Chapter 110 - The Perfect Counterattack
"Hey, Shoto," When the heterochromia boy opened his door to greet his best friend, she looked a little lost in thought, perhaps since it had only been a day since they returned to UA properly from their Work-Study. "Can I get something off my chest? ...in private," She looked around the hall.
He nodded silently, opening his door wider for her to step in before closing the door to meet her gaze. "What's wrong?"
"Well, you don't need to answer my question if you don't want to, it's... sensitive, and I don't want to, you know, overstep," She toyed with her mask against her temple to quell her nerves. Crossing his arms, Shoto leaned against the door, taking in her words calmly.
"Yuki," She stopped and stared back. "I know you wouldn't be asking if it wasn't important, I won't judge you for whatever this is."
She exhaled heavily, relieved, before speaking up, "...it's about your brother, Touya?" The girl saw his face lift slightly at her question, "Well, I... look, this is a really dumb thought, but I've been mulling it over, ever since Hansuke, what became of him I... I just couldn't get it off my chest..."
"What about him?" She brought up Halimaka, though previously known to Jura and Yuki as Hansuke Benjiro, their childhood friend before he fell off the deep end.
"...I think... do you think Touya... could be Dabi?" Now his eyes widened considerably at the incriminating question. Had it been anyone else, they might've lashed out at something so disrespectful. Shoto never held real memories of his other older brother, he was far too young, so maybe that was why he didn't feel a rise of anger, or maybe... "I'm sorry, I just... really needed to get it off my chest,"
"No, I..." He paused, considering it himself with a tight chest. "The thought had crossed my mind, briefly, when I crossed paths with him trying to save you and Bakugo at camp," The patchwork villain's words were cold and cruel with clear mirth behind his actions and tone. Taunting Shoto's failure that night. "Basing this on quirks isn't factual but... I don't know, something about him makes my skin crawl."
"Like when I confronted Halimaka after all these years, like a stomach pain or tight chest?" Her accurate depiction of how Shoto felt led him to nod again. Yuki eased up, sympathetic. "Sorry if that was rude, I thought it would've been better to ask you now than at a worse time,"
"You often pry into people's hearts like Midoriya, not to his extent, you show restraint and respect for others' emotions, but that doesn't stop you from trying to understand them," Shoto replied, a small smile appearing. "I've trusted you long enough to know you'll always respect my feelings and others."
By now, her own smirk returned to her face. "Glad you think so... but, if by some slim chance that Dabi is him..."
"Then I'll confront it as you would, without a moment of hesitation."
Actions often speak louder than words, but when that moment came, Shoto's feet refused to move an inch. That sensation of impending dread, the weight of the knowledge finally confirmed for his lingering questions went up in smoke. His heart pounded and yet it didn't hurt, no, why would it? Yet it raced anyhow.
"Sure, my face may have ended up like this, but I had hoped my own family would recognize me," Touya - no, Dabi, grinned, patting his chest with a sadistic grin at the utter looks of horror tearing across those in earshot.
"Shoto..." Yuki murmured, sparing her friend a glance as he remained frozen on the spot.
"But I never forgot, I watched your activities from afar, people like to think of their actions free from guilt, but they're not," Dabi growled that last part, his eyes brimming with malice. "My pre-recorded life story is being broadcasted all around the airwaves and the internet!" He dusted off his hands, hopping down the rubble. "How exhilarating! Your disgraceful fall as a hero has begun!"
"No way," Yuki's eyes dilated, if this were true, then there was no stopping it now, hundreds of thousands were watching the events of the battle unfold, and now... they'd see the truth Yuki and Izuku had uncovered about their friend's past. The horrible darkness that Shoto's trying every day to move past, and Endeavor even more so for his family's sake. All of it would come crumbling down.
"Ever since that day, the only thing I could think about were ways I could maximize the destruction of your career!" Dabi danced among his own blue embers, coming to land on a ledge that put him above Endeavor's distraught face. "Did you know I used to go to Natsu every day asking him in tears why I existed?"
"At first, my plan was to wait until your little doll Shoto had gotten all big and famous then I'd kill Shoto!" Dabi slapped his own head as if a new thought had just occurred. "But then, in an absurdly convenient turn of events, you finally became Number One! I couldn't stand watching you wallow yourself in your dream!" He shook his head, flashing a toothy smile and laugh toward the sky.
"You wouldn't even die in Kyusuhu either! My heart sank!" Dabi threw his arms wide with splendor, recounting the constant losses that cemented his victory. "I even sent 'The Emperor of Fallen Light', 'Halimaka', and 'Ending' to you and you still survived like the cockroach that you are!"
"That Number One title you've always wanted is a lot of pressure, huh!? Has your heart been purified with all that praise from the public!?" That was when one of Dabi's eyes shifted to a deep tiger orange. "No, we can see it crystal clear how much you want to believe that, to yearn for it!" Dabi clenched his fist toward Endeavor.
"Or how about your newfound vigor as a father figure to your children?" Dabi demanded, staring down the defeated state of the hero he spent years dreaming of ruining. All of those emotions flooded his eyes and ears and down his throat like a pleasant warmth. "Does it make you feel as though you're developing a 'familial bond' with them!?"
"Well? Well!? Well!?" Dabi screamed, digging two fingers down his right eye, peeling the skin and flesh like rubber as blood flew down his face... and into a dark mist that clotted the wounds, leaving a single, humored crescent glow for his eye, black flesh peeling at his cheek, expanding his already crocodile smile to inhuman lengths.
"You seriously thought if you kept your eyes forward toward the future the past would just forget itself, didn't you!?" Dabi cackled, another voice warping with his own, as two demonic pitches became one. "It's time for someone to give you a little life lesson!" An ember tattoo manifested over Dabi's left eye.
"No..." Izuku felt his throat dry up, that symbol, the black flesh, and large glowing eye, he had heard of it, seen it through Yuki who stood there, shaking in her boots. The mark, the presence of...
"The Past Never Forgets!" Dabi and Infernal howled as one, their face split between the two entities, sharing in their collective enjoyment of the torment wracking around in Endeavor's soul. "What a 'reap what you sow' moment! Let us fall together Enji Todoroki! Come dance with your son in hell!"
In the silence that followed, that turmoil ripped Endeavor's spirit apart and spat it back into his face. He wandered down memory after memory, a brief moment in his old life when he was content. A son who would burn brighter than he ever could, a daughter he was fine with simply being normal. His goal could be reached with Touya, and he couldn't be prouder.
That arrogance and narrowminded nature killed his son, and he could do nothing to prevent that, he let his blind ambition cultivate into the abomination standing over him, who ran his reputation through the eyes and ears of the entire country, and he was powerless to stop it. His demons returned with their King. A Demon King Endeavor helped create from pride and greed.
His throat was unbearably dry as he spoke. "Touya is dead, this is an unforgivable lie," He lied to himself, to put this horror to rest.
"Oooh, still holding onto your lies even now? I'm hurt, Endeavor," Infernal spoke first.
"I'm alive and kicking, that's an unforgivable truth, father!" Dabi continued with a bright smile. "So sad you never bothered to invite me to your fire quirk-infested agency!"
"People like you exist everywhere across countless realms, you force your dreams into their heads, twist them into a visage of what you can never achieve on your own terms, a pathetic attempt at feeling good about yourself!" Infernal pressed, the flames around their feet beginning to simmer. "And the only ones that suffer from the failures like you are us, the ones drugged on those dreams, our own desires drowned in a sea of complacency until we're nothing but husks begging for death! Do you know what that feels like, Endeavor? Well, do you?"
Dabi spun around with his hands lowered down in wonder. "Consider this a homecoming gift from us to you, since we dug up something on that good-for-nothing spy, Hawks."
"Hawks...!" Endeavor's eyes widened.
"You didn't think I wasn't aware of his betrayal?" It was Kovik who spoke next, setting down on the ground once more. "You heroes got all the information you desired because I wanted you to find us, perhaps the timing was a little off my margin but my plans remain unchanged," The Splicer ushered a hand forward. "Don't you see? The era of heroes will die today, it has always been my goal since I arrived in their wretched world, I simply... needed strength in numbers again."
"The person speaking will be the victor! Even from a villain, the words we speak will shake them to their cores!" Dabi sighed after a good long breath. "Sorry, boss, I just really wanted to gloat a bit... my bad... truthfully, I would've been fine putting this behind me, but-" Host and Nightmare grinned ear to ear, flames burning across Dabi's skin and clothing like a bonfire. "-they won't be able to trust any of you after this, the damage has already been done."
Izuku and Yuki stared on with paled expressions, Katsuki scowled, his fingers digging into the soil, Iida's expression was hidden but his fists shook, Nejire stared with a scowl on her pouting face, and Shoto looked up at his dead brother like a nightmare brought to life. Endeavor... couldn't even breathe. "Seeing something like that, who wouldn't be shaking in their boots!?"
Dabi dove forward, bursting into flames. "Thanks for hanging in there until now, Endeavor!"
"Back then I... I believed you had to be alive..." What could Endeavor do? His son had become a monster of his own creation, merged with a Nightmare no one could kill. The weight of guilt and regret slammed down onto his back and tethered his soul to his stomach.
"Father! He's coming, Father!" Shoto tried to snap the hero from his trance but nothing was working, panic overtaking his features. "Protect Midoriya and the others! Nejire and I will handle this!" Shoto's head swung back, Endeavor hadn't flinched. "Please move! Protect them! Hey! PLEASE GET IT TOGETHER!"
"Flashfire Fist-" Dabi commended, bringing his arms forward, aiming for his family and any caught in the blaze. Infernal and Dabi smiled madly with a laugh. "PROMINENCE BUR-!"
"Striking Exile/Scarlet Star!" A pair of boots collided on either side of Dabi before his flames could begin to erode at the land around him, snapping his neck under a silver scaled boot and his chest impaled with two cutlasses that carved out either side of his chest. The knockback sent him flying into the mountain of debris again, setting the whole mound ablaze like a volcano of blue molten rock.
Two arcs of venom attempted to intercept, but a large glacier of ice quickly formed to shield Yuki from the strikes, Shoto being able to move his body beside her. "Mom! You're okay!" Yuki felt relief for the first time in seeing her injured but living mother stand to face the rising Nightmare.
"Was there really any doubt?" Valstrax quipped but kept her eyes to Dabi who glowered down at the Sky Comet Hero. "Look, I got about the gist of this, you alright to fight him, kid?" Her scarlet eyes within her helmet stared down at Shoto.
The two women watched as he closed his shaking fists, giving them a dark but determined expression. "I'm... okay, for now, there's more at stake than just my feelings," He looked to Dabi, grimacing. "Touya... is not here right now."
"Okay... divide and conquer then," Yuki suggested, pointing at Shoto. "You help Nejire and Iida with Halimaka, take these-" She handed him several blue vials. "-if you get poisoned, drink this and you'll be okay, me and Mom..."
"Will handle the human torch over here," Valstrax jabbed a wing at the Nightmare overtaking most of Dabi's injuries.
"No, let me take your places," Shoto objected, pushing the antidotes into Yuki's grasp again, his ice and fire beginning to manifest. "I have to confront him, and with his fire as hot as it is my ice might be the only thing capable of countering him."
Yuki lowered her mask onto her face, placing her fist to Shoto's heart. "Be careful,"
"You sure kid? That's a tall order," Valstrax wasn't feeling up to leaving a Nightmare-infused villain to a single teen, but that look of his made her own memories flash with a stupid girl, and she regrettably bit her cheek. "You UA kids are scary sometimes, but I mean it, something goes south, I'm tagging in."
"Understood, go!" Shoto declared, bracing the torrent of blue flames with a wave of frost and rime, slicing into Dabi who forced himself to be impaled to spy the trio over the lip of the arced wall.
"Hahahaha, poor little Shoto, are you sure you can stomach fighting me for real!?" Dabi mused only to find a blade of ice slamming through his chest, knocking him into the sky. "That's the spirit!"
Behind Dabi, Nejire lined up her palms, producing a solid wave of light that met a wall of flames, Infernal's eye catching her stare. "Butt out of this, girl!" He swung his tail, a spiral of flames catching the edges of her hair while she floated through the sky to evade his fire.
Yuki tried to intervene but her sensors blared to avoid the two kamas from nicking her throat, performing a summersault over Halimaka's spinning slashes that connected to Valstrax's wings, herself huffing before leaping to draw the right-wing forward, gliding between both kamas as Halimaka dove over the drake to slash at her back only for a blue barrier to deflect the venom blades.
"Keep your eyes on me, Yuyu!" Halimaka grinned, lunging to lock his sickles to her swords, the pair struggling to push the other. Halimaka's tattoos glowed, and poison spat from the skin, erupting into a series of rotating slashes that forced her back, deflecting the vicious blows before warping away. "Huh?"
Valstrax swung her wings forward, releasing a barrage of red air pressure to scorch the earth alongside Halimaka, the villain spinning his sickles to produce a ward of venom to survive the explosion, but he grunted, finding the hero's fist digging into his stomach, tossing him into the air for her to hover and twirl horizontally, smacking his side with her right shin and into Yuki's four-armed blast.
Halimaka dug his kamas into the dirt, diving low to slash at Yuki's feet when she leapt, much to his expectation when his body bent at an irregular angle, hands down to wrap his legs around her waist, smashing her into the ground when he flipped around to bury his sickles against her sword, the tips of his weapons inches from her face. "You really are so disgraceful, leaving your weaker friends to die to that monster! Hahaha, how pitiful can you get even now, Yuki!?"
She grit her teeth, pushing back until her mask could headbutt him, seeing him flash a toothy grin at her attempts. "I... put my faith in them even now!" She declared, bringing her left sword wide to strike at his nape. Valstrax did the same with her right-wing.
*Ting!*
Both were shocked to see his kamas brush against his neck, blocking against both slashes with a giggle. "You'd think I'd get slashed by something so obvious?" Locking the sickles around their weapons, he spun around, releasing a whirlwind of dark green liquid, exploding outward while leaving several slashes across their armor and any exposed skin between the joints.
They drank an antidote but Halimaka quickly pursued, or until a path of brilliant blue flames stretched between them. Above, a scream could be heard that drew their eyes to the sky again. Nejire fell, caught in a funnel of flames from behind, Dabi had disconnected from Infernal to get the drop on her, rejoining his Nightmare as a molten inferno dripped down their body.
"NEJIRE!" Yuki and Shoto screamed, and Valstrax immediately shot through the air to catch her, ignoring the pain of hellfire that slammed against her left leg, managing to catch the girl in time and hide from view.
"Hahaha, what a mess, huh Endeavor! Look!" Dabi and Infernal mocked and ridiculed. "Another starry-eyed kid with a bright future, burnt to ashes!" The demon was more Nightmare than human by this point, smothered in embers that left almost no trace of a body beneath by a black, shrouded outline. "BY YOUR FLAMES!
"Enough!" To counter the burning world, a sheet of blue ice completely engulfed the area, freezing Halimaka in place as he grunted, slashing at his feet while Yuki abandoned her fight with him, ensnaring his arms in a black and red binding akin to Blackwhip to at least minimize the damage.
"Move!" Izuku bit his cheek to ignore all the pain in his body, his injuries weren't healed yet, and his face was dirty and bloody but warped with desperation. "Stand up, Izuku! He's the one who's hurting here! Todoroki's hurt the most and yet he's still fighting!" He dug deep into himself, screaming. "Please, help me fight, help me end this hell for everyone like we said we would!"
Shoto glowered with rage up at Dabi, his eyes utterly smothering the hellish blaze but not a lick of frost even impeded the villain. Yuki attempted to aid her friend but gasped when a crescent of venom slit across her wrist, she was immune but the blood was very much a clear indication as she spun around to deflect two more crosses of poison from hitting her.
"Now you're ignoring me? That's not fair, Yuki~ What does he have that I don't? Guess he is a pretty boy, so that makes sense, right? But I still want to see you suffer, you know?" Halimaka dug at his flesh with his nails, dragging down a long, bloody scar across his forehead, down his right eyelid, and through his cheek with a sadistic smile. "Lemme show everyone how ugly we really are, Yuyu!"
"Dammit!" She huffed, blocking the swarm of venom blades that encircled her, striking them down with haste. "I can't leave Halimaka unattended, but Shoto's flames and ice can't withstand Dabi and Infernal either! What do I do?" Each strike shook her bones. "What do I do!?"
Over the ruins and the screams of battle, Rock Lock stumbled back, clutching his right arm that hung limp at his side, shielding those in need of medical treatment with Manuel and Iida. They were exhausted, their costumes are torn or beyond repair before the approaching swordswoman in a blue cloak.
"Rollover, die, wretched humans," Drevis in a broken tongue snarled in a mocking fashion as she swayed toward them without a scratch. The fragment of Vosik's mask glowing beneath her hood like an eerie ghost of the past. "Where is he? Eraserhead, I want him dead," She clicked. "And the frail one, Earphone Jack."
"Jiro?" Iida murmured, his engines burning to life. "We will not hand them over to you, villain! Recipro Burst!"
Bolts of electricity discharged as his leg swept the air where Drevis once stood, slowly, his vision caught the glint below his legs and the muzzle of a pistol buzzing to life. Iida let out a yelp when the three stray bolts struck his helmet, revealing the left side of his face while the fragments cut into his skin.
Catching himself into a tumble, his boots pressed to a slanted slab of concrete, ricocheting back to bring his legs around in a wide stretch. The blue and white contrail pulled Drevis' hood down, her arms brandishing two swords to slice at his thighs, bringing Iida down for a thrust that would end his life momentarily.
"No, ya don't!" Rock Lock struck Drevis' right blade, unable to catch the left since she released her frozen sword and vanished, leaving a shock mine in her place. "Move it!" He demanded, throwing himself and Iida away before the wide net of the stasis bubble could ensnare them.
"Found you," Behind them, they spared no expense for shock before rolling away, Drevis missed her mark, rather, a mere Dreg was what greeted them. It dissolved into dust and metal sooner after, but Rock Lock's face turned stoic. "Hold on, where's that Fallen gone?"
Iida gasped, visible eye narrowed when he spotted Manuel backing away from something they couldn't see. "Mr. Aizawa!" His teacher was in danger and they fell for it!
Drevis didn't speak, moving like mist to slip behind Manuel and knock him out with a single punch to the stomach, dropping the weak hero like a fly. Her target sat not far away, the other evacuees were too far away to aid them now. Drevis pulled out her wire rifle, charging up a single shot with an almost giddy tap of her claws against its humming chamber.
Eraserhead groaned, cracking one good eye open in his blurry stupor, meeting the muzzle only a few feet from his chest. He didn't speak, blink, or even visibly recoil. He sat there, propped up toward his murderer's glaring mask. "Target Confirmed, you should've run, Eraser... pop..." She placed a finger over the trigger. "Pop..." Behind her, Iida tapped into Recipro Extend to close the gap. "Pop..." Arc lightning could be seen gathered at the barrel.
*Shiiing!*
Drevis howled in bitterness when her rifle became nothing more than a folded pile of scrap, Eraserhead spared the newcomer a single glance, he had seen them standing there for a good while, allowing the villain to gloat before intercepting. "Your biggest mistake was expecting us to show our entire hand to the enemy." Eraser thought.
Her topaz eyes stared back between raven-purple locks. She wore a black bandana over her mouth and nose. The black jacket she wore was sleeveless with a hood and fishnets reaching down half her biceps. Tied just below the left arm's fishnet was a blue cloth.
Her trousers were baggy with white tabi socks and black shoes. She also wore black gloves with a belt buckle wrapped by her wrists. A small bag was hung on her lower back next to her white scabbard. Clasped in her hands was the very katana that split the wire rifle.
"You...!" Drevis glowered at Jin who stood to defend Eraserhead, waiting for the assassin to draw her swords in all four hands. "Finally, I get to kill you."
"Disappointing then," Jin replied, "I intend to live."
Shoto slammed his hands against Dabi's, the pair locked with the combustion of orange and blue flames twisting into a maelstrom around the two siblings. "You sent that villain that nearly killed Natsu!? The brother you said you crawled and cried to, that Natsu!" Fury erupted from every pitch in Shoto's throat.
Dabi smiled back. "Then that would mean Endeavor would suffer."
Their flames engulfed them. "Have you lost your mind!?"
"You got it, Shoto! Your big brother has completely lost any feeling for anything!" He bellowed out in laughter. Then he increased the output of his flames, pushing Shoto and his cooling ice back. "Best part about Infernal, I can burn and burn until I'm nothing but ash, and I'll still come back, isn't that something!? Man, could've used this all those years ago but no use crying over spilled milk, am I right!?"
"Tou...ya..." It felt like every breath Shoto inhaled was a wave of flames, burning down his throat, he would live but it made it harder to sustain control over his own embers without recoil.
"Finally, I can kill you..." Complete enjoyment was all that could be found as Dabi reached forward, intending to pierce Shoto's chest. "Why not you and I work together? Your flames, Infernal's, and mine... now wouldn't that be something!?"
"Move-!" Down on the ground, Izuku was forced to stand there and take in the destruction. Yuki fought desperately to keep Halimaka's venom sickles away, Shoto was inches away from having his soul taken by Infernal. Endeavor was completely defeated, his spirit pulverized into dust. Jin could be seen going head-to-head with Drevis alongside Iida. All of them were giving it their all, what the hell was he doing then!?
Screaming at the top of his lungs, Izuku channeled all he could gather into his broken bones, refusing to listen to his body's wishes, he had to stand and fight! "You haven't saved anyone! Don't be the useless idiot who couldn't save a single person, Izuku!" All he saw was the people he cared for suffering in his place. "Support them!"
"Die already!" Halimaka disarmed Yuki after a final crisscross slash, her extra arms severed in the skirmish, she was unable to erect another barrier. The deadly sickles closed in on her throat and chest.
Beneath their feet, a blank face popped out from the ground. "Po-"
Like a streak of lightning, a fist collided with Halimaka's chin, tossing the villain down with a painful crash to his back. That same blur of white, zipped across the ruins, striking multiple Splicers until his fist smashed into Kovik's chest, grounding the High Splicer from the recoil. "-OOOOWER!"
"L-Lemillion!?" Izuku gaped with wonder. "How are you here!?"
The blonde hero gave his junior a friendly smile, "The Mountain Team contacted me so I came as fast as I could using Permeation! Turns out, Sir Nighteye's agency was closer to the villain's hideout than expected!"
Togata bowed his head, ashamed to be asking this of the young girl he addressed alongside his friends. "Eri, I'm sorry if you feel like I'm just using you for your quirk! But please, test your Rewind on me!"
"Togata..." Yuki rubbed her nape, it wasn't exactly her choice to make here, staring at the little girl that had been silent the whole time next to Mr. Aizawa. Their teacher met Eri's eyes, and he gave the little girl a small wave of his hand to continue.
Eri patted her small hands on Togata's cheeks, passing him the most innocent and affectionate smile the little girl could muster. "Don't apologize, this is what I was trained for, after all! I can save my hero too!"
Togata grinned, flying out from the earth to observe the dozens of Devils lingering across the battlefield still. "Thanks, Eri!" "Besides, it's not like I have the power to take out a whole army of Splicers in one-shot!"
As he said this, dozens of thick, navy threads quickly ensnared Halimaka's arms behind his back, dropping him to the ground as he thrashed angrily. Dabi was the same, pulled away from Shoto in time. Another bundle of blue fibers did the same to Kovik, binding him from using his arms or even teleporting to escape. "Apologizes for being so fashionably late!" Appearing from a plane that flew overhead, a man in stylish denim clothing brought his arms back, connected to the threads he controlled. The Stylish Hero, Best Jeanist, had finally arrived. "We will bring forth, a ray of hope!"
Katsuki looked up with a bloodied smile. "So much for being 'missing'."
"This guy... you were dead, that was a real body!" Dabi glared up at the hero taking complete control of the situation.
"And it fell apart like frayed denim! You bit off more than you can chew," Jeanist mocked.
"Even if you're alive..." Instantly, blue flames consumed Dabi in hellfire, beginning to burn away at the special fibers containing him and Infernal. "The Todoroki family's past won't be swept under the rug! Right, Shoto!?" The younger sibling recoiled at the heat blast, even the fibers were melting away faster. "We're... unstoppable now!" Breaking his own arms, Dabi began to slip out from the threads, snapping bone and rippling muscle to squeeze out.
"Grr... get... off of... MEEEEEEE!" Halimaka's scream shook the earth, splitting apart the ground with a torrent of dark green blades that slashed at his own flesh, blood and poison dripping down his skin and clothing as the threads were frayed enough for him to hook his sickles around, unleashing a whirlwind that shredded his arms but pried him loose enough to take a swing at Jeanist suspending himself above with threads. "Die, you punk!"
"Hmph, you remind me of a certain student I mentored, so noisy," With another bundle of threads, he ensnared Halimaka from proceeding, tightening the threads on all his captives. "I must hold them here, if even one more breaks loose, all our hopes will dwindle, I cannot allow that!"
"Someone back me up!" Togata called out, preparing to intercept Halimaka who was already shredding the fibers again, his blood and venom mixing to form larger crescents to slash at his prison.
From the sky, a series of small explosions chained together, "They were different than my usual ones... bursting out back-to-back like that, explosions that were fast and powerful," Katsuki flashed a devilish grin, propelling himself faster than ever before. "That sensation I felt the first time! The sense of emergency I felt at the brink of death!" He was sweating up a storm, beaten and still heavily buried even after Yuki's healing. "That I have to save them!"
A sympathy of blasts spun a song of destruction that tore through any and all Splicers caught in the chain reaction, leaving the lingering ones open for Togata and the others to intercept. "Nejire, are you alright!?" Togata noticed that not only was it Katsuki's blasts, but helixes of golden energy pummeled down on Halimaka, keeping the villain from escaping.
"Now that you're here, Togata, I'm fine, amazing huh!?" She managed a small smile, shrugging off her burns while Valstrax threshed through the chaos, bringing both wings across Dabi's chest, blood and mist flying while she shrugged off his flames, blasting him through two walls with just the draconic force of her vents.
"Have you returned from the world of the dead, 'Bakugo'?" Jeanist inquired when the blonde flew by his face.
"That was just a placeholder name, I've saved the real deal for you!" Katsuki smirked, finding his confidence again. "From now on, call me - God of Explosive Destruction - Dynamight!"
"Another dud," Jeanist pinched his nose.
"Too long!" Iida commented.
"Overkill." Jin wondered, deflecting Drevis' strikes with ease, rolling her eyes.
"Chaotic..." Nejire's smile faltered with a confused brow.
"Tacky..." Yuki scoffed.
"Haha!" Togata seemed to be in favor of it. "That's a good hero name! Pretty funny!"
Katsuki exploded, "It's not meant to be funny!?"
That caused Togata to chuckle softer this time. "'Without joy and laughter to balance out the sorrow, the world can never hope to have a bright future', my bad there, just my motto!"
Hearing this, Yuki repaired her gauntlets, a burning sensation envigorating her spirit. "Sir was right... we have to..." She met Kovik's firm stance. "Preserve everyone's happiness!"
"Now, so long as the final boss is restricted in place, it's time to clean up the rest of this mess!" Togata declared, every hero with energy to spare giving it 100% in a last-ditch move to save their country.
"You all look like you're enjoying yourselves," Dabi mused, halos of fire circling him. "And even though you're in such agony you keep trying to fight me, how pitiful," His words stung deep into Shoto, his body burned and clearly fatigued. "It must be hard for you, I can see it, you're worried about burning me up! You've grown up to be such a kindhearted soul, I'm really touched, little brother! But don't worry about me!" He slapped his chest. "Hit me with all you got, burn up the whole world in some wasteful attempt, I'm ready to see how far you've grown, Shoto!"
"Say, look at that face he's making!" Dabi pointed out Endeavor who hadn't moved since the turmoil. "Even when his masterpiece, his greatest doll is about to die to his failure's flames... pfft, ahahaha, take a look at that! He's completely broken, Hahahahaha!"
The halo exploded, and a great ball of deep blue flames surrounded the harrowing mixture of Nightmare and human flesh that stretched a manic grin. "Shoto! If you burn up in my flames, I wonder what kinda face dear old Dad will make!?"
Just then, a single, Blackwhip snagged around Dabi's torso, forcing him away from Shoto in time before his aura of flames could reach the heterochromia boy. Izuku lunged from afar, prying Dabi and Infernal off the ground. "Jeanist's got others to support him, just wait, Todoroki! Even if I don't have the strength in my arms and legs-!"
Izuku used Blackwhip... from his tongue! "-Froppy Style!"
"Don't you know it's rude to meddle in other families' affairs!?" Dabi growled.
"You don't have Akio or Velk to bail you out this time, brat!" Infernal chimed in, eye slit.
"I'm meddling because Todoroki is a precious friend! And Endeavor is a mentor who made me stronger!" Izuku recoiled from the shock, One For All burning at fifty percent to steady himself with Float. "The past doesn't just disappear! The present Endeavor is making an effort! That's the Endeavor I'm watching!" With all the fury he could muster, Izuku screamed out. "You are not Endeavor!"
Those familiar words brought an errant spark to Endeavor's eyes, and his once stone-hollow face lifted with genuine compassion. "Midoriya...!"
"Hahaha, anyone could figure that out/You really are pathetic for the Ninth Holder!" Dabi/Infernal cackled, drawing their flames toward Izuku's defenseless form. "But don't you pity the likes of me even just a little!? The consequences of sins committed by a supposed apostle of justice, that's what I am!"
"Evil will no longer prosper! Justice will crumble! All I've done is shown those susceptible people where to put the blame!" Dabi's eyes glowed brilliantly but felt cold and dark. "Now the future that awaits is clear! All the ego-stroking and lip service will vanish and it will be chao-!"
A rocket of pure adrenaline and flames collided with Dabi, the shoulder of Endeavor, the last of his strength, knocking Dabi backward, disrupting his inferno. He grinned at the hero's fall to the cold hard earth. "Really? That's all you had left in you, how pitiful was that!?"
"Tch!" Shoto moved to intercept Dabi but a rough hand pulled his shoulder back. "Yu-"
"We can help," Yuki interrupted, glancing around at the heroes. "All of us, let's wipe the smirk off your brother's face."
He could only stare at her, unblinking, every fiber in his being told him to refuse, he didn't know why he pushed himself to fight recklessly. But seeing his father pull forth all he had left just to shut Dabi up... "...together," He wasn't going to repeat what Iida did back in Hosu or Yuki's bold move at Camino. No, he would fight with them.
"Keep him busy then," Valstrax landed, nodding to Yuki. "Ready to put him down?"
"Right," Even though SIVA felt off for some reason, Yuki grabbed what metal she could scavenge, constructed Valorgod over her barding, and spread her wings. "Shoto, Izuku, everyone, do whatever it takes to keep Dabi and Infernal busy!"
"On it!" The boys chimed.
Within seconds, mother and daughter took off to the skies above, and Dabi laughed hysterically. "Like that'll help you now!" He brandished his flames only to find his arm severed by a sheet of deep blue ice, Shoto, without a moment of hesitance, amputated the monster that called itself his 'brother'.
"Midoriya!" Shoto declared, and from above, the flames Dabi gathered around his left arm were cut off by another Blackwhip dragging it behind him, it made his entire right arm burn hotter than any flame, but Izuku's grasp with Blackwhip was enough to hold.
"I'm not letting go!" Izuku was absolute on this.
"Good for you, kid!" Infernal snarled, twisting and severing Dabi's arm with his tail as the right finally regenerated to send a wave of hellish flames toward Shoto's Heaven-Piercing Ice Wall, the two elements mixing into a massive explosion that threw them back. Dabi grinned only for a sudden assault of fists and kicks to pummel through every inch of his body.
"POWER!" Togata disappeared before Infernal could catch him, vomiting up blood as their organs had clearly been torn around Dabi's torso.
Izuku put the pressure on, bringing his arms forward, smacking around Dabi's cyclone of flames with Air Force, dissipating the embers.
High above the ruins and chaos, Valstrax stomached her injuries to see her daughter falling behind, frost beginning to nick at the edges of her armor. "Hey, raise your body temperature," She flew close enough for Yuki to listen, struggling against the wind. "Gradually, don't force it too high or you'll burn yourself out,"
"I-It's hard... S-Siva's weird... I-I can't..." An arm grabbed her shoulder, pulling her into Valstrax's chest to hold her tightly, fixing her daughter a firm look under her helmet.
"Yes you can," Valstrax interjected. "Not because you're my daughter and I believe in you, but because I know you can do it, take that excuse and use it to better yourself," She pressed. "We have no time for half-measures, everyone is counting on us, on you to pull this off. So push yourself and Siva higher and higher."
Letting Yuki go, her flight fell short again, but she wasn't losing altitude this time, and while water crystalized across her back and wings, she wasn't falling behind, her veins glowing the faintest tinge of red beneath her skin. She was struggling but her altitude wasn't far behind Valstrax.
The hero grinned, then flew in a slow, wide crescent to double back around, by now, the whole horizon was many miles in every direction, the air was thinner but that wouldn't last long. And the sky was darker, the faint stars twinkling above them. "Now..." She whispered, Yuki drifting into view, mother and daughter locking hands to pull each other close enough to begin their descent.
The freefall lasted a short period of time, together, the two let out every ounce of air pressure gathered into their wings, becoming a double halo of red and blue in the dark sky above. The ice quickly evaporated upon breaking the sound barrier three times over, the force would've ripped Yuki away had the firm hand around her right not kept her steady at a height she had never reached before.
Down on the ground, a massive twister of flames crashed against Shoto's barrage of ice, Izuku flying away in time to avoid the exploding balls of flames that attempted to sneak up on him, Danger Sense guiding him away. Dabi slammed his way through the ice, standing atop the broken mound onto to have the top half of his face torn off by a thin horizontal sweep of frost, his smile ever-present with two eyes lingering in the black mist.
"Is that all, Shoto? I'm starting to lose interest in you, such a shame too," He reached out, consuming Shoto in an intense wave of flames. "I wanted Endeavor to see me kill you!"
"Sorry to disappoint then!" A ball of ice surrounded Shoto, expelling the blue flames with a massive surface area covered with ice and frost. "Midoriya, get back now!"
The greenette did so, tumbling onto the ground. From above, Dabi blinked when another ball of flames swung around, "DIE!" Katsuki put the last of his energy into his right hand, pummeling Dabi with an intense blast that tore up the ground and ice in an instant with dozens of smaller explosions trailing into the sky.
Blackwhip pulled Katsuki away from a close call with Infernal's tail as it dripped with molten slag, missing its target. By now, the stage was set for the two stars flying through the dark clouds above. Katsuki grinned, "Burn in hell, right?"
"Oh, this is gonna hur-" Infernal couldn't finish his sentence before two steel-like knuckles embedded themselves in Dabi's chest, a titanic amount of kinetic force crushing his bones and bursting his organs in a spray of red through his chest and back. The earth was flattened in seconds, fissuring with several layers from the sheer impact of two comets.
"Mother/Daughter Amethyst Star!" The pair declared, seeing Dabi's form disappear until a collapsing building, the screams of metal and concrete drowning out any and all retorts from the Nightmare too.
Jin performed a summersault between Drevis' cutlasses, parrying two following thrusts, tossing three throwing picks to clatter off the Baroness' vambrace that glided past Jin, nicking her hip as she vanished from the Fallen's view. "I can... see you!" Drevis spun around, drawing her pistol to land two bolts across Jin's back, burning through her underarmor with ease. "No tricks, you sloppy human!"
"Coming from the assassin with the same tricks, I'm insulted," Jin grunted, ignoring the burns to lunge and disarm Drevis, but the Wolf quickly spun her lower right arm to draw her blade across Jin's right cheek, splitting the fabric to reveal the woman's knitted frown as the katana slid across Drevis' breastplate, forcing the Silent Fang backward, drawing her pistol again.
Jin was hiding how exhausted she was, her quirk no longer worked against Drevis, and every hole made in the Wolf's armor simply repaired itself. "I'm effectively quirkless and at a bigger disadvantage than last time with her, this could be problematic," She spared the rest of the battle a glance, blocking four sword strikes and a shock mine at her feet narrowly. "You wouldn't see that as an excuse, would you, Akame?"
"Hah, gotcha!" The chipper voice shocked Jin from her focus, and the pain in her stomach threw her across the arena and off the edge into the grass below.
~Jin Hiro is out of bounds! That makes Akame Azuru the winner!~
The crowd let out their monstrous roars of delight for both competitors, Jin sat up with a grunt, she had her only skill reduced to nothing in seconds. The whole damn Festival had been a breeze, not a soul could figure her out. She hung her head. "I failed, no one even really gives a damn about me now, huh?" It was comical, really.
"That was really close, I almost thought you had me on the ropes and then some!" That voice again. Peeling her gaze from the dirt, Jin found that girl with silvery-red hair and vibrant blue eyes staring down at her. A hand was held down for Jin. Akame smirked. "Sorry 'bout the gut punch but I couldn't let my ace go to waste,"
"How did you know?" Jin murmured, rubbing her stomach with a scowl under her bandana. "No one should be able to see me, so how?"
"Uh... the nose knows?" Akame tapped a retracting claw to her nose, then scratched her scaly cheek. "I mean, I am a dragon, kinda comes with the territory, right?"
"You mean I got outplayed by her sense of smell?" Jin blinked, and then, laughed dryly at her misfortune. "Typical... beaten by a nose..."
"Hey, don't sell yourself short, I'm built like a bunker but those hits of yours really did a number on my wings!" Now it was Jin's turn to look surprised at Akame still wincing from her ribs. "You did some weird pressure point thing and nearly brought me down, sure your quirk isn't insane strength or something?"
"I... no, I mask myself from a person's senses, but it appears your sharper nose caught onto me," This meant her quirk was useless against people with keener observation skills than the average human.
"Oooh, sweet, and even without that you nearly knocked me out? Okay, I like you!" Akame chuckled, waving her hand closer. "Well? Don't make it weird?"
For the first time that day - no, the whole time since she arrived at UA, Akame was the first classmate to really see her. Slowly, Jin's hand reached for the drake's.
Blood flew from Jin's forehead, just above her right eye as the hot liquid trickled down her face. She blocked Drevis' relentless strikes, kicking the Fallen backward to breathe again, clenching her sword tightly. "Akame saw me for who I really am, she didn't care if my quirk was useless or weak compared to hers and others, she kept to my side through it all," Jin's blood boiled, and much to Drevis' bewilderment, cracked a tiny smile. "If you think I'm a one-trick pony, then you're surely mistaken, insect."
"Why is that, human?" Drevis rolled her shoulder, growling her words.
"Because," Jin winked, "I've learned to accept my weaknesses, all you do is cower behind others, stealing their strength to claim you are unbeatable," Then the raven-purplette's face warped into a sadistic, mocking glare. "You're a pitiful creature, one that hasn't the slightest hint of emotion left in her hollow, metal body, it's honestly quite sad how you pretend to be flesh and blood any more."
That hit several marks in Drevis' mind, and the Baroness charged with a hellish scream toward Jin who drew back her sword behind her neck, all but ready for the overbearing abomination. Jin's gaze suddenly sharpened, her topaz eyes reflecting a blue glare.
*Boosh!*
Drevis recoiled in fright when the combined might of a horizontal sword swing, coupled with a burning trace round of arc energy stripped through her armor and tore off both left arms with ease. The recoil sent her flying on all fours, snapping her neck to the right-hand building where another blue cloak materialized, flapping from the brunt of the wire rifle between the user's claws.
Panting heavily, her voice gargled with static and spite. "You...!"
Tekres stood out from hiding, charging his rifle again. "Expecting someone else?" He murmured.
"|Traitor!|" Drevis screamed in her tongue, tossing various grenades into the air. One by one, Tekres fired several smaller shots, blasting them from the sky before Jin's unwavering eyes, she didn't even flinch from the hot shrapnel bounding off her.
"I shall defend, do me a favor, and put this ghost to rest," Tekres asked selfishly of the human woman he aided.
Jin drew her sword forward in both hands, steady and firm. "You may rely on my blade, Wolf."
He let out a clicking grunt, sights locked to the frantic Wolf Baron below. No, she was no Baron now. Under the maroon sky, Drevis was nothing but a demon possessing a carcass.
In the aftermath of Dabi and Infernal's strike from orbit, Yuki lost her augments almost immediately, falling to her knees to cough and hack up spit from the feeling of vertigo striking her vision. But the way her augment fell apart so quickly, it was unlike her standard loss of control, something forcibly cut off her connection again. What was that?
Valstrax fell back onto her backside, huffing and puffing from stretching her breathing so thin. "Haven't done that in years, ugh, big mistake..." She shook her head, shivering from the sickness in her stomach.
"Did it work?" Shoto asked almost hopefully, but he knew it wouldn't be long before Dabi regenerated, without another Nightmare, nothing they did would kill them now.
"For now, but-" Yuki drew her glare across the battleground, to where a Splicer stood without any threads holding him back, laughing.
During their battle, Kovik had broken Jeanist's threads, escaping the hero's trap to stand in front of all the heroes battling for victory. A chuckle befitting of a chilling pitch broke through the crackling flames and crumbling ruins. A triumphant noise, an air of superiority lorded over them all.
"It's over, even with Dabi, eventually, the others will show up, Akio, and Velkhana, then what!?" Yuki challenged, silencing the taunting laugh.
"Then...?" Kovik mused, and raised his right hand to the sky. "...why not now? After all, it was never Dabi's, Halimaka's, or Drevis' aim to beat you," Then it sunk in, that awful, gut-wrenching feeling none wanted to feel again. "This childish tantrum of yours has latest far too long, Thief, so now?"
His visor glowed brightly as his red wiring. "I will show you hopelessness."
No one spoke.
Not a soul budged.
No one could stop his fingers from slipping.
The die was cast in favor of the High Splicer Priest.
"Now, It's My Turn."
*Click!*
To Be Continued...
I love me some cliffhangers, I'm awful. Alot of Dabi this chapter but I really wanted to include his moment of despair toward Shoto and Endeavor, and the fact he's the Host of Infernal now, making him even more dangerous. Yuki and Valstrax put up a good combo but it was all for naught.
Who will be coming out on top now? I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; seeya in the next chapter, Heroes!
Next Chapter Intermission: The Day of Red Glare
"Fun fact time~!" Yuki sang into view, her Mom joining her. "This week, it's about my Mom's hero costume!"
"Hello~!" She waved.
Yuki then pointed to the suit of silver scales and armor, in particular, the breastplate with six vents attached to it. "You may not know this, but my Mom's breastplate isn't actually a part of her biology, even when she transforms into her dragon form," She tapped the metal plates. "This is a support unit that helps her dragon-like lungs to gather more air for her dragon element organ to produce the air pressure she applies to her wings."
Valstrax nodded, "I can produce the 'dragon element' through the pores on my skin, so most of the time, the air sucked through my vents is already transferred to my wings instead of my lungs, helps me build up more energy and save on taking long breaths in tricky situations like right now in the story." She grinned, patting her metal chestplate. "So yes, I still have an awesome rack, thanks."
Yuki deadpanned, "Not really necessary to the topic, but okay..." Clapping her hands, she tapped the screen behind her. "Next week it's - The Day of Red Glare! Oooh, ominous!"
"Heh, Go Beyond-!" Valstrax hugged Yuki close, the pair putting out a peace sign.
"Plus Ultra!"