Chapter 122: Unexpected Guests—Shigaraki
"Shigaraki, why are you here?" Stain asked, frowning. "This commotion outside... it was your doing, wasn't it? Why?"
Shigaraki stepped out of the darkness. Beneath his messy hair, behind the pale hand covering his face, his eyes were filled with an unconcealable madness. "Mr. Supervillain, you should know that if I hadn't ordered the Nomu to tie up those Pro Heroes, you would have been surrounded by now."
"I told you, didn't I? Under no circumstances are you to endanger the general public. Otherwise, I will be the first to kill you," Stain said, raising his blood-stained blade toward Shigaraki, a hint of killing intent in his eyes.
"Heh heh. Mr. Supervillain, those 'defective' heroes you despise were the first ones to protect the civilians," Shigaraki said, raising his hands in a mock surrender. "But setting that aside for now, you need some help, don't you? I can't just stand by and watch three people bully our great senior..."
Shigaraki turned his head and sneered. "Isn't that right, Izuku Midoriya?"
"Tomura Shigaraki!" Midoriya took an involuntary step back under his cold gaze. "I knew it!" he said, shocked. "The Hero Killer is one of you! A member of the League of Villains!"
Shigaraki's Quirk, which could disintegrate anything, terrified Midoriya. Mr. Aizawa's arm had been put in a cast because of that very move.
Even now, Midoriya felt a sense of fear toward Shigaraki, but more than that, he felt rage. It was him! He organized the USJ attack, and he organized this terrorist attack in Hosu City!
But Midoriya knew that now was not the time to be thinking about capturing the mastermind, Shigaraki. They couldn't do it. The most important thing was to retreat with the two fallen Pro Heroes.
"Iida-kun, can your legs still move?" Midoriya asked suddenly.
"Ah, no problem. Are you asking me to carry the Pro Heroes and retreat?" Iida, having regained his composure, immediately understood Midoriya's meaning. "But it doesn't look like the Hero Killer is going to let me go."
Shigaraki and Stain had reached a consensus. They both charged forward. Stain leaped back and forth on the walls, like a ricocheting bullet, rapidly closing the distance and throwing a knife at Iida.
"Then let us protect you!"
Shoto Todoroki stood in front of Iida. An ice wall instantly shot up, blocking the throwing knife. But in the next moment, the ice wall turned to gray ash and crumbled to the ground, revealing a pale, disembodied hand. Stain appeared from above Shigaraki, his twin blades flashing as he slashed at Todoroki.
Iida wanted to step in, but he suddenly found that the exhaust pipes on his legs had stalled. No matter how hard he tried, they only sputtered a few wisps of blue smoke.
Midoriya roared, throwing a punch at Stain to stop his attack. But in the next second, Shigaraki appeared in front of him with a sickly smile, his hand reaching for his face—
Just as it seemed Todoroki and Midoriya were about to be killed in a single exchange, the person who had been lying on the ground, playing dead, suddenly opened his eyes. The crimson-lensed glasses he was wearing instantly shattered, and a brilliant golden light, like a flashbang, illuminated the entire alley. A powerful shockwave slammed into Shigaraki and Stain. The two of them froze, as if time had stopped. In the next instant, as if they had been hit by a heavy blow, they were both sent flying.
"...Are we okay?" A bead of cold sweat trickled down Todoroki's cheek. Although he looked calm, he was immensely relieved to have been saved again.
Midoriya whipped his head around and saw a figure staggering to its feet, blood still seeping from a wound on his shoulder. Although the man was grimacing in pain, it couldn't mar his handsome, idol-like face.
"You're the Pro Hero, Eye of the Dawn! Shosei Meisei! And you graduated in the same class as Mr. Aizawa!" Midoriya, who had kept a record of all the famous Pro Heroes, immediately recognized him. "You were the one who saved us!?"
"You're the ones who saved me, aren't you? To be saved by that Aizawa's students... it's really ironic," Shosei said with a self-deprecating laugh, seemingly unconcerned by his earlier attack. He looked at the slowly rising Tomura Shigaraki, and his eyes sharpened. "Shigaraki. You're the one who injured Aizawa, aren't you? To repay these students for saving me, I don't mind getting a little revenge for them."
His words were full of bravado, but only he knew that he had already used up all his stamina. If Shigaraki and the others attacked again, he wouldn't be able to stop them. He was only able to stand because he had been lying on the ground, resting.
That's right. After being hit by Stain's attack, Shosei had instantly felt that the knife had been poisoned. His body had lost its strength and his nerves had been paralyzed, but he hadn't completely lost consciousness. Although he couldn't speak, he had remained lucid, observing the situation.
Perhaps because of his Quirk, by the time Midoriya had arrived, he had already slowly regained some of his mobility. But he knew that even if he stood up, in his injured state, he wouldn't be able to change the outcome. So he had remained still. In a word: a strategic feint of death, waiting for an opportunity.
It was a perfectly rational strategy, but at this moment, he was filled with guilt. When Iida's life had been in danger, he couldn't stand. When Todoroki's life had been in danger, he hadn't moved... Luckily, in the end, he had been able to stand up.
Although Shosei Meisei often slacked off, he was still a hero.
Shigaraki stood up and scratched at his neck, annoyed. "Hey, Mr. Supervillain," he asked Stain, "why didn't you tell me they had a hidden ace? And for some reason... he seems to be targeting me."
Stain, however, had an ecstatic expression on his face. He chuckled. "To be able to wake up so early after being paralyzed by my neurotoxin... As expected of the one I deliberately spared!"
"Hey! This is no time to be praising the enemy!" Tomura Shigaraki said impatiently. "If we miss this chance, we might not get another one."
The ice on Iida's exhaust pipes, having been alternately heated and cooled by Todoroki's fire and ice, had thawed, and his engines were restored. He and Midoriya stood on either side of Todoroki, ready for battle.
The Hero Killer's smile gradually faded. "You're right. This is the last chance."
"No. You've already run out of chances!"
In that instant, Todoroki thrust his right hand up from below. A stream of blue ice surged toward the two villains. Shigaraki and Stain dodged to either side, and Shigaraki still had time to taunt, "Hey, Half-and-Half! Your attacks can't hit anyone!"
"Iida-kun, let's go!"
Midoriya roared, and a green arc of electricity crackled around his body as he shot toward Stain, who had leaped into the air.
"Yeah! There's nothing to be afraid of now!" The exhaust pipes on Iida's legs erupted with a blue flame far more powerful than before, launching him forward at the speed of a jet.
"RECIPRO TURBO!"
Stain had only been trying to dodge Todoroki's attack, but he hadn't expected the other two to be so decisive. He was instantly struck by both Midoriya's fist and Iida's leg.
"It's not over yet!" Iida used the immense power from his engines to spin his body in mid-air, delivering another powerful kick that sent Stain flying even higher.
As Midoriya was falling, he shouted, "Todoroki-kun!"
A ferocious flame roared from Todoroki's hand, instantly engulfing Stain.
❃❃❃
⤑ Show your support with Power Stones!
⤑ Unlock a Bonus Chapter every time we hit 400 Power Stones!
❃❃❃
♕ Get early access to 30+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
🔗 https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to open the link!)
💬 Enjoying the story? Drop a review!
Your support really helps the series grow—thank you!