In sector four, the raging inferno released finally died down.
Thud.
The Obsidian Nomu's body hit the ground, its charred form still smoking from the concentrated hellfire that had finally overwhelmed it.
Endeavor stood over the corpse, breathing heavily. Compared to the red one, this creature was significantly harder to deal with.
Why? Due to a third quirk. Heat resistance.
This was the conclusion Endeavor had come up with. It was thing thing to absorb flames, but it was another to take no damage when doing so. More tests had confirmed that this creature had a great degree of resistance to high temperatures.
He had refrained from using Prominence Burn to avoid widespread damage hence it had taken a significant expenditure to finally overwhelm it.
His costume was torn in several places, and he could feel his body overheating, but ultimately it didn't matter. He was standing. The Nomu wasn't.
'Two of em ...,' he thought, his flames dimming slightly as he surveyed the destruction around him. 'And that's all they could manage.'
The Crimson lay in pieces fifty meters back. The Obsidian was now a smoking crater. And the third ...
His eyes narrowed. The third had escaped toward the evacuation route, but if the sudden silence from that direction meant anything, it had either been stopped or driven off.
'I have to check on Shoto and the others. They should be clear by now.'
He turned to leave, flames already gathering at his feet for a propulsive leap when space itself rippled in front of him.
A portal of swirling purple mist materialized out of nowhere, growing from a pinpoint to a man-sized gateway in less than a second.
Endeavor froze, his flames returning to maximum intensity. "You..."
"Greetings, Endeavor."
The mist villain's yellow eyes gleamed from the darkness.
"I hope the evening's entertainment has been to your satisfaction."
"Entertainment?" Endeavor's voice was low and dangerous. "You call attacking civilians entertainment?"
"A difference in perspective, perhaps." Kurogiri's tone remained infuriatingly polite. "Though I must commend you on your performance tonight. We didn't think you would be so difficult to defeat. Even if these creatures were significantly weaker than the one that fought All Might ..."
Endeavor didn't let him finish.
"Jet Burn!"
A concentrated blast of flames erupted from his palm, aimed directly at the portal's center.
The fire shot forward with and vanished into the warp gate, redirected to some unknown location.
"Predictable," Kurogiri observed.
Behind Endeavor, space warped again. A second portal opened at his back, soundless and sudden.
A blade thrusted out the moment it did aiming directly for Endeavors head.
The Number Two Hero's instincts saved him.
He twisted, flames erupting from his side in a defensive burst. The blade's edge caught him anyway, carving a shallow cut across his cheek before retreating back into the mist.
Endeavor's hand shot up, touching the wound. His fingers came away red.
First blood.
Enraged, he fired a blast at Kurogiri, only for the warp gate to disappear before the attack could land.
"Coward!" Endeavor roared, eyes darting to find the warp gate. "Face me directly!"
"Such anger," a raspy voice called out from somewhere in the darkness. "Such pride. Is this the flame that burns beneath the Number Two? How... disappointing."
Endeavor's eyes darted across the destroyed street, searching for the source.
Another portal opened, this time to his left.
He spun, unleashing another Jet Burn—
The attack passed harmlessly through empty space as the portal snapped shut.
"Stop hiding behind your tricks!" Endeavor's voice echoed across Sector Four. "If you want to fight me, then ..."
His body suddenly went stiff.
Not completely. He could still breathe, still move his eyes, but his major muscle groups had locked up, refusing to respond to his commands.
'What—?!'
"It seems our ploy has worked."
Kurogiri's voice fell into his ears. A few meters away from Endeavor, a portal swirled open, revealing a person The Flame Hero was all too familiar with.
Stain stepped through, his tattered red wrappings stained with older blood. That same fanatical gleam burned in his eyes. The one Endeavor had seen in the alley before this madman had escaped through a warp gate.
"You..." Endeavor forced the word through clenched teeth, every syllable a battle against the paralysis.
"Do not bother with the glare," The man stepped forward, raising his blade. "It will do you no good. Your fate is sealed."
'Dammit. How did he ..'
His thoughts paused as it dawned on him.
'The cut on my cheek—!' Endeavor realized with growing dread. It had been theorized what kind of quirk the Hero Killer had. The man had slain multiple heroes and wounded even more.
However, based on his fighting style, it couldn't be too strong. Endeavor had prepared for this. All he had to do was prevent him from getting close.
Never had he expected things to go like this.
"Coward... This is all you can resort to? Using tricks..."
"Spare me the babble Endeavor. You've become helpless. Like all false heroes when stripped of their power."
"False...?" The words enraged him to no end. He strained, his willpower screaming at his muscles to ignite, to move, to do anything. But his body was a statue of meat and bone. "I'll kill you."
"You are a man of immense power, and yet, you are the furthest thing from a Hero. I'd advise you to pick your last words very carefully."
Kurogiri's yellow eyes flickered within the mist a few meters away. "Hero Killer, I must urge you to be brief. Our operation across the city has been resolved. We have barely minutes before local pros amongst others converge on this location."
"I know. But some things cannot be rushed. To cull the Number Two... it is a duty that requires a certain... weight."
He raised the blade high over his head, the tip pointed directly at Endeavor's exposed throat.
'Dammit! If I could just—if the paralysis would—'
"No last words?" Stain asked, katana overhead. "No plea for mercy? No promise to change?"
"Go to hell," Endeavor managed to growl.
The Hero Killer nodded. "So long, Endeavor. May your death bring about a better world."
The blade began its descent toward the paralyzed hero's neck.
SQUELCH.
The sound was completely unexpected.
Stain's entire body jerked. His eyes widened, pupils contracting to pinpoints. The katana stopped mid-swing.
Kurogiri's mist rippled violently. "What—?!"
Stain looked down slowly, as if unable to believe what his body was telling him.
A steel rod. Thick, industrial, the kind used in construction reinforcement, had pierced clean through his lower abdomen from behind. The tip protruded from his stomach, dark with blood. More blood was already soaking into his tattered red wrappings.
"Well..."
A voice cut through the silence.
Stain's head jerked to the side. Every movement sent fresh waves of agony through his core, but the pain was distant. Shock was a powerful anesthetic.
Standing directly behind him was a figure that seemed to have materialized from nowhere. White hair catching the firelight, a green tactical jacket over dark combat gear, and a mask covering the lower half of his face. Only his eyes were visible.
The figure still held the other end of the steel rod, his grip steady despite the blood now staining the metal.
He tilted his head slightly, and despite the mask, there was an unmistakable quality of dark satisfaction in his voice.
"...That was easier than the last time."
Stain's katana slipped from nerveless fingers, clattering against the asphalt.
"You..." The Hero Killer's voice was barely a whisper, blood beginning to bubble at the corners of his mouth. "You..."
"Me," the masked figure confirmed, releasing the rod and taking a step back. "Surprise."
Kurogiri's yellow eyes blazed with fury and shock. "Impossible! We were watching for interference ... how did you ...?!"
The white-haired figure didn't answer immediately. Instead, he looked past Stain's wavering form to meet Endeavor's paralyzed gaze.
The man carried equal shock and confusion.
"Sorry to interrupt your dramatic moment," the masked figure said, his attention shifting back to Stain. "But I'm on a tight timer, so I couldn't wait for you to kill him. Apologies."
Stain tried to turn, tried to face his attacker properly, but his body was failing. The steel rod had done catastrophic damage. It hadn't pierced through any organs or vital blood vessels, it had however, destroyed one thing.
His lower spine.
__
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