The duo followed the demon girl around the house to a spot out of sight of the others that had them stare down a bank that led to a small grove. Aside from the ever-encroaching dark vines, it was a serene location to sit and relax. But Ciana felt none of that as Kiara kept her back to them as she cupped her hands behind her back for a moment of reflection.

"Before I met Kyoka's family, and... well, before they were my family, I relied on no one but myself; the mere idea of relying on anyone was strange to me, I had to think and act on my own accord. That even led to meeting a dragon face to face, reckless but it paid off," As she spoke, she brought her right hand forward to run it down her horn. "Being a demon didn't exactly make socializing easier, not everyone is as welcoming as they are now,"

Turning now, she looked between them both. "Izuku, like Kyoka and our parents, accepted and encouraged me, they gave me something I could lean on if needed. Just like how you feel, Ciana, or... until recently that is," Kiara didn't make a joke or smirked, she held a firm of honest expression. "What I said to you before, that... was uncalled for, but there's something else, this nagging feeling you're not being completely honest with any of us,"

"Huh?" Ciana blinked her eyes in a little confusion, tilting her head. "Well… I thought maybe Izuku told you a bit what I was going through by now, I been struggling dealing with my new look my ability has given me." She explains so far, crossing her arms and looking up to the sky. "Also I had a rough past myself and don't really liked to be viewed as a weakling… one of the reasons why I charged in the fight before."

She shrugs with a bit of a sheepish smile, letting her arms drop to her sides. "I know what I do seems stupid sometimes but I can fight my own battles still even without my power, the main reason I jumped in before was not because of my chance to see the dragon but to aid it. I could tell those two were trying to protect it…" now rubbing the back of her head more sheepishly, Ciana didn't have any regrets what she did.

"Izuku's told me nothing, actually, just what I've heard from you and the basics on why you're here; not my place to pry," She shrugged before adding. "And look, I get wanting to help people, I never questioned why you went down there to defend Kirishima, but it's why you felt the need to fight alone - trust me, not every battle can be one alone, there were still far too many variables we hadn't accounted for,"

"I've... never doubted your strength or abilities Ciana, I've seen them first hand!" Izuku added in, worried this might be his only chance to mend any semblance of trust between them. "But this isn't just a small team between us, now we have friends and allies we can rely on to cover our short-comings, but also to be wary of their safety and opinions when we are in combat. We know fire's effective against these vines, so you could've asked Shoto or Ochaco to use flames on the vines while we held the rest off with Katsuki and Denki, but that's just my take,"

"I hope you didn't…" Ciana eyed Izuku a bit sadly, him seeing her as dumb wasn't the only reason she was upset before. "I believe in everyone here, there's no reason for me to doubt any of you." Ciana at least softened up a little towards Izuku, now eyeing Kiara again. "Well if he didn't tell you anything… truth is I ran away from home due to a bad position I was in…"

She started to explain, never easy for her to look back on. "The power I was cursed with is powerful and one guy wanted to use me for a ritual and the other two I think wanted to use me for my power… I left my loved ones behind because I thought I was protecting them, figured if those sorcerers think I'm gone then they won't harm my friends…" Ciana expression became more sad.

"But it's becoming a burden to them as well… which is why I'm here, I'm trying not to be too much of a problem… I mean I already caused Izuku enough trouble." Ciana still felt guilty what her dragon side made him do, but is definitely not going to mention how flirty she specifically was…

"Right, yeah, so Kirishima's your possible way of reeling in your power, gotcha," Kiara nodded, waving her hand a bit. "Not gonna ask what went on between you two before, still feel it'd just be awkward for all of us," The two sighed at this as the ravenette continued. "But listen, ain't a person here that thinks you're stupid - can you be idiotic by running straight into the fire at times? Yes, though who hasn't done that? I mean, look at me? Pretty sure I've been banned from setting foot in the Capital at this point, hehe... I'm so in debt because of it,"

Clearing her throat, she continued. "That aside... just talk to us if something's bothering you, no point bottling it up just to explode later at a bad time, get me?" Crossing her arms, Kiara smirked, showing a fang. "Your loved ones are lucky to have ya, really,"

"That means a lot to hear coming from you…" Ciana thanks her with a little smile and a nod. "But I been venting too much lately… and I rather not do that again, I'm a emotional unstable girl after all…" she shrugged. "I'm trying not to be more annoying."

"You're having to handle a lot of emotional baggage, I..." Izuku paused, taking a breath to look at her again in the eyes. "I'm so used to finding a way to help anyone who needs it, but I just felt so lost and worried that your mentality was only declining; I was scared I failed you,"

"Like I said Izuku… I caused you enough trouble…" Ciana eyed him with a sad smile. "Before when you said that you would give me space when I was venting about my power… I thought I was becoming too much for you now…" That actually hurt her before, mainly why she was mostly distant.

"I wanted to give you space because I felt maybe I was being too nosy when you needed time to just think for yourself, and not always have me breathing down your neck," He felt she deserved that, now it was abundantly clear how much it hurt her. "I'm sorry if that made you feel more like a hinderance when you never were,"

"I rather I didn't cause you more problems anyways…" her smile because more apologetically. "Now that your reunited with Kiara I also wanted you both to have more time together, figured you forget about your trouble from me seeing how happy you were to see her again."

"But that doesn't mean I'm going to just forget about the people around me," Shaking his head, Izuku placed a hand to his heart. "I left my home thinking I would make this journey alone, but then I was blessed to have met Zorah, Echo, you, and so many more with us now. I'm surrounded by people I can trust and care for, more than I could've dreamed of having before I met my mentor or Kiara and Kyoka,"

He smiled at her with genuine warmth. "I'm happy... happier than I could've ever thought I could bel every bump on the road was worth experiencing, because I didn't do it alone,"

Ciana was pretty stunned to hear this Izuku liked her presence, what about the stuff she made him do before? Didn't that scar him…? Ciana was confused, hoping he wasn't just saying that. "Well… I could tell having more people by your side has made you more cheerful…" she chuckles a little, rubbing her neck shyly.

"But I should warn you both about Katsuki by the way…" knowing how they had a rivalry back in UA and judging by how he reacted to Izuku's sword… he might be set to want to challenge him soon.

"Yeah... seems like he has a new rival, Izuku," Kiara eyed the greenette too as he looked between the two girls, then pointed to himself.

"Me? B-but why, I haven't done anything... I think?" He really didn't need this.

"Well, that attack of yours was unlike any magic I've seen, let alone the rock-muncher barbarian, so likely chance he sees you as his rival for strength, so..." Kiara clapped happily with her tongue poking out. "Have fun!"

"That really doesn't make that better!" He whined.

"No she's definitely right…" Ciana giggles at her remark, she's pretty good at reading people. "But yeah, listen… Katsuki is a major hothead that's not very easy to get along with, his goal is to be the most strongest adventurer in the entire world. He hates to be viewed as a weakling and takes great offense to that…"

It was good to give them the heads up to avoid making him more mad than usual. "So anyone he sees that makes a good challange for him he will want to fight… but despite his scary attitude, he actually has a good heart deep down." Ciana explains, main reason why she wasn't afraid of him. "He's all talk, blunt and rude but once you get to know him more you'll see he's really a good guy. But still best not to provoke him…"

"Right, I'll... do my best, heh," Izuku raised a shaky thumb while Kiara pursed her lips, looking at Ciana for a moment.

"You sure know a lot about the guy we knew for, what? Over an hour?" Then she shrugged. "Eh, better to know what buttons I can push instead of guessing, so I'll say, all the buttons,"

"Kiara, no," Izuku tried to reason with her as she grinned giddily.

"Kiara yes, hahaha," She retorted.

"Oh trust me you don't want to make him seriously mad cuz if you do he turns into a rabid animal…" Ciana raised her hands in protest with a sheepish smile and a sweat-drop to her head. "But the reason why I know so much about him because I heard a lot of stories about him from my hometown…"

Ciana knew she had to come up with a good explanation of her knowledge of him. "I mean a story about a barbarian that goes around flying on a dragon and challenging people? It's not that hard to guess who he is…" she giggles.

Of course, Izuku knew better but Kiara was clueless. "Right..." Or they hoped she was. "Well, spiky aside, we've got the three brightest among us right now, so let's ask the burning question-" Her hands came to rest on their shoulders. "-how do we defeat a rampaging earth elemental?"

"That I'm not sure…" Not like she's ever faced an earth elemental so Ciana didn't have much ideas. "But Izuku, if you can work with Katsuki and Shoto altogether… I'm pretty sure you can make your attacks powerful enough to strike anyone down." Ciana had kept in mind how strong the three are… they are actually probably the most powerful duo in her class.

"Right, lemme think..." He started to pace. "Earth elementals are sturdy, swords won't be much use so it's better to rely on strong blunt force and magic... there's the village too, as well as the vines reacting to our efforts..."

"Well, if you let me nab the Prince, I can work on defence, his ice can come in handy if you two want to focus your efforts on a counterattack - but yeah, don't try to fight this thing head on, normally, these elementals are harmless, but ever see a pissed off one? Yikes," She shivered, clutching her tail.

"You don't have to worry about me, I have no idea what I'm up against so I don't plan to charge in this time…" she sweat-drop, expecting it's probably a giant. "I mean if it's as bad as they say then we're going to need all the help we can get, but speaking of magic…" her hand goes to her chin as Ciana ended up eyeing Izuku's sword. "Izuku, is it alright if I talk to you in private about your sword?"

She eyes Kiara for permission. "I mean if that's okay with you Kiara."

"I'm not his mother, go right ahead," She waved with her tail. "I'll get the rest up-to-date on the in-progress plan, don't be too long,"

"Right, uh, what about it?" Izuku then asked, holding up the sheathed blade.

Now her attention back on Izuku as she glanced down at his sword. "Well you said you got your sword from your hero All Might… how much do you know about its power exactly?" She ends up asking with her hand on her chin in thought if it's the same as One For All?

"Hrm... not much, he said the power in his sacred sword drew on pure magic from the earth itself, and that power accumulates over time, it's how he became the hero he was, though it was more his heart and soul over actual strength passed down to him," Izuku handled OFA with care. "He said that the power transferred to him when he used it, and he became a part of magic itself to bolster his body, hence why using it at full strength would brake my arm if I tried,"

"Sounds exactly like One For All…" she nods in understanding of the knowledge. "Well I'm aware it's very powerful, something you have to go easy on it's limit before going any higher… I think I might have a method to help you practice it's power, but… I'm not sure if it will apply the same to your sword…"

"I'm assuming you helped your Partner with this too?" He asked.

"Pretty much…" Confirming this, but smiled awkwardly with a rub to the back of her head. "You see, we have a personal method to help him use his power carefully but it's usually temporary… but I think it helped him get a better understanding how to use it more carefully."

"I see, given what we're up against, I wouldn't mind seeing how it works," He asked. This village had defences, but earth elementals were anything but flimsy. To take down a rampaging one, and one controlled by a demonic plant no less, would require more than a strong shield.

"B-but there's a catch…" Again, Ciana blushes pretty pink. Knowing what she had to do to transfer her power to him. "I… have to apply contact to your lips again…" she looked down now, rubbing her neck more bashfully.

"Now... I s-see why you asked K-Kiara," It didn't matter considering they weren't together, but this was... touchy. "I-if you're sure it'll just be that... I guess? J-Just so long n-no one spots us, it s-should be fine,"

"Y-you still seem kinda unsure about this… a-are you sure? I-I mean again, I don't want to make this more awkward for you." Ciana still wanted to be sure she wasn't being too much but at least she told him this before doing anything.

"Given what's coming, I'll t-take any help you can offer, please," They didn't come all this way just to fall apart at the last stretch.

"Well… alright." Ciana looks around, worried someone might come into view. "L-let's go a little farther in the garden first! Last thing I want is Kiara coming back out and misunderstanding anything…" Ciana took hold of Izuku's hand as she already goes to a farther distance, she didn't want to ruin their relationship after all.

Once far enough to be unseen, hopefully, Izuku tucked his sword back into its belt strap, facing Ciana. "S-so, want me to r-relax or is there anything I have to d-do?" The nervous shuffle of his hands helped to keep his mind on track, the blood having already ran to his face.

Ciana can't blame him for being nervous… she was pretty flustered herself. "W-well I think what my Izuku did was he started to power up when I gave him a power boost, why don't you try gripping your sword while I try to do the same to you?" She suggest, thinking maybe that would help more.

"Right," Pulling OFA free, the silver face of his blade caught the light despite the grey ceiling above. He focused on the blade, drawing out that silvery green tint to cover the blade and crawl halfway up his forearm. "O-okay, that's about five percent,"

"That's a perfect start." She nods, then places her hand on his cheek. "This might feel kinda tingly with what I'm gonna boost in you… but make sure you relax and focus on the power within you, okay?"

"Will do..." He relaxed his muscles while trying not to tense up as her face drew closer to his again.

Taking a deep breath, Ciana closed her eyes as she now applied her lips to Izuku… Once she did, she powered herself up from within and transferred her magic quirk into Izuku, giving off a glow from her lips and a warm tingly sensation as she did this.

Their lips held for only ten seconds before pulling back, and both now stared at the sword clasped in Izuku's right hand as sparks of emerald lightning danced over his arm, the silver tint replaced with electric green instead as he swung the blade, hearing it vibrate as it swept the air. "W-woah...!" He was in awe. "I-it's got to be ten percent... maybe a little higher!"

While Ciana was happy she was able to help, once again she felt drained as she groaned weakly and fell on her knees… panting but was still able to keep awake as her gaze stayed up to smile. "T-that's great! I-I'm glad my magic was able to work…"

He knelt down to hold her shoulder with his left, looking to her worryingly. "Did that drain too much mana again? Here," Fishing around in his backpack, he held out a small mana crystal, big enough to fit in his palm. "After I sold the large one, I kept this shard of it encase you needed it,"

Blinking in surprise at the crystal he still had with him, she chuckled a bit at this at the kind gesture. "Your so thoughtful… was this because of how I healed you before?" She asked with a bit of a amusing but thankful smile, taking hold of the offered item.

"Yeah, given how problematic the situation here has become, I'm glad I kept it, we'll need all the help we can get from this point forward," He smiled, seeing her glowing palm drain the crystal on contact, causing it to return to its pale glassy shade. "Guess when you return home, you can keep it as a back-up supply of magic or whatever you call it there,"

"I really appreciate the thought… thank you Izuku." Feeling more better now, Ciana gave him a quick peck to his cheek as thanks before standing up again. "But I'm happy my magic was able do the same to help with your power, make sure you still be careful how you use it though."

"Yes ma'am," He dispelled the energy, seeing the blade remain an emerald green as he sheathed it. "Guess it's stored the power like a mana crystal, that'll come in handy - but right now, let's go talk with the others, we have a town to defend,"

"Right." She nodded with a serious expression now. "I just hope Katsuki is willing to fight with us… he's usually not so easy to convince since he likes to handle everything by himself." She ends up sharing as Ciana now walks back with him.

"He seemed concerned when he investigated the tracks, besides, you said it yourself, he's a good person at heart, so I believe you're right," Izuku replied.

After discussing the plan of attack. The group now stood atop the gatehouse overlooking the road and Leeching Vines beyond, by now, a faint rumbling could be felt beneath their feet, Kyoka herself hearing the heavy stomps as clearly as Kirishima and Ciana. The elemental was closing in. "I give us ten minutes," Kyoka relayed, keeping one jack in the wall as she monitored its movements.

Iida stuck his hand forward, helmet on again. "Kyoka is correct, everyone, remember the plan, get into position!"

"Don't tell me what to do, tin man!" Katsuki grunted, hopping over the merlons to land on the ground, cracking his knuckles. "Let's do this...!"

"If he dies, I want his cape," Kiara held her hand up before grabbing her lute and heading down to the left side of the wall-walk. "Shoto, ready for this?" Strumming her lute as she asked.

"Ready," He held up his right arm, a glyph manifesting. "I'll rely on your power boost for this,"

Iida kept with the orders. "Ciana, stay up here we myself, Ochaco, and Kyoka, you'll provide support! Izuku, take the to vanguard with Katsuki and Kaminari! As for you Kirishima, when the time's right, turn into a dragon and have Ciana join you, she can provide support in the event of ranged attacks!"

"You got it/On it!" The group replied, each splitting off to do their own part.

Ciana at least is more cooperative this time as she does what she's told, knowing how she managed to help this Izuku with his power within is sword is reassuring he will unleash an awesome attack with it when the time is right. This was scary but kinda exciting at the same time, as she got to position Ciana held her own sword out to be ready for anything.

"Glad Katsuki is at least willing to work as a team… with all of us together we should be able to handle this no problem, I just hope I'll be able to handle whatever this enemy will be… at least I'll be able to boost anyone if they need it." Ciana thinks to herself.

Kyoka lifted her head, "Won't be long now..." She was nervous but held her glare. "I just got back, no way in hell I'm losing my entire home now,"

"We'll do everything in our power to protect it," Iida assured her, making her smile as large walls of ice covered the left side as Shoto and Kiara playing a song passed by, replenishing his mana reserves as frost nicked at his skin and clothes.

Just then, something heavy shut the metal gates below, and standing behind the teens on the ground was the towering Horace as he pulled forth his equally huge greatsword, slamming the tip into the ground with both hands placed firmly on the pommel. Izuku and Kaminari appeared to thank him as the silent knight stood motionless, facing the bridge and to the ridge beyond.

Ciana had a feeling this was going to be a big monster to face but man this was a whole other level for her! "Yeah… glad I'm not doing this on my own." Ciana ends up commenting as she continued to stand by and eye her allies for any sign they might need her help.

"I mean I faced robots but would this even be the same compared to them?!" There were giant robots at the sports festival but she managed to avoid them thanks to Izuku when she was riding his back at the time… "Wonder if I should do that again with ether of them to assist better?" Ciana wondered to herself, glad to already think of some backup ideas.

Eventually, two walls of bluish-white ice had formed an extended barrier to the front of Stoneveil, the pair taking a breather given the massive accomplishment. That's when Kyoka pulled back, grabbing her whip from its loop on instinct. "It's coming!"

"Yeah, sounds like it picked up speed, right Ciana?" Kirishima murmured in agreement.

"No kidding!" She replied, but ice is most likely to break especially when it comes to something as large and strong as that. "Think your dragon form be able to be big enough to face that…?" Ciana asked as she still eyed the big creature from a distance.

"A normal elemental? Not a problem!" But the redhead's confidence slipped a bit as he frowned. "But whatever those vines have done... that might be a problem,"

"Wait..." Kyoka held up her hand, plugging her jack into the stone again to listen. But the two shifters heard it to, rather, a sudden lack of noise. "...it stopped?"

"But why now?" Uraraka asked, squeezing her staff as she scooted closer to Iida who looked around the horizon.

"It's preparing, idiots, stay on guard!" Katsuki was the one to break their silence, keeping his stance wide. "Dragon Boy, get up there with Dragon Girl now!"

"Really original names, huh?" Kiara rolled her eyes as she nodded up to them. "Go, quick,"

"On it!" Kirishima dove back into the open space behind the wall, a flash or red consuming him as he quickly grew into his drake form, raising his head for Ciana to grab his horns and hop on as he took to the air to watch the surroundings, the skies darkened by storm clouds. The tension was palpable by now.

"At least he's not calling me Blank… that's a new name." Ciana couldn't help but chuckle to herself as she was back riding on Kirishima, it still stuns her he's a fire breathing dragon here while the other she knew is spikey and sharp. "Let's be cautious Eijiro, we can't let our guard down no matter what!" She advices while holding on tight. "Now that I think about it… will I end up looking like Kirishima too? Oh god I hope not…" Ciana wondered worryingly for a moment, rather not be a big fire breathing lizard.

The air was silent a moment longer, but from their vantage point, Ciana gasped as she heard the rumblings from up high. The earth beyond split and cracked into jagged plates, as if something was burrowing through the earth. It was tunnelling towards them; holding tight, she heard Kirishima snarl as he sensed what she felt, bloodlust.

The ridge suddenly erupted forward in a wave of rubble, tossing rocks and debris across the hillside, some displaced boulders smashing into the ice walls as they held firm. From the dust shook a large back, both Ciana and Kirishima's eyes widened when they saw what emerged. The Earth Elemental was a staggering eight meters tall, possibly ten. It had a similar stature and form to that of a gorilla. The body was formed of brown rock, the dorsal side covered in a thick pelt of green moss, the head protected by the same moss over a hard scalp, forming a giant crown and chin plate. It even had a long, thick tail like a club.

Only now, it had been split and overgrown by black vines as thorns stuck out of its body. It slammed its thick arms into the ground, causing it to split open as it roared like a dragon, causing the brambles of Leeching Vines to wiggle in the air, some wrapping around its forearms to form large, black braces of thorns as it stood back on its hind legs, bashing its fists together like a gorilla. Two beady red eyes locked to the vanguard squad, Horace at the front now with his sword in both hands.

"This is insane! I have never seen a creature as enormous and freaky as that!" Ciana stared at the creature in shock, a little shaken up how powerful it even looked. "This clearly isn't going to be easy… but just because we're smaller than that thing it doesn't mean we can't make a big difference!" This wasn't enough for Ciana to cower in fear and run, she faced robots almost as big as that.

"Eijiro, do you think you can fly around and burn those vines off its arms?" She asks the dragon boy as she glances down to his face. "It may be big but I'm sure it has a weak point somewhere… we just got to find it!"

With a snort, Kirishima threshed his wings, diving sharply as the elemental took noticed of the drake. It growled, slamming its fists into the earth to vault up to grapple with Kirishima, much to his surprise as Ciana held on for dear life as the two monsters scrapped in the sky. Kirishima kept them steady, turning while the beast tried to bring him down. Twisting backward, Kirishima swung his upper half free, slamming his tail into the elemental as it fell back to the earth.

It then released the vines on its right arm, their maws biting down on the soil to upturn a boulder, swinging wide as the projectile crashed into Kirishima's underbelly. He whined sharply, his flight faltering before he spat a fire blast straight at the beast, blowing up another chunk of earth in its claws, showering molten rock over the golem. From afar, more fire bolts from Uraraka and Shoto rained hellfire upon the infected elemental as it howled in pain, its black vines burning away over its forearms.

"Nice shooting Eijiro! Don't stop now!" Ciana held on as she tried to scan the body for any weaknesses, thinking maybe the vines were growing from a specific spot? Sometimes it's usually the eyes or the chest. Ciana is basically thinking how bosses in video games work…

The flames peeled away from the vines as the elemental drew more from the overgrown land around them, once its arms were bound, it charged toward the gatehouse. Horace stepped forward, and with a massive clang of metal, he held firm against the thick scalp slammed against his blade. With a grunt, his foot slipped back but he remained steady as the boys flanked the beast.

Kaminari swung a potion, causing an orange goo to stick to the monster's face as he backtracked from its arm trying to crush him. Katsuki shoved by the blonde, "DIE!" Katsuki roared, punching his fists with an amber seal on both, causing his body to glow the same tint as he threw a punch into the underjaw of the elemental, splitting as the gel glowed, suddenly erupting in a small blast that threw the elemental backward from Horace, giving him and Izuku the chance to swing their blades vertically, crossing down the middle of the beast's face as the lingering gel blew up again, burning more Leeching Vines and splitting the rocky exterior of its face.

Horace stomped, twisting around to swing wide, connecting to its right hook, then came a slam with the left, forcing Izuku to dive and release a burst of emerald light from OFA, the wide ripple of energy shattering chunks of rock and burning away the layer of vines as more fire and magic blasts from the gatehouse battered the monster. It roared, twisting into a leap to slam its right fist into the ground, digging it deeper to cause the earth to blast outward, throwing the group backward from the debris.

Kirishima snarled, sweeping down as he tilted his head, allowing Ciana to do something she didn't expect herself to do. The golem spotted them, but was quickly blinding by a golden flash that tore across its eyes, making it recoil as the intense heat burned its gaze. Ciana held onto Kirishima's horn with her right as she pointed back. Heeding her silent call, he twisted his neck and spewed another large fire blast to cause the beast to tumble down the hill again.

"Alright! He's down!" Ciana cheered with her fist in the air. "I knew he was no match for us and especially against a fire breathing dragon!" Ciana cheered further while referring Kirishimas and his epic attack. "You think it's enough for the creature to give up now…?"

"No, it's not over yet..." Shoto breathed, gathering another array of magic circles but was starting to sweat further, even with a bard aiding him, even Uraraka was starting to look green in the face.

Rising slowly from smoke and dust, the heavy breaths of the elemental shook the earth. More black vines dug out from a fissure in its back, coiling around the husk of a body it puppeted. With a cry of anger, it slammed both arms into the earth again, vines pulling out rock but also... crystals? They shimmered before turning black at the vines' touch, reinforcing the golem's forearms with their opaque texture. Standing up on its back legs, it swung its torso side to side with a bellow.

"You've got to be kidding, how much can this thing take!?" Kaminari growled in annoyance.

"It's an earth elemental, genius, of course it's gonna take a beating!" Kyoka yelled from above, her own mana nearly drained with how much it took to keep Horace standing from that charge.

It then slammed both fists down, causing a riptide of vines and crystals to manifest in a wave. Horace took the blow, his armour battered as the boys glared past his form, shards flicked against their faces. Then Izuku gasped, "Evade!" He yelled at the last second possible as they dove, but Horace wasn't as nimble, taking the full weight behind a right hook from the golem as his body crashed into the ground on his back, his greatsword plunged into the earth upright beside him. "Horace-"

"Get out of the way!" Katsuki snarled, kicking Izuku aside to throw several punches against the right forearm as he chipped away at its crystal exterior, his knuckles bleeding but then the tail swept by, slamming into Katsuki's side as he rolled backward, wincing from the strike.

"Katsuki!" Ciana yelled in worry of the barbarian, Ciana knows he doesn't like anyone being concerned over him but she still couldn't help but worry. Especially seeing the way his knuckles bled. "Are you alright?!" She asked in a shout out while she was still riding on Kirishima.

The barbarian stood up again, closing his fists as two more amber seals appeared, but this time two on each forearm as they formed a shell pattern over his arms. With a devilish smile, he stomped toward the golem as more hellfire battered its dorsal. "Alright... now this is a fight!" It sprinted toward the golem, diving under its right swing to jab at its chest, a shockwave of amber rippling over its hide before he rolled out from under its tail. It spun around to slam the earth with its left, a large burst of crystals forming but that didn't phase him as he swatted the minerals away, pressing a hand to the beast's scalp to dive up and over its grab, jumping off to the side to spike the beast in the head.

Two vials of explosive gel struck it afterward, "Hit it!" Kaminari ordered as Izuku drew closer, sweeping his blade in two parallel slants, the heat striking his face as the side of the golem was engulfed in more flames. But he gasped, blocking a knuckle with the face of OFA as the enraged elemental hardly seemed bothered by the attacks.

Izuku held firm until his own sword slammed into his head, making him tumble while a tug on his body threw him off to one side as a flurry of crystals and vines swept through the earth and tore up a section of the ice wall, bringing down a gap to the left of the gatehouse. Uraraka panted, finally throwing up off to the side as her levitation spell gave out.

Ciana stared at the monster, feeling Kirishima pivot to dive but the longer they drifted and watched them battle, she realized something... the wide crack along its back where the vines seemed to gather and spread. Then her eyes widened.

"Guys! The crack on its back! It's where the vines are coming from!" She immediately informs her friends, pointing her finger at the spot. "That's where his weakness is! Strike there!" Ciana advices, good they finally have an opening.

"I see, so if we can aim a direct blow to the back..." Iida thought about it as he tensed his hands against the wall. "But how? Our weapons are far too short to properly pierce the vines?"

"But not one of us," Kyoka realized, pulling herself up to peer over the wall. "Horace, can you move!?"

The silent knight raised his arm only for it to fall, that last blow dented his breastplate inward, so he was likely stuck. Kyoka rethought her idea, then looked to Kirishima and Ciana. "Hey, both of you, grab the sword and drop it on its back!"

"I get it!" Izuku realized. "We'll use it like a large nail, but all we need..." He then eyed Katsuki who evaded the golem as it strike to crush him alongside Kaminari who yelled the entire time. "...a big hammer - okay, I know what to do, thanks Kyoka!"

"Always a quick thinker, Izuku!" She smiled in the knights direction before eyeing the big sword. "There's no way I can lift something as heavy as that, Eijiro your gonna have to grab it!" Ciana advices knowing how large his big claw hands are.

He eyed her skeptically, then dove down to pluck the blade's handle with his claws, prying it from the earth as Ciana helped him level out where to drop it as the golem moved around. To help, Shoto jumped down onto the grass and with every ounce of mana left, coated the whole hillside in a thick sheet of ice, effectively trapping the elemental's legs as it struggled to move. Kaminari also threw green vials that expanded like foam to form a sticky substance to glue the vines to the ice while many swarmed the air, striking down to tear apart the ice.

Izuku leapt into action, sweeping through the vines, severing them before they could break the binds. "Drop it now!" Izuku begged as he fought with the vines, some biting at his shoulders as he twisted and tore them off.

"Now!" Ciana commanded as Kirishima dropped the blade, the thick slab of metal with a point colliding with the element's back. Katsuki cracked his neck, running forward as vines whipped at his bare skin, the thorns digging through his flesh to drain his spiritual energy but he remained relentless, leaping atop the monster's head before jumping with both hands clasped tightly.

"Hyraaah!" With a resounding 'clang', the greatsword dug deeper into its back, splitting its rocky hide in several directions while the vines stopped squirming, severed at their core as the blade sank through the body and out the chest, causing the hulking beast to crumble into pieces of rock and crystal around the sword and a stumped Katsuki.

Ciana was wide eye from how the monster crumbled into a piles of rocks, sighing in relief seeing that meant it was finally over. At least she hoped so… Ciana had her arms in the air with the brightest victory smile she could show. "You did it Katsuki! That was incredible!" Ciana praises the barbarian, but then looked towards Izuku in worry seeing he got hurt.

"Izuku! Are you okay?!" She now was concerned over him, hoping the thorns didn't impale into his skin which worried her more.

Kirishima landed as he huffed a jet of flames in triumph. Meanwhile, Izuku had made his way over to Horace with Kaminari, helping to pry off the broken damaged chestplate as it clattered next to them, giving the silent man a chance to breath heavily in relief, raising a thumb to the boys. "Oh, yeah, I'm alright," Izuku replied to Ciana, pulling at his shirt to reveal the platemetal he wore. "I asked Kiara if she had any I could borrow encase the vines did try to cut me, so I've got just a few scrapes and bruises, though my adrenaline's still running high so I'm not sure - what about you and Eijiro?"

Ciana was relived he was alright but could see she still didn't need to be concerned about him with Kiara watching out for him still… she sighed at this, her worries doesn't matter anymore… best to focus on the others instead, but now she turns her attention to Eijiro in concern for him also. "You didn't get hit anywhere did you?"

Kirishima looked at his drake form, then with a few seconds to return to normal, he stretched with a smile, seeing the bruise formed on his abdomen and some blemishes on his face. "Never seen an earth elemental jump like that, I was worried you'd fall off at the start - other than that, all good! These will fade soon enough, perks of being part dragon!" Then he yelled over to the ash-blonde. "You alright, man!?"

"Of course I am!" Katsuki yelled as he kicked away the rocks, his arms bleeding from where the thorns cut him, his knuckles the same as well as the colouration on his side from the tail swipe. He winced, holding his side. "Damn thing got me, heh, but I put it down just as hard, the sword idea was smart, I guess..." He huffed, rolling his eyes.

"Your welcome, spiky," Kyoka deadpanned from above as Katsuki swung his free fist up at her.

"Who asked you, Longears!?"

"You're hurt!" The girl ended up going up to the guy in worry, holding his arm up to inspect him closer. "And you call me reckless…" Ciana joked a little but still was worried for his well-being. "If you'll let me, do you mind if I help treat you Katsuki?" She asks his permission first, already preparing as she took out some gauze from her pouch.

"I don't need your help, go bother them!" He jerked his head toward Kirishima now with Izuku and Kaminari helping Horace to sit upright.

"Never met a man so afraid to let a cute girl help him recover, you really are one of a kind, spiky," Kiara giggled mischievously from the gatehouse, patting Uraraka's back as she held her head off the side of the wall.

"Listen Katsuki, it's not good to let yourself bleed out like this!" She scolds him with a hard serious glare. "This doesn't mean I view you anything low, I worry for anyone who is hurt no matter how powerful or invincible they are!" Ciana wasn't backing out, once again not flinching from his tone. "Don't let me do this for me but let me do this for yourself, I want to help because I care and if you were really smart then you wouldn't let this go untreated…"

He opened his mouth to reply, crimson and emerald staring off before he huffed, staying still while trying not to look at her gaze, keeping his mouth shut for her to work. Izuku saw this and smiled, she was definitely persuasive, maybe having her check on all of them wouldn't be a bad idea now that this threat passed. But the longer Izuku stared at the vines, many of them having shrank due to the golem's use, the more he felt an unnerving feeling in his chest.

"The way it commanded the elemental... are Leeching Vines really this smart?" It was a daunting thought, one he feared would be answered sooner than he'd wish.

Ciana smiled seeing the guy was now cooperating, gently she wrapped his wounded arm with the gauze, even doing the same with his hand seeing his knuckles were bleeding too. "There, this should be enough to stop the bleeding now. Thank you for letting me help Katsuki, you were amazing in that fight!"

The girl praised him with a warm smile, she planned to do Kaminari next but wanted to be sure Bakugo was alright. "Is anywhere else hurting?" She asks before moving on.

"No," He muttered, rolling his shoulders before knocking her gentle hands away lightly.

While Ciana grabbed her things to run to the boys tending to Horace now sat upright, something watched them from the ridge. A small root of vines suspending a strange looking white mask in the shape of a rose with a single glowing center for an eye. It stared at the two larger accumulations of spirit energy, then, it retreated beneath the earth, closing up the fissure soon after, leaving not a trace of its presence.

"That monster sure put up one heck of a fight… you think maybe it was the source of the vines?" Ciana asks while tending to Kaminari, eyeing Izuku while she is working on mending her friends wounds.

"If it were... the vines would've all rotted away by now," Izuku noticed that while the quantity had diminished, there were still plenty around. "We got lucky, if you hadn't found that weak point, we might've had to fight it in the village,"

"Yeah, you and Eijiro were awesome up there!" Kaminari praised as he then winced from Ciana applying bandages to his to the cuts along his forearms.

"Sorry!" Ciana quickly apologized as she tried to be more gentle continuing her work. "Thanks by the way! I knew usually all big monsters had to have a weakness so I'm glad I was able to figure it out." She smiled and blushed a little pink from the praise before she then eyed Izuku again.

"If that's the case then it was created by the person who made that thing… I actually read in some stories a golem is created by wizards using earth magic before." She explains her knowledge, mostly knowing them from fantasy mangas she read.

"Not necessarily," Shoto walked up to them, eyeing the remains of the elemental. "What we fought was a natural elemental; they're created due to high concentrations of ether in an area, forming around the materials available. Golems are much the same but are made of a person's magic, so they have no free will."

"The way these vines controlled it... even if we consider a third party that created the vines, how they act is something I've never heard a caster of any kind performing..." Even Izuku wasn't sure what was going on anymore.

"Whoa, that sounds pretty complicated…" Even she couldn't understand much of the whole magic logic here. "But if we continue to follow the source of the vines then I'm sure we will find the culprit." Now finished up aiding Kaminari, eyeing him to be sure she didn't miss any other places to mend. "All done, anywhere else that beast struck ya?"

"Not really, that mostly came from the crystals its shot everywhere, but thanks," Kaminari smiled, taking out a red vial to drink its substance with a sigh. "Much better - here, Katsuki!" He then threw one to the barbarian in passing as he spat the cork out to drink it. "Like I said, alchemy's my thing more than fighting,"

"That's a big help, Denki," Izuku praised, looking to Horace now. "Are you okay to stand?"

He nodded once, and with the boys help, he stood up straight again, the knight walking slowly to retrieve his sword among the rubble. Meanwhile, Kiara hopped down to the rest as the gate opened behind her. "Now then, let's get everyone inside to the inn, most of the sick are held up there so rest up, for today at least, doubt these vines will try anything again, and... thank you,"

"From both of us," Kyoka waved down with a small smile of gratitude.

"Hold on… if you guys were plucked by the thorns, wouldn't that mean you guys will get sick too soon…?" Ciana recalled what they do and eyed the ones who got hurt in worry of the possibility.

"It all depends on the person, hence why we're going to rest until tomorrow to let your spirit energy regenerate," Kiara explained, waving her tail to the center of her chest. "Everyone in Stoneveil that's ill was due to them trying to clear away the vines, not realizing they were Leeching Vines, so that constant proximity meant far more cuts from the thorns, and that led to them being drained significantly, like mine and Kyo's Dad, so you guys should be fine, being adventurers - rather, as strong as you guys are, you've got plenty to take a few scratches,"

"Was that... a compliment?" Shoto cocked his head a bit, unsure.

"Probably in a devils way…" Ciana replied jokingly with a giggle. "But anyways let's rest up like she suggested, if anyone needs their strength restored then line up so I can work my magic!" Ciana demands, knowing them must be exhausted after that fight.