Boku no Hero Academia: Custodian Izuku
Disclaimer: This is a crossover fanfiction story of 'Boku no Hero Academia' and 'Warhammer 40k' (yes, really). I own nothing of the two series other than the fanfiction stories that I make.
I am making this story for the sake of fun, fluff and awesome after writing a one-shot story of the same story concept. If I am able to somehow impress fans of Warhammer 40k or even move someone to tears, even better.
Also, if anyone wants to know how in the world I got this idea in the first place, please refer to the artist, Ryuusei (Mark II), who has made some awesome pictures of gender-bent primarchs. The link is: .us/pools/17320
Please note that while I am familiar with the Warhammer 40k setting, my actual knowledge of it is casual at best. Also, if the genderbent primarchs seem at least a bit OOC, please kindly consider the fact that their bodies (especially the traitor primarchs) have changed drastically after entering Izuku's world.
In case anyone asks how much crack I was taking in to come up with the idea, I am just going to say enough to make even a loyalist Adaptus Astartes trippy.
Chapter 20: For Those We Cherish….
Enji (a.k.a. Endeavour) had spent years believing that his eldest son, Touya, had died due to self-immolation in a vain attempt somehow to get his attention. Therefore, he was understandably shocked to find him not only alive but whole and clearly working alongside with the League of Chaos Undivided.
The fact that none of the Nurglesque monsters attacked Touya even though he had set some of them aflame in his attempt to kill Enji and his Flaming Sidekickers made it obvious to the more observant pro-heroes that Touya was an enemy.
"H-how…? We found your remains back at Sekoto Peak…" stuttered Enji.
"Let's just say that Tomura and I used to have the same initial benefactor before we finally switched sides to the Dark Gods," said Touya who then smirked cruelly as he covered himself in blue flames and added, "Also, they are VERY supportive of my desire to make you suffer and die, Endeavour!"
As an experienced and strong pro-hero, Enji would have been able to defend himself from a frontal attack under normal circumstances. However, the shock of facing his own supposedly-dead son had caused him to react more slowly than usual. Therefore, when Touya created a spear of blue flames and threw it at Enji, the pro-hero was unable to avoid the attack entirely. While he had avoided having his abdomen pierced by the blue flames, it had managed to graze the side of his abdomen like a hot blade. Had Enji lacked his own natural resistance to fire, his injury would have been significantly worse. Realising that Touya truly wanted to kill him, Enji gritted his teeth and said, "I know that I'm not a good father by any measure but, if you keep trying to kill us, I'll have to stop you even if it means taking you down with my own bare hands."
Touya's demented grin widened as he replied, "Do you really think that stopping me and the rest of the League of Chaos Undivided will somehow make up for your sins as a shitty father?" His blue flames transformed into hellish armour and a pair of swords as he continued to speak to Enji, "You know, I've been hearing rumours of you trying to better yourself because of something that happened with your so-called 'masterpiece' back at U.A. High School. It seems that the rumours might actually be true. Even so..." He then charged towards Enji and yelled, "The past never dies, so let's dance straight to Hell together!"
"No."
Suddenly, a hammer hit Touya in the face, knocking him off course and causing him to crash into a nearby wall. Enji's eyes widened as he recognised the person who wielded the hammer and uttered, "Salamander?"
Vulkan wore a grim smile and said, "It seems that both Curze and Icarian are right to advice me to stay close to your group." She the frowned as she looked at Touya and growled, "Though I'm afraid that this fight is far from over."
Enji and his sidekicks wore horrified expressions as Touya, whose flaming armour had taken the worst of the powerful blow, started cackling madly while burning off his own flesh with his blue flames. Their horror only grew as the burnt flesh somehow started regenerating, thus undoing all the damage that Vulkan had inflicted upon him with her hammer. His body was then covered in armour made of hellish blue flames like before. Understandably, Moe (a.k.a. Burnin) swore, "Holy shit…!"
Touya grinned at Vulkan and said, "Ah, Vulkan. The former primarch who defeated both my shitty old man and his 'masterpiece' with little to no effort. I'd tip my hat to you for that achievement, but I have neither a hat nor any interest in the idea of helping people 'be better'."
"So it seems," said Vulkan who then turned her attention towards Enji and asked, "Permission to involve myself in this issue so that we can get back on stopping the corrupting infection as soon as possible?" While Vulkan intended to get involved in the fight regardless, she knew that it never hurt to be polite.
In spite of being shocked by what had happened earlier, Enji was able to regain at least some of his composure as he spoke, "Permission granted, Salamander." He then spoke to Moe, "Burnin, lead the rest of the Flaming Sidekickers out of this area and help the other pro-heroes deal with the infected. Salamander and I will deal with my… estranged son."
Well aware of what Enji wanted to do and why, Moe nodded and said, "Understood."
Touya smiled wickedly and asked, "What makes you think I'll let any of you…?" Before he could complete his rhetorical question, Vulkan suddenly appeared before him and hit him in the stomach with her hammer. In spite of organ-rupturing blow, he smirked at Vulkan and said, "Well, that answers my question!" He then erupted into flames in an attempt to burn everyone around him into ash. However, Vulkan was able to manipulate his flames so that it not only failed to burn anyone but also send torrents of blue flames to various Nurglesque horrors that shrieked in agony as they burnt into ashes. Vulkan was then forced to retreat as Touya created a spear of flames and tried to stab her with it. Her millennia of combat experience warned her that the spear, unlike normal flames, could not be controlled by her and could in fact harm her like a true power weapon. Unfortunately, the same could be said about the armour that had already protected Touya twice.
"Flaming Sidekickers, move out!" yelled Moe before she and the rest of the sidekicks quickly left the area.
Vulkan glanced at Enji before turning her attention towards Touya while she warned the pro-hero, "I know that he's your son and I understand your desire to somehow save him, but we may not have a choice."
Enji clenched his fist as he gazed upon his eldest son and said, "I know, but I have to try."
"Then I hope that you'll forgive me if I decide that your life is worth more than his," said Vulkan. Neither the pro-hero nor the former primarch said a word as Touya charged towards them while wielding a sword made of blue flames in one hand and a whip of similar make in the other…
-Meanwhile, at a location near U.A. High School…-
"I've got to remember thanking those girls for these pistols," thought a man who had the stereotypical appearance of a western cowboy with a mask that was shaped like a horse's muzzle named Snipe as he shot down the seventh Puke Fly with a bolt pistol that was loaded with modified versions of Mei's 'Stun Bolt' (also known as 'Baby No.1012-A'). Unlike the original prototype bolt, the new version could not only be loaded into standard bolt pistol magazines but also unleash a burst of energy that disrupted molecular bonds, effectively turning the bolts into 'Power Bolts' that could devastate even enemies with armour too tough for effective initial penetration. What as more, the "consumable" nature of the bullets meant that making them overload to the point of self-disintegration for the sake of added destructive power was acceptable.
As both a pro-hero with quirk-assisted sharpshooting skills and a teacher of U.A. High School with access to the deadly bullets, Snipe was able to take down the Puke Flies and the Plague Mites on them before they could attack anyone. It should be noted though that Snipe was using a bolt-pistol that could be safely used by humans who lacked augmentations or suitable quirks. Otherwise, he would have dislocated his arms or worse from using the pistols.
Snipe pressed onto the micro-bead on his ear and said, "I have taken care of the threat in this area."
Aiba (a.k.a. La Brava) spoke to Snipe through the micro-bead, "Good job in taking down the flies and mites in this area, Snipe. Please proceed to the next area. Its… bad."
Snipe nodded and said, "I'm on my way."
-At Nedzu's office…-
"How long until Perturabo's drones are synchronised with our own?" asked Nedzu.
"It just needs a few more minutes!" said Aiba who was keeping an eye on the progress of having Perturabo's drones synchronised with the various drones built by not only Power Loader but also various students of U.A. High School such as Mei, Vulkan, Ferrus and Dorn. She was also keeping an eye on the various happenings both in and around the school through the use of 'servo-skulls' which had stealth technology.
Theoretically, Nedzu could have had the drones synchronised much earlier but the drones built by Perturabo were deliberately kept separate from the other drones to prevent any chance of people finding out that U.A. High School had been giving financial support to the Penites Imperialis vigilante group before the time was right. After all, thanks to voluntary assistance from Dorn, Vulkan and Ferrus, the students of the support course had gotten rather good at not only making support gear but also programming and even hacking. However, this decision also meant that starting the synchronisation process could only begin at the last moment, as was the case with the current situation. Had Curze and Icarian not predicted that the risk was acceptable, Nedzu would have considered having the synchronisation done way before the destruction of Deika City even if it meant risking having complications.
Nedzu nodded before he contacted Higari (a.k.a. Power Loader) through the micro-bead in his ear, "Power Loader, be ready to send out the drones at my mark."
"Those villains are going to regret attacking this school and the people around it!" growled Power Loader.
-Meanwhile, at the said "seventh site"…-
Ken (a.k.a. Cementoss) had just arrived together with a tall, slender man who was dressed in a tan cloak that covered most of his body over a skin-tight black bodysuit, wore a matching black helmet that covered his entire head and had prosthetic legs named Ectoplasm. The two pro-heroes, who were also colleagues at U.A. High School, had recently eliminated the Puke Flies and Plague Mites that had appeared in a previous site. As for how they had done it, it involved Cementoss impaling the flies with spikes of cement and Ectoplasm kicking them with his recently-upgraded prosthetic legs that generated bursts of energy like an Imperial power weapon. Both men's eyes widened in horror as they saw what was happening at the site they were currently in.
Unlike the other six sites, which had apparently been successfully contained, the pro-heroes stationed at the seventh site had failed to stop the Puke Flies and Plague Mites from increasing their numbers. As a result, there was a growing swarm that had already caused both civilian and pro-hero casualties. Even worse, it was clear that the two fliers with insectoid wings responsible for creating the flies and mites had arrived to take control of the swarm.
Although Keigo (a.k.a. Hawks) had arrived to stop the two other fliers, it was obvious that stopping them and the swarms of flies on his own would be impossible. Thankfully, Snipe had just arrived and shot volleys of Power Bolts at the airborne flies to take them down. What was more, Shouta (a.k.a. Eraser Head), Nemuri (a.k.a. Midnight), Hizashi (a.k.a. Present Mic) and Rumi (a.k.a. Miruko) had arrived to help Keigo by taking on the swarms of mites and flies. Not to be outdone in stopping the threat, Ken quickly created a wave of cement spikes to impale as many flies and bloated mites as he could while Ectoplasm kicked them with his upgraded prosthetic legs.
Nemuri swore as she barely avoided the projectile vomit of a Puke Fly and yelled, "How the hell did these things manage to multiply to this point?!"
Aiba's voice could be heard as she explained to the assembled pro-heroes through their respective micro-beads, "Long story short, Visorman and Mistwalker failed to stop the Puke Flies and Plague Mites from reproducing because they got too close to a villain's hideout."
Understanding the implication that the villains had interfered with the two pro-heroes, who were also fellow teachers of U.A. High School, Hizashi grimaced as he asked, "Are those two…?"
"They, along with the villains that got in their way, are dead. I'm sorry," said Aiba.
Nemuri gritted her teeth as memories of an old friend who had died years ago flashed through her mind. She then took out her Power Whip and growled, "Then we'll have to kill them all before they grow any larger in number!"
No more words were needed as the pro-heroes proceeded to take on the growing threat…
-At a certain "sixth site"…-
"It seems that Curze and Icarian's predictions have been accurate so far," said Magnus who had just killed the Puke Flies and Plagues Mites in her area with the help of Alpharius and Omegon. Although Magnus did not possess her original psyker powers, she could still use her current abilities to deceive and confuse her opponents. As for Alpharious and Omegon, they were armed with flamers that had been built from scavenged parts, plus a few purchased components, by Perturabo.
"We should get to the seventh site as quickly as possible," said Alpharius.
Omegon added, "The situation will worsen unless we put an end to it."
Magnus nodded at the two twins before they left the area together, leaving behind the destroyed bodies of fifty-six flies and countless mites which had swelled in numbers due to appearing next to a convenience store. Although the unfortunate people in the store could not be saved, their untimely deaths were at the very least avenged.
-At U.A. High School…-
While Lorgar did not possess a quirk that allowed her to stay in contact with her forces outside the school grounds, her connection to the Chaos Gods meant that they could inform her of what had happened thus far. She frowned as she realised that both Haeto and Gokicha were engaged with opposition who were armed with admittedly-impressive downgraded versions of Imperial technology. What was more, the rest of her cult were engaged with Angron, Curze, Fulgrim, Perturabo and even Izuku.
Since Lorgar could fly, she could avoid getting attacked by the people below as long as they did not aim any of their guns towards her. However, she also knew that something had to be done before her cultists were overwhelmed regardless of their blessings from the Dark Gods. With Curze and Perturabo constantly harassing Kurogiri and Tomura respectively, the two heavy-hitters of her cult could not use their full capabilities without putting their own lives at risk. As for Shuuichi and Nezuko, who were armed with a pair of serrated katanas and a pair of punch daggers respectively, they were currently dealing with Angron and Fulgrim respectively and were clearly struggling to avoid getting killed by them. Only Karutoko, who was fighting against Izuku while wielding a large chakram which had eight blades to resemble the symbol of Chaos Undivided, was able to stand her ground although it was clear that Izuku was far better trained than her in spite of her own gifts from the Dark Gods. Lorgar also noticed that the melee weapons used by Izuku and her former brothers were primitive variants of power weapons. Had the weapons wielded by Shuuichi, Nezuko and Karutoko not been crystalline "warp weapons" crafted by a fusion of Nezuko and Tomura's respective gifts, Lorgar was quite certain that the primitive power weapons would have destroyed her cultists' weapons with ease.
Just as Lorgar was about to attack Izuku, a hundred and forty-four drones of every imaginable design suddenly arose from buildings both within and around the grounds of U.A. High School. Her eyes widened as she realised that the drones were not only numerous but also armed with ranged weapons ranging from simple ballistic bullets to laspistols and even plasma pistols. It did not take long for the drones that arose from outside the school grounds to fly towards the area where Haeto and Gokicha were located. As for the other portion of the "mechanical swarm", Lorgar and the cultists with her soon found themselves being surrounded from all sides.
Normally, such a scenario would have spelled certain defeat for the intruders of U.A. High School. However, the League of Chaos Undivided were worshippers of the Dark Gods and, more importantly, cunning enough to have more than one backup plan. In fact, Lorgar's willingness to talk to Izuku was, in part, a ploy to ensure that the other backup plan would be successful.
A small horde of humanoid rats, some of which possessed wings, tentacles and pus-filled tumours suddenly erupted from the ground. Shocked by the sudden development, Izuku was forced to disengage from Karutoko to avoid the potential risk of either falling into the newly-made pit or being overwhelmed by enemy reinforcements. As he did so, he sensed incoming danger and barely had time to swing his naginata-styled power weapon to deflect an overhead attack from Lorgar who tried to decapitate him with her tail. He gritted his teeth as he was knocked down and did a rolling fall to avoid becoming a stationary target with his back on the floor. While rolling away from incoming attacks, he noticed that the humanoid rats were generally about Minoru's height.
Although Lorgar was displeased by the fact that Izuku had managed to deflect her attack, partly because some of the drones had interfered, she was nonetheless pleased to see that humanoid rats had arrived. Formerly mundane rats which had been turned into 'Vermin Spawn' by Nezuko's abilities, the humanoid rats were vicious red-eyed creatures with brown or black fur. They were also armed with crystalline weapons that have off a sickly green glow known as Warp Stone. As for the humanoid rats with additional mutations, they were formerly Vermin Spawn before they were mutated further by Tomura into Chaos Spawn or Pox Spawn.
Tzeentch would have preferred having crows turned into Chaos Spawn that resembled his greater daemons, the Lords of Change, but crows had been particularly wary of the League of Chaos Undivided lately and Lorgar knew that Corax was involved somehow.
Despite the still-present issue of being surrounded by attack drones, Lorgar smirked and yelled, "For Chaos and death to the False Emperor!"
The Chaos Spawn which had wings with bluish feathers screeched in fury as they took flight to attack the drones. As for the Vermin Spawn, wingless Chaos Spawn and Pox Spawn, they spread out in a clear attempt to attack not only Izuku and the former primarchs who opposed Chaos but also anyone and everyone else in the school.
That was when the hidden automated cannons popped out of the ground and started shooting.
Although the number of canons were not as numerous as Dorn would have liked, they were enough to cut down the first wave of Vermin Spawn, Chaos Spawn and Pox Spawn like wheat before a sharpened scythe. However, a second wave soon arrived and, more importantly, Tomura was able to use the momentary distraction to touch the ground with his left hand.
Blue crystals with gold-yellow highlights erupted from the point of contact to not only protect himself from Perturabo's weapons but also create bolts of lightning which disabled at least a few of the canons, thus allowing the second wave of Vermin Spawn, Chaos Spawn and Pox Spawn to spread out more successfully. The aerial drones killed as many of the Chaos-tainted minions as they could but the wing Chaos Spawn could fly and even unleash gouts of multi-coloured flames and bolts of lightning which effectively disintegrated them. As for the remaining turrets, the Vermin Spawn, wingless Chaos Spawn and Pox Spawn literally hurled themselves upon them in a suicidal attempt to disable them.
Fortunately for the defenders, the drones and turrets were not their only added line of defence.
"WASH!"
Lorgar's eyes widened in disbelief as a pro-hero, who resembled a washing machine with arms and legs protruding from the shell, appeared and shot soapy water with enough force to literally force a number of Vermin Spawn, wingless Chaos Spawn and Pox Spawn back into the pit they had emerged from. Although she had heard of the ridiculous-looking yet famous pro-hero, Laundry Hero: Wash, she did not expect him to actually be capable of putting up a fight. As such, she could not help but utter incredulously, "Seriously?!"
Understandably, Nurgle rapidly developed an intense loathing towards the pro-hero upon laying his metaphorical eyes upon him.
Realising that Wash as a threat, the winged Chaos Spawn tried to attack the pro-hero but they were suddenly blocked by an elastic wall of air which literally caused them to bounce off. Gentle Criminal (a.k.a. Danjuurou) stood before the repelled winged Chaos Spawn with a frown that was still unmistakably gentlemanly as he spoke to them, "You, uncouth villains, shall not pass." Angered by the opposition, the winged Chaos Spawn tried to attack again but Gentle Criminal's ability to make the very air elastic not only made it impossible for them to get close enough to attack but also made their bolts and gouts of arcane magic ineffective due to the solid yet elastic nature of the air affected by his quirk.
Before Lorgar and the rest of the League of Chaos Undivided at U.A. High School could act, denim fibres suddenly wrapped themselves around Tomura, Kurogiri, Karutoko and Shuuichi. Lorgar was barely able to avoid getting caught by the denim fibres while Nezuko was notably left alone. Given Nezuko's ability to create a flame that turned inorganic materials into Warp Stone, it was understandable why the pro-hero who controlled the denim fibres, a tall slim man with an unnaturally long and flexible neck, dark heavily-lashed eyes and blond hair known as Fibre Hero: Best Jeanist, chose not to restrain her. True, Tomura could destroy the fibres in theory but that required touching them with his fingers which could be restrained.
Lorgar was about to attack Best Jeanist when she heard someone yell, "CALIFORNIA SMASH!" She barely had time to look up before receiving a punch in the face by All Might which caused her to come crashing down onto the ground below.
In spite of the imminent victory, Curze's eyes widened as she saw a vision of what was about to happen and therefore yelled, "Fall back!"
Nezuko was terrified by the turn of events for the worse but she also felt intense rage due to not only the influence of Khorne but also her own self-loathing towards her own powerlessness. As such, in a moment of rage and as a desperate attempt to save her fellow members of the League of Chaos Undivided, she screamed in fury while unleashing a massive wave of green flames that forced Izuku, Angron, Curze, Fulgrim, Perturabo, Wash and Best Jeanist to back away. As she unleashed her flames, six goat-like horns emerged from her head.
Due to Nezuko's flames, the fibres that bound the captured members of the League of Chaos Undivided broke into tiny fragments of Warp Stone. Freed from their bonds and immune to the effects of her flames, they only needed a moment to nod at each other in common agreement before most of them charged forward as one alongside with the Crow Spawn and Vermin Spawn with a rallying roar, "FOR CHAOS AND DEATH TO THE FALSE PEACE!"
Kurogiri, who did not roar like the others, opened several portals from which nine Pink Horrors, eight Bloodletters, seven Plaguebearers and six Daemonettes emerged. He then coldly said, "Go forth and render JUDGEMENT upon them!"
All Might, who landed safely outside the effects of Nezuko's flames and the Warp Stone she had created as a result, was about to rush forward to help the other defenders when he barely avoided an attack from Lorgar. Furious at the humiliating punch that had caused her nose to bleed, Lorgar growled at the pro-hero, "You will pay for this insult, worm!"
Even though Izuku felt fear and faltered from the horrible turn of events, which included Tomura touching the ground with his left hand to create a massive blob of flesh that was filled with innumerable pestilent plagues, he refused to retreat or surrender. He recalled the times of his early childhood when he refused to back down from bullies even though his eyes were filled with tears and his legs shook in fear of his stronger opponents. He recalled how, in spite of being terrified, he could see the grief in Angron's eyes and refused to forsake her even though doing so could have ensured his own safety. He recalled how, in spite of the recent revelation that his former childhood friend had died and was likely suffering eternal damnation, he refused to break down and fail in his duty and honour of protecting the people whom he cared for. Despite the very real possibility of dying or worse, Izuku wore a grim smile as he spoke with a voice that was soft yet somehow clearly heard by everyone around him, "For those we cherish, live with honour, fight with courage and die…" His eyes then shone with an inner golden light as he assumed a fighting stance and roared with an audacious smile, "IN GLORY!"
While Best Jeanist, Wash and Gentle Criminal were shocked by Izuku's seemingly unbreakable courage, Perturabo and Fulgrim could not help but smirk self-depreciatively as they stood their ground with a war cry, "To victory… AND GLORY!"
Angron and Curze could not help but smile at Izuku with pride as they assumed their own fighting stances and shouted, "PLUS ULTRA!"
As Izuku, Angron, Curze, Perturabo and Fulgrim braced themselves for the incoming assault, Inko and Eri prayed with all their might that someone, including the Emperor of Mankind himself, would somehow protect them. Just as the two sides of the conflict were about to collide, the shrine within the Bloodline Chapel suddenly unleashed a burst of golden light…
-A short while ago, in the former primarchs' original universe…-
The Chaos Gods were close to laughing as it was clear that the defenders of U.A. High School would be destroyed. Even if the forces of Chaos at Deika City and the area surrounding U.A. High School were to fall, unleashing Nurgle's plagues at the school itself would cause irrecoverable damage to not only the local champions of the school but even the Emperor's former primarchs. However, just as the defenders at the school were about to be crushed by Lorgar's League of Chaos Undivided, the Dark Gods received what could be best described as an explosion of light that was like "burning finger-pokes in the eyes".
As powerful god-like beings, such an attack would not inflict lasting harm upon them or even harm all of their collective eyes for that matter. However, they could not help but scream, screech, howl and roar in blinding agony that even Slaanesh did not enjoy if only because she was denied the pleasure of watching Izuku be slaughtered like a worthless dog.
With the Dark Gods distracted, the Emperor executed his own plan…
-Back in Izuku's universe…-
Izuku was about to trade blows with Shuuichi, Karutoko and Nezuko when, suddenly, a wave of golden light erupted from behind him. This was followed by a massive object falling between him and his three opponents with enough force to crater the ground beneath it. Recognising the "object", Izuku's eyes widened and thought, "That's… a dreadnought!"
Fulgrim's eyes were equally wide in shock as she uttered, "R-Rylanor…?"
The manifested soul of Rylanor, the Ancient of Rites and loyal servant of the Emperor of Mankind among the Emperor's Children legion, rose and spoke to Izuku, "It is an honour to witness your wisdom and courage, Midoriya Izuku."
Tomura's eyes widened as he recalled Lorgar's description of imperial dreadnoughts and, upon noticing the massive blob of pestilent flesh wither and burn in holy light, thought, "Oh… shit!"
-Meanwhile, at a certain site outside of U.A. High School…-
"You have done well to fight this long, champions of this world. It is time that we help you end this conflict," said the manifested soul of a venerable dreadnought named Huron-Fal.
Miruko, who was close to losing a left arm and a left leg due to an attack from above by Haeto, did not know who the mech-riding individual was but she was not going to complain about receiving help, at least for the present situation. Even with the help of other pro-heroes, attack drones and various members of the Penites Imperialis, including Magnus, Mortarion, Alpharious, Omegon and Gwalchavad, Miruko knew that they were locked in a deadly stalemate that could have ended very badly for them at any moment due to the Puke Flies and Plague Mites' ability to spread and multiply rapidly.
Mortarion's eyes were wide in shock as she recognised Huron-Fal to be one of the many loyalist space marines of the original Death Guard legion whom she had ultimately betrayed during her past life, specifically during the Battle of Isstvan III at the start of the Horus Heresy. The venerable dreadnought was far from the only one present as various space marines of traitor legions who had remained loyal to the Emperor to their dying moments had appeared as well. One of them was Ullis Temeter, an Astartes captain of the Death Guard legion.
Recognising the space marines from the stories that he had heard from the former primarchs who stayed at U.A. High School, Hizashi could not help but smile while speaking to one of them, "Thanks for the assist, space marines. This year's pest problem is terrible beyond words."
Shouta could not help but mentally groan at Hizashi's attempt to make a joke.
The space marine whom Hizashi was speaking to, Phosis T'kar of the Thousand Sons legion, huffed in mild amusement and said, "So it seems, Present Mic."
Although Haeto and Gokicha had never met the space marines before, their respective abilities to sense incoming danger were practically screaming that each and every one of them was a dangerous threat. They barely had time to order their swarms of Plague Mites and Puke Flies to attack the gathered space marines when the latter roared as one, "FOR THE EMPEROR!"
-Back at U.A. High School…-
What should have been a glorious counterstrike against the defenders of the school had rapidly devolved into an extremely disadvantageous situation for the League of Chaos Undivided. Rylanor by himself was already a dangerous foe but he was far from alone. Other souls of loyalist space marines from traitor legions, including Juljak Nul and Kauragar of the Wold Eaters legion, Vespasian and Saul Tarvitz of the Emperor's Children Legion and Barabas Dantioch of the Iron Warriors Legion, were also present. In total, there were twelve astartes, including a few dreadnoughts such as Rylanor and Juljak Nul. Twelve space marines might not seem much against a veritable horde of easily-replaced lesser minions but anyone who truly knew them would know better than to assume that their lack of numbers would render them ineffective as a threat. That was not even counting the holy light that radiated from the currently-glowing chapel and the other defenders, drones included.
Recognising the accursed loyalists of the various traitor legions and the threat they posed, Lorgar chose to save her fight with All Might for another time as she charged forward to stop the loyalist souls from killing the more valuable members of the League of Chaos Undivided. However, All Might was not so easily deterred as he went after her to prevent her from regrouping with the rest of the league. Angered by All Might's clear attempt at interference, Lorgar roared, "Your impudence offends me!" She then shot a bolt of arcane lighting which, although weakened by the holy light, would have caused grievous harm or worse had All Might not avoided the attack.
In spite of his close brush with death, All Might's smile did not waver as he punched her while yelling, "DETROIT SMASH!" Lorgar was barely able to block the attack with her arms before she was sent hurtling down towards the ground with an impact that caused a crater to form beneath her. Unlike his previous fight with Lion, All Might was not only better prepared for fighting a former primarch but was also slowly regaining some of his lost strength thanks to his implanted cultured organs. He also had far less reason to hold back against the clearly villainous opponent.
Infuriated by the fact that All Might had struck her down yet again, Lorgar glared at All Might with hateful fury in her eyes as she growled at him, "For this second insult…" With a powerful leap and a flap of her wings, she charged towards him while yelling, "I will SHATTER YOUR SOUL!"
While All Might was facing Lorgar, the souls of the loyalist space marines dealt with the Chaos Spawn, Pox Spawn, Vermin Spawn and various daemons summoned by Kurogiri. Fulgrim and Angron appeared by Izuku's side while Curze and Perturabo set off to attack Kurogiri and Tomura respectively. As for Best Jeanist, Wash and Gentle Criminal, in spite of the unexpected turn of events, they understood enough to know that the new arrivals were allies and thus helped them the best they could by preventing any of the daemons and warp-tainted minions from escaping or attacking the civilians and students.
Shuuichi noticed the fact that the enemy reinforcements had left him, Nezuko and Karutoko alone to be dealt with by Izuku, Angron and Fulgrim. He glared at the three opponents and growled, "Are you three planning to gloat?"
Izuku shook his head and said, "As someone who knows what's like to be deemed as inferior solely by the circumstances of birth, gloating is the last thing I'd think of doing."
Recalling Izuku's earlier admission before the start of the fight, Shuuichi sighed and aid, "Fair point."
Although there was no denying that the three members of the League of Chaos Undivided were enemies, Izuku could not help but ask, "I don't suppose surrender is an option, is it?"
Shuuichi smiled bitterly and said, "Even if we wanted to, the Chaos Gods will refuse to let us do that."
Nezuko nodded and said, "Especially to you, champion-hero."
Karutoko smile had a hint of sorrow as she spoke, "Pwersonally, I hwouldn't mwind hwaving hyou as a frwiendly enwemy bwut thwey'll nwot allwow thwat heither."
Izuku raised and eyebrow and asked, "Friendly enemy?"
Karutoko grinned and replied, "Yups, a frwiendly enwemy I cwans hwave fwuns fwights hwith."
Sensing Karutoko's sincerity, Angron tilted her head and asked, "How the frak is that supposed to work?"
Karutoko shrugged and answered, "I dwon't knyow, bwut iht shounds mwore fwun thwan hwating ahnd trwying twoo kwills heach othwer awll thwe twime."
Fulgrim smiled bitterly as she spoke, "It certainly sounds less tragic, if nothing else."
"Well, since we can all agree that a peaceful surrender is out of the question…" said Shuuichi who then wore a smirk as he assumed a fighting stance and added, "then let's make this a fight to the death worth remembering for years to come!"
Accepting the inevitable fight, Izuku, Angron and Fulgrim charged towards Shuuichi, Karutoko and Nezuko respectively. Aware of Angron's superior strength, Karutoko laughed manically as she pushed her body to limits that would have crippled anyone without her ability to somehow keep on fighting regardless. The resulting boost in both her speed and strength was such as she could deflect one of Angron's strikes with her chakram while barely avoiding getting cleaved into half by Angron's second axe.
Unlike Karutoko, Nezuko did not laugh in maniacal glee but instead wore an expression of focus and vicious cunning as she leapt over Fulgrim while attempting to strike her with not only her two punch-daggers but also her hidden tail-blade which, as a result of being made during her earlier burst of power, was made of pure Warp Stone. With each strike, Nezuko attempted to expose Fulgrim to her Toxic Fire. Although Fulgrim was skilled enough to deflect Nezuko's attacks and avoid direct exposure to the dangerous fire, which was admittedly unable to last for long while exposed to the holy light, she was unable to find an opportunity to harm her either.
Shuuichi attacked Izuku with savagery befitting of a Khornate warrior. However, Izuku was far from defenceless as he successfully deflected his attacks thanks to his months of arduous training. As they fought, Izuku could not help but notice that the four marks of the Dark Gods on their bodies were giving off demonic glows of purple, green, red and bluish light respectively. Realising that the Dark Gods were probably giving their cultists additional strength to somehow turn the situation around, Izuku pressed on in the hopes that he could at the very least hold off his opponent long enough for his companions and allies to defeat their own opponents.
While Shuuichi and Izuku fought, the former could not help but smile as he considered the latter, a quirkless boy armed with only his equipment, hard-earned skills and unyielding will, to be a worthy opponent. As a matter of fact, he rejected the Chaos God's offers for more power as he wanted to defeat Izuku with his current level of admittedly already-enhanced strength. Suddenly, Izuku's naginata-shaped power weapon tore through both the serrated katana in Shuuichi's right hand and most of his right forearm, a clear sign that the weapons wielded by the League of Chaos Undivided were already weakening due to the light from the chapel.
It was only thanks to Shuuichi's already-granted powers that he could back away to avoid further damage and, albeit slowly, regrow his right forearm. Before Izuku could press on with the attack, Shuuichi spat a glob of greenish spittle at him. Izuku reacted quickly and dodged to the side to avoid the clearly-poisonous glob. Even with the holy light apparently weakening the enhanced quirks wielded by the League of Chaos Undivided, he did not want to take any chances.
With Izuku distracted by the glob, Shuuichi charged forward and attacked Izuku viciously in an attempt to kill him before he could recover. Izuku blocked Shuuichi's remaining sword with the shaft of his spear which, unlike the bladed tip, was not protected by a field of energy. As a result, the sword cut the shaft into two and nearly cut into Izuku's flesh. Thankfully, Izuku's armour took the blow and the holy light prevented the warp-tainted weapon from spreading its effects further.
Izuku bit back a curse as he retreated while quickly adopting a different fighting style to adapt to his damaged weapon. The bladed part of the weapon in his right hand was wielded like a tantou which had a long hilt while the other part was wielded like a combat baton. However, Shuuichi had noticed that Izuku's left side was more vulnerable, as the damaged shaft did not generate a field that disrupted molecular bonds, and thus focused his attacks on it. Aware of Shuuichi's attempt, Izuku made sure that his right side was facing Shuuichi so that the still-functioning bladed part of the power weapon in his right hand could deflect the incoming attacks.
Unexpectedly, Izuku threw the baton-like portion of his weapon at Shuuichi. Although surprised by the attack, Shuuichi was still able to avoid getting hit in the face by the projectile and then deflect an attack from the bladed part of Izuku's weapon.
Shuuichi never knew that Izuku had a hidden tanto dagger, which was also a power weapon and one of the first gifts he had received from the former primarchs, and was thus caught off guard when Izuku proceeded to stab him in the chest with it. Shocked by the sudden pain in his chest, Shuuichi took a moment to stare at the dagger, which had pierced him in the heart, before he started to slump. As he looked at Izuku's face, he noticed that the boy weeping and asked, "Why… are… you… crying…?"
"In another life, we could have been friends," replied Izuku.
The thought of a "hideous mutant" and a "worthless quirkless" becoming friends made Shuuichi chuckle as he conceded, "Yeah… we… could… have… Midoriya… Izu…"
Izuku's hands trembled as he cruel reality that he had taken a life pressed onto his shoulders. Although he knew that he had little choice in the matter, it did not make the cruel act any less horrible for him as he tearfully sobbed, "I'm… so sorry…"
"You're… truly kind-good," said Nezuko who, in spite of having an open diagonal wound from her left shoulder to her right hip that made her bloody intestines spill out, was somehow still able to stand and walk. Izuku could tell that she was dying and, seeing the grief in her tearful eyes, respectfully backed away from Shuuichi's slumped corpse and allowed her to tenderly hug him as she breathed her last, "See you… soon… my love-mate…"
Although he knew that the fight might still be ongoing, Izuku could not help but bring his hands together in prayer as he solemnly prayed, "May your souls, wherever it may be, somehow find peace."
It was only after Izuku had made his prayer, as well as felt a powerful gust of wind that cleared the sky, that he realised that the fighting was finally over…
-A few minutes later…-
"Are you all right, Midoriya-shounen?" asked All Might who had dealt a finishing blow on Lorgar by destroying her head much like how he had defeated a certain All For One many years before. However, unlike his fight with All For One, he did not defeat Lorgar on his own as the other former primarchs joined in to help him take down Lorgar after defeating Nezuko, Karutoko, Kurogiri and Tomura respectively.
Izuku smiled sadly and answered, "Honestly, no but I'll live."
"As much as I hate to say this, this day isn't over just yet," said Keigo who had arrived as soon as the situation outside the walls of U.A. High School had been resolved. He also knew that he would need at least a few days of therapy after seeing Haeto and Gokicha, in a final act of defiance even while facing death, kiss each other before letting their respective powers consume each other to release an unusually deadly swarm of Puke Flies and Plague Mites. Had the souls of loyalist space marines not helped to contain the swarm with the use of flamers and heavy flamers, the swarm would have spread out of control.
"He's right," said Best Jeanist who then turned his attention towards the still-glowing chapel and the still-present souls of the space marines and added, "I doubt this day will be over until whatever is making that glow stops."
"Thankfully, we won't have to worry about further attacks happening while we wait for the others to arrive," said Curze, who had defeated Kurogiri by stabbing him in the chest and then decapitating him. Of course, she had used her precognitive ability to confirm that further major attacks were unlikely to happen.
Angron, who had defeated Karutoko by literally cutting her into pieces, nodded as she placed her hand onto Izuku's shoulder and said, "For all that it's worth, take comfort in knowing that your foe and his lover held no grudge towards you even in their dying moments and that the people whom we have sworn to protect within these walls are safe."
Izuku rubbed the tears in his eyes and said, "I know, but it still hurts and, necessity aside, I'm not sure to how to atone for what I've done."
"You can consider honouring their memory by living well. I'm quite sure that no one who genuinely cares for you will resent you for that," said Fulgrim who could not help but glance at Rylanor, Vespasian and Saul Tarvitz with a mixture and regret and trepidation in her eyes.
Angron smiled at Izuku as she spoke to him, "To borrow your words, 'For those we cherish, live with honour, fight with courage and die in glory'."
Izuku chuckled weakly and said, "I'm not sure if I can actually live up to that oath, but I can at least try."
Rylanor snorted before he spoke to Izuku, "Frankly speaking, you are already more genuinely noble than most."
Tarvitz smirked and said, "At the very least, take pride in the fact that you've humiliated those miserable warp-parasites even before the fight here started."
Wash nodded while saying, "Wash. Wash!"
Perturabo, who had killed Tomura with a lot of fire-power, huffed and thought, "His soft-hearted nature makes him weak." As she watched him interact with the pro-heroes, other former primarchs and souls of loyalist space marines, she thought about a certain foster sister whom she once had, Calliphone, and mentally admitted to herself with a sigh, "Though, depending on the circumstances, I suppose it may be considered as… preferable over being unable to speak honestly to others…"
"So, how much longer do we have to wait?" asked Gentle Criminal.
"Until all of my remaining sisters are present at the very least," answered Curze.
"Well, considering that many of them are all the way in Deika City, even with the situation over there already resolved, it's probably going to take a while," said Keigo.
Suddenly, a golden portal appeared and Phosis T'kar walked out of it while saying, "That would be true, if the means of instantaneous travel was unavailable to us."
Normally, the sudden appearance of a portal followed by a giant man in futuristic combat armour would have made a person react with caution if not fear or even aggression. However, none of the pro-heroes who were still unaware of the other universe reacted that way as they had already been informed of their presence in Japan.
In spite of his grief, Izuku could not help but feel curious as he asked the Space Marine, "Is that technology or warp-craft?"
Phosis T'kar chuckled and said, "It's the latter, young man. One that is fortunately sanctioned by the Emperor himself, at least for this instance." He then created more golden portals with a wave of his hand. As the portals appeared, more people stepped out of them including not only the former primarchs who had been outside of U.A. High School during the conflict but also the rest of the space marines, Enji, Hizashi, Jin, Magne, Kaina, Mera and the Madam President. Upon their arrival, as well as the closing of the portals, the door of the Bloodline Chapel finally opened.
The space marines immediately knelt down as a tall and muscular man with long dark hair and glowing golden eyes walked out of the chapel while holding Eri in his arms and with Inko nervously following him from behind. Even the pro-heroes who had never known about the other universe were stunned in both awe and fear of the power radiating from him. Izuku was similar awed even as he noted that Eri seemed comfortable while being held in his arms.
Vulkan, who had helped Enji put an end to Touya by literally crushing his head with her hammer, smiled with a mixture of both joy and sorrow as she spoke to the man who was carrying Eri and was in fact a fragment of the Emperor of Mankind himself, "It's been a long time, Father."
The fragment of the Emperor smiled similarly in return and said, "Indeed, it has, Vulkan." He then turned his attention towards the others and said, "I am the the Emperor of Mankind and we have much to discuss."
-End Chapter-
Author's Notes:
I will admit, this chapter took a while to write due to not only writer's block but also distractions (namely games) and being busy with obligations in real life. I also left out quite a few (a lot to be honest) details of the separate fights. If I had included them, this chapter would have grown twice as long, at minimum. The next chapter will deal with the Emperor, his past actions during the Great Crusade and his plans for Izuku's home universe.
I probably could have done more with this chapter/arc but I wanted to finish it as it has been dragging along for long enough in my opinion.
Do not worry, I have not forgotten about Jin and Magne.
On a side note…
While it is easy to forget, U.A. High School has at least two more teachers who are (still as of yet) unnamed. In fact, prior to the canon reveal of the traitor, I have used one of them, who has blonde hair with a purple visor, as the "U.A. Traitor" in my previous fanfictions of 'Boku No Hero Academia' (his canon appearances are in Ep.13 of the anime and Ch.20 of the manga). The other character, who has made similar appearances in the same anime episode and manga chapter, has pink hair and wears a black mask with tubes attached to them. Therefore, I have decided to use the two characters, Visorman and Mistwalker, as sacrificial fodder to increase the threat posed by the League of Chaos Undivided without having any major characters killed in this chapter. Call it cheating if you wish but that is my decision.
Until next time, go beyond, plus ultra!