Everyone was staring at the thing that stood before.
The fused Nomu.
It was… wrong.
It wasn't just grotesque.
It was nauseating.
Ren and All Might stood alone before it.
"Ren," All Might said without taking his eyes off the monster, "you still have energy to spare?"
Ren didn't hesitate.
"Of course."
Lightning snapped through his hair as energy surged through his body once more.
The ground cracked.
They rushed forward together.
"Detroit Smash!"
All Might's fist slammed straight into the Nomu's stomach, the impact detonating the air around it.
"Impact Dive!"
Ren's arm blazed with condensed kinetic energy as he drove his fist into the Nomu's face.
The Nomu's entire body began to vibrate.
Absorbing.
Every fused Quirk—still active.
'Let's see how you handle this…' Ren's eyes flared white.
He used Erasure. But...
Nothing happened.
"…What?" Ren muttered, shock flashing across his face.
A massive hand tore toward him.
Ren flipped backward, barely dodging as claws sliced through the air where his head had been.
"Why didn't it work?!" he shouted.
All Might ducked beneath a swinging limb, countering with a heavy blow to force distance. "Did Aizawa's quirk fail, Ren?!"
"…Yeah."
Ren's mind raced.
Then—
It clicked.
"A Chimera…" Ren breathed.
A Chimera is a mythical creature made with parts of others. But what if this Chimera Quirk... wasn't just having part of other animals? But rather... assimilating other creatures and merging with them?
Ren realized, dodging another strike. "It made the other Nomu's Quirks part of its body. They've basically become mutant-type quirks!"
In a twisted way—
It was similar to Copycat.
It could get other beings' Quirks.
But far worse. It made you into a grotesque being.
The Nomu's throat suddenly expanded, flesh stretching like rubber. The inside glowed red-hot.
Ren's eyes widened.
"All Might—beam incoming!"
Ren leapt back instinctively—
But the head turned.
The beam wasn't aimed at them.
It was aimed at the students.
"Shit!" Ren and All Might shouted in unison.
"Thunder Step!"
Ren vanished in a thunderous crack, racing the beam itself.
All Might launched forward with equal desperation.
But the beam was faster.
"Fuck—GUYS!" Ren screamed.
Then—
WHOOSH!
A massive wall of ice erupted between the beam and the students.
BOOM!
The explosion rocked the USJ.
Ice shattered. Steam burst outward.
When the smoke cleared—
Todoroki knelt, one hand pressed to the frozen ground, breathing heavily—half his body encased in ice.
In front of the class stood Kirishima, skin hardened to its absolute limit, bracing against falling ice debris, shielding everyone behind him.
Ren let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
"…Right," he muttered with a faint chuckle. "This is U.A."
"Excellent work!" All Might shouted proudly. "Young Todoroki! Young Kirishima!"
"ALL MIGHT!" Ren yelled suddenly.
Another beam was charging.
"Tch—!" All Might clicked his tongue.
Todoroki swayed, completely spent.
No one else could stop it.
The beam fired.
Ren and All Might exchanged a single glance.
They nodded.
They stepped forward.
"ALL MIGHT! REN!" the class cried out.
Midoriya stared at their backs.
'Ren…'
Momo's heart pounded hard.
The beam closed in.
"DOUBLE—"
"DETROIT SMASH!"
Their fists collided with the beam.
WHOOOOOOSH!
A massive tornado erupted, spiraling upward, ripping straight through the USJ's glass dome.
The beam was torn apart, hurled skyward, dissipating into nothing.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"
The Nomu roared in agony and rage.
Every limb it had lashed outward at once—fangs, claws, spines, blades of bone.
Too many.
Ren's eyes flashed.
"Overdrive."
Time fractured.
Ren weaved through the storm of attacks, movements blurring, dodging by millimeters.
All Might met the limbs head-on.
Each strike that reached him was obliterated.
Without the black Nomu's skin coating them, the limbs couldn't absorb his power.
They pushed forward.
Together.
They reached the core.
Both of them drew everything they had left.
Muscles screamed.
Energy howled.
"GO BEYOND—!"
The USJ trembled violently.
"PLUS ULTRA!!"
They struck.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The explosion consumed everything.
Shock Absorption failed.
The fused Nomu was launched skyward, its massive body smashing straight through the USJ's shattered dome and vanishing into the sky.
Silence followed.
All Might staggered, gasping for air.
One For All had been pushed to its absolute limit.
He turned—
And saw Ren.
Standing beside him.
One arm raised in All Might's classic victory pose.
…And then Ren collapsed.
All Might caught him instantly.
"…Heh," All Might exhaled weakly.
"You really are unbelievable, Ren."
To be continued...
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How was this chapter? Liked it?
Again, sorry if this chapter's short, but I am a bit busy suing the hospital that failed the first surgery. Because... yeah, I have to amputate the leg and I needed money for a prothesis. Gonna become a cyborg soon.