The explosion completely engulfed the Nomu.
A massive fireball bloomed across the battlefield, swallowing the creature whole, while the shockwave alone forced even Mewtwo to drift backward through the air.
For a few brief seconds...
Nothing could be seen beyond the flames and smoke.
Then, as the smoke slowly began to clear, reality proved exactly what Mewtwo had already sensed with his psychic powers.
"The fucker is healing at an alarming rate..."
His voice came out in disbelief.
Even after taking such a devastating attack head-on, the Nomu's regeneration had already begun. Flesh rapidly knitted itself back together, muscles reformed before his eyes, and shattered bones reconstructed themselves with horrifying speed.
Still...
The attack had done its job.
The creature had lost its remaining arm.
One of its legs had also been blown clean off.
Its body was barely recognizable compared to only a few moments ago.
Yet none of it seemed to matter.
The regeneration simply continued.
"...Such a wonderful healing ability..."
Mewtwo muttered quietly, unable to hide the frustration in his voice.
"...And it's being wasted on a monster."
There was so much an ability like that could accomplish.
It could save lives.
Heal the wounded.
Restore people who had lost limbs forever.
Instead...
Some psychopath had decided to graft it onto a creature whose only purpose was killing.
It was almost insulting.
Unfortunately, Mewtwo didn't have the luxury of dwelling on it.
His psychic senses screamed a warning.
Without even turning around, he instinctively activated Barrier once again.
A translucent sphere of psychic energy formed around him just as—
BOOM!
A violent shockwave slammed into the Barrier from his right.
The force shoved him sideways through the air before he managed to stabilize himself.
Mewtwo immediately turned his head toward the source of the attack.
"...Another one."
A second Nomu hovered in the sky.
Unlike the others, this one possessed enormous wings capable of keeping it airborne with ease.
Both of its forearms were wrapped in strange mechanical structures that constantly vented streams of hot vapor, as though pressure was continuously building inside them.
Steam hissed from the metallic devices with every movement, giving the creature the appearance of some grotesque machine built solely for war.
The battle raged on without pause, and for the looks of it, that was exactly how it was going to stay.
The very next moment, the second Nomu rushed straight at Mewtwo. Knowing he was now facing two opponents at once, he immediately activated Reflect and Light Screen, unwilling to take unnecessary risks.
A thin veil of light wrapped around his body, reinforcing both his physical and psychic defenses.
Without wasting a single second, Mewtwo launched himself at the newcomer.
"Swift."
A barrage of glowing stars burst into existence around him before raining down upon the Nomu.
The scale of the battle escalated almost instantly.
From afar, the countless explosions resembled a fireworks display, flashes of light illuminating the battlefield one after another. Yet when the smoke cleared, the creature looked almost completely unfazed.
"So that's not enough..."
Without hesitation, Mewtwo increased the output.
"Psycho Cut."
Invisible psychic blades carved across the Nomu's body, digging into its skin and leaving dozens of deep slashes behind.
Still...
It wasn't enough.
Its hide was unbelievably tough, far tougher than any creature Mewtwo had fought before.
At the same time, the first Nomu finished regenerating.
Not completely.
Its upper limbs had only partially regrown, exposed muscles still visible beneath fresh flesh, yet it ignored its incomplete state entirely and attacked anyway.
Its body transformed into a bolt of lightning.
It crashed against Mewtwo's barrier.
Retreated.
Charged again.
Hit.
Retreated once more.
Over and over, refusing to give him even a moment to breathe.
Each impact shook the barrier violently while the second Nomu joined the assault, forcing Mewtwo to split his attention between both monsters.
Explosions echoed across the sky.
Seconds stretched into what felt like minutes.
Finally...
A sharp crack spread across the psychic barrier.
The shield shattered.
Without it, Mewtwo had no choice but to engage in close combat.
The lightning Nomu lunged first.
Mewtwo answered with Iron Tail, twisting his body at the last possible instant before bringing the glowing tail down with overwhelming force.
The impact shattered nearly every bone in the creature's arm, sending fractures racing through its entire body.
But the second Nomu had been waiting precisely for that opening.
A heavy punch slammed into Mewtwo's stomach.
The blow launched him into the ground with enough force to create a shockwave that tore apart the surrounding earth.
Instead of crashing helplessly, Mewtwo caught himself with telekinesis, spinning through the air before thrusting both hands forward.
Two Shadow Balls shot toward the attacker.
The explosions forced the creature back just long enough for Mewtwo to regain control of the battlefield.
He hovered once more, eyes locked onto the Nomu that generated the shockwaves.
His expression changed.
Cold.
Focused.
Enough.
He drew one arm behind him as an immense amount of energy began gathering into his palm.
The Nomu charged.
One attack.
Mewtwo sidestepped.
A second strike followed immediately.
He twisted around it with barely a centimeter to spare.
Before the creature could recover...
Mewtwo planted his glowing hand directly against its stomach.
"Hyper Beam."
A colossal pillar of light erupted skyward.
The beam swallowed the Nomu completely, piercing through its body before continuing into the heavens.
For several seconds, nothing could be seen but blinding light.
When the beam finally faded...
The Nomu was gone.
Not injured.
Not regenerating.
Gone.
Only one enemy remained.
At that exact moment, Mewtwo's forearm glowed faintly.
The number 32 appeared upon it.
"I have to admit..." Mewtwo muttered between heavy breaths, looking at the last remaining Nomu. "I'm tired... thank you for the fight."
The instant those words left his mouth, he rushed forward once again.
This time, however...
He wasn't nearly as fast as before.
The countless uses of Life Dew, barriers, and high-output techniques had finally begun to catch up with him.
Looks like the healing indeed had a price.
The moment Mewtwo declared, "I'm going to capture you," he acted.
Five enormous boulders materialized high above the Thunder Nomu as he used Ancient Power, sending them crashing down one after another. The impacts shook the earth, each collision louder than the last, until the creature was buried beneath a cloud of dust and shattered stone.
From a safe distance, the priest stared in utter disbelief.
The scale of the battle had long surpassed anything he could have imagined. Every clash felt like an earthquake, every explosion lit up the sky like artillery fire. He couldn't help but wonder just what he had gotten himself involved in.
He had been playing with what, in his eyes, was nothing less than a living storm.
However, what happened next was something none of them expected.
Least of all Mewtwo.
A black portal silently opened beside Dabi's unconscious body, and a man stepped out.
He wore a perfectly tailored suit and an unsettling mask that concealed his face completely.
Mewtwo didn't need anyone to identify him.
He recognized him immediately.
It was the same man who had ambushed him in the alley.
Beside him, four more Nomu emerged from the portal. Unlike the previous ones, these were lean rather than gigantic, yet every one of them possessed dense, compact musculature. They didn't look mindless.
They looked dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Mewtwo's eyes immediately settled on the masked man. At the same time, without drawing any attention, he activated his recording device, making sure every second of this encounter was being saved.
"Eh... so you finally decided to show yourself," Mewtwo said casually. "I thought after attacking me in that alley you'd avoid appearing for a while longer. You know... preserve the mysterious aura of the big villain."
The masked man laughed.
"Hahaha... I see you have quite the sense of humor. You see, I'm actually here to apologize."
He spread his hands slightly.
"And not only that. I've come to extend you an invitation."
"An invitation?" Mewtwo asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Indeed."
The man's voice remained calm, almost gentlemanly.
"Join me. Your talents are far too extraordinary to be wasted alongside the heroes. Come with me, and together we could reshape this world... guide it into a new era."
As he finished speaking and opened his arms invitingly—
A Shadow Ball slammed directly into his face.
The explosion echoed across the battlefield.
The four Nomu instantly tensed, ready to move, but the masked man calmly raised one hand, stopping them before they could react.
"...That was rather impolite, young man."
"Well," Mewtwo replied without the slightest hint of regret, "I was taught not to talk to creepy men making shady offers."
The masked man chuckled again.
"I suppose that's understandable."
His tone remained surprisingly relaxed.
"However... I'm afraid I cannot accept 'no' as an answer."
His posture straightened ever so slightly.
"So you will come with me... one way or another."
The moment those words left his mouth—
The other four Nomu moved.
The moment the masked man finished speaking, the four Nomu vanished.
They reappeared beside Mewtwo almost instantly.
They were fast.
Absurdly fast.
Not as fast as the Thunder Nomu had been, but close enough that they left almost no room for error.
Mewtwo reacted on instinct.
His tail flashed with metallic light.
Iron Tail.
At the same time, he drove his leg forward with Mega Kick, meeting two different attacks simultaneously.
The impacts rang out like cannon fire.
Using the momentum, Mewtwo spun through the air, forcing all four Nomu away from him and creating a brief opening.
"...They're strong too."
He narrowed his eyes.
This wasn't just another group of disposable monsters.
Each one possessed strength comparable to the previous Nomu.
And unlike before...
He was already exhausted.
His breathing had become noticeably heavier, and the constant use of Life Dew and his strongest techniques had drained a significant portion of his energy.
On the other side...
Perhaps out of overconfidence.
Mewtwto made a decision.
A foolish one, and he was going to follow that idea.
As he polish the plan inside his head.
Two of the four took to the air while the remaining pair attacked from the ground.
One of the flying Nomu suddenly opened its mouth.
A concentrated beam of energy erupted toward Mewtwo.
He barely managed to twist his body.
Even so...
The blast grazed his stomach before exploding against him, burning through his hero armor and sending him flying backward.
The pain made him grit his teeth.
Using the momentum, Mewtwo spun through the air, letting the remainder of the beam pass harmlessly beside him.
Without stopping, he retaliated.
Several Shadow Balls shot toward the group, followed immediately by a crackling Thunderbolt.
The attacks weren't intended to defeat them.
They were merely a distraction.
Smoke, explosions, and arcs of lightning briefly obscured the battlefield.
That single opening was all Mewtwo needed.
Using Agility, he disappeared from their sight.
An instant later, he reappeared directly in front of the Thunder Nomu.
Originally...
He had intended to capture it.
Not anymore.
There were simply too many dangerous enemies on the field.
Keeping it alive was no longer an option.
He extended one hand.
Energy gathered instantly.
"Hyper Beam."
The beam erupted point-blank.
The Thunder Nomu didn't even have time to react.
Its body was completely swallowed by the pillar of light before being utterly obliterated.
When the attack finally faded...
Nothing remained.
Now...
Only the newcomers were left.