Chapter 55 - Plop. Silence.

Ryuji remained calm after this unexpected mishap. His eyes displayed his desire to kill without pause, pressuring their minds and affecting their ability to think rationally. In terms of battle and war, Ryuji's attainment is far beyond the likes of Kurogiri.

His every move and action served to push forward his victory and success while lowering the morale of the enemy and increasing the pressure they faced.

A fight isn't just a bout of physical prowess, but a war of minds and souls. Those with brawns but no brain are nothing but meat on the chopping block for Ryuji.

He took a single step and appeared in front of Shigaraki in less than a second with a twisted smile. His hand moved like a bullet, but the Nomu was faster.

It was a living weapon designed to deal with All Might once and for all, and even though All for One wasn't one hundred percent sure it would succeed, its power was still at the upper echelons of the entire world and could go toe to toe with numerous top-ranked heroes.

Its regeneration was obviously powerful and could recover from Ryuji's attacks in a split second. Not to mention its speed.

Ryuji's body was launched away like a catapult, crashing onto the ground and leaving a deep mark on the land in his wake. His eyes flashed with deeper malevolence. He didn't feel an ounce of pain from that Nomu's attack, his body has already been heavily modified to its limits and held strength far beyond what a normal human could ever hope to achieve. His mind has been altered and enhanced, his sense of pain has been dulled and his ability to remain calm is as sturdy as a monolith.

He wasn't fazed by the Nomu's attack and swiftly recovered by pushing his palm onto the ground, flipping in midair, and landing on his two feet with the agileness of a cat. Ryuji slightly leaned forward, his hand holding the hilt of his broken blade as he looked around with his vertical eyes.

Nothing can escape his view.

Aizawa remained in the outer periphery of the battlefield, constantly moving and dodging attacks while focusing solely on Shigaraki. He's doing his job well, and Ryuji was satisfied with the successive results.

Izuku and Katsuki displayed their value, with strength that can rival multiple villains at once with a breeze. Unknowingly, through his training, the two have become powerful weapons that instilled fear in the villains around them. It's only a matter of time before they're all defeated.

Ryuji also made sure to use his untrained classmates well. Unlike when he was ten years old and only used a select few to break through the entanglement of Hidden Order's forces, Ryuji utilized his deep foundation from leading Hidden Order to new heights and moved everyone on his board to their full potential.

Attacks weaved like a web of interwoven strings, casting a net of unbreakable defense and mobility. His attention was split into many fronts, giving orders and instructions, while also having to deal with the Nomu and Kurogiri.

But that wasn't all. His preparations were deeper than that. After all, he's the leader of Hidden Order and can utilize his manpower to his advantage. Within the group of villains, there were many traitors that belonged to him, and he made sure to cut off all chances of escape for Shigaraki.

He wasn't going to let a fluke foil his plans!

His eyes flashed with the cunningness of an old fox, he smirked and thought, 'Hmph, my arrangements are all set.'

'Now, even if All for One were to come here, the massive formation I have set up can deal with him for a short time, enough time for me to kill Shigaraki! So, I might as well use that Nomu to further increase my merit and deal with the upcoming repercussions of murder.'

With the plan set in motion, Ryuji snapped the bent part of his blade and faced the Nomu with a grin, "Come!"

The Nomu roared loudly, revealing its row of sharp and spiky teeth. Its muscles enlarged and tensed up, its unbridled power vast as an ocean.

Boom!

It appeared right in front of Ryuji, its dark purple skin expanding as its muscles burst forth with unimaginable strength. A whirlwind whipped up in the path of its fist; the wind pressure alone caused the surrounding 'corpses' to move a few meters away.

Ryuji's eyes held unbridled arrogance. The Nomu was simply too dumb and stupid, like a wild beast given the strength of a thousand men.

So what if it can take on a thousand men on its own? As long as it's dumb, it can never rival the wisdom and shrewdness of Ryuji!

He moved his body like a gust of wind, dodging the fist of the beast by a few centimeters, while his broken blade plunged deep into its neck.

Slash!

He swung with his augmented body's supernatural strength. Compared to the Nomu, his physical strength is nothing but a paltry punch, and by Ryuji's estimate, is comparable to around 8-10% of Izuku's One for All.

But, it doesn't matter. Skill can bridge the gap between raw power, and Ryuji didn't even need to utilize his dragon scales to deal with the simple-minded Nomu.

His broken blade sliced through the Nomu like cutting through butter. A deep wound appeared from its neck down to the middle of its torso, revealing all of its internal organs to Ryuji.

In one swift motion, Ryuji pulled his sword away from the Nomu's body and prepared to deal another devasting blow, but the Nomu quickly regenerated its wounds and swung its legs toward Ryuji.

He snorted and lightly moved to the side like a butterfly calmly drifting alongside the wind. He grabbed the leg of the Nomu, and using its force against it, slammed it into the ground. A loud boom echoed as Kurogiri watched from a distance.

'He can actually deal with the Nomu so easily?!' Kurogiri himself couldn't believe this development. Not only was Ryuji a masterful tactician, but he easily dealt with the Nomu without even using his full strength. The despair that bubbled inside him started to rise, but he needed to remain calm and analytical, because only when he gives up would they truly lose.

As he helplessly tried to look for a way out, committing all kinds of actions in an attempt to escape Aizawa's vision, Ryuji and the Nomu continued to fight in a fearsome battle that struck fear to those who watched it, especially the villains.

They all knew just how strong the Nomu was, it was the sole reason they confidently entered USJ with the grand ambition to take down All Might! Yet, a random student who they don't even know the name of was actually overpowering this powerful monster without even breaking a sweat!

"Continue to attack Aizawa! If we take him down, we'll be able to escape and live!" Kurogiri shouted with a hoarse voice, alerting the villains once more.

Their eyes focused on the distant figure, their combined killing intent causing Aizawa to know that they were after him. Yet, he remained calm and unmoved, his eyes fully focused on one single entity.

No matter what they do, from blocking his eyesight to launching an attack, it didn't work as long as Ryuji was in the scene. He gave precise orders without pause, assisting Aizawa by instructing his classmates at lightning-fast reaction speed.

Ryuji fully displayed his brilliant mind at this moment. The villains were unable to progress, trapped in an endless web, a hole that continued to go deeper the longer they fell inside it. Unless they could find a way to deal with the source of all this trouble, their doom was already an inevitability.

But they didn't lose hope. Kurogiri and Shigaraki continuously ran through the chaotic battlefield, with Shigaraki dealing with the sudden ambush of nearby students. If they weren't careful, they would be captured, locked behind bars, becoming useless pieces before the war even started.

Amidst all this chaos, Yuga was busy fighting against a group of villains with Kirishima, Ochaco, and Tsuyu.

They formed a four-man team, with Kirishima as the tank, Ochaco, and Tsuyu as the support and control, and Yuga acting as the main attacker.

While Kirishima would go on to tank the villains' attacks, Tsuyu and Ochaco would go on to immobilize the villains by using their Quirks, and Yuga would deal with the finishing blow with his Navel Laser.

Ryuji also accounted for his stomach pain issues and created an optimal timer for his rest in between attacks. In that time frame, Tsuyu and Ochaco would go on to round up the villains in one big group, and with one attack, Yuga would take them all down.

Yuga was distressed inwardly. The pressure he felt was miles beyond his classmates. He didn't know what to do at this moment.

Should he go help Kurogiri and Shigaraki? Would All for One get angry?

What would happen if All for One gets angry? Would he lose his Quirk? Would his family get implicated? Would they die? Would he die?

A barrage of questions rang in his mind like the whispers of madness. Every decision he made weighed heavier than a boulder in his heart. One wrong move, and maybe he'll plunge deeper into the abyss, unable to escape and losing all hope had left.

There was no one to help him. Nobody else would understand the dilemma he was in. He's a traitor, but he deeply cared for his innocent classmates. In a way, this was his fault.

If he didn't report it, then this attack would have probably never happened in the first place. Maybe they wouldn't be fighting for their life at this very instance. Maybe All Might didn't have to face the risk of dying!

What would happen if All Might died? What would happen if his classmates died?

He could feel the guilt within his heart grow and grow, numbing his mind and soul. The sin of his actions was a heavy burden only he could deal with, all alone, with no one to lean on.

He was on a thin rope that bordered between life and death, heaven and hell. A soft breeze is all it takes for him to fall.

But, as he released a beam from his navel to deal with the floating group of villains in the air bound tightly by Tsuyu's tongue, a bright white light suddenly overwhelmed his vision.

He slowly opened his eyes, and what he saw next shocked him. Gone was the chaotic battlefield where life and death were at stake, gone were his classmates, gone were Shigaraki and Todoriki, gone were Aizawa and Thirteen, and gone were the Nomu and Ryuji.

He was now in an endless white void with no land nor sky, only a never-ending plane with him as the lone inhabitant. The silence was the only sound he heard in this mystical realm of the unknown.

Gulp.

Cold sweat formed on his back.

"Ahem…"

His heart nearly leaped out of his chest as the silence was broken. Yuga slowly turned around, his eyes locking with a man clad in a black cloak covering his body from head to toe.

The only thing Yuga can notice was the pair of distinct golden eyes that were shining with endless brilliance and an impassive iron mask.

…

The Nomu shot through the sky, its body was riddled with wounds and holes from Ryuji's ruthless and merciless attacks. The Nomu was placed exactly in front of where Kurogiri and Shigaraki were, two villains who are desperately fighting for their lives. Everyone was focused on their own battles, even Aizawa almost forgot about Ryuji's existence as his eyes were staring at Kurogiri incessantly.

Ryuji's eyes flashed with cold light. The time was finally ripe. The conditions were all set. The Nomu at the right position, the desperado of the situation, the 'pressure' he faced, his taxed mental state, everything was in the right place at the right time.

He took a deep breath, he planted his legs firmly on the ground while he tightly grabbed his blade. It was as if time rewinded itself back to when he first made his move at UA's entrance exam.

He stood atop the walls of Battle Stage C with an aloof smile. He lazily grabbed the handle of his sword with arrogance in his every move. It was a simple swing that cut through the air, using wind as his blade, and he used that formless blade to steal tens of points from his competitors.

And now, he was doing the same, but his target was just a bit different compared to the lifeless robots back then.

At a speed faster than what the eye can perceive, a sharp burst of golden sword light appeared… and a head silently rolled to the side.

Plop.

Silence.

AN: This chapter has 2173 words.

Now that's a pro gamer move right there. Fuck, I shouldn't have done this, now the plot's gonna get altered so much and I'll have to deal with my ambitious plans. Let's just say, thematics sucks balls, but I am gonna exploit Dolian to my advantage since this story is ridiculous enough to allow me to have such a huge leeway with the story's plot armor while pushing it as "big brain" activities.

(June 10, 2023 - 562nd day of writing)