Tomura Shigaraki never expected that he would encounter Kaminari again—especially now, in this very place.
"Damn... no... this isn't right... this isn't how my plan was supposed to go!" Tomura's emotions were spiraling into madness.
In that moment, he realized that his hatred for Kaminari Denki was nearly equal to, if not greater than, his hatred for All Might.
"Why? Why do they always show up, one after another, just to get in my way?!"
"They're an eyesore! All of them are eyesores!"
"I'll destroy you! Every single one of you that disgusts me! Parents and children alike! Collapse!!"
Tomura Shigaraki screamed hysterically. His voice dripped with malice, his very presence becoming the dark center of Kamino's central square.
This scene, captured by media helicopters overhead, was broadcast simultaneously on thousands of screens across Japan.
The manic aura he gave off and his words that trampled on the core values of society left viewers frozen in fear.
People finally came to understand what a true villain was.
But Kaminari, the target of Tomura's fury, didn't even look back. He completely ignored him, holding the girl in his arms as he turned into golden lightning and flew off into the sky.
He didn't want to leave Kyoka in a dangerous place any longer. He didn't want to waste a single second on meaningless chatter.
No matter what happened, no matter what he had to do, his first priority was to get Kyoka to safety!
"Come on... w-wait...!" Kyoka was cradled in Kaminari's arms as they soared through the night sky. Once the shock faded, she could no longer hold back her fear. She clung tightly to her boyfriend's neck, her eyes red with tears.
No matter how upbeat or tomboyish her usual demeanor was, she was still just a fifteen-year-old girl.
"I'm just glad you're still here."
Kaminari lowered his head, breathing in the scent of her hair, and whispered, "In this moment, I'm convinced... I'm luckier than most people."
"Why didn't you stop him?!"
Back in the square, Tomura Shigaraki exploded in rage, yelling at Dabi and Kurogiri for letting them escape so easily.
Without that girl, how could he get his revenge?!
"Shigaraki-kun, I..." Kurogiri tried to explain awkwardly, but Dabi just stared expressionlessly at the fading golden light and said, "How do we climb?"
He didn't care about the death glare Tomura was giving him, and continued, "We'd better leave now. Once the other Heroes arrive, we'll be in even more trouble."
Kurogiri nodded in agreement. "Shigaraki-kun, things have already reached this point. All we can do is accept it and make a new plan." With that, he activated his Quirk to open a portal.
Tomura's face twisted with frustration. He looked toward his teacher, still locked in battle with All Might in the distance.
Honestly, he didn't want to leave his teacher behind. But it had been his teacher's order to retreat first.
In the end, Tomura reluctantly withdrew his gaze and stepped into the dark portal, leaving behind one bitter sentence.
"We're not done yet, Kaminari Denki!"
Meanwhile, Kaminari had already reunited with Momo and Tetsutetsu, still carrying Kyoka in his arms. After gently setting her down, he stood back and watched as they comforted each other.
None of them, not even Momo, realized the seething murderous intent hidden in Kaminari's heart at that moment.
"Momo."
He looked away from the central square and interrupted her greeting abruptly.
"What is it?"
Momo looked up at him, confused. Kyoka and Tetsutetsu also fell silent.
"Can you create a thundercloud artificially?" Kaminari asked suddenly, with a strangely serious tone.
"Artificial thunderclouds?" Momo was stunned for a moment, but then quickly began recalling related knowledge.
She didn't question why he was asking. She could see from Kaminari's eyes that he was completely serious.
And because of that, she responded in kind.
After thinking for a moment, she gave her answer. "I won't go into all the details of thundercloud formation. My plan is to use the freezing effect of water droplets."
"I can create a rocket launcher loaded with dry ice. If we launch it into a cloud, it'll quickly trigger rain. You can then release a high-temperature current to turn that into a thundercloud!"
Originally, Momo had considered creating an anti-aircraft gun, but with her fat reserves, it would've been hard to support such a large piece of equipment—especially with the amount of dry ice required.
A bazooka was far more manageable. She would just need to fire multiple times.
Hearing that Momo really had a solution, Kaminari felt a flash of relief. This girl really is amazing. No matter what, she always comes through.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
"Okay. Just give me a moment." Momo first pulled out a large black cloth, then wrapped herself in it and began creating the rocket launcher and dry ice shells.
Meanwhile, due to the rampaging Nomu army, most of the Pro Heroes in Kamino were still tied up at the battlefield near the warehouse, following the police's orders.
Here in Kamino Central Square, with no one left to hold back, the two bosses going all out were wreaking massive destruction.
As a result, crowds of men, women, and children were forced to flee crumbling buildings. With the help of scattered police officers and a few Pro Heroes, they stepped over broken glass, doing their best to escape the danger zone.
The square, once paved with reinforced concrete, had been reduced to exposed soil.
The repeated shockwaves were like enormous hands, pushing everything to the ground.
Boom!!!
It was impossible to say how many exchanges had already passed. Amid a violent shockwave, All Might was slammed into the side of a building. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, but his eyes still burned with fury.
"Why?! Why do you always torment others like this?! Plundering, destroying, taking advantage of people, spreading fear!"
"You ridicule those who just want to live in peace!"
His roar echoed across the square, heard by hundreds of people nearby. Clinging to the wall for support, he then charged forward again without hesitation.
"I just... can't forgive you for this!"
"All For One!!"
"Hahaha, now those are familiar words." A flash of memory crossed All For One's mind—an image of a woman with the same furious expression.
"But when you used your fists to defeat my comrades one by one and sent them to rot in cold prison cells, did you ever try being reasonable?"
"Unreasonable?"
"Of course. When you have brute force, what need is there for reason?"
"In that sense... we're exactly the same, All Might!"
(To be continued.)