Welcome to the last chapter in the USJ.
Now, before we begin the chapter I have a two special announcements.
The first is a new side project. I mentioned before that I wanted to write a fantasy AU for a long time and I've in out of sorts when it came to finally writing it. I am pleased to announce that this project has returned, but it will be different from my original plans. Instead of telling a full story, it will instead be short, mostly funny slice of life stories featuring our favorite characters in a fantasy story. (Albeit there may or may not be some influence from the Rune Factory and Etrian Odyssey series.) Title is still pending, but the main reason I am doing this is because I am primary a fantasy writer and my habits with fantasy have been making writing other chapters drag. So I'm hoping to further use this fun side project to prevent burn out.
The Second announcement is something special I have in mind a reward for old readers and sneak peak for newer readers. Older readers remember that I would occasionally leave special previews of what I had cooking up in the future arcs. Given that we have reach the half-way point from where I am at in writing chapters, I thought it time to give all of you something new.
However there will be a twist of course!
The preview will contain a total of six scenes: Three scene are completely canon, Two are canon but are purposely altered to hide some key things and one scene will be a complete fake out, but...it still contains a few real elements. It's up to all of you to find what is the truth and what are the lies.
That preview will be uploaded after the next chapter, because I'm not that cruel.
That covers that and I'll see you all next time!
My Hero Academia Untold: The Knights of Fafnir
Saga I: Dusk
Arc II: The Incident
Chapter XXVI: The Demon Lord Versus The Dragon Knight
"No boundary or barrier surrounds the heart of a person that loves their self and others."
― Shannon L. Alder
"Damn reporters," Snipe grumbled as he continued his patrol around the UA main campus. "Good for promotion, but terrible to handle at school."
Ever since the break-in last week, Nezu had ordered Pro-Hero Teachers who were on their free period to do an extra round of patrols just to cover their bases. For the veteran third-year teacher, who either had his students out of campus to do work studies or, in the case of Mirio and Alex, were helping out at the USJ, this left him to cover Midnight's shift along with his own. Needless to say, the gunslinger hero was more than a little annoyed with such a tedious job.
At least until he heard a rumbling in the distance.
"What in tarnation?" Snipe questioned as his right hand reflexively went to the gun at his hip as he saw a cloud of dust coming up to the main campus. Thankfully, his sharp eyes were quick to recognize the armor on the individual gunning towards him, allowing him to ease up. 'That's Ingenium's kid brother... what's he doing here?'
"Mr. Snipe!"
Snipe didn't need to be a mind reader to hear the panic in the boy's voice.
"Central, do you copy?" Snipe quickly turned on his radio while making his way closer to the young man, who was now waving at him, clearly trying to get his attention.
"This is Central, Snipe; go ahead."
"I have Iida from 1-A, making his way from the USJ alone," Snipe responded with concern. "Is this some kind of training ruse from Aizawa again?"
"Negative, we've received no word from Eraserhead or any of the other instructors from the USJ...standby."
"Copy," Snipe followed up just as Tenya arrived utterly breathless.
"Mistersnipehurry! Youneedtogethelpwetheusjisunder-"
"Whoa, partner, whoa, breathe! I can't understand you, son!" Snipe interrupted, though he was now on alert. Something was wrong, but he needed the right details. "Central, something has gone wrong at the USJ; go on alert! Stand by for details!"
"Copy, Snipe, all efforts to contact the instructors at the USJ have failed! Systems are being jammed! UA is now going on lockdown! Alerting the rest of the staff!"
Not a moment later, the alarm bells of UA Campus started to sound, just like they did last week.
"Alright, son," Snipe started up again as he saw the boy regain his breath. "Try again, just a little slower, please."
"Villains have invaded the USJ, sir!" Tenya explained as he pointed back to where he came from. "We need to hurry! Ms. Thirteen has been severely injured!"
"Understood," Snipe responded with a nod as he relayed the details to the staff. Thankfully, while he couldn't run as fast as Tenya, the custom-made carts for teacher patrols were quite fast, considering the size of the campus. "Good job, son. Backup is coming double-time. Now, I need you to get inside the main campus and go into the nurse's office for the time being."
"But, sir!"
"No, buts, Iida," Snipe answered as he hopped into the cart. "You did your part; now let us do ours."
Tenya bit his lip as he watched Snipe speed away as the alarm sounded across the grounds of UA. Everything in his being said to him to return to the fray and help save his classmates and in the case Shouto, family. But that came into conflict, wanting to obey the rules and simple logic; in reality, what else could he do now? He knew the intervening teachers wouldn't permit him to fight and, to his shame, didn't have any first-aid training yet.
"What...should I do?"
"HOLY CRAP! TSUNOTORI, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!"
Itsuka stirred in alarm at Testsutetsu's scream and turned to look at a scene straight out of a horror film. Mina, Eijirou, and Poni had returned from the Dourpour Zone with an impaled, unmoving Alexander Springfield, lying on the latter's back with blood oozing from all of his wounds. It didn't help that most of Poni's costume was currently soaked in said senior's blood.
"Hurry, we need to start performing CPR!" Itsuka ordered, despite her injury and blood loss. She could still direct her makeshift team to get to work. "We need to lie him flat and start doing chest compressions, stat!"
"Uh, right!" said Eijirou as he moved to start removing the swords from Alex's body.
"DON'T!" Itsuka yelled out as she realized her mistake. "The swords are likely keeping the bleeding from getting worse!"
"Then what do we do?!" Tetsutetsu questioned, as they couldn't lie Alex flat with the swords sticking out of him.
"Please, we have to do something!" Poni cried as she adjusted her stance to prevent Alex from slipping off her back.
"I...I...I think I got something," said Mina as she wiped the tears from her eyes and started producing acid in the palms of her hands.
"Is that your Quirk?" Itsuka questioned, as she still didn't exactly understand how Mina's Quirk worked from the bomb trial.
"Y-yeah, I-i couldn't use it because of the rain...but I can now..." Mina answered as he turned to Eijirou. "Kiri, can you and Tetsutetsu please hold Springfield at an angle. I don't want to burn Tsunotori by accident."
"Right!" Eijirou acted quickly as directed and, with his 1-B counterpart, gingerly leaned their senior to allow Mina to work. "Like this?"
Mina nodded, unable to verbalize out of fear of throwing up. The pink girl slowly raised her trembling acid-coated hands and gripped both sides of the blade that was embedded in Alex's stomach. It didn't take long for Mina's acid to work as the blade slowly but surely began to melt from the points of contact.
Itsuka held her breath as she noticed a few drops of the acid still managed to splash on Alex's stomach, but it was largely unavoidable. Finally, without warning, the blade melted through, and Mina was able to remove the larger parts of the sword while still leaving a piece inside of Alex to keep him from bleeding out. Now that they knew Mina's plan had worked, she quickly got back to work on the second blade that was stuck in Alex's left lung.
The instant the second blade was gone, Eijirou and Tetsutetsu moved quickly to follow Itsuka's original direction to lay Alex flat and get to work performing CPR on their senior. Poni was also quick to assist now that she no longer had to carry him on her back. It wasn't long before the team had gotten it down, thanks to Itsuka's patient yet confident directions.
"Good, just like that! After 30 compressions at a steady rate, make sure to give him 2 breathes!" Itsuka encouraged Tetsutetsu as she supervised his handiwork. "We'll try to keep this up for as long as we can until we get him proper help! Every second counts!"
"Right!" The makeshift team exclaimed in unison, determined to save their senior.
However, Itsuka noticed something was off quickly; Mina had stepped away for a moment. Considering the circumstances, she couldn't step away to see what was wrong, but she did have someone who could.
"Kirishima, can you check on Ashido?" Itsuka asked since he was waiting his turn to take over doing chest compressions for Tetsutetsu.
"What's wrong?" Eijirou questioned as he could see Mina in the distance.
"I don't know, but you're friends with her, right?"
"Y-yeah..."
"Then go check on her; I think all of this is starting to get to her," Itsuka explained, knowing that they were all feeling the pressure, but Mina might be reaching her breaking point.
"What abou—"
"Don't worry about Springfield; we got it here," Itsuka responded confidently. "But she might need help now. Just like you did a short while ago."
"Ah...right!" Eijirou quickly got to his feet and made his way toward Mina.
It didn't take long for him to hear her crying, which only broke his own heart. For a moment, it was like he had gotten back in time to last year when he had encountered that big villain when he couldn't do anything. When Mina had stepped up and confronted the villain instead...it was the bravest thing he had ever seen. The moment he was inspired to change himself, to be a stronger person...to be a real man.
That was all Eijirou needed to snap back into the present with renewed determination.
"Ashido?" Eijirou spoke up gently as he carefully placed a hand on her shoulder. Surprised by the lad's gentle touch, the girl flinched but didn't recoil or back away. Instead, the girl turned to see Eijirou's kind but worried face meet hers, which was stained with fresh tears. Instantly, the girl almost collapsed into Eijirou's shoulder, finally being able to let out everything she had been holding in.
"Kiri...Kiri..." Mina sobbed as she hugged the redhead boy for dear life.
"It's going to be okay," Eijirou managed to say as he embraced the pink girl. While caught off guard by the sudden hug, he focused on comforting and reassuring the poor girl. Though if he was being honest, he was also trying to reassure himself. 'If I hadn't left him alone...Springfield might not have ended up like this...'
Tsuyu and the rest of her makeshift crew were relieved to make it outside the Conflagration Zone, breathing without the excessive heat and fire that had left them singed and smoked like well-done hams. Neito and Hiryu had both gone out ahead of the rest to ensure there weren't any villains waiting for them near the entranceway and hopefully find some backup to rescue Ryu.
This left Kinoko in charge of dabbing the coolant gel they had found in The Fire-Eater's black emergency bag on all of their burns. While leaving the small bag with the two EQ pens inside alone by the entrance.
"That should do it for now," said Kinoko as she finished applying the gel to Tsuyu's burns.
"Thanks, ribbit," Tsuyu managed to wheeze out as she began leaning against the wall of the Zone's sign. She was dangerously dehydrated but in slightly better spirits, and the gel was helping with the pain.
Fumikage, whose burns had already been treated, simply walked away, trying to survey the sight at Central Plaza as the tiny form of Dark Shadow projected from him. Due to its exposure to all the light earlier, it had become small and timid, leaving it with little means to be helpful.
However, to his surprise, Eri stood nearby, looking out at the USJ, all while still clutching onto the bright red scarf she got from Ryu. After once fearing the Raven-Headed boy, it was strange for the Unicorn child to now find him as a clear source of protection despite how she had initially reacted toward him.
Now that Overhaul was back here to reclaim her, Eri was reminded of the words Izuku spoke to her.
"I promise you, Eri. Bird people or otherwise. I will always do my best to protect you, and I know that Ochako and everyone else in the Hero course at UA will protect you, too. We want to be heroes who use our power to save people just like you."
After the display at the Fire Zone, she found his words had spoken true. But then came a newfound fear the more she thought about it. Was this her fault? They had come to get her back and started hurting everyone. She remembered the terror she had experienced last night before coming here. The fairy tale was over; her dreams of a family were slowly fading away as she knew Overhaul would never let her be free. Ryu had already paid the price to simply buy her time.
Now, Eri feared who else would die for her in vain.
"AH!"
Fumikage instinctively moved in front of Eri as the two turned.
They were met with the sight of Chronostasis injecting Kinoko with one of the EQ pens that she had left in the black bag. As the medication kicked in, it prevented the mushroom-themed heroine-in-training from using her Quirk. The man held her hostage with a small knife held up to her neck once he dropped the syringe pen.
The second pen in his other hand also held the girl in a chokehold.
"Nice of you to leave me this gift," Chronostasis mocked as Tsuyu and Fumikage tried to make a stand, but both knew they were still too weak to even move, much less attack. "Hand over, Eri; no one else needs to die like your fiery friend inside."
Eri's heart sank in horror. Fumikage and Tsuyu looked at her with fear clearly on their faces. Yet again, to the little girl's surprise, both continued to try to bluff their opponent.
"Never," Fumikage said, standing tall. Even without Dark Shadow, he refused to surrender Eri, so he tried a different tactic. "Take me hostage, instead!"
"Or me, ribbit!"
"I don't have a use for either of you foolish punks," Chronostasis answered before his hair quirk suddenly shot out, stabbing Tsuyu and Fumikage. Both animal teens could feel their bodies slow down as his Quirk began to take effect. "And since you won't cooperate, I guess I can start killing you all and claim Eri. Besides, I got insurance to ensure she doesn't go nuts with her crazy Quirk."
Chronostasis continued with a dry laugh while tapping on the second EQ pen before motioning the knife closer to Kinoko's neck.
"NO!" Eri screamed out, tears running down her face. "I'll come...just please, Chrono, no more hurting anyone else... please."
"Eri, please... no," Fumikage pleaded, trying to struggle through Chronostasis's Quirk's slowdown in reaching for Eri; as she walked past him, she gave him a small pat on his pant leg.
"Thank you, Mr. Fumi, for being nice to me."
Without another word, Eri began walking toward Chronostasis. The man quickly threw Kinoko violently to the ground, her head slamming on the floor as she landed, and snatched up Eri.
"ERI!" Fumikage roared out as he began to fight the Quirk harder, struggling with every step forward trying to reach Eri. At the same time, Tsuyu shot out with her tongue only to meet with a violent slash of Chornostasis's knife before turning to hold the blade up to Eri's neck.
"Don't even think about it! And don't tempt me! My boss could actually fix the little brat if I decide to stab her," Chronostasis threatened with a cruel, wheezing laugh to mock them. "Trust me, it wouldn't be the first time she would have tasted the edge of death."
The cold words stunned the two animal teems. They knew that Eri had been through a lot, but now this seemed to be at another level. Chronostasis, as if to add salt to the wounds, continued to mock them.
"Now, say goodbye to your little friends, Eri."
Eri looked at the weeping teens as she simply waved farewell. Satisfied, Chronostasis released his Quirk's effect and used the same hair to vault over Fumikage's head and run down to the Central Plaza. Both animal teens collapsed upon being released from the villain's powers, their remaining energy entirely spent.
"I'm sorry, Eri... I'm so sorry," Fumikage cried as he struggled to get up, fighting the tears pouring down his eyes, seeing Tsuyu was doing the same.
"Damn it...huh?" Fumikage stopped as he began hearing a lower growl and looked up. He was met with a familiar green-haired teen by the entranceway with wrath in his eyes that chilled Fumikage to the very bone.
"Mi-Midoriya?"
The battle in the central plaza had been a mixed bag for both sides.
Katsuki, in an insane attempt to destroy the pain in the ass that was the Noumu, had Minoru trap the creature with his sticky balls. Only for the ash-blond teen to jump on the Noumu's face and let loose not only with the sweat reserves stored in both gauntlets but with two additional maxed-out blasts simultaneously. The Noumu's head was blown clean off, and launching Katsuki back, his arms completely burned as his gauntlets had shattered, unable to handle the strain of such a destructive force.
At least the creature was no longer regenerating.
On the other hand, Suneater had been left concussed by Rappa's extensive assault, only to be met with Tentacole and Rikidou, who had both jumped into the fray to prevent further damage. Meanwhile, Overhaul and Tomura both tried hard to kill Lemillion, who had managed to keep himself safe thanks to his Quirk and the support of several of Camie's illusions.
"Just a little longer!" Tentacole roared out, trying to restrain Rappa down. At the same time, a sugar-rushed Rikidou kept slamming down upon Rappa's head with everything he had, only for an illusion of Camie appearing next to the two with a frantic warning.
"DODGE TENTADUDE!" Camie yelled out before disappearing with a tiny Pop.
The real Camie was currently busy trying to take care of an enraged Katsuki who still wanted to fight despite the horrible state of the bomber's bloody and broken hands. Tentacole quickly grabbed the stupefied Sugarman and pulled back just in the nick of time. A massive wave of ice suddenly coated Rappa, followed by a familiar purple mist surrounding the air, making the giant man sleepy. As Shouto and Midnight made their presence known on the battlefield, Tomura and Overhaul seemed to be on the ropes. Surrounded by a headless Noumu and Rappa sleeping on the job, it seemed like it was over for the two.
Or it would have been until Chronostasis's laugh echoed throughout the plaza.
His appearance made everyone freeze when they saw Eri being held hostage as he slowly made his way toward his boss, knife by the child's neck. Lemillion forced himself to pull back, seeing the EQ Pen on the man's hand and knowing what that could do to anyone.
"ERI!" Katsuki roared as sparks began to pop out of his bloody hands.
Tomura laughed, knowing the heroes wouldn't dare make a move with the child being held hostage. While Overhaul looked at Eri with a strangely soft expression that only hardened as they got ever closer.
/
At the Mountain Zone, Ochako was struggling hard against her makeshift teammates, who were all desperately trying to stop her from going down there, flailing violently enough that she almost accidentally hit her teammates more than once.
"LET ME GO! ERI! ERI!" Ochako screamed, refusing to listen to her team's pleas. She was concerned that Eri was in danger and refused to simply stand there and let anything happen to the child, not without a fight, at least.
"URARAKA, PLEASE CALM DOWN!" Momo pleaded, only to be met with another punch she had to dodge as Ochako cried out.
"SHE'S BEEN THROUGH ENOUGH! I WON'T! I CAN'T LET IT KEEP HAPPENING! NOT TO HER! NOW LET ME GO, PLEASE! ERI! ERI!"
/
Once Chronostasis had gotten close enough, he began speaking to his boss.
"Looks like she made friends here, Overhaul."
While Eri quickly shook her hand, trying to lie, knowing what Chronostasis was trying to do.
"No! Just no! I don't have friends! Just please don't hurt them! I promise I'll be good, just no, please..."
Overhaul's expression completely changed as he gave Eri a bone-chilling smile. It held no warmth or kindness; it was the smile that warned her that danger was coming.
"Shigaraki. Step back and have the black mist man get ready to leave with us in a moment," The man said flatly before putting his hands on the ground, collapsing the floor with a loud crash, not letting the man have a chance to respond.
"It seems that I need to teach Eri a lesson about lying, ONE SHE WILL NEVER FORGET!"
Everyone tried to hold on as the ground broke apart like an earthquake. No one noticed the dark warp gates opening next to all of the small-time villains, the dead Noumu and Rappa, as Overhaul's hands reached for them. A large cloud of dust rose up, covering the villains from view.
Strange sounds began to be heard, popping, twisting, and crunching as the ground seemed to mold into something else. When the sounds stopped, they could hear something massive had begun stirring, moving slowly, only a large blast of hot blistering air roaring out. An enormous claw appeared to rip the dust away, revealing a giant monster with Overhaul at its head.
The man had infused himself with most villains, including his own men.
Eri was held in one of the man's enormous claws. It was a monster that could only be described as a Demon. Giant with six giant limbs and a long, vicious-looking spiked tail, its face was like that of the Noumu, only it appeared painfully stretched. It looked even more monstrous when its maw opened wide, revealing nothing but a void as dark as a starless night sky.
"Talk about a multi-stage boss fight!" Tomura couldn't help but laugh out loud.
The Demon Overhaul began to laugh as he seemed to be waiting for someone to challenge him before he would start killing without regard. It was the only way he believed Eri would learn to never disobey him again. He could see some wanted to move, but others feared that making a move would endanger Eri's safety.
After all, just how could they save her from his grasp now?
Eri looked on, still pleading with Overhaul to show mercy. She didn't want to be the cause of their pain, to have them suffer because of her.
"LET HER GO!"
Everyone heard a voice say, one Eri knew all too well as she saw Izuku begin walking down steadily, his heart beating rapidly with fear. A fear for Eri's safety as nothing else mattered to him at the moment. Izuku didn't know if he could win, but he had sworn to her that he would keep her safe and meant to keep that oath. His eyes brimmed with malice, making all who could see him nervous. They saw his eyes flash in various colors, something no one had seen Izuku do before.
Green-Blue-Teal-Blue-Teal-Silver-Teal-Silver-Red-Gold-Red-Gold
Katsuki froze at the moment that, even from his spot far away, the two were still able to make eye contact. He saw the drastic shift in Izuku's eye color and knew that Izuku was pushing the limit—the limit that his master, Izuku's father, Hisashi, had warned them about all those years ago.
The Secret of Dragon Shift
Katsuki knew that everything could go to hell here and now. He tried to pull himself away from the grip of Hanta and Camie, yelling at his best friend with all he had.
"IZUKU! DON'T DO IT!"
Izuku could hear his friend's yelling but couldn't understand what he was saying. His focus remained on the Demon in front of him. Holding on to the little girl he had come to love with everything he had. He had a desire to protect her from the terrors that plagued her. Now, it seemed like the source of her terrors was before him. The Demon of Eri's nightmares held her in his gasp, literally and figuratively, and Izuku aimed to resolve that now.
Overhaul looked at the boy with curious eyes, a heroic idiot, no doubt. But could he have been the one who had taken care of Eri since her escape? Izuku stared right back at Overhaul, coming to terms with who they both were to Eri.
The Demon, Overhaul: her tormentor.
The Knight, Izuku: her protector.
A familiar voice within the young Knight's mind called out to him.
The Knight slays the Demon, does he not?
"LET ERI GO NOW!" Izuku roared out again in a much deeper voice, feeling something tugging in the back of his head, trying to get out: a desire to tear and destroy mixed with a desire to protect and nurture, to save Eri.
No matter the cost.
"Please leave me...Papa," Eri wept, not wanting Izuku to get hurt, only for Overhaul to hear her, his eyes growing wide.
"Midoriya, get back here!" Someone called out. Izuku was unable to focus on who had been called out for him as his ears began filling with a slight buzzing noise.
His whole focus was on one thing: "Take this fucker down."
The Knight saves the Princess, does he not?
The voice grew stronger as Izuku felt his skin becoming warmer. Overhaul decided enough was enough and decided to make Izuku the first example of what was to come as one of his many claws came baring down. He roared one last guttural roar as Eri screamed, pleading for him to stop.
"I'M DONE PLAYING GAMES! DIE!"
"MIDORIYA!"
"IZUKU!"
Izuku looked up at the massive claw coming down on him like a hammer. A grin grew on his face as he spoke his answer.
"Okay, then...No more games."
Izuku remembered this voice calling from deep within himself. It was his father's voice that roared in his mind's eye, like a King issuing a fiery command. As his heir, his prince, his knight, and his son, Izuku was duty-bound to obey.
A Demon will not fear a Knight. For the Knight is a mere mortal.
A Demon does not fear a Dragon, for their strength is equal.
You are a Knight with the power of a Dragon, enough to bring him to heel.
Yet, you hold the power of something much greater.
With that might you can be a True Dragon
Or...
You can even become the worse than a Demon...
No matter the choice, the answer remains the same.
Show this fool the meaning of fear! strike him down, and bring him to his knees!
A large flash of light appeared as a massive tidal wave of air pressure cascaded upon the area. Shouto quickly stepped in to produce a large ice shell to protect everyone behind him from the violent winds. The ice instantly began to shatter and crack as Shouto continued to add to it, coating himself with an icy frost. He knew what was coming, as his father had warned him about Izuku's possible defect.
All Shouto could do at the moment was to protect his classmates from that unleashed power.
Izuku reappeared with most of his costume finally coming off, as it was unable to handle the strain of his transformation. His skin was now coated with shiny emerald scales that shined like tempered steel, with sizeable bone-white plate scales covering parts of his chest and arms. His hands and feet became clawed, while his body grew nearly a foot taller as his limbs tensed up with muscle and sinew.
The dark green scales reached the edge of his jawline. His smile contained razor-sharp teeth, his hair had stiffened up, and his eyes were pools of molten gold within a sea of darkness. Izuku had casually side-stepped the claw, taking one step, then a second, before rushing into battle with a great big.
ROARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
The final battle of the USJ had begun.
Overhaul had been surprised at the change in the boy's features. Only that surprise turned into shock as Izuku suddenly zipped past his head, slashing Overhaul right across the face, followed by a large amount of wind pressure that blindsided him. Soon, the Demon began feeling nothing but pain as Izuku zipped and zoomed at a blistering breakneck speed, punching, slashing, stabbing with his claws, moving too fast and too close for Yakuza Boss to counterattack, all while that damned air pressure pushed him back with every strike.
Yet, Overhaul still had an ace up his sleeve.
The Noumu's regenerative abilities and those of his Quirk were kicking in. Even Izuku, who was operating entirely on instinct, knew he couldn't keep this up for long. His claws were already stained and cracked with every blow; muscles screamed in pain with every impact and slam. This fight could not last long. Eri began to struggle with her captor with the EQ pen on hand and knew that Chronstasis had used it on someone earlier to stop them from using their Quirks.
Maybe she could use it to stop Overhaul?
Meanwhile, Shouto struggled to keep the icy barrier up, but the intense wind pressure made it difficult. At the same time, everyone else from the corners of the USJ watched, some in silence or shock. Others with dark and fearful thoughts.
/
Ochako had finally calmed down enough to stop fighting her teammates but was already planning to make her own move. She needed to save Eri and Izuku.
"Is Midoriya...Draco Knight's kid?" Ochako heard Yosetsu gulp while Yui began trembling with fear at the sight of the two fighting each other. While they all collectively tried to avoid the violent and powerful wind pressure that continued to pound on them.
Denki simply looked on, his face blank as if he was too shocked to process what he was seeing. While Momo and Kyouka looked at each other and then at Ochako. Yet, Ochako simply looked on with a stoic expression. Her theory had been confirmed. Only now did everyone know, and she feared how Izuku would be looked at going forward.
"WE GOT TO HELP HIM!" Ochako called out to her teammates, trying to rally them to help and keep them from dwelling on Izuku's secret.
"And how the hell do we do that?!" Denki suddenly asked, snapping out of his funk. "This is clearly an All Might level villain! The small fry we can handle, but between Eri and Midoriya, how do we help out without screwing things up?!"
Momo began to think while she viewed the battle seeing that while Izuku was holding his own, he didn't seem to be making a real dent in the damned monster. And after taking a quick peek through her binoculars, she confirmed her suspicions.
"It seems like our foe can regenerate...we need to stop that to give Midoriya the edge...something," Momo paused to look at Denki. "Like a massive shock."
The blond looked at Momo before looking down at Overhaul, and after placing the pieces together, he answered.
"I can shock anything, but two things worry me. One, I can't aim my electric attacks! So, I either need something connecting me to the giant guy, or we somehow attach a giant lighting rod on him! And two, I don't want to accidentally hurt Eri! We need to cut her loose before I can hit him with a full blast!"
Ochako paused when Denki said they needed to 'Cut her loose.'
A crazy idea began forming in her head as she looked at Kyouka's abandoned machete and Yui Kodai. Momo also looked at the nervous-looking Yui, making her very uncomfortable as the two ladies began walking up to her with rather unique requests.
/
Camie was forcing Katsuki back, and even Hanta had to get involved. He tried desperately to help his best friend while hearing some of the commentaries from others—the commentary he had long since feared hearing.
"Is that Draco Knight?!"
"No... it's Midoriya..."
"But that's Draco Knight's quirk, isn't it?!"
"Isn't that really dangerous?! What the hell is the point of the Volatile Quirk Act if it doesn't even stop the son of the law's poster boy!"
Katsuki could see the fear in the faces of some from both classes. Others looked like they were simply observing. Their others, however, seemed to be waiting for their chance to strike back regardless of what was going on. Eraserhead was still conscious, barely considering his injuries, and had some of his students prop him up. He was using his Quirk on Overhaul between rapid blinks to prevent the worst from happening to Izuku, but he couldn't hold it long enough to undo the monster's transformation completely.
/
"Okay... it's okay... I've got this!" Minoru Mineta muttered to himself as he slapped both sides of his face to focus and readied himself to make his move. He had managed to slip away from the group unnoticed to make sure no one would try to stop him. Of course, the young man was scared; who wouldn't be in this situation?
Every normal instinct in his body wanted to flee, to follow nature, and to try its best for the sake of self-preservation, as the memories of the night he had lost his mother six years ago during the Draco Knight incident flooded the back of his mind. Minoru felt angry, hurt, sad, scared, and even felt the sightliest sting of betrayal.
But most of all, Minoru was worried. He was worried for the boy who had unexpectedly shown him kindness that he had never expected to get. Minoru never really had friends before coming to UA. Denki and Ryu were cool; they got his sense of humor and taste with the ladies. But he knew that associating with someone as short, weak, and ugly as him would only serve to anchor them down.
At least, that was what he once thought before he met Izuku Midoriya.
It was such a small gesture when his class president, arguably the most popular guy in the class, based on his actions at the battle trial and election into office, had actually invited him to sit with the rest of his friends, which included people like Shouto Todoroki, one of the school's princes! It was fun! It was great! It seemed like things had changed for the better and that this wouldn't be a repeat of most of his life.
The life of a pariah...
Now, here he was, standing before the battlefield of the Demon versus the Dragon. The son of his mother's killer, and despite his feelings regarding this...all Minoru wanted to do was help him, just like Izuku had helped him, because after this day, Minoru knew Izuku would likely become the school's pariah, and it wasn't right. The least he could do now was help. All he needed to do now was find the courage to do what needed to be done. Not only to help his friend but to save Eri from this big bastard's clutches, and he knew he could do it.
'Alright! I see an opening! CHARG—WHOA!' Minoru finally found his courage and moved to leap into action, only for the vine he hadn't noticed getting close, which suddenly wrapped around his body and stopped him. Preventing him from running into the fray and pulling him back to face the girl from Class 1-B, Ibarra Shiozaki.
"What do you think are you doing?!" Ibarra questioned with a shocked expression.
"That's what I should be asking you!" Minoru retorted angrily as he struggled against her vines.
"I saw you sneaking away!" Ibarra answered, though she sounded less angry and more worried. "At first, I thought you were fleeing, but then I saw you were trying to get closer instead! Were you about to jump into the fight?!"
Before Minoru could answer, the two were suddenly blasted by a massive wave of air pressure as Izuku and Overhaul continued to fight.
"Duh!" Minoru managed to answer. He successfully began pulling the vines off of him as Ibarra was down in a daze. "I gotta help Midoriya! Before it's too late!"
Minoru had tried to leap into the action again, only for Ibarra's vines to grab him again.
"Let go!"
"I can't let you go out there; it's too dangerous!" Ibarra shouted as she struggled to get back up before the two were blasted again by another wave of wind pressure.
"Midoriya's fighting right now!" Minoru countered by fighting against the girl's grip.
"Midoriya is clearly very powerful! What could you do to help!?" Ibarra retorted, again to Minoru's surprise. The girl didn't sound like she was trying to talk down to him, but sounded like she was genuinely worried for his safety. "You'll be crushed by that giant! Literally!"
"I can slow that giant guy down!" Minoru declared as he grabbed a sticky ball from his head. "I know I can! With enough of these, I can slow him enough to give Midoriya the edge!"
"You could die!"
"And so could Midoriya if he keeps it up like without help!" Minoru roared out as tears began running down his face. "I'm done being a coward! I won't stand back anymore! Not again!"
"Your courage is admirable!" Ibarra replied, this time managing to brace the next wave of pressure. "But you're not David!"
"You're right! I might not be David!" Minoru shot back as he pointed to Izuku. "But I can help this one beat this Goliath!"
Ibarra blinked in surprise, not expecting that response.
'Oh no...not now! Out of all the times for this to happen!'
Nejire-chan, after having to force the group she had been leading at the base of the Mountain Zone into cover. Unable to fly because of the powerful wind pressure, she was doing her best not to look worried or concerned at the sight of Izuku's transformation. Though she could see the look of terror on each of her charges.
Nejire, like the rest of The Big Five, had been informed by Eraserhead about the truth about Izuku's Quirk before the battle trial. They had all been entrusted with this information, given both their general maturity to not judge the kid because of his father's actions. However, they were also told this information to prepare themselves to assist in getting the boy back under control should he ever go berserk during any joint training days. Now, however, she couldn't help but worry about Izuku's immediate future now that the cat was out of the bag.
CRASH
The group dived for cover as a huge wave of air pressure crashed, shaking Shino awake from his unconscious stupor with a massive headache.
"What the hell is going on?!" Shino yelled out as he struggled with having Inasa's massive body covering him.
"Sorry, vice-rep!" Inasa answered as he carefully moved to make it easier for Shino to see. "Midoriya's fighting the big boss right now!"
"What?" Shino questioned, confused by what his giant companion was talking about. Only for another shock wave to get his attention to the battle that was currently happening. It didn't take him long to spot Izuku...and his transformation as a surge of boiling-hot anger began to course throughout his body.
'Looks like we have a wolf in sheep's clothing among us...'
"Are you okay, Ojiro?!" Tōru yelled out as Mashirao finished bringing the still unconscious Kinoko into the entranceway of the Conflagration Zone, which was cool and also provided the group shelter from the vicious winds.
"I'm fine," Mashirao said breathlessly as he gently eased the mushroom girl onto one of the side benches with Tsuyu. "Just...just still in a bit of shock, you know?"
ROAR!
Everyone who was still awake flinched when they heard Izuku's roar almost shake the air. Neito and Hiryū never returned, likely because they had either successfully met up with another group before the battle or encountered another group of villains that held them up. Everyone hoped that it was the former and not the latter.
"Tokoyami, Asui, did you know? About Midoriya, I mean," Tōru spoke up as she kept an eye on the barely breathing and occasionally muttering Ryu, who lay limp and motionless on the bench opposite Kinoko. "You guys are on the same team, right?"
"No, ribbit," Tsuyu answered weakly as she continued watching the fight from the open door. "But I can't speak for everyone else, but I didn't know, ribbit. What about you, Tokoyami?"
"No," Fumikage said with a shake of his head as he leaned against the corner of the room. "And I don't blame him for keeping it a secret."
"Let's try to focus on what we should do next," Mashirao suggested before Tōru could retort. Even though she was invisible, the tailed boy could almost sense the girl's anxiety in her voice. He couldn't exactly blame her; hell, he was just as anxious about the idea that someone so dangerous could be with them without any of them knowing. But regardless of their feelings, it wouldn't help with their current situation.
/
"WATCH OUT, BRACE! BRACE!" Itsuka called out as the makeshift team from the Downpour Zone braced for impact by covering their nearly dead senior's body from further harm. The second the shock wave passed, they simply got right back to work on administering CPR, with everyone except Itsuka taking turns when the other got too tired to continue.
They couldn't move Alex without the risk of a random shock wave catching them by surprise, and they couldn't leave as everyone was starting to get sluggish. As they continued pumping their senior's heart in an effort to keep him alive until help came. No one had time to think about Izuku or the fight; no one wanted to think about the worst-case scenario.
Everyone's focus here was on simply trying to keep Alex alive for as long as they could.
'I need to help, Papa!'
This was all Eri could think of as she tried to stab Overhaul with the EQ pen, not knowing that she needed to press the blue button on top of the tube to release the syringe. She knew from seeing Chronostasis use it that it should stop Overhaul from using his Quirk. Seeing her surrogate father fight as he had promised made her want to fight back. To free herself from this monster's grasp once and for all.
'I wanna go home! Not with you!'
/
As the clash between the Demon and the Dragon continued, no one noticed the tiny person running under Overhaul's giant feet, and Minoru Mineta planted as many sticky balls as he could. With a few of Ibarra's vines wrapped around his waist, ready to pull him out of the death trap he had placed himself in at a moment's notice.
It was the only way he had managed to convince her of his plans. His only condition was that she decide when to pull him out to safety.
They both knew Overhaul needed to be slowed down for everyone's sake. However, since Shouto was still busy using his ice to create the barriers, protecting them from the wind pressure. This only left Minoru with the right power to slow this beast down. Thankfully, he was already seeing results; Overhaul's movements were slowly but surely slowed down with every step until he found himself completely stuck to the damaged floor. The foot claws were covered with hundreds of sticky purple balls, buying Izuku valuable breathing room from the beast's counterattacks.
'Just a little more!' Minoru thought as he narrowly avoided getting crushed by another claw and responded by throwing several more sticky balls at it as more and more blood ran down his head. 'I gotta help him! I gonna help save Eri!'
Overhaul began to feel something new as Izuku continued his vicious, unyielding assault against him for a split second. He could see the boy's face. He had stopped seeing the golden eyes at the beginning of their fight. Now, they had become blood-red, worthy of the Devil. It only took one look at those blood-red eyes to remind him of an emotion he had once forgotten.
FEAR
An emotion he hadn't felt since being taken by his former boss, Eri's grandfather, and the man who had raised him from the gutters. The man who had betrayed him when he turned rat to the government six years ago.
"BEGONE, YOU PEST!" Overhaul roared, swinging violently, managing to strike Izuku to the ground. Eri screamed upon seeing Izuku getting hit, only to stop when she saw the boy get up just as fast despite the damage he had just received.
ROAR!
Despite his clawed hands becoming bloody and raw, Izuku still fought on. Overhaul braced for Izuku's incoming hit but could not move because his foot claws stuck to the floor. What he didn't expect was another voice coming up from behind him.
"RELEASE!"
Overhaul turned just in time to see a brunette girl in a black and pink costume with what appeared to be a giant machete coming down on him, or more specifically, the claw that held Eri. The blade, aided by the girl's gravity powers, came down with a long sweeping slice. Overhaul couldn't even try to process the pain of the limb being cut off as Izuku had zipped by with another slice, this time right to his face.
Ochako wasted no time, launching herself by using the falling machete to follow the giant limb that held Eri, who had gone flying when the claw released her. Eri flew in the air in complete surprise, yet her heart soared as she saw Ochako's arms reaching out for her.
'Mama!'
"I've got you," Ochako said softly as a warm feeling crept into Eri's heart. She felt safe in the girl's embrace as the two began descending slowly, thanks to Ochako's Quirk. Overhaul, completely livid about being cheated of his long-awaited prize, began reaching out for the two girls, still descending to the ground, aiming to swipe them out of the air.
"FIRE!"
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!
Yet, before he could even reach them. Overhaul was suddenly bombarded by a volley of massive cannonballs that began battering him along with a giant harpoon that landed dead center of his monstrous frame. Momo and her team had made a series of miniature cannons that had been made bigger thanks to Yui's Quirk in trying to conserve the former's body fat. Add a makeshift chain and harpoon courtesy of Yosetsu's welding quirk. They created the link needed for Denki to do his job.
"Get back!" Denki yelled out as he grabbed the chain that was secured to the ground. Thanks again to Yosetsu, and he started charging his Quirk to its highest output. Denki was ready to send a massive shock to Overhaul's body.
"CHARGE UP!" Denki yelled out as he pushed his Quirk to its limits.
"ARRRRRRRRR!" Overhaul roared out in pain as his body convulsed with violent twitches and spasms, unable to control himself or fight back. When the electrical charge ended, Izuku took advantage of Overhaul's condition and began running up Overhaul's still-twitching limbs to deliver the Coup de Grȃce. With one last jump, Izuku placed the last of his strength into one final strike.
ROARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Izuku bellowed out as his fists came together and slammed down upon Overhaul's head, sending the two crashing down to the ground. The dust and air pressure went everywhere across the USJ, making Ochako land harshly with Eri still in her arms.
"Shift!"
After a painful landing, Ochako managed to use her Quirk to weigh her and Eri down, trying to avoid getting blown away by the massive shock wave that swept throughout the central plaza.
Overhaul's mind went blank, his ears ringing painfully, and he was forced to release the villains held captive because of his Quirk. The Yakuza boss landed painfully on the ground as the material used to create his transformation split up. This left several dazed and confused villains and a stunned Tomura to make his escape. He had lost the battle, but there was still time to win the war; he decided then and there to cut his losses short.
"Next time, I'll be sure to win...Kurogiri, it's time for us to go," said Tomura after taking one last disappointing look at the battlefield. He stepped into a warp gate that opened up before him, with the smoky villain following shortly behind him.
As the dust settled and the remaining villains slowly began to wake up, Izuku let out an inhuman roar. Warning the villains to remain still as he spotted a terrified Overhaul trying to drag himself to where he had last seen Tomura before realizing he had been left behind. Izuku slowly began to march, his clawed feet digging into the ground with every step. He basically circled the defeated man like a lion stalking its prey. Those fiendish blood-red eyes focused and determined to eliminate his greatest threat.
To rip, tear, and destroy until all of his foes were vanquished without a quarter.
"IZUKU, STOP!" Katsuki yelled out as he tried breaking Camie and Hanta's hold on him again, now that they weren't being bombarded by shock waves anymore.
"MIDORIYA, IT'S OVER!"
"Midnight, get ready. If Midoriya's really has gone berserk, we need to stop him." Eraserhead whispered to the R-rated hero, who had taken over carrying her boss. A whisper that a few others managed to hear.
However, all of Izuku's senses continued to focus on one thing.
The man in front of him. Izuku could only feel the wrath of wanting vengeance for the little girl. This man had been the source of all her nightmares; her scars and tears were all because of him. Now he was here before him, broken, trying to flee like the coward, entirely at his mercy.
It would be so easy to end him.
It would be the only way to ensure that he could never ever hurt Eri again.
'Yes...end him.'
Overhaul stopped moving when he saw that Tomura had abandoned him. Cursing the man and vowing revenge, he turned to face Izuku, only to be met with that mask of malice with those cursed blood-red eyes that made his heart pound with fear. Izuku began to come down on him, with murder clear in his eyes.
"Eri!" They all heard Ochako yell out. Making Izuku stop as he listened to that name go through his head.
Eri.
Izuku suddenly stopped moving, his face becoming blank, yet his eyes were still a bloody red as Eri grew closer. Izuku turned his head to see her running at him with a determined yet teary face. After a few more seconds, Izuku turned around and began to reach for Eri. Time seemed to hold still before it all happened.
There was a flash, a scream, and blood went everywhere...
Authors Commentary
Yeah new readers, I can be a son of bitch.
Don't worry the new chapter will be up shortly to answer questions.
I remember being extremely nervous when I uploaded this chapter for the first time. Up until this point, most of the shake-ups I had written had been mostly set-up and world-building. The battle trial was a minor shake-up when compared to this insanity I cooked up. I think this multi-parter was serving as the start of me truly breaking from hard canon. While we still continue to have elements that mirror canon. We'll also start seeing a heavy butterfly effect change future events for better...and for worse.
I still feel like I'm not the strongest in writing large scale fight scenes, but I do know this was an improvement over the very first version of covering these events and I am proud of that fact. I know it can feel a little jarring for some readers to see how Overhaul was taken out a little too easily, but I feel like a full powered Dragon Izuku who already had Grand Torino's training earlier can let me pass on this one. Plus, he still had help from others.
All Might didn't join the fight, but that was completely on purpose.
The keys here is the impact of the event will be more important for the story than canon and the current plot line. It will removes Overhaul from the board...for now...allowing me to develop things how I need them to.
I'll go into more detail about my choices in the next chapters appropriately named Aftermath II, once you can see what the initial in-universe react to these events.
That should cover things for now!
Until next time!
-ZX