Time for the climax of this Arc.

Strap in folks; we're going in hot!


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

Saga I: Dusk

Arc II: The Incident

Chapter XXII: The Demon Versus The Dragon Part 2


Shouto found his situation almost comical to a degree.

The moment he landed in the Landslide Zone, he ended up freezing everyone in the area instantly. Unfortunately, this also included his homeroom teacher, Midnight, who had no warning of what Shouto was about to do when he made his move. Upon realizing his error, he was quick to unfreeze his frosted teacher.

Midnight was quick to praise the young man when she was restored but warned him to be more careful before acting out with his powers to avoid friendly fire.

"I do hope you have learned your lesson, young man," Midnight added with a slightly sultry touch to her voice, as if she was trying to get a reaction from the young lad.

"I will," answered Shouto in a deadpan voice, leaving his teacher slightly disappointed.

"Well, good...now," Midnight added, looking around at Shouto's handiwork. And after seeing the chance to gain some intelligence from the plenty of the groaning villains here, a sizeable perverted grin began to form on her face.

"Mr. Todoroki, are you familiar with role-playing?" She asked as she looked around the frozen and complaining villains for the perfect target that would fall for her charms, all while she pulled out her favorite riding crop.

"I've played Dungeons and Dragons with my mom and siblings; that's a role-playing game," Shouto answered bluntly, unsure where Midnight was going with this. "But I don't think now would be a good time to play."

Midnight began to laugh from the unexpected answer.

"Well, I was thinking more Good cop, bad cop, but I think I can work with D&D, come along Mr. Todoroki. I think it's time for a lesson in gathering intelligence the fun way," with that, Midnight motioned Shouto to follow as she strutted among the complaining villains. Stopping when she spotted the perfect man to play her games.

"Why, hello there, big boy~."


"You're weak, little man!" Rappa roared out, swinging wildly with his arms in his futile effort to strike at the nimble Eraserhead, who dodged easily while trying to counter with his Quirk and scarf. At the same time, he failed to make a dent in the large musclebound man with the thin black birdlike mask.

Still, he was fairing better than Vlad King, who was dealing with the black and purple monstrosity.

'Why are they staying in the back?' Eraserhead couldn't help but wonder why the supposed bosses remained in the background. 'Are they waiting for something or possibly someone?'

"I think we might have to try something new, Eraser!" Vlad managed to growl breathlessly as he stunned the Noumu for a moment after a solid strike to the head and backed off; he would have fought Rappa. But his size was the only thing keeping the Noumu from getting the edge on them. Add the two bosses in the back they needed to be wary of, and this fight was proving to be a battle of attrition, one they were already on the losing edge.

His blood control quirk proved ineffective against giant foes like the Noumu and Rappa.

Tomura was calm but also downright furious that All Might wasn't around to die like a good little hero. Yet, The Pale Prince knew he needed to maintain a certain air of confidence. Especially with his new...friend, who seemed to be slowly losing his patience waiting for his prize.

It took all of his skill to convince Overhaul not to leave to find the girl; instead, he had the Yakuza boss deploy his personal pawn to fetch her. However, this also meant Overhaul wouldn't budge to attack the two pros. Even now, the brat was his priority, so unless All Might or someone with the brat came, Overhaul wouldn't move on his whims.

'Damned yakuza pride and stubbornness,' Tomura thought while possibly contemplating killing the man himself if needed. After all, if he wasn't going to serve his purpose here, what use was he to him? Other than bringing the extra muscle to the play in this wild game of death. The answer, however, came when the space behind them began to bend and warp as a black hole appeared with a slightly more disheveled Kurogiri stepping out of it. His armor was dented, and his suit ripped and sliced in odd places.

Overhaul turned slowly to look at the situation to see how Tomura would react.

"Why are you here, Kurogiri? Shouldn't you be at the entrance, guarding it?" Tomura said, now struggling to keep his composure, as he could already take a guess on why he was all the way back out here, earlier than planned.

"I'm sorry, Tomura Shigaraki, but one of the students, a fast one managed to escape to get reinforcements," Kurogiri responded nervously. The smokey man knew just how volatile the blue-haired man could be and, for a moment, looked like he had utterly snapped as he began scratching at his neck rapidly. A nervous trick Kurogiri thought that Tomura had outgrown a few years ago.

Tomura continued scratching while producing an almost nervous bout of laughter before he suddenly stopped moving altogether. With a slow angular twist of his neck, Tomura faced Overhaul. Without taking a breath, Tomura began staring at him while producing a wheezing cackle loud enough for only Overhaul to hear, letting him know that danger was coming.

"Overhaul," Tomura spoke as he continued to stare at his villainous companion with those blood-red eyes almost hidden within the gaps of his hand mask. "It's now or never. We need to start killing these worthless pros now and leave before their backup arrives. Otherwise, it's game over for us; making your little brat harder to reach."

Overhaul looked at the man with his own silent glare. It was a challenge to cooperate with Tomura so far, and even now, he was sorely tempted to kill him every now and then. Yet he also knew that he was right. This was his chance to get Eri back; now that backup was coming, his opportunity was beginning to slip away.

"Very well, Shigaraki, I suppose it is time for us to step in," Overhaul said flatly. Without another word, the two men began their move toward the battle with the two veteran educators.

The two pros had switched opponents mid-way fight. Vlad could keep up with the giant man without using his Quirk, which could be risky with a man of Rappa's size, unlike the Noumu, who didn't seem to feel pain. A few weaker villains had also managed to jump into the fray. Only to get knocked out by either a pro or one of the large villains. The Noumu due to friendly fire, while Rappa simply hated weaklings getting in his way of a good fight.

"Vlad! They're coming!" Eraserhead yelled out to his co-worker, seeing Tomura and Overhaul charge at them. Vlad saw this and quickly adjusted his angle, moving Rappa in front of him to block Overhaul, thinking that the man wouldn't harm his subordinate. Rappa laughed as he knew what Vlad King was doing; it wouldn't stop his boss.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on who you ask, both Pro-heroes had the chance to see what Overhaul could do to a man with his powers. The last of the cannon fodder villains who had backed off during the fight happened to be in front of Overhaul's way. The poor bastard didn't know that the yakuza boss cared little for those who did not serve him.

With one quick swipe of his hands, the villain in question was reduced to nothing but a bloody mist of gore, bile, and entrails. Leaving the two veteran pros momentary stunned by the man's powerful Quirk. Rappa was disappointed that his fun had ended with Vlad King. However, he knew that his boss was in no mood to indulge in his normally more violent antics.

The muscleman quickly side-stepped Vlad while managing to strike the man pushing him closer to within Overhaul's reach. In a desperate attempt to stop the man, Vlad used his Quirk on the slimmer man; unfortunately, when Vlad's blood touched Overhaul's outreached hands, everything went wrong.

The pain that Vlad felt as his right arm was suddenly obliterated was almost enough to make him blackout. He fell to his knees as the blood rushed out of the stump, just above where his elbow used to be. It was all Vlad could do to maintain focus and keep himself from bleeding out, using his blood control powers to stop himself from going into shock.

Unlike Overhaul, who continued moving until he was right over Vlad's hands moving toward his head.

"VLAD!" Vlad heard Eraserhead yell at him, with his Quirk active to save his co-worker, leaving himself wide open to the Noumu.

Overhaul was caught off-guard when he touched Vlad's face with his hand, but the man didn't die. He simply remained with a blank expression there until he was met with a large explosion to his face sending him skidding back as the beak-like mask was blown away from his face.

"FUCK OFF, SHITBIRD!" Katsuki roared out before using another explosion to launch himself away from the yakuza boss.

"Sorry for the wait!" Lemillion exclaimed before punching Tomura out of the way, making the Noumu drop a severely injured Eraserhead to protect his master. This left a slightly out of breath Suneater to begin his own assault on Rappa, who had been caught off guard by the ash blond's explosive assault on his boss.

Vlad could barely speak as he felt himself being pulled away from the fight, feeling that something spiky and robust started to coil and wrap around his body.

"Shiozaki?" He managed to say as he could see the familiar green vines of his student coiling around him.

"We got you, sir," A lisp-filled voice said to him. Vlad lifted his head to see the purple-clad short boy with rounded hair helping secure him with the vines. While in the distance he spotted Setsuna and the lanky boy from Class 1-A with the odd elbows securing Eraserhead.

"Leave me here," Vlad groaned out, too weak to yell at the reckless behavior of the first years, "get to safety."

"Can't, sir; a lot of us got split up by the misty guy! We just barely got here from the Collapsed Zone." Minoru retorted before giving Ibarra a thumb's up to let her know to begin pulling her Homeroom teacher up. As he was pulled up, Vlad could see Katsuki, Mirio, and Tamaki fighting aside a set of doubles, focusing primarily on dodging rather than attacking. They seemed to be trying to buy as much time as possible.

From the corner of his eyes, he could see Camie making illusions to support the offensive and making fakes to confuse their enemies. Vlad couldn't help but feel a little proud of his students.

"Mr. Vlad!" Ibarra exclaimed, worried after seeing her teacher's condition. Once she had pulled him up to the edge, Vlad was suddenly surrounded by some of the other first-years to help him get over the edge. Vlad had to admit, given the circumstances, that the first years were doing well, as they managed to get in him to safety only to be met by Tentacole.

Help was coming; they only needed to wait a bit longer.


Kashiko threw the round device overhead, landing with a small splash, and began to sink into the depths of the Flood Zone. The villains started to scatter, afraid that the device could have been a weapon. At the same time, everyone else on the boat watched Kashiko with bated breath. She fiddled around the settings of her equipment with her wrist-mounted screens that augmented her Quirk's abilities.

'Come on, please work,' She pleaded mentally; the device she had thrown was a sensor that used echolocation to find people in the darkness, almost like sonar. Yet, Kashiko wasn't sure it could be used for the water, she was a gamble, but she had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

The screen was still calibrating and loading the data, making Kashiko sweat. Finally, after a few more seconds, the screen flickered as it came to life. Connecting with her Quirk, the device processed a highly detailed 3D map of the boat and the water surrounding it. This included the locations of all of the villains in the water.

"IT WORKED!" She cheered, gaining instant praise from the boys that were with her.

"Holy shit," Sen exclaimed, seeing the hologram chart with the moving dots representing the villains' movements.

"Yeah, that is awesome, Sekigai!" Kosei cheered while Yoarashi gave a hearty laugh.

"Okay!" Shino began as he studied the chart carefully. "Inasa, think you can make a whirlpool with your winds here?"

Inasa looked at his vice-president and then the chart before giving him a thumb's up.

"Easily! The only problem is getting the villains in one place, seeing how they're still spread around." He added, pointing at the moving dots.

"Yeah, I think I can serve as a decoy and try to get them to follow me to the center," Shino answered, now pointing at the spot where he thought the whirlpool would have the most impact.

"Whoa, you think you could outswim a whirlpool, dude?" Sen asked, concerned about his classmate and his possible arrogance.

"No, but I do not need to outswim it. I just need Tsubaraba to make a platform I can jump to from the water just before Inasa makes it," Shino responded gravely. His Quirk allowed him to manipulate water, which proved valuable to enhance his swimming abilities. Yet, he still had his limits; a strong whirlpool and an inability to breathe underwater could still kill him like anyone else.

"That's a heavy risk, man," Kosei interjected, knowing a large part involved making the right sized platforms to hold everyone in place.

"Indeed it is, however, unless anyone else has a better idea. It is the best of what I got," Shino answered firmly, making everyone frown. Before anyone could suggest an alternative, a sudden groan and a crash slammed against the ship's middle, revealing cracks and faults that split the metal body. Forcing everyone to go with this unpopular plan.

"SHIT!" Sen exclaimed as he and the rest of the makeshift team grabbed onto the ship as it slowly began to sink. The villains began to proclaim their boredom with the waiting game.

"IT'S NOW OR NEVER, GUYS!" Kashiko yelled out while slipping out her wrist-mounted screens, handing one to Shino and Yoarashi. "USE IT TO COORDINATE WITH EACH OTHER!"

"THANKS! TSUBARABA START MAKING PLATFORMS, INASA TAKE TO THE AIR," Shino began to order out while placing the screen on his left arm. "KAIBARA, YOU WITH ME IN THE WATER OR WITH THEM ON THE PLATFORM?"

"I'LL STICK TO THE AIR FOR NOW, BUT I'LL JUMP IN IF I SEE YOU GET INTO TROUBLE!" Sen answered as he and Kashiko jumped up into the narrow first platform together that Kosei made in the middle of the air. At the same time, Yoarashi took flight, unable to fit the screen into his arm. Instead, he held it in his free hand.

"RIGHT THEN, LET'S GO!" Shino proclaimed before expertly diving back into the water from the edge of the sinking ship.

He could see some of the villains were already giving chase to him; while a handful of villains were still focusing on his team in the air. Shino swam hard while keeping an eye on the chart, thankful that the device was waterproof. He could see that Yoarashi was already in position and could see the rest on Kosei's platform; he just needed to signal them. The water bender fluidly dodged and weaved a few more villains before kicking one that had caught his leg before breaking through the surface.

"INASA, COUNTDOWN 15 SECONDS!" Shino yelled out before taking a quick breath and seeing that Yoarashi began to whip up air violently. Shino dived as deep as possible, hoping to lure as many villains as possible. As well as to build up speed to make a long jump from the water to the air platform, Kosei made above them while counting down mentally.

He quickly doubled back and shot straight to the surface at nine seconds.

'7,6,5,4,3'

He was almost at the surface when he suddenly felt a villain grab his leg awkwardly and slip out just as quickly. Shino broke through the water's surface, leaping out like a confused dolphin as he overshot his jump and missed the platform as the three who were already on it tried to reach for him. His slippy hands cost his grip on the air platform and his teammates' hands.

Yoarashi, however, didn't notice Shino falling back into the water as he continued launching the whipping air into the water. Forming a massive whirlpool that dragged most of the villains down along with Shino down as he splashed back into the water headfirst. The team could only look down in horror as their classmate began to be dragged down into the depths, with several villains going down with him.

Shino thought this was the end for him, knowing that if the whirlpool didn't drown him, the remaining villains would. Thankfully he felt his head break through the water wall where the air was being forced down, seeing Yoarashi above him. He tried to scream until his voice became hoarse, but his words were drowned out by the strong winds that also threatened to force him back under.

Then suddenly, the winds stopped, and the water slammed as the space was immediately refilled, launching everyone at the whirlpool's eye upward. Shino slammed headfirst into a villain knocking him out instantly before flying into the air, only to be caught in Yoarashi's arms.

"I GOT YOU REP!" Yoarashi managed to yell out, flying further away from the water. Seeing that help was coming, in the form of Shouto Todoroki stepping into the water, freezing a large portion of the artificial lake with every step.

SPLAT! CRACK!

Several villains who had also been launched into the air began landing violently on the freshly made ice. Only to be frozen with an extra splash of Shouto's powers for good measure. Much to the relief of the remaining team, their plan had gone awry, but some quick thinking and backup proved to be their salvation. As Yoarashi and the group slowly stepped onto the ice, careful not to break it and fall back into the water, they met with Midnight and Shouto.

"I'm so glad to see you guys alive. Shame that Mizuoji got the rough of it, though," said Midnight before wrapping Kashiko and everyone else from Class 1-B and drawing them into a hug. Shouto, however, continued his work of freezing the lake villains, who started to break through the ice, chilled to the bone, and coming up for air.

Kashiko and Kosei struggled not to cry while Sen tried to keep it cool. Still, he had to admit to being scared for a moment or two after seeing his vice-president almost die. Yoarashi simply laughed despite the situation; they had managed to get out alive.

"Over here!" They all heard a voice say above them as a frantic-looking Nejire-Chan descended down on them. Midnight immediately broke off the reunion to get a status report from Nejire-Chan, a message that made Midnight shocked to hear.

"Everyone except for Todoroki, head toward the Mountain Zone and meet up with Yaoyorozu's group there. Nejire-Chan, I want you to guide them once you're done, join up with us in the Central Plaza." Midnight ordered, all of the humor completely lost in her voice, not realizing just how bad the situation had gotten.


Izuku and company had managed to arrive to find several villains arguing and fighting with each other while spotting several bodies on the ground. Some were on fire, while others seemed to have been whipped to death.

"The cash is mine, boys!" A fair-haired villain with a whip yelled out her acid green eyes full of malice, threatening the other villains.

"You think we're just gonna let you collect the bounty solo? After trying to kill us, ya bitch?" A giant villain with large gray tusks argued back with a few small-time goons backing him up while remaining were vary of the female's flaming whip.

Izuku and Mashirao quickly tucked themselves into a corner. While Tōru scouted ahead, making her way closer to the villains trying to take a headcount thanks to her invisibility. As she got closer, her nose began to pick up the faintest smell of burnt sugar waffling in the air.

Then she spotted a familiar costume: Ryu's limp body was slumped against the wall, completely still and silent. Tōru could feel her heart sink as she stopped her count and made her way back to her makeshift team.

"Guys! Kasei's over there! I think he's really hurt or...worse," Tōru whispered her report to Mashirao and Izuku. Making the two teens scramble up a quick plan of action in the hopes of saving their classmate.

"They're distracted. I say jump in after Hagakure using her light powers to blind them and go for quick knock-outs," Izuku suggested in a low voice. His anger built, knowing that his classmate could be dead or dying without backup. He felt the need to save him as quickly as possible. "Sound good to you guys?"

"Agreed. But we should leave at least one of the villains conscious, so we can interrogate them and figure out what exactly happened here," Mashirao interjected after pointing out the odd number of unconscious villains that dotted the battlefield.

"Okay," Izuku agreed since he had a good point, while Tōru whispered her approval and made her way back to the villains. Izuku and Mashirao both waited for a few moments while adjusting themselves to spring into action as quickly as possible, waiting for the signal.

"I'll take the big one, Ojiro."

The young martial artist looked at Izuku, and that was when he saw the fresh anger in the green-haired boy's face. In the short time that he knew him. Mashirao didn't think Izuku could be capable of making such a face and now found it unwise to disagree with him and simply nodded as his answer.

"LIGHT REFRACTION!"

They heard her yell out as a large flash of light appeared, followed by many screams from the now blinded villains. Izuku and Mashirao hopped out of their cover to begin their assault on the remaining villains. The latter jabbed and tail-whipped his way through the small crowd of villains. At the same time, Izuku was quick to jump on the biggest one, pinning the large man down, slamming his slightly clawed fist next to the man's head, and cracking the street.

"Talk," Izuku said with a low growl, not knowing that his eyes flashed between green and red. Between the hellish heat, the frustration of not finding Eri, and now being able to confirm his classmate's limp body only a few feet away against the wall. The anger was really starting to get the better of him.

While Mashirao began to tie up the villains, Izuku interrogated the giant tusked villain.

Tōru slowly moved to Ryu's location. She began to tremble nervously as she got closer; the smell of burnt sugar grew stronger. The invisible lass started looking over him, discovering that he was bleeding profusely from his nose and mouth as his face was heavily bruised. His black costume that was missing its signature red scarf had large tears and gashes that barely hid the long thin, bleeding cuts.

In addition, Ryu was covered head to toe in dust that featured shoe and boot prints; as though he had been stomped on by the villains in question to finish him off.

"Kasei?" She whispered as she placed her hands on him, hoping for signs of life. After a few nerve-racking seconds, she found a faint pulse and the very quiet, labored wheezing of the Fire-eater, still breathing as painful as it sounded.

"How's he doing?" Mashirao asked behind her, now looking over Ryu since he had secured the remaining villains together. He feared the worst as Tōru had been silent the whole time.

"He's alive, but barely," Tōru whispered back as tears began welling up in her invisible eyes. They were still kids who were barely two weeks into their training as Pro-Heroes. Yet, one of her classmates was possibly knocking on death's door after being violently assaulted alone without help.

"WHERE DID THEY GO?!" Izuku suddenly roared out, slamming down his fist against the street. Sending a heavy amount of blistering wind pressure whipping violently, making the two teens look at him in surprise, not knowing that Izuku could ever sound like that.

"Th-there!" The tusked villain answered as he pointed down the street, voice full of fear as if he had just seen the Devil himself. "They're being chased by a short guy in a bird mask who had joined up with us! He kept talking about getting some little girl that the other students had! That's all I know!"

Izuku scanned the villain's face looking for hints of a lie before knocking him out with a vicious jab. Once Izuku secured him, he felt it was time to check on Ryu's condition and update his classmates on what he gathered.

"Eri was here," Izuku began with an expression of sadness while shaking mildly in anger. "Along with Asui, Tokoyami, and possibly a few from class B. It seems like Kasei saved them before making them leave him behind to buy them time...We need to move quickly; they're still being chased by a villain."

"What about Kasei?" Tōru piped up, fearing that Izuku meant to possibly abandon him.

"Ojiro and I can both work together to carry him while still being able to move fast. You can go ahead of us, Hagakure, and scout for other villains," Izuku answered her while motioning Mashirao to try to hoist Ryu from under his arms.

It was here that Izuku noticed that familiar smell of burnt sugar that reminded him of Katsuki, but that was just the thing.

Katsuki wasn't here.

Izuku would have known if Katsuki had been here, given his best friend's temperament and quirk. Ryu began to groan as he was lifted up by the two teens, his body dragged as they began to make their way to the exit.

"Just hold on, Kasei, we'll be getting you help soon," Mashirao muttered to the dark-haired boy. Unsure if Ryu could even hear him, but he did his best to at least send the guy some positive thoughts. Izuku however, kept silent as several thoughts began running through his mind. The most troublesome was what the villain had said about someone in a bird mask that seemed hellbent on getting the little girl.

'Could he be the one that was the source of Eri's night terrors? The one that made her a human test subject? Could he be one of the Bird People? If they're here...I will find them...I won't let them take her...I won't let them hurt her...BECAUSE IF THEY DO...'

"Midoriya! You're holding Kasei too tightly!" She exclaimed, seeing Izuku's arms tense up, putting unneeded pressure on Ryu's already damaged arms and snapping Izuku out of his thoughts.

"What?" Izuku hadn't realized he was crushing Ryu's right arm. It took Ryu's painful sounding groans to make Tōru turn around and worry about her classmate's condition getting worse.

"Oh no, I'm sorry, Kasei!" Izuku squeaked before giving his grip some slack, making Ryu go into his silent labored breathing once again. Tōru, however, wasn't having it after seeing Izuku's face moments ago.

"Midoriya...go on ahead of us," The invisible girl started, knowing that Izuku was most likely worried out of his mind because Eri was still in danger.

"Wait, but–," Izuku started before being cut off by Tōru again.

"But nothing, Midoriya! I know you're worried about Eri! I think we all are! I'm nowhere near as strong as you or Ojiro, and our classmates need help! I can carry Kasei. Please go on ahead; you can beat the bad guys if there are any ahead of us, right?"

Izuku looked at Mashirao, who didn't seem to have a straight answer but answered nonetheless.

"I'm good with any choice you make, Class Rep, but I'm worried about Eri and the rest of our classmates too."

Tōru managed to pull Izuku aside and take over lifting Ryu, albeit struggling to keep the tall teen's weight up.

"Go help our friends Midoriya! We'll catch up soon," Tōru finished up; while using Ryu's right hand to point toward the exit's direction. Izuku looked at these two classmates and then at his father's unconscious doppelganger before agreeing and beginning his run toward the Zone's exit allowing his Quirk to top out at his costume's limit.


In the Mountain Zone, Nejire-Chan had Momo and her makeshift team stay put; while she would look for others to lead back to the Mountain Zone from the air before she headed to the Flood Zone.

Ochako looked on from her vantage point. Her team had finally secured all the villains, ensuring that none could recover to attack them again. Momo had made a small set of binoculars for each team member to look out at various Zones. Some were busy watching the battle of the Central Plaza continue and seeing that some of their teachers had been injured severely.

Ochako, however, would use hers to continue to look for Eri. The moment she saw that the child was either alone or in danger, she would not hesitate to disobey the order to stay put so she could go after the small girl she had come to care for so much.

'Eri, please be okay,' she prayed as she continued to scan the battlefield for her.


Eijirou continued to stare at the entrance of the Downpour Zone as he paced around. The four had successfully made it outside, free from the torrents that had left them all completely soaked to the bone. After seeing the battle from the Central Plaza from here. Eijirou suspected that backup wouldn't come anytime soon like he had promised, making them worried for the Senior they had been forced to leave behind.

"How are you holding up, Kendou?" He could hear Mina ask Itsuka, who had gone pale from either the blood loss, cold, or even both. The Class 1-B Representative leaned on the pink teen, shivering while still holding on to her injured hand wrapped tightly with scraps from her costume.

"I-i'm do-doing bet-better now, that we're..out of th-the-there." She managed to answer as Tetsutetsu did his best to find her a comfy place for Itsuka to sit down and rest up.

"Sorry, Kendou, but it's the best spot I found," Tetsutetsu said, offering a spot by the sign that read. "Downpour Zone"

"The spot there is pretty warm since it's right by the glowing lights."

"Tha-thank y-you." She breathed as the silver-haired boy guided her to the spot. Now relieved of her charge, Mina turned to look at her red-haired companion. She remembered when his hair had been jet-black and facing down before becoming Horn Buddies. It still amazed her to see how much Eijirou had changed in about a year. A transformation that she had to admit wasn't displeasing to the eye as she scanned his muscular back before noticing that he seemed to be tensing up and shaking.

"Kiri?" She called out to him, making him turn, revealing the tears welling up in his eyes.


Poni arose with a nasty bump on her head, being awoken by rain pouring on her for an unknown amount of time. The blonde awoke disoriented, struggling to get up as she found herself cold and alone.

'Where am I?' She thought as she found her barrings of being in an alleyway.

'Wasn't I supposed to be training? Ow...' She noticed that she was in her Hero Costume, which wasn't allowed to be used outside of School. Meaning she must still be within the grounds somewhere. 'Why is it raining?'

Poni began to walk to the edge of the alleyway and into the rainy streets, completely alone. The young half-American girl thought at first as she could hear something loud in the distance, like a clashing of metal upon metal. She was still having trouble reading the street names, given that they were all written in Kanji.

'Why does Japanese need to be so hard to learn?! I mean, really! Who's smart idea was it to come up with a language that basically has you learn 3 alphabets*?' Poni thought with annoyance as she continued to make her way to the noise while fighting the pain that continued to pulse down her head. It wasn't until she got close that she realized that two people were fighting with a large pool of blood under them.

CLASH, SHINK!

'ALEX?!' Poni thought as she spotted her senior and fellow American fighting hard against an unfamiliar figure with two long blades. She could see that Alex had many thin cuts littering parts of his costume, with another unlucky slice landing on the edge of the boy's shoulder. Remembering the kindness he had shown her after their clash of the bomb trial, he had helped put her mind at ease as a fellow foreigner and American who had her doubts about whether she could succeed at UA.

Alexander Springfield had become a source of inspiration for those back home who wanted to break the mold and head to UA, and Poni was determined to help him.

Blink was getting tired in his fight against Pit Viper. His Quirk was beginning to strain his eyes, add the fatigue and increasingly sore limbs thanks to the extra gear he was wearing without a chance to remove it. And Blink was fighting a losing battle. For every hit he landed on Pit Viper, he received two or more cuts which only costed him more stamina and pain. The Assassin had proven that he wasn't a pushover, having the skills and talent to match up with Blink's increased speed even when using his Quirk.

"You're getting slower, boy! So much for me being a so-called 'discount Stain.'" The man mocked as he continued to slash and hack. At the same time, Blink answered by blocking with his armored gloves. Unable retort due to trying to maintain a current rhythm of circular breathing, which could be interrupted with one of his usual smart-ass quips.

'Damn it! I can't use my special move like this!' Blink thought as he tried to think of a way to regain the initial edge he had at the beginning of their fight. Alex thought he saw a brief opening. He went in for a wide punch, only to miscalculate his reach and allow the villain to duck and make a sweeping kick, knocking him off his feet into the red water. Pit Viper rose up and struck the foreign boy in the shoulder with his fang-like blade without a second's hesitation.

"ARGH!" Blink screamed out as the blade sunk deep into his body and straight into the bone.

"TIME TO DIE, BOY!" The villain roared as he brought down the second blade going for the kill. Only to be hit by a pair of horns slamming into his left side. "WHAT THE HELL ARE THESE THINGS?!"

'What?' Thought Blink as he felt the blade retreat and realized that he wasn't dead yet; then he saw the familiar flying horns causing the villain's distraction. 'Wait...those are...'

Upon seeing his chance, Blink used the distraction to get up and gain some distance to remove his heavier unneeded gear. He managed to spot his savior thanks to his distant eyesight. 'Poni!'

"I'LL CARVE OUT YOUR VERY SOUL BITCH!" Unfortunately, Pit Viper had also noticed the new interloper and made a beeline for her. Knocking the sets of flying horns aside and making a sprint with his blades at the ready. Poni had lost the element of surprise and didn't expect the speed the villain was able to run as he made his way toward her. Her headache only worsened as she tried to regain control of her horns. However, fear started to seep into Poni as she could see the wrath and malice that radiated off the man's face.

While she couldn't understand his threat, she knew he meant business.

Blink finished removing the heavier pieces of his gear and finally removed his mask, making the conditions to use his special move Blitz possible. 'No time for second guesses; it's do or die!'

It all happened in an instant.

"DIE!" The villain roared out, bringing down his blades on the confused and terrified Poni. Only to have an unmasked Blink suddenly appear in a blue flash right in front of him, shielding her.

'What...?' Would be his final thought as his blades pierced through the foreign boy, caught off-guard by the lad's newfound speed and not knowing it would be the last thing he would ever see. Poni screamed as a pair of red-stained blades appeared through her Senior's body as time seemed to have stood still, her brain still processing the sight of Blink and Pit Viper both collapsing in front of her.

Blink had been ready to take the hit and use the opening to counterattack. Using those few vital nanoseconds to help guide one of the blades into a less lethal area of his body with his left hand. However, Blink's right hand rocketed into a vicious, mach speed right hook that connected right into the villain's left cheek.

SLAM, SNAP!

Unfortunately, the build-up had been too strong. The villain's neck completely turned one hundred and eighty degrees snapping his neck and killing him instantly.

Blink, no, Alexander couldn't feel the lower half of his body, save for the stinging pain from his eyes from overusing his Quirk. That and the pain from the blades sticking from his left lung and stomach. In reality, he mostly felt the harsh rain pelting his face. He struggled to breathe as the familiar metallic taste of blood flooded his taste buds.

His focus was already fading, hell; he was sure he could see the Specter of Death, already standing next to him, ready to take his soul to the afterlife.

"Alex!" Poni screamed out in English as she knelt by his side with tears pouring down her eyes. "Speak to me, please!"

"Poni..." Alex managed to grasp out in English. He remembered that she still had trouble speaking Japanese when they had spoken briefly after the battle trial.

"I'm sorry, save yourself and just leave me here..." He added before trying to point down the street, only to be surprised by the re-appearance of Eijirou and Mina running down the road towards them. Alex silently cursed himself; they didn't need to see this; they didn't need to deal with the trauma of his final moments.

"Help him please!" Poni shouted at the two, not realizing she had gone back to English. Her hands shook as Alex was already starting to be losing consciousness.

"Springfield!" Eijirou yelled out, kneeling down to his Senior's level, while Mina stopped a few feet away with a look of horror. It didn't take long for Alex to see that the water pooling around him was already a deep scarlet. He was losing volumes of blood by the second. It wouldn't be much longer until his remaining time on this earth would be over.

"Damn it...Rockman...Ashido...why are you...back here? I told you...I had it...covered..." Alex managed to say in Japanese, between painfully wheezing breaths and haggard bloody coughs. Yet, a tiny grin still formed on his face as Eijirou helped Poni sit him up carefully.

"We got to get him out of here!" Said Mina as she started going to grab Alex's legs. "It will be quick if we all work together!"

"Save yourselves...don't worry about me..."

"I'm sorry!" Eijirou cried out as he and Mina all began to try and lift up Alex as carefully as possible. "Back-up wasn't coming yet! I...We couldn't just stand there waiting... I'm so sorry."

"Put him on me!" said Poni as she got on all fours, her costume adjusted to allow someone to literally ride her like a horse. "I carry him! You keep him steady!"

"Donno...what you're...being sorry abou...I just did...what a hero should do...right? Just go...and be safe...and calm down...I...ain't dying...yet." Alex answered, trying to ease their worries as the duo worked together to seat him on Poni. Alex's head slumped forward as he continued losing strength; it didn't matter; he was too far gone. His chances of survival at this rate would be nearly zero, but they didn't need to know that.

"Alex, please just save your strength..."

"We're not far from help, Springfield!"

"Just hang on, bro...We, we're going to save you!"

Even at the very end, Alex was determined to keep up a front for them. Despite his personal regrets about dying so soon, at the very least, protecting his juniors wasn't going to be one of them; he had done his job. And even as the Specter of Death began to follow them, silently and invisible to everyone but him.

Alex had already accepted his fate.

"Just watch...guys...I'm still owed money...ya know? Can't die...yet...not til' I collect..." Alex slowly managed to turn his head on Poni's hair to address his quiet, surprisingly beautiful companion. "How...else am...gonna bribe...the reaper when she...comes for me...for real, right...? I'm...too ugly...to even try...and...seduce...her...heheh."

Eijirou's face turned to stone as he watched the blue glow from Alex's eyes start to fade.

"Hey...Miss Reaper...I know this sounds kind of pathetic..." Alex softly called out in English with a bloody chuckle, inching his hand up as high as he could at the empty space next to him. "Could you please hold this sad virgin's hand? If I have to die today, then I'd like to at least like to go out holding a pretty girl's hand."

"You hold his hand!" Poni told Mina as tears flowed down her face, as the two other teenagers couldn't understand Alex's rambling. "Please..."

Mina did as she was told, gently grabbing the foreigner's cold, clammy hand. She did her best to be a comfort to her foreign companion, hoping that this act of gentle compassion could ease the boy's pain. She felt his hand close to her own.

"Thanks..." Alex finished up with a smile as darkness came over his eyes, and saw no more.


Tsuyu and her crew were relieved to make it outside of the Conflagration Zone, breathing without the excessive heat and fire that had left them all smoked and singed like a well-done ham. Neito and Hiryu had both gone out ahead of the rest to ensure there weren't any villains waiting for them near the entranceway and find some backup to rescue Ryu.

This left Kinoko in charge of dabbing the coolant gel they had found in The Fire-Eater's black emergency bag on Tsuyu's, Eri's, and Fumikage's burns. While leaving the small bag with the two EQ pens inside alone by the entranceway.

"That should do it for now," said Kinoko as she finished applying the gel to Tsuyu's burns.

"Thanks, ribbit," Tsuyu managed to wheeze out as she began leaning against the wall of the Zone's sign. She was dangerously dehydrated but in slightly better spirits, and the gel was helping with the pain.

Fumikage, whose burns had already been treated, simply walked away, trying to survey the sight at the Central Plaza as the tiny form of Dark Shadow projected from him. It had become small and timid due to its exposure to all the light earlier, leaving it with little means to be helpful.

However, to his surprise, Eri stood nearby him looking out at the USJ. All while still clutching onto the bright red scarf she got from Ryu. It was strange for Eri, after once fearing the Raven Headed boy, now finding him as a clear source of protection despite how she had initially reacted towards him. Now that Overhaul was back here to reclaim her, she was reminded of the words Izuku spoke to her.

"I promise you, Eri. Bird people or otherwise. I will always do my best to protect you, and I know that Ochako and everyone else in the Hero course at UA would protect you too. We want to be heroes to use our power to save people just like you."

After the display at the Fire Zone, she found his words had spoken true. But then came a newfound fear the more she thought about it.

Was this her fault?

They had come to get her back and started hurting everyone.

She remembered the last night's terror she had before coming here. The fairy tale was over; her dreams of a family were slowly fading away as she knew Overhaul would never let her be free. Ryu had already paid the price to simply buy her time. Now she feared who else would die for her in vain.

"AH!"

Fumikage instinctively moved in front of Eri as the two turned.

They were met with the sight of Chronostasis injecting Kinoko with one of the EQ pens that she had left in the black bag. As the medication kicked in, it prevented her from using her Quirk as the drug began to take effect. He held her hostage with a small knife held up to her neck once he dropped the syringe pen. The second pen in his other hand also held the girl in a chokehold.

"Nice of you to leave me this gift," Chronostasis mocked as Tsuyu and Fumikage tried to make a stand, but both of them knew that they were still weak to even move much less attack. "Hand over Eri, and no one else needs to die like your fiery friend inside."

Eri's heart sank in horror, looking at Fumikage and Tsuyu with fear clear on their faces. Yet again, to Eri's surprise, both continued to buff their opponent.

"Never," Fumikage said, standing tall. Even without Dark Shadow, he refused to surrender Eri, so he tried a different tactic. "Take me hostage, instead!"

"Or me, ribbit!"

"I don't have a use for either of you foolish punks," Chronostasis answered before his hair quirk suddenly shot out, stabbing Tsuyu and Fumikage. Both animal teens could feel their bodies slow down as his Quirk began to take effect. "And since you won't cooperate, I guess I can start killing you all and claim Eri. Besides, I got insurance to ensure she doesn't go nuts with her crazy Quirk."

Chronostasis continued with a dry laugh while tapping on the second EQ pen before motioning the knife closer to Kinoko's neck.

"NO!" Eri screamed out, tears running down her face. "I'll come...just please, Chrono, no more hurting anyone else... please."

"Eri, please...no," Fumikage pleaded, trying to struggle through the slow down of Chronostasis's Quirk reach for Eri; as she walked past him, she gave him a small pat on his pant leg. "Thank you, Mr. Fumi, for being nice to me."

Without another word, Eri began walking toward Chronostasis. He quickly threw Kinoko violently to the ground, her head slamming on the floor as she landed, and snatched up Eri.

"ERI!" Fumikage roared out as he began to fight the Quirk harder, struggling with every step forward trying to reach Eri. At the same time, Tsuyu shot out with her tongue only to meet with a violent slash of Chornostasis's knife before turning to hold the blade up to Eri's neck.

"Don't even think about it! And don't tempt me! My boss could actually fix the little brat if I decide to stab her," Chronostasis threatened. "Trust me, it wouldn't be the first time she would have tasted the edge of death."

The cold words stunned the two animal teems; they knew that Eri had been through a lot, but now this seemed to be at another level. Chronostasis, as if to add salt on the wounds, continued to mock them.

"Now, say goodbye to your little friends, Eri."

Eri looked at the weeping teens as she simply waved at them. Satisfied, Chronostasis released his Quirk's effect and used the same hair to vault over Fumikage's head and run down to the Central Plaza. Upon their freedom, both animal teens collapsed, their remaining energy entirely spent.

"I'm sorry, Eri... I'm so sorry," Fumikage cried as he struggled to get up, fighting the tears that pouring down his eyes, seeing Tsuyu was doing the same.

"Damn it...huh?" Fumikage stopped as he began hearing a lower growl and looked up. He was met with a similar green hair teen by the entranceway with wrath in his eyes that chilled Fumikage to the very bone.

"Mi-Midoriya?"


The battle in the central plaza had been a mixed bag for both sides.

Katsuki, in an insane attempt to destroy the pain in the ass that was the Noumu, had Minoru trap the creature with his sticky balls. Only for the ash-blond teen to jump on the Noumu's face and let loose not only with the sweat reserves stored in both gauntlets but with two additional maxed-out blasts at once. the Noumu's head was blown off, launching Katsuki back; his arms completely burned and broken as his gear shattered.

Unable to handle the strain of such a destructive force.

On the other hand, Suneater had been left concussed by Rappa's extensive assault only to be met with Tentacole and Rikidou, who had both jumped into the fray to prevent further damage. Meanwhile, Overhaul and Tomura both tried hard to kill Lemillion, who had managed to keep himself safe thanks to his Quirk and a few of Camie's illusions.

"Just a little longer!" Tentacole roared out, trying to restrain Rappa down. At the same time, a sugar rushed Rikidou kept slamming down upon Rappa's head with everything he had, only for an illusion of Camie appearing next to the two with a frantic warning.

"DODGE TENTADUDE!" She yelled before disappearing with a tiny Pop.

The real Camie was busy taking care of an enraged Katsuki who still wanted to fight despite the horrible state of the bomber's bloody arms. Tentacole quickly grabbed the stupefied Sugarman and pulled back just in the nick of time. A massive wave of ice-coated Rappa was followed by a familiar purple mist that surrounded the air, making the giant man sleepy.

As Shouto and Midnight made their presence known on the battlefield, Tomura and Overhaul seemed to be on the ropes. Surrounded by a headless Noumu and Rappa sleeping on the job, it seemed like it was over for the two.

Or it would have been until Chronostasis's laugh echoed in the plaza.

His appearance made everyone freeze when they saw Eri being held hostage as he slowly made his way toward his boss, knife by the child's neck. Lemillion forced himself to pull back, seeing the EQ Pen on the man's hand and knowing what that could do to anyone.

"ERI!" Katsuki roared out as an explosion began to pop out of his bloody, broken hands.

Tomura laughed, knowing the heroes wouldn't dare make a move with the child being held, hostage. While Overhaul looked at Eri with a strangely soft expression that only hardened as they got ever closer.


At the Mountain Zone, Ochako was struggling hard against her classmates, who were desperately trying to stop her from going down there, flailing violently enough that she almost accidentally hit her teammates more than once.

"LET ME GO! ERI! ERI!" She screamed, refusing to listen to the pleas of her team. Eri was in danger and refused to simply stand there and let it happen, not without a fight.

"URARAKA, PLEASE CALM DOWN!" Momo pleaded only to be met with another punch that she had to dodge as Ochako cried out.

"SHE'S BEEN THROUGH ENOUGH! I WON'T! I CAN'T LET IT KEEP HAPPENING! NOT TO HER! NOW LET ME GO, PLEASE!"


Once Chronostasis had gotten close enough, he began speaking to his boss.

"Looks like she made friends here, Overhaul." While Eri quickly shook her hand, trying to lie, knowing what Chronostasis was trying to do.

"No! Just no! I don't have friends! Just please don't hurt them! I promise I'll be good, just no, please..."

Overhaul's expression completely changed as he gave Eri a bone-chilling. It held no warmth or kindness. It was the smile that warned her that danger was coming.

"Shigaraki. Step back and have the black mist man get ready to leave with us." The man said flatly before putting his hands on the ground, collapsing the floor with a loud crash, not letting the man have a chance to respond. "It seemed I need to teach a lesson to Eri about lying, ONE SHE WILL NEVER FORGET!"

Everyone tried to hold on as the ground broke apart as if an earthquake was happening. No one noticed the dark warp gates opening next to all of the small-time villains; the dead Noumu and Rappa as Overhaul's hands reached for them. A large cloud of dust rose up, covering the villains from view.

Strange sounds began to be heard, popping, twisting, and crunching as the ground seemed to be molding into something else. When the sounds stopped, they could hear something massive had begun stirring, moving slowly, only a large blast of hot blistering air roaring out. An enormous claw appeared to rip the dust away, revealing a giant monster with Overhaul at its head.

The man had infused himself with the villains, including his own men. Eri was held in one of the claws. It was a monster that could only be described as a Demon. Giant with six giant limbs and a long vicious-looking spiked tail, its face was like that of the Noumu, only it appeared painfully stretched. It looked even more monstrous when its maw would open wide, revealing nothing but a void as dark as a starless night sky.

Tomura couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Talk about a multi-stage boss fight!"

The Demon Overhaul began to laugh as he seemed to be waiting for someone to challenge him before he would start killing without regard. It was the only way he believed that Eri would learn to never disobey him again. He could see some wanted to move, but others feared that making a move would endanger Eri's safety. After all, just how could they save her from his grasp now?

Eri looked on, still pleading with Overhaul to show mercy. She didn't want to be the cause of their pain, to have them suffer because of her.

"LET HER GO!"

Everyone heard a voice say, one Eri knew all too well as she Izuku began walking down at a steady pace, his heart beating rapidly with fear. A fear for Eri's safety as nothing else mattered to him at the moment. Izuku didn't know if he could win, but he had sworn to her that he would keep her safe, and he meant to keep that oath.

His eyes brimmed with malice, making who could see him nervous. They saw the color of his eyes flash in various colors, something they hadn't seen before, with only one exception.

Green-Blue-Teal-Blue-Teal-Silver-Teal-Silver-Red-Gold-Red-Gold.

Katsuki froze the moment that even from his spot far away, the two were still able to make eye contact. Katsuki saw the drastic shift in eye color; he knew that Izuku was pushing the limit. The limit that Hisashi had warned them all of those years ago.

The Secret of Dragon Shift.

Katsuki knew that everything could go to hell here and now. He tried to pull himself away from the grip of Hanta and Camie, yelling at his best friend with all he had. "IZUKU! DON'T DO IT!"

Izuku could hear his friend's yelling, but couldn't understand what he was saying. His focus remained on the Demon in front of him. Holding on to the little girl he had come to love with everything he had. He had a desire to protect her from the terrors that plagued her.

Now it seemed like the terror was here.

Overhaul looked at the boy with curious eyes, a heroic idiot, no doubt. But could he have been the one who had taken care of Eri since her escape? Izuku stared right back at Overhaul, coming to terms with who they both were to Eri.

The Demon Lord Overhaul: her tormentor.

The Dragon Knight Izuku: her protector.

A familiar voice within the Knight's mind called out to him.

A Knight slays the Demon, no?

"LET ERI GO NOW!" Izuku roared out again, feeling something tugging in the back of his head trying to get out, a desire to tear and destroy, mixed in with a desire to protect, to save Eri.

"Please leave me...Papa," Eri wept, not wanting Izuku to get hurt, only for Overhaul to hear her, his eyes growing wide.

"Midoriya, get back here!" Someone called out, Izuku unable to focus on who had been called out for him as his ears began filling with a slight buzzing noise.

His whole focus was on one thing: "Take this fucker down."

A Knight saves the Princess, no?

The voice grew stronger as Izuku felt his skin becoming warmer.

Overhaul decided enough was enough and decided to make Izuku the first example of what was to come as one of his many claws came baring down. He roared one last guttural roar as Eri screamed, pleading for him to stop.

"I'M DONE PLAYING GAMES! DIE!"

"MIDORIYA!"

"IZUKU!"

Izuku looked up at the massive claw coming down on him like a hammer. A grin grew on his face as he spoke his answer.

"Okay then...No more games."

Izuku remembered this voice.

His father's voice roared in his mind's eye, like a King roaring a fiery command.

As his heir, his prince, his knight, and his son, Izuku was duty-bound to obey.

A Demon does not fear a Knight. For he is a mere mortal.

A Demon does not fear a Dragon. For their strength is equal.

You are a Knight with the power of a Dragon, enough to bring him to heel.

Yet, you hold the power of something much greater than both.

You can be a Knight with the power of the Devil.

No matter the choice, the answer remains the same.

Show this Demon the meaning of fear and bring him to his knees!

A large flash of light appeared as a massive wave of air pressure cascaded upon the area. Shouto quickly stepped in to produce a large ice shield to protect everyone behind him. The ice instantly began to shatter and crack as Shouto continued to add to it, coating himself with ice. He knew what was coming as his father had warned him about Izuku's possible defect.

All Shouto could do at the moment was to protect his classmates from that unleashed power.

Izuku reappeared as his costume slowly came off. His skin was now coated with shiny emerald green scales that shined as tempered steel, with sizeable bone-white plate scales covering critical parts of his chest and arms. Hands and feet were clawed; his body had grown nearly a foot taller as his limbs tensed up with muscle and sinew. The dark green scales reached the edge of his jawline, his smile contained razor-sharp teeth, his hair had stiffened up, and his eyes were pools of molten gold within a sea of darkness.

He had side-stepped the claw, taking one step, then a second before rushing into battle with a great big.

ROARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR


The final battle of the USJ had begun.

Overhaul looked surprised at the change in the boy's features. Only that surprise turned into shock as Izuku zipped past his head, slashing Overhaul right across the face, followed by a large amount of wind pressure that blindsided him.

Soon, Overhaul began feeling nothing but pain as Izuku zipped and zoomed at a blistering breakneck speed, punching, slashing, stabbing with his claws, moving too fast and too close for Overhaul to counterattack, all while that damned air pressure pushed him back with every strike.

Yet, Overhaul still had an ace up his sleeve. The Noumu's regenerative abilities and those of his own Quirk were kicking in. Even Izuku, who was operating entirely on instinct, knew he couldn't keep this up for long. His claws were already stained and cracked with every blow; muscles screamed in pain with every impact and slam. This fight could not last long. Eri began to struggle with her captor. She still had the EQ pen on hand and knew that Chronstasis had used it on someone earlier.

Maybe she could use it too?

Meanwhile, Shouto struggled to keep the icy barrier up, but the intense wind pressure made it difficult. At the same time, everyone else from the corners of the USJ watched, some in silence or shock. Others with dark and fearful thoughts.


Ochako had finally calmed down enough to stop fighting but was already planning to make her own move. She needed to save Eri and Izuku.

"Is Midoriya...Draco Knight's kid?" She heard Yosetsu gulp while Yui had begun trembling with fear at the sight of the two fighting each other. While they all collectively tried to avoid the violent and powerful wind pressure that continued to pound on them.

Denki simply looked on, his face blank as if he was too shocked to process what he was seeing. While Momo and Kyouka looked at each other and then at Ochako. Yet, Ochako simply looked on. Her theory had been confirmed. Only now everyone knew, and now she feared how Izuku would be looked at from here.

"WE GOT TO HELP HIM!" Ochako called out to her teammates, rallying them to help and trying to keep them from dwelling on Izuku's secret.

"How the hell do we do that?" Denki suddenly asked, snapping out of his funk. "This is clearly All Might levels of villain! The small fry we can handle, but between Eri and Midoriya, how do we help out without screw things up?!"

Momo began to think while she viewed the battle seeing that while Izuku was holding his own, he didn't seem to be making a real dent on the damned monster. And after taking a quick peek through her binoculars, she confirmed her suspicions.

"It seems like our foe can regenerate...we need to stop that to give Midoriya the edge...something like a...massive shock," Momo finished up, looking at Denki.

The blond looked at Momo before looking down at Overhaul, and after placing the pieces together, he answered.

"I can shock anything, but two things worry me. One, I can't aim my electric attacks! So, I either need something connecting me to the giant guy, or we attach a lighting rod on him! And two, I don't want to accidentally hurt Eri with my attack! We need to cut her loose before I can hit him with a full blast!"

Ochako paused when Denki said they needed to 'Cut her loose.'

A crazy idea began forming in her head as she looked at Kyouka's abandoned machete...and Yui Kodai. While Momo also looked at the nervous-looking Yui, making her very uncomfortable as the two ladies began walking up to her with rather unique requests.


Katsuki was being forced back by Camie and Hanta. He tried desperately to help his best friend. All the while hearing some of the commentaries from others. The commentary he had long since feared hearing.

"Is that Draco Knight?!"

"No...it's Midoriya..."

"But that's Draco Knight's quirk, isn't it?!"

"Isn't that really dangerous?! What the hell is the point of the Volatile Quirk Act if it doesn't even stop the son of the law's poster boy!"

Katsuki could see the fear in the faces of some from both classes. Others looked like they were simply observing. Their others, however, seemed to be waiting for their chance to strike back regardless of what was going on. Eraserhead was still conscious, barely considering his injuries, and had some of his students prop him up. Ready to use Quirk on either Izuku or Overhaul, possibly both if needed to get the situation under control.

As soon as he could get a clear line of sight.


Nejire-chan had forced the group she had been leading at the base of the Mountain Zone into cover. Since just before the battle trial, she and the rest of the third years had been informed by Eraserhead about the truth of Izuku's Quirk.

As their Department Head knew, they were all mature enough to handle the information given and would not judge the kid because of his father's actions. However, she couldn't help but worry about Izuku's immediate future as she could see the paling faces of her charges.

Shino, who had awoken a moment ago when the first shock wave hit, looked at Izuku with his own mix of anger and fear.

'A wolf in sheep's clothing...'


Mashirao and Tōru could only watch the battle unfold while desperately trying to care for all their classmates with Fumikage and Tsuyu. At the same time, Ryu and Kinoko were both still unconscious from earlier.


Eri continued to try and stab Overhaul with the EQ pen, not knowing that she needed to remove to press the button to release the syringe. Seeing her surrogate father fight as he had promised made her want to fight back. To free herself from his grasp once and for all.


During the clash of the Demon and the Dragon, no one noticed who was running down under Overhaul's giant feet. Despite all his fears and knowing one wrong step would get him crushed, Minoru Mineta began planting down as many sticky balls as he could. At least he had one of Ibarra's vines wrapped around his waist, ready to pull him out of the death trap he had placed himself in at a moment's notice.

It was the only way he had managed to convince her of his plans. Her only condition was that she would decide when to pull him out to safety. They both knew Overhaul needed to be slowed down for everyone's sake. However, Shouto since was still busy using his ice to create the barriers, protecting them from the wind pressure. This only left Minoru with the right power to slow this beast down. After seeing Izuku fight against the odds, despite the night that haunted him six years ago, it was enough for Minoru to try and fight as best he could.

Overhaul's movements were slowly but surely slowed down with every step until he found himself completely stuck to the damaged floor. The foot claws were covered with hundreds of sticky purple balls, buying Izuku valuable breathing room from the beast's counterattacks.

'Just a little more!' Minoru thought as he narrowly avoided getting crushed by another claw and responded by throwing several more sticky balls at it as more and more blood ran down his head. 'I gotta help him save Eri!'


Overhaul began to feel something new as Izuku continued his vicious unyielding assault against him for a split second. He could see the boy's face. He had stopped seeing the golden eyes at the beginning of their fight. Now they had become blood-red, worthy of the Devil. It only took one look at those blood-red eyes to remind him of an emotion he had once forgotten.

FEAR.

An emotion he hadn't felt since being taken by his former boss, Eri's grandfather, and the man who had raised him from the gutters. The man who had betrayed him when he turned rat to the government six years ago.

"BEGONE, YOU PEST!" Overhaul roared, swinging violently, managing to strike Izuku to the ground. Eri screamed upon seeing Izuku getting hit, only to stop when she saw the boy get up just as fast despite the damage he had just received.

ROARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Despite his clawed hands becoming bloody and raw, Izuku still fought on. Overhaul braced for Izuku's incoming hit but could not move due to his foot claws being stuck to the floor. What he didn't expect was another voice coming up from behind him.

"SHIFT! RELEASE!"

Overhaul turned to see a brunette in a black and pink costume with what appeared to be a giant machete coming down on him, or more specifically, the claw that held Eri. The blade, aided by gravity, came down with a long sweeping slice. Overhaul couldn't even process the pain as Izuku had zipped by with another slice this time to his face.

Ochako wasted no time, launching herself by using the falling machete to follow the giant limb that held Eri, who had gone flying when the claw released her. Eri flew in the air in complete surprise, yet her heart soared as she saw Ochako's arms reaching out for her.

"I've got you," said Ochako as a warm feeling crept into Eri's heart. She felt safe in the girl's embrace as the two began descending slowly, thanks to Ochako's Quirk. Overhaul, completely livid about being cheated of his long-awaited prize, began reaching out for the two girls still descending to the ground, aiming to swipe them out of the air.

"FIRE!"

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!

Yet, before he could even reach them. Overhaul was suddenly bombarded by a large volley of cannonballs that began battering him along a giant harpoon that landed dead center of his monstrous frame.

Momo and her team had made a series of miniature cannons that had been made bigger thanks to Yui's Quirk to conserve her body fat. Add a makeshift chain and harpoon courtesy of Yosetsu's welding quirk and they had created the link needed for Denki to do his job.

"Get back!" Denki yelled out as he grabbed the chain that was secured to the ground, thanks again to Yosetsu, as he started charging his Quirk at max output. Denki was ready to send a massive shock to Overhaul's body.

"CHARGE UP! 1.4 Million volts!" Denki yelled out as he pushed his Quirk to its limits.

"ARRRRRRRRR!" Overhaul roared out in pain as his body convulsed with violent twitches and spasms, unable to control himself or counterattack. When the electrical charge ended, Izuku took advantage of Overhaul's condition and began running up Overhaul's still twitching limbs to deliver the Coup de Grȃce.

With one last jump, Izuku placed the last of his strength into one final strike.

ROARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! He bellowed out as his fists came together and slammed down upon Overhaul's head, sending the two crashing down to the ground. The dust and air pressure went everywhere across the USJ, making Ochako land harshly with Eri still in her arms.

"Shift." After a painful landing, she managed to gasp out, using her Quirk to weigh her and Eri down, trying to avoid getting blown away by the air pressure.

Overhaul's mind went blank as his ears were ringing painfully as he was forced to release the villains held captive because of his Quirk. He landed violently on the ground as the material used to create his transformation split up. This left several dazed and confused villains and a stunned Tomura to make his escape. He had lost the battle, but there was still time to win the war; he decided then and there to cut his losses short.

"Next time, I'll be sure to win...Kurogiri, it's time for us to go," He said after taking one last disappointing look at the battlefield. He stepped into a warp gate that opened up before him, with the smoky villain following shortly behind him. As the dust settled and the remaining villains slowly began to come to, Izuku let out an inhuman roar. Warning the villains to remain still as he spotted a terrified Overhaul trying to drag himself to where Tomura was before he had been left behind.

Izuku slowly began walking, almost circling the defeated man like a lion stalking its prey.


"IZUKU, STOP!" Katsuki yelled out.

"MIDORIYA, IT'S OVER!"

"Midnight, get me up. If Midoriya's really has gone berserk, we need to stop him." Eraserhead whispered to the R-rated hero, who had taken over carrying her boss. A whisper that a few others managed to hear.


However, all of Izuku's senses continued to focus on one thing.

The man in front of him. Izuku could only feel the wrath of wanting vengeance for the little girl. This man had been the source of all her nightmares; her scars and tears were all because of him. Now he was here before him, broken, trying to flee like the coward, entirely at his mercy.

It would be so easy to end him.

It would be the only way to ensure that he could never ever hurt Eri again.

'Yes...end him.'

Overhaul stopped moving when he saw that he had been abandoned by Tomura. Cursing the man and vowing revenge, he turned to face Izuku, only to be met with that mask of malice with those cursed blood-red eyes that made his heart pound with fear. Izuku began to come down on him, with murder clear in his eyes.

"Eri!" They all heard Ochako yell out. Making Izuku stop as he listened to that name go through his head.

Eri.

Izuku suddenly stopped moving, his face becoming blank, yet his eyes were still a bloody red as Eri grew closer. Izuku turned his head to see her running at him with a determined yet teary face. After a few more seconds Izuku turned around and began to reach for Eri.

Time seemed to hold still before it all happened.

There was a flash, a scream, and blood went everywhere.


Authors Commentary

I remember being extremely nervous when I uploaded this chapter for the first time. Up until this point, most of the shake-ups I had written had been mostly set-up and world-building. The battle trial was a minor shake-up when compared to this insanity I cooked up.

I think this multi-parter was serving as the start of me truly breaking from hard canon. While we still continue to have elements that mirror canon. We'll also start seeing a heavy butterfly effect changes future events for better...and for worse.

-ZX