Bab 54: Chapter 54 - Overwhelming Pressure
The change in events was too fast.
The villains entered the scene, their fighting spirits were at their highest. They were here, ready to take down the Symbol of Peace, confident in their own abilities and their trump card known as the dark purple monster—Nomu!
If they succeed, their names would ring in the annals of time! It was the moment to glorify their lives and cast their shadows as legends among legends!
Shigaraki felt the same. His burning desire to kill All Might, to the point it became an obsession, was going to be fulfilled today!
The variables were all in place like a neat little pie presented to him on a golden platter. Their manpower was much larger than what they first estimated, and their insider remained hidden all this while. Everything was truly perfect.
But, they didn't think that one mistake on their part, on their information, would cause such a drastic change.
At a pace they couldn't even begin to fathom, in less than a second, the teachers and students of Class 1-A executed a plan so perfect that could only be considered brilliant.
Ryuji Anwir swung his sword, and Tenya Ida ran as fast as he can to alert All Might, Aizawa activated his Quirk and canceled Kurogiri's warp gate. Then, with a single shout, over 30% of their original group has been knocked unconscious without Ryuji even breaking a drop of sweat.
A lack of manpower, a drop in morale, a sealed escape, and a sword that hung above their heads in the form of heroes and the Symbol of Peace.
In less than a minute, the situation for the villains turned for the worse to the point that it became comical. Ryuji was laughing loudly in the distance, clutching his stomach as it ached in pain. He wiped the tears in his eyes, pointed at what are practically corpses on the ground, and shouted loudly, "Look at them! Ha! Waste of space, am I right?"
"You know what, you guys should just kill yourselves, now!" Thunder crackled in the background, the loud boom causing their hearts to further drop.
Ryuji was playing his role perfectly while going for maximum efficiency. The stars have aligned for him already. His plan is progressing as he has intended.
Nothing can stop him from killing Shigaraki today.
His methods were deep and profound, targeting the enemy on different fronts at the same time. Physically, mentally, and emotionally, they were damaged and shaken deeply from their cores.
Kurogiri knew what Ryuji was doing, and his assessment of the boy continued to rise at an unprecedented rate. He now knew why one mistake on their part caused them to land in such dire states. After all, ignoring a dragon while fighting a goblin is pretty much spelling their own doom.
But, that was only the start.
The students of Class 1-A, along with Thirteen, soon started to launch their attack. Even if they were students, they were the cream of the crop with vast potential in terms of being pro heroes. And with Ryuji's constant assistance, they displayed might beyond their normal capabilities.
Izuku and Katsuki were the most dominant without Ryuji taking action. Their personal power could rival tens of villains at the same time, defeating them with ease in one single breath. They blitzed through the area, leaving behind green electricity and sparkling explosions in their wake, along with a ground of bruised and charred bodies.
On the other hand, the inexperienced students showcased teamwork that surprised Kurogiri. He quickly noticed that their teamwork was beyond exemplary, and with their combined strength, they displayed might many times more than what they could achieve alone.
Their every move was like flowing water, leaving no gaps in their attack and defense like how water quickly fills in the gap within itself.
Thirteen also displayed their powerful Quirk. With their Quirk activated, multiple villains were swiftly taken down in batches, but they still had to remain careful to not accidentally kill them.
The pressure on the villains exponentially rose. Kurogiri felt the most pressure out of them all. He was the strategist and tactician of the group, if he could just use his Quirk, then more tactics would open up to him, but Ryuji knew that clearly and attacked that fatal weakness.
Aizawa moved through the vast area of USJ, his eyes completely focused on Kurogiri. Inwardly, he secretly sighed and was amazed. Just the fact alone that Ryuji could solve his Quirk's biggest issue, dry eyes, was surprising, but that was just a fraction of his achievements.
At first, both Aizawa and Thirteen were doubtful of Ryuji, especially with his characteristic arrogance and pride that looked down on everyone with blind confidence. But, unlike what they thought, that blind confidence didn't stem from ignorance, but actual power and skill!
If Aizawa was asked at this moment to say who contributed the most to their current success, he would have to say Ryuji Anwir without a doubt!
'He has the natural disposition of a leader and the mind of a strategist! If nurtured well, he'll be someone who can definitely vie for the position of number one!'
Aizawa dismissed his useless thoughts and continued to keep track of Kurogiri, his eyes open without blinking once. No matter what Kurogiri does, his eyes are locked in like a predator eyeing its prey.
'Forget about winning, I need to get my Quirk back and help Shigraki-sama escape! Only someone alive can win for another day!' Kurogiri's thoughts churned, and his eyes squinted as he looked back at Aizawa.
"Nomu, kill him!" Kurogiri ordered with a deep voice, his eyes laced with killing intent.
The unmoving monster beside him seemed to whir to life as it stared at Aizawa's rapidly moving figure. Its eyes squinted with delight, and it tensed up its legs, prepared to deal a killing blow!
'With this Nomu, Aizawa would easily die in one punch!' Kurogiri was confident of the Nomu's might. It was the monster created to deal with All Might in this operation, and even if All Might was far from his peak, the Nomu was still powerful without a shadow of a doubt.
But, would Ryuji not notice that?
Before the Nomu could even make a move, both the Nomu and Kurogiri sensed something and reacted at the same time. The Nomu hurriedly raised its arm, and in the next moment, a golden blade was stopped by its ridiculously tough muscles, stopping the blade from hitting Shigaraki.
"W-What?" Shigaraki stepped back, surprised by this sudden attack.
"You blue-haired bitch, you're the fucking leader here, huh?" Ryuji's eyes squinted with malice. He disappeared into a blur as his voice echoed, "Hehehe, you shitty villain, today is the day you're going to die!"
The Nomu immediately reacted and followed the orders driven into its mind by All for One. It grabbed Shigaraki and Kurogiri and leaped off into the distance to drag them away.
But, in the next moment, Kurogiri widened his eyes and felt his intuition for danger give off strong signals. He broke through the illusion and saw that he, the Nomu, and Shigaraki were standing still like lifeless puppets, not an inch away from their original positions.
He didn't have the time to process what just happened and instead grabbed Shigaraki and pushed him down. Kurogiri felt a burst of pain in his back as a deep gash appeared on his skin and flesh. He ignored the pain and rolled to the side.
Shigaraki looked around, his eyes terrified. The attack was too fast and too sudden. He felt the noose of death tightening around his neck, the pure malice that was directed at him caused cold sweat to gather around his back.
The Nomu was strong, with strength that can contend with All Might's current power. It could go toe to toe with the likes of Endeavor and other pro heroes, but it had one critical weakness—it lacked the intelligence and wisdom of a normal human.
It's practically a wild beast. Even if it can destroy buildings with a single punch, it meant nothing if it can't do anything. Ryuji's Quirk is the perfect counter to it, not to mention if he actually used his real Quirk, Mind Dragon, and directly put the Nomu in a crippled state by switching off its brain or overloading it with memory and killing it that way.
Ryuji was emitting extreme killing intent, but he was as calm as ever. He followed through with his original plan. But, Kurogiri wasn't an idiot.
Before Ryuji can launch another attack, he grabbed a pebble from the ground and accurately hit the exposed brain of the Nomu. It was shaken awake and regained its clarity. It looked around, its eyes wary like a beast that noticed the presence of another fellow predator.
Still, it was a futile attempt. Ryuji activated his Quirk and put the Nomu under an illusion once more. Kurogiri inwardly cursed at Ryuji's cunning actions and the helplessness he felt. If he knew Ryuji was this daring and could use his Quirk so efficiently, they would have revised their plans already.
There was no use crying over spilled milk. That split second was enough for him and Shigaraki to create a quick plan.
Shigaraki planted his palm on the ground, rapidly disintegrating the earth beneath them and creating a cloud of smoke. Using the cloud of smoke as a cover, Kurogiri felt his Quirk returning to normal once again, and without a moment of hesitation, he activated his Quirk.
A shadowy purple portal opened up below their falling bodies. Then, as they passed through the portal and landed inside a strange bar full of cocktails and drinks behind a counter, a wave of relief washed over the two villains.
They did it. They managed to escape that demon's clutches! They were back inside their hideout, away from that demon.
"Or are you?" A voice whispered in their ears. Their hearts skipped a beat and their eyes widened in fear.
From the shadows all around them, a pair of golden eyes opened, staring at them with endless malice. Ryuji's repressed killing intent can already cause a normal man to shiver in fear, not to mention when he was releasing it all out.
They felt like they landed in an endless sea of blood, with a mountain of corpses piled below them. The mountain bones reached into the sky, with the sky covered in mangled flesh and minced meat.
"Did you really think you can escape me?" Ryuji's voice boomed like thunder.
"What did you think? That you can kill All Might? Don't make me fucking laugh!"
"Idiots! You just served yourselves on a silver platter to me!" From the countless eyes, multiple Ryujis walked out with bloodthirsty grins on their faces.
"Did you know, my life took a real shitty turn because of villains like you. I had to work my ass off since I was 10, and now I only managed to regain my freedom by colluding with two masterminds, so imagine my surprise when things are repeating like back then!"
"Hahaha, villains came to attack helpless students, poor defenseless students! Well, can you guess what happened to those villains back then who came to attack those students?" Ryuji squatted down in front of Kurogiri and Shigaraki with a gentle smile.
Then, as he lifted his arm and slide it against his throat, his eyes lit up with endless glee, "THEY FUCKING DIED!"
As Ryuji was about to swing his sword to Shigaraki, the entire world suddenly shook, and shattered like broken glass. Kurogiri regained his usual clarity, with Shigaraki still shivering by the side. He looked around, noticing that they were still inside USJ and have not moved a single inch from their spots.
'It was an illusion!' Kurogiri widened his eyes and looked up, and saw the Nomu's fist was haphazardly blocked by a golden blade that nearly bent to a 90-degree angle.
"Oho? So it seems like you're not as dumb as I first thought." Ryuji wore an intrigued grin and sized up the Nomu like it was an animal from a zoo.
"Heh," Ryuji laughed and dealt a counterattack on the spot. His leg moved like lightning and struck the Nomu's chest, launching it away with a loud boom from the point of impact.
A cloud of dust rose from where he stood, and Ryuji looked back at Shigaraki with a grin, "You're dead."
AN: This chapter has 2092 words.
Owemgee, you guys, sigh, webnovel sure is wonky, huh? Sigh, I guess I should be really careful when using that publish timer. How sad :'(.
Anyways, ang cute niya, gago, ngl. Also, Arc 3 is coming soon by around Chapter 70-80. It would be a bit stressful to write, but that's incomporable to what I have planned out for what I think is my favorite character yet, Zen! Ugh, my baby boy, don't worry, papa's gonna write you into existence and spread the glory of madness my beloved child!
(June 9, 2023 - 561st day of writing)
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