With another deafening BOOM, Izuku blasted into the sky, the ground beneath him fracturing from the force of his launch.
A streak of green light carved through the night air, slicing across the clouds like a comet tearing through darkness.
The city blurred beneath him — rooftops shrinking, streets streaking into glowing lines as he adjusted mid-air, angling toward the next disturbance his senses had already locked onto.
In another district, chaos reigned unchecked.
A second Nomu rampaged through what had once been a neighborhood playground.
The bright colors of children's equipment clashed grotesquely against the monster's blackened, muscle-bound frame.
Its massive fists swung wildly, pulverizing anything in reach. A metal slide folded in half under one careless swipe, twisting like soft aluminum foil. Swings snapped free from their chains and sailed across the sandpit.
A handful of pro heroes surrounded it, coordination strained but determined. One attempted to bind its legs with reinforced cables, another launched blasts of concussive force to redirect its movement away from fleeing civilians.
Their efforts slowed it — barely — but each hit only seemed to make the creature more feral.
Children's screams echoed from behind barricades as police rushed to clear the perimeter.
The Nomu raised both fists high, preparing to bring them down in a devastating ground smash—
A thunderous crack split the air above them. Heads snapped upward.
Izuku descended like a meteor.
His fist glowed emerald, energy condensed so tightly around it that the surrounding air shimmered violently. The pressure alone forced nearby heroes to brace instinctively.
B OO OO OO M!
He struck dead center.
The earth convulsed under the impact. A massive crater formed instantly, pulverizing concrete and playground equipment alike.
The Nomu's body didn't even have time to react — it disintegrated under the concentrated force, reduced to fragments of blackened flesh and dust that scattered outward in a violent ring.
The shockwave blasted across the park, flattening benches and snapping light poles sideways. Sand erupted skyward in towering plumes as the heroes shielded their faces against the violent gust.
When the dust began to settle, a crater smoldered at the center of the playground.
Izuku stood there for half a second, steam curling faintly off his gloves.
Then he was gone.
He reappeared atop a nearby skyscraper, landing lightly on the edge as the city stretched below him once more. The wind tugged at his suit while sirens began converging on the ruined district behind him.
He scanned the streets. Closed his eyes briefly.
'Alright… now where is Iida…'
His senses expanded outward — filtering through distant traffic, panicked radio chatter, helicopter rotors slicing through air.
Then he heard it. The sharp metallic clash of steel on steel. Strained breathing.
And a voice — raw with rage and desperation. Izuku's eyes opened.
Down below, in a narrow alleyway squeezed between two aging apartment blocks, he saw them.
Iida and Stain locked in brutal combat.
Streetlight flickered overhead, casting jagged shadows along the brick walls as Stain's blade flashed red in the dim glow. Iida's armor was scuffed and cracked, his movements desperate but driven by fury rather than precision.
Stain moved fluidly around him — controlled, surgical — each step calculated.
Izuku's lips curved into a small smirk.
"Found you," he muttered.
Without hesitation, he stepped off the skyscraper and dropped toward the alley.
.....
The alleyway felt suffocating.
Rainwater pooled between cracked pavement stones, tinted dark where blood had already begun to drip. The metallic scent of iron hung heavy in the damp air, mixing with mildew and the faint stench of rotting trash from overturned bins nearby. A broken streetlight overhead flickered erratically, its weak glow stuttering across brick walls stained with years of grime.
Iida Tenya stood rigid despite the tremor in his breathing. His glasses were cracked along one lens, his uniform torn at the shoulder where the first shallow cut had landed. Steam hissed faintly from the exhaust ports in his calves as his engines idled unevenly, the vibration traveling up through his legs.
Across from him, Stain crouched low like a coiled predator. His ragged red scarf trailed behind him, damp at the edges, stirring with each faint draft of night wind that slipped through the narrow corridor. The blade in his hand reflected the broken light in thin silver streaks.
"You reek of vengeance, boy," Stain said, voice gravelly and measured. "That's not justice. That's selfish desire dressed up in a hero's mask."
"I don't need your lecture!" Iida snapped, though the strain in his voice betrayed him.
His engines roared to life, a sudden surge of torque ripping droplets of water from the pavement as he propelled himself forward. The burst of speed compressed the air in the tight alley, sending loose paper and dust swirling behind him.
His arm thrust forward in a precise spear-hand strike aimed directly at Stain's sternum—
Clang!
Steel met reinforced gauntlet. Sparks sprayed between them as Stain's katana angled just enough to redirect the attack. The impact reverberated up Iida's arm, numbing his fingers.
He didn't hesitate.
He pivoted sharply, driving a spinning back kick toward Stain's ribs. The movement was crisp, drilled through years of disciplined training, perfectly balanced even on slick ground.
Stain slipped to the side as if the air itself carried him. The kick sliced through nothing but shadow. Iida followed immediately with a downward elbow strike, then a sweeping low kick, chaining movements with mechanical precision.
Every blow was met.
Every strike deflected.
Stain's footwork barely disturbed the puddles beneath him. He rotated around Iida's guard, blade always positioned at a lethal angle, never overcommitting.
Stain grinned beneath his mask.
"You've got form," he murmured. "But no heart."
His wrist flicked.
Shhk!
The katana slipped past Iida's guard in a narrow arc, slicing through fabric and grazing his upper arm. The cut wasn't deep — but it was deliberate.
Blood struck the wall in scattered droplets.
Iida staggered back a half step, clutching his arm as his engines sputtered unevenly. His breathing grew heavier, fogging the cool night air.
"I'll avenge my brother…" he growled, jaw trembling. "For Ingenium!"
Stain's eyes sharpened, amusement darkening into something more contemptuous.
"You and your brother are the same," he said quietly. "Clinging to titles. To image. You'll meet him soon enough. Both of you… paralyzed."
The words landed harder than the blade.
Iida's vision blurred at the edges. Rage flooded him, drowning out strategy, drowning out restraint. His engines flared violently, blue light flaring bright against the wet pavement as he lunged again, abandoning form for raw aggression.
He swung wildly.
Stain had already moved.
In a blink, he stepped past Iida's right shoulder, sliding into his blind spot.
SLASH.
The blade carved across Iida's back in a clean diagonal cut.
Blood sprayed against brick, warm against cold stone.
Iida gasped, knees buckling as the numbness crept through his limbs like frost spreading beneath skin. His fingers lost strength. His legs faltered. The whine of his engines diminished into a faint, dying hum.
He dropped to one knee.
The paralysis set in fully.
Stain lifted the blade slowly, crimson glistening along its edge. He brought it to his mouth, tongue running across the steel in one deliberate motion.
"Paralysis," he muttered, voice low and satisfied. "Your blood's mine now. You're done."
He stepped forward, boots splashing softly in diluted red.
The flickering streetlight cast his shadow long and warped across Iida's helpless form as he raised the sword overhead.
"Another fake hero…" he whispered.
"…erased."
TO BE CONTINUED