In a blink of an eye, Izuku vanished from the Nomu's sight.
There was no wind-up, no visible acceleration — one moment he stood on the fractured rails, rain dripping from his hair, and the next the space in front of the creature distorted from the violent displacement of air.
The Nomu barely had time to register the absence before Izuku reappeared directly in front of it.
His fist was already cocked back.
His shoulders squared.
His stance rooted into the steel beneath him.
And for the first time since arriving, there was no calm amusement in his eyes — only something absolute.
Nothing but death written in them.
The Nomu reacted on instinct, both swollen arms snapping forward in a crushing grab meant to cave in his skull and torso at once. The muscles in its forearms ballooned grotesquely, veins crackling like thunder beneath its blackened skin.
Too slow.
Izuku inhaled once.
Then, in a flash, he muttered the words — not shouted, not dramatic — just spoken with quiet certainty.
"Serious Punch."
Time seemed to hesitate.
The rain around them hung suspended for a fraction of a second.
Then—
B O O M.
His fist connected with the Nomu's face.
It erupted. The impact detonated the air itself, compressing it into a visible shockwave that exploded outward in a perfect sphere. The steel tracks beneath them liquefied and bent from the pressure, bolts ripping free like bullets as the surrounding bridge supports groaned violently.
The Nomu's head didn't just snap back — it deformed.
The force traveled through its skull, down its spine, and out its back in a concussive blast that tore apart the air behind it. The creature's body folded inward from the sheer transfer of kinetic energy before being launched backward at impossible speed.
The sound came after.
A thunderclap that split the night.
Windows across the district shattered in delayed sequence as the shockwave raced outward. The already damaged bridge cracked further, sections collapsing into the river below in plumes of concrete and steam.
The Nomu's body tore through multiple support beams before disappearing into the distance, carving a trench through steel and asphalt as it went. Buildings along its path buckled from the residual force, streetlights snapping like twigs.
For several seconds, nothing moved. Dust rose in towering columns. Metal rained down in twisted fragments.
Izuku remained where he stood, arm extended, rain instantly evaporating from the heat generated by the punch. Steam curled faintly from his knuckles.
Slowly, he lowered his fist.
The echo of the blow rolled across Hosu like distant thunder.
And far in the distance, where the Nomu had landed, the ground split open from the force of its impact.
A column of debris rose into the sky like a volcanic eruption, chunks of asphalt and twisted steel raining back down seconds later. The shockwave rippled outward in expanding rings, setting off car alarms and shattering already fractured windows.
Izuku watched the destruction for half a breath.
'That one's done,' he assessed coldly. His senses stretched outward, searching for movement, for regeneration — for anything resembling a heartbeat. There was nothing but settling rubble and fading kinetic echoes.
'Good. I should hurry up and find the other Nomu.'
He bent his knees and leaped.
The air cracked as he tore upward, leaving a spiraling gust in his wake. In seconds, he was high above Hosu once more, rain clouds parting around him as the city lights sprawled below like a glowing map.
Then he saw it.
High above the eastern district, the night sky trembled as a winged Nomu sliced through the clouds. Its massive black wings beat violently, sending turbulent currents spiraling behind it. Its glowing eyes swept across the city streets like a targeting system locking onto prey.
A guttural shreeeek tore from its throat — sharp, metallic, inhuman — loud enough to rattle glass windows below and send birds scattering in frantic flocks.
Down on the streets, pedestrians slowed.
They looked up.
Confusion turned into terror almost instantly as the monstrous silhouette dove straight toward them, wings folding back to increase speed. The creature's screech grew louder, closer, heavier with murderous intent.
Some froze in place, paralyzed by disbelief. Others screamed and ran, stumbling over each other in panic as the shadow grew larger and darker overhead.
A small girl stood near a street vendor cart, clutching her melting ice cream cone. Her tiny fingers trembled as the Nomu descended, claws extending forward like hooked blades.
Her scream pierced the air—
A green flash sliced through the night like lightning.
The impact hit the Nomu mid-dive, a concussive burst of force knocking it sideways in a violent spin. Its wings snapped awkwardly as it spiraled out of control before slamming into the street below.
CRASH.
Asphalt exploded upward. Sparks flew from torn power lines. Parked cars flipped from the force of the impact as the Nomu carved a trench through the road.
Smoke and dust swallowed the scene.
When it cleared, a tall silhouette stood between the girl and the crater.
Izuku Midoriya.
The faint emerald glow around him dimmed as he lowered from a hover, boots settling softly onto fractured pavement. The girl blinked up at him, ice cream forgotten, eyes wide with awe and lingering fear.
He turned slightly and knelt to her level, his voice calm despite the chaos behind him.
"You okay?"
She nodded timidly, just as her mother rushed forward, scooping her into a desperate embrace.
"Th-thank you! Thank you, hero!" she cried, voice shaking.
Izuku gave a small nod, but the softness left his expression as quickly as it came.
Behind him, the Nomu twitched.
Its torn wing jerked violently, bone snapping back into place with a sickening crack. The creature forced itself upright, smoke rising from its scorched skin.
Before it could roar—
Izuku vanished.
The air ruptured where he had stood.
He reappeared directly in front of the Nomu, momentum condensed into a single point. His fist drove forward into its chest with precise brutality.
BOOOM.
The impact cratered the street for meters in every direction. Shockwaves split the asphalt in jagged lines, sending fragments skidding across storefront windows.
The Nomu's torso caved inward from the force before its body was launched backward like a cannon shell. It smashed through a traffic light pole, folding the metal in half, then skidded across the pavement in a shower of sparks.
It finally came to rest against a collapsed storefront wall.
Izuku stood still for a moment, eyes narrowed.
His heightened senses scanned for regeneration.
The heartbeat inside the creature stuttered once.
Then faded.
Silence settled over the street, broken only by distant sirens approaching.
He looked up toward the skyline, the faint glow of determination flickering behind his gaze.
"One left," he muttered.
And then he was gone again.
TO BE CONTINUED