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[Clash]
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…
—Fwoooosh!!—
A colossal figure cut through the sky, almost like a falling meteor as it tore through the clouds.
A moment later, gravity reclaimed its hold, and the figure began to descend—its momentum still monstrous, even as it started to fall.
"What the hell is that?"
"Hey, that looks like it's coming in this direction, right?"
"Shit, what the hell is happening now? I'm gonna be late for my appointment!"
Below, people across the city looked up and pointed. Some shouted in excitement, thinking they were observing some kind of hero activity. Others, however, had better survival instincts and began running away in worry.
But just as the figure seemed upon them—
"Look, there!"
Another figure appeared from a distance.
It accelerated at a frightening pace, a sharp, deafening whistle trailing behind it as its speed climbed to inhuman levels.
And then, just as the collision of the giant with the ground seemed imminent, the smaller figure crashed into the giant.
—BOOOOM!!—
A thunderous shockwave rippled through the air, making people cover their ears and wince. The giant's falling momentum twisted violently, sending him rocketing upward once more, away from the area.
The smaller figure, however, recoiled slightly from the impact, hovering in place for just a brief moment.
That pause was enough for those below to catch onto his appearance.
"Rockinesis?!"
"What's he doing here?!"
"Holy hell—is he subduing a villain right now?!"
Excited voices erupted from those who recognized him, and for those who didn't, they were equally enthusiastic as they assumed he must have been a powerful hero, given the power he showed.
But before anyone could understand what was truly happening, the air around Rockinesis stirred as his figure blurred and shot after the giant, rapidly vanishing into the distance. Leaving people behind full of wonder.
"Not a single instrument in hand… Is this a serious fight, like against those three villains?"
"That guy he was fighting was massive… so yeah, probably."
"Go, Rockinesis, go!!"
"Beat his ass!"
Nearby, two patrolling officers stared at the distant contenders in disbelief.
Then they snapped into motion, raising their radios.
"We have a conflict between potentially A to S-class individuals in the upper-left zone of Funabashi! Requesting immediate reinforcements!"
"Moving currently towards the coastline through the sky!"
The radio crackled.
{"Received. Do you have visual confirmation of who these individuals are?"}
"Only one confirmed—Rockinesis."
…
°
°
°
| Back to the fight |
…
Taka tore through the sky like a black bullet, his dark eyes locked with unwavering focus on the flying giant ahead.
His aura flared, and his speed surged again, the world around him blurring—everything except his target.
"You won't stop me from obeying my master!!!" Gigantomachia roared.
Taka answered with motion.
He dove in once more.
Gigantomachia swung his arm, a massive blur of rock-like muscle and air.
—BOOOOM!!—
But just like before, Taka slipped through the titanic strike and drove another punch into the giant's body, blasting him backward and reigniting his unwanted momentum.
Albeit, at the cost of having the recoil blast him away again.
'Just a little more…' he narrowed his eyes as he stabilized himself mid-air, eyes glaring past Gigantomachia, onto the giant coast ahead. 'I can already see it.'
One more push, and this monster would be far enough from any populated area.
There would probably still be people, given how sparse civilization had grown. But it was better than fighting him in the middle of a residential area.
There, at least, the people would make a run for it when they realized what was happening. And an evacuation would take less time.
But it had already taken dozens of hits to force him this far. Gigantomachia's sheer mass made every fall stubborn and slow to redirect.
Fortunately, despite his overwhelming size, the man was slow… or at least compared to Taka's flight speed.
That alone was the only reason Taka hadn't been crushed already.
Even so, the violent storms of compressed air created by his wild swings as they missed him, but still caused such chaos, were terrifying enough.
But so long as he didn't let himself get hit in this last one clash that needed to be done for Gigantomachia to reach the coast, then those powerful strikes mattered little.
With a wave of determination hitting him, Taka surged forward once again.
He accelerated, already locking onto the zone where to punch, and predicting Gigantomachia's movements.
'One last hit—huh? What's he doing now?!'
But then, he was forced to hit the brakes on his flight.
Instead of winding up one arm like in earlier attempts, Gigantomachia drew both back.
'Shi—!'
—KRA-THOOOM!!—
The next instant, a devastating clap tore through the sky. A visible pressure wave exploded outward, forming a raging vortex of hurricane-force winds. The sound itself slammed into Taka like a physical blow, hurling him backward through the air and sending him spinning several meters away.
By the time he steadied himself, he felt something hot trickling from his ears, and a deafening ring drowned out every other sound.
But he forced the sensation down and quickly searched for Gigantomachia.
'That bastard…!'
The giant was already on his way down, falling straight toward a still-populated area beside the coastline.
Without wasting a second—and forcing down the pain in his ears—he shot after the villain.
On the streets, people pointed as many began to run. Gigantomachia's size was, after all, nearly twenty-five meters tall. If he hit the ground, the destruction would be catastrophic.
But just as disaster seemed inevitable, Taka's vertiginous figure swept down, slamming into Gigantomachia as the giant braced for impact.
—BOOOOM!!!—
Once again, Gigantomachia was launched into the air.
"You annoying weakling!" Gigantomachia's guttural roar echoed as he was sent flying, his hateful glare locked onto Taka.
The people below gasped as the villain was flung away, sparing several houses that would have otherwise been reduced to rubble.
Meanwhile, Taka let out a heavy sigh, watching as Gigantomachia finally soared over the coast in the distance.
'Finally.' He shook his head, then immediately followed after him—this time at a more controlled speed.
—SPLASH!—
Moments later, the giant crashed into the water, sending a massive explosion of spray into the air. Taka hovered at a safe distance above the scene, untouched by the falling droplets, as Gigantomachia sank into the mass of liquid.
As he watched the rippling water, Taka began reconsidering all of his life choices.
'Alright, I got him here… what the hell do I do now?' he mused.
His main objective—dragging the fight away from civilians—was accomplished.
Now all that remained was to end the fight.
'But how the hell do I do that?' Taka deadpanned, glancing down at his fist.
His knuckles were red from the repeated impacts. Yet he was certain that Gigantomachia's skin didn't even carry a bruise after all that punishment.
This wasn't a winnable battle. Or rather, it would require "beating Dark Souls with your bare fists" levels of patience to even think of winning.
Patience—and zero mistakes. If he got hit, he was almost certainly dead.
Or maybe just critically injured… if he managed to max out his defense at the last second.
Either way, that kind of fight wasn't part of his plans.
So he needed another way to end it.
Either stall long enough for All Might or another heavy hitter to arrive—or force Gigantomachia to retreat on his own.
He opened his palm, and a sphere of aura began to form.
'Maybe if I injure him enough, he'll realize staying here isn't worth it.'
If he remembered correctly, the guy was loyal to All For One, but still possessed a semblance of intelligence.
If he could make him see this situation as counterproductive to his master's goals, then maybe he'd retreat on his own.
—SPLASH!—
"AAAAAARGH!" Gigantomachia roared as he resurfaced, his voice thick and guttural.
'Maybe I'm hoping for too much…' Taka sweatdropped.
Either way, this was it.
He would either stall long enough for someone with enough firepower to arrive… or scare the monster off himself.
Whether or not he'd survive either option was still up in the air.
-Snort-
"What am I even thinking?" Taka muttered, closing his eyes and shaking his head—
—only for them to snap open the very next second, an ominous red light glowing within.
"This will be easy."
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
[STATUS PAGE]
▸ Strength: 128 → 6816
▸ Defence: 2000 → 3000
▸ Aura Projection: 10688 → 3000
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
Fueled by those delusional words and having reconfigured his build into a more balanced one that wouldn't get him killed in a single hit, Taka dove like a comet.
"Everything for the master!" Gigantomachia bellowed. Having swum into shallow enough waters to stand, he braced himself, massive arms ready to swat Taka like an insect.
And so, with the waves of the ocean crashing against them, their battle began in earnest.
Guttural groans and thunderous roars burst from Gigantomachia as he swung his fists and palms wildly. The air—and even the sea itself—churned beneath his titanic strength, whipping the battlefield into a raging storm.
Taka, on the other hand, surfed through that storm with amazing ease.
He weaved through Gigantomachia's relentless strikes as if the very wind guided him away from being pulverized. And every time he slipped past an attack, he made sure to land at least one blow.
The face. The chest. The abdomen. The shoulder.
Wherever there was even the smallest opening, he struck—no hesitation, no mercy.
His speed and agility overwhelmed the villain, who excelled in raw power and endurance, but clearly lagged behind in mobility.
Even so, that endurance was monstrous.
Despite the nonstop barrage of hits, Gigantomachia's skin showed no real damage—at most, a few shallow scratches.
Yet Taka's assault didn't slow in the slightest.
—BAM!—
—BAM!—
—BAM!—
—BAM!—
Along the coastline, behind the metal railing of the road circling the shore, a crowd had gathered, watching the colossal battle unfold in stunned silence.
"Holy moly… what is happening out there?"
"What do you think? It's a hero-versus-villain fight."
"Yeah, but who's even fighting? I feel like I'd remember a hero that strong. Look at him—he's moving insanely fast. And from how those punches sound from all the way over here… he's crazy strong too."
"Oh, oh, I think I read about him in the newspaper the other day… A vigilante who took over a concert for a bit. Though I didn't think he'd be that strong…"
"A vigilante? That guy, with that kind of power? Why isn't he just a hero instead?"
"How should I know?"
The people watched in awe as the battle raged on. Before long, even the police arrived at the scene. Unfortunately for the spectators, evacuation orders came quickly, forcing the spectacle to an end—at least for the civilians.
Behind the newly formed perimeter, officers stared at the distant clash with disbelieving eyes.
"Jeez… just where do guys like those even come from?"
"If I get told I'm being deployed to apprehend either of them, I'm resigning on the spot."
"Let's just hope the heroes get here soon… Those two are getting wilder by the second. The waves are starting to reach us from here."
"Scary…"
Back at the battlefield, the two contenders charged at each other once more—Taka darting forward like a streak of black, and Gigantomachia readying another storm of attacks.
But then, mid-charge, Taka suddenly dove underwater, vanishing from the giant's sight for a split second.
"Weakling, come out!!!" the villain snarled, scanning the surface as his eyes narrowed.
Then—
A figure burst from the water, shooting straight at him from his blind spot.
It was Taka, fist already wound back for another strike.
But just as he was about to connect—
"DIE!"
Gigantomachia spun around and backhanded him with monstrous force. A massive shockwave erupted as his fist smashed through Taka's crumbling form, bones surely shattering on impact—
—only for Taka's figure to suddenly vanish.
"…?!"
"Where are you looking?"
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
[STATUS PAGE]
▸ Strength: 6816 → 11560
▸ Defence: 3000 → 256
▸ Aura Projection: 3000 → 1000
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
—BANG!!!—
In the next instant, a devastating blow slammed into Gigantomachia's lower back, sending a massive shockwave rippling through the water, creating waves that soon crashed onto the coast and soaked a few unguarded cops.
But back to the battle, for a moment, the giant staggered.
But just as he seemed about to topple forward, his legs dug in. He twisted around with a furious snarl and swung at his attacker.
"YOU… FOOLED ME!!!"
"Kgh—!"
Taka immediately shot backward, barely evading the incoming strike as he reverted his stats to their previous configuration.
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
[STATUS PAGE]
▸ Strength: 11560 → 6716
▸ Defence: 256 → 3000
▸ Aura Projection: 1000 → 3000
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
As he took his distance, and returned to a safe distance in the sky, stopping there to observe his opponent for a moment.
'Did that even affect him?' he wondered, narrowing his eyes at the spot he had struck.
That had been nearly a full-power hit—and he had landed it while Gigantomachia was distracted by his clone, which had cost him a hundred aura to create. To sell the deception, he had personally launched the clone himself, since its stats were mediocre at best and he wouldn't have shot at such speed towards the villain by himself.
Full strength, and the surprise factor... Both aspects combined should have let him deal some damage... And yet, the villain still stood tall, completely unfazed.
Taka shook his head with a wry smile behind his mask.
'Truly top-tier in this verse… Guess I'm really still not there yet.' He exhaled sharply as he caught his breath.
Though to be fair, the gap between the 'strong' people in this world, and the TRULY strong ones was absurd.
He was still in the middle. So it was no wonder he was quite lacking before this monster of a man.
'Let's not even think about All Might or All For One...' Taka snorted, before glaring at the villain ahead, and groaning in annoyance.
He still had energy to spare—his True Breathing Skill had been doing wonders to keep exhaustion at bay.
But the monster in front of him looked even less tired.
'I don't remember all of his Quirks exactly, but I know they boost his stamina somehow… Even a battle of attrition is a losing game.' He clicked his tongue as he realized his chances of pulling this off seemed slimmer and slimmer by the second.
However, after a second, a small smirk appeared on his face.
'But it's not like I'm out of options—'
"For my master!!!"
Taka's eyes sharpened as Gigantomachia suddenly accelerated toward him.
Instinctively, he flew backwards, retreating into airspace where the sea floor was so deep even the giant began sinking while following after him.
—and that turned out to be a mistake.
—BAM!—
In an instant, Gigantomachia kicked off the ocean floor and shot upward like a missile.
'Shit!'
A guttural grunt tore from both of them as Taka poured everything into Aura Projection to escape, while Gigantomachia unleashed a brutal upward strike in his direction.
—And, just barely, it was enough.
The blow missed by a hair's breadth.
Gigantomachia blasted past him and plunged straight back into the sea, while Taka hovered in place, breathing heavily as he watched the monstrosity vanish beneath the waves.
Then his gaze snapped toward the police barricade lining the coast.
Still no heroes in sight.
That was more than enough of a wake-up call.
'I need to end this now… or more of those mistakes might happen—and I won't escape in time next round.'
With a frown, he focused on the last card hidden up his sleeve—the one he had stubbornly avoided using until now.
He hadn't used it because it was, quite literally, the worst possible option in a battle where every single point of aura mattered, especially when his damage output was already lacking.
But right now, it was his only real chance to injure the bastard.
His mind flashed back to his fight with the three A-class villains—more specifically, the sniper—and the skill he had unlocked to deal with him back then. On that very first shot, he had dumped nearly 1,000 aura into it due to his inexperience with it. After that, he had learned to fake the intensity, using barely 50 aura per shot, letting the brightness rise instead of the heat.
But that very first shot—
Those 1,000 aura had been enough to melt concrete.
So… what would happen if he poured in the 10,000 he had right now?
'Guess there's only one way to find out.'
If even this didn't deter the guy, then he doubted he had many chances left.
So... he had to make this work.
-Gargle-
Below him, Gigantomachia had sunk once more into the depths due to his sheer weight. Roaring and screaming despite the water around him.
'Master… I'm sorry. I'm being delayed…!' the giant roared in his heart, gripping his sharp hair with his hands in frustration.
And, as his anger grew, the fire in both his will and his Quirk ignited as he empowered himself.
With a rumbling underwater groan, he activated his Mole Quirk—spines rising along his back like a visor, claws forming from his own flesh—and swam upward.
'This time, I'LL END IT FOR GOOD!'
—SPLASH!—
He burst from the ocean's surface, drawing in a massive breath as water exploded outward in every direction.
For a brief moment, he scanned his surroundings in confusion, half-expecting another ambush.
But then, he felt it.
His head snapped upward.
"...?!"
And he saw it.
Image ->
High above, floating in the sky, a massive sphere of pure energy hovered over his enemy's palm. Red, glowing eyes gazed down at him with chilling calm.
For the very first time in the entire battle, Gigantomachia felt danger.
"Finally up again, huh?" His enemy's voice reached him, snapping him out of his daze.
Then, to his shock, the sphere began to compress—shrinking, condensing—becoming smaller, denser, brighter… and far hotter.
And finally, the man pointed it straight at him.
"Then, I'll say it again without reserves," Taka called out coldly. "Leave."
Gigantomachia growled before such words, his body tensing as if to charge once more.
But the voice continued.
"If you get injured now, whatever you came here to do will be delayed, won't it? If you retreat, you can try again another time. No need to risk it."
Those words formed a small silence between the two. With Taka silently pointing the energy at the villain, and Gigantomachia seemingly pondering his words.
Until—
"For my master, I'll do anything."
Gigantomachia charged.
A small pause of disbelief took over Taka.
But then, he laughed.
"So be it."
And he fired.
…
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-To be Continued…-
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(A/N: Wanted to finish the whole fight in this chapter, but that end was too good not to leave it there.
Sorry, but as stated in previous chapters, I'm quite the evil individual.
Also, what did you think about the image? Used IA to finish up a quick sketch I did, since it seems better at coloring than me.
Though, honestly, I think I could have done it a lot more detailed, so the image ended more epic as well.
But well, it's quite late now, so maybe in future chapters I'll be writing during the day and have the energy to make a proper sketch.
Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter. The next chapter should be the second to last before U.A.
See you then.)