MHA Chaos' Whims Chapter 55: The Monster (Patreon)

The brain.

Across the Nomu’s entire body it stood out as the most obvious target. There was nothing protecting it so piercing it or even just hitting hard enough to rattle the creature should stop that punch being wound up. Should. Body full of strange noises like Kurogiri's, the thing was a walking corpse, not a person.

Going for the head might not stop that punch at all, the Nomu closing in on Midoriya who couldn’t even react to the rapid approach.

Use Enflame, speed, and every bit of strength I had to cut clean through the arm. The thing was built to fight All Might, someone who favored raw force above all else. Even with its shock absorption and healing I should be able to manage that. Should.

Tsu’s blood running through me overrode the effects of my own, my body growing more than ever before.

Tackle Midoriya out of the way. The safest option for me but Shigaraki’s order had been vague. The Nomu had been quick to forget Bakugo as soon as Kurogiri was freed. If it was attacking the closest one to it, the moment I had Midoriya out of the way, it’d just jump to the next person.

I shot into its path, cutting it off before it could reach Midoriya or fully throw that punch, its fist, no longer much bigger than mine, coming directly for my open hand. We barely grazed but in that instant, I realized just how big the difference was. Even if it didn’t have shock absorption, there was no set of circumstances where I beat this thing in a straightforward slugfest.

With a shift of my weight and a push to the underside of its wrist, the force of the blow was redirected, my hair and plenty behind me sent whipping about.

But with everything going for me, the strength difference wasn’t so overwhelming that all my martials arts were as useless as they otherwise would’ve been.

The thing was quick on the reaction, other hand coming in for a punch while the first was already pulling back. Redirecting that punch too, I began to backpedal away from everyone else while it sent blow after blow at me, my Enflame coated bones already beginning to ache under the barrage.

This…this was different.

Just like Midoriya’s uncontrolled bursts of One For All’s power, just being near this thing was setting me off. My hearts had picked up, the strength of the beats deafeningly loud. All the hair across my body felt as though they’d risen up. Goosebumps were everywhere.

That all should’ve been distractions.

Redirecting another one of its punches past me, I slapped away the persistent grab that fist had opened up to catch me in, all while continuing to lead this thing where I wanted it. It was relentless, neither of us stopping for a breath. I doubt a thought was even going through it mind, that hijacked and twisted body just following the orders it’d been given like some kind of feral animal.

But I wasn’t far off, not a single thought involved in fending it off.

I stopped retreating and stepped in as Midoriya jumped up behind it, pure desperation fueling his approach.

“SMMMMAAASSH!” Midoriya’s yell was overpowered by the sheer force of his punch to the creature’s back. As expected, the Nomu barely reacted, merely inching forward as its hand grasped my wrist.

But that was more than enough.

My skull burning hot, I rammed my head into the Nomu’s brain, blood filling the air and its grip loosening, the persistent rush down stopped dead in its tracks. I guess having chucks of brain literally pushed in and crushed against itself was enough to affect even a moving corpse.

I could hurt this thing.

Breaking off its grip, I slipped behind it, locking my arms around its waist and bent. For all it’s strength, the thing didn’t weigh nearly as much as all that muscle suggested, a hard throw chucking it clean through the air and towards the distant red colored dome.

Midoriya, despite the sleeve of his gym uniform being torn to shreds, was standing with said arm intact. That hadn’t been Full Cowling, but it looked like he managed to use some of the concentrated power of One For All without breaking a limb.

“Move together and get to Mister Aizawa.” I ordered before crouching down and shooting off after that Nomu as it crashed through the red dome, the smell of flames filling my nose.

“That bastard-“

“Don’t even try it.” Himiko grabbed Bakugo’s shoulder, pulling him back before he could take off. “You couldn’t even stay on your feet. You’ll just get in Katsu’s way.”

“Kaa-chan.” Midoriya said, clenching the fist he punched that thing with tightly. “That thing was moving so fast the rest of us couldn’t keep up and I hit it as hard as I could but-“

“Shut up.” Bakugo spat out. “And get your hand off of me before-“

“This isn’t the time for an argument.” Todoroki said through frosty breaths, a fresh wall of ice created to keep the villains away from them. “Akaguro’s too far for any of us to do anything about. Focus on handling the villains in front of us.”

Bakugo glared but as some of that ice broke and villains began rushing through, he moved towards, Himiko letting him shrug off her hand as explosions sent him far ahead of the rest of them. Being a loudmouth was one thing, but that guy was a walking talking problem.

How did someone like him make any friends when his whole personality was being angry?

She looked away from that, glancing towards that distant dome.

Katsu had been wrong about her not being able to replicate the things that came from his surgery. A full transformation with all the things stuffed into him was too exhausting to be worth much in a fight like this, but she’d replicated a handful of things with this partial transformation.

Namely, some of the things responsible for his absurd senses and even quicker reaction time.

Don’t follow him if he took off by himself and absolutely avoid getting close to a few specific people. She’d only ignored his first warning after the others broke off from the rest of class and as much as she wished she could do otherwise, she wasn’t about to try following him after that thing.

After that first punch, she understood why he hadn’t had any intention of getting that thing’s attention. Despite that, Katsu was doing even better now that he’d separated himself from everyone.

Blood was being spilled inside of there and it wasn’t his, Katsu’s blood even more distinct after his surgery.

“He wasn’t lying when he said he got better.” Kirishima said, slamming his hardened fists together. “Come on! Let’s take these guys down!”

She nodded, moving along with them, extra attention paid to keeping villains away from Midoriya. Like Katsu said, that quirk of his still looked like a struggle for him.

Instead of staying in this isolated corner like they had been, they were slowly fighting their way forward, what originally felt like an endless stream of villains beginning to slow.

The whole time, as she broke bones and avoided hits, the mix of blood filling her nose, she couldn’t help but inch towards the dagger hidden on her.

It’d be so much easier just to kill these bastards. Right too. They were the ones who showed up here looking to hurt them, so it was fair play.

Todoroki’s ice used to keep a clear path forward, it didn’t take them long to catch sight of their teacher. His fight had taken him from the base of the stairway and all the way to the heart of the villains, leaving him surrounded and taking heavy ragged breaths.

Maybe they could fight their way to him but-

Something crashed through the roof above, villains around mister Aizawa sent flying, Himiko managing to make out a familiar face among the smoke.

“I AM HERE!”

She might not understand heroes but hearing those words was a relief.

“Wa-Wait, were on your side he-ugh.”

Rushing me, the Nomu carelessly bulldozed through the villains that’d been lying in wait throughout the dome, debris and cars set up throughout the mock streets with hot restricted flames burning all around us.  I knew that they’d been here, the group probably a bunch of people with heat resistant quirks Kurogiri had intended on throwing us too, but between putting some villains in harm’s way or keeping the Nomu away from Himiko and the others?

It wasn’t even a choice.

Seeing how easily this Nomu crippled and possibly killed the people around it just to keep to follow an order, hammered away what didn’t need any clarifying.

This thing was a relentless monster.

The Nomu closing in, I stepped forward, arm pulled across my chest. As it threw a punch, I stepped around it, the marks of the Ratio Technique appearing along the length of its arm as Enflame burned at its hottest beneath my skin.

I swung and blood filled the air, its arm soaring away from us.

It didn’t stagger or hesitate, other arm already coming for me. Another dodge and swing sent that arm flying too. By then its other arm was already being pulled back for a punch, the severed limb regenerating. Not that this thing cared to wait on it.

Powerful as it was, at the end of the day, this thing had been built with All Might in mind.

And I wasn’t All Might.

Its own aggression worked against it, the Nomu still going at me full throttle despite having no arms, mouth open as it lunged forward. Dipping low and dodging around it, another swing cut out the back of its ankles, dropping it to its knees. Arm pulled back, its exposed brain marked by Ratio, I shot forward.

Flesh gave way to my fingers, blood and brain matter splattering the ground. I’d pierced the brain through completely, my fingers coming out the other side.

Anyone else would be dead.

The flesh begin to move, trying to crush my fingers. Not good enough. I swung my other arm as I pulled that one back, slicing instead of piercing, the top portion of its brain sent flying into a nearby flame.

The Nomu heavy body fully slumped forward and crashed into the ground.

The brain was still moving.

Was the regeneration working through the nervous system as a whole? Was it some body wide thing that wouldn’t be stopped by any singular injury?

I stepped onto its back, both arms crossed over my chest, a mark appearing along its neck. Swinging my arms, I severed the brain completely, the twitching Nomu’s head rolling aside.

There was no movement. The beats of its heart persisted for a time but that stopped too. One after another, everything within its unnatural body came to a silent stop, the miniscule movements of its rebuilding flesh coming to an end.

I was used to blood. Hard not to be with quirks like mine and Himiko’s.

Even so, I expected a sight like this, half put together flesh and bone stopped in the middle of its regeneration, brain matter splattered across the ground, and blood coating parts of my face and arms to bother me.

I should feel sick or something at least.

Iron Mind wasn’t keeping a leash on anything but my own disbelief now that it was over.

This was too easy. From contending with the Nomu when a single one of its punches eclipsed my strength by who knows how much, to that finishing blow.

I really took down something like this so quickly?

“I AM HERE!” All Might was finally here, already primed to defend the others in the center of the building.

I looked up from my hands, glancing around at the small crowd of villains that hadn’t been blow away or trampled by this thing. They were frozen still, their combined heartbeats soaring.

“Lay down and put your hands behind your head.” I ordered. They stared. I fully straightening out my right hand again, a swipe splattering the blood into nearby flames. Some were quicker to hit the ground than others but that silent threat got them moving, none of them trying to run away or approach me.

Outside of possibly helping All Might, killing this thing hadn’t been a part of the plan at all. I hadn’t even been sure I was capable of it.

Putting down Kurogiri before everyone else arrived had been my main hope but I doubt I could get away with that now.

[Feat Accommplished!

Swiftly kill the Nomu meant take on All Might on your own!

+1 Diamond Ability Gacha Ticket

+1 Advantage Platinum Skill Ticket]

Diamond?

At the very least I’d got something out of it and without this Nomu around, Aizawa still in decent enough condition to use his quirk, All Might here, and plenty of other pros not far behind, I didn’t see a smooth get away happening.

Scanning those on the floor, I picked out some villains that’d been shoved into debris, left bleeding or suffering other injuries while the controlled flames of this section of the building threatened to burn away at them.

…jumping between them and that Nomu’s rush at me hadn’t been something I cared to risk my life for but letting them bleed out or be left burning in these flames was an entirely different matter.

(A/N: Katsu is no villain but he’s far from being the kind of steadfast unyielding hero All Might and Deku are. Killing a Nomu that doesn’t talk or have any kind of will of its own is just the first step in preparing to not blink when the times comes for some other characters to lay on the chopping block.

Again, like Katsu I’m really surprised by how much the gacha derailed this. I didn’t plan things with him being this strong yet. Strength invites conflict, aka the Nomu being sent in his direction, and conflict brings growth, i.e. Tickets! The second he got Thunder Breathing Katsu already had the potential to speed blitz a lot of people like my power scalers like to say.

Then Precise and the gene seed came along.

I could’ve downplayed how much the surgery and everything stacks with that but the there’d be no point in letting the rolls be random just to so desperately justify bro not being strong when he should be. I mean I started my writing journey with an overpowered MC so I actually like this sort of stuff but I wouldn’t blame anyone for being bothered by his growth. That said, the pendulum had to swing someday. His ass luck could only keep him weak for so long with all the crazy stuff packed into this gacha.

Bit of Trivia, Kurogiri 100% died in how i originally envisioned this, further derailing the future forces of the league of villains despite Katsu being more ill equipped to handle his portals in those plans. Being caught in one of the teleports led to the class being scattered. While he’s racing around helping everyone, All Might ends up getting trapped by that Nomu like canon after arriving early and gives Katsu the perfect excuse -seeing the number one hero struggling alongside all his classmates- to kill the main problem in front of everyone. With the insane vitality of a Nomu he still would’ve been able to teleport Shigaraki to safety but otherwise he’d be off the board.

Super curious to see how things play out from here since Katsu should develop a bit more confidence in the strength he already has no matter what those rolls turn out to be. And of course I can’t forget the Sant clause pull. Combine that with a little confidence and buddy really is primed to do some things.

Anyways, let me stop yapping. See you all around.)