A great panic slithered across the entire country.
All traffic had come to a sudden halt, and large video screens displayed the destroyed Kamino Ward.
The screens blurred.
Three figures appeared on it: two stood on the ground, while another levitated a few meters above them.
One of those figures was recognized instantly by all.
It was All Might — the Symbol of Peace.
The Class 1-A students had also come running out into the city.
Presently, they stood amid the crowd, openly gaping at the screen, their hearts booming in fear of hearing anything ill about Momo on the news.
They didn't recognize all three figures, but two of them recognized one more than the others.
Bakugo's eyes reflected Alexander Becking from the USA.
Oi… he screamed in his mind. Oi… Are you listening to me?! Oi! Singularity!
This wasn't the first time he had spoken Her name, hoping that She would send the Radiant of Dreams to take him away. However, no matter how much he screamed, he received no reply.
Bakugo gritted his teeth in anger, contemplating revealing his evolved Quirk.
That wouldn't change anything, though, as without Singularity or Luke's step-brother's help, he could neither find the correct direction nor reach that place in time.
He had only one option remaining now, Bakugo knew.
Knowing that there were too many people in his surroundings to notice him, he took a pill out of his pocket and threw it into his mouth.
This was a pill that Rikuya Saionji had given him, which induced instantaneous sleep.
In that way, if Bakugo ever needed Rikuya's help, then he could go to sleep in the blink of an eye. Once the Radiant of Dreams pulled him into the Dreamspace, he would feed him another pill, reversing the Sleeping Pill's effect.
As Bakugo's eyelids began to drop, a horrified Midoriya looked at the third, levitating figure, knowing that it was All For One.
Still, the horror on his face hadn't turned to dread. Not yet.
It was clear that All Might was tired and was on his last legs, given the steam coming off him, but…
That old man… Midoriya thought, clenching his fists. If he works with All Might, then… No. We can't waste time here. We must find Momo.
He snapped his head toward Tenya and the others. "Guys!" he shouted over the roar of the crowd. "Let's call UA and…"
Before he could finish his words, something struck him from behind, making him bend over.
Holding his head, he turned around, and his eyes popped out.
Not only his, but Tenya, Mina, Kirishima, and the others, who had been listening to Midoriya, looked at the scene with wide eyes and lowered jaws.
"… Momo!" Midoriya and the others shouted, gathering around her.
But Momo was completely passed out, thick red marks adorning her neck where All For One had been gripping her.
Midoriya was about to suggest taking her to the hospital when he noticed another odd thing.
"…Where's Kacchan?" Midoriya asked, his face paling even more. "Just… What's going on?!"
A BOOM replied to him, the crowd gasping in his surroundings as they looked at the screen.
The battle had resumed, sending tremors all across the city!
…
Rikuya slapped Bakugo awake. "What took you so long?!" he roared, as the fool opened his eyes groggily. "I couldn't sense your location at all!"
Bakugo winced, feeling the sting on his chin.
Then, suddenly, he lunged at Rikuya and grabbed him by his collar. "Why would I take a Sleeping Pill without knowing if you were coming for me, huh?!" he shouted, butting his head against the fellow Radiant. "Are you stupid or something?! And why Singularity's not replying…"
Rikuya jerked Bakugo's hand away. "She can't be everywhere all the time, you hot-headed fool!" he snapped. "Why would She need us, if She was Omnipotent and Omnipresent?!"
Bakugo and Rikuya glared at each other.
"Tch!" Bakugo tsked. "Let's go! Take me to All Might!"
Rikuya's jaw dropped. "Have you lost your damn mind?!" he gasped. "That's not Stain, whom Uncle Gravity and All Might are fighting. He's the real boss! Someone called All For One! And worse… Conformity has a hold on him now! What are your puny firecrackers going to do against that thing?!"
"… All For One…" Bakugo repeated, going blank. "Is he… Shigaraki's Master that you talked about before?"
The last time they had met in the restaurant, Rikuya had mentioned that there was someone above Shigaraki, controlling all Villains and Nomus.
Rikuya nodded heavily. "I didn't know his name before," he admitted. "But, yeah. That's him — All Might's greatest adversary. Uncle Gravity punched him with his full power and… still couldn't touch him. That's not a fight we can join, Bakugo. If you go there now, you will only be a… liability."
Bakugo ground his teeth, but didn't dare to snap this time.
Somewhere in his mind, he knew that this bastard was right.
He had seen firsthand how much power that old man possessed. If even he couldn't take on this All For One alone, then…
"I need to go back," Rikuya said. "There are many, many people in that area who are unconscious and injured. I don't know how big a disaster their fight will result in, but… as a Radiant, I will do what I can…"
Bakugo stared at Rikuya's face.
It was only now that he noticed the pure exhaustion in those eyes.
Bakugo remembered that Rikuya could teleport between two locations in the Dreamspace with only one person.
Just… Bakugo wondered, shocked. … how many times has he already teleported?!
A smoky blackness began appearing around him suddenly.
"Wait!" Bakugo shouted as he began falling again. "How did you know all this? All For One's appearance and his kidnapping of Momo… How did you know where he would be and when to appear there? Did Singularity tell you?"
Because if She did, then why didn't She share it with him?!
Rikuya's face took on a frown of hesitation.
Then, seeing Bakugo all but disappear, he sighed.
"No, it was a call…" the Radiant of Dreams said, turning around. "… from Dr. Blessed."
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