50% Discount, offering 60 Chapters ahead of this chapter, is active.
*********************
A few minutes earlier,
Mushroom saw their hand going through Nomu's chest and regretted not using a lighter Roast instead.
"… That's quite a funny thought," they realized, smiling. "Master would have appreciated the humor."
Nomu didn't.
ROAR!
With blood foaming in Nomu's mouth, it hammered the chainsaws, drill, and hammer onto Mushroom.
With a squelch, they pulled their hand free and fired the thrusters on their soles to push themselves back, a boom ringing out as Nomu's attack upended the earth.
"… The wound is regenerating, Mushroom-nimi," Melissa's voice entered the cyborg's system.
"We noticed that, Ms. Shield," they replied. "Any input that's not so obvious?"
With a whirring noise, chainsaws cut through the air as the Middle Tier Nomu instantly caught up to Mushroom.
The mushroom-headed cyborg took to the air, a fiery blast coming out of its soles.
Nomu was faster, catching Mushroom by the ankle before lifting them high and slamming them down with a force that blurred vision.
A BOOM should have echoed because of the impact, reaching the level of the earlier CRACK.
However, something amazing had happened just before Mushroom's body made contact with the earth.
Enormous mushrooms had sprouted from the cyborg's back, their mushroom caps glowing cyan.
The moment those mushrooms met the earth, they exploded, oozing a thick, gel-like substance—cushioning the entire blow.
In the very next moment, Mushroom's entire body ballooned.
The Defense Form didn't increase the cyborg's height, but it did make it look like a biometallic version of Hulk, with a funny mushroom head.
The moment Mushroom became a cyborg-hulk, their ankle enlarged as well, loosening Nomu's hold onto it.
As the Defense Form severely impeded their mobility, they returned to their lanky, Attack Form and made another fist, tiny mushrooms appearing over it.
With the first attack's feedback, the number and size of these mushrooms was much smaller.
Light Roast —
Taking advantage of Nomu's sudden imbalance because of losing the enemy it was holding, Mushroom used all their agility to punch the Nomu's sides.
— First Crack!
The crack was nowhere as tremendous as the first one, but its damage was more concentrated.
The blow held such power that it lifted Nomu by the feet, bending its entire body like a cloth at the point where Mushroom's fist had landed.
If there had been anyone else in Nomu's place, then this would have been enough to decide the battle's fate.
The Nomu lacked the mental capacity to know when to give up, though.
Even as Nomu was hanging midair, ignoring the pain of its innards getting mutilated, it lashed out with a chainsaw.
Mushroom's red eyes widened.
They hadn't expected this at all.
Numbers appeared in their head, generating possible routes to avoid the attack.
However, by the time they finished calculating what to do, the chainsaw landed on their shoulder and…cut through everything.
Their cyan-colored blood splattered Nomu's face.
The metallic armor on their body gained several cracks.
Tiny, mutilated mushrooms, like pieces of flesh, came oozing out of Mushroom, falling lifelessly on the ground.
A hissing roar rumbled across the atmosphere as the cyborg flew away from the Nomu, leaving behind a bloody trail.
"…You killed a lot of us…" Mushroom lampooned. "What if we didn't have the ability of Regeneration?"
…
Melissa Shield divined the outcome of the battle and put away the pendulum when it refused to budge.
That itself answered a lot, she knew.
Before they had arrived here, Leader had exclusively told them there was a Villain named Twice among the Villains, who could make Clones of others.
If Twice made a Clone of Stain, then it was highly likely that such a Clone would be possessed by Conformity, making all divinations pointless.
This meant the battlefield would soon gain several players.
"… You…" a faint voice entered Melissa's ears. "… are not Dr. Blessed."
The Seer's head snapped down, where Momo lay, gasping for breath. It didn't look like the girl had the strength to remain awake. Yet, she was looking at her without blinking.
Melissa didn't panic, though.
She hadn't been an Apostle of Mr. Fool for more than a few weeks, but she had already made major changes and finished many experiments. With Leader's Blood Creation Quirk supplying her with all the materials she needed, even if their quality was not up to the mark, there weren't many things that she lacked now.
The clownish mask on her face was now a proper high-tech device, having a voice scrambler, HUD, communication system, GPS, etc.
The only reason Lu… Leader hadn't gotten himself such a device for now because it wasn't practical for him, she remembered him explaining it to her. It was far easier to use a simple mask, replacing it with another instantly on the battlefield.
That had, of course, made sense — when he had been working alone.
Now that the Apostles of Mr. Fool were growing in number, they could do away with simplicity wherever they could, Melissa had argued.
So, Momo's words were nothing more than a hunch.
"… They do say no clue is stronger than a girl's hunch," Melissa said in a robotic tone, smiling behind the mask. "Too bad… It's not the case this time, young lady."
Then, as Momo kept quiet, both girls looked toward the battlefield, as Mushroom smacked Nomu's head, the drill puncturing through its shoulder.
"… What is that?" Momo asked.
"That—," Melissa said. "—is a walking nuclear disaster, Miss Yaoyorozu."
As Momo's eyes widened at her name being called out, Melissa kept focusing on Mushroom instead.
After briefly telling her how Mushroom came into being, Lu… Leader had given her an exceptional task to keep her occupied during the last few weeks — to understand Mushroom better.
It had taken her a few days to get over the fact that there existed a Quirk that could bestow Quirks.
But, upon thinking more logically, only such a baffling Quirk suited Dr. Blessed — the Leader of the Apostles of Mr. Fool.
So, considering baffling things the norm from thereon, Melissa had begun her experiments on Mushroom, trying to understand their mechanics better.
And what she found — left her not only astonished but breathless!
********************
Note: Up to 60 more chapters are available in advance across three Tiers. [Use the link in my webnovel profile to access all options]
You can even subscribe Trial Tier for just 1 dollar to have an experience of exclusive chapters for an entire month. I hope a few of you will consider supporting the work.
100 Power Stones/day: +1 Bonus Chapter next day