"Oi-Oi!" Twice shouted, standing next to Dabi. "Magne was beaten, too! Such a delicate lady!"
"Huh? Already?" Dabi commented. "She wasn't this weak…"
"Absolutely," Twice agreed in a thick voice. "Who said otherwise? The Pros tricked her. That's all."
"Is that so?" Dabi's eyes narrowed. "Mustard's Gas has thinned out as well. If they defeated Magne's Clone, then Spinner and the rest of them are in trouble as well… It's also possible they have found out who we are after…"
Despite the odds, the burnt corners of the Villain's burnt mouth lifted.
"Too bad…" Another Dabi walked out from the darkness, putting a Quirk Amplification Device on his head. "We came prepared to meet… all our goals."
…
Booms-Bangs rang out as Bakugo dodged the Villain's attack.
Moonfish was a tall Villain, wearing a black jacket and pants, both held together by black restraints decorated with red spikes. Only his mouth was out in the open. However, for him, this was not a disadvantage.
Moonfish held the Quirk—Blade Tooth.
He could enlarge and reshape his teeth into thin, but extremely sharp blades. Not only that, but he could also manipulate their length and direction, branching the blades out like a tree.
If this were it, then Bakugo would have no problem dealing with him.
However, there was a reason that Tenya Ida was lying on the ground, with cuts on both of his legs.
Moonfish was extremely proficient in using his Quirk, activating it in a flash.
The sheer versatility and unpredictability of Blade Tooth made it impossible for Bakugo to approach anywhere near the Villain. In fact, despite the increased range and power of his Explosion Quirk, he was barely surviving himself, keeping Tenya out of the blades' range.
"Dammit!" Bakugo flew back, dragging Tenya along.
If only he could use his legs as well, he thought inwardly, cursing his luck.
The extra explosions didn't just enhance his power, but, as they came out of his soles, they also made him much, much faster in the air, letting him accelerate and decelerate and change directions at a moment's notice.
However, Bakugo couldn't play the part of the Radiant of Explosions here. Not with Tenya's eye planted dead on him.
"I am sorry, Bakugo!" the boy was screaming. "But we must not use our Quirks to fight a Villain… Mandalay has given us clear orders…"
"Shut up!" Bakugo screamed in Tenya's ears.
Tenya didn't mind that, though. "Let's retreat!" he suggested. "Momo and others were behind us!"
Mandalay's revelation about the student that the Villains were after had been heard by them, too.
However, by then, Moonfish had already unleashed his Quirk, his murderous charge catching Tenya off guard.
Even Bakugo had barely survived, pushing the earth with tiny explosions from the soles of his feet.
No matter how he thought about it, he knew Tenya was right.
Saving Momo must be the priority right now… but…
Bakugo could still see the bloody stump of a hand, over which the Villain had been looming when they had found him.
That meant someone else in front of them was in even more danger.
"Haha!" Thick veins pulsed on Bakugo's head. "Retreat… No. I am gonna kill this bastard!"
Just as Tenya was about to shout some sense into Bakugo's hot head, though, a BOOM rang out behind them.
A small, old figure came bouncing off the earth and stopped next to the two boys.
It was the retired Pro Hero—Gran Torino—barely alive!
"Grrrrrrrrrrr..."
Bakugo and Tenya couldn't even ask anything before the growl entered their ears, rooting them to their spots.
From the cloud of dust that had followed the boom, a massive, green-scaled figure walked out, wearing the Quirk Amplification Device on its head.
…
Mirko danced through the forest, blood dripping down her head, her left arm dangling lifelessly.
"FIGHT ME!" Muscular's third-generation Clone roared, chasing her. "FIGHT ME! HERO!!"
With the device amplifying Muscular's Quirk, which let him control his muscle mass, so many muscles had covered him presently that his face looked like a bean among overgrown potatoes.
Forget about running. Muscular was barely crawling, destroying everything in his wake.
Even then, the speed of his crawling was enough to keep chasing Mirko.
Answering Muscular's call, the Hero suddenly jumped… backward.
Luna —
Becoming a bloody, white blur, Mirko kicked Muscular several times, her foot landing on the Villain's giant body with BANGs.
— Ring!
With a tear that deafened the ears, deep craters appeared on Muscular's body.
Muscle fibers rained down as Mirko landed back on the ground, licking blood off her face.
However, in the very next moment, the Villain's body wriggled, and even more fibers filled up the gaps, Muscular grinning vilely at her.
"Lucky bastard!" Mirko cursed before resuming the game of catch.
Mandalay had shared that the Villains wearing the devices might just all be clones and would cease to exist with a solid attack.
But Muscular's Quirk made it nigh impossible for Mirko to land a direct attack on him.
"… You cannot run forever…" Muscular grinned, flattening the forest. "… little bunny…"
…
At the clearing in the forest, Mandalay tied Spinner's hands and legs after defeating him with Tiger's help.
Lemillion had already gone back to the forest after relaying the matter about Momo.
Suddenly, Midoriya shot out of the bushes, landing right next to the two Pros.
"Oi…" Tiger's eyes suddenly widened, seeing the boy's state. "How are you even moving…"
"Mandalay…" Midoriya said, smiling. "Kota's okay… Erasure Head is taking him back to the campsite. Also, I have a message from him…"
Before Midoriya could relay that message, though, another figure walked out of the forest… from the burning side.
It was Awase from Class 1-B.
The moment he saw people, the boy collapsed.
Mandalay, Tiger, and Midoriya rushed next to him and noticed several scratch marks, as if he had been running blindly through the forest.
"… Momo…" Awase stuttered, making a chill run down all spines.
"What…" Mandalay asked, gulping. "What happened to Momo?"
"She…" Awase took a deep breath. "A Nomu is chasing her…"
********************
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