Izuku had bad memories of a raid exactly like the one he was preparing to undertake. His mind naturally went back to his fight against the forces of Overhaul. That fight had costed Sir Nighteye his life and Mirio his Quirk, not to mention the battering many of the other present Heroes had taken during it. And their victory had been as much the result of a stroke of luck, of his Quirk and Eri's synergizing so well allowing him to use One for All at its best. Here they didn't have that.
Someone knocked at his door. The clock on the wall was just shy of midnight, a bit late for someone else to show up, but he stood up and went to the door. There, waiting was Itsumi.
"Hey." She said weakly "Can't sleep?"
"Not well." He admitted "You neither?"
"No I… I am worried." She replied with a sigh "It's my first time taking part in something like this." Izuku could not hide his surprise, so she stopped him before he could ask "I don't mean fighting villains, but it's my first time taking on so many at once."
"Oh. Yeah, I understand." He replied, nodding "I did a few times, but it's not like I had a normal school year. Most of my friends haven't been involved in that many big incidents. It's nothing weird."
"I was hoping you'd say that. Dad always said… says that he was involved in a few big fights as well back at UA, and I would ask him normally, but…"
"I know, this is weird. I suppose I can help." He smiled, and she smiled back, a tired look on her face "I would suggest to stick close together, but I've learned from experience that if the enemy has any preparation they will try to split us apart. Also, if they start escaping, we might be forced to do it anyway since we can't lose them. You should choose a person or two to try and keep close. Never go alone if you can avoid it." He said, thinking of Mirio and what had happened to him. "If you are alone…"
He talked for a good hour, the two of them on the door exchanging questions and answers. Izuku found quickly that, despite her being around his age, she actually knew a lot of theory about raiding a criminal base, far more than he did back in school. 'Their curriculum must be different. I wonder if it was because of what Alien King did in her world.'
It was a yawn from her that broke them out of their discussion. She seemed to realize all at once how late it was. "We should probably sleep." She said, and Izuku nodded. She walked away quickly, thanking him, and he went back to bed.
It was surprising how easy it was to talk with Itsumi. He wasn't as shy as he had been when he had first spoken to Uraraka. 'Not that I actually spoke.' He thought. Since then, he had made enough female friends to ease up. But Itsumi was different. She was easy to speak to. Maybe it was because they were both One for All users, or maybe because they were both Midoriya. He didn't feel anything romantic for her, that was for sure. She was cute, yes, but it would have felt far too weird to make him think of her romantically. She was Hizuku's daughter, so in a way, he assumed, she was his daughter. They had the same freckles, and a similar body type. Moreover, everything else looked like a female Bakugou, which added a whole other level of weirdness.
The train of thought proved to work into relaxing him enough, and soon the young man was asleep.
-x-
"Ohi, Gun, wake up."
The outlaw opened his eyes, snorting as he stood up from the small bed he had been given. He looked up to see the towering form of Muscular looming over him. His hand flew reflexively to his holster and All for One, before the man chuckled "Keep your toy down. The boss wants to see you."
He nodded and stood up, relaxing. Infighting was forbidden by his Crest, of course, so he wouldn't have been able to shoot the towering blonde even if he wanted to, but he doubted a normal bullet would have done anything, and he wasn't in the habit of firing the others. 'Unless I shot him in his right eye… No, it would probably get replaced anyway.'
He pondered on the best way to kill Muscular, walking mechanically after him. As he often did, he got lost in thought. One didn't spend his life as he had on the Frontier for so long without gaining the ability to at least tell if there was danger nearby, but here there was none, which left him with a lot of free time to think. And one didn't spend life on the Frontier at all without thinking on the best way to kill his fellow man.
He stopped as Muscular pointed him at the boss door, and he nodded, preparing his red foulard before entering. The boss hated his face, apparently, so he resigned himself to this. He slipped in the room and closed the door behind.
The boss' room was orderly. Too orderly for his taste, but then again he wasn't the one that had summoned nine henchmen from other worlds. Desk, summoning circle, bed, a bookshelf, and a cage with the Asset inside. He spared a single look for the black-haired kid. He had seen enough times how the Summoning worked to know he was involved. It could only be used once every ten days or so and it exhausted the Asset, but it was incredibly worth it apparently. He had to agree in a way. Even the least useful of them was an excellent fighter, so there was a point in using those means, even if he found it disgusting.
He stopped his thoughts as he returned his gaze to the desk, and the man sitting behind it. Lord Arkin was a tall, thin man with orange hair and a balding forehead. Thin mustache of the same colour and a lean body completed his appearance. The idea of popping a bullet in his head passed through the gunslinger's head for maybe the hundredth time in the last three months, but he knew where that would lead. It was the path that ended like the Lizard's had. So, he opted for his next option.
Obeying.
"What is it Bo… My lord?" He quickly corrected himself. Calling him Boss was a good way to anger Lord Arkin, who considered himself above a mere criminal overlord that could be called that. The fact he had the gall to say that with a child caged in his room and after having summoned nine of what could only be described as slaves from their homes was really telling.
The man smiled. "The attack will begin soon Gun." He started. Never once had the man used their name. The moment they showed up, he would choose a name for them. If he liked the name you used in your own world, maybe he could be 'generous' and let you keep it. Otherwise, you ended up like him, the Ripper or the Beast, with a made up name that often had little to no originality. That alone was enough for him to consider sending a bullet in the man's skull again. "It's time for your final orders."
"I live to serve." He replied, gritting his teeth as he spat the response the man wanted. The slimy smile on his face made clear how much the bastard enjoyed his position of power. They both knew that, if it wasn't for the Summoner Crest, not a single one of them would have willingly served him. They both knew he found it amusing.
"You do. Very well, here are your orders. All the men following the Hero of Colfire, and the Hero himself if you can manage, are to die. I said that before Two exceptions, however, must be made for them." He showed him two drawings, and the outlaw nodded. After a moment, he took the drawings and put them in his pocket. "Everyone is expandable for this, except you and the Claw – that is the newbie, by the way. I was finally struck by a good name. As such, you two are assigned as my personal guards. Unless I tell you otherwise, you are to follow me."
"Of course."
"We will also take the Asset. Move him now to the carriage, a new cage has already been prepared. You are free to organize the others in whatever way you want, so long that you believe it's the best choice."
'Of course. You don't have the skill to organize this beyond the basics, so instead you give me the job.' He had long since decided that Lord Arkin was an idiot, but this was just another proof for the pile. They had the chance to avoid the confrontation and escape now, but he wouldn't. Instead, he would waste some of his strongest fighters for the chance of killing this Hero of his and his entourage out of petty revenge, or even worse to try and capture some of them alive. "Anything else, my Lord?"
"No, I believe that will be all Gun. You are free to rest until dawn, once you have passed the orders to the others."
"If I might then, my Lord…"
"Yes?"
"I wished to ask for a Healing Potion for To… the Beast. I'll need her in top shape tomorrow, and I don't think her wounds have healed quite yet."
"What about your magic gun? No little healing bullets in there?"
He shook his head "As you are aware, sir, a gun is a weapon. It kills, not heals." 'At least, that was my predecessor's philosophy. If this guy hadn't summoned me while hunting for that woman, it might be different.'
"A pity." He opened a drawer in his desk with a tired look, like the gunslinger was a child asking for more candy. And like a parent tiredly responding to his request, he took out a small red vial and handed it to him. "It will be enough."
'Barely, but you don't really care, do you?' He thought, nodding at the command and walking towards the door before feeling barely a hint of pain. He turned around and stared at the boss.
"Forgetting something?" He asked, tilting his head towards the child. He grimaced and walked forward, picking him up. The child showed no sign of resistance, merely clinging at him. They eyes met, green into gold, and he sighed, holding his head with one hand. Once more, his mind flew towards the idea of pulling out All for One and shooting a bullet in the bastard's head. His fastest bullets should have killed the summoner before he could activate the Crest, and if he died while killing him? He could almost say it was worth it.
But his survival instincts won over. On the Frontier, ethics were a luxury. He had imposed them at times, but doing so now for the boy would gain him nothing but a short lived satisfaction. He bowed again and left once more. The moment the door closed, he stormed past Muscular and rushed away. 'We are all just disposable pawns to him. He likes me and the ne… Claw, but more like a chicken a farmer feeds better than the others before chopping its neck for a special occasion.' He scowled at the analogy his mind had gone for, but decided it was apt enough.
"Hey, did the Boss say anything new?!" Muscular shouted.
"I'll tell you later." He grumbled. The man flipped him a middle finger, but he ignored it, walking out until he reached the hidden door to the tunnel.
"Are we… escaping?" The kid asked.
"No kid. We aren't." The glint of hope in the golden eyes vanished, but the gunslinger ignored it. No point in hiding the truth. "Don't try to run yourself. You know you can't make it far. Remember what happened to the Lizard when he tried to help you and stay put."
The kid whimpered, but nodded. "What's your name, sir?"
"The Boss says I am Gun." He replied "What about you?"
"Kai." The kid said in a whisper the cowboy barely caught "My name is Kai."
The man really wished he hadn't asked. Calling him Asset made this a lot easier. As he pondered his mistake, they continued down the tunnel.
-x-
Izuku, a black hood and cloak covering his Hero costume, stood at the door of the Duchess mansion, along with Itsumi, Todoroki and Ojiro. The girl was bouncing on her feet. Under her cloak, she was wearing her own Hero costume, though the only visible part was the top hat on her head. Izuku wondered for maybe the tenth time what it actually looked like, considering her fighting style didn't really seem to go along with the kind of clothes he had seen in the shop they had visited in her world.
Todoroki and Ojiro were calmer. Todoroki had his Hero costume with him when they had jumped, but Ojiro was just wearing normal clothes, so now was dressed in some clothes he had received back in Itsumi's world, all hidden once more under the cloaks. Their calm, however, was accompanied by a subdued anger.
"Good, you are here." Izo's voice broke their silence, and they turned to look at him. His own cloak was doing little to hide the shape of the armor he was wearing, but at this time in the morning he could probably make it mostly unnoticed to the mansion. "Let's go. Dekirn and Kikora are waiting for us."
They nodded and took off. The Duchess wasn't there, already heading to the palace for the meeting of the Crowns she and Urane had called for. Lord Korsch and Tenro had done the same for the Swords as promised, and as they made their way up the hill, they noticed many carriages doing the same. Prudently, they always kept a fair distance, to make sure no one could recognize Izo or Todoroki.
They turned quickly, reaching an elegant four-story villa. At least, it should have been elegant, but even from the distance they were keeping Izuku could tell it had seen better days. A large patch of ivy was growing on the western wall, clearly unkempt as it covered windows and wall alike. The garden was not well kept, with the trees' leaves growing unchecked. Rust covered the metallic fence and the gate. The villa's back didn't have a fence at all, the walls ending directly in the side of the hill.
"Not doing well, are they?"
"Their house has had a number of terrible heads that have squandered most of their money. The current head has tried to bring money back, but with most of it going back home to their lands, only a handful makes its way here to the city to improve the mansion."
"Good for us. It made it a lot easier." Todoroki commented.
"That it did." Izo replied dryly, before moving to a nearby tavern. Here, already sitting at a table, were Dekirn and Kikora, who yawned casually as she waved at them.
"No one has left the house since we arrived." Dekirn said immediately "And no one has escaped either."
"How do you know?" Izuku asked.
Kikora grinned "Because the routine of the household hasn't changed. With their master gone, they would be slacking off a bit. So long as their Lord is here, the few servants he has left will be working hard to make themselves noticeable. Moreover, my elven charm does miracles to convince young men to speak. One of the stable boys told me the Lord has some guests that are currently in the villa as well. He says at least five, but they are not allowed to meet them, so he isn't sure how many there really are."
"Good enough." Izo nodded "We should go soon. How many servants are in there?"
"Two in the stables, three maids and a butler in the house proper."
"Plus the four individuals that attacked the Prince, plus at least one assassin that took out the king, and Lord Arkin, we have at least eleven people in the house. Remember, we want to capture everyone alive if possible."
"Where did the whole speech on the necessity of killing go?" Ojiro asked, surprised.
"It stopped in a city where we have cells, some imbued with magic that could hold a dragon. I don't enjoy killing, Ojiro. And here I'd rather capture them all alive. They are either just working as a servant or are forced into service, and Lord Arkin has information I want to collect."
"Question." Todoroki asked, "What will happen to them if Arkin dies?"
Kikora was the first to respond, "Depends on the spell he put on them. The Summoner Crest usually disappears once the caster dies, but he could have made it so the property of it passes to an ally of some kind. That's another reason why we need him alive: we have to know the specifics on the incantation he used."
"I see." Todoroki looked at Izo, who was in thought. After a few moments, the man finally spoke.
"Remember, if he is the kind of person that would use a Summoner Crest, he won't care for those he summoned. He will probably sacrifice them and make a run for it. We should be prepared to face multiple fights." He glanced at Kikora, who nodded.
"And we need to get him fast." She added.
"That's why I think we should be ready to split up."
"That's a bad idea." Ojiro replied before Midoriya could speak "We are just inviting an ambush if we do that."
"No, he has a point." The elf interjected, her purple eyes taking an angry look. "Remember, this guy isn't going to act like someone that cares about his men would. He knows we only need to capture the Summoner to finish this. If we force him to use his power to stop the summoned people, they will stop fighting for good. He will rather use them all than waste time trying to fight us himself. If he loses today, it's over, but if he makes it away, he can rebuild any loss."
"And I am not suggesting splitting up before we are attacked." Izo pointed out, "I'm merely suggesting that we don't all waste time against a single opponent, or a pair, but rather leave one or two of us to deal with them and continue on. Remember, it's his victory even if we all get injured and he makes it out."
Todoroki tapped his fingers on the table "Fine. What's the plan then?"
"I'd like you to deal with the ice user if they show up. We already know fire is very effective against them." Izo replied "Kikora, you will be on the front since we need you to track them down. Izuku, Ojiro, Itsumi, you three are the fastest of us, stick with her and help fighting off any menace that might put her in danger. If anything particularly dangerous shows up, like the swordsman we heard about, me and Dekirn will fight it."
Todoroki glanced at him "I can accept, but what if we are outnumbered too much, or if the enemy just summons more people?"
"Run." Izo replied without hesitation "We don't know how many summoned people he has, but if you can't defeat them we gain nothing by getting ourselves killed, except giving him a victory. Retreat is a valid option."
Izuku nodded, but he had his doubts. The fact they were prepared to deal with being separated was good, but it seemed to him the plan relied a bit much on it. "What if the enemy doesn't split up his forces but just attacks us with all his summons at once?"
"Then we fight united and try to get Kikora and one of you three to slip through. Again, the Summoned don't matter once we take him. They are fighting because of the Crest."
"Right." Deku looked at Izo "I understand. I don't like the idea of breaking our group, but I understand the necessity. I will trust you know what's best."
"That's the spirit!" Kikora's loud cheer attracted a few glances, but she ignored them "Alright, let's go take down this mansion."
Izo nodded, and the seven stood up.
Walking up to the villa, Izuku felt his heart beat faster. The last time, the first attack had come at the gate, but this time there was no such thing. Dekirn stepped forward and with a simple movement unlocked the rusty gate, Kikora moving first.
"Too many tracks here." She muttered "At least ten people have come back and forth from the entrance, though some of them might be just the same person with different shoes, judging by the depth…"
Izuku and the others reached the door, and Dekirn moved in once more, taking out some tools he inserted carefully in the lock of the door. He frowned a moment later "It's open…"
Everyone tensed. That was a clear invitation, and an invitation could only mean a trap. Dekirn pushed the door, Kikora back in the lead, Ojiro and Itsumi behind them, Deku following. The rest of them stepped in behind him, and looked around.
A large hallway with wooden pavement and stone walls. Many beautiful decorations adorned the walls, but Izuku could see the signs of removed paintings on the walls, probably sold. He could see why Mustard had recognized the signs of an impoverished household.
"Some prints split to the servants' quarter and then back from it, those are all the maids, judging by the type of shoes." She pointed to a door on the left. "A recent set goes upstairs, boots. Seven more come down from there and continue on the hallway, a mixture of different types. One is… oddly heavy."
"Hallway then. Seems the most likely." He looked up, and turned to Todoroki "Can you…"
The man created a wall of ice blocking the stairs completely, and the swordsman nodded, before pointing to the servants quarters. Dekirn rushed in and soon came back out "No one. The few prints I can tell show they exited from the window."
"This is bad…" Ojiro muttered.
"They were expecting us. Kikora, how long since they left?"
"Five minutes at most, one of them had a wet shoe for some reason and left a clear track." She pointed to one of them, and they did notice there were a number of similar wet prints, though Izuku wouldn't have thought anything of it without her.
"A trap?"
"Seems a bit weird as a track. They shouldn't know we have Kikora with us."
"Only one way to find out." She replied, moving forward followed by the others. They followed her through the hallway, and Izuku observed her turn corners with decision, ignoring the points where the halls would split. When they reached almost the end of a corridor, however, she stopped.
"Six… When…" She turned around and shouted "Watch out!"
The door to her left exploded, and a gorilla barreled through. Its body shone, revealing it to be a construct made entirely of ice. The creature was stuck in a perpetual roar, although it didn't emit a single sound from the mouth as it charged through attacking them.
Izuku didn't lose a second, spinning around and kicking with his metal shoes at his head. It crumbled, but to his surprise, the creature didn't stop, the now headless gorilla grasping his leg only to melt a second later as Todoroki's flame engulfed it.
"Good." A feminine voice said calmly from the room to their left, the same the gorilla had burst out from "You aren't a boring goody at least."
"Todoroki…" Ojiro started, but the man didn't need second advice.
"On it." The man said, fire crackling from his arm and going off just as a second ice creature, this one a wolf, emerged from the door, instantly dissolving into water and steam.
"Kikora, Dekirn, the secret passage!" Izo shouted as well, the thief and scout already trying to figure out how the wall opened.
"Oh oh oh, you truly are entertaining." The voice said again, this time coming from even further down the room. Looking from the door they could see nothing as the hall was in total darkness. That was a textbook trap.
Todoroki sent out fire again as an ice eagle tried and failed to make it against them, the water raining down on the floor. Ojiro tried to dive in despite their plan, but a boar almost hit him in the chest before the fire made it disappear. A third time, as he dissolved a pair of lynxes as they roared out from wherever their opponent was.
"What, that's it?" Todoroki asked, taunting her "In that case, we are just going to go ahead."
"Try if you want, I will just get you from behind." The voice replied.
"From be…" Izo turned around and took out One for All, the blade ringing like a bell itself as a knight made of ice but dressed in full body armor attacked them with a large hammer. Todoroki turned around, and launched a flame its way, but this time the construct blocked it with the shield. More started charging forward, knights dressed in various armors and wielding weapons ranging from lances to swords, and an owl of ice fled out of the door the gorilla had broken apart for a moment before one of Itsumi's explosives destroyed it. To their horror the pieces kept moving until Todoroki burned them, just as a disembodied foot steadied itself.
Finally Kikora cheered, opening the passage. She turned to him. "Todoroki, can you beat her?"
"I think I'm the only one that can deal with her easily. Go ahead. I'll catch up soon" He said, just as Kikora finally figured out the mechanism. She pulled a nearby torch and the wall slid to the side.
"Don't die on me!" Ojiro shouted as he rushed after her. Deku saw Todoroki give a thumb up before he incinerated the knight.
"Is he going to be fine?" Itsumi asked.
"Ah, against an ice user? He might as well have taken a walk in the park." Ojiro replied as they ran downstairs.
Deku nodded, and continued down the secret passage. The steps came to a halt just four or so meters down, ending in a corridor made of stone and lighted by torches. Kikora didn't stop, following the prints. Izo looked around, cautious. Deku did the same.
-x-
Todoroki grinned as the tenth knight dissolved, the lance already reduced to a crumbled pile of ashes and a burning red point. The calm was short lived as he turned around to face two more ice wolves, turning them to water and steam.
'Alright, that's enough.' He moved forward and calmly stepped in the room, using his fire to lit the darkness. He was in a large dining hall, that extended about twenty meters long from where he was to the opposite end. There, waiting patiently, stood a woman, sitting at the opposite hand of the table. Around her was a veritable menagerie, ranging from ice crocodiles and tigers to an ice birds flying around her.
Todoroki aimed his hand, but then the girl turned to look at him and he froze for a second. She was younger, in her teens, but the grey hair, those blue eyes, and the hands always pointing downward… Even with the scarf covering the lower half of her face, he recognized her clearly.
"Reiko?" He asked, and the woman looked at him in surprise.
"Shoto Todoroki. Well, a lot older than I remember you, but still you." She replied with a grin before moving a hand. The crocodile and a bear ran forward, attacking him and helping her. Todoroki dissolved them, and turned around hearing the sound of an armored opponent, using his ice to block an incoming sword and then fire to dissolve both the construct and the ice itself. The eyes of this Reiko Yanagi changed, and Todoroki assumed she was grinning under the scarf. "You are pretty good. Not that those toys are ever going to be enough against someone like you."
"Then shouldn't you just surrender?" He asked, and she chuckled, standing up and opening her hands, revealing a set of twenty or so marbles, before she gave an order and the ice constructs charged forward as she launched those same marbles. Todoroki switched to fire once more, the creatures dissolving quickly. Reiko herself jumped out of the way, rolling on the floor and disappearing behind a large grandfather's clock, but the marbles she had launched made it through the fire unscathed, only to be quickly surrounded by ice that seemed to appear out of thin air. Todoroki crossed his arms in time to block the fist of ice of a gorilla that had materialized too fast for him to melt it once more. He was launched back and into a large piece of furniture before fire emerged from his foot. However, before it could hit the gorilla, a giant spider grabbed him from his ice side and pulled him away with his jaw. Todoroki cursed as he was launched against another wall, his fire attack only melting part of the gorilla's face as a large portrait fell right next to him, missing his head by just a few steps.
He stood back up and counted. Twenty more animals were filling the room, bears, tigers, lions, giant spiders, snakes… He could feel the temperature slowly go down, and in response he activated his fire once more, without stopping his ice. 'I have to take her down.' He decided, but couldn't see her, hiding somewhere behind the looming creatures that charged at him. His feet hit the ground and he unleashed a wall of fire, the creatures melting once more, but once more, from his left side, he saw ten marbles pop in through the fire. This time, he was fast enough to duck out of the way of the claws of a bear that left large scars on the wall.
"Come on, aren't you done with this game?" He asked as he dissolved them all. "It's just going to waste both of our time."
"Make me stop then." She replied, and he saw her on the opposite side of the room. He immediately unleashed a wall of ice, but she managed to jump out of the way and threw another set of marbles, that Todoroki saw turn into wolves midair. He launched his fire, then felt something cold creep up his right leg. He looked down in time to see a cobra bite his leg and felt something cold run through it. Screaming in pain, he heat up his left side more, the snake dissolving… and a marble rolling on the floor.
"Wait…" He turned around to see the same gorilla he had destroyed before throw a right, and flew back once more, his back painfully hitting the table. He watched around the floor and froze as he noticed the marbles all over the floor, slowly reforming into the same monsters.
"What a pity." The Reiko hummed "Looks like you can't take them down with your puny fire."
"I can take you down then!" He said, jumping over the table and unleashing a wall of ice to stop her from retreating. The constructs were running his way, but she couldn't go anywhere, and taking her down meant…
Shluk
He felt something warm in his right arm, and looked in horror at the knife that had just hit him in the biceps, stabbing through, and couldn't help but scream.
"Oh, you thought I was the ice summoner?" She asked with a grin as he jumped out of the way when more knives charged towards him "Too bad. I'm just the Bell Witch."
He used a wall of ice to block the knives, freezing them solid, but then had to turn around and launch his fire before the giant spider and a tiger both attacked him. He watched as they dissolved and this time noticed the marbles bounce on the floor.
A dish hit him in the head, before a hail of ceramic started bombarding him, cuts and bruises accumulating before he created more ice to block them all. He turned around, seeing Reiko rush for the door, and tried to stop her, but had to turn around at the last second and unleash his fire to melt more of the constructs.
'Shit, I let my guard down and didn't even consider she and the ice user might be two different people.' He thought, looking at the knife in his arm and rushing after Reiko.
Reiko Yanagi, Emily in his world, had been a good if shy underground Hero. Her Quirk, Poltergeist, allowed her to move objects up to a certain mass, but she had never been incredibly athletic. The fact this one was, enough to dodge his ice even in a secluded space, meant he was most likely dealing with a far different person.
"Stop!" He shouted, emerging from the room. He looked instinctively at the secret passage, but it was still closed. That proved to almost be a dangerous mistake, as he ducked out of the way just in time to dodge a knife that flew towards him, missing his shoulder by inches. He blocked it and the door to the room he had just left with a wall of ice, hopefully keeping the ice constructs trapped inside for a bit, and considered his options as he trailed up the hallway, keeping an eye out for the next attack.
Assuming Poltergeist was the same or very similar, the original Reiko – or the one she considered the original – could only control inorganic matter and only up to a certain size. This one seemed to be the same, since she had only used knives and porcelain to attack him, rather than turning his own ice against him. There was also the matter of the Summoner. Either through Quirk or other means, he could create ice constructs that regenerated after a short amount of time.
His best option, in theory, was to rush for the door, burn the house down, and move the fight in an open field. That would force both Reiko and hopefully the summoner to emerge from the rubble or die a fiery death, but of course there were two reasons against it. The first was that it would cut off the escape for his companions, since they wouldn't be able to retreat through burning rubble, at least not if they necessitated to do so in the first place.
The second, of course, was that it was wrong. Whether this 'Bell Witch' was a Villain or a Hero, she was being forced into it, much like the ice user. She would have probably never attacked him if that Summoner Crest wasn't there, or at least she would have had a reason. It would have been like killing a civilian, something he had never stepped down enough to do.
He jumped out of the way as a flock of flying knife led by a rather large sword passed over him, before he saw them change direction and come crashing down. He created a shield out of ice for his body, and watched as the weapons stuck inside and tried to wiggle themselves free. In that moment, he felt a strong pain in his leg and looked down, seeing it swollen and black. It took him a moment to realize that was the leg the snake had bitten.
'I hope the others are doing better.' He thought, discarding the shield before freezing solid the entire arsenal along with it, to make sure they wouldn't attack him once more, and moving on to examine his leg quickly. Cringing, he noticed the area around the puncture wounds of the teeth was completely frozen and steaming.
'The bastard injected liquid nitrogen in my veins.' He realized. The expansion of the liquid as it turned into gas would have burst some of his blood vessels, explaining the pain and swelling. He was lucky it hadn't bit on a major artery, or the damage would have been far more extensive.
Ignoring the pain as best as he could, he rushed forward, trying to figure out where she had gone.
Kikora's lead proved providential as the group continued in what quickly turned in a maze of tunnels some new, some old. A maze built in generations to allow this or that lord an escape route. If they didn't have a tracker, they would have lost their target after just a few minutes, and Deku wondered if they would have even found a way back after enough turns.
If Kikora was good at spotting the faint tracks, Dekirn was good at spotting the traps. A couple times he stopped her just in time to avoid a hidden trap door that opened on pits filled with spikes, or a pressure plate that would activate a hail of darts from holes hidden in the walls. Thanks to this, they managed to make their way forward fast enough, quickly reaching a larger room.
Kikora rushed in, the others behind her, and stopped. Izuku took just a second to spot the reason why. A large man stood in the center of the room, a black tank top covering bulging muscles, and one of his eyes blood red in the sclera. The Muscular smiled seeing them.
"Which ones do I have to kill, uh? Come on, don't let me wait."
"Keep the child alive and kill the rest." A second voice added, and from behind the man emerged a samurai. Dressed in black from head to toe, his face covered entirely by a black cloth, Izuku had trouble telling who he was looking at. "Oh, I meant that one, sorry." He added, pointing at Izuku "The one with pointy ears and the girl can die as well."
Muscular howled, barreling forward with a maniacal laugh, but Izo didn't let him, stepping in and driving the sword in his open chest. Izuku held his breath. Even Muscular's Quirk shouldn't have been able to block the attack, especially with his own weight added in the mix thanks to the charge.
And yet, the blade barely pierced, stopping with only the tip under the skin. The blonde man looked at it and his smile turned into pure ecstasy as Izo looked up at him in disbelief. "Oh, I get to kill Izuku Midorikawa this time, this is the best job I ever had."
Saying so, he drove his fist back and there was a sound like a hammer hitting a anvil as it impacted on Izo's chest and sent him back. The man coughed, hair driven out of his lungs. If he hadn't been wearing armor, he would have been dead on the spot.
"Izo!" Dekirn shouted rushing forward, but the samurai stepped in. Izuku watched his sword emerge from the scabbard… and continue to emerge, until a katana was in his hand instead of the wakizashi that the scabbard should have contained. Dekirn reacted in time, blocking the slice with his own weapon.
"Ah, the swordsman. It is a pleasure to challenge you again."
"Wish I could say the same." Dekirn replied nervously, before both turning to the rest of the group. "Don't stop and keep going! Every second counts!"
Izuku hesitated a moment before he saw Izo roll on the ground, dodging another punch from Muscular and turning to them. "GO!" He shouted once more.
Kikora nodded, rushing away, followed by Itsumi and Ojiro.
"Not so fast." The swordsman replied, releasing Dekirn sword and using his free hand to pull out a second wakizashi, pointing it at them. To Izuku's horror, the blade instantly started to grow, extending dangerously toward Kikora. He reflexively kicked upward, smashing through the metal with One for All and his metal boots, before rushing after the others. He heard the mysterious samurai mumble something but ignored him, wishing good luck to Izo and Dekirn.
He didn't notice the shadow following them from above.
(xx)
A/N: And here we go for the last Chapter of 2020. Or the first of 2021, depending on your timezone. I figured it made sense to catch up to the other sites before my beginning of 2021 so I can finally post the chapters at the same time, and it doubles as a New Year gift, so win-win.
And we passed one hundred favorites and followers. Thank you everyone!
Remember to else check out Echoes of the Multiverse, the next chapter is coming very soon and the story of The Imprisoners is our current ongoing plot, so anyone that wants to learn more on the AllforDekuverse and Shoto and Ojiro from there should give it a read. See you soon ;)