Amid the chaos consuming Hosu, a narrow, dimlyly lit alley served as the stage for a silent tragedy.
Iida was pinned to the ground, his body pressed down by the worn blade of a katana that pierced his left arm and buried itself in the dirty asphalt. The blade held him immobile, his uniform stained with fresh blood as his breath came in short, pained gasps.
Stain leaned his body weight on the weapon, watching the alley's exit with a dark gaze.
"Hmph…" he grumbled. "This whole chaos… is that guy's doing?"
He clicked his tongue, clearly irritated.
"Doesn't matter. I'll deal with him later."
With a sharp motion, Stain ripped the katana from Iida's arm.
"Agh—!" the boy groaned, his body writhing in pain.
Before he could react, Stain slowly ran his tongue along the bloodied blade.
And the effect of his Quirk activated.
Iida's body locked up completely, his muscles hardening like stone as the paralysis Quirk took hold. His eyes widened, filled with panic and frustration.
Stain turned slightly, casting a glance at the boy on the ground.
"First, I'll deal with you. The brat who came to me playing hero."
Iida gritted his teeth, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.
"Y-you…" he choked out, his voice failing. "You'll pay for what you did to my brother! He… he'll never be a hero again because of you!"
Stain sighed, visibly impatient.
Iida tried to continue, his voice thick with emotion.
"He was my hero… my example… my—"
CLANG.
The tip of the katana stopped centimeters from his face, embedding itself in the ground with enough force to shatter the concrete.
"Shut up." Stain's voice was low, cutting. "I don't have the patience for pathetic speeches today."
He pulled the weapon back, raising it slowly.
"I'll just kill you now… and then get on with my revenge."
The air in the alley seemed to freeze.
Until a green blur shot through the space between the narrow walls.
Stain barely had time to turn his head before a fist wreathed in energy slammed violently into his face.
15%
DETROIT SMASH!!
The impact sent the Hero Killer flying like a projectile, hurtling down the alley until he crashed into the back wall, which cracked deeply from the force.
Midoriya landed in front of Iida, feet planted firmly on the ground, his body trembling from the excessive use of One For All it took to get here.
"Iida!" he said, panting. "I came to save you!"
Iida stared at him, eyes wide.
"M-Midoriya…?" he murmured. "Why…? This has nothing to do with you… you shouldn't have—"
"What are you saying?!" Midoriya replied, turning slightly. "Of course it has to do with me! I couldn't just stand by while my friend was in danger!"
But then—
"Tsk… perfect." The voice echoed from the back of the alley.
The rubble shifted.
Stain rose slowly, his body creaking, his face covered in dust and blood. The bandages that partially covered his face began to come loose, falling away one by one.
"Another brat…" he snarled. "How many more will show up to make this even more irritating?"
The wrappings covering his right eye slipped away completely.
The air grew heavy.
Midoriya paralyzed in place, feeling his body subtly going limp.
The revealed eye was not human.
It was a serpentine, yellow eye, cold and predatory, violently contrasted with the left one, which was still normal. The hatred emanating from it was suffocating.
Stain stared directly at Midoriya.
"How many more…" he roared, his voice laden with fury, "brats will I have to deal with tonight?!"
----------------------------------------
A bit further south of Hosu, the buildings were now little more than casualties of the struggle spreading through the city.
Ryo bursts out of the cloud of debris, concrete still exploding behind him as he races at high speed down the devastated street, pushing his body beyond its limits.
Behind him, the dust parts, and Woman emerges like a beast unleashed, running in a jagged, wild gait, her razor-sharp grin wide on her face. Her steps crack the asphalt as she gains ground.
"You can't run from me~!" the distorted voice echoes, mocking.
She leaps and comes down on him with a blow.
The impact of the strike came like a meteor.
Over eight tons of mass concentrated in her arm descends upon Ryo. He raises his arms at the last instant, managing to block—but the shockwave still triggers an explosion of dust and shrapnel, hurling them in opposite directions, before they shoot through the city again like living projectiles.
Ryo charges first, spinning his body and attempting a direct hit. Woman dodges with an agility that defies belief, her curvy form bending in near-impossible ways, before countering with a brutal punch.
The impact slams Ryo into a building.
He plows through the structure, shattering internal walls like paper. Woman shows no mercy—she crashes through the same building right behind him and catches up just in time to add a devastating kick, accelerating the boy's body even further through the air.
Ryo snarls in pain, but reacts.
He digs his hand into the concrete of the street below, tearing up the asphalt as he forces friction to slow himself. His body slides until it collides with a storefront, raising another cloud of dust.
Before Woman can close the distance, Ryo erupts from the debris, gripping her head firmly and dragging her along the ground as he runs, concrete grinding beneath the Nomu's body.
With a violent spin, he hurls her forward.
Woman flies across an entire alley, and Ryo uses the space to his advantage. He begins ricocheting off the walls, appearing at unpredictable angles, landing a rapid sequence of blows before finishing with a powerful thrust kick that sends her flying straight into a local supermarket.
Ryo enters right after.
He finds her among rubble and shattered shelves, the floor littered with products and concrete. Without hesitation, he extends his palm forward.
Gamma Blast
The explosion of green energy devours half the building, obliterating shelves and tearing entire walls away. The blast carves out a colossal hole, also destroying part of the structure opposite.
The silence that followed was heavy.
Ryo lowers his arm, panting, his body trembling. He stares at the destruction before him, trying to pull air into his lungs.
"...I hope…" he murmurs, "that took care of that thing…"
He looks at his own hands.
They are shaking.
"I can't fire blasts properly anymore because of the strain…"
Inert Transition was taking its toll. His efficiency had plummeted drastically—the continuous use was draining his body, making every movement slower, heavier.
"I can't hold out much longer... if this keeps up…"
"Ahn ahn ahn…" the voice echoes from within the smoke. "Mommy's not done playing with little pet yet~"
Ryo's heart sinks.
Woman emerges from the rubble, her body regenerating from the damage, her smile even wider, even more excited. She closes the distance in the blink of an eye.
Ryo barely manages to raise his arms before he's struck.
The blow sends him upward, tearing through the supermarket's roof and blasting a massive hole. Woman jumps right after, catching up to him mid-air, gripping his legs with crushing force.
"Got you again~"
She spins her body and violently hurls him downward.
Ryo plummets like a missile, crashing into a parked water tanker truck on the street. The impact crumples the tank, which ruptures instantly.
A torrent explodes in all directions.
Water gushes across the street, soaking the ground, the wreckage… and Ryo's body, which remains sunken in the twisted metal, trying to catch his breath as water streams down his face.
Woman fell and landed a few meters away, laughing maniacally.
The sound echoing between the surrounding buildings as she watched Ryo crawl out of the crushed tanker truck.
"Hahaha… you're amazing~" she said, tilting her head, her eyes shining. "Mommy's never had such a durable toy. You should have broken a long time ago… but you're still completely intact~"
Ryo staggered out of the twisted wreckage and fell to his knees for a moment.
His body trembled, both from the cold water soaking his clothes and the immense exhaustion consuming him. Pain, cramps, burning—everything blended together. Yet, he gritted his teeth and took a fighting stance, glaring at Woman from across the flooded street.
That's when a colossal shadow fell over him.
Ryo barely had time to look up before half a building plummeted from the sky, crashing down exactly where he stood.
The impact shook the entire street.
Dust, concrete, and metal exploded in all directions.
Woman watched the scene for a moment… then clicked her tongue, clearly displeased.
"Hey…" she murmured. "That was my toy."
A figure slowly descended from the sky beside her.
Robot appeared silently, hovering a few inches off the ground, the cold aura of his telekinesis rippling around his black body. He kept his gaze fixed on the rubble.
"Stop playing with the target; he is not a toy," he said, his voice distorted and mechanical. "You are delaying the operation. We must capture him and take him to the Master."
Woman snarled, irritated.
"Then why did you drop a building on him?" she retorted, crossing her arms. "Weren't we supposed to take him alive?"
"Yes, I know," Robot replied, emotionless. "And I also know that this is not enough to kill him. Only to knock him out. It facilitates collection."
He moved forward, his telekinesis enveloping the rubble with a red aura, lifting huge chunks of concrete one by one as he searched the debris for Ryo.
Woman let out a bored sigh.
"Tsk… just when it was getting fun…"
And then, footsteps were heard.
She turned her head, sensing new presences.
From the destroyed street corner, the heroes of the Black Hole Agency emerged, still wounded but determined. The shock was immediate upon encountering the two High-End Nomus.
Robot merely cast a quick glance over his shoulder before turning his attention back to the rubble.
"Deal with them," he ordered.
Woman's smile returned, wider, hungrier.
"Can do~"
She shot forward in a violent burst.
"C-CAREFUL!" Razor Beam shouted, raising his arm-cannon.
But before Woman could reach them—
A spherical force field closed around her, trapping her in mid-air with an invisible impact.
"What…?" Woman snarled, punching the barrier.
"Everyone!" a firm voice echoed behind the heroes.
The heroes turned around.
Anan was advancing toward them down the street, accompanied by Tony and Violet. The latter kept her arms outstretched, concentrating on the force field trapping Woman, who was now pounding the barrier with increasing force.
"What annoying thing is this?!" the Nomu roared.
Woman kept striking the barrier, but the force field showed no signs of giving way.
"Is everyone all right?" Anan asked quickly.
"Chief…!" Razor Beam let out a breath, relieved. "Yes… for now."
Anan turned her head at the same moment.
Across the street, Robot had finally extracted Ryo from the rubble—the unconscious body floated before him, enveloped by telekinesis.
"Target located."
"TAKEDA!" Anan exclaimed.
Before she could pull him, Violet extended her other hand.
A second force field enveloped Ryo, wrenching him from the influence of the telekinesis and keeping him suspended in the air, away from the Nomu.
"Don't even think about it!" she yelled, maintaining both force fields.
Robot recoiled slightly, annoyed.
"Interference detected…" he grumbled. "It seems I will have to deal with the bothersome ants first."
He turned toward the heroes.
And opened his arms.
Telekinesis tore through the surroundings.
Buildings around them began to tremble before being shattered, huge debris ripped from their structures, from the ground, the asphalt, and the facades. Giant blocks of concrete and steel floated in the air, slowly spinning above the destroyed street.
"Perish," declared Robot, cold and absolute.
And then, with a sharp gesture of his hand, he hurled the debris toward the heroes.
----------------------------------------
Midoriya dodges Stain's blade by a hair.
He leans his body back at the last possible moment, feeling the cutting wind of the blade pass centimeters from his throat, his heart pounding fiercely against his chest.
Without giving Stain time to continue, he leaps backward, lands lightly, crouches, and explodes into motion.
Midoriya launches forward, leaving only an impact trail on the ground before scaling the left wall, bouncing to the right, and in a perfect spin, coming down with a dropkick aimed at Stain's back, releasing 5% of One For All.
"Hah!"
The impact echoes, but Stain barely moves.
The Hero Killer merely slides a step forward, steady, making Midoriya's eyes widen.
Stain twists his torso in a sharp motion and tries to slash Midoriya with the katana. The boy reacts on instinct, placing his hands on the villain's shoulders, using Stain's own body as leverage. He pushes up and rises, stepping on Stain's head and launching himself upward.
Midoriya bounces from wall to wall, gaining height and speed, the air tearing around him.
DETROIT—!
He shoots forward again, now at 15%, his charged fist descending like a meteor.
But Stain lifts his gaze toward Midoriya, his serpent-like right eye locking onto him.
A chill tears through Midoriya's spine, and his body freezes mid-air.
"What…?!"
Stain also seems surprised for a moment but doesn't waste the opportunity.
In one fluid motion, he slips past the suspended attack and slashes Midoriya's thigh with the cleaver in his free hand.
Midoriya falls to the ground beside him, rolling several meters before hitting the alley wall.
He groans, trying to get up.
"What was that…?" he murmurs, confused. "My body froze again when he looked at me…"
Before he can fully rise—
His body locks up again, but this time, not temporarily.
Midoriya's eyes widen as he sees Stain lick the blood from the blade.
"The game ends here," Stain says, his voice low and impatient.
Midoriya tries to move, but nothing. Not even a finger.
"He… he paralyzes by consuming blood… But then… what was that look?"
Panic grows as Midoriya sees Stain turn toward Iida.
"DON'T!" he screams, desperate. "DON'T TOUCH HIM!"
Stain raises his katana with ease.
"I'll just finish this quickly," he says coldly. "Then, I'll return to my vengeance."
Before he can deliver the decisive strike, a blast of flames erupts through the alley.
Stain jumps back in an instant reflex, the fire passing where he stood a second before. The heat lights up the dirty alley walls.
Midoriya's eyes widen.
At the alley entrance, shrouded in steam and embers, stands Todoroki.
"Midoriya," he says seriously. "Learn to write better."
He casts a quick glance at Iida on the ground… and then at Stain.
"You almost made me arrive too late."
Iida's eyes widened as he saw Todoroki standing there.
"T-Todoroki?! How did you—?!"
"Tsk…" Stain's voice cut through the air, low and thick with irritation.
He kept his head slightly lowered, a shadow covering half his face.
"Great…" he muttered. "Another brat to ruin my day…"
"TODOROKI, DON'T LET HIM SEE YOU WITH HIS OTHER EYE!" Midoriya screamed, desperate, even with his body still rigid.
It was already too late.
Stain had looked up, and Todoroki's body gave way instantly, his muscles forcefully relaxing as if someone had switched off his nerves. He lost his balance.
"…!"
In the blink of an eye, Stain appeared in front of him, blades raised, ready to flay him.
But the effect broke the moment three seconds passed, making Todoroki react on instinct.
His left side erupted in flames, a violent wave of heat forcing Stain to leap back in a quick retreat, the air distorting around the fire.
Without giving the villain time to breathe, Todoroki stomped the ground and froze the entire alley.
The floor rose, pillars of ice emerging beneath Midoriya and Iida, lifting them carefully off the ground. Stain jumped back once more, his feet slipping as the ice spread like a tide.
In the next instant, Todoroki switched to his flames and launched them forward.
The heat melted the ice right beneath, causing Midoriya and Iida to slide down the dissolving pillars and fall near Todoroki, who positioned himself in front of them.
"You're not killing either of them today," he said, firm.
Stain snarled, his teeth clenched.
Midoriya still felt his body heavy, but managed to speak:
"T-Todoroki… be careful of… of his other eye and getting cut..." he took a deep breath. "It paralyzes you… for a few seconds… just by looking and for more time if he consume your blood."
Todoroki raised an eyebrow in surprise; even Stain was taken aback by the information.
"I see…" Todoroki murmured, before extending his arm towards the ground. "Then it's best to end this quickly."
A colossal pillar of ice erupted from the ground, expanding through the alley like a solid avalanche, filling every space, advancing straight towards Stain.
But the Hero Killer didn't react to it. Instead, he brought a hand to his face… touching his right eye.
"No…" he whispered, his voice trembling with rage. "It can't be…"
The ice closed in.
"That brat…" he growled. "What did he do to me…?!"
At the last second, Stain jumped and scaled the alley walls, leaping from one side to the other in quick bursts, using the ice itself as makeshift steps.
Stain landed atop the ice, panting, body tense, his eyes burning with hatred.
"YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!" he shouted, his voice echoing through the alley. "YOU RUINED MY IMAGE! MY CONVICTION!"
Down below, the three students stared up at him, tense, the cold wind sweeping through the frozen alley with the promise that the fight against the Hero Killer had only just begun.