Chapter 10 - Chapter 9: Action

"Inko, come out!"Her breathing was heavy due to the dust in the air; she struggled not to cough, not to sneeze, not to make a sound, as that could lead to her death."It is getting lonely." Taunts continued to come at her for some time. The same raspy voice made numerous unwitting remarks. He was one of the four who caused this situation.All four of them had their own unique appearance, with only one common, obnoxious orange energy-like glove on their left hand. The four of them took her by surprise and marked her with a rune array on her left arm.Before they managed to put the last rune and make the array fully functional, she managed to teleport. She ended up in her apartment, breaking a few vases accidentally, as the markings she bore caused her great pain.They prevented her from constructing any spells and weakened her mana control to the point of the second-level witch, lowering her by ten levels with a few letters.To her dismay, one of the four followed her soon after she managed to escape. The only features of the man she remembered were the ones she saw in a blur when she was marked: a sharp jawline, crimson-piercing eyes, and eye-catching red hair styled into a fade. Another thing she could remember was that he seemed to have stepped into his late twenties not so long ago.How? Inko didn't know, but when she threw a glance at the front entrance of the building, she saw him holding his hands up in front of him like some madman. She had no chance to act as the next thing she knew was a series of explosions that had led her to this state, hiding among the rubble and praying for dear life while listening to a probably illiterate person trying to come up with insults."Come on, Inko, office work made you soft, but you can still do it." She released heavy breaths as she tried to calm down under the pressure. To reassure herself that she was at least a bit safe, she decided to grasp the situation and try to take control of the smallest details."Creas," she uttered, trying to gather a little mana to create a pen. No matter how much she tried, she failed in all five attempts.'Maybe not a grade five. Something lower,' she thought to herself before she extended her left arm so her palm was above a small pebble. "Volits," she whispered, a beginner-grade spell, a telekinesis one. Even if it was one she learned while she was seven, she barely made the pebble move and float weakly in the air."I am screwed," she said to herself as she leaned against the rubble. "I am dead without a miracle." Her hope was low, and the constant, hostile presence didn't help a lot."Come on, don't be selfish; don't you know that is a deadly sin in Europe?" A man with a heavy voice shouted as he picked up a piece of rubble. He held it for some time until he threw it into a ruined wall. Before the debris could hit the wall, it exploded, sending blocks of cement flying in various directions as well as causing more flames."You are making me feel lonely and bored." He was repeating himself-same words, just different phrasing.What bothered Inko the most was that this man was capable of greater deeds than this; she witnessed it herself, so she kept asking the same question: Why is he destroying this building bit by bit like a child throwing a tantrum?Even with thick smoke and dense dust in the air, Inko managed to calm her breathing to silence. Yes, the man was far away from her, but in her helpless state, she wanted to take no risks.Well, someone else didn't share her opinion about taking no risks; the testament was the cold, uncomfortable sensation she felt, a mana detection spell, a poorly done one."We have a guest, Inko. I wonder who's that?" He never shuts up, and he takes every chance just to talk. "Did they come to your hosting or mine? I think whoever that was, it's on your name; my guests have manners."And he was right-only an inexperienced person would use mana detection before making it untraceable to its caster. It happened rarely because the spell itself required experience as it sat in its prideful spot in sixth grade."Izuku." Inko guessed."Let's give them a proper welcome!"The flames reacted to a sudden breeze that came out of nowhere. The breeze didn't do a lot; it just brought more smoke, disturbing any form of vision left between Inko and the two of them."What th-"Seconds, minutes, almost half an hour passed until something new happened. A large piece of rubble came flying, with its target being the ginger's head. He blocked the attack with his fist, like it was made of plastic, not cement.Soon after, another one came with the same target; the only difference was the angle. It was blocked easily once again.A slight smile escaped her mouth as she witnessed the small attacks Izuku was throwing from various directions. It wasn't anything powerful or special; it was just his intelligence that Inko was always amazed by.A gentle touch to her shoulder brought her back to the present, and she was ready to jab whoever it was with her elbow. Well, she was until she saw two green emeralds through the lenses of a gas mask."Mom." Freckles revealed themselves as he took off his mask."What are you doing here?""Saving you.""By dying yourself, that's very helpful.""And you wonder from whom I got the sarcasm."Face-palming, Inko replied, "At least tell me you didn't involve anyone else." Awkward silence did a better job of answering the question than Izuku ever could."Who?""Well, I didn't invite her; she came alone, of her own free will, and against mine.""Her, Momo?" Inko questioned. "Of course it's her; you don't have that many friends.""Supportive," he joked, approaching her. "What's stopping you from running away?" Izuku sat in front of us with his legs folded beneath him, waiting for an answer."This." Raising her left sleeve Inko showed a mark consisting of many curly letter-like runes. They were positioned like a crossword, with the main solution being a sentence stretching from her shoulders to her hand.Izuku's breath dropped upon seeing the curly letters; they appeared more like one swirly line making a complicated tattoo. "North runic?" He hummed to himself. "Did you decipher any of it?" Izuku raised his hand, gathering some mana on top of his palm. "Creas." Blue mana turned into a small glass bottle filled with white chalk."Some of it.""This is going to take some time." He tore the sleeve of her shirt to the shoulder, where the marking ended. The marking, while painted black, still glowed with a faint blue light. When Izuku passed over it with a mana coated palm over a lettered tattoo, it reacted by ejecting some mana and gaining a pale blue color in the process."But before we begin anything, we need to give a distraction to the bomb boy." He muttered before he stood up, "With the fiasco of the defection spell, he probably knows I am here.""So you're aware of that failure.""I wouldn't call it a failure, more of a decision made in a short time period.""When will you learn to be careful, Izuku?""When we escape alive and healthy, I promise mom."Breaking eye contact, he took a stance for his next spell, placing his right hand over his head and his left on his chest."That stance... When did you learn-" Inko was interrupted as two bright blue orbs appeared, one in each of Izuku's hands."So many places to go, people to see; I can't do it all alone, so make another one of me." As he spoke, Izuku circled his right hand, stopping on the last word and extending his left. At the same time, his voice was becoming deeper with every word he spoke, as a cold feeling filled his body, and his voice lost all emotion. The result of it was another Izuku standing in front of Inko."What did you do? Do you know how dangerous chants are in Latin, let alone in your native language? You shouldn't know about chants, and worst of all, you performed the most dangerous one. Do you know how wrong that could've been?" She didn't restrain herself for a minute after discovering that her son was practicing magic above his level and age. "How and when did you even learn it?""I dug through Agata's old spell books and found a few chants along the way.""I dug through Agata's old spell books and found a few chants along the way."Both Izuku(s) started speaking in unision, their voices overlapping so perfectly that there was almost no echo."Do you know the dangers of the spell you are using?""Of course I do," the first one said as the other was remembering the sentences from the book they learned the spell from."The user's everything is split into that many parts, as he made clones, his soul, consciousness, his magic, everything, while the spell continuously takes the mana required to keep it sustained.""Currently, my soul and magic are split in two parts.""You are forgetting the most important part." Inko said giving him a concern look. "While the spell is active, neither is the real one, as both are considered clones." She recited the parts of the spell that both Izuku(s) didn't have access to and never bothered to search for details, as the spell on the pages appeared complete. "Whatever happens to the clone also happens to the real one after they reunite into one.""That wasn't mentioned in the book.""Of course it wasn't; you said yourself you read an old book, probably one before the law of spell book falsification and provement was in power.""I didn't know." Both Izuku(s) took a step forward as the sudden explosions made conversation at a distance harder."And you weren't supposed to, as it is above your age and station.""Most of my knowledge is, and that hasn't stopped me from learning all the things I know." Another explosion raged with a man shouting in the background; the falling rubble he caused became annoying to all three of them."Izuku, you aren't all-knowing or omniscient. If only you knew how blessed you are to be weak and know so little.""I know that, mom." Izuku sighed, his spirit lowered to the ground for a moment."You don't act like it," she said, covering her mouth as the smoke made it hard for her to breathe. "I want to ask you something.""Yes?""What is going to happen to you if one clone dies?"Izuku stopped for a minute as he gave his mask to Inko so she could breathe a little easier. He thought for a minute before giving an answer. "Nothing; the clone is fake.""No, half of your soul would just disappear.""Well, I am not stopping now." One copy declared as the other lowered to his knees, sliding his hand over Inko's marking, examining it. After some time, he made the marking alive into rune arrays that burst out in the air while he wrote counter-runes with white chalk. It was a slow process, as he was required to translate an already hard runic dialect to counter it.While the first copy was solving the rune problem pass, the second copy had already disappeared into rubble, hiding and throwing sneaky attacks."Be careful, Izuku," Inko muttered as she watched the back of the second copy disappear slowly.Izuku was quite low on mana, to the point where he was desperate for just a drop. He couldn't do anything without one of the jars he set up teleporting to him. It was wrong for him to even think about it, but if just a few more people died, it meant he could do something. And like salt to the wound, he was required to maintain a clone.To compensate for the issue, he used the same tactic as before, making contact with his mother. Maneuvering through rubble and using low-mana-cost spells as a distraction and stalling for time was a way to go.Izuku was careful not to point out his location, changing his position between attacks, but he still kept eye contact with the enemy before him.It was a young man, probably in his mid-twenties. Piercing, crimson eyes were paired with bright ginger hair that was styled in spikes in the middle and faded on the sides. He also possessed quite a sharp jaw."He could cut me some apples with that jawline," Izuku muttered to himself before picking another piece of debris to throw towards the man, caching his position right after."Why would you like me to cut you some?" A raspy shout rang out, only for the crumbling of cement to muffle him."He heard that?" mouthing, Izuku asked."Yes, I heard that.""Then what's stopping you from finding out my location or that of my subordinate?" Izuku didn't bother being loud, as the man could hear him with no problems. "Perhaps limited range.""Drop the act; I know who you are and who you are protecting." The man picked up debris, and Izuku observed him carefully through broken walls as he threw it in the direction where Izuku was seconds before. Exploding on impact, it caused a deadly explosion, one that could kill him if he was not careful."Izuku Midoriya, the newest prodigy of Japan," He picked another one, and with nowhere to aim, he held onto it. "With talent like yours, I expected you to be some hot shit, but you hid.""Who are you? My fan?" Izuku said as calmly as he could; his nerves were breaking. He was both scared and anxious; the only thing holding him together was his sheer will."Name's CC, and I am your #1 and only fan. Nice to meet you, my hero." He uttered it with the widest grin Izuku had ever faced. It did not only send shivers through his skin; it also made him shake a little."I am honored myself. Say, uh, CC, what are you expecting from this meeting?" Izuku said as he made two sharpened cement blocks on the other end of the room, floating pointed towards CC."Blood, I want blood.""Really, you want to kill a kid?""Not a kid; there's no honor or fun there.""Then who? Who is honored to be called your target?" Izuku questioned, making both blocks fly into CC, ready to pierce him.He blocked both blocks with his bare hand alone; there was no struggle in the process. "Your mother, Inko Midoriya, unforgiving green maiden."At this point, Izuku's blood was frozen. "Why such a barbaric nickname?""I guess it is only natural you aren't aware of Inko's past. Believe me, you will be grateful you are her son once you learn.""Your hearing is artificial, isn't it?" Izuku asked when CC tossed another piece of rubble, which exploded before impact in the direction where the two blocks came from. Izuku was safe for now. "You probably lost it due to your abilities, and someone restored it with magic, hence enhanced hearing but an inability to determine where the sounds are coming from and limited range.""You're a lot sharper and knowledgeable for your age; let's see if you can understand what I can do and my limits," he playfully announced as he dragged his hands along the floor."Yeah, for my age." Izuku repositioned himself, as he thought that CC would also move. "There's no sound of impact when you throw stones at me, so you are what makes them explosive and what makes them explode.""You are getting closer," he shouted, raising his hand above his head for Izuku to see it clearly. "But you are not quite there yet," he whispered as he snapped his fingers.Izuku didn't expect anything, yet he had to prepare for everything as he didn't know what this meant. Unfortunately, the answer hit him hard and fast. A strong circular explosion around CC soon engulfed most of the area in flames. There was a hollow middle where CC stood with a wide grin.He managed to create a thin, sphere-shaped shield around himself in time, so raging flames couldn't burn him. However, his magic started to act unexpectedly. The shield was falling apart under the flames. Yes, it was a weak shield, but flames weren't supposed to be any stronger.In desperation to move from there since he can't replenish his shield infinitely, he teleported. While the first flash revealed where he was before, the second revealed where he was now. Yes, giving away your location could lead to your death, but that drawback was nothing compared to the scorched skin he was receiving moments ago.Since flames raged mercilessly all around, the only place safe to teleport was near CC. Hoping he wouldn't notice him right away, he teleported upside down, sticking to the ceiling with his feet glued to the cement by magic."There you are!" CC hastened towards Izuku while he was still in an unfavorable position.As a counter, Izuku broke off the piece he was standing on, sustaining it in the air and turning it 180 degrees with telekinesis before he fell. As his feet were stuck on the platform he stood on, he also rotated. He used every moment of the situation, bending his knees until he was in a crouching position.At the right timing, he undid both spells and extended his legs straight to send the platform flying in the opposite direction. A large piece of cement straight to the head could do some serious damage, but the man before him had impressive durability, so the goal was just to distract him.One backflip later, and he was on the ground once again. At this point, the flames had calmed down a little, enough for him to hide among the rubble once again. To gain cover, he picked up a broken pillar next to him, crushing it into fine pieces of dust. He used the dust to create a cloud he controlled that was big enough to cover the rubble-free area and allow Izuku to move away unseen."A coward! Don't just hide away; come and face me!""I think you are mistaken; my goal was never to fight you.""Then why did you come out here?""To scout the opponent.""But you can't leave, can you?"CC was right; Izuku's intention was to teleport way farther earlier. "Your allies laid out layers of magic barriers that targeted magic wielders, and since you don't have a drop of magic, that makes the trap even deadlier.""Who cares about that?" he shouted as he placed both of his hands on top of the floor next to his feet. "You are smart enough to figure that out, but not to fight me? I call bullshit.""Can you wait a bit more?""Why? Are you scared to come out?""No, just waiting for a signal; you know that there's a right time for everything.""What did you say about me giving you a signal?" He raised his hands from the ground as the response of the same donut-shaped explosion went off around him; however, this time it was bigger and wider. "How about this?"Izuku didn't bother to create a shield this time; he immediately teleported. The location he picked was right behind CC, his back facing his."I got my signal." Izuku smiled as he held the glass jar-that teleported to him in the nick of time-which contained a blue energy ball. The ball didn't rest for a minute; it swirled, vibrated, and spiraled. It moved from top to bottom and from side to side. Once Izuku broke the glass ball, it still acted the same way, and it would have escaped if not for Izuku taming it down and making two circles around his wrists.'Since I can't store another's mana inside my body, I can only use it. I need to be careful not to lose control,' Izuku thought before he clapped his hands, throwing a shock wave spell that sent CC flying face first into the flames he created."With that being said, I need to keep my distance," Izuku muttered.Another snap of fingers was heard before the ground below Izuku exploded, sending him flying into the ceiling while a huge hole was left in the floor, giving Izuku a nice view of the floor below.'Anything he touches is turned into an explosive, noted.' This thought ran through Izuku's head as he blasted a hole in the ceiling. It was easy to choose; CC attached him to cement that was once above him, so destroying the same area took next to no effort. He made a hole big enough so he could fly through it to the next floor."Reformatum figura," he commanded the pieces of cement that he broke off from the floor to change their form; they twisted under his command, gaining the shape of metal spear tips, with their tips created to pierce.Izuku waved his hand, and in response, the spears started to spin rapidly. This wasn't a lot, but enough to stall him, so he made his way back to the floor below with spears following him, and he uttered to CC who was waiting for him to appear: "I'm not hiding anymore. Come!" The dust cloud was still there, but it was thin enough for them to lock eyes.