"The world… changed?"
For the first time, Shigaraki Tomura felt true panic.
Before his eyes, everything seemed to be under Etsuha's control. No matter how he tried to move, his feet felt glued to the ground. Even the simple act of taking a step felt impossible—like movement itself had become a luxury.
How could this be?
Was this guy… a god?!
"Shina Etsuha, what are you?!" Shigaraki roared, trying to activate his Decay Quirk and kill him.
But nothing happened.
His power… was gone.
When his hand touched Etsuha, it felt like nothing more than a powerless push. No disintegration. No destruction. His Quirk had completely vanished.
In the next instant—
The blade in Etsuha's hand pierced straight through his chest.
A searing, heart-wrenching pain exploded from within him. It was so real that his entire body seemed to collapse under it. Strength drained from his limbs as he fell helplessly to the ground.
"Am I… dead?"
Fear filled his heart.
His consciousness faded… and darkness swallowed him whole.
He didn't know how much time had passed.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself back in an ordinary room—just like before. There was no USJ, no battle, no chaos.
Everything felt… normal.
"Was it all fake? Just a nightmare?"
Shigaraki felt a strange sense of suffocation in his mind, as though something had been locked away. For a moment, he even felt relief.
But just as he exhaled—
Etsuha appeared in front of him again.
"Tomura? Tomura? What's wrong with you? Wake up!"
Kurogiri's voice broke through.
Shigaraki's eyes snapped open.
Cold sweat soaked his entire body. His breathing was ragged as he looked around wildly.
USJ.
The battlefield.
The Nomu.
And—
Those eyes.
Shina Etsuha's eyes, filled with killing intent.
"What… was that just now?!" Shigaraki stared at his own hands in disbelief.
In that world—one he couldn't distinguish from reality—he had died over and over again. The pain, the sensation of death… it had all been completely real. Even now, he couldn't tell what was real and what wasn't.
"Kurogiri… what just happened?" he asked hoarsely, avoiding Etsuha's gaze as he staggered back.
"Just now? Shina Etsuha wiped out a large number of Nomu, then looked at you… and you froze in place." Kurogiri paused, then suddenly realized something. "Did you… look into his eyes?!"
The doctor's warning flashed through his mind.
Shina Etsuha's eyes… were dangerous.
They had learned this through painful experimentation. His gaze alone could immobilize Nomu. To counter this, they had created specialized Nomu that relied on sound instead of sight.
But they had never expected—
Shigaraki himself would fall victim to it.
"I saw them…" Shigaraki inhaled sharply, his body trembling. "What a terrifying ability…"
Even standing was difficult. His legs felt weak, his head throbbed, and exhaustion threatened to knock him unconscious.
This was the first time he had truly experienced Etsuha's power.
Even surrounded by countless Nomu, he felt no sense of safety.
Only cold fear.
In the next instant, his entire body went rigid.
That feeling again—
He knew it.
Etsuha was looking at him.
With just a single glance, bloodshot veins burst into his eyes as he screamed:
"Retreat! Pull back now! Send all the Nomu at him—kill him!!"
This was a life-or-death crisis.
Shigaraki had always known Etsuha was strong—but never imagined he was this strong.
Just one look had nearly shattered his mind. That power was beyond comprehension, as if it had created an entirely separate world—like the authority of a god.
At that moment, Shigaraki finally understood.
Etsuha hadn't defeated the earlier Nomu by chance.
He had always possessed this terrifying trump card.
If that illusion had lasted any longer, his mind would have been completely destroyed.
The thought of facing such an enemy sent a chill through his entire body.
Kurogiri didn't fully understand what had happened, but he instinctively realized something was wrong. Without hesitation, he opened a swirling portal.
They had miscalculated again.
Etsuha still had abilities they didn't understand.
"What's wrong with that guy?" Mineta Minoru asked in shock, staring at Shigaraki's sudden panic.
Asui Tsuyu also looked confused, unable to grasp what had just happened.
In contrast, Etsuha's expression carried a trace of interest.
"So you weren't completely broken by the illusion… As expected of another successor."
Because of the distance, what he had used wasn't Tsukuyomi, but a Sharingan illusion. While not as absolute, it was still incredibly powerful. Those with insufficient mental strength would lose themselves entirely within it—some even dying inside the illusion.
The fact that Shigaraki had managed to break free surprised even him.
Though, Etsuha knew—
If Kurogiri hadn't intervened, Shigaraki would already be dead.
"Trying to run?"
Etsuha's eyes sharpened.
In an instant, several ice arrows shot forward, sealing off their escape.
"None of you are leaving!"