"We have to leave, now. Todoroki is in the city."

There was a brief moment of stillness before the room exploded into motion.

"Where did you see him?" Iida asked, strapping his sword to his belt.

"I didn't. One of his priests said he's in the city, and..." And Izuku was the only one he wanted. "...It sounds like he's here to fight."

"Then let's put what distance we can between us," the nobleman said, resigned.

"So much for breakfast," Mina grumbled. She didn't manage to hide her worry behind the complaint.

"Hey, do you guys hear that?" Uraraka asked. "Sounds like a crowd..."

Mina, first to have her things together by merit of not having as many, stuck her head out the window. "A lot of humans are headed this way. It looks like guards running from normal people?"

She was looking in the direction Izuku had come from. That probably meant things had ended poorly where they were beating the citizens. While it made him feel oddly proud that the people weren't letting the guards abuse them, their group could ill afford to get caught in the midst of a riot.

"I think I know why. I can explain later, but we need to go if we want to stay ahead of them."

As they scrambled to get through the inn, a booming voice could be vaguely heard outside. It wasn't until they exited that it could be understood.

"-fore change! It is inevitable! Submit yourself to the turning of the wheel or be crushed beneath it!" An older man in the robes of a Takeyaman priest was leading another large mob of people up an adjacent road. Many were armed, and Izuku could spot several pieces of bloody armor in the city's livery that were clearly looted from fallen guards.

"The horses," Iida said.

"No, the guards are going to run right into them!" Uraraka argued, gesturing with her staff. "We have to stop them, it'll be a bloodbath!"

"And it's going to be worse when the rioters chasing them already join the fray. We have to go, we can't stop this." Irritation was clear in his voice. As much as Iida had promised to dial back his attempts to exert authority on the group, it was not hard to tell that this vexed him.

Uraraka turned and looked at Izuku. Her eyes were wide with fear and guilt. "We... We can't just run, can we?"

He wanted to. Gods, he wanted to run. He needed to get everyone as far away from the city, and therefore Todoroki, as possible. But Uraraka was right. These people were going to fight, and many were going to die. He couldn't run any more than he could stop the setting of the sun.

"Mina, put them to sleep. As many as you can. Uraraka, prevent the groups from engaging with each other. If we can keep them separate, we might be able to break their morale and stop the riot."

"Midoriya," Iida said through gritted teeth, "might I remind you that a hostile Godling is in the city, potentially looking for us specifically?"

He was only looking for one Godling, but Izuku couldn't tell him that. "People are going to die, and we're in a position to stop it. I won't just let it happen."

While the two of them stared down, the other Godlings were putting their mantles to work. Mina skated across the road, throwing the purple sleeping Nectar into the oncoming mob led by the priest of Lady Takeyama. The confusion prevented them from responding effectively, allowing her to knock out their front lines before they fully understood what was happening. Uraraka raised invisible barriers over the road, preventing forward progress, though leaving avenues of retreat.

"You're going to get us all killed."

"I thought you cared about people, Iida. What happened to your responsibility to others? Isn't that what your house prides itself in?"

"These lands do not belong to my lord father. They are not my people." His tone was icy. Izuku was clearly making him angry.

"You're going to be a God. All people are your people."

The nobleman didn't respond.

"I'm going to saddle the horses. Help me or help them, but don't think for a moment we're wasting time."

Iida ultimately chose to help him. The four horses were saddled in moments, though the cacophony outside had them skittish. He kept his ears perked for cries of pain or requests for help originating from the other Godlings, but if there were any, he didn't hear them.

If Izuku didn't know better, he'd say they led the horses out of the stable and into a massacre. Bodies littered the ground almost a hundred feet out from the inn, purple Nectar soaking into the ground around them.

"Hopefully they won't be as violent when they wake up," Izuku muttered.

"We've got bad news," Uraraka said as she rushed to her horse.

"The last group scattered once they saw us knock out the guards," Mina explained. "The guy leading them said to find Todoroki and tell him where we were. We couldn't catch all of them."

"The barriers didn't help with that," the wizard lamented. "I may have slowed Mina down too much."

"If they're going to find him, we need to be gone. Let's put some distance between us and Kiyashi." Izuku spurred his horse into a gallop, the others on his heels.

The streets were empty. The air was filled with the sounds of ringing bells, which he took to mean the riot had spread to other parts of the city. He wasn't particularly surprised, considering some of the members of the second mob wore evidence that they'd killed, or at least scavenged, guards.

"What if they don't let us out?" Mina asked. "What do we do if the gates are shut?"

"Go through them," Iida said.

At the same time, Izuku said, "Go over them."

Uraraka grimaced. "I don't know about trying to lift the horses."

"Then we leave the horses." When the others looked at him like he was insane, he said, "We can't destroy the gates. It would endanger the whole city!"

"From whom?" Iida challenged.

"Anybody! The guard already have to put down this riot, there's no telling what might happen!"

"Okay," Uraraka said with a nod. "If the gates are shut, I'll pull us over."

Iida made a displeased noise.

Izuku wondered how often them following the nobleman's lead had really been him following Iida and the other two Godlings following him. It was a conflicting feeling; he felt bad that his friend may have never commanded the respect he'd thought he had, but the thought of his friends having this kind of faith in his ability made Izuku feel warm.

As they rode to the Eastern gate, the streets began to fill once more, but not with the everyday bustle of city life. At first, it was scattered sightings of folks avoiding the main roads. Then, a looter stood off with a spear-wielding merchant while other hooligans sought easy targets elsewhere.

The gates came into view, far in the distance, when they turned their last corner. However, the thoroughfare to their escape also introduced another obstacle: a whole platoon of guardsmen and women marched down the street.

"Return to your homes!" cried an officer. "Anyone found on the streets will be assumed a looter and will suffer the consequences!"

"Go around?" Uraraka suggested.

"We have to," Izuku agreed. He slowed his horse and prepared to turn down a street, but unfortunately, this drew the attention of the officer.

"Stop! Off the horses, now!" They didn't have time to comply. As the party ignored the guard and galloped away, they heard him yell, "Intercept them! I want those looters stopped!"

"I hate cities!" Mina yelled. Izuku could hear a trace of fear in her voice.

"We have to go over them or over the wall," Iida said.

"Were the gates open?" Izuku asked.

"I don't know! Why?"

"So we either gamble losing the horses or guarantee we lose them!"

"If they use those spears, going over them isn't going to be much of a gamble!" Uraraka called.

She had a point. While it was possible they could outflank the guards and get to the gates, it would be difficult to navigate such a path when their opposition knew the byways of the city so well, and overrunning a line of spears on horseback was a great way to lose the horses. Maybe more, if they weren't lucky. There were ways that they could scatter the guards to press on, but there'd be more as they went, and without knowing if the gates were even open...

"Over the wall, then," Izuku said grimly. Even if he'd suggested it earlier, he hated to abandon the horses with Todoroki likely after them. He couldn't stomach the idea of harming, or Gods forbid, accidentally killing the guards just to maybe keep them. "They won't expect us to head somewhere with no gate!"

Nobody responded, though they all followed as he changed course. He wondered if they were working through the same concerns as he was.

Shuttered buildings and abandoned stalls raced by as they rode through the side streets of Kiyashi. In the distance, he began to hear the sounds of combat. Were they looters or religious agitators fighting the guards? Maybe both? Or could it be that they fought each other? Izuku allowed his mind to wander over these topics, as they were a welcome diversion from thoughts about the pursuing demigod, even with the anxiety they brought.

"Did you hear that?" Mina called, looking back over her shoulder. Both Izuku and Iida craned their necks to follow her gaze, while Uraraka kept her eyes forward.

"Hear what?" Iida demanded.

"I thought I heard ice cracking!"

A solemn silence followed her statement. They spurred their horses on faster, the wall rapidly approaching.

As a final few pedestrians, armed but fleeing, scattered before them, Uraraka brandished her staff. With a deep breath, she thrust it into the air and yanked all of them off of their mounts, preserving their momentum as they hurtled up and over the three-story walls. A gaggle of stunned guards gaped as they crested the fortifications, and Uraraka kept them moving forward as they descended to make as much out of the magical leap as they could. Whinnying could be heard as they left the confused animals behind.

"We'll head north until the city is out of sight to throw him off our trail," Iida said. "After that, we head east."

"Sounds good," Uraraka nodded. "We keep more of our speed if we don't turn anyways."

"How close behind do you think he is?"

"Not terribly. I didn't hear the ice you claimed to, and unless he knew where we were specifically, he shouldn't have any way to know where we exited the city."

"Especially since we spent so long heading for the east gate," Izuku said. "As long as we're careful about where we stop, we should be able to avoid him, right? It's not that small a world, after all..."

"Fate willing," Iida responded darkly.

Memories of their discussion on that matter sapped what little confidence he'd managed for the idea of avoiding Todoroki. It was only a matter of time, since both fate and Lord Hellflame conspired against them.

Izuku's eyes widened as a horrible thought occurred. The plan they'd made to lose the Godling of Ice and Fire assumed that his information came from his followers in the city, from mortals who were unable to be everywhere at once and needed time to communicate. That wasn't how he'd found them in the first place. His assistance was divine.

Izuku turned his head to look at the wall, now well behind them. All seemed well at first, save for the black plumes of smoke beginning to rise around the city. Then, ice crawled up over the lip from the inside, bearing a man up onto the top of the wall. After the briefest moment's hesitation, it flowed over and down to bring him to the ground outside Kiyashi, directly on their trail.

A bubble of panic rose in Izuku's chest. Mina swore.

"I can try to run or we can stand and fight," Uraraka said, "But I don't think I have the energy to do both. If I run and he catches us..." She let the consequences go unsaid, but they all knew what that scenario looked like.

"Put us down," Iida said. "Best we face him at our current strength. We'll need every bit of it to win."

Every bit. Should he reveal himself? He'd need to do so if it came to single combat, but by their powers combined, the four of them had defeated a vampire that very well may have been older than some of the Gods. Surely, together they would overcome Todoroki, right?

The whole situation left a sour taste in his mouth. His friends were about to fight a demigod for him, and not only would he be not pulling his weight, he couldn't even tell them why they risked their lives.

Izuku was done with the All Mighty's notion of 'justice'. It was nothing of the sort, and he wondered if it ever was.

Ice spread across the plains as Todoroki traveled to them. All but Iida shifted and fidgeted with the anxiety of waiting. They only had to wait a scant few minutes for him to reach them.

Todoroki's face was utterly impassive as the small glacier that bore him tapered off to deposit him on the ground. He ignored their posturing, and it seemed that the scene was about to erupt into violence when he spoke, utterly ignoring the fight he was provoking. "Where is he?"

"Where is who?" Iida asked cautiously. His sword was raised, and Izuku could see him debating whether to strike now and end the problem once and for all.

"The Godling of Strength. I know one of you knows where he is."

Several confused looks were exchanged among the party. Izuku, obviously, was not among them, but he could see that the others hadn't expected this outcome.

"I know nothing of this Godling. We haven't met him." Iida's voice remained steely. He clearly didn't expect this to end well.

"Same here," Mina added.

"Me, either."

Izuku swallowed. This was likely the most important time to ever lie about his mantle. He hoped he could remain convincing. "I've only met one other Godling since Hosu, and it was Lord Nosferatu's. I don't know anything about the one you're looking for."

Todoroki's face darkened. "Liars. You will tell me where he hides of your own will or I will make you tell me. I will not ask again."

Iida didn't give anyone a chance to respond. He dashed forward faster than Izuku's eyes could track, sword set to cleave the other Godling's neck.

Somehow, despite the impossible speed granted him by Lord Torino's mantle, the other Godling responded. Ice burst out from around him, first in a flat sheet, but then raising up to create obstacles between them. Iida nearly fell as the ground turned slick beneath his feet, but he managed to stay upright. The cost was a complete miss against their foe, the opportunity for a surprise attack lost.

"So be it."

Everyone started moving at once. Mina threw Nectar, but the rising ice quickly broke her line of sight and caused the projectile to slide harmlessly to the ground. The same barriers began to crack and break from concentrated blasts of force by Uraraka. Izuku tried to maneuver through the walls as they struggled to raise under her assault. Iida was forced to adopt a more human speed, lest he find himself flat against the ground.

Todoroki's ice swiftly proved a more insidious threat than just an unstable surface. Izuku had to move quickly as it tried to reach up and grasp his boots, which left him in the uncomfortable position of nearly running across it. For the briefest moment, he wondered why the demigod didn't raise it into a prison as he'd done in Hosu, but when he saw the ice still expanding out and up despite Uraraka's best efforts, he decided that this was much more threatening.

The hardest part of getting to Todoroki wasn't the footing, however. The glassy surface reflected all of them in dizzying multitudes, obfuscating their foe's position. They were never going to win like this. He hadn't even properly attacked yet; he was just setting the field in his favor. The fact that the ice was attempting to trap them was just a bonus.

"Uraraka!" Izuku yelled. "We need this gone, it's going to be too much!"

"It's too much now!" Her voice echoed, slightly distorted, through the frozen halls. "I can't destroy all of this at once! He'll just make more, anyways!"

"We need something! Please!" He turned another corner to find that the Todoroki he'd been following was a reflection.

The sheer quantity of ice caused the temperature to drop rapidly. Steam rose from his skin and the ground beneath as the warm day struck out at the unnatural cold. If they didn't resolve this soon, they'd be left too sluggish to resist at best and afflicted by frostbite at worst.

Well. Maybe not worst. Death was very much an option here, Izuku realized. The chill on his skin probably wasn't from the walls around him this time.

The sound of ice breaking stopped, raising Izuku's concern that the Godling had gone on the offensive at last. One way or the other, slipping around in the maze Todoroki was assembling wasn't working, and Izuku decided to fall back.

As he quickly retreated through the still-growing halls, he was grateful for the time he spent in Nighteye's library. It had made his memory sharp, and he made it to where the edge of the ice had been quickly. He had expected it to have continued expanding; he'd seen it do so, after all. What Izuku hadn't been prepared for was for the ice to bridge the walls at the top, creating a ceiling.

Todoroki wasn't just making a maze to confuse them. He was trying to trap them.

"It's a trap!" he yelled. "We need to stay together, he's trying to box us in!"

A horrible rumbling started before he heard anybody respond. The frozen ground beneath him started to shift and crack as it shook. While the gaps leaped up the walls, spraying splinters everywhere, Izuku turned and retread ground once more to go back past the ceiling's reach. He slid and stumbled, but made it before the labyrinth began coming down in earnest. Reflections of Iida and Todoroki fighting multiplied before slabs of ice detached, and despite a few close calls, the whole structure came down without Izuku receiving injury. He let out a shivering, relieved breath as he took in the field around him. Over the ruins of the trap, he saw Mina warding an exhausted Uraraka. The earthquake must have come from her, considering the sheen of sweat and how she was leaning on her staff for support. He needed to move towards her – she was a target now.

The Demigod was engaged with Iida. While his friend had tracktion due to the now-uneven terrain, his speed weas only helping him defensively. Todoroki kept a whirling shield of fire around himself, preventing Iida from safely approaching. The nobleman adroitly dodged all tongues of fire and pillars of ice that jumped out at him, but every attempt he made to bypass or extinguish the flames failed.

"Yield," Todoroki demanded. "Your struggle is pointless. You cannot best me."

Izuku was torn. He wanted to help protect Uraraka, but Iida desperately needed aid. The problem was, he didn't have anything that would help with the fire. If only Awata were here...

They'd have to make do. Trusting his friend to hold his ground for just a little longer, the Godling of Strength ran to his other comrades.

"What can we do to put out that fire?"

Uraraka gave a weary look and shook her head. "Best I could do is move the fuel..." She took a ragged breath. Shaking all that earth and ice had done a number on her. "But there isn't any."

"I can try to make a wetter Nectar," Mina offered. "I don't know if it'll work..." She watched as Iida tried to advance and attack with his sword, only to be forced back by an uproar of fire. "It's got to be better than what we're doing now, though." A grim acceptance spread across her face as she squared her shoulders. "Protect Ochako. I'll be back."

His heart skipped and worry settled deeper in his stomach. He nodded all the same, drawing his weapon.

Mina surged forward, propelled by her Nectar. She hopped and slid acrobatically around and over the chunks of ice, and he worried for her feet. As Mina closed in on the two combatants, an almost clear pale green Nectar began to leak from her arms. It didn't flow like water, but it was much less viscous than it normally was. She tried to fling it like she did in most fights, but it lacked its normal cohesion. Instead of a solid, if stringy, mass, it quickly dispersed into small globs that evaporated with a hiss before they ever reached the barrier.

The noise made him glance at Mina for a moment. Iida took the chance to move in. While the shield hadn't been at all diminished, the distraction prevented it from flaring up in time. A light cut from his left shoulder to the center of his chest was made at the expense of Iida's knuckles. His leather gauntlets protected his hand, but the fingers were left exposed and vulnerable.

Todoroki clutched his wound, a baleful look in his eyes. Wordlessly, ice shot out to grasp at Iida's feet, but it wasn't fast enough to catch him.

Mina tried a different strategy, sliding perhaps dangerously close to the Demigod as she held her arms out and attempted to stream the Nectar onto him as she passed by. This was met with more success than her previous attempt. An almost audible impact was followed by an angry hiss as a thick cloud of steam rose up from the flame shield. It faltered on the side of the impact, and Iida chose this time to go back in. Unfortunately, Todoroki was ready; a wall of ice shot up to ward the Godling away while the shield recovered.

Izuku wished he could help. He felt so useless standing next to Uraraka, so far from the fight.

"Go," she said.

"Huh?"

"I can see it on your face. I'm... almost ready to start casting again. I'll be okay."

Uraraka was leaning on her staff pretty heavily still. If he left her, she'd have a difficult time defending herself. If he was occupying Todoroki, however, he'd have less cause and opportunity to do so...

"All right." He gripped his sword tightly and began an unsteady run over the field of shattered ice.

He still didn't have an answer for how to bypass Todoroki's fire. Perhaps he could work with Iida to better exploit the openings Mina was creating with her Nectar.

Mina came around for another pass, but the ground beneath her shifted to create a low wall, only a few inches. Izuku only saw it because the ice near Todoroki had melted, leaving a clear sight line. The nymph, unfortunately, was watching her opponent rather than her feet. She tripped, Nectar still spilling from the bottoms of her feet but unable to propel her. More ice was forming before she even hit the ground, and though she twisted to try and avoid it, it still rose up and caught her. A prison rapidly stretched and froze her in place, leaving only her head exposed.

"No!" Izuku shouted. He felt himself get faster as he began to pull the strength of his mantle into his legs, but the risk of discovery was rapidly losing priority in his mind. Just a few more steps, and –

– and the ice beneath him shifted. At first, he thought he had stepped on unstable ground, but the reality was a much more insidious plot by their adversary. As ice entombed his legs and continued up his body, he realized that it wasn't the shattered ice from the structure that was being used. No, it came up from underneath the shards of the trap. Todoroki had spread a thin layer beneath it to surprise them.

Izuku hadn't considered the possibility of an attack like this, which was why he was suspended in ice several feet above the ground.

Todoroki hadn't even looked at him.

Iida retreated, avoiding the sneak attack. The Demigod turned away from the nobleman, and this time, he did look at Izuku.

No... Past him.

He was looking at Uraraka.

Todoroki surged forward, borne by the ice as he raced past his trapped enemies.

"Ochako! Watch out!" Mina called.

He wished he could see what was happening, but he couldn't twist his neck around enough to get an angle on the fight behind him. Izuku saw Iida flash by him in pursuit, but then he, too, was beyond the Godling of Strength's vision.

"No!" Mina began struggling within her prison, though her efforts were fruitless.

"What's happening?"

"He got Ochako! I think she hit her head, she's not moving!"

His heart began to race. He'd failed is friends. If he'd been less concerned with keeping the All Mighty's secrets, they wouldn't be in this situation...

There was a cry of pain from Iida behind him. The look of defeat on Mina's face told him everything he needed to know. He just hung his head.

"Now," Todoroki spoke loudly, "We will revisit the subject of the Godling of Strength. You will answer honestly, or I will kill you."

Their deaths would be on Izuku. They had no clue, but Todoroki had already proven that he wouldn't believe that; Lord Hellflame's doing, certainly. But that didn't matter. Nothing mattered except making sure they were safe. He wanted it to be different, to have time to explain, but there wasn't. He only hoped that they would... that Mina would forgive him.

Izuku took a deep breath. The ice tried to prevent it, but power swelled in his breast. Summoning the full force of his mantle, he flexed his muscles.

The ice shattered.

Todoroki turned to look at him, confusion covering his face.

He didn't have much time. His plan was hasty, but if he kept the Demigod's eyes on him, it might work. Izuku picked up a chunk of ice. "You want the Godling of Strength?" He bounced it once in his hand, then whipped it past Todoroki's head. It struck Uraraka's prison with a loud snap, and spiderweb cracks shot across its surface. "Come and get me."

He turned and pushed off the ground with all his might, catapulting himself forward, away from the city and his friends. He stumbled when he landed, but managed to right himself and did it again.

He considered it a blessing that he didn't have to look at Mina as he left.

Todoroki took the bait. As Izuku ran, shards of ice and gouts of flame rushed to keep up with him. Few came within any dangerous range; his powerful leaps propelled him to speeds unattainable by mortals, and while Iida would certainly outrun him, Todoroki and his attacks lagged behind.

Izuku was surprised at how quickly he took to this mode of travel. After stumbling on the initial few jumps, he understood the balance, the amount of force to put behind his legs, and how to aim himself fairly well. His mantle was likely what protected him from injury as he impacted the ground, and it made him consider how that strength might help keep him alive in the coming fight.

He wished he could keep running. With his part in the Great Game revealed, he was now a danger to his friends – no. He had been a danger to them, but now Todoroki would be relentless. There wasn't a world where no fight occurred. If it wasn't now, it'd be later. Izuku didn't relish it in the least.

He'd considered this eventuality, and most of the scenarios that had played out in his head ended in one of them dead by the other's hand. Izuku's stomach churned at the thought. His only hope was that he could convince Todoroki to see reason before one of them died. Given the plan that was forming, though, his own odds of being the loser seemed significantly higher.

Strangely, this didn't bring with it the level of anxiety he expected. In fact, aside from the uneasiness he felt about having to bring his full might to bear against another person, Izuku felt a strange lightness within him, almost like he used to on carefree days within Nighteye's library. It didn't take long to decide whence it came.

The lies were over. Whatever fate awaited him, he came to it honestly and by his own choice. His hand tightened around his sword. It felt firm in his grip, none of the lead his mind attributed to it weighing it down. For the first time in his life, Izuku was ready for whatever came next.

In a fit of irony, his next landing nearly sent him tumbling down into a shallow gully that he hadn't seen on his way down. With a flailing jump that more resembled a skip, he managed to push himself over the gap to land more steadily on the other side.

He'd wait here. The forest had ended some time ago, so there was plenty of room to maneuver. Todoroki would be close enough to engage shortly.

His opponent was heralded by loud snaps and cracks as the ice beneath him nearly shattered to propel him at the speed necessary to catch Izuku. When the Demigod saw his quarry no longer running, the ranged attacks ceased. Todoroki slid to a stop on the other side of the gully, a passionless expression on his face.

"Are you done running?" he asked.

"I am."

"You lied to me."

"I lied to everyone. None of them knew."

A mirthless, mocking laugh escaped Todoroki's lips. "Are you so craven that you trust not even your allies?"

A pang struck Izuku's chest. "It wasn't my choice. Not until now."

Ice began to expand from the other Godling's feet, and his body visibly coiled in tension.

"We don't have to do this," Izuku plead as a least resort. "There doesn't have to be any more killing."

"It isn't my choice," Todoroki echoed.

Iida tried very hard to keep his teeth from chattering, but the cold was setting into his bones. "There's n-no use, Miss M-M-Mina. She isn't going to wak-k-ke up."

The nymph struggled against her own prison. "She h-has to, she's th-the only wuh-one who can get us out!"

He didn't bother trying to dissuade he further. The futility of it all was so great that continued resistance seemed pointless. Even with his brother's mantle and two other Godlings, Todoroki had overcome them easily.

He didn't count Midoriya among their number. His heart was raw with the betrayal of it. The scribe had been deceiving him since they met, but even worse, he had stood by and withheld his powers against Stain.

It was Midoriya's fault Tensei was dead.

Iida stewed as Miss Mina continued to scream for Uraraka to rouse.

Izuku leaped over the lash of flame, but didn't close distance to Todoroki. Instead, he moved perpendicular to reach a more ideal crossing point. All of the Demigod's attacks originated from him, from what Izuku had seen, so the farther away he was, the less likely he'd fall prey to a sneak attack upon landing. It was, ultimately, a failure of the battlefield Izuku had chosen, but he'd hoped the gap created by the gully would invite at least a momentary cease-fire. In that regard, it had been successful.

His opponent didn't give him any room. Todoroki recognized the advantage he had and wasn't keen to give it up. He kept pace with Izuku's lateral movement and kept the pressure on. While he threw fire to force him one way, ice was sent to prevent his escape.

"It is your choice, Todoroki! It always has been!"

The implication was definitely noticed. Just like in Hosu, his face twisted into a snarl. "It has never been my choice! Father raised me to kill her!" His fire roared white hot, and a massive wall of it erupted into existence and sped towards Izuku.

There was no way he could go around it in time, and going over it would leave him vulnerable to a follow up, same as crossing the gully too near to the Demigod. He gritted his teeth and prayed his singular idea would work, or this fight would be much shorter than he'd anticipated. Izuku held his sword at his side, tip pointed at the ground, and then, with all the speed and strength he could muster, wrenched his arm up to point it into the sky.

The force of the swing created a narrow shockwave that split the wall in half where they met. The divided sections passed by Izuku instead of washing over him, but the heat was more intense than when Todoroki had physically set him on fire. Izuku felt his exposed skin blister. However, it seemed his moment had arrived. The shockwave had broken the ice the Demigod was using to propel himself, throwing him onto the ground. Izuku wasted no time in crossing the gully.

Todoroki kicked another gout of fire at him as he took to his feet, but Izuku managed to dodge around it. Without the terrain to separate them, the only thing that slowed the former scribe's advance was Todoroki himself, and Izuku pressed forward vigorously.

"Your father doesn't own you," he cried as he jumped over a rapidly expanding barrier of frozen spikes. "I disobeyed Lord Yagi by telling you who I am! You can make it your choice!"

"Spoken like someone born without a collar on their neck." A frigid platform carried him back as he bid massive, razor-sharp glaciers rise up to strike at his enemy. "You could never understand. I've known my purpose since I was a child, and I was taught the price of defiance early."

Izuku whipped his sword up at a diagonal from his hip to his shoulder, shattering the oncoming ice. Fragments continued their path, cutting his face in an erratic pattern of shallow scratches. "I'm sorry that happened to you. Nobody should be abused like that, especially by their parent. But that doesn't give you the right to kill people! And you can stop any time you want!"

"You don't listen." A needle-thin trail of ice shot out from the Demigod's feet, but it wasn't headed for Izuku directly. It arced around, slightly down the side of the gully to go out of sight. He almost hadn't noticed it.

He was about to turn and break it, but then, something occurred to him. Todoroki had talked about the price of defiance as though the threat still hung over his head. "You're not still afraid that Lord Hellflame will punish you, are you?"

His adversary wasn't moving back. He likely didn't realize Izuku had seen his sneak attack coming. It made for a useful diversion in the battle for conversation, however. "All defiance is punished. It's best to obey."

"Todoroki... He can't hurt you anymore. The rules of the Great Game forbid any God from harming a Godling, even their own."

There was a moment of absolute quiet. The Demigod's eyes were wide with disbelief. "You're lying," he said quietly.

"I'm not," Izuku said sadly. "He didn't tell you, did he? He probably only gave you the rules as they benefitted him." He resisted the urge to turn around. Todoroki's ice popped and cracked as it moved in large quantities, and he didn't hear any of that yet. The attack was probably still thought to be a secret, and he didn't want to dissuade the other Godling from continuing to hold it back, especially when the fight could still end peacefully.

He watched Todoroki's world fall apart. As the Demigod's legs became unsteady, he winced sympathetically, eliciting a sharp sting from the several spots on his face where the ice had cut him.

"No," the other Godling finally said. The venom in his voice surprised Izuku. "You're lying! If that's true, then I killed her for nothing!"

Izuku wasn't fast enough. He heard the snap of the ice behind him, but Todoroki's sudden outburst had caught him off guard. The lance of ice had likely been meant to run him through the chest, but the little warning he had been able to act on reduced the blow to just a bloody furrow in his flank.

Unfortunately, that meant this fight now had a defined end point. Over the next few minutes, he was going to lose a lot of blood, and unlike when he fought Toga, he had nothing to keep it in.

Todoroki didn't give him a chance to recover. Not only did the ice slicked in his blood follow him, new jutting spikes leaped into existence in a furious assault. His right arm was punctured just above the elbow, and he very nearly dropped his sword. With a pained grimace, he next dodged forward, into the forest of frost designed to kill him. Rapidly growing obstacles tried to chase him and cut him off while the ground beneath him froze and shifted to try and make him lose his footing.

Once he cleared the first dozen feet of ice, Izuku slammed his left fist into the ground, causing the whole area to come down around him. Even this brought him little reprieve, however. With an anguished scream, Todoroki sent a ball of fire towards him. Shards of ice turned to steam before they hit the ground.

Izuku swung his sword at it, causing waves of agony to shoot up and down his arm from where he'd been impaled. He dashed forward, following the shockwave and the path it cleared through the fire. As the withering heat began to wash over him, part of Izuku's mind went to a medical text he'd once read. With no time to act on it now, he passed between the hemispheres of flame towards his opponent.

The opportunity to apply that medical knowledge arrived sooner than he expected. As he hurtled toward the Demigod, a wall of fire rose between them, and Izuku wasn't sure he'd be able to stop in time.

No matter how much she bade it, the drummer in Ochako's skull refused to stop playing. Each note sent an ache through her whole body, sharp where it started in the back of her head and dull by the time it reached her limbs. She groaned, and almost immediately, another drum started. This one came from outside her head, and it was frantically trying to get it in. It played at a much faster speed than the steady one inside.

"No..." she moaned. She tried to curl up and cover her ears, but she couldn't move. More than that, Ochako realized that she was cold. Freezing, even. Her teeth were chattering. Was that the drummer outside, no, it was far too fast...

She needed to open her eyes and understand what was going on. They were just so damned heavy...

"O-CH-CH-AKO!"

That was the drummer! It was someone yelling for her! Who was that? She hefted her eyelids and immediately regretted it. It was so bright out. After a moment of screwing them shut again, she tried once more, but with less speed. The person continued yelling for her as she slowly acclimated to the light, though it didn't do her headache any favors.

"'ss g-goin-non?" she mumbled.

"Ochak-ko, you have to wake up!"

"'m w-wake, I'm awak-ke. What happened?"

"Todor-ro-roki froze us all, except Iz-zuku, but–"

"M-M-Midoriy-ya betrayed us. H-He's been a Go-Godling this whole time."

Ochako blinked. "W-what?"

"He l-lied to us," Mina said. "He's the G-Godling of Strength!" She sounded distraught, and even through the headache, Ochako was pretty sure she knew why. "You need t-to get us out of this ice! He's fighting T-Todoroki alone!"

To break something that big, Ochako would need her staff, which was frozen in with her...

"W-why is mine cr-cracked?"

"Izuk-ku did that be-before he ran. I t-think he thought you c-could get out?"

He was probably right. She closed her eyes again and focused her power.

Godling or not, it was time to save her friend.

He couldn't stop in time.

Izuku crossed his arms to protect his face from the fire, but going through it was such white-hot agony like he hadn't experienced since nearly dying at Nighteye's mansion.

He collided with something cold – probably a barrier of ice around Todoroki. However, he hit it with such force that he smashed right through it. For a moment, he was insensate. Or perhaps it was... whatever the opposite of insensate was. He was in far too much pain to think clearly. He didn't die, however, so the moment of weakness wasn't preyed upon. With no time to spare for delicacy, he threw himself to his feet and opened his eyes. They did both appear to work, which was a stark improvement over the last time he'd hurt this much. Todoroki was beneath him; it looked like the wind had been knocked out of him when Izuku smashed into him. He also didn't appear to be bleeding anymore, which was a mixed blessing. On the one hand, he didn't have to worry about blood loss; on the other, the wound was cauterized on the inside. That didn't seem good for his long term survival. He'd need to get to Grandmother quickly...

Todoroki was starting to recover from the impact. Izuku looked at him for a moment before it occurred to him that he should do something. He put his sword to Todoroki's throat. "I'm sorry," he croaked. "Your sister is dead, and your father used you like a tool. Nothing will bring her back, but you don't have to keep doing what he says just because you messed up once."

The Demigod glared up at him. He didn't dare move or attack in his position. "You wouldn't understand such a loss. Have you ever killed someone you loved?"

He'd agonized about it time and again, but... "No."

Todoroki sneered at him. "Then don't speak such platitudes. Just kill me and be done with it."

"Why would I kill you?" He had to stop to cough. The constant talking was agitating his throat – had he inhaled some of that hot air? "What would that accomplish?"

"Nothing. The best would be if she could come back by my death... But this is an acceptable alternative."

"Todoroki, you don't have to die!" His vision began to swim. That was bad. "You can live for yourself, for... for her memory! Not for your father!"

"You would have me endure the torture of bearing this knowledge for the rest of my life? All the millennia it entails?"

He coughed. "What's the alternative?"

Todoroki didn't respond.

"Listen... Are you done fighting? Can we put an end to this? I don't want to kill you... and maybe when we all reach the Palace... We can be friends..." He wasn't sure how much longer he'd be able to remain standing.

The tension left Todoroki's body. The corners of his eyes drooped, and it suddenly looked like he was carrying a great weight... Which, in a way, Izuku supposed he was. When he finally spoke, his voice reflected that burden. "...Fine. It will be as you say. There will be no more fighting or killing... and we shall see what becomes of us when we reach the Palace."

"Good, glad to... hear it." He moved his sword from the Demigod's throat, which was a very good decision, because it was at that moment that his remaining strength left him. Izuku fell over, blackness overtaking his vision.

That was very bad.

Tracking them wasn't an issue. Todoroki left a giant trail of ice where he'd gone, which meant they could follow as quick as they'd like. Mina was going as fast as she could by sliding on her Nectar, and Tenya ran beside her with Ochako on his back.

He hadn't even wanted to come. He'd argued that Izuku had betrayed them, and whether he won or lost, Todoroki wouldn't be a problem for them anymore. Mina had, of course, yelled at him until he'd given up and agreed, but in her heart...

Everything she knew about Izuku was a lie. Just the night before, they'd... Her heart threatened to shatter if she thought about it. But at the same time, the thought of him in danger, fighting someone who beat all of them together by himself, she was near the verge of panic. If he weren't in so much danger, she'd just sit down and cry. Everything was so confusing right now!

Mina blinked away the tears. It wasn't time for that. Right now, she had to focus on making sure Izuku was okay, and the rest of her thoughts could be sorted out later.

A series of loud cracks began pervading the woods, making her stomach drop. It had to be Todoroki on the move. There was no mistaking that noise.

Her fists clenched and, almost unbidden, began producing the most acidic Nectar she could manage. If he was moving through the forest, then that meant...

That meant he had to die.

He came into view quickly, and without even taking the scene in, she screamed for rage, for hate, and for her broken heart, flinging a Nectar that would reduce bones to slurry directly at him.

She missed, but there would be more opportunities.

"Peace," Todoroki called. "I–"

"PEACE?!" Mina screeched. "YOU KILLED HIM!"

"He's alive," the Demigod said as she gathered her next projectile, "But he needs a powerful healer if he's going to stay that way."

Mina hesitated. Did she dare to hope? Why would Todoroki, who wanted Izuku dead not fifteen minutes ago, care to save his life?"

"We need to find a door with a lock on it," said Ochako, "And quickly. You can explain on the way."

Izuku woke up to the sound of his stomach growling.

He shot up, gasping a deep breath. Moonlight filtered in through a window in a log wall. Grandmother's house.

He was alive. How had he gotten here? The others must have brought him, but the exact details didn't matter. What mattered was...

He looked down at himself. Like the first time he had awoken unexpectedly in Grandmother's house, he was coated in bandages. Slowly, fearfully, he reached to touch his side. It was whole, which meant that the Goddess of Life had been able to mend the wound, even with the cauterization. A second tender poke to his arm verified that there was no hole there, either.

His stomach growled again. Izuku was so hungry it hurt, but he needed to know where everybody was, what had happened since he'd fallen unconscious after convincing Todoroki to stop fighting.

As he got up, he realized he wasn't wearing much more than underwear and bandages. The Godling decided to bring the blanket with him, wrapped around his body like a cloak. Izuku staggered to the door, legs unsteady from... what? Injury, disuse? How long had it been?

He opened the door, expecting to see Grandmother, but Uraraka was there as well. As he stepped out, they both rose, protesting his movement, but he was checking how many rooms were in the house. There were only two.

"Where are the others?" he asked. "Why are there only two rooms?"

Both of the women went silent, and then Grandmother sighed. "I'll start some tea."

Her response made his heart tighten. "Where are Iida and Mina? Why aren't they here?"

Uraraka took a few steps forward, holding her hand out to touch his shoulder. "Izuku..." Her tone made his blood run cold. "I'm sorry. They left."

Is this a good time to tell you all that I intend to release the next chapter of VIP next, and you're all going to have to wait to find out how the cliffhanger resolves?

Because that's what's happening.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! This is one of the few I've been excited for since I started Even Gods Must Die, so let me know what you think!