Kimika was breathing heavily, each breath tightening her chest with pain, as if her lungs were being torn apart. The air was thick and bitter, as though soaked in poison, and each wheeze was followed by a spasmodic cough.
Coughing up a few drops of blood, she wiped her lips with her hand, feeling the pain pulse through her entire body with even the slightest movement, stealing any hope of rising.
She looked around, and everything seemed blurry: objects spun and blended like in a fog. But despite this, she clearly saw the bright smile of All Might, slowly approaching her.
Behind him, she saw two figures of heroes — one of whom she definitely recognized as Eraser Head — slowly making their way toward Toga.
The third figure was moving toward the bound Nezu, who, despite everything happening around him, watched them with a slight smile, as if everything was unfolding exactly according to his plan.
The realization that all of this had been part of his plan from the very beginning made Kimika understand everything: absolutely everything that had happened was a part of his game — starting with this "simple" task, League of Villains, Kurogiri, and ending with the rehabilitation.
Clenching her teeth and balling her fists, she leaned on them and slowly began to rise, swaying from side to side.
All Might saw that his opponent had not lost consciousness and was beginning to gather her strength after his strike. 'I've weakened... This damn wound... If it weren't for this, they'd be knocked out and it would be over… Damn, and my time is running out, I need to finish this as quickly as possible.'
Not showing any signs of his own distress and wanting to maintain his composure, he said with an ironic smile, "Oh? You got up? Impressive, I'd even applaud you. I thought that after my 'weak little clap,' both of you — or at least you, the weakest — would lose consciousness. Well, that's my mistake — underestimating you, but I won't make it a second time."
Kimika, finally rising and firmly planting herself on her feet, stared at her idol — the one she had once looked up to in her aspiration to become a heroine... And hearing his words about her weakness, she only felt cold resolve.
Perhaps if she had been the same Kimika before all of this, she would have cried. But now, she was no longer that person. She would not give up without a fight and would battle until the end, even if her chances of victory were zero.
All Might froze for a moment, watching Kimika. She stood before him, unsteady but full of determination. Her fists were clenched tightly, her back was straight, and her eyes burned with a fire that made him remember himself in his youth.
Once, he too, young and stubborn, had stood before insurmountable obstacles, ready to fight even against those who seemed unbeatable, like his mentor... His lips barely touched with a sincere, warm smile — a mixture of admiration and a barely noticeable sadness from those memories.
"Determination, that's good. But desire alone isn't enough to change reality. You're strong, Kimika, but not strong enough to oppose me."
His face quickly grew serious, and the smile turned more stern and menacing. He knew time was working against him, and it was only a matter of time before he could no longer maintain his form.
Clenching his right fist and drawing it back, he exhaled and delivered a powerful punch.
A massive shockwave erupted from his fist, like the strike of a battering ram. The air instantly filled with a whistle and a roar, and everything before him was pushed back. Kimika didn't even have time to react as the wave of wind swept her up like a helpless leaf.
Her body crashed into the wall with terrifying force, like a projectile, and for a moment, she felt as though her bones were breaking under the impact. A gasp escaped her chest, and the force of the wind pressed her against the cold surface, as if "gluing" her to it.
"I'll keep going until you lose consciousness. You'd better surrender, and it will all end."
His hand lifted again, and another shockwave erupted from his fist, relentlessly pressing against Kimika. He continued strike after strike, like waves on the shore, relentlessly crashing one after another.
With each new strike, her body seemed even more tightly pressed against the wall, as if it had become part of the cold surface. Every gust of wind felt like a heavy press, pushing her deeper into the concrete, and with each blow, she could feel her bones cracking, and her muscles giving in. Struggling for air, her chest rose heavily, each breath cut short by a wheeze, and her consciousness, like a thick fog, slowly faded, losing clarity and reality.
But even under such pressure, she did not give in. Instead of simply losing consciousness, as All Might had predicted, Kimika began to gather every last ounce of strength within her body. Her left eye blazed with bright blue light, and in the next moment, she released a loud scream from the very depths of her being.
"TIMEFREEZE!"
With her shout, all the shockwaves instantly slowed, becoming so sluggish that she was able to break free from their grasp and fall to the ground.
The radius of her ability encompassed everything around her — from the shockwaves, objects, to All Might himself, and time itself began to flow in slow motion. This gave her at least a few moments to rest.
The energy from her horn was depleting rapidly. This ability drained exactly as much energy as was needed to slow everything within her zone of influence, and the air currents were so fast that her horn began to crack from the overload. But Kimika had no intention of deactivating her ability, even if it might cause damage to her horn.
This was one of her strongest moves, giving her the confidence that she could at least counter her opponent in some way. But suddenly, his voice, completely unaffected by the slow motion, cut through all her hopes like a knife.
"Interesting... I knew your quirk was incredible, but to this extent... It seems, as Nezu said, that with each generation, quirks become stronger and more diverse. But yours... this is something completely new, something I couldn't have even imagined."
He paused for a moment, and in his eyes, a spark of irony and curiosity flared. "But how long can you maintain this zone? A minute? Two? Hmm... I wonder, what if I try...?"
With those words, he struck upward with all his might, breaking through the theater's ceiling. The speed of his attack was so great that as soon as the powerful wave of energy tore through the air, Kimika's horn couldn't withstand the strain, and her ability was deactivated.
After that, he became completely engulfed in darkness, draining all of his energy, but it kept growing darker and darker, as if continuously absorbing the light, consuming energy that no longer existed.
Kimika's horn began to crack louder, the fissures spreading across it as if tearing it apart from the inside, until suddenly, it exploded with a loud, piercing sound. Her left eye instantly went blind, and blood poured from it, covering her vision with a red veil.
Kimika didn't have time to understand what had happened. She only felt her horn and eye suddenly "shut down." She couldn't comprehend what had occurred or why they stopped working without her command.
Everything around her suddenly returned to its normal speed. The zone in which she had once felt like the master, just a moment ago, vanished as if it had never existed.
In confusion, Kimika lifted her hand to her horn and tried to touch it, but where it should have been, she only felt a small piece of what should have been her horn.
Pulling her hand back and staring at it, still unable to believe what she had felt, she saw that her entire hand was covered in a black liquid. This realization hit her like a strike, and the pain only hit her now.
Her body trembled with agony, and she screamed, trying desperately to press her hands against her eye and horn to stop the unbearable pain, but nothing helped. She felt her strength fading, and every part of her consciousness was sinking into darkness.
Falling to her knees and screaming uncontrollably from the pain, black liquid poured incessantly from her horn, dripping down her face and onto the ground, just like the blood from her left eye.
Unable to bear the agony any longer, Kimika lost consciousness. All of her senses faded, and she sank into darkness, where there was no more pain, no more suffering.
When she fell, he immediately ran to her. His heart nearly stopped when he saw what had happened. He desperately checked her pulse, and to his relief… she was alive.
Sighing in relief, he realized that by changing the plan and trying to prevent the girl from receiving additional injuries from Eraser Head's methods, he had only made things worse than if he had left everything as it was.
Sure, Eraser Head would have inflicted many wounds on her, but not enough for her horn to explode, or for her eye to be irreversibly blinded.
All Might felt confusion and anger. "No, no, no... This was not how it was supposed to end" He hadn't wanted it to end like this. He had assumed that due to the overload, her horn would simply lose all its energy, and the slow-down zone would disappear along with her attempts to continue the fight.
But instead, her horn exploded, and he felt the pain that consumed the girl. It was an unexpected blow, one he had tried to avoid with all his might, but it ended even worse than he could have imagined.
At the same time, he felt an incredible sense of relief, realizing that besides them, Recovery Lady was also on the mission and was already approaching them. This thought gave him some hope that Kimika could still be saved, even after everything that had happened. He quickly turned, eager to check how his colleagues were progressing.
All he could do now was hope they could finish this as quickly as possible, complete the mission, and save Kimika's life.
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So… the final battle? Sigh... do you remember when Kimika and Toga were just starting their first mission? and now it all ends in this battle... Sigh… Although, maybe it won't end here, who knows except me :D
By the way, what are your thoughts on the battle between All Might and Kimika? Maybe you would have liked to see more action? And do you think I didn't diminish any of them?
Write your comments about this fight, as well as your thoughts on who, in your opinion, will win in the next chapter's battle: Toga or Eraser Head and Midnight.
And for those who are curious — in the end, Eraser Head forced Present Mic to evacuate Nezu from the battlefield, thus taking an active role in the mission.
Want to see the continuation even faster than the next day? Or perhaps you want even more chapters? Head over to my Patreon — it's all there! But don't worry, sooner or later, it will be here too! patreon.com/Zoi4erom
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