Chapter 90

The villain had continued to howl, his mouth grotesquely open. He closed it, then smiled, obviously proud of his little trick.

- You think that this-

Shoto plunged his sword into the villain's heart, his gaze hard and unflinching.

The villain spat blood. His eyelids lifted slightly, revealing small eyes that bordered on sky-blue and white.

He looked astonished, as if this development wasn't what he expected.

- You-

Shoto twisted his sword and crushed the villain's torso like a human blender.

Another trickle of blood rolled from the villain's lips, tracing a scarlet line down his chin.

All for One smiled.

He grabbed the sword with both hands and slowly pulled it out of his chest. His hands began to bleed profusely, his lukewarm, almost black blood rolling over the sword, turning it scarlet.

- I-

Something crackled on Shoto's skin, like lightning.

All for One's eyes widened.

In a flash of light, the two men had vanished into thin air. 

Yellow and red streaks were the only visual reminders of their movements.

Each time the two lights collided, a sound worthy of the most thunderous storm erupted in the sky. 

The wind had picked up and low, black clouds roared violently. Rain as fine as a billion needles began to fall thick and fast. It was suddenly very cold, but Katsuki hardly noticed, unable to look away from the divine battle.

They looked like gods - but not the kind of good, benevolent gods, no. They looked like the gods of legend, the kind capable of wiping out humanity when they felt like it.

They collided, boom, pushing each other back violently, only to collide again.

Boom boom boom.

The yellow light froze in the air, beneath the darkest, most menacing cloud of all.

The red light came at the yellow like a rocket, ready to destroy it.

The sky rumbled again, but this time it was different. It sounded as if the heavens were about to be torn apart, as if the stars and the moon were about to crash on earth. The sky roared with anger, promising suffering and vengeance.

Then a bolt of lightning tore through the sky. It streaked the clouds with its white light, illuminating the world as if in broad daylight. A second bolt of white light exploded. Then a third. Then another. Then ten more. Then twenty more. Then a hundred more.

They were like flashlights, white flashes that lit the dark night in sudden, terrifying bursts.

They all focused around the yellow light, swirling like a thunderstorm, preparing to annihilate everything in its path.

The red light stopped in midair. There was the sound of an explosion: the yellow flash tore through the sky and clouds before slamming into the red light at full speed.

For a second, time seemed to stand still.

Within a diameter of a hundred meters, the rain stopped falling. The black clouds dissipated as if a god had blown them away. The yellow spot grew stronger until it became a gray dot, a white disk, a star whose light was so brilliant that it illuminated the entire Japanese side as if in broad daylight. 

The sky regained its blue color, the desert its gold, the sea its turquoise.

For a hundred kilometers around, all Japanese froze. There wasn't a person outside their homes who wasn't staring at the shimmering horizon, their hearts filled with wonder and trepidation.

It was as if the sun had just fallen from the sky.

The subsequent boom shook everything until the ground. A visible shockwave ripped through the sky, a white ring exploding from the point of impact. Stored lightning was unleashed, striking the red light before bursting out like unbridled static electricity. Arcs of yellow light struck the desert, sending mounds of sand flying as if whipped.

The rain fell with renewed force, mixing with the lightning to lay waste to the desert.

Then the red light fell from the sky.

The yellow light didn't let it out of its grasp, the lightning swirling and crackling around his silhouette like a tornado of light.

They hit the ground at breakneck speed.

Katsuki closed his eyes and shielded his face with the only arm he could use, sinking into the sand to avoid tumbling through the air like a rag doll.

Even three kilometers from the point of impact, he felt the ground shaking beneath his battered body. One tremor followed another, preventing Katsuki from doing anything but burying his head in his arms.

At the point of impact, the desert had been hollowed out like an inverted cone.

Steep slopes led to a hole that devoured everything that fell into it. Avalanches of sand kept falling into it, rolling like snowballs before being swallowed by the desert itself.

Standing on either side of the devouring hole were the two men responsible for the carnage.

Shoto stood with his back to the oasis, his feet flat on the slippery sand. All for One stood with his back to the camp, ankle deep in quicksand.

He looked at Shoto for a long moment before glancing behind him.

Shoto's eyes widened.

When he opened his eyes again, Katsuki saw Shoto standing only one meter in front of him, sword drawn.

The villain's right half had been reduced to a pulp: from his shoulder to his navel, there was nothing but a gaping hole. His upper thigh and half of his pelvis were gone.

Katsuki had a terrible feeling of déjà vu as he watched the villain's bloodied arm crash on the sand.

All for One smiled, but the corners of his mouth weren't quite raised enough to make him look convincing.

- You're pretty fast, aren't you ?

Shoto didn't even allow himself to blink, the Sharingan glittering sinisterly in his eyes.

- Uraraka

The teenager gasped.

She rose from her fetal position and slowly removed her hands from her ears. Her face was flushed and her eyes were bright.

She stuttered.

- Y-yes ?

- Go and take Bakugo with you.

Ochaco hesitated, her worried, indecisive eyes resting on All for One.

He turned to her, his smile widening:

- Did you hear him ? Shoo, shoo, little girl !

He waved her away; she looked at Shoto and then slowly approached Katsuki.

She didn't know exactly when, but sometime in the last ten seconds, the blonde had fainted.

She threw Bakugo's strong arm over her shoulder.

- Oï

The teenager froze.

Her blood pounded against her temples and her t-shirt clung to her sweaty skin.

Never in her life had she wished to be anywhere but where as she was right now.

- If anything happens to him, I'll kill you

The girl inhaled sharply.

Her grip on Bakugo tightened: she laid him down on his back, resting his head gently on her shoulder.

Despite the extra weight and her hunched posture, the teenager had no trouble setting sail in a matter of seconds.

All for One stared at Shoto for a long, quiet moment.

It was as if he saw him for the first time.

- Let's get down to business, shall we ?

Steam rose from All for One's torn body.

Something swarmed over the obliterated part of his body, moving like a pack of worms over rotting flesh.

The worms turned to flesh and then to skin, climbing over each other before merging to form a torso, a shoulder, and down to the tiniest finger.

All for One squeezed his hand, testing his regenerated body.

Shoto bent his legs, lightning crackling around his body.

Katsuki was far away now. He could finally go all out.

- Bring it on

*

- Aizawa Sensei, the villains are ju-

Mezo froze.

Everyone was petrified, their faces turned to the sky.

They watched in awe and fear as the yellow and red flashes collided in the dark night, lighting it up like fireworks. They pushed each other back for a moment, piercing the clouds, and then came charging back.

- Such power, someone murmured. Do you think it's All Might?

Aizawa frowned.

The only other person he knew who could use lightning and wasn't bedridden...

Aizawa had no qualms about lying to his students:

- That looks like him

Their faces lit up.

Their postures straightened and their dull eyes regained the glimmer of hope that they had lost in this night of horror.

- If All Might is near...

- We'll just have to hold on a little longer, and then...

Mezo was the only one who did not join the lively discussion among the other 1-A students. He continued to watch the flash of yellow light, his eyebrows furrowed and his ears twitching.

Aizawa called them to order:

- Don't be too quick to claim victory. All Might may be here, but he's still involved in a battle. We still have to protect the school until reinforcements arrive.

- But All Might is strong, isn't he? He'll give up his battle in no time and come to us...

- You're heroes in training, Aizawa reminded them soberly. One day, you won't be able to wait to be rescued, it will be up to you to save others.

A solemn silence followed his tirade.

- Aizawa-sensei is right...

- Yes, we must hold on !

Fortunately, the most energetic students were excited enough to spread their excitement to everyone else, otherwise Aizawa wouldn't have known how to handle the situation. 

He watched the coast beyond the forest and the cliff. 

His colleague had called for reinforcements, of course, but by the time they arrived...

Aizawa clenched his fist as he remembered all the preparations that had gone into setting up the summer camp. The reinforcements had been placed as far away as possible because they didn't want the traitor to notice anything, but now...

His resentment towards Nezu continued to grow.

- Everyone to their posts, the villains can't be far away !

The students ran in all directions, some climbing the stairs to the upper floor, others rushing to the classrooms.

Now it was just a matter of...

Momo fell onto her buttocks, eyes wide open.

Her mouth opened and closed as if she wanted to articulate, but was unable to make a sound.

Aizawa rushed to her side and tried to help her up.

- Yaoyorozu, what-

She raised a trembling finger to the outside. 

Standing in front of the open door was a tall, dark-haired man with burnt skin. 

His eyes sparkled with mischief and locked with Momo's: he raised a hand in greeting, a smile as wide as that of the cheshire's split his face in two.

- Did you miss me ?

Aizawa's face fell when he heard the teenager sobbing.

He rose from his crouched position, his black hair floating at the back of his neck and his red eyes glowing with anger.

Dabi raised a hand to Momo without taking his eyes off her.

He blinked and looked down at his palm in surprise. Then his dull eyes fell on Aizawa as if he'd just noticed his presence.

- Ah, Eraser-head.

He looked annoyed by his interference.

- I always thought that-

The wall of the entrance melted and a stream of cement blocked the door.

Aizawa visibly relaxed and turned to exchange a knowing look with Cémentos, who was standing in the middle of the stairs.

Momo had grabbed her head with both hands and was rocking back and forth, staring into space. She was crying without making a sound, her mouth open in a silent scream.

Aizawa felt his heart clench at seeing one of his students in such a state at the mere sight of a villain. He crouched down again and grabbed her shoulders with both hands.

- Hey, look at me. He's gone, okay? We made him go away.

She was shaking uncontrollably. Her chest was heaving too fast and too hard, as if she was trying to swallow all the air in the room with each new breath.

Suddenly, she leaned forward and her throat contracted and relaxed violently as if she was about to throw up. 

Aizawa grabbed her face with both hands and forced her to look straight into his eyes.

- Nothing will happen to you as long as I'm here, okay?

Tears ran down her cheeks.

- I promise you, this villain will have to go through me if he wants to hurt you - and we both know that's not going to happen.

Gradually, she calmed down. Aizawa smiled encouragingly.

- Good girl. Now we'll go upstairs, to the safest room in the whole building. You'll stay there with some other students until this is over, okay?

She hesitated, but nodded slowly.

- I promise you, everything will be fine. Don't worry and let the professionals handle it. Besides, All Might's right next door, right?

He wiped her tears with his thumb.

- Let's go

Momo's legs were shaking. Aizawa made her lean on him the whole way up the stairs.

For the sake of his student, Aizawa forced himself to look calm and composed, but inside he was seething with anger.

*

Author's note :

Power stones goal for the sunday bonus chpater = 250

If you want to support me/read ahead of schedule, you can do so on my P@treon, Nar_cisseENG

See you in the next update everyone !