Right in the central square, the eyes of all the survivors met at that second. Midoriya, who was still supporting the bleeding Aizawa, sank to his knees, tears of pure relief welling up in his eyes. "All... Might... He's here..." he whispered, his voice shaking with exhaustion and the terror he had experienced.
Tsuyu gasped quietly next to him, her eyes fixed on the ruined mountain zone, where my figure was slowly rising from the deep crater. "Look at Mephisto..." she said weakly. "He... that thing almost killed him, but he managed to hold it in place. If it hadn't been there, we wouldn't be alive anymore."
The rest of Class 1-A, scattered around the area, watched the battlefield in horror. Kirishima and Bakugo, who were running from the buildings to the main square, froze in place. Bakugo stared at the giant shadow dragon Kaisel, still blocking Shigaraki with his wings, and then at me standing with cracked armor at Agrona's side. Bakugo's palms did sparkle slightly, but for the first time there was no anger on his face, there was shock. He realized that the power I had just displayed was in a completely different league than anything he had encountered before. I was fighting a monster that could break the bones of professional heroes.
I exhaled heavily, more blood dripping from my mouth onto the shattered concrete. The plates on my chest were deeply grooved, the lines flickering wildly like a dying candle, and thick smoke rose from the molten joints. My Aether Core was exhausted, pulsing with painful irregularity.BodyIt kept me alive, but my left arm was crippled by Nomu's brute force.
"My lord..."whispered Agron, his shadowy form undulating heavily under the constant pressure. His horns pulsed dimly and a malignant, eather began to form around his hands."My essence is weakening. I cannot maintain my physical form in this state for long. That creature... its regeneration is too fast and immune to normal wear and tear."
"Hold on, Agron",I answered him while wiping the blood from my chin with my hand and straightening up so I wouldn't be hunched over.""All Might is here. Now the tables are turned."
Shigaraki Tomura, in the middle of the square, began to scratch his neck frantically, his nails tearing at his skin until it bled as he watched the Peace Symbol arrive. "Ah... so you've finally come, you impostor," he hissed in a mad voice, his eyes darting wildly from All Might to me and Kaisel. "I've been waiting for you! But this... this horned brat ruined my game! Nomu! Kurogiri! Forget those monsters! All Might is here! Kill him!"
Before Shigaraki could finish, All Might had disappeared from the entrance. Within moments, he appeared in the central square, swiftly picking up Aizawa, Midoriya, and Tsuyu and carrying them to a safe distance to the stairs. In the next split second, he was standing directly in front of me in the mountain zone, his back to me, his giant yellow heroic back blocking my view of the approaching Nomu.
"Young Mephisto," All Might spoke, his voice, though deep and firm, holding a slight tinge of admiration and concern. "You managed to protect your classmates and Aizawa from certain death. You did more than anyone could ask of a first-year student. But now... now rest. This is my job."
"All Might..." I said wearily, my amethyst armor clanking faintly as I took a step back. "That thing... has absolute-level shock absorption and super-regeneration. Brute force doesn't work on it unless you tear it apart faster than it can heal. You have to overload it."
All Might bowed his head slightly, his lips tightening even more. "Thanks for the warning. Watch closely... this is how the Symbol of Peace fights!"
Nomu lunged. His massive body cut through the space between us, and his fist shot straight at All Might's face. All Might didn't move, he aimed his own fist.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The collision of their blows created such a gigantic shockwave that the entire USJ dome shook to its foundations. A giant hurricane of dust and debris formed around them, throwing Agron and me several meters away. Within a second, a clean exchange of blows began. It was not a fight full of techniques, it was a raw, brutal war of attrition.
Slap! Bang! Pop!
All Might fired one punch after another, his fists turning into a blurry yellow blur, but Nomu returned each blow with equal intensity. Each shockwave tore the ground beneath their feet, the concrete turning to sand, and the fountain in the middle of the square was completely leveled.
I looked at Agron. His eyes were blazing ominously. "Agron... do you have enough strength left for one last strike together?"
He just chuckled coldly, the air around him becoming heavy with mental pressure, trying to paralyze the creature's primitive instincts."For you, my lord, I will spill all the mana in the world. That creature will feel the wrath of the Virites."
I focused the last remnants of energy from my Aether Core. My damaged armor glowed a bright red for the last time. The lightning around my arms was no longer dense, but incredibly sharp, like liquid plasma.
All Might had just tiredly taken a hard blow to his side, where he had an old injury, and hesitated for a second. Nomu was about to take advantage of his weakness and dig his claws into his chest.
"NOW, AGRONO!" I yelled.
I shot forward, using my last bit of speed. Agrona followed me, raising his arms and summoning massive binding chains and spikes that shot straight from the shadows beneath Nomu's feet. The spikes pierced the creature's flesh and began to burn its cells from within, completely immobilizing Nomu for a split second and paralyzing its nervous system.
I soared above them, combined all the plasma energy of the lightning into both fists, and descended like a falling meteor.
BZZZZZZ-BOOOM!
My fists hit Nomu's face at the same moment that All Might, encouraged by our support and the momentary weakening of the enemy, extended his right hand for the final blow. My lightning combined with Agron's magic completely seared Nomu's eyes and brain, paralyzing his super-regeneration for a second under our onslaught.
"Young Mephisto! Get out of the way!" All Might thundered, the muscles on his right arm doubling in size as he pumped the last remnants of One For All into them.
Agrona and I quickly retreated. All Might straightened up, his eyes shining with pure golden light.
"If your Quirk can absorb shock at one hundred percent..." All Might roared as his fist sliced through the air at the speed of sound. "...then I simply have to hit you with a force that exceeds one hundred percent! PLUS... ULTRAAAAA!"
The blow struck Nomu in the abdomen. The shockwave that followed was so monumental that it completely tore apart the clouds above USJ and tore a giant, fifty-meter hole in the glass roof of the dome. Nomu, whose regeneration was still blocked by our magic combination, could not withstand the enormous pressure. His body shot upward like a rocket, flew through the hole in the roof, and disappeared somewhere high in the atmosphere.
A deathly silence descended over the USJ dome, accompanied only by falling shards of glass and All Might's heavy breathing, from which white steam slowly began to rise.
At that moment, I fell to one knee, leaning against the shattered ground. Agron, with a quiet, exhausted smile, dissolved back into my shadow, along with Kaisel. We made it. But the price for this victory was high.