Chapter 40: Everything You Hate
Thunder and lightning roar and rain rips through the night sky, but Izuku pays none of it any mind. He keeps his eyes trained on Gorr, almost afraid to blink. His scepter feels like it's purring in his hand, as if it knows exactly why he brought it out.
In the meanwhile, Gorr looks as if he's having the time of his life, smiling at Izuku while haphazardly swinging the Necrosword around him. His black cloak bellows in the wind, but like Izuku, he pays it no mind.
"Defiant until the end," Gorr chuckles, swinging his blade so the accumulated water would slide off. "But you are correct, your highness. I am alone. My family is long dead and I was exiled by my people; I have no one and nothing. So kind of you to remind me."
Lighting cracks above, giving Izuku a good look at the God Butcher's face, twisted in pain and grief. Izuku knows what Gorr has done. All the people he's murdered. The worlds he's left devastated in his wake. Growing up, his friends were warned that the Boogie Man could be hiding under their bed or in their closet.
Izuku was warned about Gorr. To him and everyone like him, Gorr is that Boogie Man. An unstoppable supernatural monster.
But right then, looking at him, Gorr didn't look like that monster he had always heard about growing up. And maybe…just maybe…
"I'm sorry."
Gorr whips his head up, growling at Izuku but saying nothing, which allows Izuku to apologize again. "I'm sorry. It wasn't right for the gods you looked up to abandon you. Even after everything you've done, what happened to you wasn't right, and you deserve an apology from someone."
The God Butcher studies him for a moment. "I deserve much more than an apology." Black goo begins to drop from Gorr's cloak and it shapes itself into several people of the Butcher's species.
"My family, my daughter," Gorr puts his hand on the head of the construct of his daughter, making Izuku stare at the girl, "they deserve more than that. An apology won't bring them back. Gaze upon what your kind has taken from me. I can't give them my love anymore, so instead, I will give them blood."
"By massacring every god you can find?!" Izuku screams, his scepter glowing more harshly with his indignation. "No, an apology won't bring your family back, but neither will killing every god in the universe! Don't you see what you're doing?!"
Izuku wipes water from the torrential rainfall from his eyes. "You're so mad because the gods let your family die, but now you're killing gods and ripping countless families apart!! You're adding to the problem!" Gorr growls, letting the constructs of his family melt. "With your power, you could do so much more! You could be helping people so other families, other fathers, would never have to go through what you did! Instead of working against us, you could help us-"
"Help?!" Gorr screeches in disbelief, cutting Izuku off. "Help you?! Where were you?! Where were you when my children were starving?! When my wife was screaming for your help?! When my mother was being butchered like an animal! WHERE WERE YOU WHEN WE NEEDED OUR GODS?!"
Gorr exhales, fog escaping his mouth. "We are beyond words. So fight all you like. You will start like all the others, so full of confidence and rage. So convinced of your own blessed immortality. But make no mistake, I will show you what you really are. I always show gods what they really are. What their mothers are. Their lovers. Their infants. You're meat, just like the rest of us, little god. Meat and bone and blood and innards. I will show you your true face, Lokison, by peeling away this mask of flesh you wear!"
Shadowy tendrils erupt from Gorr's cloak, firing straight at Izuku. The demigod raises his free hand and, taking advantage of the rain, freezes the tendrils mid-air, stopping them. The ice travels quickly towards Gorr, who easily slices the tendrils away.
Before the Butcher could launch his next attack, the real Izuku appears at his side, blasting Gorr. The alien stumbles and Izuku tries again, only for Gorr to cover himself in the symbiote, tanking the attack.
After All-Black clears, Gorr lunges with his sword, which Izuku blocks, his scepter scratching against the Necrosword, creating a horrible sound. Izuku grits his teeth, already feeling the power from his weapon threatening to overwhelm him.
'Just like that woman said, don't fight it. Focus on what you want and drive the power that way.'
All of his friends flash through his mind and Izuku finds his resolve. 'I will protect them!' The scepter shines in response to him, blinding Gorr, and allowing Izuku to shove the Butcher back and stab him in the side.
Gorr howls in pain and stabs at Izuku, but the Necrosword goes through a decoy. Gorr yells again as the real Izuku stabs him in the back. "Like father, like son, huh?!" The Butcher responds by swinging the Necrosword behind him. But it appears he still hasn't learned his lesson as Gorr destroys another decoy.
Over and over, Izuku disappears and reappears around Gorr, stabbing and cutting the butcher while the alien tries desperately to hit him, making sure to mix in energy blasts with his scepter for good measure.
Gorr tries to cover himself in his symbiotic armor, but Izuku's scepter is able to pierce it, enraging the Butcher more. Starting to catch on to Izuku's pattern on where he appears, the greenette yelps when Gorr correctly predicts where he'd be, barely blocking the strike from Necrosword in time.
"I'm on to your little game!" Gorr taunts.
"You sure are!" Izuku pushes back on the blade as it nears his face. "I was really on a roll there…maybe you should try it!" In a bright flash, Gorr yells when Izuku the Alligator clamps down on the Butcher's hand, spinning and taking the man with him, flipping Gorr onto the ground.
"You make a mockery of me?!" The God Butcher rips the alligator off his hand and holds the reptile up, attempting to drive his sword into his gut. But Izuku turns into a cricket, dodging the attack and escaping Gorr's hold.
"Let's change the game!" Izuku manifests all twelve of his clones at the same time and together, they attack Gorr, surrounding him. The Butcher kills every Izuku he can find, but every time he stabs a clone, it simply reforms itself, allowing Izuku to wear the Butcher down with more stabs and energy blasts.
To help keep his opponents thrown off, the clones decided to help.
"Nanananana! You can't hit us!"
"The real Izuku is over here!"
"Izuku isn't letting me stab Bakugo so you'll have to do!"
"Logically, this won't work forever!"
"I agree, analyzing it, we can't win unless we separate him from All-Black!"
"Eleven! Stop taking every stab you can!"
"Never!"
"I wish he'd kill me more…"
"Nine! What did I say?!"
"He's getting really mad!"
"Doesn't matter! We can't let him get anywhere near Uraraka!"
"How do you think All Might would fare against this guy?"
"Just keep stabbing! Just keep stabbing!"
"What do we do, we stab!"
"ENOUGH!" Gorr slams the Necrosword on the ground, creating a huge blast that destroys all the clones. Izuku creates a small ice wall to absorb the blast and prevent himself from being thrown back, but Gorr is on top of him immediately.
Back and forth, Necrosword and scepter collide as demigod and God Butcher fight. Izuku and Gorr weave and dodge each other's attacks. Izuku uses the enhanced speed the scepter gives him along with all the agility he already possesses to stay ahead of Gorr's more head-on approach.
Izuku spins, twirling his scepter behind him. The flashy move catches Gorr off-guard, leaving his middle open. He moves to blast the Butcher, but Gorr hits the scepter away, causing Izuku's energy pulse to be off-target while at the same time, nailing the green-headed boy with a solid punch to the face.
The son of Loki is sent flying and hits the ground rolling. Izuku immediately pops back up on one knee, spinning the scepter in front of him to create an energy shield that destroys the tendrils Gorr had sent after him.
Gorr hums, taking a step backward as Izuku rises. "It would be my fortune that you would put up such a fight. You and your father, gods who delight in everything I despise. Do you have any more lies to tell me, Butcher of Truths?"
Izuku chuckles, wiping blood off his mouth. "In my defense, I'm a really bad liar. My dad hates it. So how about I tell you the truth? Your genocide ends tonight."
"My boy, I like to think of it more as an extinction. But how about some truth from me? You have such wonderful ideas…and you are not the only one who can disappear." A flash of lightning lights up the sky and Izuku realizes what's happening when it goes dark. Gorr can use the shadows to teleport.
He creates a pillar of ice to shoot himself in the air, barely getting out of the way of Gorr's backstab in time. The Butcher sends more tendrils after him, but Izuku destroys them with his scepter before landing on the ground and launching a large wave of spiked ice at Gorr, who disappears in the shadow once more.
A new game starts. One where Izuku and Gorr vanish and reappear across the roof. The two combatants attack each other before disappearing and teleporting to another part of the roof to repeat the process. Like before, over and over, they vanish and reappear. Both becoming invisible so quickly that to most, only the sparks created by their weapon clashes would be seen.
Finally, Izuku combines a strike with an explosion of energy, knocking Gorr off-balance. He stabs down and the Butcher blocks it with his sword, falling to one knee, and baring his teeth at the demigod. As the greenette drives his scepter down, the weapon screaming at him to do whatever it took to end the God Butcher, black goo begins to leak from Gorr's face and Izuku recognizes what's happening too late.
Well, almost.
Izuku is fast enough that the Necrosword coming at him from behind misses his heart, but not fast enough that the sword misses his shoulder. Izuku screams as he's lifted up and thrown away, hitting the ground hard.
His shoulder burns in pain from where the sword had impaled him, watching as the fake Gorr melts into a black puddle while the real Gorr snickers at him. "Such wonderful ideas. I never thought to make the constructs move before I saw your clones."
Izuku attempts to stand but Gorr slashes at him, the tip of the blade leaving a shallow diagonal cut across his body. The green-haired boy chokes on his pain, falling back down, his cheek bleeding.
"What's wrong? No more jokes?" Izuku raises his scepter and Gorr sighs, hitting him with an energy blast, knocking the boy on his back. "Perhaps you desire another little talk?"
Despite his body being racked with pain, Izuku groans, sitting up slightly. It feels as if the points where the Necrosword stabbed him are surging. As if a poison is trying to force its way into his body, but the combination of his scepter and his own regeneration keep it at bay, leaving the pain to burn.
"You know," Izuku coughs. "It's not that I don't love our little talks, it's just that…I don't love them."
"You always have something to say, don't you?" Gorr stands over him now, the hood of his cloak covering half of his face. "You talk of having power and using it to help but yet," he nods at Izuku's scepter, "you don't even know how to use yours."
Izuku meets Gorr's stare, refusing to look away. "I'm not afraid of you."
Gorr puts his foot on Izuku's chest, forcing him flat on his back while he begins to chuckle. "Then you will die braver than most. Now listen well, little lord…"
"…Is that a flaming motorcycle?"
And so the fever dream continues. Tenko watches as, and he can't believe he's saying this, a man with a flaming skull rides a motorcycle that looks like it's been lit on fire very quickly toward their group.
Clearly, he's died. Iida's brother is this skeleton. Apparently, Midoriya is an alien god fighting another alien, and he didn't win a single game of multiplayer last night. So yes, all equally unbelievable things that happened in the past twenty-four hours.
The Ghost Rider flies past them and swings his bike to a stop in front of their group, before unleashing a torrent of flame and chains that obliterate the berserkers near them and scorching the nearby buildings.
"Hmm…still need more practice with this body." The Rider growls, getting up from his bike.
"Woah!" Mirio pokes his head out from the ground. "What kind of quirk is that?!" Gunhead and Native share a look.
Tenko starts to feel his skin crawl as the Rider looks at each of them, ignoring Mirio's question. And he uses the term 'look' loosely as, well, the thing has no eyes!
As if it can hear his thoughts- wait, it can't actually do that, right?…right?! He's sorry if he can hear this! Anyway, as if the Rider can hear his thoughts, and he very much hopes he can't, the being looks straight at Tenko, smoke beginning to leak from his mouth.
As if that isn't terrifying.
"Your sins…are fascinating." Tenko squeaks in fear as the Rider speaks to him, his gaze almost feeling like it's boring into his soul. "They are unforgivable, but you repent every day since. You may have a chance at escaping damnation."
Kind of terrified beyond belief because Tenko knows exactly what he's talking about, the boy just nods in agreement, preferring to stay on the other side of those literal waves of fire the Rider was producing earlier.
"T-Tensei?" Ghost Rider turns from Tenko to look down at an Iida on his knees, tears running down his face as he looks up. But unlike Tenko, while his expression did hold fear, there was also hope. "Is that really you?"
"Yes." Iida looks ready to collapse again at the singular word. "I am one and the same with the Rider." The brief reprieve he brought them from the shadow monsters ends as Todoroki copies the Ghost Rider and meets the new monsters with his own fire.
"You two wish to save the demigod?" The Rider asks Uraraka and Kaminari who straighten at being addressed.
"Y-yes!" Kaminari begins to salute but thinks better of it, stopping himself. "Uh, yes- um, sir?"
"I will clear a path for you and keep these creatures off you. Be ready." Ghost Rider looks back down at Iida. "The Ebony Blade will not stop in its attempts to corrupt you, should you choose to wield it. Only those of great will can resist for a time. Do you understand?"
The sounds of fighting get closer to them, so Iida clenches his fist and looks up at what has become of his brother. His face is set on what he has to do.
"Now listen well, little lord…"
Kaminari spins Thunderstrike and launches himself at Gorr before either of them even have a chance to land on the building, with the Butcher looking up just in time to see Kaminari pummel him in the face with his weapon, tackling the man away and leaving Deku alone.
"…"
"…I'm listening."
Ochako can't stop her wet laugh as she slides on her knees beside her friend, dropping Gunhead's bag as she helps him sit up. If he's still making jokes, that has to be a good sign, right? Well, at minimum, it means he's alive and that's good enough for her right now.
"Deku…" she looks him over, and it doesn't look good. He's been stabbed in the shoulder, his face is bruised and he has several cuts over his body. But again, he's alive.
"Technically Mischief right now." Deku wheezes into his hand. "We're in the field so code names, you know?"
Ochako shakes her head but still giggles a little, which puts a smile on Deku's face. She takes off her helmet to examine him closer, and after being sure she didn't miss anything major to tell the doctor later, just in case the dummy tries to hide his injuries again, Ochako nods, satisfied.
Lightning and thunder crack behind her and Ochako turns to see Kaminari and Gorr fighting on another rooftop. Her classmate spins his weapon as Thunderstrike and the Necrosword bounce off each other a few times, before Kaminari smashes his weapon onto the ground, sending out a shockwave beneath him.
Gorr is quick to form wings and fly above, dodging the attack, and looks comfortable up in the air, but Kaminari proves how different of a fighter he is from his cousin when the blond flies into the air, straight at Gorr.
The Butcher raises his sword to defend himself but just then, more lightning appears in the sky and a large bolt strikes Gorr from behind, causing him to scream. A scream that's swiftly cut off when Kaminari collides with him mid-air, bringing the other alien back down to the ground harshly.
Seeing as her classmate seems to have things handled, Ochako turns back around. "C'mon, Mischief, I'm gonna get you out of here."
Deku's lips twitch upward in a smile for a moment, before he infuriatingly shakes his head. "I can't, I have to help." He tightens his hold on his scepter, and fear grips Ochako's heart.
"No!" Ochako yells, stopping him from getting up. "I can't let you go! You're-"
"I'm afraid, I must agree."
It's as if the rain coming down on her turns to pure ice when Ochako hears the voice. Behind them, Gorr stands over the pair, his black cloak covering his entire body but his face. On the other side of the alien, Kaminari, with blood spattered across his yellow hair, is kept back by berserkers who won't let him near as he desperately fights them off.
"Ironic, wouldn't you say child?" Gorr asks, walking up to them. "The gods were meant to protect you and yet, here you are, protecting him. It doesn't seem right to me."
"Uraraka…" Deku rasps, his voice filled with pain as he struggles just to get to one knee. "Run…"
Running doesn't even cross her mind.
Instead, what does run through her mind are memories from her night having dinner at Deku's house. From when she was alone with Loki.
"While we have a moment, may I ask you something?"
"Yes?"
Loki begins to wash their bowls, denying Ochako's offer to help. "You understand my son is a demigod, yes? Because of this, Izuku will be the target of many threats. Much of which will not be of your realm."
Ochako peers up at Gorr, for the first time realizing just how tall the Butcher is. "You need not protect him; he would not do the same for you. Put your faith in yourself, mortal, and step aside."
"If you wish to continue being his friend…or something more, as I suspect," Ochako feels her face start to burn but she doesn't look away, "you must know you will be the target of these threats as well. Some of which may come from sources you'd never see coming. Are you prepared for that?"
"No." Ochako stands, defying the God Butcher. "I won't leave him. Now, or ever." She doesn't notice the bag Gunhead left her beginning to stir.
For the first time, Ochako looks the God of Mischief in his studious green eyes. She didn't even have to think about her answer. "I am," she says, letting her determination course through her. "Any villain, alien or not, they're going to have to get through me to get to him."
"You-" Gorr ceases speaking, studying her for a moment, before bursting out in laughter. "Oh! Oh, I see! It's love, isn't it? You sweet gullible girl. His father is the God of Tricks! He's deceiving you! Creatures such as him are incapable of such feelings."
Ochako doesn't move a centimeter. The fear she felt was long gone. Replaced by defiance and the resolve that no matter what happens, she wasn't going to leave Deku's side. Ochako would protect him no matter what because after all, who will save heroes when they're the ones in trouble?
No one notices as the duffel bag starts to thrash harder, almost violently.
Gorr gives her an exasperated sigh. "Very well." The Necrosword forms from the shadows of his cloak. "If you desire to be butchered together, I will grant your wish."
"And if they come after you?" Loki raises an eyebrow.
As Gorr raises his sword, something screams in Ochako's head. She feels a small electric shock travel to every part of her body. It's as if she's being told that everything would be okay now. A new instinct rises from within her, and Ochako throws her arm back just as Gunhead's bag explodes.
"I'll make them sorry."
The Ten Rings fly out of the destroyed duffel bag and travel up Ochako's arm, connecting and locking together as she feels something powerful, something mystical travel through her veins.
Gorr's eyes widen as, with a yell, Ochako throws a punch that hits the Butcher straight-on. The Ten Rings unleash a powerful blast when she does, and Gorr screams as he's hit, sent hurtling back so hard, he soars straight over the edge of the roof.
'Bang!'
Gentle Hero thanks his lucky stars for applying his quirk to the building window and jumping off when he did, avoiding Nagant's bullets just in time as he flies through the air to another one of his air membranes.
Their battle had been raging for what felt like hours, but must've only been minutes to this point. Every one of them is having to push their senses to the extreme to stay alive in this cursed free for all.
The sniper curses from where she stands on her partner in crime's platform, having to jump away before Stain could slice her head clean off from above. An unfortunate weakness of Danjuro Tobita's quirk. He can't shut off his elasticity, they go away in time.
So until then, his air membranes remain floating in the air for anyone to use. Usually not a problem as they are invisible, and most are not capable of memorizing their locations.
Most.
The Hero Killer is unlike most. Stain sends a volley of throwing knives to the retreating Nagant, but the former hero dodges. That does nothing to deter Stain who angles his body to hit one of Gentle's membranes at the perfect angle before shooting off toward Nagant.
The villain raises her gun at the same time Stain raises his swords and she fires. Lucky for him, the bullet hits one of his blades. Unluckily, Nagant used a hollow-point bullet that exploded into fragments that pierce Stain.
As the Hero Killer roars in pain, Gentle uses his distraction to his advantage to fly at the villain and land a devastating blow to his face, putting his hand on Stain's sword.
The killer, as he predicted, tries to bring his blade down on Gentle, but he's surprised when, instead of cutting him, the sword bounces off him harmlessly, Gentle having used his quirk on it. "I'm afraid you won't be stabbing anyone with that sword any time soon, old sport!"
"You won't escape my steel tonight, fake!"
"You refer to me as a fake, and yet you willfully work with a man who hurts innocents to further his goals?!" Stain's eyes narrow at Gentle, but he doesn't refute the words. "Surviving heroes of your attacks report that you claim to only target 'fake' heroes and hate unnecessary bloodshed but yet, you allow all of this to happen?! Where are your convictions now?!"
The hero grabs the Hero Killer's arm and moves to twist it behind his back, but a gunshot stops him when a bullet hits both Gentle and Stain's arm together, going through both.
The men groan in pain, separating before Nagant could repeat her action. Gentle creates a new membrane to go after the villain, while Stain throws a knife with a wire attached to a building and uses it to swing himself in the right direction.
Using his speed and multiple elastic barriers, Gentle bounces around the air, moving in random directions to confuse Nagant as he slowly gets closer to her. "I apologize for the confusing display, madam! But your reputation as an expert marksman precedes you!"
Nagant keeps moving herself, displaying trust in Hirona Shigaraki's platforms as she essentially air-walks around them. Finally, when Gentle thinks he's almost there, Nagant jumps off a platform and fires. Everything is happening so fast, not even Danjuro realizes it when the bullet hits his shoulder.
He screams, falling back, but his opponents won't let him rest. Stain is on top of him a moment later, his elongated tongue reaching for Gentle's bloody shoulder. The hero uses his hand to quickly make an air barrier between his shoulder and Stain's face, letting the villain bounce away comically.
He doesn't notice when Stain rolls to a stop on a building's roof and pauses before rejoining the battle. His eyes are stuck on the scene of a hero trying desperately to keep berserkers back from a cowering family. An innocent family in danger because of his dealings with the God Butcher.
Knowing what is likely to come, Gentle bounces high up in the air, letting another one of Nagant's bullets sail underneath him. She can hit him no matter how he moves toward her so this calls for a change in strategy.
Gentle creates several elastic barriers on his hand and presses them all up against a spare membrane next to him. "Gentle Discs!!" He fires the air membranes as projectiles at the sniper with frightening speed.
Sure, Nagant could shoot him if he approaches, but that does nothing to his discs. She attempts to dodge, but they are much faster than throwing knives and she's hit squarely by two, knocking her back.
Not one to waste an opportunity, Danjuro is at the villain's side a moment later, just centimeters away from placing his hand on her rifle in an attempt to render it useless, but Nagant retracts it back into her arm, stopping him. Gentle would like to preface what happens next by repeating that he hates violence.
That being said, he still punches her in the face.
Nagant gasps in shock and Gentle raises his hand, readying to make more membranes to pin her, but he yelps in pain when a wired throwing knife pierces his side, allowing Stain to pull himself toward both of them, sword raised.
"Perfect, I'll skewer you both at the same time!"
"Oof!" Gentle covers his face as Nagant elbows him away, pointing her rifle at the rapidly approaching Stain. Gentle taps it just a little with his leg, throwing off her aim so the bullet only grazes Stain's side, but it's enough to send him off course.
Danjuro lets go as all three combatants separate and lets himself fall back onto the roof of the building, rolling hard. "Gentle!" La Brava, ever faithful as she is, is at his side instantly, checking his wounds. "I've been trying to get backup to us, but these monsters are keeping everyone busy!"
"Do you hear that, Hero Killer?" Danjuro questions the murderer as he attempts to get back on his feet. "More innocent blood being shed because of you. I always suspected your ideals were fake to excuse your want of violence." Stain looks up at Gentle, face containing unbridled fury at the question of his convictions.
"I can do more than make platforms for you!" Hirona yells at Nagant when she lands back on the building, worry etched into her face. "Let me help, I can do more!"
"You're doing great, kid," the older villain responds through labored breaths. "It's more about pride than anything at this point. Let me handle this."
Hirona throws her hands up in frustration. "I- uuugh! Fine! But you better survive so I have someone to gush to later about being able to help The Lady Nagant in one of her fights!"
"Maybe Stain's sword wasn't the worst thing-"
"Hey!!"
Gentle Hero breathes through the pain, standing once more, ready to finish this fight. "Gentle…" La Brava sniffles. "I know I can't convince you to stop, so I'll make you promise to come back to me!"
"I wouldn't dream of doing anything else." He manages a small smile at the woman, his heart melting at the smile he received in return.
"You better not!" She lunges forward, hugging him as softly as she could. "And I'm gonna make sure of it, because Gentle…" She looks up at him, the rain and wind blowing her hair in every different direction, but her eyes remained solely on him. "I love you!"
Izuku can only stare. And in his defense, so can Uraraka, as she to stares at the Ten Rings locked into place around her forearm. "W-what just happened?! How did- when did- what?! Deku! Do you know- oh my god, Deku!"
Forgetting about what just happened for a second, Uraraka leans down to make sure he's still okay. Izuku decides to let her off the hook for not using his hero name again.
"Yeah! Don't worry! I'm fine by the way!" Denki lands next to them, stumbling a bit and letting the electricity around him fade away. "Thanks for asking."
"Sorry…" Uraraka nods. Kaminari quickly tells her it's okay and she nods again, studying the rings on her arm for a second.
"I tire of these games!" Gorr yells, landing back on the roof and charging at the surprised teens, sword ready. Izuku tries to stand, but his injuries are still a bit too much, and he squeals a bit in pain. Uraraka and Denki stand in front of him, but-
"Recipro Burst!!"
Something blurs past them before they can move. Something so fast even Gorr didn't look ready for a moment, raising his blade as the Necrosword blocks an attack from a blade almost as dark as it.
There's a blast of dark energy, and Gorr uses his tendrils to keep his place on the roof this time as his assailant backs up to be next to his companions.
Izuku's eyes widen as Gorr rolls his. "Tonight is just full of surprises, isn't it?"
"Maybe so…" Tenya Iida raises the Ebony Blade in his hand, pointing it directly at Gorr. His armor is now as fully black as the night around them. The engines that protruded out of the back of his armor were gone and his costume looks less bulky, with even the armor around his knees and calf engines slimming.
Red outlines most of his black armor plating, and even the bracers on his arms had completely indulged in the color, being colored red with a black outline. "Here's one less surprise for you tonight, villain! Ingenium will help bring you down!"
"You swear to bring me down and yet, we are one in the same, wielder of the Ebony Blade?" Iida stiffens at Gorr's words but stays ready, even as the Butcher shows no signs of attacking. "After all, both our weapons were made by the same god."
Iida pales and looks down at his sword as Gorr snickers. "It's true! All-Black, my symbiote, was created from the shadow of the god, Knull. The same god who would carve your blade out of a meteorite. Such a weapon doesn't belong on the side of the gods."
Tightening his shaking grip on the blade, Iida looks up, glare aimed solely at Gorr. "This weapon, no matter what it may try, will always be on the side of my friends!" Iida's engines roar and he speeds at Gorr, who looks happy to meet him.
Instead, he's met with Denki's Thunderstrike, which knocks him to the side, allowing Iida to slash at the alien. Gorr moves to counterattack Iida, whose engines had left him mid-air, but again, he's intercepted several rings launched from Uraraka, allowing Iida to back up.
Denki runs forward, recalling Thunderstrike, and making sure the weapon hits Gorr on the way back for good measure. He slides on his knees, bashing Gorr in the leg, but the Butcher is still able to recover and slash down at Izuku's cousin with the Necrosword. An attack the blond thankfully blocks.
"Your kin was only able to keep up with me due to the power of his scepter." Gorr hums. "You hold no such power, what do you expect to do?"
Choosing not to answer, Denki asks, "my friends call me Pikachu, wanna know why?" The Butcher raises an eyebrow and Denki smirks. "Because I can use thunderbolt!" A large lightning strike crashes down on them from above, causing Gorr to yell in pain and back off.
Iida and Uraraka dash in while he's recovering, with Denki screaming, "hold him!" Both teens hit Gorr with simultaneous energy blasts, before Iida stabs the alien in the leg and Uraraka wraps up the arm on the other side with her rings. Finally, Denki charges and blasts Gorr with a continuous lightning strike.
Initially, the God Butcher screams, but after a few seconds, he shocks them all when he begins to laugh. "Your new toys are impressive," he looks over both Iida and Uraraka. "But you don't know how to use them."
Gorr wraps himself in his symbiote before lashing out with a shockwave of power. The rush knocks Iida and Uraraka back into Denki, but the three teens recover quickly, moving to stand protectively over Izuku.
"That doesn't matter!" Uraraka yells fiercely. "We're not letting you touch him!"
"Such bold declarations. Know this, little mortals, you've shown more bravery tonight than most gods I've slain. I hope you die with this satisfaction." Gorr braces to attack again, and Izuku panics.
He grips his scepter harder, willing it to help him, help his friends, to do anything! He can't just sit here while they protect him! He has to do something!
The scepter glows hotter, brighter. He can feel it trying to overtake his will again. No! He's using this to protect his friends! Nothing else!
But he already tried protecting them? He had the chance to beat Gorr already and failed. If he hadn't, they wouldn't be in this situation in the first place! They wouldn't be about to get hurt! All because he's not strong enough!
He needs…he needs more power. He needs to be stronger, faster, better.
'Why are you so desperate for power?'
It's that woman's voice again, the one with the slight accent. She doesn't sound mad or accusatory, just curious.
'Me being a demigod puts them in danger, it's my fault! So I have to be the one to protect them.'
'You're letting the scepter influence you again.' Again, there's no judgment in her voice.
'I'm doing what you said!' Izuku cries desperately in his mind. 'I'm redirecting the power and focusing it on my goal! But I can still feel it driving me further! To do things I don't want to do! I can't!…I can't…'
'That power is a two-way street.' Izuku doesn't have to do much to send questions to the woman. 'To master the power in the scepter is a battle of wills, one that takes experience. The power pushes its influence on you, but why have you not tried doing the same to it?'
'How?…'
'You know the answer.'
What kind of vague crap is that?! With his scepter, he always feels like he's on the defensive! When he uses its power, he can feel it wanting him to push harder. It's not like when he uses his own powers and he can-
Gentle Hero's words from his first day of internships come crashing into his head. "You seem to believe that power and utility must be kept separate, but why? They are not mutually exclusive."
… Every time he had used the scepter, he exclusively used its powers on its own. Or, done what it wanted him to do. But if he uses it together with his own magic…with his influence…
'I'm so proud of you, Izuku.'
He feels warm inside at the praise. Like when his dad would praise him for getting something right in their training. 'How were you so sure I could do it?'
'Because it's your birthright. Until we speak again, young one.'
Izuku stands, willing the scepter to help his regeneration while a light scarlet hue shines over him briefly. The memory of turning Denki's lightning bolt into water sears into Izuku's brain as he raises the scepter. If it can do that, what else can it do?
Gorr laughs, waving his hand as tendrils move to stab his friends, but before they reach their targets, red energy shields protect them all as everyone realizes Izuku is standing, holding his scepter up. "Persistent." Gorr waves his sword and several berserkers charge from the shadows.
The scepter glows brighter and ice covers all of the shadow monsters, stopping their movements. "Pouring my own powers into this, I've realized something!" He waves the scepter in front of the monsters. "It makes some of my harder powers easier to use, like brainwashing!"
The berserkers, which were now ice monsters, turn on their master and attack Gorr. The Butcher roars with hate and easily dispatches them, only to find Izuku in his face. He moves to swing his sword, but a glow from the scepter causes the Necrosword to lose its shape and Izuku stabs Gorr in the gut.
"I know you can take this!" He tells the enraged Butcher happily. "But I saw you do this to Ghost Rider and wanted to try!" Gorr only has time to gasp as an energy blast sends him flying back.
The God Butcher looks up, only to have to back up to avoid Thunderstrike, but Uraraka fires her rings forward, wrapping them around Gorr's neck and pulling him forward to be hit by Denki. Iida zooms behind the Butcher and slashes his knees from behind, bringing the alien down on them.
Uraraka charges the rings and places all five fingers on Gorr, removing his gravity, before hitting him point blank with another blast, causing the alien to soar back at frightening speed through several buildings.
"How'd you do that?!" Denki runs up, studying the rings on her arms carefully. "Can I have one?"
"I'm not really sure?" Uraraka shrugs, looking guilty. "Something inside me is just kind of helping me punch really hard with them? That's all I really know how to do?"
"That's so cool! Let me have one!"
"No!"
"You have ten! You have more than enough!"
Gorr interrupts the bargaining by flying back in, only to find himself surrounded by red energy and slammed onto the roof of the building. And if that wasn't enough, finding a dozen Izuku clones surrounding him as he stood probably wasn't great either.
Had he faced them before? Yes. But last time, they were only illusions. This time…The butcher felt every hit and stab as the clones pounce, laughing and throwing insults as they rained their own special type of hell onto Gorr.
Well, almost all of them.
"You know, I gotta say…" The clone Thirteen says next to Uraraka. "Those rings look great on you. And you looked badass while using them!"
"THIRTEEN!"
"Okay, gotta go, massive threat, blah, blah." He gives her a thumbs up and jumps back into the Gorr dogpile. "What'd I miss?!"
Pain rifles up Izuku's arm, straight to his chest and he winces, whimpering in pain, while his friends turn to him, asking if he's okay. Truthfully, he's not. He's pouring his own magic into the scepter and it's working, but barely.
Gorr flings the clones off him and Izuku uses the scepter, along with the rain, to form a new construct, pushing his illusion, ice powers, and his scepter to the limit as a giant basilisk forms in front of the teens and lunges at Gorr, attempting to swallow him whole.
The pain worsens and Izuku's vision goes black for a moment before he comes back, being held up by Iida and Denki. "It's the scepter, isn't it?" The latter asks, already fully aware of the answer.
Izuku manages a nod. "It's working…barely. I don't think I can hold this much longer." More pain rips through his body and it's a miracle he doesn't puke right there.
It is a test of endurance with his scepter, and Izuku is spent. He's never used it this long before, and combining his power with it helped a lot, but he needed more practice. And Gorr isn't going to give him that.
"We need to get back down to street level!" Uraraka suggests, removing all of their gravity so they could push down and glide safely to where everyone else is. Gorr moves to intercept them but the ice serpent bats him away.
Tenko and Todoroki meet them at the bottom to help everyone down while the other heroes, Gunhead, Native, and Mirio and Ghost Rider continue to engage the shadow monsters around them, with Gunhead pausing for a moment to give Uraraka an approving nod.
"Did you guys take care of ugly?" Tenko inquires after everyone has their gravity restored.
"No…" Izuku croaks, taking deep breaths to keep his bile down. "I'm afraid…Denki is still here…"
Everyone blinks, before the offended cousin whines, "Hey!! Less yapping and more glowy red power!"
There's a loud yell and a crash above them, one so hard, the ground shakes underneath them. "I'm correct in assuming that was Gorr?" Todoroki doesn't wait for an answer. "I suppose I'll have to wait before asking about your new support items then, Iida and Uraraka." He looks at Izuku. "Are the items alien as well?"
"The scepter threatens to overpower you, but you stave off its corruption." Izuku jumps when Ghost Rider speaks from behind him. "How?"
"Uh, using my own powers with the scepter's?"
"…Interesting," the Rider comments, studying his arms.
Todoroki suddenly creates an ice wall to protect them as Izuku's basilisk hits the street, exploding into too many pieces to count, with Gorr landing next to the rubble, looking mildly annoyed. "It's rude to leave in the middle of a discussion."
"Midoriya." Izuku's breath catches in his throat as Ghost Rider's arms catch fire. "I thank you for your assistance, as I learn what I can do in this form." The fire fades away, and he hears Iida gasp as behind the Rider's arms, appear black engines behind his elbows.
Tensei's quirk.
Ghost Rider yells as flames shoot out from the engines and the supernatural being moves faster than ever before, appearing in front of Gorr and punching him so hard in the face, the force cracks the street underneath them.
Gorr travels back, but the Rider's new engines keep him airborne as he chases the alien down, before delivering a flame-powered kick to Gorr's gut.
The Butcher flies into the air and Ghost Rider lights one of the engines, beginning to spin in place as his flames and chains envelop him. The heat spikes as the Rider increases his speed more and more. Thankfully, Izuku is provided relief when he doesn't have to say anything as Todoroki places his hand on him, applying ice to help keep him cool.
The move comes to a head as what essentially looks like a tornado of flames and chains detonates from Ghost Rider with such force, it shakes all the buildings around them, causing Izuku to lose both his balance and his hearing temporarily.
But he doesn't need his ears to imagine the anguished cry Gorr makes when he's swallowed by the attack, his body surviving a move that would turn most to ash in an instant, before he's brought back down to earth with what Izuku assumes is a loud crash.
Another thing Izuku doesn't need his ears for is to see a person falling to their death from one of the buildings. He moves without thinking.
"Shit!" Nagant jumps back on a platform and fires a bullet at Gentle Hero as a pink aura begins to surround him. The bullet explodes in his face, expelling some sort of gas, but before it can even think of spreading around him, Gentle lifts his hand and applies his elasticity to the gas, trapping it in an air membrane.
Chizome dives down at the hero, sword raised over his head. He's seen the man's videos, and though Gentle cuts a lot of the fights from them, it's easy to infer what this is. Stain swings his blade down on Gentle, smiling, thinking he got him.
The smile is wiped off his face when he realizes too late he hit nothing but air. He glances to his side to see Gentle there, bouncing off one of his elastic barriers to give him even more speed and power! But when had he moved in the first place?!
"As long as the Gentleman Hero still stands, my convictions will always stand true to bring justice!"
He doesn't get an answer, but rather some of the worst pain he's ever experienced when Gentle punches him so hard, he flies into the neighboring building through its wall.
Chizome groans on the ground of the empty apartment he had flown into. How dare that fake question him?! Stain never let go of his ideals! He will purge the world of fake heroes and change society!
He has always stayed true! Unlike Gorr! Chizome could see the flaws in his convictions from the beginning! But the alien presented something to him. The chance to not only change society, but change the universe! For Chizome to spread his message across the galaxy!
Imagine it! A universe where only true heroes and gods roamed, protecting the innocent no matter the cost to themselves!
Gentle's words and memories of the Berserkers attacking both Hosu and Omnipotence City flash through his mind. The many innocents who fell to the creatures. He remembers what Gorr did to that camp…
At this rate, his beliefs would be spread across the universe as he wished. But what good would that be if they are stained with the blood of the innocent?
Gentle raises his hand, creating a barrier right before the sound of another gunshot, but the bullet curves around the membrane, striking Gentle's hand. "Ah!" The hero grits his teeth, before creating as many barriers as he can and throwing them at Nagant.
The villain concentrates as the pink streak that is Gentle zooms around her, moving barriers in seemingly random directions. Stain gets up and starts using the leftover membranes to get to his opponents.
Nagant fires and suddenly, multiple barriers appear around Gentle's body, rebounding the bullet around the elastic air "This ends now, heathens!! Gently Reflect!"
Stain doesn't know what's happening when Gentle appears at Nagant's side, raising his hand. And that's when he feels Nagant's hollow point bullet pierce his leg.
'He set up the barriers to reflect the bullet at me!'
Chizome howls in pain, falling back down to the building.
"Gently Sandwich!" Ten air membranes come down on Nagant's head as Gentle brings her down to the building as well, all three of them landing with a large cloud of dust, much to Hirona's and La Brava's shock.
When the smoke clears, Gentle Hero stands above the two villains who lay on the ground. He's badly injured and barely able to stand, but he stands nonetheless.
La Brava looks on slack-jawed for a second more, before turning on her camera and pointing it at Gentle. "H-here he is! Gentle Hero! He's hurt, but still fighting for you! Never giving up until the fight is done! Because that's just the kind of man he is!"
"La Brava…" Gentle gives her a small smile through his mangled hair, appreciative of her words.
A gun cocks and everyone sees Nagant rising, gun raised. She's not beaten and still very much in this fight. Chizome stands as well, putting most of his weight on one leg and readying his sword. Neither of them are down yet and this fight isn't over.
A large crack snaps through the air as the building they're on quakes, and Chizome can't believe his eyes as what he can only describe as a flaming tornado appears near them, threatening to engulf them.
Nagant screams as she's burned and Shigaraki jumps on her, hugging the older villain and creating a barrier around them. Gentle moves La Brava away and Stain runs, ignoring Gentle's destroyed elastic barriers and the small dosage of strange gas he inhales, but his part of the building crumbles and the Hero Killer realizes he's falling.
Is this karmic retribution? No membranes and no more wired knives to save him. Not to die by the hand of All Might but by gravity? It would make sense. Chizome dropped his ideals like a coward, so it would make sense that as he let his beliefs fall, so too would he.
But it is not to be. Chizome opens his eyes when he feels his fall stop and sees his body is covered in some sort of red energy just a meter above the ground. Across from him, the boy Gorr referred to as Lokison strains with his scepter to keep Chizome afloat, saving his life.
The boy drops to his knees, finally giving out, and Stain drops next to him as his scepter disappears in a green light. The two sit in silence for a minute, just trying to catch their breaths. The night had taken its toll.
Eventually, Chizome rasps, "You saved me."
"I did."
"I never asked you to."
The boy gives him a little smirk, taking a second to respond, as if he's remembering something. "Yeah well, meddling when you don't need to is the essence of being a hero, isn't it?"
Stain knew his feelings about the boy's heroic nature earlier were true.
A true hero he would've let Gorr snuff out.
This boy has given him a second chance, and he isn't going to waste it.
Stain plucks one of his hidden blades from where it's stored. "Mistakes must be corrected."
"Gorr!"
The God Butcher gets to his feet from where he landed on the street. His body is smoking and stinging from the Rider's attack, but he can still move! The little mortals all stare with wide eyes as Stain limps to him, throwing Lokison at his feet.
"It's hard, isn't it, fellow butcher?" The heroes move to intercept him but stop when Gorr places the Necrosword just centimeters from the child's head. "We do so much work for such little recognition. But I will take mercy on you and end your suffering."
"Stop!" One of the boys yells.
"Now what kind of father would I be if I did?" Gorr asks. They start to move again but this time, the Rider holds his hand out, making them cease.
"…Stop pretending."
Gorr stops, locking his gaze onto Lokison, who returns his look. "Stop pretending, Gorr, that you do what you do for your family."
"I do. If you gods had merely protected us and answered our prayers, this would have never happened."
"Just admit it," the boy presses on. "You're not doing this for them." Lokison clambers to his feet. "You're doing this for yourself! You go on and on about how this is all for your daughter, but you're just using her as an excuse to get your revenge! To justify your terrible actions!"
"You know not!-"
"What are gods to you, huh?!" Lokison cuts him off. "Terrible beings that cause nothing but pain and suffering onto others without a care in the world?! Immortal and all-powerful deities who torture for fun and enjoy inflicting pain on others! Now, who does that sound like?! Who told me earlier tonight he was immortal and all powerful?!"
"YOU DARE-"
"I DO! Face it, Gorr! You've become everything you hate and more! The God Butcher?! No! You're Gorr, God of Hypocrisy!!"
Gorr screams in rage, raising the Necrosword- only for a different sword to stab him from behind, going clear through his chest. He growls, turning around as Stain pulls the bloody sword out of his body. "You will be sorely disappointed to know that won't kill me."
"It wasn't supposed to." Stain licks the blade, and Gorr feels his body lock up as he falls to the ground, temporarily paralyzed.
The Butcher laughs, a hysterical cackle, despite everything. "You think this will hold me for long?! You can't escape! You will all be butchered!!"
"Father!"
Gorr's eyes snap open as next to Lokison, his daughter appears, looking at him with worried eyes. "Daughter…" she runs toward him and he feels her arms wrap around him. "It's okay…it's okay…you're safe now."
"I- am I?" She looks around at all the heroes around them. "I- I have no way to protect myself! Please, help me! I'm scared!"
No, no! What can he do? No gods escape his grasp! But he can't move! He wants, no, needs to kill them! To honor the little girl in front of him, their blood must be spilled before the cowards can hide!
What can he- Gorr's mind stops. A slow grin forming on his face as he feels his symbiote swim through his body. He looks toward his daughter.
"Of course! Why didn't I see it before?! Daughter, place your hand on mine." She obliges. "I'm going to give you a present. A most wonderful gift. And with it, you need not feel fear ever again. With it, you can slaughter all the pretenders around us and help me continue my work! To help keep my promise! That all gods will die!"
She nods rapidly and Gorr wills All-Black to transfer to the girl, the symbiote happy to comply. When it's complete, she backs up, staring at her hands with wide eyes. "Good, good!" Gorr cheers. "You have the power, now slay Lokison where he stands!"
"I can't do that…" Gorr's smile drops as his daughter looks up at him, a wide grin on her face. "Because that's not the real Lokison." The clone next to her gives Gorr a wave and disappears to prove her point.
"What- what…"
"It's over, Gorr." The Butcher's daughter is enveloped in a green light where, in her place, the real Izuku stands, the black cloak of Gorr's symbiote wrapped around his body and head.
"No…" Gorr's voice cracks as he stares at his grave mistake. "You can't- you can't do that! You cheat! Give it back!! Give it back now!" He tries desperately to move, but Stain's quirk keeps him in place.
Izuku takes a deep breath and clenches his fist. And to everyone's relief, all of the berserkers around them, and in the city, melt away.
"Damn…damn you all!! You don't deserve this victory! You know you don't! The universe will continue its path to misery, because of you! You will regret this day!!"
Izuku chooses to say nothing because…what is there to say? It's over and even with the new symbiote bonded to him, he can feel how tired he is.
Heavy footsteps land near him, and Izuku looks up to find Ghost Rider staring down at him expectantly. Of course, he already knows what Izuku wants.
All-Black is incredibly powerful. Izuku can already feel the symbiote whispering in his ear, begging to be freed. It hums inside him and Izuku knows it would be easy to give in. But thanks to his scepter…he has some practice in that area.
He presents the Rider with an open palm and the supernatural creates a small construct of hellfire to contain All-Black as Izuku lets the symbiote go. He clenches his teeth, trying not to let the heat bother him as All-Black leaves his body. This is a power that shouldn't be used by just anybody. And it wasn't his destiny to be a lethal hero.
The symbiote screeches as Ghost Rider seals the container trapping it. "What the universe will become is irrelevant." Chains wrap around Gorr's neck as he's dragged and lifted to be face to face with the Rider. "For you, at least.
"You Gorr, are found guilty for harming the innocent. And for that, you are sentenced to feeling every bit of pain you have ever inflicted on another for the rest of your days. May the trauma of the Penance Stare assist in your repentance!"
Gorr is powerless to stop it as Ghost Rider forces him to look him in the eyes. The fire around the Rider's head burns hotter and Gorr lets out a bloodcurdling scream, the pain so much he begins to thrash as it sounds like his throat will fall apart from the agony he's being put through. Izuku tunes out the screams and begging, looking away until it's over.
And as Gorr falls back to the ground, the pain so much that it causes him to enter a catatonic state, Izuku feels his own body give out. But before he hits the ground, he feels several different hands grab him, holding him up.
With a loud thud, Gorr hits the ground, and Izuku knows the God Butcher's nightmare is over.