I still have no intentions of canceling this story.

Come hell or high water, I will see this project to the very end. The only thing that will stop me is death or being incapacitated.

I would accept nothing else.


My Hero Academia Untold: The Fafnir Knight (Remastered Edition)

Saga I: Dusk

Arc II: The Incident

Chapter XXI: The Demon Versus The Dragon Part 1


"Some of the greatest battles will be fought within the silent chambers of the soul."

-Ezra Taft Benson


Toshinori sat in Principal Nezu's office, breathing heavily into a portable oxygen tank. It was a simple but effective treatment to ease the pain and make his condition tolerable. He could smell a fresh pot of tea currently being brewed by the animal educator as he eased into his seat with a slight wheeze.

"You should have been more careful, All Might," Nezu cautiously chided the skinny man as he began to pour tea for himself.

"I know, I still find it difficult not to step in when I can," said Toshinori, his voice unusually soft. He re-adjusted himself on the couch and accepted a cup from his boss. He was ready to hear a lecture, only to be surprised when Nezu locked the door to his office.

"We have a small update on the investigation," Nezu stated as he settled himself on the seat opposite where Toshinori sat. "On one hand, it appears that either Kai Doumeki is either extremely lucky or cleaner than we initially thought."

"We found nothing linking him directly to corruption at the hands of the Neocons. Aside from circumstantial evidence that wouldn't hold up in any hearing," Nezu held up his teacup to his snout. "Let alone prosecution."

Nezu took a small sip of tea, allowing Toshinori to speak, yet the pro remained silent, allowing Nezu to continue.

"Thankfully, Sir Nighteye was prepared for such a possibly and still made plans to open an inquiry from within the Diet itself to investigate the Neocons," Nezu took another sip. "Specifically, one of the heads, a gentleman named Hideyoshi Anno, the Majority Leader in the House of Representatives. If we can't pin the Chief-Superintendent one way, then we will find another way, at the source itself."

Toshinori finally found his voice after taking a sip of tea and letting the information sink in. "Has there been anything new from any of the other teams? Endeavor? Gang Orca?"

"Gang Orca and others have noticed that there has been a sharp decrease in crime on his latest patrols," Nezu paused before sipping some more tea.

"And there some rumors speak of a new alliance growing in the underworld called: The League of Villains," he took another though tentative sip. "And if what we are hearing is true, they are apparently recruiting in droves. While the only update I've gotten from Endeavor is that his contact is currently...' Babysitting'."

"Babysitting...interesting term to use..." Toshinori shook his head.

"But as for the rumors in the underworld. There's usually some manner of truth to them and given what happened last week. I can't help but feel a bit more on edge like something big is about to happen," Toshinori said gravely; as he set his cup down on the table. "Anything else?"

"Nothing else really," Nezu answered while shaking his head.

"So far, it has generally been quiet, but other than that, I'm worried for some of our foreign Hero Course students," the cat-bear let out a sigh. "The nerve of them having the students complete that ludicrous language exam that has been so haphazardly tacted on," Nezu stated with rare annoyance in his voice.

Toshinori looked at the ceiling, almost turning to prayer as his thoughts turned to his long-deceased master. What would she have done in his spot? Between teaching, working, and doing his part in the investigation. It was all starting to collectively eat away at him.

This wasn't as simple as catching a villain and making all their problems go away with a single punch. This problem was layered with complex and unknown variables that only added to their shared stress. Especially since they didn't know who exactly was a friend or a foe.

'Hopefully, we'll make another breakthrough in the investigation soon,' Toshinori thought before taking another sip of his tea.

Unaware that the breakthrough would arrive in an unexpected form.


Lemillion looked on with Suneater and Nejire-Chan as they stood on top of one of the fake buildings of the Collapsed Zone. From their vantage point, they could see that Tentacole had managed to stay near the entranceway with Thirteen and a few other students from both Class 1-A and 1-B. And that they were currently dealing with the Black Mist villain and a couple of underlings.

It didn't take long for The leader of the Big Five to theorize that Midnight and everyone else had been blown away across the USJ. This also meant that anyone who wasn't lucky to be paired up with either, Midnight or Blink would likely find it difficult to find their way out of the enclosed areas. Such as the Conflagration and the Downpour Zones.

Assuming they ended up in either one.

Lemillion could also see that some of the students had landed in the same area as them. But after seeing who was there, he became a little less worried. Those wild cards should be able to take care of themselves. Especially the one who loves to blow things up.

"Nejire-Chan, Suneater," he finally spoke up, getting his teammates' attention, and pointed over to one of the training zones. "We need to make sure that we can get everyone out of here."

"Suneater, head to either the Downpour or Conflagration Zone. Find everyone you can leave and guide them to the exits," the toon-faced teen then pointed to a few of the other zones. "Nejire-Chan, I want you to fly around and rally everyone in the open Zones and try to guide them back to the entrance, avoid possible contact with any villains. I'll be backing up Vlad and Eraserhead."

"Right!" Nejire-Chan answered, blasting off with a pulsing wave of energy coming from her limbs.

"Sorry, Lemillion," answered Suneater as he pointed out the goings-on in the central plaza. "It looks like they have the heaviest hitters on the sidelines. It's better if we both back them up, we can trust Blink to take care of the Enclosed areas."

Lemillion may have been their leader and usually had a solid judgment when breaking the situation down. Yet, he also knew to listen to reason and caution from his best friend.

"Alright..."Lemillion answered before leaping off from his spot. "Let's be quick then!"

"Understood!"

The battle in the USJ has begun with no one having any idea just how significant today's events would have in the years to come.


"GO TO HELL!" Katsuki roared while he continued to fight on, blasting foes left and right as Hanta and Minoru trapped and bound them with their quirks. They had landed in the dead center of the Collapsed Zone with a few others from Class 1-B. In his wrath, he showed no mercy to the villains for not only interfering with their training but also knowing that Eri was out there, most likely scared out of her mind.

"Next to ya, fam!" Camie called out as she pinned a villain who was about to attack an illusion of Ibarra, while the real Ibarra stood above in a standing prayer posture. All while she used her vines to scout the area and strike down villains when they got close to her companions.

"No luck finding anyone else. I think it's just us here," Setsuna called out to them as she reformed her body back to normal. Having split herself up earlier to do aerial reconnaissance and scout out for other students or teachers.

"But good news! I think I found a fast way out of here," she added while letting out an impressed whistle, praising after seeing their collective work. "Also, damn guys, you made quick work of the villains."

"These weaklings got nothing on us! Now let's go! Tape Arms swing on ahead with the Grape and set up some traps. I'm not dealing with any more weaklings! Not while Eri could be out there!" Katsuki barked his orders while sensing another villain getting closer trying to ambush him from behind. "Scales! Hurry up and show us the way out! Weeds! Keep feeling out for everyone else! Bad Trip! Keep making illusions and make sure that more of these weaklings end up falling into those traps."

Camie couldn't help but laugh, while Ibarra looked on with shock at the vulgar teen's words.

"A 'please' would be nice good sir," Ibarra stated with irritation in her voice as she stepped down to everyone else's level. All while staring down Katsuki, who in turn simply scoffed at the idea. While in the background, Hanta and Minoru both began to make silent apologies to her. They knew Katsuki well enough by now to know that he wasn't going to be apologizing to anyone any time soon.

"My name is Ibarra Shizosaki," Ibarra introduced herself. Before motioning towards the tall winking blonde in a black catsuit with white boots who also wore a rather large and poofy-looking black beret.*

"That's Camie Utsushimi, and that is Setsuna Tokage." Ibarra finished up when she motioned to the dark-green-haired girl in an equally dark-green* scaly bodysuit who wore a mischievous smile while looking at the ash-blond teen. "Not Bad Trip, Weeds, and Scales, honestly must you be so rude?"

"Indeed, Shizosaki, and while we're at it, who died and made you, leader?" Setsuna said in a mockingly haughty tone; while parting some stray hairs out of her face with her hands.

Katsuki looked at the three girls with some annoyance save for the attractive-looking blonde; until he felt the villain behind him about to strike. He decided then and there to make said villain an example, at that moment when the villain lunged, hoping to catch him off guard. He was swiftly caught, pinned, and singed by a swift explosion.

Boom!

"That's why I'm in charge," Katsuki answered as he stood tall over the soot-covered villain while the girls stood silent, stunned by Katsuki's swift counter.

"We don't have time to waste. Now move your asses or stay out of my way," he finished up as he made his exit with Hanta and Minoru in tow. They needed to get moving; they needed to find everyone. Especially Eri and fuck-up who decided to mess with their class.

"That was a pretty lit display. I like totes like a guy that walks the way he talks, ya know?" Camie admitted before deciding to follow him. Leaving the remaining girls from 1-B to reluctantly follow them, knowing there wasn't much else to do.

Besides, the other students might need assistance sooner rather than later.


Kashiko had been flung violently into a body of icy water, chilling her to the bone as pain rapidly spread across her back. The ringing in her ears was deafened by the water filling them. She flayed wildly in the freezing liquid, trying to steady herself, given that she had been given no warning to breathe before being forced into its depths. When she managed to get some of her bearings, she felt movement from the ripples of the water surrounding her; she wasn't alone.

She opened her eyes only to be met with the wide-open maw of a sharkman swimming towards her at full speed, eager to rip out a large chunk of her. She began to panic since her quirk was useless in this situation; her movement was hindered by the strength-sapping water surrounding her. So all she could was accept what she thought would be her end as she closed her eyes and braced for the impact until...THUMP!

Kashiko opened her eyes, finding salvation among two newcomers. The first was a blue-haired boy with golden eyes; wielding a long shiny silver pole in a defensive stance. The second was a handsome, dark-haired boy whose whole lower half seemed to be spinning, allowing him to swim faster than while fighting off the sharkman.

He even managed to get in some powerful spinning strikes that could be heard even from underwater. Seeing her chance, Kashiko began swimming upward, followed quickly by the first boy who helped her. He grabbed her arm before rapidly pulling her the rest of the way to the surface.

"AH!" She breathed in as she managed to get some air into her burning lungs before coughing heavily but still grateful for every breath she managed to get.

"Over here, Inasa!" She heard the boy from Class B say as he broke through the surface.

"Is she okay, Mizuoji?!" She heard the second boy say as he also breached the surface of the cold water. She couldn't hear the response as the air above them suddenly began to whirl around as if a helicopter had been flying above them. Kashiko looked up to see a large boy flying above the trio in a massive brown fur coat costume, topped with a tall, fur-lined hat. He flew above them with ease, slowly descending reach out with his arms.

"Hand her here!" Yoarashi called out, getting closer to the water's surface.

"Sorry about this," The boy with the golden eyes said with some embarrassment as he grabbed Kashiko by the waist, making her squeal with surprise. Only to be suddenly launched into Yoarashi's arms, thanks in part to the boy's water quirk.

"We will meet you at the boat!" The boy ordered Yoarashi before motioning the other to dive back under the water. Yoarashi simply nodded while doing his best to keep a steady grip on the white-haired girl.

"Sorry about that! But the water is filled with villains that almost managed to get some of us! Mizuoji and Kaibara are the only ones with quirks that help them move well in the water," He added as they approached a boat in the middle of the fake lake of the Flood Zone.

The ship already had one other student on it. It was here that Kashiko realized that aside from herself, everyone else here was from Class 1-B. As Yoarashi landed on the boat, he let Kashiko get on her feet, only for her to collapse to her knees, shaking from her sudden brush with death.

"You alright there?" A young man with nut-brown hair and wide fish-like eyes asked who Kashiko recognized from when she took the entrance exams; Kosei Tsububara

"Yeah, a bit of a rough landing," Kashiko managed to joke, doing her best not to let the situation get to her, and hoping she had learned from the battle trial. A moment later, two splashes were heard, followed by two heavy thumps; Kashiko turned to see the two boys that had saved her had returned. The blue-haired one was wearing a bright blue and white wet suit costume, only without the sliver pole from earlier. While the good-looking dark-haired boy was wearing a dark windbreaker with a spiral pattern and now soaking, long, white trench coat.

"How bad is it down there, Mizuoji?" Kosei asked; nervously as he helped Kashiko get on her feet.

"I lost count after fifteen, Tsuburaba," Shino answered with some frustration.

"I lost my staff when two of them proved a lot cleverer than I thought. We almost got overwhelmed down there," he let out an exhausted sigh before looking at his dark-eyed companion. "And for future reference Kaibara...Give us more of a warning next time instead of just jumping right in."

"Hey, it's what heroes do, right?" Sen said with a hint of sarcasm as he leaned against the deck railing, breathing hard and wiping the water from his eyes. "She landed smack dab in the center of the lake with those underwater assholes. I couldn't just leave her to deal with that."

"Thanks for the rescue, everyone," said Kashiko as she looked over the edge of the boat. "Hey, how come you guys didn't make your way to land; instead of being here on the boat?"

Before anyone could answer, however. Kashiko had part of her answer after seeing the warzone in Central Plaza. Even from here, Kashiko could see some intense fighting still going on between the villains and the teachers.

"We weren't sure where it could be safe to land," Sen answered, getting up and pointing at some of the water villains who were starting to appear from the depths. "Between scouting for a spot and needing to fly back and forth since he can't carry all of us and fly safely. Someone would be left behind to deal with them so, even if we're trapped on the boat, we still have safety in numbers."

"If we had a way to know exactly how many there are and where they are in the water, we could make a break for it," Kosei answered a bit nervously. "Mizuoji and Kaibara could both swim faster thanks to their quirks. I can use my quirk to make platforms to escape, while Inasa could just fly you out."

'A way to know where all the villains are, huh?' Kashiko thought, before remembering some of her the features of her support gear, "I think I have a good way to do that."

"We are all open to ideas," Shino answered with a slightly more optimistic look on his face. Kashiko pulled out a small round device from her costume's utility belt while trying to think a bit more outside the box. Just like how Momo, Katsuki, or Izuku might have done in her situation.

"Hear me out."


Water poured and roared as Eijirou, Mina, Itsuka, and Tetsutetsu were slowly making their way in the heavy rain and whipping winds of the Downpour Zone. They had been lucky to not have encountered any villains so far, but none of them wanted to take any chances. Mina knew her acid would be diluted by the heavy unyielding rains. While Tetsutetsu could suffer from corrosion if exposed to water for too long in his iron form.

Their collective fighting strength was hampered by the conditions.

"This way," said Itsuka as they managed to move deftly into another alleyway granting at least some cover from the violent winds. She had taken the lead of this makeshift group as she could remember seeing the exit for the Downpour Zone on the map she had been given earlier. Knowing that the group needed to head east, she was thankful that the fake streets were still facing their correct orientations in the cardinal directions.

"I don't think we're that much farther away," Itsuka whispered as she could see the edge of the dome, which should house the exit.

"That's good," Mina sighed in relief as she shivered in the cold; her costume was not built for such conditions.

"It's not the manliest course of action, but better to play it smart," said Eijirou, relieved that they were almost to safety. Unharmed and ready to reinforce their friends when they get outside.

"That my class rep for you," Tetsutetsu praised proudly, making Itsuka blush just a touch as she was simply doing her best under the circumstances. After a few more tense moments, the four made it to the edge of the alleyway, with the exit being visible a couple of blocks way northward.

"Hold on, just a sec," said Itsuka rising an enlarged hand and leaning against the wall, slowly leaning at the corner to take a peek. In an instant, the excitement she had been feeling had instantly turned into stone-cold fear. Nearby the exit were several bodies with a lone individual in what appeared to be a black and gray costume wielding what appeared to be two long swords waiting for them. She could see a long trail of blood that had been mixed into the water. Leaving a long spread of reddish water trailing from the source that was slowly making its way past the alleyway they were hiding in.

Itsuka pulled her head back, heart racing, and quickly clamped her mouth with her hands to keep herself from screaming from the sheer shock of the sight. She couldn't tell from here if the bodies were of villains or fellow students from this distance. All she knew was whoever that guy was, he was bad news and that they needed to be careful dealing with him.

"What's wrong?" Eijirou asked with concern. "Villains?"

Itsuka slowly managed to whisper to them. "There's someone there with what looks like swords...with a lot of bodies by his feet."

"Bodies?!" Mina almost screamed out, her pink skin almost going completely pale at the thought. The four stood there for a moment, trying to think of a way to approach the situation.

"What should we do?"

"Maybe we could go around, then we double back?"

"But isn't the exit right there?"

"Maybe we can sneak past this guy?"

Everyone had an opinion, but no real solution. Finally, Eijirou decided he needed to see the situation himself and slowly began mirroring what Itsuka had done and moved to take a peek for himself. Leaning to the side, Eijirou could see just like Itsuka said.

There were several bodies a short distance away...only now, there was no one around.

"Kendou...you said there was someone there, right? Someone with blades?" Eijirou whispered as he leaned his head more, trying to get a better angle.

"Yes, why?"

"I don't see anyone there; it looks like he's not there anymore."

"But where could he..."Itsuka was about to ask out loud; when she felt a sudden chill run down her spine. Her instincts automatically kicked in, forcing her body to move on its own. "MOVE!"

Using her quirk to make her hands large, Itsuka grabbed her companions and moved as the blade-wielding villain had descended upon them from the rooftop. Unfortunately, he had managed to slice a fair bit of Itsuka's enlarged left hand. She screamed as she let her friends go as her hands returned to normal, blood flowing freely from the large slice that had been carved into her hand.

"Kendou!" Tetsutetsu reacted, turning his body into iron and moving to protect his team. If he could win fast enough, he could avoid rusting in the water.

"You've got good instincts, girl." The blade villain said with a hiss, wearing a half mask that muffled the mocking tone of his voice.

"I happened to see you the first time with my heat vision; you all stick out in the cold thanks to your body heat...still. I'm left disappointed as it seemed that my target isn't here...no matter...as I can at least still claim a bounty." The man finished up as his pale gray eyes turned to Mina; her bright yellow eyes stood out much easier thanks to her black sclera.

Mina froze as she could almost feel the man's intent on hunting her down, to kill her, paralyzing her with fear as she stared into those sharp lethal gray eyes. Eijirou, however, wouldn't allow it, following his iron clone. Hardening up to his own body and joining Tetsutetsu in going on the defensive.

"If you want her...you'll have to get through me," He proclaimed, standing his ground, determined not to flee or simply standby like a coward as he had once done before. Especially not to the one who had shown him that bravery firsthand...not to his horn buddy.

"Cute, but stupid," The blade villain said, rolling his eyes while rubbing his blades together to create sharp slicing sounds that only served to rattle the young heroes' nerves.

"NOW, TIME TO DIE!" He roared as he started charging at them. Only to be met with a bright blue flash and a swift kick in the face that sent him skidding back.

SLAM!

"Get the fuck away from my juniors!" Blink roared in response as he appeared in front of the four. His fists were covered with steel-layered gauntlets, and without turning to look back at his juniors. The American began giving out orders with no humor found in his voice, only the voice of a Hero who knew just how dire the situation really was.

"You four leave, now."

"Wait, what?!"

"Springfield, no! We can't leave you!" Eijirou and Tetsutetsu both began protesting. Before Blink interrupted, keeping his bright blue eyes firmly on the blade villain.

"I know you want to help me, guys, but I'm your senior. And I'm ordering you to let me handle this! Please leave and get to safety! Now Go!" He didn't yell or scream, but his tone left no room for arguments.

Itsuka knew despite her desire to stay and fight. She was injured, and Alexander was doing his duty as a senior; leaning on Tetsutetsu's shoulder, she motioned everyone with her head to start moving, despite the iron lad's resistance.

Mina likewise put her hand on Eijirou's shoulder; she usually wouldn't go for such a move.

However, between feeling useless thanks to the rain and knowing that the villain wanted her dead. Now, Mina wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, she was at least smart enough to know that she would just be a hindrance, not an asset remaining here. Then, there was Itsuka, and with that kind of injury, Mina knew the 1-B Rep needed to get first aid as soon as possible.

"Kiri..." She whispered, her voice telling Eijirou everything.

'Damn it.' He thought before yelling out to Alex. "We'll come back with help! I promise!"

"Heh, as if I'd die here, Rockman," said Blink with a grin forming under his mask. "I still got bets riding on some of my ships, and I ain't dying til I collect. Now you take care of everyone else, alright?!"

The four first-year students struggled for an opportunity to escape as they could see the blade villain bidding his time. Trying to find the right moment to strike. At least until Alex slammed his fists together, making the metal ring out hard and catching the Blade villain's attention.

He was his opponent now.

"Eyes on me, asshole!" He added, moving into a defensive stance. "Move now, guys! He won't get past me, I swear it!"

The four began to move silently towards the exit, keeping an eye out for other possible threats around them. Grateful that Alex was shielding them from harm. The villain known as Pit Viper smiled, knowing that if even three of the five had all fought him at once, he wouldn't stand much of a chance.

The dead bodies near the entrance had been due to infighting that escalated into killing each other. A fight had broken out about who would claim the bounty money if they collectively caught their target. He didn't kill them all by himself, but they didn't need to know that.

However, that being said, he could tell that the boy who stood in front of him now wasn't one of the petty first years. No, a simple glance was enough to show that this one had experience. Yet with that experience, he must have known that fighting alone would increase the likelihood of death.

"I hope you made peace with yourself, Hero," Pit Viper said mockingly; as he began circling his new opponent. "You're going to regret sending them away and costing me the hassle of earning my pay."

"Good god shut the fuck up! The only real regret I have is being stuck with you instead of some hottie villain. At least then I get some eye candy as I fight," Blink answered sharply, trying to get back into character without worrying about his juniors. "But noooo...instead, I get a discount wanna be Stain that goes after kids...it's rather sad honestly."

The assassin felt a surge of anger brewing under him. 'A wanna be discount Stain?!'

"But that's what we get for being Original Characters in fanfiction. No one cares about us..." said Blink, confusing the assassin who simply stared at him with a blank look on his face.

"Wha-" He started only to be interrupted by Blink, who used his quirk to get a swift flurry of punches making the steel gauntlets clash with steel blades.


Across the USJ at the summit of the Mountain Zone, a fierce battle raged on as a united force of Ochako, Momo, Kyouka, and Denki from Class 1-A; fought alongside Yui Kodai and Yosetsu Awase from Class 1-B. Ochako clashed with riot shield and baton, feeling somewhere between royally pissed and worried sick about Eri. She hoped that either Izuku or somebody trustworthy was with her, keeping her safe from these dangerous villains.

Given that, all she could do at the moment was to clear out these villains before going off to look for her. She spared no mercy to any villain who had the misfortune to get close.

"On your left!" Yosetsu yelled at Denki; before sweeping a villain off his feet and following up by using his quirk to weld him to the ground, laughing as he did. Denki heeded the advice and deftly dodged a villain's attack with ease. Before getting a chance to counterattack with his trusty stun rod, smacking the villain with a satisfying zap as the weapon knocked him out.

"Thanks, man!"

Momo, having learned from the battle trial. Managing to keep her cool as they fought against the invaders, from giving orders, making weapons for them, and covering Kyouka. Who was busy scouting for more villains or other students in the area. She was managing to juggle between the three with surprising ease.

The future hearing hero remained kneeling, her earphone jacks planted into the ground. She needed extra time to focus and isolate; all of the various vibrations and sounds. All while keeping the makeshift machete Momo had made for her on hand. It was hard, but not impossible as long as she could maintain focus.

"Yaoyorozu?" Yui called out as she blocked a villain's attack with the staff she had been given and countered by turning the villain's clothes tiny and constricting. Buying her time to swiftly strike the offender back with a few good hits to the face.

"What is it, Kodai?" Momo answered, after striking a villain dead center in the stomach who had gotten too close to Kyouka with an expertly timed jab of her staff. Before finishing her off with a well-balanced high kick.

"I think they're after, Kaminari," She said quietly; while motioning her head towards Denki, who did seem to have far more villains after him than anyone else. Some of them carried expressions of greed and eagerness to catch the golden-eyed lad.

"Sorry for the wait, Yaomomo," Kyouka suddenly spoke up, seemingly done with her scouting. "There's another villain somewhere in the ground over there." She pointed to the area where Denki was heading, not realizing the conversation that Momo and Yui had been having at the moment.

"Oh no, it might be a trap...we need to move now!" Momo ordered the plan while mentally counting down the remaining villains who weren't captured yet.

"Uraraka, Awase, Kaminari group back up together! We'll then push them back as a group! Kodai, make that staff as big as you can! And get ready to have it rolling, Uraraka!"

As the group moved to obey, Momo saw one villain catching up by using Denki's blind spot. The Vice President answered this dilemma by throwing her staff like a javelin, knocking out the villain and saving Denki as he dashed his way back to the group. Finally, she created a flash grenade while kneeling behind Yui's staff which was now the size of a large Greek pillar, pulling the pin before giving one last order.

"Get behind the staff and cover your ears and eyes now!"

As the group arrived in time to heed her warning, Momo arched the small device across. Exploding with a violent flash of light, leaving the remaining villains blinded or stunned. Momo wasted no time seeing most of the villains lined up perfectly for her follow-up.

"Uraraka! Launch it!"

Ochako only had to look for a single moment to realize what Momo had meant before doing it. Ochako quickly placed her hands on the pillar and used her quirk.

"SHIFT!" She yelled as she launched the pillar forward, knocking the remaining villains down like bowling pins.

"STRIKE!" Denki proclaimed with a laugh.

"Come out now!" Momo ordered the hidden villain. "I know you're out there! Come out and surrender!"

"Is there someone else, Kodai?" Ochako asked, unsure of the situation. Yui simply nodded as she grabbed a handful of metal nuts and bolts from one of the pouches of her costume and threw them overhead. The metallic pieces instantly grew in size as they ascended, only to land with a heavy crash around the area where Kyouka had pointed towards.

"Damn it, seems like you kids really are something else." A more menacing voice said suddenly as a villain arose from the ground only inches away from where some of Yui's makeshift weapons had landed.

Sparks started zapping in his hands.

"An electric type," Momo breathed out, knowing that someone like him even by himself could be far more dangerous thanks to a quirk like that.

"So he's kind of like me, huh?" Denki questioned, looking at the electric villain with the skull-shaped mask, wondering if he could absorb any attacks like a lighting rod to shield his friends.

"Seems like it's up to me to take care of all of you," the skull villain stated as his hand began to draw more power getting ready to unleash it. "I don't mind, given that I can collect the bounty on blondie solo. No need to share the prize now, right?"

"What the hell does that mean?" Yosetsu asked, looking at the stunned Denki.

'A bounty?' Momo questioned, staring in shock at the confused boy. 'Someone put a bounty on Kaminari's head? Why?'

"Time to die!"

Seeing that the villain was about to strike with his quirk. The group had moved to brace themselves for the attack when he was suddenly shot by a massive arcing beam that slammed him against the mountain face behind him.

"Phew! That was a close one!" They heard a familiar bubbly voice say above them. Nejire-Chan had arrived.


Tentacole was doing his best to take care of his teacher Thirteen, who had been injured while trying to get Tenya to escape from the building. It was thanks to the collective efforts of him and the remaining students that led to the speedster's successful escape.

Back-up was coming; they just needed to hold out for a bit longer.

Everyone else was busy watching the fight below. Tentacole would've preferred to join the battle or find other students like he assumed Nejire-Chan was doing when he saw her flying overhead. But he also knew that he needed to stay here to make sure none of the other juniors did anything foolish. So far, Blink was the only Senior still unaccounted for. Tentacole hoped that his foreign friend was leading the first years to safety without fighting. Given that Blink's license was under suspension, he feared that his teammate may not be legally protected to fight villains.

The same applied to the juniors; another critical reason to avoid combat was that their personal safety was their top priority.


The flames of the Conflagration Zone roared like hellfire, with several of the buildings often being set continuously on fire for training purposes. But now, they ironically served as death traps for several of the students who found themselves inside of the blazing zone. Tsuyu leaned against Fumikage as the heat slowly wore her down. Her costume did very little to protect her from the merciless heat that threatened to cook her alive if she stayed there any longer.

"Stay with me, Asui. I will try to get us out as soon as possible," Fumikage whispered as he half-carried the frog girl.

He did his best to move as swiftly, yet as silently as he could despite the heat eating at him as well, though not as severely as Tsuyu. It also didn't help that the bright light from the flames made it difficult to use his powers effectively. At least without rapidly draining his energy, on the off chance they could encounter enemies. He had no time to lose.

"Ribbit... call me Tsu...please," Tsuyu said weakly, her breathing growing more and more labored. Making Fumikage more concerned as he fought the mild embarrassment he was suddenly feeling. He had never called a girl by her given name. While he had already observed Tsuyu's habit of asking everyone to address her like that, it was still a strange concept for him to grasp. The two continued to walk down an empty fake street, trying their best to find their way out when they heard different sounds.

Or, more accurately, voices.

"What do we do with her, Monoma?" Someone asked with a concerned voice.

"She may have been with 1-A, but we obviously can't just leave her here," Another voice responded before he let out an annoyed sigh. "Though I don't know how to convince her to join us."

"Ma-maybe I can try to reach her?" A shy voice squeaked up. The two from Class 1-A slowly got closer only to discover a few students from Class 1-B, much to their relief.

"Excuse me!" Fumikage called out to them, making the trio turn. One was a blond male with blue eyes who wore a tuxedo-like costume with some watches on his belt. Neito Monoma was his name. If Fumikage remembered correctly, before looking at the other two teens. The second was Hiryū Rin, a dark-haired boy donning what appeared to be a jiangshi outfit.** The third was Kinoko Komori. A short girl with brunette hair in a long bob-cut style; that coved her eyes and wore a toadstool-themed costume with a matching hat.

Just behind the three of them, the two animal teens spotted Eri, who was huddled under some of the fake rubble. Trying to hide and keep herself out of reach from the teens she didn't know.

"Eri! Ribbit," Tsuyu croaked out, seeing the state Eri was in. Fumikage drew himself and Tsuyu closer to the trio of teens to calm and reach the child.

"Oh, good! You guys know her, right? Can you help us get her out of here?" Kinoko asked with relief, seeing the two coming their way. Fumikage was about to answer when a cruel screeching voice rang out from the flames.

"Oh! Leaving so soon?!"

"Oh, crap, villains!" Hiryū exclaimed as his arms became covered in scales before aiming them down in the direction of the voices. Neito followed suit after touching his classmate and copying his quirk. Soon they saw the villains appear from down the road, with some seemingly manifesting from the very fires of hell themselves.

"My spores will burn up in this heat! I don't think I can fight!" The brunette said as she fearfully stood behind her classmates.

"Komori, help the two from 1-A get the girl and get out of here," Neito stated to her with a voice mixed with confidence and nerves as he held up his scaled arms along with Hiryū. "We'll cover your retreat."

The brunette nodded before moving to help Fumikage support Tsuyu and get themselves closer to Eri. The villains were approaching slowly, seemingly using caution as they moved to surround their targets. Their pacing only made the two teens from 1-B more and more nervous, with the heat of the flames frying their senses.

"Eri, ribbit, it's me, Tsu! Come with us, ribbit!" the frog girl called out as she reached for the little horned girl who only attempted to make herself smaller by curling up.

"We'll get you out of here and get you back to Midoriya and Uraraka," Tsuyu said softly, trying to calm the nervous girl down as quickly yet as calmly as possible. At the names of her surrogate parents, Eri slowly looked up from her knees. Seeing a worn-out Tsuyu with Fumikage and the unfamiliar brunette from the other class that kind of looked like Ochako.

"Back to Papa and Mama?" She asked, her words surprising Tsuyu and Fumikage and confusing the mushroom brunette. The two animal teens simply looked at each other for a moment before coming to a silent agreement with a simple nod. They let Eri's comment slide as they had no time to lose with pointless questions.

"Yep, ribbit back to them, come on! Let's go lil' tadpole," Tsuyu answered with a wobbly smile that gave Eri the confidence to reach out for her.

Unfortunately, the second Tsuyu grabbed onto Eri, one of the villains began calling out with a vicious cackle.

CRACK! SNAP!

"Not so fast, dearies!" Her voice rang out, making almost everyone who heard her shudder as she carried a cruel-looking segmented metal whip that was currently set aflame.

"Don't touch the girl, but you can kill the teens. We don't need them," said a familiar reedy voice that made Eri tremble with fear. Among the villains approached a man with a bronze laden brown bird mask and bone-white hood whose arrow-like hair extended outwards from the hood's hem.

"Chrono..." Eri managed to breathe as she realized who that was, the villain Chronostasis: Overhaul's right-hand man, her nightmares were coming true. They were here to claim her back.

"Hello, Eri, nice to see you again," Chronostasis greeted as his unmoving mask staring right at her.

"You've been gone from us for quite some time. I think it's about time for you to come back to our brand-new home," the man spoke with a tone that was so flat and yet so cold that, despite the flames, everyone who heard it, be they students or villains, felt a chill run down their spines.

"It's time to come back home to your dear old...Dad."


Above them all, Ryu watched the scene unfold as he stood inside one of the burning buildings. Having extinguished the flames with his powers. His face was blank and emotionless. On the surface, he seemed perfectly calm and collected. Internally, however, he was fighting himself.

'Leave them; it will make your job easier.'

'I could...but it doesn't feel right.'

'It's not about feeling right; it's about doing your job. Anno would be over the moon, UA attacked by villains, and several students are dead. He proposes more education reforms and boom done.'

'No! Go and save them! Fuck Anno's plans; their lives aren't worth sacrificing for such a small thing!'

'I hate Anno, but given everything...'

'Sure, but do you know what will happen if you don't cooperate; they will suffer, and you will die.'

'My life isn't worth theirs, and when the fuck have I ever cared if I live or die? I know my fate regardless of the future.'

'You're better than this! You know that this isn't the only way!'

'I'm just a pawn here, I...I move when ordered.'

'Even pawns on the chessboard can become something even greater. You might be a Pawn on this board. But you're the King of your own and a Knight on others. This isn't the only board at play. You know that!'

'What about them? Don't you remember why you're here? For them?'

Ryu bit down on his lip in anger, his left hand striking the wall in frustration. He couldn't forget about them. After all: Ryu is here for them. He had debts to pay, and while he could pay them with his life, he would leave so much behind, so much left unfinished if he died today.

'You are not a hero; you will never be a hero. You are a fake. So just run and be done with it.'

'You're right about that.'

'Exactly, you have your plans, and your plans for the future require sacrifices to be made, blood to be paid. Your finale would simply be pushed back, not altered.'

'Wrong, you have a chance to be better. You want a better world?! Then you need to be an example for that world!'

'That world is meant to be built by real heroes...something I'm not.' Ryu turned around, ready to walk away until he heard it.

A scream. Ryu turned again to see the whip villain had started lashing out at his classmates. Striking at them with a cruel, flaming whip, the remaining villains began surrounding them, trying to cut off their retreat. He saw Fumikage shield Tsuyu and Eri with his body as some of the embers managed to burn them as well.

"STOP YOU, IDIOT!" He heard the man in the bird mask yell out as another villain was charging up a large blast of fire aiming right at them. As he saw the fire heading toward all of them, it had been the last straw for him.

'You're a fool.'

'OH FUCK IT! FUCK KAI! FUCK ANNO! FUCK ALL OF IT! I JUST CAN'T STAND BY AND LET THIS HAPPEN!' Ryu thought as he began to sprint as fast as he could down the stairs.

"DARK SHADOW! SHIELD US!" Fumikage ordered as he tried to run as fast as possible despite the burns on his body. However, when he saw the flames coming their way, he knew that they weren't going to be fast enough.

The shadow beast reacted to its master's command, immediately grabbing everyone, and expanding itself as much as possible. Trying to protect them from the blast coming their way. Fumikage knew it wasn't going to last, and all he could now was simply brace for the flames that would spirit them away into the next life once it ate through Dark Shadow.

SQUAWK!

Dark Shadow began to scream out, whipping violently around the students as the flames started eating it away. The blazing heat of the hungry flames could be felt needling its way through the dark creature's form.

Hiryū closed his eyes and prayed.

Neito simply braced himself alongside his classmates, ready to face his end.

Kinoko desperately fought back the tears of fear.

Tsuyu gripped Eri with all her might trying to shield her and begging forgiveness from her family for leaving them so soon.

Eri simply cried for her two surrogate parents as she began to glow slightly, her horn getting bigger.

Fumikage simply accepted his fate along with his failure and slowly closed his eyes. 'I'm sorry, everyone. I failed you.'

Everyone felt the flames get closer, hotter, and brighter as Dark Shadow's squawks and screams slowly started to dissipate. While the bright light finally began to pierce through it. Everyone held their breath, and for a single moment, it seemed like it was over as it got darker and somehow...cooler?

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" One of the villains screamed.

Fumikage opened his eyes and found out the following in order.

First: They were somehow still alive.

Second: The flames were somehow being pulled away from them.

And Third: An ally had finally joined the fray.

The hellish flames were being sucked away, being consumed by Ryu, who seemed to struggle eating up that much fire at once. The boy's chest cavity seemed to expand and stretch painfully with crackles of bone as the remainder of the flames disappeared. Ryu pulled his head back for just a moment before unleashing the fury of hell back at the villains with a great big and deafening,

"ROARRRRRRRRRRR!"


Only a few blocks away, Izuku, Tōru, and Mashiro could hear the earth-shattering roar that rang out as they tried to navigate through the burning city. Fighting small-time villains with ease along the way.

"Kasei?" Tōru questioned.

"I pretty sure that was him... Midoriya, what do you think? Wasn't that one of Kasei's fire blasts?" Mashiro asked Izuku, who knew that roar from previous training sessions. Izuku just thought about the boy in question. He could be in trouble, and Eri might not even be here, or maybe she could be with Ryu. The green-haired boy shook his head; no matter what, Izuku needed to move to save his classmate, hoping with everything he had that Eri was somehow safe.

"Let's go, Ojiro! Hagakure!"

"Right!"


The villains who had been unfortunate enough to have nearby the blast were currently on fire. Desperately attempting to put out the flames by rolling on the ground as they screamed out their pain. A few of the other villains were shaken by the display of power they had just witnessed. Some of which proved to be easy targets for the rapid-fire scales of Neito and Hiryū. The Fire eater, however, wasted no time. Quickly slipping off his scarf and unbuckling his black emergency bag.

"Asui! Wrap Eri in my scarf! It's fireproof! You guys need to go now!" Ryu yelled hoarsely; as he threw the red scarf and black bag at the others. He was already in a lot of pain, given how big that blast was. Every heartbeat and breath following was more painful than the last. "The bag has a coolant gel for those burns; now go!"

"What about you, Kasei?!" Fumikage called out as the group moved to escape from the scene thanks to the suppressing fire support from Hiryū and Neito. Ryu answered by sucking up more fire from a nearby burning building. His powers processed the flames to heal his internal injuries.

"I've got the home-field advantage! KEEP GOING THAT WAY! YOU'RE ACTUALLY NOT THAT FAR FROM THE EXIT!" Ryu roared out, pointing to the exit's direction with one hand; while drawing out a collapsible metal baton with the other. "NOW GO! GO GODDAMN IT!"

'Let's see if all my training paid off.'

"We can't just leave you here, ribbit!" Tsuyu called back, managing to get her breath after knowing they had been saved. Ryu knew they wouldn't leave him behind, not willingly, at least. Yet he also knew that they were just wasting time and ultimately decided not to give them a choice in the matter. He made a cone with his hands around his mouth and sent out another fire blast toward his classmates.

"Kasei wh-!"

Which formed a wall of fire between them and the remaining villains. Ryu then turned on his heel and stood between them and the remaining villains.

"GO!"

Fumikage realized that no matter what. This was the hand of cards that life was dealing out. Tsuyu was still getting weaker from the intense heat, he was still in pain from the whip attack, and everyone had almost died mere moments ago. Ryu was here to buy them time to escape while giving them little choice in the end.

"Thank you, Kasei." He said quietly; as he motioned everyone to move on. It was a tough choice but a practical one in the end. Yet as the bird boy led the others away, he found himself somehow feeling a tiny bit better, the burns on his back no longer stung like they did moments ago. Even Tsuyu, who seemed livelier than she was moments ago. Began to bundle Eri in the red scarf before holding her close to her chest with ease.

All the while, the little girl looked behind the marching teens over the frog girl's shoulder. Eri feared for the dark-haired boy. She had always noticed that out of everyone in the classroom. Ryu had been one of the ones who tended to keep his distance from her, and yet despite that. Here he was trying to save them all, ready to fight alone.

Possibly to his death.

"Thank you..." Eri breathed out with the slightest of whispers.

Ryu moved like lightning, yet methodically between the remaining villains. Managing to get some quick and easy strikes with his baton and martial arts techniques he had learned from one of Japan's top cops. Yet, for every villain, he managed to strike down. Three more seemingly took their place. Eventually, however, the numbers proved too much for him to take on alone at his current power level.

As exhaustion gradually made its heaviness known in his aching heart, lungs, and muscles.

Then the ever-clever Chronostasis managed to stab Ryu in the leg with a length of his own hair shooting out from his hood. When the massive, arrow-shaped strand of hair stuck him, Ryu suddenly felt himself involuntarily grow slower as the world around continued on without him. The masked man's quirk was starting to take effect, and the surrounding horde of villains began to encroach on him.

'Guess…I'm not going anywhere soon,' Ryu thought bitterly, as he bit down on his lip. As the sharp pain began running up and down his body from the stab, refusing to cry out from it. Instead, he tried to stand tall, golden eyes looking forward, ready to face his doom. While he slowly inhaled another blast of fire despite the protests of his lungs.

Though his thoughts turned to his family. The people would leave behind. 'Taki...Maki...Sachi...I'm sorry...just remember...I love you all...with everything I have...'

"Well, well, well, boys lookie here," The whip villain said cruelly with a gleeful face on her now ashened features. "Look at those pretty yellow eyes he's got; guess we found one of the ones with a bounty on his head."

That snuffed out the fire in his chest.

"What?" Ryu managed to gasp out despite the pain he was in. His face was in complete disbelief. 'A fucking bounty?!'

"Don't waste your time on him! Focus on the girl!" Chronostasis ordered the remaining villains. Only to be met with laughter and pushback from the other villains.

"You're not our boss, Birdman!" Another imposing villain with large tusks that stuck out of his face spoke up.

"The bounty for killing this one is staggering," he laughed some more at the slowly indignant bird mask wearer. "If you want the little girl, pedo; you're on your own. We're here for the cash."

Chronostasis looked at them with frustration but knew it wouldn't be wise to pick a fight with this many villains here. Not to mention Eri was with a weakened group; with his quirk, stealing her away and bringing her back to Overhaul would be much easier now.

"Fine then, enjoy the money," Chronostasis said, backing away with a small obnoxious bow. Only to turn and make a run towards the gap of the flaming wall, releasing his quirk on Ryu as he did.

"OH NO, YOU DON'T!" Ryu roared, quickly inhaling to fire-blast him away. Only for him to receive a bone-cracking sledgehammer of a punch to the guts that sent him flying towards one of the walls of a nearby fake building.

SLAM!

"AGH!" Ryu coughed a large amount of blood as he flew into a nearby wall before he landed violently on the street, only hearing a heavy ringing in his ears, while his vision blurred. He was sure that punch had at least cracked some of his ribs. Ryu gasped, tasting the iron from the blood and clutching his side as the boy sluggishly attempted to get back up.

Once the pain kicked in, he realized that those ribs were broken instead of just fractured.

'That's it for me. I can't shoot out flames like this... guess I'm fucked...' Ryu thought as he saw the villains move in for the kill. His vision slowly faded to black, and his last thoughts turned to the group he had saved.

'I just hope that they got away... I'm sorry, guys... I… tried…'

And the world turned to black.


Author's commentary

This was one of the most challenging and exciting chapters I had written so far. Also, if you're wondering about Midnight, Eraserhead, and Vlad. We will be seeing them in the next chapter. I had been dying to write this fight since the original version of this story. And I am much happier with this remastered edition of the old chapters.

* Costumes changes: Setsuna's canon outfit is confirmed to be blue...which threw me and several others off. Most of us thought it was green (which also makes more sense, really). So fuck it, made it green sue me. In the case of Camie and Inasa, Shinketsu makes their students wear the school's combination cap with their costumes. (Something they don't have here, I wanted them to still sport some headgear that still seemed in character and could match well with their costumes.) Hence the beret for Camie and The Russian Fur hat or an 'Ushanka' seemed to best fit nicely with their respective outfits/characters

** Jiangshi: Hiryū is the third known foreign-born student in UA. (With the first and second being Yūga {Japanese-French} and Poni {Japanese-American}, respectively.) and is of Chinese origin. His in-canon costume is based on Jumping Vampires found in mainland Asian Mythology. (Though this could be translated as hopping zombie or hopping vampire, I've seen both.)

You may have noticed that I avoid using direct terms like Senpai, Kohai, san, sama, etc. And use terms like Senior, Junior, Upperclassmen, Boss, Lord, Master, etc. I often find reading random Japanese (in romaji, no less) really grating when reading fics, especially when everything else is still in English. I make exceptions for reading fics with Honorifics, but that is as far as I personally extend that annoyance.

I personally refuse to use direct Japanese honorifics because it is entirely unnecessary. In my stories, honorifics are implied to be used, which helps make dialogue far less clunky when read out. (In the case of podfics far easier on the voice actors. Because I believe in making life simple, rational, and logical.)

When it comes to specific terms, I do my best to translate or adapt to what I can. I'm honestly used to doing this already being bilingual. (Aiming to be trilingual someday.)

ZX