Whoosh—!
The tendril sliced through the air with a terrifying shriek, the sound of compressed wind bursting apart.
Death Arms' expression changed instantly.
But the Sludge Villain was simply too fast.
He barely had time to cross his arms in front of his chest to block—
And the next moment, it felt as though he'd been hit head-on by a speeding truck.
His entire body was smashed into a nearby wall!
"Hahaha! Hero, what a pitiful look on your face. You can't save him at all!"
The Sludge Villain's voice dripped with mockery as another whip-like tendril lashed down.
"Not so fast!"
Just then, a vine-like branch descended from above, wrapping deftly around Death Arms right before the next strike landed.
In the blink of an eye, Death Arms was pulled to safety.
It was Kamui Woods and the others—who had rushed over—taking action.
Kamui Woods possessed the Quirk Arbor, allowing his body to transform like wood. His costume reflected his arboreal abilities, and his combat style leaned toward support and control.
This time, his partner Mt. Lady had also arrived.
(Mt. Lady's Quirk was Gigantification. Though still relatively new, she was powerful. Combined with her striking looks and revealing Hero costume, she was extremely popular among fans.)
Unfortunately—
Her Quirk required wide spaces to function properly.
At least two traffic lanes.
But the shopping street was old and narrow, never renovated. Even two rows of cars passing each other was already a tight squeeze.
For Mt. Lady—
It was a complete restriction.
She was stuck outside.
Another Hero effectively neutralized.
It had to be said—
The Sludge Villain had chosen his location perfectly.
The Heroes capable of fighting him weren't strong enough.
The Heroes strong enough were blocked by circumstances.
It was practically a deadlock.
"Kamui!"
Death Arms, unaware of the situation outside, visibly relaxed when he saw reinforcements arrive.
"The boy's still in his grip! Hurry and figure out a way to save him!"
But before Kamui Woods could answer—
The battlefield shifted again.
"Ahhh!!"
"How could I possibly get swallowed by some disgusting guy like this?!"
"Damn it!"
Katsuki Bakugo—currently engaged in unwilling "tendril play"—began struggling violently once more.
His eyes were bloodshot.
His entire body was drenched in sweat from exertion.
Because his Quirk allowed his palms to secrete a nitroglycerin-like explosive substance, the extreme stress and perspiration amplified his power to its limits.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions rang out one after another.
Flames surged in all directions, and the fire intensified even further.
"What incredible power! I've hit the jackpot!"
"With this Quirk and strength, I can finally get revenge on that bastard!"
But Bakugo's desperate resistance did nothing to harm the Sludge Villain.
Instead—
It made him even more eager to take over Bakugo's body.
And at the same time, it created even more chaos for the Heroes attempting a rescue.
Seeing the fire worsening, Kamui Woods hurried off to evacuate civilians from the burning areas.
As he did so, he called out to Backdraft, clearly trying to push the fire-specialist Hero toward combat.
"I'm not suited for dealing with explosive types today. I'll leave it to someone else!"
Backdraft didn't even glance at him.
"That's very considerate of you!"
"I'm already overwhelmed just putting out the fires!"
"Where are the fire trucks?!"
As he spoke, he turned to Death Arms and the others.
"What's the situation?"
"It's too sticky—I can't grab him! And the hostage has an excellent Quirk and won't stop resisting!"
"Thanks to him, the Villain's turned into a walking explosion center! Those three factors combined make this extremely difficult to handle!"
Death Arms looked at Bakugo—who was unintentionally "going all out" thanks to his loss of control—and his face was filled with frustration.
"Damn it… We'll have to wait for a Hero with a more suitable Quirk to arrive before this can be resolved!"
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