Midoriya Izuku, his mind reeling, could not possibly comprehend the bewildering phenomenon unfolding before his very eyes. Even utilizing the entirety of his vast knowledge of Quirks and physics, he found himself utterly incapable of formulating any plausible hypothesis to explain what he was witnessing. It defied all logic and understanding.
The world immediately around him, within the confines of the Central Plaza where he stood, had abruptly transformed into a completely drab, lifeless gray color. Everything seemed to have been drained of its vibrancy, leaving behind a monochromatic, almost ghost-like reality. However, the world situated outside the confines of this strange, gray dome still miraculously retained its full, vibrant colors, appearing perfectly normal. Yet, it too seemed to have been inexplicably frozen, suspended in time, its movements halted, as if trapped within an invisible, unyielding amber.
In the distance, barely discernible but chillingly present, he could vaguely make out two colossal figures, locked in an intense, brutal combat. Their furious, relentless exchange of blows had been abruptly interrupted by the strange, time-bending phenomenon in which they had now become inextricably involved, their fight paused mid-strike.
PAM!
A loud, jarring tap on his shoulder violently jolted him out of his profound thoughts, sending a shockwave through his body. Quickly turning his gaze, he saw a nervous Kyoka Jiro looking at him with an expression of deep concern, her face stained by tears that seemed to have stopped flowing at some indiscernible point. "Are you alright, Midoriya?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly.
"I— Yes! Just... this is incredibly strange..." Midoriya stammered, barely managing to complete a coherent sentence, his mind still struggling to grasp the unreality of their situation. "Everything seems to have completely stopped..."
'And this feeling of intense deja vu is only growing stronger, more insistent...' Midoriya thought, a disconcerting sense of familiarity washing over him, even as the strangeness of the moment intensified. He looked down at his palm, clenching and unclenching his fist. He could have sworn he saw it blur for a brief, almost imperceptible moment, but it was incredibly difficult to tell for certain, as the drab, desaturated colors of their immediate surroundings made it challenging to discern any precise details or subtle shifts.
Kyoka's brow furrowed in a deep frown as she looked intently outside the gray dome, her confusion palpable. "You don't think—"
Suddenly, the distinct sound of shattering crystals, sharp and piercing, reverberated through the air, drawing both of their startled attention. The cause of this unnerving sound was none other than Lena's lifeless body, which, as they watched in disbelief, had begun to surround itself with strange, constantly shifting crystals, shimmering with an unearthly light, completely covering her form, encasing her like a bizarre cocoon.
Midoriya asked, his voice trembling with a mixture of fear and profound bewilderment. "What in the world is going on?!"
Kyoka let out a frustrated growl, her brow still furrowed in a deep frown. "I don't know, Midoriya! I have no idea!"
Both students instinctively began to back away carefully, their movements slow and cautious, their fear mounting with every new, inexplicable development. They continued to retreat until, with a simultaneous, deafening crescendo, all the crystals encasing Lena shattered at once, releasing a colossal, blinding celestial flash. The brilliant light spread outwards with breathtaking speed, engulfing the entire gray-colored world around them until it violently collided with the dome of frozen color, impacting it as if it were a fragile, water-filled balloon.
And just like a water balloon.
The dome burst with a deafening BOOOM!, rupturing from the immense pressure of the surging, ethereal energy.
Midoriya and Kyoka could barely keep themselves from being sent flying by the sheer force of the explosion, which, although it miraculously didn't inflict any direct physical harm upon them, unleashed an incredibly strong wind current that almost swept them both away like discarded leaves.
Midoriya gritted his teeth hard, his jaw clenched, stubbornly refusing to take even a single step back, digging his heels into the ground, his resolve unyielding.
Kyoka grunted with exertion, her body straining, putting every ounce of her effort into maintaining her footing, refusing to be blown away like a helpless sack of potatoes.
When they finally managed to open their eyes again, blinking rapidly to clear their vision, they saw that the colors had miraculously returned to the world, vibrant and rich once more. And, to their astonishment, everything around them was moving strangely, yet naturally again, as if the temporal anomaly had never occurred.
'Didn't the others even notice what just transpired? Or are they still unaware?' Midoriya wondered, biting his lip in bewildered confusion. 'What precisely is Lena's Quirk, truly?' The mystery surrounding her abilities deepened with every new revelation.
Shiz... Shiz...
The distinct sound of small, ethereal lightning bolts, crackling with an otherworldly energy, immediately drew their gaze upwards. There, before their very eyes, was Lena.
""Lena!"" They shouted in unison, their voices filled with a mixture of relief and alarm, as they quickly approached her to inspect the state of their friend and companion. She lay on her back, seemingly unconscious, as celestial, light-blue lightning bolts shot out from all over her body, arcing and sparking with chaotic energy.
But before they could reach her, a strange, profound sensation assaulted them. They suddenly felt incredibly heavy, so impossibly heavy that they couldn't move a single muscle, their limbs rooted to the spot. They couldn't even manage to take a breath, no matter how hard they desperately tried.
Their survival instincts immediately assaulted them, flooding their minds with raw panic, but no matter what they tried, what desperate measures they attempted... they were utterly frozen, paralyzed, unable to move or speak.
The distant, rhythmic sound of footsteps finally brought them back to a terrifying reality.
The source of the footsteps was none other than Lena, who had, with a strange, unnatural gait, turned around to face them as she slowly approached.
Only now, she looked subtly, yet chillingly, different. Her eyes were completely light blue, glowing with an otherworldly intensity, as small, crackling lightning bolts shot out from them, mirroring the chaotic energy surrounding her. Her formerly vibrant brown hair now possessed a distinct sky-blue tint, a shimmering hue that seemed to respond directly to the energy discharges emanating from her. The strangest, most unsettling aspect of all was her movements; they seemed erratic, almost jerky, as if someone was manipulating her with invisible strings, pulling her limbs with an unseen force.
Lena continued to walk with her strange, puppet-like gait, leaving Midoriya and Kyoka frozen in their tracks as she passed directly through their midst, her glowing form disappearing from their sight, leaving them utterly helpless and bewildered.
Suddenly, the oppressive sensation around their bodies abruptly disappeared, releasing them from their invisible prison. Both Midoriya and Kyoka immediately collapsed to the ground on their knees, gasping desperately for breath, their hearts pounding loudly in their throats, raw with adrenaline, as they trembled slightly from the aftereffects of the paralyzing force.
'What...' Midoriya thought, his mind racing to process the terrifying experience.
'...was that?' Kyoka finished the unspoken question, equally stunned.
They both turned their heads back to see Lena, now standing in the central plaza, raising a single hand towards Shigaraki and the monstrous Nomu. As her hand rose, the celestial rays emanating from her body steadily intensified, growing brighter, more numerous, and more chaotic, surging with an unstoppable, raw power.
"I see the dead rise to torment the living," Lena's voice resonated, though it was hollow, devoid of her usual warmth, and distinctly not her own. It was an ancient, chilling echo.
With a slow, deliberate twist of her raised hand, everything around them seemed to shake uncontrollably. The very space around Lena visibly distorted, shimmering with impossible colors, reflecting different scenarios, different realities, collapsing and reforming in a chaotic maelstrom.
Suddenly, Reaper, who had been engaged in a fierce struggle with Eraser Head, stopped moving entirely. His terrifying body began to constantly shift, to flicker rapidly through various forms. First, he dissolved into a jet-black mist, then reformed into the same Reaper, but clad in a subtly different costume, then he morphed into a brown-skinned adult, then into a teenager, then into a child, and then, impossibly, back into the ethereal mist, his form cycling endlessly, chaotically. It was a terrifying, incomprehensible display of temporal instability.
"LENA!" shouted Kyoka, her voice laced with desperation and urgency. She somehow managed to appear at Lena's side, moving with incredible speed. Without hesitation, she grabbed Lena's raised hand, which was still causing the temporal distortions, and with a powerful, desperate tug, she abruptly lowered it, forcing the chaotic energy to recede, instantly returning Reaper's shifting form to normal, stabilizing him in his original state.
Lena simply looked at Kyoka, her light-blue eyes still glowing, her head bowed as if in quiet resignation, before she tried to raise her other arm, but this time, her hand was strangely directed towards Kyoka herself—
Before Lena's entire body abruptly collapsed, falling limply to the ground as if invisible ropes, manipulating her, had been suddenly and cleanly severed. The raw, overwhelming power had completely drained her.
"AAAHHH!"
All Might roared, a powerful battle cry, as he swiftly struck the monstrous villain directly in front of him with a relentless barrage of heavy, concussive fists, unleashing every ounce of his immense strength and more. Each blow was imbued with the full force of his Quirk.
They had been fighting for approximately seven grueling minutes, but All Might had to reluctantly admit that this was undoubtedly one of the hardest, most punishing fights he had ever endured in his entire, illustrious life as a Hero. The Nomu was an unyielding, relentless opponent.
'HOW IS THIS THING STILL STANDING?!' All Might thought, a flicker of surprise and annoyance crossing his face, his mind reeling from the sheer resilience of his foe. He hadn't faced such a tough, unyielding battle since his harrowing encounter with All For One all those years ago, and it was undeniably taking a heavy toll on his rapidly dwindling power.
Nomu, the grotesque creature, tried to land a brutal punch directly to All Might's chest, a bone-crushing blow. But All Might moved faster, his reflexes honed by countless battles, effortlessly dodging Nomu's predictable attack to counter with another powerful SMASH, a blow that, to his frustration, seemed to have very little discernible effect on Nomu's incredibly durable body.
Nomu took a few seconds, its brain exposed and pulsating faintly, to recover from All Might's latest devastating attack before launching a surprisingly strong punch directly to All Might's shoulder. The blow landed solidly, knocking the hero off balance for a crucial moment. Seizing the opportune moment, Nomu quickly followed up, aiming another powerful, brutal attack directly at All Might's stomach, intending to incapacitate him.
But, unexpectedly, a large, impenetrable layer of ice suddenly materialized from the side, effectively stopping the purple villain's brutal impact mid-strike. The ice, shimmering with an unearthly cold, froze Nomu's arm in place, preventing the blow from landing.
"Looks like I've arrived just in time..."
The voice, cold and resolute, belonged to the new, unexpected guest: Shoto Todoroki. He stood there, breathing heavily, but his posture was firm, his eyes fixed on the battle.
"NO! GET OUT OF HERE, YOUNG SHOTO!" shouted All Might, his voice laced with uncharacteristic panic, as he regained his balance and looked at Shoto with wide, alarmed eyes. He knew the immense danger the boy was in.
The creature, Nomu, with a guttural roar, swiftly broke free of the encasing ice, its monstrous form churning with renewed fury, and headed directly towards Shoto, moving with a speed that surpassed anything the son of Endeavor could possibly react to.
But All Might was quicker. With a powerful, desperate kick, he intercepted Nomu, sending the monstrous creature flying into the air, saving Shoto from being crushed to death by a brutal blow from the cruel villain. The sheer force of the kick created a powerful gust of wind that buffeted the surrounding area.
With a shake of his head, still somewhat dazed by what had just transpired, Shoto ran out of the Central Zone. His steps were firm, but his expression was one of reluctant resignation. That brief, terrifying encounter with Nomu had provided all the proof of strength he needed to know that, in this fight, he would only be a nuisance, an impediment to All Might. He wasn't stupid, and he recognized the overwhelming power difference, but it still deeply hurt his pride to see how far he was from the true power of Hero Number One.
"You can't possibly beat Nomu, All Might!! He possesses a Shock Absorption Quirk, a Super Regeneration Quirk, and finally, thousands of Super Strength Quirks! HE'S THE ULTIMATE WEAPON, A MASTERPIECE OF DESTRUCTION!!" Shigaraki shouted, his voice rising into a manic, triumphant cackle, as he looked at All Might with an air of smug, absolute certainty. The revelation was meant to crush All Might's spirit.
"So that's why it was... hehe.... Then I just have to get over the limits of his Quirks!" shouted All Might, his voice filled with renewed determination, a confident smile on his face, as he parried with one hand the brutal punch aimed at his face by Nomu.
Pushing Nomu back with a powerful shove, All Might began to unleash a relentless flurry of punches, blow after brutal blow raining down on Nomu's incredibly resilient body. Nomu, in turn, also began to hit All Might back, attempting to retaliate, but its blows lacked the immense momentum and blistering speed of the furious barrage that Hero Number One was throwing at him.
ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA!
After hundreds of concussive blows, finally, miraculously, Nomu began to show discernible signs of damage. Cracks appeared on its exposed brain, its movements grew sluggish, and its body began to tremble.
"NOW!!! I'LL SHOW YOU WHY I'M THE NUMBER ONE HERO! PLUS ULTRA!!!" All Might shouted, his voice a thunderous roar, as he landed one final, devastating blow so incredibly hard on Nomu that it sent the monstrous creature flying out of the USJ facility altogether, propelled by the sheer force of the impact at the speed of sound, disappearing into the distant sky.
... All of the USJ fell deathly silent, the only sound the faint ringing in everyone's ears from the incredible power unleashed.
Shigaraki stood utterly frozen in shock, his mind reeling. His Nomu, his perfect weapon, painstakingly designed and created by his master, All For One, had been utterly and unequivocally defeated...
"It was a lie... he never truly weakened..." Shigaraki muttered, his voice a low, angry growl, as he frantically scratched the back of his neck, his frustration and rage palpable. "It can't be... my plan was meticulously perfect... why did it fail so spectacularly?"
"Now, villain! Surrender to the Law!" said All Might, his voice firm, as he glared at Shigaraki, his form still radiating immense power. Shigaraki, in turn, merely glared back at him with pure, unadulterated hatred burning in his eyes.
... Staring intently at each other, Shigaraki suddenly moved, charging towards All Might, his body shifting with desperate intent. All Might immediately took a defensive pose, ready to face the villain, but to no avail....
BANG! BANG!
Two sharp, piercing gunshots suddenly rang out, stopping Shigaraki dead in his tracks. One bullet hit him squarely in the leg, while another struck his shoulder, causing the villain to writhe on the ground in sudden, agonizing pain, his earlier charge forgotten.
"Damn Heroes..." Shigaraki muttered under his breath, his voice laced with profound frustration and seething hatred, as he clutched his wounds.
Looking towards the staircase of the USJ, all the U.A. personnel could be seen entering through the main door, a wave of Pro Heroes and teachers flooding into the facility. Some had already dispersed, fanning out to face the remaining, scattered low-ranking villains, swiftly apprehending them.
"Game over... for now, you damn Heroes... Kurogiri!" shouted Shigaraki, his voice a desperate, final command. A moment later, a swirling, dark purple mist began to slowly engulf him, swallowing his form.
"Mark my words, hero... someday... your head will be mine..." Shigaraki's voice, full of venomous promise, was the last thing All Might heard as the villain completely dematerialized, vanishing without a trace.