Chapter 69: Ego vs Duty
While Aoi flew toward rescuing Aizawa and 13, cutting through the air with blue flames propelling him like a comet—Aoi thought deeply: "Well, this is a good moment for me to get Professor Aizawa's blood. After all, he's going to be the key piece to finalize the project against All For One. After all, the quirk stealing power is a very irritating thing to deal with. After all, he just needs to touch you to activate that power. Good thing that, since I know the plot, I knew Professor Aizawa was going to bleed like a fountain today. That's why I brought this bracelet."
Aoi then glanced at the black bracelet on his wrist, almost imperceptible against his skin, sleek and designed to collect samples discreetly. He thought: "With it, I'll be able to store the professor's blood without anyone noticing, to finally finish my research on countering quirk theft."
Aoi then accelerated even more toward the location, the wind howling fiercely around him as his flames vibrated the air into submission, and thought: "But now the priority is to save the people—everything else comes after."
On the other side of the USJ, after Aoi had left to handle the flying Nomu, Aizawa and 13 continued defeating villain after villain in a deadly, synchronized dance of survival. Aizawa neutralized quirks with precise, unrelenting glances, his red eyes flashing as his capture weapon scarves whipped out like living serpents—coiling around limbs, slamming enemies into the ground, or yanking them off balance for follow-up strikes. Meanwhile, 13 used her black hole to devastating effect, the vacuum roaring constantly as it sucked in projectiles, debris, and smaller villains alike, crushing them into nothingness before they could close in.
The central plaza had become a chaotic battlefield, littered with unconscious or restrained villains, but the pressure never let up—more kept coming, coordinated by Kurogiri's warps.
Aizawa then felt a strong and sudden wind hit his face, loaded with imminent threat. He turned quickly, eyes already activated and glowing red, and saw the Nomu raising its colossal fist—swollen muscles pulsing grotesquely, veins bulging as the arm descended like a demolition hammer forged from pure destruction, with force capable of crushing reinforced concrete into powder.
Aizawa's voice was tense, laced with urgency:
—Damn! It's too late to escape. All that's left is to brace for the impact and minimize the damage.
He then quickly used his scarves to tie himself securely around the body and anchor to the nearby ground structures, wrapping them multiple layers thick like a makeshift harness and shock absorber to resist the devastating impact of the punch and prevent being launched uncontrollably.
The Nomu's attack connected with cataclysmic violence—the fist colliding against Aizawa's stretched and reinforced scarves in an explosion of brute force that compressed the air into a visible blast wave, exploding outward. The ground cracked in a massive crater radiating from the point of impact, while Aizawa was launched far away like a rag doll despite his preparations—the scarves partially tearing and snapping from the overwhelming power, the professor spinning wildly in the air before hitting the distant ground heavily. He rolled multiple times, coughing up blood as ribs cracked and skin tore from the friction.
13, seeing this in horror, shouted:
—Aizawa!
She tried desperately to run to help, expanding her black hole larger to suck in threats along the way and create a clear passage, the vacuum pulling in villains and debris alike. But she was stopped abruptly by Kurogiri, who emerged in a swirl of black mist, blocking her route with an impenetrable warp barrier that warped space around her.
Shigaraki, watching Aizawa being launched like worthless trash, smiled with sadistic malice, his voice dripping with mockery:
—What do you think of him, huh, hero? This is Nomu. He was created specifically to kill All Might. He's strong, isn't he? Imagine what he does to someone like you—someone who relies on tricks instead of raw power.
Aizawa looked up at him from the ground, spitting blood onto the concrete, and smiled with visible difficulty—his face swollen, cuts bleeding, but defiance burning in his eyes—and said:
—No. All Might is much stronger than that thing. Your monster doesn't even come close.
Shigaraki, seeing this unyielding defiance, got visceral rage, his hands scratching furiously at his neck until skin broke and blood trickled down.
—Nomu! Kill that shitty hero once and for all—make him crumble!
Aizawa, watching the Nomu advancing with earth-shaking steps that made the ground tremble and cracks spread, gave a tired but resolute smile and thought grimly: "It seems I'm going to die here. What a failure as a teacher. I couldn't even hold him off long enough until my student returns to turn the tide."
Just when the Nomu was about to attack, raising its fist for a final, crushing blow that made the air itself vibrate in anticipation of the destruction, the Nomu was suddenly hit from the side by Bakugou's flaming explosion and Shoto's giant sharp ice block—the explosion detonating on the monster's flank with a deafening boom that lit up the plaza in orange fire, while the ice pierced deep and froze part of the arm in a flash-freeze, the double impact making the Nomu stagger back heavily, roaring in frustration as visible cracks spiderwebbed across its reinforced skin from the combined assault.
At that exact moment, all the class students who had been scattered and separated by the warps finally arrived at the central plaza, running in coordinated groups with quirks activated and ready, positioning themselves swiftly in a defensive formation around the injured teachers to protect and support.
Momo approached Aizawa quickly, kneeling beside him with concern etched on her face, and asked:
—Professor, are you okay? How bad is it?
Aizawa said, panting heavily and trying to push himself up despite the pain:
—You have to get out of here now—evacuate immediately. That thing is far too dangerous. You can't defeat it yet with your current strength and experience—it was engineered to tank attacks from pros like All Might without breaking.
Bakugou said, shouting with explosive fury, palms already sparking dangerously:
—I'm a hero! I'm not going to run from a shitty villain like this! I'm the future number 1—I'm going to blow up this abomination into pieces!
Shoto said, calm but firm, ice already forming and spreading around his hands and feet for mobility:
—Professor, it's impossible for us to abandon you here all injured and vulnerable. And even if we wanted to leave and regroup, I don't think they'll let us get out alive from here—they're hunting us down systematically.
Shigaraki smiled widely, eyes gleaming with unhinged madness:
—Yes. It seems you're not that stupid after all. Yes, none of you will get out alive from here today. All of you are going to die in this place—turn to dust in my hands, just like everything else I touch.
Shigaraki commanded coldly:
—Nomu! Stop playing around and kill them all quickly—crush these brats into nothing!
When everyone was preparing for the all-out battle—quirks activating with bright glows, crackling sounds, and characteristic hums, defensive positions forming rapidly with barriers and ranged setups—everyone suddenly heard a violent and growing tremor in the massive USJ ceiling, as if something colossal was being dragged or slammed against it repeatedly.
They then looked up in alarm and saw the winged Nomu being thrown against the ceiling with brutal, bone-jarring force—the impact making the entire structure groan and crack under the strain.
But before they could say anything or fully react, a blue flaming lance was thrown at the monster like a lightning bolt from the gods, piercing its chest with a hissing and explosive sound of high-frequency vibration tearing through flesh and bones at a molecular level—the cold flames shaking matter apart without heat, pure destructive resonance. The lance dragged the Nomu upward at high speed, breaking everything in its path—steel beams twisting and snapping, concrete exploding into dust clouds—and opening a giant hole in the USJ ceiling in a massive cascade of falling debris and twisted metal.
The lance then rocketed into the open sky with the impaled Nomu, disappearing high above in the clouds.
Then a giant explosion erupted in the sky—a massive blue fireball pulsing and expanding rapidly, illuminating the entire area with intense, cold light and unbearable vibration noise that rattled teeth and made the ground hum.
Aizawa, recognizing the danger immediately, shouted urgently:
—Hold on tight! The shockwaves are coming—brace yourselves and hold firm!
Everyone then held on desperately just in time—creating ice barriers, ó simply crouching and gripping the ground. When the shockwave finally arrived, it destroyed all the remaining glass in the place in a dangerous rain of razor-sharp shards, dragged several simulated trees and massive clouds of dust in a violent gale, pushing everything in its path with hurricane-like force—students slipping, shouting, and struggling to resist the onslaught.
After a tense, heart-pounding moment as the winds howled and debris flew, everyone cautiously raised their heads and opened their eyes.
Everyone was in absolute shock with the USJ that, ironically, now really looked like a place where a full-scale natural disaster had struck—giant hole in the ceiling letting sunlight pour in, scattered debris everywhere, dust hanging thick in the air, and damaged structures creaking ominously.
Kaminari said, voice trembling from the adrenaline:
—What the hell was that insane attack?
Shoto stood up quickly, eyes fixed on the sky with recognition:
—Well, it was Aoi. I'd never mistake it. That flame is his—unmistakable, even from this distance.
Bakugou said, irritated and frustrated beyond words, fists clenched so tight his palms smoked:
—So you mean that bastard launched that insane attack from wherever he is? Damn! How can the difference between us be so goddamn big? It's pissing me off!
Shigaraki, who had been positioned behind the bulky Nomu for protection from any fallout, said with a dark, sinister smile and low, chilling voice:
—I finally understood, professor. Why you're so interested in him. Don't worry, professor. I'll bring him to you. You'll love a quirk as strong as that, right? Master will be pleased.
Aizawa looked at the students gathered around him and said, voice firm and commanding despite the pain wracking his body:
—Students, it's not time to get distracted or discouraged. And now that Aoi has defeated another monster out there, he's rushing straight to this place to support us. All we need to do is hold out until he arrives—resist together, as a class.
Bakugou said, irritated to his core, small explosions sparking uncontrollably in his palms:
—I don't need that shit to save me! I'll defeat this monster myself—no waiting around!
Shigaraki smiled wider, almost laughing.
—Nomu! Kill them.
The Nomu disappeared in a blur of pure, overwhelming speed and appeared suddenly right in front of Bakugou, the colossal fist aiming directly at his head with force enough to pulverize solid rock into dust in an instant.
Bakugou looked at it wide-eyed and thought, heart racing with adrenaline: "Damn! I can't dodge in time. He's too fast—this is going to hit me full on and end me!"
At that critical, life-or-death moment, Shoto reacted instinctively—creating a massive and thick ice wall reinforced with multiple layers in front of Bakugou in mere fractions of a second. The ice absorbed the main impact with a deafening crack that echoed like thunder, the wall cracking and exploding outward in sharp fragments that flew like shrapnel, but still the overwhelming residual force threw Bakugou far away, sending him flying uncontrollably through the air toward the far wall.
Kirishima, hardening his body to maximum density, ran at full speed and leaped, catching Bakugou mid-air just in time—taking the landing impact himself as they rolled roughly across the ground but saved from a fatal crash against the wall.
Kirishima asked, panting heavily from the strain:
—Are you okay, man? That was close!
Bakugou said, coughing up dust and standing up furious, explosions popping angrily:
—What the hell! I couldn't even dodge his blow—that thing is a real monster, moving like that!
At that moment, Shoto arrived near them, ice still smoking and crackling from his hand as frost spread across the ground, and looked at Bakugou seriously:
—I know you don't like the idea of waiting for Aoi to arrive to save everyone—it bruises your pride. But unfortunately, you don't have the raw power to defeat that thing alone right now. And if you keep acting purely on impulse like that, you'll just die pointlessly. And worse, you'll take all of us with you in the crossfire—your explosions are fundamental to delay and chip away at this monster until my brother arrives with I know you want to be the number 1 hero more than anything, but All Might would never put other people's lives at risk just because of idiotic pride—he'd fight smart.
Bakugou said, grinding his teeth in frustration, sparks flying:
—Damn... Fine, I'll help hold it off. But this is the last time I play support!
They then turned to look at the Nomu, which was already repositioning for another devastating attack, its exposed brain pulsing as it adapted.
Shigaraki said, seeing this reluctant unity:
—This annoying heroism really disgusts me to my core. Go, Nomu! Kill them and show that reality isn't a comic book where good always wins—no heroes coming to save the day this time.