"Damn it! Why did the exit have to be here?!"
At the top of the building, feeling the violent wind pressure blowing directly against him while carrying Edge Shot on his back, Bakugo Katsuki gritted his teeth in frustration.
He had finally escaped from the villains with Edge Shot thanks to the help of that so-called "kind-hearted person," Shimura Tenko.
His injuries had even been partially treated.
Then, by pure "coincidence," they had managed to open a passage leading out of the alternate space.
But the exit turned out to be outside the top floor of the shopping mall.
How could Bakugo possibly accept that?!
At the current height of the building, if they fell—
unless someone possessed the ability to fly, or heroes below had aerial rescue Quirks—
death was guaranteed.
Even the people trying to catch them might die from the impact.
Of course, Bakugo himself was not completely incapable of flight.
By using the recoil generated from his explosions, he could stay airborne briefly.
But only briefly.
And now—
not only was he severely injured, he was also carrying Edge Shot, whose condition was even worse.
In this state, flying safely was impossible.
Not to mention—
this building was ridiculously tall.
At least forty or fifty meters high.
Even if Bakugo were in perfect condition, carrying another heavily injured person while descending from this height safely would already be extremely difficult.
Should he wait for people below to catch them?
No.
That idea was unrealistic.
Leaving aside the fact that anyone approaching the shopping mall risked being dragged into the alternate space—
even if someone managed to avoid that fate, catching two falling human bodies from this height was nearly impossible.
A flowerpot falling from the tenth floor could kill someone.
A watermelon dropped from the twenty-fifth floor could crush a skull.
Two adult human beings falling from fifty meters?
The impact alone would turn both the catcher and the fallen into bloody paste.
And besides—
who even knew whether anyone below had noticed them yet?
If he gambled his life on rescue and nobody came—
then he would truly die without even the chance to regret it.
Which meant there was only one choice from the very beginning.
Self-rescue.
Thinking this, Bakugo gritted his teeth, determination flashing through his eyes.
He tightened his left arm around Edge Shot, securing the injured hero firmly against his back.
Then he raised his right hand—
and activated his Quirk.
BOOM!!
Using the recoil from the explosion, Bakugo violently launched himself toward the building's glass exterior.
His plan was simple.
Smash through the window.
Re-enter the mall.
Escape the danger of falling to their deaths.
Unfortunately—
the very first step of his plan failed spectacularly.
The glass would not break.
Though honestly, that was not surprising.
This was a luxury shopping mall built in one of the city's prime districts.
The materials used in its construction were naturally top-grade.
After all, a building this tall could not possibly use cheap glass.
One major accident would bankrupt the developers.
So naturally, the windows here were not ordinary glass.
Perhaps they were even specially reinforced.
Under those circumstances, if Bakugo could shatter them in one strike, that would have been the truly unbelievable thing.
BANG!!
With a deafening crash, Bakugo slammed directly into the glass.
But the only response was a slight tremor.
Not even a crack appeared.
Instead—
the impact numbed nearly half his body.
Even the arm supporting Edge Shot began trembling violently, almost causing the injured hero to slip from his back.
"Damn it!"
Bakugo cursed and quickly tightened his grip on Edge Shot again.
But after that failed attempt, he no longer had enough time to stabilize their fall.
Still—
waiting helplessly for death was not Bakugo Katsuki's style.
More importantly—
before delivering Edge Shot to a hospital…
before informing the outside world about the alternate spaces…
before defeating Shigaraki Tomura…
before saving everyone…
how could he possibly allow himself to die here?!
Otherwise—
with his prideful, stubborn personality—
how could he ever have agreed to follow the suggestion of that "kind-hearted" Shimura Tenko and escape with Edge Shot in the first place?
If not for the fact that Edge Shot's injuries were too severe…
and if not for the need to relay critical information to the outside world…
Bakugo would have stayed behind without hesitation.
He would have fought beside that mysterious "good person" to rescue All Might and the civilians and stop Shigaraki Tomura's plan.
Thinking this, a fierce look flashed through Bakugo's eyes.
He extended his right hand toward the edge of the building.
Before finishing all of this—
he absolutely could not die!
Unfortunately, during the high-speed fall, even after using explosions to partially reduce their momentum, the combined weight and velocity of both himself and Edge Shot still produced terrifying force.
The impact nearly ripped his arm apart.
The pain was unlike anything he had ever experienced.
It was even worse than when Shigaraki broke his limbs.
But despite the agony tearing through his fingers and arm—
Bakugo did not let go.
Neither of Edge Shot…
nor of the building.
Then—
after carving five long bloody claw marks down the side of the skyscraper…
and after paying the price of breaking his already damaged hand and arm even further…
Bakugo finally succeeded.
He grabbed onto the edge of the building—
and forcibly slowed their descent.
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