Before we begin, I'd like to give a quick shout-out to Knightmare Lord, who helped me work on this chapter. Thanks for your help.

Ch. 23: All Might vs. Nomu

Izuku could only watch in horror at the unconscious Vlad King and Nomu manhandling Aizawa like a doll, twisting and breaking his right arm. "No… Mr. Aizawa…"

"You can erase people's powers, that's irritating, but nothing impressive. When faced with true devastating power, you might as well be a Quirkless child," The leader mocked.

Aizawa managed to turn his head to use Erasure on Nomu, but the beast's response was to stomp on Aizawa's left arm, eliciting a pained yell from the Hero.

'He's breaking my bones like they're twigs! I'm positive I erased his Quirk. That means he's super-strong even without powers!' Nomu then proceeded to grab Aizawa by the back of his head. 'I think he's as strong as All Might!'

Nomu then slammed Aizawa face-first into the ground, creating a small crater.

The students were horrified at the brutal scene in front of them.

"No… No… I can't watch this anymore…" Mineta whispered, with tears in his eyes. "We should be getting out of here super-fast, shouldn't we?"

"Ribbit…" Tsuyu muttered.

"Izuku…" Chacha's voice was low, filled with dread. "What do we do?"

Izuku didn't respond, scared speechless at the sight of Aizawa getting pummeled.

But then…

"Tomura Shigaraki…" At that moment, black mist gathered behind the Villains. Kurogiri had returned from the entrance and addressed the leader.

"Kurogiri. Did you manage to kill Thirteen?"

"The rescue Hero is out of commission. But there were students I was unable to disperse, and one of them got outside of the facility," Kurogiri responded.

Hearing this, Tomura started scratching his neck, growling in irritation, eventually scratching with both hands to the point it left red gashes on his pale skin. "Kurogiri… You fool…" He threatened, anger slowly rising in his voice. "If you weren't our Warp Gate, I'd tear apart every last atom in your body!" But then, he suddenly calmed down. "There's no way we can win if dozens of Pros show up to stop us. It's Game Over, back to the Title Screen. And I was looking forward to finishing this today. Dammit! Let's go home."

The teens dared to sound a bit hopeful at that news.

"Huh? Did I hear that right?" Mineta questioned. "Did he say they're going to just leave?!"

"That's what it sounded like to me," Tsuyu confirmed.

With that, Mineta started crying tears of joy as he suddenly hugged Tsuyu. "Yes! That's amazing! We're safe and we don't have to fight!"

"Uh, yeah… but…" Tsuyu muttered as Mineta had his hand on her breast, causing her to have an uncharacteristically flustered blush on her face.

Judging by the way Mineta didn't actually seem focused on her breast while crying in relief, it was unclear if it was intentional or not. Either way, Tsuyu did not take kindly to the perverted act as she began drowning him while Chacha grimaced at the dwarf with narrowed eyes.

"I have a real bad feeling about this, Midoriya," Tsuyu said.

"Something about this screams 'too good to be true,'" Chacha added.

Izuku nodded. "It seems weird that they'd retreat at this point even if help is on the way." 'All Might's probably coming… Don't they wanna kill him? They must know U.A. will beef up their security after this. So now's their best chance… What's going on here? Why is this Game Over? Also, why is Raynare with them? So many unanswered questions…'

"Seriously? All that and we're just leaving without doing anything?!" Raynare questioned. She couldn't care less about the plot to kill All Might, she just wanted a chance to get revenge on Izuku and his friends.

"Watch your mouth, Raynare!" Tomura barked. "I'm the leader, so you follow my lead! Although, I do agree with you about making this trip worth it. Before we leave, let's make sure the Symbol of Peace is broken. Let's wreck his pride!" Tomura suddenly turned to face the students and closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye, his hands aiming for Tsuyu's face. "Let's make this hurt!"

Time seemed to slow down for Izuku. He stood there, frozen, seeing Tomura's hand about to touch Tsuyu's face. Izuku's mind flashed back to when Tomura grabbed Aizawa's arm. The way he destroyed his elbow. The way it crumbled away.

It was going to happen to Tsuyu. She was going to die.

Before anyone could even react, Tomura had already placed his hand on Tsuyu's head, all 5 fingers making contact with her head.

But… nothing happened.

"You really are so cool, Eraserhead…" Tomura glanced back at Eraserhead, who despite his head still being in Nomu's grip, managed to send a death glare at Tomura while canceling out his Quirk.

Nomu then proceeded to slam the Pro's head into the ground again, and Raynare stomped on his head for good measure.

Without thinking, Izuku jumped out of the water, a look of rage on his face. 'This guy's clearly different from the ones we fought before, and so is Nomu! Not to mention, Raynare probably won't underestimate me like before! I've gotta save Asui and get us outta here!' "YOU! LET HER GO!" Izuku screamed. "DRAGON… SMAASSHHH!"

[EXPLOSION!]

Izuku's attack sent a shockwave throughout the facility. Without waiting for the dust to clear, he quickly grabbed his friends and retreated a good distance back. "Are you okay?" Izuku asked Tsuyu once he was sure they were away from Tomura.

"I-I'm… okay…" the frog girl was still in shock, feeling like her heart was about to leap out. She was really grateful he was there to pull her to safety.

"Uh, guys…" Mineta pointed with trembling hands. The other three looked in that direction, back to where the Villain was. But instead of Tomura, they saw Nomu.

"Where did he come from?" Izuku asked in shock.

"Wait, hold on…" Chacha's eyes widened in horror. "Izuku's attack… didn't hurt him…?"

Izuku's eyes widened, realizing that Chacha was right.

"If the Villains spent so much time planning this attack, then they probably figured out a way to kill him."

Remembering Tsuyu's words from earlier, Izuku could only stare in disbelief as the same attack that both took down a Zero-Pointer and Riser failed to do anything to Nomu. 'No way…'

"You are pretty powerful," an unharmed Tomura said. "This 'Smash' of yours… Are you one of All Might's disciples? Doesn't matter, I'm done with you now. But wait, a dragon and a red gauntlet…?" Tomura turned to look at Izuku for a second. "You… You're too much of a threat. Nomu, kill him!"

Nomu, moving at impossible speed, suddenly grabbed Izuku's right arm and squeezed it as tightly as possible, causing him to yell in pain. Nomu then slammed Izuku into the ground before squeezing its hold on his arm. Izuku screamed in pain as the Nomu broke his arm.

Tsuyu shot out her tongue to try and save Izuku, but the moment she did, Tomura reached out to try and grab her and Mineta again. And with Eraserhead out of commission, nothing would stop Tomura from turning the two students to dust.

"No!" Chacha transformed and before Tomura could get his hands on either Tsuyu or Mineta, she slammed her foot into his side, knocking him backward. Then, her enhanced hearing picked up on Raynare about to attack; Chacha quickly grabbed her fellow Hero trainees and leaped away to avoid Raynare's light spear.

After getting a good distance back, she then charged right at Nomu, landing a kick on its arm. The beast barely flinched, but it became distracted enough to let go of Izuku's arm, allowing Tsuyu to reach out with her tongue and get him and Chacha to safety.

"Midoriya! You okay?" Tsuyu asked, visibly worried.

"Y-Yeah…" Izuku grunted out. He couldn't feel anything in his arm anymore.

[Izuku, what that hand guy said…]

Izuku mentally nodded. 'Yeah, though I guess I shouldn't be surprised…' Izuku looked at Raynare, who sported a murderous look, and then at Tomura, who had recovered from Chacha's attack.

"Clearly, we underestimated you," Tomura sarcastically clapped. "Maybe you'll serve as good warmup for Nomu."

"Midoriya! We're way over our heads! We gotta go, like now!" Mineta demanded.

Izuku, realizing the kind of situation he dragged the others into, had no choice but to comply. "Okay, let's-"

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Raynare called out. She had her light spear pointed at the downed Aizawa. "Here's how things will go, one wrong move and your teacher will suffer for it."

At Raynare's threat, the students had no choice but to stay put.

"Coward…" Chacha muttered.

"Good work, Raynare," Tomura said before turning to Nomu and motioning toward the kids.

Nomu squawked as he started approaching the kids. But before he could lay his hand on any of them…

*BOOM!*

A loud explosion came all the way from the entrance, blowing the remainder of the door away. Everyone who heard the loud bang turned their eyes to the door to see a big burly figure walking out of the dust and smoke. As soon as the students saw who it was, a big smile of relief came over all their faces.

It was none other than All Might, the Symbol of Peace himself. On his face, he wore a face of pure rage.

Raynare was a bit intimidated by the Symbol of Peace, but Tomura actually seemed excited by All Might's arrival. "Looks like our game's getting a Continue."

"I couldn't shake the feeling that something had gone wrong here when Aizawa, Thirteen, and Vlad King didn't answer my calls. So I hurried over, running into Young Iida along the way. He told me of the villainy at work here…" All Might said, his expression still an angry scowl. 'I can't believe all this went down while I was resting…' He remembered Young Iida's desperate pleas as he quickly explained everything that was happening back at the USJ. 'I'd hate to think of how frightened these children must be. And how hard my colleagues had to fight to protect them. The only thing I can do now is to reassure them that things will be okay… That's my duty as the Symbol of Peace…' All Might threw his suit jacket aside as he continued to glare at the Villains threatening his students. "Have no fear, students…" All Might ripped off his necktie, showing he meant business. "Because I am here!"

"W-We're saved!" Mineta cheered while crying tears of joy.

Tsuyu ribbited in relief and Chacha smiled while reverting back to normal, happy to see the arrival of the Number One Hero.

"He's here… All Might…" Izuku muttered. However, this time something was different: 'And he's not smiling.'

In the blink of an eye, All Might rushed to where Aizawa and Vlad King were and picked them up, holding Aizawa in his arms and Vlad on his back. "I'm sorry, you two. I should've been here." Then, in another swift motion, he sped over to Izuku, Chacha, Tsuyu, and Mineta and scooped them up before getting them to safety. The sudden wind also knocked off the hand that Tomura wore over his face.

"Everybody back to the Entrance. And take Aizawa and Vlad with you. They don't have much time."

"Yessir!" Mineta responded.

"Ribbit!" Tsuyu also responded.

"You saved us, All Might," Izuku said.

"Izuku, let's go!" Chacha said, then she noticed the condition of Izuku's arm. "Your arm! Here." She then took off her scarf and tied it into a makeshift sling for Izuku. "How's that?"

"Thanks. I appreciate it," Izuku replied.

Tomura, covering his face with his actual hand, walked over to the one that fell off earlier. "No, no, no. It wasn't supposed to go this way. He's still fast, Father. Somehow he managed to hit me." He then put it back on, calming down a bit. "Of course, a government Hero relies on violence. I wasn't prepared. I couldn't even see him when he moved. But he's not as fast as I thought he would be. " A wicked smile appeared on his face below the hand mask. "We can kill All Might."

"Be careful, All Might. They said that brain-Villain was designed to kill you!" Izuku warned.

"Young Midoriya!" All Might then made a V-sign with his hands. "I got this!" He reassured.

With that, Izuku and his friends went their way, carrying their teachers.

As Tomura got up, All Might charged at him, crossing his arms into an X-shape. "Carolina…"

"Nomu," Tomura called, and Nomu quickly stepped in to take All Might's attack.

"SMAAASH!" All Might unleashed a double chop attack that unleashed an extreme force, even sending a shockwave behind Nomu, but the monster himself was unfazed.

Nomu roared as he attempted to grab All Might, but the Hero was able to lean backward in time to avoid Nomu's arms.

All Might quickly retaliated with a punch to Nomu's gut, but that was ineffective as well, as Nomu once again attempted to grab the Hero.

"Let's try this!" All Might punched the beast twice in the face, but still no luck. He quickly backed away to avoid Nomu's attacks. "It doesn't even matter where I punch you, does it?"

As All Might tried everything to hurt Nomu, Tomura watched in satisfaction. "That's because Nomu's Quirk is called Shock Absorption and Unleash. Every time you land a hit on him, he can absorb the force of your blows and increase his own power! You're just making him even stronger! You've finally met your match!"

"Thanks for telling me how to beat him! All I have to do is immobilize him! Then it's onto you!" All Might declared as he moved fast enough to get behind Nomu and deliver a German Suplex.

Back at the entrance, the 1-A and 1-B students could see the fight as they tended to Thirteen.

"All Might is doing it!" Hilda smiled.

"Alright! Take that, Bird-Brain!" Rikido cheered. "That's what you Villains get for underestimating him!"

"That's the power of the Number One Hero," Jurota observed.

"No wonder he's the Symbol of Peace!" Awase added.

Meanwhile, Mineta, Tsuyu, Chacha, and Izuku were almost back to the entrance when they saw All Might's spectacular feat.

"Are you guys seeing this? That Suplex was like a huge explosion! All Might's on a whole nother level!" Mineta exclaimed.

"And yet, he still has to look at his notes when he's teaching us," Tsuyu snarked.

"Yeah, quite the difference," Chacha added.

Despite this, Izuku couldn't help but worry. 'It's possible they have a way to kill him. But even if they do, there's not really anything we can do to help him now. We tried to help, and we nearly got taken hostage… I have to put my faith in All Might, and stop worrying about the Villains' plans…'

"Get that guy! Punch him right in the balls!" Mineta cheered for All Might.

"Maybe we were worried about these bad guys for nothing… All Might's unstoppable!" Tsuyu said.

When the dust cleared, things were not looking great for All Might as it was revealed that a Warp Gate had been opened right at the spot where he had suplexed Nomu, with the other end opening right below All Might, allowing Nomu to reach and grab onto him, turning the tables.

"Oh, come on! What kind of cheap move was that?!" All Might questioned as he started bleeding from his mouth.

The students watched in horror as the monster's fingers pierced All Might's side, drawing blood.

"Nice, you were trying to bury him in the concrete so he couldn't move around anymore," Tomura sarcastically praised. "Sorry, but that won't work. Nomu's as strong as you are, or maybe stronger, thanks to all those hits you threw at him earlier." He then turned to his smoky colleague. "Nice work, Kurogiri. We've got him just where we want him now,"

Kurogiri nodded as he began closing his Warp Gates slowly.

'Crap! This monster's got a good grip on me! I can't break free!' All Might cursed as Nomu continued to claw at his side. He then let go of Nomu's lower body to focus on escaping his grip. 'Damn! Gotta stop him! Despite his power!' He then turned to the other Villains. "If this is your best, then you picked the wrong place to attack! You should just give up now!"

Tomura just scoffed at All Might's defiance as he began scratching his neck. "Kurogiri…"

"Normally, I wouldn't want blood and viscera flooding the insides of my Warp Gates. But I'll make an exception for a Hero as great as you," Kurogiri said. "Since you're too fast to see with the human eye, Nomu had to restrain you. And once he's pulled your body halfway through… I'll squeeze the gate shut!" He explained, picturing the scenario, which ended in All Might being ripped in half. "I'm going to enjoy tearing you to pieces!"

All Might struggled as he started getting pulled toward the Warp Gate.

Just when things looked bleak for All Might, rescue came thanks to a certain blond bomber.

"DIE!" Katsuki came flying in with an explosive tackle before grabbing Kurogiri by his neck brace and pinning him to the ground before the Villain could react.

Then, while the other Villains were caught off-guard, giant letters made of stone came falling down on Tomura and Raynare, followed by a pair of flying horns that flew straight at them, which they both managed to dodge. But then, it was followed by a wave of ice which managed to trap Raynare before going on to freeze Nomu as well.

'He's frozen! That means Todoroki must be here!' All Might realized.

"One of your poorly-trained thugs told us you were here because you think you can kill All Might," Shoto revealed as he was joined by Manga, Pony, and Asia.

'I think I can loosen this Villain's grip now!' With Nomu incapacitated, All Might was able to break free from Nomu's hold, escaping the literal death grip.

Then, Eijiro and Tetsutetsu came in yelling out a battle cry as they attempted to strike Tomura, but he dodged.

"Damn, that was gonna be cool!" Eijiro said, then he noticed Raynare, which caused him to flinch. He wasn't the only one as Asia noticed her too.

"You guys okay?" Tetsutetsu asked as he noticed something seemed to be troubling them.

"Uh yeah, I'm fine," Eijiro replied.

"It's nothing," Asia brushed off.

"Guess I found your body that time, ya smoky bastard!" Katsuki taunted.

'The Symbol of Peace will not be defeated by delinquents like you," Shoto added.

"All Might!" Asia called out as she slithered over to the Symbol of Peace. "You're hurt!" She exclaimed as she saw the bleeding injury caused by Nomu.

"Don't worry, Young Argento. It's just a flesh wound," All Might reassured, though he still seemed to be in pain as he held a hand over the injury.

"I can help," Asia summoned Twilight Healing and let its green glow shine over All Might's injury. He already felt the pain subside as the wound started to heal.

"Asia! All Might!" Izuku shouted as he ran back over to the Central Plaza.

"Izuku!" Asia called back, relieved to see him. Then, she noticed that his arm was in a sling. "What happened to your arm?"

"That brain-monster…" Izuku pointed at Nomu with his good arm.

"I'll heal you as soon as I'm done with All Might," Asia said.

"Thanks, but I think you should go see Mr. Aizawa and Mr. Vlad before me. They got it much worse," Izuku said.

Raynare, in her icy prison, scowled hatefully at Asia and Izuku. If it weren't for him, Twilight Healing would've been hers!

Meanwhile, despite no longer holding the advantage, his allies all being incapacitated, and All Might slowly recovering, Tomura didn't seem worried.

Mineta, Tsuyu, and Chacha were relieved to see their classmates arrive to back up All Might. Then, they heard grunts of pain from both Aizawa and Vlad King who seemed to be regaining consciousness.

"Let them handle it. We need to hurry," Tsuyu said.

"Yeah," Mineta replied.

As they started making their way to the entrance, they were fortunate enough to meet up with the girls from the Mountain Zone.

"Mr. Aizawa!" Tomoe said.

"And Mr. Vlad King too!" Asuka added.

"That bird monster really messed them up. Not to mention that hand-guy," Chacha explained.

Everyone then looked back over to the Central Plaza where most of the Villains were immobilized.

"Looks like they have it handled," Yui said.

"Heck yeah, those bad guys are done!" Setsuna cheered.

"Here, let us help with the teachers," Ethel offered.

"Kurogiri, Raynare. How could you let these brats get the best of you?" Tomura questioned, surprisingly calm despite the odds being severely against him. "Now we're in a real jam here."

"Shut up…" Raynare growled.

"You got careless, ya Villain. It wasn't hard to figure you out," Katsuki mocked. "Only certain parts of you turn into that smoking Warp Gate. You use that mist to hide your actual body as a kind of distraction, thinking that makes you safe! That's why we missed. But if you didn't have a body, you wouldn't be wearing neck armor, right?! You're not immune to physical attacks if they're well-aimed."

Kurogiri attempted to get up, but Katsuki set off tiny booms against his armor to make sure that the mist-like Villain stayed down.

"Don't move!" Katsuki warned. "You try anything funny and I'll blow your ass up right now, ya got it? They'll be cleanin' you up for weeks."

"Oh, that doesn't sound very heroic," Eijiro joked.

"They escaped uninjured and captured my three strongest players. Kids these days really are amazing," Tomura sarcastically praised. "They make the League of Villains look like amateurs. Can't have that." He then turned to the still-frozen Nomu. "Nomu…"

The beast roared as he started to pull himself out of the Warp Gate, causing Shoto to gasp, even as his frozen right arm and right legs broke apart as he did. Yet, he was still somehow able to keep moving.

"He's still moving!?" Asia questioned.

"But how?! He's all messed up!" Izuku said.

"Stay back, everybody!" All Might warned.

Then, the ice on Nomu's body broke apart, and his limbs began to regenerate. Bones, veins, muscles, and skin. Everything.

"What is this!? I thought you said his power was 'Shock Absorption and Unleash!'" All Might interrogated.

"I didn't say that was his only Quirk," Tomura clarified. "He also has Super Regeneration."

All Might flinched at Tomura's response.

"Nomu has been modified to take you on even at 100% of your power. He's basically a highly efficient punching bag that hits back harder the more you hit it."

With Nomu completely healed, the students immediately raised their guards.

"First, we need to free our party," Tomura said, tilting his head in Raynare's direction. Nomu responded to his command and walked over to her, smashing the ice that was trapping her with just one hit, allowing the Fallen Angel to escape. "Now our method of escape. Get him, Nomu." In the blink of an eye, Nomu charged at his next target.

'He's fast!' All Might reacted, realizing Katsuki was Nomu's target.

The explosive boy in question didn't even have time to react as Nomu swung his massive arm, seemingly sending him flying through a nearby wall.

Nomu's attack not only kicked up a cloud of dust but also created a shockwave that sent the other students flying back a short distance as well.

"Such force…" Izuku observed before wincing at the pain in his still-broken right arm.

"Izuku, are you okay?" Asia asked as she began healing his arm.

"I'm fine…" Izuku replied as he noticed the dust clearing. Izuku didn't see his former childhood friend in front of Nomu. "Kacchan!"

But then, to Izuku's surprise, he found the blond bomber right next to him and Asia, his face looking like his life just flashed before his eyes, which in this case, it probably did.

"You managed to dodge him?!" Asia asked in surprise.

"Shut up. No, I didn't!" Katsuki corrected her. 'That speed… I couldn't even see him coming…'

"Then how'd you get over here?" Eijiro questioned.

Shoto then noticed the hole in the wall. "Isn't it obvious?"

With the dust completely clearing, it revealed All Might, who seemed to have taken a beating.

"All Might!" Izuku and Asia called out.

'So he protected the child, huh?' Tomura deduced, realizing All Might pushed Katsuki out of the way and took the hit himself.

"These are kids and you didn't even hold back?" All Might berated.

"I didn't have much choice," Tomura answered. "He was threatening my companion. Besides, these kids are no angels. The plain-looking one…" He was referring to Izuku. "He tried to kill me with a maxed-out punch. What kind of Hero does something like that? You think you can get away with being as violent as you want if you say it's for the sake of others." This really started to make the Symbol of Peace angry. "Well, you know what, All Might? That pisses me off! Why do people get to decide some violent acts are heroic, and others are villainous? Casting judgment as to what's good and what's evil. You think you're the Symbol of Peace? You're just another government-sponsored instrument of violence! And violence always breeds more violence. I'll make sure the world understands that when you're dead!"

"That's not true!" Asia shouted, getting everyone's attention. "You came here intending to kill All Might, and even tried to kill some of our classmates, so you don't have any right to accuse him of spreading violence! Even if you say you're the victim, I don't believe it!"

"Asia…" Izuku said, amazed.

"Yeah! Tell them, Argento! These Villains can play the victim card all they want! It's just a load of garbage!" Tetsutetsu cheered his classmate.

"Tch. Clever girl," Tomura spat, annoyed that the snakelike girl managed to call his bluff.

"If you want, I'd be happy to shut her up for good," Raynare offered.

"Argento is right. You're nothing but a lunatic. Criminals like you always try and make your actions sound noble. But admit it, you're only because you like it! Isn't that right?" All Might said.

"We've got them outnumbered," Shoto noted.

"And Kacchan found the mist guy's weakness," Izuku added.

"These guys may act really tough, but we can take them down now with All Might's help!" Tetsutetsu declared, activating his Quirk.

"We'll give them a WHAM! KA-POW! BOOM!" Manga said.

"Let's do this!" Eijiro said, also activating his Quirk.

"Don't attack! Get out of here!" All Might ordered, holding out his arm in front of them.

"You would've been in trouble earlier if it weren't for us, remember?" Shoto argued. "You need our help."

"I thank you for your assistance, but this is different!" All Might said. "Just sit back and watch a Pro at work!"

"But I haven't finished healing you yet!" Asia protested.

"She's right! All Might, you can't!" Izuku joined in.

However, he simply responded with a thumbs-up before turning to the Villains.

"Nomu, Kurogiri. Kill him," Tomura ordered. "Raynare, you and I will deal with the children. Let's clear this level and go home."

"Right," Raynare grinned.

"Heads up, we're fighting after all," Eijiro warned. The other students took defensive stances as Tomura and Raynare began gunning for them.

Then, All Might and Nomu suddenly charged at each other. As their brawny fists met, the collision created an intense shockwave that gave off so much air pressure, causing the students and Villains to be forced back.

"Weren't you listening? One of his powers is Shock Absorption and Unleash!" Tomura said as he flew through the air before landing.

"Yeah? What about it?!" All Might retorted as he traded more punches with Nomu. Eventually, their exchange of blows started speeding up, to the point no one could keep up with how many punches they were throwing against each other, with each attack sending off massive gusts of air.

Asia planted her hair vines into the ground to anchor herself from being blown away and grew out more for the other students as well.

"He's gonna fight that brain-guy head-on?" Izuku questioned as he tried to keep his eyes open despite the heavy winds.

"Whoa, they're…" Tetsutetsu said, letting out a gasp as he almost fell over.

"…so fast!" Eijiro finished.

"No! I can't get near them!" Kurogiri cursed as the shockwaves also kept him and Raynare out of the fight.

"He said your Quirk allows you to get stronger by absorbing my blows, not nullifying them, right?!" All Might pointed out as he kept on the onslaught. "THAT MEANS THERE'S A LIMIT TO WHAT YOU CAN TAKE, RIGHT?!" Some of All Might's blows managed to land on Nomu rather than being blocked by the beast's own punches.

But then, Nomu managed to land his own blow, specifically at the spot where he injured the Pro earlier. However, All Might refused to fall. The Villains had hurt his colleagues and threatened his students, his pain was nothing compared to theirs. But even more than that was the rage All Might felt at these Villains for causing those he cared about to suffer.

"So, you were made to fight me, big guy? If you can really withstand me firing at 100% of my power," All Might slowly began to force Nomu back with his blows, to Tomura's shock. "Then I'll have to go beyond that and FORCE YOU TO SURRENDER!" The speed of All Might's punches escalated, causing Nomu to flinch. Even though Nomu's physical strength increased with all the hits All Might landed, the beast's body still had its limits as it started wearing down, forcing Super Regeneration into action, but even with that, the combination of All Might's punches and Nomu absorbing too much delayed its effect.

With a solid left hook to Nomu's face, All Might sent him flying back before jumping after the creature. "A real Hero…" As Nomu attempted to tackle All Might, the Hero intercepted with a headbutt, before crossing his arms to block Nomu's punch and then kicking him away. "…will always find a way! FOR JUSTICE TO BE SERVED!" Both combatants then charged at each other once again in midair, Nomu tried to lash out with his arm, but All Might grabbed it and swung hard to slam Nomu into the concrete, creating a crater.

Katsuki, Asia, Shoto, Tetsutetsu, Eijiro, Manga, Pony, and Izuku all stared in awe as All Might thoroughly overpowered Nomu.

Before Nomu could try anything again, All Might himself made contact with the ground, now standing right in front of his opponent. "And now for a lesson. You may have heard these words before, but I'll teach you what they really mean!" All Might brought his fist back, ready to finish this. "Go beyond! PLUS…" All Might dug his fist deep into Nomu's body.

"ULTRAAAAAAA!" Nomu was sent flying with great speed and force that when he hit the roof, he smashed right through it, causing the nearby lights and electronics to blow up in a massive explosion that shook the entire building. Everyone everywhere felt it, while Nomu's body continued to soar into the heavens, blowing away the clouds as it disappeared from view, leaving behind a twinkle in the sky.

Meanwhile, at the entrance, the students helping their teachers had regrouped with their classmates there when they witnessed Nomu being sent flying.

"Um, did a Villain just fly by? Or am I going crazy?" Hanta asked.

"It was that brain-dude," Rikido answered.

"The one that they said was supposed to kill All Might…" Chacha added.

"Such power," Itsuka said in wonder.

"Holy shit," Setsuna muttered.

"That's All Might for you!" Mineta said in admiration. "That's why he's the most amazing Hero in the entire world! YES!"

Mina, Ochaco, Tsuyu, and Hilda turned toward each other and smiled.

Back at the Central Plaza, the students all stared in awe at the hole left behind after Nomu's defeat. The light entering through was almost like a beacon of hope.

"That was like a finishing move in a video game," Eijiro mumbled in awe. "He beat the Shock Absorption right out of him."

"So manly…" Tetsutetsu muttered, manly tears streaming down his face. "I've never seen that kind of brute strength."

"That was epic!" Pony exclaimed.

"That freak went flying with a WHOOSH! My heart's still going BA-THUMP! BA-THUMP!" Manga also exclaimed.

"Imagine having power like that," Katsuki said. "He must've been punching that monster so fast, he couldn't regenerate."

'He really is the best,' Shoto thought.

'That's how you get to be a Pro,' Katsuki thought.

"He won!" Asia cheered.

"He did it…" Izuku said as he looked at the smoke stack where All Might stood, his lips forming a weak smile.

[Now I understand why you admire him so much.] Ddraig sounded like he was in awe as well.

"I guess I've gotten weaker," All Might admitted. "Back in my heyday, five to seven hits would've been enough to knock that guy out. But today…" All Might pressed his fist up to his chest. "It took more than 400 mighty blows!"

Steam began to form from All Might's neck. 'Time's up. Gotta end this fast.' The Number One Hero turned towards Tomura and Kurogiri. "You've been bested, Villains. Surrender. We all want to get this over with quickly."

Raynare backed up, intimidated. If she wasn't scared of this human before, she was now.

Tomura, meanwhile, shook in rage. "No! He beat me! And look what he did to my Nomu!" Nomu wasn't able to kill anyone! Not those Heroes. Not those brats. Not even All Might! "He cheated!" He muttered as he clawed at his neck. "He's just as strong as he's always been! Dammit! Don't tell me I was lied to!?"

"What's wrong?" All Might taunted. "Not attacking me? Didn't you say you were going to clear this level earlier? Well, come and get me! If you dare."

Meanwhile, Asia resumed healing Izuku's broken arm. "It'll be good as new soon."

"Thanks for that," Izuku said.

"As I expected. There's no reason for us to fight now, he'll handle this," Shoto said.

"Let's get movin' back to the entrance, then," Pony agreed.

"Yeah, last thing we want is to get taken hostage or get in his way," Eijiro added.

"Those bad guys are finished," Tetsutetsu said with a cheeky grin.

"Hold on," Manga looked over and All Might. "Is it me or does All Might look a little… off?"

"Off?" Asia raised an eyebrow as she and the others looked at All Might.

Izuku's eyes narrowed at what he saw. "He's right. All Might is shaking. And is that steam?"

Eijiro flinched at his question, which no one noticed. 'He's out of time. This is bad…'

Unfortunately, they weren't the only ones who noticed as Tomura eased up on the scratch upon seeing this. 'Steam…? Maybe Master was right. Nomu may have failed to kill him, but that just means we may get to have that satisfaction instead!' His chapped lips broke into an evil grin. "Kurogiri, deal with the children. Raynare, we'll finish off All Might."

"Are you suicidal?! You wanna fight him even after what he did to Nomu?!" Raynare retorted.

"Yes, but don't you see that? Nomu softened him up for us. This is our best chance!"

Raynare still thought it was a fool's errand, but she formed a spear of light and followed after Tomura anyway as he blitzed at All Might.

"Time to die, He-" Tomura was suddenly hit with a green energy bolt, causing him to tumble across the ground. He then got up and glared in the direction the shot came from. There, he saw Izuku, who had fired a Dragon Shot, grinning victoriously.

The Villain leader was pissed. "You brat…!" And then…

*BANG!*

A bloody hole appeared in his hand not long after the gunshot was heard. That was then followed by a second gunshot that targeted Raynare, causing her to drop her light spear in pain.

The students gasped before turning toward the entrance where the gunshot sounds came from. All Might grinned with relief. "They're here."

The cavalry had arrived.

"Sorry, everyone! I know we're a bit late," The principal of U.A. called out. "But I got the teachers over here as fast as I could." Standing alongside him were his fellow staff of U.A., along with Class 1-A's Class Representative, Tenya.

"It's Iida," Ochaco tearfully smiled.

"Class A and Class B! I have returned! And I brought reinforcements!" Tenya announced.

Some Villains regained consciousness, but between Present Mic's soundwaves, Ectoplasm's clones, and Snipe's marksmanship, they barely knew what hit them before they quickly went lights out again.

"We're saved!" Mina cheered.

"Those Villains don't stand a chance now!" Hilda beamed.

"Aw man, the Pros are here. It's Game Over for real," Tomura complained. "Let's go home."

"Dammit…" Raynare snarled to herself hatefully, angry that she failed to take revenge on the ones who foiled her plans months ago.

Kurogiri spread out his mist to envelop Tomura and Raynare.

"I may have failed to kill you this time, but your days are numbered!" The blue-haired villain yelled at All Might. "All Might, Symbol of Peace! I am going to kill you!"

And with that, the Villains vanished into the Warp Gate. It was over.

Not long after, the Pros got to work, scouring every inch of the USJ, tracking down all the Villains that were left behind, and making sure all 48 students were accounted for.

The police soon arrived to arrest the captured criminals while the teachers made sure their students were alright, making sure that Aizawa, Vlad King, and Thirteen were brought for medical attention.

"45, 46, 47, 48," Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi counted off the total students. "Okay, that's everyone."

"That's a relief," Izuku said, his arm was now completely better thanks to Asia.

"Everyone's okay," Asia smiled in relief.

Toru put a hand on Ojiro's shoulder. "Ojiro, I heard you were a really good fighter. I had no idea you were so strong!"

"Well, it's not like I was by myself," Ojiro said. "So where did you end up fighting, Hagakure?"

"The Landslide Zone. Todoroki was pretty strong, and the 1-B kids there with us were pretty amazing too!"

"You don't say? Well, I'm just glad you didn't get hurt."

"You were there too? I had no idea," Pony said as she joined the conversation.

'I didn't even know she was there. I could have frozen her…' Shoto realized in silent shock.

"Can you believe what we just did?" Hilda asked excitedly. "We totally beat our first real Villains!"

"I know, it was crazy!" Tomoe voiced in agreement. "One of them tried to hold me hostage, but too bad for him, his Quirk had no effect on my ball form!"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. The ones we fought today were low-level Villains," Momo reminded. "I dread to think what would've happened if they actually brought in higher-ranked ones."

"Aren't you wondering about moi? Where was my sparkling light?" Yuga said dramatically to Koji, Fumikage, Orihime, Togaru, Eijiro, Tetsutetsu, Dani, Yui, and Denki, who were having their own conversation that they didn't even hear him. "Did you miss me?" He tried again with Mezo, Itsuka, Shihai, Rikido, Awase, Hanta, and Kosei, with equal success. "Where did you think I was?" He resorted to being direct, asking Tsuyu and Kinoko.

"Um, where?" Tsuyu asked.

"It's a secret…" Yuga said with sparkles.

"He's not really a fungi as he thinks, shroom," Kinoko muttered.

"Let's go ahead and get these students back to the main campus," Tsukauchi said. "They've been through a lot, so there's no need to question them right away."

"Detective, what about Mr. Aizawa and Mr. Kan?" Tsuyu asked.

"The bones in Aizawa's arms are splintered and he's got facial fracturing. Fortunately, there doesn't seem to be any serious brain damage. But, his orbital floor is in pieces. We have no way of knowing if his eyesight will be impaired once he's healed up. As for Kan, he lost a lot of blood, so he will need transfusion. As for other damages, it's fortunately limited to his arms with some bruising," The on-site doctor reported through Tsukauchi's phone.

"Ribbit…" Tsuyu muttered.

Asia really felt bad that she was unable to get the chance to heal them.

"Um, sir, what about Thirteen?" Mina asked.

"There's no need to worry there," Tsukauchi reassured. "Despite some pretty bad lacerations to the back, Thirteen is gonna pull through good as new."

This news made her, Kyoka, Momo, and Tomoe sigh in relief.

"And All Might is resting in the infirmary," Tsukauchi added, then he turned to Asia. "Thanks to you, he is without any serious injuries."

Asia sighed in relief, happy to hear that.

"Now, let's get you back to class," Tsukauchi smiled.

"Okay!" The students replied.

"Sansa," Tsukacuhi turned to a policeman with the head of a ginger tabby cat. "I still have some business in the nurse's office. I'll leave this to you, 'kay?"

"Yes, sir!" Sansa saluted.

Some of the girls looked at Sansa in bewilderment.

'It's a cat?'

'Cat cop?'

'Aw, look at his bell!'

'How cute!' Mina, Rebecca, Ochaco, and Asuka all thought.

Meanwhile, Katsuki stared back at the USJ entrance, remembering back to when Deku fired that energy blast to stop the hand bastard from attacking All Might. He scowled at how Deku actually did something to help while he just stood there, watching like a moron.

"C'mon, man! We're going back to class now!" Eijiro called.

"Yeah, yeah. I heard him, you idiot."

Inside the USJ, Nezu, Midnight, and Snipe observed the damages.

"We need security improvements. Perhaps an entire system overhaul," Nezu suggested.

"Agreed," Snipe said.

"Warp Quirks are very rare. And can completely change the course of a battle," Midnight added. "It's frightening to know that a Villain has such a power."

As he walked to his car, Tsukauchi was stopped by another policeman. "Tsukauchi, sir! Someone thought to be involved in this attack was just apprehended in a wooded area nearby."

Tsukauchi gasped and turned to the officer. "Report."

"He has no apparent injuries and seems to be complying with officers' commands for now. He hasn't said a word though. We're not sure if he can even speak."

Tsukauchi then noticed Nezu, Midnight, and Snipe walking out of the USJ. "Principal!" He approached them and took his hat off. "I'd like to investigate every inch of the school, just to be safe."

"Of course, please do!" The Principal said with arms up. "You'll have full access to the campus. We definitely need your assistance on this matter. I don't care who makes a fuss. You have my blessing."

Meanwhile, Tomura, Kurogiri, and Raynare reappeared at their hideout. Their mission was a failure, and U.A. was sure to increase its security, which would make trying to infiltrate it next to impossible, let alone kill All Might.

"All those underlings wiped out! And even Nomu was beaten! We failed!" The Decay Quirk user yelled in an angry tone, slamming his good fist on the floor. "And those kids were so strong! Especially that damn dragon boy! How dare he!"

"Yeah, I know how you feel," Raynare commented, still bitter about the battle at the abandoned church.

"And the Symbol of Peace wasn't weakened at all!" Tomura continued to rant. "You were wrong, Master! So wrong!" He yelled at a wall-mounted TV screen that only had the words "Sound Only" on display.

["No. I wasn't,"] a voice came from the television. ["We just wasn't prepared as we should've been."]

["I agree. We underestimated them,"] A second voice agreed. ["Thankfully, we failed under the cheap 'League of Villains' name and not our own. What about the creature the Master and I created? Where is Nomu?"]

["Yes. Why is he not with you?"] the first voice asked.

"He was blown away," Kurogiri replied.

["What?!"]

"It was All Might's doing. Without coordinates to his precise location, I couldn't use my Warp Gate to bring him back with us. We didn't have time to search for him."

["This is a travesty!"] the second voice exclaimed. ["And after all we did to make him as powerful as All Might!"]

["Well, I suppose it can't be helped., unfortunately,"] the Master said.

"Power… That reminds me. The Welsh Dragon! If he hadn't gotten in our way, we might've killed the Symbol of Peace! That dragon brat…!"

["The Welsh Dragon?"] Master asked, intrigued. ["The very same one who bested you, Raynare?"]

Raynare felt goosebumps run down her body. "Y-Yes Sir! But I-I-I didn't think he would be there! I-"

["Calm yourself, Raynare. I am not angry,"] Master reassured. ["As I said, we didn't do enough to prepare. Still, this was not a futile mission. We learned many things. Now Tomura Shigaraki, gather the villainous elite. Take all the time you need. I must remain hidden in the shadows which is why I need you to be my face. A symbol of your own. Next time you will show the world that it should be afraid of you."]

Once the students returned to the main campus, they all had to undergo a quick checkup from Recovery Girl to make sure that no one had any unnoticed injuries. Some of them tried to protest that they were fine (Katsuki, of course, was one of them), but the elderly nurse insisted, just to be on the safe side.

It was evening by the time everyone was finished. Izuku, Asia, Itsuka, Eijiro, and Mina were among the last ones to be released, and when they left the infirmary, they were greeted by the rest of the ORC, along with Sona, Tsubaki, Momo, Tomoe, Latia, Chacha, and Orihime.

In a split moment, Rias bolted towards Izuku and Asia, wrapping her arms around them in a tight embrace. They barely had time to react as their master practically tackled them, almost causing them to lose their balance.

"You're all okay," Rias said with a relieved smile. Even with her smile, she looked like she was about to burst into tears at any moment. Noticing all the emotions Rias was feeling, the two junior Devils knew it was best to comfort her and returned Rias's hug.

"Yeah," Izuku nodded.

"We're sorry," Asia apologized.

"I'm just glad you made it back safe," Rias said, easing up on the hug, though still holding their shoulder with her hands. "When I got the news…" Rias's words suddenly died. No, she didn't even want to think about the worst possible outcome. Instead, she opted for hugging them again, holding them warmly, which caused Ravel and Chacha to briefly get jealous of how close Rias was to Izuku before just being grateful that it was all over.

"Everyone being safe aside, I think there's another matter that needs to be discussed," Sona said seriously.

"Yes, one of the members of this League of Villains was a Fallen Angel," Tsubaki said.

"Raynare," Akeno said.

"The very same one I let get away," Rias growled, mentally kicking herself. "I should've finished off that tar-feathered tramp when I had the chance."

"Rias, you couldn't have known that this would happen. You shouldn't blame yourself," Latia reassured.

"She's right. Besides, I have a feeling that with or without Raynare there, the Villains still would've appeared," Izuku added.

"You're right. We can't prepare for every possible situation," Rias relented. "But, in order to make sure nothing like this happens again, next time I see her, the first thing I'll do is turn her to dust!"

The others were a bit intimidated by that sudden declaration vowing retribution, but they let it slide.

"So, what happens next?" Ravel asked.

"I'll report to my brother about what happened and he can have someone look into it. For now, let's all go home. It's been a long day," Rias sighed.

"Good idea," Yumi said.

Right outside the entrance, they all found Ochaco, Tenya, Hilda, Tetsutetsu, Setsuna, and Yui waiting for their friends.

"Deku, Kirishima, Ashido, Hanakai, Meguri!" Ochaco called out to her 1-A classmates.

"Hello, friends. I am relieved all of you are well," Tenya greeted, chopping his arms up and down.

"Hey, you guys were waiting for us? That's nice of you!" Mina said.

"Thought it would be nice to travel in a group after everything that happened today," Hilda said.

"And because of that, I think we can say we're comrades-in-arms," Setsuna said.

"Heh, I like the sound of that," Eijiro said.

"We should try training together in the future. It'll be great for both our classes," Tetsutetsu suggested.

"Yeah, sounds good," Izuku said.

"Mmhm." Yui nodded quietly.

And with that, the U.A. students all departed for the train station together. After the day the Hero Course students had, they certainly deserved the time to relax at home and forget the stress of the life-or-death situation they've been forced into.

Yet, in spite of that harrowing experience, they had been given a valuable experience that they wouldn't forget soon, one that would push them to be better Heroes.

Done. And with that, the USJ Arc is now over! All Might defeated Nomu, and the students and teachers all got out with their lives, but the key members of the League also managed to flee.

I also buffed Nomu's Shock Absorption Quirk so that he would be able to put up a decent fight against All Might like in canon, who (unlike canon) still has One For All as of now.

I hope you liked how I gave Asia a moment to call out Tomura for trying to twist perspectives to make the Heroes seem like hypocrites. I could have let Izuku or anyone else say it, but I thought it would make the moment seem more awesome if Asia was the one who called him out.

See you next time. Go beyond! Plus Ultra!