Targeted Attack

Estelle jumped from her bed to the sound of beeping. To halt the haze in her mind, she leaned over as she rubbed her eyes and pulled the device on the side of her bed. Panic overrode her senses once Estelle realised that the whole dorm was being alerted.

Spirits were here.

Jumping out of her bed and throwing her gear on, Estelle rushed down to the common room to find various students in their jammies and hero outfits. Turning to her in relief, Mr Aizawa stepped forward before anyone could say a word. "I checked the cameras. Some members of the League are here, including the red cloak."

As soon as he finished those words, Estelle's eyes were lit alight as her wings unfurled from her back. She was raring to go, and she refused to lose.

"What do you want to do, captain?" Kirishima asked, stepping forward with a severe expression.

Darkening her gaze, Estelle held a solemn scowl as she turned and headed towards the door. "I will go ahead. Those in their hero suits can follow behind, but you only have permission to defend from the League of Villains. Everything else is mine. Got it?"

Seeing the frantic nods when she turned her head back for confirmation. Estelle rushed out of the door and shot off into the air, only to land one hundred metres away from the intruders.

There stood the man she had been looking for since Endeavour's attack, and with him were various members of the League. Dabi, Twice and Toga stood behind him casually whilst different spirits sat in random spots around her.

She was surrounded. But, Estelle had beaten these types of odds before.

"Hey princess", Dabi drawled, a smirk on his lips. Scowling at the endearment, Estelle scanned him closer and noticed he was on edge.

The understanding brew that he wasn't here out of his own volition. It seemed as if the League of Villains wanted no part of this, but they had to play their roles because of Estelle's previous warning. Estelle was grateful that they were even smart enough to do that. She didn't want deaths on her conscience, good or bad people alike. She would prefer it be related to something completely different than this.

"Ah, Estelle. It's good to see you once again. I am sure you had seen my warnings that I had left out for you. I was sure you would leave the students to marinate in their own safety, but you stuck around them. Are you sure you don't care for them? Because from the way I see it, it looks like you stayed to protect them."

Annoyed, Estelle snapped, "Why are you here?"

"Because I want you. I need you to fulfil my mission, and I have come to retrieve you."

"Over our dead body!" Someone yelled as they landed beside her. Stunned, Estelle turned her head to the side only to see an orange and black suit.

"Bakugo...Back away."

"Hell no! I'm gonna crush these villains to pieces!" The aggressive teen retorted, a manic grin on his face.

Sighing in annoyance, Estelle wasn't given a chance to respond as blue fire shot out towards the explosive male. Pushing him aside, Estelle blocked the blow with an earth barrier and a frown on her face. She knew the League of Villains didn't want to be here. But, they still hated heroes, and they wouldn't waste an opportunity to fight one like this.

"I didn't need your help!" Bakugo's ego yelled before blasting himself around the wall to engage further into the fight.

Rolling her eyes, Estelle diverted her eyes back to the focus of her mission. She was sure Bakugo would be able to handle himself, but she would need to keep an eye on him just in case. Nobody was getting hurt on her watch, especially not her class. 'My...class? Fuck no, snap out of it.'

Before she could think on that thought further, Estelle noted how the red cloak's head was turned towards Bakugo in interest. Feeling her heart drop to her chest, Estelle couldn't stop the hiss from leaving her lips. "Eyes on me, big boy."

Sharing an intense gaze with her opponent, Estelle was thrown into a fight with the hoards scattered around the area. She dealt with them with ease; the main issue she was having was the fact that it was time-consuming. She could do this all day, but she needed her focus to be the one watching her fight.

Surprised, Estelle was slapped into a few trees before she could even think about what had happened. It seemed that whoever this was, had exceptional control over his levitation. Wiping the debris out of her eyes, Estelle shot forward to pass the spirits lunging towards her with her sights set on the goal.

Estelle could hear the aggravated growl of the opponent as he turned to fly away. Keeping her eyes on the red cloak, she found it easier to trail him from the contrast of colours. Weaving in and out of the trees, Estelle used her air-bending to send out shots of invisible bullets. Luckily, the move caught him off guard as he faltered for a moment.

Dark spirits were beginning to pour in the closer she managed to get to the red cloak. The beings were springing out mid-air from an invisible gate and fell towards her. The frustration was beginning to set in as Estelle avoided them; he seemed to have a constant amount of these things.

Realising that this was going nowhere, Estelle recognised that this would be extremely difficult without backup. She couldn't be in multiple places at once; that was impossible. But how would she reach him if he had a constant stream of spirits pouring in whenever he deemed it so? It just wasn't viable.

Putting the thought aside, Estelle knew she would have to find a way to work around that. For now, though, she would only be able to fend off the attack. She wouldn't be able to finish this once and for all without a solid plan at her back.

Ducking under multiple Batsnouts, Estelle let out harsh air streams to push the flying beasts away. She couldn't use her fire within these woods; she didn't want to burn the whole place down. Watching as the leader of the dark spirits halted at his previous spot, Estelle realised that they had returned to the beginning. He hovered in the air, stopping the movements of the feral beasts. Estelle could just see it; he was about to start speaking.

"Estelle. You will continue to fight me to the bitter end, won't you? You were always like that, always too reluctant to follow orders. It was only until I beat it out of you that you started listening to me. How disappointing that you've fallen back to your old patterns."

Estelle froze, and the dark laugh rang out through the trees, hitting her right in the heart. His voice wasn't modified anymore, and the cold burn of his words was like someone had dunked her into freezing water.

"Oh? It seems like it's finally hitting you. Who I am; is the question you've been longing for an answer for. It seems that you remember me quite well."

"How?..." Estelle uttered, widened eyes as she stared up at the figure in shock.

"Because, my dear Estelle. I had deceived you."

Estelle remained quiet, her mind working on overdrive as she tried to understand the current moment. "It can't be. I killed you."

The League of Villains fighting with the students halted at her words. Stunned that Estelle had confirmed that she was a killer in front of the heroes. Of course, they weren't familiar with her world.

Laughing, the man raised his arms in the air as he explained. "Oh, is someone having a hard time believing the truth? I gave you enough information to figure it out, Multum magna occisio machina."

"No..."

"Yes, Multum magna occisio machina. It is me," He confirmed as he moved his arms towards his mask, removing it for the world to see.

The students watching the scene recognised the face. The man from her memories was the cruel one who led the pack. He looked exactly the same, and the sheer dominance radiating out of his aura made everyone watching quiver.

Estelle remained dumbfounded, her brain still trying to catch up on the situation. "How?"

Giving a clangorous and scathing laugh, he grinned out, "What? You don't think a spirit can shield itself? Oh, Estelle. You fool."

Snapping out of it with an infuriated expression. Estelle shot forward at lightning speed, surpassing the limits she usually set for herself.

Letting out a howl of laughter, Estelle's previous guardian grinned crazily as Estelle practically teleported in front of him and punched him across the face. The sheer force of her blow caused the dark spirit to slam through twenty trees, leaving a trail of destruction in front of him as he landed on the ground.

Estelle was heavy breathing, still attempting to reign in her emotions that were causing havoc in her body.

The students below her were staggered as they watched Estelle floating in the sky. This was extraordinary. She looked like she was a fallen angel raining hell down on another. The wrath on her face and the wings on her back only emphasised the look.

She didn't respond as she sped forward; her image blurred until she appeared in front of her old boss. Slamming him down by the throat, Estelle growled. "How was a ghoul actually a dark spirit?! That isn't possible!"

"I threatened a few elves. Their fear was enough for them to create a new charm. A locket that would shield who I was, and everyone fell hook line and sinker."

Estelle's eyes widened when she realised the truth in his words. No dark spirit was ever sane enough to think up something like that. But he did. He fooled everyone, letting Estelle kill him, knowing he would recover quickly. "You asshole. I'll crush you."

Smirking, he responded. "No, I'm no asshole. I am the new Aite. I am the spirit that will rule over everyone, and I'll chain you to me in the process as I had always planned. I am, Nyx, the new god of darkness."

"Shut up, you egotistical bastard," Estelle snarled as she punched him. The body of Nyx smashed into the mud and below, leaving a small crater where he landed.

Raising his hand quickly, Estelle was overwhelmed with trolls barrelling into the scene. Growling in vexation, Estelle turned to face the creatures heading towards her. "I always love your face when you see them. The ones who killed your beloved Kiko. So, much, hatred."

Feeling a wave of outrage hit her, Estelle gritted her teeth as she faced the trolls. The students were battling back and forth with the League, but it wasn't as big of a fight as she imagined. Their attention continued to trail back to the otherworldly beings, astonished by the sheer size and amount of the creatures.

The class of 1A turned frozen at the sight of the tall beasts who had killed Kiko, and it was hard to stop their hearts from dropping from the picture. They had witnessed a memory of the trolls killing another, so seeing many of them running headfirst towards Estelle raised the fear in their chests.

Thankfully, it wasn't long-lived as Estelle dived into battle. Raising her Katana high, Estelle slammed down on one of the trolls with such intensity, she practically split it in half before it faded. Moving onto the next, her blade was surrounded by air to further the damage. She was tearing into them, a look of hostility on her face as she did so.

They understood why of course, her previous guardian, Nyx, had hit her where it hurt by bringing out the spirits she despised the most.

They observed as he stood up from the ground, watching with dancing eyes as Estelle battled. It was clear to everyone that he found the whole situation entertaining. The man's whole demeanour put everyone on edge. To them, it was like nothing was holding him back, no inhibitions, which made him dangerous. So unstable that they wanted to step away to avoid those eyes turning to them.

He seemed to be on a whole other level than Ryah. His grin showed how much he favoured death and destruction, and they knew he wouldn't make this easy for Estelle. He clearly had some sort of agenda for her. But they struggled to figure out what the end goal was.

But, they knew Estelle was powerful. She had defeated monsters all her life, and she had complete faith in her capabilities to keep on living. Estelle would win this; she just had to.

As Estelle took down the last hungry dark spirit to her left, she turned back to face Nyx with a hardened expression. "I wonder how it would feel if I killed more of those you care for. Hm, Estelle? Would it tear you up like it did when Kiko's heart was ripped from his chest? Or have you become so cold to death that you'll feel nothing at the dead bodies beneath you?"

"Fuck you!"

"Let's find out, shall we?" He chuckled as he disappeared from his previous spot.

Widening her eyes, Estelle turned to the students fighting with the League of Villains. The world felt like it had slowed around her as her eyes quickly sought the man she abhorred with every inch of her soul. Her heart soared erratically in the knowledge that this would not end well.

Finally, after seconds that felt too long. Estelle's whole body internally twisted in horror from the sight before her. The dark spirit smiled manically as his hand grasped onto a neck so tightly, she was beginning to see the blue underneath peek out. Hands fought the tight hold as explosions lit up in the air, but it did nothing to deter the powerful being holding his life in his grasp.

Bakugo.

Estelle struggled to comprehend the sight in front of her, a white noise ringing in her ears whilst her heart dropped. No, this was not happening to her right now. Not them. Not the class. Not Bakugo.

The choking of Bakugo finally brought her out of her frozen state. Her frame beamed white as she zipped in front of the pair with a deadly expression. The sheer quickness of her movements was evident by the air whipping by everyone. Stunned, the fight between the students and the League stilled once again as they watched a seething Estelle glowing an unnatural colour.

Thankfully, once Estelle reached them, she could see that Nyx loosened his hold to allow him a gasp of air. Feeling that Bakugo was still breathing somewhat, Estelle focused her eyes on the grinning male behind him. The rage was palpable as she snarled, "Let him go, Nyx,"

"Oh, so I never got to fully stomp out your humanity. How disappointing. Oh well, I'll just kill the boy and be done with it."

Agitation continued to grow within the female to see the blonde she had spent so much time with helpless between Nyx's fingers. The image struck her soul, and her breath felt ragged from the emotions she was withholding. It was too much, and Estelle didn't have time to think about it. But, Bakugo needed out of Nyx's hands before she tore everything to shreds.

Not him.

This was what she had tried too hard to avoid; she hadn't wanted to get close to these students; and now that she had, even just a little, they were targeted. And Estelle felt hysteria riding her soul, and it scared the shit out of her. But she couldn't think about that now, not when Bakugo's life was hanging in the balance.

"You misunderstand. How will I be able to battle you if I am locked up for manslaughter? It would not be efficient," Her tone was smooth, contrasting her frantically beating heart. Estelle knew she was bullshitting, but she needed to say the right words. He would die if she showed an ounce of care for the male. If she tried to save him, Nyx was too quick, and he would die. Estelle couldn't have him die.

"Ooooh, cold."

"Let. Him. Go."

"But, I'm not buying it. You care for these brats, don't you, Multum magna occisio machina? You fail to realise that you are A MACHINE. MADE TO KILL. MADE TO BURN THE WORLD AROUND YOU. MADE TO SERVE ME. YOU ARE NOTHING."

"Let. Him. Go. Nyx," Estelle forced out, her eyes not straying from the hand gripping around his throat. The air leaving her own lungs was harsh, and she almost felt like she was the one being strangled instead. Estelle felt helpless as the scene continued, and her fingers twitched in frustration. Not him.

"Or what?! Hm? Nothing you can do will stop me from crushing his life force like a little bug."

"If you refuse to let him go. I will keep taking spirit energy, and then we both die. You won't even have the chance to escape. So, I will say it once last time. Let him go, Nyx!" Estelle barked, the aura of white growing brighter the more prolonged the conversation had droned on. Her heart rang in her ears as she used the only tool in her arsenal, her trump card. Bakugo couldn't get hurt, not him.

"Ah, you learned how to use it. How disappointing. Caring for these useless humans. You win this for now, but eventually, they will all be dead anyway. Once I win this, they will die. And you will join me."

Relief and gratitude hit Estelle like a train once she saw Bakugo drop to the ground in the corner of her eye. The blonde gripped his throat as he wheezed for lungfuls of air, choking from the prolonged tightening his neck had endured. He was okay. Thank the gods. Her shoulders relaxed slightly as she responded, "You will never win."

"You and I know this isn't the end. Prepare yourself, Estelle. I will have you beneath me; your power was always mine. And I will crush the worlds in the process. Because Aite and Ryah were never going to be the ones to rule. It was always me. That prophecy was mine to have, and you spat at my feet when you struck a spear into my heart. Now, I will have it by force."

Not answering, Estelle shot forward in hopes of landing another attack on him. Unfortunately, due to the sheer amount of power she exuded, she wasn't as fast as hoped. Nyx faded away, a blur as he sped away into the night.

Turning back to the League of villains, Estelle watched as blobs of black surrounded their bodies. They were teleported out so quickly, Estelle realised that the other villains were probably watching the scene themselves.

Landing back on the ground, the trees scattered as they lay dead on the mud. Estelle flopped on her butt and remained frozen on the grass. Her eyes were wide with shock, and her body remained trembling as the cold had sunk into her bones. The emotions she tried to hold back hit her once again.

The students watched on with saddened expressions, knowing that the trauma she had experienced with her guardian was coming back up to the surface. Estelle had avoided looking at any reality in which he would be alive because it was too painful to imagine. Because of that, the avoidance of the potential truth was now sinking in for her.

And she was struggling to keep the broken pieces together because of it.