The Nomu, having fully ejected the manhole cover from its skull, focused its lidless eye on the streetlight. Its body rippled as it activated Muscle Augmentation and Transforming Arms simultaneously. Then proceeded to shoot them forward.
Todoroki's foot hit the pavement. "Look out." Frost already creeping up his leg to form a barrier when ..
WHOOSH!
The manhole cover that had clattered to the ground beside the Nomu suddenly rocketed upward, slamming into the creature's face with devastating force.
CLANG!
Todoroki's ice wall stopped mid freeze. "What the .."
The creature's head snapped back with a wet crunch. The sudden loss of focus caused the shooting tendrils to lose their rigidity, drooping and piercing into the earth against the base of the streetlight.
"My turn," Yuta muttered as he formed a hand seal. The manhole cover, which had bounced off the creature's skull, halted in mid-air, vibrated for a millisecond, and shot back with redoubled speed.
BANG!
The ground cracked as it crashed into the earth.
'It's that move again.' Todoroki's brows furrowed, remembering Yuta using such a move during the sports festival. 'This time, he has actual projectiles ...'
"Did that ... What just ..."
In the helicopter, Ayaka stammered in surprise.
Just then, the Manhole cover was grasped before it could hit again.
Yuta raised an eyebrow. The creature stood to its feet.
SCREE!
The muscles on its left arm bulged as it cocked back. 'He's gonna throw it.' an ice path formed on Todoroki's legs as he propelled out of the way.
The strength of this creature was incredible. There was no way an ice barrier would hold. 'Better to avoid.' He thought. As for Yuta, he could take care of himself.
The moment Todoroki moved, the Nomu fired. The manhole cover shot through the air like a missile towards Yuta's head. The boy in question leaned to the side.
The projectile whizzed past his head, drew a strange arc around him, and shot right back towards the sender with unabated force.
The Nomu, still mid-throw and completely off-balance, didn't even have time to shriek.
A massive gash ran across the Nomu's face as the manhole cover slammed into its skull and then tore through its shoulder, embedding itself into the earth behind it. Blood, skin, and teeth flew in all directions.
The creature's legs gave out, and it fell backward into the crater of its own making.
The sound of the impact was heavy enough to be heard over the thrumming of the helicopter blades.
Todoroki's ice path came to a halt. He looked at the fallen beast, then at the boy perched on the light.
"Well..." Yuta leaped down from the streetlight, landing soundlessly on his feet. "...That's gotta hurt."
".."
Todoroki's eyelids twitched. 'Thank goodness support gear wasn't allowed.' In the distance, the Nomu's fingers twitched. Following which, it turned over on one side, slowly sitting up. The grotesque features now looked even worse as blood dropped from its now bloody maw.
"Hmm. How odd." Yuta uttered. "I thought you'd have regeneration or something!"
SCREEE!
The Nomu let out a high pitched roar, claws digging into the earth seemingly in rage. Yuta raised his hand.
The manhole cover shot forward from behind, slamming the Nomu in the back of the head.
BANG!
Everyone watching in the Shibuya crowd winced.
The Manhole cover flew right into Yuta's hand. He weighed the projectile, tossed it into the air once, mind drifting to the case on his back that he hadn't even touched yet. "Hmm. I should get the design lab to make me something like this when I get back."
".."
Finally, the Nomu pushed itself up. Its jaw hanging at a crooked angle.
Thud! Thud!
The sheer blunt force of the previous hits had cracked its exoskeleton-like skin. It didn't seem to feel the pain, but the structural damage was making its movements sluggish.
"You're persistent. I'll give you that." Yuta resisted the urge to crack a smile. It was kinda funny.
The Nomu lunged, its hind legs shattering the pavement as it launched itself forward. Yuta's Sharingan traced its trajectory as he threw the Manhole cover upward and pushed the side of his gauntlet. The case opened. At the same time, the Nomu appeared before Yuta and swung its claws.
Yuta body flickered. The earth shattered where he previously stood.
The blur ended as Yuta reappeared a few meters away, sliding on the asphalt. One hand touched the metal beneath him, the other reaching into the case on his back. Locking onto it's target, the Nomu clenched its arms and swung.
The wind blew back Yuta's hood, but otherwise, nothing happened. Standing on top of a building, Mr Aizawa's eyes turned red behind his goggles.
Yuta pulled.
Instead of a plate, kunai or shuriken, a heavy, High-Tensile Iron Chain unspooled from the case.
Chakra surged through Yuta's arm into the weapon, and it glowed with a faint silver-white light.
"Scale of one to ten," The Nomu shot forward. "this is going to be a twelve."
He whipped the chain in response.
The ground shattered as it drew a trench across the earth, moving upwards and colliding with the Nomu.
CLANG!
The impact created knocked the Nomu's arm wide. Before the creature could reset, Yuta spun, the chain following his movement like a living serpent, and slammed right into its chest. A third gash tore across its chest.
Following which, the Nomu was sent flying back where it came from.
BANG!
The crash was deafening. Dust and debris scattered in all directions as the Nomu pierced through that building and the one after it.
'I've lost sight of it.' Up on a building, Aizawa frowned.
Yuta flicked back the chain in hand. His Sharingan never left the crash site.
"Is it dead?" Todoroki called out, still maintaining a defensive stance.
"Doubt it," Yuta replied, the heat signature was obstructed by the debris. "This one is resilient. More so than the last one I faced with Mr. Aizawa."
"Why are you with Aizawa-sensei? Why are you in Hosu for that matter?"
"I'm interning with him?"
"When did that happen?"
The manhole cover fell back. Yuta caught it with his free hand.
"Since this afternoon after my train was attacked by villains."
Todoroki's brows furrowed. "You were attacked?"
"It's been a long day."
A low rumbling sound echoed from the crash site.
"Honestly, I don't doubt it," Todoroki replied, his eyes fixed on the destroyed buildings.
BOOM!
The entire structure exploded outward. Massive chunks of rubble, some the size of cars, shot toward them like missiles.
Todoroki's hands slammed into the ground. "Get back!"
A thick wall of ice erupted between them and the debris. The frozen barrier caught most of the larger pieces, but smaller fragments still scattered in all directions.
Yuta's hand whipped forward.
The manhole cover shot through the air, deflecting a chunk of concrete that had arced over Todoroki's wall. The metal disc rang like a gong as smashed the rubble to pieces.
Through the settling dust and the gaps in the ice wall, a silhouette emerged.
The Nomu stepped out of the wreckage, its body covered in dust and debris but otherwise intact. Its vacant eyes locked onto them.
By now, its body was a mess. Nevertheless, it still stood and moved as if unharmed.
BANG!
The creature shot forward with explosive speed. It crossed fifteen meters in the time it took to blink
The manhole cover came flying back toward the Nomu's head. A perfect intercept trajectory.
The suddenly, the unexpected happened.
It ducked low and dodged.
'It dodged?' Yuta's fingers twitched, redirecting the manhole cover mid-flight. The metal disc curved through the air, arcing back for another strike.
The Nomu's body twisted, an unnatural, almost serpentine motion, and the second attack passed harmlessly by.
Todoroki's face darkened. "It's adapting to our attacks."
"So it seems," Yuta replied, his free hand reaching for the chain at his side.
The Nomu leaped onto the side of a building, claws digging into concrete. Then it began to climb, no, run up the vertical surface, defying gravity with pure muscle strength.
It reached the rooftop in seconds, then launched itself across the gap to the next building.
Heading straight for them from above.
'High ground advantage,' Yuta observed, his Sharingan tracking the creature's path.
The chain unspooled in his hand. Chakra began to flow through the weapon, making it glow with that familiar silver-white light.
The Nomu leaped from the rooftop, its trajectory aimed directly at Yuta. Yuta's arm cocked back, ready to swing—but he didn't.
He kicked his Sharingan into overdrive as he timed the trajectory.
'Wait for it...'
The Nomu descended, its shadow growing larger. Five meters. Four. Three.
Its clawed hands reached out, ready to grab ...
WHOOSH!
A second manhole cover, one Yuta had touched earlier before releasing the chain, suddenly shot forward from behind him.
CLANG!
It slammed into the Nomu's face, yet again snapping its head back. The creature's trajectory was thrown off, its body spinning awkwardly in mid-air.
Right into Yuta's optimal strike zone.
"Now."
__
Enjoying the story? Want to read ahead?
Support the novel and unlock early access to unreleased chapters by joining my Patreon!
💧 WATER TIER (5$) – Read 3 chapters ahead of public releases
🌍 EARTH TIER ($7) – Read 5 chapters ahead, with bonus lore, author notes, and behind-the-scenes content
🔥 FIRE TIER ($10) – Read 8 chapters ahead, get full access to all extras, and vote in exclusive polls for bonus content
📎 Patreon.com/Future805
Even a small pledge makes a huge difference — thank you for reading.