Hello everyone, and welcome to the penultimate chapter of the Heroes: Rising arc! Just like last time, this chapter was a ton of fun to write, as I love seeing how things originally play out, and then figure out how I can tweak and alter things in a way that still feels smart and digestible with what we know about everyone's Quirks and Special Moves etc. I can only hope this version of the climactic fight against Nine and his comrades can excite you all just like the second movie itself did the first time we all saw it. Please let me know how you all think I did here.

Unfortunately, with good news must also come some bad news, in regards to my previously proposed polls to decide what I do about taking on the 'School Briefs' and 'Team-Up Missions' spin-offs going forward. I had originally thought I would be able to put both polls for Hero student allies and Pro Hero teachers for Kolya to learn around all at once. but I've now found out that I can only have one poll up at a time, which really throws a wrench into the gears of my writing schedule, especially since the more I've thought about it, the more I've come to accept that I have ideas of my own for both spin-offs that I'd like to write. If anything, I just really wanted a poll to see if any of you even wanted me to go that extra mile by tackling the spin-offs at all, which those of you that voted already answered you did.

So, with that all being said, I'm removing the two polls I previously described, and will instead go about writing the 'Team-Up Missions' stories I had in mind when I get to that point in the continuity timeline after the events of the third MHA movie, World Heroes Mission, as well as making the 'School Briefs' stories and chapter alterations at the same time as time passes.

The way this is going to work is that, once this arc is finished being uploaded next week, I will be working on the first 'School Briefs' story, and making the appropriate alterations to pre-existing chapters here that ultimately coincide with it, with its place in the continuity. That will be taking the place of the chapter that would normally get uploaded to the original story here on that Saturday, 06/03!

From there, I will then be working on this story's take on the Endeavor Arc, before then working on adapting whichever other 'School Briefs' stories I feel warrant a full one-shot spin-off, or otherwise making the appropriate small alterations to pre-existing chapters here, based on the stories' places within the timeline of continuity. I will officially let you all know what chapters to go back to in order to see these changes, with each weekly upload.

Then I'll adapt the third film, and then when that's all finished, finish up whichever other 'School Briefs' stories there could be that are worth adapting, before then dedicating an arc to three or four 'Team-Up Missions' stories to fill in the time gap before the Paranormal Liberation Front Arc.

I know this is all a lot to take in, but this is the price I have to pay, the work I have to put in, in order to make this story as truly complete and ultimately emotionally resonating as I want it to be for all of you when the time for fun and games is ultimately over. I can only hope this will prove to be as fulfilling for all of you as it's bound to ultimately be for me. I just wish you would all communicate with me to let me know all your thoughts and feelings on this story as it is thus far. That's literally all I'm asking for is something, anything at all to fill me in on your consensus as an audience.

Anyway, with all that rambling of mine now being done; I would still like to sincerely thank you all for your continued patronage in reading my story after all this time, it truly does mean more to me than you realize.

I would also once again like to thank all of my beta readers, consultants and friends: Mizu, Jonny and Carlos.

And I would of course like to once again thank all the current artists on DA who have been so kind and helpful in helping bring this story to visual life: Syyndev, Akane Kahomi, AliceKuroCross, Suki-Chan2509, effasempai, Eliza-Frost, Vanera-Taro, and Yumake. There may even be a new name or two to add to that roster fairly soon.

My Hero Academia is the property of Kouhei Horikoshi and Shonen Jump. I only own my original characters and the original events surrounding them.

A/N: [[]] indicates that characters are contextually speaking Russian.

Chapter 127

Heroes Rising

(Восставшие Герои)

Slice's pursuit of Nine's two desired targets through the streets of Nabu Island's biggest town was close and relentless. With her Quirk hardening her hair to serve like spider legs to enhanced her speed and focus on them, it was consistently just by the skin of their teeth that they were managing to stay ahead of her; somehow just barely managing to avoid the few times she finally threw her hair spikes right on their heels. It wasn't too long after they'd finally run into each other, that the foreign one she recognized far too well by now, ultimately took the little boy into his arms and blasted off into the air towards the half-burnt forested mountain bordering the national park.

Even if she were to spring her hair down and push with it to try and send herself airborne after them, it still wouldn't be as fast as the young Hero was, so Slice had to really push her ground speed to its limit in order to try and bound across the land without losing sight of them. If there was even a chance that these were the real ones, then she couldn't afford to let them give her the slip. Nine and their unified goal for a better world was riding on her succeeding in the task she was given. She could only hope that he and Chimera would do well enough together against the rest of the Heroes sheltering on Mt. Shiroyama without her assistance, so that her efforts here wouldn't be for nothing.

Once her two targets had finally come landing into the thick forest, Slice's hair legs broke into an animalistic sprint in her anxiousness to catch them; half her locks keeping her mobile while the other made quick work of slicing through any trees that got in her way, like instantaneous chainsaws slicing through even the thickest trunks like they were nothing; all so she wouldn't lose sight of them.

They were certainly managing their way through this rugged terrain with her hot on their heels, to the point even she couldn't help but wonder: 'Just what are you two up to? Do you actually have an endpoint you're trying to beat me to, or are you just trying to buy time, hoping your friends will neutralize my allies and get here in time to save you?'

But Slice soon got her answer, as after descending a considerable incline into a deeper valley on the far western side of the park, just around the foot of the western mountain; she spotted Nikolay and Katsuma finally stop bounding through the air and land in front of a rather well-hidden large cave mouth, quickly sprinting inside it together before she landed in the same spot; spotting them descending out of sight into its depths, before coming to a sudden stop.

With her heart pounding from the exertion, but an even stronger sense of accomplishment filling her chest; with a condescending smirk, Slice calmly walked into the cave after them. Her shadow soon fell upon the teenage Hero and his frightened-looking little companion, as they stood at the brim of a ledge overlooking a much lower cavern floor lined with stalagmites and little pools of water, that looked to have only a few further passages to escape through lining the higher walls from this vantage point. The only other notable feature was a slightly higher ledge on the opposite end of the cavern, dotted with a few connecting columns of stone, lined with large rock outcroppings. There was only a single beam of sunlight reaching in from what had to be an especially small crevasse overhead.

As her two nervous targets finally turned around to look at the Villain approaching them; Slice chuckled in full confidence. "You two brats are really quickly proving more effort than you're worth, no matter what Nine-san wants from you. But he wanted me to bring you to him alive…so if you just turn yourselves over right now, I won't hurt you…too badly, at least."

But as Slice began to slowly approach the two; she never realized the presence of the two extra pairs of ears listening in on this little exchange from that opposite ledge. Hiding just behind a couple big enough stone outcroppings; Mina and Fumikage lay in wait; having spent the last few minutes using the visors and remote controls Momo had Created for them in order to drive the two decoys into this very spot, under the convincing guise of Mahoro Shimano's Holograms of Nikolay and her little brother, Katsuma.

And now that they could hear for certain that one of the Villains had been lured all this way, they could both feel the twisting sense of realization in the pit of their stomachs: the time for preparation and bracing themselves was now over. Now was the time to put their plan into action.

As Mina and Fumikage got their thumbs over the single buttons on the sides of their controls, silently counting to three, Mina had but one thought before it would all go down: 'Thank you for making this last suggestion to Yaomomo, Kolya-kun. I know all of you must have already started your fights by now…but we won't let this be for nothing, I promise.'

CLICK!

With those two simultaneous button presses, just as Slice was reaching to grab her two suspected targets; the Nikolay and Katsuma decoys both suddenly exploded in clouds of smoke right in her face; momentarily stunning her as the compartments built into their backs sent all of the real Nikolay's stored smaller tuning forks (already long since storing a build-up of his Kinetic Energy long beforehand) straight into the cave roof lining the mouth; channeling all of that energy at once into it with a deafening ringing frequency, causing it to instantly collapse behind the Villain's back, sealing her in before she could even finish realizing she'd been led into a trap.

As soon as the cave-in had finished, Slice looked back into the cave she was now stuck in, descending onto the lower floor to look for some way she could use her Quirk to force her way out. "So, they tried to separate us, huh?"

PSSSSHT!

Suddenly, the sound of something sizzling intensely from up above drew the Villain's eyes upward, just in time to find several large stalactites that Mina had disconnected with several Acid Shots, come free-falling onto her position; forcing her to hurriedly cartwheel her way out of the impact area. The moment the first move had been made; Fumikage's voice echoed out in full battle-ready mode: "NO TURNING BACK NOW! DARK SHADOW: BLACK FALLEN ANGEL!"

With that, Fumikage came flying from out his hiding place; Dark Shadow having sprouted from his back, strengthened by the improved darkness of the cave as its arms outstretched like wings to aid his downward glide towards the Villain.

But Slice wasn't easily caught off guard, as the moment she had her eyes on her attacker, she immediately got to work hardening the bangs of her hair and whipping the rest, sending a multitude of spikes straight at him; all while pulling out several small stabbing needles from her pockets, tucking them between her fingers to add claws to her fists.

But just behind Fumikage on the higher ledge, Mina had likewise come rushing into sight, jumping and grabbing onto a nearby stone column with her fingers coated in Acid to make a grip, using her swinging momentum to send another far-reaching glob of Acid from her free hand; outpacing Fumikage's glide so that it could meet and melt Slice's spikes without ever reaching him.

And with Slice's attack having been countered; Fumikage immediately followed up: "BLACK ABYSS: SABBATH!"

With his momentum already bringing him in at full speed, Dark Shadow proceeded to retract its wings and completely engulf itself around Fumikage like a living suit of armor; adding onto his physical strength as he drove his weight and momentum straight into Slice.

But even with a direct hit sending her back several feet; Slice was quickly able to nimbly land on her feet, ready to meet the incoming crow-headed Hero head-on. As Fumikage quickly swung for her; his hands adorned with a pair of gauntlets tipped with extensive steel claws that Momo had personally Created for him last night; Slice instantly threw herself into an impressive series of back flips, meeting the wall behind her with the hardened tendrils of her hair, which proceeded to climb up it, keeping her out of Fumikage's reach, before springing her several feet forward behind his back; using that momentum to once again whip her hair to send a multitude of spikes at Mina up above and Fumikage from behind; forcing the young pink Hero to quickly leap for cover inside another small cavern, and Dark Shadow to hurriedly swing its arms to deflect the attack coming its way.

Dark Shadow proceeded to slam its claws into the ground and yank with all its strength, shooting Fumikage forward like a slingshot with his gauntlets at the ready. But Slice was now in full battle-ready mode, as she instantly began incorporating her hair whipping with her masterful swerves, weaves and dodges around his attacks, forcing him on the defensive just as much as he was trying to maintain his offense.

Unfortunately, she was simply too fast and agile, as in the midst of an especially vicious attack rush on Fumikage's part, Slice managed to whip her hair in just such a way that a hardened lock shattered his gauntlet on his left hand with enough force to nearly break his hand itself. The fact she hadn't managed to do that was a tremendous stroke of good luck for him.

And all the while, Mina was watching the fight, just waiting for Fumikage to give some kind of signal for her to attack where he wouldn't be at risk of getting caught in her Acid's crossfire. But with the way Slice was managing to make him keep swinging and missing, and thus burning through his energy, it would only be a matter of time before she would need to jump in and get up close and personal herself, just to get some of the heat off of him.

And Slice wasn't ignorant to her other young opponent's watchful presence, either. The moment she managed to duck under one of Dark Shadow's swings, she subsequently threw her body into a spin that allowed one of her razor sharp bangs and the needles in both her fists to cut through Fumikage's Black Abyss and leave a considerable number of slashing wound across both his sides.

Naturally, the sound of him letting out a grunt of clear pain drew Mina out into the open, which was just the opportunity Slice had been waiting for, as she just as quickly got out of her squat and leapt into a mid-air barrel roll; her flying locks allowing her to send even more of her spikes flying straight at Mina; who just barely managed to throw up several Acid Veils in time before she'd end up getting skewered. But it was still too close of a call, as she hurriedly leapt back from her momentary shield, so the Villain wouldn't be able to draw a bead on her again immediately after.

"PIERCING TWILIGHT CLAWS!" Fumikage cried out as Dark Shadow's arms both instantly shot out at a vastly extended length; forcing Slice to hurriedly throw her hair forward and harden it into a shield; taking the full impact of his attack which sent her skidding on her feet several yards across the cave, until she was almost backed into a corner.

"COVERT BLACK-OPS ARMS!" With another fierce battle cry; Dark Shadow withdrew its elongated arms, only for them now to increase in sheer mass, rise over its head, and both come hammering down with undeniable force from above. Seeing this, Slice's sense of control over the battle was momentarily replaced with split-second panic, as she hurriedly threw her hair up so it could harden into another shield directly on top of her; other tendrils stabbing into the ground to support it without her getting flattened into the ground once those arms finally came slamming down.

But despite his attack having not taken the Villain out; Fumikage was not growing frustrated…for this was just the kind of opening he had been waiting for, as he hurriedly turned back to Mina on the ledge. "DO IT NOW, ASHIDO!"

"ACID SHOT!" At his signal, Mina immediately pressed her flattened hands together with just her fingertips apart, causing the deluge of strengthened Acid that flowed out to reach that much farther; Fumikage hurriedly withdrawing Dark Shadow and himself at the last possible moment, giving Slice no chance to readjust her hair to properly defend herself; instead having no choice but to withdraw her claw-like bangs and let her hair shield fall in front of her at just the angle to take Mina's full attack in her place.

But the Villain felt no relief once she knew the attack had subsided; looking on with her whole face twitching with a murderous rage; as so much of her once vibrant and beautiful red hair had been melted and burnt away, leaving her with only several long tendrils sprouting from the messy short fuzz left adorning her scalp; like a hideous set of scraggly dreadlocks.

Before Mina or Fumikage could conduct another plan to try and end this fight quick; they both began to feel something most unexpected, but deeply worrying: the ground beneath their feet was beginning to slightly shake, with an undeniable growing intensity with each passing second. But with their phones still having been without signal, there was no way of telling if this was an actual earthquake…or if this perhaps had something to do with whatever was going on with the battles at Mt. Shiroyama unfolding at this very moment.

But this sudden turn didn't mean anything to Slice; for as she lifted her gaze to look upon the two Heroes before her; the Villain could feel her blood burning white hot and her vision turn completely red. "You…how dare you?! I…HAVE HAD JUST ABOUT ENOUGH OF YOU LITTLE SHITS! DIE!"

With that, she proceeded to throw her head into a windmill-like spin, her remaining lengthened locks flying and hardening behind her as she sent a 360-degree-angle barrage of spikes at both of them; Dark Shadow being forced to take off into the air with Fumikage in tow while swinging its arms to try and swat the spikes away, while Mina was forced into a spinning leap from one ledge to another before following through into a series of gymnastic back flips of her own, trying to desperately outrace the incoming flow of spikes headed her way, before finally having a chance to start churning up a thick coating of Acid over her arms and legs to melt away the spikes that would have been lucky enough to actually hit her.

She finally reached the edge of her elevated position on this battlefield, but Mina knew she now couldn't afford to stay up here. So instead, she decided to follow through and leap over the edge, producing another flow of her less corrosive Acid out through her boots to help build up her fastest slide along the wall just before she met the floor; allowing Mina to go gliding across the floor at breakneck speed right out the gate. She was swerving and darting her way in every direction she could think to go; firing multiple Acid Shots, throwing several thick globs out of one hand after another, or creating a quick Acid Veil at every sharp turn, rendering every whipping of Slice's remaining hair completely ineffective.

And as the Villain's anger and frustration kept skyrocketing with every passing moment that her attacks weren't leaving Mina a bloody pin cushion; Fumikage took similar initiative, as Dark Shadow propelled him through the air off another wall, swinging its arms at her with an increased speed and ferocity; ultimately forcing Slice on the retreat to keep him or Mina from getting in up close.

Slice wasted no time stabbing the hardened locks of her hair into the walls in order to climb her way up and out of both Heroes' attack range, but Fumikage was not letting her get away this time, as Dark Shadow once more propelled itself and him up into the air with one claw pushing against the ground, while the other hurriedly carried Mina up with them; as she quickly fired another Acid Shot into two more of the Villain's climbing locks.

This ended up breaking Slice's momentum as they melted away, thus giving Fumikage the chance to throw another Black Abyss-assisted arm at her. But this time, Slice had him spotted, as she undid the hardening in her remaining supporting locks; allowing her to start falling just past him. But as Fumikage instinctively began to reach out to stop her with his right hand still clad in its clawed gauntlet; two more locks of her hair at that moment just happened to have looped around his reaching arm in his instinctive rush to act.

And Slice was very aware of this, as with a sadistic smile, she focused her Quirk again; causing those two locks to harden and tighten right around Fumikage's right forearm. The moment she knew she had him snagged, just before Mina could try to throw another helping of Acid to cut her locks off; Slice proceeded to jerk her head at just the right angle for those hardened locks to turn with her, bending Fumikage's forearm with just enough force to produce a horrible painful SNAP before Dark Shadow could expand its arm over his to try and fight back against the pressure.

The moment Slice heard his arm snap, and his painful shout as a result, she proceeded to undo her Quirk and once more meet the ground with her feet; keeping herself in the fight as Fumikage and Mina both landed on their feet as well; the scowling crow-headed boy instinctively clutching at his already bruising arm, while Mina looked to him worriedly, and then looked to their opponent with an especially focused and intense fighting spirit.

With the first injury on the Heroes' side of this battle having finally been landed after several minutes of a stalemate fight; Fumikage and Mina could both only think to themselves in a mutual hope that the rest of their class was already close to bringing this entire battle against the other two Villains to an end.

Mt. Shiroyama, several minutes earlier…

From atop the castle grounds at the peak of the small neighboring island, Izuku stood at the ready with Katsuma and Mahoro while Mezo had one of his tentacles ending with an eye peeking over one of the castle ruins' walls to keep watch for when any of the Villains would finally arrive. For further keeping up with how the plan would unfold, Kyouka likewise remained nearby, keeping her Earphone Jacks plugged into the ground. Until either of them would say so, all they could hope for was that all the rest of their classmates would be ready, and that Nikolay's decoy plan would at least succeed enough to get one of the three Villains away from here.

But now that dawn was finally here, all of that waiting would finally pay off, as Mezo finally broke the intensifying silence: "They're here…and it looks like the decoys worked. There are only two of them taking the land bridge route. It's the one we fought at the beach, and the one you fought before, Midoriya-san."

Izuku could barely see how Katsuma and Mahoro instinctively tensed up at the sound of that familiar Villain now having reached this island. But just as promised, he was refusing to let that same intimidation show; instead looking down to the small beachfront at the other end of the bridge where the Villains would eventually make landfall. 'We're counting on you, Yaoyorozu-san, Aoyama-san.'

Down below on the lowest hills; Momo was likewise keeping an eye on the two approaching Villains; fighting her lingering exhaustion after having spent up so much of her lipids to Create all of the equipment and tools she had for everyone in preparation for this. Knowing that Yuga was lying in wait behind the small pile of ruins behind her, she was silently counting down the seconds before their two targets would finally be in position.

'Five…four…three…two…one!' "Now, Aoyama-san!"

At his vice president's command, Yuga sucked up his nervousness and finally leapt out of cover, his Belt and the magnifying lenses on the knees, elbows and shoulders of his costume already glowing bright blue as he channeled his Quirk through all of them, aiming them all at the two Villains now making landfall. "CAN'T STOP TWINKLING: SUPERNOVA!"

BWOOOOOOSH!

One colossal collected laser shot out from the trees without warning from where Nine and Chimera now stood; but as soon as he saw the light, the leading Villain easily lifted one hand and deflected the entire attack with another Air Wall, while Chimera had already been forced to leap aside in order to avoid getting blasted by it.

"THEY'RE SEPARATED! Now it's time to use my last contribution!" Momo announced while Yuga kept laying on the offensive, having already shouted "Plus Ultra" in his physical desperation to try and make his Navel Laser that much more powerful, to the point that several laser blasts were emanating from out his primary attack, raining down on the surrounding area, subsequently forcing Chimera to run that much farther from his comrade's position.

But just to make sure he got pushed where they needed him to be, Momo proceeded to reach and pull off a camouflage sheet from nearby, revealing a gigantic artillery cannon, already aiming in the bestial Villain's direction.

BKOOOOM!

With a single air-ripping powerful shot, Momo fired the one miracle round she had, detonating the ground just behind Chimera's feet with a colossal explosion; forcing him to leap forward enough to overshoot the nearby cliff edge; sending him plummeting down through further trees.

Alas, this cannon had been Momo's last Creation, and after having finally carried out her part in separating the two Villains from one another, she could no longer keep herself upright, collapsing in exhaustion at just the same time that Yuga came tumbling listlessly down the hill at her side; his stomach already twisting into knots after having pushed his Quirk so heavily at once.

From their vantage point up above, Kyouka quickly relayed everything she could tell to Izuku: "The plan is working so far. The two Villains have been separated, so Iida-san's team should be luring the one who ran to the designated spot."

Izuku could only manage a nod. It was easy to let their guard down now that they knew Nikolay's Decoy plan, and their opening salvo step had both apparently worked. But knowing that the rest of them now had to enact their plan against the Villain with the multiple Quirks; he couldn't allow himself that luxury.

Despite Chimera having already been forced a considerable distance away from his side; Nine capitalized on the fact that whichever Heroes had initially opened up this little battle, were no longer doing so. He knew his comrade was more than capable enough of defending himself, and it would only be a matter of time before either he or Slice would rejoin his side; with or without his intended targets in tow.

But until that time would come, he instead kept his gaze focused on the path ahead, slowly but surely make his way through the forest lining the foot of the island; slowly but surely working his way up onto the second lowest ridges on his way up to the castle ruins.

As soon as he had stepped back out into the open, Nine could simply sense the presence of others nearby; no sooner than Hanta had suddenly come sprinting onto the scene, already throwing his right arm forward with a long-reaching lasso of Tape extending from it; split into multiple other strands that reached high up into the sky to a massive cluster of boulders hanging high overhead. "TAPE SHOT TRIDENT!"

Hiding within the bushes Hanta had just rushed out from, Ochako similarly was lying in wait for his battle cry; choosing then to bring her fingers together to restore the gravity of all those boulders now freefalling towards Nine.

But even with such a devastating attack about to land on him, the Villain was as outwardly calm as ever, as he simply lifted one hand and proceeded to fire a continuous volley of Laser Bullets from his fingertips; effortlessly whittling away at every one of the boulders that would've come anywhere close to hitting him. And before either Hanta or Ochako could come up with a backup plan upon seeing their initial attack deflected; Nine already had that same attacking hand aimed right at the boy, who barely managed to shoot another strand of Tape elsewhere, and reel himself out of the way before that entire plot of ground was annihilated right on his heels.

But even as Hanta was trying to avoid Nine's Laser Bullets, Ochako was already fast on the move, hurriedly planting her hands to all of the numerous boulders around this part of the island, which he hurriedly proceeded to latch onto and swing at his attacker. But just like before, Nine was easily blasting them all away like one would shoo away a meddlesome insect.

But whether their attacks were connecting or not; the two Heroes could only focus on the one thing they were accomplishing regardless: getting the Villain to continuously use his Quirks as much as possible in the hopes it would eventually trigger the symptoms to his illness, buying them a chance to finally move in and neutralize him. But with how powerful his Quirks were already proving; they could both only hope that this chance would come sooner than later.

This pattern continued for a good several minutes as Ochako and Hanta continued being forced to retreat further and further up the mountain towards the castle ruins; every single attempt at an attack being effortlessly blasted away by Nine, who refused to even remotely slow his stride, to their growing frustration. "Dammit, we aren't even slowing this guy down!"

As Hanta exclaimed this, Ochako hurriedly brought her hands together, bringing the whole sky high assortment of boulders that all these explosions had left, raining down onto Nine from above; a last-ditch desperate action to try and slow his progress even a little bit.

Ochako had to fight the sudden urge to hurl after having already pushed her Quirk so hard…but even more so when she and Hanta watched in horror, as even as the boulders continued to rain upon him; Nine continued to effortlessly cut and blast his way through all of it with his Air Walls and Laser Bullets; ultimately sending stone shrapnel flying everywhere at such power and speed that one ended up shattering the visor of Hanta's mask; stunning him for a split second, before recovering just enough to hurriedly reel himself and Ochako out of the Villain's line of Laser Bullet fire, even if just by the skin of their teeth.

As Hanta continued to reel and swing himself and Ochako as far away as they could get for dear life, another familiar voice suddenly called down to them from ahead: "SERO-SAN, URARAKA! I'M READY!"

Standing at the top of this latest hill was Minoru, where just behind him was another mass collection of boulders being held in place by a makeshift barricade of logs. As soon as Hanta landed, Ochako was already rushing to the foot of it, planting her hands to the first logs she could reach, channeling her Zero Gravity into all of it while still fighting through her nausea.

"PLUS…ULTRA!" At her desperate screaming for her power to make this work, Ochako finally pushed her hands upward, sending the entire mass of stone and wood flying over her head and down the slope behind herself and her teammates; nearly blacking out from the strain while Hanta grabbed her and reeled them away.

At the same time, as Ochako's Quirk subsequently deactivated; Nine was finally forced to stop in his tracks when he saw an overwhelming rockslide of boulders and logs come barreling down to him. With his fingertips already glowing, he proceeded to throw an out-and-out barrage of his Laser Bullets straight into the mass, carving through wood and stone alike with nonstop whipping swings and rapid-fire shots. But no matter how many of them he managed to destroy, there just was more and more and more, to the point that for the first time since coming here, he'd been forced to actually go on the full defensive; switching out his Laser Bullets for his Air Wall, as the hard-hitting rockslide finally collided with and swept over him.

"GRAPE RUSH!" This was Minoru's cue, as the moment he saw the rocks overtake the Villain, he immediately rushed in with a full-on rapid-fire barrage of his hairballs, sticking as many boulders to each other in as many layers as humanly possible; ignoring the stinging of his blood running into his eyes from his scalp as he kept laying on the sticking attacks.

After a half-minute of this hammering down of stone, wood and hairballs; where Nine had once stood was now only a giant pile of stuck-together earthen might; the sight of which had Minoru, Hanta and Ochako filled with hope that their true attack had finally succeeded (at least until Ochako finally couldn't hold it in anymore and had to vomit from the pain to her stomach.)

But no sooner than Minoru had finally climbed atop the pile of rocks to gloat; a growing yellow glow suddenly began to seep through the cracks, before the entire multi-ton pile exploded like it had been wired with multiple bundles of dynamite, sending Minoru unconscious and flying, with Hanta and Ochako quickly following suit as the entire landscape around them was reduced to a crater, with Nine once more continuing to ascend with not a hair out of place.

As he crested the latest hill leading to the lowest level of the castle grounds, his eyes landed upon the three Heroes still laying in his way; Hanta barely managing to get back on his feet while carrying Minoru's unconscious body, and helping the semi-conscious Ochako up as well.

"So you're still alive…in that case…" Nine's words were as cold and distant as to be expected with how indifferent he looked at their presence. With that, he already began to lift his hand their way; fingertips glowing for the finishing blow…until he suddenly swung that same arm behind his back, creating another Air Wall behind him before the blinding blue light of Yuga's Navel Laser filled the air on impact.

"Aoyama-san! Yaomomo!" Ochako called out in surprised recognition as she looked back down the hill from where the Villain had come. Indeed, Yuga was already back on his feet; albeit still looking very woozy, while carrying a semi-conscious Momo by an arm over his shoulders, all while still trying to fire his Laser for all he was worth.

But before he or Momo could try to do anything further to help, Nine met their surprise attack with but a flick of his wrist, pushing his protecting Air Wall right back down the hill into them directly, sending the two flying from the end of the gouging trail his counter-attack had left between them.

"Now, time to finish you off." Nine uttered apathetically as his grey eyes fell on the original trio before him again; now aiming all ten of his fingers at them upon seeing they were clearly too weak to fight back any further.

But from just outside his field of vision; Bakugo suddenly came exploding onto the scene from up above, landing upon the Villain like a human asteroid, driving his hand straight into him and unleashing a point-blank Explosion barrage straight into Nine…only to be sent flying back the way he'd come by another Air Wall triggered at the last second.

As Bakugo landed skidding across the ground on his feet; eyes aflame with fighting intent; he could likewise see the faintest surprise evident in Nine's eyes; even less evident surprise to be heard in his flat, almost tired-sounding filtered voice. "You were still alive?"

His heart racing with the satisfaction that his presence was throwing his opponent off his game, Bakugo defiantly spat back: "If you're going to sleep-talk, then sleep and DIE!"

As Bakugo proceeded to once more launch himself up into the air, raining down nonstop Explosions on Nine, despite his persistent Air Walls; a bolt of bright green energy suddenly cracked through the air from the top-most level of the castle grounds; Izuku having taken the sight of his old friend finally joining the battle as the sign for him to likewise step in, knowing he could count on Mezo, Mashirao and Kyouka to watch after Katsuma and Mahoro in his absence. He could only hope that this would be enough, before everyone else would need to risk getting involved. "ST. LOUIS SMASH!"

BOOOOOM!

But even with One For All's power driving through his descending foot, it was no match for the durability of Nine's next Air Wall; stopping Izuku dead in mid-air, with all of that tremendous wind pressure blast completely around the Villain, filling the battleground in a blinding wall of dust.

'It doesn't have to be at full power…I just need to focus on making him use his Quirks continuously!'

This was the one thing Izuku was forcing himself to think, as he kept trying to drive his foot further and further, before Nine once more sent him flying with but a flick of his wrist, sending his Air Wall straight into him like a catapult.

But Izuku didn't lose his balance for long, as Bakugo came flying in, grabbing him by the hand, and subsequently sending them both into a light-speed spin with multiple boosting Explosions through his free hand. "EXPLODE-A-PULT!"

Letting go at the right moment, Izuku was sent flying like a green lightning bolt amid the numerous backing Explosions Bakugo continued to rain down on the Villain in his sights; forcing Nine to protect himself from those before collision was finally made; an explosion of pure physical impact like two meteors colliding head-on.

But as Izuku and Bakugo finally stood side-by-side in preparation for the fight to continue, the dust cleared to show Nine had at least been forced back over two dozen feet; otherwise protected from damage by his Air Wall. And as it dissipated, he looked upon his two familiar opponents; his eyes reflecting none of what was going through his head. "Not bad…but not good enough."

With no hesitation or relenting; Nine proceeded to throw both arms-worth of Laser Bullets straight at the oncoming Bakugo; the explosive young Hero hurriedly propelling and redirecting himself every way across the ground in his charge; while Izuku came flying in from overhead; glowing bright as his drove another St. Louis Smash into another of the Villain's Air Walls.

This time, Nine followed through by forcing the Air Wall aside, sweeping Izuku aside like a shield driving an enemy's spear away. As soon as he had the freckled Hero out of the way; he just as quickly proceeded to fire yet more Laser Bullets at Bakugo; forcing him to likewise blast himself out of the way; his Explosive barrage landing just short of his target.

The moment Izuku landed, he likewise found himself just as quickly being rained upon by yet more Laser Bullets, with Bakugo flying in and kicking him out of the way just before he could get annihilated. "Don't give this bastard even a second to breath, damn Deku!"

"I know!" Izuku quickly echoed as they both proceeded to fly together at breakneck speed, refusing to let Nine take even another step forward as they continued laying down their respective Explosions and Delaware Smash Air Force attacks from every direction they could reach to attack him from.

But just like all the other times before, Nine's mastery of his Quirks was keeping them on the defensive more than the offensive, as his Air Walls easily took both their attacks, and his Laser Bullets were so accurate that two managed to once more graze the side of Bakugo's face, and shatter one of his Grenade vambraces, while likewise forcing Izuku on the retreat through the air in order to avoid getting hit as bad as he had the last time.

But as Izuku ended up landing just close enough to Bakugo; they both quickly found themselves once more in Nine's sights, as he had his right hand already primed and ready to take them down right here.

THWIIP! "I WON'T LET YOU!"

But through the choking clouds of dust, a single line of Tape suddenly came shooting out, finally managing to wrangle around Nine's right forearm, pulling his hand aside so he no longer had a direct aim on Izuku and Bakugo; now forcing him to look aside to find Hanta reeling himself in from above, ready to try and lay an attack on him with everything he had.

And at the same time, Ochako had finally managed to regain enough of her strength to likewise come rushing in through the dust from behind Nine's back; both her hands reaching out, ready to take away his gravity here and now. If she could do that, then she and Hanta together could be able to knock him off balance, and she could use that momentum to send him slamming undefended into the ground; granting Izuku and Bakugo their first real shot.

But Nine's defensive instincts weren't remotely dulled, for at the same time he lifted his free hand to fire a counter set of Laser Bullets straight into Hanta; he'd likewise sensed the approach of another threat from behind, and thus focused a single massive Hydra head to emerge from his back to take Ochako out at the last possible second; both the attacking Heroes realizing just too late how exposed they now were as both attacks were unleashed.

TSSING! BWOOOM!

With a blinding glint catching the sunlight, Hanta found the painful impact he'd been bracing himself for didn't come. Instead, he opened his eyes to find the miraculous sight of the remains of one of Nikolay's large tuning forks hanging in the air; having been thrown to take the full brunt of Nine's Laser Bullets in his place.

And at that same moment, with an air-rippling shockwave; Nikolay himself came flying across the ground like an olive-colored blur, all but slamming himself into Ochako before grabbing onto her and launching them both high up into the air at a similar speed, as the Hydra plowed fruitlessly into the ground she'd just stood at, before quickly correcting itself and racing up after them, with two more heads quickly sprouting out of Nine's back once he looked up and saw the young foreign Hero now jumping into the fray. "So, Slice-san was chasing a phantom after all…but one prize finally shows himself."

"Are you okay, Uraraka-san?!" Nikolay quickly asked once he realized they were already being chased. As soon as Ochako confirmed she was okay; Nikolay hurriedly used a split-second Kinetic Blast to propel her away from the immediate battleground while she still had her own Gravity removed, before just as quickly redirecting himself with a blast from his feet; barely missing the three Hydra heads doggedly pursuing him specifically.

"SERO-SAN, CATCH!" Nikolay called as he tried to dodge and weave his way around and between the three elongated necks, deliberately avoiding using any attacks to destroy any of the heads, since he now knew they would just multiply and make things that much more difficult; before ultimately drawing out one of his Capture Cord spools, unwinding it and tossing one end to Hanta, who upon grabbing it, quickly applied it to another strand of his Tape he'd already managed to land on the neck of one Hydra.

As Nikolay and Hanta continued their joint aerial pursuit around the Hydras; ultimately tying Tape and Capture Cord around all three of their necks in an attempt to bind them together and severely limit their maneuverability; Izuku and Bakugo likewise were proceeding to once more keep Nine preoccupied with trying to defend against Air Force and Explosion attacks altogether. This distraction, on top of Nikolay and Hanta finally tightening their all-around lasso around the three Hydras; provided Ochako the opening she needed to once more come freefalling from above. 'If I can just touch one of those things' necks, my Zero Gravity should extend to the Villain himself…then I can finally throw him for a loop and send him slamming down at last!'

"Useless." This was all Nine had to say, as after whipping another two arms of Laser Bullets at Bakugo and Izuku to keep them on the move away from him; he just as quickly then raised one hand directly overhead, causing Ochako to be met with a perfectly angled Air Wall that she ended up bouncing off of, unable to apply her Zero Gravity to any of the three bound-together necks.

And with her tactic quickly disrupted, Nine then proceeded to follow up by aiming his other hand and firing another five Laser Bullets from his fingers; expertly severing Hanta's Tape and Nikolay's Capture Cord alike, while also severing the three heads of his Hydras, thus turning three into six altogether; while also having sent the two boys scattering through the air now that they were no longer connected.

But all the young Heroes were quick in their respective recoveries; as Hanta quickly shot one line of Tape across the battlefield to one of the nearby foundations walls, while shooting another to wrangle around Ochako, quickly reeling them both away in preparation for what he could already see was about to happen.

And Nine was no slower in realizing the same thing; for with both his arms preoccupied with having undone Ochako, Nikolay and Hanta's tactics; he had ultimately ended up leaving his midsection open, as Izuku and Bakugo were both about to close in to take advantage of; with Nikolay likewise doing the same thing from behind his back from above; the six Hydra heads all quickly reaching out in all directions to try and intercept the three in their combined attack:

"DELAWARE SMASH AIR FORCE! AP SHOT: AUTO CANNON! KINETICHESKIY GATLING! TRIPLE IMPACT!"

BWKOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The resulting three-fronted impact of the three Heroes' respective attacks all colliding into Nine at once resulted in a near mushroom cloud of pure physical energy exploding outward across the island; sending Ochako and Hanta both flying as he was still in the middle of trying to reel them to safety, but missing it by a long shot with how wide this blast reached.

But Nikolay, Izuku and Bakugo couldn't even be afforded a split second to think their sneak attack had worked, as they all three quickly found themselves getting mercilessly hammered into by two flying Air Walls from Nine's extended hands; clearing the dust enough to reveal he once more stood completely unharmed in the middle of the massive crater that had once been their battlefield. All the while, the three young Heroes were now laid out on opposite sides of it; both visibly battered and bruised as they slowly got back to their feet.

When Nikolay's body instinctively refracted most of that absorbed physical impact into a rebounding full-body Kinetic Blast, like the last time; Nine was already on the defensive, as he quickly created another Air Wall on reflex, once more redirecting it to another angle upon impact, sending that wall of pure Kinetic force plowing harmlessly aside.

'This…this is unbelievable! What the hell do we have to do to get through his defenses?! And how long can he keep using his Quirks before that sickness kicks in again?' Nikolay's head was practically screaming with these desperate thoughts as he tried to ignore the intense pain in his ribs after having taken another Air Wall impact like yesterday. Even from this distance, he could see that Izuku was starting to think the same thing.

The only solace Nikolay could take right now, was that it looked like that huge impact of their attacks had completely destroyed Nine's multiple Hydras for now. But he still knew it would only be a matter of when he'd send them out again.

But as he momentarily looked to the sky to try and take a deep breath, what Nikolay saw struck him with but a sliver of desperate hope…and right now he was willing to act on that more than anything.

BWOOM!

Giving Nine no chance to read his body language, Nikolay simultaneously fired a Kinetic Blast from his hand the moment he slammed it down to the ground; sending a massive shockwave that kicked up an entire wall of loosened dirt straight into the air, momentarily cutting off the Villain's line of sight.

And in one fluid motion, Nikolay then proceeded to fire another Kinetic Blast from his free hand facing forward, propelling nearly half of all that kicked up dirt straight into Nine's face; whom immediately proceeded to block it all with another Air Wall, just as Nikolay simultaneously launched himself forward in a near floating sprint across the ground towards his position.

The moment he could first see the yellow glow of Nine's Air Wall through all that flying dirt and rock;, Nikolay proceeded to Blast from his feet again, launching himself high overhead into a blindingly fast Resonating Wheel from above; ready to drive his feet straight into the Villain's head; confident that this short distance and his speed would be able to outpace even his opponent's Air Walls.

But Nine instantly proved Nikolay wrong, as with one hand he once more created another Air Wall which met his Resonating Wheel attack in full without giving an inch; and with the other, he fired another handful of Laser Bullets straight up at his target; Nikolay's fast rolling motion keeping him from getting hit in his midsection, while two shots managed to deeply graze along the length of his left arm, and another managed to graze along the right side of his head; blowing his mariner's cap in half amid the fine mist of blood.

But even through the intense pain of his new wounds, and the frustration of his attack once more getting completely blocked; Nikolay's face was twisted and strained with focus, as he proceeded to let his forward momentum bring his body falling forward just over the edge of Nine's disc-shaped Air Wall.

The moment his line of sight was now on the other side of that Wall just behind Nine's head; Nikolay proceeded to throw another spool of his Capture Cord from his clenched left hand at just the right angle that it arced around both the Villain's extended forearms, before circling back around his other shoulder towards Nikolay, who instead clenched down onto the other end of the line with his teeth, while still gripping the original end with his left hand.

As soon as he knew he had both ends of this last-second desperate lasso; Nikolay finally rolled his body the rest of the way until his feet were back on solid ground in a low squat; pulling the line as tight as he could; yanking Nine's arms flush to his chest, with his hands still angled at a point he couldn't fire any Laser Bullets directly into the boy's back. And it was by that same fortunate wrangling that Nikolay knew he could breathe easy, that the Villain couldn't grab onto him and take his Quirk like this…at least for now.

And Nine, in his slowly building frustration, could already see that his foreign prey was at just the right position relative to his body that he couldn't risk unleashing his Hydra Quirk to take him down, without risking hitting himself with it in the process.

But even a stroke of one-in-a-billion luck like this wasn't enough for Nikolay to just count on seeing things through for him. There was no telling what other tricks the Villain would have up his sleeve otherwise, and if they were going to have any hope of ending this battle any time soon; he would need to ensure their momentary advantage.

So, while still pulling the Capture Cord tight with his left hand and teeth; Nikolay proceeded to push as much of his Kinetic Energy as he could in those few seconds into his free right hand, sending it all out in one devastating transferring shockwave (BWOOOOOM!) the moment he slammed his palm directly into Nine's chest; landing the first direct hit on the Villain in this entire fight, as he was sent flying several feet with an undeniably pained-sounding grunt through his mask as he dug his feet in to keep his defensive posture.

As Nine felt at the new cracks across the chest of his entire life support suit while struggling to breathe and ride out the disorienting rippling effect of that shockwave being put directly into his body; he could actually feel his cold, calm and collected mindset start to fray, as he looked upon Nikolay and the fully recovered Izuku and Bakugo before him.

"WATCH OUT BELOW, YOU GUYS!" Hanta suddenly called down from above; just the signal Nikolay had been waiting for since before he'd tried this last-ditch act of distraction; quickly launching himself away towards his two allies on the other side of the crater, while up above, Ochako finally enacted her own plan.

What Nikolay had seen in his moment of strategic cluelessness; what had inspired him so effectively; had been the sight of a multitude of airborne boulders all hanging in Zero Gravity overhead. Clearly, even after having been thrown with such tremendous force by the impact of Izuku, Bakugo and Nikolay's attacks meeting; it hadn't stopped Ochako from hurriedly capitalizing on an opportunity, by flying into the blinding dust cloud and applying her Zero Gravity to as much weighted projectiles as she could reach. And the moment Hanta had seen it, he'd likewise capitalized on Nikolay's distraction by wrangling it all together with his Tape, forming it into one giant earthen hammer.

Even if their similar attempt at this kind of attack hadn't worked before; the fact that Nikolay had actually managed to somehow land a hit that had debilitated the Villain so visibly, ended up giving Ochako and Hanta just the confidence to see this second attempt through. And as soon as Nikolay had heeded their warning and gotten out of the way, Ochako finally brought her fingers back together; allowing those several dozen tons of stone to finally come hammering down on Nine below in another overwhelming impact.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

This time, none of the Heroes were even given the chance to convince themselves they'd won, as the entire mass of stone instantaneously exploded in a maelstrom of flying Air Walls, Laser Bullets and Hydras flying in every conceivable direction; sending hard-hitting debris flying like bullets; knocking Hanta out cold while sending Nikolay and Izuku scrambling to try and blast away at as many flying boulders as they could, with Bakugo defiantly standing his ground and blasting away a good majority of it with a single collected Explosion.

Looking down from her place on a higher ledge next to Hanta's unconscious body; Ochako could feel all of her remaining adrenaline fade as she saw Nine was still standing; albeit slightly hunched over as he continued struggling to regain his breath; staring down her three classmates still on his level of the battlefield.

And knowing she'd expended the last of her energy she possibly could on this one final attack; Ochako finally ended up blacking out, herself.

Nikolay stood alongside Izuku and Bakugo; all three of them looking on with varying degrees of disbelief and frustration at Nine still standing upright and ready before them. As Nikolay tried to think of just what else any of them could possibly pull off to try and wear the man down any further; his own racing mind momentarily began echoing a memory he'd long since ever thought back on: the warnings of the doctor that had treated him and Izuku both after the attack at the forest training camp, when questioning about the single greatest extent in the sheer power Nikolay had exerted with his Quirk back at I-Island:

"The human body isn't designed to be able to withstand a frequency of pure physical friction of that level. The fact that it's channeled through every single muscle fiber and inch of bone in your entire body is even worse, since it ends up concentrating that friction to the point that, if you were to maintain that all-encompassing kinetic frequency for much longer than the fifteen-to-twenty seconds you just described, your body would start breaking apart from the inside out. This isn't the same as your heart rupturing or bursting the blood vessels inside your brain and giving yourself a major hemorrhage, or even breaking your bones down from the inside. I mean this would legitimately be your body disintegrating itself entirely."

Just the memory of that warning was as terrifying for Nikolay to consider now as it had been then. But after having every one of their other attack methods get so thoroughly brushed aside like this; he couldn't believe he was actually finding himself consider this extent again.

But before any of them could think of what to do next; Nine's whole body suddenly began to break down into uncontrollable agonizing spasms where he stood; clutching desperately at his head, as several glowing purple cracks began to spread across his face.

"There it is! His time limit!" No sooner than Izuku had pointed out this familiar sight; Nikolay could feel his preparedness come rushing right back; just the same as Bakugo's anticipation to deliver the finishing blow. "It's about damn time."

Unwilling to let this miracle of a moment go wasted; the three Heroes proceeded to kick off into a full-on charge across the battlefield, ready to finally bring an end to this battle in one collective strike. "Kacchan, Kolya-san, let's attack in waves!" "Don't tell me what to do, Deku!" "We should try to end this as fast as possible, before he recovers!"

But as they closed in, it felt as though time all around them began to slow to a crawl, for they could barely make out the sight of what looked like two smaller cylinders suddenly protruding from the middle of the Villain's back…before one of the larger ones began plunging into his body, injecting the strange purple liquid within into his bloodstream.

The moment Nine had pressed the button on his life-support suit as he still struggled to breathe, and he could feel that same compound start rushing through his veins; it felt as though the sheer power of all his Quirks was fighting off the pain of his sickness; his respirator mask suddenly unclasping from his face and falling to the floor.

In fact, it even felt as though his general battlefield awareness had skyrocketed to near omniscience, as he instantly focused all of his energy into his Weather Manipulation Quirk. "If I could just…get that Cell Activation Quirk…I wouldn't need…to constrain myself like this!"

As soon as they saw Nine's eyes begin to glow red once more; and the building roar of sudden thunder begin to echo overhead, Nikolay's own sense of alertness kicked in just as quickly as Izuku and Bakugo's; the three boys hurriedly digging in their heels to stop in time.

But it was already too late, as the entire skies as far as they could see had become pitch black with the worst storm clouds any of them had ever seen…just before an all-out blitz of lightning strikes came raining down onto their tiny little barren patch of a battlefield.

As soon as Nikolay's ears picked up that building crackling sound of lightning just before it began to descend on them; his muscle reflexes had once more taken over; driving him to hurriedly grab his one remaining large tuning fork and fire his building Kinetics into it mid-throw towards the sky; hoping with everything he had that it would be enough to redirect the lightning away from himself and his allies.

KR-KRRRRAAAAK!

But even in that fraction of a moment where he could see those massive lightning bolts strike his flying melee tool in mid-air; Nikolay couldn't feel relief, as that same mass of lightning just as quickly shot right back out the other side of that one tuning fork; plowing into the ground upon which he, Izuku and Bakugo all stood; leveling and vaporizing the earth as they were all sent airborne.

At least, Nikolay could feel his own body fly, as within the blinding flashes of lightning annihilating everything around him, even as his tears of pure physical anguish evaporated in his eyes as quickly as they came; he could barely make out the searing images of Izuku and Bakugo's bodies disintegrating into nothing before his eyes, before he finally was sent slamming painfully back into the ground; the overwhelming electrical currents running through his body forcing him into endless torturous spasms where he lay steaming.

ZZT! ZZT! ZZT! ZZT!

But even as the lightning continued to strike down and annihilate everything around them; Nine showed no mercy still; as he looked upon Nikolay's electrocuted, bruised and singed body; before effortlessly firing a single Laser Bullet into both his arms and both his legs, and in just the right spots where he knew the young Hero would no longer be able to fight back with them.

The pain already coursing through every fiber of his body wasn't enough to dull the horrific pain of Nine's latest attacks, as it felt like spikes being hammered through Nikolay's muscles; his throat momentarily burnt too dry for him to even truly cry out in either pain or anguish over what he'd just seen happen to his classmates.

But who could indeed cry out, were Katsuma and Mahoro; as they had watched the entire battle play out from atop the castle grounds alongside the similarly horrified-looking Mezo, Mashirao and Kyouka; regardless of the fact their screams and cries had drawn Nine's attention to their position.

This was just as well for him, as without even the slightest thought given to his vanquished young foes; he proceeded to call up one Hydra head from his back, which proceeded to securely take Nikolay into its jaws, clamping down just hard enough to keep him in place; while Nine finally proceeded to continue making his way up the mountain to the castle ruins. "The boy's Type B Blood Cell Activation Quirk; it takes precedence right now, but your Quirks as they are, are too enticing for me to ignore. Neither of you are escaping me again."

A couple minutes earlier…

After having escaped that surprising artillery attack, Chimera had wasted no time rushing his way through this lower level of the woods, listening to the ongoing sounds of Nine's continuous fighting against however many other Heroes were trying to get between him and the castle. With any luck, the animalistic Villain could only hope he'd be able to get back up there to where he could meet Nine along the way, instead of having to continuously run to try and catch up. If Slice had been here with them, he could've at least known she would be capable of watching their leader's back in his absence.

After a minute or two of running, looking for another way up; he soon found himself in a large open area split in half by a large river being fed by an equally big waterfall. Looking all around, there didn't look to be any sign of Heroes; but he wasn't letting his guard down. "Dammit…so this was their plan all along; to split us up this badly, huh? Then those must've just been some decoys Slice-san went after, I'll bet."

THWIIP!

Suddenly, Chimera felt one of his legs get yanked out from under him; his whole body getting roughly yanked into the rushing river waters, as Tsuyu hurriedly dragged him along by her tongue after having spent the last minute lying in wait for his arrival…before just as quickly withdrawing her tongue and launching herself out of the water; the signal for the similarly waiting Shoto to leap in and bring his right hand to the water, instantly freezing the entire river and waterfall solid, with Chimera still deep inside, unable to escape.

The moment they'd seen his move follow through flawlessly, Eijirou and Tenya similarly came rushing from their hiding spots; the red-haired Hero already grinning excitedly from ear to ear. "Way to go, Todoroki-san!" "Yes, it's all gone according to plan!"

But Shoto was nowhere as confident; grimacing in anticipation. "No, it's too easy."

KKKRAAASH!

Suddenly, nearly the entire frozen river exploded in a shower of frigid crystals, as Chimera broke free, landing before the four gathered young Heroes before him. "Hey, that was cold, dammit!"

Upon laying his eyes on Shoto, Tsuyu and Tenya; his eyes narrowed with a murderous recognition, as he proceed to pull a single cigar out from his coat pocket, causing it to spontaneously ignite once it was in his jaws. "You three again. This ain't gonna be like yesterday, kids…I'm serious this time."

Eijirou resolutely Hardened his fists as he stood his ground. "We're different this time, too!"

"With all the civilians evacuated, we can go all out as well…" Tenya echoed, before Shoto stood tall with his arms coated in icy mist and flames alike. "…to stop you!"

"RECIPRO TURBO! LET'S END THIS IN LESS THAN TEN MINUTES!" Tenya announced as his Engines roared to life; his three partners likewise standing at the ready for the fight of their lives.

Seeing this shared fighting spirit among the four Heroes standing in his way; Chimera clenched his talon-like fists, before his arms began to expand; his coat sleeves suddenly exploding with far-reaching wings behind him. "Yeah…this is just what I wanted!

VROOOM!

In a burst of blue fire from his tail pipes; Tenya took off into a lightning fast run around the Villain's position; instantly kicking himself off the nearest wall in a direct beeline; flipping his body forward through the air and driving a devastating heel straight for the head; but Chimera easily blocked it with his left forearm, before quickly grabbing him by the leg with his free hand, tossing the speedster Hero aside. "It's no use!"

But even as Chimera confidently declared this, he quickly spotted Eijirou charging him from the other side, his whole body by now fully Hardened as he sprang forward with his fist reared back. "RED GAUNTLET!"

WHAAM!

But like Tenya before him, Eijirou's unrelenting fist was stopped with ease by Chimera's reinforced arm; the monstrous Villain grinning as he grabbed the Unbreakable Hero by the arm. "That itches, brat!"

SLAAAM!

With impressive speed and strength alike, Eijirou was tossed with ease straight into the mountainside; leaving him embedded in a huge crater, while Shoto quickly stepped in, throwing in a barrage of Ice and Fire together, which the Villain quickly managed to dodge and punch his way through. But even if this series of attacks was being swatted aside; Tenya continued to capitalize on the opening, leaping the great distance to once more try and drive his foot across Chimera's head with the last seconds of his Recipro Turbo he had left.

But just like before, the Villain's tremendous strength kept him from even flinching on impact, instead shrugging his whole body against Tenya's force, practically causing him to ricochet from his own attack, while Shoto proceeded to likewise follow up by sending another fast line of Ice across the ground, quickly engulfing Chimera's whole body where he stood…only to shatter with ease once again; leaving his four Heroic opponents visibly at a loss, while he bared a vicious and arrogant grin their way. "I already told you brats it's no use."

Without further ado, Chimera's breathing began to intensify; the air around him beginning to swelter as he charged up his enormous strength for the finishing blow…before his once bloodthirsty eyes widened with surprise as he looked to his own arms. "What the?! M-my body…won't move?!"

In contrast to their enemy's surprise, Shoto and Tenya both looked as ready as they had been from the start, knowing this was the moment they'd been waiting for. "There's a reason we were just repeating the same boring moves from the last time we fought." "Yes, on my feet and Kirishima-san's hands, we'd applied a heavy coating of a paralyzing toxic mucus from Asui-san!"

"Just resign yourself, old man!" Eijirou boldly declared with his fists at the ready. But even as Chimera couldn't move his body, his face reflected anything but resignation…but instead only developed a much more frightening sneer of pure bloodlust.

"Listen to you kids, acting so insolent…I'll show you now…WHY I'M CALLED A MONSTER!"

With that bloodcurdling roar of defiance and war; Chimera's entire body proceeded to tremble, bulge and grow before all four of the Heroes' shocked eyes; his talon-like hands and feet growing large and sharper claws; his muscles now expanding to the point they nearly looked like they'd tear through his hide; and his wings expanding to three times their size, with what looked like claws even extending from the feathers themselves.

"He got even bigger?!" Tenya exclaimed in disbelief that their ace in the hole had proven ineffective, while Eijirou had to swallow his own intimidation. "This form actually makes him look like Amajiki-senpai!"

Before Shoto could even rally his teammates to keep standing ready; he noticed an intensifying glow begin to break through the Villain's grinning jaws. And upon quickly remembering the fire attack he'd managed to wield from their previous fight when he was at his base form; Shoto quickly realized what they were about to be attacked by was immeasurably worse.

He instantly proceeded to slam his right foot to the ground, sending another lightning-fast glacier trail across the battlefield straight to Chimera's face, just as he finally opened his mouth and unleashed something far more powerful than the overwhelming flames; but rather a colossal crimson laser that easily proceeded to plow its way through the Ice. Knowing the attack was going to be on them in no time, Shoto and Tenya proceeded to run out of the way, while Tsuyu hurriedly wrangled Eijirou with her tongue, carrying him along as they got out of the way just in the nick of time.

But even as that laser emerged out the other side, Chimera refused to let up on his attack, instead turning his body and the laser in a full circle, laying waste to the forest and waterfall all around him, leaving nothing but an annihilated and burning wasteland, while the four Heroes could only keep themselves in cover, having just barely made it before getting obliterated.

Unfortunately, they couldn't stay there for very long; instead having to time their rushes for further cover with the utmost care, as Chimera was done giving the Heroes any chance to try and recollect themselves; further and further leveling the landscape with his new Laser attacks every time he could even hear their breathing, let alone get his eyes on them.

After about a minute of this desperate cat-and-mouse chase through the burning landscape; the four once more found themselves huddled together under another rocky outcropping; barely missing getting vaporized by a mere hair.

"What incredible power!" Eijirou couldn't help but exclaim after yet another extremely close call, while Tsuyu's normally unreadable face failed to match the clear intimidation in her voice. "We can't even get close to him!"

Tenya took that chance to look to Shoto; able to see the familiar look of serious strategic contemplation in his eyes. "Todoroki-san, my Recipro will be done soon. Once that happens, we won't have a chance of avoiding that attack again."

Thankfully, Shoto knew this just as well, as his brow furrowed with a look of pure certainty as to what he was going to do next. "Iida, make an opening for me. Kirishima, I'll need you to get me close to him. We don't have Yaoyorozu's smoke grenades to distract the enemy like we did at Kamino Ward, but the strategy will be the same."

Thankfully, this was all Tenya and Eijirou needed to hear to understand just what Shoto had in mind; and seeing her fellows in clear understanding was all Tsuyu needed to see, to know that this could very well work.

"All right. This is our final attack, then." This was all Tenya had to say before he finally proceeded to leap back out into the open, standing his ground before the menacing Chimera, as he focused what energy he could into his idling Engines; ready to finally kick their final charge off in but the blink of an eye.

VROOOOM!

With the deafening roar of his Recipro Turbo giving its final ignition; Tenya took off into a lightning-fast sprint across the perimeter of the battlefield, just as Chimera once more proceeded to unleash his laser attack; this time in the form of a rapid-fire barrage. But even with this as-of-yet unseen form of attack; Tenya didn't let that throw him off, instead keeping his eyes on the course ahead, leaping, rolling and dashing across every protrusion and dip of rock in his path with masterful timing to keep his momentum at its fastest, as everything behind him was swiftly being reduced to dust with every explosion going off right on his heels.

All the while, Shoto and Eijirou were hurriedly progressing across the ice of the still-frozen river; Shoto laying down the path to carry them forward while Chimera was distracted, with Eijirou taking the lead as his inevitable shield.

However, even with Tenya carrying out his role as a distraction, Chimera was quick to notice the other two Heroes as well, as he proceeded to charge up his laser attack and unleash it in the same devastating concentrated beam. But Eijirou, upon realizing they'd been caught, quickly crossed his arms over himself and focused, as every inch of his body sparked with his skin growing jagged and nearly crystallized; once more adopting his Unbreakable form, just as that all-powerful laser drove straight into him with full force; bringing his and Shoto's forward progress to a complete halt.

For over ten seconds, Eijirou refused to let his arms get throw to his sides; keeping his feet firmly planted to the ground, no matter how hard the laser was continuing to burn away at him; a good portion of his face guard and costume having already burnt away from the sheer heat and force of it. By the time Chimera's attack had finally run its course, and the laser dissipated; Eijirou had stopped counting down the seconds.

All he knew when it was over was that he'd done his part, weakly uttering "Go" to Shoto as his Unbreakable deactivated, and he let the heat-related pain all over his body finally pull him into unconsciousness.

With Eijirou having taken the attack in his stead, Shoto immediately launched himself into the air with a rising bridge of Ice unfolding beneath his feet; before finally leaping from it himself; his right arm covered in icy mist as he landed onto the surprised Chimera's shoulders, clutching onto one of the horns protruding from his head with his left hand.

"What I could do with my flames…I'll do with my Ice now!" as Shoto prepared to drive his right hand straight into the Villain's opening mouth; Tsuyu quickly and literally leapt into action as well; hurriedly lassoing her tongue around his arms before he could reach to pry the young Hero off his head.

But even when having his hands immobilized, Chimera instead proceeded to whip his reptilian tail up off the ground to try and smack him off; just fast enough to catch Shoto by surprise even.

WRRAAM!

But with his Recipro Turbo in its last few seconds; Tenya masterfully leapt in and drove a parrying kick straight into Chimera's tail, knocking it aside and then clutching onto it with both arms and legs with all the strength he could muster; buying Shoto the opportunity he needed.

As soon as Chimera furiously opened his mouth and was about to unleash his laser straight into Shoto's face; he didn't hesitate to drive his right hand straight in and unleash his Ice directly into the Villain's body; refusing to relent for as long as he was still moving. 'Go down…as low as possible!'

Even as he could feel his insides starting to freeze entirely, to the point his laser was actually dissipating; Chimera's whole body began to shake, writhe and thrash about; quickly managing to pull Tsuyu along by her tongue, while also swinging his tail with monstrous strength, with Tenya likewise being pulled along with it; before the two were ultimately smashed into each other with tremendous force; knocking them both out cold, thus leaving Shoto entirely on his own.

But he refused to let that stop him. He didn't even let the burning pain of the frostbite already starting to engulf the entire right side of his body stop him, as he instead kept focusing on applying the exact opposite of his father's instructions into this last resort of an attack. This time, instead of pushing his flames to their utmost highest temperature, he needed his Ice to go as low as it possibly could, no matter the physical cost to himself.

And as he saw Chimera's body likewise begin to completely frost over; that simply pushed Shoto to keep sending his Icy touch as low down as he could reach, simply echoing in his mind for it to get colder and colder.

KRRRRSSSHH!

Finally, as Chimera let out one last desperate howl; his head finally frosted over, and a huge glacier of spiky Ice crystals erupted from out his wide open mouth; his body at last completely frozen and immobilized down to its core.

And with that relived realization that his plan had actually worked, Shoto finally let that frigid temperature inside his own body drive him to the ground; only able to lay there as his vision began to fade with the loss of consciousness. 'Just…hibernate for a while. We've done our duty. It can't be…too much longer…before backup arrives. Midoriya…Bezpalov…Bakugo…it's up to…all of you…now…'

Kyushu, a couple hours ago…

"Cell Activation?"

For the past day, Hawks' investigation into the attack on the city had pulled up next to nothing. It was only when he'd been informed of the civilian with the stolen Quirk finally waking up, that he was now finding himself being provided his first real clue: his name of Masaru Shimano, and exactly what his missing Quirk was. "Yes. But I can only activate the cells of Type A blood. It's not a Quirk that can really help anyone. I don't know what that Villain would've been hoping by taking it."

But whereas the poor man was as in the dark as could be; Hawks' mind was racing. He now had even a vague description of the suspects, and even the faintest lead, and he needed to follow it before another potential disaster occurred. "Shimano-san, do you by any chance have a family? When we found you, your ID had been stolen, so there could be a very good chance the Villains responsible may be going after them."

This question immediately had the bedridden man looking immeasurably worried. "I live on Nabu Island down south, and my son and daughter are both still there right now."

Hawks' entire being was immediately filled with a grim sensation of certainty. "That's pretty far from here…but it does fall within the culprits' path of progression. If I can get word out to Nabu Island in time, maybe the Pros there can hold the fort until I can get backup over there."

BRRRRING!

Suddenly, his cellphone began to ring from within his pocket. Apologizing while excusing himself, Hawks stepped out into the hall and answered as soon as he could see the caller ID was that of the Hero Public Safety Commission's president. "Yes, Madam President? What is it?"

The older woman's voice on the other end was as serious as ever, but even he could pick up on the faintest edge of urgency in it as well. "Hawks, we just received an emergency call from a fishing vessel sailing east several hours outside of Kyushu. Several Villains have recently attacked Nabu Island, and they're requesting help immediately."

The fire that ignited the adrenaline in Hawks' body was instantaneous, as he immediately took off sprinting for the nearest fire exit, launching himself up into the air with his wings the moment he was outside. "It's the culprit in those Quirk-stealing crimes!"

He didn't even pay heed to Madam President's instinctive confusion as to how he possibly could have been so certain, as he kept flapping his wings to take him as fast as they possibly could. "Call for backup from as many Pro Hero Agencies as you can! And call Yuuei Academy, as well!"

"Yuuei Academy? Why?"

Hawks could feel nearly his whole body burning from within as he thought back to the memories of his times with Fumikage as his intern. "For the Hero Work Recommendation Project that the Commission sponsored; the ones stationed at Nabu Island right now are Yuuei Academy's Hero Course Class 1-A! My former intern has been keeping in touch with me, and told me as much before they'd all left a few days ago! Please hurry and call them!"

Nabu Island

With their best line of defense having just been taken out, and with Nikolay having been immobilized and taken; it now fell to Mezo, Mashirao and Kyouka to take Katsuma and Mahoro; falling back to their agreed upon escape route in the caves of the mountain.

"Shouji-san, take Katsuma-kun and Mahoro-chan and get out of here. Ojiro-san and I will try to slow the Villain down." At Kyouka's order; Mezo proceeded to take the terrified and crying children into his arms and take off running as fast as he could go, while she and Mashirao likewise stood their ground. "We'll definitely hold him back, Jirou-san."

As the two of them proceeded to split up; Mezo at that time sent several more elongated Tentacles from his back to grab onto a higher wall ledge, pulling him and the children all the way up; just in front of the bridge that Nine was about to cross at that same moment; his wincing pained eyes honing in on them all. "Found you."

But as though the coming-and-going of the pain of his sickness wasn't bad enough as he continued on his way; he could just as often feel an intense vibration rushing into his body from down the neck of the one Hydra protruding from it, as Nikolay was futilely trying to wriggle and fight his way free from its jaws; driven by his own physical pain, anger at what had happened to Izuku and Bakugo, and now the added desperation of knowing the Villain had laid eyes on the Shimano children.

"If you want any hope of being left alive once I have what I want from you both, then stop this struggling." Nine impatiently called back from over his shoulder; taking that one moment to look back to his foreign captive…just as Kyouka came leaping down from the same ledge Mezo had rushed onto; her Earphone Jacks already unplugged from her gloves and being stabbed into the ground the moment she landed. "HEARTBEAT DISTORTION!"

BOOOM!

Before Nine realized what had happened, he saw the entire bridge he was already standing on starting to crumble apart from the shockwave rippling down it; just as Mashirao likewise came flying in from above; spinning like a human top as he slammed his Tail straight into the bridge; blowing it up into a thousand pieces with the resonating impact of his Spinning Tail Dance.

"KYOUKA-SAN, OJIRO-SAN, GET AWA-!" SLAAAM!

Just as Kyouka and Mashirao could hear the sound of Nikolay's voice desperately calling out to warn them from the other side of the thick dust cloud left over; they both suddenly got plowed into by two more high-speed Hydra heads plucking them right off the ground; smashing them both straight into the stone walls; subsequently providing the handholds for those two necks to lift Nine all the way up to where he was once more on the same level as Mezo, Katsuma and Mahoro; all three currently distant specks continuing to run to the distant castle ruins.

But upon seeing just where the large masked Hero was taking his remaining target; Nine one more breathed in deep; trying to mentally block out the agonizing pain of his cells continuing to degenerate, as his eyes once more began to glow red; summoning a deafening barrage of thunderclaps from the storm clouds above…all before another blinding pillar of lightning came drilling down straight into the castle itself; reducing it to a smoking heap in an instant.

But even despite seeing their first option for an escape route get summarily flattened before they could even reach it; Mezo refused to slow down; keeping his one visible eye on the mountain behind it while clutching Katsuma and Mahoro close to his broad chest, acting as their shield. "It's okay; he still hasn't gotten us yet! We still have the second route through the caves to escape through!"

ZZT! ZZT! ZZT! ZZT! ZZT! ZZT!

Suddenly, a multitude of unavoidable Laser Bullets came flying up from across the field, hammering hard into Mezo's back and across his arms, legs and sides; quickly bringing him to his knees as he tried to keep his webbed Tentacles extended, before ultimately tossing Katsuma and Mahoro forward. If he could just keep the area of his body's width as wide as possible, he knew he could be able to provide them at least a little cover under which to escape. "Go…run away, you two!"

As Mezo continued trying to spread his Tentacles to provide a larger field of protection; Nine coldly approached from behind; already preparing one hand to send more Laser Bullets to finish him off; all while Nikolay was furiously gritting his teeth, trying to use his racing heart to build up his Kinetics in an attempt to try and escape.

But before Nine could follow through; Kyouka and Mashirao suddenly came leaping up from the rim of the wall behind him; the purple-haired Hero having by now already seen the visible vibrations encapsulating Nikolay's trapped body. This struck with her with an immediate idea, as she focused her sight, and shot her Earphone Jacks as far as they could go; just managing to reach far enough to plug into the back of Nikolay's left hand barely protruding from out the mouth of the Hydra.

With that, she hurriedly sent as many of her racing and strengthened pulses as she could before her feet would meet the ground; and Nikolay could feel it all corusing through his entire body in record time; his already intensified Kinetic stores building to the point of bursting out from him…which he proceeded to do the moment he felt the Jacks leave his hand, and Kyouka hit the ground running.

BWOOOM!

With all his focus put toward this one diverting action, even as his limbs screamed in pain from the holes shot into them; Nikolay released the strongest full-body Refracting Blast he'd attempted yet; just enough to produce a devastating physical shockwave that blew up the Hydra keeping him prisoner, as well as sending Nine up into the air, even despite the last-second Air Wall he'd thrown up to protect himself.

And with the Villain now forced up into the air; Mashirao and Mezo both proceeded to leap up after him, already proceeding to lay on a two-sided assault with Tail and Tentacles alike, while Kyouka similarly got to work plugging her Jacks back into her gloves, and putting her hands flush to her boots; rolling forward so the amplifiers lining the fronts were now aimed upward at him; firing a continuous beam of overwhelming audible power. At the very least, she could hope it would be enough to disorient Nine so her partners could finish the job.

BOOOOM!

But just at the last moment all three attacks could meet their mark; Nine already had regained his bearings, and quickly created another Air Wall; this time in the form of a complete sphere around himself, which took on all three attacks with ease, before he then proceeded to have the whole thing expand in an all-direction throw; sending Mezo, Mashirao and Kyouka all flying before they could properly react; all while Nikolay struggled to try and get back up, even as the holes in his legs practically sprayed out more of his blood with every attempt.

As Nine landed back on his feet; Mahoro and Katsuma both couldn't stop trembling with overwhelming terror. Everything the Heroes threw at him; he effortlessly swatted aside, before breaking them down; even managing to completely destroy Izuku and Bakugo in the process. Out of all three of their previous protectors from yesterday; Nikolay was the only one left, and even as he was brought here as the Villain's trophy, and even as he was watching his classmates get decimated, even from here, they could both see how much he was trying to still fight back, even despite all his wounds.

As she saw this through her devastated and frightened tears, Mahoro couldn't stop thinking back to everything Nikolay had said to her the previous night; about how brave she was being already in each way she'd been helping their plan along; how much like an actual Hero she was being then. But now, she couldn't imagine herself being brave enough to earn such praise from an actual Hero.

But now, she felt an overwhelming urge in the pit of her chest to correct that; as with her fists clenched in white knuckle grips, she defiantly stepped forward in front of her brother; holding her arms out protectively and trying to block out his instinctive calls for her to stop, as she stared the terrifying Nine down; putting one foot in front of the other. "Katsuma, run away! It's okay, so just run as fast as you can!"

"MAHORO-NEECHAN!" Katsuma sounded completely despondent; too terrified to even move his legs as he watched his sister fight her own fear in the face of the Villain looming over her. "Don't come any closer! Don't you lay a hand on my brother!"

But Nine's eyes were focused solely on Katsuma behind her; looking through the terrified but brave little girl trying to stand in his way, like she wasn't even there. From where Nikolay lay mere feet away, he couldn't hide his own similar look of desperation for Mahoro to get out of here with her brother; but when her desperately searching eyes met his, it only served to fire up her momentary courage that much more, as she refused to move out of the way. "I SAID DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!"

BWOOM! SMAASH!

As Nine continued to approach her; Nikolay's desperation to try and fight dulled his sensations of pain enough for him to finally try and launch himself forward through a Kinetic Blast from his hands; ready to try and just flat-out tackle the Villain if need be, so long as it would buy the two children time to escape.

But Nine was beyond the point of letting anything around him go unnoticed, as he easily drew out two Hydra heads from his back; one easily snatching up Mahoro before she could even let out a surprised scream, and the other smashing Nikolay into the ground before picking him right back up; holding both his victims up high for the horrified Katsuma to see.

Another sudden flaring of his inner physical pain left Nine seeing red; deaf to Katsuma's terrified screams for his sister. "If you don't want her to die…then come over here, boy!"

Katsuma looked clearly at a loss as to what the right thing for him to do was in this moment. Through all his own pain and desperation, Nikolay could see this just as clearly as Mahoro and Nine. And it was the recognition of this overwhelming fear that drove him to toss all sense of self-preservation aside as he called out: "DON'T DO IT, KATSUMA-KUN! GIVING IN TO FEAR IS TO GIVE UP HOPE!"

ZZT!

The sound of Nikolay's continued defiance; even in spite of his overwhelmingly bad circumstances; sparked Nine's rage, as he swiftly aimed one finger and shot another Laser Bullet through his left foot; earning another agonized scream out of his Hero captive. "One more word; and you'll be nothing but a corpse once I have what I want from you! NOW COME HERE, BOY! Help me…turn my desires…into reality!"

Katsuma's eyes burned just as much as his chest did, as he desperately looked over and over between Nine, Nikolay and Mahoro; the Villain's face rigid with a thinly veiled impatience; while the Hero and his sister were both straining with their own desperation; Mahoro barely able to utter out her own weak protests for him to stay put.

But there was no denying just how deathly serious Nine was about killing her if he didn't do what he was told; even as his mind raced and nearly broke with overwhelming panic, Katsuma could recognize this.

There were no other Heroes here to help. With Izuku and Bakugo gone, and Nikolay was injured as he was; the only hope any of them had of getting out of this alive anymore…was Katsuma himself. If he didn't do something to try and save their lives, then they would all die here, and it would be all his fault.

And if he didn't do something to protect his sister after all she'd done for him up to this point in their lives, then how would he ever have the right to try and be a Hero after this?

None of those questions remotely mattered. All that did, was that people he cared about were in danger, and it was up to him to try and protect them. Mahoro was counting on him for once, even if she wouldn't say it, and he needed to act.

"I'LL PROTECT YOU!" Katsuma wailed in tearful borderline hysterics; taking off into a blind sprint towards Nine, as Mahoro and Nikolay both cried out for him to stop.

And as he watched his much-awaited prey approach with every running step; Nine immediately reached his hand out, ready to grab Katsuma by the face and finally take his Quirk; finally take remove this disease from his body once and for all; make his dreams for the world a reality, once and for all!

In fact, he was so focused on Katsuma; that Nine didn't even pay heed to how Nikolay; in a fiery rush of adrenaline born from his own desperation to stop this; was forcing as much Kinetic energy into his waiting right hand as he could; ignoring the horrendous pain of worsening the open injury to his arm, as he tried to aim and fire a devastating Kinetic Blast straight down into the man's head.

BKOOBKOOBKOOM!

"ST. LOUIS SMAAASH!"

At the last possible moment before either contact could be made; the two Hydra necks holding Nikolay and Mahoro were simultaneously blown to smithereens in a barrage of fiery Explosions; the young Hero and little girl both just as quickly getting scooped up out of the air by a black and orange blur; while with the familiar sound of Izuku's battle cry; a similar sparking green blur came racing across the battlefield and drove a devastating foot straight into the side of Nine's face; sending his body flying and tumbling several dozen yards away, while Izuku himself had securely grabbed Katsuma and hurriedly rejoined Bakugo's side, as he had finally set Nikolay and Mahoro down.

"Sorry we're late." Izuku declared to all three; looking back with an inspiring smile on his face as the green bolts continued sparking off of him. "You all did incredibly well. You were as brave as could be till the end."

"Yeah, at least none of you just folded and gave up." Bakugo agreed; ignoring the dumbfounded looks on all their faces; yet was still somehow able to just sense them. "Don't look so surprised! I've said it so many times already, remember? I'm the man that's gonna even surpass All Might one day, and become the Number One Hero!"

"But I…I saw you both get disintegrated in that lightning! How is this possible?" Nikolay uttered in disbelief, before once again trying to fight through his injuries so he could try and stand up with his miraculously survived classmates once more; unwilling to be stuck in a place of needing to be looked after and rescued anymore.

Seeing this insane resilience through the kind of injuries Nikolay had; Bakugo was at least smirking in approval in his head; even while spitting back: "If you want anybody to take you seriously as a Hero from now on; then less questions and more action, Russkie! Prove that flailing of yours before wasn't just your dying gasp!"

And Bakugo's words couldn't have been more appropriate, for as Nikolay had at least managed to get himself onto his blood-covered hands and knees; he could see Nine once more rising amid the clearing dust dead ahead; his eyes reflecting pure rage as he saw the three reunited Heroes standing united against him.

"Katsuma-kun, take Mahoro-chan and run!" Izuku ordered; to which the little boy gave no sign of argument; instead taking charge by grabbing Mahoro by the hand and pulling her along as he ran with all the strength his tiny body could muster; all while Mahoro herself could only look back at the three young Heroes still standing strong for both their sakes, even after everything.

With their hearts all racing and their minds focused as one; Nikolay launched himself fast and low across the ground from his hands and feet right alongside Izuku and Bakugo; instantly closing the distance to Nine; who quickly threw out another Air Wall to meet all three of their impacts at once.

But this time; with his symptoms only growing exponentially worse with each passing second; his defense didn't hold up nearly as well, as he was visibly straining to try and fight back against their combined physical force on the other side. "How?! How did you two survive my lightning?!"

KRRAASSHH!

And with just enough of a supporting push from Nikolay firing another point-blank Kinetic Blast straight into the shield from his hands in order to aid Izuku and Bakugo's similar physical strikes; the Air Wall actually shattered; sending Nine flying even further back, as the young trio continued their blinding rushing assault.

And as they closed in; never taking their eyes off their target for an instant; Nikolay could still hear Izuku actually answer: "You pulled that trick on us once before…and I saw what Kolya-san did to avoid it then!"

And, in a show of acknowledgment that Nikolay still never expected to one day hear; Bakugo actually spoke up in an aggressive-sounding agreement: "Yeah, so we decided to pull the same stunt; using the right kind of idiot as a lightning rod instead!"

Nikolay couldn't even finish processing the fact this meant that Denki had miraculously jumped in at the most crucial moment without his even having noticed; because Nine was already counter-attacking their assault with another barrage of ten Laser Bullets from his fingers. While Izuku hurriedly kicked himself up off the ground to dodge, Bakugo hurriedly laid waste to every Bullet getting close to him with a multitude of Explosions as he continued to swerve and fly with even more.

At the same time, Nikolay was keeping himself low to the ground, likewise forcing his Kinetics through his limbs to fire out his hands and feet in order to avoid every shot that Bakugo wasn't aiming at; the pain of his exacerbated injuries somehow managing to fuel his adrenaline that much more. 'No more…we're ending this here and now! Even if I can't actually use my limbs anymore, I can still use my Quirk…and that's all I need to fight back and help beat you, you monster!'

His movements were nowhere as controlled or precise, but they were keeping Nikolay from getting shot or grabbed or slammed into again, and that was enough. After crossing more than two-thirds the distance, he finally proceeded to blast off from his feet; propelling himself high up into the air right in Bakugo's trajectory.

But rather than actually disrupting his aerial charge; this ultimately ended up assisting it, as Bakugo grabbed onto Nikolay's wrist, just like he'd previously done with Izuku, before propelling them both into an airborne spin, just as Izuku came diving in and slamming a charged Detroit Smash into Nine; the Villain hurriedly creating an Air Wall to defend himself, only for it to shatter under the power of the curly-haired Hero's attack once more; sending him slamming further across the battlefield, just where Bakugo needed him to land.

"EXPLODE-A-PULT!" At his war cry, Bakugo finally let go of Nikolay; sending him flying and spinning across the air like a human throwing star at the exact spot Nine had managed to come to a stop; only just now realizing his foreign quarry was about to crash right into him at the moment before impact could be made.

But a simple physical collision wasn't what Nikolay was prepared for; as he had used the trajectory of his body alongside the listlessness of his injured arms to finally bring his hands flat together; the gap between his fingers aimed straight at Nine's torso as he sent all this movement-aided Kinetic power out in that one moment. "OGLUSHITELNYY KHLOPOK (THUNDEROUS CLAP)!"

BWOOOOM!

With that far-reaching concentrated forward-shockwave; Nine was sent flying off his feet; the wind knocked out of his already struggling lungs, as his entire life-support system adorning his body shattered all around him.

"HOWITZER IMPACT! DIE!" As soon as Bakugo saw Nikolay's attack connect; he similarly moved in to add on to the damage inflicted on his enemy; ready to send him plummeting from atop this ledge to the unforgiving rocks far below. With his Explosions repeatedly firing from his hands, he sent his body into a fiery cartwheel across the ground before finally colliding with Nine's flying body, engulfing him in a multitude of even greater Explosions that nearly leveled half the battlefield; sending a wind powerful enough to somehow still reach the fleeing Katsuma and Mahoro, and nearly send them flying.

As the Explosions tore through everything, and Nikolay, Izuku and Bakugo could all only watch on, they could quickly make out the listless sight of Nine's body momentarily suspended in mid-air as all of their attacks had finally taken the last of his energy out of him. And for all intents and purposes, they would've been correct…were it not for the last of the two inner cylinders in the middle of the Villain's black plunging back into him, sending the rest of the purple liquid in the last remaining tube rushing into his bloodstream, just like before.

"As if…AS IF I WOULD LET IT ALL END LIKE THIS!"

Even with the deafening noise of Bakugo's Explosions still ringing all their ears; Nikolay and his partners could still hear the blood-chilling fury in Nine's voice; the sensation shooting through all their chests, of his red-glowing eyes burning through all of them, even as he still hung in the air.

FWWWWWWOOOOOOSSSSHHHH!

Before they realized just what it was they were seeing play out before their eyes; the fires of the previous Explosions suddenly expanded out in a sudden outward blast of wind power; forcing Nikolay to try and brace himself to the ground to keep from being blown away, while Izuku and Bakugo likewise had to keep their feet firmly planted to the ground as the wind refused to die down.

But once the smoke, dust and flames cleared away, they now found themselves looking upon the overwhelming sight of Nine once more standing tall and victorious before them; the glowing purple cracks still adorning all over his beaten-up body; but now with what almost looked like flames of that same purple energy emerging from out his back; those same cylinders having now shattered as his Quirk was strengthened to a point beyond comprehension.

And as his hateful eyes burned at the sight of his three opponents; Nine wasted no more time with further words; instead proceeding to throw his body into a spin where he stood; increasing in speed as the winds all around the battlefield began to swirl with even greater strength alongside him; soon picking up all of the flames of Bakugo's Explosions along with them; practically setting the wind itself alight.

Within seconds, the storm had completely transformed into a multitude of blazing inferno tornadoes before the three Heroes; leaving all of them equally shocked at just what their enemy had managed to pull off from the verge of defeat.

As the ground beneath their feet began to shake with uncontrollable force as the flaming tornadoes continued to wreak havoc all across the battlefield; Nikolay, Izuku and Bakugo all looked around and saw their island stronghold be reduced to an utter picture of Hell. Everywhere they looked; devastating lightning bolts were raining down all over the island, striking with the thunderous force of a payload of aerial bombs. From here, they couldn't even tell if these lightning strikes were raining down on Nabu Island itself; but right now, that didn't matter.

The only thing they knew for certain was that if they didn't find a way to take Nine down from this point forward, then this entire island would be at risk of being reduced to ashes; and their classmates, Katsuma, Mahoro and all the sheltering citizens in the caves with it.

But while Nikolay was once more trying to use his adrenaline to try and stand up against his horrendously injured limbs so he could continue the fight; Izuku and Bakugo both took in the odds of what they were now up against, and exchanged a silent but all-telling glance with one another.

The look of intent in Bakugo's eyes pretty much mirrored exactly what Izuku was regretfully thinking upon seeing the condition Nikolay was now in, even despite his trying to stay in the fight. 'Kolya-san is simply past the point of being able to fight against something like this…and we can't take the risk of that Villain getting his hands on even the single ember of One For All that's inside him. We have to end this fight…but until then, we need to make sure Kolya-san doesn't get within that man's reach, no matter what…for the sake of everyone.'

Knowing now both the objectives they needed to see through; Izuku closed his eyes; envisioning the ever-elusive and racing spark of One For All in his mind's eye; envisioning himself taking hold of it, just as he'd been pushed to the point of all the way back at the Shie Hassaikai Raid; opening his eyes as he could feel that same unbelievable power start burning through his veins, as multiple glowing red cracks formed across his body. "ONE FOR ALL: 100%!"

"I'LL TAKE YOU DOWN WITH EVERYTHING I'VE GOT!" Bakugo similarly shouted in defiance, even despite the incredible power Nine was showcasing at this very moment.

And Nikolay, not wanting to waste what energy he had left with words, instead proceeded to finally channel a tremendous surge of Kinetic Energy through his arms and out his hands; the further damaging of his arms hitting him like an electrical shock regardless, as he flew high up into the air; preparing to rain down everything his Quirk could help him to muster onto the Villain from up above through the force of the blazing tornado now serving as his prime protection.

Now being forced to choose between either getting his classmate as far from Nine as possible; and putting his all towards ending the entire battle as quickly as possible altogether; Izuku likewise came bolting into the face of the tornado after Nine like a flash of lightning, himself; his fist already reeled back, just as Nikolay was forcing his broken arms forward to start trying to whittle his way through the burning cyclone wall.

"DETROIT…SMAAAAAASH!"

"HOWITZER IMPAAAACT!"

"KINETICHESKIY GATLIIIIIING!"

All at once; Izuku drove his brilliantly glowing fist straight into the tornado; fighting against the tremendous force tearing away at him with all the power of One For All rushing through his every fiber of his being.

Halfway up the height of the tornado, Bakugo had likewise thrown himself into an explosive corkscrew motion through the air, flying faster than the speed of sound as he unleashed a concentrated beam of all-powerful Explosions out his fists straight into the tornado, trying to blast his way through.

And high up above; somehow managing to avoid getting stricken by the lightning rampaging through the clouds above; Nikolay likewise unleashed a rapid-fire downward hailstorm of his most powerful Kinetic Blasts out his already broken-down hands like a pair of mini-guns, simply trying to chip away at the flaming exterior of the tornado so he could finally get inside and come hammering down on Nine with all the Kinetic power he could build up in his body with all the air friction and movement his body was building up and absorbing all at once.

But as Katsuma and Mahoro both watched with wide-eyed rapture at the three blinding lights of the young Heroes all simultaneously trying to fight back against this veritable force of nature; the overwhelming power of Nine's tornado very quickly proved worthy of such a distinction, as despite all their sheer physical resistance amid their attacks; Izuku, Bakugo and Nikolay alike were all ultimately thrown off their respective courses, now hopelessly caught in the inescapable burning wind current of the Villain's hellish tornado.

In fact, it was almost as though Nine could recognize that the Heroes were now helpless within this display of pure power; as the tornado and lightning storm alike all seemed to intensify that much more in their destructive strength; as several lightning strikes hammered down on the mountain, sending a tremendous rockslide down where Katsuma and Mahoro were currently hiding, before Mezo sprinted and threw himself over them both; taking the mercilessly raining rocks as their ever-present shield.

At the exact same time, the entrance to the cave wherein Rikido, Kouji and Tooru were all keeping protective watch of the rest of the civilians, proceeded to suddenly collapse; completely trapping them all inside; Rikido already pushing his Sugar Rush-enhanced strength to its limit to keep the rocks from flooding in any more than they already had; urging Kouji and Tooru to get the civilians further inside to safety.

But even as their fellow Heroes did everything they could to protect those counting on them; neither Izuku, Bakugo nor Nikolay could begin to fight back against the sheer power of this tornado as they were mercilessly tossed every which way the wind could take them; all while the overwhelming heat burned away at them.

But even knowing he had them in such a powerless position; Nine's assault only proved that much more relentless, as he proceeded to unleash a multitude of far more than three Hydra heads from his back; sending them all in every direction they could go, in order to snatch his three opponents right out of the air.

BOOMBOOMBOOMBKOOMBKOOMBKOOMBWOOMBWOOMBWOOM!

But in a show of further incredible resilience; even as they were being listlessly thrown about at the tornado's mercy; all three of the Heroes still had the fighting spirit in their battered and broken bodies to unleash their Quirks together upon seeing the familiar blue of all the incoming Hydras through the rushing flames; destroying their heads before they could snatch onto any of them; leaving Nine's vision burning red with fury, as he could already feel the empowering effects of the drug he'd just injected into himself, starting to reach its end.

And with the realization that the Hydras currently weren't sprouting yet more heads and attacking them already; Bakugo focused his eyes in the direction he'd heard Nikolay's Quirk going off up above, and as he fought with all his strength against the raging fiery winds, he defiantly propelled his way against the current with another all-powerful Howitzer Impact; the corkscrew of fire he was leaving in his wake, gradually working its way up the height of the tornado, until he finally had eye contact with Nikolay; giving him no time to even think before propelling himself that much further; grabbing tight onto the tattered collar of his costume.

As Nikolay's mind rushed with confusion amid all his physical pain as to just what Bakugo was thinking, forcing his way up here after him; the explosive Hero forced his foreign classmate to look him in the eye as he began to fire more Explosions from his free hand; sending them both into another insanely fast Explode-A-Pult motion in the air, even as they were still being pulled along the tornado's current. "You need to get the hell out of here, Russkie; before that asshole gets his hands on you again!"

For the first time ever, Nikolay could only pick up what sounded like genuine concern in Bakugo's words; no matter how angry he still sounded. After seeing just how much more powerful their opponent had just become, and seeing just how badly injured he now was; even Nikolay couldn't blame him for wanting to get him out of danger by any means.

But his Hero's spirit, still burning hot within his chest, prevented Nikolay from being able to accept that; adamantly shaking his head as they continued to spin with ever-increasing speed. "I can't leave you and Midoriya-san to fight him on your own! What kind of Hero leaves his fellows to face a threat like this?!"

With an immensely frustrated sneer as he launched them up that much higher; Bakugo clutched onto Nikolay's head with his free hand; forcing him to look him dead in the eye. "What the hell good can you do in this fight anymore with your arms and legs busted up to shit like this, you idiot?! If you try to keep it up against this guy, you're going to get your ass killed, and I'm not about to let you put everybody's efforts in stopping that bastard go to waste; including your own! You did everything you could and you didn't run away; take that as a win and get the hell out of here, for your own sake, dumbass!"

Without another moment to be wasted, Bakugo finally proceeded to follow through; ignoring Nikolay's desperate protests as he proceeded to use his Explosions to send them up higher and higher; as far from the tornado as he could get, before finally extending his arms in order to throw Nikolay all the way back to Nabu Island.

But down below, Nine likewise saw what the two Heroes high above were getting ready to do. With his fury reaching its highest point yet, he brought his hands up high. "YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY AGAIN!"

K-KRRRAAAKK!

As Bakugo finally released his grip on Nikolay; throwing him at an insane power through the air; Nikolay was nearly blinded by the flash of up-close lightning that followed; striking Bakugo head-on and sending him plummeting back to the ground before getting picked up in the tornado current all over again. All the while, Nikolay could only call out in despairing protest as his body was sent flying through the lightning-filled air away from the battlefield; leaving him unable to just immediately launch himself back into the fray.

Just like that, Bakugo and Izuku were on their own.

And within the tornado flames; Nine likewise could only watch as Nikolay's distant body shrank into the distance; too far and fast even for his Hydras to go out and snatch. Despite his efforts; his second most-promising catch, a potential key for even great all-around power for him to wield, had been snatched right out of his grip, all because of these two damned persistent young Heroes.

And the anger that came emanating from his throat upon this realization, could've been enough to rend the earth and heavens asunder all at once, as Nine proceeded to furiously fire his Laser Bullets with a relentless speed and accuracy; blasting away at Bakugo and Izuku both all across the tornado; before another pang of agony surged throughout his entire body; nearly sending him hunching over with a tortured grimace on his face.

With that, he decided the time for chipping away at the bodies of his two remaining enemies was done; instead deciding to bring this all to an end by sending another two colossal Hydras out of his back; the large blue monstrosities writhing and whipping back and forth as they shot up into the sky; one viciously slamming into Bakugo as it trapped him within its jaws, while the other just as quickly twisted itself around and nose-dived straight into Izuku amid the whirlwind.

SSSSLLLAAAMMM!

And with no hesitation or slowing, the Hydras plowed their heads, and both Heroes in their jaws, straight into the unforgiving ground below; leaving them both nearly crushed and breathless; their bodies busted, bruised, battered and broken. They were now only able to try and struggle in futility as Nine drove the Hydras to keep pushing their massive heads further and further into the ground with Izuku and Bakugo in between; deliberately aiming to crush them both to death at the Villain's feet, while his Hell Tornado finally dissipated from around him.

Even from the distance he had now flown to, Nikolay could still see Nine's devastating attack play out against his allies; leaving his desperation and anguish overwhelming within his chest as he couldn't get his arms or legs to move the way he wanted them to so he could try and launch himself back into the fight.

Only able to look and take in his current surroundings, Nikolay quickly realized where he was about to land, as the western mountain bordering Nabu Island's national park was quickly looming in from below; the countless trees about to make his inevitable landing even more painful than the injuries he already had.

With no other option or idea of what to do; Nikolay tried to have the intense wind friction of his unwilling flight turn his body so he could face his landing head-on, instead of continuing to practically freefall backwards. As soon as he was forward-facing again, Nikolay did the only thing left he could think to do: using his momentum alongside gravity to send his body into a roll, and trying to time the Kinetic Blasts he could get to come out of his hands and feet, in an attempt to try and slow himself down, and perhaps even try to avoid at least half of the trees he was at risk of crashing into, or through.

BWOOM! BWOOM! BWOOM! KRRAK! KRAAK!

The first shot he managed to fire off from his feet felt like it was actually managing to slow him down considerably, while the second thankfully managing to help him swerve just enough to miss colliding head-on with the first of many trees. The branches of the very next ended up slashing through his right bicep in the process, but Nikolay had to fight the pain in order to try and fire off another shot from his left hand while it was facing forward, just so he could try to slow his momentum down just a little bit more.

But that was as much control over his landing as he could manage, as with everything flying by so damn fast, Nikolay didn't have time to react to the incoming branch of another tree that smashed straight into the goggles still firmly set over his eyes; ultimately serving as an accidental savior from getting his eyes completely crushed into his head, as the lenses shattered.

Nikolay's body did a back-flip upon impact, looking just like a carelessly tossed aside rag doll as his entire head rang, before ricocheting hard off the side of another tree, easily snapping his left shoulder and several more of his already broken ribs into even more pieces, before his body finally went bouncing hard across the ground and down a well-hidden slope within the brush lining the foot of the western mountain.

Having blacked out from all the building physical pain all over his body; Nikolay's body ultimately ended up rolling all the way down the hill, before he finally ended up rolling straight into the perfectly camouflaged crevasse at the bottom; bouncing hard off the sides as gravity took him plummeting into the darkened depths below with nary a sound.

"I WON'T LET YOU GET IN NINE-SAN'S WAY ANYMORE!"

With another furious war cry, Slice proceeded to go all out like neither Mina nor Fumikage had experienced yet in their battle; sending her razor sharp hardened locks jabbing away at both of their positions like spears, while simultaneously firing a multitude of her spikes from the shortened portions of her hair like a porcupine, sending both Heroes scattering to avoid getting hit.

Even with his right arm broken, Fumikage was still putting his all into controlling Dark Shadow; using its claws to block Slice's longer hair spears, and swatting away her spikes; while at the same time, Mina was throwing her Acid and shooting it with everything she had while trying to stay on the move;. However, with Slice's spikes flying everywhere instead of in just a single arc; Mina was soon finding herself cut off, having to hurriedly build up thick coating of Acid over her arms and legs again; leaping and curling up into as tight of a ball as she could through the air so her coated limbs could protect her; melting the spikes on impact.

As Slice aggressively raced across the battlefield, refusing to let up her attacks so she could get at least one of them in their blindside; the resulting change in overall attack direction of her flying spikes inadvertently gave Mina an opening. As soon as she met the ground in a roll and got back onto her feet mid-sprint; she immediately proceeded to build up the large blobs of her stickiest and least corrosive Acid in her hands as she could, throwing them one after the other straight at the Villain's feet; quickly encasing and hardening around them, to Slice's surprise.

And with her mobility quickly taken out of the equation, at least for now; Fumikage likewise acted with swiftness; sending Dark Shadow's arms across the battlefield, and grabbing tight onto Slice's remaining lengthy locks, refusing her the ability to either swing them like blades or send them jabbing any further like the spears they had been. Just like that, they'd managed to completely neutralize her.

Now was just a matter of completely capturing or knocking her out so she couldn't try anything else. The two Heroes; already gasping for breath and having broken a sweat after having fought so hard for this long; already began to approach the struggling Villain, before the sound of something crashing and descending from up above ended up snapping their attention elsewhere.

The moment they looked, they were stricken by the sight of Nikolay's body freefalling out through the largest crevasse in the ceiling to this cavern; lackadaisically flopping as it bounced off the edge of the same higher ledge they'd originally been hiding on, and ultimately crashing hard onto the ground below.

Naturally, the sight of one of their classmates having suddenly come crash landing in here all the way from the Mt. Shiroyama battlefield, had spurred Mina to ask if her boyfriend was alright; but as the dust settled and she finally got a real look at him, she could feel her blood go cold and her heart momentarily stop in her chest as she sucked in an instinctive gasp of horror. Even Fumikage couldn't hide the way his normally piercing eyes widened just slightly with surprise, when they saw the broken, bruised and bloody mess that was Nikolay Bezpalov's body; barely able to move as he was already regaining consciousness, just enough to hear Mina cry out his name in overwhelming worry: "NIKOLAAAY!"

Alas, this momentary distraction was exactly what Slice needed, as she could feel Dark Shadow's grip on one of her locks loosen just barely enough as a result of his likewise being taken by surprise. And so, with a sadistic grin on her face, she suddenly focused on hardening that one free lock of her hair, and jabbing it forward just as much as it could reach; not enough to stab, but at least enough to strike Fumikage in his exposed solar plexus with its broad end hard enough to knock the wind right out of him; subsequently causing Dark Shadow to start freaking out and losing its physical consistency; thus allowing the rest of Slice's hair to be freed.

"ALL OF YOU…DIE!"

With her locks now proceeding to viciously chip away at the hardened fluids keeping her feet stuck to the ground, Slice proceeded to unleash an all-out hurricane of her spikes all over the cave; forcing Fumikage to focus Dark Shadow enough to where it threw itself over him to act as a shield. At the same time, upon realizing the Villain was getting free, and Nikolay was completely exposed and unable to protect himself right now, Mina flew into a half-Acid Slide/half-sprint to get to him, hurriedly throwing up an Acid Veil as wide as she could get to protect them both.

SHKSHKSHK!

But even for as fast as she and her reflexes were; this time it just wasn't fast enough; for at the last moment that Mina was focusing on making the last of her Acid Veil, she felt three intensely painful piercing sensations suddenly shoot across her left leg, just about reaching to her thigh; three of Slice's spikes having found their mark.

With a very painful yelp, Mina's whole body was thrown off balance from her sudden injury, sending her tumbling hard to the ground right in front of Nikolay and Fumikage both; falling at just the right angle for Mina to bust her head against a rock protruding from the ground. Even from where Nikolay was laid out, he could see a pronounced flow of blood already starting to run down her white domino mask from her forehead.

Just like that, all of the pain across Nikolay's body felt so far away. All he could feel now, as he looked at his girlfriend so badly injured right in front of him, was a sinking sensation of despair spreading from the pit of his stomach and piercing right through his chest. On top of the already building pace of his heart as he realized just where he was; now there was a building sensation of unbelievable anger growing right along with it; solely at himself.

'It doesn't matter how hurt I am…I still could've done something to help them…but I can't help anyone…not like this! I can't even move! The walls all feel like they're closing in already! Everything smells like smoke…and blood! Mina…Tokoyami-san…I couldn't help them…just like I can't help Midoriya-san and Bakugo anymore! What the hell good can I do like this?!'

At the same time, the sight of his partner getting so badly hurt had sent Fumikage's already thinly veiled anger into a state he couldn't possibly control, as he roared out alongside Dark Shadow itself towards Slice: "YOU FIEND…HOW DARE YOOOOU?!"

Slice couldn't believe what she was seeing, as the crow-headed Hero's Quirk was somehow managing to grow exponentially bigger than it already had been; its glowing light eyes now turning dark red as its mass began to contort and explode outward, to the point it was starting to fill half the cavern; slamming its tremendous claws every which way it could go, completely out of control.

As stalactites and boulders alike began to crumble from above; it didn't take much for Slice to finally realize just why it was the Heroes had picked this place to be their battleground, and it wasn't just for the sake of sealing her away from her comrades. In confined quarters like this, her Quirk's effectiveness had been cut in half, while the darkness allowed Fumikage's Quirk to grow that much stronger. 'But no matter how strong his Quirk gets, it can't be enough to resist a full-on collapse on its head! If that's what it's going to take, then so be it!'

With Dark Shadow's sporadic and ballistic attacks already breaking away at the roof of the cave; all Slice needed to do was provide just a little bit more of that destructive touch, then the three Heroes giving her so much trouble would finally be dead and gone.

And so, with her adrenaline at an all-time high, she proceeded to break into another mad sprint; barely managing to use her remaining locks to maneuver and leap her way through all of Dark Shadow's massive sweeping and slamming attacks; as well as helping to avoid getting hit by any of the stone debris raining down all around the cave.

Being such a small target next to Dark Shadow's tremendous size, it was unfortunately quite easy for Slice to get behind its back; Fumikage struggling to get his commands through to it once he could see where she was. Now standing perfectly in between the three young Heroes, Slice grinned manically as she aimed her locks up at the crumbling ceiling; before sending them and another barrage of her spikes flying up and repeatedly slamming all over the ceiling alongside Dark Shadow's flailing claws.

Fumikage and Nikolay (by now trying to maintain the strength to even try crawling on his knees and elbows) both looked on in shock, dreaded realization and frustration altogether; as Slice proudly boasted as she continued to tear away at the ceiling; before ultimately redirecting her locks to attack all three of them again: "NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES, I'LL CRUSH YOU ALL LIKE THE INSECTS YOU ARE!"

"Even with…100%...it still…wasn't enough?"

"Dammit…and after I'd lowered myself enough…to fight with Deku and the Russkie…like hell I'd let it all end like this! I…don't care…what you throw…at me! I…won't…lose!"

As their bodies were continuing to slowly get crushed into the ground by Nine's Hydras; Izuku and Bakugo both were still simply reeling from the fact that they'd pulled every single trick they could think of from their respective books, and it still had amounted to nothing.

With no forewarning or time to brace themselves; they just as quickly found themselves getting pulled right back into the air, before the two Hydras drove them straight into the side of the mountain like hammers pounding in a pair of nails; all while Nine apathetically watched on, raising his arms and clenching his hands into fists; causing their jaws to tighten on their captives that much more.

"You've both been getting in my way for far too long; keeping me from the keys to both my success, and even greater potential power. You'll never be able to survive with the level your powers are at; not in the new world I will create. Those who have true power; they are the ones that my new world is meant for. The strong will rule over the weak in my new utopia. It won't matter if someone is a Hero or a Villain. Everything is equal before power. That is what a true superhuman society should be…and if you're going to get in the way of that new world of mine…then you should just disappear."

Even as Izuku and Bakugo could both feel their constraints crushing down on them, to the point they could actively feel their muscles give and their bones slowly but surely break under the pressure; it wasn't even themselves they were thinking of. All around their battlefield, they knew their classmates had all fought to their very last, and now lay injured and unconscious all around. With Nikolay having been so badly injured yet thrown away from the battlefield for his own sake; it now fell solely to the two of them…but what else was there that they could possibly do against this Villain, who had powered through even their most powerful tactics?

"MISTER DEKU!" BAKUGO!"

Suddenly, Izuku and Bakugo could both hear Katsuma and Mahoro's desperate cries from down below; turning to see the small children begging them to fight on while Katsuma was applying his Cell Activation on Mezo's unconscious body.

"PLEASE DON'T LOSE!"

Those three words, while so simple coming from children like them; for the two constrained Heroes, they might as well have been the words of the entire world, begging them not to let cataclysm strike and destroy everything. That weight settled within their chests like Katsuma and Mahoro would never be able to understand…but especially when Nine set his eyes on the children hiding behind a rock. "So, that's where you've been hiding."

With that, he once more began to approach the Shimano siblings, leaving Izuku and Bakugo immobilized, unable to try and fight him off. Watching as defeat was approaching second-by-second, Izuku was gritting his teeth and trying to fight through his injuries to the point of near animalistic frenzy; his mind screaming at a deafening level:

'Come on…think…think…think! What would All Might do?!' This was the only question Izuku could ask himself that made any sense in this moment. Everything he'd thought up so far had failed, so it was only natural that he needed to think like a whole other class of Hero in order to find a means of winning this.

But as he thought more and more of the former Symbol of Peace; a very distinct memory came back…one that even now, he didn't want to think of, but with each passing second, realized it had come to him for a reason: the very moment All Might had first passed One For All down to him, simply by having him consume a strand of his hair.

With that one simple action, a Quirk unlike any other had been fully inherited by him…but with the full roster of its abilities still locked away from him, and the powers that he was able to use proving inefficient…there was only one thing that came to Izuku's mind that carried even a single glimmer of the hope of victory in this most desperate moment.

Even with One For All on his side, Izuku alone wasn't enough…

"Kacchan…"

The sound of Izuku's voice directly calling to him, managed to quell Bakugo's furious fighting against his restraints. Looking up to see just what the hell he could've possibly had to say at the worst possible time; he was stricken by the look of devastated resignation on Izuku's face; his body having gone slack from giving up on fighting. "…there's only one way left that we can do this."

In the strangest way, Izuku sounded so defeated…and yet, at the same time, so confident. And knowing the way he would usually think in a situation anything like this; for him to have come to the conclusion that there was only one way left that they could still win when considering the absolute powerhouse of a Quirk that he had…it became all too clear to Bakugo just what he was thinking, and he couldn't hide the shock in his eyes at that realization to save his life.

Izuku could recognize that Bakugo had come to the same conclusion; and so felt no hesitation to finally try and reach out to him with his broken up left arm, urging him to try and reach out and take it in return. "My Quirk was passed on to me like a sacred torch…the power to transfer power…K-Kacchan…!"

Knowing now just what his old friend and new rival was willing to sacrifice in order for them to come out of this victorious; Bakugo could feel his chest tightening, his stomach twisting, as he tried to think of some other way where this wouldn't have to be the option…but even as he did, he and Izuku both could distinctly remember the words of All Might, all the way back during his fated battle against All For One in Kamino; those words still hitting them as hard now as they had then: "A Hero has much to protect…THAT'S WHY I WON'T LOSE!"

And even away from that, Bakugo could similarly remember their mutual icon of childhood encouraging them so adamantly before; a sentiment he had refused to accept then, but now could finally understand just what All Might had meant: "Win to save people, and save people to win. If you both recognize each other, and can focus on making each other stronger, then you can become the greatest Heroes."

Finally, the resistance and frustration on Bakugo's face softened, before changing into an intense look of acceptance of just what it was Izuku was truly doing for him. 'Dammit…it wasn't supposed to be like this, you damn nerd! I was supposed to get strong enough to surpass you and All Might, even after you'd made One For All entirely your own! How can I say I became the new Number One by my own efforts…if you had to give your Quirk up so we could live that long?!'

His stubborn sense of pride was still calling out against Izuku's selfless offer…but Bakugo's body was acting entirely on its own, as with that heavy acceptance in his heart, he finally began to reach out to Izuku's hand in return. With every second, every bit of physical strain he put towards trying to touch his extended fingers, he could still hear every inspiring word of wisdom that All Might had ultimately given him: "A Hero can always break out of a tough spot!"

They both knew just how right he had been then, but they just hadn't ever expected that an action of free-will sacrifice, of unexpected inheritance, would ultimately be that one way for the two Heroes to break out; their one way to protect others; their one way left to win.

As their muscles screamed and their spirits burned with every ounce of strain put towards trying to reach each other; at first only barely able to graze each other's finger tips; Izuku and Bakugo's eyes both burned with emotion and desire and sheer resilience against the odds, bringing both their blood to a boil, as they silently screamed to give this one simple action their all.

Reaching out beyond the physical limits of their mutual capture; feeling their bodies wear out and break from within so they could just close that one tiniest bit more of distance…their furthest reaching fingertips finally managed to land firmly upon each other's…and from there, the two finally pulled each other's hands in and grasped on with everything they had.

At last, contact had been made, the action of acceptance had been taken…and Izuku and Bakugo both could feel the same incredible surge of unlimited power surge through them both.

FWOOOOOOSH!

In a sudden blinding flash of the warmest light, Nine could suddenly feel his Hydras disintegrate from behind him, followed by an unexpected gale force wind blasting across the battlefield, before he swiftly blew it all away with a swing of the purple wings of flaming energy still emitting from his back.

Looking back to see just what one earth had happened; the Villain could feel a genuine shock course through him, as he could see the two young Heroes that were supposed to be dead, slowly getting back up onto their feet.

The burning heat of the flames around them meant nothing; the pure energy that was now coursing through Bakugo's veins as thoroughly as Izuku's, was unlike anything he'd ever thought was possible to experience. But instead of the overwhelming anticipation that receiving such a boost in raw power normally would've left him feeling…the only thing he could feel right now, was the grimmest sense of uncertainty, as he looked upon Izuku beside him. "Deku…if you do this, will you still be able to use it?"

There was no hiding the similar nervousness in Izuku's eyes…but despite that, there was no regret or hesitation to be heard. "I don't know…but All Might still protected us with the embers he had left after transferring it to me…and if that's to be what my purpose is right here…then so be it!"

Through the thickened haze of the smoke between them, Nine could suddenly start to make out the same crackling red glowing marks that had once been all over Izuku's body before..now upon both of them. Such a sight now had his shock turn into a near manic form of rage. "WHAT DID YOU TWO DO?!"

Finally turning around so they could face their enemy down for the last time; enacting their one last desperate plan of action; Izuku and Bakugo together declared with a conviction that nearly shook the earth and the air around them; striking a fear in the Villain's chest like he'd never felt before, as bright blue and orange sparks erupted from them both at once: "With two One For All's…WE'LL SAVE EVERYONE…AND WE'LL WIN!"

BM-BMM!

At that exact same moment, within the depths of the cavern on Nabu Island; Nikolay had suddenly felt his heart beat with a deeper resounding power than he'd ever felt before; a fiery sensation spreading from the pit of his chest that he couldn't begin to comprehend.

With his claustrophobia-borne panic, physical pain and self-frustration, along with the simultaneous sadness and fury of seeing all of his dearest friends get hurt before his eyes all peaking at once alongside this sensation in his body; Nikolay felt a sudden infinite surge of an indescribable power start rushing through every fiber of his being; for once not tormenting his wounds, but instead filling him with an assuring and guiding warmth that brought his entire mind, body and soul into one singular form of pure focus. His eyes honed in on the Villain before him, still ultimately trying to help all the other Villains from today to destroy him and everyone he cared so much about, even now.

With this being the one thing he could focus on, Nikolay didn't even realize how his hair had started to lift up from atop his head as though he were suddenly in a place of no gravity, while his entire body began to glow from within; emitting multiple blinding white sparks of pure energy from all over himself, several glowing white marks forming in disparate parts across his body.

But while he couldn't notice this; Slice herself certainly did, as this sudden change in the once pathetic-looking broken young Hero had stricken her motionless with confusion and shock, bringing her attempt to collapse the cavern to a close; the light itself managing to even break through Dark Shadow's blind rage and make it shrink down and withdraw, while Fumikage had to bring an arm over his eyes in order to avoid getting blinded by this overflowing release of an unknown energy.

As Nikolay and Slice's eyes met, he could feel this unbelievable energy surging through his body, all suddenly start to migrate its way into his throat, even pulling in all of the Kinetic power he still had in store throughout his physical being alongside it; culminating in one all-powerful focused center of pure Kinetic power ready to be released the moment he put his focus towards firing it at the Villain before him.

And upon seeing this overwhelming power reflected in the focus in Nikolay's illuminated green eyes in that one moment; Slice could feel a suffocating intimidation overtake her body for the first time she could ever recall, as she barely managed the words: "What…is this?!"

"PESNYA SOLOV'YAAAAAAAAAAAAAA (NIGHTINGALE'S SOOOOOOOOOOONG)!"

BWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM!

The deafening blast that emanated from Nikolay's mouth was nothing compared to the concentrated beam of pure Kinetic force that erupted alongside it; resonating at such an incredible frequency that it was able to shatter Slice's attacking lengthy locks of hair like ceramics, before they could reach any of her three young targets.

But even beyond that, it was enough to even shatter the rest of the Villain's hair atop her head, as she'd had no time to deactivate it once she saw what was coming; before the rest of her body was blasted right off its feet and straight through the cavern wall all the way to the other side; dragging up along the side of the mountain outside, easily tearing half the earthen mass apart in its wake, before Slice was ultimately sent flying high over its exploding summit into the horizon; as though the awesome Kinetic power continuing to shoot out of Nikolay's mouth had the force of a bullet train going at top speed.

Unfortunately, the sheer physical force of this uncontrollable attack had likewise been enough to blow Nikolay himself away; slamming him mercilessly into the opposite wall with enough force to leave a gargantuan crater, while the vibrations resonating through the air from the main attack itself in its final moments, quickly proved enough to finally finish what Slice had been trying to do.

With a deafening rumble from above; the entire roof of the whole cave finally start collapsing in on itself. The moment Fumikage realized this, as well as how far away Mina and Nikolay both were from his position, with not nearly enough time for him to personally go for them both, he did the only thing he could think to do; especially with the skies above having suddenly lost all of the storm clouds, thus allowing the sunlight to finally come pouring in and start weakening Dark Shadow that much more:

"DARK SHADOW, COVER BEZPALOV NOW!" At Fumikage's command, he and his Quirk quickly dashed in opposite directions as fast as they could go with all the weight of the free-falling stone bearing down on them. He proceeded to practically throw himself over Mina's unconscious and bleeding body, just as the debris all finally came slamming down; ultimately hitting him in the head hard enough to knock him completely out cold…

…subsequently causing Dark Shadow to dissipate with a protesting cry before it could reach out to Nikolay's laid out body mere feet ahead, as the rest of the cave slammed down on them both as well; leaving nothing but a pile of crushing stone in the middle of these woods, and three Heroes hopelessly trapped or crushed underneath.

"YOU TWO SHOULD ALREADY BE DEAD!" Nine's fury at seeing this sudden elevation in sheer power in his two opponents sounded less directly focused, and more purely genocidal in its madness, as the last frays of his patience snapped.

Throwing his body into another spin, the Villain became engulfed in another towering tornado of flames; propelling himself into the clouds above while the storm clouds began to bring down multiple regular tornados across Nabu Island as well as the rest of Mt. Shiroyama around them.

But even in the face of such apocalyptic devastation; Izuku and Bakugo continued to stand their ground.

Recognizing this show of a last resort, Bakugo grit his teeth; acknowledging Nine's final act of desperation while still unable to stop entirely thinking of just what their plan was going to spell for Izuku afterward: "So, this is the end for your dream too, huh?"

"It's fine. This is the only way. Besides, I'm sure All Might would say that it's fine if it's you. If it's you, who shared our secret, who admired the same person as me for all our lives, I know he would approve of this!"

Bakugo, no matter how regretful he felt for Izuku having had to do something like this, couldn't deny the truth behind those words. All Might wasn't the kind of Hero to lie. If it weren't Izuku, there was even a part of him that felt just as certain that the former Symbol of Peace would've likewise considered him worthy of inheriting the power of his Quirk.

But this wasn't the time for speculation, this was the time for action. As the sincerity of Izuku's faith in his strength resonated within his heart, Bakugo could likewise recall every instance from so many years back; all the time they'd spent together as mutual starry-eyed All Might fanboys; just how pumped he would always get every time he saw the Number One Hero in action on TV, how he would always want to fill his role whenever he and his other childhood friends would play together, and always for the same reason that continuously drove him through every challenge put before him, even now, as he echoed them for himself with all the conviction he did for All Might then:

"No matter what crisis is in front of him…the coolest Hero of all…IN THE END, HE ALWAYS WINS!"

As a explosion of pure power emanated from Bakugo's whole body as he screamed this declaration of intent; Izuku likewise called out with all his heart and soul with just as much explosive power of pure energy: "No matter the kind of trouble that other people are in…IN THE END, THE GREATEST HERO ALWAYS SAVES THEM WITH A SMILE ON HIS FACE!"

"DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH!" Nine screamed back in ravenous defiance; bringing his hands up to the sky even higher above his head; channeling forth an even more powerful tornado from the heavens to bring down upon them; one with the power to erase this entire duo of islands from the map. No matter what, he was going to put all the power he had into this spinning force of natural devastation, and see Izuku and Bakugo annihilated and reduced to nothing.

But even as the Villain brought the hellish cyclone descending toward them; easily dwarfing even the fiery tornado he had laid waste to them with so easily before; neither of the two young Heroes even flinched; instead channeling the incomparably power into their fists; reeling them back before swinging them both up to the sky in perfect unison; the sheer power of One For All burning bright in their hearts as they simultaneously shouted to the heavens:

"100%...DOUBLE…DETROIT…SMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!"

From where Izuku and Bakugo bravely stood together with their fists to the sky, blood even beginning to spurt out the veins lining their arms as they kept trying to channel as much of their shared power as they could physically handle; erupted a blinding pillar of dazzling light the likes of which couldn't be made by anything of mankind's hand or comprehension. It was like the light of pure unfiltered power in its purest form, driving high into the skies, colliding with the tornado head-on, and easily tearing through it; spreading its incredible light through the storm clouds.

And Nine could only watch in disbelief as his ultimate coup de grace was being so effortlessly blown away, before the entire thing erupted in an explosion of light that left the sky just above their heads as clear as they'd ever been; the single beam of sunlight shining upon them like Heroes chosen by divine providence itself.

Looking from this indescribable display of power down to the two Heroes still standing before him, their arms both discolored from the shattering of their bones in order to release that kind of force. As their eyes fell upon him, Nine's anger had now been replaced with pure awe. "What…what is that power?"

But even that awe couldn't hold a candle to the re-ignition of his anger, now that he truly understood just what kind of an obstacle he was now having to overcome; focusing all of his power in his body into every one of his Quirks he could brandish all at once; the purple cracks now spreading even further all over his body as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. "You…Heroic…little brats! DON'T GET IN MY WAY!"

In an instant, Nine launched himself up into the air with another cyclone erupting out from under his feet; the bolts of lightning once more erupting from all the skies around them. But even despite this; neither Izuku nor Bakugo backed down. Even as the latter suddenly hunched over from the flaring of pain from his busted arm, he refused to kneel; all the sign Izuku needed to finally get ready for the all-or-nothing moment that would decide this battle once and for all. "Let's go, Kacchan!"

Even with his arm feeling as though it were on fire, Bakugo's spirit was still burning as hot as ever, especially when hearing his ally speak in such a way when there was still so much more to be done. "Huh? Don't give me orders, dammit!"

BKOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

In a flash, both the young Heroes bolted in a blinding light after the Villain; to which Nine howled out like an animal driven into its final corner; putting his last vestiges of energy into everything his body could contain; a multitude of Hydras and lightning exploding from out his back and instantly swarming in towards his incoming enemies.

With no pause in any of his movements, Bakugo was like a force of nature as he immediately launched himself straight into the sky, just short of the cloud layer; instantly laying waste to every Hydra that got anywhere near him with a barrage of the most powerful Explosions he'd ever unleashed in his life; instantly reducing the entirety of the beasts into ashes.

At the same time, Izuku was dashing across the ground faster than the human eye could perceive; weaving and kicking his way through every Hydra slamming into the ground to either try and stop or kill him. Soon, he was at the point in the battlefield where he proceeded to kick himself up and across; foot extended and glowing like a shooting star as he flew through the air, ready to deliver a st. Louis Smash straight into Nine's face.

But seeing the incoming attack, he hurriedly channeled an overwhelming rush of wind around himself, enough to effectively ricochet Izuku away from him. But he was past the point of taking chances, as he immediately followe dup by firing a veritable lightning storm of Laser Bullets directly after him.

Seeing this, Izuku hurriedly proceeded to start ricocheting himself through the air, out of every Bullet's path and back to the ground with his best-aimed Air Force attacks; meeting the ground running/flying as he tried to weave his way through this relentless assault; Nine refusing to stop firing both handfuls of Laser Bullets over and over again, everywhere Izuku could think to go, keeping him on the evasive.

But that was when Bakugo took the opening and came flying in through a hell storm of Explosions; bolting straight at Nine before aiming his hands and unleashing one straight into his face; carving a gigantic crater across half the battlefield and over the ridge; sending the Villain flying back from the sheer force of it to the level below; while the original battlefield now resembled the face of the moon with all the smoking craters it had been reduced to; Bakugo crash landing into the deepest one he'd just left.

But with Bakugo momentarily incapacitated, Izuku was once more there to keep up the assault; the energy sparking from the soles of his feet actually keeping him off the ground, ready to come charging forward with everything he could possibly conjure up that was left.

And without even wasting a moment once he'd landed in his own crater, Bakugo was likewise on the move again; not even bothering with wasting time getting airborne; but instead simply clasping his busted hand to the wall of the crater, and channeling all his skyrocketing Explosive power directly into it; instantly producing a white hot heat within the very stone that had it turning molten around his hand, while Bakugo was stubbornly dragging his feet across the floor, like he was trying to brute force his way out the other side while channeling Explosion after Explosion's worth of heat into the wall foolish enough to stand in his way.

Until finally, he could feel the Explosions hew as truly building himself up to within finally reach the point he needed it to, and proceeded to send that firing straight in.

BKOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The Explosion that erupted out the towering wall composing this entire ledge was like that of a full-on nuclear bomb; as the entire structure was reduced to ashes in a wall of pure fire; with one prominent chunk burning white hot as it flew like a bullet through the air, straight to where Nine had already landed. And the moment he saw what was coming, he stamped one foot down in further defiance and threw his hand forward, producing a gigantic Air Wall that spanned the entire width of the island; resonating with a deafening blast as the wall collided straight into it, breaking down and dissolving to the molecular level in seconds from the sheer impact of the unstoppable force behind it, and the immovable object before it.

The concussive power of this last Explosion had been enough to even send Bakugo flying back; momentarily dazed and winded from the sheer power he'd just released at point-blank range from himself. But this was when Izuku finally began his own charge; flying down and across the ground towards Nine in a blinding beam of light left behind him; soon kicking himself up off the ground and using this insane momentum to throw his body into a corkscrew motion; the light of his 100% soon leaving him looking like a high-speed ball of pure electricity bolting out everywhere around it as it flew towards the lone Villain, before ultimately colliding into the very same insurmountable Air Wall.

But this time, as Izuku drove all the force behind him into Nine's defenses; his body ultimately ended up ricocheting right off of it in another blinding flash of energy; slamming right back into another potion of the mountain behind him; while that same energy channeled through him ended up annihilating the ground beneath Nine's feet; sending him likewise flying amid the sky-bound debris. Even as he tried to use the energy flames from his back to try and regain his bearings and redirect himself, he ended up even getting slammed into by an incoming boulder still brimming with the residual energy of Izuku's attack; shocking the Villain all throughout his body upon impact.

But in the end, his adamant refusal to accept defeat, ultimately drove Nine to once more channel the winds to prop him back up, ready to take anything else the two Heroes could possibly throw at him next.

Likewise knowing that he wasn't defeated yet, but neither were they; Izuku and Bakugo came dashing across the nearest stone protrusion from the ledge that Bakugo's last Explosion had left in its wake; springing themselves off of it in an airborne diving attack towards Nine; both their bodies erupting in twin shooting star trails of One For All's power, as they both proceeded to channel all the power they had left into every inch of their bodies for the deciding moment.

And as Izuku did this; feeling deep within just how much determination Bakugo was putting into his own charging up of his newly inherited power; he could feel an actual sense of honest acceptance overcome him as he put his heart into readying his own attack, knowing what would come in the end. 'This is…the last ember…that I'll produce. The last…Smash!'

But even as Bakugo's hands began to flare up with fiery energy as he aimed them forward, and Izuku reeled his glowing foot back in preparation for the release of his last vestiges of One For All; Nine refused to fold; nearly his entire body now encapsulated by the purple cracks as he pushed all his energy past its boundary.

This came in the form of the tornado keeping him airborne suddenly explodind all around him into a pitch black cyclone of overwhelming unnatural force; the sheer power of its winds actually managing to meet their charge with equal power; bringing their momentum to a halt while still keeping them suspended in the air; fighting with everything they had to expend to try and brute force their way through it.

As his original Quirk ran rampant all around them; slowly but surely eating away at his body with every passing second; Nine was far beyond a man possessed by obsession, as he watched with a murderous glee as his two opponents' once-unstoppable approach had been stopped, and they were now burning through what was left of their power; simply prolonging the inevitable end result, wherein his tornado and the lightning now starting to surge all around it would finally destroy them both; reducing them to nothing more than dust in the uncaring winds of change.

But as his now pale white eyes stared into the fires burning within Izuku and Bakugo's eyes together as they continued trying to fight against the ever-strengthening wind and lightning rampaging all around them in the most crucial moment when One For All was at its strongest within them both; Nine failed to hear the pronounced sound of a deafening shockwave tearing through the air to his left from just below; coming from the heart of Nabu Island…

BWWWWWWWWVVVVVVMMMMMMMMMMMM!

…until that very same concentrated beam of overwhelming Kinetic force came plowing and drilling straight into the side of the tornado; fighting its way through the singular powerful air current and ultimately piercing through to the other side like a spear through the otherwise impenetrable hide of the fiercest dragon; causing the entire force of nature to subsequently tear apart and disperse from all around them in another explosion of physical force that easily echoed that of Izuku and Bakugo mere moments ago.

And that one momentary outside interference in Nine's ultimate last defense, had ended up catching him off guard enough for Izuku and Bakugo to finally follow through on their long delayed finishing blow; as all of their One For All-aided momentum had never dulled behind them the entire time they'd been immobilized; instead allowing them to finally propel the rest of the way forward like nothing had happened; both their feet driving hard into the Villain's face from both sides; unleashing their true finishing attacks all at once:

"100% ST. LOUIS EXPLOSION!"

With the godlike physical force of Izuku's kick combined with Bakugo unleashing a cataclysm of an Explosion from his readied hands; Nine was utterly obliterated in the ensuing blinding flash of Explosive physical power that nearly engulfed the entirety of the air between Nabu Island and Mt. Shiroyama.

But even for as incredible as it was; even such a display of power couldn't last forever; for as the beams of sunlight soon began to finally break through the cloud coverage; the Explosion had been reduced to nothing but smoke. And amid all of the airborne debris that was now finally coming back down to the ground and sea below; Izuku and Bakugo's bodies had both finally dimmed from their brilliant glows, no longer sparking, at last entirely physically spent, as Bakugo had finally passed out completely from the strain and physical damage wrought to his body.

And as Izuku likewise felt his last shreds of consciousness fade away as gravity took him; all his own physical pain having culminated into such an overwhelming mass that his whole body felt completely numb as a result; he had the faintest bittersweet smile of true acceptance on his bruised and bloodied face, as he could just see the vision of a quickly shrinking flame burning in his field of vision, before ultimately burning out into nothing.

'That attack just now…that allowed us to finally break through…Kolya-san…that was you, activating within him to help us…wasn't it? For me to pass on the core of this Quirk…and ultimately be saved by even the faintest ember of it…I can accept this, wholeheartedly. Kacchan, I know All Might…all the previous Wielders' Quirks…are in good hands with you. Goodbye…One For All.'

Alright everyone, I hope you all really enjoyed this chapter. I'll see you all with the final chapter of this arc/adaptation of the second movie on 05/27! Please let me know your thoughts on this chapter.