Chapter Seventy Three
The Thrill Of Destruction
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THERE WAS ONE THING THAT THEY HAD failed to consider — that the League will just stand idly after getting their hands on Kusanagi Umeko. That the League will not do anything after going through all that trouble of getting her. The moment Yukio broke her out of a capsule, the moment Yukio confirmed that he had found and secured her, they felt relieved. Relieved because they were not too late. Relieved because she was still alive. Relieved because...
"What are you going to do against the real High-End, heroes?!"
Nothing. They can't do anything against Umeko, of all people. Their instinct as heroes would be to fight her in order to save her. But their instinct as her mentor, her teacher, and as her family, told them not to hurt her. She was, after all, a victim here. She was captured and tinkered with by Garaki and the League. It's wrong to fight her. It's just so so wrong.
But as the No.1 hero, Endeavor cannot be the first one to cower. Steeling himself, he stands up, leaving Mirko in X-Less' care, turquoise eyes looking at Umeko as she steps out to face him. From the back, being held back by Crust, Yukio staggers back once he got a good look at Umeko. Nothing changed. At first glance, that is. But the look in her eyes was different. It was the look of someone in a cold rage. Rage over what? Was she angry because they tried to hurt Shigaraki? Was she angry because they got in the way? Was she angry because they were heroes?
She doesn't recognize them, doesn't know them. In her eyes, they were a nuisance to Shigaraki, enemies to All for One.
"Destroy it all, Umeko!" Garaki yells, already on the move of waking up Shigaraki. The machines are busted but the data are still safe and intact. But the fluids inside the capsule were rapidly decreasing. So, he has no choice but to wake him up now. Even though, he's half-baked. But looking over to Umeko, seeing her moving independently without further orders but the one implanted into her and how she could still use her Quirks, Garaki is confident that Umeko reached at least 90% of her completion status. With that alone, she can cause great devastation.
Eraserhead turns to Mic and Gold, "Mic! Gold! Get to the back! Don't let them wake up Shigaraki!" He says to them. Mic nods, taking Yukio, who's still stunned at the state of his cousin, by his arms and dragging him around the lab, hoping for a passage that'll take them around the room where Shigaraki is without Umeko standing in their way.
"Umeko is...!" Yukio tears up.
"Not now, Yukio! Focus on what we're here for first! Leave Umeko to Endeavor and the others!" Mic says to his junior.
Umeko notices them, of course, but Endeavor, Aizawa, and Crust are holding her back. She looks at them, eyes trained on the Erasure Hero as if she already knows what he's capable of. She tries to use her Quirk but finds that she's unable to. Fire. Shield. There is only one hero remaining who's capable of erasing her Quirk. Need to get rid of him. Using Thunderclap, she hides away the Erasure Hero by running at full speed. With the speed she's going, there's no way the Erasure Hero can keep his sight on her, which leaves Crust and Endeavor to go after her.
It was somehow a relief for the heroes to know that Umeko still has her Thunderclap and Frost.
Suddenly a hexagon-shaped shield was tossed in her direction, blocking her vision of Endeavor fast approaching with his Flashfire Fist. Umeko touches the shield and it instantly disintegrates but Endeavor was faster and landed a hit on her stomach, sending her crashing into a tanker above.
Crust sees the shield Umeko turned into dust. "Endeavor, don't let her touch you! She's got Shigaraki's Quirk!" He tells Endeavor who looks down at his exposed fingers, seeing a small crack on his middle and ring fingers. He had felt Umeko touch his fingers when he had punched but he didn't feel the pain. That's a good thing, at least. The bad thing is that Umeko now has Shigaraki's Quirk, which means that Garaki had started planting new Quirks on her while she was being held here.
Suddenly, multiple spiked chains appear from where Umeko is, slicing through Endeavor's sides. The chains slither in mid-air like snakes. She's targeting Eraser! Endeavour thought. He melts the ice weapons with his flames as Umeko gets up. The Flame Hero sends a blast of scorching flames towards her.
"Absorb," Umeko holds out her hands, revealing small holes in the palm of her hands and begins to absorb the flames. Decay. And now, absorption, Endeavor thought. Some of the flames she failed to absorb leaves burns on her body but it heals instantly. Regeneration, as well. "Release." And then came a much more powerful blast of flames to Endeavor. Crust makes a move and shields the Flame Hero from the flames.
"That flame's a lot stronger than yours, Endeavor!" Crust exclaims. He's heard that a Nomu from Hosu a few months back has the same Quirk but this one seems to be more powerful. "Get back, quickly! Eraserhead's coming!"
Hearing this, Umeko jumps down, turning her head in a direction where she feels the Erasure Hero coming. Before her Quirk could be erased by him, she was going to need to take him down. Erasure has always been such a troublesome Quirk. She could feel him running towards where Crust. Using Thunderclap, Umeko jumps on Eraserhead, intending to grab him.
"Eraser!"
Eraserhead looks at Umeko, red eyes glinting and hair floating, a sign that he's now using his Quirk on her. But that doesn't stop Umeko from coming on to the black-haired hero. Eraserhead attempts to catch her with his capture weapon but, as if her body recalls the training she had with Shinso, Umeko easily evades his capture weapon by grabbing it and pulling it hard. Did Garaki also somehow enhance her physical strength as well? That's a possibility. And Aizawa isn't really known to be physically strong. Especially against someone who's been altered.
When Umeko aims for a punch, Crust puts a shield between them but still allows Aizawa to keep his eyes on Umeko. The shield shatters into pieces upon contact, surprising Crust. No one has been able to break his shield with just physical strength alone!
"Keep holding her, Crust, Eraser!" Endeavor yelled, blasting his way to the pink-haired student. Using Jet Burn, he attacks Umeko which burns through the girl's body. She staggers back, leaving a large burn on her side. She holds it and it instantly regenerated.
"She also got Shigaraki's Decay. We don't know if she has more," Endeavor says to Eraserhead.
Eraserhead grits his teeth in annoyance, "I'm using my Erasure on her. She won't be using any of her Quirks in the meantime," he says. He had held on to that little bit of hope that they weren't too late of rescuing Umeko. The moment he hears Yukio's voice telling them that he found and freed Umeko, that was one knife out of his chest and Aizawa is able to breathe again for a little bit. But after getting a look at Umeko now...
"It's too late for her!"
No. It's not yet. They can break her out of whatever it is that the League had done to her.
His student will never go down without a fight.
"Kusanagi!" He calls out. Umeko looks at him. "You still in there, right? It's Aizawa!"
But Umeko doesn't respond. She just stares at them with empty eyes.
"We need to deal with her, Eraser. That can wait."
Umeko glances at Crust.
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MEANWHILE, MIC AND YUKIO managed to break through all those pipes and found a passage leading straight to where Garaki and Shigaraki are.
"Awaken, Shigaraki Tomura!" Garaki was about to press on something but Mic intercepts him, knocking him down to the ground just as Yukio makes a spear and hurls it into the capsule. With the damage it withstands from Mirko's relentless attack, the pod breaks into large shards of glass and water gushes out, destroying all nearby machines in the room.
Motionless, Shigaraki falls to the floor with a thud.
"Let's see if you're the real one!" Mic exclaimed, delivering a strong punch at Garaki. "That one's for making me pal cry!"
Yukio cautiously approaches the unconscious villain. He touches Shigaraki's chest and felt for a heartbeat but found nothing. "His heart... His heart's stopped."
"He's in a deathlike state to better withstand the burden of the process. The capsule was for facilitating the procedure while preserving and reviving him," Garaki begins to explain with teary eyes as spoke. "Ah... I've only been living for the boy's sake... For Shigaraki!"
"Is that what you did to my cousin?!" Yukio yelled.
"No... Umeko's special," Garaki answers. He takes a long deep breath and... "UMEKO! TAKE SHIGARAKI TOMURA!"
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OUTSIDE, ERASERHEAD AND ENDEAVOR watch in shock as Umeko holds the lifeless body of Crust by the neck. It all happened too fast. One second Umeko glanced at Crust and then the next she already has him in her hands, a glowing green smoke coming out of his mouth and surrounding Umeko's body as the hero's body begin to wither down. Life itself was being sucked from his body and, in return, regenerating the severed limb Crust had sliced off with his shield in a futile attempt of shaking off the girl.
As her pinky finger made contact with his neck, Crust's body turns into dust, leaving nothing but his green cape that she now adorn.
At that moment, heroes begin to flood the laboratory. Umeko, seemingly regaining back her energy, sends a powerful air blast towards Eraser, causing him to be sent back a few feet away and making him close his eyes in the process. Right then, Umeko summons an army of Igris and Bell to deal with newly arrived heroes.
"UMEKO! TAKE SHIGARAKI TOMURA!"
Umeko hears Garaki's voice. She heads straight to where Tomura is and her eyes widened to see him on the floor with another hero kneeling next to him. She runs up to him, hands out.
"Don't let her touch you, Gold!" Endeavour yells from outside, blasting through the armies of ice dolls that don't seem to melt or even be broken. They keep coming and coming and the next one is even sturdier and faster than the first.
"Aren't these Kusanagi Umeko's Quirk?!" One hero exclaimed, barely dodging Bell's sharp claws.
There was no need for any answer.
But Umeko wasn't planning on using Decay on him. Instead, she shoots out sharp ice chains from her fingertips, stabbing straight through Yukio's body. He coughs up blood while Umeko turns to Present Mic, who now has Garaki in his hands as well. Umeko prepares to send another set of chains to stab Mic but an arrow made of hardened gold pierces through her arm.
"Hurry, Mic-senpai! Take Garaki out of here! I'll deal with her!" Yukio yells.
No, he can't. They both know Yukio can't deal with Umeko alone. Not when there's a slight chance that Shigaraki will wake up. Not when they still don't know all of Umeko's new Quirks. Not when he's up against his own cousin!
"D-Don't... Get...in the... way... Heroes!" Umeko rips pulls her arm out of Yukio's arrows and toss the Gold Hero out of the room and straight to Igris' waiting sword.
"Yukio!" Mic yelled, already running out of the room and letting out a scream to break Igris before it stab Yukio. He got lucky that Umeko doesn't seem interested in anyone other than Shigaraki right now.
Umeko kneels down next to Tomura's body.
Just then, the electricity from the tubes made contact with the water from his capsule, jolting Tomura awake.
Umeko watches as Tomura slowly gets up, shivering, "I'm cold," he says, taking the green cape Umeko has with her. He then turns to the girl, smiling as he leans closer and whispers, "Ume, let's play a game, shall we?"
Tomura touches the floor with all five of his fingers...
"Like the good old times."
... and cracks rapidly form around them, disintegrating everything and everyone that comes too close.
Noticing that the laboratory is falling apart, the heroes begin to make a hasty retreat, each one latching on to pro heroes who are much faster on their feet. Eraserhead was taken by Ryukyu, who already has too many heroes in her arms and on her back as well, while Endeavor takes Yukio and another pro hero as he blasts his way out of the underground laboratory and to the surface.
Garaki smiles gleefully as he watches the destruction, watches as the heroes frantically try to escape, watched the despair on their faces and they watch their comrades and friends dissolve into nothing but dust among the rubbles.
"All you heroes have built, he will now undo! Victory is ours!"
-----
IN JAKU CITY, THE EVACUATION CONTINUES to go smoothly with Burnin reporting to everyone. The UA students each do their parts, with Bakugou yelling at an old woman when she tries to give him a chocolate bun then later yelling at Uraraka and accusing her of wanting one for herself, Koda uses his Quirk to escort the animal, and Nejire reporting from above.
"If anyone's unable to move, please don't hesitate—!" Midoriya freezes when he hears a voice. He looks behind him but finds no one close enough who would speak so close to his ears.
'He's coming,' a familiar voice spoke. The voice was coming from his head, a gentle and soft voice that whispers in his ears. Midoriya listens to the voice, recognizing it as the voice of the first user. 'Stop him.' The first user hasn't spoken to him since before the Joint Battle Training.
'The blowback will soon begin. Don't have long to speak.'
'Freed from the shackles of humanity, his power swells.'
'A transcendent is coming.'
Midoriya looks over to the hospital where sitting on top of a hill. Endeavour and the other heroes are all there, attempting to arrest Garaki and Shigaraki, and rescue Umeko. Umeko has already been rescued, but... Why is he suddenly feeling that something's about to go wrong? Something catastrophic. Is it because the first user warned him? Is it because...?
Right then and there, birds perched on the trees near the hospital suddenly started flying off, chirping loudly. The ominous sign sent shivers down Midoriya's spine. "The hospital..." Eyes wide in terror, Midoriya spoke, catching the attention of Bakugou, Todoroki, Uraraka, and Tsuyu.
And then, it happened...
The hospital falls apart from a powerful shockwave attack of sorts. The cracks had completely torn down the hospital but it doesn't stop from there. It reaches Jaku City, taking down cars, roads, buildings, and even heroes with it. Some attempted to flee but died. Some attempted to stop the shockwave but it only breaks apart.
As the spread rapidly approaches, Midoriya charges at the destruction wave, unleashing One for All at 45% with his Ultimate Move, St. Louis Smash Air Force, kicking a large amount of air towards it, unfortunately being ineffective.
"Get these people moving!" Bakugou yelled.
"That didn't stop it! It's not just some kinda shockwave!" Uraraka exclaimed, already on the move of grabbing civilians with Tsuyu.
"Everything's just crumbling into dust," says Tsuyu.
Midoriya hears this and remembers how Shigaraki's Quirk works. The villain had told him this back when he took him hostage, with four of his fingers holding the back of his neck.
'The second all five of my fingers touch your neck, your throat will start crumbling, from the skin inward... You'd turn into dust in a minute.'
"It's... Shigaraki," says Midoriya. But how can he do something like this?
Todoroki attempts to hold it off with Heaven Piercing Wall, but even that starts to break. Seeing this, Burnin orders the students and the civilians to run. Bakugou grabbed a kid with his teeth and the chocolate bun old lady with his legs as he blasts away, Uraraka uses her Quirk to carry as many civilians as she can, making them hold on to the wires of her costume. Midoriya uses his Blackwhip to drag a bus, multiple people, and even a van.
"Run!"
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BACK AT WHAT WAS LEFT OF JAKU Hospital, Tomura and Umeko stand at the centre of the destruction on a platform above the ruins. He shivers before turning to the large machine behind them. He opens it up, smiling to himself when all the Quirk-destroying bullets Garaki spent trying to mass reproduce are still intact. "Overhaul will be proud," he says, looking over to Umeko. "Ume, you're good with shooting, right?"
Umeko nods.
"Nice," Tomura's smile widen. "We'll put this to good use, Doctor—!"
Tomura's head began to throb as he vaguely hears a voice inside his head. '... stroy...' was what it said. Tomura smiles. No need to say that twice.
He walks over to Garaki's phone and picks it up. "Sweet. Guess I can choose when to make stuff decay now," he says, noticing that despite touching Garaki's phone with all his five fingers, it remains intact. "Seems like things aren't as looking good for us, Ume... But the place was supposed to start right after I woke up, right?" He presses something on the phone. "Come to me, Machia. And bring the others. This is when we destroy everything."
'Get One for... All...'
They both look up to see Endeavor heading towards them from above and unleashing Hell's Curtain upon the area, trapping the Shigaraki and Umeko in a scorching inferno. "That's a whole blanket of Flashfire! I won't let you two run away!" He had completely thrown off the idea of rescuing the girl. She had killed two pro heroes and almost killed her own cousin for the sake of Shigaraki. Right now, she's much of a threat as Shigaraki and the other villains. The only way for him and the other heroes to rescue her is by defeating her.
I can't let them take another step forward! They gotta be neutralized! Fast!
Endeavour attempts to attack them again with Jet Burn, but Umeko and Shigaraki jumped to the flames, their hands outstretched to touch him. What?! Aware of the two's Decay Quirk, Endeavor bends backwards to dodge their hands. No ordinary person could function without protection in this heat! He catches sight of Umeko's and Shigaraki's burns regenerating the very second they get burned.
When the pair prepares to attack him again, Endeavor blast both of them onto the ground, stepping on both of them as he contacts the other heroes.
"Attention, all! Endeavour, here! I've engaged Shigaraki and Kusanagi at the hospital ruins! Anyone who can move without touching the ground needs to form a perimeter!"
Tomura tries to touch him but Endeavor catches his arm only to be blasted away by a powerful air blast. As Umeko gets up, a small hole appeared in the palm of her hands and she began to absorb the flames around them. Absorb. She blasts a powerful fire attack towards the Flame Hero, its power comparable to Jet Burn. Release. Thermal.
She can even make it hotter than when I released it! Endeavour thought as he blocks the flames.
"The Quirks that Master had stocked up... It feels like I've been reborn with them all. This power..." Tomura mutters to himself as he opens up a box where he's kept his hand mask. He also takes some of the Quirk-destroying bullets and puts them inside his pocket, saving some for Umeko as well. "So then... Why don't I feel satisfied?"
He recalls Garaki mentioning a Quirk that All for One sought to possess. It's the one power that didn't behave as he saw fit. One for... Something inside me is urging me on. Telling me to go after it. "I have to take it..." he begins to say.
Umeko clashes with the No.1 hero.
When Endeavor attempts to attack Shigaraki, she steps infront of him and a motion of her hand, Endeavor falls down flat on the ground, suddenly feeling a heavy weight on his body. What is this?! It feels like something heavy is crushing him from above, making it difficult for him to breathe. Gravity manipulation! While Endeavor struggles, Umeko turns her head to the side, sensing several heroes fast approaching where she and Endeavor is.
One of them is the Erasure Hero.
But there is no need to worry about that hero, for now. With her Quirks, she can easily deal with him before he could use Erasure on her. For now...
Tomura wants One for All.
"Where's One for All?" She asks Endeavor who's still trying to break free from the increased gravity she'd put on him. "Have to... Take... One for All..."
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"I'VE ENGAGED SHIGARAKI AND KUSANAGI at the hospital ruins! Anyone who can move without touching the ground needs to form a perimeter!"
You could hear the world collapsing in on them the moment Endeavor uttered that familiar name. The last time her name was mentioned, they said she was found and secured! They have been happy and relieved and suddenly everything was a little bit better from that point on. So, why? Why's she up and fighting against Endeavor? Against the heroes?
What the hell happened in the hospital?!
"Ume-chan's fighting...?" Uraraka muttered in horror when she heard Endeavor's voice.
"... Against Endeavor?" Tsuyu furrowed her brows.
Todoroki's lips quivered. His old man's communication device is still on. He could vaguely hear a girl's voice in the background. A familiar voice. Umeko. There's no doubt about it. But why is she fighting against Endeavor, though? Has she — His eyes widened in realization. Did the villains...? Did the villains successfully turn her into...? He blocked out the words from slipping in on his mind.
"Ume..." His voice shakes as he speaks her name.
'If Young Kusanagi falls to their hands, who knows what will happen...'
Bakugou grits his teeth, remembering All Might's words to them. The worst-case scenario they could think of is now a reality.
Umeko has been turned into a Nomu.
They were too late. They took their sweet fucking time doing whatever the fuck they needed to do and NOW! Umeko's been turned into a puppet for those scummy villains!
Clenching his fist, Bakugou turns to Midoriya.
"Say what? One for... What?! Whatever! Help's coming your way!" Midoriya hears Burnin' say and he could not be more horrified. He had heard two horrifying things in the past seconds since Endeavor radios to them; Umeko had been turned into a Nomu and Shigaraki is after him.
Clicking her tongue, Burnin' turns to the interns and tells them to follow the heroes and continue the evacuation. Midoriya watches as the Burnin and several other pro heroes rush to the hospital ruins. He stands there, motionless, as he watches the heroes continue their evacuation as fast as possible. One hero was mourning the death of another pro hero but she was quickly pulled to the side and was told to mourn later and to focus on getting the civilians out before things could get worst.
And it could.
Shigaraki is after him. Umeko is there, turned into a Nomu, and is probably following orders from Shigaraki. If he wants, he could use Umeko to come to him instead. With the possibility of possessing multiple Quirks, Umeko is a threat to these people. But if Shigaraki comes to him, also with multiple Quirks in his arsenal, he'll be much of a threat as Umeko is.
This was no longer just a raid. This was an all-out war.
Midoriya understands that.
Steeling himself, he begins to make his way to the hospital ruins. But notices Bakugou already right beside him.
"If you told them, there's no denyin' that they have to devote a lot of people to protect you," Bakugou begins to say. "Because heroes are supposed to protect everyone."
"Kacchan!"
"You already made up your mind, right?!"
"Yeah, I gotta prioritize that people's safety!"
With that, Midoriya and Bakugou head off. When Todoroki calls out to them, Midoriya makes a lame excuse that he forgot something.
"I'm gonna make them pay," Bakugou says, gritting his teeth in anger. "I'm gonna make them for what they did to her."
Midoriya, of course, hears this. He nods to his friend. That feeling was mutual.
Todoroki watched as Midoriya and Bakugou rush off to who-knows-where. Behind him, the evacuation was still ongoing and Iida was losing his mind over the house arrest boy going to wherever they want.
"Forgot something?! Seriously, what is it that they forgot to do?!" Iida exclaimed.
"Iida-chan, calm down. I'm sure they'll be fine," Asui says.
No, they won't. Todoroki knows where exactly they're heading.
"Iida, sorry but I'm gonna follow them," Todoroki says. Before Iida could respond, he leaves, trailing after Midoriya and Bakugou.
-----
BACK AT THE HOSPITAL RUINS, Shigaraki had found Midoriya's location using Search and begins to head to where Midoriya is.
Seeing this, Endeavor, mustering all his strength, breaks free from Umeko's hold, blasting her away with Jet Burn as he chases after Shigaraki. Blood drips from his mouth as he felt like he's broken a rib or two. Midoriya has contacted him, telling him that Shigaraki might be after him for some reason and asking him to let him know if Shigaraki had changed courses.
And that's exactly what Shigaraki did. He changed course and is now heading to the southwest of the city.
"Thought so! Thank you! I can buy the evacuation team sometime! I'll try to lure him away!"
That was the last thing Midoriya said before he went off the communication line. Endeavour also warns the other pro heroes of Shigaraki's current location and of his hyper-regeneration as well. Not sure how, but Midoriya really is luring him away! Is he targeting the kid? Dammit...! Midoriya is in danger!
Shigaraki frowns. That communication line of theirs was getting on his nerves. "Hm... Oh, here we go. A nice Air Blast like before plus Radio Waves," he says as he prepares for an attack.
"Sorry, No.1, but you gotta play with Ume for a little bit."
Just then, a loud explosion emits from where Umeko was sent crashing and, in a blink of an eye, the girl is already infront of Endeavor. With Thunderclap on her left arm, Umeko lands a powerful punch to the No.1 hero's face, sending him crashing across the wasteland.
"He's all yours, Ume," Shigaraki says as he uses Air Blast plus Radio Waves to propel himself to where Midoriya is and also break the heroes' line of communication in the process.
Underground, multiple testing capsule begins to light.
Umeko levitates on her back as if she was swimming in the air. She looks at the bright, blue sky. It's too bright. The sun is too high up. The sky is too blue. The clouds are too round and white and fluffy like cotton.
"Water... Beats fire..."
She gets into position as Endeavor gets up, blood dripping from his mouth. Air. Thermal. Electricity. Water. Umeko holds up her palms and dark clouds then begin to form right above the hospital ruins. Eyes glowing red and blue, the skies begin to let out thunderclaps and lightning. The wind blows violently as if a storm is coming.
"How do you fight... In the rain... Flame Hero?" Umeko asks.
Lighting struck the ground and all the nearby trees and rain begins to pour around the area.
She smiles when Endeavor gets up, "You're the No.1 hero, after all," she says, jumping out of the way when Endeavor attempts to attack. She blocks his arms, activating her Decay but finds that she couldn't.
The Erasure Hero is here.
She turns around, searching for the Erasure Hero. His Quirk is the most troublesome of the bunch. He isn't alone. There are two heroes holding him, another fast one heading to where Tomura is, and the other...
Umeko looks up, seeing the Dragon Hero heading down towards her in her dragon form.
She smiles. "This is so fun," she says.
"Tomura."