Chapter 121: Iida's Will
"Todoroki-kun, be careful! His Quirk works by ingesting a person's blood to paralyze them! All of us have fallen for it!" As Stain had walked past him, Midoriya had seen his own blood still on the blade. Combined with the licking motion from before, he had confirmed the nature of the Hero Killer's Quirk.
"So that's why he uses sharp blades..." Todoroki's expression grew grim. "In that case, I just have to keep him from getting close."
The moment he finished speaking, a throwing knife shot through the air, slicing Todoroki's cheek. Stain lunged forward. "You say the same thing as the one behind you! And now he's lying on the ground!"
With his Quirk figured out, Stain no longer bothered with concealment. He shot his tongue out, aiming for the cut on Todoroki's cheek. If he could just lick his blood, Todoroki would be paralyzed, and he could end this fight quickly and retreat before the other Pro Heroes arrived.
"It's not that simple..." Flames instantly erupted from Todoroki's body, a wave of heat rising from his left side like a phoenix spreading its wings.
Stain couldn't get his tongue anywhere near the heat and was forced to retreat. Having lost his chance, Todoroki went on the offensive. Fire and ice alternated in his hands, suppressing Stain's movements.
Stain weaved and dodged nimbly through the alley, avoiding Todoroki's barrage of ice and fire. But he was able to find an opening in Todoroki's attacks and charged forward. Although he was forced back at the last second by a blast of fire, Todoroki's arm was still cut by another knife that Stain had thrown.
Todoroki clutched his injured arm, watching helplessly as Stain charged him, swords held high.
"Watch out!"
A green flash of lightning shot in front of Todoroki, delivering a powerful uppercut that broke Stain's stance.
"Midoriya! You can move!?"
After forcing Stain back, Midoriya didn't press the attack, instead retreating to Todoroki's side. "I don't know why, but I was able to move again in that instant."
The hero Native was shocked. "But that kid was the last one to get hit! I still can't move!"
"That means there are three possibilities for his Quirk's time limit," Midoriya thought rapidly. "First, the effect could weaken depending on the strength of the target. Second, the duration could be determined by the amount of blood ingested. Or third, the paralysis effect could vary depending on the target's blood type...!"
"I'm Type B." "I'm Type A."
Native and Iida, the two who had been hit, both called out their blood types.
Stain had no intention of hiding his Quirk. He gave an exaggerated smile. "Blood type... you guessed correctly."
Midoriya clenched his fists. "I'm Type O," he said with determination. "Even if I get cut, I can recover in less than a minute. Todoroki-kun, you've already lost a lot of blood. I'll go in front to draw his attention, and you support me from behind."
"That's a risky plan. We should be avoiding close combat right now..." Todoroki paused, then continued, "But... it's the best option we have. My ice and fire can't hit him; they can only be used to hold him back. We need to stall for time until the Pro Heroes arrive."
"Then I'm going in!" Midoriya shouted, using the walls to constantly change his position as he threw punches at Stain.
Stain leaped to dodge, landing behind Midoriya. Just as he was about to strike, he felt a wave of heat from behind and was forced to dodge again.
"Damn it! Making a bunch of kids protect a burden like me!" Native said through gritted teeth, his heart filled with deep regret. If it hadn't been for his own recklessness, neither Eye of the Dawn nor these kids would have been hurt...
Watching Todoroki and Midoriya fighting for their lives, tears streamed down Iida's face. "Stop it... This has nothing to do with you..."
"You want us to stop? Then stand up! I only have one thing to say to you..." Todoroki, seeing Stain break through his ice and charge toward him, found his entire left side igniting in a blaze, just as he had once seen his father, Endeavor, fight.
Todoroki threw a flaming punch and shouted, "Iida! Open your eyes and look carefully! Decide what kind of man you want to become!"
Iida was stunned. What kind of man did he want to become?
Since he was a child, he had been proud of his older brother, admiring the cool way he helped others. He wanted to be just like him. He... wanted to be a hero like his brother, Ingenium.
Just now, Midoriya's leg had been grazed, and he was once again paralyzed. Without Midoriya to hold him back, Todoroki felt an intense sense of crisis. The Hero Killer was constantly dodging his fire and ice, closing the distance in an instant.
"Why can you dodge all of my attacks!?"
Todoroki didn't understand. His Quirk was incredibly powerful—he even had one more Quirk than his bastard of an old man, the Number Two Hero. But his attacks were always being dodged. The situation hadn't improved after he had started using his fire; in fact, it had gotten worse. Midoriya had been like this, Kira had been like this, and now this enemy, the Hero Killer, was the same. What was he doing wrong?
Stain weaved between the shards of ice Todoroki was creating, and other than his footwork being a little messy, he was completely unharmed. He held his sword horizontally in front of him, as if he were about to cleave Todoroki in two, and charged forward with unstoppable momentum.
"Because you rely too much on your Quirk! You kids who think you can be a hero just because you have a powerful Quirk... you're the type I hate the most!"
"Move! Body, move!" Iida felt in his heart that if he didn't stand up now, he would never be able to catch up to Todoroki and the others.
Blue flames erupted from the jets on Iida's legs, the power instantly surging to its maximum. His body shot forward toward Stain.
This was the improper use of his Quirk that he had developed to achieve greater speed at the cost of endurance. Its name—"RECIPRO BURST!"
He crossed the several-meter distance in a flash. Like kicking a ball, he twisted his body and slammed his foot into the side of Stain's blade. The explosive speed was converted into the force of the kick, sending both the sword and Stain sliding several meters away.
Is the time up...? Stain had felt it the moment Iida had stood up. He wasn't injured, but he was growing more and more frantic. The Pro Heroes would be here soon. He didn't have much time left.
Midoriya, who had been paralyzed, was also slowly getting to his feet. As a Type O, he could recover quickly even after his blood had been ingested.
So it's three-on-one now... Stain's heart sank. With the kind of speed Iida had just shown, he wouldn't be able to dodge.
Should I retreat?
The thought had just appeared in Stain's mind when he crushed it. He could attack other sacrifices, but if he failed this time, if he let these kids escape unharmed, then his terrifying reputation as the "Hero Killer" would be shattered. The people who called themselves heroes would no longer have the Sword of Damocles hanging over their heads, and the ideology he wanted to spread would never be accepted...
"Well, well, Mr. Supervillain. You seem to be in a bit of trouble. Need a hand?" a frivolous voice sounded from behind him.