Reaper Rising
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GokTrMrSy0w]
Hiro, groggy and disoriented, found himself in the clutches of a reality far removed from the serenity of the way back from school.
He could hear the rustle of leaves. Hiro's eyes, adjusting to the dimness, surveyed the tangled labyrinth of trees that surrounded him, their branches reaching out like gnarled fingers.
His head throbbed with a dull ache, and a sticky warmth trickled down from a gash on his forehead. The metallic tang of blood hung in the air, blending with the earthy scent of the woods. He tried to move, only to realize that he was being dragged unceremoniously by his foot.
Sandatsu, a looming silhouette against the moonlit patches that filtered through the canopy, moved with a controlled urgency.
A subtle shift in the rhythm of dragging alerted Hiro to the fact that his ordeal had not gone unnoticed. Sandatsu, seemingly engrossed in the path ahead, casually acknowledged Hiro's awakening with a nonchalant glance over his shoulder.
"You're finally awake, Hiro," Sandatsu remarked, his voice cutting through the nocturnal stillness.
Hiro, disoriented and still grappling with the remnants of unconsciousness, managed a feeble groan. His head throbbed, and the gravity of his situation began to seep into his consciousness.
Sandatsu, with casualness unbefitting of the situation, continued, "I must say, I've had my eye on your quirk for some time now, but having to learn chemistry sounded like a pain. But, it has gotten to the point were it's become crucial, so I was forced to take a detour to get you."
Sandatsu turned his head to face Hiro.
"Maybe if I ate that brain of yours, I'd gain a bit of your chemistry knowledge," Sandatsu remarked with a smirk, his tone laced with a macabre humor. The casualness with which he spoke of such a gruesome act sent a shiver down Hiro's spine.
Then, as if reconsidering the gravity of his words, Sandatsu added, "Just kidding, bro. I don't have time for lunch today." His laughter, though seemingly light, carried an undertone of something darker.
Despite the reassurance of a jest, the weight of the words lingered, leaving an indelible mark on the atmosphere. Hiro, still being dragged along, felt a surreal detachment from reality.
"No need for such extremes. I'll just have Mio use her quirk on you," he continued, his tone now devoid of the earlier jest. "Transfer your memories directly to me. Simple and effective."
Hiro, despite the throbbing pain in his head and the disorienting effects of his earlier ordeal, found a moment of clarity. He knew that the situation demanded more than mere survival instinct; it required a surge of strength and resilience beyond his usual limits.
With a determined grit, Hiro activated his quirk, 「Drugs」, manipulating the complex chemistry of his body. Biochemical reactions unfolded within him, an orchestrated cascade of enhancements that touched every aspect of his physicality. Muscles surged with newfound strength, reflexes quickened, and recovery processes accelerated to a superhuman pace.
In a burst of strength, he wrenched himself free from Sandatsu's dragging hold, leaving the taller figure momentarily confounded.
Adrenaline (among god knows what else) pumping, he maneuvered with newfound agility, darting between the trees, putting distance between himself and Sandatsu.
Sandatsu, recovering from the initial shock, hurled a psychokinetic blast toward Hiro. The air crackled with unseen energy as the blast collided with trees, splintering bark and leaves in its wake.
He darted between the trees, weaving through the underbrush like a phantom. His enhanced senses picked up the subtlest of sounds so that he could better avoid his pursuer.
Yet, fate was not on Hiro's side. The air behind him quivered with Sandatsu's psychokinetic power. Before he could react, a spectral force wrapped around his arm like an invisible vice, seizing it in a painful embrace. The crack of breaking bone echoed through the woods.
Hiro stifled a cry, the pain already being eclipsed by the numbing effects of the drugs coursing through his system. Twisting, contorting, Hiro executed a series of acrobatic maneuvers that bordered on the surreal. His body, now a vessel of heightened strength and agility, slipped through the psychic grip that sought to constrain him.
Sandatsu, momentarily taken aback by Hiro's resilience, watched as the smaller figure wriggled free.
Hiro's breath hitched as Sandatsu closed the gap. Before he could utter a word, Sandatsu's vice-like grip seized the back of his neck, fingers digging into flesh and bone.
With a brutal force, Hiro found himself propelled forward, his face colliding with the rough bark of a towering tree. The impact reverberated through his skull, stars exploding in his vision. Dazed and disoriented, Hiro struggled against the relentless grip on his neck.
"What the hell, man?" he managed to croak between gasps, blood trickling from his split lip and broken nose.
Sandatsu, unyielding, remained silent. In response to Hiro's feeble query, Sandatsu tightened his grip, as if attempting to squeeze not just the breath from Hiro's lungs but the very essence of defiance.
A muted groan escaped Hiro's lips as the pressure intensified. Yet, within the haze of pain and disorientation, a flicker of determination burned. Hiro's quirk surged in response to the threat.
In the dire clutches of desperation, Hiro's mind worked in overdrive. He felt the pulsating rhythm of his quirk as it worked at maximum capacity. Ignoring the consequences, he focused on the concoction that might tip the scales in his favor.
This wasn't a carefully measured blend, but a reckless surge of power that bordered on the edge of self-destruction.
Hiro's eyes glinted with a mix of determination and fear. Chemical reactions unfolded at an accelerated pace within him. The enhanced strength compounds intermingled with the speed-inducing agents, while regeneration accelerants raced through his bloodstream. It was an uncharted territory even for Hiro.
Hiro felt a simultaneous rush of exhilaration and dread. His senses heightened to a fever pitch, the world around him slowing to a surreal crawl. Colors vibrated with intensity, sounds stretched into elongated echoes, and the scent of the forest became almost unbearably strong.
He was aware of the risks — a misstep could spell doom, leaving him a broken husk. Yet, the alternative, the inevitability of being consumed by Sandatsu, spurred him forward. Death or debilitation, these were the grim choices etched into the fabric of his desperate gambit.
He felt like an unstoppable force, a chemical storm incarnate. As Sandatsu lunged, Hiro met him with a punch that crackled with an unprecedented ferocity.
The impact echoed through the woods, a sonic boom of raw power. But it wasn't just the force of the blow that affected Sandatsu — it carried a ripple effect, disrupting the intricate web of control he mantained over several individuals through his 「Blood Puppet」quirk. In that moment, it was as if Hiro's fist became a catalyst, severing the puppeteer's strings that connected him to the minds he held sway over.
The battlefield had shifted. Sandatsu, momentarily staggered by the unexpected rupture in his control, faced a resurgent Hiro.
Hiro, despite his enhanced state, felt a shiver of apprehension.
Sandatsu concentrated his remaining lucidity into a single, ominous purpose—to obliterate Hiro. Just reaping his quirk without the memories would have to do.
The first onslaught came as a cascade of fiery embers, spiraling like a lethal storm. Hiro, his senses heightened by the drug-induced enhancement, managed to evade the initial wave. Yet, as he dodged the flames, black tendrils sprouted from the ground, snaking towards him with preternatural speed.
Hiro somersaulted to avoid the tendrils, feeling the rush of displaced air as they lashed where he had been mere moments before. But Sandatsu was relentless. His psychokinesis reached Hiro, and focusing all of it's strength, tried to crush him. Hiro was barely able to break free, and he had paid the price. Sandatsu's psychokinesis had ripped flesh and skin. He was missing a large chunk from his midsection and a lot of skin from his right leg and arm.
Caught off guard, Hiro felt the vice-like grip of Sandatsu closing around his neck once more. For a moment, Hiro's vision blurred, and the world around him faded into a disorienting haze.
Desperation fueled Hiro's determination. With the last vestiges of his strength, he wrestled against the crushing force on his neck. His quirk filling him with all manner of healing enhancers and durability boosters. He knew he wouldn't be able to out heal Sandatsu. He had seen him fight. But the plan he was putting into action was the ony way to break free.
Summoning the last of his strength, he activated his drug synthesis quirk once more. The substances flooded his system, not just enhancing his recovery but triggering a secondary effect—a chemical explosion.
The volatile mixture erupted from Hiro's hand right after he placed it over Sandatsu's head, a burst of blinding light and deafening sound. Sandatsu, momentarily blinded by the unexpected explosion, loosened his grip. In that fleeting moment, Hiro broke free, staggering away from the disoriented antagonist.
The force of the detonation had indeed spared him from the full impact, concentrating primarily on his hand. The extremity was now reduced to shreds of mangled flesh and bone.
His hand, or what remained of it, hung awkwardly at his side. The rest of his body, though not as visibly mutilated, bore the internal scars of the chemical blast. Even with his super steroids, every breath felt like a laborious task, each movement sending waves of pain through his battered form.
In the momentary lull that followed the explosion, Hiro assessed the extent of the damage. Blood oozed from various wounds, and his vision swayed with the disconcerting rhythm of his heartbeat. The acrid scent of burnt flesh lingered in the air.
Despite the agony that enveloped him, Hiro's resolve remained unbroken. He'd have all the time to think about what the hell happened later. First, he needed to make it out of there alive.
After all, he promised Inigo they'd hang out together the next day.
Drekus, ever the primal force, lunged forward, wings slicing through the air. His movements a display of brute strength and raw power. In contrast, Envigor radiated an otherworldly confidence.
As Drekus closed the distance, Envigor welcomed him with a sly grin. A sudden surge of strength propelled Envigor backward, leaving Drekus momentarily off-balance. He seized the opportunity, his hands closing around the steel feathers that adorned Drekus's wings. With a guttural roar, he tore them from their metallic roots, leaving Drekus momentarily disoriented.
Envigor relentlessly pummeled Drekus. Each strike incredibly strong thanks to the enhancements granted to him and further increased by Conduit, leaving their mark on the hulking frame of his adversary.
Drekus, his once formidable wings reduced to mere stumps, fought against the onslaught. He responded with primal fury, swinging wildly through the air in a desperate bid to regain control. But Envigor efforestly dodged, as his enhancements not only extended to his speed, but he was also more disciplined and better trained.
A knee to the midsection, a series of lightning-quick jabs, and a spinning kick that sent Drekus crashing into a tree—the brutality was unyielding.
In a desperate bid to turn the tides, Drekus underwent a grotesque transformation. The metallic feathers that once adorned him faded, replaced by the manifestation of his stolen spider quirk. Drekus's limbs moved with uncanny precision, their spider-like agility allowing him to close the distance with unsettling speed. He seized Envigor's outstretched leg in a vice-like grip. The eerily elongated limbs of the spider quirk coiled around him, and Drekus aimed to deliver a venomous bite that would cripple even the hardiest opponent.
The fangs, designed to pierce and inject paralyzing toxins, met an impenetrable wall. The skin, fortified by Envigor's enhancement, yielded no ground to the venomous intrusion.
Envigor, caught in the spider's grasp, retaliated with bursts of enhanced strength. His limbs pulsed with a surge of energy as he jumped, lifting his other leg mid-air and delivering a series of rapid kicks at Drekus.
Despite having one of his eyes crushed by Envigor's kicks, Drekus refused to yield. He mustered all of his strength to pierce through his opponent's skin, one of his tusks breaking in the process. But eventually he managed to break through, delivering the venom.
Envigor, undeterred, focused his power into a devastating punch. The sheer force of the blow reverberated through Drekus's muscular form, momentarily staggering the arachnid-human hybrid. This moment of weakness allowed Envigor to break free from the blue giant's grasp. He landed a heavy haymaker, sending Drekus flying. The villain broke three trees before the momentum was reduced enough for the fourth to stop him. He landed , or rather fell to the ground with a resounding thud.
The mutations of his spider quirk disappeared. Envigor, seizing the opportunity, closed the distance with astonishing speed. His empowered limbs blurred as he delivered a barrage of strikes, exploiting the newfound weakness in Drekus's defenses.
Drekus, now without the agile advantage of his spider quirk, found himself on the defensive. He evaded some blows, but many found their mark, bruising and battering his body. His attempts to counter were met with swift dodges from Envigor, who seemed to predict every move with uncanny accuracy. Seconds became minutes as he endured Envigor's onslaught, his body marked with bruises and blood.
But Drekus wasn't fighitng quirkless. He had been using his propane quirk to slowly fill the area with the gas. Being oddorless, Envigor's enhanced sense of smell failed to pick up on his tactic.
"Let there be light!" Drekus's shout echoed through the trees, a proclamation of impending destruction. His voice, a blend of madness and triumph, reached the ears of Sandatsu, who was locked in a fierce struggle with Shihai after the latter had already knocked out the original Feral for good. The ominous declaration triggered a split-second decision in Sandatsu's mind.
With a swift, almost dance-like motion, he gathered embers around him. Then, with a forceful thrust of his outstretched hand, Sandatsu unleashed the embers towards Drekus' general direcion, reaching the gas-laden air. The spark ignited a chain reaction that unfolded in the blink of an eye. The explosion, a cataclysmic release of pent-up energy, sent shockwaves through the forest, toppling trees and engulfing the battleground in an inferno.
Envigor, caught off guard by the sudden burst of fire, shielded his face from the intense heat. The blast wave sent him tumbling backward, momentarily disoriented.
Drekus, his plan unfolding, emerged from the fiery inferno with a sadistic grin.
Envigor, recovering quickly, found himself surrounded by the encroaching flames. The once verdant landscape now transformed into a nightmarish realm of fire and smoke. The conflagration licked at his skin, leaving him with no choice but to retreat, seeking refuge from the escalating blaze. Even with his enhancements, staying there could be dangerous.
Drekus seized the opportunity to intensify his assault on Envigor. The lingering smoke and crackling flames framed their brutal confrontation. The muscular blue giant tried to grapple his opponent.
Envigor, resilient despite the overwhelming flames, attempted to break away. His enhanced strength allowed him to push against Drekus. But the villain was filled with unwavering determination. He refused to let go, even while burning alive.
In a desperate attempt to break free, Envigor unleashed a surge of energy. In a gruesome display of raw power, he tore one of Drekus's arms from its socket, breaking free from his grasp.
Drekus' rejuventation quirk worked tirelessly to mend the wounds inflicted by Envigor's relentless assault. Yet, the relentless barrage of blows was taking its toll. Each strike, infused with the augmented strength granted by Envigor's quirk, tore through Drekus's defenses, leaving a trail of mangled flesh and bone.
Envigor pressed on with an unbridled onslaught. His fists delivered blows that cracked the air. Drekus, though regenerating at an alarming pace, found himself caught in a destructive cycle. The relentless beating hindered his ability to regain control, and with every moment, his energy reserves dwindled.
After a few more attacks from Envigor, Drekus, battered and on his knees, fell silent.
"This is as far as your breakout plan goes." said Envigor.
Drekus let out a weak chuckle.
"Drekus knew you would not get it. This is no breakout. This is an execution." His chest suddenly expanded as he rapidly compressed air within. The stolen mutation, a recent acquisition, promised a final surge of power, a gambit born from desperation.
Envigor sensed the impending danger. He attempted to dodge, but the poison coursing through his veins had eroded his once-impeccable reflexes. The movements that were once swift and precise now betrayed a subtle delay. Drekus' earlier efforts had delivered their results, if a bit late.
As Drekus released the pent-up air, it erupted in a violent burst. A shockwave reverberated through the battleground, carrying with it a hurricane force that tore through the already ravaged landscape. The flames, momentarily subdued by the force of the explosion, danced chaotically in its aftermath.
Envigor, caught within the maelstrom, struggled against the onslaught. The compressed air, propelled with a force akin to a cannon blast, collided with him. He was sent hurtling through the air, limbs flailing as he struggled to regain control.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-x4ttQioNw]
Sandatsu, his mind now a clear river flowing with intent, smiled. Now that his mind was clear, he was capable of combining quirks. Unlike he did before, which was simply using them at the same time, he coul merge them into brutal combinations for devastating effects.
「Branching Grasp」+ 「Charge Up」+ 「Black Layer」
The amalgamation of stolen quirks manifested in a grotesque display. Dozens of clawed arms erupted from the left side of his back, coiling and intertwining in a grotesque dance. These appendages, reinforced with the sinister black tendrils that sprouted into razor-sharp blades, formed a monstrous mass of destruction.
With a ferocious roar, Sandatsu unleashed the monstrous amalgamation upon the beach. The coiled mass of clawed arms and obsidian blades swept across the terrain in a devastating arc, erasing everything in its path.
The devastating swipe cleaved through the surroundings like a scythe through wheat. Trees were uprooted, rocks shattered, and the very landscape was scarred by the grotesque manifestation of Sandatsu's newfound mastery.
Shihai summoned every ounce of her titanic strength. With a primal roar, she surged forward. Muscles strained as she grasped the amalgamation of clawed arms and black tendrils and talons. The air trembled with the clash of titans as Shihai, against all odds, managed to tear the monstrous limb from Sandatsu's control.
However, the victory was short-lived. Sandatsu, swift as the wind, had lunged towards her with a incredible ferocity.
「Embers」+ 「Charge Up」+「 Psychokinesis」+「Slowmo」
He unleashed torrent of embers combined with an empowered psychokinetic blast.
Shihai, undeterred by the searing heat, powered through the fiery onslaught. Her gargantuan strength propelled her forward, each step leaving imprints on the scorched sand. She closed the distance between herself and Sandatsu fast enough to surpass his enhanced speed and reaction time, her fist aimed at his center.
In response, Sandatsu, forced into a defensive stance, erupted with a frenzy of activity. Extra limbs sprouted from his frame. The grotesque appendages, each endowed with enhanced strength and almost unlimited in number, covered him. Simultaneously, he harnessed the full extent of his psychokinesis, creating an invisible shield to reinforce his body.
Shihai's fist crashed against Sandatsu's psychic barrier, the impact sending shockwaves through the air.
With a thunderous impact, her fist breached the psychic shield as if it wasn't even there to begin with, connecting with Sandatsu's form.
She rained blows upon Sandatsu, each strike possessing the weight of a falling mountain. Sandatsu, pushed to the brink, focused his regenerative abilities to mend the damage inflicted by Shihai's overwhelming blows. The extra arms that were not instantly destroyed were restored, and new ones sprouted and contorted to try and rebuild his defenses as fast as he could.
She grasped these limbs with an iron grip, rending them apart with a gruesome display of strength. The air was filled with the sickening sounds of cracking bones and tearing flesh as Sandatsu's defenses proved no match for the raw power of the Enforcer Captain. She tore through the remnants of Sandatsu's defenses, delivering a colossal blow that sent him hurtling across the beach. The impact carved a furrow in the sand.
As Sandatsu, struggling to regain his composure, attempted to rise from the blood-soaked sands, Shihai descended upon him with an almost demonic intensity.
Her heel crashed down with bone-shattering force, a merciless stomp that caved in Sandatsu's skull with a sickening crunch. Shihai, fueled by a relentless bloodthirst, denied him even a moment's respite.
Before the regenerative powers within Sandatsu could mend the catastrophic damage to his head, Shihai seized him with a grip that bordered on unnatural. With a primal roar, she flung him into the air.
As Sandatsu descended back to the unforgiving ground, Shihai intercepted him, continuing her ferocious onslaught. Her hand, an instrument of death, impaled him through the stomach, skewering him.
As Shihai held him aloft, her hand still impaling his stomach, Sandatsu's remaining arm surged forward with electrifying speed. He had been waiting for this chance. Charging this attack since before the fight even started.
「Charge Up」+「Separate」+「Psychokinesis」+「Slowmo」
In a blur of motion, Shihai's free hand intercepted the grisly attack, a valiant but ultimately insufficient attempt to shield herself. Shihai's arm, once a bastion of strength, now lay mangled and torn. The skin, muscle, and bone unraveled like a grotesque tapestry.
As Shihai flung him aside, the raw power tore through his flesh, carving open an entire side of his stomach.
Yet, as the torn tissues hung in ghastly display, Sandatsu stood once more. The torn side of his stomach knitted itself together, the gruesome sight of his innards retracting.
Sandatsu smiled. When he was tossed up in the air, he noticed something. His keen eyes caught a glimpse of the mangled form of the replica Feral sprawled along the shore. And what's more, through the remaining blood within the villain he could sense that it was still alive, if only barely. The relentless endurance of the creature struck a chord of awe within him.
He focused on 「Slowmo」.
Due to the incredible speed of both mother and son, the next couple of seconds felt as if they had suddenly turned into dozens.
Shihai, sensing a momentary diversion in her opponent's focus, seized the opportunity.
The huge explosion caused by Drekus' air blast coming from the woods acted almos as a gunshot to signal the start of a race.
Sandatsu, used his psychokinesis. The twisted remnants of the replica Feral floated towards him. At the same time, he noticed something else. The man that Drekus was facing had been sent flying by the blast. Mustering every bit of speed he could, his form sprouted a multitude of clawed arms and inky tendrils toward the airborne Envigor, ensnaring him in a web of darkness.
As Shiha surged toward Sandatsu, the air itself seemed to ripple. A mysterious figure materialized in her path. A hand, wreathed in a dark aura, intercepted Shihai's lunge, though just barely.
In a heartbeat, the mysterious figure solidified into the shape of a girl, bunny ears adorning her head—the White Rabbit. The streak of azure hair mirrored the familial trait shared by the Owaris.
Shihai, still mid-lunge, adjusted her trajectory as the White Rabbit assumed a defensive stance. The clash was imminent.
With uncanny speed, Shihai unleashed a barrage of strikes, her limbs an indomitable force. The White Rabbit managed to evade most of it, but the few strikes that even grazed her form caused excessive damage.
In a matter of seconds, Shihai made quick work of the construct.
The figure of the White Rabbit started to flicker, the toll of Shihai's relentless assault evident.
With a final, devastating strike, Shihai shattered the construct. The White Rabbit dissipated like mist, leaving no trace of its otherworldly presence. Yet, the victory was bittersweet, for this respite had given Sandatsu the opportunity he needed.
The bodies of the replicated villain and the government sponsored agent fell to the ground, lifeless. The stolen abilities adding to Sandatsu's formidable arsenal. The air crackled with an ominous energy as the stolen powers merged with his arsenal.
Sandatsu's transformation was a grotesque spectacle, a melding of stolen powers and the twisted evolution brought about by the replica Feral and Envigor. His frame, once human if remarkably tall, expanded into a hulking mass of muscle and scales. Towering at well over two meters, Sandatsu's form was covered by scales, like obsidian armor. His once-human features contorted into a nightmarish visage, teeth elongated into razor-sharp fangs that could rend flesh with ease. A long crocodilian tail extended from the base of his spine, its movements sinuous and deadly.
Shihai, recognizing a moment of vulnerability as he was still manifesting the mutations Feral had upon death, lunged at Sandatsu. However, the once fragile Sandatsu had evolved into a formidable adversary. Though he still lacked the sheer physical might of Shihai, his newfound resilience made him a far more challenging opponent.
As Shihai closed the distance, Sandatsu responded with a devastating attack.
「Embers」+ 「Charge Up」+「 Psychokinesis」+ 「Conduit」+「Bloodthirst」
The shockwave rippled outward, disintegrating sections of the beach and causing the water closest to the epicenter to evaporate into a fine mist. A cataclysmic display of destructive force, far above anything he had ever displayed before.
The phenomenon witnessed on that tumultuous battlefield was an unintended consequence of the fusion between Envigor's quirk, 「Conduit」, and Sandatsu's already extensive repertoire of stolen abilities. At its core, 「Conduit」 was designed to amplify the effects of other quirks when used on the individual possessing the quirk. It was a unique and potent ability.
However, the infusion of 「Conduit」 into Sandatsu's system, a person already burdened with a multitude of quirks acquired through his grim journey, became a catalyst for an unanticipated chain reaction. The quirks, each stolen and carefully integrated into Sandatsu's being, started to resonate with the ability reaped from Envigor.
The feedback loop initiated by 「Conduit」 led to an exponential increase in the power output of Sandatsu's stolen quirks.
Sandatsu's newfound strength and the amplified quirks threatened to tilt the balance in his favor.
With each step, the ground beneath him cracked, bearing witness to the tremendous power he now wielded. With a ferocious roar, he switched to the offenssive. Shihai, relying on her immense strength, speed and durability, met Sandatsu blow for blow.
As Sandatsu lunged with an array of claws and extra limbs, Shihai either dodged or parried with her remaining arm. The clash of their forces sent shockwaves through the air.
Clawed limbs, wreathed in black tendrils, struck with the force of a battering ram. Simultaneously, embers erupted from his form, creating an infernal aura that sought to engulf Shihai. The Conduit-empowered energy crackled around him, amplifying the potency of every attack.
She countered with a devastating uppercut, her fist meeting Sandatsu's scaled jaw with bone-crushing force. Yet, even as he staggered back, Sandatsu's regenerative abilities started mending the damage.
Shihai seized the moment of vulnerability. Her reinforced hand, pierced through the stomach of her mutated son.
With a savage determination, Shihai, using the entrails as an improvised weapon, encircled Sandatsu's neck as she jumped to his back.
Sandatsu, in response, unleashed a frenzied assault, sprouting additional limbs that clawed desperately at Shihai. The air crackled with psychic energy as he combined psychokinetic blasts with projected waves of embers, attempting to scorch Shihai and force her to release her grip. Simultaneously, black tendrils and spikes erupted from his form, seeking to ensnare and tear away the relentless grasp.
Shihai, however, remained an unmovable force. Her quirk-infused strength allowed her to withstand the onslaught. With every attempt by Sandatsu to dislodge her, she tightened her grip.
Sandatsu, with a grisly display of his Separate quirk, unraveled his own entrails, freeing himself from Shihai's strangling hold. But she granted him no respite, no moment to recover as she pressed the offensive with unrestrained brutality.
In a relentless series of strikes, Shihai attacked with unrivalled ferocity. Her augmented strength propelled each blow, tearing into Sandatsu's mutated form faster than his remarkable regenerative abilities could keep pace.
The battlefield echoed with the sounds of impact — the sickening crunch of scales and bones, the splatter of blood, and the ghastly pained roars of the mutated Sandatsu.
She exploited the smallest openings in Sandatsu's defense, delivering a barrage of strikes that left him reeling.
Despite Sandatsu's attempts to fend off the onslaught, he found himself outmatched. Shihai's combat prowess, combined with the augmentation from her absurdly powerful quirk, pushed her beyond the limits of what a human, even in such a superpowered society, should achieve.
For those few seconds, while she was butchering her son alive, Shihai Owari stood head and shoulders above anyone else in the world.
A ravenous, unsoppable beast.
But then, she stopped.
Shihai's relentless assault came to an abrupt halt. A profound change overcame her countenance — the ferocity in her eyes waned, replaced by a haunting emptiness.
Sandatsu, battered and bloodied, observed his mother's sudden change as an unsettling smile formed on his face.
The claws of an unseen force seemed to rend through the fabric of her mind. In that moment of eerie stillness, Shihai appeared broken, her once indomitable spirit now replaced by an overwhelming sense of regret, grief, and disgust. The raw emotions etched on her face mirrored the internal turmoil that gripped her, leaving her desolated.
It was as if a veil had been lifted, revealing a clarity she hadn't known since the onset of this brutal confrontation. The relentless hunger that had driven her actions, the insatiable urge to kill, to gain power— all dissolved in an instant.
Her gaze, once focused on relentless violence, shifted to her son — battered, bloodied, and now, the object of her maternal instincts. The realization struck like a torrent, overwhelming her senses. She was tearing apart her own flesh and blood.
The memories of her savage attacks, the brutality she had unleashed, and the lives she had extinguished surged back with relentless force. Each blow, each strike, was now rending her mind.
Shihai's hand, once poised for bloodshed, trembled with the weight of what she had become. The roar of the sea seemed to echo the tumult in her mind.
Shihai's stoic facade crumbled away. The weight of her actions, the brutality that seemed inexorable, now bore down on her shoulders. Tears welled up in her eyes, betraying the storm that raged within.
A guttural cry, primal and pained, tore through the air. It was a scream that echoed the anguish of a soul unraveling. The sound mingled with the crashing waves.
She took a few steps back, recoiling, pulling at he rhair with her remaining hand.
Her knees met the blood-soaked sand as her body trembled with convulsive sobs.
Her hand clawed at the sand. Her chest heaving under the unbearable weight of grief. The salty tears mixed with the blood on her face. Her son's blood.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgKr5KGXSH8]
The safehouse nestled in the outskirts of the city was more of a concealed fortress than a home.
Shihai, adorned in her Enforcer uniform, strode purposefully through the dimly lit corridors.
Following her was a small figure, even tinier when compared to her. With his wide, curious eyes, he gazed at the strange environment around him. His tiny fingers occasionally reached out to touch the strands of his mother's dark hair.
Shihai entered a room where her most trusted officers huddled over tactical maps and mission briefings. The momentary break in their conversation was enough to draw their attention to the unexpected addition to their commander's entourage.
One of the officers, a grizzled veteran with a scar running across his cheek, dared to voice the question lingering in the room. "Commander, is that...?"
Shihai cut him off with a stern glance, and her response was a simple yet unyielding nod. The unspoken understanding among the Enforcers was palpable.
The room, adorned with holographic displays and a large central table filled with scattered papers and holographic projections, became an unusual setting for a child's presence. Oblivious to the gravity of his surroundings, the kid tugged at Shihai's uniform, curious about what was going on over the table, as he was too short to see for himself.
Eventually, he got tired, and sat down on the floor, right next to where Shihai was standing.
The air outside the safehouse carried the faint aroma of pine, a crisp reminder that they were deep within the woods. The child, still a small figure against the towering trees, pointed emphatically into the dense foliage, his eyes sparkling with a curiosity that seemed far beyond his years.
The men under her command observed the unfolding scene, their usual seriousness giving way to rare smiles.
A grizzled veteran, his face etched with lines earned in countless battles, nudged his comrade with a chuckle. "Look at the little one. Thinks he's going to brave the wild on his own."
Another, younger but no less weathered, chimed in. "Must take after his mother. She's not one for coddling."
Shihai, overhearing their banter, shot them a stern look.
"Sorry, Captain..." said the veteran with the scarred cheek. "it's just amusing to see him trying to act all independent."
Shihai remained silent, stepping forward to see her son. She watched as he clumsily gathered twigs and leaves, attempting to construct his own shelter. The tent provided by the Enforcers stood nearby, untouched.
"He's got spirit, that's for sure," Kaida, Shihai's second-in-command, commented, her eyes softening as she observed the scene.
Shihai merely nodded.
"He just knows he's all he's got." she said.
The morning sun bathed the clearing in a warm, golden glow as Shihai, clad in her Enforcer uniform, stood stoically at the edge of the forest. The child shouldered a small backpack. The men under Shihai's command, who had grown fond of the boy, formed a loose semicircle around them.
"Do your best survivin', little buddy!" one of the soldiers shouted, a gruff but well-meaning grin on his face.
Another ruffled his unruly black and blue hair, mussing it up playfully. "Bring us back something nice from the wild, yeah?"
Shihai observed the interactions, as impassive as ever. Kaida, standing by her side, nudged her gently. "You should say something to him, Captain. He needs to hear it from you."
Shihai hesitated, her gaze fixed on the mountain looming in the distance.
With a decisive nod from Kaida, Shihai approached her son. The men fell into a hushed silence.
"You're on your own now." she said, her voice cutting through the quiet with the precision of a blade.
After a few seconds of silence, the kid went on his way.
When he was about to disappear from their sight, Shihai took and unexpected spet forward. With a stern tone, she raised her voice, delivering what would be her final words to her son for years to come.
"The world is yours!"
The men, emboldened by Shihai's unexpected words, erupted into cheers.
"The world is yours!" they echoed, their voices carrying through the forest as he disappeared into the shadows of the towering trees.
Kaida, a knowing smile playing on her lips, nudged Shihai again. "See? Wasn't so hard, was it?"
The stoic captain merely grunted in response, her attention returning to the spot on the tree line where he had disappeared in.
Sandatsu, bearing the amalgamation of stolen quirks that transformed him into a monstrous entity, stood before Shihai.
The beach, once a picturesque stretch of sand, now bore the scars of their brutal battle—craters from psychokinetic blasts, scorched patches from bursts of embers. All remnants of the clash between titanic forces.
Sandatsu, towering over Shihai, held in his hands out, and a grey liquid flowed from his fingertips. It was something he had concocted from his stolen quirk, 「Drugs」. The substance, an enhanced combination of quirk dampeners and antipsychotics, glimmered with a faint iridescence.
Shihai, her once fierce and unyielding gaze now dulled by grief, stared at her son. The remnants of her formidable strength were now replaced by a frailty that seemed alien on her usually indomitable frame.
Sandatsu himself had been fighting under the influence of that same substance. It held in check the mental degradation of his quirk, granting him a lucidity that felt almost alien. It was when she had first pierced his stomach, and he destroyed her arm, that he first managed to make some of his blood go into her body through the injury. He was unable to control her, but his drug infused blood had slowly made it's way into Shiha's brain, and finally, it had an effect.
His gaze, normally fierce and unyielding, softened as he looked at Shihai
Without a word, Sandatsu approached her, his monstrous form seeming to diminish as he crouched down to her eye level. The tangled mass of limbs, scales, and quills shifted as he got closer.
As Shihai weakly extended a hand towards him, a silent plea for release from the burden of her own existence, Sandatsu hesitated.
Shihai's voice, once a command that echoed across battlefields, emerged as a feeble murmur. "I'm sorry," she uttered, the words laden with a weight that transcended the present moment.
Sandatsu, with a deftness that belied the brutality of the act, pierced Shihai's chest with his arm.
The moonlight reflected off the tears that welled in Shihai's eyes.
That night, Sandatsu Owari managed to defeat the fearsome Enforcer Captain, reaping her 「Death Empowerment」quirk.
He also allowed his mother, Shihai Owari, to have her mind and sould be free from the hunger in her last moments
In her last breaths, with the soft lullaby of waves in the background, Shihai spoke words that echoed through the emptiness of the night.
"The world is yours," she whispered.
Drekus staggered through the smoke-choked woods, his body full of wounds and burns, a testament to the brutal battle that had just unfolded. His breaths were ragged and his strength was dwindling. He had no strength left to regenerate.
The compressed air explosion, a desperate gambit to turn the tide, had taken its toll. His ribcage felt like a shattered window, and he was barely able to keep his organs from spilling, holding his hand to his stomach.
Despite the agony that racked his body, he clung to the notion that his stolen mutations would find purpose in Sandatsu's hands. That he would continue the fight.
Drekus stumbled onto the beach, the cool touch of the sand offering a stark contrast to the blazing woods.
Drekus opened eyes. Sky above. Sun bright. No big fire. Drekus confused. Last memory: big explosion, pain. Drekus not expect to wake up.
Drekus gets up, notices Big Sister Feral also sleeping. Both Drekus and Big Sis are healed.
Nearby, little death stood. He look different. More calm. Little death turn, look at Drekus. "It's done," he says. "Couldn't do it without you, Drekus."
He comes closer, sounds serious. "Without your help I would not be standing here."
Drekus blink. Confusion in head. Have we beat suits for once? Drekus can't fully believe it.
"Thank you. Really. You are my hero."
Drekus scratch head. Drekus not used to being hero. People don't run away when they see Heroes. Heroes not break things. Heroes not sound like Drekus.
"So, we're comrades now," Little death says. "It's my turn to help you now."
Drekus nod slowly. Comrades. Heroes. Drekus not know how to be hero, but if Sandatsu say so, then maybe Drekus can learn.
"Comrades," Drekus say. "Heroes."