Shigaraki's laugh echoed across the plaza — high, broken, delighted.
"Heh… hahaha… wow," he rasped, scratching violently at his neck until flakes of skin drifted down. "You actually made my Nomu move. That's impressive. You must've leveled up a few times to do that."
Takeshi didn't answer. He stood between Aizawa's fallen form and the monster, rough stone and jagged spikes spreading across his skin. His breath shook — he'd just delivered the strongest blow of his life, and it had done nothing.
Shigaraki tilted his head, voice dripping with manic pride.
"You don't get it, do you? Nomu isn't just strong. It's engineered."
He pointed at the hulking creature with trembling fingers, his other hand scratching at his neck.
"Shock absorption to take your hits. Regeneration to undo them. Enhanced muscle fibers. Pain suppression. And strength that rivals All Might."
He chuckled — a sound like glass grinding together.
"It was built to kill him. To kill All Might."
Takeshi's stomach twisted.
Built… to kill All Might?
Shigaraki's voice dropped into a cold whisper.
"And you? You're just a warm‑up."
He extended a hand and pointed at Takeshi.
"Nomu. Kill him."
The Nomu roared and charged.
Takeshi crossed his arms in front of him, hardening them even further. His entire body reinforced, braced for the hit.
The Nomu's fist slammed into him.
BOOM
The force was overwhelming.
Takeshi's heels carved trenches into the concrete as he was shoved backward, the ground splitting beneath him in two long furrows. His arms shook violently from the impact.
That's… the hardest I've ever been hit. Nothing else has ever come close.
His ribs ached. His shoulders burned. His quirk strained under the pressure of just a single blow.
But he stayed standing.
The Nomu didn't pause.
It swung again — a brutal overhead smash.
Takeshi hardened his forearms and blocked.
CRACK
Pain shot through his bones. The Nomu's knuckles split open on his spikes, tearing flesh and muscle.
For a moment, Takeshi saw exposed bone.
Then — horrifyingly — the wound sealed.
Muscle reformed. Skin knitted. Blood vanished.
Instant.
Shigaraki laughed again, delighted.
"See? You can't wear it down. You can't outlast it. But it can outlast you."
The Nomu attacked relentlessly.
A sweeping hand — Takeshi blocked, spikes ripping open the Nomu's palm. A hammer‑fist — Takeshi braced, spikes tearing into its wrist. A straight punch — Takeshi hardened his chest, spikes shredding the Nomu's knuckles.
Every hit tore the monster's skin open.
Every wound healed instantly.
Takeshi's arms trembled. His breathing grew ragged. His stony exterior cracked across his body. From the deepest fractures on his arms, blood began to seep out and drip onto the ground.
I can't beat this thing.
But I don't need to.
Another blow slammed into him, sending him sliding backward again.
He forced himself upright.
I just need to buy time.
The Nomu lunged again, palms outstretched.
Takeshi hardened his entire body further, spikes erupting everywhere as he pushed his quirk further.
The Nomu's hands tore open again as they struck him — deep gouges, shredded muscle, exposed bone.
And again—
They healed.
Takeshi's legs shook. His vision blurred at the edges.
Tenya… hurry.
Another blow.
BOOM
He staggered but didn't fall.
Just hold on.
Another.
CRACK
His ribs screamed.
Just a little longer.
Another.
BOOM
He dropped to one knee.
Shigaraki's voice slithered across the plaza.
"Come on, Nomu… kill him already."
The monster raised its fist for another devastating blow.
Takeshi forced himself up, staggering to his feet.
He wasn't fighting to win — not anymore.
He was fighting to survive. To stall. To hope help arrived in time.
He grimaced as the truth hit him: all his training, all his dedication — none of it mattered to this thing. This Nomu. This weapon.
There was no guarantee help would arrive before he collapsed.
And he'd be damned if he just sat here and took a beating until he finally keeled over.
He watched as the Nomu's skin sealed shut yet again.
And he got an idea.
His spikes could hurt this thing.
As the Nomu came in for yet another attack, Takeshi leaned into it — accepting the blow, feeling something break deep inside him — and then wrapped his arms around the creature, locking his hands on his wrists behind its back.
He squeezed, pulling the Nomu into a crushing bear hug, and pushed his quirk past all of the limits he thought he had.
He started to grow.
His body expanded, stone plates grinding against each other as he increased his mass. His silhouette warped, becoming monstrous — he didn't need mobility now. He didn't need finesse.
He just needed to keep the Nomu in one place. He no longer tried to optimize his armor to keep his joints functional. Inside him muscles tore and ligaments strained, but he kept holding on.
As he grew, the spikes on his skin lengthened and pierced the Nomu across the front of its body.
The Nomu bucked wildly, raining blows on Takeshi's back, shoulders, and head at a speed he couldn't follow. Each strike cracked stone, split skin, and sent shockwaves through his bones.
But if he let go, there was nothing between this thing and Aizawa — or his classmates.
The Nomu slowed as it was continually pierced by dozens of spikes, each one growing and driving deeper into its flesh. It wasn't dead, but it couldn't move anymore, it's body continuously twitching as it tried to move anything it could.
Shigaraki growled and stepped forward. hand raised.
"If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself."
He moved toward Takeshi's massive, stony form and pressed his palm against the rough surface.
Nothing happened.
On the ground nearby, Aizawa had one eye open — using his quirk on Shigaraki.
Shigaraki snarled like an enraged animal.
"Fine then — you die first!"
He lunged at Aizawa, wrapping both hands around the pro hero's throat. With Aizawa's quirk still active, Shigaraki couldn't use his own — but he didn't need to.
The second Aizawa blinked, he would die.
And then—
BOOM.
All Might and the rest of the U.A. faculty burst into the USJ.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Shigaraki jerked violently as he was hit in both shoulders, knocking him off Aizawa. A third shot struck his thigh, sending him sprawling. At the top of the stairs, Snipe stood next to All Might, smoke curling from his revolver.
Kurogiri reappeared, having returned from checking on their forces across the facility. He quickly grabbed Shigaraki under the arms and propped him up.
"We must retreat. Our forces across the facility have been subdued."
Shigaraki ranted, spittle flying — raging about needing to kill All Might, about Takeshi cheating, about everything going wrong.
Kurogiri dragged him away, ignoring his tantrum.
Takeshi finally collapsed, unconscious, his massive form shrinking as his quirk failed.
The Nomu — riddled with holes, pinned by spikes — broke free as Takeshi fell. Its regeneration was slower now, but still functioning.
It turned toward Takeshi.
Its last order was still active.
Kill him.
All Might stepped forward, eyes blazing.
The Nomu charged toward Takeshi's limp form, fist raised.
All Might appeared in front of it, fist cocked back.
Their punches collided.
A shockwave exploded outward, shattering every window in the USJ.