The two Nomu lunged at them at the same time.
"Shit!" All Might cursed, launching himself upward in a massive leap as both attacks tore through the space he'd just occupied.
Ren saw it.
For the first time since arriving, All Might's movements weren't perfect.
His breathing was heavier. His landing slower.
'He's weakening…'
Ren immediately forced his energy production higher.
Too high.
"—Kgh!"
Blood sprayed from his mouth as his body rebelled.
This level of output was still beyond him—not his muscles, but everything else. Herculean Strength had pushed his physical power to absurd heights, but his organs hadn't been reinforced to match just like his skeleton hadn't. His skin wasn't either. Too much force could rupture him from the inside out… or tear him apart externally.
Midoriya had One For All's vestiges protecting him.
Ren didn't.
"Ren!" All Might shouted, panic bleeding into his voice.
"Don't worry, old man…" Ren rasped.
Livewire surged through his entire body.
His muscles were already torn, Seraph struggling desperately to keep up—so Ren did the only thing he could.
He stitched himself together with electricity.
Threads of lightning bridged shredded muscle fibers, forced movement through damaged nerves, held his body together by sheer will.
"Are you alri—" All Might started as they landed—
—but Ren was already gone.
He shot straight toward the black Nomu.
"Ren!" All Might shouted again. "What are you doing?!"
Ren smiled.
This was it.
His trump card.
Multitask — maximum output.
Consciousness split into twenty parallel streams.
Livewire — full release.
Electricity flooded his brain, his nerves, his reflexes screaming past human limits.
The two merged in a terryfing combination.
"Overdrive."
The world didn't slow down—
Ren sped up.
The black Nomu's punch came toward him.
To Ren, it crawled.
He sidestepped effortlessly and grabbed the Nomu's arm with Grip. Using Surge was pointless—if All Might's blows barely worked, Ren's kinetic output wouldn't even tickle it.
But the instant he made contact—
Pain detonated inside his skull.
It was worse than when he'd fused Copycat and Copy.
Far worse.
Overdrive was devouring his brain.
His thoughts fragmented, his vision splitting, static screaming through his mind. Actions began in the brain—and his was collapsing.
The black Nomu didn't hesitate.
It grabbed Ren's shoulder.
Tear.
"AAAAARGH!!"
Muscle fibers ripped apart. Skin split. Bone snapped.
Ren was hurled away like trash.
He smashed into the stairway where Midoriya had retreated with the others.
All Might's eyes widened.
He was fending off the Chimera Nomu—half-flying, firing beams instead of engaging directly, clearly instructed to avoid close combat.
But now—
All Might's focus snapped to the black Nomu.
Something was wrong.
An arm was still attached to it.
Ren's arm.
Still clenched in Grip.
A second later, it went limp and detached, falling uselessly to the ground as it lost life.
"…Ren…" All Might whispered, his hands shaking. "No… no—"
A beam screamed toward him.
"Fuck off!" All Might snarled, punching forward.
"Detroit Smash!"
The shockwave erased the beam midair.
He turned—and saw Ren.
Buried in rubble. Smoke rolling away.
All Might's breath caught.
Ren lay in a pool of blood, barely conscious. His severed shoulder poured crimson like a broken dam.
"REN!!"
The class cried out in horror.
Midoriya ran.
"Ren! Ren!" He dropped beside him.
Through the haze of pain and fading consciousness, Ren smirked.
'…They look so worried.'
Then—
Wriggle.
The torn flesh at his shoulder moved.
It pulsed.
Regenerated.
Bone reformed. Muscle knitted. Skin sealed.
An arm grew back at an inhuman speed.
Midoriya's eyes went wide. "Y-Your arm… it—"
Then he smiled, relief breaking through. "I knew it… you wouldn't die that easily."
Ren stood up like nothing had happened.
"Get back," he said casually. "It's dangerous for kids like you."
Midoriya let out a shaky laugh.
Ren walked over and patted All Might's shoulder.
"Come on, old man… don't cry."
All Might's eyes were wet.
"Shut up," he muttered. "You keep making me worry."
"Yeah…" Ren smirked.
Weld.
Seraph fused with the black Nomu's regeneration Quirk.
The pain vanished instantly as the newly trasformed quirk started acting.
That had been the real goal. To copy this quirk.
Even if Ren had used Voltage Clamp, the Nomu would've regenerated anyway.
Now—
Torn muscles. Shattered bones. Brain damage.
Gone.
'This upgraded Seraph…' Ren thought, feeling power flood his body. '…is completely broken.'
Energy surged.
Faster. Denser. Unprecedented.
Ren straightened.
He was back at full strength.
To be continued...
***
***
How was this chapter? Liked it?
Sorry if it was shorter than usual, but since I've been away from school for two weeks I need to get back on track.