AMV_WEAKLY
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[47] The Heat of Battle
🕑 Added 2025-05-30 16:58:11 +0000 UTC(Gran Torino POV – Hosu Streets)
I tackle the Nomu on top of the train, locking it in a vice grip as I activate my quirk, blasting us off the roof and over the edge of the tracks. We fall quickly towards the street below.
'That kid better keep his head down.' I grumble inwardly, adjusting my grip as the damn thing thrashes recklessly, all four of its broken arms twitching and jerking.
It tries to shake me off, but I bark out a laugh.
"Not happening, freakshow!" I taunt, before blasting downward again, accelerating our descent.
'Almost there... Now!'
I twist mid-air, plant both feet against its chest, and rocket off.
BOOM!
It slams into the street like a meteor, pavement erupting in a cloud of dust and flying debris.
The crunch of shattered bone and tearing flesh rings in my ears, but I don’t even glance twice as I land softly beside the crater.
"Hmph… Not so tough now, are ya?" I mutter with a grin, straightening up and popping my back with a loud crack.
"Agh—yep. Definitely too old for this crap."
But the moment I scan the street, I already know I won’t get to take a break.
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
Three more Nomu emerge from the shadows like monsters drawn to blood. One’s a hulking slab of muscle, built like a tank. The second is thin and twitchy, with arms so long they drag across the ground like dead vines. The last one's coated in thick, scaly hide, a reptilian tail scraping against the concrete behind it.
I click my tongue.
"Heh. You brats really don’t know how to give an old man a breather."
There are no witty comebacks as the lizard one lunges, disturbingly fast for its size, with the brute stomping behind like a freight train.
The moment its claws come down—
I'm gone.
CRACK!
My foot smashes into the side of its jaw, body inverted mid-air beneath its head as the impact sends it sprawling.
"Can’t even keep up with a frail old man?" I mock as I shoot toward the second one.
I’m not strong enough to beat them head-on.
'But I don’t need to be.'
I land a kick on the brute’s chest and launch off in the same instant.
WHAM!
The thin one's arms swing and decks the brute right where I was standing, causing it to stumble backward.
'They've got no coordination or teamwork.'
I bounce between walls, streetlights, and signs, each surface a launchpad. Speed is my weapon—momentum, my blade.
I dart in, slam a foot into the lizard's knee—CRACK!—then rebound off a wall and hammer the back of the brute’s skull. I twist midair and dive toward the twitchy one, shattering its elbow with a sharp, clean kick.
To anyone watching, I’ve become a blur—flashing between the Nomu in streaks of white and yellow. Every strike hitting weak points, and repeated areas, building up damage over time.
The Nomu screech and flail, but they’re always a step too slow.
'One mistake is all it takes.'
I hammer repeated kicks into the brute’s neck until it finally slumps over, unmoving.
I bait the scrawny one into swinging again—then launch a kick that redirects its fist straight into the lizard’s skull with bone-shattering force.
THUD.
"Down goes number two!" I shout gleefully, speeding around the last one like a wasp overdosed on caffeine. I target its joints, blowing out its knees and elbows until it collapses in a heap.
I land hard on its head, driving its face into the pavement with a final, satisfying crunch.
"Even if I’m old, you better believe I’ve still got it!" I grin, hopping off the third Nomu's crushed skull.
'They just keep coming, huh?'
I glance upward and spot a winged Nomu diving at me like a hawk.
"Tch—"
I bend my knees, prepping to dodge and counter.
Then a calm, deep voice cuts through the chaos. "Step aside, old man."
A burst of crimson light floods the street.
FWOOOOOSH!
A wall of fire roars to life. A blazing column of flame engulfs the flying Nomu mid-dive. It lets out a ghastly shriek as it’s incinerated before it even hits the ground.
I blast myself backward, shielding my face as the wave of heat prickles my skin. The Nomu’s body crashes heavily into the street, its screams having stopped long before.
What’s left is a smoking pile of flesh and the rancid stench of cooked flesh.
I turn toward the source of the inferno and scowl. "Hey! Watch it, hothead!"
(Endeavour POV – Hosu Streets)
'They're more durable than ordinary people.' I lower my hand, letting the flames dancing between my fingers die out.
The scorched body at my feet crumbles slightly, smoke rising from the charred remains.
Off to the side, an old man shouts something—probably the same one who was huffing and puffing earlier.
I glance at him briefly.
“You're a hero. So you can handle a little heat,” I say my voice calm and uninterested.
I don’t wait for a reply.
I turn away, boots crunching on asphalt as I step past the blackened corpse. My destination: the location Shoto told me needed reinforcement.
'Tch. Reinforcement.' I scoff internally. 'I alone am enough.'
I was annoyed when he bailed mid-fight, eyes locked on his phone instead of watching me work. But...
'He was fired up about something. And I’ll find out what.'
“Hey, there’s more!” the old man shouts again.
“You don’t need to tell me,” I mutter, biting back a curse at his pointless commentary.
“I’d have to be blind not to notice.”
Because there it is. Turning the corner like it owns the damn street.
A towering Nomu, dragging a limp hero by the head like trash. It's body is black, with hulking muscles and a few red scars. Its jaw juts with flat teeth, but its upper face is just an exposed brain, with no eyes or nose.
Despite that, it sees us somehow, as it turns to look straight at me. It tosses the corpse into a building with a deafening crash, splintering brick and concrete like wet wood.
My eyes sharpen. 'This one’s different.'
It’s massive, heavy-set, and somehow uninjured, without even a scratch, except for us preexisting scars.
'Something's wrong. I'm sure it must've encountered a few heroes. Were none of them strong enough to hurt it?' I wonder, feeling distaste.
But then, the creature breaks into a sprint.
'It's fast for its size.' I note. 'Nothing I can't handle.'
“I’ll distract while you—”
“There’s no need.” My voice slices through the air, calm and steady, as I cut the old man off.
He blinks. “What?”
“I can handle this alone. There are civilians elsewhere in need of rescue. Go be useful...”
'...And don’t get in my way.'
I raise my hand as the Nomu barrels forward. My fingers light up with a deadly orange flames as heat radiates in waves.
'No weaklings around to get in the way.' I confirm, making sure there are no civilians in the area. 'Perfect.'
Flames burst forth from my hand in an unrelenting torrent that devours the street in crimson hellfire.
The roar of the blaze swallows all sound. Buildings glow red as the pavement melts beneath the heat.
'I guess I overestimat—'
Two massive arms tear through the inferno, their skin blistered and peeling, yet grasping for me with monstrous force.
I jet backward, twin bursts of flame firing from my feet as I propel myself backwards.
The creature emerges, skin sloughing off like burnt leather... but it's already regrowing.
“So,” I mutter, narrowing my eyes, “you regenerate.”
I watch as pink muscle ripples beneath fresh skin, the damage already gone.
My lips curl into a scowl.
“I don’t have time to waste on you... so I’ll make this quick.”
It charges at me again and I charge towards it as well.
I meet it head-on. My fists ignite, the heat intensifying until the air itself ripples.
Its arm swings wide, while I duck low, pivot, and slam a blazing fist into its ribs.
“Burn,” I command as my fist sinks deeper into its flesh.
A geyser of fire erupts from my fist. The impact sends the Nomu flying, its body flying helplessly through the air before crashing into a wall.
Smoke rises from its frame. Its flesh is scorched black, but I’m already moving.
'I won't show mercy.'
The creature staggers upright, still steaming.
But now, I see it.
'It's regenerating slower.'
The charred flesh isn’t healing as quickly as the rest.
A grin tugs at my lips, not joy, but from satisfaction.
“I see. Even freaks like you can't heal from my flames.” I say as I slam another flaming fist into it's chest, as flames erupt once again.
The blast hurls the Nomu deeper into the concrete, embedding it firmly in place.
“It’s time to end this,” I say flatly, grabbing its smoking shoulders.
With a grunt, I drag the beast back out, muscles straining as I haul its massive form onto the cracked street, then throw it over my shoulder as I body slam it into the ground.
“Now—go up in flames.”
My flames surge, racing down my arms in waves of blazing heat. The air warps while the street is bathed in a molten orange glow as a dome of fire swells around us as I envelop the creature with hellfire.
It growls beneath me, its muscles convulsing. Its massive arms swing wildly, trying to throw me off.
'Pathetic.'
I tighten my grip, fingers searing into its flesh. Then—slam!—I lift and drive it down again, cracking the asphalt beneath it.
Its skin bubbles, blisters, peels. The meat underneath cooks, blackening into char as muscles split apart like overdone meat.
The tar under us starts to boil, releasing foul-smelling steam, and still I don’t let up.
The Nomu bucks violently, but it's growing sluggish now as its healing factor is completely overwhelmed.
"If you were a steak, you'd still be raw." I smirk, my eyes blazing. "Let me fix that."
I increase the intensity of my flames as they transform into a more solid, pale yellow glow.
Then stillness.
The Nomu stops moving. Smoke curls into the sky as I finally rise, steam hissing around me, heat rippling off my body.
What’s left of the creature is a smoldering husk. Flesh melted to bone.
'Now it's overdone.'
I exhale slowly, jaw tightening.
“Tch. That took longer than it should’ve.”
I scan the street. The stench of charred asphalt hangs heavy in the air. No more of these creatures or that old man.
'Good. He followed instruction.'
I glance toward the direction Shoto ran earlier.
"Now then... let’s see what was so damn important that he couldn’t stick around to witness my power." I grumble as I begin to jog forward.
(Ida POV – Hosu Alleyway)
"Tenya! To the scene! Run!" Manual yells as he rushes toward the source of the distant explosions.
But I barely register his voice as my eyes are locked on the alley to my left.
I break off, sprinting full force into the narrow passageway while Manual doesn’t even notice I’m gone.
And I'm right.
'There he is. That bastard. The one who crippled Tensei... I'll make him pay!'
I charge forward at top speed, rage boiling in my chest, my vision tunneling in on the figure ahead. I don’t even register the injured hero he's got pinned to the wall as my fury drowns everything out.
As I close in, he reacts.
With one smooth, practiced motion, he swings his sword at my head.
I barely duck under the glinting blade—my helmet is sliced clean off, clattering behind me as the blow knocks me back and sends me crashing onto the pavement.
"A kid in a costume..." he mutters, voice like crushed gravel. "Who are you? Get out of here. This is no place for children."
"You must be the Hero Killer—Stain! Am I right?!" I shout, scrambling back to my feet.
Even if he denied it, I know it’s him.
"I've been pursuing you," I say, eyes blazing. "Though I didn’t expect us to meet so soon. I am—"
He cuts me off, leveling his blade at my face. The tip hovers inches from my skin, glinting in the dim light.
"Your eyes. You're out for revenge, aren’t you?" he says coolly, then his expression hardens, voice edged with fury. "Watch your damned mouth... or your age won’t be enough to save you."
Fear grips my heart—but I don’t back down.
I grit my teeth, planting my feet, the tremble in my chest burned away by hatred. "Listen up, criminal!" I shout, fury carrying each word.
"I am... the younger brother of a hero you attacked! And I’ve come to stop you in his stead!"
I lift my head, meeting his gaze head-on, even as every muscle in my body tenses. 'Tensei told me to inherit his mantle. I won’t let him down. I’ll avenge him.'
"So remember this name," I say, voice raw and unwavering. "For the short time you have left! I'm Ingenium. the hero who's going to take you down!"
Stain’s eyes widen with rage.
"That so?" he says, voice ice cold.
"Time to die."
