Chapter 16: Falling Apart
Hey guys... be awhile, heh... Sorry!
Before you read this chapter, I got some important things to say. I am sorry for yet ANOTHER incredibly long wait, but to be brutally honest, I've been looking forward to writing this chapter for so long ever since I posted the very first chapter. And when I get anxious to write something, I get anxious when I do actually start making it. I feel horrible for taking so long, and I know some people have moved on yet again, but I just didn't want to rush it. I even missed the first anniversary of this fic, so happy bday to the fic! XD
BUT ON THE BRIGHT SIDE, I have been working on multiple chapters, these will come out MUCH sooner, I promise you that. I am looking forward to finishing those and getting them out, I have had so much fun with the process of this arc, and I can't wait for yall to see what I have planned, heh.
Sadly, no art for this one, sorry! ;-; but upcoming ones will have art, I just didn't get the time since I just wanted it out before it was April...
ANYWAYS, here we are, at the finale of the USJ arc! I hope yall enjoy this piece!
If you enjoy it, please let me know what you liked about this chapter, I poured everything I had into it, even if it's shorter than the previous chapter and there's bound to be typos I missed despite going over it a 2nd time. But quality over quanity right? heh.
COMMENTS GIVE ME LIFE. As always any reviews/favorites/follows are appreciated!
"Midoriya, we're just peeking to see how things are going over here, okay?" Mineta said, fear lacing his tone as he, Midoriya, and Tsuyu waded towards the shore of the man-made lake.
"Ribbit…" Tsuyu croaked anxiously, looking for any chance of a villain somehow having escaped Midoriya's sticky ball plan.
"I know, I know," Izuku whispered back. I promise we'll leave the instant it's dangerous." In truth, he wanted to just leap up and help his teacher, but he knew better than to mindlessly rush into danger. He frowned. Although looking back, I do that alot…
As they neared the edge of the lake, they managed to get a pretty good view of their teacher, Eraserhead, who was currently juggling what looked to be over a dozen villains, who were clambering and swinging and lunging in a desperate attempt to kill him. However, he seemed to be handling them with ease, simply tossing them into each other, kicking them in the face, or just dodging their attacks. Although one villain stood out from the others. This one was slightly shorter than the others, and wore completely bizarre gear. Hands were clamped to his body all over, and the hands had red wires attached to them.
Izuku blinked. Wait, he looks familiar… Wasn't he the one that first appeared when that portal villain arrived earlier? Izuku put a hand to his chin, frowning as he began to think. Why hadn't this villain engaged with Eraserhead before at the very beginning? Why had he let the other villains go first? Maybe a coward? Or perhaps… he is a higher ranking villain compared to the others? A commander, or even the leader?
"Twenty Three seconds." Was all that the villain said, reaching out to grab Eraserhead's elbow.
Whatever the importance of this villain held in regards to the hierarchy of the "League of Villains" (That had been the name, right?) This seemingly more important one was now charging right for Eraserhead, who very quickly noticed the newcomer to the battle. "The final boss?!" Eraserhead shouted in alarm as he charged right back, no doubt intending to send this villain flying away with a kick or a punch like the others before.
But when they came into contact with each other, Izuku immediately knew something wasn't right. Something was off.
"I've been watching the way you fight all this time, Eraserhead." The hand villain said, giggling at the Pro Hero's confused frown. "You've been slowly needing to blink more and more this entire fight, yet somehow you keep your eyes open. But even if you could keep them forever, it doesn't matter. See, when your head is perfectly angled like this, the mop you call your hair flops just perfectly in front of your eyes, blocking your view of me. And that allows me… to do THIS!"
Izuku stared in horror as the skin on Eraserhead's elbow began to literally flake and CRUMBLE away as if it was being disintegrated. Well, it WAS being disintegrated. So that was the villain's quirk. He can disintegrate things he touches.
Eraserhead quickly leaped backwards as he hissed in pain, shielding his bad arm from the hand villain as he attempted to regain his footing. He unfortunately did not have much time to however, as more nameless villains ran forward, attempting to take advantage of his injured state. Amazingly, despite being down one arm, Eraserhead adjusted his fighting style to a one handed technique, using his legs as his offensive weapon, kicking anything that got too close as he ducked and weaved out of the way. The villains around him still found themselves on the receiving end of a boot. It wasn't long before the next wave of villains had already been taken care of.
Izuku couldn't help the small grin on his face. "He's incredible…" he whispered to the two students beside him. "Even when he's injured he still finds a way to adapt!" It was no wonder he was chosen to choose the top class.
"Ribbit…" Tsuyu croaked in response.
Mineta looked up at the taller boy. "Maybe… maybe he could beat them all?" He asked, the slightest tinge of hope in his tinny voice.
But before Izuku could respond, they were cut off by the surprisingly loud sound of the strange hand villain cackling at the sight of Eraserhead's efforts.
"Well done!" Said the villain, slowly clapping dramatically. "You certainly do live up to the 'Pro' in 'Pro Hero'." He lifted a single finger, a grin on his face. "Unfortunately for you…I am not the final boss."
Hope quickly turned to despair as the three students realized that Eraserhead wasn't by himself, because something was now standing right by him.
A terrifying giant creature that could only be described as a beast, stared at the Oro Hero. It was several feet taller than any of the students or teachers, maybe even All Might. Its entire frame, arms, torso, and legs were all pure thick muscle. Purplish black skin covered its entire body, save for the top of the head. No, the head did not have any skin at the top. It was just its… brain exposed to the open air like some sort of horrible mutation gone wrong. It's mouth… well more of a beak, contained a row of thick teeth that glistened in the sunlight as if they were made of steel, and it seemed like they were perfect for crushing bones. Its eyes, if they could even be called that, were two white spheres with the smallest black dots in the middle. The soulless orbs searched around aimlessly until they settled on what was standing in front of them.
Eraserhead was quick to react, immediately adjusting himself to give this creature a very sharp kick in the body before it could react.
But as if it had foreseen the attack, the creature had been faster, swinging a giant fist towards the teacher, and scoring a direct hit which sent Eraserhead sprawling on the ground, to the shock of the three students. Eraserhead wasn't finished, even if he was now collapsed on the ground. He snapped his head up towards the new threat, his eyes glowing red in what Izuku could assume was an attempt to Erase whatever strength quirk this beast had. Unfortunately, nothing happened. Before Eraserhead could even react to his own quirk failing, his head was slammed into the ground by the creature's giant hand.
"Sorry about that," taunted the hand villain as he watched from a safe distance. "You're probably wondering why your little quirk erasure didn't work." He lifted his arms in a jovial fashion. "It's because this fellow's quirks don't work like normal ones. He is the final boss. Who is he? Well, I'll tell you. He is the Anti Symbol Of Peace, the bioengineered NOMU!"
Eraserhead, despite bleeding from his head and being pinned to the floor, attempted to break free, but the "Nomu" simply responded by twisting Eraserhead's arm. And kept twisting it until…
Izuku instinctively flinched at the awful SNAP sound of his teacher's arm being broken. He heard Tsuyu gasp slightly, and Mineta's pitiful whine.
The villain was giggling to himself as he watched the utter brutalization of Eraserhead. "You can erase quirks. That's wonderful. But… it's not impressive. Let's be honest, in the face of overwhelming power…" he gestured to the genetic monstrosity, "you might as well be quirkless."
Izuku, Mineta, and Tsuyu all stared as they spectated the event in utter horror and terror. Were they really about to watch their own teacher's death? Where was All Might? Why was this happening?
Well, what's done is done.
Those were the simple words Jayluf Viller thought to himself as he turned away from Martial Hair, who was currently incapacitated, on the ground, bleeding, but still very much alive.
Even if what he'd done to her mere moments ago still lingered somewhat in the back of his mind, he still knew it was the right thing to do, and it had been completely necessary to harm her in order for his survival. He glanced at his blood soaked claws, constantly dripping blood, slime, and other fluids that usually are supposed to be inside the body. He flexed slightly, watching the stiff appendages move .
She would have been a threat to me, and others .
But the thought of Martial Hair was quickly being put to the side as he forced his mind to focus on the present in favor of the current commotion ahead. His grey eyes scanned the area from which that huge explosion he'd just heard came from.
As Jayluf neared the area of interest, he began to see slightly recognizable shapes accompanied by shapes he did not recognize.
Near the entrance stairs was his teacher Eraserhead, fighting villains with one seemingly injured arm, ducking and kicking any villain that was within range. Jayluf wondered what could have done that kind of damage to Eraserhead's arm. The way the muscle was exposed, it looked as if the skin on his arm had disintegrated away. Who or what could have done that?
But Jayluf managed to spot more familiar faces to his right. He managed to barely make out who appeared to be Midoriya, Asu- Tsuyu, and Mineta all submerged up to their chests in water, peeking out as if they did not want to be spotted. Behind them was the remains of the massive craft Jayluf had seen when they had first entered. It looked to be the receiver of whatever explosion he'd heard earlier. Many questions became apparent as his brain juggled to store all of the new information.
Why were his friends hiding? Was it not their job to fight villains? Did they fear fighting the villains? Had one of them received an injury? If so, was that their reason to hide? Did they have anything to do with that massive boom earlier?
But before he could conjure up more inquiries in his mind, or even consider approaching his friends, he quickly lost interest in favor of a brand new sight out of the corner of his eye.
Standing behind Eraserhead was a… beast. That was one word for it. Standing at what could be approximated to be twelve feet in height, was a giant muscled beast covered in black tar skin, with its brain exposed. It looked unnatural. The beast had suddenly appeared right beside Eraserhead, grabbing him, and then brutally slamming the teacher's head into the ground.
Jayluf heard what he thought was someone talking, and he glanced to the side, and his eyes settled on a newcomer. This smaller, lanky man whose costume was covered in what appeared to be hands, was talking, pointing, and chuckling at the whole display of Eraserhead getting brutalized by the beast. The man only seemed even more amused when the monster snapped Eraserhead's arm like a twig. A whisper of what could possibly be described as alarm flared up in the pit of Jayluf's stomach. This wasn't good. His teacher could possibly die. So, how could he stop it? Well, it appeared that the hand villain seemed to be in charge of the giant beast that was hurting Eraserhead, judging from the way it responded to the villain's gestures. So, if he perhaps took out the one in control, the beast would cease to function, saving his teacher from death.
Jayluf felt like this plan would work. It made sense to him, so there was only one thing to do now. He had to make his move now, while the villain was still preoccupied with mindless rambling. Readying himself, Jayluf allowed his feet to guide him, one foot in front of the other, he began to slowly walk towards the villain, who had his back turned to the boy. The slow walking turned into a stride, then a speed walk. Eventually he began jogging, which then turned into running, and finally a full blown sprint. He raised his right arm up, lifting the clawed hand in preparation to swing his arm. The best move he could make was to go for the neck. It was the weakest part of the body, and he needed to stop this villain as soon as he could. One good cleave should be able to do the job.
He swung.
His claws whistled through the air, accelerating towards the target at a deadly speed. Right when Jayluf assumed he might have an easy win, the hand villain managed to hear his approach at the last second, flick his head behind him, and throw himself to the side. The villain was just fast enough to effectively dodge the would-be killing blow.
Jayluf quickly stopped his sprint as best he could, turning around to see the villain regaining his footing from bending their body to the side.
The villain glared at him in shock, anger, and the slightest amount of disgust. "You… you little weasley NPC," he snarled angrily, "trying to sneak up behind me to get a cheap hit for a quick win?"
Jayluf simply blinked indifferently. "I thought it would be in my best interest to use any advantage possible." He answered honestly, as he adjusted his stance to one more prepared for battle. "So when I saw that your back was turned, it appeared to be a good opportunity to use. Also, I am not a…" Jayluf tilted his head. "En… pee… see."
"It is extremely obvious you're not one of my NPC henchmen," the hand villain hissed. "So that can only mean one thing… you're one of those Hero in training brats, aren't you?"
"That is correct," Jayluf replied, getting into a battle ready stance. His meaty claws dripped blood, plasma, and other fluids that were supposed to stay under the skin.
When the villain's eyes hovered over Jayluf's claws, his anger seemed to simmer down slightly, his hateful glare dissipating into what appeared to be amusement. "And yet… you just tried to murder me, despite claiming you're a hero." The man let out an oddly pleased sounding giggle. "You literally just tried to cleave my head off, or at the least split my neck open. You literally just tried to murder a person in cold blood."
"I do not murder people." Jayluf replied.
The villain tilted his head in amusement. "Really? Then why when my guard was down, did you swing for the one spot on a person's body that can bleed out the fastest. I saw where you swung, you went right for my neck." He mockingly ran a finger across his own neck. "If I hadn't ducked to the side at the very last minute, you would have happily sliced my jugular open and watched me bleed out."
Jayluf hesitated, not understanding whatever point the villain was trying to make.
"I find that… somewhat fascinating," the villain said as his head tilted in the opposite direction. "I wonder, what kind of hero would do that? Sneak up on someone who's guard is down and unable to defend themselves, then try to cut off their target's head? Doesn't sound very heroic to me."
"It does not matter." Jayluf replied automatically. "I am a hero. And my technique was not cold blood, I was merely following my instinct. I saw that you are commanding that giant creature attacking my teacher. So I assumed in order to stop the creature was to stop you, so I am justified in my attack on you."
The villain seemed interested in his claim. "Hmmm…" he cooed, "Instinct you say? What are you, some kind of animal?"
Animal. For some odd reason, that word seemed to slightly bother Jayluf. He didn't know why, it was just a mere word. But he steeled himself and focused on the manner at hand. "I am not an animal. And my attack on you is because you are hurting my teacher. It is not cold blooded to wish to remove the threat to my teacher. You are hurting him."
"Oh boo boo," the hand villain mocked as his expression became one of annoyance, blatantly disregarding Jayluf's accusation. "It's not personal, brat. We just need a little message to be sent for when All Might gets here. We don't want other Pro Heroes stealing his thunder, do we?"
Jayluf blinked in slight surprise. All Might was coming here? He did not recall the teachers mentioning he was coming to this facility. This was the first he'd heard of it, and it was coming from a villain. That was odd.
"Oh he is," continued the villain, glaring daggers at the boy. "Or more importantly, he better. Because if he doesn't, the only thing he will be tutoring are the rotting corpses of a bunch of kids."
Jayluf, having enough of the small back and forth talking, raised his claws defiantly as he stared down the villain. "It does not matter if All Might is coming or not. Your creature is hurting my teacher. Please order it to release Eraserhead. I will not ask again."
His threats were merely met with a barking laugh from the villain, who literally waved off the threat as if Jayluf was a mere insect. "Oh please," he chuckled. "An NPC like you has absolutely no authority here. However, I will say, you've got spine for some snotty nose brat. Like earlier, you tried to get a quick win in a pvp fight via a critical attack from behind?" He put his hands up slightly. "That is a ballsy move. I'd say it's even straight out of the Fromsoft book, even."
Jayluf blinked, not understanding half of what the villain was talking about. He didn't know what a "frum soft" was, but he did not care. "All mammals have spines, I assume you are trying to distract me, which will not happen. You will release my teacher, or I will subdue you."
"Oh how! Really now?" The villain replied, leering at Jayluf in a mocking manner. "You really think you can go toe to toe with me? You already seem to be hurt yourself, you know." He gestured towards the red wound in Jayluf's abdomen, the hole in his gut courtesy of Martial Hair during their fight earlier.
Jayluf glanced down, noting how most of the bleeding had stopped due to how his body had finally had time to clot the wound properly, but not having closed up the wound itself. "My wound is of no consequence. I have survived my previous encounter with a villain." He had already ordered his cells to close the wound, but combined with his cells morphing his hands into his claws and the adrenaline pumping through his body to keep him conscious, the small wound seemed to be a secondary concern.
Even at the mention of the apparent defeat of one of his minions, the hand villain did not appear to be deterred or impressed in the slightest. "Oh please, those were worthless NPCs, their IQ is that of a classroom goldfish. The fact you managed to get hurt still tells me you're not very strong, either." He clenched his fist. "You are brave, sure. But you're quite stupid. Wanting to fight even while there's a hole in your stomach isn't intelligent. You're just a stupid NPC thinking he can go toe to toe with anyone. But if you still think you're a hero, allow me to prove you otherwise."
And then the hand villain seemingly lurched himself forwards, sprinting towards Jayluf at a surprisingly fast speed, charging with his right hand raised to presumably swipe downwards. Dodging backwards at just the right moment, Jayluf threw himself backwards, narrowly avoiding being grabbed by the offending hand. He watched as the villain's limb continued its path towards the ground due to no longer having a person to grab, and when the hand had made contact with the dirt…
The ground began to literally break apart, disintegrate, and crumble.
So that is his quirk. Jayluf thought to himself, watching how the brown soil and dirt grayed and crumbled away into nothing. The villain's quirk was capable of breaking things down, but required direct contact with the target. Jayluf made a mental note to avoid such a quirk. Even his cells wouldn't be able to regenerate fast enough to counter something like that. Swinging his claws forward in an attempt to swat away the villain, Jayluf attempted to get a cheap hit in, but the hand villain was much too fast, and rolled to the side in a smooth recovery. The boy was well aware that he would have to be much more cautious when it came to dealing with this hand villain, at least compared to Martial Hair from earlier. Yes, both of the villains' quirks had similarities in the fact that their quirks were strictly melee based and the fact that both quirks could eat through flesh quite easily. But the hand villain did not require to charge up his attacks before lashing out.
That was a main causality for why Jayluf was now engaging so hesitantly, the last thing he needed right now was to be grabbed and disintegrated. In an effort to quickly end things, he instinctively went for the villain's neck again, his claws roaring through the air. But the villain had somehow already expected this move, throwing his head backwards and ducking away. As both parties regained their footing and readjusted their fighting stances, Jayluf realized that he did not have all day. His teacher was currently in a bloody pile on the floor, and he needed to step it up. He made a mental note that perhaps now was the proper time to switch tactics.
While this villain had a deadlier quirk than Martial Hair, it lacked the range, which is something Jayluf could work with. Adrenaline pumping through his veins, he charged, once again going for the neck in what appeared to be an extremely predictable move. The villain, expecting this move, again ducked backwards, his arms sticking forwards to instinctively balance himself. That had been what Jayluf was waiting for. He lashed his left claw outwards, risking a swipe, and his claws slicing into the villains palms and fingers were an indicator his gamble had paid off. Although his claws hadn't penetrated as deep as it had compared to Martial Hair's flesh, it was still a significant enough wound to force the villain to back up while hissing in pain.
"Oh, you little shit…!" The villain snarled angrily whilst blood freely dribbled from his hand, droplets falling and splatting against the ground. "You think because you got a lucky hit, you're all that? Allow me to prove otherwise." He lunged out, anger fueling his movements as he began swiping at Jayluf more wildly in rapid succession.
Eyes glued to the villain's movements, Jayluf adjusted accordingly, dodging and ducking just like before. Sure, the villain was thin and had spindly limbs, which gave him some reach compared to Jaylufs small size, but Jayluf was faster due to said size. They couldn't play this game forever, Jayluf was well aware of that fact. If he had any chance of getting past this villain, he would have to get a good hit in. But he would have to take a risk of getting closer to the villain currently attempting to disintegrate him. He needed to make a move. Following the pattern if each of the villains strikes, his eyes glued to the fingers. He waited for just the right attack…
The villain swung his right hand outwards, curving towards his left in a side strike attempt.
Now.
Taking full advantage of the perfect angle, Jayluf changed from a dodge to moving his body closer towards the villain, and threw an uppercut at the villain's face. Although it barely missed the villain's neck, his claws managed to get a perfect bullseye on the hand clamped to the villain's face, knocking it off from his face and sending it flying several feet away, and landed on the ground.
As the hand lay still on the ground, the villain seemed to recover somewhat quickly, blinking dizzily and feeling his face before his eyelids flew upwards with utter panic and horror in his eyes as his hand hovered around his face to feel for something that was no longer there. Wildly looking around, his eyes seemed to be moving at a mile a minute as he turned to search for his missing hand. Finally his eyes landed on it, and the villain desperately ran out and reached out to grab it. "NO!" the villain cried out in utter despair.
The seemingly terrified reaction gave Jayluf pause. What on earth could have been the reason for why the villain would have such a violent and audible reaction to the hand being knocked off? Was it vital to their health? Was it actually part of his body? Was it associated with his quirk?
Although he was seemingly panicking, the villain's panic attack ended as soon as the hand was replaced on his face, his muscles and posture relaxing. "I think I've had quite enough of you," the villain said, not even turning to face Jayluf. "But I'm sure you being turned to a red paste after being smashed into the ground will improve my mood."
Before Jayluf could even begin to absorb or question whatever that could have possibly meant, his eyes spotted a giant shadow towering over him from behind. He barely had enough time to whirl around to check whatever was behind him, before he managed to get a glimpse of a huge dark fist barreling towards him. Jayluf let out a cough as the giant fist rammed into his stomach and chest, the force throwing him backwards several yards away and crashing into the dirt, effectively knocking the wind out of him while also aggravating the still healing gut injury. And a few broken ribs seemed to possibly be a factor as well. Trying to force himself to recover from being unceremoniously tossed like a ragdoll, Jayluf looked up to see the giant creature that had been attacking Eraserhead standing over him, staring at him with its inhuman beady eyes.
It thrust an arm out towards him, and Jayluf jumped backwards to avoid it, but it seemed that the creature was faster than he'd anticipated. It seemed to have been expecting him to do that move, and as he was dodging backwards, it managed to grab his leg. He tried to hack away at the hand with his claws, but the creature's skin seemed to be surprisingly stiff, as his razor sharp appendages seemed to just scratch the thick hide, which quickly vanished as well. Meaning that the creature had some sort of regeneration, even for the most mild of cuts or scratches. He'd have to find somewhere vulnerable. It lifted him up with one hand, dangling him as it prepared to lift its arm up once more. Gravity was in full force as Jayluf felt himself being hoisted upwards, and then slammed body into the ground.
Ow.
Then it did it again. And again.
And again.
As the pain increased, he became increasingly dizzy and disoriented with each slam as he struggled to command the cells that weren't currently preoccupied to dull the pain as much as physically possible so he could regain his bearings and form a plan.
He needed something to give him just a few seconds to get away, something to force the creature to stop its constant slamming.
The eyes .
No matter how tough a creature is structurally, the eyes are usually one of the most fragile parts of the body. The same could possibly be applied to this creature. Even if it somehow had an unknown quirk that shielded its eyes that Jayluf did not know about, he could assume that it was still not as strong as the thick skin covering the main body. A large amount of pressure in a small area was bound to cut anything open. It was a risk he was willing to take. He had no other choice, after all. He just needed to time it just right… wait until the creature lifts him again and…
Just as the creature was halfway lifting him overhead, Jayluf waited until he was in the right spot, and swung his right and left claws towards the creature's face. When he felt contact, he pressed his claws in as hard as he could, burrowing his clawed fingers in deep, causing blood to sputter out of the wounded area.
The creature abruptly stopped its attempt to body slam him, then let out a horrible shrieking sound that almost sounded akin to a human screaming. It angled its arm back and launched it forward, throwing Jayluf several feet away. Jayluf was rewarded with a face full of dirt. It was impossible to know if he'd completely blinded it, or only minorly inconvenienced it. Well, it had definitely pierced through at least. As he climbed to his feet, he became acutely aware of another sense going off, his hearing was picking up something.
Footsteps, rapidly approaching him from in front. But before he even was able to completely turn around, he felt a hand being pressed on his chest. Turning, he saw the hand villain gripping his chest.
Nothing happened.
Not waiting to see if the villain's quirk would eventually kick in, Jayluf simply swung in retaliation, which the villain managed to dodge by quickly letting go and weaving backwards to avoid being sliced. Although it was good that Jayluf hadn't disintegrated, the boy couldn't help but wonder why the villain hadn't used his quirk on him? Did it just not work?
The answer was revealed not a second later due to the villain growling under his breath. "Tch… I will say…" He said, turning to look behind him. "You're pretty damn cool… Eraserhead."
Jayluf's head snapped towards the same direction to see that the villain was indeed speaking to Eraserhead, who was still somehow conscious. Despite being brutalized and beaten down, the Pro Hero was managing to stare right at the hand villain, his eyes glowing red and canceling the disintegration quirk out.
"But I have honestly had my fill with any and all interference now," continued the villain, glaring at the hero on the ground. He jabbed a finger towards him. "Nomu, keep our Pro Hero Friend down for the count, but don't kill him. I'm going to have that pleasure myself, when I'm finished dealing with this brat myself."
The Nomu moved to the command, and Jayluf saw that somehow its eyes had already grown back. So its regeneration was extended to every part of its body it seemed.
"Now then," said the hand villain, walking towards Jayluf. "No quirk canceling to save you from my grasp this time, kid."
Jayluf merely blinked. "It makes no difference to me."
Despite his bravado, Jayluf felt that the recent events were beginning to take their toll on his body. His cells were weaker, exhausted, they had been mutated, injured, and the body slamming had made him several times more sore. He could hear them complaining and calling for him to rest, but he wouldn't stop, not now. While his energy felt almost completely gone, there was some fire left for this battle. He lunged forwards, and their delicate yet violent dance of battle began once again. This time, both parties were more in tune with their opponent, having had time to learn and memorize fighting patterns and speed allowed both of them to adjust accordingly.
The villain was adapting a bit too fast. Jayluf had managed to scratch a bit of the villain's arm, when the villain retaliated and lunged forward, Jayluf of course merely moved his upper body, expecting another arm to reach out to grab him. But the hand villain had seemingly adjusted, and instead lifted his right leg and threw a rather sharp kick into Jayluf's chest. The impact was rather nasty, making Jayluf let out a gasping cough noise as the wind was knocked out of him while he flew back and landed in the dirt.
This wasn't going to be easy.
Midoriya stared hard, his eyes glued to the exchange between Jayluf and that strange villain as they battled in close quarters combat.
Tsuyu and Mineta were still with him, their lower halves of their bodies still submerged in the water, as exposing themselves probably wouldn't be the greatest plan.
Although he had been feeling a bit more re-energized, the adrenaline from earlier was definitely missing now. In fact, the past few days of his body constantly being battered and harmed, it seemed that it was finally catching up to him. Even with the healing quirk from Recovery Girl helping him heal his broken body, he still only had a few days of sleep, which didn't seem to be enough to recover from the constant wear and tear on his body.
But as he watched the fight, he still was readying himself to join in and help his friend in peril. He needed to save Jayluf! And Eraserhead, too! "I'm… I'm gonna go and try to help them," Izuku said to the two students behind him.
"Midoriya…" Tsuyu croaked cautiously.
"W-What? No way!" Mineta whispered harshly. "What happened to leaving as soon as it got dangerous? What happened to not being involved?!"
"We're not in danger." Izuku spoke earnestly. "Jayluf and Eraserhead are. Is that not enough?"
Tsuyu had the same blank expression as she lifted a finger. "We are all in danger. This entire building is not safe."
"Midoriya." Mineta blurted out, suddenly changing the direction his head was facing, seemingly staring at something else.
"Mineta, please.. we have to-"
"MIDORIYA." Mineta whisper-yelled, his fierce tone making Izuku pause.
Izuku turned, confusion on his face. "What?"
"LOOK." Mineta sputtered, pointing a shaking hand towards something else in the distance.
Izuku turned and looked in whatever direction Mineta was so desperately gesturing to, and when he did…
Izuku froze. He could see the Nomu pinning Eraserhead to the ground in the distance, the teacher being bloodied and beaten… and the Nomu…
Was standing. And staring right at them. It peered at them with beady eyes, its mouth slightly open, with drool coming out of its mouth.
Izuku felt as if fear itself was paralyzing him. His heart thudded against his chest as he felt a completely overwhelming sense of dread grip his chest. It knew . It knew they were there, and they couldn't hide. He stared at the Nomu, looking into its soulless eyes aimed right at him. It looked not unlike an expression a predatory animal you'd see in the wild would have mere milliseconds before lunging for the kill and tearing its prey to bloody ribbons. But yet, it didn't move. It was almost like it was merely waiting for them to make the first move. As if it was just wanting a reason, an excuse to launch forward and tear them limb from limb. It wanted them to run. It NEEDED them to make some move to justify a reaction.
Izuku felt his body refuse to move as he suddenly felt… tiny. He felt small in a way that it reminded him when he was a toddler, being pushed, punched, or burned by his bullies, except this fear was increased tenfold. He tried to prevent himself from hyperventilating. He was faintly aware of Tsuyu attempting to pull on his arm, because he was now standing up at his full height and could be seen by everyone there.
What… What do I do?
Jayluf could safely say if he had the choice, he'd avoid this place in the future if it meant he wouldn't have to be ambushed like this again. They could train somewhere else next time.
It was much more preferable when his targets were robots that barely had the brain power to dodge in the first place. Fighting extremely smart villains who had a very good sense of combat and skill was exhausting, especially since they didn't just sit there and allow Jayluf to claw at them. Another thing is they definitely hit harder than the robots he fought.
And the villain that had managed to hit him pretty hard was already preparing for another attack while Jayluf was getting his bearings back. He'd just received a nasty kick aimed directly at the open wound, and now he was scrambling to his feet. The hand villain was also preparing for another attack.
But before either side could make contact with the other, a strange swirling smoke seemed to manifest near the hand villain's vicinity, growing and growing until it was a decently sized ball of smoke.
Jayluf managed to recognize what the smoke was, and he quickly backed away. He knew this smoke. It was the smoke from earlier, when this had all started. This smoke had come from the villain who had originally attacked him and his friends and had scattered them throughout this facility. The same one who'd dropped him onto the fire dome.
Surprisingly, the hand villain also seemed equally caught off guard by the sudden arrival of the smoke villain. He glared at the taller villain. "The hell are you doing?" The man grumbled, "Can't you see I'm a bit preoccupied in a PVP session?"
Despite Jayluf not being able to comprehend even half of what was just said, the smoke villain seemed to understand perfectly. "My apologies, young master." He said in a surprisingly sheepish tone as he glanced to the side, as if he was awaiting for someone. "But I must unfortunately inform you that one of the students has regrettably escaped my grasp due to the interference of several other students in their class. I managed to incapacitate the Pro Hero protecting them, but at the very last moment one slipped through the door." He bowed his head in shame. "There is now without a doubt that the student called for help, meaning that reinforcements for the students are currently en-route." He glanced behind him again. "I predict we only have a few minutes before the cavalry arrives."
Jayluf paused as his brain tried to work out what that meant. But he eventually realized that it meant that help was coming. They were going to be rescued!
But apparently, that had been the wrong thing to say to the hand villain, because when the smoke villain had finished his quick report, the hand villain seemed to freeze for several seconds, as if he needed a moment or two to absorb new information like Jayluf did. Then the villain suddenly reached up to his own bare neck, arching his fingers, and began to scratch. But he didn't stop. The scratching continued until his skin turned reddish pink from irritation. "You… you damn failure." The hand villain almost gasped out in pure unadulterated anger. It appeared that the smoke villain had said the wrong thing. "You idiot!" The hand villain continued. The scratching increased until specks of red began dripping from the dark red scratch marks. "If… if you weren't the only sway out of this shithole, I would have killed you for this!"
Jayluf paused, slightly confused. Kill? Why would the hand villain kill the other villain? Were they not allies? Why is the villain hurting himself? I do not understand.
Right when it seemed like the hand villain was about to plunge his nails into his own neck, he abruptly stopped his frantic scratching, suddenly cool and collected. "I see," he said in a surprisingly calm tone. "Game Over then, right? That's honestly too bad." He suddenly turned to his left, and looked right at Midoriya, Tsuyu, and Mineta, who stared back in fear and terror. "Well," continued the man, his eyes settling on Tsuyu first. "If I'm not getting first place, then I'm going to take a consolation prize. I think killing a few kids will do. Should eat away at the reputation of this damned school as a bonus."
Before Jayluf realized what was going on, the villain had turned and was now sprinting towards the three students at a shockingly fast pace. Time slowed to a crawl for Jayluf. He had a flash of when the hand villain had disintegrated the ground earlier played in his mind. If that villain touched his friends… He realized that the villain was going to kill his friends.
Midoriya.
Tsuyu.
Mineta.
They were going to die.
His legs almost seemed to automatically propel him forwards towards his target, each step launching him closer than the last. He needed to stop him. Despite the villain's longer legs, Jayluf was still faster on foot. He'd have to be quick. He'd have to hit him hard and fast. One swipe at either the villain's outstretched arm, or at his neck would do the job. Either would do, as long as it stops the villain. It would definitely have to be a very strong swing, but Jayluf knew he could manage.
As he ran towards the villain, the small amount of fear he'd been feeling was being replaced by a new sensation.. He had a bizarre sense of anticipation, a sense of euphoria. His heart was pounding, his lungs burning. Adrenaline seemed to be flowing in every cell. For the briefest of moments, the mental image of killing the villain seemed to please some… primal part of his mind. He just needed to swing, and it would be over. He was going to win. He was going to win! Just a few more steps…
But as he rapidly approached his target, a smoking portal suddenly opened up not in front of him… but in front of Tsuyu's face? The villain's open palm disappeared as it entered the portal, sparing Tsuyu of whatever quirk he had.
Jayluf knew that had been the smoke villain that had made that portal. The portal villain saved Tsuyu? Why?
But then Jayluf felt himself stop, something had made contact with his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Something had directly halted him and he looked down to see another small smoke portal had materialized right in front of his stomach area, and now the villain was merely pressing his hand against Jayluf's middle.
It wasn't hurting either. And Jayluf looked closer, he'd realized why, his eyes widening in abject horror. His stomach was grey and cracking away like stone. He didn't feel any pain because his cells were killed so quickly, they did not even have time to cry out in alarm or send pain signals because they disintegrated so quickly. Every last one of his cells were being destroyed. His clothes, skin, body... There would be nothing of him left.
As his body crumbled away right in front of his very eyes, Jayluf began to panic.
I'm dying. I'm going to die.
I don't want to die. Please don't let me die.
Miss Hunee, help me.
For the first time, Jaylud felt unbridled terror and dread. He wasn't going to survive this. This was it.
Jayluf stared in horror as his body deconstructed itself, and could only watch as the grey decomposition spread to his shoulders.
Being consumed by complete panic and fear, he did the only thing he could do. Jayluf turned to Midoriya, who stood alongside Mineta and Tsuyu, who were frozen in terror and stared at him, horrified expressions on their faces.
Jayluf let out a gasp as a tear slid down his cheek as his chest and throat began to calcify in front of his very eyes.
"M-Midoriya?" Jayluf choked.
And he finally fell apart.
Jayluf Viller was dead.
:)