A/N: Now we enter the Paranormal Liberation War arc, so important warning that this point forward Perfected will hold 'Major Spoilers' for the My Hero Academia manga for I'm not waiting years for the anime seasons to release, I have other projects I want to do. With that said, Review Time.
To Maniacalharp747: Yeah, my mistake, to be fair we know very little about House Stone. As for other Houses possibly appearing, it's slim to none, that and every House pursued the Traveller, even if they suffered from infighting and disagreements with other, weaker Houses, their history during the Long Drift is dark. But a tragic ending, well, who knows how this will end? Hahaha...
Enjoy.
Chapter 106 - United Perfection
Jaku City was as average as any other city in Japan, not too much action but not so little that it could be considered completely peaceful. One noticeable event was unfolding, particularly to the rear of the city, while another large-scale movement was to the front, specifically, the Jaku General Hospital.
The figure watched them flock inside the building with a wave of heavy emotions, and the odd trickle of hope and pride, of course. Their cheek removed itself from their fist, sighing in disappointment. "...not here, figures, so, that's where you two are. Viral's Host and Velk." They mused, slipping away into the shadows with only the birds startled by the shift.
To say that the Hospital Raid Team had it easy was an understatement. Endeavor's frown deepened, something about how tame everything was made his skin crawl more than finding their target, Dr. Ujiko, AKA Kyudai Garaki. There was no sign of the doctor, even though it clearly stated he was on duty today. Nothing had changed in the intel they received.
That line of thinking was quickly smothered.
"So, you're the one," Endeavor's voice cut across the hallway like a scalding knife. The old man flinched suddenly. "The man behind the Nomu... and All For One's right hand." Endeavor's very visage could set the hall ablaze, his eyes a sharp contrast. Cold, calculating, focused. "The Devil's minion, huh? You're finished!"
Ujiko had never looked so afraid, sweat pooled down his face as he spun on his heel and attempted to escape the Hero's appearance, he had been found out, why so suddenly? Nothing seemed unordinary, not even a squeak, so why was Endeavor here? What was going on!?
"EEEK!" He scrambled away from the Pros desperately. "How... How!?"
Eraserhead quickly tripped the man up, using his quirk as the old doctor suddenly wheezed, his skin looked rubbery and bone was much more visible. "Koff... hff... hff..." Even his breathing was withered and failing.
"Looks like... the registry was wrong," Endeavor commented, Eraserhead holding his glare to the man, no, the monster that twisted his old friend's body, and countless others, into abominations. He didn't once feel his eyes dry.
"Tch, a withered husk, what could be more fitting for a maggot?" Valstrax mused, her scornful eyes begging the corpse of a man to make a daring move. She wanted it so badly, to see him bleed out on her wings.
"Wow... neat," Present Mic's voice dripped with venom, swinging the feather-light man around onto his back to face the disgust written on the loudmouth hero's face. "You could apply all that to regenerative medical care, basically, it's like using cheat codes," Ujiko swatted Mic's hand away, attempting to escape before his lab coat was pulled, dragging him closer to the blonde's enraged face. "Yet... why use it the way you did!? Why'd you do it, you old piece of trash!?"
"Better answer him," Valstrax sharpened her claws, flashing the terrified doctor her sharp canines like a hungry animal. "Because I won't be as gentle with my prey...!" With a twist, her right-wing brandished itself like a sword toward Ujiko's face, daring him to move. "I've waited weeks for this... you rotten scumbag."
To make matters worse, two civilians ran to Ujiko's aid, shoving Mic back while the woman put herself in front of Valstrax's wing-blade. "Stop that! Please don't be so rough with him!" The man asked them desperately to defuse the situation. "What did the good doctor even do!?"
"'Good'?" Eraserhead's eye flashed to Akame. Her face was mostly obscured by her beak-like helmet, but her eyes were glowing, her teeth grinding like razor blades. "There... is nothing 'good' about that son of a bitch, so move, now. I don't want to get innocent people involved."
Endeavor quickly pushed the man aside. "Stand back, people! We're evacuating the hospital, in case we need to fight any Nomu." He explained rationally. They hadn't the time to give all the details, every second mattered as the second division of their team moved for the morgue. Everything counted on them taking down the Nomu that can warp people.
"Best case - we take this place without spilling a drop of blood," Eraserhead continued. "Those Nomu brains are programmed to obey a designated handler, without orders, they're just useless lumps," He explained furrowly, tugging at his goggles. "We know as much from studying the ones we've caught so far. The people you tinkered with and tossed aside... are all saying..."
He wrapped up the doctor, giving him a crimson glare of retribution for their high-school friend. "'This Is Our Payback'."
"Oh? Is ThAt AlL? hErE i BeLiEvEd It WaS fOr SoMeThInG gReAtEr?" Ujiko's voice twisted into something inhuman. Robotic, filtered through an old radio as static distorted his vocal cords. He was still suffering the effects of Eraserhead's quirk, but that tone, how the withered man smiled so eerily made their skin crawl.
"Mirko!" Endeavor called to check in on her team.
~Endeavor!~ She called back with almost a gleeful hitch in her voice. ~We got company!~
Ujiko cackled as commotion echoed down the halls. "Well played, heroes. Now... It's My Turn!" That voice couldn't be mistaken. Kovik's.
The wall suddenly exploded to their right, releasing a massive, bloated head of a Nomu with one eye, a head shaped like a whale. In its mouth, a lighter-skinned Nomu with drill arms pierced the Doctor's arm, to their shock, his body began to melt from around a metal skeleton where two red eyes flashed with Kovik's every word. A transmitter.
"I'm sure the Good Doctor would've commended your efforts if all for naught. But I have no use for him other than a skin puppet, he's served his purpose," Kovik muttered as his proxy was destroyed, the skin of Ujiko melting into a puddle of goo.
"Twice's Quirk!?" Endeavor realized it all to late. They had underestimated their foe.
Kovik raised his finger from the armrest, turning slowly to the destruction of the wall before him by a single, flying kick of a dark-skinned woman. She had red eyes and long white hair flowed freely down her back to her waistline. She had an athletic body with muscular arms and legs and a shapely figure. She sported a mutation of long white rabbit-like ears pointing upwards with a slight crook and a short white fluffy tail similar to a rabbit's.
Her hero costume consisted of a slim-fitting sleeveless white leotard with dark-purple trimmings around the shoulders and waist, a pair of thick metal plates on her midriff, and a yellow crescent moon-like symbol over her chest. Additionally, Mirko wore dark-purple thigh-high boots with metal plating around the heel and toe areas that made her feet look like those of a rabbit. Lastly, she adorned a pair of thick white gloves on her hands with long cuffs which sported small triangular protrusions around their edges.
"Ah, the Rabbit Hero, welcome," Kovik ushered her in through the crumbling concrete, dust, and vials of copied quirks. A mountain of time, research, and devotion now laid by Kovik's feet, it felt so much more satisfying having a hero do away with the Doctor's work than his own hand. "I suspect you were looking for Dr. Ujiko? Apologizes but I... already saw to that myself."
"Huh, No kiddin'!?" She grinned before him, fists clenched. "Gotta say, wasn't expectin' you of all freakshows, but my plans haven't changed," Her left ear twitched. "So then, where's Shigaraki? In the back?"
"No, far from your reach for now, in honesty, I expected this, well, maybe not so soon but life is anything but fair and compliant," He offered openly, pulling himself from the small chair, cracking his knuckles as he glanced over to the incubation tubes, some still contained the High-Ends that were close to completion. Well, he didn't really care for their success. Leaning forward, the red line across his pyramid head glowed. "But I can assure you, none of you will leave this site unscathed."
Mirko let out a breath laugh, tapping her earpiece. "Guys, old fart's dead but I found that head Splicer! And a buncha tough-looking Nomu!" She was silent a moment, grin plastered on her cheeks. "Dunno! But a good kick should tell me!"
~Capture him, I wish I could say we're right behind you, but... it might take us a minute!~ Endeavor's end was overrun with lower-end Nomu, turning the floors of the hospital into a war-torn battlefield.
"Hah! You the real one!? Let's find out!" With an impressive burst of strength behind her, Mirko bound for Kovik who stood patiently, raising his two right arms.
"Come and find out little rabbit," Kovik taunted, fueling her laughter. A scarlet barrier erected itself only to shatter under the sheer force of her roundhouse kick, the wind battering his armor. "Impressive strength! Then again, those charts of theirs don't exaggerate."
Using the momentum from her kick, Mirko doubled back with her right foot folded, ready to pierce the so-and-so copy of Kovik who slid back toward the test tubes containing various High-Ends. He cocked his head, clicking his upper-left fingers. "Unfortunately, you are not who I want to confront, so here, a gift to that insatiable battle spirit of yours."
Mirko recoiled with a grunt, her face pressed against a scalding hand as two tiger-orange eyes widened at her surprise, grinning tugging on flesh. "Heheheheahahaha!" Infernal's hand glowed. "Burn!"
With a rising kick, Mirko's broke the Nightmare's arm in time to divert the flames toward the ceiling of the lab, showering the area in light. The fierce flames then displayed why Kovik left, the High-Ends shambled to their feet behind Infernal, gathering their bearings. Infernal rushed her first, driving his right foot against her stomach, seeing her shoot through the balcony above and straight into the wall, bringing half the rubble down on her.
"He...ro..." "Mmm... been... so long..." "He... ro..." "Can go wild..." "Kill them alllll! Let's go nuts!"
"Haha, couldn't agree more, my new friends!" Infernal giggled, clapping his hands. "We'll hold the fort down, Boss!" He saluted back toward the dark underground, eyes narrowed. "I can't wait for the big opening!"
Under concrete, wires, and tubs, Mirko pushed herself forward, a grin stuck to her bloodied face as a cut stained her left side in blood. "You think you're getting away, you insect!?" She stumbled out from the wall, surprised but with the adrenaline racing through her veins it was hard not to get excited. "Whatever... things're only just heating up!"
"'Heating Up' huh?" Infernal grinned at her remark, the temperature surrounding his body increasing with a subtle haze over his skin. His new tattoo around his right eye, that of a flame, glowed brightly, cracks appearing across his chest with every breath, turning his upper torso into a molten glow between his obsidian skin. "That's right... we're... just heating up!"
"Ya know, you guys are awfully confident, can't hold against you, but I can hear your boss clank-clank-clanking away in the back!" She pushed her way between the pipes, staring down at the High-Ends and Nightmare.
"H-h-how can she still move?" Woman asked, her eyes slit.
"Must be s-stopped, I will kill," Robot announced, raising his right hand.
Mirko tensed her muscles, and with a blur of white, she left only a wall of pulverized earth and glass behind her. "Wanna know? My legs canceled out-!" She appeared behind them, the shockwave tossing the various High-Ends across the lab with Infernal realizing his right arm was torn from the socket. "-the impact!"
"No. 5 Hero: Mirko"
"Quirk: Rabbit"
She can do anything a rabbit can but even better!
A sudden whiplash struck her left side, catching Mirko off guard as her face twisted from the force. Behind her, the High-End with a strange bobble at the end of his head, Ribby, groaned. "We must brutalize, th-th-those are our orders."
Caught, Woman and the larger powerhouse, Eleph, dove into assault the bonded hero, the former spraying her lower half into a wide liquid arc while Eleph simply raised his giant fists. In front of Mirko, Infernal smiled brightly, raising both hands smothered in flames. Not to be outdone, Mirko twisted her hips to land into a handstand, she caught her left heel against Woman's brain, her right foot clipping Eleph's chin.
"Luna Ring!" She bellowed, releasing enough kinetic force to unravel her body into a cyclone, shredding Ribby's hair tendrils while countering both Nomu at once, the gale-force threw Infernal's column of flames off course, and he narrowly avoided Mirko's right hook as it clipped his wavy hair, slicing through the scalp. Infernal quickly retreated to the shadows. "Screw you! Eat this!"
Bouncing around the chaos, she sent forth devastating blows to the High-Ends unable to match her insane velocity, her right leg folded during her descent toward Eleph who crouched down, his bones mutating exponentially, covering him in a marrow-lined armor with various bones sticking out to defend himself.
*Wormp!*
Excruciating pain erupted from Mirko's left arm, seeing a ball of flames burn her flesh and peel the skin back toward her shoulder, the sheer force twisting her joint the other way. Infernal kept his left hand raised, many small orbs of fire dancing around his tempered body. "I was aiming for your soul, but that'll do," He grinned, his right crushing Robot's soul to fuel himself further. "Well, not like these guys are all that impressive, to begin with, more for me."
To his surprise, she didn't stop moving forward. "That freakin' hurrrrrts!" If Infernal wasn't already informed, he would be convinced this woman was a Host, she kept getting stronger, but how? She brought her leg down against Eleph's massive frame, pulverizing the bones and through to the soft tissue of the brain beneath. "Luna Fall!"
The crushing force buried it into the ground by her toes, this only served as a springboard toward Infernal, his flames brushed aside by her cyclone of a body, feeling the woman's thighs snake around his head, locking his head in place, even as his body clearly felt like pressing her skin to a hot iron.
"Hah... hah... you're really scary up close!" Infernal shrank a little, unable to flee as her muscles locked, a smile to overpower his own stretched over her bloodied face, the eyes of a madwoman burning into his skull.
"Guys who fight with ranged moves don't tend to do so hot in close quarters!" Mirko boasted, seeing the flames gather in his jaws.
"Oh, I'll give you hot, die for me!" Infernal growled, but his flames missed her face entirely, she inverted her posture, choking the Nightmare with her legs as she pulled with a single, bone-breaking twist.
"Sure! But only when it's my time!" She declared, tearing his head clean from his shoulders, canceling the embers between them as she huffed on all fours. "Luna Tijeras!"
Tugging at some cloth on her costume, she wrapped it around her burnt, bloody arm. "Can't keep doing my job while ignoring this," She tightened the cloth to stop the circulation of blood, huffing as the other High-Ends stared at her angrily. Infernal remained motionless on the ground, headless body twitching, his embers remained.
"Guess even crushing the noggin of a Nightmare will put them out of commission for a while, that makes it a permanent solution for you sorry lot!" Mirko laughed, brushing her bangs from her eyes. "Makes ya way easier to deal with than regular villains! I live every day of my life like there's no tomorrow, so when my number's up, I can check out with no regrets!"
"No way this horde of zombies is gonna end Mirko the hero." She licked the blood from her split lip.
Elsewhere, at the Gunga Mountain Villa, the attack against the villains stationed for a meeting was well underway. A layer of ice swept through the massive fissure Cementoss tore open with his bare hands. Leaving it to the vanguard to charge the entrance full tilt.
"What's with the ice?" "I thought Geten was stationed elsewhere, what the hell!?" "It's that thing by the wall!"
All those in a panic saw only a white mist covering a single young girl in regal armor formed from various shades of ice. Her wings spanned wide, spreading her frost to hyper-freeze the moisture in the air around her, creating spikes of ice to collide with the weaker members of the army. Velk exhaled a cool air, eyes unwavering toward her enemy.
"Perish, like worms," She was a Nightmare, who cares if some people died?
Below, Hana swept through the ice, leaping before the villain army with her sacred blade clasped in both hands, her ocean-blue eyes held no remorse, much like her Nightmare. "Release-" She hit the ground, hard, releasing a gargantuan arc of blue ice that dropped the temperature in the building. "-Clear White Sky!"
The ice left no room for the villains to plot a counteroffensive, the heroes were tearing through the thin layer of ice, using the two girls as cover for their own formation. A man in the back huffed, using a tazer on his open palm. "Your numbers don't matter! I'll crank my Amplivolt's current and unleash it! At full power, It reigns supreme!" The current he manifested webbed a netting around his whole body.
"Now, Chargebolt!" Hana declared, pointing toward where a lightning storm manifested. One of the ring-leaders didn't falter at hers and Velk's display of strength. "Your opening!"
Kaminari shook off his fears, Tokoyami and Hana saw this firsthand, his unwavering resolve to take the front line. Tokoyami knew this well, the lengths Kaminari would go. "Kaminari, I know you now..." He remembered his refusal to stop learning guitar in order to put his full effort into aiding Kyoka and Nana with the band. "You... from the bottom of your heart..." Kaminari smiled at him, saying he would keep trying a little longer. "...you deeply care about your friends."
"Supreme Discharge Thundernet!" The villain declared, releasing a wide web of lightning upon his enemies. Velk immediately swooped down to cover Hana with her wings, but the pair stood and were surprised to find that... all of the lightning snaked over their heads, converging on a single frequency.
With his index finger toward the sky, Kaminari used himself as a lightning rod, converting the attack into his own, supercharged state, his hair standing on end with a toothy smile. "There ya go - one big commander guy totally neutralized! Now, let's mop up the others real quick, so the guys we left behind don't need to worry!"
"He's really impressive," Velk smiled, showing off her excitement to the villains as her and Hana stood as one, "Now then, where we were?"
"I think we were attempting to instill fear into their hearts," Hana spoke nonchalantly, her cool eyes never once flickering with fear. "I feel sorry for what's to come for those who wish to fight us."
"Hey, Viral," Akio blinked as he spun around to his friends, seeing them stationed across the forest. It was Kyoka. "What's up? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Still getting used to using his name, when... y'know," He shrugged his shoulders but it was fine, using Viral's name just felt right to this day. But he frowned a little. "Erm, nothing's wrong per se, the souls I've seen are our own, no trouble but then again Velkhana is among the vanguard so I'm really sorry for the villains this time."
Kyoka smirked. "No kiddin', she's a powerhouse that'll put Todoroki to shame," She whispered after that. "Don't tell him I said that."
"Said what?" Akio admitted dumbly, earning a slight jab form her jack as it planted itself into the dirt again.
"Smartass," Then she blinked, lifting her head. "What the heck...?" She listened further and by now, Akio's eyes narrowed in the direction she heard the vibrations. They were heavy but methodical as if trying to avoid detection. "What... is that?"
"Want my humble opinion?" Akio cocked his head.
Deep amongst the woods, a towering man made his way forward, his stature shifting past the trees, some of which turned black and rotten as he passed.
"An unstoppable force."
"You're awfully persistent, and managing to scrape past those High-Ends, impressive," Kovik commended, if only slightly.
By the time Mirko found Kovik at the end of his lab, she was beyond beaten, her wounds left her ragged and hanging on to consciousness like a rabid animal. "Yer done!" She rasped, launching herself at the Splicer who, to her shock, summoned several blackish-red metal tendrils from his back. Something no intel warned her of, "Crap!"
"Be skewered for giving me a headache," Kovik warned, the blades honing in on her chest. She was already in freefall, her energy spent just trying to break through the High-Ends that got in her way.
Like a roaring flare, a ball of flames melted through the pipes and machinery, tearing a massive hole through the underground, catching Mirko in time before the tendrils could pierce her. Sliding to a halt, Endeavor sighed briefly. "Mirko!"
"Finish him off! He's got nowhere to run!" She bellowed, coughing up blood as she did.
As Kovik recovered, Endeavor sat Mirko down, her breathing labored as she struggled to crack both eyes open. Endeavor lit his hand on fire, quickly assessing her wounds. A mangled, burned left arm, a gash on her forehead, a laceration to her stomach, and a pierced right thigh. "I'll sear the wounds shut, bear with it!" The Pro grimaced. "It hasn't even been five minutes since she reported in. She must have dealt with multiple of those things on her own."
"I owe you a debt after Kyushu, remember? So don't die on me." Endeavor was determined not to let another hero die before his eyes. Those two that day perished to Harrow, and he couldn't lift a finger to stop it. Not this time.
"How much... do I owe you now!?" She gagged, spitting blood off to the side as she tensed from the flames. Endeavor shot his head upright, seeing another four tendrils erupt from Kovik's back, this attack was new, had the Splicer upgraded too?
"The... No. One hero... should be... a little more fun!" From the rafters, Woman's jaws were wide, lunging for the ill-prepared hero who focused on protecting Mirko from the two ongoing attacks.
*Vwooosh!*
Through the same tunnel as before, Woman gasped as her chest caved in from a single snap-kick coated in a red substance that stung her eyes. Valstrax spun around, swatting the Nomu across the laboratory floor while pivoting her left-wing down to send a red blast to destroy the tendrils, landing to face Kovik and Woman, her vents sucking in another round of air, turning her chestplate's vents red.
"Leave the rescue to you, huh?" Valstrax mused. "Guess the roles reversed today!"
"...the Thief's mother, how poetic," Kovik wondered, raising to his full height. "Come for revenge?"
"Yeah, so what?" She clenched her fists, expelling a jet of red air from her wings. "I guess I should thank you for taking care of the Doctor, but don't think that makes you any less of a threat to me."
"Acceptable, I expect nothing less from the Sky Comet, now..." Red swarms of SIVA surrounded him, constructing a copy of his scorch cannon while Woman crawled from the wall. "Perish."
Valstrax then covered her ears after giving him the middle finger. "You first."
"LOUD VOICE!" An ear-shattering wail obliterated the passageway, any and all debris reduced down to smaller chunks as Kovik was forcibly swept by the storm of earth and metal, machinery and leftover experiments torn apart as Present Mic screamed louder than any human ear caught in his path could withstand.
Woman had evaded the cone of destruction only for a pair of jaws to clamp around her elbow, a large scaly claw pulling her body down. She quickly reverted to using the combined strength on her Liquidfication and Rupture as no sign of Eraserhead gave her the indication he had fallen behind to deal with the other High-Ends. "Get off me!"
But Ryukyu wasn't alone, Rock Lock fixed the enlarged Nomu's legs in place while another hero bound the claw trying to gouge out the dragoon hero's eyes, holding Woman in place. With their combined strength, they couldn't halt the High-End's body from bulging only for the combined strength of a fist shrouded in orange flames, merged with the combined ferocity of a scarlet metal wing as both punctured her chest and head entirely, brightening the dark crypt below the hospital in a brilliant red and orange hue.
"That's..." Present Mic exhaled angrily. "For making my friends cry!"
When the chaos settled say for the Nomu still struggling against their attackers, the laboratory was secured. Present Mic and Valstrax stepped toward the leader, Kovik, his metal body left stripped of its armor, most of his arms dismantled saw for the left, and beneath the gaps in his helmet, only wires and dying clusters could be found. A complete fake.
"Once a coward, always a coward," Present Mic spat, grabbing the Splicer's burnt scarf as the rubbery texture was left feeling oily and melted. "Where's Shigaraki, same for yourself?"
"Why... would it matter?" Kovik rasped, cocking his head as the light on his helmet flickered to indicate he was speaking. "You will... die here... I am... a supplicant."
"Mic, get Mirko outta here," Valstrax asked, giving him a wink. "I'll watch your back, trust me."
"Right..." He reluctantly dropped the Splicer, patting his friend's shoulder as he left to help Rock Lock with Mirko.
"What's your game? Why lose all those High-Ends?" It frustrated the hell out of Valstrax, her skin crawled as her teeth ground against one another. "Why... why did you do this!?"
"Red Dragon... agreed of his own free will," He saw her shaken posture freeze. "You know that longing he feels, don't you? He waited for me to prove my worth, that I can back my claims with genuine proof, at any time another could've shown him that peaceful future, and what did this society do? They ran his name, his legacy through the mud. I understand that, so I offered him what you could never."
"What?" She almost didn't want to ask that, feeling a thousand eyes on her at once.
"Salvation," Kovik answered plainly, his body beginning to crack... wait, 'crack'? Valstrax sniffed the air, and nothing but the stench of rot filled her nostrils. She recognized this scent, it was present at the League of Villains hideout when they saved Katsuki and Yuki. Rot and decay. "Do you want to know why I stayed?"
He leaned forward to the hero's eye. "I wanted you to come here, down into this dark crypt with every hero possible squeezed inside," Kovik placed a hand on his chest, and the shadow bulged, peeling back his hollow carcass. "Infernal... I leave this masquerade... to you..."
There wasn't much time to think or act, any that saw Kovik, heard his words like a final sentence at the gallows knew the stakes. This wasn't just misinformation, Kovik had suspected them all along.
Infernal's obsidian hide was cracked like his chest, bubbling like a volcano ready to blow, just standing near him made the whole facility hotter, the ground under his boots melting into slag. "I've never felt so complete in my whole life...!" The flesh connecting his lips peeled and split as his crocodile smile stretched beyond human measure. "Contribute to mine and my partner's newest skill - Worldwide Purge!"
Orangey-yellow flames expunged themselves from his flesh, most becoming a brilliant blue around his chest cavity. There was very little time to act at all, many turned to run from the inferno melting the world down to nothing.
Valstrax had never considered herself much of a fighter, sure, she had similar abilities to that of Ryukyu, the pair never once let that rivalry for best dragon outweigh their commitment to their roles. But if Akame was honest with herself, she knew she was better at sudden attacks and speed, overall, up close to her target she was only above peek physical fitness, though her dragon element helped to bolster that strength.
"I'm a dragon at heart, I share the qualities of one; a possessive problem, I can sometimes let pride shadow my focus, and my anger makes me reckless," She knew this very well, she was still chasing after Shota like a schoolgirl. "But that greed, it just makes my chest hotter, my dragon element feels the same way... so I'll forgo human nature..."
"Wah!" Rock Lock found himself just at the edge of the laboratory entrance, so did many other heroes as a blue and silver mass flew away from his sight.
As a great tsunami of orange flames consumed the world, Valstrax didn't even flinch passing by Endeavor who carried others to safety. Her armor was glossy and sleek, and spurting from her wing vents and chest were the most vibrant azure element.
"Grab on!" Above, Ryukyu called down to Eraserhead, his binding cloth snatching toward her back leg had something black not shredded the fabric. He gasped as he fell toward the ground, a High-End had survived, cutting off his escape as it dragged him toward hell itself. Valstrax slammed into the ground before Eraserhead, catching his arm before the Nomu that dragged him down could pull him into the fire.
To Valstrax's horror, and his own, Crust had severed the Nomu's arm with a throwing shield, the man simply smiled back without an ounce of fear, the flames consuming him as Eraserhead screamed in grief, Valstrax closed her eyes and released another tremendous blast to escape the sun's raging inferno.
Clutching Eraserhead tightly, she glanced between her wings, she swore that day she saw it. Crust's shield expanded beyond measure, containing the blast within the small amount of space available, but the walls and floor were melting away, but his barrier warded off the force for the Sky Comet hero to save her friend's life.
Down in Jaku City, the evacuation team worked tirelessly to aid the whole populace into escaping what was bound to be a warzone if the other teams failed to detain all villains in the surrounding area. "If anyone in this neighborhood can't get up and our on their own, please let us know!" Burnin relayed far and wide. "There's a chance this whole city will soon be a counter-villain battleground!"
People gathered belongings, packed up with families into busses and other means of transportation to move as quickly and efficiently as possible. Some had their stuff and themselves floated out from buildings, others were escorted by a Pro or Work-Study student. It was organized chaos as any second all hell would break loose.
Standing in the middle of the street, Yuki had several windows displayed before her, her mind working tirelessly on her own. "The next round of shuttles are inbound, ETA Five minutes so let's fill those we have as quickly as possible," She tapped the right-hand screen, shifting her focus to a map layout. "How's the transport links in the south?"
~All green here, we've managed to move the vehicles off the roads to clear more space~ One relayed
"Confirmed. How about evacuations to office buildings closer to the Central Business District?" Yuki wouldn't stop, she kept her mind on fire.
~Eighty percent cleared, waiting on pick-up~ Another answered.
"Burnin, we've nearly cleared out the northern sectors!" She yelled over to the sidekick who nodded in confirmation.
"Let them know that we have space in our location if needed," Burnin was impressed by the girl who kept this up without so much as a complaint.
"North, any aid, let us know, we have room for evacuations," Yuki sent back, earning two buzzes as a response. Pushing her map toward the east while a duplicate displayed west of her location, so far, everything was ahead of schedule, good.
~The fifth ward is completely evacuated!~ Kota announced
~Our group is finished too!~ Nejire's squad added in.
~We're going to check every single building to ensure nobody has been left behind in senior homes and apartments~ Iida answered back dutifully.
"Keep in touch then," Yuki replied to them all before turning her attention to the path to her left. As people waited to evacuate, a little boy with his mother was staring at her mask, eyes wide with wonder and curiosity. Tilting her head, Yuki pulled her mask back a little to peek at the boy, giving him a sweet smile that he beamed at, blushing slightly. "Okay, everyone's in order so - huh?"
She caught sight of Izuku, he was standing off to the side, his face clouded in thought, clutching his stomach. Was something wrong? "Deku?" He didn't budge at her tone, even as she approached him.
A pressure pounded in his chest down toward his stomach, and a voice beat against his eardrums. "He's coming..." The voice said urgently.
"Midoriya?" Todoroki noticed as well, passing a strange look to Yuki.
"Slacking off, huh!? What's your excuse this time!?" Katsuki was less than impressed.
"Stop him." Again, the voice made his heart pound in his ears, a strange sensation crawled over his skin. The voice of the First Holder of OFA was reaching out to him. He hasn't spoken since Izuku first met him in the mindscape. Something terrible was coming.
"The blowback will soon be here, we don't have long to speak," First User replied urgently. "Freed from the shackles of humanity, his power now swells with another," Izuku couldn't hear his friends calling to him, his head instinctively craned toward the General Hospital up on the mountain. "A Transcended One... is coming."
"The hospital..." Izuku finally spoke, and his friends turned to bask in what could only be felt as standing in the middle of a desert strike their faces.
A titanic ball of flames didn't just blow the whole hospital to dust, no, it vapourised anything caught in its radius, leaving the sky a blinding orange as it scorched hellfire through the earth, setting a few of the nearest buildings to the hospital on fire.
By the time the glaring light vanished, a plume of flames had engulfed the mountain, burning the forests as a mushroom cloud pierced the sky. If anyone was close enough, they'd see that standing on the only solid ground remaining of the laboratory was laughing hysterically, arms down as his body remained unscathed by the blast. Never before had Infernal felt so alive.
"Endeavor! Hey, Endeavor!" Burnin couldn't get ahold of her leader due to the interference from the blast.
"What happened... no quirk is that powerful, right?" Ochaco murmured.
"I..." Yuki had some ideas, none were pleasant, to say the least. Who was part of that team? Endeavor was leading them but what about the others? Ryukyu? Eraserhead? Valstrax? Did they all escape in time?
~It seems-~ The voice caught Yuki by complete surprise, twisting her body around in alarm as her whole suit went on high alert. There was no mistaking that cold, calculative tone. ~-that I can patch through to more than just the broadcasting network. Did you enjoy the show? Infernal was insistent on a grand opening of his new trick, I can't say I'm not impressed~
"Guys." Catching their attention, Yuki motioned to her coms, then passed a small swarm of SIVA to wire them through to her frequency.
~No need, soon, you'll see me, rather, I will see all of you very shortly~ Kovik explained with an almost sinister pep in his voice. ~Remember when we last met face to face? The moment we cross paths again we will see what each of us is truly made of, that time has come, and we both have grown beyond our childish impulses, haven't we?~
"Don't act like we're friends," Yuki spat venomously, looking around frantically for a sign of the Splicer. "I may have Siva's memories of you, but don't think I'll go easy on you because of it."
He chuckled slightly, ~You would insult me if you did, no matter, in the end, I will still be the victor~ She felt it, like a ball of lead spinning around in her chest, cramping her movements. ~Take a look at that little sword in your hands, then, stand still, and simply look up... and tell me what you can do with that thing?~
"The hell's that mean?" Katsuki glowered, he didn't like this feeling, like he was missing something vital to the mission.
"Don't listen to him, he's trying to get into our heads," Shoto wanted to believe it was that simple, he knew it was fruitless, Kovik had just shown them what he can do, rather, one of his allies could do.
"Aksis, why would he contact us directly?" Izuku asked, his own worry settling in after his own commune with OFA's First Holder. "Why trouble himself in revealing his location to the one person who could track it?"
Then it hit her like a slab to the gut. He wanted her to see him. Her lips felt bone dry. "...no..."
Kovik was alone atop the tallest skyscraper in Jaku City. The general hospital was in a fiery ruin now, smoke rose from the mountainous horizon where another attack took place. But within the centerpiece of his design were the two people he wanted most. An insatiable urge to crush Yuki, and to take One For All for himself. Whatever these new desires were, they certainly made this next act so much more thrilling to his cold chassis.
He raised his right hand toward the dark clouds, oh how it felt, the surge of energy rippling as waves through his joints, gathering, pinching at his fingertips. Streams of deep scarlet beckoned the skies to open up, his strike was predetermined before the heroes arrived at Jaku City. This was all part of the plan. Red lightning spat from his armored plates, his wires glowing as though they were veins.
Despite this, the girl's voice reached back through his thoughts, trying to pry his location from his mind. ~...no... No! This is between you and me, it's always been-!~
"No," He worded coldly, the pressure was becoming greater than himself, his arm's protection creased and split under the strain. This body cannot handle his strength, but he knew it would last for what needed to be done. He would work with wire and oil if demanded of his body. "Japan has watched as you flaunt your Splicer abilities, make a fool of our legacies, demean our titles and our ways for your own benefit,"
~I never did that!~ She hissed. She dared to challenge him on this account. Defiant if anything, but this would not stop him. Nothing would stop his advance. ~You...! You murdered countless innocent people that never did you any wrong-!~
"I'm painfully aware. Human, Guardian, Eliksni, I have stained my hands," He closed his fist, feeling his joints nearly tear from the gravity distortion. "Let my name be drowned in blood, all that matters now... is my people's salvation,"
He raised his eyes to the sky, scarlet stars glittering the once blue sky in their pale red haze. Now all could see what he intended. "Now, you will be silent, Japan will watch, and I... shall... Speak!"
Kovik had to thank Red Dragon for this idea, such a deadly and destructive prototype. He knew it wouldn't do as he intended but it would shake this warped society, display what a true Splicer can create. This was his starting line. His heartbeat raced as he lowered his hand.
Yuki's eyes widened in fright, unable to do anything more than flinch.
Izuku's stomach twisted around painfully, eyes like pins.
Katsuki's face was pale, sweat rolling down his right cheek, teeth knitted tightly.
"Escalation Judgement." Two words were all that anyone the Splicer had patched into heard leave his lips. Two cold, bitter, satisfying words that left a strong sickness in their stomachs.
The blue sky lit up with a red glare
Seven thin red beams struck the city in a single, horizontal line, from them, a wall of flames erupted from the earth, obliterating everything caught in its inferno, sweeping up anything and everything not layered with concrete and rebar. The sheer force of the blast left many ears ringing, the ground quaked and shuttered at the thunderous roar that shook the sky.
Whatever hope that could be felt was slammed back into the hearts of all that witnessed the blast, the encroaching air pressure tearing through the city with extreme prejudice.
A death wall of debris was heading straight for the heroes still caught in their evacuation efforts.
Without thinking, without breathing once. Two leapt at that carnage without a single thought other than 'protect them'. Izuku and Yuki joined hands, if only briefly, it would be enough, it will be enough! "Unity!" They screamed, combining into one figure who swung back their right leg. "One For All, Perfected Fifty percent!"
With a single swing at the chaos, a massive cone of air pressure left their leg's wide scope. "St. Louis Perfected! Air Force!"
The tsunami of debris warped and folded against itself as the world trembled violently. "Get these people moving!" Katsuki roared, turning his attention to those in the collision course.
"Everyone Run!" Yuzuku screamed.
To Be Continued...
How I've waited for this moment. The War Arc has finally begun, and so much has already changed, for better or for worse, who can tell? Kovik and Infernal have shown their strength, but what else awaits our heroes? Why did One For All sense All For One's presence? I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; seeya in the next chapter, heroes!
Next Chapter Intermission: Will of Imperfection
Infernal sat on a pile of ash, coughing up some with flames stuck to his hair. "Oooohoho, that freakin' hurt!" He cackled as Valstrax blew out his hair with a jet of wind. "How did you survive that?"
"I'm a dragon, guess?" Valstrax gave him a flat look as he patted his knees.
"Touchy subject," He muttered.
She sighed, flexing a wing. "My scales are highly resistant to fire since I break the sound barrier when I reach my top speeds, and especially for when I perform nose-dives from high altitudes,"
"Hah, I'm immune then!" He earned a smack from her tail.
"Nightmares don't count, you're immune to life." Valstrax crossed her arms with a huff.
"Ahah! I can be killed with divine sources, another Nightmare or their Host, mine included, and Gods!" Infernal blinked, seeing the sly smirk on the woman's face. "...you just played me, didn't you?"
"Coming soon, Will of Perfection, Go Beyond-"
"You're ignoring me, aren't you? Is this cause I nearly burned your boyfrie - ack!" Her tail slapped him again.
"-Plus Ultra."
