Chapter 33: Shadows.
"Are you sure about this?" All might asked.
"I'm thinking its highly possible, frankly even I don't know much about them or what they can do." Alex replied. "I've seen one take over another person when they were otherwise incapacitated and one who had taken over a dead body right as the host died. I'm guessing that they can't take over a person normally."
"What you used, one of those 'black keys' you described, couldn't you just throw a few of those at it and take care of it?" The Hero asked.
"I don't understand enough about the relationship between quirks and the person. What if the boy's shadow-quirk is connected to him on a level we don't know and I cause irreversible harm to it?" Alex replied.
"What exactly is the motivation for those….creatures? What do they desire?" All might asked.
"Its complicated, suffice to say its not good." Alex replied.
"Should we prepare a trap or formulate some kind of plan?" All might asked again.
"I don't like going in half-baked…but I think it would be more prudent to take care of it as soon as possible, I don't know if it knows I noticed something or even if it may do something to the boy if we delayed even a day." Alex stated. "I would like your assistance on the matter to make sure no one is hurt."
"I don't have much time left before my quirk will ware off for the day....if we're going to do this we need to do it quickly." All Might replied.
"We're going to need somewhere reclusive but also with enough room if a fight does break out."
"Theres an old training field closer to the forest, no one goes there anymore." All Might explained.
"Can you call the kid over, I rather not get involved until we finally move, lest we tip our hand."
All Might nodded as they split up.
Alex noticed it when he threw that black key earlier.
Fumikage Tokoyami. The boy with the sentient shadow quirk ,the one whom looks like a bird.
It would seem logical up front that his quirk would react strangely with a blade that interacted with shadows in such a fashion, but it just felt…..wrong. The heroes he'd interacted with until now, and even those who openly displayed their quirks, they didn't really feel off from what he expected. Their quirks felt apart of them just as any other aspect of their being. There was no reason for this boy's quirk to feel like it did.
If he was right in his thought, then perhaps one of the 'shadows' had taken over the boy's quirk. It could hide unabated and probably never be detected as it went about its plans. It was a good plan on his enemies part if that was indeed the case.
So preparations would need to be made, even if they were rushed. He would use something he didn't want to use, it was a decent loss but...he would protect the boy. Worst case, he could recoup his losses with points.
It was one of his trump cards. Not the sheer power it provided but the amount of utility. He'd be almost giddy when he discovered it the gate about a month ago. It just continued to reinforce the fact that the Gate of Babylon was broken. If Gilgamesh had taken even a small amount of time to learn about his treasures and train with them, he would be unstoppable.
But it was his loss.
For now, he would go and scope out this supposed training field on the other side of the school.
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All might was fairly accurate when he said that the field was close to the forest. Alex was able to stand in the tree line and not be seen as he calmed down his aura to a minimum.
With armor donned, he had a single blade in hand, it belong to Roland, one of the twelve Paladins of Charlemagne.
It was the peerless sword [Durandal]. It was a beautiful blade that could rival even his Caliburn of old, it boasted indestructibility, but it also contained something else.
It contains three miracles within it.
These miracles were powerful in their own right. By invoking the power of the blade one would defy the laws of the world, though its power was based on the ambiguity and broadness of what you invoked. Obvious there were some drawbacks, it wasn't omnipotent and couldn't do everything.
All Might and the boy were walking out into the middle of the field, a hand never leaving his shoulder. The hero was trying his best to stay calm as to not alert them of anything.
Alex took a deep breath as his Prana began to flow into the blade.
"Durandal, grant me thy first miracle."
"Allow me to see the unseen."
A burst of power filled his body as it focused towards his eyes. A few blinks later, and he felt the world change around him.
There was almost a sensory overload as Alex tried his best to calm himself.
He focused solely on the boy that was next to All might. He stared into his shadow and he finally saw it. Those familiar eyes and the shifting of a shadowy mass as it encased something more solid.
Alex walked out from the tree line, his eyes meeting All might's who noticed him immediately. The effect of Durandal having faded now.
He gave the hero a nod and a moment later, the hero sent a quick chop to the back of the boy's neck to knock him out. It was better that he was not awake for this to happen.
"Durandal, grant me thy second miracle."
"With thy blade, sever the evil within."
As the words finished, the blade began to glow with a luminescent light, somewhat similar to his Excalibur but with a different purpose.
He swung the blade and the light arched off in a wave as it crashed against the duo who stood a bit away.
All Might was surprised but didn't move. He knew that what ever his associate did it would not harm either him or the student.
The cleansing light wrapped them up as a screech was heard.
A familiar mass had emerged from Fumikage's shadow, its form was writhing in pain as it was knocked away. Its form sizzling as the burns were ever present from the cleansing light.
"Take him away" Alex called out.
The Hero nodded as he used a burst of speed to clear the field and move the boy to safety.
Alex also charged towards the shadow, not letting their first move go to waste.
He opened up a portal next to his empty hand, a strange looking sword was pull out by the hilt.
It had a normal looking guard and grip, possibly originating somewhere around India, the rest of the blade was like a translucent blue crystal. It's delicate nature made it look as if it would shatter with the slightest swing.
With this new blade in one hand and Durandal in the other he used a Mana Burst to approach his target.
With the extra force of prana pumping through his body, he swung the unnamed blade at his foe, the tip arcing towards it's center mass.
The shadow noticed the oncoming blade, having a moment to regain itself, forced itself backwards to avoid it. It's malleable form ever present just as the previous entities that Alex had faced.
It dodged the blade's edge with by a hairs breath but something odd occurred. As the blade arced past, ice erupted in its wake and consumed a good portion of its body.
Alex allowed the momentum of the swing to carry him into a spin as he focused on the hand that held Durandal. As his body turned back around, he took to a knee and swung the peerless blade across the creature's lower half, severing a good portion of its essence.
The sounds the creature made had Alex assuming that he had caused it some amount of damage, their physiology was still not entirely clear to the knight. But it would be foolish to let up, not until he was sure the creature was vanquished.
There were quite a few thoughts crossing his mind about how to end the fight. He had a plethora of weapons that could eviscerate the creature, but he would rather not cause the equivalent of a missile exploding right now to a school.
That was also to say that he couldn't play around and just keep poking at it until it died. He learned from the previous fights, he would not fight it carelessly again and be surprised by his opponents' abilities.
Their possibility was unknown so he would treat each foe as though they were capable of what he was.
His best bet was to continue this onslaught and not give it an opportunity to counter attack. Keep it suppressed and look for an opportunity to deal a critical blow. Worst case, he use the last miracle in Durandal.
Right now, about half the creatures body was frozen while a good chunk of it was severed. What that meant for its overall combat ability at the moment was unknown.
But just as the recovered from his previous swing, the creatures body began to swell up.
It seemed as though it was taking in the ambient mana in the air. Even in this world where magic wasn't present there was still mana even at lower levels as it was the lifeblood of planets.
As it its distorted mass grew, the ice that covered it shattered.
This was a bit disconcerting, as the ice wasn't normal. It was created from a conceptual weapon a noble phantasm and even if it was nameless it wasn't something that should have been destroyed so easily.
Out of random spots on this amalgamation, sharp tendrils shot out, forcing Alex back.
The creature just needed a minute to collect itself as its body reformed into something more humanoid.
It's body was rather large, a few feet above Alex.
The creature's body looked more solid now and there was a red crystal like object on its chest.
At this moment, Alex was rejoined by All Might the latter of whom looked at the foe with a serious expression.
"What happened?" The hero asked.
"If I had to guess, it gave up its malleable form for increased power. I think that crystal is it's core." Alex stated.
"How are you doing?" All Might asked the knight, asking the about his current combat status.
"I've used a decent chunk of my reserves I should be down to around 70%. Should be more than enough for us to finish our foe." Alex stated. The biggest drain was the use of Durandal, it was a high ranking sword and to evoke a miracle did cost quite a bit.
"Do you have a plan?" He asked.
"Gauge its strength first, stop it from leaving and restrict collateral damage." Alex replied.
The hero nodded as Alex took a stance infront.
He charged forth as he swung Durandal.
The creature dodged the blow with increased agility as it swung its fist towards him.
Alex moved the nameless blade to intercept the blow, having its flat side meeting the creatures fist head on.
Alex's eye's widened a bit as he was pushed backed a few dozen meters, the ground gouged at the force. No damage was caused but it was surprising, nonetheless.
"Yeah, he's a lot stronger and mildly faster." Alex stated. Though its overall abilities still seemed to be below Alex's, it still had the potential to do damage and should be taken seriously regardless.
Tt shouldn't be too much of an issue he could tank that strength if need be but he could also match it and then some at his current status, the only cause for concern right now would be the potential for a trump card, he would still need to be on guard.
All Might didn't wait for Alex as he shot towards the creature himself.
Their two fists collided, and a small shockwave burst out.
The creatures arm had almost burst from the force, its arm had been torn and twist though it seemed to wrap itself in a familiar darkness as it returned to how it was previously.
"It appears to have some type of regeneration." All Might stated.
"A trade off for a vulnerable spot perhaps." Alex replied as he rejoined the hero.
It was common through various legends of invincible beings to have a spot of weakness. Siegfried with the spot on his back, Achilles with his heel.
"I have a good estimate of its strength the only issue I see is it running away, we should end it in the next engagement." Alex said.
"I'll follow your lead, whats the plan?" All Might asked.
"Hammer and nail." Alex replied.
As the words left his mouth, a few dozen golden ripples opened in the area. Dozens of blades rained down on the creature. It dodged a few and let a few hit it as it's regeneration kicked it.
A few immortal killers were present but it seemed as though the shadow was smart enough to avoid those or not allow them to do much damage.
The steel rain was almost at an end as Alex burst forth, once again activating his Mana Burst for the extra boost in power.
He shot like an arrow as he plunged the nameless crystal blade into the creatures right leg and grabbed hold of its right arm in a lock.
One last portal opened near All Might, an unknown blade appeared infront of him. It was odd shaped, it had four edges and was rather large, almost uwieldy.
It shot forth towards the creature, its blade aiming for its core.
The creature not having an opportunity to dodge used its remaining hand to grab hold if the blade as it tore through its makeshift flesh, though managing to stop it from piercing.
A moment later a deafening screech was heard as the blade was pushed through its core and shot outward, colliding with several trees in the distance.
All Might had burst forth and punched the hilt of the blade through.
As the noise went away, so too did the shadow's body. It's form had almost melted away and dissipated into nothingness.
Alex Let out a long breath. The fight went…smoothly. With All Might's help he negated most risk to the surroundings and he was able to limit his prana usage incase of any unseen enemies appeared or any unexpected consequences.
It had been awhile since he fought with someone, it had been nice to have allies again to trust your back to.
He couldn't help but have a small laugh escape his mouth as the hero also followed up.
He slumped to the ground along with Alex as they both smiled.
"Thanks for the assistance." Alex said.
"It was a pleasure, though I do not look forward to having to fight one of those again. It would have been a lot of effort to land a decisive blow without your unique capabilities as my body is already starting to get drained." All might said as his form reverted back from his muscular state.
"Drink this." Alex said as he took a familiar flask of red liquid from his gate and handed it over.
All Might didn't even seem to question what the substance was as he drank it.
The hero let out a grunt in distaste as the liquid went down his throat.
He blinked a few times as he felt something warm inside of him.
"That alleviated the pains I get from using my powers, thank you." The hero said.
A moment late Alex took out about a dozen more of the flasks and handed them over in a container.
The hero looked at him with a bit of surprise.
"Consider it an apology for my actions previously." He said as he stood up.
The hero was about to say something but was cut off as Alex broke into a sprint down the field.
"And a thanks for agreeing to report what happened to the principal in my stead." He shouted with a cheeky smile as he disappeared into the distance.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Coraulten
Coraulten Long chapter to cover the fight, also i plan on doing atleast one more chapter this weekend.
So random thought i had; the Gate of Babylon has such an absurd amount of items in it that even Gilgamesh doesn't know all that it contains. So, if you guys have any ideas on any noble phantasms or objects be them nameless or otherwise i'm open to suggestions and may use them in the future.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone