16.09.2021

Hello you wonderful readers! First off, I'm sorry for how long it took me to release this chapter, but I was heavily inspired to write for Champion to Slay the Gods constantly and I've discovered that I should've split that chapter in two, but there just isn't a good place to do so, so the chapter has already doubled the usual length... Yeah... It's gonna be a long one.

But you didn't come here for Champion to Slay the Gods. You've came to see a Hero's Demise!

But first the comments!:

Bucio - I'm happy you were surprised. I even accented the difference in chapter name's with Cybrex vs Muscular and Cybrex & Stain. I won't spoiler much by talking about what will happen to Izuku now though so you'll simply have to read the chapter! ;D Also, the longest chapter up to date is probably the one about the Cultural Festival with the play. At least I think so, but there's no easy way to check that unfortunately.

CarEnthusiast - If I had to put death in here he would either be throwing curses around like there's no tomorrow or have massive honkers, can't really predict which one it would be though.

There were also four comments from a user that I'm pretty sure won't be coming back so let's get straight into the chapter!

The world was… cold. And pitch black. Or maybe he just had his eyes closed? He couldn't really feel anything so moving his eyelids was out of the picture. It was as if his body suddenly quadrupled in weight and was strapped to a bed.

It was quite terrifying. Waking up in complete darkness, surrounded by an endless void, not being able to see, hear or feel anything at all. Perfect nightmare fuel for most people.

But Midoriya Izuku was not 'most people'. So instead of having a mental panic attack, he tried to figure out what exactly was going on.

Maybe it was a cloudy night and all the lights were off? Maybe he was laying on his stomach, too tired to try and roll around or do anything for that matter? Or maybe he was already put in a coffin and accidentally buried alive and all that's left is to wait for the oxygen to run out so that he can suffocate-!

Aizawa was not having a good day. Scratch that - week! It was almost two days since that one terrible evening and the tidal wave of backlash had yet to fully wash over them.

Some students already voiced their plans to leave UA and seek a different, safer school. Those conflicted about dropping out of the prestigious school they sacrificed so much for were being coaxed by their parents into changing schools.

Unfortunately, both of these issues were present in his class, as he already knew that at least two of his students were going to transfer to Shiketsu as soon as possible, while some still were mulling over both of these ideas.

It was two days since UA fell from its spot at the very top. It was also two days since Izuku Midoriya fell into some kind of a coma that even the doctors weren't sure how to wake him up from.

Speaking of the green haired problem child - Aizawa was currently on his way towards the room he was placed in along with some of the less injured students that wanted an update on their Representative's condition, because he wasn't looking so good when they loaded him into that private jet.

As they neared room 417 its doors swung wide open and through them stepped a familiar face.

"'Raser! Just the person I wanted to see!", the man exclaimed and headed straight towards the group.

"Kravchenko, I'm surprised to see you here", the gruff teacher said with a hint of suspicion.

The Merchant of Death approached them and it almost looked like he was about to pass by and go his separate way, but he surprised the group by putting his left hand on Aizawa's right shoulder, effectively stopping their advance.

"I'm having a headache of the century right now, but you need to hear this", he said and Eraser only nodded his head, waiting for what was probably going to be very, very bad news. "You shouldn't let the kids enter this room", Martin explained whilst motioning towards Midoriya's room with a small nod. "He's going to wake up in ten seconds, looking confused as ever and then break down into a panic attack five minutes later. I'll go find a doctor and bring him here, try to stall just a bit", and with that cryptic, yet incredibly unsettling prophecy, Kravchenko left with a hurried step.

This short exchange was kept to merely a whisper, yet Aizawa was sure that at least one person was able to hear everything clearly. The Pro looked over his shoulder, his tired sight stopping on the form of one Kyoka Jiro.

"Widened eyes, slightly opened mouth, she heard it", the Hero stated and sighed, it's going to be a long day.

Aizawa walked over to the doors to the room that Midoriya was being held in and opened them before stepping inside, his students following closely behind.

True to what Kravchenko had just told him, Izuku was awake, his groggy gaze scanning the room he was in as a nurse checked all the different machines he was hooked up to. It took a couple of seconds but the greenette's gaze finally landed on his newest guests. As soon as he noticed them a small smile appeared on his lips.

Aizawa also noticed his right arm twitch for a bit before going still once again. He guessed that his body was taking its sweet time to wake up from the slumber or simply had trouble doing so. The Pro hoped it was the meds and not the damage.

"H-Hi…", the teen whispered out, his voice dry and coarse. Thankfully, the nurse was already waiting with a glass of water for him, which he took and then drank in moments. "That's better…", he sighed out after returning the now empty glass to the nurse who excused herself to inform the doctors about his awakening.

"How do you feel man?", Kirishima asked when the door to the room closed once again.

"I don't… They must've given me some strong meds I gotta say!", the greenette joked weakly and everyone's worries were calmed a bit. "How is the rest holding up?", he asked after a few moments of silence passed.

"They're alright. You're actually the last one to wake up! Not surprising after that stunt you've pulled at the end", Kaminari answered and both Jiro and Aizawa stiffened slightly.

"What stunt…?", Izuku questioned, tilting his head in curiosity.

"At the end when you punched that giant monster away and your left arm just explod- GYAH!", the blonde suddenly shrieked in pain as a jack stabbed him right in the ribs.

"My… left arm?", the damage was already done however as Izuku turned his gaze away from his classmates and towards the left side of his bed, where his left hand probably was, covered by the blanket. "Funny you would mention that… I- I don't really feel it…", his breath grew shorter by the second as Aizawa quickly recognized what was about to transpire. "It's almost as if… it wasn't… there…"

"Everybody out of the room!", he ordered sternly and then noticed something else.

The boy's right arm started twitching once again, but this time it didn't stop. Not until the blanket started moving, being lifted slowly by Izuku's functional arm.

Aizawa tried to stop him, but his students got in the way. Alas he wasn't able to stop Midoriya from discovering the fate of his left arm.

The blanket was ripped away, revealing a cast, something that should've been expected. The problem was that it covered only Izuku's upper arm and ended right above where his elbow once was. Everything lower than that? Gone.

"W-What? W-Where's my a-arm? Where is it? Where is my arm?!", his breath shallow and uneven, eyes wide open with a mixture of fear and disbelief.

Midoriya strained his right arm to grasp at what was left of his left one, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. It had to be an illusion right? He just needed to search around and find where they hid the rest of his arm. Then they would just admit it was a joke and they would all laugh like they used to in school. Right?!

"I-It's not here! It can't be true!", tears quickly appeared in the corners of his eyes as reality finally set in.

He tried to get up by lifting himself with his good arm, at which point Aizawa decided that he had enough of his students getting in the way and simply pushed through them towards the one that needed him the most right now.

"Kirishima, I need your help!", he yelled, struggling to keep the teen laying flat on the bed by himself.

Kirishima though was standing as if he was but a marble statue, shocked by the image of his always smiling and confident Class Rep and more importantly friend writhe in agony with tears seconds away from spilling from his eyes.

"Kirishima!", Aizawa shouted once again and this time managed to shake the red-haired teen out of his stupor. "Your friend needs you. So stop standing there and lend me a hand will ya?!", the angry command seemed to finally push Kirishima to act as he quickly circled the bed and grabbed Izuku by his left shoulder and the remains of his arms, pushing him downwards once again.

Midoriya's breathing was even more rugged than before, the gasps turning into painful wheezes as he struggled to get air into his lungs.

Thankfully, not a second too early, doors to the room slammed open and a doctor rushed in, followed by a slew of nurses that immediately got to work on stabilizing the panicking patient.

Aizawa and his students were quickly ushered outside and ordered to keep the doors closed. As soon as they were back in the hallway, most of them collapsed, either on a bench, against a wall or straight to the floor.

"D-Did that really happen just now?", Ashido whispered out, too shocked by the reveal and the situation that unfolded to feel any complex emotions.

"What happened to his arm though?", Denki wondered as he traced circles on Jiro's back.

"Do you remember the last thing Midoriya did before falling unconscious?", Aizawa asked with a grim face, not obscured by his scarf.

"He punched that monster right? And it was quite the punch with all the blood that burst out of that thing", Ojiro recalled and others nodded as the scene flashed briefly in their minds.

"It was Midoriya's blood", the Pro revealed and students gasped in shock. "He must've injured his arm earlier in the night and that last punch was the straw that broke the camel's back. The bones in his left arm shattered and shredded the limb from the inside, forcing the doctors to amputate the mangled mess to save at least a part of his arm", Aizawa explained and his grim looks spread to his students.

"Why didn't you tell us?", Kirishima asked with a steady tone, though his heart must've been overfilled with all the different emotions he was feeling.

"Ideally, I would've liked for everything to calm down a bit before dropping such a bomb on you. Unfortunately, I just don't seem to get what I want…", the second sentence was whispered out, though the hallway was quiet enough for most of his students to hear his words. "Whatever the case, it doesn't change the fact that Midoriya will need your help, supporting friends will no doubt aid in his… recovery. That's why all of you need to stay strong. And yes, I'm aware that some of you consider changing schools after what happened. A few have even already transferred. I'm not going to stop you. I believe you have potential to be great heroes in the future, but that potential doesn't have to be nurtured at UA. Every Pro Hero started off by choosing a Hero School to go to, his own path. If you decide to go down a different path, then so be it, just remember to always give it your all, even if your school's motto is no longer 'Plus Ultra'", and with that the tired man walked away, leaving his students to digest the monologue.

"Bro, I feel so motivated right now, and I didn't even consider leaving UA!", Kirishima exclaimed though in a much tamer way than what was usual for him, given the overall mood of the group.

All in all, there weren't many things for them to do now and with Aizawa's words heavy on their hearts and minds they decided to go their separate ways and deal with this in different manners.

It wouldn't be until the fourth day since their training camp was attacked that the students would get a chance to meet with their Representative once again. So they went to visit him as soon as they got the 'go ahead' from the hospital staff. This time however, Aizawa wasn't with them, but all the students were.

Some wanted to see how he was dealing with his loss, others had yet to see his condition in person whilst a few wanted to simply say their goodbyes.

The nineteen teens entered Midoriya's room, taking up a big portion of the available space. A nurse was present, doing a few minor checks before leaving to give them some privacy.

"Hi guys", something that everyone noticed immediately was how tame, calm and even Midoriya's voice was. They even wanted to bring it up, but their Class Rep beat them to it. "Don't mind the voice I'm high on antidepressants right now", he even gave them a small smile which lifted their spirits quite a bit.

It would've worked even better if he wasn't laying in a hospital bed and missing an arm, but it's not like they had a choice anyways.

"At least your sense of humor is back!", Denki was the first one to speak up, though he almost earned himself a jack to the ear for his words if it wasn't for Izuku releasing a short snort of amusement.

"You got that part right. And these medications aren't that bad. I doubt any of you were visited by a talking lizard covered in fur that was saying 'You're a wizard Izuku' over and over again", Midoriya joked, which drew a fair share of chuckles from his classmates.

One person however, wasn't buying it. Yaoyorozu stepped forward, sadness rising within her chest the more she understood Izuku's current state. "How do you feel? And I want to hear the truth, not some white lie meant to reassure us that everything is going to be okay", she first asked, but then quickly added when she saw his smile crack the tiniest bit.

Majority of present students were confused by what their Vice Rep had just said, but were quickly enlightened when Izuku sighed deeply before his smile dropped entirely.

"I still can't seem to be able to fool you", he said, his voice full of melancholy. "I feel like… Actually, I don't feel a whole lot. I'm quite apathetic right now. The arm doesn't hurt per se, but I keep having phantom pains, sometimes I even start to feel my left hand move only to look and see that it's not there…", his voice was still calm and even, which meant that the part about antidepressants wasn't thought up. "But it doesn't bother me that much actually", he surprised them by revealing this. "Sure I may not be able to be a hero anymore, but at least I've managed to protect you, so that YOU can become heroes yourselves", this time a genuine smile graced his face as he looked over his peers.

However, some of them felt guilt well up in their hearts as they realized how much faith he had in them. But before any of them had a chance to speak up, Izuku continued.

"I see you all gloomy over there in the back", he joked as he focused on a few people standing closest to the doors. "Aizawa filled me in about it yesterday. Honestly I would be surprised if such a tragic event didn't shake any of you enough to start worrying about your lifes. That being said, I don't hold it against you and I'm sure that you'll be just as amazing heroes elsewhere as you would've been here", it wasn't wishful thinking, but his bared thoughts and emotions.

"So manly!", Kirishima explained, trying to hold in the manly tears of pride.

The students that decided to transfer to a different hero school released a collective sigh of relief once they heard what their Class Rep had to say on the topic of them leaving and some of them even smiled.

"So… what happens to you now?", Jiro asked, curious but also fearing the answer a bit.

"First, I need to be released from the hospital, because there's not much to do here", this earned him a few chuckles. "Then, I'm gonna have a meeting with Nezu"

"With Nezu? About what?"

"You'll see", Izuku answered mysteriously. "Anyways, we've talked about me, but how are you guys doing?"

After that they spent about half an hour discussing everyone's plans for the near future with Kirishima boldly declaring that he will try to become as manly as his Class Rep. Midoriya was certain that his 'go getter' attitude was one of the main things lifting everyone's spirits right now. You just couldn't stay all doom and gloom around this guy for long. A good trait for a future hero no doubt.

These weren't his last gusts for today however. One Itsuka Kendo decided to visit the man who sacrificed himself to save her and thank him from the bottom of her heart. She was fairly certain that he was alone in his room right now as all of his classmates had stopped by earlier in the day, so she simply walked into the room without knocking.

As soon as she entered she was surprised to see a figure sitting next to Midoriya, their back facing the door.

The person turned around as they heard the doors open and revealed themselves to be none other than the Merchant of Death himself.

"Huh, weird, I thought we had more time…", Kravchenko said probably more to himself than to the people in the room and then got up from the chair he was occupying. "It doesn't matter really, my work here is done", he stated before turning one last time towards Midoriya. "Think about the offer, kid. The world still needs Cybrex, now perhaps more than ever", the man said before leaving.

That's when Itsuka finally got a good look at Izuku's face. His eyes were wide open and his mouth was slightly agape. Puzzled by this she took the now free chair and sat down next to the hospital bed.

"What's with the face?", she joked lightly with a small smile that quickly morphed into pure shock once she heard his answer.

"He said he knows how I can keep being a hero"

And that's that! Like, that's really that. I have basically nothing else to say.

Except the fact that I'll be posting and overhauled version of the first chapter today as well. Yay.