Arata's pupils shrank the moment he saw David collapse on the ground, blood pooling beneath him.
Without even a second of hesitation, he raised his infinity gauntlet as the space stone glowed intensely.
A ripple of blue light distorted the space around David before his body vanished and reappeared beside Arata instantly.
He extended his hand, and space energy wrapped around David's body like an invisible cocoon. In the next moment, David's entire body froze in place—not physically stiff, but locked within space itself.
The blood flowing from his wound halted mid-air, his injury paused in time without actually manipulating time itself.
'This should stop the bleeding… for now.'
Arata carefully placed David behind him and layered multiple space barriers around him, ensuring that even the shockwaves of battle wouldn't reach him.
Only after confirming his safety did Arata slowly raise his head and look forward.
His eyes locked onto Hawks.
The number 10 hero floated in the air, his feathers drifting lazily around him, but the usual carefree smirk that defined his face was gone. In its place was a cold, detached expression that sent a subtle chill through the atmosphere.
"This matter is related to the HPSC. It would be wise not to interfere in this, demon mask,"
Hawks said calmly, his tone devoid of emotion. Arata's eyes widened slightly before calming down.
'So it's still this phase…'
His mind quickly connected the dots.
'Before Lady Nagant's betrayal… before he started questioning the system… he's still acting as their perfect weapon.'
Hawks wasn't just a hero right now—he was an assassin operating under the Hero Public Safety Commission, someone who handled the darkness behind the scenes.
'So they sent him here to monitor David… or eliminate him if needed…'
Arata's gaze sharpened.
'Or worse… they already knew something like this would happen.'
Before he could think further, Hawks moved.
Dozens of feathers shot toward Arata from every direction in a silent and precise attack.
But the moment they entered his range, the space barrier around Arata flared, and every feather froze mid-air, suspended unnaturally as if reality itself had paused them.
Arata slowly raised his hand.
Then clenched it.
Hawks' body instantly locked in place as space pressure wrapped around him from all sides. His wings twitched violently as his body was forced into stillness, the pressure increasing second by second until a pained scream escaped his mouth.
"GAH—!"
The pressure intensified until Hawks' vision blurred and his body went limp, falling unconscious mid-air before being held in place by the surrounding space.
Arata watched him silently.
'Too easy…'
He was about to bind Hawks completely in space stasis and teleport him away for interrogation when a sudden instinct screamed in his mind.
Without thinking, Arata grabbed David and teleported away.
The very next moment, a massive beam of white flames tore through the building they had been standing in, reducing it to nothing.
Arata reappeared several buildings away, his eyes immediately snapping toward the source of the attack.
The main building was already collapsing, and in the distance, the gigantic nomu had become even more unstable.
Cracks filled with white flames spread across its body as waves of energy pulsed outward violently.
'If that thing explodes now… the evacuation ships won't make it out in time.'
He didn't waste another second.
Opening a portal beneath David, he sent him directly to his lab for safety before launching himself into the sky at high speed, a trail of blue light following behind him.
As he ascended higher and higher above the island, the nomu roared and fired another massive wave of flames toward him, but Arata simply twisted his gauntlet, bending space itself and redirecting the flames back toward the creature.
When he reached a sufficient height, he stopped mid-air and took a deep breath.
Arata's arms trembled slightly as he brought both hands together.
'This will take everything…'
A void prism began forming between his hands, the transparent blue cube slowly taking shape as a small black hole appeared within it.
But instead of firing it—He raised it above his head. And forced more energy into it.
The space stone glowed violently as the cube began to expand, growing larger and larger while the black hole inside it deepened into a terrifying singularity.
"Haaaaa—!!"
Arata screamed as blood began to trickle down from his nose, his body straining under the immense output of energy.
Still—He pushed harder.
The cube grew to the size of Mount Lady, distorting the space around it as cracks formed in the air itself.
Arata's vision blurred, but his eyes burned with determination.
'This ends here…!'
"Ultimate Move:Doomsday!"
With a final roar, he hurled the massive void prism downward.
The nomu reacted instantly, firing a gigantic beam of white flames while launching countless metal spears toward the incoming attack.
The attacks collided violently, shaking the sky itself, but Arata pushed forward with everything he had left, forcing the cube through the resistance.
The moment it touched the nomu—It expanded Rapidly.
The black hole inside activated at full capacity, pulling everything within its range toward it.
The nomu screamed as its massive body twisted and broke apart, the materials composing it being torn away and dragged into the singularity.
The island itself began to collapse as buildings, roads, and metal structures were ripped from their foundations and pulled into the void.
From afar, the heroes and civilians aboard evacuation ships watched in complete shock as the entire island was consumed.
Then—The cube collapsed.
The black hole vanished.
And where I-Island once stood—There was nothing.
Only the ocean remained.
High above, Arata hovered weakly, his breathing ragged as blood dripped from his nose and mouth. The infinity gauntlet on his hand was cracked, the blue glow of the space stone flickering dangerously before dimming.
Arata's body finally gave in.
The space energy around him disappeared, and gravity took hold.
He began to fall.
The ocean rushed toward him, but with the last bit of strength left in his body, he raised his arm and forced a portal open.
His body fell through it—And the portal shut instantly.
Melissa turned in shock as Arata suddenly appeared in the apartment, collapsing onto the floor with blood running down his face.
"Arata!" she shouted as she rushed forward and caught him.
His breathing was weak, unstable, his body completely drained.
With barely any strength left, Arata whispered, "Ring… pocket…" Before losing consciousness completely.
Far away, inside a dark room filled with machines, a screen replayed the same scene again and again—the moment Arata unleashed the massive void prism.
All For One sat silently, watching.
"What are the casualties?" he asked calmly.
Doctor Garaki's voice replied from the phone, "The matter manipulation nomu was destroyed. The rest have been recovered. The villains were captured… except Mr. Compress."
All For One hummed thoughtfully.
"Search for individuals with space-type quirks," he said, his tone filled with interest.
Garaki responded, "Understood. I am also interested in studying that quirk factor."
The call ended.
All For One leaned slightly forward, staring at the frozen frame of the black hole contained within the cube.
A faint smile formed on his face.
"How fascinating…"