The Following THREE Chapters are available for Patrons.
Chapter 16 (U.S.J: The Consequences of a Butterfly's Wingbeat (3/3)), Chapter 17 (The end of the nightmare) and Chapter 18 (Secret Exposed (1/2)) are already available for Patrons.
Patreon: patreon.com/Subaru710772142
***
After running for a few more meters, they finally reached the door. Thirteen quickly stepped forward, pressing their hands against the cold metal and pushing with all their strength, but it didn't budge.
The door was locked.
"It's stuck! Step back!" She shouted, their voice filled with urgency. Then, Thirteen raised a hand, pointing a finger at the door.
"Black Hole!" A dark vortex began to form at the tip of his finger, swirling fiercely and consuming the door as if it were mere paper. Within seconds, the passage was clear, and Thirteen turned to the students. "Go, now!"
But before they could take a single step, a deafening crash echoed a few meters behind them.
The ground trembled, and the impact made everyone freeze in place.
They all turned as a thick cloud of smoke and dust rose. The heavy silence lasted only a moment, because as soon as the smoke began to clear, the sight before them made their hearts drop.
And the hope that had bloomed after seeing Bakugo defeat the villain shattered instantly.
A massive monster stood within the crater formed by its landing. In its enormous hands, Aizawa hung like a broken marionette.
His body was shattered, covered in blood and deep wounds. His left arm was clearly dislocated, hanging at an unnatural angle, while the right seemed useless, completely mangled.
His face was swollen, blood dripping from multiple cuts and staining his bandages. Bruises covered his entire body, and his breathing was irregular, barely perceptible.
Upon seeing the state of the hero, horror gripped them all.
"What is that?" Thirteen murmured, barely able to form the words as fear tightened around their throat.
Nomu slowly turned its head, as if assessing the people before it. Its empty eyes were as unsettling as its towering presence. Then, without warning, it let out a guttural growl, tossing Aizawa aside like a discarded toy.
"Sensei!"
"Aizawa-sensei!"
Before they could process what was happening, Nomu vanished. Its speed was absurd, impossible to track with the naked eye.
Suddenly, Izuku found himself face-to-face with the creature. His body locked up, eyes widening as the colossal fist tore through the air toward him.
Time seemed to slow. Each heartbeat echoed in his head, and a single thought formed amidst the suffocating dread: 'Is this how I die?'
Then, a sudden shove on his shoulder knocked him out of the punch's path. At the same time, the sound of the blow and an explosion rang out as a body was sent hurtling at high speed through the open door.
BAAAMMM!!
BOOMMM!!!
OOFSHHH!!
The shockwave created by the sheer force of the punch swept through the space, pushing the students to the sides.
"Aaaah!"
"Argh!"
"Ungh!"
Izuku remained frozen on the ground, his heart pounding so hard it felt like it would tear through his chest. "I-I was... s-saved?"
On the other side, Thirteen struggled to stand and pointed a finger at the monster. "Black—"
But Nomu had already moved. In the blink of an eye, it was standing before Mina, who was still on the ground, tears streaming down her face.
All she could do was stare, helpless, as Nomu's massive shadow engulfed her completely. The monster raised its fist, its gigantic muscles tensing, ready to crush her.
"No!"
And once again, before the monster's punch could connect, a kick knocked Mina out of the attack's path.
The sound of an explosion, combined with the impact of Nomu's fist, made the ground tremble.
BAAAMMM!
BOOOMM!
OOFSHHH!!
"What... what's happening?!" Kirishima shouted, running to Mina, who was crying uncontrollably. His body hardened instinctively as his arms wrapped around her, trying to shield her. "We need to ru—"
He couldn't finish his sentence.
Nomu disappeared again, moving at an impossible speed.
"Where is he?!" Jiro frantically looked around.
"We're going to die!"
'I'm going to die!' Tokoyami thought, his eyes wide in shock as the monster appeared right in front of him.
Once again, at the very last second, something pushed him out of the collision path.
BAAAMMM!
BOOOMM!
OOFSHHH!
And it kept happening. Every time Nomu moved too fast for anyone to react, something yanked the person out of harm's way before being sent flying from the impact.
BAAAMM!
BOOOMM!
OOFSHH!
BAAAMM!
BOOOMM!
OOFSHH!
***
Despair. A despair that seemed to swallow everything around her, suffocating like a wave about to drown her. Uraraka had remained on the ground since she fell from the force of the first punch, the heat of her tears mixing with the sweat running down her face.
Her entire body was paralyzed. The cold floor against her skin was the only thing anchoring her to reality, but it wasn't enough to make her move. Her muscles refused to obey. Even with her primal instincts screaming at her to run, to flee, to survive, all she could do was stay there.
'Why is this happening?' The question echoed in her mind, over and over. Her eyes tried to follow every chaotic movement of the creature, every blow thrown to kill her friends.
The monster advanced with ferocity, and she was nothing more than a powerless spectator. Every time it tried to kill someone, something—someone—intervened, too fast to be seen. But she couldn't feel relief. Only more guilt.
'Someone is trying to save us! So why can't I help too?!' The frustration was suffocating, but not even her anger at herself was enough to break the chains keeping her on the ground.
She wanted to close her eyes, to escape this nightmare. But every scream, every sound of destruction, forced her to keep watching.
Then, the monster turned to her. Its wild eyes locked onto Uraraka, the weight of its murderous intent making the air feel heavier. A tremor ran through her body, paralyzing her even further.
Her lips parted, but no sound came out. There was nothing left to do. She knew it. This was the end.
Uraraka shut her eyes tightly, her face wet with tears that now fell without resistance. 'Mom, Dad...'
BBBBBOOOOOMMMM!!!!!!
The force and heat of the explosion gave Uraraka a sense of déjà vu. Slowly, she opened her eyes, and the sight before her made her heart stop for a second.
Bakugo was there. Standing in front of her.
His back was destroyed, his suit completely torn and hanging in tatters. In several places, his skin had been stripped away, exposing raw flesh that bled nonstop, staining the ground red.
Bakugo's arms hung limply at his sides, heavy, bruised, and covered in hematomas that spread all the way to his shoulders. His hands were in even worse shape—deep cuts slashed across his palms, and some of his fingers were bent at unnatural angles, broken in more than one place.
It was as if he had used his own body as a shield.
'H-he... it was him all along?' Uraraka thought, her heart clenching to the point of pain.
He had been protecting everyone, taking every hit.
Around them, no one knew how to react. Their expressions ranged from disbelief to shock, despair, and anguish.
"Get up, Pink Cheeks..." His voice was hoarse, almost inaudible, but filled with rage and... something else.
Uraraka felt her tears fall faster. 'Why him... why is it always him?!' The guilt consumed her, along with the pain of seeing him like this.
Bakugo staggered, one knee almost giving out, but he held firm. "You're not gonna die here." He spat each word, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. "So stop standing around and run to the exit."
Those last words pierced through Uraraka like a knife. It wasn't just an order. It was a desperate plea, coming from someone who was giving everything to protect them and knew he wouldn't last much longer.
She clenched her fists, still trembling. Her eyes ran over Bakugo's injuries once more—every cut, every bruise, every drop of blood hitting the ground—and something inside her began to shift. The fear was still there, but now something bigger was growing alongside it. Rage.
Uraraka felt rage like never before. Rage at herself for being a burden, for letting fear consume her. Rage for seeing Bakugo bleeding while she lay on the ground. Rage because he was standing there, fighting alone.
She couldn't stay on the ground anymore. She wouldn't let him carry this burden alone. If he was still standing, then she would stand too.
As Uraraka pushed herself up, something in the air around them changed. One by one, the other students who had also been knocked down began to rise. Even Koda, who could barely keep one leg steady, was trying to stand.
The heavy silence was torn apart by a thunderous roar that made the ground tremble.
"He's coming..." Bakugo muttered, his gaze locked onto the enemy. Without wasting a second, he disappeared in a blur of speed.
***
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or songs featured in this fic. Additionally, I do not claim ownership of any products or properties mentioned in this novel. This work is entirely fanfic.