Well... Well... Well... Look what the hound brought in... Chapter 7 is here! Some of you probably noticed that I changed the rating right? Well... It's because it will become very brutal when fights will include Izuku... And because... Some boys in Warhammer 40k are not particularily beautiful...
Before we start: The reviews!
Ashborn Stellaris: Indeed! And Attack of the Dead Men is my favorite music XD, I might use references when the Death Guard will pop-up hehehe...
Colossus Bridger: Well... You will see in Chapter 8 the path he had chosen and some repercussions about others behavior... Glad you liked the Salamander appearance!
Some will be traumatized, that's sure, some of them saw death up close, and after this chapter... Well... The state of some of their classmates and teachers will probably horrify them, plus, press will also speak about what happened, so... Trauma will be present.
Well... Can't respond to that without spoiling some big changes that will occur!
Totally will. But... You will see in the chapter why it won't be easy... Not only because of his quirk.
Indeed, Tomura was dropped. But I got other plans for the LOV. And finally... Well... You will see.
581: Indeed, I know, it should have been asked... But I instead went on a more... usual human reaction (explained in the chapter below, first part.)
edeath756: :)
deezjagz: Thank you!
Kill king: Yep... The portal indeed opened on something AWFUL...
S1m0nWr13: :)
lucariotnn01: In Nezu's defense, he didn't knew there was such awful things in the universe... And I am sorry that it felt forced...
Animes Doramas Y Mas: I never heard that expression? What does it mean?
Chronolocked: Nope, it's worse... Even if my favorite Space Marines are the Legion of the Damned, they will not appear here. They appear only when defeat is inevitable.
rollynolly: Probably in a future ;)
powerhendler: Option 2?
Vorhard156: Well... He can only summon units of factions... He doesn't hold the power of the gods. Only the forms he can take. And I mentionned that he can't take the form of named characters (like for example Marneus Calgar, Angron, and the rest). The gods in Warhammer 40k beeing named characters, he won't and can't take their form (and thus, their powers.)
camdawg: Nope! Skavens are from Warhammer Battle, not Warhammer 40k, even if the beastmens are present in Warhammer 40k (introduced thanks to Kill Team last year, won't go further in the subject.), Skaven isn't present. Thus they will not appear in the story.
Guest: Well... Like I said to Chronolocked, they won't appear soon.
There will be notes at the end of the Chapter! Enjoy the chapter!
"Once... I was asked... 'Why didn't you warn the teachers and the senior staff of the school? That way you could have prevented the deaths of villains and what happened there...', honestly... I don't know. I remember feeling nothing when Nezu told me I was expelled from the school... But I didn't say anything. I think he was stupid. Maybe for the first time in his life. He didn't ask anything. Maybe he was scared? He was probably facing a situation he hadn't taken into account... You all know them, you've all had a friend like that... Intelligent, capable of predicting everything, then, suddenly, there's this situation. An unforeseen mathematical operation in a test. Your friend falls into a hole, and so on. Haven't you ever noticed that these people are helpless? In front of you? Unable to move, saying 'that wasn't planned!', I think that's what happened to Nezu. He panicked only without showing it. And if that's the case... The inquisitor's abilities couldn't pierce his mental veil. Then... I hid things about my quirk from people, mainly Chaos and their demons... The plan of the USJ went as planned...
But...
Their arrival...
As well as the arrival of these troops, was not foreseen... I lost control for a moment... And that's what happened...
You know the story after..."
/
Chapter 7 : Battle of the USJ
/
It all began with the buzzing of flies...
The buzzing of billions of flies, emerging from the portal in the central square... Fat, greasy flies dripping with vile liquid that melted the ground where they touched...
Then... came the growls.
The villains lying dead on the ground convulsed, their flesh necrotizing at an accelerated rate, before being pierced by horns, notably around the head and shoulders. Tentacles replaced limbs, while bellies exploded, projecting pus and filth in all directions...
Then...
They rose... Faces with pale eyes and blissful smiles turned in unison towards everything living around them... Unconscious villains near the walking corpses quickly underwent the same transformation... Once numerous enough, as if ordered by a powerful unseen force, they retreated, positioning themselves in front of the portal... Leaving only three villain corpses, six unconscious villains, and thank the Emperor... Aizawa, still broken and sunk into the ground...
Then...
A laugh filled the dome...
A gurgling laugh, but also dry and choppy, as if the person had a dry throat... Then they emerged...
The portal that spat out the misshapen figure seemed to twist with disgust at the sight, as if it feared contagion from his presence.
A Cataphractii armor that would have once been noble, pure white, with some hints of green here and there, but now was nothing but a corrupted shell, adorned with blasphemous runes and cursed symbols. The metallic surface was corroded by disease, oozing with pus and pestilential fluids, emitting a nauseating odor that tainted the very air around him. Strips of rotting flesh and decomposed skin mingled with armor plates, a grotesque fusion of technology and organic decay, while a red cape, eaten by worms, floated behind him, revealing the massive energy pack of the armor coughing and groaning as it emitted highly toxic green smoke...
A round helmet, equipped with a respirator whose pipes pulsed with a mixture of pus and blood filled with bacteria, and three blood-red optics glowing with an unhealthy gleam arranged in a triangle, turned from right to left, fixing the spot where it had emerged.
His armament was an extension of his depravity, a huge scythe imbued with curse and despair. Unholy runes were etched along its blade, splattered with dried blood and morbid fluids.
And other figures followed him...
They resembled Space Marines, but their armor was green, oozing with filth, and for the majority, pierced with grotesque mutations to behold...
Izuku shuddered in horror...
This...
This wasn't supposed to happen! What had happened?
Why THEM?
The ground around them began to metamorphose, viscous slime appearing along with pools of acid and filth, while living things like trees began to curl in on themselves, decaying at an accelerated rate and quickly becoming specters of their glorious green past. The air began to stink, filled with the atrocious smell of putrefied flesh, the scent of rot and countless diseases.
The lord of chaos 'inhaled' the now corrupted air before fixing his gaze on the top of the steps... The last Space Marines, those who had come out of the zones at least... Had joined the group of pro-heroes, who, though initially hostile and wary of the Angels of Death, let them pass when they understood the intentions of the transhumans as they saw them carrying or escorting students... Now, the Space Marines stood alongside the pro-heroes, glaring at their corrupted brethren, but drawing suspicious and hostile looks from the pros themselves. The Lord of Contagion spoke.
"My name is Choleras Slimesore, Lord of Contagion of the Emissaries and servant of the God of Plague! I invite you to this poisoned ballet, accept His blessings, and experience rebirth and immortality!"
Izuku caught a fleeting glimpse of the smoke villain grabbing the villain with hands and fleeing through a portal... But the villains were no longer a problem. He stood up, reverting to his normal appearance as he tried to deactivate his quirk... But a powerful headache made him fall to the ground, eliciting a cry of pain...
A thousand voices began to speak in his head, accompanied by the buzzing of billions of plague flies... He tried to push them back, to regain control over his spiraling quirk...
He failed. The pressure became too much...
The demons of the God of Plague pulling him down, towards unconsciousness, to better break his defenses and use him like a puppet... And suddenly... He fell like a rock, a black veil drawing over his eyes.
/
Shoto wasn't going to lie...
It was messed up.
He stood on a small cliff, back to back with one of those mysterious heavily augmented supersoldiers in black armor. Around the rock, the other four members of the squad stood a bit lower, guns blazing with the hell they were unleashing on the villains who had risen as zombies. A shot from the man behind him hurt his ears, but he didn't let that distract him. An ice spear formed in his hand, and with a swift motion, he stabbed it into the abdomen of one of the zombies.
Completely ignoring the ice piercing his skin, the zombie continued to approach, but Shoto made a sudden move that toppled the undead, the spear stuck in the ground, the horned zombie flailing as it tried in vain to free itself. Shoto immediately followed up by creating another spear and decapitating another zombie that tried to approach.
The shots from the men's weapons deafened him with each blast, but he could see that the shots were tearing the undead to shreds, he coughed. That cough again... His lungs burned from coughing, something toxic had entered him through the air, and his body fought against these intruders while facing the zombies. Suddenly a booming, cold voice rang out behind him, amidst the noise of the fighting and the flies buzzing around them, seeking an opportunity to land on them with their dirty, greasy legs.
"Are you holding up, kid?", asked one of the soldiers
Shoto replied through gritted teeth.
"I've had better days."
The man in black armor fired again, before replying.
"Good, we don't need to drag dead weight then", then he yelled, his voice easily dominating the gunfire from the other four rifles.
"Norail Squad! Move out! We're getting out of here to the right, Brother Uccello, Brother Bethun, cover our backs!"
"YES, BROTHER-SERGEANT!" two of the men responded. They stepped in front of Shoto, one of them crushing the zombie still anchored to the ground before switching their rifles to automatic mode, if the previous shots were single shots, the burst almost blew out Shoto's already damaged eardrums, and he saw the hail of bullets mow down the front rows of the undead. Then the sergeant yelled again.
"MOVE OUT!"
Instantly, the other two disengaged and began to retreat to the right, zombies trying to follow them were blocked by a wall of ice that Shoto erected, before coughing again, spitting phlegm on the ground. This action seemed to catch the sergeant's attention, who looked at him inquisitively, Shoto returned his gaze before moving. He passed the sergeant and joined the two soldiers in front, and he heard the steps of the sergeant and the other two soldiers, who continued to shoot into the fray, following suit.
/
Ochako was terrified...
She coughed again, spitting phlegm and blood that splattered the bottom of her helmet visor, completely soaking her costume, which absorbed everything... She staggered back, dodging a blow from one of the horned zombies...
She retaliated, sending a weak punch to the thing's face. The zombie's flesh burst with disgusting ease, blood mixed with pus splashing her visor... The zombie staggered backward and stumbled over a purple blob that had just landed behind its feet...
"Thank you... Mineta..." she articulated, her strength fading fast...
But thanking him was useless... The class pervert was in full hysteria, despair having totally consumed him. He was tearing at his hair, well beyond his limit, his scalp was red with blood, and he screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice so hoarse from the strain that he could hardly be heard, he threw his sticky balls everywhere at the zombies, making them stumble and fall, keeping his position...
Ochako weakly turned her head, almost tipping forward as she did... Tsuyu? Tsuyu was nowhere to be seen...
Then Ochako remembered... Oh yes... The frog girl had been the first to be struck by despair and had fled as fast as possible... Who knows where she is now? Ochako should have done the same...
She collapsed to her knees, she... had... almost... no... strength... left...
The brunette coughed up blood. She was being consumed... She heard a chuckle... Then a scream... She raised her head, one of those parodies of the grey soldiers... Laughing... He towered over Mineta's form, which was nothing but a grotesque pile of meat eaten by worms after being struck by blows from a massive knife oozing with filth, held precisely by the soldier in green...
Looking at him made her cough again...
This time, pus and pieces of something joined the blood, and Ochako collapsed to the side, her eyes glazed with a terrible fever... The transhuman stared at her with his red optics... Then there was a deafening gunshot, and the vile supersoldier took the shot right in the chest... He turned his head, from black torrents emerged two gray giants, one of them brandishing a pistol with a still-smoking barrel, black water dripping from their armor, which had turned into a repugnant gray-brown color. The dirty water had rusted their armor it seemed...
She crawled backward as best she could, using her last bit of strength, to avoid being caught in the ensuing fight... And for a fight, it started pretty darn quickly, the supersoldier charged, pistol raised, combat knife drawn. The despicable soldier in green raised his rusty knife to meet the blade, and the two weapons clashed forcefully, creating sparks. The gray transhuman fired his pistol into his opponent's belly...
Once...
Twice...
Three times...
The sickly green armor shattered, and the rotten flesh underneath tore apart, but instead of blood, a kind of small creature jumped out of the stomach hole with a squeal, clinging to the gray soldier's armor, before climbing up and standing in front of the helmet to make faces. The green soldier took advantage of it, grabbing the hand holding the knife with his free hand, pushing it aside, freeing his blade which went to stuck itself in the jugular of the void shark. Blood spurted from the putrid gash in the neck, and the gray giant collapsed, the small thing squealing victory. However, the corrupt soldier's victory was short-lived as several shots hit his helmet, piercing it, lodging in his head before detonating. The body collapsed, and the second man planted itself firmly on its legs, shooting at the approaching zombies... Ochako felt something viscous wrap around her arm before she was pulled... She vaguely heard Tsuyu's voice over a fit of coughing and gunfire...
"I'm sorry, Ochako kero... I abandoned you kero... Like a coward kero..."
/
"We have evacuated the last teenagers and wounded, Brother-Sergeant," signaled Brother Enla'il.
"Understood Brother. Join us with Brother Izma'var," ordered Sergeant Vosotho'il, as his finger pressed the trigger once again, pulverizing a staggering Poxwalker approaching him. To his right, a man wearing a gas mask, a wide hat, and a red cape disposed of another undead with two shots to the head.
"Not bad for a mortal," complimented the Salamander, and the man replied after a fit of coughing.
"Thanks, buddy. What are these things?" His pistols fired again, and another Poxwalker fell. Vosotho'il answered with a cold, contemptuous voice.
"Poxwalkers, corpses afflicted by a terrible disease. I'm surprised that you, your colleagues, and the teenagers haven't succumbed already. The presence of the Emissaries alone should have been enough to infect and kill you."
The cowboy shrugged, brushing away bloated flies hovering in front of his face.
"Maybe we're more resilient?"
Maybe not entirely. The plug at the end of the gas mask opened, and the man spat bile and phlegm before straightening up, his breathing wheezing...
But the fact that they weren't already dead proved his point. As he looked around, only a few were on the ground, vomiting incessantly - a woman with blue hair in a costume much too tight for normal mortal standards, and some sort of dog-man, probably sniffing more than the rest.
The sergeant opened fire again. Two bolts, two dead. The cowboy brought down another with a precise shot despite his nausea.
"You don't seem horrified by what's happening before your eyes," remarked Vosotho'il.
"You can call me Snipe, you know? And well... appearances can be deceiving, I'm horrified. But I don't show it; we're not allowed to falter in front of the students, or anyone, in any situation. Otherwise, what would the world be like if heroes ran away at the slightest threat?" Snipe asked. Vosotho'il pondered on that for a moment while sending another bolt into the putrid mass. A world of heroes?
Then suddenly, an orange shape passed by him as the Fire Lords stepped forward from the line. They aimed their flamethrowers at the horde and unleashed a fiery inferno. The Poxwalkers were immolated, but some charged through the flames towards the Space Marines.
As if by magic, formed from some kind of gelatin, clones draped in sand-yellow cloaks appeared in front of the undead, distracting them enough for the Fire Lords to incinerate them. The five Space Marines in yellow and orange livery then fell back.
This brief respite allowed the... psykers? He had noticed that many of them possessed extraordinary abilities, and for some, their physiology was different. In fact, it was more of a mix between abhumans and psykers, and these people seemed unaffected by the Warp threats. But well, this wasn't the time to dwell on that.
They fell back a little further... Before the Fire Lords intervened, the undead had started to dangerously close in... They retreated about twenty meters.
Vosotho'il quickly reported the situation to his brothers... They were running low on ammunition... And Brother Izma'var was almost out of fuel for his flamethrower...
The situation was dire...
They took their positions again just as heavy footsteps echoed on the steps...
Emerging from the flames, seven silhouettes stood before them, Vosotho'il shouted as soon as he saw them.
"PLAGUE MARINES!"
A volley of corrupted bolts flew towards them as the corrupted marines began to chant war cries and sing praises to their cursed god with their guttural, hoarse, and gurgling voices.
A concrete wall was created at the last moment, and the defenders took cover. However, it didn't prevent several casualties...
Brother Jora'som was struck by several shots, three in the chest, two in the left arm, and one in the head. Two bolts pierced his chest, obliterating one of his two hearts and one lung while the third bounced off the breastplate, his helmet deflected the corrupted bolt that hit his energy pack without damage, and the two bolts that hit his arm penetrated the armor, tearing off the limb... However, that wasn't what killed him... His armor began to rust, and his exposed flesh necrotized... He tried to retaliate with his only valid hand, gripping his bolter pistol at his belt and raising it... However, he collapsed, his armor crumbling, and his flesh devoured by maggots before he could pull the trigger...
Two Fire Lords collapsed after taking a high volume of fire, the first with an obliterated torso, the second after losing his head.
One of the Raven Guard was too slow to evade the hail of projectiles due to a problem with his jump pack, and a shot struck the jump pack head-on, igniting the fuel and causing the son of Corax to detonate in a ball of flames...
The psykers also lost someone.
The man who could create clones was too slow and was mowed down by a bolt that tore him in two.
Vosotho'il stood up a bit and fired at one of them, the corrupted marine took the first two bolts without flinching, but took a step back when a bolt lodged into one of the optics of his helmet. He growled and aimed his rusted, grime-dripping bolter towards him before returning fire, the Salamander ducked as a bolt bounced off his helmet... He saw Snipe next to him bend over again and vomit through the hole in his gas mask, when he tried to get up, trembling, Vosotho'il stopped him.
"Targets are too heavily armored," he indicated in a dry voice, clearly signaling not to attempt it.
Snipe looked at him for a long moment before nodding...
A little further away, Brother Enla'il stood up and fired, Vosotho'il did the same, and the two Salamanders focused on a single target. A corrupted marine stumbled, a dozen bolts hitting him successively, he stepped back two paces, his armor broken in several places, and glared at them with hatred with a bloodshot yellow eye amidst the smoking ruin that had become the right side of his helmet after a shot struck him. And despite all his warnings, he saw Snipe get up, point his two pistols, and fire before taking cover again, his two shots piercing the swollen brain of the marine, who collapsed like a stone.
The Salamander sergeant crouched down and changed his magazine... He only had that one and another left...
"Too armored, huh?" teased Snipe. Behind his helmet, Vosotho'il gave a small smile... He liked the man...
/
"I must admit, your world impresses me..." said a voice that filled Izuku with revulsion and disgust beyond description.
He opened his eyes, feeling the ground beneath him sway. The world around him possessed an odor he couldn't quite describe. It was as though he had been placed in a room filled with tons of garbage, rotting meat and fish, dozens of unwashed people, and his baby diapers from the first time he ate solid food. And yet, even mixed together, none of those smells equaled what assaulted his nostrils at that moment.
He didn't even know how he could smell what was in his mind. Because what he faced...
There was no way that THING could exist in the real world. Its form was a grotesque symphony of decay and putrefaction, a nightmarish vision that tormented even the hardiest of souls. Its silhouette was a distortion of flesh and bone, a swollen, tumorous mass reminiscent of disease. Its skin, if it could be called that, was a cluster of putrid pustules and open wounds oozing a greenish, viscous liquid, filling the air with a pestilential odor that seized the throat and soiled the senses.
Its limbs were twisted and deformed, dripping with unhealthy substances, bearing hideous scars of unspeakable diseases. Parasites writhed in the crevices of its corrupted flesh, winding their way through gangrenous veins and rotting organs. Its face was a grotesque parody of divinity, warped by chaos and decomposition. Its eyes, two glassy, yellowish orbs, gazed upon the world with a morbid gleam, exuding an aura of despair and desolation. Two large horns, upon which hung hundreds of rusted bells tolling the death knell of life with each chime, pointed towards the sky tainted with contaminated, radioactive green...
Around it, an aura of agony and despair spread, corrupting everything it touched. The souls of mortals were drawn to it, sucked into the putrid maelstrom of its presence, condemned to wander eternally in the abyss of decrepitude.
Izuku knew him... After all, what was the point of all the knowledge in his head about the world if he didn't know the basics? Nurgle... God of Plague, of entropy, and despair...
And Izuku knew exactly where he was.
A movement of its great, twisted staff created a wave that nearly capsized the small raft of filth on which Izuku stood in the abominable mixture that the Plague God brewed in his gargantuan cauldron. He was in the middle of that cauldron, tiny compared to the bloated and gargantuan mass of the god.
"It is so... Impure... So... Devoid of my blessings... If you only knew how it saddens me..." Izuku shuddered, then replied.
"What do you seek... Do you plan to use me for your schemes, to corrupt a world that never asked for you... You said you left your armies under my command, that you served me..."
The Plague God chuckled, but for Izuku, it was like an earthquake... A powerful, unsettling laughter that created ripples in the cursed cauldron a thousand times over.
"I did say that indeed... But to that I say... Do you think the most powerful entities in your mind, intelligent and manipulative as they are, would allow themselves to be tamed by you? You may have created us, me and my three brothers, but can you make us disappear without upsetting the balance?"
Izuku bit his lip... He knew that the god was right... He knew it all too well... His knowledge was probably as deep as his... If not greater...
Another movement of the staff, and the waves stirred.
"You know I'm right... I see it in your expression, in your behavior..."
It smiled, revealing its long, yellow, rotten teeth.
"I said your world impresses me... Your people seem more resistant to my gifts than those in the Imperium of Man or other races, here, in your mind. They resist. They fight back. They push. They win."
It was Izuku's turn to smile as the Plague God saw his own disappear with each word...
"Because they cannot fail, they have a duty, they must resist to allow others to live, they do not succumb to despair, they do not submit to disease, and their bodies react accordingly... Why do you think some brave Imperial Guardsmen, the Angels of Death, and many others resist your afflictions longer? Because they have hope, a cause to continue..."
However, to Izuku's surprise, the Plague God smiled...
Izuku felt psychic filaments plunge into his skull, collapsing to his knees on his raft of filth, screaming soul-shakingly as the Plague God crushed his defenses to take control...
"We could test this theory further, don't you think?"
Then, suddenly, it withdrew... Izuku remained kneeling for a few moments, overwhelmed by intense discomfort, but rose just as the Plague God let out a long sigh that felt like a hurricane...
"However... That will have to wait..."
Izuku looked up, curious about the reason behind this statement... But also wary of the implication... The Plague God gazed at the sky with a bored expression...
"Tzeentch is someone who can easily frustrate someone as joyful as me... However, he has always seen through his immense and complex webs and hourglasses of time..."
The eyes of the master of diseases returned to Izuku, a gleam of joy and mischief shining within the two yellow, diseased orbs...
"My brother has seen something that will happen in the future... Clever as he is, he did not reveal it... But we all know it's something important and grand... And until then... We will hold our legions back..."
Izuku eyed the Plague God with his single valid eye...
He dreaded what was to come... Before him, the father of a thousand plagues that consumed planets and beings upon them, chuckled with morbid excitement...
"I think, like you, that this meeting has lasted long enough... But before you leave... I beg you to accept my humblest gift..."
It gestured with its hand, and Izuku gritted his teeth to refrain from shouting his entire vocabulary in the face of the gleefully smiling god as he felt something grow on his ribs...
Then... He felt sucked in, and before everything was swallowed, he heard...
"We shall meet again one day... Izuku Midoriya..."
Then he woke up on his vantage point... He still felt something on his flank... Something repulsive. That could wait.
Below, he could still hear gunfire, and as he stood up... He could see the extent of the battle...
The top of the stairs had become the scene of a desperate defense... He could see Astartes and the school staff trying to repel the Death Guard legionnaires desperately even from this distance...
The flood area had become completely silent, the waters had turned black, and the trees around them were stunted and dead... He was seized with a strong anxiety... Ochako, Tsuyu, and Mineta had been left by All Might down there...
The mountainous area... Was empty. But the terrain had become a nightmarish hell of corruption.
The landslide area... He could still hear gunfire.
The conflagration area... Was empty too.
The rain area... He could still hear gunfire, probably caused by clashes between the remaining Raven Guard members and the Chaos troops.
And the ruins area... There was no doubt that the Black Templars had not come out to assist, too busy purging heretics and mutants... He could still hear their praises and chants to the Emperor of the Imperium, punctuated by bolter shots and the roar of chainswords...
It was time for the staff and the Astartes to stop fighting... He tried to push back the legions of the Death Guard...
To no avail.
He felt a shiver of horror when he realized that the psychic presence of the Lord of Contagion prevented him from moving his alter in one direction...
His composure regained.
He was blocked in one direction. But not in the other.
It was time to assist the defenders...
Ignoring the discomfort created by the thing that had formed on his right flank, he let his power flow through his veins...
/
The hastily created concrete wall shattered as the one who introduced himself as Choleras Slimesore collided with it head-on, his armor easily withstanding the impact...
Power Loader looked at him in horror... Now that he could see him up close, he could only describe this... thing... as monstrous and repulsive. The soldier with the dorsal reactor charged at him, his two gauntlets equipped with claws crackling with energy ready to strike his chest. The man raised his scythe, blocking the blow, before raising his hand and grabbing the soldier by the neck, throwing him to the ground, and crushing his chest with a blow from the boot of his armor.
However... A pillar of concrete emerged from the ground and crashed into the horror's helmet... He staggered, but recovered far too quickly for someone wearing so much armor. Power Loader decided to attack despite the apparent mortal danger of the man... He charged, struggling against the growing nausea and the urge to vomit given by the man's aura. He delivered two blows, one to the shin that broke the armor and another that shattered the armor at the abdomen, sinking into the monster's abdomen with horrifying ease, sending a spurt of pus splattering his helmet.
Power Loader almost vomited because of the stench emanating from the wound. However, instead of a cry of pain, he felt his gauntlet being grabbed and removed from the wound as laughter echoed... To his great astonishment, his gauntlet had almost melted...
"Fool... Attacking the sons of Mortarion and servants of the Plague God was your fatal mistake..."
There was a roar of a dorsal reactor, and a stentorian voice rang out.
"That's where you're wrong, servant of the Dark Gods."
/
"Here's where you're wrong, servant of the Dark Gods."
Izuku said before his power fist slammed into the chest of the Lord of Contagion, forcing him to release his grip on Power Loader and step back several steps in his corrupted Cataphractii armor. The greenette struck the ground like lightning, propelling himself backward... His jump pack ceased roaring its fury as he rose to his feet... His gleaming blue and gold armor starkly contrasted with the sickly green of the enemy lord's corrupted armor. The red optics of his helmet adorned with a silver skull locked onto those of his fuming adversary...
"Damned son of Ultramar... You dare defy me? Me, the destroyer of countless worlds? Bearer of the foulest gifts of the Plague God..."
"My name is Opiter Optatus, Captain of the 1st company of the Ultramarines, remember that name, son of the eternally damned fourteenth legion... And with me, I bring His justice..."
Two squads of Vanguard veterans landed with a roar of their jump packs the moment he said that, descending upon the Plague Marines and Poxwalkers like a storm, decimating their ranks caught off guard by the sudden attack. From the corner of his eye, he saw one of the veterans from the 1st glorious company of the Ultramarines land in front of the pro-hero Snipe and a Salamander, attacking two Plague Marines and two Poxwalkers simultaneously. The son of Guilliman dispatched the two zombies with a swing of his power sword before crouching, the bolts fired by the Plague Marines narrowly missing him before hitting each other, causing both to pause momentarily. The veteran seized the opportunity. Sweeping the legs of the first, who fell like a rock onto his back, he drew his bolt pistol from its holster on his belt and fired a bolt that pierced an ocular and lodged into the brain of the second corrupted marine, killing him instantly, before decapitating the one on the ground. And scenes like this were unfolding everywhere along the lines of Nurgle's servants. His eyes never leaving his opponent for a moment, he ordered Power Loader.
"Fall back, and get your colleagues out of there. The other chapters will assist you now that we can hold them back. Chapter serfs await you outside for any injuries you may have.", then he activated his vox and switched to a line where all could hear him, "The sons of Macragge are here to relieve you, fall back, Apothecaries await you outside." He pressed a button on the side of his helmet, cutting the communication. He had deliberately concealed his true name to avoid any future problems...
"Pretentious servant of the false Emperor... Do you think yourself strong enough to defeat me?" growled the Lord Of Contagion as he gripped his scythe with both hands...
Izuku replied dryly, pointing a finger from his power fist at his opponent.
"The Emperor protects His sons, your foul god has abandoned you, heretic. Taste the steel and the rage of Mankind."
Izuku attacked, preparing to strike his opponent's face with his fist crackling with energy. The blade of the scythe met the power fist in an explosion of sparks. The power fist, vibrating with power, was diverted from its initial trajectory and struck the right shoulder pad of the Death Guard lord with force. The Lord of Contagion stepped back, growling, glaring fiercely at Izuku... The two champions then assessed each other for a brief moment, their minds determined to stop at nothing to achieve victory. Around them, the tumult of battle seemed to fade, giving way to a duel of almost palpable intensity.
Izuku, taking advantage of his speed and agility, launched himself once again with deadly grace. His dorsal reactor roared, propelling the blue warrior towards his opponent with impressive velocity. The bolt pistol he held in his other hand spat out a volley of projectiles that streaked through the air, seeking to breach the defenses of the Seigneur of the Death Guard.
But the Lord of Contagion stood firm, his massive armor resisting the assaults without faltering, the bolts bouncing off like small rocks. With implacable slowness, he advanced, brandishing his plague scythe in a deadly dance. Each movement seemed charged with Nurgle's destructive power, each step resonated like the toll of an inevitable end.
The two combatants met again, their weapons clashing in a thunderous cacophony. Izuku's power fist struck with surgical precision, seeking the weak points in his opponent's terminator armor. But the Lord of Contagion's plague scythe responded with brute force, its sharp blade seeking to breach the Ultramarine's armor.
Each exchange was a symphony of violence and determination, each blow filled with the fierce will of both champions. Their labored breaths echoed in the air charged with tension, as the battle reached its climax.
Suddenly, in a flash of blazing light, Izuku unleashed all the power of his power fist. With a resounding war cry, he struck with unprecedented force, shattering his opponent's defenses. The handle of the plague scythe shattered into pieces, broken in two, as the Lord of the Death Guard staggered under the impact.
In a final desperate effort, the Lord of Contagion gathered his strength, his unwavering determination pushing him forward despite the wounds inflicted. With a graceful and deadly movement, he delivered a final blow, what remained of his plague scythe spinning in a sinister arc.
Destiny seemed suspended in the air, as Izuku faced his adversary, ready to confront death with indomitable courage. The final clash was inevitable, a titanic collision between two irresistible forces.
Izuku raised his energy fist to meet the blade, pushing the energy field of the power gauntlet to a critical point.
The two weapons touched for the last time... The blade of the plague scythe shattered, and the power fist continued its course, crashing into the chestplate of the Lord Of Contagion, already damaged, it could not withstand the blow. The chest covered with pustules, boils, and rotten and bloated worms, exploded, the power fist passing through before disintegrating itself...
And in a burst of energy and blood, the duel reached its epic conclusion.
The body of the Lord of Contagion fell like a rock to the side, dead, ending millennia of torment that this servant of the god of plague had inflicted upon the galaxy.
Faced with the defeat of their leader, the Plague Marines began to retreat. But the Vanguard veterans gave them no respite. Neutralizing the last Poxwalkers standing, they pursued the last of their corrupted brethren and offered them a quick death.
Izuku watched this, and when the last echoes of combat finally ceased, he raised his right arm, his armored glove blackened by the overheating of the power fist.
He shouted a powerful
"FOR THE EMPEROR!"
His cry resonated within the dome, and the Astartes still present answered his war cry in unison. The two squads of Vanguards regrouped, their hunt concluded. The veteran sergeant of the first squad took two strides and stood next to Izuku, who examined the damage to his armor.
"Brother-Captain. The last heretic forces have been destroyed. The Black Templars, the Iron Hands, and the Raven Guard are heading this way. The Iron Hands require immediate medicae assistance for themselves and a teenager who found himself with them."
Izuku looked up and nodded at the veteran sergeant.
"Thank you, Brother-Sergeant. You may go. Inform them that a first aid station has been established outside this dome once you see them. Also, instruct the Apothecaries present to retrieve the Progenoid glands; we will repatriate the materials to their respective chapters as soon as we have the opportunity. Personally, I need to check something in that sector there."
He said, pointing his blackened gauntlet towards the flooded area.
"Apparently, there has been a fight there. I must verify if there are any survivors and place a marker if I find fallen battle brothers."
The veteran sergeant saluted, making the sign of the aquila on his breastplate before turning and relaying the orders to the others via vox.
Izuku didn't listen to what was said, his mind was elsewhere.
His jump pack roared to life, and he made a powerful leap, kicking up dust behind him.
He floated for a moment in the air before landing on the bank of the flooded area. Smoking bodies littered the necrotic and muddy ground here and there. He walked for a few seconds amidst the carnage before his foot uncovered a mound of earth, revealing a yellow cape and some sort of white diaper, now brown with soil and red with blood. Izuku crouched and brushed away some of the dirt.
"You won't be missed, parasite…", Izuku muttered under his breath as he discovered Mineta's half-decomposed body, eaten by worms and cut into pieces. His killer's body lay nearby, decapitated, the armor shattered by several shots.
He then looked around and counted two gray bodies amid all the carnage. Two Carcharodons. The first bore a knife wound to the jugular. He deduced that it was futile to attempt to retrieve the progenoid glands from that one; they must be too corrupted to serve.
The second was pierced by several plague knives, three in total, lying amidst a circle composed of about ten poxwalkers and nearly five dead Plague Marines, shot with a bolter or massacred with the combat knife the marine still held firmly in his hand. However, those glands were probably as corrupted as the other's. He judged it unnecessary to place a marker here as well.
Using his auspex, he picked up two signals further into the woods surrounding the area. The first trees seemed completely rotten and oozed some sort of putrid sap. Several plague flies buzzed around the liquid, sucking it with their large proboscises. But the trees behind seemed relatively untouched and could provide a good hiding spot for the two survivors.
He ventured into the trees, deactivating his auspex; he didn't need it anyway. His massive boots struck the ground, resonating in the oppressive silence. Suddenly, his vox beeped, and he stopped as one of the two sergeants contacted him.
"Brother-Captain, the Iron Hands have just arrived, several of them have been severely wounded."
"The Apothecaries will take care of them," Izuku replied.
"They also have the teenager they mentioned, and he's the biggest problem."
Izuku tensed. It was Todoroki who had been in the landslide area. He was distant, but the greenette still had to ensure he was safe, as well as the others.
"What's going on?" he asked.
There was a moment of silence as the sergeant quickly checked the condition of the heterochromatic teenager.
"Leg torn off, he managed to stop the bleeding with ice he conjured from I don't know where, it probably saved him from infection as well. The wound seems to have been caused by a bolter shot."
Izuku nodded slowly, concerned.
"Right. Take him to the medical center, see if he can be treated urgently."
"Understood, Brother-Captain," and the vox cut off with a crackle.
At the same time, Izuku's enhanced hearing picked up a sound behind him, and with superhuman reflexes, he turned and intercepted the person who had tried to jump him. He began to tighten his grip before realizing it was Tsuyu.
He saw panic creeping into the frog girl's eyes... And she let out a gasp of surprise.
The pressure he exerted on the girl's neck eased, but he kept her in his hand.
He looked away, searching for Ochako with his enhanced eyes. There, behind a rock, he saw a boot peeking out. Tsuyu's hands pushed against his glove to try to escape his grasp.
"You're lucky I'm not with the Death Guard. Otherwise, both of you would already be dead," Izuku said in a neutral voice as he released Tsuyu to the ground. The frog girl immediately massaged her sore neck... Before asking.
"Who are you?"
Izuku was tempted to give his real name for a moment and opened his mouth to do so... However... No. He must not be involved in this fight. Otherwise, everyone would only have eyes for his quirk and the destruction he could cause.
"I am Captain Opiter Optatus of the 1st company of the Ultramarines."
With that, he went to the rock where Ochako was.
"You seem relatively unaffected by the diseases carried by the Emissaries..."
He noted as he crouched next to Ochako... She must have been really exposed to the disease, but the brunette seemed to have resisted moderately... She opened her eyes and looked at him as if he wasn't there...
Tsuyu replied.
"I... ran away, kero... I left them behind, kero…Have you seen my other classmate, kero? The one with a yellow cape and purple hair, kero? I didn't see him when I pulled my friend out of there, kero... And, kero... Who are the Emissaries?"
Izuku turned his head towards her... How could she abandon them? On one hand, he couldn't blame her. But she had almost caused Ochako's death...
But well. Tsuyu had come back for her... At least she had mustered up the courage. As for Mineta...
"Your classmate? Dead. Carved up by a plague knife. As for your second question... The Emissaries are the 1st company of the Death Guard... They carry the walking pox, a disease that turns the dead into those walking corpses you probably saw."
He heard the rustle of her costume, remaining silent at the news... Then she asked another question... He suspected she didn't miss him... But it was always a shock to the girl... Then she asked a question, probably trying to change the subject...
"What... is the Death Guard?"
It was predictable... However, just as he was about to answer, Ochako grabbed his arm suddenly. Izuku looked down at the brunette... She seemed delirious...
"Father? Father, is that you?"
Izuku remained perplexed for a moment... Ochako repeated her question...
"Father? Father?"
Izuku slid his arms under the brunette and lifted her gently, surprising Tsuyu who couldn't imagine a man of this size and who had almost crushed her neck could show such gentleness...
The greenette turned to her.
"Hang onto my breastplate, and avoid putting any limb in front of the jump pack's vents unless you want to lose it."
She swallowed... Before obeying hesitantly... She clung to the surface of the breastplate as best she could, then, with a hum, the dorsal reactor activated before Izuku leaped above the treetops and headed towards the entrance... Making sure Tsuyu held on tight and that Ochako was securely against him, he landed, his boots sinking into the ground and creating cracks that added to the scars of battle...
Then he exited the dome.
And what greeted him was utter chaos.
He first helped Tsuyu down before descending the stairs where... the first air camp had been set up... As soon as he reached the bottom, two serfs with respirators rushed over with a stretcher. Izuku let them take Ochako and gently lay her on the stretcher before taking her away to a tent farther off.
Izuku grimaced under his helmet... It was necessary but... chaotic...
He heard Recovery Girl cursing under a tent as the sound of a servo-arm became audible.
"BUT FOR GOODNESS' SAKE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
He decided to take a look. As he approached the entrance of the tent, he heard the cold, emotionless voice of a servitor saying, seemingly ignoring the old nurse...
"Commencing prosthetic placement operation. Remain calm, the pain will only be temporary..."
Izuku opened the flap and peeked inside. It surprised the old woman who let out a surprised cry, as two servitors turned their cybernetic heads towards him. The first one fixing him with two pale, empty eyes, the second with two bright yellow optics.
He then looked at the unfortunate person about to undergo the violent care of the two servitors.
Todoroki was on the table, receiving all the brutal attention from the two cyborgs. A Chapter serf monitored everything, ensuring that everything went smoothly.
The man made the aquila sign, tilting his head slightly downwards when he saw Izuku.
"My lord."
Izuku nodded before letting go of the flap, which closed. He took two steps back and moved away as a piercing cry of pain rang out, muffled by something placed in the dual-haired boy's mouth. He also heard Recovery Girl's protests, a cry for help from the serf, and two other serfs entered the tent to escort an outraged Recovery Girl who was striking them with her cane, saying they knew nothing about medicine, to which one of the two men pulling her out replied.
"Combat medicine, we'd like to see you try to send a soldier back to the front in no time while facing hordes of Orks with your 'civilian medicine.'"
The greenette suppressed an amused chuckle.
An armored hand suddenly rested on his shoulder, he turned his head.
A marine in white armor, wearing the livery of the Ultramarines, whose energy pack bore a saw and a lamp, and whose other hand was occupied by a sort of large gauntlet with a drill, a narthecium, stood beside him. Under his helmet, he could perfectly discern the Apothecary's critical gaze as he assessed his battered armor, searching for any possible injuries.
Izuku reassured him.
"I do not require assistance, Brother Gaieus, thank you."
The Apothecary nodded his head imperceptibly to the side.
"Are you sure, Brother-Captain?"
Izuku nodded slowly and asked.
"Situational report? Both civilian and ours?"
The man responded without hesitation.
"We have two wounded among the Black Templars when a building collapsed on them. Some broken bones and a minor concussion. One more wounded among the Raven Guard, a deep gash on the chest and abdomen that damaged the Preomnor, the toxins that penetrated attacked the Catalepsean Node and the Occulobe, causing a minor malfunction in both organs. The most affected were the Iron Hands, however, we do not have the necessary equipment to repair their augmentics. A Techmarine from their chapter will be more capable than us in restoring them. We will manage to deal with their non-cybernetic parts."
Izuku nodded... It could have been much worse for the Space Marines...
"As for civilians... It's more complicated. They remarkably resisted the diseases spread by the Death Guard, which were noted to be less virulent and weaker, however, this did not prevent some damage from being done. The majority of them will recover with respiratory problems or muscular failures... Fortunately, it was only the adults who seemed to have been exposed the longest. The adolescents were evacuated as quickly as possible for the most part.
They also have several casualties to varying degrees. Namely two adults, a man, whose bones were crushed. He will survive but his recovery will take time, side effects cannot be determined at this time, he was lucky that bone fragments did not pierce vital organs. Then we have a woman whose back had been damaged and torn off, no particular side problems with her, she only needs rest, and finally four teenagers. Two girls and two boys."
Izuku tensed, he knew who they were... Denki, Jiro, Momo, and Shoto. Shoto was already taken care of, so he knew he was going to be healed quickly.
"The first, a girl with ponytail hair, suffered the same damage as the first adult, particularly to the pelvis. It is possible she will be paralyzed from the waist down, and may not be able to have children in the future.
Then, the second girl, one who has sort of mutations at the tips of her ears. Main damage to the chest, several broken ribs, and one of them punctured a lung, Brother Dageus' best medicaes are currently operating on her, and there is talk of replacing the lung with an augmetic. If it is deemed unnecessary, her lung will regenerate itself, however, she will suffer from more frequent shortness of breath when physical exertion is required, and will be more likely to develop respiratory diseases in the future.
Then, the first boy. Blonde hair with a black mark. He was apparently impaled, a man with a bull's head according to members of the Salamanders, his stomach and liver were gravely damaged. As a result, he will have digestion issues, feeding problems, and his liver will have functioning defects. He is also currently being operated on by my best medicaes.
And finally, the second boy, red and white hair with heterochromia. Loss of the leg and necrotic left lung, currently being operated on for the augmetic of his leg. He will have to go through my serfs for lung replacement. If he survives, he will have two augmetics. And no side effects.
Izuku nodded pensively... Too heavy a toll on his classmates, because of him...
Damn...
"Is that all?"
Brother Gaieus nodded.
"That is all concerning the injuries, most of them will need mental help after what some of them saw, however... Another thing troubles me..."
The greenette looked at him... The upcoming question didn't bode well...
"Where are we? We all noticed, we are in a different world, full of abhumans and psykers, rumors were already circulating in the Imperium that people were being swallowed by portals and brought to a world where psykers were omnipresent and where the Warp seemed not to affect them. The individuals behind these rumors were quickly found dead, and there is no doubt that the Holy Inquisition took care of that. But where are we? I have never seen anything like this."
Izuku had been waiting for this question for a long time... Usually, the troops he summoned were too busy with a mission to make the remark but... Now, as the mission is over... Questions were indeed surfacing...
"I don't know, brother... I am just as confused as you... We faced the damned sons of the fourteenth as soon as we arrived, but... Now, I wonder just as much as you where we are... You are right, this world is unlike any other... It is strange and mysterious..."
The greenette was lying... He had to, but he concealed his lie skillfully, and the Apothecary didn't notice anything... Suddenly, the other marine raised his hand to his helmet, as a message came through... The medic nodded... Before cutting the communication...
"A severe case, a girl, a brunette, a servitor scanned her and concluded that her brain was attacked by bacteria before her body repelled them, partial destruction of the pancreas, severely damaged trachea, mucous membranes filled with pus. Emergency surgery necessary. I have to go to ensure it goes smoothly."
Izuku nodded, authorizing the other marine to go, and after an aquila sign, the Apothecary strode away.
Ochako was in an emergency situation… Damnit…
The greenette was about to leave when...
"Excuse me, Brother-Captain, but there seems to be a small problem."
A voice echoed in his vox, and Izuku responded immediately.
"What is it, Brother Sergeant Alexius?"
There was a crackle in the vox before the sergeant replied, "We have a delegation of security forces and medicaes who want to enter the camp..."
Izuku inwardly cursed... Really, of all the times?
"I'm coming."
He turned on his heels and went to deal with the issue...
/
Detective Tsukauchi never would have believed he could see something so frightening... Right in front of the group of police officers and doctors that had been assembled as soon as UA had called, reporting an attack taking place on its campus, stood men, if he could call them that, clad in massive blue and white armor covered in blood and adorned with symbols he had never seen, and equipped with large dorsal reactors, who assessed them with the red optics of their white helmets, some of which bore laurel crowns. However, the things that drew the detective's attention the most were their massive melee weapons they carried. They were finely crafted, but undoubtedly meant for war, covered in dried blood as they were...
"Who are you?" the detective asked, taking a risky step forward... He saw the azure giants tense imperceptibly... The detective stepped back, nervous. Good lord... What was happening here? Then he heard the sound of boots striking the ground heavily, and two of the azure giants stepped aside to let a newcomer pass. This one had much more decorated armor, blue and gold, and his helmet was adorned with a small silver skull. The detective suspected this was someone important; the others regarded them with an unreadable gaze behind their red optics... Then he spoke, his voice powerful and commanding. Tsukauchi only knew a few people who had such a voice, and they had all been in the army... Except they didn't belong to any conventional army. Their armors were advanced, very advanced, but retained a retro-futuristic design, the same for their weapons.
"You're here as reinforcements for this place staff? It's about time you arrived.", the man said, then turned to the five others and said, "Let them pass, they're medicaes... And the closest thing to the Arbites on this world judging by their appearance and equipment..." On this world? Were they... Aliens? He glanced back. The police officers and the vast majority of the doctors were pale, uncomfortable, and nervous...
"As for you..." Tsukauchi redirected his gaze to the gold and blue giant. "Follow me", the man ordered. The detective swallowed nervously; he had faced big-time criminals or wanted serial killers before... But this man was something else... He turned on his heels and strode away, after a moment of hesitation, the detective ordered the group of police officers to follow him, and he ran to catch up with the departing blue giant. He had to trot to keep up... And the blue giant didn't adjust his walking pace to their speed.
"What is your name, sir?" Tsukauchi asked, activating his quirk... The man didn't seem to hesitate. "I am Captain Opiter Optatus, captain of the 1st company of the glorious Ultramarines chapter." He felt a slight sting in his quirk... He didn't know what that meant... It was as if... The man had lied... But hadn't at the same time... It was the first time this had happened, and it perplexed him. And just as he was about to ask his next question, the man interrupted him.
"I know what you're trying to do. You're akin to the Interrogators of His Holy Inquisition, trying to determine if I'm lying or telling the truth, and given how organized this world is, I imagine you have a psychic ability that allows you to tell it, am I right?"
Tsukauchi was speechless, and almost stumbled; his quirk was only known by the police department and the heroes... However, the man had read it without any problem...
"That's... That's correct..."
"I suspected as much," the azure giant replied before continuing.
"What you will see inside this dome will likely horrify you; as you may have noticed, a relief camp has been established. If you can, put on a surgical mask... The contagion miasma is still present."
"Contagion miasma?"
The man did not answer and began to climb the steps, Tsukauchi followed, deciding to heed his advice, pulling out a mask from his pocket, he put it on just as he smelled a foul odor... They reached the top of the steps, and the smell intensified. A smell of decay and necrosis. He heard several police officers behind him vomit... And honestly, he almost joined them. The smell was simply atrocious... Then... They went in. And this time, despite all of Tsukauchi's willpower to resist. He vomited.
/
"So he's dead. I don't know human anatomy as much as you do, professor…"
Kurogiri spoke in a hollow voice, looking at Shigaraki's body lying on a table, his blood drying on the wood... The voice behind the television sighed before the person responded...
"Indeed. It's a pity. I had high hopes for him... And now he's gone, in an instant, from a bullet in the hip. Could you repeat the damage?"
Kurogiri sighed...
"Shrapnel that sliced through the spine, perforated his intestines, stomach, liver, and some fragments ended up in his heart, cutting through arteries and causing the organ to stop..."
The person behind the television remained silent for a moment...
"Black Mist... Our plans for the future have drastically changed in this case... Please join me; we'll have to plan everything from the beginning again..."
Kurogiri nodded his head of smoke.
"Understood."
A purple portal opened, and Kurogiri sank into it... The portal closed, leaving only Shigaraki's lifeless body in the bar...
Notes: So... Some of you will probably wonder why I ended the chapter so abruptly and I will understand those persons.
Simple! I want to expose the repercussions through press and others characters in Chapter 8, it will probably take a bit of a time, because well... There's many things to tell and change from canon XD.
Also. Most of you have noticed that. Death Guard is weaker speaking of diseases. I wanted to avoid everyone to turn in a pile of rotten meat as soon as they pop up...
(And yes, I consider that Snipe's gas mask is part of his anatomy...)
On that... Hope you enjoyed!