"Useless?!"
Seeing that the attack had done absolutely nothing to the Nomu, everyone's eyes widened in disbelief.
An attack of that level—something even top-ranked Pro Heroes couldn't ignore—had been completely ineffective. And yet, the Nomu stood there as if nothing had happened, like an indestructible wall of steel. Even the shockwave had failed to leave a mark.
The Nomu slowly turned its gaze toward Yamazaki Yuka.
With a simple flex of its body, the steel restraints binding it snapped apart.
In the next instant—
It vanished.
Before anyone could react, it had already appeared directly in front of Yamazaki Yuka and threw a punch.
Her heartbeat spiked wildly.
At that moment, her eyes barely managed to track the movement. Driven by pure instinct, she pushed her body beyond its limits, twisting aside to dodge—and immediately counterattacked with a punch of her own, her force roaring forward like a speeding train.
BOOM!!
The shockwave from the Nomu's strike alone shattered a nearby telephone pole.
Yamazaki Yuka had narrowly escaped.
But before she could recover—
A crushing force slammed into the back of her head.
Her vision went white.
Her head was driven violently into the ground, the concrete beneath her forehead cracking open instantly. Pain exploded through her skull as she let out a muffled groan.
"Yuka!!"
Isshiki Naomi cried out in alarm.
She had never imagined that Yamazaki Yuka—second only to Best Jeanist in their agency—would be overwhelmed so completely.
"Damn it… what kind of power is this… I can't break through it at all…"
Gritting her teeth, Yamazaki Yuka forced her head up, clenched her fists, and struck again.
BOOM!
A weak shockwave erupted.
But the Nomu remained completely unaffected.
It noticed her resistance—and pressed its hand down again.
CRACK!
Her head slammed into the ground once more, blood beginning to flow.
At that very moment—
A blade descended from above, slicing cleanly into the Nomu's arm.
"Let her go!"
A young voice rang out sharply.
The one who had arrived was none other than Yusuke Tensen—the Pro Hero who had separated from Shina Etsuha earlier.
"Tensen—be careful!" Yamazaki Yuka warned weakly. "I can't break its defense at all. This thing is like iron!"
"Oh? Then you're simply too weak," Yusuke Tensen replied confidently. "My attack pierced straight through it."
He glanced at the Nomu's arm.
His blade had cut deep—an enormous wound running cleanly through muscle.
At first glance, it seemed like he had gained the upper hand.
But as he spoke—
His expression slowly stiffened.
The massive wound… was shrinking.
In the blink of an eye, it had reduced to nothing more than a tiny indentation the size of a fingernail.
Then—
It vanished completely.
No scar. No trace.
"…Regeneration?"
The realization hit him instantly.
The Nomu tilted its head slightly.
Instinct told it that this man with the sword posed a greater threat.
So—
It chose him.
"A troublesome opponent… but my Quirk should still be enough," Yusuke Tensen muttered, lowering his stance and gripping his blade tightly.
His Quirk—Sharpness—allowed any edged weapon he wielded to gain extreme penetrating power. Against a large target like this, it should have been the perfect counter.
But as the Nomu stared at him—
A chill crept down his spine.
It felt like being watched by death itself.
Cold sweat formed across his back as his grip tightened on the hilt.
"Isshiki—boost me!" he shouted.
WHOOSH!
The Nomu disappeared again.
In the next instant, it was already in front of him—charging like a high-speed locomotive.
"Hmph. Is that all?"
Yusuke Tensen snorted coldly.
As a swordsman, he was confident in handling high-speed attacks.
With perfect timing, he thrust his blade forward like a shooting star.
At the exact moment the Nomu appeared—
THRUST!
The blade pierced straight into its chest.
SPLASH!
With the enhancement of his Quirk, the sword penetrated cleanly through the Nomu's heart.
A smile appeared on Yusuke Tensen's face.
"If your heart is destroyed, regeneration won't save you—"
But before he could finish—
The Nomu didn't stop.
Not even for a second.
Its massive body slammed into him like a cannonball.
BOOM!!
Yusuke Tensen felt as if every bone in his body had shattered. He was sent flying backward, crashing through multiple stone walls in succession before finally hitting the ground, coughing up blood.
Even so—
A faint smile remained on his face.
That strike had definitely landed.
But then—
Right before his eyes—
The Nomu reached up and pulled the blade from its chest.
Blood sprayed high into the air.
And in the very next moment—
A white mist enveloped its body.
The fatal wound closed instantly.
Perfectly.
Not even a scar remained on its smooth, hardened flesh.
Yusuke Tensen's expression froze.
So did Yamazaki Yuka's.
And Isshiki Naomi's.
Despair spread through all of them.
What kind of monster was this…?
It was immune to shockwaves.
It regenerated instantly—even from a pierced heart.
How could anyone possibly defeat something like this?
It was impossible.
"Ah… how boring. Another one-sided battle," Shigaraki Tomura yawned lazily. "Hurry up and break their bones. If we drag this out any longer, their reinforcements will arrive. Time to wrap things up."
"Reinforcements are already here."
A calm voice echoed from the alley's entrance.
At the corner—
A figure stepped into view.
It was Shina Etsuha.