Chapter 25: USJ Attack - Part 3
POV: Nova Asahi
Sixty seconds.
Nova's internal countdown hammered against his skull like a funeral dirge as he watched Aizawa disable the final common villain with movements that spoke of legendary skill applied to impossible odds. The underground hero's capture weapon bound the last criminal with mechanical precision while his Erasure quirk ensured the man's bone-manipulation ability couldn't activate in time to matter.
"He's incredible. Actually winning against dozens of enemies through pure technique and tactical superiority. But the timer doesn't care about skill when overwhelming force decides to engage."
Shigaraki stood at the plaza's edge like malicious curiosity given human form, scratching at his neck with fingernails that could disintegrate whatever they touched. His posture suggested someone watching entertainment rather than witnessing the potential collapse of his carefully orchestrated operation.
"Fifty-five seconds. He's about to give the order. The gesture that turns this from a manageable crisis into a massacre."
"Hmm," Shigaraki mused, his voice carrying petulant irritation that made Nova's blood run cold. "Eraser Head is more troublesome than Master predicted. Time to test our anti-Symbol of Peace weapon on lesser prey."
The lazy gesture that followed—hand raised, fingers spread, casual dismissal of human life—lasted exactly one second and changed everything.
The Nomu moved.
Thirty meters disappeared in the space between heartbeats as the bioweapon crossed the plaza with speed that turned physics into suggestions rather than laws. Nova's Combat Precognition screamed warnings about impossible velocity, overwhelming force, and impact trajectories that would reduce human bones to powder.
"No. No, no, no. Not like this. Not when I can see it coming but can't move fast enough to prevent it."
Aizawa's reflexes were legendary among underground heroes, honed through years of fighting enemies who could reshape reality with conscious thought. His capture weapon moved to intercept the Nomu's approach while his Erasure quirk targeted the creature's multiple abilities.
It wasn't enough.
The Nomu's fist crashed into Aizawa's guard with the force of industrial machinery applied to human anatomy. Bone cracked with sounds that echoed off artificial walls like gunshots, and Nova watched his teacher fly backward into concrete that spider-webbed from the impact.
"Compound fractures. Possible internal bleeding. Concussion at minimum. He's going to die if that thing hits him again."
Aizawa struggled to stand, blood streaming from a head wound that painted his dark hair crimson. His left arm hung at an unnatural angle, but his Erasure quirk still activated as red eyes focused on the approaching bioweapon with the desperate intensity of someone buying seconds with his life.
"Shock Absorption and Super Regeneration," Shigaraki called out with the glee of someone explaining favorite game mechanics. "Plus enhanced strength that could cave in buildings. Your Erasure might handle one or two quirks, but this beauty has five! Designed specifically to overwhelm any single hero's countermeasures!"
The Nomu advanced with mechanical precision, its exposed brain pulsing with unnatural rhythms while gray skin rippled over muscle mass that belonged in anatomy textbooks rather than living creatures. When it reached for Aizawa's damaged arm, Nova's Enhanced Danger Sense painted the next five seconds in perfect, horrifying detail.
"Compound fracture of the elbow. Deliberate torture to break his spirit before the killing blow. Shigaraki wants him to suffer for being inconvenient."
Nova didn't think. Thinking was for people who had time to weigh options and calculate optimal strategies. He had Enhanced Reflexes, Air Hop, and three seconds before his teacher died screaming.
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"
Air Hop launched Nova from the observation ledge like a human missile, his enhanced agility carrying him across thirty meters of vertical distance while his hand closed around an Explosion Seed. The volatile orb pulsed with contained destruction as Nova channeled 50 MP into maximum output.
"Point-blank range. Full power. Either this staggers the thing or I die trying."
The explosion engulfed both Nova and the Nomu in a sphere of superheated air and concussive force that rattled windows throughout the facility. Smoke and debris obscured vision while Nova hit the ground hard enough to crack concrete, his Steel Skin absorbing impact that would have liquefied normal bone structure.
Through the clearing smoke, the Nomu stood exactly where it had been—unmarked, unbothered, turning toward Nova with the mechanical interest of a predator selecting new prey.
But Aizawa was free.
"Oh?" Shigaraki's voice carried disturbing fascination as his red eyes focused on Nova with the intensity of someone recognizing an interesting puzzle. "The anomaly player joins the game directly. Tell me—how did you know to prepare for today? How did you sense us coming before we arrived?"
"He knows. He knows I'm different, that I have information I shouldn't possess. All For One must have briefed him about timeline irregularities."
"GET AIZAWA OUT OF HERE NOW!" Nova screamed at Kirishima and Momo, who'd reached the plaza's edge during his desperate intervention. "GET EVERYONE TO SAFETY!"
The Nomu turned its attention toward Nova with the efficiency of a tactical computer selecting priority targets. Combat Precognition painted its attack pattern in perfect detail: right cross aimed at his center mass, enough force to reduce his enhanced durability to abstract concepts.
Nova's Enhanced Reflexes carried him sideways as the Nomu's fist pulverized concrete where he'd been standing. The creature followed up immediately, gray hands reaching with speed that made Bakugo's explosions look sluggish by comparison.
"Lightning Touch on the exposed brain. Only vulnerable point on something designed to tank hits from All Might himself."
Nova ducked under grasping fingers and channeled 80 MP through his palm as it made contact with pulsing gray matter. Electricity coursed through neural tissue with enough current to power city blocks, and the Nomu's advance staggered for exactly one second.
"One second of stunning from maximum electrical output. This thing was built to handle pain better than industrial equipment."
The Nomu's backhand caught Nova across the chest despite his desperate dodge, Steel Skin reducing catastrophic damage to merely devastating impact. He flew fifteen meters before hitting an artificial rock wall with force that made his enhanced vision white out temporarily.
[HP: 180/400] [MP: 40/250] [WARNING: CRITICAL STATUS - RECOMMEND IMMEDIATE WITHDRAWAL]
Nova spat blood and forced himself to stand, his Minor Regeneration working overtime to repair internal damage that should have been fatal. Through blurred vision, he saw Kirishima hauling Aizawa's unconscious form toward the plaza's edge while Momo created medical supplies with desperate efficiency.
"Fifteen seconds. Bought them fifteen seconds to evacuate one injured teacher. That has to be worth something."
The Nomu stalked toward Nova with predatory patience, its exposed brain still sparking with residual electricity. Behind it, Shigaraki scratched his neck with manic intensity while studying Nova like a fascinating specimen.
"You fight like someone who knows exactly what they're facing," Shigaraki observed, his voice carrying the particular madness that came from spending too much time in All For One's presence. "Like someone who's seen this before. Impossible, of course—unless the game has more players than Master initially calculated."
"Twenty meters away and closing. No MP for significant attacks. HP critical. Enhanced Reflexes might let me dodge one more strike before it connects with something vital."
Nova activated his last Explosion Seed and prepared for impact when the USJ entrance exploded inward with the force of divine intervention.
"I AM HERE!"
All Might's voice boomed across the facility with authority that made reality itself seem more stable. His muscular form filled the doorway like hope given physical presence, and even the Nomu paused its advance to assess this new variable.
"The Symbol of Peace. But I know what nobody else does—his time limit is down to minutes, his power is a shadow of what it was, and this thing was specifically designed to kill him."
Nova collapsed against the artificial rock wall, his system's warnings painting critical status across his fading consciousness. Through the gathering darkness at the edges of his vision, he watched All Might charge toward the creature that would test whether legends were strong enough to save everyone.
"Change the ending. Use the meta-knowledge to give him advantages he didn't have in canon. Make sure this time everyone goes home alive."
But first, Nova needed to stay conscious long enough to coordinate the miracle that would be required to defeat something designed to be undefeatable.
The real battle was about to begin, and Nova Asahi was running out of power to influence its outcome.
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