[Warning: Lethal Impact Imminent.][System Override: Failed.]
The warning flashed red in Reiji's vision, blinking rapidly like a dying heartbeat.
He couldn't move.
His muscles were locked, his nerves screaming as the invisible tether connecting him to the creature pumped raw, chaotic data directly into his brain. It wasn't just paralysis. It was an invasion.
ZZZZT!
The creature's hand—wreathed in the same violet lightning that Reiji had unlocked only recently—snapped down.
It was aiming for his heart.
"Die," it rasped, the voice a distorted echo of his own.
BOOM!
Just before the strike connected, a blur of green lightning tore through the warehouse.
"SMASH!!"
Midoriya slammed into the creature's side with the force of a freight train.
CRASH!
The creature was launched sideways, smashing through a concrete pillar before skidding across the debris-strewn floor. Dust billowed up, momentarily obscuring its twisted form.
Midoriya landed in a crouch in front of Reiji, his body glowing with the full cowl of One For All. Blackwhip tendrils spiraled out from his back, ready to strike.
"Reiji! Can you move?!" Midoriya shouted, his eyes not leaving the dust cloud.
Reiji gritted his teeth, forcing his trembling arms to push himself up.
"Barely..." he wheezed. "It's... inside my head, Midoriya. It's trying to overwrite me."
[System Alert: Neural Sync at 88%. Connection Unstable.]
From the shadows of the warehouse ceiling, Hawks dove down, feathers bristling like knives.
"Endeavor, now!"
"PROMINENCE BURN!"
A massive torrent of orange fire erupted from the other side of the room. Endeavor didn't hold back. The heat was instantaneous, turning the moisture in the air into steam instantly as the blast consumed the area where the creature had landed.
The warehouse shook violently.
ROAAAAAR!
The flames swirled, a vortex of destruction that would have incinerated a High-End Nomu instantly.
Endeavor lowered his hand, his breathing heavy. "Did we get it?"
Reiji's eyes widened as the system pinged a warning.
[Threat Detected: Absorption Complete.]
"Move!" Reiji screamed.
FWISH!
From the center of the inferno, a hand shot out—not burned, but glowing.
The creature stood amidst the flames, unharmed. The fire spiraled around it, being sucked into the violet core in its chest.
"It... ate the fire?" Todoroki whispered, stepping back in disbelief.
The creature stepped forward. Its skin, once pale and Nomu-like, was now hardening, taking on a charred, obsidian texture. It looked less like a monster now and more like a dark, armored version of Reiji.
It turned its head, the bones cracking audibly.
"Weak," it muttered.
Then, it vanished.
ZIP.
"Behind you!" Hawks yelled.
Too late.
The creature reappeared directly behind Endeavor.
BAM!
A fist wreathed in violet lightning and stolen Hellfire slammed into the Number One Hero's back.
Endeavor was sent flying, crashing through a stack of steel crates with a deafening screech of metal.
"Dad!" Todoroki shouted, launching a wave of ice to trap the beast.
But the creature didn't dodge. It simply raised a hand.
SNAP.
Reiji felt a phantom pain in his own arm as the creature mimicked his [Shadow Bind].
Black tendrils erupted from the creature's shadow, shattering the ice and lashing out at Todoroki and Midoriya.
Midoriya dodged, using Blackwhip to pull himself to the ceiling, but Todoroki was too slow. A tendril slammed into his side, knocking the wind out of him.
Reiji fell to his knees again, clutching his head.
Every move the creature made... Reiji felt it. Every punch. Every step. It was using his system. His skills.
[System Notification: The enemy is accessing your Skill Tree.][Skill Stolen: Phantom Step.]
"Stop it..." Reiji growled, blood dripping from his nose.
The creature turned slowly to face him. It ignored the other heroes, its hollow white eyes locking onto Reiji.
"Carter," it said again.
Reiji froze.
That name.
He hadn't heard that name in sixteen years. Not since he woke up in this world. Not since he became Reiji Kurobane.
"Why..." Reiji whispered, his voice trembling with a mix of rage and confusion. "Why do you call me that?"
The creature tilted its head. Its mouth twisted into a jagged, mocking smile.
"Because the system remembers," it hissed. "You think you were reincarnated? You think this is a second chance?"
It took a step forward.
"You are just data. And I am the backup."
Reiji's mind reeled.
[Mental Stress: Critical.][System Integrity: Failing.]
"Reiji, don't listen to it!" Hawks shouted, diving in with a feather blade.
The creature didn't even look. It caught Hawks' feather blade with two fingers.
CRACK.
It snapped the steel-hard feather like a twig.
"Insects," the creature spat.
It raised its hand toward Reiji. A ball of concentrated violet energy began to form—the same energy Reiji used for his [Infernal Burst], but denser. Darker.
"Reintegration sequence... start."
Reiji stared at the energy ball. He couldn't dodge. His legs refused to work.
Is this it? he thought. Am I going to die by my own power?
[System Alert: Survival Instinct Triggered.][Hidden Protocol Activated: Soul Override.]
Suddenly, the world turned grey.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl. The dust motes in the air hung suspended. The lightning crackling from the creature's hand froze.
A new window popped up in front of Reiji's eyes. It wasn't the usual blue.
It was Red.
[Do you wish to authorize Lethal Force?][Warning: This will damage the Host's body.]
[Y / N]
Reiji stared at the prompt.
He looked at Endeavor, groaning in the wreckage. He looked at Midoriya, desperate but too far away. He looked at the creature—this twisted mockery of his existence.
"Screw the damage," Reiji snarled, his voice guttural.
He slammed his mental command into the [Y].
[Authorization Accepted.][Engaging: MORTAL KOMBAT FATALITY PROTOCOL.]
THOOM.
Reiji's heartbeat returned with the force of a war drum.
The grey world shattered.
Heat—unimaginable heat—exploded from Reiji's core. It wasn't the golden Hellfire of Scorpion. It wasn't the violet lightning of Raiden.
It was pure, white-hot energy.
The creature's eyes widened. For the first time, it looked afraid.
Reiji stood up. The paralysis was gone, replaced by an agony that felt like his skin was melting—but he didn't care.
"You want to be me?" Reiji asked, his voice echoing as if two people were speaking at once.
He raised his hand.
"Then take all of it."
FWOOOOM!
A massive skeletal chain, wreathed in white fire, shot out of Reiji's chest, piercing straight through the creature's energy ball and slamming into its chest.
"GET OVER HERE!"
Reiji yanked the chain.
The creature screamed—a sound of digital static and human agony—as it was dragged violently across the room.
Reiji's fist ignited.
[Skill: Hellfire Uppercut (Overclocked)]
He met the creature in the middle of the room.
CRACK-BOOM!
The uppercut connected with the creature's jaw. The impact was so strong it created a vacuum in the warehouse, shattering the remaining windows instantly.
The creature was launched upward, smashing through the roof and into the night sky.
Reiji didn't stop.
[Teleport.]
He vanished.
High above the warehouse, amidst the dark clouds, Reiji reappeared above the rising creature.
He clasped his hands together, summoning every ounce of power he had left.
"Toasty."
He hammered his fists down.
METEOR SLAM.
The creature plummeted back down, trailing smoke like a falling star, and crashed into the warehouse floor with earth-shattering force.
The ground rippled like water. The entire building groaned and collapsed inward, burying the monster under tons of concrete and steel.
Reiji landed on top of the pile, swaying on his feet.
Steam poured off his body. His skin was red, blistered from the overclock.
[Combat Mode: Disengaged.][Energy Reserves: 2%.][System Cooling Down...]
Midoriya scrambled up the rubble, coughing. "Reiji! Reiji, are you...?"
Reiji stared at the spot where the creature was buried.
There was no movement. No signal.
"It's..." Reiji gasped, his vision blurring. "It's gone..."
But just as his eyes rolled back and he began to fall, a final system message flickered in the corner of his dying vision.
[Target Status: Escaped.][Sync Rate: 99%.][Integration... Inevitable.]
Reiji hit the ground. Darkness took him.
End of Chapter 101.
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