The wind howled violently across the fractured surface of I-Island.
Arata stood atop a broken metallic platform, his cloak fluttering wildly behind him, the blue glow of the Space Stone casting an otherworldly aura across his body.
In front of him stood the monstrosity that had once been a Nomu—now something far worse.
It had grown. No—it had evolved.
The creature towered over the battlefield, its massive form now nearly five times larger than giants like Mount Lady and Godzilla.
Its body was an abomination of fused materials—steel, concrete, glass, wires—all bound together with grotesque muscle fibers and pulsating veins of white flame.
Arata exhaled slowly.
Then he pulled out a small capsule from his pocket and swallowed it.
An energy pill.
'My stamina is dropping faster than I calculated…'
Even though his expression remained calm, his body told a different story. Every activation of the Space Stone placed strain on him—subtle, but cumulative.
It wasn't as violent as One For All's backlash, but it was relentless.
Like pressure building inside a sealed chamber.
'If I hadn't trained my body for the past two years… I'd already be crippled by now.'
Blue energy surged across his body as he reinforced himself with space manipulation.
Then he moved.
A sonic boom cracked through the air as Arata shot forward, closing the distance between himself and the colossal Nomu.
The creature roared.
Its massive jaw opened, and from within, dozens—no, hundreds—of metallic projectiles launched toward him like a storm.
Arata raised his gauntlet.
The Space Stone pulsed.
Every projectile froze mid-air.
For a split second, the world stood still.
Then—With a flick of his wrist—They reversed.
The storm turned.
The projectiles shot back toward the Nomu at even greater speed, now engulfed in the white flames Arata shot through a spatial tear, the same one the nomu had attacked him with at the beginning of the battle.
The impact exploded across the creature's body.
But—It didn't fall. It didn't even stagger.
The Nomu roared again, unfazed, its mouth gathering an even denser mass of white flames while its massive hand constructed a swirling sphere of compressed materials.
Arata narrowed his eyes.
'This thing… it's adapting.'
He thrust both hands forward.
Space energy surged outward as he attempted to trap the creature in stasis.
But—His eyes widened.
The stasis field trembled.
Then shattered.
The Nomu's body emitted waves of distorted energy—counteracting his space manipulation.
'It's resisting…?!'
Before he could react—The creature hurled the flaming material sphere.
A meteor.
A literal meteor.
It tore through the sky toward him.
Arata gritted his teeth.
"Not happening!"
A massive portal ripped open in front of him, swallowing the meteor whole. He slammed it shut instantly—but the strain hit him immediately.
A thin line of blood trickled from his nose.
His breathing grew heavier.
Still—He didn't stop. He extended his arm again.
The portal reopened—and the meteor returned.
This time aimed directly at the Nomu. The impact should have been devastating.
But instead—The Nomu opened its mouth...and swallowed it.
"...You've got to be kidding me."
Flames surged across its body as more materials from the island began flying toward it, feeding its growth.
The ground trembled.
Then—CRACK.
A section of I-Island collapsed into the ocean.
Screams echoed in the distance.
Arata's gaze sharpened.
'If this continues… the entire island will sink before the heroes can even rescue those people.'
For a moment, he paused mid-air.
Then—A realization struck him.
'The quirks…'
The ones he had used to create the Space Stone. If he could isolate one specific function—One destructive aspect—He might be able to bypass the Nomu's regeneration entirely.
He brought both hands together.
The Space Stone blazed.
A three-dimensional, translucent blue cube formed between his palms.
Inside it—A distortion.
Then—A singularity.
A small black hole.
Arata's eyes lit up.
'There it is.'
He aimed. The Nomu launched another barrage of structures toward him.
He released the cube.
It shot forward—Then expanded till it reache the size of a Car.
It detonated silently.
Everything within the cube—Was erased.
Pulled into the black hole.
Then—Gone.
Arata's lips curled into a grin.
"Yes…!"
It worked. But the strain—His body screamed in protest.
Still—He didn't stop.
He vanished, Invisible once more.
Another cube formed. Then another.
"Void Prism…"
He launched two in rapid succession.
The Nomu's massive arms—Gone.
Erased.
The creature roared in rage, its body cracking with unstable energy as more tendrils lashed out wildly.
'Arata… focus…'
He weaved through the attacks, sweat dripping down his face.
'It can sense me now… doesn't matter…' he thought as he deactivated the invisibility mask.
Another Void Prism formed.
He aimed for the head and Fired!
The head vanished, then regenerated instantly.
"...Of course it does."
The cracks across the Nomu's body deepened.
White flames leaked out violently.
It was becoming unstable. Arata's heartbeat quickened.
'It's going to explode.'
He didn't hesitate. He teleported straight to the control room.
But the moment he arrived—Everything froze. His blood ran cold.
David Shield lay on the ground. Covered in blood....Barely breathing.
Standing over him—Was a figure with wings.
Arata's eyes widened.
"Hawks!?"
The word escaped his lips, filled with disbelief.