Time passed slowly inside the ballroom. A little over an hour after the villains' initial takeover, the red-haired leader exited the hall, leaving several henchmen behind to guard the restrained heroes and terrified civilians.
Another hour crawled by. Then without warning, the metallic restraints binding the heroes deactivated simultaneously.
For half a heartbeat, no one moved. Then All Might and the other pro heroes acted.
The remaining villains had no time to react. Within seconds, they were all defeated and subdued on the ground.
The civilians began to breathe sighs of relief seeing the danger finally over.
All Might did not relax. He turned urgently to those nearest him.
"Where is the control center in this tower?"
The attendees exchanged confused glances.
Junsei answered from the side. "The 200th floor."
All Might's eyes shifted toward him. "Are you sure?"
"The blonde girl said so."
All Might could only think of Melissa. Then All Might narrowed his eyes slightly. He reasoned Junsei managed to hear the conversation of his successor and the rest of UA students on the 3rd floor.
[His hearing must be extraordinarily acute.] All Might thought before pivoting toward the nearest window and leaping through the glass.
He tilted his face upward toward the towering height above Midoriya. Then drew his arms and legs inward, compressing them tightly toward the center of his body.
Then he released the pressure. A violent shockwave exploded from behind him, blasting air downward and propelling him skyward at astonishing speed.
A powerful wind entered the ballroom through the broken window showing how strong that simple move was.
And Junsei watched it all. He had not considered that brute force alone could be used in such a manner.
He began walking toward the same shattered window. But before he could reach it, a heroine in a bee-like costume stepped in front of him.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Junsei did not answer. He continued forward past her.
She frowned. "I'm talking to you, white-haired boy."
Junsei stopped. He turned his head slightly toward Mr. Yaoyorozu.
"Momo should be on the 200th floor," he said evenly. "I will go check on her."
Without waiting for permission, he jumped through the window. He mirrored what All Might had done. Junsei pulled his arms tightly inward, compressing the force against his center and released it downward.
A burst of pressure detonated beneath him causing his body to shoot upward. His actions had stunned those watching from inside. He had mimicked All Might's action, even the generated wind was the same.
Junsei continued ascending. Each time his momentum began to slow, he compressed himself again and released another downward blast, generating successive shockwaves that propelled him higher.
——————
On the tower roof. The aspiring future heroes and Melissa Shield stood at the center, helplessly watching a helicopter flying away in the sky.
Inside it, the red-haired villain leader and the kidnapped David Shield. The aircraft was already beyond their reach.
When all hope seemed to be lost, a laughter echoed. From the tower's side, a figure soared upward, higher even than the helicopter.
All Might.
"It's fine!" he declared, voice booming across the rooftop. "Why? Because I am here!"
Midair, he pressed his arms and legs tightly toward the center of his body, compressing his strength once more while locking his eyes onto the helicopter. Then he released, a shockwave detonated behind him.
To those watching below, All Might became a blur, an explosive streak that passed the helicopter in less than a second. And with that, the helicopter exploded instantly and not a single one could tell what All Might did exactly.
Debris scattered across the sky before raining down toward the far side of the rooftop.
Moments later, All Might descended, landing heavily beside the students with David Shield secured in his arm.
All Might lowered David to the floor gently then looked around at them, smiling faintly.
"You have…"
His words cut off as he dropped to his knees. Blood splattered against the rooftop as he began coughing violently.
Smoke rose from his body.
Before the stunned eyes of the students, his massive form withered into a skeletal figure.
David, seeing All Might's state, rose quickly while saying in a worried tone "Toshi! Are you okay?!"
All Might wiped blood from his mouth weakly.
"Damn… my time is up."
Mina stepped back, eyes wide. "What is going on?"
Melissa rushed forward. "Uncle Might, what happened to you?!"
All Might looked around at the shocked and fearful faces of his students.
"I…"
David cut him off urgently.
"This isn't the time! You're bleeding. We need to get you out of here."
Only then did All Might glance downward and fully notice the blood seeping through his costume.
"So that man was right." the leader voice drifted from the smoking wreckage
The villain leader stepped forward from the debris, unharmed.
"You've grown weaker. And you are deteriorating by the day."
His smile widened. "But I doubt even he realizes how bad your condition truly is. I'll kill you before I leave this damn island."
He opened a metal case in his hand and took a small device from it then placed it over his head. His eyes glowed red.
"It's time," he screamed, "for all of you to die!"
The wreckage behind him began to tremble.
Metal beams, shattered panels, twisted cables, everything metallic ripped free from the rooftop and surrounding debris. Even sections of the floor beneath him fractured as bolts and reinforcement bars tore loose.
The metal converged around him, layer upon layer till he became a large monstrous abomination of metal.
"This power is intoxicating, David Shield!" His voice echoed through the metal storm. "Be proud of your creation! Now all of you die!"
Gigantic pillars of metal shot forward at incredible speed toward the group. Todoroki reacted instantly. Ice surged from beneath his feet, forming a thick wall in front of them.
The ice shattered instantly the moment the metal struck. It couldn't stop the attack.
At the same moment, Midoriya propelled himself forward to intercept one of the incoming pillars. He smashed into it with explosive force, halting its momentum.
But there were more and all of them continued toward the group.
All Might, weakened, could not move at all. The others froze, there was nothing they could do.
At that moment, a blur cut across the rooftop and in a fraction of a second, every incoming metal pillar shattered midair.
Junsei stood before the group. His eyes locked onto the metal-clad villain.
The leader stared back.
"So you decided to play the hero after all?"
His voice twisted with fury.
"Big mistake! I'll kill you first for all the trouble you've caused me tonight!"
Junsei charged forward toward the metal monster.
Metal cables lashed forward and beams tore through the air from every direction, everything made of metal was converging on Junsei's position.
But he didn't slow down, he kept moving at a speed too fast for the eye to follow as he sidestepped strikes, ducked beneath some, then stepped onto an incoming beam. He ran along its length, using its own momentum to propel himself forward. When multiple cables attempted to wrap around him, he leapt, twisting midair to slip through narrowing gaps. With every passing moment, he drew closer to the villain.
The villain leader snarled and forced his Quirk further. The rooftop beneath Junsei ruptured upward, rising like a violent metal platform. At the same time, a massive steel beam shot vertically through the air before angling down toward the rising slab. Clearly intending to crush Junsei between the two sides.
Junsei jumped just before the two masses collided with explosive force where he had been standing.
But the attack did not stop. More beams shot toward him from every direction while he was still midair.
Junsei's eyes locked onto the villain. He pulled his arms and legs inward, compressing himself tightly and released.
A shockwave burst behind him as he shot forward like a cannonball.
His fist clenched and aimed directly at the villain's head. But at the last instant, a thick metallic wall materialized in front of the villain.
Junsei's punch struck the wall. It was dented under the sheer force and cracks splintered under the impact. But the obstruction absorbed enough force to halt his momentum.
The villain screamed "With this power, no one can defeat me!"
Junsei opened his mouth. A roar tore from his throat, it was a sound attack and it struck the unsuspecting villain. The man groaned, clutching his head as the metal surrounding him quivered erratically.
Junsei immediately stepped onto the fractured steel around him and used it as a foothold, launching himself higher into the air.
He rose high in the air before looking down at the villain. Then his arm moved in a rapid throwing motion.
With each move of his hand, a small glowing sphere formed and shot downward.
In an instant, explosions erupted around the villain.
Blasts detonated one after another, engulfing the metallic mass in fire and smoke. The abomination of beams and cables convulsed under the barrage. The villain screamed as explosions consumed his form.
When the metal shell was fully shrouded in smoke and flame, Junsei propelled himself downward. He rotated midair then brought his leg down in a brutal axe kick.
His heel struck the rooftop directly beneath the villain. The impact shattered an entire section of the roof, everything fractured and collapsed.
The broken mass began falling from the tower's side, carrying the villain with it.
Junsei pushed off the collapsing section and landed on stable ground near the edge of what remained on the rooftop and looked down.
The wreckage was growing as it fell. Chunks of the tower's exterior were torn free in the descent, adding to the mass of destruction cascading downward. It was like a disaster hit the tower.
Eleven seconds later, the wreckage finally struck the ground. The impact sent a tremor up the tower's frame, shaking even the rooftop where they stood.
Junsei watched the dust rise below and when he saw no movement, he turned around. His gaze moved across the group and stopped on Momo Yaoyorozu. He began walking toward her.
The group watched him silently, no one knew how to react to his arrival or what he did. The first to speak was All Might "Young Mori… thank you for saving us. But all that destruction could have harmed someone below. You must show restraint."
Junsei's eyes shifted to All Might.
He observed the blood staining the man's side. Then he spoke evenly "So my strike really hastened your coming death."