Chapter 21: To The Edge and Beyond
It was breaking, his mind and heart at the sight. He never felt such… hatred.
Izuku wasn't registering the villain's words, all that consumed him was the sight of his little sister being strangled to death by this monster.
Something ancient… and dark… was erupting from within his soul. Responding to his infernal desires.
A voice buried in his subconscious screamed at him.
Phoenix: "Calm down! You're not ready for-"
K: "Be silent, primordial one; let him enact his rightful bloody vengeance."
C: "Yes. Arise, our chosen prince!"
Yes… any price was acceptable if he could save his family.
Broken Phase *^ & Activated
And murder those who would threaten them.
Izuku: "DIIIIIEE!"
Two locks of his hair raised up like demonic flaming horns. But unlike before, these remained as he lifted his hand to end his enemies.
Tomura: "Nomu!"
Even Tomura could understand the unnatural amount of danger he was in. Especially when he started to feel his limbs begin to bend.
Thankfully for him, Nomu quickly launched a heavy blow against Izuku. Prioritizing defense, Izuku brought up his shield just in time. Still, the blow was enough to send him flying.
Tomura: "Don't let up, forget what the Strategist wants, kill that brat!"
Obeying, Nomu jumped into the sky after the dangerous child.
Tomura: "Ugh, and you people have the nerve to call yourselves heroes."
Kurogiri: "Shigaraki Tomura."
Tomura recovers from his near-death experience and turns around to face the newly arrived Kurogiri.
Tomura: "Black Mist… is Thirteen dead?"
Kurogiri: "I have incapacitated her; however, I'm afraid the students whom I could not scatter impeded me. And she was therefore able to escape with her life."
Tomura: "…Huh?"
Shigaraki starts scratching his neck in irritation.
Tomura: "Huuuhhh… first that Valkyrie wannabe, then that… demonic brat, and now this. It's like bugs in the game systems or something."
Tomura: "And if one of those brats left to get help, we'll lose. Especially if Tornado comes here. It's game over… for now. Get our strategist, and we'll hop back.
Tomura's frown suddenly turns into a smile.
Tomura: "Actually, we should at least finish what we started."
Tomura smiles as he turns to the still-shocked Tsuyu. Not only was the scene before bad enough to nearly make her hyperventilate, but then what happened Izuku…
She has the abilities of a frog and also their instincts, the instincts of an animal. What she felt from Izuku was like being next to an apex predator. No… something far more primal and ancient than that.
The difference between a real apex predator and what she felt was like the difference between a wounded bunny and a dragon god.
Even if she wasn't the target, it was enough to scare her stiff.
So nothing was stopping Tomura from just-
Kiri: "Get… away… from her."
Tomura: "Now what?"
He and Kurogiri turned back to the ghost girl. They expected a girl on her last legs, instead, they find…
Kiri wasn't fully knocked out by that creature, but she almost wished she was.
Her skin was on fire.
Kiri: 'Onii…'
Something was wrong, and it was affecting her. The desire to rip and tear every living thing around, to offer their broken bodies to her green sun, was filling her mind. She could even feel her body morphing into something more monstrous.
But she knew this wasn't her and certainly not her brother, right? Regardless, she fought it down and got up. She won't let these villains hurt her classmates.
She didn't notice their faces painted by fear of what she looked like now. It didn't matter; she had a job to do.
Kiri: "Asui!"
Tsuyu: "Kero?"
Finally snapping out of her terror-induced stupor, Tsuyu looks at Kiri. Or more like in her general direction; she couldn't stand to look at her.
Kiri: "Help Master Ninja; I'll handle them."
Tsuyu hesitated for a few seconds, wondering if she could even help him. But whether she wants to or not, it isn't her choice to make.
Kiri: "NOW!"
The command was delivered, and so Tsuyu jumped into the fray. Better to fight villain goons than make Kiri mad.
As for Tomura and Kurogiri, they just let it happen, still too stunned by what they're seeing.
Tomura: "What… are you?"
Kiri breathes out soft puffs of green fire, trying to collect herself, before getting into her fighting stance.
Kiri: "A hero."
She bursts into action with a fist ready to deliver a near-fatal blow to the leader. But this snapped the two villains out of it.
Tomura backsteps while Black Mist goes to the front and opens a warp gate.
Kiri suddenly feels her blow get redirected to her face. An explosion of green smoke erupts from the impact, but she growls it off. She won't let this stop her, so Kiri dashes to the left and then forwards to Tomura.
Unable to keep up, Kurogiri was not able to create another gate in time. So that allowed Kiri to deliver a vile uppercut to Shigaraki. If he didn't dodge at the last moment, he wouldn't have a head. But the wind pressure of the attack did knock the severed hand off his face.
Kiri goes for a body blow but is covered by darkness and sent away.
Kurogiri: "Are you alright?"
Tomura: "…No."
He places the hand back on his face and then starts roughly scratching his neck.
Tomura: "I want to strangle our strategist for giving us such a poor game guide. But… even I have to admit he couldn't have predicted this."
Kurogiri: "Wise, those two have really helped calm you down; it would see-"
He had to cut his words short as Kurogiri quickly transported himself and Tomura a few feet away. All to dodge an incoming green and white meteorite.
Its impact was heavy enough to cause a small crater and mushroom cloud of green smoke. Out of that smoke emerged an even more monstrous Kiri.
Kiri: "Onii… stop… I… can't… "
She grabs her hand, trying to keep this fury under control. But her vision starts to blur as her mind is consumed with only one thing.
Kill. Kill them all. Make them suffer.
Tomura: "Now! While she's weakened!"
The two villains charge the kneeling girl, ignoring the instinctual fear assaulting their minds.
Kiri: "No… get… away."
Before they got close, or before Kiri lost control, two other students sped past her sides.
Bakugo: "Move, Ghost Girl!"
The explosive boy was not grinning like a madman. Yeah, he was happy to finally get a chance to deal with that misty bastard, but this was too serious of a situation.
So he worked fast. He sent an explosion into the mist, quickly working out where the main body was and grabbing it. Then he slammed it into the ground, hand ready to end it if need be.
As for Kirishima, he focused on saving his new friend. He launched a heavy blow into the body of Tomura, sending him skidding back.
Kiri: "Rock… man…"
Kirishima: "Kiri! What happened to you!?"
Kiri: "Run… I… "
She couldn't hold it back anymore, her hand reached out for Kirishima. To outsiders, it would seem like she was going to caress his face, but in reality, her hand sought his neck.
But luckily, for whatever reason, her form suddenly reverted to normal. The abrupt change in states was too much; Kiri's eyes rolled back, and she collapsed.
It was only due to a miracle that her form didn't dissipate and return to Izuku's mind. Or maybe… it was too much of a hazard to return to right now.
Either way, she was out, and everyone was left confused.
Kirishima: "What… happened to her?"
While Kiri was going crazy, it was similar for Izuku. After all, he was the cause.
After the blow landed by the Nomu, he was sent flying over the sea and landed in the city zone. The black creature arrives shortly after and tries to deliver a fatal blow from above.
But it was stopped in mid-air and then slammed into the concrete below.
Izuku: "Kneel!"
It does so, like a good mindless monster. Izuku creates a Psi-Sword, not out of his tie, but out of thin air. It crackles with white lightening and emerald flames born from screaming stars.
The Nomu breaks out the telekinetic control in time to avoid a beheading, but not enough to avoid a slash across the chest. Good thing too, it can easily heal that.
The moment of shock from Izuku was enough for the creature to deliver a ground-shaking blow to the boy's head. But instead of an exploding head as expected, its attack was stopped by a pinpoint-accurate shield.
Then the impossible happened; the Nomu was punched in the face. Normally, due to its shock absorption quirk, it wouldn't feel much. But this punch was heavy and filled with something more than pure strength.
The world itself commanded that it was to be blasted back into a building.
Nomu attempted to get back up but was kicked back into the ground by Izuku. He teleported above the creature and dive-kicked into its chest.
Unleashing all of his built-up fury and hate, Izuku delivered blow after blow into the embedded Nomu. All the while, a question was beating inside his head.
Izuku: 'Why?'
Another blow to its face.
Izuku: 'Why?'
Another blow to its brain.
Izuku: 'Why does this…'
Another blow to its body.
Izuku: 'Feel… so…'
Another blow to its neck.
Izuku: 'GOOD!'
That's when Izuku could feel a sickening smile creep onto his face. Seeing this, Nomu grabs Izuku's cape and slams him into the ground next to him.
Capitalizing, Nomu gets up and starts hammering Izuku into the ground. But it amounts to nothing but a stream of fire from Izuku's maw engulfing Nomu's face. That moment of sudden pain gave the mysterious boy the chance to cut off the legs of the creature.
Nomu falls back while his legs begin to heal, but not fast enough. Izuku sends a powerful wave of psychic force that propels Nomu back into the streets.
Flying after him, Izuku collapses the nearby buildings and flings the debris into the recovering Nomu. The creature punches the assault away or tanks it, which only excites Izuku further.
Continuing his charge while continuing to destroy the city around him. The coming clash, the smell of battle and carnage. It was too much; Izuku gave in to the infernal sensation.
Izuku: "HAHAHAHA!"
He crackles like a madman as the two monsters clash in a flurry of blows. Some of the esper's darkest impulses are brought to bear. No longer is he concerned with killing the Nomu, not yet anyway; he wants to make it suffer. He wants to drink deep the fear he can sense growing in the mindless creature.
More than that, he wants to enjoy this fight.
So he continues to cut and maneuver around it with otherworldly skill; all while the city crumbles around them.
As the clash continues, as the Nomu stares into the increasingly demonic eyes of the esper, it starts to happen. It feels… fear.
The Nomu is a mindless artificial human; it shouldn't feel or think anything. But for some reason, it does. There's something in those eyes; no, there is more than one thing in there.
A legion of legions, beyond imagining, is within this child's mind. And they're staring back at it, laughing in insane glee.
The Nomu takes a step back as a whimper escapes its mangled mouth.
Izuku: "Oh? Are you starting to feel fear?"
It's not Izuku's voice anymore; there are several hundred other voices mingled within. The Nomu takes another step back; its grin gone.
Izuku: "It sucks, doesn't it? To feel fear? To feel useless, hopeless, and weak?!"
The Nomu can barely fight back now. It just wants to run.
Izuku: "Well, you should have thought about the consequences of hurting my family! No hurts them, NO ONE!"
He uses another force blast to send the Nomu flying back and then shapes his sword into a curved design. Taking a strange stance, Izuku begins to swing the sword in elegant arcs.
Each swing sends a spear of energy into the body of the Nomu. When a few dozen of these green lances graced that scared body, Izuku ends the dance.
Izuku: "Emerald Lancer."
A green fiery explosion erupts from the body of the Nomu. It was enough to blow off its left arm and severely damage its chest and legs. But that wasn't the real problem, no.
The Nomu wasn't healing.
That impossible fact was too much for the creature to handle. The Nomu began to crawl backward in terror.
Izuku smirks, admiring his work while walking towards the whimpering beast. Every step burnt the ground beneath his feet, causing smoke to follow him wherever he walked.
Izuku: "I think I finally understand why Bakugo bullied me. It's… fun. Having this power over you feels… euphoric. Especially since I know you deserve it. I wonder how it will feel when I pay back Bakugo for everything he has done to us. I can hardly wait."
Suddenly, the blissful smile disappeared and was replaced with cold apathy.
Izuku: "But as for you, I don't want to play with you anymore."
Izuku condensed his Psi Sword into a fine point within his palm. After a moment, the energy in his palm started to look like several small green stars.
He points it at the Nomu.
Izuku: "Atomic Break-."
Broken Phase *^ &: Overloaded
The veins on Izuku's head become visible as blood drips from his nose.
Izuku: "Huh?"
Then he begins coughing heavily, splashing spots of blood onto his palm. The flaming horns recede, and the power he once held disappears. Izuku drops to his knees in pain, his whole body alight with agony.
But more than the pain, Izuku feels shame and self-hatred.
Izuku: 'No, that couldn't have been me. The things I said and thought…'
He was mad and wanted to protect Kiri. But that desire quickly exploded out of control and into something…
Izuku: 'Villainous…'
How could something like that be a hero? A true hero isn't supposed to revel in rage and bloodshed like that. They're not supposed to be excited at the idea of killing or revenge.
Izuku: 'How could I… what have I… Tatsu… Fubu… Kiri… Mom… what's happening to me?'
This inner turmoil wasn't lost on the Nomu. The fear that consumed him slowly eroded. This was its chance. Carefully, it got up and approached the kneeling boy.
After a moment checking that it was safe, the Nomu smiled cruelly. It brought its fist in the air, ready to end this nightmare.
But then it was suddenly cold and frozen in place. It had to watch another student retrieve the child monster and retreat.
Izuku: "Todo… roki?"
Todoroki: "It won't hold him for long. You need to pull yourself together. You might be the only one who can defeat him."
Izuku: "But… I can't… not again."
Todoroki: "…Then think of something. I'll buy you as much time as I can."
Even now, he can hear the ice breaking.
Before Izuku lost control over himself, Fubuki was still dealing with Apotheosis.
They were in quite a stalemate. Fubuki was quick enough to dodge most of his attacks, and Apotheosis was smart enough to not give her any ground.
But this couldn't go on forever. Fubuki was getting tired, and Apotheosis was running out of power cells. So, they both decided to end this with one final charge.
Apotheosis pops in the last of his power cells and increases his shields to one hundred percent. He doesn't think it will help, but on the off chance, it might stop her telekinesis.
As for Fubuki, she gathers the rest of her strength and focus before charging forward.
Within moments, the deciding second arrived. Fubuki strained her eyes to find where the shield generator was but came up empty. Within that instant, she made the hard choice to just crush everything around his waist.
As for Apotheosis, he raised his power glove as she raised her hand.
He fired.
She crushed.
He screamed in pain as he felt his body armor being crushed into his skin. The sound of broken ribs echoed in his ears; the pain was enough to miss the shoot. But not by much.
Fubuki screamed in pain as she felt the skin on her shoulder burn away due to the energy beam. But more than that, the force was enough to dislocate it and send her flying back.
Hurt, Apotheosis stumbled back as he held his stomach.
Exhausted, Fubuki grabbed her shoulder and tried to get back up from the awkward fall. But the pain was breaking her focus and therefore her power.
The winner is Apotheosis.
Seeing his victory close at hand, he swallowed the pain and stood up straight.
Apotheosis: "H-Ha, serves you right. You espers aren't so special."
He walked towards the fallen Fubuki, fighting down any winces of pain that threatened to escape his mouth.
Standing over her, he sneers before picking her up by the hair. He aims his power glove at her face.
Apotheosis: "Nice try sister, but I guess I'm just better than you. Don't worry though; know that I will take good care of our brother and that bitch you call a sister."
Fubuki's eyes twitch.
Apotheosis: "Oh yes, I'll make sure to take my sweet time torturing her. She deserves nothing less."
Her hair whips up, and her eyes flare blue as the ground beneath them breaks apart. Instinctually, Fubuki sends psychic waves right into the mind of Apotheosis.
Apotheosis: "Wha-"
He drops her and grasps his head. Memories, awful memories, flood his mind.
His father.
The beatings.
The weakness.
The rejection
The cell.
The failures.
His mother…
Apotheosis: "Make it stop! MAKE IT STOP!"
Granting his wish, Fubuki raises and uses a two-handed psychic blast to send him tumbling into some fallen trees. But she wasn't done, she rose into the air and unleashed her signature attack.
The ground rumbles, and the cold air listens.
Fubuki: "Hell Storm!"
Instantly, a large tornado formed around Apotheosis. Dragging in rock, dirt, and even the fallen trees into this death trap. His screams of anguish were drowned out by the roars of the wind.
A few seconds later, the tornado dissipates as Fubuki descends back to the ground. She stands tall, ready to continue the fight and defeat this blight on her family.
As for Apotheosis, he emerges from the smoke still standing but severely damaged. His clothes were in tatters, his precious armor cracked, and even his face mask was destroyed. If his shield wasn't destroyed before, it was now.
Apotheosis: "You… you'll pay for making me relive that."
But before the battle could continue, they both froze. Something has happened, but they both came to different conclusions.
Apotheosis: "There's only one person that could have a quirk level over a hundred. Damn it, I need to get to Tomura. We'll settle this later."
Apotheosis runs off to not only get more data from All Might but to save Tomura if he needs it. Lord knows, that out of the three of them, he gets into more trouble.
And if Fubuki tried anything, he still has his Trap Foam. Fortunately, Fubuki let him go.
Why?
Because she knew who the true source of this power was.
Fubuki: 'But how?'
Even with the Psychic Disruptor still on, she can sense Izuku's power. But it was all wrong; it was twisted and dark. Nothing like what it should be.
Her brother's psychic signature was warm and inviting. This was anything but. However, it was still clearly her brother, and he needed her help.
Fubuki: 'Izu…'
So she pops her shoulder back in place with her quirk, runs to wherever he might be, and prays she'll make it in time.
There are a lot of references in this chapter. If you noticed them, great, but don't mention it in the comments. It's not blatant enough to warrant me having to say which fanfics (or more so other verses) I'm adapting yet.
I want to keep it a secret for now. So don't ruin the surprise. But by all means, give your thoughts in a vague way.