The explosion from the nitroglycerin ball shook the wind power generation area, a deafening roar that sent a gust of hot air whipping through the turbine blades. Shattered robot parts clattered to the ground, their circuits sparking like dying fireflies. The blast bought us a moment, but the hum of wheel motors from below told me more were coming.
Himiko, still gripping her bayonet, shot me a look that was half-pissed, half-amused.
"Ryuu-kun, you're such a show-off," she said, her voice dripping with that dangerous playfulness I loved.
"Let's see who can destroy the most robots? Whoever loses has to stay at the bottom all night." I said to Himiko with a dirty hint.
"Now's not the time for you two to be happy!!!" Ida shouted. "Onodera, do you have a plan? We can't stay down here for long."
"Don't worry. We have reinforcements." I replied, just as Bakugo, Kirishima, and Todoroki arrived and started to sweep the battlefield.
With a force that was much larger than the original timeline, it was certain that clearing the robots was only a matter of time. It was easier to breathe, faster to handle, and definitely gave everyone some "team building" to do. Bakugo and Todoroki's overwhelming strength clearly demonstrated that there were indeed some people who were naturally talented at being heroes, so almost there are many things we don't need to do too much.
And it's not just them who shine the brightest, because the rest of the group, to a greater or lesser extent, have also given their all.
Kirishima, along with me, the only two people capable of tanking, went to the front line so that everyone behind could use everything they had. Recipro Burst, the shells from Momo's huge cannon (this time the explosive type, not the sticky ones like the original), along with the other two guys spamming AOE attacks made the current situation more one-sided than ever.
Of course, there were still a few robots that managed to get through, but it wasn't for nothing that I left Himiko in the back line...
She, with her terrifying close combat skills with knives, took the bayonet I gave her and literally turned it into a can opener, like, using her strength and using the knife to split the heads of any robot that dared to approach. It was weird enough to make me wonder "Is she really capable of this?", but also made me feel...fascinated...?
Once I was sure that the robot density was enough for them to handle themselves, and that Melissa and Izuku had reached the top floor thanks to Ochako's Quirk not being used anymore, I could finally begin my plan...
"Vice Class Representative, can you make me a climbing rope?" I asked Yaoyorozu urgently.
"Okay, but what for?" Momo asked me in confusion.
"Just do it." I replied, then turned to ask Ochako. "Uraraka, can you lighten up a bit? I have a bad feeling about Izuku."
Normally, she would have definitely helped me, not to mention that this involved Izuku - who she had "ambiguous" feelings for - so of course this was quite important.
Grabbing Momo's rope, I then gave Uraraka a "brofist" fist bump so she could activate her Quirk, and immediately shot upwards, then based on the huge hole in the wall, I threw the hook and used the force to pull myself inside safety.
Now step 1 is done. Now for the next step.
And what's the plan? Recruit the Shield family under my command...
And i'm pretty sure Himiko is down there sulking because I didn't bring her along. But this is more important than a lover's tantrum...
Nah, it's probably not. I'll definitely have to sleep on the couch for a while after this or coax her to make things better.
...
Of course, with Izuku's ability, 100% of Wolfram's henchmen were already beaten to the ground. Like Swordkil, who was still unconscious after Izuku punched him down the stairs, or the other henchmen, who were all unconscious, enough for me to pick up one of their rifles and prepare to head to the equipment storage room. That's enough to understand how powerful Full Gauntlet is.
As for plan, as I said, was to make the Shield family come under my command. And the thing called "Quirk Amplification Device" would be the bridge for me to achieve this, so as long as I didn't let it fall into that damn guy's hands, and then offer my full support to David, it would definitely work. Or else, just point a gun at him and threaten to destroy this thing and you're done.
I could have used a slingshot and a wax-coated nitroglycerin pellet, but of course I'm not stupid enough to make him my permanent enemy by actually hurting him. Well, guns have the same ability, but the aura of intimidation is much higher. Although the possibility of him refusing to cooperate later is much higher, but come on, a 16-year-old kid using a rifle in this manga? That's ridiculously stupid. So it's definitely possible for him to cooperate with me.
But I have to say that I actually know how to use these "hot goods", not that I don't know. After all, before I crossed over here, I was an American, so I'm used to using these "democratic" goods. So it's impossible for David to accidentally get hurt.
As soon as I reached the vault, what caught my eye was actually...quite interesting...
Izuku, now shocked and a little guilty, probably because David had revealed the reason why he had to act this way to get his stuff back, along with Melissa blaming her father for putting everyone's lives on the line to carry out his selfish act, and then David's confusion because he thought that those guys couldn't possibly act so real that they would hurt his daughter"
Welp, time to end this damn play.
Immediately, I entered the room, loaded my gun and aimed straight at David and mocked him:
"I don't care what tricks you've pulled or what shit's in that suitcase Mr.Shield, but don't be so naive that you don't realize you're being used until the last minute." I told him the original in English, not in Japanese anymore.
"Ryuga, what are you doing...?" Melissa looked at me with a look of surprise and horror, as if he had not expected this to happen.
"Destroy that thing Mr.Shield, or it'll just bring disaster to everyone here." I said as I pointed the rifle at him as if to threaten him. "I may not be as rich as that tight-fitting bat-suit-wearing vigilante[1] or a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist in a suit of armor[2], but I'm fully capable of financing you to make another one even more complete than this. Or I'll have to put your safety on the line and personally destroy that thing."
David Shield froze, his hands clutching the Quirk Amplification Device's case, eyes wide behind his glasses. The vault's cold, sterile light glinted off the metal, casting harsh shadows across his face. Izuku, still panting from his fight with Wolfram's goons, whipped around, his Full Gauntlet sparking faintly.
"Put the gun down! This isn't the way!" Izuku shouted, voice cracking with disbelief.
Melissa stepped forward, her hands raised, voice trembling but firm. "Ryuga, please. You don't understand. Dad's not the enemy here!!!"
David's hands trembled, but he didn't move. His eyes flicked to Melissa, then back to me, guilt and defiance warring on his face. "You don't understand," he said, voice low. "This device… it's my life's work. It could save All Might, give him the strength to keep going..."
I kept the rifle steady, my grip tight but calculated, my Quirk humming under my skin in case I needed to transmute my body into titanium-tungsten alloy. "Not the enemy Melissa? Really??? Bullshit." I scoffed, my tone biting. "He handed Wolfram the keys to this island because he thought it'd be convenient for him to retrieve that then give it to All Might... Newsflash, Shield: your buddy that you hired was All For One's man, and what you're doing is bringing your friend one step closer to early retirement!" I leaned in, my voice dropping to a growl. "You're not just risking everyone in this tower. You're risking everyone in this island, or even the world."
David's face paled, his hands shaking around the case. "All For One? No… that's not... Wolfram said he's" He cut himself off, realization dawning like a punch to the gut. "How… How do you know know about this?"
I smirked, keeping the rifle trained on him. "More than you think, doc. You're not the mastermind, you're just the pawn. And I guess I don't need to hide it anymore. I..."
Just as I was about to finish, the creepy feeling immediately appeared, enough to make me stop everything I did to turn around and fire all the bullets I had in my rifle.
The moment the last bullet was fired, I could see who was behind me.
Wolfram. Not a single scratch, along with a wall that was erected in front of him so that none of the bullets I fired would hit their target.
And the worst thing here was not that his Quirk - Metal Manipulation - was unrivaled in indoor and urban spaces like this, but that it would directly affect me if I activated the aspect of my body transforming into metal from my Quirk and let him touch me, so defense would be useless. Luckily, this guy was out of cards so defeating him was possible...
"Nice try, kid," Wolfram drawled, his voice low and mocking as he lowered the wall. "But this room's my playground..."
That's if, but I think this bet is too difficult... Just fucking great...
[1] Batman, for short
[2] Tony Stark (Iron Man) - The Avengers (2012)