Carl hovered above the ruined parking structure.
Ghostly green flames streamed from his head.
The exposed remains of the Ock-drone hung beneath his spectral torso like armor that had been torn apart in battle.
His single ectoplasmic arm rose slowly.
Green energy gathered in his palm.
HUMMMMM—
The air around him distorted.
Aoyama immediately felt the danger.
His eyes widened.
"Not good."
Carl's expression twisted with rage.
"STOP RUNNING!"
BOOOOOOM!
A massive Ghost Ray erupted from his hand.
The beam tore across the sky.
Aoyama fired a web upward.
THWIP!
The line attached to a distant rooftop beam.
He swung higher just as the attack passed beneath him.
The Ghost Ray missed.
But only him.
CRAAAAASH!
The beam punched straight through the side of the apartment building behind him.
Debri exploded.
Windows shattered.
People screamed from inside.
Smoke and dust poured into the evening air.
Far below, pedestrians froze.
Some stared.
Others ran.
Phones appeared everywhere.
Someone shouted.
"Villain attack!"
Panic spread through the street.
Aoyama twisted midair.
Mana surged into his rifle arm.
[(Quirk: Rifle + Hair Bullets + Mana Amplification)]
Click.
Bang!
A concentrated beam of blue light shot toward Carl.
The attack struck him squarely in the chest.
BOOM!
Ghostly energy scattered outward.
Carl recoiled slightly.
But he didn't stop.
He barely seemed to notice.
His body surged forward.
Flying.
Not leaping.
Not falling.
Flying.
The green flames trailing behind him stretched into a blazing comet tail.
Aoyama's eyes narrowed.
THWIP!
Another web launched.
The line attached to a neighboring office building.
Aoyama swung away.
Carl followed immediately.
Another Ghost Ray fired.
BOOOOM!
The rooftop behind Aoyama exploded.
Chunks of concrete rained into the street below.
People screamed and scattered.
Car alarms began blaring from every direction.
The entire district had descended into chaos.
Aoyama fired another mana shot over his shoulder.
Carl blasted it apart with a wave of ghost energy.
Then accelerated.
Fast.
Far too fast.
The distance between them vanished.
Aoyama glanced back.
Carl was already there.
"Oh, come on—"
WHAM!
Carl slammed directly into him.
The impact shattered glass.
CRAAAAASH!
Both of them crashed through the side of an apartment building.
Furniture exploded apart.
A dining table flipped through the air.
Plates shattered across the floor.
A family sitting down for dinner screamed in terror.
A father instinctively pulled his children behind him.
A mother froze in shock.
Carl and Aoyama rolled across the living room.
The wall cracked.
The ceiling shook.
Aoyama reacted first.
Reverting his rifle quirk and made a abrupt second symbiote glove.
THWIP! THWIP! THWIP!
Webbing shot from both his hands.
The strands attached to couches.
Chairs.
Cabinets.
Anything nearby.
With a violent pull, he yanked everything toward Carl at once.
The furniture crashed into the ghost.
BOOM!
Carl staggered backward.
Aoyama didn't waste the opening.
His fist glowed blue.
WHAM!
The punch slammed into Carl's jaw.
Ghostly flames scattered.
The impact finally broke Carl's grip.
Aoyama twisted free.
"Sorry about your apartment!"
He pointed toward the family.
"Get away from the windows!"
Then he sprinted.
The balcony door stood open behind him.
Aoyama vaulted over the railing.
THWIP!
A web shot outward.
The line attached to another building.
He swung into the open air.
Below him, sirens had already begun sounding throughout the city.
Behind him—
CRASH!
Carl burst through the balcony.
Concrete and metal fragments scattered across the sky.
His burning green eyes locked onto Aoyama once again.
The chase continued.
Aoyama swung across the street.
Below him, sirens echoed from every direction.
People ran.
Cars stopped.
Windows shattered.
The entire district had descended into panic.
Behind him—
Carl burst through the balcony.
Ghostly flames trailed behind him as he flew forward like a missile.
"STOP RUNNING!"
A Ghost Ray erupted from his hand.
BOOOOOOM!
The attack carved through the side of a nearby building.
Concrete exploded.
Glass rained into the streets below.
Aoyama immediately changed direction.
THWIP!
A web attached to another rooftop.
He swung away.
Carl followed.
His eyes were wild now.
His movements less controlled.
Less rational.
The city blurred around him.
WHIP!
Something wrapped around his torso.
Carl froze.
Wood.
Thick wooden restraints exploded around his body.
Branches wrapped around his remaining drone limbs.
His spectral arm.
Even his neck.
The sudden force yanked him backward.
CRAAAASH!
Carl slammed into the side of a building.
"You again?!"
His voice came out as a distorted roar.
A figure landed atop a nearby rooftop.
Kamui Woods.
The wooden hero lowered his arm.
The branches tightened.
"I had a feeling we'd meet again."
Carl snarled.
The restraints groaned as he struggled.
"You just don't know when to quit!"
Kamui Woods remained calm.
"No."
His eyes shifted upward.
"I'm simply not alone this time."
Carl's expression changed.
Then he felt it.
Heat.
An overwhelming wave of heat.
The sky glowed orange.
A massive figure landed atop a nearby building.
BOOOOM!
Concrete cracked beneath his feet.
Flames erupted around him.
Blue eyes.
Burning beard.
An intimidating glare.
The Number Two Hero.
Enji Todoroki.
Carl's eyes widened.
Then another figure appeared.
A blur of engines.
A streak of speed.
He stopped beside Kamui Woods.
Armor.
White plating.
Engine exhausts.
The older sister of Izumi's classmate.
Reina Iida.
Ingenium immediately surveyed the area.
Dozens of civilians were still trapped nearby.
Some injured.
Some buried beneath debris.
Others stranded in damaged apartments.
"I'll focus on evacuation!"
The engines in his calves roared.
VRRRRMMMM!
He vanished.
One moment he was standing there.
The next he was carrying an entire family away from a collapsing balcony.
Then another.
Then another.
Meanwhile—
Carl looked at the two remaining heroes.
Then at the restraints around his body.
Then at the blazing inferno approaching him.
For the first time—
He felt genuine fear.
Endeavor raised a hand.
A lance of fire formed.
"You've caused enough damage."
Carl immediately exploded with ghost energy.
KRRAAAAAAASH!
The wooden restraints shattered.
But he had already moved.
Too late.
FLASHFIRE FIST!
A pillar of flame slammed into Carl.
BOOOOOOOOM!
The explosion engulfed the entire rooftop.
Carl screamed.
Ghostly flames erupted from his body.
The remains of the Ock-drone glowed red-hot.
Metal warped.
Armor melted.
The impact launched him through two buildings.
CRASH!
CRASH!
Concrete collapsed around him.
Smoke filled the air.
People screamed.
Carl dragged himself from the rubble.
Half of his remaining armor was gone.
His spectral body flickered violently.
Yet he still stood.
Still moved.
Still burned with rage.
"again and again someone swoops in to stop me when I so much as dare to move towards the task I've been given! I'm sick of you heroes already!"
His voice echoed through the district.
"I've had enough!"
"I WON'T LET ANYONE OF YOU STOP ME!"
Endeavor landed before him.
Flames rolled from his shoulders.
"And how many people are you willing to kill to do it?"
Carl was to far gone to care—
WHIP!
Kamui Woods' branches wrapped around him again.
This time from every direction.
Holding him in place.
And Endeavor stepped forward.
His flames burning hotter.
Brighter.
More intense.
Carl's eyes widened.
Because for the first time since arriving in this world—
He wasn't fighting a student.
Or a lone B-list hero.
He was fighting professionals.
And they were winning.
Something inside him finally snapped.
The green flames around his body darkened.
His ghostly face twisted.
His expression became feral.
Unstable.
Monstrous.
Reason vanished.
Only rage remained.
And the city trembled as Carl unleashed a scream that shook every window in the district.
"THEN I'LL TEAR THIS WHOLE CITY APART!"
Green ectoplasmic flames surged from his body.
The remains of the Ock-drone groaned beneath the strain.
Kamui Woods' restraints began snapping one after another.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
The wooden bindings shattered.
Yet before Carl could move—
The temperature changed.
Every instinct in his body screamed.
Not fear.
Danger.
Pure danger.
Slowly, Carl looked up.
Endeavor stood motionless atop the ruined rooftop.
The Number Two Hero lowered his stance.
Flames erupted from every inch of his body.
The sky turned orange.
Buildings reflected the growing light.
Windows glowed.
The evening shadows vanished.
People throughout the district stopped running and looked upward.
"What is that?"
"The hell...?"
"Is that Endeavor?!"
Even Kamui Woods paused.
His expression hardened.
Because he recognized the attack being prepared.
This wasn't an arrest.
This wasn't restraint.
This was the end of the fight.
Endeavor's eyes never left Carl.
"You've endangered civilians."
The flames intensified.
"You've attacked heroes."
The air distorted.
Roads shimmered from the heat.
Several nearby windows cracked from the rising temperature alone.
"And you've had more chances than most villains ever receive."
Carl stared.
His damaged drone frame creaked.
The ghostly flames around his body flickered uncertainly.
His whole body felt small.
Endeavor slowly raised one hand.
A miniature sun formed above his palm.
The light illuminated the entire district.
People shielded their eyes.
News helicopters turned their cameras.
Even Aoyama, watching from a distant rooftop, covering his eyes against the glare.
Carl's thoughts raced.
Move.
Run.
Fight.
Anything.
Yet his body refused.
The sheer pressure pouring off the hero pinned him in place.
Endeavor spoke one final time.
"Goodbye."
The blazing sphere expanded.
The city glowed.
For a brief moment it looked as though a second sunset had appeared above Musutafu.
And then—
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
A pillar of fire descended from the heavens.
The upper floors disappeared beneath the inferno.
Flames erupted skyward like a volcanic eruption.
The shockwave rolled across the district.
Windows rattled.
Smoke billowed into the sky.
The explosion lit up half the city.
People stared in stunned silence.
Then—
The firestorm began to fade.
Smoke drifted upward.
Burning debris fell harmlessly into the empty evacuation zone.
No movement remained within the crater.
Nothing.
The silence lasted several seconds.
Then someone cheered.
A single voice.
"He did it!"
Another joined.
Then another.
Then dozens.
Hundreds.
Applause spread through the streets.
Civilians laughed in relief.
Parents hugged their children.
Office workers lowered their phones.
Emergency responders finally relaxed.
"The villain's down!"
"Endeavor won!"
"That was incredible!"
Kamui Woods released a slow breath.
Even he looked impressed.
"Is it over?"
Endeavor stood atop the ruined rooftop.
The flames covering his body gradually faded.
Below him, the crater still glowed with lingering heat.
There was nothing left moving inside.
No ghostly flames.
No twisted metal.
Just silence.
Slowly, Endeavor lowered his arm.
The battle was over.
Around the district, civilians began emerging from cover.
The tension that had gripped the city finally started to break.
And deep within that fading silence, a final whisper seemed to drift away with the wind.
"Sandra..."
"I'm sorry."
"In the end, I couldn't save you."