Mushroom was not a fighter.
They were a cyborg, designed to survive and escape.
The strength that came along was nothing but a byproduct of those two things, powered by nuclear reactor–like organs that were a fusion of fungi and machinery.
Against the likes of Alexander Becking and Christopher Skyline, both having vast fighting experience with Villains, Mushroom had no choice but to succumb to using brute force.
The good thing for Mushroom was that, presently, Nomu wasn't any better, either.
The good here was relative, though.
Seeing the two murder machines changing topography right in front of their eyes, Erasure Head, Mandalay, Mr. Compress, and Himiko Toga experienced the worst feelings of their lives.
For the Heroes, it was the presence of Dr. Blessed and the cyborg, which, according to the news, was one of the prime reasons behind the disaster in the USA weeks ago.
For the Villains, it was the presence of Dr. Blessed, the leader of the Apostles of Mr. Fool — enemy of the Claws of Conformity.
As if that wasn't enough, Momo was lying next to Dr. Blessed, quickening the Heroes' and Villains' heartbeats even more.
"Oi… Erasure…" Mandalay gasped, her lips going dry. "What are we going to do?"
Aizawa looked on as the insanely tall cyborg regenerated a hole in its stomach instantly, and the ends of his hair lifted, defying gravity. "Let's get our student back," he said, stepping forward. "Because that's our job!"
An insane scene revealed itself, then.
Erasure Head and Mandalay broke out in a run, heading straight toward Momo.
From the other side, Mr. Compress and Himiko Toga dashed in the same direction.
At the same time, Melissa smiled behind her mask, knowing well a Seer's limits. "Mushroom-nimi…" she ordered, looking at Momo next to her. "Let's… Wrap it up."
And that was the cue Mushroom had been waiting for.
With a monstrous kick, the cyborg pushed Nomu away from it, then made a fist.
Dark Roast —
Tiny mushrooms bloomed into existence over Mushroom's massive fist, time slowing down in their surroundings.
Then, with a speed that blinded the eyes, they propelled themselves over the Chainsaw Nomu and punched down, splitting the air.
— First Crack!
Mushroom's fist landed on the Nomu's chest, tore through it, and then kept going down, striking the earth.
The energy, equivalent to 8 kt of TNT, caused a CRACKLING BOOM, the very earth sinking under its might.
That was only the beginning, though.
First Crack was nothing but concentrated supersonic blasts, released instantaneously.
The Light Roast held power equivalent to 0.3 kt, the Medium Roast caused destruction worth 2 kt of TNT, and the Dark Roast…
In a circle of 50-meter radius, with Mushroom as the center, the entire earth crumbled from the inside.
Cracks tore through the ground, splitting the entire forest in a 200–300-meter region around them.
Then, the many football fields-sized cracked earth swelled before releasing all the energy with a mighty explosion.
Sound ceased to exist.
Chunks of earth flew hundreds of meters in the air.
Trees were uprooted and blown away by the shockwave as if they were twigs.
And if nature itself was suffering, then less needed to be said about the Heroes and Villains.
Erasure Head and Mandalay were hurled across the sky, spinning uncontrollably, disappearing into the distance.
Mr. Compress and Toga got buried under a pile of broken trees and large boulders.
And Melissa and Momo…
The two girls levitated above ground, a force field surrounding them.
Clouds of dust rolled away from the field after a few minutes, revealing a massive crater.
At the center of the crater, Mushroom stood, carrying the large Nomu on their shoulders.
There was a hole in the Nomu's stomach, but it wasn't dead, as most of the power of the impact had gone down into the earth, instead of disintegrating it.
"Let's go, Miss Shield," the cyborg's voice entered Melissa's ears. "It's better to… #$CR$$$"
Melissa's eyes popped behind the mask.
The gibbering was one thing. But, in the very next moment, she saw the cyborg sluggishly dolling left and right, covered in tiny electric sparks. It was as if Mushroom was experiencing a short circuit on a massive scale.
If these signs weren't enough, then the large mushroom cap, acting as Mushroom's head, began wilting.
Melissa's head snapped up.
High in the sky, through the lingering dust, she saw a huge, black bird.
Zooming in, she found three boys seated on the bird, with the eyes of one of them planted dead on Mushroom, the ends of his hair flailing against the wind.
Of course, she couldn't help but stare at Luke more, whose one eye was twitching, unseen by the other two boys.
"…" Melissa's mouth twitched. Is Leader... winking at me?
Then, the bird dived.
"Well, nice to meet you, Miss Yaoyorozu!" Melissa screamed, breaking out in a run toward Mushroom and hurling an object in the sky. "Haha! That was fun!!"
As she slid down the crater, the boys landed on the crater's slope as well, Nyx returning to her original size.
Todoroki's breath misted as he prepared to freeze everything in front of him.
With Monoma erasing all Quirks, there was no way for the Villains to run away, anyway.
However, a weird, cylindrical object appeared in front of the three boys, falling from the sky.
Then, it exploded.
Bang!
A bright flash blinded the three of them, forcing Monoma to close his eyes.
It became obvious that Dr. Blessed must have thrown the flash bang even before breaking out in a run.
By the time vision returned, Dr. Blessed, the weirdly tall, mushroom-headed Cyborg, and Nomu… all had disappeared.
Todoroki and Monoma kept staring at the empty spot in the middle of the crater, disbelieving that Dr. Blessed knew exactly how to block Erasure.
Luke noticed all signs of Descorrer vanishing and ran toward Momo, Nyx catching up to him soon.
The girl was barely keeping her eyes open, lying listlessly on the ground, bleeding all over.
Luke was about to use Spot Heal on her when a chill ran down his spine, the feathers on the back of Nyx's head standing up as well.
From behind, Todoroki and Monoma screamed.
And Luke didn't even need to turn around to know who it was…
… an image of a red-eyed Stain manifesting in his mind, towering over him with swords in his hands.
********************
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