon. I ask that of everybody. That whole last name only thing is weird." He said, waving a hand with a bright smile. He heard a giggle from the see-through teen.
"Well ok then! So is something the matter Kytheon?"
"Nah not really, just amused by Izuku. He never ceases to make any situation interesting." He looked up in time to see Bakugo seemingly trying to lunge over one of the partitions in the bus. His eyebrow twitched, But briefly heard a comment from Denki that brought the smile back to his face. Serves the explosive bastard right. At least Chandra was a more positive hot head.
"How did you meet him?"
"Hmm? Oh, right before the practical exam, he ran into me and Ochako, and things just kinda went from there. That was also when we met Tenya."
"I see… So why didn't you try to sit with them?"
Kytheon shrugged. "Spreading out a bit. Gotta befriend everybody, you never know who you might be working with in the future. Besides, your quirk is one that will slip under a lot of peoples' radar… pun not intended." He said with a chuckle. He felt her shift, presumably in surprise.
"I mean… all I can do is turn invisible, it's nothing as strong or flashy as yours, Todoroki's, or Bakugo's…" She said. Kytheon smiled.
"That's not all that a hero needs. Unlike the general populace, I believe that even someone quirkless can become a hero. If you think about it, your quirk could save lives someone like me or Shoto could not reach." He purposefully excluded Bakugo from this statement, as he still believes that he is not someone who could feasibly become a hero. However, that omission was not picked up by the invisible girl.
"What do you mean?"
"If you think about it, if there is a hostage situation, all you need is an open window and you could sneak through the base, free the hostages, and suppress the villains, without them even knowing you are there! If you like, I could teach you a few tactics for restraining a suspect, though I imagine that there are pro heroes out there who could do a much better job of teaching you than I."
He felt the bench shift slightly as she seemed to straighten up at the possibility. "You're right! That's actually brilliant!"
"I felt you got the short end of the stick by going up against Shoto in that exercise a while back. Naturally, your downfall would be someone with an area of effect style quirk. But think of it this way. Against someone with a targeted quirk, like, say, even Mr. Aizawa, you stand a distinct advantage. As long as you can move fast enough, he wouldn't be able to see you coming at all or erase your quirk, and with a fast enough strike, someone like him stands little to no chance. Granted, I say like him because I doubt any of us could actually feasibly do anything to him even if he was tied up and unconscious. The man is pretty terrifying."
He heard a giggle from next to him, which trailed off.
"Kytheon… I heard Denki the other day, when he lost to you in the exercise? I heard him mention that he couldn't activate his quirk when wrapped in your… blade thingy. Is that true? Can you temporarily nullify someone's quirk with it?"
Oh, how badly Kytheon wished he could go into a paraphrased version of one of Hyxus's speeches on hieromancy. He hated this whole agreement he had with Nemuri and the Police force that his magic were to be labeled as a quirk instead, resulting in none of the right explanations being applicable. Hieromancy was the magic of order and justice, but one of the most important aspects was that of suppression, drawing from the desire to restrain and contain. But that doesn't work here in this world of quirks. So he had to go with an unsatisfying answer.
"Yes. I have not fully experimented with what my quirk is capable of, but that does seem to be an effect I can have." He said simply. There was a brief period of silence. He felt her shifting awkwardly, and was a mite concerned. "Why?" He was wondering why she suddenly seemed uncomfortable.
"Do you think it would be possible… If you could use your quirk on me sometimes?"
Ah. So that was it. How had he not considered the possibility before? It only made sense that if she was truly invisible, that would mean she couldn't see herself either.
"Well, considering your attire, I wouldn't think it quite proper at the current moment, but later, when you're a bit more clothed, certainly!"
He laughed at the sudden squeal of embarrassment and high degree of hand waving accompanying it. He raised a hand and tried to calm her flustered antics.
"Relax, relax Toru. I know what you meant. And most certainly. I can definitely use my quirk on you at some later point."
The panic died down, and he could imagine her smile clearly.
"Thanks, Kytheon."
"Alright everyone. We're here."
Kytheon looked up at the tired form of Mr. Aizawa, standing at the front of the bus.
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"Everyone, I have been waiting for you."
Kytheon tilted his head as he looked at the odd marshmallow-like figure in front of him and the class. Fortunately he knew what to listen for, and was quickly rewarded with Izuku's fanboy tone.
"It's the Space Hero, thirteen! The gentlemanly hero who has rescued tons of people from disasters!"
And there it was, the context that Kytheon needed. He smiled. Thirteen was certainly a comforting figure to see, and even without knowing their quirk, he could tell that they were good for rescue work. The last thing you needed during a traumatic disaster event is to be saved by someone like Endeavor or Bakugo. He had nothing against the former, but the fact of the matter is that the man looks like he would rather be anywhere else. Thirteen looked like the kind of person who, when they saved you, they looked like they meant to do it. Not to mention small children could always appreciate a big, puffy figure.
"Let's go inside immediately."
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Whatever Kytheon was expecting when he entered the massive dome, it certainly was not what graced his eyes. It had every type of scenario you could imagine, and almost looked like a hero's wonderland for training. A large body of water with a boat and what appeared to be a massive waterslide was certainly one of the most eye-catching attractions here, along with a small mountain range, a demolished and ruined city, a dome that appeared to be on fire, another dome that appeared to be a rainstorm, there was just so much to see! He was very thoroughly impressed by both the grandeur and the budget of this place. It was ridiculous how much money this school had to throw towards the education of heroes. For probably the first time, Kytheon was struck by just how fortunate he was that he was able to go here.
"It is a training ground that I made with different types of accidents and disasters. It is called the 'Unforeseen Simulation Joint', or USJ for short!"
Kytheon raised an eyebrow. Thirteen made this place? Surely they meant something more along the lines of them having had this place made according to their speculations, but that didn't make it any less impressive.
"Thirteen, where is All-Might? He was supposed to meet us here."
"About that… It looks like he did too much hero work on his way to work and ran out of time, so he's resting in the lounge."
Kytheon had a feeling that this was something he shouldn't be hearing, so he glanced over the various disasters awaiting him. Probably the most dangerous ones for him would be the fire rescue or the shipwreck. For the shipwreck one, he would likely need to shed his armor to do anything seriously. Not the end of the world, but likely the most inconvenient. Thassa's domain never really agreed with him. The fire however, would pose some danger. Not due to burns, he had spent time with Chandra after all, something he wouldn't be able to do if he didn't fireproof some things before. However, the smoke inhalation could be an issue. As Ob Nixilis had proven when he had reignited his spark, being immune to physical harm did not protect from suffocation, whether by drowning or thick smog. But it seemed that Thirteen had more to say, causing him to turn back.
"Everyone, I am sure you are aware of my quirk, Black Hole. I can suck up anything and turn it to dust."
Kytheon winced as an image of Ulamog flashed into his brain unbidden. The sight of fellow soldiers screaming as they and the landscape around them disintegrated into nothing but a dusty bone-like latticework. He pressed a hand gingerly to his temple as he remembered one poor Kor squad member screaming as the rope he was using to scale a cliff turned to ash in his grip and plummeted to the writhing horde below. He never hit the ground. He was jolted out of the memories by the comforting warmth of a hand on his shoulder, only to see nothing. He blinked once before he noticed the glove and smiled, silently thanking Toru for her assistance. However that brief trip down memory lane's darker and more sadistic cousin of trauma alley had cost him a few moments of concentration, causing him to miss some of what Thirteen said.
"Some of you also have Quirks like that, right? In a superhuman society, personal Quirks have been certified and stringently regulated, so that doesn't seem to be a problem at first glance. However, please do not forget that there are many quirks that can easily kill with one wrong step. With Aizawa's physical fitness test, you found out about the possibility of your own hidden powers, and with All-Might's person-to-person combat training, I think you experienced the danger of using those powers against others. This class is a fresh start. You shall learn how to use your quirks to save people's lives. You do not have powers so you can harm others. I hope you leave here with the understanding that you have powers in order to help others. That is all. Thank you for listening."
Kytheon felt his heart swell with joy. He did it. He found a person who understood. Thirteen perfectly summarized his thoughts. Those with powers shouldn't use them to harm. Heroes were those who used their powers to save. He knew without a doubt in his mind that Thirteen was someone he would trust with his life no matter what.
He had a good feeling that this would be his favorite class, and his favorite teacher. All he could hope was that the little speech would get through to some people here in the class.
"All right then, first-"
But Aizawa would be unable to finish whatever he was about to say, as the electricity flickered and the fountain stuttered. A black misty warp began to form out of thin air, growing in size. Kytheon immediately dropped into a ready stance. It was the wrong color to be the planar bridge, so that ruled out the possibility of Tezzeret. Which meant that this was an unknown, and rushing in would be quite pointless. Who knew what threats could be emerging?
"I take it that this is unforeseen, even for the USJ…" He mumbled to himself. He flashed his sural out of its storage as the black misty cloud exploded outwards with a brief flash of yellow.
"Gather together and don't move! Thirteen, protect the students!" Aizawa declared, even as Kytheon saw someone start climbing out of the mist. They were covered in severed hands, and was soon joined by a plethora of horrific looking villains crawling through as well.
"Is this like the entrance exam where the lesson's already started?"
Kytheon had to refrain his urge to snark back at Eijiro. It was quite clear that the teachers were not prepared for this. "No Eijiro, I don't think that this is meant to happen… Everyone, do as Aizawa said. Gather close, those better suited for combat stay on the outside of the group in case any get past Aizawa and Thirteen!" His barked orders caused everybody to snap to attention and clump closer together. Some like Shoto and Fumikage stepped towards the outside while some like Toru and Kyoka slid more towards the center. Aizawa, glancing back and seeing Kytheon taking control and enforcing his order, turned back towards the growing crowd of villains. Some of which, Kytheon mused, would fit in well on Innistrad.
"Thirteen and Eraser Head, huh? The teacher's schedule we received the other day said that All-Might was also supposed to be here."
Kytheon narrowed his eyes. They were responsible for the mass panic that happened the other day? It seemed Aizawa had come to the same conclusion as well. Now Kytheon had even more reason to hate these villains. They were the ones who had caused that panic attack he had then. He could vaguely hear some mumbling from the villain side, but he could no longer make out distinct words. Besides, his attention was more drawn to the uncomfortably large number of villains that were there and still coming.
"There's no way that villains could get into a hero school!"
Kytheon shook his head at Eijiro's remark. "With the infinite possibility of these quirks, I figure it must be impossible to prepare for every potential threat. How would you propose building the school so that someone couldn't warp their way in here like that? No time to state clearly untrue statements, these guys won't give you the chance to tap out. These are villains, and you must not hold back if you end up in conflict with one!" He declared, starting to subconsciously glow as his presence washed over everyone.
"The trespasser sensors didn't go off!" Momo declared suddenly. Thirteen looked up.
"You're right, we have them, but…"
"Did they only appear here? Or around the whole school?" Shoto chimed in next. "Either way, if the sensors are not responding, that means they have someone with a Quirk that can do that. An isolated area separated from the main campus during a time when a class is supposed to be here. They might be fools, but they're not dumb."
"This was clearly very well planned." Kytheon concluded, giving the half and half boy a nod. "They mentioned something about All-might, but seemed surprised he wasn't here. Which seems odd. You would think they would be grateful that he wasn't here."
"Thirteen, start the evacuation. Try calling the school. These villains even had something to counteract the sensors. It's possible someone with radio-wave-type powers is interfering. Kaminari. You try contacting the school with your quirk too."
"Yessir"
"What about you sir? Will you fight by yourself? With that many, even if you can erase their quirks, your fighting style is capturing after erasing the enemy's quirk. A frontal battle is-"
"You can't be a hero with just one trick."
And with that and one more command to Thirteen, Aizawa leapt down the length of the stairs.
"Izuku! Enough gawking, we gotta get out of here!" Kytheon said, grabbing him by the shoulder when he noticed the green haired kid hadn't moved towards the exit yet. "Evacuate now, worry later!" But even he could tell that the door seemed very far away from where they were. And with a villain that could warp, it was only a matter of time before-
"Look out!" He declared, spotting the forming vortex before anyone else, since he knew to look for it. It was too well planned to just allow them to escape like that.
"I can not let you go any further…" the purpleish fog declared. "Nice to meet you. We are the League of Villains. It may be presumptuous of us, but we have invited ourselves in to the home of the heroes, U.A. High School, in order to have All-Might, the Symbol of Peace, take his last breath."
"I would say that's presumptuous!" Kytheon declared, raising his hand and calling forth the glowing chains of his hieromancy up from the ground. However, to his and the classmates' dismay, they simply cleaved through the fog, and didn't do anything. Kytheon gritted his teeth.
'Sure they can nullify a quirk, but not if there is nothing to grab onto. Dammit.' He thought to himself. The fog being regarded him curiously.
"Kytheon Iora… You have garnered some attention among us. All-Might should have been here. Perhaps there might have been a change, but that is neither here nor there. This is my part to play here."
Thirteen popped one of their fingers open and Kytheon leapt back, only for Katsuki and Eijiro to leap forward. "Guys! Don't" Kytheon declared, but it was too late, their momentum could not be stopped, and soon everybody was enveloped in a massive dust cloud. 'They're only helping him!' He thought to himself as he braced for any kind of attack to break through the smokescreen.
"Oh dear, that's dangerous… That's right, Even if you are students, you are excellent golden eggs. My job is to scatter you all and torture you to death!" the unknown being declared, spreading out his form so that it surrounded the students. Kytheon's sural became coated with light and he began to hack and slash at the encroaching darkness, each slash cutting through with ease and leaving brief holes in the cloud, but they closed just as fast as he opened them.
His breath caught in his throat as the darkness formed a dome around them, even as he continued to try and hack and slash his way through. However, he allowed himself a strained smile as he saw Tenya dive through one of the gaps he made with someone at the last second before it closed again, but he said nothing in fear of alerting the warp villain to that fact. He felt a brief moment of weightlessness close in on him before his eyes were stabbed by light once more. A quick glance confirmed his fear. He was way up high, above the shipwreck zone.
This was going to suck.
He briefly saw a glimpse of Tsuyu dropping out there too, along with Izuku, before all three of them hit the surface of the water, and panic filled Kytheon's brain
He had been prepared that should he end up in the shipwreck zone for an exercise, he would have the opportunity to de-armor before he ended up going for a swim. But being dropped from this height into the water? It was like a meteor, and his orientation wasn't helping at all. He shot beneath the waves, plummeting like a stone as the steel plates dragged him deeper. He forced the memories of almost drowning at Ob Nixilis's hand out of his mind as he began hurriedly pulling at the straps of his armor, trying to get it off of him. His sural and buckler went first, followed by the gauntlets. Things were starting to get darker the farther he went, and he momentarily cursed Thirteen and the construction crew for making this pool so damn deep. The chestplate fell off and sank into the inky depths, allowing Kytheon to finally right himself as he began simultaneously trying to kick to the surface while also removing his greaves. His chest was burning with the need to inhale, when he turned and saw a fish-like villain swimming at him at high speeds. He managed to tear the last strap of his armor off, leaving him in nothing but a pair of loose cloth shorts when the creature reached him, slamming into his chest. While his aura prevented him from taking any serious damage, it still forced the trapped air in his lungs out in a vicious expulsion of bubbles, and he couldn't fight off the instinctive urge to inhale.
"Hahaha! This is too easy! Your choice in costume doomed you from the start, kid!" The fishy villain laughed as Kytheon began choking, reaching up desperately at the surface that seemed so far away. However, neither of them expected a fleshy pink muscle to wrap around his wrist and pull, skyrocketing him upwards and away from the villain even as Kytheon's vision started to fade out at the sides, a creeping blackness all too familiar for him. He found himself yanked out of the water and towards the lone boat in the center, before gently being deposited on the deck of the ship.
He curled up on his side, vomiting up water and gasping for air, coughing and choking even as Tsuyu and Izuku frantically stood over him.
"Kytheon! Kytheon! Are you ok?" Izuku cried out in a panic as the ex-soldier's breath started evening out into raggedy but consistent breaths, shakily pushing himself onto his knees.
"Y-yeah, but I almost wasn't… Thanks Tsu…" He said before he broke out into another coughing fit.
"No problem. You were lucky you flashed bright enough for me to spot and grab you. Ribbit." She said, before tilting her head. "Where is your costume?"
"Metal and muscles… drag you under surprisingly quick… I had to shed it off to even stand a chance of getting up here…" He mumbled, shaking his head and spraying water everywhere like a dog before pressing his hair back and out of his eyes. "Not like it does me any benefit though. Mostly for show, but I hate that I had to lose it down there…"
"I-I'm sure the support teams can pull it back Iora!"
"Kytheon!"
"R-right, K-kytheon. I-it's not like it's lost forever, right Asui?"
"Call me Tsu."
Kytheon chuckled weakly as Izuku began stuttering. "Face it Tsu, we've got a long road before we can get him to consistently call us those. In the meantime… I think we have bigger problems… Tsu?" He asked, blinking as he noticed her slightly vacant stare, before he remembered that he was shirtless. He winced as that also meant that the circular puncture scar was in full view. That was bound to raise a certain question, especially since he was presumed by most to be indestructible.
He turned to face Izuku. "Let's take this brief moment of calm to think... I know you are one of the best analysts in this school, maybe the city. The villains clearly knew our schedule... and apparently they knew about me." He said between long intakes of breath. Izuku nodded.
"It is probable that they caused the mass media panic the other day so someone could sneak in and get the information. Just as Todoroki said, they were waiting for the right moment to strike. But their goal is to kill All-Might?"
"But he isn't here, so they probably had to improvise. Scattering us likely reduced our chances of surviving or escaping, but it is merely a stopgap plan, perhaps hoping that it will draw All-Might from wherever he is hiding. But to kill All-Might, they either have to be very stupid, or…"
Tsuyu chimed in this time. "Or they actually have a way to do it. We've established that this was very thought out, so for them to come all this way without a way to kill him… that would be pointless." Kytheon nodded grimly as Izuku looked at the ground sadly.
"We have to hold out here and hope that we all make it out successfully… and in one piece." Kytheon said, looking sternly at the two with him on the boat. "I'll be upset if either of you gets hurt. That means you, Midoriya." He said, giving an extra pointed look at mister break-my-bones. At least he had the decency to look kinda sheepish. However, his attention was grabbed by a shout from the water. He ran to the side of the boat and was joined by Izuku and Tsuyu, as they saw several villains swimming at once through the water towards them. Kytheon grimaced.
"They certainly picked a good spot to drop me… I had to lose my sural in the water to stand a chance of getting to the surface, and there is no ground for me to call my chains from except for what we are standing on." He said. But then he furrowed his brows and looked over at Izuku, who was giving him a similar luck, then both of them looked at Tsuyu, who was on Kytheon's other side.
"But wait… if they knew that this would be your weakest zone, why would they drop Asui here too?"
"Call me Tsu…" She said quietly again. Kytheon blinked.
"They must not have gotten all of the information about the quirks of all the students. They knew what zones would be here, which is why the water villains are in the water. But if they knew that Tsu had a froglike quirk, they would have warped her to the fire zone. That would be arguably the worst zone for her…"
"They must have separated us because they didn't know what our quirks were, with the exception of you, Kytheon, for some reason."
"Hoping to take us down with sheer numbers rather than strategic counter-picks? Ribbit."
Kytheon nodded to Tsuyu's hypothesis. "With smaller numbers and less experience, they assume we would stand next to no chances. But they are staying in the water and not climbing the boat…"
"Which means they're being cautious." Izuku declared, putting a fist in his palm. "They recognize that they don't know what all our quirks are, and so are staying where they are the strongest. We've already learned that Kytheon isn't necessarily the best suited for this environment, so it will likely be down to us then Tsu."
"Let me explain my quirk then. I can jump really high, stick to walls, and stick my tongue out up to about 20 meters. I can also spit out my stomach and wash it, and secrete toxic mucus that stings a little. The last two are practically useless, so you can probably forget about them."
Kytheon whistled. "Still, an impressive list of abilities there Tsu."
Izuku nodded. "No kidding! I kinda figured, but you're really strong. I have super strength, but once I use it, I'm pretty much out of commission. It's like a double edged sword."
Kytheon blinked. "I do have a third aspect to my quirk, that isn't the indestructibilty or the restraints. But I have yet to try it out with other people here…" he said, rubbing his chin. "I call it the Anthem effect, and if I am right, it makes anybody on my side slightly stronger. I'm not sure by how much, but at least I won't be completely useless…" That certainly got both other student's attention.
"Wow, you really hit the quirk jackpot with your Hieromancy…" Izuku said as Tsuyu nodded with another ribbit. "It almost seems unfair…"
"But it isn't unbeatable." Kytheon stated, absentmindedly scratching at the circular scar on his chest.
However, their musing was interrupted at the sound of a slash and the deck of the ship suddenly slanting and shaking.
"I'm getting impatient. Let's end this quickly!" A voice called from the water, even as the ship started sinking.
"Such power… the ship's broken."
"And sinking fast… shit." Kytheon said, shifting his weight to keep his balance.
"When the enemy becomes certain of their victory, that will be our chance. All-Might once said so on TV… This is our only chance to win!" Izuku declared before leaping off the boat. Kytheon grimaced before turning to Tsu.
"Brace yourself for whatever the idiot has planned… Be warned, your jump will likely be higher when you try next." He said before standing up and planting his foot on the railing. He stared at Izuku's form before calling up the familiar feel of white mana flowing through his body. He pointed at the enemies. "Go! Succeed despite our foes!"
All that were looking at Kytheon briefly saw another figure overlapped with him, that of an armored man, Tall and imposing to his enemies, but comforting to his allies. Izuku and Tsuyu both felt something warm wash over them, feeling stronger than ever. Izuku found that the energy was a little easier to grab a hold of and guide, gasping as he felt the energy starting to build up in his finger.
"Delaware…. SMAAAAAAASH!" Izuku screamed before flicking, punching a hole in the water and creating an instant vortex. The boat rocked as the villains yelled in shock and surprise, nearly sending Kytheon plummeting back into the water. He whipped his head around and grabbed Tsuyu's hand.
"Now Tsu! Jump!"
"Ribbit!" The frog girl braced her legs and leaped, launching her tongue out to wrap around Izuku in midair before they all rocketed through the sky. Tsuyu couldn't help but flail a bit. "Whoah! That was way faster and higher than I've ever jumped! Need to stabilize…."
Kytheon saw that they were going to land out of the water, so he grabbed Tsuyu in a tight hug, causing her to croak in surprise, a faint blush on her cheeks. "Pull Izuku in quickly! This will be a rough landing!" He said, twisting his body around as he saw her pulling Izuku up close. Once he was close enough, Kytheon reached out and embraced Izuku as well, holding both of them tight against him as they rocketed towards the ground. He closed his eyes and braced himself for the inevitable impact.
"Brace!"
WHAM!
They slammed into the ground, Kytheon colliding headfirst as his aura flared brightly from the impact, carving a decently long trench with his body as they skidded to a stop. Once they stopped moving, he let go, allowing them to stand up.
"Heheh… need to work on that…" He said, chuckling before wincing and rubbing his head. "Urgh…"
"Oh my god Kytheon, are you alright?" Izuku declared with panic, Tsuyu crouching down too to offer her hand to help him up. The Akroan teen stood up and nodded with a groan.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm alright. Just a slight headache, been a while since I've taken a headfirst impact." He smiled and brushed the dirt off his shoulders before spreading his arms. "See? Not a scratch!"
He had momentarily forgotten his shirtless state, causing both other parties to stare, Izuku in jealousy and Tsuyu in awe. Izuku recovered the quickest, shaking his head to clear the envious thoughts. "Alright, next we should- Ngh!" he said, wincing as his fingers lurched with pain.
"You alright Izuku?" Tsuyu asked nervously, looking over at him. Izuku nodded, pulling some cloth over his hands. Kytheon narrowed his eyes but let it go, since it wasn't something like an arm yet.
"Yeah. Anyways, our best bet would be to follow the shore and skirt around the main plaza to get to the front doors."
"Right, Mr. Aizawa had drawn most of the villains to the center plaza, so avoiding that would be wise." Tsuyu said as Kytheon cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders.
"Yes, that is true. However, even for someone as strong as Mr. Aizawa, that crowd is certainly more than he can handle alone. Before we warped, I managed to see Tenya jump through one of the gaps I made with my Sural. I am sure that he has managed to get out and start running for the staff in the rest of the school. So all we need to do is hold out for the pros to arrive, and I can't let our role call be missing anyone. I am class rep after all." He said with a bright smile towards the two that were with him. "I'm going to help Aizawa. Otherwise, you two can do what you wish."
Izuku clenched his other fist tightly. "I'm coming with you, Kytheon. We are heroes. We stand up to villains! We need to make sure we stay out of his way, but if we can lighten his load even a little, that is perfect."
Tsuyu nodded. "I'm coming too, ribbit. Otherwise I would just feel bad."
################################
Kytheon peered up over the edge of the plaza in time to see Aizawa rushing the strange man with the hands all over his body. They slammed into each other in a lock, when Kytheon noticed something.
"TEACHER!" He yelled out, charging over the lip despite warnings from Izuku and Tsuyu. This caused the hand guy to leap back as Aizawa separated. The erasure hero growled.
"Iora! Get away from here! I thought I ordered you to run!" He bellowed, ducking a blow and countering with his own against a thug before immediately being set upon by another.
"You're in no condition to keep fighting on your own!" He declared as he thrust his hand out, calling forth more chains from the ground around the leader's feet. From his position, kneeling on the ground, the man could not dodge and was summarily restrained by the glowing bindings. Immediately he put his hands to them, only to growl when nothing happened.
"Kytheon Iora… The reports had you at number one in the practical exam, with a strangely extensive and diverse quirk… You will prove troublesome if you continue to exist. Nomu!"
Kytheon barely had time to turn his head before an enormous black fist slammed into his body, sending him flying back. He grunted in shock as he was forced to lose his concentration on the chains, freeing the man with the hands as he skidded across the floor. The massive black monstrosity turned on Aizawa before letting his fists fly. The weakened Eraserhead didn't get enough time to dodge, and the fist slammed him into the ground as well. By the time Kytheon had righted himself, he saw Aizawa was on the ground, arm gripped in the strange beast's grasp.
The exposed brain and unblinking eyes reminded Kytheon unpleasantly of one of the Stitcher Geralf's Skaabs, a zombie made out of the combined bodies of several creatures. The blue haired man's description of "The anti-symbol of peace" was rather fitting. And Bio-engineered? Of course they had to have a genetically designed weapon. He forced himself upright.
The wet crunch of Aizawa's arm snapping forced him to act immediately. He charged towards the monstrosity, starting to glow as his aura covered him. 'I need to keep my body low to the ground when fighting a large opponent like him. If he hits me sideways like that again, he might get the chance to finish off Aizawa. Better for me to get punched into the ground than sent skipping like a stone.' he thought to himself, wincing as he heard Aizawa's other arm go. He glanced over at the man with the hands, calling up his chains once more. The last time he did it, the man ordered the Nomu to target him, so this way…
He swore as he saw the man leap backwards to avoid them this time. He dispersed them and tried them again and again, this time charging right at him.
"You again… you're being a nuisance. Why don't you let the adults handle this?"
"Because I have seen far worse boogeymen than yourself or your pet over there. If you intend on killing All-Might, then surely you can deal with one teenager, hmmm?" he taunted.
"Ngh…. Nomu! Kill this damn brat!" He yelled, leaping back as the warp villain from before appeared next to him. He only heard the name of "Tomura Shigaraki" before the ear rending screech of the Nomu signalled him being right on top of him. He whirled around and ducked under a punch that would likely have killed a lesser man, before slamming his fist up. It impacted with the strange bird-man's chest, but didn't move him an inch. He dodged another blow, but the second overhand blow that followed it slammed into his shoulder, causing his feet to form craters under them. He tried to summon more chains to contain the beast, but before they could wrap around them, another blow sent him stumbling back a few feet. While he wasn't getting bruised, the stamina was the real issue. If this drags on too long, and he starts to waver, he could slip up and get seriously injured. His impact from earlier had left him with a minor concussion that he avoided telling Izuku and Tsuyu about. The inside of his body was subject to normal physics, even if his outward appearance was unscathed.
The stumble backwards had left him open for another blow, and the Nomu capitalized on it by delivering a punch that would have broken anyone else's neck right to Kytheon's face, causing his ears to ring and his vision to blur slightly. But to everyone else, he seemed unscathed. Not a bruise on his face, and despite being the mainly hit portion, his nose was still pristine.
This, on top of the news that the pro heroes were coming, was throwing Shigaraki into a rage.
"Man… It's really game over…. I want that brat dead…. But even Nomu doesn't seem to be able to hurt him… We are fortunate Aizawa is out of commission, but… I want to crush some of his pride!" Shigaraki declared, diving towards where Izuku and Tsuyu were hiding. Everything happened in slow motion. Shigaraki's hand reached out to touch Tsuyu's face. Aizawa's head slowly lifted. Kytheon barely ducked under the Nomu's blow and rolled through his legs, trying to reach out towards Tsuyu in an effort to try and do anything, anything at all!
His fingers touched, and….
Nothing happened.
"Man… You are so cool Eraserhead…"
"Izuku! Now!" Kytheon screamed. Izuku shot out of the water, arm glowing with energy as he screamed, fist flying towards the handed man's face. Kytheon felt a gust of air as he felt the Nomu shoot by him, and his eyes widened. On the way back to Shigaraki, the mindless beast stomped viciously on the back of Aizawa's head, smashing it back to the floor, before getting itself right in the way of the blow, faster than the human eye could see. The impact slammed home, and the disoriented Kytheon could barely keep his footing in the ensuing wind.
When he looked back, his jaw dropped. The enormous blow, the one that annihilated the enormous Zero pointer robot, had been stopped in its tracks by the nomu. The entire force of the blow, negated.
"So they do have a weapon…" He mumbled to himself in shock. He stumbled forwards, his head absolutely pounding. At this rate, he would be unable to maintain the chains, since they required so much concentration, and that would be quite unlikely in his concussed state. Suddenly, everybody was moving again. The Nomu grabbed Izuku's arm and raised his other. Tsuyu's tongue shot towards the trapped green-haired teen. Shigaraki extended both hands towards Tsuyu in an attempt to kill her. Kytheon was almost there, desperately reaching out towards them.
But everyone stopped when they heard a thunderous crash from the entrance. One thought went through Kytheon's mind.
"Reinforcements!"
"It is fine now…. Because I am HERE!" The echoing voice of All-Might declared.
############################
Devotion is a funny thing, and something that Kytheon had great experience with.
On his home plane, the Gods were powered by devotion. The belief in what they stood for empowered them, and made them stronger. Through devotion, one could seek strength. Through his devotion to Heliod, he was made into the god's champion, and gifted his spear to fight the Titan that Erebos had sent. It was through his devotion that he was able to slay the titan.
It was devotion that had his friends murdered.
The faith in him had swelled his pride, and in his tragic arrogance, he had flung the sun god's spear right at the god of death, believing himself to be strong enough to challenge the god. But the long whip of Erebos caught the spear, and redirected it, and upon impact, the landscape was instantly charred to a crisp. All of his friends and comrades, who had just been riding their victory over the titan, slaughtered in a mere instant, slated to immediately serve under that titanic form in front of him.
That image would haunt him for the rest of his life.
His next experience with devotion came on the plane of Amonkhet, when he met the Goddess Oketra.
Oketra the True was her title, and she spoke to him personally about his beliefs, and he found that his beliefs aligned within her. Bowing to her, he submitted himself to take part in the trials, and was permitted to join with the next crop of initiates.
It was then that he discovered the darkest side of devotion… Fanaticism.
He witnessed the most horrific examples in the goddess Bontu's trial of Ambition, where she declared that there were too many initiates that had made it this far. And only those with the greatest ambition could pass. And he was forced to watch as his friends and comrades turned on each other, cutting each other's hearts out in order to bring them to Bontu and be recognized as worthy.
And that was nothing compared to the reward awaiting those who made it past all five trials. At the end, what was the reward for surviving the harrowing ordeals?
Personal death at the hands of Hazoret, the Goddess of Zeal, and a special burial ceremony.
Yes, devotion was something that Kytheon had experienced many times over the course of his life. And each time it was reawakened, something disastrous would follow.
And yet, seeing the figure of All-Might at the top of the stairs, framed by the sun, he could understand the general populace's devotion to the Symbol of Peace. A part of him understood with perfect clarity, what it meant to be the Number One hero.
He knew what he needed to surpass.
###############################
He stumbled to a stop as all eyes were drawn towards the figure of All-Might as he bashed his way through the remaining grunts to pick up Aizawa's battered body.
"Sorry, Aizawa."
There was a second blur of motion, and Kytheon saw All-Might standing there with Tsuyu and Izuku under the other arm, as well as Shigaraki's hand get knocked from his face.
"Young Iora, are you all right?" The massive man of peace asked, standing next to him and staring at the villains. Kytheon winced.
"Not as bad as Aizawa is. Be careful. That thing… they called it a Nomu. It is meant to kill you. Izuku's punch that demolished the Zero Pointer did nothing to it, and it is insanely fast and strong. I am lucky I have my Aura, or I would be dead." He stated, swaying immeasurably on his feet.
"In that case, all of you, get to the entrance, I am leaving Aizawa to you."
"R-right!" Izuku and Tsuyu nodded, starting to get under Aizawa's arms to carry him easier. Kytheon stared at Shigaraki, who was crawling and mumbling until he got the hand back onto his face.
"With all due respect, sir. I will stay and help you here. You will have enough on your plate with the Nomu, allow me to deal with the blue haired man. I heard them call him Shigaraki."
"No, young Iora. You have done enough. Go with the others."
"I can stand. I can fight." Kytheon declared firmly.
All-Might sighed as he glanced at the barely clad student next to him, spotting the other two moving away with the injured teacher. "You aren't going to budge on this, are you."
"I promise I will explain my circumstances to you later. But for now, I absolutely can not let you fight this alone. I can assist you." He said as he started to glow. All-Might felt a strange presence come over him. Even though he was already pushing over his time limit, and not by a small margin, he felt he could go longer. He felt a modicum closer to how he was in his prime, before the incident with All-For-One.
"If you are the one responsible for this feeling, then keep it up. But do not engage, only act in self-defence as necessary. That is an order."
Much as he expected, at those words, the militaristic teen snapped to attention and nodded. A part of All-Might was concerned with how readily the kid followed orders, but he promised to explain it all later, and the Symbol of Peace certainly had a plethora of questions. But he pushed those thoughts to the side and braced himself, feeling the new strength coursing through his body, before he dashed forwards.
"Carolina…"
"Nomu!"
"SMASH!"
However, just as Kytheon had stated, the Nomu stood firm in the face of the assault, not even sliding back an inch from the blow. Instead, it retaliated with a clap attack that All-Might swayed under.
"It really didn't have an effect, huh…" Two quick blows to the face. "And not even on the head?!"
Kytheon glanced over at the stoic Shigaraki, who was staring at the fight and mumbling something. Kytheon strained his hearing, and was able to pick out some important details.
"All-Might! Shock absorption!" He yelled out, before wincing at the ringing in his ears. Shigaraki whirled around to stare at the teen.
"You…. You're getting really irritating…" He said, causing Kytheon to turn and drop into a combat stance. But their focus was distracted at a massive dust cloud as All-Might suplexed the Nomu straight into the ground.
###################
Meanwhile, up towards the entrance, several of the other students were watching everything go down.
"All-Might is so powerful! But… Why is Kytheon shirtless?" Hanta asked, tilting his head. Mina and Ochako glanced at each other in confusion before standing up to look down at the plaza. Sure enough, there was Kytheon in just a pair of cloth pants, staring down at the villain with the hands, glowing slightly. Rikido blinked.
"He is so ripped! He always went into another area of the locker room to change, and never allowed any of us to see him without his shirt on."
"Why though?" Mina asked, glancing over at Ochako. "You've known him the longest, is there any reason why he wouldn't want to be seen shirtless?"
Ochako put a finger to her chin. "He hasn't said anything about it, but… To be honest, despite being good friends, we don't really know much about him! It took us a while to even learn where he came from, and even then we have no idea where it is! He said he is from… Akros?"
Mezo narrowed his eyes. "He's got a scar…. A fairly large, circular scar on his chest."
Hanta tapped his chin. "Is that it? Is he self conscious about the scar?"
"That doesn't sound like Kytheon… wait a minute…" Mina said, before freezing up. All of the students that were there looked over at her.
"What?" They all asked in unison.
"Guys, we've seen Kytheon take hits. We've seen him get electrocuted, and Ochako you said that he took the punch from the Zero-Pointer without a scratch, right? So… What could have possibly happened to him to actually Injure him?"
The crowd of students slowly turned to face the showdown below them once more.
"Who are you…?" Ochako whispered.
#####################################
Kytheon did not break his stare from shigaraki until he heard All-Might cough. And there he saw a very concerning sight. It seemed that the portal villain decided to intervene, causing the Nomu to have been slammed right into All-Might's spine. But more important was the blood Kytheon could see on the side of All-Might's pristine white shirt.
The Akroan teen growled as he charged towards Shigaraki while the hand-wearing-man was distracted with his incessant need for lecturing. The villain started scratching his neck as the now known Kurogiri slid towards All-Might. Kytheon narrowed his eyes in absolute focus. He needed to distract them from All-Might to give him the time to recuperate from this attack as well as prevent the next. He ignored the ringing in his ears and the pounding in his head as he drew near to Shigaraki, his glowing finally catching the attention of the villain. But it was too late for him to react.
Kytheon's fist flew straight and true, right into the side of Shigaraki's face. This not only sent Shigaraki stumbling, but it knocked off the hand that he wore on his face, the one that Kytheon had observed him panicking to find earlier.
"Damn villains never know when to shut up…" He snarled, stumbling forwards with the momentum of his swing. "Well, Shigaraki?" He demanded, scooping down and picking up the hand. He began charging the man again. "Are you gonna call the Nomu back to save you? Or is Kurogiri gonna have to intervene?"
"ALL-MIGHT!"
Kytheon recognized the scream enough to know that it was Izuku charging in recklessly once more, but he wasn't expecting to hear an explosion as well. He glanced back over his shoulder in time to see Bakugo blasting the purple warp villain while simultaneously jumping over Izuku.
"Move! You're in the way, Deku!"
A sudden temperature drop signalled the arrival of the Todoroki prodigy, encasing a portion of the Nomu in ice. He watched as All-Might finally broke free of the behemoth's grip and smiled. This of course, allowed Shigaraki to land a fierce blow to the side of his head, staggering him and forcing him to the ground. Kytheon turned his head back to glare at the villain, only to be surprised at the look of complete rage and insanity on his face. This was quickly interrupted with a yell, as a hardened Eijiro blindsided the villain, sending him staggering back again and knocking him off of Kytheon.
The Akroan teen looked up at the redhead in surprise as he turned and offered his hand. "Get up Kytheon, we saw some of the fight, you were doing great! Where's your armor though?"
"Long story. Avoid that man's hands…" He said, swaying heavily as he stood up. Too many blows to the head, this was getting bad. Eijiro's face morphed to one of concern.
"Oi, Oi man, you alright? You're swaying a lot…"
"I'm… Fine. We'll deal with it after we take care of these idiots." He growled. Eijiro smiled, though he still looked worried.
"Alright, but don't push yourself, man. Wouldn't be too manly to get yourself killed here."
Overall, though the heroes were a little worse for wear, things seemed far worse for the villains. In his attack on Kytheon, Shigaraki managed to get the hand back on his face, But Kytheon could imagine the expression was furious. The Nomu stuck in one of Kurogiri's portals, half frozen in ice. The aforementioned warp villain was being held by the metal collar against the ground by Bakugo, and for once Kytheon appreciated his temperamental attitude. One wrong move and that bracer would be cratered.
However, that state couldn't last long, and Kytheon could only watch in fascination as the Nomu pulled itself back through the portal, breaking off its frozen limbs in the process. Then, like Kytheon had seen plenty of times before, new muscles broke through the ice, writhing and expanding rapidly until new limbs were formed. This was why he absolutely hated fighting regenerators. Oh how he wished he had the Blackblade with him right now. Or that he didn't take so many blows to the head and could call forth some heiromantic chains. But multiple quirks? That was bad news. They did say he was a genetically engineered Bio-weapon, after all.
In a flash, everything went from bad to worse, as the now recuperated Nomu blitzed towards Katsuki, only for All-Might to dive in between, shove the teen out of the way, and take the blow, sending him sliding back.
'And Kytheon has taken multiple blows from this and is unharmed? His durability is unprecedented!' All-Might thought to himself, breathing heavily. It also seemed that the bonus strength Kytheon had granted him had run out, and he was starting to really feel the effects of the attacks, and his over-the-clock power usage.
"Do you not know how to hold back?" He asked. Internally, Kytheon scoffed. 'They're here to kill you. Would they really care about hurting a kid like that?'
"It was to rescue my companions. I had no choice. I mean, earlier, that… plain looking one over there. He was about to punch me with everything he had, you know. Not to mention that glowing brat Kytheon has certainly not been holding back when it comes to attacking me. Violence for the sake of others makes it admirable. Isn't that right, hero?"
All-Might grimaced as the three other teens surrounding Kytheon and Izuku stared at the two of them.
"You know what, All-Might? I'm angry. I'm angry at this world that categorizes the same violent acts as heroic or villainous, deciding what is good and what is bad. 'Symbol of peace'? Ha. You're just a device to repress violence. Violence only breeds violence."
"And where did the cycle start?"
Shigaraki jolted at being interrupted, whipping his head over to glare at who spoke. Unsurprisingly, it was Kytheon that had stopped the dialogue, stepping forwards amidst the stares of his classmates. He took shaky step forward after shaky step forward towards the villains.
"Young Iora! Get Back!" All-Might declared, but Kytheon wouldn't listen, staring at the masked villain in front of him.
"Where did the cycle of violence start? Who actually brought forth this issue you are talking about? Even before quirks, there was violence. Since the dawn of time, there have been people, who, just because they think they are right, believe they are completely justified in harming others. Even now, Heroes do it. Villains do it. All sides think they are right."
He stopped halfway between the heroes and the villains, staring at them.
"The differences lie with the innocents."
Shigaraki tilted his head as he stared at Kytheon. The whole place was silent as they listened to the ex-planeswalker, speaking from a wealth of wisdom amassed over the years.
"What truly separates the Heroes from the Villains is how they treat the innocent bystanders. The villains would not care about civilian casualties, while a hero needs to be aware of every life around them so none get caught in the crossfire. You say violence has no place being called wrong or right depending on the situation. I say it does. Only when the violence is in defense of the people you care for is it acceptable. Violence for the sake of violence has no place in the world."
Shigaraki began scratching at his neck vigorously, but Kytheon continued.
"You are a fool for trying to kill the Symbol of Peace. If you succeed, all you will do is inspire your opponents to go to even greater lengths to ensure that you are stopped for the safety of all. A martyr is a spark that ignites a powderkeg, one that you are sitting on."
"ENOUGH! Self-righteous brats like you are the worst! Nomu, Kurogiri! Kill him! No, I want to kill him myself!" The villain declared, pointing at him. Kytheon smirked. He shifted his feet a little, still swaying slightly.
Everything went into slow motion. The Nomu began charging him, even as he felt a rumble from behind. All-Might launched himself towards the villains and the teen even as Shigaraki began moving towards them at a slightly slower pace. Kytheon had spaced himself a fraction closer to the villains than he had the Heroes, and knew that All-Might would not arrive before the Nomu. But he had the energy to maintain his aura, so all he could do was brace, even as the beginnings of a scream of panic left the throats of the students watching from all locations.
Then everything collided.
The first thing to hit had been the Nomu's fist, colliding with Kytheon's face once more. A brief thought of 'enough with the head trauma' passed through Kytheon's mind before his head was jerked back and his body lifted from the ground, slamming into Kirishima, who caught him but was sent skidding backwards for his troubles. However, thanks to the Nomu's extension through the punch, it meant that he was open to a broadside blow from an enraged All-Might. The wind from the punch blew everyone back, sending them tumbling backwards, and for the first time, Nomu staggered. Due to its single-minded following of orders, it had not been prepared to deal with the blow from All-Might, a fact that the Symbol of Peace capitalized on. Even as he drove a second blow into the black flesh of the bio-weapon, he realized what Kytheon had done.
'By making himself the target, he made the Nomu focus on him, leaving him open to the attack? What a self-sacrificing play! And now, with him a bit off balance, I can really lay into him. Absorption, Kytheon had shouted before. Not nullification…' "Then there must be a limit to how much punishment you can take!" He declared proudly as the Nomu tried desperately to try and fend off the onslaught of blows raining down on him from the mighty man.
"If you were made to surpass me, to withstand me at 100%, then I will force you to surrender from beyond that! A hero can always break out of a tough spot!"
Kytheon could barely keep his eyes open, much less focused, as he tried to watch All-Might fight. But at that speed, his vision had no chance of keeping up, so he had to content himself with the spontaneous craters that appeared in various locations as the Number 1 pro hero wiped the floor with the monster made to kill him. Nausea overtook him and he curled slightly, causing Kirishima to tear his eyes away from the spectacle.
"Something is not right with Kytheon!" He declared. "C'mon man, stay with us! All-Might is winning!"
"Hey, Villain, have you ever heard these words? Go beyond! Plus…. ULTRAAAAAAAAAAA!"
With the final blow, the nomu went flying, the speed causing the nearby ground to crumble as the behemoth shot through the air, impacting the wall of the dome and piercing through it, shooting far off into the sky.
Kytheon, who was so far out of it, still was able to recognize what had happened and smiled. They had done it. The weapon had failed. However, something else was made clear to the teen.
This was how far he still had to go in order to reach the top.
Then his vision went black.
#################################
"Oi, Oi, what's going on?" Shigaraki mumbled, scratching furiously at his neck. "He's not any weaker at all… did that guy lie to me?"
"What's wrong? You're not coming? You said you'd clear this or something, right? Come and get me if you can." All-Might declared with a fierce glare towards the two conscious villains remaining.
"All-Might…"
"As expected, we don't need to fight."
"Come on guys, we gotta get Kytheon to safety! Something isn't right…" Eijiro said, causing the other students to glance down towards the shirtless teen. Despite having no outward injuries, the teen was completely unconscious.
"Oi! Kytheon! Stay with us!" Eijiro yelled, gently shaking Kytheon, but getting no response. He looked at the other three students with panic in his eyes. "Come on! We need to bring him to the entrance now! Help me carry him!" He said, scooping up the large akroan's shoulders.
However, he was interrupted by a flurry of movement. Many things started happening at once. Shigaraki and Kurogiri were charging at All-Might. Midoriya leapt into the fray. Todoroki and Bakugo whirled to face several minor villains that were finally getting up after the first assault. A portal… a hand… outstretched toward's Izuku's face when suddenly…
BANG!
A gunshot echoed through the air and Shigaraki pulled his hand back, now sporting a bright red bullet hole through it. Izuku fell to the ground, legs mangled from his desperate leap. The students whirled around as two more gunshots rang out, then…
"Don't worry everyone! Sorry we are late! I gathered all who were immediately available."
"I, Tenya Iida, have now returned!"
Shigaraki groaned and stumbled back. "Aw man… They're here. It's game over now. Shall we go home and try again later, Kurogir-" The villain was interrupted by several gunshots, impacting his shoulder and both knees. Kurogiri acted fast, shielding the form of his boss from the shots. However, before he could fully teleport Shigaraki, an incredibly strong suction began from a great distance as Thirteen, held up by Hanta and Rikido, opened all five fingers at once.
"I may have failed this time…. But I will kill you next time… you and that glowing brat… Symbol of Peace, All-Might!"
And with that final fierce declaration, Shigaraki Tomura and Kurogiri vanished through a warp portal. Thirteen stopped the suction now that the target was gone. Various teachers spread out through the dome to help the remaining students clear out the remaining villains. But none of this registered to the very concerned Eijiro, who was now trying to drag Kytheon over to the teachers.
"Bakugo, Todoroki, help me! He's so heavy!" He declared, trying to move the unconscious teen. Todoroki nodded, moving over, and surprisingly, even Katsuki came over to help. They were caught off guard as a large wall erupted between them and Midoriya and All-Might, seeing Cementoss to the side of it.
"Leave Kytheon here and go to the gate. We are tending to the wounded here, so please join your class so we can make sure we have everybody."
Eijiro blinked and nodded, setting Kytheon down. The three teens then began running back towards the entrance. But Kirishima couldn't help but be worried for his recent friend.
"That was a massive hit he took from the Nomu thing… will he really be alright?" he asked, looking over at the two running with him. Bakugo scoffed.
"That bastard better be fine, I'd not forgive him if he didn't make it."
Eijiro raised his eyebrow. Was that… concern? Bakugo caught his questioning gaze, a tic mark appearing on his forehead.
"I haven't gotten the chance to beat him yet, that's all! What's that look for, shitty-hair?"
Eijiro couldn't help but chuckle. It seemed Kytheon had made a mark on them all.
################################
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Y'know, if I had known what I was getting myself into, I probably would have made this into two chapters. But a promise was made, and so a promise was kept! The aftermath and consequences of all of this will continue on in the next chapter, but holy crap this was a lot to write. Don't get me wrong, I had fun, and this will set up many events in the future plots of this story. But after multiple nights of working on this chapter for upwards of five hours in a row, I'm glad I finished it. This is over double the length of the next longest chapter, so congratulations on sticking with it through the whole thing! The ending doesn't quite feel the best, but hey it's like one in the morning for the third night in a row, so whatcha gonna do about it?
Reven and Ragnarshadow, congrats, y'all get some cookies for correctly guessing Toru back in chapter four! I have my own ideas for Tokoyami when the time comes.
And to Bardic Knowledge, I'm glad you're enjoying my story so much! That Nomu card actually seems pretty reasonable, but my change for the Toshinori card would be to make his base color white, not green. More of a flavor perspective there, as the symbol of peace and justice would be much better aligned on the white side of the spectrum of Magic. In regards for Dominia and Dominaria, that makes sense. I think I made mention in chapter one that Kytheon couldn't feel his spark any more, and so therefore is unable to planeswalk. If I didn't… well whoops that's on me. And as for the novel, I am the kind of guy who likes the story through the cards better than the book, and I used the cinematic trailer a bit in the beginning because that is much easier reference material.
SO! With business concluded, I wanna thank y'all once more for enjoying this story with me! I don't know what it is about this project, but I have been more motivated to work on it than any other project before it! And so seeing others enjoy it just as much makes me thrilled. And if somehow this random idea I had inspires you to do something, let me know!
See you all in the next chapter!