"Crush!"
SWISH!
In the blink of an eye, and before the Nomu's fist could reach my face, the air and gravity compressed around its massive arm with gargantuan force. It wasn't just an impact; it was a sudden "implosion." The beast's bones and flesh were crushed inward in a fraction of a second, and then... it exploded.
BOOM!!!!
Shreds of the arm flew everywhere, leaving behind a severed shoulder bleeding profusely with that thick, black slime. The two-headed Nomu let out a shriek that shook the walls of the ruined hospital, staggering backward as it struggled to process what had just happened.
I forced my exhausted body up. My bones were groaning, and every cell in me screamed for rest, but the survival instinct was stronger. I dragged my heavy feet over the rubble, walking toward it with shaky steps.
I reached it while it was writhing on the ground. I gripped the broken knife blade with all my remaining strength and lunged it into the first Nomu's head, piercing the brain directly. The monster's body convulsed, and in that moment, the second head attacked in a desperate move, clamping its massive jaws onto my arm with terrifying force.
I felt the beast's teeth sink into my flesh. The pain was enough to make any human lose consciousness, but I didn't care. I looked at the second head with cold indifference, raised the broken knife again, and began stabbing it repeatedly into the second skull until its movement stopped completely and the light faded from its eyes.
The monster released my arm and fell as a lifeless corpse. I collapsed beside it on the cold ground, my breath coming in ragged gasps.
"Cough..." Blood began to pour from my mouth profusely.
In that moment, I remembered: [Why did I overlook the fact that Toge used to bleed as soon as he used his ability? Perhaps if I had used it to completely pulverize the Nomu, I would have been the one to die from the backlash of the skill.]
Therefore, I must do one thing: be extremely cautious when using it.
I remained lying there for five minutes, which was enough to recover some of my energy.
[I have to leave... now.]
I stood up with difficulty and began moving away from the combat zone. I knew the noise would attract more of those freaks. I started sneaking between the demolished buildings and wrecked cars, using everything I knew to escape without being noticed by the Nomu. I saw several "Nomu" roaming in the distance, but I successfully avoided them.
After a long time of walking, I finally reached the bank of a nearby river on the outskirts of the city. I felt a great sense of relief the moment I saw the running water.
[Water... now I won't have to worry about thirst.]
I looked at my empty little bag; I could survive for fifteen days without food, so water was the most important thing. I thought about leaving the city for the forest, but I remembered the swarms of Nomu I had seen wandering among the dense trees there. The forest was dangerous; staying on the outskirts of the city among the ruins was the safer option for now, despite its risks.
I stopped behind a large rock that hid me from view. I began stripping off my torn clothes, stained with red and black blood, revealing a body covered in lean, Medium
I stepped into the cold river water, feeling a shiver run through my entire body as it touched the wounds on my fist, but I didn't back down. I began washing away the filth: the sticky black blood of the Nomu, my own dried red blood, and the dust that had clung to me.
With every handful of water I lifted, the psychological weight gradually lifted. I washed my hair and face, finally feeling like I had regained my humanity away from the smell of blood that had been wafting from me.
When I stepped out of the water and stood on the bank, the fading sunlight reflected off my wet body, revealing the incredible transformation I had undergone. I was no longer that pale, scrawny boy; instead, symmetrical and solid muscles stood out, defined sharply under the skin. My stomach was clearly six-packed, and my arms—despite being relatively lean—were hard as stone. Most importantly, I now possessed a strikingly handsome face.
I turned to my clothes lying on the ground. They were nothing but a tattered rag full of holes and scratches, but they were all I had. I washed them in the river vigorously, wrung them out until they nearly tore in my hands, then put them back on. I had no choice; staying naked meant dying of cold.
The shadows began to stretch, and soon night fell. In this city, night is hunting time for the monsters, and staying on the ground means suicide. Even though they come out during the day, the rate of their appearance at night is many times higher.
I looked around until my eyes fell on a massive, tall oak tree with branches interlocking high above. I climbed it quickly until I reached a wide, strong branch at the top. I leaned my back against the trunk, holding the broken knife blade in my hand just in case. I looked at the star-studded sky and let out a long sigh.
[15 days without food... water is available... and my Quirk, although I've used it twice now, doesn't mean I can control it perfectly. But at least I have a basic idea of it, and with training, I can use it.]
I closed my eyes slowly and decided to get some rest.
I opened my eyes to the sunlight before inhaling the fresh morning air. I felt that familiar "sting" in my muscles, but it wasn't as painful as yesterday. I pulled the steel wire out of my pocket. At the time I found it, I had no idea how to use it, but now, I think I know a use for it—especially since I can no longer use the knife; it has become unusable.
I grabbed the end of the wire and tried to throw it with force toward an opposite branch to wrap it around.
SWISH... CLANG!
The wire didn't wrap; instead, it hit the branch and bounced back randomly and quickly toward my face. If not for my quick reflexes, it would have sliced my eye. I tried again, and a third time, and each time the wire behaved like a mad snake—twisting in the air, bouncing to unexpected places, its path impossible to predict after the first impact.
[Damn it... what am I missing? Why can't I control its path?]
I sat on the branch, watching the thin steel wire between my fingers. I began to analyze it: the wire is very light, and as soon as it hits a solid object, the kinetic energy is distributed unevenly, leading to a "random bounce." Since it lacks sufficient mass, the wind and natural gravity play with it easily.
Then, an idea flashed in my mind.
[The problem isn't the wire... the problem is "stability." If the wire bounces randomly, I need an invisible "anchor" to control it.]
I began to understand how to integrate the ability Toge possesses with this wire. The random bounce happens because the wire loses its direction after impact, but what if I tried to use his power at specific points on the wire during its flight?
Even though I said earlier that I need training to control my Quirk, changing the path of a wire is much easier than crushing that Nomu's arm.
[Alright, let's give it a try...]
"Tuna..."