Chapter 201
(A/N: This chapter was made available by Lucifer, the Morning Star.)
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Despite only having five minutes of unrestricted OFA use, Izuku felt like tens of minutes had passed by the time he reached his destination, the skies above the Azure Palace, the breach that was home to Wamdus, the Founding Dragon of Water. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to marvel at the sight of the five-kilometer-wid whirlpool encircling it, making it near-impossible to approach without the ability to fly or navigate the 50km/h current.
Arresting his hypersonic momentum in an instant, entirely thanks to the Second's Gearshift, Izuku plunged into the breach from above before it spewed him out onto the white stone of an ancient temple complex with a massive, gold-capped tower at its center, resembling a lighthouse. Before he could rest, however, the fragmentation of his irises became even more intense as he found his path blocked by a trio that were almost certainly villains. Not based solely on their villain-like appearances but because the FOB(Forward Operating Base) that had been set up within the breach had been destroyed...
"Whoa, check this kid out," said a tall man with animalistic features that included the blue-furred head of a wolf, black dreadlocks, hands covered in yellowish scales, and the thick, predominately green tail of a reptile. His outfit consisted of a brown trench coat over a blue dress shirt, blue jeans, a brown belt, and brown combat boots.
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Name: [Chojuro Kon]
Title: Apex Predator(Vit/Luck+50)
Quirk: Chimera
Bond Level: 50
Current Level: 95
Effective Level: 275
[Attributes]
Strength: 547
Agility: 89
Vitality: 1,489
Intelligence: 80
Dexterity: 295
Luck: 255
Free Attributes: 425
[Perks]
[Regeneration], [Strong Body], [Magic Resistance]
[Skills]
[Mutilate], [Berserk], [Predate], [Sonic Screech], [Faux Fire Dragon's Breath], [Dragon Whip]
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"I'm pretty sure this is the kind from the briefing. But he looks like he's been through the wringer and then some..." said a woman with fair skin, blue eyes that sloped inward, notably full and glossy lips, and a head of shiny red hair that would have extended past her feet if it didn't curve up and around her waist, looping behind her. As for her outfit, she wore a long-sleeved, pale purple blouse under a form-fitting navy blue dress with dark stripes and a collar so low it dipped down to her waist, accenting her exceptional bust. She also sported three brown belts fastened around her waist, maroon-red gloves on her hands, and frilled, thigh-high socks with a purple base and lace trim beneath black, knee-high boots.
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Name: [Kiruka Hasaki]
Title: Sadistic Slicer(Dex+100)
Quirk: Slice
Bond Level: 63
Current Level: 92
Effective Level: 139
[Attributes]
Strength: 79
Agility: 84
Vitality: 559
Intelligence: 157
Dexterity: 372
Luck: 143
Free Attributes: 185
[Perks]
[Anagen Acceleration], [Split Ends], [Fire-Resistant Locks]
[Skills]
[Hair Volley], [Hair Guillotine], [Hydra Rush], [Piercing Follicles]
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"Those freaky female ogres must have given him a run for his monkey..." remarked a lean, ashen-haired man whose body was wrapped in maroon-red bandages, over which he wore a black tactical vest, dark grey pants with yellow kneepads, tabi-like boots, and fingerless gloves. With a tanto-like blade on his back, the hilt visible over his left shoulder, he gave off a very 'shinobi-esque' vibe.
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Name: [Hoyo Makihara]
Title: Control Freak(Dex+100)
Quirk: Mummification
Bond Level: 44
Current Level: 92
Effective Level: 116
[Attributes]
Strength: 109
Agility: 88
Vitality: 397
Intelligence: 103
Dexterity: 341
Luck: 129
Free Attributes: 225
[Perks]
[Mana Detection], [Energy Drain], [Fire Resistance]
[Skills]
[Sense Trap], [Stealth], [Bandage Drill], [Bandage Wall], [Bandage Blades]
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"Does it matter...?" asked the chimeric man, pulling out a cigar, placing it in his mouth, and lighting it with a wisp of flame before adding, "The League wants him. I say we make him disappear."
"It's a shame," mused the red-haired woman, eyeing Izuku's nearly naked figure before licking her lips. Then, as her hair took the form of six blades, she adopted a sadistic grin and mused, "Even in their sorry condition, his face and body are totally my type..."
Seemingly annoyed by his female companion's words, the mummy-like shinobi rushed toward Izuku, forming his bandages into two long blades as he hissed, "Die...!" without a shred of mercy or hesitation in his orange eyes.
Catching the man by surprise and causing the eyes of his companions to widen, Izuku caught Hoyo's blades with his bare hands, his eyes releasing a menacing green glow beneath his bangs as he muttered, "Sorry...I want to avoid taking human lives, so I'm afraid you're going to have to endure a bit of suffering..."
Punctuating his words, Izuku promptly Spartan kicked Hoyo in the chest, shattering his sternum, fracturing his ribs, and dislocating his arms as he was sent flying backward like a cannonball. This prompted the red-haired Kiruka to bombard him with hundreds of needle-like hairs, but while a few were able to pierce the softer bits of Izuku's body, most bounced off with a metallic twang before Blackwhip enveloped him, giving him the look of a specter of death with glowing green eyes.
Seeing Izuku's fiery orbs focus on her, Kiruka felt every hair on her body stand on end as she muttered, "Oh shi-" in a quivering tone that was cut off as she was backhanded to safety by Chojuro, shouting, "Get Mummy and run...!" as he intercepted the lunge of Izuku's right hand with his left forearm. Unfortunately for him, while his unique physiology allowed him to block the attack, Izuku promptly crushed the bones in his forearm before yanking him downward with irresistible force.
Though his body began to swell and transform, Chojuro never got the chance to show off what he was truly capable of as Izuku kneed him in the chin, causing the band tying his dreadlocks together to burst as his eyes immediately rolled back into his head, his body going limp before he sprawled on the ground, his forked tongue hanging out and jaw shattered into more than a dozen pieces.
Feeling an overwhelming sense of panic, Kiruka didn't even try to fight back. Instead, she turned and attempted to run away but was stopped as Izuku grabbed her hair with his left hand, ignoring its attempts to skewer him as he made a cutting gesture with his right, slicing off the majority in a single go. Kiruka fell forward, turned around, and shouted, "Die, you freaking monster...!" with tears in her eyes and countless needle-like hairs discharging from her scalp, but Izuku was like a Terminator, operating on instinct as he reached forward to try and grab her head.
Fearing for her life, Kiruka turned and tried to run again, but while she was able to leap away, she was unceremoniously introduced to the ground as Izuku caught her ankle with Blackwhip. Then, with a forceful tug, he drew her toward him, a shrill scream rising from her throat before he closed her mouth with his right hand, raising her by her face as he declared, "This is going to hurt..." before grasping her kicking right leg and pressing against her shin bone with his thumb, indenting and snapping it like a twig...
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Staring down at the sinking USS Samantha Grey, missing his left arm and with a vicious burn wound running from his right shoulder to below his left ribs, Gran Torino, wielding a light-saber-like sword in his right hand, asked himself, "Is this the end...?" before taking evasive maneuvers as dozens of female Nomus penetrated the cloud he was using as cover, many firing off heat vision while a handful made another apparent attempt to capture him with their vacuum spheres.
While evading and weaving between the attacks by a hair's breadth, Gran Torino couldn't help feeling that this particular Nomu had been made with him in mind. Its means of achieving flight was especially conspicuous, but he kept telling himself he was merely imagining things as, if his suspicions were true, the reality was too gruesome.
Changing directions nigh-instantaneously, Gran Torino sliced through one of the pursuing Nomus at the waist, but before its two halves could melt away, the tenacious creature managed to grab the very edge of his cape, the additional weight giving him a serious case of whiplash as a second Nomu crashed down on him from above, burying its feet into his stomach and sending him careering toward the sea hundreds of meters below.
'I need to...slow my fall...' Gran Torino told himself, falling in and out of consciousness until an especially opportunistic Nomu pelted him with its heat vision, startling him awake with the pain of having his flesh burned. He then discovered something new about his Artefact by intercepting the energy beam with the light-formed blade of his sword, causing it to glow brighter as he was pushed back.
'Well, that would have come in handy ten minutes ago...' Gran Torino mused, forcing himself to smile despite the intense pain wracking every inch of his body. He had the distinct impression that he was about to die, but even if that were the case, he planned to take out as many Nomus as he could before greeting the afterlife with a smile.
Summoning even more strength than he possessed in his peak condition, Gran Torino accelerated at speeds exceeding Mach 5, his sword leaving behind a trail of white light as he sliced through dozens of Nomu in quick succession, gaining a precise 3,187,800 Experience with each successive kill. The sheer quantity of Nomus had allowed him to gain two Levels, but unlike some video games, his stamina didn't miraculously recover.
Petering out after his final hurrah, Gran Torino began falling from the sky, his body refusing to respond to him as his muscles tensed and spasmed from overexertion. Before he could fall to his death, however, one of the surviving Nomus flew over and captured him by the throat, holding him in place and staring at him with its vacant white eyes for several seconds as several others gathered around. Then, in a familiar voice that sent a shiver through his body and caused him to tear up, it opened its mouth and said, "Sora...hiko..." as if it were enduring intense pain...
"FEAR NOT...!" came an even more familiar voice, accompanied by the sound of several shockwaves as Toshinori tore through the encirclement of Nomus, vaporizing nearly the entire group with just his momentum as he shouted, "FOR I. AM. HERE!!!"
"And he's not alone...!" came a female voice, emanating from a group of storm clouds that gathered to form the silhouette of a giant woman well over 500m tall. Using its gigantic hand, it managed to bat away dozens of swarming Nomus in a single go, but the more surprising feat happened as several Nomus tried to counter with heat vision. Unfortunately for them, the moment their beams impacted the cloudly silhouette, they reversed course with even greater speed and at least twice the strength, blowing off their heads.
Standing within the mass of clouds, Cathleen, better known as Star and Stripe, exhaled a barrel-chested laugh before taking over the task of keeping the Nomus at bay so that Toshinori could ferry Gran Torino to safety. Setting him down on the deck of the sinking USS Samantha Grey might not have seemed like the smartest idea, but Toshinori once again demonstrated that he wasn't exactly bound by common sense as he dove into the water. Soon after, the nearly kilometer-long ship began to rise out of the sea, preserving the lives of the few remaining crewmen and women onboard, including a starry-eyed Captain Jiminez.
With the arrival of Toshinori and Cathleen, even the swarm of thousands of Nomus was outmatched. Instead of attempting to flee, however, most promptly liquefied before evaporating, preventing the rampaging Star and Stripe from farming them for Experience. Thus, after twenty-six minutes of absolute hell, the attack on the USS Samantha Grey was brought to an end within three minutes of the duo's arrival...
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(A/N: A Hero's arrival may not always be timely, but they have a habit of showing up exactly when they're needed (U w U)...)