บท 2349: 91
Chapter 91: Scourge
A/N: Final part of the battle, here we come! A rather lengthy reprieve comes after, but as you all know the action isn't over anytime soon...
"Hellooooo Everybody!" A voice rang out, piercing the heavy atmosphere of battle. "This is the League of Villains! And we—!" Just as suddenly as the voice appeared it stopped, interrupted by an audible struggle.
"Give me that!" A much more familiar voice — Dabi's, Izuku deciphered — rang out instead. "You buffon! Don't you know that—"
What followed involved a plethora of curses and whimpering, alongside some rather amusing back and forth. It would have been a rather comical exchange in any other situation, but the current ongoings placed a rather unfortunate thought in the mind of the heroes.
The fighting nearly stalled, the heroes dreading any smidge of a hint towards the arrival of enemy reinforcements. The lone villain in the mix smiled triumphantly however, and it was only his continuing assault that prevented the heroes from freezing up.
At this point Shigaraki was essentially a charred-up remnant of himself. While Endeavor's and Togata's earlier assault had already been taxing on the incomplete villain, the additional efforts of Bakugou, Todoroki, and Hado proved too much for the steadily tiring villain. A three pronged super move attack rendered Shigaraki out of action, his body going limp as he began to fall from the sky.
But, much to Izuku's dismay, the battle was far from over. The giant hand reaching out to catch Shigaraki mid-air wasn't all too much of a surprise, all things considered. As Setsuna had supplied earlier, the steadily growing rumbling of the ground and the ever-present roar were telltale signs of the upcoming arrival of the giant villain who had escaped the confines of the other hero-led assault on the Gunga Mountain Villa in Gifu nearly eighty kilometers away.
On Gigantomachia's back, Izuku could see the remnants of the League of Villains. Dabi, Bombastic, Twice, Caustic, and Compress; the five all safely out of the heroes' reach. Izuku did take note of Toga's absence though — Why was she missing? Had she been caught trying to kill All Might after all? Had she been captured at the villa, or was she already in the midst of creating chaos and sowing unrest among the remaining heroes by using her quirk?
His thoughts didn't really matter in the long run though. Especially after Dabi's admittance of being the previously thought to be dead Touya Todoroki. Or the sudden appearance of the also previously thought to be dead Best Jeanist as he descended from the sky, giant wires following his wake and heading to restrain Gigantomachia.
Izuku shook his head. He swore that if he made it through the day intact that he'd just take a day to rest. He was shaken out of his thoughts as he was jostled, Ashido and Setsuna diving towards a divot in the ground just as a stray blast of energy collided with the ground not far from them.
"What the heck was that!?" Ashido yelled. "Last I remember none of the League had purple laser beams!"
Setsuna peaked one of her eyes over the top of the divot, only for her to duck back down with a scowl on her face.
Izuku sighed, wiping his hand over his face. "Do I want to know?"
Setsuna sighed, sparing a glance at Izuku. "You wouldn't happen to know if Nomu have enhanced smell, do you? Or if they do, if they could smell us from here? Say around… sixty meters away?"
Izuku took a second to breathe before responding. We're… probably fine… How many?"
"Err… twenty?" Setsuna said, shrugging her shoulders.
"Great!" Ashido threw her hands in the air. "Just great. So are we just going to wait here, or...?"
"We might get spotted by a Nomu," Izuku said, offhandedly. "And no offense, but neither of you would be capable of fighting one."
"Says who?!" Setsuna challenged, puffing her chest out.
"Says me," Izuku retorted. "Garaki told me; the only nomus he had left lying around were of higher quality. Nothing the two of you could fight together without being a really close call."
"We aren't just going to sit here, Izuku!"
"I didn't say that! We just need to think before doing anything rash. Though, I'm not averse to doing so. I'm pretty sure that I'm falling off my adrenaline high by now. It's that—"
"Hey! You three stay put!" A deep, rough voice called out — not one Izuku recognized, that is. "I'll be there in just a second!"
Izuku raised his head at the new voice, turning his head towards the edge of the divot. Both Ashido and Setsuna readied themselves, taking up crouched stances in preparation in the case that the voice was one of a villain.
When the originator of the voice finally made their way to their location and slid down into the divot with them, the two girls visibly relaxed.
"Hound Dog!" Ashido exclaimed.
Despite Ashido's identification of the man, Izuku almost didn't recognize his councilor. Hound Dog's quirk was activated to what Izuku assumed to be the extremes; the man towering at seven feet tall even as he stayed crouched with them. His muscles were much more robust than his usual form, whilst he had a much more feral appearance with his ruffled fur, sharper claws, and much larger fangs.
It was only the man's earlier shouts and the relieved look in his eyes that affirmed to Izuku that Hound Dog's new form didn't sacrifice the man's sanity for a power boost.
Hound Dog let out a sigh and began to scopt his way towards the trio — that is, before Izuku yelled at the man to stop where he was, just a few feet away from them.
Hound Dog blinked, raising an eyebrow in question. "Midoriya? What's wrong?"
"Yeah!" Ashido added. "He might seem a bit different, but it's Hound Dog!"
"Just… wait. Umm… Aha!" Izuku breathed, going on to stare the man in the eyes. " We made a compromise a little while back. Where and when was it, and what was the compromise about?"
Ashido and Setsuna understood the implications immediately, their bodies tensing and moving as to be ready to move at any hint of hostility. Hound Dog looked on unaffected, his maw even going so far as to show off a smirk.
"Ah, I see. Trying to check to see if I'm Toga, are you?" Hound Dog chuckled. "Well, no need to worry Midoriya. You and I promised to try not to irritate the other all too much. It was during your first Remedial course. It was after you and your lady friend officer had done that cocoon exercise and that other lady officer bu—"
"Alright!" Izuku interrupted. "You're good. He's good"
Setsuna sent a look at Izuku. "Cocoon exercise?"
"Later," Izuku lazily waved her off, then went back to look at Hound Dog. "So, what's the plan?"
"First off, I need to make sure that my own students aren't doing my job for me," Hound Dog chuckled. "Considering my task to be watching for your well-being Midoriya, I'll be surprised if Nezu won't lower my salary for this." He spared a glance at Ashido and Izuku. "Glad to see that you two are safe, though."
"Thanks," Izuku said. "The second step though? I can already feel myself crashing; I'd rather not still be out here when I pass out, you know."
Hound Dog nodded. "Right. Step Two: Get you three out of here. No way in hell am I letting you three wait it out in the middle of a battlefield. Fortune seems to be acting in our favor though; most of the battle is happening over yonder. If one of the villains notices us we'll have plenty of time to notice. Not to mention I'll be able to smell anyone coming in this direction."
"Oh?" A deep, reverberant voice called out. "You sure about that?"
Izuku barely caught a glance of the dark metallic form standing over them and staring down into the divot, arms splayed out in front of him.
"OUT!"
Hound Dog barely dodged the incoming corrosive sludge. He had jumped to the side, with a little of the stuff splattering over his fur.
And even if it left them vulnerable to being seen, Ashido and Setsuna did the next best thing and jumped right out of the divot as it began to fill up with the dangerous substance. They found themselves just on one side of the divot, while the villain on the other.
But not all of them had escaped unscathed. While all Setsuna had to do was fly out of the divot, Ashido was much more limited to her movements. Normally, a quick jump and she would have been completely out of the radius of the corrosive slime. But with Izuku still on her back, and her already growing fatigue, that wasn't the case.
"Ah shit!" Ashido kneeled down on the ground, her hands moving to clutch at one of her legs. It was horribly red, oozing with strands of the viscous liquid. "You bastard!" she yelled. "You think you can burn me with your own acidic slime and get away with it!"
The newfound arrival chuckled, leading Izuku to finally take a look at him. A moment's glance was all it took — the observation of the horrible and familiar smell coupled with the villain's containment suit — for Izuku to determine the villain's identity.
"Caustic," Izuku spat. "Of course one of you ended up finding their way over to me."
Before Caustic himself could respond, the trio of students suddenly found themselves behind Hound Dog. Shielding his students with his towering form, Hound Dog growled towards the villain. "Dammit! You kept your suit closed off just to get the jump on us, didnt you? 'Cause I sure as hell am only smelling you now! I was keeping a nose out for anything organic! Not your disgusting mug!"
"Did you just call me disgusting?!" Caustic raged, sludge still leaking out of the slots in his gauntlets. His movements caused the sludge to be thrown around every which way.
"I did," Hound Dog barked. "What are ya gonna do about it, punk?"
Caustic huffed. Suddenly, his true form began to leak out of the suit, slowly puddling at his feet and rising to create a humanoid shape much and ooze. "What am I going to do about it? Well it's quite obvious, ain't it? I'll plow right through you and have my way with those kids there."
"If you think—"
"Oh please! What's an oversized mutt going to do to me? Do you think I'm gonna let you keep me away from what I want? That kid you're protecting has been on my list since Kamino!"
"Kids," Hound Dog muttered. "Get ready to run over to the others; you'll have to go on without me while I keep this guy busy."
Ashido let out a sound of disapproval. "My leg's burned! No way can I run fast enough!"
Hound Dog growled. "Have Tokage carry you two then!"
"Setsuna let out a similar sound to Ashido's. "You think I can carry the two of them?!"
"Doesn't matter," Izuku blurted out, followed by a yawn. "We're staying."
Hound Dog let out a growl. "Midoriya—"
"The fuck!?" Caustric screamed. "Are you fucks ignoring me! Hell no! You think I'm gonna let that be?!"
Hound Dog gulped. He found himself in a rough spot — he knew that he could hold off Caustic. He would have preferred the villain to have stayed in his suit, but alas the time for that was over. He'd just need to dodge and weave and avoid the man's sludge. But that strategy depended on the kids escaping while he fended Caustic off.
Setsuna wouldn't leave Midoriya behind, that much was obvious, knowing the girl. And Midoriya was stuck to Ashido's back, courtesy to Rock Lock. And due to the pink girl's injured leg, she wasn't going anywhere.
He had one idea though. Let Caustic get on him, and run in the other direction, completely away from the kids.
"I think you're too scared to do anything!" Hound Dog goaded the villain, his decision set. "What? Scared of a dog and three barely-trained kids?!"
Caustic scoffed. "If anything, you should be afraid, mutt! The brat didn't tell ya, did he? He murdered Ruka not so long ago!"
That had Hound Dog freezing. Midoriya had killed Harrow. He almost thought the villain was lying but… he discarded the thought. It was likely true. But… Izuku was still technically responsible for several deaths before. The fact didn't really faze Hound Dog… What was the villain trying to accomplish?
"So?" Hound Dog called out.
"Hound Dog!" Ashido whispered. "What are you doing?!"
"I'm gonna lead him away from you three," Hound Dog said. "You three escape in the meantime."
"Wha— No!" Setsuna yelled out.
"Are you shits ignoring me again!?" Caustic yelled. "Fuck it! Screw getting the little bastard alive!" He dashed forward, his sludge leaving a trail of death in his wake. "All four of you are going to be nothing but bones in a few minutes!"
"Now, you three!" Hound Dog exclaimed. He didn't look back to see if they kids had followed his orders; he couldn't let his eyes stray from the villain coming right at him.
Caustic lunged, melting into an amorphous form as he flew through the air.
Six feet.
Five feet.
Four feet.
And…
And then the villain suddenly swerved, taking a hard left and landing down on the ground in front of Hound Dog.
Hound Dog blinked. "The fuck?"
"Phew. Almost didn't make it in time."
Hound Dog's eyes widened, and he swerved his head to find his three students still behind him. "What the hell are you three doing! I told you to get the hell outta here!"
"Relax!" Izuku said, a carefree smile forming on his face. "We're fine. Ashido just needs to make sure not to jostle me too much."
"The hell are you talking about, Midoriya!?"
"I've got Caustic under control. He's nothing to worry about for now."
Hound Dog swerved his head again… only to find Caustic sitting on the ground with his legs crossed, peering up at them.
"Ashido, walk over to him please?"
"My leg still hurts!"
"I'm trying to humiliate the guy though!"
"Ugh! Fine! But you owe me— Again!"
And before Hound Dog could act, he found Ashido limping right past him and making her way to stand in front of the villain. Hound Dog took note of how Midoriya peered over the girl's shoulders with a triumphant — yet fatigued — look.
"The fuck is this?!" The villain yelled. He squirmed in place, his body stretching and pulling every which way. "What the fuck did you do to me, you squirt!"
"Can you stop yelling!?" Izuku scowled. "Sheesh, you know how much my head is hurting just trying to reign you in? It doesn't help that you smell like a dumpster fire. Or a sewage drain. Or a pile of rotting corpses. Or a pile of—"
"Fuck you and your freakishness!" Caustic yelled. "You think you can get away with insulting me like that! When I get out of whatever you've done to me, I'll get the others and—"
"What, huh!?" Izuku sneered. "You'll tell them how you were beaten by a barely conscious kid who can't even walk himself? Pfft. So much for being able to take me, huh?"
"You little—!"
Izuku groaned. "I'm done. Caustic, I'm sending you off to deal with some Nomus. Be a nice little puppet and do so willing, will you?"
Caustic's form jerked. His legs disappeared into his form as it grew in height, taking no discernible specific shape. Hound Dog tensed at the action, his instincts just telling him that the villain had broken out of whatever hold Midoriya had over him.
He was proven wrong when the villain zoomed off in the other direction without another word.
"Aww…" Ashido whined. "I wanted to say something too!"
"Sorry, his voice was getting on my nerves. My head already hurts as is."
That left the four of them in relative silence. Of course, the sounds of battle still raged in the background — no, the silence wasn't literal in the sense. But it had left Setsuna and Hound Dog reeling in stunned silence, their minds trying to figure what had just happened.
Before either of them could voice their questions, tohug, Izuku spoke up.
"It's a... new development," Izuku sighed. "I'll tell you later, Setsuna. As for you, Hound Dog… maybe. And Ashido?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm going to use you as a headrest again. And I'm gonna close my eyes. Kinda need to, if I want to keep a proper hold over Mr. BurnyMcFilthymouthpants."
"Are… are you sure that you're okay, Midoriya?" Ashido asked.
"Mhm. Just need to talk to conserve energy. Miss 'I-live-in-your-head' said so."
Nobody said anything as Izuku snuggled into the crane of Ashidoi's neck. That wasn't to say that Hound Dog wasn't still being vigilant, that is.
"You know what?" Hound Dog asked. "I think that Midoriya's above my paygrade. Ashido, Setsuna." Hound Dog went on all fours, using his head to gesture to his back. "Get on. We're getting outta here."
Meanwhile, Izuku ignored Hound Dog and the others. Busy with his connection to Caustic, he was continuing his orders for the man to slaughter any Nomu he could. The results so far were three dead nomu, and two badly burned ones. Only lone nomus as well, as Izuku wasn't sure he could handle two at a time.
Still, as the battle waged on it was clear that only one thing could happen. Compress's sacrifice allowed Twice, Shigaraki, Dabi, and Bombastic to gather up on some nomus and ride off into the distance. The horde of what numbered dozens of nomu in total outran every hero available.
But did Izuku really care? He was tired. Too tired. Waaayyyy too tired.
Hey, Caustic? Mind putting yourself to sleep?
Wha— AAAGGGHHH!
Ah. Much better.
And once again, Izuku found himself rescinding into the darkness.
A/N: Huh. Funny to think that I'm essentially all caught up to the manga at this point. So, what's next? Hospital times! Woohoo! And finally, no more battle scenes until later. Anyways, until then!
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