"Smash!!"
Midoriya Izuku's entire body became a streak of light as he surged forward, pouring all his strength into a single punch aimed at the black Nomu.
Bang!!
A terrifying shockwave erupted from the Nomu's body, blasting several Nomu behind it into the air. At the same time, its surface hardened instantly.
Midoriya's fist struck it like solid steel.
In that instant, his hand was torn apart—his entire arm disintegrating into fragments as if it had been pulverized on impact!
"What… is this?!"
Midoriya stared at what remained of his arm in shock.
"Are you an idiot?" Shigaraki Tomura sneered. "If you attack with that kind of force, your own body has to bear it too!"
But even as he mocked him, Shigaraki's expression shifted slightly as he noticed something strange about Midoriya.
Normally, the strength of an enhancement-type Quirk is matched by the user's body. In other words, the power of the attack and the durability of the body should be equal. A punch like that shouldn't have destroyed his arm so completely.
Yet it had.
That contradiction caught Shigaraki's attention.
"…A strange Quirk. But that's all."
His gaze turned cold as he prepared to give the order to kill them—
—but at that moment, Kurogiri appeared beside him.
"Did you deal with No. 13?" Shigaraki asked.
"Yes. I've rendered him unable to fight," Kurogiri replied. "However, a group of students remains. They proved troublesome. One of them escaped… and has already made it outside USJ."
U.A. was equipped with infrared alarm systems throughout the campus, but inside USJ they were disabled due to interference Quirks. If a student had escaped outside, the school could already be mobilizing.
Shigaraki raised his hand to his neck, gripping it tightly. His nails dug into his skin until blood began to seep out.
"Kurogiri… if you didn't have that teleportation Quirk, I'd crush you into dust."
Kurogiri remained silent. His Quirk wasn't suited for direct combat, and the students had resisted far more than expected.
"…Forget it. We're leaving," Shigaraki said suddenly, his interest gone. "We can't deal with dozens of pro Heroes from U.A. anyway. Game over."
A single powerful Hero wasn't frightening. No matter how strong, an individual could always be countered—just like All Might. Even the Symbol of Peace had limits, and the League had created Nomu specifically to restrain him.
But dozens of Heroes working together?
That was something else entirely.
Different Quirks, different tactics—something mindless Nomu could never replicate.
Besides, a Nomu designed to counter All Might could still be defeated by other abilities… like Etsuha's eyes.
"Go back? Did he just say 'go back'?" Mineta Minoru said, relief flooding his voice. "Is this nightmare finally over?"
"…Maybe?" Asui Tsuyu replied, still uncertain. Her eyes lingered on Midoriya. His condition was critical—no one had expected his attack to cost him an arm. Still, if Etsuha could heal him, there might be hope.
Shigaraki turned, stepping toward the portal—
—but then his gaze flicked back to Midoriya.
"…'Smash.' Same catchphrase. Same kind of power," he muttered. "If that's the case… you're one of All Might's followers, aren't you? So—"
He moved.
Like a cheetah, he lunged forward, his hand shooting straight toward Midoriya's head.
The power of his Decay Quirk was instantaneous destruction. If he touched Midoriya's head, his skull would crumble like dried bark, flaking away in seconds.
Midoriya's mind raced, replaying everything he knew about that Quirk. Cold sweat poured down his face—
But just as Shigaraki closed in—
He stopped.
"…What a persistent teacher."
Behind him, Aizawa Shouta—already pushed beyond his limits—forced his head up and locked eyes with him, erasing his Quirk once more.
At the same moment—
Smash!
The black Nomu slammed Aizawa's head into the ground again. This time the impact was even more brutal, and a sickening crack echoed through the air—whether bone or concrete, no one could tell.
"Then… goodbye."
Shigaraki raised his hand again, reaching for Midoriya's face—
—but in that instant—
A massive wave of ice descended from the sky.
It crashed down with overwhelming force, engulfing the battlefield in a frozen storm. Dozens of Nomu were buried instantly beneath layers of ice and snow, frozen into lifelike sculptures.
Then—
Crack!
Under Etsuha's control, every frozen figure shattered at once.
Blood and fragments burst outward as dozens of Nomu were annihilated in a single instant.
"Shina Etsuha!"
Shigaraki turned sharply, staring at the boy behind him.
Against abilities that didn't counter him, Etsuha's ice was absolute. There was no explanation—it was simply overwhelming strength.
But what unsettled Shigaraki even more… were Etsuha's eyes.
They glowed like a blood-red full moon, black tomoe spinning within them like a slowly turning blade. Just one glance—
—and it felt as though his mind was being dragged into an endless abyss.
In the next moment—
The world changed.
Space twisted. Time warped.
Everything around him collapsed and reformed. The Nomu, the battlefield—everything vanished.
And what remained before his eyes…
…was Shina Etsuha, standing alone, sword in hand.