Shoo!
Several ice arrows shot forward, sealing off Shigaraki Tomura's escape route. At the same time, a squad of ice cavalry surged past him and charged straight at Kurogiri!
"Annoying pests!" Kurogiri snapped. His combat ability was weak to begin with, and once surrounded by the ice cavalry, his movements were quickly restricted. Forced back, he had no choice but to distance himself from Shigaraki Tomura. "Tomura, go!"
But no matter how loudly he shouted, Shigaraki Tomura didn't respond. His body remained stiff, unmoving.
"My legs… they're frozen!"
Shigaraki Tomura's eyes widened in disbelief. The moment the ice blades struck the ground, they had shattered into clusters of frost. He'd assumed they were nothing more than simple ice—but instead, the frost spread beneath the surface, creeping across the ground and freezing his ankles solid.
His mind was in complete disarray. The illusion Etsuha had just subjected him to had dealt overwhelming mental damage. Under normal circumstances, Shigaraki Tomura could have easily crushed the ice with his Decay quirk. But now, he couldn't even think straight. His gaze remained locked on the frozen ground at his feet, unable to process what to do next.
"What are you doing?!"
Only now did Kurogiri realize something was terribly wrong. Ever since that moment, Shigaraki Tomura had seemed hollow—like his soul had been ripped away. Even in the middle of a life-and-death battle, he stood there, completely unresponsive.
This was a critical moment. One mistake meant death.
"So the illusion affected him this deeply…" Etsuha murmured. Even he seemed slightly surprised, though it made sense. Everything Shigaraki experienced in that illusion had felt utterly real. Without proper mental training or techniques to break free, this kind of reaction was inevitable.
At Etsuha's command, the ice beneath Shigaraki Tomura spread outward. Then, with a sudden surge, thick walls of ice rose up like steel, forming a cage around him and trapping him inside!
"Damn it!"
Shigaraki Tomura finally snapped back to reality and lunged forward, grabbing the ice bars with trembling hands—but it was already too late. The ice extended further, forming massive shackles that bound his entire body, locking him in place.
And it didn't stop there.
The ice continued to spread, climbing higher and higher, threatening to encase him completely—turning him into a frozen statue.
"If I can't kill you," Etsuha said calmly, "how about turning you into an ice sculpture instead?"
At that moment, a Nomu charged in.
It was the same Nomu with the rebound quirk. Abandoning its assault on Aizawa Shouta, it rushed toward Etsuha at terrifying speed, intending to engage him in close combat.
But against Etsuha, its ability was meaningless.
A cold glint flashed in Etsuha's eyes. In the next instant—
Keng!
A surge of freezing power erupted, instantly engulfing the Nomu. Before it could even react, its entire body was encased in solid ice, frozen stiff in place right in front of Etsuha.
The rebound quirk—so carefully designed to counter All Might—was useless here.
What was there to reflect? Even if it could bounce back Etsuha's power, his ice wasn't just a physical attack. It was absolute control over freezing itself—an overwhelming force capable of locking down space and time. There was simply no way to counter it.
"So it can't reflect special-type attacks… Figures. No quirk is truly perfect," Etsuha said, glancing at the frozen Nomu with clear disdain. As expected, a Nomu limited to only two quirks could never achieve true perfection. To stand against him, it would need overwhelming superiority in every aspect.
Or… something even stronger.
"Then that leaves just one."
Etsuha turned his gaze toward the final Nomu.
This one was massive—similar to the original Nomu that had fought All Might. Clearly, it was among the strongest. However, it hadn't made a move yet, leaving its true capabilities unknown.
Still, Etsuha could guess.
That one was meant for All Might.
After all, the League had only deployed three Nomu. It was unlikely that two of them had been specially designed just to counter him. If that were the case, they'd be seriously underestimating All Might.
"He… took down the rebound Nomu instantly…"
Kurogiri stared in stunned silence. He had believed that Nomu would at least be able to stall Etsuha for a while—but reality had proven otherwise.
"It seems the doctor was right… This boy has even greater potential than All Might. Perhaps he'll become something even greater—a new symbol."
Then—
BOOM!
The entrance to the USJ facility exploded open.
A tall, muscular blond man stepped through the shattered doorway and onto the central platform.
It was All Might.
His arrival struck the hearts of every student like a bolt of lightning. Instantly, hope ignited across their faces.
"All Might! It's All Might!"
"Thank god… I thought we were really going to die here!"
"We're saved…!"
All Might stood tall, his presence radiating across the entire battlefield. His voice rang out with absolute confidence:
"It's alright now… because I am here!"
His eyes swept across the battlefield—until they landed on Etsuha.
Then he paused.
There was only one Nomu left.
"…Looks like I'm… a bit late?" All Might said, scratching his head awkwardly.
..
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