(I will extend Megumi Fushiguro's POV for two or three chapters?)
It was my first time hearing that damn thing turn.
I've heard about the function from Gojo in passing. Once Mahoraga suffered enough force, physical or otherwise, the eight-wheeled handle floating above its head will turn.
Then whatever it adapted to. It can't hurt it anymore, or at the very least, will have significantly diminished effects. This was the very thing that I avoided.
Midoriya was strong enough to deal the heavy blow, but he must not have channeled enough energy or was holding back.
We're not in our optimal conditions, we're all hungry and exhausted.
It doesn't matter now. If it adapts, we'll adapt too.
Anyway, I felt the subtle shifts inside my body as I heard that eight-wheeled wheel turn. That clang gave me enough chill that it told my whole body to run away.
"Midoriya! Chimera! To me! Now!" I shouted as the two of them snapped behind and sprinted towards me. Midoriya didn't question it; his instincts for combat were impeccable.
"I can do so much more, but there are literally walls or pillars everywhere, not a lot of room to maneuver. I can't build enough force quickly." Midoriya said, and he was right, this place was really extremely hard or impossible to maneuver aerially.
"We should've made this place more open," Midoriya said, clicking his tongue.
Merged Beast: Chimera positioned itself at my left front side, acting as some shield. Whereas Midoriya grabbed my shoulder and glared intently straight ahead, he was still channeling that quirk energy of his. Good.
One desperate gamble, one desperate play, one desperate plea.
Mahoraga was now grinning as it dashed forward with impressive speed. The loud, heavy steps that it took rumbled the whole place, like an incoming unavoidable tsunami.
Why can't it just stay the hell down!?
I clapped both of my hands and made the appropriate gesture with my fingers, gritting my teeth, and then unleashing that remaining cursed energy within me.
"Domain Expansion: Chimera Shadow Garden."
My domain, incomplete as it is, should provide enough power to stop Mahoraga in its tracks. I got nothing else up my sleeve. This is all one desperate offense.
The whole room, nay, the whole area was covered with shadows. I expanded the domain's reach to its absolute limit. It was still open, but it gave the impression that it was closed.
Even now, I am still improving. Just why is it always in near-death scenarios?
Midoriya and Kakeru started to sink, but Chimera hurriedly grabbed and tossed them onto its back since they had no cursed energy to coat their feet with. The same didn't quite apply to Mahoraga; it was able to traverse the shadows, albeit very slowly.
It was somewhat restrained; it couldn't jump away or swim away, but that wouldn't last. A few minutes of this and he'll adapt.
"Midoriya!" I shouted.
"Just hold that thing there, Megumi!" Midoriya said and jumped off from Chimera. He was able to stay afloat in the shadows. His feet were covered with that black whip of his.
The whip was coiling his feet, and for some reason, allowed him to traverse the shadowed ground, albeit with some difficulty. That whip has shadow properties, too?
Midoriya said as his whole figure lit up, crackling with leaking and abundant energy. He continued walking towards the resisting Mahoraga.
Mahoraga smiled as it faced the ceiling and tried to claw forward with its hands. It then managed to stand somewhat upright, and it reinforced its whole body with more cursed energy. Dozens of tongues from toads then shot forward and restrained him yet again.
Chimera then started healing me, providing me with enough focus and healing the injuries that started to appear.
Midoriya slowly marched forward, still channeling energy.
"I-I c-cant keep holding it anymore!" I said, shouting as blood came out of my nose and eyes. More tongues appeared to hold Mahoraga in place.
Midoriya noticed my injuries and looked back.
"Don't hesitate! Forget about me, Midoriya!"
I shouted as Mahoraga was slowly freeing itself, even though I've made the conscious effort for it to sink even faster into the shadows despite the cursed energy reinforcement.
"Why we're alive is because of its whim to not finish us quickly! It's enjoying this! You must've realized it too!" I puked blood.
"You mentioned All For One to me. Think of that thing as him, hit it with all the force you can muster."
I kept shouting, releasing more massive amounts of blood in different orifices.
"The more this drags on, the more dangerous this gets."
Midoriya's face burned with desperate passion and leaped straight into the air. To the point that I couldn't see him. "You're right!" He shouted while in the air.
The energy Midoriya channeled was beyond what I can imagine. The whole room crackled with some residual energy that leaked.
"DO IT HERE! -
- AND NOW -
- KILL IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT"
Midoriya dropped down and unleashed a barrage of torrential bullet punches. He kept punching and punching to the point that I couldn't even see his hands anymore. Only the zooming motion of Gatling punches.
The whole room vibrated in unleashed fury. I couldn't see in front of me now; my eyes have probably exploded. Chimera was still healing me, and I could feel the healing slow down. My focus was slowly disappearing.
Then nothing...
...
...
...
I don't know how or why, but I was now kneeling on the floor. My domain expansion has expired, my cursed energy has mostly dissipated, and my shikigamis are all dispelled.
Blood dripped from my ears, mouth, eyes, and nose. There was a massive pool beneath me already, based on the sound that my dripping blood made.
A loud landing happened in front of me. It just stayed and didn't make a single step.
"You did it? Midoriya?"
Clang.
The wheel turned.