My father and All Might exchanged a glance, and I felt something, some unspoken agreement, pass between them as fast as lightning.
All Might tensed his muscles, whitish smoke rising from his skin.
- Let's do it !
I couldn't help but notice the shadow of a smile on my father's lips.
Over his shoulder, he said:
- You stay here.
I nodded.
All Might was gone in the blink of an eye.
Head down, not wanting the camera to accidentally record me, I activated my Sharingan.
All Might reappeared in a leap just above All for One, his closed fist about to destroy his face.
All for One raised his forearm at the last second, and All Might's fist struck with the force of a tank at full speed.
The villain was knocked off his feet and rolled backwards several meters.
He steadied himself, legs bent, as a giant hand of lava emerged from one of the fissures and closed in on him.
All for One, in panic, yelled :
- Exchange!
He appeared in the sky, barely above All Might, who blinked in surprise.
In a flash, All Might looked up at All for One, but the momentum of his previous strike continued to propel him forward.
All for One's biceps bulged as if filled with air, and then he struck All Might square in the skull.
A thunderous boom reverberated throughout the square, so powerful it sounded like a building had just collapsed.
All Might, with a superhuman effort, absorbed the impact by bending his legs, then described an arc with his right fist, still retaining the power and speed of the previous blow, and crushed All for One's jaw.
The force of the blows sent the two men tumbling in opposite directions, All for One tumbling through the air and All Might tumbling across the square.
All for One spat out a cloud of dust, then threw himself to the side, dodging the lava tentacles protruding from the cracked ground.
He stood, leapt backward, and floated a few inches off the ground to avoid the longest, most vengeful tentacles.
Alarmed, he turned his head abruptly back.
Then Endeavor, in all his glory, leaped from the sky, a haloed fist of fire raised backward.
- Sw-
A torrent of fire exploded from Endeavor's open mouth, roasting All for One in an instant.
The villain emerged from the flames the second Endeavor hit the ground at his feet, cracking the boiling asphalt.
All for One held out his right hand, black protuberances sprouting from his fingertips.
I raised my right hand, and a curtain of lava erupted from the ground, separating my father from the villain.
- S-
That's when All Might, launched like a cannonball through the rain of ash, charged shoulder-first into All for One like a bull running into the ring.
Everyone could clearly hear the sound of breaking bones.
All for One stood up, furious, black lightning crackling on the surface of his skin.
- Enough of this!
A wave of dark electricity erupted from his body, rippling through the air like a supersonic wave.
Adrenaline exploded through my body, my eyes resting for a split second on my father, who was just getting to his feet, his skin still translucent.
Damn it.
I raised my hands, forcing the lightning to hear my call, to respond to my needs, to bend to my will.
The lightning, launched in a semicircular arc from All for One, spun in a straight line for two meters before suddenly veering toward me, all the bolts of light rushing toward me.
The lightning hit me like a brick wall.
I grunted and took a step back, the black arcs dancing across my skin, the heat of the alien energy burning me as it devoured me from top to bottom until there was nothing left.
Gasping, my skin icy, I put a hand to my stomach where the wound had reopened and fell to my knees on the floor.
I met my father's worried gaze across the battlefield, his unsurprised look asking only if I was all right - I nodded, slowly, and he nodded too, before returning his attention to All for One, his expression hardening.
He raised his hands and suddenly the earth began to rumble.
The ground shivered and shook, as if it was going to open up and swallow us all.
All for One took a few steps back, eyes wide open.
At that moment, a dozen lava geysers erupted around All for One.
The villain swore, then ran at full speed, rounding the widest dome before jumping back, narrowly missing another burning geyser that blocked his path.
Droplets of lava fell on his skin and clothing, and I could smell burnt pork before I could see the damage.
Smoke billowed from All for One's skin as he tried to heal himself faster than he could melt.
A geyser erupted from beneath his right hand, obliterating all his flesh as if it were dissolving.
All for One screamed, then All Might came out of nowhere and sent him tumbling backward.
Endeavor caught the villain and delivered a backhanded kick to his head, sending him back toward All Might.
The villain straightened, black protrusions ready to impale All Might, who smashed them with the sheer force of his thigh, his foot shattering All for One's jaw for good.
The villain, mouth open, jaw slack, barely had time to turn toward Endeavor before he was thrown back.
The two heroes took turns trading blows with the villain, giving him no respite as Endeavor varied his attacks, burning him from one side to another the next to disorient him.
The two heroes moved so fast that they looked like flashes of red and yellow light in the dark night, cutting through the rain of ash and leaving a trail of light behind them.
Then All Might, his right arm aglow with energy, shouted:
- Detroit Smash!
The ground cracked before All Might had even touched All for One.
The air vibrated, and a violent gust of wind erupted from his fist, scattering the floating ashes with the force of a storm.
All for One raised a hand to shield himself.
- Wai-
He flew through the air like a rocket, hitting the ground, bouncing, rolling several times over a dozen meters, rolling over lava, and then cracking earth and lava and earth.
The villain, out of breath and gasping for air, dropped to one knee and held out his hand to ask for a timeout.
Endeavor and All Might approached him, the former with a river of lava swirling from the ground beside him, the latter bathed in a halo of golden light.
I looked at them, standing in the dark night, illuminating the world with their power, and suddenly I understood why people needed heroes.
- It's over for you
All for One, a stump of a wrist pouring blood, his wounds not healing, looked around in panic.
I knew what he was going to do before he even thought of it.
In my pocket, my right hand formed a mudra.
- Kuro-
Katon.
And suddenly, the whole building behind him exploded.
The cement roof, already practically destroyed, flew into the sky, propelled by a gust of hot wind.
The entire building was blown apart as if it was made of straw.
The walls exploded outward, turning into a shower of stone and sandstone that hit the whole place like meteorites falling from the sky.
The TV's helicopter spun around and rose in panic to avoid the debris.
A cloud of dust and smoke erupted like a tsunami, sweeping across the plaza with the force of a tornado, rattling our clothes like flags in the wind and forcing me to cover my eyes with one arm to shield myself.
All for One stood there, mouth open, arms flailing, stunned, unable to comprehend what was happening to him.
His pale eyes darted back and forth between my father and All Might.
Nothing could compare to the terror on his face.
- It's over for you, All for One, All Might repeated.
All for One laughed hysterically.
- You can't kill me!
All for One coughed, laughed, did both at the same time.
- The public would hate you! They would call you a murderer!
In response, All Might raised his head to the sky, where the helicopter was struggling against the gusts of wind created by the explosion, the sliding door through which the camera had been filming now closed.
All for One paled.
And without waiting another second, he turned and ran towards the burning building, limping like the cripple he was.
- Kurogiri !
The volcano sputtered and suddenly, lava poured out of its chest.
At the same time, a shower of ash fell from the sky.
- Kurogiri !
All for One's voice, high and desperate, broke.
All Might closed his eyes for a second and looked grave.
I felt his Quirk rise to the surface of his skin, swirling around his body with a light, translucent glow that felt like the last time.
My father was solemn, his arms at his sides, motionless, though he could have swallowed All for One a hundred times over in a hand of lava and charred him alive - he understood that this was personal, that this was All Might's fight, and it was up to him to see it through.
The blond giant inhaled, closed his fist, and looked down at his hand.
He murmured.
- This will be my last act as the bearer of the One for All. After this, I will no longer be worthy of your power, Nana.
The air around his fist began to contract, to quake, as if reality itself was bending to All Might's will.
A golden glow, barely visible even to my superhuman eyes, materialized around All Might.
I turned back to All for One.
A single door, overlooking rubble, rivers of lava, and a volcano about to erupt, still stood in the middle of nothing.
All for One limped toward the door, leaving a trail of blood in his wake, and-
Then I felt All for One's energy, the meager nothing he had left, concentrate in his throat.
All Might looked up at him, took a step forward.
All for One screamed.
- GIGANTOMACHIA !
*
Author's note :
250 power stones = sunday bonus chapter
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 !