Author's Note: Hello again, and welcome back to the next chapter!
I am deeply sorry for my very long hiatus without notice... Extreme writer's block beat the absolute hell out of my creativity for almost three whole years, along with having to get myself up from some stagnating mojo called a life. As I have experienced firsthand, getting an actual ID whilst taking driving course lessons is one hell of a tedious affair.
For how chapters are being put forward, I will try to get, at the very least, the rest of the first set of monsters before the end of the year before trying to either focus on existing stories, cancelling some and remaking them into better works or to go ahead and make new story ideas I accumulated over time within my own head. But rest assured, i'm back and ready to write. Also, one more thing, I will be also using the FanonMonsterHunter Fandom Wikipage for existing mainline monsters in the series, such as HC Ahtal-Ka, from here on out to further flesh out fight scenes and to help garner more information out of them for the meat and potatoes of this fic.
This time coming into the big screen, a certain golden mantid who favors the mechanical arts will be introducing herself to the roster. It's none other than the golden neopteran, Ahtal-Ka!
So Monster Hunter Rise had long since launched out to very excited and satisfied players almost two whole year ago, and from what i've seen, it does not disappoint when it comes to the spirit of it all. Granted, if given some more updates, a few DLCs, and a expansion like what happened with World and Iceborne, and it'll probably one of the previous game's biggest contenders! While I unfortunately cannot play myself, I can surely say that you lucky sods that have one are either gonna or will have a great time yourselves.
And seeing Sunbreak and its following updates has increasingly given me the inspirational drive to finally to start writing on this story again, so I give my thanks to Monster Hunter itself for that too.
Another thing I would like to propose out to you readers out there is that i'm actually very interested if anyone would like to do a dedicated comic series for the fanfic on anywhere if they wish, whether it be Youtube, Deviantart, Instagram, or even a TvTropes. (Voluntarily, of course.) This WILL NOT be a paid commission of any sort, it is just merely something that could be done of your own volition and time for some kind of passion project, if you will. I only ask that you please credit my source in terms of story whenever you decide to do so please, thank you.
Back to talking about the story itself.
Now then, we'll be seeing for ourselves if the not-so-slightly unhinged Support Class student Hatsume can show her worth against this golden mechanic hoarder! Will her "babies" help her win the day? Or will the monsters finally have a win on their side and an actual loss for our heroes for the very first time? Well then, read and find out for yourselves.
But first, the reviews!
Guest: Thank you for your positive compliment towards the story. Rest assured that they'll be even more to come, especially since Monster Hunter Rise came out, so be sure to look out for potential entries from there as well.
Also nice job for seeing that bit at the end of last chapter, it was rather obvious once you know who it really is.
jazzraptor: Thank you for the compliment, fair reader. I did say from the beginning that my story in particular would be unique in its own way compared to the others, so making it somewhat similar to that of a nature documentary/article publishment format would ensure it to stand out. As for fighting the monsters at the end aspect of it, I was kinda surprised myself that no one else had thought about doing something like it before I made my current story, so hey, first time for everything, huh? I also thank you for giving me an honest review for any problems my story might've had that I failed to see when writing it.
pleezy: Alright then. I'll see what I can do to incoporate him in for you. PM me for more specifics on how.
galaxyeyes946: Noted. Thank you for pointing out that little tidbit right there for me, it'll be rectified after the first batch of chapters have been released.
Armsforme: Don't you worry about that one bit. There WILL be times when they lose, sometimes you just need something to break that little winning streak to put in some humbling. Just not yet. Also thanks for commenting on that, will be kinda difficult on my front but i'll see what could be done for future chapters.
Katana of the Blade: Omg, it's so nice to have you read through my story. Allow me to answer your question about the info dump: Essentially, it's a combination of lore videos from various monster hunter youtubers and from a Monster Hunter lore account on twitter by the name of BannedLagiacrus.
I also deeply appreciate your comments about my story very much. It gives me that little bit of inspiration to keep pushing on and continuing the story.
Now a quick little bit for those who were not satisfied with specific details with the story.
All constructive criticism comments retaining towards problems found within the first batch of chapters will be acknowledged, compiled, and worked upon after the release of Chapter 10.
Thank you.
But until next time, see you at the next chapter.
P.S.: Start sending in requests for your favorite monsters and watch as how our beloved hero academia react. Ciao.
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Fourth Monster: Ahtal-Ka
The audience returned back to their seats once again as Ryvaldric teleported the Jagras and Girros back to their rightful owner, to the displeasure of a certain reptile lover.
"Noooooo! I wanted to play with them when I had the chance!" Setsuna cried as anime tears fell from her eyes as her classmates tried to calm her down as Ryvaldric put his hands up and gave a proposal of his own.
"Now don't you worry! Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, is going to have their own little experience with a special monster when we're done with this first batch of presentations." Ryvaldric said as everyone turned to him with widened eyes at what he just said.
"Wait? You mean we can have monsters of our very own?!" Nejire asked super excitedly as the others soon became excited and interested in the prospect, especially Masegaki children who became extremely eager to have pet monsters of their own.
"Now hold on, everyone. We're officially at the halfway point with these presentations, so let's keep it going, shall we?" The host of the show says as the screen begins to light up.
The scene begins with the sun shining down upon a heavily fortified fortress as dozens of guards patrol the perimeter for any external threats that may attempt to batter against the walls. Some of the guards were up on one of the watchtowers talking amongst another, having a drink and talking about past experiences back into their careers whenever a monster, usually an Elder Dragon such as Lao-Shan Lung, would come to attack the fortress.
"You know, that actually makes a lot of sense to have a fortress that well defended if Elder Dragons were frequently attacking it." Thirteen says as to seeing the relatively normal atmosphere expected from the fortress.
"Hmm, yes indeed. It goes to show that in their world of quirkless humans and ferocious monsters, constant vigilance over key strategic points of great importance means the vital difference between of keeping the people safe and ensuring that no dangerous monsters comes rampaging throughout the lands unchecked." Nezu wisely states at seeing how it's presumably a fairly strategic point of interest.
"Well based on how its putting a heavy emphasis upon this fortress, I bet something big is about to happen here." Ectoplasm said with an anxious tone as he sees how it's gonna go down.
All in all, it was peaceful and orderly in that moment of time. But alas, sooner or later, something would come to disrupt it.
And that time is now.
"Told ya."
A guard up on the wall calls out that something resembling a giant monster is headed towards the fortress as everyone immediately went into overdrive as they quickly prepare to face the oncoming threat. Cannons stationed in embrasures were soon positioned and loaded as Ballistae up on both the walls and watchtowers were primed and ready to fire at the oncoming threat while the Monster Hunters that volunteered to hold barracks at the fortress were called upon and ready for battle.
By the time the monster arrived at the outer wall, it could finally be seen clearly as it came close to begin the attack. Turns out it isn't a monster at all, but a colossal...moving construct made out of various materials both natural and manmade in a mix-match woven together in the shape of a large monster, there was even a large skull that came from a Elder dragon known as Gogmazios. Still, it nevertheless poses an extreme threat to the fortress, for it happens to be an important bastion to allow traders from various countries to travel through the local region without being attacked or harassed by large monsters.
The audience were once again shocked beyond belief that instead of a monster, it's a literal walking fortress consisting of various makeshift materials in the shape of a four legged monster.
"HOLY CRAP! THAT THING'S MASSIVE!" Rikido shouted, gaped at the sheer size of it.
"It appears to be some sort of construct made from various materials, both natural and manmade." Momo noted as she studied the construct's components.
"How can something like that possibly function at a logical level?! It's literally just a mish-mash of rocks, metal, dirt, and... silk?" Power Loader was about to go on a rant about how logically impossible for something like that to function normally until he noticed a yellow string-like substance on certain parts of the joints.
"Oh yeah, that IS silk!" Melissa saw where he was looking at and sure enough, there was a silk-like material binding it all together.
The military leader of the fortress gives the order to engage as cannons and ballistae fire upon the construct as it comes closer to the outer wall, taking off bits and pieces off when it finally came close enough to launch an attack of its own as it peered at eye level against the defenders, when it simply raised its right foot into the air... and sends it back down with a mighty blare of sound as that part of the wall was easily obliterated into rubble along with the artillery, causing many of the defenders to fall off and retreat back to the second layer of defense as the monstrous construct waded its way through, assimilating large pieces of the debris and artillery back onto itself, unbeknownst to the defenders.
Everyone was both floored and very concerned at how easily it passed through the defenses, even though said defenses were admittedly well fortified without technology. Gran Torino remembered that time when they caught Kurogiri with Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi, only to run into a giant of a villain they later identified as Gigantomachia, All For One's loyal bodyguard and one of his most loyal servants.
Some however noticed the construct absorbing the fallen debris throughout the battle into itself to regenerate the lost bits that fell off from the artillery fire.
"Okay, so it assimilates terrain like some sort of giant monster golem and blares a sound like a warhorn similar to Cherno Alpha from Pacific Rim?! That's so fucking AWESOME!" Hatsume yelled out from the projector booth.
"Hatsume! Language!" Power Loader chastised his hyperenergetic student as the scene continued.
The Monster Hunters then arrived at the site and commenced suppressing fire from their Bowguns to give time for the defenders to recuperate and prepare the second defense layer for what's coming.
However, to their shock and surprise, the giant construct simply turned back around and walked straight back out the way it came as the walking fortress quicken its pace out of there, soon disappearing shortly after, to the frustration and befuddlement of the squads sent out to find out while a lone squad of Monster Hunters was sent back to the Guild to give a full report about the events that happened at the fortress as the scene turned black.
Everyone was just as confused as they were when the construct just... straight up left like it wasn't a big deal.
"What the hell was that? Even though it was barging in, you can't just turn around and leave like that with no reason!"
"That's just ridiculously absurd for it to just back out and disappear into nothing like it was some sort of ghost!"
"So the construct itself requires other materials in order to stabilize its form while the gold silk-like material is used as a binding to ensure that it's tightly packed together while also allowing for some ligament flexibility in the joints. But why did it have to attack human settlements for them materials? And why did it just leave all of a sudden when it could easily press forward and probably get into the interior? Does it need constant material consumption to regenerate? Or is there something-"
"DEKU, JUST SHUT UP AND WATCH THE DAMN VIDEO!" Bakugo yelled out at him, causing the greenette to stop murmuring immediately with a yelp and profusely apologize before the scene continued.
The scene then cuts to a ruined citadel in the middle of a desert with silk flying about in the breeze as the monstrous construct emerged from the ground with more than enough material for its nesting area as something comes out of the construct itself, being in the form of a large golden mantid-like monster as the walking fortress then sinks back into the sand. The mantid monster then looks behind itself and raises its claws for a screech when it comes to a stop, revealing the monster's name for all to see as the sequence comes to an end.
Everyone was then surprised to see a large golden mantid that was controlling the mechanical construct the whole time.
"Wait a minute, it was just a giant golden bug this entire time? Gee, I thought it would be more intimidating than we initially thought it would be." Midnight says nonchalantly as the audience sees the puppeteer controlling the construct.
"By 'intimidating', you mean the fact that it was somehow able to compile enough materials to then create what's essentially a giant mech capable to taking down fortified fortress walls while taking little damage from an artillery barrage, steal an entire wall's worth of rubble and street pavement, and to only then disappear without any clue or idea where it ended up? Because jeez, that's not intimidating or dangerous enough to cause massive concern, now doesn't it." Mt. Lady sarcastically replies back with a sneering look on her face as Midnight could only growl back with her gritted teeth.
"Okay, you know what, that's it. Might as well make a tier list of how SCREWED we are if these monsters came to our world and started raising hell wherever they decide to pop up." Present Mic says as he puts his arms into the air with a 'I'm done with this crap' expression written on his face.
"But still, it is intriguing to say the least about how there's a monster intelligent enough to know how to properly construct something like this, right?" All Might chimes in, trying to ease the tension in the room.
"THAT'S the most concerning part of it. If this thing were to appear, it must be tracked down and apprehended immediately, lest it ends up in the hands of You Know Who." Gran Torino replies to him with finality as the former protege and his young student could only nod in return for what he meant by that.
The audience calmed down as the presentation began to start up.
Aveneil: "Greetings and Salutations everyone, my name is Aveneil, Chief Researcher of the Wycademy, and welcome back once again to the Wycademy's Monster Ecological Report. This time around, we'll get to delve into one of the more unique entries as we examine the hoarding mechanoid habits of this Pavilion Mantis. And by that, I mean the elegant but deadly Golden Empress of the Forlorn Desert, the Cannibalistic Widow of Deceptive Beauty, and the Insectoid Tinkerer of Ruination, Ahtal-Ka!
"Ohh... my.. goodness. That is the single most beautiful insect I have ever laid eyes upon! Just look at how the gold complements the various shades of purple and blue! Surely if it were to be taught how to craft proper pieces of artistic beauty, I could only dream of how magnificent they would truly be!" Kenranzaki states with explicit joy and adoration towards the mantid, imagining about some of the most beautiful pieces of perfection could only look like in her mind.
"I have to admit, it's genuinely one of the most beautiful and gorgeous creatures i've ever seen in my entire life. If I have that golden insect with me, my cosmetic fashions career would skyrocket like crazy!" Uwabami says with a suggestive look in her eye as she gazes upon the render picture of Ahtal-Ka.
"I'll have both of you know that while you cannot possess Ahtal-Ka itself, you can however get some of its materials and even some armor sets if you're so wanting about it." Ryvaldric replies to both of them as the two ladies could nod frantically to get some premiere fashion material for their respective purposes as the patron thinks to himself. "Women. In every world, it's all about the fashion or whatever comes about in their minds. Then again, Monster Hunters do get some of the best fashion designs around, gotta be honest, so who the hell am I to talk."
"In more than a few places around the world, ancient legends tell of a 'Walking Treasure' that wanders from place to place, pillaging and plundering as it went, said to have raided fortresses and small to medium sized settlements, leaving a path of destruction and chaos, and said to have defeated entire armies of seasoned veteran warriors in but a matter of minutes. There was even a story of how such a beast was capable of conquering an entire fortress-city if it so desired. Dangerous and incredibly nigh unstoppable unto itself, very few have survived to live the tale of their near death encounter, but even fewer still can claim to have seen the greatest treasure of them all."
Everyone couldn't help but become invested into that quick introduction about Ahtal-Ka as they soon develop both a respect and wariness at its prowess in battle against entire armies.
"Walking Treasure? More like 'Awesome Ballistic Battle Fortress' to me! That thing sounds unstoppable!" Hatsume shouts out.
"But like with every fortress, each has their own weaknesses that can be taken advantage of if they're known to the attacker." Power Loader sagely points out.
"Wiser words could have never been better said myself, Higari." Ryvaldric says as he praises the Support Department teacher for that little wise chime.
Aveneil: "So then, dear viewers, how does this mad tinker-bug manage to build and control a mechanical construct of such size? Why does it need to raid human settlements for more materials? And why is it so obsessed with the craftsmanship of humankind?"
"Well then, let's hop along and dive into it."
"The origins of how Ahtal-Ka came to be now well known to the Hunter's Guild started more than a few years ago in fact when an unnamed Hunter came with a report back from a fortified fortress that was well known for repelling Lao-Shan Lungs whenever they come to the pass, claiming that an unidentified monster of great size smashed into the outer wall of the fortress before suddenly as quickly and mysteriously as it arrived."
"However, the strangest part of the incident was that the monster in question took parts of the outer wall and the streets, leaving nothing behind as it laid a brief but devastating assault against the fortress as the fortress guards and hunters garrisoned there were hot on its trail before coming cold as it vanished completely during the pursuit."
"He's talking about the cutscene we saw at the beginning!" Izuku exclaimed as everyone thought back to the cutscene from the beginning.
"Hmm, indeed they are. I presume the cutscene at the beginning was when the incident itself actually happened." All Might says with surprise as they're basically hearing the verbal version of the event in question.
"The Hunter's Guild figured that since it stole vast quantities of materials from the fortress, it was looking to create a 'casting' of armor around itself, but couldn't figure out how in the world something so colossal could escape their sight or capture without a trace so quickly and so mysteriously as it did before they eventually discovered where the monster's true hideout was located and tracked it down to the source, only to become incredibly surprised at the true identity of the perpetrator."
"Rather than being an Elder Dragon as they expected, a large bug creature was the sole being responsible for raiding the fortress, which was why they had a exceptionally hard time finding the creature, not knowing of the true puppeteer controlling the mech from the inside."
"Yeah. I would be surprised too if I discovered that a giant golden praying mantis was responsible for stealing the stuff out of my room." Kaminari joked, rousing a few laughs from his fellow classmates.
Aveneil: "A mysterious monster not even officially documented for hundreds of years until very recently, where even now very little is known about its true nature due to some of the only known individuals so far being exclusively found at the Forlorn Citadel, Ahtal-Ka is a large mantis-like neopteron with a royal-like appearance, the ancient surface of her shell giving off a mysterious and otherworldly beauty unrivaled by all but a very few."
"Indeed. Such beauty should be treasured with great reverence and wholesome praise to preserve its perfection." Kenranzaki says with sustained admiration at the insectoid.
"This beautiful insectoid has razor sharp sickle-like claws used both to slash at prey and to grasp unto either her silk or any objects that fit within her claw. But although they make for exceptional scything weapons, their main purpose is the manipulation of her golden silk produced by Ahtal-Ka.
"Likened to those of spiders, the fine golden silks produced by the Golden Empress bear a crystalline property which results in the interwoven patterning along with its highly sticky content and absurd tensile strength which can hold entire fortresses together with little to no effort, allowing for the mantid to pull and hold onto objects with extreme ease and proficiency such as picking up large manmade objects over her head and attaching it on her back, resulting in said silks becoming extremely valued for their enhanced properties.
"The kind of strength that silk is capable of would be far greater than anything our world could EVER hope to accomplish based on how our current trend towards technology falls into! It could even be groundbreaking when it comes to making all sorts of support items, hero costumes, and even high quality body armor!" Melissa exclaims with awe at the silk exceptional properties.
"Indeed. Just like what my daughter said, this stuff alone could change our approach in the implementation of natural silk for armor processing completely." David says, agreeing with Melissa's logic towards the subject.
"Ahtal-Ka can use these silks for multiple purposes, the most often used purpose being that she could entangle various objects debris throughout her lair and use them as improvised weapons against the attackers, via either pulling said objects out of the ground with her silk or drag a large object, such as an iron beam or large wheel, attaching it unto her back. Along with this, she often has numerous silk threads scattered throughout her lair, with the likes of which can hold entire fortresses together as said earlier. The one known individual raised up the fallen castle's ruined fortress from the sands overnight with her silks alone, and when the Ahtal-Ka fell, so did the Forlorn Citadel since it was rebuilt and held together only by her golden silk."
"...So the entire citadel was literally held up ONLY by golden silk? That's some Spiderman level kinds of silk right there." Sero comments, amazed that the silk could pull off such an incredible feat, similar to that of a certain arachnid hero.
"So there are several silk strands that cover much of the area, allowing such a thing to being possible, along with Ahtal-Ka's uncanny ability to improvise on the fly and use whatever objects it could possess as either weapons or projectiles." Iida says, making note of how Ahtal-Ka uses both her silk and the environment to whatever advantage it could obtain.
"Such versatility and utilization for the silk on Ahtal-Ka's part, seeing as its lair is littered with all of the various materials it plundered from the past ventures and raids. It goes to show the kind of intellectual adaptation from having to transition from natural materials to those of the manmade variant with relative ease." Izuku chimes in while quickly looking at the screen and writing down more info on his notebook at a quick pace.
Aveneil: "It is unquestioned that Ahtal-Ka is considered to be one of the most intelligent monster species in the world to have been discovered by the Hunter's Guild, scaring entire civilizations with her mere presence, which is further exemplified by her mobile nest in which the mantid could use to move from one region to another in a manner of days. This intelligence is said to be on such an astute and analytic problem-solving level, which is horrifying close to humans yet retaining an animalistic and instinctual cunning, that theoretically speaking, if around let's say, a multitude of a dozen or so of them were to join forces in a coalition and create some sort of temple-nest warmachine and somehow made it capable of flight and advanced projectile attacks, it would be most likely seen as one of the greatest threat ever seen, even rivaling the likes of the legendary Black Dragons themselves."
Virtually everyone just couldn't get the thought out of their heads as they think about the kind of creation the monsters would've made that would make several high-profile villains look like featherweights in comparison.
"You know, I always thought those movies about giant bugs and alien invasions were kinda overrated. Now, I actually see this happening with extensive credence... and it utterly terrifies me to my core about what chaos and ruinous devastation they'll wrought if such a thing occurs." Sero states with rising concern as Hagakure turns to look at him with a presumably similar expression if it weren't for the fact she's invisible.
"Then let's pray that'll NEVER happen on our watch!"
"Originally, Ahtal-Ka prefers to build her nest with the best possible materials that could be obtained in nature, like the rest of her kind. However, as humanity begun to advance their technology to greater and higher levels, they began to switch and transition towards other sturdier materials. Much like certain bird species found throughout most human settlements, Ahtal-Ka has found that materials made by man are far superior than those found in nature in terms of strength and quality, and perceives human structures, such as fortresses, castles, and even cities, to being the best option for building the perfect nest for thyself, and it is this reason alone why she raided that very fortress."
"Speaking of nests, depending on the kind of natural habitat they're found in and what materials are available in that region, the appearance and structuring of the mobile nest itself could vary from individual to individual based upon their respective life experiences. For as an Ahtal-Ka grows up, they'll base the appearance of their nests on the numerous powerful creatures they encountered as they reach full maturity."
"By using both the debris along with various materials found throughout the land, Ahtal-Ka has constructed a truly monstrous titan of a construct that she uses as a 'giant walking puppet' for herself to control known simply as the Empress' Throne. The one encountered by the Hunter's Guild based the appearance of her nest on some sort of unknown Wyvern-Class or Elder Dragon-Class monster."
"It makes extremely horrifying yet intriguing sense if you think about it for a little bit. Many animal species have transitioned from living out in the wild to thriving in the big cities across the world with little to no difficulty at all. Sure, some of them are considered pests, but their adaptability around people make this look all the more unnerving and really, really scary all at once." Momo says with grerat insight, comparing more real life examples to that of Ahtal-Ka as everyone finally gets a name for the giant construct they're so eagerly curious to know about.
"So that's the name of its nest, eh? The Empress' Throne... sounds both fitting and poetic enough actually, now that I think about." Power Loader comments on the acutal name of the giant construct/nest Ahtal-Ka controls.
"I bet it'll be more formidable if it had some parts from the Zero-Pointers from the UA Sports Festival." Hatsume says with wonder and giddiness while thinking of how Ahtal-Ka's nest would be made even more amazing if it had some certain parts.
"Hatsume, don't you dare think about doing that if it comes here!" Power Loader shouts out, pointing his finger at her, already knowing what's going through the girl's mind as the young lady in question could only snicker still at the implications of what Ahtal-Ka's nest could become.
"It's still quite interesting to say for itself for how it bases the nest's appearance of powerful they encounter throughout their lives." Said Izuku.
"So it's like if a bird made it's nest in the appearance of a large predator to ward off would-be attackers to the nest?" Ochaco asked with a curious expression.
"Err, essentially something like that, yes." Izuku rhetorically answered back.
Aveneil: "The 'Empress' Throne' as its called is controlled by Ahtal-Ka herself when summoned to battle, in which she sticks herself into its core, fully controlling its very movements with her golden silks as she crushes her enemies beneath her with the giant contraption's weight and gravitational momentum. While encapsulated within the Empress' Throne, Ahtal-Ka is nigh invulnerable to almost all incoming attacks, but like most artificial creations, her nest has one major weakness that can be exploited by her foes if well timed in approach: The golden silks used for controlling the construct can be cut at various points, which will definitively cause the golden mantid to lose more and more control of her very own nest if enough of said strands are destroyed."
"I see now, the golden silk strands are what allows Ahtal-Ka to control it from what's essentially the 'cockpit'." Melissa inquires.
"Indeed. And since its considered almost invulnerable within its center, it can't directly attack Hunters while controlling it, thus making it easier to cut the strands that hold it together." Hatsume says aloud while also thinking which one of her 'babies' could help cut the strands.
"Should enough of the strands get cut in quick succession, the Empress' Throne will topple to the ground, leaving it vulnerable to further attacks and even allow Hunters to climb aboard and attempt to destroy more of the silk strands, forcing Ahtal-Ka to produce and weave more silk to regain the immediate controls. Although the Deceptive Widow can still use the Empress' Throne, she cannot keep refortifying its structural integrity for extended periods of time, for as long as there's still some remaining strands intake upon the nest in active combat, it is still usable. However, should the Empress' Throne receive far too much damage to the point of irreversible failure, the entire thing will completely collapse and fall apart into countless pieces of useless junk."
"And there's exactly what I just said, since Ahtal-Ka is forced to constantly juggle between retaking control of the Empress' Throne and actually attacking the Hunter in questions between multiple stages of the fight could lead to causing great amounts of damage-" Hatsume continues to say until she is interrupted by Bakugo, surprisingly, of all people.
"Which would then inevitably leads to the full-on downfall of the construct itself, no longer granting Ahtal-Ka any sort of protection, right?" Bakugo finishes in a strangely calm manner.
"That's the spirit, Bakubro! Man you're so smart sometimes when you want to be." Kirishima said as he flashed a teasing grin towards his explosive classmate.
"Yeah, why couldn't you show this more... super genius side of yourself more often?" Seros asked jokingly as the ticking timebomb that's Bakugo turned towards him with an animalistic snarl on his face.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?! I'M ALWAYS SUPER SMART ALL THE TIME, YOU DISCOUNT TAPE DISPENSER!" Katsuki yelled as most of the students and heroes just chuckled and laughed at the little antic.
"According to the official reports published by official representatives of the Hunter's Guild, the one made by the only documented individual was not yet fully constructed, as noticed by an elite party of Hunters dispatched to eliminate the Golden Empress, saying that should Ahtal-Ka be allowed to fully finish building her nest, the construct's size would've been made approximately two to four times larger than what it was when first sighted, towering over even the likes of Lao-Shan Lung and possibly be on par with some of the larger Elder Dragon-Class Monsters such as Zorah Magdaros.
"Okay, what in the absolute hell is this bullcrap? It wasn't even finished building it yet?! That's seriously like some Power Ranger Megazord stuff right there!" Kaminari says in exasperation and disbelief.
"I actually kinda thankful that we don't have to deal with a fully built kaiju mech of that size manned by giant bugs... right?-" Mineta tries to say as most of the audience turns to him with a menacing aura around as they say "Don't. Even. Jinx. It." all at once, prompting him to just shut his mouth and continue the showing.
"According to the Hunters who faced Ahtal-Ka in battle, when the Empress' Throne was pulled out of the ground, larges amounts of sand and silk were launched into the air as the strong wind currents carrying them, along with debris, caused the appearance of the locale to dramatically change in almost an instant."
"When the young mantids reach a certain age when they're ready to depart from their mothers, they always take a single part of sentimental importance from their parent's mobile nest before leaving her behind to start their own lives out in the real world, with the part they take being used in some significant part of their new mobile structure."
"Aww, that's sooo sweet, it gets to keep something from home like a keepsake." Mina swoons as she gushes about wondering what she would have to remember her friends and family by.
"Yeah, it's like you get to have some of your mom's old stuff before you say goodbye to remember her by." Momo chimes in as she wonders if that's how it would go if she were to leave her family's household to go out into the real world.
"When breeding season comes around, Ahtal-Ka produce a fragrant liquid pheromone from her body that's scent can be detected for miles upon miles around, though no male specimens have ever been discovered leading to great speculation as to their appearance since all individuals encountered since have all been female, not to mention the fact that female Ahtal-Ka often times cannibalize their male counterparts both for dietary sustenance and to attain the bright gold coloring they're so iconically well known for."
"... Ooookay, Well that's something we actually didn't want to know about." Kaibara said in slight disgust about this morbid tidbit.
"As disturbing as it sounds, it does happen with real life mantids, though they don't always eat each other upon sight like some nature shows would like you to believe." Kamikari informs, to the surprise of some of his classmates.
"But you still have to admit, it is kind of unnerving to show that's where Ahtal-Ka actually gets it coloring from." Ojiro interjects.
"And with that, the presentation stops here. But before you leave, a warning of sorts for your troubles: If you were to encounter this mystical insectoid in the wild, ensure that you have some material on you of great value to 'gift' the Golden Empress to ensure safe passage. But if you wish to best her in battle, be ready to face her full might, for she shall give unto you not a single shred of mercy nor restraint of her abilities against you... or she might take everything she deems valuable off your squashed and eviscerated corpse."
The showing comes to a close as the audience as Hatsume, Iida, Snipe, and Ectoplasm were teleported out of the theater. Before anyone can utter a sound, Ryvaldric clapped his hand together to get everyone's attention before he spoke.
"They're just teleported to a very special place to fight Ahtal-Ka. This is simply another experiment I would like to do for certain times whenever they occur such as now. For now, I suggest we sit back and watch."
For a second time, everyone remains in their seats wondering in barely contained anticipation for the inevitable battle, curious to see what their host had in mind along with how the two-student two-hero group would try to overcome the golden mantis. As for the group in question, they've been given some ample time beforehand by their otherworldly host to prepare themselves with what materials and items they need in their arsenal and to develop a battle strategy about how to properly deal with their insectoid menace.
"And that's time up for our heroic compatriots on the planning strategics phase. The time is nigh for our upcoming match, so let's see what they have in store for this wonderous spectacle we're about to behold!" Ryvaldric announces as the arena the group has been sent to resembling a varied fusion ancient ruins from their world such as the Rapa Nui of Easter Island, the Kailasa Temple of Ellora, and Olympia of Ancient Greece along with architecture from the infamous Forlorn Arena of the Ancient Civilization, creating the atmosphere of a once prosperous ancient city that is now all but forgotten desert oasis overgrown by nature as torn flags and banner of indiscernable origin wave and flutter from the eerie winds.
Needless to say, the audience couldn't help but simply awe at the sight before them, with many of the nature and archaeology loving people preening yet moaning in dismay that they themselves couldn't be there to bear witness to all of it.
But they must put those thoughts and feelings aside as the hero group were teleported in, knowing full well of what they're going up against. It was then that both Midoriya, Melissa, and Power Loader were the first noticed that Hatsume was strangely absent from the group altogether, followed by virtually everyone else. The young Shield turned to Ryvaldric who anticipated her oncoming question.
"Excuse me, sir, but where's Hatsume? Shouldn't she be with the other three as well?" Power Loader asked as Ryvaldric looked at her unblinkingly before giving an answer without hesitation. "Oh don't you worry about that, she's there alright, but where she and what she will do when the time comes is something that both me and her have best keep to ourselves. Wouldn't want to ruin the surprise, now wouldn't we?" He says as he gives the tinker-hero a wink before returning his gaze to the screen. Whilst unsure and wondering about what Ryvaldric had said, Power Loader nevertheless followed suit but is still wondering about what the two had talked, however she's not alone in this regard as both Midoriya and Melissa both looked at each other before shrugging.
"Alright everyone, it's now or never and whatever happens here will determine whether we win or lose. So for the sake of our comrades, let's do our best to stick to the plan and see our way to triumphant victory!" Ingenium proudly states as both his teachers nod with approval at the young hero-in-training's determination and optimism of what's to come in the fast approaching minutes. The only person to have weapons on their person were Dual Blades for Iida, being the Ma'at Shu for the sake of thematics coming from Ryvaldric's part.
"Indeed, I reckon we'd drag that oversized gold bug out of its metal nest and punt it back into the dirt from whence it came in no time, 'specially if Hatsume could get whatever our gracious host gave her to the field on time." Snipe mused as he turned to look at Ectoplasm who in turn was stoically looking ahead beyond the ruins in contemplation. "It seemed kind of strange for him to pull her over just before teleporting us here in advance. I'm wondering what he was going to give her that's so pivotal for this fight?"
Whatever replies the two heroes had to say were cut short as a steel beam attached to golden silk came flying in horizontally and almost slammed into all three of them with bone-crushing force on impact had the Duplication Hero not make some clones to push his two teammates out of the way while they dissipated into smoke as the steel beam returned to its wielder's back, Ahtal Ka, as she jumps from some hanging golden cocoons at her position that were well hidden from their view. Some students and children, such as Kota and Amajiki, in the audience had visceral jumpscares from the unexpected attack that almost flattened both their classmate and teachers into crimson smears on the ground, eliciting the others to see if they were alright.
The participants in the arena, along with the very perceptive eyes in the audience, upon looking at Ahtal-Ka notice something is a bit different about this particular individual compared to those from the video. Little differences such as a burst of bright blue on the abdomen, the golden strings having a bit more sparkle than normal, glistening white pearls on each leg, some black markings, along with a strange crown-like object atop its head, resembling that of the royal crowns from Europe.
But the heroic trio didn't have time to fully process the monster's unusual appearance as they assumed their battle stances as the golden mantid initiates the start of the fight.
The Battle has officially begun.
*Cue Ost: Ahtal-Ka Theme Phase 1
The battle begins in earnest as the three heroes split up into a three pronged assault.
"Remember everyone, stick to the plan!" Iida shouted out as he sped towards Ahtal-Ka to divert its attention away from Snipe and Ectoplasm and the western hero shoots from afar at vital points while Ectoplasm sent more clones to join and protect Iida while remained behind to stand guard for any oncoming projectiles sent their way.
"Come on Class Pres! Show that overrated fashion bug what Class 1A is all about!" Mina cheered as her classmates soon joined in, "You can do it Iida, give it your all and go Plus Ultra!" Uraraka chimed out.
Ingenium had already started to run circles around the glimmering mantid as he expertly dodged the steel beam from the front but almost got slipped up as Ahtal-Ka twirled it around herself returning on her back as she swipes out at the clones with her sharpened claws, managing to catch a couple before the Turbo Hero saw his chance and went in for a flurry of quick slashes to the legs in addition to some well placed low sweep kicks at the abdomen with consecutively timed Recipro Bursts before rinsing and repeating for many cycles as Snipe and some Ectoplasm clones pepper Ahtal-Ka from afar with precise gunshots and ballista bolts from the only now manned ballista, no thanks to the duplicates, at both the arms and the strings holding the steel beam to the insectoid's increasing frustration.
"Damn, look at that speedster go! With that kind of teamwork, they've really got a good start so far by the look of things!" Awase exclaims as the battle progresses, "Careful of what you say, Yosetsu, just because they've got a good start to the fight doesn't mean it'll remain like that for the entire duration. Sooner or later, something's going to slip up and they're going to pay for it." Vlad Kings lectures to his student as his fellow homeroom teacher in Aizawa vocally agrees with him.
"Yes, he's right. Take notes, students, this is a good experience to learn from as the battle progresses that having a good start doesn't factor in for a full victory. This just means that things are going to only increase in intensity from here on out."
"Yes, Sensei!"
Ahtal-Ka begins to become more and more aggravated at the continual damage being received from multiple fronts before it begins to cover its surrounding position in sticky webbing silk as the almost nonstop supressing barrage keeps coming. When it finishes the task at hand, the mantis monster only takes a glance to predict when the speeding hero would strike next and baits Ingenium to come in for another hit and run by raising her arms to expose the vulnerable abdomen and legs.
Ectoplasm's eyes widen as he quickly realized what Ahtal-Ka was doing and hurriedly shouted to Iida in desperation, "Ingenium, watch ou-"
The trap works like a charm, for as soon as the Turbo Hero came close enough, Ahtal-Ka lets out a powerful Queen's Roar, both dealing some damage and forcing Ingenium to take a few steps back into the binding webs, trapping him into place. Ahtal-Ka then picks up the entrapped hero in her talons before encasing him in acidic spit, lowering the defense of his armor, and swirling him into the air like a flail along with the steel beam and launches both of them into different directions, one into Snipe and Ectoplasm to stop them whilst the steel beam smashes into the ballista, destroying it and the clone, granting the golden mantid some much needed reprieve.
"Are you hurt, Ingenium?!" Ectoplasm asks as Iida gets back on his feet with help from Snipe after the throw and says he's alright as Ahtal-Ka digs up another object from beneath the shifting sands: A mechanical head resembing that of a Zero Pointer and a tusked monster no one both on the field and in the audience hasn't seen before that resembles more of a metallic knight than an actual monster.
Wasting no time, the trio went back to the groove of the fight as they now had to be more careful since this monster is hiding more tricks up its proverbial sleeve than they anticipated... One of which was a lasso they caught out Ectoplasm, pulling him in before Ahtal-Ka slashes him with her claw before placing him inside the mech's head to promptly swing it around, along with the Duplication Hero inside of it, forcing both Snipe and Ingenium to constantly dodge while trying to cut the silk to free their teammate.
"This Ahtal-Ka is proving to be just as clever as the video said she was. It is little wonder the team is starting to have some problems dealing with her, especially from this point forward." Edgeshot spoke, both amazed and concerned at the same time for the people chosen for the fight. Ryukyu agreed with the Ninja Hero on principle on the topic as well being concerned on what's to come ahead, "Agreed. If this is only the first stage of the fight, how would they try to keep up once Ahtal-Ka brings out the Empress' Throne?"
But while everyone else is either egging on their friends or watching in silent encouragement, Power Loader is still wondering where in all of this is Hatsume? Surely she would come sooner rather than later to help out in the fight, right? Higari Maijima took another glance at Ryvaldric who is just watching the fight in complete silence, yet he could see a small but discernable smile on his face. Given the statement he said earlier, it's got to do with what he and Hatsume were talking about before.
Speaking of the pink haired tinker-girl in question, the only thing going on in her mind right now is how fucking awesome it's going to be when her time comes to shine in the imminent explosion of complete anarchy that's coming and the looks on everyone's faces when it happens, laughing away like a mad scientist ready to unveil probably her greatest 'baby' yet.
Back to the fight in hand, the battle begins to escalate more and more as the heroes try to do as much damage as possible while Ahtal-Ka pulls out all the stops for the first phase for the fight. From utilizing the mech's capabilites as a oversized megaphone and personal Chain Chomp, wringing golden lassos right out of a fantasy western, and unleashing flurries of rushing claw swipe attacks, to quite literally swinging around the arena like a miniature New York City as falling debris and webs on top of the heroes in an attempt to bury them alive.
Until finally they push Ahtal-Ka back as she starts to stagger on spot as she tries to maintain herself.
"Alright, Way To Go, Iida! Just beat that giant mech and you guys would win!" Kaminari excitedly cheers out before Yaoyoruzu immediately interjects, "I don't know about you Kaminari, but I think several others, including myself, have noticed some actual differences on this particular Ahtal-Ka before the fight started. And something tells me it's now only going to start getting worse for them." The heiress says as a gets a sweat on her brow the more she thought on about it before turning to Todoroki. "You've got the same gut feeling too, right?"
Shoto nods back at her and replies, "Yeah, something's definitely been off about this one. The one we saw in the video didn't do half of the attacks that this one is doing, along with the fact that it actually seems to be holding out on some of whatever various moves and tricks it has on hand."
"Which definitely means that the pain train is about to hit the station and it's going to fucking hurt. A LOT." Bakugo quickly interjects into the conversation as everyone notices that the black markings on the body have begun to glow a deep scarlet before it begins to dig deep down into the dirt before submerging completely.
The three heroes just stood there staring at the hole with ever increasing tension before its inevitable swift departure.
*Ost Cut*
"Hold on. This is about to get REALLY bad." Ectoplasm states out as he quickly looks down at his feet to see pebbles begin to slightly shake.
Whatever replies both Snipe and Iida had on their tongues were quickly silenced as the ground begins to shake, cracks and rents beginning to split apart from beneath as the three gentlemen felt something huge was making its way towards the surface... until finally at long last, a great plume of dirt, smoke, and debris explode outwards, creating a large cloud that almost obscure the trio's vision if they haven't been trying to dodge falling projectiles in the form of debris. When the three heroes looked back at the newly made gaping hole, there was an anxious yet suffocating for but a moment before the first front mechanical arm rose from the earth and planted itself down onto the solid ground as a second followed shortly after, supporting itself upwards as the steel behemoth's head rose up like a metallic monolith whilst it body fully emerged from the hole, showing its full abominable glory for all to see as its baleful roar bellowed to the very heavens followed by an shrouding sandstorm.
The mechanical monstrosity composed of components from various sources with some even coming from a Zero Pointer, very vaguely in its head but mostly its arms. The massive construct was slightly taller than the Zero Pointer, with a body plan similar to that of a centauroid form, bearing enlarged versions of its respective weapons such as the Longsword Meretseger in its right hand with its left arm bearing a heavily modified variant of the Heavy Bowgun Ra-Horakhty that looks very similar to combination of weapons from a certain 42nd Millenium being the Thundercoil Lance and the Spear of Starlight along with arm-mounted siege claws on its forequarters. The main chassis of the metallic beast burned with a blistering dark fire from constantly flickering baleful runes from some civilization from another world of dark factories and constructs of daemonic fire with its artificial draconic tail whipping about like a lashing whip.
To say that this abominable amalgamation of various looted trinkets lashed onto this... thing turned many faces deathly pale was to says that the ocean was vast, as most of the audience could only just stare with a variety of emotions, mainly being shock, abject horror, and complete and utter disbelief that such a thing, let alone a mere concept could come roaring into full-on reality.
"...Holy mother of Christ... WHAT IN THE ABSOLUTE FUCK IS THAT?!" Shiozaki curses, so completely out of character yet so understandable a response for that very thought resounded like a bell inside everyone's minds.
"OH MY GOD, IT'S SO GODDAMNED COOL!" One of the male students shouted in the audience, nobody bothered to find out who said that.
"Okay, now i'm going have nightmares for many, many, many years to come. Along with a whole lot of drinking straight out of the god damn bottle, even if it completely destroys my liver." Gang Orca says as Ryvaldric passes him a bottle of some powerful sake.
Class 1A, along with many heroes and the rest of the audience, just stared in horrified silence at what is quite literally the most horrific and dreaded fighting machine they had ever laid eyes upon. And for those who participated in the USJ and the numerous attacks since, this makes even the Nomu, artificial beings from the experimented corpses of people, look like sweet, happy-go-lucky adoring teddy bears who sing about sunshine and rainbows by comparison.
"...I don't think they're going to beat that." Mineta said in a quiet tone that almost no one would've heard but couldn't help but agree with.
"C-Come on guys, Hatsume's still haven't shown up yet, so maybe-" Kirishima tried to reassure to everyone before Tokoyami decided to state his 180 response," Maybe what exactly? From what we're seeing, this horrid abomination practically reeks of the foulest darkness it can muster to completely smother their light. Even if Hatsume could get there in time, what does she have that could turn the tide?" The overall atmosphere began to drop even more from what he had said until Midoriya stood up from his seat to address his entire class.
"Then we just have to believe that Hatsume, Iida, and our teachers could make through to the end. They'll do the exact same thing for us, so who are we to not do so for them?" Midoriya proclaimed as everyone began to get their spirits back up again while Tokoyami looked down and closed his eyes with a sigh as Dark Shadow rubbed his shoulders assuringly until after a few moments apologized. "You're right Midoriya, I apologize for almost bringing the mood down even further." Class 1A accepted the apology, whilst Aizawa gave a silent glance and a nod, and looked to the screen, hoping and praying that both their class president and teachers could find a way to beat it.
*Cue Ost: Ahtal-Ka Theme Phase 2
Meanwhile, back to our fighting heroes, after simply gawking for about 5-10 minutes straight, they began to move again when Ahtal-Ka from within the Empress' Throne started its mechanized assault, not only using the previous attacks from its head, but it began to make fiery explosions onto the ground from the mech's siege claws and tail whilst also blasting shattered glass and set ablaze silk mortar 'spit' from its mouth while slashing with its longsword arm and blasting away various types of ammunition from paralysis, poison, sleep, fire, thunder, dragon, scatter, and piercing to blasts of pure energy from its bowgun arm.
"You know, now's about a good time as any for Hatsume to be here right now, wherever she is!" Snipe exasperately quipped out as kept shooting the numerous oncoming bullets in the air with his own before they could reach him or his allies, as Ingenium turned his head around to give a quick response, "As dubiously eccentric she normally is, we have to trust that she'll get here with whatever she has-" only for a second tremor to hit the area as all combatants came to a stop to figure out what is causing the quaking. Just like before the area more and more, but unlike the previous time there was no outward explosion but the sounds of heavy, thunderous footsteps and a loud ear piercing wail from a whistle echoing throughout the ruins before the silhouette of an enormous walker in the shape of a steam engine reveals itself on the far side of the arena.
"Did anyone order their tickets for the Hatsume Iron Horsemaster Extraordinaire? Because your main conductor has just arrived!" Hatsume shouted from within the cab as she blows the whistle, bellowing plumes of smoke into the air like an enraged Barroth. The iron behemoth looked as if a classic steam engine from the late 1800s-early 1900s, such as the 2-6-0 Glenbrook and Santa Fe 3751, grew a pair of mechanical legs and could run like an artificial olympic athlete with its arms supporting weapons made to match the Empress' Throne of Ahtal-Ka, such as having four Rathling Guns strapped together like something straight out of Doomguy's arsenal and a miniaturized version of a Krisus Siege Drill from the 42nd Millenium.
"... So that's why Hatsume took so long to actually show herself." Melissa blankly stated out loud with a 100 yard stare from the sheer absurdity of what going to go down as Power Loader looks as if he is about to lose his ever decreasing sanity since Hatsume joined the Support Class whilst he decided to just glare a hole into the back of Ryvaldric's skull with the host in question having some popcorn and a drink, bearing a shit-eating grin on his face on the Pacific Rim/Warhammer style fight that's coming up.
"Well don't just stand there, we've got a plan to pry that giant golden bug out of that metal nest she's snuggled in, right? 'Ere We Go!" Hatsume ecstatically cries out as pilots the walking pain train into battle as both her and Ahtal-ka begin one hell of an epic mech fight. Ectoplasm shook his head and turned to the two heroes and ordered out, "She's right! There's no turning back now, we didn't come this far just to keel over. Ingenium shall keep at the outskirts and try to cause as much of an inconvenience as possible with Snipe and myself will try to find some weak points and get to the main cocoon where Ahtal-Ka is controlling it." The three heroes nodded one last time before heading out to battle once more, their morale reinvigorated from the arrival of Hatsume and her own giant mech.
"AHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAHAHA! BURN BABY BURN! BURN BABY BURN!" Hatsume laughed like the crazed madwoman she is as the tinker-girl unleashes the full barrage upon the Empress' Throne, including two flamethrowers attachments situated at the front, multiple mini-rocket firing stations on the sides, firing the gravity beam from the Siege Claw while simultaneously engaging in close quarters, along with constantly bursting ultra-heated steam from various areas, as the two mechanical beings slammed into each with a tremendous force, causing a shockwave to reverberate across the arena. With the combined forces of the four-man team working in full unison, with hightlights being Iida managing to climb unto the Empress' Throne and hacking away at the various areas where Snipe managed to weaken their bindings with Ectoplasm pointing them out as both Ahtal-Ka and Hatsume begin to slice off the other's mechanical limbs via the golden monster slicing off the Siege Drill with string-propelled Dragonators with Hatsume blowing off the Ra-Horakhty, most of the tail, and one of the rear back legs as the battle becomes more grittier.
"Oh my god, this is so fucking cool, I can barely contain myself!" Kaminari stated quickly as he, along with many of Classes 1A and 1B, begin to vibrate in their seats from the sheer awesomeness of the fight, Jiro being tempted to stick him as she normally does but ultimately deciding not to since, for once, she also understands as she takes a look at everyone else having various degrees of a similar expression with the children straight shouting and cheering as if they're watching Avengers Endgame.
Eventually, both Ingenium, Snipe, and Ectoplasm reached the main cocoon controlling the metal monstrosity and gave it their all until the cocoon exploded into thousands of strands, sending Ahtal-Ka flying out for many meters before crashing into some of the ruins. As for the Empress' Throne, it began to fall apart as the binding silks holding it together gave way and collapsed on top of Hatsume's IHE mech, almost crushing the young lady alive if she didn't eject herself from the cab through an opening hatch on top of the roof before both of the metal monstrosities exploded into a giant cloud of scrap metal.
Bakugo took the entire performance in and had only these words to say, "That was some of the most awesome shit i've seen in my life and no one could tell me otherwise."
When Hatsume landed right next to the three heroes, it's revealed to everyone that not only is she equipped with her various equipment and inventions she shown off at the UA Sports Festival, but she is also clad in full Artian Armor custom fitted and given to her from Ryvaldric along with the Sword and Shield Unnefer. "Gotta say, that was one hell of a rodeo, if I dare say it myself." Snipe spoke first as he brushed himself of any sand or silk that got stuck on him during the great explosion. "Yeah, but we've got one final stretch ahead of us, and looking at Ahtal-Ka, she's no longer going to hold anything back on this last push." Ectoplasm replies as all four of them now looked to where the mantid of shimmering gold now stands, holding up a giant wheel with eyes now glowing with a red illuminance.
Now is the final phase of the battle.
Let them fight.
Cue Ost: You Say Run (0:22)
Ahtal-Ka lets out a warcry as she throws the wheel forwards and glides behind as the four-man group splits into two as Iida and Hatsume take the left flank while Snipe and Ectoplasm assume the right. Ahtal-Ka comes to a stop and discards the wheel for the time being and pulls out all the hail maries to try to turn the tide back into her favor as much as possible. The very arena itself begins to fall apart as sinkholes and rents in the earth open up more and more, dragging it all down into the abyss as the stability of the arena unravels all around. Everyone in the audience started cheering all the harder to finally put an end to this giant bug and bring home the victory.
"COME ON IIDA! HATSUME! BRING IT DOWN, BRING IT DOWN, BRING IT DOWN!" Midoriya, Uraraka and Melissa cried out as they shouted their lungs out together, being the loudest there as the final fight continued onwards, with Power Loader secretly crossing his fingers hoping that Hatsume comes out alright and on top.
Ingenium sped along with Hatsume as both of them started landing hits back to back on Ahtal-Ka as Snipe and Ectoplasm provided support and prevented various debris and silk from touching them as the two students brought the fight to the golden mantid. Hatsume managed to ensnare the bug monster through a combination of her Wire Arrow and Capture Gun, spinning her around with Ectoplasm's assistance before flinging Ahtal-Ka straight into Iida's fully powered Recipro Burst, shattering both the crown-like object and her arms as she thuds on the ground before hopping back to reacquire the wheel. Ahtal-Ka then send silk into various spots to sprout forth a dozen Dragonators and hurls them like spears at all four of her adversaries, managing to hit Snipe and putting him out of commission.
"SNIPE!" Everyone cried out as the gunslinging hero lost consciousness upon impact against a wall, forcing Ectoplasm to quickly come over and retrieve him and go for a retreat from the general vicinity. The ever grinning hero looked to the two students and gave out a final order, "Looks like it's up to the two of you now, so for the sake of everyone, finish this!"
Both students responded with "Hai!" as Ectoplasm took Snipe and were teleported out of the arena with the remaining two glaring at Ahtal-Ka in stout defiance. The mantid personal offense towards this blatant insolence and jumped into the air with the wheel beneath her and sent a shockwave of sand and rock towards the duo as they jumped over it and initiated their final assault, charging ahead with Ahtal-Ka doing so in kind, engaging up close in melee combat as they beat each other bloody as bits of armor come off piece by piece from both sides.
Iida and Hatsume stand beside huffing and puffing, exhaustion beginning to overtake as the adrenaline drains away and painful throbs from their limbs and joints ache throughout their bodies. Ahtal-Ka, in turn, isn't doing any better as green blood comes out profusely from the near countless wounds inflicted upon her since the beginning of the fight.
Both sides realize they've got only one attack left in them, and this time... they have to make sure that whatever comes makes it count.
"This is it. The Final Strike, winner takes all." Ryvaldric thought to himself as the final conclusion has drawn itself near.
"Hatsume. On the count of three, we'll combine our attacks into one final gambit and seal this through." Ingenium coughs out as Hatsume chortled in agreement, "Roger that, Ingenium."
Both sides initiate their ultimate attacks as Ahtal-Ka digs underground one final time while Iida and Hatsume charge up their quirks and weapons, just as Ahtal-Ka reemerges with bejewelled Dragonator spear of solid gold and silver and takes it to the ceiling before the mantid monster begins to spin like a rapid fidget spinner, with many chunks of the arena itself and the remnants of both fighting machines being levitated up to it and suspended by golden silk, creating a powerful suction vortex in an attempt to dragon the hero duo in. Luckily, Hatsume had thought ahead and implanted herself beside Ingenium with Hydraulic Bracers and Hover Soles, keeping them locked in place just as they finished powering up to maximum capacity.
The final three combatants gave one last stare at the other for only but a few moments in silence as everything around them began to blur, and for what felt like a solid eternity to those watching in the audience, before bursting forth with unrelenting speed towards one another like ballistic missiles shooting straight on to their target.
Just before the point of impact, both Hatsume and Iida searched deep within themselves and gave one last battle cry that would echo for the rest of the fight.
"PPPPPLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLUUUUUUUSSSSSSSSSSSS UUUULLLLLLLLLLLLTTTRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Ahtal-Ka surged forth at the same time with a final burst of speed and strength, unleashing a Queen's Roar, along with a Rushing Swipe followed by a flaming wheel set alight from the remaining sparks from the Empress' Throne.
..
..
..
..
..
Impact.
The screen turned to complete white as everything in the arena was consumed in a flash of light before the sound of the explosion was heard and reverberated into the theater, shaking it like a 4DX Experience on steroids and forcing almost everyone to close their eyes from the blinding light. When it all eventually settled down and the flash of light dimmed back to normal, everyone in the audience, one by one bar Ryvaldric, began began to open their eyes from the sudden flashbang that popped from the screen as the arena began to clear of the obscuring smoke and the aftershocks.
From there, everyone could see that Iida and Hatsume were still standing, with their fists held high in a similar pose to All-Might's in his final victory while Ahtal-Ka was knocked smooth out, its prone form laying still on an flimsy platform before it caved into itself and down fell the golden beast into the dark abyss.
The crowd then cheered and applauded the epic grand finale with a standing ovation and an encore as Ryvaldric teleported them back, placing them back with their respective classmates as they slumped back into their seats, utterly spent and fully exhausted of power and energy.
As their class president, along with Hatsume, were being tended to by Recovery Girl, Class 1A's respect for their friend and acting leader only grew ever higher and wondered what would come next from here on forward.