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Chapter 6: Twilight of Titans
🕑 Added 2024-02-19 15:22:17 +0000 UTCHoly hell, I am back with a new chapter and man, it feels…tiring. Like, I had fun writing this, but with the massive undertaking that was posting my latest story, Songbird's debut chapter, I’ve burnt through more energy than I expected with it. Luckily, I had a few days off before working on this.
This chapter will be longer than average, partially because it’s like a significant event, partially because I didn’t write anything for this last week and wanted to kinda make it up to you all. So it’s gonna be on a 9-10K word limit.
Chapter 6: Twilight of Titans
After another blast of flames, Hood came out of it with fewer burns than before as Endeavour kept close to him, keeping him away from the people below. Still, the Nomu picked up on this lack of severe burns, a different situation from the beginning where Endeavour's flames took off whole limbs. “Your flames are getting weaker? Why is that? Is it because…you’re running out of power.” Hood asked though Endeavour didn't bother to answer the question.
‘It figured it out.’ The number two thought to himself, feeling himself start to sweat as flashfire fist was a technique that compressed his heat into a small concentrated blast, which he then unleashed. However, it had the drawback of raising his temperature; using it recklessly could lead to heat stroke.
He had known this from the start, and he wished to end the fight quickly. Still, the Nomu had proven to be the most capable opponent he had ever faced, forcing him to use more of his flames. 'And to make it worse, this monstrosity is faster and stronger than me, and I still don't know how many quirks it has.' He couldn't take it in close quarters either, as its speed and power would overwhelm him, if not kill him before he could end it.
Feeling his body overheat, he thought about how he had felt this before and what it led him to do. To the woman he married, to the children he sired. To the wife he abused, to the son he murdered. All of that stemmed from this, or perhaps it was something else. ‘Overheating has only been a problem; it’s been a part of me since I started training to be a hero. But it’s no excuse!’ At that moment, he decided to forget all of them and turn the heat up to 11; an inferno poured out from him as his orange and yellow flames lit up the night sky, shrouding him in a flame cloak so thick he couldn't be seen in it.
What might have made someone else pause only made his foe eager to fight as its smile, a twisted and unnerving thing, only grew as his limbs bulged with power and its shoulder jets propelled it forward. “Let’s keep going, I want to test the limits of my power!”
"If you can regenerate, then I'll simply hit you with flames so hot, there's nothing to regenerate from!" Endeavour declared as the beast got halfway to him; that was when he unleashed all the heat he had just built up. “Prominence Burn!” The flames around him, the sun he had become, poured out before him like a solar flare as it engulfed the Nomu in a fire hot enough to reduce steel to sludge, to cremate anything caught in it. He didn't stop there, as he poured even more power into it to ensure that even the ashes of his fallen foe were burnt, to send that monster to hell where it belonged.
The attack illuminates the sky, blinding those who looked up for those few seconds before the stream slowed and stopped, leaving only Endeavour in the air, exhausted and close to his limit, but in the air.
The man in question felt like he needed to jump into the Arctic ocean for a bit, as he was sweating as if Enji had just gone through a 2-day intensive exercise regimen without breaks; his tongue felt dry as he sweated out most of his body's water. But as much as he wished to take a break, there was a job to do. That wasn't the only monster that had to be put down. 'I still need to get back to the others and handle the others.'
“Not enough.” Endeavour's eyes instantly looked to the side, where he heard something that should have been impossible. However, to his shock, he saw the head of the Nomu, its body gone. However, the beast was still alive as even now, it had started to regenerate a new body, with its arms shooting out towards him.
'It tore off its own head to avoid the flames?' He didn't have time to dodge or counter as the arms, with their bones still jutting out as the muscle hadn't fully formed yet, went straight through his side and face, his untouched eye looking at his opponent with shock, rage and contempt as the limbs were extracted. He lost control of his flames, his wounded, tired body giving him as he started to fall for all the world to see.
When he crashed down, it was elegant by any means, being pathetic and shameful as the number 2 could barely keep his eye open, his other one gone dark, but he didn't have the time to see if he still had the eye as Endeavour looked to the side, and saw that he wasn't the only one that had gone down. However, that gave him no comfort to know the team of top pros they had gathered all laid low. He could see Mt. Lady was still down, and so was Jeanist. Mirko was missing a leg from the knee and being held down by another of those things while he couldn't see where Shishido was, but that didn't bode well.
But his one-eyed gaze shifted to the person he hadn't seen before, whose presence chilled his bones in ways he didn't think he had ever felt outside an actual life-and-death situation. He knew that whoever this was, they were the person they had been warned about, the reason that All Might and he had been put on the same case.
All for One saw him crashing down and turned away from his fallen foes, seeing Hood landing next to his beaten opponent as he clapped for the creation. “My, good work, Hood. I would expect nothing less of a High End.”
“Was he…the strongest?” Hood asked, leading All for One to chuckle at the simplistic nature of the Nomu, but then again, it was made from the body of a man who lived for the thrill of battle.
“Of those present, that is correct.” All for One confirmed as the Nomu, seemingly angered by this but unwilling to speak out in turn, stepped away from Endeavour even as the man tried to reach his feet. Mirko was also trying to get up, but down a leg and being held down by head tentacle Nomu made that problematic. However, she could still direct her anger towards the mastermind.
“Dammit, you masked fucker…” All for One didn't see her with his eyes, as he didn't have those. Still, he would need to be a fool to not notice her lack of fear for him, at least, her lack of learned fear, as her body seemed to acknowledge him as a force of nature to be feared. Still, her mind saw him as just another person to kick. How bizarre, but also enjoyable.
“Oh, please don’t take that as an insult, Mirko. You all were far from weak. You would have made fine Nomu in your own right, but you lack the disposition for it." Of if only they had been villains, but not even the battle junkie Mirko would have been a good choice; too much of a loose cannon and not worth the work he'll need to have the doctor put in just to keep her from turning on them.
"I wonder if I shall take your quirks or let you keep them as a sign of respect." He could admit that quirks like Jeanist's wouldn't pair well with Tomura, but Hellflame? Lion? Rabbit, even Mt Lady's gigantification, would be excellent for his successor. "Perhaps not. I'd never been one that could control himself." Lucky for them, he detected something before he could act on it.
“Oh, looks like that will have to wait.” He looked up, and the object that had merely been a speck in the distance a moment ago came barrelling towards him like a blond cannonball. The symbol of peace had finally arrived, his entrance being a clash of power between the two as All for One proved himself yet again as he could catch the number one's fists in his hands and not shatter, holding his ground against such an immense force.
“I’ll make sure you pay for all you’ve done, All for One!” All Might declared, his smile gone in its smile, a glare that would have been more at home on the face of the defeated number two.
Holding back that rage and power, All for One didn’t let him have the last word. “Have you come to kill me a second time, All Might?” The power struggle between the two kicked into high gear, the ground beneath the villain shattering from the force the two were giving off, which sent the Nomu and heroes flying back with cries of shock.
“Crap!” Mirko cursed, even with the weight off her back. Her instincts screamed for her not to get between those two titans as they locked horns. When she landed, she bit back the curse from how her missing leg seemed to scream in pain; the rest landed in similar heaps, with the only person that wasn't moved being the massive body of Mt. Lady, who remained where she fell. Seeing that the struggle was getting him nowhere, All Might broke away but kept his eye on his ever-crafty foe.
All for One did the same, as All Might was as fast as he was powerful, a fact he knew as he shook his hand to get rid of his numbness. "Hmm, it took you quite a while to get here. The bar's only 5km away from here, and yet it couldn't have been less than 3 minutes since the trap must have been sprung. You've gotten weaker, All Might." Still, he had felt him at his prime and knew for sure that what he was facing now was a mere shadow of that power, a power that was once so great that even at his best, he had to rely on healing and reinforcement quirk to ensure his hands wouldn't break.
All Might didn't deny it, but he wouldn't let the man think he had all the cards, either. "You're one to talk. It's kind of difficult to ignore that fancy life support system you have strapped to you. You're a dead man walking." Frankly, he was furious having to see this monster again, but not so enraged that he couldn't think. He was sure that the last they met, he didn't have a face, and his skull was indeed shattered.
All for One chuckled as if this was merely two old acquaintances meeting again after an extended period apart. “Yes, our last encounter didn’t leave me in the best of health, so this is the first time I’ve had the chance to stretch my legs.” Once more, he didn't need eyes to tell those blue orbs sunken into the depths of All Might's eyes glared at him with an intensity reserved for him.
He felt honoured to be the one that could so quickly get this buffoon to stop smiling.
"Is that what it is all about? A chance to have your twisted fun?" All Might demanded, as the devastation he had seen at the bar and on the way here only made his blood boil. A rage that was only increased when he saw the state of his fellow pros, a sight he had seen far too many times in his war against this demon in human flesh.
All for One merely raised his arms, and All Might knew that if he could see it, he would pick up the smile he must have had underneath his helmet. “Come now, All Might. You should know me better than that by now.”
All for One then hummed, lowering his arms slightly. "But I have to admit, it's always satisfying to see the fruits of one's labour or the products of your successor's hard work as believe it or not, I had little to do with this." He was proud of his successor. Ever since his debut at the USJ, he had been showing himself to be a symbol of terror as people all over Japan went through their days as if walking on eggshells, parents pulling their kids from hero programs out of fear for their kids? He remembered when his unspoken name did such.
As he conversed with the number one, one of the Nomu, the one with a tentacle attached to its head that had kept Mirko pinned, rushed the hero. “All Might!” All Might didn't even blink as he turned on his heel, the force made from this simple gesture akin to a small tornado as he punched the Nomu right in the head, his fist cracking its reinforced bone and rattling his brain before he drove it into the ground with an explosive slam.
Most wouldn't have caught it; Endeavour and Mirko barely saw it happen as it felt like he caught the beginning and the end with parts of the middle interspersed between them. It didn't matter because the Nomu's skull crashed under All Might's fist. Its body twitched briefly as if about to regenerate, but it went limp just as fast.
At the sight of one of his best creations so quickly slain, All for One merely clapped. “Impressive, as I expected from you. Not even a High End can give you much trouble, but then again, you're blessed in a way that every other hero here wasn't." He didn't say how, but the heroes, still awake, could hear it, and they both knew it would lead to questions down the line, which was where All Might drew the line.
"Enough talk. I'm not going to repeat the mistake I made 5 years ago. I'm going to defeat you and see you rot in a cell for the rest of your days, then destroy your despicable League of Villains!" All Might jumped towards him, nearly vanishing with how fast he moved. His fist pulled back as All for One raised an arm and fired off compressed air, boasted by various other quirks which slowed the number one down enough for him to hit him with a slab of earth that jutted out of the ground.
All Might changed tactics and went to the side, where he punched towards All for One, sending blasts of high-pressure air to meet his own, which All for One countered, leaving him open to a fierce backhand that sent him back through a wall. Still, he was up in moments, a massive glacier of ice shooting out of his hands towards All Might, which he handled with a flick of his finger, the ice shattering, but All for One was already moving, having suspected his ice would be ineffective.
From his fingertips, black tendrils shot out and forced All Might to back away before he managed to snare him and toss him into a building, one of the few that still stood. All Might went straight through its walls but came blasting out, not even slowed down as All for One hit him with another air blast, more robust than the last one as the symbol of peace was forced to halt his attack, landing as he looked to figure out the situation.
But he wasn't fighting just All for One, but he and his monsters as Hood came from behind him, far faster than its killed kin. "Let me battle him!" The Nomu screeched as All Might turned his gaze to it, wishing for it to disappear as he pulled a fist back to deal with it. All he had to do was destroy its head, which would stay down.
He didn't need to handle it as Hood was tackled by a flame-covered Endeavour, the wounded man down but not out of the fight. "We'll keep the small fry busy; you handle the bastard in sight." He yelled as he landed a flame-infused liver shot to the Nomu, taking it away from All Might. Looking about, he saw that the other heroes were on their feet again, bruised, injured and in the case of Mirko, barely standing even she ripped her hair and used it as a string to tie her stomp to prevent further blood loss.
An elephant-looking Nomu looked primed and ready to charge the injured and slowed Rabbit hero but was backhanded into a building by Mt. Lady, which gave Mirko a chance to jump up and, using Mt. Lady as a springboard, get the jump on another Nomu, the woman, and with as much fury and force as she could, drive her foot into the back of its head, driving it into the ground, it didn't kill it as it's first nearly landed if not for her flexing her leg muscles and jumping clear, but it did hurt the beast as it was clearly pissed as she licked the blood from her lips and met its fury with hers.
“You’re insane, you know that?” Mt. Lady told her fellow heroine, having woken up just in time to see her ask Endeavour to seal her wound with his flames, which must have hurt like a bitch.
Mirko, if that phased her, didn't show it. She had been called something like that since she was 10 and wore it like a badge of honour. "Hey, if I'm gonna die today, then I'm getting some sweet payback against these sons of bitches first if you want to sit it out" Lady stopped her before she could finish.
“Like hell I am!” She wasn't some token pick, she wasn't the media whore that people said she was. She was a trained and experienced pro; she had worked her ass off under Jeanist to get where she was before Mt. Lady opened her own agency, and, in his place, she wouldn't go just stand down!
As the injured pros got their second wind, All for One and All Might continued their battle, their attacks being so powerful that they kicked off tornado-like winds, and whatever structures remained collapsed just from being close to them. “What troubling pros they are,” All for One noted, blocking a swift kick from All Might and returning with a porcupine quill-covered tail, which All Might dodged.
“You underestimate them, as you always do from your ivory tower, built from how many lives and broken dreams?” All Might yelled at him as he clapped his hands together; the air blast, shaped like a blast, sliced the tail clean off, All for One, who only grunted from the pain of its loss.
“Hellspider!” Endeavour wasn't holding anything back as he blanketed the area with his flames, formed into threads that could cut through nearly anything, forcing Hood to avoid them. Still, even then, the lost pieces of him regenerated back just as quick. So he had to come up with something creative, and with Mt. Lady there, he could think of one thing, as risky as it was as he lured Hood back towards the two women, each a Nomu to handle.
He faked a missed strike, and when Hood moved for the kill, he capitalized on it, jabbing his fist into its mouth, giving him a direct line to its brain as he fired off as much fire as Endeavour could from his hands, going so far as to wrap his legs around the beast to keep it still as he continued to rise the temperature higher. "Lady, throw us!" He yelled as Hood tried to fly off, his flames not strong enough to keep it in place but there enough to slow it down. Lady turned from her fight and took in sight in a moment before grabbing the two, biting back the curse as she burnt her hand and tossed the two as high as she could.
As they ascended fighter, Hood's quirk became a disadvantage as she managed to toss them so that his jets were facing the ground, taking them faster and higher, which he only added to with his own flames once more they cleared the clouds. Still, he kept them going as Hood, losing all sense, started to act out like an animal, trying to escape. Still, despite how much it hurt, how each of its blows felt like they cracked bones, Endeavour kept it up. As much as it hurt, he had to leave the rest to All Might, but that only meant he could use all he had for one final strike.
“Be put to rest, monster.” Endeavour took a pained hair gasp before pushing himself to his limits and beyond. “Prominence Burn!!!” At that moment, he let out all his fire, all the power he had and then some; Endeavour didn't so much become an inferno as he became a second sun; the clouds around, above and below them evaporated. The flames were so intense that even those fighting on the ground could feel the heat and sweat. For the two titans fighting on the ground, it helped All Might as All for One's quirk that allowed him to see without eyes was, at least partially, based on infrared.
That was why he waited for Hood to get rid of Endeavour before he made his move. But with such a flash of light and, more importantly, heat, he found himself blinded. Still, All Might wasn't as he jumped towards in, his blast of Endeavour's second sun to his back and leaving nothing but his piercing, bright, righteous raged filled eyes visible as he slammed into All for One, the man's life support taking severe damage as he sent flying away thanks to the punch, through a wall and bouncing a few times over the dirt.
But as bright as it was, the fire faded as Endeavour fell to earth again. Only this time could he say he did his job, being saved from death by Ryukyu, who had managed to return in time upon seeing the fireball. In the dragon heroine's hands, the badly burnt, severely injured number 2 lost consciousness.
With Mt. Lady, she and Mirko were struggling with the last two, the Elephant and Woman, who moved a team to keep them off balance, not helped by how it hurt Mt. Lady to clench her burnt hand. But help came in the form of Hado, who bombarded Elephant with as much force as she could, keeping him in place from above. "I'm not sure how long I can hold him," Hado stressed as it was taking most of what she had left after a pretty stressful 20 minutes to hold the thing down, and even then, it wasn’t like it wasn’t stationary as the beast was struggling against her waves.
Woman saw her and jumped to take her out, her legs building as she prepared the better her with a liquid projectile made from its own flesh, but right before she could do that, Mt. Lady bashed her aside, the burst piercing into her hand. Still, thanks to her size, it wasn't as deadly as it could have been. “Long enough, Mirko!” The rabbit heroine was already on the move, delirious from blood loss and with a laundry list of other injuries; she still didn't falter as she lifted her remaining leg as high as Mirko could, her muscles flexing as she worked them for every ounce of strength she had and more.
As Hado released her quirk, Elephant only had a moment to act as Mirko brought down her leg in a powerful front-facing axe kick. “Luna Arc!” The trunk is raised to catch her attack but proved too little too late as her heel tore through its flesh and struck its head, its brains not so much pancaking as they exploded from being compressed so fast that they shot out the sides in a gory display, her kick kept going as he drove its severely brained damaged head into the ground, shattering stone as much as bone.
When the dust cleared, she could barely stand, having gone through what felt like her 2nd and 3rd winds, but the Nomu was once more nothing but a corpse, the top half of its head nothing but mush and blood. She saw in the corner of her eye that a woman was about to attack. A familiar dark portal opened beneath it, and it fell through, closing just as fast as she couldn't even tell the others in time to make a difference.
Ryukyu turned in the direction of it after being told, but when the Nomu didn't reappear in a surprise attack, she took it as the League retrieved it. It was a setback, but she had other concerns as she scoped up the now-shrunk Mt. Lady who cradled her injured right hand. “Come on, we need to go!” Ryukyu said that as Hado came down and helped Mirko up, the woman was hanging off her so the student could still use her other hand to fly them away.
“What about…Jeanist and Shishido?” Mt. lady asked as Ryukyu opened her other hand, showing off the two in question along with Endeavour. None of them looked to be in good shape.
“We got them already, and besides,” Another explosion rocked the field afterwards as they continued to move away from it all. “We’ll only get in the way now.” They could only put their faith in the number one now.
“Kick his ass, All Might!” Mirko yelled back before promptly losing consciousness as her injuries caught up to her, Hado nearly dropping her before she adjusted her hold on her.
Line Break
“Looks like you’re out of pawns, All for One.” All Might smiled as he continued his battle against his age-old nemesis, whose life support gear had taken a severe beating with how raw and loud it sounded just when All for One breathed.
Despite the pain, All for One didn't let up, meeting All Might's raw strength with a mixture of quirks to create an armoured, supersized arm that absorbed the worst of the impact from the thrown punch, the two being the only thing still standing in the ever-growing pit. “As if I’ve ever needed them to handle you, foolish All Might.”
“And yet,” All Might shattered the arm and barely missed All for One's throat as the man leaned back. His knee turned into a spear, almost getting All Might through the chin, but the man jumped back. “Which one of us needs a life support system?”
All for One laughed, wondering if All Might was trying to get him angry enough to make a mistake. "You're harping on that quite a bit, wouldn't you say? But then again, I did take organs from you as well; else, you would have already defeated me by now." They were both past their primes, despite what the shockwaves and byproducts of their battle would claim. In fact, they both knew they should have had the power to level small islands. That was what he used to slaughter Nana, after all.
But there was another catch to it; All Might could hit him harder, but he was holding back, and All for One found that to be highly amusing as he raised his hands to the scenery, to the areas beyond their battle where Hosu was still burning, people still fleeing for their lives. All this meant that All Might was pulling his punches. "But even so, the city filled with people your heroes wish to protect so many burns, and my Nomu, weak as they are, still ran loose. Your best fighters are dead or dying, so how will you prevail?"
All Might coughed into his hand, his limits minutes away, but he wouldn't falter. “And yet you still stand here, ready to fall!” He charged at the man, changing course at the last second to avoid All for One's counter. The villain hastily raised another layered defence from multiple quirks, but All Might's power broke through most of them.
Firing off a mixture of lightning and ice, All for One felt himself start to sweat, his breath growing strained as his body was being pushed further than he could sustain. "You speak as if you caught us off guard when it was anything, but I only came to ensure that Tomura's plans would go smoothly. I can't say I'll decline to finally end you." He got out through harsh, raw breaths.
“Especially as I’m sure now more than ever,” He created two dragons of fire and sent them towards All Might, who flicked the first one away. In contrast, the second one exploded, blinding him for All for One to charge in with a hammer made from water given form, but that was a trap as when All Might punched it, in that second of impact, All for One flooded it with electricity, causing the number one to spasm, giving him time to smash him across the side with a tail made or stone.
"That you no longer have One for All. What you're fighting within your pathetic weakened body is but a shadow of my brother's quirk." All Might coughed up more blood as that blow wasn't more potent than he expected, but it hit his injured spot.
"If you think I'll let you near my successor, I-!" The day he'll ever let this monster anywhere near young Togata was when he died.
He couldn't finish his sentence as the earth below him shattered, forming into several massive snakes that charged him with open maws, All for One sending shots of water spears into the melee, keeping him on the back foot. “I’ll what, All Might? Kill me? Break me? Send me to some prison where you believe I'll never escape. Your anger blinds you, but I can't blame you. I'm the opposite of you, all you stand against."
All for One couldn’t help himself as he added something that he knew would infuriate the man. "And I'm the one that killed you, master, the pathetic Nana Shimura who, when the chips were down, died like all the rest. Shall I tell you what her final moments were like?" He nearly laughed at how enraged All Might looked; his heart rate was through the roof as his blood boiled.
“Enough!” All Might smashed through most of the snakes, sending them back to earth in pieces as he charged towards All for One, who beefed up his shock inversion and a kinetic booster to not just block All Might's strike but redirect all that force right back at him. Still, the man didn't falter even as his costume tore and his muscles strained.
Locking hands, he engaged in another power struggle as All for One called up a dozen reinforcement, strength and muscle boaster quirks in his arms, which bulged and burst through his already damaged suit's sleeves, leaving his arms blackened and red.
“Hit a nerve, did I? Oh, don’t be ashamed. Because as much as you hate me, I loathe you all the more! I killed your master, sure, but you took everything from me, dismantled my empire, defeated my servants and pawns, robbed me of my face. Indeed, not a single goes back that I don’t wish to spill your guts all over again!” All for One yelled at him, his calm, collected façade cracking just a little as he 'looked' into the eyes of the man who took all that way from him. Reduced him to this piteous state.
The two getting closer, he whispered something else to All Might. "You say I live in an ivory tower, but you must have had a grand view from atop our sacrifices and shattered dreams.”
“And I’ll build it even higher when I finally put you down!” All Might declared as he won the power struggle, breaking All for One's right wrist and forcing him to disengage, or else he would suffer more damage as one of the man's healing quirks repaired the damage done. Still, his stamina wasn't something he could replenish, and in this reduced state, he was burning through it incredibly quickly.
Despite this, he mocked All Might for his declaration, as he had heard it from just about every One for All user before him. "And you think that will be enough, that all the fighting will end? If that is the case, you're an even bigger fool than I thought; all the chaos, confusion and unrest wasn't my doing, All Might. My successor's been hard at work, chipping away at the façade you built over the cracks, the filth that lay at the heart of this society." Oh, he couldn’t have been prouder of the boy for it.
But it wasn’t only Tomura that caused things in society to get to this point. "I especially enjoyed watching that girl's interview; it was such a masterclass in undermining heroes that I was envious that I wasn't the one that planned it." All Might narrowed his eyes at that, wondering why All for One would care about young Midoriya's interview besides how it made heroes look bad or why he would think she would undermine heroes when she was merely stating the truth of the situation that befell her.
All for One continued, his breath growing more laboured, but the man did not stop, even as he threw up some defences when All Might tried to charge him. “Even now, what do you think the people feel after watching their storied champion fall? Fail to stop us from turning this city into a ruined battlefield? My time might indeed be over," All Might punched through his defences, landing a shot across his face that further damaged his mask. Still, All for One sent a shot of compressed air to All Might's injured side in that same move, resulting in both being blown away.
Coughing, All for One got up. “But so is yours.”
All Might was also getting back on his feet, and despite how much he hated him, he knew All for One was right. “It’s true, people are scared. They don’t know what to turn to, and we heroes haven’t done nearly enough to assure them that things will get better. As the symbol of peace, that responsibility falls on my shoulders.” He squared up for another slugfest of fists and quirks.
“So, your solution is to coddle them masses. All you've done is create a world where people can sleep easy as the house around them catches fire." All for One retorted, sending forward a wave of ice crested by 7 different ice dragons coated with lightning.
All Might met the attack head-on, once more clapping his hands together, creating a shockwave that smashed into the ice, shattering most of it as he jumped over the rest, the dragons not having the reach to get him as he went for their creator. "And just like before, you're wrong. They are good people in this world, those who stand up when they see evil and tragedy and act to save lives! That is why we'll defeat Shigaraki!"
Crashing into All for One, he finally managed to destroy his helmet, revealing his faceless form to the world, but instead of pain or rage, All for One laughed at him even as he was knocked right onto his ass with All Might over him, his fist pulled back to end him at any second.
He couldn't help it; it was just too damn funny to hear All Might make that declaration, hearing him state his conviction to defeat Tomura. “Oh, my rising successor. You wouldn’t believe the irony in that, but then again, you were never the best student to Nana.” All Might growled, barely holding himself from falling for the man's taunts.
"What are you babbling about? My master would stop the League even faster than me." All for One's response was to laugh even harder; even if it seemed to hurt him to tax his lungs like that, he didn't stop it. It concerned, angered and scared him as this monster never did something for nothing.
All for One finally got himself under control, deciding to reveal a truth he had been keeping for quite a while. “And I wonder if she’ll be able to do that if it meant fighting her blood, after all,” All Might’s eyes widened as All for One dropped a bombshell. “Tomura is her grand-son.”
After that statement, silence fell between them, nothing but the sounds of fires and destruction in the distance to fill the void left by the lack of conversation and battle between the two titans, weakened by battle and age. For All Might, that void wasn't empty, as his mind recalled all the time he spent with his master, from the day she first laid eyes on him to her final moments as he was pulled away by Gran Torino. No…this…this wasn't possible!
Using that moment of shock, All for One blasted All Might with a blast from his air cannon palm, boosted by several other quirks, which sent the pro flying back, coughing from the force of the blow as he barely managed to land on his feet as All for One slowly got up, the strain and exhaustion getting to him, now more than ever with the lose of his life support but he wasn't dead yet.
But it would seem that All Might was as he had formed a hole in his armour and would now pry it open to get to his soft underbelly. “What’s wrong, All Might? Is the thought of someone who carries her blood running around burning the world down that upsetting to you?” His arm bulged up as he fired up 2 dozen stolen quirks, rushing All Might, who barely managed to match his punch with one of his own, but the villain pushed him back.
Adding more quirks, he saw All Might’s arm started to bend under the strain as he gleefully continued. “Or perhaps it’s the realization that for months now, you’ll be thinking about ways to shatter and defeat someone of her blood?”
All Might's breath was hagged, fast as he struggled to keep his composure, even as his heart broke at that implication. Namely, the fact that he didn't even know his master, her children, to have grandkids, she never talked about it. Did…did that mean All for One was lying? Of course, he was; she would have told him he was her successor, his teacher. She wouldn't keep secrets like that!
Right?
"You lying…" He held onto that thread, not wanting to consider what the alternative could mean. All for One, hearing how weak his nemesis sounded only brought him joy, more so as he went on, adding to All Might’s misery.
Keeping the pressure up, a hand grew from his shoulder, grabbing onto All Might, and while electrocuting him with well over 4,000,000 volts of electricity, he threw him aside only to send another wave of water and ice towards him, this time catching the still spasming and confused pro in it. "You would think, but no! It was as if the heavens smiled upon me as you know the best part was?" All for One asked him, driving the blade deeper into his heart and soul.
"I didn't do anything to land him in the streets, needing a hero. I realized who he was and sought to kidnap him once he was taken in by someone, but no one did!" Oh, how funny that had been. He had only discovered him by chance, as he had been looking for children to turn into puppets.
Imagine his surprise when, after taking him in, the doctor's tests revealed that he was a relative of Shimura. He had known she had a son, but she did an excellent job at hiding him after her husband died in a villain attack, another incident he had no hand in. He confirmed later that the boy's parents, his entire family, were dead, which meant he was the only one with Shimura's blood left.
Bursting out from underneath the ice and water, the number one was shivering, but it wasn't so much the cold that was getting to him but the gleeful, twisted, malicious words of his nemesis. Words that, no matter how much he tried to ignore, a part of him knew he was being truthful.
He charged All for One, his battle cry mixed in with desperation and grief, but this weakened him further as All for One met his charge, shifting the earth into a golem that defended him from All Might. "It was quite the experience, watching the people you claim to act when there's good to be done walk right on by a child so clearly in need. Always saying that a hero will handle it." "It's why I have to thank you."
All for One detected increased confusion from All Might, along with a return of that sea of rage that only he could spark in the smiling buffoon. “After all, while I groomed him, trained him, nurtured his hatred for you and all you stand for. I didn’t plant that seed. You did, your world of peace, your world of complacency, your world of closed eyes and deaf ears.”
All Might faltered once more and was sent back with an air cannon, which he was forced to block, withering away at his body and spirit almost as much as the man's biting words. “A world where the cries of a child in need could be so cruelly ignored.”
Despite being on the offensive, All for One was still exhausting himself as he burnt through his reserves, but he couldn't pass up this chance to hear and feel how All Might break at such truths. “It’s what made watching Midoriya Izuku’s broadcast so fun. All the same issues, complacency, bias, refusal to hear the cries of someone in need. The only difference was the addition of bribed heroes and incompetent cops. Truly a master class. It made me wish I got to her first as the hate in her voice reminded me a lot of a younger Tomura, if only a little more eloquent.”
All Might didn't even react to that second statement about young Midoriya. His mind was too busy waging away with his heart. He was lying, he had to be, that couldn't be true. He couldn't have failed his master so severely. Not only was he unable to save her from All for One, but he couldn't even save her grandson when he needed him most. As a result, he fell right into the clutches of the man who killed his grandmother.
He was a hero; he wanted a world where people could be safe would be safe. He knew, deep down, that he couldn't save everyone, that there were always people All Might didn't reach in time or people whose cries he had never heard, to begin with. He was only human, after all, no matter how many people thought him a Demi-God. But he had faith that with so many others, his efforts could inspire others to act, to help those in need and make the world a better place.
That had been called into question when Midoriya came out with how she had been kept captive for so long, from how she was ignored by those she tried to tell to how heroes worked with criminals. Tsukauchi convinced him that it was just some bad apples, that he couldn’t have predicted or known about it till something like that happened, a scandal that forced the truth into the light of day.
But, at this moment, hearing how Tomura…Nana's grandchild was ignored by the world and only helped by the worst person that could do so; he was reminded of the rest of that phrase, that a few bad apples ruined spoil the bunch, but it wasn't just a few, was it? How much? How much had you never seen? How much had been allowed to fester under his watch?
He was afraid of those answers.
"So how does it feel, All Might? To know you've failed so many people like them so spectacularly? To be a failure with lofty ideals, he can't live up to, just like his master before you?” All for One asked him, getting silenced as All Might felt himself losing faith, losing the will to fight. This defeated form, this lack of drive, wasn't just a private moment between the two as cameras in choppers flying overhead braving the risks of being down by the battle broadcast this to the entire world.
People all over were terrified and stunned to see number one like this, not even smiling and looking like he had been shattered. Still, they didn't stop supporting him as people started to cheer one by one, to support their number one in his time of need. From people in their homes to those on the street watching this on jumbo screens, even those in the middle of this hell in Hosu itself screamed their support.
U.A. was no different as while Amajiki and Togata watched the proceedings, as they hadn’t been involved with this, Togata more so than Amajiki as both Night Eye and All Might didn't want him anyway near where they had rightfully suspected All for One to be when he was still so inexperienced with One for All. Despite that, the two cheered for him as much as they did Hado, who worked tirelessly to save lives.
Class 1A was in just as much of a frenzy as through tears; they screamed out their support; not even the aggressive Bakugo or the silent Todoroki could keep out of it, not after they had watched so many others fall to buy All Might this chance by eliminating those Nomu. Midoriya, too, cheered for him, as despite her misgivings, despite the fact she was a spy working against All Might and the heroes, she didn't want people to needlessly die; she didn't want All Might to die and, indeed, a bastard like that.
Curious, who was watching from her penthouse, was silent as she merely smiled towards the screen, toasting the battle with a glass of wine she had broken out when she heard this could happen, as it wasn’t every day that tow titans fought fell each other, making their jobs all the easier.
“Even so,” All Might started as if he could heat all of this, the hopes and fears of the people, their support and love for him and what he strived to create and uphold, to the anticipatory elation of villains and other unknown actors waiting for him to die.
All that was much-needed and appreciated fuel to his dying fire. With a smile, one iconic to him, coming to his face as easily as it always had. “There are too many people relying on me. There are too many mistakes I have to make up for! And that all starts with taking you out!" He shifted his foot back, raised his head and pulled his fist back to end this. Seeing this, All for One let out a disappointed breath. He should have known this would happen, but alas, where he failed, his pupil would succeed; he was sure of that much.
“Very well then, then let’s end this. All those attacks I've used were just to weaken you, to bring you to the point when I have the best shot to kill you, which I'll do with the perfect combination of over 100 quirks." As the villain spoke, his right arm bulged and contorted, his veins pulsating while muscles and bones grew to inhuman levels. To the disgust and horror of those watching, his arm became an unholy fusion of how knew how many different quirks.
All Might wasn't one of them, as he didn't waver. He didn't buckle as he charged the villain, putting as much of his remaining power as he could behind his fist as All for One flew toward him, using other quirks to boast his speed and increase his punch's killing power before the two met in the middle. “Detroit Smash!” The force of the clash could be felt throughout the city as the ground shook and buildings nearby that hadn’t already fallen trembled.
“Impact Recoil!” All for One cried, activating a surprise which sent all of All Might's power right back at him, the bones in his right arm breaking under the force, which, combined with the force of his own attack, saw the Symbol of Peace pushed back, further and further as All for One increased the pressure, only for All Might to finally find his footing.
“If you think,” His broken arm barely held, but All Might had two arms as he swung his other fist towards All for One. “That I’ll just lay down and die, leaving my student to face you head on, then you’re lost your damn mind!” The villain just barely dodged the strike by leaning back. The wind licked up, deadly in its own right as the underworld king had to dig his feet in and use several quirks to remain standing, but standing he was.
“A clever trick, but it won’t be enough!” He yelled as he shifted his quirk combination to his other hand. Still, All for One immediately realized he had been baited when All Might didn't swing his uninjured arm, now in a prime spot to strike. All for One was in a position where he couldn't further learn to dodge.
"You think? Well, I say it will because I'm not fighting for myself; I fight for the future, a future that you have no place in!" All Might yelled, putting all his spirit into it as his bloodied, purple arm clenched into a fist, which he drove straight into the face of his nemesis.
“So fall, All for One,” Powering through the pain, the grief, the hate-he pushed himself beyond his limits, using everything he had left to drive this villain into the dirt. “United States of…Smash!” His ultimate move, which he had never used, was unlike anything else. The power behind it didn't just shake the earth but shatter it, kicking up a tornado of wind pressure so great that multi-ton chunks of buildings were caught up in it, helicopters found themselves nearly torn from the sky as people dozens of blocks away fell over from how the earth itself seems to shudder at his Might.
The result of all that? When the dust cleared, All for One lay defeated at his feet, the man knocked out cold with who knew how many broken and shattered bones, with All Might barely holding on as he stood over him, his fist still lodged in his face as he slowly, as if in a daze, retracted it and stood up. Starring into the dark sky, he felt the last embers of his quirk, of one of the greatest gifts his master bestowed on him, burning out.
'Goodbye One for All, and…I'm sorry, young Togata, you had to inherit my power…and my failures.' With that last thought and apology, his eyes rolled back as he fell onto his back, his vision going dark seconds later.
And with that, the age of All Might ended, and the world would have to prepare for what came when next.
Line Break
Watching the fight from another secure location, the League members kept their eyes on the T.V. as they saw the last of their clones and Nomu mopped up. At the same time, emergency crews raced onto the scene, the newscaster being stunned nearly to silence by the fact that a villain such as their benefactor could exist, a being that could fight All Might to a devastating standstill.
Rising a glass of wine, Compress stated. “And with that, the two lead actors take their bow.”
“That was some insane power, lame as shit!” Twice had a much simpler beer, as the hideout might not have been a bar like the other one, they abandoned and rigged harder than a Vietnamese forest, but it was still well stocked with liquor, which Kurogiri served them as they watched the fireworks.
"Still think I should have been there. That looked like it was a lot of fun." Muscular stated, downing his 3rd beer as the rest kept an eye on him as he was a loose cannon sober. No one wanted to see what he was like when he was drunk.
"You would have been flattened before you could even raise a finger; you know it, muscle head." Magne took a sip of her tequila, and for one, the muscle bond berserker didn’t argue with that, so she turned her attention to their resident arsonist, whose eyes had been locked on the scene ever since Endeavour came into frame.
“You seem awfully happy; you enjoy seeing All Might fall right after winning that much," Magne asked him as Dabi chuckled, downing his shot of jäger. He didn't stop watching the scenery, especially when the news brought up how the fallen heroes had all been rushed to hospital for emergency treatment.
"I just liked the fireworks, especially when it came crashing down." He replied, though as they expected, he was cryptic as hell as the man liked sharing as much as Shigaraki liked skin care.
“Still, while it was a grand performance, we’ve just lost our wealthy and well-connected producer.” Compress stated that while they had time to transfer funds and resources, those were finite till they found a means to replenish it. "Though I would say it was a necessary sacrifice given that didn't just bloody the heroes' noses and damage their reputation, but we've seen to it that the star of their act has been forced into retirement."
Hearing him talk casually about it, Kurogiri leaned close to Shigaraki, who drank water as the feed continued with reports on search and rescue. “Shigaraki, are you sure you’re alright with this?”
Shigaraki, who would have usually done something violent and/or murderous by now, was silent for a moment before he responded. “No, but as much as it pisses me off that master insisted on staying behind, it was a smart play and what he wanted.” He had insisted his master retreat, that they leave the High Ends if they wanted a show, but the man hadn't let up.
“Besides, we didn’t lose all the High Ends.” He turned his gaze to the corner of the room, where the High-End Woman sat, silent as a corpse awaiting further orders after he told it to sit down and shut up.
“What will be our next move?” Kurogiri asked him, the eyes of the rest turning to him, their leader who, for his part, kept calm as he thought about it.
"For now, we'll law low. Let the pros and sheep stew before we make another move. After all, while it would be fun to strike while their main party members are all low on M.P. and H.P., I want to continue to show them that their heroes can't protect them even at their best, which means letting them recover before we fight them again." He decided and stated with no room for argument.
“Fine by me, it’ll be no fun to kill some pros if they’re down for the count.” Muscular, the one that was most likely to argue, backed down.
"It also gives us time to organize ourselves going forward; we wouldn't have a messy script now, would we?” Compress was next, as he was keen to ensure they didn't need to live like paupers while they did this, which meant securing supplies and funds for their endeavors.
“And take a super long nap, train till our bones break!” Twice gave a thumbs up.
"Good, with that settled, Kurogiri. Get the High End back to the doctor before she croaks. She's been out of her tube for too long." Shigaraki got up, finishing his drink and pointing towards the still-silent High End as he walked off. It had been a long night, and he wanted to sleep.
“At once, Shigaraki Tomura.” Kurogiri bowed his head to him.
Line Break
And with that, we're done. The end of an era for the MHA universe as even though this story doesn't focus much on One for All and All for One, these are still two significant world-building pillars, so the final clash between the beings that embody them, the most, and the resulting stalemate needed the appropriate attention.
When it came to the others, while I didn't want them to be injured as badly, these are High Ends, as we have to remember that Hood nearly killed Enji when he had help, so his fight was set in stone. Meanwhile, the others, believe it or not, I had to tone down as Mirko and the other pros were struggling against the High Ends in the hospital raid, but those High Ends didn't have time to fully wake up like Hood did.
It might not have been the 12 hours Hood was given, but it was enough to ruin their days.
Also, All for One is wise to what Izuku did with her televised interview; the only question is now if All Might will really think about it once he recovers from the battle, as AFO is many things, but he doesn't lie misleads, leaves out details but never outright lies about something. Of course, he could be wrong, as All Might has no reason to suspect anything about Izuku…yet.
As for why he could have said that when he could have kept his mouth shut? He's a petty little bitch, that's why. He would have kept quiet if she was one of his, but as far as he thinks, she's either working for a 3rd party or freelance.
